The Promised Land is a far horizon; what beckons is a treacherous infamy. The imperious Pope Benedict XIV, once the awesome Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger and head of Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (read Inquisition, 1981-2005), is at the receiving end of an Inquisitorial Flock demanding his Shepherd’s baton. Perha
The Empire will stop at nothing to find mechanisms and techniques to achieve its final objective, and we cannot disregard the possibility of a military conflict in the near future. If the US places Venezuela on the “terrorist list” this year, we could be on the verge of a regional war.Latin America has suffered constant aggressions exec
The Supreme Court has, for unknown reasons, opened a dark chapter in our modern history by upholding the validity of the Andhra Pradesh government decision to give four percent reservation to backward caste members of the Muslim community. The haste to give such as interim order warrants explanation, as the bench comprising Chief Justice KG Balakri
If signals emanating from New Delhi are to be believed, the Man Mohan Singh led United Progressive Alliance government is considering the names of former Vice-Chancellor of Jammu University, Amitabh Mattoo, and former Chair Professor, Maharaja Gulab Singh Chair, University of Jammu, and present Vice-Chancellor of Islamic Technical University,
The workman-like one-day March 12 visit by Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to New Delhi not only led to signing of 19 agreements, but also ensured a deepened interaction between Russia and India, in such high-technology areas as nuclear power generation, space exploration, and defense manufacturing. Such deepening of relations between these t
The Obama Administration has heightened tensions with China through a series of measures which can only be characterized as major provocations designed to undermine relations between the two countries. These provocations include political support for separatist movements, such as the US-funded theocratic-monk-led Tibetan secessionists and the
The global system is undergoing profound change. Three powers - Germany, Iran and China - face challenges forcing them to refashion the way they interact with their regions and the world. We will explore each of these three states in detail in our next three geopolitical weeklies, highlighting how Stratfor’s assessments of these states are ev
US and NATO’s Afghan policy continues to remain as undefined and unfocused as it was during the eight-plus long years of on-going war in Afghanistan. Gen. McChrystal’s latest military operation, Operation Moshtarak, led by the ISAF (a pool of US and NATO troops aided by the Afghan National Army (ANA) and Afghan Police – to wrest c
NATO plans for Afghanistan this year are shaping up nicely: negotiate with the Taliban, but at the same time kill them in Kandahar and Kunduz, observes Eric Walberg A joint operation involving several thousand troops was launched in Kandahar last week, the second one this year after Operation Mushtarak in Helmand province. Kandahar has been th
1] Chapter-IX of the Report relates to the Term of Reference which the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, Govt. of India referred to the Commission on 24.8.2005 vide which the Ministry asked the Commission “as a part of its larger terms of reference for recommending welfare measures for the minorities including reservation in
We had a last-minute chance to see the Member-Secretary’s Dissent Note. We are not sure of the propriety of this Dissent Note against the unanimous recommendations of the rest of the Commission [as member-secretaries of commissions are generally not members in their own independent capacity but ex officio members by virtue of their administra
Georgia is eager for another war, but there are other fires there which refuse to die – Russia’s battles with terrorism and separatists and Azerbaijan’s bleeding wound in ethnic Armenian Nagorno Karabakh. The Russian Federation republics of Chechnya, Dagestan, North Ossetia and Ingushetia have experienced a sharp increase in
In the evening of March 4, as US Department of Defense workers were wrapping up their day, a man wearing a suit and displaying what guards later referred to as a “nervous intensity” approached the entrance to the Pentagon. As he walked up to the guard booth, he reached into his pocket and took out a semi-automatic 9 mm pistol and began
‘Kalaignar’ follows ‘Vijay’Readers! Please do not mistake the sub-title as referring to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and Tamil actor. This is about two TV Channels, DMK’s (or MK’s) “Kalaignar TV” and Star Group’s “Vijay TV”. In a previous article titled, “Electronic Media an
The pornographic scandal involving the globe-trotting Nityananda, a founder-member of the Global Foundation for Civilisational Harmony (GFCH) and close associate of Swami Dayananda Saraswati, convener, Hindu Dharma Acharya Sabha, has violated the most profound civilisational patents of the Sanatana Dharma with frightening nonchalance. So extr
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Hari Om
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20 Mar 2010
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The National Conference-Congress coalition government is conducting itself in a most irresponsible manner and in a fashion that accords preferential treatment to Kashmir at all levels and in all spheres. Most of its actions are not just separatist and militant-friendly, but also provocative, anti-Jammu, and anti-women. The situation has now climaxe
