Socialist Characteristics, Olympic Pride and Condom Ring tone

[Palash]

Socialist Characteristics, Olympic Pride and Condom Ring tone

Troubled Galaxy Destroyed Dreams: Chapter 49

Palash Biswas

http://troubledgalaxydetroyeddreams.blogspot.com/

News results for India in Beijing Olympic

NDTV.com Wrestler Sushil Kumar wins bronze medal at Beijing Olympics -
1 hour ago

By : ANI Wrestler Sushil Kumar on Wednesday brought further
international glory to India by winning the bronze medal at the
Beijing Olympics after 56 years. ...

Oneindia - 161 related articles »
The Other Olympics - Aljazeera.net - 298 related articles »
Kumar wins India wrestling medal - BBC News - 145 related articles »

India at Beijing Olympics 2008 at Witty Sparks
India at Beijing Olympics 2008. Some of the performers Indians could
watch out for in the Beijing Olympics are :. Rajyavardhan Rathore -
Shooting(Double ...
www.wittysparks.com/2008/08/09/india-at-beijing-olympics-2008/ - 104k
- Cached - Similar pages - Note this

India's Bindra wins gold in the Men's 10m Air Rifle - The Official ...
11 Aug 2008 ... The official website of the Beijing 2008 Olympic
Games. ... (BEIJING, August 11) -- India's Abhinav Bindra won the gold
medal in the Men's ...
en.beijing2008.cn/news/sports/headlines/shooting/n214528114.shtml -
14k - Cached - Similar pages - Note this

Beijing's Olympics efforts 'inspiration' for India

I am writing today with very complex circumstances at home and abroad.
with President Mush departing, Corporate US Imperialism in India and
south Asia as well, has to readjust its strategies once again. In
Kashmir, the situation continues to worsen as RSS is doing its best to
kill whatsoever are the chances of anti Imperialist Movement in India.
The Left, disassociated from the UPA is not settled as yet as it is
too involved to solve ideological and political situations in Left
ruled three sates. India saw a nationwide Industrial strike as well as
general strike in Left Ruled states.

The only relief comes from China, the forbidden land for India as yet
in these hopeless troubled times of Manusmriti Agenda, Globalisation,
Open Market, misinformation and annihilation of Indigenous communities
worldwide as Our Mother land patriotic most sports persons belonging
to other than the market Spenser oriented cricket have ensured at
least three medals in Beijing Olympic!

Perestroika failed miserably in USSR and resulted into untimely demise
of Revolution in entire Europe. Iraq, Afghanistan, Yugoslavia, Somalia
and Iran are targeted without any resistance. War zone has escalated
right into our heart in the divided bleeding geopolitics of south Asia
and the Ruling Class has been sold for strategic re alliance of Hindu
Zionist White Manusmriti Apartheid forces. Fascism has turned to be
the best friend to support War Against Muslims which they call War
against terrorism to boost the recession sub prime crisis struck war
and weapon economy of united states of America.

India, particularly the caste system fed Hindutva forces cried Foul
against Jade Goody when she used apartheid against Shilpa Shetty, an
Indian actress just some time ago. Lo! Shilpa Shetty hosts the Reality
show big Boss season two and enters Jade Goody, as the most welcome
friend of India! her personal tragedy of suffering from Cancer is
catered as marketable commodity and Electronic media subverts every
issue relevant. Other participants of the Reality show also have
enough controversial background to name a few: Rahul Mahajan, the Drug
Addict, Monika Bedi,the Mafia Paramour, Sanjay Nirupam, the ex
Shivshena Don!

Since morning I have been browsing all Indian Electronic channels full
of Laughter shows, musical programmes, Crime reports, Sexual
Perversions, Astrology, Sensational superstitions and so on and I
could not update my informations on my time, nation and this planet.

This is a Misinformation explosion in full bloom while Big Boss
Participants are being made ICONS of Future!

It is quite a relief while I see Beijing Olympic throws up some real
Indian Icons in Abhinav Bindra, Saina Nehawal, Akhil, Jitendra,
Bijender Kumar and Sushil Kumar!

May we study the success of China with socialist Characteristics and
analyse our geopolitics historically scientifically? May we have some
time to finalise our strategy to defend our black untouchable
indigenous communities, nationalities, identities, mother languages?
May we think to create a credible third political alternative to stop
NDA as well as UPA to stop further partition of this country?


The demise of communism in the former Soviet Union and the massive
political and economic changes in China are the stunning
transformations of our century. Two central questions are emerging:
Why did different communist systems experience different patterns of
transition? Why did partial reforms in the Soviet Union and China turn
into revolutions? This unique analytical and empirical study shows
that patterns of regime transition in communist states depend on the
countries' preexisting social structures and political and economic
institutions. Minxin Pei identifies the rapid mobilization of
previously excluded social groups during the reform phase as the most
powerful explanation for the revolutionary outcome of initially
limited political and economic reforms in the Soviet Union and China.
Pei uses comparative data to analyze the different routes of
transition to democracy and a market economy in the Soviet Union,
China, and, to a lesser extent, other former communist states in
Eastern Europe and Asia. The,theory is empirically tested in four case
studies of changes in China and the Soviet Union - two on the
development of the private sector in each country and two on the
liberalization of the mass media. The author concludes with
provocative statements about regime transition from communism. He
rejects the idealistic notion that democratization can, by itself,
remove the structural obstacles to economic transformation, and he
sees high economic and political costs as unavoidable in transition
from communism along either the Soviet or the Chinese path. In
comparing Soviet and Chinese transition costs, however, he implicitly
endorses the evolutionary changes taking place in China andexpresses
strong doubt about the revolutionary changes that have occurred in the
former Soviet Union.

Television viewers around the world are tuning into the Beijing Games
in record numbers, and it’s likely to fill the coffers of the
International Olympic Committee like never before and ease pressure to
tinker with the Olympic formula.- Great Britain's newly-crowned 400
metres Olympic champion Christine Ohuruogu's beaming smile lit up the
Bird's Nest Stadium on Tuesday and now she plans a repeat triumph on
homeground in London in 2012.

The Indo-US nuclear deal observers say that the deal will go through
at the Nuclear Suppliers Group meeting in Vienna this Thursday.India's
pointmen on the nuclear deal will be briefing three key members of the
Nuclear Suppliers Group in Vienna on Wednesday.The three key members
are known as the Troika. They are Germany, currently head of the NSG,
South Africa and Hungary.

Despite fierce opposition from Moscow, the United States and Poland
signed a long-stalled agreement Wednesday to place an American missile
defense base on Polish territory.

The recent augmentation in the number of HIV positive people in India
has caused concern and different measures have been initiated to curb
the disease.There are measures aimed at spreading awareness about the
prevention of this deadly disease among people.Likewise,measures have
been introduced to dispel the stigma associated with AIDS because of
which most HIV infected people opt to shun treatment.

One such measure is the launching of a cell phone ringtone that utters
‘Condom‘, ‘condom‘ repeatedly.This supposedly is part of a two-year
project to make condoms socially acceptable via mass media which will
result in the practice of safe sex.The acappella ringtone is a
repetition of the word ‘condom‘ by a professional singer.It is
expected that this will go a long way in making the use of condoms
widespread.It is produced by the BBC World Service Trust and funded by
a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Reportedly,the ring tone was launched on Aug. 8 and it has been
downloaded 60,000 times since then. People are asked to download the
original ringtone by SMSing “CONDOM” to 5676787 or from www.condomcondom.org.The
initiative emphasises the use of condom as a parameter of
sensibility,resposibility and awareness about health and well-
being.Any link or association with AIDS is not sought as this disease
is looked upon as a stigma in India.The Creative Director of the BBC
World Service Trust, Radharani Mitra held that ringtones have become
such personal statements that a specially created condom ringtone
seemed just the right vehicle to define its user as a sensible person.


