OIL POLITICS, SPECULATION, CHAIN REACTION AND MANAGEMENT

It requires quantum of intelligence, to infer from what is happening in the markets, or politico-socio-economic across the globe, to why it is happening. Things are never as simple as they seem to be. This would become comprehendible and evident as soon as one reads, relates and analyses the instances mentioned hereunder:

“Crude oil prices peaked to US $ 100 – 115 a barrel in April and May 2011 and moved downwards after that to touch a rate of US $ 90 – 92 per barrel in June 2011. In such a scenario, price increase by the Union Government should have been announced in April – May 2011, but the same did not occur. The Government found June 2011 to be the auspicious time for announcing price hike when the prices had nearly normalized. What could have been the motive for doing so? Simple answer is that April – May 2011 was the time when five states were going to elect the assembly members. The states being, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Kerala and Puducherry. ”

“If one goes by what the campaign managers of Congress had to say on the Rahul Gandhi’s much publicized kisan padyatra-(which as claimed was undertaken to champion the cause of the farmers of the region) –  was conceived to detract the public attention from the issue of hike in petroleum products and their possible spiraling effect on inflation. This yatra detracted the lot of electronic media attention from the campaign that opposition forces such as BJP and Left were seeking to build up on the oil price hike related issues. ”

“Since the Oil shock of 1973, USA strategically took measures to control the oil market by keeping continued focus on West Asian Region. In 1980, Jimmy Carter, the then President of USA declared Persian Gulf an exclusive zone of American influence and created a rapid deployment of forces, which latter turned into what is known as US Central Command or CENTCOM.  ”

“As is being believed by majority that skirmish in Libya is behind recent spurt in prices, should correct their facts. Libya produces less than 3 per cent of global petroleum output. Where as Saudi Arabia has already made up for the current shortfall and its excess stocks are more than that of Libya and Algeria put together. In fact in present situation too oil production at many of Libyan facilities continues even in civil war there. ”

“The argument being forwarded by few is that rising demand from China and India has forced an upward trend in oil prices is also unjustified. Though these two countries do account for growing share of global demand, but then same is counterbalanced by slower demand from USA and Europe.”

“There is still a wide spread perception that cartel of Oil Exporting Countries can manipulate and influence the prices by changing the level of their supplies. Reality today is much different. The OPEC has turned from being a cartel to being a minor player today. Non OPEC countries now account for increasingly significant proportion of global supply. Russia has already snatched the title of being largest supplier of crude oil from Saudi Arabia since 2009.  ”

Many more such instances may be quoted. It’s not being quoted in anticipation that the variety of above instances is good enough to comprehend that nearly none of the factors assumed or arguments forwarded are capable of forcing any kind of hike in prices of the crude oil.

 

Then what is it, which is responsible for hike in crude oil price?

 

…….any guesses, if not, then storm your grey matter and keep visiting this place in hope of getting answer to this simple question.

 

Always Yours — As Usual —- Saurabh Singh

 

 

THE JASMINE REVOLUTION–Part – I

At times, few events, though not very often noticed, normally not even thought worth being covered by national media, but when the acts happen to be of SUPREME SACRIFICE or same order, change course of not alone history but geography too. The attempt is not to dub an act of self immolation as an act of bravery, and normally hundreds of cases of self immolation and attempts of self immolation get reported in media every year, besides lot many which even fail to find space in news media in nearly all the corners of the world which without fuelling in a minor change in governance.

The name “Mohamed Bouazizi” is not a famous or well known name even today, and thus indirectly gives an impression that history in due course of time may even forget to contain any record of this name for reference of future generations. The act of self immolation by this Tunisian Street Vendor to protest against the corruption is an apt example of helplessness being faced by common men, irrespective of him being a citizen, subject, at mercy of any dictator, fascist or Junta or probably any other form of Structure of Governance.

