Comment by Riaz Haq on February 21, 2016 at 4:35pm

We must stop #Trump2016. Silence and inaction of good people in the face of evil is inexcusable #Islamophobia

#Nazi http://wpo.st/TKvD1

 

Like any number of us raised in the late 20th century, I have spent my life perplexed about exactly how Hitler could have come to power in Germany. Watching Donald Trump’s rise, I now understand. Leave aside whether a direct comparison of Trump to Hitler is accurate. That is not my point. My point rather is about how a demagogic opportunist can exploit a divided country.

 

To understand the rise of Hitler and the spread of Nazism, I have generally relied on the German-Jewish émigré philosopher Hannah Arendt and her arguments about the banality of evil. Somehow people can understand themselves as “just doing their job,” yet act as cogs in the wheel of a murderous machine. Arendt also offered a second answer in a small but powerful book called “Men in Dark Times.” In this book, she described all those who thought that Hitler’s rise was a terrible thing but chose “internal exile,” or staying invisible and out of the way as their strategy for coping with the situation. They knew evil was evil, but they too facilitated it, by departing from the battlefield out of a sense of hopelessness.

 

One can see both of these phenomena unfolding now. The first shows itself, for instance, when journalists cover every crude and cruel thing that comes out of Trump’s mouth and thereby help acculturate all of us to what we are hearing. Are they not just doing their jobs, they will ask, in covering the Republican front-runner? Have we not already been acculturated by 30 years of popular culture to offensive and inciting comments? Yes, both of these things are true. But that doesn’t mean journalists ought to be Trump’s megaphone. Perhaps we should just shut the lights out on offensiveness; turn off the mic when someone tries to shout down others; reestablish standards for what counts as a worthwhile contribution to the public debate. That will seem counter to journalistic norms, yes, but why not let Trump pay for his own ads when he wants to broadcast foul and incendiary ideas? He’ll still have plenty of access to freedom of expression. It is time to draw a bright line.

 

One spots the second experience in any number of water-cooler conversations or dinner-party dialogues. “Yes, yes, it is terrible. Can you believe it? Have you seen anything like it? Has America come to this?” “Agreed, agreed.” But when someone asks what is to be done, silence falls. Very many of us, too many of us, are starting to contemplate accepting internal exile. Or we joke about moving to Canada more seriously than usually.

 

But over the course of the past few months, I’ve learned something else that goes beyond Arendt’s ideas about the banality of evil and feelings of impotence in the face of danger.

 

Trump is rising by taking advantage of a divided country. The truth is that the vast majority of voting Americans think that Trump is unacceptable as a presidential candidate, but we are split by strong partisan ideologies and cannot coordinate a solution to stop him. Similarly, a significant part of voting Republicans think that Trump is unacceptable, but they too, thus far, have been unable to coordinate a solution. Trump is exploiting the fact that we cannot unite across our ideological divides.

 

The only way to stop him, then, is to achieve just that kind of coordination across party lines and across divisions within parties. We have reached that moment of truth.

Comment by Riaz Haq on May 29, 2016 at 4:25pm

Vrinda Grover: Ishrat Jahan abducted, illegally detained, murdered by #Gujarat police in #India. Janta Ka Reporter

http://www.jantakareporter.com/blog/ishrat-jahan-abducted-illegally...


Kiran Rjiju – Minister of State for Home, the latest to join the Modi govt. factory of lies and distortions in the Ishrat Jahan murder case.

Kiran Rjiju, who are you working in tandem with? Not the Indian Constitution for sure.

Also Read| What David Headley said on Ishrat Jahan is double hearsay, has no legal significance

On 27th May 2016, speaking to India Today TV channel Kiran Rjiju, Minister of State for Home said that Ishrat Jahan was an LeT aide.

How does this minister in the ministry of home affairs know this?

No, not from any files or documents that he may have access to. But the LeT website, that in 2004 called her a martyr. But the same organisation in 2007 retracted and apologised and said Ishrat was not part of LeT. Why does the Mos Home not believe LeT now?

Rjiju said that the police officer who investigated the Ishrat encounter killing was at the time of the retraction by LeT (2007) sent on Central deputation to CBI.

The CBI in 2013 held it to be a fake encounter – a cold blooded murder carried out in conspiracy with Gujarat police officers and IB men.

Thus the charge -Breaking News- on India Today by Gaurav Sawant, where Kiran Rjiju says “UPA was working in tandem with LeT.”!!!

Gaurav Sawant is so excited that he has got this quote that he does not bother to cross check any dates or facts. He of course repeatedly says Kiran Rjiju as MoS has access to files which we don’t .Really?? Is that how Rjiju came to this explosive finding.

Few facts and dates.

In November 2011 the SIT appointed by Division Bench of Gujarat High Court, of which Satish Verma was a part, concluded that it was a fake encounter. Gujarat High Court in its order of December 2011 asked for investigation to be handed over and eventually it was handed over to the CBI in 2012.

Satish Verma was and is an IPS officer of Gujarat cadre. He was never sent on central deputation. Satish Verma assisted the CBI investigation on the directions of the Gujarat High Court.
The investigation was carried out by the CBI and charge-sheet filed against 11 Gujarat police officers in July 2013 and four IB men in February 2014.

A humble appeal to MoS Rjiju, please read Indian documents, Gujarat High Court judgments and the CBI chargesheet.

Please have faith in the Indian courts. Please count correctly.

Between 2007 and 2012 there is a gap of 5 years. You are lying and distorting facts and abusing your office. You still have nothing , I repeat nothing to show that Ishrat Jahan was a LeT terrorist.

The facts and evidence still hold that Ishrat Jahan was abducted, illegally detained and murdered by Gujarat police. Rana Ayyub’s sting reaffirms this truth.

Gaurav Sawant -India Today – Put the true facts out now and confront Kiran Rjiju.

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