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| << May12, 2006 - [India Thinkers Net]Amit,Jagchat,Sukla,Gurudatta,Mujeebulla posts |
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[1] From: Jagannath Chatterjee <jagchat01@yahoo.com> Date: Fri May 12, 2006 Subject: Pollution 'could kill off human race'. Pollution 'could kill off human race' IAN JOHNSTON SCIENCE CORRESPONDENT EXCERPTS: http://news.scotsman.com/scitech.cfm?id=703372006 POLLUTION is far more damaging to humans than originally thought and is causing genetic mutations which could eventually wipe us from the face of the planet, according to a leading scientist. ---------------- [2] From: Jagannath Chatterjee <jagchat01@yahoo.com> Date: Fri May 12, 2006 Subject: Industry insider reveals vaccines neither safe nor tested. Vaccine Dangers and Vested Interests http://www.nexusmagazine.com/articles/VaccineResearcher.html A retired vaccine researcher goes public on what the pharmaceutical industry and the health authorities don't want us to know: that vaccines are unsafe, untested and one of the greatest frauds of our time. ---------------- [3] From: Sukla Sen <suklasen@yahoo.com> Date: Sat May 13, 2006 Subject: More on Buddha Factor, or 'Reforms' plus Red Flag, in West Bengal Election I. http://www.indianexpress.com/story/4275.html How Bengal was won MANINI CHATTERJEE Posted online: Saturday, May 13, 2006 at 0000 hrs IST The staggering victory of the CPI(M)-led Left Front in West Bengal this week is remarkable for obvious reasons. No political party in the country, and possibly none in the world, has managed to secure the people’s mandate seven times in a row. For years together, opposition parties and the media had attributed the CPI(M)’s electoral success to “scientific rigging”. So shrill and sustained was that propaganda that even some Left sympathisers outside the state had begun to wonder whether there was, perhaps, an element of truth to that charge. The Election Commission, by singling out West Bengal for special treatment and enforcing the most strict monitoring mechanisms this time, has ended up doing a great service to the Left Front. By winning a three-fourths majority in an election that was widely regarded as the most “free and fair” poll ever held in the country, the CPI(M) has proved that its electoral victories are, and were, based on mass support. But the real significance of the 2006 assembly elections — one that has important implications for political parties and governments across the country — lies elsewhere. It is that the Left Front has managed to get a renewed, and enhanced mandate, not because of the “reforms-friendly” policies pursued over the last five years but despite it. Much has been made of the role of the ‘Buddha brand’ in this election. Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee’s success in wooing private investment, zeal in transforming Kolkata into a business-friendly metropolis and determination to make Bengal the most favoured destination for the IT sector and real estate entrepreneurs certainly struck a chord with the state’s business community and urban middle class. His can-do spirit also managed to imbue an infectious enthusiasm among a section of new voters who had grown up in an atmosphere of industrial decay and urban despair. The slight shift in the traditional anti-Left vote this time certainly helped the Left Front. But the Bengal story is much bigger than that. Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee’s initiatives may have been new to West Bengal but they had been pursued by the Centre and other state governments for quite a while. Ever since the paradigm shift in the Indian economy in 1991, elected governments in India have followed neo-liberal economic policies of liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation. The Rao government’s policies were carried forward by the Vajpayee-led NDA dispensation. And with the Centre no longer dictating the pace of growth in the states, state governments began racing against one another to woo private domestic and foreign investment. Visible “feel good” signs — better urban infrastructure, sleek IT centres, and middle class consumerism — frequently followed. But every leader who pushed this growth path — be he Narasimha Rao or Atal Bihari Vajpayee, N. Chandrababu Naidu or S.M. Krishna — lost at the hustings. If Bhattacharjee has bucked that trend, the secret of his success lies in the West Bengal CPI(M)’s very well thought-out and skilfully implemented strategy. Despite ideological inhibitions against private capital, the Left Front government realised as early as 1994 that it was necessary for the economic growth of the state. Land reforms, decentralisation of power and government initiatives had yielded rich dividends in