EDITORIAL
BY DHIREN SHAH
Hello Readers,
The West Indies have become a strong part of our community, especially in the Local Talk area. They have merged with the American Way.
People were enjoying the West Indian American Day parade in Brooklyn, NY this past weekend, with dancing and cheering. All of a sudden, a shooting broke out, and 25-year-old Denzel A. Chan of Texas was shot in the abdomen and later died of his injuries.
Four other people were injured in the shooting, including a 69-year-old woman in the back shoulder, a 64-year-old man in the right arm, a 26-year-old man in the head and a 16-year-old in his left arm. All of the victims were transported to the hospital, and all are recovering as per the news.
Over the weekend, it was discovered that six hostages kidnapped by Hamas were killed. Israel attacked Hamas right as a ceasefire deal was discussed for the release of the hostages. Right after that attack, Hamas killed six hostages. It is bad judgement by Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and his team. The war is continuing, and so far does not have any sign of peace. Netanyahu asked for “forgiveness” from Israel for the deaths of the hostages.
Russia attacked a military training academy in Ukraine with two ballistic missiles and killed about 50 people, wounding more than 200. Here is another place in the world where peace seems unlikely at least for a long time. The war started when Ukraine wanted to become a NATO member. Russia objected, as NATO countries would be closer to Russia legally with international rules. America always tried to stay close to Russia. First it was Afghanistan, then it was Pakistan, and now it’s Ukraine. However, America did not like when Russia had a base in Cuba. Why won’t politicians think and act for the peace of the world, rather than military positioning?
Recently, some news outlets have blamed America for the ouster of Bangladesh Prime Minister Hasina Sheikh. So far, America has supported an interim government headed by the Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus. Time will tell what comes of this.
Kamala Harris is leading in the polls over Trump. However, after Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. pulled from his candidacy and announced his support for Trump, the former President reduced Harris’ lead. Now, Harris is about 2 points ahead of Trump. However, Trump is ahead in the electoral college polling by a few votes. Trump was leading 287 to 251 at the time of Democratic National Convention. Now, Trump is leading by only 1 or 2 points. 270 votes will win the presidency. So far, it seems like anyone’s game.
A lot of undecided people are waiting to make their decision after the September 10th debate between Harris and Trump. It will be interesting to see who controls the debate stage. The rules are the same as in the Biden vs. Trump debate. The microphones will be turned off when the other candidate is speaking, and there will be no audience.
This will be the first time that Harris will face someone this election season who will provide significant pushback to her policies in a live setting. If she does not do well, will Democrats rally behind her, or try to throw her overboard like they did Biden?
Have a wonderful week. I’ll talk to you next week.
