there was a map floating on the Internet a few years ago about a proposed four-state break up of Pakistan. Here is another recent call to do the same.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/opinions/opinion/solve-the-pakistan-problem-by-redrawing-the-map/article2278388/
actually this is not too hard to acheive - economic warfare on Pakistan will not cost us much will simply fragment them. too bad the kkkangress goons are busy funelling the money into assorted swiss bank accounts
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
the return of muslim inconoclasm
o.k. not the return - it never really went away, but the vandals continue to desecrate.
http://www.danielpipes.org/blog/2011/12/linstitut-degypte-in-memorium
strange how Egypt has been the ground of vandalism of all the desert death cults. I think back to the
- multi-plague called by a certain prophet that wiped away the pharonic civilization (o.k that way not really real - but mythical)
- the destruction - this time real of the great library of Alexandria at least once ordered by christian 'monks'
- the chopping of the nose of the Great Sphinx by muslim iconoclasts - comparable in spirit if not in extent - to the destruction of the bamiyan buddha.
I feel sadder for egypt every passing day. the great vaccuming sound of islamism is at hand - it will create another desert on the Nile.
http://www.danielpipes.org/blog/2011/12/linstitut-degypte-in-memorium
strange how Egypt has been the ground of vandalism of all the desert death cults. I think back to the
- multi-plague called by a certain prophet that wiped away the pharonic civilization (o.k that way not really real - but mythical)
- the destruction - this time real of the great library of Alexandria at least once ordered by christian 'monks'
- the chopping of the nose of the Great Sphinx by muslim iconoclasts - comparable in spirit if not in extent - to the destruction of the bamiyan buddha.
I feel sadder for egypt every passing day. the great vaccuming sound of islamism is at hand - it will create another desert on the Nile.
DNA: arvind kumar on The great global climate con
dec 27th, 2011 CE
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Arvind Kumar http://www.dnaindia.com/analysis/column_the-great-global-climate-con_1630432
From: Arvind Kumar http://www.dnaindia.com/analysis/column_the-great-global-climate-con_1630432
The great global climate con
Arvind Kumar | Tuesday, December 27, 2011
India must eschew the global climate deal that was recently proposed in Durban as it will infringe on the economic freedom of Indians. The proposal seeks to raise money for a global climate fund by setting up an international license-raj for industries and imposing shipping and carbon taxes. The taxes and fees will result in the transfer of wealth from India and China to the West as the two countries will contribute the most to global economic activity in coming years.
The shipping tax will increase the cost of various goods while the carbon tax will reduce India’s competitiveness by retarding the growth of its industries.
While India potentially faces these hardships, supporters of the fund have prepared themselves to reap a windfall. The licences, known as carbon credits, will be traded on financial exchanges resulting in billions of dollars in transaction fees and profits for the European Climate Exchange and financial firms like Goldman Sachs.
A former adviser of the American presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama has even patented a carbon trading plan.
As the creation, supply and demand of the licences depend on legislation, it is certain that lobbyists will pressure governments to pass laws favorable to them. This is already the case with Al Gore, whose London-based firm, Generation Investment Management, has hoarded up carbon credits from the scheme implemented in several countries. The prices of these credits have crashed as troubled east European industries have flooded the market with the credits after getting them for shutting down manufacturing units. Investors left holding these carbon credits can be bailed out only if an international treaty forces Indians and Chinese to shop for carbon credits.
Other lobbyists include associates of American politicians who have invested in expensive, unprofitable and inefficient technologies that they have labeled ‘clean tech.’ They seek subsidies and legislation to create a market for their products by outlawing goods like incandescent light bulbs.
The proposed climate fund will be similar to other international funds that award contracts and grants to corporations and non-profit groups based in the US and Europe. Many members of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change will receive huge grants. It is little wonder, then, that despite claims of helping poor countries, it is the politicians in the West who are eager to set up the fund.
The rationale behind the fund too is unconvincing. Proponents of the fund claim that global warming is underway and warn of a catastrophic flood of biblical proportions if they are not given money. Supporters of the claim have been likened to members of a doomsday cult. In the 1970s, they predicted the onset of an ice age due to smoke from stoves in India blocking out sunlight. At that time, India was forced to purchase so-called ‘clean stoves’ from the World Bank for millions of dollars. In recent times, Al Gore, the messiah of global warming believers, has accused India’s poor of heating up the earth by using kerosene stoves to cook food. Ironically, Al Gore’s private jet plane burns up thousands of gallons of aviation grade kerosene on each flight.
Data related to the global warming claims too have not been without controversy and some scientists have invited ethics investigations due to scientific misconduct. Jairam Ramesh, as the environment minister, countered claims originating at NASA’s Goddard Center by pointing out that Himalayan glaciers had not shrunk but grown in size.
In recent years, NASA has also quietly lowered its baseline long term global average temperature from 15 to 14 degrees Celsius, allowing it to claim higher temperature deviations. Despite the change, collating NASA’s press releases over several years shows a decline in global temperature. NASA now puts out numbers from a computer software model instead of actual temperatures.
Indians who oppose corruption should also fight it at the global level. The desperation of the proponents of the climate fund to clinch the deal is seen from their wooing of Indian politicians at conferences organised at Copenhagen, Cancun and Durban. It is important for India to reject the climate deal and ensure that its interests are not sold by politicians for personal gains.
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Demographic and literacy nightmare
"Con"gress priorities lie with the dynastic politics and never was intended for the country. Although we are saddled with various ministries but unfortunately there has been a total paralysis of decision making.
We are sitting over a huge bombshell of demographic nightmare. The biggest problem associated with the explosive population growth is lack of employment opportunities for the young. With increasing life expectancy, increasing retirement ages and shrinking Government largess (more and more people are being hired on a contractual basis), real incomes are set to decline in the face of raging inflation.
All this comes in face of "employable" candidates. Given the falling standards of education, this has come a blow to Indian companies looking for a "pool of talent". I don't have authentic figures but have heard enough spine chilling stories of promised salaries not being honored after campus recruitments, substantial "re-training" costs and generally pathetic support infrastructure. Although Indian showcase companies like Wipro and Infosys turned into glorified sweat shops leveraging their "low cost advantage" (and turned billionaires), most of them are increasingly outsourcing their "outsourced back room jobs" to other economies.
Our honorable minister is busy launching new age tablets and underwriting the huge costs of this project with public money which could have been used to construct public schools with separate bathrooms for boys and girls, provide better salaries to primary school teachers, recruit better trainees and supplement chalks and blackboards. But all these non sensical issues don't look good in promos hence these inanities.
We truly get the Government we deserve.
Sent from my BlackBerry
We are sitting over a huge bombshell of demographic nightmare. The biggest problem associated with the explosive population growth is lack of employment opportunities for the young. With increasing life expectancy, increasing retirement ages and shrinking Government largess (more and more people are being hired on a contractual basis), real incomes are set to decline in the face of raging inflation.
All this comes in face of "employable" candidates. Given the falling standards of education, this has come a blow to Indian companies looking for a "pool of talent". I don't have authentic figures but have heard enough spine chilling stories of promised salaries not being honored after campus recruitments, substantial "re-training" costs and generally pathetic support infrastructure. Although Indian showcase companies like Wipro and Infosys turned into glorified sweat shops leveraging their "low cost advantage" (and turned billionaires), most of them are increasingly outsourcing their "outsourced back room jobs" to other economies.
Our honorable minister is busy launching new age tablets and underwriting the huge costs of this project with public money which could have been used to construct public schools with separate bathrooms for boys and girls, provide better salaries to primary school teachers, recruit better trainees and supplement chalks and blackboards. But all these non sensical issues don't look good in promos hence these inanities.
We truly get the Government we deserve.
Sent from my BlackBerry
Hans have turned human organ harvesting in a fine art
READER"S DISCRETION ADVISED. MAY OFFEND THE SENSIBILITIES OF COMMUNISTS.
Simple solution for human organs. Executions.
Interestingly, they are not affected by the loud cries of "human rights violations".
http://www.weeklystandard.com/articles/xinjiang-procedure_610145.html?nopager=1
Thirty-six scheduled executions would translate into 72 kidneys and corneas divided among the regional hospitals. Every van contained surgeons who could work fast: 15-30 minutes to extract. Drive back to the hospital. Transplant within six hours. Nothing fancy or experimental; execution would probably ruin the heart.
This is bound to get worse over the years and represents a rather "tip of the iceberg".
Simple solution for human organs. Executions.
Interestingly, they are not affected by the loud cries of "human rights violations".
http://www.weeklystandard.com/articles/xinjiang-procedure_610145.html?nopager=1
Thirty-six scheduled executions would translate into 72 kidneys and corneas divided among the regional hospitals. Every van contained surgeons who could work fast: 15-30 minutes to extract. Drive back to the hospital. Transplant within six hours. Nothing fancy or experimental; execution would probably ruin the heart.
This is bound to get worse over the years and represents a rather "tip of the iceberg".
Iranian films on top: 'a separation' #iffk 2011, 'certified copy' 2010
Farhadi's 'a separation' is in many US critics' top 10 lists, and also karaostami's 'certified copy' because it got released in the US only in 2011. Both big hits at the iffk in 2011 and 2010 respectively. Let us also remember that Farhadi's film 'elly'? won in iffk competition earlier. Not bad for the international film festival of kerala.
on sony android phone
Monday, December 26, 2011
HAS INDIA FINALLY DEVELOPED A STRATEGY TO DEAL WITH AN AGGRESSIVE CHINA?
dec 26th, 2011 CE
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Ram Narayanan
Following is an important insider view of official India’s thinking on how it proposes to handle an aggressive China. Who is the unidentified senior official quoted in the interview conducted by Rediff’s Sheela Bhatt? National Security Advisor Shiv Shankar Menon? What do you think of the substance of the interview? An important quote: "We should not, even, expect a third country’s support. We must develop better relations with China keeping focus on our interests," the official said, debunking the charge that India is teaming up with the US in its fight with China." If that is so, why did India participate in the first trilateral security meeting of the US, Japan and India held in Washington on December 19 to discuss security issues in East Asia? Unless, of course, that is a part of the Indian strategy to get China to behave. (Please see Professor Harsh Pant’s article dated December 20th in the Wall Street Journal which is reproduced below after the Sheela Bhatt interview with the Indian government official.) Any thoughts? Cheers, Ram Narayanan
US-India Friendship
http://www.usindiafriendship.net/
http://www.rediff.com/news/slide-show/slide-show-1-handle-china-like-a-test-match-not-a-ranji-match/20111214.htm ’Handle China like a Test match, not a Ranji match’ Last updated on: December 14, 2011 16:58 IST Sheela Bhatt
In an exclusive chat with Rediff.com’s Sheela Bhatt, a senior government official candidly explains the current India-China relationship and the road ahead. A must read! "India is absolutely committed to a pragmatic approach in dealing with sensitive bilateral issues. India doesn’t want any fights with China. We want to develop a relationship further and faster, but we want to assure that our pride is not hurt in the process because China has risen and India is, still, rising. This, in a nutshell is India’s policy on China."
