Compared to the politics of today, the spring of 1968 seems like a period of unbridled optimism: young people took to the streets for a better world and 'utopian' and 'radical' were not yet dirty words. But while many of those young radicals are now establishment figures in politics, media and business, the world they sought has not come about.
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God Bless Ralph Nader

Joel S. Hirschhorn

Because he wants to salvage American democracy and help Americans, Ralph Nader is running for president again. He deserves the support of all Americans that see themselves as progressives, dissidents, independents, and patriots who want to remove the stranglehold of the two-party plutocracy on our political system.
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Perhaps a global political apocalypse has already arrived.

Activists and dissidents should understand that evil forces and tyrannical governments have evolved. Just as human knowledge and science expand, so do the strategies and instruments used by rulers, elites and plutocrats. By learning from history and using new technology they have smarter tools of tyranny. The best ones prevent uprisings, revolutions and political reforms. Rather than violently destroy rebellious movements, they let them survive as marginalized and ineffective efforts that divert and sap the energy of nonconformist and rebellious thinkers. Real revolution remains an energy-draining dream, as evil forces thrive.
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Title, Pakistan’s Strategic Culture and Foreign Policy Making: A Study of Pakistan’s Post 9/11 Afghan Policy
Author Ijaz Khan
Publisher Nova Science Publishers, New York, USA
The book studies Pakistan’s Strategic Culture and Foreign Policy Decision–Making process with the help of Prof. Karl Deutsch’s Streams of Information Model and explains how and so why Pakistan made the decision to support Taliban, then why and how, in the wake of 9/11, it changed that policy, noting the difficulties it is facing as a result of the changed Afghan Policy. It is argued that Pakistan’s support for Taliban was a result of its strategic culture that had developed over years, that saw religious extremist forces as good and reliable tools of policy, more precisely its security policy. Thus all its domestic perceptions were woven around Pakistan’s establishment belief that Taliban serves Pakistan’s regional security interests best. The change resulting in abandoning of Taliban was more a result of external inputs which conflicted with its long held security perceptions which continues to be unchanged for most part. Thus one notes a growing crisis of state and society and more importantly of international credibility as long as Pakistan’s role in the ‘War against Terrorism’ is concerned as pro Taliban Policy continues to be viewed as a better option in a wide range of establishment intelligentsia, not just the religious extremists. The book ends with suggestions how and where to change Pakistan’s decision making process by changing its strategic culture, as required by Pakistan’s announced change in its Foreign/Afghan Policy. The study helps in understanding Pakistan’s role in the ‘War against Terrorism’ addressing issues of capabilities as well as willingness.
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Bhutto had no business being in Pakistan but for Rice. Rare indeed does a government policy end in so spectacular a failure as having the bloody brains blown out of a former and potentially future head of state before millions of onlookers. It was in the name of the State Department's "Freedom and Democracy" agenda that Rice first conceived of the purely cosmetic notion of having the telegenic and politically pliable Bhutto pose as the duly elected spokesmodel, for what was to remain a brutal, military tyranny directed by the US to root out, torture, and exterminate every deemed pro-Taliban/Al-Queda lifeform in Pakistan from lizard up. Even in an Administration infamous for using plausible gullibility to exonerate its members from personal responsibility and guilt for catastrophic failures, surely this last, in a long, long line, of world historical blunders should compel that rarest of occasions in the Bush White House, a resignation for failure. Rice has got to go.  Read the rest of this post...

The mistreatment and mishandling of ethnic revolt could turn into separation movement and could finally give a birth of new “Nation-State.” This article would deal with the contextual strategic analysis of ongoing unrecognized Madheshi ethnic revolt of Nepal, contemporary sentimental trend and nature of ongoing ethnic insurgency. It provides crucial premeditated recommendations that could help to prevent from possible threat of separation and resolve the existing ethnic catastrophe through peaceful means. Please read more: http://telegraphnepal.com/news_det.php?news_id=2531 http://telegraphnepal.com/news_det.php?news_id=2531  Read the rest of this post...

Guerrilla’s Merger into Army? : Unfortunate! Krishna Hari Pushkar Berlin, Germany In Nepal, there is ongoing blackjack discussion about the “Integration of Maoist Rebellion Guerrillas into Nepal Army” and most probably it will be amalgamated, this situation emerged due to State is under the control of Insurgents. I have personally criticised the model and way of peace accord since beginning because of its poor feasibility, now it’s hindering to go forward on agreed peace road map. State is compelled to make one after other frequent amendments as per Maoist will and strategy. I would say, “State lost dignity” in the case. However, I am not against the peace process, my concern is only technical part of peace process that drastically failed and now state anguishes with severe crisis.  Read the rest of this post...

From Salih Mirzabeyoglu's "The State of Grandsublime" (I am the editor of this work): ISLAM AND STATE Islam is tightly connected to the state, just as the soul is integrated, inseparably, with the body; it is inextricable, and an organ system can never be imagined without it. • Is it imaginable that Islam, which embraces the whole universe, excludes the state, which is the aggregate of material and spiritual values of the human community? • Now that "people" are the External (Zahir) of the absolute Truth (Haqq) and the absolute Truth (Haqq) is the Inward (Batin) of "people," the unique principle of an Islamic state is the absolute Truth (Haqq), and the sovereignty uniquely belongs to it.  Read the rest of this post...

From Salih Mirzabeyoglu's "The State of Grandsublime" (I am the editor of this work): THE DESCRIPTION AND CHARACTERISTICS OF DEMOCRACY Since a very early time, one may have seen various descriptions and explanations of democracy. When talking about the types of states and governments, there is a widespread habit of categorizing them into three general types: monarchy, aristocracy and democracy. By the way, let us point out the following fact: “The word government means the power used by the state agencies as well as the agency using this power. This concept sometimes expresses all the boards using the power including the 'Great National Assembly' and sometimes it targets only the 'Council of Ministers.' In short, the government is a part and an organ of the state.”  Read the rest of this post...

Time for Americans to Boycott Voting Joel S. Hirschhorn After many years of political disappointment, more progressives, liberals and conservatives – and certainly moderates and independents – know in their hearts that voting for Democrats or Republicans is a waste. Just imagine if voter turnout was cut to 25 percent or less! Let the whole world see Americans boycotting a broken and corrupt political system and rejecting what has become a delusional democracy. To keep voting in an unjust political system makes us willing political slaves that the rich and powerful elites exploit.  Read the rest of this post...

How democratic are the institutions upon which we depend for the promotion and protection of democracy? The truth is that that many of them, especially the international ones, are not democratic at all. In most cases they are not even representative. This may seem to be a bit of a contradiction. It is not as contradictory or as undesirable as it at first appears. Even in the most dedicated democracies many officials that can have a profound effect on the lives of people and that can be very powerful in their own right are not elected but appointed, and they can be in charge of institutions that are likewise neither created nor run democratically. Heads of law enforcement agencies are good examples.  Read the rest of this post...

The recent split in Palestine and the subsequent hostile take over that occurred in the Gaza strip comes as no surprise to me. It seems as though efforts to sabotage the nascent alliance between Fatah and Hamas were rearing their ugly head right from the get go.
Insecurities between the two parties were being voiced in the news and interference by international players catalyzing the rivalry which culminated into the present situation. Was the Palestinian Unity Government ever a serious project? Did it have any hope of functioning efficiently? And is the international world truly serious about instilling democracies in the Middle East?  Read the rest of this post...