by the meltingpot: Phase 3 : the full picture.

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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.

Tuesday, March 02, 2021

Phase 3 : the full picture.

Just like their objectives in phase 1 and 2 of the encirclement,in phase 3, their aim is to elicit some form of a response from the unseen actors(My last post).In phase 3,they are going to force me to come out to engage in some kind of a negotiation and see how the faceless actors response to that.

I bet they cannot wait to taunt the faceless actors(in that,they would be saying--now,the blog you are using for such a long time won't longer be available for your purpose).

Words fail to describe my sense of disappointment--why should they lower the bar of engagement in such a lowly level.They should open up minds,search for newer ideas and technologies and compete.NOW they want to TAUNT their competitor.They are total disappointment.

Should I go out and negotiate with them?

To answer this,let me travel back in time for a while.I must not be more fourteen years of age when I appeared for high school leaving exam(10th standard exam).Just after that exam I got a lot of free time.I don't know what propelled me there but I spent most of my time inside what was generally known as the 'Central Library',which was burnt down.Almost all of the books I had had the good fortune of encountering with comes from this library.Still today I feel it was one of the very few places where I can say -- 'I find solace here'.For me it was a great place.For the 14 years old kid every staff of the library came forward to give the sorely needed helping hand.I could gain access to any book I chose.

There I chanced upon a book which compiled the series of letters between Jawaharlal Nehru and Subhas Chandra Bose.They are lengthy letters but I manage read up all of them.

In the letters,Subhas Bose made his point about the historical necessity for the people of India of forming a grand alliance with militarist Japan,Nazi Germany and fascist Italy to defeat the British Imperial army.He said defeating the British Imperial army should be given the national priority and it would be most credible way forward for the gaining of India's independence from the British yoke.

Jawaharlal Nehru,on the other hand,argued that,under any given condition, we should not have not any truck with the militarists,Nazis and fascists.

The fourteen years old was presented with a profound opportunity to make a choice which would etch an indelible mark on his future course of action.

That happened inside the 'Central Library'.

It is amazing how life always seems to come in a full circle.That fourteen years old,gaining defining knowledge from those books,have now traveled a full circle to come out as this blogger,to have a head-long collision with the gang,who torched those books--it is now a common knowledge that those who burnt down the 'Central Library' coalesced to the grand alliance who lob bombs inside newspaper offices,threaten newspapers to cease,firing shots in public places,laying siege to innocent and normal citizen,like this blogger etc.

For the ease of reference,I would call them the 'book-burners',instead of 'psychopath'.

This blogger is,still,inspired by those books,burnt down by this gang.

So,under any given condition,this blogger would not negotiate with the 'book burners'.

On the contrary,I firmly say here that there is still need to investigate the burning down of the 'Central Library',identify the criminals responsible for the crime and to administer the harhsest punishment,admissible under the laws of the land.

Coming away from the company of 'book burner' towards the direction of the West is a welcome relief.I'm surprised to see such a fined-grain foreign policy of the new government in the US.

The first hint comes from the nomination of Deb Haalaand as the interior secretary.As we are writing these lines,the confirmation process in the American Senate is underway.If confirmed,Ms Haalaand will be the first native American to hold such a cabinet.

What the American call native is what call here 'indigenous'.So,the new government in the US say that they would support the 'indigenous' people of American--may be,that policy might extend to other parts of the world.

When I first read about Ms Haalaand,I have already the feeling that the new government in the US is trying to send important messages towards Manipur,especially,the unseen actors inside its rebel eco-system,who manage to establish such strong relationship with China,as was fully discussed in my last post.

But it was just a feeling.

Then,my feeling became a thing when I read President Biden's first public policy statement towards the East.He said the US wants to deal with China directly.The keyword is 'directly'.

Their aim is to dismantle the alliance between the Manipuri rebels and China.

That was shown by its deed of bombing Syria,in tandem with the Indian governemnt's announcement to control the digital media and Manipur journalists' strike.(My last post).

