Convincing Supreme Court
Palash Biswas
Contact: Palash C Biswas, C/O Mrs Arati Roy, Gosto Kanan, Sodepur, Kolkata- 700110, India. Phone: 91-033-25659551
Email: alashbiswaskl@gmail.com">palashbiswaskl@gmail.com
With reservation for OBC students in elite educational institutions stuck in legal wrangles, HRD Minister Arjun Singh on Friday said the government was trying to "convince" the Supreme Court about its merits.
"We are trying to convince the Supreme Court that reservation for OBC students in higher education is very desirable. We do hope that we shall be able to convince what India wants and that efforts have to be pursued with dedication and commitment," he said.
Inaugurating a two-day national conference on 'Social Exclusion and Inclusive Policies' here, he said the country's economy, polity, society and governance would have to be more participatory and representative.
"This will make our democracy certainly more inclusive and meaningful," he said.
Singh, who was in Paris recently for a UNESCO meeting, said he was "disappointed" with the manner in which issues were handled by the world body which was supposed to be conscience of mankind.
Time has come for UNESCO to translate its theological phase of existence and come to terms with the reality of the people around the world, he said adding India should stand up to state the real issues facing the world.
Singh said equal opportunity policies pursued by the government by providing reservation in education and employment to weaker sections have yielded good results but are still short of expectations of the deprived sections.
The conference was organised by Indian Institute of Dalit Studies and Princeton University of US.
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Muslims become a force, thanks to Sachar
Sumit Pande / CNN-IBN
New Delhi: Things are moving ahead following the the Sachar Panel report. Two top Central Paramilitary Forces have said they have increased the intake of Muslim personnel this year, that too by a whopping five times of the average annual recruitment.
This after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's inspiring words spelling out UPA's policy for minority upliftment: "We must take in more and more people from the minority community in the security and intelligence agencies."
The two Central Paramilitary Forces are the Assam Rifles and the Border Security Force.
In a revealing compliance report submitted to the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), the Home Ministry has informed that between April and September this year, the Assam Rifles has recruited 23 per cent and the BSF 20 per cent from the minority community — an increase from a rough average of four per cent intake in Central Paramilitary Forces.
This means that the intake is a jump of almost 500 per cent at one go and that the Sachar panel's recommendations are being implemented in letter and in spirit.
The whole exercise was initiated early this year when DoPT asked all the ministries to empanel a person from the minority community in the selection board where more than 10 personnel were to be recruited.
Last year, the Sachar Committee could only collect data on 5.2 lakh personnel in the Central Paramilitary Forces, and of these, only about four per cent were found to be Muslims.
However, of the 2,600 recruitments made by the BSF and Assam Rifles in the first half of this financial year, 580 are from the minority community.
Spokesperson for the All India Muslim Personal Law Board, S Q R Illyas says, "If these figures are true, then it is a great result. Truly, a positive sign."
A compliance report from other departments is awaited as well, but politically or otherwise, a beginning has been made, especially as the UPA prepares to use the Sachar Committee findings to consolidate Muslim votes before the next General elections.
Blast convicts can appeal against conviction: SC
The Supreme Court on Friday permitted convicts in the 1993 Mumbai serial bomb blasts case to file their appeal against conviction and sentence without filing the copy of the impugned judgement of the TADA court.
Additional Solicitor General Gopal Subramaniam, appearing for CBI, undertook to file the copy of the judgement in view of its contents running into around 5,000 pages.
The order was passed by a bench comprising Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan, Justices R V Raveendran and V S Sirpurkar when the bail applications of Mossa Chouhan and Sardar Saha Wali Khan were mentioned on Friday before the apex court.
The bench refused to grant further relief and turned down the plea of the counsel for the two petitioners on bail on Friday itself.
The apex court made it clear that it will hear their applications for regular bail only when appeals are filed by them.
The exemptions from filing of the certified copy of the judgement of TADA court was granted when the petitioner pleaded before the apex court that it would not be possible to file appeals soon as it will take time to get the copies of the judgement in typed and photocopied form.
The CBI counsel assured the court that he would try to file the copy of the judgement within a week.
Filmstar Sanjay Dutt, who has been sentenced to six years imprisonment and is presently lodged in Yerwada central jail, Pune, filed his appeal on Thursday along with the application for suspension of his sentence.
Some of the convicts were granted interim bail by the top court with the directions that each one of them will surrender immediately before TADA judge after being supplied with the copy of the judgement. There are 123 accused in the case, and it took about 13 years for the court to reach its conclusion.
