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usafphantom2 · 2 years ago

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Argentine delegation evaluated Danish F-16 fighters for possible acquisition

Danish F-16 fighters will be removed from the air force. Argentina can become a possible buyer of the planes.

Fernando Valduga By Fernando Valduga 11/27/2022 - 12:23 PM in Military

Old Danish F-16 fighters can end up in Argentine hands.

The Argentine Air Force sent a delegation to Denmark to negotiate a possible purchase of F-16 fighters, which will be gradually withdrawn from the Danish Royal Air Force.

The delegation was sent on Friday, according to the Argentine media. A decision on the matter should be made by 2023.

The director of planning and purchases of the Argentine Air Force, Diego García, told the Argentine television station TN that the delegation is composed of technicians and specialists.

"I think that by the end of [of this] year we will have seen all the offers and analyzed all of them," said the Minister of Defense, Jorge Taiana. "This is a decision that must take into account not only the technical aspects and the quality of aircraft armament systems, but also issues related to financing, delivery times... are political decisions to be taken at the highest level by the President of the Republic," he added.

Since the 1980s, F-16A/B MLU aircraft have been part of the Danish Air Force, which is now in the process of replacing F-16 aircraft with the new F-35 fighters from the American manufacturer Lockheed Martin.

The Danish Air Force has 43 F-16 aircraft, of which 30 of them are still part of the active fleet. The Danish defense decided earlier this year to postpone the progressive elimination of the Danish F-16 aircraft until 2027 at the latest.

According to the Materials and Purchasing Agency of the Danish Ministry of Defense, there are between 16 and 24 Danish F-16 aircraft that still have a long enough service life for another country to benefit from them.

It is still uncertain how many planes Argentina will potentially buy and, if so, when the country will take them over. In relation to F-16 A/B MLU aircraft, the operation involves a combined proposal from Copenhagen and Washington.

A sale could yield to Denmark a sum of three digits of millions, but a sale will also depend on the approval of the US and the United Kingdom. This is because several components of the F-16 are produced in both countries.

According to TN citing sources from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, any specific issue relating to the Danish aircraft will be the responsibility of Copenhagen. “Any potential sale is a matter for the Danish authorities,” said sources from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of TN.

However, the same sources insist that "if a country buys equipment containing components from the United Kingdom that subsequently needs to be replaced, the companies/exporters of the United Kingdom would have to obtain the corresponding licenses".

Britain's Foreign Trade “will not issue any export licenses wherever this is inconsistent with our licensing criteria or government policy,” TN also reported.

HAL Tejas.

Denmark is apparently not the only nation in which Argentina is considering buying jets. According to the Argentine media TN, Argentine technicians and experts are analyzing options of the Chinese-made JF-17 Thunder and the Hindustan Aeronautic Limited (HAL) Tejas aircraft from India.

Buenos Aires has been struggling to modernize its air force. After the Falklands War, the United Kingdom imposed a total embargo on exports of defense equipment to Argentina.

The embargo had little or no impact on the Argentine Armed Forces during the 20th century, but in the 21st century, Argentina faced challenges to modernize its air force. Argentina was unable to acquire many aircraft due to the British-made Martin-Baker ejection seats, leaving the country with only a few options.

JF-17 Thunder.

The Indian Tejas and the Chinese-made JF-17 were considered the best options for the South American country, although both jets use Martin-Baker seats. Manufacturers from India and China promised to offer jets without the British seats.

However, experts pointed out that domestic circumstances may soon prevent Argentina from selecting a fighter.

Tags: Military AviationF-16 Fighting FalconFAA - Fuerza Aerea Argentina/Força Aérea ArgentinaRoyal Danish Air Force - RDAF

Fernando Valduga

Aviation photographer and pilot since 1992, he has participated in several events and air operations, such as Cruzex, AirVenture, Dayton Airshow and FIDAE. It has works published in specialized aviation magazines in Brazil and abroad. Uses Canon equipment during his photographic work in the world of aviation.

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speciesofleastconcern · 3 years ago

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What would happen if the southern United States declared their secession from the union and created a Confederacy 2.0 in 2021 and they declared that Donald Trump was their president?

A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE THIRTY HOURS’ WAR (slightly updated)

9:27 AM: Governor Greg Abbott announces a surprise press conference to be held at noon. The Texas State Capitol is a whirlwind of activity, but no one will explain. Journalists stationed in the capitol buildings of several other Southern states notice a sudden fever of activity, but again, no word on what is taking place.

12:07 PM: Abbott enters the press room, faces the cameras, and delivers a speech televised around the world—a speech that makes the assembled journalists gasp.

“I have been in private communication with the governors of several other Southern states for the past few weeks, and we have an announcement of great consequence. I may announce that we are of one accord, united in our purpose, not without sorrow, and yet filled with pride and determination at the step we are undertaking this day. We are a free people, we Texans, and we wish only to live according to our traditional laws and the laws of a just and righteous God. For too long have we put up with abuse and threats from the Federal government in Washington, that hotbed of liberal elites and so-called “experts” who believe that they know better than we know what freedom truly consists of. It has gone on for too long, and we shall not continue any further. President Trump fought for our rights; the lies of the liberal media brought him down; but when one man lets the stainless banner fall, other hands must take it up, as we have done this day.

“The Lone Star State is the first star in the heavens of a new constellation of freedom and liberty—the first of the New Confederated States of America. We hereby announce the severing of all ties to the Washington government, and ask only to be allowed to depart in peace to seek our own liberty and prosperity.

“We are the first, but not alone. Governor Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas, Governor Tate Reeves of Mississippi, Governor Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma, and Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida have joined with me in forming a new nation, conceived in liberty with God as our vindicator, with each State acting in its sovereign and independent character. The governors of Louisiana, Missouri, Tennessee, Alabama, and South Carolina are considering our proposal now, but a great groundswell of support is coming from the citizens of these states. We trust that they will soon join us.

“We hereby announce that all Federal property within the boundaries of our state, including all national parks and forests, Indian reservations, and military bases, is forfeit to our state government. Orders have gone out to the Texas State Guard and State Police to secure these properties, and they are backed by thousands of citizen militia forces who have mobilized have taken up arms to secure what is rightfully ours. For freedom and justice for ourselves and our descendants, invoking the favor and guidance of Almighty God, we pledge our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.”

12:17 PM: The President of the United States is whisked from a routine meeting with the Department of Agriculture to an emergency meeting with the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

12:31 PM: Emergency orders are issued to cancel all civilian flights to the states of Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Mississippi. All inbound flights are ordered to divert immediately, leading to crowded and difficult scenes at airports such as Wichita, Albuquerque, Denver, St. Louis, and Cleveland.

1:47 PM: Chaos reigns on Interstates 10 and 40 and smaller highways, as thousands of Texas motorists flee for the New Mexico border, only to be stopped by armored New Mexico National Guard units, reinforced by heavily armed troops from Fort Bliss. Motorists fleeing eastward are stopped by the Louisiana National Guard, backed up with troops from Fort Polk. Motorists heading north towards Kansas or east through Arkansas also report blockades.

3:12 PM: There are reports of rioting in Austin and Houston, as columns of unregulated militia march or ride through urban neighborhoods where protests are expected. No one knows or will admit who shot first, but neighborhoods are soon ablaze, and fire trucks that attempt to reach the fires report being shot at. In other cities and towns, a watchful, tense quiet prevails as everyone awaits the next announcement. Footage of the riots and attacks is widely disseminated on social media.

4:29 PM: A column of militia in assorted vehicles approaches Fort Hood to demand its surrender. Seeing the main gates deserted, the lead vehicle drives onto the fort, and the driver, 47-year-old Braxton Beauregard, hoists the Lone Star Confederate flag over the guardhouse.

4:29:17 PM: The guardhouse, the flag, and the first ten vehicles of the convoy are simultaneously obliterated by Hellfire missiles. The remaining vehicles beat a hasty retreat to Killeen, although not before seven more vehicles are wiped out. That evening at the local Whataburger, one of the traumatized survivors is heard to mumble, “well, shit, this may be tougher than we thought.”

5:25 PM: The President emerges from his meeting with the Joint Chiefs of Staff and gives a brief address to the nation. It’s short on details. He says only that he has been fully briefed on the situation and is deeply troubled, but is considering his legal options, and will provide a full reply to Governor Abbott’s announcement tomorrow morning. He pleads for calm and prays for peace and unity. The country remains on edge.

1:37 AM: Fort Hood’s gates open.

2:12 AM: A lone C-17 Globemaster III makes a pass over Austin, Texas, at 30,000 feet. Similar aircraft pass over Little Rock, Arkansas; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; and Jackson, Mississippi. Their flight paths are later traced to Fort Benning.

6:48 AM: Journalists based in Austin report seeing a huge column of tanks and trucks moving into the city on Interstate 35, as helicopters fly cover.

7:24 AM: Tanks have surrounded the Texas State Capitol. The skies are torn by noise as F-15s and F-18Es fly combat air patrols over the city; they hold their fire for now. Heavily armored infantry patrols deploy onto the streets, although they, too, hold their fire and simply observe.

7:37 AM: A unit of unorganized militia patrolling the streets of Austin encounters soldiers from III Corps Special Troops Battalion on the corner of 14th and Guadalupe Street. One of the militiamen raises his AR-15 and fires at the troops, slightly wounding one soldier.

7:37:15 AM: Six militia members are killed or wounded in the ensuing firefight. Survivors are spotted fleeing towards the 7–11 convenience store on 15th Street, where it seems their commander has set up his base.

7:42:37 AM: The 7–11 convenience store on 15th Street is struck by multiple Hellfire missiles. Scenes like this play out all day throughout the capital city, with minor variations. By noon, few militia are willing to advertise their presence; discarded weapons and body armor can be found on the streets as erstwhile militiamen try to blend back into the general population.

8:31 AM: A group of Army Rangers exit the Texas Governor’s Mansion, escorting a handcuffed Governor Greg Abbott to a waiting flight of HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopters that have materialized on the lawn.

9:17 AM: Several other Texas state officials are removed from the State Capitol or other government buildings by Rangers and escorted to waiting helicopters. Similar scenes are playing out in Oklahoma City and Little Rock and Jackson.

9:19 AM: An emergency press conference is held in Houston. The Hon. Sherry Radack, Chief Justice for the 1st District Court of Appeals in Houston, announces that under the line of succession as spelled out in the Texas state constitution, it appears that she is now the governor. Choking back tears, she announces the immediate cessation of hostilities, pleads for citizens to put down their weapons, orders the surrender of all State Guard forces, and expresses eagerness to remain a part of the United States.

11:10 AM: The governors of Louisiana, Missouri, and Tennessee deny any knowledge of Texas's plan, announce that their states will not be joining Texas, and pledge their states’ loyalty to the Federal government. At about the same time, the governor of Florida announces that his state’s inclusion in the list of seceding states was entirely the fault of unnamed “liberal agitators,” that he never agreed to leave the Union, and that despite all their differences of opinion he has pledged his state’s loyalty to the Federal government. Rumors that Navy SEALS were aiming at him from concealed firing positions as he was making this profession of loyalty were never substantiated.