A senior government official, in an exclusive briefing to Rediff.com provided a detailed explanation about the broad parameters under which the Sino-Indian relationship currently operates and will continue to grow in coming years. The official provided valuable insights into the current issues between China and India in an off the record conversation. "China’s global and regional policy has been changing since 2008 when the global economic showdown had accelerated," he said. "The slowing down of the economies of many Western countries has impacted the global economy and since then India has found changes in China’s regional policies. The economy of the United States has lost its dynamic edge, Japan is facing depressive economic stagnation, even Europe has joined the club of failing or stagnated economies." "In and around 2008, China could clearly see that their era had just begun. China is looking for a superior place on the global chessboard and it wants to leverage its strong economy to absolutely secure its position vis-a-vis issues it finds itself on a weak wicket." "India is just learning how to deal with today’s China which has certain goals to achieve." ’How can you stop the public activity of the Dalai Lama suddenly after 50 years?’ India is of the view that China’s post-2008 mindset has resulted in an increasingly intense disapproval of the Dalai Lama and his policies. China’s stance has perplexed India because the Dalai Lama has lived in India since March 30, 1959 and India’s stand on the Dalai Lama’s presence in India has remained the same as before. The Dalai Lama and Tibetans are welcome in India as long as they do not indulge in any explicit political activity on Indian soil. But increasingly, China has been trying to push the Dalai Lama into a corner by objecting to almost every action of his inside India. In its international stance, in the last decade, there has been no dramatic change in India’s position, but China has become important and too rich to ignore. The official reminded that although India perfectly understands Chinese sensitivity on Tibet, India believes in a One China policy. China should understand India’s position too, he added. While respecting Chinese sensitivity during the 2008 Summer Olympics, India did its best to protect the Olympic torch and clamped down on Tibetan protestors. It has also successfully ensured that Tibetans do not indulge in anti-Chinese activity in India. "But the Tibetans have been on Indian soil for half a century. To ensure that they don’t speak, don’t move and to keep them, almost, under house arrest is not possible." "How can you stop the public activity of the Dalai Lama suddenly after 50 years?" On last month’s Buddhist Conference that became a bone of contention between the two countries, the official said, "If the Chinese would not have objected to the Dalai Lama’s presence, the Indian media would have largely ignored it (the conference). China should understand how the Indian media works. When the media starts bombarding questions on why the President, prime minister and other dignitaries have ignored the international conference, then the government has to reply with caution." The Chinese demand for the cancellation of the Dalai Lama’s speech at the conference led to the postponement of the India-China border talks scheduled on November 28. India argued that Buddhists from Sri Lanka, South Korea, Mongolia, Japan, even South Africa, had arrived and no country could order the postponement of such an event at such a late stage nor could it instruct the organisers to stop the Dalai Lama from participation. "The Dalai Lama irritates the Chinese. Alright! We know about it. But India has to justify if overnight it changes its stance on the Dalai Lama." ’We should not expect a third country’s support’
India, in the last five years, has also understood -- more than ever -- that on vital diplomatic issues and particularly in its relation with China, India stands alone, the official explained. Obviously, every country has a China policy and its own national interests in mind. The "balancing factors" available before are no more available with Russia, the European Union and the United States losing their prominence in the world economy. Also, these countries are also struggling to make deals with China. "You are alone. We must know that nobody, not even America, will stand up in your fight if you are at the receiving end. We should not, even, expect a third country’s support. We must develop better relations with China keeping focus on our interests," the official said, debunking the charge that India is teaming up with the US in its fight with China. When asked about India’s commercial activity in the South China Sea, the official said the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, ONGC, had not ventured in the area recently. It had operated in that area for the last two decades and repeated India’s stated position that the country had no other but only commercial interest in the area. Discussing the impression that China is increasing its presence in Pakistan occupied Kashmir, the official said, "India is just not concerned about Pakistan occupied Kashmir, we are also concerned about China occupied Kashmir (CoK)!" In the last 60 years China has captured around 45,000 square kilometres of land in the Saksgam valley and a small area of Aksai Chin that Pakistan gifted to China. In the Indian debate on China, rarely does CoK appear, says the officer. CoK is the Chinese area of interest, he says. The trans-Karakoram development will be China’s next focus.
In 2010 India had conveyed its concerns to China about their presence in Pakistan occupied Kashmir. It was reported, then, in the American media that as many as 11,000 Chinese soldiers were present in Pakistan occupied Kashmir. China had then argued that the Chinese were assisting the Pakistanis in post-flood management. ’China believes Kashmir is not their battle’ When asked about the status of the border talks between the two countries, the official said, "It is difficult to predict. It is difficult to assume what will satisfy China in the end-game. The border issue will take more time." "India had lost land to China during the 1962 war," he continues. "China, justifiably, asks, what will it gain at the end of protracted border talks? But, in India there is no way people will accept and approve any surrender of land to China." "Can you imagine the prime minister of India telling the nation that India has agreed to give certain portion of land on the border? In India, even the nuclear agreement with America has turned into a ’liability’ instead of an ’asset,’ how will you settle borders on China’s terms?" Explaining the equation in candid detail, he further added, "Things work in their own way within India. We don’t follow global logic! The Indian masses think India lost the war with China. India lost a piece of land to China. Without India getting something back no Indian negotiation will be accepted by the public. Both countries are aware of the challenges."
Going beyond the border dispute, the Indian government is trying hard to emphasise that there are a variety of areas where India and China are much closer than India and America.
Bilateral trade will reach $70 billion in the coming few years. India and China are on the same page on the issue of climate change, and have also protested the planned American action in Libya and Syria and on many financial steps at the global level. The official says it is wrong to form firm theories that India and China are competitors or India and America are closer than India and China. In the real world things work with more complexity, he adds. He was keen to highlight that critics who think India is not standing firm to China should read the fine print. On the issue of China giving stapled visas to Kashmiris in the last few months, India has noticed that Kashmiris are being issued normal visas now. "China believes Kashmir is not their battle. Surely, they are ultra-sensitive about Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh."
’China has risen, India is still rising’
While giving a few more examples where the convergence of interests has been possible between China and India, the official repeatedly gave the example of the Oslo Conference on Climate Change. While talking about the offensive in Syria, like Russia and China, he said India has differed with America. The bottom-line of the relationship is that China has risen, India is still rising. The unequal space of development should not cast a shadow on mutual treatment which has to be based on the spirit of equality and respect. Both India and China will have to find ways to preserve mutual pride and move ahead on the journey of development and growth. Seen from the Indian premise, India wants to ensure there is no stress or conflict with China,but it also wants to display courage that it can stand up for its convictions in spite of its unequal economic trajectory. Diplomats in India are striving to arrive at a kind of balancing act where the right mix of pragmatism and nationalism pushes Sino-Indian relations forward. "Let us play the game with China with the attitude and spirit of a Test match," the official, a keen fan of cricket, added, "and not with the mindset of Ranji Trophy matches."
__________________________
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204791104577105661820462858.html?mod=googlenews_wsj DECEMBER 20, 2011 Meeting the China Challenge The U.S., Japan and India confer on security concerns in response to rising aggression from Beijing. BY HARSH V. PANT
The U.S., Japan and India on Monday held their first trilateral security meeting to discuss security issues in East Asia, and the Washington event is set to be the start of a trend. Beijing is predictably unhappy about this convergence of the world’s superpower, the second-largest economy in Asia, and the other large developing country. But China must prepare itself for more such meetings, because China’s own actions are bringing them about. Technically, China’s rise did not feature at the meeting. Security of sea lanes of communication, coordination of humanitarian assistance and global terrorism were the focus. But China was the unspoken subtext. After all, one of the biggest threats to free navigation in Asia is China’s growing assertiveness in pursuing unreasonable territorial claims in the South China Sea and in various island disputes with Japan. A pressing humanitarian problem is North Korea, a totalitarian state sustained by Beijing’s patronage. India faces a serious terrorism threat from Pakistan, another friend of China. The question facing the three powers that met in Washington is how to manage these concerns. Traditionally the American presence in the region on its own has been a strong guarantor of stability. But economic constraints back home increasingly will force the U.S. to seek a new arrangement. This is likely to include reliance on regional allies to carry more of the security burden, as is the case with America’s North Atlantic Treaty Organization allies in Europe. In line with this strategy, Washington has encouraged a greater role for India in East and Southeast Asia. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, during her visit to India earlier this year, asked India "not just to look east, but to engage east and act east as well." India has responded with a renewed focus on its Look East Policy, which has evolved from economic and trade linkages to a gradual strengthening of security ties. India’s ties with Japan, in particular, have been gaining momentum thanks to growing enthusiasm in both New Delhi and Tokyo. India’s booming economy makes it an attractive economic partner for Japan as the latter tries to overcome long years of stagnation. Japan also is reassessing its traditionally passive security stance and looking for opportunities to play a greater role while staying within the bounds of its non-aggression commitments. Of all Japan’s neighbors, India seems most willing to acknowledge Japan’s central role in guaranteeing Asian security. Moreover, a new generation of political leaders in India and Japan view each other with fresh eyes, allowing for a break from past suspicion. China has inadvertently hastened this process along. Both India and Japan are well aware of China’s not so subtle attempts at preventing their rise. It is most clearly reflected in China’s opposition to the expansion of the United Nations Security Council to include India and Japan as permanent members.
This has set the stage for this week’s meeting. It was an opportunity for Japan and India to further cement their bilateral ties while also discussing ways to coordinate security efforts with the U.S. While no major initiatives resulted (none were expected), there was some progress on joint naval exercises. Nor is this the only trilateral meeting on the horizon. There are growing calls for another initiative involving the U.S., Australia and India. There is a distinct convergence of interests among these three countries across of a range of issues including the security of global commons, maritime security and counterterrorism. Trilateral coordination would be the next logical step. The parties are closer than at any recent time to such an arrangement. Australia’s Labor government last month reversed a decades-old ban on uranium sales to India. Australia and India are ramping up their defense ties with a joint approach in tackling piracy, increasing the number of port visits by their naval ships, and a more structured defense dialogue. This is a significant step in overcoming the longstanding neglect, on both sides, of Australia-India relations. Meanwhile, Canberra is ramping up its own alliance-building. It has reinvigorated its longstanding alliance with the U.S. by agreeing last month to station 2,500 marines in a U.S. base in northern Australia, and has reached out to Japan for enhanced defense cooperation. It is therefore not surprising that Australia is interested in a U.S.-India-Australia trilateral initiative as it seeks out new partners in the region. All of this is a worry for China. Beijing has decried the "Cold War mentality" it claims is evinced by such moves. With respect to a U.S.-Australia-India grouping, Canberra and New Delhi have been quick to publicly downplay the prospect for now, for fear of needlessly antagonizing Beijing. China remains a critical economic partner for all countries in the region. Clearly any trilateral meeting could not feature China as a chief agenda item. The more subtle path followed by this week’s U.S.-Japan-India conference is more likely. But there’s no escaping China’s own role in bringing about this security realignment. Beijing’s expansive maritime sovereignty claims; its aggressive behavior pursuing them; its support for states such as North Korea and Pakistan; and its nontransparent military build-up all raise questions about its willingness to act as a responsible stakeholder in the region. Beijing will have to come to terms with more meetings such as this week’s. Mr. Pant is a professor of defense studies at King’s College, London
If you wish to respond to this message, do NOT hit the "Reply" button; please try ramn_wins@roadrunner.com
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From: Ram Narayanan
Following is an important insider view of official India’s thinking on how it proposes to handle an aggressive China. Who is the unidentified senior official quoted in the interview conducted by Rediff’s Sheela Bhatt? National Security Advisor Shiv Shankar Menon? What do you think of the substance of the interview? An important quote: "We should not, even, expect a third country’s support. We must develop better relations with China keeping focus on our interests," the official said, debunking the charge that India is teaming up with the US in its fight with China." If that is so, why did India participate in the first trilateral security meeting of the US, Japan and India held in Washington on December 19 to discuss security issues in East Asia? Unless, of course, that is a part of the Indian strategy to get China to behave. (Please see Professor Harsh Pant’s article dated December 20th in the Wall Street Journal which is reproduced below after the Sheela Bhatt interview with the Indian government official.) Any thoughts? Cheers, Ram Narayanan
US-India Friendship
http://www.usindiafriendship.net/
http://www.rediff.com/news/slide-show/slide-show-1-handle-china-like-a-test-match-not-a-ranji-match/20111214.htm ’Handle China like a Test match, not a Ranji match’ Last updated on: December 14, 2011 16:58 IST Sheela Bhatt
In an exclusive chat with Rediff.com’s Sheela Bhatt, a senior government official candidly explains the current India-China relationship and the road ahead. A must read! "India is absolutely committed to a pragmatic approach in dealing with sensitive bilateral issues. India doesn’t want any fights with China. We want to develop a relationship further and faster, but we want to assure that our pride is not hurt in the process because China has risen and India is, still, rising. This, in a nutshell is India’s policy on China."
