It was, according to tradition, an unusual evening at Taller Latinoamericano, a language school (and much more) in uptown Manhattan. Like Sinatra’s many last performances, this one was supposed to be the last performance at the Taller (they had to move, unable to pay the rent) but I know, as many people do, that it won't probably be the last one. The Taller, as it is frequently called, has survived at that same place before.

The Taller is a language school, a meeting place for unusual people eager for company, a showcase of artistic talent for people from all over Latin America, a concert hall, and a dance school. I used to joke that on a given night you could find a lion tamer, a young Japanese woman giving tango lessons, a tango guitar player from Argentina playing Brazilian songs, an obsessive painter of remarkable naïve paintings, many of which cover the Taller walls … an unending list of colorful characters.

Bernardo Palombo, its director, is an unusual talent. A native of Argentina, he is an innovative teacher of Spanish—he frequently illustrates his lessons with guitar music. He is also a talented musician and singer who has performed with leading Latin American and North American artists.

Tango is among the most performed musical styles played and performed at the Taller, so it was fitting that this event—reported to be a farewell party from this location—would only be tango dancing. Although a few dancers were Argentinean, there were many from different Latin American and Asian countries and even a couple from Africa.

While watching some old and graceful dancers, my thoughts went back to Buenos Aires where during my last trip, I had had a singular experience. I was having lunch at a popular restaurant. Concerned about my weight, I was having a small piece of chicken with a salad when I saw, at the table next to mine, an older man, perhaps in his middle seventies, having a hearty lunch. He was a thin man of normal height.

He had started with a heavy bean soup, and now he was having a huge steak with French fries and a salad accompanied by a big bottle of wine. I envied that he could have such a big lunch while I, younger than him, was also much heavier and unable to do the same.

I congratulated him on his good appetite, something not unusual to do in an informal setting in Buenos Aires, where people are much more gregarious than in other big cities.

“Well,” he said to me, “You won’t believe what happened to me.” He continued. “A couple of years ago, I was diagnosed with a rare form of rheumatism which hindered my movements. I was even unable to cross a wide street without being concerned that I would be hit by a car, since I walked that slowly.

“A friend recommended that I start dancing tango, something that I almost never did before. Although I was a bit reluctant at first, I decided to follow my friend’s advice and soon after I started dancing, I realized that I was walking with much less effort. Not only that, the more I danced the better I felt. I had started dancing a couple of nights a week. Then I was dancing every day and feeling younger, better, and losing weight in the process.

“In the beginning, my wife used to accompany me. Soon, however, she lost interest, perhaps because she couldn’t keep my pace. By common agreement, we decided that I would go to live in an apartment at the back of our house so we that could lead independent lives, but still on friendly terms. I am glad we did that because what began as a curiosity became an obsession, but a wonderful one for me.

“After a few months, I had recovered all my ability to move without pain. I also lost several pounds and made many new, wonderful friends. As a result, not only has my rheumatism disappeared, but now I can eat whatever I want without fear of gaining any weight.”

Looking at my plate before he parted, he said, “Start dancing tango, amigo, it will do wonders for you, too.”

As I recalled his advice, the last stanzas of a tango were being played at the Taller...

Dr. Cesar Chelala is a writer on human rights and public health issues.

When the email arrived in my spam folder inviting me to view the Living Proof Project from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation I responded yes. The event tonight in Washington DC was much more important than I could have anticipated. The Gates Foundation, and Bill and Melinda Gates in particular started the evening by thanking the American tax payer. The stories from around the globe from Nicaragua, to Ethiopia, to Tanzania, of the "living proof" of the difference these efforts make were highlighted. You see our - the American tax payer dollars contributed through US Aid programs globally does make a difference. The presentation tonight focused on the impact of those contributions to fighting disease, treating patients, providing education and resources to fight malaria, HIV/Aids, polio, infant mortality, death in child birth, and rotavirus (to name a few).

Living Proof Project

Please share this site with others. If we all work together by 2025 we can help to save millions of children from these illnesses and increase the hope of these families for a brighter tomorrow.

In these tough and challenging times for America we must acknowledge that we can still play a role in helping others. We are facing our own pandemic with H1N1 and the reality of the fragility of our own existence and that of our neighbors should awaken a stronger awareness about the continued need for us to have a position of leadership in the fight to save all lives.

