Trump accepts the nomination * 75

GOP  convention is as good as over with the acceptance of Donald as the Republican candidate to face Hillary Clinton.It was not a smooth convention as there was a lot of acrimonies. Many, particularly from the old guard led by Mitt Romney are miffed at the success of Donald Trump. This man was not given half a chance a year back to bag the nomination and yet he has triumphed heads on. Donald was like a boxer fighting a ring battle with the referees biased against him. But he knocked out his opponents and the referees were sidelined. 

Rise of Trump

The rise of Donald Trump is a grave blow to the ego of the older republicans and their supporters. Even now the opponents of Donald in the run up to the nomination have refused to endorse their opponent though they had been soundly defeated. Thus Ted Cruz and John Kasich have avoided endorsing Donald, in addition, many in the old guard have instigated agitations and sit-ins against Trump. Donald is a strong man and not a candidate of the  establishment.  This has hurt the ego of the senior Republicans  and it will not be a surprise if they support the opponent of Donald Trump, the democrat candidate Hillary Clinton to undermine a Donald victory.

All sorts of protests are being made against Donald. In one case 100 women stripped down and protested against the nomination of Trump.  But the opponents forgot got one point and that is that Donald commanded grassroots support among the Republicans and that is what propelled him forward. Donald himself gave an excellent analogy of his victory. He said he was like a boxer fighting in hostile territory  and the only way he could win was by a knockout, which he did. 

Coming election

What about the election? at the start, many of the Gallup polls gave an advantage of 12 points to Hillary over Donald. But despite the massive lead., it has slowly been whittled down and Donald is almost abreast of Hillary. Many Americans like the views of Donald. He has talked of Islam as an opponent and suggested ways to crush Islamic terrorism by hitting the ISIS leadership at their bases. He has announced that he would stop migration from  Mexico by building a wall. It may be an impractical suggestion, but it appeals to the American people. He has also announced that he would counter China and that again is a move that appeals to the common man, who feels that China is a threat.

The Muslim world will not be happy at the rise of Donald and his victory at the hustings may well be a landmark in world history and hasten the Armageddon- the last battle between good and evil. The definition of good and evil is relative as to which side you are on.

Last word

Donald has got the nomination, now it is between him and Hillary. The lady has the advantage as she has a united democrat party behind her with the solid support of Obama. On the other hand, Donald has a splintered GOP behind him and many would like to cut his roots. But the acid test is the American people and they will decide. But again the American election system is in a way rigged as a candidate with a greater majority of votes may not win. This is because of the peculiar system of having elections by the electoral college. Thus in a particular state in case  a candidate wins he bags ALL the electoral votes. One has now to await the elections in November to see who wins the greater number of electoral votes.

Book review: John Masters " Bugles and the Tiger"

 Masters

Book Cover

John Masters was a rare breed of Anglo-Indians who wrote about India. He was a man with golden pen. Kushwant Singh the noted India writer says about John Masters ‘EM Forester understood India while John Masters understood Indians’.

John master lived in India and was born here. His father was a Lieutenant Colonel in the British Indian army and John Masters also followed suite. He was educated at Sandhurst and was commissioned in 1933. John Masters spent a fair amount of time with the Kings Own Gurkha rifles and served with them in the North West frontier. His book Bugles and the Tiger is an account of his life during that period.

The book

Sometimes, I wonder where this beautiful book has been hiding. It is a fabulous account of a young officer attached to a Gurkha regiment in the wild North West frontier where the watch word of the Muslims tribes was Jihad at all times. The Book makes fascinating reading and in my opinion is one of those rare books that one must read.
Masters autobiographical account recounts his passing out from the Military college at Sandhurst and his joining 2/4 Gurkha Rifles on India's Northwest frontier. The strain of the book brings out the love of John Masters for India, the country people and the Gurkhas. It is clear from the book that the Gurkhas loved him as well.

Last word

This book creates a vivid picture of a Gurkha regiment and the interaction between the common soldier and the British officer. In fact it gives a rare insight into military life.
I first read this book as a cadet at the Air Force Academy on the recommendation of my Instructor. The book surprised me and I have read it 3 times after that. The book is a joy to read and even if you are not a soldier it makes excellent reading. John Masters is intoxicating and once you have read this book you will want to read his other books. He was a master of prose and all India should be proud of him. John Master passed away in 1983, leaving behind a rich heritage of excellent books.

