QUOTE OF THE WEEK
"If we become a people who are willing to give up our money and our freedom in exchange for rhetoric and promises, then nothing can save us."
--  Thomas Sowell

The Week In Review  

America unravelling: The thieves jump ship before President Obama arrives -- fortunately

-- PARAMANAND SOOBARAH 

“The Government is not the solution to the problem. The Government is the problem.” Thus spoke President Ronald Reagan in his inaugural speech way back in January 1981. We would not charge President Reagan himself with being a thief. But we do say that he flung the doors wide open to thieves. The little chicks he let loose have come home to roost in President George W. Bush’s term of office – with a vengeance. The subprime crisis is nothing but theft and swindling on an unprecedented scale, so large that it shook all the banks in the United States and many in Europe to their foundations. Many went under – like Bear Stearns, for instance. Others had to rescued with billions of dollars of taxpayers’ money. One begins to have some sympathy for bank robbers, those that organize hold-ups with masks on their faces. For all their efforts and risks they take, they only collect a few million dollars, if successful. But the “Wall Street” robbers got away with billions. No wonder they were paying their CEOs millions by the week to do it for them.

America, for most people outside of that great country, is the land of dreams and of opportunities. It is the land where you can turn ability into cash, regardless of your origin, your race, your colour or your religion. It is also the land of freedom, of justice and of human rights – although the last has taken a hit under President George W. Bush. Even so, you would still be better off there than in any country of the Middle East, Asia or Africa – except Mauritius, where we enjoy a degree of freedom not known to billions around the world. It is also the land of President Lincoln, where the country can be taken into a murderous Civil War in the defence of the freedom of some of its citizens. It is the land of Puritanism and of the Pilgrim Fathers for whom respect for morality was a sufficient reason to establish a new country. But whatever has happened to America after President Reagan? Now you don’t know whether you can trust anybody, for however high a position he may hold in society, he can turn out to be a thief.

The unravelling started early in the decade with Enron, a great company which used to make huge donations to campaign funds. The CEO died before he could be tried; the second-in-command went to jail. Partners in the Enron crime were the finance firm Arthur Anderson. Many were wondering at the time whether these were just two bad apples or whether something was wrong with the barrel itself. The journalistic phrase “creative accounting” should have told us something: the thieves invented this phrase to mask the act of cooking the books. The subprime mortgage crisis, which has plunged the world into recession and possibly into depression, has now proved to us that the whole barrel was rotten – while the government had been put to sleep by Ronald Reagan (remotely assisted by Margaret Thatcher.)

The latest story to burst out into the open is the galaxy-size swindle perpetrated by top Wall Street financier Bernard Madoff (pronounced “made-off”, for the benefit of my compatriots.) He has made off with FIFTY BILLION dollars. To get an idea of the size of this figure, let us just recall the three big Detroit car manufacturers (Ford, GM and Chrysler) were asking for just half that amount initially to get out of their problems, and that the House of Representatives had agreed to only $14 billion. Finally their request had been thrown out by the Senate, and now they are hoping that the President will give a couple of billions or whatever is required to keep them afloat until President Obama takes office. Fifty billion dollars is a lot of money. In the process Mr Madoff has impoverished many people and charities. Banks in America and Europe are still working out their share of exposure in this scandal.

Mr Madoff, one-time adviser to the US Treasury Department, was operating a Ponzi scheme – a scheme where older investors are paid from deposits of new investors, not from profits. These schemes gain such high reputations that people stampede over one another to come and deposit their monies. But there comes a time when fewer and fewer people have disposable cash – as is happening these days – and the demands for cash of the earlier depositors cannot be met. Mr Madoff was arrested and then freed on bail; surprisingly, the latest information indicates that he has been put under house arrest. The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has acknowledged that several warnings had been ignored. One feels that it is the Mumbai terrorist attacks all over again – this time in America, the land where all standards of behaviour in every conceivable field are set. People are wondering how many more such frauds are in operation and will be forced into the open by the present economic hardships. May they all come out into the open before President Obama arrives.

* * *

Corruption in Illinois
Governor Rod Blagojevich resisting calls for stepping down

Great efforts are being made by some to link President-Elect Obama to the corruption scandal in Illinois, his home state, where the Governor, Rod Blagojevich, was offering to sell the Senate seat vacated by President-Elect Obama to the highest bidder. The Republican National Committee has participated in the effort, but very rightly Senator John McCain, who ran for President from the Republican Party, has taken them to task for this. Former House of Representatives Speaker Newt Gingrich also joined Senator McCain in condemning the Republican National Committee. There still is some decency left in the party.

One of the difficulties President-Elect Obama had to face was that he kept silent over the dealings of his team with the Illinois Governor for a long time. Only recently has he explained that he had to remain silent at the request of the Attorney General; silence was necessary in order not to jeopardize the ongoing enquiry. Moves to impeach the Governor may also have to be halted for the same reason. Many reputations may be sullied before this affair is over.

