January 27, 2012
11:55 am
by: admin

Literary figure Norman Mailer passes away at 84

The name Norman Mailer sounds very familiar to me. I came across this particular writer while searching google for contemporary American writers. Unfortunately, the sad news is: the literary king passed away recently at 84. Here’s more on his life, works and other aspects. Mailer did a great job of living it up! What makes me say this? Well, I don’t have anything else to say for a guy who married six times, been a father to eight children, and even stabbed one of his wives during a crazy booze party! He also ran for New York City mayor position. Norman was the ‘quintessential American author’ of our era. He has written several famous pieces of literary works. For example, The naked and The Dead, Why are we in Viet Nam, Barbary Shore, gives us the idea that he was more of a war writer than anything else. His works provide us with insights on various aspects of the GI bills, as well as World War II. I think Mr.Mailer’s rowdy character made him the perfect man for the job that he did. We need to keep in mind that during his lifetime, young Americans would be drafted by the govt. and shipped out to ‘fight for the country’. This happened to Norman Mailer. Born to a middle class family background, with his father Isaac working as an accountant and his mother Fanny working as a housekeeper, Norman studied aeronautical engineering from Harvard. Later on he decided to become a writer. According to the late American critic Anatole Broyard, Norman’s career was as follows, His career seems to be a brawl between his talent and his exhibitionism. Mailer’s books will keep Mailer alive even after his death. There is no doubt that he was larger than life when he lived. America lost this great author last Saturday in a New York City hospital. Norman Mailer passed away due to acute renal failure. Image Credits: Nytimes, Achievement

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January 27, 2012
11:44 am
by: admin

Paleastine issue leads US-Iran clash for Middle East dominance

Image So the Annapolis peace talks are on. Though Bush is gung-ho about them, the Palestinian and Israeli people have little hope they will yield anything substantial.They are right because the parties that really matter are not attending- Hamas and its covert backer-Iran. In fact, the shadow of Iran looms large over the peace talks in US. Iran had been invited too but it refused to attend. Image The US dismissed this refusal saying Iran is against anything that brings peace to the Middle East, as it has a vested interest in keeping the cauldron boiling. But, it’s more than that. The Palestine issue has become a part of a larger picture of US-Iranian struggle for dominance in the region. Till now Iran is succeeding. Its pet organization Hezbollah has bloodied Israel’s nose last year in Lebanon. Hamas not only won the Palestine elections, but has also captured Gaza. In Iraq, Iranian backed Shia groups are calling the shots there. It is against this backdrop that the US is trying to recover lost ground by trying to stitch up a peace deal between its “crony” Mahmoud Abbas and Olmert under the benign presence of anti-Iranian Arab nations like Saudi Arabia and Egypt; at the same time it is keeping Hamas at arms length. Image But pre-talks indicators say Annapolis will achieve little, but the US has thrown the gauntlet. The ball is in Iran’s court. Iranian leader Khamenei has smugly said the talks will fail. He is right. The balance of power in the Middle East is swinging rapidly in Iran’s favour. Image Russia and China seem to have understood this and have strengthened ties with Iran. So we see the Palestine issue has turned into an arena for power play between the US-EU on the one side and Iran [backed covertly by Russia and China] on the other side.

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January 27, 2012
11:43 am
by: admin

For Bill, Hillary Clinton is a world genius

Who better than a husband to vouch for that the wife is a genius. The Clinton’s dynastic ambitions have been harping upon experience against Obama campaign for change. Though Republican Ron Paul has raised eyebrows about his proposal to rid Washington of the influence that big pharmaceutical, insurance, arms industry and other lobbies command in the corridors of power, however, it is Obama who has proposed to break ice by talking with hostile governments and nations. Bill Clinton by making a comparison of his administration with that of the senior Bush, has subtly tried to convey that his wife is even better and would do a fine job, should she become President of USA. That’s a strange argument. Compared to Bush years in office, 9/11 and it aftermath, the earlier Clinton era must certainly give rise to nostalgia. But the reality has changed. Replacing a Bill Clinton with a Hillary Clinton at the Oval is not going to revive the strength that America displayed prior to 9/11.

