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The Edge is the place for that. The editors do not mind publishing one
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June 2011
[Re US invigorates
policy at Gaza's expense Jun 28, '11] One can only look on in bemused
wonderment at the comments of our professed Christian friend Ysais Martinez.
I read his letter three times and finally concluded, if Israel were to accept
his advice, the ultimate demise of Israel would be assured. Not from without
but, from within. Not all Israeli's are barbarians, most are sensitive and
sensible people. Unfortunately too many suffer from the psychological problem
of a siege mentality.
Rabid exhortations from American right wing Christians such as our friend Ysais
Martinez, bogged down in hatred, assist no one, let alone the cause of peace.
They offer no solutions, merely fuel for an ongoing conflict.
So very sad and disappointing. Thankfully the crusades finished centuries ago.
Not all recognize this.
Ian C Purdie
Australia (Jun 30, '11)
How fitting that Illinois, the state that gave us Barack Obama and Abraham
Lincoln, has once again decided to send a governor, this time the outrageously
coiffeured Bob Blogojevich, to a state-funded retirement home (aka a state
penitentiary).
Illinois, and more specifically the windswept city of Chicago that Al Capone
put on the map, has long prided itself on its heritage of cronyism, corruption,
bribery, extortion, nepotism, embezzlement, theft and vote-rigging. That both
Obama and Lincoln depended on carefully crafted PR machines to mold a liberal
image of democratic purity and human-rights nobility does not obfuscate the
fact that they too came from this same Midwestern cesspool of backroom-deal
politics.
In "Honest Abe's" case, he perfected the fine art of high-sounding rhetoric
about freedom and civil war masking his subservience to bankers and
industrialists and his contempt for constitutional law. In similar fashion,
Obama uses the smokescreen of recession and terrorism to camouflage his
kowtowing to a Wall-Street-military-industrial-security-corporatist
crypto-state that needs a glib shill to promote its relentless law-degrading
class warfare.
Lincoln's legacy benefited from his premature departure, leaving only isolated
fringe curmudgeons to sully his martyred status. Obama, on the other hand, has
another five years to continue funneling taxpayer money to Afghan drug lords,
campaign-contributing Goldman Sachs CEOs, Lockheed Martin rigged-bid
contractors, offshore laundering banks, Iraqi Shia militants, Israeli efforts
to suppress the Palestinian people and a whole host of other illegal,
clandestine and treasonous activities.
For an old hand at Illini politics like BO, masking the stink of all that
tainted money with the perfume of his oratory comes naturally and easily.
Still, you know that the next Republican Congress is itching to unleash its Tea
Party fury on a president they think makes Bill Clinton look like a virginal
choir boy. Who knows? Maybe the newly incarcerated Bobbin' Bobby B. will get a
tawny cellmate with a pretty good jumpshot in the not too distant future.
Hardy Campbell
United States (Jun 30, '11)
[Re US invigorates
policy at Gaza's expense
Jun 28, '11] I hope in God that Israel responds in an unshakable manner again
the provocateurs on this fascist ship. It is incomprehensible how these Western
clowns, including Holocaust survivors (like if being a Holocaust survivor gives
you a free pass to get away with whatever nonsense. Shame on them, I bet they
were members of the commandos leading Jewish children to the gas chambers) and
unemployed American so-called activists, can side with the terrorist
organization Hamas. It is actually laughable to see the media write about the
provocateurs like if they were freedom fighters. Israel has a golden
opportunity in its hands that it should use and it is: "Israel cannot be hated
any further." Given the fact that it cannot be hated any further, Israel should
act without constraints and anger the scumbags in the media - like I do with
those responding to my rants. A question for Israel-hating-vermin out there:
How much more will you hate Israel if it sinks this pirate ship? 10% more? 20%
more? It makes no difference. So keep them coming Israel. They can only hate
you but they know they cannot attack you. And they know it.
Ysais Martinez
United States of America (Jun 29, '11)
[Re The second
freedom flotilla sails
Jun 28, '11] Israel has severely warned the 10 ship freedom flotilla to
surrender ... or else. It is obvious that Victor Kotsev is spot on: a
confrontation is going to take place on the open seas as the peace flotilla
sets sails towards Gaza. The Likud government will brook no challenge to its
blockade of the Gaza strip. Will the non-violent peace activists from 10
countries suffer the same fate as the nine killed on the Mavi Marmara last
June? The answer seems to be "blowin' in the wind". Already senior Israeli
military officials are blaming the "victims" for anything that Special Forces
will visit on them in international waters and the Zionist state's blatant
disregard of international law of freedom of the seas and piracy. Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had to publicly retract Israel's threat to ban for
10 years any journalist found aboard the peace ships, by pinning the blame on
low level officials. He was forced to do so by the international clamor raised
by journalists and some governments. Netanyahu does not need a hostile foreign
press, it goes without saying. US President Barack Obama is proving an able
handmaiden to Israel's threats. He has warned his fellow citizens to refrain
from going on the flotilla, instead of sternly warning Israel, verbally and in
written communication, America won't stand for any harm to its citizens. Thus
Israel has a free hand - if it ever needed one - to assault on international
waters the second flotilla. Kotsev is too clever by half in citing Carl von
Clausewitz in attaching violent motives to the peace activists running Israel
allegedly right to blockade Gaza. Once more, it is a game of blaming the
victims.
