September 14, 2010
by Atanu Dey
6 Comments
I bet you did not know that the US Constitution is “sharia compliant.” No, seriously it is. Ok, I am not an expert on the US constitution, and quite frankly I don’t know the first thing about sharia except that … Continue reading
September 26, 2009
by Atanu Dey
4 Comments
India, like all other countries of the world, is embedded in the larger context of the world. Naturally therefore India’s fortunes and the prospects for its development are circumscribed by the world’s prospects. Religion — especially the monotheistic ones — … Continue reading
September 8, 2009
by Atanu Dey
0 comments
In connection with the previous post on the US leading in weapons sales, I thought it would be nice to see a short excerpt from President Eisenhower’s farewell speech of 1961 warning Americans of the dangers of the military-industrial complex.
September 8, 2009
by Atanu Dey
2 Comments
“U.S. leads world in foreign weapons sales” reports Reuters. Sure that is as surprising as being told that Indian politicians are crooked. But the item helpfully reports figures.
April 22, 2009
by Atanu Dey
4 Comments
I have maintained for a while that the reason that Pakistan gets propped up by the US and its allies is that India and Pakistan are engaged in a dollar auction game and therefore anytime Pakistan is about to go … Continue reading
April 12, 2009
by Atanu Dey
2 Comments
Perhaps most humans are congenitally belligerent and can be reasonably expected to get into fights. But it takes institutionalized big businesses to create a war machine that raises ordinary human belligerence to levels of superhuman insanity. The war machine — … Continue reading
January 19, 2009
by Atanu Dey
0 comments
This year, 2009 CE, marks the 200th birth anniversary of Charles Darwin (1809 – 1882), and the 150th anniversary of the publication of his book, On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or The Preservation of Favoured … Continue reading
December 4, 2008
by Atanu Dey
6 Comments
{Continued from part 1.} In the ultimate analysis, ideas matter. Ideas are what distinguishes humans from all known forms of terrestial living beings. The differences one observes in the development of various societies ultimately boil down to the set of … Continue reading
June 20, 2008
by Atanu Dey
3 Comments
BBC reports that Israel conducted an exercise that amounts to a rehearsal for an attack on Iran’s nuclear enrichment facilities. It is a strong signal — to all including the US, Europe, and Iran — that it is serious about … Continue reading
February 8, 2008
by Atanu Dey
2 Comments
Only recently did I become aware that there is a local politician in Mumbai named Raj Thackeray and that he has been inciting people to violence to stop non-Marathi speaking people from migrating to Mumbai. The man, in my considered … Continue reading
November 16, 2007
by Atanu Dey
7 Comments
Pakistan matters critically to India. One could dismiss it as a failed tin-pot dictatorship and is of little consequence with respect to India’s development and economic growth. But it is just because it is a tin-pot dictatorship that it matters. … Continue reading
February 10, 2007
by Atanu Dey
1 Comment
Sarah Kass of the Jerusalem Post calls the Israli-Palestinian “The Longest-running Reality Show.” Brief excerpt:
December 15, 2006
by atanu
13 Comments
In a comment on my musings on “An entirely avoidable tragedy”, Jack Stack wrote You are quick to point out issues (again) with the US. Yep, Iraq, but at the same time, we’ve done quite a bit for literally every … Continue reading
December 13, 2006
by Atanu Dey
7 Comments
It should come as no surprise that the US is selling arms to Pakistan. “2,769 Radio Frequency TOW 2A missiles, 415 RF bunker buster missiles, fly-to-buy missiles in both these categories, 121 TOW launchers for wire-guided and wireless missiles, E-2C … Continue reading
March 12, 2006
by Atanu Dey
31 Comments
If publishing a bunch of cartoons results in significant death and destruction around the world, imagine what it must require to actually speak critically of Islam on an Arabic television program. Dr Wafa Sultan has — how should I put … Continue reading
March 4, 2006
by Atanu Dey
2 Comments
The cartoon row has prompted a bunch of writers to issue a statement warning against Islamism, the new totalitarian threat, BBC reports. Three of the writers are from the Indian subcontinent; three are from Iran; three from France. The full … Continue reading
July 19, 2005
by Atanu Dey
4 Comments
F. Scott Fitzgerald had noted that “the rich are different from you and me.” Ernest Hemmingway agreed and said, “Yes, they have more money.” Having more money is a significant difference because the most important of its derivate effects is … Continue reading
May 19, 2005
by Atanu Dey
9 Comments
Bestsellers touting the benefits of globalization are a regular feature of our times. Case in point: Tom Friedman’s The World is Flat. The title is supposed to shock the reader. “Damn! I thought the world was round. Thanks Tom, you … Continue reading
April 14, 2005
by atanu
23 Comments
No very deep knowledge of economics is usually needed for grasping the immediate effects of a measure; but the task of economics is to foretell the remoter effects, and so to allow us to avoid such acts as attempts to … Continue reading
April 14, 2005
by atanu
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From The Acorn an important message: Indian taxpayers are paying for the security of a man who is personally responsible for the deaths of hundreds of Indian soldiers, and through his sponsorship of terrorism, for the deaths of thousands of … Continue reading