12:37 PM: The President appears again on TV, thanking the loyal units of the US military, who have executed “a textbook counterinsurgency mission with minimal loss of life and destruction of property.” He assures the people that order will be restored and life will return to normal as soon as possible, and states that steps are already underway to restore the state governments. He promises to bring the rebels who actually took up arms to justice, while proposing that Congress immediately establish a bipartisan Truth and Reconciliation Commission to reintegrate the rebel states into the US as smoothly as possible. (He does not say this, but commentators note that with the sudden disappearance of Congressional delegations from the rebel states, he should have the votes to get what he wants.) He ends his speech by pleading once again for peace, adding that “I understand the despair and anger and paranoia that many Americans feel—but this is not the way to express those. Let us come together as one nation, one people, united by our devotion to the principles of democracy and liberty, from sea to shining sea. God bless America!” (Fun fanfic from quora)

#alternate history #mess with texas

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mybukz · 4 years ago

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Work-in-progress: The Singaporean Candidate by Begau Salleh

Image by Joshua Ang at Unsplash

Excerpt from Begau Salleh’s work-in-progress political novel ‘The Singaporean Candidate’.

Aadam has a dream; to be the first Malay Prime Minister of Singapore. Pretty tricky considering Singapore's Chinese racial majority.

There is a way. Singapore’s ruling political party is running a training programme for Singapore’s future leaders. From the trainees, the Father of Singapore himself will pick out and groom the next Prime Minister. All Aadam has to do is prove he is the very best, better even than the esteemed patriarch’s own grandsons.

But Malaysia is in a cold war with Singapore due to a land dispute. Public sentiment is against Aadam because of his ethnicity. Aadam will soon find himself caught in a greater plot, with the future of both nations hanging in the balance.

The next morning we were on the front page of the papers, right next to the headline “PM SLAMS MALAYSIA’S UNSCHEDULED WATER RATIONING”. The five Prime Minister candidates even got a special column.

Back in our cramped HDB flat, mak was smiling from ear-to-ear while reading the papers at the dining table. I wasn’t. I was muttering to myself while straightening out my hair in the mirror nearby.

Mak sighed, put down the papers. “Why the sour face?”

I straightened my tie and picked up a curry puff from the table. “They hardly mentioned me, mak. The three Ngs got so much more coverage. Even Benjamin, even Grace got more coverage than me!” I said, my mouth full of curry puff.

Admittedly, I didn’t have the clout of the three grandsons. My family history wasn’t as interesting as Benjamin’s. But how did Grace get more coverage than me when she wasn’t even aiming to be PM!

Mak flipped the papers open. She whistled and gave me a mischievous grin. “You know, this young woman is quite impressive. Not as astounding as my son, but very impressive. I think she’d make a wonderful wife for a tall, dark and handsome young man.”

A tall, dark and handsome young man like me.

I sighed. In high school, Singaporean parents forbid their kids from seeing girls, much less date. As soon as we leave college, parents do a 180 and play matchmaker themselves.

“Benjamin fits that description too, you know?” I replied dryly.

“Then you’d better make sure you strike first,” mak winked.

I rolled my eyes and gave mak a peck on her forehead. “I have to go now. Have a good day at work, mak.”

Mak wished me the best of luck. With today’s simple task, I wouldn’t need it. I took my coat, ruffled the head of my cat and told it “Behave yourself,” as I walked out.

# Appear, meet children, smile for the camera, leave. That was the schedule for the candidates today. Public relations at its finest. All I had to do was give my most genuine-looking smile and say nice things to kids. Everyone here knew how to do that, surely.

While the candidates sat in the hall waiting for the kids, the director gave us a short briefing on what to expect. The parents would be accompanying the kids, along with a lot of support staff trained in handling children. She emphasized that we would not be responsible for taking care of the kids once they arrived. Normally a few kids may get scared and cry, and that wouldn’t be our fault.

See? Easy-peasy.

Honestly, I needed a break after all the drama from the last PR event.

The Prime Minister arrived before the kids did. A slim man with greying hair, he was wearing a light blue dress shirt, tie and grey slacks. We gave him a standing ovation as he arrived, and he went straight to the podium.

“Welcome to the Candidates Leadership Programme. I’m here as a guest at the behest of the organisers. They’re hoping I can inspire all of you and explain the importance of this event.” He smiled. “Well, I’ll try my best. I’m told that a rather important question was conspicuously left out of all your interviews. You may have thought about it, or at least heard it before. Take a guess what that question was.”

A few hands came up.

“How can you serve your country?” ShuXuan guessed, pensive.

“How can you bring prosperity to Singapore?” Chulek said, smiling confidently.

“Why do you want to be Prime Minster, or a minister?” Benjamin suggested.

“Why are you the right man for the job?” I tried.

The PM smiled and put up his hands. “Those are all good questions. Oh dear. Maybe we should thought of those too.”

Everyone laughed.

The PM pointed to another raised hand and nodded.

HuaXuan put down his hand. “What is your vision for Singapore?”

PM Ng paused, frowned slightly. “Yes… that was the question. ‘What is your vision for Singapore?’ Now that I mention it, it sounds like an obvious question to ask, right? Why do you think it wasn’t asked, even though the organisers knew it was important?”

This time, he just waited a moment as if he was going to ask us to offer suggestions again. But he didn’t give us that chance. How unsporting, heh.

“Because we don’t want you to answer that question. Not yet. You’re still young and inexperienced, and your answer is going to sound like it came out of a National Day slogan contest. Right now, that’s all your answer will be; a slogan. We’re hoping that by the end of this training programme, it will be much more than that. And it begins here, by meeting Singapore’s future. We’ve asked each child to tell you what their dreams are. Let the dreams of Singapore’s future generation inform your vision of what Singapore should be.”

I swallowed down hard. Up until that point, I hadn’t been taking today’s event seriously. There may not be any exams or tests, but the PM had convinced me that this public relations exercise was worth my time. I had to make sure I listened to these children carefully.

The director exchanged words with the PM. He turned back to us. “The children are ready. I hope all of you are as well, because here they come!”

Parents and support staff escorted loud, crying, giggling and pouting kids of all ages into the hall. There had to be about a hundred children, compared to our 30 or so candidates. The hall couldn’t accommodate everyone, so a lot of them waited in line outside. To keep them occupied, support staff sang to them, a clown made animal balloons, and some had toys or books.

We had already been broken up into groups around the hall, according to which position we wanted. Each ministry group attended to the same group of children, one child at a time. My guess: the children were assigned to each ministry group based on how relevant their dreams were to that ministry. All the children had papers in their hands to read out what they had prepared beforehand. Most read from it, with a bit of encouragement from their parents.

I sat with the other PM candidates; that’s Benjamin, Chulek, ShuXuan and HuaXuan in case you forgot. We seemed to be getting slightly older children, other than one young Chinese boy. An Indian teenage girl in a wheelchair stood out to me. No doubt she wanted a more disabled-friendly Singapore.

“More jobs”, “Lower cost of living”, “Freedom of speech”… Did the children write these dreams themselves? We smiled knowingly at the embarrassed parents even as we clapped, smiled and cheered for each child and said sugary sweet things to each one. We promised we’d do our best to make ‘their’ dreams come through.

Then the little Chinese boy stomped forward to for his turn. He declared, “When I grow up, I want to be a millionaire. So I can buy a Ferrari. It must be red and very fast. No compromises.”

The five of us oh-ed and couldn’t help but giggle. At least that dream was genuinely his!

“Hey! Aren’t you supposed to say you’ll help me?’ the young boy asked, pouting and stamping his foot.

Sorry, kid. It’s not our job to make you a Crazy Rich Asian. I couldn’t quite think of how to handle him, honestly. He was just too cute! Like us, his embarrassed parents were trying their best to stifle their laugher from behind him.

“Oh, I think it’s a great ambition,” Chulek said, suppressing his chortling, “But I have to tell you, there’s no way it can be easy to be a millionaire. Not only do you have to work very hard, but you have to be better than everyone else. ”

“But you’re supposed to make it happen, right? Mum and dad said so!’ the boy insisted.

“Oh, did they?” Chulek said while eyeing the increasingly embarrassed parents who sheepishly apologised. Chulek nodded to the parents, then said to the child, “You’re not wrong. It’s our duty to create a Singapore that allows every Singaporean to reach their best potential. But you have to work hard to reach that potential too. If getting rich was so easy, then everyone would be a millionaire.”

The child pouted, sullen.

Chulek chuckled. “How about this. We’ll do our job by making sure Singapore continues to prosper. So when you grow up, you’ll get a fair chance at making it rich. Sounds good?”

The parents persuaded the poor boy with big dreams to agree, which he did with a little prodding. Looked like Chulek took this one. The camera was rolling, so I’m sure the public would have enjoyed watching him try to inspire the precious boy.

Next, the teen in the wheelchair. A single pony tail, spectacles, blouse and jeans, she’d look like a typical teenager if she wasn’t physically disabled. She looked a little shy, holding her still-folded paper in her hands. Her parents were smiling, but were shifting from foot to foot, looking around like we were going to swallow them whole.

“Hello dear, thank you for coming,” I said, trying to put them all at ease, “I’m Aadam. What is your name?”

The girl stayed silent until the parents patted her from behind. “Sahil,” she said.

Benjamin cut in before I could continue. “It’s nice to meet you Sahil. I’m Benjamin, and this is ShuXuan, HuaXuan, and Chulek. It’s okay if you don’t remember our names as we’re not anyone important yet.”

He winked and the teenage girl grinned ever so slightly.

Curse you, Benjamin! Using your good looks to charm teenagers!

“Why don’t you tell us what your dream is, Sahil,” ShuXuan said.

Sahil looked at her parents, and they nodded. Sahil said, “I want to be Prime Minister of Singapore.”

For a moment, the five of us were dumbfounded.

Benjamin recovered first. “Yes. …Yes? Yes! Why not. You can overcome anything. You can be the next Prime Minister of Singapore!”

The girl grinned, ecstatic, but the rest glared at Benjamin. Even the parents.

Benjamin glared back defiantly. “What?”

ShuXuan was frowning something fierce. “We have to be responsible for what dreams we pitch to the young. We shouldn’t encourage her to waste her future on a pipe dream like that.”

“We just got a young boy who wanted to be a millionaire. Please handle these children with a bit more finesse,” Chulek said.

Benjamin’s eyes narrowed at the two Ngs who had just spoken, then settled on the last one. “So. Is the last Ng going to tell me off as well? I shouldn’t tell this young woman to dream big?”

HuaXuan kept silent and refused to look at him.

Benjamin said to the girl, “Dear, don’t listen to them. Your disability is not relevant to the role of Prime Minister.”

“The last boy was one matter, but this is going too far. No one is going to accept her as the Prime Minister, and you know it. I’m not going to peddle lies to this girl in order to look good, unlike you,” ShuXuan said tersely.

Those words stung me to the core, but I hadn’t realised why yet.

HuaXuan winced. “Guys, focus. She’s still here.”

The poor girl teared up, clutching her paper in her hands into a crumpled heap. Her parents cringed, aghast. We were handling this terribly.

So the three Ngs started to talk to her gently. Letting her down, but gently. Squashing her unrealistic dreams, but gently.

Benjamin looked away in anger, had nothing to say. Honestly, I wasn’t totally convinced he believed she could be Prime Minister either. Otherwise he’d be using that opportunity to tell her that he believed in her, unlike the three Ngs.

I stayed silent the whole time. I wanted to say something, but everyone’s words rubbed me the wrong way.

“The Prime Minister is the representative of the country to the world. That’s why nobody with a disability has been chosen as a leader,” someone said. I was too livid to know who.

