USA And The Future Of The World

[dhu]

<b>Peter Schiff - Empire Collapse & Emergence of Asia - Part 1 of 3</b> (video)

[Shambhu]

Home > 2008 Issues > November 02, 2008

<b>
The American Mistake</b>
By Shankar Sharan

Had the US done anything similar towards the Islamic ideology and establishments, apart from making the Islamic regimes, parties defensive and weaker, they would have also emboldened the dissidents of the Islamic dictatorships in all Islamic countries/organisations. There are a considerable number of dissidents in Muslim societies. But they are under the direct threat of menacing ulemas all over the world.

Some decades ago the Soviet Communism had a great faith in Marxism-Leninism and was dead sure to convert the entire world to communism. It was in such a moment of history when a Soviet leader, Nikita Khrushchev, directly threatened the western capitalist world with “we’ll bury you”. In response, the West led by the USA did not shy from launching an all-out ideological war on communism.

Then US ideologues, policy-makers or commentators did never say ‘Marxism-Leninism is good but Soviet leaders are misguided’. Instead the western government circles, media, university academics all waged an open ideational war on the tenets of Marxism-Leninism as well as on the grim realities of all the communist societies.

Now, the US and her western allies are as seriously, perhaps more threatened with similar declarations by the Islamists world over. The Islamists have a similar faith to convert the entire world to Islam by ending all other faiths and ideas called ‘kufr’. <b>But this time, very strangely, the western world have chosen a peculiar stance: Islam is good, only Islamic terrorists are bad. </b>

Please do not confuse! Islam per se is as fully a political ideology as it is a semitic religion. Any Islamic cleric or academic would wholeheartedly testify to it. Recently, an ex-jihadist British Muslim Ed Hussain underlined the necessity “to confront the violent ideology” that influenced him before he turned away from it. What is this ideology? It is not anything else but a part of Islam. Selective, yes, but not distorted or any imposition.

So, instead of sending armies to Islamic rogue states, had the US launched an ideological attack on the Islamist ideology and political faith emanating from it—the entire Islamic world would have been defensive perforce. (It would not have harmed the ‘business relations’ as the Islamic countries are as dependent for various essential goods on the West as the West is on oil) The Islamic establishments, in that case, would have been compelled to answer in words, point to point, to justify their creed, their socio-political system, their laws, their social realities, the widespread abuses perpetrated on non-Muslims and women, etc. In the process the common Muslims, at least a large sensible section of it, would have willy-nilly seen the unreasonableness of the Islamist creed which calls other cultures ‘rotten’ and ‘decadent’.

Not doing so is the greatest blunder the US and the western world have committed for at least last ten years, particularly since 9/11. They would have won the war against Islamist world-view by establishing journals, radio stations, TV channels exclusively devoted to expose moribund Islamic tenets and barbaric practices in Muslim countries and Islamic communities in Europe too. Something on the line of ‘Free Europe’, ‘Liberty’ and journals like ‘Problems of Communism’ etc exposing the communist USSR and Eastern Europe to human scrutiny.

Had the US done anything similar towards the Islamic ideology and establishments, apart from making the Islamic regimes, parties defensive and weaker, they would have also emboldened the dissidents of the Islamic dictatorships in all Islamic countries/organisations. There are a considerable number of dissidents in Muslim societies. But they are under the direct threat of menacing ulema—all over the world. Unfortunately, the Islamic dissidents are not getting any support from the free world as the Soviet dissidents of communism got. This is one of the foolish blunders being committed by the western policy-makers. By keeping silent, or ‘respecting the sentiments’ of Islamists they have been doing the double-fault. One, not supporting their potential allies and two, strengthening their foes themselves!

Just imagine what would have happened if the USA had reiterated again and again that Marx, Lenin, Mao and their books and prescriptions were great, only Russian or Chinese communists or their propagandists are bad. That would have only bolstered the might of the Marxist-Leninist creed that sustained the Soviet leaders for decades. Exactly that is happening in the Islamic case. This is the great western blunder.

The western stance of placating Islamic sensitivities always boomerangs. It is the same story to all those in Asia and elsewhere who follow the stance. None of them seem even to fully understand the folly. They do utter something of fighting the ‘evil ideology’ once in a while, but fail to pin-point it.

The plain truth is: what was the correct tactic against the communist faith is even more appropriate for the Islamic one. Except a blind faith to conquer the world for Islam, the Islamic forces—books, organisations, states et al—have nothing much to wage a war against the ‘infidel world’ led by the US. Once the faith is weakened, a thing already half-accomplished – witness all kind of threats to kill Muslim writers, intellectuals voicing doubts about any precept of Islam: these are sure signs of fear, fear of not being able to defend the ideological positions if people critical to it are not bullied – the crumbling of terrorist organizations would be a mere formality. They have nothing else to sustain themselves except the idea of jihad and reward of paradise for the faithful mujahids. Please go through the testimonies of present or ex-terrorists and jihadis, they all were worked up by a faith in this creed.

The creed, therefore, must be challenged fearlessly and unsparingly. Then the jihadis would not know what to do! Done thoroughly it will achieve the victory of the liberal thoughts over Islamic dogmas without any bloodshed. It will also ipso facto relieve millions of Muslims living in bondage of ulema, the custodians of the ‘party of Islam’. Of course, it may also harm at the same time the Christian dogmas to an extent. But does the western intellectuals and leaders much care about it any more? Except this collateral damage the West has nothing to loose if it decides to wage an all out ideological war against the Islamic social-political-juridical tenets.