Abraham Bin Yiju
Palermo (Jun 29, '11)
[Re Ysais Martinez letter, Jun 21] One has to appreciate the patriotism of
Ysais Martinez. "My understanding of history tells me that Western armies are
the most ethical armies in the planet. I would rather be caught anywhere in the
world by the US Marines or NATO soldiers than let's say the Islamic
Revolutionary Guards Corps [Iran] or the folks in the Syrian police."
First of all there are very few places that you would be caught by the Iranian
Revolutionary Guard ... perhaps in Iran ... I would say mostly in Iran, and yes
that would be unfortunate. What would be just as unfortunate would be if you
had been caught by the SAVAT under the Shah. Remember him. Fully supported by
the US/UK after overthrowing a democratically elected parliamentary government
in 1953. Read Robert Fisk's Great War for Civilization if you want to
catch some of their "humane" methods. Operation "Rolling Thunder" that killed a
quarter of a million civilians in Vietnam ... perhaps they would have enjoyed
the opportunity to be captured by a humane military ... however 600,000 tons of
bombs on North Vietnam ... that in Ysais Martinez's history is humane?
Maybe the Mahmudiyah killing ... I can imagine that 14-year-old girl
appreciated Martinez's humanitarian history. What of the silence or open
support for the Gazan war ... where 1,400 civilians were murdered? I'd just
like to be somewhere in the world where the US Marines were absent, because if
they are there in a democracy (Japan) they are nothing but trouble, and if they
are there when there is no democracy, they are there to support a dictatorship.
Miles Tompkins
Canada (Jun 24, '11)
Editor's note: For further correspondence on this issue, readers are kindly
referred to
The Edge.
[Re A summit in
Tehran trumps the US, Jun 22] Ambassador Bhadrakumar's sharp eye keeps
us abreast of the profound restlessness in Central Asia. Iran has seized an
opening that the US' failed policy in Afghanistan has handed it.
The question then arises: can Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan elaborate a
coordinated policy to fill the weakening of America's influence in the region,
beyond a lofty and broad statement of principles? And there are issues that in
the short run can divide these very same countries. The Russian imprint may
have rapidly faded but the US' cannot easily be summarily dismissed.
Abraham Bin Yiju
Italy (Jun 23, '11)
[Re Attacking
Libya - and the dictionary, Jun 22] As of last Sunday, United States
President Barack Obama is officially and formally a criminal. That was when his
last legal excuse to continue violating the War Powers Act expired, meaning he
is in violation of congressional law to seek legislative approval of his
continuing fiasco in Libya. That Obama is attempting to usurp Bush's dubious
position as Worst US President ever now seems all too evident. But at least
constitution-shredder Dumbya sought tissue-thin legal cover for his statutory
rape of the law.
Obama doesn't even bother with showing even that much "respect"; he merely
waves his hand and says that "somebody" with a law degree opines that such
congressional authorization is beneath his Imperial presidency. At what point
congress will stop obsessing about bulging underwear and Twitter gossip and
focus on exerting their collective obligation to rein in a tyrannical president
is beyond me. On the other hand, I understand that many politicians fully
endorse these military misadventures, as many profit from military contracts in
their states.
Lord knows we don't manufacture anything except excuses for warring on brown
people, so there is some logic to the insanity. But a nation that prides itself
on law and order now turns a Nelson's eye to a commander-in-chief who decides
when and where laws apply to his Imperial majesty. Such feeble acquiescence
reminds one of other subtle takeovers of once-law abiding states in the wake of
economic distress, an analogy that Obama can make complete by growing a small
mustache.
Hardy Campbell
United States (Jun 23, '11)
[Re Taiwan's Ma looks
for F-16 boost, Jun 21] Reporter's note: Shortly after my article was
published on June 21, Rupert Hammond-Chambers, president of the US-Taiwan
Business Council, sent me the e-mail below. The US-Taiwan Business Council
could be described as a go-between between the Taiwanese government and the US
defense industry. I highly appreciate Hammond-Chambers' statement, and as I
believe it's of great interest to readers, I post it here. - Jens Kastner
The F-16 A/B program won't be ready for congressional notification prior to the
Taiwan election so it cannot be part of the USG calculation on making an
announcement prior to boost Ma. At present it remains frozen at State - it has
been there since Sept, 2010 - and is unlikely to move soon (until Dep Sec State
Steinberg is gone). It'll take at least 6 months for the ROCAF and MND to
process what is a large program and send it back to the US. Another 3 months to
finish the process and prepare the congressional notification (CN) and send it
to Congress (the public part of this entire effort). The above timeline
presumes no more political delays but it should be noted that the last two arms
“packages” came with significant political delays once the CNs were ready to be
sent to the Hill. This timeline has the A/B program ready next spring at the
earliest.
