Showing posts with label Bin Laden. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bin Laden. Show all posts

Friday, January 15, 2016

The Conversation On Drugs Sean Penn Wants

English: Sean Penn at the premier for Milk at ...
English: Sean Penn at the premier for Milk at the Castro Theatre in San Francisco, October 2008 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Bin Laden, And Now El Chapo
Does Sean Penn Play Sean Penn In The Sean Penn Movie?

First of all, I'd say, it is fair for US law enforcement to have thought of El Chapo a Bin Laden like figure. I have not read up much on the whole legalization of drugs thing, but I am pretty sure that debate does note venture beyond marijuana. Serious brain altering chemicals are a one way road to addiction that cripple you as a human being. If Bin Laden was the most wanted man in New York City, El Chapo was the most wanted man in Chicago. Lives have been destroyed in the wake of the drug trade. The intelligence craft that got El Chapo is rightly Zero Dark Thirty material. And let's get one thing off the bat, US law enforcement does not exactly have the luxury of taking part in the debate and discussion on the legalization of drugs. They are not lawmakers. A duly elected government pays them a salary and swears them to an oath. They have a job to do. It is a very difficult job requiring specialized skill, and sometimes the ultimate sacrifice. The capture of El Chapo is a major victory for the forces of good.

Sean Penn Says El Chapo’s Capture Spoiled His Article




Sean Penn has "a terrible regret" about "El Chapo" meeting

America is a democracy. Of course we can talk about the War On Drugs, just like we can talk about everything else. Heck, I myself want to participate.

The number one thing is, we as a people, as a species, lag way behind when it comes to understanding and doing something about mental health. Mental health is still such a taboo topic. We know so much about the harmful effects of smoking. But what do we know about the effects of loneliness? When we catch a cold, we are aware of some over the counter stuff we can take. What are the mental health equivalents? Do we even become aware when we catch cold? Mental health is nowhere on par with physical health. Efforts should be made. One of the things that will emerge is we will put much more emphasis on our emotional infrastructure. We will look at family, friends, and colleagues in a new light. We will do more about self help groups, hotlines, and therapy and medication. A lot of the drug consumption is people going to the quack doctor because nothing else is available, people getting abortions and risking deaths, because abortion is illegal.

This is my primary thing to say.

As for the broad policy called the War On Drugs. I wish there were ways to get guns and drugs out of inner cities. I know people are trying. But what has been done is not enough. America supplies guns. America gets supplied drugs. These are humongous problems. The best people are at it, but the results are not good enough.

Does Sean Penn have a right to meet El Chapo? Of course he does. He went as a journalist. Journalists do have a right to meet and talk.

Fear Of Gun Violence Is Black Slavery Today
The Insanity Of Guns In America
The Genius Of The US Constitution

Monday, January 11, 2016

Bin Laden, And Now El Chapo



Bin Laden, And Now El Chapo

He got Bin Laden. And now El Chapo. Who is left standing? I don’t see anyone. This is a clean sweep. There’s noone else of stature left. Quick question: give me the name of the leader of ISIS. I don’t know either. We could both look it up, but my point has been proven.

I can see another movie coming out of this. Sean Penn got played. I mean, who does not want to be in a movie? I don’t know about you, but I do. A journalist and some Hollywood appeal to ego can do what massive intelligence can’t. It’s a needle in a haystack problem reoriented and turned into a let’s lure the bastard out of the rathole kind of thing. A haystack has nothing on a tropical jungle. Don’t let maps fool you.

Another Zero Dark Thirty is on its way.

I almost feel like this is why the Hollywood people make campaign contributions to people who end up being president. Look at the ROI, it’s HUGE! Software people would kill for this kind of margins!

While there is one less drug dealer out on the streets of Chicago. Some good got done. Because these organizations are so hierarchical, getting the top guy is a deep punch. El Chapo’s son, heir apparent, has feet that don’t fit the boots. Neither the drug trade nor his organization have been eliminated. But suddenly no Scarface is feeling safe anywhere in Latin America right now. Or in Miami, or in Chicago. Maybe they also grabbed notebooks with phone numbers in the sweepstakes.

