Tag: Russia

WORLD INTHAVAARAM, 2022-08

About: the world this week, 20 February to 26 February 2022, war-an invasion, chess, a not so noble gas, elections, and a Western movie that hopes to lasso a barnful of Oscars!

Everywhere

War (and Peace?)

Finally, after weeks of invasion of the media by the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the stalemate ended. And the world’s worst fears came true: Russia ‘royally’ invaded Ukraine through the Donbas region on 24 February 2022 calling it a ‘special military operation’ with the goal of ‘demilitarising and denazifying’ Ukraine: it made claims (false) about genocide perpetrated against ethnic Russians in the eastern parts of Ukraine, and they asking for help as one of many reasons.

I never knew invading another Country was so easy-never mind the preparation-without any kind of overt provocation by Ukraine. And all along implying that it was going to happen.

Read the basics of the build-up of the story at:

https://kumargovindan.wordpress.com/2021/12/26/world-inthavaaram-2021-52/

We have to give it to the United States (US) for using their superior ‘intelligence’ with President Biden’s relentless invasion theory bearing fruit. But they could do nothing to prevent it. Ukraine, despite its intent, has not yet joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). If it had, NATO troops can enter Ukraine to defend it. Now, the best that NATO can do is watch from across the Borders. And keep gathering intelligence.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said, “We do not intend to occupy Ukraine. To anyone who would consider interfering from the outside: if you do, you will face consequences greater than any you have faced in history. All relevant decisions have been taken. I hope you hear me”.

The scope of the Russian attack appears to be massive, with cruise and ballistic missiles targeting infrastructure near major cities such as Kyiv, Kharkiv, Mariupol and Dnipro.

This come days after Putin recognised the independence of Ukraine’s two eastern areas of Donetsk and Luhansk and ordered Russian forces into these regions as what he called ‘peacekeepers’, wow! And this also comes weeks after Russia amassed over 150,000 troops on Ukraine’s borders.

A fantastic case of Russia being the criminal, the prosecutor, and the judge – all rolled into one tank and shot into Ukraine.

Recall, Russia seized Ukraine’s Crimea Peninsula in 2014, and pro-Russia rebels have since been fighting Ukrainian forces in the eastern areas of Donetsk and Luhansk. More than 14,000 people were killed in that conflict.

Ukraine is also known for the Chernobyl Nuclear disaster – considered the worst nuclear disaster in history – that occurred on 26 April 1986 in the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, near the city of Pripyat in the north of Ukraine when it was part of the Soviet Union. Russia would be looking to seal off this site to prevent any new kind of new danger spilling over from the, now shut-down and boundary isolated nuclear power plant. Well, it did just that on entering Ukraine.

Three decades ago, the newly independent country of Ukraine was briefly the third-largest nuclear power in the world. Thousands of nuclear arms had been left on Ukrainian soil by Russia after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. But in the years that followed, Ukraine made the decision to completely denuclearise – destroying or returning its nuclear arsenal to Russia. In exchange, the US, the United Kingdom(UK), and Russia would guarantee Ukraine’s sovereignty and border security in a 1994 agreement known as the Budapest Memorandum. Now Russia has failed that trust. And the US and UK too?

It beguiles me, what do you call such a reckless invasion by a responsible nuclear superpower? Can it ever be trusted? Russia’s action is unacceptable and condemnable. It sets a dangerous precedent in attacking an independent country on fictitious, flimsy reasons; a country that has chosen its own path and has not shown any unprovoked military aggression against Russia.

What options does Ukraine have? Fight it out or lay down arms-to avoid bloodshed -talk it over with Russia and accept not to join NATO, for a start? Where does the United Nations (UN) come in, when will it grow teeth?

There is enough of Russia for Russia. Otherwise there is all of Space to occupy, if they can. Live and let live!

Chess

‘I was just enjoying myself’, so said 16 years old Chess Grandmaster (GM) Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa from Chennai, Tamilnadu, India, when he stunned the World No 1, Magnus Carlsen, in the eighth round of the Airthings Masters Online Rapid Chess Tournament. He became only the third from the country- after Viswanathan Anand and Pentala Harikrishna – to earn a victory over the Norwegian Chess superstar, in any form of the game.

Praggnanandhaa is a chess prodigy, the fifth-youngest person ever to achieve the title of GM, behind Abhimanyu Mishra, Sergey Karjakin, Dommaraju Gukesh (Gukesh D), and Javokhir Sindarov. He is the younger sibling of Woman GM Vaishali Rameshbabu.

Praggnanandhaa won the World Youth Chess Championships Under-8 title in 2013. In 2016, Praggnanandhaa became the youngest international GM in history, at the age of 10 years, 10 months, and 19 days.

We have a new King in the Castle. And he comes armed with a coolness beyond his years and ash smeared on his forehead. Mind it!

