Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Cherie Blair blasts organised religion

Mrs Blair says religion 'is no excuse for inequality'. She denounced the treatment of women on religious grounds as a "distortion" of the true message of faiths such as Islam. Mrs Blair said women's rights were a "universal ethic that cuts across all cultures and all religions...and imperative for our shared humanity."

IMO: Most people have noticed that that is correct, and to deny it, compromises any right for their own views to be taken seriously. Just as most people (a bunch of Babbits) can see that simply murdering people of a different faith is not generally a fair form of protest, so too this female degradation that occurs so regularly in all of the major faiths, does not serve these faith's own interests. Muslims and Jews seem worst, Christians, Hindus and Sikhs appear largely to be at least trying to enter the modern world in a balanced and sane way, even if they certainly do not usually succeed. I often think that both Islam and Judaism could both be isolated as an anachronism from society but one is minded of the words of Harold Wilson who said of Britain it should be "dragged kicking and screaming into the 20th Century" - and perhaps so should Islam and Judaism, whether they like it or not - for their own good. This all goes far beyond the 'gay vicar' quibbles of the Anglicans, whose arguments on both sides generally seem to have moved far from reality. In that case, reasonable religious arguments *in favour* of Sodom and Gomorrha never seem to have been established and both sides seem to have tried to overwhelm the issue with 'spin'. This kind of factor is writ large in Islam and Judaism. Many people have in practice become sceptics or agnostics for no better reason than these shenanigans. For example Orthodox Jewish practices, under which a woman cannot divorce without her husband's consent, and other clearly obsolete practices, which cannot be condoned as a preservation measure.

In Islam, there is no difference between men and women's relationship to God; they receive identical rewards and punishments for their conduct, yet women's right to take a full part in their religion is still subject to restrictions. And they often find themselves compelled to wear veils, and not only because of the lack of morality of non Muslims. 1) Women in Saudi are not permitted to leave the house unaccompanied by a male.2) Women in Saudi are not permitted to drive cars but suitably qualified women in the US can pilot the space shuttle - that travels over 11 times the speed of sound in orbit. 3) Women in Iran are being hanged publicly by mobile cranes - for entertainment. The silence from the anti-death penalty lefties is, as usual, deafening. 4) Shia muslim men can marry and divorce within 24 hours. Its basically a way of getting round anti-sex outside marriage rules. 5) Under the Taliban, who were overthrown thanks to an 'illegal' war, women were getting their finger nails pulled out for wearing nail varnish and beaten in the street for being unaccompanied by a male.

IMO: How to proceed ? It varies in each case, but something has to be done.

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Linley reported as blackmail target

Huffington Post and other US papers say: Who is the British royal family member at the center of the sex and cocaine scandal? It's not Charles, Edward, or even Harry but Viscount David Linley, son of the late Princess Margaret, twelfth in line to the throne, sources tell Radar.

His story is blowing up the British papers today, but British law prohibits any of them from naming the hard-partying royal. As the tale goes, two men demanded £50,000 from 45-year-old Linley in return for footage allegedly showing a royal aide talking of gay sex with him. The aide is also allegedly seen on a video tape taking cocaine from an envelope embossed with Linley's name. More from URLs in "Huffington Post".

IMO: What seems to me to be bizarre are the strange UK privacy laws. Around here the coke dens and killings are extreme, the bastards apparently tried to murder me the other day - and I do not even drink alcohol, let alone anything more. The country is going to the dogs and bastards like the royal family are dissolute and hang out with murderers and torturers. They are as bad as the Queen and Gordon Brown, who, it appears, associate with dodgy Saudis. Disgraceful.

An Indian is now the world's richest man

Mukesh Ambani, of Reliance, is now the world's richest man with assets of Rs 2,49,108 crores ($63.2 billion), ahead of Bill Gates and Warren Buffet. The Ambani family, with assets of over $101.7 billion, is well ahead of the Duponts and the Rockefellers. Mukesh's home is (of course) in Mumbai, where I live too. His home is reputedly worth over a billion dollars.

