Spike Drugs that can kill

Man jailed after date drug rape

A Fife man convicted of drugging and raping a 21-year-old woman last June has been sentenced to five years in prison at the High Court in Edinburgh. David Symon, 32, from Dunfermline, used the so-called date-rape drug GHB to subdue his victim, the court heard. Symon's conviction is thought to be the first in Scotland involving the drug. Judge Roger Craik QC told him: "You took advantage of a situation where the victim was unconscious and unaware of what was happening." He added that the court took the matter "extremely seriously". At an earlier hearing, the woman told the court that she was invited to a party on the outskirts of Dunfermline.

Drug traces found

She said Symon gave her a couple of drinks from a bottle which she thought had once contained Irn Bru and he had some himself. She said: "I didn't know what effect it might have. I was just sitting there and it was like my head would explode and I couldn't see in front of me." The victim said the next thing she recalled was waking up in a house with Symon. She was lying naked on the floor and Symon was on top of her. Symon, of Pentland Terrace, had denied raping the woman on 1 June last year. The charge stated that he had left his victim "bereft of the power of resistance" because he had given her gammahydroxybutyrate.

The court heard how police found the suspicious drink bottle in Symon's home and tests revealed traces of GHB. The drug, commonly known as GHB, is a clear, odourless liquid which produces feelings of euphoria in small quantities, like alcohol, but higher doses cause "an unrousable-type sleep" for one to four hours. As well as receiving a five-year jail sentence, Symons was placed on the sex offenders register.

The victim, who has not been named, told BBC Scotland that she was no longer able to trust anybody. She said: "I can never look at anybody, like a boy, in the same light."

Rape Crisis worker Sandy Brindley said women should be encouraged by the fact that it is possible in Scotland to bring such a prosecution. She said: "If you are raped and drugs are involved there is a possibility you will get justice for your experience and that has to be welcomed."

From BBCNews. co.uk

Drugged and raped…but what they slipped in my drink could have killed me
Chilling truth about chemical cocktails used in sex crimes.

When Tania left her cola on the table and nipped the pub loo, she had no idea of the nightmare that would follow.Two men at the bar secretly slipped a sedative into her drink and waited until the drug took effect. Then they whisked her back to their flat and drugged her again before repeatedly raping her.

It has taken the 28-year-old from Dorset years to get over her terrifying ordeal, but it could have been even worse. For many of the drugs favoured by rapists like the pair who attacked Tania have deadly side-effects and are capable of killing you.

One of them, GHB, could cause death from respiratory failure if mixed with alcohol. Another, ketamine, can be fatal if taken with GHB and alcohol. Then there are tranquilisers called benzodiazepines, which have been linked with damage to the brain and nervous system.
You might think you’d be safe enough in a pub or a club with plenty of people around. But some ruthless men use these places to prey on unsuspecting women – and it takes just seconds to spike a drink and turn it into a powerful chemical cocktail.

Date-rape drugs are hard to spot and fast-working. Now police and healthcare professionals are warning women to be ever-vigilant in bars, pubs and clubs, especially when dealing with strangers.Shocking figures show that drug-induced rapes are reaching alarming levels – and official statistics are probably the tip of the iceberg as many assaults still go unreported.

The Drug Rape Trust charity helped more than 1500 women in 2001, twice as many as the previous year. And attacks reported to the Roofie Foundation, a UK drug-rape help group, rocketed from 39 in 1990 to 804 in 2000. The full toll every year runs into the thousands.
Dep Chief Insp Peter Sturman set up the Drug Rape Trust after researching the chilling sex crime. He says, ‘I discovered that there are a lot of people out there being attacked, not believed and not receiving the services that society should give them. Somebody had to help them’

Saint-Souljaz aka Spritual warriors

A Sikh is a saint- soldier; both concepts go hand in hand. In sikhi you can’t be one without the other. There are many saints who say they love God, but turn a blind eye to injustices and inhumanity. There are many brave soldiers, who are ruthless, slay innocents and fight for unjust causes.

As a saint a Sikh prays and worships God. In kaljug even this is a battle as the 5 internal enemies of greed, attachment, ego, anger and lust try and keep one away from God. The more you worship God the better chance you have at defeating these enemies and obtaining salvation. But as you are living your spiritually life you can not ignore injustices. Guru Nanak dev Ji spoke out against injustices. Guru Hargobind, Guru Teg Bahadur Ji and Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji fought battles against tyranny.

You cant say you love God if you don’t do your duty and defend Rightousness; also in the same way you cant say you love God if you never worship the lord!


CHARCTER OF A WARRIOR!

One who eradicates his own evil is a brave warrior; Ang 258 SGGSJ
Guru Ji is telling us that those whose worship the lord , wake up at amrit vela, do their nitnem and with gurus grace defeat the five enemies are the bravest of brave.

The warrior who fights on the battle-field should keep up and press on. ANG 341 SGGSJ No matter how hard tackling the 5 enemies becomes, we must keep getting back up and trying.

They alone are acclaimed as brave warriors in the world hereafter, who receive true honor in the Court of the Lord. ANG 580 SGGSJ
If one jaaps naam, avoids sin and maya. They will be blessed in the after life. Avoiding maya in the battle of life is a sign of a true warrior. A lot of people are entangled in the opposite sex, money, family, house, car and etc. Even though we need to do certain worldly things we must always remember they are an illusion and false.

He alone is called a warrior, who is attached to the Lord's Love in this age. ANG 679 SGGSJ
Anyone can pick up a gun; people are getting shot all-over everyday. But only a few can worship the lord and defeat their internal enemies. Whether we like it or not the Skin heads are really strong physical warriors. They can take a good beating too most of the time. But they are evil and demonic type people who have no love for God.

