Altered tastes?

I was listening to some music today and it got me thinking about my current taste in music. The genre I have been listening to is quite different to what I used to listen to back home. This got me thinking about whether my tastes in music have changed with my experiences in America, or whether I would have always liked this genre if I had given it a try before I got here. After all, the music I am currently listening to is not something I actively sought out, I heard it at parties and stuff and found that I like it. Its not like I don't like the music I used to listen to anymore, its just that I like the new stuff better.

This has got me wondering on whether the type of music a person listens to is a reflection of who the person is, as in something innate (born with a predisposition to one genre) - or is it a reflection of a person's experiences? Will I still like Oasis and Coldplay twenty years from now or would fresher experiences have altered my taste?

The best, the worst, the most memorable...

Its the time of the year again, the time when the list of the best and the worst and the most memorable and what not is released.

On list in particular caught my attention today and that is "The Top Ten Memorable Quotes of 2007", compiled by the editor of the Yale Book of Quotations. No. 1 just cracks me up (though there was nothing funny about the situation):

1. "Don't taser me, bro." - Andrew Meyer, a senior at the University of Florida, while being hauled away by campus police during a speech by Sen. John Kerry.
2. "I personally believe that U.S. Americans are unable to do so because some people out there in our nation don't have maps and I believe that our education like such as in South Africa and Iraq and everywhere like such as and I believe that they should our education over here in the U.S. should help the U.S. or should help South Africa and should help Iraq and the Asian countries so we will be able to build up our future for us." - Lauren Upton, South Carolina contestant in the Miss Teen USA contest, when asked why one-fifth of Americans cannot find the U.S on a map.
   
   The video is on youtube. Click here to watch.
3. "In Iran we don't have homosexuals like in your country." - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad, speaking at Columbia University in New York.
4. "That's some nappy-headed hos there." - radio personality Don Imus, referring to the Rutgers University women's basketball team.
5. "I don't recall." - former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' repeated response to congressional questions about the firing of U.S. attorneys.
6. "There's only three things he (Rudolph Giuliani) mentions in a sentence: a noun and a verb and 9/11." - Sen. Joseph Biden, speaking during a debate for Democratic presidential candidates.
7. "I'm not going to get into a name-calling match with somebody who has a 9 percent approval rating." - Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Democrat, referring to Vice President Dick Cheney.
8. "(I have) a wide stance when going to the bathroom." - Sen. Larry Craig, explaining why his foot touched the foot of an undercover police officer in an airport men's room.
9. "I mean, you got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy. I mean, that's a storybook, man." - Sen. Joseph Biden referring to rival Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama.
10. "I think as far as the adverse impact on the nation around the world, this administration has been the worst in history." - Former President Jimmy Carter, referring to the Bush administration.

I noticed that there were no Bushisms on this list and I thought "I'm the decider, and I decide what is best; and what's best is for Don Rumsfeld to remain as the secretary of defense" should be on the list, but it turns out, this was said in 2006. I guess I can relegate it to the best quotes of the decade, for the sheer irony if nothing else, given that Rumsfeld was gone a couple months later. I guess he decided it was time for Rumsfeld to go.

While on Bushisms, my favorite so far is "I heard somebody say, "now, where is Mandela?" Well, Mandela is dead because Saddam Hussein killed all the Mandelas".

What would we do without Bushisms? This is a talent....

Totally globalizational!

I had my Black Friday experience this year! After hearing about the super deals last year, I decided that I will try to go out this year, to check it out, if nothing else. It turned out though that I needed a laptop, and learning about the deals that Best Buy had, I was ready to face the elements.

When I told my friends about it, they refused to come along to give me company and told me that I was crazy. I however was determined to have this totally American experience. I was told that getting there at 10.30 pm for a store that opened at 5.00 am was a crazy idea, but when I got there, there were easily over a hundred people ahead of me. There were entire families with tents pitched outside the store! Of course, there was plenty to keep me entertained. Two fights that cracked me up and various other conversation kept me entertained most of the time. After a 7 hour wait, I did get what I had gone there for, so it was totally worth it.

When I got back, I had trouble setting up my system and so I called customer support. To no surprise, an Indian answered and identified himself as Jack. I told him I was Sri Lankan and asked him what his real name was. From that point, we discussed everything from the recent bomb blasts in India to "Jack's" plans for the future.

He was completely informed about Black Friday and knew about the deals that were offered and then he asked me about my plans for Cyber Monday. I had no idea what that was and he explained it to me. When I talked to my American friends about it though, no one knew what Cyber Monday was!

Globalization in simple terms, is the world becoming one big village - to me, this incident defines globalization.

Its that time again!

Thanksgiving is here again! I have decided that it is my favorite American holiday. Campus is looking empty already and I love how quiet it is. The feast is tomorrow and I am ready! Haven't had the opportunity this year to sit around much and I cannot believe how fast the semester has gone by. So many of us already have vacation plans in place!

I wish I could hear about...

