Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Lagarde
The view in the left wing Tribune paper is "The prospect of getting Christine Lagarde instead (of Strauss-Kahn) is, frankly, frightening.
Yes, she is a highly intelligent woman. But so was Margaret Thatcher and look what she did. Lagarde’s economic views are more sophisticated than Thatcher’s, but they come from the same stable.
She is a right-wing, orthodox economist who would impose the same kind of destructive, deflationary, make-the-poor-pay measures on crisis hit countries for which the IMF has long been notorious. That’s exactly why George Osborne, Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy back her.
Indeed, Lagarde would probably tighten up the regime of DSK (as the French apparently call him), who was supposed to be a bit of a lefty – an idea that might surprise the millions thrown out of work in Greece and Portugal. Under her leadership, the IMF would certainly live up to its reputation as the hammer of the poor. Let’s hope she doesn’t get the job."
IMO: Now all that is true enough. She is in Delhi at the moment. In Chattisgarh they are starving, seemingly because of such 'businesslike' tactics. And in Maharashtra, thousands are driven to suicide each year because of such tactics. She must know a few things, I believe she headed up Baker McKenzie for a few years, but here in India one wonders what the repercussions will be, for the poor and for those who have to face their anger directly, unlike Lafarge who must live in cloud-cuckoo land.
Yes, she is a highly intelligent woman. But so was Margaret Thatcher and look what she did. Lagarde’s economic views are more sophisticated than Thatcher’s, but they come from the same stable.
She is a right-wing, orthodox economist who would impose the same kind of destructive, deflationary, make-the-poor-pay measures on crisis hit countries for which the IMF has long been notorious. That’s exactly why George Osborne, Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy back her.
Indeed, Lagarde would probably tighten up the regime of DSK (as the French apparently call him), who was supposed to be a bit of a lefty – an idea that might surprise the millions thrown out of work in Greece and Portugal. Under her leadership, the IMF would certainly live up to its reputation as the hammer of the poor. Let’s hope she doesn’t get the job."
IMO: Now all that is true enough. She is in Delhi at the moment. In Chattisgarh they are starving, seemingly because of such 'businesslike' tactics. And in Maharashtra, thousands are driven to suicide each year because of such tactics. She must know a few things, I believe she headed up Baker McKenzie for a few years, but here in India one wonders what the repercussions will be, for the poor and for those who have to face their anger directly, unlike Lafarge who must live in cloud-cuckoo land.
Monday, May 30, 2011
My current views on the EU
Austerity is being imposed not because of profligracy in Greece, Spain etc. but to pay off the gambling debts of bankers.
Christian Largarde has repeatedly said that further integration is inevitable.
Strauss-Kahn's words, before he was compromised in the US were "It’s time to finish the job, to finally realise the common destiny of Europe.” He said this would need common European labour taxation, common welfare systems, common secondary education and research budgets and common unemployment insurance. This would require heavy EU taxation, both direct and indirect.
In practice nobody is likely to voluntarily agree, and we are talking about a "Fourth Reich" or is it a "Fifth Reich" which may seem OK to Strauss-Kahn and Lafarge, but not to most people anyway near the centre politically. It could be a great day for left and right wing extremists.
Ahern told the Irish public broadcaster that “quite incredible pressure” had been applied to the country to apply for a eurozone bail-out.
France would become the new Greece. French boss to French workers: ‘Lads, all right, all right! Stop
boss-napping me and tying me up in the canteen toilet and I’ll give you your raise.’)
In all probability all this will lead to either a splintering of the Eurozone or a rather unwanted USE ("United States of Europe"). A USE could work. Many people, including myself, never really expected Montreal to remain in Canada, for example. Mixed-race (E-F) Canadians told me solemnly and sensibly at the time of the Montreal problems that the situation there was much worse than in Northern Ireland. The tensions in the USE would likely be even worse, but could be bearable.
Christian Largarde has repeatedly said that further integration is inevitable.
Strauss-Kahn's words, before he was compromised in the US were "It’s time to finish the job, to finally realise the common destiny of Europe.” He said this would need common European labour taxation, common welfare systems, common secondary education and research budgets and common unemployment insurance. This would require heavy EU taxation, both direct and indirect.
In practice nobody is likely to voluntarily agree, and we are talking about a "Fourth Reich" or is it a "Fifth Reich" which may seem OK to Strauss-Kahn and Lafarge, but not to most people anyway near the centre politically. It could be a great day for left and right wing extremists.
Ahern told the Irish public broadcaster that “quite incredible pressure” had been applied to the country to apply for a eurozone bail-out.
France would become the new Greece. French boss to French workers: ‘Lads, all right, all right! Stop
boss-napping me and tying me up in the canteen toilet and I’ll give you your raise.’)
In all probability all this will lead to either a splintering of the Eurozone or a rather unwanted USE ("United States of Europe"). A USE could work. Many people, including myself, never really expected Montreal to remain in Canada, for example. Mixed-race (E-F) Canadians told me solemnly and sensibly at the time of the Montreal problems that the situation there was much worse than in Northern Ireland. The tensions in the USE would likely be even worse, but could be bearable.
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Politics, Politics
Although US Congress is in Netanyahu's pocket, the Obama administration isn't. Netanyahu insulted the President at the White House last Thursday and then again in the halls of Congress by eliciting support for policies Obama rejects. And the administration is furious.
That means that although Palestinians can and should ignore Congress, the White House and State Department are still in play. Yes, they will both go along with Netanyahu, but, probably, without much enthusiasm.
And they can send a signal to allies that although the United States cannot openly oppose because of Congress - and AIPAC's control of it - the allies can. The Palestinians should not give up on Obama or on Secretary of State Clinton either who cannot abide Netanyahu and made sure she was out of the country to escape being present for his speech.
And so we can look forward to a unilateral declaration of statehood in September. The Israelis who refuse to negotiate with stateless Palestinians will have no choice but to negotiate with the state whose land it is occupying. And those negotiations, state to state, may produce peace and the "two states for two peoples" that most Palestinians and Israelis aspire to.
Palestinians should thank Prime Minister Netanyahu and, even more, the United states Congress for making their choice so much easier. Together they helped create the Palestinian state today. As for Americans, they should be deeply ashamed of their Congress. It has been sold to the highest bidder.
IMO: Well the above is a view commonly expressed, and is given in the latest Aljazeera. It seems to me that it is a great pity that none of these people seem to be able to come to sensible terms, In the long run a measure of syncretism should have helped the opposing Middle Eastern groups, and quite possibly even the USA.
That means that although Palestinians can and should ignore Congress, the White House and State Department are still in play. Yes, they will both go along with Netanyahu, but, probably, without much enthusiasm.
And they can send a signal to allies that although the United States cannot openly oppose because of Congress - and AIPAC's control of it - the allies can. The Palestinians should not give up on Obama or on Secretary of State Clinton either who cannot abide Netanyahu and made sure she was out of the country to escape being present for his speech.
And so we can look forward to a unilateral declaration of statehood in September. The Israelis who refuse to negotiate with stateless Palestinians will have no choice but to negotiate with the state whose land it is occupying. And those negotiations, state to state, may produce peace and the "two states for two peoples" that most Palestinians and Israelis aspire to.
Palestinians should thank Prime Minister Netanyahu and, even more, the United states Congress for making their choice so much easier. Together they helped create the Palestinian state today. As for Americans, they should be deeply ashamed of their Congress. It has been sold to the highest bidder.