India has nearly 70 GM’s now, up from 20 in 2007. Twelve of them are women. That’s a formidable army: Russia, and others, beware!

Radon

The ‘Airthings’, in the Rapid Chess Tournament Title, quickly caught my eye before Praggnanandhaa could make his next move. What is Airthings?

Established in 2008, Airthings is a global tech company which aims to educate people on the prevalence of Radon, as well as other indoor air contaminants, and develop technology solutions to help people measure the dangers lurking inside homes and tackle them to live a healthy indoor life.

Airthings makes user-friendly Radon detectors to measure Radon levels in Homes and Buildings akin to the common smoke detectors. Radon testing for homeowners has been stationary for almost 30 years. Traditionally, people only had two options: call a professional to test radon levels, or purchase a single-use charcoal test which was then sent to a laboratory for the results. Airthings broke this tradition by designing, making, and supplying affordable Radon and other indoor air quality sensors trying to make them essential and a universal element in every building.

Next, what is Radon, why does it need to be measured?

Radon is an inert, colourless, odourless, radioactive, noble gas, present in the atmosphere in trace amounts; produced by the natural breakdown or radioactive decay of uranium and thorium present in rocks, soil, and groundwater. Since it emanates from the earth’s crust, the level of Radon at a place varies depending on the uranium content of the location. When Radon deteriorates, it releases radioactive energy, which is a health hazard. And can cause lung cancer. People can be exposed to the gas primarily from breathing Radon in the air that comes through cracks and gaps in buildings and homes from the base foundation. There is Radon in water too, because it can permeate well waters, hot and cold springs, making water unsafe to drink. When these gases are confined inside houses, it accumulates to dangerous concentration levels.

Outdoors, Radon disperses rapidly and, generally can be ignored. Breathing Radon over time increases risk of lung cancer and is the second leading cause of lung cancer (in the US, for one). Only smoking causes more deaths.

Indoor Radon can be controlled and managed with proven, cost-effective techniques based on Testing. If Radon levels are high, a certified Radon service professional can fix the problem.

A , 0 to 48 Becquerels/cubic meter (Bq/cubic meter) level of Radon is safe and normal. If it reaches 100 Bq/cubic meter, a ventilation solution has to be found. Guidelines suggest a mitigating action if levels are at or above 148 Bq/cubic meter . Usually, Radon problems are fixed using an underground ventilation system or by increasing the rate of air changes in the building-through fresh-air and exhaust fans.

I brought this up to bring awareness on indoor pollutants, especially Radon, as I could hardly see it ‘permeate’ our knowledge!

Elections

Elections seen to be always happening in India’s noisy democracy, in a never-ending cycle. An election buzz seems to be everywhere, every few months.

This week saw the counting of the Urban Local Body Elections in the State of Tamilnadu-held after 10 years -where the party ruling the State romped home. But not before the national party, ruling at the Centre made its mark in the State. Analysts are out there, with their calculators trying to work out the math from the wins and losses.

I think people voted for continuity to see that the party which just won the State Assembly Elections, also rules the Local Bodies. No excuses hereinafter, for the winners. Deliver, or pack and leave.

Meanwhile, State Elections to the Legislative Assemblies of Uttar Pradesh, Goa, Punjab, Manipur, and Uttarakhand are in various phases of completion. Punjab, Goa, and Uttarakhand voted on a single day on 14 February. Manipur votes in two phases on 27 February and 3 March 2022. Uttar Pradesh is voting in seven phases: 10 February, 14 February, 20 February, 23 February, 27 February, 3 March, and 7 March 2022.

Counting of votes for all the Sates that went to the polls over the past weeks of February is scheduled on 10 March 2022. Testing times ahead.

Please Yourself

This week I found time to see the power of The Power of the Dog, a movie expected to make a big bite at the Oscars with an awesome 12 nominations in various categories in the 94th Academy Awards Night, coming up later in March 2022. I read that this year it will be hosted by Regina Hall, Amy Schumer, and Wanda Sykes.

The Power of the Dog is a powerful, haunting, psychological Western movie thriller where instead of guns you have the bango, the piano, the cattle, the landscape, and the raw cowhide doing the shooting. It is based on Thomas Savage’s 1967 novel of the same name. The film stars Benedict Cumberbatch (Phil), Kirsten Dunst(Rose), Jesse Plemons(George), and Kodi Smit-McPhee (Peter), and is directed by New Zealand Director, Screenwriter, and Producer, Jane Champion.

A wealthy American ranch in Montana, is run by brothers Phil and George. While Phil is blunt, cruel, and aggressively emulates his late mentor Bronco Henry in his traditional rawhide cowboy dressing, George is cool, polished, a perfect gentlemen with suit, tie, and hat to boot.

