Wednesday, January 02, 2013

Decent NGOs for a change

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


Namaskar Rajeev,
 
Visited these 4 NGO’s during recent Kumaon Yatra. Each one of them is doing very good work. Donations would help as well. Thanks.
 
1. UMANG – network of hill women who knit woolens and make food products. Promoted by GrassrootsIndia who do work at grass root level in areas of forestry, livelihood, sanitation etc. Person is Kalyan Paul. Started 1992. http://www.esamskriti.com/photo-detail/UMANG-Raniket.aspx
 
2. AAROHI – something similar and also have a super health centre with operation theatre etc in the midst of nowhere, school, apricot soap and oil, herbs. Person Pradeep Gupta. Over 20 years.
 
3. AVANI – community living, developed gas purifier system that makes power from pine needles, make solar lamps, install solar heat system and textiles. Person Rajnish Jain. Started 1997.
 
4. CHIRAG – Started in 1987. It works in the field of Education, Health care, Natural Resource Management, Livelihood Support, Technical Support. It has 8 area teams & a direct presence in nearly 175 villages.
 
Pics have detailed captions and links to their site. In all cases textiles made with natural dyes.
 
warm regards
sanjeev nayyar
 
 

'Sexual Harassment As A Cute Boy Thingy'

There was a scene in '3 Idiots' that made a joke of the word balatkar (rape) in pun play. It brought the house down in theatres, but have you thought how much it diluted the implication of rape?

When Govinda lip synched to 'Main toh ladki ghuma raha tha', it started a rage of songs with unsubtle allusion to women as objects to be flaunted and 'taken around'. Director David Dhawan set out to make a series of similar films that thrived on slapstick and innuendos. Salman Khan and Sanjay Dutt systematically bullied a cowering Karisma Kapoor in 'Chal Mere Bhai'


National award winning filmmaker Onir commented on Twitter recently "Popular entertainment has to stop portraying sexual harassment as a cute boy thingy".
IBNLive: Misogyny in popular culture: Indian cinema is equally culpable


   


Meanwhile, crime is outpacing our population growth at an alarming rate.

Click on the image to see the original source

Young, urban Indians find political voice after student's gang rape

Peaceful Rise - Funded By Neighbors

The Chinese-financed railway is to snake its way through dozens of tunnels and bridges, eventually linking southern China to Bangkok, the capital of Thailand, and then on to the Bay of Bengal in Myanmar, significantly expanding China’s already enormous trade with Southeast Asia.
Most of the benefits, critics say, would flow to China while most of the costs would be borne by the host nation. The price tag of the $7 billion, 260-mile rail project, which Laos will borrow from China, is nearly equal to the tiny $8 billion in annual economic activity in Laos
NYT: China Builds a Railroad, and Laos Bears the Cost 

Tuesday, January 01, 2013

IAF in Advanced Testing for Human Spaceflight Program

The Indian Air Force testing for the Human SpaceFlight Program is in an advanced stage:

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/301536/iaf-developing-parameters-indias-manned.html

An ergonomic model of the first Indian space capsule is being used for testing purposes:


The re-entry capsule shape has been validated in plasma tunnel testing:




A next-generation Manned Aerospace Vehicle (MANAV) design is also under development:




Death Penalty for All Except One

The Indian govt is likely to seek the death penalty for all the men charged except one:

http://news.yahoo.com/1-indian-gang-rape-suspect-may-juvenile-092745455.html

Ram Singh, Mukesh Singh, Pawan Gupta, Vinay Sharma and Akshay Singh will receive capital punishment.
Mohammed Afroz will not, since he is some months below the age of majority.

502 Pak Shias Killed in Targeted Attacks in 2012

As per details, 136 were killed in Karachi alone, 119 in Quetta, 55 in Gilgit, 44 in Parachinar, 25 in Rawalpindi, 21 in Khanpur, 16 in Dera Ismail Khan, 12 in Orakzai Agency, 29 in Mastung, seven each in Lahore and Mach....
Daily Times: 502 Shias killed last year, says MWM report