Monday, April 30, 2007

rajeev in pioneer on caste

apr 29th, 2007

of course, the URL may not last for long.

http://www.dailypioneer.com/agenda1.asp?main_variable=sundaypioneer%2Fdialogue&file_name=dial2%2Etxt&counter_img=2


and the other side of the debate:

http://www.dailypioneer.com/agenda1.asp?main_variable=sundaypioneer%2Fdialogue&file_name=dial3%2Etxt&counter_img=3

Glorious People's Republic

Here are some of the less-advertised pictures of the Glorious People's Glorious Republic of Glorious China. Funny how these don't make it into the Communist Party publications.

The 'Wal-Mart effect' strikes again

apr 29th, 2007

what might happen in the wake of wal-mart's entry. thanks to girish for the forward.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Girish

A case study of great significance to India.
 
 
The 'Wal-Mart effect' strikes again
By slashing prices on flat-panel TVs, the retail giant has clobbered another sector -- this time, consumer-electronics stores.
 
This article was reported and written by Pallavi Gogoi for BusinessWeek.
 

... deleted

Solar Loans Lighting Rural India

It's good to see that solar power is making its way out to rural India, to providing lighting to those beyond the reach of India's slow infrastructure growth. Energy supply and distribution are a fundamental constraint on India's economic growth, and solar is a good way to help people bypass India's infrastructure bottlenecks. Just as Nokia handsets are made locally and are starting to be exported, likewise so too could India see growth in local manufacturing of solar power systems, along with eventual exports to other parts of the developing world.

Sunday, April 29, 2007

Indian Army will imbibe Pentagon tactics...

link

Call of Duty 4

The trailer for the much-awaited Call of Duty 4 is now out. Notice how the enemy is once again Russian. Not Arab, not Chinese, not Taliban, not AlQaeda -- but Russian.

not exactly a brilliant idea, laloo prasad

apr 28, 2007

next up: all signs in the railways will be in hindi, for 'uniformity's sake'.

this is the sort of crass idiocy that nurtures the other set of idiots, the 'dravidians'.

one would think that noodles (those food-like substances that scream "triple bypass") would be the first thing to be dropped from the menu. idlis and dosas are among the most healthy items in the indian menu, and i find them available all over the country, including in remotest bihar. people actually like masala dosas, they are healthy, they are cheap. of course these are all good reasons to drop them. maybe laloo also has a plan to introduce some of those tainted dog-food products from the us, repackaged as 'exotic american spam'.

Indian Railways Changes the Menu - Idlis and Dosas to be Eliminated

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, INDIA, April 26, 2007: If Indian Railways has its way idlis and dosas may be on the way out from railway cuisine. The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Limited (IRCTC ) is planning to introduce a new system to create uniformity in its catering service across the country. As per the plan, only 21 approved food items will be served on trains - a move that South Indian rail passengers feel is in bad taste.

The IRCTC has decided to remove the south Indian delicacies from the menu, initially on a pilot basis for three months. "People from different regions have different food habits, and there has to be some consideration for that and meals have to be given accordingly," said Dr Sivam, IT Consultant.

The IRCTC used to have more than one hundred items on its menu. Nevertheless, to bring uniformity, it has approved a new menu with 21 items. Noodles, vegetable burger and assorted pakoras are what are now available for the passengers. "Everyone must be given his or her food of choice. If you give only North Indian food, it is like forcing you to have that food," said passenger Ravindran Nair. To deprive the South Indian of his idlis and dosas is tantamount to a cultural onslaught. If the Indian Railways goes ahead with its decision, it should be prepared to face stiff resistance from down south.

Saturday, April 28, 2007

Pak Minister Injured in Suicide Bombing

Pak Interior Minister Aftab Khan Sherpao was injured in a suicide bombing attack. And as Manmohan would say, "but isn't Pakistan too a victim of terrorism?"
Only if you count what's self-inflicted.

B Raman's Views on LTTE

Sometimes the things B Raman says worry me. In his latest comments, he says "India should not have anything to do with the LTTE so long as it is led by Rajiv's assassins. If it removes them, the Govt. of India should give it its full backing."

I personally don't think India should resume support for LTTE under any circumstances. Going beyond the fact that they assassinated an Indian Prime Minister -- one whose political heritage I don't particularly like -- they attacked our army, connived with our enemies, and fanatically profess a racially exclusivist ideology. I think they've done a lot more harm to India than Sri Lanka has done, so I don't see why they should get our favoritism.

I certainly hope that B Raman isn't harbouring a closeted Hamid Gul streak, where the ex-spymasters and retired generals have the soft corner for their pashtun relatives across the border, even to the point of defying the national interest. RAW should uphold a better tradition than ISI, by staying within state lines.

The LTTE are completely untrustworthy, and are engaged in international criminal activities across the world. I think that Karuna may not be as bad as Prabhakaran, but I'm not sure
what the extent of his role was in anti-Indian activities.

Richard Gere??

Indian courts are after actor Richard Gere for kissing Shilpa Shetty. Where does the country come up with these nutty decision-makers? Even bollywood plot-writers couldn't come up with this bilge. I'm sure the CPI(M) are howling with glee, given Gere's support for the State Enemy and Splittist #1 Dalai Lama.

Friday, April 27, 2007

India becomes a Trillion Dollar Economy

Finally we join the Big League of 10 countries with a Trillion Dollar economy, with the US leading at $12 Trillion GDP.

India becomes trillion dollar economy

Trillion cheers for booming India

Bat Ye'or & 'Palestinianism'

http://frontpagemagazine.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=28049
From the person that coined 'Eurabia' - another interesting term 'Palestinianism'; which is indeed a good diagnosis. The Islamic world guilts everyone (and demonizes Israel) by whipping out the Palestine card; the Atlanticists have succumbed.