I was having a discussion with a bunch of friends last night and the latest topics in the news came up - Ellen's dog and Hillary Clinton's laugh. I noted that CNN international gave better news than the local CNN network and told them that if they wanted to watch real news, CNN international is definitely a better source. By no means am I saying that it is the standard bearer. To the contrary, their standard has gone down. I can think of three very current issues that are actual news (and very relevant to America) not being covered by the local news networks:

1. The new agreement in the European Union that will significantly change the workings of the bloc. It is a reform treaty known as the "Lisbon Treaty", signed by all the members last week. According to Gordon Brown, there are significant policy changes on the table that may come as early as December. I seriously doubt that, given the bungling bureaucracy that the EU is, but the members seem determined to get this right. More so after the constitutional issue that fell flat on its face.
   
   
2. Condoleezza Rice's seventh - yes, count that, seventh trip to the middle east this year. This is beyond "shuttle diplomacy". To me, this is "desperately fishing for a legacy diplomacy". Every time the messes created by dubya get too overwhelming, the Israel - Palestine conflict gets attention. This is the ever reliable scape goat of this administration's foreign policy. The newest contraption of this policy - a summit in Annapolis, already doomed to fail because the framework cannot be agreed on by the two parties.
   
   
3. Steven Colbert and Jon Stewart mentioned it, but no one else. Not a peep has been said in the mainstream media about it. I am referring to the book by John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt about the Israeli lobby in the United States and its effects on foreign policy. I have no first hand knowledge of what the book says and will reserve judgement. The authors however are being dissed and condemned for writing a book that does not take too kindly to its subject. I know, from the interview of one of the authors on "The Colbert Report" that the book narrates a view that is not consistent with majority American opinion and therefore has not been given any coverage.
   

What a pity that Britney Spears' underwear seems to get more attention.

Its not all about you

In one of my classes last week, the issue of Iran came up, again. There was a divide in class opinion about what should be done about Iran providing weapons to Iraqi insurgents and continuous Iranian interference in Iraqi internal affairs. It was pointed out that this is not Iran's only transgression. Their support of the Palestinians and quest for nuclear weapons was mentioned. It was also pointed out that the rulers of Iran were "crazy" because they had rules forcing men to grow beards.

I thought the entire argument was ridiculous. It struck me that my classmates didn't get that it was not America's place to enforce international law, especially law that is broken by America on a daily basis. There are many dimensions to this argument which will make this post so much longer, but that is not the point of this post.

In the case of Iran let me point out that it is a democracy. It is not a democracy in the way that America is, but neither is any other country on the planet. In fact, going by accepted standards, Saudi Arabia is a worse democracy than Iran which has had regular free and fair elections and they are interfering in Iraqi affairs too, as is Turkey. It is a free for all in that region right now because of the mess created by America.

On the issue of transgressions, Iranians have not forgotten the Shah that was supported by America after a democracy was overthrown. Lets not forget Chile, Nicaragua, Haiti, Lebanon, Vietnam and Liberia, all of which are a clear case of internal interference by America. Now, these might be justified because its all a case of "good" fighting "evil" and the fact that these were terrorists. Right now, international opinion sees America as the terrorist and biggest threat to stability so going by the "good" fighting "evil" standard, all these countries should bring sanctions against America.

Finally, I believe it was Egypt that said that it will join the "Coalition of the Willing" only if there was an international definition of "terrorism" and not an American one. America refused of course saying if you are not with us, you are against us. The irony here is, as pointed out in class, the American definition of terrorism, makes America a terrorist and a state sponsor of terrorism.

What should we do about that?

Following the leader

I find it interesting that Turkey cites the resolution by the US Congress calling the killings of Armenians by turkey a century ago genocide as an excuse to beat war drums. What gets me though is the fact that this resolution by the Turkish Parliament seemed inevitable and it would have come anyway, regardless of the resolution by the US Congress. What this resolution has done is provide Turkey with an excuse to ignore US concerns and enter Iraq, just like "WMD" allowed the US to get into Iraq despite international concerns.

The response of the Turkish Prime Minister to US concerns was “did they seek permission from anyone when they came from a distance of 10,000 kilometers and hit Iraq?. We do not need anyone else’s advice.”

This brings back memories, specifically the response by the US government to international concern about their preparations for a war in Iraq. It was basically to the effect of "we will do whatever we need to in order to protect our security." Turkey is towing this line now. US influence and credibility in the region is clearly diminishing, evident in the statement of the Turkish Prime Minister addressing concern that the US Turkey relationship would be affected. He said “if such an option is chosen, whatever its price, it will be paid”. There is nothing much the US can really do. I guess bribing Turkey is an option but it didn't help before the Iraq war started and is unlikely to help now. Besides, Turkey clearly has the upper hand.

The purpose of government is to ensure the interests of a group is protected and the more the government is given the power to do this, the more individual liberties have to be given up. I would apply this to multinational institutions like the UN where countries have had to change their foreign policy because the UN disagreed with them. What has happened since the US invasion is that the UN has been undermined as a result of the US going its own way, despite overwhelming opposition. A trend has now been set. The UN is only as strong as its members make it. The shortsightedness of this American administration and its determined perusal of "yee haa" foreign policy has severely undermined the UN and thereby, international security.

I think we can most certainly expect countries to follow the American example in their foreign policy, resulting in further conflict. What a pity that no one listens to the "unpatriotic Americans".

Pitying "the Donald"

I was channel surfing last night for something that might be interesting when I stopped on CNN and found that the ever obnoxious and abundantly arrogant Donald Trump was on Larry King Live. I fail to understand why "the Donald" would have a cult following, especially among seemingly educated people. Last night, the extent of my consternation was further amplified.