The most wanted man in Chicago has been captured.








Sean Penn's secret interview with 'El Chapo' led to capture
Mexican drug lord’s dreams of biopic aided in his capture
After months of searching, it was Guzmán’s contact with movie producers and actresses about a biopic based on his life that ultimately helped authorities recapture the chief of the Sinaloa cartel along a highway outside a coastal city, according to Mexican attorney general Arely Gómez González. ....... Guzmán’s interview with Penn helped lead authorities to Guzmán’s whereabouts in Durango state in October. ....... Famous for his Houdini-like disappearing acts, Guzmán vanished down an escape hatch and into the sewer. It wasn’t until he popped up four blocks away, stole a car, and sped out of town that Mexican authorities finally captured him on the highway and ended six months of national humiliation for letting the world’s top drug lord go free. ....... “I never thought they’d catch him again,” said José Carlos Castro, a 29-year-old auto shop employee who worked across from the raided house. “Much less right here.” ....... According to the Rolling Stone article, Guzmán boasted to Penn about his drug empire. “I supply more heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine and marijuana than anybody else in the world,” Guzmán said. “I have a fleet of submarines, airplanes, trucks and boats.” ....... Guzmán’s capture was celebrated by law enforcement officials in Washington because Guzmán runs a drug-trafficking network with vast international reach that has been dumping tons of cocaine and heroin into U.S. cities for years. But more than that, it represented a massive vindication, at least symbolically, for a Mexican government that has often seemed incapable of alleviating the brutal drug war violence that has left some 100,000 dead in the past decade. ...... After two prison escapes, many expect the Mexican government to extradite Guzmán to the United States. ..... The Mexican attorney general’s office said in a statement Saturday that extradition procedures would begin. But that could take weeks or months, as the accusations against Guzmán must be reviewed and a judge needs to recommend a course of action. ...... Over the next weeks and months, as military operations focused on his home state of Sinaloa, authorities chipped away at the vast network of accomplices who helped Guzmán escape from a maximum-security prison. They arrested corrupt prison guards and officials, relatives who handed out bribes and oversaw tunnel construction, and his trusted pilots, who flew him to Sinaloa. ....... In October, they tracked him to a ranch house in the town of Pueblo Nuevo in the western state of Durango. ..... The neighborhood was upper middle class: The mayor and the governor’s mother lived nearby. The house also sat directly above the sewer tunnels. ........... “I thought we were in Syria,” said one neighbor who lived a block away and refused, like many others interviewed, to give her name out of fear for her safety. “This has been the biggest shock of my life. The world’s most-wanted man is my neighbor.” ........ A white sedan was stopped at the traffic light when they reached the street. Guzmán and Gastelum ordered a man and a woman out of the car and sped off through drizzling rain. ........ “I think it’s kind of stupid,” said a guest from Tijuana who refused to give his name for security reasons. “If you have that kind of money, why would you be here in Los Mochis? You’d be in Dubai or Switzerland.” ...... Guzmán was later flown to Mexico City and returned to Altiplano prison, the facility he escaped from in July. For a year and a half before that, he lived in a tiny concrete cell with a hole in the floor for a toilet. To free him, his accomplices cut through the floor of his shower stall and ferried him into a mile-long tunnel equipped with a motorcycle.
In Mexican town where ‘Chapo’ broke out of jail, admiration and awe