Everybody is well in his or her right to do so. Islamic proclamations do not leave others, the ‘kafirs’ and ‘kufr’, alone. Then why the others should not reciprocate as vehemently, especially in defense of themselves! For instance, why a Hindu should not say that most of the things preached in authoritative Islamic books are plain ‘Adharma’? And, therefore, the Hindus are fully entitled to wage a war on asuri forces represented by all kind of Islamists, at least in India. Similarly the Western liberals, Christians or not, can well call the Islamist goals and ways as undemocratic, dictatorial and inhuman and treat it with disdain it deserve.

It is high time the West as well as other non-Islamic societies in the world realise the crucial point and shuns inhibitions. It has been counter-productive all along.

(The author is a Lecturer in Political Science at the NCERT, New Delhi and can be contacted at IV/ 28, NCERT Quarters, Nasirpur Road, Dwarka, N. Delhi 110 045.)


http://www.organiser.org/dynamic/modules.p...pid=261&page=14

[dhu]

Baltic Dry Index

<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->...
Most directly, the index measures the demand for shipping capacity versus the supply of dry bulk carriers. The demand for shipping varies with the amount of cargo that is being traded or moved in various markets (supply and demand). The supply of ships (cargo transports) is much less elastic than the demand for them, so the index indirectly measures global supply and demand for the commodities shipped aboard dry bulk carriers, such as building materials, coal, crude oil, metallic ores, and grains.

Because dry bulk primarily consists of materials that function as raw material inputs to the production of intermediate or finished goods, such as concrete, electricity, steel, and food, the index is also seen as an efficient economic indicator of future economic growth and production. The BDI is termed a leading economic indicator because it predicts future economic activity.
..
Impact of 2008 financial crisis

<b>On 21 May 2008 the index reached its record high level since its introduction in 1998, reaching 11793 points. Less than half a year later, on 4 November 2008, the index had dropped by 93%, to 815 points,</b> the lowest since 1999. These low rates move dangerously close to the combined operating costs of vessels, fuel, and crews.

By the end of 2008, shipping times had been already increased by reduced speeds to save fuel consumption, but lack of credit meant the disappearance of letters of credit, historically required to load cargoes for departure at ports. Debt load of future ship construction was also a problem for the companies, with several major bankruptcies and implications for shipyards.[10][11] This, combined with the collapsing price of raw commodities created a perfect storm for the world's marine commerce. Cheaper fuel was no longer able to offset this situation and global letters of credit are beyond the powers of the Federal Reserve.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

The Baltic Dry Index: The Only Economic Indicator Worth Tracking Right Now

<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->..
If you want to know when the global slowdown that’s erased $28 trillion in wealth (so far) will finally reverse course, pay attention to the obscure Baltic Dry Index. And nothing else. Here’s why…
..

In light of the above, it doesn’t take a market maven to predict what direction the index’s been heading lately - practically straight down. Here’s the thing. The Baltic Dry Index started plummeting in early June, before the global equity markets went into a tailspin, proving its predictive abilities.
..<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

[dhu]

Death of the dollar 2 (video)

[Guest]

<b>The American Empire Project</b>

[Husky]

http://vivekajyoti.blogspot.com/2008_11_01_archive.html
This is very important IMO:
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>The Hidden Hand Of Human Rights -- Let Us Keep Our Police Out Of All This</b>

From: Radha Rajan
date: Mon, Nov 17, 2008 at 1:50 PM
subject: NSA and the Police

Chris Patten, former Governor of Hong Kong, currently EU Commissioner for External Affairs, was in town a couple of months ago. He was invited to speak at the Madras University by the Center for Security Analysis, a Ford Foundation think tank, and the Department of Defence and Strategic Studies, Madras University, in his capacity as Chancellor of the Oxford University. In his introductory speech, M.K.Narayanan, former Director, Intelligence Bureau and currently Vice-President of the Center, extolled Chris Patten's genius which had authored the Independent Policing for Northern Ireland report. Because he was a policeman, Mr.Narayanan said, he was able to better appreciate the genius which had produced this report. Later, answering a pointed question on the US led invasion of Iraq, Chris Patten declared we were making too much of national sovereignty. "Sovereignty is like virginity", he said with great originality, his genius rising up to Narayanan's fulsome praise. "It is there one day, gone the next".

Soon thereafter, the Center for Security Analysis invited Prof. Laurence Lustgarten to speak to high-ranking serving police officers and a few specially invited intellectuals of Chennai on the merits of constituting an 'institutional and hierarchical mechanism' for looking into complaints against the police force. Prof. Lustgarten, one of the 17 Commissioners of the IPCC, spoke about the newly constituted Independent Police Complaints Commission for England and Wales. Mr.M.K.Narayanan introduced the speaker to the audience. The thematic connection between Prof.Lustgarten's visit and that of Chris Patten could hardly be missed. What deserves our attention is Patten's toffee-nosed dismissal of the sovereignty of nations not covered by the protectionism racket called NATO, his call for military and other interventions into the domestic affairs of countries which western nations think are not abiding by international norms on human rights, (humanitarian intervention, I think it is called, like the invasion of Iraq) and the real intentions, as stated by Prof.Lustgarten, behind setting up parallel mechanisms within a country to monitor the country's police force. Chris Patten delightfully genius-like and once again with great originality termed this kind of intrusive monitoring and intervention, 'sharing sovereignty'. "Countries must get used to sharing sovereignty", was how he put it. Needless to say, this 'sharing' seems to be one-way and selective about which areas of sovereignty are being 'shared'.

