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theyoujourney-blog · 5 years ago

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I voted for a Secular India

If you have been following the news, then you must have seen India in the headlines- protests all over the country for CAA (also known as CAB) and NRC bills, police brutality and deaths in protests. In this article I will provide a synopsis of CAA and NRC bills, talk about why these protests are taking place all over the country, why police brutality is being used and what the government is doing about it.

Citizen Amendment Act (CAA) also known as Citizen Amendment Bill (CAB), was an act passed in Parliament of India, on December 11th, 2019 (think of Parliament as Congress in other democratic countries). This law grants citizenship of India to illegal immigrants (with me so far not a big deal right?). However, fine print states: if you are citizens of the following countries: Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Pakistan and belong to the following religions: Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism, Jainism, Zoroastrianism and Christianity, only then you will be granted a citizenship of India. Now: do you see certain faiths missing from the list? (I do, Islam (Muslims), Judaism (Jews), Atheists)).

The protests for the CAA law, is for many reasons, but I will talk about two main reasons why this law has angered the public: first, this law is unconstitutional because- as a secular democracy, Indian government cannot make laws based on religion. This law for illegal immigrants excludes certain faiths (Islam, Judaism, Atheists to name a few). So, protests are taking place because the law goes against the constitution, deliberately segregating based on religion, and completely ignores Jews, Muslims and persecutions that have taken place in these countries like- Ahmadia Muslims and Jews in Pakistan, Rohingya Muslims in Bangladesh and Muslims who have fled terrorist persecutions during Taliban regime in Afghanistan.

Second, this law only grants citizenship, it does not provide an action plan on resources its going to provide to help these illegal immigrants- no funds have been allocated on food, shelter, jobs, etc. And this has outranged the average Indian because the country’s current GDP is the lowest is has been in the past 6 years (EconomicTimes, 2019), the unemployment rate is rising in India (UN study, 2019). India currently ranks at 102/117 countries on the world hunger list, meaning that India is suffering from a serious hunger problem (Global Hunger Index, 2019) and India’s debt has increased by 2.6% in 2019 (IndiaToday, 2019). These are just some facts to show that India as an economy currently does not have the viable funds and resources in place to support it’s own country men; therefore, adding more citizens to the country- through this naturalization process is only going to further strain the economy. And so, protests are taking place to stop this law- not just by the Indian citizens but by state governments as well. They want the federal government to build plans for curbing- hunger, unemployment, suicide problems first.

On the other hand, we have the bill, National Register of Citizens (NRC). This bill is not a federal law just yet; however, this bill requires that all residence in India will have to prove their citizenship (how do you prove citizenship?show your birth certificate. Thats easy and fair, right?). However, the fine print reads, you must show legal documentation proving- all your grandparents, both your parents and you have been an Indian citizen and paper work is required all the way to 1971. If you fail to provide, not just yours but documents for others, you will be considered illegal.

Now this has spurred protests all over India and the world because, the average man in India and outside does not have legal documentations, readily available that prove their lineage. It would require them to go through government offices to get these paperwork; time and money spend on proving you are a citizen, because your birth certificate is not enough. This has angered the common man (Now I say- big deal you can stand in line and get paperwork). So, even if the common man in India can get this paperwork after going through a few rounds of the government office: this does not easily apply to the rural, the tribal, the indigenous, the poor, the homeless, the orphaned, the disabled, etc. they will have no way to prove their identity (now this is NOT their fault); due to various corruptions that has been overlooked by the Indian governments for generations- folks like these have never existed in the system, and even if they do their paperwork is incorrect. So, even if they do go to these government offices to get paperwork, the government employees will not find them in the database, and thus, without having all and correct documents to prove their lineages, they will be considered illegal (its a classical case of which came first: chicken or egg). A pilot for this bill was instituted in the state of Assam, India, it turned out that due to lack of correct paperwork, lack of understanding & knowledge of the ask, immense fraud and corruption around 1.2 million people were considered illegal in the country. This pilot was considered a failure by the people, experts and even the state government. But, the federal government of India is adamant to make this bill a federal law.

The combination of this NRC bill and CAA law, can be considered discriminatory, here is how: Imagine under the NRC you fail to prove you are citizen of India, so, you are now illegal. However, if you can prove that you are either a Hindu, Christian, Parsi, Buddhist, Sikh or a Jain and belong to the following countries: Pakistan, Afghanistan and/or Bangladesh, then under the CAA you can become a citizen of India. So who does this exclude? the poor man who was never in the system (regardless of religion), the Muslim, Jew, atheist- that has fled its country due to religious or other prosecutions, the orphan, and any individual who is of a different religion or cannot prove their lineage with no faults of their own. If this happens, then the question arises where are these people going to go? (ideally- if you are illegal, then you are deported to your country of birth, so, thats where one should go, right? makes sense to me). However, the federal government of India has stated, that they will NOT be deporting these potential individuals, but retain them in a detention center. That is exactly what they did in Assam, where this pilot project was launched.

Folks are outraged on the fact that the government is building and wants to place people in detention centers. The taxpayers money is being/going to be spend on these projects, and they do not want the CAA law and the NRC bill to be implemented. Therefore, more than 50 different universities around the country and world, various human rights institutions and organizations in India and the world, other political parties and simple citizens of India have come on the streets to non-violently protest these acts, bills, and the consequences it will have on the constitution, economy, employment, social system and generations to come in the country. These protests have been going on for almost a week now in India and other foreign countries, but unfortunately in Indian these protests they have been met by police brutality. In a democratic country, its illegal for the police to attack in a non-violent protest; however, this protocol has not been followed by the Indian police and due to the brutalities various people have been injured and 13 have been killed (BBC, 2019). Many suspect its because of the orders provided by the federal government- that control the police; however, it would be hard to judge, without a proper investigation.

The federal government of India has published a statement- that these bills and laws do not discriminate; however, the Prime Minister of India and the Home Minister of India have done campaign rallies (in these past few days) making hateful remarks against the protestors, Muslims and others (is it just me, or what they say vs. what they write on paper don’t match?). These politicians have yet to start a dialogue with its citizens and address their concerns, as this is what the protocol mandates in a democracy.

Democracy or not, the fundamentals here are WRONG! I am proud of all the people, who are going out there and protesting, raising awareness on social media and are having an educated dialogue with the ones who are neutral or support this cause- in and outside of India. These people see this for what it truly is- segregation, discrimination, and religious bias. People who also see this but are doing nothing - I ask: what kind of India do you want to live in? If its a secure, safe, financially stable, equal opportunity and secular India- then show your support. There are many ways to support, please do something. And the ones who have just come across this- I urge you to read more about this, follow the news and form your own educated opinion on this topic.

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quizmint · 4 years ago

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zak crawley: England vs Pakistan: How Zak Crawley’s India tryst helped him ‘spin’ a double hundred | Cricket News MUMBAI: He hasn’t played in India at the international level as yet, but England batsman Zak Crawley, who slammed 267 against Pakistan in the third Test at Southampton, does owe India a small debt of gratitude for the way he tackled Pakistan leggie Yasir Shah during his epic knock.

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go-21newstv · 4 years ago

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zak crawley: England vs Pakistan: How Zak Crawley’s India tryst helped him ‘spin’ a double hundred | Cricket News - Times of India

zak crawley: England vs Pakistan: How Zak Crawley’s India tryst helped him ‘spin’ a double hundred | Cricket News – Times of India

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MUMBAI: He hasn’t played in India at the international level as yet, but Zak Crawley, who slammed 267 against Pakistan in the third Test at Southampton, does owe India a small debt of gratitude for the way he tackled Pakistan leggie Yasir Shah during his epic knock. Crawley’s footwork against Shah was decisive, and he swept and played him well off the backfoot too. “In 2017, Zak had come…

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xtruss · 5 years ago

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PEPE ESCOBAR: MAGA Misses the Eurasia Train!

While China and Russia solidify their economic and political alliance, the U.S. is missing an historic chance to join a multilateral world, clinging instead to military empire, argues Pepe Escobar.

By Pepe Escobar, in Milan, Italy

February 4, 2019

We should know by now that the heart of the 21stCentury Great Game is the myriad layers of the battle between the United States and the partnership of Russia and China.

Even the U.S. National Defense Strategy says so: “The central challenge to U.S. prosperity and security is the reemergence of long-term, strategic competition by … revisionist powers.” The recently published assessment on U.S. defense implications of China’s global expansion says so too.

The clash will frame the emergence of a possibly new, post-ideological, strategic world order amidst an extremely volatile unpredictability in which peace is war and an accident may spark a nuclear confrontation.

The U.S. vs. Russia and China will keep challenging the West’s obsession in deriding “illiberalism,” a fearful, rhetorical exercise that equates Russian democracy with China’s one party rule, Iran’s demo-theocracy and Turkey’s neo-Ottoman revival.

It’s immaterial that Russia’s economy is one-tenth of China’s. From boosting trade that bypasses the U.S. dollar, to increasing joint military exercises, the Russia-China symbiosis is poised to advance beyond political and ideological affinities.

China badly needs Russian know-how in its military industry. Beijing will turn this knowledge into plenty of dual use, civilian-military innovations.

The long game indicates Russia and China will break down language and cultural barriers to lead Eurasian integration against American economic hegemony backed by military might.

One could say the Eurasian century is already upon us. The era of the West shaping the world at will (a mere blip of history) is already over. This is despite Western elite denials and fulminations against the so-called “morally reprehensible,” “forces of instability” and “existential threats.”

Standard Chartered, the British financial services company, using a mix of purchasing power exchange rates and GDP growth, has projected that the top five economies in 2030 will be China, the U.S., India, Japan and Russia. These will be followed by Germany, Indonesia, Brazil, Turkey and the UK. Asia will extend its middle class as they are slowly killed off across the West.

Hop on the Trans-Eurasia Express

A case can be made that Beijing’s elites are fascinated at how Russia, in less than two decades, has returned to semi-superpower status after the devastation of the Yeltsin years.

That happened to a large extent due to science and technology. The most graphic example is the unmatched, state-of-the-art weaponry unveiled by President Vladimir Putin in his March 1, 2018 speech.

In practice, Russia and China will be advancing the alignment of China’s New Silk Roads, or Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), with Russia’s Eurasia Economic Union (EAEU).

There’s ample potential for a Trans-Eurasia Express network of land and maritime transport corridors to be up and running by the middle of next decade, including, for instance, road and railway bridges connecting China with Russia across the Heilongjiang River.

Heilongjiang or Armur river separating China and Russia. (Wikimedia)

Following serious trilateral talks involving Russia, India and Iran last November, closer attention is being paid to the International North-South Transportation Corridor (INSTC), a 7,200-km long lane mixing sea and rail routes essentially linking the Indian Ocean with the Persian Gulf through Iran and Russia and further on down the road, to Europe.

Imagine cargo transiting from all over India to the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas, then overland to Bandar Anzali, an Iranian port on the Caspian Sea, and then on to the Russian southern port of Astrakhan, and after that to Europe by rail. From New Delhi’s point of view, that means shipping costs reduced by up to 40 percent, and Mumbai-to-Moscow in only 20 days.

Down the line, INSTC will merge with BRI – as in Chinese-led corridors linked with the India-Iran-Russia route into a global transport network.

This is happening just as Japan is looking at the Trans-Siberian Railway – which will be upgraded throughout the next decade – to improve its connections with Russia, China and the Koreas. Japan is now a top investor in Russia and at the same time very much interested in a Korea peace deal. That would free Tokyo from massive defense spending conditioned by Washington’s rules. The EAEU free trade agreements with ASEAN can be added to that.

Especially over these past four years, Russia has also learned how to attract Chinese investment and wealth, aware that Beijing’s system mass-produces virtually everything and knows how to market it globally, while Moscow needs to fight every block in the book dreamed up by Washington.

The Huawei-Venezuela “Axis of Evil”

Metal Truss Railroad Bridge (Kama River, near Perm city). Early color photograph from Russia, created by Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii as part of his work to document the Russian Empire from 1909 to 1915. (Wikimedia)

While Washington remains a bipartisan prisoner to the Russophobic Platonic cave – where Cold War shadows on the wall are taken as reality – MAGA is missing the train to Eurasia.

