Editorial: G-8 x 123 = 000, in the LAW ANIMATED WORLD, 15 July 2008 issue

G-8 x 123 = 000

Some of the world’s most developed States annually meet as the G-8 group to discuss the international situation and mould their contributions and actions accordingly. Of late they are also inviting other major emerging economies like China, India, Brazil etc. as observers and accordingly our Prime Minister has also gone to its recent summit in Japan. Exactly for what purpose he went, and what decisions beneficial to our country he managed to obtain there we do not know but it is said it was mainly to make the 123 deal with America palatable to all the major economies in the world that he went there. He saw and returned but it is doubtful if he conquered anything. The summit itself seems to have drawn a big cipher since no worthwhile practical measures were suggested or taken to curb the growing worldwide inflation, especially the abnormal rises in oil and food prices, and to alleviate the acute sufferings of the poor and deprived people the world over. The G-8 no doubt wanted civilian nuclear cooperation with India but that subject to the safeguards and terms and conditions of the International Atomic Agency and the Nuclear Suppliers Group and for the ends of nuclear non-proliferation. Meanwhile at home the politico-economic crisis is deepening with the Right and the Left both stoutly opposing the 123 nuclear deal, stressing the need to safeguard our own sovereign interests by avoiding any junior partnership with America. Both are angry and working feverishly to topple the Government. Even if Man manages by hook or crook to wriggle out of the predicament, one wonders whether it would be in the best interests of the country to go through a deal that is strongly opposed by about half the population at the least. All this may work out only to the above strange equation, undermining our socio-politico-economical interests in the end.

'ATTACK ON PRESS FREEDOM' - Editorial of 30 June 2008 issue of LAW

ATTACK ON PRESS FREEDOM

with a special law abused for aiding and abetting fundamental rights’ violations – the scenario is somewhat reminiscent of the Emergency days, but all this just a few days back. Even if the journalists accused of a newspaper were really involved in insulting a scheduled caste leader by way of burning his effigy after slippering it, by-the-way which mode of condemnation has become very common in socio-political agitations, it is well known that it was only a protest against the preceding attacks against and destruction of property of that newspaper offices committed by that leader’s followers, if not under his instructions, at any rate with his open support. As such the investigating officers, even if a complaint was made under a special law meant for the protection of the scheduled castes and tribes, ought to have known that such protest, though might appear somewhat excessive, does not fall under the scheme and terms of that Act. They ought to also have taken note of the interest of press freedom which could be jeopardized by any hasty action on their part. In any case they should have acted coolly but not in an overzealous and arbitrary manner as they did. There was absolutely no need or reason for them to barge into the press premises in night time and arrest the journalists, and the editor late in the night, when they could have just informed the Court and caused issuance of a summons or warrant for their appearance in connection with the complaint case. But it seems the concerned police authorities acted more per the dictates of their political masters and staged an unseemly drama of midnight arrest of the editor of a largely circulated Telugu daily. Perhaps the ruling party thus wanted to push other more sensational and to-them-detrimental political developments of the day to the sidelights by enacting this high drama but such course bodes ill for the cause of social peace and liberty so much desired in the present tumultuous circumstances §§§

WE ARE BETRAYED

For information: We got this message to the journal's editor:

