varnam

It is said that animals can sense when disaster is going to strike and escape. But what is not often mentioned is that humans become insane during such times. Here are two stories.

Apparently when you are going to provide aid in Indonesia, you have to dress as per Islamic code.

"The Americans have to understand our culture here," said Hilmy Bakar Almascaty, vice-chairman of the Jakarta-based Islamic Defenders Front, which is mobilising relief efforts of its own.

"If they are not sensitive to local issues then there will be problems. If American women come to Aceh, they must wear dilbab for example. There is Sharia law in Aceh and that is what is dictated."

USAid's Bok said it was unlikely US service personnel would adhere to a Muslim dresscode.

"I don't think the practice of Islam in Aceh is such that it forces all people to wear dilbab," said Weiss. "This is not Saudi Arabia." [Indonesian Islamic Group Wants US military aidgivers to wear Islamic dress]

The next one is from Tamil Nadu

People have died, but politics lives on. A strange game of politics in so in Tamil Nadu. J Jayalalitha is the chief minister of the state and controls a TV channel, Jaya TV. M Karunanidhi is her chief rival and controls Sun TV. Sun TV keeps showing news that portrays the government’s relief efforts in a bad light, and Jaya TV paints quite the opposite picture. Every disaster, after all, is an opportunity to score a few political brownie points. And the lives which have been lost? Well, shit happens.[Despatches 6: Politics]

Left-wing rebels killed at least 17 peasants in northeast Colombia on New Year's Eve in reprisal for cooperating with far-right paramilitaries, police and local authorities said Saturday.

The massacre, in which police said four children and six women died, took place Friday night in the town of Tame, in the province of Arauca near the Venezuelan border. The oil-rich region is contested by Marxist rebels and their paramilitary foes.

The victims were gathered for a New Year's Eve celebration when they were attacked, said Tame Mayor Alfredo Guzman.

Police say the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, carried out the crime. Authorities say the group killed nine peasant coca growers in August and 34 in June in the neighboring province of Norte de Santander. [Rebels Kill 17 Peasants in Colombia, Police Say]

FARC was established in 1964 by the Columbian Communist Party to defend Communist controlled areas and is considered the best equipped insurgency of Marxist origin in Latin America. You would think that Communism is a religion meant to defend the rights of peasants and common folk from exploitation. But looking at their activities, the same people are exploited and murdered.

There has been mention in Sulekha Newshopper that AID India is a charity that uses DYFI for its work. DYFI is the youth wing of the Communist Party of India (Marxist). To look for this, I scanned the AID India website and there was no mention of DYFI anywhere. So for example if you look at the despatch from Chennai you get to read

After the initial shock and chaos, we are now quite well organized to handle the relief efforts. A number of organizations have started working together to handle the relief work - AID, TNSF, Pondicherry Science Forum, Vidyarambam, Pratham and the PHM Organizations. We have formed a quick informal coalition to coordinate this work. As of now the state level coordination is being done from the AID-India office in Gopalapuram Chennai. [Update from Chennai-III]

But then if you look at the cached page from Google, you see that the word DYFI was taken out from the same paragraph.

After the initial shock and chaos, we are now quite well organized to handle the relief efforts. A number of organizations have started working together to handle the relief work - AID, TNSF, Pondicherry Science Forum, DYFI, Vidyarambam, Pratham and the PHM Organizations. We have formed a quick informal coalition to coordinate this work. As of now the state level coordination is being done from the AID-India office in Gopalapuram Chennai.[ Update from Chennai-III (cached version)]

The same editing is seen in the Update from Chennai and its cached version.

Why is AID India removing this DYFI word from all its documents ? Is it because they are no longer working with them or are they trying to remove the Communist link or are they supressing information ? Can anyone from AID India answer ?

From various reports I have been reading they seem to be doing excellent job on the ground and seem to have very little overhead.

Update:

AID India, an organisation I can’t praise highly enough for their unflagging relief work in the state, have taken a pragmatic approach, tying up with anyone who shares their vision and work ethic. They have adopted two villages in this area, Pudupettai and Pudukubbam, in association with DYFI and another group called SFI – Students Federation of India. One of their coordinators, Muthu Kumar, showed me a document all the team leaders have been given, the text of an email from their leader in Tamil Nadu, Balaji Sampath.[Despatches 19: The three levels of public aid]

Both DYFI and SFI are Communist organizations.

Pakistanis cannot seem to digest the fact that (a) India did not accept aid (b) India is helping all its neighbors. Iftikar Gilani is sad that India did not accept aid from even China. So he writes an article quoting some Diplomats who have no names. It is pretty easy to write such stuff masking your jealousy and putting words into the mouth of invisible people.

The Indian government had even refused an aid offer from China which offered a $3 million aid package for tsunami victims in India. It has now joined in relief operations being carried out by the United States, Australia and Japan. Diplomats said the motive behind this move is India$(Bs (Burge to be recognised as a major power in the Indian Ocean along with these countries. The Indian navy has launched four rescue and relief operations $(O T(Bhe Operation Seawave (along the Andamans cost), Operation Rainbow in Sri Lanka, Operation Castor in the Maldives and the Operation Gambhir in Indonesia..[India wants all credit for tsunami relief operations]

The title of the article conveys all his frustration. India has never claimed credit for all the tsunami operations. There are many other countries which are involved in relief operations and this disaster has bought many countries alongwith India to put a humanitarian coalition of the willing and apparently no one contacted Pakistan to join them. In fact Pakistan is sending its Navy ships and flying sorties to Indonesia and Sri Lanka. Can well call them as jumping to earn brownie points ?

In fact Al-Jazeera of all places has an article giving India credit for not having to accept aid and for coming of age.

Gone were the days, when the first port of call for all heads of Indian government was either the US or the UN, whenever any big calamities hit its people. That newly acquired confidence will not go unnoticed by the rest of the world. India has come of age, and as befits a nation aspiring to be counted on the highest seats of world governance, India had taken the fi! rst step to project itself as a self-sufficient and responsible nation that could take care of its people without having to go around the world with a begging ball.

