For most people, the name Maldives brings to mind pictures of never-ending stretches of luscious white sandy beaches warmed by the sun, disappearing on all sides into waters glimmering in every shade of blue and green. But for the natives of Maldives, the country is more than just an archipelago created on this earth as a haven for scuba divers and the Brad Pitts of the world to languidly vacation at.

The island nation of Maldives, scattered like precious gems on the Indian Ocean, may have a GDP nearly twice that of the neighbouring country of India which dwarfs it both by total area and population, but the country seems to be dying a slow death under the torturous and never-ending regime of its president, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom. The celebrations over the recent multi-party presidential elections have almost smouldered completely with hope fading from nearly every face as the people begin to realise, yet again, that it may become impossible to make the current president give up the reins of the country. An astonishingly shocking revelation made by the favoured opposition party, MDP, reveals that as a last attempt to gain his losing control over the country, Gayoom has opted to practically sell the country over to his younger brother, Abdulla Yamin.

In an obvious violation of the constitution of the country and international laws, Gayoom appears to have signed an agreement with People’s Alliance leader Yamin giving his party 25 percent of Gayoom’s cabinet and wide control over all government agencies. Titled ‘Agreement on Political Cooperation’, the papers would act as an MOU between the two parties and clearly state the formation of a six member committee (which includes Gayoom and Yamin) that would overlook the running of the whole country. How only six members plan to run a country, even one as small as the Maldives, all on their own without even the support of the cabinet is a feat worthy only of the likes of Dumbledore.

After the first stage of the first ever multi-party elections in the country, five of the six opposing parties joined together in a surprising show of national unity in hopes of ousting dictator Gayoom. Yet, it is unbelievable that even after thirty years of single-handedly ruling over the nation and the word ‘resign’ resounding from every corner of the country, President Gayoom still dares to hold on steadfastly to the delusion that he is the most desired candidate for the post of president.

The second stage of the presidential elections would be held on the 28^th of this month and would decide the future president of Maldives. Is the Maldives doomed to bear another five years with Gayoom and side-kick Yamin or would they finally see a new face? With accusations of the votes being rigged during the first round, the deciding vote may not make any difference for this struggling nation; or perhaps it would, with citizens swearing to take to the streets if Gayoom is elected. Perhaps only complete destruction of Gayoom and his family can save the country, and the hot blooded natives of the country have been pushed to the point of attempting to do so. Whether Gayoom succeeds or not, it is left to doubt if the result of the election would be due to rigging or as a result of the clouded brains of the people of the drug capital of Asia.

Via: Miadhu

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William Lutz, former professor of English at Rutgers University, has become closely associated with his favorite topic to write about: doublespeak.  In one of his essays on the subject entitled “Doublespeak,” found in The Longman Writer, Lutz wants to underscore the fact that doublespeak, no matter what form it takes, is highly confused and confusing language. By overlapping the categories, Lutz seems to say that doublespeak is premeditatedly confusing. This communication language is crafted in such a way as to confuse the listeners and readers. It is craftily designed to mislead.

According to Lutz, doublespeak is dangerous because it is designed precisely to alter perception and corrupt the thinking of its listeners and viewers. It is used to cover up reality. It glosses over the negative and unpleasant to make it appear otherwise. It is the language of lying – glamorously. If language and communication serve to unite a people, doublespeak only ends up dividing the potential understanding of people. Doublespeak breeds cynicism and doubt, as well as suspicion and general collapse of trust.
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Many research projects seek to discover the (regulatory) causes of certain kinds of behaviors, such as acts of violence. Of course, in social research there is a critical difference and correlation between two variables and causation. David Hume (26 April 1711–25 August 1776),  a philosopher of the Scottish Enlightenment and one of the greatest minds of Western Philosophy, believed that “A caused B,” or “B happened because of A,” or that “Whenever A occurs, then B does.” His philosophy, belonging to empiricism, was of the positivist view. This necessary connection or necessary relation is what is called David Hume’s concept of causation.

On the other hand, John Burton, a prominent scholar specializing in international relations and conflict resolution, established a direct link between interstate and inter-group conflicts and the issue of basic human needs. His studies on identity, recognition and survival, in the light of conflict resolution, have become the hallmarks of sociopsychological approaches in dealing with violence.
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A bunch of hooligans chanting ‘Jai Maharashtra’ enter the Thane Railway Station in Mumbai and thirteen examination centres to rough up the students come to appear for the railway recruitment board exams. The gundas in reference are actually members of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena and the victims are people from North India. And guess what? Nothing is done about it. I wonder why………

Let’s hear what the play actors say in this grotesque display of violence and insanity. I have taken the liberty of voicing North Indians who ufortunately are left with no option but flee for their lives.

