Rating: 
Summary: A Bold Voice in a Mind-Melted World
Review: This book is the meat and potatoes - real food for real thought. And amazingly, people who dare speak out what is really the truth behind the visage of government and political authority usually get their butts whipped dearly, like jailed, beaten, extradited and so forth. So it's rather impressive to see this woman come out speak so both brazenly, that is "truthfully," and yet so eloquently and beautifully as she does.
Interesting thing about a tyrannical democracy; while dictatorial and authoritarian, which destroys many innocent lives, when it comes to the pressure of public opinion, that is where they must lay off and retreat, at least to certain extents, all depending on how much public opinion we are talking about. But the nature of the beast allows such so-called democracies (in name only) to ignore much public opinion if it really only consists of small numbers, which are usually masked to represent great numbers, which in reality, they do not, as most modern day polling will reveal. And so the governments can ignore these dissenters, but if admired by too many, or by others outspoken, they cannot punish them in fear of reprisal.
In this book, Arundhati Roy speaks of the injustices of her native country India, that is, the Indian governments hypocrisy and outright criminality within policies, denials, actions and non-actions towards its people. And while she is at it, she addresses a strong indictment against other governments of the world too, including Britain, the United States and Israel.
And so, Roy outlines a terrible policy of India in their attempt to create water damns, out placing thousands of citizens without relocating them into homelessness and poverty beyond repair. It's truly a disgraceful account of government abuses, which need to be addressed by the modern day Thomas Paignes, as Roy so appears to be.
What Roy next addresses is a train attack that killed innocent Hindus by the Muslims, although no group ever took responsibility. While this was a horrendous and terrible event, the subsequent actions enabled by a certain segment of the Hindus and endorsed, allowed and ignored by the Indian government was a far more substantial event of a despicable nature of societal damage, to the culture itself and the severe deterioration to what is perceived as democracy.
What I found so significant in Roy's book is that of describing how democracies and other forms of governments work with their subjects, the public, the media and so forth.
"In the twenty-first century the connection between religious fundamentalism, nuclear nationalism, and the pauperization of whole populations because of corporate globalization is becoming impossible to ignore. While the Madhya Pradesh government has categorically said it has no land for the rehabilitation of displaced people, reports say that it is preparing the ground (pardon the pun) to make huge tracts of land available for the corporate agriculture. This in turn will set off another cycle of displacement and impoverishment." P. 14
"In India if you are a butcher or a genocidist who happens to be a politician, you have every reason to be optimistic. No one even expects politicians to be prosecuted. To demand that Modi and his henchmen be arraigned and put away would make other politicians vulnerable to their own unsavory pasts. So instead they disrupt Parliament, shout a lot. Eventually those in power set up commissions of inquiry, ignore the findings, and between themselves makes sure the juggernaut chugs on. "
"Already the issue has begun to morph. Should elections be allowed or not? Should the Election Commission decide that? Or the Supreme Court? Either way, whether elections are held or deferred, by allowing Modi to walk free, by allowing him to continue with his career as a politician, the fundamental, governing principles of democracy are not just being subverted but deliberately sabotaged. This kind of democracy is the problem, not the solution. Our society's greatest strength is being turned into her deadliest enemy. What's the point of us all going on about "deepening democracy," when it's being beat and twisted into something unrecognizable?" pp. 33-34
"Its disturbing to see how neatly nationalism dovetails into fascism. While we must not allow the fascists to define what the nation is, or who it belongs to, it's worth keeping in mind that nationalism - in all its many avatars: communist, capitalist and fascist - has been at the root of almost all the genocide of the twentieth century. On the issue of nationalism, it's wise to proceed with caution." P. 36
"Nobody doubts that Saddam Hussein is a ruthless dictator, a murderer (whose worst excesses were supported by the government of the United States and Great Britain). There's no doubt that Iraqis would be better off without him.
But then, the whole world would be better off without a certain Mr. Bush. In fact, he is far more dangerous than Saddam Hussein.
So, should we bomb president Bush out of the White House? It's more than clear that Bush is determined to go into war against Iraq, regardless of the facts - and regardless of international public opinion. In its recruitment drive for allies, the United States is prepared to invent facts." Pp.110-111
I also agree and worded the same thoughts prior to Bush's unwarranted attack and further do not support a continued effort of devastation that is occurring there.
Rating: 
Summary: A passionate, intelligent collection of essays
Review: This is a collection of six essays on the impact and ideology of international war at the start of the new century. The first three are reprinted from magazines in India. The fourth and sixth are transcripts of talks she gave in New Mexico and Brazil. The fifth is her introduction to the reprint of Noam Chomsky's book, For Reasons of State.Arundhati Roy is outraged by the development of casual militarization that has increased over the last decade. In her own backyard, she watches as the government of India unveils its nuclear weapons program, pretending that this will lead to peace with its neighbors. She notes the deepening violence and poverty in India and asks why her government's priorities are upside down. This leads to her assessment of US policy, which shows the same pattern. Speaking in Brazil at the close of the World Social Forum in 2003, she links the power of US corporations to the creeping fascism of the Indian government. She describes the way they have joined forces to exploit new markets in poor countries. War Talk serves as a useful introduction to the current state of the world. Using the footnotes, you can explore other sources. Arundhati Roy's anger is palpable, and her experience as an activist outside the Western world gives her readers a valuable new perspective.
Rating:
Summary: a blast of fresh air
Review: This is a wonderful book. The essays cover an enormous range of subjects, from politics in India to the rapid rise of the US to Empireship. Two things are most refreshing: First, Roy's clear-eyed ridicule of US self-importance and self-mythologizing. Second, her unwavering contention that all war is essentially a war of the rich against the poor. She is biting and humorous and absolutely indignant at the misinformation and disinformation people in the US are fed to justify the US corporate takeover of the world--with the aid and support of almost every government, bought and bribed and stolen.
Rating:
Summary: Roy is always worth reading
Review: War Talk is the most recent book of essays by author Arundhati Roy (The God of Small Things). In this volume Roy continues to take on India's Big Dam project (a subject in her previous two volumes of essays), as well as violence world wide. She does not spare her native India anything and takes on the War Against Terror and the hypocrisy of U.S. foreign policy. It is always a pleasure to ready Roy's work. She gives out a viewpoint of a citizen from another country and brings a new voice to the table. She condemns how Americans are presented information and understands that it is difficult to get truly factual from the press (any press). She also praises Noam Chomsky for his work in revealing some of the lies that are fed to Americans by the United States government. I am not informed enough to know anything about the accuracy of her statements regarding U.S. policy, but Roy has a viewpoint that should be considered. I feel that the biggest value in Roy's essays comes in revealing information about Indian politics and Indian life. I know very little about India, and Roy is a valuable source of information and makes me want to learn more about this ancient (yet young) nation.
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