Power Play

It is time now to intervene in Zimbabwe

Mugabe was a hero for decades, the man who got independence for Zimbabwe(then Rhodesia) in 1980 and has ruled and ruined Zimbabwe since then. At one time Zimbabwe was known as the 'bread basket of Africa' for its success in agriculture, but today millions are starving and fighting for a morsel of bread in Zimbabwe.

Mugabe's downfall started with him targeting Ndebe tribe and since 1998 has been targeting white farmers and business owners who were the back bone of the economy.  While he has a history and record of discrimination and policies that are not considered the best for Zimbabwe, people both domestically and internationally has tolerated him for his role as the independence hero. That goodwill factor has started to erode since the 2008 elections and his evil visions have overtaken his good karma points that he earned decades ago.

It is time for the UN to intervene and protect the people of Zimbabwe, but also set a positive example to other dictators, that human rights violations will not be tolerated and we do not fight for democracy only in oil rich states. Namibia, ally of Mugabe is looking to redistribute white owned farms to black villagers, like Mugabe did.

Any intervention should include South Africa, AU and UN with the support of neighbouring countries like Mozambique, Zambia, Angola and Dr Congo that has influence with Mugabe.
While NATO forces including Canada are over stretched in counter terrorism missions, it is important for us including EU to pledge and commit aid dollars for Zimbabwe in the case of foreign intervention or negotiated settlement with Mugabe that will see him leave Zimbabwe and have free and fair elections thereafter.

Canada has for too long been out of the international peace brokers group and continues to miss opportunities in the Middle East and Sri Lanka. We can play a vital role in Zimbabwe in assiting South Africa and AU towards a negotiated settlement that will see peace and restoration of democracy and human rights in Zimbabwe. Do the Conservatives have the expertise to transcend in that direction, that is a million dollar question.

Hope is a powerful word in Middle East as ceasefire begins.

A ceasefire has been in effect between Israel and Hamas in Gaza since this morning. There is a lot of skepticism on it among the analysts and powerful, but there is also a lot of hope among the Muslims in Gaza, Israelis in south and the poor who have no choice but to put their money on hope.

Ever since Hamas took control of Gaza in June 2007, the sufferings of the residents of Gaza and the Israelis in the south has spiraled to new heights that many are now craving for a peaceful resolution to the conflict and resolution of terrorism in the area.

Israel has promised to lift blockades if Hamas behaves itself under the truce, that will bring solace to sufferings of Gaza residents. Hopefully Hamas will put the interest of Gaza resident ahead of its anti- Israel agenda to maintain the ceasefire and help them lead a decent life that has been disrupted since Hamas took over Gaza.

Both Hamas and Islamic Jihad have promised like many times before to hold the ceasefire and not fire rockets over to Israel. The biggest question is how long can they control and stop the smaller fragmented militant groups from firing rockets and what happens not just in Gaza but in West Bank can break this fragile peace. This is an opportunity for Hamas and Islamic Jihad to show their leadership and intention to bring peace in middle east by showing restrain and using their muscle from keeping rogue militant groups in Gaza from attempting to destabilize the cease fire. It is equally important for Israel to further extend its goodwill and show more restrain by focusing on the bigger issues and by its virtue of being a responsible democracy go beyond the call of the terms and help the Muslim residents of Gaza through economic aid.

Israel has set stages to move forward with agreement to lift economic blockade to exchange of prisoners and are confident that a future independent Palestine state is in the final stage of making.

Canada and Canadians should step out to support this peace initiative that can lead to the bigger goal of a two state resolution. This is time to stop blaming and pointing fingers and create an encouraging environment by trying to engage both the conflicting groups to support the ceasefire and encouraging them to hold on to the ceasefire for the better good of humanity and the residents of the area.

Canada can play a better role in armed conflict resolution by using our goodwill in middle east and other conflict zones, but political parties have approached ethnic conflicts to their advantage to appeal to their voter base and done less to actually help resolve the issues in foreign land. No wonder our Public safety Minister Stockwell Day has more to talk about Middle East and SriLanka than our Foreign Affairs Minister Emerson.

