The best way to know the self is feeling oneself at the moments of reckoning. The feeling of being alone, just with your senses, may lead you to think more consciously. More and more of such moments may sensitize ‘you towards you’, towards others. We become regular with introspection and retrospection. We get ‘the’ gradual connect to the higher self we may name Spirituality or God or just a Humane Conscious. We tend to get a rhythm again in life. We need to learn the art of being lonely in crowd while being part of the crowd. A multitude of loneliness in mosaic of relations! One needs to feel it severally, with conscience, before making it a way of life. One needs to live several such lonely moments. One needs to live severallyalone.

Saturday 31 December 2016

2016 GOES BY..REFLECTING ON..

It is always between 'what changes from one calendar day to the next' and 'every day is a new day, a reservoir of hopes, a new opportunity to do, undo or redo things'.

And it is always better to go with the later one - every day is a new day and every day is a new 'you'.

Welcome 2017. Adieu 2016.

Reflect on. Retrospect. Introspect.

To reflect on the days ahead. To recharge yourself. With this symbolic milestone.

A symbolic milestone that comes every year.

It is for you to look at it - so why won't we do it in a positive, uplifting mode?  

Yes, life is very unpredictable - and so are its difficulties - with moments that let you down - with letdowns that lock you in an inertia.

But pragmatism tells to always look ahead - at the point beyond that letdown. It is only you who can break the run of inertia in your life - it is only you  who can win over the psychological entrapments that you have built around yourself.

Life's experiences should tell us that there is no substitute, no alternative, but to fight back - when life is dragging you down. Kill those jinxes that work to darken your path.

After all, apart from the people who really care for you and mind you, that includes a few handful (obviously including your family), who else stands with you emotionally (or even pratically)? Everyone else either has a fleeting attention to the problems your are facing or a 'knack' to exploit you more in your hours of crisis.

Anyway, that was about migrating from one year to the next - here in this case, from December 31, 2016 to January 1, 2017.

So..what has been my account of the year?

Diversified. Challenging. With my share of highs and lows. With my problems and with my triumphs. 

Like it happens in every life.

Like it happened the previous year. 

The many things that I had thought to do this year - some of them I could do - some of them are works in progress - and some of them are in advanced stages of ideation - and some of them are in still pipeline - something that always happens - in every life -  and I have learnt to enjoy it this way.

I continued the work to improve my personal website - which I treat as my web journal - and so far, I have been engaged with it looks and progress. I had taken the domain name in 2014 and the development with a professional touch, that began last year, continued this year unabated - and it was in sync with what I had thought when I was beginning 2016. Also, I started reworking on my other major website - BanarasCalling - and I hope to complete the first target in 2017. ToonJunction is another work in progress. Besides, there are some more 'upcomings'. 

While reflecting back on 2015 on December 31 last year, I had decided that I would devote more time to my books and would limit my online publishing activity to once a day. But this is one area where I need to push myself deeply now because the 2016 has been same on this front as 2015 was. 

Apart from that, it looks fine. Now that when I am reflecting back on 2016, on a December 31 exactly one year later, I am already more than a post a day - so far 431 posts this year in 365 days with this December 31 yet to go. So it will be like 2015 – with 432 posts. 

2016 was the fifth consecutive year for my writing and publishing pledge where I could maintain the discipline of writing or creating something daily - something that I had begun on October 15, 2011 - though with a random thought - with no long terms goals - but with 'every day' convictions.

I still have no goals. My driver is the sense of satisfaction that I draw after creating something from discipline of doing it daily, doing it regularly.

Yes, I regret that I could not work that much on my books as I had thought (there were similar thoughts on December 31, 2015), but what is relieving is that I know that why I could not do so and that I would do something concrete with them in the days to come (this is something I can lift from my last year's assessment).

Like I have been doing with my writing and with my creativity, I could do all that I needed to - with diversity as the leitmotif - in articles, in essays, in poetry, in images, in quotes, in fiction.

And yes, this year, I began on my unplanned travel plans and I can say, to my sense of peace, that they have contributed to my work. 

