Insightful newsletter of Drishtikone: Issue #227 - Pinning a Cheat

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“Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities.” ― Voltaire, Questions sur les Miracles à M. Claparede, Professeur de Théologie à Genève, par un Proposant: Ou Extrait de Diverses Lettres de M. de Voltaire

An effective and the nastiest of bullies is one who uses a combination of power, talent, cheating, and lack of scruples to persecute, bully, destroy his opponents.  Even when they would have deserved to win and thrive.

If a cheating bully wins, his egregious actions can be dismissed or discounted under the weight of victory.  And his ways can continue.

But if he loses then his real self is exposed by the nakedness of character that comes with a loss.  Everyone knows your petty self immediately.

An advantageous result helps perpetuate a bully’s vile ways  So the best way - although a bit long term - is to use every muscle and sinew in your body and beat the bully despite his games.  That will be the end of him.

beating the bully

People have heard about the battles between David and Goliath.  The large power and a smaller fighter - at least per the initial estimate.  How the lesser estimated of the two eventually beats the stronger looking and powerful opponent.

That is when the contest is fairly fought and despite the obvious differential in strength, the smaller guy beats the larger one.

The India Vs Australia series will not be known as how the resilient David beat the mighty Goliath.  But how a worried Cheat unscrupulously hit its worthy Opponent to render them to a depleted lot and yet they beat that Cheat!

Despite his nefarious designs.

When the Indian team went to Australia, it was full strength.  It had the power to beat any team in the world.  Batting led by Virat Kohli and bowling led by Jasprit Bumrah was a fearful combination for any cricketing team in the world.

What transpired thereafter was an effort to sabotage the Indian team.

• Shami suffered a fracture after taking a blow on his right arm by a bouncer from Pat Cummins while batting in the Adelaide Test. (Source)
• Jadeja was hit by a Mitchell Starc bouncer on Day 3 of the 3rd Test against Australia on his hand dislocating his thumb. (Source)

All this was not a coincidence.  It was planned.  Planned to hit.  Specifically the lower order players - who are basically the bowlers.  Mitchell Starc is probably the fastest bowler in Test cricket today with deliveries clocked at over 160 mph.

The idea was not to just “test the mettle” - as testosterone-laden talk of Australian Test captain suggests - but to hit the Indian batsmen.

In the 3rd Test at Sydney, that is precisely what Matthew Wade tried to warn Ashwin about - broken ribs - as he mocked the Indian spinner while he was being “peppered with short balls” that were aimed at his rib cage! (Source)

When Ashwin pulled out of a delivery as Lyon was halfway through his run-up, Paine said: "We can't wait to get you to the Gabba, Ash." Ashwin quickly responded: "Just like we want to get you to India. It'll be your last series." Paine shot back: "Maybe, are you a selector here as well? At least my teammates like me, d***head I've got a lot more Indian friends than you do. Even your teammates think you're a goose. Don't they. Every one." Matthew Wade was also heard on stump mic saying, "Just don't end up with a broken rib". (Source)

Broken ribs.

Well, when the idea of sport for some is violence and the idea of victory is to hit the best player in the opponent’s side, and all that is washed aside as “testing the mettle” and “expect to get back that as well,” then maybe it is time to take a leaf out of Clive Lloyd’s book.

Before the 1976 West Indies tour of England, the English captain, Tony Greig talked about how if a team got on top of the West Indies team, they “grovel.”  And, Greig promised, “to make them grovel.”

Well, as it turned out Clive Lloyd decided to create a team with the fastest pace bowlers he could find and unleash their fury on the opponents.  And, so he got Andy Roberts, Michael Holding, Wayne Daniel, and Vanburn Holder.

So, in the first test at Trent Bridge, Andy Roberts sent Tony Greig’s wicket flying!  Out for a duck!  Grovel? Far from it!

West Indies won the 3rd Test by 425 runs, 4th at Leeds by 55 runs, and 5th test at Oval by 231 runs.  The first two were drawn.  In One Day Internationals, the West Indies blanked England 3-0!

In the 3rd Test match, when John Edrich and Brian Close opened their second innings, Michael Holding and Andy Roberts attacked them with short balls.  Something that the British journalist David Frith called ‘sickening.’  That Edrich was over 40 was used as an argument against the West Indian fast bowlers to run them down.  As if they hired the England team!  If Edrich didn’t know how to pay the fast bowling it was his problem.