Salok, Kabeer
The battle-drum beats in the sky of the mind; aim is taken, and the wound is inflicted
The spiritual warriors enter the field of battle; now is the time to fight!
He alone is known as a spiritual hero, who fights in defense of religion
He may be cut apart, piece by piece, but he never leaves the field of battle. ANG 1105 SGGSJ

Sikhs have always defended their religion, 1984 was a recent event were a lot of Sikhs sacrificed their lives defending the faith from Indra Ghandis government.

Those who follow the Guru's Teachings are the true spiritual warriors; they have conquered sexual desire and anger. They enter into the True Mansion of the Lord's Presence, embellished and exalted by the Word of the Shabad. ANG 1280 SGGSJ

Like a Brahmin without a sacred mark on his forehead, or a king without the power of command, or a warrior without weapons, so is the devotee of God without Dharmic Faith. ANG 1359 SGGSJ
If a Sikh doesn’t worship the lord, he/she can not be a devotee of god. If we don’t do our Nit-nem, Sehaj Patths, Simran, Amrit-vela are we really Sikhs of the Guru?

He is not won over by fighting and dying as a warrior in battle. O Nanak, the Lord is won over only by His Name. ANG 1237 SGGSJ
Shaheedi is a big thing and a very good deed. But if the shaheed has not worshiped the lord or japped naam, his/her Shaheedi alone isn’t enough to get one into such-khand. But in the same way not fighting against injustices is also a big Sin, no matter how much naam you Jaap.

He is the Warrior Hero of Truth, humility is His Power. His Loving Nature inspires the Congregation with deep and profound understanding; He is absorbed in the Lord, free of hate and vengeance ANG 1393 SGGSJ

The Sikh of the Guru is unique in the sense, if someone kills their kid, they will not go and kill their kid. If a Sikh has a problem with the BNP, they will not hate all white people. A Sikh should see everyone as the family of God and should only be interested in justice.

Sikh taxi driver has his hair biten out!

(Seattle, WA) November 26, 2007 - A Sikh cab driver was brutally assaulted by a passenger on Saturday, the night of Gurpurab. Sukhvir Singh's attacker threatened to kill him, calling him a "terrorist" as he punched and bit him, pulling locks of hair from his head. The Sikh Coalition calls on the King's County Prosecuting Attorney's Office to prosecute the incident as a hate crime.

What Happened

On November 24, 2007, Sukhvir Singh had stopped his cab at a deli to eat when two Seattle police officers approached him and asked him to drive home a man who was in their custody. It was the night of a University of Washington football game in Seattle, and the man was intoxicated. Mr. Singh agreed to help the police officers by taking the individual back to his residence, but he never made it there.

On the way to his home, the passenger began to verbally abuse Sukhvir Singh, using religious and racial slurs and threatening to kill him. As his anger escalated, he attacked Sukhvir Singh from the back seat, putting him in a chokehold and knocking off Mr. Singh's turban. He pulled his long hair so hard that it came out in clumps. Trapped in the I-5's carpool lane, Sukhvir Singh had no choice but to stop the car and get out to escape his attacker. His attacker tumbled out onto the highway with him and continued beating him until Washington State Troopers responded to the scene.

Sukhvir Singh was hospitalized overnight, and has been vomiting ever since he returned home yesterday.Sukhvir Singh, a Kent resident, is shaken. "I am in a lot of pain, and don't understand why someone would do this to me. I love America and hope that in my case, justice will be done," he said.

Seattle's Police Department has not yet begun a full investigation of the incident. The Sikh Coalition is particularly concerned that a police report on the incident does not include any information on the bias motivation for the crime.

"Seattle's public officials need to take a strong stance against bias. We expect that this incident will be investigated and prosecuted as a hate crime," said Jasmit Singh, a member of the board of the Gurdwara Singh Sabha of Washington, and a Sikh Coalition board member.
This is not the first hate attack against a Sikh in Seattle. In October 2001, a Sikh motel owner from Renton was beaten over the head and told to "Go to Allah." In 2003, another Seattle taxi driver was surrounded by a group of men calling him "Osama" and telling him to "Get out of this country." Though his cab suffered thousands of dollars worth of damage, the incident was not prosecuted as a hate crime.

The Sikh Coalition asks all Sikhs to support its call for a hate crime charge in Sukhvir Singh's case. Seattle's Sikh community will be organizing a rally for Sukhvir Singh later this week.
We urge all Sikhs to practice their faith fearlessly. If you or someone you know is a victim of discrimination, please report it to legal@sikhcoalition.org.

Frontline Punjabi comments:

I think the police officers might have put this drank in Singhs cab delibrately!

Brothers killed in US; family says racial killing

Two brothers from Patiala were shot in the US on Friday night. According to their family here, Paramjit Singh Kalsi and Ravinder Singh Kalsi, 30, were shot in California by unidentified assailants.

The brothers owned a restaurant in the United States. The restaurant manager gave the details of the incident to deceased’s family. “Two people approached the restaurant door and shot Ravinder when he let them in.

They then chased Paramjit to the back of the restaurant and shot him before fleeing. The restaurant was not robbed,” the manager told the family over phone. The Kalsis, who live in Model Town, Patiala were in a state of shock. Paramjit and Ravinder’s mother, Gurbachan Kaur, could not even speak. “We just want the bodies of our brothers to be sent to us and the government should do something as we have no information about it,” said Balwinder Singh, the deceased’s brother.