On March 12, 1993, Mumbai was rocked by a series of bomb blast which left about 250 dead and thousands other injured.
The National Commission for Scheduled Castes, probing allegations of discrimination against Scheduled Caste students and doctors at the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences here, will summon its Director P. Venugopal to appear before the panel.
‘Judicial summons’
A ‘judicial summons’ will be served personally, Commission chairman Buta Singh told The Hindu on Monday. For the past three months, it had sent several notices to Dr. Venugopal, asking him to appear before it and reply to the charges, but he did not turn up, Mr. Singh said.
Now he would be asked to report within 15 days, failing which the Commission could invoke the powers of a civil court under Article 338 of the Constitution and direct the police to enforce the summons and present him before it.
Thorat panel report
The Commission is also studying the Thorat Committee report on discrimination, including against AIIMS faculty members.
The Commission has also received complaints from some faculty members.
It had set Monday as the last day for Dr. Venugopal’s appearance before winding up its hearing.
TN gets Nadar jati-based party
OUR CORRESPONDENT
http://www.dalitvoice.org/Templates/oct_a2007/reports.htm
Bangalore: One more caste-based party has come up in Tamil Nadu to represent the powerful but long-neglected Nadars, considered Untouchables till recently.
The new party is floated by Tamil film actor Sarath Kumar called Akila India Somuthuva Makkal Katchi (AISMK) which will give a big boost to the Nadars concentrated in South TN.
Kamaraj’s mistake: Poor Nadars, to which the famous Kamaraj Nadar belonged, were also Untouchables until Christianity saved them. Their counterparts in neighbouring Kerala are the Ezhavas to which Chief Minister Achutanandan belongs. In Karnataka, they are called Idigas and Gowd in AP.
Kamaraj, the community’s tallest leader, gave them a big boost but the community did not gain politically except becoming petty traders. Being a Congress leader he was very much under Brahminical influence. Both DMK and AIDMK disappointed the Nadars and they were not allowed to think of strengthening their caste.
But the Vanniyars realized the step-motherly treatment they suffered under the two parties and their leader, Dr. K. Ramadoss, quickly formed his jati-based political party PMK.
Confusion among Dalits: Tamil Nadu is suffering under the domination of two Dravidian parties. Earlier the different oppressed jatis start their own jati-based parties, they will continue to suffer.
The other important jati that is yet to open its eyes is the Kallars who too have a sizeable population in South TN. The two important Dalit groups — Paraiahs and Pallars — are also under terrible confusion. And the papans are there to create the confusion and make the oppressed castes fight each other.
As the concept of caste comes nearest to “nation”, different oppressed castes should quickly think of setting up their own jati-based parties.
For further support you may write to DV office.
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AIDS: Western conspiracy to “finish” Blacks
OUR CORRESPONDENT
Bangalore: DV has published enough on the White Western racist-zionist conspiracy to destroy the powerful Black race through AIDS.
Now we get yet another evidence of the Western conspiracy.
Johannesburg: Mozambique’s Roman Catholic archbishop has accused European condom manufacturers of deliberately infecting their products with HIV “to finish the African people”.
Archbishop Franscisco Chimoio told the BBC that he had specific information about a plot to kill off Africans. “I know that there are two countries in Europe... making condoms with the virus, on purpose”, he said. (Deccan Herald, Sept.28, 2007).
DV Feb.16, 2007 p. 10: “AIDS used to finish Blacks?”
DV April 16, 2005 p.6: “Nobel laureate says West invented AIDS to exterminate Blacks”.
DV Feb.16, 2005 p.4: “AIDS, a White Western conspiracy?”
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Ahmadinejad confirms DV report on 9/11
OUR CORRESPONDENT
Bangalore: DV was the first paper in India to disclose that the 9/11 (Al-Qaida) “attack” on World Trade Centre in New York was a total falsehood. It was master-minded by the zionists controlling the US Administration to facilitate the war on Muslims in which it stands defeated today. The zionist-owned newspapers used the 9/11 incident to convince the gullible public that the dirty donkey indeed was the real genuine Derby race horse and the world was made to believe the greatest falsehood of the 21st century. Now Iranian President Ahmadinejad himself said this right on the face of the American rulers when he addressed the Columbia University in New York on Sept.25, 2007. Congratulations. The prestigious Columbia University, where Babasaheb Ambedkar studied and has his bust in its central hall, however, insulted the invited guest just because Ahmedinejad had the guts to host a world conference on Holocaust in Teheran and also publicly denounced it as a great hoax. If Holocaust was a crime against Jews, why the very Jews committed a million times bigger crime against Palestinians by occupying their homeland and killing them in millions? Why the defenders of Holocaust don’t admit this supreme truth? The 3% Jews controlling America have not only brought it a bad name but they are also slowly killing the great country. No paper in India has published facts on all these issues as much as DV. We congratulate Ahmedinejad for bravely facing the hostile Jewish crowd at Columbia University and also for his powerful speech at the UN General Assembly. Justice and Truth shall triumph.