With all that said, there are some programs that must be notified in 2011. They
are much smaller but will represent a package of notifications. I regret I am
not in a position to share with you what the programs are but they are
non-controversial.
I'd also note that from the contractors perspective there isn't a price/profit
fluctuation based on the sequencing of the programs as one of your sources note
(I'd love to know where they get this stuff!). These are FMS cases so the US
companies are doing business with the US government not Taiwan directly. So the
pricing and profitability of the programs is set by US law. Given the political
obstacles inherent with all Taiwan arms sales US industry - from a business
perspective - would simply be happy if both programs were green-lighted. Rupert
Hammond-Chambers President
US-Taiwan Business Council (Jun 22, '11)
[Re North Korea not
quite in the zone , Jun 20] Andrei Lankov maintains a consistently
dismal view of North Korea's ability to change. The recent announcement of
China's involvement in two new specialized zones at Raseon on the North's east
coast and the island of Hwanggumpyong on the west is significant. It reflects
China's support of its neighbor and ally, and a "throwing its hands up" on any
movement in the coordinated joint policy towards North Korea by the South and
the United States.
It is notably important to bring again to light that China cast its veto on the
North's attempt at setting up an SEZ at Sinuiju a few years ago since it might
rival the "vitality" of Dondong on its side of the border. Apparently, China
has had a change of heart by wanting to develop Hwanggumpyong with its own
money and designs. For North Korea this is a good step forward in reviving its
rust belt, upgrading infrastructure, and filling its coffers with hard cash as
well as opening it to the wider world commercially and technologically.
Incremental reform has been going on in North Korea, albeit at its own pace and
at times with great error. To adhere to a vision that there's nothing new and
never will be in North Korea is dangerous: it is concentrating on the lonely
tree while missing the forest around it.
Nakamura Junzo
Guam (Jun 21, '11)
[Re NATO, the
ultimate transformer, Jun 20] If Pepe Escobar et al. would criticize
rogue regimes with the same energy that he uses to criticize NATO, the United
States, and democracy, the world would be a better place.
Anyone who reads Escobar's columns would think that North Korea is a paradise
with opportunity for everybody and that let's say Europe is a continent run by
an absolute dictatorship. That is how distorted Mr Escobar's view of the world
is. I wonder if he was around when the Soviets killed over a million Afghans.
There is collateral damage in every war.
My understanding of history tells me that Western armies are the most ethical
armies in the planet. I would rather be caught anywhere in the world by the US
Marines or NATO soldiers than let's say the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps
[Iran]or the folks in the Syrian police. It is very difficult to understand
such nostalgia for the Third World and "culture-less-ness".
The most striking aspect of Escobar's writing, however, is his one-sided,
opinion-filled, articles and their failure to mention the crimes which are the
rule in the Middle East and places like Pakistan.
It is astounding that no one calls him out on this rubbish. I pray to God that
one day he leaves his shell and drinks a cup of Middle Eastern reality. It will
makes us all a great favor.
Ysais Martinez
United States (Jun 21, '11)
Editor's note: We bet the Iraqi prisoners "entertained" at Abu Ghraib
prison don't share your views on American hospitality.
[Re Did Egypt really
open Rafah crossing?, Jun 17] Egypt has not opened the Rafah crossing
fully, it is fair to say. On the other hand, bad and humiliating treatment
notwithstanding, a crack in the Israeli-Mubarak policy of keeping Gazans penned
in like animals is discernible: a limited number of Palestinians in Gaza have
been able to leave the Strip by entering Egypt.
On the other hand, the Egyptian military, once the enforcers of the Mubarak
policy, hold the reins of power temporarily. Although they are swayed by
popular pressure to open the Rafah crossing completely, they are more equally
susceptible to the United States, and of course, Israeli pressures to return to
the status quo ante. Into this mix is big money: the US is willing to forgive
Egypt's $1 billion debt and at the same time grant the "new" Egypt $1 billion
in loans.
Now, the Egyptian military council cannot reverse the tides of change, nor can
the US risk a further deterioration of its image in Egypt and elsewhere in the
Arab world, so the Rafeh crossing will remain open to the degree it is at
present. Ironically, Israel is the loser: Egypt has not restored deliveries of
gas and its protector, the US, cannot push its complete agenda towards Hamas.
Abraham Bin Yiju
Italy (Jun 20, '11)
The Osma bin Laden killing in Abbottabad reflects not only the incompetence of
Pakistan's armed forces but also the most corrupt government in power, leading
a nation that has lost its direction and is heading for total gloom and doom.
The genetic make-up of Pakistani society has been corrupted by greed,
materialism, nepotism, feudalism, corruption, secularism, and decadence in
religious morality and values.