The family claimed it is a case of racial killing. The family said Paramjit and Ravinder had shifted to the US in 1997. Five years later, the duo bought the Sahib Indian Restaurant in South Richmond. The deceased were also involved in the real estate business. One of the brothers was engaged and the duo was to come home for the wedding by month-end Relatives said for some initial years in the US, the brothers did construction work in Berkeley and saved money to buy a house. “They bought, renovated and sold or leased several houses over the years, eventually to open a restaurant and send money home,” they said.

Frontline Punjabi Youth Comments:

This is happening at an alarming rate all over the world but mainly in America. The American government does allow the right to self defense. I urge all Sikhs to obtain a gun licence and carry a concealed weapon for self defence.

The right to own a firearm is embedded in the American psyche like a splinter of flint, jagged and immovable.

It all goes back to the Founding Fathers who in 1791 amended the new American constitution with the following words: "A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed."

Its better to shoot back instead of being a sitting duck. Sikhs are getting wacked day in day out because racists think we are Muslims. Which Sikh is next? Fight Back- Stay Strapped!

Racist French President visits INDIA

The Sikh Federation (UK) has called on the entire Sikh leadership in Punjab not to miss the opportunity of exerting pressure regarding the dastaar issue prior on the French President, Nicholas Sarkozy visiting India on 24 January. Manmohan Singh has invited the French President as his special guest of honour for the 26 January Republic Day celebrations.

Bhai Amrik Singh said: ‘We urge those in the Punjab Government, SGPC, the Khalsa Action Committee, the newly formed Panj Pardanhi leadership of Shromani Akali Dal (Amritsar), Simranjit Singh Mann and all others concerned with the right of Sikhs to wear the dastaar to show they are united in demonstrating Sikhs are deeply concerned with the discriminatory laws of the French Government.’

The situation has now been going on for years and it is time for Sikhs to see if they can come together and leave the Indian Prime Minister and French President in no doubt that Sikhs will continue in their campaign until they are victorious.’

Bhai Amrik Singh pointed out: ‘The right of Sikhs to wear the dastaar is not just about Sikh school children, but also when Sikhs are forced to produce photographs without the dastaar to obtain passports and driving licences in France . It is ridiculous that Sikhs are being put through this humiliation, when the Indian Prime Minister himself knows the identity of a Sikh is only complete with the dastaar.’

Frontline Punjabi Youth Comments

How can the Prime Minister of India invite this racist creep as a guest of honour when he discriminates against Sikhs. Where is the Honour of the Prime Minister? , the little rat!

Is the french president telling Mr Priminster to take his turban off before the photo because the French seem to be used to doing that!

Sikhs losing their SADARI !

There was a time in our history were Sikhs faced death instead of cutting their hair. The legend of Bhai Taru Singh is a great example of this. There was prices put on a Sikhs head by the Mughal government; Sikh famalies had to hide in the jungles and fight wars to protect themselves. But the hair was kept untouched.

But in Punjab now days we pay a hindu barber to cut the hair. So much has changed now. Below is a typical picture of a Sikh Punjabi Family in Punjab. Notice how all the youngsters want to look like bollywood stars. (They also look like bhaiya Musalmaan from Bihar) Its a shame that we give up our sadari just to become posers.

on each and every hair, the Lord abides. ANG 343 Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji

With each and every hair, with each and every hair, as Gurmukh, I meditate on the Lord. ANG 443 Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji

O Lord of beautiful hair, Destroyer of pain, Eradicator of sins, Nanak lives, gazing upon the Blessed Vision of Your Darshan. ANG 829 Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji

One who is pleased with the Lord God's Will is a devotee, the True Guru, the Primal Lord. ANG 923 Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji

Finally, the True Guru said, ""When I am gone, sing Kirtan in Praise of the Lord, in Nirvaanaa.""
Call in the long-haired scholarly Saints of the Lord, to read the sermon of the Lord, Har, Har.
Read the sermon of the Lord, and listen to the Lord's Name; the Guru is pleased with love for the Lord. ANG 923 Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji

The Gurmukh meditates on the Lord with every hair of his body O Nanak, the Gurmukh merges in Truth. ANG 941 Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji

But these days our boys want to look like this:

Instead of a SARDAR!

Pregnant woman attacked

Police are appealing for information following a racist attack on an Indian woman who was days away from giving birth. The 32-year-old mother, was taking a walk with her partner and their young child at around 2.15pm along Ferme Park Road, Stroud Green, near the junction with Stapleton Hall Road, on Sunday, 4 November 2007.

The couple were approached by two white men who started hurling racist abuse at them. Without any provocation, one of the men punched the heavily pregnant woman directly in the face and, after a scuffle, ran off in the direction of Parkland Walk.

Police were called to the scene by a concerned member of the public but despite searching the surrounding area were not able to find the suspects.

Detective Sergeant Sonia Christensen said: "It is unusual for a heavilly pregnant woman, out with her family, to be the victim of such an unprovoked assault. "We are pursuing every line of enquiry to apprehend the suspects." The woman, who has since given birth, suffered a sore face but was otherwise unharmed and did not require any hospital treatment.

Anyone with information should contact the Community Safety Unit on 020 8345 1939.

Danger for Sikhs on the Streets of the UK

A Sikh human rights activist has been brutally beaten by racists in Coventry.

On 26 September, 34 year-old Jagdeesh Singh was walking home with his 10-year-old nephew from Walsgrave Hospital when he was subjected to a barrage of racist abuse. Two White men then launched a physical attack on Mr Singh - punching him some 30 times, while calling him 'Bin Laden' and 'Paki'.