* * *

Team Obama getting ready steadily

Some people had hoped that Barack Obama would not use his middle name Hussein at the swearing in ceremony on January 20. Others had feared that he would do so. The time for hopes and fears are over. He has confirmed that he will use his middle name, and will be saying : “I, Barack Hussein Obama, do solemnly swear …” An Arabic name does not make you a Muslim, nor does a non-Arabic name make you a non-Muslim. I know of hundreds of Lebanese and Jordanian Christians who have Arabic names. Probably the most satanic terrorist in Britain, who wanted to flood the underground railway system of London at peak traffic time, had a perfectly Hindu name – Dhiren Bharot. Before being turned into an Islamic Republic by President George W. Bush, Iraq was a secular country. Its long-serving Minister of Foreign Affairs, and later Vice-President, was Mr Tariq Aziz, a Christian.

President-Elect Obama continues to build his team. Most of the important posts have been filled, with the exception of Transportation and Labour. The names of the secretaries for the big departments have been known for some time. They include Hilary Clinton at State, Robert M.Gates at Defence, Susan E. Rice at the UN, Tom Daschle at Health and Human Services, Arne Duncan at Education, Tom Vilsack at Agriculture, etc. We can expect changes in outlook in America from Day 1 of the new administration.

* * *

No money yet for the Detroit Three

The Senate turned down the request of the three Detroit car manufacturers (Ford, GM and Chrysler) for $14 billion last week, and we thought it was all over with them. But President Bush has come to their rescue, stating that he will make sufficient funds available to them to continue in operation until the new President takes over. Figures are still being worked out; apparently they will know their fate by Friday.

In the meantime Chrysler has shut down all its plants in America, Mexico and Canada for a month “to preserve cash”. Some fear that they will not reopen again. Ford and GM have also stopped work at some of their plants.

Chip manufacturers for computers are also laying off people in large numbers, due to falling demand. Many are hoping that the change of President will, by itself, as if by some magic, arrest the decline.

* * *

America turns the shoe throwing incident of Baghdad into a great comedy

President Bush decided to pay a short visit to Iraq to say good-bye to the Iraqi administration and to his soldiers before leaving office. At the press conference he held, a journalist hurled a shoe at him quite forcefully, calling him “dog” at the same time. President Bush was quick to duck, and the shoe missed him. Without any loss of time a second shoe followed, but the President ducked again. The journalist was overpowered and the President continued unruffled.

This was on TV on all stations in America, and became a favourite number on the comedy shows. Americans probably do not realize how offensive it is in Asia to hurl a shoe at somebody. Notionally, it amounts to hanging somebody and trampling on his body, as the Al Maliki government did to Saddam Hussein. I think the latter has had his revenge.

* * *

The Middle East

The great story in the Middle East is the shoe throwing incident. Practically everybody sympathises with the shoe-throwing journalist who, incidentally, has been badly treated by the police. The matter was raised in Parliament where bedlam broke out. The Speaker has reportedly resigned in protest. Many parliamentarians are furious at the rough treatment meted out to the journalist.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown also visited Baghdad during the week to announce his troop withdrawal move. While he was there, bomb explosions shook the city.

A number of army officers were arrested: they were suspected of plotting to revive Saddam Hussein’s Baath Party.

The Oil Cartel OPEC, meeting in the Algerian city of Oran, decided to cut down output by 2.2 million barrels a day starting next month. Their aim is to push up the price of the barrel to between $60 and $80. The Oran meeting was also attended by several non-OPEC countries, including Russia; they have been urged to join the OPEC countries in making the cuts. Even as they spoke, oil futures were trading at less than $40 a barrel.

All over the Middle East, including Iran, the press was full of support and sympathy for Pakistan in its “argument” with India over the question of the Mumbai attacks. For them, India is joining the Axis of Evil constituted by America, Britain and Israel.

South Asia

President Zardari denies that the Mumbai terrorists came from Pakistan. He has not seen any convincing proof to that effect. One must sympathise with him, for the day he admits to seeing any proof, he will be out of a job, and possibly even out of his dear life. This state of affairs is likely to continue until the new President comes in America. That country provides the sustenance to the Pakistani military, and can engage in some arm-twisting. Perhaps also the new President can be persuaded to, or decide on his own to, do what is right, after half a century of mistaken policies followed by previous governments. Going back into history, one can actually trace very clearly how American policies in South Asia have led up to the present crisis which is threatening not just the region but also Europe and America itself.

