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DECEMBER 2005 |
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EDITORIAL:
RAISING BILLIONS FOR POVERTY
It’s no activist pipe dream. The tax he has calculated is so minimal — 0.005 percent — that even currency traders are saying it will not affect trading. Enforcement of an across-the-board currency transaction tax is extremely complicated, so he has suggested that the U.K. levy the tax on all sterling transactions. If it does, and it works, other countries can follow. He recently went head-to-head in London with Jim O’Neill, head of global economic research for Goldman Sachs — debating the case for a currency transaction tax to help finance development, and won. About 100 people heard him argue for a CTT, with the case against made by O’Neill, one of the City’s biggest stars. The debate ended with an audience vote: the CTT a clear winner with two-thirds in favor of the proposition, and one-third against. Our cover story carries a detailed explanation of the plan. Now he is casting his eye on the U.S. He has introduced a new line of pickles, and is considering opening an upscale restaurant. He visited several Bay Area stores to promote his line of pickles. We carry an in-depth interview with him. COVER STORY: A Sterling Solution: A Currency Transaction Tax can Battle Global Poverty - By Sony Kapoor Not only can a currency transaction tax help fund the UN Millennium Development Goals to halve world poverty by 2015, but of even greater value is its ability to help grow the size of the global economic cake, with benefits to millions in poor, middle-income and rich countries, writes Sony Kapoor.  The currency market is the largest market in the world, with a turnover of $300 trillion every year. It is loosely regulated and, despite its size, is highly concentrated. Most of the trading is carried out by about 30 large banks trading mostly G7 currencies in eight major locations.The price at which one currency can be exchanged for another is not constant but varies in response to changes in inflation, interest rates, unemployment and other economic factors. It is also influenced by other factors, such as speculation and market psychology, which affect the supply and demand for a currency. Surveys of currency traders show that economic fundamentals are relatively unimportant in trading decisions up to a six-month horizon. Since more than 90 percent of market transactions have a time horizon shorter than six months, it follows that most currency trading decisions do not reflect the true underlying economic value. As a consequence, exchange rates do not reflect the true relative strengths of economies and can lead to bad investment decisions. More than 75 percent of currency traders believe that speculation is the single most important reason why currency values do not reflect economic fundamentals. Though major economic variables change relatively infrequently, it is common for exchange rates to change up to 100,000 times in a single day. While most of these changes are small, they can sometimes add up to as much as 20 percent or more over the span of weeks or even days. Currency volatility is a measure of this change in the price of a currency. The larger and the more frequent the fluctuations in the exchange rate, the higher the currency volatility. When this volatility is very high, involving several large changes in prices, it causes instability in the financial system. Financial instability is one of the most serious problems currently confronting the world. High volatility in financial markets, even when it does not lead to spectacular crashes of the kind seen in South East Asia in 1997 — carries high social and economic costs. It acts as a tax on trade, investment, social welfare and growth and can undo in days what has taken years of development effort to achieve. Currency instability is by far the most pernicious form of financial volatility because of the severity of its impact. While excessive volatility in the stock or the bond markets is harmful, damage is limited to certain sectors of an economy and the people associated with those sectors. Instability in the currency markets, on the other hand, affects all aspects of the economy and can have disastrous effects on millions of people. Currency instability does not arise because of the actions of “evil speculators” but is a natural outcome of the incentive structure built into the market. The actions of a limited number of currency traders just doing their jobs can inflict damage to whole economies and have ruinous consequences for their populations. When the actions of a few can affect the welfare of many, there is a strong justification for public policy intervention. However, there are many who believe that “markets know best.” There is a way of striking a compromise between the two beliefs, using a market-based solution. The currency transaction tax changes the incentive structure in the market and works by discouraging instability-causing behavior amongst currency traders. While there have been various proposals for a tax in the past, they have either been impractical or incomplete. Both by building on the work done by others and using our own original research, we have proposed a comprehensive, pragmatic and feasible version of a currency transaction tax that would stabilize the currency markets. It would also reduce the occurrence of the kind of currency crashes that were seen in South East Asia, Mexico, Russia and Brazil. This is a mainstream proposal that combines two distinct instruments — security transaction taxes and circuit breakers — both of which are widely used in financial markets the world over. Security transaction taxes are currently in operation in many countries such as the United Kingdom, the United States, France and Belgium. Circuit breakers of various kinds such as trading halts or price limits are in existence in most major stock exchanges in the world, including the New York Stock Exchange. Our proposal is unique in the sense that it not only successfully