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The Showdown to Trump

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Politicians are a species which is said to possess a pivotal incongruity between what is spoken and what is done. The governance of nations is criticised when the leaders fail to deliver their share of promises when the battle of votes is won; to the extent, the very idea of following-up policies after election seems almost ludicrous. But, the newly elected Honourable President of the United States has defied the majority of precedents by sticking to and staying true to the stream of actions which would be undertaken by the Obama-successor. For, the unfurling of impregnable walls and population bans has set the ball in motion for the term of the newly elected leader of the US.

After the Inauguration Day, President Trump (sigh) signed a series of Executive Orders to begin his term (or rule.) The one order which managed to stun the world collectively was the ‘temporary block on immigrants from Seven-Muslim majority countries.’ However, as the Trump administration refutes, it is not a Muslim ban. The order merely constitutes imposing a 90-day ban for residents of Syria, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen along with the prevention of refugees from entering the country for 120 days. But, the terminology of ‘Muslim Ban’ doesn’t seem to be applicable here, especially when the order was signed on the Holocaust Remembrance Day, does it?

With the world collectively condemning the harsh step taken by one of the leading countries, gestures of opposition have been taken by different sects. Here’s how the strength of unity is endeavouring to make a difference!

United Nations

At a time, which calls for compassion and lending support, a time which has been torn by the ravages of war, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) and International Organisation for Migration urged the administration to continue offering asylum to refugees and people affected by the goriness of war. A joint statement was issued by the two agencies, commenting that “The longstanding US policy of welcoming refugees has created a win-win situation: it has saved the lives of some of the most vulnerable people in the world who have in turn enriched and strengthened their new societies.” A reversal of such a move would result in the loss of lives of hundreds and thousands of people fleeing war.

Global Leaders

The wave of reprove over the immigration ban was reverberated by the political leaders all across the world, preaching the arguments of humanity and kindness. Nations have released various statements regarding the necessity of accepting refugees and propagating the values of unity and kindness. Former President Obama, issued a statement through his spokesperson, saying, “The President fundamentally disagrees with the notion of discriminating against individuals because of their faith or religion.” The German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, further highlighted the notions of the Geneva Conventions and the colossal importance of accepting refugees on humanitarian grounds. The political scales have been lifted comically with the release of country-specific videos, mockingly claiming their nations as the ‘second best’ in typical Trump vernacular!

Business-sector

A show of solidarity was poured by the business arena of the country, with leading companies like Apple, Mircrosoft, Google, Facebook, Uber writing a joint letter to oppose the travel ban on immigrants from seven Muslim-majority countries. Moreover, the global coffee retailer, Starbucks’ announcement regarding the hiring of 10,000 refugees came as a bridge of harmony. They would focus on hiring immigrants “who have served with U.S. troops as interpreters and support personnel,” thus, seeking to protect those who branched out to help them. The ideals of global integration and humanity endeavour to be restored in the midst of an order aiming to isolate a ravaged community.

Entertainment

The world of art and entertainment isn’t fair behind in demonstrating their despair. Producers like Joss Whedon, Dan Harmon, and Danny Zuker and other took part in a protest at LAX, along with a unified platform for speaking at the SAG Awards in January. With an outrage on social media platforms and members of Hollywood expressing their bafflement over the move, the cry is coming from far and wide. This was further reverberated by the brilliant Ellen DeGeneres, who on her show drew the compelling analogy between Dory’s world and that of today.

 

Image Credits: ABC

 

Saumya Kalia

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DUB Speak

The invoking of patriotism

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Invoking patriotism

Over the entire course of the evolution of humanity, patriotism has been the tantalisingly sensitive concept which has held together the very fabrics of co-existence. At the same time, even its slightest manipulation for the parsimonious politics has created the greatest of unrests in the world order, making the phenomenon detrimental at both cause and effect ends; something which the world realized in 1914 and again in 1939. But certain lessons are never learnt.

Today, as the world bears witness to the gradual shift from the conventional to an era of neo-realist politics sugarcoated in the theories of post truth and alternative facts, it is intentionally made to overlook a global conspiracy of implied xenophobia. The election victories are shaped on hate speeches on any line which demarcates a set of majority from a minority, or at least appeases the former.

A section of people in India and Pakistan believe that a war will solve all their problems. Donald Trump’s America believes that creating a wall at the Mexican Border will end all their misery. Many British believe that Brexit will once again make them the rulers of the world, and a section of Australia and many other European nations believe that the immigrants are better left to perish due to cold and starvation. Remarkably, according to their local leaders, they all are the true patriots.