“A thief is someone who takes your watch, steals your phone,” he said. “This man gives work to thousands of people and raises the economy of the country.” ....... It’s people in the United States who buy his drugs, Medina added. ..... Amid the working-class neighborhoods and rolling farmlands surrounding the prison, there is support for Guzmán and fascination with his escape. Residents see him as the drug lord, not the assassin; the benefactor, not the extortionist; a world-famous Mexican celebrity who outsmarted and embarrassed a deeply unpopular government. ....... “He’s more than a drug trafficker. With this, many people will consider him a saint.” ...... he was in isolation under 24-hour video surveillance and wearing a tracking bracelet. But because of privacy and human rights concerns, Osorio Chong said, the cameras in Guzmán’s cell did not cover a small portion of the shower area, and it was in that tiny blind spot that his tunnelers made their entrance. ....... The record of the brutal recent years of Mexico’s drug war shows that Guzmán’s Sinaloa cartel — the wealthiest and most powerful drug-running operation — killed thousands of people. He has a long rap sheet in Mexico and the United States. And now he is again one of the world’s most-wanted criminals. ........ “Chapo is one of the narcos who doesn’t bother people,” said a man in a butcher shop who gave his name as Pablo. “They’re not all the same. He doesn’t kidnap, rob, kill. And he gives jobs.” ...... “He can come back and start a war,” she said. “He’s one of the big ones. It depends on how they treated him inside. If it was bad, he’s going to come back.”
Sean Penn Interview With “El Chapo” Helped Authorities Locate Drug Lord
The actor turned gonzo journalist carried out a seven-hour interview with Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán—and the pair later kept in contact by phone and video—for a Rolling Stone piece published late Saturday night. The piece is accompanied by a two-minute video interview of Guzmán in which the drug lord answers questions that Penn sent via BlackBerry Messenger. ....... Now Mexican authorities are saying the meeting between the Hollywood star and the drug kingpin in October helped them locate Guzmán. Although they did not capture “El Chapo” at the time, apparently because authorities decided not to open fire as the drug lord was with two women and a child. But it proved to be a major breakthrough in the manhunt and helped officials track him down and eventually capture him on Friday, six months after his second escape from prison. Shortly after his capture, officials said that part of what helped officials locate the fugitive was his desire to make a movie about his life. ....... The head of the Sinaloa cartel had previously denied he was involved in drug trafficking, telling a group of journalists in 1993 that he was a farmer. ...... The cartel he leads may be among the world’s deadliest, but Guzmán insisted he is not a violent person. “Look, all I do is defend myself, nothing more,” he said. “But do I start trouble? Never.” Still, he evidently doesn’t want to pretend he’s a nobody. “I don’t want to be portrayed as a nun,” he tells Penn at one point. ........ Although he was evidently interested in making a movie about his life, Guzmán was “unimpressed with its financial yield,” writes Penn. ...... "Mexico is ready,” a Mexican official tells the Associated Press. “There are plans to cooperate with the U.S.”
El Chapo’s Vanity Got Him Caught: Drug Lord Wanted to Make Movie About His Life
In the end, his narcissism did him in. Cartel boss Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán—the world’s most notorious drug kingpin—was proud of what he had accomplished in his life and wanted the world to know his story. It was this desire to share his tale of going from poverty to one of the world’s richest men that helped authorities locate the head of the Sinaloa drug cartel at a dingy roadside motel, six months after his second escape from prison. ....... An “important element in determining El Chapo’s whereabouts was finding out that he wanted to film an autobiographical film,” Mexico’s Attorney General Arely Gómez González said at a news conference. “He established communication with actresses and producers, which became a new line of investigation.” The names of the actresses and producers were not revealed. ........ [Guzmán] had started the process of making a biopic on a life in which he went from rags to riches, from dropping out of school and selling oranges in the street to landing on the Forbes list of billionaires. It was as if he wanted his own version of Narcos, the popular Netflix series on the life of slain Colombian kingpin Pablo Escobar—except while alive and able to influence the casting and script. ......... Authorities almost had him in October but decided not to pursue him because he was accompanied by two women and a young girl. ....... extraditing Guzmán was the only way to make sure his capture would have an effect on the drug trade.
Sean Penn and 'El Chapo' secret interview: What happens next