IMO: Well the above is a view commonly expressed, and is given in the latest Aljazeera. It seems to me that it is a great pity that none of these people seem to be able to come to sensible terms, In the long run a measure of syncretism should have helped the opposing Middle Eastern groups, and quite possibly even the USA.
Baby P.
Baby Peter, an innocent, defenceless child, was tortured to death by depraved adults under the noses of a London social services department. What happened to that poor boy is what counts in a terrible case back before the courts because the head of the local authority claims she was unfairly dismissed. Sharon Shoesmith may be looking forward to a bumper compensation package after yesterday’s ruling but money cannot bring back Baby Peter.
David Cameron (as well as Ed Balls) also backed the appeal against paying some little known council official a lot of money when 'the buck had stopped there'.
Lord Neuberger, Master of the Rolls, sitting with Lord Justice Maurice Kay and Lord Justice Stanley Burnton offered to allow the golden handshake.
IMO: This was apparently a white child, in Haringay. Definitely a problem situation and neither the council nor the judges seem to come out of this well. Both should have their positions reviewed.
David Cameron (as well as Ed Balls) also backed the appeal against paying some little known council official a lot of money when 'the buck had stopped there'.
Lord Neuberger, Master of the Rolls, sitting with Lord Justice Maurice Kay and Lord Justice Stanley Burnton offered to allow the golden handshake.
IMO: This was apparently a white child, in Haringay. Definitely a problem situation and neither the council nor the judges seem to come out of this well. Both should have their positions reviewed.
I wish it were true
Asserting that Ratan Naval Tata was misquoted in the interview to a British daily, Tata Motors Managing Director and Group CEO Carl-Peter Forster said that Mr. Tata was talking about the past. Mr. Forster too said that they had the entire recorded version of the interview and it was “very clear” from this that Mr. Tata was referring to the situation “about five years ago” which had changed.
IMO: Maybe, but they are sacking 1500 in the UK and moving a lot of the work to India. O.K., mainly CKD so far but it sure is cheaper in India and it makes sense for capital to seek profit.
Thursday, May 26, 2011
New Chinese replacement for water torture is "World of Warcraft"
In a Guardian article, a prisoner at the Jixi labor camp called "Liu Dali" describes how he and many others were made to do backbreaking manual labor during the day and farm for gold in games like World of Warcraft in 12-hour shifts at night. "If I couldn't complete my work quota, they would punish me physically. They would make me stand with my hands raised in the air and after I returned to my dormitory they would beat me with plastic pipes. We kept playing until we could barely see things," he said.
According to the newspaper, an estimated 80 percent of all Warcraft gold farmers are in China, with 100,000 of them working full-time. The prisoner said online gaming was a far more lucrative activity for the managers of the labour camp than the physical labour the inmates were forced to do.
IMO: Apparently the game tokens can be readily exchanged for US dollars in the USA. It is a truly unpleasant view of what the future may hold for many people in the new dictatorships, disguised in some countries as 'games'.
According to the newspaper, an estimated 80 percent of all Warcraft gold farmers are in China, with 100,000 of them working full-time. The prisoner said online gaming was a far more lucrative activity for the managers of the labour camp than the physical labour the inmates were forced to do.
IMO: Apparently the game tokens can be readily exchanged for US dollars in the USA. It is a truly unpleasant view of what the future may hold for many people in the new dictatorships, disguised in some countries as 'games'.
McKinnon
It seems Pres. Obama said: It's now in the hands of the British legal system. We have confidence in the British legal system coming to a just conclusion, and so we will await resolution and we will be respectful of that process.”
A Register reader's interpretation: "We (the Americans) have submitted all the correct legal paperwork to the British government for the extradition, we now await the British government to follow the laid down rules and guidelines in our very one sided agreement, and chuck Gary on a plane as soon as they are satisfied the forms are correct".
IMO: I would also think that, as long as Cameron goes on kowtowing to the old (and unfortunately) often senile UK judiciary. But I would have thought there is adequate wriggle-room if Cameron wants to find it. He could, with the present squalid judiciary system.
A Register reader's interpretation: "We (the Americans) have submitted all the correct legal paperwork to the British government for the extradition, we now await the British government to follow the laid down rules and guidelines in our very one sided agreement, and chuck Gary on a plane as soon as they are satisfied the forms are correct".
IMO: I would also think that, as long as Cameron goes on kowtowing to the old (and unfortunately) often senile UK judiciary. But I would have thought there is adequate wriggle-room if Cameron wants to find it. He could, with the present squalid judiciary system.
Monday, May 23, 2011
Sea Viper
HMS Daring, first of the £1.1bn+ Type 45 destroyers now coming into service with the Royal Navy, has finally fired her primary (and only significant) armament, the Sea Viper missile system.
IMO: Brahmos and even Sunburn seem a lot better to me. They might have been able to get some version of Brahmos very much cheaper. So much for the UK govt. Sea Viper isn't even fully tested under ideal circumstances.
IMO: Brahmos and even Sunburn seem a lot better to me. They might have been able to get some version of Brahmos very much cheaper. So much for the UK govt. Sea Viper isn't even fully tested under ideal circumstances.
Sunday, May 22, 2011
London life
The current issue of Toronto Life's cover story is the sad and perverse tale of Byron Sonne, a Toronto security researcher, hackspace stalwart, and anarcho-libertarian who decided to show up the security theatre at play in last year's billion-dollar-plus G20 preparations. Sonne published extensive accounts of the vulnerabilities in the preparations, taunting the police and officials who were putting on a kind of repressive, city-wide puppet show about security, rather than securing much of anything. Sonne was arrested and spent more than just under a year in jail, being held without bail on a variety of charges, almost all of which have been dropped (his bail conditions are nothing short of Kafkaesque).
IMO: That shows how, even in Canada today, it is so easy to lose it all -- marriage, home, livelihood -- just by daring to dispute with the authorities. Whether it will get much worse in the UK with Govt, judiciary and police as they are, is hard to say. There are so many difficult factors, such as kowtowing by the authorities to foreign powers like the USA and Saudi Arabia Certainly it is often alleged that the once harmless and possibly even constructive 'student demos' are nowadays frequently caused by cash-strapped Unis having to kowtow to Islamic nations. How far can freedom of protest go ? How far should it go ? Neither the judiciary not the Govt in the UK do more than wash their hands of these problems in a selfserving way, more remininscent of Judas Iscariot than of Pontius Pilate.
IMO: That shows how, even in Canada today, it is so easy to lose it all -- marriage, home, livelihood -- just by daring to dispute with the authorities. Whether it will get much worse in the UK with Govt, judiciary and police as they are, is hard to say. There are so many difficult factors, such as kowtowing by the authorities to foreign powers like the USA and Saudi Arabia Certainly it is often alleged that the once harmless and possibly even constructive 'student demos' are nowadays frequently caused by cash-strapped Unis having to kowtow to Islamic nations. How far can freedom of protest go ? How far should it go ? Neither the judiciary not the Govt in the UK do more than wash their hands of these problems in a selfserving way, more remininscent of Judas Iscariot than of Pontius Pilate.
UK crisis
Vince Cable says "we have had a very, very profound crisis which is going to take a long time to dig out of".
IMO: He is clearly right and much of the rest of his Guardian article is right too, I've been saying this ever since the Tories were elected and started their incompetent planning. Not to suggest Labor would have done better. probably worse.
