On February 27, this blog cited public sources about pirates commandeering an Indian ship off Somalia. We thought this was a matter for the Indian Navy to resolve immediately.
Today, March 9th, Hindustan Times reports of a plan to finally free the captive Indians.
Negotiations having failed so far, the Indian Navy is ready with a contingency plan to rescue the 21 Indian and 11 other sailors held hostage on a cargo ship by Somalian sea pirates since late last month. Only sketchy details are known about the February 26 hijack. The fate of the Indians is also unclear.
The navy was informed about the incident earlier this week. "We've been told that negotiations are currently on among the ship's Dubai-based agent, the Indian High Commissioner in Kenya and the hijackers," said a naval officer. "If we're asked to act, we will."
What in God's name are we doing here? Negotiating with pirates while the Navy twiddles its thumbs? How is it that the Navy learned of this only earlier this week, when this blog -- hardly plugged into high intelligence (!) -- was writing about this in February?
Thursday, March 09, 2006
Bigotry Watch
Via BBC, Muslim girl dances social divide
The family of a young Muslim girl in India's southern state of Kerala say they are being shunned by the local mosque committee (mahallu) because she is practising Indian classical dance.
VP Rubiya, 16, came first in Bharatnatyam, Kerala natanam and folk dance competitions at the recent Kerala School Festival. Now she has an offer from the celebrated Indian dancer Mrinalini Sarabhai's dance academy, Darpana, her father Syed Alavikutty says.
"God is one. When I pay ritualistic obeisance through mudras [hand signs], I am imploring not just the Hindu gods but the supreme creator, which we call by different names," she says.
The local mosque committee at Valluvambram, however, is not impressed by Rubiya's feats, says her father, a clerk with a travel agency.
It is the Hindu worship content in the classical dances that her family says has driven a chasm between her and conservative elements in the community.
The family of a young Muslim girl in India's southern state of Kerala say they are being shunned by the local mosque committee (mahallu) because she is practising Indian classical dance.
VP Rubiya, 16, came first in Bharatnatyam, Kerala natanam and folk dance competitions at the recent Kerala School Festival. Now she has an offer from the celebrated Indian dancer Mrinalini Sarabhai's dance academy, Darpana, her father Syed Alavikutty says.
"God is one. When I pay ritualistic obeisance through mudras [hand signs], I am imploring not just the Hindu gods but the supreme creator, which we call by different names," she says.
The local mosque committee at Valluvambram, however, is not impressed by Rubiya's feats, says her father, a clerk with a travel agency.
It is the Hindu worship content in the classical dances that her family says has driven a chasm between her and conservative elements in the community.
Responding To Provocation
Pakistan lost its long twilight struggle with India last week.
Having enabled Nixon's landmark visit to China, it watched from humiliating cheap seats Bush's likely more significant visit to India.
For half a century, Pakistan courted the US and sacrificed even its (self-perceived) national interest at Washington's call. All this while, India made numerous policy mistakes.
It was perhaps reasonable, then, for Pakistani Generals to assume greatness in US shadows even as India fell apart from its mismanaged internal chaos.
History, however, has a way of clarifying wheat from chaff. If anything, Pakistan is the one that's falling apart while India ascends to its natural greatness.
This is as comprehensive a defeat as possible. If history is any guide, massive centrifugal forces are likely to follow as Pakistan's rationale for being is questioned by its smart, cost-benefit calculating, regional leaders.
No wonder General Musharraf is throwing a hissy fit!!
Given India's public relations imperative to maintain stability (both domestically and at LOC) to ensure the passage of the nuclear deal in the US Congress, Pakistan has a free pass to provoke -- which it will, trying to get Indians to act rashly in response.
We fear Varanasi is only just the beginning. More and worse is likely to follow. While India needs to take all possible steps to hunt down the terrorists and to secure our people, we must understand the likely nature of these provocations and not create an excuse for Pakistan's many friends in Washington to snub President Bush's deal with India.
It is India's measured response to even the most extreme Pakistani provocation that will, ironically, emerge as the fitting epitaph for the idea of Pakistan.
Having enabled Nixon's landmark visit to China, it watched from humiliating cheap seats Bush's likely more significant visit to India.
