akrish

I started reading the news recently (yes I used to not read the news or really care what was going on in the world) and it’s making me really depressed. I subscribed to the New York Times’ RSS feed and here’s what I read about today.

• 16 Dead in Afghan Helicopter Crash – Last week there was the Iranian plane crash that killed over 100 people and now this. The middle east is still as depressing as ever.
• Explosion Kills 9 in Afghanistan – These I.E.Ds are still littering afghani streets and pretty much just wreaking havoc. not good.
• Chinese Question Police Absence in Ethnic Riots – First of all there were massive ethnic riots in China between Uighurs and the Han, and second of all, the police really didn’t do a good job of stopping the initial riots of the Uighurs and the ensuing retaliation of the Han.
• Explosions at 2 Hotels in Indonesia Kill at least 9 – Yup, and I’ll be in Bali in just a couple of days…
• 5 Officers Shot and 2 Suspects Killed in N.J. Melee – And even at home things aren’t pretty. This one is a pretty violent gunfight.

I guess there is some light in all of this but it doesn’t seem like much consolation

• Mauritians See Chance to Break Cycle of Coups – After years of living under military regimes, the Mauritians appear to be having a legitimate election. Of course, the current ruler is a pretty strong favorite to win, and he first came to power via a coup, so while this is good, it’s not all that amazing.
• Signs of Hope Emerge in West Bank – The Palestians, no longer under Hamas, is experience some economic growth and some form of peace. There has been a lot less violence between Israel and Palestine over the last year or so and I personally am pretty hopeful for some sort of peace agreement.

And while most of the world is as chaotic as ever, Israel seems to be relatively peaceful. Of course it’s a pretty precarious peace here, but there haven’t been any commotion since I’ve been here, so that’s pretty good.

I think this is partly why I don’t like to read the news. I guess it’s good to know what’s going on in the world, but when the world is as messed up as it is, it just makes me depressed.