Incidentally if the occupation of ones land is sufficient cause for brutal violence; why do we not see Tibetan Buddhist suicide bombers? Ever heard the Grand 'Mufti' of Tibetans - the Dalai Lama - call for the death of Chinese non-combatants?

rajiv malhotra: Whiteness Studies and Implications for Indian-American Identity

apr 26th, 2007

rajiv always has very interesting things to say.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Rajiv Malhotra
Date: Apr 27, 2007 2:45 AM
Subject: Whiteness Studies and Implications for Indian-American Identity
To:

My latest article on the way whiteness in america impacts Indians is
now posted at:

http://rajivmalhotra.sulekha.com/blog/post/2007/04/whiteness-studies-and-implications-for-indian-american.htm

Rajiv Malhotra

wolfowitz gets deeper in trouble

apr 26th, 2007

i guess wolfie is not willing to go 'gentle into that good night'.

i read the letter in the financial times written by a whole bunch of ex-world bank vps etc. pretty clear they despise the guy.

yet he's determined to hang on to this nice sinecure. i used to imagine bill clinton clinging to the potted plants and office furniture while he's being dragged out of the white house by the bouncers after he was impeached. of course, clinton escaped that fate. now i can see wolfowitz doing the clinging to the office furniture :-)

this guy is like a) all the politicians, b) all the cricket stars in india. shameless doesn't begin to describe it.

http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/04/26/news/wolf.php

Swaminathan Aiyar-Laloo better than Nehru

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Opinion/Columnists/Swaminathan_S_Anklesaria_Aiyar/Laloo_Yadav_beats_Nehru_hollow/articleshow/1951609.cms
Interesting piece by Swami on how Laloo is bad - but still better than Nehru. This is not as outrageous as it sounds. Sure he has built up a personal fortune by pillaging the state, but certainly not more than the Gandhi family (specially Antonia with her sundry Gandhi Foundations). Laloo has played the politics of freezing caste and pandering to Muslims - but certainly not as badly as Indira Gandhi did - or son Rajiv Gandhi.

The only reason that media folks in Delhi get upset with him is that he does not give two hoots about what they feel - unlike the 'first family' - which is all for the ELM kissing their white bottoms. Having said all that - I still prefer Nitish Kumar and Sushil Modi to Laloo!

Thursday, April 26, 2007

atlanticists are worried that the 'deal' will go awry

apr 26th, 2007

as usual, if the atlanticists are worried about something, that means it's a good thing for india.

this one-sided 'deal' needs to be revoked. there's practically no benefit to india, and lots to the us: they get to trap india in old, unreliable technology where they have a stranglehold on the raw materials. it's as if india, instead of going with (new) cellular telephony, went back to (old) 1980s' land-line technology where the US is the only supplier of fiber optic cable. complete supplier power and no buyer power.

of course, the invertebrates in the UPA will find ways of bending over some more to satisfy the likes of this sokolski who is a total ayatollah and who wants to give away the northeast to china.

http://www.economist.com/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9084829&fsrc=nwl

Maoists = Taliban (or is it the other way round)

Still more proof that the Maoists who hold sway over large parts of India are no different from the Taliban.

In fact, they may be worse.

In a new low, the Taliban is now using minors (12 year old boys) to behead "American spies"

A continuous 2 1/2-minute shot then shows the victim lying on his side on a patch of rubble-strewn ground. A man holds Nabi by his beard while the boy, wearing a camouflage military jacket and oversized white sneakers, cuts into the throat. Other men and boys call out "Allahu akbar!" — "God is great!" — as blood spurts from the wound.

The film, overlain with jihadi songs, then shows the boy hacking and slashing at the man's neck until the head is severed.

Truly ghoulish but entirely unsurprising.

Unwilling to stomach such oneupmanship, the Maoists have gone one further -- they will now use newborns to spread their brand of hate.
DANTEWADA (Chhattisgarh): Maoists here have ordered pregnant women to deliver only at makeshift camps run by women guerrillas so that the children can dedicate themselves to extreme left ideology.

"The children, boys or girls, will be enrolled as new cadres and will be brought up in a culture that will help fulfil the long-awaited dream of liberating the red zone," he added. Police say the 20,000 armed Maoists who operate in India have formed the 'red zone' from southern India to Nepal's border [emphasis added].
Can GoI declare CPI(Maoist) and their brethren "Terrorist organisations" who are out to Balkanise India? Oh sorry.. i forgot that MMS aspires to do the same

Arvind Lavakare on what makes him puke...

link

Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Turkey Turning Towards Islam

Turkey's middle class are becoming more Islamic, and I'm actually thinking this is not a bad thing for us. So far, we've seen the Europeans emerge as the Islamic world's greatest allies, with the Atlanticists leading the defense of everything Islamic. This is due to the fact that their nearest Islamic neighbors and erstwhile adversaries, the Turks, have been subdued. If Turkey were to become more Islamic, India wouldn't really be affected, but there would once again be that pressure on the Gates of Vienna (ie. the borders of Europe). This would help to dislodge the pro-Islamist sentiment amongst the Atlanticists. Even Gandhi once counseled the Indian Congress Party to support the Muslim demand for return of the Caliphate in Turkey -- though obviously he did so to cater to the vote bank. However, I'm thinking that this isn't such a bad idea, in hindsight. After all, why should we give the Euros a free ride? They want to be pro-Islamic, so let them then be overrun by Islam. That'll teach 'em: be careful what you ask for, because you just might get it.

Maharashtra Govt. after Temple Wealth: VHP

link

terrific article on food-like substances in america

apr 24th, 2007

the result of perverse farm subsidies. we need to pay far more attention to this than we do now as part of the reformulation of indian agriculture policies. attack the subsidies in all forums such as WTO, and ensure that they don't kill indian farmers or indian farm products. as it is, american subsidies for cotton lead directly to the suicides of farmers in vidarbha.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/22/magazine/22wwlnlede.t.html?ei=5087%0A&em=&en=955cc305987d1146&ex=1177560000&pagewanted=all

Taiwan says it would win war with China

More power to Taiwan! Now Taiwan is Red China's Achilles' Heel. India should fully exploit it and cultivate Taiwan just as China does Pakistan. Give them missiles and also anti-missile defence systems, etc. Can't expect the UPA to do any such stuff though. Hoping a future Indian Govt. does.

