A turning Point

It is with great pleasure that I see the way that the people of India are uniting together in the face of this terrorist attack.

This time seems different. This time seems to be a watershed moment.

I came across this blog mad-as-hell where the author, Suparn Verma talks about his frustration at the current state of affairs in our country. Is he talking about starting a non-cooperation movement akin to what Gandhi had done years ago ?

The people of India seems to be at a tipping point.

The young India is not like what we saw a generation back. The young India is different. The young India is more confidant and more aware.

They say that when someone throws stones at you ; the best thing to do is turn them into stepping stones.

I hope this attack was a watershed moment in the history of young India.

I hope this is the awakening.

I hope this event is the turning point that was just waiting to happen.

Why has terrorism not been defeated ?

A brilliant article about why despite the best efforts from the entire world at large, terrorism has not been defeated.

The question we ask ourselves is - why has terrorism not been defeated ? Read this.

Frankly, Al Qaeda and the Taliban combine cannot win the war. They don't have the means. The jihad groups have no naval or air forces. No missile force either. They do have a slackly held guerrilla army that boasts of weapons with limited range and some quantities of explosives. Their satellite phones and other modest wireless systems are susceptible to interception, consequently a big constraint. These outfits do not boast of surveillance and intelligence gathering capabilities through satellites or UAVs.

In practical terms they have no reach. Al Qaeda, the Taliban or similar groups can only cause damage or destruction to contact targets and its immediate periphery which is woefully inadequate to topple a regime -- a prerequisite for victory. Kabul remains with Karzai, though at a cost, while Washington, Paris, and London continue to conduct international business unaffected.

Yet, Al Qaeda and the Taliban for years have managed to create a deadlock against the best equipped and trained forces of the first world on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. Why?

Why ?

How have an ill-equipped, ill managed, primitive army held the world hostage for so many years ?

A very short answer - When terrorism is attacked in apparently terrorists countries (Iraq/Afghanistan) - it seems to find safe havens in apparently non-terrorist states (Pakistan)

Last, the biggest folly was to trust Islamabad . At the time of invasion of Iraq, I cautioned the former American ambassador in a gathering at New Delhi that the "United States and its allies cannot win in Afghanistan since they have the lock (Afghanistan) but cannot unlock it as they do not have the key (Pakistan) under their control."

United States had some responsibilty for arming the tribes in Afghanistan against the Russians. They West later found out how counter-productive this move was !

The same mistake is being repeated with Pakistan. The West somehow thinks that they can turn a blind eye towards the fundamentalists that freely roam in Pakistan and still proclaim to fight terror elsewhere.

That would be like fighting a monster with a hundred arms by trying to cut one off one of its arms. To truly defeat the monster of terrorism - you have to attack the heart of this monster.

Waging a war in Iraq/Afghanistan is not enough -- it does not reach the heart of the problem. The terrorists will always find a safe haven by cleverly disguising themselves in a seemingly democratic country that lets them roam freely.

To solve the problem of terrorism. we must attack the heart of the problem.

To solve terrorism we must solve the problems in Pakistan -- Pakistan is the real key to ending terrorism.

The Senator from Punjab.

It is a good sign for India to see the senator from punjab take over arguably one of the most important positions within the US government.

Coupled with some smart leadership from Obama -- the new cabinet looks to be a very very formidable team.

Nice !

India Stops 'live' CNN Transmission. - Good Riddance.

A report just came in -- CNN tells us their "license expired".

That sounds very very suspicious ! -- A behemoth news organization like CNN forgets to renew their license exactly at this point of time ? I do not believe the explanation is so simple !

CNN getting their live transmission cut off serves them right. I have a feeling that was a deliberate move.

Listen out. I had expressed earlier how the CNN reporting was incompetent and downright distasteful and disrespectful. Just take one example -- There were segments where some local city sheriff from New Orleans was grading the performance of the Indian commandos as if it were kindergarten school. Is this what CNN wants to report about ? -- Give me a break ! -- Shame on You CNN.

Someone should ask the narrator -- If the west thinks so highly of their military/intelligence --- Why did it take so many years for the thousands and thousands of western soldiers and all the western technology to battle in Iraq ? Have you met with success there ? Huh ? Did you not learn in all this while -- it is not easy dealing with terrorists ! ?

