Protests against President Bashar Assad's administration in 2011 swiftly developed into a full-fledged conflict. On the one side, the Assad regime was backed by Russia and Iran, while anti-government forces were funded by the US, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and others in the area.

The Syrian Curse 

Russian Intervention 

Since the beginning of its intervention in Syria in September 2015, Russia has sought to keep its most faithful Arab partner, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, in a position of power notwithstanding the domestic and international pressure. 

With its hegemonic demeanour, Russia has also tried to regain the regional and global influence it lost since the collapse of the Soviet Union. 

Under the leadership of Vladimir Putin, Russia has sensed an opportunity to recalibrate the Arabian political landscape wildly when the European Union is behaving like a headless chicken, and the US is in a state of confusion under the leadership of a narcissistic leader who is without vision and understanding. 

Vladimir Putin has sought to use the turmoil in the Middle East to re-establish its authority in the strife-torn area where it once enjoyed considerable influence.

Incidentally, Syria was the last citadel of the Russian armed forces(Navy) before the start of the conflict and underlined the Russian urgency to safeguard the outpost. 

Russia has also tested the vulnerabilities of democratic societies, lacking the appetite to stand for justice and valuing monetary gains rather than humanitarian values despite high-decibel rhetoric. 

Within Syria

On the other hand, Mr Assad is a ruthless dictator with no respect for international laws or human life. He built a military strategy designed to inflict the most significant possible damage on his political enemies, including his people who rose against him during the famous Arab Spring that uprooted a few dynasties in the Middle East.

The President didn't blink in using poison gas and chemical attacks (alleged) on unarmed civilians, even targeting clinics, colleges, and kindergartens. In his efforts to quell the revolt and crush the interference of (Saudi, Turkish, etc.) backed militias, over half a million people have died. 

Meanwhile, Russia has provided him with the airpower without which Mr Assad would not have been able to carry out his plan and recapture the lost territory. 

Foreign Players

There were multiple players in Syria, to begin with, and some of them have been wiped out(Sunni militias like ISIS). 

Others are cheated and have lost relevance, like the Kurds who fought for independent Kurdistan. They were backstabbed due to incoherent US policies(not surprising). However, Iranians benefit from President Assad's continuation in office while Israelis haven't lost. 

Imploding Humanitarian Crisis 

Syrian civil society and international human rights groups have repeatedly detected the systematic targeting of civilians and basic civilian infrastructure. But to no avail.

As Russia is a permanent member of the Security Council, it has regularly used its veto—14 times since the outbreak of the Syrian war. It is alleged that Russia used Veto power to block transparency measures and thus shield the regime from accountability.

With half a million Syrians dead and over 6 million turned into refugees, the world's collective consciousness has not yet jolted to come out of its slumber and take a decisive stand against the tyranny. 

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21 Bridges is an action-packed film that explores an unsettling plot uncovered by a righteous and fearless detective while leading an extensive manhunt for a pair of cop-killers.

21 Bridges (Review)  

21 Bridges is a hard-hitting movie with fast-paced action. It is intriguing, surprising, and thought-provoking, bundled into one for each of us to make our own exposed inferences. 

One thing I can vouch for is the movie sucks you in with disturbing stories of multiple characters woven around, which makes the movie deserving of your time.

Even though disturbing for some, this movie captivates your thoughts for some time. As mentioned, there are multiple characters, most with grey shades, making it difficult to differentiate between the good and the bad; however, in the end, the right, however loaded, is triumphant. 

Storyline

The movie starts with a drug robbery that turns out badly as the two hitters thumped down Seven police officers at a bar where a drug consignment was stashed for distribution in the city. 

The two hitters (later revealed) were dishonourably discharged army personnel and were now on the run from city police, specifically Chadwick Boseman, the protagonist (detective). He was the son of an officer who died on duty and is under internal investigation for being trigger-happy. 

As the story advances, one develops sympathy for the shooters who were gunned down after a long chase; however, not before providing evidence to Boseman through a USB drive. It contained proof of the nexus between the drug cartel and a section of the police department now unravelled by the detective.  

In the end, one was dumbfounded when police chief J. K. Simmons spoke about the monetary problems a policeman faces while sacrificing their lives in the line of duty, yet their sacrifices are scoffed at and ignored. He tries to win over Boseman by justifying his act that money does buy happiness. In the final shootout, the chief, along with a few tainted cops, was killed.

My Verdict

Despite some flaws, 21 Bridges’ is watchable because of the action combined with its competent cast and their performances. 

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Housesitter (Review)

               Steve Martin is an incredibly talented actor who has a huge fan following across generations. Although with time, one gets acquainted with his style of acting but still his capacity to mesmerize with his comic timings and punches fascinate the audience. The movie "House Sitters" has an adequate ingredient for audiences and gives a glimpse of perfect comical prowess of Steve before the "Pink Panther" series re-introduced Steve and raised his stature universally.  

        Steve who plays an architect in the movie, designs a dream house for his childhood crush Dana Delany(during the proposal) which she declined, tormenting the life of the young architect who in the meantime accidentally met a waitress at the local bar. The waitress 'Goldie Hawn' was a hitchhiker and was fascinated by the reason behind the house and manages to track it down(town & house). Once there, she introduced herself as Steve's wife and befriends locals including his parents and Dana. By the time Steve figured out the truth he was himself seduced by the idea of using Hawn to get a job promotion and get back his lost love(Dana). What follows thereafter was a web of lies and stories loaded with comic twists and turns. 

          As the movie flows one can't stop oneself from admiring the performances of Steve and more specifically Goldie Hawn who has performed with zest and is a delight to watch. The light-hearted comedy despite some flaws is a good comic relief for movie buffs.

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'Pilgrimage' by Paulo Coelho (Review)

                  The book 'Pilgrimage' by Paulo Coelho is a fictitious journey of an aspiring "religious master" across the road to Santiago de Compostela in the Spanish countryside to recover his 'sword'. The journey is a pilgrimage across various historical sacred centers with stories, innuendoes and messages for disciples en-route. As the story progresses, the protagonist was joined by his guide to tread the revered path and in the meantime teaching him exercises of RAM, which enabled him to eventually understand his true path and meaning of life. The guidance of the mentor and the hardships faced during the journey are reminiscent of everyday life struggle to some extent and encourages humans to follow principles (of Christianity) to catapult themselves into higher beings.

            The author has drenched his story in mythology with constant sermons on the Bible(some of them are difficult to understand) and its verses while mischievously usurping other faith teachings and projecting it as Christian with missionary zeal to influence and hogwash naive readers. The book is a feeble attempt to knit an adventurous pilgrimage trip with biblical overhang (stuffed with miracles) to impress upon readers to lead the righteous path for that will bring blissful solitude in one's life in tune with God. I finished this book disappointed and people who want to read it as a fictional story can clearly avoid this book. 

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