Agriculture - Whose subsidy is more effective?

Still at the Federal Trough: Farm Subsidies for the Rich and Famous Shattered Records in 2001
Although dated - this study is very interesting. US Agriculture subsidies mainly benefit large corporations who proceed to reduce the family farmer to penury. US subsidies depress world prices, so when seen on the global scale, the Indian farmer is the same as the average family farmer in the US.

Is agriculture a question of whose subsidy is more effective? Is it 'economies of scale' in production or is it 'economies of scale' in receipt of government handout?


What should India do to target, consolidate and streamline subsidy payments to make them more effective.
How can Indian farm subsidies be converted from inefficient family farmer subsidization to be efficient large farm subsidization?

Could differential subsidization for cooperatives (greater subsidy for co-operatives with large farm holdings) be the answer?

Earth-like Planet Found

Gliese 581C, the 3rd planet orbiting around the red dwarf star Gliese 581, is the most earth-like planet yet to have been found outside the solar system. With a mass 5 times that of earth, a gravity of 1.6G, and a temperature between 0 and 40 degrees celsius, it orbits around its star every 13 days. With stargazing being a strong Indian tradition, it's amazing to think that we have now passed the era of searching for stars, and have now moved on to the era of searching for other earths. Only time and more investigation will tell if Gliese581C harbours enough water for life.

Without quota, every caste would be a forward cast

http://www.rediff.com/money/2007/apr/24guest.htm
More on how the caste 'problem' is essentially created out of the rapidly shrinking goodies to be handed by the welfare state ('mammaries' is what Nizhal Yodha calls it). I quite agree - the issue is one of poor ability of the community to participate as the arbitrary state gets in the way of a highly creative society.

The downside of this is that it configures people to respond only to the 'politics of grievance mongering'

Tuesday, April 24, 2007

4M Report - 23 Apr 2007

apr 24th, 2007

the inimitable sabha report.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: SABHA <sabha@sabha.info >
Date: Apr 24, 2007 8:22 AM
Subject: 4M Report - 23 Apr 2007
To: 4mreport@sabha.info


 

SABHA - 4M Report Arvind Kumar, 23 Apr 2007

Your regular dose of pseudosecularism

  1. Blood oozes from Indian Jesus statue, bishop confirms

    It is official. A statue of Jesus is oozing blood and it is truly a miracle!
    UCA News reports Church people in the central Indian diocese say that on Monday they started noticing bloodlike substance oozing from the eyes of a statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus kept in an open yard. "I am convinced it is a miracle," Fr Paul Pappachan, the assistant parish priest, told UCA News. The red substance tasted like blood, he said. "I just can't understand it."
    The assistant parish priest conducted detailed analysis before determining that it was blood that was oozing out from the statue.
    The priest said he then ascended the statue's concrete lotus-shaped pedestal and dipped his finger into the red liquid. "After smelling it, I tasted it," he recalled. He repeated this action four times, he said, and every time he did so, he sensed the smell and taste of "real blood."


  2. Prakash Karat: They didn't attend meetings, so we shot them

    Justifying the Nandigram Pogrom conducted by the Communist government in West Bengal, in which dozens of people were mowed down in an operation reminiscent of the Tiananmen Square Massacre, Prakash Karat, the General Secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), explained that the internal enemies of the state who were slaughtered had refused to attend the party meetings and that is why the police force was set upon them.
    It is these same elements who refused to attend all-party meetings repeatedly called by the district administration. The last all-party meeting held on March 10 decided that the administration should move to restore communications and normalcy in the area. It is in this connection that the police entered the area on March 14. In the ensuing confrontation, 14 people died and many injured including policemen.


  3. Saudi man loses part of nose after wives attack him

    Thanks to Sanjeev who sent this one in. A Saudi man lost a part of his nose after his enraged wives attacked him for threatening to marry a third woman. The man now has a plan to restore his dignity.
    "I never realised they would get so worked up. But the only way to restore my dignity is really to take a third wife," he said, adding, "I don't know what I'm going to lose next if I do that."


  4. From the pages of history: Nehru attacks Roosevelt for long stint in office

    A news item in the Deccan Herald reported in 1957 that Jawaharlal Nehru attacked Franklin Roosevelt of USA for holding the office of the President of the United States for 12 years.
    Prime Minister Nehru's observations at the Parliamentary Congress Party meeting on Friday evening that one and the same person should not hold office for inordinately long periods because such practice was anti-progress, has been hailed here as the highest watermark of democratic thinking.
    ...
    His references to President Roosevelt left no doubt whom he had in mind most.
    Nehru remained the Prime Minister of India for 17 years after he first appointed himself to the post. The Nehru dynasty has clung on to power for five generations.

  5. Advances in Communist technology

    Sreedhar sends in a news item from The Statesman. The latest in Communist technology is to dredge sand from a river and dump it just a few hundred meters away in the river itself!
    The Muriganga, a distributory of the Hooghly, is dying a slow death and the district administration as well as the state government is doing precious little to save it.
    ...
    "The dredging operations in the Muriganga river are not being carried out in a proper and scientific manner resulting in drainage of public money," alleged Captain Avijit Sinha, chairman of Maeksin Shipping Company. The sand dredged out of the river should be dumped on land, but they dump it only a few hundred metres away, in the river itself, he said.


  6. Professor uses Microsoft Powerpoint to generate DNA data!

    In an earlier edition of the 4M Report we pointed out that a professor had used the Aryan Invasion Theory to prove the Aryan Invasion Theory. Professor Stoneking seems to be an expert in Nazi science and apparently there is more to his work in this field.

    According to Prof. H.J. Bandelt of the University of Hamburg, Stoneking reused old data after touching it up (apparently with Microsoft Powerpoint) and his fabrication of data is similar to Monty Python's 'dead parrot sketch.' Monty Python's Flying Circus was a British television comedy show that aired between 1969 and 1974. Click here to read about the similarity with Monty Python's 'dead parrot sketch.' The presentation was made by the professor at an academic conference on Human Evolution and Disease' that was held in Hyderabad.