Meanwhile, in India, our dearest Homeland, around 50 people were on
Wednesday injured in group clashes during an industrial strike called
by Left trade unions which brought West Bengal, Kerala and Tripura to
a halt and partially hit several eastern states but life in rest of
the country remained largely unaffected. With the ruling Left Front
governments backing the day- long stir called to protest against
surging inflation and the Centre's "anti-people" economic policies,
the shut down in West Bengal and Tripura was complete. While life was
paralysed in Kerala, air services remained unaffected in the state.

Claiming that officials from Jammu were facing intimidation in
Kashmir, the BJP on wednesday demanded that they be temporarily
withdrawn from the valley in the wake of the agitation over Amarnath
land issue.


Normal life was hit in parts of Assam, Bihar, Orissa, Meghalaya and
Manipur with markets, business establishments and banks remaining
closed in many areas there.

In Coochbehar in West Bengal, around 50 people were injured in clashes
between CPI (M) and Trinamool Congress activists in four places when
Left supporters attempted to enforce the shut down, police sources
said. A police force has been rushed to the troubled area, they said.

Despite intense lobbying, it is unlikely that the Nuclear Suppliers
Group (NSG) will approve an India-specific draft waiver to conduct
nuclear trade with its members during a two-day meet scheduled to
begin tomorrow, a prominent arms-control think-tank opposed to the
Indo-US nuclear deal has said.

"The US and India are certainly using strong-arms tactics but reports
that a decision on the proposal could occur this week don't appear to
match with the reality that many states of the 45-member NSG group
still have significant concerns," said Daryl Kimball, Executive
Director of the Arms Control Association.

The group could even postpone the case for a second or third meeting
in September as certain changes would have to be made to the proposed
text to get the NSG nod, Kimball claimed.

"The US, Germany and India are privately acknowledging that a second
or third meeting will likely be convened sometime in September on the
issue and that changes to the US' August 6 proposed text will be
necessary to achieve NSG consensus," he said in an e-mail update on
the Vienna meet.

"Perhaps in recognition of many difficulties the proposal faces in the
NSG, Germany has reportedly invited India to present its case and
answer questions from NSG countries at this week's meeting.

"The reports cite unnamed India officials as saying they are hesitant
to do so. That (is) not surprising since India's participation in the
discussion could force its officials to answer some uncomfortable but
essential questions about its bilateral nuclear cooperation agreements
with the US, France, and Russia, as well as its interpretation of the
India-IAEA safeguards agreement, and other issues," the official
said.


Putin laments demise of Soviet Union

Associated Press

Moscow — President Vladimir Putin used a campaign speech Thursday to
declare the demise of the Soviet Union a "national tragedy on an
enormous scale," in what appeared to be his strongest-ever lament of
the collapse of the Soviet empire.

Mr. Putin, a former agent of the Soviet KGB spy agency, has praised
aspects of the Soviet Union in the past but never so robustly nor in
such an important political setting.

"The breakup of the Soviet Union is a national tragedy on an enormous
scale," from which "only the elites and nationalists of the republics
gained," Mr. Putin said in a nationally televised speech to about 300
campaign workers gathered at Moscow State University.

The President's language was sure to send a chill through the 14 other
former Soviet republics that have been independent from Moscow rule
for more than a decade.

In the past and to audiences from the former republics, Mr. Putin has
sought to ease fears about Russia having designs on rebuilding the old
empire.

In September remarks after a meeting of the Commonwealth of
Independent States — the grouping of former Soviet republics — Mr.
Putin said:

"The Soviet Union [was] a very complicated page in the history of our
people," adding "that train has left."

But on Thursday, he spoke in a much stronger tone, appearing to play
to Russian nationalism.

"I think that ordinary citizens of the former Soviet Union and the
post-Soviet space gained nothing from this. On the contrary, people
have faced a huge number of problems," he said.

"Today we must look at the reality we live in. We cannot only look
back and curse about this issue. We must look forward," he said.

Across town, meanwhile, Putin challengers in the election next month
refused to debate among themselves in a television program called for
that purpose. The candidates said a debate was meaningless without Mr.
Putin, who says he doesn't need the free television advertising.

At the taping of what was to be the first debate ahead of the March 14
vote, four of Mr. Putin's six challengers answered questions from the
studio audience, but then rejected the host's appeal that they debate
each other.

"Bring Vladimir Putin here and we will have a debate," independent
liberal candidate Irina Khakamada said, winning applause from the
audience.

Calling it pointless to debate with anyone but Mr. Putin, "my main
competitor", Communist candidate Nikolai Kharitonov said that by
ignoring the debates, "Putin is depriving the population of the right
to choose."

Also at the taping were candidates Sergei Glazyev of the populist-
nationalist Homeland Party and Oleg Malyshkin of Vladimir
Zhirinovsky's ultranationalist Liberal Democratic Party.

Regardless of Mr. Putin's public declarations about campaign
advertising, state-controlled television channels already lavish him
with extensive coverage — as on Thursday when state-run Rossiya showed
his remarks live.

Addressing a packed auditorium at Moscow State University, Mr. Putin
said: "The head of state should not engage in self-advertising."

"Nevertheless," he continued, "I am simply obliged before my voters
and the entire country to account for what has been done during the
past four years, and to tell people what I intend to do during the
next four years."

Responding to a question after his state-of-the-nation-style speech,
Mr. Putin said that the 1991 Soviet collapse — which most Russians
regret — led to few gains and many problems for ordinary citizens.

Turning to global politics, Mr. Putin said that Russia must become a
"full-fledged member of the world community" and assailed those in the
West who still have a Cold War-era distrust of Russia. They "can't get
out of the freezer," he said.

Mr. Putin reiterated his stated opposition to prolonging his time in
office, limited to two terms. But he indicated he would choose a
preferred successor, saying that the task of any top leader "is to
propose to society a person he considers worthy to work further in
this position."

Some Putin opponents had considered boycotting the presidential
election, saying a fair vote was impossible in Russia today, and the
refusal to debate in Thursday's program reflected the candidates'
anger at the President's dominance of the campaign.

Some political analysts said, however, the public does not expect Mr.
Putin to debate.

"They see the head of state as a monarch who shouldn't participate in
discussions with those below him in the hierarchy," said Andrei Ryabov
of the Carnegie Institute in Moscow said.

The Organization for the Security and Co-operation in Europe said the
state-controlled media's parliamentary campaign coverage was slanted
toward pro-Putin forces and accused the government of pressuring news
media, to limit opposition views.

http://www.globeandmail.com/servlet/...BNStory/Front/

Foreign relations of India
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India

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Politics and government of India

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The Republic of India is the world's most-populous democracy and has
one of the fastest economic growth rates in the world (8.9 percent GDP
increase in 2007; second-fastest in the world after China).[1] With
the world's fourth largest armed forces,[2] and fourth largest economy
(in PPP terms),[3] it is considered to be a regional power[4][5] and a
potential superpower.[6][7][8][9] It is India's growing international
influence that increasingly gives it a more prominent voice in global
affairs.[10][11][12][13]

India has a long history of collaboration with several countries and
is considered as a leader of the developing world.[14][15] India was
one of the founding members of several international organizations,
most notably the United Nations, the Non-Aligned Movement, the Asian
Development Bank and the G20 industrial nations. India has also played
an important and influential role in other international organizations
like East Asia Summit,[16] World Trade Organization,[17] IMF,[18]
G8+5[19] and IBSA Dialogue Forum.[20] Regional organizations India is
a part of include SAARC and BIMSTEC.

After India gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1947, it
soon joined the Commonwealth of Nations and strongly supported
independence movements in other colonies, like the Indonesian National
Revolution.[21] During the Cold War, India adopted a foreign policy of
not aligning itself with any major power bloc. However, India
developed close ties with the Soviet Union and received extensive
military support from it. The end of the Cold War significantly
affected Indian foreign policy, as it did for much of the world. The
country now seeks to strengthen its diplomatic and economic ties with
the United States,[22] the People's Republic of China,[23] the
European Union,[24] Japan,[25] Israel,[26] Mexico,[27] and Brazil.[28]
India has also forged close ties with the member states of the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations,[29] the African Union,[30] and
the Arab League.[31] Though India continues to have a very strong
military relationship with Russia,[32] Israel has emerged as India's
second largest military partner[30] while India has built a strong
strategic partnership with the United States[22] reflecting India's
balanced and soverign foreign policy.

