29 Jun 2010

The Cyber Wars

Internet is now a national asset. It has helped in connecting people and also in a lot more things. But as they say, there is always another side to things. And yes indeed there is. Along with the pros of the internet come the cons. But these two elements are there in everything. In some cases the pros are more and in some it’s the other way round. But this here is a unique case.

Internet has had a lot more than its 15 minutes of fame and it is still on it. Internet here is a unique case of how something can be so good and yet so bad. The threat that comes with internet is something major. Something so major that it threatens the entire world as now a days many things are computerised if not all.

Recently the bill ‘Protecting Cyberspace as a National Asset’ which was approved unanimously by the US Homeland Security Committee attracted some negative attention with people raising concerns over their privacy on the net. This bill will give the US president the authority to ‘kill the internet’. Some claim it to be the President’s ‘Internet Kill Switch’. This bill would be put to vote on the Senate floor shortly. But it has brought forth the major problems of the net to the public.

The problem is Hacking and identity thefts. These problems are a relatively new thing. Last year and even this year we read many news reports about the hackings that were taking place with the main source being China. Reports claimed that China had its own Cyber Hacking Army. I do not know whether I should believe it or not but the recent hacking carried out from the Chinese Territories gives me reason to believe so.

Many countries have built their own Cyber Army with the US and China leading the pack. But the thing to note is that this might result in the onset of new types of wars, the wars which will involve no bloodshed. They would be called ‘The Cyber Wars’ where one country would hack into the other country’s confidential database and take out information that is of interest or paralyse the entire internet facility within that country.

The worst of these attacks is called ‘A Fire sale’ wherein everything within a country is hacked and rendered useless or paralysed or even controlled. It is best shown in the movie Die Hard 4.0 where the cyber infrastructure of the United States is hacked and controlled by the terrorists. In such a situation, everything in the country that is computerised is controlled by the hackers. And that involved the Traffic Signals which are now days are controlled by computers. Furthermore the entire internet infrastructure can be paralysed which means that people will not have access to the internet.

Then the hackers can get on with damaging the economy as many of the economic activities are carried out via the internet. This may result in losses of over a Billion and more and at times might lead to the worst and that is another Great Depression. Another aspect is the mass media which is by far one of the most important. If they have control over the mass-media then they will have control over what we are seeing. The TV shows and all would be controlled by them. They will show us what they want to show and we will be seeing it.

Seeing the above scenarios it does not come as a big surprise if many more countries adopt laws which control or monitor the internet. But a problem with the internet being controlled or monitor would be the complete loss of privacy. The government would have the right to control the things that we do when on the net. In some of the less democratic countries it might lead to Government tyranny. The government would block access to sites which criticizes them or which it does not feel is appropriate for the internet community to view. And this has already happened in many countries example China and is happening in countries example Pakistan where sites like Facebook and YouTube were blocked for sometime as they were deemed to be immoral.

Thus there are two sides to everything. These two sides prevent us from coming to firm conclusions to such issues. At one hand is the security and on the other is privacy. Thus we are on the tip of a mountain and it would be are decision which would either lead us to a new world or to doom. But the thing to note is that both the decisions are sensible. I being a netizen prefer security but also being a blogger makes me want to choose the right to expression. But whatever is done should not be done to the extreme. As taking any decision and going to the extreme will cause both unhappiness and dissatisfaction.

25 Jun 2010

Asian Union- A Dream

Countries coming together and forming unions is not a new thing. It has happened in Europe. European countries came together to form the European Union. The same happened with Asia in 2002 when the Asian Cooperation Dialogue was formed. It is seen as a precursor to an Asian Union. However the possibility of a full fledged Asian Union similar to the European Union look grim.
Membership and Expansion of the Asian Cooperation Dialogue

Countries might join hands and come together to form an Asian UN of sorts but forming a European Union is a little far fledged thought. In Europe many countries have the same common currency and that is the Euro. In Asia this might happen only after 2-3 years but it will happen sooner rather than later. The reason behind this might be the growing Indo-Chinese influence. These two countries will be in a fierce competition with the United States for international say within the next 2-3 years. It has already started.

The common currency may come into existence but it won't be taken to a higher level the way it was taken to in Europe. This common currency might just be a commonality between a couple or more countries. But even the Euro started out as a common currency between some countries and then later went on to be the common currency of more that 27 nations. This might happen many years later but it will surely happen.

The Asian Union will help increase the trade between world's largest markets and that will do the Asian countries a lot of good. Such common things are needed by all the countries in Asia to grow. These commonalities are often the one's that bring people closer. Globalisation brought people closer because people in country wanted a good that was produced in another country.

Unity is what is needed to establish a common base for all the countries. This unity is a little hard to achieve a result of the numerous wars that were fought within this region. But people will surely get united one day. They will realise that the people living on the other side of the border are just like them and also live like them. This realisation will herald a new era in world politics.

15 Jun 2010

The Complicated Indo-Sino Relationship Part III

India and China are two giants located in South East Asia. These two giants exercise a lot of power over Asia. They have had conflicting views but they have formed an alliance of sorts against the developed countries which want to impose their policies on the developing countries.

There are many issues which unite the two countries together. One of them is terrorism. Terrorism has targeted both the countries. Terrorists are pretty active in China which has resulted in the Chinese forming many policies. In the future also the fight against terrorism may continue and it will unite more and more countires together.

Energy is going to be a major problem in the future. This will lead to India and China collaborating in the field of energy and coming up with new technology. I have made this assumption based on the fact the two countires produce excellent scientists.