According to Mr Singh, the attack was the seventh violent racist attack on him in the last ten years, and definitely the worst. On none of these seven occasions has the culprits been punished. They have either escaped or the police have not felt it appropriate to pursue the matter further.' Mr Singh, who wears a beard and turban, suggested that these visible 'symbols' had been the trigger for the attacks.

The latest attack comes at a time, when incidents against Muslims, Sikhs and other visible ethnic minorities are increasing and in recent months, the city of Coventry has been targeted by British National Party becuase they are fed up of Muslim perverts 'preying on their girls'.
Mr Singh was a case of mistaken identity as usual.

The method of Drink Spiking to forcefully get what they want!

What is spiking?

This technique requires a drug (there is numerous available on the streets), these drugs dilute in all drinks even water; some of the drugs do not show any visible differences in colour or taste of the drink. The drug makes one loose their senses, the victim has no control of their body and everything becomes fuzzy and illusive.

The drug causes total memory loss for a certain period of time, therefore making it easier for the criminal to commit their crime (usually a sexual offence) and get away undetected. Most of the time the victim fails to realize that they have been raped, therefore nothing gets reported to the police and everyone remains unaware of the crime, even the victim.

Fresh meat (innocent and naive girls) has arrived at university for the scum’s who spike women’s drinks to satisfy their filthy desires.

It’s only been a couple of weeks since the start of university and we have heard about 2 cases from our sources. In both cases the victims were Sikh-Punjabi women. There must be numerous cases we don’t know about.

We make it very clear and will state that this offence happens often, so if you are not cautious, there is a very high chance that you will be a victim. In the old days women had to be carried by force to be raped, Singh’s used to intervene and punish the culprits. But times and techniques have changed, and so has the attitude of most Singhs. Sometimes the offender is a Sikh-Punjabi boy. So trust No-one

Where-ever you are, be cautious as prevention is better than cure, this spiking technique is mainly used in Clubs and bars. However it can happen anywhere and be done by anyone. (No guts or professional skills are needed to carryout this crime).

At times even girls may be involved in these types of crime.

They normally act as the middle person because it is easier for them to get close to other women. Therefore they can easily slip the drug into your drink unnoticed. The women’s motive however is not sex (well not often), but they are often paid for their role in the crime.

Don't end up like this and be a piece of meat at the mercy of the spiker!

You get some twisted people in this world, who just want what they want by any means necessary. If the crime is committed by Muslim extremists, photographs of the sexual activity are taken. These are used to blackmail our girls. These girls are embarrassed to turn to anyone for support (police, friends and family); the extremists know this and take advantage.

A good prevention method is to buy a straw which changes colour if your drink has been spiked by the common drug used which is known as Rohyphol. It is available in most chemists. Its only £2.99, that’s cheap compared to your honour, which is priceless. Punjabi’s live by the motto, DEATH B4 DISHONOUR. We need to get back to that mentality. SERIOUSLY BECAREFUL PEOPLE - just for a cheap night out, make sure you do not have to pay a heavy price for the rest of your life. WAKE UP NOW OR REGRET LATER. We see groups of youth going clubbing, why don’t we see university youth going gurdwara together, we are losing the plot. Who did our ancestors make sacrifices for?

Student 'spikings' prompt action

Aaron's story is typical of many victims of drink-spiking. A night out, that becomes a blur. Waking up in a strange bed. Only he was one of the lucky ones. He wasn't raped. Or so he believes. The 22-year-old from south Wales, studying at De Montfort University in Leicester, was out with a young woman.

"We were drinking this wine; I'd probably had a glass of wine, but we didn't finish the bottle".

"She kept trying to get me to go to the toilet".

"When I got back my glass was full, I took my time over it, but I couldn't finish it".

"She was being a bit strange, hassling me to finish the drink"

"The next thing I remember is waking up on her shoulder in a club".

"I closed my eyes and when I woke up again I was in a bed with my trousers on and her lying next to me looking at me."

Aaron's experience and that of other students has prompted the police and students' union officials to issue warnings and offer a practical way of stopping drugs getting into the drinks of the unwary.

Special bottle stoppers are being introduced in the University of Leicester Student Union and in pubs and clubs across Leicester. They allow only a straw in for drinking, but should keep out anything more harmful.

There have been four suspected cases of drink spiking in the union - with more in pubs and clubs.

Leicestershire Police have joined a handful of other forces nationally to take part in a survey to find the true extent of the problem.

During the six-month survey specially-trained officers are to speak to any victim who believes they have been drugged.

Det Supt Graham Thomas, who is leading the inquiry, said: "The problem is if people have a good night's sleep after a night out, by the time they realise that something has happened to them and contact the police then 12 hours has easily passed."

Aaron never reported having his drink spiked.

"I didn't know what was going on. It was as if when you blink and in that nanosecond it was a complete change of location".

"I blinked again and I woke up in my bed with my clothes on".

"I don't know if I was coming in and out of consciousness or if I had my eyes closed for most of the night".

"I don't think anything actually happened, but I don't really want to say that because I don't know for sure."

Twenty-year-old student Natalie from London also believes she was drugged while drinking wine. The second year student at the University of Leicester, was drinking happily with friends in a club. Then she found herself alone in the street outside, being pursued by a man who claimed to be a cabbie.

As she tried to walk away, he followed, gradually quickening his pace. He caught up with her and hit her across the face. When she woke up the next day she couldn't remember anything.
It was only because she had managed to call her worried parents in London while she was lost on the streets, that she was reminded of the danger she had faced.

Natalie welcomed the campaign. "It has made people very aware that people in Leicester are spiking drinks," she said.

