|
Yes....the Red Chinese are coming, the Indians have taken over world’s steel, and London real estate is now Russian and Arab occupied territory! Putting the wagons in a circle ought to fix the problem. Why not add pseudo-protectionism, brew a more confused cocktail, and satisfy the residual hype of the cold warriors? Does it make sense to go beyond the odd simplification that skews globalisation, capitalism and development in the same breath?
Welcome to commanding heights of hype with peculiar timing. It coincides with the issue of an Islamic banking license in Britain and a lively debate following the lecture of The Archbishop of Canterbury to lawyers when the highest clergy of the Church of England commented about the nexus of English and Islamic Sharia laws and a need for social policies and an aim to absorb British Muslims in the community.
Is the way Turkish women dress really worthy of world debate, and more importantly, does one's headwear symbolize what is in one's mind? And if it is a matter for world debate, should a superficial translation to English in the media suffice and reduce one's dress to a matter radicalization? Search the internet and it all has a whiff of Islamophobia. Simple-minded dark forces, with no mind for facts, are trigger happy to launch a collective punishment of all Muslims.
The Current Discussion: For Valentine’s Day, this question: What is the future of love?
I was perplexed with this question, as my crystal ball is in the repair shop for a software upgrade. So I Googled the L-word--what else is there to do these days? Out poured more than 2 billion “hits,” and then it hit me.....there are probably as many definitions for love as there are people on this planet. Be it the universal love of parents and children, or stories, commandments, poems and odes in all languages, songs, acts, customs, edicts and deeds going back to the beginning of time. Even the early Mr. Caveman had to hunt a wild animal and make a fur coat for Mrs. Caveman, if only to keep alive the commercial spirit of Valentine’s Day!
With this development, I went back to the old reliable standard and Googled “life,” to find a bond between life and love. Disappointingly, the top item on this search result was about a NBC TV cop show series and a life prison term for a crime not committed. (Amazing how politics reflect performance arts and television shows!)
The Current Discussion: With Castro gone, will Cuba become America's 51st state?
The question is about as old as the anti-Cuba sanctions themselves, and the short answer is: hardly! Washington has been drumming for full capitulation by Cuba as a pre-condition. American media reports its summary judgement on Cuba by the age of cars seen in Havana. And when was the last time that a meeting put American and Cuban citizens in touch to scratch the surface?
No Cuban is going to forgive or forget the collective punishment scheme of sanctions, no matter how ineffective they’ve been. Exiles in Miami are fed up with insincere talk therapy. Exiles and residents are independent-minded people and they recall the words of James Bovard: “Democracy must be something more than two wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for dinner.” In the meantime, the administration in Washington will simply coin yet another “road map” tactic series with preconditions, and hollow vocabulary will be mixed with mushy Freedom Fries and talk to mimic policy.
It is an odd time to poke an old stick in the Balkan beehive. Significant problems are tangled with an ill-conceived plan which is contrary to UN Security Council Resolution 1244. A summary amputation of territory from a sovereign nation will create an unwanted precedent, torpedo international law and plough through multilateral organizations. But I will not be surprised if busting through these organisations is the real aim and Kosovo is used as the tractor.
Comments (5)