World War III - Are we there or heading there?

With imminent security imbalances in most regions and some form of an internal threat looming large over most nations, an all-out war seems inevitable.

Also, a lot of predictions by people in the past have caused the media and others to constantly try and speculate the timing and nature of the next world war.

A popular 'old-school' argument I hear is that this ongoing 'global' war against terrorism is the world war. Going by the literal meaning of the word, I tend to differ and say that a world war is one with more intensity, a fight that takes places everywhere and invovles every other country.

Each time there is a confrontation between two parties these days almost in all cases on one side are the evil radical militants. As the fight starts up, news broadcasters worldwide who speculate for a living start their favorite rheotic of a it being signs of a world war.

I actually heard a similar comment somewhere about the ongoing Israel - Hezbollah crisis and that prompted me to write this blog. Right now, the crisis does not even directly involve two nations - theoretically, the Hezbollah is a funded terrorist outfit. However, indirectly there is the alleged involvement of nations like Lebanon, Syria and Iran.

From this crisis specifically in perspective, I do not see it developing into a major world war as such. I'm quite sure, the super powers will not commit their military and other resources to this region at this point merely for the simple reason that it is a simple issue of prisoner exchange that has ignited this huge conflagration causing havoc all around.

However, uncle Sam, I predict will directly get involved iff, Iran gets involved directly by sending their troops over to Israel or attack Israel etc. Again, with the Iranians embroiled a controversy of their own, there is a very very slim chance for this happen.

Another popular comment I'd disagree with is that terrorism may not be the only factor to fuel a big war - I more so think, it'll be the case of nuclear proliferation that'll cause more widespread concern on a more global level. For, this seems to be an issue that's a potential risk for almost all nations. One evil nation like North Korea can develop long-range inter-continental missiles to target a number of countries within it's radar thereby causing alarm in more nations and triggering a bigger and fiercer response.

Obviously, like all I profess the peaceful co-existence of all nations, but there are some evil minds who don't think this way making the world war inevitable in the near future.

Mountaineers' Magic - The madness' lingers forever


Typically, the loss of a team in the NCAA tournament would mean the end of a long and tough season; end of a dream-run for a Cinderella and the end of a hallmark career for the seniors who’ve slogged day-in and day-out in pursuit of a more hoops.

However, the loss meant much more than these mundane points to the West Virginia Mountaineers and particularly to those five seniors. The game was truly characteristic of the way they have played and fought tough battles on-court with a display of grit, spirit and class over the past years. Each minute of the game was typified with the heart, character and passion of these seniors.

I do not feel all that bad about the loss to Texas at the buzzer for several reasons. It was not a humiliating loss by a big margin. The over-rated longhorns were forced by the much talked about 1-3-1 defense to use their shot clock on each possession and make a hurried drives and lay-ups into the paint to score. These were answered by a style of play that is now almost patented by this team – intelligent screens and perfect 3’s from the outside. They showed true nerves of steel when they had their backs to the wall at the half and came back from being down by 12 to regain the lead and dominate the proceedings – courtesy some coach Beilein motivational stuff.

But as a mountaineer fan, what pines me the most is that next time when WVU takes the court there will be no JD to bring the ball in and no Gansey; no Pittsnogle; no Herber and Beilein to shoot that terrific 3. Players may come and go, some are immortalized and hailed as legends – all said and done the exploits of the famous five will not be easily eclipsed for they have left their imprints in Morgantown and the program forever.

I will continue to hear the footsteps of their spirits on the Coliseum floor hovering around the perimeter as they perennially and tirelessly look for another 3.