tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5974677.post116282359255410465..comments2023-10-09T18:12:29.276+07:00Comments on Agelessbonding: let us debateUshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00179239922869639391noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5974677.post-1163011555896821392006-11-09T01:45:00.000+07:002006-11-09T01:45:00.000+07:00Yes, I think the point about Global sentiments is ...Yes, I think the point about Global sentiments is that these have to be institutionalized & put across as economic/trade/fiscal points of view. Anything else will be politically lame - Tibet being a classic case of a fancy, showcase cause. <BR/><BR/>S!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5974677.post-1162973778231995032006-11-08T15:16:00.000+07:002006-11-08T15:16:00.000+07:00anon: welcome. I am glad that you followed the lin...anon: welcome. I am glad that you followed the link.<BR/><BR/>S!:Hm...yes, abhilash doubts whether such means can make any dent. And i believe as Paavai says, that every big movement has to start somewhere and can only gain power through support.<BR/>Dont you agree that China cannot ignore global sentiments if thebig powers sent it a warning and meant it too. Practical and political considerations are taking precedence over humanitarian considerations here and that is why china is allowed to be as it is. Poor Tibet, most ignored cause because its leader believes in peaceful means.<BR/><BR/>Must read said and check out Chomsky's website.<BR/><BR/><BR/>Paavai: Totally agree. Like they say, a journey of a thousand miles must begin at ones own feet with a single step.<BR/><BR/>Passerby: Welcome back!and thank you.<BR/><BR/>To all: When I last checked 15719 people had voted and the protest window is closing shortly.Perhaps abhilash is right. People dont care. Countries dont care. No one believes they can make a difference.Ushahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00179239922869639391noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5974677.post-1162956411844045212006-11-08T10:26:00.000+07:002006-11-08T10:26:00.000+07:00I am here after a long time, how are you doing, Us...I am here after a long time, how are you doing, Usha?<BR/><BR/>And what a post to start with here.<BR/>A post with a spark to light afew and enlighten another few. Usha, well done.<BR/><BR/>I guess doing the right is not just enough. But Knowing what is right is important. <BR/><BR/>"May be they re right too but I sometimes worry about what is going to be left if everyone takes this escape route and decides never to come back to do something to change the situation"... <BR/>Kudos to you for this comment.<BR/><BR/>a truly dangerous stituation, i fully agree.let us hope for the best.<BR/><BR/>"The problem with cynics...." agree with you 100%....but what is giving birth to this cynicism is worth pondering upon , USha.passerby55https://www.blogger.com/profile/17788718555377390569noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5974677.post-1162953974508982722006-11-08T09:46:00.000+07:002006-11-08T09:46:00.000+07:00The journey to moon started with one step,everythi...The journey to moon started with one step,everything is connected like it is said in chaos theory and all actions will yield expected results, though not at the speed and intensity with which we expect it toPaavaihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06129053776027811224noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5974677.post-1162935224722194472006-11-08T04:33:00.000+07:002006-11-08T04:33:00.000+07:00To an extent, I reckon that your friend doubts the...To an extent, I reckon that your friend doubts the means of this protest & not so much the protest itself. I guess the sense of powerlessness is rather overwhelming & cynicism is just another manisfestation of it. So to an extent, I'm with your friend & understand where he is coming from. Having said that, I also agree with you that, in spite of all this, we should not give up trying. It is an interesting rationality trap. All that we can reason based on actually does point to your friend's point of view. However, I agree that it is a trap we need to avoid. Momentum/mass can turn things around if directed properly. And the internet is a perfect vehicle fot building this up. Just look at this blog!<BR/><BR/>Gandhi, like other great men of his time, was a nationalist & like you said, a great strategist. What we need in today's world is an internationalist, something on the lines of Said & chomsky - only more popular. <BR/><BR/><BR/><BR/>There are instances when countries ignore global sentiments. Plentiful. Human rights in China for one. The right of the Tibetan people. Stem-cell research or the lack of it. <BR/><BR/>S!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5974677.post-1162927406259934082006-11-08T02:23:00.000+07:002006-11-08T02:23:00.000+07:00UshaI follow your blog which I stumbled upon blog ...Usha<BR/><BR/>I follow your blog which I stumbled upon blog hopping. Long story short, couple of things made me open my mouth(or use the keyboard?). About 10-20 yrs ago, the only way people could raise their voices in protest or support was either going on dharnas or hunger strikes and the like. We are in the supersonic internet age, its an obvious path to use the internet as a medium to do the same. Modern or traditional, each method has its spectators and audience and voices can be loud enough to make a difference. "aakaashaat patitam toyam, yata gachchati saagaram, sarva deva namaskaaraha keshavam prati gachchati".<BR/><BR/>And btw: I did go and vote at the site you mentioned. Thanks for the link.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5974677.post-1162898472707652962006-11-07T18:21:00.000+07:002006-11-07T18:21:00.000+07:00Prakash: Thanks. So will you be visiting the site?...Prakash: Thanks. So will you be visiting the site? I was there and was just the 41st person to protest - ok, 1/6th of the world's population cant protest, 1/3 of the world is asleep. What about the rest?<BR/><BR/>Anon: yes, live life like you are playing an innings.Nothing else matters except to meet every ball to the best of your ability.Easier said...But definitely worth trying.