tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848640164815342479.post1475454833384883670..comments2024-03-27T15:36:44.737-07:00Comments on Haq's Musings: Why Do Majority of Indians Favor Military Rule? Riaz Haqhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00522781692886598586noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848640164815342479.post-88462187677888536662021-07-18T10:30:33.311-07:002021-07-18T10:30:33.311-07:00Military got tap equipment illegally, says V.K. Si...Military got tap equipment illegally, says V.K. Singh<br /><br />MADHAV NALAPAT & VISHAL THAPAR<br />Published : January 26, 2013<br /><br />https://www.sundayguardianlive.com/news/1276-military-got-tap-equipment-illegally-says-vk-singh<br /><br />The Indian military acquired phone tapping equipment illegally, said former Army chief General V.K. Singh in an interview with The Sunday Guardian, but claimed that he had nothing to do with it. He also owned up for the first time to a shadowy spy agency — the Technical Support Division (TSD) — which has been accused of misappropriating secret military funds and bugging the political leadership. However, the general, who is now a political activist, strongly protested his innocence and insisted that the spying charges against him were the result of a conspiracy to tarnish his image. He alleged that sophisticated phone tapping equipment, including off-air interceptors, was acquired by “one particular DG DIA” without the government’s authorisation and that he was not responsible for it.<br /><br />----------------<br /><br />Snoop List Has 40 Indian Journalists, Forensic Tests Confirm Presence of Pegasus Spyware on Some<br />Those on leaked list of potential targets include journalists at Hindustan Times, The Hindu, The Wire, Indian Express, News18, India Today, Pioneer, besides freelancers, columnists and regional media.<br /><br />https://thewire.in/media/pegasus-project-spyware-indian-journalists<br /><br /><br />The phone numbers of over 40 Indian journalists appear on a leaked list of potential targets for surveillance, and forensic tests have confirmed that some of them were successfully snooped upon by an unidentified agency using Pegasus spyware, The Wire can confirm.<br /><br />The leaked data includes the numbers of top journalists at big media houses like the Hindustan Times, including executive editor Shishir Gupta, India Today, Network18, The Hindu and Indian Express.<br /><br />The presence of a phone number in the data does alone not reveal whether a device was infected with Pegasus or subject to an attempted hack. However, the Pegasus Project that analysed this list believes the data is indicative of potential targets identified in advance of possible surveillance attempts.<br /><br />Independent digital forensic analysis conducted on 10 Indian phones whose numbers were present in the data showed signs of either an attempted or successful Pegasus hack.<br /><br />Of equal importance is how the forensic analysis shows a strong correlation between the time a phone number appears in the leaked records and the beginning of surveillance. The gap usually ranges between a few minutes and a couple of hours. In some cases, including forensic tests conducted for two India numbers, the time between a number appearing on the list and the successful detection of a trace of Pegasus infection is just seconds.<br /><br />Pegasus is sold by the Israeli company, NSO Group, which says it only offers its spyware to “vetted governments”. The company refuses to make its list of customers public but the presence of Pegasus infections in India, and the range of persons that may have been selected for targeting, strongly indicate that the agency operating the spyware on Indian numbers is an official Indian one.Riaz Haqhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00522781692886598586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848640164815342479.post-57331457175516113262021-06-30T20:39:39.369-07:002021-06-30T20:39:39.369-07:00Could #China’s model of growth be its biggest glob...Could #China’s model of growth be its biggest global #export ? #Beijing’s reluctance to define its "model" makes it difficult for others to follow. It prefers alternatives such as “Chinese path”, “Chinese experience”, “Chinese wisdom” & “Chinese approach” https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3139351/could-chinas-model-be-its-biggest-export-world<br /><br /><br /><br />The Chinese model gained favour as Africa wearied of the free-market capitalism and deregulation that characterised Western-style neoliberalism.<br />The failure of neoliberal economic policies in fostering social and economic development across the continent has caused political reorientations in Africa<br />Tim Zajontz<br />Tim Zajontz, a research fellow at South Africa’s Stellenbosch University, said China positioned its model as an alternative to Western-style democracy, which became a source of inspiration for other African countries such as Zimbabwe, Zambia and Tanzania.