Shouldn’t they want the best person for the job? Nobody disputes that her disability isn’t relevant to the role!

“But there are so many other great and wonderful things you can be. Better than Prime Minister.”

What the hell is better than Prime Minister?

“For example, you could be a doctor who saves people’s lives.”  “A CEO of a huge company!”

Aren’t you listening? She wants to be Prime Minister!

At the end of it all, I didn’t add a word to the discussion and let the three Ngs say everything. Sahil seemed to have calmed down, anyway. The parents weren’t happy, but they weren’t complaining either. I guess they knew it would come to this, in the end.

All the parents and children gathered around for a group photo before going on their way. We made sure to shake all their hands and apologised for not doing a good job of inspiring their kids.

Our group finished first, so we sat around waiting for the other groups while the kids from our session slowly made their way out. That’s when HuaXuan asked me, “Why are you staring at us like that?”

The rest looked at me curiously, as if they just noticed something.

“I have no idea what sort of face I’m making,” I said, defensive.

“You’re angry,” Benjamin explained, “I’m not sure why. I have reason to be, but what are you mad about?”

I had some idea. “You three… we did that girl wrong.”

ShuXuan raised his hands in surrender. “Alright, wise guy. What would you have said in our place?”

“Maybe we should have just been quiet the whole time like you?” Chulek quipped before I could respond, “At least Benjamin here tried to say something. Even if what he was saying was wrong.”

I tried my best to answer back, but my mouth opened and closed like a fish.

HuaXuan sighed. “You’re right. We could have handled it better. But in the end, the result is the same. Just lead her onto another path. That’s good enough.”

No. That wasn’t good enough. It wasn’t just this girl’s dreams everyone was taking a shit on. It was mine. I’m not sure what came over me. I got out of my chair and ran out, shouting for Sahil to wait. She was nearly out of the hall, surrounded by other parents who looked at her with a mix of pity and disapproval. I didn’t care what they thought. Sahil blinked at me in confusion as I knelt to get closer to her so she could hear what I had to say.

I held her gaze. “Singapore may not be ready for you yet. But one day, it can be. I will work hard to make your dream a reality. If you grow up and find I couldn’t make Singapore ready for you in time, I’m counting on you to continue where I left off.”

It took a moment for my words to sink in. When it did, her frown changed to a subtle smile. She nodded. I didn’t push her to say anything. “So we got a deal? Good. Let’s shake on it.”

We shook hands, and I gave a thumbs up to her before heading back to my seat. The rest were giving me a look I couldn’t quite fathom at the time.

“What?” I asked. I figured they couldn’t hear what I told Sahil from where they were seated anyway.

HuaXuan pointed at my portable mike, still attached to my coat lapel. Turns out they heard every word.

Fine then. “Anyone going to tell me off? For selling a girl unrealistic dreams?” I asked.

No one did. They just looked away. Even Benjamin.

Well, whatever. I wasn’t in the mood anyway.

Mak gave me a big hug as soon I stepped back into the house. She must have gotten up as soon as she heard me pulling out the keys.

“What brought this on, mak?”

“My son is the best! Now everyone knows. I’m so proud of you, ‘nak,” mak blurted out, pulled my face down so she could kiss each of my cheeks in turn.

I had no idea what she was going on about and told her as much.

“The way you talked to the wheelchair girl! It was live, on TV,” mak squealed, “Everyone’s sharing it on Facebook too!”

I whipped out my phone and checked. All my friends had tagged me to a video, gave me a thumbs up. The amount of ‘likes’ had already reached 30k, and I just got home from the event. I didn’t even know the event was screened live in the first place.

What exactly did the video show? I pressed play. It started with the introduction of Sahil and continued to the point where I got out to talk to Sahil myself. The cameraman had even moved in and shown a clear view of me talking to Sahil and shaking her hand.

Only after watching the video did I realise how well my actions had reflected on me in the public eye. I had stolen the show without even intending to or realising it.

“If those Ng boys didn’t think you were a threat before, they do now,” Mak said with a huge grin on her face.

I jumped for joy, then froze. Questions were forming in my head.

How could that have happened?

The cameraman must have followed me as soon as I got up, and even went away from the main group of PM candidates to follow me into the crowd. Why would he do that? One would think he would stay with the three Ngs, and at most record me talking to Sahil from a distance. What I did was completely unrehearsed, so there couldn’t have been standing orders for the cameraman to follow me as I got up to talk to Sahil.

…No, I must have been overthinking it. The director must have been standing close by to us as the PMs candidates were the highlight of the show. She could probably tell something was going to happen when I got up. So she sent the cameraman to follow me. That had to be it.

Or so I thought.

Bio: Dr Begau Salleh (pen name) is an autistic writer based in Malaysia.

#malaysian fiction #malaysia #begau salleh #singapore candidate

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ukimmigrationmatters · 2 years ago

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Rishi Sunak To Become Next UK Prime Minister The First PM Of Indian Origin

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Rishi Sunak has become the latest Conservative Party leader today - after his two leadership rivals Boris Johnson and Penny Mordaunt dropped out or failed to get sufficient MP endorsements - and will become the next Prime Minister.

The 200,000 rank and file party will not get a vote as the rules were changed to give parliamentary members (MP) the final say.

The former Chancellor (who ran economy under Boris Johnson) could keep Jeremy Hunt on in his previous government job.

The ‘markets’ and organisations such as the IMF and World Bank will favour fellow globalist Rishi Sunak’s fiscal policies. The buzzword seems to be “stability”!

As Chancellor, Sunak presided over a period in which UK national debt reached record levels of over £2 Trillion.

Government borrowing rates have dropped by 0.25%, which will ease pressure on fixed mortgage rates.

Tax cuts have been reversed and government spending cuts could bring in a new era of austerity and recession.

The country faces a tough winter ahead, with an estimated 8 million people falling behind with their bills, 10% inflation and fuel bills going through the roof.

Among other problems, there is still global financial instability, oil and commodity price inflation and the Ukraine war to deal with.

The BBC said that 100,000 mortgage borrowers will see their fixed rate deal end every month, leading to a possible 300% rise in their mortgage payments.

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estermoralesg · 5 years ago

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I type this while I swing both feet down my balcony’s rails. Truth is, I had never sat like this before, and I don’t know if I should feel like a bird locked up in a pretty cage, or like a kid riding down a roller coaster. I’ve been observing the ivy climb up and take over the house right across the street very closely from March 14th - the day when the state of alarm was declared - up until today, April 14th. It has bloomed with spring, like an explosion, as pretty as the ends of a fireworks show - from dark brown, dusty, and dry, to bright green, alive and cheerful. It now dances with the wind and holds tiny little paws of chirping birds of all kinds. It gives me hope.

Earlier in January a deadly virus named SARS-CoV-2 started taking away the lives of thousands of people in Wuhan, China. I think we can all agree, or at least us the inhabitants of the Western countries, that the news came as that of a tsunami taking place in the Indian coast. A colossal wave millions of miles away, which seemed unreachable to us.

Today, I’m reminded of the Chaos Theory - it proves that when a butterfly flaps its wings in China it can cause a hurricane in Texas. And so the Coronavirus knocked on our doors. The waters of the tsunami started dripping underneath our front gates.

Covid-19 has taken away from us what we thought was banal. It unhugs you. It leaves you unkissed. It shields your mouth. It locks you in. It isolates you. It covers your bed sheets in fear. And if it chooses to be brutal, it takes your oxygen, and even your life away. As of today, it has already ended with the lives of 18,000 people in Spain. So many of us have or will, unfortunately, lose some of our loved ones.

But one thing remains true for all - despite all this, there's some kind of beauty in that we’re all in it together and, regardless of the physical distance that sets us apart, we all share the same feeling and that, at least to me, makes me feel accompanied. We are all one. As a Vedanta philosopher stated a century ago “the Self is the essence of this universe, the essence of all souls… Happiness belongs to him who knows this oneness, who knows he is one with this universe.”

I wonder if this is somewhat of a new Ice Age era? Turns out life has frozen up on us. Someone must have pressed the pause button. The streets are empty, shops are closed, production has stopped, planes no longer fly, … an unseen whole world put down. And what is in it for us? Here are some of my reflections:

Earlier I’ve spoken as though I’ve experienced a tsunami myself, but I never have. However, there are those who indeed have had to run away from natural catastrophes, or from deadly and bloody wars. There are millions who flee their countries daily, jumping into oceans to avoid being raped, tortured, or starved to death.

And yet I’ve seen people, with my own eyes, run away from the metropolis and mainly COVID-19 infected areas to their vacation homes. I’ve seen others’ greediness by filling up their homes with endless supplies - that including toilette paper, ridiculous amounts of it - only to look out for themselves and wipe their own asses. Yes, to all of you - never again look down on people who flee from war and famine. Don’t you dare build walls or draw borders for those who run away from life threatening situations. Can you relate now?

I’ve stopped watching TV. The ivy show deserves my watch more than the news I will hear do. Talks about the economies, production lines, oil&gas prices plummeting, stock markets crashing, the “we need to get back to normal to save the economy”...; well, what if your so-called “normal” was the problem from the very beginning?

No, I don’t care about your PIBs, GDPs, and other damn indexes that tell me how much moneys are in your bottomless pockets.

No, I don’t want to go back to your Planet Earth drills, to your usurping of raw materials and mass production in undeveloped countries as if there was no tomorrow.

No, I don’t want to see your stupidly non-recyclable plastics that wrap up you products being shipped to 3rd world countries. Nor do I want it in my oceans!

No, I don’t need your Zara store to reopen so that you can sell me a bunch of dumb jeans produced in mass lines in India. A pair of jeans you’re making me want to purchase and which I don’t need at all.

No, I don’t care about your affected meat industry, I don’t want to see any more extensive farms with animals in pain and suffering in it, contributing to the green gas effects that are causing the temperature of our planet to rise and an irreversible climate change.

No, I don’t want to continue seeing animal’s fleshes devoured by your delicate mouths. How many more viruses and epidemics do we need to go through for you to realize it is NOT ok to eat animals? Mad cow disease, Swine flu, Bird flu, Ebola, SARS, COVID-19, … just to name a few.

Yes, you, mens with hats and suitcases, mens with powers who control our world in G7s, city councils, and parliaments, printing moneys so that the economy gets back on. Your hats deserve more seats at my table than you all do. Moneys that you choose to print and print at your own will, stating that they “will save our economy”. Whose economy? Yours? Because it for sure isn’t saving mine, who will end up paying back all the made-up newly-printed money! Let’s just agree that your foolish capitalist system is corrupt, benefits only a few, and is based upon lies and made up of promises that will never come true. As my most favorite Henry David Thoreau put it: “A man is rich in proportion to the number of things which he can afford to let alone.”. And you, can you live with less?

Our planet’s lungs needed to breathe. Trees needed to stop being cut down. People hated more than loved. The rich thought they could purchase happiness. The football player was more successful than the medical staff. Borders prevented others from coming into our countries.

Turns out life changes in the blink of an eye. Now we know, a tsunami may come anytime and we're all on the same sinking boat. Resilience. They say happiness is our ability to adapt to change and see greatness in it. From March 14th and on, we’ve been clapping at the real heroes. We’ve stayed home. We’ve started to appreciate our ability to breath. We’ve listened in. More deeply. We’ve learnt to share space with loneliness. Some of us have made peace with our shadows. We’ve found richness in nothingness. We’ve understood the interconnectedness of our planet - when we harm nature, we harm ourselves.

