India and Issues

I See you have lived many avatars

2010-06-07T08:31:00.000+05:30

A note from a reader of my blog... :-)

***

But where in the world are all these countries you lived in?

It would have sufficed to say I am a son of Bharath, not a Marati, Tamilian, etc. I have lived in abroad for most of life and to this day I say I am from Bharat, not New Delhi, till we say this with one mind and one sound - we will never unite. You supposedly foretell futures - are learned, I hope this helps you understand my frustration.No response necessary, just a comment. Thanks

Srikant Aiyar, P.M.P.

Be yourself,everyone else is taken.

--
Regards
Ramesh

Calrton Towers Tragedy a Warning to Society

2010-03-27T10:17:00.000+05:30

Dear All,

This is Lalitha, W/o.Rajesh Subramanian. I would like to share
something with u. February 23,2010 is an unforgettable day in my life.
Fire occured at Carlton Towers, Bangalore which took away the souls of
9 precious lives. One among them is my dear husband, Rajesh. Still the
accident seems to be a dream for me. I am not able to digest the same.

Morning we got ready together to office. He dropped me at office at
9.30 saying evening i will come to pick u. I called him up at 1pm
saying my maternity leave is sanctioned and from tomorrow i will be at
home. He said "Leave away all your tensions from tomorrow, Stay at
home relaxed. I will get u a Lap top. U better help me from home from
tomorrow:. These were the last words he spoke to me.

When i heard the news that he is hospitalised and getting treated at
Manipal Hospital, I rushed to Manipal. But I saw him only in the
Mortuary. Eyes are filled with tears if I am reminded of that. What
has happened is happened. Even the almighty cannot change it. Next day
we left Bangalore. So i didn't have any idea of what exactly has
happened in Carlton Towers.

After 15 days we went to Bangalore. Same house, same kitchen, same
bedroom, the same street. Remembered of those 1 and half years me and
Rajesh used to roam around the streets, getting vegetables from the
same vendors, going to same hotel, cooking together in the kitchen.

On 23rd March 2010 we had a small memorial at 5pm at Carlton Towers
which was the first month anniversary of the fire accident. I could
see young married women crying for their husband, small children
crying for their mother, aged parents who lost their daughter and son.
It was indeed really painful.

But what is the cause of all these. Is it god made. No it is a man
made accident. If we had been alert, we could have not lost our loved
ones. The building did not have a proper emergency exit. The fire
extinguisher shows the due date as November 2009. The fire engine
which came to the spot did not have water in it. Isn't it not funny.
The Ladders could not reach the top floors. The security guard was not
trained. There was neither a fire alarm nor a smoke alarm in the
building. For the government officials to make money, should we
sacrifice the lives of our loved ones. What has happened is more than
enough. No more event of this kind.

The family of the Victims have formed a community in Face Book called
"Beyond Carlton". It is a committee to fight against fire and ensure
justice. So i request you all to join the community and help us for
the success of the community. But to our shock, there was a major fire
at Kolkata, Park street on the first month anniversary of the
accident.Same time and the same reasons were reported. So pls let us
not sacrifice one more life from our family. Hope i will be getting
your support in this.

With Regards
Lalitha Rajesh

Happy Ugadi / Gudipadwa

2010-03-16T19:13:00.001+05:30

Happy Ugadi / Gudi Padwa

--
Regards
Ramesh & Family

Gods Pleasure

2010-03-06T11:19:00.000+05:30

During the time of Prophet Moses, there was a pious man, who used to pray day and night on the roof of his house. One day some people came and told him that there was a garden where a tree was being worshipped by a group of people. Hearing this the pious man picked up an axe and went to that tree with the intention of cutting and uprooting it altogether.

Satan (the Devil) came to him in the form of an old man and asked: "What are you aiming to do?" The pious man explained what was happening and his intention to cut the tree. Satan said: "What have you to do with it? If God wished the tree to be cut, he would have sent his Prophet to do it."

The pious man did not listen. The two went on arguing and quarrelling till they came to blows. He managed to knock the Satan down on the floor and sat on him, aiming at cutting his throat. The Satan begged him for pardon and release saying, "Let me suggest you one thing which would help you in this world as well as in the next world. I shall pay you two dinars everyday. You can pay partly to the poor and partly spend for your own self. Leave this tree uncut till God commanded whether it was right or wrong to cut it."

The pious man was misled by the Satan. He thought the suggestion was right and returned home. On the second day, he saw two dinars under his pillow. He was delighted with the money and spent some after the poor. But on the following day, he did not see the money again as expected, so he again took his axe and went to the tree. Again Satan came to him in the form of an old man and asked him, "What do you want to do?" He said, "I want to cut that tree." Satan told him that he had no power to do it so it was better he went back home. He did not agree and again they fought. This time the Satan succeeded in overpowering the pious man and knocked him down on the floor.

The pious man was surprised at this and asked Satan why it so happened that he could not overpower him this time. The Satan replied: "Whoever does a good deed purely for the pleasure of God, no one can face him but if he does it with an aim of worldly gain, then he loses strength and stands to fail."

Why did the pious man win on the first day and lose on the second in his fight against the Satan? Because his first intention to cut the tree, was to please God and nothing else. But the second day, his good intention had changed and it had become for the sake of money. So the God given spiritual strength which he had on the first day had then disappeared and so he lost.

MORAL of this REAL LIFE STORY:

Before any action we take, we must be clear in our minds that the action is in accordance with the commands of God.This can be done by constant thinking and true understanding of the aim of our life. We have to understand what God really wants from us.

See this Englishman talk about Tamilnadu

2010-03-04T20:49:00.004+05:30

Please click to read in big size.... Thanks... worth the read.

I liked the line in the end he says.... wish to be born Indian again!

My friend Vijayashankar, when he told about the rudeness of English, I didnt believe, but I do now!

Tell me one thing, did Hindusthan of 500countries, fall for getting intimidated by a cannon and a gun, with rudeness?

Happy New Year!

2010-01-01T20:14:00.000+05:30

Happy New Year!

--
Regards
Ramesh
Joan Crawford - "I, Joan Crawford, I believe in the dollar. Everything I earn, I spend."

Happy Diwali

2009-10-15T17:14:00.001+05:30

Greetings! Wishing all a very happy Diwali!

दिवाली अच्छा जाली करो!

Language issue

2009-09-01T13:48:00.001+05:30

Does language alone, enough to attach against someone? what kind of mindset it this?

read this plz.

http://tamizharkannotam.blogspot.com/2009/08/blog-post.html

Note - I am a born Marati, brought up Bengali and lived as Tamilian for 13+ years ( also married one ) and now residing in Kannada land.

--
Regards
Ramesh

INFOSCION to a POLITICIAN

2009-07-22T09:23:00.001+05:30

From an INFOSCION to a எ POLITICIAN - Nandan's Chronicles

in his new avatar as a Cabinet Minister, here is what he had penned
after his first day in the Parliament.

The last entry stopped when the House was just about to begin. Let's see what happened thereafter....

The House was in pin drop silence. I was brimming with anticipation and excitement!!!! Manmohan had informed me that my introduction was one of the important points of the agenda. I hoped that I will be able to make my speech properly. After so many interviews and conferences, I was nervous today!!!! After the Speaker indicated that the proceedings of the House could begin, Manmohan formally introduced me to the entire House. He mentioned that as the head of the Unique Identification Authority of India, I was responsible to ensure that each and every Indian had a digital smart card as a proof of his existence.

Manmohan spoke about why I was selected and also some references to the various projects executed by me in Infosys were mentioned. The House listened with rapt attention. I was asked to say a few words and I did exactly the same!!! I thanked the Government of India for having given me this opportunity and I assured the House that I would strive to successfully deliver this project. The Speaker then formally inducted me into the House and before the proceedings could move any forward, there was a small commotion on the other side of the hall.

It was Minister of Textiles who had a comment to make before the next point on the agenda. He made a request that I should be attired in a more austere way instead of a flashy suit. It did not go well with the image of a minister who should live to serve the common man and should be less ostentatious in his habits. I stood up to reply. I offered my apologies to the Honourable Minister and assured that I shall be in a more acceptable dress next time. I felt that he was right. We also used to have corporate dress code in Infosys. So it's here as well!!!!

I sat down and felt somebody nudging me. I turned around and to my
surprise; it was the former Indian skipper and one of my favourite
batsman Mohd. Azharuddin. I remembered that he had recently won the
elections. I smiled at him and mentioned to him that I used to like his game very much, shaking his hand. No Rolex, I noticed. Azhar told me that he would "fix" me an appointment with an Italian designer who had designed his dapper Kurta suit. An Italian designer in Milan doing Kurtas!!!!! I made a note of this and reminded myself to give this example to Friedman for his next book," The World Markets are flattened".

Since there was no doubt about the "Fixational" capacities of Azhar, I told him to give me the details and I would consider. The proceedings of the House went on with numerous bills being debated and passed as I sat as a passive audience waiting for my project's turn to come up. After the lunch break, it was the moment for me!!!!

MY PROJECT"S FIRST REVIEW CAME UP FOR PRESENTATION.

I was at sea. My laptop did not have any reserve power. I went to
Manmohan and apprised him of the situation. I was sweating. He calmly replied that this would not be a cause of concern. I was flummoxed!!!!
The Speaker asked me to explain to the House on what were my plans for the Unique Identity Project. I replied that I have a plan prepared for 30-60-90-120 days' milestones and I have presentation to make for which I need a power socket, a projector and a screen. I had no idea what was going to happen after this.

The next couple of minutes were a complete jolt for me. I was completely in a tizzy. Let me just summarize what happened. A Joint Cabinet Secretary Committee was set up to judge the feasibility of my request. The Under Secretaries for the Ministries of Power, IT and Broadcasting will prepare a Viability Report after scrutinizing National Security threats to my request. This was because the power socket comes under Power, laptop comes under IT and projector comes under Broadcasting. I have also been told to reconsider my timelines of 30-60-90 days and start thinking in terms of years. Probably, they are right. I did not
have the foresight in this matter.

The summary of the issue is that I need to come up with a more
inclusive, democratic, comprehensive long term plan for this project to be executed over the next five years. I have also been given a presentation slot 3 months from now (by which the issues related to the power cord etc will also be resolved). I am filled with mixed reactions. I was planning for a quick resolution; the management wants a strategic solution. I come out of the House and text Murthy.

"You won't believe it but these guys work just like us. I am on a
NATIONAL BENCH for the next three months!!!!!!!!"

*******

What a lovely email *spam* forward! NICE!

50th Post - Wockhardt and related

2009-06-14T21:52:00.000+05:30

I was astonished and taken aback while reading this article.

All about Wockhardt, Bannerghatta Road, Bangalore

There is even a reply for this...

A reply from Wockhardt, Bangalore

***

I have to post on them, on robbing me of Rs 64,000/- on wrong diagnosis of "Angina" while it was just gas.... ( not about maligning their name but their culture of swindling... )

Long time ago, when I quit my govt. job and moved into Bangalore, I started the habit of staying at home and eating only home cooked food and occasional junk food.

I also went to "Isha Yoga" training given by a lady, through a friend of Divya. One of the item suggested as consumable was eat Neem leeves ground with Turmeric every day!

I started the habit of morning walk, as in Chennai # 6 AM.

After few months, I started having chest congestion. I had tried all the house remedies and the pain in the chest area ( under 40 was I ) made me visit a famous cardiologist (name withheld! as he quit to move elsewhere!) at Wockhardt and related tests were conducted. One thing they told me on dangerous side was my 100+ kg body.... I put on weight, in the sedentary govt. job. ;-)

So for a week, when these tests, 64 bit slice heart image was being conducted, I gave up on neem+ and walks. So the lungs congestion had cleared and I was back to normal.

Note - I did not take any medicine during this time, other than the usual, hypertension tablets.

They concluded it was mild angina, and the anginoplasty was to be done! But I took a second opinion, from my sisters friend ( sending all records ) and figured out what was the problem. Even my BIL, helped out, talking to the concerned. Final diagnosis - Gas Trouble!

The bill Rs 64,000/- was total rip off. All for what? Gas.

( After this time only, the same doctor operated ( or assisted ) upon ex Karnataka CM Kumaraswamy )

***

Thanks for all the readers....