The next, step for India, will be, no doubt, to look beyond its borders and treat all such natural tragedies as common concern of all the people of the world. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has come out of that centuries old Brahmanical taboo that ghettoized India to its own shores. In today$(Bs (Bglobalized world, India under the new leadership, has confidently and promptly acquired the new accoutrements that perfectly suit the native ethos of a people humane enough to populate this vast continent of a nation, without any reference to ideologies of religion, caste, region, race and languages. Let all such ideologies compete to fit the criteria of being the best suited to India$(Bs (Bcoming of age and its humanitarian contribution to the peace and well-being of the world. [India's Coming of Age, Post-Tsunami ]

The Saudi government, itself under assault from Al Qaeda, is not in the business of directly financing terrorism, and since 9/11 it has responded to American pressure to control the flow of charitable funds to active terrorist groups. But what it still pays for, and what the religious charities its citizens are obliged to contribute to pay for, is a worldwide network of mosques, schools and Islamic centers that proselytize the belligerent and intolerant Wahhabi variant of Islam that is dominant in Saudi Arabia. As a result of this oil-financed largess, the teachings of more tolerant and humane Muslim leaders are losing ground in countries like Indonesia and Pakistan. Wahhabi mosques that glorify armed jihad have also made alarming gains among the Muslim populations of Europe and the United States.

For years, Saudi Arabian oil money bankrolled the Taliban regime in Afghanistan and provided financial support to Pakistan's government. It was Saudi aid that allowed Pakistan to defy international sanctions imposed over its nuclear bomb testing. Without Saudi money there is some question whether chronically impoverished Pakistan could have ever afforded to develop nuclear weapons and the crucial bomb-related technologies that its scientists passed on to Iran, Libya, North Korea and perhaps other countries as well. [The Saudi Syndrome]

The Saudi support for Pakistan's nuclear program has been reported before and Saudis have used this as a bargaining chip. While Benazir Bhutto was not allowed to visit the nuclear facilities, Saudi Arabia's Prince Sultan was given a guided tour.

The editorial is a call for Americans to think while buying gas guzzlers. Here in California there are more and more hybrid cars on the road than before. But then what happens in tree-hugging, war-hating California is not a reflection of the nation. The demand for oil around the world is just increasing as China and India need it to keep their booming economies running. This means more money for Saudi Arabia to fund its militant programs.

But as the largest consumer of Oil, it is United States that has to take the lead in reducing its dependency. Will that happen voluntarily ? I doubt unless the gas price shoots up to the unaffordable range or the oil wells dry up, the consumption will reduce.

One of the monuments that survived the tsunami was the shore temple of Mahabalipuram (named after Mahabali of Onam festival or Pallava king Mamalla).

Once upon a time, in the first century A.D., it was a tiny port town bustling with life. By the 6th century, it had become the capital of the Pallava kings who ruled these shores and built several exquisite temples to thank the deities for their thriving empire.

However, some time in the past, the town was abandoned, probably because the sea engulfed it and the temples and rock monuments were buried in heaps of sand.

It was only in the 1800s that the exquisite rock carvings and temples, said to be the oldest surviving temples on the east coast of India, about 60 km south of Chennai, were rediscovered and unearthed by British architects. [Mammoth temple that withstood tsunami]

The current temple survived because it had hard rock bases embedded very deep. But then according to local mythology there were seven temples and six of them were swallowed by the sea. Graham Hancock and team spent time doing some marine archaeology and found some structures under the ocean.

Diving in challenging conditions, the team found the "foundation of walls, broken pillars, steps, and many scattered stone blocks," said Kamlesh Vora, a marine archaeologist with NIO.

Vora, Halls, and the rest of the team were quickly convinced that they had made a major discovery of man-made structures. "Here there would be no furrowed brows, no peering at reefs from different angles, no dusting for elusive archaeological fingerprints," said Halls. "Here man was everywhere."

"All structures are made of granite stone which is locally available," Vora continued. "The archaeological and inscriptional evidence of sites on land near shore indicate a possible date of construction of these structures between 1,500 to 1,200 years before present. We now need to carry out detailed explorations and searches for datable antiquities and inscriptional evidences on the finds."

If the Mahabalipuram ruins are found to be of the same temple complex as the shore temple, the discovery would lend credence to the local tales that outsiders have often disregarded as legend. [New Underwater Finds Raise Questions About Flood Myths]

2004 was a good year for removing poverty because developing countries experienced a 6.1 percent economic growth and according to the World Bank, this was an expansion unprecedented in history.

For example, most Americans would be surprised to learn that millions of poor people who live on less than $1 per day would be better off if they could go into debt. The reason they can't is that the institutions required to sustain capitalism are not present.

The poor who are addressed in our lessons are the absolute poor -- the more than 1 billion people around the world who live on less than $1 per day. They have nothing, and they have no way of acquiring anything because of the governmental and social institutions that surround them.

One big reason people in more advanced societies are able to enjoy a more comfortable existence is that they are able to purchase items by going into debt. Americans take that for granted. Any person living in absolute poverty would love to trade positions with any one of us and walk in our shoes -- to have a job and be able to borrow money for a car or a home.

It's a shame that America's youth do not understand these basic economic concepts. If they did, they'd be less inclined to join globalization protests because they would understand why the economies of China and India grew by 8.8 percent and 6 percent, respectively, last year. [Ignorance shrouds capitalism's profound impact on reducing poverty]

The poor who lost everything in the tsunami will have to rebuild everything from scratch and also depend on charity. In developed countries people have life insurance, house insurance, and insurance for all possible things. So when an earthquake or hurricane destroys property, these institutions of capitalism kick in and put people back on their feet.

Only about a quarter of the victims would have been breadwinners eligible for life insurance, and maybe only a quarter of them would have had any coverage, he added. The lack of coverage means global insurers expect to pick up only a small portion of the reconstruction bill following Sunday's killer waves, which wreaked damage of more than $13.6 billion, according to Munich Re, the world's biggest reinsurer.