Karzai warns Pakistan. When will Harper warn Bush ?

NATO troops crossing the border into Pakistan will only help create more Osama's for it is a war against their religion, but Afghan troops going into Pakistan is a war against their country.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai threatened Sunday to send Afghan troops across the border to fight militants in Pakistan, a forceful warning to insurgents and the Pakistani government that his country is fed up with cross-border attacks.

US has failed and letting down Afghanistan and NATO by not pressurising Pakistan to curtail terrorist activities in its territory. US is getting ready to deliver a number of F-16's to Pakistan and billions of dollars in aid, even though Pakistan is doing nothing about its people and agents who are helping the Taliban and other terrorist groups.

Pakistan's intelligence agency, the notorious ISI has for long been involved in Afghanistan since the early 70's. Pakistan being a ally for US during the cold war and Soviet invasion of Afghanistan has helped its officers build strong relationship with Pentagon. US is continuing to be soft and ignore the support of Pakistan to Taliban that is affecting NATO's role there. The politics is beyond it. Pakistan and Iran(Persians) are sworn enemies and of course the growing regional giant India has fought three wars with Pakistan. US needs Pakistan as a puppet to serve as a deterrence to Indian and Iran and to use it as a base from the west frontier in the case of a war with China. US has several reasons t be silent and pawn its soldiers for it, but Canada does not have too.

Karzai has had enough and is issued a stern warning to Pakistan to protect his country, a slap on the face for Bush. Canada as a part of NATO has lost over 80 soldiers and pledged billions to protect and rebuild Afghanistan.

While the US might want to cozy up with Pakistan for its own regional political agenda, Canada needs to be clear with US on pulling its leash on Pakistan, failing which Canadian troops need to pull out of the region immediately.

We can not let our troops be pawns in the war of US and Pakistan. Our role in Afghanistan is to support rebuilding and protect aid groups doing it. We have been pulled into combat positions because of the attacks from the Taliban supported by Pakistan.

Karzai has warned Pakistan. When is Harper going to warn Bush or is he also going to pawn our soldiers for the bigger battle of  warming our relationship with uncle Sam.

Will Harper be the leader of Canada or puppet of Bush?

NDP acts wonky on Durban conference

There are not many things that I agree with the Conservatives but their decision to boycott the Durban conference is something I endorse. Liberals and NDP also supported it. NDP it seems has changed their position and singing the lullaby of Iran, Syria, Pakistan, Libya and other racist countries in an attempt to please religious vote banks in Canada.

Why Canada should boycott the Durban Review Conference which is a follow up to the world conference against Racism.

Imagine Libya, Pakistan, Cuba, Syria, Iran running a conference against Racism. Sounds like a Jay Leno show! The worlds most racist, terror supporting countries putting their head together to talk about defeating racism and NDP wants to support it.

Why does Jack want to send Canadian delegates to a conference where Osama bin Laden will be praised as a hero. This conference is boycotted by most civilized countries for its anti Zionist position, but Jack wants to send Canada there. Canada and the rest of world needs to be firm in its support to Israel.We should also maintain our stature as world leaders in human rights advocacy and can not sit along with racist, terror supporting countries to talk about how defeat racism.  Its like leaving the hen in the custody of the wolves.

Here is an op-ed from National Post

Canada should stay firm on boycotting the 2009 Durban conference and NDP should not flip flop just to satisfy some voter groups. Jack, your principles should precede your ambitions, do the honorable thing and clarify your position and support the boycott of Durban Conference.

Read more on it at Warren Kinsella

Canada on black list of countries for tourism from India!

While a report released Monday says the Canadian tourism industry is on the verge of a crisis , Canada is also being black listed by many tour operators as a difficult to work with country for visa processing.

The report said Canada is not doing a very good job of promoting itself in emerging markets such as India and Brazil.