A senior government official, in an exclusive briefing to Rediff.com provided a detailed explanation about the broad parameters under which the Sino-Indian relationship currently operates and will continue to grow in coming years. The official provided valuable insights into the current issues between China and India in an off the record conversation. "China’s global and regional policy has been changing since 2008 when the global economic showdown had accelerated," he said. "The slowing down of the economies of many Western countries has impacted the global economy and since then India has found changes in China’s regional policies. The economy of the United States has lost its dynamic edge, Japan is facing depressive economic stagnation, even Europe has joined the club of failing or stagnated economies." "In and around 2008, China could clearly see that their era had just begun. China is looking for a superior place on the global chessboard and it wants to leverage its strong economy to absolutely secure its position vis-a-vis issues it finds itself on a weak wicket." "India is just learning how to deal with today’s China which has certain goals to achieve." ’How can you stop the public activity of the Dalai Lama suddenly after 50 years?’ India is of the view that China’s post-2008 mindset has resulted in an increasingly intense disapproval of the Dalai Lama and his policies. China’s stance has perplexed India because the Dalai Lama has lived in India since March 30, 1959 and India’s stand on the Dalai Lama’s presence in India has remained the same as before. The Dalai Lama and Tibetans are welcome in India as long as they do not indulge in any explicit political activity on Indian soil. But increasingly, China has been trying to push the Dalai Lama into a corner by objecting to almost every action of his inside India. In its international stance, in the last decade, there has been no dramatic change in India’s position, but China has become important and too rich to ignore. The official reminded that although India perfectly understands Chinese sensitivity on Tibet, India believes in a One China policy. China should understand India’s position too, he added. While respecting Chinese sensitivity during the 2008 Summer Olympics, India did its best to protect the Olympic torch and clamped down on Tibetan protestors. It has also successfully ensured that Tibetans do not indulge in anti-Chinese activity in India. "But the Tibetans have been on Indian soil for half a century. To ensure that they don’t speak, don’t move and to keep them, almost, under house arrest is not possible." "How can you stop the public activity of the Dalai Lama suddenly after 50 years?" On last month’s Buddhist Conference that became a bone of contention between the two countries, the official said, "If the Chinese would not have objected to the Dalai Lama’s presence, the Indian media would have largely ignored it (the conference). China should understand how the Indian media works. When the media starts bombarding questions on why the President, prime minister and other dignitaries have ignored the international conference, then the government has to reply with caution." The Chinese demand for the cancellation of the Dalai Lama’s speech at the conference led to the postponement of the India-China border talks scheduled on November 28. India argued that Buddhists from Sri Lanka, South Korea, Mongolia, Japan, even South Africa, had arrived and no country could order the postponement of such an event at such a late stage nor could it instruct the organisers to stop the Dalai Lama from participation. "The Dalai Lama irritates the Chinese. Alright! We know about it. But India has to justify if overnight it changes its stance on the Dalai Lama." ’We should not expect a third country’s support’
India, in the last five years, has also understood -- more than ever -- that on vital diplomatic issues and particularly in its relation with China, India stands alone, the official explained. Obviously, every country has a China policy and its own national interests in mind. The "balancing factors" available before are no more available with Russia, the European Union and the United States losing their prominence in the world economy. Also, these countries are also struggling to make deals with China. "You are alone. We must know that nobody, not even America, will stand up in your fight if you are at the receiving end. We should not, even, expect a third country’s support. We must develop better relations with China keeping focus on our interests," the official said, debunking the charge that India is teaming up with the US in its fight with China. When asked about India’s commercial activity in the South China Sea, the official said the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, ONGC, had not ventured in the area recently. It had operated in that area for the last two decades and repeated India’s stated position that the country had no other but only commercial interest in the area. Discussing the impression that China is increasing its presence in Pakistan occupied Kashmir, the official said, "India is just not concerned about Pakistan occupied Kashmir, we are also concerned about China occupied Kashmir (CoK)!" In the last 60 years China has captured around 45,000 square kilometres of land in the Saksgam valley and a small area of Aksai Chin that Pakistan gifted to China. In the Indian debate on China, rarely does CoK appear, says the officer. CoK is the Chinese area of interest, he says. The trans-Karakoram development will be China’s next focus.
In 2010 India had conveyed its concerns to China about their presence in Pakistan occupied Kashmir. It was reported, then, in the American media that as many as 11,000 Chinese soldiers were present in Pakistan occupied Kashmir. China had then argued that the Chinese were assisting the Pakistanis in post-flood management. ’China believes Kashmir is not their battle’ When asked about the status of the border talks between the two countries, the official said, "It is difficult to predict. It is difficult to assume what will satisfy China in the end-game. The border issue will take more time." "India had lost land to China during the 1962 war," he continues. "China, justifiably, asks, what will it gain at the end of protracted border talks? But, in India there is no way people will accept and approve any surrender of land to China." "Can you imagine the prime minister of India telling the nation that India has agreed to give certain portion of land on the border? In India, even the nuclear agreement with America has turned into a ’liability’ instead of an ’asset,’ how will you settle borders on China’s terms?" Explaining the equation in candid detail, he further added, "Things work in their own way within India. We don’t follow global logic! The Indian masses think India lost the war with China. India lost a piece of land to China. Without India getting something back no Indian negotiation will be accepted by the public. Both countries are aware of the challenges."
Going beyond the border dispute, the Indian government is trying hard to emphasise that there are a variety of areas where India and China are much closer than India and America.
Bilateral trade will reach $70 billion in the coming few years. India and China are on the same page on the issue of climate change, and have also protested the planned American action in Libya and Syria and on many financial steps at the global level. The official says it is wrong to form firm theories that India and China are competitors or India and America are closer than India and China. In the real world things work with more complexity, he adds. He was keen to highlight that critics who think India is not standing firm to China should read the fine print. On the issue of China giving stapled visas to Kashmiris in the last few months, India has noticed that Kashmiris are being issued normal visas now. "China believes Kashmir is not their battle. Surely, they are ultra-sensitive about Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh."
’China has risen, India is still rising’
While giving a few more examples where the convergence of interests has been possible between China and India, the official repeatedly gave the example of the Oslo Conference on Climate Change. While talking about the offensive in Syria, like Russia and China, he said India has differed with America. The bottom-line of the relationship is that China has risen, India is still rising. The unequal space of development should not cast a shadow on mutual treatment which has to be based on the spirit of equality and respect. Both India and China will have to find ways to preserve mutual pride and move ahead on the journey of development and growth. Seen from the Indian premise, India wants to ensure there is no stress or conflict with China,but it also wants to display courage that it can stand up for its convictions in spite of its unequal economic trajectory. Diplomats in India are striving to arrive at a kind of balancing act where the right mix of pragmatism and nationalism pushes Sino-Indian relations forward. "Let us play the game with China with the attitude and spirit of a Test match," the official, a keen fan of cricket, added, "and not with the mindset of Ranji Trophy matches."
__________________________
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204791104577105661820462858.html?mod=googlenews_wsj DECEMBER 20, 2011 Meeting the China Challenge The U.S., Japan and India confer on security concerns in response to rising aggression from Beijing. BY HARSH V. PANT
The U.S., Japan and India on Monday held their first trilateral security meeting to discuss security issues in East Asia, and the Washington event is set to be the start of a trend. Beijing is predictably unhappy about this convergence of the world’s superpower, the second-largest economy in Asia, and the other large developing country. But China must prepare itself for more such meetings, because China’s own actions are bringing them about. Technically, China’s rise did not feature at the meeting. Security of sea lanes of communication, coordination of humanitarian assistance and global terrorism were the focus. But China was the unspoken subtext. After all, one of the biggest threats to free navigation in Asia is China’s growing assertiveness in pursuing unreasonable territorial claims in the South China Sea and in various island disputes with Japan. A pressing humanitarian problem is North Korea, a totalitarian state sustained by Beijing’s patronage. India faces a serious terrorism threat from Pakistan, another friend of China. The question facing the three powers that met in Washington is how to manage these concerns. Traditionally the American presence in the region on its own has been a strong guarantor of stability. But economic constraints back home increasingly will force the U.S. to seek a new arrangement. This is likely to include reliance on regional allies to carry more of the security burden, as is the case with America’s North Atlantic Treaty Organization allies in Europe. In line with this strategy, Washington has encouraged a greater role for India in East and Southeast Asia. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, during her visit to India earlier this year, asked India "not just to look east, but to engage east and act east as well." India has responded with a renewed focus on its Look East Policy, which has evolved from economic and trade linkages to a gradual strengthening of security ties. India’s ties with Japan, in particular, have been gaining momentum thanks to growing enthusiasm in both New Delhi and Tokyo. India’s booming economy makes it an attractive economic partner for Japan as the latter tries to overcome long years of stagnation. Japan also is reassessing its traditionally passive security stance and looking for opportunities to play a greater role while staying within the bounds of its non-aggression commitments. Of all Japan’s neighbors, India seems most willing to acknowledge Japan’s central role in guaranteeing Asian security. Moreover, a new generation of political leaders in India and Japan view each other with fresh eyes, allowing for a break from past suspicion. China has inadvertently hastened this process along. Both India and Japan are well aware of China’s not so subtle attempts at preventing their rise. It is most clearly reflected in China’s opposition to the expansion of the United Nations Security Council to include India and Japan as permanent members.
