Two simple News Items

There are always enough interesting things happening in the world, concerning which one can write a lot about. This post is however because there are two world events that are of interest to me at this point in time. How the hell is EU and especially Germany going to bail out the economies like Greece and Italy which are at the verge of collapse. This collapse definitly is something everyone is praying, shouldn't happen. The reason is clear, the effect is going to be more catastropic than before. A fall of Greece would mean that all the loan extended to the country and the investments, a huge part of which have been done by countries in the EU including Germany, France & Portugal, would be defaulted. This would not just put extra burden on these economies but would also have a cascading effect that may destabilize the already we economic balance that seems to be reached by many smaller countries after Lehman Brothers & downgrading of America.

The only country that seems to have enough money to bail all these sad and sick economies seems to be far east still resting with its communist regime.

More here [1] [2]

The second one that has aroused great interest in me is the case of Dr. Murray, whom the ghosts of the dead Pop Singer & Break dance sensation Micheal Jackson, seem to haunt relentlessly. Its been a while since we heard about Mr. Jackson ( yeah i know he is dead) but this case seems to generate more anxiety in people than ever before. Would truth prevail in the end and would there be someone who would be punished, if there is one to be punished is something, i await with bated breath.

Both these incidents seem to drive me towards one point. Life comes to a full circle. There was a time when "East was uncool and west was cool", When the Chinese people were dumb people with , slits instead of eyes and some nasal language and using sticks to eat their food. When Micheal Jackson was a pedophile and perhaps a drug addict. Today this country of slit eyed people seem to be the one who can save the "cultured west" with its fiscal assets reaching unheard of numbers, when after years after his death people remember Jackson and want to win him justice and honor...which seems to have been torn apart with his death under hazy situations. 

More here [1]

Yeah...Karma does exist...for everything good u do...u get good things back. The same holds for every evil you do...Food for thought..Hmmm?

A habit getting rare - Reading

 I am sure the day is not far when, "U" will be an oxford dictionary word which means "You" and "gr8" is considered and optimized replacement for the word "great" since it needs one to type 2 more letters. The article here describes, how a study UK brought the problem of SMS and Facebook to light. Today we all are busy though we are not doing much, our internet time has increased many a times and reading seems to be something one has to do when he gets a new Email or a SMS. 

One need not understand expressions like "Searching something in a Hay stack" or a "As you sow, so you reap". Infact, it is difficult for me to understand how can one live without reading the wonderful books like "The famous Five" or the "Three investigators". I still remember when i would frantically cycle to the nearest library after my UT or unit test, to read the latest issue of "Chacha Chaudary" or "Champak". Looks like the cartoon network and the bevy of other channels, with their tons of poisonous episodes displaying strong emotions like envy, hatred etc although with an good intention...That good wins over the bad; have replaced these weekly or fortnightly magazines. Uncle pai is dead ( May his soul rest in peace!!)...I just wonder how long before Tinkle and Amar chitra katha too vanish in the oblivions of our ever advancing society....

Is the "Gandhi Era" reaching its expiry date?

Facebook is filled with funny quotes..One of my all time favorites is...

."Sonia jiski mummy hai, wo sarkar nikammi hai"...

But really has Anna messed up the Hornets nest by his fast. The government seems to be extremly confused as to what is to be done, and what not. First they arrest Anna...and then the release him. And then they allege that BJP and other parties are hand in glove with Anna. Sometimes, i trust that over government, which has highly qualified people like Manmohan Singh (also called MMS in slogans) and Dr. Chidambaram ( who by the way is already being seen as the future PM) holding its reigns, seems to be acting like a mouse that is trapped in a room which has no furniture and no where to hide. By the way, the nature of Rats is to hide...they run very fast...but they need place to hide...Same is with govt which doesn't know where to hide its face...Even Sonia's veil which was there to protect the ministers is missing.

It is clear that many of the Leaders have a lot to lose if the Lokpal bill is passed. No doubt, and independent body would hold the corrupt people by their balls. However, why do you want to react like idiots? Are you so stupid guys? You have eaten the countrys millions of bucks....Atleast now stop.

The agitation that Anna started has now taken almost an Ego trip now. It is clear that that fire has started and the smoke is rising...It is only a matter of time before the "Gandhi Era" is burnt down to ashes for good and a new system emerges. 

