Just some idle thoughts

This was my mail to someone I know.....


This mail will for the now deal with just the factual aspects. And the purpose will be to clarify why I reacted the way I did.
Why is it that people react to just the current face of things, why don't they stop to think why a certain thing has happened. The background, the issues involved and how many stages it went through before the process finally culminated in one resounding act that people finally see and then judge.

Why is it that the West, without any provocation whatsoever decimated the native American, decimated the Aboriginals, without any provocation came to our land and ruled us for hundreds of years subjecting us to all kinds of cruelties, injustices and other untold acts that suited their whim and fancy?

And why is that the West now attacks who it wants, persecutes who it wants, makes the rules and implements them subjectively, allocating special favors and waivers for its favorites? Why is it that the nuclear issue is used to determine the fate of free states. Why is Israel not asked to declare its nuclear arsenal, but Muslim or communist states cannot even hope to attain the status of nuclear states without persecution?

And East Timor was run by Australian missionaries, it started asking for independence, and then things finally go to the point where Indonesia had to send in troops because there were daily issues like drive by shootings, bombs, etc. But America intervened and what do we have? East Timor is free, an independent state. They committed every atrocity imaginable, but did the world ever hear of them? Were they labeled terrorists, nope, they were called freedom fighters.

The Chechens never got that luxury, they didn’t start off like this, they too started peacefully, but the answer was always a slap in the face. So they got more and more extreme. And now it has come to this. So why doesnt the world accept their claim as freedom fighters? Why this double standard? Double standards lead to anger, to despair, to frustration and then to retaliation.

Many slaves killed their masters? So were they murderers? Many hacked their masters to pieces, raped their women. So were they cruel, inhuman for doing that after having tolerated that and much worse from their masters? So if they reacted is it fair to just see the reaction and not the history behind it?

How bigoted, narrow-minded and cruel can one get? I say that those who see just the current face of things and won't look at the reasons why it go to this stage are the inhuman ones, the ones with no consideration for the other person.

One should look at people as a collective, not as many people, but as one entity. The Russians, the Americans, the Japanese, the Chinese. And it is history, past behavior, examples throughout recorded history that help us in determining the character of a man, in the same way we analyse and gauge the character of a people. The West may have good people, but if one was to generalise, then it is overwhelmingly bigoted, narrow minded, cruel, greedy, self centred and hypocritical.

The West is overwhelmingly guilty of forming opinions without looking at facts, without taking into account the sensitivities of other people. It goes by its own standards and accepts others to just accept them as universal truth. And it has been doing that for centuries. I am sorry, but the image has been engraved in stone and if now it is expected that it can free itself of that image, or feel offended if that image is referred to, then it has to be patient. It will have to prove through its actions that this image is wrong.

So far it is simply cementing that image by becoming more and more opinionated. So before you ask how can it be that what the Chechens did was right, put yourself in their shoes. And all of this that I have said here, I have said to you many times, maybe not all at once, that’s why I said that you know this, and I won't repeat it. To know this, and to still ask that question reeked of unilateralism and arrogance. If, despite knowing this, you can still question their struggle, then you are best left in your world of ignorance.

Yes, terrorism is bad, death is bad, killing is bad, but sometimes people are driven to such behavior by constant oppression and suppression. To say that there can be no excuse for such behavior would be a bit pompous. Its easy for people sitting in their nice safe environments, with access to clean water, fresh food, and no worries about tomorrow to criticise and be snobbish about the poor in Africa scuffling and pushing to be the first to get their daily rations when food aid arrives in a famine hit area. Should be call them uncultured brutes for pushing aside the weak to get to that food. Hmm, maybe we should go hungry for a few days, often more, and watch our children and loved ones go through the same, and then when food arrives, we should see if we can still act civilized.

Enough said.

Global rise in terrorism?

That is not the title of this blog, it is a question. It is a question that I ask a lot. I constantly seek an answer to this question. Is there really a global rise in terrorism? On the face of it, it would seem that yes, there is a drastic rise in terrorism and other related terrorist activities. One would perhaps say that now in every corner of the globe there is strife and turmoil. Of course, I am assuming that all who say this, know exactly what terrorism is.
But that is what it looks like on the surface. And appearances can be deceiving. Lets look at some instances where there have been incidents of violence, death, killings and kidnappings, among other things that come under this general sphere.
Ok, I started this a while back but never completed it, and so I am going to try and wrap it up as briefly as possible. The reason I asked this question was because the word terrorism is now used so often that the picture has become quite blurred. How does one differentiate betweeen terrorism or violence that is the result of violence committed against the current perpetrators?
For example there are several freedom struggles going on in the world, there are civil wars and there is infighting. But who decides if a certain act is an act of vilence, or merely the last ditch effort of a struggle against oppression that has subjugited them to such a extreme degree of oppression that they resort to violence of an equally extreme degree to make their voice heard.
There are many such examples, the Chechens want independance, the Kashmiris want the right to a free homeland, numerous African state are still ruled by their European colonial masters by proxy. If there is infighting or civil strife in these countries one needs to look beyond the obvious, beyond what is on the surface to try and get a complete understanding of the true picture.
I wonder of Che Guevara would today be termed a terrorist.

is this all there is to it?

Ok, lets see, life must be really mundane and boring if I have to work so hard to try and find something to write about. But thats about the extend of it right now. Nothing really majore, or worth reporting is happening, its all routine.
I go to work, I do my home stuff, workout, reading, tv, music, the usual. In away thats actually good, that things are going well, so no reason to complain, and I am not complaining really.
I just don't have anything to say, thats all. And no, still no words of wisdom :)

Ok, how do we do this....

Allright, its now been almost a month since I took over as City Editor, and the reason I start this post on this note, is because during the last one month or so this is by far the most significant thing that has happened. The assignment has its challenges, some I have overcome, some I am working on, some are unresolvable, and those will simply have to be dealt with in the manner best suited to such trouble makers. As I have been told, "go for the jugular".
So, thats exactly what I aimto do, and already have to a degree. The staff is a bit lackadaisical, discipline is a bit lax, but there is no insubbordination. Its a lot of fun because of the fact that there is so much interaction with people from all walks of lif, but then that has been the biggest kick in this profession from day one. The rush is the same. I wonder jow many people can say that 13 years into their profession they enjoty it as much as they did on day one. I am sure there are a lot, but its a small majority.
Life has become must faster, my days busier, and there is hardly any time for just silly stuff. But there will be, nothing remains the same, so thiss too will change. There will already be a big shift in schedules in Ramadan, because I will be fasting. Still about 6 weeks to go. It will effect my workouts as well. I have not worked out in 2 days, but hope to resume tonight, and then in the next 6 weeks hope to put in a solid 5 weeks of training so that Ramadan won't have too much of a detrimental effect when I take a break, which is inevitable.
Still recovering, feeling some effects of the last two days, but today is much better.
Has been a long time since I have posted any words of wisdom here though, for some reason I don't feel very wise at all. Maybe tomorrow :)