addresses the criticisms leveled against previous CTT proposals, but also takes on board concerns expressed by both the financial and the political community. It is for this reason that we advocate a very low tax rate that the financial markets can easily afford to bear. Our version of the CTT is expected to mobilize net revenue of $15 billion without disrupting the current structure of the market. This revenue can be used for urgently needed international development programs. All UN countries have signed up to the Millennium Development Goals to halve world poverty by 2015 — however, it is widely acknowledged, by the British treasury amongst others, that there are presently insufficient funds to pay for them. This report shows that our proposition for a CTT would deliver a realistic, sustainable and powerful income stream. The CTT would also reduce both the volatility in currency markets as well as the likelihood of the occurrence of currency crashes. This reduction in volatility would be extremely beneficial for the global economy, with both international trade flows and foreign direct investment — FDI — expected to increase significantly. In addition, a reduction in the occurrence of financial shocks such as currency crashes would also help the global economy pursue a path of higher growth. Developing countries, in particular, stand to benefit from higher trade and FDI flows. How it would work. The CTT can be implemented unilaterally by any country and will apply to all foreign exchange transactions that involve its currency. This is possible, as a currency has no meaning outside the jurisdiction of the central bank that issues that currency. Even offshore U.S. dollar deposits, for example, are eventually held as “nostro” accounts by U.S. banks in the United States. So if a country signs up to a CTT, the central bank of the country is in a position to effectively oversee compliance with the tax regime. We suggest that all currency transactions be subject to the CTT — since trade and investment flows account for only a very small proportion of the total currency trading, they would not bear most of the cost of the tax. The incidence of the tax would fall mainly on large banks, where currency trading profits account for 5 percent — 10 percent of the total profits. Evasion would be expensive and carry the risk of loss of reputation. With the tax rate as small as 0.005 percent, the low cost of compliance would not justify the risks and costs associated with evasion. The CTT can be collected at the point of settlement, either through the Continuous Linked Settlement system or through a country’s gross payment settlement system that is overseen by the central bank or the finance ministry. While it is possible that derivatives instruments may be used to try and evade the tax, this is not feasible on a large scale, as the derivative market can not effectively operate in isolation. Transactions in the derivatives market would show up in the settlement system in one form or another. Benefits of introducing a CTT. The CTT creates a directly quantifiable benefit in the form of a powerful income stream. This has been widely discussed in previous literature on the Tobin Tax as funds to be designated to international development. The UN Millennium Development Goals — MDGs — are recent globally agreed targets to focus resources to urgent human need. Our contention is that revenue generated from a CTT by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development countries ought, by agreement with finance ministries, to be channeled towards international development objectives set out in these goals. The indirect benefits of the CTT are perhaps more challenging to quantify but potentially of far greater financial value than the tax revenue itself. These accrue through enhanced economic stability, a serious decrease in financial shocks caused by speculative attacks on currencies and a consequent reduction in the levels of foreign exchange reserves being held in order to guard against these attacks. Developing countries, especially after the South East Asian crisis of 1997–8, have accumulated $1,500 billion of foreign currency reserves, primarily to prevent the recurrence of another currency crisis. These reserves are invested mostly in short term OECD government bonds that pay an interest of only 1 percent–2 percent every year. The introduction of the CTT would, by reducing the likelihood of the occurrence of another currency crash, free up potentially 50 percent of these reserves — that is $750 billion — for more productive uses that generate returns as high as 20 percent every year. Businesses, especially multinational corporations, stand to gain from the implementation of a CTT due to the higher levels of trade, investment and growth this will bring. The CTT would directly reduce the risk of investing abroad. It would make a currency crash, where the value of overseas investments of MNCs would plummet, less likely. The cost of hedging foreign currency income streams and expenses would also diminish with the reduction in currency volatility that a CTT would bring. The mergers and acquisitions and overseas lending operations of large banks suffer when currency volatility is high, even as the currency trading operations make money. A lower volatility would make both M&A and overseas lending more safe and attractive. In the past 40 years there have been more than 300 chronicled speculative attacks on currencies. Of these, 105 have been successful and have resulted in a significant and sudden change in the value of a currency. The South East Asian crisis was an extreme example where the countries involved suffered serious economic and social consequences. However, even if such an attack is unsuccessful, the country suffers from serious economic costs as a result of the high interest rates that are needed to defend itself. By making the occurrence of a crisis less likely and by making the defense of a currency more effective, the CTT can help countries have lower interest rates which stimulate growth in an economy.
