Showing posts with label GOP. Show all posts
Showing posts with label GOP. Show all posts

Friday, August 5, 2016

IndoPak Saudi Workers Troubles; Trump's Popularity in India; GOP Infighting

What is happening to construction crews from India and Pakistan working in Saudi Arabia? Why are they going unpaid for months? Could problems for Indian and Pakistani expats get worse as oil prices stay low for extended period? Will remittances from GCC nations to India and Pakistan suffer? Will poverty increase in South Asia?

Why is Trump popular with Hindu Nationalists in India? Why are many right-wing Hindus praying for Trump's victory against Hillary in US elections? Will a Trump presidency be good for India? Is there anything in common between the Hindu Right's anti-Muslim bigotry and Trump's Islamophobia? Is Donald Trump spousing xenophobic and racist views similar to those of German Nazi leader Adolf Hitler and Indian RSS Guru Madhav Sadashiv Golwalkar?

Has Donald Trump been hurt by his war of words with the GoldStar family of Ghazala and Khizr Khan, the parents of the slain war hero US Army Captain Humayun Khan? Has this episode confirmed in the minds of many GOPers that Trump is temperamentally unfit to be in the Oval Office? Has it sparked a war within GOP with Republican leaders Paul Ryan and John McCain taking on the GOP top of the ticket? How will the repetition of such incidents affect the Trump campaign? Will the entire GOP ticket face historic defeat?

Viewpoint From Overseas host Misbah Azam discusses these questions with panelists Ali H. Cemendtaur and Riaz Haq (www.riazhaq.com)

https://youtu.be/6X2I6tBubH0



https://vimeo.com/177756879

IndoPak Saudi Workers Troubles; Trump's Popularity in India; GOP Infighting from Ikolachi on Vimeo.

Related Links:

Haq's Musings

Impact of Saudi Oil Revenue Slump

Hindu Nationalists Admire Hitler & Nazis

The Trump Phenomenon

Democratic National Convention

Talk4Pak Think Tank

VPOS Youtube Channel

VPOS Vimeo Channel



Saturday, May 14, 2016

Trump's Backtrack on Muslim Ban; India's Map Law; Pakistan Commission on Corruption

Donald Trump has said his Muslim ban "hasn't been called for yet" and it was "only a suggestion". Is the presumptive Republican nominee for president backing away from his call "for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States"? If so, why? Has the Republican party helped him understand how the GOP's dog-whistle campaigns work? Will Trump's racism and Islamophobia become less overt now in the general election campaign? Has London Mayoral Election affected GOP's campaign?

Why is the Indian government pushing a highly punitive legislation for those found guilty of "incorrect maps of India" not showing all of Kashmir as part of India? Will the law also apply to the Hindu Nationalists pushing maps of Akhand Bharat, including Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka, which are patently incorrect? How will digital mapmakers try to not run afoul of this law if it passes the Indian parliament?

Why is the Chief Justice of Pakistan resisting "the constitution of a toothless commission" to probe offshore companies owned by Pakistani politicians and others including Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's family? Why did Chief Justice Jamali say that such a commission "will serve no useful purpose , except giving a bad name to it"?

Viewpoint From Overseas host Misbah Azam discusses these questions with panelists Ali Hasan Cemendtaur and Riaz Haq (www.riazhaq.com).


https://youtu.be/eEQg1CX5KGs






http://dai.ly/x4akylh



Trump's Backtrack on Muslim Ban; India's Map... by ViewpointFromOverseas
https://vimeo.com/166681565


Trump's Backtrack on Muslim Ban; India's Map Law; Pakistan Commission on Corruption from Ikolachi on Vimeo.

Related Links:

Haq's Musings

Trump Phenomenon

London Mayor Sadiq Khan Hails Triumph of "Hope Over Fear"

Non-Muslim Leaders in Muslim Majority Countries

Islamophobia in America

Hindu Nationalists' Akhand Bharat

Panama Leaks 

Culture of Corruption in Pakistan

Talk4Pak Think Tank

VPOS Youtube Channel

VPOS Vimeo Channel

Monday, May 9, 2016

Has GOP's Dog-whistle Politics Produced Donald Trump?

Is today's Republican Party still the party of Abraham Lincoln, the celebrated American president who fought the American civil war to end slavery in 1860s? How could the rank-and-file members of this party vote overwhelmingly for a racist xenophobic demagogue like Donald Trump?



Nixon's Southern Strategy:

Republican Party stopped being the party of Lincoln when it deployed its "southern strategy" after the Democrats pushed through civil rights legislation, including voting rights act, under Democrat President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1960s.

President Richard Nixon's political advisor Kevin Phillips, analyzing 1948-1968 voting trends, saw the angry Southern white voters as ripe for Republican picking. Phillips helped the Republican party shift its national base to the South by appealing to whites' disaffection with liberal democratic racial and welfare policies.