A vast majority of the people from top to bottom living in the cities and urban
developments believe that everything is fair in the pursuit of material
happiness and possessions, even should that mean committing a heinous crime,
looting the country's coffers, embezzling the treasury, avoiding taxes,
cheating, bribing, and lying - and even murdering to achieve their obnoxious
goals. Pakistanis have to eradicate this genetic aberration of mind and the
culture of dishonesty that has polluted their society and has become hereditary
since the creation of Pakistan.
Pakistan has to shift its priorities and re-model social, economic, and basic
infrastructure. It have to educate mullahs teaching Islamic theology and
jurisprudence in schools and colleges to teach the true teachings and message
of Islam of peace, love, harmony and tranquility of mind; and not of hate,
violence, terrorism, suicide bombings and killings of the innocent citizens of
Pakistan.
I wish that it were that simple, but nothing is impossible. Pakistan is in need
of a strong, honest, sincere and patriotic leadership that can lead the country
from gloom and doom to a glorious future. Pakistanis have the potential of
becoming a great nation to lead the entire Islamic world and restore its
prestigious history.
"The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in
trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the
unreasonable man." - George Bernard Shaw.
Saqib Khan
United Kingdom (Jun 20, '11)
[Re: The wrong part
of China in Manhattan, Jun 15] This is perhaps the fairest and
most-balanced analysis that's been presented in the media concerning this
particular topic. Regarding Many
roads, and no collective mind (Jun 15): It seems both major political
parties in the United States have turned into puppets of the moneyed elites.
Let's hope the Chinese government doesn't follow suit.
John Chen
United States (Jun 16, '11)
[Re Syria on the boil,
US warship in Black Sea, Jun 13] It is evident that there will be a
regime change in Syria eventually. The United States and Saudi Arabia can't be
blamed alone; this time they can't be the bad guys!
The US was tolerant with Syria. If Syria was smart it could have tackled the
problem. Instead of killing its own people Syria should roll out drastic reform
policies and appease the people. That is the only solution to this problem.
Russia is a prominent figure but unfortunately it's the local bully with gold
chains, bracelets and shiny SUVs who controls local supply chain, and when it
comes to international matters they matter nothing. They do not have the girth
and backbone to sustain their stance. The US shows them respect publicly but
Russia knows its just courtesy, not acknowledgement.
Any time it wants, the US can decide not to show them respect. So they come out
with loud statements but when the time comes they just retreat into to their
shell. Russia having a naval base in Syria is not acceptable to the United
States. As long as Russia played along, the US looked the other way.
But the stakes are high. By removing Bashar al-Assad, a lot of birds will be
tackled! Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran will be contained. The US knows the Arab world
breeds leaders who are of extreme qualities - either they are extremely
stubborn or extremely like jelly puppets. With Assad gone Syria will be blessed
by a puppet jelly fish who will think Golan Heights is not a big deal. It's
better to get US weapons and Saudi money.
So we have to get ready to see another Arab country after Libya get bombed in
the name of saving humanity. Very soon Syria will be in peril. Everybody says
they feel sorry but my thinking is that it is the people who want to brace the
life of slavery, so what is it to us? The people want it. The Libyan rebel
leaders begged to be bombed so that's what they are getting. They feel they
will be better off under US protection, so let them be. Isn't that the essence
of democracy?
Adnan Nafis
Bangladesh (Jun 16, '11)
[Re Taliban onslaught
undermines peace effort, Jun 14] One should look beyond the fighting,
it seems to me. When the Algerian FLN's provisional government entered
negotiations with General Degaulle's Fifth Republic, fighting did not cease. It
spread and intensified, yet talks went on in back channels or in Switzerland.
In the end, and some four years later in June 1962, Algeria gained
independence.
In Afghanistan, we know very little of what's going on in talks with the
Taliban. Suicide bombings make good headlines, but they are a sign of
frustration since the Taliban are not winning. In fact, given their history in
governing Afghanistan, most Afghans have no stomach for the Taliban those days.
In the background is growing unpopularity in the United States with the war.
Republican candidates are looking to occupy the White House, so withdrawal of
troops is a major theme. So in the medium run, Kabul, the Taliban, and the
North Atlantic Treaty Organization forces will come to an agreement more good
than bad.
Abraham Bin Yiju
Italy (Jun 15, '11)
[Re Unfinished deal between
Pyongyang, Beijing, Jun 13] China is under no illusions about dealing
with North Korea. The sudden visit of a top official to Pyongyang to meet with
Kim Yong-nam, the president of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly
of North Korea, may indicate that the finer points of the agreement to develop
the "Rason" economic zone have to be worked out. And North Korea has a
reputation for hard bargaining, which the United States has learned in its
negotiations. To China, the deal makes both good yuan and good sense in terms
of its own economic development: It is now going to the way of outsourcing to
keep costs down. In this case, among other advantages, is cheaper transport by
sea from northern to southern China.
As for North Korea's relations with the US and South Korea, the press has long
reported on Kim Jong-il's willingness to return to the six-party talks in
Beijing and to reopen dialogue with the South. However, since the North is
always the "bad guy", everyone seems to miss the point that Washington and
Seoul are imposing onerous conditions for talking to Pyongyang. As such, any
self-respecting government, and especially the North, find them "unacceptable".