WE ARE BETRAYED

The last 3 generations of American's have been driven to war under the pretense of spreading freedom and democracy; but the words that fall from the mouths of our politicians that lead us to war, are seldom reflected in our actions and end results. Here is a transcript from a discussion between President Johnson and Greek Ambassador, Alexander Matsas, on June 1964 following Ambassador Matsas's refusal to agree to the US Acheson plan for the partition and 'double enosis' of Cyprus"Then listen to me Mr Ambassador. Fuck your parliament and your constitution. America is an elephant, Cyprus is a flea, Greece is a flea. If these two feckless fleas continue itching the elephant they may get whacked by the elephant's trunk, whacked good… We pay a lot of good American dollars to the Greeks Mr Ambassador. If your Prime Minister gives me talk about democracy, parliament and the constitution, he, his parliament and his constitution may not last very long.'"Three years later in Greece…1967: A CIA-backed military coup overthrows the government two days before their elections. The favorite to win was George Papandreous, the liberal candidate. During the next six years, the "reign of the colonels" - backed by the CIA - usher in the widespread use of torture and murder against political opponents; honoring President Johnson's threats to Greece.It is important to remember that President Johnson kept the United States in Vietnam from 1963-1969. It is obvious from his words to the Greek Ambassador Alexander Matsas that Johnson had no regard for the democracy or rights of other nations yet used the rhetoric to justify military funding and the deaths of close to 50,000 Americans and over 300,000 Vietnamese. The idea that we entered the war in Vietnam under the pretense of fighting communism and bringing Democracy and freedom to the Vietnamese is hypocritical to say the least when you consider it was at a time when black people in America were still fighting for their own civil rights and freedoms yet were drafted to fight and die for the freedoms of others in foreign lands.At this moment, we the United States of America have military occupation in 130 out of 190 countries across the world. These occupations have been supported by we the people under the guise of spreading peace, but few will argue the statement that is sent to the civilians and the governments of these occupied countries as they quickly realize that the presence of a foreign military sends a clear message that they better comply with US because we are already in their backyard. I am writing this to you to appeal to your common sense, humanity and pride as an American. Ignoring a problem never results in a solution; the culmination of our collective ignorance and denial is today reflected in the state of our union and our struggling economy. The work ethic that founded this great country has been replaced with complacency and denial. We are beyond the point of repair and we are all left with a difficult decision; Do we carry on with business usual and drown with our sinking ship or do face the truth of what we have allowed our country to become, and demonstrate to the rest of the world that our government has been representing their personal interests above that of its people. A government should fear its people for we have the power to replace them. If we do not stand up to our government the rest of the world will view our lack of action as complicity and agreement; and as our dollar collapses and we can no longer afford to maintain our military intimidation, we will be judged based upon our actions against the world and our inaction as American citizens to stop it. "The first duty of society is to give each of its members the possibility of fulfilling his destiny. When it becomes incapable of performing this duty it must be transformed." ~Alexis CarrelThe time for words has come and passed; the only course of action is to educate ourselves so that we can collectively make a peaceful stand and demand immediate changes starting with Congress stepping down which would allow the military to stand down gracefully. Change increases the odds of success, and to think that changing a figure head in the coming elections will change our course and replace what has been eroded is naïve and detrimental to our futures. We have spent significant time to create just3ants.com which provides extensive research and timelines of pivotal historic events and the people that benefited from what resulted. Money and assets can be lost, but knowledge can never be taken from you. Sincerely, Adam L TuckerJust3ants.com

Editorial: 'DAMMING THE GANGES' in 15 June 2008 issue of LAW

Gangotri Glacier Prof. G.D. Agarwal Gangotri in September

DAMMING THE GANGES

could be quite dangerous to the fragile ecosystems of the Himalayan region with calamitous consequences for the people in the Indo-Gangetic plain. No doubt there may be some immediate benefits like cheap hydro-electric power and irrigation facilities to hitherto unreachable areas but the cons unfortunately outweigh the pros in this regard. There was stout opposition to and intense agitation against the construction of the Tehri Dam earlier with the controversy even carried to the Supreme Court through PILs when finally that Court took the regretful decision to give it a green signal and put the matters to rest for the timebeing. But it seems the governments at the helm are not satisfied with the damage already inflicted but want to dam the river near its very origin – Gangotri. Prof. G.D. Agarwal, former Dean, IIT Kanpur, has taken lead now for a spirited fight against this move and has begun his protest fast-unto-death from 13 June. His reasoning is that the damming would lead to the drying up of the lower reaches of Gangaji, which offends not only the sentiments of crores of Hindus who worship the river as a mother goddess but also starts a process of desertification of considerable portions of the Gangetic plain in the near future. The vast water reservoirs created by such damming are hotbeds for tectonic quakes. The entire Himalayan region is a relatively recent geographical formation in creational timescale and it could not endure such human tampering for long. Already in this journal we had earlier discussed the pros and cons of big dams and the enlightening report of the World Dams Commission and all wisdom dictates restraint in this matter. Let the Governments not rush through such potentially disastrous dams but concentrate on less risky medium and minor irrigation works and development of alternative energy sources §§§

