Happy Birthday, Yazad!
I know it is still the 29th of April here in the US, but in India it is already the 30th, so here goes! Happy Birthday, Yazad!
First of all, go check out the Blog Mela #10 at Yazad's Place - great reading from various Indian bloggers.
The next Blog Mela is going to be hosted right here at "Dancing with Dogs". Send me links to posts written between now and next Tuesday by leaving a comment here or by emailing me at madhoo.1atemaildotcom.
Last but not least, I want to thank Joni for the wonderful new design for the blog. I love the spring look!
I dedicate this to the pink-loving lady I like so much - Here is to you, Diana!
JK talks about the monsoon in this post - varnam: Below Normal Monsoon Predicted - and brings back memories of the rainy season :)
I remember that my sister and I loved getting drenched in the rain. As soon as it started to rain, we would make some excuse to our mother and start off to a block of stores 10 min. walk from my home. She would give us umbrellas, but very "mysteriously" we would still come back soaking wet :)
Another thing I remember happened when we had just moved into our own house - now a posh locality in the city of Vishakhapatnam, MVP Colony wasnothing more than a big flat field full of coconut trees and palm trees at the foot of Kailasagiri and with a gorgeous view of the Bay of Bengal. My sister and I had as usual set off to the store as soon as it started raining. Our roads were still not paved and very muddy.
Suddenly we see something just scramble by us - It went so fast and was about 4 inches ling, so we didn't catch a good glimpse of what it was. And then there came more of those when we suddenly realized what was going on - the rain seemed to have disturbed a nest of snakes (we had snake-holes all over the place) and what we saw slithering around our feet were a bunch little-bitty baby snakes! Needless to say that it took us both exactly one minute to get back home and we refused to go out in the rain for a long time after that :)
Varsha Bhosle manages to get herself all worked up into a froth over conversions in India and how Christian missionaries are snaring unsuspecting and gullible Hindus in this column - Stories they don't want told - to the point that she hopes Dara Singh, yes that fiend who was behind the burning alive of the Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two little kids in Orissa comes out of his little "imprisonment" unscathed. It was just appalling to read such tripe from a columnist paid to have her opinions published - one whose word reaches so many people all over the world.
Let me tackle the conversion issue first of all - there are three groups of people involved in here. The first, are the people who are converting to another faith, for emotional or spiritual fulfillment or as Varsha puts it, for a few bags of rice. If a person feels that he is better off reading the Bible or the Koran rather than Bhagawad Gita, it is completely within his right. If the person wants to convert because he is getting paid or fed to do so, that is also well within his right. A person can choose to follow, convert from or reject a religion (or God for that matter) as a matter of personal interest. If there is a loser or winner in this, it is the person making the choice.
The second group of people are the missionaries/mullahs/priests who seek to convert people of other faiths to their path. Again, it is their choice if they want to convert someone to their faith by the goodness of their preaching or by offering food and money. It can be argued that there is no point in making some one embrace your religion for material benefits, but it is again the individual choice of the preachers if all they want are numbers are true believers.
The third group of people are us, the bystanders - all I will say is it is none of our business - if some one chooses to preach to people and someone else chooses to convert into a faith based on that. Of course, the society does have to take into consideration if these activities are somehow undermining the national fabric, as in changing the allegiance of the converts from the country of India to someother tradition or religion. It will also get worrisome if this will somehow trample upon the tradition of "mutual respect" (I will not say tolerance - we don't tolerate other faiths - we do more - we respect them) between religions and people existing in India. Unless something that drastic happens, I don't believe the Government of India or any other state or country has any reason to meddle in issues of faith and religion. regardless of the Bhosles of the world say.
All that I said was as an Indian. As a Hindu, this is how I feel about conversions - if my religion is so feeble and the faith of its believers so fragile that they will convert for a few bags of rice, then so be it. If me and my fellow Hindus cannot provide the help that the missionaries are providing to the converting Hindus, we don't deserve to cry over it either. Also, as a Hindu, I believe that there are many paths, all of which lead to God - it could be idol-worship (Bhakti Yoga), Spriritual Enlightenement (Jnana Yoga) or whatever. This means that if another Hindu converts to another faith, to me it shouldn't matter, because according to my religion, that is a path to reach God too.
Update: "There are people in the world so hungry, that God cannot appear to them except in the form of bread."
- Mahatma Gandhi
1. Top seed Spurs lead the series 3-2 over Phoenix Suns after the win last night. I give the series to Spurs over the next one or two games (The Suns are the kind of team that has been hard for the Spurs to put away this season).
2. Second seed Kings will "cake-walk" over the Jazz to finish the series in Sacramento in the fifth game. They lead 3-1 right now.
3. Third seed Mavs lead their series 3-1 over the Trailblazers and will try to close the series out today in Dallas (all fingers crossed).
4. KG put his foot in his mouth when he made the comment about beating the Lakers before the 4th game. He awakened the literal giant, Shaq and the Lakers have taken a 3-2 lead in the series with the win at Minnesota last night. I expect them to close the series out at LA in the next game.
In other news, the Dallas Stars are down 2-1 in the second round of play-offs with the Anaheim Ducks (this is the same position they were in with the Edmonton Oilers in the frst round - they came back to win that series).