A many-headed hydra, MAGA, stripped to the bone, could be read as a non-ideological antidote to the Empire’s global adventurism. Trump, in his non-strategic, shambolic way, proposed at least in theory the return to a social contract in the U.S. MAGA in theory would translate into jobs, opportunities for small businesses, low taxes and no more foreign wars.

It’s nostalgia for the 1950s and 60s before the Vietnam quagmire and before “Made in the USA” was slowly and deliberately dismantled. What’s left are tens of trillions of national debt; a quadrillion in derivatives; the Deep State running amok; and a lot of pumped up fear of evil Russians, devious Chinese, Persian mullahs, the troika of tyranny, the Belt and Road, Huawei, and illegal aliens.

More than a Hobbesian “war of all against all” or carping about the “Western rules-based system” being under attack, the fear is actually of the strategic challenge posed by Russia and China, which seeks a return to rule by international law.

MAGA would thrive if hitched to a ride on the Eurasia integration train: more jobs and more business opportunities instead of more foreign wars. Yet MAGA won’t happen – to a large extent because what really makes Trump tick is his policy of energy dominance to decisively interfere with Russia and China’s development.

The Pentagon and the “intel community” pushed the Trump administration to go after Huawei, branded as a nest of spies, while pressuring key allies Germany, Japan and Italy to follow. Germany and Japan permit the U.S. to control the key nodes in the extremities of Eurasia. Italy is essentially a large NATO base.

The U.S. Department of Justice requested the extradition of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou from Canada last Tuesday, adding a notch to the Trump administration’s geopolitical tactic of “blunt force trauma.”

Add to it that Huawei – based in Shenzhen and owned by its workers as shareholders – is killing Apple across Asia and in most latitudes across the Global South. The real the battle is over 5G, in which China aims to upstage the U.S., while upgrading capacity and production quality.

The digital economy in China is already larger than the GDP of France or the UK. It’s based on the BATX companies (Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent, Xiaomi), Didi (the Chinese Uber), e-commerce giant JD.com and Huawei. These Big Seven are a state within a civilization – an ecosystem they’ve constructed themselves, investing fortunes in big data, artificial intelligence (AI) and the internet. American giants – Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Google – are absent from this enormous market.

Moreover, Huawei’s sophisticated encryption system in telecom equipment prevents interception by the NSA. That helps account for its extreme popularity all across the Global South, in contrast to the Five Eyes (U.S., UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand) electronic espionage network.

The economic war on Huawei is also directly connected to the expansion of BRI across 70 Asian, European and African nations, constituting a Eurasia-wide network of commerce, investment and infrastructure able to turn geopolitical and geo-economic relations, as we know them, upside down.

Greater Eurasia Beckons

Whatever China does won’t alter the Deep State’s obsession about “an aggression against our vital interests,” as stated by the National Defense Strategy. The dominant Pentagon narrative in years to come will be about China “intending to impose, in the short term, its hegemony in the Indo-Pacific region, and catch the United States off-guard in order to achieve future global pre-eminence.” This is mixed with a belief that Russia wants to “crush NATO” and “sabotage the democratic process in Crimea and Eastern Ukraine.”

The Karakoram Highway connecting Pakistan and China, sometimes referred to as the English Wonder of the World. (Wikimedia)

During my recent travels along the northern part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), I saw once again how China is upgrading highways, building dams, railways and bridges that are useful not only for its own economic expansion but also for its neighbors’ development. Compare it to U.S. wars – as in Iraq and Libya – where dams, railways and bridges are destroyed.

Russian diplomacy is all but winning the New Cold War — as diagnosed by Prof. Stephen Cohen in his latest book, War with Russia: From Putin and Ukraine to Trump and Russiagate.

Moscow mixes serious warnings with diverse strategies, such as resurrecting the South Stream gas pipeline to supply Europe as an extension of Turk Stream after the Trump administration also furiously opposed the Nord Stream 2 pipeline with sanctions on Russia. Meanwhile, Moscow ramps up energy exports to China.

The advance of the Belt and Road Initiative is linked to Russian security and energy exports, including the Northern Sea Route, as an alternative future transportation corridor to Central Asia. Russia emerges then as the top security guarantee for Eurasian trade and economic integration.

Last month in Moscow, I discussed Greater Eurasia– by now established as the overarching concept of Russian foreign policy – with top Russian analysts. They told me Putin is on board. He referred to Eurasia recently as “not a chessboard or a geopolitical playground, but our peaceful and prosperous home.”

Needless to say, U.S. think tanks dismiss the idea as “abortive”. They ignore Prof. Sergey Karaganov, who as early as mid-2017 was arguing that Greater Eurasia could serve as a platform for “a trilateral dialogue on global problems and international strategic stability between Russia, the United States and China.”

As much as the Beltway may refuse it, “The center of gravity of global trade is now shifting from the high seas toward the vast continental interior of Eurasia.”

Beijing Skirts the Dollar

Beijing is realizing it can’t meet its geo-economic goals on energy, security, and trade without bypassing the U.S. dollar.

According to the IMF, 62 percent of global central bank reserves were still held in U.S. dollars by the second quarter of 2018. Around 43 per cent of international transactions on SWIFT are still in U.S. dollars. Even as China, in 2018, was the single largest contributor to global GDP growth, at 27.2 percent, the yuan still only accounts for 1 percent of international payments, and 1.8 per cent of all reserve assets held by central banks.

The author at the Khunjerab pass, China-Pak border, on New Silk Road overdrive.

It takes time, but change is on the way. China’s cross-border payment network for yuan transactions was launched less than four years ago. Integration between the Russian Mir payment system and Chinese Union Pay appears inevitable.

Bye Bye Drs. K and Zbig

Russia and China are developing the ultimate nightmare for those former shamans of U.S. foreign policy, Henry Kissinger and the late Zbigniew “Grand Chessboard” Brzezinski.

Back in 1972 Kissinger was the mastermind – with logistical help from Pakistan – of the Nixon moment in China. That was classic Divide and Rule, separating China from the USSR. Two years ago, before Trump’s inauguration, Dr. K’s advice dispensed at Trump Tower meetings consisted of a modified Divide and Rule: the seduction of Russia to contain China.

The Kissinger doctrine rules that, geopolitically, the U.S. is just “an island off the shores of the large landmass of Eurasia.” Domination “by a single power of either of Eurasia’s two principal spheres – Europe or Asia – remains a good definition of strategic danger for America, Cold War or no Cold War,” as Kissinger said. “For such a grouping would have the capacity to outstrip America economically and, in the end, militarily.”

The Zbig doctrine ran along similar lines. The objectives were to prevent collusion and maintain security among the EU-NATO vassals; keep tributaries pliant; keep the barbarians (a.k.a. Russians and allies) from coming together; most of all prevent the emergence of a hostile coalition (as in today’s Russia-China alliance) capable of challenging U.S. hegemony; and submit Germany, Russia, Japan, Iran, and China to permanent Divide and Rule.

Thus the despair of the current National Security Strategy, forecasting China displacing the United States “to achieve global preeminence in the future,” through BRI’s supra-continental reach.

The “policy” to counteract such “threats” is sanctions, sanctions, and more unilateral sanctions, coupled with an inflation of absurd notions peddled across the Beltway – such as that Russia is aiding and abetting the re-conquest of the Arab world by Persia. Also that Beijing will ditch the “paper tiger” “Made in China 2025” plan for its major upgrade in global, high-tech manufacturing just because Trump hates it.

Once in a blue moon a U.S. report actually gets it right, such as in Beijing speeding up an array of BRI projects; as a modified Sun Tzu tactic deployed by President Xi Jinping.

At the June 2016 Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, Professor Xiang Lanxin, director of the Centre of One Belt and One Road Studies at the China National Institute for SCO International Exchange and Judicial Cooperation, defined BRI as an avenue to a “post-Westphalian world.” The journey is just beginning; a new geopolitical and economic era is at hand. And the U.S. is being left behind at the station.

Pepe Escobar, a veteran Brazilian journalist, is the correspondent-at-large for Hong Kong-based Asia Times. His latest book is 2030.

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sagarvibes-blog · 6 years ago

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Role of media in shaping narratives and identity labels

Transcription of discussion on Role of Media

Transcription 1

Video link- https://www.facebook.com/razaahmadrumi/videos/296716047717167/

Length-6:34

Speaker-Raza Ahmad Rumi, visiting faculty Cornell, NY

Raza: This definitional issue of, I mean ,who is liberal and what is right and what is left-that depends on the perspective ..from a very mainstream version perhaps the CNN, Nytimes, considered liberal. But then look at some of the positions they take and some of the ..You know my problem with these definitions is that what lesson you can definitely learn from all that media, despite challenges ..all that, you now-first of all there, all the greater range of opinions and coverage which is given ahh.. at least in Pakistan. We carry out a very diverse set of opinions on same page. It’s not just the liberal bias or the cons bias. If u take case of mass media here, it’s liberal in certain ways in certain issue and not so liberal in others. For example, universal health care considered a radical idea, Is itself outrageous in my opinion

[1:23]

How can state tell its people you can’t have primary health care. It is (perceived as) a liberal plot against great capitalist order. Fact that millions still out of insurance net, therefore nearly 40million people born in America, world richest country, highest in defense spending more than eurporan advanced countries put together. Is unacceptable and that fact that mainstream liberals not talk about this issue enough to inform public opinion is also outrageous and therefore a problem in my view. And they were talking about this in 2016 elections you know there is also this internal factor. that Bernie Sanders in the first six months of 2016 received seconds of coverage on mainstream tv, 37 seconds to be precise asopposed to hours and weeks of trump. [2:40]

And now liberal vs Trump is doing that..well hello you used Trump for sensationalism and rating and normalizing bigotry and now pay for it, in my view (laughs)so thing here is that I feel this bias is in a certain range that liberal issues exist. I mean take issue of climate change, oil and gas exploration in north Dakota where hundreds and thousands of people were protesting against the pipeline that is going to alter and destroy the environment and disrupt local people-this did not get a mention until I think some top leader-in fact there is a good article I urge you to check on Fair.org which is media criticism website. They posted it in 2016 they looked at washingon post coverages. there were at least 30 stories negative stories about Sanders in 40 article that he is unreasonable he is illogical, impractical he has no plan, how he is going to fund this . so, already(did media portrayals), I mean..Sanders is hardly a radical compared to local standards... He is what you call ethical democrat. [4:44]

(voice tone raised) And you know, compared to the real left, argues all he says is don’t make your students incur 1.3 trillion debt . Its bigger than the housing debt in America. Why should a student in 20s go out of college with 30,40thousands of dollar debt? i think, it’s shocking. And I think mainstream media fails to highlight this issue and change public opinion. And it was not the case I believe it’s a recent development of the last 3 or 4 decades. Public education, higher education used to be highly subsidized. And so it should be in civilized societies. You can’t let people die bcz they don’t have health insurance. You can’t let people be hopeless just because you don’t have anti poverty schemes or let them on streets bcz o mental health bcz u shut all the institutions. It’s the neoliberal order not only in America and I mean it’s everywhere. It’s happening in Europe and other countries due to privatizations and all that. I feel here the mainstream media fails and it needs to pull up and act together. Corporate lobbies of the status quo own the media so there is to a certain degree reporters and editors will go otherwise they will be fired. [6:34]

…………………………………………….end of transcription………………………………………………….

