I did not bother to vote in the US Presidential elections this time even though I did receive my absentee ballot. I am registered in California which is guaranteed to not go to Bush. My anti-Bush vote would not matter, therefore. And I am not sufficiently interested in the local issues to cast a vote either way. So I decided that it is not worth the bother of mailing in my vote.
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Month: October 2004
Oh To Be in Kolkata For Puja
The city formerly known in English as Calcutta (now known in all languages as “Kolkata” which is its Bengali name) is an unfortunate city. Its misfortune derives from two major sources primarily. Two of the world’s most destructive ideologies — Islam and communism — have brought a city full of promise to its knees and today it is best known around the world as the “City of Joy” and the “Black hole of India.” It breaks the heart of any culturally sensitive person — not just someone like me whose ancestors claimed Bengal as their home — to behold the depths that Kolkata has been dragged to first by Islam and then by communism.
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The Unbearable Silliness of Loving One’s Enemy
Anant in a recent comment on this blog concluded with the seemingly wise statement “to revenge is pleasure, to forgive divine.” I say seemingly wise because it does not withstand any level of scrutiny. Forgiving an enemy may or may not be a very wise principle if you are dealing with an individual. Being magnanimous towards someone who in a momentary lapse of reason has harmed you could be a good strategy if the person realizes his folly and is genuinely sorry about his aberrant behavior. But it could be counterproductive if a priori a person knows that forgiveness will be forthcoming irrespective of how badly he behaves. In such cases, pious hopes that forgiving someone is divine only leads to less than desirable social outcomes.
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India’s Development and the Terrorist State of Pakistan
Economic development is a complex matter which touches every aspect of a society, public as well as private, domestic as well as foreign. One cannot seek to understand (and subsequently act to change) the existing order by narrowly focusing on a just a few aspects of development. It is in that spirit of eclectic investigation that I recently wrote on the true weapons of mass destruction. Understanding conflict and how to minimize conflict is as important to development as the use of IT tools and other such mundane matters.
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You might be a third world country if …
Today’s edition of The Free Press Journal carries on its front page an interesting item, “Carry out attacks in India or perish: ISI to Dawood”.
Dawood Ibrahim has the distinction of being labeled by the US as a “Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT)”. The ISI is the Pakistani intelligence agency which some argue is the primier agency involved in global terrorism. ISI was the midwife involved in the birth of the Taleban, is involved in Al Qaida, nuclear proliferation, attacks in various places in India — particularly the north east states of India such as Assam (via the Islamic Republic of Bangladesh). The ISI has been implicated in scores of terrorist attacks all over India including Mumbai.
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The Military-Industrial Complex
Over fourty-three years ago in January 1961, US President Dwight D. Eisenhower in his farewell address warned of the dangers of the “military-industrial complex”. In view of the upcoming US presidential elections and the global conflict that the US is engaged in, I think it is appropriate to carefully consider what he had to say. Continue reading
The True Weapons of Mass Destruction
A report by Josey Joseph in the Oct 14th Times of India warmed the cockles of my heart. The story is about the supply of military equipment from the US to Pakistan. Quote:
… On the pipeline are more than $1.5 billion worth of military supplies over five years. Plus, numerous futuristic deals.
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