At the end of the ten or so minutes that I watched him, I found that I actually felt sorry for the man. He was talking about his book and was explaining that there is a chapter in it where he advocates taking revenge and says it is therapeutic. He further went on to gloat about how much of a best seller his book was and as always, dissed everyone that came to mind. He had not one good word to say about anyone. On the topic of revenge, he told Larry King that Larry was like that too. Larry tried to explain that he wasn't but Trump cut him of saying something to the effect of "I know you Larry, you are like that". He knows Larry King better than Larry King knows himself! The consummate champion of all things good always seems to have a few words for Rosie and this time was no exception either.

I was sitting there thinking about how pathetic he was. Here is a man who professes to have "made it" in life, but cannot get past putting people down. I cant help but feel immensely sorry for him. What a small man he is. Someone needs to tell him that constantly putting people down and revengeful action are typical signs of low self esteem and at times, mental disorders. That is "the Donald" I see.

Why Gore?

Congrats to Al Gore and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change for receiving the Nobel Peace Prize this year. I have one question though - why?

I have had the same question for the last few times that the Nobel committee has awarded the prize and since I now have a blog, I can write about it. Looking at the list of winners, I noticed that the "branching out" happened in 2003, and has remained consistent since:

2007 - Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Albert Arnold (Al) Gore Jr.
2006 - Muhammad Yunus, Grameen Bank
2005 - International Atomic Energy Agency, Mohamed ElBaradei
2004 - Wangari Maathai
2003 - Shirin Ebadi

What I mean by "branching out" is that the prize has been given to people who have not directly been involved in any peace initiatives. The committee has "branched out" before, like in 1944 when the award was given to the Red Cross or in 1999 when it was given to Médecins Sans Frontières but more or less it has been awarded to individuals like Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu, and entities like the UN Peace Keeping Forces.

The argument made for environmentalists is that given the importance of environmental resources, the impact of their work creates awareness and therefore prevents war over those resources. This is a logical argument and even though it might have some slim basis in fact, I am not convinced.

I cannot make a case against Wangari Maathai and Shirin Ebadi or any of the others because it is probably the case that they have worked for years in their respective fields before getting the award. Furthermore, they probably never acted contradictory to the actions they received their respective awards for. In the case of Gore however, this is not the case. I think all his actions should be taken into consideration and not only what he has done in the last few years. Those actions include taking no action against the genocide in Rwanda and the NATO bombing of Kosovo during the Clinton Presidency. I am not claiming that he is solely responsible for these things; but neither is he solely responsible for creating awareness about the perils of climate change.

Just Another School Shooting?

I woke up yesterday to the news of another school shooting. This time in Cleveland. I go to class and no one seems to care when I bring it up. One of my class mates actually said "oh another school shooting". I for one am bewildered by the reaction or lack thereof to news of another school shooting. This gets me thinking about how many school shootings I have heard of since I got to America and I started looking things up.

The number of school shootings since August 2006 (in reverse chronological order) that I found on the Brady Campaign website, :

Dover, Delaware. September 21, 2007
Newark, New Jersey. August 4, 2007.
Dallas, Texas. June 29, 2007.
Huntersville, North Carolina. April 18, 2007.
Blackburg, Virginia. April 16, 2007.
Gresham, Oregon. April 10, 2007.
Midland, Michigan. March 7, 2007.
Los Angeles, California. January 26, 2007.
Tacoma, Washington. January 3, 2007.
Springfield Township, Pennsylvania. December 12, 2006.
Clinton, South Carolina. November 9, 2006.
Joplin, Missouri. October 9, 2006.
Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania. October 2, 2006.
Cazenovia, Wisconsin. September 29, 2006.
Bailey, Colorado. September 27, 2006.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. September 17, 2006.
Green Bay, Wisconsin. September 14, 2006.
Hillsborough, North Carolina. August 30, 2006.
Essex, Vermont. August 24, 2006.

That's 19 in that list and since then, the incident this week in Cleveland. That's a total of 20 incidents within about a year. I think this would be enough to start a national debate or some discourse on the method of selling guns in this country, safety issues in schools and about what might be driving all these incidents. However, there seems to be nothing (in the mainstream at least). Looking around, I found the website of the author of the "Copycat Effect". This is the site of the author who has studied school shootings and written about them, concluding that there is a trend and that incidents are more likely certain times of the school year. I found it fascinating and think it is a site that should be looked at.

The worst thing to me though is that Americans seem to have accepted these incidents as inevitable and a part of their lives and seem totally indifferent to it. This is something I cannot bring myself to understand.

Power?

I recently read a note on facebook by someone who is studying at Columbia University. He had written about what he thinks power is. He mentions that he has never been in its presence. He had an idea about it, heard about it, but never really felt it until he got to Columbia. He says that being at Columbia means that he is in the presence of power explaining that just going into the Career Services office shows a person how powerful Columbia is when you look at the resources at its disposal and things like that.

"Interesting" is the first word that came to mind when I read that note. I guess we all have an abstract idea of what power really is but have never really thought about it until, like in the case of this individual, we think that we have come across it. Thinking about it, I realize that this is something that different individuals would see differently. Just like "justice" or "social responsibility". Abstract concepts that no one really thinks about until they stare you in the face.

