More Trouble For Iran

Suddenly, a new problem with Iran has been highlighted in the international media. On Sunday April 25, 2010, an international news agency, Reuters came up with the news that the foreign minister of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan refused to back down in the face of Iranian anger, to express his displeasure of Tehran “occupying” three islands in the Gulf – the islands being, Abu Musa and the Greater and Lesser Tunbs. This was on a visit to Israeli-occupied West Bank and the subsequent meeting with Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas.

Now the Arab states and the United Nations have found more' food for fodder' with such revelation, to tell the world the nice or nasty character of the nation of Iran, which is already being vocally attacked from left and right because of its nuclear program controversy. We cannot be surprised, if “three islands controversy” is given a further up-tempo to go along with the nuclear hullabaloo.

Only the people of Iran know the actual situation. And, we will, too, in the later years to come, ……….. from whatever the outcome.

Hot in Iceland

Mention Iceland and one who would conjure up images of glaciers, snow, ice spreads on houses, trees and people moving about with cold proof thick attires. No, certainly not volcanoes, fires, smokes, ashes and people running away in fear. That’s what has happened recently in Iceland. Iceland became more aptly ‘Fireland’!

What is happening to the world? Is this some sort of a hint of worse things to come? Flights were halted. Humans waited helplessly. The world was affected, just by this incident from just a tiny area of the earth!

That tiny area is in itself a mouthful – Eyjafjallajokull! The volcano beneath this glacier is the cause of this pessimistic utterance. Having been dormant for 200 years it suddenly erupted after midnight of Saturday 20, March 2010, ripping a 1 km long fissure in a field of ice. Authorities evacuated 400 people in the vicinity not because of the fear of the volcanic larva ash flowing down upon them but of the fear of flood from the meltdown of the glacier! What a turn around!

Things are becoming funny in this world of ours, don’t they?

Sania Mirza, Shoaib Malik wedding controversy

So Indian sports darling, tennis star Sania Mirza and Pakistan’s cricket star, Shoaib Malik finally got married on Monday 12, April 2010. But what a ruckus exploded, created by some people in both the nations.

Weddings are supposed to be personal human bonding and only, perhaps, the parents got any rights to criticize or approve directly. But here, political parties and associations from both nations got involved!

On the Indian side, some extremist political parties and medias scorned at the wedding, saying that if the Indian sports star married the Pakistani cricketer, she should not represent India, anymore, and her liberties in India should be curtailed somewhat.

Pakistan, of course, being the habitual doer of the opposite to rile India, took glee in the wedding. Politicians and celebrities wowed to make the occasion a great festivity. The marriage partners were congratulated in excesses and companies were even offering extraordinary honeymooning privileges.

My question is this. Why not the countries, which were one single nation at one time, throw all their differences out of the window for a while, and take this opportunity to join hands just as the sports couple did, and celebrate the occasion together. Must they be on the opposite sides, always? The Indians and Pakistanis should not forget that the same blood runs amongst many of them.

Najib - Change he believes in.

Malaysia is going under a transformation under the current Prime Minister, Dato Seri Najib Abdul Razak.

As we know, the previous Prime Minister, Tun Dr. Mahathir, took an anti-western stance in his speeches and actions, for the 22 years he held office. He, especially, targeted the United States in his derogatory speeches. He even took as, food for fodder, the trips of his former deputy, Dato seri Anwar Ibrahim, to the USA, to belittle him, when Anwar Ibrahim was in the Opposition Party. He said Anwar was too much in rapport with the Americans and Malaysia would once again be under the control of the whites.

Now, things are changing. Najib is, industriously, wooing the friendship of USA. Much ado has been made about his meeting with President Barack Obama in Washington, five days ago, on 12^th April 2010. The meeting is being termed as ‘historic’ in the presses back home. The prime minister, himself, is said to have said that it was a new beginning in KL-Washington relations. He has openly supported Obama's nuclear expectations, and has asked the U.S. universities to open up branch campuses in Malaysia.

Well, Mahathir should be seething with rage! The man, whom he has praised before, is now becoming his unexpected tormentor!

Hindu priests

A news in a Malaysian daily on Monday April 5, 2010 said that the Malaysian Government has set up an academy in Ipoh so that Malaysian Indians who aspire to be Hindu priests can be duly trained over there. And that, with the availability of this new centre of learning it won’t be necessary to bring in priests from India. Thousands of jobs as priests can be taken up by Malaysians.

The job of a priest is indeed becoming very lucrative. I have seen priests having luxurious houses and cars! Gone are the days when priests are supposed to be immaterialists. One usually expected them to lead a simple, humble life.

Not anymore friends! I have seen them buying lottery tickets! They hope to strike it rich! What then? Are they going to call it a day and just relax at home? No more necessity to work? …. If serving God can be called ‘work’.

Back to the daily, it also mentioned that the priest course would be a five-year course. And the priests will be given various grades. Now, could that mean that God will not accept the prayers or ‘poojas’ of the low grade priests? Or, is it that prayers from a lower grade priest may take longer to reach God, very much like a Malaysian internet broadband. Where are the Indian beliefs and culture heading?

The daily also mentioned that the Minister concerned had said that ‘the Government had been toying with the idea of setting up such an academy for more than 15 years’. I only wish it had played with a different toy!

Malaysia and F1

A lot of brouhaha was made about Malaysia’s Proton entering the F1 extravaganza after it had bought over the prestigious constructors, Lotus. It was said that it would be just a beginning for Malaysia to be in the world’s eye as a developed and technological country. And that it will be good advertisement for Malaysia to get on the world’s automotive stage. From what I saw so far Proton and Malaysia is hardly getting the publicity they hoped. Already three races have gone by and Proton is hardly mentioned. All we can read in the media are the words Lotus, Kovalainen-Finland, and Trulli-Italy.

I wonder if the motoring world knows that Lotus represents Malaysia if not Proton in F1 now!