Transcription 2

Video clip: https://www.facebook.com/razaahmadrumi/videos/273536533307019/

Length: 6:17

Raza: Pakistan; experience is not all too different from Turkish experience. I think, ahh, Pakistan and turkey share a lot of similarities most important one being the role of military which is overarching an historically very strong and ahh definitely changed and made some progress in that direction in Pakistan, you cannot challenge or criticize the military very openly that becomes a big problem you are declared anti state, traitor or treasonous person-that’sone of the red lines historically in Pakistan. Pakistan is a country ruled for more than half its lifetime by the military, directly. Although things have changed in the last decade, the media has been deregulated, print media, channels’ expansion. but those red lines persist, another red line is that you cannot criticize the religion but also the religious extremists because they have so much political and social power and they have been hand in glove with the state as well so if you criticize them it means u invite trouble [1:31]

I remember when I joined the magazine I mentioned I worked for my publisher told me ‘nothing on sex, nothing on religion, nothing n military’ and delete everything which is (laughs). So that was it. But now it’s a democracy in the country and I keep on checking, every evening, the first and last page to check content for anti state institutions is any article radical. That’s totally different than what I used to enjoy like language editing. Now its like check check check-all redlines are intact and maintained.so that’s the general historical context. There were improvements since 2008 when democracy returned in Pakistan. That’s the time when I started engaging more with media when Musharaf was ousted through a popular protest In Pakistan. Civilian spaces opened up and television was far more critical and had diversity and variety of views both on national and international views and one felt it was a great time to be a media person. That’s one of the reasons for why I became a media person and a journalist because I was very encouraged with the environment the idea of changing the world and public opinion etc that you muster and live with(gentle laugh) [3:32]

But things have not been so effective because of the last 2 or 3 years. Media freedom has been curbed, attacked. You know media channels which have been critical of lets say military establishment or military’s involvement in politics were cut... But interesting thing is, it is not like the traditional censorship that used to take place in coup times. It’s almost a sophisticated manipulation through a variety of instruments like financial support to media houses, targeted government ads, selecting and targeting certain journalists saying this one is not good, this one should be out etc. since last year this has become really really difficult and then the parallel censorship has been occurring in the digital spaces. We live in a digital and age and we have more than 35% of our population online. Number of people on cellular interne ti s close to 70m people. It’s a big no so state actually passed a law to curtail certain digital freedoms. [5:08]

Last year 4 bloggers were picked up and detained and went missing for weeks. Latter found out they were taken by law enforcement agencies because they were critical of the military and one by one they had to leave the country. People have been arrested for posting on facebook critical of the military. You know its not just Pakistan, its south Asia, like in India. If someone criticizes Indian PM, he is jailed. In Bangladesh there are many people still in jail who were critical of the PM. So it’s a crazy time, crazy moment we are in. �� [6:17]

…………………………………..end of transcription……………………………………………………………

Transcription-3

Video clip: https://www.facebook.com/razaahmadrumi/videos/2141377936116380/

Length- 4:10

Raza: See we live in a language of global terror. We don’t have definition of terror. There is no global understanding for such a common term that is used. And now we are living in fake media, fake journalist, fake liberal, fake this and these words matter because in our home country if u go through social media, our current ruling part PM sportsman turned gained power he is (depicted as) strong man with strongest of delivering goods to the people and he and his ministers have been using similar words fake media, fake journalism, fake press and its kind of globalization of language which is kind of anti press, anti media freedoms in essence. [ 1:14]

I think this is a worrying moment and is linked to toher things. US leadership in global affairs declined be it climate change or other important issues that face all of us and remember we are no longer living in the isolated world of 19th century or early 20th century everything is interconnected these days. Climate being the greatest of proofs but we hear its a hoax, fake news (laughs). So that’s the problem we face from the current situation of the US but as Maher optimistically says that things change but it may not be case for the future what we need to remember is the damage that will be done in next few years or the decade is going to be immense because as the world including the US the kind of advances they make kind of progressive restructuring of society that has been taking place-that has been rolled back bit by bit whether it be immigration issue, or even normalization of racism you know which the US society fought so hard to undue for decades so that is being lost. The real impact on the global I mean its very (?) as well. I mean what you read about , the kind of language that is used in the media of unthinkingly and that (?) risk is caused. [3:12]

. is it really healthy for US or world, I don’t think so . and I think that is where journalists and media have a perhaps far greater role today to highlight this expose this but also challenge it without thinking we cannot take sides and remain neutral. How can you remain neutral when you are reporting on racist neo-Nazi wanting t eliminate a certain group of people. you can’t be neutral in that stage, right, or for that matter any other debate, as a reporter, commentator you come across, you have to speak up. [4:10]

……………………………….end of transcription………………………………………………………..

#Ahmad raza Rumi #cornell university #discussion on media

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fmservers · 6 years ago

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SoftBank’s debt obsession

We are experimenting with new content forms at TechCrunch. This is a rough draft of something new. Provide your feedback directly to the authors: Danny at [email protected] or Arman at [email protected] if you like or hate something here.

Today, we are focused on SoftBank .

The Wall Street Journal and others reported that Masayoshi Son, the founder and CEO of SoftBank, will take into account the killing of Saudi Arabian journalist Jamal Khashoggi when considering whether to receive additional investment from Saudi Arabia in future Vision Funds. Saudi Arabia is the largest investor in the current Vision Fund, having pledged $45 billion of the $98 billion fund.

The political risk surrounding the Kingdom made us curious: why the obsession with Saudi money, beyond the obvious that they write monster checks?

The answer turns out that it’s not just that the country can write large checks, it is that they are willing to write large checks to one of the most heavily levered companies in the world. SoftBank — including its Vision Fund — has engorged itself on massive levels of debt in order to increase returns — often at the expense of operational stability.

First, take the Vision Fund. According to PitchBook, most of the fund is underwritten by SoftBank itself ($28 billion), Saudi Arabia ($45 billion) and Abu Dhabi ($15 billion). But, the fund has also been on a huge debt binge in order to juice returns. As reported by Mayumi Negishi and Phred Dvorak at the WSJ:

Around 60% of the money promised to the Vision Fund by investors other than SoftBank takes the form of debtlike securities that earn a 7% fixed return annually. That is an unusual structure for a fund that backs young, unprofitable companies, where it is unclear when—or if—investors will make money.

On top of that, the Vision Fund and its affiliate have been borrowing money: They had around ¥636 billion ($5.6 billion) in debt as of the end of September, up 28% in the past six months, according to SoftBank filings. That money has partly been going to pay the returns promised the funds’ investors, the filings say.

And SoftBank is planning to have the Vision Fund borrow an additional $9 billion or so to boost the fund’s returns further and make more investments, Mr. Son told The Wall Street Journal after the press conference.

That’s $14.6 billion in debt for a $98 billion fund.

That’s not insane by any measure, even if the use of debt is relatively unusual for venture firms (unlike in private equity, where debt is very standard). The Vision Fund invests at a much later stage than most startup investors, and its term sheets — from what I hear — are heavily-laden with economic terms that give SoftBank huge downside protection. It’s hard to believe that the GPs could invest $98 billion, and not find at least $14.6 billion in returns to cover their debt repayments.

Here is the thing though: SoftBank is the second largest LP in the SoftBank Vision Fund, and that contribution itself is also funded by a balance sheet that is staggering in its debt load.

Image: Koki Nagahama/Getty Images

Earlier this week, SoftBank announced profit levels that blew analyst estimates out of the water, reporting a profit of $6.2 billion in the company’s second quarter. The stock rose despite broad unease from investors around the company’s deep ties to Saudi Arabia and the continuing political fallout of that situation.

The bigger number though is sitting on the liabilities side of the company’s balance sheet. As of the end of September, SoftBank had around 18 trillion yen, or about $158.8 billion of current and non-current interest-bearing debt. That’s more than six times the amount the company earns on an operating basis, and just slightly less than the public debt held by Pakistan.

And though SoftBank’s sky-high debt balance tends to be a secondary focus in the company’s media coverage, it’s a figure that SoftBank’s top brass is well aware of, and quite comfortable with. When discussing the company’s financial strategy, Softbank CFO Yoshimitsu Goto stated that the company is in the early stages of a transition from a telco holding company to an investment company, and as a result is “likely to be perceived as a corporate group with significant debt and interest payment burden” with what is “generally considered a high level of debt.”

The hope for the company is that as investors recognize it as an investment business, the way SoftBank’s creditworthiness will be evaluated will change and it should be able to operate with more flexibility around leverage levels as Bloomberg’s Shuli Ren outlined in a feature on the company earlier this year:

For acquisitive globetrotters, being labeled an investment firm means having a lot more room to issue debt. In January, Fosun was upgraded one level by Moody’s, which didn’t seem at all concerned by the Shanghai-based company’s debt pile. It noted only that Fosun had no liquidity issues considering it held 61 billion yuan ($9.6 billion) of cash and marketable securities against 35 billion yuan of short-term liabilities.

As SoftBank becomes an investment company, leverage is no longer an appropriate measure, CFO Yoshimitsu Goto was cited as saying in a cover story in the Nikkei Asian Review last weekend. SoftBank’s Vision Fund and Delta Fund mean the firm can use debt without damaging its balance sheet, he said. In effect, SoftBank has already started to resemble the likes of HNA, using complex instruments and margin loans backed by its shares in Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. to finance more startup acquisitions.”

But the lack of an “investment company” label has never stopped SoftBank from pursuing aggressive expansion with a highly-levered balance sheet in the past. SoftBank has in fact had a deep history of operating at debt levels well above industry averages, dating back to the mid-1990s following the company’s 1994 IPO.

At the end of 1998, SoftBank had around $5 billion in debt on its balance sheet and was using three times as much debt to finance its operations vs equity. The company continued to use debt as a means of financing an ambitious M&A strategy that included the $20 billion acquisition of American telco Sprint in 2012-13, which led to the downgrade of SoftBank’s credit ratings to junk by both Moody’s and S&P, where they’ve remained since.

Photo by Jin Lee/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Junk rated credit still didn’t stop SoftBank, with the company spending around $32 billion to buy U.K. chip designer ARM Holdings in 2016. At the end of that year, SoftBank had a debt balance of around $125 billion.

Then in early 2017, SoftBank announced plans for its Vision Fund, which would effectively allow the company to continue making sizable investments despite having an overstretched balanced sheet. According to the Financial Times:

A person involved with the fund’s creation says the structure was designed to address the challenges of placing major bets on technology start-ups. While traditional private equity funds often borrow against their purchases to boost their firepower, Mr Son would likely struggle to raise leverage against companies that have little to no cash flow.

The creation of the Vision Fund led S&P to revise the credit rating outlook for SoftBank from stable to negative. And as the Vision Fund has lined up commitments to borrow another $9 billion, some lenders have started to view SoftBank’s strategy with more caution, such as Bank of America who decided not to provide $1 billion in the financing arrangement two weeks ago due to concerns that the lending terms were too risky.

Again, SoftBank’s reliance on debt isn’t new, with some Japanese investors and bondholders even applying a “Masayoshi Son discount” to the company’s securities. And SoftBank has proven its ability to operate, and operate well, under such conditions, surviving and growing substantially over the past two decades amidst several market turnovers and crises.

Nonetheless, when a company is operating with such high leverage, risks are amplified and even modest bumps in micro and macro conditions can have serious implications for investors, startups and the broader investment ecosystem.

What’s next

Probably going to look at SoftBank some more. Have thoughts? Reach out to us directly.

We are still spending more time on Chinese biotech investments in the United States (Arman wrote a deep dive on this).

We are exploring the changing culture of Form D filings (startups seem to be increasingly foregoing disclosures of Form Ds on the advice of their lawyers).

India tax reform and how startups have taken advantage of it.

Reading docket

Danny had 8 hours of meetings yesterday and read about one page of any of this, despite his best intentions.