Mr. Ratan Tata has his views... "It’s a work-ethic issue. In my experience, in both Corus and JLR, nobody is willing to go the extra mile, nobody..... in his native India, he said: “If you are in a crisis, if it means working to midnight, you would do it. The worker in JLR seems to be willing to do that; the management is not.”
So 8% of Tata's UK workforce are being cut. The capitalists are ruining the UK.
IMO: Perhaps it is the capitalist's turn. When Labor ran the place, the labor force (and of course the bankers) ruined the UK. It is a simple fact that none of them may want to do any work, basically, and think the world owes them a living. Well the world is not accepting that fate nowadays.
IMO: He is clearly right and much of the rest of his Guardian article is right too, I've been saying this ever since the Tories were elected and started their incompetent planning. Not to suggest Labor would have done better. probably worse.
Mr. Ratan Tata has his views... "It’s a work-ethic issue. In my experience, in both Corus and JLR, nobody is willing to go the extra mile, nobody..... in his native India, he said: “If you are in a crisis, if it means working to midnight, you would do it. The worker in JLR seems to be willing to do that; the management is not.”
So 8% of Tata's UK workforce are being cut. The capitalists are ruining the UK.
IMO: Perhaps it is the capitalist's turn. When Labor ran the place, the labor force (and of course the bankers) ruined the UK. It is a simple fact that none of them may want to do any work, basically, and think the world owes them a living. Well the world is not accepting that fate nowadays.
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Judges and a dark day for open justice in the UK
Our unelected judiciary has created a back-door privacy law, the currrent judicial report seeks to absolve the courts of any blame for the fact that barely a week passes without a celebrity with a carefully-cultivated family image winning a secrecy order to hide his adulterous behaviour.
Lord Neuberger’s proposal to gag MPs and peers who wish to break an injunction in the Commons or the Lords is so disturbing that surely at least the MPs can act on that. Comparisons with Weimar are perhaps absurd, as the present UK system is by now so much worse.
IMO: So many UK judges have themselves been exposed by now as being senile corrupt old perverts that, whilst election is not good for the judiciary, at least most of those tall poppies should simply be sent to retirement homes, at their own expense. I'm not young myself, but it is hard to find grounds for respect for most of these fellows.
Lord Neuberger’s proposal to gag MPs and peers who wish to break an injunction in the Commons or the Lords is so disturbing that surely at least the MPs can act on that. Comparisons with Weimar are perhaps absurd, as the present UK system is by now so much worse.
IMO: So many UK judges have themselves been exposed by now as being senile corrupt old perverts that, whilst election is not good for the judiciary, at least most of those tall poppies should simply be sent to retirement homes, at their own expense. I'm not young myself, but it is hard to find grounds for respect for most of these fellows.
Banerjee again
Explaining her philosophy on work, Banerjee said, “If one works well, one can set an example for everyone around. But most importantly, you need to understand your job well. Only then it can be implemented best.”
She added, “Political affiliations can delay work, to carry out work effectively there needs to be dedication and efficiency and most importantly good governance.” Banerjee also announced that all workers would be paid their salaries on time. She hinted at the inefficiency of the earlier Government and said it made no sense to blame employees for the state of things in West Bengal “as there has been no work culture for decades”.
The new Chief Minister added that for efficient and quick disposal of duties, it is very important to understand who is good at what job and then entrust the work to him.
IMO: If only the UK had such practices. In fact the first thing that occurred to me was that her philosophy is just about the opposite to present Tory & Libdem methods in the UK. You can see this just by looking through Vince Cable's statements, never mind Clegg.
She added, “Political affiliations can delay work, to carry out work effectively there needs to be dedication and efficiency and most importantly good governance.” Banerjee also announced that all workers would be paid their salaries on time. She hinted at the inefficiency of the earlier Government and said it made no sense to blame employees for the state of things in West Bengal “as there has been no work culture for decades”.
The new Chief Minister added that for efficient and quick disposal of duties, it is very important to understand who is good at what job and then entrust the work to him.
IMO: If only the UK had such practices. In fact the first thing that occurred to me was that her philosophy is just about the opposite to present Tory & Libdem methods in the UK. You can see this just by looking through Vince Cable's statements, never mind Clegg.
Didi is doing her best
It seems that no work was done by Left Front govt. in Bengal.
IMO: Probably only too true. But at least it is better than in the UK where so much muddling goes on, for example with the NHS.
Taking stock of the functioning of various departments, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday attacked the Left Front rule in West Bengal, saying “practically no work” has been done. On her second day in office, Ms. Banerjee said, “I called all the departments, particularly health, land and land reforms, power, agriculture and education.” “It has become clear after having detailed discussions with the secretaries of the departments that practically no work has been done over many years during the Left Front’s rule,” she told reporters.
Didi on Saturday donated Rs one crore from her earning from auction of her paintings to various relief funds run by the state government. "I am handing over the cheque for Rs one crore to the chief secretary to be used in government relief funds for the poor,"
IMO: That's the way things should be done. Didi is not rich and a crore (about 100,000 UKP) is a lot of money in India. In the UK the politicians steal money from their constituents when they are already wealthy. Didi is the right kind of person, like Mahatma Gandhi and Mother Teresa. In the UK, pictures of MPs are often defaced by giving them a pig's snout, which seems unfair to pigs as pigs are decent compared to UK MPs, who are considered by many people to be lower than vile excrement.
IMO: Probably only too true. But at least it is better than in the UK where so much muddling goes on, for example with the NHS.
Taking stock of the functioning of various departments, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday attacked the Left Front rule in West Bengal, saying “practically no work” has been done. On her second day in office, Ms. Banerjee said, “I called all the departments, particularly health, land and land reforms, power, agriculture and education.” “It has become clear after having detailed discussions with the secretaries of the departments that practically no work has been done over many years during the Left Front’s rule,” she told reporters.
Didi on Saturday donated Rs one crore from her earning from auction of her paintings to various relief funds run by the state government. "I am handing over the cheque for Rs one crore to the chief secretary to be used in government relief funds for the poor,"
IMO: That's the way things should be done. Didi is not rich and a crore (about 100,000 UKP) is a lot of money in India. In the UK the politicians steal money from their constituents when they are already wealthy. Didi is the right kind of person, like Mahatma Gandhi and Mother Teresa. In the UK, pictures of MPs are often defaced by giving them a pig's snout, which seems unfair to pigs as pigs are decent compared to UK MPs, who are considered by many people to be lower than vile excrement.
USA: U.S.-India relations "is the defining partnership of the 21st century."
According to xinhuanet , US ambassador Roemer told his Chicago audience that U.S.-India relations "is the defining partnership of the 21st century."
The outgoing U.S. ambassador to India warned Friday against another terrorist attack in India, saying it could spark serious conflict with its neighbor and fellow nuclear state of Pakistan. Roemer highlighted the "intelligence-sharing" between the U.S. and India as proof of that security cooperation, citing as a specific example the case of David Headley, who is under American custody. Last week, Roemer called on Pakistan "to do more" and "to show progress and results" in prosecuting members of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), the group India held responsible for the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attack that killed more than 100 people.