The videos were real. The impact genuine. It reminded me of Dickens Christmas Carol and the ghost of what is to be. We have been provided a glimpse of the future. We should keep in mind what may be the future can be altered with our efforts.

I am happy to email anyone more information if interested.
Thank you.
Susan Lavine
Washington DC

Kashmir is an internationally recognized disputed territory with near about 18 resolutions passed by U.N’s Security Council to which India and Pakistan are signatories and world a witness to them, declaring Kashmir as a disputed territory and favoring Kashmiri people’s right to self determination to decide their future freely whether to accede to India or Pakistan or opt for total independence. According to International Court of Justice the principle of self-determination also has the legal status of “erga omnes” which means “flowing to all”. Accordingly ergas omnes obligations of a State are owed to the international community as a whole: when a principle achieves the status of erga omnes the rest of the international community is under a mandatory duty to respect it in all circumstances in their relations with each other. But unfortunately despite passing of more than six decades this basic and fundamental right is yet to be accorded to the oppressed and enslaved people of Kashmir. The denial of which has led to massive human rights violation, brutal killings, arrests, detentions, rapes and molestations, enforced disappearances, custodial killings have become tool at the hands of colonial masters to muzzle the voice of resistance in Kashmir with words like ‘half widows’ adding to the vocabulary of Kashmir sadistically.

The APDP (Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons) demanding the whereabouts of their relatives and near and dear ones subjected to enforced custodial disappearance by the various security agencies, troops and police mostly since the break out of armed rebellion from 1988, continue to highlight their sufferings and bruises through their monthly sit ins in the heart of Srinagar to press for their demands but their genuine pleas and grievances is yet to strike the conscious of so called elected representatives of people. Even their demand of setting up of truth and reconciliation commission of which current C.M has remained a vocal supporter before and during his election campaign is yet to be fulfilled.

According to APDP more than 10000 people have been subjected to enforced custodial disappearance and C.M being Chairman of Unified Command Council has moral duty to look in to their genuine and humane demands. Subjecting people to custodial disappearance is worst kind of human rights violation and it has been mostly seen the relatives of disappeared persons suffer from the mental trauma and remain in dilemma about the safety of their near and dear ones which is horrific to say the least. After the shocking discovery of hundreds of unmarked graves in different parts of Jammu and Kashmir mostly from Uri many including the relatives of disappeared fear about the safety of their loved ones who have gone missing under the custody of troops.

According to the international convention on enforced disappearances, no exceptional circumstances whatsoever, whether a state of war or a threat of war, internal political instability or any other public emergency, may be invoked as a justification for enforced disappearance. And the state is under the obligation to investigate acts of enforced disappearance and bring those responsible to justice and it is the right of any victim to know the truth about the circumstances of an enforced disappearance and the fate of the disappeared person, and the right to freedom to seek, receive and impart information to this end. India being the signatory to this convention is morally and legally bound to honour this international commitment, but ironically troops continue to indulge in massive human rights violations with lack of accountability and the availability of impunity.

In many cases where the perpetrators of human rights violation be that enforced disappearance, custodial killing, fake encounters or other violations have been identified they have got away from any kind of accountability by the draconian laws empowered to them through which they enjoy total impunity from the law of land. Indian prime ministers assurance on the soil of Kashmir about ‘Zero tolerance’ to human rights violation and assurance by any other leader will continue to remain as mere rhetoric as long as these draconian laws are not withdrawn.

In 2004, a Manipuri women Thang Jam Manorama was abused and killed by Assam Rifles and after the protests erupted to repeal the AFSPA then in November that year the then Prime Minister of India A.B.Vajpayee constituted a committee to review the provisions of the AFSPA and the said committee submitted report in which it was reported that “the act, for whatever reasons has become a symbol of oppression, an object of hate and an instrument of discrimination and high hand ness”. But unfortunately this report was made to appear like as north-east centric view and missed J & K where violations are much more and according to average mentions about J&K by the US state dept in its country state report on human rights violations and killings in conflict areas from 1993-2002 are 56.4 and combined seven states of north-east is 36.2 which is far less than J&K. It is the oppression unleashed by Indian troops backed by these black laws which have alienated the people of Kashmir more and more and in the words of South Asian Free Media Association (SAFMA) this alienation among the people of Kashmir is complete and irreversible.

