varnam

Afghanistan is in the process of writing its constitution, and it is not easy. There are 502 delegates, consisting of Tajiks, Uzbeks, Pashtuns and many other ethnic groups involved in deciding many issues including which language the national anthem will be sung. Another issue that the opposition of Hamid Karzai does not like is a strong presidency.

Meeting the Tajiks' demands would be a considerable compromise for Karzai, who has held out for a strong presidential system. His opponents want parliamentary control of the printing of money, the creation of a constitutional court, three vice presidents rather than one, a ban on top officials holding dual citizenship or having a foreign spouse, more power devolved to provincial councils, and for Uzbek and Turkmen language rights in their ethnic regions.

The Loya Jirga was halted after many delegates boycotted the sessions. It is to resume soon and Afghanistan may have a constitution. Now I am sure, we will see the same issues, when Iraq starts writing a constitution.

Few days back we were talking about the difficulty Afghans were having in coming up with a constitution. But now the Afghans have ratified a new constitution

In an enormous step forward, Afghanistan will now have a democratic presidential system, with a directly elected president, a two-chamber national assembly, an independent judiciary and new elections in just six months. In carefully balanced wording designed to combine democracy and Islam, the country will be renamed the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, and will be ruled by civil law, although no law will be contrary to the beliefs and provisions of Islam. IHT

But if such a wide range of people could compomise on various topics, and agree on a constitution, I think it is a giant leap forward.

If you kept watching news or reading blogs, you would have thought that Howard Dean was going to win the Democratic nomination. But today I am surprised to see that John Kerry won the Iowa Caucus. John Edwards finished second and Dick Gephardt has decided to pull off the race. This is only the first step.

So far I felt that there were too many Democrats in the race and due to their fighting among themselves, they were losing focus in attacking the Bush Administration. But it is nice to see that the field is narrowing.

September is a big month for Afghanistan when the first elections will take place. The elections are important for women since last time they voted was in 1965. The Communists and the Mullahs had one thing in common when it comes to a woman's rights. 16 men were murdererd after the Taliban learned that they had registered to vote. Even women were not spared. But despite this, the LA Times reports that Afghan women are reponding to voter registration drives.

Badrai was determined that the Taliban loyalists wouldn't stop her from voting. So she stiffened her resolve, walked into the mud-walled room behind the local hospital and asked the woman behind the desk if she could have a registration card. "Yes, I am a little scared, because some people say the Taliban will threaten us," she said. "But God is kind. I think the elections will change our lives." LA Times

While President Bush is meeting with NATO members, all editorial writers are expecting NATO to contribute troops to Iraq so that the pressure on American troops is reduced.

Fifty years after its founding, NATO fought its first war in 1999 against Serbia over its abuse of ethnic Muslims in Kosovo. Since then, it has moved beyond its historic arena - Europe - by sending troops to lead a security force in Afghanistan. Now, Iraq could be a catalyst either for repairing damage and helping to redefine NATO's mission or for eroding its common purpose. In the latter event, the mutual disenchantment that began even before the Iraq war could have far-reaching impact - in Iraq, throughout the Middle East and wherever the post-Cold War international order comes under attack. Sacramento Bee

Having NATO troops in Afghanistan has not made the country very secure. They are providing security to the embassies of western nations, while warlords and militia are still very active in rest of the country. This makes the September elections very risky as people may not come to vote in many parts of the country.

THE NATO SUMMIT President Bush attends Monday in Istanbul cannot focus exclusively on debates about the training of Iraqi security forces. NATO will also be asked to do more to provide security for parliamentary elections scheduled for September in Afghanistan. On this topic there should be no unbridgeable differences, since NATO members, including France and Germany, have already committed themselves to helping Afghanistan achieve stability.

If the NATO allies ignore a request for help from Afghan President Hamid Karzai and warnings from Human Rights Watch and other independent human rights organizations, their shirking of responsibility will cast a dark shadow not only over Afghanistan but also over the Atlantic alliance. Boston Globe

Feuding warlords, Taliban attacks and political squabbling have affected Afghanistan elections. The elections that were to take place in September have now been postponed to mid-October.