The outgoing U.S. ambassador to India warned Friday against another terrorist attack in India, saying it could spark serious conflict with its neighbor and fellow nuclear state of Pakistan. Roemer highlighted the "intelligence-sharing" between the U.S. and India as proof of that security cooperation, citing as a specific example the case of David Headley, who is under American custody. Last week, Roemer called on Pakistan "to do more" and "to show progress and results" in prosecuting members of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), the group India held responsible for the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attack that killed more than 100 people.
Friday, May 20, 2011
Pakistan
ISI chief Shuja Pasha’s warning to India against any attempt to launch a copycat attack on “high-value individual targets” — the current euphemism for state-sanctioned murder in another country — is by far the most explicit that Pakistan has ever given.
The choice of Pasha could be a warning that the US can no longer compel Pakistan to toe its line on policy towards al Qaeda and Afghanistan by threatening to withdraw military and economic aid. This is because Islamabad has found a more reliable backer in China. This is the true significance of Gilani’s four-day trip to Beijing.
From Pakistan’s viewpoint, this is a win-win change because it has exchanged an unreliable patron whose policies are subject to change every four years, and which has let it down time and again in the past citing domestic compulsions, for another that is noted for its strategic thinking and the consequent stability of its policies, which does not have to worry about domestic constituencies.
IMO: In short Pak is trying to paper over its own cracks as it feels that it cannot dismiss Pasha. The US can retrieve their situation and resolve their problems in the region, even making a profit in the process, but is the US administration competent enough to do so. Current US administration is the US equivalent (not of course a clone) of "Yes, Minister" which seems to prevail in the White House.
The choice of Pasha could be a warning that the US can no longer compel Pakistan to toe its line on policy towards al Qaeda and Afghanistan by threatening to withdraw military and economic aid. This is because Islamabad has found a more reliable backer in China. This is the true significance of Gilani’s four-day trip to Beijing.
From Pakistan’s viewpoint, this is a win-win change because it has exchanged an unreliable patron whose policies are subject to change every four years, and which has let it down time and again in the past citing domestic compulsions, for another that is noted for its strategic thinking and the consequent stability of its policies, which does not have to worry about domestic constituencies.
IMO: In short Pak is trying to paper over its own cracks as it feels that it cannot dismiss Pasha. The US can retrieve their situation and resolve their problems in the region, even making a profit in the process, but is the US administration competent enough to do so. Current US administration is the US equivalent (not of course a clone) of "Yes, Minister" which seems to prevail in the White House.
Bin Laden’s Alleged ‘Porn Stash’ May be CIA PsyOp
According to IntellNews, "it appears that only Danger Room‘s Spencer Ackerman thought it wise to air a brief disclaimer to the effect that the “welcomed disclosure” may in fact be “a CIA information operation”. "
Spreading rumors of alleged sexual impropriety to encourage disillusion among adherents of adversary ideologies was used by the Allies and the Axis alike during World War II —most effectively by Nazi media propagandist Julius Streicher. Soon afterwards, it was turned into a science by the Cold War’s principal adversaries. After the Sino-Soviet split, the Soviet KGB circulated countless stories about Chinese communist leader Mao Zedong’s alleged preference for underage virgins from the Chinese countryside, supposedly delivered to him every evening by his trusted advisers. According to the Mitrokhin Archive, the Soviets were also instrumental in encouraging rumors about FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover’s alleged homosexuality.
IMO: Of course, many such accusations have been true, if often contrived. The Hoover accusations still ring true, to many, and quite likely were true. We have currently the example of Strauss-Kahn and whether true or not, it seems clearly to have misreported with glee in the US and UK.
Spreading rumors of alleged sexual impropriety to encourage disillusion among adherents of adversary ideologies was used by the Allies and the Axis alike during World War II —most effectively by Nazi media propagandist Julius Streicher. Soon afterwards, it was turned into a science by the Cold War’s principal adversaries. After the Sino-Soviet split, the Soviet KGB circulated countless stories about Chinese communist leader Mao Zedong’s alleged preference for underage virgins from the Chinese countryside, supposedly delivered to him every evening by his trusted advisers. According to the Mitrokhin Archive, the Soviets were also instrumental in encouraging rumors about FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover’s alleged homosexuality.
IMO: Of course, many such accusations have been true, if often contrived. The Hoover accusations still ring true, to many, and quite likely were true. We have currently the example of Strauss-Kahn and whether true or not, it seems clearly to have misreported with glee in the US and UK.
The 'Rapture' may be coming: Religious People are Rapidly Vanishing From America
Wonkette presents some interesting statistics:
"Good news, atheists: The mythological “Rapture” appears to be happening, in America! But it’s happening very, very slowly: While the United States was 86% Christian less than two decades ago, in 1990, last year that percentage fell to 76%. And a full 15% of Americans now say they are not religious at all — nearly double the percentage of godless heathens since 1990. Socialist pagan Barack Obama plans to accelerate this trend by putting Rick Warren on national teevee at least once a a year, so that people having second thoughts about this whole religion thing will look at this fat turd and then quickly dump their bibles in the incinerator."
IMO: I do think that calling Warren a 'fat turd' is unfair as by US standards he does seem about of average size. Unfairness to turds ? Perhaps.
It seems that "Warren abhors gay marriage - as beyond the pale, in his view, as incest or polygamy - but he joined the campaign for "Proposition 8", which overturned California's gay marriage law on the day Obama won the presidency. And he is also a card-carrying creationist, arguing for good measure that if Darwin were right, surely natural selection would have weeded out homosexuality."
IMO: Gay marriage can seem an unreasonable idea to anyone, including atheists. I have blogged on this before. Creationism however, is unreasonable and unscientific for a variety of reasons, affecting theology very little overall. It is a surprise that Obama has chosen Warren. I believe Obama's mother in law is said to be a witch so presumably Obama knows little of science. One supposes - as Wonkette suggests - we will find pranks carried out on the religious people, such as the leaving of apparently abandoned clothing near churches. Presumably so that the churchgoers will believe that they are exempt from the values of the 'rapture'.
"Good news, atheists: The mythological “Rapture” appears to be happening, in America! But it’s happening very, very slowly: While the United States was 86% Christian less than two decades ago, in 1990, last year that percentage fell to 76%. And a full 15% of Americans now say they are not religious at all — nearly double the percentage of godless heathens since 1990. Socialist pagan Barack Obama plans to accelerate this trend by putting Rick Warren on national teevee at least once a a year, so that people having second thoughts about this whole religion thing will look at this fat turd and then quickly dump their bibles in the incinerator."
IMO: I do think that calling Warren a 'fat turd' is unfair as by US standards he does seem about of average size. Unfairness to turds ? Perhaps.
It seems that "Warren abhors gay marriage - as beyond the pale, in his view, as incest or polygamy - but he joined the campaign for "Proposition 8", which overturned California's gay marriage law on the day Obama won the presidency. And he is also a card-carrying creationist, arguing for good measure that if Darwin were right, surely natural selection would have weeded out homosexuality."
IMO: Gay marriage can seem an unreasonable idea to anyone, including atheists. I have blogged on this before. Creationism however, is unreasonable and unscientific for a variety of reasons, affecting theology very little overall. It is a surprise that Obama has chosen Warren. I believe Obama's mother in law is said to be a witch so presumably Obama knows little of science. One supposes - as Wonkette suggests - we will find pranks carried out on the religious people, such as the leaving of apparently abandoned clothing near churches. Presumably so that the churchgoers will believe that they are exempt from the values of the 'rapture'.