Sarah Stukey, bars manager at University of Leicester Student Union said: "We have a no-drugs policy, but obviously short of doing a strip search then there's not a lot we can do."
Leicestershire Police get an officer to dress as a six-foot hedgehog called Spike.

Pc Rich Johnson, from the violence and disorder team, who chaperones Spike on his nights out said: "Friends really need to be keeping an eye on their friends and if they're acting like they've had 11 drinks when they've only had two then they need to stay alert to it."

One of the night clubs stocking the spike bottle stoppers is Creation. Manager Clive Davies said: "It's a double-edged sword - you don't want to admit that there's drugs in your club but we need to be safe. "Drugs are part of everyday living we just don't want them in here."

Date rape now accounts for half of all reported rape cases, according to new Home Office research.

Reported rapes by boyfriends, former partners and close friends has increased sharply since 1985, when 35% of rape cases were of this kind, the report says.

It also reveals that of the cases sampled in 1996-97, only 24% reached court. Most cases are dropped because of lack of evidence, or because police decide that no crime has taken place.

The unpublished report, The Processing of Rape Cases, is by Jessica Harris of the Home Office's research and statistics directorate.

Rape 'serious and traumatic'

It suggests a link between the rise in overall rape cases, up 14% in 1996-97 to 6,337, and the fall-off in convictions for men accused of rape, now at less than 10% of all cases.

It says: "This might be related to a large proportion of rapes involving intimates being reported and those offences tend to be more difficult to prove than those involving strangers."

But Lisa Longstaff, of Women Against Rape, told The Independent newspaper: "Being raped by someone you know is no less serious or traumatic.
"
We do not believe these cases should be any harder to prove and this should never be used as a reason not to prosecute a suspect."

The report comes after April's government ban on Rohypnol, the sleep-inducing pill labelled the date rape drug after it was linked to several rape cases.

Rohypnol is a term that may not be familiar to many students. The slang term, roofies, however, is well known to college students as a common date-rape drug.

Date-rape drug detection has been attempted several times. Detection methods such as coasters that change color, test strips and covered glasses are available for sale. J

erimy Blowers, health educator at Plattsburgh State, said it is important that students pay attention to the taste and color of their drink.

Date-rape drugs often turn drinks another color.According to the National Drug Intelligence Center, a component of the U.S. Department of Justice, when mixed with a beverage, Rohypnol turns a blue color. Most often victims of Rohypnol abuse were drinking out of a dark container or had a blue mixed drink. The effects of Rohypnol usually take effect 15 to 20 minutes after administered and can last up to 12 hours.

If a student does notice a change, he or she should immediately tell a friend, save a sample and go to a medical clinic to be checked. Recently, a new method of Rohypnol detection has been introduced that may help to protect victims from sexual assault.According to a Feb. 2, 2007 article, "Date Rape's Last Straw", three business students have developed a drinking straw that will change color if a drink laced with Rohypnol passes through it.The students, who are from Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, Scotland, originally created the idea as a contest entry. Once they won, however, they decided to put the $2,000 in prize money toward starting a company to produce the straw.Blowers said the date-rape straw is definitely a concept that should be looked into and experimented with. It should not, however, be relied on as the only way to prevent sexual assault.

"A tool is only as reliable as the knowledge and awareness of the person using it,"

Blowers said. PSUC junior Leighann Greene thinks the straw is a good idea in general. She does, however, have some reservations about its reliability."I think it could be practical," Greene said. "But it depends because if the drink is colored, like a mixed drink, you might not notice the color change."Although a straw that detects Rohypnol might be a good thing to have, Blowers said education is the most important factor in avoiding abusive situations at parties. Even alcoholic beverages that have not been altered can lead to dangerous, and possibly abusive, situations.

Skinheads on the rise in Russia

Angry young men are joining a growing legion of skinheads, and the police are doing little to halt their violence

GRAEME SMITH
From Wednesday's Globe and Mail

KRASNOYARSK, RUSSIA — Before the street battles, before the killings, before watching his best friend bleed to death from a knife wound in the neck, Timur Kazantsef's career as a skinhead started with a shopping trip to buy slippers for his grandmother.

The heavyset 16-year-old accompanied his mother on the errand, which took them into the jostling, noisy open-air markets of Krasnoyarsk, an industrial centre in Siberia about 4,200 kilometres east of Moscow.

His mother selected a pair of slippers and tried to haggle with the dark-skinned vendors. The starting price was 50 rubles, or about $2. Mr. Kazantsef's mother got a 10-ruble discount, but she wanted another 10 rubles knocked off the price.

One of the vendors scoffed at them and whispered a profanity.

Mr. Kazantsef punched the man in the face, pushed him down and kicked his head. "I broke his skull," Mr. Kazantsef said proudly as he toyed with his butterfly knife.

For a growing cadre of young skinheads in Russia, the streets are battlegrounds in a war to defend their country's honour. Mr. Kazantsef started by defending his family pride in the marketplace but didn't stop there, continuing to wage a bloody campaign against the dark-skinned migrants he views as a threat to the essence of Russia.

He's part of a trend that's gaining momentum across the country, according to a recent report by the Moscow Bureau for Human Rights.

"The skinhead movement is growing," the report says. "It now numbers up to 50,000 people and is spreading from major regional centres into small towns and villages."

That is an enormous increase from the skinheads' first appearance in Russia around 1992, when a handful of young punks in Moscow and St. Petersburg started copying European neo-Nazis.

One expert says Russia is now home to half of the world's skinheads.

These violent punks might be only a fringe element in Russian society, but they're symptomatic of a growing concern about demographics. A broad majority of ethnic Russians feel uncomfortable about the fact that their numbers are shrinking, while they watch their non-Slavic neighbours flourishing.