Diplomacy is a major issue which is going to affect world policy in the near future, or should I say that it has already started affecting it. India and China will come together to form a major front for the developing countries. This front will be extremely powerful as it would also involve countries like Brazil. This front will start wresting power from the developed countries and soon the world policies will favour the developing countries.

There many things that will  happen in the future. This topic of mine just dealt with some of these things that will be affecting India and China. I will soon start a parallel series that will deal about things that will happen in the future and that series will include countries and the state of technology.

13 Jun 2010

The Complicated Indo-Sino Relationship Part II

The Indo-Sino relationship has been improving steadily but there are certain things that might become a hurdle in the near future. China as the world knows befriended Pakistan to counter the Indian influence. Now that such a lot of time has past, the two a become the closest of buddies. China won't go against Pakistan on any topic at the international level. And India and Pakistan don't have a great history together.


China's continued support to Pakistan might hinder this friendship process that has started between these two great nations. Pakistan which India believes sponsors terrorism and it does has many a times escaped thanks to the United States which has vested interests in that region or thanks to China which is its great ally.


Another issue that might cause misunderstanding between the two nations would be their stands on nuclear weapons. China has a huge arsenal and this is bound to make India uncomfortable. If such a thing ever happens then it might lead to a nuclear arms race which would be the worst thing to ever happen.

Influence is a major hurdle that separates these two countries from being big time allies. This has many a times happened between the US and UK but not to that serious an extent. However, India and China share borders. This is a major problem because if they didn't share borders and had been far  away from each other then their area of influence would not cross into the other's. But being neighbours, this is bound to happen. It is already HAPPENING.

TO BE CONTINUED...

11 Jun 2010

The Complicated Indo-Sino Relationship Part I

India and China are the most important nations of the 21st century. They are the rising superpowers. But both have their own respective problems that pull them down. Both these nations will have a powerful say in the world affairs sooner than later. It is already happening. The recent Copenhagen Summit where India helped China in getting a good and fair deal. Such incidents are increasing, where both these nations have taken surprising steps sometimes supporting each other and sometimes against each other. This is what makes the Indo-Sino Relationship so complicated.

Both these countries have a history. There is a lot of mistrust between the two countries which is evident from the fact that they don't trust each other and always view each other with suspicion. This all started due to the 1961 war, when India and China were at war with each other. There are many versions as to why the war was fought but somewhere down the line it is clearly visible that these two nations are a little vary while dealing with each other which has resulted in centuries of mistrust. But why so?

The main reason for all this lies in economics and foreign affairs. Both these countries are going to be superpowers sooner than later and like all the countries in the world, they also would have some differences in opinions regarding various matters. This is quite the case here. Both these countries have huge differences in opinion. Lets take Pakistan for example, China is considered to be an ally of Pakistan which is quite true. China has always supported Pakistan in many of its "misadventures" be it the nuclear weapons race or preventing sanctions. India on the other hand is considered to be an arch-rival of Pakistan. This assumption is mainly based on India's stand on various issues which are sometimes against Pakistan but India has also supported Pakistan, but that is a different story all together. The fact is  that this varied opinion is a major problem in improving the relation between the two nations(India and China).

Another factor is the race. The race for  supremacy which I believe is very much the main problem. Both these countries want to outdo each other in every field. India wants a UNSC seat which I believe is very much India's right because India does not have a big brother(like China for Pakistan and USA for Israel) with a UNSC and besides it has earned. India is the most powerful country in the Indian subcontinent. This is a major problem for China because as long as China has a hold on that seat it will be a big brother type figure in Asia but with another asian country also getting that seat, the big brother image is bound to take a beating and so will its influence.

But this was all about the negatives shared by the two countries. Positives are also there. Both these countries have realised that though they may be powerful nation but it is still not enough to overcome the US supremacy. This resulted in the two forming an alliance of sorts at the Copenhagen to get the result that they both wanted. This played the trick. India and China are so powerful nations that when together even the US can't impose its policies and ideals on them. The duo agree on many matters like terrorism. But this is still not enough. A lot more should be done to improve the relations.

India recently gifted a replica of Sanchi Stupa to China. Such acts are the most welcomes as they help in improving relations between the two countries. This improvement in relations might lead to a new era of diplomacy wherein both India and China to help and support each other in their own various endeavours. The time has come when these two nations will join hands and change the vary face of International Politics.

TO BE CONTINUED....

THIS POSTS CELEBRATES THE IMPROVEMENTS IN THE INDO-CHINESE RELATIONSHIP.

1 Jun 2010

We are not Alone

For ages man has wondered whether he is alone in this vast universe which has over a billion stars. Numerous science-fiction movies have been made on small green men from mars. But that might be a reality sooner than later. Nasa has claimed of having found compelling evidence of life on mars.

          They have reportedly found a form of pond scum which is the building block of life. This could be a turning point in Human History. There are more than a billion possibilities at the moment and there a billion answers to the billion questions which are being raised about mars.

          If aliens are indeed found which will take some time, it would have a significant impact on the very foundations of Space Science. Aliens are a topic of controversy. It will be exciting to see the reaction of the people, if it is proved that there are aliens.

          We should be careful when dealing with aliens. If we ever find them, they might be an advanced species with capabilities which are still dreams for us. They might use them to conquer us. They might have special abilities. They can destroy us for all we know.

          They can also be friendly and may help us improve ourselves. They can help us in following the non-violent path by providing us with insight into how humans won't survive if there is no peace.

          We don't know who the aliens are nor do we know anything about their behaviour. But one thing is certain that, if aliens exist and they do give us a visit then every thing will change for the good or bad.