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Strauss-Kahn released on bail & tagged
IMO: Obviously, if the fellow has committed a serious crime as alleged, he should be treated appropriately and possibly jailed, but so far we do not know if he has and it is an injustice to either party, to treat the matter lightly as the press seem to do or to preempt trial results as the US Government so often unjustly does, often using doubtful rulings - by Judge Hamburger and Judge Learned Hand for example. It does seem from accounts that the alleged victim could wind up with throat cancer as a result, even though that's moderately unlikely. But my earlier comments also stand. How different was US behaviour in this case to the continued UK use of super-injunctions. The shameful case of Sir Fred Goodwin's gag on the press exposes the craziness of anonymous injunctions. A lot of people had, apparently, true grievances against Fred and indeed without looking very hard, I noticed quite a few really serious and probably real grievances and IMO his behaviour could have even brought reprimands within a dodgy offshore hedge fund! But in the present case the evidence against Strauss-Kahn seems to be from one individual and as yet seems untested in court. Indeed it is unrelated to his importance as a financial advisor. Of course, they do things differently in the USA. Only in the USA. From the "New Yorker" I see the recent comment on the Drake case “It’s outrageous,The Bush people have been let off. The telecom companies got immunity. The only people Obama has prosecuted are the whistle-blowers.” and that is after Obama was elected by sponsoring the case for transparency and stating his admiration for whistle-blowers. So is Obama 'just another Dinkins' ? Too early to say yet, but we certainly hope for improvement. All these people make mistakes .
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
French believe DSK a plot victim - poll
A majority of French people believe embattled IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who is facing sex charges in New York, is 'the victim of a plot', an opinion poll shows.
IMO: It certainly looks as if he might be, as there are just too many of these alleged diplomatic indiscretions occurring in connection with US policy and failings. Assange and Strauss-Kahn only look like the tip of the iceberg. When gay was illegal in the US, the Russians used this tactic a lot. Who does not remember 'the little bar in the corner of Red square' aka 'the Moscow TV/TS group meeting place' ? In many ways, the US is beginning to look more and more like the cold-war Soviet Union, with a lot of Joe McCarthy and the Kochs as well. After all it was the Kochs who began a number of troublesome groups, e.g. the John Birch society and the incredible Tea Party, as well as trying to subvert a number of leading US Universities.
IMO: It certainly looks as if he might be, as there are just too many of these alleged diplomatic indiscretions occurring in connection with US policy and failings. Assange and Strauss-Kahn only look like the tip of the iceberg. When gay was illegal in the US, the Russians used this tactic a lot. Who does not remember 'the little bar in the corner of Red square' aka 'the Moscow TV/TS group meeting place' ? In many ways, the US is beginning to look more and more like the cold-war Soviet Union, with a lot of Joe McCarthy and the Kochs as well. After all it was the Kochs who began a number of troublesome groups, e.g. the John Birch society and the incredible Tea Party, as well as trying to subvert a number of leading US Universities.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Bumping the ceiling
The US Treasury Department estimates that on Monday the national debt will reach the limit set by Congress in February 2010. Treasury officials believe they can meet obligations until Aug. 2 by shifting money out of government retirement accounts and paying it back later. Republicans are demanding long-term spending cuts totaling trillions before agreeing to any further increase in the ceiling. Treasury officials warn that a failure to raise the limit could put the United States in danger of default, which would roil world markets and cost the nation billions in higher interest rates to service the debt.
IMO: Maybe the USA could go to Mr. Strauss-Kahn's IMF to get their problems sorted out. But, obviously the US is likely to use more aggressive and antisocial methods to resolve their self-created problems.
IMO: Maybe the USA could go to Mr. Strauss-Kahn's IMF to get their problems sorted out. But, obviously the US is likely to use more aggressive and antisocial methods to resolve their self-created problems.
US International injustices - Jack Lang complains
Arrested Saturday and charged with rape at a New York hotel, French Socialist politicians expressed outrage on Tuesday at what they see is the parading of IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn, 62, seen handcuffed and unshaven before defending himself on charges.
Former Culture Minister Jack Lang said he feels the treatment of Strauss-Kahn is a “lynching” that has “provoked horror and aroused disgust.”
Lang said Strauss-Kahn was “politicized” saying the judge had been determined to “make a Frenchman pay” by denying the head of the International Monetary Fund bail after his lawyer offered to post a $1 million bond.
Socialist Party leader Martine Aubry also denounced what he considers to be “degrading images.” Aubry said France is fortunate to have a law on the presumption of innocence that keeps the media from showing defendants in handcuffs before they convicted.
Former Culture Minister Jack Lang said he feels the treatment of Strauss-Kahn is a “lynching” that has “provoked horror and aroused disgust.”
Lang said Strauss-Kahn was “politicized” saying the judge had been determined to “make a Frenchman pay” by denying the head of the International Monetary Fund bail after his lawyer offered to post a $1 million bond.
Socialist Party leader Martine Aubry also denounced what he considers to be “degrading images.” Aubry said France is fortunate to have a law on the presumption of innocence that keeps the media from showing defendants in handcuffs before they convicted.
The UK also has problems with USA. Eric Holder, the US Attorney General, vowed that the Obama administration will "take all of the necessary steps" to have McKinnon extradited
I don't think the US Attorney General has done their argument any favours. By claiming McKinnon needs to be "held accountable for the crimes that he committed" he is implying that a guilty verdict has already been reached before trial - there's a presumption of guilt which will bias the court.
Such a statement may even have made a trial in the UK impossible - you just can't make assertions like that. If that was said during a trial here, it would probably cause the case to collapse; the judge would order an acquittal and probably haul whoever said that into court for contempt.
Maybe you can prejudice trials like that in the US, but certainly not in the UK.
IMO: This is 'Hamburger on stilts'. The situation must matter to both Strauss-Kahn and McKinnon but as usual, in the US, foreign citizens count as nothing, compared to US local pride and pork-barrel politics. Jack Lang complains about US arrest of leading Frenchman and the Brits complain about McKinnon. Obama can probably do nothing about their complaints because the US is near bankruptcy and probably can only afford to fight a war. Europe is frankly not worth fighting a war with, the US are better reclaiming parts of Afghanistan which has great natural resources. Pakistan is just a mess, and parts of Pakistan could be surrendered to Afghanistan as part of a peace settlement with the Taliban.
Monday, May 16, 2011
The People vs. Goldman Sachs
'Rolling Stone' present an interesting article which suggests that a Senate subcommittee has produced a good case that Goldman Sachs should stand trial.
It is further sugggested that if the Justice Department fails to give the American people a chance to judge this case — if Goldman skates without so much as a trial — it will confirm once and for all the embarrassing truth: that the law in America is subjective, and crime is defined not by what you did, but by who you are.
IMO: Some success with such a case could foster world wide action against many other perpetrators. But difficult to handle. The legal aspects could probably be dealt with, given the desire by those in high places. But there are many other factors, often related. For example, many bankers have already left for hedge funds where they doing well by shorting Goldman's stock that such justifiable criticisms have brought down in price. The 'system' is hard to beat unless one is involved in running it, and then in some way is likely to be just another criminal conspirator by the standards of those outside the system,
It is further sugggested that if the Justice Department fails to give the American people a chance to judge this case — if Goldman skates without so much as a trial — it will confirm once and for all the embarrassing truth: that the law in America is subjective, and crime is defined not by what you did, but by who you are.