Editorial "Damming The Ganges" of 15 June 2008 issue of LAW ANIMATED WORLD

DAMMING THE GANGES

could be quite dangerous to the fragile ecosystems of the Himalayan region with calamitous consequences for the people in the Indo-Gangetic plain. No doubt there may be some immediate benefits like cheap hydro-electric power and irrigation facilities to hitherto unreachable areas but the cons unfortunately outweigh the pros in this regard. There was stout opposition to and intense agitation against the construction of the Tehri Dam earlier with the controversy even carried to the Supreme Court through PILs when finally that Court took the regretful decision to give it a green signal and put the matters to rest for the timebeing. But it seems the governments at the helm are not satisfied with the damage already inflicted but want to dam the river near its very origin – Gangotri. Prof. G.D. Agarwal, former Dean, IIT Kanpur, has taken lead now for a spirited fight against this move and has begun his protest fast-unto-death from 13 June. His reasoning is that the damming would lead to the drying up of the lower reaches of Gangaji, which offends not only the sentiments of crores of Hindus who worship the river as a mother goddess but also starts a process of desertification of considerable portions of the Gangetic plain in the near future. The vast water reservoirs created by such damming are hotbeds for tectonic quakes. The entire Himalayan region is a relatively recent geographical formation in creational timescale and it could not endure such human tampering for long. Already in this journal we had earlier discussed the pros and cons of big dams and the enlightening report of the World Dams Commission and all wisdom dictates restraint in this matter. Let the Governments not rush through such potentially disastrous dams but concentrate on less risky medium and minor irrigation works and development of alternative energy sources §§§

Editorial 'Degeneration of Democracy': LAW ANIMATED WORLD, 31 May 2008

DEGENERATION OF DEMOCRACY

There is much truth and relevance in the ancient philosopher-cum-statesman Aristotle’s categorization of and preferences for different types of states which still appeal to the present realities, especially in a dysfunctional democracy like ours. Aristotle called tyranny, oligarchy and democracy as perversions of better forms of state – monarchy, aristocracy and polity respectively, and meant some sort of constitutional elite governance by the last. He was of the firm view that because of the proneness of democracy to degenerate into license and mobocracy it is not to be preferred but of course tyranny is the worst form of state. Nowadays we also witness the same type of license and mobocracy in our country with all the noble values and principles espoused by our constitutional framers and even prior to them by the indefatigable national liberation fighters given a go-bye for narrow group interests. Curiously two glaring perversions of this sort occurred almost simultaneously – one in the North and the other in the South of India. The pictures above speak for themselves but we further say that the attack on the press freedom blatantly resorted to by a communal organization espousing the causes of the ‘most downtrodden of the masses’ bodes no good for the future of our polity. If at all they had been piqued by the innuendo of being ‘hired leaders’ they could have retorted, a la Sri Sri, that many papers too are and act like ‘daughters of Capital and anthills of lies’ and more effectively rebutted any vily propaganda against themselves than by stooping to such low levels of anarchic violence. Likewise the Gujjars better realize that craving for more backwardness never helps any community, antagonizes the rest of the society and perpetuates sloth and meanness. It is high time that individuals and communities think of the fate of the country and democracy first and their particular interests only next.

ON INDO-NEPAL TREATY AND SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP WITH INDIA

ON INDO-NEPAL TREATY AND SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP WITH INDIA

MALLIKARJUNA SHARMA Says: May 19, 2008 at 10:31 pm
I think the open borders should continue and it is the Nepalese who benefit most from it. Introducing visa by Prachanda will also mean Nepalese have to get visa from India too and that will affect the livelihoods of millions of Nepalese who periodically come to India to make some money and go back home. Prachanda should not be swept by national chauvinism. Likewise India and China cannot be equated. Nepal had, has and will have a special relationship with India. It is almost like a border state of India and the people there I found to be so comfortable with Hindi and relations with Indians (except of course any exploiters among them). If there are any other specific clauses and instances of injustice to Nepal those should be discussed threadbare and sorted out in a spirit of friendship and mutual cooperation. Of course a review of the treaty and subsequent arrangements there should be.