Not only can the CTT help fund the UN Millennium Development Goals to halve world poverty by 2015, but of even greater value is its ability to help grow the size of the global economic cake, with benefits to millions in poor, middle-income and rich countries. The passing of the CTT legislation in Belgium is a testament to the fact that the modern CTT proposition is technically possible and politically acceptable. Excerpted from a draft of “The Currency Transaction Tax: Enhancing Financial Stability and Financing Development,” a groundbreaking research report prepared by Sony Kapoor with support from the London-based Cooperative Bank. Readers can download the entire document at this Web link: http://www.waronwant.org/?lid=9100
WRITING: A History of The Universe: Science Writer Simon Singh - By Johnnye Jones Gibson Science writer Simon Singh weaves a magical, accessible tale of how scientists figured out the history of the cosmos, writes Johnnye Jones Gibson.  I decided to write a book about the Big Bang theory of the universe because it is one of the pinnacles of human achievement,” science writer and television producer Simon Singh says in his Web site. “I wanted people to understand the theory and to appreciate why cosmologists are confident that it is an accurate description of the origin and history of the universe.” The story begins with the theoretical foundations laid by Einstein and his General Theory of Relativity, but it was Georges Lemaître, a Catholic priest from Belgium, who proposed the idea of a universe born at a single instant in the past — “a day without a yesterday” — and expanding outwards from that moment. “Like any good tale, the discovery and proof of the Big Bang theory has more than its fair share of curious incidents and peculiar characters,” he adds. The theory was controversial. The scientific establishment believed in an eternal universe, and many cosmologists were reluctant to accept a theory that smacked of divine creation. An epic battle began. With both sides desperately in search of evidence to crush the opposition, the ensuing bitter disputes resulted in one of the greatest political, religious and human adventures ever told.
A scientist, mathematician, physicist and cosmologist, Singh vividly brings this sometimes geeky, techno world to life, making the theories accessible to a curious layman. In person, he had an instinctive ability to captivate an audience during a reading he gave in Berkeley, Calif. as part of his book-promotional tour. This book follows two others written by Singh: “The Code Book,” about the secret history of codes and code creaking, and “Fermat’s Last Theorem,” which became the first book about mathematics to make the best-seller list. In “The Big Bang” Singh weaves an entertaining story that captivates even those who have no scientific learning. He has a remarkable ability to impart scientific facts and theories in a way that is not only understandable to very young minds, but is fun, exciting and entertaining. “Ever since I learned about the Big Bang theory as a teenager, I have been explaining it to friends, relatives and strangers,” Singh said, when asked why he wrote the book. “Being trapped with me on a transatlantic flight means that you would probably get the full six-hour Big Bang tutorial. “I would argue that the Big Bang model of the universe is the most important and beautiful theory in science, and once you know what it is, how it works and why scientists believe it, then the temptation to share it with others is irresistible,” he said. Singh said his readers could be split into three categories. “First, there are those with some kind of science background; second, there are the high school students who are developing an interest in science; third, there are all those people who are just curious about the world. “I try to make the book accessible so that anybody can read it,” Singh said. “I mixed science with stories, explanations with narrative.” Singh wonderfully brings to life the elements of scientific history, the players, the theorists, the movers and shakers, with concepts that have been, up to now, out of reach for non-experts. He creates the “story” through the real-life historical characters who search and analyze and find theories and provable answers to many universal mysteries and questions. He uses examples from popular culture masterfully. Common everyday experiences of