Flashpoints

Ready, Set, Done!

Our ten-minute free-write is back for another round! Tap away on whatever comes to mind, no filters attached. (Feel free to edit later, or just publish as-is).

The world today is threatened by some flashpoints that could trigger skirmishes and could destablise world peace.  Some of these flashpoints are:

 ISIS

This terrorist outfit is growing in strength and today presents a big obstacle to world peace.  ISIS has taken over large chunks of Syria and Iraq and are now holding weapons, armor, and vehicles provided by the United States Army. ISIS is the biggest threat the Middle East has today. They have systematically terrorized civilians with mass murders, sexual violence, kidnappings, and even destruction of places of worship. They aren’t sending any warnings, they aren’t giving an avenue for a way out, it’s either surrender to their will or be killed. (source: Chicago Now)

Israel – Palestine conflict:

The Israel – Palestinian started in the late 19th century and early 20th century. The end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century are marked by the birth of two major nationalist movements among the Jews and among the Arabs both geared towards attaining sovereignty for their people in the Middle East. This conflict came from the intercommunal violence in Palestine between Jews and Arabs from 1920 and erupted into full-scale hostilities in the 1947-48 civil war. The conflict continues to the present day on various levels. (source Wikipaedia)

North Korea vs South Korea

On June 25, 1950, the Korean War began when some 75,000 soldiers from the North Korean People’s Army poured across the 38th parallel, the boundary between the Soviet-backed Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to the north and the pro-Western Republic of Korea to the south. (source: History.com).  Even today, the situation is fragile and there is a danger of conflict.

 Iranian Nuclear Threat

The Iranian governments extreme interpretation of Islamic law inspires the rise of Islamic extremists around the world.  Iran provides a safe haven to many international terrorists and is responsible for delivering weapons to Hezbollah and Palestinians including Al-Quaeda leaders.  The danger is that Iran is now nuclear capable.

India and Pakistan

Forces of the two now-nuclear nations still face each other, and exchange the odd artillery barrage, over ownership of the mountain province of Kashmir: one of the world’s most intractable and violent border disputes. The conflict, dating back to the final days of the British Raj, has erupted into full scale war on three occasions.

South China Sea

The latest flashpoint is the Southt China Sea. The South China Sea is a marginal sea that is part of the Pacific Ocean, encompassing an area from the Singapore and Malacca Straits to the Strait of Taiwan of around 3,500,000 square kilometers.  The dispute involves both island and maritime claims among seven sovereign states within the region, namely Brunei, China, Taiwan, Malaysia, the Phillipines, and Vietnam. There are disputes concerning both the Spratly and the Paracel islands, as well as maritime boundaries in the Gulf of Tonkin and elsewhere. There is a further dispute in the waters near the Indonesian Natuna islands. The interests of different nations include acquiring fishing areas around the two archipelagos; the potential exploitation of suspected crude oil and natural gas under the waters of various parts of the South China Sea; and the strategic control of important shipping lanes.

(P.S. that took more than 10 minutes of my time!!)

Other interesting posts in this category:
1) http://oh3za.com/2014/11/13/ready-set-done-6/
2) http://monicleblog.wordpress.com/2014/11/13/ready-set-rant/
3) http://www.krysonskreations.com/2014/11/13/ten-minutes-unedited/
4) http://linusfernandes.com/2014/11/14/ten-minutes-to-paradise/
5) http://conqueringanthropophobia.wordpress.com/2014/11/13/10-things-i-can-do-in-ten-minutes/

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2012 – A flashback

Many events have shaped the year gone by.  The world witnessed the London Olympics, Spain winning  the Euro Cup, Felix Baumgartner’s supersonic skyfall, the US Presidential election, catastrophes like floods in Manila and hurricane Sandy in the US.

The Arab Spring and the Israel-Gaza conflict continued to dominate the Middle-eastern news.  In Asia, the East and South China Sea dispute has drawn a lot of countries into the conflict and it triggered a spat between Japan and China which could hurt economic ties in future.

In entertainment, Gangnam style a video featuring Psy the K-pop star from Korea garnered more than a billion views on Youtube. The world lost people like Whitney Houston, Neil Armstrong, Ravi Shankar, Gore Vidal, Stephen Covey etc.  Indian celebrities like Rajesh Khanna, Yash Chopra, I.K. Gujral ex-PM, A.K. Hangal, Verghese Kurien, Thilakan , Bal Thackeray and Jaspal Bhatti also left us.

The year also witnessed the opening up of Myanmar after decades of isolation and the visit by US President Obama to the region.

In India, Pranab Mukherjee was elected 13th President of India,  Narendra Modi wins third consecutive assembly election in  Gujarat and Sachin Tendulkar quits ODI cricket.

You can witness some of these events in the video below:

(courtesy: Google)

Imagine

Is it an utopian dream to imagine a world with no strife? — A world without walls, without borders, where there is brotherhood, sharing and living as a community?.

Is it possible to let go of our ego? Is there a world where one does not belittle another? — Where our colour, country, language, religion do not divide us.? A world where we do not want to clone everyone into stereotypes but rather celebrate our uniqueness, imperfections and variety?

Is there a world where hunger and poverty do not kill thousands everyday? — Where the greed of the rich who are never satisfied leaves the poor to starve for a morsel everyday?.

Is there a world where there is no greed – people in a mad rush for possessions, money and fame?

Tagore once dreamed that our country wakes up to such a world not divided by narrow domestic walls of hatred (Where the mind is without fear).

Just listened to “Imagine” by John Lennon and the lyrics of this song and the melody just moved me!!

Dreamworld

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The whole world folds  up in me
As I close my eyes at night
No objects, no thoughts, no space
Sleep brings me close to myself

I lie down lifeless
Yet life flows through me
And then my subconscious
Takes over me

I go on a voyage
Creating objects, thoughts, space
Conjuring up a dream world
As I go on a ride of fantasy

The alarm bell rings
And I wake up
Objects, thoughts and space
The whole world unfolds again

© copyright skm, 29th July, 2011