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INDIA SHINING
Education flop
New Delhi: According to the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development, the population of children in the age group of 14-18 as per the 2001 census was estimated at 88.5 million. But their enrolment in secondary schools during 2001-02 was merely 31 million. That means only one-third of the children who ought to be attending secondary level weren’t doing so.
—(Asian Age, Sept. 17, 2007)
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Growing illiteracy
New Delhi: Eight states alone account for nearly 70% of the country’s illiterates. This means that of India’s 304 million illiterate people, 212.19 million come from these eight states alone. According to the just released report on the status of adult literacy in India, 13 states need to pay special attention to raising their literacy levels. The report has been brought out by the National Literacy Mission (NLM), which targets illiterates in the age group of 15-35. The states that are in need of even greater attention among the 13 are UP, Rajasthan, Bihar, Jharkhand, AP and Jammu & Kashmir. Others which are part of the group of 13 are Chhattisgarh, MP, Assam, Orissa, Meghalaya, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Arunachal Pradesh. All 13 have a literacy rate that is below the national average of 64.8%. Bihar is at the bottom of the heap with an average of just 47% with female literacy being even worse at 33.12%.
—(Asian Age, Sept.22, 2007)
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Children lack nutrition
New Delhi: More than 50% of the children in Karnataka do not have access to supplementary nutrition provided under the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS), even though 41% of the children in the state are grossly malnourished and underweight, the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) data has revealed. Even the immunisation coverage of children between 12-23 months of age has come down in the state from 60% in 1998 to 55% in 2006, the survey showed.
—(Deccan Herald, Sept.20, 2007)
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Farmers suicide
Anyone hearing about central India’s ongoing epidemic of farmer suicides, where growers are killing themselves at a terrifying clip, has to be horrified. The Indian farmers are choosing death after finding themselves caught in a loop of crop failure and debt rooted in genetically modified and patented agriculture.
(jagchat01@yahoo.com)
—(www.alternet.org/story/62273)
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LETTERS TO EDITOR:
Banbose Shango, 6101-16th Street NW # 605, Washington-20011, USA: I heard of your American tour in 2006, but was unable to schedule a venue for your talk and hear you. Your observations of the Africans in America is insightful and illustrating. There are, however, some who still believe that change in our condition as a people will come only through revolution, not through political collaboration and integration in the major racist, capitalist political parties. Some still see the need for a fusion of the struggles of the Africa around the world to bring about the realization of Pan-Africanism, (“The total liberation and unification of the African continent under an All-African socialist government”, as Kwame Nkrumah tell us) which will place the African into a better perspective, no matter where he/she lives in the world. We are hoping that you can assist us in establishing a connection between our Party in Guinea (Conakry) West Africa, also here in the USA and the Dalit’s progressive and revolutionary formations, organizations, Parties and/or movement on the subcontinent of India. We extend to you our warm brotherly greetings and we await your reply. The Secretariat of Pan-African and International Affairs.
In 2006 we toured USA and found the Afro-Americans devoid of any revolutionary spirit but reduced to slavery. They all worked as honest slaves of the Whites. In my trip to Harlem, a New York Black suburb we found that heart-rending situation of Blacks. The Whites used their Christian church to kill the anger of the Black. We wrote a piece in Dalit Voice on our return. The Black Untouchables of India are struggling to fight the imperialism of the 3% Brahminical people who are our current rulers. Lately they have joined hands with the 3% Jewish rulers of USA and have become very powerful. Our study of the US Black situation says that your White oppressors used Christianity to enslave you. Right now the Muslims are fighting the very same White Western oppressors and their zionist directors. They have achieved great success. But I was surprised to find both in London and USA the Blacks living in total peace with the Whites. Tell us why the Blacks did not join the Muslims in fighting the common enemy, the White Western racists? — EDITOR.