During a cattle drive George falls for inn-keeper Rose who is a widow with a teenage son, Peter. George lifts Rose to the ranch after marrying her, and sends her son to College to study medicine-surgery. Phil plays on the emotions of Rose with his coldness, pushing her into drinking, turning her in an alcoholic wreck, all the while mocking Peter’s effeminate manners.

Peter comes over to the ranch during a College break, feels his Mom’s condition, and snares and dissects a Rabbit to show-off his dissecting skills. He is befriended by Phil after Peter catches him bathing in a secluded pond and masturbating with a Bronco Henry scarf around his neck. Peter also discovers a stack of the magazines of nude men with the mentor’s name on them near the secret pond.

Phil teaches Peter to ride a horse and even starts making a lasso of raw cowhide for him to twine their friendship. Their warmth irks Rose and drives her further in an abyss. And one day, in a drunken stupor, she defiantly sells unused hides – normally burnt off by Phil – to a native Indian, when Phil & Peter are out for a ride together.

When Phil discovers his hides are gone, he creates a ruckus, and is unable to complete twining of the lasso he was working on. Peter offers him some hide he had himself cut-off, using a surgeon’s gloves, from a cow, which had died of Anthrax. Phil works through the night, with Peter watching, to finish off the lasso inadvertently allowing an injured bloody wound in his hand to soak in the solution used to soften the rawhide. During the process Phil narrates a story of Bronco Henry saving his life in freezing weather with the heat of his body and does not answer Peter’s question of whether they did it naked. Peter, in turn tells him about having to cut down the corpse of his alcoholic father who had killed himself by hanging. And that his father told him he was not ‘kind enough’.

The next day Phil is found sick in bed and later dies (of Anthrax – says the Doctor). George is puzzled about the Anthrax as Phil was awfully careful in staying away from dead cattle.

In the end Peter, who avoided Phil’s funeral, smiles on seeing his Mom embrace George outside the ranch, and perhaps live happily ever after. He pushes the Phil-made lasso, with a gloved hand, beneath his bed. You need to figure out yourself on what happened to Phil – that’s an unspoken, but ‘clear’ mystery.

Superb acting by the cast, especially Benedict Cumberbatch, and Kirsten Dunst who drinks into the character.

I found the music score, composed by English musician Jonny Greenwood who is the lead guitarist and keyboardist of the rock band Radiohead, filling the film to the brim. Made me grow my ears!

More Eastern and Western stories coming-up in the weeks ahead. Wars do not work-live peacefully with World Inthavaaram.

WORLD INTHAVAARAM, 2021-52

About: the world this week, 19 December to 25 December 2021, the thing of the year, the country of the year, signs of an invasion, bad behaviour by lawmakers, an antediluvian egg, and movies – in and out of prison; and a stylish, smashing brother helps.

Everywhere

My ‘Thing Of The Year’, the coronavirus and its evolving mutations, continues to hold the world in thrall, and by the throat. The latest avatar, Omicron, is already dominating infections in the United States (US), the United Kingdom (UK), and most of Europe. To give a statistic: Covid19 deaths in the US now exceed all deaths, military and civilian, in all American wars since the Revolutionary War (1775-76).

India is watching with ‘masked breath’, the cases are slowly growing in numbers and that dreaded word, ‘lockdown’ is unlocking in our minds. Many of us hope it dare not get a stronghold, the way it tossed us up, gasping for breath, in the so-called second wave.

Latest studies say that the Omicron variant isn’t as bad as the Delta variant, but certainly more infectious. We just need to keep ourselves ahead of the spikes: do what it takes to stay safe this Holiday Season – get and wear that armour.

With Christmas approaching, I hope everyone’s wish is a ‘stocking filled with the belief that the world will see the last spike of the coronavirus in 2022 – and others of its kind’. It may be a tough load for Santa to reindeer-in through the chimney, but faith is everything.

Italy

Italy was crowned the ‘Country of the Year’ by The Economist newspaper, in its annual honouring of the country that, in its view, improved the most in the year 2021: mind it, the award is not given to the biggest, the richest, or the happiest country! Central to the honour was Mario Draghi, described as a ‘competent, internationally respected Prime Minister’. Meanwhile, disgraced former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is modelling a comeback! Auguroni (Best Wishes).

Russia and Ukraine

Russia invaded the headlines this week, firing the eternal question, ‘is Russia going to annex Ukraine -like it did Crimea-are Russian forces getting ready for war in Ukraine?’ Oops, since when did invasions become fashionable again; ask the Vikings in Valhalla?

It was only seven years ago, in 2014, that Russia seized and then annexed the southern Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine, when Ukrainians were busy deposing their pro-Russian President. And Russian-backed separatists captured large swathes of Ukraine’s two eastern regions collectively known as the Donbas.