My tweets and India Elections 2009

2009-05-16T20:04:00.000+05:30

#Indiavotes09 #Tamilnadu #Women 5 women candidates from Major parties & only 1 won! Of course a know person Sivagami of BSP too lost! :-(6 minutes ago from TwitterFox
#Indiavotes09 DMK was p'd off with some sections of Cinema industry waving black flags against Congress Parivar. So DMK producers shut shop?12 minutes ago from TwitterFox
#Tamilnadu #Indiavotes09 Kongu party contested in 12 seats and made Cong + DMK to loose in 6. Need to get details of votes polled. Any idea?14 minutes ago from TwitterFox
#Indiavotes09 Karnataka - Bangalore North C K Jaffer Sherief lost as he didn't campaign due 2 death of his son. BLR Sth - Ananth Kumar, won!16 minutes ago from TwitterFox
#Indiavotes09 Why the loss in Karur? DMK candidate KCP - ex ADMK unhappy - no ministry last time after switch! Tiruchi - L Ganesan MDMK :-(17 minutes ago from TwitterFox
#Indiavotes09 DMK contest against ADMK in 11 and lost in 4. Shocker - Chennai South and Tiruvallur. Expected - Karur and Pollachi. ;-)20 minutes ago from TwitterFox
#Indiavotes09 Now Narayanasamy of Pondi wants a ministry. Representing the French Colony. ;-) Manmohan will hv tough job to allot 80 (30+50)23 minutes ago from TwitterFox
#Indiavotes09 DMK has won 18 seats, Congress 8, VCK 1, ADMK 9, MDMK - 1, CPI -1 , CPM - 1 + Puduchery by Cong. So 28: 12 good score? ;-)about 1 hour ago from TwitterFox
Congress lost Renuka Chowdhury JAC as a minister, she lost in Khammam 2 TDP. Poor record as Human Rights Welfare minister. :-( #Indiavotes09about 1 hour ago from TwitterFox
@vjshankar TN: Congress Ministers from TN - Chidambaram - Home, Krishnasamy - State, Aaron - State, G K Vasan (State/Cab). Chittan 2 shud beabout 1 hour ago from TwitterFox
#Indiavotes09 TN: TRBaalu for Shipping & Surface Transport (Cab). A Raja - Forests (Cab) Palanimanikam, Venugopal (State) 10% of 80 Cent.Minabout 1 hour ago from TwitterFox
#Indiavotes09 Kanimozhi - Information & Broadcasting Min, Alagiri - Urban Dev and Dayanidhi - Telecom - All Cabinet Rank. 4 more State Min.!about 1 hour ago from TwitterFox
#indiavotes09 TN:Congress lost 4 seats to ADMK, 1 each to CPI, CPM, MDMK. Contested 15/39 Clever seat allocation by DMK. Pondy is diff. ;-)about 1 hour ago from TwitterFox
@vjshankar PC won. 3554 votes lead. fixed. ;-)about 1 hour ago from TwitterFox
#Indiavotes09 wherez the site of detailed election results, with votes polled by all concerned. :-( Too much of match fixing. Advaniji stay!about 2 hours ago from TwitterFox
@vijaysankaran such dm's do come to everyone who seriously tweet. But they never credit names. British Attitude! ;-) #IndiaVotes09 US is OKabout 2 hours ago from TwitterFox
#Indiavotes09 What is the cost of P Chidambaram's win? Vaiko to win in Viruthunagar? Trade Off gossip! :-(about 2 hours ago from TwitterFox
#Indiavotes09 you all shud read it http://pchidambaram.engagev...about 4 hours ago from TwitterFox
British Queen with American Presidents. http://bit.ly/hnvnLabout 4 hours ago from TwitterFox
#Indiavotes09 Mallikarjun Kharge KPCC leader of Congress in Karnataka wants to be the India Home Min. Grapevine. ;-) Moily as Parl Affairs.about 4 hours ago from TwitterFox
#Indiavotes09 Indeed some match fixing going on from instructions at higher level. Sivaganga seat might be given to Congress for a trade in!about 4 hours ago from TwitterFox
#Indiavotes09 Out of 42 MP seats in AP Praja Rajyam Party came second in only 5. Too bad Chiranjeevi. :-( Hype by media. 160 MLAs + 15 MPs.about 4 hours ago from TwitterFox
#Indiavotes09 People understood that Cinema Glamour is not OK. Vijayakanth faced music. Now Chiranjeevi. :-( Join a major party! Ambareesh Xabout 5 hours ago from TwitterFox
#Indiavotes09 Asaduddin Owaisi of AIMIM's margin is shrinking. Hyderabad. Only 74507! It used to be 2 lakh votes plus by his father. ;-)about 5 hours ago from TwitterFox
#Indiavotes09 With all the NUDE photos/CD issue, cries on TV, still Jayaprada wins by 12K votes at Rampur, UP. Poor Begam Noor Bano. :-(about 5 hours ago from TwitterFox
#Indiavotes09 Helen Davidson J is the only female to have won MP seat in Tamilnadu. Kanyakumari. Bet Radhakrishnan P of BJP by 63826 votes!about 5 hours ago from TwitterFox
http://tinyurl.com/pqkc3q Bogus news by supporter of PC. Results declared as 490 votes loss! #Indiavotes09about 5 hours ago from TwitterFox
#Indiavotes09 Theni equation has changed. ( I was working there for 1 year) ADMK folks need 2 work hard. Congress wins. Opp retains RS seat.about 5 hours ago from TwitterFox
#Indiavotes09 News from Sivaganga (insider) abnormal voting patterns in 2 booths w 3065 votes. All for PC. So held back. Loss by 490 votes!about 5 hours ago from TwitterFox
#Indiavotes09 But still PM has the prerogative to induct Anbumani, if they switch sides, being the best Minister. Holds good for Paswan too!about 5 hours ago from TwitterFox
@vijaysankaran thats a fake one created few hours ago. @ndtv email to mailto:prannoy@ndtv.comabout 5 hours ago from TwitterFox
@spinesurgeon People dont like (even caste based) to switch parties like this, on a drop of the hat. Also money was a major factor all alongabout 5 hours ago from TwitterFox
#Indiavotes09 Just with 6% votes share in TN PMK has played havoc in many ways to run a govt. Lesson taught? They will re-strategise. Guru Xabout 5 hours ago from TwitterFox
#Indiavotes09 PMK draws blank. That's ZERO out of SEVEN. If they had won even 1, Anbumani would have become Health Minister. Hard luck dude!about 5 hours ago from TwitterFox
#Indiavotes09 Dayanidhi Maran wins by a margin of 24K. Should have been 1 lakh :-( The next Telecom Min. A Raja won Nilgiris - Forests Min.about 5 hours ago from TwitterFox
#Indiavotes09 Cricketer Sidhu wins Amritsar by only 9057 votes. Bad! Last time he won by 1.5 lakh votes margin. A cock became a bull & back!about 5 hours ago from TwitterFox
#Indiavotes09 Communists have held fort in only blue collar workers dominated industrial towns.about 5 hours ago from TwitterFox
#Indiavotes09 NCP did not do well in MAH. Lost to Shiv Sena / BJP in many seats. :-( Family wins in Baramati and Madha. State Elec in 6 mthsabout 5 hours ago from TwitterFox
#Indiavotes09 Shashi Tharoor's victory margin was 1 Lakh, while poll pundits predicted a loss by 50K votes. He will be Ext Aff Minister! ;-)about 5 hours ago from TwitterFox
#Indiavotes09 Kerala Congres (Mani ) wins as usual. In all waves. Last time too? ;-)about 5 hours ago from TwitterFox
#Indiavotes09 CPM backed IND candidate looses in Ponnani to IUML by 85K votes, which was the votes he was to bring in from Muslims :-( Left?about 5 hours ago from TwitterFox
#Indiavotes09 Karnataka BJP candidate - Chikodi - Katti Ramesh Vishwanath. Note: he just landed few months ago from USA after 10 years in PRabout 5 hours ago from TwitterFox
#Indiavotes09 Advani wins by 1.35 Lakh votes. Mallika at 3rd.about 5 hours ago from TwitterFox
#Indiavotes09 Shotgun wins from PATNA. Great! LJP PASWAN LOOSES. WAS CUINESS RECORD HOLDER FOR WIN MARGIN. HIS POLITICS WAS ONLY ANTI LALU.about 5 hours ago from TwitterFox
#Indiavotes09 Lalu wins from Saran and loses Pataliputra. Great! RJD gets only 3 seats. So no Railways? Not in limelight for few years ;-)about 6 hours ago from TwitterFox
#Indiavotes09 Vijayashanthi wins from Medak. Great! TRS gets only 3 seats. So no Telangana. Planets dont point it for another few years (5).about 6 hours ago from TwitterFox
#Indiavotes09 any site that gives fast election results with votes polled? http://eciresults.nic.in/ not accessible! :-( Govt. do something.about 6 hours ago from TwitterFox
#Indiavotes09 தேர்தல் நிலவரம் http://bit.ly/XYPsw posted yesterday! My contest entry @ 80% correct!about 6 hours ago from TwitterFox
#Indiavotes09 P Chidambaram will be the Home minister again and get elected to Rajya Sabha, from some vacancies in next 6 months. l;-)about 6 hours ago from TwitterFox
#Indiavotes09 BJD clearly states no support to UPA. Abstention. They have their won govt in Orissa. So its Mulayam + Amar to support with 23about 6 hours ago from TwitterFox
End of the day, Tamilnadu Politics won the heart of Indians. P Chidambaram, good luck in 2014. ;-) Some gimik on arms to SL wd hv helpd Congabout 6 hours ago from TwitterFox
@spinesurgeon EVMs have a 30 sec delay to get activation from Control Unit. Approx 2 votes in a min. So 1 hour gives only 120 votes. No gameabout 9 hours ago from TwitterFox
#IndiaVotes As predicted UPA is going to win. DMK stays with them. Poor Laalu + Paswan, might be back to Ministry. ;-)about 10 hours ago from TwitterFox
With immense pleasure complete ProfitMantras.com Team invites you to join and be a part of our upcoming website http://www.profitmantras.com7:44 PM May 15th from TwitterFox
Here is a site to try your luck of Astrology! http://tinyurl.com/pzxt266:44 PM May 15th from TwitterFox
Vince Lombardi - "We dont loose games, just ran out of options!"6:43 PM May 15th from TwitterFox
Karnataka - JDS wants Mines ministry in any govt. Cool. Reddy brothers wud switch sides (10 MLAs) & Congress will come to power in KAR. ;-)6:40 PM May 15th from TwitterFox
Tamilnaadu elections, more votes polled for DMDK would mean that UPA wud get more seats! I might stand corrected at 11AM on May 16th. ;-)6:38 PM May 15th from TwitterFox
AIADMK will claim to form TN govt with COng + PMK support, after Congress withdraws. Headlines Today! ;-) 66 + 33 + 18 = 117?6:36 PM May 15th from TwitterFox
Hoping http://tinyurl.com/o6sy5g works well Sat 7 AM onwards. My friends in EC say that postal ballots count @ 11AM ;-) So all clear then!9:40 AM May 15th from TwitterFox

Astrological Challenge on Indian Polls 2009

2009-05-15T18:46:00.002+05:30

Here is a site that promises a prize of 10 lakh rupees even with 80% correct entries.

One Million Rupees Election Results Prediction Challenge to Astrologers

Questions:

1. Who will be the next prime minister of India?

Manmohan Singh

2. Which party, combination of parties will come to power? The name of the single party should be clearly specified. If a combination of Parties is mentioned each one should be named.

UPA - lead by Congress

3. How many seats will each of the parties win? The answers should be in units- Ranges are not acceptable- correct to the nearest unit in case of single digit and ±10% if the number is more than single digit.

a. Indian National Congress 163

b. Bharathiya Janatha Party 150

c. Communist party of India(Marxist) 35

d. Communist party of India 11

e. Samajwadi party 32

f. Rashtriya Janatha Dal 5

g. Janatha Dal (secular) 3

h. Janatha Dal United 11

i. Dravida Munnetra Kalagham 15

j. All India Dravida Munnetra Kalagham 7

k. Trinamool Congress 12

l.Bahujan Samjawadi Party 34

m. Bharathiya Samajwadi Party. 1

4. The votes polled by each of the following candidates to the nearest ten thousand ±10% error are to be specified- range is not acceptable:

a. Sonia Gandhi at Rae Bareily 464,000

b. Shashi Tharoor at Trivandrum 234,000

c. Varun Gandhi at Pilhibit 367,000

d. J.P.Hegde at Udupi- Chikmaglur

e. S.Bangarappat Shimoga 411,500

f. B.Y.Raghavendra at Shimoga 272,000

g. Sheena Rai at Kasargod. 178,200

h. George Fernandes at Muzaffapur 175,600

i. Lal Krishna Advani at Gandhi nagar. 311,200

J. Janardhan Poojary at Mangalore. 354,100

k. Murali Manohar Joshi at Varanasi 413,000

Achievements of Congress

2009-05-12T20:12:00.002+05:30

This is what I found on the net from a staunch BJP supporter....

Achievements of Congress

Even after more than 50 years of Congress rule 70% Indian are poor and do not have social security.
Biggest Defence scam - Bofors by Gandhi family.
Cash for Vote in Parliament – Shame on Congresss
Check the food prices at present in compare to 3 years back, common man is finding problem for day to day living.
Congress is not secular because of it's minority appeasement programs.
Congress is soft on Terrorists, Price Rise and Corruption.

Following are few of the biggest scams in India, that have taken place when Manmohan Singh was in charge:
1- Latest in the news is Satyam Scam which is touted to be the biggest corporate scam of India when Dr. Manmohan Singh is Prime Minister as well as finance Minister.
2- Harshad Mehta Scam of 1992 which was touted to be the first ever scam of this magnitude and in fact aam aadmi of India came to know about this great word SCAM only after that.
3- Ketan Parikh Scam of 1992.
4- C. R. Bhansali Scam between 1992 to 1996.
5- Cobbler Scam of 1995 where Shiv Daya was the main player.
6- I.P.O. Scam of 2004-05 which is considered to be the biggest scam of its type.
7- Dinesh Dalmia of DSQ Scam in 2000-01.
8- A. K. Telgi's Stamp Paper Scam considered to be the biggest and most widely spread scam. The scam started in 1994 and was unearthed in 2000.
9- Virender Rastogi Scam in the year 1995-96.
10- UTI Scam in year 2000.
11- Uday Goyal's Plantation Scam started in 1995 and was revealed in 1998.