IMO: Some success with such a case could foster world wide action against many other perpetrators. But difficult to handle. The legal aspects could probably be dealt with, given the desire by those in high places. But there are many other factors, often related. For example, many bankers have already left for hedge funds where they doing well by shorting Goldman's stock that such justifiable criticisms have brought down in price. The 'system' is hard to beat unless one is involved in running it, and then in some way is likely to be just another criminal conspirator by the standards of those outside the system,
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Communist Party say Goa mine owners stashed black money in Swiss banks
CPI state general secretary Christopher Fonseca said so, referring to state Education Minister Atanasio Monserrate's recent detention at the Mumbai airport with more than the allowed volume of foreign currency on a visit to Dubai.
According to data submitted in the Goa Legislative Assembly during its monsoon session, ore worth Rs 4,000 crore was illegally mined and exported out of Goa to countries like China, Japan and Romania.
Even the Goa Mineral Ore Exporters Association (GMOEA), a forum of ore exporters who include top ore business houses, have cried hoarse about the rampant illegal mining in the state.
According to Leader of Opposition Manohar Parrikar, nearly 18 percent of Goa's total 45 million tonnes mining output comprises illegally mined ore. He has also accused Chief Minister Digambar Kamat and several of his cabinet ministers of being hand-in-glove with the illegal mining mafia.
IMO: By the sound of it, correcting such practices will improve the environment and save the state money. These things are sorely needed as everyone knows that India's most beautiful state (leaving aside J&K perhaps - another state with problems). namely Goa is being turned into a garbage heap because of local greed. Maybe Delhi should take heed. Goa has had too many Govts, one a year lately, and if things are not improved, it is only a matter of time before ALL local politicians should have their assets confiscated. We need Trinamool or one of the CPIs in Goa. it seems.
According to data submitted in the Goa Legislative Assembly during its monsoon session, ore worth Rs 4,000 crore was illegally mined and exported out of Goa to countries like China, Japan and Romania.
Even the Goa Mineral Ore Exporters Association (GMOEA), a forum of ore exporters who include top ore business houses, have cried hoarse about the rampant illegal mining in the state.
According to Leader of Opposition Manohar Parrikar, nearly 18 percent of Goa's total 45 million tonnes mining output comprises illegally mined ore. He has also accused Chief Minister Digambar Kamat and several of his cabinet ministers of being hand-in-glove with the illegal mining mafia.
IMO: By the sound of it, correcting such practices will improve the environment and save the state money. These things are sorely needed as everyone knows that India's most beautiful state (leaving aside J&K perhaps - another state with problems). namely Goa is being turned into a garbage heap because of local greed. Maybe Delhi should take heed. Goa has had too many Govts, one a year lately, and if things are not improved, it is only a matter of time before ALL local politicians should have their assets confiscated. We need Trinamool or one of the CPIs in Goa. it seems.
Mamata Banerjee to pursue mixed economy model in West Bengal
Trinamool has prepared a vision document on how the new government should rebuild the state, which over the past 34 years had been abused by an Alimuddin Street-controlled administration and decayed in every respect, be it social sectors like health and education or economic parameters like industrialisation and farm productivity. The vision statement will serve as the Bible for the new ministers after the Banerjee government takes oath possibly on May 18.
In the health and education sector, Banerjee plans strong government control. She has proposed a hub-and-spoke model in healthcare by connecting sub centres, primary health centres, district hospitals and super speciality hospitals in Kolkata. In education, she plans to overhaul the vocational programmes with emphasis on industrial training institutes to train industrial labour and improve their employability.
"She has an amazing sense of the pulse,” a top finance ministry bureaucrat said.
IMO: Singur & Nandigram stuck out as glaring faults - many did not see that till now but it seemed pretty obvious to me all along. Killing off and intimidating the electorate does not win votes, hopefully, in a democracy. The Singur & Nandigram factor may have become the tipping point. But Didi's obvious improvement in the railways (the results of which quickly became almost startlingly obvious), will, it is hoped, be followed by further success with the difficult problems in Bengal.
In the health and education sector, Banerjee plans strong government control. She has proposed a hub-and-spoke model in healthcare by connecting sub centres, primary health centres, district hospitals and super speciality hospitals in Kolkata. In education, she plans to overhaul the vocational programmes with emphasis on industrial training institutes to train industrial labour and improve their employability.
"She has an amazing sense of the pulse,” a top finance ministry bureaucrat said.
IMO: Singur & Nandigram stuck out as glaring faults - many did not see that till now but it seemed pretty obvious to me all along. Killing off and intimidating the electorate does not win votes, hopefully, in a democracy. The Singur & Nandigram factor may have become the tipping point. But Didi's obvious improvement in the railways (the results of which quickly became almost startlingly obvious), will, it is hoped, be followed by further success with the difficult problems in Bengal.
Saturday, May 14, 2011
HSBC
The Feds are closing in on HSBC in money laundering probe. The Justice Department's money-laundering probe against banking giant HSBC Holdings Plc is looking at possible prosecution of individual bankers, a source close to the investigation said on Thursday.
IMO: RBS was noticed, as were most of the other UK banks. HSBC has recently referred to itself as an "international" bank but it now seems no better than Wells Fargo, Wachovia, and all the rest. Most people had long ago lost much trust in Middle East and Chinese banks, and clearly HSBC now seems no different to all the rest. Hopefully some of these rogue bankers will be adequately dealt with by the law. The general public have really had too much to put up with by now.
IMO: RBS was noticed, as were most of the other UK banks. HSBC has recently referred to itself as an "international" bank but it now seems no better than Wells Fargo, Wachovia, and all the rest. Most people had long ago lost much trust in Middle East and Chinese banks, and clearly HSBC now seems no different to all the rest. Hopefully some of these rogue bankers will be adequately dealt with by the law. The general public have really had too much to put up with by now.
The Pope and vegetarianism
Although not a vegetarian, the new Pope has spoken about the exploitation of all beings, particularly of farmed animals. When he was asked about cruelty to animals in a 2002 interview, he said, "That is a very serious question. At any rate, we can see that they are given into our care, that we cannot just do whatever we want with them. Animals, too, are God's creatures… Certainly, a sort of industrial use of creatures, so that geese are fed in such a way as to produce as large a liver as possible, or hens live so packed together that they become just caricatures of birds, this degrading of living creatures to a commodity seems to me in fact to contradict the relationship of mutuality that comes across in the Bible." Cardinal Ratzinger was echoing official church teachings laid out in the Catholic Catechism, which states clearly that “"Animals are God’s creatures. He surrounds them with his providential care. By their mere existence they bless him and give him glory. Thus men owe them kindness. We should recall the gentleness with which saints like St. Francis of Assisi or St. Philip Neri treated animals... It is contrary to human dignity to cause animals to suffer or die needlessly."