Bloomberg’s piece called “The $6 Trillion Barrier Holding Electric Cars Back”

The New Yorker piece called “Why Doctors Hate Their Computers”

Eliot Peper’s new science fiction novel Borderless

A new report about China’s military and its deep connections into American academic research

“LA Is Trying to Fix its Prostitution Problem by Banning Right Turns at Night—and it Might be Working” — intriguing headline, let’s see if it follows through

The Information’s deep dive into white-collar crime and lack of prosecution thereof in Silicon Valley

Via Arman Tabatabai https://techcrunch.com

#TechCrunch

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tezlivenews · 3 years ago

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कंगाल पाकिस्तान की कंगाल एयरलाइन, अब यात्रियों को पीने का पानी भी नहीं देगी PIA

इस्लामाबादपाकिस्तान की सरकारी एयरलाइन पीआईए ने अब फ्लाइट में यात्रियों को मिनरल वॉटर की बोतलें नहीं देने का फैसला किया है। यह फैसला केवल घरेलू उड़ानों पर ही लागू होगा। पाकिस्तान से बाहर उड़ान भरने वाले लोगों को पहले की ही तरह सहूलियतें मिलती रहेंगी। बताया जा रहा है कि कोरोना महामारी के कारण पाकिस्तान इंटरनेशनल एयरलाइंस (पीआईए) की माली हालत देश की अर्थव्यवस्था से भी खराब हो गई है।पीआईए ने जारी की…

View On WordPress

#debt on pakistan in 2021 #debt on pakistan vs india #Imran Khan #islamabad uae flights booking #Latest pakistan News #pakistan flights updates #pakistan Headlines #Pakistan International Airlines #pakistan News #pakistan News in Hindi #Pia #PIA flights #pia flights to uae #uae flights updates #पाकिस्तान Samachar

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newsnigeria · 7 years ago

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Check out New Post published on Ọmọ Oòduà

New Post has been published on http://ooduarere.com/news-from-nigeria/world-news/putin-xi-g61/

Putin & Xi top the G6+1

by Pepe Escobar (cross-posted with the Asia Times by special agreement with the author)

East vs. West: the contrast between the “dueling summits” this weekend was something for the history books.

All hell broke loose at the G6+1, otherwise known as G7, in La Malbaie, Canada, while all focused on divine Eurasian integration at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in China’s Qingdao in Shandong, the home province of Confucius.

US President Donald Trump was the predictable star of the show in Canada. He came late. He left early. He skipped a working breakfast. He disagreed with everybody. He issued a “free trade proclamation”, as in no barriers and tariffs whatsoever, everywhere, after imposing steel and aluminum tariffs on Europe and Canada. He proposed that Russia should be back at the G8 (Putin said he has other priorities). He signed the final communiqué and then he didn’t.

Trump’s “I don’t give a damn” attitude drove the European leaders assembled in Canada crazy. After the official photo shoot, the US president grabbed the arm of new Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte and said, in ecstasy, “You’ve had a great electoral victory!”

The Euros were not pleased and forced Conte to abide by the official EU, as in German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s, policy: no G8 readmission to Russia as long as Moscow does not respect the Minsk agreements. In fact it is Ukraine that is not respecting the Minsk agreements; Trump and Conte are fully aligned on Russia.

Merkel, in extremis, proposed a “shared evaluation mechanism”, lasting roughly two weeks, to try to defuse rising trade tensions. Yet the Trump administration does not seem to be interested.

“Strategic” game-changer

Meanwhile, over in Qingdao, the stunning takeaway was offered predictably by Chinese President Xi Jinping; “President Putin and I both think that the China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership is mature, firm and stable.”

This is a massive game-changer because officially, so far, this was a “comprehensive partnership.” It’s the first time on record that Xi has put the stress on “strategic”. Again, in his own words: “It is the highest-level, most profound and strategically most significant relationship between major countries in the world.”

And if that was not far-reaching enough, it’s also personal. Xi, referring to Putin and perhaps channeling Trump’s bonhomie with leaders he likes, said, “He is my best, most intimate friend.”

Heavy business, as usual, was in order. The Chinese partnered with Russian nuclear energy giant Rosatom to get advanced nuclear technologies and diversify nuclear power contracts beyond its current Western suppliers. That’s the “strategic” energy alliance component of the partnership.

In a trilateral Russia-China-Mongolia meeting, they all vowed to go full steam ahead with the China-Mongolia-Russia Economic Corridor – one of the key planks of the New Silk Roads, known as the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

Mongolia once again volunteered to become a transit hub for Russian gas to China, diversifying from Gazprom’s current direct pipelines from Blagoveshchensk, Vladivostok and Altai. According to Putin, the Eastern Route pipeline remains on schedule, as does the US$27 billion liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant in Yamal being financed by Russian and Chinese companies.

On the Arctic, Putin and Xi went all the way for developing the Northern Sea Route, including crucial modernization of deep-water ports such as Murmansk and Arkhangelsk, and investment in infrastructure. The added geopolitical cachet is self-evident.

Putin had said last week that annual trade between Moscow and Beijing will soon reach US$100 billion. Currently, it stands at US$86 billion. Now Russian businesses venture the possibility of reaching US$200 billion by 2020 as feasible.

All this frenzy of activity is now openly described by Putin as the interconnectivity of BRI and the Russia-led Eurasia Economic Union (EAEU). Not to mention that the SCO itself interconnects with both BRI and the EAEU.

Putin told Chinese TV channel CGTN that though the SCO began as a “low-profile organization” [back in 2001] that sought merely to “solve border issues” between China, Russia and former Soviet countries, it is now evolving into a much bigger global force.

In parallel, according to Yu Jianlong, secretary general of the China Chamber of International Commerce, the SCO has now gathered extra collective strength to harness BRI expansion to increase business across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

So it’s no wonder companies from SCO nations are now being “encouraged” to use their own currencies to seal deals, bypassing the US dollar, as well as building e-commerce platforms, Alibaba-style. So far, Beijing has invested US$84 billion in other SCO members, mostly in energy, minerals, transportation (including, for instance, the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan highway), construction and manufacturing.

Putin also met with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on the sidelines of the SCO and vowed in no uncertain terms to preserve the Iranian nuclear deal, known as the JCPOA.

Iran is a current SCO observer nation. Putin once again reaffirmed he wants Tehran as a full member. The SCO charter determines that “a dialogue partner status can be granted to a country that shares the goals and principles of the SCO and wants to establish relations based on equal and mutually profitable relationship.”

Iran, as an observer, fulfills the commitment. The spanner in the works happens to be tiny Tajikistan.

Enter the trademark convoluted internal politics of the Central Asian stans, in this case revolving around Tajik president Emomali Rahmon accepting Saudi Arabia’s acquisition of a 51% stake in Tajikistan’s largest bank. Nobody else wanted it; Riyadh was just buying influence.

All SCO full members must be approved unanimously. Still, that won’t prevent larger economic integration between Iran, Russia and China. The talk in the SCO corridors was that Chinese companies expect an extra bonanza in the Iranian market after the unilateral Trump pullout of the JCPOA.

Behind closed doors, as diplomats told Asia Times, the SCO also discussed the crucial plan devised by the SCO-Afghanistan Contact Group, an Asia-wide peace process with Russia, China, India, Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan trying to finally solve the decades-long tragedy without Western interference.

So what about a G3?

The “dueling summits” clearly set the scene. The G7 meeting at La Malbaie represented the dysfunctional old order, dilacerated by largely self-inflicted chaos and its apoplexy at the Rise of the East – from the integration of BRI, EAEU, SCO and BRICS, to the yuan-based gold-backed oil futures market.

In contrast to the G7’s full spectrum dominance doctrine of total military superiority, Qingdao represented the new groove. Implacably derided by the old order as autocratic and filled with “democraships” bent on “aggression”, in fact it was a graphic illustration of multi-polarity at work, the intersection of four great civilizations, an Eurasian Café debating that another, non-War Party conducted future is possible.

In parallel, diplomats in Brussels confirmed to Asia Times there are insistent rumbles about Trump possibly dreaming of a G3 composed of just US, Russia and China. Trump, after all, personally admires the leadership qualities of both Putin and Xi, while deriding the Kafkaesque EU bureaucratic maze and its weaklings, currently represented by the M3 (Merkel, Macron, May).

In Europe, no one seems to be listening to informed advice, such as provided by Belgian economist Paul de Grauwe, who’s pleading for Frankfurt and Berlin to manage a common debt, without which the EU won’t survive the sovereign crises of individual members.

Trump, for all his dizzying inconsistencies, seems to have understood that the G7 is a Walking Dead, and the heart of the action revolves around China, Russia and India, which not by accident form the hard node of BRICS.

The problem is the US national security strategy, as well as the national defense strategy, advocate no less than Cold War 2.0 against both China and Russia all across Eurasia. All bets are off, however, on who blinks first.

#Asia

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foursproutwealth-blog · 7 years ago

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Why This Is About To Get Far Worse...

New Post has been published on http://foursprout.com/wealth/why-this-is-about-to-get-far-worse/

Why This Is About To Get Far Worse...

Authored by Chris Hamilton via Econimica blog,

Once upon a time, skeptical analysts cross checked stated growth versus energy consumption…looking for discrepancies as fluctuations in energy consumption are a good proxy for the changes in real economic activity.

Nowadays, the model of printing highly politicized and/or skewed economic data has gone very global. So, today I offer a couple broad variables to gauge global economic activity; 1) total primary energy consumption data by region, cross checked against 2) their consumer bases (the 0-65yr/old populations). I break the world down into four different regions to gain a better vantage of the purported global recovery, as follows:

OECD (List of 35 nations) representing 17% of global population & 43% of total energy consumption

Combined Africa / S. Asia (S. Asia = India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Maldives) representing 41% of global population & 9% of total energy consumption

China, representing 19% of global population & 22% of energy consumption

“RoW” or Rest of the World, representing 23% of global population & 26% of global energy consumption

The first chart below shows total global primary energy consumption in quadrillion BTU’s from 1980 through 2015 according to the EIA (US Energy Information Administration). The flattening in consumption since 2012 is plainly visible in the upper right and clearly detailed in the year over year columns in the lower right. The arrows highlight minimal growth or outright energy consumption declines that were associated with recessionary periods. The weakness of the current period since 2012 is unparalleled from 1980 on…and even more significant than the sharp but brief downturn of 2009.

Below, the year over year change in global energy consumption broken down by nuclear/renewable (green), natural gas (brown), coal (black), and petroleum (blue)…plus total consumption represented by the yellow dashed line.

Looking at the primary energy consumption of the OECD regions (N. America, Europe, and Asia/Oceania) versus China and the combined Africa/S. Asia consumption. The Chinese consumption moonshot is pretty obvious.

The next chart again shows global primary energy consumption (quadrillion BTU’s), but broken out by regions. As of 2015, the OECD nations are consuming less energy than during the 2009 global recession and in fact are using about 1% less than they did in 2000. Meanwhile, China has increased total energy consumption about 200% since ’00, the combined Africa / S. Asia have increased consumption by about 70%, and the RoW have increased by about 40%. Quite noticeably, total global energy consumption is essentially unchanged from 2012 through 2016 as the OECD declines have offset minor increases across the other regions.

The chart below shows global primary energy consumption, by region, as a percentage of all energy consumed. Noteworthy, the long declining OECD portion of total energy consumption, the more than doubling of Chinese consumption from ’00, and the flattish consumption from Africa / S. Asia and the RoW.

Next, the EIA total energy estimations through 2040 (chart below). All regions estimated to move from lower left to upper right. I’m going to detail why these estimations are highly unlikely to be realized and why far lower consumption is probable.

So, lets cross reference…starting with the changing populations of the four regions (particularly the core 0-65yr/old populations) that drive spending, housing, jobs, credit utilization, and resultant energy consumption. OECD

The 35 nations that make up the OECD represent 17% of global population but 43% of total primary energy consumption. The OECD core population is now outright declining and by 2040, is estimated to see a 6% decline (this estimate includes and relies upon ongoing immigration at current levels). This is also assuming birth rates and fertility suddenly, and unlikely, surge as the UN and Census have been wrongly projecting ever since 2008. However, assuming birth rates and fertility continue their decade plus downward trend &/or immigration wanes, even more significant declines will ensue and the under 65yr/old population will be below the mid 1980 levels by 2040.

OECD annual 0-65yr/old population change versus OECD actual and projected total energy consumption (chart below). Despite the 50%+ fall in energy prices since peak consumption (way back in ’07), OECD demand continues declining but is continually estimated to suddenly reverse and begin rising again by the EIA?!? A secular decline of the population and energy consumpttion is underway and is likely to continue indefinitely.

CHINA

19% of global population, 22% of global energy consumption. China’s core population began declining in 2017 but the pace of decline is accelerating, so much so that China is estimated to see a 10%+ core decline from ’18 to ’40 (but as with the OECD, this assumes a surge in fertility rate that is not happening (Termination of China’s “One Child” Policy…Much Ado About Next to Nothing )…so actual declines are likely to be significantly larger than 10%). Growth, once as many as 20 million more potential core consumers annually, has turned to declines of millions every year…indefinitely.