Howard Zinn in ‘The Zinn Reader: Writings on Disobedience and Democracy’ writes that, “If patriotism were defined, not as blind obedience to government, not as submissive worship to flags and anthems, but rather as love of one’s country, one’s fellow citizens (all over the world), as loyalty to the principles of justice and democracy, then patriotism would require us to disobey our government, when it violated those principles.”

It had never been as important as today to rise above this politics of segregation, and identify oneself beyond the selfish lines of race, religion and nationality, because at the end of the day, as Zinn writes, it all boomerangs.

With inputs from: The Zinn Reader – Writings on Disobedience and Democracy, Howard Zinn, Seven Stories Press, 1997

Nikhil Kumar

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Your Beat

Putin-Trump Romance: What do we need to fear?

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trump

 

It is official. Donald Trump is the new occupant of the Oval Office.  But the recently uncovered ‘golden shower’ fiasco and the alleged election scandals against him need not be proved. The mere possibility of an anti-thesis to the Cold War times is equally disturbing, and dangerous.

We tell you how.  We also tell you how this couple is similar to the infamous Hitler-Stalin duo.

Soon after the American elections, The Guardian came out with a report citing that the Federal Bureau of Investigation had applied for a warrant to look into contact between four Trump campaigners and Russian officials. We later came to know of memos penned by a former British spy about Donald Trump’s Russian links. Taking lead from Trump’s preference for obscenities, Putin called those ordering the infamous dossier, the documents which investigated Trump’s Russian ties, as nothing less than prostitutes.

Some of these allegations might just be a hysteria against the Trumpism. But an undeniable product is the fact that Vladimir Putin has developed his interests in America’s internal affairs, with Donald Trump, the real-estate-mogul-and-not-a-politician president as his ally. He knows that the novice will trust him in spite of all odds, and together they would make Russia great again.

Mr. Putin, though cynical about everything western, has had a particular disdain for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).  With Trump, he will strongly cut short the Western European alliance in the western Russian front.  He surely will love to lessen the European influence in the Russian periphery and the Arctic circles by flexing his muscles and trashing the Article 5 of Washington Treaty which says that war for any European nation means a war for America. With America checked and EU neutralized, he shall plan doing to many more parts of the world what he recently did to Aleppo.

 

Tom Tugendham opines in a leading English daily that as Donald Trump shall remain hypnotized by the allurements of economic possibilities, Putin shall slowly make his way into the American system. Dismantling the Paris climate deal and hence revoking the $500 billion Exxon oil and gas drilling sanction in the arctic region will be among his premier agendas.

One thing for sure, Putin shall never care for American greatness. He cannot be America’s or for that reason any other nation’s ally. With Trump already been compromised, as reports say, Putin may use cyber attacks, energy and economic pressure, psychological warfare, targeted use of bribery, disinformation, military intimidation and espionage at all diplomatic levels. With the premier infiltrated, the rest does not seem impossible.

For the global environmental, economic and security concerns, let us hope that these two don’t walk down the aisles.

 

Feature Image Credits- NYbooks

Nikhil Kumar

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Your Beat

Changing World Politics – The Rise Of The “Top-Lobby”

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To a certain section of the global political thinkers, the election of Mr. Donald Trump as the president of United States of America was not unprecedented. They were the same people who happened to know of Brexit once the referendum was called for.

What and where are we missing?

 

Democracy and Nationalism- these are  the two similar contemporary cause-effect couple. The very element of eventual acknowledgement of a common higher identity after a millennium of mass chaos and anarchy is what led to the rise of the utopian concept of Democracy. But the definitions and individual perceptions kept evolving over the time, giving rise to Nazism in Germany in 1933 and that of Trumpism, as political scientists describe the phenomenon,  in 2016.

A renowned political science professor from University of Sydney opined in his blog post after the U.S. elections, “Voters globally wanted a change. They were fed up of the prevailing hypocrisy in the mainstream politics. They had been angry over the establishment and the politicians. They did no more want to caste the namesake votes and let the ball  bounce from the court of the Leftists to the Rightists and sometimes the Centre, something which they had been doing for centuries to no avail. Poor remained poor and the Rich got richer. Disappointment, Dissatisfaction and Unemployment- remained undressed. So the middle class finally got a change, a substitute to the conventional,  in Trump. They didn’t care about his being racist, misogynist or anything lest he was different.”