Nationalist politicians are increasingly vocal in their calls for a clampdown on immigration, and skinheads such as Mr. Kazantsef openly boast about their brutality against the newcomers.
Even more troubling, observers say, is the tendency of law-enforcement and other authorities to tolerate the skinheads. Police rarely name racism as the motive for an attack. In the few cases where an offender is prosecuted, the charge is usually "hooliganism," which carries mild penalties.

This official reluctance makes it difficult to classify racial killings. Rights groups estimate that 67 people died in racially motivated attacks in the last two years, but those numbers make Mr. Kazantsef laugh. "They never write it up," he said. "Nobody wants the people to know what we're doing."

Mr. Kazantsef flaunts the fact that he's unlikely to get a harsh punishment. The vendor whose skull he cracked had serious injuries, he said, but he got only a conditional sentence. He says many police officers sympathize with his cause.

A 19-year-old friend of Mr. Kazantsef said part of his reason for joining the skinheads involved the sexual politics of sharing the city with newcomers.

"I was rejected by three different girls because they preferred foreign guys," said the tall teenager with ugly scars on his shaven head.

"They said to me, 'Those guys are better because they have nice cars, earn more money, and they're nicer than Russians.' "

Mr. Kazantsef and his friend may have slightly different reasons for their anger, but its outlet is the same. In separate interviews, the pair of skinheads told identical stories about joining a so-called brigade led by Mr. Kazantsef's best friend Genia to attack a market.

It was the end of a cold day in November, around 7 p.m., when the group of 15 teenagers walked into the Krastats market near the outskirts of Krasnoyarsk. They wore black bomber jackets, black jeans with rolled cuffs, and steel-toed combat boots. They had shrugged their suspenders off their shoulders so the black straps hung down from their belts, Mr. Kazantsef said, as a symbol of their readiness for battle.

The market should have been an abandoned warren of steel shipping containers at that time of day, an hour after closing time. The skinheads' scout, a 13-year-old boy, had reported that conditions were ripe to ambush a dozen vendors as they packed up. But the skinheads were surprised to find a bigger group, perhaps 40 dark-skinned traders finishing their day's work.
Genia, the 16-year-old leader, threw the first punch and hit a fortysomething vendor. Almost immediately, another middle-aged vendor pulled out a four-inch blade and stuck it into Genia's throat. The knife must have hit an artery, Mr. Kazantsef said, because blood spurted everywhere. "All of our brigade attacked that man," Mr. Kazantsef said. "First we killed him, then we took on the others."

Skinheads occasionally arm themselves with metal rods, belts, chains or other basic weapons. Genia's brigade chose fists and boots. Usually a fight lasts half a minute, Mr. Kazantsef said, as the skinheads inflict their damage and escape. This time the fight dragged on for four or five painful minutes.

"There were too many of them," Mr. Kazantsef said. The skinheads finally ran away, leaving the ground covered with blood and their fallen leader behind. They sprinted 50 metres together, then scattered in predetermined directions.

Mr. Kazantsef unrolled the cuffs on his jeans, pulled up his suspenders, put a cap over his shaven head, and disappeared into the city.

Soon after getting confirmation of his friend's death, Mr. Kazantsef became the new leader of his brigade. A spokesman for the Krasnoyarsk police said the force has no record of the incident.

Against the bucolic backdrop of this summer's Russian landscape, a shocking video emerged on the Internet. Under a large banner decorated with a swastika, two men dressed in camouflage are seen performing an apparent execution: First, they bind and gag their two victims, then one is beheaded and the other is shot. One victim was identified as being from the mainly Muslim Dagestan region and the second from ex-Soviet Tajikistan.

The purported execution video was posted on the Internet, but removed less than 24 hours later.

The National-Socialist Party of Russia claimed responsibility. In an anonymous letter on a Chechen Web site, the group said the motive for this attack was to remove all Caucasians and Asians from Russian territory.

In August, without saying whether the executions were real, Russian prosecutors said they arrested and charged a university student with inciting racial hatred.

Since the breakup of the Soviet Union, racism and xenophobia have been on the rise, experts say. Alexander Brod, director of the Moscow Bureau of Human Rights, says there are more than 140 extremist groups currently in Russia, with nearly 1.5 million members and the majority of assaults are committed by neo-Nazi skinheads.

Sociologists at the Levada research center say they have not seen such an upsurge of ethnic violence like this since the 1980s.

One particular attack grabbed headlines. Two women, one from Azerbaijan and one from Kazakhstan, were attacked on the streets of St. Petersburg in February 2006. Police say the pair were stabbed repeatedly by three skinheads as they shouted: "Russia for Russians." Less than a month later, a 22-year-old Kurd was stabbed to death and his sister was seriously injured, once again by skinheads, according to authorities.

These were attacks in a series of violent incidents that have occurred in and around Moscow over the last three years. Sadly, experts say, there's no sign of the aggression subsiding.

According to the latest statistics from the Sova Research Center, a Moscow-based human rights organization, more than 300 people were victims of racist and neo-Nazi crimes in the first six months of 2007; 37 of these resulted in fatalities.

Authorities say most of Russia's recent hate crimes have been directed toward Africans, Asians and anyone of the Caucasus region. Ali Nasoor, who came to St. Petersburg 20 years ago and has lived through all the upheavals of the last two decades, says life for foreigners has never been worse. "We are just being killed out in the open," Nasoor told ABC News. "It's just gotten out of control."

Fasting

Why the Hindus fast?

