Tuesday, December 05, 2023



Bowerbird makes the world a better place 

You must pick words 
Like bowerbird picks blues
Of all shapes and sizes
Nuggets of stolen thoughts, berries of wisdom
Bit of litter to cover the lack
Arrange in short and long sentences
To shelter ideas that connect
And help shift your world into a better place  




Sunday, December 03, 2023

Unethical brands


 A British organisation Ethical Consumers investigated 82 brands of chocolates and found that only 17 followed ethical standards. These were primarily investigated as to whether they ensured farmers were paid enough to live on. About 60% of the world’s cocoa comes from west Africa, and about six in 10 cocoa-growing households in Ghana are estimated to use child labour, with four in 10 in Ivory CoastLast year it was found that 10-year-old children were using machetes to harvest cocoa destined for Mondelēz’s supply chain -which produced Cadbury. Report also states that "buying chocolate from brands such as Fairafric, ’57 Chocolate and Chocolat Madagascar was expensive and could be hard to get hold of but they were good “as a treat or a present”, while Tony’s Chocolonely was widely available in supermarkets and “really trying to change the chocolate industry”

Please avoid buying these brands in case you like chocolates, and yes children must be made aware of these ethical lapse so that they are aware and become responsible citizens and compassionate human being. 

Saturday, November 25, 2023



The old tree

Here like a sentinel and a pause
I can retell stories of scars and seasons
Invading armies plough the land
Pilgrim’s procession of suffering
Wise leave trail in the folklore
I can tell the secrets hidden in crevices of unknown
Conscious that floats forever and settle briefly
To catch the colors of rainbow     

Wednesday, November 22, 2023

Climate culprits

 

The other day per capita carbon footprint of richest people was published and discussed. Disinformation spreading toxic media controller Murdoch is right there. This fellow is really a criminal, ideally one shouldn’t be happy about someone dying but yes people like Murdoch will do a big favour to the world by their death. Each moment they breath they take lives. They make world a worst place. There are many extremely rich toxic people who spread misery as they live, and then we also have not so rich down the pecking order emulating and aspiring to be richer and equally toxic -a statement on system that nurtures these people and crass reality of existence. About a decade back reducing carbon footprint became a conscience movement. Everyone, including this blogger, made efforts to reduce. Very soon it became clear that these efforts don’t really matter much unless there is a systemic effort. System -and greedy arbitrators, was parasiting on common people.

So, although huge carbon footprint of parasiting billionaires in West must be publicized the stark cruelty of rich people in poor society need to be dealt with equal seriousness. In a company the salary of CEO is compared with the lowest paid to get the comparison. Similarly, in countries with lowest per capita carbon footprint the rich people’s carbon footprint must be put in context to common people. This will bring out the horror of irresponsible wanton consumption while playing victim at international forum.  

Unbecoming of an aspirant politician

There must be decency in public discourse. Personal attack, if ever, must be to highlight nepotism or corruption. To mock a leader -that too PM, for failure of cricket team, and that his presence has brought bad luck, has in the context of society sinister intent. Associating people or person with bad luck -ashubh, has hoary past. It ticks on baser qualities, and attempt to bring the mob in herd. It is a dog whistle for street chuckle that sane people will find disgusting and an alarming breach of conduct. Political parties these days use trolls to keep the social media active, which then is reflected by fomo market media, but when a leader becomes a troll, it is a new low and reflects poorly on the leadership qualities. Superstition, fate, assigning bad energy/good energy, proposing solutions/rituals by pleasing is how charlatans cannibalize. Unacceptable and unbecoming behavior of politician aspiring for bigger role. Climate change -the heat wave, can have a debilitating impact and has the potential to crash all grand plans. It will not be bad luck but incompetent policy making.  