music, film, literature and even cartoons illustrate his points and concepts about these theories and sciences. For example: To involve the audience and simplify a point he later makes, he plays Led Zeppelin backwards and invites the audience to “hear” the satanic words (that aren’t really there). Amazingly, most of us hear those words. He explains how our minds continually search for patterns, and how we are so excellent at it that we find patterns even when none may exist — or, hear words that aren’t there. That should bring out a red flag to make us aware that a scientific theory based on a small amount of obscure evidence is more likely to be wrong. Because when we do this brain pattern search, we tend to “see” an aspect of what we are looking for. It is only when there are multiple evidences of substance that a theory has more of a chance of being accurate Singh was born in Wellington, in England’s Somerset, and his mother emphasized education, though his ancestry goes back to generations of farmers in Punjab. He found Somerset a fertile ground for budding scientists. Growing up in an era where he could watch Carl Sagan and others entice young minds, by age nine he declared he wanted to be a nuclear physicist. “Like many immigrants, my parents encouraged me to work hard at school and benefit from the sort of education they never received,” Singh said. Like most children during this time, he grew up loving TV. But he also knew what he wanted, and that meant concentrating on his studies: mathematics, chemistry and ultimately physics. Growing up in an area of Somerset where theirs was the only Indian family, Singh never felt discriminated against. According to Singh, “Everyone knew who we were, and everybody knew that we were not going to steal their children, or eat their pets. In Britain, problems seem to occur in those bigger cities where ghettos emerge. Where I live now, in West London, the communities are fairly mixed and everybody gets along reasonably well.” At college, while pursuing a scientific career in academia, his interest in journalism grew from writing articles for campus publications. Between leaving Imperial College and starting his PhD, Singh had a brief teaching stint at Doon School in Dehra Dun where he began to learn how to explain scientific concepts in a vivid and clear way. He always enjoyed talking about and explaining science, and eventually decided on a career in journalism focusing on science communication, as he always loved television and felt it was an influential medium. Singh is passionate about science education, which is, in part, why he wrote “The Big Bang.” “So people will understand what the theory is, who came up with it, and why we believe it is true,” said Singh. “In Britain, fewer people are studying science and mathematics, which is rotten because these subjects are wonderful and because we need scientists and mathematicians to innovate and invent and fire up the economy,” Singh said. “I suspect that it is the same in America.” Singh believes the only way to solve the crisis is to have more qualified and engaging teachers, but he finds that many good teachers leave the profession or many potential teachers do not enter it. According to Singh, “Somebody needs to acknowledge the problem, understand the problem and fix it.” He believes teaching is an incredibly difficult and potentially rewarding career, and we need to understand why there is such a shortage of teachers in subjects like mathematics and science. “In India, in contrast, there is a huge enthusiasm for these subjects,” said Singh. “Young people (there) realize that they can help themselves, their families and nation by studying science, but in the west We have lost the appetite for science.” In an age when children are less and less inspired, Singh is the master magician enticing them to return to reality. Specifically in the “Big Bang,” he introduces all readers of his book to the world of the theory of relativity and he expects them to be to be excited, educated, intrigued and inspired. Involved in many areas of education, he also put on a theatre show in London with a psychologist called Richard Wiseman, who has a background in magic. “He taught me a huge amount about performance,” says Singh. “Together we try to explain science and entertain, and the shows have had sell-out runs in London and Edinburgh. We are hoping to bring Theatre of Science to America.”