    Click here for another presentation by the professor at Heidelberg that shows the old data juxtaposed with the "new" data which is identical to the earlier data except for one mutation that seemed to have occurred in his Microsoft Powerpoint file!

  7. MSNBC highlights hatred by South Asians

    According to a report by MSNBC, a website run by South Asians has indulged in posting hateful comments against Koreans. This has happened in the aftermath of a shooting by a Korean-American on the Virginia Tech. campus that left 32 people dead.
    The bodies had barely been removed when the racial epithets started pouring in. Cho Seung-Hui, the 23-year-old identified as the killer of 32 on the Virginia Tech campus, may have lived in the state since his elementary school days, but to the bigots in the blogosphere it was his origins in Korea that mattered most. "Koreans are the most hotheaded and macho of East Asians," wrote one unnamed commentator on the Sepia Mutiny blog. "They are also sick and tired of losing their Korean girlfriends to white men with an Asian fetish."

    The vitriol of comments like these has shocked America's Korean community, leaving it braced for a backlash and scrambling to control the damage caused by distorted stereotypes.

    At SABHA, we are shocked by the vitriolic attack on Koreans launched at Sepia Mutiny. Despite being South Asians, we wish to clarify that we do not have any connections with the website mentioned by MSNBC.

  8. Islamic group suggest ways to become civilized

    Sreedhar alerts us to the fact that Tamil Nadu Muslim Munnetra Kazham (TMMK) has fabulous plans to civilize the world. The TMMK has a simple method to determine the truth. An official of TMMK explained their truth meter.
    "Once a man swears on Allah, we believe him," said Khaludeen.
    TMMK also has plans to prevent people from taking the law into their own hands.
    Said Dr Bhagat Singh, the TMMK's district secretary: "The youths (accused of killing Mumtaz) should not have taken law into their hands. They read the Quran and make their own interpretations. To prevent such incidents, the Government should introduce the practice of stoning immoral women to death. Many Middle-East countries follow this practice and keep women under check. That's the only way to handle such issues."


South Asian Bleeding Hearts Association welcomes comments, suggestions and leads for items published here. Please send your comments to feedback@sabha.info. If you wish to unsubscribe, or have been forwarded this mail and would like to subscribe, click here.

the security implications of climate change

apr 24th, 2007

food security will be a major casualty.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/24/opinion/24homer-dixon.html?_r=1&th&emc=th&oref=slogin

karna syndrome, and chindia

apr 24th, 2007

i have been hearing a lot about 'chindia' which to me is completely bogus. china is china, an imperialist nightmare. india is like karna, the one with immense potential who was handicapped by difficulties not of his own making, always the hard-luck kid.

i need to write about the 'karna syndrome'. karna is the most interesting character, in fact the hero of the mahabharata, in my opinion. the one with the greatest endowment, the one whose good intentions always turn out negatively. it is a curse, a cosmic handicap. this is what is afflicting india as well: always the bridesmaid, never the bride, to mix metaphors wildly.

and back to the 'chindia', if there is an alliance between india and china (remember hindi-chini-bhai-bhai) it will be like an alliance with microsoft for a small software company. all the benefit will accrue to china (like to microsoft) and india (like the small company) will be screwed.

kristof bashes india

apr 24th, 2007

actually he does have a point or two.

http://donkeyod.wordpress.com/2007/04/23/in-its-match-with-china-india-penalizes-its-own-team/#more-2924

this is from the nytimes, and i found it posted at this blog via google. therefore i am not violating the nytimes' copyright.



Interesting Blog on the recent YSS commie conference

apr 24th, 2007

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: AH

 
 
Friends
 
Here is a first hand report on the recent YSS conference
 

response: america's desired map of india: minus kashmir, arunachal, northeast

apr 24th, 2007

folks, do write to the SSI as suggested below by dr. m.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: M

Rajeev,

I recd my copy of the book last Friday and have already drawn the SSI's
attention to the map. They need to hear from others as well.

Pls ask your readers to direct their comments at the follwoing address:
ATTN: SSI
Professor Douglas C. Lovelace, Jr.
US Army War College
122 Forbes Ave
Carlisle, PA 17013-5244
https://www.strategicstudiesinstitute.army.mil/about/contact-us.cfm#mail


As for the book's editor, Henry Sokolski, the less said the better.  He
is an old, diehard non-proliferationist, staunchly anti-Iran in his
writings.Mr Henry Sokolski has been a major opposnent of the Indo-US
N-deal.

m

PS: BTW, from my recent discussions in New Delhi recently, India is
likely to walk away from the Indo-US nuclear deal because the Henry Hyde
Act is very different from the July 18, 2005 agreement and places legal
constraints on enrichment, reprocessing and N-testing. The Bush-Singh
agreement on civilian nuclear energy has now been transaformed into a
nonproliferation agreement.

DR  M


-----Original Message-----
From: Rajeev
Subject: america's desired map of india: minus kashmir, arunachal,
northeast


The Dracula houses in Kerala: get thee to a nunnery, woman!

apr 24th, 2007

sexual and other abuse of women in christism. of course, the ELM does not say anything about this. the sister abhaya story has been completely swept under the carpet.

there is also the divine nagar christist 'ashram', where a hindu girl was robbed, raped and murdered. she had been foolish enough to go there for 'meditation'.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Rama

http://haindavakeralam.org/PageModule.aspx?PageID=3541&SKIN=C

nalanda university comes back, sort of

apr 24th, 2007

so they are reviving nalanda. but note, the advisers are those poseurs amartya sen and jean dreze. therefore, they will teach: persian and chinese, but not sanskrit! they will teach buddhist studies, but not hindu studies!

how very predictable!

also note that it was "turks" who burned nalanda, not "mohammedans".

http://specials.rediff.com/news/2007/apr/24sl1.htm

Pollution 'hits China's farmland'

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6582571.stm
What the Marigold Brothers (Yechuri & Karat) and Harkishen Singh Surjeet did not tell you about China's 'progress'.