Fear of death will remain. Yes, one day we will all die. True that. But the others we won’t. And what we make out of the days we’re on this planet, will echo in eternity.

From now on, you’ll find me swinging both feet down my balcony, staring at the ivy throughout the seasons, and 8 PM will be the time when I will forever be getting goosebumps.

#covid19

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bigyack-com · 5 years ago

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A movement to save the Idea of India, writes Derek O’Brien - analysis

If you asked my father Neil O’Brien, the pioneer who brought quizzing to India in 1967, what his favourite subjects were, pat would come the reply: heavyweight boxing and World War II. Our bedtime stories, oddly enough, were not about Hansel and Gretel.Now you know why my speech in Parliament last month on behalf of the All India Trinamool Congress drew a comparison between Hitler’s Old Germany and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s “New India”.Were the drafters of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), and the National Register of Citizens-National Population Register (NRC-NPR), which are inextricably linked to it, drawing from the Nazi copybook? The similarities are ominous.One, in 1933, the first Nazi concentration camp for Jews was set up in Germany. In 2018, the Union home ministry sanctioned a detention camp in Assam for non-Indians.Two, in 1935 Germany, one needed an “ancestor pass” to prove their Aryan lineage. In 2019 India, a piece of paper proves your Indian citizenship. Three, the Germans called it GroßeLüge or the Big Lie, which convinced them how the Jews are a threat to their race. Today’s lie: India is under 24x7 threat. Four, Germany had the Lügenpresse or the lying press to push propaganda. Today’s Indian equivalent of the Lügenpresse is fake news and the pressure on the owners of mainstream newspapers and television networks to push the BJP’s divisive agenda.The Narendra Modi-Amit Shah, or the Mo-Sh (copyright on the coinage!), government is good at making promises. They are even better at breaking promises. How easily we forget. Didn’t the prime minister publicly plead for just 50 days to fix the disaster created by demonetisation? “Hang me in public after that! 50 days is all I ask for.” The failure was so monumental that the PM has barely used the term demonetisation in the last two years.In April last year, the PM said “Chowkidar ki paanchvarsh ki chowkidari mein koi bada dhamaka hua kya? (Has there been a big attack in the five years that I have been a guard?)” Another broken promise. A total of 388 “major” terrorist incidents were recorded in India between 2014 and 2018. In 2018, Kashmir saw the highest fatalities in terror-related violence in a decade with 451 deaths in a single year.If one was generous you would call Mo-Sh breakers of promises. But using a more blunt characterisation about the licenses they take with truth will not be out of place either.Last month, the home minister had the gumption to tell Parliament that the government would implement NRC across India. At least two Union ministers said the same on the floor of both the Houses. There is also more evidence in the public domain linking CAA-NRC-NPR. As a member of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) that examined the CAA for three years, one doesn’t know whether to be angry or just plain amused when the Mo-Sh duo are now doing damage control and saying there is no link. It is simply not true.Even greenhorn marketing managers would laugh at the idea of scaling up a failed “pilot project”. The pilot was a big disaster. In Assam, 7% of the residents of the state were left out of the final NRC list. Extrapolating 7% to the national level, over 100 million Indians will become stateless. How will the government ever make up for the human cost of this exercise?The Trinamool Congress had estimated the scale of the catastrophe, and even provided hard numbers in writing to the JPC. The guestimates turned out to be very close to the actual figures. Beyond just the verbatim records of the committee which prove our contention, the dissent note submitted by the two Trinamool Members of Parliament on it could have the words “we told you so” scribbled on it.Then of course, what of the 10 million people who migrated to India from East Pakistan? They did not come here in the 1970s because of religious persecution.It is well- documented that they moved here because of linguistic persecution. Or take the case of the Matuas, Bengali Hindus living and voting in Bengal for decades. They are deemed citizens who have not only voted, but in 2011 even had a minister of state for refugee rehabilitation in the Bengal government. You are gifting them citizenship that they already have.At the end of it all, just like demonetisation, the debate on CAA-NRC-NPR boils down to the rich versus the poor. Were there any crorepatis in queues during notebandi? Of the 130 people who died during demonetisation, how many were lakhpatis? In this cold, senseless legislation too, the poor and the marginalised will suffer once more. The socially deprived will suffer. They will scurry around for documents lost in floods and ethnic violence. Worse still, millions of them, genuine Indian citizens, have never had documents.In 2006, Mamata Banerjee sat on a 26-day hunger strike to fight for land rights and rights for farmers. She fought the good fight. In 2016, the Supreme Court vindicated her decade-long struggle. In 2020, ordinary citizens, including students, are headlining this people’s movement against CAA. A mass leader like Banerjee, who hit the streets from Day One, will be only too glad to play the role of just a catalyst. This isn’t a battle to win brownie points. This is truly a people’s movement to save the Idea of India.Derek O’Brien is Trinamool Congress’s Parliamentary Party Leader in Rajya SabhaThe views expressed are personal Read the full article

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hidoose · 5 years ago

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Pakistan observes 15 August as Black Day

New Post has been published on https://www.hidoose.com/pakistan-observes-15-august-as-black-day/

Pakistan observes 15 August as Black Day

August 15, India’s Independence Day, is being seen as a dark day crosswise over Pakistan to dissent the brutalities and human rights maltreatment in involved Kashmir.

The leader, in a few tweets, looked to draw universal consideration towards the Indian move to end involved Kashmir’s self-governance by repudiating Article 370 of its Constitution.

In a post partook in web based life Prime Minister Imran Khan has scrutinized the global network for being quiet on Indian-involved Kashmir and cautioned that should ethnic purifying of Muslims occur in the district, there would be serious repercussions in the Muslim world.

Protests and demonstrations were held across the country, and Pakistani flags flew at half-mast to observe Black Day.

People including PM Imran Khan, politicians, and other prominent figures have replaced their social media profile pictures with black squares.

PM Imran Khan on Wednesday has promised to turn into the voice of Kashmir and raise the issue at each worldwide discussion, including the United Nations, as he scrutinized the quietness of the global network on the circumstance in the locale.

While tending to an exceptional session of Pakistan-controlled Kashmir’s Legislative Assembly in Muzaffarabad, Khan said that if a war breaks out among Pakistan and India, the world network will be mindful.

“The world’s eye is on Kashmir and on Pakistan. I will be the envoy who raises Kashmir’s voice at each worldwide discussion,” he said.

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briangroth27 · 8 years ago

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Timeless Season 1 Review

Without a doubt, Timeless was my favorite new show of the season! The adventures of history professor Lucy (Abigail Spencer), pilot/tech genius Rufus (Malcolm Barrett), and soldier Wyatt (Matt Lanter) were a blast, zipping through American history to prevent a “madman” from changing it. Shawn Ryan, Eric Kripke, and the show’s writers added much more than a dash of historical accuracy to the Time Team’s exploits, providing real context to the events the team tried to preserve.

Full Spoilers...

Our Time Team was brought in by DHS Agent Denise Christopher (Sakina Jaffrey) and tech billionaire Connor Mason (Paterson Joseph) to catch former NSA asset Garcia Flynn (Goran Visnjic), who’d stolen Mason’s time machine to rewrite history and save his family from the shadowy Rittenhouse organization. Matters became increasingly complicated as Lucy’s sister Amy (Bailey Noble) was accidentally erased from the timeline, Rufus and his family were threatened by the scarily powerful and omnipresent Rittenhouse, and Wyatt was tormented by the death of his wife Jessica and whether or not he could prevent it. Spencer, Barrett, and Lanter were all excellent leads, bringing vulnerability, compassion, intelligence, humor, heroism, and just a touch of darker angst to roles that could’ve easily been one-dimensional. To that end, the series mined all the drama inherent in time travel and changes to the timeline; I was surprised from the get-go that things—at least minor ones—were allowed to change so much! For example, Lucy's comment about forgetting her sister's birthday, despite being the only person in her family who knew she existed, was heartbreaking. The reveal that she had a fiancee (Daniel Di Tomasso) in the newly altered timeline whom she’d never met could’ve been played with more, but I think it was best (and probably more realistic) for her to focus on the missions over that awkward situation. Wyatt trying to peacefully prevent Jessica's murderer from being born, even though time was fighting to maintain itself, was great drama too. His reaction when the killer’s father accidentally died was perfect and the crushing reveal that Jessica was still dead once he got home was brilliant. Rufus’ growing confidence in every area of his life was a great season-long arc that dovetailed perfectly with the steadily-developing bond within the Time Team, even as it was threatened by Rufus being an unlikely spy for Rittenhouse. Barrett brought great tension to Rufus as his turmoil over spying on his friends increased from episode to episode. I thought they’d play Rufus against Lucy and Wyatt for much longer than they did to build up a bigger betrayal, but I was pleasantly surprised he came clean rather quickly and the trio worked through it, enhancing their bond. I figured the team would go rogue eventually and I'm glad it happened before the season finale. More shows should take big risks like that rather than maintaining the status quo until “special event” episodes!

The growing familial bond between the core trio over the course of their adventures was a joy to watch, while Agent Christopher and programmer Jiya (Claudia Doumit) seamlessly fit into the group as the season progressed. I was happy Jiya was more than just a generic love interest (as cute as her romance with Rufus is) and was his equal in the tech arena, holding her own to save the day when time was tight and the odds were against them. I was genuinely surprised we met Agent Christopher’s family and continued to follow her after she was dismissed from the time travel project. That felt like the natural time to cut off the Time Team’s resources, but the show surprised me by having her go rogue and join the team. I also liked that she trusted Lucy to keep a flash drive of her family on the Lifeboat time machine in case they were erased; that was really clever. Even Mason, who I thought was genuinely a bad guy, shocked me when his self-interest (at least) won out, landing him on the Time Team's side at the last second.

I liked that Flynn wasn’t the purely evil villain he was initially made out to be, since he really was trying to save his family. It was smart to make him the extreme version of our heroes; not only did that make him a great foil for them, but at several points late in the season I thought each member of the Time Team was just a slight push away from being ready to join him. As much as Agent Christopher arresting Flynn before he could save his family (as Lucy had promised him) in the end will make him even more of an enemy, I wouldn’t be surprised if Flynn joined the Time Team next season. I can’t wait to find out when Lucy will return the journal to him and what the circumstances of Future Lucy reaching out to him—as a last hope?—are! Matt Frewer was solid in a supporting role as Anthony Bruhl, one of Flynn’s allies and Rufus’ former friend, lending a nice bit of conflict to the villains’ side of the show. The third prominent member of Flynn’s team, Emma Whitmore (Annie Wersching), proved to be calculating and capable, making her a good foil for Flynn’s more emotionally-driven methods.

Rittenhouse was a great enemy waiting in the shadows, ever-present and ready to strike, but also just out of sight. Getting Armin Shimerman to play the original Rittenhouse back in the Revolutionary War era was excellent casting! Since the organization was so powerful and imposing, I was surprised at how low-key their seeming defeat actually was. I'd like to think bringing them down by documenting all of Rittenhouse’s affairs over half a century was inspired/foreshadowed by the team’s adventure with Elliot Ness (Micha Collins) and Al Capone (Cameron Gharaee), since that’s how he was brought down before they changed history. I was expecting big changes to the timeline with Rittenhouse finally removed from the past, but this was just as satisfying. It was truly shocking that Lucy's mom Carol (Susanna Thompson) was revealed as a member of Rittenhouse too! The status quo seems to be shattered and I can't believe any of the Time Team would work with the government ever again. Are they going to join Flynn (maybe he shares some of his plutonium to power the Lifeboat) to stop Rittenhouse from creating their “perfect” future?