This plays into the US-South Korean game, since these two countries are quite
happy leaving matters where they lie and truly hope, if you take their actions
as an example, things will fall apart in the North. That is not happening.
Nakamura Junzo
Guam (Jun 14, '11)
[Re False bells on
Iran's nuclear program and
War talk still in the air, June 9] These two informative articles seem
to be like the two sides of the same coin, revolving round and round,
reflecting on the same topic Iran's nuclear program, but with a different
twist.
Iran's announcement that it plans to triple its capacity to enrich uranium to
the 20% level has once again started the uninformed speculation, the hand
wringing, teeth gnashing and alarmist statements about that program. When you
cut through the white noise and the gibberish that passes for informed "expert"
statements, you know as before it is nonsense. The facts are: a year ago and
again in February and April of this year, Iran told the International Atomic
Energy Agency (IAEA) that it will enrich uranium to 20% in order to provide
fuel for its research reactor that produces medical isotopes.
For several years now, Iran has been trying to buy from the West the fuel
plates at the 20% enrichment level necessary to power its research reactor to
no avail. Does Iran have a nuclear program? Of course it does. Is it a nuclear
weapons program? It is not. There is not one scintilla of evidence pointing to
a diversion of enriched uranium to a weapons program. The IAEA has confirmed
this year-after-year as did Lt General James Clapper, the United States
director of National Intelligence, in recent public testimony before the Senate
Armed Services Committee. The chair of the committee, Senator Levin of
Michigan, asked the General about his statement that Iran had not decided to
re-start its nuclear weapons work "Is that correct?" The General said "Yes."
The Senator said "Okay, but what is the level of confidence that you have?...
Is that a high level?" The General said, "Yes, it is."
Furthermore, contrary to what the current head of the IAEA is saying to placate
his patrons, it is worth repeating what Mohamed ElBaradei, the former head of
the IAEA said last week, as reported in your article. ElBaradei said,"during my
time at the agency we haven't seen a shred of evidence that Iran has been
weaponizing, in terms of building nuclear weapons facilities and using enriched
materials."
The question is, who benefits from the continuous drumbeat of inflammatory
statements that either misrepresent or are totally false? And how does it serve
America's national security interest in the region to have the US and Iran at
each other's throat?
Fariborz S Fatemi
United States (Jun 13, '11)
[Re Peace doves hover
over Islamabad, June 10] Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar nails a couple of
key points in the post-Osama bin Laden world in Afghanistan. However, I would
have to disagree that the pressure is on Pakistan rather than the United
States, Afghanistan as a country, or simply on President Hamid Karzai - who
must be "sweating cold" amid so many deceiving circumstances.
President Barack Obama is in campaign mode full motion. The center of the
discussion in the domestic front will be the economy, which is closely linked
to our waste of money, lives, and resources fighting a ghost in the deserts of
Afghanistan. Such war is highly unpopular and the electorate is already asking
the question: "Mr President, if Osama is dead, when are you bringing the troops
home and stopping the insane spending in a war without a cause?"
The 2012 elections put the Obama administration in great pressure because it
needs to respond to the American people regarding its Middle East strategy and
the state of our economy. America will cut a deal before the elections heat up
- you can take that to the bank. Obama is surrounded by fellow Chicagoans who
may not be the brightest cookies, but they are electoral machines who know how
to win and run a campaign. (Do you think that every political party in America
can raise a billion dollars to fund a campaign?).
Simple people like myself always suggested that America should cut a deal with
the powers that be in Afghanistan, let them run their dry deserts and tribes,
and focus on other important issues. In all this Pakistan is the great
deceiver. On one hand, its kisses America's ass to get the foreign aid it so
desperately needs. On the other, Pakistan conspires against American lives and
interests in the region. With these events unfolding, Pakistan's double game
will be increasingly hard to play. In addition Pakistan still needs to respond
for the infiltration of al-Qaeda elements in its military circles and explain
to America and the world whether or not it let Bin Laden loose on purpose to
live a quasi normal life.
Karzai may be in a privileged spot as well as a dangerous one. He can
successfully cut deals with the Taliban, Americans, and Pakistanis, or he could
mess up one of them and get in serious trouble.
I have suggested in the past that while American diplomats are busy drafting
resolutions and whining at the UN, Pakistanis, Iranians, and others are sending
assassins to eliminate whatever threat they are facing. So if Pakistan is sort
of pressured in the "peace" coming to the region, Karzai is the one with the
most at stake, since the wrong move may cost him his life. And what about Iran?
Don't you think that whatever happens in the region Iran has something to say?
Won't it take a piece of the pie?
Ysais Martinez
United States (Jun 13, '11)
[Re Yoga guru
transcends Delhi's crackdown and
'Baba' black sheep, June 10] These two articles show why the Indian
English-language press enjoys the uber-low credibility it does today, as shown
by the recent Radia-tapes scandal highlighting the media-establishment nexus.