For half a century, Pakistan courted the US and sacrificed even its (self-perceived) national interest at Washington's call. All this while, India made numerous policy mistakes.
It was perhaps reasonable, then, for Pakistani Generals to assume greatness in US shadows even as India fell apart from its mismanaged internal chaos.
History, however, has a way of clarifying wheat from chaff. If anything, Pakistan is the one that's falling apart while India ascends to its natural greatness.
This is as comprehensive a defeat as possible. If history is any guide, massive centrifugal forces are likely to follow as Pakistan's rationale for being is questioned by its smart, cost-benefit calculating, regional leaders.
No wonder General Musharraf is throwing a hissy fit!!
Given India's public relations imperative to maintain stability (both domestically and at LOC) to ensure the passage of the nuclear deal in the US Congress, Pakistan has a free pass to provoke -- which it will, trying to get Indians to act rashly in response.
We fear Varanasi is only just the beginning. More and worse is likely to follow. While India needs to take all possible steps to hunt down the terrorists and to secure our people, we must understand the likely nature of these provocations and not create an excuse for Pakistan's many friends in Washington to snub President Bush's deal with India.
It is India's measured response to even the most extreme Pakistani provocation that will, ironically, emerge as the fitting epitaph for the idea of Pakistan.
Zaheera Shaikh
Having previously written about the seriousness of Zaheera Shaikh's perjury in the Best Bakery case, we welcome the latest judicial developments in this case.
Best Bakery judgment: 8 acquitted, 9 convicted
Best Bakery Case: Zaheera Shaikh Gets One Year Jail for Perjury
Best Bakery judgment: 8 acquitted, 9 convicted
Best Bakery Case: Zaheera Shaikh Gets One Year Jail for Perjury
Wednesday, March 08, 2006
NY Times' Asian Ego Trip
(Partially plagiarized from this NY Times Editorial. Please read both carefully.)
There is a lot of good an editor can do in writing an editorial: provide insights that enhance understanding, shore up a shaky viewpoint, simplify issues in complex parts of the debate. Unfortunately, the New York Times editor didn't do any of those good things in his just-completed editorial on Pakistan and India and may have done some real harm.
The spectacularly misconceived editorial may have inflicted serious damage to constructive debate in two vital areas, namely, mobilizing international opinion against the spread of nuclear weapons and encouraging President Bush to take more effective action against Pakistan and Al Qaeda fighters operating from its territory.
The editorial that the editor concluded with arrogant ignorance threatens to blast an ink-blot-size hole through common sense. It would have been bad enough on its own, and disastrously ill timed, because it undercuts some of the most powerful arguments New York Times can make to try to galvanize international opposition to Pakistan's terrorist adventurism.
But the most immediate damage was done on the editor's next topic, India. Washington is trying to persuade the world to defy outdated objections and move more aggressively to bring India into the non-proliferation mainstream. This is no small issue because India is an emerging global power with a nuclear program that operated from its own soil.
Its just baffling why the editor traveled halfway across the page to consume one of his most important assets - and embarass himself. India and Pakistan have different histories. Pakistan put the "life" into proliferation, while India refused to do the same. When Pakistani generals decided to play nuclear mischief worldwide, AQ Khan felt obliged to follow suit.
So when the editor decided to carve out an exception to customary common sense for himself, it should have been obvious that his intelligent readers would refuse the same privilege, and that the editor would be embarassed by the readers explicit refusal to do it.
The editor was right to say no to Pakistan. It would be an unthinkably bad idea to grant a loophole to a country whose top nuclear scientist helped transfer nuclear technology to leading rogue states. But equating India to Pakistan in an ill-informed argument that lets readers accelerate their disappoinment makes no sense either.
The editor should have just spared the ink.
There is a lot of good an editor can do in writing an editorial: provide insights that enhance understanding, shore up a shaky viewpoint, simplify issues in complex parts of the debate. Unfortunately, the New York Times editor didn't do any of those good things in his just-completed editorial on Pakistan and India and may have done some real harm.
The spectacularly misconceived editorial may have inflicted serious damage to constructive debate in two vital areas, namely, mobilizing international opinion against the spread of nuclear weapons and encouraging President Bush to take more effective action against Pakistan and Al Qaeda fighters operating from its territory.
