Weird & Bizarre in World Cup 2010

The world has been abuzz with Soccer related news for some time now. Besides football related news, there have been a few Bizarre and Weird peices of news as well. Here is a sampling of the same:

• FIFA refuses to use technology as an aid for Refereeing decisions, but does a volte face.in the wake of referee's wrong goal decisions during the league stages.

• Predictions by Octopus Paul being followed the world over.

• And now the latest in the series : UAE Fatwa Declares Innocuous Vuvuzelas un-Islamic. (Don't they have better things to do?)

The Govt Fiddling?

How long are we to succumb to Maoist pressure? The frequent call for Bandh by Maoists is taking a toll on lives of ordinary citizens yet again, not to mention the Bandh by opposition parties. Seven trains have been cancelled or diverted in Jharkhand today. This is the third Bandh called by Maoists within a month. Another Bandh has already been called on 13 – 14 Jul.

It has been a few months now, since the brutal and barbaric Dantewada massacre. And in the meanwhile, another massacre in Chattisgarh recently has been apparently unable to shake the Govt out of its slumber. It seems to be taking them forever to decide how to tackle the menace(to use Army or not, to use Air power or not). The state machinery is not showing any signs whatsoever of cracking down on the Red Brigade. As brought out earlier on this blog, the Maoists are nothing but a bunch of self serving rogues. The Maoist struggle if it can be called that, is not against the Govt's apathy towards development in tribal areas or any other conceived injustice towards them any more. It is all about, extortion, power and money. No development is possible in Maoist infested areas, as such efforts are thwarted by the Maoists themselves. They gobble up the lion's share of funds allotted through extortion from govt officials and contractors.

Time is running out for us. If the problem is not dealt with an Iron hand immediately, a Sri Lanka like situation is imminent where the LTTE had built a state within a state. Maoists in India unfortunately are not confined to a contiguous portion of the country which can be blockaded, surrounded and attacked. It is gong to be much more difficult for us. In fact, it already is. Maoists are holding the state to ransom with impunity at will as and when they want. While the country is burning, is the Govt fiddling?.

Soccer Mania at Fever Pitch

Netherlands, the underdogs turned out to be the winners in Wednesday's Quarter Finals. They now have a fair chance not only to make it to the finals but win it too. In the semis against Uruguay, the team in Orange are surely the favourites. Holland has been unfortunate in the last couple of decades not to have reached the finals of World cup. Despite the likes of Rijkard, Lothar Mathaes, Ruud Gullit, Marco van Basten, Nistelroy, Marc Overmars, Patrick Kluivert etc. The flying Dutchmen could not get their hands on the Jules Rimet Trophy. They have of course been runners up twice in a row in 1974 and 1978.

One cannot but feel sorry for Ghana, to have suffered the cruellest of defeats. The match produced two breath taking goals in regulation play, one each from both teams. One would surely not like to be in Asamoah Gyan's shoes. The memory of this match could haunt him for the rest of his life. With his missed penalty in the dying minutes of the game came crashing down the hopes of an entire continent, which had the backing of none other than Nelson Mandela.

Tonight's action in Cape Town promises to be another cracker.

Post Hiatus

After a longish hiatus I am back to blogging times. A lot of water has flown into the Indian Ocean from our rivers and a lot has happened in the country. Of which there has been hardly anything to cheer about, but a lot of bad news...................... from IPLgate, Dantewada ............ Gyaneshwari Express, the Bhopal verdict................

The Bhopal verdict! Was it shocking? Mr Anderson got away! What a shame. But why the hullaballoo now? Has the fact that Mr Anderson is safely tucked away in some small town in the US for the last 25 years, suddenly come to light? Has the fact that the charges were diluted, not been known for decades? Why the hullaballoo now?

Yes, there is news of some new evidence, of the then Govt's connivance to facilitate the Gora Saab's flight across seven seas, never to return. Sadly, it is difficult to believe that all this could have happened, without the then PM(Mr Clean?) being in the know of things. Arjun Singh and the rest of them were too small a fry to have done so much on their own, given the magnitude of the calamity that was Bhopal. Now the ludicrous face saving farce of a drama to suggest that the case against the accused is not yet closed and the extradition of the butcher of Bhopal not a closed chapter. Another agonising wait of decades(??) for the Group of Incompetent Ministers to suggest some concrete steps ........................ at least till the time the octogenarian Mr Anderson departs for his heavenly abode. Sorry, but unfortunately, there is no extradition treaty with the celestial kingdom of Hell to get Mr Anderson back to India to stand trial. Too bad!!!!

But even more shocking to me is the fact that we have agreed to resume talks with our western neighbours. How many times do we need to be stabbed in the back to realise that it is futile to talk to Pakistan. Much as I would have liked to believe, there cannot be an 'Aman ki Asha'. Ostracising all countries that sponsor terrorism is the only way. Being next door neighbours and the worst affected, ought we not to lead the way in severing all ties with rogue states like Pakistan?

The Reds Declare War

The warning signs were all too clear. Resolve of the central Govt could scarcely be doubted, but they were slow to heed the warnings and the states dithered on the use of overwhelming force while dealing with Red Terror. Yesterday's massacre is an open declaration of War. As has been pointed out in some of the earlier posts on this blog, time for the menace to be nipped in the bud is long gone. Brute Force is required, and it is now or never. Do we want, or can we afford long drawn counter Maoist operations which carry on for decades, like counter insurgency in Kashmir and the North Eastern states?

What is most painful to see is the so called National debate on prime time television on whether yesterday's massacre was justified and what hereafter. Should this be even open to debate? It is appalling to see learned and prominent personalities, still espousing the cause of Maoists.

Maoist sympathisers should all be sent to Cuba, to take a look at ground realities in a Communist state. The very concept failed with the collapse of the Soviet bloc. How then can a modern and progressive democracy like ours even allow left parties to flourish? They must be banned and their assets frozen. It is with their covert support, that the Naxalites could amass the kind of firepower which has now enabled them to hold the state to ransom.

Most sincere condolences to the families of the deceased in yesterday's tragedy.

Photo : Courtesy bbc.com

Shoaib’s TeleNikaah n Sania’s pre Nuptial Blues

Since the all pervasive media onslaught, that threatens to deprive all celebrities of their privacy we have seen so many bizarre pieces of news. But this one has to be out there at the very top of the Most Weird list :

Shoaib Malik, Sania Mirza's fiancé is alleged to have got married to an Indian girl on Telephone.

Have you ever heard of a more ingenuous use of this device?

A Hyderabadi couple has sent Shoaib a legal notice. But which court would try Shoaib? Indian or Pakistani. Trial in an Indian court would necessitate extradition from Pakistan and an Indian couple from Hyderabad can't file a suit in Pakistan. So what is the legal notice in aid of? Publicity?


Photo courtesy : anitparmar.com