Fasting is prescribed on all Ekadashis, that is, the 11th day of the lunar fortnight, twice a month. Hindus believe that in this Kali Yuga, even if just one Ekadashi is observed with passion, faith and devotion, and if the mind is wholly fixed on Hari, one is freed from the rounds of birth and death. There is no doubt about this. The scriptures give us their assurance on this point.

Why the Muslims fast?
The fast is performed to learn discipline, self-restraint and generosity, while obeying God’s commandments. We also want to feel how the poor must feel and then we donate to charity to help the starving of the world.

Why the Sikhs don’t fast?
Sikhi promotes a healthy diet. The only time Sikhs fast is if it is needed for any medical reason (before operation, blood test etc). But in Sikhi fasting for spiritual reasons is rejected. Fasting for is seen as depriving the body of food which can also be seen as a form of self torture. A Sikh is to eat little- enough to nourish ones body. A Sikh doesn’t need to shoot him/her self in leg and put them self in a wheelchair just to understand how the disabled feel. In the same way a Sikh understands and has compassion for the starving people of the world. Infact every Sikh temple has a community kitchen were the needy can come and eat.

Gurmat View:

The Name of the Lord, Har, Har, is my meditation, austerity, fasting and daily religious practice. Meditating on the Lord, Har, Har, I have found total joy and bliss. ANG 715 Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji

The mind is not softened by fasting or austerities. Nothing else is equal to worship of the Lord's Name. ANG 905 Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji

I have stopped fasting on the eleventh day of each month; why should I bother to go on pilgrimages to sacred shrines? Prays Naam Dayv, I have become a man of good deeds and good thoughts. Chanting the Lord's Name, under Guru's Instructions, who has not gone to heaven? ANG 718 Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji

Those who have truth as their fast, contentment as their sacred shrine of pilgrimage, spiritual wisdom and meditation as their cleansing bath, kindness as their deity, and forgiveness as their chanting beads - they are the most excellent people. ANG 1245 Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji

If you are Sikh and some how feel you need to fast for Spiritual reasons, Stop messing about!

Today is the shaheedi day of the younger sahibzadas

The younger Sahibzadas; our brothers die for us. They layed the path for us and showed our enemies that even the little kids of the panth will face death before dishonour. We salute the Sahibzadas and hope to follow in thier footsteps if need be!

They were Tested, and they showed courage!

They never showed any fear and remained loyal to Sikhi until the death!

They were bricked alive. They gave thier head but never gave up their principles. They were our brothers!

Racial attack

'SKINHEADS' THREATEN SIKH MAN

An elderly Asian man has been racially abused and threatened with a knife by two "skinhead" youths as he was leaving a Sikh temple in Warwickshire. The 72-year-old man had just left the temple in New Street, Leamington Spa, but as he cycled into Farley Street he was threatened by the two white men. Anyone with information about the attack should call 01926 415000.

Muslim Spiker is jailed

Picture of Rohail Spall a Muslim Drink Spiker

A young woman whose drink was spiked with a type of date-rape drug by a City businessman, was upset yesterday when he jailed for only two years. The sentence means that Rohail Spall, who police fear may be a serial sexual predator, will be free in just over three months, once the time he has already spent in custody is taken into account.
After the case, the victim was said to be "really upset" with Judge Colin Smith's handling of the matter.

Inner London Crown Court heard that Spall, a 39-year-old father of four, thought no one was looking when he slipped a powerful sedative into the woman's glass of red wine.
But the head waiter Kevin Murphy – who had earlier been asked to keep the wine flowing because Spall wanted to have sex with the woman – spotted what he had done and warned his victim.

Police found a blister pack of Xanax, which is similar to the date-rape drug Rohypnol, in his pocket. Only one tablet was left. But there were hundreds more in the boot of his chauffeur-driven Mercedes.
"The fear is he may have targeted other women in this way in the past," said Det Con Arran Barnes.
Spall, a Pakistani-born property developer, of Ilford, Essex, insisted that the pills were to combat his own chronic anxiety and said he had got the glasses mixed up.


The jury took only a few hours to convict him of administering a substance to the 28-year-old "in order to engage in sexual activity".
During the five-day trial, the court was told that Spall first met the woman at a bar in Canary Wharf. Having convinced her he was a "high-powered, respectable" City figure, they exchanged phone numbers and, in the weeks that followed, met for drinks.
But she soon regretted agreeing to go for a meal with Spall last June. No sooner had she climbed into his Mercedes than she had to fend off his repeated attempts to kiss her.
Once they arrived at fish, a restaurant in Borough Market, south-east London, Spall told Mr Murphy to keep the wine flowing. He later whispered that he wanted "something special" to "knock her out".

The businessman's victim told jurors she had been "shocked and stunned" by what he had done.

As she watched from the public gallery, Judge Smith told the defendant he was "unscrupulous", but said he was not convinced that he posed "any significant risk".
He said he thought Spall's behaviour had been caused by his own "drunken state" and was "totally out of character".

He ordered that, after prison, Spall would be subject to a sexual offences prevention order, banning him from having any over-the-counter medication "with sedative qualities" in a public place.

Outside court, Det Con Barnes, the case officer, said he was "rather surprised" by the sentence, adding: "If there are any further victims, I hope they will come forward."
Spall's estranged wife, A'neela, said later: "He would never have done this; he's not that kind of man."