       

Monday, November 20, 2023

Please not another one


 Argentina is a large south American nation, and to see it go down like this is deeply saddening. That this fellow is elected by large number of people is a reflection of insecurities of people that is cleverly tapped by charlatans with atavistic appeal. In the last few years world is moving towards chaos which is having debilitating impact on common people hence they look for primal associations. Technology has unleashed powerful tools that has positive potential through all the communication and knowledge at fingertip to get deeper meaning and associations. But the way market has manipulated and designed it is to maximize profit through superficial attention of dangerous world. Astounding possibilities of technology is seeking lowest denominator. We no longer know whom or what to trust hence we side with subconscious associations of primal over egalitarian possibilities of unknown and awareness of better world. This has debilitating impact on society that may not be really be equipped to factor in such onslaught. Democratic values, critical thinking and empathy driven spiritual contexts have not really percolated. Add to it depleting resources, social turmoil and alienation. With impact of climate change set to cascade, and with that resource loss, food insecurity, displacement and diseases, things are set to worsen unless ofcourse people find better self and society consolidates evolved understanding. South America has vibrant history of left movements that have percolated awareness of rights into society, even religions have played fairly positive role. But has been marred by outside forces and wanton corruption. Left movement too has become corrupted and, in the West, controlled by devious ego driven feudals working theoretical jargons of debating points to settle score than any connection with reality. They severely degraded the world. Unhinged demagogues using tools of disinformation and mass connection are going to make it worse.        

Sunday, November 19, 2023



  2.0°C is breached


Yesterday (Nov.18) first time in the recorded history surface temperature breached 2.0°C above the 1850-1900 IPCC baseline.

Be very concerned.

Saturday, November 18, 2023

When is it hate?


 Ridicule is important part of freedom. Curtailing ridicule is attack on freedom of expression hence attempt at diminishing humanity. Aesthetics is the deciding factor. Nature of society also matters in the evolution of aesthetic sensibilities. Primitive individuals/societies lack nuance hence aestheticism. This lack of discerning abilities leads to incapacity to deal with complexities of modern world. They become vulnerable to extreme emotions and violent responses. Ridicule also has complex context. Denying these complexities makes it a civilizational setback hence emboldens primitives. Degrading and dehumanizing systems like religion must be ridiculed, and any attempt to give it significance as human identity by devious forces must be resisted. Forcing this subjective anachronistic nonsense as defining parameter in human dealing is sinister ploy to control. So is the disturbing attempt to freeze narration in horrendous past defined by sensibilities of barbarians. Semantics of deal -that essentially must have evolved with complexities of present, is frozen in icy reactions of dreadful past. This then trigger herd to emulate the past. The fractures are cannibalized by controlling forces to accrue power. In an evolved world words like antisemitism (or islamophobia) shouldn’t mean anything at all therefore confined to horrible past. These must be expressed frequently within the confines of contemporary to take on the systems that trap herds into agents of horror. Any sensible human must, with all their being, resist systems that dehumanizes, segregates and degrades. Religion has always been a threat to humanity. You must hate degrading system. You must pity and ridicule the herd. But you cannot hate human being. This demarcation of ridicule from hate comes with awareness of human condition. Religion, in the personal space, has served hapless people trapped in increasingly bleak fate and existential insecurities. Even in collective space some religions have complemented to modern life in many ways. The problem arises when in personal space it pushes humans into unthinking herd hence diminishes humanity, while in the collective space it pose a threat to enlightened values. All religions are not same some have not passed the critical scrutiny to enlighten itself but they must be treated equally to face the rule of law. In the awareness of contemporary world if some want to keep isolated and secure in primitive ideas of past then it is their problem. It cannot be problem of the world. Common people cannot be used as fodder to keep primitives occupied or distracted -since a focused herd can be nothing but threat. Denying rights, threat of physical violence as also associating past crime of history with contemporary is hate. Denying rule of law is hate. To classify people is hate. To assign people into history is hate. To assume that human being is anything other than human being is hate. The constant endeavor of devious controllers is to keep the herd occupied in their misery and barter them for power. That surely is not how enlightened society works, nor if you want to deal with complexities of future. We must ridicule the systems that nurture herd and reduce humanity. Herd is a pity. Let the awareness of human condition define aesthetics.   