********

As long as politicians are able to make money, our democracy will suck!

Bring in accountability!
Make sure people from the same constituency gets to contest.
Allow people to vote from anywhere....(internet votes, postal from within city, any booth, with one single national id )
Make the recall of elected reps ( a la USA ) a mandatory thing, with a percentage of voters signing for it..
Provide changes in the constitution to enable parties to get representative seats... for example, if BJP get 30% national votes, they should get 30% of 543 MPs, i.e., 163 MPs ( an pick them from the contested candidates, who are eligible as per votes polled in ascending order > 20% and did not forfeit deposit)...

Venture Capital in India

2009-05-03T12:15:00.001+05:30

I was reading this article and couldnt resist to comment. (one sided)

VC investments falling off cliff in the US

I have a feeling that in India VCs will never succeed as there is greed in the promoters as well as investors.

With VC's it is always one way street, they get a plenty and if the concept is hit, they make a killing before IPO.

Also same idea presented by 2 different people of similar kind, gets valued differently.

If you have the right contact, you might get the "next best idea" for you to develop (your skill) usurping from the actual owner...

Amitabh Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai give the finger

2009-05-01T09:44:00.001+05:30

What has happened to these election officials in Maharastra?

Inking on the middle finger and making the world see it "differently".

Behold in their eyes?

This happened yesterday.

Free shares (not my advt.)

2009-04-24T19:35:00.002+05:30

I saw this link on my friend Vijay's blog for free shares in a UK based co.

Free shares on me2everyone.com

Why not give a try?

So I joined and now have joined and I have like 2100 shares.

So why don't you try your luck?

Click my specified link here...

100 shares on me2everyone.com

Eve teasing and Molestation

2009-04-22T16:15:00.003+05:30

Recently a person had approached me, asking, "I am a bit worried about police case against my daughter and I am trying for a compromise... She had been molested (... incident....), and she, with her friends had beaten up the boy at his residence. And he had gone in for police case..."

I gave my inputs to help out the mental state of the girl. There is some story from both sides.

Even when I met her, she was not properly (socially acceptable) dressed. That is the culture in Bangalore. It was triggered, with a bunch of girls making some casual funny remarks on a normal office going person. He in turn got agitated, being raised so religiously, got hold of her dress and slapped her.

Solution was ....

I think a simple sorry from both sides (Sorry I know it is hard for a girl, would bring down the ill effects of media attention).

Still that guy has not withdrawn the case of trespassing. The girls side, is yet to accept facts.

Things are different in Kolkata, where in 80's my sister slapped a person, who made lewd comments in a bus stop and lots of comrades together trashed that person. No police case.

"SATYAM" EVA JAYATHE

2009-04-16T11:04:00.000+05:30

"SATYAM" EVA JAYATHE!!!

Courtesy: The Hindustan Times, Manas Chankravarty.

By all accounts, Satyam ex-chairman Ramalinga Raju is having a rollicking time in Chanchalguda jail. His popularity among the inmates, all of whom are in awe of a man who can make Rs 7,000 crore disappear, knows no bounds. "Some of us affectionately call him by his nickname Scamalinga," said a petty thief, "But most just call him Gurudev."

Reports have come in that Raju had 20 idlis for breakfast, five plates of rice and a bucket of rasam for lunch and 25 chapatis with two chickens for dinner. But the jail superintendent says these numbers are inflated. "You see, the habit is so deeply ingrained in Raju that he automatically inflates all figures," he added. Incidentally, his cellmate Srinivas Vadlamani, Satyam's ex-chief financial officer who has denied all knowledge of wrongdoing, said he didn't know whether he had any meals. "I am not aware whether I had breakfast, lunch or dinner," he said. "Am I in jail?" he asked.

Meanwhile, insiders say that Raju has decided to teach accountancy in order to impart his skills to a receptive audience. "I'm really excited at the prospect of being taught by such a master," said a murderer serving a life sentence. "My problem has been that I don't know where to hide the bodies," he explained, "I'm sure that a guy who can hide Rs 7,000 crore for so many years can easily hide a score of bodies."

A stream of visitors has also been arriving at the jail, all wanting to meet Srinivas Vadlamani. Inquiries revealed they were promoters of companies, eager to have him on their boards. "Where will I get such an ideal chief financial officer?" asked a person who said he was CEO of a company called Black Hole Ltd.

Even the jail superintendent says he is extremely happy with Raju. "He is a financial genius," he exclaimed. He said Raju had outlined a scheme that could save the jail a huge amount of money. "Raju explained that all I needed to do was to allow the inmates to choose their own guards. He said these guards would cost a fraction of the current salary being paid to jail warders. I was a little hesitant about prisoners choosing their own jailers at first, but relented when Raju said that it was exactly the same thing with companies - they all appoint their own auditors and nobody complains."

Incidentally, even the Naxalite prisoners lodged in the jail are very happy with Raju. "We have been working for decades to overthrow capitalism, with no effect," said their ringleader. "And then Comrade Raju comes along and wrecks the system from within, giving Indian capitalism a resounding blow." "We're electing him to the party's central committee," he added.

But Raju is unlikely to take up the offer. He has a job offer from Nigeria to run the huge network that sends scam emails to people promising to transfer billions of dollars lying in unclaimed money to them once they give their bank account numbers and a small advance payment. Unconfirmed reports say that to make the schemes look authentic they're thinking of asking accounting firm Pricewaterhouse to certify them.

Others say Raju is exploring a lucrative option in a related field. "He's thinking of becoming a godman," said a source, "Which is why he is reading religious books." Some also say that Raju is being paid a fat advance for a novel based on his Satyam swindle. "It's clear he has plenty of experience of writing fiction," pointed out a publisher.

And lastly, in a curious but related incident, teachers at a prestigious private school in Hyderabad were shocked when young Bunty Reddy of class 5B told his class-teacher that his father was a male bar dancer. Investigations revealed, however, that his dad was actually an independent director on the boards of several companies. "In the circumstances, it's natural for the child to be ashamed of his parent," said the principal, "And that's why he tried to pass his dad off as a male stripper."

SATYAMEVA JAYATHE!!!

Jayalalitha and Prime Ministership of India

2009-04-14T10:16:00.002+05:30

India as a country has been having Gandhi family at the helm of Prime Ministership.

Lately Except the forcibly withdrawal of Sonia Gandhi.... When Manmohan Singh became PM, other have been purely accidental.

Morarji Desai was a proper change, but Chandrasekhar changed the game plan. Then came VP Singh, Vajpayee, IK Gujral and Deve Gowda.

But P V Narasimha Rao was the best in 1991.

***********

OK the big question, will the Third front form the government at the center?

With the onset of the new lunar year and the effects of Shani, most likely it would call for a Women PM only. Or else there would be another election in 2011 where P Chidambaram will surely become a PM.

So 3 options are there now.

Sonia taking the reigns, nothing stops it.
Mayawati with about 42 MPs, and the Third Front Kichdi does the pride of Dalit.
Jayalalitha (ADMK) wins the 26 seats and stakes a formidable claim for Non congress, BJP govt.

Also let us not rule of the possibility of BJP backing her as PM, remote chance, but she can become the deputy PM, if all goes well for the alliance and it hinges on DMDK and Vijayakanth and the support of DMK towards the split of ADMK votes.

So as per the above analysis, nothing is sure till the midnight of May 16th, 2009.

Roundup of election predictions 2009

2009-04-12T10:00:00.002+05:30

Here is a quick roundup of the pre-election predictions and the discussion around them in the Indian blogosphere. I have also written in my blog in Tamil Pathivubothai a lot recently.

According to the second Star-Nielsen poll, the Congress will win 155 seats (203 with UPA allies), while the BJP will win 147 seats (191 with NDA allies) (via TOI).

Arun Nehru at the Deccan Chronicle predicts that the Congress will win 157 seats (193 with UPA allies), compared to the 132 seats for the BJP (177 with NDA allies).

The Times of India predicts that the Congress will win 154 seats (198 with UPA allies), while the BJP will win 135 seats (176 with NDA allies).

According to The Week, the Congress will win 144 seats (198 with UPA allies), while the BJP will have to settle at 140 seats (186 with NDA allies).

India Today expects the UPA to win 196-205 seats, far ahead of the 172-181 seats for the NDA.

According to Reuters, the Congress with 139 seats will form the government, beating the BJP, which will win only 129 seats.

DNA predicts that the Congress-led UPA will win 184 seats, against the 177 seats for the BJP-led NDA.

Shreekant Sambrani at Business Standard predicts that BJP will emerge as the biggest party with 137 seats (184 seats with NDA allies), ahead of the Congress, which will win 119 seats (176 seats with UPA allies, including LJP/ RJD).

India TV also predicts that the BJP will emerge as the largest single party with 144 seats (187 seats with NDA allies), ahead of the Congress, which will win 133 seats (178 seats with UPA allies).

According to BJP’s own survey, conducted by G V L Narasimha Rao, the BJP will win 160 seats (217 with NDA allies) compared to 135 seats for the Congress (180 with UPA allies) (via TOI).

The numbers for the UPA have come down in recent predictions as analysts aren’t counting the numbers for Lalu Prasad’s RJD, Ram Vilas Paswan’s LJP or Mulayam Singh’s SP as part of the alliance anymore.

Earlier, in March, the Star-Nielsen poll had predicted that Congress will win 144 seats (257 with UPA allies, including 47 for SP/ RJP/ LJP), compared to the 137 seats for the BJP (184 with NDA allies) (via Reuters).

The CNN-IBN poll had predicted that the Congress-led UPA will win 215-235 seats (including SP/ RJP/ LJP), compared to 165-185 seats for the BJP-led NDA (via Reuters).

In 2004, the UPA had won 234 seats (with 145 seats for the Congress) and the NDA had won 184 seats (with 138 seats for the BJP).

The Outlook Blog written by Sandeep Dougal, by the way, has emerged as my single most useful source of news and opinion on the Indian Lok Sabha elections. This is a great example of the value a traditional news organization can add by linking out to others.

Several Indian bloggers are also posting their own predictions.

Vijay at OffStumped, an overtly pro-BJP blog, predicts that NDA will win 184 seats compared to 108 for UPA.

Blogger Arvind Katoch predicts that UPA will win 230-240 seats where NDA can win 180-200 seats.

Promise of Reason is also doing a series of state-wise pre-poll predictions for the Indian elections.

Rajesh Jain, who is also a part of the Friends of BJP group, has also been sharing his assessment of how the elections might turn out and believes that we will see another election in two years.

It seems that the consensus opinion is that the Congress will emerge as the largest party with 150-160 seats, while the BJP will win 130-140 seats.

In any case, fewer parties will ally with the BJP, and it will need 175+ seats to have a stab at building a majority coalition, so we can safely assume that the Congress will be a part of the coalition government. Most observers are predicting that a Congress-led UPA-Left coalition will form the government.

NRI kills self and five family members

2009-04-02T08:54:00.002+05:30

See the state of USA relatives. Something is really wrong. Why this is happening?

Divya has written a post on this....

Six Tamils shot dead at Santa Clara

Children and Good Touch, Bad Touch

2009-03-29T20:20:00.001+05:30

Read one good post in Tamil on children and molestors...

"குட் டச், பேட் டச்"

Here is my comment...

Nice post... Very much needed for kids from 8 up to Age 15. Above that, talk should do, particularly girls... we are very careful with my kids.. how their teachers at shcool (male) behave etc.

Also the regular visitor relatives to your home (males) should be made to stay away from kids, after few minutes.

A relative who is a D.ch. doctor told me.. if the kids can keep their privates clean (and well taught), they wouldn't touch it on irritation. That is the starting point on exploration.

Teaching is important. Good Touch.

Hotel Kerala

2009-03-13T17:22:00.002+05:30

Recently landed on this page, using the twitter page of my friend Vijay.

Right click and download for the mp3.

And such fabulous lyrics. Some brilliant lines…

On the road to Trivandrum / Coconut oil in my hair
Warm smell of avial
Rising up through the air
Up ahead in the distance
I saw a bright pink tube-light
My tummy rumbled, I felt weak and thin
I had to stop for a bite
There he stood in the doorway
Flicked his mundu in style
And I was thinking to myself

I don’t like the look of his sinister smile
Then he lit up a petromax
Muttering “No power today”
More Mallus down the corridor
I thought I heard them say

….

His finger’s stuck up his nostril
He’s got a big, thick mustache
He makes an ugly, ugly noise
But that’s just his laugh
Buxom girls clad in pavada

Eating banana chips
Some roll their eyes, and
Some roll their hips
I said to the manager
My room’s full of mice
He said,
Don’t worry, saar,I sending you
meen karri, brandy and ice
And still those voices were crying from far away
Wake you up in the middle of the night
Just to hear them pray
…

The blind man was pouring
Stale sambar on rice
And he said
We are all just actors here
In Silk Smitha-disguise
…

Last thing I remember
I was writhing on the floor
That cockroach in my appam-stew was the culprit,
I am sure
Relax, said the watchman

This enema will make you well
And his friends laughed as they held me down
God’s Own Country? Oh, Hell!