The appointment of former National Security Advisor M.K. Narayanan as Governor of West Bengal is a welcome relief. Whether or not the March 3 arrest of senior Maoist leader Venkateshwar Reddy was triggered by actions initiated from Kolkata’s Raj Bhavan, it is more necessary than ever to dismantle the terror and drug networks set up in West Be
South Africa nuclear programme goes global Recall that there were originally 10 nuclear weapons - one was tested, leaving 9 weapons. David Cameron went to South Africa in 1989 to look into many aspects of the WMD programme. At the same time, reliable sources state, Dr David Kelly was very much involved in the CBW programme and had several visits wi
Two million people took to the streets of Athens last week in the country’s second general strike this month, protesting the austerity measures proposed by their socialist government. All of Greece came to a 24-hour standstill and the airport was closed as a result of the action. The only public transport was the commuter train so that protes
What went missing on President George H.W. Bush’s Watch?When one reads about the pressure that the US and UK Governments put on countries like Iran and North Korea, it is hard to believe they have been negligent in the care of their own weapons. They claim such high moral standards when trying to stop Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD), but ar
The Congress party’s sphinx-like supremo, who made passage of the Women’s Reservation Bill in the Rajya Sabha on International Women’s Day a matter of personal prestige, is not known for cogent analysis and articulation on any issue. This has not dissuaded acolytes from informing us, via a servile media, of the issues ‘close
The United States apparently has reached the point where it must either accept that Iran will develop nuclear weapons at some point if it wishes, or take military action to prevent this. There is a third strategy, however: Washington can seek to redefine the Iranian question. As we have no idea what leaders on either side are thinking, exploring th
At this juncture, Hindu Munnani volunteer Murthi was murdered by Jihadis when he came out of the Ashram after finishing his morning worship. Hindu Munnani founder president Sri Ramagopalan condemned the murder in an official statement: “We received information that in the recent past Cholavaram has become a den of Islamic terroris
The Jewish right-winger from Harvard, Martin Kramer caused an internet indignation wave when he called to cull Palestinian youth, and he was accused of incitement to genocide. Like the Pharaoh of the Bible, he thought too many of these guys are being born and something should be done about it. Well, this was indeed a call to genocide, according to
When Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh revealed the Government of India’s decision to take on board all ‘stake holders’ of Jammu & Kashmir in order to reach a settlement, he was in real terms proposing a paradigm shift in the Indian stand on J&K. The reference by the Prime Minister to ‘stake holders’ is a
Is it not a Hindu Bhumi?The ancient and magnificent Vedic Civilisation, which evolved along the banks of the Indus and Saraswati, was known for its Dharma, which remains eternal (sanatana). As Brahman blessed and protected them through “divine nature”, the people worshipped it in different forms as their Devas and Devis. Though differen
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Hari Om
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12 Mar 2010
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Moves are again afoot to humiliate the daughters of Jammu & Kashmir and re-impose curbs on their fundamental rights, in effect, snatch their citizenship rights. Even more disturbing was the day the anti-daughters forces in the state chose to humiliate and disgrace the female State Subjects and that the woman-led Congress allowed this to happen.
It is a certainty that one of the key subjects of discussion between Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin [who visits India in March 11-12], will be the changing situation in Afghanistan. There is little doubt that in the capitals of both nations, the return of the Taliban to share power with a weakene
The assassination of senior Hamas militant leader Mahmoud al-Mabhouh on Jan. 19 is still generating a tremendous amount of discussion and speculation some six weeks after the fact. Dubai’s police force has been steadily releasing new information almost on a daily basis, which has been driving the news cycle and keeping the story in the media
How the Obama Administration Ended Up Where Franklin Roosevelt Began On March 4, 1933, the day he took office, Franklin Roosevelt excoriated the “money changers” who “have fled from their high seats in the temples of our civilization [because...] they know only the rules of a generation of self-seekers. They have no vision an
In Washington each new day brings a fresh call to reform entitlement programs Social Security, Medicare, etc., (in Congress, the word reform now means to eliminate, or drastically reduce). Tackling Social Security has been on the to-do list of the corporate elite for years, and they’re not waiting any longer. After years of promoting thi
While bank bailouts fatten Wall Street, states continue to battle the credit crisis. In the search for innovative solutions, some political candidates are proposing that states generate their own credit by setting up their own banks. State budgets for 2010 face the largest shortfalls on record, totalling $194 billion or 28 percent of sta