This has set the stage for this week’s meeting. It was an opportunity for Japan and India to further cement their bilateral ties while also discussing ways to coordinate security efforts with the U.S. While no major initiatives resulted (none were expected), there was some progress on joint naval exercises. Nor is this the only trilateral meeting on the horizon. There are growing calls for another initiative involving the U.S., Australia and India. There is a distinct convergence of interests among these three countries across of a range of issues including the security of global commons, maritime security and counterterrorism. Trilateral coordination would be the next logical step. The parties are closer than at any recent time to such an arrangement. Australia’s Labor government last month reversed a decades-old ban on uranium sales to India. Australia and India are ramping up their defense ties with a joint approach in tackling piracy, increasing the number of port visits by their naval ships, and a more structured defense dialogue. This is a significant step in overcoming the longstanding neglect, on both sides, of Australia-India relations. Meanwhile, Canberra is ramping up its own alliance-building. It has reinvigorated its longstanding alliance with the U.S. by agreeing last month to station 2,500 marines in a U.S. base in northern Australia, and has reached out to Japan for enhanced defense cooperation. It is therefore not surprising that Australia is interested in a U.S.-India-Australia trilateral initiative as it seeks out new partners in the region. All of this is a worry for China. Beijing has decried the "Cold War mentality" it claims is evinced by such moves. With respect to a U.S.-Australia-India grouping, Canberra and New Delhi have been quick to publicly downplay the prospect for now, for fear of needlessly antagonizing Beijing. China remains a critical economic partner for all countries in the region. Clearly any trilateral meeting could not feature China as a chief agenda item. The more subtle path followed by this week’s U.S.-Japan-India conference is more likely. But there’s no escaping China’s own role in bringing about this security realignment. Beijing’s expansive maritime sovereignty claims; its aggressive behavior pursuing them; its support for states such as North Korea and Pakistan; and its nontransparent military build-up all raise questions about its willingness to act as a responsible stakeholder in the region. Beijing will have to come to terms with more meetings such as this week’s. Mr. Pant is a professor of defense studies at King’s College, London
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Sunday, December 25, 2011
Making "Merry" At The Cost of Mother Nature
karyakarta92 asks: Why doesn't a single bearded "environmentalist" spend some time researching and quantifying this calamity?
Well, looks like someone did quantify some of it:
Well, looks like someone did quantify some of it:
If all the discarded wrapping paper and Christmas cards in the U.K. were collected and fermented, they could make enough biofuel to run a double-decker bus to the moon and back more than 20 times, according to a study.
Environmental pollution
The season of colossal toxic waste is upon us. The loud and obsessive observance of the mythical Yesu's birthday (sic) is an untold calamity for the planet. The amount of electricity expended on useless holiday lighting, the huge amounts of plastic, metal and rubber wasted
on manufacturing holiday ornaments and the thousands of acres of land denuded by the demand for holiday trees - must surely be exacting a *huge* cost from planet Earth. Why doesn't a single bearded "environmentalist" spend some time researching and quantifying this calamity?
Nobody benefits from this assault on the environment - other than the Chinese manufacturers of inferior toxic
plastic goods - and of course the padre types for indoctrination of their flock.
Merry "Christmas" indeed!
on manufacturing holiday ornaments and the thousands of acres of land denuded by the demand for holiday trees - must surely be exacting a *huge* cost from planet Earth. Why doesn't a single bearded "environmentalist" spend some time researching and quantifying this calamity?
Nobody benefits from this assault on the environment - other than the Chinese manufacturers of inferior toxic
plastic goods - and of course the padre types for indoctrination of their flock.
Merry "Christmas" indeed!
India May Borrow $9.5 Billion Pledging Assets
India plans to borrow as much as $9.5 billion using land and shares as collateral in an effort to narrow a budget
deficit
India’s plan to boost food subsidies by 50 percent is threatening efforts to cut the budget deficit, extending the biggest jump in bond risk among the largest developing nations.
So, what does the PM have to say on this?
Manmohan Singh slammed India Inc. for making unwanted and hasty “negative remarks” on government policies, reforms agenda and economic situation.
India’s plan to boost food subsidies by 50 percent is threatening efforts to cut the budget deficit, extending the biggest jump in bond risk among the largest developing nations.
So, what does the PM have to say on this?
Manmohan Singh slammed India Inc. for making unwanted and hasty “negative remarks” on government policies, reforms agenda and economic situation.
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Plans and schemes
Taken from an anonymous post on Atanu Dey's blog. Hardly complete.
(((Central Government Schemes))))
1. Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana, Ministry of Power
2. Rajiv Gandhi National Drinking Water Mission (RGNDWM)
3. Rajiv Gandhi National Crèche Scheme
4. Rajiv Gandhi Udyami Mitra Yojana
5. Indira Awas Yojana, Ministry of
Rural Areas and Environment
6. Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme
7. Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission, Ministry of Urban
8. Jawaharlal Nehru Rojgar Yojna
9. Rajiv Gandhi Shramik Kalyan Yojna
10. Indira Gandhi Canal Project, Funded by World Bank
11. Rajiv Gandhi Shilpi Swasthya Bima Yojana,
12. Indira Vikas Patra
(((State Government Schemes)))
1. Rajiv Gandhi Rehabilitation Package
2. Rajiv Gandhi Social Security Scheme for poor people
3. Rajiv Ratna Awas Yojna
4. Rajiv Gandhi Prathamik Shiksha Mission , Raigarh
5. Rajiv Gandhi Shiksha Mission, Madhya Pradesh
6. Rajiv Gandhi Mission on Food Security , Madhya Pradesh
7. Rajiv Gandhi Mission on Community Health, Madhya Pradesh
8. Rajiv Gandhi Rural Housing Corporation Limited (a Govt Company)
9. Rajiv Gandhi Tourism Development Mission, Rajasthan
10. Rajiv Gandhi Computer Literacy Programme, Assam
11. Rajiv Gandhi Swavlamban Rojgar Yojana, Govt. of NCT of Delhi
12. Rajiv Gandhi Mobile Aids Counseling and Testing Services
13. Rajiv Gandhi Vidyarthi Suraksha Yojana, Maharashtra
14. Rajiv Gandhi Mission for Water Shed Management, M.P.
15. Rajiv Gandhi Food Security Mission for Tribal Areas, MP
16. Rajiv Gandhi Home for Handicapped, Pondicherry
17. Rajiv Gandhi Breakfast Scheme, Pondicherry
18. Rajiv Gandhi Akshay Urja Divas, Punjab
19. Rajiv Gandhi Artisans Health and Life Insurance Scheme, Tamil Nadu
20. Rajiv Gandhi Zopadpatti and Nivara Prakalpa, Mumbai
21. Rajiv Arogya Sri programme , Gujrat State Govt. Scheme
22. Rajiv Gandhi Abhyudaya Yojana, AP
23. Rajiv Gandhi Computer Saksharta Mission, Jabalpur
24. Rajiv Gandhi Bridges and Roads Infrastructure Development Haryana
25. Rajiv Gandhi Gramin Niwara Prakalp, Maharashtra Govt.
26. Indira Gandhi Utkrishtha Chhattervritti Yojna Himachal Pradesh
27. Indira Gandhi Women Protection Scheme, Maharashtra Govt.
28. Indira Gandhi Prathisthan, Housing and Urban Planning, UP Govt
29. Indira Kranthi Patham Scheme, Andhra Pradesh
30. Indira Gandhi Nahar Pariyojana, State Govt. Scheme
31. Indira Gandhi Vruddha Bhumiheen Shetmajoor Anudan Yojana, Maharashtra
32. Indira Gandhi Nahar Project (IGNP), Jaisalmer, Govt. of Rajasthan
33. Indira Gandhi Niradhar Yojna, Govt. of Maharashtra
34. Indira Gandhi kuppam, State Govt. Welfare Scheme for Tsunami
35. Indira Gandhi Drinking Water Scheme-2006, Haryana Govt.
36. Indira Gandhi Niradhar Old, Landless, Destitute women Maharashtra Govt.
37. Indira Gandhi Women Protection Scheme , Maharashtra Govt.
38. Indira Gaon Ganga Yojana, Chattisgarh
39. Indira Sahara Yojana , Chattisgarh
40. Indira Soochna Shakti Yojana, Chattisgarh
41. Indira Gandhi Balika Suraksha Yojana , HP
42. Indira Gandhi Garibi Hatao Yojana (DPIP), MP
43. Indira Gandhi super thermal power project , Haryana Govt.
44. Indira Gandhi Water Project, Haryana Govt.
45. Indira Gandhi Sagar Project, Bhandara District Gosikhurd Maharashtra
46. Indira Jeevitha Bima Pathakam, AP Govt
47. Indira Gandhi Priyadarshani Vivah Shagun Yojana, Haryana Govt.
48. Indira Mahila Yojana Scheme, Meghalaya Govt
49. Indira Gandhi Calf Rearing Scheme, Chhattisgarh Govt.
50. Indira Gandhi Priyadarshini Vivah Shagun Yojana, Haryana Govt.
51. Indira Gandhi Calf Rearing Scheme, The government of Andhra
52. Indira Gandhi Landless Agriculture Labour scheme, Maharashtra Govt.
(((Sports/ Tournaments/ Trophies)))
1. Rajiv Gandhi Gold Cup Kabaddi Tournament
2. Rajiv Gandhi Sadbhavana Run
3. Rajiv Gandhi Federation Cup boxing championship
4. Rajiv Gandhi International tournament (football)
5. NSCI – Rajiv Gandhi road races, New Delhi
6. Rajiv Gandhi Boat Race, Kerala
7. Rajiv Gandhi International Artistic Gymnastic Tournament
8. Rajiv Gandhi Kabbadi Meet
9. Rajiv Gandhi Memorial Roller Skating Championship
10. Rajiv Gandhi memorial marathon race, New Delhi
11. Rajiv Gandhi International Judo Championship, Chandigarh
12. Rajeev Gandhi Memorial Trophy for the Best College, Calicut
13. Rajiv Gandhi Rural Cricket Tournament, by Rahul Gandhi in Amethi
14. Rajiv Gandhi Gold Cup (U-21), football
15. Rajiv Gandhi Trophy (football)
16. Rajiv Gandhi Award for Outstanding Sportspersons
17. All Indira Rajiv Gandhi Basketball(Girls) Tournament, Delhi
18. All India Rajiv Gandhi Wrestling Gold Cup, organized by Delhi State
19. Rajiv Gandhi Memorial Jhopadpatti Football Tournament, Rajura
20. Rajiv Gandhi International Invitation Gold Cup Football, Jamshedpur
21. Rajiv Gandhi Mini Olympics, Mumbai
22. Rajiv Gandhi Beachball Kabaddi Federation
23. Rajiv Gandhi Memorial Trophy Prerana Foundation
24. International Indira Gandhi Gold Cup Tournament
25. Indira Gandhi International Hockey Tournament
26. Indira Gandhi Boat Race
27. Jawaharlal Nehru International
Gold Cup Football Tournament.
