<\/a>Arbitrarily arrested and detained, their basic human rights snatched away from them and their freedom withdrawn, they suffered bitter humiliation and abuse of their privacy.\u201d We spoke to Ms Prayag about this antiquated procedure of ‘provisional charges’ adopted under emergency provisions in colonial times, and never repealed. Read on.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\nExcerpts:<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n\u201cPowerful people do not like criticism and that\u2019s it. They expect a hefty salary, first-class travel and junketeering, scrumptious fringe benefits, unchecked power and at the same time a quiet life where everyone bows down to them. So they all hate those who don\u2019t. How they deal with that depends on their personalities and the options they have. Now, as a journalist, if you want favours or are scared of the wrath of those who are in power, then you perhaps should not be in this job\u2026\u201d<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n <\/span><\/em><\/p>\n\u201cCan you imagine David Cameron telling the police not to use provisional charges against his ministers? These same charges which have been and are still being used against everyone else? Have you ever heard a minister in the House of Commons telling a Member of Parliament, \u201cI will send your case to my colleague minister to investigate?\u201d Have your ever heard another MP publicly stating that the government and the police had granted immunity to some self-confessed liar and that the DPP spoilt the fun?\u201d<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n
<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0 OPINION & COMMENTS<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nThe l<\/span>egend Will Remain
<\/span><\/span><\/strong>The life and times of Muhammad Ali depict a tranche of history made up of uplifting as well as sordid events. The battles fought have changed things for the better<\/span><\/em><\/p>\nBy Mrinal Roy<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nMuhammad Ali passed away in Phoenix, Arizona last week on 3 June at the age of 74 after a 32-year battle with Parkinson\u2019s disease. Throughout his life, he stood up and fought for what he believed in. He was thus much more than a legendary boxing icon. His unstinted battles out of the ring for social and political causes transcended boxing.\u00a0 Although Ali was the first three-time world heavyweight boxing champion winning the title in 1964,1974 and 1978, his fame as one of the most respected sports celebrities of all time also stemmed from his legacy as an\u00a0 inspiring leader, social activist, humanitarian and philanthropist. He transformed the lives of people. Tributes have poured in from personalities across the world as well as people from all walks of life. His legend will perdure. <\/span><\/p>\nExcerpts:<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\u201cAli was born Cassius Clay. At 18, he won the light heavyweight gold medal at the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome. In October 1960, he became a professional boxer.\u00a0 In February 1964, displaying his incredible boxing talent through his swift footwork and an amazing combination of speed, mobility and power, he won the heavyweight Championship against the mighty Sonny Liston, although he was a 7-1 underdog, by technical knockout in the 7th<\/sup> round, for the first time. He was 22.\u00a0 It was one of the biggest upset in boxing history. From the ring, he shouted to the world in defiance that \u2018I am the greatest. I shook up the world\u2026\u2019\u201d <\/span><\/em><\/p>\n <\/span><\/em><\/p>\n\u201cAli was quick to understand the power of TV as a potent media form. He used it very smartly with his glib talk. He was regularly invited in numerous chat shows in both the US and abroad on which he depicted the civil rights situation with wry humour and questioned the racial injustice in the US. At a time when few were brave enough to raise their voice, he had the courage to fight for civil rights. In 1967, after being heavyweight champion for three years, Muhammad Ali refused to be drafted into the Army during the Vietnam War on religious grounds and the principle of pacifism. His statement \u2018I ain\u2019t got no quarrel with them Viet Cong\u2019 echoed the anti war stance of a generation\u2026\u201d<\/span><\/em> <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n***<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n
<\/span><\/p>\nMass Protests in France: The Limits of Technocratic Myopia<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nBy Rajiv Servansingh<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\nSince about three months now economic activity in France has been virtually paralysed by protests and demonstrations led by students and labour unions, a feature reminiscent of the famous May 68 movements. These massive protests primarily against the proposal for reform of labour laws presented by a \u201csocialist\u201d government but fully backed by, some would say originating from, the Employer\u2019s Federation of France (MEDEF) have led some observers to state that France has probably reached a \u201cpoint of no-return\u201d and hence become literally a country which cannot be reformed. This is certainly an exaggeration.<\/span><\/h1>\n
Excerpts:<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n\u201cThere are admittedly what one could characterize as some peculiar traits of the French people and institutions, including among its student movements, the labour unions and mainstream political parties which are, as they would say, \u201cin\u00e9dits\u201d or unique to the country. Prominent among those is the absolute disposition to resist whatever looks like challenging the \u201cacquis sociaux\u201d which have been won at great cost by the working classes during decades…\u201d<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n <\/span><\/em><\/p>\n\u201cThe dominant Neo-Liberal ideology globally is premised on the belief that State intervention in the economic sphere is necessarily detrimental to the economic welfare of a nation, independently of the specific social and historical circumstances prevailing in the country. It forms part of the one-size-fits-all solutions, which have been promoted by the supporters of the unfettered capitalism propaganda. In its essentially technocratic formulation \u201chigh protection for employees\u201d shelters low-productivity workers from competition with high-productivity workers…\u201d<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n <\/span><\/em><\/p>\n <\/span><\/em><\/p>\n***<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\nFluctuating oil price: should we be concerned?<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