President Nixon used this "Southern strategy" by promoting affirmative action in employment, a "wedge" issue that later Republicans would exploit to split the Democratic coalition of white working class and black voters.  This strategy soon produced the racial party alignments that still exist today.

Dog-whistle Politics:

Conservative Party candidate Zac Goldsmith's unsuccessful campaign for the mayor of London has been attacked by his critics as a "dog-whistle campaign" aimed at defeating Sadiq Khan, his British Pakistan Muslim opponent, the Labor candidate.

Republican election campaigns, particularly those waged in southern and mid-western states of the United States, have also been described as "dog-whistle" campaigns for the use of code words to appeal to white American voters.

A Wikipedia definition of Dog-whistle politics goes as follows: It is political messaging employing coded language that appears to mean one thing to the general population but has an additional, different or more specific resonance for a targeted subgroup. The phrase is often used as a pejorative because of the inherently deceptive nature of the practice and because the dog-whistle messages are frequently distasteful to the general populace. The analogy is to a dog whistle, whose high-frequency whistle is heard by dogs but inaudible to humans.

Trump Phenomenon:

What distinguishes Donald Trump's campaign from those of other Republicans? The key difference is that Trump has switched from the use of coded language to overt declarations of xenophobia.

For example, he has openly called Mexicans "criminals" and "rapists" who are "bringing drugs" to America.

Trump has encouraged his supporters to use violence against protesters, including African-American protesters who have been beaten and bloodied in Trump rallies.

Before declaring his candidacy for president, Trump led the "birther" movement to question President Obama's birth certificate in an attempt to de-legitimize the first African-American president of the United States.

Trump has attacked Muslims and called for a ban on entry of all Muslims to the United States.

Trump's overt use of racism, xenophobia and Islamophobia has drawn support for him from well-known American racists including members of the Ku Klux Klan and prominent Muslim-haters.

Conservative Republicans:

Conservative Republican leaders like Paul Ryan respond to Trump's overtly racist rhetoric by claiming "it's not who we are". Given the Republican Party's extensive use of "Southern strategy", this claim by Ryan sounds hollow.

William F. Buckley, credited with the development of modern Republican Conservatism, did not hide his racism when he called white Americans as "the advanced race".

In a 1957 National Review editorial titled “Why the South Must Prevail", Buckley wrote that the Southern white community was “entitled to take such measures as are necessary to prevail, politically and culturally, in areas in which it does not predominate numerically?”

So Ryan's and his fellow Republicans argument that Republican Conservatism does not condone racism is just flat wrong.

American Demographic Changes:

What Trump and his fellow racists in the Republican Party do  not realize is that today's America is very different from 1960s America in terms of demographics. Whites now account for a little less than 70% of the US electorate. And, even though the majority of white voters still vote Republican, this majority is not enough to win presidential elections.

Here's why Trump's win in November 2016 is unlikely: John McCain and  Mitt Romney, the last two Republican candidates since 2008, won the majority of white votes but failed to win the general election. Each of them got 60% of the 70% white votes that add up to 42% of the overall electorate. In addition, each of them got only 6% of Black votes and about 26% of the Asian and Hispanic votes that prevented them from gaining the overall majority needed to win. Trump's campaign rhetoric has managed to anger all minority groups, particularly Mexicans and Muslims. He will get even fewer minority votes than McCain and Romney polled in the last two general elections.

Summary:

Is Trump's campaign going to fail in the United States just like Goldsmith's Trump-like campaign has failed in London? Goldsmith's tactics of fear and division have backfired with a landslide win for Mayor Sadiq Khan in London. It's clearly a triumph of hope over fear, unity over division. Will Americans take their cue from Londoners to deal a historic defeat to Donald Trump on Tuesday, November 8, 2016? Let all Americans of good-will come together to make it happen.


Related Links:

Haq's Musings

Sadiq Khan Hails Triumph of Hope Over Fear

Trump Phenomenon in America

Is Trump Getting Foreign Policy Advice From Husain Haqqani?

Trump's Muslim Ban

What Can Pakistani-Americans Do to Stop Trump?

Silicon Valley Opposes Islamophobia

Sunday, April 17, 2016

Pak Leaders in London; US-India Defense Deals; Trump vs GOP

Why are all of Pakistan’s top political leaders, including Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, gathered in London in the wake of the Panama Leaks Scandal? Is it just a coincidence? Or is it to deal with the Panama Leaks fall-out? Or is it to forge an alliance with PPP boss Asif Zardari? Or Nawaz Sharif really needs medical attention for serious heart ailment? Why is PTI leader Imran Khan there? What is he planning to do to topple the Sharif government?

Why did US Defense Secretary visit India? Is the US playing the India card against China? What deals were signed between the two nations? How will this affect Pakistan? Why were so many of the Indian media questions addressed to Sec Ashton Carter about Pakistan? Does it it not expose the Indian obsession with Pakistan while, at the same time, it also claims to want the US to de-hyphenate the two South Asian nations?

