* tmc * in patientia vestra habetis animam vestram * tmc *

Dear Reader,

The ASIAN STUDIES WWW MONITOR
(including all its subsidiary (and/or sister) pages on "coombs.anu.edu.au" server) has permanently ceased its publishing operations on Friday 21st January 2011.

All of the online resources reported here have been thoroughly checked at the time of their listing. However, it is possible that, with the with the passage of time, many of the originally reported materials might have been removed from the Internet, or changed their online address, or varied the scope and quality of their contents.

Fortunately, in several cases it is possible to access many of the older versions of the resources listed in the MONITOR. This can be easily done via the free services of the "The Internet Archive" http://web.archive.org/, a remarkable brainchild of Brewster Kahle, San Francisco, CA.

- with warm regards -

Editor, Dr T. Matthew Ciolek.

Canberra, 21 January 2011.


17 February 2006

Southeast Asia Microform Project (SEAM)

http://www.crl.edu/areastudies/SEAM/index.htm

5star
Center for Research Libraries (CRL), Chicago, IL, US

Self-description:
"The Southeast Asia Microform Project (SEAM) is a cooperative endeavor established [in 1970 - ed.] to provide subscribing institutions with better coverage of research materials related to the study of Southeast Asia. SEAM will film or acquire films of such research materials and make them readily available to subscribers to the project. [...] SEAM holdings include more than 300 historic newspapers from every country in the region, in national, minority, and English or other colonial languages, similar numbers of historic journals and government serials and thousands of historic manuscripts. The materials are available for loan to member libraries without restriction; non member libraries may have limited access to SEAM materials."

Site contents:
* News (Recent Meetings, Announcements, New Proposals, Proposals Guidelines); * Collections (Current Projects, Guide to Collections, Holdings List [SEAM Holdings list 2005; 653 pages; 2 MB PDF document]); * Membership information; * Related Projects.

URL
http://www.crl.edu/areastudies/SEAM/index.htm

Internet Archive
http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.crl.edu/areastudies/SEAM/index.htm

Link reported by:
Raymond Lum (rlum--at--fas.harvard.edu)

* Resource type [news - documents - study - corporate info. - online guide]:
Corporate Info./Online Guide
* Publisher [academic - business - govt. - library/museum - NGO - other]:
Academic
* Scholarly usefulness [essential - v.useful - useful - interesting - marginal]:
Essential
* External links to the resource [over 3,000 - under 3,000 - under 1,000 - under 300
- under 100 - under 30]: under 100

Please note that the above details were correct on the day of their publication. To suggest an update, please email the site's editor at tmciolek@ciolek.com

South Asia Microform Project (SAMP)

http://www.crl.edu/areastudies/SAMP/index.htm

5star
Center for Research Libraries (CRL), Chicago, IL, US

Self-description:
"The South Asia Microform Project (SAMP) is a cooperative program that seeks to acquire and maintain a readily accessible collection of unique materials in microform related to the study of South Asia. Materials are collected both through the filming efforts of the project and through the purchase of positive copies of materials filmed by other groups, institutions and companies. SAMP strives to cooperate with libraries and archives worldwide in preserving unique or endangered materials for the study of South Asia. Created in 1967 and affiliated with the Association for Asian Studies [www.aasianst.org], the subscribing members of SAMP acquire and maintain materials from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan and the Maldives in microform. To provide convenient access to subscribers, the collection is housed and administered by the Center for Research Libraries (CRL). The Collection Since its inauguration [n 1967 - ed.] SAMP has acquired or filmed more than 23,000 scholarly publications, newspapers, and government documents. Cooperation with national archives and libraries such as the British Library (particularly the Oriental and India Office Collections from the former India Office Library), the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, and the Library of Congress Field Offices in South Asia has assisted in the collection of a diverse range of texts in microform including: reports from the British East India Company, journals from scholarly societies, personal papers of researchers, pamphlets, and posters. [...] In 1990 a special project began to microfilm the 55,000 books in the twenty-two languages found in the Sahitya Akademi's The National Bibliography of Indian Literature, 1901-1953 but rarely held by North American libraries."