China annual 0-65yr/old population change versus China actual and projected total energy consumption (chart below). The accelerating population decline versus ongoing energy growth imply a rapidly increasing demand, per capita. However, like the OECD, the EIA estimates are fantasy as secular decline is underway and will be accelerating to the downside as China’s domestic market and China’s export bases shrink indefinitely.

Rest of the World

23% of global population, 26% of global energy consumption. 10% increase in core population from ’18 to ’40 but growth is significantly decelerating.

And RoW annual 0-65yr/old population change versus RoW actual and projected total energy consumption (chart below). Again, a decelerating growth versus anticipated accelerating energy consumption.

Africa / S. Asia

41% of global population but just 9% of global energy consumption (fyr – the combined regions likewise consume just about 9% of the total Chinese exports). From 2018 to 2040, combined core population growth of 30% while YoY growth remains elevated at current levels (Africa’s accelerating growth offsetting India’s decelerating growth). As of 2018, these combined regions represent 83% of annual under 65yr/old global population growth…but by 2040, Africa alone will represent 100%+ of the fast decelerating annual under 65yr/old global growth.

Africa / S. Asia annual 0-65yr/old population change versus actual and projected total energy consumption (chart below). Population growth is projected to remain centered and extremely high for the next quarter century, particularly in Africa . Yet, despite the combined size and expected growth, the combined Africa / S. Asia region total energy consumption is estimated to grow only two thirds as much as China…despite China’s fast declining population (est. +47q/btu for China vs. +33q/btu for Africa/S. Asia).

Energy Consumption, a Means to Gauge Relative Wealth

The chart below details total primary energy consumption, on an actual and estimated��per capita basis versus the changing under 65yr/old populations. If energy consumption is equivalent to wealth, then the declining populations of the OECD and China will accrue all the benefits of the existing system while the teaming masses of Africa & South Asia are not anticipated to enjoy any real gains. Again, I believe all these forward EIA estimates to be way too optimistic and out of step with the reality of changing populations.

Global Oil Consumption

Similar to the total energy consumption chart above (and discussed previously HERE), OECD oil consumption peaked in 2005 and as of year end 2017, OECD oil consumption is back to levels last seen in 1997 (over a 6% total decline in consumption). Still, the 3mbpd decline among the OECD has been more than offset by the 5mbpd increase in China, 7mbpd increase among the RoW, and 3mbpd among the combined Africa / S. Asia.

As an aside, OECD oil consumption trend growth ended as of Q4 ’07 (chart below)…and quarterly variations in consumption have been “unusual” since. Despite the halving of energy costs, despite the implementation of ZIRP, massive growth in federal debt, central bank balance sheets, and stimuli of every sort…the OECD demand is back to levels first breached in the mid 1990’s.

Why This is About to Get Far Worse

The chart below shows the 15-45 year old global childbearing population minus Africa and S. Asia. This population peaked in 2010 (red line) and is now declining annually by millions (blue columns, falling 7 million alone in 2018). Those capable of having children among the nations of the world that consume over 90% of all the energy, 90% of the oil, and 90%+ of China’s exports are now falling and will continue falling indefinitely.

Couple the declining childbearing population (red line, chart below) with collapsing birthrates and total births (blue columns) among the import engines…and an economic collapse is assured. The chart shows births (x-Africa/S. Asia) have already fallen 20% from the 1990 peak and are estimated to be somewhere between 30% to 50% below peak by 2040 (blue line is UN medium variant, green line is UN low variant). The low variant is looking more and more likely. The real question isn’t an economic collapse…it is will society and civilization be able to adapt to this new reality?

Below, global childbearing population and 45-64yr/old populations and actual plus estimated total energy consumption (all excluding Africa/S. Asia). Energy consumption simply isn’t likely to continue on anything like the previous growth trends (and perhaps not growing at all) with these changing dynamics.

The chart below is the best case (economically speaking) for the world (excluding Africa/S. Asia), assuming the medium variant of births through 2100. The UN estimates that the 65+yr/old population will nearly double the 0-15yr/old population by 2100. This inversion of the population pyramid simply can’t and almost surely won’t happen given the reliance of the elderly on the young. A near term “course correction” will almost surely intervene and the reality will be a far lower 0-15yr/old population and honestly…I can’t hazard a guess as to what will become of the 65+yr/old population.

Conclusion:

Finally, for those who don’t understand the gravity of the broken trend-line in the chart above…the OECD is the global import engine that provided the growing markets for developing nations of the world to export their way to prosperity. What began post WWII with Germany and Japan, spread to Taiwan, Korea (etc.), and eventually China. However, as the OECD and potential import growth capacity has waned, the exporters have a progressively deteriorating viable rationale to grow their capacity, their jobs base, their GDP (previously discussed HERE).

China alone since 2000, as a quasi “communist” state, was able to “compel” its corporations and local governments to undertake massive debt fueled build-outs to achieve pre-determined “growth” targets (previously discussed HERE). New factories, housing, malls, infrastructure, etc. were built for a domestic population now embarking on a large decline and a global import base which has indefinitely stalled. Now the massive Chinese overcapacity sits pumping out deflation and no other nation (of significance) can similarly compel their corporations and the like to undertake like levels of bad debt to keep global “growth” going.

This notion of an imminent “S-Curve” lifting India or Africa to prosperity is simply (and sadly) ludicrous. That a fast growing group of poor in Africa and S. Asia, in need of selling their labor and resources to a now declining base of buyers in the OECD, China and decelerating growth among the RoW (already with too much and still growing capacity as it is), is delusional. Very unfortunately, a synchronous and intertwined financial, economic, and currency collapse is highly likely as central banks and federal governments worldwide are undertaking progressively worsening policies and interventions to extend and pretend…even if it’s just buying months now instead of years. Of course, I’ve been wrong more than once…so perhaps I’m wrong again. Maybe two plus two can add up to seven and really, this is one time being wrong probably would feel better than being right.

Extra Credit (below), gauging asset appreciation in the US (using the Wilshire 5000, representing all publicly traded US equities) versus the measuring stick of total US energy consumption and the childbearing population.

…and the variables of est. childbearing population growth, estimated energy consumption, and 7% asset appreciation extended through 2040. Make of it what you will.

#Wealth

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renka-aardvarknews-blog · 7 years ago

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The One Thing Causing Climate Change No One Wants to Talk About

Why is the climate changing? Viewed the most obvious way, it’s because the burning of fossil fuels is releasing exorbitant amounts of greenhouse gases, trapping too much heat energy in the atmosphere. Viewed another way, it’s because the world’s dominant economic system is premised on unending growth, meaning private industry will always prioritize profits over the health and well-being of people, animals, and the planet. It also means the world’s governments will tend to prioritize their own country’s GDP growth at the expense of the environment. Numerous thinkers have noted the idea that our climate change crisis is rooted in the "grow or die" capitalist system. However, it is important to keep in mind that the modern global economy is not genuinely capitalist — in reality, almost every country in the world has an economy that is at least somewhat state-guided, with the public sector driving a substantial portion of innovation and growth. Thus, most modern economies could be called state capitalist. One important factor driving modern state-capitalist economies, especially in the United States, is the military. In fact, the Defense Department has been one of the main drivers of high-tech innovation over the past several decades. As economist Mariana Mazzucato explains in her book, The Entrepreneurial State: Debunking Public vs. Private Sector Myths, "Nearly all the technological revolutions in the past — from the Internet to today’s green tech revolution — required a massive push from the State." Mazzacuto provides the example of the iPhone: The iPhone is often heralded as the quintessential example of what happens when a hands-off government allows genius entrepreneurs to flourish, and yet the development of the features that make the iPhone a smartphone rather than a stupid phone was publicly funded. The iPhone depends on the Internet; the progenitor of the Internet was ARPANET, a program funded in the 1960s by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), which is part of the Defense Department. The Global Positioning System (GPS) began as a 1970s US military program called NAVSTAR. The iPhone’s touchscreen technology was created by the company FingerWorks, which was founded by a professor at the publicly funded University of Delaware and one of his doctoral candidates, who received grants from the National Science Foundation and the CIA. Even Siri…is a spinoff of a DARPA artificial-intelligence project. What does all of this have to do with climate change? Well, though public spending through the military brings many benefits to the economy, the military-industrial complex as a whole brings substantial costs, including opportunity costs—where spending for war and war preparations could instead be spent on green energy projects and social services. Militarism is an unacknowledged cause of climate change. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, the world spent a combined total of $1.7 trillion for military purposes in 2016, or $227 per person. The United States was far and away in the lead, spending $611 billion, more than the next eight highest spenders combined and accounting for more than a third of the world’s total military spending. Some analysts have calculated U.S. military spending at even higher levels. If spending on intelligence services, nuclear weapons, veterans’ benefits, interest on the debt to pay for past wars, and other programs are included, the United States spends $1.5 trillion a year on its military, or 48 percent of the federal income tax budget. Other than using funding that could otherwise go to social services or programs for renewable energy, spending vast amounts of money on the military and its network of thousands of bases worldwide has a direct consequence on the environment. As Newsweek reported in 2014: The US Department of Defence is one of the world’s worst polluters. Its footprint dwarfs that of any corporation: 4,127 installations spread across 19 million acres of American soil. Maureen Sullivan, who heads the Pentagon’s environmental programmes, says her office contends with 39,000 contaminated sites. In fact, the Defense Department is "the largest single consumer of fuel in the world" and every year "buys about 100 million barrels, or 4.2 billion gallons, of refined petroleum for its aircraft, warships, tanks and other machines," as the Washington Post reported. Investigate journalist Gar Smith breaks down the Pentagon’s "carbon bootprint": The Pentagon has admitted to burning 350,000 barrels of oil a day (only 35 countries in the world consume more) but that doesn’t include oil burned by contractors and weapons suppliers. It does, however, include providing fuel for more than 28,000 armored vehicles, thousands of helicopters, hundreds of jet fighters and bombers and vast fleets of Navy vessels. The Air Force accounts for about half of the Pentagon’s operational energy consumption, followed by the Navy (33%) and Army (15%). As Smith points out, "most of the Pentagon’s oil is consumed in operations directed at protecting America’s access to foreign oil and maritime shipping lanes," meaning that "the consumption of oil relies on consuming more oil." Just the first five years of the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq were responsible for at least 141 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent, more than what 139 countries in the world emit annually. Furthermore, according to Oil Change International, "Projected total U.S. spending on the Iraq war could cover all of the global investments in renewable power generation that are needed between now and 2030 in order to halt current warming trends." War and militarism have traditionally been bad for the environment. Forests, animals, waterways, the air, and the soil have all been destroyed, killed, or polluted either directly as a way of depriving an enemy of resources or as a consequence of deploying weapons. As weapons become more technologically sophisticated, the consequences of deploying them become worse. Nuclear weapons, for example, pose enormous environmental problems if ever deployed. Even a limited, regional nuclear war could have devastating global impacts. A study published in the journal Earth’s Future found that a limited nuclear war between India and Pakistan involving 100 small nuclear weapons: could produce about 5 Tg of black carbon (BC). This would self-loft to the stratosphere, where it would spread globally, producing a sudden drop in surface temperatures and intense heating of the stratosphere…Our calculations show that global ozone losses of 20%–50% over populated areas, levels unprecedented in human history, would accompany the coldest average surface temperatures in the last 1000 years. We calculate summer enhancements in UV indices of 30%–80% over midlatitudes, suggesting widespread damage to human health, agriculture, and terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Killing frosts would reduce growing seasons by 10–40 days per year for 5 years. Surface temperatures would be reduced for more than 25 years due to thermal inertia and albedo effects in the ocean and expanded sea ice. The combined cooling and enhanced UV would put significant pressures on global food supplies and could trigger a global nuclear famine. During the Vietnam War, the United States sprayed 20 million gallons of Agent Orange and other herbicides and destroyed 5.5 million acres of forests and croplands in Vietnam. Dioxin, the toxic compound in Agent Orange, has been linked to numerous illnesses and birth defects. Other than its devastating impact on people, " defoliated millions of acres of forests and farmland," causing "arge tracts of degraded and unproductive to this day," according to the Aspen Institute. Rivers and soil are contaminated, threatening animal species with extinction and reducing biodiversity. In the first Gulf War, Iraqi forces in Kuwait destroyed more than 700 oil wells, spilling 60 million barrels of oil. The average air temperature fell by 10 degrees Celsius because soot from the burning oil wells blocked the sun. Millions more barrels were released into the Persian Gulf, causing one of history’s largest oil spills and harming local wildlife and habitats. The existing economic and hegemonic order is caught in a self-perpetuating cycle that is having devastating effects on the planet’s ecosystem. Resources such as oil are consumed in order to continue consuming those same resources. The militarism and conflict contributing to the destruction of the environment is symptomatic of the larger problem of people being divided into hierarchical institutions, such as states. States around the world prioritize their own security above others. And some states — such as the United States — were borne out of expansion and thus view the way to security as dominant hegemony. What one state views as good for itself may be bad for everyone in the long run, just as individual consumers in a capitalist economy getting a good deal for themselves may cause externalities for society as a whole (for example, any one individual may like cheap gas, but this may cause worse pollution and traffic congestion for everyone as a whole). No sane culture should destroy the environment that it depends on for survival, but to an independent outside observer, that would appear to be what is happening. If climate change is to be prevented, or at least mitigated, citizens must see past the dominant and short-sighted ideologies of profit seeking, nationalism, and militarism and instead dedicate themselves to the common public good—which includes the natural world, of which we are a part. written by Brett S. Morris Writer, essayist, and blogger. Work has been featured in Medium, Jacobin, Vox, and CounterPunch. Vagabond. Loves Asia. Interested in Buddhism and Stoicism. Read the full article