All that I have been through in 2016 I cannot write here and I should not write here, but while moving on to the next year with the symbolic importance of January 1 - of 'newness and hope' - I have no bad feeling about how 2016 passed - but good reasons to look ahead - and positive energy to work further.  


©SantoshChaubey 

AS THE GANGA FLOWS - VARANASI VIBES

IN GOD'S OWN CITY



VARANASI VIBES

AS THE GANGA FLOWS

INDIA'S OLDEST LIVING CITY - INDIA'S HERITAGE AND CULTURAL CAPITAL - AND THE WORLD'S SPIRITUAL CAPITAL THROUGH RANDOM CLICKS 

©SantoshChaubey  

Thursday 29 December 2016

TRUMP IS FURIOUS AT OBAMA, AGAIN!

Here it is a bit modified and extended.

US President Elect Donald Trump has a trademark style of hitting back on his opponents. And when he does so, he minces no words. He lays bare his thoughts in clear words, be it his Twitter handle or his statements.

The latest in his series of Twitter onslaughts is targeted at his bête noire, the present US President Barack Obama. Donald Trump is fuming and he has tweeted to express his anger, “Doing my best to disregard the many inflammatory President O statements and roadblocks. Thought it was going to be a smooth transition – NOT!”

‏@realDonaldTrump
Doing my best to disregard the many inflammatory President O statements and roadblocks.Thought it was going to be a smooth transition – NOT!
7:37 PM – 28 Dec 2016

‘NOT’ in caps summing his tweet is self-explanatory to tell us the scale of his anger over a person who was one of his two main adversaries during the US Presidential election campaign even if he was pitted directly against the Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton who was addressed as ‘crooked Hillary’ in his Twitter blasts.

This one follows his other anti Obama tweets in recent days focusing on reminding Obama that Trump is superior to him and his victory is no fluke. Rather, it was a vote on account of Obama’s inefficiency.

‏@realDonaldTrump
President Obama campaigned hard (and personally) in the very important swing states, and lost.The voters wanted to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!
3:22 AM – 28 Dec 2016

‏@realDonaldTrump
President Obama said that he thinks he would have won against me. He should say that but I say NO WAY! – jobs leaving, ISIS, OCare, etc.
3:06 AM – 27 Dec 2016

The latest spat began after Obama recently said that he was fully confident that if it would be a presidential race between him and Donald Trump, he would have beaten him. It came along with other Obama’s statements that Trump found ‘inflammatory’ as this news report in The Hill says, “It is here that we remember that even when hatred burns hottest, even when the tug of tribalism is at its most primal, we must resist the urge to turn inward, we must resist the urge to demonize those who are different.”

Ever since the unexpected Trump victory, there has been a prevailing atmosphere of fear in the US that now immigrants, Black Americans and racial minorities including Muslims will be targeted more. Trump had based his campaign on these lines.

Though Trump is a known Obama critic and has used every opportunity to target the present US President, even going to the extent to question Obama’s US birth credentials, after his first meeting with Obama in the White House, he had found Obama ‘a very good man’.

Barack Obama had joyfully welcomed his successor to the White House and they both had sounded agreeable and optimistic on the smooth transition of the government from the Barack Obama administration to the Donald Trump Administration by the time the latter’s government is inaugurated on January 20, 2017.

And Trump had tweeted about his meeting with Obama with words like ‘fantastic day, good meeting, and great chemistry’.

‏@realDonaldTrump
A fantastic day in D.C. Met with President Obama for first time. Really good meeting, great chemistry. Melania liked Mrs. O a lot!
7:40 AM – 11 Nov 2016

The thaw that had looked to set in that day was seen taking some shape when, after some days, Reuters had published a story titled ‘Obama’s not-so-secret admirer: Donald Trump’ quoting Trump’s interview to the New York Times. Trump had said here, “I didn’t know if I’d like him. I probably thought that maybe I wouldn’t, but I did. I really enjoyed him a lot. I had a great meeting with President Obama. I really liked him a lot.”