There is a mind problem here with Russia developing a mindset that Russia and Ukraine are one nation, after the fall of the Soviet Union: a twin brothers-separated-at birth-thing. Russian is the second most spoken language in Ukraine after Ukrainian. Another cause for Russia’s concern is that Ukraine is ‘sleeping with’ NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) and may marry into the Western Alliance. And Russia is demanding guarantees that the wedding will never happen.

NATO is a defensive alliance and its Secretary General, has made clear that any military support would be purely along those lines. The UK is set to help Ukraine build two naval bases, at Ochakiv on the Black Sea, and at Berdyansk on the Sea of Azov. The US’ anti-tank Javelin missiles have also been sent to Ukraine and two US Coast Guard patrol boats have been given to the navy. And Russia’s President Vladimir Putin is watching closely.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is looking for a clear timeline from the alliance. Wedding bells adding sound to the jingle of Christmas?

Russia is threatening military measures, and the US says if it invades Ukraine it will hit back with sanctions on an unprecedented scale. This is a place to watch. Maybe it’s just a Russian posturing, to prevent NATO from marrying more nations and bringing many children into the world opposed to Russia…and in Russia’s backyard.

India

India’s Opposition continued to ‘dishonour’ Parliament – in my view – sulking and striking over a well-deserved suspension of 12 fellow Members of Parliament (MP) for unruly, unacceptable behaviour, in the previous session. And wasting tax-payer’s money. Late in the week, another Quiz-Master turned MP joined the gang after flinging the Rule Book at the House Speaker. The best part is, these MPs wore the suspension as a badge of honour and along with ‘their partners in crime’ ensured Parliament work was disrupted.

MPs should set an example by setting in motion thoughtful discussions, artful debates and, agreeing to agree and agreeing to disagree.

Meanwhile, the Government rammed through Lower & Upper Houses of Parliament some much-needed electoral reforms, linking the unique Identification, Aadhar Card, with the Voter’s Identity Card – an obvious attempt a controlling election voting fraud.

The Government also tabled a bill, after Cabinet approval, to increase a woman’s age of marriage to 21, from the earlier 18, bringing it on par with a man. Women should be able to make better choices at this age and overcome a constant Indian pressure to marry-off the girls when they are just beginning to get the hang and the bang of things.

Dinosaurs

Over the years, we have become used to news of Dinosaur bones being discovered while digging in some corner of the World and put together to find a big name for it: many have landed up in museums where we can see the past ‘assembled and standing still in front of us’. Dinosaurs were real.

Now comes a more real story, announced by Scientists this week, about an unprecedented fossil, a perfectly preserved baby dinosaur curled up, almost life-like, inside its egg and obviously preparing to hatch, just like a chicken. The fossil is about 70 million years old.

The egg is around 17 centimeters (cm) long and the Dinosaur is estimated to be 27 cm long from head to tail. The researchers believe as an adult, had it lived, it would have been about two to three meters long. The fossil preserves the embryonic skeleton of an Oviraptorid Dinosaur, which has been nicknamed ‘Baby Yingliang’ after the name of the Chinese museum which houses the fossil. Baby dinosaur bones are small and fragile and are only very rarely preserved as fossils, making this a very lucky find, indeed.

All birds directly evolved from a group of two-legged dinosaurs known as Theropods, whose members include the towering Tyrannosaurus Rex and the smaller Velociraptors. This find is expected to shed more light on the links between dinosaurs and birds, among other things.

The specimen was among several fossils discovered about two decades ago in the China’s City of Ganzhou in the south-eastern province of Jiangxi but not recognised to be fossilised dinosaur eggs until 2015, when evaluated by an expert. The fossils were acquired in the year 2000 by a director of a Chinese stone company called Yingliang Group and ended up in storage, largely forgotten until about 10 years later, when museum staff sorted through the boxes and came across the fossil during the construction of Yingliang Stone Nature History Museum. Eventually, the egg shell slightly cracked and the fragile bones inside became visible, prompting a peek-in.

Researchers then led a study of the fossil, which was published in the journal iScience this week. Well, they hatched the egg for us to see.

Please Yourself

Over the week I watched the magnificent Sandra Bullock movie, The Unforgivable’ about a woman who tries to re-enter society, after serving a 20 year sentence in prison: to a society that is unforgiving and refuses to allow her to forget her past. Her only hope for redemption is finding her younger sister who she was forced to leave behind without a care-taker. Her mom dies in childbirth after giving her a little sister. And upon the death of her Dad she brings up the sister in her childhood home until ‘the crime’ when the Sheriff who comes over to evict them is shot dead in the ensuing war of words.

The end brought tears to the eyes with the sisters ‘closing the gap’ with a simple hug and the body language doing all the talking. Brilliant. Before the end there is a twist, which tells us what actually happened on that fateful day. Watch the movie and find out for the sacrifices made by a sister to protect her 5 years old sibling and the never give-up spirit in finding and connecting with her again. Give purpose to life on Earth!