Loving younger women ** 83

I want to state an obvious fact that most men like me, covet and seek out younger attractive women for a relationship. Why? I really have no answer but maybe, after all, it’s a simple answer. As far as I am concerned I do seek the company of younger women and I guess the answer is in one-word biology. One reason is that for men the biological clock is different. I recollect reading somewhere that Anthony Quinn the Hollywood star had a child at 82. Not possible for a woman.

Despite some people sneering at older men and younger women in a relationship, the fact is many younger women marry older men it’s again a biological need.
Frankly, as I am not a woman, I can’t write from the women’s angle. But I suppose all relationships can only take place if there is mutual attraction and sexual desire. So at the end of the day, the woman must like the man and that is the bottom line.

I make no apologies for the fact that many younger women have accepted me as a partner. Maybe it's love, I can’t say. But I see nothing wrong with it. All I can say is that many younger women accept me and it’s not for money for I don’t have much.

Erdogan orders mass arrests after Coup bid in Turkey

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Erdogan orders arrest of over 50000 Turks in the aftermath of the coup attempt

Turkey is in ferment with the government ordering a massive purge, arrest, suspension of people remotely suspected to be involved in the coup.

Turkey is in a state of ferment in the aftermath of the coup attempt. President Erdogan is taking all steps to ensure those elements which are disloyal or even having a hint of disloyalty to him and the Justice party are removed. In the process, he has unleashed a reign of mass arrests, suspensions and dismissals of nearly 50000 people from soldiers to judges and civil servants to teachers. Erdogan is blaming his political opponent Cleric Gulen of orchestrating this coup. He has asked for his extradition from the USA.

The arrests and suspensions.

The volume of arrests and suspensions is mind boggling.They cover people from all walks of life. In a way, it shows his insecurity as mass arrests and suspensions as well as dismissals have taken place. Erdogan has ordered

 Sacking of 15200 teachers and education staff                     Enforced resignation 1577 university Deans                         Dismissed  1500 staff of the Finance ministry                     Dismissed 8777 interior ministry workers                               Sacked hundreds of workers from the prime minister's office                                                                                              

In addition large number of men from the armed forces and police have beenarrested on charges of treason. He is also contemplating the re-introduction of the death penalty to act as a deterrent and the opportunity to execute the ringleaders of the coup.

The future.

The world is perturbed with the actions taken by Erdogan. The removal of large numbers of Turks on mere suspicion has not gone down well in the world community. The President of the EU  Martin Shultz has commented that the arrests and suspensions  smacked of "revenge" against the opponents. The mass scale purge has been condemned by Gulen.The German Chancellor Angela Merkel has cautioned that any introduction of the death penalty would have an effect on Turkeys application to join the EU. The US has also called for the rule of law to prevail. The situation remains fluid and one can't be sure as to what will happen next.                                                                                    

Caste System is alive in India * 73

Caste has been the bugbear of Hindu society. Also called the Varna system, it consists of dividing Hindus as per their profession. The caste system flows from the Laws of Manu as codified in the Manusmriti. These laws were framed at least 3000 years back and have survived the vicissitudes of history. The castes are further classified as higher castes and lower castes and are water tight compartments. Many reformers have spoken against the caste system, but there seems to be no conviction even among men who supposedly opposed the caste system like Gandhi. This man (Gandhi) is an enigma as at one stage he supported the Varna (caste system) and in later writings was of the view that caste system needs to be diluted. He was never a vociferous opponent of the caste system and that includes Hindu reformers like Swami Vivekananda.

The net result is that the caste system continues to dog India and at every stage, one is confronted by this division of society. Many lower castes have converted to Islam and Christianity to escape the clutches of the caste system. But in India, these lower castes despite converting have not been completely absorbed in either Islam or Christianity and still have the old tag accompanying them.

