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Probe the ‘murky game’
Deciphering Chinese intent |
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Govt vs court in Pakistan
The Karnataka crisis
‘Yes, we’re Open’
Jerusalem settlement clouds peace initiative
Crumbling America has a $2.2 trillion repair bill
Museum studies society that created Hitler
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Probe the ‘murky game’
Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh has done well by appointing a high-level committee to look into the Commonwealth Games (CWG) corruption allegations. The Games brought laurels and glory to the nation, but the credit of that goes to the athletes who delivered despite the odds stacked against them. The CWG Organising Committee, on the other hand, failed miserably and indeed caused much embarrassment to the nation. The media stories on corruption allegations, the whispers of the ‘murky game’ played by the organisers and the harsh reality of potholes and debris around the CWG venues in Delhi put the whole nation in an embarrassing situation. The anger of the public at large can be gauged from the loud booing that greeted CWG Organising Committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi, whenever he came to the dais during the Games. The appointment of VK Shunglu, a former Comptroller and Auditor-General (CAG) to head the probe that is expected to submit its report within three months to the Prime Minister’s Office, will go a long way in reassuring the public at large about the seriousness of the government’s endeavour to bring to book those who were guilty of various acts of omission and commission which led to a near-disaster in the organising of the Games. Significantly, the CAG has also resumed its audit which was suspended during the games. The CAG is investigating whether there has been any cost overrun, and if the requisite balance between cost and quality has been maintained. While the Prime Minister met the new medal winning icons of young India, and felicitated them at his residence, the exclusion of officials of the Organising Committee, including its chief, is significant. Even as the nation basks in joy over the glory of its young sportsmen, it cannot afford to overlook the brush with ignominy that it almost faced. The guilty must be identified and brought to justice, sooner rather than later.
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Deciphering Chinese intent
The
observations made by the Army chief, General V.K. Singh, in an interview with The Tribune that there was peace on the border with China but since there is a disputed border with that country there will always be a concern that Chinese intentions may change is indicative of a cautious approach in the Indian establishment towards China. General Singh emphasized that confidence-building measures were in place. Last month, Defence Minister A.K. Antony had told a military conference that “we cannot afford to drop our guard” in relation to China which was improving its military and physical infrastructure and showing increasing assertiveness. From an establishment that tends to be very measured and careful in statements on China, this is a sign of cautious wariness. Significantly, China’s position on Kashmir used to be similar to that of all major powers, viewing it as a bilateral issue between India and Pakistan that needed to be resolved peacefully. But Beijing’s current practice of issuing stapled visas to Kashmiris rather than stamping the visa in the passport and the denial of visa to an Indian army general posted in Jammu and Kashmir who was to lead a military delegation to China mark a strategic shift in China’s attitude which amounts to questioning India’s sovereignty over the territory. At the same time, China is inducting a large body of troops into the Gilgit region of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Considering that China also claims about 90,000 square kilometres in Arunachal Pradesh and in April 2009, Beijing attempted to block a $US2.9 billion Asian Development Bank loan to India that included a flood control project in that state, there are straws in the wind that can hardly be wished away. While there is no cause for hysteria over the downward trend in Sino-Indian political relations in recent months, and there is cause for satisfaction over the burgeoning economic ties, it is good for our foreign policy establishment to be watchful over Chinese intentions. That the China-Pakistan nexus poses a security threat to this country with the Chinese even assisting Pakistan’s nuclear programme is something that we cannot brush aside as of little consequence.
