A Little Ranting

Sometimes Untruth has to hit one in the face to really start seeking Truth.

I agree that most of the soldiers are "innocent".... but they are also "ignorant". They don't really know what they're fighting for. And, the situation is so bad out there, and the leadership so corrupt... look at all the horrific crimes committed by the U.S. military.

http://www.countercurrents.org/iraq-grey240206.htm

http://www.aztlan.net/iraqi_women_raped.htm

http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/07/09/soldiers.charged/index.html

many articles describing the attempt of US Imperialism... in Iraq and elsewhere. Also, I mention again... Ordinary Person's Guide to Empire by Arundhati Roy....

http://www.countercurrents.org/iraq-spencer160906.htm

http://www.countercurrents.org/iraq-cogan080906.htm

http://www.countercurrents.org/saavedra200406.htm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/2950154.stm

http://in.today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=entertainmentNews&storyID=2006-09-16T000250Z_01_NOOTR_RTRJONC_0_India-267795-1.xml

http://www.countercurrents.org/us-pringle310306.htm

http://www.baghdadbulletin.com/pageArticle.php?article_id=162

http://www.countercurrents.org/iraq-jamail020306.htm

It's very very easy to sit in the U.S., and be happy with the comfortable lives we live.... or in India and live the comfortable lives we live.... but, who's paying for everything we get at the wave of a wand? Why is our gasoline so cheap compared to the rest of the world? Why can you buy things for so cheap at Walmart? Why are companies like Monsanto, Coca-Cola, and McDonald richer than many countries in the world??? The COSTS are paid by the "other" 80% of the world. The world that while we're in the U.S. is SOOO far. The world that we don't see. The U.S. doesn't just outsource its jobs... it outsources its problems as well. And what do we have to do to do that? Either we have to convince the other gov't to open up their markets and let america exploit its people... or, if the other gov't doesn't budge... well, we have nuclear weapons and world's most powerful army... and other countries all over the world that want to get on our
good side (including your neighbours)... it's not that difficult.

http://www.bilaterals.org/article.php3?id_article=2463

And guess what? The U.S. no longer counts deaths of the "opponent" in wars. I wonder why??? Estimates range from 30,000 (by the Bush administration) to over 100,000 to near 200,000. While U.S. casualties in the war: 2,676

It's simple.. a U.S. life is just worth more than any other life.

We used to be partners with Saddam... gave him money, helped him arm himself.. to fight against Iran. Look what happenned. We used to be partners with the Taliban... gave them money, armed them, trained them... to fight against the Soviets. Look what happenned. And here we are again... Mr. Bush -- "We're training Iraqi troops so they can defend their nation. Whatever mistakes have been made in Iraq, the worst mistake would be to think that if we pulled out, the terrorists would leave us alone. They will not leave us alone. They will follow us."

Is the U.S. policing the world because of moral fibre? haha.. yeah right... Civil war in Iraq? You think the U.S. cares? Sounds a lot like good ole divide-n-rule... sounds familiar.

And Afghanistan... huh... we completely blew that place to bits, and guess what they get at a reward, they just got to open a new Coca-Cola plan in Afghanistan!!! Money flowing out to the U.S. And the state of affairs in Afghanistan.. the Taliban is reemerging and a Civil War seems to be looming there, as well.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/5334120.stm


Indigenous ways of life continue to get destroyed all over the world... for a "better life"... you can now work for a polluting, water-sucking Coca-Cola factory that produces stuff that's harmful for your health (in many places in India, you can't get clean water, but you can get Coca-Cola!).... instead of farming on the field that you used to work on. But, I guess it's just choosing btwn evils... because I'm sure Monsanto and its arms would have come to your area and "sold" their wonder BT seeds.... that will help you in the short run... but lead to debt, death and suicide in the long run.

http://www.indiaresource.org/issues/agbiotech/2003/btcottonseeds.html

And even the things that are indigenous.. they try to that from us as well!! India and Ayurved has used neem for thousands of years for alll sorts of things.... US Dept. of Agriculture tried to claim intellectual property rights over it! What does that mean? It means that they would have gotten royalties any time someone wanted to sell something with neem in it... even local
producers! Luckily... India won the court case.... but, unfortunately.. what's it really going to lead
to?? Basically, Indian companies are now in a race to get these intellectual property rights... why does the whole world have to play by these rules???

http://www.infochangeindia.org/IPRItop.jsp?recordno=3795&section_idv=23#3795
--> read India wins landmark neem patent battle in Europe ... and .... Poor nations can reap rich rewards by using IPRs, says World Bank

'Let's get direct access to their natural resources, and let's open up their markets so they can purchase our manufactured goods.... let's vertically control the entire process.' It's a formula so the rich can get richer... it's a formula where Americans can keep their standard of living and a small percentage in other countries can enjoy that standard as well. 'Then, we'll videotape that small percentage, put it on our news and show how even in Iraq they're living the "good life".' And the "good life" obviously means they are now consuming as much as we are, and are also now a part of this process that is completely unsustainable, inhumane, and profit-centred.