Dowry

Dowry is amount of money or property that the bride’s parents give with their daughter once she gets married. The original meaning of the dowry was to provide some financial support for the bride in a case of possible unfortunate events such as divorce, death of her husband, or simply a helpful financial base the new family needs. In fact, dowry system has become more of a “bride-price” system. The parents of a girl, when she is yet a baby, begin to save money to ensure a respectable dowry. If a good dowry is not made, the girl is unlikely to get a good “match.” Sometimes, none of the girl’s personal values are taken in consideration; her family’s budget is placed higher when she is being considered. Girls are considered a burden on her parents’ family because they worry about dowry and wedding expenses of their daughter. Dowry worries become a cause for abortion when the mother-to-be discovers that she is carrying a female baby. Also, there are situations when groom’s family takes the bride’s dowry and uses it entirely for their needs, or recycles it for the groom’s sisters’ dowry. In these cases, the bride does not benefit from the dowry at all. Sometimes, a groom’s family demand more dowry from the bride’s family after marriage. Threats of divorce are often used. If the bride’s parents are not able to fork over anymore money, the girl will be sent home in shame (she is no longer a virgin), or killed in an “accident.”

Gurmat view of dowry

In sikhi all our souls are seen as the soul-brides and God is seen as the husband. When our soul merges back with waheguru is also described as a wedding.

O my father (Waheguru), please give me the Name of the Lord God as my wedding gift and dowry. Any other dowry, which the self-willed manmukhs offer for show, is only false egotism and a worthless display. ANG 78 Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji

Some rich families show of thier wealth by giving a large dowry. Guru Ji condemns this.

Those who swindle money from their daughters and sisters will receive heavy punishment from the Angels of Death". Rehatnama Bhai Nand Laal Jee

Sikhs are not to sell their daughters or sisters. Alot of people put their daughters and sisters in to sex work to fufill thier needs. from this rehatnama it is clear that dowry is totally against Sikhi.

To take what rightfully belongs to another, is like a Muslim eating pork, or a Hindu eating beef. ANG 141 Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji

How the dowry System leads to misery!

The dowry culture is largely responsible for domestic violence. It is a curse for our social life. Women become victims of unbearable harassment due to the force of dowry system in society. Most of the time the sufferers are housewives. Many innocent women fall victim to this brutal system and their lives become miserable.

Greed of dowry leaves her paralysed Kanchan VasdevTribune News Service
Ludhiana, January 25

A 26-year-old dowry victim may not be able to walk for life. A nursery teacher, Pooja, was allegedly pushed from the third storey of her in-laws house as her parents were not able to accede to the in-laws’ ‘‘ever-growing’’ demands for more dowry.

Having fractured her backbone, legs and arms after the fall, Pooja is lying paralysed in DMC Hospital unable to move any part of her body. Hoping against hope that she will be able to walk in future, Pooja keeps on blubbering to all visitors, ‘‘Do not give birth to a daughter. She will be killed for a house or a car.’’

In her statement to the police, Pooja alleged that she was pushed from the third floor on December 30 when she had gone upstairs to clean the house. She was rushed to Ram Charitable Hospital from where she was referred to the trauma centre of DMC Hospital. The police has registered a case against her husband, Gagan Thakkar, her mother-in-law, Sumitra, father-in-law Gian Chand and her sisters-in-law under Sections 307, 498 A and 34 of the IPC.

Talking to The Tribune at the hospital, she alleged that she was married to Gagan Thakkar of Mishra Chowk in 2003. It was a love-cum- arranged marriage. ‘‘Soon after my marriage, my in-laws had started torturing me for a car. I took Rs 50,000 also after they demanded Rs 2 lakh. But this did not satiate their hunger for money.’’

She was allegedly sent back to her parents house at Chauri Sarak in Bajra Mohalla a number of times. She gave birth to a daughter a year after her marriage but the girl died after she was not provided proper medical care as a daughter's birth was not a happy occasion for her in-laws’ family.

After staying for some months at her parents' house she had been sent to her in-laws following perusal of the case by some responsible citizens. She went in September last year and fell on December 30. Since then she has been battling between life and death.
‘‘Doctors say I will not be able to walk for six months. I do not know whether I will be able to do so ever or not. I cannot feel my legs. The only hope is that I can feel my hands when I touch my legs. ’’ she said, while crying bitterly.

Mr Prem Kumar, her father a cloth merchant, said he had spent Rs 14 lakh on her wedding thinking her in-laws would be happy with her. But things did not go her way. She was allegedly told to bring a car and buy a house.

He alleged that though the police registered a case against the accused after they staged protests after the incident. ‘‘But the police is not arresting the accused following political pressure from a senior Congress leader. They are even trying to spare the accused by levelling counter-allegations against us,’’ said her father.

The police said the accused were not arrested because senior officials had ordered an inquiry into the case. The accused had counter-alleged that she had jumped on her own following marital discord and was now levelling all kinds of allegations against them. ‘‘We will take action after the inquiry is completed. ’’

Dowry demands can be offensive and lead to voilence

Vikram Chowdhary
Friday, October 26, 2007 (Patiala)

A doctor, who came from the US to get married in Patiala, has ended up in jail for demanding dowry but not before getting a sound thrashing from the bride's relatives.The groom who lives in New York demanded more than Rs 50 lakh from the bride's family when he arrived with his wedding procession on Friday afternoon.The bride's family reacted by calling the police immediately, and for good measure beat up the groom and his party before the police led them away.

Meerut, Nov 6: One policeman was killed and several others injured when they tried to protect two grooms from angry villagers in Meerut district of Uttar Pradesh. The grooms - Latafat and Gafoor - and their wedding party were beaten up after they allegedly demanded dowry from the brides families. The angry villagers later exchanged fire with the police when it tried to intervene. The members of the party are being kept hostage. Reports say the angry villagers beat up Latafat and Gafoor and smeared their faces with black and red ink. According to the villagers, the father demanded a car and Rs 1 lakh in cash as dowry for each of his sons just before the ceremony began.