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Ashok T. Jaisinghani, 783/32 - Bhagwandas Chawl, Near Nishat Theatre, Bhwani Peth, Pune - 411 042: In the preface to the third edition of your book, Brahminsm, (DSA-2002), you have very correctly identified the main enemy of Indians by saying:
That wolf is Brahminism, loved, adored, worshipped and even carried on the heads by all the victims of its hate philosophy and crimes... This is because the wolf is fully disguised and puts on a show of caring and sharing”.
I have read your book once, but I feel I must read it again to understand the implications of the many important facts that you have mentioned in it while exposing the extremely evil nature of Brahminism. It must have required very great courage to write such a book over 25 years back. Casteism is truly one of the world’s most evil forms of discrimination as propagated and practised by the bigoted Brahminical people and their supporters.
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Sk. Shafi Ahmed, Near Rahemat Nagar Masjid, Dongaon, Mehekar tq., Buldana dt. - 443 303: My request to my Muslim brothers is to stop using the names Hindu and Hindustan. This country does not belong to Hindu. Actually Hindus are a micro-minority in this country which is called India and not Hindustan. It is the conspiracy of cunning Brahminical people to call it Hindustan or “Hindu nation”. Muslims who call it Hindustan do not know history. If they call it Hindustan, they will be helping the BSO and RSS which is our enemy No.1. The word Hindu comes from Persian and it is an abusive name given by Muslim invaders. When Muslim rulers called the Brahmins Hindu they did not accept that name and said they were never Hindu. This is a historical fact. They became Hindu only from 1925 when the Hindu terrorist RSS was born. The Brahmins were trying from 1925 to Hinduise (Brahminise) this country by calling it Hindustan. But never succeeded. Their obstacle is the Constitution of India. In the Constitution, Dr. Babasaheb himself wrote the first line on the first page of the constitution: “India that is Bharat”. It proves that Babasaheb feared Brahmin mischief that they would rename this country as Hindustan. Muslims talking without thinking are only helping the Brahmins. They are not only saying but reciting Hindustan... Hindustan... Hindustan. Shame on us. Know the fact and history. The fact is in India 65% SC/ST/BC and 20% Muslim/Sikhs/Budhist/Christian, together we make up about 85% of the population. Only 15% of India is upper caste. They only are Hindu. Our Editor has repeated this supreme truth hundreds of times but our Moulanas and leaders are not heeding his warning.
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kaliyuga@zapak.com: I expected nothing better than your own standardised response using words like “India shining”, vaidik etc. For your information, my name is Ramasubramaniam. I am a Tamil Brahmin. I do not hate Muslims. I do not support the BJP, RSS, VHP etc. In spite of being a Brahmin I do not have any truck with those who spend time in building temples rather than building the nation. I do definitely oppose people of your ilk who misuse their imagined or actual support base to support China and Pakistan. Do not misuse the Constitution and freedom of speech. I am 32 years old but have seen enough of how reservation has been used and corrupted by the so-called leaders whom you plump up to cut the throats of their own Dalit brothers. My caste is my greatest identity. I started reading your website on my own. I didn’t give up my holy thread or anything because I believe that to read sense, you don’t need to consider everything else as nonsense. The children of the so-called vaidiks are not intolerant anymore but are not stupid either.
We understand how it is so difficult for a Brahmin to change his mindset. What else we can do but pity them — EDITOR.
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Arvind Gangal, Panchpakhadi, Thane-400602: I happened to read Dalit Voice while surfing the net. As a Chitpavan Brahmin, I would like to respond, as I feel that some wrong doesn’t mean totally wrong. The Dalits have been discriminated for centuries, which without doubt needs to be condemned. However, you also mention that the Chitpavans gained prominence only around 1600 AD, after which they were also discriminated. It therefore goes without saying that the Dalits were discriminated more by other upper castes than by Chitpavans only. The only problem is that recent memories are stronger than the past. This is not to say that Chitpavans don’t share the blame. However, one thing I can tell you with confidence. If there is one community which can accept and change their ways, it is the Chitpavans. Had they been unethical in their ways, they could have done well in the politics of today as well, much like Jews in the US, who are also a similar minority there. They would have also played it safe instead of being revolutionaries- you call them murderers. I am not siding with my community, but would request a balanced and not extremist view. It does not help anyone. It is time today to heal wounds and not open them. (amgangal01@yahoo.com)
You appear a much more reasonable and understanding Brahmin — a rare exception in this Indian ruling class of closed minds. However, your advice that we should be “balanced and not extremist” should be viewed in the light of the long extremist past of the Chitpavans. We have a scholarly book on Chitpavans by one Dr. Jay Dixit, a Chitpavan scientist from USA, who in his voluminous book says Chitpavans had a very “extremist” past. But Dalits never took to violence. There is not a single case of Dalit murdering a Brahmin in Indian history but a Chitpavan killed the very “Father of the Nation”. Your advice to “heal the wounds and not open them” is wonderful. But Dalits are not “wounding” anybody. We are only crying, bleeding, suffering from the wounds inflicted on us by the upper caste rulers. How can you ineterprete our crying in pain as “opening” wounds. Does it not mean the oppressors don’t like the oppressed even crying in pain? Please bear with our agonised cry. We like you and your Letter will certainly inspire other Brahmins to learn from your good hearted approach — EDITOR.
