Notations on the World: On #India, #Afghanistan & Other Thoughts

India is taking the World by Storm as Prime Minister #Modi is now in The United States for a 5 Day Visit.  He's due to meet with President Obama later on Monday.

Sunday saw him attend a party at Madison Square Garden in New York.    It was an event organized by the Indian American Community which was staffed by Volunteers and funded by donations.   As the coverage on #NDTV reflected, it underscored the level of excitement that continues so far as the #modiwave seems to be prevalent ever more.   He made some very interesting comments as he promised lifetime visas for overseas Indians as he also said that US Citizens will be able to get visas on the Spot when they go to India.    It was also quite intriguing to see how Prime Minister #Modi directly reached out to #Pakistan as well.   One wonders if #Pakistan in fact is going to take up the hand of reconciliation after the last number of months.   

As the Indian Prime Minister is traveling the World, India is going through another election cycle.    It was frankly shocking to see this as India is gearing up for further mid-term & State Elections: : 

Wow....it shows that no one is above the law, even in #India: Top India politician #Jayalalitha jailed 4 corruption http://t.co/ui0v6s6GIH
— Mike Pouraryan (@mikepouraryan) September 28, 2014

Some of the key things she was convicted of included having 750 Pair of Shoes and 12,000 Saris--How can one have 12,000 is beyond words!!!   Jayalalithaa is quite popular in Tamil Nadu and protests have broken out--however the fact that such a powerful political personality is able to be convicted and brought down (and spend time in Jail) is a tribute to India and the rule of law.   What was also quite disturbing though was the imposition of President's Rule in India's Richest state: Maharashtra.  This is where India's commercial capital, Mumbai is located.   It is due to the instability caused by the resignation of the Chief Minister as the state gears up for elections as well.   India, also, had another reason to celebrate as the +MarsOrbiterMission reached the red planet:

A shot of Martian atmosphere. I'm getting better at it. No pressure. pic.twitter.com/A27s34q5AD
— ISRO's Mars Orbiter (@MarsOrbiter) September 25, 2014

One more key event is about to occur later on today:   Afghanistan is about to finally have a new President.   Ashraf Ghani will take the oath of office as President as Abdullah Abdullah will be named Chief Executive.     #Karzai made his farewell speech and noted how he made a difference--even though the reality is different.   Afghanistan is broke and is ever so dependent on Foreign Aid.   Some 80 Afghan Soldiers on an average are falling victim to the fight with the #Taliban.   Ashraf Ghani has a profound challenge before him as he assumes office.  This is as #Karzai will continue to wield influence from behind the scenes--including maintaining a residence at the "ARG"--The Presidential Palace in Kabul.    

As the inauguration drew near,  bombs went off near the Presidential Palace  to underscore the simple yet crucial fact:   The Taliban will continue to wreck havoc on Afghanistan.    This as the BBC Farsi Service just reported that the Dayesh Forces (also known as the Islamic State/ISIS/Etc. in the West) has been fighting Iraqi Government Forces in the Western Suburbs of Baghdad.    It is part of the very worrisome developments that continue to grapple the World as President Obama admitted how the United States underestimated the strength of  Dayesh.

A Challenging Few Days...Yet again.....

View of the Week: On #NotInMyName & #MuslimApologies....

For this edition of "View of the Week", this article that was published on the website "takepart" that underscored the reality and how this sense of demonization continues to be prevalent.     Although hillarious, it is also a sad testament to our times--and how the struggle against these sub-human mutants  who claim to act in the name of faith is ever so crucial than ever before:

Tired of Being Demonized, Muslims on Twitter Apologize for Algebra, Coffee, and Soap

The hashtag #MuslimApologies spotlights the hostility against Islam fueled by “psychopaths” claiming to act in the name of Islam.

 

To counter prejudice, some followers of Islam have taken to Twitter with a new hashtag: #MuslimApologies.

Muslims this week began apologizing on social media for algebra (named after a book by mathematician Abu Jaf’ar Muhammad ibn Musa Al-Khwarizmi), shampoo (first brought to England by a Muslim merchant), “amazing architecture,” and other innovations made possible by members of the Islamic faith throughout history. The point? That Muslims, of whom there are about 1.6 billion, shouldn’t be blamed for the heinous crimes of a few.

#MuslimApologies first popped up on Twitter on Sept. 24, the same day President Obamaaddressed the United Nations General Assembly, saying that it’s “time for the world—especially Muslim communities—to explicitly, forcefully, and consistently reject the ideology of al Qaeda and ISIL.” He commended the #NotInMyName campaign, whose mission statement declares that “ISIS is hiding behind a false Islam.” (ISIL and ISIS are commonly used acronyms for the extremist group now calling itself the Islamic State.)