Site contents:
* News (Recent Meetings, Announcements, New Proposals, Proposals Guidelines); * Collections (Current Projects, Guide to Collections, Holdings List [All of SAMP's cataloged holdings are recorded in the OCLC database and in CRL online public access catalog); * Membership information; * Related Projects.

URL
http://www.crl.edu/areastudies/SAMP/index.htm

Internet Archive
http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.crl.edu/areastudies/SAMP/index.htm

Link reported by:
Raymond Lum (rlum--at--fas.harvard.edu)

* Resource type [news - documents - study - corporate info. - online guide]:
Corporate Info./Online Guide
* Publisher [academic - business - govt. - library/museum - NGO - other]:
Academic
* Scholarly usefulness [essential - v.useful - useful - interesting - marginal]:
Essential
* External links to the resource [over 3,000 - under 3,000 - under 1,000 - under 300
- under 100 - under 30]: under 100

Please note that the above details were correct on the day of their publication. To suggest an update, please email the site's editor at tmciolek@ciolek.com

16 February 2006

Women Living Under Muslim Laws / Femmes Sous Lois Musulmanes (WLUML)

http://wluml.org/english/index.shtml

4star
wluml.org, Nigeria/Pakistan/UK.

Self-description:
"Women Living Under Muslim Laws is an international solidarity network [est. 1984 - ed.] that provides information, support and a collective space for women whose lives are shaped, conditioned or governed by laws and customs said to derive from Islam.
For more than two decades WLUML has linked individual women and organisations. It now extends to more than 70 countries ranging from South Africa to Uzbekistan, Senegal to Indonesia and Brazil to France. [...]
Our name challenges the myth of one, homogenous 'Muslim world'. This deliberately created myth fails to reflect that: a) laws said to be Muslim vary from one context to another and, b) the laws that determine our lives are from diverse sources: religious, customary, colonial and secular. We are governed simultaneously by many different laws: laws recognised by the state (codified and uncodified) and informal laws such as customary practices which vary according to the cultural, social and political context. [...]."

Site contents:
*About WLUML; * Current Site Highlights; * News and Views; * Calls for Action; * Publications (# Country Compilations; # Dossiers [No.1 (1986) - No. 26 (2004)]; # Occasional Papers [14 papers]; # General Publications [Recognizing the Un-Recognized: Inter-Country Cases and Muslim Marriages & Divorces in Britain - Sohail Akbar Warraich & Cassandra Balchin (2006), Great Ancestors: Women Asserting Rights in Muslim Contexts - Farida Shaheed with Aisha L.F. Shaheed (2005), Warning Signs of Fundamentalisms - Edited by Ayesha Imam, Jenny Morgan & Nira Yuval-Davis (2004), Knowing Our Rights: Women, family, laws and customs in the Muslim world - WLUML (2003), Karo Kari, TorTora, Siyahkari, Kala Kali "There Is No Honour In Killing" National Seminar Report - WLUML (2001), Feminism in the Muslim World Leadership Institutes - Anissa Helie (2000), Building Civil Societies - A Guide for Social and Political Action - Homa Hoodfar and Nelofar Pazira (2000), Reaching Out, Changing Our Lives, Outreach Strategies and Women Living Under Muslim Laws - Muslim Women's Research and Action Forum and WLUML (1999), The Women's Movement in Iran: Women at the Crossroads of Secularisation and Islamization - WLUML (1999), Shadow Report on Algeria - To the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women - International Women's Human Rights Clinic and Women Living Under Muslim Laws (1999), Dhaka Plan of Action - WLUML (1999), Women in the Quran: Qur'anic Interpretation by Women Meeting: Information Kit - WLUML (1998), Shah Bano and the Muslim Women Act a Decade On: The Right of the Divorced Muslim Women to Mataa - Lucy Carroll (ed), WLUML (co-published WRAG-WLUML Bombay) (1998), For Ourselves - Women Reading the Qur'an WLUML (1998), Fatwas Against Women in Bangladesh WLUML (1996), Time to Speak Out: Illegal Abortion and Women's Reproductive Health in Pakistan WLUML (1996), Talaq-l-Tawfid: The Muslim Woman's Contractual Access to Divorce - WLUML (1996), Reconstructing Fundamentalism and Feminism: The Dynamics of Change in Iran - Shirkat Gah (1995), Assertions of Self: The Nascent Women's Movement in Central Asia - Shirkat Gah (1995), Women, Laws, Initiatives in the Muslim World - WLUML (1995), A Handbook on Family Law in Pakistan - WLUML (1994), Riffat Hassan: Selected Articles - Riffat Hassan (1994)], # Reprints and translations, # Sister Organisation Publications); * Links.

