In a hundred years from now, cricket will be the main sport in America. (Don't think so? Just wait, if you can!) Until then, however, we cricket fans will have to be satisfied with ESPN's web coverage and a few pay-per-views. The baseball season has just started. The National Hockey League is gearing up for the Stanley Cup playoffs in a few weeks. NBA is in full swing. With so much going on, trying to convince an American to take an interest in the 2011 One-Day International (ODI) World Cup Cricket that began in Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka in mid-February is like trying to interest a Sumo wrestler to take up ballet.
For cricket fans, the final game is just hours away, and speculations over who will reach cricket summit are burning up the digital bandwidth. It will be played between India and Sri Lanka. India won its semi-final match against Pakistan (the eternal rivals - think Brazil vs. Argentina in soccer) but it was more a case of Pakistan losing than India winning. Sri Lanka beat New Zealand in the other semi-final to no one's surprise.
Most fans are convinced Sri Lanka will wear the crown on the strength of their convincing wins throughout the tournament. I am picking India, though, for three reasons.
First, the luck factor. India hasn't really played to its potential, and yet they are in the finals. Luck has been with them all along, and it will be with them when they take the field in Mumbai on Saturday.
Second, two billion Indians have waited for 28 years for this moment. Their combined longing will be difficult to overcome by Sri Lanka. Call it mind over matter, or more appropriately, will over wicket, but it's India's time to shine in the spotlight. Sri Lanka, after all, won the cup in 1996, while cricket-crazy India has never reached this summit. Surely such injustice cannot continue.
Finally, it is Sachin Tendulkar's last World Cup. In case you don't know who Tendulkar is, think Roger Federer, Michael Jordan and Mario Lemieux all rolled into one. The Indian superstar has scored ninety-nine centuries. Just one more, and he will have accomplished the unimaginable, a century of centuries. Tendulkar may not reach this milestone against Sri Lanka in the final but he most likely will, before he retires. What is more important, though, is that he holds the World Cup trophy once in his career. Besides, the final will be played in his hometown of Mumbai. Could anyone have written a better script?
For India, it comes down to one word: Destiny. They will be the 2011 World Cup Cricket champions.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Gadhafi's last Days
Yes, Libyan rebels are coming under fierce ground attacks by Gadhafi's mercenaries and are being forced to regroup. But make no mistake, Gadhafi's end is near. His foreign minister, the poetically named Moussa Koussa, along with other high-ranking officials, have defected. Morale is low in Tripoli and the tyrant has stopped appearing in public.
President Obama has authorized covert operations in Libya. Americans are meeting with rebels to assess their needs and train them in the use of modern weapons. They are also collecting intelligence to pinpoint the locations of the mercenaries. Time will tell, but the president has articulated a vision of American foreign policy in his address to the nation on Libya that future historians will probably cite more often than anything else he has said so far.
It is true," Obama said, "that America cannot use our military wherever repression occurs. And given the costs and risks of intervention, we must always measure our interests against the need for action. But that cannot be an argument for never acting on behalf of what's right. In this particular country - Libya -, at this particular moment, we were faced with the prospect of violence on a horrific scale. We had a unique ability to stop that violence ... To brush aside America's responsibility as a leader and - more profoundly - our responsibilities to our fellow human beings under such circumstances would have been a betrayal of who we are. Some nations may be able to turn a blind eye to atrocities in other countries. The United States of America is different. And as President, I refused to wait for the images of slaughter and mass graves before taking action."
Libyan immigrants from around the world are rushing to their homeland to fight against Gadhafi's forces. As Jon Lee Anderson reports in The New Yorker, "Ibrahim is fifty-seven. He lives in Chicago, and turned over his auto-body shop and car wash to a friend so he could come and fight. He has made his life in the United States, but it was his duty as a Libyan to help get rid of Gadhafi, the monster." Despite all the finger pointing and internal squabbling, the allied forces - NATO, U.S., France, Britain, Qatar - are uniting under a common goal: Use all available and practical means to oust Gadhafi. The sooner this blot on civilization is gone, the better off the Libyans, and the world, will be.