First came the arrest, then the publication of a bombshell interview in a mountainous Mexican jungle, and now the extradition process.

....... Before the interview came to light, two U.S. law enforcement officials had said tracking of cell phones and electronic exchanges of people close to him led to his recapture. Mexican authorities said they captured Guzman partly because his representatives contacted filmmakers and actors about making his biopic. ..... There have been conflicting reports on whether Mexican officials knew about the meeting...... But the timing of the interview coincides with reported sightings and near-misses. ........ In October, the same month Penn interviewed him, authorities said they almost caught Guzman but he slipped away.
Theatrics Surrounding El Chapo’s Capture Distract From Mexico’s Real Woes
Pinning down the meaning of Joaquín Guzmán Loera — the deadly and celebrated Mexican drug trafficker known as El Chapo — is a constant battle between tragedy and farce. ..... Many, though, seemed to take it as further justification for an abiding cynicism toward the government and its ability to combat drug traffickers who all too often seem not only above the law, but also stranger than fiction. ....... Social media buzzed with jokes about the capture and the interview, including a derogatory hashtag using Mr. Penn’s name in Spanish. ....... “But the main point is that we have an immense problem with drugs and crime in Mexico, with impunity and with the lack of the rule of law in the criminal system.” ..... To some, Mr. Penn’s account felt less like journalism than mythmaking, an extension of the Hollywood machine that Mr. Guzmán seemed eager to leverage. ...... Both the capture and the publication of the interview have fed the persistent international image of Mexico as a nation hopelessly trapped in the vicious tides of a drug war. The kingpins, with their resources, egos and catchy nicknames, never fail to capture the imagination of the world. ....... Analysts asked why, if the government could hunt down El Chapo, it could not locate 43 students who disappeared from a teachers college in the state of Guerrero. Or why it could not halt the peso’s slide against the dollar, down nearly 20 percent in the past year......... “Instead of focusing on one person and placing all this attention and effort on one guy, they should focus on more relevant issues like education,” said Jose Fuentes López, 22, who waits tables at a coffee shop in Monterrey. ......... “When you see this criminal being interviewed by a world-class actor you know something is not right, because everything is like a show,” he added. “He is a criminal, nothing else.” ....... Too many others still find him compelling. .....

In his home state of Sinaloa, for example, there was no sense of triumph in the arrest of a man many viewed as a native son. Feelings of shock gave way to worry.

....... “We were perfectly comfortable when El Chapo was here,” said a 16-year-old named Elvira, visiting a coffee shop in the city of Los Mochis, where Mr. Guzmán was captured. “Now we are worried someone else is going to come here and try to fill his spot.” ...... For many Mexicans, their government is an institution not to be trusted, and watching Mr. Guzmán consistently outsmart it was a favored pastime. Like elsewhere, people love an outlaw and Mr. Guzmán gave them a lot to love. ...... “Of the 120,000 people dead in the past decade, half come from the wars that the Sinaloa cartel opened” .......

Beyond the death toll, the cartels remain corrupting forces that exert control over every level of government. But unlike the government, which changes hands and switches players regularly, the cartels are far more permanent

...... And shortly after the interview was published Saturday night, Mexicans came up with the hashtag #NoSeanPenndejos, a play on the actor’s name that, roughly translated, means don’t be a jerk.
Sean Penn was right: Spying eyes were on him

Saturday, December 26, 2015

बुश का बघदाद (२)

बुश का बघदाद

अमरिका पर बिन लादेन ने बाद में हमला किया। उससे पहले हमला बोला बुश ने। Record Surplus को Record Deficit बना दिया। इतना बड़ा टैक्स कट किया कि देश सीधे मुह के बल जा के गिर पड़ी।

जनता मुर्ख। उसने वैसा ही मैंडेट माँगा था। जनता ने दे दिया। अमेरिका के गरीब जनता को social issues पर इस तरह डिवाइड कर दिए हैं ये नियमित अपने अहित में वोट देते रहते हैं।