How fun! This body ousted the US a while ago from itself, but doesn't see anything wrong in electing Cuba, that bastion of Human Rights back. The UN keeps its credibility and there are reports of pigs flying. And then there are the morons who will scream to death over Ashcroft's "persecution and suppression" of free speech in the US, but are eerily and disgustingly silent about Cuba recently "cracking down" on those damn "dissenters" who seek to undermine Castro by asking for a little freedom. Strage world we live in, folks - very strange! Cry over this, bleeding-hearts!
U.S. Enraged as Cuba Returned to U.N. Rights Body
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Cuba was reelected without opposition on Tuesday to the United Nations' top human rights body, prompting a fierce response by Washington that it was "like putting Al Capone in charge of bank security."The voting took place in the 54-nation U.N. Economic and Social Council, which two years ago ousted the United States from the Human Rights Commission for the first time since Washington helped found it in 1947. The United States was returned to the body in a vote the following year.
I know it is still the 29th of April here in the US, but in India it is already the 30th, so here goes! Happy Birthday, Yazad!
The Russians were initially opposed to the war because they wanted proof of the "existence" of WMD - now they want proof that there are no WMD? What is it - they belive there are WMD in Iraq or not? I know it is a naive question - what really matters is that they will always try to keep the status quo for greed or out of spite, but will not lift a finger to help the people they claim to speak for.
No lifting of sanctions until proof of no WMD: Putin
NOVO-OGAREVO, Russia: UN sanctions against Iraq should not be lifted until it has been proved that the country does not possess weapons of mass destruction, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday.
I know it is juvenile, but what the heck - I will still snicker :-) (from today's samachar - Indian news portal)
The whole point of this article is that Bush and Co. are awarding most of the lucrative contracts in Iraq to their favorite companies - some of these contracts are dealing with oil - Iraq has oil - Unocal tried to deal with Taliban for a natural gas pipeline (didn't pan out) - ergo, the war in Iraq was for oil!
Take a moment of silence to contemplate "genocide"! The real "genocide" - not as it is bandied about carelessly by people to further agendas. No. I mean genocide as in the killing of the Jews by Hitler, Armenians by Russians, Chinese by the Communists (read about this in Dean's post too), Bengalis by the Pakistanis, Kashmiri Pundits by the terrorists..... Take a moment to try to wrap your mind around their pain - try to understand and to help and heal if you can, but never forget! Never, ever forget! It is important to remember so that we don't repeat these blots on the human civilization.
Dean's World: Genocide
This is really interesting to hear and proves a lot of pro-war arguments right about the Iraqis themselves welcoming the war. This poll cannot even be ruled out as propaganda, since the pollster was not a Western organization, but Indian NDTV.
Most Iraqis in Baghdad welcome US: NDTV poll
A majority of Iraqis actually welcome the US invasion on their country though the jury is still out on whether coalition troops should pull out immediately or stay back, according to an opinion poll conducted by NDTV in Baghdad.Andrew Sullivan worries about the younger generation being less pro-American. I think there is a very simple explanation for that. The older people in general have had some whiffs of freedom and remember what it was like to live in prosperous times. They hate Saddam because they have seen the before and after-Saddam-Iraq. The youngsters on the other hand, have known no life except the one they had under Saddam - it is entirely possible that they think this is normal and think any change is bad.
Madonna message sparks reaction
Some observers thought Madonna was smart to fight piracy with its own tools. Others perceived a thrown gauntlet -- hackers soon defaced Madonna's Web site with an equally profane retort along with several downloadable files of the then-unreleased songs. The defacement also carried a marriage proposal to Morgan Webb, an associate producer and on-air presenter at TechTV who had nothing to do with the prank.A third group saw a creative opportunity. "What the f__ do you think you're doing," Madonna's now-infamous phrase, is turning up in dozens of remixes and the computer-aided musical collages known as cutups or mashups.
Check these recipe cards out if you are planning to go on a diet soon. I swear you will never want to eat a thing. Ever. Again. One question - if the Fluffy Mackerel Pudding is made of Mackerel, what is the Caucasian Shashlik made of?
Weight Watchers recipe cards, circa 1974
Update:
Another funny link - UNUSED AUDIO COMMENTARY BY HOWARD ZINN AND NOAM CHOMSKY, RECORDED SUMMER, 2002, FOR THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING (PLATINUM SERIES EXTENDED EDITION) DVD, PART ONE. via the Instapundit.
Yes, I did find this quote printed on my Good Earth "Sweet & Spicy Herb Tea".
"Too many wish to be happy before becoming wise" - Susanne Necker
(Nice quotes, but not so nice tea - a little too cinnamony for my taste)
A very good article attacking the current trend of blaming everything on the eeevil, "Zionist" conspiracy against the poor, hapless Palestinians. I know it is easy to say what do the poor Palestinians have except their bodies to blow up in the faces of children, women, elderly and the teenagers in discos, pizza parlors, Passover feasts and ice cream shops, but I wish for once people stopped repeating stuff they read around. I wish people would just sit down and think for a little while and make up their minds for themselves, without falling for propaganda.
Is it anti-Semitic to criticise Israel?