Expanding upon his claim that national sovereignty was no big deal, Chris Patten told his audience in the university that the world was moving rapidly towards the post nation-state era. Now, I will buy me a ticket to this Fool's Paradise the day the US dismantles its national military structures, destroys all its weapons – conventional and unconventional, and de-commissions its uniformed men and women. As long as the US and all the former colonial powers of Europe continue to exist as nation-states, with all the attendant paraphernalia of State power, I do not see the world-without frontiers era approaching even distantly. Be that as it may; but what is even more disquieting is the growing international trend to de-sanctify national borders - in theory by American think-tanks and in practice by the US led western world; and our own people providing persons like Patten and Lustgarten with opportunities to peddle their theories and intentions to audiences which one can only classify as being 'sensitive'. <span style='font-size:14pt;line-height:100%'>The Ford Foundation is in partnership with a sensitive department like Defence and Strategic Studies in the Madras University. How this alliance came to be and how this partnership was countenanced by the Chancellor of the university is incomprehensible. This provides the Foundation with easy access to impressionable student minds and an opportunity to co-opt our university and our academics into their agenda, to take up their pet causes. The Ford Foundation has not opened shop in India to further India's national interests. It is working with a well-planned agenda. Advancing India's interests is definitely not one of them.

Chris Patten is not the first important western politician calling for an intrusive foreign policy which unabashedly declares military intervention to be a legitimate instrument. Several American think-tank specialists and even a senator have stated that gross violation of human rights, gross abuse of political power and genocide will henceforth call for military intervention into other countries. This American senator went so far as to say that poverty, illiteracy and failure to provide basic health care will also now merit American scrutiny. 'We intend to make all this our business', this man declared in the recently concluded World Economic Forum in Davos. "We intend to link aid with corruption, good governance, health-care, human rights, democracy and education".</span> This sanctimonious humbug was notwithstanding the slow genocide of the people of Iraq through the most cruel and inhuman economic sanctions that the US and the UK imposed on Iraq for 12 years and the studious indifference of the western world to the genocide in Rwanda. While the slow killing of Iraqi children, women and the aged served the West's political and strategic interests in Iraq in particular and in the Middle-East in general, the genocide in Rwanda, a poor African nation was beyond the frontiers of their interests and imagination and gave them no reason to intervene. Besides, Rwanda had no oil.

Given the nightmarish scenario now being played out in Iraq and Afghanistan, even the megalomaniac American State is less and less likely to wage conventional wars against other nations in the future. Instead it is more likely to seek to install puppet regimes which are 'pro-US' in those parts of the world where it has political and strategic interests. And this the US will do after having reduced the concerned country to total political, economic and administrative chaos. This will only be in line with the Carter doctrine or the Zbignew Brzinski document which envisaged a world order in which the United States would be the only super power and all other countries of the world would either be vassal States of the United States or tributary States. And human rights groups in the concerned country would be the 'consenting weapons' in this war-by-another-name which will effectively arrange the world order to match Brzinski's script.

One can therefore be prepared to see the West-inspired and funded human rights industry getting into an over-drive whenever nationalist governments assume power at the Center. The idea will be to dis-credit the government, the State instruments and generally erode all authority vested in State power. And this, the human rights industry will attempt to do by playing upon people's vulnerabilities, by instigating one group against another, making people lose confidence and trust in the ability of their government, their police and armed forces to protect them and also by calling into question their very integrity. The human rights industry works on the basic and uncompromising assumption that the State is evil and that all State apparatus is guilty by association. It is this antagonistic assumption that lies behind the bitter hostility of human rights activists and organizations towards our police and our armed forces.

Sovereignty is the essence of nation-States. State sovereignty implies territorial frontiers and needless to say State instruments are created to defend and safeguard these frontiers and the territorial integrity of nations. This is as old as the earliest, organized human settlement in history when it was confronted by a rival settlement. Which is why every nation raises its own army to defend its national borders and raises its police force to maintain internal law and order. Our armed forces and our police are the most visible symbols of State power and it is the quality and morale of our people in uniform, which determines the effectiveness of all security and law enforcing mechanisms. In short, national security depends ultimately on our uniformed forces and morale is the most important factor which maintains in them a very high level of effectiveness.

The IPCC for England and Wales, by Prof. Lustgarten's own admission was constituted on the twin premises that, one, the police force is congenitally inclined to violence and abuse and two, the police force cannot be trusted to correct itself. Contrary to the report that appeared in The Hindu on the 24th of January http://www.hindu.com/2004/01/24/stories/...650500.htm on Prof. Lustgarten's meeting, where the reporter incorrectly states that the IPCC has no ambitions or intentions of becoming an investigating agency, Prof.Lustgarten had stated categorically at the meeting that while currently the IPCC is undertaking investigation of cases sometimes independently and sometimes in partnership with the police, they intend to relieve the police force of all its investigating role, and also that very soon the IPCC would evolve into a full-fledged investigating agency. The idea behind wanting to relieve the police force of its investigating role is all too clear. The IPCC has no faith in the integrity of the police to conduct free and fair investigation into cases. Prof.Lustgarten also said that the IPCC was under tremendous pressure to prove itself and to provide results.