TIME and Srilanka

2009-02-28T21:51:00.001+05:30

The Tigers' Last Days
By Jyoti Thottam / Sri Lanka

In tiny blue chairs set up in rows, a group of young children begin their lessons at a makeshift preschool in northern Sri Lanka. They listen to stories, learn their colors, giggle, fidget and cry. The children are among thousands of Tamils who have fled their homes in the past 12 months, as the Sri Lankan army has surged toward the end of a 25-year war against an armed separatist movement, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Government officials and the aid agencies that help maintain the camp where these children live call them "internally displaced persons" (IDPs).

Their parents call them prisoners.

"We ask, but they don't release us," says a resident of this camp, in the Mannar district on the northwest coast. His family left their home by boat, only to be intercepted by the Sri Lankan navy and then handed over to the army, which brought them to one of several "welfare centers" set up to house Tamils fleeing the Vanni, the jungle areas at the heart of Tiger territory. "We were told, 'Two or three months, and then you can go,'" he says. "But now it's almost one year." There are about 450 people in this camp, including 39 children under the age of 5. The families live in shelters made of palmyra thatch and corrugated iron, while single folk make do with tents. They are kept behind barbed wire near a road lined with baobab trees and bunkers and are under the constant guard of soldiers. "They are suspected because they come from the Vanni," says an aid official. "They could be LTTE."

The Politics of Refugees

Sri Lanka's civil war began in July 1983, when more than 1,000 Tamils were killed in Colombo after a Tiger ambush of 13 army soldiers--though the LTTE's grievances go back much further, to what it says were decades of discrimination against ethnic Tamils, who are mainly Hindu or Christian, by the Sinhalese Buddhist majority. Few families in the island nation have been untouched by the violence--more than 70,000 people have died since the war began--yet Sri Lanka has managed to preserve its stunning beaches and lush hills, as well as a cosmopolitan outlook dating back to its history as a stop along the Spice Route.

In the past few weeks, hundreds of civilians have been killed in the fighting, according to the Red Cross, during an assault by the army, which is determined to finish off the Tigers once and for all. An estimated 250,000 civilians are still trapped inside a rapidly shrinking war zone--the last remaining 40 sq. mi. (103 sq km) held by the Tigers--and the army is preparing to expand the camps to house them. The Defense Ministry says more than 6,000 new IDPs crossed into army-held territory in just a few days in mid-February.

Journalists are not officially permitted into the camps, but TIME obtained firsthand information about them from organizations alarmed by the internment of civilians, a practice that violates internationally accepted conventions on the rules of war. The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Human Rights Watch and several other local and international groups have been pushing Sri Lankan authorities for months to open up access. On Jan. 10, the Sri Lankan government instead turned several of the camps into "high-security zones," off limits to everyone except the U.N. and the Red Cross. A recently disclosed proposal to set up "welfare villages" where up to 200,000 IDPs could be kept for as long as three years was condemned by human-rights groups and opposition leaders; but this kind of treatment is a reality for the 13,000 people already in the camps. A Jan. 21 memo by UNHCR states that the restrictions on movement in these camps do not meet humanitarian standards, so the agency is trying to negotiate with the government to improve conditions. Neither the U.N. nor other groups want to help run the internment camps, but they feel they have little choice. "It's a service that has to be done," says a humanitarian official. "If we don't do it, then the people suffer."

They are already suffering; the long war has seen to that. "When the dust settles, we may see countless victims and a terrible humanitarian situation," says Jacques de Maio, head of Red Cross operations for South Asia. Hospitals, ambulances and even the so-called safe zones set up so civilians can escape the fighting have been hit. The government insists that it is doing everything possible to protect civilians and blames the LTTE for using civilians as human shields. But international observers are worried. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton issued a joint statement Feb. 3 with the British Foreign Secretary, David Miliband, expressing "serious concern about the deteriorating humanitarian situation in northern Sri Lanka" and calling on both sides to allow civilians to leave the front lines.

But if they leave, what will happen to them? The fate of Sri Lanka's IDPs is the central political issue that will face the nation when the army claims victory. "It's how the whole world will look at the country," says an official with an international aid agency. In the best case, the camps, under the monitoring eye of U.N. agencies, will be used as holding stations where the army can weed out any LTTE fighters who remain in hiding, before allowing civilians to return to the Vanni to rebuild the north. "In the worst-case scenario, they establish concentration camps for Tamils," the official says. There have been no reports of mass killings, but aid groups and human-rights workers say that they are troubled by reports of disappearances and that they cannot monitor the safety of detainees without full access to them.

Locked In--and Out

Most people detained in the welfare centers had no intention of becoming refugees. They all have their documents, families willing to take them in and the means to support themselves. The men worked as fishermen or shopkeepers, and those who fled the fighting by boat paid at least 100,000 Sri Lankan rupees per person (about $876) to escape. "We told all these things to the army commander," says a detainee, who also describes losing count of the number of letters he has written asking to be released. Fearing reprisals by the army, those in the camp ask to remain anonymous. They say they have enough to eat, clean water and latrines, but they just want to leave. "I feel like I'm going crazy," says another detainee. "I want to tell people that we are being kept without any reason."

The Sri Lankan government insists that its human-rights record is excellent compared with that of the Tigers. "In a war situation, you can't stop violating human rights in small ways," says Lakshman Hulugalle, a spokesman for the Sri Lankan Defense Ministry. "In Iraq, how many innocent people were killed?" Hulugalle says any concerns raised about the army's practices should also acknowledge the abuses of the LTTE and that there are many. Indeed there are. People from the Vanni say they left home not just to escape the fighting but also to get away from the forced recruitment of their children and from forced labor, which the Tigers used to build a massive, booby-trapped trench around parts of their stronghold in the jungle.

The detention of civilians serves a strategic purpose for the army as well. In the past, the Tigers were often able to recapture territory by sending guerrilla fighters into the general population. That's still a potent tactic. On Feb. 9, a female suicide bomber killed 28 people, including 20 soldiers, at a screening point for IDPs. This kind of asymmetrical warfare--the LTTE was the global pioneer in the use of suicide bombers--allowed a few thousand fighters to hold their own for decades against the Sri Lankan army's 50,000 soldiers. So the most recent army offensive uses a new strategy. The military clears people from every stretch of territory it captures. Those displaced must either seek shelter deeper in Tiger territory or surrender to government forces, which move them into camps. The result is a sort of scorched-earth policy that has helped the army capture and keep control of territory that the Tigers have held for more than a decade.

Facing the Gauntlet

Keeping those areas may prove more complicated. In the district of Mannar, for example, which the army has considered "liberated" since last July, people live under an unofficial curfew that turns the end of every workday into a race to get home before dark. Checkpoints are everywhere--in some cases within 165 ft. (50 m) of each other--and can turn a 15-minute trip into an hour-long ordeal, as soldiers question anyone whose identification papers mark him or her as an outsider or a possible LTTE member. Few people outside Mannar are aware of the extent of the militarization. Journalists are not allowed free access, and it is forbidden to take pictures of any military personnel or installation--not even the 16th century Portuguese fort at the tip of Mannar Island, which is used as an army camp.

Such security measures, like the detention camps, have so far prevented the Tigers from taking back Mannar. But this strategy may not be sustainable throughout the Tamil-majority areas of the north and east. The Sri Lankan government holds up the eastern province of the nation as a model of postconflict governance; the army took control of the area in 2007, and the government held local elections last year. But even in the east, 50 civilians were killed in November alone, according to local media, in violence involving two former Tiger factions as well as military and paramilitary forces. This growing insecurity, says Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu, executive director of the Centre for Policy Alternatives, a public-policy institute based in Colombo, is a result of the government's failure to think beyond its military strategy. "You can snatch a political defeat from the jaws of military victory," Saravanamuttu says.

Going for Broke

Though many outside Sri Lanka have called for a political settlement, President Mahinda Rajapaksa has staked his leadership on a military defeat of the LTTE. Since taking office in 2005, he has redefined the conflict as a "war on terrorism" and cast himself as a son of the soil, a loyal defender of the Sinhalese Buddhist majority. "The average Sinhalese person trusts him," says Saravanamuttu. "He's seen very much as a man of the people." The war has the overwhelming support of Sri Lanka's rural heartland in the south, and Rajapaksa is unlikely to seek a truce when triumph is finally within sight. All that remains is to find Velupillai Prabhakaran, the Tiger commander who has outlasted five Sri Lankan Presidents and is wanted for ordering the assassination of an Indian Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi.

If Rajapaksa can vanquish Prabhakaran, he will have just one foe left: the economy. The cost of the war may be more than the country can afford, with the defense budget far exceeding the government's revenue after servicing of the national debt. "It just doesn't work," says Harsha da Silva, an economist and consultant to the Asian Development Bank. A victory would reduce that spending but might also bring down with it a rural economy propped up by soldiers' salaries and pensions. In many villages, the army is the main employer, and without it, families will begin to feel the full effect of the global recession in the garment, tourism and tea industries--the three pillars of Sri Lanka's economy. The government's only response so far has been to tighten import controls and promote local agriculture.

For now, Rajapaksa looks like a man vindicated. If the LTTE is indeed defeated, a generation of Sri Lankans--including the children held in the camps of Mannar--will, for the first time, begin to live in a country that is not at war.

What will that country look like? It will still have its legendary natural beauty. Mannar's isolation has made it a paradise for birds such as the brilliant blue Indian rollers that skim over the salt marshes. And some are hopeful that with the end of the Tigers, there will be room for a new dialogue between Tamils and Sinhalese, says Ahilan Kadirgamar of the Sri Lanka Democracy Forum, an advocacy group. But for Tamils from LTTE territory, Kadirgamar notes, "their sense of citizenship will be determined by how they are treated." They may re-enter Sri Lankan society only to find themselves subject to security measures that fulfill the worst predictions of the Tigers' relentless propaganda about the persecution of Tamils. Rajapaksa's muscular, nationalist ideology appears to be winning the war. But it may be at the cost of the open, outward-looking, multiethnic character of the nation that Sri Lanka once tried to be.

Thanks: TIME(Feb, 09)

What a fun in Stock Market

2009-02-19T09:03:00.002+05:30

Here is the analysis on the USA stock market. I got this from Zacks.com (c)

Top 10 Worst Declines and Rebounds Within One Year*
	Decline	Rebound
Sept. 1929-July 1932	-89.5%	+172.2%
Mar. 1937-Mar. 1938	-50.2%	+63.0%
Jan. 1973-Dec. 1974	-46.6%	+56.0%
Sept. 1939-Apr. 1942	-41.3%	+48.3%
Aug. 1987-Oct. 1987	-41.2%	+35.8%
Jan. 2000-Oct. 2002	-38.8%	+36.9%
Dec. 1968-May 1970	-36.9%	+52.7%
Nov. 1961-June 1962	-29.2%	+39.7%
Sept. 1976-Feb. 1978	-27.7%	+22.3%
Feb. 1966-Oct. 1966	-26.5%	+29.4%
Current bear market
Oct. 2007-Nov. 2008	-47.5%**

AVERAGE REBOUND		+55.6%
Based on Dow Jones Industrial Average. Index is property of Dow Jones & Company. *Date of this study is 10/26/08.

So moral of the story, invest about 25% of your investible surplus regularly in cheap stocks.

Satyam and Whispers

2009-01-09T14:09:00.003+05:30

Oh Man, money seems to be root cause of this Indian diaspora failures.

Read this article now, on Mumbai DNA Money, see what is happening all around?

Idiotic investors.... fools to have invested in the stock, after that ill fated take over fiasco. They should have dumped the stock soon after, or slightly later and recover a bit.

Now TCS might be taking over Satyam.

People dont forget Pentamedia and the group during the dot com bubble burst days.

Stock exchanges will allow them (like Satyam stocks) to trade as long as there are punters and brokers and exchanges get their commission.

Daylight Savings time

2008-12-11T18:16:00.002+05:30

I was reading a Tamil blogpost அமெரிக்க மக்களே நெசமாவா? regarding Daylight Savings time in USA / North America. Luckily in India it is not there...

The problem could be the taxi guy, might end up coming one hour early, while you are still in bed, if you had booked it the previous night.

Faced the Mokkai situation in 1991, my first time in USA, within the first month when I got a good deal to meet my friend at Dallas for 2 days and rushed without brushing, bath ... eventually brushed after checkin at JFK!

Also in a hurry, I forgot to pack innerwears, and searching for it in Dallas was cool! Luckily a mall was nearby...

The next day return was also fun, with the CST time in play, managed to catch the return flight...

****

Yeah, getting one day off was also a tough situation, as I had to travel and made up with the client working that extra....

Indian Media and Truth, a conspiracy

2008-12-09T16:33:00.002+05:30

Note - This email was sent to me by a friend who lives and works in UAE.

Media & why they are biased towards certain people, families etc.

Somebody came across this article.. just go thru it & it explains the state of media in our country….. quite a terrifying situation

May be w can get a few answers here

Who owns the media in India ?
Recent Gujarat election have witnessed unaccountable money paid to media persons of both, print and electronic by Saudi Arabia to discredit Modi and the Hindutva forces, which Media did very faithfully without success.

There are several major publishing groups in India , the most prominent among them being the Times of India Group, the Indian Express Group, the Hindustan Times Group, The Hindu group, the Anandabazar Patrika Group, the Eenadu Group, the Malayalam Manorama Group, the Mathrubhumi group, the Sahara group, the Bhaskar group, and the Dainik Jagran group.

Let us see the ownership of different media agencies.

