The Recipe
Palash Biswas
(Contact: Palash C Biswas, C/O Mrs Arati Roy, Gosto Kanan, Sodepur, Kolkata -700110, India. Phone: 91-33-25659551)
Email: alashchandrabiswas@gmail.com">palashchandrabiswas@gmail.com
Khejuri has been the CPIm base to attack on Nandigram. Now Khejuri is tipped to be the venue of Chemical Hub SEZ.According to reports published in Kolkat dailies, Now Khejuri turns Hostile as a branch of Bhoomi Ucched pratirodh committee is set up there. When CPIM Leader Himanshu Das approach the Khejuri farmers seeking consent for land aquisition, the agitated CPIM, mind you, Cpim supporters mishandled him and his companions, they demonstrated in a procession.
This is a proleteraite Recipe of Resistance!
What happens to be the recipe of the Ruling Classes?
Let Us see!
The system is so Basterdised that we all are surrounded and ruled by the Bastards!
No Escape Route!
Firing Squad is ready to kill the masses chosing localities one by one!
As India goes global the public goes private. And the state becomes a marketplace! naked we are deprived of minimum purchaging capacity as we happen to be evicted from our life and livelihood!Indian techies have come of age and are raring to go. Cashing in on the growing demand-supply gap in the IT industry, the smart and ambitious are on a job-hopping spree! Without Job Security! Hire and Fire!
Ruling Class is seeking REcipeto sustain Global Manusmriti in the face of stiff Resistance from the Rural, Underclass India! Auto counters were at the receiving end on concerns over the disappointing sales figures for the last month, high global crude oil prices and possibility of slow-down in sales in futures due to rising interest rates on car loans.
Banking shares also bore the brunt of heavy offloading as there would be a slow-down in loan growth, affecting the bottomline of these banks.According to analysts, these fresh tightening monetary measures would impact economic growth and corporate earnings, ultimately impacting negatively on equities
World Bank Slaves sitting in the Centre is not worried for the biotic sustenance of Indian Pepole. They are rather busy
to fix the pace of eviction of the proletariate from indegineus production system so that market forces may sustain! Ironically the Red Horses of Hindutva echo the voice of Zionist Annihilation Epicentres in Washingto as well as New Delhi.
The new recipe seems to be a bitter mixture of antipeople measures!
In a significant development, Left Front partners of the CPI(M) on Saturday challenged Front chairman Biman Bose’s damage control skills after the Nandigram massacre and proposed that a “Peace Restoration Committee” be formed under the chairmanship of veteran Forward Bloc leader Ashok Ghosh. The Committee would make better efforts to restore normalcy in Nandigram, the allies said.The idea, first floated by RSP leader and state PWD minister Kshiti Goswami during the Left Front meeting, received support from all other Front constituents barring the CPI(M), which finally succeeded in keeping the suggestion in abeyance till it was discussed among the Front allies at the district level.
The controversial SEZ issue appeared far from resolved with the CPI(M) on Friday bluntly telling the government that it would be forced to raise the issue in Parliament to get appropriate changes in the Act.
The warning from the prominent Left Party came a day after the empowered group of ministers (eGoM) announced several changes in the SEZ policy in the wake of protests and political opposition.
Hit hard by the Nandigram violence which drew flak even from its Left allies, the CPI(M) alleged the government has ignored most of their suggestions and said the eGoM could have waited for the recommendations of the parliamentary standing committee rather than taking piecemeal decisions.
"If the government proceeds with the SEZs in the present form, the matter will have to be taken up in Parliament so that the demand for amendments to the SEZ Act and rules can be dealt with there," the party's polit bureau said.
In a hard-hitting statement, the party alleged that the "changes in the special economic zones policy suggested by the empowered group of ministers are totally inadequate and fall short of what is required."
The party was annoyed over the eGoM's decisions to keep the "exorbitant and unjustified tax concessions" intact, fix the upper limit of multi-product SEZs at 5,000 hectares and allow the developers to directly purchase land from farmers.
