| From: | "Jim Powell" <autoinfo(at)acenet.co.za> |
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| Date: | Sun, 16 Mar 2008 08:41:54 +0200 |
| Subject: | RE: [WDDM] Will India Be saved |
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Hi Yogesh, I see that you refer to 2000 and 2002. Is there a more up dated document? What you are experiencing reflected internationally. The only answer is to have the political system controlled by the voters (universal adult suffrage). Each step taken can then be challenged and changed if not acceptable to the voter base. We must be thankful to Switzerland who has shown that this model works and works well Regards Jim Powell From: yogesh saxena
[yogrekha(at)rediffmail.com] Is
India worth saving? Is democracy worth saving? These are the two fundamental
questions we must address now - before it is too late. Indians values are
disappearing rapidly as we lose our independence and our sovereignty. The
continuation of dynastic rule by Gandhi era has consciously or unconsciously
the foreign Rule. No one Single handedly may elect the representative of the
voter to the electoral college. The concept of spirit inherently
personal choice of the voter to get their representatives in electoral
college has been completely vanished. Exercise of liberty vote is overburdened
with !) to evaluate _expression_ less action performance at the behest of the
people in power2)to select the candidate as representatives from the limited
choice imposed upon the voters by party system 3) to express their adult
franchises like a illiterate voters amongst the limited cvhoice between the
rascals nominated by party god fathers mainly on the basis of money power or by
choosing an idiot, who may be ruled with remote control even on the post of
President and Prime Minister 4) Criminals may be given free hand to take a
political decision under the garb of appeasement 5) Nehru- Gandhi nexus which
remain responsible for creation of Pakistan has again risen their heads to
divide India , Pakistan and Bangla Desh in many Segmentations. This is
virtually the Concept of Rule of majority vote. The country is being dismantled
after more than a half century of nation building. On 26th January,
1950, Dr. Bhim Rao Ambedkar said that India will become Independent
Country. India has been lost by it’s infidelity and treachery by some of
our own people. The invasion of Sind by Invader Momd. Bin Kasim as the Military
commanders of King Dahar accepted the Bribes and they refused to fight. It was
Jai Chandra “Arjun”, who invited Mohammad Ghori to invade Sri
Prithivi Raj Chauhan and promised help of himself and of the King Solanki.
History has been repeated in case of Afzal again. Their will be another
hijacking of Plane to get him release. The attackers on the Court premises are
well protected by these traitors living in our country and killing the so
called infidels under the banner of Jihad?. Our independence , after
creation of Pakistan is again in jeopardize and probably we may loose it
forever On 23rd Feb. 2000 , Sri K.R. Narayanan, President of
India promulgated “ The National Commission to Review the Working
of the Constitution by a message:- Right of vote under universal adult
Franchise gives Right and opportunity to participate Every men in Democratic
process and select a Govt. However we all know that the election system
in India may not get the rid to the system of Corruption, Crimilisation ,
money, nepotism , favoritism and Muscle power. Home Minister of India accepts
in 2002: - There are the defect in election system, but it is difficult to
blame for it to the Government, it’s officers, and to the Political
Parties. Sri Bimal Jalan said that Common Citizen is concerned about Administrative
apathy, Corruption and failure to provide Promised benefit to the poor
Farmers. India is ranking Highest in the Global corruption level of
World. Here is dismal Ranking in Human Development. We may see poverty as the
caste to the people is placed above for elimination of poverty, alleviation,
hunger, Illiteracy and health. This problem is Systemic and never projected
like Episodic to the people. We are losing control of our most
important industries. As we give up domestic ownership of our assets, we lose
the most exciting and challenging jobs, which too often move to the new
corporate headquarters outside India- and young people who want those
jobs must follow. It's part of the brain drain. In effect, India has become a
victim of "Globalization". We are told this process is both
inevitable and good. It is only inevitable if we let it happen. It is only good
for twenty percent of the world's richest and most powerful people. It is bad
for the vast majority. We need debate for participation of 1000 people for
electoral college candidates in future election process to come
forward and eliminate the monopoly of limited Choice for selecting the
representatives by the voters. There must be the implementation of systematic
Solution , even at the cost of absurdity and obsessive- ness in the defective
system. We have to search the effect- cause and relationship in reformative
trends. There may be some strategy to represent majority of farmers for making
a proposal to provide them the cost of International Market. There may be
tortuous liability and lesser faire policy of functioning be made accountable.