There is also intensive discussion in Kabul over whether to postpone parliamentary elections until next year as violence mounts, and the disarmament of militias and warlords has faltered. Youth and civil society groups have already called for elections to be postponed until next year to ensure greater stability and freedom for voters. Political parties which are only starting to form and register are largely in favor of a postponement too, officials said.

United Nations officials and diplomats are concerned that without more disarmament of the warlords and their militias, there will be gross intimidation and interference in an early election, especially for parliamentary seats. The United Nations spokesman, Mr. Almeida e Silva, stressed that the organization was being guided by the time frame laid down in the Bonn agreements, which set elections for this year, but was also concerned to see commitments on disarmament and demobilization of militias, the surrender of heavy weapons and political freedoms met ahead of elections.

Jean Arnault, the United Nation's special representative in Afghanistan, told the Security Council in May that the Taliban and al Qaeda insurgency in southern Afghanistan was increasing, hindering voter registration and threatening the legitimacy of elections. Mr. Arnault said voter registration hasn't been possible in three of the 34 provinces and has proven difficult in nine others.

If the elections do not happen in October, it may get postponed to next year as the mountain passes will get snow covered after October.

One of President Bush's characterization of his opponent Senator John Kerry is as a flip flopper. The Republicans have been repeating it like a mantra in all occasions. So in a world of sound bytes, all that matters is words like "fuzzy math", or "flip flopper". Richard Cohen has an article in the Washington Post asking who is the real flip flopper ?

Bush also declared himself a determined unilateralist, kissing off treaties and understandings and even spurning NATO's help in Afghanistan. Now, though, the unilateralist of old is sending Colin Powell around the world, seeking alms and arms for Iraq. Flip-flop.
Bush would not negotiate with North Korea. He did. Flip-flop.
Bush told the United Nations to butt out of Iraq. Now he wants it in. Flip-flop. [Washington Post]

First the writing of the constitution was considered an impossible task and that was done. After postponing the elections once, Afghans had their chance to vote for their President. But there has been one problem with the indelible ink which was donated by India.

Three years after the fall of the Taliban, Afghans voted in massive numbers Saturday to elect their president for the first time. But the historic and largely peaceful poll quickly fell under a cloud of uncertainty as 15 candidates alleged irregularities and fraud and said they would deem any result "illegitimate."

The dispute centered on the supposedly indelible ink applied to voters' thumbs to prevent them from casting ballots more than once. In many precincts, voters said, washable ink was used or indelible ink was applied improperly, allowing the marking to rub off easily and opening the door to repeat voting.[Afghan Votes in Security, but Fraud Allegations Arise]

When neocons suggested that the Middle East could use some democracy, this was dismissed as an impossible task by everyone. But here is what's happening

The most extraordinary event of all, of course, is Iraq's Jan. 30 election, when 8 million voters cast ballots despite insurgent bombs and bullets. Weeks earlier, Palestinian voters had trooped to the polls to elect a successor to Yasser Arafat. They chose Mahmoud Abbas, who proclaims his desire (sincerely or not) to end the armed struggle against Israel. Then, on Feb. 10, Saudi Arabia held its first-ever municipal elections. Only men could vote, but this was still a crack in the hitherto absolute authority of the royal family.

Now, in Egypt, Hosni Mubarak has suddenly pledged to hold a multi-candidate election for president this fall. Will he allow a genuine contest? That opposition leader Ayman Nour remains in jail is hardly encouraging. But something significant has happened when the pharaoh feels the need to proclaim, "Egypt needs more freedom and democracy." [Neocons May Get the Last Laugh]

Besides this people in Lebanon are now demanding that Syria withdraw immediately. Even the Arab media is reporting this as positive news

In a widely noticed interview, Walid Jumblatt, the leader of Lebanon�??s Druze, told the Washington Post that Iraq�??s election was the Arab equivalent of the fall of the Berlin wall. Hisham Kassem, a former publisher of the Cairo Times, called the elections the �??start of a ripple effect�?�. Khaled al-Meena, the editor of Saudi Arabia�??s Arab News, says that if elections can be held under foreign occupation in Iraq and Palestine, it should be much easier to hold them in Arab states said to be �??free�?�.[Something stirs]

