by the meltingpot: Flashpoint in the making

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Indeed, what is at work in the recent return of realism is the revenge of geography in the most old-fashioned sense. In the 18th and 19th centuries, before the arrival of political science as an academic specialty, geography was an honored, if not always formalized, discipline in which politics, culture, and economics were often conceived of in reference to the relief map. Thus, in the Victorian and Edwardian eras, mountains and the men who grow out of them were the first order of reality; ideas, however uplifting, were only the second.
And yet, to embrace geography is not to accept it as an implacable force against which humankind is powerless. Rather, it serves to qualify human freedom and choice with a modest acceptance of fate. This is all the more important today, because rather than eliminating the relevance of geography, globalization is reinforcing it. Mass communications and economic integration are weakening many states, exposing a Hobbesian world of small, fractious regions. Within them, local, ethnic, and religious sources of identity are reasserting themselves, and because they are anchored to specific terrains, they are best explained by reference to geography. Like the faults that determine earthquakes, the political future will be defined by conflict and instability with a similar geographic logic. The upheaval spawned by the ongoing economic crisis is increasing the relevance of geography even further, by weakening social orders and other creations of humankind, leaving the natural frontiers of the globe as the only restraint.
So we, too, need to return to the map, and particularly to what I call the “shatter zones” of Eurasia. We need to reclaim those thinkers who knew the landscape best. And we need to update their theories for the revenge of geography in our time.
Here is the link for the whole write up.

Now at 2nd place

My view is that relations between countries in the coming decades are most likely to reflect their cultural commitments, their cultural ties and antagonism with other countries rather than other factors. Quite obviously, power will continue to play a central role in global politics, as it always does. But usually there is something else behind conflicts. In the 18th century in Europe, the issues to a large extent involved questions of monarchy versus the emerging republican movements, first in America and then in France. In the 19th century, it involved states identifying themselves through nationalism. In the 20th century, ideology came to the fore, largely, but not exclusively, as a result of the Russian Revolution. We had fascism, communism and liberal democracy competing with each other. Well, that’s pretty much over. Liberal democracy has come to be accepted, in theory at least, around the world, if not always in practice. So the question really is what will be the central focus of global politics in the coming decades? My argument remains that cultural identities, antagonisms and affiliations will not only play a role, but play a major role in relations between states. The full interview is here.

This is the 3rd

Every citizen in the City of Richardson will be able to access 756 Kbps of internet connectivity for free, from anywhere in the city. They will be able to access the internet from their homes, schools, restaurants and parks using standard wi-fi connections which are now installed on almost every notebook computer. That is almost as fast as many so-called high speed broadband connections that one pays dearly for today, and several times faster than the various hotspots at your local coffee shops. And I should note that the tax-payers of the City of Richardson are not paying one penny for this, and in fact are going to see additional revenues as a benefit. ... At the beginning of this letter, I suggested that this would be one of the fastest worldwide rollouts of a technology ever seen. It was just 20 years ago that the first cellular systems were being built. The rollout for mesh wireless systems is going to make that look slow. There are several reasons I make this assertion. But they all center on the facts that installing mesh systems will be cheaper and easier than any previous system and the economics in both the developed and especially the developing world will be so radically compelling. Throw in the fact the any astute politician will want to be at the front of this parade (They will all want to say, "I was the man who helped bring free internet to everyone!") and the groundwork is laid for rapid deployment. In Richardson and elsewhere, MeshLinx is offering the basic infrastructure for free. This avoids all the time consuming, political budget battles in the cities. When a service is offered for free, much of the mandated competitive process is eliminated. Next is the low cost of installation of the system. As noted above, Richardson is a city of roughly 100,000 people living in 27.4 square miles. It will "only" cost about $2,000,000 today to lay the wireless blanket I mentioned above. It will cost a great deal less in the future, as MeshLinx is building the pods at a pace of 100 a month today. The maximum output of the US pilot assembly line is 500 a month. When the demand exceeds this (and it will in a very short time) discussions have been held to move volume production to China. Of course, the world will need tens of millions of pods. The cost for a pod will be a fraction of today's cost, with that installation number for a city like Richardson soon being half (or less) the cost of today. What does that $1 or 2 million get you? The infrastructure to be an internet connection, telephone, security, entertainment provider and a whole lot more company. As noted, it will get cheaper as the number of pods being made each month rises, thus lowering their costs dramatically. This technology does have scale. The cost of physically putting up a pod is not a large part of the equation, as you simply need to run a power line, attach a few bolts to a mount on the side of a building or light pole and then off to the next point. Think about the 40,000 homes and businesses in Richardson. If and (hopefully) over time when 10% decide to pay $50 a month for 10-20 Mbps high speed internet access you could see a revenue of $2.5 million a year just from internet access. Now add in all the other income possibilities (phone, entertainment, security and don't forget advertising revenue on the free service!). Think about your town or country. What would service like this be worth? If you are a small city that does not have high speed connections available, how many businesses that could bring jobs do not come your way because they need reliable communications for their work and their employees? If you are in a developing country, where internet access is difficult and expensive, it will open whole new vistas. Couple that with the various programs which want to give cheap laptops to kids in poor countries, and you could see significant social progress in a generation. Here is the link.

