The choices have been made. The die has been cast. The race is on. Obama's selection of Biden looks even better now that McCain has announced Palin as his V.P. If McCain's intention was to appear to be his own man, and that he is aware of women's disenchantment with the Democrats and therefore he can appeal to them and that they will flock to him in droves, his choosing of a woman, this woman, is certainly not the way to go. This makes him look condescending, stereotyping women as a pretty face who are governed by emotions, who react and make decisions emotiopnally and need a man to be there to take charge.

      This not about age. It is about ability. Being a beauty queen may take a lot of preparations learning how to walk and smile and showing off your best assets. Being a mayor of a small village may require a lot of handshaking and smiles and a knowledge of road repairs and sewage treatment.  Being a governor of a small wilderness state may require an abIlity to hunt and shoot and eat moose burger, but these do not qualify anyone to take the ever complex job of being vice=president...a heart beat away. This is a one day wonder. It will be interesting to see how she deals with the media sharks, who are salivating at the chance of being the first to expose her weaknesses and /or to be the first to dig up the dirt........she is presently under investigation in Alaska for conflict of interest and nepotism.

      Biden has served 36 years in the Senate, He has chaired important committees. He has travelled abroad and met world leaders...... eg. the recent phone call from the president of Georgia asking his help..... He has dealt with media scrums. He brings much more to the table and he is ready to take over in an emergency. What McCain has done is to pander to the Christian right, the IRA, the anti-abortionists. This is an act of desperation.

      I previously critized Biden. McCain's choosing of Palin makes Obama look positively like a genius. This will serve him well.

      This is going to be a doozy of an election. Remember this ....the national polls are skewed. This is not a national election. This is 50 elections for the presidency.......more on this later  

      Western threats have been revealed for what they are,....... toothless bluster. Russia has humiliated Georgia and embarrassed the West.....NATO AND the USA. Tough talk and veiled threats have been met with indifference, disdain and even tougher stance by Russia. Russia has made it clear that they are not only unfazed by threats,( that they will be excluded from the WTO and NATO). They have not only moved to recognize the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia but have warned Moldova, not ot try to regain the breakaway region of Transdniester. Pres. Medvedev has stated that " we are ready to accept any decisions up to halting relations altogether "., and Prime Minister Putin has said that he sees no merit in joining the WTO. Britain has reacted to this hardline, by issuing a plea to Moscow not to suspend contacts with NATO.

      Russia is reasserting itself in its backyard. This should not be a surprise, as Russia( as I have stated in my last blog ), is paranoid about being encircled. USA /NATO expansion to the borders of Russia and the placing of defence shields in Poland and eleswhere are creating fears and insecurity. Also Russia, through its robust oil and gas and other resources wealth, has regained its pride and with it , its craving for respect and superpower status. The bear is awakened, full of vigour and is on the prowl. It will not be pushed around ,will demand its place at the table, to be heard and not be dismissed or chastised. 

 

                                              Pakistan

       The honeymoon is over between Zardari and Sharif. Now that the common enemy, Musharraf has been removed, the fight over the spoils has begun. These selfish, power-hungry and selfcentered has- beens are destroying any chance Pakistan has of waking up from its long nightmare. These are dangerous times. The division will lead to widespread violence, which may well spill over to India and will certainly make it easier for the Taliban to operate.

     One other note of significance.......there  are 40 million Pashtuns in Pakistan and Afghanistan. This a great opportunity for them to break away and form their own country.

 

                                       Democratic Convention.

      Ted Kennedy was great and Michelle was excellent . She showed the cynics and the skeptics and the doubters and the demonizers that to be African American is to be beautiful, intelligent and family oriented with values that are shared with all Americans..........       

 

 

 

 

 

 

     


 

      Sen. Joe Biden is a wooden and uninspiring speaker. His choice is unremarkable. He may have been a senator for over 30 years and may have sat on defence and foreign affairs committees, but he has shown little expertise and /or grasp off any of the pressing issues, whether it be Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, the Middle East or anywhere else. Check the records .

      He is at best pedestrain in speech and analysis. He even had some problems explaining some embellishments of his academic qualifications. He may have entertained thoughts of being president, by entering the race in the past, but it was more to get some attention and media exposure . He had absolutely no chance and soon dropped out.

     What does he bring to the ticket? He is from a small state, so that's not it. He has not demonstrated taht he can motivate. He is not an articulate or riveting speaker.......he reminds me of former Pres. Ford., so that's not it or maybe it is,  because he will definitely not overshadow Obama. He will make Obama look and seem even more mesmerising.  He is white, he is older and so far has managed to keep out of trouble. That is what he brings to the ticket. He balances the young. untested and inexperienced Afro-American. He is non-threatening and somewhat goofy, a 65 year old solid citizen. Whatever it is that Obama and his vetting committee saw in him, as opposed to so many others,the choice is made. Maybe he will surprise us and be another Truman or Mondale. Time will tell. It is a choice that will create some buzzzzzzzzzzzz. 