In their efforts to cozy up to the establishment, for pecuniary or ideological
reasons, the journos forget that while they are free to criticize as much as
they want, they owe it to the public that there should be some clearly
perceptible even handedness in their treatment, especially when it is an
anti-establishment figure they're going after.
The two articles fall far short of this basic standard. The first one belies
its own heading, by not explaining at all why the baba (Yoga guru)
transcends. Instead it indulges in "progressive" secular-left materialistic
ideology inspired rhetoric, by first downgrading the discipline of Yoga (by
focusing on a tiny aspect, derisively called "cleaning the nasal passages") and
then attacking the idea of baba itself. The second one shamelessly (as
the author frequently does) pits the baba/swami against his own "guru",
and then via more rhetorical flourishes, calls his own guru and his practices
the "winner", and stops just short of demonizing the "competition". What a
paradox that the author simultaneously preaches about "spiritual cleansing" and
what-have-you, while doing his polemic hatchet job.
As a reader who has looked for - and has mostly found - in Asia Times Online
the objectivity much missing in regular media, I'm a tad disappointed that
these authors are not labeled the opinionated columnists they are (a la
"Spengler" or "Chan Akya", say). Also for balance perhaps some publication of
"news and opinion" from the other side would be welcome.
Karigar
United States (Jun 13, '11)
[Re Yoga guru
transcends Delhi's crackdown and
'Baba' black sheep, June 10] One does not have to wait for the media
lapdogs to leap pack like onto the growing bandwagon of dismantling and
distorting the driving message behind Baba Ramdev. Simply put that message is
enough is enough. The blatant disregard for appearances, the sheen of fairness
and the varnish of truth when dealing with "your" own people by India's
decade-long ruling elite has been the fertile soil where public dissension,
that spanned all of India, springs forth from and rises.
To dissemble and divert with this ''US made'' plane and his Scottish Island is
to be knavish and and an implicit traitor to a duty that calls when one sees
the disastrous, corrupt and rotten to the core essence of what India has in
leadership.
That is the message, the clarion call and the rally to arms. For too long have
too many suffered for too few. Adulteration of food, medicines, petrol and of
course currency is running rampant with the very fabric of human morality and
sensibility. He has but heeded the call from Anna Hazare and has he has done
with his study and practice of Yoga - embraced it with complete conviction. Yet
instead of lauding a man who despite accruing wealth truly by merit and
devotion we choose to disparage - perhaps to hide our own discomfort for never
being so committed to anything and so to garner the genuine affection of
people.
Where is this rent-a-chorus of journalists for the innumerable corruption and
justice scandals that involve the leadership? Where is the re-examination of
the Bofors scandal decades ago that eerily resembles a pattern of
non-culpability?
It is the right and duty of the citizen to remove a corrupt and inefficient
government. The Indian people have too long been patient with these
post-colonialist stooges who desire to be the dark sheep at the table of
globalization rather than the lean lion of their own nation. And here, we come
to the core of the issue. Baba Ramdev is a nationalist - defined as a person
who puts the interests of the country ABOVE international trade/commitments and
'strategic' alliances. But what else would he be if not that, given the
disastrous state of India for the common man? This is why we have so many
rent-a-journalist's scurrying to scribble pithy pieces decrying this Baba.
As Cicero wisely said:
"A nation can survive its fools, and even the ambitious. But it cannot
survive treason from within. An enemy at the gates is less formidable, for he
is known and carries his banner openly. But the traitor moves amongst those
within the gate freely, his sly whispers rustling through all the alleys, heard
in the very halls of government itself. For the traitor appears not a traitor;
he speaks in accents familiar to his victims, and he wears their face and their
arguments, he appeals to the baseness that lies deep in the hearts of all men.
He rots the soul of a nation, he works secretly and unknown in the night to
undermine the pillars of the city, he infects the body politic so that it can
no longer resist. A murderer is less to fear. The traitor is the plague."
Sanjay Desai
United States (Jun 13, '11)
Recent statements by [US Secretary of State] Hillary Clinton questioning
China's motives for investing in Africa surely must rank among the most
hypocritical in a long list of hypocritical pronouncements by Wonderland
Secretaries of State. Considering that this list would include the lies and
misdeeds of that notorious war criminal Henry Kissinger, the cuckold of Bill
Clinton should, if she were capable, fell dishonored indeed.
That she would use the United States as an example of how other nations should
treat Africa and the Africans clearly demonstrates that shame, as well as
guilt, memory and honor, are not part of her diplomatic lexicon. Perhaps
someone should remind Hillary of how we supported the racist white South
African regime's vicious war against an Angolan people that simply wanted an
alternative to the brutal capitalist model of the West, or how we propped up
the murderous kleptocracies of Mobutu, Mubarak and a string of Nigerian despots
over four decades. Perhaps she should read about the CIA's guilt in having the
Congo's Lumumba murdered, or our 30 year-and-ongoing support of the Moroccan
army's brutal suppression of the UN-recognized rights of the Sawahari people.