*The above cartoon is defining characteristic depravity of herd; they have been so dehumanized that to maintain the system they even indulge in self harm. A region that has abysmal air quality- also horribly noisy, decide to celebrate their festival without care or concern, meanwhile asserting their herd identity as they snarl against and compare depravities of competing herd (religion). Such horrible carelessness and incapacity to enlighten themselves must be ridiculed in every possible way. Rule of law must’ve been strictly imposed. The lack of rule of law shows how primitives are emboldened with increasing numbers and using common people as fodder. Millions of vulnerable populations suffer/die because of this wanton crime of celebration. On a personal note, I am thankful since I moved to spent time with nature from these horrible irresponsible people.

In the context of degraded world, the above cartoon will be classified as hinduphobia. Thanks, patronizing fattened fluffs in west. It is victory of narrative control of lexicon sharpened by hypocritical left. Ah the beleaguered minority.              

 

Tuesday, November 07, 2023





Loop
 
When we are finally photons in the massless universe
Every space is like everywhere else
Past, present and future interlocks
Everything that ever happened, will happen,
All exist somewhere in space time slide
Fast forward, pause, rewind
Like wandering spirit we can step out to trace the shapes we take
Cyanobacteria, chloroplast, cambrian…
Mishaps, mischances, mutations
Improbables, impossibles
And then this
…and that
Shades of color weave life
Dancing bees
Mind that unravels pattern
Life simulates never ending fractals
Happiness sadness happiness 
Present absent present
Day night day
Plato points the heaven, Aristotle measures the world
Atom splits and splits and engulfs
There was light in the beginning and end
And beginning      

 


Wednesday, November 01, 2023

Stormtroopers of narration control


 When atrocities are committed on humanity there is only one response that is possible to redeem collective conscience and that is through shock, anguish, and justice. Perpetrators of crime against humanity must face full force of the rule of law without any exception. Enlightened values, ideals of democracy and its institutions are hinged on retributive justice as also prevent such transgressions in future. When state is attacked -as has happened in recent times in Ukraine and Israel -and now Palestine, it is expected that multilateral agencies like UN take action through peace keeping force and restore order and justice through international courts so on. This is what civilized people do when faced with barbarity and crime against humanity. We unfortunately don’t live in ideal world, and most people are not civilized. So, what’s the deal?

It is always exhibition of power, and wanton greed, that use common people as fodder. There are no effective multilateral agencies nor efficient mechanism for synergic response to safeguard against transgressions, most countries are ruled by authoritarian leaders with almost no democracy while others are ruled by hereditary despots using religion or controlled by army or feudal ways to control the herd, and those that are democratic are mostly controlled by greedy psychopaths trying to amass their influence. In such scenario we can only be appalled and hope for better sense to prevail. We can only pray for unfortunate people who face worst of the world, and also feel fortunate for not being in such situation.  In the meanwhile, we can also respond by making every attempt at our disposal to see that power that sustains such dehumanizing systems are weakened, people presented with egalitarian choices and enlightened ways so that they can assert and protest against transgression on their liberty and freedom. They get educated and understand the importance of being a human and not reduce to herd. They become vigilant compassionate humans and not compliant segregated herd (snarling and vandalizing only for ‘our’ herd and ready to kill ‘other’ herd). There are devious forces trying to trap human being to frozen histories, fixed identities, and classify for benefits and control.

In the aftermath of barbaric attack on Israel -that saw massacring for more than thousand people within few hours, the scale of brutality should shudder any human being. But what we saw was appalling display of people in support of this horror. Primitive societies nurture brutal people, and that is the norm, and always a threat to the world, more they grow more is the threat. But what was shocking was  that these parades were happening in democratic societies that values liberty and freedom, and as always compromised Britain leading the way. These appalling celebrations of horror were also seen in many cities that pride in liberal values, accepting environment and egalitarian spaces. That some people, despite all the opportunities provided by open societies, think that brutalities against other humans is to be celebrated is a horrible statement on values nurtured. It is a caution and a lesson. Each and every person who supported/supports hamas must be weeded out and face full force of law (indeed in Australia -of all the place -indicating how things have degraded, some people were seen shouting ‘gas the jews’). There are videos available, liberal societies cannot nurture such people among its midst they are termites, they eat from inside. This was hours after innocent people were massacred and kidnapped by barbarians. Ofcourse now scene has changed. Brutal bombardment of Palestine and massacring of civilians has become serious concern, and those in support of plight of Palestinians -and against Israel state, are on the side of humanity. What also need to be understood is that terrorists have created massive underground network in gaza against Israel and are using civilians as shield. There are complexities but what cannot be denied is that civilians, specifically children, must be given safe passage to leave the area and extended all humanitarian aid. Meanwhile Israelis must revolt against state, and demand complete stoppage of war on Palestine. They can eradicate hamas but they leave vacuum for increasingly hostile people like what they did in Iraq and Afghanistan. Death of single innocent human being is a colossal tragedy on life. Netanyahu has no moral right to be the prime minister.   

