Now that we have got over the nonsensical political rhetoric of the self-deluded politicians in the 4th quarter of 2011 and the merriment of Christmas, it is time for a reality check. In 2007, Malaysia completed the 50 years cycle (i.e. 1957 -2007) which had two phases or mini-cycles of 25 years each. The 12 years following the Second World War (19
In an address to the Congress parliamentary party on Dec. 8, Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee lamented that the UPA coalition was forced to suspend the cabinet decision to allow 51% foreign direct investment in multi-brand retail (like Wal-Mart, Tesco, Carrefour and others) in order to avert a mid-term poll. Mukherjee mourned this ‘pro
Col. Lawrence Wilkerson spent 31 years in the US Army, serving in Vietnam, in the Pacific Command, on the faculty of the Navy War College, and at the Marine Corps University. In 1989 he became of Chief of Staff to Gen. Colin Powell in the final months of Powell’s serving as National Security Advisor. He was Chief of Staff to General Powell at
After interminably long delay, the grey Moscow heavens were at long last generous with snow, dispensing heaps and heaps of the white stuff, turning cars into snow mountains and making sidewalks impassable. This is a nice time of year: bare trees are covered with white foliage, skating rinks flash with skaters, girls sport their favorite minks. Snow
Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you - St Matthew 7.7His Holiness Pope Benedict XVISecretariat of State 00120 Vatican City State - Europe Wish You a Merry Christmas and New YearYour HolinessThe debate related to the status of Christians in India is going on and you are already aware of
As America leads a resurgence of imperial muscle in Britain and France, India finds herself in a precarious position as battleground of a fresh Evangelical assault on her civilisational ethos and as a launch pad Washington hopes to use in its containment of Russia and China, having effectively crushed much of the Islamic world and confident of bein
Seth, I’d like to introduce you to Israel Shamir (assuming you don’t already know him), and bring him into our discussion. You are both of Jewish background - “Jews by birth” - who have adopted Christianity. And you both talk of the spiritual impoverishment of our times.Although my possibly-Jewish surname could suggest a Jew
“Practicing yoga is Satanic, it leads to evil. Yoga leads to Hinduism and all eastern religions are based on a false belief in reincarnation,” proclaimed Vatican’s former chiefexorcist Father Gabriele Amorth on November 28, 2011 at a film festival in the Italian city of Umbria, where he was invited to introduce a movie about
Two major incidents in Pakistan and Afghanistan during the last two weeks have withered all hopes that the growing instability in Pakistan and Afghanistan can be contained. While the attack on two Pakistani military posts by NATO helicopters close to the Afghanistan-Pakistan border killed at least 24 Pakistani soldiers, the killings of 60 Shi’
In a major victory for Hindu activists, the Delhi High Court on Dec. 21 granted a stay order against the deportation of 151 Pakistani Hindu nationals who arrived in the capital in September and sought asylum on grounds of religious persecution and oppression in Pakistan.A bench led by Acting Chief Justice of Delhi, Mr. A.K. Sikri, and Mr. Justice R
[A new insight into the events of those tumultuous times – editor]Three guilty men of India-China war are Mao, Menon, and Nehru - the dominant discourse in India imbues the trio with various shades of red - and tends to filter the 1962 war debate through the anti-communist prism - conveniently ignoring the role that the Indian conservatives a
1. The Likes Parade: Moscow saw its biggest demo in a decade last Saturday. It was a feel-good peaceful manifestation of youthful Facebook users, and it was already nicknamed the Likes Parade, as the prospective participants had clicked on “like” in response to the call to demonstrate. The predictions were dire: some expected clashes an
Russia’s parliamentary elections have sparked a political crisis, surprising everyone from President Putin (excuse me, Medvedev) down, including the demonstrators themselves, marvels Eric WalbergTahrir Square continues to send out its beacon of light. Thousands of Russian riot police were deployed in Red Square to prevent it from being turned
The morally-challenged UPA regime, accused of policy paralysis by big business seeking ever more concessions with each passing quarter, has moved quietly but speedily on a mission to decimate the middle class. Whether or not these measures enjoy covert political consensus, the fact remains that not a single political party has opposed this raid on
