With its perpetually (and historically) rocky relationship, the Arab and European worlds have seldom met in a peaceful manner (or without suspicion) during the past half a millenium ever since the downfall of the Moorish civilization in Spain. In this context the on-going London Book Fair, with the “Arab World” as guest of honour and Arab writers present in force, provides yet another opportunity to build a bridge between the two worlds. The Independent writes: “Imperial bureaucrats,...

Nepal, home to Mt. Everest and situated between India and China (Tibet), is witnessing a different kind of “surge”. The armed rebels who fought a decade-long bloody war to end monarchy are now poised to come into power — not through the barrel of a gun but through the ballot box. The seal over the conduct of free and fair election has been put by none other than former US president Jimmy Carter, co-founder of Carter Center who heads a 60-member international election observer...

In this TMV blog I keep writing occasionally on subjects that have an important role to play in increasing positivity in discussion and debate on matters related to politics. After all what is politics?…Surely, not just the circus where politicians are the key players. Politics percolates down to, and influences, health, education, art and culture…In fact all spheres of life. As India dreams of (and works towards) joining the big league of powerful/”developed” nations, there...

After Pakistan and Bhutan, it is now the turn of Nepal (sandwiched between India and China) to savour the sweet flavour of democracy. It is a powerful rebuff to a certain section of the politicians and “experts” in the world who believe that the “war on terror”, etc., can be fought by merely propping up (and bribing) dictators. Sudeshna Sarkar of IANS reports: “A deep yearning for change, anger at corrupt politicians and the presence of a large number of youngsters...

China seems to be coming under heavy pressure with the world leaders threatening to keep away from the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics this summer. The latest on the list is Ban Ki-moon, the secretary general of the United Nations. The Independent newspaper describes this “as capping an extraordinary week of public relations disasters for the Chinese government as it struggles to contain international anger over its policies towards Tibet and Sudan.” “Yesterday, the Foreign...

His Holiness the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje, is no ordinary Tibetan monk. His upcoming visit to the USA, the first outside his home in exile in India, can be considered as ‘historic’. There are speculations that the Karmapa, 22-year-old Buddhist monk, may emerge as the successor to the Dalai Lama in case the latter decides to step down, especially in view of the growing hostility shown towards him by Beijing in recent times. More importantly, the Karmapa is the only major...

In an earlier post Shaun Mullen suggests that what General David Petraeus says ultimately reflects the policy of the C-in-C, President George W. Bush. While agreeing with Shaun, I would like to add a few points. First let’s jog our memory. I had written in an earlier post: “The Iraq mess is not of his making nor can he achieve a miracle on his own. But Petraeus is now familiar with the ground realities. The US troops can withdraw only when there is an international intervention strategy...

The Dalai Lama, Tibet’s spiritual leader in exile, said in India that protests in Tibet contradicted the Chinese “propaganda” about people there enjoying a prosperous and contented life and made it clear that the issue “can no longer be neglected”. While in London the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games torch relay was reduced to “farce and ignominy” yesterday as ugly scenes of protest disrupted this leg of the tour that was billed as a journey of harmony and peace....

A birthday celebration of a nation should also be an occasion for sober introspection. Israel and Palestine have become such emotive issues that few are ready to discuss the plight of these two (and their people) without taking sides. I have great love, admiration and sympathy for both Israelis (Jews and others) and Palestinians who have been caught up in a vicious circle of geo-political ambitions of other nations, as also historical developments, several decades before the birth of Israel. This...

Obituary… More here…

I have been a co-blogger at The Moderate Voice for nearly three years now. After alcohol and cigarettes, I found blogging to be highly addictive. I gave up smoking two years ago (one addicition at a time please!!!) and have heavily reduced my intake of alcohol. My wife/mother ensure that I have meals at the right time, and begin to howl in protest when I am at the computer for more than three hours at a stretch. Thus, I remain a “healthy” blogger because I am under watch at home (and...

India has not only pipped China to become Asia’s most popular destination for conducting clinical trials, but also emerged as a favourite country attracting a large number of medical tourists from the world, according to a high-level 10-month long study by India’s Planning Commission. “The report said while a heart bypass surgery would cost a patient $6,000 in India, the same surgery would cost the person $7,894 in Thailand, $10,417 in Singapore, $23,938 in the US and $19,700 in...

Why did the ruling Pakistan People’s Party boss and Benazir Bhutto’s husband, Asif Ali Zardari, choose Yousaf Raza Gilani as Prime Minister, a man who’s unlikely to act as his proxy? The answer is attempted by a wellknown Pakistani columnist Ms Mariana Baabar, who has written an interesting piece in the recent issue of The Outlook, a respected Indian magazine. “Loyalty too tilted the balance in Gilani’s favour. A day before Gilani was elected PM, Zardari told The News,...