28. Jawaharlal Nehru Hockey Tournament.
(((Stadium))))
1. Indira Gandhi Sports Complex, Delhi
2. Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, New Delhi
3. Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, New Delhi
4. Rajiv Gandhi Sports Stadium, Bawana
5. Rajiv Gandhi National Football Academy, Haryana
6. Rajiv Gandhi AC Stadium, Vishakhapatnam
7. Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium, Pondicherry
8. Rajiv Gandhi Stadium, Nahariagun, Itanagar
9. Rajiv Gandhi Badminton Indoor Stadium, Cochin
10. Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium, Kadavanthra,Ern akulam
11. Rajiv Gandhi Sports Complex , Singhu
12. Rajiv Gandhi Memorial Sports Complex, Guwahati
13. Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad
14. Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium, Cochin
15. Indira Gandhi Stadium, Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh
16. Indira Gandhi Stadium, Una, Himachal Pradesh
17. Indira Priyadarshini Stadium, Vishakhapatnam
18. Indira Gandhi Stadium, Deogarh, Rajasthan
19. Gandhi Stadium, Bolangir, Orissa
(((Airports/ Ports)))
1. Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, New Hyderabad, A.P.
2. Rajiv Gandhi Container Terminal, Cochin
3. Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi
4. Indira Gandhi Dock, Mumbai
5. Jawaharlal Nehru Nava Sheva Port Trust, Mumbai
((((Universitie s/ Education Institutes)))
1. Rajiv Gandhi Indian Institute of Management, Shilong
2. Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Aeronautics, Ranchi, Jharkhand
3. Rajiv Gandhi Technical University, Gandhi Nagar, Bhopal, M.P.
4. Rajiv Gandhi School of Intellectual Property Law, Kharagpur, Kolkata
5. Rajiv Gandhi Aviation Academy, Secundrabad
6. Rajiv Gandhi National University ofLaw, Patiala, Punjab
7. Rajiv Gandhi National Institute of Youth Development, Tamil Nadu
8. Rajiv Gandhi Aviation Academy, Begumpet, Hyderabad, A.P
9. Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Technology, Kottayam, Kerala
10. Rajiv Gandhi College of Engineering Research&Techno logy, Maharashtra
11. Rajiv Gandhi College of Engineering, Airoli, Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra
12. Rajiv Gandhi University, Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh
13. Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Technology, Chola Nagar, Bangalore, Karnataka
14. Rajiv Gandhi Proudyogiki Vishwavidyalaya , Gandhi Nagar, Bhopal, M.P.
15. Rajiv Gandhi D.e.d. College, Latur, Maharashtra
16. Rajiv Gandhi College, Shahpura, Bhopal
17. Rajiv Gandhi Foundation, Rajiv Gandhi Institute, New Delhi
18. Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Petroleum Technology, Raebareli, U.P.
19. Rajiv Gandhi Homeopathic Medical College, Bhopal, M.P.
20. Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Post Graduate Studies, East Godavari District, A.P.
21. Rajiv Gandhi College of Education, Thumkur, Karnataka
22. Rajiv Gandhi College of Veterinary&Anim al Sciences, Tamil Nadu
23. Rajiv Gandhi Institute of IT and Biotechnology, Bhartiya Vidhyapeeth
24. Rajiv Gandhi High School, Mumbai, Maharashtra
25. Rajiv Gandhi Group of Institutions, Satna, M.P.
26. Rajiv Gandhi College of Engineering, Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu
27. Rajiv Gandhi Biotechnology Centre, R.T.M., Nagpur University
28. Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology, Thiruvananthapu ram, Kerala
29. Rajiv Gandhi Mahavidyalaya, Madhya Pradesh
30. Rajiv Gandhi Post Graduate College, Allahabad, U.P.
31. Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Technology, Bangalore, Karnataka
32. Rajiv Gandhi Govt. PG Ayurvedic College, Poprola, Himachal Pradesh
33. Rajiv Gandhi College, Satna, M.P.
34. Rajiv Gandhi Academy for Aviation Technology, Thiruvananthapu ram, Kerala
35. Rajiv Gandhi Madhyamic Vidyalaya, Maharashtra
36. Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Contemporary Studies, Islamabad, Pakistan
37. Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurshi p
38. Rajiv Gandhi Industrial Training Centre, Gandhinagar
39. Rajiv Gandhi University of Knowledge Technologies, Andhra Pradesh
40. Rajiv Gandhi Institute Of DistanceEducation, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu
41. Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Aquaculture , Tamil Nadu
42. Rajiv Gandhi University (Arunachal University), A.P.
43. Rajiv Gandhi Sports Medicine Centre (RGSMC), Kerela
44. Rajiv Gandhi Science Centre, Mauritus
45. Rajiv Gandhi Kala Mandir, Ponda, Goa
46. Rajiv Gandhi Vidyalaya, Mulund, Mumbai
47. Rajiv Gandhi Memorial Polytechnic, Bangalore, Karnataka
48. Rajiv Gandhi Memorial Circle Telecom Training Centre (India), Chennai
49. Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Pharmacy, Kasagod, Kerala
50. Rajiv Gandhi Memorial College Of Aeronautics, Jaipur
51. Rajiv Gandhi Memorial First GradeCollege, Shimoga
52. Rajiv Gandhi Memorial College of Education, Jammu&Kashmir
53. Rajiv Gandhi South Campus, Barkacha, Varanasi
54. Rajiv Gandhi Memorial Teacher’s Training College, Jharkhand
55. Rajiv Gandhi Degree College, Rajahmundry, A.P.
56. Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), New Delhi
57. Indira Gandhi Institute of Development&Res earch, Mumbai, Maharashtra
58. Indira Gandhi National Forest Academy, Dehradun
59. Indira Gandhi RashtriyaUran Akademi, Rae Bareli, Uttar Pradesh
60. Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai
61. Indira Gandhi National Tribal University, Orissa
62. Indira Gandhi B.Ed. College, Mangalore
63. Smt. Indira Gandhi College of Education, Nanded, Maharashtra
64. Indira Gandhi Balika Niketan B.ED. College, Jhunjhunu, Rajasthan
65. Indira Gandhi Krishi Vishwavidyalaya , Raipur, Madhya Pradesh
66. Smt. Indira Gandhi College of Engineering, Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra
67. Smt. Indira Gandhi Colelge, Tiruchirappalli
68. Indira Gandhi Engineering College, Sagar, Madhya Pradesh
69. Indira Gandhi Institute of Technology, Kashmere Gate, Delhi
70. Indira Gandhi Institute of Technology, Sarang, Dist. Dhenkanal,Orissa
71. Indira Gandhi Institute of Aeronautics, Pune, Maharashtra
72. Indira Gandhi Integral Education Centre, New Delhi
73. Indira Gandhi Institute of Physical Education&Sport s Sciences, Delhi
74. Indira Gandhi High School, Himachal
75. Indira Kala Sangit Vishwavidyalaya , Chhattisgarh
76. Indira Gandhi Medical College, Shimla
77. Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Kukatpally, Andhra Pradesh
78. Nehru Institute of Mountaineering, Uttarakashi
79. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Business Management, Vikram University
80. Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
81. Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, Bangalore
82. Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Kukatpally, AP
83. Jawaharlal Nehru Engineering College in Aurangabad, Maharashtra
84. Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for advanced Scientific Research, Bangalore
85. Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Social Studies, affiliated(Pune , Maharashtra)
86. Jawaharlal Nehru College of Aeronautics&App lied Sciences, Coimbatore
87. Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Tech, Katraj, Dhankwdi, Pune, Maharashtra
88. Kamal Kishore Kadam’s Jawaharlal Nehru Engineering CollegeMaharash tra
89. Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Education&Techn ological Research, Nanded, Maharashra
90. Jawaharlal Nehru College, Aligarh
91. Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Hyderabad
92. Jawaharlal Nehru Krishi Vishwavidyalaya , Jabalpur
93. Jawaharlal Nehru B.Ed. College, Kota, Rajasthan
94. Jawaharlal Nehru P.G. College, Bhopal
95. Jawaharlal Nehru Government Engineering College, Sundernagar, H.P.
96. Jawaharlal Nehru PublicSchool, Kolar Road, Bhopal
97. Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Kakinada, A.P.
98. Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Technology, Ibrahimpatti, Andhra Pradesh
(((Awards))))
1. Rajiv Gandhi Award for Outstanding Achievement
2. Rajiv Gandhi Shiromani Award
3. Rajiv Gandhi Shramik Awards, Delhi Labour Welfare Board
4. Rajiv Gandhi National Sadbhavana Award
5. Rajiv Gandhi Manav Seva Award
6. Rajiv Gandhi Wildlife Conservation Award
7. Rajiv Gandhi National Award Scheme for Original Book Writing on Gyan Vigyan
8. Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award
9. Rajiv Gandhi National Quality Award
10. Rajiv Gandhi Environment Award for Clean Technology, Govt. of India
11. RajivGandhi Travelling Scholarship
12. Rajiv Gandhi(UK) Foundation Scholarship
13. Rajiv Gandhi Film Awards (Mumbai)
14. Rajiv Gandhi Khelratna Puraskar
15. Rajiv Gandhi Parisara Prashasti, Karnataka
16. RajivGandhi Vocational Excellence Awards
17. Rajiv Gandhi Excellence award
18. Indira Gandhi Peace Prize
19. Indira Gandhi Prize for National Integration
20. Indira Gandhi Priyadarshini Award
21. Indira Priyadarshini Vrikshamitra Awards, Ministry of Environment and Forests
22. Indira Gandhi Memorial National Award forBest Environmental&E cological
23. Indira Gandhi Paryavaran Purashkar
24. Indira Gandhi NSS Award
25. Indira Gandhi Award for National Integration
26. Indira Gandhi Official Language Award Scheme
27. Indira Gandhi Award for Best First Film
28. Indira Gandhi Rajbhasha Awards for The Town Official Language
29. Indira Gandhi Prize” for Peace, Disarmament and Development
30. Indira Gandhi Prize for Popularization of Science
31. Implementation
32. Indira Gandhi Shiromani Award
33. Indira Gandhi NSS Award/National Youth
34. Indira Gandhi Paryavaran Pushar award – search n correct
35. Indira Gandhi N.S.S Awards
36. Indira Gandhi award for social service, MP Govt.
37. Post Graduate Indira Gandhi Scholarship Scheme
38. Indira Gandhi Rajbhasha Award Scheme
39. Indira Gandhi Rajbhasha Shield Scheme
40. Indira Gandhi Vision of Wildlife Conservation Zoo
41. Jawaharlal Nehru award for International peace
42. Soviet Land Nehru Award, a cash prize of Rs. 20,000 given to Shyam Benegal in Dec 89, in recognition of the above film.