Corrupt India

I was a frequest visitor to Mr.Varma's blog, having added a link from my own blog to his. However blogging like anything else is associated with some kinda fashion. We all used to Orkut and now we all Facebook. Saying that we are using this to keep our social lifes alive is lame. Because if that were the case, there was practically no reason to abandon Orkut. Same has happened with Yahoo messenger & Google. However, this post is not about technology and where it is going....

I have started active blogging again...(let see how long i remain active)

I came across a beautiful piece by Mr. Varma here, where he talks about the mis-interperetation of the Lokpal bill. I remember that as india nudge towards the World cup finals and looked promising every other indian on FB had the "Bleed Blue" batch...and soon when the Mr. Hazare went on fast they had "Anti corruption" batches. People would say that this is their way of supporting the cause...but is this really the way? Varma points out in his article that corruption is a symptom and not the diesease itself, which i without doubt agree.

That brings us to the fundamental question why are people corrupt? However, before we can get into that we need to understand a bit better perhaps, what exactly is corruption?

In my view, there is a act of corruption going on, when one gets some undue advantage at anothers cost intentionally. Huh...is that too difficult...Well not really. It is not just about bribes....rules etc...Any act of unjustice that is unpardoned intentionally equates to an act of corruption.

For E.g if i get a mark more than my neighbor for the same answer, just because my mom knows the teacher well ( common in India) and the Teacher did this intentionally...then i am sure the teacher is corrupt. He might not have taken any bribe...but nevertheless he denied someone else something.

Bribes are the next level. I am sure the 1st bribes would have started as a result of favoritism. I have a soft corner for "X" and "X" get some priviledges because of that, Y wants these priviledges so he bribes me ...in terms of money, in terms of praise ( like praising your boss to get a hike) etc...this is where we have the roots of bribe...If machines where to make all the judgements for us based on fixed set of rules...they would be unbaised and which means there would be no way to bribe a machine...For example you cannot bribe the ATM machine to do your transaction faster...But perhaps you can bribe the babu at the bank to ensure that you can get ahead of the queue.

So to add to the suggestions that Varma makes in his blog i would say high use of techonlogy will ensure that there is very little the babu's can do. Will this lead to mass unemployement....Definitly...but then this was earned by the babus by not doing their jobs perfectly when they should have..

Varma says that Govt is involving itself too much into the affairs which it should not. I like the example of 165 licenses to open a hotel ...Well I would say to start with ensure that 164 licenses can be got electronically without human interference...Because in India we have a lot of Internal divide too...The country comes together when we play against Pak a cricket match or when we are at war...Techology infusion at each level is expensive but this is the price we will have to pay for our mistakes in the past.

It is clear that the face of India is going to change in the coming year. I just hope that the face change is for the good...and not just again a fashion thing...like in the past ...

 

 

 

Inflation leads to deflation

The article here claims that the inflation has gone down this month...Hmm, the only thing i can see getting less inflated or deflated for the English enthusiasts; is the common man's wallet (Which includes me too). My dad does the shopping of the fruits in the house and if i may be a bit wordy here, he is one of the most persnickety person's when it comes to making note of prices and comparing. He tells me that none of the fruits are any cheaper than the last month. On one had there are crores of rupees being discussed in Air-conditioned rooms over "under the table" deals for almost everything under the sun starting from "Road Projects" to " Telecom bandwidth allocation", From "Cricket Teams" to " Land allocation"; On the other hand there are people who are dying everyday on our streets because of hunger and poverty. 

While Mr.Mukherjee claims that it (Inflation) will ease to just 6% here  I really have my doubts if this is really going to effect my expenses in anyway. 

I hope my manager dudes take a note of this...when they decide upon my salary for this season...

Osama wants to create Mumbai in Europe.

In the report here Osama claims big as per the report below

World's most wanted terrorist is masterminding an unfolding plot to launch Mumbai-style attacks on European cities and top US officials have told Islamabad that LeT and Haqqani network are working on the plan with al-Qaeda.

All i can say that if anywhere in the advanced European countries like Germany or France anything like this is planned, then Osama would be soon more than sorry. Going into the land of Walters and Heckler&Koch is not a childs play. Though Germany is a generally peaceful country, the cops are very well equipped and trained. Unlike the Mumbai police quipped not more than Qualis and world-war-2  leftover iron helmets these European nations have access have latest intell coming from multitude of sources, drive fast Mercs and carry powerful firearms. 

My message to Osama : Dude how many more innocents will you kill? Is killing your passion?

