Humanity at its Best

There is only one thing that unifies us, the biped homo sapiens. It is our humanity. One that is called into question at every juncture no matter who we are, what color our skin is or what wealth we possess. It is that one constant which defines us as a moral and ethical entity, no matter the circumstance. Through out human history unspeakable violence as well as immeasurable kindness has defined who we are as a species. This unpredictable nature of humanity and the full range of its expression, led to the evolution of a universal moral code that has been enshrined in most religious texts as laws to live by. Do good, love thy neighbor, help the helpless so on and so forth. Those ideas were later transferred for the times into constitutions and other documents to keep humanity in check. But that has not eliminated the unpredictability of human behavior. We still see mindless killing, as we see in Syria, we still see narrow mindedness, bigotry and veiled racism as we see in the unending Republican debates here in the United States, and we see the total disregard for all things beautiful, when Rhino horns are hacked off in South Africa and the animals left to die a painful death. All to feed a demented insatiable Chinese demand for exotic absurdities.

While there is no dearth of examples to reveal humanity's deviant behavior, the moments when we exhibit generosity is when we deliver the message of hope, the cornerstone of our very survival. I recently came across one such story, that exemplifies the idea of human selflessness in the darkest of hours. It is the story of Naoto Matsumara.

When the Tsunami hit Japan last year and left the whole world at a loss for words, the disaster at the Fukushima Daichi nuclear power plant that followed added only salt to injury. Close to 21,000 people perished as a result of the Tsunami and the ensuing radiation leak from the power plant made life even more miserable for many. Everyone in a 20 kilometer radius of the power plant was asked to immediately evacuate. One such town that was asked to empty out was Tomioko, which was about 10km from the plant with a population of 16,000. Everyone heeded the call, but for 53 year old rice farmer Naoto Matsumara. He decided to stay home and care for his frail and sick mother, who was too weak to move. One month later his brothers arrived in Hazmat suits and tried to persuade him to leave. When he refused they decided to take his sick mother with them.

Matsumara decided to stay because his conscience would not allow him to leave the animals of his village behind. Especially the dogs. Many of the evacuees left their pets and other animals still chained and enclosed. Matsumara took it upon himself to take care of them, and so he brought them home. Rabits, Chickens, Cows, Dogs, Cats, Ducks, Boars and even an Ostrich were rescued and now they all live in his garden forming the only social contact he has with the living world. He is the only human left in his village. He lights his house using generators and drinks water from the local well and lives a hermits life.

When he got himself examined at the local university outside the exclusion zone he was told he was the most contaminated person in Japan. They told him that he would not experience any immediate symptoms as a result of the radiation exposure, but within the next thirty years he is certain to develop cancer. His relatives would not welcome him and literally shut the door in his face from fear of contamination.

Last November he ran out of money. So he began to blog about his experiences. People began to send him food, money and other supplies to take care of his animal family.

The police have tried many times to get him to leave but he has been steadfast and sworn to his animals. He told them that if they could guarantee the safety of his animals then he would gladly leave. So the authorities relinquished and decided to give him a special pass so he can freely go in and out of the exclusion zone and buy supplies for himself and his animals.

So Naoto Matsumara wanders alone in his ghost town watching the houses decay as nature lays claim to the concrete structures. His 16,000 neighbors are no where to be found. He says he has lost his ability to smile but yet lives on, a solitary man surrounded by those who listen but cannot speak his language.

While circumstances may have put this man in this predicament, there is something to be said about his selfless humanity. Everyone faces challenges in life when disaster strikes, but how we make the best of it is what makes us strong and human in the quintessential sense. We see this level of selflessness quite often. The people who exhibit it are the true heroes. Marie Colvin and Remi Ochlik, the two journalists who died in Syria trying to bring the truth to the world, embodied a similar kind of compassion for their cause. Our whole history is peppered with people who have shown magnanimity in small and big ways. It is seldom that they are remembered as they should be. It is what it is.

An Ever Widening Gap

It is another new year on a very old planet and some age old problems still haunt humanity. The greatest one of them being poverty. Through out human history there have always been those who have had more than most and a majority have gotten by with very little. Ever since the barter system of commerce moved to a system of currency and capital, the ill effects of poverty have only exacerbated. Centuries of colonialism and exploitation made sure poverty in parts of the world remained a growing phenomenon. Social experiments like communism tried to combat the problem but failed miserably, as the poverty of freedom turned out to be more dire than the poverty of resources. Poverty has many causes, and no simple cure. In today's world where the mantra of globalization dictates progress, poverty and its causes have become more complex. The deficiency of free speech, resources, capital, information and education have made it an almost impossible malady to solve. But there is no question that the root of all social upheaval now and in the near future will arise from the ever widening wealth gap between nations, peoples and neighbors.

If poverty could be solved directly by taking from the rich and giving to the poor, then to a large extent the problem would have been solved and the world would be a better place. It is in human nature to be exploitative and therefore the causes of poverty cannot be solved by just attacking it with economic solutions. Yet we try to respond with virtues of human rights and dignity. Those that we have collected as a conscious reaction to centuries of blood shed, famine and extermination.