      

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      The resignation of the Pervez Musharraf, leaves a leadership vaccum that is fraught with danger for this nation of 170 million. The civilian leadership must act adroitly, but this is the problem. There is no love lost between left- wing Asif Zardari  ( husband of the late Benazir Bhutto )  and the right-wing Nawaz Sharif ( who was ousted in 1999 by Musharraf ). Their parties draw support from different regions of Pakistan and have been rivals for power for many years. Furthermore, both of them have been tainted with charges of corruption.

     Pakistan is beset with regional, tribal, religious and economic problems. Poverty is rampant, and this has becoming a recruiting ground for the madrassahs ( religious schools ), and religious extremists. The attack on the Red Mosque, by Pakistani authorities is an indication of the seriousness of the problem. Pakistanis have been victims of the zamindari system, which has allowed the large landowners,( like the Bhuttos ) and the other wealthy families  to dominate power. Education, health care  and the economic well-being of the great majority have been neglected, if not repressed.

      The next few weeks will be crucial. If Sharif and Zardari are able to come together and agree on a president, and if this choice meet with the approval of the military, then there is the possibility that Pakistan can emerge with strength. If it drags on and there is no perception of a solution, then there will be chaos. It is quite possible that violence, even civil war will break out. This is the time for leadership and statesmanship and not personal ambition.

     The USA has lost one its key allies. It is on the verge of losing another one in Georgia and the third, Karzai is holding on by his fingernails. The Bush administration, in its final days, is seeing its foreign policy unravel. Untold billions have been spent on the War on Terror The bloody war in Iraq and Afghanistan continue with no end in sight. A nurtured friend is  under attack in Georgia . Musharraf is gone after $ 11 billion, and October has not yet arrived. What is next? 

)     

 

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      Pres. Jagdeo and the PPP have had 16 years to heal the wounds of the past and bring Guyana into the 21st century, free from the racial divisions which have hamstrung the country and its development. When he stated recently that " we have to change the political  culture of the land ", he opened up an opportunity to begin a debate on what has plagued the country and kept it from realising its potential. Here's hoping that this debate will begin and that it will be done in a non-partisan way, where statesmanship and not parochial pontificating will prevail. It is time for healing and not, namecalling and blame mongering.

      Dr. Jagan was a Guyanese first and foremost, and it is besmirching of his legacy, that the political party the he founded and led, has forgotten and betrayed his dream of a united Guyana. The time for Indian/ African/ Chinese/ Portugeese/ Aboriginal etc.Guyana is over. This has been the bane of the nation. It is time to recognise that diversity is a strength, if it is properly harnessed ........Vive la Difference..... This is, the great strength of the country. Playing the game of divide and rule is destructive and is only of use to those who put personsl political ambitions and gains ahead of the good of the people.

      The next leader must have the courage to take a clear stand on this. He/She must have the will and the fortitude to define what is wrong and what must done. He/She must stand not only for a united Guyana,  but must lead the way in uniting all  Guyanese. This will not be easy. There will be those who will resist in order to protect their political turf and their selfish interest. These, must be revealed for what they are.... the enemy of the people. Racial healing, electoral reform and accountability must be the order of the day.

      The next leader must ensure that the government reflect the diversity of the country. He/She must co-opt, recruit and attract representatives from these groups. He/She must remove any doubts and any apparent racial, religious, regional and gender bias. It is time to move on.

      P.R., the colonial tool that has been used to divide the people, must be changed. When P,R. was imposed on Guyana, it was meant to ensure failure and chaos. Posing as a more democratic means of choosing representatives, it was instead a means to  exercabate the racial/religious differences. Guyanese had lived together in peace and friendship for years. In the villages, the estates and the cities, people lived, worked, prayed, and went to school with each other......I left Port Mourant to attend Central High in the fifties. I met my best and lifelong friends there. We went to each others home, ate each others mothers' cooking, dated each other and it did not matter whether your name was Fung/Lam/ Prashad/ Singh/ Odie/ Dublin/ Wong/ Cho chu/ Edwards or Daniels or Mangar or Fernandes.

     Guyana needs to adopt an electoral system that is truly representative. There are some advantages in P.R.......greater mathematical accuracy, small party are able to have a voice and it allows for party control and discipline etc. but it deepens cleavages and thus divisions, leads to a multiplicity of parties with a splintering effect and thus to a minotity or coalition government, which tends to be weak, unstable, inconsistent and incoherent.....held hiostage to the whims/demands of its junior partners, in order to survive........the tail wagging the dog. Bad governance is the result.