President Obama has authorized covert operations in Libya. Americans are meeting with rebels to assess their needs and train them in the use of modern weapons. They are also collecting intelligence to pinpoint the locations of the mercenaries. Time will tell, but the president has articulated a vision of American foreign policy in his address to the nation on Libya that future historians will probably cite more often than anything else he has said so far.
It is true," Obama said, "that America cannot use our military wherever repression occurs. And given the costs and risks of intervention, we must always measure our interests against the need for action. But that cannot be an argument for never acting on behalf of what's right. In this particular country - Libya -, at this particular moment, we were faced with the prospect of violence on a horrific scale. We had a unique ability to stop that violence ... To brush aside America's responsibility as a leader and - more profoundly - our responsibilities to our fellow human beings under such circumstances would have been a betrayal of who we are. Some nations may be able to turn a blind eye to atrocities in other countries. The United States of America is different. And as President, I refused to wait for the images of slaughter and mass graves before taking action."
Libyan immigrants from around the world are rushing to their homeland to fight against Gadhafi's forces. As Jon Lee Anderson reports in The New Yorker, "Ibrahim is fifty-seven. He lives in Chicago, and turned over his auto-body shop and car wash to a friend so he could come and fight. He has made his life in the United States, but it was his duty as a Libyan to help get rid of Gadhafi, the monster." Despite all the finger pointing and internal squabbling, the allied forces - NATO, U.S., France, Britain, Qatar - are uniting under a common goal: Use all available and practical means to oust Gadhafi. The sooner this blot on civilization is gone, the better off the Libyans, and the world, will be.
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Obama and Libya
President Obama is catching flack from both the left and the right for his aggressive support of Libyan rebels. This can only mean that he is doing the right thing. Cynics are questioning whether or not the President has averted a humanitarian disaster in Benghazi. Can anyone doubt that Gadhafi's mercenaries would have begun a bloodbath in that city if the rebels were forced to flee? Bob Herbert of New York Times (in his last column for the paper) asked how the U.S. could justify spending so much money for a war in Libya when hundreds of thousands of Americans were out of work. Michael Kinsley, writing in LA Times, could see no justification for U.S. intervention in Libya.
The answer is best summarized by a Libyan rebel: "The Americans and the British and the French have come to us in our hour of need," he said. "We now know who our friends are." This political capital will alone justify the U.S. stand when history is written about Libya's democratic transformation and the benefits that flowed from it for the world in general and the Middle East in particular.
Those questioning Obama's decision are guilty of shortsightedness. They cannot see the forest for the trees. If blood flowed freely in Benghazi, the Arab Spring could have degenerated into the Arab winter of despair. In the long term, this would have been a catastrophic lost opportunity for the U.S and the world. Hope for a transformation in the region would have vanished like a mirage.
As it is, the rebels are now forcing the mercenaries to retreat from Benghazi. A prolonged civil war may yet ensue, and there maybe a period of violent upheavals. But after 42 years of Gadhafi's cruel despotism, it can take a few months for Libyans to shrug off their tribal differences to forge a new era of transparency and liberty.
Obama's clarity on Libya did not arrive on the wings of inspiration and insight. It came about from the persuasive case that Susan Rice, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., Samantha Power, a national security aide haunted by the massacre of Bosnian Muslims, and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made for U.S. intervention. The President often comes across as prudent to the point of indifference. His daring seems to be confined to his rhetoric. When it is time for action, he vacillates or takes far too long to make up his mind.
But Obama is also what one would call lucky. In the end, and just in the nick of time too, he does the right thing. It has a lot to do with the kind of people he listens to and the advice he seeks. Luck has a symbiotic relationship with humility. These are Obama's intangible qualities. They can be far more useful for a president than bravado and "The Buck Stops Here" mentality.