IMO: India is progressing very fast at the moment, but there are many poor Indians whose interests are not yet being well served. But it is good to see that at least some Indian is rich. When in Mumbai shortly I will do a blog giving photos of the nice area around my home, which some say is in one of the best complexes in India, though certainly not at that level.

Monday, October 29, 2007

Tehelka - another successful sting

The sting, aired on TV, showed several Sangh Parivar members involved in the Gujarat riots admitting to mass murder and rape.

''Whatever has happened can be called state-sponsored terrorism. The sting operation shows that the chief minister had a role to play in the incident,'' said B K Hariprasad, General Secretary, Congress.

IMO: sounds like yet another successful Tehelka sting. I well recall the George Fernandes BJP sting, which nearly put paid to Tehelka, because it apparently showed Fernandes riffling through a (quite small) bribe.

Uddhav Thackeray has come forward to defend his tainted chief minister, Narendra Modi. Terming the activists, who are demanding Modi’s arrest, as pseudo-secularists, Thackeray said, “They are mum about the execution of Afzal Guru, a convict in the Parliament attack case. They won’t talk about the Godhra train fire that killed over 100 ramsevaks.” Responding to SP leader Abu Asim Azmi’s demand for Modi’s resignation, Thackeray said, “Azmi should also have demanded Mulayam Singh Yadav’s resignation under whose tenure as the UP chief minister sadhus were gunned down during the Ram temple agitation.”

IMO: It all makes you want to despair about the state of Indian politics. I have to continually remind myself that it could be worse. e.g. In Pakistan, Musharaff and Aziz are believed to have engineered the Kashmir disputes in the 1990s. Just because Indian politics is not brilliantly moral, for incompetence, lies and immorality it is seemingly not a patch on Pakistan (Punjabistan), which is still run, extremely badly and corruptly, by the three A's. Maybe India needs 123, but it should still watch for corruption. UK's present tactic is still the three C's (corruption, corruption and corruption) everywhere, and it shows. It nearly showed on my grave a little while ago, where I narrowly escaped death, and I do not even figure in these bent politico matters.

Profit - how to make $10 to $20 million a year in London

According to the BBC, you can do that by becoming a "quant" or qunatitative analyst, and work for a hedge fund or bank.

IMO: Presumably correct, but not worth wasting your time. The standard of maths in those places is high but not all that high, so a good applied math PhD would be able to do the work. but usually there are complicated restrictions and implications to such matters. I do not advise it as a lifestyle.The UK is going down the drain but even so things are not that bad. I say it as someone who thought of starting a company in the field with some good back-office people.

Easily made electromagnetic pulse bomb

Pulse bombs, for knocking out IC and transistor based electronics in the area, have generally been expensive and involved use of a nuclear bomb. New techniques using oldstyle equipment could make these items much cheaper, and multifarious uses could be obligated, resulting in, for example, the change of a political party without great expense or too many megadeaths, which annoy the international community.

While such an idea has been mooted almost as long as I can remember, it is said in 'The Register' that present methods are promising. For budding experimenters with an interest in contemporary history, brief proposed construction details here.

Sunday, October 28, 2007

Up to 9 killed so far in Nandigram this week - Mamata Banerjee fired on: Murder of intellectuals next ?

Kolkata, October 28: Blood continues to spill in Nandigram.

In New Delhi, BJP President Rajnath Singh condemned the reported firing on Trinamool leader Mamata Banerjee and called her up to express solidarity. Singh said the incident is yet another example of the complete breakdown of law and order in the Left-ruled state and also indicative of the CPM’s intolerance towards its political opponents.

It was alleged that Chandrima Bhattacharya and other Congress leaders were dragged out of a vehicle and assaulted. The vehicle in which they were travelling was also attacked and damaged. The Congress leaders were then forced to leave the place. A formal complaint was lodged by the Congress with the local police station.

Mamata Banerjee phoned union home minister Shivraj Patil from the spot and informed him about the incident. She demanded the Centre’s intervention and the imposition of President’s rule in West Bengal.