In India, Muslims are distancing themselves as much as possible from violence and terrorism, but it only takes a few madmen to create the impression that Muslims are all terrorists. Hindus, on the other hand, are actively engaged in showing why India deserves what it gets – the Muslim minority has been treated so badly. This is the thesis of the likes of Arundhati Roy and Deepak Chopra. I heard the latter on CNN shortly after the start of the Mumbai operations on November 26: according to him it was all the fault of Hindus. Regrettably gullible Americans keep him in business buying his books full of nothing but mumbo-jumbo.

It would be a waste of time to expect Pakistan to take any action against the terrorism infrastructure because of the Mumbai attacks, though they might be persuaded to do so for other reasons. Even if the anti-infidel teachings in the madrassas were stopped tomorrow by some miracle, jihadis have been produced in sufficiently large numbers to keep the next two generations of Indians busy. They must learn to live – and die – with that.

* * *

National Matters
The Draft MOE Education Plan 2008-2020

On behalf of some readers of Mauritius Times with whom I often discuss positions on matters of national and international interest, I forwarded a short position paper to the Minister of Education on the Draft Education and Human Resources Strategy currently under discussion at the Ministry. Regrettably during the last ten days or so I have been hamstrung by technical computer problems and was not able to refer to the MOE document as readily as I would have wished. On the last day of consultation, when my PC was back in service, the Gov website was under maintenance. I could only fall back on my memory of a cursory reading of the Executive Summary.

Even so, I believe I have covered the aspects that were the most important to the readers group. In summary, we thanked the Minister for extending pre-primary education to all children as from the age of three, expressing the hope at the same time that the Ministry of Social Security will set up nurseries and kindergartens in sufficient number around the country to ensure that all working mothers with babies and toddlers have such a facility to leave their children at while they are at work.

Age of admission into Standard One: Review age structure of our student population

We also urged the Minister to reconsider the age of admission of children to Standard One, which under our present system happens at the beginning of the calendar year in which the child attains his or her sixth year. Many believe that the poor performance of our children at the School Certificate examinations (by far the large majority of our children end up with scores above 18) is due to their having been put through the education ladder too early, and that late developers aren’t given a chance. We should call those who score less than 18 at these examinations as Gifted Children, and those who score less than 12 as Specially Gifted Children. Those who score above 18 and up to 42 should be called normal children. It is for them that the normal education streaming process should be organized, as they constitute the vast majority of our school-going population. For these reasons we have suggested to the Minister that children should be held at the pre-primary level for one more year, and be allowed to join Standard One at the beginning of the calendar year in which they attain their seventh year. This actually is the practice in Singapore, a model for all countries as regards its education system and a lot else besides.

At the same time, it is important not delay the passage through school of our gifted children. Even with the proposed scheme, special arrangements can be made to identify and accelerate their class-to-class progression through school. The normal end-of-year examination at the Primary Level should stick to identifying Pass/Fail performance in each subject. But at some convenient time in December, a special examination should be held to identify those children who can “jump” over the next class to the one after it. Ideally, such examinations could be held three times a year in between school terms, both at the primary and secondary levels. The State has an obligation to identify and nurture its future professionals. But the larger proportion of our children will be able to plod along steadily to the School Certificate with reasonable expectations of respectable performance and provide the country with the intelligent workforce it needs.

We also made some suggestions concerning those children who fail the CPE at three successive attempts. Such children should in our view be made to join apprentice schemes.

Importance of Oracy, Thinking Skills and Mental Agility

In our submission we also stressed on the need for developing some skills over and above those which were mentioned in the draft document (Literacy, Numeracy and ITC). We pointed to the need for Oracy, thinking skills and mental agility. Training in Oracy ensures that a child can express himself or herself orally in coherent sentences, thinking skills ensure that children can think logically and mental agility ensures that children can learn to rely on their mental abilities, for instance in working out small arithmetic problems: I have seen children so reliant on their calculators that they will not carry out the addition, subtraction or multiplication of single digit numbers without resorting to their machines. Such surrender of mental abilities cannot be healthy. Thinking skills can be taught at the primary level by following non-verbal methods: I have seen many books on non-verbal reasoning for small children in bookshops abroad, though I cannot recall seeing any here.

For more than two thousand years the traditional method of teaching logical reasoning without actually getting into the abstruse subject of Logic itself was through Euclidean Geometry. With the introduction of New Maths in the sixties the teaching of formal geometry has been abandoned in schools. This is a great loss, and its re-introduction ought to be seriously considered. Sadly we allow the Examination Authorities to set the direction of our syllabi, but if the nation is convinced that Euclidean Geometry serves a useful purpose, I am sure it can find ways and means for bringing that subject back into the curriculum. Other ways of teaching logical thinking include the subject of Symbolic Logic itself and the Theory of Sets: our “experts” must consider which methods are best suited to our circumstances.

