Desicritics Author: Desicritics News Analysis

Israeli PM Ehud Olmert Faces Storm in Corruption Scandal

Desicritics News Analysis — Fri, 30 May 2008 11:45:14 EDT

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is under a cloud with calls for his resignation after he was implicated in a corruption scandal by the testimony of American businessman Morris Talansky. In testimony delivered in Israel, Mr. Talansky testified that he had provided about $150,000 in cash to Mr. Olmert over 13 years, for campaign financing and personal expenses, including hotel suites and plane ticket upgrades. Mr Olmert has denied wrongdoing, terming the donations legitimate campaign contributions. Defense Minister Ehud Barak, and now, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni have called for Mr Olmert to step down and likely begun preparations for early elections. This scandal has cast a cloud on the prospects of peace in the Middle East, and upon President Bush's recent trip to the region.

Al-Jazeera's senior political correspondent Marwan Bishara observed

"why suddenly a witness came all the way from New York to talk about cash being handed to Mr. Olmert. Is it coincidental that just when Mr. Olmert is speaking about the possibility of peace with Syria new corruption charges are creeping against him?"

A little over a week ago, the Jerusalem Post reported that,

New York financier Morris Talansky, the witness at the center of the corruption scandal engulfing Ehud Olmert, was encouraged to come to Israel this spring and give evidence against the prime minister by a group of leading rightist Israeli rabbis who want to bring Olmert down for fear he will cede Jewish sovereignty over the Temple Mount and other parts of Jerusalem, a spokesman for the rabbis said Thursday.

While the Post did not name the rabbis, or cited their week old source, it did seem mysterious why suddenly, just as Bush was coming to visit Israel to jump-start the "peace process", the cloud of scandal came to overshadow his efforts.

To be sure, Ehud Olmert has been dogged by scandal for decades. It is an old friend, coming behind the somewhat careless but well spoken lawyer who was released from the IDF for an injury during training, who has been in Israel's parliament, the Knesset, since he was 28 years old. This BBC profile whitewashes Olmert, not mentioning any of the many investigations that he has undergone.

This Times Online article, by contrast, gives us a small flavor of the kind of scandals Israelis about almost monthly about him.

The inquiry is one of several scandals involving the Prime Minister, who came to power after Ariel Sharon - himself the focus of investigations into alleged financial wrongdoing - suffered a massive stroke last year. Police are already looking into whether Mr. Olmert used his position as Finance Minister to favour friends while privatising Israel's second-largest bank in 2005. Mr. Olmert has denied any culpability in that case too.

Mr. Mazuz (Israel's attorney general) is contemplating a third investigation into whether Mr. Olmert used his position as Trade and Industry Minister in 2003 to appoint cronies to a government-funded business authority and to secure state funding for his former law partner's business venture.

These are just the major "newsworthy" scandals. As Jerusalem's mayor, Mr. Olmert managed to make money over such small things as setting out containers for the residents to recycle plastic bottles.

The key story here is, after surviving a devastating military embarrassment in Lebanon, and all these prior scandals, how this sudden scandal over cash handed over in envelopes from a New York financier has seemed to be enough to topple Mr. Olmert, and just in time, seemingly, for agreements on Israel withdrawing from the Golan Heights (treason under Israeli civil law), on agreements for the withdrawal from disputed territories on the West Bank of the Jordan, and from parts of Jerusalem (withdrawal from Jerusalem is also treason under Israeli civil law).

It all appears enough for Aaron Klein of the World Net Daily to report that fearing an Olmert collapse, the Palestinians may rush for a deal asking the U.S. to guarantee an independent state if the Prime Minister is forced from office.

According to a top PA negotiator, the Palestinians expect Olmert will be forced from office before the end of the year. They fear some of the negotiations led by Olmert's government will be fruitless unless an understanding is reached before the Israeli leader vacates office.

"What we are seeking is to quickly reach certain understandings, put those understandings on paper and have them guaranteed by the U.S. so the understandings can be used as a starting point in negotiations with the next Israeli prime minister," the top PA negotiator told WND.

It must also be recalled that Indian arms dealer Suresh Nanda was arrested in March over accusations of kickbacks in a $250 million Indo-Israeli arms deal for the Barak missile, brokered while George Fernandes was Indian Defense Minister. These accusations of corruption could be replayed in coming months as India, too moves towards general elections, countered, doubtless by hints over the long-standing Bofors accusations.

India-Australia Cricket Tour in Jeopardy?