But then, like most Americans, I'm certain Hillary's knowledge of the Empire's
crimes is pretty selective and blinkered. She dismisses China's state-guided
model as being an exploitative chimera for Africa, a continent that was never
ruthlessly raped by Chinese as it was by the Caucasian powers, powers the US
has actively aided and abetted in profiting from African misery and suffering.
She questions the sincerity of Chinese intentions, and suggests that Africans
should be suspicious of Chinese largesse. One wonders if this gander is also
speaking for the bigger goose, and will give the same advice to a US Treasury
that desperately hungers for Chinese purchases of an exploding WonderDebt.
Indeed, I surmise that what Hillary really wants is for the Chinese to reserve
their exploitation for a floundering, moribund imperial carcass that no one
sees much of a future for anymore.
Hardy Campbell
United States (Jun 13, '11)
[Re Fight or
flight in the South China Sea, June 9] China is doing nothing more than
what Uncle Sam would have, if Cuba drilled on the "American" side of the Gulf,
or invited international oil companies to join in and do so.
The Hong Kong sex trade and the bars would suffer some losses should the Yanks'
navy stop their visits. But what is at stake is much more than a few
greenbacks, and even beyond oil and gas. It is the credibility of the full
faith and credit of the People's Republic of China, and the ability of the PLA
to defend such.
The situation on the sea is that some of the mosquito states (especially
Vietnam) are taking advantage of China's magnanimity, and have been actively
taking steps to drill and steal. Since the end of the Vietnam War, Vietnam has
taken in hundreds of billions from the disputed areas, and the theft continues.
The general reaction of the Chinese public on recent nationalistic outbursts
from Hanoi (...will fight till we take Beijing...) is "Go at it, boys!"
Zhu, Bajie
Hong Kong (Jun 10, '11)
[Re Deficit cutter,
June 8] It is indeed 100% true that the trade between the United States and
China is highly inequitable. There should definitely be a balance of profits,
by edict if necessary.
By June, 2009, the total number of US investment projects in China had exceeded
57,000 and the value of accumulated US investment in China reached US$61
billion. These US companies operating in China report annual profits of
at least $80 billion. The actual profits are of course much higher, as they are
hidden with transfer pricing moves. According to the American Chamber of
Commerce in China's 2009 White Paper, 74% of American businesses in China made
profits and 91% chose to stay in China to expand. Many of these businesses are
enjoying not only whatever industrial policies are promulgated by Beijing, but
they are also enjoying preferred status, advantaged over the locals.
On the other hand, cumulated Chinese direct investments in the US, due to the
hostility shown by the American Congress, has been only $3.1 billion by June
2009. The $80 billion in American profits from China is many times that
of the profits on China's exports to America ($300 billion, with profits
averaging 1-5%).
More equitable trade means equal profits.
Zhu, Bajie
Hong Kong (Jun 9, '11)
[Re A glass no
longer half full;
Mexican trick, Fed style;
Slow slide the easy choice, Jun 7] With United States President Barack
Obama's re-election prospects rather heavily dependent on the perceived state
of the US economy come voting time, it's a bit difficult to envision the
Federal Reserve not continuing with its loose monetary policy at least until
the end of 2012.
Though the current administration's handling of the recent/present financial
crisis leaves much to be desired, with no electable candidate offering credible
economic cures, a not-so-unsavory outcome would be for Obama to remain
president for a second term.
Unburdened by further worries of another election and turning his attention to
carving his legacy, he would then make tough and politically-unpalatable
decisions to fix the economy. While it seems obvious that the President is not
well-schooled in matters of economics, it doesn't take an expert to see that
the nation's economy is not healthy and that monetary easing has been
ineffective and is doing nothing more than masking deep structural problems.
(By the way, has Asia Times Online ever offered the White House a free
subscription to the publication?)
John Chen
United States (Jun 8, '11)
Editor's note: No subscription is necessary: The President of the United States,
like any visitor to this website, can read Asia Times Online for free; we know
that they do at the State Department.
[Re ((Not) all is
quiet on the Israel-Palestine front, Jun 7] Hamas is an easy scapegoat
for Israel's no-movement on the peace process. Israeli's prime minister "Bibi"
Netanyahu's vaudeville show before the joint session of the American Congress
signaled to the world that he wasn't going to budge a centimeter on a two-state
solution.
It is convenient for the Likud led right wing government to see Syria's hand in
the confrontation on the Golon Heights border as a way of supporting Hamas when
it was clearly a protest by Palestinian refugees in Syria commemorating what
they call 'al naksa' on the 43rd anniversary of the Six Day War and the long
implacable Zionist occupation of the West Bank and Arab East Jerusalem.
Kotsev conveniently does not comment on Israelis who demonstrated against the
occupation and called for a two state solution along the 1967 Green Line, which
includes the West Bank, Gaza, and Arab East Jerusalem? Would he consider these
Israeli protesters as "traitors" or dupes of Hamas let alone the Palestinian
Authority?