When President Bush said in the SOTU that spreading freedom and democracy is his priority, he must not have guessed it would happen so fast. Fareed Zakaria puts it correctly when he says

Bush never accepted the view that Islamic terrorism had its roots in religion or culture or the Arab-Israeli conflict. Instead he veered toward the analysis that the region was breeding terror because it had developed deep dysfunctions caused by decades of repression and an almost total lack of political, economic and social modernization. The Arab world, in this analysis, was almost unique in that over the past three decades it had become increasingly unfree, even as the rest of the world was opening up. His solution, therefore, was to push for reform in these lands. [What Bush Got Right]

It's too early to claim victory, but definitely change is in the air.

Rajan R has images of two British newspapers, one when Bush was re-elected and one few days back. This is related to the war in Iraq which is now transforming the middle east.

Update: Women in Kuwait demand rights

In his book, Longitudes and Attitudes, Tom Friedman writes about traveling in Saudi Arabia after Sept 11th. He meets a number of women who talk to him about the repressive Saudi society and wonder why no one is taking up their case with the Saudi authorities.

Saudi Arabia gave some rights to women, due to terrorism, but still they are forced to wear the veil and don't have the rights to drive or vote. But in the neighboring Kuwait, women now have the right to vote.

In a first step toward granting women full political rights, Kuwaiti lawmakers agreed yesterday to allow women to vote and run in local council elections, but the measure requires more legislative action before it would become law.

The measure was taken on a 26-20 vote for women�??s participation with three abstentions. The session was attended by more than three quarters of the 64 lawmakers and Cabinet ministers entitled to vote.
A second reading of the bill and a second vote, expected in two weeks, was required before the bill becomes a law. Then it would require the Kuwaiti ruler�??s signature, generally a formality and the emir has made clear in the past he supports women�??s political rights. [Kuwaiti Women Allowed to Vote via Publius Pundit]

It was too early to cheer on the topic of women's voting rights in Kuwait. The Prime Minister as well as the chief of state wanted women to vote and stand for elections. But the conservatives did not agree and voted down the proposal

Women's participation in politics has been a divisive issue in Kuwait for years, and in recent months has grown heated as advocates for women, backed by international pressure, appeared to make strides. Bahrain, Qatar and Oman have all held elections in recent years, and all have allowed women to vote.

Kuwait's elected Parliament exercises a great deal of control over the government. But while the Kuwaiti Constitution gives equal rights to men and women, the country's election law bars women, along with men in the police and military, from voting. That limits the voting base to only 15 percent of the total population of 950,000 Kuwaitis.

Women would essentially double that base, and redraw the country's political map in the process. But conservative and tribally backed members of Parliament say Islam and Kuwaiti custom bar women from holding that much power.

"The parliaments of most other Muslim countries don't have as much power as we do," said Waleed al-Tabtabae, head of Parliament's human rights committee and a fervent opponent of the measure. "We have no problem with women voting, but we do have a problem with women standing for elections. Islam dictates that the head of the nation must be a man, and we are technically the head of the nation here." [Lawmakers Block Women From Voting in Kuwait]

If Islam dictates that the head of the nation must be a man, then did Pakistan and Bangladesh commit un-Islamic acts ?

After going through ups and downs, finally the women of Kuwait get the right to vote.

But in spite of the law's shortcomings, the decision goes a long way toward solidifying the gains that Kuwaiti women have already made. The law essentially enshrines in the Constitution what is already a de facto characteristic of Kuwaiti society: Despite having been denied the right to vote, Kuwaiti women have led their female counterparts in other countries in the Gulf in terms of gender equality. Unlike other women in the region, Kuwaiti women are free to drive, dress as they choose and travel without any restrictions. Women outnumber men in universities and they compose a third of the emirate's workforce. They also play an active role in the political arena through local and international rights groups and civil society organizations - groups that have played a key role in demanding that the state extend women their rights. The female force can be felt in every sector, from banking to medicine to art and the oil industry. The new law only confirms what was already known: Kuwaiti women are an important part of the fabric of their society.[Empowered women will drive Kuwait into the 21st century]

As expected, Sonia Gandhi is set to be re-elected Congress president with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the party's top brass cutting across generations backing her candidature for the top organisational post.