In India, where more than 12,000 people died in the tsunami, only about a tenth of the billion-strong population has life insurance. In Sri Lanka, where the death toll could exceed 30,000, insurance is even less common. [Little insurance help for survivors]

The tsunami striking us in the last days of 2004 must be seen not as an ominous signal for the future, but as the culmination of a legacy of hate and destruction that we, the Indian people, unitedly and finally overcame in the political sphere in 2004.’’[CPM spins its own tsunami story on BJP (link via Adnan)]

I think Harkishan Singh Surjeet's brain stopped at this point. When asked for an explanation, he said he will do it the next day (Hopefully the explanation from the Chinese Embassy will come in time). But then don't blame the left alone, the right also has gone cuckoo with the tsunami.

March 1: Ha, ha. Buddhadeb is not going to like this. They are saying Communists have really abjured violence. From sedition, they have moved to sedation. Otherwise, how do you explain the West Bengal phenomenon? It is pure democratic sedation. And since Marxism is a religion, it is the opium of the people. These bourgeois jokes—they are actually not that bad.

April 14: Some vestiges of the Cold War have been retained by the Party. For example, we still have a bipolar world. Bengal and Kerala, Kerala and Bengal. Dhoti and mundu. Chemmeen and chingri. EMS and Jyoti. Look at the cold stares they exchange, the Kerala comrades and Bengal comrades.

May 1: Have to get this right. We are only barking at the Congress in Bengal. In Kerala, we are biting them. In Bengal, we dig our teeth into the Trinamool and BJP.

May 17: I always knew there was something wrong with my name. The BJP swore by Shri Ram. And look who’s drafting the CMP—Jairam (Ramesh) and Sitaram (Yechury). They don’t get the dangerous Ram-ifications. This world is unfair, I tell you. [Diary of an Indian Communist]

Diptosh Majumdar has the diary of an Indian Communist. Very funny.

If Pakistan is clashing with someone, it has to be India. This theory has been such deep roots into the world psyche, that the fact that even when Pakistanis are shooting Afghanis, the Editors do not realize it. So see the title in Jerusalem Post US spy drone crash prompts Pakistan-India clash. Now before you start wondering on the whats and whys of this story, you find that the real story is that an American drone crashed into Pakistan resulting in gunfire between the countries across the Durand line. India is nowhere in the picture.

When India conducted the nuclear tests, it was Defence Minister George Fernandes who went ballistic against China. He cited that China was the India's enemy number one and reason for the nuclear tests. But now after six years, he seems to have changed his mind and even started some introspection.

Former Defence Minister George Fernandes, known for his strong views against China, on Wednesday surprised audience, mostly Tibetans, by lavishing praise on the communist nation for its progress and saying India should take Beijing's professions of friendship "sincerely".

"China is growing rapidly as a power while we are lagging behind more than we should. Its economy today is three times the size of our own, and all this is their own work," he said at a seminar on China's under-construction railway line to Lhasa.

"The entire nation has accepted the task of becoming the biggest economic power in the world," he said praising the Chinese people for their "discipline". [George Fernandes heaps praise on China]

He had retracted from the enemy number one statement long time back with the clarification - "I never said China is enemy number one. But I did say that in my perception of national security, China is enemy number one." (Maybe he was John Kerry's inspiration for the Iraq vote statement). He also blamed the intelligence agencies for feeding him all the wrong information.

We have to apologize to the Pakistanis and give them back their title of enemy number one.

Now that both Rajeev Srinivasan and Harkishen Singh Surjeet have invoked mysterious forces and omimous signals w.r.t the tsunami, the Mullahs in Saudi Arabia were feeling left behind.

Fatah said, The disappointment is not just because of the pathetic contributions by Saudi Arabia or Kuwait. It is compounded by the message being repeated ad nauseam in their mosques and media that the earthquake was a punishment from God for the sins of the people of South and South East Asia. The view that wanton behavior provoked the quake was the subject of Friday sermons in Saudi Arabia and of other religious commentaries in the kingdom. Asia’s earthquake, which hit the beaches of prostitution, tourism, immorality and nudity, one commentator said on an Islamist website, is a sign that God is warning mankind from persisting in injustice and immorality before he destroys the ground beneath them.[Arab response to Tsunami seen as appalling]

Update: Egyptians have put all the above divine theories to shame. This one takes the cake - Egyptian paper: Israel-India nuke test caused tsunami

Globalization has the power to bring people out of poverty, but it also has the capability to push people who don't adapt into poverty.

The case study is the arrival of global food chains in Latin America. These chains after changing the way food is distributed have now started affecting the way food is grown and this has hit the small farmer as they are not able to produce according to the supermarket specifications.

Its feeble attempts to sell to major supermarkets illustrate how the odds are stacked against small farmers, as well as the uneven effects of globalization itself. Many small farmers in the region are getting left behind, while medium-sized and larger growers, with more money and marketing savvy, are far more likely to benefit.

Most fruits and vegetables in the region are still sold in small shops and open-air markets, but the value of supermarket purchases from farmers has soared and now surpasses that of produce exports by two and half times, researchers say.

The bottom line: supermarkets and their privately set standards already loom larger for many farmers than the rules of the World Trade Organization. [Survival of the Biggest; Supermarket Giants Crush Central American Farmers ]

Not too far from Palencia, in the city of Chimaltenango, is Aj Ticonel, an association of small farmers that has thrived because it has something Mr. Chinchilla's co-op lacked: a shrewd and enterprising businessman to run it.

But even for a savvy company like Aj Ticonel, success came not from supplying choosy supermarket chains but rather from its ability to exploit a global market.

Aj Ticonel sells three million pounds of mini-vegetables and snow peas for export to the United States, but only 80,000 pounds to supermarkets. Alberto Monterroso said he gave up on growing broccoli for La Fragua. He found the chain bought inconsistent amounts. "There are a lot of competitors here," he said, "a lot of small farmers trying to sell to them, so the prices are low."

The company's success has been built instead on sales of pricey vegetables for export. It now sells the same to La Fragua, and its membership has risen from 40 families in 1999 to 2,000 today.

India and Iran have signed an agreement to export natural gas to India. Besides this, the agreement also gives Indian companies a 20 percent share in the development of Iranian gas fields.

According to the agreement, Iran will ship five million tons of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to India per annum for the next 25 years, with an option to increase the amount to 7.5 million tons.

Initial negotiations on the agreement began last November following months of talks about the possibility of India investing in Iran’s oil and gas sectors.