By Anil Gujadhur<\/p>\n <\/span><\/strong>Back in the early 1970s, the OPEC oil producers\u2019 cartel reached an agreement to limit the global supply of oil. This implacable decision, duly complied with by its members, resulted in an abrupt quadrupling of international oil prices. <\/span><\/p>\nExcerpts:<\/span><\/em><\/strong>\u201cA risk of fuel import prices shooting up again has always been around \u2013 recall the severe consequences of fairly recent hedging against fuel price rises on the finances of the STC and Air Mauritius \u2013 our response to it should have been to go on adding ever more performing and suitably adapted sectors of export activity to the economy, of which not much has seen the light of the day of late. Another response would have been to produce local renewable energy substitutes for imported oil, coal and gas to insulate ourselves from sharp international oil price rises as it happened in the early 1970s…\u201d<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n <\/span><\/em><\/p>\n \u201cThe international price of oil dipped as from mid-2014 due to a situation of over-supply on the international oil market. While it was heading towards $150-200 a barrel, it suddenly went down to $110 in September 2014. Accelerated Canadian and American shale gas production accentuated the over-supply, causing oil to dive to $27 a barrel by January 2016. At the level of the OPEC today, Saudi Arabia, the largest global oil producer, which accounts for 13% of global supply, decided not to curtail its supply of oil to firm up falling international prices, perhaps apprehending loss of market share to rival Iran or to Russia…\u201d
<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n* * *<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\nBut the devil is in the details<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nBy Dr R. Neerunjun Gopee<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nIn my article of last week I pointed out that we should be thankful that we live in a country which has a robust democratic tradition and that, despite its limited resources, has yet maintained from the very beginning of its autonomous political status all the features of a progressive welfare state such as universal pension, free health care, free education, many other social benefits for the elderly, widows and orphans, the disabled and so on. And that, on this and other counts too, the country compares favourably not only with others in the vicinity but even with some of the developed ones if we were to look at the socio-economic indices and indicators, when we make allowance for size and resources.<\/span><\/p>\nExcerpts:<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDecades down the line, we are still going back and forth about an efficient, sustainable and clean transport system that would do justice to a country that boasts of being in the upper middle income category. Meanwhile, the fleet of vehicles is expanding at such a rate, with a proliferation of \u2018auto-points\u2019 at every nook and corner, that it looks likely that in a foreseeable future there will be more vehicles than people on the island. We are already choking on both the highways and the byways, not to speak of the mayhem that takes place whenever there is heavy rain even for a short period. When, if ever, are we going to resolve this public transport issue to national satisfaction? How many more expert teams and reports will we need?\u201d<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n <\/span><\/em><\/p>\n\u201c<\/span><\/em>When we consider such deviations in statistical terms sector by sector, e.g. criminal offences, number of road accidents and the associated mortality and morbidity, complaints about health care, incidents involving students, etc., we may find that the ratios of \u2018normal\u2019 to \u2018abnormal\u2019 are low. As a result, we may conclude that they are not alarming\u2026 But we all know that statistics do not tell the whole story: one gruesome crime of passion, for example, as happened at the beginning of this week, is enough to shake the conscience of the whole country\u2026\u201d<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n
* * *<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nAt last, America catching up?<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nBy TP Saran <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nThe two news items currently making the headlines in America are the nomination of Mrs Hillary Clinton as the first ever woman presidential candidate and the condemnation of a rapist at the Stanford University in California. <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nExcerpts:
<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\u201c<\/span><\/em>Now, courtesy the propaganda machine, the whole world’s attention will be brought to focus on the fact that a woman is \u2013 possibly — soon to lead America. What’s the big deal? The big deal is that this will be made to look as if it is a universe-shaking phenomenon, a first that has never happened anywhere else before. And many millions will swallow that, forgetting that there are precedents galore that should bring some sense of humility to the bloated American ego, but alas doesn’t. Indira Gandhi in India, Golda Meir in Israel, Margaret Thatcher in Britain, Mrs Bandanaraike in Sri Lanka, Dilma Rousseff in Brazil are among some of the most astute politicians who have steered their respective countries at crucial times…\u201d<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n <\/span><\/em><\/p>\n\u201cDonald <\/span><\/em>