A total of 89 nominations were filed from different states and Union minister Oscar Fernandes, who is chairman of All India Congress Committee's central election authority, said that till Wednesday nominations in favour of Gandhi alone had been received. [All nominations so far name Sonia]

Do you think anyone will file a nomination against her? That would be the end of his career in the Congress Party. This has an uncanny similarity to the way Saddam Hussein was elected as well.

Iraq declared Saddam Hussein the winner Wednesday with 100 percent of the votes in a referendum in which he was the sole candidate, perpetuating his two-decade reign and prompting bursts of celebratory gunfire in Baghdad's streets.[Iraq declares Saddam election winner]

Legislation that would have increased the scope of Stem Cell research in Massachusetts was vetoed by the Governor, Mitt Romney because he is opposed to the idea of human embryo cloning.

Following expectations that he would again reject the Legislature's plan to sanction embryonic stem cell research, Romney announced his veto of the bill last week. In his veto message, the governor said he could not "in good conscience" allow the bill to become law due to his objections to embryonic cloning and changing the definition of when human life begins.[Gov vetoes stem cell bill]

Iin California, there was a voter initiative to fund stem cell research and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger announced his support for it. Now here is the interesting thing - both Mitt Romney and Arnold Schwarzenegger are Republicans.

It is a sign of maturity in politics that two diametrically opposite view points can be held by people in the same party and they can express it publicly without fear of retribution from the high-command. The freedom of expression that Americans have is not curtailed by the leadership of political parties

King Fahd, the dictator of Saudi Arabia died and here is what is happening

Members of the royal family have pledged allegiance to Abdullah. An official ceremony confirming him as king is due to be held on Wednesday.

King Fahd's funeral is scheduled for Tuesday, while on Wednesday Saudi citizens will be able to pledge their loyalty to their new ruler at a palace in the capital, Riyadh[ King Fahd of Saudi Arabia dies]

There were legitimate fears that the collective wrath of the rank and file of the party might once again fall on senior leaders of the party at the AICC session resulting in torn clothes and broken bones. Also, to leave the AICC session without the last remaining mascot of the party might have emboldened closet rebels. Factions within the party would have vied with each other for the guardianship of the grand old party in absence of the glue that perilously binds them together. Instead, the AICC has hailed the saviour and pledged eternal allegiance to the first family and the totemic symbol of the Congress. The Congress banners on the streets leading to the AICC venue said it all: You love India, and we love you too.[Resigned to rule]

When Pol Pot, who practiced a version of Maoism adapted for Cambodians, became the Prime Minister, he had a grand vision for his country. In his land there would be no private property. He introduced the idea of communal farms, communal property and communal education. Some people dissented and they were sent on the fast path to Communist hell. In his world there would be no rich nor poor and everyone would be equal and pigs would be flying as cows jumped over the moon.

About 1.6 million people, or about one-fifth of the population paid with their lives in this Communist experiment.

Now Communists have learned their lesson. It has been accepted that in Communist Paradise, there will be inequality. The Communist Party in India is worth about 4000 crore. In China too the gap between the rich and poor are increasing. According to an editorial in People's Daily, written by some rich Communists for the poor Communists, this fact has to be accepted.

But the editorial said widening inequality is an inevitable phase of growth. ``This is a golden period of development,'' it said. ``And it is also a period when conflict is becoming pronounced. The incessant deepening of reform must inevitably involve the adjustment of interests. ``It is unavoidable that different people and different groups enjoy the fruits of reform and development to differing degrees.''[China warns protests won't be tolerated]

The battle of Shengyou village has come to highlight one of China's sharpest social issues - the Communist Party's complete control of land allocation. More than 66 million Chinese farmers have lost their land in the past 10 years. It is a land grab which has fattened the wallets of government officials and left tens of thousands of people homeless.