I had also watched the Rajinikant Tamil movie ‘Annaantthe’ and found it dumb to the core. But, I loved the way a brother does everything possible to be understanding, and building back the life of his sister, without showing himself-until the end, when the job is done. Here too the story ends with a hug, though a noisy one.

The sister elopes with her lover, when the brother fixes-up a marriage, and thereafter suffers terrible misfortune in business due to an ‘underworld rowdy gang’. And the brother comes to the rescue, unnoticed by the sister. Again, the brother raises the sister from a young age, when the parents die. He dotes on her expansively and refuses to fall in to the age-old trap of ‘finishing off a runaway bride’ to save the ‘family honour’.

Any sister would love to have such a brother watching over from behind and giving you the muscle to face and climb out of a treacherous situation. Call it strengthening the wings for the flight of life. And a permanent life support.

The superb Actor that Rajinikant is, there are not many film makers and directors who have done justice to his capabilities, calmly using his unique style. And Rajini has allowed himself to be dragged along the beaten path…punching dialogues, flicking cigarettes, and other things as well. He can do better.

More stylish sibling love stories coming up in the weeks ahead, hug World Inthavaaram. Careful when you break those eggs for breakfast – there may be a baby Dinosaur sleeping inside.

Season’s Greetings, Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year 2022.

WORLD INTHAVAARAM, 2021-43

About: the world this week, 17 October to 23 October 2021, Haiti’s waywardness, shooting in Space, Hindus under attack, floods in Kerala, India reaches a vaccination landmark, and a shooting gone bad.

Everywhere

Haiti

Haiti is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles Archipelageo of the Caribbean Sea, to the east of Cuba and Jamaica and south of The Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands.

Haiti is the world’s leading producer of vetiver, a root plant used to make luxury perfumes and essential oils among other things. Vetiver is derived from the Tamil word ‘வெட்டிவேர்’ meaning ‘root that is dug up.’

About half the population of Haiti have roots in the agricultural sector but it still relies upon imports for most of its food needs. And Haiti is one of the poorest countries in the World.

In July this year, its President Jovenel Moise was assassinated in an attack on his private residence and the ‘root’ of the forces behind is yet to be dug up. Mercenaries appear with ease and ‘rowdy gangs’ seem to be able to spring-up from the ground at will and get away with whatever mischief they do.

Last Saturday as many as seventeen American Missionaries were kidnapped for ransom by gang members in Haiti, including three minors. The missionaries were travelling by a vehicle to Titanyen, north of the capital Port-au-Prince, after visiting an orphanage, when the kidnapping occurred.

Haiti may need to import help, to root out this ‘dangerous plant’ of violent gangs that is spreading through the country, keeping it the grip of violence, and strangulating its rise.

Russia

In a first of its kind, the Russians are ‘shooting’ in Space. Well, really!

Over the course of 12 days Producer-Director Klim Shipenko, Russian Actress Yulia Peresild, and cosmonaut Oleg Novitskiy filmed a movie, called, ‘Challenge’ – the first feature film shot entirely in space – working from the International Space Station. The had docked on 5th October and undocked on 16 October 2021, to safely return to Earth.

The movie tells the story of a surgeon, played by Peresild, who has to operate on a sick cosmonaut in space, portrayed by Novitskiy, because the cosmonaut’s medical condition prevents him from returning to Earth to be treated.

Previously a few films have been shot on board the space station, including a 2002 IMAX Documentary that Hollywood Actor Tom Cruise narrated. ‘Apogee of Fear’, a 2012 science fiction film running for about eight minutes, was also filmed in space by entrepreneur and space tourist Richard Garriott. Tom Cruise and Director Doug Liman revealed in 2020 that they were working together on a movie to be filmed in space, with NASA’s cooperation. The project is being developed in collaboration with Elon Musk’s SpaceX. It’s a ‘mission possible’ that Tom Cruise could stay in the Space Station sometime this October. And he probably got the hang of it during a chat with the all-civilian SpaceX Inspiration-4 crew during their recent trip to space.

But, Russia has become the first nation to do this kind of shooting: they always seem to be one small challenging step ahead of America’s NASA. Some Big Steps coming up?

Bangladesh

Muslim majority Bangladesh – a nation which India enabled to come into being, in the first place – in under severe stress with radical Islamists unleashing violence against the minority Hindus, under the garb of blasphemy.

Brutal attacks, vandalism, looting, and arson has returned to haunt Hindus in Bangladesh’s Noakhali district, as close to 150 households were attacked and at least three killed in a deadly clash on 13th October. A day later, a frenzied mob of radical Islamists attacked the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) temple in the Noakhali district in the Chittagong Division of Bangladesh. The sculpture of its founder, was burnt down during the arson attack on the temple. In another incident, in Hajiganj Upazila, Chandpur District in the Chittagong Division, Islamists also brutally raped an entire Hindu family including a 10 years old girl.