A victory for the rebels in Libya is now a distinct possibility, thanks to the support that the U.S., the British and the French are providing. While war rages in Libya, Syrians, Yemenis and Jordanians are also dying as they take to the streets against their respective dictatorial governments. But there is no stopping the revolution. After decades of despair and fatalism, Arabs have been stirred by hope. They are now heir to Patrick Henry whose famous cry during the U.S. War of Independence in 1775 resonate in the 21st century: "Give Me liberty or Give Me Death."
The answer is best summarized by a Libyan rebel: "The Americans and the British and the French have come to us in our hour of need," he said. "We now know who our friends are." This political capital will alone justify the U.S. stand when history is written about Libya's democratic transformation and the benefits that flowed from it for the world in general and the Middle East in particular.
Those questioning Obama's decision are guilty of shortsightedness. They cannot see the forest for the trees. If blood flowed freely in Benghazi, the Arab Spring could have degenerated into the Arab winter of despair. In the long term, this would have been a catastrophic lost opportunity for the U.S and the world. Hope for a transformation in the region would have vanished like a mirage.
As it is, the rebels are now forcing the mercenaries to retreat from Benghazi. A prolonged civil war may yet ensue, and there maybe a period of violent upheavals. But after 42 years of Gadhafi's cruel despotism, it can take a few months for Libyans to shrug off their tribal differences to forge a new era of transparency and liberty.
Obama's clarity on Libya did not arrive on the wings of inspiration and insight. It came about from the persuasive case that Susan Rice, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., Samantha Power, a national security aide haunted by the massacre of Bosnian Muslims, and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made for U.S. intervention. The President often comes across as prudent to the point of indifference. His daring seems to be confined to his rhetoric. When it is time for action, he vacillates or takes far too long to make up his mind.
But Obama is also what one would call lucky. In the end, and just in the nick of time too, he does the right thing. It has a lot to do with the kind of people he listens to and the advice he seeks. Luck has a symbiotic relationship with humility. These are Obama's intangible qualities. They can be far more useful for a president than bravado and "The Buck Stops Here" mentality.
A victory for the rebels in Libya is now a distinct possibility, thanks to the support that the U.S., the British and the French are providing. While war rages in Libya, Syrians, Yemenis and Jordanians are also dying as they take to the streets against their respective dictatorial governments. But there is no stopping the revolution. After decades of despair and fatalism, Arabs have been stirred by hope. They are now heir to Patrick Henry whose famous cry during the U.S. War of Independence in 1775 resonate in the 21st century: "Give Me liberty or Give Me Death."
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Spring Rain
Since the official arrival of spring on Saturday, March 19, the rain has been coming down hard on Santa Clara Valley. This hill, this valley, never seemed so lush green. I exaggerate, of course. Every time we get plentiful rain in spring, and there have been many such years in the last two decades between droughts, these hills and valleys become as verdant as the imagination allows.
Today was particularly wet. Strong winds accompanied the rain that fell in gray, slanted slabs, flooding roads and fields. I walked across one of these fields to the creek near my home. It was swollen with brown, rushing water that looked like a small river in its own right. The oaks, sycamores and cottonwoods that lined its banks swayed with wind and dimpled the creek with drops. The ancient sound of water against rock filling the woods is the gift of a day like this. You listen to this music, the music of earth and sky and forest, and feel peace enter your body and soul.
Gulls and geese flew in formation across a barren sky. I heard birds chirping in the upper reaches of the trees but couldn't see any. A calla lily and several stands of cattails moved to and fro as the creek flowed past them toward the sea. I could see cows moving briskly on the hills through the gap in the trees. It was is if they were unsure of where to graze, since the grass looked so tempting everywhere. It was a comical bovine sight.
The forecast calls for more rain in the coming days. You can almost sense the wildflowers preparing to shoot forth from inside the earth when rain ends. Poppies, lupines, sorrels, soon they will sprout by the roadside and on meadows and forest floors. I don't miss the sun. We will have plenty of it soon enough as the long days of summer approach. Now is the time for rain, when the sounds of the world fall away and all the silences we have known since childhood weave enchanting stories of love and longing.