However, his programs on BBC Radio 4 are accessible online — “The Serendipity of Science,” “Five Numbers,” “Another Five Numbers,” “A Further Give Numbers.” Readers can check out these available works through the BBC’s Web site. Singh’s U.S. book/lecture tour began in California on Nov. 4. He heads for India in December in a trip sponsored by the British Council, an organization that tries to promote Britain around the world. Singh will be partly talking about his book, and also discussing how to engage the public in science and how to involve scientists in a dialogue with non-scientists. NEWS DIARY: November Roundup  Economy Summit | Four South Asians Win Rhodes Scholarships | Sikh Delegation Visits Pakistan | Bomb Blasts Kill Eight in Bangladesh | San Jose Doc Missing | Amrita Pritam, Doyenne of Punjabi Literature, Dies | Lanka Offers Peace Talks | Telephone Ladies | Altitude Record | LOC Opens | Pneumonia Hits Quake Zone | Attempted Gandhi Murderer DiesEconomy Summit
“Our economy has been growing at an unprecedented rate ... and we are likely to grow by about 7.5 percent this year,” Singh told the business conference. But India faced an infrastructure deficit and the government would spend $37 billion over the next seven years into developing the road network which in many areas is unpaved and riddled with potholes, he added. Another key area targeted for reform by the communist-backed coalition government led by Singh’s Congress Party is labor laws. Employers and economists say increased flexibility in hiring and firing is vital, but Singh’s communist allies are resisting changes they say will hurt workers. India needs to create at least 10 million jobs a year to provide work for its young and increasingly educated workforce. Singh said India’s foreign direct investment regime was one of the world’s most liberal and ministers were working on cutting red tape, which he admitted slowed down business.
Samsher S. Gill graduated from the University of Chicago in 2005 where he majored in political science, and where he won the top undergraduate honor. He is now working as a researcher in media criticism at Media Matters, a Washington, D.C. watchdog group. Gill plans to do an M.Phil. in political theory at Oxford. Noorain F. Khan is a senior at Rice University where she is writing her thesis on issues relating to the veiling of Muslim women. An active campus leader, she has interned at the Middle East Institute and Amnesty International. At Oxford, she plans to do an M.Phil. in migration studies. Lakshmi Krishnan is a senior at Wake Forest University. She is president of her campus Amnesty International chapter, and recently interned in the Health Action AIDS Campaign at Physicians for Human Rights. At Oxford, Lakshmi will read for the M.St. in English. Rahul Satija is a Duke senior majoring in biology and music with a minor in math. He has been carrying out research in bioinformatics. He is also concertmaster for the Duke Symphony Orchestra and first violinist of a student string quartet, and holds Duke’s only music performance scholarship. He also teaches violin to inner city youth in Durham. Rahul plans to do the D.Phil. in bioinformatics at Oxford.
Elahi said the friendship process initiated by him and Capt. Amarinder Singh would continue. He said the Amritsar-Nankana bus service would begin soon. He said the Pakistan government was working on development projects to facilitate Sikh visitors at Nankana Sahib, including a modern hospital in the city and Wagah-Nankana dual carriageway. Capt. Amarinder Singh said the peace process initiated by the chief ministers of Indian and Pakistani Punjab had led to improvement of economic and trade ties. He said the people of Indian Punjab were grieved by the earthquake in northern Pakistan and they wanted more openings along the Line of Control.
No one claimed responsibility, but police investigators pointed to outlawed Islamic militant group Jumatul Mujahideen Bangladesh, blamed for similar attacks this year. The attacks prompted widespread condemnation and protests, including a call by lawyers for a day-long general strike. Prime Minister Khaleda Zia called the bombers “enemies of the nation, Islam and democracy” and vowed to punish them. Other political parties, including the main opposition Awami League and an Islamic party allied to Zia’s four-party alliance, also condemned the bombings in separate statements. The explosions in the port city of Chittagong and in Gazipur town, just outside the capital, Dhaka, happened just before 9 a.m. local time and appeared to target courthouses, police said. A handwritten note found on one of the suspected bombers warned police, judges and lawyers “to stop upholding man-made laws which go against Islam,” Chittagong police official Mohammad Majedul Huq said. The blasts