usha manohar wrote:
SHANA MARIA VERGHIS wrote:
rambabu wrote:
As I said earlier, I witnessed the mind boggling spectacle. Everything related with India and it's culture was displayed in a heart rending way. It's not all, the delegates, who represented other countries like Thailand, too displayed, their Cultural activities. On the whole, I enjoyed every bit of the event.
While the display is pretty cool, I have to say I'm very relieved that there is going to be a scaling down in the forces to make it more compact. All that show of military might seems like ancient tribes posturing (like the Maori warcry they use during rugby games), while inside they're each scared of the other side.
With drones etc, hopefully the human loss will be diminished (although its so detached you can't see when innocents are getting killed) and eventually got rid off, except by the pugilistic ones among us. Who don't know how else to channel their energy. It's easy to get all nationalistic about guarding borders when its someone else's brother or father who is getting killed. I've briefly edited a journal for the Black Cat Commandos and learnt there is a high rate of suicide in the army from depression.
On the other hand, like with space technology being used in everyday life, there is probablly a lot of fantastic technology being developed for military purposes that might have uses for the good of society.
The wars in the Middle East ought to tell us the hard reality is that battles are grim, sordid creatures. Syria has lots so much of its valuable history in the last year. Its quite heartbreaking.Now they'll have to rebuild again. Think of the energy wasted.
The flip side is that war is also very dynamic and sets processes in motion. With all the migrants moving to Europe and other places, the world will be forced to be more multicultural whether one likes it or not. Unless you want to waste each day fighting with your ethnically different neighbours.
And I suppose one has to reluctantly concede that given the current reality we ought to thankful the systems are in place like the existing Forces, so we're not occupied like Crimea, because some kooky general in a nearby country got up on the wrong side of the bed!
A couple of relevant points that I liked - War in its own way changes the face and structure of society because of the shifting of population and inter mingling. But is it all that simple ?
We see how the ISIS menace is destabilising the European countries and their economies by sending out large numbers of refugees also sending a few of their terrorists posing as refugees and one ca imagine how dangerous that would be !
Shana replies:
I guess I should give this more time before I give a better response. But for now, first of all I see your last point. However this is just a perspective that I might rethink later, because one is always changing ones mind when new info comes in.
I also think its easy to fall into the paranoia trap. If you imagine there are terrorists infesting every corner of the earth, and when I say, you, I don't mean YOU in particular, then I wish you all the best with your reality. The truth is in all last year, I believe the stats for terrorist attacks worldwide or something was 6000+. when the experts studied (this was on a CNN show so I don't have figures on me) the calamities and bad stuff that faced humans in 2015. Actual terrorist attacks could probably be counted on both your fingers and toes in terms of percentage. And for those who have fantasies of evil Muslim terrorists, the truth is that most of those attacks were by Muslims (or Islamic sympathisers, if that is a term) against Muslims. Not that is reassuring or anything. No one should have to die.
Its the paranoia that's spread by the threat of terrorism, that is the most effective weapon. It creates panic and kickstarts the fight or flight mechanism. Or so I've understood it, probably simplistically. But that's how I absorb information. There have been reports of terrorists disguised as refugees. But its a huge mass migration. YOu'll probably have lots of other types like smugglers, drugbarons, escaped convicts....
That's why the guys with the figures have said, "Keep a cool head." When everyone is running ahead there is usually someone who suddenly stops to asks, "Hang on, Now why am I actually running?" Yes, war is going on, yes its infiltrated our backyard, which was inevitable in an increasingly interconnected world. But organisations like the CIA etc and all the way back to Chanakya's time and probably earlier, there have been spynetworks functioning right under our noses. But its not part of our reality, so we don't register them. And we probably don't need to unless that's our livelihood.
The point I'm making is that there will terrorists, there will be counter-terrorists. Its not a new thing. There's usually a weird, balance, if you like. Good guys, bad guys. Although good guy and bad guy is purely a matter of which side you are on.
Its just that there's more information out there so we are more aware. Of course its not a good thing, but if what you fear at the bottom of it is your own death. Then you're not going to escape that anyway. But you've as much chance of slipping in your bathroom and dying as being caught in terrorist attack. When you have gotta go, you've gotta go.
If you notice, ISIS usually operates with single people, or small groups. I don't know their inside workings because I have not followed it closely, but I think they are effective like Al Quaeda because of their sleeper cells and wealthy sponsors. But during war, manpower and infrastructure is often exaggerated to cow down the opposition. ISIS is not God. Neither was Al-Qaeda. And the world moved on quite smoothly after Osama bin Laden. With the power vacuum, a new entity emerged.
We already know that ISIS effectively use technology for propoganda and recruitment of gullible, disenfranchised young men and women. I think the last report was of one demonseed who beheaded his mother for being a nonbeliever. Several recruited their younger brothers and made them become suicide bombers. While there are other youngsters who have joined either as mercenaries, with no specific agenda of their own, against ISIS. And yet others who have gone specifically to destroy ISIS or ISIL or Daesh (they hate being called ISIS we are told).
I guess there are lots of different coming of age stories in all that confusion. And different people's passage into adulthood.
I also think its like Be a Thief to Catch a Thief or whatever. They use technology and spynetworks. And its technology and spy networks (the human network) that are abeing used to track them down. So the avenues are the same, but the objective is different in each case. Anyway, I am not a final authority on the subject. I'm sure someone with even far better insider information would be a better source and more interesting dope. This is only a personal analysis. And I could be quite off the mark.