NDTV: A very popular TV news media is funded by Gospels of Charity in Spain Supports Communism. Recently it has developed a soft corner towards Pakistan because Pakistan President has allowed only this channel to be aired in Pakistan . Indian CEO Prannoy Roy is co-brother of Prakash Karat, General Secretary of the Communist party of India . His wife and Brinda Karat are sisters.

India Today which used to be the only national weekly which supported BJP is now bought by NDTV!! Since then the tone has changed drastically and turned into Hindu bashing.

CNN-IBN: This is 100 percent funded by Southern Baptist Church with its branches in all over the world with HQ in US. The Church annually allocates $800 million for promotion of its channel. Its Indian head is Rajdeep Sardesai and his wife Sagarika Ghosh.

Times group list: Times Of India, Mid-Day, Nav-Bharth Times, Stardust, Femina, Vijay Times, Vijaya Karnataka, Times now (24- hour news channel) and many more…

Times Group is owned by Bennet & Coleman. 'World Christian Council does 80 percent of the Funding, and an Englishman and an Italian equally share balance 20 percent. The Italian Robertio Mindo is a close relative of Sonia Gandhi.

Star TV: It is run by an Australian, who is supported by St. Peters Pontifical Church Melbourne.

Hindustan Times: Owned by Birla Group, but hands have changed since Shobana Bhartiya took over. Presently it is working in Collaboration with Times Group.

The Hindu: English daily, started over 125 years has been recently taken over by Joshua Society, Berne , Switzerland . N. Ram's wife is a Swiss national…

Indian Express: Divided into two groups. The Indian Express and new Indian Express (southern edition) ACTS Christian Ministries have major stake in the Indian Express and latter is still with the Indian counterpart.

Eeenadu: Still to date controlled by an Indian named Ramoji Rao. Ramoji Rao is connected with film industry and owns a huge studio in Andhra Pradesh.

Andhra Jyothi: The Muslim party of Hyderabad known as MIM along with a Congress Minister has purchased this Telugu daily very recently.

The Statesman: It is controlled by Communist Party of India.

Kairali TV: It is controlled by Communist party of India (Marxist)

Mathrubhoomi: Leaders of Muslim League and Communist leaders have major investment.

Asian Age and Deccan Chronicle: Is owned by a Saudi Arabian Company with its chief Editor M.J. Akbar.

*****

Gujarat riots which took place in 2002 where Hindus were burnt alive,

Rajdeep Sardesai and Bharkha Dutt working for NDTV at that time got around 5 Million Dollars from Saudi Arabia to cover only Muslim victims, which they did very faithfully. Not a single Hindu family was interviewed or shown on TV whose near and dear ones had been burnt alive, it is reported.

Tarun Tejpal of Tehelka.com regularly gets blank cheques from Arab countries to target BJP and Hindus only, it is said.

The ownership explains the control of media in India by foreigners. The result is obvious.

PONDER OVER THIS. NOW YOU KNOW WHY EVERY ONE IS AGAINST TRUTH, HOW VERY SAD.

IPC SECTION 498A

2008-12-08T19:59:00.006+05:30

I recently read one article by a person on SECTION 498A, which is on protecting married women's rights.

What he says is, one wrong will not cross out another. That is the gist.

My comment here...

Do you think that those middle aged ladies should not get a second innings in life?

Even IPC clearly states that, a jailed convict can be pardoned and paroled, if he or she, understand the heinous crime that led to jail term... if the person does not become a menace to the society. This is apart from Goondas Act, which clearly says, you can keep of unwanted social elements, who are perceived to be trouble for society, who might not set a good example etc... (may be all politicians... connections?)

So the constitution protect every Indian. Those ladies should be given a better life and chance.

Whomsoever wrote that, might have been a person, who got affected badly.

I saw a person on Rose, who cried all along... was working in Gulf, who got affected by this.

Well there was only one side of story played on air, his version.

If that ladies anguish, or may be her long separation could have traumatized (ref Schizophrenia) for her to believe something is wrong isn't it?

Finally, marriage as an institution... never understood from our Indian society on what is needed... give and take... can you write on it, based on your family experience, without giving any names? (expectation, selection and life)

*********

Why am I so angered?

I saw this link by one person, who probably doesn't understand to value both sides...

Not only online, there are enough advertisements in Sunday Newspaper Classifieds.

May be one solution could be POLYGAMY in India, if it is legalized, which is prevalent in Muslims and Mormons. Controversial, but people who have the money and can take care, can go for it....

Mail from Maj Gen Surjit Singh

2008-12-06T16:38:00.001+05:30

From: Maj Gen Surjit Singh Subject: Firing form the other man's shoulder!
Date: Sunday, 6 December, 2008, 2:51 AM

Dear Fauji Friend

Last week Maj Gen Joshi called on me. He was an esteemed instructor during our Degree Course days, and EME officers would remember him as one of our finest engineers. Indeed, he spent most of his time with the DRDO. He was commissioned in Jun 1960 and was in the Eastern sector during the 1962 debacle. He has analyzed the event very systematically, and his study reveals the following :

Pt Nehru, the architect of modern India suffered a severe stroke of depression from which he never quite recovered. He died in May 1964 at the comparatively young age of 73.
VK Krishna Menon was removed from the post of Raksha Mantri for his incorrect assessment of the situation.
Gen Thapar, the COAS was sacked. The careers of Lt Gen Kaul and scores of other military officers took a "U" turn.
A few thousand soldiers died; many more were wounded and some were taken prisoners.
The psyche of the country received a severe blow. It was considered a 'National Shame'

The question he asked me was, "Who was the Defence Secretary? And what was the punishment meted out to him?"

I have asked several friends and also surfed the Internet but I am unable to find an answer. In all probability nothing was done to him, because he had no role in this!

Gen Joshi then took this discussion a step further. He observed that during the recent attack on Mumbai, dozens of soldiers and policemen have been killed. The whole nation is shaken. Mr Shivraj Patil has lost his prestigious job. The CM of Maharashtra has been axed and several heads in the government are likely to roll. Can some one tell us as to what action has been taken against the Union Home Secretary or the Chief Secretary of Maharashtra? (Thomas tells me that they will all be "promoted" soon though he does not know why).

Having spent many years in and around the South Block, I marvel at the way our government has been structured. The Civil Servants rule the roost. In terms of promotions and status they are ahead of every one else by miles. They are central in the Pay Commission and the Cabinet Secretary is involved in every major decision making process. Yet, when things go wrong, they wash their hands off so clean that one wonders how!

A slightly closer examination reveals the secret. I have figured it out this way:

They never do anything themselves. They always find some one else to be the head, and they know how to reduce him to be a 'figure head'. (In the Pay Commissions, they have a retired Judge). However they place themselves in a spot which has the maximum opportunity to influence matters.
After the event, they never face the Press or the Media. Their role is amorphous.
The senior amongst them rarely sign a letter or order. Our pension letter is signed by a Director, who is not directly recruited IAS officer. Only rarely do you find a paper signed by a Joint Secretary. Officers above that level do not sign any document.
They have a strong association. It protects the interests of its members dutifully and diligently.

So we have our Defence headquarters in which the postings, promotions, rewards and punishments of all senior officers are controlled by the civil servants; and they also have the final say in the process of procurement of weapons and eqpt, but they are not "responsible" if things go wrong! It is authority without responsibility. (For those who may not know, a lowly officer in the MoD can have a Deputy Chief posted out, but a Service Chief can not get even a Desk Officer moved)

When Gen Joshi left, I found myself perplexed. What sort of system have we evolved? And how has it survived all these years? It is a bit like a unit in which the clerks are running the unit and the CO is so dependent on the Head Clerk that he can not move without their help!

Can some one give a cogent answer to the questions raised by Gen Joshi?

Regards,

Surjit

Politicians wear the dress of the people they represent, to identify themselves with the masses. Soldiers and Policemen wear uniforms. Can some one tell what the Civil Servants wear? The answer came from the wag who said, "Civil servants wear thick skins"

1984 Sikh carnage was wrong: Rahul Gandhi

2008-11-24T11:08:00.001+05:30

1984 Sikh carnage was wrong: Rahul Gandhi

Amritsar, November 18. Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi condemned the anti-Sikh violence in the aftermath of Indira Gandhi’s assassination, saying “whatever happened was wrong”.

“The 1984 riots were wrong. I strongly condemn the carnage,” Rahul said at a news conference in response to a question on Operation Bluestar and the riots. “There is no truth that there is hatred among Sikhs against the Congress party. I have travelled a lot and wherever I go and interact with them (Sikhs), I find lots of love for us... When my grandmother lost elections in 1977, I saw with my own eyes many Sikhs assembling by her side at our residence, when many others had left her isolated. We cannot forget all this.”

Rahul said he and his family bore no ill-will against the community of “which the whole country is proud of”.

Rahul reacted to BJP chief Rajnath Singh’s description of him as a “bachcha” in politics. “Yes, I am a bachcha. But then, 70% of the country’s population is bachcha. What kind of message is Rajnath Singh sending?”

In an interview with The Indian Express Editor-in-Chief Shekhar Gupta on NDTV’s Walk the Talk, Rajnath Singh had said, “I would not like to comment on Rahul at all, I consider Rahul a child... Maybe some politicians consider him a rival but as far as I’m concerned he is just like my child.”

***********
;-) contemporary politics!

Barbarians

2008-11-13T13:00:00.004+05:30

Probably those 8 folks, who took the law into their own hand, thought that they are above law. Now gone fishing!

TN Police is not doing the job.

When situation is out of control, when "one" person is getting beaten up.. the good Samaritan can even beatup the perpetrator to save the other. Here entering the campus, would not be a question at all.

Police did not behave like good Samaritans, forget about laathis and guns!

I just want to know, who the local Collector is? Definitely I can name and write a complaint about that person for not taking action under Sec 144, for not keeping peace, when there was know information about the rowdyism in the campus.

What we all should do is, for the 40 police posted there, send some flowers! (pun intended!)

Your "theerpu" is good. Parents are the one's to blame.

Ramana's ATF will take care of those 8 idiots.

Just people like Gnani et al, would be just writing. Doesnt help!

Kanimozhi, please do something!

In fact, this comment is good enough for the DGP to take action!

Those 8 guys, should be booked under Goonda's Act immediately... and as a fellow blogger says, their parents also should be held accountable!

Ethics, Corruption, and Economic Freedom

2008-11-12T11:40:00.000+05:30

Ethics, Corruption, and Economic Freedom

by Ana Isabel Eiras

Heritage Lecture #813

The subject of ethics has increasingly been present in economic analysis, 1 although not without considerable debate. Some economists believe that the importance of economics is purely technical. Others believe that moral considerations in economic analysis provide a more accurate picture of possible outcomes since it takes into consideration the human aspect of economic actors--that is, people.

I confess that, as an economist, it makes me nervous to insert subjective measures such as morality and ethics when I do my own analysis, both because my conclusions may be applicable only to a few cases and because morality and ethics are hard to measure. But since economics is the study of choice, human behavior cannot be ignored in economic analysis if we want to have a meaningful insight into people's economic life.

I will try to explain corruption, therefore, in economic terms and show how economic freedom removes opportunities for corruption and promotes ethics not just for its moral implications, but also because of its economic value.

Ethics, according to Merriam-Webster's dictionary, is "the discipline dealing with what is good and bad...." In general, we call unethical those actions for which there is a social consensus that they are a bad thing. 2

Corruption has several meanings, depending on whether it takes place in the public or private sector; however, for most people corruption is something unethical, something considered a wrongdoing. A closer look at human behavior in economic life suggests that, in some instances, corruption does not reflect so much a lack of ethics as it reflects a lack of economic freedom.

Economic Freedom and Corruption

To better understand the link between corruption and economic freedom, let me first describe economic freedom and then explain how its absence fosters corruption. I will examine the relationship between economic freedom and corruption both in the form of informal economic activity and in the public-sector bureaucracy.

According to The Heritage Foundation/Wall Street Journal annual Index of Economic Freedom, economic freedom is "the absence of government constraint or coercion on the production, distribution, or consumption of goods and services beyond the extent necessary for citizens to protect and maintain liberty itself." 3

The Index measures the level of economic freedom in 161 countries around the world. To measure economic freedom, it focuses the study on 10 different factors:

Trade policy,
Fiscal burden of government,
Government intervention in the economy,
Monetary policy,
Banking and finance,
Capital flows and foreign investment,
Wages and prices,
Property rights,
Regulation, and
Informal market.

The Index provides a framework for understanding how open countries are to competition; the degree of state intervention in the economy, whether through taxation, spending or overregulation; and the strength and independence of a country's judiciary to enforce rules and protect private property. The 10 factors of the Index allow anyone to see how much or little economic freedom a country has.

Some countries may have freedom in all factors; others may have freedom in just a few. One of the most important findings of the Index is that, as Frederick von Hayek foresaw more than 60 years ago, economic freedom is required in all aspects of economic life--that is, in all of the 10 factors--in order for countries to improve their economic efficiency and, consequently, the living standards of their people.

The Index shows that corruption does not always reflect inherent unethical behavior. This is particularly the case for those who are forced out of the formal economy into the informal economy through burdensome regulations, taxation, and weak property rights.