Many of the show’s historical guest stars were very entertaining! Harry Houdini (Michael Drayer), Bonnie & Clyde (Jacqueline Byers & Sam Strike), Ernest Hemingway (Brandon Barash), and Josephine Baker (Tiffany Daniels) were definitely among my favorites, but all of them added an engaging aspect to the weekly adventures. My absolute favorites had to the real-life inspirations for the Lone Ranger and Tonto, Bass Reeves and Grant Johnson. Reeves’ moral code played extremely well against Wyatt’s increasing difficulty with not taking more action to save Jessica, spurring a great debate about heroes and killing. On a side note, I’d love it if Timeless’ creators made a Lone Ranger series starring Coleman Domingo and Zahn McClarnon (Reeves and Johnson here), mixing Bass Reeves’ historical past with the Lone Ranger mythos! The temporal guest stars gave the show a great, varied texture: moments like actor John Wilkes Booth (Kelly Blatz) practicing his lines before committing an assassination were hilarious and the team getting to co-star in a new James Bond book/film after teaming up with Ian Fleming (Sean Maguire) was very cool! Other historical figures became well-written parallels to our heroes, like Werner Von Braun (Christian Oliver) and Rufus, or H.H. Holmes’ (Joel Johnstone) victims and the unexplained death of Wyatt’s wife. It was also great to learn new things about history, like the fact that Al Capone had a brother in law enforcement (Mather Zickel) and Jesse James (Daniel Lissing) was a psychopath instead of some noble outlaw of the Old West. Some of the changes to history, like General Cornwallis (Brad Dryborough) and Elliot Ness getting killed, genuinely shocked me (particularly as Micha Collins’ role as Ness had been so hyped online).

The show’s aesthetic was polished and sleek while staying true to the grit of war zones and the Old West when the story brought the characters there. There was a definite formula to many of the episodes—a necessary evil, as they had to show us how history really went before showing it change—but I don’t think it hurt the series at all. When they did play with the formula, like Wyatt and Rufus’ reverse-Back to the Future attempt to stop Jessica’s killer from being born and episode 7, which opened with the team being stranded during the French and Indian War, it was a great change of pace! I loved the smart writing, which injected a lot of humanity, humor, and drama into the proceedings while deftly including history lessons that never felt like lectures. I do think the series’ ratings were damaged by the timeslot (10 pm on Mondays); there was nothing content-wise that required that time and Timeless would’ve been great as an 8 pm show, given the all-ages tone. While it would conflict with The CW’s similarly-toned superhero shows Mondays-Wednesdays, maybe Timeless season 2 could find a home on Thursdays as counter-programming to ABC’s TGIT or on Fridays.

All the time-travel physics were well-explained over the course of the season, but I do have one theoretical question: they can't go back to where they've gone before, but what if they showed up a couple of days before an earlier trip to the same time zone? What would happen if they accidentally stayed past the barrier into their previous trip to that time and crossed the time streams, as it were? I think there’s a great “ticking clock” plot in there. The one area that I’d say the show could go further—and perhaps this is about to be addressed with Rittenhouse rewriting the timeline as they see fit—is that we should probably start seeing an increasingly altered future as more and more trips are taken to the past. As pointed out by the Bitter Script Reader on Twitter, this would eventually render Lucy ineffective as she knows less and less about the new history (unless her role shifts to documenting the history that was), but I don’t think the show should be afraid to go big on the changes.

I had a plethora of crazy theories about how the show could twist the plot and the timeline: Was Flynn from the future? Could he be Lucy’s son? Amy’s son, now existing only because he was outside the timeline when it changed and she was erased? Lucy’s father? Someone sent back in time by a future Lucy? Could one of the accidental changes to history bring back Wyatt’s wife Jessica? Did Rittenhouse kill her in the first place? Is Wyatt going to kill the parents of her killer to save her? If they eliminate Rittenhouse, will Lucy be born? Will Rufus get caught playing double agent? Will the Time Team find themselves aligned with Flynn by the season finale? I love theorizing and I love when shows fool me even more. Timeless did that often, and their reveals were never disappointing compared to my theories.

I can’t wait to see where this show goes if it gets a second season! Jessica’s death is still super suspicious; I’m 100% positive it was carried out by Rittenhouse (and they just used a different killer once Wyatt eliminated the original one from the timeline), and I can’t believe Wyatt is really ready to let it lie. If it was Rittenhouse, why would they have her killed? Was she involved with them too? Could Rittenhouse’s plans to create their perfect world bring Jessica back? The one thing I don’t need to see is Lucy and Wyatt together romantically. I know it's big in the fandom—at least on Twitter—but to me, it's clear he absolutely still loves Jessica and until he can't possibly bring her back, I don't see him moving on. Wyatt and Lucy do have chemistry, but it doesn't feel romantic from his side. Lucy’s maybe, but Wyatt seems unwavering in his devotion to his wife. I still think it'd be gut-wrenchingly brilliant if they discovered that Lucy's dad killed her, so the only way to save Jessica would be to kill him before Lucy's conceived.

Are Wyatt and Rufus going to break Flynn out of prison so he can help rescue Lucy from her mom and retake the Lifeboat? Will Lucy ever find a way to get Amy back? I don't see why Lucy drew a connection between her mom's illness and Amy existing, but if they are connected somehow, that’d certainly be surprising. Are we going to see Lucy fill out the journal, now that she has it? Will we see Flynn time travel to meet older Lucy, or are we going to see her grow to a point where she sends him back in time? Will Mason’s self-serving nature continue to supply the team indefinitely, or are those resources shut off for good? What’s secret Rittenhouse agent Emma Whitmore off to destroy? Is my sister right, and Jiya’s visions of the past will give the Time Team their history-saving missions by cluing them in to what Whitmore is changing?

Whatever they have in store, I’ll be very disappointed if NBC doesn’t bring Timeless back for another season! The cast, writing, and historical nature of the show are all top-notch. #RenewTimeless, indeed!

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kerahlekung · 4 years ago

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2 kontrak tanah Y.Sabah diberi kpd the Aman brothers...

2 kontrak tanah Y.Sabah diberi kpd the Aman brothers....

Datuk Seri Mohd. Shafie Apdal mendedahkan dua kontrak tanah milik Yayasan Sabah yang diberikan selama 100 tahun kepada ahli keluarga Tan Sri Musa Aman dan Datuk Seri Anifah Aman pada tahun 2015 dan 2018. 2. Tanah tersebut yang berkeluasan 11,000 hektar dan 50,000 hektar terletak di Hutan Simpan Kalabakan yang diberikan kepada Jawala Plantation Sdn. Bhd. (Jawala Plantation) dan Rentak Hasil Sdn. Bhd. (Rentak Hasil). 3. Kedua-dua perjanjian itu yang berakhir pada tahun 2115 dan 2118 didedahkan Ketua Menteri ketika berucap dalam Majlis Bersama Rakyat di Kunak pagi ini. 4. "Ini peta Yayasan Sabah apa yang disebut ini Jabatan Perhutanan Sabah sulit lagi, apa yang dibagi Hutan Simpan Sepulut, Hutan Simpan Kalabakan di Sepulut 11,000 hektar dari tahun 2015 sampai 2115 Hutan Simpan Sepulut siapa dibaginya, Jawala Plantation. 5. "Siapa dia, Tan Sri Majid Khan punya syarikat, anak dia pegang sekarang ini, Hutan Simpan Kalabakan keseluruhannya 11,000 hektar siapa punya?

6. "Syarikat siapa ini, ini keluarganya namanya syarikat ini yang dimiliki oleh keluarga Amin Khan, si Elbert Lim hampir 50,000 hektar tanah hampir 100,000 ekar dari tahun 2018 sampai 2118, 100 tahun tanah. 7. "Banyak lagi kalau saya nak sebut, syarikat Yayasan Sabah, apa syarikat Yayasan Sabah ini, Sabah Softwood Sdn Bhd apa yang dimiliki oleh Sabah Softwood 50,000 ekar dimiliki oleh Sabah Softwood.

8. "Daripada 50,000 ekar dimiliki Sabah Softwood ada satu kilang di tengah-tengah Softwood ini nama dia Rentak Hasil Sdn. Bhd. 9. "Rentak Hasil ini Softwood Sabah, Pengerusi dia dulu Musa Aman sekarang saya pasal automatik Ketua Menteri jadi pengerusi. 10. "Dulu Lembaga Pengarah dia Abdul Halim Egoh anak Tan Sri Hamid Egoh keluarga dia.

11. "Rentak Hasil anak syarikat Softwood dimiliki oleh Softwood 50 peratus, Rentak Hasil dimiliki oleh Perintis Bernas Sdn Bhd 5 peratus, siapa milik Rentak Hasil ini yang miliki syarikat di tengah-tengah Softwood yang ada perjanjian bagi minyak CPO kelapa sawit 100,000 tan setiap satu tahun perjanjian dia. 12. "Rentak Hasil siapa punya syarikat? Pemilik dia anak si Anifah Aman,” katanya. 13. Mohd. Shafie berkata, dokumen tersebut adalah bukti kerakusan keluarga Musa Aman merampas hasil bumi Sabah untuk kepentingan dan kekayaan ahli keluarga mereka. 14. Tegasnya, beliau sedia disaman dan akan menjadikan dokumen-dokumen perjanjian itu sebagai bukti. 15. " Saya ketua menteri saya tahu apa terkandung dalam dokumen kerajaan ini, ini bukti dia bukan tiada bukti. - borneo today

How PPBM and UMNO engage in a proxy

war in Sabah while PAS was abandoned...