But with these recent developments, it seems that it was more of a facade and the cover was blown away with slightest of the provocation from the either side. Obama has become increasingly critical of Trump again, after the Oval Office bonhomie, amid indications that Trump may continue with his divisive agenda as he pushed during the campaign phase. Trump, after finding fault in Obama’s healthcare, outsourcing, Iran deal, anti-terror and nuclear policies, has gone to grab new avenues like the US policy on Israel and Palestine under the Obama administration.

©SantoshChaubey

Wednesday 28 December 2016

VARANASI VIBES - IN GOD'S OWN CITY - A LIFE KALEIDOSCOPIC

INDIA'S OLDEST LIVING CITY - INDIA'S HERITAGE AND CULTURAL CAPITAL - AND THE WORLD'S SPIRITUAL CAPITAL THROUGH RANDOM CLICKS 


VARANASI VIBES
IN GOD'S OWN CITY
A LIFE KALEIDOSCOPIC 

©SantoshChaubey   

Tuesday 27 December 2016

VARANASI VIBES - IN GOD'S OWN CITY - A LIFE KALEIDOSCOPIC

INDIA'S OLDEST LIVING CITY - INDIA'S HERITAGE AND CULTURAL CAPITAL - AND THE WORLD'S SPIRITUAL CAPITAL THROUGH RANDOM CLICKS 



VARANASI VIBES
IN GOD'S OWN CITY
A LIFE KALEIDOSCOPIC 

©SantoshChaubey   

Sunday 25 December 2016

THOSE GANGA BIRDS

VARANASI VIBES - IN GOD'S OWN CITY




THOSE GANGA BIRDS 
AS THE GANGA FLOWS

MIGRATORY BIRDS FROM SIBERIA ON THE GANGA IN VARANASI..

INDIA'S OLDEST LIVING CITY - INDIA'S HERITAGE AND CULTURAL CAPITAL - AND THE WORLD'S SPIRITUAL CAPITAL THROUGH RANDOM CLICKS 

©SantoshChaubey  

Wednesday 21 December 2016

MARKANDEY MAHADEV

VARANASI VIBES - IN GOD'S OWN CITY





MARKANDEY MAHADEV

INDIA'S OLDEST LIVING CITY - INDIA'S HERITAGE AND CULTURAL CAPITAL - AND THE WORLD'S SPIRITUAL CAPITAL THROUGH RANDOM CLICKS 

©SantoshChaubey  

Tuesday 20 December 2016

AS THE GANGA FLOWS - VARANASI VIBES

IN GOD'S OWN CITY


VARANASI VIBES

AS THE GANGA FLOWS

INDIA'S OLDEST LIVING CITY - INDIA'S HERITAGE AND CULTURAL CAPITAL - AND THE WORLD'S SPIRITUAL CAPITAL THROUGH RANDOM CLICKS 

©SantoshChaubey  

Monday 19 December 2016

THE SADHUS OF THE GANGA - VARANASI VIBES

IN GOD'S OWN CITY 


VARANASI VIBES 

THE SADHUS OF THE GANGA

INDIA'S OLDEST LIVING CITY - INDIA'S HERITAGE AND CULTURAL CAPITAL - AND THE WORLD'S SPIRITUAL CAPITAL THROUGH RANDOM CLICKS 

©SantoshChaubey  

Sunday 18 December 2016

VARANASI VIBES - IN GOD'S OWN CITY - MANIKARNIKA GHAT

INDIA'S OLDEST LIVING CITY - INDIA'S HERITAGE AND CULTURAL CAPITAL - AND THE WORLD'S SPIRITUAL CAPITAL THROUGH RANDOM CLICKS 


MANIKARNIKA GHAT 
IN GOD'S OWN CITY
VARANASI VIBES

 GHAT LIFE - MANIKARNIKA GHAT

©SantoshChaubey   

VARANASI VIBES - IN GOD'S OWN CITY - MANIKARNIKA GHAT

INDIA'S OLDEST LIVING CITY - INDIA'S HERITAGE AND CULTURAL CAPITAL - AND THE WORLD'S SPIRITUAL CAPITAL THROUGH RANDOM CLICKS 