<BR/><BR/>The RF:I guess cynics have gone far beyond that definition and have become those that see only the dark side clearly.( Just kidding..) perhaps the guys who give up before trying have another name ( Pls dont give me that very American L word )At least 80% of the people I know who went westward ho give me the reason that "India is becoming difficult to live in if you had only your merit to count on." May be they re right too but I sometimes worry about what is going to be left if everyone takes this escape route and decides never to come back to do something to change the situation.<BR/><BR/>Mahadevan:Yes. We cant let our voices be muffled and when we still have the freedom to express we might as well. yes, this reaction in Kerala came as a surprise to me.<BR/><BR/>Inder: Ok all of you - Tharoor, abhilash, The RF, Mahadevan, Inder - are unianimous that Gandhi's methods would have failed against Hitler. We would never know now and it is an academic discussion. <BR/>But yes, we could go and express our protest while we are still free. So let us.Ushahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00179239922869639391noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5974677.post-1162896708920252902006-11-07T17:51:00.000+07:002006-11-07T17:51:00.000+07:00could gandhi have made peace between nazis and jew...could gandhi have made peace between nazis and jews? i am afraid not.<BR/><BR/>the situations in india, south africa and other colonies were totally different from the situation in germany. in the colonies the issue was about independence and rights of the natives of the soil. in germany, it was the all about belief and ideology. hitler believed that jews and gypsies are not worth living and he had good support for that ideology. by non-cooperation and non-violence, we shall win over people who try to enslave us and try to loot our wealth and effort. non-cooperation may not work against people who are hungry to eliminate us.<BR/><BR/>about this 'defence of freedom of expression' thingy, we live in a democratic country and freedom of expression is our constitutional right. we are just trying to reiterate it.Inderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10818943412434096121noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5974677.post-1162879331378541602006-11-07T13:02:00.000+07:002006-11-07T13:02:00.000+07:00I am inclined to agree with Shashi Tharoor that Ga...I am inclined to agree with Shashi Tharoor that Gandhi's srategy against other nations, say Nazi Germany, would not have worked. Tharoor himself was defeated recently, because of a calculated strategy employed by South Korea. <BR/><BR/>And yet, I feel, a voice, however shrill it may be, can evoke a response, even in the wilderness.<BR/><BR/>Entire Kerala is in rage, because of the death sentence on Saddam Hussain. One did not notice such a rage, when an innocent son of Kerala, a truck driver, was mercilessly killed by the extremist elememnts in Irag, sometimes back.Mahadevanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08659899620865902690noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5974677.post-1162868715943183252006-11-07T10:05:00.000+07:002006-11-07T10:05:00.000+07:00Hey, don't dismiss cynics so lightly; we need them...Hey, don't dismiss cynics so lightly; we need them - <BR/>CYNIC, n. A blackguard whose faulty vision sees things as they are, not as they ought to be. Hence the custom among the Scythians of <BR/>plucking out a cynic's eyes to improve his vision. --- Ambrose Bierce, <I>Devil's Dictionary</I>. <BR/>I, for one, wouldn't like to lose my vision to see things as they are, if I had one. ;)<BR/><BR/>I personally believe that Shashi Tharoor is right about the limitations of non-violence, but I also think that many of us have the keyboard as our only viable means to strive for changes that we would like to see in the world around us. I have been a subscriber to feeds from Reporters sans frontières for a while. I encourage every freedom-loving person to be one, too.<BR/><BR/>Btw, Usha, please don't paint all of "the creme de la creme [of India who] pack up and settle down in the west", as defeatists. It hurts, even though I don't consider myself as belonging to that august group :) Some of them could be <I>sans frontières</I>, too, you know!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5974677.post-1162831299300178802006-11-06T23:41:00.000+07:002006-11-06T23:41:00.000+07:00The best explanation I ever heard from anyone, tho...The best explanation I ever heard from anyone, though in an more spiritual context was from Joseph Campbell. He was asked that aspects of Hindu (and other) philosophies posit that nothing matters in the long run, how do stop yourself from despair and hopelessness. <BR/><BR/>He said the journey is sometimes as important as the destination itself, even if you know the end results of the game doesn't matter, you could still play the darnedest best you could. <BR/><BR/>I guess that is so applicable in this as well as other contexts. Even if nothing is going to result out of a mere cyberprotest, at least it would give us some sense of agency - that we can do something in our own small way. What would we do otherwise - sit back like cynics and despair about the state of the world?<BR/><BR/>And if nothing else, at least this protest would reveal to us how many others think the same as we do. And bigger numbers could definitely translate to more bargaining power. I don't see anything but a win-win situation by participating in the protest. But maybe that's just me.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5974677.post-1162826239114478142006-11-06T22:17:00.000+07:002006-11-06T22:17:00.000+07:00I really liked the way you defined cynic . 100% ag...I really liked the way you defined cynic . 100% agree with it ...... <BR/>A step forward is always a step forward and todays world needs those who can take that step. Being a critic is fine, its necessary so that we do the right thing to move forward but surely not a cynic.Prakash Venkathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15960024092655576130noreply@blogger.com