So what really is power? I have no idea but I doubt Columbia has it. If it is being able to get things done because of access to resources, that makes Columbia resourceful. This makes me thinks of other things that we just accept. Things like America being the most powerful country in the world. No one disputes this, but what does it really mean? If it is so, why is Bin Laden still at large? Is it because he is more powerful than America? Again, conventional wisdom would dispute this.

Another thing widely stated is that the American President is the most powerful person in the world. Then why does he have trouble with the US Congress with regard to Iraq policy? That, I am told is all about the separation of powers, the great thing about the US. Then, the power is separated right?

Thinking about it, I don't think power in itself can be defined. I would suggest that it is a combination of a couple of concepts: reputation, resources, money, physical strength, intelligence, authority, control, capacity and influence; to name a few.

Its been a while...

I finally logged into my blogger account today and the first thing I saw up there displayed very prominently was "last post on April 22". I know! Its been a while.

I can honestly say that I have missed airing my views on cyberspace but a series of unfortunate events have kept me away from my niche longer than necessary. This has made me a little superstitious and I am wondering if not blogging on January 1st was a mistake. Anyway, I am back and feeling really good about it.

Whats been happening so far is that I have put an awful summer behind me and am back in school. Have been for about a month now and its just been one thing after another that's prevented me from posting.

Stuff happened over the summer that I don't want to go into. Suffice it to say however that my exposure to more of America was quite interesting and at times scary! I travelled by bus quite frequently and met the most random people. I like the public transport in Broward county and enjoyed most of the rides. One thing I noticed on the buses though was how they put up posters at the top near the hood. I saw quite a variety of them up there: advertisements, information about various things, articles, poems, drawings. One thing I noticed on most buses was this particualar poster educating gay men about safe sex. The thing about it that caught me was that they never used the word "gay" and the posters always had pictures of black men. I thought that might be just because the people who travelled on the bus mostly were immigrants from the Caribbean but still I thought that they gave the wrong impression. I for one know plenty of white gay men. So much for equality.

Right now what has my attention is Mr. Ahmedinejad. What a circus his trip has been turned into! We were discussing it in one of my classes the other day and the professor was telling us about how Americans play right into his hands by giving him so much attention. There were other world leaders who spoke at Columbia university, but does anyone know who they were? I for one have no idea. I guess it all fits nicely into what the politicians like to do to get votes, IE fear mongering. Especially given the frontloading with regard to primaries going on and the sheer number of contenders for the presidency, it makes sense. Every one wants to cash in on the fear being generated.

Finally, on a personal note, Philosophy sucks! I am doing the intro course this semester, just because it is a core requirement. I thought it might be interesting though and looked forward to studying it, until I actually got to class. Plato is one boring guy and I told my professor that. Well, not that exactly but in so many words. He got it though.

A year gone by....

I'm coming to terms with the fact that my freshman year is coming to an end. It seems like only yesterday I was running around campus with a map trying to find my classes, trying to get settled in and blend into a culture that is in so many ways opposite to mine. Orientation week was overwhelming and it was more than once that I wondered if I had done the right thing by coming here. However, as the semester progressed, I got to know people, got involved, got into a routine, found a job and settled down. In a couple of weeks I couldn't imagine not living on campus or rushing to classes and struggling to meet deadlines.

I have met so many great people and a few not so great people. I learned to find my way around and judge people better. I have had classes that I hated and classes that I loved, professors that I would rather not have had and professors that I wish I could have all my classes with, classes that taught me things I never thought I would find useful and classes that I rushed to pick and later found to be an absolute bore. There are things I have come to love on my campus and things I am not so fond of, but wouldn't really want to change. There have always been moments of "what if", but they have gotten further apart as I have learned to find my way.

Something I have absolutely come to love about college is the random moments that can occur, like having a revealing, in depth conversation with people you happen to have breakfast with one day, or meeting someone on the way to somewhere and just cancelling your plans and watching the sunset while pigging on ice cream. I have done things I never thought I would do, seen things I never thought I would see, heard things I never thought I would hear and learned from it all. I recall how overjoyed I was when I managed to go through my first week, and I have the same feeling now that I am approaching the end of my first year.

Looking back on it all, if there is anything I have learned in the year gone by, it is that I have a lot more to learn and I am very much looking forward to it....

Oh Imus!

Finally, Don Imus was fired. I'm sure people like Al Sharpton are happy about it and people like Bill Maher believe that free speech has been compromised. I honestly do not understand what the issue is. Obviously, it was an insulting remark that Imus made, and he did apologize. OK, apology accepted, lets move on with our lives. But no, we cannot do that because this is not his first offense and this comment is just too much for those poor innocent college girls to take, therefore, Imus needs to be fired.

Seriously! Those girls are in college and I'm sure they are being called things just as bad all the time. Ive heard people on my campus being called horrible stuff that no one should be called, but somehow, that doesn't seem to bother anyone. Just to be clear, I am not defending Imus here. Its just that I see a very clear double standard exposed by this incident that no one seems to be talking about. Boys address others as "dawgs" all the time. Personally, I would be insulted if anyone addressed me like that. However, I seem to be the only one that seems to be bothered. Some of the songs that I have heard "stars" sing are deplorable! They refer to girls as "bitches" and "whores" and worse things than that. In fact, these songs have the "n word" constantly repeated in their lyrics. How is that OK?