Let criminals may know that Crime is a bad Bargain to them. The license Quota
System be abolished and Religious activities be prohibited on public Premises
as secularity of nation in Multifarious religious country be Maintained I should make a distinction between those areas where global cooperation is both good and essential, and those areas where it is harmful. We must cooperate globally to protect our oceans, the ozone layer and prevent Global Warming. International cooperation is also required to protect endangered species, fight international crime and in other areas of mutual concern. What we have to stop is the relentless drive on the part of multinational corporations and international banks - centered largely in the five big powers - to take over governance of the world for their own benefit. The No to Free Trade Agreement The "Globalization" process got a rocket-assisted boost with the no to Free Trade Agreement. Indians were led to believe that this was a trade agreement. When I read it, I found, to my dismay, that it was primarily an investment agreement. Sure it called for reductions in tariffs, but this was already happening under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). The most important parts of the FTA were about investment. The Americans wanted our industries and resources - especially energy and water. They also wanted our land. Instead of Indians being open for business again, as Prime Minister Brian Mulroney proudly boasted, it was up for sale. Mr. Mulroney allowed the Americans to insert a "national treatment" clause which was a new concept in international law that gave U.S. investors the same rights in citizens. I think this is wrong in principle! Where is the value of citizenship if foreign investors have the same rights? In fact, the "national treatment" clause gave American investors the right to invest in Canada without conditions and without limits. We can no longer say "You can't buy more than 50% of our forest industry or oil and gas reserves" - because the treaty says they can own all our reserves. The same rule applies to our best farmland.. The conquest is still tentative, perhaps, for about two more years. Then we will reach the point of no return after which annexation by the United States will become inevitable. I am concerned that several hundred years of experiment in popular democracy is coming to an end because globalization is really a code word for corporate rule and colonization. The WTO is Anti-Democratic The World Trade Organization is another threat to our democratic traditions. It has ruled that the auto pact with the U.S. is illegal. It has ruled that the European Union has to accept U.S. beef that has been raised on bovine growth hormones. It said that the U.S. could not ban tuna caught in nets that drown sea turtles. (In every case involving an environmental issue, the WTO has ruled against the environment). Now the WTO has ruled that our drug patents are too short and that, in effect, we have to change our laws to correspond with U.S. laws. In addition to this affront to our sovereignty, this ruling, if it stands, means that we will have to pay untold millions more for drugs at a time when our health care system is already in crisis from inadequate funding. What Kind of Democracy? The decline of democracy. has reached the point where editor of a Magazine, says the Indian has two governments - the permanent government and the provisional government. The permanent government comprises: (a) the Fortune 500 list of the largest corporations, (b) the largest law firms in India that do their legal work for them, (c) the largest public relation firms in India that do their advertising and public relations and (d) the top public servants both civil and military. These groups make up the permanent government that really runs the country. Then there is the provisional government - "politicians for hire". Every few years there is a charade called an election which picks a political actor to go on stage and read the scripts written by the permanent government. As some actors read scripts with less improvisation than others, the permanent government checks them out in advance and decides who they want. Then they put up the money to get them elected. George Bush is the perfect stereotype. Listen to him on "Free Trade" and foreign policy and you will know he is the actor of choice. Why did Elizabeth Dole drop out of the Republican race? Because she was not the choice of the permanent government and didn't have the funds to continue. There are Strings Attached The evolution of the system has led to a government that is little more than a big bully enforcer for giant corporations. The Indian government goes to the WTO and gets a ruling forcing us to accept whatever big corporations want. Their giant corporations want to dominate world markets. In a "Globalized" society, people don't matter - only corporations do. Small independent operators and family farms are doomed by globalization. Aggressive Agri-Business One of the coziest arrangements has been between the government and Corporation - now in the process of changing its name due to a bad image. The company that gave us Agent, the allegedly safe defoliant used in the War which has now claimed thousands of casualties. Monsanto is also one of the companies developing terminator seeds, seeds that cannot be replanted because they are genetically altered to be sterile. This is one of the most frightening developments in modern history. Attempts to corner world seed markets and sell only genetically altered seed would impoverish millions of people. When I learned that the Department of Agriculture had assisted Monsanto in the development of such a patently evil product I wondered how this could be possible in a democracy. Then I learned that one of Monsanto's key directors was one of President Clinton's key fundraisers. It is a matter of national shame that the government has been aiding and abetting the in promoting the interests of this destructive company including its increased control of agriculture. Ottawa is helping to drive farmers out of business. Globalization in agriculture means three or four giant agribusinesses are determined to monopolize the world food supply with their genetically-altered species and make us all dependent on them for our food. As we capitulate, and let our farmers go under, these aggressive corporations are buying up some of our best agricultural