Desicritics News Analysis — Mon, 7 Jan 2008 06:05:52 EST

The Indian cricket team, scheduled to leave for Canberra today after their defeat in the second Test against Australia, were still at their hotel in Sydney after boarding the bus and waiting for two hours. They are reportedly awaiting instructions from the BCCI. The BCCI has filed an appeal against Harbhajan Singh's suspension, and stated that he would continue to play until the decision on the appeal.

The ICC might suspend the ban on Harbhajan amidst speculation that the tour might be called off after the controversies surrounding the second Test, and the three-match ban handed down to Harbhajan Singh after allegations of racial abuse. This would be a black mark on his career. The Indian captain, Anil Kumble, had earlier said that only one team played in the spirit of the game. Various umpiring decisions had also been questioned, and Bucknor been asked to be removed for the third test in Perth from January 16th.

Ricky Ponting believed the tour would go ahead. Cricket Australia quoted assurances from the BCCI President, Mr. Sharad Pawar. The BCCI would have to pay a $2.3 million fine if they cancelled the tour. The team's continued stay in Sydney has, however, been backed by the Board, at least until the appeal is filed with the ICC. A statement signed by Mr. Pawar noted in part,

The game of cricket is paramount but so too is the honour of India's cricket team and every Indian,...The BCCI is committed to protect the country's fair name. India's national commitment is against racism. Our national struggle is based on values which negate racism.

Narendra Modi & BJP Win Third Term in Gujarat, India

Desicritics News Analysis — Sun, 23 Dec 2007 01:46:29 EST

Incumbent Gujarat Chief Minister, Narendra Modi and the BJP won their third consecutive term in Gujarat. The BJP was ahead in 117 of 182 constituencies at last count.

This victory came despite strong opposition from the Indian National Congress, and even from within Modi's own party. The election campaign was marked by vicious and 'slanderous' campaigning from all sides. The recent expose by Tehelka on Gujarat 2002, notwithstanding, the Modi factor, developmental progress, and the strong support from the Gujarati voters have resulted in a victory for the party, though not a vindication in national perceptions after the post-Godhra riots.

The Congress conceded defeat, leaving the ground open for Mr Modi to prove his majority on the floor of the house and be sworn in as Chief Minister, most likely by December 27th.

This victory is also critical for the BJP in the run up to national general elections in 2009. It is uncertain if Mr. Modi desires a national role at that point. Were the elections to be moved up either through a withdrawal of support by the Left parties or be called early, the Gujarat hustings would serve as a handy trial for the national campaign.

Bollywood beats Hollywood - Om Shanti Om, Saawariya vs. Lions for Lambs

Desicritics News Analysis — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 07:10:43 EST

Bollywood is a prolific producer of movies, well beating any other national or language based film industry. But for a long period of time, it was restricted to India itself. Over the past few years, it has gone global. Witness the global popularity of Indian film stars, like Amitabh Bachchan or Aamir Khan or Shilpa Shetty (in the UK), etc. And now we have a blip in the box office takings, where two Indian movies, Om Shanti Om, Saawariya easily beat Tom Cruise's Lions for Lambs. Very firmly remember that this is a blip, perhaps just a combination of a slow week, bad competition from Hollywood, Bollywood's PR machine clicking, etc, so one swallow does not make a summer.

But this is very important from what it signifies separately than just
judging by these two movies.

The first thing is that Indian brands can be launched and can sell globally, and make sufficient revenues to justify a global brand. The examples I would give would be akin to Microsoft, Nokia, Coke, Apple, etc. This is not something that China can aspire to yet.

Second, there is a natural demand for Indian products globally which does not need localisation as you would find for products such as toothpaste, washing powder or clothes. And this demand again is sufficient to start producing a layer of business which you can target globally.

Implications are for advertising agencies, product managers and Indian multinationals. Also, Indian brands are seeping into the general population such as we have seen with Monsoon Wedding, Bride and Prejudice, Asian films and TV shows on TV, the ubiquitous presence of the Indian Call centres and TCS. Same with China.

Third, there has to be a greater emphasis on producing intellectual property based products such as film, brands, etc. And that means that the habit of copying blindly (somebody said that only $1 of every $100 worth of software in India is legitimately purchased) has to stop domestically. The Government made a start with agreeing to change the Pharmaceutical process patenting framework to the product patenting process, but this has to be extended across the board. It can start with making sure that all government purchases are legitimate, open, transparent and free of corruption. Give official support (no more no less than you would expect anyway) to Indian brands, ask for brand and product related work (name, support, quality, price, availability, etc.).