The suffering of fellow human beings does not look good on television, and the consequences of mass poverty and destitution threatens the survival of those who have it good causing guilt and shame among the good natured. Even the bible contains more than 300 verses about god's concern for the poor. Therefore every one agrees that poverty needs to be eradicated for the very survival of the human species even though the human race does not seem threatened. Therefore the concept of the "poverty line" was devised to keep everyone's aspirations and desires in check. According to a 1995 United Nations declaration, absolute poverty is a condition characterized by severe deprivation of basic human needs, including food, safe drinking water, sanitation facilities, health, shelter, education and information. It depends not only on income but also on access to services.

As the global population reaches 7 billion and the struggle over finite resources reach desperate levels, the stark fallout of an unequal planet begins to show its ugly face in almost every part of the world. As the financial health of once mighty nations crumble there is a worry that the impact on the widening "Wealth Gap" will be even more devastating. The excesses in the past two decades in the western world have clearly brought the situation to a brink. The recent "Occupy Wall Street" street protests in America and other capitals of the west, brought the issue of the widening wealth gap to the forefront. In a recent BBC documentary titled The Wealth Gap an appalling piece of statistic was made apparent. The income disparity today in England has reached the levels of Edwardian and Victorian times, where the top 1% make 145 times the base wage of ordinary working citizens.

While more and more wealth gets concentrated at the top and less and less trickles down a situation begins to brew which through out human history has led to mass uprisings and ultimately revolution. In today's world it is a common belief that globalization and technology spreads prosperity and the trickle down effect can eradicate poverty in many deprived parts of the globe. In the recent past India and China have taken advantage of this fact and have declared them selves developing nations, and many experts have predicted that the age of American/European dominance is in decline. India and China are the next frontier, the virgin territory where the potential for growth and consumerism is limitless by virtue of their gigantic populations. While this may be true to some extent, what we are beginning to see is that prosperity is again becoming concentrated at the top. The economic insecurities of the many are still prevalent. Rural poverty in China is fast becoming urban poverty with human stress levels quadrupling. China recently declared that 51% of its population now lives in urban areas, which is a devastating trend for the planet as the demand for resources will increase pressure and pollution. This trend is being witnessed across all nations that are going through rapid transformation as a result of globalization.

Recently it was reported that the luxury car maker Rolls Royce sold more cars in 2011 than any year since 1978. And a bulk of them were bought in China. Other luxury brands like Bentley, Aston Martin and Lamborghini reported the same. In the last decade unprecedented wealth has been witnessed in India as well. From luxury yachts to private jets, India has produced a market of its own for extravagant goods and there has been no shortage of buyers.

In the midst of corruption scandals and a total dysfunction of his government, the Indian Prime Minister released an important survey conducted by a non-profit organization that made a known fact absolutely certain. The HUNGaMA (Hunger and Malnutrition) survey which was conducted across 112 rural districts in India covering almost 20% of all children sent shock waves through a booming nation. The report revealed that in the 100 or so focus villages, 40% of the children were underweight and 60% were stunted and 92% of the mothers had not heard the word "malnutrition". While India is a large nation with complex problems and a messy democracy, this report made one thing clear. India is broken and there is very little that is being done in the way of policy to fix it.

It is election season in America and the noise is getting louder. The economy and unemployment are the make or break issues in the race for the presidency. A nation which prides itself on being the economic engine of the world, where virtues of capitalism and profit are seen as markers of success and accomplishment, its recent economic woes are calling into question the core principles on which the economic engine operates. In America everyone grows up with the notion and mythology that if you work hard anything is possible. There are narratives that are relentlessly celebrated in popular culture making the point that the "American Dream" is still alive and all you have to do is work for it. Sportsmen, Steve Jobs, President Obama, Oprah and everyone in between are often sited as examples of that dream achieved. So everyone is asked to boot up and soldier on and everything will be alright.

As the Republicans rally their candidates to take on President Obama in the upcoming election, a constant accusation is made against the president. An indictment that in four years he has fundamentally changed the course for America. As a Democrat his entitlement programs and welfare policies such as universal health care are taking the work ethic away from the people and making the American dream a thing of the past. And therefore America needs a Republican CEO like Mitt Romney or Newt Gingrich who will bring America back on track by lowering taxes for everyone, including the rich, and creating jobs. This narrative is gaining momentum among many, even though the economic problems America faces today are very much a result of an eight year Republican presidency that preceded Obama.

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, the Wall Street man who's net worth is close to a quarter of a billion dollars, is making the argument that his wealth is a mark of his success and he should not be called out on it. And if he were elected president he would bring America back to a time when anyone could become rich by chasing their dreams like he did. While he paid only 15% in taxes on his $49 million 2011 income, and most middle class Americans paid close to 35%, he still thinks that rich people create jobs when they are allowed to keep their money in offshore investments and pay low taxes using loopholes like he did. Therefore he wants to decrease everyone's taxes down to 15% when he is elected president. Everyone in their right mind knows that this is not possible. But the pipe dream becomes fodder for many in an election year and the political double speak becomes real for those who cannot see the truth.