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January 26, 2012
11:42 am
by: admin

US government hints at bringing troops home from Iraq

Defense Secretary Robert Gates, while acknowledging the progress made in Iraq security-wise, has tentatively provided a time frame for the withdrawal of American troops stationed on Iraqi soil. Many would say that Secretary Gates has offered the American citizens an early Christmas gift but some would see this as a perfect election campaigning material just before the US presidential elections. Whatever may be the case there is still a lot of work to be done in the war-ravaged country before any final troop withdrawal and this is the fact White House knows very well. One cannot afford to be over optimistic with the decrease in violence in Iraq due to a surge in US troops earlier this year. The country is still being devastated by deep sectarian killings with US and Iraqi forces uncovering mass graves and torture chambers on a regular basis. A large portion of the American public thinks that US policy on Iraq is an absolute failure since the war started in early 2003. Perhaps the President Bush led government thinks that patience among the public is running out and no president, Republican or Democrat, is expected to be a successful or popular leader after the elections with American soldiers present inside Iraq. Furthermore, with such a weak Iraqi government in place, it is highly unlikely that the country would be in complete peace after any US withdrawal. At the current moment, with so much hatred existing among Iraq’s various ethnic groups, very few people are optimistic about Iraq’s future as a single democratic country. The current government is Shia-led with a coalition of Sunnis, Kurds, Turkmen and Arabs and these groups hardly agree in any reconciliation process, let alone a united Iraq. With so many American and Iraqi lives lost over the past five years, there is still no sign of normalcy and how can Defense Secretary Gates is able to provide a time table for withdrawal. According to many experts, if America is to leave from Iraq in a year’s time with no concrete local security and economic infrastructure in place, the country would be a heaven for Islamic extremism which would then spread like virus to other stable Middle Eastern states like Jordan, Bahrain, Qatar, etc. Then the region would be hard to tackle for the Americans and President Bush might regret his decision to invade Iraq in the first place, let alone moving out troops from the country. Source: Yahoo!

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January 26, 2012
11:39 am
by: admin

Hello Kitty kills 16, injures dozens in downtown San Diego’s Balloon Parade

During the 17th Annual San Diego Balloon Parade this year, a tragic incident shadowed, over the celebration, among the people of San Diego in California. The giant doll, Hello Kitty accidentally stomped on and killed 16 people, who had come as spectators of the parade and also gravely wounded about a dozen more onlookers. The massacre was already over by the time the parade authorities could manage to bring the murderous Kitty under their control. The Hello Kitty was later found to be high on angel dust content. It is indeed shocking that the authorities could not take any rapid action to restrain Kitty before it went on its fatal killing spree that resulted in the loss of 16 innocent spectators. Source: oblogn

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January 26, 2012
11:36 am
by: admin

US Presidential campaign: The clock starts ticking

The wait is over and the show is set to get underway. American citizens would start voting tonight to select their Democrat and Republican Presidential candidates starting from the small icy Midwestern state of Iowa. The race is tight on both sides but the attention has mostly been on the fascinating battle between Hillary Rodham Clinton (a potential first woman President) and Barack Obama (a potential first black President). But the stakes are too high to predict even for the individual candidates. The bottom-line is that the Americans want to see change. Well, that does not mean the Republicans are out of the Presidential race given the problems America is facing under the George Bush-led Republican government. A terror attack or any external uncertainty on American soil could turn the tide into their favor as the Republicans are known to handle these situations better than the Democrats. Furthermore, a dark-horse within the Republican camp is Mike Huckabee who has been the surprise package within the Republican camp and his somewhat liberal social conservative views seem to have impressed the electorate. But, for the moment it is the battle within the Democrat camp that has grabbed the headlines so far. All three candidates, Clinton, Obama and Edwards, have equal chance of representing their party into the November’s Presidential race. All three want ‘change’ and this particular word has struck a chord with the American public. Yet all have different approaches. Senator Clinton is more robust when it comes to national security which she advocated by supporting President Bush in his stance against Iran. But John Edwards and Barack Obama have their youthful exuberance which can influence the young voters who want an end to the host of domestic problems like healthcare costs, a recession threat, mortgage crisis and the growing rich and poor divide, etc. But the American public can be very unpredictable. It depends on how the candidates advertise themselves to the electorate leading up to the big day. But what is clear is the fact the American Presidential outcome has great importance to the outside world also, none more than the Middle East. This is one area which would have great bearings on the US Presidential election. The Democrats are ahead on this issue compared to the Republicans, yet the margin is too small. We should remember President Bush would not be there in the White House anymore, whatever happens. Therein is the chance for Republican candidates, Huckabee, Giuliani and McCain to provide hopes of a Republican recovery by diverting from Mr. Bush’s conservative policies. Source Link: Independent Image Link: Flickr

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January 25, 2012
11:35 am
by: admin