As the long, drawn out negotiations for Shalit's release, the blame falls on
the Israeli government's shoulders for its intransigence. Furthermore, the
longer Shalit remains captive, he serves the Likud's purposes. Remember Lebanon
and Syria and Iran have held Israelis for longer periods of time.
As for Gaza, Israel has relied on heavy US pressure to close the border at
Raffeh. For Egypt a forgiven debt of $1bn and a loan in the same amount are
worth the continued boxing in of Gaza's residents.
Time is running out for Israel: the campaign of peaceful, passive resistance is
spreading in the occupied territories as well as boycotts of Israeli
settlement's products; abroad the DBS campaign is taking root.
Abraham Bin Yiju
Italy (Jun 8, '11)
[Re US breathes
life into a new cold war, Jun 6] Henry Kissinger has been in the news
of late especially since the publication of his new book on China and as a
possible mediator in sorting out the scandal haunting FIFA. In interview after
interview, the former US security adviser and secretary of state keeps harping
on a one note on Afghanistan. He wants China to own it so that the US can
lighten its burden there.
If M K Bhadrakumar's analysis is sustainable, it would seem that the wily
Kissinger has dusted off an old strategy of splitting China from any
significant strategy with Russia in Central Asia. As it is, Bhadrakumar plays
down China's purchase on Pakistan in order to cause trouble in the ministries
in New Delhi. If anything such a Sino-Russian meeting of the minds is fraught
with all sorts of difficulties.
Abraham Bin Yiju
Italy (Jun 7, '11)
[Re Israel,
Ireland and the peace of the aging, Jun 6] With all fear masked as
optimism and bravado, it is a pleasure to read the ever more frequent
self-comforting writings of Spengler. It makes sense: with reality refusing to
submit to your demands, you're the only one left to tell yourself all the
things you want to hear. Reality remains unfazed.
Mustafa
Bosnia (Jun 7, '11)
[Re Southeast Asia
Rises in US Reset, Jun 3] The recent crisis in Northeast Asia and its
subsequent "stalemate" has nothing to do with South Korean President Lee
Myung-bak or Prime Minister Naoto Kan of Japan. It was the United States'
undisguised attempts to test and evaluate China's geopolitical ambitions,
planning and preparedness. It is the same case with Southeast Asia.
I do not think it is the intention of any US leaders to lead their Southeast
Asian counterparts down any garden path, in spite of Hillary Clinton's "in your
face" confrontation with Chinese Foreign Minister Yang. Robert Gates had
clearly stated that there will be no more land war for Americans in Asia. I
think the United States is not all that keen on sea or air war with China too.
At the height of the United States/China "stand off" during the previous
century, Mao Zedong and the Communist Party of China had made it clear that in
the event of war breaking out between the United States and China, the People's
Liberation Army would not recognize any American allies' boundaries (land, sea,
or air) in Southeast Asia. I think the Americans and their allies in these
parts have not forgotten that warning.
Jim
Singapore (Jun 6, '11)
[Re Pyongyang lets the cat
out of the bag, June 3] If North Korea bruited the clandestine meeting
of South Korea's Lee Myung-bak's envoys in Beijing, Sunny Lee's article is not
giving us the full details as the whys and wherefores of blowing the secret.
Surely, it is much more than a moment of pique on the part of the North?
Lee is in a tight spot: his policy towards North Korea has not borne the fruit
he hoped. His "track 2" diplomacy has run into a wall as well, since it
differed, it seems, from his public call for repentance for the sinking of the Cheonan
and the shelling along the Northern Limit Line. The South Korean president owns
the broken pottery of his Northern policy. Sanctions and denial of food aid, as
well as blackening the name of Kim Jong-il, have not worked. Kim will be there
still when Lee leaves the Blue House, but his torpedoing of the "Sunshine
Policy" has heightened tensions on an already tense Korean peninsula.
Nakamura Junzo
Guam (Jun 6, '11)
[Re Copper
cooler for China, Jun 3]. To follow up on the point made by Abraham Bin
Yiju, there appears to be no shortage of world class copper deposits in the
lands around China's rim. Apart from the Afghanistan deposits he mentioned
there are two currently being developed into mines in eastern Mongolia close to
China's border. In addition there is the basis for a low grade copper province
in Pakistan's southern Balochistan region not far from the port of Gwadar which
Chinese capital recently has been actively developing.
In lands even more distant from China there are no doubt more copper orebodys
waiting to be developed; including most likely some in northern Chile whose
sub-soil I believe is toxic with copper ores. My impression is that the current
spike in the global copper price is likely to be short lived. The current price
serves to bring new mines into production while encouraging expansion of
existing ones.
Monsoonwind
Australia (Jun 6, '11)
[Re Copper cooler
for China, Jun 3] What about China's exploitation of Afghanistan's
copper deposits? In spite of the capital investment, Afghani copper offer a
cheaper source of this "cherished" and "coveted" metal. And of course China
borders on Afghanistan, which would seriously bring down transportation fees.
Abraham Bin Yiju
Italy (Jun 3, '11)
May Letters
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