1. Cambodia And Thailand To Resume Talks Over Border Standoff
2. A Remote Village's Ancient Way of Life Threatened by Modern Mining
3. Traditional Learning Method Showcased At Hindu Fundraiser
4. Dr. Commander Selvam Accused of Wrong-Doing (Correction)
5. Daily Inspiration

1. Cambodia And Thailand To Resume Talks Over Border Standoff

news.xinhuanet.com

PREAH VIHEAR, CAMBODIA, July 24, 2008: Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej and his Cambodian counterpart Hun Sen agreed Thursday not to refer both countries' ongoing land dispute to the UN Security Council, but resume to bilateral means to solve it, said a senior official.

According to the premiers' oral agreement, both sides will initiate foreign minister negotiations on Monday in Siem Reap province of Cambodia to seek solution for their nine-day military stalemate in the border area near the Preah Vihear Temple, he said. "We have shown good will and we await the outcome in Siem Reap," he added.

In 1962, the International Court of Justice awarded the 11-century classic Khmer-style Preah Vihear Temple, together with the land it occupies, to Cambodia. The decision has rankled the Thais ever since. Besides, both sides also have different versions of historical maps to define their border, which has aggravated the dispute.

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2. A Remote Village's Ancient Way of Life Threatened by Modern Mining

news.bbc.co.uk

ORISSA, INDIA, July 24, 2008: High in the monsoon mists in eastern India there is place called Golgola, home of the Dongria Kondh. Only 7,950 of them are left today. They have lived in the Niyamgiri hills in a remote part of eastern India's Orissa state for centuries and survive by gathering fruit, growing small crops of millet and selling jungle plants in the towns at the foot of the hills. The modern world has yet to reach Golgola - there's no electricity, no school, no television, no telephones. "We get everything from the jungle like the fruits we take to the market. This is like our source of life for our Dongria Kondh peoples," says Jitu Jakeskia, a young Dongria Kondh activist.

The Dongria are animists and every hill is home to its own God. "Niyam Raja is our supreme god. His name means Lord of Law, he made all things," explains Jitu. "Niyamgiri mountain is the most important place for Dongria Kondh people, it is like Niyam Rajah's temple, that is why our people worship nature, they have to protect nature." But an arm of the mining giant Vedanta Resources, one of Britain's biggest listed companies, wants the minerals from Niyamgiri hill, which is rich in bauxite, from which aluminum is derived. Orissa is one of India's poorest states, but also one of the richest in natural resources, so the government is keen to tap its potential. "If you compare iron ore, alumina and coal we can say Orissa has about 60 to 70% of the reserves Australia has," says Dr Mukesh Kumar, chief operating officer of Vedanta Aluminum Ltd.

India's Wildlife Institute has said that mining threatens an important ecosystem with irreversible changes. A Supreme Court committee which investigated the project said Vedanta Aluminum violated guidelines in the Forest Conservation Act. And Norway's official Council on Ethics, which monitors investments for the country's huge state pension fund, said investing in Vedanta Resources, which has many mining interests, presented "an unacceptable risk of complicity in current and future severe environmental damage and human rights violations". Norway's government sold all the Vedanta shares it held which were worth $14m.

Jitu Jakesika insists they won't let mining happen in their sacred hills without a fight. "If the Supreme Court will give a decision to allow mining here, all our Dongria Kondh people from children to old women will go to the factory and sleep on the road and say first you will kill us then you can mine, because we cannot live without our mountain," he says.

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3. Traditional Learning Method Showcased At Hindu Fundraiser

www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/neighbours/story.html

CALGARY, CANADA, July 17, 2008: The Hindu Society of Calgary held a Guru Purnima fundraising event on Friday, July 18. Guru Purnima is the full-moon day in the month of July, that recognizes the spiritual gurus, their teachings and their lives. To celebrate, a cultural program learned in the traditional guru shishya parampara (teacher-student tradition) method was planned, says Jayashree Thatte-Bhat, the vice-president of culture at the Hindu Society.

"The guru shishya parampara is learning by rote method. It's how 5,000 years ago everything was taught -- music, sanskrit and so on," Thatte-Bhat says. "We wanted to showcase this tradition to the people here." The show included music, singing and dance components, all learned in the traditional method of the teacher playing (or dancing) and the student listening and imitating until the item is mastered.

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4. Dr. Commander Selvam Accused of Wrong-Doing (Correction)

community.myfoxatlanta.com

KAUAI, HAWAII, Jule 24, 2008: HPI apologizes for the broken links on yesterday's article about Dr. Commander Selvam. The correct links are below.

Video Links:
Part I http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=7029210&version=1&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=3.1.1
Part II http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=7036060&version=2&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=3.1.1

Blog Links:
Part I http://community.myfoxatlanta.com/blogs/RandyTravis/2008/07/17/The_Hindu_Temple_of_Georgia
Part II http://community.myfoxatlanta.com/blogs/RandyTravis/2008/07/22/Hindus_Only_Allowed2

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5. Daily Inspiration

www.hinduismtoday.com

Expecting the world to treat you fairly because you are a good person is a little like expecting the bull not to attack you because you are a vegetarian.
   Dennis Wholey

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