Attacks on Hindus is increasing at an alarming rate across the free World. In America a three-day online conference, ‘Dismantling Global Hindutva,’ which was held last month with at least 30,000 attendees generated a lot of heat & dust. Some said it failed to adequately distinguish between Hindutva, generally defined as Hindu nationalism, with Hinduism, the religion, which is a way of life.

Hinduism is the oldest religion in the World and has been harmlessly coexisting -even baby-sitting- with all the newcomers, over centuries. And it should be respected – left to be.

India

God’s Own Country, Kerala, as been on the Indian News headlines for many reasons, from initially being an example in tackling the pandemic – during the first wave- to having outrageously high and consistent daily infections – the highest in India – and maybe earnestly trying to set an example of how not to tackle the coronavirus – during the second wave. Poles apart, with the virus caught in between?

Now, Kerala is among the rains, with floods causing havoc, killing people and cutting off towns and villages when rivers started to overflow their banks. For eg.,several houses were washed away and people became trapped in the district of Kottayam. Days of incessantly heavy rainfall has caused deadly landslides and the Indian military has joined rescue efforts.

Akin to its experience with the pandemic, Kerala sees heavy rains every year bringing with it deadly floods and landslides- happening almost religiously despite its best efforts at managing the situation. Kerala probably has to do something new and different to prevent the effects of this almost recurring too-easy-to-predict event. You cannot expect different results doing things the same way. Can you? Stronger construction and clever selection of places to build Houses would be one approach; better preparedness and forewarning residents in flood prone areas would be another. Maybe moving-in to the famous backwater boats – with stronger moorings- during the rains, would be yet another? God and his country should decide!

COVID-19 Vaccination

India scripted history this Thursday by crossing a huge milestone in having done 100 crore or one billion vaccinations in less than 9 months, for a population of 1.38 billion.

So far, India has fully vaccinated about 30% of its adult population and given one dose to about 75%.

China is at the top spot with over 2.25 billion vaccine jabs and Russia is close behind India, having itself crossed the 1 billion mark, a day after India did.

Please Yourself

This Thursday, Hollywood Actor Alec Baldwin fired a prop gun that accidentally killed a 42 years old woman Cinematographer, Halyna Hutchins, and injured the Film Director while shooting for his latest movie ‘Rust’, in a New Mexico set. For now, the film production’s been put on hold indefinitely as authorities investigate what happened.

Alec Baldwin famously played ex-US President Donald Trump in the Television series, ‘Saturday Night Live’. Some of the movies he has acted in are, The Hunt for Red October, The Marrying Man, The Getaway, Pearl Harbour, The Aviator, and Mission Impossible – Rogue Nation…

What are prop guns? What comes to mind is a non-functional weapon or a toy gun that fires caps to produce smoke. Actually the term refers to real guns used as props. The reason a film production company would use a real gun is to lend authenticity especially in close-up shots. Prop guns are used with blank cartridges that have all the elements of a real bullet/cartridge except the projectile at the tip, which strikes the target. When you pull the trigger, you only get the bang, the recoil, the muzzle flash, and an ejected shell. Tragedy can strike if the prop gun isn’t loaded properly – or from ‘rusty’ planning-say when a cartridge with a projectile tip had unknowingly become stuck and when fired the projectile hits the target.

This is not the first instance of a fatal accident on a film set due to a prop gun. Actor Brandon Lee, son of the legendary Bruce Lee, was fatally shot by Actor Michael Massee with a prop gun during the filming of the movie, ‘The Crow’ in 1993.

Similarly, in 1984, actor Jon-Erik Hexum fatally shot himself with a blank discharged from a Magnum Pistol, while jokingly playing with the pistol on set, amid repeated delays in the filming of the television series ‘Cover Up’.

More real shots coming up in the weeks ahead. Nothing to cover-up: it’s all in the open and everything to crow about. Stay with World Inthavaaram.

WORLD INTHAVAARAM, 2021-05

About: This is the bread we’ve baked this week, in our World, and I’ve cut it down for you, also adding a slice of history, on what was before us.

Everywhere

Pressure in Russia: From Russia Without Love

I’m tired of climbing hills in the US and my eyes have moved to what’s happening beyond the mountains, in Russia. Yes, it’s about Alexei Navalny, the Russian Opposition Leader who is having a very tough time out there in the awfully cold Russian winter. Arrested, jailed, poisoned, arrested, jailed. Repeat.

Navalny, a lawyer-turned-activist came out of the cold in 2008, when he began exposing high-level corruption in Russian politics through his blog. He has since spearheaded many anti-corruption rallies, is considered to be the face of the Opposition in Russia, and has been arrested numerous times. He was barred from challenging current President, Vladimir Putin, in the 2018 Presidential Elections because of a previous conviction for fraud in a criminal case said to be politically motivated. The conviction was overturned by Russia’s Supreme Court, but he was found guilty in a re-trial, which earned criticism from the European Court of Human Rights.