CNN -- Teach your narrators/hosts something about the world ! Learn to look beyond your own western self.

Even as mumbai is going through tragedy -- all you western media can think of is your own western self ? ?

CNN -- Is this the time to talk about the chinks about how these events are being dealt with ?

CNN -- You are worried about the handful of westerners killed/injured and their lives - Why is there not a single thought provoking segment about the hundreds of Indians killed/injured ?

CNN -- You are reporting about how "Unconfirmed India Sources" believe the attackers could be linked to some other country. Did you every say it was the "Unconfirmed American Sources" who believed the attackers of 9/11 came from Iraq ?

CNN -- Your reporting on the delicate events in mumbai are plain supremist, racist and shamelessly catered to your own viewers/clienteles narrow point of view. Think about it. And pull up your bootstraps.

And yeah - About the tragedy in Mumbai. Remember -- The good shall win. The good always wins.

Jai Hind.


Disclaimer: These are purely personal opinions. Nothing more. Nothing less.

CNN "International" - Get yourself to be more competent !

The CNN reporting on the Nov 26 Mumbai madness is atrociously incompetent !

Comparing the reports by CNN versus the one by IBN blatantly highlights the vast difference in the reporting quality for correctness, clarity and completeness. All that I hear from CNN are regurgitated irrelevant reports that are far from clear.

To add to the incompetence of their reports the narrators pass doubts about the competence of the India military/Police/Intelligence and keep on repeating how India was offered help from US and UK ?

Some advice for CNN - the incompetent party here happens to be your international reporting team.

Go get a competent international reporting team !

Expecting some confused american reporters/narrators to clearly understand the complexity of what is going on the ground in a country they do not understand is unreasonable.

A good reporter needs to know the country down from their heart and soul to correctly interpret and report events- especially at such tense occasions. You need to be a native to truly understand the gravitas of what is going on. The American reporters/narrators have no idea what is going on - they are just clueless.

You must have a competent local team to truly understand what is going on !

--- Over to IBN now.

11/26. Hmm.

Gobama !

Yes we can. Yes We can.

Yes I could ! Yes I could -- tell you so correctly from a long , very loooong time ago !


This one is a different one. This one is a special one. This one is the one.


Aaah - the pleasant feeling of seeing the right things happen at the right time.

There is hope. There will be hope.

This event in time would definitely be a turning point in world history. No doubts.

Chandrayaan, Chess and Cricket ...

Refering to a very old previous post. What a day today is !

We are on our way to the moon. Fingers crossed.

I cannot hide the tingle of excitement and pride as I watch the launch ! The fourth stage has been deployed --- What a feeling ! Infinite amazement ! Un-describable ! If that is a word. How can such things be described in words ?



On a smaller scale, we are looking good to get a world champion here Anand defeats Kramnik to lead by 3 points in the World Chess Championship,




And perhaps the least significant one is where India comprehensively beats the pretend world champions by some 300 runs in Mohali.

A very good day indeed !!


P.S: Disclaimer for the images. Duh.

P.P.S:

Another thing to note:

The net budget for Chandrayan is ~ 80 million USD. Barack Obama collected ~ 150 million USD for his presidential bid on Sep '08

i.e - India is sending an entire spacecraft to the moon, in about as much money as Barack can collect in 15 days. Incredible.

Bailout - From a Presidential view.

Sarah Palin was asked by Katie Couric to explain what she thought about the 700 Billion USD Bailout instigated by Fed. Here is what she had to say.

" That’s why I say I, like every American I’m speaking with, we’re ill about this position that we have been put in where it is the taxpayers looking to bail out. But ultimately what the bailout does is help those who are concerned about the healthcare reform that is needed to help shore up our economy. Helping the—it’s got to be all about job creation too, shoring up our economy and putting it back on the right track. So health care reform and reducing taxes and reining in spending has got to accompany tax reductions and tax relief for Americans and trade—we’ve got to see trade as opportunity, not as competitive, scary thing, but one in five jobs being created in the trade sector today—we’ve got to look at that as more opportunity. "

And she is a Vice-Presidential nominee ; one who is one 72 year old heart-beat away from being the President of the United States of America.

Was McCain even remotely lucid in his thoughts when he picked her to be his VP nominee ? All of this almost defies belief !