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Govt vs court in Pakistan
That
an unconfirmed TV report can force the Pakistan Supreme Court to constitute a 17-judge Full Bench on an emergency basis to ward off a purported threat to the judiciary shows how scared the judges are of the PPP-led government in Islamabad. The denial by Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani that the government had any plan to withdraw a notification issued last March to reinstate sacked apex court Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry and many other judges was not enough. Chief Justice Chaudhry declared that Gilani’s clarification was not true. The government actually wanted to punish the non-pliable judges hearing an appeal against a court verdict that annulled the amnesty given to President Asif Zardari and many others under the controversial National Reconciliation Ordinance. The message from the higher judiciary was loud and clear: the government could go to any extent to intimidate the judiciary, which was functioning fiercely independently. The Full Bench, headed by Chief Justice Chaudhry, issued an order on Friday warning the government that any action against the judges hearing the significant petition would be treated as subversion of the constitution, amounting to toppling of an important pillar of the State. Taking up of the matter promptly by the apex court, perhaps, forced the government to abandon its reported move to punish the non-pliable judges. It will be interesting to watch what happens now, as there is no love lost between the higher judiciary and the government. The Pakistan Supreme Court has been looking for opportunities to fix the government because it has not fully implemented the verdict declaring the controversial NRO as null and void, and thereby opening the fraud cases against President Zardari and other NRO beneficiaries. The government has done little against Zardari, citing Presidential immunity, though it has been pointed out again and again that he cannot save his skin in this manner. In February this year the apex court blocked a Presidential order appointing two judges — one to the Supreme Court and the other as the Chief Justice of the Lahore High Court — as the appointments were done without consulting the Chief Justice of Pakistan, a constitutional requirement. The growing tussle between the government and the judiciary is bound to add to political instability Pakistan has been faced with for some time.
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There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about. — Oscar Wilde
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The Karnataka crisis INDIAN legislatures have been a spectacle of hooliganism — members fighting on the floor of the House, forcibly removing the Speaker from his chair or raising slogans to drown the proceedings in the noise engineered. But never before did any Assembly make a sham of no-confidence vote to save the government. This happened a few days ago in Karnataka, which is equal to Germany in area. The vote of no-confidence was against the BJP government in the state. The government summoned the armed police in the House to “discipline” the members and get the requisite numbers. That the whole process was against the letter and spirit of the Constitution goes without saying. Yet the tragedy is that the BJP is not realising the harm it has done to the polity. It is blaming other parties for “murdering democracy”. The boot is on the other leg. What is, however, disconcerting is that the BJP has set a precedent which can make a mockery of a “majority” in the legislature if the government gets away with it. The House has the strength of 224, of which 117 are members of the BJP. Some 16 of them bolted the party out and wrote to the state Governor that they had withdrawn their support to the government. This reduced the ruling party’s strength to 106, seven short of a simple majority. The Governor ordered the government to seek a vote of confidence. Now the Speaker, who is supposed to be Independent, comes into the picture. He disqualifies 16 of them, along with five Independents, under the anti-defection law. (A member who votes against the party on whose ticket he contested the election is disqualified. This, however, happens after he or she has voted, not before.) But the Speaker owing allegiance to the BJP acts before the voting so that the party can have a majority in the reduced strength of the House. Still the BJP wins only by three votes and that too by disqualifying the Independents. If the party was to win, the Independents had to be disqualified. Since it was a tainted majority that the BJP managed, the House breaks into pandemonium and a free for all follows. The “disqualified” members and others go to Raj Bhawan and seek the Governor’s intervention. He counts the numbers and finds that the BJP has lost the majority in the House. He sends a report to the Centre recommending President’s rule in the state because the government had been reduced to a minority. This was not something extraordinary. He could not only be a spectator when the disqualified members approached him that they were not allowed to enter the House to exercise their right to vote. The disqualified members also went to the state high court. The point at issue is not the Governor’s report or the high court’s judgment. The question which needs to be answered is how to determine a majority. There has to be voting, by clearing the House of unwanted elements. A procedure which the Karnataka Assembly Speaker adopted cannot be taken as decisive. The anti-defection law has to be changed because the action against the defectors is taken after they have voted. Shouldn’t their letter to the Speaker three days before voting where they did not accept the Chief Minister as their leader be considered proof of their