Political Will

"We have everything we need, save perhaps, political will. But, you know what ... political will is a renewable resource. ... The solutions are in our hands. We just have to have the determination to make them happen. " --AL GORE, former US Vice-President

Where was your political will, Mr. Gore? Where was it when you gave up the fight for the US presidency?

Practise what you preach.

Celebrating Democracy

In a democracy every vote counts or let us say gets counted (with the grand exception of United States of America).

Majority of our brothers and sisters in Gujarat, for whatever reason it is, voted for the fascist Modi's regime.

I heard Prannoy Roy on NDTV say, "Modi's victory has sent a chill down the spine..."

Are we to get scared? No. You know why? It's because India is a democracy.

Am I ashamed of Modi? Yes, I am. As a chief minister he had a responsibility to protect the lives of all people who live in that state - irrespective of their religious belief.

Am I ashamed of his victory? No, I am not.

I am sure, Modi's turn would come, when he will have to face the justice system of India.

If Hitler had stood in an election in Germany, during the genocide years, Hitler would have swept the elections. Would that make Hitler or his regime in any manner lesser criminals? No.

Indira Gandhi was voted out after the Emergency years. In the space of three years, she was voted back to power. Does that mean the police atrocities under her regime were ratified by the people of India? No.

Election results are not something we need to fear. At least we are having an election - and there are times when people make a choice based on emotions, sometimes in euphoria, or sorrow, or fear.

Modi's victory is a great victory for India's democracy. A big failure for all political parties, including Modi's own party BJP - who couldn't come up with a leader acceptable to the people of Gujarat.

There are fascist Hindus in India. There are Fascist Muslims in India. When they battle it out, innocent Muslims and Hindus get killed. Just that the idiots who follow religion so blindly are not ready to face the truth.

Religions have killed more people in the last 100 years than anything else.

Living in a secular state, where all citizens are equal, is a democratic dream. Never an utopian dream.

Blame it on education

Examinations blamed for low turnout at Sharjah Book Fair

Let's get Outraged

Gulf News, one of the leading newspapers in the UAE and the Middle East, makes me extremely angry.

Look at this report published in October this year:

Suspects deny gang-raping teenager at knifepoint

Dubai: Three suspects, including one with Aids, are standing trial for tricking a French teenager into their vehicle, driving off to the desert and gang-raping him at knifepoint.

The 15-year-old boy claimed that one of the suspects snatched his cell-phone away from him when he dialled 999 shortly before he was raped.

The 35-year-old Aids patient, A.K., an Emirati and his 18-year-old unemployed compatriot, I.M., denied their charges before the Dubai Court of First Instance yesterday.

On December 12, Gulf News had this to report

Two men jailed for kidnap and rape of 15-year-old French boy

Dubai: Two Emirati men will each spend 15 years in prison for kidnapping and having sex with a 15-year-old French boy against his will, ruled a court on Wednesday.

The Dubai Court of First Instance sentenced the men - a 35-year-old Aids patient and his 18-year-old compatriot - and referred the victim’s compensation claim of Dh15 million to a civil court.

What outrages me is the language used in the report. "Kidnapping and having sex with a 15-year-old French boy," cannot be blamed as something lost in translation.

RAPE outrages us all, it outrages everyone.

In the space of less than two months, Gulf News changed its language from "gang-rape" to "having sex."

HAVING SEX???!!!