९/११ हुवा। तो अफ़ग़ानिस्तान पर वार करो। कि पर्ल हार्बर पर अटैक किया जापान ने और तुम ने अटैक कर दिया इंडोनेशिया? Looking Tokyo Going London? अभी भी ४०% अमेरिकी कहते हैं ९/११ किया सद्दाम ने। ४०% वो वही हैं जो नक़्शे पर प्रशांत महासागर नहीं ढूँढ सकते। २०-३०% अमरीकी कहते हैं ओबामा मुसलमान है।

कितने लोग मरे वो भी हिसाब करो लेकिन ओ अलग करो। इस ब्लॉग पोस्ट में सिर्फ पैसा की बात करते हैं। एक से १० लाख के बीच लोग मरे सब मिला के। युद्ध के कारण जो सिविल वॉर हो गया उसके मृतक भी तो गिनोगे। जितने अमरिकी ९/११ में मरे उससे जयादा इराक में।

युद्ध का बिल बुश का तीन ट्रिलियन डॉलर। वो इतना ज्यादा पैसा है लोग सोंचना ही छोड़ देते हैं। कहीं १०० डॉलर पॉकेटमारी होती है तो पुलिस बुलाओ। एक लाख डॉलर का फ्रॉड होता है तो पुलिस बुलाओ केस करो। मिलियन डॉलर करप्शन को लफड़ा हो जाता है। लेकिन तीन ट्रिलियन। उसको तो छोड़ दो।

ट्रिलियन से नीचे का तो गप्प ही नहीं है बुश काल में। पहले तो एक ट्रिलियन सबसे धनाढ्य लोगो को बाँट दिया। बाँट ही दिया। लो, मुफ्त का पैसा। मेरे बाप की कमाई। तीन ट्रिलियन युद्ध में खर्च। MasterCard swipe करो। खर्चा कौन भरेगा? चीन किस कामके? वॉल स्ट्रीट पर ट्रिलियन डॉलर का फ्रॉड। तो अर्थतंत्र जब तास के घर के माफिक गिरा ........ बिन लादेन ने तो सिर्फ वर्ल्ड ट्रेड सेंटर गिराया। बुश ने पुरे अर्थतंत्र को ही गिरा दिया। अर्थतंत्र कोलॅप्स हुवा तो १३ ट्रिलियन डॉलर ऐसे गायब हुवा जैसे पीसी सरकार ने आ के गायब कर दिया हो। सफाचट। Wiped out, gone forever.

यार, किसी की भी ब्रेकिंग पॉइंट होती है। अमेरिकी अर्थतंत्र का भी था, वैज्ञानिक बुश ने पता लगा के छोड़ा।

अमेरिकी सरकार का एक साल का बजेट होता है तीन ट्रिलियन। यानि कि बहुत बड़ा अमाउंट है जिसकी मैं बात कर रहा।
अभी कहानी ख़त्म नहीं हुवी। तो स्टिमुलस कह के ७०० बिलियन खर्चे करने पड़े। करना चाहिए तीन ट्रिलियन लेकिन बुश के पार्टी ने होने नहीं दिया। तो देशको monetary स्टिमुलस के रास्ते जाने पड़े। उसका मतलब प्रिंटिंग प्रेस चालु करो और पैसा छापो। Basically पैसा छापो और बड़े बड़े बैंक को मुफ्त में दे दो। जीरो इंटरेस्ट रेट पर। सब तरफ बुश के दोस्त ही दोस्त।