Economic Freedom and the Informal Economy

Charts 1 and 2 illustrate the relationship between economic freedom and the size of the informal economy as a percentage of GDP in OECD [Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development] countries and 22 transition economies. 4 Chart 1 shows a positive correlation between these two factors. As economic freedom vanishes, the informal economy takes a larger share of GDP.

On average, as shown in Chart 2, the size of the informal economy in economically unfree and repressed economies is almost three times the size of the informal economy in free economies, and almost double the size of the informal economy in mostly free economies.

These charts illustrate the perverse effect of economic repression on the ethics of ordinary people and on the perpetuation of their poverty conditions. For example, in most developed countries, people have a better standard of living thanks to credit access. In the United States, for example, without credit, I would not have a house, or a car, or a TV, or a vacation, or many of the products that add comfort and convenience to my life. Credit makes it possible for me, an ordinary middle-class person, to improve my standard of living in many ways.

To have access to credit, however, I need to prove that I have an income or property. To prove that I have income, I need a formal job, and to prove that I have property, I need a property title.

The amount of available formal jobs depends, of course, on how easy or difficult it is for people to invest, whether in a small retail shop to sell groceries or in a big factory. The friendlier the business environment, the more likely formal jobs will be available. According to the Index of Economic Freedom, however, in most low- to middle-income countries, it is extremely difficult for small and medium investors--which are the largest source of jobs--to operate, both because of the regulatory environment and because of the lack of a strong rule of law.

Consider labor regulations in Argentina. In this country, an employer must grant, by law, several employee benefits, including holidays, vacations, sick leave, health insurance, paid overtime, an annual bonus, and some paid months before laying off an employee. 5 Or take France, where employers must grant, by law, at least 2.5 working days of paid vacations per month; pay over 30 percent in contributions to social security; offer a complementary pension scheme, 35 hours of work per week, and time off; and abide by a burdensome bureaucratic procedure to dismiss employees. 6

The immediate problem with this kind of legislation is that it assumes that all employees are equally good, equally responsible, and equally productive, which is not true. If the employee arrives late, treats customers poorly, and makes the employer lose money, the law grants that employee the same benefits that it grants to a good employee.

Perhaps large businesses, like a multinational factory, can afford to comply with these regulations because of the size of the business and its diversification around the world. But the burden of these regulations destroys small and medium entrepreneurs, who may put their entire savings at stake in their investment.

Small and medium businesses therefore choose to do business and create jobs in the informal sector, where these benefits are negotiable and tied to performance, and not forced by law. This is a clear case in which the rules of the state create perceived unethical behavior by private employers and employees when what is really in question is the ethics of such a regulatory burden in the first place.

If they do not have a job, people can still get access to credit if they have a property title to use as collateral. According to Peruvian economist Hernando de Soto, many of the poor in the developing world have property but the bureaucracy they have to go through in order to get a property title is, at best, huge. 7 For example, in Perú, "to obtain legal authorization to build a house on state-owned land took six years and eleven months, requiring 207 administrative steps in 52 government offices.... To obtain a legal title for that piece of land took 728 steps." 8

It is just as bad in other countries, such as Egypt, where it takes 77 steps in 31 government offices (anywhere from six to 14 years), or the Philippines, where it takes 168 steps through 53 offices (anywhere from 13 to 25 years). The poor own many things that they could use as collateral, but it is bureaucratically impossible for them to validate their property rights. As a result, they are unable to convert what they own into capital and, therefore, raise their standard of living.

Informality is a response to economic repression, not to something inherently unethical in those who circumvent legislation. What is most unethical about informality is the condition in which the government forces the poor to live. Informally employed people are condemned to a standard of living that is significantly lower than that of formally employed people, who have credit access. Also, informality creates a culture of contempt for the law and fosters corruption and bribery in the public sector as a necessary means to navigate the bureaucracy.

Economic Freedom and the Rule of Law

Charts 3 and 4 illustrate the relationship between economic freedom and the level of corruption in 95 countries around the world. 9 Chart 3 shows a strong correlation between these two factors. As economic freedom vanishes, corruption flourishes. On average, as shown in Chart 4, the level of perceived morality--as a contrast to corruption--in economically free countries is almost four times the level of perceived morality in the public sector in mostly unfree or repressed economies, and almost 60 percent greater than in mostly free economies.

Having a weak rule of law significantly adds to the level of corruption in the public sector as well as the amount of informal activity. A weak judiciary is a "blind eye" on anything done outside the law. With a weak judiciary, corruption goes unpunished and informality flourishes.

This is one of the most serious problems we find in the world today. Of 161 countries evaluated in the 2003 Index of Economic Freedom, 108 received bad scores in both regulation and property rights," undermining any effort to improve the living standards of the poorest in those 108 countries.

Conclusion

To be sure, there are cases of corruption that respond to the unethical nature of the corrupt individual. But for the most part, the unethical behavior stems from the environment in which individuals must interact. Convoluted regulations and weak rule of law foster a culture of corruption and informality both in the private and public sectors.

In the public sector, convoluted regulations and weak rule of law provide ample opportunities for public officials to accept bribes without punishment. In the private sector, those two factors push some people to do business informally as a means to survive and others to profit far more than they would if the possibility of bribery did not exist. The result is an increasingly unequal society, in terms of the opportunity to create wealth and improve living standards.

To fight corruption and informality, it is essential to understand that corruption is a symptom--of overregulation, lack of rule of law, a large public sector--not the root of the problem. The perceived problem is unethical/corrupt behavior of the private sector, which leads the government to press more on private-sector activities. The real problem is the government action/regulations causing undesired behavior of the private sector. The optimal solution would be to eliminate burdensome regulations so that unethical behavior does not occur.

Countries must advance economic freedom in all possible areas of the economy, with particular emphasis on regulations affecting small and medium business, in order for corruption and informality to decrease. The Index of Economic Freedom is an excellent guide to identify what is obstructing economic activity and, therefore, perpetuating poverty.

Countries must also preserve the independence and effectiveness of the judiciary to punish corrupt actions. Economic freedom with a strong rule of law will foster a culture of investment, job creation, and institutional respect--all essential factors in massively improving the living standards of ordinary people.

--Ana Isabel Eiras is Senior Policy Analyst for International Economics in the Center for International Trade and Economics at The Heritage Foundation. These remarks were delivered at a conference on the "Ethical Foundations of the Economy" in Krakow, Poland. 10

1. See Daniel Hausmann and Michael McPherson, "Taking Ethics Seriously: Economics and Contemporary Moral Philosophy," Journal of Economic Literature, Vol. XXXI (June 1993), pp. 671-731. See also Leonard Silk, "Ethics in Economics," American Economic Review, Vol. 67, No. 1 (February 1977).

2. Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Tenth Edition (Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 2002), p. 397.

3. Gerald P. O'Driscoll, Jr., Edwin J. Feulner, and Mary Anastasia O'Grady, 2003 Index of Economic Freedom (Washington, D.C.: The Heritage Foundation and Dow Jones & Company, Inc., 2003), p. 50.

4. Friedrich Schneider (see Charts 1 and 2) used the physical input (electricity) method, designed by Daniel Kaufmann and Aleksander Kaliberda. Overall (official and unofficial) economic activity and electricity consumption have been empirically observed throughout the world to move in lockstep with an electricity/GDP elasticity that is usually close to 1. By having a proxy measurement for the overall economy and subtracting it from estimates of official GDP, Kaufmann and Kaliberda derive an estimate of unofficial GDP and DYMIMIC method (dynamic multiple-indicators multiple-causes, a model that measures the link between the unobserved variables [the shadow economy] to observed indicators) to measure the size of the informal economy in transition countries in Central and Eastern Europe and in states of the former Soviet Union. For the OECD countries, either the currency demand method (first used by Phillip Cagan, who calculated a correlation of the currency demand and the tax pressure--as one cause of the shadow economy--for the United States over the period 1919 to 1955) or the DYMIMIC method is used to estimate the size of the shadow economy.

5. The Labor Market and Its Legal Context, Executive Summary, Deloitte & Touche, July 2003.

6. Country Commerce: France, Economist Intelligence Unit, June 2002.

7. Hernando de Soto. The Mystery of Capital: Why Capitalism Triumphs in the West and Fails Everywhere Else (New York: Basic Books, 2000).

8. Idem.

9. The TI Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) ranks countries in terms of the degree to which corruption is perceived to exist among public officials and politicians. The CPI focuses on corruption in the public sector and defines corruption as the abuse of public office for private gain. The lower the score, the higher the level of corruption. For details about how the CPI is done, see http://www.transparency.org/.

10. The author would like to thank John Lyneis, an intern at TheHeritage Foundation, for his valuable research assistance.

Acceptance Speech (c) Barak Hussein Obama

2008-11-07T10:49:00.000+05:30

Hello, Chicago.

If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible, who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.

It's the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches in numbers this nation has never seen, by people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the first time in their lives, because they believed that this time must be different, that their voices could be that difference.

It's the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled. Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been just a collection of individuals or a collection of red states and blue states.

We are, and always will be, the United States of America.

It's the answer that led those who've been told for so long by so many to be cynical and fearful and doubtful about what we can achieve to put their hands on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day.

It's been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this date in this election at this defining moment change has come to America.

A little bit earlier this evening, I received an extraordinarily gracious call from Sen. McCain.

Sen. McCain fought long and hard in this campaign. And he's fought even longer and harder for the country that he loves. He has endured sacrifices for America that most of us cannot begin to imagine. We are better off for the service rendered by this brave and selfless leader.

I congratulate him; I congratulate Gov. Palin for all that they've achieved. And I look forward to working with them to renew this nation's promise in the months ahead.

I want to thank my partner in this journey, a man who campaigned from his heart, and spoke for the men and women he grew up with on the streets of Scranton and rode with on the train home to Delaware, the vice president-elect of the United States, Joe Biden.

And I would not be standing here tonight without the unyielding support of my best friend for the last 16 years the rock of our family, the love of my life, the nation's next first lady Michelle Obama.

Sasha and Malia I love you both more than you can imagine. And you have earned the new puppy that's coming with us to the new White House.

And while she's no longer with us, I know my grandmother's watching, along with the family that made me who I am. I miss them tonight. I know that my debt to them is beyond measure.

To my sister Maya, my sister Alma, all my other brothers and sisters, thank you so much for all the support that you've given me. I am grateful to them.

And to my campaign manager, David Plouffe, the unsung hero of this campaign, who built the best -- the best political campaign, I think, in the history of the United States of America.

To my chief strategist David Axelrod who's been a partner with me every step of the way.

To the best campaign team ever assembled in the history of politics you made this happen, and I am forever grateful for what you've sacrificed to get it done.

But above all, I will never forget who this victory truly belongs to. It belongs to you. It belongs to you.

I was never the likeliest candidate for this office. We didn't start with much money or many endorsements. Our campaign was not hatched in the halls of Washington. It began in the backyards of Des Moines and the living rooms of Concord and the front porches of Charleston. It was built by working men and women who dug into what little savings they had to give $5 and $10 and $20 to the cause.

It grew strength from the young people who rejected the myth of their generation's apathy who left their homes and their families for jobs that offered little pay and less sleep.

It drew strength from the not-so-young people who braved the bitter cold and scorching heat to knock on doors of perfect strangers, and from the millions of Americans who volunteered and organized and proved that more than two centuries later a government of the people, by the people, and for the people has not perished from the Earth.

This is your victory.

And I know you didn't do this just to win an election. And I know you didn't do it for me.

You did it because you understand the enormity of the task that lies ahead. For even as we celebrate tonight, we know the challenges that tomorrow will bring are the greatest of our lifetime -- two wars, a planet in peril, the worst financial crisis in a century.

Even as we stand here tonight, we know there are brave Americans waking up in the deserts of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan to risk their lives for us.

There are mothers and fathers who will lie awake after the children fall asleep and wonder how they'll make the mortgage or pay their doctors' bills or save enough for their child's college education.

There's new energy to harness, new jobs to be created, new schools to build, and threats to meet, alliances to repair.

The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even in one term. But, America, I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there.

I promise you, we as a people will get there.

There will be setbacks and false starts. There are many who won't agree with every decision or policy I make as president. And we know the government can't solve every problem.

But I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face. I will listen to you, especially when we disagree. And, above all, I will ask you to join in the work of remaking this nation, the only way it's been done in America for 221 years -- block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand.

What began 21 months ago in the depths of winter cannot end on this autumn night.

This victory alone is not the change we seek. It is only the chance for us to make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were.

It can't happen without you, without a new spirit of service, a new spirit of sacrifice.

So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism, of responsibility, where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves but each other.

Let us remember that, if this financial crisis taught us anything, it's that we cannot have a thriving Wall Street while Main Street suffers.

In this country, we rise or fall as one nation, as one people. Let's resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long.

Let's remember that it was a man from this state who first carried the banner of the Republican Party to the White House, a party founded on the values of self-reliance and individual liberty and national unity.

Those are values that we all share. And while the Democratic Party has won a great victory tonight, we do so with a measure of humility and determination to heal the divides that have held back our progress.

As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours, we are not enemies but friends. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection.

And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn, I may not have won your vote tonight, but I hear your voices. I need your help. And I will be your president, too.

And to all those watching tonight from beyond our shores, from parliaments and palaces, to those who are huddled around radios in the forgotten corners of the world, our stories are singular, but our destiny is shared, and a new dawn of American leadership is at hand.

