Is India ripe for mass protests too?

The protests sweeping the Middle-East and Northern Africa make me wonder if it is time Indians too stepped into the streets to hold mass protests against the government.
We all know how corrupt and putrid our political system is, and going by the corruption scandals that erupt steadily and get squelched as steadily, I suspect India's political rulers are way more corrupt that some of those despots in the Middle East. Think of the government's reticence to find out and bring to book Indians who have slashed money in tax havens.
The question, maybe, is not whether we should hold protests -- but who will lead them and what next?
The drama playing out in the Middle East is far from ended, and big question marks hang over how the political vacuum there will be filled -- without the anarchy that we saw in Iraq soon after the Saddam regime was toppled and before the Americans finally wielded power.
Is India ready for that. And, given how manipulative our politicians are and how prone to divisive doctrines we as a people are, can we ever put up a unified protest?

Pakistan Hurtles Toward Failed State Status

The assassination of Pakistan’s Punjab government by his own guard over his opposition to that country’s draconian blasphemy laws show how much the rot has eaten into Pakistani society. And how near Pakistan is to being a failed state.

The killing muddies the options for United States which is trying to bring the Pakistanis around to its view on terrorism sponsored by militant Islamists.
The stranglehold that Islamists have on Pakistani society has been thrown into stark relief by the governor’s assassination, and makes it even more difficult for the Pakistani government to ignore their power.

The consequences of the murder in broad daylight are clear: the weak Pakistani government is not going to go after the Taliban. Any hopes the Americans have on this count are misplaced.

And that means all that money and armament the Americans are pumping into Pakistan is going to one day add to the military muscle of the Taliban. More dreadful, that day may not be far off when the Taliban actually will rule Pakistan or a truncated form of that country.

So where does all this leave India?

As a nation we should arm and ready for the day when the Americans will throw in the towel and beat a retreat out of Afghanistan and Pakistan.

We may still get American armed support in such an eventuality, but the battle will be ours to fight.

The question is, are the netas and babus in New Delhi up to the task?

Sarrazin Roils Germany but we Cannot Wish Away Islamic Terrorism

One man, who reminds me of Hitler in this photo, has Germany roiling again!

His thesis: Muslim immigrants in Germany are socially, culturally and intellectually inferior to most everyone else.

I don't like castigating any ethnic or religious group, because all of them have their follies and foibles.

And I think we are all human.

But some of Mr Sarrazin's conclusions seem so normal, and the opposition to him seems so politically correct. Why

Because the world is getting tired of Islamic terrorists and their fanatical view that if you are not Islamic you deserve the most brutal form of death. Not that Christianity was different in that sense; but they have come a long way from that position -- through the marginalisation of the Church in political matters and through the spread of more inclusive thinking in the Western world.
More insidious, the world is getting tired of being politically correct and want to call a spade a spade.

The problem I think is not with Islam, or Christianity; any religion where the priests are allowed a say in political power will deteriorate to what Islam is today. Simply because power corrupts.

The problem with Islam is it is being by ignorant Mullahs, who have neither education nor wisdom. They try to apply their tribal rules -- having had no chance to see a broader world or the wisdom and intelligence to appreciate other points of view -- to the modern world.

The fast-paced changes affecting today's global village and the deep philosophical issues that hover over human development and survival (a quick example is global warming) just go over their heads. And they think applying middle century Arab tribal rules can solve all problems.

Lack of education in the Islamic countries and use of religion by the ruling elite in those countries to cling to power accentuate this situation and give more power to the Mullahs.

So what is the solution?

Political elite in Islamic countries are playing a double game -- using the Mullahs to retain power and giving lip service to modern ways of life to make money through global trade.

If the rest of the world wants to clean itself of the scourge that is fanatical Islam, the way is to clamp down on the cash flow to the political elite in the Islamic countries. That way, I think, they will be forced to heed the demands of the civilized world; after all they don't want to let the Mullahs have the power.

That needs arm twisting but it's a small price to pay for ridding the world of these ignorant savages and their handlers.