There seems to be a universal outcry at the deteriorating standards in the television channels worldwide. From India to Britain and the USA…there is a sense of general dismay that the TV channels are failing in their primary duty of initiating/explaining important issues of public interest, so essential in democracies to help people take informed decisions. This subject needs wider scrutiny within and outside the media. The Independent on its opinion page has this to say about Britain: “At...

Cricket is not only the most popular sport in the Indian subcontinent, it has now turned into a global money-spinner. And now communist China which had banned the game, describing it as a pursuit of imperialist lackeys, is turning to India and Pakistan to gain proficiency in the sport. “A first consignment of bats, balls and other paraphernalia will be sent to China in a month or two, according to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI),” reports The Times of London. “To...

“It is increasingly clear that much of the current wave of repression (in Tibet) is occurring not in spite of the (Beijing) Olympics but actually because of the Olympics,” says a recent Amnesty International report. The group also called on world leaders to speak out on the situation in Tibet, calling a failure to address the issue tacit ‘endorsement’ of human rights abuses. President George W. Bush has said he plans to attend the ceremony but Germany’s Angela Merkel...

Not being able to sleep is very unpleasant but it’s not going to kill you – no one ever died from not sleeping. But it is a great blessing to have a refreshing sleep when one hits the bed…or wherever… (photo above courtesy Getty Images) Much has been written about how to get good sleep. I found the following article interesting…please click here. You may also try this…

I have been arguing in this blog that if world leaders were to shed their impotent stance on pressing/critical world issues, even the arrogant (etc.) President George W. Bush can be persuaded to see the light of reason and prevented from taking unilateral decisions that endanger world peace. The recent mounting pressure on China to behave itself in Tibet is a case in point. Close on the heels of Nicolas Sarkozy’s threat to boycott Beijing Olympics (as also the European Union’s similar...

Unbelievable? It has emerged that Barack Obama is a tenth cousin, once removed, of the man whose job he wants – George W Bush. The New England Historic Genealogical Society, founded in 1845, claims that the politicians’ ancestries show they have more in common than they think. The society is the oldest and biggest non-profit genealogical organisation in the United States. The society has established that Bush and Obama are linked by Samuel Hinkley of Cape Cod, who died in 1662, reports...

The international media has gone on an overdrive to highlight a hard hitting report recently released by the aid agencies. The report brings into focus the fact that the prospects of peace in Afghanistan have been undermined by Western donors’ failure to keep their promises. And this is compounded by corruption and inefficiency. The Guardian reports: “Afghanistan is being deprived of $10bn (£5bn) of promised aid, and 40% of the money that has been delivered was spent on corporate...

As President Prevez Musharraf was swearing in newly-elected Yousaf Raza Gilani as Pakistan’s Prime Minister on Tuesday, there came trooping in at Islamabad the U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte, and Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia Richard Boucher, who straightaway began talks with former premier Nawaz Sharif. Later, they visited Musharraf at the presidential palace. The U.S. Embassy declined to say who else the envoys would meet. Perhaps sending a clear message to...

Is it curtains for the bluff and bluster game played by President ex-General Pervez Musharraf and his mentor in the White House, President George W. Bush, for the past eight years? The first important decision the new Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani took after being elected as prime minister was to order the release of the Chief Justice of the highest court, Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry. Justice Chaudhry and his family had been confined to his house since Musharraf declared a state of emergency...

Out of sight…out of mind. Working on this old adage Britain intends to push the cigarettes under the counter. The Times reports: “Cigarettes are to be forced beneath shop counters with supermarkets and cornershops banned from displaying tobacco products. “The latest assault on smokers will also see the disappearance of vending machines from pubs and restaurants in an attempt to further limit children’s access to tobacco. Both measures are to be included in a consultation to be...

While every sneeze of Obama/Clinton/McCain attracts reams and reams of media/blog coverage, Iraq seems to have become a violent theatre of death and destruction in some other planet in the universe. The recent AP story underscores this irony in the grim milestone reached on Sunday when four US soldiers were killed in Baghdad. “The overall U.S. death toll in Iraq rose to 4,000 after four soldiers were killed in a roadside bombing in Baghdad, a grim milestone that is likely to fuel calls for...

While India’s neigbouring region Tibet undergoes violent convulsions, another Buddhist neighbour (the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan — also sandwitched between India and China), ends more than a century of royal rule today with its first parliamentary elections. Interestingly, “no one, except the King who is giving up his power, seems happy about it.” “Unlike so many other countries, where upheaval has been midwife to democracy, Bhutan has never been more peaceful or...