If we looked at what lies beneath the Professor's ambitions for the IPCC, it reveals that the IPCC is seeking to legitimise its dangerous ambitions by laying it on the 'people'. He said the people expected the IPCC to substantiate allegations of mis-conduct and abuse against the police. They expected the IPCC to expose police highhandedness and violations of human rights. In short, what Prof.Lustgarten meant was, the IPCC would police the police force. Constituting a parallel investigating mechanism is a zero sum exercise. The more the IPCC gains in credibility, the more the people's faith in the police force would erode. To a pointed question on whether eroding the credibility of the State and State instruments did not bode ill for democracy and if this kind of public expose of the police force were not a sure prescription for anarchy, Prof.Lustgarten declared smugly that if the police force was found to be corrupt and prone to violate human rights, then it deserved to be eroded.

This is the danger. That the concept of human rights becomes more important than the nation, the State, the instruments of State power. That groups, organizations and powerful countries will declare unchallenged that human rights violations and genocide will invite military intervention, that nations will be thrown into anarchy by emasculating our police and armed forces by questioning their functioning, their decisions, their actions, their motives, their integrity. Our own NHRC not to be out-done, is now seeking amendments to the Protection of Human Rights Act. The NHRC was constituted as a result of this Act and now the NHRC is seeking amendments to it whereby the NHRC would be given the right to investigate allegations of human rights violations against our armed forces who are called upon to fight insurgency and organized terrorism in states like J&K and the North-East. Currently, the NHRC will have to refer these complaints to the army itself and suggest investigation and enquiry into the alleged crime or it may approach the courts for justice. But it cannot don the role of an independent and parallel investigating agency. If an over-ambitious Chairman of the NHRC were to take it upon himself to enquire into every incident ending in the killing of terrorists or in the death of so-called 'innocent civilians', the accompanying media publicity would inevitably demoralise our police and our armed forces and if the NHRC's activism continues, over time, it could dissuade them from acting decisively against anti-social and anti-national forces. The loser would be the nation and the law-abiding people of this country. And that is the danger of constituting parallel non-governmental mechanisms to police our uniformed forces.

We know that there is corruption in the judiciary and that several of our judges are men and women of questionable and even unsavoury character. Oftentimes there has been wanton mis-carriage of justice, not the least because of pecuniary benefits. There is corruption and pervasive immorality in the polity of our country. But no one in his right senses would suggest that the country must set up 'hierarchical and institutional' parallel judiciary or government. I see no reason why we must make an exception of the police force. Nor do I see the need to give the National Human Rights Commission any new or greater powers that would in effect make it a parallel and quasi-judicial and investigating agency. That there are instances of human rights violations is true and also that there is corruption and insensitivity towards specific categories of people. It is best to insulate our uniformed forces from public scrutiny without however condoning or ignoring allegations of mis-conduct and human rights violations. The police force and our armed forces, because of the dignity and the high value that is attached to the uniform that they wear with pride, are more concerned about maintaining the highest integrity and standards of behavior among their cadre and their officers. There is no dearth of thinkers and intellectuals in their midst. We must trust them to work out ways and means to deal with complaints and allegations without jumping on the bandwagon of the anarchists to drag our uniformed forces into public gaze and infamy.

There is a good practice in force of not inviting serving policemen, army men and judges to meetings and seminars organized by civil society. There is no need to make an exception just because such meetings are organized by retired or former policemen. The meeting of the kind organized by the Center for Security Analysis with Prof.Lustgarten and Chris Patten, are not meant for 'sensitive' audiences. Let such seminars and discussions remain the business of civil society. Meetings of a similar nature to be productive, where the police force could participate actively may be organized by the government or by the police itself with outsiders strictly not invited to be present. Our police and our armed forces have enough to do without having to sit through seminars and discussions which abuse them and do not go beyond. As indeed they cannot go beyond.

http://www.vigilonline.com/index.php?optio...=751&Itemid=112
17, February, 2004.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->AmeriKKKa - the land of global terrorism.

[Husky]

^ Is the Chris Patten mentioned above the same as the one below? Both are British, both held some official political position. Would also make sense:
<!--QuoteBegin-Mudy+Nov 19 2008, 10:43 AM-->QUOTE(Mudy @ Nov 19 2008, 10:43 AM)<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>RSS, Bajrang Dal are not terrorist groups: Britain</b><!--QuoteBegin--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->The British government has said neither the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) nor the Bajrang Dal are terrorist organisations and their members are not banned from entering Britain.

"The government do not consider the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh or the Bajrang Dal as terrorist organisations," British Minister of State for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Lord Malloch-Brown told the House of Lords.