My last post had already said that that was the act of three-way threatening of a blogger.

How threatening a blogger and aligning with 'book burners' become a policy that would enhance the American national interest?

If they are of the opinion that furthering American national interest entails the hard task of making a choice between a blogger and 'book burners',let them do it,keeping the American value in focus(so that other people of the world may have a glimpse of it),and at their own pace(no hurrying here).

Make a choice between a blogger and 'book burners',American people.

I have this sinking feeling that The Prime Minster,Mr Narendra Modi skips reading any work by Jawaharlal Nehru.It is because of the fact the RSS considers Jawaharlal Nehru as ideological anathema.It sure is a sad spectacle.If Mr Narendra Modi chances upon reading the letters exchanged between Subhas Chandra Bose and Jawaharlal Nehru, would not ,by any chance,went in for the year long centenary celebration of Bose.If one reads carefully the letters,it is not too difficult to conclude that the year long celebration is a waste of time and money.

I would implore the Prime Minister to find time to read the said letters and start to make up his mind to make the choice between a blogger and 'book burners'.

But what about me?

How should anybody dare to keep him under siege for such a long years?Dennying access to his foods?

Their siege has been tightened since the last twelve months so much so that I had not touched a single fruit and vegetable.I have been subsisting with rice and lentils only.

What will happen to my health?(If I manage to survive this siege,Iam planning to chronicle my life during this six years in a book).

My only hope right at the moment is my reading the 'direct' battle between the 'book burners' and the unseen actors is coming very soon.If we reach that stage the need to impose such a tight siege upon me would evaporate by itself.

I arrive at this hope-giving conclusion basing on the following two points:

1) How Come I have such pronounced premonition of the impending disruptions likely to be caused by the number 3!

I do not make up this 'phase 3'.It actually happened to me.To make my premonition even more pronounced,I even schedule this post at 3 pm!

I am reading this together with a post,entitled,'I's happening NOW',dated 13th october 2019.I'm reproducing the interesting part below.

--THE LAST WORD

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.

This 'masked' revelation has a huge geo-political meaning.

Two days later,Hong Kong decreed that face masks would be banned in its public places.

Another five days later,we witnessed the knee-jerked reaction of the ally of India--the West.Turkey was led inside Syria to begin military operations against the minority Kurds.---

2) We should not fail to note that some weeks after the Chinese army's withdrawal from Pangong Tso lake area,the Pakistanis had suddenly cozied up to their Indian counterparts.Now,there is actually a ceasefire along both the LAC in Jammu and Kashmir.More significant thing can be parsed in a supposedly mundane matter--the permission sought by the Pakistani Prime Minister to fly over India towards Sri Lanka.

I have a post dealing with Pakistan and Sri Lanka.The post is entitled,'The new front',dated 9th September 2012.I am reproducing the relevant part below.

---In noting the above point it's reasonable to infer that its one of those selective readings of the recent events by an opinionated blogger.

To defend my point,I would like to revisit one important event some years down the line--the crushing military defeat of the LTTE in Sri Lanka.Pakistan not only supplied military hardware but also stationed senior military officers on the battlefield itself to advise the Sri Lankan military.

Why?

The Pakistani strategic thnkers were working ont the calculation that if LTTE was given a crushing military defeat in Sri Lanka,they would not any other option but to shift their base to Tamil Nadu,India.This would result in a 'hotspot'in South India,besides NE and J&K.

In that scenario,the morale of the whole populace of India would nosedive.---

I arrive at the hope-giving conclusion by reading together the above two points.I have already found out that it is not easy

arriving at this conclusion.We have to read the first point and then,think through it,keeping the contantly changing geo-political wind in focus.

After that,we must repeat the same exercise in reading the point (2).

After going through those exercises, we must try to connect the points no (1) and (2).

by the meltingpot

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Now at 2nd place

This is the 3rd