Muslims killing Muslims - the world will never be the same

Posted by Shyam Moondra


How did an ideological conflict between the Muslims and “Infidels” or “Satan” evolve into Muslims killing Muslims? The geopolitical landscape in the Middle-East has changed forever devastating the lives of millions of Muslims, especially in Syria and Iraq.

Who would have thought that western educated Syrian President Bashar-al Assad, holed up in his luxurious presidential palace, would find it acceptable to kill his own people, including women and children, and see his country being turned into rubble, building by building, so he could remain the president of what little remains of his country? His Oxford education sure went down the toilet because he behaves like medieval barbarian and not like an educated man. Thousands of people being gassed and being forced to flee violence any way possible, even in overloaded flimsy boats at the risk of being drowned, and ending up in a foreign land only to be kicked by locals who hate Muslims or put in a cage like animals. Even if we accept the premise that in some countries there is intense dislike for the Muslims for whatever reasons, it’s hard to imagine what kind of a man or woman would find it alright to kick and trip hungry and panicked children running for their lives. It’s as if these “civilized” people lost their minds and transformed themselves into monsters who would treat helpless people with an utter lack of humanity. One could never forget the haunting image of a three-year old Kurdish Syrian boy lying lifeless on a Turkish beach; he and his mother and brother were trying to escape Syria in a boat that flipped over and they all perished. Their dream was to go to Canada and start a new life – but their fate betrayed them and their dream got lost forever. The images of refugee migrants with sad stricken faces packed in trains, or walking along the train tracks holding their children in their arms, or held in cages like animals look eerily similar to what happened to the Jews in Nazi Germany.

Why is it important for Iran to be a regional power with control over sovereign neighbors or Russia to have “sphere of influence” and a right to invade tiny neighbors at will if they ever tried to get loose from Russia's sphere or China to have control over the entire South China Sea, hundreds of miles away from their internationally recognized borders? Is the twenty-first century turning into a century of control freaks? Why don’t these power-conscious countries use their enormous power and resources to help their smaller neighbors prosper and live in peace rather than try to control them and bring nothing but destruction? If Iran wants to win over Iraq, Yemen, and Lebanon, or if Russia wants to win over Ukraine and Georgia, or if China wants to win over the Philippines and Vietnam, why not win over by becoming friends rather than try to control them by coercion and use of military force.

Al Qaeda and ISIS (a former Al Qaeda branch in Iraq) are fighting among themselves, killing their own people, raping women in a twisted interpretation of the Koran, and declaring victories over the graveyard of the massacred innocent people. They are even destroying rare archaeological monuments that one would have thought that they would actually work hard to preserve for future generations. They are destroying cities and villages left and right, uprooting common helpless people from their homes, and forcing them to run into an uncertain future. Why are these devout Muslims causing so much pain and hardship to other Muslims? Where does it say in the Koran that it’s alright to cut throats of innocent people or burn their bodies and broadcast these evil deeds on social media for the whole world to see – what kind of satisfaction do these people get from extreme cruelty? It would be nice if  these insane “religious” leaders stop for a minute and think what positive would come out of their rage, how would they live with all of the destruction they are causing, and how are they going to rebuild when (and if) it’s all over?

Amidst the anguish of what we see on TV, day in and day out, there are some bright spots – it’s commendable that many western countries are coming forward to give these homeless and countryless Muslims shelter and a chance to rebuild their shattered lives, despite the fact that the people who recently murdered innocent people on the streets of Paris were Muslims. Where are those self-proclaimed great powers, Russia, China, and Iran? How come they are not offering to accept these frightened innocent people in their countries and give them asylum like the Western countries are doing? You don’t become a great power just by displaying your military might in parades; you become great by exercising moral authority and by empowering humanity. Germany, France, the U.K., Australia, Canada, and the U.S. must be commended for announcing to accept tens of thousands of these migrant refugees.

So how does this nightmare end? Would ISIS and Al Qaeda leaders or self-possessed leaders like Assad ever come to their senses and realize that they are on a path of total destruction and nothing good will come out of this? Probably not. The only recourse is that the rest of the world come together militarily and financially to defeat the misguided wrongdoers who have caused so much destruction and pain and suffering to the people of their own faith. The United Nations must develop a global military and humanitarian approach to defeat this menace and bring peace to the Middle-East region. Standing on the sidelines or looking for a geopolitical advantage is not an option for the major powers. The West, Russia, China, and all Muslim countries must find an effective way to defeat Islamic extremism and save the world from abyss.