Today was particularly wet. Strong winds accompanied the rain that fell in gray, slanted slabs, flooding roads and fields. I walked across one of these fields to the creek near my home. It was swollen with brown, rushing water that looked like a small river in its own right. The oaks, sycamores and cottonwoods that lined its banks swayed with wind and dimpled the creek with drops. The ancient sound of water against rock filling the woods is the gift of a day like this. You listen to this music, the music of earth and sky and forest, and feel peace enter your body and soul.
Gulls and geese flew in formation across a barren sky. I heard birds chirping in the upper reaches of the trees but couldn't see any. A calla lily and several stands of cattails moved to and fro as the creek flowed past them toward the sea. I could see cows moving briskly on the hills through the gap in the trees. It was is if they were unsure of where to graze, since the grass looked so tempting everywhere. It was a comical bovine sight.
The forecast calls for more rain in the coming days. You can almost sense the wildflowers preparing to shoot forth from inside the earth when rain ends. Poppies, lupines, sorrels, soon they will sprout by the roadside and on meadows and forest floors. I don't miss the sun. We will have plenty of it soon enough as the long days of summer approach. Now is the time for rain, when the sounds of the world fall away and all the silences we have known since childhood weave enchanting stories of love and longing.
Monday, March 21, 2011
A Tale of Two Tragedies
The horrifying images coming out of Japan have assumed a surreal quality. Is this what apocalypse looks like? Is this what the future holds for us, this chain reaction of earthquake to tsunami to nuclear meltdown to indescribable human suffering? We pray for the victims, collect donations for them, visit local Japanese centers to hold candlelight vigils, yet our efforts seem so minuscule! No matter how hard we try to use our empathy-deepened imagination, we cannot fathom the pain of survivors still searching for their loved ones beneath debris and along windswept shore.
Concern about the safety of nuclear energy is now on everyone's mind. Is nuclear energy worth it? If we abandon it, won't our dependence on fossil fuel increase even more? We have not figured out a way to dispose of the deadly radioactive waste materials and spent fuel rods from nuclear reactors. The United States currently has 70,000 tons of it, and nowhere to put it!
Nuclear energy will never be 100% safe. If you believe exponents of nuclear energy claiming so, I have a bridge I would like to sell to you. Germany has already decided to phase away its reactorss but it is unlikely that other countries will, or can, follow suit. There is too much at stake here, political and economic. Nuclear energy is economically not competitive. A nuclear plant can cost $5 billion or more and the price of producing nuclear energy is about 30 percent higher than that of coal or gas.
Japan will learn from its experience and recover but unless we curb our voracious appetite for energy, we have to be prepared to suffer the consequences of a nuclear disaster next time a tsunami invades a coastal city.
While Japan copes with its monumental tragedy, another one is unfolding in Libya. The tyrant Gadhafi has been holding Libyans hostage for decades. When the people finally rose in revolt, he began slaughtering them with his tanks, artillery, planes and foreign mercenaries. Now that the United States, France and Britain have begun bombarding Gadhafi's forces - and not a moment too soon - the rebels have regained their hope and are counter-attacking. They will ultimately prevail but Libya is likely to go through a long period of civil unrest and bitter in-fighting. Many more Libyans will die but that seems to be the price people pay when a cruel and sociopathic dictator like Gadhafi, who made the world unsafe for democracy, falls.
Concern about the safety of nuclear energy is now on everyone's mind. Is nuclear energy worth it? If we abandon it, won't our dependence on fossil fuel increase even more? We have not figured out a way to dispose of the deadly radioactive waste materials and spent fuel rods from nuclear reactors. The United States currently has 70,000 tons of it, and nowhere to put it!
Nuclear energy will never be 100% safe. If you believe exponents of nuclear energy claiming so, I have a bridge I would like to sell to you. Germany has already decided to phase away its reactorss but it is unlikely that other countries will, or can, follow suit. There is too much at stake here, political and economic. Nuclear energy is economically not competitive. A nuclear plant can cost $5 billion or more and the price of producing nuclear energy is about 30 percent higher than that of coal or gas.