Russia is known to eliminate dissidents and political activists by poisoning them, and Navalny too had a taste of this when in August 2020 he was poisoned with the soviet-era banned lethal nerve agent Novichok, which almost knocked him off. Of course, it will be hard to prove it in Russia. He managed to get himself on a plane to Germany where he was treated and recovered from the poisoning effects. And this was not the first instance: two years before, he had a bright green liquid dye sprayed upon him in Barnaul, Siberia, by an assailant who pretended to shake his hand, resulting in considerable damage to an eye.

In the current upturn of events, Navalny was arrested, on return from Germany, on the bizarre rule-break that he violated a suspended criminal sentence by remaining in Germany for further treatment after being released from Hospital – following his treatment for poisoning. The suspended sentence was from a 2014 trial termed as ‘arbitrary and manifestly unreasonable’ by the European Court of Human Rights for which Russia was ordered to pay Navalny and his brother near 76,000 Euros in compensation. Instead of finding out who poisoned the victim, Russia is running after the victim?

Now you get the picture? Having grown really big as a country and lived this long there are many Laws & Rules, but legalities don’t really matter in Russia where the rules of the game are changed and the goal posts are shifted for any curling shot to become a goal. Look at what a man fighting the system is up against!

A very tough road ahead for Navalny, and he has unstinted support coming his way, with spontaneous protests against his arrest, erupting across Russia.

Let’s delve into history to understand the ‘coldness’ of Russia and its ‘Iron Curtain’ (coined by the then British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill) calling. The explosive Russian Revolution of 1917 – actually consisting of two cataclysmic revolutions, both happening in that one year, the February Revolution, and the October Revolution, changed Russia like never before.

In the first, the last Tsarist regime, represented by the Romanov dynasty, which celebrated a spectacular three centuries in power (Peter the Great and Catherine the Great were Romanovs), was overthrown, forever ending Imperial Rule, and in the second, the October Revolution, the Bolsheviks and Red Guards led by Vladimir Lenin staged a coup and established communist rule leading to the formation of what we all knew as the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) and the Communist Party.

Nicolas-II, the last Romanov Emperor, abdicated soon after the February Revolution, and his family, Empress Alexandra, and their five children were taken prisoners. On a July night, in 1918, the family and four servants were ordered to dress quickly and go down to the cellar of the house in which they were being held, on the pretext that they are to be moved to a new location for their own safety. They were told to wait while the truck meant to transport them arrived. A few minutes later an execution squad of the secret police was brought in and the order of their execution, for countless crimes on Soviet Russia, was read out.

The armed men then gunned down the imperial family in a hail of gunfire. Those who were still breathing, when the smoked cleared, were stabbed to death. The bodies were disposed off in a chaotic manner and remained undiscovered for decades leading to speculation that someone from the family might have survived and actually be alive. It is said that the royals had diamonds and jewellery secretly sewn into their corsets, which had a bullet-proof effect, resulting in bullets not making their mark.

In later years, the remains of Nicholas, Alexandra, and three of their children were excavated in a forest near Yekaterinburg, in the year 1991, and positively identified two years later using DNA fingerprinting. The Crown Prince Alexei and one Romanov daughter – Anastasia– were not accounted for, fuelling the persistent legend and fantasy that Anastasia was alive and had escaped: countless stories and movies have been made on Anastasia. In subsequent years, scientists were able to confirm the deaths and the Romanov family was finally put to rest in St. Petersburg. The Crown Jewels became the property of the Soviet Union and a large portion is held in museums in the Kremlin. Given those tumultuous times, some of the fabulous jewels went missing – unable to be traced, to this day.

To further thread the story of Russia, after Lenin, it was Dictator Joseph Stalin, then Nikita Khrushchev over to Mikail Gorbachev until dissolution of the Soviet Union, on 25 December 1991. Russia then held its original name, with Boris Yeltsin as President, who hands over to Vladimir Putin – with Dmitry Medvedev stealing some years in between, due to term limits. Putin has been President since 2012 and in January 2020 modified the Russian Constitution in a way that would scrap term limits for Presidents, paving the way for him to remain President indefinitely. Sounds typical African style ruling, doesn’t it?

I’m breathless…this is the perhaps the briefest history you can get on Russia.

Back from the past to the present, Russian police have detained more than 4,000 people – and counting – in a crackdown on protests in support of the jailed Alexei Navalny. Tens of thousands of people defied a heavy police presence to join some of the largest rallies against President Vladimir Putin, in years.