This begs the question: how does one distinguish between anti-Semitism and political comment?The distinction: Ask yourself, is it fair political comment to single out Israel for a divestment campaign, to call it a pariah state and have it permanently denied a seat on the UN Security Council, but ignore the occupation by Syria (which currently chairs the Security Council) of Lebanon, Tibet by China, Northern Cyprus by Turkey, and Chechnya by Russia?
How many signs have you seen calling for freedom for these occupied lands, or indeed for independent Kurdish or Armenian states, in the recent anti-war marches?
Even drawing parallels with these occupations fails to recognise that Israel acquired the Gaza Strip from Egypt, and the West Bank from Jordan - not through aggressive expansionism, but when it was attacked by those and other Arab states in 1967.
(That is why, contrary to popular belief, there is no UN Security Council resolution requiring Israel to unilaterally withdraw from these lands.)
Ok, I started the questionnaire on religion, and it received so much response, it will be unfair if I withheld my own beliefs on the issues. I had almost lost interest in the topic (my mind wanders a lot - I am a Gemini, I can't help it!), but Varsha Bhosle's latest article in Rediff brought the issue back again. To put it simply, I believe in God - I believe God is a life force infusing and within every living being on the planet and elsewhere.
Religion on the other hand, I feel is a set of social mores, a boundary that is defined around people to help them lead a good life. That is not to belittle any religion, but I personally feel that a religion essentially tells you how to be a good human being and lead a good life. If you follow one religion or the other, fine! If you follow the good aspects of a lot of religions, fine too - even if you don't follow any religions and don't believe in God, that is absolutely fine too, as long as you have imposed some boundaries upon yourself, that help you lead a good life.
Does that make religion irrelevant in your life? I don't think so. I have been raised a Hindu and I faithfully participated in all the rituals and pujas during every festival. I fasted on certain days, I woke up before sunrise and prayed on certain other days, I also gave up eating meat and other foods on certain other days, all to make God happy. Of course, that was the outward reason - inside, it was more a test of the will power for me. I did it all to prove to myself that I could. In short, that is the story of my religiosity.
My dad had a master's in Philosophy, so he read books written by a lot of thinkers, which I read sometimes too. I also studied in a Catholic missionary school, where we had to read the Bible and were tested on it later in the final exams as part of the "Moral Science" subject. I am proud to have been exposed to different ways of thinking, which helps me think for myself and be indepndent in my way of life, without feeling guilty like many others who lose sight of the object (God/spiritual fulfillment) for the rituals. That doesn't mean I am not a Hindu anymore - I am still a Hindu since that is the way of life I grew up with and I am most comfortable and knowledgeable about.
More on rituals and conversions in the later parts....
I know, I know I have been lazy for the past few days - Thank God, not everyone is like me. Here is Yazad Jal, blogging away on the weekend and writing an insightful roundup of the news stories in the various Indian Sunday papers this weekend, while I am watching my boys play basketball, en route to sweeping the "Potland Jailblazers". Heh!
No wonder the UN and Kofi Annan were so against invading Iraq. It so disgusting that the UN and Kofi Annan himself would authorize the buying of equipment such as listed below, while they are at the same time making meaningless noises about the "poor, poor, starving Iraqis". Tear the UN down already, for all the credibility they have left. I doubt if I would trust them to feed my dogs when I am on vacation - actually, I wouldn't!
Oil, Food and a Whole Lot of Questions
...About a year ago, in the name of expediency, Mr. Annan was given direct authority to sign off on all goods not itemized on a special watch list. Yet shipments with Mr. Annan's go-ahead have included so-called relief items such as "boats" and boat "accessories" from France and "sport supplies" from Lebanon (sports in Iraq having been the domain of Saddam's Hussein's sadistic elder son, Uday).(link via Instapundit)......
It is impossible to find out for certain. The quantities of goods involved in shipments are confidential, and almost all descriptions on the contract lists made public by the United Nations are so generic as to be meaningless. For example, a deal with Russia approved last Nov. 19 was described on the contract papers with the enigmatic notation: "goods for resumption of project." Who are the Russian suppliers? The United Nations won't say. What were they promised in payment? That's secret.
............
Of course, with so little paperwork made public, it is impossible to say whether there has been any malfeasance so far — but I found nothing that would seem to contradict Gen. Tommy Franks's comment that the system should have been named the "oil-for-palace program." Why, for example, are companies in Russia and Syria — hardly powerhouses in the automotive industry — listed as suppliers of Japanese vehicles? Why are desert countries like Libya, Syria and Saudi Arabia delivering powdered milk?
And then there is this menacing list of countries that supplied "detergent": Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Algeria, Yemen and Sudan. Maybe all that multisourced soap was just a terrific bargain for doing the laundry.
Found a super, cool new blog by Adrienne Truett - it is very interesting, especially the thoughts on interracialness (scroll down - there are two posts) that show a lot of insight into the supposed "exotification" of the Asians in the West, all the while wondering if the opposite is not true, when you look at some Indian movies cited as examples. Check it out!
Note: Saw a bunch of hits from a "French" domain this morning - I wonder who it is....
Beautiful, beautiful post fisking an idiot who thinks call-centers in India are somehow an insidious plan to corrupt the Indian culture and Western Imperialism and... you know the drill. Absolutely hilarious take-down of a typical lefty racist, oops "multiculturalist", who is happy as long as the innocent, exotic third-worlders lived in their huts and didn't lose their "culture" by becoming, gasp! "rich"!