Apparently it is because as someone told me "they are artists and they are expressing themselves." Really? what was Imus doing then? Another argument I have heard made often is: "don't listen to it if you find it offensive". Why then can we not turn of Imus when we don't like what he says?

Herein lies the double standard I see. Everyday I hear black people listen to despicable music that talks about girls just as Imus did. In fact, blacks are the ones singing the songs! They dance to it and think it is the coolest thing. This to me is self degradation defined. However, when someone else calls you something you call yourself everyday, it becomes an issue. Why is that? Why don't we all avoid using these words? Why don't we fire all these singers who make money out of putting us down? Most of all though, why do we enjoy it?

Something I read long ago comes to mind: "If you put a low price on yourself, rest assured that the world will not raise it."

"Exponential Times"

Really dont know how far this is true, but it put things in perspective and gets you thinking:

Not her job, but some one's got to do it!

The Speaker of the house is in Syria and there is a huge deal being made about it. The charge is that it is not her job to engage in diplomacy and that Syria is a state sponsor of terrorism. The Dems shot back that various members of the house have been travelling to the country, including ranking members of the Republican party and that it is no big deal.

I don't think the Speaker of the house should be in Syria - at least not on an official visit. I believe that she shouldn't have met with the Syrian President regardless of her opinion on the matter cause it is the policy of the United States not to engage with Syria. Setting the policy is the job of the American President and Pelosi's actions undermine that policy, however shitty and counter productive it is. That being said, I firmly believe that reaching out to Syria is the key to addressing American gripes and since Condi isn't doing it, some one's got to do it!

Radio and Television Correspondents dinner

I just watched President Bush address the Radio and Television Correspondents dinner on youtube. Its nice to see the president cracking jokes. I'm sure it mustn't have been easy. Drives home the fact that he is human too. This is the best speech I have heard him make so far.



There was also a skit by two of the "Whose Line Is It Anyway" guys. The last bit of their skit was a rap song about Karl Rove. It was Rove in a whole new light.

Those fire alarms!!

I had never heard a fire alarm ring until I got here. The first time I heard it was about three weeks into my first semester. I was in my room studying when I heard it go off. Never having heard a fire alarm before, I didn't recognize it. I actually thought it was one of my hall mates playing their music. After all, I had heard songs like "chicken noodle soup" and "peanut butter and jelly" and wouldn't have been surprised if this was a song. I ignored it until I heard people running around in the hall and went to find out what was going on. I was told that we had to evacuate the building. It turned out to be a hoax.

The alarm has gone off three times since then that I was around for and each time it was a hoax. I don't understand why they even put alarms in the building. It is a brick building and would not catch fire anyway. The best part though is that when someone actually lit a paper on fire in one of the halls this semester, the alarm didn't go off!

Testing the "War on Terror"

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) have been fighting the government of Sri Lanka for over two decades. They have used various tactics, including suicide bombing. They claim that the government has continuously discriminated against the minority Tamils, compelling them to carry out a separatist war.

I am not a supporter of the LTTE's methods and I do not support their cause, but I believe they have genuine gripes, including consistently being discriminated against by the Buddhist majority. Being a die hard proponent of the concept of satyagraha, I firmly believe that civil disobedience would further their cause more than violence ever will.

However, the LTTE has continued its fight and has grown over the years, earning the reputation of being one of the worlds most ruthless terrorist organizations. They have well established funding and weapons smuggling networks and are prescribed as a terrorist organization in many countries including the UK and US.

I am in no way claiming that the successive Sri lankan governments are innocent in all this. In fact, they have been corrupt, inefficient and very much responsible for the sorry state of affairs of my country. Not one of them has had the courage to come up with a solution to this conflict and have been fudging with national security forever. The government though is elected and sovereign whereas the LTTE kills any political opponents while claiming to be the sole representatives of the Tamil people.

This brings me to the point of this posting. On Monday the LTTE carried out an aerial bombing of a Sri Lankan Air force base. This is a terrorist organization, which now has a air force! There is no terrorist organization in the world that has aircraft! This is unheard of and unthinkable, yet it happened. The fact that the LTTE has aircraft and used them to attack should send shivers down the spine of any government. This not only threatens Sri Lankan and regional security, but international security. If one terrorist organization is capable of acquiring aircraft, which terrorist organization is not?

Curiously though, none of these governments seems to have even noticed. In fact, one would think that a "Coalition of the Willing" fighting an "International War on Terror" would in the very least have something to say. Somehow though, there has been no significant reaction from any of these countries.

This is why I have always maintained that the "War on Terror" is a big fat farce. This attack to me is a real test of the "War on Terror". If fighting terrorism is the real motive, in the least there would be strong reactions. Yet, there are none. The fact that an illegal terrorist organization that is more ruthless than any other has now got a functioning air force doesn't seem to be raising any eyebrows.

Too caught up in its own issues and the arrogant belief that its power is infinite, the world's sole superpower is failing to provide leadership that is desperately required. In the process, it is undermining its actions and destroying its credibility. Historically, this has signalled the beginning of the end of an empire.

Sinking a billion hopes

One thing I never really thought I would miss is cricket. Sri Lanka won the world cup in 1996, and ever since, the country has been cricket crazy. It is so widely played and televised that any one could be forgiven for thinking that it is our national sport.

