Giving the Planned Perpetual Poverty of Socialism a Quick Burial

My colleague Rajesh Jain in the second part of a series “It’s Up to Us Now” notes, that “even after 63 years, India is in many senses worse off than it was in 1947. We have to understand the whys and hows of India’s failure to develop. That’s the unavoidable first step to putting India on a path to recovery. We cannot fix problems that we don’t understand the causes of, or worse yet, if we don’t even admit that we have problems.”
Continue reading “Giving the Planned Perpetual Poverty of Socialism a Quick Burial”

Comic Relief: Reading the Times of India

In the face of all that is grim and distressing, there’s always the relief of reading the TOI — affectionately referred to by its admirers as TOI-let paper or the Slimes of India. This hot Summer Sunday morning was brightened by an article, “The Benefits of Surya Namaskar.” Continue reading “Comic Relief: Reading the Times of India”

The US funds Global Islamic Terrorism

Two facts are undisputed: first, the US is the richest, most powerful nation on earth; second, that it has been an occasional victim of Islamic terrorism. I believe that there is another fact that is not widely appreciated but which explains to a large degree the where, how and whys of Islamic terrorism. That fact is that the US funds global Islamic terrorism. That not only explains why there’s so much of it around these days, but also gives us hope that there is a way out of this insanity. That hope arises from the conjecture that the US can stop global Islamic terrorism if it wants. Continue reading “The US funds Global Islamic Terrorism”

Francois Gautier’s “A New History of India”

Francois Gautier: A New History of India

I have not had an opportunity to read A New History of India by Francois Gautier (Har-Anand Publications, 2008) but I intend to since I got this brief review of the book in an email from a colleague. I post it below the fold with permission. Continue reading “Francois Gautier’s “A New History of India””

The Jihad’s Come Home to Roost

Pakistan is back in the news for what it is best known in the world — Islamic terrorism. It has been the epicenter of global terror for a while, and also a front line ally of the US in its so-called “war against terror.” Talk about making an alliance with the fox to guard the hen house. Pakistan and terrorism is old hat. Anything written about that is apparently eternally relevant. This is what I had written in October 2009 — but it would be relevant in any month of any year. Continue reading “The Jihad’s Come Home to Roost”

Heinlein On Democracy

Thus spake Heinlein. “The America of my time line is a laboratory example of what can happen to democracies, what has eventually happened to all perfect democracies throughout all histories.” Continue reading “Heinlein On Democracy”

THE POLITICS OF OBEDIENCE: The Discourse of Voluntary Servitude

Here’s an excerpt from the introduction by Murray Rothbard to Étienne de La Boétie’s Discourse of Voluntary Servitude (1576). It’s important for us to understand this because India is under “voluntary servitude” to the corrupt few, namely the politicians that Indians elect.

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Tell the Truth and Run like Hell

Actually, have your best running shoes on when you start telling people what they don’t want to hear. What they generally don’t want to hear is anything that shows them up to be boobs. They don’t want to hear that they are being screwed over by the government. Add to that the fact that they are also very proud of being a “democracy.” Which makes it especially painful for them because if you tell them that their government is raping them, they don’t want to know it because it would mean that they are complicit in their own rape. How does the government manage it, you may ask. One word: media. Continue reading “Tell the Truth and Run like Hell”