Strange are ways things are destined, much beyond human vision and imagination, it seems if  21^st Century were a Century of Convergence of Scale for nearly every sphere of human related activities. A Century standing witness to Convergence of Communication Technology and Tools, Convergence of Economies of Nations, Convergence of Trade, Convergence of Financial Governance, and perhaps even Convergence of Revolutions against Governance Structures across various nations and probably the list continue…s, neither can it be covered in this deliberation nor will it be attempted.

Till a couple of months back, the individual of the day was busy in himself thinking that all the problems could happen and will happen with others only, aptly defined selfish by Adam Smith and the league, was thinking of governance all around the globe being cool, calm and pleasant except the places messed up by United States of America. Perhaps still the individuals will remain individuals and will rarely form a society or nation; as people aware of history know very well that even the phenomenon or concept of nation is a gift of as recent as nineteenth century.

Connecting back, it was morning of December 17, 2010 when Mohamed Bouazizi, a 26 years old street vendor of Tunisia immolated himself protesting against corruption, an event of the magnitude often not even noticed by world media, the Arab World has not remained the same as it was till hours before of this act on the same day. It has left whole geo-political area simmering and inhabitants rumbling.  It has initiated a chain reaction.

The chain reaction, that has already made twenty three years old rule of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, (in power since 1987) now a chapter in history of Tunisia. It did not stop here itself. It perhaps turned a torchbearer for other nations of geopolitical area often called as Gulf (British call it as Middle East), or as the author calls it, the Middle West. It did not stop at Tunisia. The next link in chain turned out to be Egypt. In Egypt, the war hero of Egypt Israel War of 1973 that made Egypt a power centre in Middle West and one time air force officer Hosni Mubarak was shown door after his thirty year rule. To world it may look a silent transition made success by people of Egypt but sources say that at least 300 people lost their life and another 3000 suffered injuries. Reality about real causalities is not known due to initial crack down on media and still no real transition to any new form of governance taking place. It is probably still another Hosni Mubarak just individual may differ, as no real transition to any form of governance has taken place, but junta in control.

“The phenomenon being deliberated, as on date, has come to be known as SIDI BOUZID REVOLT in Arab World and as JASMINE REVOLUTION elsewhere.”

Similar turmoil, protests against governments in place, in numerous other nations of gulf is being seen and also the ruthlessness and lack of human emotions with which they are being suppressed and retaliated by various governments in place. It is the same story today in Algeria, Bahrain, Jordan, Libya and Yemen.

Probably crossing the borders of a nation or two, some simmer is being felt in China too. The world that is networked today with Internet or World Wide Web (normally first place to face fire and wrath of unpopular governments) is now witness to call for Jasmine Revolution that has spread through Internet in China and Chinese police could be seen in high alert cracking down on expected activists oriented towards democracy in Beijing and Shanghai.

Always Yours — As Usual — Saurabh Singh

A LOOK ON SOME FASTEST GROWING ECONOMIES–AT A RATE HIGHER THAN INDIA-NOTHING TO BE SURPRISED

GHANA

Several African nations are now growing at a rapid pace. So, this way Ghana also is no exception. It’s unique only in a way that, no nation is witnessing the growth in GDP rate as high as Ghana. Since a long time, unflattering adjectives like ‘worst managed’, ‘disastrous’, etc., were used when it came to talking of Ghana; but now they do not hold true. The Ghana of today has come a long way ahead in its journey towards prosperity and has earned the status of being the world’s fastest growing economy today. Ghana’s economy is growing at a phenomenal rate of 20.15 per cent. Ghana is oil-rich, has large gold and diamond deposits, while at the same time, the boom that is being witnessed by its tourism sector has added more glitter to its diamonds.

QATAR

Qatar is an oil- and gas-rich nation with world’s third largest gas reserves. It has undoubtedly enjoyed the status of being a nation which is world’s largest exporters of petroleum, and has got something more remarkable added to it. The growth in GDP of Qatar has helped it in achieving a new distinction, and that is of being the world’s second fastest growing economy growing at a rate of 12.337 per cent. The economy of Qatar is primarily oil-based. High oil and gas prices have boosted the economy of this Gulf state over the last few years. The per capita income of Qataris stands at $66,100, which in comparative terms makes it, a nation with sixth highest per capita in the world, and still Qataris do not know a phenomenon known as Income Tax .