There is another sinister presence that needs to be identified and dealt: The leftist intellectual. Let us make one thing very clear. Marxism is a powerful and liberating idea, and it has contributed much to the understanding of dynamics of society and power matrix within. It is an insightful presence and a check on crony/neocapitalism, wanton consumerism and feudal control through neo colonial agencies. Communism in a democratic society is a pitch towards socialism and distributive justice. It has nurtured and consolidated democracy through grassroot social movements all across the world. Grassroot consolidation leads to high level of literacy hence awareness of rights and progressive values, efficient public health and distribution system leading to better quality of life and possibilities. Kerala is an example of grassroot consolidation of democracy significantly through communist ideas and socialistic values (ofcourse entrenched feudal ways, corrupt values and lack of ethical contexts have severely limited the progressive intents). While Bengal is an example of failure of communism, a failure due to lack of grassroot democracy. Bengal remains low on social indices but high on left intellectuals and amazing level of hypocrisy that it breeds. There is a reason why communism in Bengal was uprooted without any trace. It is a study on depravities of left intellectualism. Abstraction into theories that alarmingly loses any connection with reality, essentially an ego ride, so much so that humans are abstracted for elitist indulgences -the kind that has roots in Britain. In some market driven circle it is also fashion statement, and with gandhian mix it becomes extremely virile power display for the sake of proletariats.  

So, although Marxism is an incisive understanding on society it is flawed as model for governance and can only complement within the democratic framework. Leftist intellectuals worked on binary narration of society as class, and as they abstracted these into spheres of dealing in their zeal (and characteristic indifference) they abstracted humans too. So in the absence of individuals empathy had no value. Theory and control over narration was the game. Unique context of human condition was systematically ignored in favour of the narration. Left thinkers are therefore perpetually trapped in the binary narration of historical dialectic. For them every contemporary event has to be controlled and evaluated through this narrative prism. They already have semantics abstracted to fill narration, carefully abstracted words that is used to compress class wars from history to the present, hence presenting a neat version of contemporary that they parrot devoid of the complexities. With this characteristic positioning, that essentially lack empathy, they can easily side with barbarity since it suits the leftist narration. Like capitalism, which only values humans as profitable cog in the system, communism has created binary of collective where human is lost in abstraction. This abstraction is now their only concern, to work their narration, and since leftist intellectuals almost always emerge from feudal frames with all the benefits and regressive values intact, a high level of sense of entitlement over fellow human being, they work their abstraction through comforts of debating clubs and increasingly narrower coterie of writings and dehumanized esoteric arguments dangerously disconnected from sense, this then is applauded by the group. Enthused they pretend to be in the pole position as moral arbitrators on all critical issues. They eventually get trapped in the hypocritical justification of their own loop of narration. Abstracted ideas and narrative control becomes more important than basic ethics or even decency. A normal human being will shudder at brutality on another human being but for leftist intellectual this is a paradigm justifying moment, they do suppress their winning smile though -a glimmer of humanity. Meanwhile any deviation from prescribed narration is taken as a personal failure, an affront on theory, and lacking compassion they hedge their emotion on ego. Thus, what we get is a boorishly rude person as left intellectual, lacking empathy or concern for contemporary or compassion for human predicament but ever ready to elaborate with high sounding words and exceeding articulate performance that do charm the youngsters. Idealist youngsters are susceptible, and by the time they unravel the layered chicanery they have already compromised their soul. Ofcourse, I do agree deeper involvement with ideas are important and a necessary stepping stone to understand world better. Or else there is always the herd hauling abyss of religion and mediocrity of market capitalism. Marxism is a compelling viewpoint to evaluate the world. It though is woefully limited and dangerously insidious like religion and neoliberal values. In the end it too is virulently dehumanizing and segregating. What is sinister is that it poses as an anti-thesis to market and religion, and glimpses a better world -that is a mirage. Communist atrocities that have led to mass killing and misery are rarely condemned by left intellectuals. It is not about compassion or reevaluating their worldview or position but a personal failure to communicate. Dead people could easily be explained with abstract words into abstract humans. Hence it is about chiseling the ideology, against the binary of imperialism. What they don’t realize is that they are increasingly the worst side of the coin. Leftist intellectuals have made Faustian deal with power. Be very concerned.                           