Such kind of acts done by state instead of stifling the people always boomerang and backfire, as these kind of things have provided the necessary ammunition to the freedom struggle to move forward with renewed vigor and this was witnessed by whole world during the agitation of last year, and during the protests in Shopian against the triple-murder double rape of two women recently there. Kashmir dispute will continue give sleepless nights to the Indian leaders and policy makers and this dispute if left unresolved will continue to remain as major threat to peace and progress of South Asia. Hence its resolution is must. To make the atmosphere conducive for meaningful talks India has to initiate steps to remove the deep mistrust which she has created by its denial mode and time gaining policies, first and foremost these draconian laws should be repealed, troops should be moved back to barracks in a phased manner and a impartial commission should be made to look in the violation of human rights as demanded by ITHR and APDP.

Shah Waseem
Student of BCA
Islamia College of Science & Commerce
Hawal, Srinagar
waseemshah57@yahoo.com

When a ship is sinking in a storm, calls are made for women and children to be saved first. The captain stays onboard. Sadly, when our economy is sinking, the calls are silenced. Women and children are left to tread the violent waters. The captain is wrapped warmly in a blanket on the lifeboat.

As California’s economy sinks, the Governor cut programs that keep women and children safe, in his effort to balance the budget and stay afloat. California’s cuts to fund domestic violence shelters and organizations that provide lifesaving services have forced hundreds of women to remain on the sinking ship. Those already on lifeboats have been tossed back onto that ship.

In July, Governor Schwarzenegger eliminated the entire $20.4 million budget of the California Department of Public Health’s Domestic Violence Program with a line-item veto. With a swipe of his pen, he turned his back on women’s safety. Already six shelters have closed; many others around the state have been forced to reduce the already limited number of beds and services available to women. Without state funding, all shelters are at risk of closing, keeping thousands of women in danger. Domestic, also known as intimate partner, violence includes rape, physical assault, stalking and homicide. Shelters provide refuge for thousands of women and children, and without them, victims are left without the resources to escape abuse.

During economic hardship, incidences of violence escalate and women and children are the most vulnerable to abuse. So what happened to the call for these women and their children to be saved first? Governor Schwarzenegger’s line item veto implies that they are unworthy of saving. He is sitting on a lifeboat all by himself when instead he should be staying on the sinking ship.

If we must talk about women’s lives in economic terms, the costs of domestic violence far exceed the $20.4 million “saved” in the state budget. According to the Centers for Disease Control’s 2003 report on Costs of Intimate Partner Violence Against Women in the United States, the health-related costs of intimate partner violence nationwide exceed $5.8 billion annually. Of that total, nearly $4.1 billion are for direct medical and mental health care services, and nearly $1.8 billion are for productivity losses. As the country’s highest populated state, California’s share undoubtedly surpasses $20.4 million. California’s deficit will grow rather than shrink.

State Senators understand the devastating effects these cuts have on women’s lives and on the economy. Last week the Senate unanimously voted to restore $16.3 million for the program in a bill introduced by Senator Leland Yee [D-SF]. The funds would be taken from the Alternative and Renewable Vehicle Fuel Technology Fund, and would support domestic violence shelters for another year. These funds are urgently needed to keep open the remaining 94 shelters throughout California.

Women and children across the state need you and me to call on the Governor to do the right thing. Ask him to sign this life-saving bill right away. These funds cannot be transferred to the domestic violence shelters without his signature. Remind him that October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Now is the time to put women and children’s safety first.

PLEASE CALL HIS OFFICE AT 916-445-2841.

The San Francisco Documentary Film Festival (aka DocFest) started on Friday in San Francisco. Screenings are at the Roxie Film Center in the Mission. The Roxie serves the best popcorn out there! And, I am an aficionado of movie theater popcorn.

The lineup at DocFest is awesome! I personally recommend, Homegrown, Mine, and Proceed and Be Bold! But really, you can’t go wrong with any independent documentaries of this caliber!