43. Jawaharlal Nehru Balkalyan awards of Rs.10,000 each to 10 couples by Govt. of Maharashtra (ToI-28-4-89).
44. Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fund,New Delhi, for Academic Achievement
45. Jawaharlal Nehru birth centenaryresearch award for energy
46. Jawaharlal Nehru Award for International Understanding
47. Nehru Bal Samiti Bravery Awards
48. Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Medal
49. Jawaharlal Nehru Prize” from 1998-99, to be given to organizations (preferably NGOs) for Popularization of Science.
50. Jawaharlal Nehru National Science Competition
51. Jawarharlal Nehru Student Award for research project of evolution of DNA
((((Scholarship / Fellowship))))
1. Rajiv Gandhi Scholarship Scheme for Students with Disabilities
2. Rajiv Gandhi National Fellowship Scheme for SC/ST Candidates, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment
3. Rajiv Gandhi National Fellowship Scheme for ST Candidates
4. Rajiv Gandhi Fellowship, IGNOU
5. Rajiv Gandhi Science Talent Research Fellows
6. Rajiv Gandhi Fellowship, Ministry of Tribal Affairs
7. Rajiv Gandhi National Fellowship Scheme
8. Rajiv Gandhi Fellowship sponsored
9. Rajiv Gandhi science talent research fellowship
10. Rajiv Gandhi HUDCO Fellowships in the Habitat Sector
11. Indira Gandhi Memorial Fellowships check
12. Fullbright scholarship now renamed Fullbright- Jawaharlal Nehru Scholarship
13. Cambridge Nehru Scholarships, for research at Cambridge Univ, London
14. Scheme of Jawaharlal Nehru Fellowships for Post-graduate Studies
15. Nehru Centenary (British) Fellowships/ Awards
(((National Parks/ Sanctuaries/ Museums)))
1. Rajiv Gandhi (Nagarhole) Wildlife Sanctury, Karnataka
2. Rajiv Gandhi Wildlife Sanctury, Andhra Pradesh
3. Indira Gandhi National Park, Tamil Nadu
4. Indira Gandhi Zoological Park , New Delhi
5. Indira Gandhi National Park, Anamalai Hills on Western Ghats
6. Indira Gandhi Zoological Park, Vishakhapatnam
7. Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya (IGRMS)
8. Indira Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary, Pollachi
9. Rajiv Gandhi Health Museum
10. The Rajiv Gandhi Museum of Natural History
11. Indira Gandhi Memorial museum, New Delhi
12. Jawaharlal Nehru museum in Aurangabad, Maharashtra opened bystate govt.
13. Jawaharlal Nehru memorial Gallery, London
14. Jawaharlal Nehru planetarium, Worli, Mumbai.
15. Jawaharlal Nehru National Science Exhibition for Children
((((Hospitals/ Medical Institutions)))
1. Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Science, Bangalore, Karnataka
2. Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute&Resea rch Centre, Delhi
3. Rajiv Gandhi Home for Handicapped, Pondicherry
4. Shri Rajiv Gandhi college of Dental Science&Hospita l, Bangalore, Karnataka
5. Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Bio Technology, Thiruvanthapura m, Kerala
6. Rajiv Gandhi College of Nursing, Bangalore, Karnataka
7. Rajiv Gandhi Super Specialty Hospital, Raichur
8. Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Chest Diseases, Bangalore, Karnataka
9. Rajiv Gandhi Paramedical College, Jodhpur
10. Rajiv Gandhi Medical College, Thane, Mumbai
11. Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Pharmacy, Karnataka
12. Rajiv Gandhi Hospital, Goa
13. Rajiv Gandhi Mission on Community Health, Madhya Pradesh
14. Rajiv Gandhi Super Specialty Hospital, Delhi
15. Rajiv Gandhi Homoeaopathic Medical College, Chinar Park, Bhopal, M.P
16. North Eastern Indira Gandhi of Health&Medical Sciences, Meghalaya
17. Indira Gandhi Medical College, Shimla
18. Indira Gandhi Institute of Child Health, Bangalore
19. Indira Gandhi Institute of MedicalSciences, Sheikhpura, Patna
20. The Indira Gandhi Paediatric Hospital, Afghanistan
21. Indira Gandhi Institute of Child Health Hospital, Bangalore
22. Indira Gandhi Institute of Child Heath, Bangalore
23. Indira Gandhi Medical College, Shimla
24. Indira Gandhi Institute of Dental Science, Kerala
25. Indira Gandhi Memorial Ayurvedic Medical College&Hospita l, Bhubaneshwar
26. Indira Gandhi Government Medical College and Hospital, Nagpur
27. Indira Gandhi Eye Hospital And Research Centre, Kolkata
28. Indira Gandhi Hospital, Shimla
29. Indira Gandhi Women and Children Hospital , Bhopla
30. Indira Gandhi Gas Relief hospital, Bhopal
31. Kamla Nehru Hospital, Shimla
32. Chacha Nehru Bal Chikitsalaya
33. Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education
34. Jawaharlal Nehru Cancer Hospitaland Research Centre, Bhopal
35. Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College in Raipur.
36. Nehru Homoeopathic Medical College&Hospita l, New Delhi
37. Nehru, Science Centre, Worli, Mumbai
38. Jawaharlal Nehru Cancer Hospital&Resear ch Centre, Bhopal
39. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Homoeopathic Medical, Maharashtra
(((Institutions / Chairs / Festivals)))
1. Rajiv Gandhi National Institute of Youth Development. (RGNIYD)
2. Rajiv Gandhi National Ground Water Training&Resear ch Inst, Haryana
3. Rajiv Gandhi Food Security Mission in Tribal Areas
4. Rajiv Gandhi National Institute of Youth Development
5. Rajiv Gandhi Shiksha Mission, Chhattisgarh
6. Rajiv Gandhi Chair Endowment established in 1998
7. Rajiv Gandhi Project – A pilot to provide Education thru Massive Satellite Connectivity up grassroot Level
8. Rajiv Gandhi Rural Housing Corporation Limited (Government of Karnataka Enterprise)
9. Rajiv Gandhi Information and Technology Commission
10. Rajiv Gandhi Chair for Peace and Disarmament
11. Rajiv Gandhi Music Festival
12. Rajiv Gandhi Memorial Lecture
13. Rajiv Gandhi Akshay Urja Diwas
14. Rajijiv Gandhi Education Foundation, Kerala
15. Rajiv Gandhi Panchayati Raj Convention
16. The Rajiv Gandhi Memorial Educational and Charitable Society, Kasagod,Kerala
17. Rajiv Gandhi Memorial trophy ekankika spardha,Kari Road
18. Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, Janpath, New Delhi
19. Indira Gandhi Panchayati Raj&Gramin Vikas Sansthan, Jaipur, Rajasthan
20. Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR), Kalpakkam
21. Indira Gandhi Institute for Development and Research , Mumbai
22. Indira Gandhi Institute of Cardiology (IGIC), Patna
23. Indira Gandhi National Center for the Arts, New Delhi
24. Indira Gandhi National Foundation, Thiruvananthapu ram, Kerala
25. Indira Gandhi Mahila Sahakari Soot Girani Ltd, Maharashtra
26. Indira Gandhi Conservation Monitoring Centre , Ministry of Envir&Forest
27. Post-Graduate Indira Gandhi Scholarship for Single Girl Child
28. Jawahar Shetkari Sahakari Sakhar Karkhana Ltd.
29. Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan
30. Jawaharlal Nehru Centenary celebrations
31. Postal stamps of different denominations and one Rupee coins in memory of Jawaharlal Nehru.
32. Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Trust(U.K.) Scholarships
33. Jawaharlal Nehru Custom House Nhava Sheva, Maharashtra
34. Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for. Advanced Scientific Research, Bangalore
35. Jawaharlal Nehru Cultural Centre,Embassy of India, Moscow
36. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Udyog Kendra for Juveniles, Pune, Maharastra
37. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru college of agriculture and research, Pondicherry
((Roads/ Buildings/ places)))
1. Rajiv Chowk, Delhi
2. Rajiv Gandhi Bhawan, Safdarjung, New Delhi
3. Rajiv Gandhi Handicrafts Bhawan, New Delhi
4. Rajiv Gandhi Park, Kalkaji, Delhi
5. Indira Chowk, New Delhi
6. Nehru Planetarium, New Delhi
7. Nehru Yuvak Kendra, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi
8. Nehru Nagar, New Delhi
9. Nehru Place, New Delhi
10. Nehru Park, New Delhi Nehru House, BSZ Marg, New Delhi
11. Jawaharlal Nehru Government House New Delhi
12. Rajiv Gandhi Renewable Energy Park, Gurgaon, Haryana
13. Rajiv Gandhi Chowk, Andheri, Mumbai
14. Indira Gandhi Road, Mumbai
15. Indira Gandhi Nagar, Wadala, Mumbai
16. Indira Gandhi Sports Complex, Mulund, Mumbai
17. Nehru Nagar, Kurla, Mumbai
18. Jawaharlal Nehru gardens at Thane, Mumbai
19. Rajiv Gandhi Memorial Hall, Chennai
20. Jawaharlal Nehru Road, Vadapalani, Chennai, Tamilnadu
--------------------------------------------------------
Friday, December 23, 2011
Thursday, December 22, 2011
in defense of alternative medicine, religion vs. science etc.
dec 22nd, 2011 CE
on the winter solstice, thought i'd spend a little time on this topic
since my comment on non carborundum's assertion about medicine was too long to fit, i thought i'd repost it here as a new thread.
========
there are several reasons to believe allopathy is not the ultimate answer. but i will start with just one word: "thalidomide".
this was supposed to be a harmless allopathic drug that would help women combat morning sickness. well, it turned out that it caused them to deliver horribly deformed babies -- some with brain damage, some without heads, and so on. the issue of unexpected side effects is always there with allopathy (with ayurveda also, but there it is less likely because ayurveda is based on centuries of acute observation, unlike in the case of new allopathic drugs invented last week by pfizer or somebody).
so allopathy is quite a bit about trial and error, and what is allopathic dogma today may well become allopathic laughing-stock tomorrow. a more current issue is that of prostate tests (and similarly mammograms). it has been dogma for some years that all men must undergo expensive, intrusive and not-more-than-35-percent effective surgical and other means to combat prostate cancer -- with side-effects including loss of bladder control and impotence. and lo and behold, this year comes a medical advisory board's finding that you should leave prostate cancer alone -- almost always you will die of other reasons before you die of prostate cancer, which is particularly slow-moving, and the alleged cure is worse than the disease!
so i think of allopathic medicine as something akin to the work of a car mechanic -- you try something, hope it works; if it doesn't, try something else. you have hypotheses, but you don't necessarily have an infallible answer. it is hardly a science, but more trial and error than anything else.
and non carborundum makes a cardinal error in confusing 'correlation' with 'causation'. this is the first issue. most of the so-called 'science' in allopathy is about statistics. but the fact that something is statistically correlated does not necessarily mean there is a causal relationship. one example: those with high cholesterol and high blood sugars are statistically more likely to develop cancer, but nobody can explain why.
secondly, there is a tendency in allopathy -- as in western science in general -- to use a descartian approach of reduction to the smallest element. which means they keep on trying to find the mechanical 'root cause' of every illness -- which totally ignores the issue that a human is not a robot. the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. in other words, you can't build a human simply by assembling all the raw materials in your body and saying "ok, now be a human" (sort of like the frankenstein monster). that intangible life force is still mysterious -- allopathy cannot explain it.