Let the show begin – Trumpmenia is in, political correctness is out

Posted by Shyam Moondra


The 2016 presidential race has begun and the Trump brand of politics is surprisingly resonating with the people who are fed up with the “Do Nothing” Congress. There is a clear consensus that the politicians in Washington, DC have lost their way and they are not only not solving any problems but they are making the lives of people harder than ought to be, and under their leadership the country is rapidly sliding into chaos with slow-growth economy, high unemployment, stagnated incomes, loss of America’s prestige in the world, and increasing extremism within the society. It was not a “huge” job for billionaire Donald Trump, a graduate of ivy-league school, to tap into this utter disillusionment among the voters and deliver his inspiring message in politically incorrect way with a catchy slogan “Make America Great Again.” Traditional politicians armed with hundreds of millions of campaign dollars raised via super-PACs, don’t quite know how to counter Trumpmenia. The voters are mesmerized by Trump’s blunt talk against the “stupid” government and they seem to believe that he is the only one in the pack who could actually solve the people’s problems and restore America’s greatness again. The voters also believe that Trump, who is using his own fortune to run for the presidency, is not controlled by lobbyists as every other candidate is; hence, they conclude that Trump will do what is in the best interest of the country rather than what’s best for raising campaign funds and getting re-elected.

Below is a snapshot of where we stand in the evolving presidential race which has all the trademarks of a Shakespearean comedy-cum-drama (mostly because of Trump’s speaking his mind in uninhibited way, using words that other politicians wouldn’t dare to utter in public):

·         The gap between the rich and the poor is at its worst in recent history. In the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, the ultra-easy monetary policies pursued by the U.S. Federal Reserve Board and the ECB in EU have benefited the rich the most, thereby worsening income inequality. This has led to a wave of socialistic sentiment spreading throughout the world, especially in the U.S. and EU. With the rich becoming richer and the middle-class hit very hard, the support for right-wing conservatism (that espouses trickle-down economics) has steadily declined in the U.S. This trend will be a key factor in the upcoming presidential elections in the U.S. as well as national elections in the U.K.  The recent polls show that candidates who consider themselves as conservatives are lagging while pragmatists and socialists (e.g., Donald Trump and Sen. Bernie Sanders) are doing relatively better. In the U.K. the Labor Party is well situated to prevail over the Conservative Party.
 

·         With the approval rating of the Congress stuck in low 10’s for many years, mostly because of the gridlock in Washington, DC and lackluster leadership by the Congressional leaders, the time seems ripe for tossing the political system upside down. The people are disgusted and they are shouting that they will not take it anymore. They want to throw the “Do Nothing” Congress under the bus and start all over. The people believe that the members of Congress are not earning their paychecks and perks. These "stupid" people, as Trump likes to call them, know that their approval rating is very low and yet they just don't care and they continue to stick to their chairs. Most honorable people would rather say that if people disapprove of their performance, then they should just leave. But no, they found the best career there is where they are paid handsomely and they have the lucrative benefits, and they don't even have to be in office to do absolutely nothing. The people wouldn't hesitate to elect Trump and let him loose and straighten out Washington DC - Trump could chase these no-good people out of the Capitol or make them earn their paychecks. President Trump would not hesitate to shame these Senators and Congressmen in colorful language and work to terminate their medical benefits (they can buy their own on Government Exchanges), drop pensions (like many private-sector companies are doing), and make them fill out time sheets and pay for hours they actually do work (after all, paychecks of the members of Congress are handled by the U.S. Treasury department).
 

·         President Barack Obama’s aloofness and unimaginative governing style have unnecessarily prolonged the economic recovery period in the post-financial crisis of 2008. Obama’s lack of popularity at home and his cautious approach to world events (commonly referred to as “leading from behind”), has led to a decline in America’s prestige and it has created a sort of vacuum which has led to unprecedented instability in the Middle East caused by the rise of ISIS, Russian annexation of Crimea, and China’s aggressive policies in the South China Sea. Today, the world peace and security are in a more dangerous space than they were before Obama took office in 2009. The voters are tired of the capital’s destructive political culture and they have a strong dislike for the establishment candidates in both parties, Gov. Jeb Bush (Republican) and Secretary Hillary Clinton (Democrat). The voters’ calculation is that it will take an outsider, such as Trump, to change the status quo which explains why candidates who have never held a political office before are doing much better so far than the big name candidates that are supported by the established party infrastructure (fund raisers and political advisors).

