Browsing Category: "World"
Kudos to the human spirit! It’s amazing to see the successors of Adam & Eve survive through what not. Especially in a time when each day brings in more bad news economy wise, a very interesting observation caught one’s attention.
Thanks to the economic slowdown, Americans have been busy cutting down luxuries to make ends meet. They are willing to eat only Ramen noodles for dinner every night, but absoultely anything for their one retreat – movies!
Tags: · americans, economic slowdown, movies
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.
Tags: · crime, drugs, goa, murder, rape, tourist, unsafe
In 2007, the United Nations admitted that it overstated the extent of the epidemic to help gather political and financial support for combating AIDS. Today, a vaccine against the disease is still to be found, in spite of an $11.3 billion global research fund to date. One vaccine, on trial, showed that it increased the risk of contracting the disease, instead of preventing it. Even the U.S. National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases doubt its capability to predict whether an effective vaccine will, indeed, be developed. But they are “not giving up.” Now, everybody is worried that the current global recession is going to affect research funding.
Because the word ‘Africa’ conjures up images of misery and pain due to disease (and, thus, would be a good PR point for fundraising anytime), Africa is said to be devastated by AIDS. The ‘dark continent’ always does look good on some concerned group’s development report. Besides, it is always tempting to fiddle with African figures since the continent is largely unknown and unknowable, therefore, prone to approximating the unknown. We also always expect the worst of Africa, and that is a prevailing mindset. If one looks closely at the figures coming from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), the estimators of AIDS, and compare it with the African data on disease mortality, AIDS is not Africa’s killer disease. Malaria is.
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According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the three ills to life in the 21st Century are: globalization of unhealthy lifestyles, rapid unplanned urbanization, and ageing of populations. These are, purportedly, the big threats to health because these three reasons bring about the increase in chronic diseases such as heart disease, stroke, and cancer. While these are the top killers in the world, these illnesses are mostly for countries that do not have the tag “poor.” Because if we consider the comparatively more populous Third World, especially Africa, the top killers are malaria, diarrhea, and tuberculosis.
If WHO were to make another listing of three ills to life in the 21st century for poor nations, these would be: poor access to healthcare, gross lack of information and miseducation about health and healthcare, and the politics behind global healthcare that eventually handicaps the distribution of much-needed healthcare to the poor and marginalized.
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60 percent of all people in 26 countries are adversely affected by the high cost of food and fuel. Quite logically, the brunt is felt greatest in poor countries. According to an international NGO, upwards of 900 million people faced starvation because of the high cost of food. Additionally, the rise in cost of basic food such as grain had caused hunger this year to some 119 million people. When resources are scarce and food is less attainable, people resort to the only logical thing to do: eat less. Because the cost of food has gone up across the globe, both developing and rich countries have their share of experiences in eating less.
There are major reasons for this pervading hunger. And these have really nothing to do with the current economic meltdown. Today, there simply are fewer lands planted to crops that can produce basic food grain. Most of these lands have been converted into industrial estates in pursuit of exponential material gain, or housing projects for a burgeoning population. Vis a vis, there are simply too many people for so few or even dwindling resources. Farming has turned into crops that can be converted into biofuel, in the pursuit of alternative to precious oil. Food has been expensive to transport because of high energy costs. Droughts and desertification have arisen because of the effects of global warming.
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Once the dust settled on the first test in Bangalore, India seemed to have got over some of the demons of the past before moving on to Mohali to take on the world champions. Batting in the fourth innings to save a test match has not been something the Indian contingent has accomplished in some time. They have constantly crumbled under pressure and have folded within a space of 70 overs in the fourth innings. When Sehwag and Dravid fell early, the collapse seemed all but imminent.