Big money is playing a very destructive part in this upcoming presidential elections. Money funneled on both sides through Super PACs (Political Action Committees) is corrupting the electoral process like never before. Since the courts ruled that Super PACs could legally collect limitless amounts of money from anonymous donors as long as a presidential candidate or his campaign does not directly have any relationship with the committee, they have had a windfall. Money from all sorts of questionable sources has poured into Super PACs and with that they have been able to influence the electorate by buying indiscriminate amounts space in the media sphere. At a time when many in America are unemployed and sliding into poverty, a most shameless election awash with dirty money is taking shape. It is only bound to get worse as we get closer to November.

In hindsight big money has always decided elections in America. Obama's election campaign was one of the most expensive in US history reaching almost a billion dollars and most elections in most democracies are bank rolled by the wealthy. This years American election is estimated to cost almost 11 billion dollars. When big money gains access to political power, there is very little wiggle room for real comprehensive change that could level the economic plane. And when a political leader makes an attempt to move in the direction of real change he is branded a socialist, even when he is not. The only thing that can change the status-quo is campaign reform, where all candidates get the same resources to make their case to the electorate. As we have seen in America and elsewhere, the capitalist system that pulls the reigns of power will never allow that to happen.

What we see in the current economy of the globe is that even as things get desperate, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. It is very easy to stigmatize a person who is disenfranchised and poor by saying he or she is a failure because they did not work hard enough. The wealthy are better off because they earned it and therefore they should get to keep it with no shame. What one seldom fails to recognize is that when someone becomes successful, they do have a certain talent to make money, but more importantly they have an edge. Sometimes that edge is ones race, religion, caste, creed, tribe, gender and pedigree. More often it is a head start given to them by their ancestors or in the case of nations some sort of exploitation through colonization. On an individual level most often the edge comes through education, ancestral wealth or sometimes pure luck. Rarely is it a divine chain of events or pure industriousness that makes someone wealthy.

There are efforts being made all around the world today to narrow the wealth gap via social programs and policy. These efforts started at the dawn of the 20th century when colonialism ended, monarchies were abolished or overthrown and ideas of democracy, capitalism and communism were experimented with. While the west made tremendous progress in building a more or less economically homogeneous society, it never fully succeeded. Europe through its socialist programs made greater strides but its future hangs in the balance in this century. America on the other hand showed great promise after the great depression, but yet again seems to be slipping. Japan after the second world war almost succeeded with technological grit and dominance. In developing nations like India the struggle is barely beginning for many even though the technology fueled boom did bring a huge swathe into the consumerist middle class. Today another grand experiment is underway in India to account for a billion people by giving them unique identity cards with retinal scans. The UID (Unique Identity) scheme will utilize biometric data to log every individual and in the process give a real face to the poor so they can receive public services without being taken advantage of by middlemen who often skim away resources. The plan is to give the poor a real place in society so they can be more than a nondescript vote bank, but can actually demand their fair share of the pie. One small step towards stemming corruption and closing the ever widening gap.

The world is a place of imbalance. There is a serious imbalance across the spectrum. There is an acute imbalance of tolerance when Salman Rushdie cannot visit his own country for speaking his mind, Alexander Aan an Indonesian civil servant is imprisoned for being an atheist and women in Malawi are beaten for wearing pants. There is acute imbalance when war comes to those who are most vulnerable and unfortunate, there is imbalance when developed nations cause the earths atmosphere to heat up and the underdeveloped nations sink into the sea as a result. And there is imbalance when the rich get richer because they can and the poor get poorer because they cannot help it. Much like global warming everyone recognizes that the widening wealth gap is a pressing problem. In some places it is in your face, in others it is hidden but its effects always reverberate. Fixing it will always be humanities greatest challenge. It is what it is.

Protest Power

Tunisia - December, 2010
Egypt - January, 2011
Yemen - January, 2011
Libya - February, 2011
Morocco - February, 2011
Bahrain - February, 2011
Syria - March, 2011
India - April, 2011
Greece - May, 2011
Spain - May, 2011
England - August, 2011
United States - September, 2011

Chile - September, 2011

Bolivia - October, 2011
Russia - December, 2011

2011 will go down in history as the year that people in large numbers demanded change and said enough is enough. With economies collapsing around the globe faith in governments both oppressive and otherwise was at an all time low. Corruption at all levels of business and government had become unbearable and openly pervasive. The widening wealth gap had reached its limit in many parts prompting people to take to the streets in defiance. Political and socioeconomic pressure in the middle east had run its course and the climate was ripe for agitation which spread instantaneously acquiring a label (most probably coined on facebook or CNN) - "The Arab Spring". There was nothing romantic about this spring. It should have been called "The Red Spring" as blood on the pavement was a common sight and the bleeding has not yet stopped.

As authoritarian violence and protests continue in Egypt and Syria and the Occupy Wall Street movement limps along and the anti-corruption movement in India reaches its whimpering end with political compromise and infighting, one does need to take stock of what did or did not change. A sadistic dictator in Libya met a brutal end, Egypt's dictator was replaced by a gang of others in army fatigue, America relished a temporary high from a relentless shopping spree on Black Friday and Christmas, the European Union band aided itself into next year and the climate talks yet again failed to achieve anything substantial for the planet to improve its cancerous state.