We step into a world where the people, for some decades, shall either choose their version of Donald Trump, a leader who has promised changes which have ironically appealed some masses, over a conventional politician who has done them no good. Essentially, the rise of Narendra Modi in India can also be viewed on the same lines. We can also assess the success of Theresa May in Post-Brexit England, Marine Le Pen in France and Malcolm Turnbull in Australia on similar lines.

A “want for change” describes it all in a nutshell. The “Top-Lobby” shall be chosen for many years to come not because it has quality, but because it is the only choice to the left-right-centre.

Image Credit- today.com

Nikhil Kumar

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Uncategorized

What does a Trump Presidency entail for the Environment?

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While the issue of climate change was treated as real and dangerous by President Obama, the same cannot be said for the new President – elect Donald Trump who believes that climate change is a hoax perpetuated by the Chinese. Studies show that poor countries like India, Pakistan, Vietnam and others would bear the brunt of climate change mostly because of their tropical location but also due to their greater reliance on agriculture, lower income of people, and less resilient infrastructure.

The current situation in India is smoggy, with four out of the ten most polluted cities being Indian, and the capital city’s poisonous air. In the past, US and India have shown commitment towards energy security and fighting climate change. USA joined the Paris Agreement and India followed.

Donald Trump has been adamant about scrapping off the Clean Power Plan and removing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). While the EPA doesn’t handle all of the environment related issues (some of which are covered by other federal, tribal, state or local agencies), it does have a major role in the protection of environment. The EPA has been hit again and again by budget cuts and any further cuts would make it impossible to enforce laws like the Clean Water Act and Clean Air Act. Shutting down the agency isn’t the answer either.

Image credits: Business Insider
Image credits: Business Insider

The transition team of Donald Trump, according to Politico, has recruited GOP energy lobbyist Mike McKenna , who has ties to the industry backed American Energy Alliance, and vocal climate skeptic  Myron Ebell, the director of Energy and Environment at the Competitive Energy Institution (which is funded by Koach brothers, and oil & gas companies). According to Ebell ‘any small increase in the global temperature is nothing to worry about’.

Mr Trump has offered his support to the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline, protested against wind turbines (because the wind farms were visible from his golf course in Scotland), has close financial ties to the Energy Transfer Partner – the operators of the controversial Dakota Access Pipeline (according to his financial disclosure) that will lead to potential harm to the environment, effects on climate change, and the destruction of sacred Native American sites.

The 45th president of the United States of America has signalled his opposition to any restrictions on the development of oil, coal, or gas, making it clear that he doesn’t have plans to go green anytime soon and instead believes in reviving the coal industry, which according to experts won’t work due to tough competition from declining priced alternatives like natural gas and renewable energy sources. This, in fact, moves the attention away from the real proposal that is the transition of coal workers into new jobs in a new industry. While Trump’s call to ‘back out’ of the Paris deal won’t be possible, Lux Research modelled the impact that Trump’s policies would have, and it leads to an extra 3.4 billion tons of CO2 emission when compared to Hillary Clinton’s proposal.

Clearly, Donald Trump’s presidency would be a setback on the environment front unless he decides to change his proposal, which is unlikely to happen.

Feature Image: Chicago Tribunal 

Adarsh Yadav

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A new wall :Trump’s victory comes exactly on the same day the Berlin Wall fell 27 years ago

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Today is an eventful day. Donald Trump becomes the new President of the United States the same day the globally abhorred Berlin Wall fell in the year 1989. We draw a parallel between the two phenomenon and examine how 27 years from the historic incident, we have got our new wall maybe.

Twenty seven years ago, one of the most pronounced symbol of inter-community segregation was demolished. The Berlin Wall, which had been separating western Berlin from Eastern Berlin and the rest of the nation right since 13th August, 1961 fell today in 1989.Unfortunately for the global community, with popular consensus, a new wall has been erected.
Taking the world, media and market by storm, America has a new POTUS in Donald Trump. He is the billionaire who has been calling all through his campaign black Americans as the miscreants, the uneducated and unemployable section who stop America from being great, Mexican Immigrants as criminals, Muslims as terrorists and boasts about grabbing women “by the pussy”. But America does not care. America does not mind if half of the national population is either thinking about leaving the nation or else is prepared to live the next few years in a constant threat.  America does not care if it becomes the next Germany after it has found its new Hitler.
The Berlin Wall was erected to outcast a certain section of society who posed threat to the German Democratic Republic(GDR). It restricted the immigration of a population hit by the WWII. At that time, America stood against the GDR, making clear statements against any such divider.  Today, the world watches in delirium as USA is constructing its own ulta-conservative and  fascism, xenophobia, hatred made wall. The very American version of “The wall of Shame”. As Paul Waldmen writes, ” Eventually, his voters will figure out that it was all a scam. But by the time they do, the damage will be done”.
Ladies and Gentlemen,  welcome to the original America, which is neither blue collared, white collared nor is brown or black. It is a sick white America.

