Bill Gates has exaggerated Rajat Gupta’s work as chair of Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria by writing many millions of people are leading better lives – or are alive at all – thanks to the efforts he ably supported. Kofi Annan wrote “I urge you to recognise Rajat for the good he has done in the world, to give him the credit that he deserves for helping others and to take into account his efforts to improve the lives of millions of people.â€
Tag: USA
Hitler Store
Israeli Consul General Orna Sagiv was in Ahmedabad on 3/9/2012. Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) had received many e-mails demanding a change of name. Employees of AMC visited the shop and showed the copies of e-mails to proprietors. Proprietors used to get at least 10 calls daily from USA, UK, Dubai, Germany and Israel, many at odd hours.
Peace with Pakistan
On 18/4/2012 Pakistan’s General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani called for resolution of Siachen and other issues. He said the two countries cannot keep spending on defence alone and forget about development. This came after Pakistan’s 127 soldiers and 11 civilians were buried alive by an avalanche on 7/4/2012 and searches are on for them.
Kayani’s statement is welcome but India should not throw caution to the wind. India should not vacate Siachen in a hurry. We know what happened in Kargil. After Kayani’s retirement next General may have different ideas about peace with India. Nawaz Sharif wanted peace with India. Atal Behari Vajpayee took bus to Lahore. A few months later Kargil War happened. Then Pervez Musharraf deposed Nawaz Sharif and sent him to jail.
India votes against Sri Lanka
On 22/3/2012 India voted against Sri Lanka in UNHRC, Geneva. Out of the 47 countries, 24 voted for the resolution, 15 against and 8 abstained. The resolution was moved by USA which has committed more war crimes than any other country in recent times. India was the only Asian country to vote against Sri Lanka. Russia, China, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Maldives, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Indonesia, Philippines, Cuba and some other countries voted against the resolution. India gave up its position of not voting in favour of any country specific resolution.
USA and ISI
For long India said ISI was behind terrorist activities in India. USA was quiet. For some years Afghanistan said ISI was behind terrorist activities in Afghanistan. That included Indian Embassy. USA was quiet. When American Embassy was attacked USA spoke. Americans wanted Pakistan to take action against Haqqani group, veritable arm of ISI, or they will act on their own.
Occupy Wall Street
For long Americans witnessed scenes of demonstrations in Arab countries and talked of Arab Spring. Now they witness scenes of demonstrations in their own country and they can talk of American Autumn. There is protest against corporate greed and bail outs. Billions of dollars were given in bail outs and officials responsible for losses got millions of dollars in bonuses. Unemployment is high in USA. Officially it is close to 10%. The unemployed are not ready to put up with a system that rewards failures.
Downgrade of US Treasury Bonds
Standard & Poor’s (S&P) downgraded the rating of US Treasury Bonds from AAA to AA+ on 5/8/2011 (In India and some other countries 6/8/2011) and that shocked many. It is the first downgrade since 1917. The downgrade followed wrangling in US Congress over raising debt limit, which used to be a routine matter, from 14.3 trillion dollars. Since 1960 USA had raised debt limit 78 times without any problem but this time it was different. S&P stood out from Moody’s and Fitch which continued with AAA rating. Treasury Department criticized S&P. S&P justified its decision and said that if matters did not improve further downgrade to AA was possible.
Commando operation
Many Indians want India to send commandos to Pakistan to kill India’s Most Wanted in Pakistan. Operation Geronimo by USA is the inspiration. When asked by journalists army chief and air force chief have said that India is capable to commando operations.
The idea is fine but needs to be tested. India is not USA. India does not have the technology that USA has. In India’s case there is no room for error. Every commando operation is not a success. USA’s attempt to rescue hostages in Iran in 1979 was a disaster. Operation Geronimo was a success in that it achieved its aim of catching Osama Bin Laden dead or alive but one helicopter could not fly back and had to be destroyed. USA has inter-continental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) that can hit any country in the world. Pakistan does not have ICBMs. India and Pakistan do not need ICBMs to hit each other. India does not have stealth helicopters that can evade radar detection.
Death of Osama Bin Laden
The news of the death of Osama Bin Laden on 2/5/2011 (1/5/2011 in USA) in Abbottabad brought cheers to Americans and there were celebrations outside White House and Ground Zero. Barack Obama said it was a historic day for America and justice has been done. Osama Bin Laden was not hiding in some remote mountain but in a building next to military academy, or 500-800 metres away from military academy, in a city. America wanted Osama Bin Laden dead or alive for almost a decade. The building was a mansion without telephone or internet and with 12-16 feet walls built in 2005. For long Americans bombed Waziristan and some areas in Afghanistan hoping to kill Osama Bin Laden. Perhaps they were misled.
US court and India
A US court in New York has issued summons to Kamal Nath to appear before it to answer charges of involvement in killing Sikhs in 1984 in a suit filed by Sikhs for Justice. The group has charged Congress with attacks on Sikhs. Why Kamal Nath is summoned and why not Sajjan Kumar or Jagdish Tytler is not known. H. K. L. Bhagat, known for his role in killing Sikhs, is dead.