In recent years, however, more and more farmers have become aware of their rights, and have begun to resist - leading to rising social unrest. Some estimates suggest more than three million people were involved in demonstrations last year, and the government in Beijing is getting increasingly concerned. [China faces growing land disputes]

The Chinese government has warned citizens that they must obey the law and that any threats to social stability will not be tolerated, a sign that top leaders are growing increasingly worried about unrest in the countryside. ``Protecting stability comes before all else,'' the editorial cautioned. ``Any behavior that wrecks stability and challenges the law will directly damage the people's fundamental interests.''[China warns protests won't be tolerated]

Right now with China being the 800 pound economic gorilla in the world, internal and external matters of China cannot be dismissed as regional issues. The stability of China should be of concern to every globalized country.

Jagdish Tytler in his resignation letter

Since this unfortunate and unwarranted mention of my name is causing embarrassment to the government, I hereby voluntarily tender my resignation from the Council of Ministers. I also take this opportunity to thank you and the party for the faith reposed in me all along.

Threatened with excommunication from the Sikh community, Manmohan Singh met Sonia Gandhi with the choice that either Jagdish Tytler would have to resign or he would have to quit, following which the overseas Indians’ minister, an accused in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, was asked to leave the government.

Soon afterwards, Manmohan Singh in his Parliament speech clearly hinted that Tytler would leave his government, but till the evening, he was not willing to budge, after which he was asked by Sonia Gandhi’s office to put in his papers.

You know how much the Communists are for freedom of speech. So long as you are not searching for Tibet or Falun Gong, you are free to use Google in China. Their brothers in Kerala too love freedom of speech and they show their affection by pouring oil on people.

Recently the Director of All India Radio (Kozhikode) made some remarks against V.S.Achyutanandan, the head honcho of the Kerala Communists and it did not go well with the monkey brigade called DYFI.

Black oil was poured on C.P. Rajasekharan, Director of All India Radio (AIR), Kozhikode, as he came out from the Town Hall in Vatakara in the district on Thursday. A group of persons, said to be Democratic Youth Federation of India workers, shouted slogans against Mr. Rajasekharan after pouring the oil. [AIR Director comes under attack]

There is one requirement for political parties to be accepted by the 100% literate populate of Kerala - they should have atleast two factions. The nice thing about having two factions is that you don't need to waste time governing the state. When you have to fight the opponent faction all the time, who has the time to improve the state. Then, what is there to improve in the state? We already rank #1 in suicides and unemployment.

Factionalism is an artform perfected by Karunakaran, former chief minister of Kerala and the only witness to Parasurama throwing the axe ( the act which created Kerala). He wanted his son Muralidharan, famous all around Kerala for being Karunakaran's son, to be given a good position. Sadly Muralidharan lacked the qualification even to be a road side eve teaser, and hence the Congress party ignored him. Karunakaran, who according to carbon dating is as old as Giant Sequoia tree, got angry. He quit the Congress Party and formed a new party called DIC (K), to remind everyone that it was a fight about "positions".

After thinking of various way to humiliate the Congress Party, Karunakaran decided to join the Communists. That honeymoon lasted less than the time it takes for Arjun Singh to count the hair on his head. DIC (K) came running back to the Congress camp and decided to contest in 18 seats. Even people who were going to commit suicide forgot their worries for a moment and watched this reunion with excitement. Newspapers covered this news ignoring everything else. In the elections, all 17 DIC (K) candidates lost their deposits.

Now the Communists are in power and the Chief Minister is Achyutanandan, who claims that he too saw Parasurama throwing the axe. First of all the Communists did not want to give him a seat in this elections. Due to pressure exerted by "public", he was given a seat which he won convincingly. Then there was no other option but to make him the Chief Minister, since he is one of the oldest Marxists. In fact Achyutanandan was a Marxist even before Karl Marx was born.