CPI minister Nandogopal Bhattacharyya criticised the attempt on Mamata’s life. He demanded that the police officials in charge of law and order in the area be immediately suspended. He demanded the arrests of the CPM workers and supporters involved in the attempt to kill Mamata. Similarly, RSP and Forward Bloc leaders also condemned the attack on the Trinamool leader.

The police remained a spectator and it did not act against the two warring groups involved in severe clashes at several places. No arrest was also made in connection with today’s violent incident in which firearms and other weapons were freely used and houses in Takapura village and other areas adjoining Nandigram were burnt.

IMO: Looks like typical Fascist communist tactics. The inevitable bond between the pseudo-communists, fraudulent big business and corrupt police seems to be the order nowadays. The next step may be the murder of intellectuals, which to a limited extent has begun already with the neo Romeo/Juliet style matter of Rizwanur Rahman. Rizwanur Rahman, an 'intellectual' of sorts, actually volunteered to turn Hindu (from being Moslem), though you have to admit that that can't have cut much ice with a bunch of wealthy Marwaris from around U.P. Anyway that matter does not really seem to have been a Moslem/Hindu conflict of the type which emerged due to excessive acts by traditionalism on both sides, which seems to have its historical roots in the rebellion against the Raj and the attempts to destroy syncretic values, but instead, simply the intolerant greed of corrupt big business allied with defaced Marxism, and the corruption and determined ignoring and connivance of the petty authorities. Sorry if I'm beginning to sound like Dave Spart, but that is how it looks to me.

Friday, October 26, 2007

US sanctions on Iran

OCTOBER 25, 2007 16:15 MECCA TIME : The US has announced new sanctions against Iran, targeting the defence ministry, the Revolutionary Guard and a number of banks, including Bank Melli, which used to give the fairest exchange rates for tourist money in Kensington. These banks that are being designated are major banks that pay the monthly wages of Iranian workers, Iranian government people, and it's not easy for Iranians to do any business with any foreign country from now on. Pres. Jimmy Carter's nicest word on the overall matter is "tragic".

Mohammad Ali Hosseini, Iran's foreign ministry spokesman, said: "Such a decision by a state that both manufactures and develops weapons of mass destruction and supports terrorist groups will not disturb the development and progress of Iran and its legitimate institutions. The ridiculous accusations by American officials cannot save them from the Iraqi crisis that they have themselves created."

IMO: Iran is probably in the relatively unusual position for an oil producer in that the sanctions may 'work'. I am not clear to what end they will work, but at least there is still limited peace. Certainly many people in the West think that Iran's current efforts should be prevented.

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Brussels to Sydney in two hours - all paid for by EU taxpayers

The European Union (EU) has agreed further funding for a European civil hypersonics project whose goal is to achieve passenger flights from Brussels to Sydney in "two to four hours", at speeds of Mach 4 to 8. A proposed hydrogen-fuelled hypersonic airliner catchily dubbed "Configuration A2". The A2 would be powered by Scimitar engines, a modified version of previous plans for a Single-Stage-to-Orbit reuseable spaceplane drive called Sabre. "essentially a... rocket engine with an additional precooled turbo-compressor". The use of almost-liquefied air from the turbo will allow Scimitar/Sabre propulsion to operate without onboard liquid oxygen up to Mach 5.5. Unlike a ramjet or scramjet, this kind of engine can fire up happily while stationary on the runway, too, removing the need for a separate booster to get up to ignition speed. It would also feature a special high-bypass mode, allowing it to operate fuel-efficiently at subsonic speeds. This would permit the economic use of longer overland routes, something which Concorde couldn't really do.

IMO: It may operate from hydrogen but surely it can hardly be considered "green" if used for routine business flights as envisaged. It looks like turning back the clock, how about really adequate teleconferencing at a lot less cost, or isn't that amusing enough for the faceless Brussels bureaucrats.