 

Image credits: The Guardian 

Nikhil Kumar

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Arts & Culture

Donald J. Trump is USA’s President-elect: Twitter’s coping mechanism

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Donald J. Trump is going to be the United States of America’s 45th President. We’ll give you a moment to let that sink in.

Amidst all chaos and an unexpected turn of events, the former (really, former?) business tycoon managed to sail the Republican boat to the shore of victory. And while this was certainly the least expected beginning to 9th November for most Americans, they and the rest of the world are relying on their best bets as coping mechanisms on Twitter.

Here’s a peek into how the social media exploded in the last twelve hours celebrating anxiety and confusion.

Let’s begin on a light note- 

 


There are some we know are voicing our worst fears-

 

We, here at DU Beat, have had our share of apprehension as we believe no nation shall be left unaffected with this huge turn in power. Here’s a glimpse of what the team had to say-

1

 

3

2

 

How did you deal with the ground-breaking news today? Let us know in the comments section!

Featured Image Credits: the guardian.com

Arushi Pathak
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Hey Trump, Don’t Grab Women at ALL!

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By being barraged by Trump’s chauvinistic political rhetoric we don’t realise how it desensitises us towards the problems that today’s gendered society faces. Here’s why its not okay to grab women by their anything.

Sexism and Donald Trump go hand in glove. Throughout his electioneering his blatantly crude remarks about women makes you wonder what on earth is his PR and campaign team doing. You’d think he would have learnt his lesson after the backlash he received as a result of the lewd remarks he made about women, be it a former Miss Universe or various media house journalists and reporters. In the same breath, he says he cherishes women and “has great respect for women”. And supposedly, “nobody has more”.

He has managed to dig himself yet another grave when Washington Post published a hot mic conversation where he says that if you’re a “star” you could do anything, even grab women by the p***y. Granted this may have been the only time throughout the campaign he has actually apologised for his statement, which he refuted to be “locker room banter”, it still doesn’t compensate for how him making this remark in turn trivialises sexual assault.

Given how all of Trump’s fiascos create such a social media sensation, it’s not surprising that business minded people have caught on. Recently a Mexican restaurant in Toronto shared a picture of their tacos on instagram and captioned it “What if Donald said, grab her by the taco…”. They received a significant amount of backlash from people for it highlights a different kind of problem. Which is that it normalises a culture of violence and brings us back to square one when it comes to fighting for co-equal gender rights. It belittles and naturalises us into thinking that for a woman to be part of a high-profile workforce she shall have to “endure”.

There is an online women empowerment campaign that sells $21 baseball caps that say “Grab Her by the Brain”, of which a mere 10% of the proceeds go to charity. This pseudo counter vocalisation merely taps into a certain political trend in the name of gender equality and doesn’t actually address the gravity of the issue, it converts it into something thats in vogue.

This overbearingly masculine approach that Trump adopts is sure to backfire on him. With each move he makes he further dichotomises himself and Hillary. This campaign has seen such a heightened gender war that one can only hope that its outcome will not be regressive. We are at the precipice of a major unraveling of all the positive changes that have come about in the 21st century at the hands of a misogynistic megalomaniac. What is even more disturbing is that a significant section of the US population applaud him for his actions and sentiments regarding women. Goes to show that we still have a long way to go as a global society. But that being said, we are witness to a turning point in political history where gender/culture wars are at its peak and these contentious issues are at the forefront of people’s social consciousness. A bull like Trump and flawed political rhetoric cannot go unnoticed.

Image Credits: lennyletter/Jess Rotter

Debashree Unni

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Donald Trump: Strictly American

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Donald Trump has been inviting quite a bit of antagonism from the world. While some of his policies can still be comprehended, the others seem to date back to ancient Greece. He has managed to consciously alienate almost the entire 34.6 million Mexican American populations as he sees them as economic parasites. While Donald Trump’s own wife is an immigrant, the basic vendetta is to not let the poverty that the Mexicans bring with them burn large holes in the American taxpayers’ entitlements. He has specifically targeted the Mexicans for majority brutal crimes in the country claiming that 2011 saw about 3 million arrests in the same regard.