Now, the Indians do not get paid the same hourly rates or even salaries as the Oz callcentre staff. Or the US callcentre staff. The horror. Hmm. Why would that be? It is probably because the Indian owners of the callcentre businesses are actually in it for profit, and so they do not lose all their profit by paying their staff high rates. They win the business form Oz and US companies because they offer a quality service for a lower price than Oz and US companies. And being India, they have a larger workforce to select from, that is, the labour market in Delhi is competetive, cost of living is lower than in Oz and the US and there probably is not a lot of good union influence of the anti-discrimination, unfair dismissal variety to make Indian employers offer higher rates to their staff.(Thanks Madhu, for the link)Well G'uh. It is Delhi, already.
And, the Indians who do callcentre work on those US and Oz contracts that their employers have won through competetive tendering or just through plain appointment, train for that work by adopting accents and phrases as they speak english. And they do it very well. This is cultural suicide, apparently. In Knox's eyes. I mean, everyone knows that Indian culture is so weak, a few years working in a callcentre will make those poor people lose all connection with Delhi and their roots.
Update:
Now you can discuss our various posts and issues on the messageboard!
It is being hosted at "The Kitchen Cabinet" this week. Go check it out for a look around the blogosphere and good stuff in general.
I guess I am doing something right as far as my health goes. I am a big green/Jasmine tea fan. I drink at least 3-4 cups a day. This makes me feel so much better :)
Of course, I am willing to do anything for health that doesn't involve me doing something physically difficult, like getting up off of my butt and working out for a change ;)
Study: Tea Boosts the Body's Defenses
WASHINGTON (AP) - An ordinary cup of tea may be a powerful infection fighter, a study suggests. Researchers report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that they have found in tea a chemical that boosts the body's defense fivefold against disease.They said the chemical primes immune system cells to attack bacteria, viruses and fungi and could, perhaps, be turned into a disease-fighting drug someday.
The latest Praful Bidwai column in Rediff has the right headline, except that it should be referring to the content of his article, not the events he is referring to. I really don't see why he won't even do a little research before preaching as truth, allegations that have been debunked already... a long time ago. Here is the text of my email to the Rediff editors - Let us see if what they have to say about this.
Dear Rediff,
This letter is in response to the column "Of Lies, Trickery & Deception" by Praful Bidwai, published online on April 22, 2003.
It is unfortunate that people like Praful Bidwai are disseminating lies and a news organization like Rediff is giving them the forum to do it. The allegation that the toppling of the statue in Baghdad was stage-managed has been debunked at least two weeks ago, as soon as it surfaced. It is a great disservice to the readers to publish such columns without any mention of the other point-of-view or at least a note at the end of the column pointing to the debunking.
Here is the link to the research proving the event was NOT staged - http://oxblog.blogspot.com/2003_04_06_oxblog_archive.html#92482221
--Shanti Mangala
Of Lies, Trickery & Deception
Update:
I wonder how I missed this line - "Indeed, its soldiers have also indulged in looting." Huh? Where is the proof? Why are such people allowed to write and then are paid for it?
Goodness, Ms. Bhosle! Just because some people happen to hold a world-view different from yours doesn't mean that they are somehow so scared for their life that they are not speaking honestly. You being one of the so-called honest writers, shouldn't you make an effort to understand others might have a viewpoint based off on the merits of an argument and not because they are afraid of something?
This is sickening to me, this horrible stereotyping of "Oh, you are an Indian living in the US and you are supporting America, so you are somehow trying to please your American masters!". Gimme a break already - this is a load of bull. For Ms. Bhosle's kind information, we don't live our lives here in fear that there are rednecks and skinheads waiting outside my house to attack me everytime I wear a saree or a bindi. There are as many NRI Indians pro- and anti-war as there are Americans. It is stupid and silly to charaterize everyone who doesn't believe as you do as idiots in need of educating. This goes out to some "desi" trolls who are just so eager to dispel others' misconceptions that they resort to preaching of the worst sort - on others' blogs that too.
Everybody is entitled to their opinion and they are free to express it in their private space. Just because thye differ from you doesn't mean they are illiterate idiots or living in constant fear for their lives. Get over the fricking moral high-chairs (yes, high-chair - not highground), already! Cheap shots only tend to weaken your argument.
Varsha Bhosle: Dear Readers, VII
The pro-America passion of these NRIs was so omnipresent that it prompted American Male to note, "It seems to me that the journalists are spouting the nationalistic line, but that the replies are almost 100% in favor of the US fighting the Sadam regime and getting on with rebuilding this unfortunate nation."Yes, I sympathise with the passion fruits. Because I understand their panic. It must be petrifying to have an Indian point out the defects in America's perfect army, no? I mean, what if the local skinhead visited rediff.com, saw my supposed antipathy to "our boys," and decided to zit the next brownie he saw?! So, yes, I compliment these readers on the form they've adopted to prove their loyalty to their current maay-baap. [Musical refrain: The things we do for the green card...]
A pretty damning indctment of the coverage of the war in Iraq by a Qatari writer in the "Arab News" of all the places. It provides a very interesting perspective. On a side note, doesn't this man's description of the Arab media remind you of the BBC's coverage of the events?