Fourth, this is a great opportunity for international banks to piggyback on brand related financial products. Take this movie business for example. Global release in 30-40 countries, 1000 theatres, follow-up deals with TV, DVD, Video, Internet, gaming, comics, garments, merchandising, so on and so forth. So a bank based in India with an international network would be perfectly placed to offer full brand supply - chain cash, financing, hedging, salaries, private wealth, tax planning, the whole caboodle - to a film producer based in India. The market is still small, but this is where you start building a presence. I expect this to take another 5 years before the overall Indian brand industry can reach about $100mm annually (this is a 'gesstimate', based on about $10 million revenues and 10 brand "products" per year)

But in the meantime, enjoy Saawariya! :)

Bihar High Court Allows State Appeal Against Laloo Acquittal

Desicritics News Analysis — Sun, 23 Sep 2007 01:44:53 EDT

At some point in time, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the premier investigating agency of the country, and the main federal crime investigative body will get the kick from the Supreme Court that it so badly needs in order to its job independently and without political influence. Currently the CBI reports to the Department of Personnel, and hence is extremely open to influence. In theory, the CBI works under its director and evaluates each case on its merits, but a review of many recent cases shows the kind of joke this concept is: The acquittal of Shibu Soren, the one/off investigation of Mayawati in the Taj Corridor case, the dismal performance in the Bofors/Quattrochi case, and the current issue about the disproportionate assets case against Laloo Prasad Yadav and his wife:

The Patna High Court on Thursday held that the Bihar government appeal challenging the acquittal of Railway Minister Lalu Prasad and former CM Rabri Devi in the disproportionate assets (DA) case, an offshoot of the fodder scam, is maintainable.

Solicitor general G Vahanwati appearing on behalf of the CBI submitted as neither the state government nor any its agency was involved in the probe, the state government did not have the right to file appeal against acquittal of Lalu and Rabri.

The facts of the matter are simple. There was a case filed against Laloo Prasad Yadav and his wife by the CBI for possessing more money than their income would allow (something that would mostly be obtained through corruption or other such means). The case was decided against the CBI by the CBI special court, and it would move onto the High Court in appeal under most circumstances.

Of course, we all know that Laloo Prasad Yadav is a special minister in the Central Government, very dependable and many times a trouble-shooter for discussions with allies. And the Congress has a lot of experience with getting the CBI to do what it wants rather than getting an impartial investigation done.

So, the CBI refused to appeal against the judgment and this would have prevented the case from going further except for the Bihar Government acknowledging that it does not believe that the CBI is going to do anything in this regard and deciding to appeal in the High Court. What a shock ? Both the Laloo and the Central Government were aghast, how can the State Government intervene when the CBI is the direct party. Well, now the Bihar High court says that the Bihar Government can intervene, another blow to the credibility of the CBI.

The day is not far when the Supreme Court (like it did in the case of Central Vigilance Commissioner) will declare that the ownership of the CBI by the political leadership of the Center is incestuous and the CBI needs to be independent.

Pakistani Special Services Officer Turns Suicide Bomber

Desicritics News Analysis — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 14:40:48 EDT

According to a note from B Raman, an ex-spook in the Indian external intelligence service, a Pakistani elite officer blew himself up at Tarbela Ghazi on September 13th, killing 19 other elite counter-terrorism army officers belonging to the Special Services Group, and when US Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte was visiting Kabul and Islamabad. The officer's young sister was reportedly killed in the Lal Masjid siege in July 2007. If this is indeed the case, then the sole guarantee against Pakistan turning Taliban and using the nuclear weapons and missiles, the Pakistani Army, has worms inside. I would be afraid, very afraid.

It is not that far fetched, quite a lot of the tens of assassination attempts on General Musharraf were actually generated inside and by the army corps. So the rumour that it was an Pushtoon Army officer itself is quite possible and probable.

The fact that all that stands between us and nuclear armed fundamentalists is a rather decrepit, corrupt and dictatorial army is deeply worrying. I had a message "never have only option" dinned into me. The fact that the only other option to protect the Pakistani nuclear missile/bombs is Nawaz Sharif/Benazir Bhutto or physically go in to own the country is too troublesome to even consider.

But this is spook talk, be wary of taking this for granted.