Russia is one hard country to crack and President Putin, with his KGB secret service background holds the aces, the iron, the jewels, and the aggression to controlling Russia. Who can poison that? Alexei Navalny needs all the bravery and smartness he can muster to melt this iron rule.

Wonder Women of Estonia

Women leaders are rising-up in many countries and are proving to be better rulers than men – watch out! On 26 January, 43 years old Kaja Kallas was sworn as Estonia’s first female Prime Minister since Estonia ‘regained’ independence in 1991. Estonia was an independent country until it was annexed by the Soviet Union in 1940. On the break-up of the USSR, Estonia restored its independence on 20 August 1991, which is celebrated as ‘Day of Restoration of Independence’. For a change we have a tame ‘Restoration of Independence Day’ rather than the fiery Independence Day most Countries in the world celebrate.

Kallis leads the Reform Party which was founded by her father, Sim Kallas, who was also Prime Minister in 2002-2003. Kaja Kallis studied to become a Lawyer specialising in Estonian and European competition law, and also holds a Master of Business Administration degree in Economics. She will need every letter of her education to stay competitive and administer well.

There’s another woman in the Estonian hierarchy, with the President also being a woman, Kersti Kaljulaid. She achieved that at the age of 46. In the year 2016. That makes Estonia one of the few countries where both the head of State and head of Government are woman.

In 2018, President Kaljulaid ran the New York City Marathon, during a working tour of the United States, and finished in just over four hours.

I’m sure both Women know how to run Estonia. For a start, one is a marathon woman.

Larry King (is) Dead: the Art of Conversation Lives On

After hosting ‘Larry King Live’ on CNN for over 25 years and retiring in 2010 to host ‘Larry King Now’, the legendary American talk-show host Larry King, 87, died on 24 January at Cedars Sinai Medical Centre in Los Angeles due to COVID-19.

Larry King had diabetes and suffered from a series of medical issues over the years including several heart attacks and a quintuple bypass surgery. He had been diagnosed with lung cancer and successfully underwent surgery to treat it. He also underwent a procedure to address angina.

Larry King married eight times (twice to the same woman) and has four children. Last year he lost two of his children who died within weeks of each other: a son of heart-attack, and a daughter of lung cancer.

King interviewed countless newsmakers and every-day people. He interviewed every sitting President from Gerald Ford to Barack Obama doing more than 30,000 interviews and listening-in to thousands of phone calls from viewers of his Call-in Show(s).

Larry King had a distinctive, unmistakable appearance in his Talk Shows: oversized spectacles and ever-present suspenders. He was known for not spending time preparing for interviews, preferring instead to let his natural curiosity guide the conversation. He read all day long and watched news which made him really well-informed. He would allow his guests to talk and then spring up the questions, with the flow. King adopted an affable easygoing demeanour and perfected a casual approach to the Question & Answer format, always leaning forward and listening intently to his guests, rarely interrupting. He treated every guest the same – Presidents, famous people, and the common man. And he loved being in front of the camera.

“I just love what I do, I love asking questions, I love doing interviews” said Larry King.

We would love him to do an interview with God and allow us a phone call to ask God a question? Rest in Peace Larry King.

COVID-19 Vaccination Updates

The biggest vaccination campaign in history is on a roll with more than 90 million doses in 62 countries have been administered, averaging 4.3 million doses a day.

Israel is on track to probably becoming the first country to achieve herd immunity (70% required) – expected in about 45 days – with about 26% of the population already vaccinated.

India has vaccinated near about 2.92 million (Source: Ministry of Health) people and the vaccination drive is gathering momentum after an initial tardiness, finding about 6 lakh arms per day. On the coronavirus infections front, India is counting about 13,000 downhill positive cases per day and Schools have been opened for Class 10 and Class 12, at least in my region. Getting back to normalcy for sure.

Nearer Home, in Attur, Tamilnadu, a good medical doctor friend of mine was one of the first to receive the Covishield Vaccine -made by the Serum Institute of India – and I’m sure she will frame the photo for the History records. I did share that photo-shoot within my Group, to inspire. And to dispel any doubts, the nay-say people might have. We should roll up our sleeves, when the time comes. We are not safe until everyone is safe.

Please Yourself

Planning to buy a car? Go Toyota, or go electric?

This week Japanese Company, Toyota drove up the ramp to wear the Global Crown of the World’s best-selling automaker. The one runner-up sash went to the German Volkswagen Group.

Toyota sold 9.5 million vehicles around the world in 2020, which includes its Daihatsu and Hino lineups. Volkswagen did 9.3 million units, which includes its brands of Audi, Skoda and Porsche.

Meanwhile, electric car-maker Tesla has set up shop in Bengaluru, India. The future is electric, and we need to keep looking out for the electrifying offers we can get to use clean energy, to clean-up the mess we made of relying on greenhouse gas-emitting petrol and diesel.

More interesting stories, coming-up, in the week(s) ahead