The editorial that the editor concluded with arrogant ignorance threatens to blast an ink-blot-size hole through common sense. It would have been bad enough on its own, and disastrously ill timed, because it undercuts some of the most powerful arguments New York Times can make to try to galvanize international opposition to Pakistan's terrorist adventurism.
But the most immediate damage was done on the editor's next topic, India. Washington is trying to persuade the world to defy outdated objections and move more aggressively to bring India into the non-proliferation mainstream. This is no small issue because India is an emerging global power with a nuclear program that operated from its own soil.
Its just baffling why the editor traveled halfway across the page to consume one of his most important assets - and embarass himself. India and Pakistan have different histories. Pakistan put the "life" into proliferation, while India refused to do the same. When Pakistani generals decided to play nuclear mischief worldwide, AQ Khan felt obliged to follow suit.
So when the editor decided to carve out an exception to customary common sense for himself, it should have been obvious that his intelligent readers would refuse the same privilege, and that the editor would be embarassed by the readers explicit refusal to do it.
The editor was right to say no to Pakistan. It would be an unthinkably bad idea to grant a loophole to a country whose top nuclear scientist helped transfer nuclear technology to leading rogue states. But equating India to Pakistan in an ill-informed argument that lets readers accelerate their disappoinment makes no sense either.
The editor should have just spared the ink.
The Annals Of Education
Via Ananova, Pupils write with both hands simultaneously
A school in India is reportedly teaching its students to use both their hands to write on different subjects simultaneously.
All 72 pupils of the Veena Vadini School at Singrauli in Madhya Pradesh use both their hands “with equal ease”, reports Asian News International.
The school set up in 1999, for children aged between four and eight, holds its classes outdoors. Principal Virangat Sharma said: "All the children here can write on different subjects and in different languages.
"Not just that, these children can use both their hands to write in two different languages on two different subjects at the same time."
What in God's good name is going on in Indian schools?!!
(hat tip: The Corner)
A school in India is reportedly teaching its students to use both their hands to write on different subjects simultaneously.
All 72 pupils of the Veena Vadini School at Singrauli in Madhya Pradesh use both their hands “with equal ease”, reports Asian News International.
The school set up in 1999, for children aged between four and eight, holds its classes outdoors. Principal Virangat Sharma said: "All the children here can write on different subjects and in different languages.
"Not just that, these children can use both their hands to write in two different languages on two different subjects at the same time."
What in God's good name is going on in Indian schools?!!
(hat tip: The Corner)
Tuesday, March 07, 2006
Culture Watch
The (lonely?) high-note at this year's Oscars was brazen hip hop in high def -- It's hard out here for a pimp -- taking home the best song award!!
We thought the song was preposterously pretty -- well deserving of its honor.
Washington Post's Philip Kennicott agrees:
A pimp complaining that "It's hard out here" has, in a single outrageous leap, passed by the issue of whether he has any right to grievance, and is demanding -- so shamelessly that it's funny -- all the perks and merits of someone who legitimately feels wronged.
Melody and femininity are intricately allied, and the union of melody to another element, words in a song, or rhythm and harmony in a symphony, has suggested sexual union throughout music history. For an attractive woman to sing "It's hard out here for a pimp" suggests that the pimp has found sympathy, against the odds, in the form of a woman who will articulate his complaints for him.
But are we meant to take this complaint seriously? The line sounds so clean, so pure in relation to the thickets of hip-hop rhythms underneath it, that it has the stylized sense of being purely ornamental, almost baroque in its detachment from everything else around it. Like a swirl of sumptuous fabric draping from an unnecessary angel in a painting by Tiepolo, it's funny by virtue of its excessive prettiness.
Now, this is real cultural revolution. Chairman Mao, eat your heart out!!
We thought the song was preposterously pretty -- well deserving of its honor.
Washington Post's Philip Kennicott agrees:
A pimp complaining that "It's hard out here" has, in a single outrageous leap, passed by the issue of whether he has any right to grievance, and is demanding -- so shamelessly that it's funny -- all the perks and merits of someone who legitimately feels wronged.
