Sunday, September 22, 2019

Greta Thunberg has arrived!

Until last year's United Nations Climate Change Conference held in Poland, many would walk past her musing what a "child is doing at a high level meet". She had sailed across the Atlantic Ocean to reach New York on a zero-emissions sailboat. Last Friday, at the battery Park in New York, over 2.5 lakh people across the globe had turned the spotlight on her.

16-year-old Greta Thunberg made history by bringing around four million people across the globe to fight for one cause, the crisis of climate change.

Her bold message to the world leaders was, "What's the point of educating ourselves or learning facts when people in power refuse to listen to the educated. We have not taken to the streets, sacrificing our education, for the adults to take selfies with us and tell us that they really admire what we are doing. We are doing this to wake up the world leaders because we deserve a safe future".

        *                               *                                 *

2. Activity Around Area 51.

    It all began in the month of June, when a Facebook user jokingly exhorted readers to "storm" Area
    51 on 20 Sep "to see them aliens". Over 2 million had signed up to storm Area 51 - a secretive US
    Air Force base in Nevada, long rumoured to house government secrets about extra terrestrial life
    and spaceships - but finally, only about 3,000 out-of-towners had fetched up by last Thursday and
    Friday and the gathering was, by and large peaceful.

    UFO enthusiasts were welcomed with the pilgrimage and two festivals that were specifically
    organised for the occasion.

         *                                *                                  *

3. Cheers for Beer.

    The first keg was tapped and the beer started flowing as the 186th Oktoberfest got underway on
    Saturday in the German city of Munich. Revellers - many women in colourful traditional dresses
    and men in Bavarian lederhosen (knee-length leather breeches) - started lining up in front of the
    gates before dawn to get inside. Around 6 million beer lovers from around the world are expected
    at the festival in Munich before the Oktoberfest ends on 06 Oct.

         *                                 *                                  *

4. 'Howdy Modi' has Kicked Off.

     About 50,000 people have conglomerated at the NRG stadium, at Houston in Texas, to participate
     in the welcome being arranged for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is on a week long visit
     to the US to participate in the UN General Assembly deliberations. I would be eager to know as
     to how Pakistan's negative propaganda, about Kashmir, is overcome.


Tailpiece.

It was a quiet Sunday. Quite a few things were achieved and activities - to be undertaken over the next fortnight - have been tied up over the telephone. We got the invite for the Neelamperoor Pooram from Vidya but a medical appointment, on the same date might make it untenable. Unni kochachhan is not keeping well but Sarala kunjamma is much better! The latest reports say that Gomathi peramma is in bad shape and Santha kunjamma has also been under the weather. Must look them up.  

No comments:

Post a Comment