Storms across the world

Charley, Isabel, Frances, Andrew -as innocuous as the names sound, to the people who have experienced the hurricanes (known as severe cyclonic storms or typhoons in other parts of the world), the harm that they inflict is quite palpable. As communities in some parts of Florida begin to rebuild their homes, Frances, now downgraded to a tropical storm is plowing through a different part of the state on its way to the interior parts of the country. For some, the worst of the ordeal is over.

On the other side of the world, soon-to-be freshmen in the state of Karnataka, India are breathing a sigh of relief as the admission process is about to start after a whirlwind of court battles and negotiations between the college management boards and the state government. The seat sharing structure between the government (which admits in-state students) and the management (which admits both in-state and out-of-state students at a higher fee rate) has been worked out. At last, the ordeal has ended.

And in Beslan, Russia the heartrending cries of mothers and fathers and husbands and wives and sons and daughters and relatives and friends could silence the noise of a Frances or a Charley. Hundreds are buried and hundreds are still missing. Many bodies are charred beyond recognition. For President Putin and the rest of Russia, the consolation is that hundreds made it out alive. And at least, the ordeal is over.

Of monoliths and republicans

There is a lot of chatter about how the Republicans are showcasing people with widely differing opinions, moderates etc. in the ongoing convention. For instance, there's muscle-man Schwarzeneger from a liberal state, California, former mayor of NYC, Rudy Giuliani (curiously, both their names are not easy to spell!), Senator John McCain whom everyone loves! And just in the past week, VP Dick Cheney who has a gay daughter, reiterated his position against a constitutional amendment against gay marriage at a time that seemed politically convenient. And added in the same breath that the President makes policy decisions and that he is for an amendment. In that case, Cheney said he just goes along with whatever the Commander says. I can't help but admire the cleverness of the Republican strategists. Not only did they manage to say that there is room for differing opinions in the administration but also that the President decides at the end of the debate.

Come to think of it, if one supports the amendment barring gays from entering matrimony, then if one takes the argument to its logical conclusion, one has to support Hitler's idea of exterminating the homosexuals. You see, if one accords a second-rate citizenship to the gays and lesbians and says that such relationships are "not what God intended" using sentiments like "hate the sin" etc., then this hubris that drives one to say I'm-better-than-you will turn to saying "I'm better than you and I don't want to have anything to do with you because you were not meant to be here in the grand scheme of things." Well then, short of blasting the gays and lesbians and whomever one doesn't like, off to Mars or creating a city beneath the Yucca mountains, one is left with little choice but to go the Hitler way! But I digress..

To go back to what I started talking about, i.e. the presence of moderates on the Republican stage - again, you have to hand it to the political pundits in the GOP. It may be moderates who are batting, but President Bush would take the winner's cup. And I should probably stay away from sports metaphors!

On a different note: WMATA which is the Washington Metro transit authority has created this cool animation about evacuation in emergency - check it out: http://www.wmata.com/riding/safety/evac.cfm .