Sunday, February 18, 2007

Flashpoint in the making

It would be really interesting to see if the voters of Tamenglong could elect an MLA who was not sponsored by the NSCN(IM). Tamenglong district goes to polls on the 24th to elect 3 MLAs.

It is now established beyond any doubt that the people of Tamenglong have ventured into the step in revolting against the NSCN(IM). They are questioning legitimacy of the NSCN(IM) to force them to vote for a particular candidate who was sponsored by it.

The first visible evidence of the revolt could be the protest rally organized by the Zeliangrong Women’s Front. They were protesting against the intimidations by the rebel group and asking for free and fair elections.

And, it’s now clear that all is not well within inner workings of the NSCN(IM) itself. Prof Gangmumei Kamei was the original candidate in one the three constituencies sponsored by it. But some days back there was a media report that he was dropped as the sponsored candidate. They named another candidate as the sponsored candidates when the elections were barely a week away.

Tamenglong district is the least developed district of the State. There are hardly any motorable roads in the interior parts of the district. Taking advantage of such geographical inaccessibility, any conceivable rebel groups in the State have stationed their army bases in the interiors of the district. The combined forces of such armies together with the organizational base of the NSCN(K) are nearly gaining the critical mass for exerting a complete control over the district thereby pushing aside the NSCN(IM) from the geographical areas of the district.

The recent protest rally by the women folks is in fact the reflection of the changing power equations in the district.

All these developments have made the NSCN(IM) so nervous that they had announced that they would be recruiting 2000 youths from Tamneglong district as a special package. These youths would be given the necessary military training and would be given monthly salary! They know that everybody loves a regular monthly salary!!

This also shows that they are not giving up the district without a fight. So, it would not surprise anybody if the Tamenglong district develops into a flashpoint sooner than later.

4 comments:

gypsy said...: Thanks for the comments you left on my blog. i noticed the comments only after i switched to the new blogger hence the late reply. And no, i was not the girl in the white ambassador (we don't possess an ambassador).

Didn't you complain to the officer in charge when you found out somebody had voted posing as you? Even though i am very cynical about elections/politics, i feel nobody should be deprived of their basic rights.; February 19, 2007 5:13 PM
echaandam said...: Why should I think that girl in white ambassador may be you? It's a mystery!

I thought of complaining to the observers who had just arrived at the scene. But I desisted from it partly because I didn't like to hurt the 'inner agents' who all happened to be of my leikai and partly because I am also cynical about the elections ( but not politics!). It was the first time I went in to vote in an Assembly election ( I remember voting for a candidate in a municipal election some years ago)!

This elections make me strongly feel that we should elect a government who can match the NSCN(IM)'s design in the hills, let's say, a desgn for a design! That's why I was there in the election booth.

And, I should not fail to tell you that you make such terrific looking candles. Why don't you open a store in ebay?; February 20, 2007 12:12 AM
gypsy said...: Thanks. Well, i did think about it. But if i take into account the handling/shipping charges, the price would be exorbitant. i am not too sure whether there would be any takers for them then.

Could not understand the “hilly” designs you talked about. Perhaps you could elaborate (and maybe i would get bored too. Politics always bore me).; February 22, 2007 5:57 PM
echaandam said...: Sorry, sorry. I was so in a hurry last night.

I meant to describe the designs of the Muivah's people to distintegrate Manipur. Again, sorry that I made you confused.

But, why don't you think of plan for sharing your candles within the blogging community. For example, barter! I can send you something you like from Imphal. Then, I can wait for your candles to arrive here. Neat?; February 24, 2007 11:52 PM

by the meltingpot

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Now at 2nd place

This is the 3rd