Over 40 Killed In Hyderabad Blasts in India

Desicritics News Analysis — Sat, 25 Aug 2007 12:36:55 EDT

Over 40 people have been killed and dozens more injured in coordinated explosions in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad. The blasts took place in heavily populated areas.

The first explosion took place in an open air auditorium at the Lumbini Park area, overlooking the scenic Hussain Sagar lake, and was of high intensity, flinging bodies in the air. The second blast took place at a chaat shop in the Kothi area of Hyderabad. A red alert has been sounded across the city and searches are being conducted to determine any other potential explosive devices that may be present in the city. All injured have been taken to the Medicity Hospital. The exact number of dead people is still uncertain.

There were blasts at the Mecca Masjid in Hyderabad in May this year, killing 11 people, and followed by police firing which killed 5 people. Former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister questioned the alertness of the police forces and the state government, saying "The duty of intelligence is to be always vigilant, and to communicate information to the government. The government and police have failed."

India is no stranger, unfortunately, to terror attacks. In 2006, seven blasts in Mumbai trains killed over 200 people. In recently concluded trials, multiple people were found guilty for blasts in 1993 in Mumbai, and most major cities have lived under heightened states of alertness for a long while since the Khalistani attacks in the 1980s.

Security is generally weak at tourist spots, however, and the Lumbini Park auditorium, which is opposite the State Secratariat, apparently lacks metal detectors or even minimal security features.

Suprnova Torrent Site Relaunched

Desicritics News Analysis — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 14:45:36 EDT

One site has always had a special place in the hearts of long-time Bittorrent users. While Piratebay.org may have been more newsworthy in recent months, the hugely successful Suprnova.org was as popular, if not more, in its heyday. It was shut down in 2004, not with a bang, but with a whimper, after it received word of threats from the Motion Picture Association of America, the MPAA.

The Swedish anti-copyright group, the Pirate Bay, announced last month that they would resurrect the famed site, with even more expansive features and attention to the large user community. The launch saw a steady build up of anticipation, culminating in a counter which ticked down the final hours somewhat erratically. In conjunction with the relaunch, the Pirate Bay admins, sloncek and brokep, announced the launch of the Suprbay forums, spanning both the Pirate Bay and Suprnova. The forums saw over 500,000 registrations in two weeks, and a welter of articles ranging from how to download streaming Netflix films to debates on the new XBox 360 game, BioShock.

Aficionados joined the Suprnova IRC channel to count down the penultimate minutes, and debate the promise of waffles, before the timer was replaced at T+1 with yet another timer and wails of frustration on the channel. Soon enough, though, people had refreshed their pages, hacked around and discovered the new, final URL of the reborn Suprnova. The site exploded on the Internet landscape with a tantalizing message to 'non-Internet loving companies':

This is how it works. Whatever you sink, we build back up. Whomever you sue, ten new pirates are recruited. Wherever you go, we are already ahead of you. You are the past and the forgotten, we are the internet and the future.

That might sound egomanical, were it not for the groundswell of 'true believers', copyright anarchs, and leechers who've made Bittorrent clients some of the largest consumers of Internet bandwidth. It must be said, however, that every new distribution model or channel has been opposed by those who are wedded to the status quo, and change in our world can come in the blink of eye, even though the transformation be years in the making.

The site is well-designed, but could do with some finishing touches. At launch, it tracks over one million torrents, and 19 million plus peers. Categories range from games, videos, TV Shows, to anime, audio, apps, Mac, and miscellaneous torrents. In the Misc section, one found the latest issue of Le Monde, Dorothy Sayers' Whose Body, and a sure shot system to beat Roulette. The TV Shows were presented somewhat differently, and most of the popular ones were represented. There were 86 SACDs available, while some rare Anime was on offer too. A flashy advertisement for human pheromones takes center stage for now, with a somewhat breathless blonde blown away by the molecular effusions.

The beta test period will likely see the first legal challenges as well as a flood of curious visitors. Quality control will be a key differentiator, and given the rich user base, should be easy enough, with comments, etc., but the variety of content may not be too different from most other torrent trackers.

Nokia Announces Battery Recall, Largest Consumer Recall Ever

Desicritics News Analysis — Tue, 14 Aug 2007 09:40:39 EDT

Nokia, the world's No 1 mobile phone maker warned today that over 46 million Nokia-branded BL-5C batteries manufactured by Matsushita could overheat and that it would replace them for customers at no cost. The company indicated there have been over 100 incidents of the batteries overheating while being charged, and that no serious injuries or property damage had been reported. It also clarified that there were multiple manufacturers of this battery and only those by Japanese Matsushita Battery Company were affected. The cost to the company was expected to be around $100 million, and the supplier would likely bear some of the costs.