ArabNews: Arab Media's Conduct During War Indicative of a Deeper Malaise
The Arab media attacked the Iraqi opposition and imposed a collective boycott while satellite stations played host to everyone but the Iraqis who were, after all, the ones most concerned. The Kuwaiti media was the sole exception to this rule. Not one satellite channel had the courage to transmit scenes of welcome to the coalition troops in the liberated cities. Instead, the satellite stations made a great fuss over what they called the crimes of the coalition and ignored the crimes of the regime. The correspondents continued to impose their political points of view on viewers. Not one of the satellite stations, except Kuwait, had the courage to show a tape of the chemical strike against Halabja. It was the same with the air attack of the 1991 uprising in which holy places were hit and hundreds of Shiites were killed and tortured. More than 250,000 Iraqi citizens were killed in the uprising.(link via Instapundit)Nor was their selectivity of topics confined to analysis. It extended even into the presentation of the news. One Arab channel deliberately blamed the weapons and ammunition hidden by Saddam's soldiers who were in civilian clothes in a house. This was shown in its entirety by CNN. The aim of the Arab satellite stations was to suggest that the allies were “savage” in their treatment of civilians. Furthermore, respectable newspapers were not considered to be devout if they did not cover the sorrowful and tragic accident of the journalists who were killed by the coalition forces — in order, they said, to silence Arab satellite stations. Again, the question: Is it possible for the Arab media to be objective?
Whew! Did my boys - the Mavs - deliver or what! Dirk! I bow before you and hope to see many more of such games in the future. I am just totally exhausted and my throat is still sore from all the screaming I did at the TV. I am still celebrating!
Mavs in 6 at the most, baby! In 4 if Bradley brings his A game every night and Nash and Finley shake the rust off :)
1. Do you believe in God?
2. Do you believe in religion?
3. Do you believe religion is required to find God?
4. Why do you believe in the religion you believe in?
5. What motivates you to be religious?
6. Do you consider yourself spiritual, religious or both?
7. What kind of a being do you think God is?
Please leave the answers in the comments below. I will post my thoughts on this soon.
This article was fascinating to me not just because I liked Zakaria's columns, but also because I was totally unaware of his Indian heritage. That caught me by surprise. Dean, I so relate to him, because I would be labeled a leftie-liberal in India because of my thoughts and view-points, but I was surprised to find that in the US, I was considered conservative. Thanks for the interesting post.
Thought for the day -
“ The mind of a bigot is like the pupil of the eye; the more light you pour upon it, the more it will contract.”- Oliver Wendell Holmes
Get it here - hot and fresh...even if a day late ;) Lots of good reading as ever. Don't forget to check out the Blog Mela - Look above to see what we mean.
I emphasized Mr.Rouhani's main point, in trying to make sense of what he is trying to say. "Imposing our society's view"? You mean, like it is wrong to ask dictators to step down?Wrong to ask tyrants to stop torturing and murdering thousands of people. imprisoning children, hiring professional rapists and burying people alive? Ummmm...OK! I see it - and I hate your equating American values with those of Saddam. Enough said.
Editor -- Bob Pryor asks what would justify the war to liberal anti-war folks (Letters, "Liberal rationale," April 15). He cites the "liberation" of the Iraqi people, the still-not-found weapons of mass destruction, etc. I'm not a "liberal," but I'll take a shot at answering.If you thought that was stupid, read this, I am not even adding any editorial comments to it. It doesn't need them.
None of those points justify war. War would only be justified given a specific, credible and imminent threat of attack. Barring that, we're at best simply (and illegally) imposing our society's view on a weaker nation.
A. ROUHANI
San Jose
Editor -- In response to the article, "AWOL minesweeping dolphin found safe" (April 2), I would like to give another perspective. The temporary disappearance of Takoma, one of the dolphins used to hunt for mines in the Persian Gulf, proves that dolphins should not be relied upon to protect our troops. Although dolphins are highly intelligent, they are very social and can be easily distracted by other animals, or their wild cousins.Regardless, it is unethical for the U.S. Navy to enlist marine mammals in the war. Dolphins would never voluntarily give up their freedom to participate in something that is completely beyond their comprehension. Like us, they want to be with their families and friends.
Unlike us, however, they have no conflict with Iraq or any other country. Marine mammals have no borders. They don't drop bombs or shoot guns and should be left in peace in their world. Surely the Navy is advanced enough to carry out its mission without digging into the ocean depths for reinforcements.
MARK BERMAN
Assistant Director
International Marine Mammal Project
Earth Island Institute
San Francisco
I feel sorry for Robert Fisk! I really do. The poor man cannot seem to catch a break. He goes to Afghanistan during the war and he gets mugged by the Afghans. Now he is in Iraq and he is cussed at by the Iraqis while he is trying to "reclaim" books from 10-year-old kids! This is just so funny - I am sorry, but it is just really funny! I wonder if this man even understands how pathetic he sounds.
I saw the looters. One of them cursed me when I tried to reclaim a book of Islamic law from a boy of no more than 10. Amid the ashes of Iraqi history, I found a file blowing in the wind outside: pages of handwritten letters between the court of Sharif Hussein of Mecca, who started the Arab revolt against the Turks for Lawrence of Arabia, and the Ottoman rulers of Baghdad.(link via blog-grandpa)
Update: Oh, and this AP story via The Command Post adds a pretty interesting spin to the looting stories.