[A bilingual (EN, FR) site - ed.]

URL
http://wluml.org/english/index.shtml

Internet Archive
http://web.archive.org/web/*/wluml.org/english/index.shtml

Link reported by:
John Noyce (johnnoyce--at--hotmail.com)

* Resource type [news - documents - study - corporate info. - online guide]:
Corporate info./Study
* Publisher [academic - business - govt. - library/museum - NGO - other]:
NGO
* Scholarly usefulness [essential - v.useful - useful - interesting - marginal]:
V.Useful
* External links to the resource [over 3,000 - under 3,000 - under 1,000 - under 300
- under 100 - under 30]: under 100

Please note that the above details were correct on the day of their publication. To suggest an update, please email the site's editor at tmciolek@ciolek.com

13 February 2006

Prabhu's Web Page on Indian Coinage

http://prabhu.50g.com

5star
prabhu.50g.com, ?India

Self-description:
"[This site is ...] an attempt to explain the evolution of coinage and its role in understanding the history of India. In the process of explaining Indian coinage, political system, social movements and economy have been touched. I hope this web page would arouse a keen interest in Indians to preserve the ancient coins of their possession or encounter to save the important ligaments of Indian history if found to be valuable. I dedicate this material as a source of inspiration for every Indians in saving every Indian coins from the melting pot hoping it will reveal the missing facts of the Indian history. Coins displayed in the web page are from my personal collection, which are believed to be attributed properly. Please let me know if it needs any modifications or corrections if misrepresented. I have classified this web page according to the chronological order of dynastic rule in India."

Site contents:
* An Overview; * Earliest Coins (History of India 600 BC-187 BC, Punch-marked Coins, Post Mauryan Coinage, Catalogue, History of Yaudheyas: 2nd cent BC onwards, Yaudheya Coins Catalogue); * Indo-Greeks (History, Coinage, Catalogue); * Sakas & Pahlavas (History, Coinage, and Catalogues of: Indo-Scythians, Indo-Parthians, Western Kshatrapas); * Kushanas (History, Ideology of coins, Images on the coins, Deities on the coins, Languages on the coins, Catalogue); * The Guptas (History); * Post-Gupta (Catalogues of Huns/Indo Sassanians, Pratiharas, Huns/Indo Sassanians, Rajputs, Palas, Maitrakas of Vallabhi); * Sultanates (History, Coinage, and Catalogues of Delhi Sultanate, The Suris, Shahis of Deccan); * Mughals (Babur, Humayun, Akbar, Jahangir, Shah Jahan, Aurangzeb, Later Mughals, Catalogue); * Vijayanagara (Sangama Dynasty, Saluva Dynasty, Tuluva Dynasty, Aravidu Dynasty, Nayakas of Chitradurga, Coinage of Vijayanagara, Catalogue); * Dynasties of the South (History, Catalogues of: The Malayamans, The Early Cholas, The Cheras, The Pandyas, Kuras, Pallavas of Bhavatri & Kanchi, Satavahanas, Vishnukundins, Chutus, Alupas, Chalukyas, Hoysalas, Gangas of, Talkad, Pallavas of Badami, Kadambas of Hangal, Kadambas of Goa, Yadavas of Devagiri, Cholas, Silaharas of Karad, Kayasthas of Kurnool, Marathas of Tamilnadu, Post Chola Tamilnadu, Kakatiyas, Kingdom of Kampili); * Mysore Kingdom (History, Coinage, and Catalogue of: Wodeyars, Hyder Ali,Tipu Sultan); * Author; * References; * Time-Line; * Links.