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The present scenario in Goa reminds me of the old saying ‘all that glitters is not gold’. That is precisely the truth for India’s tourist capital in the present day. Wearing the halo of a bohemian paradise, the beach city has been in news (please read international) for all the wrong reasons.

Imagine the money that four lakh tourists must be bringing to our economy but that too will not hold for long if the law enforcers as well as protectors do not wake up from their slumber of corruption and laxity.

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The melamine scandal broke out later than it should have. Some heavy censorship in the wake of the colossal PR campaign for the Beijing Olympics kept the scandal under wraps. During those few crucial weeks, thousands of Chinese babies started to fall ill with kidney stones. A few died. The controversy became too hot to handle and too huge to contain when countries that imported the melamine-tainted Chinese milk started to confirm the contamination in their imports of milk and milk-related products from China.

Perhaps due to tremendous international pressure, as some countries are about to sue and collect for damages, China announced that ‘a little melamine is OK.’ This is an example of the thin dividing line between a country being either more careful or more careless. The statement does not sound apologetic in any way. At the very least, it sounds like a justification for condoning reckless and nefarious Chinese producers. The addition of melamine by Chinese milk producers into their milk and milk products to increase the apparent protein content in the milk is downright malicious, since the very obvious motives are profit and greed.
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Erstwhile South African President Thabo Mbeki no longer holds sway in his country. Of late, however, he is more known for something more controversial: brokering the power-sharing deal between the top two political honchos of another country, Zimbabwe. This power-sharing scheme has really been more of a power struggle between Morgan Tsvangirai’s MDC party and the aging despot Robert Mugabe’s Zanu-PF party. True to his nature of clinging on to power even if he is rather close to the 100-year age mark, Mugabe has given the key positions of government to members of his own party. Tsvangirai, logically, has threatened to back out of the so-called power-sharing deal.

The two politicos are acting as they are – political animals – by sheer logic of their nature. The deal broker continues to hold the uncertainty of his position in brokering the deal. And the country of Zimbabwe continues to languish in the brunt of a ridiculously skyrocketing inflation in the trillions, as well as augmenting the lives of its people with foreign aid. Those who have fled, some over 3 million people out of the original 13 million in population, now suffer the fate of displaced people or refugees.
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Since elections are largely a game of perception, the upcoming US presidential elections is at feverish pitch with smear campaigns. For Barack Hussein Obama, it’s working both ways on the perception scale. Those who are for him are accused of terrorism, while those against, of racism. The McCain-Palin camp brands Obama a terrorist. A Muslim-sounding name can easily be associated with Radical Islamism a.k.a. terrorism. So, if Obama wins, the hugely-budgeted US-sponsored campaign towards global collective panic and power of nightmares called War on Terror would have obviously worn out its use.

What’s in a name? A lot. A Muslim-sounding name makes for a Muslim stereotype which, in turn, makes for the terrorist stereotype. This is so because, in this day and age, the pervading mindset is that not all Muslims are terrorists, but all terrorists are Muslims. So, someone with a Hussein in his name is “palling around with terrorists,” as Sarah Palin averred.
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I am worried about terrorism in India. Not just Islamic, which without any questions and doubts does get addressed and taken adequate action against, but also Hindu terrorism, which always escapes from the grip of authorities for lack of hard evidence. Honestly, if nothing is done about the situation in Orissa we shall probably have yet another terrorist group, but this time participated by Christians.

The ‘gorious’ work of the Bajrang Dal in Orissa is not a figment of anybody’s imagination. Innocent people are murdered in cold-blood, burnt alive, nuns raped…do we really need more facts to take a call against the religious group? PM Manmohan Singh wants to ban the group immediately but defiance within his party is problematic because they fear the BJP may reap dividends out of it. So, in the political plotting nobody really suffers but people like the Armyman who fought for our country in the Indo-Pak and Kargil War; his paralysed brother gets torched by fanatics chanting “Jai Hanuman” in Orissa.

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Already beleaguered about her ‘presumed’ incapacity as future VP of the world’s biggest economy that might soon be no more because of the economic meltdown and controversial bailout, Palin has now been found guilty of abusing her gubernatorial powers in her native Alaska. The state legislature probe asserts that Palin dismissed a senior state official Mr. Monegan for not firing a state trooper Mike Wooten. This might sound like any ordinary day in the life of Alaska’s governor except that Wooten is the governor’s former brother-in-law who is in a bitter custody battle with the governor’s sister.

If that sounds like a story that is discussed inside one’s kitchen, this development takes the cake: the investigation was a partisan-led inquiry sponsored by supporters of Obama. If personal grudge is behind her abuse of power, the probe’s exorbitant 263-page report is an indication of what being the running mate of Republican standard bearer John McCain has to offer in the dirty world of politics. Surely, the report would have less number of pages if she were just plain governor.
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