This is the next round. It’s going to be exciting. My general impression is that to discredit someone with a strong reputation you attack his colleagues. And those colleagues in this kind of struggle are likely to be politicians. Unfortunately, if you have been in politics any length of time, you have usually left some questionable decisions not wholly dealt with. What’s more, India seems to have some very creative ways for a politician to make money. In the United States, corruption is more institutionalized, so to see who owns a politician we just go online and look at the campaign contributions or we look to see what Political Action Committees their wives or relatives use to suck up money from the gullible.

My admiration for the Indian press is growing rapidly. I found the reporting informative and challenging. I got the impression that being a press favorite was not as common there as it is here.

The struggle goes on, from my distant perch in the center of the North American continent, I watch.

James Pilant

Who is Anna Hazare and what is his importance to the United States?

About 2 years ago, the United States cut a deal with the Indian government to share nuclear technology. The legislature ratified the treaty. It was a very controversial deal. The Indian government had been a rogue power in regard to nuclear energy having used what was supposed to be peaceful nuclear technology to build a series of atom bombs.

The deal allowed India to access fuel and nuclear technology from the rest of the world making India the only nuclear power a non-signatory to the non-proliferation treaty.

Wikileaks revealed that the American State Department had directly observed enormous sums of cash to be used to bribe enough of the representatives to get the deal through.

Anger in India over this corruption is intense.

Hazare has been fasting to force the government to put in place anti-corruption legislation.

The struggles continues but Hazare appears to have won this round.

James Pilant

4 days on fast Anna Hazare after initially refusing to relent announced that he would end his fast on saturday at 10am. This follows the Manmohan Singh lead UPA Government coming around to his demand of a joint committee of Government and Non-Governmental activists and a co-chair to go with in drafting the next version of the Lokpal Bill. Much has already been said on the perils of an Ombudsman independent of the Constitutional separation of powe … Read More

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