Read more

Words can not describe the loss of Dr.Basrur

Dr.Sheila Basrur  passed away earlier today. she has fought many battles for the good of the public to save thousands of lives but lost to the one from within today, after battling a rare form of cancer.

She has been a great source of inspiration to Canadians, women and visible minorities in this country and beyond. Her passion to serve the public and her kind words and cheerful laughs will always be missed. She is definitely one of them who has inspired me and been a role model to follow, words and tears can not say how much we will miss her. she will be missed, but her legacy will continue.

More on the story here at Globeandmail

Virulent Competition at new heights!

Indian advertising industry has a history of cheeky advertisements that take a shot at competitors, some even at politicians like the Amul butter ads. This one is hilarious.

Jet Airways is a dominant player in the domestic airline market in India and now entered the International market  with even flights to Toronto from India. King Fisher ( the beer baron) is a flashy brand like Virgin (Richard Branson)

Look at the hoarding advertisements.Kingfisher is making pun of Jet Airways(hoarding below). Cut throat competition which  is sometimes very funny!

The Parliamentary Struggle: Glen Pearson

I admire Glen Pearson for the work he did in Africa and his desire to bring change through politics. I see a lot of me in Glen and may be that's why I admire him.  For many years I  have been involved in issues related to poverty, women, children and empowering them through Education. I started the Canadian arm of Asha for education, a global organization that works on basic education rights and recently got involved in a more strategic project that focuses on building a sustainable program that can be mass implemented in several countries around the world, using e-learning networks.

My next step is to put together these learning's in impacting the lives of children in Canada and helping those who need that extra help in making themselves economically independent. We are going to partner with groups here that can share the learning and development and focus primarily on education related issues in GTA and First Nations using computer aided learning (CAL) and satellite Internet for remote areas.

I was the founding chair of the Young Professionals of the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce, 18 months after I came to Canada. There was a need for young professionals like me to network and since there was a void, I just jumped in to fill it. what made me do it? a desire to make this place better. Today it is a big bubbling group of young professionals with tons of events every year.

Our Music festival desiFEST, the largest of its kind in North America has helped us create ideas, that lead to the formation of UMA foundation, where our mission is to empower youth through music and we plan to start soon with projects in Scarborough, Jane/Finch and gradually move to other parts of Canada. Music has the power to unite minds and engage people in a way that sometimes brick walled classrooms fail.

People always ask how do I find the time do all these, my work, music festival in 3 cities, children's program, politics and what not.. and I look at say, I have never felt tired doing any of these, physically or mentally, in fact it is inspiring and makes me stronger.

Politics should be a passion, a driving force that you want to use to bring positive change towards humanity. It has to be the feeling, the urge, the desire to make an impact in the lives of millions of people, that rises from the bottom of your gut.  That's what drives me towards politics and I can bet you, that what got Glen Pearson.

I find it equally frustrating that it is very difficult to be principled and speak up against issues and still want to be a politician. I have been advised recently, that I can either be a politician or an activist, not both. Democracy was built to facilitate free speech, but in some way to be successful in a democratic process, one needs to mince words and accept the realm of political reality.

To me it is a constant struggle, battling between your principles, your vision, your hunger to bring change Vs political reality. A reality that I have come to believe in ,but when I see people like Barack Obama and Glen Pearson, it gives me the glitter of hope that Idealism is not necessarily a bad thing in politics with your ability to accept it in the form it can be used in real life politics.

Here is a note Glen Pearson wrote , that I want to share with you.

The Parliamentary Struggle

"I am still new enough to Parliament that I view it through something of a detached lens. I watch the bitter partisanship that so often substitutes for political discourse and I feel the same sense of revulsion expressed by voters.

There has clearly been an alteration of tone and civility in this most hallowed of political chambers in Canada. All parties must share the responsibility and much of the blame. Something is slipping and it’s becoming obvious. Seasoned politicians and journalists have claimed that it wasn’t always this way; it has been primarily the last two years in which decorum in the House has sunk to significant lows. A certain moral and intellectual strength is ebbing away. The field of once blooming ideas has withered and Canada is slowly losing its way, its national will, and that deep and abiding sense of purpose that once brought this nation together and held it in place despite our numerous differences.

