Thursday, May 24, 2007

No justice if you make money!

I am disturbed to hear that in Kerala, my home state in India, the government is on a rampage demolishing buildings and structures, which have encroached into their property. Like most states in India, the boundaries of public land were never strictly enforced in Kerala. Almost everyone had a tendency to encroach a few inches or even feet or two, when they built the walls of their buildings near a public property like a road. It looks like the authorities woke up one fine day, and started giving the violators seven days of notice to vacate (how do you vacate a wall?), to be followed by complete demolition of the intruding structures. I am told that some cities look like war zones now, with broken down walls and buildings everywhere. While, I agree that the Government has a right to get their property back, there should be a deliberate process for doing that. One should be allowed to appeal their case with necessary legal documents, before the authorities swing their demolition gear. Otherwise, all sort of misuse of power will occur – bribery, intimidation, revenge etc. It is a shame that the people of Kerala, who are known for their sensitivity to human rights and justice, are letting this happen. I wonder if the public outrage is muted as only hotels and other businesses by the road are getting affected now. Why care about an injustice to businesses that exploit people for money, must be the attitude. Pretty short sighted, I must say.

Friday, May 18, 2007

Illogical slogans!

I like watching the presidential debates which have started quite early this year. I notice that some candidates make astounding statements to show how ‘macho’ they are against terrorism. Candidate Mitt Romney wants to expand Guantanamo prison so that he can interrogate suspected terrorists without any court intervention. Mayor Rudy Giuliani is for ‘extended enhanced interrogation’ to whip out secrets out from a terrorist. Hilary Clinton scored some easy points for using the term ‘retaliate’ as reaction to a terrorist attack, while Barack Obama was criticized for concentrating only on intelligence and preparation for disaster recovery. A clever slogan can win you or lose you an election. Remember ‘compassionate conservative’ and ‘flip flopper’?

There are two slogans I often hear in these debates, which drive me crazy. One is, ‘Islamic people hate us because of the freedom we enjoy here’. What? Actually the opposite is true. Most of the people in the Muslim nations admire our lives in USA. ‘Coming to America’ is the dream of many, especially the young. What they hate is the foreign policy of USA. United States have been meddling in their region for years. (It started in 1952 with the USA instigated the installation of Shah as king of Iran replacing the democratically elected government there). USA has been a blind supporter of Israel who has treated all Muslim nations as their enemy. In addition to Iraq, USA maintains a military presence in many parts of the middle east. Actually, Osama Bin Laden has clearly stated that it was the presence of American soldiers in Saudi Arabia, which provoked him to plan the 9/11 attack. Nobody wants to address this root cause of terrorism against USA.

The second slogan which annoys me is, ‘if we leave Iraq now, the terrorists will follow us here!’. This statement does not make any sense to me. Is Iraq like a Sears 'bug zapper' we put in the porch to attract all the bugs? Do the terrorists prefer a war front in Iraq to fight the mighty army of USA? Are they going to hop over planes and come here to fight when we withdraw from Iraq? It is frustrating to realize that a lot of people believe in this hogwash!

Monday, May 14, 2007

There is no justice for the famous

The news and entertainment media is having a grand time on Paris Hilton who is sentenced to 45 days in jail for some traffic violations. People get a silent delight in seeing the rich and famous plummet into misery and shame. I am not claiming to be an exception to this phenomenon. But I feel that the judge in the Paris Hilton case was little too eager to a set her as an example of ‘impartial justice’. Forty-five days in jail for driving with a suspended license? I agree that Paris was careless and stupid for driving when her license was suspended. But can one not give a break to a twenty something girl? After all, she was not driving drunk again. (In fact, she was nearing completion to a court ordered alcohol recovery program when she was caught driving with a suspended license).

Come to think of it, contrary to popular belief, famous people are punished more severely for their transgressions. It is like the schoolmate of mine who got most beatings from his teacher who happened to be his uncle. Judges are so keen to show their impartiality, that they mete out the maximum penalty when they judge public figures. The only refuge for the rich and famous are trials by jury, where their top-notch lawyers can demolish the prosecution charges, and convince the jury of their innocence ( like the trials of O.J., Robert Blake, Michael Jackson etc). If it is left for the judge alone to decide on the guilt of a well known, it is usually bad news.

Friday, May 11, 2007

The sad end of a brown noser!

Was thinking about the British Prime Minister Tony Blair who was forced to announce his plan to resign in June. Blair will go down in history as the one who lost everything by supporting President Bush for the Iraq war. During the drum roll for Iraq war, it was Blair who gave coherence and logic to the concept of ‘nipping at the bud’ the threat of a nuclear attack by a rogue country in the Middle East. Most of the American people knew that the warmongers in the Bush administration were exaggerating things about the impending terrorist attack from Iraq. But Blair came across so earnest and sincere. (Americans are suckers for the British accent anyway!). Without Britain, we would have had a ‘Coalition of the Willing’ with countries like Mongolia, Singapore and Tonga.

Is President Bush grateful to Prime Minister Blair for all this? Was Blair the bosom buddy of Bush, exerting influence on USA world policies? I think the video of Bush at a recent World Economic Summit, condescendingly summoning Blair to his table by calling ‘Yo, Blair!’ says it all. In addition to smelling bad, one also lose respect by kissing someone’s you know what.

Thursday, May 10, 2007

India is better prepared

I finally saw the movie ‘United 93’ on HBO today. It was painful to watch although it is an excellent movie based on the events on that terrible day in September, 2001. Reviews say that the movie has accurately recreated the events in the air traffic control towers on that day. USA was totally unprepared then with Air Force jets flying aimlessly not knowing what to look for, and what to do! I have an uneasy feeling that this country is still in the same shape for any catastrophe of that magnitude. The slow reaction of the government to hurricane Katrina, and the recent tornado in Kansas, confirm my fears.

To be frank, I have more confidence in the intelligence gathering and disaster recovery capabilities of India, a third world country! In India, the criminal intelligence appears to be on top of things, having stopped a few grand plots by the Islamist terrorists (not the type where a few lost souls shop for guns to shoot up a military camp!). Despite of limited resources, which may look primitive by USA standards, India has demonstrated an uncanny ability to recover quickly from a disaster. (The city of Mumbai was back to normal the day after a train bombing there in July 2006, and the stock market rose!).

Tuesday, May 08, 2007

Addiction to power and fame

Yesterday, I watched ex-CIA Director George Tenet on the T.V. show, ‘Meet the Press’. I could not make sense out of most of his answers. He was quite evasive in answering why he did not inform President Bush that there is not sufficient evidence to justify the Iraq war. His reasoning went something like this … “We worked very hard to get the correct intelligence … and at the end of the day it was clear that we did not have the evidence they (Bush and Cheney) claimed.” Who is he kidding? He briefed President Bush every day on the latest intelligence, and he depended on the ‘end of the day’ for the truth to come out? Obviously he wanted keep his CIA director post by giving the ‘right’ answers to the powerful warmongers in the Bush administration. Power and fame are not easy to give up. Look at World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz, and Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. Both have lost their credibility and trust of their constituents. Still they want to hang on to their jobs. Making them resign is like pulling teeth!