India has taken part in several UN peacekeeping missions and in 2007,
it was the second-largest troop contributor to the United Nations.[33]
India has also actively participated in UN reforms[34] and is
currently seeking a permanent seat in the UNSC, along with the G4
nations.[35



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_relations_of_India

Socialism with Chinese characteristics
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Communism Portal
This article is about the term itself and its relationships. For its
implementation and effects see Economy of the People's Republic of
China and Chinese economic reform.
"Socialism with Chinese characteristics" (traditional Chinese: 具有中國特色的社
會主義, simplified Chinese: 具有中国特色的社会主义, Pronunciation (help·info): Jùyǒu
Zhōngguó tèsè de shèhuìzhǔyì) is an official term for the economy of
the People's Republic of China which as of 2008 consists of the state
having ownership of a large fraction of the Chinese economy, while at
the same time having all entities participate within a market economy.
This is a form of a socialist market economy and differs from market
socialism and mixed economy in that while the state retained ownership
of large enterprises, it does not use this ownership to intervene to
change prices which are set by the market.

John Gittings in The Changing Face of China quotes Deng Xiaoping as
stating:

"Planning and market forces are not the essential difference between
socialism and capitalism. A planned economy is not the definition of
socialism, because there is planning under capitalism; the market
economy happens under socialism, too. Planning and market forces are
both ways of controlling economic activity." [1]
The PRC government maintains that it has not abandoned Marxism, but
has simply developed many of the terms and concepts of Marxist theory
to accommodate its new economic system. The ruling Communist Party of
China argues that socialism is not incompatible with these economic
policies. In current Chinese Communist thinking, the PRC is in the
primary stage of socialism, and this redefinition allows the PRC to
undertake whatever economic policies are needed to develop into an
industrialized nation.

See Chinese economic reform for the history of Socialism with Chinese
characteristics.

Contents
[hide]
1 Marxist theory
2 Deng Xiaoping
3 Communist Party of China
4 See also
5 Sources
6 Further reading



[edit] Marxist theory
According to Technological Determinism & Socialism with Chinese
Characteristics:

"new economic development strategy based upon decentralization of
control over the state owned enterprise sector, expanded market
transactions to replace command and control allocation, dismantling of
the rural commune system (completed in 1985), increased use of
material incentives in workplaces, and ultimately, upon the
modernization of the Chinese economic infrastructure (as well as the
military infrastructure). This last aspect of their strategy
represents more than a mere objective. Modernization represents the
mission of the pragmatists. Deng Xiaoping rejected the Maoist tendency
to forswear the technological trappings of the so-called West
(including soft technology in the form of social relationships) and
embraced the idea that modernity required copying many of the traits
of the Western capitalist nations." [2]
In Marxist theory, history progresses through a number of stages from
slave society to feudal society to capitalist society to socialist
society to communist society. According to the interpretation of this
by the Communist Party of China, the revolution of 1949 was an
irreversible change from capitalism to socialism and that therefore
China is still socialist. However, Maoist organizations, such as the
Maoist Internationalist Movement and the Revolutionary
Internationalist Movement, claim that China reverted back to
capitalism with the arrest of the Gang of Four, in 1976.


[edit] Deng Xiaoping
According to Necessary Chinese Illusions:

"Chinese professor Han Deqiang in his paper Chinese Cultural
Revolution: Failure and Theoretical Originality examined the demise of
communism in China. Han detailed how from its very beginning the
communist revolutionary government had been infiltrated by a
capitalist faction which had established itself within the
bureaucracy. Prominent among the bureaucrats was Deng Xiaoping." [3]
Deng Xiaoping on June 30, 1984 said:

"What is socialism and what is Marxism? We were not quite clear about
this in the past. Marxism attaches utmost importance to developing the
productive forces. We have said that socialism is the primary stage of
communism and that at the advanced stage the principle of from each
according to his ability and to each according to his needs will be
applied. This calls for highly developed productive forces and an
overwhelming abundance of material wealth. Therefore, the fundamental
task for the socialist stage is to develop the productive forces. The
superiority of the socialist system is demonstrated, in the final
analysis, by faster and greater development of those forces than under
the capitalist system. As they develop, the people's material and
cultural life will constantly improve. One of our shortcomings after
the founding of the People's Republic was that we didn't pay enough
attention to developing the productive forces. Socialism means
eliminating poverty. Pauperism is not socialism, still less
communism." [4]

[edit] Communist Party of China
Wang Yu on behalf of the Communist Party of China in January 2004
said:

"production stagnated for a long time. There was little improvement in
people’s quality of life, and China’s gap with developed economies
widened further. All of this made Chinese Communists ask themselves
time and again the following questions: Where on earth was the
superiority of socialism? Was socialism rich or poor? What is
revolution and what was its purpose? The theory of building socialism
with Chinese characteristics, which took the development of the
productive forces as its fundamental task, came into being amid and as
a result of these reflections and reviews." [5]


Demise of the Soviet Union


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cameron Sawyer sent from Moscow news comments on the death of
President Reagan. Randy Black, who lived in Omsk, comments: "Hurray
for the positive bits and pieces of Russian opinion about Reagan! I,
too, am surprised at the overwhelmingly positive nature of the posts
from Russia. I also used to enjoy lunch at the Central House of
Writers as the guest of a retired editor at Izvestia. On that note, it
is interesting to see the opinion in the article by Bratersky of
Izvestia regarding the effect of Star Wars on the Soviet budget/
bankruptcy. It seems that many commentators offer an opinion that
supports such a position. I support a slightly different position.

The USSR bankrupted itself over many issues, and over many years. Star
Wars was only one facet of the equation. The myriad of causes of their
demise included a corrupt, inefficient internal mechanism that sold
goods to its people at a price that had no relationship to the cost of
development, manufacture and distribution. I vividly remember
purchasing a finely tooled hammer at a state shop in Omsk in 1993 for
the equivalent in rubles price of three US pennies. Its origin was
Czech, brought thousands of miles, made from the finest metal and wood
and finished beautifully. That’s a lot to say about a simple hammer, I
know, but it was typical of the goods I found in Siberia: Imported in
many cases from great distances, finely made, yet cheaply packaged, if
at all, and sold at ridiculously low prices for the benefit of her
peoples who for the most part in those days, earned $15-$20 per month,
if that much.

The USSR used hard currency revenues (US dollars) earned from
international sales of its natural resources (oil, diamonds, timber
and so forth) to subsidize such unprofitable operations and trade over
many decades, and thus to keep the proletariat happy. Hard currency
dollars from oil sales allowed the government to purchase other goods
and materials needed in every facet of their life, goods and foods not
available in sufficient numbers from their own factories and fields.
When Reagan entered office, oil was trading above $35 per barrel,
having been above $40 during the Carter administration. By 1986, it
was below $10. Over the next several years, oil hovered in the $10-$20
range, give or take. The USSR was bankrupted soon thereafter as a
result. While my Russian friends tell me that there were never enough
goods on the shelves of stores in Russia, the problem grew much worse
in the 80s. The lack of hard currency from oil exports certainly was a
contributory factor. There are those among President Reagan’s
entourage who believe that his administration caused the price of oil
to dip and stay low over years as another element in the effort to
bankrupt the USSR. In fact, Reagan did loosen controls on oil and gas
production, thus resulting in a glut and the lower prices. Of course,
there are many other reasons for the demise of the USSR, but a system
of manufacturing and distribution that has no relationship to the cost
of the goods seems like a good place to start".

RH. Randy's story of a hammer means that the problem with communism
was not necessarily the quality of goods. The facile charge that the
Communist bloc was incapable of manufacturing quality goods was as
unfounded as the old dismissal of Japanese industry as being able only
to copy Western goods stupidly. That talk faded away- My briefcase has
a story comparable to Randy's hammer. At a store in Stanford's
Shopping Center I bought an expensive American briefcase which kept
falling open. I took it back and complained. The salesman,
unperturbed, told me to choose another one. I selected a beautifully
tooled leather one, and was surprised to learn that it was cheaper, so
I got some money back. It has served me splendidly over the years. It
was made in communist Romania.