TURKMENISTAAN

Turkmenistan is also not far away when it comes in terms of being blessed with reserves of natural gas. In this context Turkmenistan stands at the rank of being world’s fourth-largest nation in terms of owning the reserves of natural gas. In present story it has earned slot at number three, due to it being the world’s third fastest growing nation with a GDP growth rate of 12.18 per cent. Although oil and gas is the biggest revenue generator for Turkmenistan, agriculture too accounts for a healthy percentage of its GDP. Citizens in Turkmenistan get 120 liters of petrol free every month for car drivers, while truck/bus drivers get 200 liters of petrol free. Apart from this, electricity too is subsidized for the citizens. Probably, one should not expect beyond this and turn greedy.

CHINA

China, which in this story has earned a slot at number four, also happens to be the world’s fourth fastest growing economy at 9.908% GDP growth rate. In monetary terms, it turns out to be of order of amazing $6 trillion. However, now certain not so desired elements have started to raise their heads. The rising inflation rate in China is a new challenge, which stands in way of growth, of the economy of the country. China’s gross domestic product grew 9.6 per cent in the third quarter as compared to the same period last year. The growth rate slowed down from 11.9 per cent in the first quarter and 10.3 per cent in the second quarter.

 

LIBERIA

Even though, the nation still continues to live with dubious and infamous distinction of being one of the poorest countries on earth; Liberia has recorded robust economic activity in past couple of years. This African nation, despite of all said and done, has managed to steal the fifth rank when it comes to the list of world’s fastest growing economies. The Liberia, now as world’s fifth fastest growing economy has a GDP growth rate of 9.003 per cent. It is a $1.05 billion economy. The nation has rich reserves of iron ore, and also exports rubber. In the last few years, it has been receiving a lot of foreign direct investment which has resulted in higher employment, better infrastructure and spurt in economic activity.

 

————Always Yours — As Usual — Saurabh Singh

THE ARRIVAL OF U. S. S. GEORGE WASHINGTON AIRCRAFT CARRIER IN YELLOW SEA HAS TRANSFORMED INTO A CONUNDRUM FOR CHINA

THE ARRIVAL OF U. S. S. GEORGE WASHINGTON AIRCRAFT CARRIER IN YELLOW SEA HAS TRANSFORMED INTO A CONUNDRUM FOR CHINA

Professor Saurabh Singh‘s comment on International Polity

Scholar of Domain of Knowledge Named Administrative Sciences

Dilemma of nature that may be dubbed as unique in its own kind, i.e,

?        TO SPEAK OR NOT TO SPEAK

ƒ       Should it protest angrily and aggravate ties with Washington, or

ƒ       quietly accept the presence of a key symbol of American military pre-eminence off Chinese shores

?        BACKGROUND

ƒ        The USS George Washington, accompanied by escort ships, is to take part in military drills with South Korea following North Korea’s shelling of a South Korean island.

ƒ        The Shelling on Tuesday is one of the most serious confrontations since the Korean War a half-century ago.

?           IT’S A SCENARIO WHICH CHINA HAS ALWAYS PREVENT

Only four months ago, Chinese officials and military officers shrilly warned Washington against sending a carrier into the Yellow Sea for an earlier set of exercises

Some said it would escalate tensions after the sinking of a South Korean navy ship blamed on North Korea.

Others went further, calling the carrier deployment a threat to Chinese security.

?           CHINESE BELIEVE THAT THEIR OBJECTIONS WORKED

Although Washington never said why, no aircraft carrier sailed into the strategic Yellow Sea, which laps at several Chinese provinces and the Korean peninsula.