At the end of a year one is supposed to be hopeful and look towards the future with encouragement and positivity. And yes there is plenty of it in the offering, but it is measured. As American troops withdraw from Iraq there is a sigh of relief from those who have sacrificed much too much, but there is also a gnawing uncertainty of a wave of violence engulfing a battered nation yet again. On one hand America has given to the world Facebook and Twitter which have become the most powerful tools for spreading democracy. By providing an unstoppable medium to help organize and be heard, these virtual social networks have truly made the world a better place in some unspeakable terms. On the other hand America is on the verge of making multibillion dollar arms deals with Saudi Arabia and Iraq. Two nations where democracy has a complicated meaning and is often stifled by oppression and violence. The unholy relationship between war and business never seems to amaze even the most weary.

But nations like China and North Korea have successfully countered the liberating force of the Internet through censorship and brutality. By imprisoning bloggers and harassing their intelligentsia like Ai Weiwei, they have successfully maintained their oppressive grip on their people. Media censorship of the Arab uprisings in China did meet its limited goal. Yet there have been countless unreported protests across the nation almost every day against the autocratic rule. Burma on the other hand showed some progress by releasing Aung Sung Su Kyi and allowing her to rejoin the political process. How genuine and long lasting the change towards democracy in Burma will be, only time will tell.

While we lost a towering figure of democracy in Vaclav Havel we also gained many trail blazers around the world. Nobel peace prize winners Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Leymah Gbowee and Tawakkol Karman fought for women's rights in the darkest of times using non-violence as their chosen weapon. Many other nameless heroes around the world have died protecting and believing that "truth shall prevail" and "truth shall set them free". The latest casualty was Baqir Shah. A doctor in Quetta, Pakistan was gunned down because he refused to lie about the autopsies he carried out that implicated the security forces in open murder. He openly refused to tow the line of the establishment and paid with his life. Record number of journalists and human rights workers have been assassinated across the globe this year. The war crimes committed in Sri Lanka and Indian Kashmir are some of the most abhorrent and have largely gone unnoticed. A blatant example of two democratic nations with deplorable human rights records, where in the name of dealing with terrorism the state apparatus has become the terrorist.

The forecast for 2012 does not look or seem much different than 2011. From where we stand it seems like political and economic strife will continue to dominate the global sphere causing massive upheaval. Real wide ranging and long lasting solutions will remain elusive, as the impotency of the political class grows chaotic and severe. Yes there will be sporting events like the Olympics in London and other entertainment projects that will attempt to keep the human spirit high, but they will only be a temporary distraction. America will reelect or reject President Obama, and banks that have not changed their ways will continue to bankroll their gains on the backs of the dispossessed. The only thing that is certain to change is a real sense in 2012, is the earth's magnetic pole.

So as "Another Year" comes to an end and a new one begins, people power will again show its face on the streets of Moscow, London, New York, New Delhi and anywhere else where there is a sense of disenfranchisement and neglect. There is no way out of this bind without questioning the people who make decisions for us in our absence. So it is with the hope that there will be a demand for meaningful change in the year to come, I bid farewell to 2011. It is what it is.

OK Computer

My first encounter with an Apple computer was when I arrived on an American campus in 1992. Rows of beige colored boxes with six inch screens stared at me in the student center. A keyboard with a strange looking thing attached to it called "the mouse" completed the device. The moment the machine came on, I was greeted by a logo which had a smiley face on it. Within minutes I was in love with this state of the art technology. The rainbow colored apple shaped logo embossed on the bottom right hand corner was elegant and the floppy drive was an act of genius. Printing crisp fonts on an Apple Laserwriter was heavenly. I could not wait to tell my father about this experience. A printer by profession back in India, he was still running a letter press. I announced to him that within a few years printing technology would be undergoing a revolution. A few months later I took a class on how to use the internet. We had to master a range of commands on a computer terminal to access the network. My first download was a set of Pink Floyd lyrics using a browser called Mosaic. It was an act of pure magic.

As I write this entry on my paper thin MacBook Air laptop sitting in my yard with no wires attached, it is astonishing how far we have come from those wired days. As I watch my five year old sit around a table with two of her friends working an iPad as though she was born with it, I can barely imagine what else is in store for her down the road. In two decades computers have come to fit my palm and can talk back, so it seems the future is only going to be incrementally transformational.

One man, Steve Jobs, has been credited to have fast tracked computers to become as essential and rudimentary a component of our lives as a tooth brush. Though Microsoft took computers to every corner of the world, it was Apple that took it from the desk into our palms. Computers today have come to define our very being in the urban landscape. The internet, while still unequal in its access, has changed the way we socialize and communicate. As forecasters predict whats round the corner, one thing is certain, computers will force human evolution into areas even science fiction could not have imagined.

Steve Jobs' death this year was a moment that reverberated across the globe. People did not stop short of comparing him to Edison and Einstein. Magazines, books, documentaries and even feature film scripts were in the offering in abundance to put his life under a microscope. For an intensely private quirky person that he was, to have his life dissected in every news outlet was something of an onslaught. Steve Jobs with all his controversial, erratic and sometimes ego-maniacal behavior did solidify his place in recent history as a visionary. He not only built a successful company and some classy gadgets, he pretty much transformed how we watch, listen and transport entertainment and information forever. But he was no Einstein, maybe he was more of an Edison, but then again Edison was an inventor and a businessman, Steve Jobs was a relentless facilitator. An exceptionally motivated, gifted and driven person who could see his way through technology and design and come up with a product that could blow your mind.