No words!
Marines free 123 from Iraq hellhole - APRIL 16, 2003
The Marines found 123 prisoners, including five women, barely alive in an underground warren of cells and torture chambers.(link via The Command Post and Cypher)Being trapped underground probably kept them safe from the bombing of Baghdad by the coalition.
Severely emaciated, some had survived by eating the scabs off their sores. All the men had beards down to their waists, said onlookers.
This has got to be one of the most sexist, idiotic drivel I have read in a while. Obviously, the writer has never heard of a certain lady called Indira Gandhi, or he wouldn't have written this kind of crap. One of the things that most irritates me about this article is his stereotyping of all women as some kind of fuzzy, peachy beings, who always speak softly and are oh-so nice to each other all the time. I think it is mainly a very Western point of view, or at least the view of a person who is wilfully ignoring or trying to gloss over the complexities of a woman's nature.
I read somewhere the saying, "the most dangerous place in the world is between a mother and her baby". In Indian culture, women have never shied away from battle and there is absolutely no proof that they were ever more reconciliatory than their male counterparts. Rani Rudrama Devi, Jhansi Lakshmi Bai and others come to mind. Even our mythology is full of women warriors - Kali, Durga, Satyabhama. We also use the term "Mother Nature", which denotes not just the gentle, loving, calm face of nature, but also the nature that floods, blows away and destroys human life.
There is both a life-giving energy and a destructive force in a woman. I find it very simplistic for people to ignore one thing or the other to further agendas or to make points. I don't like to call myself a feminist in the "NOW" sense of the word, but the traditional sense of the war-mongering man and a softly nurturing woman is as distateful me as is the effort by people of some religions to subvert womens' freedoms by deeming too fragile to take care of themselves.
Yahoo! News - What If Women Ran the World?
When I look at the news these days, I can't help but wonder: Wouldn't we be a lot better off if women were in charge, given all the violence and atrocities perpetrated by men and male-run governments in places like Bosnia, Rwanda, and Iraq ? Would U.S. troops be in Iraq today if, say, Hillary Clinton were President, and not George W. Bush?
Sure, woman leaders are sometimes as tough and warlike as any man. Britain's Margaret Thatcher comes to mind. But in my experience, women tend to pursue conciliation and cooperation long after men would have been at each other's throats. And, as the heroism of American women soldiers and pilots in Iraq has shown, when it's really necessary to fight, women hold their own.
I know many anti-Bush people were just bursting at seams at news that Bush warned Syria, because they just couldn't wait to bring out their books of "I told you so". Unfortunately Mr. Blood-thirsty, warmonger Bush is refusing to accomodate them. Looks like he will not invade Syria just because he invaded Iraq after all. I say good for him. This is the time for America to stand firm in Afghanistan and Iraq and help the countries stand on their own feet once again. That should be the first priority.
Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Bush vetoes Syria war plan
The White House has privately ruled out suggestions that the US should go to war against Syria following its military success in Iraq, and has blocked preliminary planning for such a campaign in the Pentagon, the Guardian learned yesterday.
Hindus of the world, rejoice! Hold your breath too - the awesome Mayawati has threatened to leave Hinduism and join Buddhism if all "Hindu evils" are not removed, like right now - no excuses accepted! That's it! I really hope she keeps her word - On the other hand, I wouldn't wish this on our Buddhist brethren. Heh!
Fiery Mayawati talks tough on Hindu 'evils'
She warned Hindu pontiffs to remove the evils of Hindu religion, failing which she would leave the Hindu religion and become a Buddhist, like Baba Saheb Bhim Rao Ambedkar.
A heartwarming story of the bleak days before the rescue and the rescue of the seven American POWs recently rescued from the Iraqis. I am glad they were alive.
Dark days, with death outside door
Deliverance came loudly and without warning. Suddenly today at the house in Samarra the prisoners heard someone kicking in the doors and shouting: "Get down! Get down!"."I was sitting there," Miller recalled a few hours later. "Next thing I know the Marines are kicking in the door, saying get down on the floor. They said, "If you're an American, stand up." We stood up and they hustled us out of there."
By this time, the male prisoners had grown light beards and their shoulders had sagged; in their Iraqi prison pajamas, they could be mistaken for the other side. The Marines had trouble distinguishing Johnson as an American. "At first," she said, "they didn't realize I was American. They said, "Get down, get down," and one of them said, "No, she's American."
Johnson, mother of a girl named Janelle who turns 3 next month, was overwhelmed to realize she was saved and would see her daughter again. “I broke down. I was like, "Oh my God, I'm going home!"
My extremely apolitical husband (that's his story and he's sticking to it!) pointed to me this open letter written by an Indian-American physician, Durga Prasad Sunkara to a telugu movie star called Chiranjeevi, in response to the star's letter to President George Bush. I really liked Dr. Sunkara's letter to Chiranjeevi - it was very respectful in tone, logically argued and well put (no, I am not agreeing with it just because the letter is pro-war - me and biased? Nooo). And then I saw these responses to the response letter by people who I assume are die-hard fans of Chiranjeevi. I was shocked by some of the responses, to say the least.