This is India's future too - unless plans for 'Chemical Hubs' and other pie-in-the-sky are abandoned and real focus is brought to the agri sector . Remember - before giving them jobs - you have to give them food!!!

symphony based on indian ragas

apr 23rd, 2007

here's what i got from kannikeswaran: he's obviously a musical man, and he has also put together this great site on indian temples:

http://www.indiantemples.com/

===============

Hello Rajeev:
 
It is my pleasure to let you know of the upcoming performance of a choral symphonic work that I have written. The Sound of Seasons, is a choral symphony celebrating the ragas of Indian Classical music that are associated with the 6 seasons of vasanta, grishma, varsha, sharad, hemanta and shishira.
 
It is to be performed by the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra (the first performance of a raga based work by this orchestra) along with the Indian children's choir (from the Beyond Seasons workshop that is now about 9 months old), the Cincinnati children's choir, and the Shanti choir (www.shantichoir.org ).
 
Indian arts have a profound relationship with all aspects of existence. The fact that there are ragas associated with seasons, and that they have survived the test of time says something about the universality and all embracing approach of our culture that we cherish so much.
 
It gives me great pleasure to write to you about this concert and to invite you to this performance (Sunday, May 6 2007). This project has been in the works for over a year and children of the Indian diaspora here have been learning these ragas, almost in tune with the changing seasons. After the spectacular success of Shanti, (www.shantichoir.org) it has been great working with the next generation of community singers.
 
Look forward to hearing from you. For more info, please see www.kanniks.com
Thank you.
Kanniks

godman ratzinger says science too narrow to explain creation

apr 23rd, 2007

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Moksha

Quotes from the The American Taliban

apr 23rd, 2007

interesting quotes from some good ole boys and girls in the US

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Moksha

protesting christist atrocities

apr 23rd, 2007

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Kumar

http://savetemples.org/images/pdfs/flyer_for_chicago.pdf

Rajeev,

We are trying to make Hindus worldwide aware of the activities of YSR Reddy, the christian CM of AP. I spoke to some people in Tirupati and it's absolutely incredible how brazenly this *** is behaving. The thing that amazes me is that he has to be intelligent enough to realize that he is isolating and pissing off most of his constituents. Who is backing this guy up? I know the madam is definitely backing him, but he must be getting support from other places as well.

Sunday, April 22, 2007

Bharat Karnad: Nuclear testing is the crux

Dated article and might have been posted before, but still a good read...

hate-mongering against koreans in aftermath of shooting

apr 22nd, 2007

tragic. now the bigots are after korean-americans, according to newsweek. this will spread to all east asians. remember someone beating some chinese to death in detroit thinking they were japanese? this is also like people targeting indians thinking they were iranians during the hostage crisis in the 1980s.

in my personal experience, korean-americans have been diligent and hard-working people. many are also very religious.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: A

Some people have come out with outrageous statements against Koreans. Newsweek has refused to retract the statement and the sepia mutiny hatemongers are upset.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18178194/site/newsweek/

 Cho Seung-Hui, the 23-year-old identified as the killer of 32 on the Virginia Tech campus, may have lived in the state since his elementary school days, but to the bigots in the blogosphere it was his origins in Korea that mattered most. "Koreans are the most hotheaded and macho of East Asians," wrote one unnamed commentator on the Sepia Mutiny blog. "They are also sick and tired of losing their Korean girlfriends to white men with an Asian fetish."

newsletter/group-zine 'arise, awake': read michel danino's remarkable piece

apr 21st, 2007

as usual, michel danino hits the nail on the head. he's one of the most perceptive writers on the state of hindus and indians today.

http://hymnsindia.files.wordpress.com/2007/04/mar_07_arise_awake.pdf

america's desired map of india: minus kashmir, arunachal, northeast

apr 21st, 2007

i got the following mail from a reader.

on checking the link on the iranian site, i came across the henry sokolski book's cover. i guess this guy is a non-proliferation ayatollah, and i suspect he is an atlanticist democrat. not that it matters, nor the content of his book. but the blatant violation of india's territorial integrity is what shocked me.

1. kashmir completely given away to pakistan and china
2. arunachal pradesh given away to china
3. the entire northeast a different country: presumably christist-stan

with nepal also in communist hands (also supported by christist interests) this is a sweeping master-plan for turning india into a truncated client state of china.

i have seen this very truncated map of india in many US government/quango publications. this is what the US has in mind for india. remember there was a detailed analysis by some us army college of war guy talking about splitting pakistan up? well, they have a similar goal for india as well.

manmohan singh has led india up the garden path with this nuclear deal. the reality is that the US is only interested in thwarting the thorium-fueled fast-breeder ambitions of india. this also enters into the rama-setu destruction, because once that barrier is gone, the next tsunami will wipe out kerala's thorium-bearing coastal sends: ie, end of india's independent nuclear energy capability.

this is one serious conspiracy emerging.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Arya

India's relations with Iran, China worry US: report  362 pages PDF report dated 4/19/07
 
 
Rajeev,
 
            This whole Indo-Nuclear agreement is a bogus one... India is being trapped... I have been a long time reader of your blog and know what your position are. However, I always thought that there was a space for some sort of an agreement that could be reach... But it is increasingly becoming evident, that it is nothing but a conspiracy against india, bought by our alleged Prime Minister... How the whole deal has manifested from Civilian nuclear deal to application toward NPT/CTBT guidelines, and at last, India's relationship with Iran.... What was agreed on July 2005 has been lost in shrewed thinking of USA....
 
Above all that, then there is supply of Uranium. Uranium has already reached $94/pound from what was just $7/pound in 2000... Check out the following link Uranium price - will it hit $100 this year? - Money Week
 
 




See what's free at AOL.com.

Saturday, April 21, 2007

10 easy steps: How to become an Intellectual in India

apr 22nd, 2007

yes, you too can do it. as has been demonstrated by many, it's easy to become a jholawala/wali regardless of your intellect or lack thereof.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: AH



How to become an Intellectual in India
 
For getting the status of an intellectual, the caste, religion, sex, age, language or any other regional or linguistic parameters are not a criteria.
 