Steve Jobs' passing was felt so widely and so emotionally because he had turned himself into an enigmatic, seemingly self-effacing Rockstar. The myth that had grown around him aided by his lavish product launches, shoes, black T-Shit and jeans and early experimentation with hallucinogenics, had truly reached Elvis proportions. His cancer added another layer and his age made it even more heart wrenching. Much like other Rockstars who died before their time and became cult figures, Steve Jobs' story had all the makings of a quintessential "Made in America" appeal.

Two other important people died this year who largely went unnoticed. They did more for computers and defined the world we live in than anybody could have imagined. They envisioned today's world even before Steve Jobs was conceived, but they were no Rockstars in the way most would like to see them. Dennis Ritchie and John McCarthy created the building blocks or the DNA upon which all computers in the world function today. The digital devices that today have become fashion accessories, could not have existed without their seminal work. They in their unique respective way pictured our world decades ago that Steve Jobs in one sense made a reality.

Mathematicians by profession and passion both developed languages by which computers would talk to each other and perform complex calculations. McCarthy created a language called LISP, which is the second oldest high-level programming language that is still in use today. Ritchie created "C" which fundamentally changed the way computer programs are written. Much of all modern software is written in some modified version of that language. All Apple products run on a language called "Objective C" and Microsoft products co-opted C#. Ritchie then went on to create UNIX which forms the basis of all operating systems in all devices mobile or otherwise today.

Dennis Ritchie and John McCarthy even though on a basic level worked on creating the digital matter that breathed life into microchips and peripheral hardware, they both shared a very different vision for the future. While Ritchie believed that the microcomputers such as laptops and hand held devices would be the way of the future, McCarthy dreamed of world of terminals remotely hooked up to large mainframe computers. With Cloud computing fast becoming the way of the future, it seems that McCarthy's vision is the one that will prevail. McCarthy also coined the term "Artificial Intelligence" as he was obsessed with making machines talk back, which again seems to be becoming a reality quite rapidly. Recently when the IBM computer "Watson" out did humans and won the popular American quiz show "Jeopardy" a gist of that vision was realized.

The idea of a thinking machine though is far from reach. While we can teach machines to make associations and extrapolate inferences based on statistical data, it is inconceivable to make a machine understand humor and other nuances of human emotion. John McCarthy did attempt to make a thinking machine but later gave up, not because he thought the technology was not there, but he said " we understand human mental processes only slightly better than a fish understands swimming". There in lies a mystery. While humans could create devices that could talk back and perform rudimentary functions that could make our lives convenient and comfortable, to create a robot that could feel, will always be the terrain of fictional fantasy.

Steve Jobs, Dennis Ritchie and John McCarthy in their singular way left us a world that is both infinitely complex and simple at the same time. As a result of their work more and more intelligent machines are able to inhabit our world, and we are able to absorb technology and evolve with it quite effortlessly. We are only at the very beginning of that evolutionary process though. The unpredictable uncanny duplicitous nature of humanity to create beauty and cause calamity is ever present. Therefore as machines play significant roles in our lives, what will determine their influence is the extent to which we consciously allow them to intrude our lives. It is what it is.

99%

"We are the 99%" said one sign. "Regulate Wall Street Now" said another. "Tax the rich" screamed a red one. The word "Revolution" was prominent on many placards and a red flag with Che Guevara's face unfurled in the wind. There was a broadsheet news paper being circulated called "The OCCUPY Wall Street Journal". There were many swaying in a loud drum circle drawing attention from everyone passing by. There was a make shift alter with an idol of Ganesh next to Jesus with people sitting around in seeming meditation. A half naked couple with paint on their body were moving intensely to the drumming. A concoction of cigarette smoke, marijuana, body odor and Halal chicken filled the air. Young men and women were strewn on the floor in sleeping bags and on tarpaulin as though this were the "Burning Man" gathering or a homeless people's convention. Policemen with enough hardware to take down any assault surrounded the park on all sides. Media trucks with their antennae high up against the shiny ornate skyscrapers kept busy. A makeshift kitchen serving donated pizza, wheat grass and vegan creations for the health conscious was active. A woman was talking to Amy Goodman from "Democracy Now" on camera about sustainable farming, eating and living. A group of native South American men and women were dancing to drumming performing what seemed like a Mayan ritual. Then there were men and women intensely locked in debate about the state of the world, America, Capitalism, Marxism, the war and everything in between. This was no carnival or Haight-Ashbury of the 60's, this was and is the "Occupy Wall Street" protest in downtown Manhattan.