It wasn't that I wasn't aware of how crazy some Indian fans (especially South-Indian) can be about their favorite stars. I have gone to Engineering College with a guy who was so crazy about this movie star that he wore the exact same clothes as him, wouldn't tolerate any criticism of him and almost worshipped him like a God. I never understood it then, I don't understand it now. The main thread you will see in the responses to Dr. Sunkara's letter is "How dare you question Chiranjeevi?". At some point, these people forget that teh star is another human being, not the superman he portrays on the screen.
But that didn't surprise me - as I said, I was already aware of the phenomenon. What surprised me were the accusations some letter-writers made about Dr. Sunkara, saying he was not Indian anymore. What was that supposed to mean? In the mildest interpretation, it could be taken as if they were saying the good doctor was an American citizen (though, no such thing is implied in his letter), so he is no longer an Indian citizen. But the more plausible and disturbing conclusion is that these people are saying one is not an Indian if one took a pro-America stand, questioned anything an "Indian" said or didn't reside in India anymore.
That to me, was extremely silly. I think it is a stupid way to prop up your argument by questioning the patriotism of the other party. This also reminded me of some pro-war Americans accusing anti-war people of being anti-American and some black people accusing other black people who don't think like them (think Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice) of not being black. At the core of this, I think lies the belief that if you belong to a certain community or group, you are supposed to think like them and act in sync, no individuality allowed. How sick!
Ok, after several deep breaths, let me explain it gently and sloooowly to Laurel, that there is a BIG, fricking difference betweem Castro sentencing and sending to prison, people who dare to dissent against his "government" and Bush "ignoring" the anti-war protestors. See, Laurel - see the difference? I doubt you would, you lunk-head!
U.S. Envoy to Cuba Is No Diplomat
It appears that Michael Ramirez's editorial cartoon on Castro (Commentary, April 8) has a typo and the wrong image. The image should be Bush, with the words: "USA/Bush's Political Machine/Ramirez" across his chest. And Bush would be strangling a war-protesting grandmother. The words across her chest would read: "Freedom of Speech."Update:Laurel Wetzork
Santa Barbara
Conspiracy theorists have often claimed the war on Iraq was all about oil. Of course, they did say the same thing about Afghanistan too and it really happen the way they predicted it, but I don't think that will stop anyone from retracting anything. It always amazed me how much the theories relied on "future predictions" instead of past performances. We don't yet know what is going to happen to happen in the future, so let's see the staus of Iraqi oil right now - and lo and behold, the biggest benefactor of Saddam's oil has been....a French company! I wonder if that had anything to do with Chirac's bluster about vetoing any resolution put forward by US and UK. Another interesting tidbit - "Total's biggest shareholder is Montreal's Paul Desmarais, whose youngest son is married to Prime Minister Jean Chrétien's daughter." (via Damian Penny). Why is the anti-war side so silent about these doings but crying itself hoarse over stuff that the Bush Government might do? Interesting ain't it?
Iraqi liberation will unleash untapped wealth
(link via Command Post)
Iraq's wealth potential is so massive that the France, China and Russia obviously became willing to sabotage the United Nations Security Council in order to exploit Iraq's oil resources.By 2001, oil companies in those three countries had signed deals with Hussein, pledging to spend up to US$38-billion in exploration, improvements and expansions to bring production up to at least five million barrels a day.
Most lucrative of all, and least surprisingly, was the deal between Hussein and France's largest corporation, TotalFinaElf, to exploit the country's largest oil field on the Iranian border north of Basra.
"TotalFinaElf reportedly has signed a deal [in 2001] with Iraq on development rights for Majnoon [the oilfield]," said the U.S. report. "Future development of Majnoon could ultimately lead to production of 450,000 barrels per day in two years for US$4-billion and could eventually produce about one million barrels per day."
At current prices that would mean TotalFinaElf's US$4-billion would be earned back in a mere 11 months.
This just fills me with so much hope and joy. It is awesome how these people are so willing to get up and take care of themselves. I think this goes to show Iraq doesn't lack for qualified people - if only they were actually free to do what they wanted. I am proud for them.
Telegraph | News | Iraqis eager to get involved in Basra's clean-up
That was apparent in Basra's main power station, where the plant's directors met an American intelligence officer to decide what would happen to it.
The meeting had barely begun when the officer proclaimed: "Gentlemen, I am here to get this power station up and running. I've got engineers and contractors itching to get started. Is there anything you would like to add?"
"Actually," said the station's planning manager, Adel Hussein al-Shati, a stout, elderly man who once studied at Portsmouth Polytechnic, "we'd like to do it ourselves." He then explained how long it would take and how many men he needed.
"Well that's a relief," the officer said. "Get to work."
"Of course," Mr al-Shati said. "This is our job and this is our country".
(link via Joanne Jacobs)
Ravi has some pointed questions to ask of the anti-war Indians. These are very good questions that apply not just to the Indian crowd, but to any stridently anti-war person. I wish someone on the anti-war would come out and honestly answer these.
In case you were wondering what people will start complaining about now that Baghdad has fallen, here is an excellent example. I admit some of his points make sense, but why is it necessary for people to put into what could have turned into a very sensible column offering post-war advice to America, silly allegations?