The Language Question: No! to Linguistic Genocide

Perhaps the most important aspect of our submission to the Minister concerned the question of languages, as it arises immediately in connection with the subject of Oracy which we raised. Oral expression requires spoken language. Which language or languages should we be teaching our children? Perhaps the greatest wealth of Mauritius lies in the variety of its people and the languages they speak. The languages spoken by Mauritians include Bhojpuri, Creole, French, English, Hindi, Urdu, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, Hakaa and Mandarin. Additionally Sanskrit and Classical Arabic are used for prayer purposes by a very large proportion of the population. There is a wealth of linguistic sounds on our streets, in our homes, offices and places of worship that many advanced countries would like to have. Regrettably, for over a century, some languages have been thought by people in power or at the top of the social ladder to be inferior to others. Indo-Mauritians were particularly the object of ridicule when they spoke their languages in front of other communities or when they mispronounced words of Creole – the superior language par excellence – because of their own linguistic habits. The ancestral language of over 70% of Mauritians is an Indian language, but I strongly doubt if 2% of the population today use an Indian language in their homes with their children as their first language. While many may be able to speak such a language when required to do so, it would not be the language in which they converse with their children. To put it tersely, we have been subjected to linguistic genocide. One well-known strategy of linguistic genocide is to shame the community that speaks the unwanted language into believing that it is inferior, and that the path to civilization and material progress lies in mastering the superior fellow’s language.

The phenomenon of linguistic genocide is well known; it has been widely written about and there is abundant material on it on the Internet. Just Google “linguistic genocide”, maintaining the quote marks and explore the results. It has even been informally denounced by committees working for the United Nations. The organization has not itself taken up a position on the subject, because few governments can deny that some sort of linguistic genocide has taken place within their countries (just ask the “Bretons” of France how much difficulty they faced in trying to propagate their language). The Human Rights Organisation of our own country has, somewhat naively, taken up the cudgel in favour of Creole – the language responsible for the genocide of all Indian and Chinese languages in the country and, increasingly since the Great Electoral Catastrophe of 1982, of French – a jewel of culure and civilization beyond any price. Creole sets the tone for the pronunciation of all languages taught in our schools. Our attempts to speak or write English, our official language, cannot be freed from the phonetic tyranny and the idiomatic turns of expression of the Creole language.

This is not a state of affairs we need to resign ourselves to. Evidence from around the world shows that children can best learn the sounds of languages correctly when they are still very young, and there is evidence also to show that multilingual children have better developed brains than monolingual ones. A vital experiment of worldwide importance is currently being carried out in England at the St James’ Schools of London where the learning of Sanskrit has been made compulsory in all primary level classes and optional in all secondary classes. The pupils in these schools are not all, or even preponderantly, Asians as might be imagined. They are native white children, and they chant Sanskrit verses pronouncing and intoning every syllable correctly. BBCWorld recently featured a report on the schools. One curious aspect revealed was that the parents of the children also show an interest in Sanskrit.

Now that our government is in an exploratory mood about education, It would be wise for an official mission to be sent to those schools to learn a little more about their experiment. The lesson in it for us is that children when very young can be made to learn any language and pronounce it correctly, but if the same children were to be taught the same language as teenagers or as adults, they would be much less successful in learning it.

Now that the Minister has decided to bring children into the education system from the age of three, now’s the hour for us to get into the proper teaching of languages. All children must be taught the correct sounds of all languages that we speak in the country by means of short sentences. A phonetic script must be developed that includes the sounds of all the languages spoken here – it can conveniently be developed by reference to the script of the International Phonetic association.

We strongly urge the government not to restrict any phonetic script to just the sounds of Creole language which the ridiculously-named grafilarmoni sets out to do. It will sow the seeds of disharmony in the country. We are not against the writing of Creole: a script which can code the sounds of all our languages can very certainly also be used to write Creole. But the grafilarmoni script restricts itself to just the sounds of just Creole. And even then, it will not allow for the representation of the speech of people who use French sounds (like “eux”, “oeu”, “u”, “è”, etc.) in their Creole speech, as per the well-known phenomenon of decreolisation: just Google this word for more information on the subject.

Can the Leclézio family provide us with a saviour?

The important question arises of who can formulate a script that contains the sounds of all our languages. We are aware that there are competent people at the University but their voices are drowned out by the politically-motivated Creolophiles. A well trained phonetics expert is required. We take great pride in the Nobel Prize for literature having been awarded to Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clézio because of his Mauritian roots. I have recently learnt that his brother Yves was a lecturer in Phonetics at University College London for several decades before retiring a few years ago. I can think of no other person worthier of taking on this difficult task. I cannot say that he will accept an offer from Mauritius, but he certainly is a very rare bird and no effort should be spared in securing his services, even if in an advisory role. He could probably be contacted through his now more famous brother.

We strongly urge the government not to perpetuate the phenomenon of linguistic genocide which has been our bane since colonial days. And we swear that we will not put up with wrong any more. Enough is enough.