It is Thanksgiving weekend in the US and a time to reflect upon the good things in life. One positive news towards the TG start was the ceasefire in Gaza. The timing of the new conflict though is puzzling and reports from all around are conflicting too. One strong reason seems to be the fact that Bibi (Netanyahu) lost some of his strength at home after Obama’s re-election as he had betted on a Romney win. It caused internal rumblings in Israel where the prime minister was perceived to have created a wedge in relations with the most important ally of his country. So what do you do when public opinion is down and you will be going into an election year soon?, stir-up nationalism is one good option (though not very rational), but that is what you’d expect of Bibi.
Now what can one say of the attacks itself, clearly it was not a fair fight amongst equals. Imagine a giant kicking a powerless street guy, that too hands tied (with trade blockade and no good weapons), you get the picture. On top of this imbalance, Bibi does not need to worry about the costs of the war, because it is sponsored by the American tax payers. If you are Bibi, life is good (for a while atleast) J. The US must help with the security of Israel (for a variety of reasons), but it is time for the US to lay down terms and have some say for the large 3B+ annual military aid to Israel, the aid cannot be used by a political leaders whims to destabilize his own countrymen and the entire region. This does not exonerate Hamas which has a history of violence, but atleast this time around, though they were powerless and no match for the Israeli army, the Palestinians (including Hamas) had the sympathy of most around the world. So in my eyes, Bibi won the battle, but lost the bigger war. Another winner was Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi who brokered the peace truce, and very soon expanded his own powers in Egypt.
It was also the week when there were 2 significant deaths in India, one celebrated by most in the country in a public way, while another by most in a silent way (or else big brother would arrest you......yes, that did happen to 2 innocent girls of the FB generation). The first one was the death of the Pakistani terrorist Mohammed Ajmal Kasab, who was the last surviving gunman of the 2008 terror attacks in Mumbai. He was rightfully executed for the mass murder of 160 unarmed civilians and was the first capital punishment in India in more than 8 years. I saw all around the web and in FB about people celebrating his death. This is no cause for celebration as the masterminds are still at large in Pakistan, and some maybe in India itself. He deserved the punishment and that matter should be closed at that. There are many other things to feel proud and celebrate for.
The second death was one of Bal Thackeray, the founder of the right wing Shiv Sena. He was popular (and very powerful) mainly within Mumbai city and in some parts of Maharashtra state. He formed the party to fight for the rights of people from his state as he felt Mumbai was being taken over by people from outside states, especially from Gujarat. It later became a very radical wing and was against other Indians in his state and against foreigners in the country. So maybe he could be thought of as anti-nationalist too for being against Indians from other states J. He led with an iron fist and had an army called Shiv-sainiks who would impose their rules on people. So clearly his death was received by many as a positive thing, and when Thackeray supporters called for a bandh in Mumbai, not everyone was supporting it. Most were obviously afraid of saying that out in public though. Now the current FB generation believes in free speech, and don’t think twice before clicking the blue ‘post’ button. So one hit the ‘post’ button to provide her views, while her friend duly obliged with a ‘like’. Soon enough, the two were behind the bars…, and freedom of speech went for a toss. Compare that with what happens in the US where one (and all) can slander even the President by calling him all names and yet life goes on…..
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