rural Bengal but industrial stagnation remained intractable. After 1991, it was no longer possible to blame the Centre’s “discrimination” for Bengal’s economic woes. Since providing “relief” to the people was the government’s priority, it was time to take advantage of the new economic policies and woo private investment. But it took several years for the LF to convince both private capital and sceptics within of the need to follow an investor-friendly policy. The second part of the strategy was equally crucial. At the 2002 and 2005 West Bengal CPI(M) State Conferences, the key document — “Left Front Government and Our Tasks” — was discussed threadbare. The essence of the argument was that West Bengal, even under Left rule, could not remain isolated from the new economic framework unleashed by globalisation. But while that entailed a tactical reorientation in favour of private investment, the CPI(M) should not lose sight of its basic priorities and efforts to provide an alternative. In practical terms, it meant that along with pro-privatisation initiatives, the state government must also pay greater attention to rural development. And the CPI(M) and its huge mass organisations would have to not only sustain but enhance their work among the Left’s traditional support base of industrial workers and peasantry — large sections of whom did not stand to benefit from the “Kolkata shining” glory. Thus, wooing IT went hand in hand with unprecedented focus on primary education and preventive health care in the last five years. Thousands of women’s self-help groups (SHGs) were formed — one possible reason for the high turnout of women in this election that fuelled the CPI(M) sweep. And most important, CPI(M) cadres who famously work 365 days a year — election or no election — were entrusted to carry out “constant political education” to explain the apparent dichotomy between the state government’s “capitalist” policies and the party’s socialist objectives. The CPI(M)’s success in retaining seats in the industrial belt of Hooghly, Howrah, North and South 24 Parganas, and the Durgapur-Asansol belt — peopled by voters most affected by the decline of traditional industry — can be directly attributed to sustained party and CITU work in this area. Since 1991, every government has tried to achieve the right mix between economic reforms and social welfare, between getting the support of the dominant elite and middle classes without alienating the urban and rural poor. But only the Left Front in West Bengal — at least for now — has managed it. The combination of Brand Buddha with a party organisation that has a deep and wide mass base enabled the CPI(M) to become — to rival constituencies — both the Left and the Right alternative, rendering the Congress and Trinamul Congress into vision-less non-entities. The Congress-led UPA too harbours the same hope — to marry Manmohan Singh’s pro-reforms policies with the Sonia Gandhi-inspired “aam aadmi” initiatives. But India is not West Bengal and Congress is not the CPI(M). It might be a good idea for Rahul to intern with the Bengal CPI(M) for a year before he takes up the challenge of reviving the Grand Old Party. manini.chatterjee@expressindia.com II. http://www.southasianmedia.net/index_story.cfm?id=293227&category=Frontend&Count\ ry=INDIA After Bengal sweep, Buddha swears reform Friday, May 12,2006 KOLKATA: Hours after the Left Front romped home to its seventh straight win securing a staggering 235-seat majority in a House of 294, a beaming Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee told reporters: “We underestimated the mind of the people. The huge victory margin was beyond our expectations.” Tomorrow, when the CPM state secretariat meets, Chief Minister Bhattacharjee is expected to be given a free hand to form Team Buddha that will run the Left Front government for the next five years. Party insiders indicated that, like the Left Front victory, changes in the Cabinet too would be “sweeping”. New faces are expected to head education, industry, transport and information technology. The new government’s priorities, as Bhattacharjee told reporters at the CPM’s Alimuddin Street headquarters, would be agriculture, industrial investments and improving living conditions of the poor. The victory showed that the Left’s rural stronghold was intact while it had gained in urban areas. But the highlight of Bhattacharjee’s victory is the legitimacy it gives to successive victories of the Left Front since 1977. CPM patriarch Jyoti Basu had claimed political stability for the state, winning five successive terms since 1977, but the Left’s success had always been under a cloud with the Opposition alleging that elections were rigged. This victory rids the Left of the rigging charge, since it was held