There’s a reason why they said “there’s no honour among thieves”. But in the case of backdoor Perikatan Nasional (PN) government, a loose coalition led by backdoor Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, the word honour does not exist at all in their dictionary. The only word the so-called “Malay-Muslim” parties – UMNO, PPBM and PAS – recognise is “power”. As demonstrated by PM Muhyiddin himself, for the lust of power, the 73-year-old cancer survivor would not think twice about becoming a traitor. In fact, the “Malay First” Muhyiddin was more than willing to bribe and work with a crook like former PM Najib Razak just to get enough votes to topple his own legitimately voted Pakatan Harapan coalition government. Under the pretext of Malay-Muslims unity, Muhyiddin pulled his party PPBM (Bersatu) out of the Pakatan ruling government and formed a fragile Perikatan coalition with then-opposition UMNO and PAS. Muhyiddin is a classic example where a Malay leader could abandon principle in exchange for power. But it was a wishful thinking that the 3 tigers can live happily ever after on the same mountain. As caretaker Chief Minister Shafie Apdal unveiled what appears to be a powerful slogan – “We Are Here To Build A Nation, Not A Particular Race Or Religion” – as the Sabah state election kicks off after the nomination day, the opposite is happening to the Perikatan Nasional federal government, who happens to be the opposition in the Borneo state. Actually, from the moment Mr. Shafie foiled Mr. Muhyiddin’s second coup attempt by decisively dissolved the Sabah Legislative Assembly before former Chief Minister Musa Aman could topple his government, the writing was already on the wall that not only both PPBM and UMNO cannot work together, but will try to destroy each other instead. Make no mistake. The Sabah election is essentially a proxy war between two leaders – PPBM President Muhyiddin Yassin and UMNO President Zahid Hamidi. The lame duck prime minister, who depends on UMNO support for his government survival, desperately wanted to win Sabah election to strengthen his position before calling the next 15th General Election. Muhyiddin Yassin - Prime Minister Legitimacy In Question

If Muhyiddin could lead Perikatan to capture Sabah, he may weaken Shafie’s powerbase and swing over his 9 MPs, the priceless commodities that would allow the prime minister to survive until the end of his term in 2023 without calling for a snap election. More importantly, a victory would provide him the bargaining chip when negotiates with UMNO over seat allocation for the next nationwide election. But Zahid, who is facing record 87 charges related to money laundering and corruption and criminal breach of trust (CBT), is equally desperate to win Sabah to prove not only his leadership in UMNO, but also to legitimise UMNO’s dominance in both Perikatan Nasional and Muafakat Nasional, an alliance between UMNO Malay nationalist party and PAS Islamist party. More importantly, if Zahid could drive Barisan Nasional (comprises UMNO, MCA and MIC) to recapture the Sabah state that it lost in the 2018 General Election, it would further weaken Muhyiddin’s power and probably force the PM to drop all the criminal charges against him. After all, did not Muhyiddin’s appointed Attorney General Idrus Harun drop all the 46 criminal charges against Musa Aman? The distrust between PPBM and UMNO saw how PM Muhyiddin was humiliated when he had to call off a highly anticipated launch of his Perikatan Nasional in Sabah on August 29. Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC), a component party of Barisan Nasional, was persuaded by UMNO to pull out from joining Perikatan at the eleventh hour, a slap in the face of Muhyiddin. Already hit with UMNO’s refusal to formally join his Perikatan, Muhyiddin wanted allies in Sabah to contest under a new PN logo. But Zahid purposely made negotiations over the campaign as difficult as possible for PPBM. The once dominant UMNO prefers to contest under its decades-old BN (Barisan Nasional) flag in an ugly tussle for dominance ever since Muhyiddin was sworn in on March 1. With less than 24 hours before the nomination day on Saturday (Sept 12), Muhyiddin was forced to chair an emergency 90-minute meeting with all allies that included PN (consists of PPBM, PAS, Star, SAPP), BN (comprises UMNO, MCA, MIC and PBRS) and PBS (Parti Bersatu Sabah) to prevent multi-cornered contest. Zahid emerged from the meeting and said everyone had agreed to avoid clashes. Of course, the UMNO president lied through his teeth. Before nomination day, there were 11 state seats that clashed among PN, BN and PBS. After the nomination day, the seats that will see clashes increased to 17. Zahid had deceived Muhyiddin, pretending to agree, but behind the scene, he deliberately ignored the truce brokered by the prime minister.

But it was not only BN under the leadership of Zahid who broke the promise not to compete against each other. PBS, on the other hand, distrusts both PN and BN when the Sabah-based party suddenly decided to contest in 22 seats instead of initial 15 seats. Hilariously, in the same 90-minute meeting, Muhyiddin launched a new opposition alliance called Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS).

Muhyiddin thought that his hastily formed GRS, comprises his own Perikatan Nasional coalition (PN), Barisan Nasional (BN) and Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS), could work the same way he betrayed and toppled his previous Pakatan Harapan government. He didn’t realize he could only use the trick once. Zahid saw the deception and countered with his own false pretences, as did PBS, a party led by Maximus Johnity Ongkili. Zahid has nothing to lose by openly undermining and challenging every single decision of the prime minister. Since Najib was convicted and sent 12 years in jail, Zahid has been creating troubles – refused to join PN, coaxed MIC to reject PN, suggested Bung Moktar as UMNO’s choice for Sabah Chief Minister post, decided UMNO and allies to contest in all 73 seats against PN and whatnot. At the end, 447 candidates will fight for Sabah’s 73 seats – an average of 6 contestants for one seat. Bengkoka seat alone is a jaw-dropping 11-cornered fight. Muhyiddin’s PN has 29 contestants while Zahid’s BN insisted on contesting 41 seats and PBS has pushed its 22 candidates to fight in the already crowded battle. The fact that UMNO will contest 32 seats as compared to PPBM’s 19 suggests that lame duck Muhyiddin fails to control UMNO. To save face, the prime minister retaliated by proposing Sabah PPBM Chief Hajiji Mohd Noor as the next chief minister, clashing against UMNO’s suggestion that their Sabah chief, Bung Moktar, would become the next chief minister. While Muhyiddin might be the most powerful man in Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah is a different kettle of fish altogether. Playing 3R (race, religion and royalty) cards in this Borneo state is an act of hara-kiri. Therefore, to the surprise of PAS, neither UMNO nor PPBM wanted the Islamist party to contest in Sabah. Yes, the biggest sucker is none other than PAS. Some genius analysts have been going around telling all and sundry that PAS was very clever by joining two separate coalitions, Muafakat (with UMNO) and Perikatan (with PPBM). Even PAS leaders thought they were brilliant for becoming the kingmaker. But if that is true, exactly why did both UMNO and PPBM ditched them as if the Islamist party was more toxic than Covid-19?

At first, PAS secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan confidently declared that his party had asked for up to 10 seats in the Sabah state election. However, at the eleventh hour, to the Sabah PAS leadership’s horror, the party was not even invited to the PN Sabah state election candidate announcement in Kota Kinabalu. Likewise, its closest ally UMNO had given it zero seats. PAS was humiliated – “kemaluan besar” – as former MIC Samy Vellu liked to say. To save face, PAS President Hadi Awang claimed the party was not contesting any seats for the sake of “muafakat (cooperation)”. Hadi also said his party has decided to give way to its allies to ensure straight fights, which is a truckload of cow dung because all the 73 seats are multi-cornered fights. Perhaps PAS should give way to its allies in the 15th General Election too for the sake of “muafakat”. Comically, it was the same Mr. Hadi who said a fortnight ago that the Islamist party was ready to contest under Barisan Nasional’s ticket in Sabah. Then, PAS Deputy President Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man claimed the move was a political strategy to avoid “enemy’s trap”. Another PAS leader said despite not contesting, the party is “still contesting” as both BN and PN act as their representative. Going by PAS’ twisted logic, it means that despite not able to having sexual intercourse with their wife, they are “still having” sexual intercourse as their friends are representing them. Some other PAS leaders, however, expressed their sadness for not given any seat at all. In the 2018 General Election, Amanah won only 193 votes and zero seats in Sabah state election. Yet, caretaker Chief Minister Shafie is kind enough this time to still allocate 1 seat to his friend Amanah in the Sabah election. PAS, meanwhile, had captured 11,241 votes in 2018. Why can’t BN or PN be humane enough to give at least 1 seat to PAS in the name of Muslim brotherhood? In reality, PAS is too toxic to be given any seat to contest in Sabah. Some Islamist extremists in the party like the arrogant Pasir Puteh MP Nik Muhammad Zawawi Salleh have insulted the Christians in Sabah for saying that the Bible was distorted. The PAS leader’s racist and extremist remarks is seen as against Sabah’s multi-religious and multi-cultural society. Like it or not, PAS was backstabbed by both Perikatan (Muhyiddin’s PPBM) and Muafakat (Zahid’s UMNO) at the same time. But the Islamist party’s top guns have to cook up ridiculous half-baked stories for the sake of their current ministerships or chairmanships which comes with perks like 5-figure salaries, cash allowances, free cars, official residences, and multi-million-dollar contracts and projects. - FT

cheers.

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brajeshupadhyay · 4 years ago

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Behind Pakistan’s cartographic hallucination on Kashmir lies Imran’s domestic woes, China’s invisible hand

Imran Khan is in trouble, to put it mildly. The Pakistan prime minister initially dismissed COVID-19 as common flu and had advised citizens to stay at home even if showing symptoms. When the pandemic raged beyond control, Imran’s answer was to implement a ‘Corona tiger force’, a youth recruitment program to “wage jihad” against the virus.

The virus was unmoved by such gimmicks. As the crisis deepened, an alarmed World Health Organisation shot off a letter in June slamming hasty lifting of lockdown in provinces without meeting any of the requisite conditions and expressed concern over Pakistan’s high positivity rate and lack of testing.

Meanwhile, Pakistan’s already fragile, debt-burdened economy is collapsing. According to World Bank estimates, Pakistan is heading towards “major recession”. The New York Times quoted Pakistan Institute of Development Economics, an independent research firm, to report that “up to 18 million of Pakistan’s 74 million jobs could be lost.”

A broke Pakistan is set to become the first large developing country to apply for a debt repayment relief under a G-20 initiative.

Alongside and unsurprisingly, Pakistan’s rickety public health infrastructure is also in a coma. Doctors and caregivers are functioning without basic protective gear and risking public ire to boot.

This is Karachi Civil Hospital. Doctors say over 70 persons attacked it's ER tonight at around 11am. Docs & staff remained unhurt. They say the attackers had iron rods, knives. "KOI CORONA NAHEN HAI. YE SAB DOCTORS KA DRAMA HAI," they shouted. pic.twitter.com/MZsHllxbJ7

— Sameer Mandhro (@smendhro) May 29, 2020

Amid the healthcare disaster, Pakistan is also staring at a food security crisis. Mishandling of the pandemic, lack of government planning, supply chain disruption, unseasonal rains and pestilence may result in a 3.5 million-ton shortfall of wheat, Pakistan’s staple, raising fears that the country is limping towards a famine. It is worth noting that Imran’s popularity was nosediving even before the pandemic. Last year, hardline Islamists hit the streets demanding his ouster. Forced to take a $6 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund in last May — Pakistan’s 13th such bailout since 1980s — Imran had no option but to cut subsidies, devalue further the rupee and raise taxes — all unpopular moves in a struggling economy. While the interventions didn’t work, all that Imran managed to do was to trigger more inflation, slash consumption and witness mass layoffs in private sector. To quote Maulana Fazlur Rehman, leader of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) who led the protests against Imran last year, “Khan was ‘selected’ earlier but he has now been rejected.” Imran’s ascension to power was widely believed to have been engineered by Pakistan’s all-powerful military, and Rawalpindi was growing increasingly impatient with Imran’s hubris, inefficiency and incompetence. Imran’s botched response to coronavirus, falling popularity and waning influence saw Pakistan Army tighten its grip on the civilian government and squeeze further the space for democracy. At the best of times, Imran was a military puppet. His masters have now clipped his wings and taken full control. All major policy decisions on the pandemic are now being taken either by Rawalpindi or army-backed political appointees. Since March, the military has been overruling Imran and releasing public advisories on army letterheads. Imran is aware and unhappy, threatening abruptly to leave press conferences when questioned on his authority. Scholar Madiha Afzal, fellow of Center for Middle East Policy writes in Brookings, “For a time after his election, it seemed that Khan’s closeness with the military might give him the space to implement the domestic policies that he wanted. It seems that period is over. Khan is now clearly constrained by a military whose role has grown progressively through Khan’s term in office and has expanded to the ambit of domestic policy during the pandemic.” The picture that emerges is of a politician rapidly losing popularity, power, influence and control and increasingly given to ranting in Parliament. To add to his pressure, terror financing watchdog Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has kept up the squeeze. Last October, Pakistan received a “clear warning” from the FATF for addressing only five out of 27 action items to tackle terror financing. The FATF had threatened to blacklist Islamabad unless it does more and does so quickly. Pakistan has managed to get one more extension from FATF until October 2020 owing to the pandemic, but it received more setbacks on this front with the US state department bringing out a report on terrorism in June that continues to designate Pakistan as a “safe harbour for regionally focused terrorist groups.” Then there is Kashmir. India’s decision last year to remove Jammu and Kashmir’s semi-autonomous status and bring the erstwhile state under New Delhi’s direct control effectively buried Pakistan’s dreams of seizing the prized real estate for which it has launched multiple wars against India and used terrorism as a State policy since the 1990s to carry out a relentless proxy war and stoke militancy within Indian borders. Kashmir is not only Pakistan’s “jugular vein” or an article of faith, it is central to Pakistan’s national and ideological frontiers. Pakistan never had operation control over Kashmir that acceded to India during Partition except the portion that it had invaded, but a never-ending battle against India to grab Muslim-majority Kashmir remains the fulcrum of Pakistan’s existence as a nation-state. It also makes space for Pakistan military’s outsized role in its polity since it is deemed to be the only institution that can turn that improbability into a reality. As C Christine Fair, author and scholar of South Asian political and military affairs, noted in her book Fighting to the End: The Pakistan Army’s Way of War, for the Pakistan Army, failure lies not in unsuccessful attempts to wrest Kashmir from India but in abandoning the effort. In perpetual struggle lies victory. New Delhi’s move to abrogate Article 370 and turn Jammu and Kashmir into a Union Territory made it even more difficult for the Pakistan to sell its revisionist agenda back home — a despondency best expressed by Opposition leader Sherry Rehman.

