Marx claimed that the State would wither away once the proletariat took over the material and productive forces of society and made the state apparatus redundant; classes would cease to exist and political representation would be unnecessary. This writer has always held this stateless communism in disdain, preferring democracy where the State ackno
Lisette Talate died the other day [Jan. 4, 2012]. I remember a wiry, fiercely intelligent woman who masked her grief with a determination that was a presence. She was the embodiment of people’s resistance to the war on democracy. I first glimpsed her in a 1950s Colonial Office film about the Chagos islanders, a tiny creole nation living midwa
Moscow: Midwinter recess stopped everything in Russia. It was like August in France some years ago, mutatis mutandis, with snow instead of sand, fir trees instead of palms, and vodka instead of pastis. For two weeks, the whole country laid off work and relaxed. Moscow was blissfully empty of its crowds, though Red Square was thronged by hundreds of
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Hari Om
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27 Jan 2012
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World acclaimed writer Salman Rushdie, who hails from Mumbai and holds an NRI passport, was first barred by the Congress-led UPA Government and Congress Government in Rajasthan from visiting India to participate in the Jaipur Literary Festival (JLF). Then, to ensure the purge of the writer’s views from being disseminated at the same venue, th
‘Vade vade jayate tattvabodhah’ (Every debate brings forth understanding of principles), says a Sanskrit subhashita. In their long history, Hindus as a people have been fond of discussing matters of religion, philosophy and spirituality, among themselves and with others. In spite of what Islam and its votaries had done to Hindus and the
One hundred and fifty persons - men, women and children - have died of hunger in nineteen districts of Bihar in the past five years to 2011. The dead are mainly from the dalit community. Some had the ‘red ration card’ with entitlement of 25 kg of rice at highly subsidized rates, yet they could not afford to buy even 50% of the entitleme
Just released data by the Washington-based International Food Policy Research Institute says that a quarter of the world’s hungry, 230 million to be precise, are in India, going to sleep each day on an empty stomach. These stomachs are not even half-filled! Our food situation is worse than that of Pakistan and Nepal, and even far o
The following is a 2011 article by Mahdi Darius Nazemroaya for the Italian journal Eurasia about the manipulation of national constitutions as a neo-colonial means of modern empire-building. The article presents an important overview of the US empire-building process. The original print version was published in the Italian language and translated b
Since November, the United States and its allies, Britain and France in particular, have been mounting political and military pressure on Iran. Not a day goes by without a leader of these Western countries issuing a fresh threat against Tehran. On a daily basis, harsh statements are broadcast from Washington, London, Paris and Tel Aviv asserting th
Let’s start with red lines. Here it is, Washington’s ultimate red line, straight from the lion’s mouth. Only last week Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta said of the Iranians, “Are they trying to develop a nuclear weapon? No. But we know that they’re trying to develop a nuclear capability. And that’s what concerns
The United States reportedly sent a letter to Iran via multiple intermediaries last week warning Tehran that any attempt to close the Strait of Hormuz constituted a red line for Washington. The same week, a chemist associated with Iran’s nuclear program was killed in Tehran. In Ankara, Iranian parliamentary speaker Ali Larijani met with Turki
Scarcely a word is heard about foreign affairs amid US election talk, despite the many fires around the world that the US military is either stoking or trying to douse -- depending on your point of view. Other than Republican contender Ron Paul -- not a serious candidate for the mainstream -- no one questions the plans for war on Iran, Israel
In a debate on conversions, it may be useful to hear the voice of a convert. I was raised as a Roman Catholic in Flanders, the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium, which was for centuries a Catholic frontline region against Protestant Holland and Masonic-secularist France, and a top-ranking provider of missionaries. One of my uncles is a missionar
Those who think Pakistan’s only problem is the rising tide of jihadism in that country are grossly mistaken. There are indications that the London-led project to separate Balochistan from Pakistan has now been given an impetus. The objectives are many. To name a few: It would weaken a belligerent Pakistan; create a buffer between Pakistan and
In the United States today, the Declaration of Independence hangs on schoolroom walls, but foreign policy follows Machiavelli — Howard Zinn, 1922-2010. On 5 December, the first day of the solemn, predominantly Shi’a Muslim marking of Ashura, the martyrdom of Hussein, the Prophet’s grandson in 680 AD, in a statement few of the main
In September 2010, despite misgivings in many quarters, the Government of India embarked upon a preposterous exercise to provide every resident – not citizen, mind you – of the country with a Unique Identification number [UID, brand name Aadhaar], which would identify residents by iris scans, fingerprints and photographs. The Government
Whatever the eventual fate of Gen. Vijay Kumar Singh and his petition seeking legal remedy on the issue of his date of birth, the responsibility for driving the glorious institution of the Indian Army and its Chief into this fight rests on the shoulders of the Prime Minister, the Defence Minister, the Cabinet, the UPA supremo + Caucus, and above al
New Delhi has moved with commendable alacrity to clarify that it has not asked oil firms to reduce crude imports from Tehran. Iran remains India’s second largest crude oil supplier despite the UPA’s twice voting that the International Atomic Energy Commission refer Iran’s nuclear issue to the Security Council in February 2006
After years of US threats, Iran is taking steps which suggest that is both willing and capable of closing the Strait of Hormuz. On December 24, 2011 Iran started its Velayat-90 naval drills in and around the Strait of Hormuz and extending from the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman (Oman Sea) to the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea. Since the conduct of