As thoughts get sophisticated words get evolved to express the nuance of the complex world we live in. Ideas get evolved and consolidated through words. The problem is when it loses connection with reality -importantly with humans and environment that are essential part of it. It is a passion devoid of humanity or habitat. It therefore becomes sinister manipulation to sustain their position in the argument. You will see how least concern left intellectuals are when some humans don’t fit their narration -even when they are brutalized or killed, concern is to articulate the logic. Since marxian world is a historical struggle of binary, they will also rarely show any concern for environment -it is not something that is factored, and like its adversary capitalism, nature is an exploitable means. Abstracted human as an agent is their concern everything else is usable for bigger cause. They see human as an abstraction in historical progress -struggle. This also makes them extremely sensitive about history. The use of abstract words and thoughts are therefore not for awareness of contemporary reality -the complexity of which has miniscule connection with history (past is exaggerated by devious forces to work the status quo of misery and trap humans for power struggle). There are therefore ‘colonial’ forces. If Israel-Palestine conflict is frozen as ‘colonizing’ -that is sought to go back to early last century, then there are many colonial angsts all across the world. Hindu herds will say it was colonizing forces that divided their land, it was an injustice that they would like to rectify. And they have ample history to prove their claim for pure land, extending from whole of south Asia and beyond. So why not invade Pakistan and rectify colonial injustice (some nutcases do hold this view, as an unfinished agenda). Vice versa, muslim herd from Pakistan would claim that India is part of their pure land, since muslim king ruled for centuries. So they have compelling reason to attack India and free their pure land. What kind of ridiculous arguments are these? Left intellectuals are notorious for working history to bring their besotted godforsaken dangerous narrations. Abstracted human herein is no longer struggling against historical exploitation but is a conduit to power that nurture herds into their pre assigned ascribed roles to repeat and replicate historical dialecticism. Intellectualism essentially boils down to ego ride of psychopaths who use humans as fodder for narration. 

It is through semantics of abstracted meaning that we try to understand, and then attempt to deal with the issue. Words helps us to understand the complexities of the world we are in. We really need to therefore critically analyze these crucial words that keys the issue as also the power play within. Most thinkers, in their growing phase atleast, are influenced or have engaged with left -since left had deeper involvement as their concern is collective struggle against power, so words gets accepted and with that the context. Now this is problematic. When you control the context of the word you also control the narration and intricacies of engagement. The narration of abstracted collective lacking humanistic concern, as a mass of people evolving in the binary struggle. History therefore is the lynchpin of context from marxian viewpoint. Historicity their weapon of choice to cleverly work into leftist narration of struggle against power. The problem here is history is always incomplete, manipulated, controlled, and significantly, has increasingly limited value (indeed nuisance) to understand the complexities of contemporary -we live in an increasingly complex world with catastrophic challenges that were inconceivable even few decades back. Since historical dialecticism is the foundation of marxian history, history is the wound that has to be kept festering. This is how you work the binary of us and them. The way left intellectual look at the world one would think human beings are divided into two unrelated species. And the one with which left intellectual sides are essentially human while the other has to be destroyed -far left doesn’t rule out violence the reason why they must be contained within democracy and strict rule of law. 