Its not only about inappropriate speeches in parliament. Who will stop your PM from destroying Pakistan? Three more years and nothing may be left. Economy is worse, debts r higher,mafias on the rampage, PIA being cannibalised, Kashmir gone, what’s left ?https://t.co/6LTPk8BfWc — SenatorSherryRehman (@sherryrehman) July 2, 2020

In its latest edition of the Green Book, an internal confidential publication of the Pakistan military containing essays by serving officers and others (mostly for in-house consumption), Pakistan’s chief of army staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa admitted that Balakot airstrikes and abrogation of Article 370 have transformed the geopolitics of the region and restricted Pakistan’s options.

The battle for Kashmir isn’t just an existential totem, it is also the silver bullet to paper over all the cracks of a failing State. Stunned by India’s decision, and hamstrung by lack of options, an unprepared Imran launched a vitriolic campaign against India and threatened nuclear holocaust in a column for The New York Times and even from the podium of United Nations last year, but he had little to show for his efforts.

Not just the international community, Khan failed to gain sympathy for his anti-India campaign even in the Arab world.

Imran’s frustration was palpable. At the UN last year, the Pakistan prime minister admitted that he has failed to find any buyers for his apocalyptic narrative on Kashmir, and there was “no pressure on Narendra Modi”.

The reasons behind Pakistan’s failure to corner India on Kashmir have been explained well by Ashley Tellis, former top US government official and now a senior fellow at Carnegie in a report by London-based Financial Times: “India is seen as a great power in waiting, and nobody messes around with the claims of a great power… The Pakistanis have discredited themselves with their use of jihadi terrorism as a means to change the status quo.”

Imran had not only run out of options, but his inefficacy on Kashmir also had a bearing on Pakistan military’s domestic stature. The people in Pakistan were beginning to see that not only will they never get control over their promised land, their ‘infallible’ army actually had a very weak hand. What damaged Pakistan the most was that India’s move went a long way towards decoupling the adjective ‘disputed’ from Kashmir and made it an issue ‘internal’ to India.

Something had to give. And it did. On the first anniversary of India’s abrogation of Article 370, Pakistan released a “new political map” claiming the entire Kashmir and Ladakh, along with Sir Creek and Junagadh in Gujarat.

Among other oddities, the so-called map also has an “undefined frontier” to let China draw its own line while keeping Shaksgam Valley and Aksai Chin out of its parameters. There has also been another change in nomenclature. ‘Indian occupied Jammu and Kashmir’ is now ‘Indian Illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir’ — the extra ‘i’ apparently loosens India’s and fortifies Pakistan’s claim.

The political map of Pakistan unveiled by PM @ImranKhanPTI earlier today. pic.twitter.com/q4jyMTNmlB

— Prime Minister's Office, Pakistan (@PakPMO) August 4, 2020

The “undefined frontier” apart — which indicates that Pakistan is petrified of China and has no clue what Beijing will claim tomorrow — the so-called map evidently is Pakistan’s answer to India’s move on Kashmir.

While India has revoked Kashmir’s ‘semi-autonomous’ status — a temporary constitutional measure — abrogated Article 370 and 35-A, bifurcated the state into two union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh and brought Kashmir under the ambit of Indian Constitution, Imran and his cabinet waited for a year to finally take some coloured pencils and redraw the map to snatch Kashmir away from India.

Depending on how one looks at it, Pakistan’s act was a strategic masterstroke or a fool’s errand. Imran will certainly hope that his countrymen believes the former. Not just ‘one mapmanship’, Imran had more aces up his sleeve to reclaim Kashmir — such as renaming Kashmir Highway in Islamabad as Srinagar Highway.

The claim on Junagadh (that voted to join India in 1947 in a plebiscite when Pakistan received 91 votes) isn’t new. Pakistan’s survey maps have included it on earlier instances unlike Sir Creek but in both of these cases as in Kashmir, Islamabad’s reliance on cartography reflects its helplessness on Kashmir and desperation at home.

At this point, Imran is less worried about his strategic and diplomatic options on Kashmir than in placating the Pakistani public and showing that within a span of a year, he has made some progress in wresting back the prized land. What better way than to redraw a map?

Imran was perhaps inspired by Nepal prime minister KP Sharma Oli, who recently pushed through a new map claiming sovereignty over Indian territories of Limpiyadhura, Lipu Lekh and Kalapani. Oli’s cynical plan had a political motive. Nepal’s beleaguered prime minister is battling to save his seat and political future and saw in the cartographic misadventure a chance to whip up nationalism to sail through the polls.

However, in Pakistan’s cartographic hallucination — that India has dismissed as “ridiculous”, “untenable” and a “political absurdity” lacking in “legal or international credibility” — lies a blunder and a self-inflicted wound.

By claiming the entire Valley, Pakistan has ended up exposing its own lies on Kashmir’s “self-determination” and UN-monitored plebiscite. In one stroke, Pakistan has also invalidated the so-called ‘self-determination’ movement by ‘separatists’ and revealed it for what it is — an asymmetric war planned and executed for decades by Pakistan through ‘non-State actors’ and jihadist forces to create unrest within India’s borders and seize Kashmir.

All Imran and his ‘crayon cabinet’ has managed to do is to bust its own lie and remove the fig leaf of legitimacy.

The dragon’s invisible hand

In dismissing Pakistan’s cartographic aggression, however, India has no reasons to be smug. A coordination on the Kashmir issue between Pakistan and its patron China is evident and increasingly intensifying.

China has never been a disinterested party in Kashmir, and its interventions are getting more frequent in tune with Beijing’s hold over its client State. The strategic importance of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and Beijing’s holding of considerable real estate in Kashmir make China a crucial and influential third party in the Kashmir issue.

There’s one more good reason for China to get involved. Beijing uses Islamabad as a cat’s paw against India, and it is in China’s interest to stabilize Pakistan so that it may play the role Beijing wants it to play.

The client-patron relationship is evident from the fact that China — as ORF’s Sushant Sareen points out — “is not just emerging as the largest debtor to Pakistan but is also the largest investor. What is more, China is Pakistan’s largest trading partner and the lender of last resort to bail out Pakistan from its chronic deficit on the external account. In short, China is virtually the only game in town as far as the tottering Pakistan economy is concerned.”

The Sino-Pakistan coordination on Kashmir since India’s move to abrogate Article 370 has played out in interesting ways. Security Council member China has initiated the issue three times at the United Nations — ostensibly to ‘internationalise’ the dispute at the behest of its iron brother — and while each of these attempts have proven unsuccessful, the calibrated steps leading to the first anniversary is worth noting.

On 27 July, China held a virtual foreign ministers’ meeting with Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nepal — an alternative quadrilateral mechanism bang in India’s immediate neighbourhood — and Wang Yi urged his counterparts from Afghanistan and Nepal to follow Pakistan’s footsteps to promote CPEC and tighten interconnectivity. Chinese economic imperialism in India’s backyard raises New Delhi’s security and strategic concerns.

In addition, as ORF senior fellow Sareen points out in “Alt Quad+ with Chinese characteristics”, China has been openly interfering in Nepal’s political process to ensure Oli’s survival, debt-trapping Nepal with white elephant projects, offering trade deals to Bangladesh that Dhaka can’t refuse end up being dependent on Chinese market and “encouraging Imran Khan to reach out to Bangladesh and move towards normalisation of ties.”

Interestingly, just a few days before the ‘Alt Quad’ meeting was held, Imran made a rare phone call to Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina and ostensibly discussed Kashmir.

A day after Pakistan released its ‘new map’, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson on 5 August called India’s Kashmir move “unilateral, illegal and invalid” and glossed over a question on Pakistan’s cartographic aggression. On that very day, China initiated the third attempt to stir the Kashmir pot at UN.

These attempts have all been thwarted but, as Syed Akbaruddin, who served as India’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations points out in Hindustan Times, India should be ready for a diplomatic two-front war at the UN.

A short-on-options Pakistan may be blundering its way even more on Kashmir, but the real joker in this pack is China.

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ladystylestores · 4 years ago

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Top Cultural Festivals to Attend in Kenya

Do you enjoy experiencing diverse cultures? Festivals are a great place to start and this article will sample four festivals that should be in your bucket list.

Top four cultural Festivals to attend in Kenya after the Coronavirus pandemic

Kenya is well known for its breathtaking sandy beaches and wildlife.

Little is known about its cultural diversity.

The Maasai people are worldwide known, nonetheless, we have 41 other tribes in Kenya. These tribes have cultural festivals that they celebrate annually. Attending festivals is a great

way to connect with the local communities, contribute to the preservation of culture and get to experience a different way of life.

However, today I will highlight the top four cultural festivals that you must attend in your lifetime.

Rusinga Island Festival

Rusinga Island is one of the gems of the Great Lake Victoria. It lies on the Eastern side of the lake and it has the most stunning views of the sunsets.

Rusinga Island Festival is among the famous events in the Western region of Kenya. It is usually held annually on the last Thursday and Friday before Christmas.

If you want to experience the authentic culture and traditions of the Suba community, this is a perfect place to start.

Here you get to experience two days of:

● traditional music and dance

The traditional dancers usually exhibit their passion and skills by dancing their waists and hearts out. You will get to feel the thundering beatings of the drums, echoed by voices that seem to appease the gods.

● Art and Fashion

Unique art and fashion pieces are visible on their traditional attire, the jewellery that adores their bodies, the pottery and not forgetting the carvings. You can’t miss a beautiful and valuable souvenir for friends and families back home.

● food delicacies

The staple food of the suba community is “kuon anang’ a”(traditional ugali prepared using ghee) with fish I.e Nile perch or Tilapia(omena & Mbuta). This is a delicacy.

A visit to the lakeside is not complete without devouring the fresh savoury fish.

● sports

There are different sports activities to participate in during this festival. We have a tag of wars, whereby different groups test their strength and resilience.

