japan's abe goes to india on the 21st

aug 20th, 2007

of course, nobody in the ELM is bothered about this.

this man, or at least his country, represents india's best alliance in asia.

of course, the indian papers are full of 'sanju baba's release', i imagine. btw, why are they *so* concerned about sanju baba? that must be because he's half-mohammedan.

meanwhile, back at the ranch, the highly choreographed mating dance between the kaangress and the communists continues. abe would recognize this ritual as akin to the stylized routines of noh and kabuki from his home country. 'will karat, or won't karat?' -- such drama!

however, it is easy to predict with absolute certainty what will happen: nothing. after all the sound and fury, the communists will let the nuke deal pass in its current form and they will hang on to second-hand power for dear life.

the communists are enjoying their windfall -- power without responsibility. in fact, they have more than made up for the 'himalayan blunder' when jyoti basu turned down the PM-ship some years ago. now they have a PM who is shilling for the yanks, and who is beholden to them for his very survival, and so they will posture mightily. but the communists know that if they bring down the kaangress (the UPA is basically the kaangress and the seven dwarves) the next general election is not necessarily going to bring the kaangress back to power even with the communists' support. therefore, the communists will huff and puff mightily, but they will never blow the edifice down. there will be some last-minute 'compromise' and both sides will claim victory. the communists are posturing for the sake of those states where they are competing with the kaangress, eg. kerala, andhra pradesh.

the good thing that has come out of all this is that the two 'saints' of india (according to their own propaganda which is dutifully churned out by the ELM) are manmohan singh and the entire communist leadership. it is wonderful to see the two trading barbs, and in the process finding the chinks in teflon-man manmohan's armor. the karats and yechuris are also coming being portrayed by the kaangress for what they are: stooges of the chinese. so both of them are losing points in the eyes of the public. fratricide amongst your enemy is always good, and that is what chanakya advised as the 3rd stratagem: bhedam. even better if they create the bhedam with no help from you (as the bjp continues to muddle around like headless chickens, unable to get traction on any issue).