MANIKARNIKA GHAT 
IN GOD'S OWN CITY
VARANASI VIBES

 GHAT LIFE - MANIKARNIKA GHAT

©SantoshChaubey   

Saturday 17 December 2016

VARANASI VIBES - IN GOD'S OWN CITY - MANIKARNIKA GHAT

INDIA'S OLDEST LIVING CITY - INDIA'S HERITAGE AND CULTURAL CAPITAL - AND THE WORLD'S SPIRITUAL CAPITAL THROUGH RANDOM CLICKS 


MANIKARNIKA GHAT 
IN GOD'S OWN CITY
VARANASI VIBES

 GHAT LIFE - MANIKARNIKA GHAT

©SantoshChaubey   

VARANASI VIBES - IN GOD'S OWN CITY - MANIKARNIKA GHAT

INDIA'S OLDEST LIVING CITY - INDIA'S HERITAGE AND CULTURAL CAPITAL - AND THE WORLD'S SPIRITUAL CAPITAL THROUGH RANDOM CLICKS 

MANIKARNIKA GHAT 
IN GOD'S OWN CITY
VARANASI VIBES

 GHAT LIFE - MANIKARNIKA GHAT

©SantoshChaubey   

Friday 16 December 2016

VARANASI VIBES - IN GOD'S OWN CITY - A LIFE KALEIDOSCOPIC

INDIA'S OLDEST LIVING CITY - INDIA'S HERITAGE AND CULTURAL CAPITAL - AND THE WORLD'S SPIRITUAL CAPITAL THROUGH RANDOM CLICKS 


VARANASI VIBES
IN GOD'S OWN CITY
A LIFE KALEIDOSCOPIC 

©SantoshChaubey   

Thursday 15 December 2016

VARANASI VIBES - IN GOD'S OWN CITY - A LIFE KALEIDOSCOPIC

INDIA'S OLDEST LIVING CITY - INDIA'S HERITAGE AND CULTURAL CAPITAL - AND THE WORLD'S SPIRITUAL CAPITAL THROUGH RANDOM CLICKS 


VARANASI VIBES
IN GOD'S OWN CITY
A LIFE KALEIDOSCOPIC 

©SantoshChaubey   

Wednesday 14 December 2016

VARANASI VIBES - IN GOD'S OWN CITY - A LIFE KALEIDOSCOPIC

INDIA'S OLDEST LIVING CITY - INDIA'S HERITAGE AND CULTURAL CAPITAL - AND THE WORLD'S SPIRITUAL CAPITAL THROUGH RANDOM CLICKS 



VARANASI VIBES
IN GOD'S OWN CITY
A LIFE KALEIDOSCOPIC 

©SantoshChaubey   

Tuesday 13 December 2016

VARANASI VIBES - IN GOD'S OWN CITY - A LIFE KALEIDOSCOPIC

INDIA'S OLDEST LIVING CITY - INDIA'S HERITAGE AND CULTURAL CAPITAL - AND THE WORLD'S SPIRITUAL CAPITAL THROUGH RANDOM CLICKS 


VARANASI VIBES
IN GOD'S OWN CITY
A LIFE KALEIDOSCOPIC 

©SantoshChaubey   

Monday 12 December 2016

VARANASI VIBES - IN GOD'S OWN CITY - A LIFE KALEIDOSCOPIC

INDIA'S OLDEST LIVING CITY - INDIA'S HERITAGE AND CULTURAL CAPITAL - AND THE WORLD'S SPIRITUAL CAPITAL THROUGH RANDOM CLICKS 


VARANASI VIBES
IN GOD'S OWN CITY
A LIFE KALEIDOSCOPIC 

©SantoshChaubey   

ARAB SPRING 2.0? KEY FINDINGS OF ADR 2016. RADICALISATION THREATS.

RADICALISATION THREATS. 