Quantitative Easing
Quantitative easing is distinguished from standard central banking monetary policies, which are usually enacted by buying or selling government bonds on the open market to reach a desired target for the interbank interest rate. However, if a recession or depression continues even when a central bank has lowered interest rates to nearly zero, the central bank can no longer lower interest rates. The central bank may then implement a set of tactics known as quantitative easing. This policy is often considered a last resort to stimulate the economy. ...... A central bank enacts quantitative easing by purchasing—without reference to the interest rate—a set quantity of bonds or other financial assets on financial markets from private financial institutions...... Quantitative easing, and monetary policy in general, can only be carried out if the central bank controls the currency used in the country. The central banks of countries in the Eurozone, for example, cannot unilaterally expand their money supply and thus cannot employ quantitative easing. They must instead rely on the European Central Bank (ECB) to enact monetary policy.
How the Great Recession Was Brought to an End
The U.S. government’s response to the financial crisis and ensuing Great Recession included some of the most aggressive fiscal and monetary policies in history. The response was multifaceted and bipartisan, involving the Federal Reserve, Congress, and two administrations. Yet almost every one of these policy initiatives remain controversial to this day, with critics calling them misguided, ineffective or both. The debate over these policies is crucial because, with the economy still weak, more government support may be needed, as seen recently in both the extension of unemployment benefits and the Fed’s consideration of further easing. ....... without the government’s response, GDP in 2010 would be about 11.5% lower, payroll employment would be less by some 8½ million jobs, and the nation would now be experiencing deflation. ...... When we divide these effects into two components—one attributable to the fiscal stimulus and the other attributable to financial-market policies such as the TARP, the bank stress tests and the Fed’s quantitative easing—we estimate that the latter was substantially more powerful than the former.

Friday, December 25, 2015

बुश का बघदाद

MasterCard Classic
MasterCard Classic (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
बुश जब बघदाद आया तो सबसे पहले क्या काम किया कि ट्रांसफार्मर उड़ाओ, पानी टंकी उड़ाओ। सद्दाम कहीं भी छुपा हो सकता है। अजीब आदमी है। ये नहीं सोंचा लोग पानी पीते होंगे। मरुभूमि इलाका। तबतो सद्दाम ने पानी टंकी लगवायी होगी। कि पानी टंकी लगा दो नहीं तो लोग बगावत कर देंगे। प्रेस्टीज इशू है। अगर लोग बगावत कर देते हैं तो फिर ये जो इमेज है कि सद्दाम डिक्टेटर है वो तो गयी काम से। तो बुश ने उड़ा दिया। सबसे पहले। उसको कोई परवाह नहीं कि बगावत हो सकती है।

बुलडोज़र लगाने में टाइम लगता है क्या? दो चार रोज में युद्ध ख़त्म। तो फिर तुरंत उन्ही ट्रांसफार्मर और पानी टंकी के लिए अपने करीबी दोस्तों को मेगा बिलियन का बिना कम्पटीशन का कॉन्ट्रैक्ट दे दिया। देश लिबरेट कर दिया अब लगा दो ट्रांसफार्मर, लगा दो पानी टंकी। इराकी भी क्या याद करेंगे। 

राजनीति में एक पुराना नियम है: Follow The Money. अगर आपको राजनीति समझ नहीं आती और समझना हो तो ये फोर्मुला लगा दो बहुत राजनीति आपको समझ में आ जाएगी। 

कुछ हैं conspiracy theorists वेबसाइट बगैरह बना के बैठे हैं कहते हैं ९/११ बुश ने किया, it was an inside job ---- अजीब लोग हैं। बिन लादेन को इस बात का इतना बुरा लगता था वो कभी क्रेडिट लेने से नहीं चुकता था। वीडियो निकालता था कि ईद मुबारक और अंत में जाते जाते ९ दो ११ के बारें थोड़ा हिंट दे देता था। फिर से अटैक की तयारी करो या ऐसा कुछ। ताकि अगर कोई गलतफहमी हो तो दुर हो जाए। 

९/११ बुश ने नहीं किया। बिन लादेन ने किया। लेकिन जिसको हम आप और ओबामा Great Recession कहते हैं और जिसे बुश और उनके दोस्त लोग Grand Recession कहते हैं --- वो लेकिन inside job था ---- fully documented. 

अमेरिका का अपना पैसा तो था नहीं। चीन से उधार में लो और इराक में खर्चा करो। बुश ने क्रेडिट कार्ड स्वाइप कर के युद्ध किया। Paid for by MasterCard. ..... कहते हैं There are somethings money can't buy, for everything else there is MasterCard. तो बघदाद का पानी टंकी बगैरह वो MasterCard केटेगरी के थे। 

अगर आप के देश का बजेट हो १०० बिलियन और आप ३३ बिलियन युद्ध में होम दो तो क्या होगा? उसी हिसाब से अगर आप के देश का बजेट हो तीन ट्रिलियन तो? 