Obama’s Iowa win is for change in American polices

The US Election is not just an American affair. Being the most powerful nation in the world, its politics goes beyond its shores and has a global impact that touches our lives who live in distant places. Barack Obama winning the Iowa caucus ahead of Edwards and leaving Hillary Clinton at third position for the Democrats is certainly a vote for change. Be it the Clinton’s or the Bush’s, not much in terms of foreign policy has changed for US. Having maintained it position as the worlds only superpower, it has not reached out to break the isolation of Cuba and continues to adopt a divide and rule policy in the Middle East for ensuring that the oil producing countries don’t form a cartel that could harm US interests. Obama has spoken about a change in attitude towards these aging issues. He is not afraid to challenge fixed mindsets by provoking a dialouge with nations hostile to America. After all one of the founding principles of democracy is dialouge as opposed to brute violence. Hillary Clinton harping on experience indicates a status quo attitude. No thinking out of the box here. The Iowa caucus has thrown up a challenge before the American people. A predominantly white state has put its stamp on a black candidate, making him a serious contender for the top job in the country. The new generation candidate that Obama signifies would prove more acceptable in a world sharply divided along race, religion and skin color lines.

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January 25, 2012
11:33 am
by: admin

Iowa gives a thumbs-up to Obama and Huckabee

So Barack Obama has got Iowa. Hillary Clinton can take solace from the fact that the state has never elected a woman as governor. But what was shocking was that Clinton fell to third place (albeit slightly) behind Edwards. But much depends on New Hampshire. Another loss will almost mean the end of road for her. Voters (specially the fence-sitters) do tend to have the herd mentality. “Obama has won in Iowa and New Hampshire and so will win elsewhere too. Hence let me vote for him”; such is the thinking of a herd. But it will mean bad news for Hillary. Of course the ‘heavy-weight’ states like California, Nevada, New York, Florida, New Jersey and Massachusetts remain. But remember the horde of bulls running….. Moreover Iowa has shown that Democratic voters seem to be ready to accept an African-American as the president. If voters in other states show a similar tendency it will be a further dampener (putting it mildly) for Hillary. The almost 8% gap between Obama and Hillary shows the yearning for change amongst the Democratic voters; they are ready to try out something different from the Clinton family. Or is Hillary going to have to pay for the sins of Bill? On the republican side, Huckabee romped home, beating all expectations that the money-power of Romney will ensure him a victory at Iowa. Instead what worked was the charming and quick witted personality of Huckabee. Romney, like Hillary, badly needs a victory at New Hampshire. Otherwise they can both almost bid their presidential aspirations good bye. BBC

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January 25, 2012
11:31 am
by: admin

Hillary Clinton, John McCain New Hampshire Win Proves Pollsters Wrong

Proving pollsters wrong, Hillary Clinton pulled it off in New Hampshire to give a fillip for her campaign to be the first woman president of America. The win was unexpected, especially after the media spin machine had more or less written her off after the Iowa caucus, where Barack Obama was christened as the front runner for the Democratic nomination. Clinton’s win in the second caucus is indeed a comeback. The contest is bound to get more intense from here on as the divide between those seeking change and those who feel more comfortable with experience gets sharper. The wave of youth power supporting Obama may not get the better of the charisma the Clintons hold over the American people. The primaries have only been held in two states, but a trend is emerging that by the end of it the race in the Democrat camp is narrowing down to a show down between Obama and Hillary. What the New Hampshire caucus has thrown up is that the contest for the Republican nomination is getting crowded. John McCain, winning the caucus has upturned most calculations. ‘Mac is Back’ dies show that there are many who endorse the America’s current foreign policies and justify the rollout of the still born Iraq peace plan. New Hampshire win of McCain, a known supporter of US intervention in Iraq, makes the divide between those who want course correction from those who stand by what post 9/11 American foreign policy are being pursued even sharper.

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January 24, 2012
11:30 am
by: admin

Obama scores 10th straight victory: should Hillary quit the race in the mid?

The rising support for Obama in the contest for the Democratic nomination made it clear that for Hillary Clinton, the path which goes to white house is not easy. After wins in Wisconsin and Hawaii, the enthusiastic campaign team of Barack Obama has suggested Hillary Clinton to walk out of the Presidential race. Obama, who is very good in influencing people through his words, speech and innocent genuine gestures, seems to capture women’s votes that were earlier in favor of Hillary Clinton. The results from Wisconsin indicated that she had lost the support of working-class and middle-aged women voters. Now what will Mrs. Clinton do? Surely, Obama’s victory in Hawaii and Wisconsin has made clear that the train has left the station, and Hillary is standing on the platform. Only a miracle can bring her back into the race if she wins Texas and Ohio with good margins. Urging Hillary to quit from presidential race could be a tactic of Obama and his supporters to make her politically and psychologically weak. After all, Hillary’s weakness will benefit Obama. Anyway, March 4 is a very crucial day for Clinton and Obama, when the power states of Texas and Ohio hold their primaries. In a couple of days, the picture will be more clear. Via

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