Marginalization/existential threats!
Events in the region since 2011 have demonstrated the ability of young people to initiate action and catalyse change. They demonstrated young people’s awareness of the serious challenges to development posed by current conditions, and their ability to express the dissatisfaction of society as a whole with those conditions and its demands for change. These events also revealed the depth of the marginalisation that young people suffer and their inability to master the instruments of organised political action that could guarantee the peacefulness and sustainability of such change.

FAILING REGIMES!
There seems to be no prospect of improvement in the ability of governments to create sufficient suitable jobs, particularly because of the decline in oil prices and the negative effects of the decline on economic growth throughout the region, not merely in oil-producing countries.

LOST OPPORTUNITY!
Today’s generation of young people is more educated, active and connected to the outside world, and hence have a greater awareness of their realities and higher aspirations for a better future.

However, young people’s awareness of their capabilities and rights collides with a reality that marginalises them and blocks their pathways to express their opinions, actively participate or earn a living.

As a result, instead of being a massive potential for building the future, youth can become an overwhelming power for destruction.

HAVE NO SAY!
The youth unemployment rate is the highest in the world, reaching almost 30 percent, even though five years have passed since the widespread protests demanding a dignified life.

High numbers of young people, particularly young women, are unemployed and excluded from the formal economy.

The research literature continues to highlight the weak productivity of education and training systems in the region.

WAKE UP!
Indicators confirm that the overwhelming majority of young people in the Arab region do not tend to adopt extremist or violent views or to participate in extremist groups or activities. However, this should not lead us to complacency, because young people remain vulnerable to victimization by groups that misuse religion to benefit from its pivotal role in shaping identities.

EASY TARGETS TO BE Exploited in the name of religion by terror groups/fringes!
Disgruntled individuals are less prone to resorting to peaceful, patient social action to change their environment. They may prefer more direct, more violent means, especially if they are convinced that existing mechanisms for participation and accountability are useless.

From:
​Youth and the Prospects for Human Development in a Changing Reality

Sunday 11 December 2016

ARAB SPRING 2.0? KEY FINDINGS OF ADR 2016. UNEMPLOYMENT.

UNEMPLOYMENT
Most recent statistics indicate that two-thirds of the Arab region’s population is below thirty years of age, half of which falling within the 15 - 29-year age bracket.

The youth unemployment rate is the highest in the world, reaching almost 30 percent, even though five years have passed since the widespread protests demanding a dignified life.

Young people between the ages of fifteen and 29 make up nearly a third of the region’s population, another third are below the age of fifteen.

Their numbers exceed 105 million, equivalent to one third of the population. This is the highest share in the history of the region.

In 2014, unemployment among youth in the Arab region exceeded twice the global average – the situation is expected to worsen by 2019.  

The most important challenges that they feel they face – 75.77% said it was the prevailing Economic situation (poverty, unemployment, price increase).

Corruption was a distant second with 14.78% going with it - but together they are over 90% (90.55%) - that means a lot and that tells why there is chronic unemployment rate and why the youth is forced to protest.

Unemployment rate among the young female population is 47%. The global average is 16%.  Unemployment rate among the young male population female is 24%. The global average is 13%.  

In 2014, unemployment among youth in the Arab region exceeded twice the global average – the situation is expected to worsen by 2019.  

By 2020, the Arab region needs to create 60 million new jobs to cater to the rising number the young, working age population.  

Young people are coming of age in a context of widening income disparities, increasing inequality of opportunity, slowing average growth and shrinking job opportunities. These problems are weakening their commitment to preserving government institutions and their desire to participate in a political world that does not meet their needs or their expectations.