triggered panic and protests at courthouses across Bangladesh. In Dhaka, hundreds of lawyers boycotted courts and took to the streets, urging authorities to act against those responsible. “Catch the bombers and put them on trial,” shouted dozens of lawyers at the Dhaka Judge Court. Her husband Tasadduq, 60, had asked her many times to give up her pediatric medicine practice in a tough section of Oakland, but she always refused. The Attaris came to the United States in 1976. He worked as an engineer while she built her medical practice. Together, they raised two daughters, 20-year-old Huma Attari and 27-year-old Ruby Ali. Now Tasadduq Attari, a seemingly stoic man, stays busy making posters and fliers with his wife’s image. Oakland police are investigating the disappearance, which has been classified as a missing person case. The three full-time officers assigned to the case, with help from the FBI and U.S. Marshal’s Office, have retraced Zehra Attari’s route, scanned the region with aircraft and dredged waterways, but have come up with no firm clues. “She enshrined the concept of punjabiat, the deep consciousness of being a Punjabi — a child of the land of the five rivers — irrespective of religious or caste affiliation.” In 1986 she was nominated to the Rajya Sabha, and what moved her particularly was when later Punjabi poets in Pakistan’s Punjabi Academy sent her chaddars, green silk covers edged with gold, from the tombs of Waris Shah and fellow Sufi mystic poets Bulle Shah and Sultan Bahu. Touched, the dying poet proudly had herself photographed with the chaddars. Winner of India’s Jnanpith Award, the Sahitya Akademi Award, and Padma Shri — she was the first woman to win the last two awards — Pritam penned 24 novels, 15 collections of short stories and 23 volumes of poems. In 1960, Pritam left an unhappy marriage and her husband for Imroz, an artist and writer. For more than four decades, they were inseparable and supremely happy, and he designed most of her book jackets. He survives her, as do a daughter and a son from her marriage. He said he was ready for talks immediately to review the two sides’ 2002 ceasefire. Tiger leader Velupillai Prabhakaran had said the rebels would intensify their struggle if there was no settlement within the next year. The Tigers have been campaigning for more than two decades for self-government in the north and east, which they consider the Tamil homeland. The 2002 truce brokered by Norway ended more than 20 years of civil war which has killed more than 60,000 people, but has become increasingly fragile. The president has said the solution to the ethnic conflict lies with a unitary state, but the rebels’ official position is that they want to share power along federal lines. Tamil Tigers leader Prabhakaran said Rajapakse should put forward a “reasonable political framework that will satisfy the political aspirations of the Tamil people” soon.
One pioneering scheme in Bangladesh has become famous for its “telephone ladies,” reports the BBC. In Kalimajani, a typical Bangladeshi village surrounded by paddy fields where the only way to get here is by walking along pathways, the mobile phone has changed communications dramatically. After village resident Roshinara Begum got her mobile phone with the help of Grameen bank, she began selling calls. She’s become one of Bangladesh’s telephone ladies. “Before I got the phone nobody respected me,” she told the BBC as she sat in the tin hut she uses as her office, clutching the phone that has changed her life. Roshinara Begum makes a good living selling calls, earning $60 to $70 a month. It has helped other villagers too. Mohammed Abul Kashem, who runs a fish farm of 10 man-made ponds, uses the phone service to order food and other supplies from the capital. “If the phone wasn’t here then I’d have to travel to Dhaka,” he said. Grameen has given loans to 180,000 telephone ladies so far, and 10,000 more are being signed up each month. The key to the success of the scheme is that it is not charity - every month Grameen gets $10 million in revenue.
“The exact height reached was 21,290.89 meters (69,852 feet). This is subject to certification,” said Colin Prescott, one of two British designers of the 44-ton balloon. The previous world record was 19,811 meters (64,997 feet), set by Sweden’s Per Lindstrand in Plano, Texas, in June 1988. ”This goes to show to the world that we are not bullock cart drivers, but we can compete against the best of the world,” said Singhania, chairman emeritus of the Raymond Group, one of India’s leading textile companies. Jubilant villagers crowded around the balloon to congratulate Singhania. He prayed at a nearby shrine of a Hindu religious leader, Sai Baba, before driving to Mumbai where he popped bottles of champagne with his friends and supporters.
