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Is India fumbling the future, Argentina-style?
Argentina did something recently which not many Indians would have paid much attention to: but we probably should look a little more carefully at it. What happened there was that the government of President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner nationalised a Spanish-owned oil company, YPF. While Argentina possibly had justifiable reasons for #Argentina #BRIC #China #India #trends #United States
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Kerala murders: Why should we kowtow to one of the PIIGs?
As in any good thriller, there is little dispute about the facts: two Indian fishermen in a small boat were shot and killed by Italian navy personnel attached to an Italian merchant ship. The incident happened some 20 nautical miles off Ambalapuzha, and the boat had put to sea from #diplomacy #Enrica Lexie #Italian Navy #Kerala Murders #Self-Respect
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2G scam: Scapegoat, Escapegoat and clawback of loot
There is really such a thing as a scapegoat in Jewish lore. According to the Talmud and the Bible, it was customary in Jewish villages in West Asia to declare a particular she-goat as the source/receptacle of all the troubles and/or sins of the villagers. On a particular day (Day #2G scam #A Raja #OP Saini #P. Chidambaram
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Why India could play honest broker between Iran and US
The recent fuss by the Americans about Iran’s nuclear programme and the ongoing war of words between the two countries is not a good thing as far as India is concerned. It could lead to grave consequences, and, therefore, it is a good idea to do something proactive to avoid #Foreign policy #Nuclear program of Iran #The Neighbourhood #US
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Putting China in its place: Towards an Indo-Pacific century
There have been a number of events, including a few unexpectedly dexterous moves by India, in the recent past that suggest a new set of strategic imperatives may well be emerging in Asia. In sum, there has been, for the first time, a mild pushback against the rampaging Chinese. But #China #Geopolitics #Indian Ocean #Pakistan #South China Sea #The Neighbourhood
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So who cares for human rights in Tibet? Or Manipur?
A number of monks and nuns in the Tibetan monastery in Kirti, Chinese-Occupied Tibet, have immolated themselves in the recent past, to protest their genocide and cultural extinction by the Chinese. But this news has been underplayed by the media everywhere, which is either trying to cozy up to the #Buddhism #Dalai Lama #Kirti Monastery #Pandits #Thats Just Wrong
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Dennis Ritchie, a tech genius as great as Steve Jobs
Dennis Ritchie's demise last week was overshadowed by the death of Steve Jobs, who, as The Economist had it, was a 'magician'. In more ways than one, though, their careers were intertwined, and were mirror images of each other. For, just as Jobs created the most amazing computer hardware, Ritchie #Dennis Ritchie #Steve Jobs #TechWiz #Unix
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Manufacturing consent: a major media sport in US and India
Noam Chomsky wrote years ago about how the American media is adept at "manufacturing consent" — that is, getting a rather ill-informed public to dance to its tunes. This is true both in the US, and alas, in India. Chomsky suggested that the military-industrial complex extended to the media. It is #Ishrat Jahan killing #ISI #Narendra Modi #Rajbala #Swami Ramdev #ToTheContrary
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Why Modi worries Congress and some NGOs, but not Anna
Narendra Modi, I imagine, should take it as a back-handed compliment that there are so many in India who loathe him so much. The interesting thing is that the congenital Modi-haters, if you look at them carefully, are neither the mythical aam aadmi over whom many crocodile tears have been #Anna Hazare #ConnectTheDots #Gujarat #Modi #Narendra Modi
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Anna’s India: Why a sob story works better than logic
The hunger strike resonates with the Indian public for two reasons: one, that there is a civilisational respect for asceticism; two, that we have all been fed a certain line non-stop about how independence was won from the British. The first is genuine enough: one of India’s civilisational values has been #Anna Hazare #AnnaFast #Lokpal


