The dark side of the biggest democracy of the world-called the USA.

The dark side of the biggest democracy of the world-called the USA.

By  RAKESH KUMAR SINGHAL

No doubt today we call USA the biggest democracy of the world but when I analyzed the history in deep then what I found that the presidential elections in USA is highly commercialized affairs in terms of big money being contributed as funds to politicians by big business men and specially the weapons making corporates and the related weapon dealers/contractors. ( I will not name them as every one knows as they are most popular names in USA in this area)

Over the years of history USA had been very prompt in process of destabilizing countries and has been meddling into the affairs of IRAQ/IRAN/SYRIA/AFGHANISTAN/TURKEY/LIBIA/PAKISTAN. It has been adopting a policy of first declaring economic sanctions against certain prominent countries like IRAN/RUSSIA (to some extent with the help of European allies) etc including India (after its Pokhran Nuclear underground test which remained undetected by CIA due to secret move by the then Indian Govt.) and then when USA’s own economic conditions deteriorated then lifting the sanctions to gain economic interest. This is called double game and pure commercial game only favouring USA at the cost of others.

I was listening to Mr.Vladimir Putin the President of Russia when he said that ISIS the deadly terrorist organization was creation of USA itself and now USA is trying to bully the world by declaration of destroying the ISIS. What a double standard of USA. One thing that is the most beautiful of USA is that the winning of General elections by Republicans or Democrats does not matter as the common policies towards world destabilization is purely in the hands of big corporate who fund these elections ( My opinion only) and want to make business profits to recover their such funding many fold.

CAN WE STILL CALL USA THE BIGGEST DEMOCRACY OF THE WORLD? NO BUT THE BIGGEST COMMERCIAL ELECTIONS OF THE WORLD.

India reduces its USA Govt.Securities holdings.

India's holdings of USA govt securities fall to $118 bn in May

By PTI | Jul 31, 2016, 02.39 PM IST published by The Economic times of India

WASHINGTON: India has reduced its exposure to American government securities, with holdings falling to $118 billion at the end of May -- the lowest level this year -- amid the US economy seeing a mixed growth trend.

After hitting a high of $121.6 billion in April, India's holdings came down by $3.6 billion in May, as per the latest data from the US Treasury Department.

At the end of January this year, India owned these securities worth $119.8 billion before it dropped to $118.8 billion in February. In March, the holdings came in at $118.9 billion.

Neighbouring China remained the largest holder of the American government securities to the tune of $1.24 trillion followed by Japan, which owned $1.13 trillion worth of bonds in May.

In the BRIC bloc, India is the third-largest holder of American government securities after China and Brazil, which owned these bonds worth $249.5 billion in May

At the end of May, Russia's holdings dropped to $88.2 billion.

In the three months ended June, American economy grew 1.2 per cent, as per advanced estimate released by the US Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA).

The economy expanded 0.8 per cent in the first quarter of 2016.

"The increase in real GDP in the second quarter reflected positive contributions from personal consumption expenditures and exports that were partly offset by negative contributions from private inventory investment, non-residential fixed investment, residential fixed investment, and state and local government spending," BEA said in a release on July 29.

Indian Government feeds thousands of Gulf workers 'in crisis' in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait

Indian Government feeds thousands of Gulf workers 'in crisis'By AFP | Jul 31, 2016, 01.37 PM IST The Economic times of India

NEW DELHI: The Indian government was working on Sunday to feed more than 10,000 Indian labourers stranded in the Gulf with no wages after losing their jobs, in what Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj called a "food crisis".

In a series of tweets, Swaraj said the migrant workers were facing "extreme hardship" and that two junior foreign ministers will be sent to Saudi Arabia and Kuwait to take up the issue with authorities.

"Large number of Indians have lost their jobs in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. The employers have not paid wages (and) closed down their factories," Swaraj said late on Saturday.

In a series of tweets, Swaraj said the migrant workers were facing "extreme hardship" and that two junior foreign ministers will be sent to Saudi Arabia and Kuwait to take up the issue with authorities.

"Large number of Indians have lost their jobs in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. The employers have not paid wages (and) closed down their factories," Swaraj said late on Saturday.

"As a result our brothers and sisters in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait are facing extreme hardship. While situation in Kuwait is manageable, matters are much worse in Saudi Arabia.

"The number of Indian workers facing food crisis in Saudi Arabia is over ten thousand."

Indians are among millions of poor Asians working in the Gulf states where human rights groups say many suffer exploitation and abuses including non-payment of wages, with no channels for redress.

