The House Senate conference passed the India US civilian nuclear co-operation bill. There are totally unacceptable clauses to it.

1. India will not be allowed to process spent fuel and there is no assurance that the US will accept it.

2. The President will have to certify annually that India is in compliance otherwise the fuel supply will be terminated. India could buy US reactors and be left unable to use them at the mercy of the president and congress.

3. India will have to agree on intrusive IAEA and US inspections in perpetuity.

4. India is forbidden to carry any testing in perpetuity irrespective of whether China, Pakistan or the US resume testing.

5. India will have to join the Proliferation Security Initiative and will have to toe the US line on Iran and will have to jeopardize its energy supply and security by following US guidelines on Iran.

6. India will receive no technology transfer in fabricating its fuel.

7. India will have to return and account for any Plutonium it may have made from its current Apsara, Dhruv or CANDU reactors.

8. India will have to eventually agree to a Fissile Material Cutoff Treaty and will be restricted by the Missile Technology Control Regime.

9. India will not be considered a nuclear weapon state.

There are other minor irritants as well. Indian nuclear scientists and some political parties have already rejected the treaty. Manmohan Singh, who has been consistently duped cannot accept the treaty if he wants to be true to his previous statements. Since he is a mere puppet, he may end up selling the future of India, its independence and deterrence. So much for all the hoopla and rejoicing that he touted by negotiating a treaty without understanding anything. If we elect foolish leaders, this is what happens. Now to top it all the foolish PM states that Muslims must have first claim on India's resources.

Bush has lied consistently about the Iraq War as the Baker Hamilton report now shows. Additional 200 billion dollars will be needed as a budget supplement for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars this year. Our troops are dying and being maimed as are the Iraqis in this debacle. There is no honorable way to withdraw and call it quits. Thus the war will continue indefinitely with loss of blood, treasure and the US standing in the world.

This is what happens with affirmative action at the highest levels. 'W' would have difficulty getting admission to a Community College with his grades. His family's wealth and influence propelled him to a state governorship and presidency far beyond the level of his competence or intellectual ability. He became a captive of the Cheney-Rumsfelds-Neocon cabal and was equally poorly served by his Secretaries of State who like Powell, lacked the integrity to resign or like Rice probably catapulted to positions of power on the basis of affirmative action.

India should take note before introducing quotas in elite institutions of higher education. As in India's case, the one terrible pitfall of democracy is that people get the government they deserve. Fortunately it has many redeeming factors, not the least of which is that you can throw the bums out, as America showed. Not that it will really change anything when one set of political crooks are replaced by another set of the same.