 

Below is a look at the major candidates:

Hillary Clinton (Democrat): 

In recent polls, a majority of people have said that Hillary Clinton is a liar, conniving, dishonest, and untrustworthy. As the Secretary of State, Clinton used a private e-mail server located in the basement of her house; when this became publicly known, she had half of the e-mails deleted and the server wiped clean (so that the deleted e-mails couldn’t be retrieved) before handing over the server to the FBI under a court order. The people strongly suspect that Clinton has been trying to hide wrongdoings. The speculation is that Clinton may have gotten rid of e-mails that Congressional Republicans were seeking in connection with the killing of American ambassador and other personnel at Benghazi in Libya. Some suspect that those e-mails contained classified information which would be considered illegal. There is also speculation that those e-mails may have contained evidence of a clever influence peddling scheme: Clinton, as the Secretary of State, would use her influence to help foreign governments or companies, and, in return, these governments and companies would invite her husband Bill or her daughter Chelsea for paid speeches (paying as much as $700,000 per speech) and make generous donations to Clinton Foundation. The New York Times reported that Clinton intervened with IRS to help Swiss bank UBS on the issue of its role in helping Americans evade income taxes and, in return, UBS invited Bill for paid speeches and donated money to Clinton Foundation. This scheme of influence peddling explains how Clintons became so rich so quickly. When they left the White House in 2000, Clinton said that they were “broke” but now they are reportedly worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Also, there have been reports that the Clintons have been using the Foundation money to fly in private jets and stay in five-star hotels, and spend relatively less on charity work when compared with other charities. Even Trump commented that if he had known that the Clintons would be flying in private jets, he would not have donated money to their Foundation. There are some people who think that Clinton’s deleting e-mails and wiping clean the mail server before handing over to the FBI amount to obstruction of justice and she should be prosecuted. It seems like the Watergate scandal all over again! President Richard Nixon tried to withhold evidence, tamper with the evidence, and even destroy evidence - and to the end he kept saying that he did nothing wrong. Every day, there were new revelations and finally investigators found the smoking gun - Nixon resigned and he was immediately pardoned by incoming President Gerald Ford so Nixon wouldn't end up in jail for numerous unlawful activities including obstruction of justice. The FBI is still investigating e-mails and Clinton is expected to appear before Congressional committees that are investigating the Benghazi case. Even though Clinton deleted half of the e-mails, those e-mails could still be out there with those who either sent or received those e-mails. This whole issue of e-mails is creating a big uncertainty about the viability of Clinton’s candidacy and her disapproval rating is steadily going up. The vulnerability of Clinton candidacy is prompting Vice President Joe Biden to consider jumping into the race.

Deleted e-mails are the key to exposing any alleged criminal activities. FBI should follow the money trail - who gave how much money to Bill and Chelsea and to Foundation and also look into how Foundation money was spent. Would Obama appointed Attorney General seriously look into all of this? During Obama’s recent vacation, he was seen playing golf with Bill Clinton – given active e-mail investigations, was that Obama’s signal to FBI to not aggressively pursue Hillary Clinton’s e-mail issues?

In terms of policy, Clinton has put forward a detailed plan to make college education free, funded by tax dollars. However, there is a general belief that Clinton’s proposed $350 billion college education plan is a dumb idea and it will never pass Republican controlled Congress. More government money means a green light to schools to keep increasing the tuition fee. Instead of making more money available, the government should regulate tuition fee and try to control the college cost, which has been increasing at a much higher rate than the overall inflation.

Donald Trump (Republican):

Trump is the only candidate who can call the members of Congress as “stupid” or a female journalist as “bimbo” and the people would cheer him every time he uttered politically-incorrect words. The voters think that Trump is telling the truth and he is someone who wouldn’t hesitate to tell the people what he thinks (e.g., deporting all illegal immigrants including those who were born here off parents who came to the U.S. illegally). If any other candidate talked as bluntly as Trump does, that candidate would have crashed and burned already. Blunt talk has become a trademark of Trump and the voters seem to approve as is evident from the poll numbers that show Trump is way ahead of all other candidates. The crowds at his rallies are bigger than at the rallies of all other candidates combined.

One of the reasons why Trump is winning over the voters is that he has highlighted many issues that are also on the minds of voters. Trump has been traveling around the country in his own plane and helicopter tirelessly and the enthusiastic crowds at each stop are responding positively to his hard work (no other candidate has had that many rallies or held that many press conferences).

On policy matters, Trump has talked about the following issues without offering specific plans:

·         Immigration: Trump plans to build a wall on our southern border with Mexico (paid for by increased visa fee for Mexicans), increase drone surveillance, and border patrols. Our southern border is so porous that many non-Mexicans are crossing it illegally either looking for better life for their families or entering the country to engage in espionage or even terrorism. He plans to deport all illegal immigrants including the children who were born here off illegal immigrants. Trump wants to shut down shelters and discontinue welfare programs for those who came here illegally. These benefits are only inviting even more illegal immigrants. Most people agree with Trump on his plan.
 