Japan will learn from its experience and recover but unless we curb our voracious appetite for energy, we have to be prepared to suffer the consequences of a nuclear disaster next time a tsunami invades a coastal city.
While Japan copes with its monumental tragedy, another one is unfolding in Libya. The tyrant Gadhafi has been holding Libyans hostage for decades. When the people finally rose in revolt, he began slaughtering them with his tanks, artillery, planes and foreign mercenaries. Now that the United States, France and Britain have begun bombarding Gadhafi's forces - and not a moment too soon - the rebels have regained their hope and are counter-attacking. They will ultimately prevail but Libya is likely to go through a long period of civil unrest and bitter in-fighting. Many more Libyans will die but that seems to be the price people pay when a cruel and sociopathic dictator like Gadhafi, who made the world unsafe for democracy, falls.
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Self-driving Cars and Stricken Nuclear Reactors
How to cool the stricken nuclear reactors at Fukushima has become the most daunting challenge for Japan's nuclear engineers. I have not read any report about robots doing at least part of the dangerous work. Instead, many Japanese workers and technicians have sacrificed their safety, and perhaps their lives, by spraying the reactors with water from close quarters while also trying to restore power.
Robots are clearly not technologically advanced enough to perform these functions. Otherwise they would have surely been employed by now. What about Google's self-driving cars? Could these vehicles, loaded with lasers and sensors, become Robots 2.0 and taught to perform these dangerous tasks? There could be an entirely separate category of such cars developed for ensuring the safety of nuclear reactors when hit with natural or man-made disasters.
Far-fetched? I don't see why. The alternative is death for humans. Necessity, after all, is the mother of invention and the elixir of entrepreneurs. There will always be risks associated with nuclear reactors. The probability of partial or full meltdowns can never be zero, since what is beyond man's expectations is what is normal for nature. Besides, as the Japanese physicist Torahiko Terada wrote with such clairvoyance in 1934, "The more civilization progresses, the greater the violence of nature's wrath."
But if the risks can be reduced from their current level by even a small fraction, that will be bona fide progress. Small, unmanned super-intelligent cars that can take corrective actions inside stricken reactors can save lives and prevent nuclear disasters from spiralling into apocalypses. Is it not an idea at least worth looking into?
Robots are clearly not technologically advanced enough to perform these functions. Otherwise they would have surely been employed by now. What about Google's self-driving cars? Could these vehicles, loaded with lasers and sensors, become Robots 2.0 and taught to perform these dangerous tasks? There could be an entirely separate category of such cars developed for ensuring the safety of nuclear reactors when hit with natural or man-made disasters.
Far-fetched? I don't see why. The alternative is death for humans. Necessity, after all, is the mother of invention and the elixir of entrepreneurs. There will always be risks associated with nuclear reactors. The probability of partial or full meltdowns can never be zero, since what is beyond man's expectations is what is normal for nature. Besides, as the Japanese physicist Torahiko Terada wrote with such clairvoyance in 1934, "The more civilization progresses, the greater the violence of nature's wrath."
But if the risks can be reduced from their current level by even a small fraction, that will be bona fide progress. Small, unmanned super-intelligent cars that can take corrective actions inside stricken reactors can save lives and prevent nuclear disasters from spiralling into apocalypses. Is it not an idea at least worth looking into?
Friday, March 18, 2011
Gadhafi's Last, Desperate Stand
In an unjust world, sometimes even the hint of might can make right.
Forces loyal to Moammar Gadhahi and foreign mercenaries went on a killing spree in Libya as they advanced on poorly-equipped rebels. For days, Libyan freedom-fighters were asking the West to only level the fighting field. As the West dithered, Libyans children, women and men died by the hundreds. The murderous maniac of Libya was bent on killing his countrymen to preserve his power.