#Environment #Militarism #UnlimitedGrowth

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robertawilliams · 7 years ago

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damn-naerys · 7 years ago

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Mens Thermage and Skin Smoothing

In recent years, we all have seen more and more men using various beauty methods that were in the past, only used by women. But why not? Men need to look their very best and the popular Thermage Procedures works great on the face, forehead, eyes, jaw line, jowls and area under the chin. Thermage works with all skin types and colors too. We’re not just talking about celebrities! Thermage brings beautiful skin without surgery for everyday people who are willing to work at bettering their appearance and gaining self confidence once again. Thermage is also used for the arms and knees, along with the tummy areas.

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wionews · 7 years ago

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'In the name of the Father'

Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, Jainism, Judaism, Hinduism, Zoroastrianism. That’s in order of the alphabet, not of preference, or greatness. These major world religions were either founded by prophets who trod the earth or, evolved through the mists of ancient mythology. And they contain one, common message: tolerance, even of those who choose another God. In terms of followers, the world’s biggest religions are Christianity, Islam and Hinduism. Then there are other small but equally global faiths, Judaism and Buddhism. The last, especially, is legendary for its consistency in preaching and largely practicing compassion.

Some choose a mosque. Others a temple. Some attend churches, others frequent synagogues.

Some choose a mosque. Others a temple. Some attend churches, others frequent synagogues. We inhabit the same cities, eat the produce of the same earth, work at similar jobs. We hang out at my place for Diwali, his for Christmas, hers for Id, yours for Rosh Hashanah. At least that’s what most thought till - it all began to change.

It’s Christians vs, Muslims, Muslims vs Jews, Buddhists vs Christians, Hindus vs Muslims today. It’s either my way or - the highway. You either worship my God or - I’ll force you to do so. Religious tolerance is yesterday’s news. Polarisation is the hallmark of today’s world. Be it in society or politics, in the classroom or the boardroom, religious intolerance is polarising the world today.

Christianity:

"One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables, let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats. Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another?" That’s the Sixth Book of the New Testament - the Bible, the holy scripture for 2.2 billion people in the world ie, 31.5 per cent of the globe’s population.

But way back in the 12th century, early practitioners of the faith opened one of the worst chapters in the history of Christianity: the Inquisitions. This kind of 'portable' religious court was first held in France. It was a period marked by witch-hunt, lynching and forcible conversions.

By the end of the 14th century, hundreds of Jews were killed in Spain and later across its South American colonies.

The intention was to prosecute Catholics who were attracted by other churches. The practice soon spread to other countries like Spain and Portugal. Those colonial powers took it to the next level. They began to hold harsh, cruel inquisitions in their colonial properties in Africa, Asia and the America. Their favourite targets were those Jews and Muslims who had converted to Christianity only to find that the Catholic colonial masters hauled them again: this time, to question their commitment.

By the end of the 14th century, mistrust had turned into deep hatred. Hundreds of Jews were killed in Spain and later across its South American colonies.

Historians say the Portuguese were far worse. Their inquisition began in 1536 and soon, a cruel and tyrannical version moved to Brazil and - to Goa, their tiny colony on India’s West Coast. In Goa, the chief targets were Hindus and Muslims. First, there were conversions by force. Anyone who resisted was tortured or burnt alive.

Those who converted but practised Indian rituals soon faced harsh inquisitions because the slightest deviation raised doubts about their commitment to Christianity. This tyranny began in 1560 and continued for 252 years. Anyone in Goa could be tortured merely for possessing a Hindu religious symbol. In the late 1800s, the inquisitions also hunted down practitioners of witchcraft, cult-leaders and even bigamists. The horrors are depicted vividly in Guardians of The Dawn, a bestselling historical novel set in Portuguese Goa.

WION spoke to Richard Zimler, its author. "We’re talking about fundamentalists even way back then. That’s the danger and there is a need for all of us to oppose fundamentalism of any kind. The Portuguese would not allow anyone who had converted to Christianity to continue to practice their traditional religion," he says. "My book did very well in Portugal. There were some who said I was painting Portugal in a bad light but I am happy to expose the truth and fight against fundamentalism".

Mindless executions, forcible conversions, unmitigated cruelty and violence towards all who oppose them. These are the hallmarks of terror groups like the Islamic State (I.S.) today. Only their God has a different name, as does their holy book. Zimler agrees that today's violence is nothing but a repeat of the crusades.

The Inquisitions gradually stopped but - anti-semitism persisted. Indeed, hatred for Jews pervaded even literature and the fine arts and didn’t escape many of the world's greatest writers. Like William Shakespeare's clichéd caricature, that of the greedy moneylender, Shylock. Or Charles Dickens' conniving villain, Fagin. That xenophobia reached its pinnacle under Adolf Hitler.

The Holocaust is one of the worst genocides known in the history of mankind.

In a cold-blooded and systematic operation that included instruments of torture and factories of death that boggle the mind, 6 million innocent Jewish men, women and children were killed. The Holocaust is one of the worst genocides known in the history of mankind. And three generations of Germans continue to struggle with the question: how could their forefathers have allowed Hitler and his Nazis to carry out this unbridled manslaughter?

"Crimes against humanity should never be forgotten," said German Chancellor Angela Merkel at a sombre memorial service for the victims of the Holocaust. "We have the perpetual responsibility to transmit the knowledge of the atrocities committed in the past and to keep alive their memory."

Unsurprisingly and given that murderous past, Germany and all EU member-states have grounded their constitutions firmly in the tenets of the European Convention on Human Rights. Germany has more than adhered to its own, by taking in millions of refugees fleeing from troubled countries, even economic refugees in the guise of persecution.

But is darkness really a thing of the past in Europe? There has been a steady rise of the extreme right-wing all over the Continent again in recent years. Its graph rose upwards even and especially during a crippling recession. And when refugees on the run from the US-led war in Syria and Iraq started pouring into Europe in 2015, even Scandinavian countries with the most magnanimous asylum policies, like Sweden, began to see a rise in neo-Nazi popularity.

Today, Europe is simmering with intolerance. Xenophobia even finds representation in various provincial parliaments. There are the Swedish Democrats, there is the Alternative for Germany, there is the Front National in France, there’s the Freedom Party in Austria which is slated to form the next coalition government.

Since the September 11 attacks in New York in 2001, there have been more than 900 terror strikes in Europe.

And much like in the United States, there’s a new scapegoat here in Europe too: Muslims. When France’s right-wing leader Marine Le Pen was asked by a television interviewer whether Muslim people should be allowed to wear headscarves, she said, "No I am opposed to headscarves being worn in public places. France is not burqinis on the beach. France is Brigitte Bardot".

Since the September 11 attacks in New York in 2001, there have been more than 900 terror strikes in Europe. The fact that most were at the hands of Islamist terror groups like the Islamic State has only fanned the fires of religious intolerance.

Islam:

"For you is your religion, and for me is my religion". That’s what the Quran says, possibly the most hotly debated holy book of all in recent times. Islamist terrorism is wreaking havoc and spilling rivers of blood across the world. The criminals have several motives, to convert the entire world to Islam and reduce women to subservience.

They swear by the Quran and that’s unfortunate because by doing so, they are maligning millions of tolerant Muslims too. The Quran also makes one thing very clear, "There shall be no compulsion in the religion".

So how and when did this fanaticism begin? This unholy ‘holy war’, or ‘jehad’? Where does the Quran tell its followers to kill innocents in the name of faith? Or is everyone except Islamist terrorists, many of whom are nurtured, trained and armed by Pakistan to target India misreading the Quran?

Are millions of moderate Muslims living in La-La Land? Many scholars point to the West’s own unholy Crusades to enforce Christianity around the world. Some of the unholiest Crusades were in Islamic countries, including in the Middle East, where Islam was born.

Thirty-five years ago, the Iranian Revolution changed the fabric of Iranian society. But it also changed the geopolitics of the Middle East and redrew the map of global alliances.

Much like the cosmopolitan capitals of the west, Iran was a turnpike on the global map of the swinging sixties, mini skirts, bars, the races, balls, concert halls, fashion, theatre and emancipated women working alongside men, and dressed as they pleased. So when and how, did all that change, and was the change really all that bad? Are those elements really the criteria, as the West likes to believe of a stable and democratic society? When Iran’s Islamic Revolution brought radical changes, were the Iranians quite relieved to be rid of a tyrannical regime?

Thirty-five years ago, the Iranian Revolution changed the fabric of Iranian society. But it also changed the geopolitics of the Middle East and redrew the map of global alliances. It was a populist Shia uprising that replaced the dictatorial monarchy with an Islamic theocracy. And it was unique and surprised the world because it carried none of the usual hallmarks of a revolution: War, financial crisis, national debt or a weak army. A renowned scholar of Iranian studies, Dr Majid Tafreshi spoke to WION and explained what led to the Revolution and beyond.

"In the 40s and 50s, the then-new King Mohammed Reza Shah had good relations with the Olama (Ullema / clergy) but after the death of an Ayatollah in the early 60s, that relationship turned confrontational", says Dr Tafreshi. "Then came the new phenomenon Ayatollah Khomeini. He was a charismatic character and had dedicated followers. Gradually, he became the political and religious leader in Iran. An early confrontation of the Shah in 1963 was put down. But though most people took that as a sign that the Shah was in control, 1963 was, in reality, the beginning of the end of the Shah and monarchy in Iran."

Predictably, the inordinate interest in Iran’s affairs on part of the West. They wanted to control the Shah whose importance had grown along with that of Iran’s oil reserves. A revolution and an ouster of the Shah at that point in time was considered "highly inconvenient". Dr Tafreshi says that this is the reason why the United States government tried hard to prevent an uprising.

Afghanistan changed from a secular state into a turbulent republic, struggling to strike a compromise between conservative Islam and Western-style modernity and remains to this day, in search of its true identity.

But it met with no success. The revolution changed the face of Iran drastically. It also inspired similar uprisings across the Middle East. There is western perception about life in today’s Iran. But there is also the Iranian determination to never bow to western hegemony. To experience what life in Iran is really like, observers would do themselves a favour by avoiding media reports emanating in the West and experiencing it for themselves.

During the 7th century, Caliphate Arabs made their way onwards to Afghanistan. That country’s subsequent history has seen many constitutional changes including the establishment of the Sharia as the state religion in 1931. By 1977, Afghanistan’s constitution had twice been tweaked and made more secular to use a contested word. By then, Afghanistan was fully modelled along the lines of a modern country with a penal code and civil law.