Since Achyutanandan was named the Chief Minister, cronies of Pinarayi Vijayan, Achuyutanandan's nemesis, took all other cabinet positions. The aim was to make Achyutanandan a Chief Minister without portfolio. Achyutanandan, who in fact suggested the title The Communist Manifesto to Karl Marx, knew better. He ignored the portfolio list given by the party and gave his own list to the Governor.

It has been less than a week since the new Govt. took over and we already have the build up to a Mahabharata. Newspapers are already drooling at the prospect of this new guerilla warfare between the politburo, party state committee and the new Chief Minister. If anyone in Kerala is hoping for development, they will have to wait. This is more important.

In our elections most of the candidates put by political parties are career politicians or thugs or both. The public is left with no choice other than to vote for the lesser evil. Under the constitution, there is something called Section 49-O which allows the voter to reject all the candidates on the ballot

So what’s the big deal, you ask?
Well, here it is:apparently, if the election is countermanded owing to negative votes, not one of the candidates who stood for the earlier election can contest the re-election.
Now imagine the consequences. Imagine what would happen if each time a party put up a goon, the voters forced an expensive re-election. The mind boggles. [Just do it!]

For such an event to happen there has to be tremendous coordination by the non-political voters. There also has to be a grassroots efforts to  make this into a mass movement within a constituency, which currently looks impractical. Even if a re-election is forced, career politicians will always find a way to get their folks in for in the circle of life, for every Lalu who is convicted, there is a Rabri Devi to take his place.

India's alleged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh says

“We will have to devise innovative plans to ensure that minorities, particularly the Muslim minority, are empowered to share equitably in the fruits of development. They must have the first claim on resources,” Singh said. [PM’s priority: Muslim development]

Her father was a clerk in the Telecommunications department in Delhi and mother a house wife. She was a teacher and then she joined politics. The latest statement filed by Mayavati gives an indication why a career in politics is always better than the Resident Idiot's whipping boy, the IT sector.

UP chief minister Mayawati has assets worth over Rs 52 crore, according to an affidavit filed on Monday by her along with the nomination papers for the Vidhan Parishad. And to add glitter to her wealth, the lady has diamonds worth nearly Rs 50 lakh.

The CM’s assets, including movable and immovable property, bank balance are:

Cash: Rs 50.27 lakh; Deposits in banks, financial institutions and non-banking financial companies: Rs 12.88 lakh; jewellery: Rs 50.87 lakh;diamonds 380.17 carat: Rs 49.75 lakh; a 18.5-kg silver dinner set costing Rs 1.12 lakh.

Among her other assets, the CM has murals worth Rs 15 lakh.

Behenji, as she likes to be called, lists the following commercial and residential establishments as her own in New Delhi and Lucknow. She owns two commercial establishments in Connaught Place, New Delhi, priced at Rs 2.05 crore and Rs 1.27 crore and another commercial establishment at Okhla which is priced at Rs 15.50 crore. [Mayawati reveals assets: Rs 52 crore]

Word processors like Microsoft Office or Star Office chain you to a computer. Instead, if you opt for hosted services like Google Docs and Spreadsheets, your word processor is accessible from anywhere an Internet connection is available. Hosted services, like Google Apps, are powerful and requires no setup or maintenance. The software and hardware are updated without the user even having to know about it and whenever there is a problem in the service, the host will take care of it. Thanks to Bush administration, now a hosted democracy service is available for countries like Pakistan and Iraq.

Recently, after seeing that no one Pakistan was listening to him, the General in the labyrinth decided to impose emergency. He  had already signed the order declaring emergency when the phone rang. "Yes, Dick", he probably answered, thinking it was the Lord Voldemort on the line, but it was Dr. Rice. A few minutes of conversation and Gen. Musharraf, who is seen a macho macho man only in India was shredding the document.

"Hey, isn't the hosted service provider saving dictatorship here", you may ask. Calm down, grasshopper. Sometimes to save democracy, you need to save dictatorship. Yes, it is one of those Zen things.