Finally, some action! The UN Security Council passed a resolution authorizing the use of Western military forces to halt the massacre of Libyans.
Immediately, Gadhafi's foreign minister announced a cease-fire.
But it has turned out to be a ruse. Gadhafi's troops are still killing Libyans on sight and in house-to-house searches in the rebel-held city of Misrata. They have attacked ambulances and hospitals and shelled mosques and schools. Nothing is off-limit to these psychopaths. Gadhafi's intention is to capture Benghazi with tanks and artillery, supported by aerial bombing.
The West, led by the United States, Britain and France, must not be deceived by Gadhafi's tricks. He must be stopped before he can advance any further and consolidate his gains. In his heart, he must know that his long reign of terror will soon be over. "I will take as many as I can with me" seems to be his mindset. Yet, when the prospect of death is imminent, don't be surprised if he slinks away like a thief into the night.
Countries that voted in favor of the UN resolution, mainly the U.S., Britain and France, must take military action immediately. (A beneficial consequence maybe that it will give the rulers of Yemen and Bahrain also the pause. Government forces and mercenaries are indiscriminately killing protesters there.) Once Gadhafi is convinced that the resolution has teeth behind it, he will plot his next move, which is to escape from Libya. Justice will eventually catch up with him but for now, the urgent course of action is to strengthen the confidence of the rebels with some decisive military action. They can take over after that.
Forces loyal to Moammar Gadhahi and foreign mercenaries went on a killing spree in Libya as they advanced on poorly-equipped rebels. For days, Libyan freedom-fighters were asking the West to only level the fighting field. As the West dithered, Libyans children, women and men died by the hundreds. The murderous maniac of Libya was bent on killing his countrymen to preserve his power.
Finally, some action! The UN Security Council passed a resolution authorizing the use of Western military forces to halt the massacre of Libyans.
Immediately, Gadhafi's foreign minister announced a cease-fire.
But it has turned out to be a ruse. Gadhafi's troops are still killing Libyans on sight and in house-to-house searches in the rebel-held city of Misrata. They have attacked ambulances and hospitals and shelled mosques and schools. Nothing is off-limit to these psychopaths. Gadhafi's intention is to capture Benghazi with tanks and artillery, supported by aerial bombing.
The West, led by the United States, Britain and France, must not be deceived by Gadhafi's tricks. He must be stopped before he can advance any further and consolidate his gains. In his heart, he must know that his long reign of terror will soon be over. "I will take as many as I can with me" seems to be his mindset. Yet, when the prospect of death is imminent, don't be surprised if he slinks away like a thief into the night.
Countries that voted in favor of the UN resolution, mainly the U.S., Britain and France, must take military action immediately. (A beneficial consequence maybe that it will give the rulers of Yemen and Bahrain also the pause. Government forces and mercenaries are indiscriminately killing protesters there.) Once Gadhafi is convinced that the resolution has teeth behind it, he will plot his next move, which is to escape from Libya. Justice will eventually catch up with him but for now, the urgent course of action is to strengthen the confidence of the rebels with some decisive military action. They can take over after that.
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Concern Over Nuclear Radiation Leak in Japan
The Devastation in Japan caused by the earthquake and the tsunami defies imagination. To the loss of lives, displacement of people and damages to property and infrastructure, the possibility of radiation leak from an explosion in the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (about 150 miles north of Tokyo) has added a sinister dimension. If exposed to lethal ionizing radiation, and the Japanese have a visceral reaction to it from Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the effect of this natural disaster can take decades to heal.
Of course, it is only human nature to consider the darkest possibilities in the wake of something as catastrophic as this. Japanese engineers and experts are crippling the affected nuclear reactors by flooding them with seawater to minimize any radiation leak.
Dr. C. S. Karim, a nuclear physicist, explains the radiation leak: “
“The Emergency Core Cooling System is provided to take care of cooling during this period. As a backup to electricity, which may not have been available after the tsunami, there are other procedures such as immediate injection of borated water from an accumulator. The problem arises when there is damage to the reactor cooling system. Pipes in the system may be broken due to strong vibrations from an earthquake. Then, even if there is coolant available and pumps are operating, the water may not reach the reactor core to remove the residual heat.