Islamic movements in Afghanistan were born in the late fifties but had remained relatively passive. By the late seventies, they gained in popularity among sections of the population which felt alienated by Western-style democracy. By the time the Soviet Union invaded in support of a communist force in Kabul, there was a solid resurgence of the Islamic movement.

But from the birth of a unified mujahedin to push out a foreign invader to a radical Islamist Al Quaida, Taliban and now the Islamic State is a long leap of the leap for the imagination. But happen it did. Afghanistan changed from a secular state into a turbulent republic, struggling to strike a compromise between conservative Islam and Western-style modernity and remains to this day, in search of its true identity.

Hinduism:

Valmiki’s Ramayana, the epic poem on the banishment of God Rama, describes the god as one "who cared for equality to all".

‘’For those who live magnanimously, the entire world is a family.”

This is stated in the Upanishads, Hinduism’s ancient philosophical texts that are said to have been compiled between 800 and 500 BCE, ie, before the birth of Jesus Christ. The message is repeated in various ways in other Hindu religious texts, even after reformers began to question some of its practices and beliefs.

Valmiki’s Ramayana, the epic poem on the banishment of God Rama, describes the god as one "who cared for equality to all". Hinduism has been the mothership of many other new religions – Jainism, Buddhism – and has always been viewed as a way of life, a tolerant philosophy, more than as a diktat to worship a particular set of divinities. Critics of Hinduism point to its division of society into castes and the inequality that persists between those castes, even in modern India. Other scholars claim that the caste system, in ancient times, was merely an administrative division of people according to their professions. In the seventy years since India’s independence, laws have been passed, the abhorrent concept of ‘untouchability’ long stands banned. Surely a radical improvement? Not according to former police officer and Dalit rights activist, S.R. Darapuri.

"The rigours of the caste system in the past have undoubtedly been very harsh", Darapuri told WION. "There was a lot of distance between various castes and the lower caste was subjected to much discrimination. It is true caste rigors have slackened to an extent in modern India. The caste system doesn’t seem to work particularly in the urban context. In rural India, the law has not been able to overcome caste discrimination.

The caste system has the religious sanction of Hinduism. As long as Hinduism remains in its present form, the caste system will continue because there is no Hindu who has no caste.

When untouchability was abolished, the practice decreased to an extent. But it still very much exists. The caste system has the religious sanction of Hinduism. And as long as Hinduism remains in its present form, the caste system will continue because there is no Hindu who has no caste. Indeed, it is the religious duty of a Hindu to observe caste practices and obligations.

Darapuri emphatically dismisses the racial theory on the origin of caste and points to Dr Ambedkar’s book, The Untouchables. In it, the author of India’s Constitution cites the anthropological evidence that lower and higher castes belong to the same racial stock. The activist makes no bones to point that the division of labor theory about caste holds no water too. After all, he argues, if it caste originated only to distinguish professions, then surely it ought to change when an individual change his area of work. "The caste system is one of superiority and inferiority", sums up Darapuri. Though the caste system can even be discerned even among converts to other religions in India, caste wars were essentially a Hindu phenomenon. To other foreigners like Arab traders who came landed in Kerala, the relationship with the Hindus was good. Soon Arab and Persian traders began to settle in Gujarat. Ismaili Islam took root in the western Indian state.

But by the 12th century, a different kind of Islam, one more strident and eerily similar in zeal and ferocity to the Christian Crusades, began to arrive in Northern India. Sindh in today's Pakistan became a province of the Umayyad caliphate. Then came Mahmud of Ghazni, leaving a bloody trail of loot, plunder and murder along with his way.

He conquered Punjab and his marauding armies even reached Gujarat. By the end of the 12th century, the Delhi Sultanate was born. Then came the Mughals, some cruel and zealous about forcing conversion, others benign and more bent on creating an integrated society.

But those were harsh conquerors, ancient times. By the time the last Mughal was overthrown by the British Empire and before the latter could indulge one more time in its classical game of Divide and Rule that saw India and Pakistan separate, Muslims and Hindus had come together with one common goal: to shake off British rule. And succeed they did. But what happened decades later? For an old mosque to be destroyed? For riots to erupt between India’s Hindus and Muslims? Call it the debut of religion in politics, lay it at opportunism’s door.

If there is one religious teaching that focuses entirely on the principle of tolerance and non-violence, it is Buddhism.

Judaism and Buddhism: "The Torah was given to mankind in order to establish peace," reads an excerpt from Judaism's holy book. But the Jews of Israel continue to live in one of the most turbulent regions in the world. Followers of Judaism don't outnumber Christians, Muslims or Hindus. And yet, it is their controversial politics that continues to take centre-stage in the global arena today.

"One is not called noble who harms living beings", reads the Dhammapada. One of the Buddha's most renowned followers, Emperor Ashoka, carried that message forward: "The faiths of others all deserve to be honoured for one reason or another". If there is one religious teaching that focuses entirely on the principle of tolerance and non-violence, it is Buddhism.

And yet, there are militant factions even among followers of Gautama Buddha. In Sri Lanka, where radicalised monks have targeted Muslims and other minorities. In Myanmar, where the Rohingya Muslim minority has borne the wrath of similarly militant Buddhists. What happened to the world's most gentle religion? If Buddhists can be polarised, is there any hope left for the rest of the world?

This is the second article of WION's three-part series "Poles Apart". The first article was published on 17/10/17.

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romancatholicreflections · 7 years ago

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17th September >> Sunday Homilies and Reflections for Roman Catholics on The Twenty-Fourth Sunday In Ordinary Time, Cycle A

Gospel reading: Matthew 18:21-35

vs.21 Peter went up to Jesus and said: “Lord, how often must I forgive my brother if he wrongs me? As often as seven times?” vs.22 Jesus answered, “Not seven, I tell you, but seventy-seven times. vs.23 And so the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who decided to settle his accounts with his servants. vs.24 When the reckoning began, they brought him a man who owed ten thousand talents; vs.25 but he had no means of paying, so his master gave orders that he should be sold, together with his wife and children and all his possessions, to meet the debt. vs.26 At this, the servant threw himself down at his master’s feet. ‘Give me time’ he said, ‘and I will pay the whole sum.’ vs.27 And the servant’s master felt so sorry for him that he let him go and canceled the debt. vs.28 Now as this servant went out, he happened to meet a fellow servant who owed him one hundred denarii; and he seized him by the throat and began to throttle him. ‘Pay what you owe me’ he said. vs.29 His fellow servant fell at his feet and implored him, saying, ‘Give me time and I will pay you.’ vs.30 But the other would not agree; on the contrary, he had him thrown into prison till he should pay the debt. vs.31 His fellow servants were deeply distressed when they saw what had happened, and they went to their master and reported the whole affair to him. vs.32 Then the master sent for him. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said. ‘I canceled all that debt of yours when you appealed to me. vs.33 Were you not bound, then, to have pity on your fellow servant just as I had pity on you?’ vs.34 And in his anger the master handed him over to the torturers till he should pay all his debt. vs.35 And that is how my heavenly Father will deal with you unless you each forgive your brother from your heart.”

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We have four sets of homily notes to choose from. Please scroll down the page for the desired one.

Michel DeVerteuil : A Trinidadian Holy Ghost Priest, Specialist in Lectio Divina Thomas O’Loughlin: Professor of Historical Theology, University of Wales. Lampeter. John Littleton: Cashel Diocese, Director of the Priory Institute Distant Learning, Tallaght, Dublin Donal Neary SJ: Editor of The Sacred Heart Messenger

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Michel DeVerteuil Lectio Divina with the Sunday Gospels- Year A www.columba.ie

General Comments

Today’s passage deals with the crucial issue of forgiveness, surely the most pressing of all our human problems, as individuals, as communities and as a human family. The future of humanity is in the hands of those who can forgive.

It is important to understand Peter’s question correctly: it is not about being wronged many times (a situation which Jesus speaks about in Luke 17:4). Here, Peter is asking about one wrong. We are dealing then with a very deep hurt, the kind that remains with us for years and that we find ourselves having to forgive many times over. We think we have forgiven, but when we meet the person who hurt us we realise that we have to start forgiving all over again. This is the question then – how long do we continue with this struggle to forgive the one wrong?

We must think not merely of personal wrongs but of deep ethnic and racial wrongs, the kind that have nations torn by civil strife for generations – the human family knows so many of these at present.

As always, Jesus does not give us prescriptions; he invites us to enter into the God-like way of seeing things and leaves it to us to decide how we will act out of that consciousness.

Jesus’ response is in the form of a parable, and the key to interpreting his message correctly is to understand how a parable is meant to be read. We are accustomed to learning (and teaching) through “edifying stories.” In this kind of story the characters are either “good” or “bad”; we are meant to imitate the good ones and avoid being like the bad. It is always wrong to read a parable like that. We find that we identify one of the characters with God and end up with a strange God, one who tortures those who don’t forgive their enemies, burns the cities of those who do not accept his wedding invitation, closes the door on the bridesmaids who come late for the wedding feast, and so forth. Many Christians have developed warped ideas of God as a result of reading Jesus’ parables in this way.

A parable is an imaginative story which we enter with our feelings. We identify with the various characters as the story unfolds, until at a certain point it strikes us: “I know that feeling!” This is a moment of truth, when we say, “I now understand grace and celebrate the times when I or others have lived it,” or “I now understand sin and experience a call to conversion.”

In this parable we see a man who is in a position of total helplessness; he is made to feel worthless, he has neither dignity nor freedom. His life, and that of his entire family, is in the hands of this king who makes him grovel before he will condescendingly set him free of his debts. He is not a bad man: he has been generous enough to lend money to someone who is in even greater need than he is, knowing full well that sooner or later he will have to return his own loan to the king.

The problem with him is that his spirit has been broken by oppression. Hardship has extinguished the spark of generosity. Experience tells us how frequently this happens. He has been made to feel so helpless and impotent that when he finds someone with even less power than himself he oppresses him in turn.

The king also is a victim of oppression. He breaks out of the oppressive world when he forgives his servant (even though we can detect some condescension), but it doesn’t last. The servant’s meanness defeats him, he takes back his generous spirit and becomes as mean as the servant. Very different from our God!

The parable then makes us reflect on oppression, understood quite correctly as being indebted. What a terrible thing oppression is! It keeps everyone in bondage – the oppressed and the oppressors alike. It isn’t God who keeps us in bondage, but we ourselves, and the parable tells us that we will continue in this bondage, “handed over to torturers”, unless someone makes a breakthrough and replaces meanness with generosity of spirit, the spirit of forgiveness, permanent and unconditional, “from our hearts.”

We can reflect on the movement of oppression/forgiveness at different levels – on the world stage, in our countries, within our families and neighborhoods, in our own hearts. In each case, we celebrate the people who have made the breakthrough. In our own hearts: what unforgiven hurts still “torture” us? We recognise the bitterness which keeps us in bondage, consuming our energies, preventing us from enjoying life and being at peace with those around us. We remember the times when we were able to free ourselves, even if only temporarily, like the king.

Within families and communities: so often we are concerned mainly about punishing the offender. We celebrate today the peacemakers among us, those who work through mediation to re-establish harmony within the community.

Within nations, especially between ethnic groups, social classes, religions. We think of Northern Ireland, former Yugoslavia, the Republic of Congo, Sri Lanka, India and Pakistan, the black community in the United States – the list can go on and on!

We think of the debt of the third world countries, causing anger, resentment and civil strife. Indifference to the plight of those who are in debt keeps the whole human family in bondage.