Anyways.. I could go on and on.....

no one's evil.... it almost seems like a progression from ... looking outside for happiness.... leading to high unsustainable rates of consumption and greed.... it's about wanting power.... and it's scary... because this has become the NORM... not the out-lier. A progress from this... to seeing that happiness doesn't lie in "things"... it doesn't lie in the present conception of "power"... but it lies somewhere that transcends these things.... it lies in realizing self-worth and interrelatedness.... it lies somewhere that isn't physical. It lies in understanding one self and relationships and fulfilling them....

Anyways... there are plenty of holes in this email... and there are definitely positive points from the other side... Saddam was definitely not a good leader and committed atrocities in Iraq... but Bush is also committing atrocities across the world so does that justify other countries and "terrorists" to come and just blow up and rape U.S. citizens (like the U.S is doing in Iraq?)? Violence only leads to more violence.... with each Iraqi we kill, do we think we're destroying terrorism, or creating more terrorists with each move?

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Indicorps Orientation

Written on 4th October

Pretty crazy… I spent a month at the Indicorps orientation… and really, there have been a few times that I’ve sat down and thought that I should write something about it in my blog, and I just can’t really think about what to write. Oddly enough, as much as personal reflection and journal writing/sharing, etc. are stressed at the orientation… I found it more difficult than ever to write in my journal as well. Why? I’m not quite sure. Oddly, I wan never fully comfortable during the entire month there.

I had a blast… and really thought that for an organization… Indicorps’ goal and orientation structure, etc.. are top-notch. What the fellows go through in a month – taking kids out for a day of fun, amazing race through ahmedabad, village stay, urban livelihood immersion (rag-picking, vegetable-selling, etc.), interactions with Jayesh-bhai and Manav Sadhna, gov’t school visits, etc… as well as getting an outline of Indian history, an outline of the Indian school system, an outline of the Indian gov’t. structure and politics…. intense language learning… it’s a pretty solid orientation for field-work in India. And the values that are stressed – integrity, personal responsibility, living simply, compassion, transparency, and self-reflection and self-growth… all good stuff.

I think one of the main reasons that I wasn’t ever fully comfortable.. is that Indicorps is an organization where people have their distinct roles. And, I didn’t really fit into any of those roles. Because I wasn't 'committed' to the organization nor to the support of the fellows over the course of the year, the role I could play felt quite limiting to me. To me, the hierarchy of the organization could definitely be felt… Over the course of the year, the “fellows” do come “up” to the level of the staff… but what does that really mean? For me, the evolution of an organization… that believes in the self-worth of each individual… is a network of individuals with a shared vision… where there are not predetermined roles that the individuals should fit into… but rather, the individuals create their own roles where they can blossom. In this way… no individual is stifled, everyone individual is working to reach their highest potential.. which also helps the group. There’s this feeling in orgs– “well, this is the grunt work that no one wants to do, but someone has to do it.” – Really, I think that if one was to REALLY explore that work, and that feeling “someone has to do it”… does someone really have to do it? What does that work really do? Is that work really as ‘valuable’ as we think it is? In this age of efficiency and divison of roles… I feel we spend much more time in the preparation of work, the planning of work, the discussion about the work, the review of the work, and the evaluation of the work than we do in actually doing the productive work that we want to do! And we have put so much value on all of this “mental activity”… and then, we also intellectually say “I believe in the dignity of labour and value physical work”… I don’t know.. I’m still figuring this out. Personally, I haven't stepped out of this framework either.

I had a long talk a couple nights ago with Pawan-ji… and one of the main things we talked about were “boundaries”. We CREATE boundaries… they aren’t there in existence. The rural-urban divide in India… are categories, and in many minds, boundaries have been created…. when in actuality… there is no boundary…. All are human beings that have the same needs and are going about various ways to fulfill those needs. Boundaries within an organization… this is your role, this is my role, just do your job…. created.. not there in existence. Political boundaries… personal property boundaries…. Just don’t exist. Boundaries are the source of so many conflicts.