This is why Nandigram chemistry failed
RAVIK BHATTACHARYA
NANDIGRAM, APRIL 7: For the past 30 years, Bhutnath Jana of Gangra, Nandigram, is awaiting compensation, rehabilitation and employment, promised by the Left Front government when it acquired his 1 acre 30 decimal land for what was to be a massive industrial venture — "Jellingham project".
http://www.financialexpress.com/latest_full_story.php?content_id=160398
India plans large nuke power plant in collaboration with EU: Report
India plans to build a large atomic power plant in the western state of Maharashtra, encouraged by the civilian nuclear deal with the US that will help the country access the international market for nuclear fuel and technologies, a news report said.
Bush, in Radio Address, Seeks Iraq War Funds `Without Strings'
Bloomberg - 29 minutes ago
By Edwin Chen. April 7 (Bloomberg) -- President George W. Bush said congressional Democrats are playing partisan politics by adding a timetable for withdrawing US troops from Iraq to a bill that funds combat operations there.
In his weekly radio address, taped at his ranch near Crawford, Texas, the Republican president renewed his vow to veto legislation containing such a timetable.
``For our troops, the clock is ticking,'' Bush said. ``If the Democrats continue to insist on making a political statement, they should send me their bill as soon as possible. I will veto it, and then Congress can go to work on a good bill that gives our troops the funds they need, without strings and without further delay.''
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aaMzDvfAUHAg&refer=home
Scientists Detail Climate Changes, Poles to Tropics
JAMES KANTER and ANDREW C. REVKIN
BRUSSELS, April 6 — From the poles to the tropics, the earth’s climate and ecosystems are already being shaped by the atmospheric buildup of greenhouse gases and face inevitable, possibly profound, alteration, the world’s leading scientific panel on climate change said Friday.
In its most detailed portrait of the effects of climate change driven by human activities, the panel predicted widening droughts in southern Europe and the Middle East, sub-Saharan Africa, the American Southwest and Mexico, and flooding that could imperil low-lying islands and the crowded river deltas of southern Asia. It stressed that many of the regions facing the greatest risks were among the world’s poorest.
And it said that while limits on smokestack and tailpipe emissions could lower the long-term risks, vulnerable regions must adjust promptly to shifting weather patterns, climatic and coastal hazards, and rising seas.
http://www.theledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070407/ZNYT03/704070471
Who cares for Man!
Who is damn Worried for Nature!
Mukesh Ambani-controlled Reliance Industries’ Rs 2,000-crore agri-retail venture in West Bengal may hit an air pocket. Reliance, with the go-ahead from the West Bengal government, has in recent weeks privately-acquired close to 270 acres from farmers for its mega agri-retail rollout.
But such land acquisition may be of little consequence since the West Bengal agri-marketing department has thrown a spanner in RIL’s works by holding back the all-important APMC (Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee) licence. Without an APMC licence, Reliance will be unable to re-sell any agricultural produce in West Bengal that it originally purchases from state farmers from designated APMC yards (read: mandis).
We are sitting on a volcano ready to explode any time!Bringing back memories of "Black Monday," the benchmark Sensex crashed by 617 points, the second largest single-day point-wise fall in the history. The biggest fall in the Sensex was on May 18, 2006 when it crashed by 826.38 points.The RBI on March 30 hiked its short-term lending rate (repo rate) by 25 basis points with immediate effect and cash reserve ratio (CRR) by 50 basis points in two tranches to tame inflation.The surprise move had a cascading effect on the market sentiment as there was panic like situation and shares had a free fall with absolutely no support emerging at lower levels.
An Hypocricy is this that UPA allies cry, `Get stay on OBCs case vacated’. While Left Ruled states Bengal, Kerala and Tripura have ditched Reservation in general and do not recognise OBC identity at all! On the other hand,M.A.A. Fatmi, Union Minister of State for Human Resource Development, on Friday hinted at quitting his post over the ``late response'' of the Centre on implementation of the Sachar panel recommendations for Muslim uplift!