[The author of the web site, Govindraya Prabhu S, is a numismatics hobbyist, and a co-author of a 2006 book, "The Alupas, Coinage and history" by Govindraya Prabhu S & Nithyananda Pai M, 200 pages, 40 colour plates, ISBN 81-7525-560-9 (http://prabhu.50g.com/alupas_book/alupas_book.html) - ed.]

URL
http://prabhu.50g.com

Internet Archive
http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://prabhu.50g.com

Link reported by:
Govind Prabhu (alupas--at--pacific.net.sg)

* Resource type [news - documents - study - corporate info. - online guide]:
Study
* Publisher [academic - business - government - library - NGO - other]:
Other
* Scholarly usefulness [essential - v.useful - useful - interesting - marginal]:
V.Useful
* External links to the resource [over 3,000 - under 3,000 - under 1,000 - under 300
- under 100 - under 30]: under 300

Please note that the above details were correct on the day of their publication. To suggest an update, please email the site's editor at tmciolek@ciolek.com

12 February 2006

Culture of Thailand in the Postlocal World - an E-Book

http://www.kotikone.fi/matti.sarmela/thailand%20culture.html

5star
www.kotikone.fi, Helsinki, Finland

Supplied note:
"Helsinki, 12.2.2006. Dear Colleague, I wish to inform, that my anthropological work on village culture of Thailand has been published as an e-book in the Internet, and also as a CD-book.
Matti Sarmela, Laws of Destiny Never Disappear: Culture of Thailand in the Postlocal World. ISBN 952-91-9353-X. Helsinki. 2005
The Web address is: [see the URL below]
The book consist 560 pages including 380 colour pictures, total 45 MB. It is totally free publication and 'may be freely quoted, copied, duplicated and printed.'
I have collected ethnographic material in Lampang province Northern Thailand from the year 1972 until 1999. My research assistants have interviewed villagers with questionnaires, and tape-recorded 365 persons in total. I have taken about 20 000 photographs; my documented collection consist 14 000 colour slides. The entire material is preserved in the archives of the Museum of Cultures, Helsinki.
The book is description of three villages in Lampang Province, and the changes in villagers' lives over three decades. It contains material on the villagers' housing, rice farming and other means of livelihood, community life, festivals, weddings, funerals, sorcerers and healers, as well as Buddhism. The publication has three points of views: interviews of villagers, my anthropological interpretation and photographs.
The book has been printed in the Finnish language in 2004.
Yours respectfully, Matti Sarmela, Ph.D., Professor emeritus of Cultural Anthropology at the University of Helsinki, Address: Katajanokanranta 17 B 16, 00160 Helsinki, Finland, matti.sarmela--at--kolumbus.fi http://www.kotikone.fi/matti.sarmela/indexEngl.html"

Site contents:
* Part I. A Village in Northern Thailand (http://www.kotikone.fi/matti.sarmela/thailand1village.pdf) Environment of life; Villages and houses; Work of the rice farmer.
* Part II. Community Culture (http://www.kotikone.fi/matti.sarmela/thailand2community.pdf) Family and community; School of life; Marriage; Death; Inside the village community.
* Part III. Village Religion (http://www.kotikone.fi/matti.sarmela/thailand3religion.pdf) Faith around me, Supernatural environment, Buddhist religion; Finalization; References; Appendix; Bibliography; Tables (1. Framework of structural changes, 2. Recorded interviews 1984-1999, 3. Thailand material 1972-1999, 4. Three villages, 5. Popularity of house types 1982-2000, 6. Means of transport, 7. Domestic appliances, 8. Home electronics, 9. Structural change in rice farming, 10. Perspectives of village communities, 11. Basic wedding format, 12. Strata of world-views).

URL
http://www.kotikone.fi/matti.sarmela/thailand%20culture.html

Internet Archive (www.archive.org)
[the paper was not archived at the time of this abstract]

Link reported by:
Matti Sarmela (matti.sarmela--at--kolumbus.fi)

* Resource type [news - documents - study - corporate info. - online guide]:
Study
* Publisher [academic - business - government - library - NGO - other]:
Other
* Scholarly usefulness [essential - v.useful - useful - interesting - marginal]:
Essential
* External links to the resource [over 3,000 - under 3,000 - under 1,000 - under 300
- under 100 - under 30]: under 30

Please note that the above details were correct on the day of their publication. To suggest an update, please email the site's editor at tmciolek@ciolek.com

11 February 2006

Jihadi Terrorism in Central Asia: An Update

http://www.saag.org/papers17/paper1691.html

4star
Institute For Topical Studies, Chennai, India

Supplied note:
"The latest paper of the Institute For Topical Studies, A-2/3, Bharathi Dasan Colony, K.K.Nagar, Chennai---600078, India, on the above subject is now available at the web site of the South Asia Analysis Group (SAAG), New Delhi, at [the URL below] - br."

