by the meltingpot: September 2018

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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.

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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.

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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, September 30, 2018

Did the 2nd War of Kurukshetra start on the 27th Sept 2018?

I think it was around 11.30 in the morning of the 27th September 2018.I heard a brief sonic boom. Momentariry,a fleeting thought came to my mind--'Some military activities out there?'.But it didn't last last long.I didn't put much effort om it--I even have difficulty in remembering the correct time of the morning I heard that sonic boom.(Incidentally,on the same day,USA's frontline fighter jet,F-35, was put into combat action for the first time in the Kandahar province of Afghanistan.Curiously,F-35 also met with its first crash the following day in South Carolina,US).

Later in the evening,I learnt from AIR news that 'Parakram Parv'(like Manipur's Khomgjom Parv,which extols the bravery of Manipuri soldiers in the battle of Khongjom?),commemorating the still-dubious 2016 surgical strike by the Indian military inside the Pakistani territory,would be held on the 28,29 and 30 September.

Even after hearing that AIR news,I still could not detect any pattern developing.

On the 28th September,from morning onwards,there were several military choppers' sorties across Imphal,which are typically taken to point to some militaty activities along the India-Burma border.

The day of 29th September came but the news of that day did not answer the questions posed by the military choppers' sorties of the previous day.

But another news of that day struck me.That news propelled me to try to connect all the dots of the previous few days.

India's Home Minister,Mr Rajnath Singh,speaking to a small crowd in a small town in UP on the occasion of unveiling of a statute of Bhagat Singh,hinted at yet another surgical strike during the last few days.He specifically told the crowd that he would not disclose any details.

My immediate reaction: Why was the Home Minister hinting at yet another surgical strike at an event outside of 'Parakram Parv' which is being celebrated right at the moment? Wasn't the 'Parakram Parv' exactly the right place for the announcement of yet another surgical strike?We must remember here that the 'Parakram Parv' was specifically celebrated to commemorate the still-dubious 2016 surgical strike.

Something did not add up.

My gut feeling is that the 'Parakram Parv' was specifically organized for the grand announcement of a surgical strike by the special operation soldiers of the Indian military along the New Lazang sector of the India-Burma border.Ovbiously,the D-Day was the 27th of September,when I heard that sonic boom,which was most likely a diversion for the coming in of the special operation soldiers of the Indian military.

What did the attacking Indian special operations soldier find out at the battle ground?

Was there a fight between the Indian special operations soldiers and Manipuri rebels?

I did try really hard to find the answers to these questions but I could not.I don't have the necessary resources to find out those answers.

But I can say that I have the answers to the questions how I come to the above conjectures!

My conspiracy theorist answers run like this:

1)Taiwanese films were screened in Imphal from 16th to 20th September.

Do film and Taiwan ring anything? Nope.But tech and Taiwan do.Even wealth and Taiwan do.

Then,why did the Taiwanese films suddenly spring up on a hugely significant date like 16(My last post)?

We must remember here that Taiwan is embarrassingly painful thorn in the flesh of China.The planned surgical strike along the New Lazang sector should serve a notice to China(in that,the rebels there are believed to have unflinching Chinese support).

But still,the date 20 does not mean anything.

2)Then,it happened.

At the midnight of the 20th September,there was the brutal police raid inside Manipur University campus.Six professors were arrested and sent to jail.The students and the professors are on strike seeking removal of Pof A P Pandey from the post of vice chancellorship of the university.

The police raid inside the university campus was not a normal police activity.The raid was specifically planned to please the notorious organization,the RSS,which is headquartered in Nagpur.Here,in Imphal,it is widely believed that the BHU professor,Mr A P Pandey is,like Mr Narendra Modi and Mr Rajnath Singh,a RSS man.It turned out that the RSS handpicked Prof Pandey as the Vice Chancellor of Manupur University with the aim to 'saffronize' it.

Seen in this light and also in the light of the openly-stated aim of the RSS to dominate the world by Hindus,the police raid of the 20th September 2018 has a huge political meaning.

3)More significant things,it turns out,are in store.

Strategists in Imphal and New Delhi anitcipated(correctly,as the turn of the events shows) a bandh call in retaliation of the police raid.Apparently,both group of strategists,based in Imphal and New Delhi,agreed that the day the bandh starts should also serve as the D-Day of the surgical strike along the New Lazang sector of India-Burma border.

The bandh,a 48 hours long one,starts from the midnight of the 26th September.In other words,it effectively starts from the 27th September.

That was when I heard the sonic boom(but some 10 hours later).

Now,those days have already gone by.But it seems that there is this ongoing and complete blockade of free flow of information.Were the choppers' sorties of the 28th Sept across Imphal responsible for this blockade? Imagine the seniormost militaty officer at Leimakhong,travelling by chopper,flying right across Imphal,to the battleground site and ordering,after reporting directly to New Delhi, a complete blockade of all the news about the strike.

In other words,Mr Narendra Modi's first battle of the 2nd War of Kurukshetra(My last post) results in something that needs to be urgently and completely classified.I also listened to his latest edition of 'Mann Ki Baat' lecture over the radio in the morning of the 30th September.He devoted nearly half of his 26 minutes lecture to things military.It is quite evident that his mind was completely transfixed to things military during the last few days.Hearing him,it is quite evident that his usually bubbling energy has deserted him and on the whole,his lecture was enveloped in an aura of defeat.It seems that his defeat in the first battle of his 2nd War of Kurukshetra was duly reflected in his latest edition of 'Mann Ki Baat' lecture.

This mood of Mr Narendra Modi might also reveal the reason why the poor Home Minister was delegated with the task of putting up a lame excuse for 'parakram Parv' in a small town in UP.It is also now clear that strong efforts was put in place to drasticaaly scale down the celebration of 'parakram Parv' itself.

I still vividly remember the moments of my childhood when we,awestrucked,devoured the melodrama,twists and turns of the great story of Mahabharata in 'wari liba' events.

That the result of the first battle of Mr Narendra Modi's 2nd War of Kurukshetra was hastily classified should mean that epochal and world-shattering stories are being brewed right at the moment.

Let those stories be allowed to come out in the open.

by the meltingpot

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