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130 Million Indian Voters

130 million people voted… and the elections were only in five states.. that’s how cool India is. If you consider voting cool, I mean, which is debatable. But I digress; the left parties romped in the Indian states of Tamil Nadu, Assam, West Bengal, Kerala, and Uttar Pradesh. Not interested? Those five states alone have more people then the entire United States. – Just thought I’d mention that.

One of the most fascinating cases among these states, is that of West Bengal. This state is actually home to the longest running democratically elected communist governments in the world. It has been in power for 26 years, and just got re-elected.

This makes me wonder what they’ve done to earn such a long run. Obviously there is a long established tradition of voting for the Communist Party of India-Marxist in the state, but what does this tradition consist of?

A brief search around the internet taught me a few things. One of the most interesting- every member of the CPI-M pays monthly membership fees. I also read about the very important agricultural industry of the state, yet also the big manufacturing and IT hubs they have. This tells me there’s alot of economic acitivity, but doesn’t really tell me what it is that the CPI-M does for its electorate.

Regardless of the reasons, the Indian Left has made some big gains in the last few years, and this latest gives them more influence over the national government. Which means maybe less of these pro US type deals, as we saw recently with nuclear technology cooperation. And hey, more opening up to and talks with Pakistan will likely continue. So hooray for that!

Turning to the other side of India, Dilip is in Goa.

Even CNN Can’t Hide Reality

I have a tendancy to stay up til 2am. Actually I tend to stay working on things til 2am, and then I flip on the TV and catch up on either BBCnews, France’s TV5, the occasional Dutch NOVA program, or yes.. like last night – CNN.

My excuse for CNN watching is that its low on the channel list and I can only surf channel up or down. Plus I’m mesmorized by the fact that Larry King has a show that people watch, cause he is perhaps the most useless man on television.

So it’s 2h30am last night… and I’m starting to fade, and the good-looking british-thai anchorwoman tells the audience to be careful, as the following report would have images that might disturb us. – I perked up. Disturbing? On CNN? Would could it be?

The segment was spending a “day” (5 minutes) in an Army hospital in Baghdad. And on this day, injured soldiers with bloody hands and feet and yellow skin were being helicoptered in one-after-another. The doctor would talk to the patients and honestly tell them he may not be able to “save the leg”. There was a good amount of pain sounds; moaning, crying, shouting. All the while I kept thinking — this is on CNN?!

Earlier I had read that the Baghdad morgue was reporting 1,000 deaths per day. And as I rode to frisbee practice, Radio Open Source had journalists working in the “green zone” talking about how everynight there are gunbattles and kidnappings, and every morning you see the bodies in the streets.

I know people compare this to vietnam sometimes. I know other people hate comparisons. However you choose to look at it, I watch reports from all over the world, including from inside Iraq, and what’s going on is truely sad and could have been avoided. Like parents so often (at least they used to!) teach their children, violence is not the way to solve problems.

Canada goes American

From Europe yesterday to Canada today, I just read the details point by point, of the proposed Canadian budget from the new conservative government. Some might wonder, who are not Canadian, why one should pay attention to such details. Personally I admire Canada very much and think it’s a great example of a well grounded and rounded country, in terms of national and international policies. Therefore I always keep a close eye on the developments there, especially with what could be a big turn in how the country is run.

My initial impression of the budget is not all bad. Probably because there are some priorities and traditions in Canada that will not automatically change just because a new party is in charge. I’m referring specifically to childcare and education, both of which seem to get adequate funding and tax-credits within the text of the budget.

On the other hand, there are quite a few signs that alot of the trademark characteristics of the Red Maple Leaf are being abandoned. In terms of the environment, funding that was supposed to go to climate change issues has been diverted to tax credits for mass transit users. And as much as I love trains, buses and trolleys, there are other areas that require attention in order to reduce greenhouse gases. Also in the budget, a significant boost in military spending, which was perhaps inspired by their neighbors to the south. While healthcare receives no new funding to address problem areas. It may not be the end of the world, but there is definitely cause for alarm if you’re like me and you admire the policies and practices that made Canada the admirable nation that it is today.

Not Quite Part of the Union

Since yesterday was not-one-immigrant day in the US, today might be a good time to talk about something related here on the communique.