this was supposed to be a harmless allopathic drug that would help women combat morning sickness. well, it turned out that it caused them to deliver horribly deformed babies -- some with brain damage, some without heads, and so on. the issue of unexpected side effects is always there with allopathy (with ayurveda also, but there it is less likely because ayurveda is based on centuries of acute observation, unlike in the case of new allopathic drugs invented last week by pfizer or somebody).
so allopathy is quite a bit about trial and error, and what is allopathic dogma today may well become allopathic laughing-stock tomorrow. a more current issue is that of prostate tests (and similarly mammograms). it has been dogma for some years that all men must undergo expensive, intrusive and not-more-than-35-percent effective surgical and other means to combat prostate cancer -- with side-effects including loss of bladder control and impotence. and lo and behold, this year comes a medical advisory board's finding that you should leave prostate cancer alone -- almost always you will die of other reasons before you die of prostate cancer, which is particularly slow-moving, and the alleged cure is worse than the disease!
so i think of allopathic medicine as something akin to the work of a car mechanic -- you try something, hope it works; if it doesn't, try something else. you have hypotheses, but you don't necessarily have an infallible answer. it is hardly a science, but more trial and error than anything else.
and non carborundum makes a cardinal error in confusing 'correlation' with 'causation'. this is the first issue. most of the so-called 'science' in allopathy is about statistics. but the fact that something is statistically correlated does not necessarily mean there is a causal relationship. one example: those with high cholesterol and high blood sugars are statistically more likely to develop cancer, but nobody can explain why.
secondly, there is a tendency in allopathy -- as in western science in general -- to use a descartian approach of reduction to the smallest element. which means they keep on trying to find the mechanical 'root cause' of every illness -- which totally ignores the issue that a human is not a robot. the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. in other words, you can't build a human simply by assembling all the raw materials in your body and saying "ok, now be a human" (sort of like the frankenstein monster). that intangible life force is still mysterious -- allopathy cannot explain it.
thirdly, there is the strange phenomenon that your mind has such an impact on your health. if someone says "i always catch a cold in the winter", they are much more likely to catch cold, even though this person and another who doesn't believe this are exposed to the same virus. similarly, the placebo effect: most of the time, the body cures itself. it is your belief that the alleged drug is fixing you that gets your body to fix itself.
this is a big argument i have had in general with friends, about science vs. religion. science in general has its own dogmas and axioms, and you have to believe too. for instance, for a long time scientists believed absolutely in newtonian physics, which now looks quaint and foolish compared to quantum mechanics. but scientists believed in newtonian physics with absolute faith -- almost exactly the same as the absolute blind faith religious people have in god. i have claimed that 'science' is yet another religion that believes in certain things it claims can be 'proven'. but remember that the church had 'proved' 'scientifically' through complex epicycles and such that the earth was indeed the center of the universe. what happened to all that 'proof'? they in fact could explain all the movements of the visible planets using their complex schemes, but nevertheless they were still wrong.
at the root of all this is that magnificent idea called 'the uncertainty principle'. there is a limit to what you know and what you could possibly know. allopathy bangs its head ahead this wall, and has the vanity that it will lead us to *know* everything. it couldn't possibly succeed. it never will. therefore, allopathy shall forever remain at best a flawed model of reality.
there is no reason to believe that the underlying model of ayurveda -- which is that there is a certain 'balance' between different forces (vata, pitta, kapha) that needs to be maintained in equilibrium -- is any less or more valid than the cartesian vanity of allopathy. to be honest, though, i find it hard to find a similarly acceptable and satisfying model of homeopathy. so, for chronic disease, i think there is as much -- or more -- reason to seek ayurvedic cures as allopathic. one brilliant example is the use by dean ornish of ayurvedic regimens to reverse heart disease (which allopathic dogma had held was impossible -- you could only arrest it, never reverse it, they said).
allopathy, on the other hand, is quite good at acute disease. if your appendix bursts, or you need a tumor cut off, hey, allopathy is good.
the sum total is -- ok, you allopathic doctors can go ahead and beat me up now -- allopathy is good tactically (the car mechanic analog) but not as good strategically (fix long-term issues) as many people believe. allopathic dogma -- and general scientific dogma -- does not have any more validity than religious dogma.
NTPC gets soil instead of coal
http://www.deccanherald.com/content/211589/instead-coal-ntpc-unit-receives.html
"All that glitters is not ‘coal’. This was what the mandarins manning the super thermal power project at Kahalgaon, a unit of National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), in Bhagalpur learnt the hard way when they found that the rake carrying coal had soil instead.
At least nine out of 59 wagons in the rake carried soil, much to the shock of the officials."
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I imagine that upon being alerted that the people were suffering due to widespread coal shortages and theft, the Queen is said to have replied, "Then let them eat renewable energy."
-----------------------------------
Email: carborundumnon at gmail
"All that glitters is not ‘coal’. This was what the mandarins manning the super thermal power project at Kahalgaon, a unit of National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), in Bhagalpur learnt the hard way when they found that the rake carrying coal had soil instead.
At least nine out of 59 wagons in the rake carried soil, much to the shock of the officials."
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I imagine that upon being alerted that the people were suffering due to widespread coal shortages and theft, the Queen is said to have replied, "Then let them eat renewable energy."
-----------------------------------
Email: carborundumnon at gmail
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Why Kapil Sibal shouldn't fret over social networks?
Every tom dick and harry seems to be on social networks. Every time you post pictures on the net for the world to see, it is quietly indexed by Google and Facebook (and other social networks)M It's hard to ponder over why facebook became so popular; perhaps people don't realize that it's a giant advertising platform.
Infact, for the Governments it would become very easy to get status information about an individual. As Indian Government becomes increasingly self aware about it's criticism, they slowly wish to monitor these platforms for forecasting the trends.
Another issue is the "likes" that a person may do; making it even more easier tp construct a psychological profile of an individual. What probably started as an advertising magnet would slowly morph into a giant governmental tool; your private data is neither respected nor deleted.
Why should sibal fret over it? At the same time, Google monitors and clicks every move you make in the name of personalising your search; slowly this would mean that alternative view points to an issue would be censored based on your past searches or "likes". There is no opt out of these forced transgressions and central issues like individual privacy is thrown out of the window.
Look around for alternatives; what you say or do in future would be held against you; perhaps in the court of law. It's morphing into a demon we never may realize that it could possibly do.
Why should Kapil Sibal fret over it? If he just wanted 15 seconds of fame, he got enough bashing already for it.
Sent from my BlackBerry
Infact, for the Governments it would become very easy to get status information about an individual. As Indian Government becomes increasingly self aware about it's criticism, they slowly wish to monitor these platforms for forecasting the trends.
Another issue is the "likes" that a person may do; making it even more easier tp construct a psychological profile of an individual. What probably started as an advertising magnet would slowly morph into a giant governmental tool; your private data is neither respected nor deleted.
Why should sibal fret over it? At the same time, Google monitors and clicks every move you make in the name of personalising your search; slowly this would mean that alternative view points to an issue would be censored based on your past searches or "likes". There is no opt out of these forced transgressions and central issues like individual privacy is thrown out of the window.
Look around for alternatives; what you say or do in future would be held against you; perhaps in the court of law. It's morphing into a demon we never may realize that it could possibly do.
Why should Kapil Sibal fret over it? If he just wanted 15 seconds of fame, he got enough bashing already for it.
Sent from my BlackBerry
Silent majority
It never ceases to amaze me as to why the mass of humanity in Indian subcontinent bears everything quietly despite the injustice.
Be it the so called "Mumbai Spiritt" which is nothing but callous indifference to the total lack of participation by urban majority in the poll process. At the same time, the urban educated youth hardly deliberates in the civic polls.. be it the municipal elections or state level. The ones seen in the limelight are hoping to get on the gravy train with their hangers on.
Why this disdain? A democracy is supposed to be participatory; I guess Gujarat is the only state which has made casting the vote as mandatory. If we see the actual results on ground i.e. Roads, power and other forms of infrastructure and making the Government accountable for delivery, that would be a utopian dream. A dysfunctional system is allowed to pervade because a small voting percentage gets the same set of elected representatives loot us repeatedly, the so call vote banks. In order to nurture the vote banks, the entry bar is set really high leaving out the common educated class disenfranchised. People's expectations cannot be matched by "issue based statements" alone since most of us are used to the idea of state feeding from it's vast coffers.
It's important to understand the systematic faults before we advocate "fixing the system" or having a fancy idea like "right to recall".
Oh by the way having a quasi-judicial body like Lokpal is not going to help; it's going to create another lethargic behemoth unaccountable to public or parliament.
Sent from my BlackBerry
Be it the so called "Mumbai Spiritt" which is nothing but callous indifference to the total lack of participation by urban majority in the poll process. At the same time, the urban educated youth hardly deliberates in the civic polls.. be it the municipal elections or state level. The ones seen in the limelight are hoping to get on the gravy train with their hangers on.
Why this disdain? A democracy is supposed to be participatory; I guess Gujarat is the only state which has made casting the vote as mandatory. If we see the actual results on ground i.e. Roads, power and other forms of infrastructure and making the Government accountable for delivery, that would be a utopian dream. A dysfunctional system is allowed to pervade because a small voting percentage gets the same set of elected representatives loot us repeatedly, the so call vote banks. In order to nurture the vote banks, the entry bar is set really high leaving out the common educated class disenfranchised. People's expectations cannot be matched by "issue based statements" alone since most of us are used to the idea of state feeding from it's vast coffers.
It's important to understand the systematic faults before we advocate "fixing the system" or having a fancy idea like "right to recall".
Oh by the way having a quasi-judicial body like Lokpal is not going to help; it's going to create another lethargic behemoth unaccountable to public or parliament.
Sent from my BlackBerry
Alternative Medicine
Not even the US is immune from this disease.
Medicine is science, not art that can have alternative forms. There is one mainstream medicine and that is allopathic. The cost of not acknowledging this is as much as death.
Medicine is science, not art that can have alternative forms. There is one mainstream medicine and that is allopathic. The cost of not acknowledging this is as much as death.
Monday, December 19, 2011
NYT: mobile devices as dangerous as drunken driving, as addictive as cigarettes
dec 19th, 2011 CE
off with their heads! ban them outright :-)
UPA’s hand-to-mouth card
“When you think what this means for public finances, you know the government is living for the day”.
The government will require 950 billion rupees a year to implement the policy, which will provide grains to 64 percent of India’s 1.2 billion people. Every Indian falling within the so-called priority category will get 7 kilograms of rice or wheat or millet a month, Food minister K.V.Thomas said. Rice may be sold at 3 rupees per kilogram, wheat at 2 rupees and millet at 1 rupee, he said. That compares with market prices of 24 rupees a kilogram for rice in New Delhi and 15 rupees a kilogram for wheat, according to data provided by the food ministry.
The government will require 950 billion rupees a year to implement the policy, which will provide grains to 64 percent of India’s 1.2 billion people. Every Indian falling within the so-called priority category will get 7 kilograms of rice or wheat or millet a month, Food minister K.V.Thomas said. Rice may be sold at 3 rupees per kilogram, wheat at 2 rupees and millet at 1 rupee, he said. That compares with market prices of 24 rupees a kilogram for rice in New Delhi and 15 rupees a kilogram for wheat, according to data provided by the food ministry.