Melody and femininity are intricately allied, and the union of melody to another element, words in a song, or rhythm and harmony in a symphony, has suggested sexual union throughout music history. For an attractive woman to sing "It's hard out here for a pimp" suggests that the pimp has found sympathy, against the odds, in the form of a woman who will articulate his complaints for him.
But are we meant to take this complaint seriously? The line sounds so clean, so pure in relation to the thickets of hip-hop rhythms underneath it, that it has the stylized sense of being purely ornamental, almost baroque in its detachment from everything else around it. Like a swirl of sumptuous fabric draping from an unnecessary angel in a painting by Tiepolo, it's funny by virtue of its excessive prettiness.
Now, this is real cultural revolution. Chairman Mao, eat your heart out!!
Monday, March 06, 2006
The Miracle that is India
Ishtiaq Ahmed wonders at the new giant on the block. Here's a particularly uplifting quote:
For a nation constituting the most varied religious, cultural, ethnic and caste mosaic in the world to transcend its grinding poverty and other social and cultural problems and start moving towards unstoppable economic growth is truly a man-made miracle. The miracle is the result of a futuristic vision that is practical and realisable. Quite simply the Indians want to attain a leading position in the world.
These are heady days. The sunny optimism is perceptible everywhere. So what kind of catastrophe could derail us? Full-blown war with Pakistan? Terrible policy?
For a nation constituting the most varied religious, cultural, ethnic and caste mosaic in the world to transcend its grinding poverty and other social and cultural problems and start moving towards unstoppable economic growth is truly a man-made miracle. The miracle is the result of a futuristic vision that is practical and realisable. Quite simply the Indians want to attain a leading position in the world.
These are heady days. The sunny optimism is perceptible everywhere. So what kind of catastrophe could derail us? Full-blown war with Pakistan? Terrible policy?
Indians On Pakistan
The Acorn writes about Indian media's getting the point, then missing it on Pakistan.
Most Indians are not "peace" obsessed -- rather, correctly, they seek victory on India's terms. And why not?
The sooner our media and polity understand this, the better it will be for all of us.
Most Indians are not "peace" obsessed -- rather, correctly, they seek victory on India's terms. And why not?
The sooner our media and polity understand this, the better it will be for all of us.
Sunday, March 05, 2006
The Exploding General
Via CNN, Pakistan president blasts Afghan leader
Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf ripped the president of neighboring Afghanistan on Sunday, telling CNN that Hamid Karzai is "totally oblivious of what is happening in his own country."
The pressure must be really hard to handle, so he takes it out on poor Hamid Karzai. What a pathetic spectacle this guy is -- what an embarrassing burden for the people of Pakistan?
(Photo courtesy: San Francisco Chronicle)
An Impotent Mind
Pakistan's daily Dawn is a sober newspaper that carries meaningful opinions -- which we greatly respect notwithstanding their sometimes antipathy to India.
This is why we are puzzled by their sponsorship of Jawed Naqvi and his astonishingly offensive Dateline Delhi.
Writing there about the nuclear deal, he invokes horrible imagery -- in fact, rationalizing a profoundly racist, anti-Indian, song written by South African Mbongeni Ngema where he insinuates that Indians in that country are part of a new apartheid.
Mr. Naqvi chooses to see the nuclear deal in these bizzare terms. He then insults Dr. Manmohan Singh in terms so offensive that they take one's breath away. Here they are:
Jean Paul Sartre may have never heard of Manmohan Singh, but he had a fair idea of what he would be like. In the introduction to Frantz Fanon’s The Wretched of the Earth, he describes the prototype thus: “The European elite undertook to manufacture a native elite. They picked out promising adolescents; they branded them, as with a red-hot iron, with the principles of western culture; they stuffed their mouths full with high-sounding phrases, grand glutinous words that stuck to the teeth. After a short stay in the mother country they were sent home, whitewashed.
These walking lies had nothing left to say to their brothers; they only echoed. From Paris, from London, from Amsterdam we would utter the words (Parthenon! Brotherhood!) and somewhere in Africa or Asia lips would open (...thenon! ...therhood!) It was the golden age.”
This aggressively secular blog condemned in the strongest terms the offensive cartoons insulting the Prophet Mohammad. Mr. Naqvi's insult to India falls in the same category.