It’s probably easy for anyone reading these lines to understand that I’m something of an idealist. But I am an idealist without illusions. Great issues are debated in Parliament and partisanship actually does work for the greater good – but only when points of view are held in respect. We can’t always agree, but we can choose to respect the other views, realizing they come from genuine public servants attempting to represent the hard-won convictions of their own respective communities. In my short time here I have witnessed many politicians from all stripes attempting to honorably live out their sense of purpose.

It is when things turn mean or personal that our sense of a higher, more noble calling suddenly takes a nosedive. The public good must regularly trump rank partisanship, lest the political system itself become little else but words and reasoning always falling on deaf ears."

Riya Mulpur- our darling

work, politics, music festival, business, charitable work, community, family, ..oh yes friends..life is busy..I wonder at times, why? How would life be if we went to work 9-5 and..nothing else.. I guess I would have a heart attack!

Among all the hustle and bustle, today was an exciting day. A cute darling among our friends, Riya Mulpur, the first baby in my close friends circle in Canada. We were all singe, then we got married and now the first to move to the next level of family. So exciting... I don't know, I am  not an emotional person, but sometimes, even the ice in Antarctica melts in winter...I am happy today, because I feel human and not a machine...

After all there is more to life than work, politics, music festival, business, charitable work, community... there is family and friends.. and Riya..there is a lot more to life than our ambitions, careers, big houses and fast cars......and for now just Riya..

Harper Ethnic strategy in B.C. will fail

The Tories are back to mischief again. They are trying their new found Mantra of reaching out to  ethnic communities because that is what they are lacking to win a majority. Ethnic outreach from Conservatives is not something new, we have heard about it earlier too

The good news is that finally the Conservatives are starting to treat visible minorities with respect, the bad news is that they are just seeing us as a instrument of vote to get them a majority.

Lets look into the facts. The conservatives are targeting the Chinese, Jewish and Hindu's among the top ethnic groups along with Koreans, Filipino and some other communities except Sikhs and Muslims. The rationale is that Sikhs and Muslims tend to go left (NDP) from the Liberals and they are targeting communities that they think will go right(Tory) to them, but they are wrong. There are Sikh and Muslim MP's in the Conservative party and all communities, like mainstream support parties based on their platform and commitment, not as a bloc. 

The Conservative approach towards Chinese and Hindu's have similar patterns. Appointments, family values,attending community events, criticizing the Liberals for lack of support to these Communities, but they have never done anything credible at the grass root level to win the support of the voters. Sure, some people will tend to go Conservatives because of various reasons including not being happy with the Liberals, but then that is a small percentage that can be seen irrespective of the Conservative ethnic strategy. At the same time, there are people who voted Conservative last time, who say they will vote for the Liberals next time.

By large, polling numbers and in conversation with people in the Chinese, Jewish and Hindu grassroots, people are not flattered with Harper that will make them vote for the Tories.

In fact more and more people are realizing that the Conservatives are all about talking and media time, but are not doing anything for the people. The Conservatives lack understanding of ethnic communities. They think community leaders will be gateway to the community, but don't realize that their own people end up being the gatekeepers.

It ain't happening Jason, not with the current strategy.

Hope Vs. Despair

A small ray of hope in this troubled region and an  act of desperation
Former Tamil Tiger rebels have taken a step towards participating the democratic process, a positive step towards peace through a political, democratic resolution, an action that ANC took many decades ago that paved the path to peace in south Africa. In a country where theInternational community has been plagued with failures after failures, small gestures like these, that might not be perfect, but a definite step towards a demoractic opinion is a ray of hope in the tunnel of darkness.

In Spain ETA rebels killed a former politician to express their desperation. They will have to learn that violence will not pave the path to peace or their goal for a separate state. Peaceful protests and articulation of their issues will get better international attention to their cause than violent assaults and assasinations that will only further isolate them.