There is a lot of discussion going on currently in the country on the Food Security Bill, but, the Food Security Bill is gathering dust in Parliament. It is better to call it a Food “Insecurity” Bill rather than the Food Security Bill as no one seems to appreciate the urgency of enacting a fool proof Food Security Bill that is the most
The gruesome killing by NATO helicopters of at least 24 Pakistani soldiers at their outposts close to the Afghan border and on Pakistani soil on Nov.26 has worsened not only US-Pakistan relations, but added further to the uncertainties in both Afghanistan and Pakistan. This major incident of Nov.26 is an unique incident, but it is not the only inci
The position of religious minorities in Independent India was a question that received the attention of some of the tallest leaders of our freedom movement. The Hindu nationalist position on the matter was made abundantly clear by Veer Savarkar. In his Presidential address to the 20th session of the Hindu Mahasabha (Nagpur, 1938), Savarkar said, &n
Naxalism is a stifling political ideology. It rejects, in fact challenges, the nation’s socio-economic system and refuses to engage with the polity. It ravages the life of common people in Naxal-affected areas. The Naxal movement has long since lost any moral paradigm it may once have had as there is no legitimacy in the rage it expresses aga
The Week magazine, based in Kerala, India, came out recently with a comprehensive report on themassive arms seizure in Chittagong, Bangladesh, in 2004 made by two Bangladeshi policemen. The Week claimed it had unearthed official records on the case in India and Bangladesh, and that it had exclusive access to the 3,500-page Chittagong case diary.Sub
Backed by a Management Degree from BITS Pilani, Rashmi Datt worked for eight years at Pfizer before she discovered her true passion – People Development. She is now an executive trainer who has supported serious corporates in their talent development endeavours. What differentiates her from the rest is her ability to reflect and use the ̶
There has been a lot of talk in the press lately about a “cold war” being waged by the United States, Israel and other US allies against Iran. Such a struggle is certainly taking place, but in order to place recent developments in perspective, it is important to recognize that the covert intelligence war against Iran (and the Iranian re
The first round of Egyptian parliamentary elections has taken place, and the winners were two Islamist parties. The Islamists themselves are split between more extreme and more moderate factions, but it is clear that the secularists who dominated the demonstrations and who were the focus of the Arab Spring narrative made a poor showing. Of the thre
On Dec.5, the Times of India carried a Reuters article that stated: “India may face its worst financial crisis in decades if it fails to stem a slide in the rupee, leaving the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) with a difficult choice over how to make best use of its limited reserves to maintain the confidence of foreign investors.” The a
Recently the West Bengal police and CRPF jointly eliminated one of the country’s most dangerous Naxal leaders, Koteshwar Rao alias Kishenji, in the West Midnapore district, just 10 km from Jharkhand. Kishenji was reputedly the number three in the organizational hierarchy. The violent encounter surprised observers across the political spectrum
What would Americans say if they found their polling stations and certain political parties entirely infiltrated by Chinese money, Chinese observers, and Chinese-backed candidates promoting China’s interests in an AMERICAN election? The answer ranges from incarceration, to trials featuring charges ranging from fraud, to sedition and even trea
The Duma elections held no surprises, but the election turmoil can’t obscure the kind of politics that will continue to characterise Russia over the coming decade thanks to United Russia and its eminence grise, predicts Eric WalbergWith a 60 per cent turnout, United Russia’s solid 49.5 per cent plurality in the 4 December Duma elections
‘Abandoning the lessons of a 5000 year old Asian Civilization and accepting a 500 year old Western Civilization is illogical’In the wake of the disastrous impact that westernization is having on humanity in terms of the environment, social instability, and human suffering, it is time to reflect. Asian civilizations have been built on a
The Iranian people know what it means to earn the enmity of the global godfather. As William Blum documented in Killing Hope: US Military and CIA Interventions Since World War II, 1953’s CIA-organized coup against Iranian Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadegh, guilty of the “crime” of nationalizing the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company, may h