IMO: Those who favour the Roman church should heed the Pope's words : " It is contrary to human dignity to cause animals to suffer or die needlessly". Examples of their dying needlessly includes eating them when there are enough healthy fruits, vegetables etc. The Bible depicts vegetarianism as God’s ideal, and the diet conforms to the central biblical principle of steward-ship. In Eden, all creatures lived peacefully, and God told both humans and animals to consume only plant foods (Gen. 1:29–31). As far as the current Pope is concerned, I do not know him personally - a lady who claims to have been John Paul's girl friend said to me that 'excessive attempts at spin' seemed to be one of John Paul's main problems. But it does seem to me that the basis of the Benedictine beliefs, which Ratzinger claims to espouse, involves vegetarianism. One is tempted to forgive Ratzinger, as his apparent experiences of goosestepping in jackboots, singing the Horst Wessel song along with other Nazis, etc. seems to have changed mainly to dressing in the papal Holly Woodlawn type gear, and singing songs in rather bad Latin (I speak only as a former scholar of academic latin). Hardly surprising, then, that Ratzinger has stuck to chewing away at living creatures in typical Nazi tradition. A big problem seems to be the divine authority these fellows seem to claim (Cardinal Biffi, for example, who says, admitttedly rather understandably, that journalists are "rats" may leave one to wonder) but Ratzinger has said quite a few sensible things, although the saying 'do what I say, not what I do' suggests Ratzinger does make too many false steps for the sake of his own faith.
IMO: Those who favour the Roman church should heed the Pope's words : " It is contrary to human dignity to cause animals to suffer or die needlessly". Examples of their dying needlessly includes eating them when there are enough healthy fruits, vegetables etc. The Bible depicts vegetarianism as God’s ideal, and the diet conforms to the central biblical principle of steward-ship. In Eden, all creatures lived peacefully, and God told both humans and animals to consume only plant foods (Gen. 1:29–31). As far as the current Pope is concerned, I do not know him personally - a lady who claims to have been John Paul's girl friend said to me that 'excessive attempts at spin' seemed to be one of John Paul's main problems. But it does seem to me that the basis of the Benedictine beliefs, which Ratzinger claims to espouse, involves vegetarianism. One is tempted to forgive Ratzinger, as his apparent experiences of goosestepping in jackboots, singing the Horst Wessel song along with other Nazis, etc. seems to have changed mainly to dressing in the papal Holly Woodlawn type gear, and singing songs in rather bad Latin (I speak only as a former scholar of academic latin). Hardly surprising, then, that Ratzinger has stuck to chewing away at living creatures in typical Nazi tradition. A big problem seems to be the divine authority these fellows seem to claim (Cardinal Biffi, for example, who says, admitttedly rather understandably, that journalists are "rats" may leave one to wonder) but Ratzinger has said quite a few sensible things, although the saying 'do what I say, not what I do' suggests Ratzinger does make too many false steps for the sake of his own faith.
Friday, May 13, 2011
AlFayed supported Diana film
"It's made from my point of view," said Keith Allen as he defended his film about Princess Diana's death, Unlawful Killing. "It's what the French call being an auteur."
The most arresting, and unintentionally comic, passage came at the end of the film, when Fayed was shown making a large but rather unsuccessful bonfire in his Surrey garden using the vast "by royal appointment" crests that once adorned the facade of Harrods. He is, confirmed his spokesman Conor Nolan, "delighted with the film".
It contains an interview in which psychologist Oliver James opines that Prince Philip is a "psychopath".
Unlawful Killing likens Prince Philip to serial killer Fred West and calls the Royals "gangsters in tiaras".
An inquest jury found that the Princess had been unlawfully killed by the grossly negligent driving of Henri Paul and those vehicles in pursuit. The film implies that 'following vehicles' were not necessarily the paparazzi.
IMO: All these people certainly seem to create headlines for each other. I have yet to discover that any of them have cultural value. The film is unlikely to be seen in the UK, but will doubtless present a somewhat marred image of the UK in the rest of the world. Maybe somebody should make a film of al Fayed and the rest of his friends, about their involvement with Egypt and with Mubarak.
The most arresting, and unintentionally comic, passage came at the end of the film, when Fayed was shown making a large but rather unsuccessful bonfire in his Surrey garden using the vast "by royal appointment" crests that once adorned the facade of Harrods. He is, confirmed his spokesman Conor Nolan, "delighted with the film".
It contains an interview in which psychologist Oliver James opines that Prince Philip is a "psychopath".
Unlawful Killing likens Prince Philip to serial killer Fred West and calls the Royals "gangsters in tiaras".
An inquest jury found that the Princess had been unlawfully killed by the grossly negligent driving of Henri Paul and those vehicles in pursuit. The film implies that 'following vehicles' were not necessarily the paparazzi.
IMO: All these people certainly seem to create headlines for each other. I have yet to discover that any of them have cultural value. The film is unlikely to be seen in the UK, but will doubtless present a somewhat marred image of the UK in the rest of the world. Maybe somebody should make a film of al Fayed and the rest of his friends, about their involvement with Egypt and with Mubarak.
End of an era
The challenges Mamata will be facing while running the Bengal government are large. First among them is to put an end to the bloodletting in the districts. Second is the financial morass that Bengal is steeped into. These two are a major hurdle to her development vision. And third, Mamata has to tackle the Maoist threat in Jangalmahal and also the adivasis and Gorkha Janmukti Morcha in the Hills.
IMO: Buddha had tried to modernise the CPI(M) movement and so far has failed. The idea of supporting the Tatas sounded great on paper - the G.E. classical business approach which had worked so well - for its time - in Pimpri/Cinchwad. But times are changing and a great-sounding Port Sunlight sounded all right but the heavihandedness needed - whilst barely acceptable in last century's Pune - was not favored in the present century's socialist Bengal. The regime did need changing and it has to be hoped that CPI(M) may pull up it socks and once more live up to its ideals, without descending to dubious capitalist measures. Anyway, now it is Didi's chance and let us hope for the best. If handled well, Maoism may turn out to be not a fault but a feature. I doubt it, though.
IMO: Buddha had tried to modernise the CPI(M) movement and so far has failed. The idea of supporting the Tatas sounded great on paper - the G.E. classical business approach which had worked so well - for its time - in Pimpri/Cinchwad. But times are changing and a great-sounding Port Sunlight sounded all right but the heavihandedness needed - whilst barely acceptable in last century's Pune - was not favored in the present century's socialist Bengal. The regime did need changing and it has to be hoped that CPI(M) may pull up it socks and once more live up to its ideals, without descending to dubious capitalist measures. Anyway, now it is Didi's chance and let us hope for the best. If handled well, Maoism may turn out to be not a fault but a feature. I doubt it, though.
Thursday, May 12, 2011
Spectator reader's comment on Law's 7 day suspension.
"As the Daily Telegraph reports have made abundantly clear, Laws systematically lied and misled in order to gain a pecuniary advantage - as he has been forced to admit. The man should be in the dock - not in the Cabinet, and if Cameron is foolish enough to bring him back he will merely add to the complete contempt in which these chiselling little cheats are rightly held by the public whose pockets have been picked"
IMO: It is a pity that UK politics has reached such a low level. As I have frequently pointed out in this blog, Cameron himself is far from 'innocent'. And the AV referendum, which looks like it should have had a strong "yes" vote, in fact had a strong "no" vote. I would suggest that it is easy to deduce that the Brits are scared of any change in the voting system, because they fear that it will allow even more leeway to the crooks and touts in all major parties. To a certain extent this must be true, but by and large the main reason for the big "no" vote may be given in the Liberalvision blog, which makes it plain that the 1% of the electorate who were really kept informed of the facts - the so-called 'Guardian readers' - just were too small a minority to voting results. As the article says "There is no purist Guardian editorial proposition that could ever come close to winning a referendum in the UK". And this fact itself, unfortunately hardly speaks well for the morale of the country. The UK is running into the same sort of problems the US Democrats have had for years. The Koch matter over Florida State University is just yet another example. Clearly, we can't back 'Joe Hill' forever, but Joe Hill's opponents seem to be giving the US and the UK little alternative, and the 'Guardianistas' seem to be as little use as you might expect.
