…so am I.

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Images courtesy: The Hindu, ET, ToI, IE
Related Post: Explaining AfPak to a 14-year old

I may be an extremist, a militant, an Islamist, a fighter, a jihadi…but I am not a terrorist.
This post was prompted by a 1500-odd words long article in a recent issue of TIME, “Somalia, Again” by Alex Perry.
The article’s description of the situation in Somalia is unsettling…but what was even more unsettling for me was the missing “T-word”
The article talks about Somalia being “much on the minds of those fighting terrorism these days“, then moves on to the leader of an Islamist group before mentioning a handful of jihadis …

Almost exactly two years ago, I wrote a post titled, As the Government sleeps, dark clouds gather on the horizon… In that post, I had carried excerpts from an article by Tarun Vijay that was prompted by continued trespassing and stealth incursions by Chinese into the Ladakh area.
Two years on…and a general election later, nothing seems to have changed.
Inch by inch, the Chinese are encroaching into Indian territory…while the government acts “ignorant” or “supremely confident” depending on the mood of the moment. Sometimes, it simply brushes things under the carpet. …

Is someone ghostwriting for Prof Chomsky or has the wise professor chosen to ignore facts?
Thanks to Amitabh (and Rachna) for alerting me to this statement from a recent article by Prof Chomsky. Writing in “War, Peace and Obama’s Nobel“, Prof Chomsky says (emphasis added):
Iran hasn’t invaded another country for hundreds of years—unlike the United States, Israel and India (which occupies Kashmir, brutally).
As Rachna mentioned in her email,”Someone well known is lying. He is Noam Chomsky and he has lied about India and the lie is huge”.
Nothing more needs to be …

As I was fast-scanning the news headlines yesterday, a small item caught my eye. Writing in Rediff, Sanjay Jog noted
…(in view of the water shortage) Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has introduced a 15 per cent cut in supply, which is expected to be increased to 30 per cent.”  He also mentioned “There is also talk of no supply once a week, but a decision on that will be (taken) after consultation with political parties.
About three weeks ago, when I first started seriously looking at the topic of “Water”, one of the …

In this part of the “Nightmare at Noon” series, a look at why “Water” is the new “Oil”, the possibility of water scarcity leading to “Water Wars” in the future and China’s worrying plans in Tibet.
It was almost two years ago that I was first alerted to the gravity of this matter. The first trigger was an article by Prof. Brahma Chellaney (Jun 2007)  in which he warned about how:
Water has emerged as a key issue that could determine whether Asia is headed toward mutually beneficial cooperation or deleterious interstate …

Continuing the Nightmare at Noon series on “Water“, in this part, an unusual innovation to tackle the challenge of water accessibility.

I first heard of PlayPumps about two years ago when I stumbled on their site while looking for something else on the web. It was a serendipitous discovery and the innovation stayed at the back of my mind.
Children on PlayPumps
As I conceived this series around “Water”, I felt that the story of PlayPumps was one worth telling. Here is Ginger Coleen writing about PlayPumps in Natural News (emphasis added):
…The PlayPump …

Following my nightmare at noon, the first question is how do we raise awareness about this critical issue that rarely gets the attention it deserves?
One way to do this is to talk about Water Footprints…
The idea of water footprints – although fairly new – feels compelling.  I first read about it in a magazine over a year ago in Mumbai in an office where I was waiting to meet someone.
A factoid that caught my eye – and which I hastily scribbled in my diary was this: “1 cup of coffee …

Here is Thomas Friedman (Advice From Grandma), lamenting about the state of affairs in US of A. Almost every word excerpted below might well have been written for India (emphasis mine).
…What I increasingly fear today is that America is only able to produce “suboptimal” responses to its biggest problems — education, debt, financial regulation, health care, energy and environment.
Why? Because…
Money in politics has become so pervasive that lawmakers have to spend most of their time raising it, selling their souls to those who have it or defending themselves from the …

30th Nov, early afternoon. I am about to have my lunch. As my hand reaches out to a glass of water, a nightmarish thought crosses my mind: “What if I had no water to drink?” This somewhat abrupt post is an attempt to banish that thought.
I am pretty sure most people who are reading this take “Water” for granted – if not all the time, at least most of the time..and if not all kinds of water, at least drinking water. Unfortunately, we belong to a very privileged minority in …

Here is something to think about during the weekend: A stunning video from Dr HansRosling that looks at how the last 200 years changed the world.
Have a look…(it is about 5 mins long)

[ link ]
The interactive animations and corresponding documentation are freely available at GapMinder.
Two interesting (and important, I think) points:
1] Almost all of India’s growth has happened post independence (post 1940 – as you will notice from this chart – that also offers a fascinating perspective to compare different countries).
2] Although there is anecdotal evidence to suggest …