The new hashtag seeks to address a different issue: the notion that religion bears responsibility for extremist actions at all.

Among the wry quips were serious messages about racism and stereotypes. One user tweeted, “Sorry for being oppressed and called a terrorist all my life.”

The movement reflects a widespread problem. Since a huge spike following the attacks of 9/11, the FBI reports, hate crimes against Muslim Americans have leveled off only slightly. According to a recent poll by the Pew Research Center, 50 percent of Americans believe that among other religions, Islam is more likely to encourage violence. A hashtag may not solve the issue, but putting the silliness of bigotry in the spotlight could help.

From funny to heartbreaking, here are some of the tweets  (and I chose to embed a few of them that takepart's Assistant Editor Commented on for reference):

sorry for Algebra :) #muslimapologies pic.twitter.com/5qs8d8yq9H
— ناصر العنزي (@AnaziNasser) September 24, 2014

I'm so sorry for coffee, cheques, parachutes, chemistry, inoculations, soap, shampoo, cameras, etc: http://t.co/2L32h4b2d7 #muslimapologies
— Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan) September 24, 2014

We'd also like to apologise for the amazing architecture...for instance the Taj Mahal, really sorry. #MuslimApologies pic.twitter.com/WMSXwYcN5Q
— theconsciousmuslim (@kam_shaheen) September 24, 2014

Notations on Our World: Not Truly as bad as it seems....

It is always easy to be pessimistic about the World.    As the notations "courtesy of Trove" noted, the past 30 days has certainly given a moment of pause.  But, there needs to be a sense of purpose that somehow things are better--and can be so if we're able to understand the full picture, accentuate  the positive and create consensus to transform.     This is one of the implicit ideas behind "Outsiders" which we will work to build upon:

Post by Trove.

A "View 4 the Day" On the Dawn of a New Day (Courtesy of the Team @ SimpleTruths.com)

“Each golden sunrise ushers in new opportunities for those who retain faith in themselves, and keep their chins up. No one has ever seen a cock crow with its head down…Meet the sunrise with confidence.” ~ Alonzo Newton Benn

 

An "Outsider" Newsflash (9/24/2014) : On the "Virtual Run" @ the UN General Assembly

World Leaders have assembled in New York.      One of the highlights is the meeting between the UK Prime Minister Cameron and Iranian President Rouhani:

 

It is quite significant as it underscores that Iran's diplomatic efforts to overcome the previous 8 disastrous years is bearing fruit.   This is as Prince Saud, the Saudi Foreign Minister, and the Iranian Foreign Minister Dr. Zarif have also met.     

Although such on-going diplomatic efforts is always welcome, the news over the past 24 hours has also been tragic as a French Tourist traveling in Algeria was abducted and subsequently murdered an an affiliate of the Daesh (also referred to as the Islamic State//#ISIS//#ISIL in Western Media) currently wrecking havoc in Syria & Iraq (and which we've commented on here in "Outsiders").   President Hollande was absolutely right on when he spoke for the World.     

 

A "Thought 4 the Week" 2 Be Reminded Of...

On the Dawn Of a New Week: A "View of the Week"

A new week has dawned here in "Outsiders".    It has been an interesting week in terms of the on-going political events as the mid-terms are beginning in earnest in the United States and the World is ever so challenging.   The front page of today's Wall Street Journal depicting the two Kurdish Children as refugees underscores the continued plight the World is facing today.

As deliberations are at hand here in "Outsiders" on the US Political Scene, the aftermath of Scotland, the challenges in Europe & the broader challenge of climate change, the day here started on such a high note as #Bing featured one of the most beautiful of home pages which we here @ "outsiders" tweeted out earlier this morning.     On the eve of the UN General Assembly,  it was quite timely especially as the World had a World-Wide Day of Action including one in New York City spearheaded by Al Gore, the Mayor of New York City, the Foreign Minister of France and the Activist Jane Goodall.   

What is ever so clear as one assesses the World to remember to embrace this--and never succumb to the conventional so that one can be the change to help transform the World--the essence of why "outsiders" has been launched:

Every human has four endowments:

self awareness, conscience, independent will and creative imagination.

These give us the ultimate human freedom...

The power to choose, to respond, to change.

- Stephen Covey

When we quit thinking primarily about ourselves

and our own self-preservation,

we undergo a truly heroic transformation of consciousness.

- Joseph Campbell