 * It is easy to get the status, if you are a Hindu who always criticizes his own religion and sanathana dharma
 
* Your education qualification, actual intelligence, vocabulary, position, etc do not have any bearing for getting the status
 
.* You should always be little and denigrate Indian heritage and culture, whenever you get opportunity or even by creating opportunity.
 
 * Always make fun of Hindu dharma and ancient Hindu scholars, saffron colour, Omkar, temples and priests
 
 * You have to make the show that you have the authority to criticize Hindu dharma.
 
 * Try to find a good place in the electronic media screen and print media.
 
 *Keep a charisma for attracting the media people; give them whatever they need for doing so.
 
 * Keep the relation with them very strong.
 
 * Tell always the positives about other religion while degrading and denigrating Hindu dharma.
 
* This will give a good image as an 'impartial and unbiased scholar'
 
* You will automatically become famous as a pakka secular leader and other intellectuals push you up.
 
* What ever you say- think- or do look only for your personal benefit.
 
 * Take the opportunity to understand the future benefits also, even if the ruling ministers and ruling party change.
 
* Speeches should be so designed to get maximum clapping/ applause from the audience.
 
* Keep appropriate facial expression depending upon what and where you say.
 
* Create an impression that you are a sincere and dedicated leader of the common man.
 
* Use as much confusing words as possible so that in future you can easily change you words, opinions and visions.
 
 * Select words in such a way that nobody understands what you really mean by saying so.
 
 * If anything wrong happens in the future from your expressions you can easily put all the   blame on the media.
 
* You should never quote anything from Indian heritage or ancient Indian books because it is cheap to quote indigenous knowledge.
 
 * Quote always the Russian, Chinese or even from Iraq leaders.
 
* If you are compelled to quote from India, quote only from Jawaharlal Nehru's words.
 
 * For justifying your view point take quotations from great (late) foreign scholars even if they have not told so.
 
 * This will help you in the long run because those leaders will not come back for questioning you.
 
 * You should only be careful to note that when and where you are quoting.
 
*Use as many quotations as possible from foreign scholars of your status for denigrating Indian heritage and culture.
 
 *You can use even outdated scientific data and observation for this purpose.
 
*You can add your own words while quoting their words, because nobody is going to verify those statements.
 
 * Only try to create an impression that your quotations originally belong to a great foreign scholar. * Inform indirectly, the audience that you also read books.
 
 * your speech, or writing should never give any doubts to your audience or readers about its authenticity and originality, even if it belongs to others.
 
*Never praise the past – present and future India.
 
 *Never do so for Sanskriti and make it a point that you never quote from Sanskrit books.
 
*Keep this in mind even if you are delivering lecture in Sanskrit institutes.
 
* You can see many intellectuals of your type in almost all the Sanskrit institutes, Ayurveda colleges and Vaastu gurukulam
 
*share your views with them for further degrading our cultural heritage.
 
 * If you have time to spare tell all the memorable negatives about Hindu dharma in Sanskrit institutes also. So that people will appreciate you secular, rational and scientific vision
which can even fetch you some Sanskrit based awards.
 
 * Due to the circumstances, if you are forced to say something good about our heritage, take all precaution and say as though you are quoting from a foreign leader.
 
 * But create an impression, that you are also an authority to talk about India and inform indirectly that you also know about Indian culture at an equal level to some of our prime ministers.
 
* Keep in your mind that even when you protest against cocoa cola, Pepsi and American multinationals use similar words against Indian contribution to science or technology.
 
 * Appreciate only foreign scientists and scholars, if possible from Russia or China.
 
 * Belittle and denigrate Indian scientific and technological heritage whenever and wherever possible and encourage younger generation to do so.
 
 * But make sure that your children are studying in reputed excellent dharmic institutes where Indian culture is taught to the core, preferably outside your State.
 
* If you have the qualification to read the school books and happen to read any heritage knowledge in the syllabus, proclaim that it is Hindu fundamentalism and the protest against the move towards Saffronisation, Hinduisation, Indianisation and so on.
 
* If you have enough followers and they have courage, declare a Hartal against all type of saffronisation.
 
 * If you are quoting the words of someone, try to make sure that the name of the scholar is not familiar to the audience, and also see that the book is not available in printed form.
 
* Tell that the 'particular' scholar said it in Rangoon or Korea, in 1938 Feb 28th.
 
 *Make sure that nobody verifies your statements or quotations
 
 * Since your future as an intellectual remains exclusively on how many press conferences you hold and press release you give, make sure that at-least one per week is done.
 
 * You can get sponsorship for the expenses without any difficulty
 
* Express your shock through media on the sad and sudden demise of other intellectuals.
 
 * Try to become one of the speakers for giving felicitation address in as much meetings as possible.
 
* Praise the organizers as much as possible, which will benefit you in the course of time.
 
 * Try to participate in funerals processions, chain making, group running for building patriotism, etc. if possible be in the front.
 
* Stand near by the famous people so that your photo also will appear in the media.
 
 * You elevate all useless (of course useful for you) fellows, in return they will elevate you, so help each other
 
* Always put the first signature in mass memorandum, preferably in presence of the media photographers.
 
 * Do not follow law and order; this can get a place in media easily.
 
* You have to say that you are violating the law and order for the people.
 
 * Even if you lack professional or technical qualification, try to get a seat as syndicate or senate member of the Universities, or at least as Devaswom Board president, or Chairman,
etc which does not need any qualification and quality. Getting higher position as the Toddy Workers Welfare Board, Fisher Men Welfare Board, etc., need higher qualifications.
 
* If the press reporters or general public ask some general question to you, say 'you know much better than me' and save yourself.
 
* If the situation goes little negative and more questions flow on the same subject, tell something about Aryan Invasion.
 
* If the situation further worsens and more questions come, criticize the caste system in Hindu dharma.
 
* If nothing else is available for saving yourself from the press people tell something negative about Amma, Swamy or Guruji, and declare that all the present problems in India are created by them
 
*Make sure to tell good about Mother Teresa, Bukari Imam and St Xavier Francis, even though he has destroyed 480 temples and converted thousands of Goan Hindus to Christianity in Goa.
 