Santa Harper dolling out money in Tory ridings

If you thought the Cadman story was not true, maybe this will throw some light on Conservative activities.

"The Harper government has been channelling a disproportionate amount of economic development money in Quebec into Conservative-held ridings, a Canwest News Service analysis has found.

On average, each Conservative seat received $10.8 million in economic development money. That is more than one and a half times the average of $6.6 million that Bloc Quebecois ridings have received, and more than three times the $3.2-million average for Liberal ridings."

Tory ridings in Quebec getting more handouts screams Canwest. Day after day, Canadians are tired of hearing about the hypocrisy of the Conservative government. The conservatives attacked the Liberals for the Ad scam in Quebec but are getting involved in a bigger favourism scandal by discrminating against Canadians who did not vote for them in Quebec.

But then, what do you expect from the Consevatives..

Life and death, natures way

In the online version of  The Star, the story of the birth of this incredible child was next to the sad story of the death of this man

I read one after the other and makes me wonder if there is a force above us...something divine that makes the decisions of life and death.

Tax free savings account for those who have no savings!

Congrats Harper! This is the best I have ever seen. A Tax free savings account for those who have no savings.  The economy is crumbling, people are losing jobs, the cost of flour has gone up by 40%, gas price is soaring and people are using every penny from their savings to live life.

Harper says put money into a tax free savings account(ofcourse if you have money!) Good job Prime minister, maybe you should  help us with some savings to put some money into the account!

Why is Omar Khadr quiet? Does he support Canada or Al Qaida?

Some people are fighting for Omar Khadr including MP's from many parties, but why is Omar Khadr quiet? Has he reformed, given up terrorism and hatred towards us.

Let us not forget.Omar Khadr did not steal candy and go to jail. He is a terrorist. Let me repeat that again- He is a terrorist. period. What was a 15 year old kid doing in the middle of battle field in a bunker that was involved in active combat. No matter what you say he was involved in active combat to kill our soldiers and why are Canadians Parliamentarians standing up for a Terrorist. He is not accused of stealing candy, but for terrorism and killing NATO troops.

Did Canada send him to Afghanistan? Did he go there to fight for Canada? For the love of God, he went there to kill our soldiers. He is alleged to have thrown a grenade and fired at NATO troops with the intention to kill them.

Yes, the terrorist was 15 years old at that time. Maybe he was forced into it. Fair enough argument, but WHY IS OMAR KHADR, 21 YEARS OF AGE NOW QUIET?

-Has he accepted his mistakes and given up Violence?
- Is he going to go and join Al-Qaida after he is released?
- Does he see Canada as a Oppressive regime in Afghanistan?
- will he target Canadians in Canada if released and let into Canada?

Is he willing to campaign against terrorism and Alqaida?

We don't have any answers to these, but some MP's are pushing to bring him back. For what? so that he can go back and join his terrorist friends in Afghanistan?

If Omar Khadr comes out and says that he did not understand the implications of his actions and that he has changed, then sure Canadians should campaign for his release, but why is there some much of hue and cry when Omar Khadr has been quiet and has not said if he sees
Stephen Harper, PM of Canada as his leader or Osam Bin Laden as his leader. Maybe the MP's pushing for his release should clarify these questions from him before we ask for the Terrorist to be sent back home.

My tax money is better invested in helping a 15 year old going to school hungry in Toronto, than a 15 year old terrorist going to terrorist school in Afghanistan.

Dion announces $50 million for Canada South Asian Foundation

For the first time in many years, I have seen a serious non political, policy on India-Canada that focusses on promoting bilateral trade. The conservatives have been making a lot of noise, reaching out to ethnic communities , but have never done anything credible to promote the economy of South Asian Canadians or Canadian wanting to support our ecconomy by doing business with South Asia.