<b>"Neither organisation is proscribed in the UK or in India, nor do the Indian government classify either as a terrorist organisation," Malloch-Brown said in reply to a question by former cabinet minister Lord Chris Patten.</b><!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->[right][snapback]90387[/snapback][/right]<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

[dhu]

<b>The Real Truth behind the Citigroup Bank Nationalization</b>
By F. William Engdahl

<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->It is only the beginning. The 2009 year will be one of titanic shocks and changes to the global order of a scale perhaps not experienced in the past five centuries. This is why we speak of the end of the American Century and its Dollar System. <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

[acharya]

hnair wrote:<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Sanjay wrote:
None of you have confronted anything like this. Not even in your worst scenarios. The fact is our army has fought and won major wars against an equally well armed and trained adversary. Our IS forces have a slew of tactical successes in COIN ops from J&K to the North East.
...
As an aside and as a message to those in the Western media, anyone who doubts India's proof on Pakistan's involvement and questions India's evidence should remember that they invaded two countries on less of a pretext and the Israelis launch airstrikes against undefended civilian targets anytime one of their civilians gets hit with a stone. India and Indians are sick and tired of self-appointed experts and critics and the supercilious windbags of the Western media and political establishment who sneer at our allegations of Pakistani involvment in terror attacks in India.

By the actions of your so-called experts and the patronizing condescension of your media, you have provided psychological aid and succor to the terrorists who have hurt my people time and time again.

Enough is Enough.


Thanks Sanjay for putting it clearly. There is not a word that I dont agree with 8)

Disclaimer: I do not support any gang violence by any ethnicity, but am interested in the "root causes", that the west's favored ally, Musharraf keeps saying through their own media.

I suspect that this extreme publicity by the western media to Mumbai is to inoculate their population about an impending carnage in their own cities. All western cities have huge pile of arms, sleazy underground mafias that can be made to do false flag operations and an easily scared general public. Add to that, the abundance of socially disadvantaged and pissed off people of color/ethnicity and you really dont need an islamic group to start off such stunts. When I pointed out how MS-13's LA edition started off, Johann has once condescendingly mentioned how MS13 type gangs kill "more latinos than others" and that he travels on both sides of the border of US/Mexico to figure that out. What he forgot to mention is what the latino (or african-american) community elders talk. They are clear on this bullshit of "more <insert a colored race> are killed by the <colored gang> than others" bilge that is fed via the US establishment/media. Let me explain what I heard:

This "they kill you more than they kill us" is a typical gora suggestive campaign, to demoralize these minorities and make them turn against each other. The advantage is that this minority community, in its desperate struggle for survival in gora-territory, will snuff out the violent ones as well as anyone who has decided to says enough is enough in a peaceful way. This is a new version of that good old classic, "divide and rule", aided and abetted by the media. What happens in most western cities is the gora-run establishment will make life hell for an ethnic minority that hurts goras physically or destabilizes their own sweet, idyllic, suburban "Desperate Housewives" ambiance. Such a minority is forced, coerced, socially boycotted and sometimes jailed to submission. Their members are encouraged to rat/snitch on *anyone*, including people who are peacefully protesting injustices. Finally the community is split into dhimmis and rebels. The dhimmis say "let us listen to gora,he is right". The rebels gets pissed, suspect a sellout and starts killing the dhimmis. And the minority community will see an upsurge in cops recruitment, to um, "diversify". Shootouts will be between rebels and these new cops. Gora smiles at this, puts one more feather in his cap and moves on with life. That minority community will see a lot of unwanted violence/deaths because gora cannot tame the rebels to agree to his terms nor do they want to uplift these minorities out of their social disadvantages in a systemic way. Gora finds it a lot more cost-effective to let the minorities kill each other and solve his problems. Good business sense in a way.

Any crimes committed *against* these minorities will not make any headlines, but crimes against goras are bloated beyond belief. Witness the difference in coverage between a no-name Natalie Holloway to a hip-hop legend like Tupac Shakur. This common resentment against "divide and rule" amongst the african-american community was expressed eloquently by Chris Rock during his standup routines. Dave Chapelle is another comedienne who made some really scathing skits based on this angst of African-american community elders.

A minority that challenges the "Desperate Housewives" ambiance with their own music, dressing, social customs or force are made to go through this "they hurt you more than they hurt us" ritual. Look at the initial attempts at suppressing hip-hop culture: denigration of their baggy dresses(a symbolic statement by the hip-hop community about Thrift store wardrobes that they could afford), drug running (ironically, most of the meth labs are run by whites) and apparent laziness to work (from social coercion). A rather amusing spectacle happens when the community still doesnt give up, but instead captures the gora public's imagination: gora establishment goes on overdrive to make money out of the whole "minority-chic". Obama is a shrewd person who actually turned the tables using this minority-chic sentiment, at the same time capturing the gora-public imagination. Quite a sad spectacle to behold for us Indians, who has escaped colonialism of the worst kind.

Where am I going with this? The Mumbai attack will give ideas to a lot of people who are pissed. The west will have a tough time if Bradford, Paris suburbs or the innercities of US decides to stop believing "you are hurting yourselves more than us" and emulate these crazed pakis. The difference is that they dont have to land there in boats with the guns. It is already there in the 2nd amendment and in the Walmarts. So those of them who sneer at the Battle of Mumbai, they are actually wetting their pants. IMO, only France (yes, the surrender monkeys) **might** have the tenacity and grit to fight out a prolonged urban war and yet come out stronger as a nation like India. The rest are not going to have it easy. Based on past performances (right from colonial times), their public are not as discerning as Indians, who know the difference between a "war for profits" and a "war that is thrust on us". Even the humblest voter in India knows the dos and donts. Come elections, sometimes we punish our leaders for the deaths of Indians. And then sometimes we dont, because we know that some things were out of these politicians hands. Bhagavad Geetha 101.