Since Gen. Musharraf is nearing his expiry date, the Bush administration has been looking for a Prime Minister. Sadly, the available ones cannot enter the country. So, there has been negotiations and re-negotiations between Benazir Bhutto and Bush administration officials about a possible deal. Maybe the Bhutto deal won't work out and it maybe Nawaz Sharif. Either way, you will hear it on CNN before the Pakistani people know about it.

We all know Pakistan cannot handle democracy and such outsourcing helps them avoid wasteful expenditures in terms of elections, booth rigging and bullets fired into fellow Muslims. It is not just Pakistan which is having problems in democracy. The ratings of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has been plummeting and his opponents in Iraq have decided to campaign against him, not in Iraq, but in Washington D.C. Ayad Allawi, who was the interim prime minister is  paying the GOP firm Barbour Griffith & Rogers (BGR) more than a quarter-million dollars to lobby on his behalf. 

Finally we are sure that a group of armchair quarterbacks in Washington D.C. will do what is right for Iraq. Isn't this kind of democracy wonderful?

In 2002, when India and Pakistan appeared to be headed for a war, Colin Powell, the U.S. secretary of state  played a key role in cooling down the tensions. Apparently a significant part was also played by India's huge software and information technology industry which asked the government to tone down the rhetoric. No one could have put it better than the metaphor maestro, Tom Friedman who wrote, "That's right -- in the crunch, it was the influence of General Electric, not General Powell, that did the trick."

While business interests can avert wars, it can also cause nations to support dictators and be mute spectators to genocide. In 2006, when United States and its European partners wanted United Nations to pass a resolution to allow UN peace keepers in Darfur, it was opposed by China. China has leverage with the Sudanese government due to the vast investments in Sudanese oil fields, but has always withstood putting pressure on them. Chinese oil purchases have supported the regime and Chinese made AK-47s are used as the murder weapon in Darfur.

It is not just China which behaves like this. The main opposition to the Iraq war came from Russia, France and Germany who all had lucrative deals with Saddam Hussein. Our own Natwar Singh took kick backs and faked a moral opposition to the war.

With the protest of the Burmese Buddhist monks getting attention from around the world, analysts have concluded that if there is one nation that can exert pressure on the military junta, it is  China. China is Burma's largest trading partner and has the leverage, but it is a foregone conclusion that China will do nothing to help the monks. A nation which suppressed the Tiananmen revolution and brutally murdered Buddhist monks in Tibet would be least interested in bringing democracy to Burma. When the issue was bought up before the United Nations, China protested, similar to the protest in Darfur case.

Occasionally there is a mention that India could do something about the issue in Burma, then it as hilarious as the suggestion by one of the callers on On Point Radio, who said that all Americans should write to Wal-Mart asking it to do something about the freedom struggle in Burma. While the world was watching, India chose to be as insensitive as possible by sending the petroleum minister Murli Deora for business talks. Pranab Mukherjee went one step further and requested the murderers to conduct an enquiry into their own activities which  is like asking Veerappan do his own post mortem.

Both India and China are least bothered about the plight of the monks and the human tragedy in Burma. Out of this, India's behavior is shameful as it is a democracy selling arms to a cruel dictatorship in return for access to oil and gas.  When China brutalized Buddhists in Tibet, India kept quiet and now probably to show that the foreign policy is consistent, it is keeping quiet when the show is being repeated in Burma. This was an opportunity for India to take a moral stand and distinguish itself from China, but instead it has chosen to let General Electric run the show.

(Image via Free Burma)

Sen. John McCain on if he voted for George W. Bush in 2000 and 2004.

"I voted, campaigned for, worked as hard as I could for President Bush's election in 2000 and 2004," he said. "It's nonsense."

Bradley Whitford and Richard Schiff who attended a dinner with Sen. John McCain in 2001

McCain replied that as a member of the GOP, Whitford added, he always intended to back the party's nominee. Then, the actor said, someone asked McCain whether he had cast a vote in favor of Bush.

"He put his finger up to his lips, shook his head and mouthed, 'No way,'" Whitford said.

Schiff remembered the conversation the same way. "My memory was he said pretty clearly, no, he did not vote for him," he said. "I discussed it with others afterwards. It was clear to everyone he said no.

See Also: Episode 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6