Since the world is complex, and with profusion of technology and comfort as also social media and easy access to global world, individuals have found their voice and have become assertive to express their reality. Simultaneously lacking deeper engagement, or nuanced approach, to whatever is there to deal. The world is increasingly attention seeking, superficialities rivet. This is where words become even more important. People are not reading long incisive articles and insightful understanding but throwing words at each other which carry deeper meaning -many a times without realizing it. Words that invoke history is what we need to be beware of since it brings in fracture of the past that surely has no, and must not have, relevance to contemporary. Systems that invoke these words are persistent threat to the world we live in. Communism and religion are systems that seek relevance from past. They really have nothing much to offer for the contemporary. The binary -us/them, segregation, dehumanizing values lacking compassion or concern is how these systems consolidate. They persistently bring words from the past to degrade the present. With words they bring the context of dead past as festering wound, and so the world loses much of humanity. So, eventhough communism steadily lost its influence across the world due to its incapacity to abstract human for their collective dialectic they are able to control the narration through the words used that percolate into common parlance and claims of historical wrongs and counter claims -that use same semantics of deal devoid of contemporary context.

Communism spread in 20th century and held hope for better world but very soon major flaws were apparent. In the last few decades, it has failed or had to morph from core ideology to garner support. Failure to abstract human for collective dialectics is a fall out of the changed world. Technology leading to individual assertion and increasing awareness of nuance of world we live in -individual context and human condition. Communism though has much left to offer against work place exploitation through unionizing collective voice against neoliberal neocolonial power structures spreading through market capitalism and their nefarious attempts to control through insidious technologies. Socialism remains a significant understanding for public policy. Technology, and easy access to world, has also led to lack depth in dealing and understanding. In this superficial, and increasingly fake and manipulated, world human seeks collective -being social animal as also dreading loneliness, isolation or incapacity to face frightening human condition and absurdities of life. Superficial values of unthinking minds find juvenile premise of religion comforting, its assured association with other compelling. There is also primal subconscious angst for known that get satisfied, as also fear of unknown assuaged through fantastical claims and grand stories. The reason why religion despite its anachronistic degrading values gets primacy. Laughable claims that don’t stand basic scrutiny is found acceptable, and in complete horrifying dehumanization are ready to kill another human to justify the absurd. Such absolute lack of connection to reality of existence and faith in fantasy is what religion presents. More the number of herds increases more it stands as a challenge to humanity.

The paradox of lacking followers but firm control over narration is where left intellectual workout their devious plan to establish their entitled self on the world. Instead of high stand of abstracting humans for collective struggle they now find readymade collective -albeit herd with entirely different concern but equally dehumanized and segregated. So, the left intellectual doesn’t have to dehumanize people into abstract human collective, herd is already dehumanized and incapable to think. The binary of imperial forces, colonial atrocities and fascist agenda are words that are freely used. Herd has to be a victim. While herd controlling state is the aggressor, indeed, imperial fascist force. There are no complexities. Period. Left intellectual has his or her work cut out. And in the luxuries of feudal trappings, they pronounce the verdict in spellbinding semantic flourish that encompass vistas of history to how we landed into the present. This is the danger we face.             

The essential and abiding identity of human being is to be a human, a vibrant life with all unique possibilities. There is providence of race and gender which shouldn’t matter if societies have evolved. Any other identity is a choice. It cannot be imposed on people, to classify and segregate. Ofcourse societies can be primitive, individuals insecure and crass, but that is not the reason to dilute progressive thoughts and evolved ideas. Being a social animal human being must have the all the option to associate into collective of their choice and identify as they wish. What matters is humanism and understanding, and a connection with reality of life. If you persistently classify people -and piece of land, under religion then you take away the choice of being a human -it is an assault, and ofcourse also the absurdity of branding land as a claim for religion. These absurdities are deviously worked into history, and then into contemporary to create recurring loops of misery and wasted future. It places humans as replication of past generations and as such lack faculties to think or express, or the capacity to identify with vibrant present. It is an attempt at negating human, and bracketing into preconceived identities. The reason why progressive societies must actively remove religion or its influence from education space that impress young minds. Education is meant to equip to be a human and assert one’s unique individuality.                  