Israelis should realize that they are fast running out of options - their enemy is adapting to smarter techniques (witness the egypt border opening incident) and their allies are shrinking fast. Add to that the fact that their military is being challenged regularly. And sometimes successfully too.

Only Pakistani elites are idiotic enough to support the violent terrorists at a society level and then later on believe "You have to fight them for your own good" words of wisdom of gora. Only they will bitch about predator attacks, get their soldiers killed in their own territory, while still foolishly supporting terrorism. But then they never had a clue about rights and wrong.

Johann, stop trying to convince us that India should turn into a police state like those in the west or a huge barrack like Israel. I know your postings were highly critical of the Pakis, but a lot of us die because of your country and its big brothers' direct and indirect help. Stop trying to turn us against our own Govt by saying "Indians hurt more than others due to other Indians". We are not going to do that. Thanks.
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

[Pandyan]

<!--QuoteBegin-acharya+Dec 1 2008, 02:10 AM-->QUOTE(acharya @ Dec 1 2008, 02:10 AM)<!--QuoteEBegin-->I know your postings were highly critical of the Pakis, but a lot of us die because of your country and its big brothers' direct and indirect help.
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
What is this supposed to mean?

[dhu]

It means that colonizer folowed different policies in mideast versus south asia with respect to the muslim column. this fact allows 4M nexus to develop in a heathen land like india; while outside india, these same 4M are at each other's throats.

[Shambhu]

<b>Hindu Hate Groups in America </b>((me : Should be "hate-Hindu" groups))
12/12/2008 00:34:17

Dr. BABU SUSEELAN
Opposition to Hindus is nothing new in America. For several years Hindus were denied immigration by American law. Despite the obstacles posed by Christian Missionaries, Hindus were able to immigrate to America during the presidency of Kennedy and Johnson. Hindu organizations sprang up across the continent and slowly took root in American society. It is significant that Hindu immigrants have worked tirelessly and convinced American thinkers that spirituality is essential for peace, freedom, harmony and coexistence. Hindu Contribution to science, technology, economics, life sciences, spirituality and freedom are innumerable. Devout Hindus have strengthened the theories of pluralism, yoga, meditation, and the management of human affairs in several ways. It represents a systemic perspective against the naturally limited, historically conditioned efforts of dogmatic ideology to conceive one model of living. Hindu values keep Indians strong by binding us together. By committing and recommitting ourselves to our Dharma, we have forged a common Hindu identity. It is what makes a Pluribus Unum “out of many, one” possible.

Now several Hindu hate groups have appeared in different parts of America in new forms and with different disguises. India has never suffered from a shortage of enemies in America. Recently, Fundamentalist Evangelist groups, Indian Converted Christian Organizations, Fanatic Indian Islamo Fascists, Indian Marxists anarchists posing as liberals, and pseudo secular bigots have made an unholy alliance against India and Hindus in America. They have joined with anti Hindu fundamentalist groups to wage a psychological warfare against peace loving, tolerant, spiritual, pluralistic Hindus. Several anti Hindu fanatic groups such as American Federation of Muslims of Indian Origin (AFMI), Association of Indian Muslims of America (AIM), Campaign to Stop Funding Hate (CSFH), Coalition Against Communalism (CAC), Federation of Indian American Christian Organization of North America (FIACONA), Forum of Inquilabi Leftists (FOIL), Indian Christian Forum (ICF), Indian Muslim Educational Foundation of North America (IMEFNA), Indian Muslim Council-USA (IMC-USA), Indian Muslim Relief and Charities (IMRC), Muslim Youth Awareness Alliance (MYAA), South Asian Collectives (SAC), South Asia Forum (SAF), and Supporters of Human Rights in India (SHRI) are busy vulgarizing Hinduism. (The List is not exhaustive). These hate groups’ goal is unmistakably been Hindu bashing. They are not honest critics working toward peace and positive values for America. They are peddling lies, half-truths, and false accusations in the guise of secularism.

What is going on? Why are Indian Converted Christians, fanatic Indian Muslims and Communists betraying India? Instead of creating a positive image, educating Americans, promoting pluralistic, all inclusive Indian values, why are they turning against Hindus and India? These converted Indian Christians, Indian Muslims and Marxists have surrendered themselves to rigid, non-compromising, reductionist, divisive, fundamentalist anti Hindu ideology. These sloppy anti-Hindu bigots suffer from thinking errors and take no responsibility for their nefarious and erroneous actions. They behave without moral conscience, guilt or remorse and they don’t want the consequences of their action known, and if it becomes known, they don’t want to take responsibility. They are well trained to do what they are told.

These Hindu bashers’ language, values, culture, and thinking have been polluted through a denial of traditional Indian culture. In the mad dash to escape from their all inclusive, open ended, universal spiritual philosophy and freedom, that make up Indian heritage, these converted Christians, Muslims and Marxists scoff at Indian cultural values and ethics and become paranoid and psychotic in their attempt to deal with their roots.

