#BREAKING
A massive explosion struck Central Paris causing several injuries

Rahul M wrote:caused by gas leak as per french authorities.
अर्ध-सन्यासी (Half Hermit) @bababanaras
Guys want to share one more progress about arms deal with France. Both governments are principally agreed and we are about to buy 114 more Rafael jets to fulfill requirements of our airforce. Few technical points are there but we r hoping the same will be solve by end of 2019.
Vips wrote:If true, For this big order to be confirmed France would have to offer something very substantial as a quid pro quo.
pankajs wrote:FWIW ...
https://twitter.com/bababanaras/status/ ... 4026041344अर्ध-सन्यासी (Half Hermit) @bababanaras
Guys want to share one more progress about arms deal with France. Both governments are principally agreed and we are about to buy 114 more Rafael jets to fulfill requirements of our airforce. Few technical points are there but we r hoping the same will be solve by end of 2019.
VikramA wrote:Vips wrote:If true, For this big order to be confirmed France would have to offer something very substantial as a quid pro quo.
I disagree. france does not have to offer anything substantial. any leverage that india had at the negotiating table ended when it ordered 36 planes. india is now semi stuck in a dassault ecosystem consisting of physical infra at airbases, aircraft specific pilot training , missiles,investment in personnel that will maintain the aircraft and spare parts. fact of matter is IAF does not have any choice but to order more fighters from france because no other option exists. F-21 is single engine aircraft and cannot perform the same role as raf can, SU-30 MKI has lower fly away cost but higher opex cost and lower per day sortie rate. the only other option are eurofighter and f-18 and no sane airforce will buy both raf and euro fighter/f-18 to perform the same role.
khan wrote:VikramA wrote:I disagree. france does not have to offer anything substantial. any leverage that india had at the negotiating table ended when it ordered 36 planes. india is now semi stuck in a dassault ecosystem consisting of physical infra at airbases, aircraft specific pilot training , missiles,investment in personnel that will maintain the aircraft and spare parts. fact of matter is IAF does not have any choice but to order more fighters from france because no other option exists. F-21 is single engine aircraft and cannot perform the same role as raf can, SU-30 MKI has lower fly away cost but higher opex cost and lower per day sortie rate. the only other option are eurofighter and f-18 and no sane airforce will buy both raf and euro fighter/f-18 to perform the same role.
Both India & France have an incentive to be reasonable here. Both sides want India to operate more than 36 Rafale’s. I am sure they will find a way to make the numbers work & make a deal.
schinnas wrote:While India is bound to order more Rafales, the number of planes would depend on what else France is going to offer. A staunch veto on behalf of India at UNSC plus some.other carrots would be expected.
Vips wrote:schinnas wrote:While India is bound to order more Rafales, the number of planes would depend on what else France is going to offer. A staunch veto on behalf of India at UNSC plus some.other carrots would be expected.
This is very important.Within the next 5 years Russia for sure would not be able to guarantee a veto for us as it would be totally under China's ambit. Uncle Sam's policy would be subject too who exactly is in the White House and someone like Trump cannot be trusted. Same goes for its puddle UK. The only game remaining is France and we have to go all out in cultivating a robust strategic relationship with them.(Even if it means paying insane $$ for the French stuff as we are without options).
sanjaykumar wrote:In five years India won't need any veto cover in the UN or any other place.
Vips wrote:schinnas wrote:While India is bound to order more Rafales, the number of planes would depend on what else France is going to offer. A staunch veto on behalf of India at UNSC plus some.other carrots would be expected.
This is very important.Within the next 5 years Russia for sure would not be able to guarantee a veto for us as it would be totally under China's ambit. Uncle Sam's policy would be subject too who exactly is in the White House and someone like Trump cannot be trusted. Same goes for its puddle UK. The only game remaining is France and we have to go all out in cultivating a robust strategic relationship with them.(Even if it means paying insane $$ for the French stuff as we are without options).
Vips wrote:schinnas wrote:While India is bound to order more Rafales, the number of planes would depend on what else France is going to offer. A staunch veto on behalf of India at UNSC plus some.other carrots would be expected.
This is very important.Within the next 5 years Russia for sure would not be able to guarantee a veto for us as it would be totally under China's ambit. Uncle Sam's policy would be subject too who exactly is in the White House and someone like Trump cannot be trusted. Same goes for its puddle UK. The only game remaining is France and we have to go all out in cultivating a robust strategic relationship with them.(Even if it means paying insane $$ for the French stuff as we are without options).
Why did Lilian Thuram's matter-of-fact analysis about white supremacy cause a storm of controversy in France ?
Race is a taboo subject in France, which claims to be "a colourblind country". Therefore, a large portion of white people in France are not used to having frank conversations about race and racism. When they are forced to talk about the subject, they expertly move the focus of the discussion from racism itself to the hurt they feel when a black person dares to mention the existence and pervasiveness of white supremacy in France and beyond.
They insist "they do not see colour", they say "they are against all forms of discrimination", they accuse people of colour of "playing the race card". They cannot see white supremacy is at the core of their country's social structure because they have been raised to believe "white" is the norm, not an identity. The accusations of anti-white racism directed at the likes of Thuram, therefore, are little more than a coping mechanism. People who refuse to acknowledge their privilege and the role they play in the perseverance of a system built on white supremacy instead play the victim.
There is, of course, no such thing as anti-white racism. There cannot be anti-white racism in a white-majority European country like France, because racism cannot be reduced to the sum of isolated acts. What black people experience today in France is the result of a history of domination that started with slavery and colonialism. Black people in France exist in a system that was built long ago to oppress, silence and intimidate us. We experience institutional discrimination that influences our everyday lives in various ways – from healthcare to education, housing to police brutality.
In this system, a white person can, of course, still be exposed to hate, they can be bullied or even assaulted - and such incidents should be condemned - but they can never claim to be systematically oppressed because of their race. Being white is not a social or political handicap but a privilege in France. So, the systemic and institutional racism minorities in France are subject to can never be compared with the abuse or discrimination any white person experiences as an individual.
Today, French whiteness is in crisis. It is in crisis because minorities in France are finally in a position to voice their concerns and grievances in the mainstream and they are pressuring the country to have an honest and open conversation about race.
The toxic ideas of the likes of Marechal and Zemmour about the so-called "anti-white racism" and "the war on white people" are now resonating with white people across the political spectrum, because they are afraid to face their privilage and acknowledge that their dominant position in society is the result of centuries-old injustices. They are afraid to accept that "white" is an identity just like "brown" and "black" and not the universal "self" every single "other" is defined against.
Lilian Thuram became a target not because he said anything wrong or new, but because he touched a nerve. I suspect many more anti-racism activists are going to experience similar bursts of outrage in the near future. But one day, French society is going to run out of excuses to avoid having a real discussion about race. We are going to stop talking about made-up problems like anti-white racism and instead tackle the real issues that are dividing and crippling our nation. The panic that currently follows any minor comment on race and white supremacy makes me believe that the day of reckoning is now very near.
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