The situation in the 21st century is bad and the recent suicide by a student of the University of Hyderabad is a pointer. He was a lower caste and felt ostracized and just committed suicide. One wonders when India will get out of its caste conundrum

Tigers rescued from a temple in Thailand

The temple in Kanchnaburi was a tourist delight, till animal rights group who had long suspected maltreatment got into the act.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiger_Temple

Kanchanaburi is a hallowed name as the infamous bridge on the river Kwai was constructed by the Japanese here. It also has a tiger temple dedicated to Lord Buddha. This temple which came up in 1994, had a mission to integrate wildlife with humans. The temple was initially loaned 2 Bengal tigers, but the temple authorities began a breeding program and their numbers multiplied to 137. The animals were a great tourist attraction and Americans who had never seen anything like this were simply enthralled by tame beasts. Many American tourists also photographed them with tigers. One can see the fascination of American tourists for tigers as none are available in natural habitat in America. The temple earned millions of dollars from tourists and the monks led a lavish life.

Ill-treatment of tigers

Animal rights groups were keeping a watch on the temple activities, as reports had come that the animals were ill-treated. The tigers in the temple were the Bengal tigers, who are not native to Thailand. The tigers were reared in the temple by the monks as an example of how animal life and human environment can co-exist with each other. Unfortunately, a police raid revealed the sordid goings-on in the temple. The raid revealed the carcasses of nearly 70 tigers cubs. In addition, nearly 1000 talismans were found which were made of  body parts after processing. Obviously, many tigers were killed in the making of these talismans. This was a fit case for action and the police on prodding from animal rights groups had to act.

Removal of the tigers

The police went into action, and all the tigers were rescued and relocated. The tigers could not be set free in the jungles as firstly, they were not native tigers and secondly, the tigers were unable to hunt prey and subsist in the jungle. The monks protested, but their case was weakened by the dead carcasses and the inability to explain how the talismans were made. The goings-on in the temple has dismayed many Thai's. The tourists, mainly Americans who patronized this temple will miss the tigers. There is a good chance that with the loss of earnings, the temple may also close. The temple authorities can also face charges for illegal trade in wildlife and encroachment on forest land. After the removal of the tigers, the temple has become like a normal Buddhist temple with 15 monks left. Despite the removal of the tigers many other animals like horses and bears remain.

A famous poem by William Shakespeare" The rape of Lucerece"

Rape of Lucrece’ is a famous poem by William Shakespeare

English: Title page of William Shakespeare’s The Rape of Lucrece London (1616) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

English: Cobbe portrait, claimed to be a portrait of William Shakespeare done while he was alive Lëtzebuergesch: Uelegporträt vum William Shakespeare am Alter vu 46 Joer, gemoolt 1610 zu Liefzäite vum Dichter, haut am Besëtz vum Konschtrestaurator Alec Cobbe. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

William Shakespeare was a great poet, many recognize him as the greatest. His fame rests on plays like Hamlet, Merry wives of Windsor, Othello and much more. But little is known about his poems and ballads. One that has captivated me is the “Rape of Lucrece”. He wrote the poem in 1594.

The poem has some fact behind it and relates the rape of a young wife Lucretia by Sextus Tarquinius who coveted her immensely.The poem with its explicit descriptions of Lucretia’s body is lovely to read. In particular, the description of her breasts which had known no yoke is simply enthralling.The rape itself is described in flowery verse and shows that Shakespeare was a great poet as well. incidentally, in real life, Lucretia committed suicide after the rape. Something that happens even now. Read the poem with your consort in your arms and you will remember it.

excerpt                              Her breasts, like ivory globes circled with blue,
                                           A pair of maiden worlds unconquered,
                                           Save of their lord no bearing yoke they knew,
                                           And him by oath they truly honoured.
                                            These worlds in Tarquin new ambition bred;
                                           Who, like a foul ursurper, went about                                             From this fair throne to heave the owner out.       

The Yamato: biggest battleship of WW II * 64

The Yamato was the biggest battleship ever built. However, it was built at a time when the days of the battleship as an instrument of sea power had been replaced by the aircraft carrier. A lot of manpower and money were spent on the construction of the battleship, which for the record weighed 64,000 tons. The Yamato also had the heaviest long range guns.

This colossus, however, served no purpose for the Imperial Japanese fleet. Firstly it was slow and lagged behind the main armada and secondly it was a sitting duck for enemy aircraft. The Battleship appeared after Pear Harbor. In case the Battleship had been launched earlier there is a good chance that it could have augmented the Imperial Navy’s firepower during the assault on Pear Harbor.