The last week has been filled with long nights sitting in the dark watching amazing films. I am writing this final Mill Valley Film Festival update from a café next down the block from the Smith Rafael Film Center in San Rafael between screenings. This morning I saw my favorite film of the festival (for a second time), Mine. I can’t stop thinking about The Private Lives of Pippa Lee, Up in the Air (George Clooney is such a charmer!), and Red Cliff (John Woo spoke before the screening; the man’s passion for this film is infectious). I will be attending the festival’s closing screening of Young Victoria with Emily Blunt in a few hours. I’ve already seen the festival’s other very well-done closing film, Looking for Eric. One of the best parts of film festivals is the Q&As! Even better if an hour or more is devoted to a single filmmaker/actor/actresses career, as was the case with the 70 minute discussion with Seymour Cassel on Wednesday! I just love hearing people talk about their films!

Now on to The San Francisco Documentary Film Festival (aka DocFest)! It will be another week of non-stop movies for me (i.e., the best kind of week)!

The growing worldwide demand for resources is threatening the world's environmental health to an unprecedented extent. Increasingly, women are active participants in the defense of the environment and significantly contribute to stop, or even reverse, the degradation of our natural resources.

“Women have always been more environmentally sensitive compared to men because they are mother earth themselves. Any harm to the mother is bound to affect her progeny, and that is why very instinctively she wishes to protect the earth that is everybody’s mother,” stated Notan Kotak, a woman from a tribal group in India. She was commenting on the role of women from pygmy communities in Congo Brazzaville to protect the natural forests in the region.

In addition to unrestricted exploitation of natural resources, unsound agricultural practices have had devastating effects on the environment and on people's health and quality of life. The National Wildlife Federation has found that diseases associated with contaminated water kill between 5 and 12 million people every year, mostly women and children.

Women are considered the primary users of natural resources in developing countries, because they are responsible for gathering food, fuel and fodder. Because in many cases women are home-managers, and economic providers, women are susceptible to health problems and hazards in several environmental situations.

Women, especially when they are pregnant, are particularly susceptible to several environmental risks, particularly those living in rural or marginal suburban areas in developing countries. The reproductive system of pregnant women is especially vulnerable, since every step in the reproductive process can be altered by toxic substances in the environment. It has been proved that several substances may increase the risk of abortion, birth defects, fetal growth retardation, and peri-natal death.

Although for a long time women have been considered passive recipients of aid rather than active participants in development, their role is crucial both to the economies of the developing countries and to the future of the environment. As environmental educators and motivators for change, women are key agents in the processes leading to a more sustainable and healthy development of the planet.

Just over 100 years ago, in 1906 in India, there was a conflict between men and women in a hilly area called Chipko. Women were protesting the massive clearing of forests by men, who wanted to use them for industrial purposes. When their protests went unheard, women from the villages started hugging themselves to the trees to prevent them for being cut down. They not only prevented large forest areas from being destroyed but they initiated what is now called the Chipko movement, which has become a significant historical reference of women’s efforts in favor of the environment.

The more active participation of women in think tanks and in environmental training activities is allowing them to educate both the public and policy makers about the critical link between women, the use of natural resources and the creation and fostering of sustainable development. In that regard, women have more direct access to local environmental issues and how to approach them than men. Women have often had a leadership role in reducing unnecessary use of resources, promoting an environmental ethic, and recycling resources to minimize waste.

There is growing evidence that women in several countries around the world are taking central roles in the grass-roots environmental movement. And there is increasing belief that development and environmental policies that do not involve women in the same footing men as will not be successful in the long run.

Dr. Cesar Chelala is an international medical consultant and the author of the Pan American Health Organization publication ''The Impact of the Environment on Children's Health.''

My lack of posts reflects the time spent in theatres, and therefore offline. On Saturday, I saw the truly original documentary Breath Made Visible. The film’s subject, Anna Halprin, was even part of the post-screening Q&A. And she looks amazing, especially when you consider that she is an octogenarian! I then saw Soundtrack for a Revolution, followed by Concert for a Revolution! The Blind Boys of Alabama were awe-inspiring; they literally had to be pulled, dancing the whole way, from the stage by their entourage at the end of their set.

On Sunday, I hit two film festivals – MVFF and the Oakland International Film Festival! I started off the day at Homegrown, a very motivational and thought-provoking environmental documentary. If I had a yard, I would totally start an urban homestead just like the film’s principal subjects, the Dervaes family. After leaving the MVFF, I went home to Oakland to attend the 8th Oakland International Film Festival. I screened the new documentary Faire: An American Renaissance. Having never been to a Renaissance Faire, and having frequently made fun of my mom for attending Faires and admitting to having a good time there, I surprised myself by turning to my friend Amelia post-screening and saying – with no hint of irony – “Let’s go!” Expect to see me at a Ren Faire sometime soon!