To relegate crisis to past -the history, as definitive reference is to trap people in a sinister loop wherein devious narration control act as arbitrators and moral authority. The claim of history can easily be challenged since it is based barbarism of past -which shouldn’t be a reference for present. To claim victimhood from past is spurious attempt at obfuscating complexities of present. Victims were in context to time and space in which they lived. Their choice were denied. The claim of victimhood from history is based on the fallacy that you represent the victim and that you don’t have choice, or that past is about you. What is needed is to deny the past, and attempts to invoke it. What is needed is to see that systems that denied choice in past is relegated. Feudal structures and regressive values that denied humanity is dismantled. Democratic ideals and institutions are nurtured, freedom and liberty asserted.    

Recently there are calls made to apologize for colonial atrocities of past from british monarchy. This is precisely the ridiculous level to which narration are controlled, without any care for contemporary. Where do you draw the line of where history ends or begins? Or to whom do you apologize? Where the societies democratic with each individual enjoying freedom before western colonization? As we stretch history back in time the list of apologies will grow. Similarly, many religions and faiths controlled land over centuries, and much before that early human settlers from hunter gatherers. If anybody has claim on land then it should be early humans, much before any contemporary religions existed. Where do you freeze the line of history, and why? And who decides? This invoking of history is dangerous and futile. There is no doubt that monarchy is a regressive presence and sustains feudal values and carries the fractures of past and must be dismantled. Its continuation is an insult on each and every human being on earth. Colonialism is a source of festering wound across the world. It is however failure of society to blame the past, it shows incapacity to deal with the present. Many societies, specifically in east Asia, were poor swampy regions only a few decades back but through investment in education as also progressive values are able to reclaim. Britain need not apologize for its past, it is absurd. It must surely apologize for the present. 

 

 

Monday, October 30, 2023

Saturday, October 28, 2023



Let us play war
 
You bring your bodies. I bring mine 
Let us arrange them in neat rows
Head matching the torso. Arms matching the legs
What doesn’t match shouldn’t bother us
Whole number is the whole human
To exchange stories of how
Missiles, guns, bombs, machetes, stones…
Blasted, shot, blown, chopped, hit…
Our god in heaven obliterate satan to eternal burning hell
Our god gouge eyes of satan in hell
Let us now haggle on numbers and claim avenging for blessed martyrs
Let us yell our narration of morals through shrieks of pain
Dead people of your land dance in joy in our land
Dead people of our land dance in joy in your land
Do you hear the beat?



Wednesday, October 25, 2023

 




Failure of collective will

 

We are facing existential crises that needs collective global response. Technology has made it possible for global collective actions the kind never seen in human history. The possibilities this offer is tremendous. But there is a failure of intent. There is a failure of collective will. It’s a colossal failure of humanity. Consequences are dire. There is urgent collective action needed to prevent climate breakdown -indications are pointing to growing fracture, how fast this will cascade into runaway climate is to be seen. With this the collapse of biodiversity and resilience of habitats and all that we care.

This failure of collective will to tackle crisis is now apparent in middle east conflict. There is a crime against humanity unfolding in Gaza. It’s a failure of multilateral organizations like UN as also other powerful entities that control narration. Israel, like any other country, has right to defend itself particularly when barbarians intrude and assault conscience of humanity. It has all the right to pursue the terrorists, destroy and decimate the terror infrastructure. It is incumbent on international community to extend unconditional support. Collateral casualties could be contained by precision targeting and intelligence gathering. This is the sanest path. It avoids the sinister trap laid by terrorists for war of accretion and mayhem, as also breakdown of rule of law within the civilized society and collective conscience. When you kill innocent people part of you also dies. When society becomes avenging blood thirsty jingoistic nation democracy and civilized norms gets sidelined. This works for devious people and authoritarian leaders.  