All efforts to ensure that current academic year is not lost, says Yechury !
NEW DELHI: Constituents of the United Progressive Alliance and the Left parties supporting it asked the Manmohan Singh Government on Friday to move the Supreme Court to get the stay on reservation for the Other Backward Classes in central institutions of higher education vacated.
"It was resolved that the Government will take all appropriate steps to ensure that reservation for the OBCs to the extent of 27 per cent becomes operational from this academic session," an official release said at the end of the over two hour-long meeting at the Prime Minister's 7 Race Course residence.
http://www.hindu.com/2007/04/07/stories/2007040720830100.htm
Former India all-rounder Ravishankar Jayadritha Shastri or Ravi Shastri has agreed to be the interim manager of Team India for its tour to Bangladesh that begins on 10th of May. He has sent his confirmation to the BCCI.
Cricket Carnival continues in Mumbai.This was supposed to be a revolution in Indian cricket following the team's humiliating first round exit in the World Cup. However the some of the decisions taken by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) after two days of frantic meetings between the coach, captain and seven former captains, fall way short to improving the quality of the game in the cricket crazy country.
One of the most important decisions made in the history of the game was when N Srinivasan, the BCCI treasurer, announced that the zonal selection system would be scrapped. BCCI will be appointing full-time selectors without any regional bias. However no time was set for the appointment.
Former cricketers and analysts have for long voiced their displeasure against the current system of zonal selections which has led to the selection of sub-standard players while more deserving players have had to warm the benches. And with role of the selectors being honoree, with no pay, there have always been allegations of players paying bribes to cement their place in the team. BCCI's latest decision to appoint full time selectors looks to be promising from the outset. However the success largely depends on whom BCCI appoints as selectors, since the criteria for becoming a selector remains the same.
http://www.newslocale.org/sports/snews/promise_turned_into_farce_for_indian_cricket_20070407257.html
BJP emerges winner in Delhi civic polls and so called secular forces hasten the Baton cange in the Relay race!
The BJP is set to take over the reins of the 272-member Delhi municipal corporation. The party's strategy of capitalising on the public anger against the sealing and demolition drives in the capital seems to have paid off
New Delhi: Advocating for turning Kashmir into a "free economic zone" between India and Pakistan, former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed has said the valley could become a "bridge" between India and Pakistan rather than a "bone of contention".To begin with traders should be allowed to go across freely from either side and the valley should be converted into a "free economic zone" where the two nations could carry out business activities as per the guidelines of SAFTA, he told reporters here on Friday.
Villupuram: Twenty people were killed and 18 injured, some seriously, when a car believed to be carrying "some explosive substance" blew up at Senthur village near here today, police said.
See and feel the crisis of the Brahmin plus Zionist Ruling Class!
As part of the first debt auction of the new fiscal year, the government has decided to to sell Rs 10,000 crore worth bonds through an auction conducted by the Reserve Bank in New Delhi on 12th April. According to an official release, the government will sell Rs 6,000 crore of 7.38 per cent of bond maturing in 2015 and Rs 4,000 crore of 8.33 percent bond maturing in 2036 as part of its borrowing plans.Up to five percent of the notified amount of the sale of the both the stocks would be allotted to eligible institutions and individuals as per the scheme for non-competitive bidding facility in the auction of government securities.
Finance Minister P Chidambaram had said in his budget speech on 28th February that the government plans to sell Rs 1,55,000 crore of bonds in 2007-08 compared to 1,52,000 crore last year.
Echoing Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, a top Indian economist reiterated here on Saturday that the country could achieve sustained nine per cent economic growth, even as he cautioned that the benefits of this should be inclusive and filter down to all sections of the population.Delivering the convocation address at the Indian School of Business here, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia said that the "biggest challenge" before economists would be their ability to cope with the change that high economic growth would bring about.
Noting that when the reforms process began in the early 1990s many doubted whether this would translate into economic growth, Ahluwalia said this issue had now been addressed but a different kind of "criticism" had arisen.