“Any reactor design uses a concept called ‘defense in depth,’ that is, providing multiple barriers between the source of radiation and the environment. Most of the radiation is contained in the nuclear fuel element, comprising Uranium Oxide pellets shrouded in Zircaloy cladding.
“The reactor cooling system has two loops. Heat that is carried by water from the reactor core is transferred indirectly to another cooling loop. Steam, thus produced, flows through the turbine to produce electricity. If, as the reports are suggesting, there were explosions inside the reactor, they could have been due to the loss of coolant.”
We do not yet know the exact level of radiation leak in northeastern
Friday, March 11, 2011
Nature's Fury Overpowers Japan
There is something ruthlessly democratic about nature's fury. Rich and poor nations alike are reduced to their knees when she strikes.
The 8.9 earthquake and the resulting tsunami has left thousands dead in Japan's coastal regions. Signs of devastation - dead bodies, stunned survivors, fire, submerged cars like toys - are coming at us from all directions.
Our complacency is shaken to the core. Everyday we hear of innovations and discoveries, the monuments to man's ingenuity, and we bask in the wonder of it all. Then a primal force overturns what we call normal. We feel the terror and sense how helpless we are.
Natural calamities are occurring with more frequency and fury these days. Global warming has unleashed extremes. Fire and ice mingle to create horror and suffering, leaving us edgy. Is it coming our way, we ask? Already the Pacific tsunami has reached coastal California. The Crescent City harbor in Northern California has been wrecked, boats battered and freeways flooded.
Everything is connected, we learn in ecology 101. They certainly are. The flutter of a butterfly's wing can spawn a gale. The ferocious energy of wind on water can travel thousands of miles to snatch a family picnicking on a sun-splashed shore.
Sometimes we lose sight of our limitations. Sometimes hubris clouds our vision and we suffer from dangerous delusions. There is a balance that underlies the cosmos. When it is disturbed, through arrogance or negligence or plain foolishness, there is a terrible price to pay. The value of humility - perhaps that is what nature has been trying to teach us all along.
The 8.9 earthquake and the resulting tsunami has left thousands dead in Japan's coastal regions. Signs of devastation - dead bodies, stunned survivors, fire, submerged cars like toys - are coming at us from all directions.
Our complacency is shaken to the core. Everyday we hear of innovations and discoveries, the monuments to man's ingenuity, and we bask in the wonder of it all. Then a primal force overturns what we call normal. We feel the terror and sense how helpless we are.
Natural calamities are occurring with more frequency and fury these days. Global warming has unleashed extremes. Fire and ice mingle to create horror and suffering, leaving us edgy. Is it coming our way, we ask? Already the Pacific tsunami has reached coastal California. The Crescent City harbor in Northern California has been wrecked, boats battered and freeways flooded.
Everything is connected, we learn in ecology 101. They certainly are. The flutter of a butterfly's wing can spawn a gale. The ferocious energy of wind on water can travel thousands of miles to snatch a family picnicking on a sun-splashed shore.
Sometimes we lose sight of our limitations. Sometimes hubris clouds our vision and we suffer from dangerous delusions. There is a balance that underlies the cosmos. When it is disturbed, through arrogance or negligence or plain foolishness, there is a terrible price to pay. The value of humility - perhaps that is what nature has been trying to teach us all along.
Monday, March 07, 2011
Moment of Truth for Libya and Libyans
Can Libyans free their country from the claws of Moammar Gadhafi, or will they need outside help?
As the country sinks into a protracted civil war and civilian casualties mount, the question gains momentum. The more time Gadhafi gets, the more he can consolidate his power to kill and spread his reign of terror.
The ideal solution would be for Libyans to vanquish Gadhafi but life is rarely ideal. President Obama is mulling some sort of military intervention, as President Bill Clinton did before sending the warplanes to Sarajevo and save many Bosnians from butchery.