<br />“The failure of neoliberal economic policies in fostering social and economic development across the continent has caused political reorientations in Africa, with China’s economic trajectory frequently being invoked as a viable alternative development model,” Zajontz said.<br />Orville Schell, Arthur Ross director of the New York-based Asia Society’s Centre on US-China relations, agreed. “China has provided a successful authoritarian developmental model that has worked at home, and is thus seductive to other developing countries that have had difficulty organising their body politics, catalysing their economies with growth and keeping social order. The ‘China model’ has produced economic progress … if people are willing to live in an authoritarian, even totalitarian political environment. There is a trade-off,” Schell said.<br /><br />China’s Ethiopian ambitions suffer setback with telecoms decision<br />29 May 2021<br />However, as Beijing pulls out all the stops to mark the centenary of the ruling party’s establishment on July 1, there is still no consensus on what the China model actually is.<br />Just over a decade ago after the global financial crisis in 2008, the Chinese government even refused to acknowledge the existence of such a model, or weigh in on the discussions about whether the China model was reality or just something possible.<br />Instead, a number of retired officials, including former vice-president of the party’s Central Party School Li Junru, cautioned against using the term, citing its possible negative impacts on China’s relations with the world and its domestic development.<br />In a commentary on Study Times, the school’s flagship newspaper, in December 2009, Li said the notion of China model was factually incorrect and dangerous because it led to “self-satisfaction and blind optimism” and tended to stereotype the country’s ongoing reform experiment.<br />The ‘China model’ has produced economic progress … if people are willing to live in an authoritarian, even totalitarian political environment<br />Orville Schell<br />In the decade since, a group of Chinese academics and intellectuals have also questioned the validity of the Chinese model. Renowned economists Zhang Weiying and Wu Jinglian warned against promoting it, saying it would undermine reform at home and fuel divide and confrontation with the West. Tsinghua University historian Qin Hui argued in 2010 that unlike the rise of China, the rise of the China model, featuring a low level of human rights and welfare, was by no means good news for the country and the world.<br />It was not until after President Xi Jinping took office in late 2012 that the “China model” finally won official blessing.<br />“With the rise of China’s national strength and global standing, discussions and studies on the ‘Beijing consensus’, ‘Chinese model, and ‘Chinese road’ have gathered pace in the world,” Xi told senior party cadres at an internal meeting in January 2013.Riaz Haqhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00522781692886598586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848640164815342479.post-54686894368857805072021-01-26T16:35:32.457-08:002021-01-26T16:35:32.457-08:00The (Pakistani) military therefore provides opport...The (Pakistani) military therefore provides opportunities which the Pakistani economy cannot, and a position in the officer corps is immensely prized by the sons of shopkeepers and bigger farmers across Punjab and the NWFP. This allows the military to pick the very best recruits, and increases their sense of belonging to an elite. In the last years of British rule and the first years of Pakistan, most officers were recruited from the landed gentry and upper middle classes. These are still represented by figures such as former Chief of Army Staff General Jehangir Karamat, but a much more typical figure is the present COAS (as of 2010), General Ashfaq Kayani, son of an NCO. This social change reflects reflects partly the withdrawal of the upper middle classes to more comfortable professions, but also the immense increase in the numbers of officers required. Meanwhile, the political parties continue to be dominated by ‘feudal’ landowners and wealthy urban bosses, many of them not just corrupt but barely educated. This increases the sense of superiority to the politicians in the officer corps – something that I have heard from many officers and which was very marked in General Musharraf’s personal contempt for Benazir Bhutto and her husband. I have also been told by a number of officers and members of military families that ‘the officers’ mess is the most democratic institution in Pakistan, because its members are superior and junior during the day, but in the evening are comrades. That is something we have inherited from the British.’18 This may seem like a very strange statement, until one remembers that, in Pakistan, saying that something is the most