 

 

Tech Robber

Now that is intelligent use of technology....

"Robbers loot using vaccum"

What is interesting that they could do it so many times. Monoprix has nothing to comment...can it?

 

Crank Crank Crank

It is shocking to know that people derive fun out of something that could be a matter of life & Death. The latter in most of the cases because our traffic situation ensures that one cannot get to place in time if he starts early let alone if it is an emergency. 

It is not as if there are too many people taking ill all of a sudden. But of the 7,19,489 calls received in June, 40,000 were from kids simply out to play a prank.

The report here says that in many cases the adults encourage their kids to make such crank calls. The problem is that in the end we just put off these crank calls by saying that "Oh! he is just a boy!!". Sometimes a simple call done for fun or to derive some momentary enjoyment can mean that a bevy of people are on road running from pillar to post away from their loved ones, leaving perhaps more important tasks to attend to what the caller has just alerted them about.

A prank call to the police control room by an unidentified boy, sounding eight to 10 years old, Sunday afternoon that a bomb would explode in the upscale M.G. Road sent the city police into a tizzy and caused a scare in the area.

This just shows how irresponsibly can we behave at times. It is this lack of sense of responsibility in our youth that at time leads to many a crisis. Be it bomb scares or delaying flights by making hoax calls. The fact is that we just getting degrees will not help; one needs to be really educated to learn to live and also respect others lives.

B Natual

Some time back i had written about this.... Looks like someone was really acting upon this...

Sweden bans fake boobs over explosion risk

Imagine the kinda hit the Swedish Porn industry took because of this. And some very hilarious comments by folks who read this article

Just keeping abreast of todays news

I hope Taliban is not recruiting some female comrades after reading this article...

Hindi or Hinglish?

So if you thought You know Hindi and You know the national language....Think again...You might just be wrong.

Does India have a national language? No, says the Gujarat High Court.

In fact as per what we read in the article we don't have a national language. What do we have instead?  Hindi is an official language and not a national language.
Well for someone who is more familiar with languages like "C" and "Python" ...i think i don't give a damn about what language is chosen as National. However, what is sad is that we are still fighting based on languages and religions. When we are so divided internally do we really need an external power to divide us....after the British used the "Divide and Rule" policy....Indians have made it and habit to "Self Divide" and let others rule...Be it in the name of Religion, caste, skin color or geographical locations....

English is In

There has been a spurt in the number of bollywood movies which are using "English" Titles. While on one hand this shows that the average movie goer now is able to understand the title of the movie even though it is in English, it also shows that with tons of multiplexes opening we are able to get the educated class also into the theaters. ....Only worry i have now is that after reading this our MNS or ShivSena dudes should not get offended!! and burn down posters and theaters quoting that the films do not have a "Marathi" name!!

Marathi Manoos again

What i cannot understand is what is this whole hue and cry about "Marathi Manoos". I can understand linguistic patriotism...but what is happening in Maharastra is linguistic fanaticism. Some things that our great politicians forget is that what Maharastra is today..."Maha" is because we the rest of India help it to become like that. Would it be right if IT companies just laid off every marathi? Would it be ok if all the other states ban the movies made out of Mumbai...or so to say the heart of Bollywood which gave rise to stars like Amitabh Bacchan? What good would be Tendulkar's talent if he was not a part of the national team?
Well by now the Thackerays would have a room full of apologies!! Though I am they care a damn about the apology, vis-a-vis the publicity they create for themselves....
Got save us and the Marathi manoos!!

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Pilot says TimeOut!!

I was greeted by the WTF news of the day....

Seventy passengers of a Mumbai-bound Spicejet flight were left stranded in Visakhapatnam on Saturday night.... A harried passenger Sumit said, “A bizarre reason was given for the pilot's duty hours which were prescribed by the DGCA.

What is really bizarre is that the airline scheduled a flight to be flown by a pilot who was beyond his duty hours and then  did not even acknowledge the mistake fully.
On the lighter side i just thank god that this pilot's duty hours did not expire when they where mid flight....Imagine this announcement...
'Ladies and Gentlemen, this is your caption and pilot speaking...Since my duty hours have just got expired, I will be parachuting out now. However, Worry not....You will land somewhere and I am sure you will be more than happy to have traveled a longer distance than you planned for, that too at the same price...'
Funny way things work in India....dont they?
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NANO to NONO? True or False?