India also voiced interest in participating in downstream LNG production and processing projects in the South Pars field.

The South Pars field, which contains 60 percent of Iran’s gas and 10 percent of the world’s natural gas reserves, is definitely a suitable place for investment. [Iran-India gas deal, harbinger of peace pipeline]

But then even Pakistan cannot guarantee the safety of the pipeline as it will have to pass through Balochistan province, where the Govt. is busy quelling discontenment of the Balochis using the same techniques that it accuses India of.

To prove the point, the Balochis doing target pratice on gas pipelines in Balochistan have done it again. This is the reason why Indian negotiators are now asking for door delivery of the gas leaving the logistics for the Iranians to manage.

This blog has been nominated under two categories at Indibloggies. One of them is for the Indiblog of the year and the other for Indiblog Lifetime achiever. Since we are not pitted against Ravikiran as we have a lame tagline, this is a time for co-operation. We will be acting as the single bribe window for the whole Indibloggies voting. (Bribes meant for Ravikiran should be marked so in the Memo section of the check)

The Acorn points to this editorial in Indian Express which talks about the gains made by the Naxalites in India. (Naxalites are Communists who think that murdering others is the best way to advance their causes). While the spread of Naxalites are increasing, the Govt is going soft on them. But the troubling news is that, these Communists are anti-nationals as well.

The "admission" by the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) leaders comes in the wake of Chhattisgarh Home Minister Brij Mohan Agarwal's charge Sunday that Maoists used Pakistani and Britain-made bullets for killing three state police personnel in Sarguja district on Saturday.

Maoist commandoes Kosa and Aaytu told reporters Sunday in a hideout in the state's southern Dantewada forests, about 420 km from state capital Raipur, that they exchange notes with Pakistani militants on methods of war and accept modern weapons from Pakistan.

Kosa said: "The way we made a base in Bihar, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and have been progressing in Orissa, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal, we will be able to capture 30-35 percent of India by 2010." [Maoists 'admit' to Pakistani links]

The aim of CPI(Maoist) is is to establish a Compact Revolutionary Zone and then take their armed struggle to other parts of India.

Till now I had encountered only very decent Americans. But now here is someone who is a disgrace to this nation. Calling a woman a bitch and rat eater and threatening to choke her can come only from a retarded mind.

Star, whose real name is Troi Torain, initiated the call under the pretext of inquiring into an order he had placed for a product known as 'Quick Beads', hair beads marketed primarily to girls outside the black community (Star and Bucwild are black). Midway through the call, Star became aggressive with the call centre representative, Steena.

Star: This call has been outsourced to India?

Steena: That's right.

Star: Well, ma'am, what the eff would you know about an American white girl's - uh, uh - hair, and quick beads?

Steena: Just to inform you, ma'am, we're a national chain services company. And we're just taking calls on the opposite.

Star: Listen, bitch! Don't get slick with the mouth! Don't you get slick with me, bitch!

Steena: Now if you continue to speak this language, I will disconnect the call.

Star: Listen to me, you dirty rat eater. I'll come out there and choke the eff out of you (laughter).

Star: You're a filthy rat eater. I'm calling about my American six-year-old white girl. How dare you outsource my call? Get off the line, bitch (laughter, applause, end of call). [US RJs threaten Indian BPO worker]

Here are the stations’ contact info:

Philadelphia, WUSL

Business line: 215.483.8900
Studio hotline (toll-free): 800.669.99FM
Studio hotline (local): 215.263.6699

Attention: Richard Lewis & Thea Mitchem
Power99 WUSL-FM
440 Domino Lane
Philadelphia, PA 19128

Outsourcing has presented so many business opportunities for Indians, all you need is think creatively. The most obvious ones like IT, Auto Parts etc. are booming. Here is something different - remote teachers.

Twice in a week, Ann Maria, a sixth grader at Silver Oak Elementary School, California logs on to the internet from home after school hours. Ann is not chatting up her friends. She is connecting to her personal tutor, already online, armed with headset and a pen mouse sitting in a call centre like cubicle almost a timezone away in Panampillynagar, Kochi, Kerala.

Your neighbourhood tuition teacher, riding on the Information Technology Enabled Service (ITES) wave, has gone global and his monthly pay packet turned meatier __ the 17 teachers who work with the Growing Star Infotech (P) Ltd would testify. The firm a subsidiary of California-based Growing Stars Inc went online in January last year.

Growing Stars currently has a 57-seater facility, but feels it may need more space as they expand. The shift starts at 4.30 in the morning and ends by 12.30 pm. One reason for the high growth rate could be that personalised tuition in US is highly expensive. ``We started of with Indian students. But we have now around 60 American students and every one is happy because they are bettering the grades,'' says Bina. The only hitch is the accent of the tutors which is being taken care of with help from a language trainer. [US parents outsource maths tuition to teachers in Kerala]

Even though California is one of the largest economies in the world, when it comes to academic standards, they rank very low in the nation and there may be a market for more remote teachers.

Pankaj Mishra has a new book titled An End to Suffering : The Buddha in the World. This book is about understanding the life and time of Buddha.

Mishra presents these concepts simply and clearly. He also lends them dramatic immediacy, tying them closely to specific events and places in the Buddha's life, highlighting the arguments and counter-arguments that they provoked at the time. At every turn, he draws parallels between the social problems of the Buddha's era and the social and political torments of today.

He remains a skeptical Buddhist, though, if he is a Buddhist at all. He admits to finding the Buddha's dialogues ``long-winded and repetitious,'' with ``little of the artistry so evident in Plato.'' As a political force, Buddhism comes across as, at best, benevolent but ineffectual.

In the end, it's hard to know exactly where Mishra stands as he circles back on himself and heads off to remote locales. Visiting a Zen meditation center in Northern California, where an old American friend has become a monk, he feels awkward. A prayer is recited. He finds the words incomprehensible. The rituals annoy him. ``I couldn't but feel their irrelevance to the world I was growing up in,'' he writes.

Mishra's journey of a thousand miles leads him back to the beginning. For him, it seems, there is no end to suffering. [Mishra defines Buddhism, but he doesn't embrace it]

We have been fascinated by Buddha for a while for developing "set of introspective techniques designed to make the suffering individual more self-aware, and through this self-awareness to move systematically beyond the self and its vain strivings toward a state he called nirvana", and doing all this without any divine intervention. This should be an interesting book to read.