spiritually democratic institution isn’t saying very much. Pakistani society is permeated by a culture of deference to superiors, starting with elders within the family and kinship group. As Stephen Lyon writes: Asymmetrical power relations form the cornerstone of Pakistani society . . . Close relations of equality are problematic for Pakistanis and seem to occur only in very limited conditions. In general, when Pakistanis meet, they weigh up the status of the person in front of them and behave accordingly.19 Pakistan’s dynastically ruled ‘democratic’ political parties exemplify this deference to inheritance and wealth; while in the army, as an officer told me: You rise on merit – well, mostly – not by inheritance,inheritance, and you salute the military rank and not the sardar or pir who has inherited his position from his father, or the businessman’s money. These days, many of the generals are the sons of clerks and shopkeepers, or if they are from military families, they are the sons of havildars [NCOs]. It doesn’t matter. The point is that they are generals.<br /><br /><br />Lieven, Anatol. Pakistan (pp. 181-182). PublicAffairs. Kindle Edition.Riaz Haqhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00522781692886598586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848640164815342479.post-67077256514675772092018-08-20T16:23:42.856-07:002018-08-20T16:23:42.856-07:00If you score more than 33% on Hans Rosling's b...If you score more than 33% on Hans Rosling's basic facts quiz about the state of health and wealth in the world today, you know more about the world than a chimp<br /><br />Read more at: https://inews.co.uk/news/long-reads/hans-rosling-factfulness-statistics/<br /><br /><br />Excerpt of Factfulness by Hans Rosling <br /><br /><br />Page 201 <br /><br />This is risky but I am going to argue it anyway. I strongly believe that liberal democracy is the best way to run a country. People like me, who believe this, are often tempted to argue that democracy leads to, or its even a requirement for, other good things, like peace, social progress, health improvement, and economic growth. But here's the thing, and it is hard to accept: the evidence does not support this stance. <br /><br />Most countries that make great economic and social progress are not democracies. South Korea moved from Level 1 to Level 3 (Rosling divides countries into 4 levels in terms of development, not the usual two categories of developed and developing) faster than any other country had ever done (without finding oil), al the time as a military dictatorship. Of the ten countries with the fastest economic growth, nine of them score low on democracy. <br /><br />Anyone who claims that democracy is a necessity for economic growth and health improvements will risk getting contradicted by reality. It's better to argue for democracy as a goal in itself instead of as a superior means to other goals we like. <br /><br />https://books.google.com/books?id=j-4yDwAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=factfulness+hans+rosling&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjW-v7KwPzcAhUgHDQIHZreB1IQ6AEIKTAA#v=onepage&q=Of%20the%20ten%20countries%20with%20the%20fastest%20economic%20growth%2C%20nine%20of%20them%20score%20low%20on%20democracy.%20&f=false<br />Riaz Haqhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00522781692886598586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848640164815342479.post-8305840653744853082017-12-02T17:42:23.160-08:002017-12-02T17:42:23.160-08:00#Pakistan's bottom quintile #income share has ...#Pakistan's bottom quintile #income share has increased from 8.1% to 9.6% since 1990. It is the highest in #Asia, #world, according to UNESCAP Statistical Yearbook. #inequality http://www.unescap.org/sites/default/files/SYB2015_Full_Publication.pdf …<br /><br />Although more people in China have<br />lifted themselves out of poverty than any other<br />country in the world, the poorest quintile in that<br />country now accounts for a lower percentage<br />of total income (4.7 per cent) than in the early<br />1990s (8.0 per cent). The same unfortunate<br />trend is observed for a number of other<br />countries, including in Indonesia (from 9.4 per<br />cent to 7.6) and in the Lao People’s Democratic<br />Republic (from 9.3 per cent to 7.6).<br /><br />In a number of other countries, people in the<br />poorest income quintile have increased their<br />share of total income including in Kyrgyzstan<br />(from 2.5 per cent to 7.7), the Russian Federation<br />(4.4 per cent to 6.5), Kazakhstan (7.5 per cent to<br />9.5) and Pakistan (8.1 per cent to 9.6).Riaz Haqhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00522781692886598586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848640164815342479.post-69293875821798327872017-12-02T10:01:20.037-08:002017-12-02T10:01:20.037-08:00Ahmad: "The economic development in Pakistan ...Ahmad: "The economic development in Pakistan under military rule was an illusionary and short-lived. It came at much political, social and cultural cost. The domestic savings rate did not change much at all..."