These anti Indian groups simply do not understand the result of their own actions and do not stick around long enough to bear consequences. These mischief mongers and miscreants in our midst seldom advocate pluralism, tolerance, universalism or harmony or trying to move the American society in that direction because they are slaves to tyrannical, fundamentalist and conflicting ideologies.

It seems that a slow poison is running the veins of these people and the anti-Hindu crap is just a small part of it. These Hindu bashers are always seemed ready with excuses for Islamic terrorists, missionary culture vultures and Marxist anarchists. Every positive Social service by Hindu organizations is horrifying in their eyes, a sign of bad conduct, and moral decay. It is as if Hindu bashers of Indian origin have arrived at a kind of intellectual truth with Islamic terrorists and the conversion gangs. It is as if they have made accommodation with them. Hindu bashers actually welcome news that makes Hindus and India bad. They find pleasure and delight in vilifying India and Hindus. There is no outrage from these Hindu bashers about Jihadi terrorism, missionary mischief or Marxist violence. While hiding behind tyrannical ideologies, these Hindu bashers in America are playing with betrayal, denial, diversion, falsehood and sophistry.

Are they aware of the social and political damage they have already inflicted on India? Their actions against India and Hindus have no moral sense, logic or common sense. Their recent letter to President elect Obama exposes the fallacious and demeaning logic. The unprecedented and recklessness of their letter is an alarmist tactics of intimidation.



How did they get this way? Mindless missionaries have used deceptive strategies to lure low class, uneducated and poor Indians and freed them from their spiritual tradition and enslaved them in rigid, fundamentalist and parochial Christian dogma. Christian schools have indoctrinated them with closed channel thinking and hostility towards Hindu pluralism, tolerance and transcendental philosophy. They were brought to this country to serve their slave masters. Islamo fascists and Marxists and the anti Hindu pseudo secularists have made an unholy alliance against tolerant Hindus and sacred Indian heritage. These closed channel Hindu hate groups have a goal to insult, ridicule and subvert American religious freedom. These Hindu hate groups are mired in hostility and tyrannical ideologies. They will always see India as immoral and dishonorable. No matter how much Hindus and India do today, these hate groups prey on American insecurities, ignorance and the gaps in their knowledge. These Indian born maroons exploit American hopes and fears. In short, these anti Hindu hate groups represent the ultimate in vanity and betrayal.



http://www.haindavakeralam.com/HkPage.aspx...EID=7782&SKIN=W

[acharya]

The mother of all paradoxes, the American social model
Front page / Opinion / Columnists

We see it all around us. In places the world shrinks. In others it expands. Things change and shift around. But America Land of the Free, part of the shrunken world, tries not to see its shattered dream. Dazzle their minds with impossible dreams. Implant in their mindsets visions of triumph. Then, mask the inevitable loss of hope by the masses. Feebly old dreams try to resurface and again vanish. The glamorous glitter of once-upon-a-time has been reduced to a tacky faint flicker of the lonely used car lot or the mottled colors of empty Burger Kings blinking in the night. Begrudgingly, cars get smaller. Houses run down. Legions of Walmarts experience a sense of abandonment while beautiful celebrities look out of TV screens soothingly and travel around the world and buy villas on Lake Como.


Meanwhile, Europe’s one hundred year old social state based on a spirit of solidarity is weakening and ceding ground to the selfish American capitalist-individualistic-everyman-for-himself society and its neo-liberal allies of the European Union. Yet the European Idea of the social state hangs on and resists. There is still a veritable abyss between the American market model based on individualism (that is the hosanna-ed American Dream), with a high rate of mobility at the cost of a low level of protection of its people, and the European system based on the social state, which is the European Idea.

The absence of a solid and stable workers movement in the USA which should be this nation’s third party is responsible for America’s anti-social answer to what is in essence a social issue. Once-upon-a-time workers movements and trade unions in America chalked up some important achievements. That was a long time ago. On the east side of the ocean the workers movements had a close relationship with the rise of the nation states and the effects of the industrial revolution and the eventual emergence of the social state.

America ’s dissonant voice is instead the anti-social divergence of the model projected by the USA. Therefore the pernicious halo surrounding propagandistic Americanism. Therefore, the transformation of the American Dream into nightmare. That impossible dream, that at the very most dream-gone-wrong, that incubus, has in turn provided the foundations for an enduring Corporatism-Fascism, in America stubbornly referred to as individualism.

http://english.pravda.ru/opinion/columnists/106843-1/

[Shambhu]

http://www.stratfor.com/memberships/129319...sian_resurgence

Russkie wants to tear out part of Ukraine, Poland, and Slovakia..

Heh..let us all watch unkill as the bear starts shuffling out of its den..

[Guest]

Expect some war soon, Either Indian Subcontinent or Europe. It will be between countries with money. Only way to revive world economy.
Russia may look for external resources to revive its economy. This year Russia budget was set based on $90 Oil price, now its just half, lets see what they will do.