      There must be a wedding between P.R. and Single member by plurality. Here is how it can be done, and it is not necessary to increase / add seats to the legislature. Half of the seats can be chosen by P.R., and half by first past the post,. Guyana has 10 administrative regions. Each is allocated a number of seats ( Rep by Pop. ). These can be elected by first past the post. The other half can be shared amongst the various political parties, on the basis of popular support and distributed according to party list. In this way, a more representative and a more accountable government can   be elected. The regions will have a voice, the people are more accurately represented, the political parties can still exercise control and discipline  over its elected members and , you have a government that is more legitimate, more accountable and more able to govern.

      Let the Debate begin..........................

                                                 Ishwar R. Prashad.......RetiredProf. com

                                                 i.prashad@videotron.ca      

 

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      A Commission of Enquiry, set up by the Rwandan Government, has accused France of arming, advising and partcipating in the genocide, which resulted in over 800,000 deaths. " They let the Interahamwe ( Hutu militia ),kill Tutsis under their eyes." " They clearly requested Interahamwe.... to kill Tutsis ."

     The ,then French President Mitterand and Prime Minister de Villepin, together with 31 other high officials, are directly accused . Mitterand was said to be very concerned with Anglo-Saxon influence in Africa and wanted to do whatever was necessary to stop its spread. It is well established that the French Government was very closely associated with the Hutu-led government of Rwanda. They provided arms and training as well as military advisers to the Rwandan  armed forces including the elite units accused of being among the first to start the killings.They also drew up battle plans and military strategy for them, and a database of various tribes, which was used to draw up a kill list of Tutsis.

     The French force that was sent to establish a " safe zone ",took part in the killing and raping of Tutsis, the report said....." French soldiers committed many rapes, forced sexual intercourse specifically with surviving Tutsi women." The report went on to say that  " French soldiers themselves directly were involved in assassinations of Tutsis and Hutus accused of hiding Tutsis. Once the the genocide started on April6,1994, the French sent arms to support the government. A senior Rwandan official spent 27 days in Paris while the genocide was going on, in order to " accelerate " six arms deliveries worth $ 5 million , the report stated.

    Evidence was provided by 120 witnesses.  When it becme obvious that The Hutu-led government was losing, the French spirited many of them out of the country, mainly to nearby Congo, where they continue their depredations.

    A small UN FORCE , led by the heroic Gen, Romeo Daillaire, poorly equipped and left exposed, tried valiantly to limit the damage, but was outmanned, and outgunned. Gen Dailaire would later write his memoir ( Shake Hands With the Devil ), in which he recounted not only the role of the French but also the failure of the UN and especially the USA and Britain . THEY ALL ARE COMPLICIT IN THE DEATHS OF THOSE 800,000.

             For a copy of the report, go to       www.minijust.gw.rw 

     The Russian response to the Georgian punitive, offensive against rebel forces in South Ossetia, was quick and intense. It is estimated that there have been over 2000 military and civilian deaths. The Russians have targeted not only Georgian forces in South Ossetia, but also Georgian military sites. As Russian troops and tanks roll into battle, many thousands have fled in the opposite direction.  Russian war planes rule the sky.

     Georgian President Saakashvili, gambled in launching the attack, thinking that Russia will not respond. He is either naive or stupid. The Russians have  been very supportive of the Ossetians in their drive for independence from Georgia. They have aslo expressed grave concrern over the pro- western and close American drift of Georgia and they are very aware of the Black Sea and its oil potential and the building of a pipe line across the Caucasus. Furthermore, the Russians have always suffered from what former German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt referred to as " psychiological paranoia of insecurity, of being hemmed in "With NATO expansion, the Russian fear is palpable

     This war will grow to include Abkhazia. another region in Georgia that is opposed to Georgian rule. The Russians have even closer relationship with this more developed area. All in all,  this has played into Russian hands. It has wanted to teach Georgia a lesson and now that the opportunity has presented itself, the Russians will take it and move to consolidate its hold on South Ossetia and Abkhazia, while at the same time deal Georgia a fatal blow. The world, with an American Administration that has lost all credibility and prestige, can only wrings its  hands in collective  futility. Russia can reassert itself on the " near abroad ", and  send a message that it has regained its confidence and its superpower  status. For this they can thank George Bush and his oil buddies..... the war in Iraq has not only drained the USA militarily and economically, but has reduced America's prestige, clout and its credibility, and has allowed Russia to gain strength economicallyand militarily. Nikita Kruschev was once asked what make a superpower's clout and he answered that " a superpiwer clout is based on its prestige. When a superpower loses its prestige, it becomes no more than an old whore "...It gets no respect" as Rodney Dangerfield would say.

     In 1956, while the world was focused on the Suez Crisis, the USSR taught Hungary a lesson, In 1968, with the Olympics and turmoil over Vietnam, and the French Govt, under seige etc., it was Czechoslavakia. In 1979 with the hostage situation in Iran, the Soviets moved to prop up its friends in Afghanistan. Now with the Olympics ,and Iraq ,and a diminished America , it is Georgia/ Ossetia.   The Russian bear is on the prowl.