Christopher Jones writes: "I agree that the Soviet Union collapsed of
its own weight. I noticed that when Ronald Reagan died, he suddenly
"won the cold war" and "defeated the Soviet Union." This of course is
as ridiculous as the Americans winning the Battle of Britain.
Communism was overthrown because it lost touch with its power base:
the workers. Reagan had nothing at all to do with it. Probably the two
men who could be most credited with the downfall of the Communist
empire in eastern Europe was Pope John Paul II and Lech Walesa".


http://wais.stanford.edu/Russia/demiseofsovietunion.htm



Glasnost
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Russian term
Гла́сность
Translit: glasnost'
English: openness
Glasnost (help·info) (Russian: Гла́сность, Russian pronunciation:
[ˈglasnəsʲtʲ]) is the policy of maximal publicity, openness, and
transparency in the activities of all government institutions in the
Soviet Union, together with freedom of information, introduced by
Mikhail Gorbachev.

The word is a transliteration of the Russian word Гласность and was
frequently used by Gorbachev to specify the policies he believed might
help reduce the corruption at the top of the Communist Party and the
Soviet government, and moderate the abuse of administrative power in
the Central Committee.

Glasnost can also refer to the specific period in the history of the
USSR during the 1980s when there was less censorship and greater
freedom of information.

Look up glasnost in
Wiktionary, the free dictionary.Contents
[hide]
1 Glasnost in USSR and in Russia
2 Areas of concern
3 Effects
4 See also
5 Notes
6 References
7 External links



[edit] Glasnost in USSR and in Russia


Glasnost poster from 1987. The slogan is "Be Bold, Comrade! Openness
is Our Strength!" (Russian: "Смелее, товарищ! Гласность - наша сила!")
This word appeared in 1985-1990 as a part of the program of reforms
called perestroika (перестройка), whose goals included combating
corruption and the abuse of privilege by the political classes. In the
broadest sense, it aimed to liberalize freedom of the press gradually,
and to allow for freedom of dissent.[1] The policy met resistance
during the 1986 Chernobyl disaster, when authorities hid the true
extent of the nuclear accident for several days.

Through his policy of glasnost, Gorbachev pressured conservatives
within the Communist Party who opposed perestroika, his programs of
economic restructuring. By cultivating a spirit of intellectual and
cultural openness which encouraged public debate and participation,
Gorbachev hoped to increase the Soviet people's support for and
participation in perestroika.


[edit] Areas of concern
While in the West the notion of "glasnost" is associated with freedom
of speech, the main goal of this policy was to make the country's
management transparent and open to debate, thus circumventing the
narrow circle of apparatchiks who previously exercised complete
control of the economy. Through reviewing the past or current mistakes
being made, it was hoped that the Soviet people would back reforms
such as perestroika.



Perestroika and glasnost postage stamp, 1988
Glasnost gave new freedoms to the people, such as a greater freedom of
information by opening the secret parts for unallowed literature in
the libraries[2][3] and a greater freedom of speech — a radical
change, as control of speech and suppression of government criticism
had previously been a central part of the Soviet system. There was
also a greater degree of freedom within the media. In the late 1980s,
the Soviet government came under increased criticism, as did Leninist
ideology (which Gorbachev had attempted to preserve as the foundation
for reform), and members of the Soviet population were more outspoken
in their view that the Soviet government had become a failure.
Glasnost did indeed provide freedom of expression, far beyond what
Gorbachev had intended, and changed citizens' views towards the
government, which played a key role in the collapse of the Soviet
Union.


[edit] Effects
Relaxation of censorship resulted in the Communist Party losing its
grip on the media. Before long, much to the embarrassment of the
authorities, the media began to expose severe social and economic
problems which the Soviet government had long denied and covered up.
Long-denied problems such as poor housing, food shortages, alcoholism,
widespread pollution, creeping mortality rates and the second-rate
position of women were now receiving increased attention. Moreover,
under glasnost, the people were able to learn significantly more about
the horrors committed by the government when Joseph Stalin was in
power. Although Nikita Khrushchev denounced Stalin's personality cult,
information about the true proportions of his atrocities was still
suppressed. In all, the very positive view of Soviet life which had
long been presented to the public by the official media was being
rapidly dismantled, and the negative aspects of life in the Soviet
Union were brought into the spotlight. This began to undermine the
faith of the public in the Soviet system.

Political openness continued to produce unintended consequences. In
elections to the regional assemblies of the Soviet Union's constituent
republics, nationalists swept the board. As Gorbachev had weakened the
system of internal political repression, the ability of the USSR's
central Moscow government to impose its will on the USSR's constituent
republics had been largely undermined. During the 1980s, calls for
greater independence from Moscow's rule grew louder. This was
especially marked in the Baltic Republics of Estonia, Lithuania and
Latvia, which had been annexed into the Soviet Union by Joseph Stalin
in 1940. Nationalist feeling also took hold in other Soviet republics
such as Ukraine, Georgia and Azerbaijan.

Starting in the mid-1980s, the Baltic states used the reforms provided
by glasnost to assert their rights to protect their environment and
their historic monuments and, later, their claims to sovereignty and
independence. When the Balts withstood outside threats, they exposed
an irresolute Kremlin. Bolstering separatism in other Soviet
republics, the Balts triggered multiple challenges to the Soviet
Union. Supported by Russian leader Boris Yeltsin, the Baltic republics
asserted their sovereignty.

The rise of nationalism under glasnost also reawakened simmering
ethnic tensions throughout the union. For example, in February 1988,
Nagorno-Karabakh, a predominantly ethnic Armenian region in the
Azerbaijan SSR, passed a resolution calling for unification with the
Armenian SSR. Violence against local Azeris was then reported on
Soviet television, which provoked massacres of Armenians in the
Azerbaijani city of Sumgait.

The freedoms generated under Glasnost enabled increased contact
between Soviet citizens and the western world, particularly with the
United States. Restrictions on travel were loosened, allowing
increased business and cultural contact. For example, one key meeting
location was in the U.S. at the Dakin Building, then owned by American
philanthropist Henry Dakin, who had extensive Russian contacts:

During the late 1980s, as glasnost and perestroika led to the
liquidation of the Soviet empire, the Dakin building was the location
for a series of groups facilitating United States-Russian contacts.
They included the Center for U.S.-U.S.S.R. Initiatives, which helped
more than 1000 Americans visit the Soviet Union and more than 100 then-
Soviet citizens visit the U.S.[4]

While thousands of political prisoners and many dissidents were
released in the spirit of glasnost, Gorbachev's original goal of using
glasnost and perestroika to reform the Soviet Union was not achieved.
In 1991, the Soviet Union was dissolved following a failed coup by
conservative elements who were opposed to Gorbachev's reforms.



Perestroika
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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(computer game). For the play by Tony Kushner, see Angels in America.
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2008)
Russian term
перестройка
Translit: perestroika
English: restructuring
Perestroika (help·info) (Russian: Перестройка, Russian pronunciation:
[pʲɪrʲɪˈstrojkə]) is the Russian term (now used in English) for the
economic reforms introduced in June 1987[1] by the Soviet leader
Mikhail Gorbachev. Its literal meaning is "restructuring", referring
to the restructuring of the Soviet economy.

Look up perestroika in
Wiktionary, the free dictionary.Contents
[hide]
1 The perestroika program
2 Unforeseen results of reform
3 Comparison with China
4 Summary
5 See also
6 Notes
7 References in Pop-Culture
8 References
9 External links



[edit] The perestroika program


Perestroika poster with Mikhail Gorbachev
During the initial period (1985-1987) of Mikhail Gorbachev's time in
power, he talked about modifying central planning, but did not make
any truly fundamental changes (uskoreniye, acceleration). Gorbachev
and his team of economic advisers then introduced more fundamental
reforms, which became known as perestroika (economic restructuring).

