Ripples In A Teacup

My thoughts are in a whirl as I absorb the news that is still pouring in from Israel and the Gaza strip. I should state upfront that I am no expert on the Israel-Palestine dispute. It is very clear that Israel has been taken totally unawares by the Hamas offensive – definitely a colossal intelligence failure for a country which has a very good reputation in this department. The much vaunted Iron Dome was overwhelmed by over 2,200 rockets fired over a space of just twenty minutes. There is no doubt that Sunni Hamas has been funded and supported by external parties. Shia Iran is most likely the main backer and it is possible that the small-but-ambitious Qatar has also opened its wallet for Hamas’s benefit. Israel and Saudi Arabia were on the verge of entering into a historic peace deal and now KSA has come out in support of Hamas . Saudi Arabia possibly had no option but to voice support for Hamas, given public opinion in the Kingdom. There has been so much suffering endured by the pe...

Ever since Russia invaded Ukraine, I had harboured a faint hope that patriotic Russian army officers would raise up against Putin and call off the Ukraine War. Unfortunately, yesterday’s insurrection was started by the Wagner Chieftain, a man much more evil than Putin, and after some mutual posturing, both parties have pulled back. Thanks to a deal brokered by Putin’sally Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko , Putin is now free to continue his fight against Ukraine. However, he no longer has Wagner at his beck and call and the Ukrainians are now on the offensive, which is apparently going slowly . What next? As long as Putin is able to sell his oil at any price , he can continue his war. However, if Ukraine gives him a face-saving exit, he may give up. I’m sure Putin wants to rest and regain his strength. However, I am assuming Putin is in his normal senses and will think and act like a normal human being, which he isn’t. Yesterday, I thought I saw an end in sight for the Uk...

Recently I started reading about food shortages across the world, caused in no small part, by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Apparently, after a few decades of plenty, we are staring at an impending global food shortage . Ever since I can remember, I’ve been told that I should never waste food. There are so many hungry, starving people in the world and they’ll be so glad to have the food that you are wasting, I’ve been told time and again.   I’ve always been a fussy eater who hated almost everything I was expected to eat, with the exception of chocolate. Maybe my gullet is smaller than normal (I’ve never measured it, mind you) or maybe I lack some enzyme on my tongue which causes food to taste good. I’ve also had to contend with the fact that many of my classmates and friends have restrictions placed on the amount of food they can eat. Every time I heard my parents’ dialogue about there being so many hungry, starving people in the world who’ll be so glad to have the food that I...

The Ukraine war has killed thousands, uprooted millions, and appalled people around the globe. My father tells me that war came to his living room when Saddam Hussein invaded Iraq in 1990 and CNN broadcast war visuals live . Well, I wasn’t even born then and for me, this is the first time, after I started paying attention to world politics that I have seen so much of fighting on television.  How can Putin decide whether Ukraine can or cannot join NATO?  This is not the first time Russia is invading Ukraine. They got away with it in Crimea. They have been getting away with it in the Donbas region for many years. It looks like Putin will not get away with it this time, since the Ukrainians have a very good leader in the form of President Zelensky and are giving it back as good as it gets. For Russia, it seems to be a repeat of their 1939 invasion of Finland . Don’t they say history repeats itself? Russia is attacking civilians, bombing hospitals and killing non-combatants. The...