land. National Fire Sale At the same time, many of our best companies are being bought out. Thirteen thousand companies have been sold to foreigners in the last decade or so - more than 10,000 to Americans. In a stunning admission to the National Post in early March, Industry Minister predicted the end of federal restrictions that prevent foreigners from buying Canadian airlines, communications companies and even banks. There will be nothing left of Indian but an empty shell. And the kind of corporate-controlled government that allows this to happen is a cruel joke. India and the world are being re-engineered without the consent of the citizens who are having their birthright sold out from under their feet. Let, Corporations Rule the World The substitution of corporate rule for democracy is being imposed around the world. Countries have to sign treaties that give transnational corporations the right to cherry-pick their industries and assets. If a country has a business that begins to cut into market share, the transnational can buy it, make it part of their empire, shut it down or move it to Malaysia, for example. Under the rules of "Globalization", no country - other than the big five (or six) - can hope to achieve anything like self-sufficiency. Neo-Classical Economics - Bad economic theory and bad economic management All of this change is justified in the name of laissez-faire economics, which insists that governments are bad and markets are good. Government-owned services must be privatized. Even basic services like health and education are on the block. This is all in accord with the ideas of Nobel laureate Milton Friedman and his colleagues at the University of Chicago. At first, the Friedman system (ideology) was called monetarism, but when that wasn't technically accurate, it was renamed neo-classical monetarism - and, more recently - just neo-classical economics. It should have been called retro-classical rather than neo-classical because it is not new. It is the same old pre-depression boom-bust system. Mainline economists won't admit it, but their 25-year experiment with neo-classical economics has been a monumental flop and resulted in a monumental 2,289% increase in federal debt. The increase in debt was not primarily due to overspending as the right insists. It was primarily due to the slow growth of the economy and debt compounding at high interest rates due to monetarist policies. Compound interest was the real culprit. People are the Victims The cold statistics can be translated into the heart-wrenching experiences of many Indians . If you are a doctor or a nurse, you are likely to find yourself so overworked and stressed out that you are unable to provide the quality of care you want to give. The same can be said for many teachers whose workload has been increased to the point where they have felt obliged to reduce or eliminate participation in extra-curricular activities like drama or sports. If you are a student, you may graduate with as much or more debt as the mortgage on your parents' first house. And, no matter who you are, if you lack skills, you may be unemployed from time-to-time because a "Globalized" market system is not designed for full employment (four percent). Demand management, as practiced in the early post-war years is a neo-classical "no no". Your company may be bought and downsized leaving you with few options after long years of faithful service. This is just part of the price of "Globalization". Is there any hope? There is hope but it will require a revolution of the intellect followed by a revolution at the ballot box. First, and immediately, we have to abrogate to get rid of the "national treatment" clause that is killing India . This does not mean turning the clock back ten years on trade! India can compete in trade. But we cannot compete in investment - we just don't have money on the same scale. So, we must try to replace old trades agreements with new fair trade agreements and, if that is not possible, rely on the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade which served us so well for so long. Once we are rid of the "national treatment" clause, we must start screening foreign investment again and stop the sale of our best industries and with it stop much of the brain drain. Then, we must refuse to sign any more treaties, such as the that will extend the "national treatment" clause to the tip of other nation. And, at the same time, we must take health care, education, agriculture and intellectual property off the table for the WTO negotiations. To give up our sovereignty in these important areas would reduce all Canadian governments to a state of impotence. This must not be allowed to happen! Canada should say "No!" to any extension of WTO jurisdiction and influence until we can gauge the damage already done. The Monopoly to Print Money There is insufficient space to discuss monetary theory here but anyone who is interested can read books on the subject including one or two of mine such as 'Surviving the Global Financial Crisis', or 'Stop: Think', the latest one. A system where private banks print nearly all of the money is not a stable system (44 recessions and depressions in 200 years) and is not one that will provide full employment . There is simply not enough money in the hands of rank and file consumers. So, we have to learn the lessons of history and revert to the system we had in effect from 1939 to 1974. Access to significant amounts of publicly-created, zero cost (debt free) money is the only way governments can meet the conflicting demands of increased expenditures for health care, education, environmental concerns, research and development, the arts and other legitimate areas of public concern while permitting lower taxes at the same time. There is no other way to reconcile the claims of left and right. The War [Electoral] for Independence The next election will decide Indians fate. If any party - or combination of parties - that supports the next government, India is dead. Our only hope is a genuine alliance of patriotic Liberals, Conservatives, Reformers, , and even people too cheesed-off to vote, getting together in one powerful movement to turn the ship of state around before it is too late. An independent India is best for the other States, the world and us. If we really believe that, we all have to enlist in Indian’s war for independence and make it happen.
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