Japanese battleship Yamato listing to port and on fire, under attack by US Navy carrier planes north of Okinawa, April 7, 1945. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In real terms, the battleship spent a most inactive war. It was hardly ever used and towards the end of the war was sunk by American seaplanes, when it capsized and sank. Despite this, the Yamato will always be remembered as the biggest battleship ever built. There is a museum in memory of the Yamato in Japan

America and Terrorism: a tryst that cannot be avoided

ISLAMIC TERRORISM IS ALIVE IN AMERICA AS LAS VEGAS IS TARGETED

A Muslim woman drove her car into a crowd and one person was killed and 40 injured in Las Vegas as she obeyed her conscience in a lone wolf attack

https://pixabay.com/en/hand-bloody-terror-terrorists-1046053/

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America learned what Islamic terrorism is with 9/11. Islamic terror is a word many in America would like to obliterate as they try and generalize terrorism. Many talks of the ideals of the American nation and would like racial profiling to be stopped. Thus, when a man like Trump connects Muslims with terror, many are up in arms against him. I will quote one of the prominent police heads in the world, who stated that majority of the Muslims are not swayed by terror, but 99% of the terrorists caught are Muslims. This statement makes its own mark and to stop such acts some form of racial profiling may be a necessity. The incident in Las Vegas was part of a plan to strike at the economic might of the USA. Las Vegas is an important entertainment and tourist district and striking at this place is to spread fear, resulting in lesser visitors.

The attack

An American Muslim woman drove her car into a crowd of some 40-50 persons shouting " Allahu Akbar." The result was that one person was killed and 40 injured. To many, it may seem a mindless act, but the Muslim extremists see it as a step to bleed America with 100 cuts. The fact is these attacks are carried out by American citizens who have lived in America for decades. This is the disconcerting thought that a person who has lived in America for so many years still would like to destroy the very nation that has given him/her a livelihood and a place to stay. Most attacks on America after 9/11 are the handiwork of Muslims who obey the call of the ISI and Al Qaeda and carry out terror attacks. Their motivation is high and they do not fear death as they feel that in case they die in the attack they will go to Paradise.

The future

What of the future? One cannot visualize how these lone wolf terror attacksattacks can be stopped. The only way is to do racial profiling and though sad, there seems no option to it. How do you stop a lone Muslim gunman from entering a public area on orders from his mentors outside the USA to carry out an attack or an act of sabotage? No police force in the world can stop such acts unless a wider net is cast. In Europe and France, similar happenings are taking place where homegrown Muslims, who have lived for years have turned on the nations that gave them homes.

Kashmir is on fire but to what purpose ? * 63

The test of every system or political act is whether it will raise the standard of living of the people.
Many Kashmiris demand Azadi from India. If they can demonstrate that such Azadi will raise the standard of living of Kashmiris their  demand may be justified.But Kashmiris never seek to demonstrate that. All they demand is Azadi.
Kashmiris forget that Azadi can only be a means to an end, not an end itself. The end must be raising the standard of living of Kashmiris. But Kashmiris never discuss how that will be achieved in an Azad Kashmir ( assuming it is created ).
Moreover, the pro-Pakistani slogans blared out from loudspeakers of nearly all mosques in Kashmir, and the call to wage jihad, makes one very suspicious as to who is really behind this ' Azadi ' struggle ?
So-called ' freedom struggles ' having a religious color e.g. the Sanyasi Revolt in Bengal in the late 18th century ( which is the historical background of Bankim Chandra's reactionary novel ' Anand Math ' ), Ayatollah Khomeini's movement, Muqtada al Sadr, ISIS, etc. tend to divide and weaken the people.
If azadi is achieved in Kashmir, will the outdated feudal Sharia Law be imposed there ? And if Azadi means azadi from India but joining Pakistan, will the jackboots of the Pakistani army not fall on the necks of Kashmiris ?
Real azadi is azadi from poverty, malnourishment, unemployment, hunger, lack of health care etc. Did Burhan Wani and his comrades ever think of this, and how it will be achieved in an azad Kashmir ? Have the 'brave' JNUSU and Jadavpur University students who supported this demand of azadi for Kashmir ever thought of that ?
It is not enough to be brave, it is also necessary to have brains, but about this I have my doubts

Hitlers war room during Battle of France

Hitler's Command Post During the Battle of France(1940)

Hitler controlled the Western campaign from a command post close to the French border. It consisted of a set of low buildings with a bunker. Called the Falsenenest or Rocky Eyrie it was located at Bad Munstereifel, a place near Aachen. This place is also fairly close to the area of operations.