This time around, with outrage high over the shelling, the U.S. raising pressure on China to rein in wayward ally North Korea

a Chinese-American summit in the works, the warship is coming, and Beijing is muffling any criticisms.

PROFESSOR MICHAEL RICHARDSON, Commented..,

[A visiting research fellow at Singapore’s Institute of Southeast Asian Studies]

“I think China must be quietly cursing North Korea under their breath.”

“The Scenario can very well be taken as a of the adverse Outcome of North Korea’s most recent belligerence.

Belligerence by NORTH KOREA has transformed in “HOT POTATO IN THE MOUTH SCENARIO***” for CHINA

China, as of now can neither “open the mouth nor Keep it shut”; as regards to deployment of U.S. Naval Ship George Washington, which happens to be a Nuclear Powered Aircraft Carrier, in the East China Sea,”

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman reiterated Beijing’s long-standing insistence that foreign navies obtain its permission before undertaking military operations inside China’s exclusive economic zone, which extends 230 miles (370 kilometers) from its coast.

The statement also reiterated calls for calm and restraint but did not directly mention the Yellow Sea or the planned exercises.

Global Times, a nationalistic tabloid, in an editorial expressed its worries by stating  that a U.S. carrier would upset the delicate balance in the Yellow Sea, [Ignoring the fact that the George Washington has taken part in drills in those waters numerous times before.]

North Korea, not ready to come out of its belligerence, has warned that the U.S.-South Korean military drills were pushing the peninsula to the “brink of war.”

?        A MORE PASSIVE APPROACH SEEMS A BETTER TRADE OFF FOR CHINA

Its credibility with Washington and trading partner South Korea would get a boost

Put North Korea on notice that its actions are wearing China’s patience thin

PROFESSOR ZHU FENG, Director Peking University’s Center for International and Strategic Studies opined:

“The Chinese government is trying to send Pyongyang a signal that, if they continue to be so provocative, China will just leave the North Koreans to themselves.” He added further that “What China should do is make the North Koreans feel that they have got to stop messing around.”

 

CHINA FEARS RESORTING TO TOUGHER ACTIONS AGAINST NORTH KOREA

Chinese administration is of the view that cutting the food and fuel assistance Beijing supplies — would destabilize the isolated North Korean dictatorship, possibly leading to its collapse.

The adverse outcome as a resultant of tougher actions against North Korea may lead to flood of refugees into northeastern China and result in a pro-U.S. government taking over in the North in very recent future.

China may also be mindful of its relations with key trading partner Seoul, strained by Beijing’s reluctance to condemn Pyongyang over the March ship sinking. Raising a clamor over upcoming drills in the wake of a national tragedy would only further alienate South Korea.

CHINA, PERHAPS ARE INTELLEGENT ENOUGH &, WOULD BE AWARE OF THE ACTS THAT MAY MANISFEST, IF MISTAKE AT ANY LEVEL IS COMMITTED, IN FORM OF BENEFICIAL OR  HARMFUL  TO THE INTERESTS OF CHINA.

NEW ERA ON HORIZON TO HAVE RENEWED EXCHANGES WITH WASHINGTON

• President Hu Jintao is scheduled to make a state visit to Washington in January hosted by President Barack Obama — replete with a state dinner and other formal trappings that President George W. Bush never gave the Chinese leader.

• Before that Gen. Ma Xiaotian, one of the commanders who objected to the George Washington’s deployment earlier this year, is due in Washington for defense consultations. Those talks are another step in restoring tattered defense ties, a key goal of the Obama administration.

Thus CHINA at MOMENT could pray alone and practice Restraints on its Defense Policy and Diplomatic Offices.

CHINA could expect some luck also; as it may land up with few sounds reasons to ask USA to pull out it’s Aircraft carrier George Washington far away from Yellow Sea; as it may be gifted some information in the way of wiki leaks.

Whereas USA and South Korea, as on the moment are planning an artillery exercise  as part of the Whole Exercise with USA troops; the North Korea is busy arranging its array of  missiles, blaming that USA awr exercise has put the Korean Peninsula at the brink of War.