The "Occupy Wall Street" protest which is almost two months in the making, has captured the attention of the world by refusing to budge. As it ebbs and flows in numbers, it has also sparked similar protests across the nation and the world. From New York to New Zealand, people have gathered in major capitals to protest against what they see is a failure of the system to deliver the basics. The people involved in the protest are essentially angry and disgusted by what they see is a nexus between government and corporations. What they hope to achieve is immaterial at the moment. What they have done is become an inconvenience that draws attention to a smorgasbord of issues, which are then discussed in the media when there is nothing else to cover in the 24/7 news cycle. From corporate greed, taxing the rich, health care for all, end to war and corruption, they want a return to a version of capitalism that is more equitable. With that message they have been able to galvanize the sentiments of young and old across a wide spectrum, who have seen America's treasures squandered in irresponsible ways at the expense of too many.

2011 will go down in history as the year of the protest. From the spontaneous revolution which overthrew a dictator in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya, to the uprising in Yemen, Bahrain and Syria, there is unrest and rage in abundance. From the populist Anna Hazare anti-corruption movement in India that almost toppled the government, to the violent street protests in London, Milan, Madrid and Athens, anger against the establishment is real and palpable. From dictators to the corporate glitterati and the political establishment, as the disconnect grows ever so wide and capitalism looses its shine, and people are left with no future, anger rises to the surface. Much like what happened during the French and Russian revolution, there is a sense around the world that some people are getting away with more than their fair share.

As Europe deals with a financial crisis of epic proportion and turns to China (a communist country) for a life line, a long term solution seems elusive. With Spain reporting the highest unemployment rate of 21% in the developed world, it is evident that things are going to get worse for the west before they get any better. While the markets go through volatile fluctuations, it seems like all the parameters that measure economic stability are in a state of chaos. Unemployment is rising across the globe, inflation in a booming economy like India is out of control, housing markets are in a slump, yet Wall Street celebrates profits and big banks in America and elsewhere post quarterly gains, and top executives in England increase their salaries by 50%. The world seems to be operating on an upside down principle of economics. While there is never a shortage of resources to spawn wars, build military hardware and bail out banks, there never seems to be enough to meet the basic needs of the people the governments get elected to serve.

This month the worlds population will reach a record seven billion. By 2025 that number is predicted to increase to eight billion. With only one planet to live off of, the future does not look bright for the human race. Water and food shortages, unemployment, conflict and global warming are predicted to wreak havoc causing mass protests and migration. The strain on the planet is already being felt in Bangladesh, Sub-Saharan Africa, Pacific Island nation of Tuvalu and elsewhere. We as a species inhabit one sphere. But the imaginary borders that divide us and create an illusion that developed nations are immune to the ravages of poverty and destitution are now being challenged. What the present situation demonstrates is that the "third world" has successfully entered the developed world and the "Occupy Wall Street" protest in some manner channels the angst of that burgeoning world.

I think it is still premature to call the "Occupy Wall Street" a movement. Unlike the mass protests of the sixties, which brought civil rights to a nation and an end to a war in a far of land, this protest still struggles to find a singular demand. That is both its strength and its weakness. Much like the Egyptian revolution that overthrew a brutal dictator by largely staying apolitical, but with a clear sense for justice, the "Occupy Wall Street" protest at its core is demanding a level of fairness and accountability. This idea in itself gives it strength and legitimacy and motivates people to endure the bitter cold in the middle of the financial district in Manhattan. Whether this protest will actually evolve into a mass movement, drawing strong leaders and other vested interests, only time and weather will tell.

In the recent past the incestuous collusion between the media, political establishment and corporations has been revealed time and again. The Murdoch/News Corp. scandal is the most recent example. The conglomeration of big business made possible by that collusion threatens healthy competition and corrupts the true nature of capitalism. Capitalism and democracy are often considered to be synonymous. But what we learn from the recent financial collapse is that there is no room for democracy when unbridled capitalism reigns supreme. It is not ironic though that we have seen a form of capitalism thrive in a draconian communist society like China. Undoubtedly aided by a demand for cheap goods and services from the west.

"There is never a democracy that did not commit suicide" said John Adams the sixth president of America. In some ways the "Occupy Wall Street" protest brings to light the early signs of a system that is feeding on itself. When a comatose congress in Washington fails to serve its people in a time of crisis, that is a sign of a democracy failing. A healthy democracy is where through checks and balances and debate, solutions to big problems are arrived at no matter the political price. All they arrive at today in most governments around the world is grid lock and apathy.

To a large extent capitalism and democracy in the west has been a successful experiment. Wealth has been more equally distributed than in most places. But that equation seems to have shifted dramatically over the last two decades, and a kind of oligarchy seems to have emerged. The anger that we see in the streets today is in part a resentment of that fact. What protest movements do is push for change. And change always begins on a minuscule level and then mutates into something consequential. The suicide of a street vendor eventually lead to the overthrow of a dictator in Tunisia. What I noticed at Zuccotti Park in downtown Manhattan was a group of people coalesce around a spirit. A spirit to do something. Even if it just meant banging on a drum or annoying the police or thumbing a man walking in a suit, there was a real desire and a realization that this was an important moment in time. One could dismiss that commitment as youthful indulgence or call them a bunch of whining hippies jealous of the rich and successful, which many openly have. But there is no denying that it is youthful indulgence that motivated Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Fred Shuttlesworth, Nelson Mandela, Wangari Mathai and an old woman in a wheel chair in Oakland to march. It is what it is.