Last evening as I was trying to explain to my 14-year old why a possible US withdrawal from Afghanistan could be bad for India, I realised how hopeless the US case for continued involvement in Afghanistan looked.
In a statement that sounded pretty unconvincing, David Axelrod, Senior Advisor to President Obama said:
We have a different situation in Afghanistan. It is actually the place…where the folks who attacked us on 9/11 are holed up and plotting against us still…
It’s a threat that still exists. We have to deal with it and so …

While everyone from Shekhar Gupta to the PM (”Media blowing things out of proportion“) and most recently the Army chief, caution us not to get worried about China or get into the 1962 mindset (whatever that means) or not read too much into the incursions (because they are after all only a matter of perception), here comes this bit of news (Hat Tip: Sanjay) which appears to have received little media attention.
From “China strikes back on Arunachal“:
…Last month, in a development New Delhi has been quiet about, China won a …

How many of you missed this? I did (emphasis added).
Prior to the 13th round of India-China boundary talks, Indian defence and security agencies reported an increased spurt in “intrusions” and “incursions” by the Chinese, particularly in the western sector.
Not suprising.
But this is worrying:
…on June 1, a combined Indian Army-ITBP patrol was intercepted by the PLA in Depsang Bulge and forced to turn back after the PLA planted vehicles in front and behind the Indian patrol vehicle and escorted it back across the Chinese “perception of the LAC”. Later in the …

Is a “Rising India” a greater threat to USA than Iran, North Korea and oh, Russia?
Watch this snippet of Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas (courtesy Joshua Kucera)

Unbelievable…is all I can say.
Might it have something to do with the US-India war games of 2004? (also read Fred Kaplan’s explanation)
By the way, Senator Cornyn is no light-weight.
…(he) serves on the Armed Services, Judiciary and Budget Committees of the US Senate. He (also) serves as the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee’s Immigration, Refugees and Border Security subcommittee and the Armed Services Committee’s …

Courtesy Atanu , I stumbled on this 1962 TIME Magazine story on the Indo-Chinese War of 1962. Excerpts below.
*** “Never Again the Same” ***
…After a series of smashing victories in the border war with India, Chinese troops swept down from the towering Himalayas and were poised at the edge of the fertile plains of Assam, whose jute and tea plantations account for one-fourth of India’s export trade. Then, with Assam lying defenseless before her conquering army, Red China suddenly called a halt to the fighting.
Radio Peking announced that, “on its …

Start your weekend with Varnam on Einstein, Nehru and Israel. 
Next, read N Gopalaswami on poll process, Varun and Congress 
have a  look at another site that promises to inform voters…
read Brahma Chellaney on Pakistan’s Terrorist Windfall aka Fail, then reap rewards…
Nicholas D Kristof writes why there may be hope for moderate Islam in Islam, Virgins and Grapes…
and finally, Narayana Murthy on why ‘The Rich Can’t Live In A Make-Believe World In India’.
Enjoy the weekend. Stay healthy. keep smiling.
If you enjoyed this post, pl. consider subscribing to my Daily Feed or the Weekly Newsletter.
and don’t forget …

Start your weekend with Bruce Gilley and why the challenge to China will not come from US or Europe but from a somewhat suprising coalition of India, Brazil and South Africa
Move on to an ongoing-debate in the NY Times on whether US needs foreign technology workers. 
Next, have a read through a long article on Dubai by Johann Hari - which will make you pause if you are thinking of moving there for a job – or going on a holiday (Hat Tip: Sanjay).  By the way, Johann Hari is the same reporter whose article got the editor …

Those of you who have been following the flurry of recent reports, offers  and comments about the possibility of a “nuclear Iran” will not find much to cheer in Prof. Drezner’s conclusion in a recent article on Foreign Policy (emphasis mine):
…the most pragmatic thing for the United States to do is to expect nothing fruitful to come from negotiations with Iran — and to (nonviolently) prepare for the contingency of a nuclear Iran.
I think he is right.
Meanwhile the Israel Defense Forces chief is reported as saying: Israel would not tolerate a …

Sh Krishen Kak emailed me this article written by Sh N S Rajaram in 2001 with the preface: “Prophetic!“. 
In an email yesterday, Sh Rajaram mentioned how the “…attack on the Sri Lankan team is eloquent testimony to the collapse of the state….”.  I am afraid one of my worst nightmares - a rapidly disintegrating Pakistan – may be closer to reality than I thought.
*** Excerpts from ”Meltdown in Pakistan” (2001) ***
The Indian establishment, obsessed with the insurgency in Kashmir, appears to have totally missed the cataclysmic changes taking place across the border that may soon render …