Now imagine if Ajinkya Rahane was to remain the captain and build his team’s bowling led by 4 fast bowlers with over 145+ speeds - Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav, Mohammad Siraj, Navdeep Saini (another with 150+ kmph speed), and Shardul Thakur - who are pushed to be belligerent when it matters.

Next time when England or Australia face India, let these pacers “pepper their batsmen” with some blistering attack.  Let’s see if Mitchell Starc or Cummins can handle a few to their rib cage?

how to beat and expose a bully

There is an important lesson about what the Australian cricket team and establishment did. (the whole COVID bubble breach and violation charge was fabricated)

You see, everything would have gone unnoticed and surely brushed under the carpet, as it always has.  Had it not been for the fact that they were defeated despite how desperately they cheated and how foul their approach to the game was!

The Australian cricketers may be talented but they are cheats, bullies, and goons who are willing to deploy every dirty trick in the book just to have the illusion of being the best.  This was probably known to everyone.  It just wasn’t so talked about because, in the end, they won.  Victory washed away their sins of every crime they committed against the spirit of the game.  A little wielding of the manliness sword and every call for fairness on the field was beaten up as victimization.  Unless of course, the one to lose is either Australia or England. (as was the case against the Windies)

Such egregious and vile behavior gets highlighted only when your talent despite being backed by cheating and nastiness still loses out to another stronger and more resilient opponent.

A bully’s smirk and satisfaction seek victory at all cost.  Justice is not something that he cares for or respects.  He seeks victory more by the crookedness of his character than by the grit of his talent.

A bully’s game is exposed when despite his nastiness and vile character, he still loses.  The fig leaf of trouncing his opponent is no longer available and his game comes apart.

Let us see another example of the same thing.

Narendra Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat at that time.  The entire power of media, Congress, Islamists, Communists, and Evangelists went after him post 2002.  Despite the fact that Gujarat riots were decidedly the most competently handled crisis of that nature by anyone in the history of Indian communal disturbances, it was made into a whipping tool against him.  Please read - Modi was NOT responsible for the 2002 Gujarat Riots – The Complete Story - to understand why Modi did better than any CM could have done to handle the riots in Gujarat.  This one illustration will clearly show the truth.

Now, watch this “interview” by the so-called Prabhu Chawla with Narendra Modi when he was refused the US visa.  HIs questions, as uncouth as he is while asking them show his mindset clearly.  He is not there as a journalist to ask questions that will benefit the viewer.  He is there to run a crusade against Modi on behalf of his enemies.  Not critics.  For critics are different.  They criticize, not persecute.

Today, not many even know Prabhu Chawla.  But Modi not just remained the Gujarat Chief Minister and the most successful one at that.  But he also became India’s Prime Minister not once but twice with an ever-increasing majority.  Not on the back of false promises but actual hard-core work for the masses!

Today Modi, whom this hit-man-turned-journalist was trying to ambush and call out as a “national embarrassment” is respected not just by the Indian masses but even the enemies (in Pakistan) and often unconcerned folks around the world respect him as a leader.

The main tool that Modi used to handle unscrupulous bullies and political goons like Prabhu Chawla was Grit and Perseverance.

The enemies may have been good in the art of persecution.  But if your perseverance is greater than their evil, then you will come out as a winner.

Unless you win and they lose, no one will know of their real debased character.  Everyone will create a halo around them because of their ability to beat every opponent down.  Irrespective of whether they deserved the victory or not.

Just like the Aussie Cricket team.

Where its talent as cricketers stops functioning and where their cheating, bullying, and the vile character starts taking over is difficult to know.  But the only way to expose their real character is to beat them despite them and then rub it in!

A comprehensive victory over bullies and smashing every argument of theirs to the ground is the greatest tool to teach a bully a lesson.

the world of debt

COVID has done one thing - it has increased the public debt for many countries.  IN order to pay for the public spending to keep the economy going somehow, the governments are over-spending.

Will this create major economic issues?  Maybe they will.  Or Maybe these countries can “kick the can down the road” for a little more.

In an interesting article in Reuters, Swaha Pattanaik explains “Why 150% is the new 100% for public debt/GDP.”