"As a result our brothers and sisters in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait are facing extreme hardship. While situation in Kuwait is manageable, matters are much worse in Saudi Arabia.

"The number of Indian workers facing food crisis in Saudi Arabia is over ten thousand."

Indians are among millions of poor Asians working in the Gulf states where human rights groups say many suffer exploitation and abuses including non-payment of wages, with no channels for redress.

Indian media on Sunday said the workers were "starving" in camps with no way of returning home, as Gulf countries face a drop in oil revenues from falling prices, prompting a downturn in construction and layoffs.

The Indian consulate in Jeddah posted a series of pictures on Twitter showing its nationals queuing up for food packets, eggs, spices and salt provided by its officials.

Indian media on Sunday said the workers were "starving" in camps with no way of returning home, as Gulf countries face a drop in oil revenues from falling prices, prompting a downturn in construction and layoffs.

The Indian consulate in Jeddah posted a series of pictures on Twitter showing its nationals queuing up for food packets, eggs, spices and salt provided by its officials.

Swaraj was responding late Saturday to a series of tweets from people saying Indians had gone without food for three to four days in the camps where they were living.

Foreign ministry spokesman Vikas Swarup told AFP that a decision on bringing the workers home would be taken only after a junior minister visits Saudi Arabia.

Nearly three million Indians live and work in Saudi Arabia, according to the foreign ministry, constituting one of the largest populations of Indian passport holders outside of India.

In November 2014, Gulf and Asian labour ministers agreed on a series of initiatives aimed at boosting protection and improving conditions of employment for foreign workers in the Gulf.

Why India and Russia will be Best Friends Forever

Why India and Russia will be Best Friends Forever

By  Rakesh Krishnan Simha

For more than 50 years the two countries have nurtured a friendship that is exceptional in a world of fickle loyalties.

 

 

