My definition of left. One who fights for the economic or power underdog without any consideration of other attributes - race, religion, gender etc. No public figure in India fits the bill. A small number in US fits that criteria, a vanishingly small number.
By this definition, the left would always have to be anti Corporate.
By this definition, left would have to be staunchly freedom of expression, because that is the only tool the powerless has against the powerful.
By this definition, left would also have to be pro animal rights because who is more disadvantaged and oppressed today than animals ?
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BJP-RSS police in Haryana shot dead 35 Dera Saccha Sauda protesters for doing far less than what was done on 26th. Police shot to kill. Modi cheered on the police. BJP-RSS politicians said they were prepared to kill 50. Not a shriek from the left.
Correction - The left actually cheered on the act and asked why police did not do more, translated, why did they not shoot more.
Why did BJP-RSS GoI not ask the police to stop the tractors using force comparable to that for Dera ? It surrendered to the narrative. Consistency can go to hell. Govt that picks and chooses for application of lethal force deserves no support
If you are comfortable with freedom of expression being stripped off, you are allied to the current seat of power - social, economic or political. You know that your views are protected. An intriguing observation next
It is documented history that Communist Govts give no freedom of expression. Here I am not referring to Communist Govts in states of India, they are no better or worse in that regard compared to other Govts. But to those in Communist nation states, eg, Russia, China etc.
Interestingly in mid 1930s in Communist backed conferences in Europe (non Russia Europe), Communists were heavily demanding FoE. They were not in power in non Russia Europe then.
There was a fire in Bagbajar, Kolkata. The legacy institution, Udbodhan, associated with Ramkrishna Mission was damaged, adjoining slum was burnt down. A week back millenniumpost.in/kolkata/rare-m… Thread:
The above report mentions that rumors floated that the Sanyasis caused fire. This is wholly untrue. What these reports don’t mention is the Sanyasis were beaten up by slum dwellers. This is a dangerous development. Who is sending goons to beat up Sanyasis in Calcutta?
The demographics of the area is mostly Hindu. There is a strong presence of local big business families there. This suggests that the rumor mongering could have been done by vested business interests, land sharks etc.
If Modi wanted or wants he can do a lot of good for the Indian tech sector, but of course he won’t. Build the Indian internet. Technology already exists, resources are no big deal for a nation state. This would end the control of Big Tech on India+
What is Indian internet? Servers owned by GOI, web browser, Video base, SM (Public messaging eg Twitter + Facebook, Private messaging like Whatsapp, Signal, Telegram), Search Engines like Google all owned by GoI, like BSNL. Next develop apps for these for BSNL phones.
Rejuvenate BSNL phones. It used 2 bs quite good even a decade back.Rebuild it.Communication independence 4m Corp. tech sector is a must as the Parler story shows. But of course Modi would do no such thing. He would genuflect to Corporates & try 2 be in good graces of tech lords.
Egregious misrepresentation of the political culture in US by Dhume. In US the polity is deeply split and there is no universally respected journalist, unless we go by the opinions only of the beltway elites. Some hard facts in the thread below:
The Democrat base considers Sean Hannity and Tucker Carlson of Fox News as stooges/enablers of Trump. Throughout the Trump era, as per Nielsen’s ratings the opinion shows by these two were in the top 3. Hannity would be at the top, Tucker 3rd. In the last year Tucker became 2nd.
On the other side of the political isle, GOP base considers Rachel Maddow, Don Lemon, Chris Cuomo as propaganda arm of the Democrats. For most the Trump era, Maddow’s show had second highest ratings per Nielsen. Lemon+Cuomo were somewhat lower but still quite high +
BJP-RSS’ propaganda empire relies entirely on Big Tech- Facebook, Twitter. FB wins Whatsapp which is the primary vehicle for BJP-RSS’ propaganda. Zukerberg-Dorsey cartel can shut it up with a waive of their wands. Alternatives havent been created+
Modi’s simple solution - genuflect to big Corporates, public interest can take a hike. This plan will stop working just as soon as Big tech locates a viable alternative, Cong isn’t one at this point+
No matter how much Modi genuflects Big Tech will at best consider his GoI a stop gap arrangement, they will never consider his GoI to be their GoI. Because of cultural differences +