defection? In that case the Speaker’s action gets validity. However, there is also a case to amend the anti-defection law because it gives the rebels a power which they can misuse. At present they can be disqualified only after voting or, for that matter, pulling the government down. Some of the 16 members have been reportedly bribed. Also the way in which they were moved from one five-star hotel to another in different states — their last stay was at a Goa resort — gives credence to the allegation of bribe. The nation’s indignation over such a practice is understandable. That all political parties have indulged in it in the past is no defence. I know of several instances where the ruling parties, including the Congress, have “bought” members to survive a vote of no-confidence. Giving concessions to regional ruling parties, which even the Manmohan Singh government has done, add up to the same thing. Ours is a young democracy which can be unsettled if political parties do not think beyond power. It is yet a tender plant which has to be nourished. Knowing that it is too much at stake for political parties — losing power or staying in office — public opinion has to be built against what has been going on in the country for many years. Parties cannot be allowed to run roughshod. The only wayout is that people must vote out the parties indulging in corruption and defection. There is some justification in the charge that what happened in Karnataka was the result of a confrontation between the Congress and the BJP, the two main parties. No doubt, the Karnataka Governor, H.R. Bhardwaj, was a Congress minister before he went to Bangalore. And there is no doubt that the Assembly Speaker was a BJP member before he was elected to the office. It is sad that both carried with them loyalty to their original parties when the two offices demanded that they would not carry with them the baggage of the past. The BJP appears to believe that Karnataka, the BJP’s first government in southern India, is a challenge hurled at it to stay out of the region. Summoning the Chief Minister to Delhi to discuss Karnataka proves that the party is trying to make a big issue out of what happened in Bangalore. But it has chosen a wrong ground. The Congress may be charged with having encouraged defection. Yet the manner in which the Speaker went about to manage a vote of confidence exposed the party of its intention to stay in power at any cost. True, the two parties are on the path of confrontation. But it is too soon to traverse such a path when the parliamentary elections are more than three years away. They can try their strength if and when the assembly is dissolved or fresh elections are called. This may turn out to be the only wayout in Karnataka. The larger picture needs both parties to reach a consensus for the sake of development of the country as well as defence. Both need to look beyond party politics. The nation is sick and tired of their wrangling. It is looking for an alternative which may not be readily available but is visible on the
horizon.
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‘Yes, we’re Open’ YES, we’re open’. That is what greets you at many store fronts in America during business hours. The invitation is direct, informal, welcoming to the visitor. Such gungho American expressions permeate not only signage, street encounters and corner store conversations, newspapers TV shows, .... but almost every sphere of life. On a sightseeing tour in Chicago, the first myth that our big, burly, black tourist guide broke was that the real reason why Chicago was called the ‘Windy City’ was not alluding to its bone-chilling winter winds, but to the residents, known for being big, boastful windbags! Thereafter, he went on to describe its tall, soaring skyscrapers — designed by iconic architects — in terms of their resemblance to food objects. “Okay guys, don’t miss out on your left the famous ‘Corncob’ tower... it’s a multi-storeyed parking lot designed by Skidmore...! On your right is the icecream cone tower...! The recently built world famous sculpture by Anish Kapur called the Cloud Gate, was simply described as the ‘Big Bean’. This was the most mouth-watering lesson ever learnt by me in architectural history. Chicago’s food-fixation spills over from its lofty spires to the streets below sumptuously. The downtown has a Pot Belly Sandwich Factory, with the stern directive on its window: ‘If you don’t step in soon to eat, both you and I will starve’. Petrified of defying such an injunction, one meekly goes in and eats! And close to Pot Belly is the India Garden restaurant which has a sign on its planter: ‘Water the plants, and improve your karma.’ Such philosophical discourses near eating places are certainly some food for thought. A boutique footwear store is called, “Sam the Shoemaker,” whereas a well-known company of movers and packers — perhaps owned by a doting father — has ‘All my Sons,’ emblazoned proudly on all its giant trucks. An upmarket home store chain called, ‘Bed Bath & Beyond’ seduces you with its designer bedroom and bathroom accessories. Even if the most exciting thing you do in your bed is snore, you end up buying some expensive linen from there nevertheless. And America pampers not only its citizens but also its pets. While walking in New York, I noticed a fancy pet SPA selling designer deluxe dog beds with a deal on herbal dog shampoos. It’s certainly more than a dog’s life with Uncle Sam. Who can resist the temptations of a wine store with a bubbly name like ‘Uncork’? Although one steps in only to ogle at some vintage Bordeaux and Burgundies from a safe distance — the mouth-watering display makes you feel suddenly parched. Before one can even say nimbupani, one has turned into a credit card connoisseur and picked up a combo offer of two Pinot Noirs and a Havana cigar thrown in for free. Yes, I’m open to
America!