Prayer Reflection

As we begin our prayer, let us listen to some of the prophetic voices of our time speaking of forgiveness to our modern world which is so much in need of it:

“The philosophy of retributive justice has brought nothing but chaos and widespread distress to families caught up in it. It has guaranteed a growing level of crime and has wasted millions of taxpayers’ money. We need to discover a philosophy that moves from punishment to reconciliation, from vengeance against offenders to healing for victims, from alienation to integration, from negativity and destructiveness to healing and forgiveness. Retributive justice always asks first: how do we punish the offender? Restorative justice asks: how do we restore the well-being of the victim, the community and the offender?” …. Vincent Travers, o.p. in Religious Life Review, Sept./Oct. 1995

“The experience of forgiveness leads us to a radical understanding of the doctrine of Grace. We are saved, not by getting it right, but by the love that redeems us while we are getting it wrong.“… Richard Holloway, Dancing on the Edge

– “There will come a day when the martyr will be made to stand before the throne of God in defense of his persecutors and say, ‘Lord, I have forgiven in thy name and by thy example. Thou hast no claim against them any more.'”…A Russian Orthodox bishop wrote these words as he went to his death in one of Stalin’s purges

“O Lord, remember not only the men and women of good will, but also those of ill-will. But do not remember all the suffering they have inflicted on us; remember the fruits we have bought thanks to this suffering – our comradeship, our loyalty, our humility, our courage, our generosity, the greatness of heart which has grown out of all this. And when they come to the judgment, let all the fruits that we have borne be for their forgiveness.” Prayer found in the clothing on the body of a dead child at Ravensbruck camp where 92,000 women and children died; in Mary Craig, “Take up your Cross,” The Way, Jan. 1973

“While waiting for the Kingdom, make the Kingdom. While waiting for righteousness and peace, practice righteousness and peace. You want a paradise of love? Forgive.” …..Carlo Carretto, Summoned by Love

Lord, we ask you to look with compassion on the many people in our world who are held in bondage because they cannot forgive from their hearts. What they have suffered may seem trivial to us, a mere one hundred denarii, but they are handed over to torture until they have paid their debt of forgiveness.

Pope Francis visiting the church of Santa Maria in Trastevere during a visit to the Sant’Egidio community in Rome

We thank you for the great people of our time who, like Jesus, work for the forgiveness of debts – John Dear and the Fellowship of Reconciliation in Washington, D.C.; – the Sant Egidio Community in Rome; – the Tallaght Community Mediation Scheme in Dublin; – Archbishop Tutu and the Truth Tribunal in South Africa. We thank you that these servants, following the way of Jesus, are showing our contemporaries that unless they forgive from their hearts you have no choice but to leave them and their communities in bondage.

We thank you for those who have taught our world forgiveness: – spouses who welcomed back those who had been unfaithful; – members of minority groups who work for racial harmony in their neighborhoods; – devotees of traditional African religions in dialogue with the mainline churches; – Nelson Mandela; – Pope John Paul II and Pope Francis. We thank you that, unlike the king in Jesus’ parable, they did not let themselves be turned aside from the path of forgiveness, but forgave seventy-seven times.

Lord, have pity on the many countries that are being torn apart by traditional hatreds; send them men and women who will show their compatriots that unless they forgive from their hearts they will be forever tortured by hatred and the desire for revenge.

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Thomas O’Loughlin Liturgical Resources for the Year of Matthew www.columba.ie

Introduction to the Celebration

We often describe ourselves as ‘the People of God’ and as ‘a people set apart’; and very often such names have been misinterpreted by Christians to mean that we are somehow ‘God’s elite’ or that he has some special friendship for us and our doing that he does not show to others. Today’s gospel confronts us with the reality of what it means to be ‘a people set apart’. We are the ones who must reject the desires for vengeance and retaliation, and in the face of those who offend us must work for reconciliation. To start afresh, working for what is good, after one has been hurt is never easy; it goes against a deeply embedded instinct in our humanity that calls for retribution. But to be the group who seek to continue the reconciliation of the world that was accomplished in the Paschal Mystery of Jesus is what we are about. Now, as we begin to celebrate this mystery, let us remind ourselves that as ‘a people set apart’ we must be willing to be those who bring forgiveness and new hope into the world. Let us ask ourselves whether we are willing to be reconcilers.

Homily notes

1. Reconciliation is a word that is bandied about in Christian discourse: we talk about it in relation to individual sinfulness; we talk about it in social situations of injustice; and we use it as the name of one of the sacraments: the Sacrament of Reconciliation. We use the word so often that it can become just a synonym for repentance, penance, the process of ‘getting rid of sin’, offering forgiveness, or a process for rebuilding harmony in society. It is all of these things, but it is also one of the key words by which we can understand (1) the role of the Christ in relation to church, (2) the role of the Christian body towards the larger society, and (3) the one of the central Christian attitudes towards life and how it should be lived.

This sculpture is called ‘Reconciliation’. It is in the ruins of the old Coventry Cathedral in England

2. It is easiest to begin by sketching the habit of being reconciliatory, being someone with the attitude of wanting reconciliation. It is worth noting the exact implications of Peter’s question of Jesus: ‘Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?’ There is no hint in the text that this brother has come and asked for forgiveness. This is not a mutual process. The forgiveness in question is a unilateral act by the one who has been sinned against. Someone has been offended/ attacked; that person now wants to forgive the offender without any hint of the offender seeking forgiveness or showing an awareness of their crime or showing contrition. The question is how often is this attitude of offering forgiveness unilaterally and unconditionally to last? Is it a one-off event, something that should be given a good trial (let’s say ‘seven times’) or something that must be on-going (‘seventy-times seven’)? The Christian position is made abundantly clear.

But what is this attitude? The forgiveness in question consists in continuing to seek the way that builds up peace with those who offend one, rather than seeking either to get revenge for their offences or seeking to write them out of the script of one’s own plans for right acting. The Christian must act rightly, despite how others behave, even when that behaviour is directed against them. Reconciliation is the steady willingness to build the universe aright in spite of, and in the aftermath of, those who would break down peace and goodness between people, or between people and the environment. One must not only seek to stop damage to individuals, society, the environment, but one must always be ready to start over, repair damage, and begin again. This beginning afresh, rather than pursuing a vendetta or engaging in recriminations, is at the heart of reconciliation.

3. The task of the Christian body, the church, is to act as an agent for reconciliation in a human situation where, after any offence has been felt, our instincts and’ gut reaction’ is to find the culprit, extract redress (sometimes we are honest and openly call this ‘vengeance’ and admit that we like the idea of ‘getting our own back’; sometimes we opt for spin and speak of ‘restoring the status quo’ or of ‘condign justice’), and then have an extended period during which the offender suffers the effects of their crime whether this is imprisonment, isolation, being given the cold shoulder, or some other kind of exclusion. However, reconciliation is focused not upon redress, but upon getting back on track, repairing the damage, and starting afresh. The past is past; we must get on with building the kingdom of justice, love, and peace. If we look back it is only to learn lessons, not to engage in the activity of retribution. This is a very different view of the way humans should act to that which most societies have pursued either now or in the past.

The church is the minister of reconciliation whose vocation it is to work to repair the damage done within the creation, material and human, from evil choices. And this ministry cannot be confused with wagging fingers at problems nor naming sins, nor should it be reduced to the individual reconciliation of penitents, (viewed in terms of an individual’s relationship with God). This working for reconciliation is part of the priesthood of the whole people of God.

Wherever there is division, corruption, suffering or disruption in the order of things, there is a task of reconciliation to be addressed; and Christians make the claim that they are willing to adopt this task as their own. In a world where the pursuit of vengeance keeps conflicts running and multiplies the amount of suffering and misery, Christians are supposed to be taking a different tack.

4. Reconciliation is also a way of understanding the Christevent: God in Jesus was reconciling the world to himself. The pattern for all Christian reconciliation is the way the Father has offered a new beginning to the creation in the Last Adam. This use of reconciliation as an overarching theme for the whole of the gospel is captured in the opening statement of the current formula of sacramental absolution: ‘God, the Father of mercies, through the death and resurrection of his Son has reconciled the world to himself and sent the Holy Spirit among us for the forgiveness of sins. The Father allows us to begin afresh and to then grow to the fullness of life; we rejoice in this as the joy of faith. We must allow those who have harmed us/ our creation to start afresh and help them grow to the fullness of life; we accept this as the challenge of the life of faith.

5. Perhaps we are now in a better position to appreciate the wisdom of Ben Sira: the homily could conclude by reading the first reading again as its various messages (e.g. ‘stop hating’) should now fit into a larger framework.

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John Litteton Journeying through the Year of Matthew www.Columba.ie

Gospel Reflection

Why was Jesus so insistent about the practice of forgiveness in the lives of his disciples? Peter was probably embarrassed by Jesus’ answer to his question ‘How often must I forgive?’ Jesus told Peter to be far more forgiving than he was suggesting. Peter must forgive seventy-seven times, not seven times.

In saying this, Jesus was not implying that forgiveness could be refused on the seventy-eighth and subsequent occasions. For Jesus, there could be no limit to the number of times people would forgive. Forgiveness was to be a continuous activity and one of the central characteristics of the Christian lifestyle.

So why was Jesus so adamant that his listeners would understand how his message of forgiveness was central to his teaching and preaching? Was it because he wanted to be excessively demanding? Or was it because he knew that forgiveness was among the most difficult challenges for human beings?

Orthodox priests pray as they stand between pro-EU protesters and police lines in central Kyiv, Jan. 24, 2014.

It would have been easier for most of Jesus’ disciples to be unforgiving because they had direct experience of oppression and injustice from the Romans, who were occupying their country, and from the tax collectors, moneylenders and religiow leaders. Did Jesus want to raise the standards and expectatiom beyond their capabilities? The answer to these questions is ar emphatic ‘No’.

Jesus was uncompromising about the centrality of forgiveness because he understood human nature completely. He knew that if people would not forgive one another, and if they could not graciously accept forgiveness from other people when it was offered, then they would be unable to experience God’s forgiveness. Jesus appreciated that the human spirit yearns for acceptance, sympathy, respect, companionship and a sense of belonging. None of these is possible in the absence of forgiveness.

Practising forgiveness, therefore, enables us to realise these yearnings. Our greatest gift from God — the ability to love — is dependent on our ability to forgive. Forgiveness brings healing. If there is no forgiveness in our lives, then our human nature becomes flawed. We feel isolated. We become less than human and, eventually, our dignity and sense of self-worth diminish. Our innate beauty derived from being made in the image and likeness of God is shattered. There is a diminution of the quality of human life and living.

Jesus always forgave

When, as repentant people, we celebrate the sacrament of reconciliation properly (that is, we confess our sins, make reparation for our wrongdoing and resolve not to commit these sins again) we are assured that our sins are forgiven and that we will have God’s help to avoid sin in the future. We all need to experience forgiveness in our lives. The sacrament of reconciliation enables us to receive God’s forgiveness for our sins. We become whole human beings again, capable of tremendous love and sacrifice. Is it any wonder, then, that Jesus insisted on forgiveness among his followers?

For meditation

And in his anger the master handed him over to the torturers till he should pay all his debt. And that is how my heavenly Father will deal with you unless you each forgive your brother from your heart. (Mt 18:34-35)

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Fr Donal Neary, S.J Gospel Reflections for the Year of Matthew www.messenger.ie

Forgiveness

We are called to forgive; and that can be really difficult. You have been defrauded by the banks of your life’s savings – can you forgive? You were abused as a child – can you forgive? You were done out of a job because another lied to get it – can you forgive? The answer is maybe ‘no’. What then does God want? He asks us to open our hearts to the other so that we may forgive. Forgiveness is the deepest of God’s desires on our behalf, and he hopes that we can forgive each other.

Our hurts and burdens are heavy to carry through life. To forgive can release some of that weight. The person who hurt us may be dead, or may not even know (or care) that we are hurting. When we desire to forgive but don’t know how, one way of looking for this strength is to pray for it. We often pray, ‘Lord, make my heart like yours’. When we pray that we are praying to be forgiving people!

Another way is to pray for the person. When we realise that as God loves me, he also loves everyone, we may find a spark or light of forgiveness in our souls.

Out of this we may find the will to meet the other and talk to him or her, and find the grace of forgiveness between us.

Forgiveness sometimes comes slowly. When God sees us wanting to be on the road to forgiveness, he gives us the graces we need to unburden ourselves and be able to love like him.

Sit in silence for a while, and send a blessing or prayer to someone you need to forgive.

Lord, I ask – make my heart like yours.

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