When Pervez Musharraf reneged on his promise to step down as the Army Chief, his pal in the State Department had nothing to say. The State Dept. spokesman, aka Washington Bob said that United States will continue to promote democracy in Pakistan but did not have the courage to ask the General to step down. But US Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist had the guts to say what Colin Powell could not, and that too standing in Pakistan. But even Bill Frist did not say it at the General's face, it just came as an after thought

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist stressed Washington's desire to see progress toward democracy in Pakistan, and said a decision by the country's military ruler to renege on a promise to step down as army chief could send "the wrong signal."

"The United States and our government and our Congress are of course very interested in seeing civilian democratic rule as soon as possible," said Frist, a Tennessee Republican.

We didn't talk specifically about it. We probably should have brought it up. There is some concern about his reversal - and the signals that it could send - to give up his army title. Our constituents at home would ask the question, or make the statement, 'Does that send the wrong signal?'"[Frist Pushes for Democracy in Pakistan]

The Heritage Foundation came up with its 2005 Index of Economic Freedom and India was ranked 118 in a list of 155 nations. India's neighbours did not perform well either, except Sri Lanka which was ranked 79. The New Nation has an article analyzing the situation in South Asia regarding economic freedom.

The five nations from South Asia have not fared well in the IEF ranking with the exception of Sri Lanka. One reason for the poor showing of South Asian nations could be the governmental tweaking of the economy. The high tariff imposed on luxury goods by the South Asian nations is also another detriment to climb up the list. Another factor could be the high borrowing by these nations from IMF and World Bank to undertake many developmental projects, which helps the poor but not liked by the Heritage Foundation’s officials who rank all the 160 nations. Low capital flows and foreign investments in Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Nepal may be the reason for these three nations to be in the bottom of the list under “Mostly Unfree” nations. Banking and finance is another area where these South Asian nations do not fare well. Banking irregularities in Pakistan and Bangladesh are widespread and that had to be one of the reasons for such poor ranking in the IEF ranking. Wages are very low in South Asian nations and the prices of everyday commodities and staples are comparatively higher, which results in poor savings. These are factored in the ranking too. Property rights are at best dismal in Pakistan and Bangladesh. There is no guarantee that politically connected people will forcefully grab an unoccupied land especially in urban areas. In villages, lands are systemically snatched from Hindus or Buddhists in Bangladesh. In short, disrespect or lack of property rights in Bangladesh has placed this nation of 145 million in the bottom of the list. Strict regulations by the government to open new businesses in South Asian nations placed all the countries in the bottom tier. Lastly, the commodity market is not exactly free in South Asian nations and are under the vagaries of governmental policies, Mother Nature, etc. [South Asia in the Index of economic freedom’]

Now that India is extending dual citizenship to all citizens living overseas, L K Advani asked if gangsters who live in Pakistan and illegal immigrants from Bangladesh will be given dual citizenship.

Dual citizenship is given to citizens of those countries which allow dual citizenship. Since Pakistan and Bangladesh both allow this, this becomes a possibility.

But then Para 7 of the Citizenship Amendment Act 2003 has the following line

(ii), but does not include a person who is or had been at any time a citizen of Pakistan, Bangladesh or such other country as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, specify.

I guess that rules out citizenship for all the people Advani is concerned about.

This infiltration has the potential to severely hamper America's efforts in the War on Terror. Authorities in Pakistan, a key U.S. ally that also is an Al Qaeda hotbed, acknowledge that their army has been infiltrated by radicals. Recently, Willie Brigitte, a French convert involved in an Al Qaeda plan to attack Australia, revealed how elements from the Pakistani army worked hand in hand with the Lashkar e Taiba (LET) terrorist group. Brigitte told French interrogators that there was "complete complicity between the Pakistani Army and LET" and that the army was providing weapons and ammunition to LET.

Moreover, Brigitte also claimed that he had met Pakistani soldiers who vowed to sabotage efforts to capture Osama Bin Laden. This revelation should come as no surprise to Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, who last June ordered a review of the files of all army officers in the rank of colonel or above to identify potential Al Qaeda sympathizers. Musharraf issued this directive after a number of army officials participated in two Al Qaeda plots to kill him. [The enemy within]

Lashkar, one of the terrorist groups operating in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir have changed their focus to Iraq.

The National Intelligence Council, a group of senior intelligence analysts who report to the CIA Director have a new report on future global trends.

China and India are likely to be among the leading beneficiaries of globalization, in part because of their low-cost labor and high technology capabilities. Many of their people, however, will remain poor.

"A combination of sustained high economic growth, expanding military capabilities and large populations will be at the root of the expected rapid rise in economic and political power for both countries," the report said.

By 2020, China's gross domestic product, the total value of goods and services, will be greater than that of any Western country except the United States, and India's GDP will have overtaken or will be about to overtake European economies.

Led by China and India, Asia "looks set to displace Western countries as the focus of international economic dynamism - provided Asia's rapid economic growth continues," it said.[Report: India, China will be major powers in 2020 (requires bugmenot)]

The full report is available online.

2005 seems to be the year of pipelines. India has signed an agreement with Iran, but the transport protocol has not been decided yet. On the Eastern border of India, Bangladesh and Myanmar have agreed to build a gas pipeline.

Land based gas pipelines are much cheaper than transporting it via tankers or deep sea pipeline and hence all this enthusiasm for building it even though it is through a country like Pakistan. Other than economics, the gas pipelines also give the countries involved an opportunity to indulge in some image improvement exercise as well as build relations.