We demand that Dawn apologize for this outrageous calumny and remove this disgraceful columnist from their august pages. We hope other Indians will join us and demand the same by flooding the newspaper with protest letters written in the sternest possible language.
Mr. Naqvi has the right to free expression, but surely Dawn's readers deserve better than the flaccid thoughts of an impotent mind.
This is why we are puzzled by their sponsorship of Jawed Naqvi and his astonishingly offensive Dateline Delhi.
Writing there about the nuclear deal, he invokes horrible imagery -- in fact, rationalizing a profoundly racist, anti-Indian, song written by South African Mbongeni Ngema where he insinuates that Indians in that country are part of a new apartheid.
Mr. Naqvi chooses to see the nuclear deal in these bizzare terms. He then insults Dr. Manmohan Singh in terms so offensive that they take one's breath away. Here they are:
Jean Paul Sartre may have never heard of Manmohan Singh, but he had a fair idea of what he would be like. In the introduction to Frantz Fanon’s The Wretched of the Earth, he describes the prototype thus: “The European elite undertook to manufacture a native elite. They picked out promising adolescents; they branded them, as with a red-hot iron, with the principles of western culture; they stuffed their mouths full with high-sounding phrases, grand glutinous words that stuck to the teeth. After a short stay in the mother country they were sent home, whitewashed.
These walking lies had nothing left to say to their brothers; they only echoed. From Paris, from London, from Amsterdam we would utter the words (Parthenon! Brotherhood!) and somewhere in Africa or Asia lips would open (...thenon! ...therhood!) It was the golden age.”
This aggressively secular blog condemned in the strongest terms the offensive cartoons insulting the Prophet Mohammad. Mr. Naqvi's insult to India falls in the same category.
We demand that Dawn apologize for this outrageous calumny and remove this disgraceful columnist from their august pages. We hope other Indians will join us and demand the same by flooding the newspaper with protest letters written in the sternest possible language.
Mr. Naqvi has the right to free expression, but surely Dawn's readers deserve better than the flaccid thoughts of an impotent mind.
BJP Responds
BJP welcomes deal, seeks clarification on weapon fuel
Nuclear separation plan a "surrender" to US: BJP
As we've noted before:
If the deal goes through somehow, (Dr. Singh's) opponents in his party and the vast majority of the opposition will ... claim the deal was a sell-out.
BJP has now chimed in, as if on cue, with a predictable -- albeit somewhat confused -- response! Tch Tch!!
Nuclear separation plan a "surrender" to US: BJP
As we've noted before:
If the deal goes through somehow, (Dr. Singh's) opponents in his party and the vast majority of the opposition will ... claim the deal was a sell-out.
BJP has now chimed in, as if on cue, with a predictable -- albeit somewhat confused -- response! Tch Tch!!
The Indic Republics
I largely rely on K. Antonova, G. Bongard-Levin, and G. Kotovsky, "A History of India: Book One", Moscow: Progress Publishers, 1979 for purposes of this post. I have simplified the material in the interest of brevity.
India had a rich republican tradition in the first millenium BCE, one that ended only in 500 CE. The Vedic texts, Panini, the Buddhist texts, the Arthashatra, the Greek texts and the Mahabharata outline the vibrant republican tradition in ancient India. India had sixteen janapadas in the 7th century BCE. The word Janapada translated means "the foothold of a people". The Indic republics were located either in the northern periphery of the Gangetic plain or in the Indus basin. The republics included confederate unions that linked several tribes such as the Vrijjis and the Yadavas, or individual republics such as the Koliyans, the Shakyas and the Mallas. The Licchavis were one tribe in the Vrijji confederacy that survived 1,000 years to merge with the Gupta empire through marriage.
The word "jana" in Vedic times either meant a people or a tribe. It often implied a non-monarchical state. One Indic text described a monarchy as a land ruled by an individual. It defined a republic as a state that was collectively administered.
A republic was identified by the absence of a hereditary ruler with absolute power. It had an elected head who could be replaced. Elections did not mean democracy. Only the landed few or the Kshatriya had the right to decide. Nonetheless, the system represented a significant achievement in political thought in that it broadened decision making in 500 BCE.