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G.S. Bal, No.18-A, St. No.3, New GTB Nagar, Jalandhar - 144 003: The deteriorating conditions of debt-ridden peasantry in the country is rightly engaging the attention of the Centre as well as the States, economists and the intellectuals. Even otherwise, for a small and marginal farmer the cultivation is no longer a profitable occupation. That is why many of the farmers are leaving this occupation. As reported by one economist (S.S. Gill, Tribune, June 13, 2007), the number of such farmers comes to the 40% at national level and 36.7% in the Punjab. Such a vast number of peasants are no longer interested in farming. But many farmers are willing if the state takes away their land after paying them the full compensation and helps them settle in non-farming occupations. As a Settlement Officer in the Dept. of Consolidation, I had to visit a village Rangian, near a small town of Dehlon on Ludhiana-Malerkotla Road, in connection with a court case. The matter related to an issue of providing a passage to a farmhouse of a peasant through the land of another farmer who was to be compensated. It was in 1998-1999. A majority of farmers present were small and marginal. Almost all agreed with my suggestion that if the state takes way their agricultural land after paying full compensation, they are ready to go. This is the opportune time to give a serious thought to a scheme which was presented before the Constituent Assembly by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar. Besides being a constitutional expert, he was also a great economist. He said mere consolidation of holdings and tenancy legislation would not bring about prosperity in agriculture. He said agriculture be made a state industry and organized on the basis of a scheme of collective farming. The state shall divide the land thus acquired into farms of standard size and let out for cultivation to residents of the villages as tenants (made up of families). The tenants shall share among themselves the produce of the farm left after the payment of charges properly leviable on the farm. It shall be the obligation of the state to finance the cultivation of the collective farm by the supply of water, animals/modern machinery, implements, manure, seeds etc. Largescale fragmentation of farming land is taking place in he villages facilitating further maginalization of the peasantry. There were 55% landless families in rural India in 2005 now it is 45%. Under such a situation rural economy is likely to get totally shattered.
Brother Bal was an honest officer sincerely committed to the welfare of rural farmers. But of late the attention has turned from rural to urban areas, that too the metros. India’s upper castes, particularly the Brahmins, are not farmers. A majority do not live in villages. Nor have they an interest in farming. The rulers are a pleasure-seeking people interested only in manipulation to make money and more money. Power and money are their sole preoccupation. When this is the reigning ethos of the country which ruler is bothered about farming? If India does not grow enough things to eat and drink they will import the same. They are not bothered about the farmers. It is this attitude of the rulers that caused the decision to import wheat even giving higher prices. Sixty years of Brahminical rule has caused total rural decay and urban chaos. As the toiling masses are deliberately kept poor, illiterate and ignorant by feeding them on the intoxicating Hindutva humbug, they are able to postpone the explosion. Our toiling masses also have tremendous patience. They are capable of putting up with any amount of suffering. The caste system is helping the Hindus to see that no revolution is possible in “Hindu India”. With the entire media in the hands of the rulers, they are keeping the hungry masses fully entertained and also contented by injecting the karma and punarjanma poison. Right now there is too much confusion in the country with the crisis reaching an explosive stage. We are waiting for that day — EDITOR.
It no longer borders on the treasonous to compare Vietnam and Iraq now that George Bush mentioned it as the latest official reason for remaining in Iraq and the press dutifully reported it without question. A few years ago the former college cheerleader was claiming that any analogy between Vietnam and Iraq was sending the wrong message to our troops and our enemies yet the Bush comparison today is the wrong message based on ignorance with grave consequences for the future of our Republic that demands to be exposed.