Extract:
"The situation in the CARs [The Central Asian Republics] should be a matter of common concern to India, China, the US and Russia. Firstly, because of the cross-border linkages with the Taliban, Al Qaeda, the Pakistani jihadi terrorist organisations and the Uighur extremists on the one side and with the Chechens on the other. Secondly, because of the danger of the Ferghana Valley becoming one day a new hub of international jihadi terrorism. Thirdly, because of the dangers of the penetration of the extremist elements into the scientific community of the region and tapping expertise in their attempts to develop a WMD capability. And fourthly, because of the location of vast energy resources in the region and the dangers of the terrorists one day acquiring control of them. It is important for these four countries to get together, exchange ideas on the situation in the region and work towards a common approach. The Shanghai Co-operation Organisation is not the answer to the threats posed by terrorism in this region. - b. raman."

Site contents:
* Involvement of HUM [Harkat-ul-Mujahideen] and HUJI [Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami] of Pakistan; * The Uighurs; * Hizbut Tehrir (HT); * Activities in CARs; * IMU's [Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan] Linkages with Jihadi Extremists in Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan; * The Present Ground Situation.

[The writer is Additional Secretary (retd), Cabinet Secretariat, Govt. of India, and, presently, Director, Institute For Topical Studies, Chennai - ed.]

URL
http://www.saag.org/papers17/paper1691.html

Internet Archive (www.archive.org)
[the paper was not archived at the time of this abstract. However, in a few weeks time it will be available at web.archive.org/web/*/www.saag.org]

(NOTE: For a number of years the SAAG site operated at its original "www.saag.org" address. In late Dec 2007 the original address was highjacked by some unknown operator(s) and thus the SAAG was forced to establish the "www.southasiaanalysis.org" address)

Link reported by:
B. Raman (corde--at--vsnl.com)

* Resource type [news - documents - study - corporate info. - online guide]:
Study
* Publisher [academic - business - government - library - NGO - other]:
NGO
* Scholarly usefulness [essential - v.useful - useful - interesting - marginal]:
V.Useful
* External links to the resource [over 3,000 - under 3,000 - under 1,000 - under 300
- under 100 - under 30]: under 30

Please note that the above details were correct on the day of their publication. To suggest an update, please email the site's editor at tmciolek@ciolek.com

08 February 2006

Society for the Study of Japanese Religions (SSJR)

http://www.ssjr.unc.edu/

4star
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, US

Self-description:
"SSJR is an international association of approximately 200 scholars committed to the academic study of the religions of Japan and is affiliated with the Association of Asian Studies (AAS) (www.aasianst.org). Membership is open to students and scholars of Japanese religions or related fields. The Society sponsors an annual forum at the annual meeting of the Association of Asian Studies (usually in March) and publishes an annual Supplement based on presentations at this meeting. In addition, the Society publishes two newsletters in the fall and spring of each year notifying members of upcoming meeting schedules, recent member news and publications of interest, and so forth."