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Jerusalem settlement clouds peace initiative Israel
yesterday cast a new shadow over prospects for a resumption of direct peace negotiations with the Palestinians when it disclosed fresh plans for 230 housing units in Arab East Jerusalem.
The move in effect ends an undeclared freeze on Jewish construction in East Jerusalem. The plans are the most significant of their kind in the city since the diplomatic row that blew up in March over approval of a major planned expansion of the Jewish Ramat Shlomo settlement during the visit of US Vice President Joe Biden. It comes as Washington is trying to persuade the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to extend his moratorium on Jewish settlement construction in the West Bank in order to bring Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas back into direct talks. The moratorium officially ended last month. East Jerusalem was never officially included in that moratorium because Israel regards it as its own territory since it occupied it in the 1967 Six Day War. The international community, by contrast, has never accepted Israel's subsequent unilateral annexation of East Jerusalem, which the Palestinians want as their capital. But Mr Netanyahu had restrained settlement building in East Jerusalem since the larger plan for 1,200 units in Ramat Shlomo infuriated the Obama administration and seriously embarrassed Mr Biden on his goodwill mission to Israel. The latest plan for new units in the Pisgat Ze'ev and Ramot settlements was among others announced across Israel itself by the Housing Ministry. Saeb Erekat, the chief Palestinian negotiator, said: "This decision shows the position of the Israeli prime minister has not changed. He continues to take every possible step to prevent the establishment of a sovereign Palestinian state. By tendering in the occupied Palestinian territory, Netanyahu has again demonstrated why there are no negotiations today." The new construction tenders came to light after a week in which Mr Netanyahu has already been seen as tacking to the right, for example by throwing his weight behind the highly contentious proposal of his hard-line nationalist foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman to require newly naturalised non-Jewish Israelis to pledge their loyalty to the country as "a Jewish state". Western diplomats have expressed uncertainty over whether this was for his own ideological reasons or as a means of securing support from his coalition's right-wing flank before a possible agreement with the US to resume the West Bank settlement moratorium. Mr Abbas has insisted he will not re-enter direct talks without the moratorium being restored. The US is widely believed to have made a substantial offer to Mr Netanyahu in return for a resumption of the moratorium - in effect a partial freeze. This is thought to include extra military hardware and possibly a measure of backing for Israel's determination to maintain a military presence in the Jordan Valley after the formation of any Palestinian state. There have been unconfirmed Israeli media reports that Israel discussed the latest housing plans with Washington and had reduced the numbers of planned units in an effort to meet US sensitivities. Kurt Hoyer, spokesman for the US embassy in Tel Aviv, said yesterday: "We are trying to discourage both sides from actions which appear to, or do, prejudge final status issues." Mr Hoyer said such issues included the future of East Jerusalem and added: "We have been very clear about this." Mr Netanyahu said this week he would be prepared to seek an extension of the moratorium if the Palestinians agreed to recognise Israel as a "Jewish state". But Mr Abbas was quoted by Haaretz yesterday as telling Knesset members from the leftist Arab-Jewish party Hadash that would not
happen.. —The Independent
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Crumbling America has a $2.2 trillion repair bill First, a tale of two rail tunnels. One of them is in Switzerland — the 35-mile Gotthard Base tunnel, the cutting of which was completed on Friday amid great national rejoicing, and which, when it opens for business in 2017, will be the longest of its kind in the world. It will have cost $10bn, representing $1,300 of taxpayer's money for every citizen in the land of William Tell. But it will bestow huge benefits not only on Switzerland, but on north-south freight and passenger traffic for all Europe.