नेपाली में कहते हैं भ्वांग। मैथिलि में कहते हैं भुम। हिंदी में क्या कहते हैं? 

तो ये सबके सामने हो रहा था तो वाल स्ट्रीट वालो ने फोटोकॉपी मार दिया। घर गिरबी रख के लोग लोन लेते हैं। लेकिन एक ही घर पर चार बार पाँच बार लोन लो तो क्या होगा? घर बैंक का है आप का अभी हुवा भी नहीं लेकिन आप ने लोन निकाल लिया। बैंक ने वैसे ढेर सारे घरो का बनडलिंग कर दिया और किसी दूसरे बैंक को होलसेल में बेच दिया। वैसे ही दो चार राउंड हो गया। उसको कहा गया innovation ---- यानि कि हम financial instruments बना रहे हैं। सब लोग अपना मंथली पेमेंट करते रहे तब तक पता नहीं चलता। लेकिन कुछ लोग ऐसे निकले घर खरीदने के स्थिति में नहीं थे फिर भी डाउन पेमेंट कर चुके थे। पियर प्रेशर। नौकरी चली गयी। मंथली पेमेंट बंद। पैसा रहेगा तब न दिजिएगा। आप बुश हैं जो चीन से उधार लोगे। 

तो पुरा घर तास के पत्ते के घर के तरह गिर गया ----- now THAT was an inside job. वो बिन लादेन ने नहीं किया। हालांकि वो क्रेडिट लेना चाहता था। उसका था कि अमेरिका को ऐसे युद्ध में घिंचो कि वो afford ना कर सके। 

Great Recession में कितने ट्रिलियन डॉलर ध्वस्त हो गए अभी तक हिसाब हो रहा है। बहुत मिडिल क्लास और लोअर मिडिल क्लास अमेरिकी का पेंशन गायब गया। उनकी क्या होगी वो तो जब वो रिटायर होंगे तब पता चलेगा। 

अमेरिका में भी बहुत घपला है।

चिनिया कहते हैं non-interference ----- वो लेकिन कह रहे हैं युद्ध बहुत खर्चिला होता है अच्छा बिजनेस नहीं। युद्ध से अच्छा बिजनेस हैं लोगों को लोन दो, विशेष कर के उन्हें जो युद्ध करना चाहते हैं।

टेक्सास में काऊबॉय कल्चर है।




Monday, November 25, 2013

Bin Laden, Libya, Iran: Obama's Master Strokes

English: President Barack Obama listens during...
English: President Barack Obama listens during one in a series of meetings discussing the mission against Osama bin Laden, in the Situation Room of the White House, May 1, 2011. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Even since 9/11 I have thought of this whole "war" as something of the magnitude of the Cold War. And three of the major moves have happened on Barack Obama's watch. Getting Bin Laden was a master stroke. Going into Libya was another big one. Quiet diplomacy does not hit the sexy meter like getting Bin Laden does. But what has just been achieved on Iran is of the same magnitude as the Bin Laden achievement. Kudos the president. He promised on Bin Laden in 2007, he delivered. He also promised on Iran, and he has now delivered.

Tough talk accompanied by inaction or stupid actions is not superior to quiet diplomacy that brings forth meaningful, measurable desired change. I take weapons of mass destruction seriously. And if engaging is the safer thing to do, engage one must, as Obama did. Tough was the sanctions he put into place. Tough is to engage in the quiet diplomacy when the tough talk crowd wants you to anything but.

The chessboard in that part of the world has been rearranged in one swift stroke. We now have a base from which more progress can be possible.
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Saturday, June 20, 2009

Dumb White People (DWPs) And Iran


At some level it makes me very happy to see what is happening in Iran. At another level, it makes my blood boil with anger at the waste I fear I might end up seeing by the time the storm is over. Because I witnessed the waste when the people in Burma similarly poured out into the streets. They were let down. For all their blood, toil and tears, they were let down. It is very hard to create a political storm like this one, but once it dies down without result, it does not come back for a long, long time.