·         Trump is angry at Obama, who has been dealing with China with soft gloves and letting China gain at our expense. Trump wants to change the U.S. policy towards China dramatically and bring the manufacturing jobs back to the U.S. He will also deal harshly with the U.S. businesses that are exporting the jobs overseas – he said that he will never eat Oreo cookies made by Nabisco because they moved their plant to Mexico. Again, the American people whole heartedly approve his thinking. Trump has mastered the art of deal-making and many people think that he would negotiate better trade deals than Obama.

·         Trump believes that Obama has proven to be a weak international leader and he has decimated our military. He plans to increase defense spending and make the U.S. military a truly superpower to be feared.
 

·         Trump has made treating the veterans better and fixing the veteran hospital a major issue of his campaign and most Americans agree with that.

·         Trump plans to increase taxes by eliminating the tax loophole granted to rich hedge fund managers who are not paying their fair share of taxes. This position is widely supported by the “Occupy Wall Street” activists.

·         Trump believes that under Obama the government regulations have increased exponentially that are hurting our economy, especially the small businesses. He plans to roll back regulations and make the government smaller but more efficient. This resonates well with the members of the Tea Party.
 

·         Most people agree with Trump that we should fight only those wars that need to be fought and we should just let our military commanders win rather than constrain them with all kinds of political considerations. Many voters also agree that we should not fight wars for other countries without being compensated. If Japan or Saudi Arabia or anyone else wants us to partner with them in fighting terrorism or our common adversaries, we shouldn’t be the only one paying for those efforts.

The voters tend to believe that Trump is a no-nonsense business mogul who would rely on good management and competent managers. He will be tougher with Putin and restore American prestige in the world. Under Trump, economy would fare better. Also, he is loaded with money, so he is not in this for money (his campaign is funded by himself so he will not have lobbyists dictating his policies). Even though many voters feel uncomfortable with Trump’s bombastic style and blunt talk, Americans could take a chance with him - if you want the current grid-locked government to work, somebody has to turn it upside down and Trump is the only man who could do it. Assuming Trump can execute his campaign promises, he could do a much better job in managing economy and military than other candidates, while being open minded and pragmatic about social issues. Trump is not an ideologue and many Americans are where he is and that explains why he is resonating with the voters.

Jeb Bush (Republican):

So far, Bush has been a big disappointment. He is not clear on his positions, he has not explained why he wants to be the president, and he comes across as too laid back and an unlikely person who could change things in Washington DC. Also, most voters are fatigued with the names of Bush and Clinton (combined they have had five presidential and two vice-presidential terms already) and they really want someone else who is an “outsider.” The voters don’t believe Bush or Clinton would be able to change the status quo in Washington, DC.

Bush's performance on the campaign trail and the first debate has been surprisingly weak. In one video, his angry exchange with one of the voters was kind of strange that made him look un-presidential. He has flip-flopped on Iraq war several times and his inability to articulate his positions on other issues clearly is very damaging.


The voters elected a black man twice, so it's very unlikely that they will elect another minority this time (if they did, it would reflect poorly on whites as if they don't have presidential caliber people - it would be like minority Sunnis ruling Iraq and we know how that turned out). So that leaves out Dr. Ben Carson, Sen. Ted Cruz, and Sen. Marco Rubio. Gov. Chris Christie can't win even in his home state, so he is out. Gov. Jim Walker is too anti-blue collar which worked in his home state for local elections, but he has not yet found his grooves on the presidential campaign trail. Sen. Rand Paul is a niche Tea Party candidate which lost its vigor in the last couple of years, so he is out. Gov. John Kasich is too nice and not conservative enough; perhaps a likely vice-presidential candidate. Gov. Huckabee is too evangelical which is a turn off to many voters. Carly Fiorina, while she did alright in the first second-tier debate, her negatives include her tenure at Hewlett-Packard that left tens of thousands of employees without jobs and she was fired by the Hewlett-Packard Board. Also, she ran for an elective office before but she was defeated. So, Fiorina is out. The establishment seems to be pushing Bush (judging from the fact that his campaign has raised over $100 million so far, mostly through PACs), but his performance in the first debate and on the trail has been lackluster and voters are tired of the “Bush” name. Trump is ahead in the polls, but the voters have questions about his temperament and, if elected, can he deliver on his promises.

On the Democratic side, Clinton is leading in the polls but Sen. Bernie Sanders is proving to be remarkably strong. However, the country is unlikely to go along with a third socialist Obama-term, so Sanders has no chance (even if he defeats Clinton in the primaries or he gets the nomination by default because Clinton is forced to withdraw from the race because of the e-mail controversy), he is unlikely to be elected as the president.

The election is more than one year away which, in terms of presidential politics, is like eternity. Undoubtedly, there will be ups and downs and changing polls as we go through the remaining debates, but as of now it looks like it would be a Trump vs Clinton contest. The game has just begun, more chapters in this Shakespearean saga are yet to be written.