Personally i like TATA. They are doing the country proud...
However, after reading this  and then this....makes me wonder are they building vehicles or fire machines?

Delhi government on Monday imposed a hefty fine of Rs four crore on Tata Motors for "not properly" maintaining the low-floor buses it manufactured, after six of them caught fire in a span of three weeks.

And then

The Nano, the world's cheapest car, appears to have developed a technical snag. Three cases have been reported of the car developing short circuit near the combination switch in the car's steering column, igniting small fires.

Seriously TATA please fix up the mess and don't let others point a finger at you!!

Unique methods

I would like to give it to Dr.Watsa for his uncanny wit and incredible replies..
Check out his recent answer to a question...

My boyfriend has a unique method of
masturbation. He tends to put his finger in his mouth and then in his
anus. Is it safe? Will he catch any kind of infection?

Is he planning to join the circus? Maybe it's safe, but certainly unsafe if he reversed his action.

Could stop laughing...Kudos Dr.Watsa...Check out the original link here.

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Meatville

Makes me wonder if this is really successful one day would it be easy for one to eat....
The article states that

No one has yet tasted their produce, but it is believed the artificial meat
could be on sale within five years.

I find the idea a bit repelling, because by growing artificial meat we are trying to break some of the rules that mother nature has laid down for us. At the same time i see that the idea is welcomed by animal protection activists and also the vegetarian crowd as well. I know that like anything else this would have its own group of folks who will not like the idea and vehemently oppose it. My only question is how safe this artificial meat would be and are we doing the right thing. Criction in his book prey says and i quote....

"They didn’t understand what they were doing. I’m afraid that will be on the tombstone of the human race."

Hope that this is not the case here!!

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Dangerous birds?

I had heard that a flock of birds is dangerous for an airplane and a flock of girls dangerous for anyone. ...but i did not know this....

Police said the low-flying bird distracted the man, causing him to veer off a road and drive his French-built Bugatti Veyron into a salt marsh.

That too a Bugatti....what where you thinking dude?

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Tooth Biryani

I always thought that  there are a few ways in which one can die when he flies and none of those risks could be avertible...But this came as a shocker!!

Malad-resident Brijesh Lohia;- it seems;- had reason to be angry: he had allegedly found a tooth implant in the food

I am sure it is not long before you would find a whole denture in the food served. It is appalling to see that the national carrier standards have gone down to new low. Now there are more reasons to avoid eating during the flight apart from the poor taste of the served stuff.

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Spit and get paid too....

Some of the weirdest things are always out on sale in this world. The morbid details in this report tells us in what deplorable conditions people have to earn a living in some parts of the "Civilized" world.

Tuberculosis sufferers in Khayelitsha, Cape Town, were found to be selling samples of their sputum to healthy people to pass off as their own in a scam to gain medical grants.

On one end it shows us to what new lows can "Humans" get down for a few bucks and ironically it also shows us how low the living conditions are for some "Humans". This makes me remember of a woman who had sold her virginity to pay college fees. The dire need for money can definitely force people to take extreme steps. On the funny side of it i think Indians would not have been too concerned in donating their sputum. Apart from Peeing, Indian consider spitting at public places their next right....( and will not give up at any cost!!)
Mantriji narrates this incident that happened with him at a local pub...
I got a call when i was having my third Beer....Since the pub was quite full and i did not want any one to take a swig from my mug....I stuck a post it saying ...."I have spit in my beer".....

When i returned there was a small addendum to the note which read , "I too!!"
( Joke from a old friend!!)

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Conception Discount

Well the world is full of weird offers in order to woo customers. Walk on Brigade road on a busy Sunday after noon and you will see ridiculous banners like buy 1 get 2 free
and so on. Also offers and incentives have been used time and again to get people do something. For example, reduced rates if you copulate and conceive during your hotel stay...

Couples will be rewarded with a $300 ‘Conception Credit’ if they can prove
that their baby was conceived while they were staying at the hotel

or extra marks at your school examinations if your parents vote.
Some offers are out of desperation like the one JET is offering now by giving you 50% fare cuts. 
The most interesting part of the whole thing is that we all know that no offer comes free...there are always some catches which we either fail to notice or they do not matter to us. As long as you feel that the offer is worth it i guess one should
While all this is true, I have always believed in the quote that
" The buyer never buys costly and the seller never sells cheap"
So....at the end of the day what matters is if you are convinced that you got a good deal.....

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