under close scrutiny of the Election Commission. Voting shares in the latest elections show that not much has changed despite the huge increase in the Left’s tally of seats. While the Left won 235 seats this time against 199 in 2001, voting shares indicate that the Opposition parties lost over 60 seats because the votes were split. The Left got 47 per cent of the votes, while the Trinamool got 25.60 per cent, the Congress 16.97 per cent and the BJP 2.29 per cent. So the Trinamool, Congress and BJP got 44.79 per cent between them. From the time he became Chief Minister in 2001, Bhattacharjee made it clear that all elections in the state would have to be transparent, free and fair. So when his party colleagues were going to town with their criticism of the Election Commission, Bhattacharjee played it cool, refusing to utter a word against the EC. In fact, his administration quietly but firmly facilitated the work of the EC in the run-up to the elections. After the victory too, he refused to say a word about the party’s row with the EC. The other highlight of the victory is the boost it gives to the Chief Minister’s agenda for reforms. He was categorical today in saying that he would continue to pursue reforms and encourage industrial development. “I believe in the historical inevitability of socialism. But we need development. And in the present context we need to invite private capital because there is no alternative,” said Bhattacharjee. But he was equally firm in opposing hire-and-fire labour policies or any move to sell well-performing government undertakings. Even as he addressed the media, his private secretary handed him a note. Bhattacharjee, after reading it, said: “It’s a message from Ratan Tata. But I cannot tell you what it is about.” Was Tata happy? “Of course, he is not only happy but he has proposed something,” replied the CM. Political circles also predict a bigger role for Bhattacharjee on the national political stage. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was quick to congratulate Bhattacharjee today. The CM too has made it known that he backs Singh’s liberalisation policies, be it FDI or airport modernisation. Even Jyoti Basu, in his initial reaction today, said now that the Left had returned with a thumping majority for the seventh term, Bhattacharjee would have to play a more pro-active role at the national level. The CM set out his priorities: consolidate success in agriculture; accelerate growth in industrial investment; and, improve living conditions of the poor, a significant section still living below the poverty line. Asked if Left victories in West Bengal and Kerala gave it greater strength to take on the Congress-led UPA government at the Centre, Bhattacharjee said: “We won’t go for any confrontation. It is an experiment we are running. But if there are areas of disagreement, we will certainly fight it out.” Clearly, the Left victory in Bengal is as much a mandate for Bhattacharjee’s personal image and charisma as it is for his governance and policies. It’s evident in the fact that Bhattacharjee registered a record of sorts himself, winning his Jadavpur Assembly seat by over 58,000 votes. It’s a victory margin that no chief minister in Bengal ever recorded. The Left victory has further weakened Trinamool leader Mamata Banerjee and there’s virtually no Opposition in the state. In fact, the Left made inroads in Kolkata as well, wresting four seats from the Trinamool. Indian Express | ------------------------- [4] From: Jagannath Chatterjee <jagchat01@yahoo.com> Date: Sat May 13, 2006 1:50pm Subject: Unknown to regulators, GM food has entered India. Indian import policy on GM food flawed Sify, May 12, 2006 http://www.checkbiotech.org/root/index.cfm?fuseaction=news&doc_id=12771&start=1&\ control=202&page_start=1&page_nr=101&pg=1 MUMBAI - The country's ham-handed approach to regulating import of genetically modified (GM) foods is not only turning increasingly curious, but also fast becoming a joke in international circles. There is a strong suspicion that the Union Government is playing into the hands of some influential sections in the matter of pre-import clearance relating to GM foods. Worse, there is no real stakeholder consultation before crucial decisions that hurt stakeholder interests are taken. Lack of transparency in decision-making, vagueness in drafting notification and inordinate delays in issuing clarification are seen distorting the market and helping speculators reap windfall gains. Sudden awareness The policymakers seem to have suddenly woken up from deep slumber and realised that large quantities of GM food are entering the country. Admittedly, the Environment (Protection) Act and its Rules have been in place since 1989; but none in the Government bothered to