As recently as during my trip back home in February, I could be heard telling people discussing the forthcoming world cup that cricket is one thing I don't miss. I always thought it was a waste of time, and still do.

However, since the world cup started this month, I have found myself visiting (intentionally) the world cup site a few times. Just the fact that I am curious about world cup news is a new development that has surprised me. Before I got here, if I visited the site even once, it would be a big deal. On the other hand, if I were back home, I would be surrounded by never ending discussions of every bowl over and over again. Given that there are 600 bowls per cricket match, that's a lot of conversation that I would rather not hear. My life is devoid of those conversations now and I'm wondering if absence really does make the heart grow fonder.

I visited the site a while ago to find out the results of Sri Lanka's match against India today and was overjoyed when I read: "Sri Lanka sink a billion hopes". I immediately messaged a (typical Indian) cricket obsessed friend of mine to gloat about it. I also read about Pakistan's coach being murdered and hope that things are resolved soon.

That however does not sour our victory and I am just as overjoyed as any Sri Lankan right now. In fact, at this moment, I can picture my family celebrating and my Indian cousins going into mourning. The news coming out of Sri Lanka in the past few days hasn't been good and I hope all my fellow Sri Lankans are taking a moment to revel in this victory.

I know I am.

Civil disobedience + Bin Laden = joke?

We were discussing civil disobedience and the factors that need to be present for it to be considered as civil disobedience in my American government class yesterday and obviously, the Mahatma and Martin Luther King were discussed. While these discussions were on, my mind wandered and I imagined Bin Laden and his gang marching down Pennsylvania Avenue, placards and all, voicing their gripes. I burst out laughing at the thought, which I'm sure most of us would do.

Thinking about it later though, I was wondering if it was really that funny. I would think that if any one could carry out civil disobedience, it would be a "radical Muslim" like Bin Laden. Look at what the pillars of Islam constitute. We have fasting - abstinence from food or drink from sunrise to sunset for 30 days straight. We have prayers that are prayed 5 times a day at specific times and the pilgrimage of Hajj. I would think that if any one could summon the discipline required to carry out civil disobedience, it would be Bin Laden.

WHAT!!

I was in (digital) art class yesterday, and the professor advised us to buy the software while we were still students cause once we lost the student discount, we would be paying much more. One thing led to another and she mentioned that the software costs about $ 500 with the discount, whereas without the discount, it costs more than $ 800. One of my classmates took the words out of my mouth when he yelled out: WHAT!!

Now, I know things work differently here, and that there are copyright laws and yada yada yada, but seriously, WHAT!!

I was just thinking about it, and I really dont think it it costs the company even 1/5 of that to make the software and distribute it. Exploitation is what this is.

Frankly, that is not what this post is about though. I really dont care how much they charge cause if I didnt know before taking this course, I know now that art is not for me. The thing is, everytime we have trade representatives from the US and European countries visit us, they want copyright laws to be enacted and enforced. Honestly, good luck with that!

If there are talented people, who need this software to study and use their talents to be a little more productive, to make a better life for themselves, they would require this software. Under no circumstances would it be possible for them to buy the original software, which costs more than how much most people earn in a year! So, their only option is to get the pirated copy, which would not cost more than $50. There is so much talk about helping to modernize countries that are lagging in development, but all that effort is wasted as long as these huge barriers exist.

If multinationals and their governments really want to stop the piracy, they need to be able to provide a real alternative that is viable and affordable. It is not that people want to steal, but that they are forced to.

Acadamy Awards and Radical Clerics

I have noticed that once an actor wins an Academy Award, every time they are introduced, their name takes on the prefix of "Academy award winner" so and so. Win one award, and this seems to stick permanently. Whether its on talk shows, movie trailers or on the news, this almost always seems to be the case. Its like getting a doctorate after which you are permanently "Dr." so and so.

To me, there seems to be a parallel between naming Academy award winners and Muqtada Al Sadr. Every time Al Sadr is mentioned, his name is preceded by "radical Shia cleric". This seems to have become his permanent prefix, just like Academy award winners have theirs. I'm sure no one disputes the fact that winning an academy award is a prestigious thing, just like no one (at least, no one in the "Coalition of the willing") disputes the claim that Muqtada Al Sadr is bad.

The thing is, whether you won an academy award or are a radical Shia cleric, that seems to define the person, which clearly is not the case. Academy award winners, and radical Shia clerics are much more than just that, and I think it is important to understand that. Just like winning an Academy award is a journey, becoming a radical Shia cleric is too, and I'm sure both categories of people have worked hard to get there. Furthermore, just like winning academy awards carries prestige in America, so does I'm sure reaching the status of "radical Shia cleric" in Iraq. The fact that he is considered "radical" would mean nothing to a man on the street in Iraq, just like "Academy award winner" would mean nothing. He is seen to be fighting the US occupation and that makes him a hero and idol, just like an academy award winner might be in America.

In mourning

Its been some time since Ive posted. Its just that Ive been in mourning. I'm dead serious. Who wouldn't be mourning these days? Firstly, for the lovely Anna Nicole Smith who was a playboy playmate and married a 85 year old millionaire who died 14 months later leaving her the money. This is a tragedy, even forcing a minister of some Caribbean island to resign.

