'Tis the season....isn't it?

Christmas is here! Its that time of the year when joy is in the air, presents for everyone! The man in red and white brings a smile to the faces of thousands of kids and adults. He comes aboard his sledge from the northest point and spreads cheer everywhere. However, this time he won't be coming on a sledge, but a boat. Why? well, because its dangerous to move about on a sledge with the ice melting everywhere.

'Tis the season of global warming! Bring on the cold beers, no wine for us please. The year 2008 has been the tenth hottest year, and here in Mumbai, boy are we feeling it! Its the end of December and still the temperatures are hovering in the thirties! Santa will have to rethink the wardrobe before he comes here. May be a red and white swimsuit? Or a red and white cotton piece, maybe? He may have to rethink the reindeers as well. May be some mules or a fine steed? Who knows, he may even cancel his tour. Too hot to handle, perhaps. 

Shoes Away, Bush!

 As George Bush prepares to step down from, what is most unmistakeably, America's most humiliating presidential term(s), one man dared to do what many supporters of peace, and reason, have been waiting to do. Iraqi journalist, Muntazer al-Zaidi, audaciously flung his shoes at the cowering soon-to-be-ex President in the presence of media representatives and the Iraqi P.M Nouri al-Maliki, yelling "It is the farewell kiss, you dog".

This act, called "shameful" by the Iraqi government, neatly, and expressively, sums up what the people of Iraq have been feeling ever since the Bush administration's so-called 'War on Terror' began. Millions of innocent civilians have perished, the country's economy has plummeted, and Bush has still not found what he has been looking for: Osama bin Laden. The Bush administration's claims to "free" Iraq and set up a democratic system there, has left the people with a government that has strings attached all the way to Washington.

Can anyone blame al-Zaidi for wanting to physically hit Bush? He sits now, in a prison, with around 200 lawyers ready to defend him for free. The number says it all. What Iraq needs is for the Americans to leave their land and let them run their government. But, no, the Americans will not leave. Why? Because of the three letter word that has led many to commit atrocious crimes: OIL. The Americans want it. If they stay in Iraq, they have control over it. 

The American government needs to stop interfering in other states' affairs. Will they consult, say, China or India before they make any decisions affecting their country? I think not. They do not ask the UN before they attack any country, on any grounds. Why should they demand that others ask? Are Americans still wondering why they are so disliked all over the world? 

Its not the American people's fault, they do not control their government. Most thinking and intelligent Americans would shrink at the atrocities of their President outside their country. The torture of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, the wars on Afghanistan and Iraq, the casualties that keep piling up, all of these must make Bush eligible for a trial as a war criminal. But i doubt we shall see justice there.

So till then, we will have to be satisfied with such displays of unrest and a plea for justice. Shoes away, boys!