My picks for the rest of the week include one of my favorite films of 2009, Barking Water. The film screened tonight, and will again on Thursday night. I was fortunate enough to discover director Sterlin Harjo at a screening of Four Sheets to the Wind at the 2007 MVFF! The Horse Boy (reviewed by The WIP as Over the Hills and Far Away) is screening tomorrow and Wednesday. Tomorrow evening, I will be interviewing director Michel O. Scott. I can’t wait!

The annual Mill Valley Film Festival started last night. The MVFF makes October one of my favorite months! For ten days, I get to see amazing films every evening (and all day on weekends!), meet incredible filmmakers, and see celebrities! I’ll be blogging almost every day from the festival!

At the opening party last night, I saw Clive Owen! And let me tell you, he is even dreamier in person! I’ve already seen An Education, which is playing tonight at the festival, and it is such an enchanting and wonderful film that I can’t stop thinking about!

Tickets are available to the general public at very reasonable prices. So, if you live in the Bay Area, do check it out!

Antonio Peralta, known to listeners as exageradamente loco, or "extremely crazy," is a well-known radio personality in Argentina where a radio show is heard by 12 million people. But his studio is hardly conventional: He broadcasts from the courtyard of Buenos Aires's largest psychiatric hospital.

On the air with are also colleagues –other patients– who read news headlines and poems, sing tangos and conduct interviews inside and outside Dr. José T. Borda Hospital. That is where Antonio Peralta, a tall man with long hair and a pleasant smile, hosts an innovative program on mental patients' legal rights.

They work for "Radio La Colifata" -- slang for "Loony Radio," and all are patients who do the weekly show as part of their therapy. It is the first radio program in the world to broadcast from inside a psychiatric hospital, according to the Pan American Health Organization.

"Loony Radio" is one of Argentina's most popular radio programs. Broadcast on 58 stations from cold Tierra del Fuego to trendy Buenos Aires it reaches 12 million listeners who tune in for something out of the ordinary.

During its 18-year existence, the show has managed to stay popular, a remarkable achievement in a nation that has undergone profound economic and social changes over the past two decades. "Loony Radio" has been copied elsewhere in Argentina as well as in Uruguay, Chile, Germany and Spain, and it has won several local and international awards, including a special cultural citation from Argentina's National Congress in 1997.

Maria Lopez Geist, a Buenos Aires psychiatrist said, "'Loony Radio' demystifies the idea that a person with a mental health problem cannot have effective participation in society. Most important for the patients themselves, the show offers a unique therapy that provides contact with the world and eliminates their isolation."

The program is the brainchild of Alfredo Olivera. When he started with the program, Olivera was a 23-year-old psychology student making regular visits to the Borda hospital for a research paper. He was struck by how isolated the patients had become during their stay. They often slept 30 to a room and in some cases were denied contact with the outside world for up to 40 years.

“We created a tool to undo the marginality they normally experience,'' said Alfredo Olivera, who began the program as an experiment in 1991. “We try to change the idea many people have that these patients are dangerous people.” I met Olivera and visited La Colifata during one of my frequent trips to Argentina.

When friends at a small community radio station asked to interview him on hospital conditions, Olivera decided to record patients' views and play them on air. The first tapes were such a hit they were picked up by network radio shows.

Now, nobody is having a better time than the patients themselves. And so is Olivera, who now has a Masters in Psychology from the University of Buenos Aires and works as a consultant with non-governmental organizations interested in replicating La Colifata’s example. So far, there have been almost 40 similar experiences in Europe and Latin America based in La Colifata’s experience.

In 2007, La Colifata hosted the “First Global Meeting of Radios Implemented by Mental Health Patients” in Buenos Aires. Both professionals and mental health patients from several countries such as France, Spain, Italy, Sweden, Brazil, Chile, and other Latin American countries attended the meeting. In 2005, Olivera was named “Distinguished Citizen” by the Buenos Aires Legislature.