George Bush's recent revision of history reveals just how far removed he and his followers are from reality by claiming a Vietnam like quagmire will occur in Iraq if we withdraw before achieving that nebulous state of "victory". Indeed the mere suggestion of such nonsense is an absolute refutation of the substantiated historical record of Vietnam that has shown "quagmire" to be a process beginning with the Tet Offensive which occurred nearly 7 years before we here in America saw the pictures of the chaotic retreat with honor as but one of several horrors that occurred.
George Bush was performing the art of political propaganda by perpetuating "the big lie" in front of an audience too eager to hear another war story taking them back to their real or imagined glory days in uniform to even notice "the big lie" when the President, their Commander-in- Chief said "Three decades later, there is a legitimate debate about how we got into the Vietnam War and how we left,"
The "big lie" is that there was no "legitimate debate" before Vietnam and indeed there was no "legitimate debate" before the foregone conclusion of waging war on Iraq and the sad truth is it didn't matter to those who created "the big lie" that got us into Vietnam and it still doesn't matter to those who created "the big lie" that got us into Iraq. The "debate" before Iraq was a mere charade for there was no debate that mattered to those who intended to invade Iraq long before the first tower fell to earth in a heap of ashes.
When he claimed as truth that the "one unmistakable legacy of Vietnam is the price of America's withdrawal was paid by millions of innocent citizens, whose agonies would add to our vocabulary new terms like "boat people, re-education camps and killing fields." George Bush provided the classic example of someone replacing reason with an ideology based on faith and lacking any substantive knowledge indeed even displaying little curiosity about the causes of the horrible consequences of the quagmire in Vietnam and the quagmire in Iraq.
The Bush speech ignored the reality that over 2 million Vietnamese died during our war with them and ignored the fact that those 1 to 3 million people who wound up in the killing fields were the direct result of U.S . carpet bombing and subsequent economic and military destabilization of Cambodia that provided the Khmer Rouge with an opportunity to rise to that level of power which would create the killing fields.
In George Bush's interpretation of reality our withdrawal from Vietnam caused the quagmire that followed our failure to stay until victory was attained and the implication is that our withdrawal from Iraq will result in the same quagmire if we leave Iraq before we attain victory The reality is that the "quagmire" in Iraq is already occurring in Iraq because we are there creating the very conditions for what will follow when we leave and declare peace with honor from our latest failed expansion of empire and those conditions are the same ones which we created in Vietnam.
Since George Bush's crusade in a country of roughly 22 million people over 2 million have already been displaced within Iraq and over 2 million have fled the country, and over 2,000 Iraqi's leave their homes everyday never to return. Millions of innocent Iraqis are already paying the price for our occupation. These are Iraq's boat people who are leaving before we withdraw. For those who remain over 40 percent will live in abject poverty, over 40 percent will be unemployed, 70 percent will be without adequate water and 80 percent will continue to lack adequate sanitation by drinking water mixed with sewage.
http://wintersoldie r.org
The author is the Contributing Editor of Rabble Rouser On-Line
More:
http://www.opednews .com/articles/ opedne_john_ pag_070909_ the_vietnam_ 2firaq_qua. htm
Latin America — Rising Class Struggle Forces Socialism onto the Agenda Printer-
Sep 8, 2007
By Roberto Antezana, Revolutionary Socialist Alternative (CWI-Bolivia)
How many times have we been told that socialism is dead and that free market capitalism is the only road toward human development and prosperity? Well, free market capitalism (neo-liberalism) has dominated for more than 20 years and the results are clear: crushing poverty, mind-blowing inequality, endless wars, and environmental catastrophe.
This concrete reality speaks louder than all the corporate-controlled politicians and media outlets combined and, as a result, resistance and the search for an alternative have been building for years.
Latin America is the undisputed leader of the anti-neo-liberal resistance movements and proof that, far from being dead, a new socialist movement is just being born. After a 20-year bonanza of neo-liberal privatizations, Latin America is the most unequal region in the world: home to both 215 million poor people and Mexican telecommunications magnate Carlos Slim, who just surpassed Bill Gates as the world’s richest man.
But in recent years, instead of accepting the neo-liberal disaster, Latin Americans began organizing and fighting against it. At the forefront of this process has been Venezuela, where Hugo Chávez came to power in 1998 with his anti-neo-liberal, anti-U.S. imperialist populist program. Bolivia has also been a trailblazer, where in 2000 the people of Cochabamba, Bolivia kicked out the multinational corporations and retook control of their water.