 

————-So better wait and watch; even minor laps, on the part of any party may change or dictate; the whole course of global environment in a manner as to alter the path and orbit other than current; and may be to an unthought-of manner or unimagined or unanalyzed till date. The new equation and chapter may take birth to substitute the present equation in International Relations, Trade, Economy & polity.

The discussion in normal context is stopping here for the time being and will be initiated further if set and patterns of variables change due to any reason.

INDIA

I would love to add, before closing, that India till now is required to be on alert but not worried. India has enough might to foil any endeavor having malignancy by any neighboring nation or any lunatic national head. To defend itself, the Mother Nature by itself, has gifted India a number of Cover. Added to that resource gifted to India happens to KNOWLEDGE, which has added glitter gold and is going to perpetually provide India an edge over any other nation, in the form of its human resource, i.e., Citizen of India.

——————Professor Saurabh Singh, Subject Matter: Administrative Sciences; INDIA

[The closing paragraph and few pictures have been added for India Audiences of my Blog, due to their status of fellow citizen.]

*** The Phrase coind by Mr. Saurabh Singh to express a situation in which “one can neither swallo nor omit the things in mouth”.

Always Yourd —  As Usual —- Saurabh Singh

THE DRAGON AND THE ELEPHANT SHOULD TANGO

“THE DRAGON AND THE ELEPHANT SHOULD TANGO,” Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao suggested today.

Wen came up with this quip to emphasise the need for the two Asian giants, whose rivalry has been compared to that between the dragon (China) and elephant (India), to come closer.

Speaking to group of editors and scholars before leaving for Pakistan he said that India and China were partners in cooperation and not rivals.

Wen had warm words of appreciation for his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh describing him as a person “with an open and inclusive mind”.

The Chinese leader mentioned that the Cambridge University had brought out a publication containing speeches by him and Singh whose common theme was the importance of open and inclusive societies.

He distributed copies of that publication with his autograph to those present at the interaction.

Wen mentioned that the Indian Prime Minister had last year sent him a gift package of black tea and in return he had sent Chinese white tea. “That reminds me of how our two countries connect with each other.”

China to provide data of Sutlej river to India

China will provide India with real-time flood data of Sutlej river during monsoon, according to an agreement signed between the two countries.

Under the five year agreement, China will set up a special station in Tibet to monitor rainfall and flood to enable India get advanced warnings.

In turn, India will pay Rs 12 lakh per annum to China. The money will be used by Beijing to maintain the station, sources in the government said.

The flood data will be provided twice every day between June and October every year.

“Since we have five to six hydro electric power projects on the downstream Sutlej, the data will help us operate the projects in a safer environment,” a source said.

Floods in downstream Sutlej have been creating problems on the Indian side.

In July this year, India had renewed a similar agreement with China to get flood data of the Brahmaputra river. The agreement was signed in 2004.

Though China had been providing flood data of the Sutlej, the agreement will help streamline the system, especially during the monsoon season. New Delhi had been paying Rs 12 lakh per annum to China for data of the Brahmaputra.

Always Yours– As Usual — Saurabh Singh

Source: Business Satndard

Get Introduced with Barak M Obama — before he Lands in Mumbai-INDIA

Obama at bottom of his popularity and further confidence broken by  Poll Results

India, stand by to welcome a wounded American President. A crushing defeat in the mid-term Congressional elections stares President Obama’s Democratic Party on the eve of his four-nation trip that begins with a three-day Mumbai-Delhi swing later this week. The expected rout is likely to impact his agenda for the visit, which has already been heavily weighted towards economic issues at the expense of a strategic outreach with an eye on Tuesday’s polls.

But it has not made much difference, and things don’t look good for Obama. A 12-foot-high stack of pumpkins on the White House lawns on Sunday generated jokes about why Democrats are running scared on Halloween, which Obama celebrated with his kids after taking a break from the pell-mell of last-minute campaigning.