For Iran, India’s participation in the project is of paramount importance. In addition to a broader market for its gas Iran hopes to gain political support from India as it is facing strong international pressure to terminate its nuclear program. In return for India's agreement to buy large quantities of gas, Iran has awarded Indian gas companies major service contracts and also granted them participation in refining and other energy related projects to the tune of $40 billion. Iran’s relations with Pakistan are also strategically important. With American troops stationed in neighboring Afghanistan and Iraq, Iran is trying to check U.S. influence in the region by strengthening its ties with Pakistan, one of America’s most needed allies in the war on terror. The Pakistanis, for their part, would like to see their territory used as a transit route to export natural gas to India. This would not only guarantee a source of income for them but also increase stability in the region. Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said the Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline is "a win-win proposition for Iran, India, and Pakistan," that could serve as a durable confidence-building measure, creating strong economic links and business partnerships among the three countries. [Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline: the Baloch wildcard]

For people like us living in the West Coast of United States, there is no Air India service to India. Air India does code sharing with Malaysian and Singapore Airlines due to the lack of aircraft and some geriatric agreements which restrict the number of flights. But now India and US have started negotiations which will increase the number of flights and carriers operating between the two countries.

The new agreement will enable US airlines, many of them on the verge of bankruptcy, to fly unhindered from any city in the US to any in India, while also giving an equal chance to India's fledgling airlines that have long been squashed by the monopolist Air India. There will be no restrictions on how often carriers fly, the kind of aircraft they use and the prices they charge.

A top Indian official involved in the talks said India would protect its national carrier interest, but "you can't allow corporate interests of one airline to undermine India's overall trade interests" -– a polite way of saying Air India will now have to compete for market share with private airlines.

The new agreement would come as a blessing to a growing Indian and Indian-American population in several U.S cities such as Dallas, Houston, Greater Washington DC area, Atlanta, Boston, Seattle etc since it will allow direct flights, and in some cases even non-stop flights, to cities in India.

Such direct and non-stop flights will also energise trade and commercial ties between the two sides. Indian officials cite instances when they have encouraged U.S corporations to hold their board meetings at locales in India, but the lack of proper air connections for top executives and fear of losing man hours has been a dampener. [India, US sign open skies deal]

When I first came to United States, it used to cost around 65c/min to call India. Now it costs around 11c/min. I hope opening the skies will bring the same price cuts to airline fares.

The shore temple at Mahabalipuram survived the tsunami this time. Apparently there were six other temples and they were all swallowed by the sea. It seems the ancient Tamil city of Poompuhar was also taken by the sea about 1500 years back.

Poompuhar was the capital of the Chola rulers, a Tamil dynasty with a recorded history going back to the second century B.C. It was a place where silk merchants and grain traders set sail for the Far East, Greece and Egypt, archaeologists say.

The town had special enclaves for foreign visitors and the king's soldiers. In the streets, languages could be heard from around the world. It was dotted with temples, a sign of a prosperous Hindu kingdom.

But the ancient city now lies under water about three kilometers (two miles) offshore. All that remains are a few temples and the modern town, which consists of about 2,000 fishing families.

Undersea excavations and studies by historians show that Poompuhar grew into a big town during the reign of Karikal Cholan, the second-century Chola king who established trade ties with China, Arabia and the Roman Empire.

Remnants of brick buildings, water reservoirs, a boat jetty and Roman coins have been found during undersea excavations. [Was ancient Indian town swallowed by tsunami?]

Some marine archaeology was done at Poompuhar or more correctly at Kaveripoompattinam as the ancient city was known. Evidence was found that it was a big port during 3rd century BC. Due to lack to funds archaeology in this area was stopped.

Related Link: More on Dwaraka

I have found travelogues to be more interesting when they have an angle to it. For example Walking the Bible is a journey from Egypt to Jerusalem along the path followed by Moses. Chasing Che is a motorcycle trip along the route that Che Guevera took. Jaya Ganga: In Search of the River Goddess is travel from the origins to the end of river Ganga and Chasing the monsoon is a journey of a man following the path of monsoons in India. All those are books I have enjoyed reading and now along similar lines there is a new book Ten Thousand Miles Without a Cloud by Shuyun Sun which follows the path taken by Huen Tsang, the Chinese pilgrim who toured India during in the 7th century.

Instead of trekking in the neighbourhood, however, she had a grander idea. As a history student, she had been fascinated by Huien Tsang, not because he is one of the most popular figures in Chinese folklore, but because so little is known about him. The monk who travelled to India in the 7th century is generally regarded as a foolish man in China, as his more popular fictional self, the Monkey King, protagonist of one of China’s most popular 15th century stories, travelling to India with a monkey, pig and novice for company. This is an image that shocks you. In India, for a student of history, Huien Tsang is an important hardly foolish figure. His records of travel during Harshvardhan’s times are a valuable source of information about ancient India. This is diametrically opposite the traditional Chinese view, endorsed generously over the years by anti-Buddhist communism. A view, as Shuyun, who grew up in Mao’s China, says, Symbolic of the education I received, shrouded in mystery and propaganda. [On Huien Tsang`s trail]

When something goes wrong in Balochistan, the trend in Pakistan is to blame it on external forces. Nitin notes that all the usual suspects have alibis. More suspicion is on India due to the great relations between the two nations and the RAW has been blamed for formenting trouble. So who are these people fighting against the Pakistanis ?

'The Baloch Liberation Army is an amorphous, underground organisation which was born in the Balochistan university many years ago during the cold war era. Extremists, left-leaning students of the Baloch Students Organization were its most important component.'

'To establish the BLA as a countervailing force in a region perceived to be the weakest link in the US chain, that is, Pakistan, the former USSR funded BLA with money and arms and logistics. After the Soviets were removed from power in Russia, nothing was heard about the BLA.'

'However, after the collapse of the Taliban in Afghanistan but with their presence near the Pak-Afghan border areas, sources said the US thought it prudent to establish its own spy network to counter-check the information made available to them by the ISI. The anti-Taliban nationalist elements, whether they are Pakhtuns or Balochs, were thought to be the best available resource that could be used to keep track of Taliban activities. In these circumstances, when Sardar Attaullah Khan Mengal returned from London to Pakistan after a long exile, it was not surprising for many suspicious people.'

'Sources in the Pakistan army went on to say that soon after the Sardar returned, the youth were reorganised under the banner of the Baloch Liberation Army. Kohlu was the place where a recruitment and training camp was established.'