We met Dion at a meeting that we hosted for him with Indo-Canadian business leaders under Canada India Foundation last year. we discussed several issues that will help promote bilateral trade including a foundation like the Asia Pacific Foundation. The Leader listened to the group and has acted on it after carefully evaluating the benefit to Candian businesses.

The Conservatives has been talking about reaching out to ethnic communities for vote bank gain, but realistically have not done anything credible to win their support, no wonder the the polls are still in favour of the Liberals in Ontario.

Liberals Commit $50 Million to Create Foundation to Strengthen Ties with South Asia

TORONTO - A Liberal government will allocate $50 million for the creation of the South Asian Foundation of Canada to harness the growth potential of the booming South Asian economy, Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion said today.

"I am pleased to announce a Liberal government will create a foundation to promote dialogue and knowledge exchange between Canada and South Asian countries on a wide range of economic, security, political, environmental and social issues," Mr. Dion told the Canada India Business Council in Toronto.

"The South Asian Foundation of Canada will help forge and strengthen links between policy, business, and research communities that work on relations between Canada and the growing economies of South Asia, and will in turn endeavor to tie this better coordinated group to people working on the ground in those countries."

The South Asian Foundation of Canada will be modeled after the hugely successful Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada, which has been conducting strategic research on Canada's economic, political, and social relations with the Asia Pacific region since its creation in 1984.

Mr. Dion explained that the foundation will be instrumental in ensuring the continued growth our Canada's export industries, currently hard hit by high fuel prices and a sagging US economy.

"One in four jobs is linked to the export market and right now, our largest trading partner is facing a recession. If Canada, as a major trading nation, wishes to remain competitive in the global marketplace we must continue to seek out new markets for our goods and services," he said.

Mr. Dion expressed his pride in the Liberal Party's long and vibrant relationship with the South Asian community in Canada, and reaffirmed his commitment to building on this relationship as Prime Minister.

"Canada is in an enviable position to build upon our strong, long-lasting relationships with the countries of South Asia. We have large, vibrant communities that have maintained close family ties with South Asian countries like India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. We have a dedicated, knowledgeable business community ready to capitalize on the wealth of opportunities these booming economies present.

"And in time, we will once again have a Liberal government that will make South Asia a priority; will take real steps to expand trade; and will reach out to our friends on the other side of the globe to bring our countries closer together."

Obama or Clinton, find out here

Many of you are charmed with Obama and Clinton, but don't know who to support. So check out Votechooser.com , answer the questions and find out who suits your style. I got 8/10 for Obama, not surprising for me. Go Obama!

Politics of war, reflects in media reporting.

20 people including 11 children have been killed in Sri Lanka and here are three media groups reporting it.

Tamil net - A pro Tigers news site
Tamil net has access to the Tigers and gives the most detailed information, especially when the suspicion is on the Government troops. You can see images, names of the victims and detailed updates. Validity of the reports can never be confirmed from neutral sources. Look at how elaborate the story is.

BBC- A neutral website
BBC makes an attempt to cover news with factual reports with its own source and other sources.

GOSL Government of Sri Lanka-
There is no news of this incident or other events where tamil civilians were killed! Wonder why they are trying to hide the story. Imagine a government that censures its own media page and does not report civilians deaths by its own air force or army.
update: the news has finally arrived, ofcourse denying their hand in the blast

Manley's full report Afghanistan, read it here

For all those foreign policy nerds,who don't like the bits and pieces like me and need the whole pie go here to read it all. I have told wifey that I am moving to the dog house to indulge in a good decent policy dabbing that I haven't had in a while (anyways that was coming soon !) A few of my friends working on counter terrorism have invited me to a debate on it later next week. Lets see what the Yankees have to say on it. Anyone in Canada want to discuss this over Coffee, let me know.

For the short version and news articles  visit here

At a later time, I will post a analysis report on it.

Helena Guergis should step down and be investigated.

This is a serious breach of security of national leaders. Minister Helena Guergis should not only be fired, but also refered to RCMP for violating national safety protocols and compromising the security of the leader and deputy leader of the official opposition.