Democrats are in danger of losing both the House of Representatives (where all 435 seats are at stake) and nearly a third of the 100-member Senate, besides a host of governorships and state legislatures in play.

Almost every opinion poll has projected a heavy defeat for the Democrats, with the certain loss of the House of Representatives and possibly even the Senate. Republicans are poised to erase the 39-seat difference in the 435-member House to take control of the chamber.

In the words of Harvard Historian Professor James T. Kloppenberg

Professor James T. Kloppenberg ‘s authored book has been published on just the past Sunday by Princeton University Press.

Professor chose to focus on the influences that shaped President Barack Obama’s view of the world, he interviewed the president’s former professors and classmates, combed through his books, essays and speeches, and even read every article published during the three years Obama was involved with the Harvard Law Review (“a superb cure for insomnia,” Kloppenberg said). What he did not do was speak to Obama. “He would have had to deny every word,” Kloppenberg said with a smile. The reason, he explained, is his conclusion that Obama is a true  intellectual — a word that is frequently considered an epithet among populists with a robust suspicion of Ivy League elites. In New York City last week to give a standing-room-only lecture about his forthcoming intellectual biography, Reading Obama: Dreams, Hopes, and the American Political Tradition, Kloppenberg explained that he sees Obama as a kind of philosopher president, a rare breed that can be found only a handful of times in US history.

“There’s John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and John Quincy Adams, then Abraham Lincoln and in the 20th century just Woodrow Wilson,” he said. To Kloppenberg the philosophy that has guided Obama most consistently is pragmatism, a uniquely American system of thought developed at the end of the 19th century by William James, John Dewey and Charles Sanders Peirce. It is a philosophy that grew up after Darwin published his theory of evolution and the Civil War reached its bloody end.

Pragmatism maintains that people are constantly devising and updating ideas to navigate the world in which they live; it embraces open-minded experimentation and continuing debate. “It is a philosophy for skeptics, not true believers,” Kloppenberg said. Those who heard Kloppenberg present his argument at a conference on intellectual history at the City University of New York’s Graduate Center responded with prolonged applause. “The way he traced Obama’s intellectual influences was fascinating for us, given that Obama’s academic background seems so similar to ours,” said Andrew Hartman, a historian at Illinois State University who helped organize the conference.

Kloppenberg  chose to focus on one slice of the president’s makeup: his ideas. In the professor’s analysis the president’s worldview is the product of the country’s long history of extending democracy to disenfranchised groups, as well as the specific ideological upheavals that struck campuses in the 1980s and 1990s. He mentions, for example, that Obama was at Harvard during “the greatest intellectual ferment in law schools in the 20th century,” when competing theories about race, feminism, realism and constitutional original intent were all battling for ground.

Obama was ultimately drawn to a cluster of ideas known as civic republicanism or deliberative democracy, Kloppenberg argues in the book . Taking his cue from Madison, Obama writes in his 2006 book The Audacity of Hope that the constitutional framework is “designed to force us into a conversation,” that it offers “a way by which we argue about our future.” This notion of a living document is directly at odds with the conception of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, who has spoken of “the good, old dead Constitution.”

Kloppenberg compiled a long list of people who he said helped shape Obama’s thinking and writing, including Weber and Nietzsche, Thoreau and Emerson, Langston Hughes and Ralph Ellison. Contemporary scholars like historian Gordon Wood, philosophers John Rawls and Hilary Putnam, anthropologist Clifford Geertz and legal theorists Martha Minow and Cass Sunstein (who is now working at the White House) also have a place.

Despite the detailed examination, Kloppenberg concedes that Obama remains something of a mystery. “To critics on the left he seems a tragic failure, a man with so much potential who has not fulfilled the promise of change that partisans predicted for his presidency,” he said. “To the right he is a frightening success, a man who has transformed the federal government and ruined the economy.”He finds both assessments flawed. Conservatives who argue that Obama is a socialist or an anti-colonialist (as Dinesh D’Souza does in his book “The Roots of Obama’s Rage”) are far off the mark, he said.