"We know the recipe. But will it be inclusive enough and reach every part of the country in equal measure? Thus, our focus is on faster and more inclusive growth," Ahluwalia said while referring to a subject that is dear to the prime minister's heart.
http://content.msn.co.in/News/Business/BusinessIANS_070407_1615.htm
SBI hikes PLR by 50 basis points
Saturday, April 07, 2007
Mumbai: State Bank of India, the country's largest lender, on Saturday hiked its benchmark prime lending rate by 0.50 percentage points from 12.25 per cent to 12.75 per cent.The new rate will come into effect from April 9, the bank said in a press release here on Saturday.
Many other banks such as ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank have already raised PLR by up to one percentage points, while Bank of Baroda has increased its PLR by 75 basis points.
Banks are increasing interest rates following the RBI's decision on March 30 to hike the repurchase rate at which it lends to banks and the deposits all banks must keep with. The central bank's move was part of its drive to check high credit growth and tame inflation.
Rejecting the changes suggested by the empowered Group of Ministers in the Special Economic Zones (SEZs) policy, the CPI(M) central leadership indicated today that the Left-ruled states would not go ahead with these zones yet
Left is unhappy because it has to lose the Promoter`s Job Valueable to hold its Scientific Rigging Machinery, so called Cdre Based organisation and is afraid of legal complications as it is committed to MNCs and Foreign Investment. What will happen to all those MOWs signed violating Human, Civil, Democratic rights including the most hyped latest RTI!
The eGoM’s decision barring state governments from acquiring land for SEZs seems to have thrown up more questions than answers. States such as West Bengal are confused about how the new regime will actually work on the ground. To minimise hassles for industrialists keen to invest in the state, a section of the West Bengal administration and local CPI-M politicians are now suggesting that the Centre create a “regulatory body” to help states resolve all acquisition-related issues between industries and farmers.
.
The CPI-M is also sore over the issue, with a section opposing the Centre’s bid to interfere on the issue of land, which the party feels is a state subject. The issue came up for discussion at the party’s state secretariat meeting on Friday. CPI-M patriarch Jyoti Basu told newspersons after the meeting that the guidelines set out by the Centre were not foolproof and the states are bound to face problems in implementing such decisions. He also added that the entire gamut of issues are slated to be taken up for discussion at the next meeting of the Front allies on April 16.
Stung by the Centre’s announcement to limit the size of special economic zones (SEZs) to 5,000 hectares, companies affected are considering legal options.
“The government cannot keep changing its stand. Hundreds of crores have already been invested in SEZ projects and by changing the ground rules overnight, these projects can become unviable. This issue is headed for the courts,” said Nikhil Gandhi, chairman of Sea King Infrastructure Ltd (SKIL).
SKIL set up one of the earliest SEZs in Maharashtra before Gandhi sold a majority stake to Mukesh Ambani-owned Reliance Industries. Gandhi, however, said he was not only referring to the Reliance project.
Supreme Court lawyer YP Trivedi said the government has breached the “principle of promissory estoppel.” This suggests that the government cannot go back on promises on the basis of which companies have already made investments.
“Any investor invests money based on certainty and predictability. The Supreme Court has already decided this in the matter of Motilal Padampat Sugar Mills Vs Uttar Pradesh, where it was held that the government is bound by the doctrine of promissory estoppel in whatever area or field the promise is made — contractual, administrative or statutory,” he said. “The companies have a case to sue the government,” he added.
Based on Thursday’s announcement, Reliance Industries, for example, will have to cut the size of its Mahamumbai SEZ by around 5,000 acres, following the government’s ceiling of 5,000 hectares (12,360 acres) per SEZ.
Reliance Industries has two companies setting up separate SEZs in the Raigarh district of Maharashtra. Together, both companies were in the process of acquiring 35,000 acres for their SEZ project. Now, the fate of the remaining 5,000 acres is uncertain.
“What can an SEZ do with such a small size when it has to have a power plant, an airstrip and housing colonies for its employees?” Trivedi asked. “In China, the SEZs are so huge that they run for hundreds of kilometres. SEZs have helped to boost Chinese exports,” he said.