"In publicly revealing in advance the itinerary of the delegation which included Deputy leader Michael Ignatieff and myself, Ms. Guergis violated the news blackout put in place for our protection, jeopardizing the security of the Afghan and Canadian military and civilian officials who welcomed and accompanied us during our trip," Dion said Thursday in a letter to Harper."

"Journalists were, for instance, forbidden from publicizing in advance details of Harper's March 2006 trip to the PRT for security reasons.

Rather than risk the road, Harper and his entourage travelled between the air base and the PRT in a small armada of U.S. helicopter gun ships.

Harper was taken in a heavily armed Black Hawk attack helicopter, one of two assigned to his journey while a twin-rotor CH-47 transport, or Chinook, with machine gunners positioned out its open hatches, ferried the remainder of the prime minister's staff and media travelling with him. "

When this is the kind of security that is provided to Harper, why would the Jr. Foreign affairs minister do an exact opposite with the Leader of the Opposition. Was this done intentionally or without the lack of the protocol? If she did not know the protocol, then she doesn't deserve to be in that position and if she did it knowing the exisitence of the protocol, then Harper should ask her to step aside and an investigation should proceed to find her motive behind it.

Why did Harper take 8 months for this?

"When Foreign Affairs Minister Maxime Bernier meets his Indian counterpart in New Delhi today, he is expected to raise the issue of a Canadian citizen who has been jailed in India for eight months.

Montrealer Saul Itzhayek was imprisoned last spring after authorities said he tried to cross the border into India from Nepal without a visa. In October, he was given a three-year prison sentence, sparking an outcry not only from his relatives in Canada, but also from Canadian MPs."

Why did the Conservatives take 8 months to act on this

There are thousands of people languishing in Indian jails lost for ever and we can't let a Canadian become statistics. India is notorious for corruption and bribes, but has a stable judicial and civil system that makes it easy to appeal and get things done properly.

What should have been a straight forward appeal process by the Government's representative in New Delhi has taken more than 8 months forcing an innocent Canadian to suffer in India. This would not have happened if he was an American or British. India is biased in its approach towards Canada, for its lack of effort in curtailing sikh terrorist activities and lack lustre show on the Air India bombing.  India continues to believe that Canada is a hot bed of Khalistan activities that has been shown by major Canadian media and hence slow when it comes to dealing with Canadian issues.

India should focus on keeping away terrorists, poachers, drug dealers  from its borders, not punish innocent business travellers. Innocent citizens should not be made puppets in the politics of powerful countries and their internal politics.

India should have done the honorable thing and released Mr.Itzhayek on goodwill, but the Conservatives have also failed to defend its countrymen. the question is we knew about it because the media reported it. Now how many innocent Canadians are languishing in foreign jails (not including the terror supporters) ?

Opps! think before that zipper goes down!

Having sex after false promise of marriage is rape according to a court in India.

"Establishing sexual relationship with a woman on a false promise of marriage amounts to rape, a court here has held while sentencing a man to seven years in jail for sexually exploiting her neighbour."

So, my desi friends if you are going to India looking for a bride, think twice before the zipper goes down. It ain't worth seven years in jail, that too Indian jail!

Will the Tigers follow the IRA way in 2008?

The Tamil Tigers have been one of the most sophisticated armed rebel group in the world. Will they get smart this time to bring peace in Sri Lanka?

Too little,too late. With the Tigers at the receiving end, the government is not going to buckle down, unless the Tigers can offer something credible that will entice the International community to intervene. Post 9/11 the Tigers agreed to a cease fire and accepted a political resolution like  1987 Indo-Lanka peace accord. That CFA did not last long as both the groups violated the CFA terms almost every day. The Tigers have lost the east to the Troops with the split of Karuna faction and have been facing severe casualities from the Sri Lankan Air Force.

Sri Lanka is slowly but steadily moving towards a chaotic blood shed. The current government of Rajapaksa was voted to power by the Sinhalese majority on their platform to resolve the Sri Lankan crisis militarily by defeating the Tigers. The people have given them a free hand to go to war , but that has translated into thousands of innocents killed and millions displaced, which the government calls collateral.