By whitewashing the Libyan rebels and demonising the Gaddafi regime did the leading US intellectual Noam Chomsky help facilitate an imperialist invasion? In a wide-ranging interview with Chomsky, Dan Glazebrook asks him ‘There were two interventions, not one, by NATO. One of them lasted about five minutes. That’s the one that was
The Church itself provides ample evidence of its true face as one of the most barbarous persecutors in the world. Everywhere that it invaded, it persecuted the natives and destroyed their culture, converted them and christianised the entire land. Christian Clergy world over has an ugly track record of child abuse, sodomy, rape, and what not. Their
On 7 November 2011, the Indore edition of DNA newspaper carried a news item titled, “Vatican Cardinal, Swamis to join hands at meet”. The report said that Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, president, Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue from the Vatican, would lead a 30-member Catholic delegation for dialogue with a 30-member Hindu
Moscow is unusually warm: the temperature refuses to dip below zero degrees Centigrade, the freezing point. Instead, it is wet and dark. The sun gets up late and goes to sleep early. To make matters worse, President Medvedev decided to keep Russia on daylight savings time throughout winter. To offset this stupid decision, Christmas illumination was
These days the humanitarian warriors are riding high, thanks to their proclaimed victory in Libya. The world’s only superpower, with moral, military and mercenary support from the democracy-loving emirate of Qatar and the historic imperialist powers, Britain and France, was unsurprisingly able to smash the existing government of a sparsely po
Fierce political opposition has forced the government to suspend its controversial decision to permit 51 per cent foreign stake in multi-brand retail. This will no doubt be hailed as a major victory by its opponents and a great setback for the government and its reform agenda by its supporters. While this may be true in a limited sense, the real is
A profit-sucking corporate food chain; contract farming and mono-cultivations displacing crop diversity; farmers reduced to bonded labour of 21st century clones of the East India Company – such will be the face of Indian agriculture if we let the UPA impose the disastrous policy of FDI in retail. It is unbelievable that a regime could be so d
The name “Arab Spring” is a catch phrase concocted in distant offices in Washington, London, Paris, and Brussels by individuals and groups who, other than having some superficial knowledge of the region, know very little about the Arabs. What is unfolding amongst the Arab peoples is naturally a mixed package. Insurgency is part of this
In 1729, when Ireland had fallen into a state of utter destitution at the hands of its British landlords, Jonathan Swift published a famous essay, “A Modest Proposal for Preventing the Children of Poor People in Ireland from Being a Burden to Their Parents or Country, and for Making Them Beneficial to the Public.” His idea was simple: t
[FF Editorial: What took these so-called experts so long to come to their conclusions that the Final Phase of the Global Financial Tsunami has started. This, we had forecasted way, way back in November of 2010 and that the final phase would kicked in on or before the 1st quarter of 2011. The financial system is in a gridlock and there is nothing th
It’s hard to imagine a greater provocation than your bosom buddy killing 28 of your own soldiers. NATO helicopters violated the airspace of Pakistan from Afghanistan on Friday and opened unprovoked fire on a check post in Mohmand, northwest Pakistan at midnight. Presumably the pilots got the wrong coordinates from MacDill Air Force Central Co
In the early hours of Nov. 26 on the Afghan-Pakistani border, what was almost certainly a flight of US Army AH-64 Apache attack helicopters and an AC-130 gunship killed some two dozen Pakistani servicemen at two border outposts inside Pakistan. Details remain scarce, conflicting and disputed, but the incident was known to have taken place near the
Here’s the First Amendment, in full: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” Those beautiful
After the Arab League hypocritically suspended the membership of Syria amid the mounting pressures of NATO and the United States, the resurgence of violence in Egypt and the increasing use of excessive force in Bahrain and Yemen and the unrelenting massacre of innocent civilians by the barbaric regime of Al Khalifa and Ali Abdullah Saleh once again
Under the smokescreen of responding to a crisis, the government is sneaking in a number of controversial measures for the benefit of foreigners, which it would not have dared take otherwise. The second fastest-growing economy in the world now has the unenviable distinction of having the fastest falling financial markets in Asia. Global tremors