The U.S. Senate on Wednesday backed a $2 trillion bill to help the American economy. Germany has announced spending and tax plans worth 4.5% of gross domestic product, France’s package is worth about 2% of GDP, and Italy has already adopted emergency measures worth 1.4% of GDP, according to the International Monetary Fund. As it’s unclear how long the lockdowns will last, analysts are struggling to forecast either debt or GDP. Still, Goldman Sachs on March 24 predicted Italy’s debt-to-GDP ratio, which was 137% in the third quarter of 2019, would rise to 161% this year. The investment bank expects the comparable metric for France and Spain to surpass 100% by some margin.  (Source)

How can high public debt hurt or harm the economy and business in any country?  Here is a quick take on that.

High public debt can negatively affect capital stock accumulation and economic growth via heightened long-term interest rates, higher distortionary tax rates, inflation, and a general constraint on countercyclical fiscal policies, which may lead to increased volatility and lower growth rates. Studies on the channels through which debt adversely impacts growth also find that when the debt-to-GDP ratio reaches elevated levels, the private sector seems to start dissaving. These findings contradict the Ricardian equivalence hypothesis, which holds that households are forward-looking and increase their saving in response to increases in government borrowing.  (Source)

Now Paul Krugman shares an insight that seems counterproductive but is quite interesting in how some in the government - at least when they are in the power - may look at public debt.  However, one is not sure if the habits of ratcheting up debt, manifested in the “old debt” stop with the rising GDP?  Or if it is a cyclical trap?

When you are in a cycle of public debt which is so high, at that time, hoping inflation to helo is quite silly though.

market corner: 10 quick bytes

1. Mudra Yojana: 91% of sanctioned loan amount under PM Modi’s pet scheme disbursed to MSEs in Q1-Q3 FY21 - more
2. The music industry in India is losing about Rs200 crore in revenues annually as short-video apps bypass payments and access libraries of music labels illegally - more
3. A long position on bitcoin overtook "long tech" as the trade fund managers said was the most crowded in January - more
4. India's gas output to rise 25% helped by production RIL-BP, and ONGC gas fields - more
5. Delhi airport evaluating 'computer vision' tech to track passengers, ensure social distancing - more
6. India only allows foreign e-commerce players to operate as a marketplace to connect buyers and sellers. It prohibits them from holding inventories of goods and directly selling them on their platforms.  To hit Amazon. - more
7. Petrol crosses Rs 85 mark for the first time in Delhi, nears Rs 92 in Mumbai - more
8. Tesla Motors Amsterdam to be parent of Tesla India, giving company tax benefits - more
9. Online gaming industry to touch $2.8 billion by 2022 in India - more
10. India sends a strong message to WhatsApp, asks it to withdraw controversial privacy policy update - more

nota bene

Farm bill committee: The Supreme Court-appointed committee on the three new farm laws has decided to hold its first meeting with farmers on 21 January, said panel member Anil Ghanwat on Tuesday. "Physical meeting will be held with those organizations who want to meet us in person. Video conferencing will be held with those who can't come to us," Ghanwat added (Source)

Signal vs WhatsApp: Signal logs in 26.4 million downloads in India in less than two weeks. Telegram had recorded 9.1 million downloads between 4 and 17 January, a 160% jump compared to the previous period (Source)

Visa war: Taking another parting shot at the employment-based immigration affecting green cards, H-1B and other similar work visas, the Trump Department of Labor (DOL) has published a rule that raises the wages by approximately 30% across the board.  This rule is likely to be “stayed” by the Biden administration, Congress, or the courts (Source)

Hearing the Dead: While most people will go their entire lives without an encounter with the paranormal, a new study finds some individuals are more prone to “hearing the dead.” Researchers from Durham University say Spiritualist mediums or others who can hear ghostly voices are more likely to engage in immersive mental activities and hear strange sounds early in life compared to someone without a “sixth sense.” The results reveal that spiritualists have a strong link to absorption — a deep involvement in mental or imaginative activities or experiencing altered states of consciousness. (Source)

video corner: Kashmir exodus

January 19th, 1990 was the day when Kashmiri Pandits had to leave their homes because of extreme Islamic terrorists and normal people, their neighbors, who supported them.

Hardly anyone has even created a reality-based movie on the whole episode. That will change with Vivek Agnihotri’s “The Kashmir Files.”

In this video, Aarti Tikoo Singh shares her personal experiences of how things deteriorated in the late 1980s.  One experience specifically how she and her family realized that the bomb blasts were decided in the local masjids.  Please do watch this video!  Very powerful!

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