*Or as the last tool, before attempting a walk out, tell that all the problem including Tsunami, Katrina, Rita, Wilma and the Plague in Surat and Iraq problem are all created by Sangha Parivar organizations.
 
*Talk like a genius who can speak about any subject at any time.
 
 * In foreign countries, before delivering lectures, do not 'drink' too much, even if the organizers are giving free
 
* See that your tongue is not slipping while delivering lecture.
 
* Make sure that you read from paper, in foreign countries if you have consumed drinks beyond the limit.
 
* Remember that it is natural many intellectuals consume more when they visit foreign countries, because better quality and unlimited quantity liquor is available free of cost for the guests.
 
 *Still keep a 'natural seriousness' of an intellectual in your face.
*If you are sure that your control on leg and tongue is loosing, give the written matter to one of your colleagues to read, if he has a better control over his body.
 
* Create an impression that you are not 'speaking' because of jetlag or you are tired
 
* Tell in one line that "I am not well and hence giving the paper to so and so to read my message".
 
* Try to build your own style in using words and hand action during speech
 
* If you cannot build an original set of natural action during for the speech, copy the method
followed by someone who is no more.
 
*Try to build up associations 'fans' or followers.
 
* Criticize any Indian at any level either going up or down, but keep a minimum standard while criticizing a foreigner.
 
*You should always remember that the memory of the 'reacting people' is less and really memorizing people will not react.
 
*Whenever you are contradicting your own earlier statements, inform the audience that it is because of their ignorance they feel that you are contradicting the earlier statement.
 
 *Make the audience feel that you know about India also.
* While talking something about India, ask what happened in 1936 Feb 29 ( after making sure that it is a leap year), as though something happened on that day.
 
*If you are forced to resign from some position due to your criminal background, tell that it is for the people you threw the position and tell that let the people decide on your quality.
 
*Declare those statements with dignity and at low voice.
 
 *If you get some negative points on others from the newspapers, use those statements appropriately in your speech. Create an image that you are also aware about what is happening around us.
 
 * Make the people aware that you know what are all happening in Iraq, Houston, Iran, Korea,  Lanka and also in Mizoram…
 
*Quote something from Ethiopia and never say anything negative about Tianen men square or Cuba.
 
*Never say any negative about Kashmir and Nagaland or the activities of the minorities in those States.
 
*Tell anything negative about Military or police action in Kashmir or Nagaland making sure that you do not touch anything against minorities.
 
*Even if you have to say something about minority fundamentalism, say that it is due to majority fundamentalism.
 
*At times when you have to tell something about yourself, tell politely with tears in eyes that you are a freedom fighter, and son of the great freedom fighter so and so (give the name) who worked with Mahatma Gandhi and Jinna.
 
* You have to say proudly that you have inherited the dharmic values from your parents, also patriotism and nationalism, which is in your blood.
 
*Whenever you have to apologize do it boldly and say that you are apologizing for the people and nation.
 
*Express your gratitude to the great scholars for elevating you to this level after making sure that those people are already dead.
 
*While expressing your gratitude, try to become over polite and if possible weep or make weeping sound.
 
* Create an impression that you are a simple man.
 
*At the time of apologizing create a philosophical environment by quoting Bhagavad-Gita, even if you are quoting wrongly, no body is going to ask any questions because generally the audience who come to listen to your speech, will be ignorant about Geetha.
 
*Whenever you have to change your vision and opinion, tell that opinion is not iron pestle. Hence change and changing the opinion are the rule of the nature.
 
*You can even suddenly jump from atheism to religion, because everyone of the atheists does it in the last part of their life.
 
* If you feel bad for doing so, tell that you have done it for your wife.
 
* Also inform that you will repeat it for your wife, so that no body will criticize you.
 
*While delivering lectures to Christians tell that in the next janma you want to be Christian, to the Muslim audience tell that you want to become a Muslim, in the next janma.
 
*Tell them, in your speech that Upanishads and Vedas are taken from Koran and Bible.
 
*Try to attend 'all religious meet" as a representative of Hinduism and tell negative about Hinduism. It will be printed in big letters in media.
 
*Learn two or three lines from Koran or Bible and quote appropriately for getting the applause.
 
* Give as much good messages from Hindu books and tell that these are all from Koran and Bible.
 
* You will definitely get many more chances.
 
* Remember many speakers are charging Rs.3000+ TA + 'something' for delivering such lectures against Hinduism in Kerala.
 
*If you are a failure as an 'intellectual speaker', write books by copying from some old foreign books in full or chapter wise.
 
* Remove few lines here and there add something special, without grammar mistakes, give a novel title and release the book.
 
* Take sponsorship from wherever possible it will fetch you the livelihood for many generations.
 
* Take the 50 :50 share, if you are giving the inauguration session for contract.
 
*Spend some money for getting a court ban on the book, file a petition, this will give enough publicity for the book.
 
* Intentionally put few controversial lines in the book, so that getting a ban becomes easy.
 
*There are many Christian writers who write about Hinduism, they will help you how to write on the subjects in which you are fully ignorant.
 
* You can start writing against Hinduism first, with their help, so that the marketing is easy and building your career also becomes easy.
 
* Many churches and Christian agents will help you directly and indirectly for propagating your anti Hindu messages.
 
* Be in contact with the media people, whenever you are travelling.
 
*Offer a cup of tea or something and keep the friendship strong always.
 
*Build relationship with five star hotel owners, workers, toddy shop workers union, minority leaders during travelling from place to place.
 
*This relation will have life long benefit for an intellectual.
 
*When you get some award, tell that at this age you are not thinking about the award.
 
* Give some money to some organization and tell them to give half of that as an award to yourself.
 
* It is the easiest method for getting awards.
 
*When you stand for receiving the award, keep a philosophical facial expression that you are much beyond the level of accepting an award.
 
* By following these techniques, you can spend your manushya janma fruitfully for making enough money, position, name and fame, even though it may not have any use for anyone other than yourself.
 
*Definitely some ministers will inaugurate your bust/ statue for the crows to sit.
 
