Despite stern warning from Indian foreign minister Pranab Mukherjee to Dalai Lama not to indulge in political activities on Indian soil Delhi's elite was spellbound by this Buddhist monk when he recently visited Indian capital to participate in workshop. Many privately went up to his room on 6th floor of run-down government hotel Ashoka to seek his blessings and some shared their feelings in press. Let's see what they say.
 

I took some time from my busy schedule to write a little about Tibet as Dharamsala where I live witnessed growing unrest among exile Tibetan community.

This is I hope the first part of photodiary covering my current journey over Indian subcontinent. Any travels are tiresome, especially if it's a kind of business trip so we had to admire much-maligned journalists of MSM who used to produce and transmit results of their travels immediately.

Promoted by Colman for a wintery afternoon in the western islands. More news and pictures from our Indian correspondent!

Yesterday I read good article about what bothered Indians in 2007 and decided to share it with you offering mini-dictionary (imperfect but still) to explain proliferated cryptic words incomprehensible for many foreigners.

Happy new year!

Former Pakistan's PM Benazir Bhutto (1953-2007) has been assasinated yesterday evening on outskirts of Rawalpindi, the city to the south of Islamabad, famous for numerous security and army institutions (Pakistan army headquarters located there) and infamous for the ongoing serie of suicide attacks by Islamists on them. Now high-profile politician fell victim to suicide squad, apparently from the same stables.

Morning newspapers with identical headlines: Benazir assasinated.

Short Christmas diary, devoted to recent scandal in highly conservative Punjab high society.

Yesterday's front-page article in The Tribune, Chandigarh-based newspaper which was a cause of din and wild accusations in Punjab assembly yesterday.

Controversial Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen, 45, is on the run from Islamic fundamentalists, who issued fatwas against her in 1994. She was in Kolkata, flied to Jaipur, then now she is hiding in Delhi.

Taslima by profession is doctor however it was her literary activities which completely changed her life. Her novel Lajja (Shame) was banned by the Bangladesh government in 1993, and the following year she went into hiding then Taslima left Bangladesh in 1994 after violent street protests. She was granted refuge and citizenship in Sweden. She returned to the region in 2004, living in Kolkata on a renewable visa.

This story is going on and nobody knows how it will end. I compose this diary from excerpts of old interviews and articles and with some moderate input, expressing my bewilderment at Indian explosive mix of modernity and ancient prejudices. As it's usual in India every such story has potential to trigger sharp political crisis, from accusations in condoning fundamentalism to playing vote-bank politics.

Diary Rescue by Migeru

I have been keeping silence here as the pace of events in and around Indian subcontinent became so fast so there was no time for reflections and analysis. Nepal's Maoists are quitting Parliament, in Bangladesh 1,700 people died in cyclone, in Sri Lanka Tamil Tigers political smiling face Tamilselvan is killed, in Tamil Nadu he was mourned by politicians, in Kerala controversies rage about the religios rites before the deceased and about the death of well-known Leftist intellectual before TV cameras, in Karnataka warring partners JDS and BJP patched up their differences and after collapse of coalition government reunited albeit in uneasy and acrimonious marriage, further north in Delhi Communists gave a green go-ahead with riders to the government on the talks with IAEA, Congress held its annual plenary where it made all the right noises about the need of affirmative action, mildly rebuked CPM for its culture of gun and violence and lashed out at BJP, BJP is set to cash in on Left's difficulties over the handling of Nandigram recapture by violent CPM cadres (this theme is of main interest for Indians as it may indicate the demise of Communist ideology in the country), the Leftist Academia is all out against increasingly authoritarian and bourguois Communist leadership, the ultra-left (CPI-ML) is poised to jump into political vaccuum, Sheila Dixit, chief minister of Delhi blamed BJP (who wrested municipal corporation this year) for monkey menace, stray monkeys even raided home of Priyanka Vadra, daughter of Sonia Gandhi, there are some news on Burmese and Tibetan fronts also.

By priority the first come Pakistan.

Photo from tehelka.com article (see link further)
Indian press routinely devote lot of space for developments in neighbouring country though the public remains largely uninterested. I also usually give a miss to news from other side of the border (it's just 100 km from here) and their problems remain on the fringes of my consciousness. It's a pity as developments there are very important for stability in the entire region and they reached a dangerous explosive level.