Trump’s grand solution is to build a wall, not a metaphorical wall, an actual concrete wall. This wall is said to cost way more than the 8 billion dollars he claims it will. The Mexican Government will be forced to pay for their own misery. Until they make this payment, there will be a series of continuous attempts to drive them out of the country by suffocating them with revised policies. These policies include: Impounding all remittances payments, increasing fees on all temporary visas issued to Mexican CEOs and diplomats, increase fees of border crossing cards, increase the fees on all NAFTA worker visas.

The actual cost predicted by experts is said to be over 25 billion dollars and is most likely to increase a considerable amount over the years as maintenance costs will float above the countries like an ominous cloud.

Trump’s reign wants to get rid of all supposed unwanted weeds through deportation. Mexican and non Mexican immigrants make up a population of 11.2 million and driving them out of the country will take an easy 20 years costing the government an incredibly large sum of 400 to 600 billion dollars. It’s safe to say that the Mexicans now perceive Trump as a clown. Many single women dependent on their kids who send them means of livelihood from across the border will lose their survival in a flash.

Responses to Trump’s campaign are getting more and more predictable by the day. Even Pammi Aunty back in India is now trashing the candidate in her hilarious lassi dipped vines, comparing him to the sinister ‘Mother in law’ who seems to dislike everyone for a reason only they can understand.

Feature Image Credits-
http://www.carbonated.tv/news/donald-trump-mexicans-racist-border-wall-comments

Baani Kashyap
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The Trump claim to the Iron Throne

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Donald Trump’s nomination for the President of USA might have trickled a few giggles in 2015 but ever since then he’s got not only the demographic but also the spectators spinning in circles. As of recently, the Republicans are giving Trump the raised eyebrow while he claims to never have been in better shape. Trump was almost successful in waving adios to Hillary until she took a bus of her own and has been in the widest lead yet, as reported by the Daily Mail.

A lot of people today have taken firm stances on the Trump Campaign but for all those who think of themselves as apprentices to Presidential Elections, let’s stretch some Trump opinions and policies.

To start off, Donald Trump has a stern outlook on abortions and is definitely against them. Posing as the father of the nation, Trump can only see eye to eye with abortion when the mother is close to death. Any other reason, for him, makes a person not pro-life. His eccentric ways will never permit him to realise this as an extremely personal decision that solely lies with the mother.

Secondly, Trump trashes the immigration system of the US, claiming it to be dysfunctional. Trump, while sipping on Margaritas, claims that the Mexicans are “bringing drugs, crimes and are rapists” as told to WJLA TV. During the course of his campaign, he has been known to flip more than an Olympics winning gymnast. He first mentioned he had no fundamental issues with Mexicans and then pounced on them with allegations from all directions. Trump’s manifesto is all about his kingdom and he proposes to build high walls and not let any immigrants permeate those boundaries.

Thirdly, the world watches as children in the US are so unhinged by arms that they venture out and use them for themselves. Donald Trump puts his foot down and says that everyone should have guns and fire back at these killers. Right to bear arms stays. He’s all for a fair battle.

He believes to have Shiva’s third eye when it comes to noting terror suspects and his latest feud with the Khan family, parents of Army Captain Humayun Khan who died serving in Iraq, has made people see red. Trump’s generalising habit has caused him to label nations and races with so little to support. As the Khan Family very rightly pointed out that if it were Trump’s reign, they would not have even been allowed inside the U.S, let alone serving the country. “Have you ever been to Arlington Cemetery?” Khan asked Trump. “Go look at the graves of brave patriots who died defending the United States of America. You will see all faiths, genders, and ethnicities. You have sacrificed nothing and no one.” Trump backfired with absurd replies trying to instigate Khan’s mother to say something as an attempt to prove that women have no say if they are Muslims.

Donald Trump has blatantly made innumerous assumptions which have brought even his campaign managers to join hands in front of him. He has conveniently gone from liking Hillary to calling her the Devil, to having a relationship with President Putin to never even knowing him, to loving debt to having no debts to anybody. He’s definitely a man with a talent for the tale. His absurdity has made him viral and will continue to do so.

Image credits: splitsider.com

Baani Kashyap

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