The Chivara-vastu, a Pali text dated to the 1st century BCE, describes the election of the Lichchavi ruler and adds (i) that a candidate had to demonstrate merit; (ii) the assembly retained the right to replace him if he did not enjoy its prior sanction for policy; and (iii) that a ruler had executive power to implement while the assembly retained the right to define policy. The system was one "where even the decision taken by ten men might be reviewed by twenty". This implied the concept of collective scrutiny of policy.
In short, a republic was administration through a partly representative assembly with the implied notion of a social contract. The Indic republics tended to be more independent minded and individualistic in orientation than the monarchies. The Kshatriya leadership of the republics helped define the Upanishads and Buddhism. A spirit of free inquiry prevailed.
The republican assembly had a narrow social base. It was confined to free citizens who in turn chose a council of nobility, entirely drawn from the Kshatriya caste. The Vedic concept of the sabha and samithi comes to mind. All heads of families met in the public assembly. The matter for discussion was placed before the assembly and debated. If a unanimous decision could not be reached, it was put to the vote. The Indic republics enjoyed an elaborate judicial procedure where the suspected criminal had to face in turn a hierarchy of seven officials. In certain instances, a republican constitution governed the affairs of state. All dignitaries in a republic, be it the army commander or judge, had to be kshatriya. This said, a broader segment of the population as opposed to one individual defined policy.
Kautilya praised the Indic republics as invincible in warfare due to their cohesion. The Mahabharata however highlighted the social contradictions within the republics that made them vulnerable. The records of a slave revolt in the Shakyan republic come to mind in this regard.
The monarchical system eventually replaced the republican in ancient India. The kingdoms of Magadha, Kosala and Kashi expanded while the Vrijjis, the Mallas and the Shakyas disappeared. However, the concept of collective administration through debate persisted down the centuries in the panchayat system as enunciated in the Dharma Shastras.
India had a rich republican tradition in the first millenium BCE, one that ended only in 500 CE. The Vedic texts, Panini, the Buddhist texts, the Arthashatra, the Greek texts and the Mahabharata outline the vibrant republican tradition in ancient India. India had sixteen janapadas in the 7th century BCE. The word Janapada translated means "the foothold of a people". The Indic republics were located either in the northern periphery of the Gangetic plain or in the Indus basin. The republics included confederate unions that linked several tribes such as the Vrijjis and the Yadavas, or individual republics such as the Koliyans, the Shakyas and the Mallas. The Licchavis were one tribe in the Vrijji confederacy that survived 1,000 years to merge with the Gupta empire through marriage.
The word "jana" in Vedic times either meant a people or a tribe. It often implied a non-monarchical state. One Indic text described a monarchy as a land ruled by an individual. It defined a republic as a state that was collectively administered.
A republic was identified by the absence of a hereditary ruler with absolute power. It had an elected head who could be replaced. Elections did not mean democracy. Only the landed few or the Kshatriya had the right to decide. Nonetheless, the system represented a significant achievement in political thought in that it broadened decision making in 500 BCE.
The Chivara-vastu, a Pali text dated to the 1st century BCE, describes the election of the Lichchavi ruler and adds (i) that a candidate had to demonstrate merit; (ii) the assembly retained the right to replace him if he did not enjoy its prior sanction for policy; and (iii) that a ruler had executive power to implement while the assembly retained the right to define policy. The system was one "where even the decision taken by ten men might be reviewed by twenty". This implied the concept of collective scrutiny of policy.
In short, a republic was administration through a partly representative assembly with the implied notion of a social contract. The Indic republics tended to be more independent minded and individualistic in orientation than the monarchies. The Kshatriya leadership of the republics helped define the Upanishads and Buddhism. A spirit of free inquiry prevailed.
The republican assembly had a narrow social base. It was confined to free citizens who in turn chose a council of nobility, entirely drawn from the Kshatriya caste. The Vedic concept of the sabha and samithi comes to mind. All heads of families met in the public assembly. The matter for discussion was placed before the assembly and debated. If a unanimous decision could not be reached, it was put to the vote. The Indic republics enjoyed an elaborate judicial procedure where the suspected criminal had to face in turn a hierarchy of seven officials. In certain instances, a republican constitution governed the affairs of state. All dignitaries in a republic, be it the army commander or judge, had to be kshatriya. This said, a broader segment of the population as opposed to one individual defined policy.