At the June 1987 plenary session of the Central Committee of the
Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU), Gorbachev presented his
"basic theses," which laid the political foundation of economic reform
for the remainder of the existence of the Soviet Union.

In July 1987, the Supreme Soviet passed the Law on State Enterprise.
The law stipulated that state enterprises were free to determine
output levels based on demand from consumers and other enterprises.
Enterprises had to fulfill state orders, but they could dispose of the
remaining output as they saw fit. Enterprises bought inputs from
suppliers at negotiated contract prices. Under the law, enterprises
became self-financing; that is, they had to cover expenses (wages,
taxes, supplies, and debt service) through revenues. No longer was the
government to rescue unprofitable enterprises that could face
bankruptcy. Finally, the law shifted control over the enterprise
operations from ministries to elected workers' collectives. Gosplan's
(Russian: Государственный комитет по планированию, State Committee for
Planning) responsibilities were to supply general guidelines and
national investment priorities, not to formulate detailed production
plans.

The Law on Cooperatives, enacted in May 1988, was perhaps the most
radical of the economic reforms during the early part of the Gorbachev
era. For the first time since Vladimir Lenin's New Economic Policy,
the law permitted private ownership of businesses in the services,
manufacturing, and foreign-trade sectors. The law initially imposed
high taxes and employment restrictions, but it later revised these to
avoid discouraging private-sector activity. Under this provision,
cooperative restaurants, shops, and manufacturers became part of the
Soviet scene.



Perestroika postage stamp, 1988
Gorbachev brought perestroika to the Soviet Union's foreign economic
sector with measures that Soviet economists considered bold at that
time. His program virtually eliminated the monopoly that the Ministry
of Foreign Trade had once held on most trade operations. It permitted
the ministries of the various industrial and agricultural branches to
conduct foreign trade in sectors under their responsibility rather
than having to operate indirectly through the bureaucracy of trade
ministry organizations. In addition, regional and local organizations
and individual state enterprises were permitted to conduct foreign
trade. This change was an attempt to redress a major imperfection in
the Soviet foreign trade regime: the lack of contact between Soviet
end users and suppliers and their foreign partners.

The most significant of Gorbachev's reforms in the foreign economic
sector allowed foreigners to invest in the Soviet Union in the form of
joint ventures with Soviet ministries, state enterprises, and
cooperatives. The original version of the Soviet Joint Venture Law,
which went into effect in June 1987, limited foreign shares of a
Soviet venture to 49 percent and required that Soviet citizens occupy
the positions of chairman and general manager. After potential Western
partners complained, the government revised the regulations to allow
majority foreign ownership and control. Under the terms of the Joint
Venture Law, the Soviet partner supplied labor, infrastructure, and a
potentially large domestic market. The foreign partner supplied
capital, technology, entrepreneurial expertise, and, in many cases,
products and services of world competitive quality.

Gorbachev's economic changes did not do much to restart the country's
sluggish economy in the late 1980s. The reforms decentralized things
to some extent, although price controls remained, as did the ruble's
inconvertibility and most government controls over the means of
production.

By 1990 the government had virtually lost control over economic
conditions. Government spending increased sharply as an increasing
number of unprofitable enterprises required state support and consumer
price subsidies continued. Tax revenues declined because republic and
local governments withheld tax revenues from the central government
under the growing spirit of regional autonomy. The elimination of
central control over production decisions, especially in the consumer
goods sector, led to the breakdown in traditional supply-demand
relationships without contributing to the formation of new ones. Thus,
instead of streamlining the system, Gorbachev's decentralization
caused new production bottlenecks.


[edit] Unforeseen results of reform
The new system bore the characteristics of neither central planning
nor a market economy. Instead, the Soviet economy went from stagnation
to deterioration. At the end of 1991, when the union officially
dissolved, the national economy was in a virtual tailspin. In 1991
Soviet GDP had declined by 17 percent and was declining at an
accelerating rate.[citation needed] Overinflation was becoming a major
problem. Between 1990 and 1991, retail prices in the Soviet Union
increased 140 percent.

Under these conditions, the general quality of life for the Soviet
people deteriorated. The public traditionally faced shortages of
durable goods, but under Gorbachev, food, clothes, and other basic
necessities were in short supply. Fueled by the liberalized atmosphere
of Gorbachev's glasnost and by the general improvement in information
access in the late 1980s, public dissatisfaction with economic
conditions was becoming much more overt than ever before in the Soviet
period. The foreign-trade sector of the Soviet economy also showed
signs of deterioration. The total Soviet hard-currency debt increased
appreciably, and the Soviet Union, which had established an impeccable
record for debt repayment in earlier decades, had accumulated sizable
arrears by 1990. It did free up the arts and social sciences in the
region and enabled formerly banned literature and films to be
reconstructed to a degree, with filmmakers like Sergei Parajanov now
out of prison.

In sum, the Soviet Union left a legacy of economic inefficiency and
deterioration to the fifteen constituent republics after its breakup
in December 1991. Arguably, the shortcomings of the Gorbachev reforms
had contributed to the economic decline and eventual destruction of
the Soviet Union. At the same time, the Gorbachev programs did start
Russia on the precarious road to full-scale economic reform.

The failures of perestroika have led Alexander Zinovyev to coin the
word catastroika (Russian катастройка), a blend of катастрофа -
"catastrophe" and perestroika. Zinovyev wrote: "the effect of
explanatory work has appeared the return desirable. All they wished to
avoid, has occurred with double the force... Queues lengthened. Prices
in the markets have jumped. At home, in queues, in transport, on work,
at assemblies people have openly worn the perestroyka. .... Someone
has learned, that the word "perestroyka" is translated on the Greek
language by a word "accident". On this basis a new word "katastroyka"
has appeared. Pensioners and older Party members saw in perestroika
the counterrevolution and betrayal of Lenin's cause".[2]


[edit] Comparison with China
Perestroika and Deng Xiaoping's economic reforms have similar origins
but very different effects on their respective countries' economies.
Both efforts occurred in large communist countries attempting to
modernize their economies, but while China's GDP has grown
consistently since the late 1980s (albeit from a much lower level),
national GDP in the USSR and in many of its successor states fell
precipitously throughout the 1990s.[3][citation needed] Gorbachev's
reforms were largely a top-down attempt at reform, and maintained many
of the macroeconomic aspects of the command economy (including price
controls, inconvertibility of the ruble, exclusion of private property
ownership, and the government monopoly over most means of production).
Reform was largely focused on industry and on cooperatives, and a
limited role was given to the development of foreign investment and
international trade. Factory managers were expected to meet state
demands for goods, but to find their own funding. Perestroika reforms
went far enough to create new bottlenecks in the Soviet economy, but
arguably did not go far enough to effectively streamline it. Chinese
economic reform was, by contrast, a bottom-up attempt at reform,
focusing on light industry and agriculture (namely allowing peasants
to sell produce grown on private holdings at market prices). Economic
reforms were fostered through the development of "Special Economic
Zones", designed for export and to attract foreign investment,
municipally-managed Township and Village Enterprises and a "dual
pricing" system leading to the steady phasing out of state-dictated
prices. Greater latitude was given to managers of state-owned
factories, while capital was made available to them through a reformed
banking system and through fiscal policies (in contrast to the fiscal
anarchy and fall in revenue experienced by the Soviet government
during perestroika).


[edit] Summary
The perestroika reforms began the process leading to the dismantling
of the Soviet-era command economy and its replacement with a market
economy. However, the process arguably exacerbated already existing
social and economic tensions within the Soviet Union, and no doubt
helped to further nationalism among the constituent republics, as well
as social fragmentation. The economic chaos that began with
perestroika helped both to empower organized crime and allowed
businessmen with the right connections to amass great personal
fortunes as Russia's oligarchs. The economic freedoms instituted by
Gorbachev under perestroika and the problems caused by these reforms
arguably helped to begin the unraveling of Soviet society and hastened
the end of the Soviet Union.



