Babbling Nomad

Few words here and there, on this and that by a digital nomad

Archive for the month “March, 2012”

I share – you share – we all share!

ImageWith the advent of technology and news media, it feels like we are caught in an information warp.

It’s a dangerous place to be in. I used to be the newspaper addict three years ago. Now, I read it online. I find myself reading news on social media recommendation. People are  tweeting articles, images and videos. It may seem trivial at first glance, but looking at the bigger picture, they make a huge difference in my online life. Let’s face it, most of our lives our online now. We shift from screen to screen. From the smart phone to the laptop, from the laptop to the tablet and maybe in between the poor old idiot box may find a place. The back to our smart phones. Digital communications is a powerful tool. What we share reflects our views. Our likes, tweets, comments and pins can represent us, and misrepresent us.

We share something, and then gets comments. Sometimes, it backfires, and which leads to the wall wars! It’s also a place that one may or may not like to consider reality. Sharing a certain article may reveal your opinion on something, which you would otherwise may be apprehensive of expressing in the ‘offline’ aka real world.

I am curious about what people think of shares? Does it affect your selection of news, I think I read things which I would have never searched otherwise. With the internet penetration being at around 8% in growing countries like India, it’s not very impossible to think where social media is mainstream form of communication.

The Syrian Soldier’s Offensive

Syria has been in the news for its humanitarian crisis with President Bashar Al- Assad  accused of killing civilians. According to the UN, the death toll has crossed 7,500, and this is not counting the soldiers, the military has also been suffering high amount of casualties. The figure vary from various Human Rights groups, as there is no official count yet.

Homs is the new battleground and under siege by the Syrian military. Avaaz - a Human Rights advocacy group claim there is no access to emergency food and medical supplies, making it extremely difficult for civilians to deal with the crisis. Read about the campaign here.

What happens actually on the field though? Do the soldiers think before they shoot, or do they function robotically under the orders of their dictator? The Egyptian revolution was a success only because the soldiers decided to side with the people. The Egyptian military had considerable respect as they did not blindly support former President Mubarak Hosseni. The military is independent in Egypt, of course it’s a different matter that it got powerful and started taking advantage of the control earlier this year.

Currently. the Syrian forces under Bashar Al Assad is involved committing widespread massacre, especially in the city of Homs. According to recent reports, there is a blockade to international aid agencies like Red Cross in the region of Baba Amr, in Homs.

With Moscow and Beijing using their veto power to prevent intervention, how will Damascus hold up? Tehran on the other hand is teaming up with Assad’s regime, under the pretext of peace. With the situation between Jerusalem and Tehran already tense, the Syrian bloodbath will only lead to bigger implications and division for the region.

Protests and demonstrations are not new to the Middle East, Tunisia – Egypt – Yemen – Libya and now Syria. The Arab Spring has been largely violent, with the exception of Tunisia. In all the revolutions, the tyrants were challenged by an isolated incident, which then spread like wild fire, instigating nation wide protests.

As I am writing this post, the death toll is mounting in Syria. The International community must act urgently, and more importantly, the Arab League must take a tougher stance on its regional member.

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