An official spokesperson of Reliance SEZ, however, said, “We have no comments to make.”
Trivedi, who is also on the board of Reliance Industries, suggests that the government and the SEZ developers should discuss the issue, so that projects do not become unviable or face cost overruns.
On Thursday, a panel of ministers cleared 83 SEZ projects, but capped the maximum land area for the multi-product tax-free zones at 5,000 hectares. This has upset the plans of companies like Reliance, DLF and Gujarat Positra Port and Omaxe Ltd that had planned SEZs exceeding this land limit.
SEZs AFFECTED BY THE LAND-SIZE CUT
(All are multi-product zones)
Company Location Land size
(in hectares)
Reliance Industries Ltd Jhajjar, Haryana 10,000
Gujarat Positra Port Infrastructural Ltd
(Maha Mumbai SEZ) Near Panvel, Mumbai 10,000
DLF Ltd Gurgaon, Haryana 8,097
Omaxe Ltd Alwar, Rajasthan 6070.4
MAJOR SEZs AWAITING NOTIFICATION
(Land size in hectares)
Ramky Pharma City at Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh) 243
Brandix Textiles City at Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh 404.7
Kakinada SEZ at Kakinada (Andhra Pradesh) 4,134
APIIC at Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh) 2,309
Orient Craft Textiles at Gurgaon (Haryana) 113.35
Infosys Technology at Pune (Maharashtra) & Mysore (Karnataka) 79.8 / 30.99
Wockhardt Pharma at Aurangabad (Maharashtra) 107
Maharashtra Airport Development Corporation at Nagpur (Maharashtra) 2,086
Jindal Stainless Steel at Kalinga Nagar (Orissa) 446
Mahindra World City at Jaipur (Rajasthan) 49
SIPCOT Footwear at Kancheepuram (Tamil Nadu) 50
Cheyyar (Lotus Footwear) at Thiruvannamalai (Tamil Nadu) 111
Suzlon Infrastructure at Coimbatore (Tamil Nadu) 107
Source: Commerce Ministry
The 234 SEZs with formal approvals would require 33,808 hectares of land — 17,800 hectares is already in the possession of state agencies, the rest is with the developers. The zones will require investments to the tune of Rs 3,00,000 crore and create 4 million jobs.
http://www.business -standard. com/common/ storypage_ c.php?leftnm= 10&autono=280228
Final resolution of the Chianciano conference
With the Resistance, for a Just Peace in the Middle East
International Conference, Chianciano Terme, Italy, March 24/25, 2007
Palestine, Iraq, Lebanon, Afghanistan…
Support the Resistance!
Defeat the US empire, its European allies and its puppets in the Middle East!
An historic battle is raging in the Middle East. Its outcome will determine the
future of the region and eventually also that of the entire humanity.
The imperialist offensive – led by the US and supported by the other imperialist
bandits and helped by their local satraps – began against Afghanistan and
culminated in the invasion of Iraq. Its task reaches far beyond the
consolidation of the traditional Western supremacy.
Rediscovering its congenital colonialist appetites imperialism is striving to
exercise direct and uncontested rule.
In this frame there is no space left neither for governments nor for nations
which refuse to subordinate to American imperial despotism. [...]
Down with the occupation – all foreign troops out!
Smash Zionism- for the complete liberation of Palestine!
Stop the permanent and pre-emptive war of the US empire – no to the war threats
against Iran and Syria!
Europe must end its support to the US aggressions!
Against UN sanctions on those not subordinating to the Western dictates!
With the Resistance towards an international anti-imperialist front!
See full resolution:
www.antiimperialista.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5141&Itemid=219
"Take this white elephant, which is called New Delhi. Crores have
been spent upon it. Suppose that the future Government comes to the
conclusion that seeing that we have got this white elephant it ought
to be turned to some use. Image that in Old Delhi there is a plague
or cholera going on, and we want hospitals for the poor people.
