Aug 15th in recent history

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Happy birthday wishes to my friend Rajesh Jain who is continuing the struggle for India’s freedom. Remember that Sri Aurobindo said, “India of the ages is not dead nor has she spoken her last creative word; she lives and has still something to do for herself and the human peoples.”

India should try freedom for a change

Not sure if that would appeal to the masses but perhaps they may like being free. Perhaps they should think of how to break free of their serfdom.

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Happy “Independence” Day, India.

Bhagwati on Democracy and Markets

Jagdish Bhagwati has been much in the English popular press in India recently. I have been familiar with his work since my econ grad school days. I had done a couple of courses on international trade (taught by the great Prof Pranab Bardhan) and read from Bhagwati & Srinivasan’s venerated textbook “Lectures on International Trade.” I have referred to Prof Bhagwati on this blog several times previously.

I have learned a lot from Prof Bhagwati and find myself on the same side as he on many political economy issues. Which is more than I can say about Prof Amartya Sen. I think Sen is a brilliant man but I am situated almost diametrically opposite to him on the ideological plane. I believe his policy prescriptions are ultimately severely damaging to India and its development. Like most people, present company included, Sen has his biases: his bias happens to be towards socialism and statism (the government control of economic and social policy.) This suits the UPA and the Congress party really well. What surprised me was that Sen waded into the cesspool of Indian politics and showed himself to be a shill for Antonia Maino by declaring that Narendra Modi is not fit to be the PM of India.
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Bradley Manning’s Conviction

Julian Assange of Wikileaks, Bradley Manning and Edward Snowden point to a very disturbing trend. The people are losing control of their government. The government is getting bigger and more intrusive. An opinion piece by Jesselyn Radack in The Washington Post (Aug 2nd) says, “Bradley Manning’s conviction sends a chilling message.” Here’s an excerpt, for the record.
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Indira Gandhi and Her Kitchen Helpers

We know that Pratibha Patil was given the job of playing president of India in recognition of her service as a cook in Indira Gandhi’s kitchen. That’s one of the more glaring examples of being a servant in the Nehru-Gandhi household — and now the Gandhi-Maino household — is a necessary qualification for high office in any Congress-controlled government. If one cannot demonstrate loyalty to the Gandhi-Maino clan by debasing himself or herself, one cannot have or even hold on to one’s position. Competency in the job is not a requirement.

This sorry farce started decades ago under Indira but only recently is the general public becoming aware of it. When it started, the government controlled the media. It still controls the main stream media but thanks to the internet, the alternative media (the so-called social media) is uncontrollable because it is decentralized, distributed, immense and presents almost zero barrier to entry. Anyone, yours truly included, can help open the cupboards & reveal the skeletons. The Congress cupboards are full of them.

Here’s an exclusive item from the Economist that was published by The Vancouver Sun in Nov 1980.
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Is Endogenous Change Possible?

In a post last month in which I asked when will we be able to distinguish treachery from fidelity, I wrote —

There is something deeply depressing about a nation that does not recognize merit, that is unable to distinguish between loyalty and treachery. We have a long way to go before we become a modern civilized nation.

To which a friend emailed me saying, “You hit it. We’re not a modern civilized nation. Not only do I think we are not modern and civilized but I think those qualities are declining. The Indian state is made up of the same people that constitute Indian society. Ergo, how is endogenous change possible?” I wrote back in reply and here’s my response, for the record.
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The Heap of Prettied-up Scrap known as the Aircraft Carrier Admiral Gorshkov

Aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov
Aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov

It just keeps getting better. The refitted Admiral Gorskhov — which is being reincarnated as INS Vikramaditya — will be delivered sometime soon but will not have anti-missile defense for a few more years. What does that make it? A heap of prettied-up scrap best used as a sitting duck for random target practice.

Is this a joke? Actually, it was launched on April 1st, 1982. Perhaps it is an April fool’s joke, although a very costly one for a desperately poor third world country (DPTWC). Here’s what I wrote over four years ago in April 2009 in a post titled “The War and the Circus.”

See the excerpt below the fold.
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Happy 101st Birthday, Milton Friedman

Today is the 101st birthday of Prof Milton Friedman (1912 – 2006). His erudition, eloquence and dedicated struggle for human freedom and dignity have helped advance civilization. Here he is on Phil Donohue’s show in 1979. In this 2-minute extract, Donohue asks him about capitalism and greed. The response is classic Friedman — devastating but funny, profound and based entirely on common sense. Happy 101st birthday, Milton Friedman. May your tribe increase. Your eloquence has illuminated the world.

Pat Condell on Free Speech–the Cornerstone of Our Civilization

Pat Condell is a hero in the true sense of the word — a warrior known for his exceptional courage and bravery. But you would not have heroes if there were no cowards. He is a heroic defender of human freedom and therefore the cowardly attacks on him. He is being censored. Vimeo took his videos down. Now YouTube has done that to some of his videos.

However, the internet is what it is because of its distributed nature. The Net interprets censorship as damage and routes around it, as John Gilmore put it. So here is the incomparable Pat on dotsub.com thanking the anonymous cowards who are afraid of what Pat has to say and what they don’t want you to hear.
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