At the very least, enforcing a no-fly zone over Libya would boost the morale of the rebels who are fighting to hold on to every inch of the territory under their sway. Even a small victory by Gadhafi, aided by mercenaries, emboldens the dictator to commit greater acts of savagery.
The mass and indiscriminate killing in Libya cannot continue. Gadhafi must be held accountable for his crimes. Once he falls, the horror stories will tumble out and we will wonder yet again how humans can be so inhuman.
Evil will be with us until the end. When the established order is about to be overthrown - because people have had enough and they can take it no longer - those in power lash out with all their might. That's when genocide occurs. That is what we are witnessing in Libya now. At some point, Libyan rebels will have to be supplied with arms so that they can fight on equal terms with Gadhafi's well-equipped army and air force.
There are those who claim that Gadhafi is a benevolent dictator who has kept his people happy by meeting their basic needs. They question why Libyans are revolting. What they forget is that people want to be free. They want the freedom to exercise their creativity instead of living on favors bestowed from above. They want to start their own businesses and build their own institutions, instead of being told what is good for them and how they should conduct their lives. They are fed up with the offsprings of their leaders looting the treasury to host multi-million dollar bashes in Paris and Las Vegas. It's their money and they want to use it for their country and society. They want to harness the power of the Internet to boost their economy and connect with the world.
Gadhafi's fall is bound to bring about changes in Yemen, Sudan, Oman, Syria. All these countries will struggle to regain their footing once the dictators and the oligarchs disappear but that's expected. There will be chaos and, in a tribal society like Libya's, the chaos may continue for months. But ultimately, freedom and democracy will usher in a new era of hope and peace and an economy that engages all citizens, not just the chosen and arbitrary few. Those who died for this transformation will be remembered as true martyrs by their grateful nations.
As the country sinks into a protracted civil war and civilian casualties mount, the question gains momentum. The more time Gadhafi gets, the more he can consolidate his power to kill and spread his reign of terror.
The ideal solution would be for Libyans to vanquish Gadhafi but life is rarely ideal. President Obama is mulling some sort of military intervention, as President Bill Clinton did before sending the warplanes to Sarajevo and save many Bosnians from butchery.
At the very least, enforcing a no-fly zone over Libya would boost the morale of the rebels who are fighting to hold on to every inch of the territory under their sway. Even a small victory by Gadhafi, aided by mercenaries, emboldens the dictator to commit greater acts of savagery.
The mass and indiscriminate killing in Libya cannot continue. Gadhafi must be held accountable for his crimes. Once he falls, the horror stories will tumble out and we will wonder yet again how humans can be so inhuman.
Evil will be with us until the end. When the established order is about to be overthrown - because people have had enough and they can take it no longer - those in power lash out with all their might. That's when genocide occurs. That is what we are witnessing in Libya now. At some point, Libyan rebels will have to be supplied with arms so that they can fight on equal terms with Gadhafi's well-equipped army and air force.
There are those who claim that Gadhafi is a benevolent dictator who has kept his people happy by meeting their basic needs. They question why Libyans are revolting. What they forget is that people want to be free. They want the freedom to exercise their creativity instead of living on favors bestowed from above. They want to start their own businesses and build their own institutions, instead of being told what is good for them and how they should conduct their lives. They are fed up with the offsprings of their leaders looting the treasury to host multi-million dollar bashes in Paris and Las Vegas. It's their money and they want to use it for their country and society. They want to harness the power of the Internet to boost their economy and connect with the world.
Gadhafi's fall is bound to bring about changes in Yemen, Sudan, Oman, Syria. All these countries will struggle to regain their footing once the dictators and the oligarchs disappear but that's expected. There will be chaos and, in a tribal society like Libya's, the chaos may continue for months. But ultimately, freedom and democracy will usher in a new era of hope and peace and an economy that engages all citizens, not just the chosen and arbitrary few. Those who died for this transformation will be remembered as true martyrs by their grateful nations.
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