The apparent Israeli assassination of a Hamas operative in the United Arab Emirates turned into a bizarre event replete with numerous fraudulent passports, alleged Israeli operatives caught on videotape and international outrage (much of it feigned), more over the use of fraudulent passports than over the operative’s death. If we are to belie
On January 19 Israel’s international secret police, the Mossad, sent an eighteen member death squad to Dubai using European passports, supposedly ‘stolen’ from Israeli dual citizens and altered with fake photos and signatures, in order to assassinate the Palestinian leader, Mahmoud al Mabhouh. The evidence is overwhelming: Th
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08 Mar 2010
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The March 3 Lok Sabha spat between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and BJP stalwart and former Deputy Prime Minister LK Advani over the resumption of India-Pakistan talks and “secret” parleys between the two countries over the future status of Jammu & Kashmir was significant for at least four reasons. One, Advani directly accuse
The decision of the US Federal Reserve to raise its key interest rate [in Feb.] was definitely not a sign of confidence in the US economic recovery or a signal that Fed policy is slowly returning to normal as claimed. It was rather a signal of panic over the weakness in US Government bond markets, the heart of the dollar financial system. Fin
A consistent theme in India-Iran cooperation is that not only have the two countries not had to face any contradictions in their respective concerns over regional security and stability, but they indeed enjoyed many shared interests and concerns. The Afghan problem is a vivid example. In today’s circumstances, it needs no reiteration that Ind
During the 1990s, 8 to 10 percent of planned expenditure was allotted to agriculture. But for the past decade or so, this has reached to a low 2.5 percent. In every budget, the government pays lip service to agriculture. Last year, the UPA waxed eloquent about agriculture and invested a meagre Rs 10,123/- crores on agriculture, which was just 2.37
“Slavery is the legal fiction that a person is property. Corporate personhood is the legal fiction that property is a person”- Anonymous The infamous NeoConservative, anti-democratic [US] Supreme Court “Gang of Five” (SC5) has further strengthened the already powerful and over-privileged status of the corruptible multin
We have looked at the military and environmental impact of a possible attack by the US and Israel on Iran, but such a conflict has more far-reaching implications. There are many commercial ventures already in place involving Iran and other countries, with some pretty large projects on the horizon. Such an attack could cause immeasurable damage to t
The much-vaunted success in Iraq by the George W. Bush and Barack Obama administrations has now become a violent failure, engulfing the Shi’as and Sunnis into lethal conflict. In Pakistan, the “Taliban movement” funded from Saudi Arabia and aided by Britain is fast turning into the slaughter-house of minority Shi’as by the &
Should the US and Israel attack Iran, they are likely fire missiles from naval vessels in the north of the Persian Gulf, as with the “shock and awe” attack on Baghdad. Many of these missiles contain uranium components and would form part of an initial attack on the nuclear facilities in Iran. Then we have the “bunker busters”
The subaltern jatis are the solid foundation of Left party administration in Kerala. For over seven decades, these poor sections of society blindly believed in the political aerobatics of the Communist parties. But now, in an age of transparency wrought by visual media, they have realized the fact that they were deceived. The Left administrat
This year saw an Israeli-US joint exercise “Juniper Cobra 10” take place off the coast of Israel which involved the IDF and the US Navy 6th Fleet. The purpose of the exercise was to participate in countering simulated attacks by ballistic, medium-range and short-range missiles and rockets by Iran on Israel. As part of this build up
Shahrukh Khan has been too busy batting for his film, My Name is Khan, battling Shiv Sena’s ‘Paki’ phobia, pandering to Bengali Muslim chauvinism by nixing a commercial tie-up between Lux Cozi and his IPL franchisee Kolkata Knight Riders, to spare a thought for the Pune bomb blast victims or the three Sikhs beheaded by Pakistan Ta
Rarely has a book managed to be so intellectually stimulating and to embody the continuity of tradition and modernity on so seemingly prosaic a discipline as military history as this utterly delightful offering from Maj-Gen Gagandeep Bakshi. The book is as serious as the subject suggests, and the author brings his impressive multi-disciplinary erud
The external enemy is more or less visible, the enemy within is the tragedy the Indian nation must comprehend and cope with. The incompetence and spineless nature of our diplomacy and political class has been exposed again and again, and is now proving a threat to the very nationhood of the Indian State. First, the Indian Prime Minister blunde
By the time this article is published, the first formal India-Pakistan talks to improve their perpetually hostile bilateral relationship since the 26/11 Mumbai attacks will have already taken place. No doubt Islamabad will have cited the Kashmir issue as the raison d’être for its difficulties with New Delhi, though such routine whimpers