Tigers should agree to a zero violence, unconditional agreement to get back to the peace process, an agreement to discuss all possible solutions including a federal system that will give enough teeth to the International community to pressurize the government.

Right now there are only two countries that have any say in Sri Lanka. Well technically three. Japan, India and ofcouse big nose US. The congress(I) lead minority government will feel the heat form their coalition partners if the Sri Lankan Government continues on its assault, if such an offer was made.

We can expect a massive strike from the troops after Feb 4th National day celebrations. They will not want any major casualties before that. The Tigers are wounded in both their military and International front. Recently several of their key weapons and fundraising agents in the western world have been arrested and they have taken severe pounding from the air force and ground troops in the North.

Overall in the recent past,the Tigers have risen in power that is proving to be a threat to India and US, two countries that have in the past agreed in principle to not provide military aid to Sri Lanka, but now have been doing so covertly or to protect their 'business interests'. China and Pakistan are two of Sri Lanka's biggest weapons suppliers.

India has put several of its air bases on alert watch after the Tigers launched their novice air force. The Tigers are only 30-45 minutes away from Kalpakkam in Tamil Nadu, the most important Nuclear weapons reactor in India. Ever since India's star PM Rajiv Gandhi was killed by a Tigers suicide bomber, India has been cautious in its approach with the Sri Lankan crisis and has a separate special wing under its intelligence department RAW to monitor the movement of the Tigers.

There are several historical and current reasons on why India has been concerned with Sri Lanka. In short, there are over 60 million Tamils living in India, US wanted to set up a military base in Sri Lanka during the cold war time, India trained and supported the Tigers and India's growing might as the regional super power and booming economy.

India will not support an independent Tamil Eellam as demanded by the Tigers, as it could lead to an separatist movement in TamilNadu in India, the fastest growing and most prosperous state in India in the new era. India, also has interests in oil exploration in sri Lanka and a new sea route that can save several days and billions in shipping cost. India would like to see a Federal system or have the Tigers defeated(which they know is not possible) but not a separate country to protect its own interest. India has recently provided to Sri Lanka radars to detect low flying air crafts to destroy the Tigers Air force.

US has special interest in Tigers issue now. It is not related to Sri Lanka, but to its own problems. The Tigers are considered the most modern and sophisticated armed militant group in the world. Recent analysis of Islamic terrorists have shown that they have been trying to replicate the Tigers methods. The attack on USS cole, Suicide bombings, IEDs, flank attacks in Afghanistan, World trade centre, Chechen attacks and many others have been copied from the Tigers. some reports say that there is some link between the Tigers and Islamic terrorist and militant groups, while others dispute that claim. My personal thought has been that since all of them procure weapons from the underworld and rogue nations, there might be contacts but no joint working or patronage of each other, in fact the Tigers would want to stay away from the Alqaida bunch in their own interest.

So the US now would like to see the Tigers dismantled or to resolve the crisis in Sri Lanka. US has  provided radars and other support system to Sri Lanka. US also  wants to use Sri Lanka to counter China and India to some extent. It is trying to work with India to use Sri Lanka as a base to counter China, which is using Burma to threaten India from the eastern front.

Among all, Japan has the best influence in Sri Lanka. 60-65% of Sri Lanka's foreign aid comes from Japan and it has a lot to do with Buddhist monks in those two countries. Monks are very powerful and politically influential in both countries.  Over 90% of Sinhalese are Buddhists. Japan has done little to put pressure on Sri Lanka and will continue to remain silent because of its own political interests.

If my calculations are right, 2008 will be the biggest year in the nearly three decade Sri Lankan crisis and we will have to wait and watch how it goes from here. The Tigers might not get another chance. They have to get smart like the IRA and agree to a political settlement. They are at their weakest ebb now and with the noose coming around their neck, they need to act fast before it tightens up.

Vijay