* They may also venture to put your name for some drainage canals.


TIPS FROM KERALA INTELLECTUALS TO ALL INDIA LEVEL INTELLECTUALS!
 
*Support the minorities always even when they destroy temples, go for terrorism, do anti national activities, attack police or media persons.
 
*Keep silence against all minority mooted terrorism.
 
*Always justify the bomb blasts, killings, storing weapons in houses and religious institutes, if done by minorities.
 
*Do not say anything about foreign fund flow for conversion and terrorism.
 
*Partake in hartal for releasing the terrorist leaders and put your signature in mass memorandum.
 
*Be an active human right activist for minorities only.
 
* Support UGC salary for the urdu and Arabi teachers in Madrasas even though they are illiterate.
 
*Support grant for building Madrasas, mosques, and pension for mullahs and moulavis.
 
*If a Hindu priest is murdered, do not utter even a single word, but a sand particle fallen on minority priest, straight away blame Hindu fundamentalists.
 
*If any Hindu institute is taken over by government justify it with powerful words.
 
*If minority gundas attack the press people, tell to suspend the police or taking action against the police even though they were 200 kilometres away from the site of attack.
 
*Always speak against the atrocities against minorities by majority community and police, particularly when the election season approaches.
 
*If the heritage subjects are to be included in the syllabus, divide it 1:1:1 for Hindus, Christians and Muslims.
 
 * For the Muslims support Arabian history and for the Christians something from the life of St George, St Philomena or something what happened in Jerusalem.
 
* If your supporters destroyed public property, say that it is the second freedom struggle.
 
* If others did so tell that it is against democracy.
 
* If your followers attach police or police station say that it is the second Chowri Chowra.
 
*If your followers happened to be a killer, make sure that he gets the pension for freedom fighters.
 
*Justify Gherao, hartal, bandh if and only if your followers did it.
 
* When you approach to old age, tell that you are not an anti hindu.
 
*Declare that your wife going to temple and you accompany your wife in the old age are personal affairs.
 
*When you follow religious customs, make it sure that no one tells it publicly.
 
 * Select your own cast for the post of son in law and daughter in law, even when you fight vigorously against cast system.
 
* If you are an atheist, say that even in Russia and China people go to Budha vihar. So you also follow their footsteps and that too for seeing what is happening in Hindu temples.
 
* You should know that all intellectuals, atheists and progressives in Kerala go to temple when they cross the age of 65.
 
* You have also to find a suitable justification for that like Kerala intellectuals.
*Remember that for getting the certificate of an intellectual, no quality or qualification is required.
 
* Neither poorva janma punyam, poorva janma karma phalam, blessings of your parents or blessings of your gurus nor even your horoscope factors.
 
*You should only learn how to use your eyes, ears and tongue.
 
*You should have a thick skin and highly flexible tongue, suitable friends and adjustable wife.
 
*All the above special qualities are given only to very selected people by the creator. Hence the intellectuals are very few in numbers.
 
*If you fall within this, you can spend this janma lavishly, under others expenses, without working much, with name and fame. Your janma can be made useful to you and your family, by cheating others and making everyone fools.
 
*Let god bless all intellectuals who are the assets of India for misguiding all the good people.
 
SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM IISH COMMUNICATION TEAM. ( www.iish.org)

India develops first floating desalination plant

apr 22nd, 2007

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Shahryar

India develops first floating desalination plant

India has developed a floating desalination plant - the first of its kind in the world - off the Chennai coastline. With a capacity of one million litres per day, it will prepare fresh water from ocean water to address the acute potable water shortage in coastal India.
 
From correspondents in Delhi, India, 18 Apr 2007 - (www.indiaenews.com )
 
India has developed a floating desalination plant - the first of its kind in the world - off the Chennai coastline. With a capacity of one million litres per day, it will prepare fresh water from ocean water to address the acute potable water shortage in coastal India.
 
The plant has been developed by the National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT).
 
'It's a first of its kind in the world. Mounted on a barge, the plant would provide much better potable water to any state along the coastline. The floating plant can serve any mainland where deep sea water is available 30 km-40 km off the shore,' said Kapil Sibal, minister for science and technology and earth sciences here Wednesday.
 
'The total cost of the plant was about Rs.220 million. At present it's costing us just six paise to produce one litre of water. The plant would start its regular operations in early 2008,' Sibal told reporters.
 
He said the water quality would be much better than what is available today. The total dissolvable solid proportion in this water is only 10 particles per million (PPM) as against a national standard of 2,000 PPM.
 
The plant will be demonstrated before the media Thursday.
 
Sibal said NIOT embarked on the venture after the encouraging results of the indigenously designed land-based plant at Kavaratti in Lakshadweep that has been generating nearly 100,000 litres of fresh water from ocean water.
 
The plant is mounted on a 65-metre-long by 16-metre-thick barge. The ocean's surface water is boiled inside a vacuum container.
 
The vapour created in the flash boil process is condensed through a refrigeration process with the help of deep-sea water collected from nearly 600 metres below the surface of the sea.
 
'The deep-sea water temperature is almost three times less than that of the surface water in the ocean and it helps in the cooling process of the vapour, thus preparing fresh water,' said S. Kathiroli NIOT director.
 
He explained that the most complex part of the process is the withdrawal of cold water from the ocean, which requires a long pipe of one metre diameter made of HDPE pipes. HDPE pipes are manufactured in lengths of 12 metres. These have to be joined together to make a 600-metre pipe weighing 100 tonnes.
 
'Due to the density of the saline ocean water, the pipe floats and heavy weights have to be attached at the lower end of the pipe to straighten it. The pipe was assembled at the Ennore Port and then towed to the site and connected under the barge,' said Kathiroli while speaking to IANS.
 
Elaborating, he said that to carry the potable water from the barge to the shore, NIOT has developed water bags of special material that can hold 200,000 litres of fresh water.
 
'Since fresh water is lighter than saline water, it floats and very little power is required to tow it to the shore. Small boats would be deployed to carry water from the site,' said Kathiroli.
 
(Staff Writer, © IANS)
 

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