implement the rules. The latest Exim policy announced by the Commerce Minister on April 7 mandated pre-import clearance of GM foods from Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC). What prompted the Commerce Ministry to introduce the restriction at this point of time remains a mystery; but it is conceivable, the decision was at the insistence of the Environment Ministry. Regulatory failure A senior official in the Ministry of Environment and Forests went to the extent of stating (nay, admitting) that even though the rules (mandating pre-import approval) have been in force since December 5, 1989, "no requests for commercial import and marketing of GM food have been received by the Ministry". Sad tale This is a sad commentary on the Ministry's surveillance capabilities and ability to co-ordinate with other Government departments concerned. It is a regulatory failure that raises grave issues of competence and integrity, and deserves to be thoroughly investigated. The fact of the matter is that GM foods and other GM products such as cotton have been entering this country for several years now without any Government department bothering to be vigilant. The ministries that ought to be concerned with any food import are Commerce (Exim Policy); Food and Consumer Affairs (consumer protection); Agriculture (farmers protection and plant quarantine); Finance (customs - revenue); and Health (quality inspection by port health organization). In addition, since 1989, the Ministry of Environment and Forests and GEAC have been charged with the responsibility to monitor and regulate GM imports. Mute spectator Ironically, soyabean oil imports have been going on for long years, primarily to bridge the domestic demand-supply gap of edible oil. India imported several lakh tonnes of corn (maize) during 2000 and 2001 while our cotton imports (especially from the US) are continuing. It is no 'state secret' that a significant part of these imports were/are GM products. It is well-known that soyabean produced in major origins such as the US, Brazil and Argentina are largely genetically modified and these countries neither segregate GM and non-GM materials, nor do they follow any labelling policy. A large part of imported cotton (India used to import 10 lakh to 20 lakh bales, and now reduced to 5-6 lakh bales) is Bt. cotton from USA and other origins. There have been several media reports in the past about arrival of GM foods into the country without appropriate permission. Business Line itself carried not less than four reports about unauthorised import of GM products (BL June 16, 2000; December 1, 2000; December 29, 2000; April 8, 2002); but the Government remained a mute witness to the goings on. Farcical talk In a meeting on May 2 convened by the Ministry of Environment and Forests to discuss guidelines for obtaining GEAC permission, two multinational corporations - Cargill and Monsanto - were said to be present, while other parties concerned, including the domestic soyabean processing and refining industries, were not sent any intimation. "This is a farcical stakeholder consultation", fumed an agitated representative of the processing industry. Given the origin of the two MNCs, it is not unreasonable to conclude that American interests are perhaps influencing the policy, commented another domestic player. Interestingly, on May 5, the Commerce Ministry announced that the April 7 decision would be kept in abeyance for three months. What is sought to be achieved in the interregnum is anybody's guess. Adding to uncertainty Indeed, the Government has merely added to the existing uncertain conditions which will continue for another two months. If the Commerce Ministry was convinced about its April 7 decision, there was no need to keep the policy in abeyance. On the other hand, if the policy decision was a mistake, the Ministry should have honourably admitted and withdrawn the notification. From April 7 until May 4, speculators in the soyabean oil market made a killing on the futures exchanges by jacking up the price artificially by over Rs 4,000 a tonne. The price rise was totally unjustified given the demand-supply fundamentals. The disconnect between 'spot' and 'futures' was too stark for comfort. Unfortunately, the entire Government machinery including the futures market regulator - Forward Markets Commission - remained a mute witness to unchecked speculative spree, which hurt consumer interest and did not advance growers' interest. It only helped speculators make money. |
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| << May12, 2006 - [India Thinkers Net]Amit,Jagchat,Sukla,Gurudatta,Mujeebulla posts |
May15, 2006 - [India Thinkers Net]ICICI, deal with Iran,SC judgment etc >> |
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