Kautilya praised the Indic republics as invincible in warfare due to their cohesion. The Mahabharata however highlighted the social contradictions within the republics that made them vulnerable. The records of a slave revolt in the Shakyan republic come to mind in this regard.
The monarchical system eventually replaced the republican in ancient India. The kingdoms of Magadha, Kosala and Kashi expanded while the Vrijjis, the Mallas and the Shakyas disappeared. However, the concept of collective administration through debate persisted down the centuries in the panchayat system as enunciated in the Dharma Shastras.
Nuclear Reflections
American efforts to enforce a global non-proliferation regime have not been entirely successful. No nuclear power has signed the Fissile Material Cut Off Treaty. India and Pakistan have refused to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty either. Israel is reported to have a nuclear arsenal while Iran and North Korea continue to defy the international consensus on nuclear safeguards.
The United States has endeavored to strengthen global nuclear safeguards in light of these constraints. The objective is to beef up international security. The United States had signed a civilian nuclear deal with India to bring it into formal conformity with international non-proliferation norms outside the framework of the NPT. But there are added side benefits.
The United States had signed a civilian nuclear deal with China in the early 2000s. It now has a deal with India. The increased reliance on nuclear energy in two of the fastest growing economies would boost the export of American civilian nuclear technology. It would lead to lucrative trade deals in nuclear reactors. It would help lower the price of petroleum in the world market. This in turn would benefit the American consumer.
There is also a wider global ramification. Oil exporting countries have for the most part either been volatile themselves or have exported instability. One can refer to the Arab states, Indonesia, Iran, Nigeria and Venezuela. The emphasis on nuclear power would reduce the strategic importance of the Middle East and reconfigure geopolitical dynamics in the Eurasian landmass.
The United States has endeavored to strengthen global nuclear safeguards in light of these constraints. The objective is to beef up international security. The United States had signed a civilian nuclear deal with India to bring it into formal conformity with international non-proliferation norms outside the framework of the NPT. But there are added side benefits.
The United States had signed a civilian nuclear deal with China in the early 2000s. It now has a deal with India. The increased reliance on nuclear energy in two of the fastest growing economies would boost the export of American civilian nuclear technology. It would lead to lucrative trade deals in nuclear reactors. It would help lower the price of petroleum in the world market. This in turn would benefit the American consumer.
There is also a wider global ramification. Oil exporting countries have for the most part either been volatile themselves or have exported instability. One can refer to the Arab states, Indonesia, Iran, Nigeria and Venezuela. The emphasis on nuclear power would reduce the strategic importance of the Middle East and reconfigure geopolitical dynamics in the Eurasian landmass.
Friday, March 03, 2006
Thursday, March 02, 2006
The Stuff Of Legacies
Via BBC, US and India seal nuclear accord
Congratulations to Dr. Singh and President Bush for shattering historical suspicions and altering geopolitical realities.
The world is a different and better place today.
Over to the US Congress now. India and Indian Americans are watching -- will you go down in history as those who applauded history's unalterable turn, or those who lost India whose ascent is irreversible?
Democrat Bill Clinton started this marathon. Republican George Bush has brought us to the stretch run. India and Indian-Americans now expect a bipartisan Congress to take us all past the victory tape. This is, afterall, the stuff of legacies.
Congratulations to Dr. Singh and President Bush for shattering historical suspicions and altering geopolitical realities.
The world is a different and better place today.
Over to the US Congress now. India and Indian Americans are watching -- will you go down in history as those who applauded history's unalterable turn, or those who lost India whose ascent is irreversible?
Democrat Bill Clinton started this marathon. Republican George Bush has brought us to the stretch run. India and Indian-Americans now expect a bipartisan Congress to take us all past the victory tape. This is, afterall, the stuff of legacies.
Embarrassing The Angels
Reagan-speechwriter Peggy Noonan is embarrassed at how ladies are treated in contemporary US culture.
Do I think this way, in these terms, because I am exceptionally virtuous? Oh no. I'm below average in virtue, and even I know it's all gotten low and rough and disturbed.