“Adams and Jefferson were the only anti-colonialists whom Obama has been affected by,” he told the audience in New York. “He has a profound love of America.” And his opposition to inequality stems from Puritan preachers and the social gospel rather than socialism. As for liberal critics, Kloppenberg took pains to differentiate the president’s philosophical pragmatism, which assumes that change emerges over decades, from the kind of “vulgar pragmatism” practiced by politicians looking only for expedient compromise. (He gave former President Bill Clinton’s strategy of “triangulation” as an example.)

 

Always Yours——— As Usual——–  Saurabh Singh

OBAMA CALLS FOR RELEASE OF JAILED LIU XIAOBO

US PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA HAS CALLED FOR THE RELEASE OF THIS YEAR’S NOBEL PEACE PRIZE WINNER – JAILED CHINESE DISSIDENT LIU XIAOBO. OBAMA HAS PRAISED XIAOBO AS AN ELOQUENT AND COURAGEOUS SUPPORTER OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND DEMOCRACY. A POET AND LITERATURE PROFESSOR, XIAOBO WAS SENTENCED TO 11 YEARS IN PRISON IN 2009.

HE’S THE CO-AUTHOR OF CHARTER 08, A CALL FOR POLITICAL REFORM AND HUMAN RIGHTS. HE HAD PLAYED A LEADING ROLE IN THE TIANAN-MEN SQUARE STUDENT’S PROTEST OF 1989. LIU XIAOBO WAS AWARDED THE NOBEL, DESPITE CHINA WARNING THE NOBEL COMMITTEE NOT TO GIVE HIM THE PRIZE SAYING IT WILL HARM RELATIONS WITH NORWAY.

Thorbjoern Jagland, the Norwegian Nobel Committee chairman, said Liu Xiaobo was a symbol for the fight for human rights in China and the government should expect that its policies face scrutiny.

“China has become a big power in economic terms as well as political terms, and it is normal that big powers should be under criticism,” Jagland said.

Unlike some in China’s highly fractured and persecuted dissident community, the 54-year-old Liu has been an ardent advocate for peaceful, gradual political change, rather than a violent confrontation with the government.

Meanwhile Beijing blasted the Chinese dissident’s Nobel Peace Prize win on Friday, calling the decision to award Liu Xiaobo the honour as a “blasphemy”.

Ma Zhaoxu, spokesman for China’s foreign ministry, said the award is supposed to be given to those who “promote national harmony, international friendship” and work toward peace.

Liu is serving an 11-year prison term after being sentenced in 2009 for inciting subversion of state power. He is the co-author of Charter 08, a call for political reform and human rights, and was an adviser to the student protesters at Tiananmen Square in 1989.

 

Jailed Leader of China Gets Nobel Prize for Peace 2010

 

“Liu Xiaobo is a convicted criminal sentenced to jail by Chinese justice. His acts are in complete contradiction to the purpose of the Nobel Peace Prize,” Ma said.

The selection of Liu was made by the Norwegian Nobel Committee, whose president said the dissident won for his “long and nonviolent struggle for fundamental human rights in China.”

However, Ma said that while China and Norway have recently had “good relations,” the committee’s decision would harm future dealings between China and Norway.

The Nobel Committee stood by its choice and said it had expected China to react strongly.

“We have a very strong tradition of awarding the prize to human rights activists of many different kinds,” Geir Lundestad, director of the Nobel Institute, told CNN.

The institute assists the committee in selecting the prize each year.

Lundestad cited German pacifist and journalist Carl von Ossietsky in 1935, Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel in 1986, Myanmar pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi in 1991, and Iranian campaigner Shirin Ebadi in 2003 as examples of human rights activists who have won the prize.

“This is a tradition we are very proud of, and this is a tradition for which the Norwegian Nobel Committee has received much applause,” Lundestad said. “We felt that if we were serious about this tradition, we did have to come to terms with the question of China in this perspective, and this is what we then did this year.”