Bloomberg: Gandhi Bill Strains India’s Finances to Give Cheap Food to Nation’s Poor
Sunday, December 18, 2011
india china tension is only going to get worse: LA Times. of course india's dear leaders have no time for this existential threat
dec 18th, 2011 CE
instead they worry about how to:
a) increase the price of petrol, b) roll it back,
c) beat up on swami ramdev, d) not beat up on anna hazare
e) go for FDI in retail, f) withdraw from that
g) censor the internet, h) withdraw from that
i) arrest a minister, j) worry about what another minister will do if arrested -- will he go gentle into that good night, or will be bring the whole edifice down with him?
k) keep saying "inflation will end in 3 months" without laughing out loud.
this is a nice circus and a great diversionary tactic, but fat lot of good all this is doing vis a vis china.
although it was good to start talking about drilling in vietnamese waters and announcing new troop and air formations on the indo-tibet border.
the hans are good at probing. they will annoy you; if you push back, they will withdraw. that is exactly what they did in both cases: they screamed, and then shut up.
but of course a large section of the ruling kitchen cabinet (NAC) consists of "friends of china" and much of the media has been getting baksheesh from them.
us army appoints hindu chaplain; meanwhile russia plans to ban bhagavad gita as extremist: no secular angst?
dec 18th, 2011 CE
via seema, news on capt pratima dharm, hindu chaplain in the US army
meanwhile, RoP (do you remember one obnoxious padre named archbishop nikon -- not to be confused with the japanese camera maker -- ranting against hindus before?) wants to ban the gita.
and the indian government's response? nada. zip. nothing. and how about those who screamed about mfhussain's 'freedom of whatever' or about rushdie's book? nothing.
now if the russians were to ban the koran, though, manmohan "first right to resources" singh would have sleepless nights, guaranteed.
and have the russian RoP people looked at their book in any detail? it's all about "kill, kill, kill". see http://skepticsannotatedbible.com/
ok, i exaggerate. there is occasionally something about pedophilia, rape, and other such fun stuff. here's the proposed logo for the padres 'saving' little kids. 
Saturday, December 17, 2011
UPA has succeeded: we're back to the license raj, 20% inflation, and the 2-3% Nehruvian Rate of Growth. incredible!
17th dec 2011 CE
it is truly incredible how much damage one man, and then his dynasty, have been able to do.
don't take my word for it, here is an actual white guy saying the same thing. so it must be true.
i predicted this in 2009, when the -- how shall we put it? flawed? -- election took place. i said we were screwed. and so it turns out we are. http://election.rediff.com/column/2009/may/17/loksabhapoll-after-the-counting-and-other-stories.htm
how i wish i was wrong.
chatterjee and shapiro, beneficiaries of #faigate, story buried by #radiamedia.
dec 17th, 2011 CE
what a pair! a self-hating hindu and a self-hating jew!
i used to find the group "jews for jesus" entertaining. now we have "jews and hindus for pak (money)". i hope they made lots of money.
CIIS fires academics accused of inciting trouble in India
dec 17th, 2011 CE
prime sepoys. but it wasn't their hate speech that got them in trouble, it could well be that the FBI gave the CIIS a gentle push after #faigate.
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: sri "The California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco,
sustaining a unanimous 3-0 vote by its own Faculty Hearing Board, has
fired social and cultural anthropology department professors Angana
Chatterji and Richard Shapiro."
http://www.indiawest.com/news/1981-ciis-fires-two-professors-after-student-complaints.html
From: sri "The California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco,
sustaining a unanimous 3-0 vote by its own Faculty Hearing Board, has
fired social and cultural anthropology department professors Angana
Chatterji and Richard Shapiro."
http://www.indiawest.com/news/1981-ciis-fires-two-professors-after-student-complaints.html
diggy singh is saying 'vasudev is my family'. who is this poor vasudev? #mangledsanskrit
dec 17th, 2011 CE
'vasudev kutumbkum' is a mangled way of saying "vasudev is my family".
who is this vasudev? let's find him and hear his version :-) is he happy to be part of singh's family? :-)
what singh is attempting to say is "vasudha-eva kutumbakam" -- which is grammatically correct, but a meaningless platitude written in some obscure sanskrit text. no, the whole bloody world ain't my family. just go apply for a visa to some country and see. actually a visa or a passport itself is a total repudiation of this absurd idea.
in modern english, "vasudha-eva or vasudahiva kutumbakam" actually means BOGU
it is another ridiculous indianism like "it's important to participate, not to win". nonsense. you go to win, not to form part of the scenery. but people in india actually believe this utter tripe.
@digvijaya_28digvijaya singh
@sk631 Then you and your friend Subramaniam Swamy don't know what Sanatan Dharm is. My act is what I believe in. "Vasudev Kutumbkum".
prof vaidya: Reforms do not mean just FDI and FII
dec 17th, 2011 CE
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Vaidyanathan R
From: Vaidyanathan R
http://centreright.in/2011/12/reforms-do-not-mean-just-fdi-and-fii/
Reforms do not mean just FDI and FII
Posted By Professor Vaidyanathan on December 9, 2011
Whether it is the Pink business papers or Economic experts on TV, the word reform immediately evokes talk of allowing Wal-Mart in retail or increasing the limit for foreign capital in insurance from 26 percent to 50 percent. We have reached a pathetic situation where reforms are equated to FDI and FII only. This shows our mindset which is connected with umbilical cord to London and Washington. Our policy formulators are also US trained and reflect the thinking of the US corporations. If someone says that reforms are far more needed at lower levels then he is painted as Swadeshi left or worse socialist. Actually our economic policy formulation has been hijacked rootless wonders trained in investment banks or think tanks of Europe/USA.
Corporate Sector Focused
Unfortunately the reforms initiated in the early nineties when Manmohan Singh was Finance Minister under PVN have focused only on the corporate sector and Government at the Centre.
The focus of the reforms has been
• Industrial Policy (Licensing, MRTP, FDI)
• Private [Domestic/Foreign] sector in Infrastructure—Ports/ Containers/ Airports/Airlines/Telecom/TV/etc
• Opening up of Defense Manufacturing for Private sector
• FDI in manufacturing/Infrastructure
• Forex & Trade Policy (Negative lists for imports/exports, capital goods imports and customs tariff rates)
• Foreign investments (more than 50% equity allowed, technology imports, usage of foreign brands etc).
• Tax structure (reduction in Tax rates, tax incentives to FII, Reduction in exemption notifications)
• No tax on Dividends
• Capital market (Pricing of shares, Regulations on MB/ MF/ FII/ etc)
• Completely computerized exchanges in Shares/derivatives
• Holding/trading/clearing /settlement all using IT.
• Investments abroad by MF’s /Corporates /individuals
• Banking sector (Interest rates de-regulation, Policy on asset classification and provisioning, Capital adequacy norms, and starting new Pvt. banks)
• Opening up of Insurance Sector
• Moving from Defined Benefit [DB] to Defined Contribution [DC]in pensions in Government sector
We find from the above that the focus of reforms is mainly on the Corporate India and its interface with Government. Most helped crony capital crooks
‘Unincorporated’ India
But the economic structure of India is different from that of the USA. Nearly 65 percent of our GDP comes from partnership /Proprietorship firms or “Unincorporated” India. Contrast it to USA where more than 70 percent is from corporate activities. Less than fifteen percent of our GDP is only from the corporate India even though we spend maximum time and energy in discussing the Corporate India and changes in Sensex. Even in manufacturing activities nearly 50 percent of the share of value addition is from “unorganized” or non-corporate sector
Not only that, the share of service sector consisting of Construction, Whole sale and Retail trade, Transport, Hotels and Restaurant and other services like fitter ,plumber ,carpenter, priest- in our GDP is around 65 Percent and more than 80 percent of the service sector is Partnership Proprietorship firms. Service sector is growing at more than 8 percent real growth rate in the last decade and the India Unincorporated which is the engine of our growth is crying for reforms.
Same thing on employment side. Nearly 90 percent of our economy is self-employed while as nearly 90 percent of US economy is salary-employed. The structure of our economies is totally different and imposing that model here will be disastrous. If one state this bare fact one is considered as “anti-modern” and “traditionalist” and back ward looking or worst “ Swadeshi left”
The Financing of our growth is due to domestic savings which is around 38 percent of our national income. Substantial portion of our domestic savings more than 75 % is due to household savings. And from that point of view average Indian housewife is more responsible for our growth process than the FDI and FII which are considered as all curing Chawanprash. FDI and FII put together is never more than 8 percent of our investment since more than ninety percent of our investment comes from our domestic savings.
Reforms Needed
The actual areas where reforms are needed are
Ø Commercial Tax
Ø Road Tax
Ø Entertainment Tax
Ø Excise duty on liquor
Ø Urban land ceiling and regulations (ULCRA)
Ø Shops and establishments Act
Ø Laws governing educational, medical etc institutions
Ø Money lending regulations.
Ø Stamp duties Act
Ø Food and Adulteration acts—municipalities
Ø Water/Power/Drainage regulations—Acts
Ø Registrations / Contracts act
These regulations pertaining to the activities in which Uninc sector dominates are in the realm of State Governments. There is a need to have an Inter State council only to focus on reforms in all the above mentioned areas instead of just being obsessed with FDI and FII.
When the Tsunami stuck the Indian coast I got lots of mails from Insurance professors abroad about possibility of Insurance companies going down under similar to 9/11 terror attack. But interestingly no insurance company was affected substantially since most establishments were not insured. The reason is that they do not have “clean paper” of ownership. Same is about bank loans against lands and other assets of poorer segment. No clean paper no loans, no insurance. Creating clean paper to establish ownership rights of poor groups is critical for economic growth. Not exotic derivative products which no one understands including those who create them!
We do not want to have basic and important reforms and do not even discuss it since they are not “sexy” and sadly unimportant to the CNBC crowd. We think having more funds from abroad will solve all problems. That is not a sign of free marketer but a sign of sold out sepoy of global capital.
Unless and until we focus on the reforms at the State and lower levels we are not going to sustain our growth rates. We must come out of our thinking on the corporate or put it colorfully “Sensex” economy. Our corporate sector is only an “item number” in our economy full of glamour and that “ooch” factor. But from substance point of view it does not have much importance. Still we as a nation have an uncanny ability to focus on the inconsequential and immaterial and spend lots of time and effort on them and abuse others as Swadeshi left or worst socialist.
Delhi centric reforms can only benefit fat cats and not the most productive sectors and engines of our economic growth namely India “Unincorporated”. They are struggling to get adequate credit at reasonable rates of interest and deal with corruption at the lower levels of our system. What India needs is reforming our reform process to focus on the real India.
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The author is Professor of Finance, Indian Institute of Management-Bangalore.The views are personal and do not reflect that of his organization.
true love: Catholic Church sexually abused 10s of thousands of children in Netherlands
17th dec 2011 CE
merry christmas, festival celebrating a mythical person.
the pedophilia, however, is not mythical.
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Ishwar
From: Ishwar
The commission estimated that up to 20,000 minors were sexually abused while in the care of Catholic institutions such as orphanages and boarding schools.
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