Why is US Republican Presidential front-runner Donald Trump so angry with his own party? Why is he attacking Republican National Committee chair Reince Priebus? How will this infighting affect the race on the GOP side? Will it cause a raucous convention in July 2016 in Cleveland, Ohio? Will this GOP infighting help Democrats win the White House?

Viewpoint From Overseas host Misbah Azam discusses these questions with panelists Riaz Haq (www.riazhaq.com) and Ali H. Cemendtaur.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sfliv7KJVM




http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x45590s_pak-leaders-in-london-us-india-defense-deals-trump-vs-gop_news



Pak Leaders in London; US-India Defense Deals... by ViewpointFromOverseas

https://vimeo.com/163190180


Pak Leaders in London; US-India Defense Deals; Trump vs GOP from Ikolachi on Vimeo.


Related Links:

Haq's Musings

Panama Leaks Scandal

Zardari Corruption Probe

Pakistan's Culture of Corruption

US Defense Sec Ashton Carter's India Visit

India-Pakistan Hyphenation

Understanding Trump Phenomenon

Pakistan-China-Russia vs India-US-Japan

The Godfather's Vito Corleone: A Metaphor for Uncle Sam?

Talk4Pak Think Tank

VPOS Youtube Channel

VPOS Vimeo Channel



Saturday, March 19, 2016

Hindu Holidays in Pakistan; MQM Defections; Trump Victories

Will Pakistan government declare Hindu and Christian Holidays as recently passed by the parliament? Will it advance the rights of minorities in the country? Will the government pursue other measures, including curriculum reform to acknowledge minorities contribution to Pakistan?

Will there be more defections from MQM beyond Mustafa Kamal, Anees Qaimkhani, Saghir Ahmed and Raza Haroon? Who else is waiting in the wings to jump on the bandwagon started by Mustafa Kamal? Khushbakht Shujaat? Haider Abbas Rizvi? Faisal Subzwari? Ishrat ul Ibad? Will ex President Pervez Musharraf be drafted to lead the new party?

Source: Pakistan Census

Will more Trump victories in multiple US states help him gain enough delegates to win the GOP nomination for president on the first ballot at the Republican Convention in Cleveland, Ohio? What if the party denies him the nomination on the 2nd ballot? Will there be riots across the country as Donald Trump has warned? How will such events hurt Trump and the Republican party? Will GOP lose majority in both houses, House of Reps and the Senate, in Washington?

Viewpoint From Overseas host Faraz Darvesh discusses these questions with panelists Misbah Azam and Riaz Haq (www.riazhaq.com)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KiyjS86H9-g&feature=youtu.be



http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3yu643


Hindu Holidays in Pakistan; MQM Defections... by ViewpointFromOverseas

https://vimeo.com/159614468


Hindu Holidays in Pakistan; MQM Defections; Trump Victories from Ikolachi on Vimeo.


Related Links:

Haq's Musings

Pakistan Hindu Population Among World's Fastest Growing

Pakistan Textbooks to Acknowledge Minorities Contribution

MQM-RAW Links

Trump's Phenomenon

Talk4Pak Think Tank

VPOS Youtube Channel

VPOS Vimeo Channel




Sunday, March 6, 2016

Mumtaz Qadri Execution; Mustafa Kamal on MQM-RAW Links; Trump vs GOP

What do Mumtaz Qadri’s execution and Punjab women protection bill say about Pakistan’s determination to fight religious extremism? Can the Pakistani state deal with the street power of the religious parties? How will this struggle for the soul of Pakistan play out?

What does the return of ex Karachi mayor Mustafa Kamal mean for Karachi, for MQM’s London leadership and for Pakistan’s national politics? With mounting evidence of MQM-Indian intelligence connections and crimes of MQM’s militant wing, will MQM restructure and reform from within? Will Karachi and Pakistan will be better served by it after reform?

London Met Police Document Linking MQM With RAW

Why has the GOP establishment turned against its own leading presidential candidate Donald J. Trump? Will there be a contested GOP convention this year? Would the Republican establishment rather lose the 2016 November general election than help Trump win the White House?

Viewpoint from Overseas host Faraz Darvesh discusses these question with Pakistan’s Dawn News TV anchor Amir Abbas, MQM USA’s Wasim Zaidi and regular panelists Misbah Azam and Riaz Haq (www.riazhaq.com)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5IsFNqFZcY



http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3w85iu_mumtaz-qadri-execution-mustafa-kamal-on-mqm-raw-links-trump-vs-gop_news



Mumtaz Qadri Execution; Mustafa Kamal on MQM... by ViewpointFromOverseas

https://vimeo.com/157961961

Mumtaz Qadri Execution; Mustafa Kamal on MQM-RAW Links; Trump vs GOP from Ikolachi on Vimeo.

Related Links:

Haq's Musings

Religious Extremism in Pakistan

MQM-RAW Connection

Gangs of Karachi

Understanding the Trump Phenomenon

Trump's Muslim Ban

Talk4Pak Think Tank

VPOS Youtube Channel

VPOS Vimeo Channel