Site contents:
* Officers; * Membership/Current Dues; * Announcements (Conferences, Employment, Research Posts, Fellowships) * SSJR Bulletins & Supplements (SSJR Bulletins: Mar 2005; Oct 2004, Feb 2004, Oct 2003, Oct 2002, Feb 2002, Oct 2001, Oct 2000, Feb 2000, Oct 1999, Jan 1999; SSJR Annual Meeting Supplements: 2005 - Cosmic Disk: Mediating the Kumano Jikkai Mandala on DVD; 2004 - Power, Veneration, and Identity: New Research on Ritual in Japan ; 2003 - Rethinking Japanese Religion through Images and Structures; 2002 - Ritual, Gender, and Politics in Modern Shinto; 2001 - A Discussion of Jacqueline Stone's Original Enlightenment and the Transformation of Medieval Japanese Buddhism; 2000 - What Should We Be Studying Now? - A Roundtable Discussion; 1999 - Reviewing Karen Smyers' The Fox and the Jewel: Shared and Private Meanings in Japanese Inari Worship; 1998 - A Discussion of Edmund Gilday's The Gods Come Dancing) * Membership News/Publications (New Appointments, Recent and Forthcoming Publications, Research, Conferences, and Events, New Members); * Teaching Resources: (Syllabi, Films, Photos, Online Resources); * AAR-Japanese Religions Group; * Links Related to Japanese Religions (General Web Research Sources, Religion-specific Sites, Journals and Publishing, Japanese Society, Miscellaneous Disciplines, Study Abroad Programs).

URL
http://www.ssjr.unc.edu/

Internet Archive (web.archive.org)
[the site was not archived at the time of this abstract]

Link reported by:
T. Matthew Ciolek (tmciolek--at--coombs.anu.edu.au)

* Resource type [news - documents - study - corporate info. - online guide]:
Corporate Info.
* Publisher [academic - business - government - library - NGO - other]:
Academic
* Scholarly usefulness [essential - v.useful - useful - interesting - marginal]:
V.Useful
* External links to the resource [over 3,000 - under 3,000 - under 1,000 - under 300
- under 100 - under 30]: under 30

Please note that the above details were correct on the day of their publication. To suggest an update, please email the site's editor at tmciolek@ciolek.com

Nordic Institute of Asian Studies (NIAS)

http://nias.ku.dk/

5star
NIAS, Copenhagen, Denmark

Self-description:
"NIAS was founded as an independent Asian studies institute in 1968. In partnership with the Nordic Council of Ministers we have maintained a commitment throughout to contribute to the development of Asian studies in the Nordic region. The Nordic Council of Ministers remains our main financier. From 1 January 2005, NIAS assumed a new status. [...] * NIAS has new owners. [...] * The 'new' NIAS will be a hub for Asian studies in the Nordic region with a range of services and activities that will support the development of Asian studies and enhance the visibility and applications of Asian studies. * The 'new' NIAS will coordinate an initiative to establish a Nordic, networked research school, The Asian Century Research School. NIAS will also expand the NIAS SUPRA Programme for Nordic Master and PhD students. * The 'new' NIAS will strive to make Asian studies more visible in the business community that deals with Asia. * Through NIAS LINC the 'new' NIAS will tailor-make research-based information services to the needs of its users. * NIAS has a breadth and depth of research and other services, activities and outputs, the combination of which is unique in the Nordic countries. [...] The new partnership A consortium comprising of Copenhagen Business School and University of Copenhagen in Denmark, and Lund University in Sweden have agreed to take over from the Nordic Council of Ministers the collaborative responsibility - as founding partners - for continuing NIAS as an academically independent research and service institute with a Nordic responsibility. [...] "