China’s response came in stark contrast to glowing reaction from around the world.

“Awarding the Peace Prize to him is the international community’s recognition of the increasing voices among the Chinese people in pushing China towards political, legal and constitutional reforms,” said the Dalai Lama, who won the prize in 1989. “I believe in the years ahead, future generations of Chinese will be able to enjoy the fruits of the efforts that the current Chinese citizens are making towards responsible governance.”

Always Yours —– As Usual —— Saurabh Singh

RACIST E-MAIL ROW: INDIA SUMMONS OZ ENVOY

The Ministry of External Affairs on Saturday summoned the Australian High Commissioner over the racist e-mail scandal involving top Victorian police officers joking about an Indian train passenger’s electrocution. In a shocking incident, top Australian police officers were caught in a racist e-mail scandal joking about the electrocution of an Indian train passenger and suggesting that it could be “a way to fix the Indian student problem” in Melbourne. The po

 

Assures of Action against Guilty - Simon Overland - Victorian Police Officer

 

lice officers of the Australian state of Victoria circulated sickening video footage showing the death of the man, who was travelling on the roof of a crowded train in India, the Herald Sun reported. When the train stopped at a station the man stood up and touched an overhead power cable. Onlookers screamed as he was electrocuted, showed the clip contained in one of the offending e-mails.

The e-mail containing the shocking video began circulating in the Victoria Police computer system and racist comments were added, suggesting “this might be a way to fix the Indian student problem”. The paper said it has discovered some of the force’s highest-ranked officers have been implicated in the scandal, which also involves pornographic material. Three superintendents were nabbed during an investigation into the circulation of inappropriate e-mails through the police computer system and several inspectors have also been caught, the report said. E-mails probed by the Ethical Standards Department’s (ESD’s) Operation Barrot contain pornographic, homophobic, racist and violent material.

Reacting to the scandal, Chief Commissioner Simon Overland described the e-mails as “disturbing, offensive and gross”. The scandal involving “sick” Victorian police officers came at a time when the force’s command was trying to ease racial tension after a number of assault cases involving Indian students living in Melbourne.

Victorian Premier John Brumby criticized the actions of the police who circulated the racist material. “This is completely offensive and contrary to the views and values at the heart of the Victorian community – tolerance and respect,” he said.

 

A police spokesman said the e-mails were offensive. “These are matters which demanded we took action. Some of the content was extremely offensive and we can’t tolerate that within the ranks of Victoria Police,” he said. Premier John Brumby has criticized the actions of the police who circulated the racist material. “This is completely offensive and contrary to the views and values at the heart of the Victorian community – tolerance and respect,” he said. Federation of Indian Students spokesman Gautam Gupta said he was appalled at the incident. “It is outrageous that police officers would joke about the death of anyone. I am really shocked. This is humor in very, very bad taste,” he said. The incident seems to have surfaced at a time of simmering racial tensions faced by Indians living in Australia. Commenting on the issue, Australian Envoy, Peter Varghese said, “The e-mail is unfortunate and completely unacceptable, one police officer concerned has already left the police post while facing investigations. The other faces serious disciplinary proceedings.”

 

Victorian police and Victoria’s premiere have already condemned the incident. The conduct of only two police officers does not mean the entire Victorian police is biased against the Indian community. It is unfortunate that this incident has taken away the many steps that we undertook to make the Indian community feel safer after last year’s attacks, he added. Meanwhile, India’s External Affairs Minister SM Krishna has reacted on the racist e-mail in Australia, saying “It’s shocking and a matter of serious concern.”

 

Ministry of External Affairs sources said, Australian High Commissioner was told the implication of involvement of police officers is shocking and of serious concern and India understands that a probe is already underway. India also wants action against the concerned officers and expects the authorities to ensure safety of people of Indian origin in Australia.

Always Yours ———— As Usual ————————— Saurabh Singh