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Unheralded Sushil Kumar rose from obscurity to find his rightful
place in the history of Indian sports when he won the bronze medal in
men's 66kg freestyle category at the Beijing Olympics here
today.Sushil's campaign seemed nearly over when he lost his first
round battle against eventual silver medallist Andriy Stadnik but
repechage provided him a ray of hope and the Indian proved simply
irresistible as he beat three grapplers on the trot to win the
bronze.Down in the dumps after his opening round defeat, Sushil came
up with an incredible show, beating Doug Schwab (USA), Albert Batyrov
(Belarus) and finally the losing semifinalist Leonid Spiridonov
(Kazakhstan) in the repechage rounds to earn his slice of
history.Sushil thus became the second Indian wrestler after K D Jadhav
who won a bronze in the 1952 Helsinki Games to win an Olympic medal.
Incidentally, in the 2006 Doha Asian Games also, Sushil had beaten
Leonid to win the bronze.Against Leonid, Sushil grabbed early
initiative by scoring two technical points that proved decisive in the
end.

Though the Kazakh grappler scored one in the second period and managed
to thwart Sushil, the Indian proved his superiority again in the third
period and eventually prevailed 3-2 to trigger frenzied celebration
among the Indians present at the Chinese Agricultural University here.

India's fledgling Olympic campaign on Wednesday received a sensational
boost with unheralded grappler Sushil Kumar clinching a bronze medal
and boxer Vijender Kumar assuring himself of at least a bronze to give
the country a record three medals for the first time ever.

After Abhinav Bindra's gold-winning feat during the first week of the
sporting extravaganza, the 25-year-old Sushil Kumar shot into fame by
winning a bronze medal in the wrestling arena while Vijender has put
himself on course for a silver or gold medal on a historic day for
Indian sports.

Sushil and Vijender's heroics not only provided the late sparks to an
otherwise dismal campaign but has created a record of sorts as India
had never returned with three medals from the Olympics.

India had won two Olympic medals in the 1952 Helsinki Games when the
hockey team had won the gold medal and wrestler KD Jadhav had won a
bronze medal, a record which had stood for 56 long years.

While Sushil and Vijender did the country proud, there was some
heartbreak for the Indians with another medal contender pugilist
Jitender Kumar losing his quarter-final bout despite a valiant effort
in the ring.

After days of disappointments, it turned out to be a day to cherish
for the Indians as Sushil found his way to the record books by
becoming only the second wrestler in India's Olympic history to win a
bronze medal in the men's 66 kg freestyle category.

Vijender then brought more cheers for the contingent by beating
Ecuador's Carlos Gongora in the quarter finals of the 75 kg category
with a 9-4 verdict.

Sushil's campaign seemed nearly over when he lost his first round
battle against eventual silver medallist Andriy Stadnik but repechage
provided him a ray of hope and the Indian proved simply irresistible
as he beat three grapplers on the trot to win the bronze.

Down in the dumps after his opening round defeat, Sushil came up with
an incredible show, beating Doug Schwab (USA), Albert Batyrov
(Belarus) and finally the losing semifinalist Leonid Spiridonov
(Kazakhstan) in the repechage rounds to earn his slice of history.

Incidentally, in the 2006 Doha Asian Games also, Sushil had beaten
Leonid to win the bronze.

Indian challenge ended in the table tennis event of Olympics after
Achantha Sharath Kamal meekly surrendered 1-4 to Austria's Chen
Weixing in the second round clash of the men's singles event in
Beijing on Wednesday.

India's Jitender Kumar lost against Russia's Georgy Balakshin in the
flyweight (51kg) quarterfinals at Beijing. It was a well-fought
contest but the Russian definitely had an upperhand and trounced
Jitender 15-11.

With two Olympic medals already in India's kitty, more hopes were
rested on boxers Jitender Kumar and Vijender Kumar. With Jitender out
of the medal race, Vijender remains the last ray of hope for the first
boxing medal.

Round 1: 2-1

Balakshin took the lead with the first on spot punch. Jitender
levelled him soon but he could take his score beyond that and the
Russian took the lead right away.

Round 2: 5-5

The second round was an evenly fought and the two pugilists ended 5-5,
though Balashin was leading 7-6.

Round 3: 6-3

With two rounds very closely fought, Balakshin became a bit more
aggressive and succeeded in penetrating Jitender's defense. He was
sharp and aggressive and ended up with a score of 6-3. This took his
total lead to 13-9

Round 4: 2-2

With a lead that almost promised a victory, Balakshin became
defensive. Jitender still managed to grab two points but it came too
late. All last minute fight came out to be futile as the Russian
emerged victorious.



NDTV reports:
Left-sponsored strike against inflation and government policies has
hit normal life and the effect is being felt in several parts of the
country but Left-ruled West Bengal has come to a complete standstill.

Everything is shut-- shops, schools, colleges, offices and even the IT
sector companies. There are no taxis or buses on the roads. The
streets of Kolkata are completely deserted.

The strike has been called by eight major trade unions including the
All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) and Centre for Industrial Trade
Union (CITU).

Its also backed by 40 employees associations across sectors like
public sector banks and airport ground handling staff.

All Delhi flights to Kolkata have been cancelled. Delhi flights to
Kochi and Thiruvanthapuram in Kerala have also been affected.

Two flights from Delhi to Port Blair and Mumbai have also been
cancelled.

Airports Authority of India's 22,000 employees are on strike between 7
am and 7 pm affecting ground handling at airports.

The Kolkata airport was the worst affected due to the strike. It wore
a completely deserted look. Not a single flight landed at the airport
since the morning.

Indian Airlines has been able to operate only two flights out of
Kolkata since the morning whereas Kingfisher three and Jet Airways
just one flight.

The streets of Kolkata are empty. The entire state of West Bengal has
come to a standstill. No long distance train have left Howrah and
Sealdah since Wednesday morning. Some passenger trains left Howrah and
Sealdah but were blocked soon after.

And the flights to Kolkata which were supposed to depart from Delhi
before 9.00 am and now stand cancelled are JetLite flight number S2
319, Kingfisher flight number IT 601, Indian Airlines flight number IC
401, Air India flight number AI 9401.

The effect of the strike is being felt more in the Left-ruled states
of West Bengal, Kerala and Tripura.

Flights on passenger heavy routes like Kolkata, Trivandrum and Cochin
have been affected.

Airport employees are protesting against privatisation of airports and
rationalisation of employees' pay-scales. 250 Indian Air Force
personnel have been deployed at 21 airfields across the country to
ensure smooth air travel.

Not a single long distance train left from Howrah or Sealdah since
morning. Some passenger trains did leave in the morning but were
blocked soon after they left the station.

Many long distance trains coming to Howrah from different parts of the
country are still stranded as trade union activists have blocked the
railway tracks.

Banking transactions across the country will also be hit with
employees' associations at all Public sector banks joining the strike,
except for State Bank of India which was on strike on Monday.

The bank employees are protesting against the new economic policies of
the government, especially with regards to mergers which have lead to
job cuts.