If Bush hadn’t taken the megalomaniacal path of retribution world would be a better place. What was needed was precision targeting terrorist hideouts and infrastructure with intelligent input. Carpet bombing Iraq as a personal vengeance against Saddam Hussain and all the mass killing and mayhem led to an unsafe world. Netanyahu is playing the same text book of incompetent leader trying to redeem himself using crisis as an opportunity to consolidate. He is unhinged. His bravado has serious consequence. What Israel needs is a new leader who doesn’t take this as a personal failure but a collective failure and works this crisis as an occasion for transformation. Enough of bombing Gaza, message is communicated that such barbarianism against state has dire consequences. But this really cannot go on. It has well past the retributive intent. It is now a crime against humanity. Those supporting this military action by Israel in Gaza need to pull the plug. This will have to stop.

Meanwhile supporters of terrorist groups must face full extent of rule of law. What also need to be understood is that when we support Palestine against, what is now essentially a crime against humanity, assault by Israel we are not morphing this as trap of Islamic brotherhood nonsense and the vicious narrations that it spreads, nor supporting Israel earlier has to do with zionism or stand against antisemitism. Suffering humans anywhere is a concern for all and we extend our support. Some suffering, it seems, has more traction than others among opportunists because it has more number of herds. Religion should have no place in identifying what suffering to associate to. These kinds of easy narrations are dangerous and meant to segregate and dehumanize, and undermine complexities and essential human condition as also devious forces at play. Democratic countries should have space for protest against massacre unleased by Israel but if it is calling for annihilation of Israel -very much orchestrated by islamic radicals as some kind of medieval war against jews, then we have to be very cautious and weed these out. The call for ‘free palestine’ seems to be couched in euphemism for annihilation of Israel. People must really make it clear what this means, or is it like what they are shouting in Britain; to ‘remove’ jews. One would avoid using words like antisemitism or islamophobia since these are trigger words for wider narration and counter narration of grievances that has absolutely no relevance in contemporary, indeed it complicates and vitiates. Beware of those who use these terms. It is a criminal lack of context and complexities of contemporary and an attempt at easy narration of control. Left movement, which was expected to provide vibrant viable option against wanton market capitalism and cronyism with assertions of socialist values that strengthens democracy, is seen with suspicion for associating with worst of humans as victims hence playing into revivalist regressive right. You cannot use common people as fodder. Collective will need intent of sincerity and concern.   

What is urgently needed is to defuse the situation  in middle east. Israel must cease its military actions. Hostages must be released. Outside forces must stop its meddling and let civil society meet and work it out. Negotiate without falling into the semantics and pitfalls of the past. This is not about history. This is not about religion. It is about human beings. It is about the contemporary reality we live in, and only this awareness can help find some meaningful attempt at peace.   

  

Wednesday, October 18, 2023

Israel need to stop

 

ENOUGH. Israel must cease its attack on Palestine. Message is conveyed. Terrorist will be pursued for their crime against humanity (ideally multilateral international agencies must be involved), their infrastructure and safe havens destroyed.  Israel has no reason to stretch it beyond this. This cannot becomes vendetta of failed leadership to justify its fringe element at home. This is akin to Bush's personal war against Iraq. It is now crime against humanity. Netanyahu has no reason to continue as decision maker. His government has catastrophically failed to protect Israel's border. Ofcourse Hamas is terrorist organisation and all its infrastructure must be destroyed and each and every supporter pursued and dealt severely under rule of law but that doesn't exonerate Israel of its amazing failure to protect its border and citizens.   

President Biden, and USA, is therefore now responsible for this continuation of attack on Palestine. This will have to stop immediately. Declare Palestine as separate country but with restriction to arm itself or right for defense force which should be strictly monitored by international agencies. Israel has existential fear from extremely hostile neighbors and from dangerous herd indoctrinated to see 'Jew'/other humans as eternal enemy, network of terror. There seems to be no other solution to this carnage perpetuated by worst of people against humanity. The world cannot sit back and ogle at 'viral videos' of death and misery that numb sense. This horror will have to stop.