G Parthasarathy: Iraq's uncertain future
Large sections of the Iraqi armed forces deserve high praise for the tough resistance offered to a force that totally dominated the skies and possessed overwhelming superiority in firepower.
He is openly supporting the people who were fighting FOR a dictator, using means like human shields and terror tactics against the coalition forces.
The conflict has seen horrifying images of civilian casualties. It has resulted in erosion of the credibility of the American media and particularly channels like CNN. The Americans have encountered a population that feels it is faced with a choice between the devil and the deep blue sea.
Coma again? Who loses credibility? The people who predicted half-a-million civilian deaths or the American media? Why would civilian casualties affect American media's credibility? Because they don't focus on blood, guts and gore like Al-Jazeera?
The British and Americans have made little, if any, progress in winning the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people. The United States is going to find that winning the war was far easier than winning the peace. It seems determined to ignore symbolism that are essential to correct the image that this war is being fought primarily in order to gain control of Iraq's oil and gas resources.
Stupid, again - how do we know the Iraqis hate Americans? Oh, because giving flowers, kissing on the cheek and cheering for them are insults according to some obscure Arab customs?
The problem with columns like these is not that they don't make some extremely sensible points - the problem is that they so cannot resist taking gratuitous potshots against America and are so mired in negativity that the good points are lost under all that bad.
Those forged documents every one was accusing the US of using to convince the UN to approve the war on Iraq.....looks like they were put into the market by the French originally. Now, I really wonder why France would do such a thing.....
Tipping Points (washingtonpost.com)
The intelligence officials offered a tantalizing coda for conspiracy-mongers. They said the "crude forgery" received by U.N. weapons inspectors suggesting the Iraqis were trying to buy uranium from Niger as part of their nuclear program was originally put in intelligence channels by France. The officials wouldn't speculate on French motives.
Don't let the door hit you on the way out, degenerate dimwitted dumbass - I knew your veneer was too good to be true - Enjoy "penting up your aggressions", my friends (not!)! Oh, btw - if you try any other crappy ways of posting, you said you were posting from on campus(Nanyang Technological University) - I will report you to the school authorities for harrassment. On one hand though, I do feel sorry for you guys if the highlight of your pathetic lives was to post comments on my blog, tsk! tsk!
My first truly permanent banning - Woo Hoo!
"cypherrao - read shanti's take on varsha's article. i know you aren't posting there any more, but the comment war has degenerated into a discussion about the Israel-Palestine issue, with due credit to yours truly.
Le maestro de digrecion.
A.C.C.
Onkar.
ps : ACC = Arrr Ctsk Ctsk"
"onkar>yeah i have been keeping track. i dunno y did i say i wont comment anymore, i have a lotta things pent up now, cant say there and I dont wanna waste blog space here talking abt some dimwit woman. Oh btw did u read wat that other idiot Madhu said - I am eternally grateful that my parents immigrated to the USA. ass kisser... "
There are times when I want to scream at the top of my lungs at whoever it is who is advicing the Indian Government to follow such a bone-headed foreign policy.
Foreign troops should immediately withdraw from Iraq: India
India to lobby for Iraq's reconstruction
Is that the height of hypocrisy or what? On the one hand, India wants the US out of Iraq right now, without a single thought for the all those people who were partying just yesterday, who will now be slaughtered like sheep by Saddam or his remaining henchmen. On the other hand, they have the gall to lobby for a share in the reconstruction process? How utterly disgusting!
Of course, it all ties in very neatly with our past performance of sucking up to dictators and jerks in general, while accusing America of doing the same, as this article from TVR Shenoy makes clear - "Twelve years ago, in the wake of Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait, our then external affairs minister, Inder Kumar Gujral, was photographed hugging Saddam Hussein. When Kuwait was liberated a few months later, ‘Indian’ became a hissing-word in that part of the world. Billions were spent in the reconstruction of Kuwait; India didn’t get a cent. Thousands of Indians lost their jobs; we were considered untrustworthy employees who fled at the first sign of trouble and then collaborated with the enemy. Why, pray tell, are we set on repeating history?"
Isn't it time we stopped our own hypocritical relations with the world in general and face up to a little reality? Things will have to change and fast, if India truly wants to be a player on the global level. A myopic communist/socialist vision of the future doesn't serve us anymore, as should have been obvious to us from the fall of Russia. We should drop the blinkers, stop being pressured by the two-bit opposition parties, most of whose members are not able to write their own names, leave alone have any grasp of world affairs and take the initiative and make bold moves. If not, we will be right there in the line with the other failed states, wondering what went wrong with a country with a vibrant democracy teeming with intellectuals (the real ones) and a billion-plus people.
Update:
This was what I was talking about -
India's resolution on Iraq war hiccup in post-war pie
India's attempts to get a share of the pie in post-war Iraq have come up against a few hiccups. When the Ambassador to US, Lalit Mansingh, met State Department officials recently to convey New Delhi's eagerness to play an important role in reconstruction efforts in Iraq, the US communicated its displeasure at the unanimous resolution that Parliament has passed deploring the action in Iraq and seeking immediate withdrawal of forces.
US interlocutors also expressed concern at the timing of the resolution. India has tried to impress on US interlocutors that it values growing bilateral ties with Washington and that it held its ground despite Opposition pressure, but the government fears some damage. Besides, the government also fears that the anti-India lo