<br /><br />I have already debunked your arguments with real data. Your repeating these same arguments changes nothing.<br /><br />For those who have an interest in serious economic discussion of savings, aid, FDI, investments and gdp growth, please read the following:<br /><br />http://www.riazhaq.com/2014/01/musharraf-accelerated-financial-and.html<br /><br /><br />http://www.riazhaq.com/2014/05/declining-investment-hurting-pakistan.htmlRiaz Haqhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00522781692886598586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848640164815342479.post-85806258954210101212017-12-02T09:57:44.150-08:002017-12-02T09:57:44.150-08:00The economic development in Pakistan under militar...The economic development in Pakistan under military rule was an illusionary and short-lived. It came at much political, social and cultural cost. The domestic savings rate did not change much at all. Large amounts of US and Saudi foreign aid helped prop up the military dictatorships in Pakistan. The wars of 1965 and 1971, during Ayub's and Yahya's tenure, proved disastrous for the country, the latter even more so than the former, taking with it half the country, as did the war against the Soviets during Zia's tenure (we are still living with the consequences) and the confrontation against India during Musharraf's tenure.<br /><br />I don't understand why anyone who has the sincere interest of Pakistan at heart, and who understands what Jinnah and the Muslim League wanted to accomplish, as I know you do, will support military rule.Ahmad F.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848640164815342479.post-24124486495015680052017-12-02T08:27:30.068-08:002017-12-02T08:27:30.068-08:00None of the opposing arguments in response can alt...None of the opposing arguments in response can alter the fact that Pakistan’s socioeconomic development has been far better under military rule than under civilian rule.<br /><br />It’s also true of Asia in general. All of East Asia became developed and prosperous under dictators before democracy could take root.<br /><br />India, on the other hand, is s total mess. Indians preference for a strong leaders shows they are looking for a messiah and many see Modi as the one. Riaz Haqhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00522781692886598586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848640164815342479.post-11610389936786135602017-12-02T08:25:52.579-08:002017-12-02T08:25:52.579-08:00Completely agree. I have always argued that Pakist...Completely agree. I have always argued that Pakistan HAS TO stop this obsession of Kashmir and India if it hopes to move forward but with the army calling the shots over the past 50 years it is hardly likely. India/Kashmir is the raison d'etre for the army being so huge and hence so powerful in Pakistan. Not that they have ever won a war . . . . all of which they started.<br /><br />Shahid H.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848640164815342479.post-81381851566358729522017-12-02T08:23:47.958-08:002017-12-02T08:23:47.958-08:00This article is more about Pakistan than India. It...This article is more about Pakistan than India. It concludes by posing a provocative counter-historical proposition. Had Pakistan adhered to the path on which it had embarked in the early sixties under Field Marshal Ayub Khan, it would now have been as prosperous as an Asian tiger.<br /><br />That is a big IF. Wishful thinking at is finest.<br /><br />So why did it not?<br /><br />Ayub decided to go to war with India over Kashmir and destroyed the economic engine and the political stability that had characterized his early years.<br /><br />His successor decided to launch a civil war against the East Pakistan, leading to the secession of that province and the break-up of the country, less than 25 years after its creation.<br /><br />How many wars did the Asian tigers fight? The genius behind Singapore's rise called out Pakistan's obsession with India as the main cause for its economic decline.<br /><br />Furthermore, the contention that economic growth is strong under military rule ignores the rise and fall of economic growth that has taken place under every military ruler.<br /><br />If Pakistan had made peace with India, dropped its obsession over Kashmir and been more tolerant of East Pakistanis, life would have been very different.<br /><br />If....<br />Ahmad F.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848640164815342479.post-33984467827013077052017-12-01T20:30:43.747-08:002017-12-01T20:30:43.747-08:00https://www.dawn.com/news/1372376/special-report-t...https://www.dawn.com/news/1372376/special-report-the-military-strikes-back-1999-2008 A rather different assessment of Musharraf than the rose tinted one that we routinely hear from you vicks1980noreply@blogger.com