To those -- to those who would tear the world down: We will defeat you. To those who seek peace and security: We support you. And to all those who have wondered if America's beacon still burns as bright: Tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity and unyielding hope.

That's the true genius of America: that America can change. Our union can be perfected. What we've already achieved gives us hope for what we can and must achieve tomorrow.

This election had many firsts and many stories that will be told for generations. But one that's on my mind tonight's about a woman who cast her ballot in Atlanta. She's a lot like the millions of others who stood in line to make their voice heard in this election except for one thing: Ann Nixon Cooper is 106 years old.

She was born just a generation past slavery; a time when there were no cars on the road or planes in the sky; when someone like her couldn't vote for two reasons -- because she was a woman and because of the color of her skin.

And tonight, I think about all that she's seen throughout her century in America -- the heartache and the hope; the struggle and the progress; the times we were told that we can't, and the people who pressed on with that American creed: Yes we can.

At a time when women's voices were silenced and their hopes dismissed, she lived to see them stand up and speak out and reach for the ballot. Yes we can.

When there was despair in the dust bowl and depression across the land, she saw a nation conquer fear itself with a New Deal, new jobs, a new sense of common purpose. Yes we can.

When the bombs fell on our harbor and tyranny threatened the world, she was there to witness a generation rise to greatness and a democracy was saved. Yes we can.

She was there for the buses in Montgomery, the hoses in Birmingham, a bridge in Selma, and a preacher from Atlanta who told a people that "We Shall Overcome." Yes we can.

A man touched down on the moon, a wall came down in Berlin, a world was connected by our own science and imagination.

And this year, in this election, she touched her finger to a screen, and cast her vote, because after 106 years in America, through the best of times and the darkest of hours, she knows how America can change.

Yes we can.

America, we have come so far. We have seen so much. But there is so much more to do. So tonight, let us ask ourselves -- if our children should live to see the next century; if my daughters should be so lucky to live as long as Ann Nixon Cooper, what change will they see? What progress will we have made?

This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment.

This is our time, to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth, that, out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope. And where we are met with cynicism and doubts and those who tell us that we can't, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people: Yes, we can.

Thank you. God bless you. And may God bless the United States of America.

(c) Barak Hussein Obama

New Nigerian Online Scam

2008-10-10T15:57:00.001+05:30

Nigerian Hackers have managed a new scheme called "Help" to swindle money out of you. It starts with a small amounts, and God know what those Idiots are upto!
They give a small window of time to operate and skim out money!

Divya called me to verify, and laughed about it. She has also posted it now in her blog!

What a way to swindle people! I believe the email was sent to my wife's email id too!

I promptly informed my friends and the authorities and blocked my email id.

Please take care and inform others.

This is the text of the message Divya got in her gmail box, from my Yahoo id.

****************************************************************************************
How are you doing today? I am sorry i didn't inform you about my traveling to Africa for a program called "Empowering Youth to Fight Racism, AIDS, Poverty and Lack of Education,It as been a very sad and bad moment for me over here and the present condition that i found myself is very hard for me to explain.

I am really stranded in Nigeria because I forgot my little bag in the Taxi where my money, passport,documents and other valuable things were kept on my way to the Hotel am staying, I am facing a hard time here because i have no money on me to clear my Hotel bill, I am now owning a sum $2000 for my Hotel bill.

I need you to help me out with a sum of $2,500 urgently so that i can arrange and travel back home,I need this help so much and on time because i am in a terrible and tight situation here, I don't even have money to feed myself for a day which means i had been starving so please understand how important and urgent i needed your help.

I am sending you this e-mail from the city Library and I only have 30 min, I will appreciate what so ever you can afford to send me immediately through Western Union or Money Gram and I promise to pay back your money as soon as i return home so please let me know on time so that i can forward you the details you need to transfer the money through Money Gram or Western Union.

Regards
Rmaesh
****************************************************************************************

First those hackers did few mistakes.

1. The sent to two women, thinking that one might be the wife
2. They didn't know the fact that mail exchanges were there as late as few hours before.
3. They typed his name wrong, and the signature style is different

Vegetarianism

2008-10-07T19:25:00.002+05:30

Here is a site that promotes Vegetarianism

The videos they show are totally tough.... beware.

By the way, plants and trees do respond to you. They do have life.

Do you know that my rose plants shake in the morning, when I go to water them, even when there is no flowing wind?

They are promoting Indian Curry! Great!

Agar: Interesting facts

2008-10-05T18:43:00.000+05:30

Agar alias Ud, Oud, Oudh, gaharu, Agarwood, Agar is well popular in Arabic world and part and parcel of their life and tradition. It is mentioned even in Kur-An, the divine text of Islam. When a Keralite or Indian reaches Arab countries and comes to india on leave and back, one of the request he may get is to 'get some Oud from India'. What is this Oud with that is of this much importance to Arabs?

Those who does not know about this scented wood, can refer to wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia .org/wiki/ Agarwood

Those who does not know about its strong connection and use in Arabian countries can refer to: http://www.saudiara mcoworld. com/issue/ 200006/the. hidden.history. of.scented. wood.htm (I liked this well written article)

Of course the above article may also help to know that Oud is 10 times costlier than Gold!!! No wonder now we can find Oud shops even in Kerala from where the Gulf Malayalees (Kerlites in Gulf Countries) by Oud and supply to their Arabian friends (Arabis). Oud is not created in Kerala, the Agar tree does not grow in Kerala, and even if it Agar tree is grown Oud will not get produced, since only the attach of a special mold (the trees occasionally become infected with mold and begin to produce an aromatic resin in response to this attack) can cause Oud to be produced! In India Oud (Agar) is produced in Assam only and goes to all parts of India and later to Arabia. Truly it is the Assam Scent Gold exported to Gulf countries!

Please Note: The dependence of Gulf countries on India (Assam) to get a scent that is tightly connected with their life, tradition; a scent that gets mentioned even in Kur-An and is respected and valued, indicates the dependence the Arabian countries once had on India and its natural resources. For food, cosmetics, scents and for almost every thing they depended on India!!! (And now we depend on them - just due to Petrol, the gold of the dry land!)

What an irony!

India US Nuclear Deal on the right path

2008-09-28T19:28:00.000+05:30

Read this....
US House of Representatives OKs nuclear deal

This is the first step towards the signing of deal on October 4th in India by Rice and Pranab.

I think the USA Senate is going to approve with 2 thirds majority on October 3rd.

Hopefully the 10 new reactors orders, would bring in smiles to 30,000 family with jobs in the USA. Great going INDIA!

Blogging:Business and Recreation

2008-09-26T14:34:00.000+05:30

We need to seriously think about Social networking and its effects of doing good things for India. Whatever extra time and effort that could be made available can be put together for a worthy cause.

Recently One Mr Reshan Abdulla (an avid Tamil blogger) agreed to sponsor on kid Mohanapriya for her expenses to go to tournaments and even bought her a laptop (I want to get one cheap for to gift to a kid) and some items. Great Job. Kudos Abdulla!

The other day when I was in a busy crowded street, there was a sudden song... ringtone... Condom Condom... all the females in that busy shopping area were blushing and this guy without any fuss, picks his phone and starts talking. See the link on the right side to download it.

Nowadays there is enough fight going online about one author, who is writing pulp or semi porn literature like Kathy Acker, who bothers, who made statement (blanket) against the bloggers that they are being irresponsible and probably affecting his viewership. See the thought process! The Tamil post that I did, probably has 1000 hits alone, by now!

Someone should drive sense to people, who are gaining popularity...... using the internet medium.

Release of Prisoners in Tamilnadu

2008-09-20T16:32:00.000+05:30

There is lot of hue and cry over the release of Prisoners, on account of 100th birth Anniversary of Arignar Anna, the doyen of Tamilnadu politics. Unfortunately, as Anna wanted there was no celebration done. Jayalalitha and Vaiko did their own style of celebrations. Gaptan Vijayakanth did his own photo op.

These are the conditions... (of release of 1405 prisoners)... as read on Reality Check

//The two categories are :

1. All those serving life terms who have completed 7 years (subject to some checks like good behavior)

2. All those over 60 are free if they have served five years

Remember, a life term is usually awarded for murder. //

Some cases for abetting and aiding may be there too. Take the case of Nalini, who is languishing for 17 years.

What government has done is unconditional parole only, hidden to most public and magazines sensationalize Subramaniya Swamy (I have attended some of his lectures at Stanford University during 2004 - International Economics). They need to sign regularly and the local Police station would monitor them. They can arrest them anytime. (Even in the USA due to the paucity of space, about 40% were let go on Parole, in most states in 1980's. But they were booked immediately, if they don't report to Parole officer once in 7 days, unless sick!)

This would not hold in court says a good lawyer friend of mine, who works with a very famous Supreme Court Lawyer firm. In 2007 the release was unconditional, the wordings were not right, hence the court struck it.

Let us wait and watch.

Indians and English

2008-09-19T13:23:00.001+05:30

I understand that being Indian, shows that we are all good in English. There was a heated argument with me, my friend and a lady who happens to be in the Cable TV.

What is wrong with the word Skimpy to describe the word skimpy as in wrong dress?

This was about the dressing sense, and she wearing tight pink pants, showing panties. She was co-hosting/anchoring a show in the Tamil Cable TV Channel. (the explanation to say, don't wear tight pink pants). Well the shows producer and director are known to my friend and he has already taken corrective actions.

I worded the comment as Skimpy, the typical term, I am used since my USA days describing inappropriate dressing for an occasion. When I was in government dress, I have sent official memo's to ladies (within the gamit of the work involved being Skimpy!)

We don't need to apologize to that lady! What the fu*k?

Like anchor Gopinath in Neeya Naana says always, "It is a Hobson's Choice". You say one thing, you get beaten up, you say other you get beaten up. Catch-22. This was told by my friend.

Imagine for a guy with near perfect English credentials getting banged by a rotten lady!

Criticism and comments are part of public life! You should not tread on others....

Market, Organized Retail

2008-09-18T18:26:00.000+05:30

I may not buy into all thoughts about not promoting the organized retails like, Big Bazaar, Reliance Fresh etc..

Do you know the wastage percentage of the individual sellers than the bulk sellers? Do you know organized selling is what EU is harping about? (Sandhaikadai - Market in Tamil in a single form is a good hit, that I have seen since 1991)

In Haiti, people are eating mud, mixed with tree fungus as there is no food.

Anyway think about WTO, what Kamal Nath achieved (little googling would help) to save 8000000 farmers.

Saw in a friends blog about how he bought Tomato for 2 Rs/Kg in Hosur, while it costs Rs 8 in Bangalore. (Transport costs?)

I grew up in Bengal, listening to Uncle Sam harping on Communism, learn’t more like that.

Writers Online

2008-09-18T15:01:00.000+05:30

It is nice to read writers postings online. Even though I am not a Tamilian, but married to one. (Marati). I might be wrong, but drinks, women and sex dominate their writings! (intentionally?). I don't drink and I definitely do not appreciate that!

My Thamizh language skills are improving based on reading their posts among others, I could say. (Check out my Tamil blog ). They claim their style of writing is ultra-modern. They want to be a writers hero! (seriously?)

A topic I find most of them shy away to write, would be about Mumbai Bar Dancer girls.

The latest story on bar dancers are very tough to digest. Bar Dancers in Mumbai were the tough specimen of human kind. The people who run them, as I have heard are the most toughest form of slave - drivers in the world. I have also heard about these, from a friend of mine, living in Abu Dhabhi, on the Russian mafia taking over Bur Dubai, with call girls (converted from India). I have also heard about girls from India in Thailand.

I was reading a news article on new 'Ananda Vikatan' its advertisements and business tactics and saw this link. I understand that freedom of expression is mi-used in India, even against writers! http://www.indiaglitz.com/channels/tamil/article/37345.html (spoiling livelihood's of writers). I can hear you saying, why they write and get the wrath? I am not trying to get attention here!

Also this blogpost http://chenthil.blogspot.com/2008/02/jeyamohan-charu-nivedita.html

Another topic that very few writers are taking it for their meal is, Child abuse.

India has too much of Child abuse. I saw the program of Rose (August 2008) and felt these politicians are the cause of not passing strict laws. What do you think of 'God of small things' novel and child abuse? Is there something like that explaining the hidden closets? Salma (a politician of DMK, Tamilnadu) wrote "Irandam Jaamangalin Kadhaigal", exposing the tough nature of secluded women. Awareness makes people to be aware of pretenders.

I have a question for all writers (for most it is work?) and their cinema aspirations.

Do you like cinema, being 'part' of it?
Or is the fame and money that un-lures you? (since you did not be part of it yet?)

At times they talk of wanting to be Hero's kindling the tickle buds?

Also surprisingly they have written about Super Star Rajinikanth and Kuselan etc... (or I missed it?).

Since I brought the topic of Cinema, let us talk about Amitabh Bachchan.
I have 2 question's on Amitabhji.
(1) Was he right in bringing his son into acting field?
(2) Does he need to do the tough world tours for the sake of money?
(Do you read his blogs? http://blogs.bigadda.com/ab/ )

Please read this too http://www.buzz18.com/news/movies/unforgettable-tour-a-big-flop/77381/0 (particularly the comments...) gives an insight into what an outsider sees about Tamil writers.

Power Cuts, Tamilnadu, Southern States

2008-09-12T17:21:00.001+05:30

At least global warming is going down due to power cuts in India, particularly in southern states.