'Sources in the Pakistan army maintained that about 200 people were armed and trained in Kohlu in which the Afghan and Indian government officials came deep into Pakistan and played a major role. These same sources said that apart from the 200 people, the main propelling force are tribal chiefs like Nawab Akbar Bugti, Sardar Attaullah Khan Mengal and Nawab Khair Bux Marri who are instigating their tribes to revolt against the Pakistan army. It is their perceptions, whether real or imaginary, which have created grounds in the military minds for an operation in Balochistan.' [Is Balochistan burning?]

Related Links: The Baluchistan Issue, An exploited province, Between sardar and sarkar, Background on Balochistan

It was only very recently that the Govt. of India made it mandatory for candidates to declare their assets for standing in elections. It seems in 10th century AD in some villages in Tamil Nadu, such a system already existed.

The newly-discovered Tamil inscriptions of Parantaka Chola and Parthivendrathipathi Varman, dating back to the 10th century A.D., in a village called Pazhaiya Seevaram, show that those elected to the local assembly (called variyam in the inscriptions) had to take the oath of office and disclose their assets every year to the assembly. Besides, the accountant of the local assembly had to give a list of his assets to the assembly.

This system of local self-government in the villages is an important feature of the 10th century Chola administration. Uttiramerur, about 25 km. from in Kancheepuram, is famous for the inscriptions found there about its self-government, the election system based on ballots, qualifications for candidates and the subsequent relaxation of qualifications. The inscriptions at Uttiremerur of Parantaka Chola I (907-955 A.D.) were dated 917 A.D. and 921 A.D.

According to Dr. Rajavelu, the inscriptions belonging to the 15th regnal year of Parantaka Chola-I (922 A.D.) reveal that the assembly waselected through wards (kudumpu) of the village and through the Brahminical assembly (sabha). The members of the variyam received an annual payment of two kalanju of gold for their work as variya perumakkal. They were not to receive any other payments or concessions. They had to perform their variyam work and list their assets every year.The inscriptions at both Uttiramerur and Pazhaiya Seevram showed that there was an excellent system of self-government at the village level in Tamil Nadu in the 10th century A.D., the epigraphist said. [Declaration of assets dates back to the Cholas]

Related Link: India - Democracy and Identity

In India Shiv Sena is the exclusive watch dog of Indian Culture. Since the billion strong population is dumb to decide what is good for them, Shiv Sena decides what movies should they watch and what cards should be stocked in Hallmark. Not to be left behind, the American conservatives too have decided to fight against the decaying moral values from --- SpongeBob Squarepants.

But James Dobson, founder of right-wing Christian group Focus on the Family, singled out SpongeBob at a black-tie dinner in Washington in the run-up to President Bush's inauguration, the New York Times said.

SpongeBob - who appears on the children's cable channel Nickelodeon - is seen as an icon for adult gay men in the US, apparently because he regularly holds hands with his sidekick Patrick.

His creators deny that he is gay, but he is not the first such character to cause controversy.

In 1999 conservatives claimed handbag-carrying Teletubby Tinky Winky, an import from the UK, was a bad role-model. [US right attacks SpongeBob video]

Thank god people like James Dobson are around to prevent us from getting morally corrupt from cartoon characters. He should also attack shows like Tom and Jerry which shows both the characters totally naked. I don't think both the Coyote and the Road Runner wear much clothes either and there is lot of body contact as well.

Ok, now back to watching a morally uplifiting episode of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy.

A Ganesh idol was unearthed on Thursday during excavations at a mosque in Jambusar in Bharuch district, about 60 km from Vadodara, police said. Bharuch's Superintendent of Police G S Malik said the idol has been kept separately for people to offer prayers. This idol was discovered during excavations at the 150-year-old mosque in a predominantly Hindu area. A large number of Hindu devotees flocked to the mosque to have a glimpse of the statue, he added. Security has been beefed up in the area as a precautionary measure, Police Sub-Inspector V R Patel said. [Ganesh idol recovered during excavation at mosque]

At this point the mosque was not demolished considering the fact that this was the only mosque in a predominantly Hindu area. The idol was handed over to Hindus who then placed it in a nearby temple and life continued as normal.

A Jan. 18 posting from the team in Indonesia says the country's devastated Aceh Province is "ripe for Jesus!!"

"What an opportunity," it adds. "It has been closed for five years, and the missionaries in Indonesia consider it the most militant and difficult place for ministry. The door is wide open and the people are hungry."

The Rev. Jimmy Seibert, the senior pastor of the Waco church, said in a telephone interview that the church would evaluate whether the group's members should identify themselves as aid workers. But he said the church believes missionary work and aid work "is one thing, not two separate things." [Mix of Quake Aid and Preaching Stirs Concern]

It is not just in Indonesia, the vultures are roaming around in India and Sri Lanka harvesting souls for true liberation. Suman Kumar and Patrix too have some thoughts on this subject

Some of the nuns working in tsunami affected areas in India were so moved by the state of the hungry people that they showered them with compassion

Jubilant at seeing the relief trucks loaded with food, clothes and the much-needed medicines the villagers, many of who have not had a square meal in days, were shocked when the nuns asked them to convert before distributing biscuits and water.

Heated arguments broke out as the locals forcibly tried to stop the relief trucks from leaving. The missionaries, who rushed into their cars on seeing television reporters and the cameras refusing to comment on the incident and managed to leave the village.[Villagers furious with Christian Missionaries]

I wonder if these missionaries have read Matthew:15 where he tells the parable of Jesus feeding the hungry with few loafs of bread and fish. He did not ask them to give them a notarized document before handing them food.

Fighting globalization makes for a good political slogan, but smart politicians are the ones who know how to exploit globalization to uplift people out of poverty.

The Chief Minister said that developing countries have to face the twin challenge of adhering to the W.T.O.'s legal provisions and to secure a space for their products in the market. Referring to India's wealth of knowledge the Chief Minister said that India might have lagged behind in the race of progress due to foreign invasions and political slavery but she has now joined the race with renewed resolve.

A number of countries have progressed well by importing Indian agricultural products, spices, and medicinal plants. Indians should learn to be proud of Swadeshi and evolve a system to ensure that poor population should benefit from globalization. For this, he said, India artisans, weavers and farmers should acquire excellence in marking of their products besides improving their quality to international standards. The state governments should play the role of facilitator in this, he added.[India capable to withstand challenge of globalization: Gaur]

Globalization forces changes on you and if you can adapt you can survive. But then anticipating this and preparing for it is half the job.