Monika deserved more than SAI duplicity

BY JB LAMA

MANIPURIS were shocked beyond belief when Leishram Monika Devi —
silver medallist in the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games, who was the
lone woman weightlifter scheduled to represent India in Beijing — was
dropped from the Indian Olympic squad. More than this, what has most
hurt Manipuriri sentiment was the manner in which she was shunted out
— just a few hours before the team was to take off on the night of 5
August. The official reason: she reportedly tested positive for an
anabolic steroid. If so, then why the 11th hour decision?
Not unexpectedly, Manipuris vented their anger by organising an
impromptu 24-hour bandh and staged rallies and demonstations in Imphal
and Delhi. A public meeting described the decision as “injustice and a
discriminatory act towards players in Manipur” and demanded an apology
from the Centre within a week, failing which it threatened to organise
more bandhs and demonstrations.
It has asked the Manipur Olympic Committee to seek recognition of
Manipur as a separate entity in international and sporting events and
all government and non-government sports organisations have been told
to boycott any zonal, national and international competitions. The
meeting also revealed some past injustices to sportspersons from
Manipur, citing cases like the non-inclusion of the Sepak Takraw team
and non-selection of pugilist Dingku from Manipur in the first trial
for the last Bangkok Asian Games. And this was the same Dingku who won
a gold for India.
Two days after the opening of the Olympic Games came the report of
Monika having been absolved of the dope charge. But according to
Indian Olympic Association president Suresh Kalmadi, his request to
allow her participation was turned down by the International
Weightlifing Federation. Now for the pertinent question: How did the
test conducted by an Indian laboratory suddenly turn out to be
negative? The end result lends credence to Indian Weightlifting
Federation general secretary BT Gulati’s suspicion that there was some
“malafide intentions” behind it all. He had argued as much that “the
tests had no validity because the Indian lab is not accredited by the
World Anti-dope Agency, it does not follow procedure... its report was
given internally and we have not been given a copy”.
While seeking a CBI probe, Manipur chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh
said “the entire episode appears to be a big manipulative game played
by the Sports Authority of India, the national dope testing laboratory
and the Indian Olympic Association against a sportsperson whose dream
for the Olympics has been shattered”. It is only to be expected that
the SAI and the IOA, apart from telling the truth, will also clear
themselves of the “manipulating game” charges. Until then, the two
organisations will stand condemned by Manipuris.
In the spirit of justice and sporting competition, we feel the SAI and
IOA have not only cheated Monika but the country too. Who knows that
she might have realised her Olympic dream by winning a medal for
India!
http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=14&theme=&usrsess=1&id=218814


RIL may be allowed to sell diesel in domestic market








Ramesh Sharma

Dealing with diesel demand: Mr Murli Deora, Minister for Petroleum and
Natural Gas; Mr R. S. Sharma, Chairman and Managing Director, ONGC; Mr
U. D. Choubey, Chairman and Managing Director, GAIL; and Mr Sarthak
Behuria, Chairman, IOC, at a meeting in the Capital on Tuesday. -

Our Bureau


New Delhi, Aug. 19 With the diesel demand showing an 18-per cent
growth and oil companies depending on imports to bridge the gap, the
Government is considering changes in tax norms to allow refineries in
export-oriented units such as Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) to feed
the domestic market.

It is also mulling a differential pricing for power and other
industrial consumers of the fuel.

After a review meeting with the chiefs of PSU oil companies here on
Tuesday, the Petroleum Minister, Mr Murli Deora, said that a
consistent, long-term pricing policy for diesel is required – one
which would balance social concerns with business realities. The
Ministry was seeking changes in tax rules to allow EOU refineries to
supply petroleum products to PSU refiners.

Mr Sarthak Behuria, Chairman, Indian Oil Corporation Ltd, told news
persons that “We have written to Directorate General of Foreign Trade
(DGFT) and the Commerce Ministry in this regard, and if the Finance
Ministry also approves it, we will be able to buy diesel from Reliance
as is the case with LPG.”

An EOU refinery will have to pay both customs and excise duty for
selling the products in the domestic market. The excise duty comprises
two components - ad valorem and specific. Currently, the EOU will have
to face double taxation in specific.

In addition, the company will have to pay income-tax on its profits
when it sells fuel in the domestic tariff area (DTA). “It is being
examined if domestic sales by Reliance in the DTA can be given a
‘deemed export status’ and it continues to get income-tax waiver,” he
said. RIL already enjoys a deemed export status for selling LPG to the
PSUs.

Surge in demand


Mr Behuria said that industrial use of subsidised diesel was pushing
up demand and forcing the refiners to increase imports. The output by
Indian Oil Corporation, Bharat Petroleum Corporation and Hindustan
Petroleum Corporation together in 2008-09 was estimated at 39.49
million tonne, with the demand being at 54.79 m.t.

While transport and agriculture demand for diesel had grown by 10-12
per cent, consumption by power producers and other industries had
risen 30 per cent.
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2008/08/20/stories/2008082052160100.htm


Business and bandh mix
- Govt to talk industrialisation, union to shut workplaces
OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

Nirupam Sen
Calcutta, Aug. 19: The right hand will try to unlock a factory
tomorrow and the left will shut down almost every other such facility
in Bengal. But unlike in the adage, the two hands of the CPM know
exactly what they are doing.

By the time the state sli-thers into another bandh- induced slumber
tomorrow, Writers’ Buildings will stir to life to talk about the
future of the Tata car factory with representatives of the Trinamul
Congress.

Bengal industries minister Nirupam Sen today washed the government’s
hands of tomorrow’s all-India general strike, saying the CPM had
nothing to do with the shutdown call given by Citu.

He said the talks with Trinamul chief Mamata Banerjee over the
contentious 400 acres in Singur would be held as scheduled.

“The question of justifying tomorrow’s strike does not arise since we
have not called it. It is up to those who have called the strike to
make it a success. If people respond to the strike, it would be
successful,” he said.

The Citu would not see the irony, despite having forced the shutdown.

“Our strike is not anti-industry but to protest the Centre’s anti-
labour, anti-economic policies, including moves to amend labour laws,
divestment, unemployment and price rise,” Bengal Citu secretary Kali
Ghosh said. “Above all, it is against the Indo-US nuclear deal that
would compromise our national sovereignty.”

If anyone is doubting Citu’s “pro-industry” credentials, here’s proof:
the union wants work at the Tata factory in Singur to “progress”.

“We have called the general strike but workers of Tata Motors will
decide whether to work tomorrow or not. We are not going to stop them
forcibly. In fact, we want progress in Tata Motors’ work in Singur,”
Ghosh said.

State Citu president and CPM leader Shyamal Chakraborty said the
strike would not hamper the industrialisation talks. “There will be no
problem for ministers to attend office at Writers’ Buildings tomorrow.
It will be the same with Partha Chatterjee, who enjoys cabinet rank as
leader of the Opposition in the Assembly,” he said.

Chakraborty did not clarify whether he was saying that in the Citu’s
scheme of things, only ministers, not ordinary people, had the right
to free movement and work.

But Trinamul’s Chatterjee, whose party knows a trick or two about
enforcing bandhs, said: “I will not ask for security from the state
government for travelling to Writers’. If bandh supporters prevent me,
I shall return home straight.”

For Mamata, the shutdown has thrown up a bargaining chip. “I am urging
industrialists present here to persuade the government to resolve the
Singur issue. In return, I will consider solving the bandh problem,”
she told an interactive session at the Bengal Chamber of Commerce and
Industry.

Sources in her party later said it was a tongue-in-cheek remark.

“The ruling party has called a bandh tomorrow…. Is this democracy?
Bandh should be a tool to be used by the Opposition,” she said.

Careful not to send “wrong” signals to the audience made of
industrialists, she added: “It is not that we favour bandhs and
gheraos. But it’s a tool of protest that we use as a last resort.”
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1080820/jsp/bengal/story_9717178.jsp

Centre seeks extension of stay on Simi tribunal order

NEW DELHI, Aug. 19: The Centre today urged the Supreme Court to extend
its stay on a tribunal's order lifting the ban imposed on Students
Islamic Movement of India (Simi) charged with indulging in terrorist
activities, including the recent Ahmedabad and Bangalore blasts.
Additional solicitor-general Mr Gopal Subramaniam who made an
impromptu mention of the issue before a Bench of Justices Mr BN
Aggrawal, Mr GS Singhvi and Mr JM Panchal, submitted that the matter
which was scheduled to be heard on 22 August was not listed in the
cause list (which carries details of cases scheduled to be taken up by
a court on a particular day).
The ASG submitted that the “matter was of great importance” and the
stay, if not extended, would adversely affect the country's interests.
However, the air was cleared after the registry officials told the
Bench that the matter was listed for hearing on 25 August. On 6
August, a Bench headed by Chief Justice Mr KG Balakrishnan stayed a
special tribunal order that had earlier ordered lifting restrictions
on its activities and also issued a notice to Simi. n SNS & PTI

If Musharraf couldn’t do it, who could?