Tags: · Anil Kumble, India vs. Australia 2008, Ricky Ponting, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Test Cricket
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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According to international nuclear inspectors, a Russian scientist helped the Iranians with technical know-how and also helped them conduct complex experiments on ways of detonating a nuclear weapon. The fact that this information was revealed excitedly on the New York Times has more political reasons than any real danger from either the Russian scientist or the Iranian nuclear hounds.
The U.S. has been trying to create the image of an impending calamity due to Russian aggressive behaviors when the real reason why Russians are growing increasingly aggressive is because they have their own fears. The Iranians may or may not pose a threat to the world, but a bigger threat to the world lies in the form of American foreign policies and propaganda such as the one about the Russian scientist. What appalls me is that a venerable newspaper like the New York Times is also not immune to prejudice and, directly or indirectly participates in the dissemination of American propaganda.
Tags: · America, Government, Imperialism, Iran, Media, News, Nuclear Weapons, Politics, Russia, U.S
A very strange thing happened the other day. It was like a doubt cropping up in my mind on something as stable and unquestioned as the validity of the military. Actually, it all started when a friend from Japan just mentioned off the hook, that officials of the armed forces in her country are not treated with respect. Now, this was a real shocker. Because being an Army brat, I always revelled in the glory of being an Indian Army Officer’s daughter. But now, there was someone who made me realise that this glory of the defense forces has no appreciation in the eyes of Japan.
It happened post World War II and the unfortunate Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings, that the Japanese Constitution renounced the use of force as a means of resolving dispute. In other words, the age-old and much revered Japanese ‘let’s die for the king’ sentiment was erased from the mindsets of the people. Somewhere around 1947, the Public Security Force was formed which later progressed into the Ground Self Defense Force which is not like your regular military force.
As the name suggests, the soldiers of this military organisation are trained to use weapons only for defense, nothing else. But even that approach hasn’t won them any brownie points with common people. In fact, they are ashamed of wearing their uniform outside the premises of the army area. Mainly because they do not like to be scrutinised or questioned or singled out by the pacifists.
This was a very weird phenomenon indeed. Coming from India, where a Captain in the army has more respect in the society than a millionaire, I am forced to think about the ideology that supports this phenomenon. Is it because we Indians have not been able to let got of violence? Despite Gandhi ji’s teachings and example, we still require a stern hand to keep us in check and yes, we never think twice to do the same if someone is supposedly off track. Violence is intrinsic to our psyche. Perhaps, that is why parents so readily beat their children, husbands their wives and army men do the same at the border. It all rounds up to one question – Do we really need wars, and the military by consequence? Or will it take another Hiroshima and Nagasaki in India to teach us the lesson of peace.
Mobile phones have changed our lives in more than one way. It has given a new dimension to our lives, attempting to remove the “ennui” and “dread” from our deepest chambers of hearts. This idea came recently after I saw a production of Sartre’s No Exit. His mouthpiece famously retorts in the play “Hell is other people.” While travelling back from the theatre, I realised how much effort people were making to keep away from each other. I saw a young lady completely immersed in her book, even though she could not have made a word in the bumpy ride! And most others were busy sounding “busy” on their mobile phones.
As compatriots of Existential philosophy (including me) assert that we have been dropped in this meaning less world without any essence, and that the whole responsibility of finding essence rests on us. If you have you read/seen Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot you would remember how Gogo and Didi are engaged in munching a stale carrot because they have nothing else to do. Similarly, playing with the grown up’s toy- cell phone, give us some meaning to our lives. It is definitely a way to kill the ennui in our lives.
If you are feeling out of place in a surrounding, simply take out your cell and do something on it- play a game, watch your videos or read your mails. You will get the satisfaction of utilizing you time well. Well, I am not criticising or appreciating this trend, its only an observation made. In this world bereft of any meaning, fiddling on cell phones is one of the many ways in which we try to tackle our “existential dilemma”.
Tags: · Cell phone, dread, ennui, Existential philosophy, gadget, Mobile phones, No Exit, Samuel Beckett, Sartre, Waiting for Godot