The Second World War is a long way off.  It ended nearly 7 decades back. One battle that heralded the rise of Germany as a super power on the European continent was the battle of France in 1940. This is considered by many historians as the decisive battle of World War II and resulted in total defeat of France. Known as the battle of France it lasted exactly 42 days and led to armistice treaty which was signed at Versailles.  The British who were fighting on the side of the French with their Expeditionary Force had to make an ignoble exit. The quantum of the defeat can be gauged from the fact that 1.9 million French soldiers were taken as POWs.

Now historians are aware that Hitler controlled the Western campaign from a command post close to the French border.  It consisted of a set of low buildings with a bunker. Called the Falsenenest or Rocky Eyrie it was located at Bad Munstereifel, a place near Aachen. This place is also fairly close to the area of operations.

Hitler’s command post was fairly Spartan and consisted of 4 rooms and was bomb and shell proof with use of special concrete.  The war headquarters was inspected by the German army and the Gestapo and cleared for use of Hitler. The leader drove down from Berlin by car in the dead of the night and reached Falsenenest at 3 am. This was an hour earlier from the slated time of assault at 4 am.

He entered the biggest room which had large operational map showing the position of the German army divisions with their commanders. He gave the signal to advance by telephoning Field Marshal Von Rundstedt, the overall commander of the Western front. He also kept himself abreast on the progress of the battle on his operational map and often talked to the field commanders including Rommel, Guderian and Von Manstein.

 Hitler’s two advisors from the OKW, Field Marshal Jodl and Keitel were with Hitler.

 The invasion commenced at 4 am when the German army moved against France bypassing the Maginot line through the Low Countries. The rest is history as the French sued for an armistice. Hitler controlled and plotted the progress of 10 Panzer divisions and 136 infantry divisions. It was a formidable force.

Hitler never used Falsenenest again and this was its sole use. It will however be always connected with the battle of France.

Muslims must look inwards ** 78

In Pakistan Ahmadis and Shias are often being attacked or killed, dargahs bombed. human rights activists and journalists, etc brutally murdered.
Ahmadis believe that after Prophet Mohammed there was a Prophet Ghulam Ahmad in the 19th Century. Are they breaking anyone's head or cutting off anyone's limbs by saying this ? Those who believe that Mohammed was the last prophet are entitled to do so, and they may also say that Ahmadis are not Musli...ms ( just as Ahmadis may say the same about them). But what right have they to kill Ahmadis, burn their mosques, and beat up their children ? This is just hooliganism, goondagardi, and jahaalat.

Similarly, when the Shias do not accept the first three Khalifas (Abu Bakr, Omar and Usman) as genuine, and regard them as usurpers, are they breaking anyone's head or cutting off anyone's limbs ? They are not preventing Sunnis from holding that belief. Then what right has anyone to kill them or burn their mosques or beat up their children ? This is simply hooliganism and jahaalat.
Many Muslims of Wahabi thinking believe that going to dargahs is butparasti ( worship of idols), since dargahs have graves of Sufi saints, and such persons believe that going to dargahs is worship of graves, which is idol worship prohibited by Islam.
Such people need not go to dargahs if they do not wish to, but why should they prevent others from doing so, and why should dargahs be bombed ? This is just hooliganism and jahaalat. In fact, 80% Muslims not only in India but also in Pakistan and Bangladesh go to dargahs, and Hindus also go there.
We need tolerance if our country is to survive and prosper, otherwise it will become another Jurassic Park like parts of Pakistan, where 1000 girls are stoned to death every year for alleged adultery, blasphemy laws,abduction, forcible conversion, etc are used to persecute non-Muslims, health workers who give polio drops to children and vaccinate them are killed, human rights activists, journalists, etc are brutally murdered.
In a subcontinent of such diversity as ours only tolerance and secularism can keep us together and take our country forward towards prosperity. But as for fanatics and bigots, no mercy should be shown to them. They must be eradicated like mad dogs