Pakistan and its humongous problems won’t go away. In fact they are
spilling into neighbouring countries and beyond.
In its six decades of bloody history, one of the country’s prime
ministers Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was hanged like a thug and two others,
Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto, were unceremoniously booted out from
power and forced into exile. When under the pressure of “friendly
persuasion” by outside powers, the two political rivals, with no love
lost between them, were allowed to return to Pakistan, Mrs Bhutto, a
darling of the West, was killed in an election melee and the other
returnee, Mr Sharif, has been plotting revenge against the (ex)General
who humiliated him in a 1999 putsch.
Since the 1980s when General Zia-ul-Haq seized power, Pakistan has
been gradually turned into a nation with a fundamentalist mindset. In
varying degrees, every institution, including the Pakistan armed
forces and the ISI, has been infused with the fundamentalist virus
that spread from Saudi-financed Wahabbi schools. Islamic
fundamentalists and the US-financed Afghanistan armed resistance
ultimately drove the Soviets out and also factored into the final
collapse of the Soviet Union.
When the United States withdrew its presence from Afghanistan leaving
well-armed guerrillas behind, the ISI in collusion with Al-Qaida and
its financial resources raised the Taliban that overran the country,
imposing brutal order on the war-ravaged nation.
By any historical standard the ISI-Taliban control of Afghanistan was
a remarkable achievement of the Pakistan armed forces. No less
significant has been the development of nuclear weapons, which made
Pakistan a nation that could not be ignored in the light of
proliferation threats and Islamic militancy.
On Christmas Day in 2003 when suicide bombers hit Mr Musharraf’s
motorcade ~ certainly not the last attempt to kill him~ many analysts
wondered what good was the mighty General to the United States in its
global mission of fighting terrorism if he could not protect himself.
Against all odds, Mr Musharraf put up a face of being a steadfast ally
of the United States in its fight against Al- Qaida terrorism. He
cautiously responded to peace overtures from India. But many in the
West began to be impatient with him. Some wondered whether Mr
Musharraf was fully committed to fighting Al-Qaida; or had another
agenda.
But the United States saw no alternative to the man who seemed to
control both the military and civilian life.
In the beginning, Mr Musharraf had an aura of “exceptionalism” about
him, as if he were a man of destiny. He led a bloodless coup in 1999,
promising to end political corruption and take Pakistan into a new
direction. He conjured the vision of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk as to how
he had liberated Turkey from Islamic orthodoxy and made it a modern
country. But Mr Mushrraf’s dream died too soon.
When the events of 9/11 forced him to reluctantly break away from the
Taliban (whose control over Afghanistan had created an illusion of
strategic depth for Pakistan) and join the US war against Al-Qaida, Mr
Musharraf invoked the Prophet Muhammad’s political alliances and
strategies (even with the enemies) and the Prophet’s final triumph.
Unfortunately, Mr Musharraf’s opportunistic alliance with Islamic
parties to build a political base to keep his secular rivals, Bhutto’s
Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Mr Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League
(PML-N), out of power backfired; he unwittingly allowed extremism to
grow.
http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=4&theme=&usrsess=1&id=218858

AN UNSETTLING END
- The UPA’s Pakistan policy is disastrously confused
Diplomacy - K.P. Nayar


Pervez Musharraf took the inevitable decision to step down as
Pakistan’s president on the very day that his brother-officer-turned-
president, General Zia-ul- Haq, was killed 20 years ago in a
mysterious plane crash, which ended one of the darkest chapters in the
short political history of Pakistan. Musharraf announced his decision
the following day to his nation, which has been waiting for this
denouement for months. Musharraf made up his mind to quit — in the
face of declarations to the contrary throughout last weekend by his
aides and his dwindling band of supporters — hours after the American
secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, told a Sunday television talk
show that asylum for the United States of America’s ally of almost
seven years “is an issue that is not on the table”.

Musharraf is a smart man. He correctly calculated that with eroding
support from the Bush administration in its twilight months, his
options were rapidly closing. George W. Bush and Rice have stood by
Musharraf through thick and thin while Rice’s predecessor, Colin
Powell, another army general, had nothing but praise for this
Pakistani in uniform after he tossed the Taliban out of his backyard a
month after the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington on
September 11, 2001. For the wily former president of Pakistan, the
proverbial tail that managed to wag the dog during much of the last
six years when it came to Pakistan’s engagement with Bush, matters
could only have got worse under a new American president from January
20 next year, whether that president is Barack Obama or John McCain.
Neither of them trusted Musharraf the way Bush and his aides did even
if the trust of the latter was at a diminishing rate in the last
several years.

Notwithstanding Rice’s assertion immediately after Musharraf’s
farewell to his nation that “we strongly support the democratically
elected civilian government” in Islamabad, officials who deal with
Pakistan in key government agencies in Washington say privately that
they would have preferred the army chief, General Ashfaq Pervez
Kayani, to have taken over. When Musharraf nominated Kayani last
November to succeed him as chief of army staff, there was jubilation
at the Pentagon: Kayani is a graduate of the US Army Command and
General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth in Kansas. Its other
distinguished alumni include Dwight D. Eisenhower, General George C.
Marshall and General George S. Patton.
Pl read Complete story:
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1080820/jsp/opinion/story_9716598.jsp

Tata OK but 400 bye-bye: Mamata
Subtle shift before talks
OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

Calcutta, Aug. 19: Mamata Banerjee today announced her party would
attend a meeting on Singur at Writers’ Buildings tomorrow with the one-
point agenda that 400 acres be returned to unwilling farmers, but
behind the bluster was a subtle shift in stand.
“Let the Tatas build their factory on 600-650 acres and let ancillary
units be relocated somewhere nearby,” she told industry leaders at the
Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
This is the first time the Trinamul leader has said the 400 acres need
not cover land on which the Tata Motors’ small car plant is coming up.
Trinamul leaders described this as a “softening of her position”. So
far, her stand was that land taken from unwilling farmers would have
to be returned no matter where it fell.
“I don’t want the Tatas to leave, I don’t believe in Tata bye-bye, but
simultaneously want the government to be fair to the farmers,” Mamata
said.
The Trinamul leader also revealed that she had received a letter from
Tata Motors on their Singur project, the first time the company has
got in touch with her directly, but refused to divulge its contents
saying it was marked “confidential’’.
“I would not be unethical by disclosing contents of the Tata Motors
letter. However, on the basis of what they have written, I can say
that they need 650 acres for the small car plant and not 1,000 acres.
“Moreover, the ancillary units coming up in Singur would not only
supply materials to Tata Motors but also other companies across the
globe. So, why did the government issue the notification that 1,000
acres would be required for the Tata project?” she asked.
It is learnt that the letter was written by Tata Motors MD Ravi Kant.
She was also unhappy that industries minister Nirupam Sen, and not
chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, would be meeting her party’s
representatives tomorrow.
“The chief minister should have realised that acceptance or rejection
of our demand for the return of 400 acres at Singur would be a policy
decision and his presence at tomorrow’s meeting was a must….
“Actually, his intention is to drag the issue and persuade us to defer
our agitation so that the Tatas can roll out their small car by
October. So, tomorrow’s meeting would be a meeting without results,”
Mamata said.
She appealed to the chambers to persuade the government that “the Tata
small car project does not need these 400 acres”. Unless the land was
returned, her party’s August 24 agitation at Singur would “start and
continue”, she warned.
CPM state secretary Biman Bose iterated the government line that land
already acquired could not be returned for “practical and legal”
reasons, and asked her to offer a “realistic solution”.
Mamata, who said she was “happy to get a letter from the chief
minister inviting us for talks on Singur”, holds that the return of
400 acres “is the only solution we can offer”.
After Bhattacharjee invited her for talks yesterday, Mamata wrote back
this morning to say her representatives would attend the meeting. The
chief minister sent another letter today praising her for agreeing to
hold a dialogue and confirming that Sen would meet Trinamul leaders at
4.30pm.
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1080820/jsp/frontpage/story_9717337.jsp


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