Then, there is the loss of Britney Spears' hair. Who heard of such a tragedy!! Its really unbearable to see bald Britney, especially after we still haven't recovered from "pantie less" Britney. There is also our boy wonder Danielle Radcliffe going "stripper" on a stage in London. The horror! How could he do such a thing? Incomprehensible is what it is!

In addition to all this, I'm mourning the fact that Barack Obama isn't "black enough" to be running for president. Why God? Why didn't you make him black enough to be president?

OK, I admit I'm kidding. However, there is a tragedy here. The first time I turned on the TV and saw that Anna Nicole Smith was dead, my reaction was "who the heck is she?". Of course, I'm not American therefore I wouldn't know, so I asked around and all people knew is the stuff already mentioned above. I just couldn't comprehend that someone would make it to the nightly news bulletin of mainstream news networks for that. Boy, was I wrong! She is still in the news and apparently a lot of dirt is being uncovered. Really! The woman is dead! Go find yourself a life and let her RIP. Then again, there is a deeper issue here which is that the networks wouldn't be covering nonsense, if the viewers wouldn't be watching it.

Its not only Anna Nicole Smith. The fact that Britney Spears has shaved her head and is selling her hair online is driving people nuts. It's getting a lot of news coverage too. I can't come to grips with the fact that she is actually selling her hair! Then again, she wouldn't be selling it if people weren't willing to buy it right?

Then there is the issue about Danielle Radcliffe, an adult, capable of making decisions for himself and living in a part of the world where people have free will to do so playing a part in Equus where he will be nude on stage. The fact that he would choose to do such a thing is bothering people, especially after he played such an innocent role in the Harry Potter movies. I would think that if it bothered you, you wouldn't watch it! There certainly is no reason to make a hue and cry about it.

To top all the craziness coming out of the news channels, there is a debate on about whether Obama is "black enough" to be running for president. I started laughing when I heard that but soon found that contrary to what I thought, the newscaster was not joking!

Whats going on? I know there is absolutely no lack of real news. Is it that the people responsible for bringing it to us have lost their way? Is it that the people who watch the news have changed their expectations? I mean, the people who are actually asking whether Obama is black enough should get their heads checked, but even more hilarious are the people who pay attention to such bullshit.

Is it just me, or is society getting increasingly shallow and superficial and more and more obsessed with inconsequential things? Is this the domino effect of society becoming more materialistic, of mass media, today's music culture, the exploitation of freedom, deterioration of values or is it all just a passing trend?

Whatever it is, I think this overemphasis on looking a certain way, acting a certain way, eating a certain way, living a certain way, making more money and having more stuff is taking a serious toll on society. We don't seem to value anything anymore and this I believe to be the real tragedy. This I think is something to mourn about.

On my way out

What a week it has been! Its the second week back at school and things are picking up already while I am leaving for two weeks to go back to Sri Lanka. We celebrated Martin Luther King's birthday, the Democrats finished their much talked about 100 hours today though I still cant figure out where they learned to keep time. Bob Gates made a trip to Iraq - again, Shawn and Ben are back with their families and are being swamped by the media, America has been fascinated by the recent hooliganism that occurred in Taiwan's parliament, the debate is on about who won the recent spat between Rosie and Donald, more people joined the race for 08 and the battle between the legislature and the executive is warming up.

Lindsey Lohan has checked into rehab and Miss America is expected out of rehab soon. The big hullabaloo about president Carter's new book is still raging though his book really isn't all that new anymore. The State Of The Union is coming up next week and the Southwest is expecting more bizarre weather. I'm typing all this at 3 am on Saturday morning while staying awake to try and reduce the jet lag for when I get back home.

A timeless lesson in a modern day horror story

The story of Shawn Hornbeck has gripped America. Really, it is a gripping story about a boy kidnapped and held captive for four years, until his kidnapper went out and kidnapped another boy. The second kidnapping broke the case and police were able to find the second boy and the kidnapper, in the process finding Shawn. I cant imagine what the parents must have gone through. Now the media is all over the story and there will be investigations into various stuff, including whether the kidnapper wanted the boys for sex.

In addition to all the lessons coming out of this story, I think in a sick way, there is one timeless lesson that no one seems to be focusing on: greed. I am in no way condoning the actions of the kidnapper and I am as elated as any one else that this has finally come to an end, but think about it. I did, and it occurred to me that if there was no second kidnapping, Shawn wouldn't have been found yet. The story unravelled because Shawn could no longer satisfy his kidnapper, or because after four years of not getting caught he felt emboldened, but the lesson is that he became greedy and got caught. In a modern day horror story I find a timeless lesson.

This I know is a truly different view.

Laboring Under Illusions

That big speech given by the president - ya, the one on Wednesday night, I finally heard parts of it. Mr. Bush thinks that the Iraqi's owe the Americans "gratitude". I believe he still thinks that the Iraqi's will welcome the Americans with rose petals just like it was predicted before the war and he probably has some theory about why that hasn't happened yet. Maybe its the Syrians who are denying the funding needed to buy those petals? I mean, with inflation in Iraq so high, things must be really expensive!

We know the president is labouring under many illusions, but the illusion that the Iraqi's owe gratitude is one he needs to part with. In fact, Halliburton's (and other oil companies) profits show that the President has gotten way more than his share of gratitude for this war. In addition, maybe Condi should remind him that the Americans helped the Allies in World War II and look how much gratitude they got for that! Junior just doesn't seem to get it! Maybe a "surge" in the number of daddy's friends in the White House might help him come to terms with reality? Then again, maybe not, seeing as how the Baker-Hamilton commission report has been flushed down the toilet.