Diary rescue by Migeru

Sometimes it's better to express some thoughts in hot and fresh forms though I used to keep some distance between events and their reflections in my writing.
Yesterday and today I met twice one guy, left party activist. His name is Sandeep and he is chief of local youth wing of Communist Party of India (Marxist). His party is not so much popular here, still he claims the support is growing. It was interesting meeting for me as there are not so many people around who are genuinely in politics, as I am, albeit on different level and from another angle. Maybe these were good meetings to redefine myself, elaborate what I stand for and so on.

Diary rescue by Migeru

I just received a letter from friend in Jakarta:

Hope there will be no many victims as last time in December 2005 but extent of damage appear very slow.
Quake triggers tsunami in Indonesia; 7 dead

If yesterday Nawaz Sharif, ousted in coup in 1999 Pakistan PM, was daring this country military ruler Musharraf to deport him back to Saudi Arabia, today his illusions about Musharraf's intentions to cling to power at any cost be it cut of American aid or international and domestic outcry are shattered.

What next for this troubled South Asian country given its importance on so-called the war on terror?

  From the diaries ~ whataboutbob

This part deals with purpose of my journey through high-altitude terrain of Ladakh towards the vale of Kashmir and further down into India. When one is exposing his personal diaries he (or she) would be tempted in turning oneself into someone heroic, exaggerating hardships and difficulties, highlighting achievements and good deeds. I had no such intention trying faithfully to share with you my excitement on the brink of trip through Himalayas and exhaustion after it was completed in part I and what I did observe in Ladakh in part II. Photos I made by usual soapcase camera are very imperfect but I believe they can help you to visualize my trip, people I interacted with and sceneries I was in awe.

Dal lake from shikara.

Third and last part of FarEasterner's great travelog - afew

So Frodo style I climbed Tanglang La pass (5,325 m) in distressed mood probably caused by sheer altitude and growing headache. What I could expect in Ladakh, I wondered looking at cragged gloomy peaks covered by dark clouds.

On Tanglang La.

A Saturday journey to Ladakh - from the diaries ~ whataboutbob

Today I want to tell you about my journey last october to one of the extremely remote places on earth - Ladakh. Lha Dags, the land of snow passes, is situated at the extreme north of Indian subcontinent and is separated from my temporary abode in Dharamsala only by mountain ridge. Yet there are not many people around who can boast they visited it - for this ridge is the Great Himalayan.

Himalayas from Likir gompa.

(To update other photos it will take time and I need to change photoserver as it automatically cut pics to size of 500*333 pixels).

From the diaries with a slight edit- afew

The weather in this part of Himalayas where I am is just fine. While plains swelter from scorching sun here we have intermittent showers with swirling rivulets, in the evenings chilly fog is creeping up enveloping everything that I cannot see adjacent buildings and in hazy mornings we are spared of relentless heat of glorious Indian sun. I hear local boy playing on flute from neighbouring rooftop cafe. He is apparently waiting for customers so he has time to practice how to lure local girls.

Swollen streams take away accumulated junk like time swallows memories of distant lands I visited and wonderful people I met. In the last rainstorm I was observing how small pieces of paper, rags, empty bottles did not flow away, clinging to narrow crevices between boulders, leafs and branches of assorted bushes, using swirls of water to find the way to peaceful shores, where staff of my hotel ripes out the wild grown mint to prepare special tea.

I promised to post here reports of my recent trips but memories are too fresh to sort out and turn them into tender narrative. Some impressions are painful, others are boring, there was also a lot of joy and wonder. Time should take its course, like swollen river, taking junks that pile my mind and after a while I will see what was important in today's wanderings and meetings.

Last year on the way from Bangalore to Goa I stopped for three days in Hampi, the seat of medieval Vijayanagara empire. Herein I release excerpts from my Hampi diary.

Finally I sat down before my laptop to write something about me and this strange wonderful world. I started to write several times but each time was not satisfied with the outcome giving up in hope for better mood and inspiration. Sometimes when I want to write electricity goes out, this happened again tonight. I hope I would be forgiven by those here (DoDo!) who waited for the diary so long but I'm putting my thoughts here not to arouse any interest towards me but probably to draw your attention to this magnificent land, India, and the way she transforms the minds of some travellers from the West.

Dhauladar range above Dharamsala, Humachal Pradesh

From the diaries - whataboutbob

So, I am planning to leave Russia for Asia. I don't know how long this sojourn will last but here are some my thoughts. I spent almost whole year in my home, busy with many things but mostly doing nothing. I did not finish planned books, the amount of work proved to be too big, I was too lazy and painfully (for my Publisher) slow and thorough. I have not followed current political developments (whether in Russia or in the world), I almost have not watched TV news, listened to radio or read newspapers. That's why I found occasional visits to this site extremely useful to keep certain level of consciousness updated. Thanks, ET.