Site contents:
** About NIAS; ** Publications (NIASnytt, NIAS Press, NIAS' researchers' publications [separate listings for 2005, and 2004; for publications from 1995-2003 please see the online database "Bibliography of publications by NIAS Researchers 1995-2003" - ed.]; NIAS' annual reports);
** NIAS' networks & support to networks [in 2005 these networks included: Borneo Research Council, EADI - European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes, EASL - European Association of Sinological Librarians, ECARDC - European Conference on Agricultural and Rural Development in China, EINIRAS - The European Information Network on International Relations and Area Studies, EPCReN, Eurasia Political Culture Research Network, European Alliance for Asian Studies, Gendering Asia, NACS - Nordic Association of China Studies, NASA - Nordic Association of South Asian Studies, NIAS SUPRA - Support Programme for Asian Studies, NNC Nordic NIAS Council, Nordic Centre Fudan, NorDoc, SASNET - Swedish South Asian Studies Network, SEALG - South East Asia Library Group, SNAB - Swedish Network of Asian Librarians, The Conflict Transformation Group, The Indonesian Conflict Studies Network, The Yangzhou Club - ed.];
** Research and consulting [NIAS' consultancy assignments in 2005: * Aceh Peace Process, * Aceh Reconstruction Project, * Aceh Support Project, * Advising the Danish Foreign Ministry on the Further Development of the Private Sector (PS) Programme, * AMM Briefings, * ARF Expert and Eminent Persons Group Meeting, * Asian Security, * Asian Security, the Rise of China and EU Security Policy Options, * Development in an Insecure World, * Establishing a Forum for Confidence Building between the Nordic Countries and North Korea, * Evaluation of the East Asian Language Education at Swedish Universities, * External Evaluation of the Nordic Pavilion at Expo 2005 in Aichi, Japan, * Indonesian Conflict Studies Network Project on Conflict Resolution Training, * Papua Peace Mission, * Perspectives from Southeast Asia, * Report on Areas for Eventual Norwegian Support in North Korea«s Economic Reform Process, * Review of ASEM«s First Decade, * Strengthening the Development Research and Policy Analysis Capacity of the Central Institute for Economic Management (CIEM) - Phase 2, * Terrorism and Islam-West Relations - ed.]
** NIAS services ("Our services and related activities comprise: consulting, guest researchers, support for graduate education (NIAS SUPRA) and post graduate education (Asian Century Research School), library and information services (NIAS Linc), conferences, seminars, publications (NIAS Press), NIASnytt-Asia Insights, and networks. Also, we collaborate with the media to provide expert analysis, comments and articles. NIAS works with ministries and companies as consultants on commissioned projects and as speakers at meetings.");
** Sponsors; ** NIAS News; ** NIAS Library; ** NIASnytt - Asia Insights ["thrice-yearly magazine from NIAS for anyone with an interest in modern Asia and the global implications of the developments in Asian societies", in PDF format]; ** NIAS LINC - A Nordic Resource Centre for Research and Information on Asia; ** Search NIAS web site.

URL
http://nias.ku.dk/

Internet Archive
http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://nias.ku.dk/

Link reported by:
T. Matthew Ciolek (tmciolek--at--coombs.anu.edu.au)

* Resource type [news - documents - study - corporate info. - online guide]:
Corporate Info.
* Publisher [academic - business - government - library - NGO - other]:
Academic
* Scholarly usefulness [essential - v.useful - useful - interesting - marginal]:
Essential
* External links to the resource [over 3,000 - under 3,000 - under 1,000 - under 300
- under 100 - under 30]: under 1,000

Please note that the above details were correct on the day of their publication. To suggest an update, please email the site's editor at tmciolek@ciolek.com

03 February 2006

Following the Tiger's Trail [a smuggling route from India to eastern Tibet]

http://www.tibetinfonet.net/updates/2006/3101.htm

4star
TibetInfoNet - www.tibetinfonet.net, Germany

Self-description:
"[...] Tibetinfonet follows the trail of the tiger skins from national parks in India to rural festivals in eastern Tibet, and shows that the major players within the trade are Tibetans on the fringes of the exile communities in Nepal and India, and organisations protected by the Chinese authorities because of past or current political services provided to the regime. We identify some of these groups and show that unless the PRC authorities review their governance and policies towards Tibetans, it is doubtful whether the Indian tiger has any chance of survival. [...] "Official estimates put the population of tigers in the wild in India at 3,500, but many commentators believe that this is an optimistic figure. Whereas figures remain contested, there is a clear consensus among environmentalists that the tiger' s situation is precarious and that the greatest threat they face is being poached to feed the demand for tiger skins and body parts in the PRC. Following the press conference in Delhi, international reports unanimously stated that 'huge seizures of tiger, leopard and otter skins in India and Nepal indicate the existence of highly organised criminal networks behind the skin trade'. However, these reports fall short of providing actual details about these networks. Information received by TibetInfoNet provides a comprehensive overview of the trade, its structure and the groups of people involved in it."

Site contents: * Introduction; * The geography of the trade; * Operators of the trade - 1. Couriers and traders; * Operators of the trade - 2. The syndicates; * 'Prosperity' and the reinvention of traditions; * PR and environmental protection - Is the tiger the winner?; * Footnotes.