While on the speech and Iraq, my friend Deane wants to know what I think should be done. I think that if you are going to send troops, send enough to actually make a difference. The "Coalition of the Willing" is not so willing anymore and therefore the Americans need to cover up for that loss, and then add some more.

However, I think the Americans should pull out their troops too. Sometimes leaders have to follow, especially when you are not doing much of a job of leading. The only way to turn this around is to let the Iraqi's hit "rock bottom" and the presence of the Americans is delaying that. Leave, let them hit "rock bottom" and figure out on their own and in their own way what needs to be done. Its going to be bloody, and not what the Americans want to happen or how the Americans want it to happen, but it will happen. When it does, it is more than likely that Saddam II would rise to the top, but hey, that's the best that can be hoped for under the circumstances. At least we can be sure that Al Qaeda will not be in Iraq anymore.

We must also make note of the argument that Islamic countries can never have democracy in the way the west wants them too. I believe there is a basis for this argument though I don't believe it to be entirely true. On the other hand, the Americans need to understand that the uniqueness of their development gives them a different perception and understanding of things and that they cannot force their values on other nations that have not undergone the same development and don't see things their way.

However, if you still want to force your values on to other nations, do the whole package and not just the ones that serve your interests.

21,500

I'm hoping it is the magic number: 21,500. The number of new troops that will be going to Iraq. 21,500 more lives put at risk to achieve the "mission", whatever the heck that is.

Its been a busy week and I haven't been following the story as much as id like to, but from what I hear, a lot of people are unhappy about this. I am hoping this is the magic number because I hope it will turn things around. I doubt it though. Firstly, how was this number derived at? I know Bush doesn't read, so its a safe bet that he hasn't read Malcolm Gladwell's book "The Tipping Point".

Regardless of how this number was derived at, I would like to know how many of them speak the language of the region. How many ever soldiers you send, I don't think it matters if they cannot communicate. If the soldiers, like the people sending them, do not know the difference between Bin and Binte as pointed out previously, not much good is going to come out of this. Further, I think other changes have to be made, not only with regard to domestic issues, but international issues too. Syria and Iran need to be brought in. It is clear that that will not happen, at least as clear as it was that Rumsfeld would not be fired.

That changed, and I'm hoping this will too.

Enough Already!

January 8th, 2007. 10.59 ET

At this moment, NBC is reporting that the U.S has launched air strikes against targets in Somalia. Apparently, the operation is still ongoing and naval vessels have been dispatched to support the operation already under way. After watching the report, I turned on CNN and Fox news, the only two I have access to, but they are not reporting anything. Therefore, I am desperately hoping that this is not true. I guess time will tell.....

In the mean time, assuming that this is true, here are my thoughts: WHAT THE HECK!!

Apparently, the US government had assurances from the Somalian and Ethiopian governments that "should they obtain intelligence concerning the whereabouts of the Al-Qaida operatives, they would pass it on to the United States." Does this mean that the US also had the permission to attack based on that evidence?

Here's another thought: assuming that there is evidence, is it concrete by accepted international standards, or is it as concrete as the evidence of the presence of WMD in Iraq?

Assuming that the answer to both questions is positive, let me pose another one: which government has given the permission and provided the evidence? Last I knew, the Somalian government was running for cover as Islamic fundamentalists overran the capital, the result of which was the intervention of the Ethiopian military.

Apparently, things were settling down. That is, until now.

Goodbye Saddam

So, Saddam was executed. How much does it matter? Politically he was dead long before he was even caught. How many lives has it saved? Does Iraq have a more secure government? Do the Iraqi's have more security? How much money has America saved? Do the relatives of his victims feel better now, vindicated even?

Now we have a video released to show us how horribly the whole thing was carried out and surprise surprise, there is a rush to condemn the way it was done. In fact, I burst out laughing when I watched that military spokesman clamour at the news conference to explain that it was all the fault of the Iraqi's. What a joke!

Personally, I don't believe that any one has a right to sentence any one to death, regardless of their crimes and so I believe Saddam should have not been executed. The whole process that lead to the comedy that was his execution was a joke. There was an extreme bias in the trial from the outset and therefore, his trial should have been held at the Hague, just like Slobodan Milosevic's trial was.

Regardless of how the entire process from his capture to his execution was handled, nothing has changed and so, his execution really does not matter.

Hopes for 2007

They say back home that if you do something on the first day of the year, you will continue to do it throughout the year. There are many people who believe this, including teachers who have classes early in the morning of the 1st of January so that their students continue to study throughout the year. Thankfully, I didn't have any teachers who believed in it strongly enough to have classes because I was sure that I would not attend that class. I always wondered though whether I would be skipping classes more than usual during the year as a result of missing the first class of the year.

Being a devout multilateralist and an ardent believer in organizations like the UN, NATO and WTO, my hope is that these organizations would see better days than they did last year so that all of us can see our hopes for a more peaceful year come alive. To that effect, I hope the new Secretary General of the UN is hard at work pulling diplomatic strings today so that he continues to do so throughout the year.

As for me, who knows, I might end up blogging more often this year. After all, I am doing it on the first day of the year.