This week, the UK government -- which was supposedly "rocked" and "shaken" by the Snowden revelations in the Guardian -- announced it will hold its first completely secret trial for hundreds of years. (It is, of course, a trial of two "suspected terrorists.") This is how "rocked" the UK government has been by the "scandal" of its eager cooperation with the NSA's secret Stasi-like operations. This is how effective these world-changing revelations have been in forcing more "transparency" in government. The UK is about to step back into medieval times, violating the principles laid down in the Magna Carta -- 800 years ago.
But this is all of a piece with the general trend, the ever-more obvious agenda of the ruling elite. From neoliberalism to neofascism to, ultimately, neofeudalism: a new dark age, where the rabble live in fear and want, at the mercy of powerful, unaccountable elites locked away in gated splendor. (Though to be sure, they will sally forth now and then in squabbles amongst themselves for a bigger share of loot and power -- squabbles which inevitably involve the death and ruin of multitudes of innocent people.) As noted here the other day, old evils -- fascism, racism, nationalism, feudalism -- don't die. They return in new forms, and have to be fought again, over and over.
2.
But to return to the particular case of Modi and Omidyar, once more Ames has the goods. Here is an excerpt:
"Today, Reuters is reporting that Modi is planning to open India up to global e-commerce firms like eBay next month, and that Modi's industry minister has been drawing up the new guidelines with input from top eBay officials, along with their e-commerce counterparts from Google, Amazon, Wal-Mart and others. ..."As we reported, the longtime managing director and partner for Omidyar Network India Advisors, Jayant Sinha, began working to help elect Modi since at least 2012, while publicly doling out tens of millions of Omidyar's money to for-profits and to non-profits, at least one of which was involved in an anti-corruption campaign that undermined the center-left ruling government, and benefited Modi's far-right BJP party.
"Omidyar's top India man also concurrently served as a director in a powerful BJP think tank, the India Foundation, chaired by Modi's hardline National Security Advisor, Ajit Doval -- 'a giant among spies' according to the Hindustan Times. After stepping down from Omidyar Network in February of this year, Sinha worked full-time for Modi, the India Foundation, and for his own successful run as a BJP candidate for parliament.
"Another NGO that Omidyar invested in, the Institute for Policy Research Studies (IPRS), was accused of illegally trying to lobby India's parliamentarians to vote for opening up India's e-commerce market in late 2012. The IPRS nonprofit ran a program in which their staffers provided India MP staffers with 'nonpartisan' research. In 2012, India's intelligence bureau accused the IPRS of 'compromising national security' and described it as 'shrouded in mystery.'
"Omidyar Network had pledged $1 million to the IPRS, and the Ford Foundation pledged half a million more -- but the Indian government rejected the IPRS's application to register as a foreign-funded NGO, deeming it a threat to India's parliamentary integrity, and its national security. Google's corporate philanthropic arm, Google.org, had previously given $880,000 to the same NGO program, under Sheryl Sandberg's watch. The co-founder of this controversial never-registered NGO, CV Mudhakar, is now, you might not be shocked to learn, Omidyar Network India's director of investments in 'government transparency.'
"The previous, center-left Indian government not only nixed the Omidyar-Ford Foundation NGO-slash-e-retailer-lobby front, it also announced last year that it did not plan to allow e-commerce firms like eBay open access into its markets. ... The answer to that business problem, of course, was changing India's government -- even if that meant installing a brutal figure like Narendra Modi, who spent nearly a decade on the US State Department's visa ban list for his role in the violent persecution of minority Muslims and Christians.
"That's terrible and all from a human rights perspective, but when you consider the interests of eBay's shareholders -- like its number one shareholder, Pierre Omidyar -- India presents not so much a problem as an opportunity. The majority of eBay's revenues come from its overseas operations, and eBay has made no secret that it sees its future growth coming from India and the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China)."
UPDATE:
A story published in the Guardian provides yet another telling example of the mindset of the faction that Omidyar has helped to power in India:
"A state minister from Indian prime minister Narendra Modi's ruling party has described rape as a 'social crime,' saying 'sometimes it's right, sometimes it's wrong,' in the latest controversial remarks by an Indian politician about rape.
"The political leaders of Uttar Pradesh, the state where two cousins aged 12 and 14 were raped and hanged last week, have faced criticism for failing to visit the scene and for accusing the media of hyping the story. A regional politician from Modi's own Bharatiya Janata party (BJP), said that the crime of rape can only be considered to have been committed if it is reported to police.
"'This is a social crime which depends on men and women. Sometimes it's right, sometimes it's wrong,' said Babulal Gaur, the home minister responsible for law and order in the BJP-run central state of Madhya Pradesh.
"Modi, who was sworn in as prime minister last week after a landslide election victory, has so far remained silent over the double killing in the village of Katra Shahadatganj, around half a day's drive east of Delhi.
"The father and uncle of one of the victims said they tried to report the crime to local police but were turned away. Three men have been arrested over the killings. Two policemen have been held on suspicion of trying to cover up the crime."
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