What are we to do? Do you suppose the National Government will be
able to build hospitals, and so on? Nothing of the kind. We will
take charge of those buildings and put these plague stricken people
in them and use them as hospitals, because I contend that those
buildings are in conflict with the best interests of the nation.
They do not represent the millions of India. They may be
representative of the monied men who are sitting at the table; they
may be representative of His Highness the Nawah Sahib of Bhopal, or
of Sir Purushottamdas Thakurdas, or of Sir Phiroze Sethna, or of Sir
Tej Bahadur Sapru, but they are not representative of those who lack
even a place to sleep and have not even a crust of bread to eat. If
the National Government comes to the conclusion that that place is
unnecessary, no matter what interests are concerned they will be
dispossessed I may tell you, without any compensation, because if
you want this Government to pay compensation it will have to rob
Peter to pay Paul, and that would be impossible.
It is a bitter pill, which has got to be swallowed if a Government,
as Congress conceived it, comes into being. In order to take away
something from here, I have no desire to deceive you into the belief
that everything will be quite all right. I want, on behalf of the
Congress, to lay all the cards on the table. I want no mental
reservation of any description whatsoever; and then, if the Congress
position is acceptable, nothing will please me better, but, if that
position is not acceptable, if today I feel I cannot possibly touch
your hearts and cannot carry you with me, then the Congress must
continue to wander and must continue the process of proselytisation
until you are all converted and allow the millions of India to feel
that at last they have got a National Government."
-- Mahatma Gandhi
According to Sri Ram Nivedit `The above was the Indian Nation's voice – the voice of the then
undivided British India comprising of the present day India,
Pakistan and Bangladesh. This voice was heard in England, through
the voice of Mahatma Gandhi in the speech delivered at the Federal
Structure Committee in England during his visit there in September-
December 1931. May be it was then quite amusing to a few British,
but it must have certainly shaken the moral fiber of the majority of
British...
Have we got a Nation's Voice like that of Mahatma Gandhi? All that
we have are some voices quite appropriately to be called political
rhetorics.
Long 76 years have passed since that voice rocked the British
Empire. There is no more British India. The then British India is
now three separate nation states viz. India, Pakistan and
Bangladesh, each having its own National Capitals viz. New Delhi,
Islamabad and Dacca.
After independence from the British colonial rule obtained on August
15, 1947, the nation's voice became feeble and un-listened to, to be
ultimately silenced by an assassin's bullet. The occupants of New
Delhi changed – from the British to Indians. But there is little
change in the attitude of occupants of New Delhi. Occupants' number
went on budging. New Delhi is ever growing disproportionate to the
growth of Indian Villages. Villagers own elected representatives
once reach New Delhi, forget their villages and love living in New
Delhi for ever than returning to their own village home – sweet
home. All have diabetes and are scared of taking anything `sweet'!
Even if British occupants have left India, they preserved in India
through New Delhi a British culture of governance, especially its
exploitative nature. New Delhi is now a Corruption Capital and a
Crime Capital. We have no National Government and all that we have
is a Central Government ever tuned to centralize everything
including the administration of villages through a centrally
directed and controlled Panchayati Raj. All that we have is a
National Capital Territory of Delhi – Vatican for the ruling clique
of centuries old Indian Village Republic. This must change. This
must change for the better and not bitter. This must change in
consonance with that of the Nation's Voice although remaining
silenced for the time being. If the occupants of New Delhi, right
from Raisina Hill downwards do not change on their own voluntarily
and peacefully, a change is bound to happen one day. A change is
inevitable. We have to remember that absolutism is a sign of de-
stability.
The primary duty of a nation state is to grant justice and policing
for the safety of people and their property. The Central Government
and the various State Governments totally failed in this respect.
All that they succeeded is in increasing the tax revenue.
We have had in the near past celebrations on Mahatma Gandhi's led
Salt Satyagraha through Dandi March. What was Dandi March and what
was Mahatma Gandhi's led Salt Satyagraha? It was a symbolic but
very powerful protest against British taxation. During this
writer's childhood he could watch outside village and city provision
stores the bag containing salt even if the store / shop is closed.