That’s fine… categories and boundaries have been created to help us understand things, to help us do things more efficiently…. But when they are given precedence over the actual reality that links, that connects, that transcends ‘boundaries’…. That’s when there’s trouble. We are ignoring the reality and getting stuck in the constructs.

In the end… the fact that Indicorps has been able to facilitate so many young Indians from around the world to come back to India…. And has done with such responsibility… is awesome. They’ve really been ground-breakers in this realm… and hopefully things will just start exploding from here.

Quick Update

Here is a quick update of what I've been doing and what I'm about to be doing:

For the last month, I've been in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, working with a group called Indicorps (www.indicorps.org). They basically provide one-year fellowships to Indian-Americans to do service projects with various NGO's all over India. From August 15th-September 15th, Indicorps has a 1-month orientation for the new batch of fellows. Therefore, I have been here adding value wherever I am able with the preparation, organization, and running of the orientation.

After this, I will head to Mumbai to spend a few days with my extended family. Then, I will head to Delhi to meet with 4-5 friends. We are planning to launch a Youth Summer Program in India (tentavily called In-SPIRE -- Indian Summer Program for Integrated & Relevant Education) for American college students where they will learn about Indian culture, being immersd in Indian culture, explore different issues that face India and the world today, etc. Actually, for now, the motto is: "Looking deeper at India. Looking deeper at your Self. And the interconnectedness and interdependence of the world." The main purpose it to get Indo-American college students to think outside of the box about their future aspirations and choices. I will send you more info if you're interested.

Then, around 25th September, I will be headed back up to SIDH. That will be my base until I return to the Bay Area at the beginning of December. The goal is to have the Summer Program planned by December. THerefore, when i return, I can focus on recruiting and marketing. I will also be involved with other side things, while I am at SIDH (including, hopefully herbal gardening!).

Coca-Cola??

"Water Rights" Tour Begins in India

Coca-Cola, Pepsi Bottling Plants Targeted

For Immediate ReleaseSeptember 11, 2006

Contacts:Nandlal Master, Lok Samiti, India T: +91 94153 00520
Amit Srivastava, India Resource Center, US T: + 1 415 336 7584 E: info@IndiaResource.org

Varanasi, India: A 3-week long tour to assert community rights over water began yesterday in Mehdiganj, in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.
The tour was flagged off at Mehdiganj, the site of one of Coca-Cola's bottling plants in India which has been accused of creating severe water shortages and pollution.
The tour will go through most of the state of Uttar Pradesh, stopping at both Coca-Cola and Pepsico plants in the state to bring attention to the water shortages and pollution being caused by the companies.
The tour will also stop in Kala Dera in Rajasthan, the site of another community campaign accusing the Coca-Cola bottling plant of creating water shortages. The tour will end in Delhi on October 3, and will include a protest in front of Coca-Cola's Indian headquarters in Gurgaon, near Delhi.
"The yatra (tour) is a campaign signaling the beginning of the end of Coca-Cola and Pepsico in India," said Nandlal Master of Lok Samiti, one of the main organizers of the tour who have also organized a series of protests against Coca-Cola's bottling plant in Mehdiganj.
"Privatization of water, where the cola companies get large amounts of groundwater practically for free, is not working for us. It leaves us without water, and is destroying the lives and livelihoods of thousands of farmers in India. Communities must have primary rights over water," said Nandlal Master.
A recent study of the water conditions in eight villages within a 3 kilometer radius of the Coca-Cola bottling plant in Mehdiganj found that the number of wells that had dried up increased seven-fold since Coca-Cola commenced operations in the area, and on an average, the water levels in the wells in the area had dropped 18 feet.
Both Coca-Cola and Pepsi have been under fire in India recently after a study showed that their products contained excessively high levels of pesticides. Seven Indian states have imposed partial bans on the sale of Coca-Cola and Pepsi products, and the state of Kerala in south India has also shut down both the companies' plants.
Dr. Sandeep Pandey of the National Alliance of People's Movements, also one of the primary organizers of the march, said that the "focal point of yatra is to highlight the miseries of farmers and communities as a result of the extraction of enormous ground water by companies for commercial use."
Both organizations have called for a boycott of Coca-Cola and Pepsi products.
"The government of India must immediately adopt stringent measures to protect the natural resources of the country from rampant exploitation," said Amit Srivastava of the India Resource Center, an international campaigning organization. "Coca-Cola and Pepsico's involvement in India cannot be called development. Their activities deprive the very fabric of India - its farmers - of one of its most essential resources, water."