The other rail tunnel is (or rather was) in New Jersey, and would have linked the Garden State to Manhattan, vastly improving clogged access to New York City, with long-term economic benefits to match. The project, 20 years in the planning, would have cost around $9bn, or roughly $1,000 for each inhabitant of one of the richest states in the US. Alas, it is not to be. A few days ago, Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey announced his state was pulling out, in effect dooming the tunnel even though digging has started and $500m has already been spent. The cost was simply too high, he declared. The silent crisis that is undermining America is the creeping decay of its public infrastructure. It's happening everywhere, from potholed interstate highways and grimy railways, to congested airports and a creaking air traffic control system that only adds to the increasingly third world experience of flying in the US. A 2005 study found that fully a quarter of the bridges were structurally inadequate or obsolete. Every now and then, the defects explode into the national consciousness — when breaches in scandalously neglected levees led to the flooding of New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina, or when the Interstate 35 bridge in Minneapolis collapsed one sunny rush hour afternoon in August 2007, sending 13 people to their deaths as their cars plunged into the Mississippi river. We just saw the opening of the stunning new bridge 890ft above the gorge of the Colorado river, linking Arizona with Nevada and bypassing the congested old road across the top of the Hoover Dam. The new bridge took five years to complete and is said to have the longest single-span concrete arch in the Western hemisphere. When he won the 2008 election, Barack Obama was being hailed as Roosevelt redux. Just like FDR, he had come to power in miserable economic times, a Democratic president promising to unleash the power of the government on vast public works to revive the economy and generate jobs. Thus far at least, it hasn't happened. The American Society of Civil Engineers estimates that $2.2trn is needed to get the country's infrastructure into good shape. In that context, the $50bn scheme announced by President Obama to improve roads, railways and airports is a drop in the ocean. But opportunity still beckons. Long-term borrowing rates are rock-bottom; a 9.6 per cent unemployment rate underlines how much spare capacity exists in the economy. As the infrastructure declines, so does the country's international competitiveness. In short, everyone knows something must be done. Indeed, even Governor Christie is said to be open to a rethink over that Manhattan tunnel.
— The Independent |
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Museum studies society that created Hitler
The knuckle-dusters, truncheons and jackboots in the first case of a new exhibition on "Hitler and the Germans" in Berlin sets the tone for a stark look at how German society embraced the Nazi regime in all its brutality. While lots of memorabilia is on show, from SS and Gestapo uniforms to a sideboard from Hitler's office, the exhibition shows how all levels of German society-media, industry, the church, schools-built up the Hitler cult in the 1930s and clung to it through World War Two until defeat was imminent. Some portrayed the show in the German Historical Museum as a taboo-breaking first exhibition on Adolf Hitler himself. But the curators are at pains to stress that their focus is on the society that created the dictator. "We don't want to focus on Hitler as a personality," said Hans-Ulrich Thamer, curator of the exhibition subtitled "Nation and Crime. We want to look at the rise of the regime, how it operated in power and how it fell, and the tremendous destructive potential that National Socialism unleashed," he said. The show is housed in a modern annexe behind the museum on Unter den Linden-the boulevard that Hitler stripped of the linden trees that gave it its name-with no advertising, in deference to German law forbidding the display of Nazi symbols. But inside the viewer is immersed in a world of propaganda ranging from cigarette packets with the swastika, complete with collectible uniform cards, to a handcart for selling the party paper, "Voelkischer Beobachter". As the exhibits document the construction of the Nazi state, with its industry, autobahns and folksy celebrations of Hitler, they also reflect the growing racial hatred and discrimination. After chronicling Hitler's downfall, the show touches on the post-war discussion of Nazism in German society, noting that the top-selling news magazine Der Spiegel put Hitler on its front cover no fewer than 46 times between 1949 and 2010. "Since the 1990s not a single year has gone by without a Hitler portrait on the cover," the curators said. The final exhibits mention the fascination of neo-Nazis with Hitler memorabilia and displays anti-fascist logos.
— Reuters
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