I have lost few kilos, sweating without power. My health is improving too. Taking walks etc...

No point in blaming the ministers (magazines, newspapers, bloggers et al), what will they do, when there is no interest in paying for power from farmers to lower middle class?

I crib and pay Rs 4.20 per unit on an average, and specially Rs 500/- extra for my apt complex and have invested in an inverter for evenings power cut sake.

But still I request BSY, Karunanithi, Achuthanandan and Samuel to ensure the situation improves.

Amitabh and his blog and Maharastrian sentiments!

2008-09-10T08:14:00.000+05:30

Today I read on Amitabh Bachchan's blog, about what he has gone and going though about the Maharastrians sentiments.

Amitabh's latest blog....

Being a born Marati - first settlers of that land is my community - I felt sad on seeing the politicians, running amock. First they should set their house in order, removed caste-ism and help poor.

Here is my response to him...

***********************************************************************************

Dear Amitabh Sir

I am humbled by your gesture and feel sad on what your family is going through.

I am a born Maharastrian in a Dalit family, and my dad was driven out just because of ill-treatment (should not have studied or opt for a better job) in the same land centuries ago ancestors settled.

I grew up in Kolkatta, and my family owes all the happiness that we got to WB. Of course we do not forget our roots.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

Regards
Ramesh

***********************************************************************************

India and Nuclear Deal

2008-09-09T13:26:00.000+05:30

At last India has crossed the final hurdle with NSG, getting the Energy Waiver. The final step towards the Nuclear Deal with USA. (Of course the Australia Barrier is still there...)

There is wrong understanding by people (opposition) about the nuclear deal. I have some friends in BJP as well as CPM (the place where I grew). They have no objections on the treaty to do trade. What they are worried about is the right to test, and there is clarity now with the waiver. But according to Hyde Act, USA would terminate the deal, if India does nuclear tests (Do you know that BARC continues to do Cyclotron Nuclear tests everyday?). You see, still Australia is troubled to sell enriched Uranium to us. Why? They are not in good trading terms or they don't want to be dictated by USA! Chinese wanted to be heard by India only, rather than Bush calling their Premier. That was the last hiccup!

God Help India!

Shirdi Sai

2008-09-06T12:01:00.000+05:30

Sairam

I am a firm believer of Shirdi Sai and I do believe in Miracles. Personally I have experienced Sai, when I got Vibuthi blessings in front of Sai picture, before my interview, during final year in College and pronto I got the job I wanted with Tata Group. Later after 3 years of service, I decided to do good to Indian community taking up Civil Services and under the guidance of Sai, I served for 13 years.

I have also been given Dheeksha by Amma Amritananda Mayi.

Yeoman service in the form of social service is the key to eradicate poverty.

Shirdi Sai Live

India and Corruption

2008-09-05T19:54:00.000+05:30

See the state of India with Corruption....

Read here...

I cannot say anything more, expecting comments from readers.

Ganesh Chaturthi - Symbolism

2008-09-04T11:26:00.000+05:30

Embarassing 123 agreement

2008-09-03T18:48:00.000+05:30

Read this first.. very embarrassing.

Look at what those Congressmen have tried to do. An agreement that would help India, with vague terms.

So Uranium (enriched) supply is going to be at crisis need basis only? It is here 75% of times, so along with USA, Austria and Australia also China has to sell. Thanks to Russia right now it is a smooth sail.

We need to tweak laws to dig the Rishi Valley area and get the next 25 years supply and store and stop the deforestation.

All the need is, now to get the Solar mania in place. Spend 10% of Income Tax earned FM & PM.

Savage Waters that will not be tamed

2008-09-03T10:31:00.000+05:30

Read the economist article here.... (India is not shown correctly, you idiots! See the head J&K)

See how since 1978, these politicians includign Lalu did not bother anything on the Nepal side bund.

Nepal has to help to create a barrage ( bund - to correctly set the 35 to 80 kms ) path of Kosi. Or build a very high dam at Nepal, that might solve about 80% of problem (rest is headache of Bihar rulers). I believe earlier governments in Nepal (under King) were very co-operative, but due to the investment nature, India was to spend those 3500 crores fully, which could have been a political suice and in 1978 Morarji Deasai then PM put a road block to that work order. We Indians could have got the right to generated power at a small cost, just paying operations cost and also helping Nepal (employment, and saving floods pain in their side). We also have to wait and see with the new people govt. there.

Looks simple, but now?

Student dies after completing Chennai Marathon

2008-08-31T20:27:00.000+05:30

Student dies after completing Chennai Marathon. Condolences!

Student Name - M Santhosh from Anna University (Medical Certificate would have been better. In the name of record, they gave away that part. Now I am told the record did not happen. Why?)

Read here...

Jharkhand CM Shibu Soren wins trust vote

2008-08-29T19:06:00.000+05:30

Jharkhand CM Shibu Soren wins trust vote today. He is the founder of JMM. JMM supported UPA in the recent trust vote on July 22nd 2008 and he was to get the Coal ministry in Cabinet. But he preferred the other role of being a CM.

This is the second time he has become CM.

Note that he was the Architect of struggle for Jharkhand.

Promises are meant to be kept with Politicians, and UPA did so.

Now what happens to Koda? Is he in the ministry? Only 11 can become, and all have taken those seats. Now it is upto Soren to get the MLA election victory, after having someone resign from his own party!

Is India Poor?

2008-08-29T13:56:00.000+05:30

Read this first! Is India Poor?

I feel the report is overemphasizing on the way you eat food. (42% of Indians are poor? Kidding?)

They are talking about spending only $1.25 per day for food in a small family (1 or 2 kids).

Absolutely that is possible, if your lifestyle is like that. I am not saying it has to be liek that.

Here is my analysis.

$1.25 = Rs 55/- (approx.). That means you should be able to get 1 KG Rice or Wheat easily at Rs 20 max, 250 gms of Dhal for Rs 12, Milk 1 litre for Rs 18 and Misc on an average basis the rest of Rs 5/-.

Yes these folks, at times, have to save money too! (This point is the truth, which drives most crazy in our Indian economy). True savings potential, reflects what one person is capable off. Rainy day savings they say. So if a person, does not have money for rainy days, he is poor.

Now look at the aspect of NREGS (National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme) offering to pay Rs 100/- minimum for a man and Rs 80/- minimum for a women based on the hardwork determined. This is one good scheme by the UPA govt. supported by the leftists, well architected. (except for some politicians trying to eat it off at Rettanai in Tamilnadu, with bogus workers). Such people, if bothhusband and wife works, should be able to earn a decent living for 100 working days. Rs 180/- x 100 = Rs 18, 000/- on an average about Rs 50 per day, but they get subsidized ration and various other benefits, based on the states (Tamilnadu gives Rs 2/- per KG of Rice, at a max of 30 KGs per family, Andhra gives at Rs 3/- per KG at 30 KGs....)

In all as Swaminathan S Ankleshwara Aiyer says, "so what is govt. going to do to the bottom most pit of our societies.". Good question asked. When economy grows, and with rising inflation, the wages have to be increased too!

Ecology

2008-08-29T10:28:00.000+05:30

Read an interesting article today in TOI, Bangalore

1000 Cotton Silk trees in Tamilnadu have been cut, as they are water mongers, sucks the water out of eco system. This is like self help Euthanasia. Hopefully government would not kill that species of trees. They cannot talk dont they?

Similar to the above incident also read one article on mining and replanting (something like that). OK, you mine, so give back. How? Plant more trees. Nice work by Karnataka Government. Hats off BSY.

Related to this story, there are no bodies in Bangalore that govern the cutting of trees or replanting. I remember that in Chennai, I worked with many department, to uproot and replant about 250 trees on the Alwarpet to Guindy Road, which was about to be cut based on road widening.

Religion, Sikhs and Fun

2008-08-28T17:53:00.000+05:30

Forward From a friend….

I was standing at Jalandhar station when my attention went towards a Sikh youth standing near me wearing a Black turban having a long beard and wearing a kirpan over his shirt looking similar to a terrorist.

After a while, one local train arrived, which was totally packed. The Sikh youth tried to alight the train but failed to do so. Just then a voice was heard from the back coach 'Sardarji Barah Baj gaye' (Sir it's 12 o'clock!)

The Sikh youth looked over at that voice maker who was a young Mischievous type of person and instead of showing any anger made a smile towards him.The smile made was so enigmatic that it seemed as if some type of truth lies behind it. Not able to resist my temptation, I walked towards him and asked why did he smile at that person who teased him. The Sikh youth replied, 'He was not teasing me but was asking for my Help'. I was surprised with these words and he told me that there was a big history behind that which one should know. I was eager to know the History and the Sikh youth narrated:

During 17th Century, when Hindustan was ruled by Mughals, all the Hindu people were humiliated and were treated like animals. Mughals treated the Hindu women as there own property and were forcing all Hindus to accept Islam and even used to kill the people if they were refusing to accept.That time, our ninth Guru, Sri Guru Teg Bahadarji came forward,in response to a request of some Kashmir Pandits to fight against all these cruel activities. Guruji told the Mughal emperor that if he could succeed in converting him to Islam, all the Hindus would accept the same.

But, if he failed, he should stop all those activities . The Mughal emperor happily agreed to that but even after lots of torture to Guruji and his fellow members he failed to convert him to Islam and Guruji along with his other four fellow members, were tortured and sacrificed their lives in Chandni Chowk. Since the Mughals were unable to convert them to Islam they were assassinated.

Thus Guruji sacrificed his life for the protection of Hindu religion.

Can anybody lay down his life and that too for the protection of another religion? This is the reason he is still remembered as "Hind Ki Chaddar", shield of India . For the sake of whom he had sacrificed his life, none of the them came forward to lift his body, fearing that they would also be assassinated

Seeing this incident our 10th Guruji, Sri Guru Gobind Singhji (Son of Guru Teg Bahadarji) founder of khalsa made a resolution that he would convert his followers to such human beings who would not be able to hide themselves and could be easily located in thousands. At the start, the Sikhs were very few in numbers as they were fighting against the Mughal emperors. At that time, Nadir Shah raided Delhi in the year 1739 and looted Hindustan and was carrying lot of Hindustan treasures and nearly 2200 Hindu women along with him. The news spread like a fire and was heard by Sardar Jassa Singh who was the Commander of the Sikh army at that time. He decided to attack Nadir Shah's Kafila on the same midnight. He did so and rescued all the Hindu women and they were safely sent to their homes.

It didn't happen only once but thereafter whenever any Abdaalis or Iranis had attacked and looted Hindustan and were trying to carry the treasures and Hindu women along with them for selling them in Abdal markets, the Sikh army although fewer in numbers but were brave hearted and attacked them at midnight,12 O'clock and rescued women.

After that time when there occurred a similar incidence, people started to contact the Sikh army for their help and Sikhs used to attack the raider's at Midnight, 12 O'clock. Nowadays, these "smart people" and some Sikh enemies who are afraid of Sikhs, have spread these words that at 12 O'clock, the Sikhs go out of their senses.This historic fact was the reason which made me smile over that person as I thought that his Mother or Sister would be in trouble and wants my help and was reminding me by saying off 'Sardarji Barah Baj Gaye'

Plz do forward this mail to all ur friends so they can know about sikh history & its a humble appeal not to make fun of any RELIGION or community! Every religion is as sacred as yours is to you.

Kashmir problems and solutions

2008-08-20T12:48:00.001+05:30

There was a good blog in Tamil by Badri.

அமர்நாத் -- காஷ்மீர்

Here is my comment and update.

Amarnath was identified by a Muslim Shepherd and Hindu Chauvinists created the Siva Abode story. Natural formation to religion and influenced hatred was in the making since 1932?

Based on Point No 3 as solution, you are saying they should be given self rule? On the contrary, Point No 4 says, Northern region (which part clarify in districts?) should be part of Pakistan's Kashmir? They still dont account POK in their budget! Absolute Warlords rule there. No growth would come there.

Splitting Jamma and Ladakh was put forth by Nehru himself, I am told. M J Akbar article. Very poor barren land, economy suffers. Now atleast based on Summer and Winter cycles, people migrate or economy adjusts.

I dont see anything spelt out in the book by Musharaf in these lines (4 points) you have quoted!

For India, it would be a pride issue, based on the Kings accession in 1948, earlier agreeing on the Pakistan rule while Radcliffe was splitting.

*****

Here is a link about the communalism in the Indian context and applies to Kashmir.

http://www.sabrang.com/research/comopr.pdf

Just heard Arundhati Roy, the famous Malayalam origin author, who wrote the child exploitation things in her 'God of small things', talking about seccesionism of Kashmir, which was rebutted by Mr Singhvi Congress Spokesperson, threatening to throw her in jail for that ir-responsible act of speech (which I feel is protected under our Constitution as a non-inciting speech, duh - Freedom of Speech). He also said that there are laws in the IPC which clearly demarcates, even talking about Splitting a country for peace (but not taking over - Sikkim or splitting other countries - Bangladesh). He cites the case of BODO, ULFA, Tamil Militants.

So much for our 61st year of freedom.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kashmir

I am praying for peace to the higher powers.

India and Issues Blog

2008-08-20T12:44:00.000+05:30

Welcome to one more blog of mine, to talk about India and Issues in English.

I read so many articles, blogs and comment on them.

I will try to capture them here.

Keep Reading. Thanks.