by the meltingpot: November 2019

Now Reading!

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.

Tuesday, November 26, 2019

It's happening NOW!(updated)

When Shiv Sena(in Maharastra),demanded,out of the blue,the post of the chief ministership,it's unstoppable to suspect that something big was afoot.Seen in the context that Shiv Sena had gotten its members elected to the State Assembly in the ratio 1:2 to its electoral ally, the Bharatya Janata Party(BJP),the suspicion is dramatically amplified.It has half the number of Members of Legislative Assembly(MLAs) of its electoral ally but still made the demand for the post of chief ministership.Something not connected with normally accepted political practice in India had propelled the Shiv Sena to make the game-changing move.

Is it that the 'masked' revelation in Tamil Nadu had communicated with the cream of the Maratha national interest in Maharastra?

For an explainer,let's have a relook at what 'masked' revelation is.In the 'last word' section of the next to last post of this blog,it is what was written of the 'masked' revelation:

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We should not fail to notice the looting of several hundred crores worth of jewellery in Chennai on a date which is only eight days away from the visit of the Chinese President on its outskirt.The two men were wearing masks depicting Manipur's "Kre kre mo mo....Tokpaga Kaambaga...."

That particular day did not witness the 'gross' negotiation like those of NSCN(IM) and the govt of India.Instead,there were those 'subtle'dancing to the beats that were so meaningfully(even,poetically)let out from the corridors of India's imperial power structures.

If New Delhi shows off who are really their friends by way of subtle slow dancing on that day,we would have a 'masked' revelation on the same day at the Southernmost point of the Indian Sub-continent--that was the way of that momentous day.

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If one looks carefully back at the chronology of the events in Maharastra,it is Mr Rahul Gandhi,who was again briefed by the power that be in New Delhi of the surfacing of the 'msked'revealation in the Maratha land.

On the day two of the Shiv Sena demand,its leader met another Maratha leader,Mr Sharad Pawar,the president of the Nationalist Congress Party(NCP).Mr pawar's response was that he would meet Mrs Sonia Gandhi,the interim president of the Indian National Congress(INC) in New Delhi and only then he would announce his party's support to the Sena demand.(It needs to be noted here that Mr Devendra Fadnavis,though a Maharastrian,is not,by virtue of his caste,acceptable as the symbol of legitimate Maratha aspiration and interest.)

Mr Pawar went to New Delhi and met Mrs Gandhi.Coming out of the meeting,he said he made a deal with Mrs Gandhi which was apparently remains only to be officially announced.

Then,something went wrong.

It was reported in the media that Mr Rahul Gandhi personally intervened to delay the official announcement.

This delay makes it possible for the BJP leader, Mr Devendra Fadnavis to make himself the Chief Minister of Maharastra by making the Governor(who makes moves to the pull of the strings from the imperial New Delhi) to perform the Constitutional ritual in a bizzaire affair in the early morning of 23rd Nov 19 .Mr Fadnavis managed to rope in the nephew of Mr Sharad Pawar,Mr Ajit Pawar as the Deputy Chief Minister.

We need to pause here for a very interesting connection from Manipur to the whole story.

Former Chief Minster and the official Opposition Leader in the Manipur Legislative Assembly,Mr Okram Ibobi was somehow propelled to leave Manipur for New Delhi on the 13th Noc 2019.His visit is to persuade political leaders there to respect the sanctity of Manipur's territorial integrity against the backdrop of the presently-continuing Indo-Naga peace talk and to restrain the BJP-led government in New Delhi from re-introducing the controversial Citizenship Amendment Bill in the ongoing Parliament session.

We must note the symbolic number 13.It symbolizes the 13th of August,again linking to Crown Prince,Koireng(Yubaraj Tikendrajit).The former chairman of the oldest rebel gtoup of Manipur,who is presently 'lodgrd' in a secret place in New Deli by the officials of the Ministry of Home Affairs,is the direct descendant of Crown Prince,Koireng.

As if to make the conncectiion most clear the very first political leader Mr Okram Ibobi met in New Delhi is none other than the NCP president Mr Sharad Pawar.

And,the last leader he met was also not less revealing.Mr Okram Ibobi met the leaders of the Dravida Munnetra Kazagham(DMK).The DMK,along with the AIDMK(All India Davidra Munnetra Kazagham) are throbbing iconic players who had been successfully resisted the power encroachment of Delhi empire in the guise of electoral ploys.It was in the land of DMK ans AIDMK where we first got a glimpse of the 'masked' revelation.(my next to last post).

New Delhi quickly read the Manipur connection and retaliated even quicker.

The Central Buereau of Investigation(CBI) made surprise raids om the offices and residence of Mr Okram Ibbobi on the 22nd Nov 2019(while he was still in New Delhi).Together with the office and residence of Mr Okram Ibobi.seven other places across India were also simultaneously raided by the CBI.(Till date,the CBI has not issued any official communique of the raids,even though,its a normal practice following its official raids).

Today(26-11-19) the Supreme Court of India,taking cognizance of the joint plea of Shiv Sena,NCP and INC ruled that:

1) Floor test of the Fadnavis Government would be done by 27-11-2019.

2) A protem speaker should be appointed.

3) The voting by the MLAs should be by open ballot and telecasted live.

My bet is that Mr Rhaul Gandhi was briefed that defeating the 'masked' revelation is the paramount Indian national interest and that includes the protection of rhe BJP-led Fadnavis government,even though the BJP is the political rival of Mr Rahul Gandhi.

How would Mr Rahul Gandhi's MLAs act in the Maharastra Assembly on the 27th Nov 2019?

Even better question should run like this--

How would Mr Rahul Gandhi's MLAs act in the Maharastra Legislative Assembly in the coming weeks and months?

NEWS SOME MINUTES AGO--Mr Fadnavis resigned as the Chief Minster.The question is--what will be the present status of the Supreme Court ruling?

UPDATE
28-11-2019
8:42 am

There are three developments:

1) In a sudden and unscheduled move,they are setting him free. The former chairman of the oldest rebel group of Manipur is arriving at Imphal at around 1.30 pm of 28th Nov 19..

2) Mr Udhav Thackeray of the Shiv Sena is being sworn in the Chief Minister of Maharastra at arond 6.40 pm of 28th Nov 19.

3) Reading the above two statements together,what do we get?

4) Another important development is that the Governor of Maharastra has already given Mr Udhav thackeray till the 3rd Dec 2019 to prove his majority on the floor of the State Legislative Aseembly.Here,we have to note the significance of the number 3.It was on the 3rd of October 2019 (in Chennai) when we first got a glimpse of the 'masked'revelation (my next to last post).

5) The time given to Mr Udhav Thackeray is 7 days.What should make out of this? From time immemorial the number 7 is closely connected with Manipur.New Delhi is clearly sending a message to Manipur.

by the meltingpot

Now Reading!

Now at 2nd place

This is the 3rd