[dhu]

Sign of the times: Stolen Christmas trees

<i>With the economy weak, police across the country have seen an uptick in the theft of trees from commercial lots. Thieves have targeted holiday trim, too. </i>
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->NEW YORK (Fortune) -- With the economy tanking, it may not be a surprise that nuisance crimes like petty theft and vandalism are on the rise. But even police departments are scratching their heads over the latest hot loot: Christmas trees.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

[dhu]

<b> Federal Reserve sets Stage for Weimar-style Hyperinflation </b>
By F. William Engdahl


read in conjunction with:

The Dollar System and US economic reality post-Iraq War

[shamu]

Global Financial Domination: The $8.5 Trillion Chip
Matthias Chang
22 Dec 2008

....
The present global financial tsunami has given the 12 elite global gamblers and 2 maybe 3 central banks, the opportunity of a millennium to confiscate un-imaginable wealth and power and to reign supreme over the entire planet.
....

[Shambhu]

The Afghan chieftain looked older than his 60-odd years, and his bearded face bore the creases of a man burdened with duties as tribal patriarch and husband to four younger women. His visitor, a CIA officer, saw an opportunity, and reached into his bag for a small gift.

Four blue pills. Viagra.

“Take one of these. You’ll love it,” the officer said. Compliments of Uncle Sam.

The enticement worked. The officer, who described the encounter, returned four days later to an enthusiastic reception. The grinning chief offered up a bonanza of information about Taliban movements and supply routes — followed by a request for more pills.
More on:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...ml?hpid=topnews

[Husky]

1. http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/-/world/5234593...ves-16-orphans/
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>US Christmas massacre leaves 16 orphans</b>
December 28, 2008

<b>Sixteen children were left orphaned</b> in the Christmas Eve massacre carried out by a gunman dressed as Santa Claus who slaughtered his ex-wife and her family, it was reported on Saturday.

Authorities have yet to formally identify the <b>nine people killed</b> by Bruce Pardo, 45, who opened fire at the home of his former in-laws on Wednesday before setting fire to the house and later taking his life.

But the devastating impact upon the family of his ex-wife - identified in media reports as Sylvia Ortega - has slowly begun to emerge as grief-stricken friends and associates speak out in the aftermath of the tragedy.

Pardo's rampage is reported to have claimed the lives of his ex-wife, her parents, her two brothers and their partners, and another relative Alice Ortiz and her teenage son.

Sylvia Ortega's three children were at the party but survived, Scott Nord, the family's lawyer, told NBC4 television.

"The entire family was wiped out," Nord said. "There's basically like 16 orphans."

Three people injured in the assault but are expected to survive. They include <b>an eight-year-old girl who was shot in the face after excitedly opening the door of the home to Pardo because she wanted to see Father Christmas</b> , police told reporters on Friday.

No additional victims are expected to be discovered in the charred wreckage of the Ortega's home, which is to be bulldozed, police said.

Family lawyer Nord meanwhile told NBC4 that contrary to reports, Pardo's recent divorce from Ortega - cited as a possible trigger for the attack - had not been especially acrimonious.

He said there were "no theatrics in the courtroom, no theatrics in the hallway," Nord said. "Everybody was very civil to each other."

"There was no history of domestic violence in this case or none that my client had ever told me about," he said, admitting he was at a loss to explain what may have pushed Pardo over the edge.

"I can't even give you a rationale," Nord said. "I've never seen anything like this happen. I've never even heard of anything like this happening."

Meanwhile, The Los Angeles Times reported on Saturday that Pardo's marriage had been strained after Ortega discovered he had a brain-damaged son from a previous relationship that he had kept secret.

According to the Times, citing a source close to the police investigation, Ortega was appalled Pardo had abandoned his child yet continued to claim him as a tax write-off.

Police revealed on Friday Pardo had planned to flee to Canada following his attack, but killed himself after being seriously injured as he set fire to his former in-laws' home with a home-made flamethrower that melted his Santa Claus costume to parts of his body.

Pardo shot himself after driving to his brother's home. Covina police said $US17,000 ($A25,000) was found taped to his body along with a plane ticket to Canada departing early on Thursday.

He had also booby-trapped his car, which burst into flames as bomb disposal experts moved in, police revealed.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->He behaved like he was possessed by the Santa Claus ("Saint Nicholas of Myra") (of temple-breaking fame) that he was dressed up as.

2. Hallmark of American culture? They seem to like shooting others for no reason.
http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/-/world/5234859...king-pitt-film/
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Man shot for talking during Pitt film</b>
December 28, 2008

<b>A Philadelphia resident, enraged because a family was talking loudly during a film, threw popcorn at a boy and then shot the youngster's father.</b>

James Joseph Cialella Jr, 29, was charged with attempted murder, aggravated assault and weapons violations for shooting another film goer in the left arm, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

Cialella was furious for being disturbed while watching The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, which stars Brad Pitt and Australia's Cate Blanchett .

"It's truly frightening when you see something like this evolve into such violence ... that something like this leads to a shooting in a movie theatre," police spokesman Lieutenant Frank Vanore was quoted as saying.

Cialella first asked the talkative family to quieten down and threw popcorn at a boy who was talking to his father. Next , Cialella and the father got into an argument, which turned physical and Cialella whipped out a handgun and shot the man.

Police said Cialella returned to his seat and continued watching the film.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->Are Americans/christians fit to study other people - like they do in Harvard and other hate groups? They look like they ought to be studied first: for pathological disorders. (Australian missionary Graham Staines was in illegal possession of a gun when in India and eyewitnesses report that he shot into a crowd. Seems like part of a larger trend. More study is required.)