First it was George Bush, then we had John McCain and now we have Sarah Palin ? Hmmmm ...

Some Nice Nuclear Waste for sale -- Anybody ? ? ?

I had written some time back arguing in favor of the nuclear deal ; and boy am I happy to see the deal materialize despite the best attempts from the nutty left. [ You think the left are not nutty ? - Singur, Tata anyone ? ]

There is a lot of good press that this deal is generating -- the energy options it provides India, the profits/jobs that it creates for Russia/France/USA and the likes. Who would have thought that the day would come so soon, when the developed world would be looking to India for generating jobs and money. But I digress.

One thing that is not being brought up by the media though is the issue of nuclear waste. I have not seen any significant media coverage on this very important issue !

In a country like India where even strict rules are taken as nothing but mere guidelines - how would we deal with the issue of disposing nuclear waste ? -- Would it all be dumped without any precautions, to some 'lesser fortunate' places within the country ; thus putting the environment and lives at stake ?

We know that the nuclear waste disposal problem is the mother of all waste-disposal problems. The radioactive leftovers potentially last for large periods of time, and could have deadly effects on large portions of the surrounding environment. Look at the problems United States is having with approving the proposed Yucca Mountains nuclear waste site.

If nuclear waste could prove to be a problem in a mostly law-abiding nation like United States, I fear how are the corrupt babus in India are going to deal with this important issue.

Are we taking enough care - that we do not become the nuclear dumping ground of the west ?

Nuclear Energy is good -- but India must also explore other alternatives, just as United States is doing; We must not fall into the trap of greedy commercialization from the corporates who want to sell us energy at any cost. We must keep all our energy options open.

A Great Video ...

WAH - 08

Cell Phone Ban

I believe using a cell-phone while driving is considered dangerous ; and it is banned in several parts in the United States.

I was wondering what impact such rules would have if implemented in India -- then I saw this.

Mid Quarter Iragi Progress Report

An extremely Illuminating report on recent(i.e. past 6 years) progress in Iraq. A must see.

IF again !

Posting again this one poem by Rudyard Kipling called " IF ".

Life takes so many turns --- some turns are big; some are small. It is the set of core principles that a man holds - that guide him through all things big and small - ain't that true ? This Poem just embodies one aspect of that.

The thing for a person to remember -- is to take care of ones core values, beliefs and principles. The rest takes care of itself !

IF

If you can keep your head when all about you
are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too,
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream--and not make dreams your master,
If you can think--and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings--nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much,
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And--which is more--you'll be a Man, my son!

--Rudyard Kipling

Dear Ponting, Hayden and Symonds ;

Would it be a good idea for all three of you to read this before making premature comments in the future ?

While you are at it - you could glance at this too ?


Thank You.

The Ever-right democracy.

Found this here.

The United States on Monday used precision missiles to strike a "known terrorist target" in southern Somalia, a U.S. military official said.

The strike near Dhoobley, which is close to the Kenyan border, was aimed at a "facility where there were known terrorists" affiliated with East African al Qaeda operations, according to the official.

The strike destroyed two houses -- killing three women and three children, and wounding another 20 people -- Dhoobley's District Commissioner Ali Nur Ali Dherre told
CNN. Dherre said the remains of the missiles were marked "US K."

Reminds me of something Gandhi said :

What difference does it make to the dead, the orphans and the homeless, whether the mad destruction is wrought under the name of totalitarianism or the holy name of liberty or democracy?

-- Mahatma Gandhi

Nothing more needs to be mentioned. Amen.

Global Warming and the attack of the concentric circles.

Breaking News: Series Of Concentric Circles Emanating From Glowing Red Dot

Words of Wisdom by Scott Adams.

"Dance like it hurts; Love like you need the money; Work when people are watching."


Thats a real Deep thought. Deep. Very Deep.

And my vote goes to ...

I had written about the presidential race some time back, while the P-race was still in its infancy.

Alas, I found that my favorite candidate: Colbert, could not make the cut. I had to come up with a pick among the current litany of pretenders.

I do have a clear favorite though.

Among Obama's other obviously impressive characteristics, it is very refreshing to see an American Politician juxtaposing an obvious intellect with an honest conscience. A rare quality that.

Watch out for this one. He is one world-leader for the future.