The Luo and Suba community had a significant cultural sport of wrestling. It allowed the young, we’ll build and able fishermen to earn bragging rights in the community.

The match is not violent. It’s purely meant for entertainment purposes and a great chance for the young men to attract suitors.

● Boat races and Fishing

The people in the Island are super friendly. Occasionally you will find them fishing, drying their fish(dagaa, omena) and going about their business.

Fishing is the primary source of livelihood for the community. The festival also organises boat races among the local people. They get to compete on which team will win the race

Most hotels and lodges along the Island arrange for boat rides and fishing on request.

I found this interesting enough to try, I hope you will too

Literature

You will get to hear interesting stories, folklores and conversations that take you back in time into the wealth of the Abasuba culture.

The festival is run by different themes each year. In 2019 the theme was “The Island Remembers”. This made us remember, reminiscent and connect with the Island through culture, art and

celebrating heritage. The festival unites people from different worlds to appreciate and enjoy the heritage of the Suba people.

Maralal International Camel Derby

Kenya’s Northern Frontier is a wild and untamed region.

The locals have retained their traditions.

Most of them are pastoralists, with Camels being an important element of their wealth. Maralal Camel Derby is one of the most celebrated events in Kenya. It takes place in the Yare Camel Club In Maralal Town, Samburu County.

The derby involves cycling, Camel racing and cultural performance from the Samburu people. Both the communities and visitors join in the festivities and races.

● Sports

The Camel Derby is graced by both amateurs and professional Camel racers. Most amateurs are usually first-time foreigners who have never taken part in the Camel races.

You will definitely have a fun laugh at the amateurs who can’t control the camels. Most times the camels move in whichever direction away from the race. A funny scenario it is. Watching the races struggling to steer the camels to the right path.

However, this gives room for the professional racers to get to the finish line first.

There are also bicycle races. For those who prefer this, they get an opportunity of challenging themselves. Some cyclists, who are greenhorn, don’t get to finish the race. It is a demanding task.

The two races usually start in Maralal town, and they take place co-currently.

● Music and Dance

The mood in Maralal town during the early is usually electric and fun. The music and dances from the Samburu people lighten the atmosphere.

● Art and Fashion

If you are a lover of art, fashion and handicrafts, there are curio stalls where these artefacts are displayed. You have a lot of choices to choose a souvenir from.

Maralal Camel Derby is not just a competitive race but brings this desert town to life and showcases its cultural heritage.

Kilifi New Year Festival

Kilifi New year festival is held annually from 30th December to 2nd January.

This festival is perfect for all those who are lovers of contemporary, African and electronic music. It is a melting pot of varied cultures and allows for freedom of expression.

The music festival is held under the shade of thousand-year-old baobab trees. It is set on a 20-acre field, home to wild orange and lemon orchids and bamboo forest in

Takaungu creak of the Indian Ocean.

The aim of this festival is supporting conscious living and sustainability while appreciating different cultures. Blending creativity with nature to show a connection with each other, the environment and the community.

Everyone is free-spirited expressing themselves through fashion, dance, art and music. The die to moment happens when a huge wooden sculpture is set ablaze symbolising new beginnings and shared hope for a promising future.

During the 2019 festival, a huge sculpture was burnt in honour of the last male Northern White Rhino – Sudan. A symbol that species extinction is a reality and it is up to the human race to value and protect its wildlife.

● Camping

Camping buddies, this is a great festival for you.

You are allowed to carry your own camping gear. The 20-acre piece of land has enough spaces for pitching tents.

There is also adequate space for parking vehicles, enough showers, toilets and shade to relax and unwind.

There is ample security for all those in attendance.

Moreover, boutique camping is also available during the four days of stay. You will just have to arrange for the bookings earlier enough.

● Beach Activities

There is a beautiful coastline a few meters away. You can go for an early morning jog, a swim, yoga or participate in beach ball games.

The refreshing breeze, combined with spectacular sunsets and free spirit around, makes this festival a bucket list.

Moreover, you can also plan to go for a boat ride on Watamu beach after the festival. Here you can do for snorkelling, explore the bottom world of the ocean.

You will discover colourful fish species, turtles and seagrass. With the help of trained tour guides, you can sail deeper to get a glimpse of the whales.

This is a fantastic way to end your new year celebration in Kilifi.

Lamu cultural festival

Lamu cultural festival is held in Lamu Island, a world heritage site.

This old town has retained it’s Swahili culture over the years not giving in to pressures of the modern culture. The town is characterised by narrow streets, while its main transport means are donkeys.

The three-day festival is meant to give visitors a taste of the Swahili culture and lifestyle.

During the Lamu Cultural Festival, you get to experience dhow race, donkey races, competitive bao games, Swahili Henna paintings and traditional artefacts.

The bao games have existed for years in the East African region. Archaeological evidence shows that it has been played for thousands of years.

The dhow sailing races are executed by the locals. The racers are usually well prepared ready to showcase their skills in manoeuvring through the tides.

On the other hand, other people prepare to take part in a swimming competition. They will have to face the rough waters steering towards the other Island known as Shela and then swim back. With the scorching sun, Swimming race is ideal and a big relief.

The highlight of the festival is the donkey races. Residents, as well as the visitors, can participate. This sport is fun to watch. Steering a donkey needs natural talent, practice and skill. For

amateurs, some end up going towards the opposite direction from where the race is. Donkeys are the main means of transport owing to the city’s narrow and meandering streets. Donkeys have been used for ages by the residents.

For those who thrill in a shopping spree, there are lots of products to choose from. Toys, jewellery, clothes, toys and artefacts. You will find unique Swahili pieces to add on to your adventure collection.

● Street Food

What a better way of knowing a towns delicacies than sampling the street foods. Lamu has a vibrant, welcoming relaxed old town vibes. Like most Coastal towns, the street food culture is active.

You will find an array of street foods lined up on the streets early in the morning and in the evenings at around 4:00 pm.

There is a variety of finger-licking snacks and drinks to choose from. Most of them are Swahili dishes prepared from coconut milk, flour and with lots of sugar and spice. They include bhajia, vitumbua, jalebi, mitai, kaimati, mkate was Sinia, Mahari and mbaazi ya nazi. I know these are foreign names but when you get there you can surprise the locals a bit.

If you are a foodie this would be paradise.

It is good for one to loosen up once in a while and enjoy the abundance of life

Conclusion

Life is full of abundance. If you don’t travel and experience what other places have to offer then you are missing a lot.

“The World is a book and those who do not travel read only a page.” -Saint Augustine.

I hope these four incredible festivals in Kenya have inspired you to travel, explore alien culture, interact with different people and live a free life.

For each time we travel we see the world with a set of new eyes, become more conscious about our relationship with nature and fellow human beings.

Travel tip written and shared by Delinah Mijide

Delinah is a champion for sustainable tourism and conservation practices. She has the passion to highlight businesses and brands that support community empowerment, environmental and

culture preservation. Let’s travel,be responsible and have fun.

Wants to know more about sustainable tourism visit The Eco-traveller.

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itsfinancethings · 5 years ago

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When it comes to culture wars, the past century was undoubtedly an American century. Coming victorious out of the ruins of World War II, with its economy experiencing momentous growth and influence and power, America was positioned as the global emblem of progress, liberty and modernity. This chimera was largely achieved through the might of American culture, with Hollywood films, television shows, and music that spread far and wide across the world.

Steve McQueen bested the Nazis in The Great Escape, whose film adaptation took notable liberties from the book – such as including Americans among the escapees of the German POW camp; Sylvester Stallone as Rambo single-handedly fought off and defeated a roster of American enemies, civilizing the weaklings of Vietnam, and taught the Soviets a good lesson by thrashing Ivan Drago in Rocky IV, the greatest grossing sports movie for nearly two decades.

Today, however, American soft power faces serious challenges from a slew of Asian countries, increasingly recognized as cultural hegemons themselves. America’s credibility in the world has taken a serious hit, limiting the persuasive effect of its films. Migration and urbanisation have had profound consequences too. In 2015, over one billion people left their homes in search of a better life. Only a small percentage, 244 million, migrated abroad. The majority, some 763 million, moved from rural to urban areas within their own countries. Crammed into urban areas with no support, the many millions coming late to the modern world have found themselves unmoored. The promise of globalisation has been exposed as a lie – not all boats were lifted with the rising tide, rather, the majority of the world is struggling not to drown while only the one percent floats comfortably. Those abandoned by capitalism and globalization have turned their loyalties away from Hollywood. The pop culture being produced out of India, Turkey and South Korea – to say nothing of China, which is a separate story altogether – exposes the twentieth century Western cultural tsunami as receding and revealing the seashore. Its tide has been broken.

South Korean Kpop music videos make up more than half of YouTube’s most watched videos of all time (with 80% of the views coming from outside the Asian peninsula nation) and one of Turkey’s most popular dizi, or television drama, Magnificent Century, has been watched by upwards of 500 million people globally. For comparison, the Guinness World Book of Records estimates that at its height, The Bold and The Beautiful had been seen by a peak of 26 million people around the world. Tuba Büyüküstün, one of Turkey’s most popular stars of Asi and Kara Para Ask – she was even awarded an acting prize by the Vatican in 2015 – says Turkey’s dizi production is important because “we have values but American TV or films doesn’t have anything to do with values or even cultural values.”

Bollywood produces more films than anyone in the world, grows at an astronomical 11.5% and sells more tickets at the box office than Hollywood could dream of. Its muscularity is not limited to the arts, either. After Pakistan and India – two nuclear armed powers – faced off in February 2019, it was Bollywood that beat the war drums for India. Star after star took to Twitter to cheer on their air forces and hashtag patriotic slogans alongside flag emojis. Priyanka Chopra, building a career stateside as a women’s empowerment role model, was unable to account for her online jingoism when recently questioned at Beautycon 2019. But the biggest promoters of pop cultural politics – and movie metaphors – might be the two leaders of the subcontinent.

Narendra Modi, India’s right-wing Prime Minister, campaigned for the May 2019 elections by promising his electorate that the standoff with Pakistan in February was just “the trailer” with the “full movie to come.” He is the subject of a fawning movie biopic – which its makers attempted to release before the Indian elections – and numerous, celebratory mini- series. On the Prime Minister’s birthday, Sanjay Leela Bhansali, the director of classic Bollywood films such as Devdas, marked the occasion by announcing that he too would be making a Modi movie. Few but fans of the hardline government cheered the news.

Most recently, at the UN’s General Assembly in September, Pakistan’s Prime Minister, Imran Khan decried the Indian communications blackout and two-month long curfew of Kashmir, warning that its neighbor was building a case for yet another war with Pakistan over the disputed territory. “We’ve been brought up with films, Western films,” Prime Minister Khan orated. “This good decent guy doesn’t get justice, he decides to pick up a gun and start seeking justice. There was a film made in New York, famous film named Death Wish, this guy gets mugged and his wife gets killed or something and he can’t get justice. He picks up a gun and goes around shooting muggers and the whole cinema cheers him on.” The power of popular culture was very much on PM Khan’s mind and he concluded his trip to the UN by announcing that Pakistan, Turkey and Malaysia would be banding together to start a television channel aimed at combating Islamophobia.

Though in his metaphor, it is unclear who is supposed to be Charles Bronson, pushed to the limits of human decency, his ultimate point is clear: politics is no longer fought through ballot boxes alone. The coming battlefield will be cultural, too.

#IFTTT #Blogger

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