From:
​Youth and the Prospects for Human Development in a Changing Reality

VARANASI VIBES - IN GOD'S OWN CITY - A LIFE KALEIDOSCOPIC

INDIA'S OLDEST LIVING CITY - INDIA'S HERITAGE AND CULTURAL CAPITAL - AND THE WORLD'S SPIRITUAL CAPITAL THROUGH RANDOM CLICKS 


VARANASI VIBES
IN GOD'S OWN CITY
A LIFE KALEIDOSCOPIC 

©SantoshChaubey   

Saturday 10 December 2016

VARANASI VIBES - IN GOD'S OWN CITY - A LIFE KALEIDOSCOPIC

INDIA'S OLDEST LIVING CITY - INDIA'S HERITAGE AND CULTURAL CAPITAL - AND THE WORLD'S SPIRITUAL CAPITAL THROUGH RANDOM CLICKS 


VARANASI VIBES
IN GOD'S OWN CITY
A LIFE KALEIDOSCOPIC 

©SantoshChaubey   

Friday 9 December 2016

ARAB SPRING 2.0: ANOTHER ARAB AWAKENING COMING?

Here it is a bit modified and extended.

“The prospects of young people in the region are, now more than ever, jeopardized by poverty, economic stagnation, governance failure and exclusion, all compounded by the violence and fragility of the body politic.”

That, we can say is the central theme of the latest Arab Development Report (ADR 2016) released by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) recently.

UNDP, so far, has released six ADRs and the themes of the reports say how the condition has worsened in region from 2002 to 2016. The first ADR, in 2002, was themed on opportunities, while the latest one, in 2016, raises tough questions on the very real possibility of yet another round of the Arab revolution or awakening, five years after the Arab Spring of 2011.

WILL IT BE ARAB SPRING 2.0?

It seems so if we go by the findings of the latest ADR – “Arab Human Development Report 2016: Youth and the Prospects for Human Development in a Changing Reality”.

The 2011 Arab Spring was largely youth driven who were well connected through social media. They were staring at a blank when it came to future security. Five years later, the Arab unemployment rate remains abysmally low. At 30%, it is double the global average. Moreover, today’s youth are more educated and more connected but less employable. The discontent is brewing.

The ADR says, “Events in the region since 2011 have demonstrated the ability of young people to initiate action and catalyse change. They demonstrated young people’s awareness of the serious challenges to development posed by current conditions, and their ability to express the dissatisfaction of society as a whole with those conditions and its demands for change. These events also revealed the depth of the marginalisation that young people suffer and their inability to master the instruments of organised political action that could guarantee the peacefulness and sustainability of such change.”

The youth in the region are cursed to live in a region of despotic leaders that, with a population base of just 5% of the world, has seen 14% of the world’s terror. The corresponding data set is even worse. The Arab region has 57.5% of the world’s refugees and 47% of the world’s internally displaced. The region saw the world’s 68.5%% of battle related deaths from 1989 to 2014. The global average is 27.7%. Average military expenditure per capita of the region is over 65% of the global average. The report indicates rapidly increasing conflict zones in the region and says by 2050, 3 of 4 Arabs would be living in the high conflict zones.

IT LOOKS SCARY

Such abysmal figures tell of a bleak future, especially for its youth who have even fewer opportunities than 2011 and are now compartmentalized in different conflict zones and are therefore unable to move, the report says. And they are the largest chunk of the Arab population – two-thirds of them are below 30 years.

And they have nowhere to go. The report writes, “Young people’s awareness of their capabilities and rights collides with a reality that marginalises them and blocks their pathways to express their opinions, actively participate or earn a living. As a result, instead of being a massive potential for building the future, youth can become an overwhelming power for destruction.”

The report paints a worrying scenario, “Youth in the Arab region suffer to varying degrees as a result of the state of human development. Young people feel deeply anxious about their future and are gripped by an inherent sense of discrimination and exclusion. Many of them do not receive good education, find suitable employment, or have appropriate health care. Moreover, youth in Arab countries are insufficiently represented in public life, and have no meaningful say in shaping policies that influence their lives.”

THEY ARE NOT VOTING..BUT THEY ARE PROTESTING..

When we see the youth voting rate, at 68.3%, it is lowest in the world. The global average is 87.4%. But it doesn’t mean that they are not participating in the sociopolitical processes. They are voting less but are protesting more. It means they don’t have faith in the existing governments. According to the report, over 18% of the Arab youths participated in protests in 2013, almost double of the global average of 10.8%.