From the diaries - keep in touch FarEasterner! -- whataboutbob

SCO marks 5th anniversary by summit of its leaders except India. What does SCO mean for the world? Here is a brief analysis of American strategy towards Eurasian alliance.

G8 finance ministers issued a statement in Leningrad:

1. We discussed important linkages between energy services and health, education, gender inequality and environmental sustainability, and agreed to take steps to alleviate energy poverty. Lack of access to modern energy services is a barrier to economic growth and can put at risk the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa.

2. Increased access to energy services can spur economic and social development provided that policies for economic growth and poverty reduction are in place. We urge national governments and multilateral and bilateral donors to integrate energy issues into poverty reduction and country assistance strategies, including options for the least developed countries to tap their natural resource potential, and develop the energy trade infrastructure between countries.

3. We stress the need to give a specific pro-poor focus to energy strategies, with emphasis on access to modern energy services for the most vulnerable population groups, and on availability of energy and electricity supplies to essential services, such as hospitals and schools. We highlight the importance of increased access to cleaner fuels in household consumption which can reduce air pollution.

4. We underscore the key role of the private sector in providing energy services, and call upon developing countries to reduce barriers to private sector involvement by adopting clear and effective legal and regulatory frameworks. Small-scale private service providers and microfinance institutions can help fill the gap in private financing of infrastructure by serving vulnerable communities.

5. We reaffirm the commitment made at Gleneagles to promote clean energy and achieve sustainable development globally, including by increased access to reliable and affordable energy. We welcome the existing initiatives in the energy sector and look forward to the completion and implementation of the World Bank's Clean Energy Investment Framework and underline that it should give increased attention to improving access to energy services. We encourage the World Bank Group to explore strengthening the existing instruments and evaluate the potential of new instruments to tackle the problem of energy poverty. We welcome the agreement reached on replenishing the Global Environment Facility which can serve as a major tool for developing access to clean energy.

6. We will explore opportunities to intensify our aid efforts to alleviate energy poverty and encourage bilateral and multilateral donors to scale up their assistance in this area. We reaffirm the role of the IMF's Exogenous Shocks Facility in helping poor countries that face higher energy prices and invite further financial contributions. We support the activities of the Global Village Energy Partnership (GVEP), which seeks to increase access to modern energy. We welcome Russia's decision to join other donors by contributing US$30 million to the GVEP in order to scale up its work in Sub-Saharan Africa.

What one can say of this statement? I would urge all liberals on this site to think of it. How once again liberal phraseology was used to mask imperialist intentions, protecting Exxon Mobile, BP and other multinationals to rob wealth of indeginious hapless people around the world. About hypocracy of European and American liberals who wish to suck blood of third world countries as neocons openly declare.
When liberals realise that exploitation of third world by their companies and governements is the crime against humanity?    
Here is the link to interesting article:
Shoot the Leningrad Cowboys: G8 for Dummies about G8 protests.

While Western media cheifs castigated Putin in Kremlin
their servants like Andrew E. Kramer from NYT quietly continue malpractice of distorting Russian reality.
Let's have a look at his article:

Who said Rosneft should offer more than it needs? For purchase of 10% of Gazprom last year it raised 7.5 bln dollars. This sum will be easily reached.

To it's own chagrin. Cherkizovo easily raised almost 1 bln dollars on domestic market. Really expensive sausages. Any suggestions where Rosneft will get more money - in Russia or in London?

This is difficult to interpret as a failure.

This is very biased and misleading assumption.

What has offshore RosUkrenergo, operating in Ukraine and Turkmenistan in common with Russian IPOs - ask NYT.
Argument about Kuzbassugol is simply ridiculous. It's western companies who intimidate their workers with death threats and death squads. In USA trade unions have persistently been facing massive police and criminal repressions. Remember Al Capone's source of money? Right, American government and big business.  
The Rosneft is Russian company operating in Russia and I did not hear about any lawsuits against it from Yukos shareholders in Russia.

This passage again contradicts with intention of author.

This is conclusion. Again Russian companies are expected to raise record money from their IPO's what NYT beloved marketistas like Chubais and Gaidar and Yavlinsky could not acheive (2nd place right after China).
It's a shame that NYT readers have to read such anecdotic crap every day.