Meaning of 9/11

This day in September does not pass lightly for a New Yorker. A decade ago a bright blue sky quickly turned black. Since then every September New Yorkers take pause and distinctly remember where they were on that day. They exchange stories year after year with fellow denizens and visitors who come to pay a visit to the gaping hole that is now rising again.

Ten years later the day was marked with the customary reading of the names of the dead at the site of the catastrophe. Grieving family members chanted names with tears and emotion. This year an impressive memorial appropriately titled "Reflecting Absence" was unveiled. 3,000 names of the men, women, and children killed in the attacks of September 11, 2001 and February 26, 1993 are inscribed in bronze on parapets surrounding twin memorial pools. The two pools are constructed on the footprint of the twin towers. People found the names of their loved ones on the panel and broke down all over again. The sudden and tragic loss of a family member never comes to pass, but for those who died in this horrific act of violence, the pain never seems to surpass.

After the reading of the names at the memorial site, the politicians began to appear on the dais eulogizing with poems and speeches. Past and present presidents, mayors, governors and senators were photographed with somber expressions. A "photo-op" too salient to be missed. As I watched Bush and Obama in the same frame, I wondered what the meaning of this day truly was. What does memorializing the departed mean to those who only bore witness from afar to this terrible tragedy and did not feel some tangible loss? What does it mean to drape oneself in the American flag and talk about patriotism, resilience and freedom, when all 9/11 did was spawn more death and violence? What does it mean to look at the world ten years from that day and observe its true nature? What does an impressive monument such as "Reflecting Absence" do to the human soul?

What most memorials of this nature inadvertently symbolize, is that the human appetite for violence is infinite. When one visits a holocaust memorial one is shaken at the deepest depths, for the evil that was engineered at that time was unfathomable. Then there are countless atrocities that have taken place before and since that have only been memorialized in history books. Millions died when India and Pakistan were separated, there is no memorial that marks that moment. Thousands died in the killing fields of Combodia, a memorial made of skulls reminds of that moment in history. The countless who died in the Gulags of Russia and China and in the forests and villages in Congo, still remain unknown.

The idea behind memorials it to remind generations to come, never to forget and never to repeat. But the human race never relents. A decade after that September day, the dead are still piling up in Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Since then over thirty plots to attack America have been foiled. People are still willing to give up their lives in the name of violence and the military budgets of countries fighting this so called "war on terror" keep increasing exponentially with no end in sight. Even when the world grapples with the worst financial crisis in a generation.

For America, which is otherwise known as the "land of the free", 9/11 marked a defining moment. In the decade that has followed, the resources spent both human and monetary in the name of "keeping American safe", have reached a criminal level with little or no oversight. In a telling book titled Top Secret America- The Rise of the New American Security State, Washington Post reporters Dana Priest and William Arkin uncover a whole new security apparatus that has uncontrollably mushroomed in the guise of keeping America safe. In the book the authors reveal the enormous size, shape, mission, and consequences of this invisible universe. According to their investigation, over 1,300 government facilities in every state in America; nearly 2,000 outside companies used as contractors; and more than 850,000 people granted "Top Secret" security clearance, monitor Americans at home and the "enemy" abroad. The result is a system put in place engineered by the infamous "Patriot Act", that puts us in greater danger by creating a "Big Brother" society that is antithetical to the idea of the United States. Americans are living in a quasi police state without an inkling, thanks to 9/11. The notion of being safe has come at the cost of fear and freedom, while we are told it is to protect that very freedom we are at war.

The irrationality of the response to the nineteen individuals who caused mayhem on 9/11, has been disproportionate and misguided to say the least. Volumes have been written and countless have died in futile wars, to prove that fact. Yet the architects remain free to write books and go on talk shows still proclaiming their innocence and sound judgment with audacity. And now nations are bankrupt as a result of these excursions, yet they stay the course. The Jihadists who respond to nations who stay the course, also seem to get stronger and hardened about their ideology, as it has become a way of life. Each day, each side keeps score by killing. This cycle can only reach its natural end, when the will to kill diminishes. As a result risk of another 9/11 taking shape in some corner of the world has not diminished, and so the full purpose of the memorial remains to be materialized.

While New Yorkers grieve on this day every year, they also have moved on and come to accept the new reality they live in. As 9/11 is consigned to the history books, New Yorkers do not need a reminder of what happened here. Everyday they are told "If you see something, say something", and the occasional security alert does not faze anyone even for a moment. While 9/11 means many things to many people, for most New Yorkers who where here, it means one thing and one thing alone - a day of immeasurable loss. A feeling no different from what most people feel around the world, when they lose someone or something dear to a stray bullet or a drone attack. Yet we must live outside the fear that has been engineered as a result of 9/11. And only when - in the words of the rock band U2 "Where you live, does not decide whether you live or whether you die" - the true meaning of 9/11 will be realized.

It is what it is.

Tipping Point

Bad weather is again headline news. As hurricane Irene threatens to batter the eastern coast of United States, the worse is being speculated. People are being asked to evacuate to higher ground, stocking up on emergency food supplies and other essentials is strongly being advised and the 24-hour news channels are conjuring up images of an hurricane Katrina like aftermath. A storm this size has not come up this far north in a hundred years. New York city is shutting down for the first time in its existence and people are preparing for the worst.