Mir Jam Muhammad Yousaf, the Balochistan chief minister:

Mir Jam Muhammad Yousaf, the Balochistan chief minister, has said he could not rule out involvement of Iran, al-Qaeda or some foreign hand in the recent disturbances in the province. Talking to a private television, the chief minister said he suspected either Iran, al-Qaeda or foreign power or hardline religio-political groups opposed to the government's policies could have been involved in the recent terrorist activities in Balochistan especially in Sui. [Balochistan CM suspects Iran may be behind disturbance]

Masood Khan, Foreign Office Spokesman:

Foreign Office Spokesman Masood Khan has ruled out Iran's involvement in the current Balochistan mayhem, saying Pakistan's nuclear assets are in safe hands and the country does not need foreign assistance in this regard.[Pak rules out Iran's involvement in Balochistan mayhem]

Related Links: What's Happening in Balochistan ?

In California, to get an escape from the busy lives, people go to many of the wonderful State Parks for hiking, biking or camping. But what if someone wants to file his tax while he is in a state park ? Don't worry, the State of California has signed a deal with SBC to provide wireless Internet access from areas that were till now called "wilderness"

The Internet access - provided through Wi-Fi technology - will be available mostly in central spots in the parks. The first access point became operational in a state park in San Diego last week; the other access points will be in place by May, in time for the summer camping, hiking and e-mailing season.

"If you wanted to, you could file your taxes from the beach," said Clark Keslo, the chief information officer for the state of California. But he added, "I don't recommend it. [Wireless Deal for California Parks]

Right now if I step out of my home, I can get a Wi-Fi connection from McDonalds, Starbucks or even the local public library. Even some local mom and pop cafes are offering Wi-Fi. The City of Cerritos is planning for a citywide Wi-Fi access. Soon, wherever you are in California, you should be able to receive all your important mails like

My Dear,

I am Mariam Abacha, widow to the former military head of state,late general Sani Abacha, who died suddenly as a result of cardiac arrest.

One early morning, I was called by my late husband General Sani Abacha who at that time was the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces and the Head of State of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, he took me around the apartment and showed me three metal boxes of money all in foreign currency.

My husband told me he was to use the money for the settlement of his personal royal guards on his self-succession bid and campaings.

Upon his tragic and unexpected death, the new civilian government has insisted on probing my family's financial resources and has gazettedall our properties. Also, they recently seized all the family known funds abroad with the assistance of the British Government. It is only this money US$60,000,000.00 (sixty million us dollars only) he deposited with the security company vault at Togo (Lome) that they cannot trace because the funds were deposited as an (antiquity) African artwork from Nigeria art gallery, the family intends to use this money for investment purpose to enable the family to start life all over again.

The Pakistan Army has decided to go ahead with its plan to build a cantonment in Balochistan, not withstanding the grievances of the Balochis. A Jirga in Sindh has decided to murder the lady doctor who was raped in Balochistan by members of the Pakistani Army. But then you still need a foreign hand to justify all the violence in this exploited province.

GOP Bloggers think that, if there is foreign involvement, it has to be Iran, rather than India.

We know that Syria is supporting the terrorists in Iraq - we also know that the Iranians at least were doing the same; there doesn't seem to be much evidence of recent Iranian involvement directly in the terrorism in Iraq. Syria has long been an ally of Iran and it stands to reason that a division of labor could have been created between them - the Syrians to keep us tied down in Iraq, while the Iranians seek to upset our applecart elsewhere. Causing an explosion of violence and/or a civil war in Pakistan would serve Iranian interests - it appears that the people of Balochistan have long-standing grievances with the Pakistani government and now that there is trouble brewing there, we can look to Iran as the potential instigator of the problem. [Iranian Mullahs Causing Trouble?]

Both Iran and Afghanistan have their own share of Balochis and any movement for Independence arising here will cause unrest in those two countries. Also with the proposed gas pipeline through the province benefitting both India and Iran, it would not make sense for those two countries to support the insurgency.

Move over Gangsta, its time for Geeksta rap. When it comes to cultural activities most Indians in the Bay Area stick to the traditional art forms from the motherland. But here is someone different.

It's all because of Rajeev Bajaj, a 39-year-old chemical engineer from Fremont who is either going to become the def jammer of the science and technology domain or the poster boy for excruciatingly embarrassing nerdiness.

Bajaj recently spent $15,000 of his own money forming an independent record label and hiring musicians to perform four rap and hip-hop songs he wrote in praise of the engineering profession. He hopes his debut album, ``Geek Rhythms,'' will convince America that engineers indeed are cool.

The album consists of four songs: ``Free Energy'' is an electronica rap explaining chemical engineering principles; ``Geek Dreams'' glorifies engineers with a tune reminiscent of a cartoon soundtrack; ``Enjoy The Ride'' is a techno track about computer geeks (and the only song in which Bajaj joins in on vocals); and ``Metamorphosis'' is a high-energy, hip-hop look at the mastery of mechanical engineers.[Geeksta rap]

Remember the World Social Forum folks who assembled in India last year to whine and dine about everything in the world, but mainly against America ? This year, the same folks are meeting in Porto Alegre, Brazil to continue whining. The speeches last year did not have any effect on the masses, so the WSF folks have decided to take it up a notch and work alongwith - Hizballah

Hizballah was described at the conference as “one of the leading welcoming organizations [and] an example of successful, targeted, and organized resistance.” Ali Fayad, member of Hizballah’s Central Council and chairman of the Academic Center for Documentation, stressed that Islam’s message is one of unity and collaboration, not division, and that the conference was held in Beirut because Lebanon’s resistance “defeated the Reagan project for the Middle East in the 1980s . . . [and] liberated the land from occupation.”

Hizballah is not known for its antiwar or antiglobalization stance and had never before participated in such a conference. It was invited because a group of radical Italian leftists insisted on it. Entreaties of this sort were not without precedent: in March 2003, Nadia Desdemona Lioce, a leading member of the new Italian Red Brigades (Brigate Rosse), invited the “Arab and Islamic masses, . . . natural allies of the metropolitan pro