[TibetInfoNet Special Report "Following the tiger's trail" (6000 words, and 7 photographs) was released on 31 Jan 2006. Other reports published at www.tibetinfonet.net include: *Mining policies shift in the TAR (Oct 2005, 940 words); *Illiteracy and education levels worsen in the TAR despite development drive (Sep 2005, 1200 words); *Detentions before 40th anniversary of TAR (Sep 2005, 490 words). - ed.]

URL
http://www.tibetinfonet.net/updates/2006/3101.htm

Internet Archive (web.archive.org)
[the site was not archived at the time of this abstract]

Link reported by:
tin--at--tibetinfonet.net

* Resource type [news - documents - study - corporate info. - online guide]:
Study
* Publisher [academic - business - government - library - NGO - other]:
NGO
* Scholarly usefulness [essential - v.useful - useful - interesting - marginal]:
V.Useful
* External links to the resource [over 3,000 - under 3,000 - under 1,000 - under 300
- under 100 - under 30]: under 30

Please note that the above details were correct on the day of their publication. To suggest an update, please email the site's editor at tmciolek@ciolek.com

01 February 2006

Mohammed Image Archive: Depictions of Mohammed Throughout History

http://www.zombietime.com/mohammed_image_archive/

4star
www.zombietime.com, San Francisco/Berkeley, CA, US

Self-description: "Mohammed Image Archive - Depictions of Mohammed Throughout History.
Controversy over the publication of images depicting Mohammed in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten [www.jp.dk/english_news/ - ed.] has erupted into an international furor. While Muslim nations are calling for a boycott of Denmark, Europeans are divided as to whether they should stand up for Western principles of freedom of speech, or cave in to to self-censorship in the name of multiculturalism and fear.
While the debate rages, an important point has been overlooked: despite the Islamic prohibition against depicting Mohammed under any circumstances, hundreds of paintings, drawings and other images of Mohammed have been created over the centuries, with nary a word of complaint from the Muslim world. The recent cartoons in Jyllands-Posten are nothing new; it's just that no other images of Mohammed have ever been so widely publicized.

This page is an archive of numerous depictions of Mohammed, to serve as a reminder that such imagery has been part of Western and Islamic culture since the Middle Ages -- and to serve as a resource for those interested in freedom of expression. The images in the archive below [also mirrored at the nordish.net (Norway) and parazite.h1.ru (Russia) - ed.] have been divided into the following categories: * Islamic Paintings and Miniatures Showing Mohammed in Full, * Islamic Depictions of Mohammed with Face Hidden, * European Medieval and Renaissance Images, * Book Illustrations, * Dante's Inferno, * French Book Covers, * Various Eras, * Contemporary Christian Drawings, * Animated TV Parodies, * Satirical Modern Cartoons, * The Jyllands-Posten Cartoons, * Recent Responses to the Controversy, * Links."

[For more information about the 12 Jyllands-Posten drawings (http://michellemalkin.com/archives/images/facesgallery.jpg) see
* "Thou Shalt Not Draw", 21 Dec 2005 (www.frontpagemag.com);
* "Fabricated cartoons worsened Danish controversy", 2 Feb 2006 (counterterror.typepad.com) and "Danish Imams Busted!", 6 Feb 2006 (www.neandernews.com);
* Wikipedia article "Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy" (detailed entries by anonymous editors, constanly updated);
* http://www.google.com/search?hl=da&q=Jyllands+cartoons+islam (over 249,000 web pages dealing with "Jyllands cartoons islam")
- ed.]
URL
http://www.zombietime.com/mohammed_image_archive/

Internet Archive (web.archive.org)
[the site was not archived at the time of this abstract]

Link reported by:
mohammeddepictions--at--zombietime.com

* Resource type [news - documents - study - corporate info. - online guide]:
Documents
* Publisher [academic - business - government - library - NGO - other]:
Other
* Scholarly usefulness [essential - v.useful - useful - interesting - marginal]:
V.Useful
* External links to the resource [over 3,000 - under 3,000 - under 1,000 - under 300
- under 100 - under 30]: under 30

Please note that the above details were correct on the day of their publication. To suggest an update, please email the site's editor at tmciolek@ciolek.com