India, Pakistan had Oct. 29 agreed to open five points along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir. For most of the people who crossed over, it was a dream come true. “I wanted to see all of Kashmir and all the places in India but now I don’t know whether I will be allowed to do that,” said Mahmood Aslam, resident of Kotli, Pakistan-ruled Kashmir. People were also happy as didn’t have to take the Srinagar- Muzaffarabad bus and travel hundreds of kilometers afterwards to meet their loved ones in Mendhar. “Most people who had come to watch the crossover taking place said that many such crossing points should be opened in the future for free movement of people across the LoC. “Cases of pneumonia are coming in. They’re in the hundreds, affectees are mostly children,” said Sardar Mehmood Ahmed, district health officer in Muzaffarabad, the devastated capital of Pakistani Kashmir. The quake left more than three million people homeless in Pakistani Kashmir and adjoining North West Frontier Province, which bore the brunt of the biggest disaster in Pakistan’s 57-year history. Aid agencies are racing to ensure that homeless survivors get adequate shelter and enough food to see them through the winter. Failing this, disease could sweep through cold, poorly nourished survivors, causing a second wave of deaths, aid officials say. Gopal Godse was 86. He never repented of his role in Gandhi’s death — a crime for which he served 16 years in jail. Mahatma Gandhi’s peaceful campaign is widely credited with bringing about the end of British rule in India in 1947. As a result of his pacifist philosophy, he went on to become one of the most revered men in modern history. Gandhi was a frail man of 78 when he was killed Jan. 30, 1948. He was on his way to the prayer grounds at his home in Delhi when a man stepped in front of him and shot him. The man was Gopal Godse’s brother, Nathuram. They and several others masterminded the assassination, which at the time sent waves of revulsion through India. Nathuram and another man were hanged for Gandhi’s murder. Gopal was spared. Even though he had tried to kill Gandhi, he froze and was unable to pull the trigger. He said he had done what he had done in the interests of the nation. |
We are delighted to welcome aboard Sandeep Pandey on our editorial staff at Siliconeer. Sandeep Pandey, the youngest Indian to win the Magsaysay Award, got a Ph.D. in engineering from the University of California at Berkeley before returning to India. After a stint at IIT Kanpur, he became a full-time activist, runs an ashram in Uttar Pradesh and is involved in a host of issues including Indo-Pakistan peace, agitation against Coca-Cola’s unlimited access to potable water, and communal harmony.
Our proposal for a CTT — currency transaction tax — is a market-based mechanism which, by changing the incentive structure in the market, helps discourage excessive speculation and encourages traders to give greater importance to economic fundamentals. It comprises a very small (0.005 percent) tax that will be levied on all exchange transactions in a particular currency and a higher variable tax that will apply only in highly volatile markets and act as a circuit breaker to stabilize markets.
Sony Kapoor, a U.K.-based expert on international finance and development, is currently the head of policy and advocacy for Stamp out Poverty, a U.K.-based network of over 50 International NGOs, trade unions and faith groups that. He also leads the international policy and advocacy work for the International Tax Justice Network. He lives in London.
Johnnye Jones Gibson is a freelance writer who lives in El Cerrito, Calif.
A physician who lives in San Jose, Calif., has been missing for over three weeks since she left work on the afternoon of Nov. 7. Zehra Attari, 55, left her Oakland medical office at 5 p.m. Nov. 7. Office workers watched as she got into a gray 2001 Honda Accord and drove off. The 5-foot, 4-inch doctor was wearing a blue turtle neck sweater, navy-blue pants and black glasses.
Celebrated writer and poet Amrita Pritam, a doyenne of Punjabi literature famous for her poignant stories dealing with India’s Partition and her feminist ideas, died in her sleep in New Delhi last month. The death of the 86-year-old writer “is being mourned on both sides of the India-Pakistan border, for it was she who chronicled so movingly and passionately the pain of partition in 1947,” wrote the London Guardian in an obituary. “Regarded as the leading 20th-century poet of the Punjabi language, she wrote verses that are sung and recited in cities and villages by many who are illiterate — such is the hypnotic appeal of her poetry. She was, in many ways, the voice of the Punjabi people, for her poems gave utterance to their anguish. 
Sri Lanka’s newly-elected President Mahinda Rajapakse has invited the Tamil Tigers to resume peace talks after the rebels issued an ultimatum for a political settlement. 