At night all other articles are moved inside and safely locked, but
salt bag remained safe outside. That is no more. Now-a-days salt
is iodized, packed, labeled, trade marked, heavily prized, stocked
and locked inside the stores to be sold on a high price. Where is
Mahatma Gandhi and his Dandi March? All that we have is a high
priced and trade marked "Dandi" brand salt along with other branded
salts like that of Tatas. Is this the Nation's Voice? Is this the
fruit of independence from British Colonial Rule? We have a typical
British Government of the type robbing Peter to pay Paul. Here,
we have to take as Peter a typical remote Indian Village and Paul as
a modern urban capital like New Delhi.
This writer is reminded of the following words of Mahatma Gandhi in
his speech delivered before the Federal Structure Committee in
England in 1931:
"There is no conception here, as you see of doing anything
administratively. I have expressed my own hope in connection with
the Federal and Supreme Court. To me the Federal Court is the
Supreme Court; it is the final court of Appeal beyond which there
would be no appeal whatsoever; it is my Privy Council and it is the
palladium of liberty. It is the court to which every person who is
at all aggrieved can go. A great Jurist in the Transvaal – and the
Transvaal and South Africa generally have undoubtedly produced very
great Jurists – once said to me, in regard to a very difficult
case, "Though there may be no hope just now, I tell you that I have
guided myself by one thing, or else I should not be a lawyer: the
law teaches us lawyers that there is absolutely no wrong for which
there is no remedy to be found in the court of law, and if judges
says there is no remedy, then those judges should be immediately
unseated". I say that with all deference to you, Lord Chancellor."
From: All India Confederation of SC/ST Organisations <delhiprf@gmail.com >
Date: Apr 7, 2007 3:43 PM
Subject: Genetic Evidence for the Aryan Roots of the Caste System
To: Dalit Activists <scstconfederation@googlegroups.com>
Beware of State Power Noam Chomsky interviewed by George McLeod
April 03, 2007
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Noam Chomsky is the world's leading critic of US power. He has been voted the most important intellectual of the 20th century and has published more than 30 leading political works, many of them bestsellers. In his first ever interview with the Bangkok Post, Professor Chomsky discusses regional and global issues with GEORGE MCLEOD.
George McLeod: As you know, Thailand's Thaksin government was deposed in a military coup. Thaksin was criticised for undemocratic rule and corruption. Can you comment on the Thai coup? Do you believe that it is possible for a coup to bring about democratic change?
Noam Chomsky: In principle the answer is yes, almost anything is possible, but the burden of proof for using force to overthrow a government is very high. There has to be a very heavy burden of proof and they have to demonstrate conclusively strong arguments that the use of force is legitimate.
For example, there is plenty of corruption in Washington - there is favoritism and headlines one day after another, but that doesn't justify a military coup.
In the case of Thailand - and let me say that I do not have a detailed, specialised knowledge of it - I did not think that the burden of proof was met.
My expectation was that the outcome of the military coup would be a system that was worse than the one it overthrew, except for small sectors of the population that were privileged and wealthy and may benefit from it.
McLeod: The US has imposed trade sanctions on the Burmese junta. Given the brutality of the Burmese regime, do you think that this is an example of the US taking a positive stance in the region?
Chomsky: The US can have and occasionally does have benign influences on many things. Now exactly how to deal with the Burmese junta is a question that has to be raised.
Burma has a rotten, horrible government and surely, someone should try to help the Burmese people to free themselves from it, but the question of exactly how to do it is not simple.
Sanctions often backfire - you really have to think of the right means of doing it. Sometimes, engagement is more effective.
You really have to think this through, you cannot just have formulas.
McLeod: Turning to China, you mentioned that China is becoming a major competitor to US power in Asia, and even that the US is "frightened by China." How does China pose a threat to US interests in Asia?
Chomsky: China does not pose a military threat. In fact, of all the major powers, China has probably been the most restrained in building up its military forces. China p