As many of you may remember fondly, it was only 2 years ago yesterday that Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, became new members of big blue. Yes, those were exciting times that resulted in a Union of 460 millon people and an economic powerhouse of sorts. Maybe more important, for us regular people, was that being a citizen of the EU meant that you now had certain universal rights in all member states: to work, live, travel, do all kinds of activities – anywhere within the 25 member states. As a person who’s entire adult life has been shaped by these rights, I was naturally very pleased that more people would be able to experience what I have experienced as a Portuguese/European citizen.

Unfortunately, as is the case with so many politicized issues, certain countries (Germany, Austria, Luxembourg, Netherlands, UK, France, etc.) fairly quietly put an asterix onto the addition of the new EU states. This extra clause involved limiting or flat out preventing new EU citizens from places like Poland or Slovakia, from exercising their right to free movement and seeking employment within their national borders. Complete with extensions for these provisions, some of which expired this year, as in the case of the UK. Others which carry on and have been open-ended extended, as in the shameful case of the Netherlands.

In other words they may say the new Eastern European Nations are part of the EU. They may even show up to ceremonies, shake hands, and pose for photos with officials from that member state. But they don’t actually respect or honor the rights that membership entitles all citizens, including their own. So next time anyone starts talking highly of the big EU countries, or the Netherlands, make sure you remind them of the xenophobic, underhanded, and perhaps even racist policy of the sitting government that for some mysterious reason – people still haven’t forced to resign.

She said, I just got back from Colombo

One of today’s graduates gave me a warm greeting today during the ceremony. I noticed her Eastern European skin looking quite tan, and I asked where she’d been. “Sri Lanka,” she said, “not a very good time over there right now.”

At that moment I thought back to the last few years and what has taken place in Sri Lanka, a place I’ve long paid attention to. I thought about the disastrous and destructive civil war that tore the country apart for so long. Then in 2002 there came the peace agreement between the Tamil Tigers and the government. My feeling and my hope was that people were tired of war, and that even the soldiers themselves, on both sides, were ready to seek some other (any other!) means of resolving their conflict.
But it has been a shakey cease-fire, with occasional incidents on both sides. And as she spoke she mentioned the recent escallation of violence and how everyone where she was outside Colombo was talking about it and getting crazy-concerned. It was also interesting to hear the contrast, while a fragile peace agreement is on the brink of falling apart, she was looking for peace and quiet at a Sri Lankan resort… very odd.

Hey and while I’m talking Asia, GOOD NEWS, the Nepalese parliament has re-convened for the first time in 4 years! This sounds like a good step.

Zimbabwe Gets Me

Awhile back, my good friend BadHareDay in Lisbon, mentioned that he would like to see me talk more about what is going on in Zimbabwe and all the terrible things going on there over the past years. Although I’ve occasionally followed his wishes, and written about what’s going on there, the fact is I don’t often say the word Zimbabwe on the blog.

Which makes me wonder: why is that? I ask myself this as I sit down to write tonight, exhausted after two days of frisbee playing and nagging leg cramps. The only answers I can think of are possibilities; possible explanation for my choice not to make frequent references to the country and events unfolding there. You may not like all of them, but here they are:

To be completely honest, and obviously risking great condemnation now from readers, I actually thought the policy of redistributing land had a valid arguement behind it. (INITIALLY!) Obviously now I do not feel that way and the results have certainly been disastrous, sad, and a crime against humanity. But at that time, I looked at the situation in the country and on a very basic level I thought: why are all the big farms owned by white people? It struck me as odd and a sad fact. So I heard the idea of redistributing land and I thought — maybe this is what has to happen to finally stop the great income gap between black and white Zimbabweans.

Looking back, of course, we all know it didn’t take long for that idea to become a clearly destructive idea. As the country would lose its ability to feed itself, people would go hungry, and the government would continue on its path of iron fisted human rights violations and crack downs of all kinds. Perhaps this new reality was simply so sad and permanent feeling, that I had nothing new to add to what was already being said in the media.

So today I read somewhere on BBCnews that the government was taking steps to let white farmers acquire farms again. As the confiscated farms had been so mismanaged and unproductive since the evictions began. I think they called it an about-face of policy, presumably due to the lack of food and terrible shape the economy is in.

This has all been going on for years now, and I still struggle to understand Zimbabwe fully. I’ve read the history, watched events unfold, and even now I find it very confusing and moreover, frustrating. I guess a better place to read about all this is on “This is Zimbabwe” and not here. I somehow feel insufficiently informed or experienced to make sense of it all here on the blog.

Clearly a podcast topic for the near future.