"You are embarrassing the angels." This is what I intend to say for the next 40 days whenever I see someone who is hurting the culture, hurting human dignity, denying the stature of a human being. I mean to say it with belief, with an eye to instruction, but also pointedly, uncompromisingly. As a lady would. All invited to join in.
Got us thinking about how disgracefully many Indians behave with our womenfolk in the streets. Via Desipundit, we learn about a Street Harassment Blog-A-Thon planned for Tuesday. We think, such harassment, embarrasses the angels and we add our own uncompromising voice to the growing chorus in protest.
Do I think this way, in these terms, because I am exceptionally virtuous? Oh no. I'm below average in virtue, and even I know it's all gotten low and rough and disturbed.
"You are embarrassing the angels." This is what I intend to say for the next 40 days whenever I see someone who is hurting the culture, hurting human dignity, denying the stature of a human being. I mean to say it with belief, with an eye to instruction, but also pointedly, uncompromisingly. As a lady would. All invited to join in.
Got us thinking about how disgracefully many Indians behave with our womenfolk in the streets. Via Desipundit, we learn about a Street Harassment Blog-A-Thon planned for Tuesday. We think, such harassment, embarrasses the angels and we add our own uncompromising voice to the growing chorus in protest.
Wednesday, March 01, 2006
Fashion Forward?
New York Times' Guy Trebay describes a provocative new trend on Paris runways.
Woman Masked, Bagged and, Naturally, Feared
Wearing woven hair masks that obscured their faces, the models at the Viktor & Rolf show on Monday looked a little like Hannibal Lecter in drag. On the soundtrack a woman's voice droned a series of threats from a text by the artist Bruce Nauman. "You can't have me," the voice said. "You can't reach me. I can suck you dry."
Suddenly from somewhere in the front row an editor piped up. "And I can eat you with some fava beans and a very nice Chianti," she said. Everybody nearby laughed, and that ripple momentarily swept away a developing sense that something truly creepy was in the air.
When a single designer chooses to efface his models, it's easy to slough off the stunt as creative license. But when a bunch of designers with no connection to one another are moved to eliminate the faces of the beautiful creatures they hire for the catwalk, it's clear something ugly is going on.
Picasso took a similar approach when depicting certain former wives and lovers. If one cares to see a man avenging himself on womankind, a good place to start is the retrospective here of Picasso's portraits of Dora Maar. The bitterer their battles, the likelier that he would depict Maar's head cloven. The less she interested him sexually, the more she was atomized into sharp Cubist planes. Sex wars get played out in many ways, even in fashion, and there is clearly one taking place now that has the odor of misogyny.
Comparisons have already been made between the clothes shown on the runways (five days remain on the schedule) and the obscuring garments of an observant Muslim, the abaya or chador.
Woman Masked, Bagged and, Naturally, Feared
Wearing woven hair masks that obscured their faces, the models at the Viktor & Rolf show on Monday looked a little like Hannibal Lecter in drag. On the soundtrack a woman's voice droned a series of threats from a text by the artist Bruce Nauman. "You can't have me," the voice said. "You can't reach me. I can suck you dry."
Suddenly from somewhere in the front row an editor piped up. "And I can eat you with some fava beans and a very nice Chianti," she said. Everybody nearby laughed, and that ripple momentarily swept away a developing sense that something truly creepy was in the air.
When a single designer chooses to efface his models, it's easy to slough off the stunt as creative license. But when a bunch of designers with no connection to one another are moved to eliminate the faces of the beautiful creatures they hire for the catwalk, it's clear something ugly is going on.
Picasso took a similar approach when depicting certain former wives and lovers. If one cares to see a man avenging himself on womankind, a good place to start is the retrospective here of Picasso's portraits of Dora Maar. The bitterer their battles, the likelier that he would depict Maar's head cloven. The less she interested him sexually, the more she was atomized into sharp Cubist planes. Sex wars get played out in many ways, even in fashion, and there is clearly one taking place now that has the odor of misogyny.
Comparisons have already been made between the clothes shown on the runways (five days remain on the schedule) and the obscuring garments of an observant Muslim, the abaya or chador.
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