Is this mother nature serving us a reminder of its power or is there a human hand aiding her. There is enough research to show that "Global Warming" can lead to warming of the ocean, and even a fraction of an increase in ocean temperature can lead to the formation hurricanes that can pack more energy than usual. Is this a case in point? Only time will tell.

It is summer in the northern hemisphere and like summer should be, it has been hot. In New York city and most of north eastern United States the mercury has reached record heights. In July the temperatures in New York city reached 104˚F (40˚c). With humidity it felt more like 110˚F (43˚c). Highest recorded in 35 years. Temperatures across the country, especially in the mid-west and north-east have been more than extreme. Airports near Washington and Baltimore hit 105˚F. Philadelphia hit 103˚ degrees, as did Boston. In Abilene, Texas, temperatures have been at or above 100˚F degrees for 40 days this summer. It’s been a little cooler in Savannah, Georgia, where the mercury hit 90˚F for more than 56 days in a row. Texas, New Mexico and Oklahoma are coping with their driest nine-month stretch since 1895. Weather has been extreme in other parts of the world as well. 75 mile an hour winds battered southern Australia causing waterfalls to flow skyward. Heavy rains in south-west China tore through villages and fields causing widespread destruction. Millions of people in Pakistan are still reeling from the effects of the mammoth flood that ravaged their nation last year. Extreme weather has become a norm and our parents would attest to that fact. Seasons are not what they used to be.

Every 10 years, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration recalculates what it calls climate “normals,” 30-year averages of temperature and precipitation for about 7,500 locations across the United States. The latest figures, released in July, show that the climate of the last 10 years was about 1.5 degrees warmer than the climate of the 1970s, and the warmest since the first decade of the last century. Temperatures were, on average, 0.5 degrees warmer from 1981 to 2010 than they were from 1971 to 2000, and the average annual temperatures for all of the lower 48 states have gone up.

Yet since it snows in the winter some people in this nation and all over the world, think "Global Warming" is still a myth.

Extreme weather patterns have always shaped and reshaped our planet ever since cosmic forces formed our solar system. But it is only now, for the very first time, the planet is being inhabited by 7 billion of us. In pursuit of happiness, life and liberty, an essential human right, the species produces heat trapping green house gases, which inadvertently leads us closer to the destruction of our dreams. The dream of living with all the amenities and comforts of the industrial age we have so skillfully created.

Shifting weather patterns affect a wide range of human activity. Spikes in weather exert energy demand, effect crop productivity, lead to weather-related disasters and cause fish in the ocean to disappear. Weather events like a hot day or a heavy downpour can cost the global economy billions of dollars in crop losses, construction delays, travel disruptions and loss of life. In other words fair weather is what makes us live on this planet in comfort. And if we were to tip that balance, adaptation will not be an option.

Having aspirations to better ones life is a natural instinct and is considered a human right. Pursuit of that human right has lead us away from living in harmony with the planet. High levels of immigration into Europe and America are a product of this desire to live the modern dream. Those who take on the treacherous journey to find another life at the cost of everything, weather can sometimes be the root cause. Food shortages caused by famine, as we are seeing in the horn of Africa today, can lead to mass migration. Bad weather has also been known to cause social unrest and war exacerbating migration as well. Therefore global warming is more than just having a bad day for out door sports, it can be that one thing that could change the course of humanity, like the Atom bomb did more than half a century ago.

While there is very little on the horizon that could arrest the slippery slope we are on, humanity always has faith in solving big problems with innovative solutions. Our technological prowess gives us confidence that any situation could be overcome. When the AIDS epidemic seemed like a deathly halo looming over us, two decades later we seemed to have crippled its spread, at least for the time being in nations that can afford it. This may not be the best comparison, but we seem to believe that we can slow down the process of global warming by changing light bulbs and driving electric cars. Unfortunately there are no big ideas out there to address this Goliath of a problem humanity faces. Very few nations even see this as a serious problem, as they are dealing with more pressing issues at hand. Those that do, are not able to do much due to the usual political bickering. United States and China the biggest polluters of the planet, are trying to shift gear, but the pace is not acceptable. And at a time when the global economy is in a state of free fall, very few nations want to curtail their polluting businesses in fear of cutting their bottom line. Mean while we keep pouring more heat into the atmosphere by fighting wars, having obscene fireworks displays, burning forests and causing explosions in movies for entertainment. So if we are to look for hope where do we begin?

As I post this entry, New Yorkers are bracing for hurricane Irene and taking as many precautions as minuscule humans can. I went to stock up on some essential supplies and found long lines outside grocery stores and empty shelves. Sliced bread was hard to find and batteries were in high demand. As the fury of the storm is speculated and evacuations in low lying areas become mandatory, a dooms day like scenario seems to be at hand. Even though I am outside the immediate flood zone, I am filling my bath tub with fresh water, have an urban survival kit ready and preparing for the phones, internet and power lines to go down for a while. As 65 million people on the eastern seaboard experience Irene's fury in some shape or form, I am hoping she will be kind to the city I live in and love. It is what it is.