What other options do they have? A region run by ruthless military rulers or monarchs that believes in spending more on arms and terrorism than human development, as the figures above say, was waiting for this to happen. All was well till easy oil money was there, as the state could co-opt the dissenting voices, while building palaces and businesses of those who roamed in the power corridors. It is well known that most outfits and jobs in the Arab countries are in the government sector. But now, as the oil prices are historically low and future looks grim on price revisions despites the oil producing block OPEC’s repeated attempts, that easy option is gone.

The report says, “The gains in human development rarely translated into gains in productivity and growth because the model trapped human capital in unproductive public sector jobs, while building up a pyramid of privilege that gave economic advantages to companies and individuals closely linked to decision makers and reinforcing structural alliances among political and economic elites so they could protect their own interests. Ultimately, the model supported individuals from cradle to grave, but bequeathed a negative legacy.”

2011 ARAB SPRING

The 2011 Arab Spring had swept the Arab world in the Middle East and North Africa but it remained far from achieving its desired end. It resulted in removal of four despotic rulers – in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Yemen – ongoing civil wars in Syria, Yemen and Libya – and series of large scale protests in Bahrain, Algeria, Somalia, Lebanon, Kuwait, Morocco and many other Arab countries. Saudi Arabia, the largest oil producer which is ruled by a strict monarchy, also saw protests and its echoes are still felt with its continued purge of dissenting voices. In January this year, the country executed 47 people including Nimr al-Nimr, a Shiite Arab Spring voice.

Except Tunisia, nowhere we have seen a successful power transition towards a democratic process. Egypt had a democratically elected government of the Muslim Brotherhood but its fundamentalism pushed people again to protest and now the army is back in the controlling role. Libya and Yemen are dark patches of civil and faction wars. Syria has become the scourge of the modern times pushing the largest contingent of refugees across the world.

The revolution that had begun in 2011 is still half done – and the factors that led to the massive protests then – have become more painful now.

©SantoshChaubey

Thursday 8 December 2016

TIME PERSON OF THE YEAR: FROM A MERE JOKE, IT IS NOW A 'GREAT HONOUR' FOR DONALD TRUMP

Here it is a bit modified and extended.

US President Elect Donald Trump is an elated soul. Success and fame is coming rapidly his way. After winning the US Presidency last month in a stunning upheaval, he has been elected as the 2016 TIME Person of the Year (POY), a recognition that is considered a global benchmark. 

And Trump has expressed his happiness calling his POY title as a 'great honour' which means a 'lot to him'. According to NBC New York, Trump said, "It's a great honour, it means a lot. Especially me growing up, reading TIME magazine, it's a very important magazine. I've been lucky enough to be on the cover many times this year and last year."

Though he is yet to tweet or issue an statement or react in detail, how excited he was by this proposition becomes clear from his tweet that announced that he would be interviewed on the NBC's Today show where the TIME POY 2016 was to be announced, especially when the rumour mills said that he was the choice. In TIME 2016 POY Shortlist announced on NBC's Today show broadcast on December 7, Donald Trump was among the 11 candidates including India's prime minister Narendra Modi who has won the TIME POY Popular Vote second year in a row. 

But when we look at Donald Trump's vitriolic views on the TIME magazine in past, this sudden change of heart looks as shocking as his victory in the presidential polls. If we see those comments, Trump's reaction today sounds like a plain lie. 

In past, he has been critical of the TIME magazine using words like it 'looks flimsy, like a free handout at a parking lot' or callings its list of 100 Most Influential People a joke and stunt. 

Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump
6:20am • 2 May 2013


Donald J. Trump ‏@realDonaldTrump
9:24 AM - 27 Apr 2013


Or criticising the magazine for ignoring him like the last year when TIME chose German Chancellor Angela Merkel over him. He had then tweeted to let the world know that though he was a 'big favourite', the magazine instead chose a person who was ruining Germany. 

Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump
7:23 PM - 9 Dec 2015


©SantoshChaubey