What's white people got to do with it? You might ask. Many of them seem to be alert and on the right side of history. Many of them are tweeting on behalf of the people in the Tehran streets. Many have turned their Twitter avatars green in solidarity. How is that dumb? How is that white? How is that something to get angry about?

Benazir Bhutto, the Prime Minister of Pakistan...Image via Wikipedia



I am angry about Burma, I am angry about Benazir.

Out Of The Box Thinking On Burma: Total Engagement?
Bush Meeting Dalai Lama: Is That All You Can Do For Burma?
Burma: 400, 000 Members, 400,000 Dollars
Burma: Time For Nonviolent Guerilla Warfare
Burma: Time For Hyper Action
The World Is Failing Burma
Burma: Than Shwe Is Going To The Hague
Britain Is Betraying Burma
Burma: Time For All Out Sanctions By All Powers
Burma: Momentum Is Key To Victory
Shame On The Top Politicians Of The World: Burma Asks For More
Burma: Shame On China, Russia

Benazir, One Whose Looks Have No Parallel

MOR - AUNG SAN SU KYI (sic)Image by 200MoreMontrealStencils via Flickr


Benazir, Last Month
Benazir, Benazir
Benazir Bhutto: No American Stooge
Benazir Should Address Many Mass Rallies, Hold No Street Events, Keep Tight Security Around Her House, Office
Benazir And Islamofascism

I am for nonviolence, but as I watched the Burma protests die down in 2007, one thought that I started having was what if the world were to bomb the dictator's artificial city deep in the woods where all his minions live and work? Would that boost the morale of the street protesters to hold on and keep lunging along?

After Benazir died, I asked, why did she not have a security apparatus befitting a head of state? The world never got Bin Laden, but Bin Laden got Benazir. What a shame. They wore her death like a trophy.

You have to feel sorry for the dumbness of the white people and their governments, and their media, and their NGOs, and their social media, and their masses. In a democracy the people are directly and indirectly responsible for all of them.

Dumb white people will think nothing about pouring a trillion dollars into a dumb war,

trillions into a housing bubble even if that might bring them a mega recession, but when it comes down to pouring 10 million into a nonviolent movement for democracy somewhere, they will be like, oh no, we can't be interfering in other countries' internal matters.

A nonviolent movement like the one that is underway in Iran is science, it is not alchemy. It does not happen randomly and equally randomly go away. It can be brought about at will. It can be actively helped to reach a grand conclusion. Or it can be watched to death, all the street efforts in vain.

This is precisely the time for the governments of the world to speak up. Governments that talked down daily a country's regime that it suspected of having nuclear weapon ambitions are silent today. Whispers count for silence.

Powers that think nothing of giving 10 billion dollars to the Pakistani army to create three million refugees in a matter of weeks will not pour a billion into a mass movement that just might succeed in establishing a full-fledged democracy in the heart of the Arab world in a way that will make the dictators in Egypt and Saudi Arabia wet in their pants.

An election from scratch has been the starting demand, the minimal demand. But now the demand has to shift. The movement has to ask for the installation of an interim government that will hold elections to a constituent assembly within a year of taking power to give Iran a new constitution.

Everyone who is tweeting for Iran needs to chime in a dollar. Movements need money. They need money to pay for the medical costs of those injured in the streets. They need money to organize better. They need money to launch brand new political parties. You can create a large, national political party in a matter of months.

What Iran has to ask for is an interim government and a new constitution.

Revolution
Spread Democracy

Why should white people be concerned about the fate of democracy in Iran? Because a total spread of democracy in the Arab world is the only way to conclude the War On Terror. There is no other way. And street protests are the best way to do it, the only way actually.

IRAN: A Nation Of Bloggers from ayrakus on Vimeo.















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