The India-Russia connection is the only bilateral relationship that is referred to as friendship. For more than five decades, people from both countries have had warm feelings towards each other, and although the fervour of the 1970s and 1980s has faded somewhat, there still remains the recognition of each other as reliable partners. It is for this reason that Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in December 2014, during Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to India: “Even a child in India, if asked to say who is India’s best friend, will reply it is Russia because Russia has been with India in times of crisis.”
There are, of course, other strong bilateral partnerships in the world. The most famous one is the US-UK Special Relationship, but it has now degraded to a master-poodle equation. Then there is the China-Pakistan All-Weather Friendship, but again it remains a patron-client association.
India and Russia started off with India being a poor country completely dependent on Russia for weapons, technology and industrial investment. New Delhi also required Moscow’s diplomatic and military support during the 1965 and 1971 wars with Pakistan. Today India has a larger economy than Russia but they continue to work together as equal partners. The relationship has evolved over the past 50 years but the underlying nature of the friendship hasn’t changed much.
Here are six reasons why India and Russia are BFF (best friends forever):
Indians and Russians are more alike than you think
Indians and Russians are lively and emotional people – mainly at the personal level. Amid strangers and colleagues they are reserved and hierarchical. Family life is a very important aspect of life in both countries.
On both the micro and macro levels, the affinity between Russia and India can be attributed to ancient connections. The similarity between Sanskrit and Russian are too uncanny to be ignored. For instance, take the most famous Russian word – vodka. It has its origins in the Classical Sanskrit word for water – ‘udaka.’
Since Sanskrit is the oldest language in the world, it is likely Russian is the result of ancient Indians taking their language and culture from the banks of the Saraswati river to the Urals. The discovery of Shiva statues in Central Asia and Russia points to the spread of ancient Vedic culture far beyond the Indian heartland.
Indians – being part of the Indo-European genetic pool – are among the most European of Asians. Russians are the Easternmost Europeans and Leo Tolstoy refers to his country as the “great Asiatic nation”. Basically, the Indian and Russian DNAs overlap and that’s where the similarities and affinities spring from.
India and Russia can never be geopolitical rivals
India and Russia have a shared strategic interest in stability in the vast Eurasian landmass. Afghanistan, Syria and Ukraine are some of the key areas where their interests converge. Not many Indians realise that Ukraine is a hub of defence industries that are vital to the servicing of Indian defence equipment, including An-32 transport aircraft.
Because India and Russia do not share a border, they do not share the attendant problems such as boundary and water sharing issues. The chances of both countries coming into direct confrontation are next to zero.
Chanakya, the 3^rd century BCE master of statecraft, assessed that at least one neighbour of a country will be a natural enemy. According to his ‘Rajamandala’ theory of foreign policy, immediate neighbours are considered enemies, but any state on the other side of a neighbouring state is regarded as an ally. Going by this theory, if China and Pakistan are hostile to India, then they can be counteracted through Russia and Afghanistan.
Synergy in energy
Russia is the No.1 producer of energy and India is the world’s third largest consumer, after the US and China. Despite the global recession, there has been no let-up in India’s energy consumption, with the country having a limitless appetite for oil, gas and nuclear fuel. As Russia is the largest producer of these fuels, its strategy should neatly dovetail with India’s quest for energy security.
The reason it hasn’t so far is because of the tyranny of distance. While Europe and China – and lately Japan – have benefitted from Russian pipelines that ensure a steady and reliable source of oil and gas, India continues to be a hostage to the volatile Middle Eastern energy producers.
During the 1980s, Russia was India’s strategic supplier of petroleum plus Moscow accepted payment in rupees. Today India is rich and can afford to pay in dollars, therefore, it does not buy much energy from Russia. That could change with the mother of all pipelines being planned direct from Russia across the Himalayas.
Unlike an oil tanker, a pipeline cannot be rerouted so pipelines have a habit of locking countries into a long-term geopolitical embrace. The new energy linkages are going to increase the BFF factor further.
Defence technology: Welcome to arms
Russia and India have transacted military sales for decades. While the West has slapped sanctions on India, Moscow continues to be a reliable supplier of high-end weapons and a source of cutting-edge missile technology. Russian technology and specialists have helped India leapfrog a couple of generations and produce best-in-class missiles such as BrahMos and Akash. The Prithvi is also based on Russian technology.
While most countries export stripped down versions of their latest weapons, Russia has made an exception for India, with the Sukhoi Su-30MKI jet fighter, which is more advanced than its own Su-27s. The S-400 missile defence system is the latest in a long line of potent weapons that Russia has offered India.
At the height of the Cold War, 85 per cent of Indian Navy, 75 per cent of Indian Air Force and over 50 per cent of Indian Army equipment was of Russian origin. While the overall percentage of Russian hardware has declined today, Moscow’s presence in the Indian defence market is still dominant. It is the only country that can meet India’s future needs – fifth generation stealth fighters (Sukhoi PAK-FA), nuclear submarines or aircraft carriers.
Standing up for each other
In 1979 when Russia invaded Afghanistan, India refused to criticise Moscow. There was a lot of heartburn in the West because of this. Indians were described as hypocritical for being a champion of freedom but looking away when the bear attacked a South Asian country.
But India was simply paying back Russia for its support during the 1971 War when the US, UK, France, Jordan, UAE, Turkey, Indonesia, China and several other western and Muslim countries backed Pakistan. It was a war which was forced upon India after the Pakistanis murdered 3 million of their own Bengali citizens. While the western democracies supported Islamabad, Russia vetoed US-sponsored resolutions that blamed India. Further, military intervention by Russia’s Pacific Fleet prevented a joint US-British attack on Indian cities.
New Delhi has continued to back Moscow during the Ukrainian and Syrian crises, refusing to support US and EU sanctions. India’s National Security Adviser unequivocally declared that Russia had “legitimate” interests in Ukraine. Asked on CNN how he viewed Russia’s action in Crimea, Prime Minister Modi responded: “In the world right now, a lot of people want to give advice, but look within them, and they, too, have sinned in some way.”
Exceptional behaviour
Unlike the West, or more specifically the US, which suffers from a “God Complex”, India and Russia do not believe they are exceptional nations that should impose their beliefs on the rest of the world. During the Soviet era, Moscow never imposed Orthodox Christianity or Russian values on any of the republics. Yes, Russification was official state policy but it did not result in the eclipse of, say, Ukrainian or Kazakh identity. Similarly, India doesn’t impose Hinduism on the world. Indians are inclusive by nature.
Again, Russian businesses are not a cover for the SVR, Russia's external intelligence agency. Edward Snowden has revealed how consultants working for American corporations are in reality NSA and CIA agents. Similarly, western churches have long been doing dirty work for the CIA and its allied spy agencies in the West. It seems nothing has changed since the colonial period when the clergy and traders provided advance intelligence and supplies for invading western fleets.
The cult of American Exceptionalism is based on the belief that all cultures are inferior to America’s. Indians, who are still feeling the effects of two centuries of British colonialism, are especially sensitive to such notions of foreign powers.
India’s experience with European powers is that Russia is the only country that does not believe in misguided notions of exceptionalism. It is precisely why the two countries can trust each other and work together.