IMO: It is a pity that UK politics has reached such a low level. As I have frequently pointed out in this blog, Cameron himself is far from 'innocent'. And the AV referendum, which looks like it should have had a strong "yes" vote, in fact had a strong "no" vote. I would suggest that it is easy to deduce that the Brits are scared of any change in the voting system, because they fear that it will allow even more leeway to the crooks and touts in all major parties. To a certain extent this must be true, but by and large the main reason for the big "no" vote may be given in the Liberalvision blog, which makes it plain that the 1% of the electorate who were really kept informed of the facts - the so-called 'Guardian readers' - just were too small a minority to voting results. As the article says "There is no purist Guardian editorial proposition that could ever come close to winning a referendum in the UK". And this fact itself, unfortunately hardly speaks well for the morale of the country. The UK is running into the same sort of problems the US Democrats have had for years. The Koch matter over Florida State University is just yet another example. Clearly, we can't back 'Joe Hill' forever, but Joe Hill's opponents seem to be giving the US and the UK little alternative, and the 'Guardianistas' seem to be as little use as you might expect.
Sunday, May 08, 2011
Osama Bin Laden
White House National Security Advisor Tom Donilon suggested nothing had yet been unearthed that directly implicated the Pakistani authorities.
"I've not seen evidence that would tell us that the political, the military, or the intelligence leadership had foreknowledge of bin Laden," he told NBC's "Meet The Press" program.
Donilon described the data haul from the raid as the richest terrorism treasure trove ever collected.
"This is the largest cache of intelligence derived from the scene of any single terrorist," he said. "It's about the size, the CIA tells us, of a small college library."
IMO: Extraordinary ! So it is claimed, apparently, that Bin Laden's base and indeed his 'college library' for terror was right in the middle of Pakistan but unknown to either the CIA or to the ISI. In India it has been said that the head of the (Pakistan) ISI, Shuja Pasha, may have to resign over this. Whether Pasha really approved of bin Laden or not, this sounds like common sense. If he approved of OBL, he has been caught out and if he did not approve of OBL he sounds inefficient in that he did not locate him. But so far, mainly indignant sounds have been coming from Pakistan, and indeed from the Sufi Gilani, who really should not want Pakistan run by a mob of terrorists, particularly as his own drinking habits are even more abhorrent to the Taliban than they are to many teetotallers. As for the Americans, it really is a surprise that they did not know where Tim Osman (OBL) who was allegedly one of their own operatives, was. Orlin Grabbe gave the best account ot Tim that I have seen lately, consult Wikipedia on Tim Osman if you wish, some of it may be true. It verges on conspiracy theory to suggest that the CIA had kept bin Laden as a 'sleeper' so he could take over some cheap country like Yemen for them if times got tough. But the CIA are notoriously internally secretive. Anyway, let us hope the BJP claims for a pre-emptive strike against Pak - not by BJP, it has to be noted - easy to talk big if someone else will take the brunt - is not carried out but that some value is obtained from bin Laden's files.
"I've not seen evidence that would tell us that the political, the military, or the intelligence leadership had foreknowledge of bin Laden," he told NBC's "Meet The Press" program.
Donilon described the data haul from the raid as the richest terrorism treasure trove ever collected.
"This is the largest cache of intelligence derived from the scene of any single terrorist," he said. "It's about the size, the CIA tells us, of a small college library."
IMO: Extraordinary ! So it is claimed, apparently, that Bin Laden's base and indeed his 'college library' for terror was right in the middle of Pakistan but unknown to either the CIA or to the ISI. In India it has been said that the head of the (Pakistan) ISI, Shuja Pasha, may have to resign over this. Whether Pasha really approved of bin Laden or not, this sounds like common sense. If he approved of OBL, he has been caught out and if he did not approve of OBL he sounds inefficient in that he did not locate him. But so far, mainly indignant sounds have been coming from Pakistan, and indeed from the Sufi Gilani, who really should not want Pakistan run by a mob of terrorists, particularly as his own drinking habits are even more abhorrent to the Taliban than they are to many teetotallers. As for the Americans, it really is a surprise that they did not know where Tim Osman (OBL) who was allegedly one of their own operatives, was. Orlin Grabbe gave the best account ot Tim that I have seen lately, consult Wikipedia on Tim Osman if you wish, some of it may be true. It verges on conspiracy theory to suggest that the CIA had kept bin Laden as a 'sleeper' so he could take over some cheap country like Yemen for them if times got tough. But the CIA are notoriously internally secretive. Anyway, let us hope the BJP claims for a pre-emptive strike against Pak - not by BJP, it has to be noted - easy to talk big if someone else will take the brunt - is not carried out but that some value is obtained from bin Laden's files.
Monday, May 02, 2011
Pakistan and Osama bin Laden
The Pakistan's leaders had repeatedly denied Osama’s presence on their soil and finally when he was located, he turned out be holed up in one of country’s biggest garrison towns.
The killing of bin Laden has given India one more opportunity to point out that Pakistan continues to shelter terrorist leaders and networks.
IMO: One bad previous example would be A.Q. Kahn.
One question is whether the bin Laden killing will lead to intelligence that will help track down Zawahri and other al Qaeda leaders or operatives, whether in Pakistan or elsewhere in the world. Will there be a reprisal attack by al Qaeda? Maybe. But after all, it's already been trying to hit us. It's not as if it has shown any restraint.
The larger challenge is whether we can press this gain and further dismantle al Qaeda in the Af-Pak region.
Pakistani Tehreek-e-Insaf leader Imran Khan stated that US itself has confirmed death of Osama Bin Laden and now it has no solid reason for living in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
IMO: The Taliban - in the old days of say the 1880s - could be said to have had an important role as freedom fighters against British imperialism.. Nowadays the Taliban have a bad reputation for terrorism, opressing women and so on. It is very hard to countenance statements in their favour of the kind which cricketing expert Imran Kahn is in fact making. Maybe Imran Kahn should have stuck to cricket as a hobby.
The killing of bin Laden has given India one more opportunity to point out that Pakistan continues to shelter terrorist leaders and networks.
IMO: One bad previous example would be A.Q. Kahn.
One question is whether the bin Laden killing will lead to intelligence that will help track down Zawahri and other al Qaeda leaders or operatives, whether in Pakistan or elsewhere in the world. Will there be a reprisal attack by al Qaeda? Maybe. But after all, it's already been trying to hit us. It's not as if it has shown any restraint.
The larger challenge is whether we can press this gain and further dismantle al Qaeda in the Af-Pak region.
Pakistani Tehreek-e-Insaf leader Imran Khan stated that US itself has confirmed death of Osama Bin Laden and now it has no solid reason for living in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
IMO: The Taliban - in the old days of say the 1880s - could be said to have had an important role as freedom fighters against British imperialism.. Nowadays the Taliban have a bad reputation for terrorism, opressing women and so on. It is very hard to countenance statements in their favour of the kind which cricketing expert Imran Kahn is in fact making. Maybe Imran Kahn should have stuck to cricket as a hobby.
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