On 21 December 2011, the Tamil Nadu chief minister gave a virtual carte blanche to Christian evangelism in the State by giving the community a massive freebie at taxpayer expense, viz., financial assistance for 500 Christians to take a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, annually. Announcing this at a Christmas celebration hosted by the AIADMK at Laity A
(1) January 11, 2012 “Salon” -- Several days ago I referenced a controversy that arose in 2007 when the law professor and right-wing blogger Glenn “Instapundit” Reynolds criticized President Bush for not doing enough to stop Iran’s nuclear program and then advocated that the US respond by murdering that nation’s
In March 2010 when I resigned from my column with Creator’s Syndicate and put down my pen, I received so many protests from readers that two months later I began writing again. This renewed activity has resulted in this new year in a website of my own. My columns will first appear on my site [www.paulcraigroberts.org]. Sites on which readers
In 1982, Dr M.S. Swaminathan withdrew from his position as Chairman of the Scientific Advisory Committee to the Cabinet (SACC) and deputy chairman of the Planning Commission – he was also earlier secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture – and defected to join the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) based at Los Banos in the Phi
Christianity being a millenarian ideology aims at world dominion, at least since the time it established its headquarters in Rome in the early centuries after Christ. Former Canadian Protestant and now a Smarta Dashnami sanyasi, Swami Devananda Saraswati alias Ishwar Sharan, perceptively deems it to be a continuation of the Roman Empire under anoth
3. Treatment in and by the State Administration: More than 77% of the Government administration members are of Malay ethnicity. About 20% the Indian members and about 60% of the Chinese members of the Government administration are teachers in the Government schools. If they are excluded from the numbers employed by the Government administration, th
Institutional racism is the process by which people from ethnic minorities are systematically discriminated against by a range of public and private bodies. If the result or outcome of established laws, customs or practices is racially discriminatory, then institutional racism can be said to have occurred. In this paper we postulate that Malaysia h
The scandalous conduct of some Indian members of the UN Peacekeeping Mission in Congo, under the command of the then Major General Bikram Singh, may translate into major embarrassment for India at various international forums if the government abides by a covert ‘line of succession’ hinted by the Attorney General in his rather vacuous &
This article will come as a shock to many just as Raja Petra’s interview with the New Sunday Times about Anwar but not for those in the political inside track. To those in charge of propaganda in UMNO, the interview in which Raja Petra let loose his pent-up anger on Anwar is a major propaganda coup that will surely turn the tide against the o
Atul Bhardwaj’s article on India’s China debacle “Why was Krishna Menon the foul guy of ’62?” is nothing but a card holder’s tirade against (whom else?) the rightists and the US to explain away the most humiliating episode in our post-independence history.http://www.vijayvaani.com/FrmPublicDisplayArticle.aspx?id=
Plachimada is today synonymous with the struggle for right to life through water! There can be no dispute about the need for drinking water to sustain life. Nor can it be disputed that the right of human beings to this most essential need is inalienable. But what happens when a multinational company with tons of money (accumulated mostly through ex
The US, NATO and Israel Defense Forces are ready to attack Iran with nuclear weapons. Covert wars had already started during Libyan attacks. The Union of Concerned Scientists recently have warned that, should the USA use nuclear weapons in Iran, of say 1 megaton yield, it would kill 35 million people in Iran and another 35 million will d
When it comes to China policy, is the Obama administration leaping from the frying pan directly into the fire? In an attempt to turn the page on two disastrous wars in the Greater Middle East, it may have just launched a new Cold War in Asia -- once again, viewing oil as the key to global supremacy.The new policy was signaled by President Obama him
“When a US sponsored nuclear war becomes an “instrument of peace”, condoned and accepted by the World’s institutions and the highest authority, including the United Nations, there is no turning back: human society has indelibly been precipitated headlong onto the path of self-destruction.” (Towards a World War III Scen
Once again, our seeds are under attack. Trans-national seeds companies like Monsanto, Syngenta and Bayer are pushing genetically modified [GM] seeds in India without proper biosafety assessment. It is now scientifically known that when GM seeds are sown and plants flower, non-GM plants are contaminated through cross-pollination, and all life forms
The bells toll for the ignominious UPA-II. Having thrown down the gauntlet by asking the government to resign following exposure of its lack of majority in both Houses of Parliament, as also loss of support from key coalition partners, the BJP must ensure the downfall of the regime during next year’s Budget session. All political parties, inc
On Dec. 20, a trilateral dialogue between India, Japan and the United States took place in Washington. It was a discussion that involved bureaucrats, not ministers. Nonetheless, these bureaucrats represented their respective countries, making it a trilateral dialogue. A joint statement issued after the day-long discussions said: “These
Now that the Arab Spring has come and gone, one of the features of the new Arab Winter is watching how a US/UK-backed brutal Egyptian military dictatorship has become increasingly more violent towards its own pro-reform, unarmed citizens.There are still a few readers left out there who will understandably be a bit confused and ask, “Wait a mi
As the stakes rise for MNCs desperately peddling their money-raking GM crops all over the world, Indian agricultural scientists are becoming increasingly amenable to MNC persuasions (sic) regarding the safety and desirability of genetically modified crops. Indian Farmers, with their native wisdom, wary of the entire food chain becoming bonded to a
For years, biotech agriculture opponents have accused regulators of working too closely with big biotech firms when deregulating genetically engineered (GE) crops. Now, their worst fears could be coming true: under a new two-year pilot program at the USDA, regulators are training the world’s biggest biotech firms, including Monsanto, BASF and