The following Nokia models used the battery in question:

Nokia 1100, Nokia 1100c, Nokia 1101, Nokia 1108, Nokia 1110, Nokia 1112, Nokia 1255, Nokia 1315, Nokia 1600, Nokia 2112, Nokia 2118, Nokia 2255, Nokia 2272, Nokia 2275, Nokia 2300, Nokia 2300c, Nokia 2310, Nokia 2355, Nokia 2600, Nokia 2610, Nokia 2610b, Nokia 2626, Nokia 3100, Nokia 3105, Nokia 3120, Nokia 3125, Nokia 6030, Nokia 6085, Nokia 6086, Nokia 6108, Nokia 6175i, Nokia 6178i, Nokia 6230, Nokia 6230i, Nokia 6270, Nokia 6600, Nokia 6620, Nokia 6630, Nokia 6631, Nokia 6670, Nokia 6680, Nokia 6681, Nokia 6682, Nokia 6820, Nokia 6822, Nokia 7610, Nokia N70, Nokia N71, Nokia N72, Nokia N91, Nokia E50, Nokia E60

This would likely be the largest consumer recall program ever, following on the heels of last year's Sony-manufactured laptop battery recall, used in Dell laptops, HP, Apple, and other manufacturers. Consumer recalls are not uncommon. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commision reports over 15 recalls in August 2007 alone, including the million-plus toys recalled by Mattel Inc. There are reports that Mattel may announce another large toy recall soon.

In the future, batteries might not need to be recalled. That is, if the paper battery recently announced by researchers at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute takes off. The battery contains carbon nanotubes embedded in a sheet of paper, and can even be rolled up.

To check on whether your Nokia mobile phone battery is impacted by the recall, visit the Nokia Battery Replacement Program website.

Tainted Chinese Toy Exporter Commits Suicide

Desicritics News Analysis — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 13:14:13 EDT

Zhang Shuhong, co-owner of Chinese toy firm, the Lee Der Toy Company, has killed himself, Chinese media reported today. The firm was under scrutiny following the massive recall of toys made for Mattel under the Fisher Price brand by the company.

The company had found in an internal investigation that the toys, ranging from Elmo to Dora the Explorer had been made in a process that used a paint pigment containing excessive amounts of lead. The company had blamed their paint supplier, reportedly a close friend of Zhang. The Chinese government had recently banned exports by the Lee Der Company, part of a larger ban announced Thursday by the Chinese General Administration for Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine.

The perils of hands-off globalized sourcing processes entail lack of control over source materials, and most quality control processes follow a sampling method which could overlook systemic problems. Within China itself, many smaller supploers provide raw materials to larger companies, who have little incentive or expertise to validate their own inputs. As a result, there's many a slip 'twixt the paint can and the doll, and much business risk.

Thus, the blame lies at many doorsteps - the product companies failed to enforce their globally renowned quality processes, Chinese manufacturers and sub-contractors went for volume over quality, and Chinese government regulators applied lax standards, if any at all. From poisoned pet food to contaminated toothpaste, the Made in China label has been tarnished of late. In a show trial, the Chinese government convicted and executed Zheng Xiaoyu, the head of the Chinese food and drug safety adminstration for accepting bribes to approve adulterated medicines.

There are some free voices in China. The news of Zhang's suicide was reported the Southern Metropolis Daily, a regional newspaper who has come under fire before from the government after it broke the SARS case. The Guangzhou tabloid demonstrates activism through its journalism that other Chinese newspapers strive to emulate, but few succeed. The Daily had earlier exposed a spate of abuses at Chinese detention camps nationwide, following which the paper's editor and others had been packed away on long prison terms, although the status of Cheng, the editor is uncertain.

The exigiencies of global business however, mean, that little pressure can or will be applied to clean up Chinese manufacturing practices while it holds a $1.3 trillion sword over the United States' head. Mattel, for example, runs over 50 factories in China, none of which have stopped producing toys meant for the world's markets even after the toy recall got underway. China promised to be a responsible 'global citizen' when it joined the WTO, and more recently after fears of a dollar selloff. There are probably no competitors at comparable price points globally to China in manufacturing, and so the world must hope for internal improvements and monitoring to address a global problem.

See also: Can the Dragon Drag On?