La Colifata was featured in the movie “Tetro,” directed by Francis Ford Coppola, and has the support of the famous European singer Manu Chao who recently recorded music at the hospital, working together with patients. Although listeners donate food, clothes and other everyday items used by the patients, steady financial support is always a challenge. But Olivera is undaunted by the obstacles. And so is Peralta, who remarked that he is always looking forward to the next program.

"We eagerly wait to help each other," he said, talking about the other patients. "They are my family."

Dr. Cesar Chelala, a frequent contributor to Americas, is an international public health consultant and a writer on human rights issues.

On September 16, 2009, I spoke before the UN Climate Change Subcommittee, urging governments to measure wealth more appropriately because the care economy, often stigmatized as for females only, is key to the post-industrial era.

Click the link below to hear my call for a new economic map that includes the value of caring.

Credits: Audio courtesy of UN Radio. Special thanks to Bissera Kostova and Diane Bailey. Edited for www.wings.org by Frieda Werden.

LISTEN NOW!

Where Iran is going and what other countries can do to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons are timely concerns. Difficult as the situation is now it can also provide an opportunity for reaching a wider, more important goal: a nuclear weapons free zone (NWFZ) in the Middle East.

Talks between Iran and representatives of the U.S., Britain, Germany, France, Russia and China can help develop a consensus regarding Iran’s development of nuclear power. Iran’s eventual production of nuclear weapons and a possible Israeli or US response can precipitate a war of unknown -but certainly terrible- consequences.

In this context, Israel’s concern over Iran’s nuclear program is legitimate, particularly given the avowed antagonism of Iran for the State of Israel. But Iran’s concerns for an Israeli attack can’t be easily dismissed either.

Given this situation, is it possible to redirect talks in a way to avoid such a disastrous alternative? I believe it is. Both Iranian and Israeli concerns about the other party’s use of nuclear weapons –which by many accounts Iran is still years away from developing- could be addressed by the discussion of an old idea: the creation of a Nuclear Weapons Free Zone (NWFZ) in the Middle East.

The call for such a zone in the Middle East was first issued in 1974. That year, the UN General Assembly passed a resolution calling for all countries in the region “to declare that they will refrain from producing, acquiring or in any way possessing nuclear weapons and nuclear explosive devices and from permitting the stationing of nuclear weapons in their territory by any third party.” In following years, the UN General Assembly renewed that call on several occasions.

On September 17, in a non-binding ballot, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) adopted a resolution (100 to 1 with four abstentions) urging all Middle East nations to forswear atomic bombs. Israel voted no because the resolution retained a clause calling “upon all states in the region to accede” to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

The creation of a NWFZ in the Middle East would be to everyone’s advantage. It cannot be denied that a nuclear armed Iran is of concern not only to Israel but also to many of its Arab neighbors since it would dramatically alter the balance of power in the region. Iran’s development of nuclear weapons could start a nuclear arms race in the Middle East that would divert precious resources for economic development into the development of nuclear weapons with serious consequences for peace and stability in the region.

The establishment of nuclear free zones in other parts of the world has been an effective deterrent to preventing nuclear proliferation. Latin America, the South Pacific, Southeast Asia, Africa and Antarctica have all been established as NWFZ. Since the establishment of that status, no country in those regions has sought nuclear weapons capability.

In this context, only the U.S. has the clout to revive the discussions on the creation of the NWFZ in the Middle East. Such a move would be consistent with President Obama’s call for a world free of nuclear weapons, and would eliminate the main threat to peace in the region.

The U.S. could provide security guarantees to both Iran and to Israel. In Iran’s case, the U.S. could reaffirm its adherence to the 1981 Algiers Accord. Among the main provisions of that agreement (brokered by Algiers in 1981 to resolve the Iran hostage crisis) is that the U.S. would not intervene politically or militarily in Iranian internal affairs. The U.S. would also remove its freeze on Iranian assets and trade sanctions on Iran. To Israel, the US could offer additional security guarantees to reaffirm what has been a sustained support for that country’s political and security aims.

Incorporating the NWFZ into discussions with Iran would indicate a paradigm shift towards an effective road to peace in a region of the world where war has already exacted a terrible price.

Dr. Cesar Chelala, a co-winner of an Overseas Press Club of America award, is the foreign correspondent for the Middle East Times International (Australia).