LTTE can contest elections under new legislation

COLOMBO: In a major initiative to bring the rebels into the mainstream, the Sri Lankan parliament has passed a legislation to enable parties like Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the Karuna faction opposed to the Tamil Tigers to register themselves and contest elections in the country.

IMO: Of course, in principle this cannot be bad, but Tamil Eelam is no Scotland. Much more could be said, I'm sure.

India is now a $4 trillion economy: Chidambaram

Measured in terms of purchasing power parity (PPP). India now accounts for 6.3 per cent of the global economy.

India, after China, is the fastest growing economy of the world, and together with Brazil, Russia and China is the locomotive driving world growth, said Finance Minister Chidambaram.

IMO: Also, India is not - at least not yet - stuck with the vast effectively dud loans that China has had to face with the USA. As explained in an earlier blog, there are good reasons for the China/ US relationship but India has a basically democratic economy so far. Lets hope things stay that way, for all the faults that can and do arise.

The Google Grace Period for New Websites

If you have a brand-new, never-been-used domain name and you build a website on it, it is said nowadays that Google will give you a grace or a honeymoon period during which time your new website might achieve high rankings in the search results for its keywords. Google then pokes, prods and see how well you do at these higher positions, and then after the trial, the search engine will give you the boot from the penthouse to the outhouse.

It’s up to you as a webmaster to fight and earn your way back to the top by using the traditional methods of SEO including link building and creating unique content. The journey back to the top usually takes months if not years rather than days and weeks.

Monday, October 22, 2007

Sri Lanka and Eelam Tamils

The fledgling air arm of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) comprising two to five single engine, propeller driven Zlin-143s, is up against Sri Lanka's formidable air force comprising MIG-29 and Kfir fighter bombers, K-8 jet trainers, MI-24 helicopter gun ships, Bell-212s choppers, and Antonov troop and material carriers. And yet, the Lankan Goliath has been unable to tame the Tamil David, who has hit and run with impunity four times since March 26 this year.

On the night of March 26, the LTTE first sprung a surprise on the Sri Lankans, and indeed the world, when two locally converted Zlin-143 bombers flew over hundreds of kilometers of government-held territory from Iranamadu in the Wanni, dropped two bombs on an engineering facility at the Sri Lankan Air Force's main base at Katunayake, 30 km north of Colombo, and flew back without being detected and challenged.

On the night of April 28 and 29, while Sri Lankans were glued to their TV sets watching Sri Lanka play at the World Cup Cricket finals in Barbados, two Zlin 143s again attacked Colombo, this time, the oil storage tanks at Muthurajawela and Kolonnawa.

The Tiger aircraft had been re-designed by the LTTE's engineers in such a way that it could carry four bombs without infringing its aerodynamic qualities so critically needed for safe flying. They would have had to compromise on the fuel load, and therefore, the aircraft would have had to fly in and fly out using the shortest possible time and route.

It is feared that the Sri Lankan government has gone in for US$ 500 million five year sovereign bond issue at a whopping 8.25% interest to finance the rising defense expenditure. Therefore, the Flying Tigers may well be contributing to the parlous state of Sri Lanka's finances.

IMO: Of course it is all rather a pity. But, as I have noted in other connections, Buddhists tend to have a nice turn of phrase but often enough are not smart for practical matters, and are often enough wrong in fact and in morality. The present Sri Lankan situation has at its roots many years of misunderstanding, much of it seemingly brought about by US imperialism during the cold war. Not a nice situation. In practice, a proper if difficult secession arrangement for the Eelam Tamils could be mutually advantageous to all sides. And it could mean gains, rather than losses, for all concerned. But if the Sinhalese can annoy even Arthur C. Clarke, there is little current hope. To be perhaps somewhat simplistic, it is stupid against smart, and that is a matter not sorted out by bankrolling the stupid. Even well meaning India may eventually realise this.

Saturday, October 20, 2007

Health matters.

The Government was last night accused of covering up a damning report showing how hospitals with high bed-occupancy rates are to blame for the rise in killer superbugs on wards.

IMO: My understanding is that at least 20,000 deaths a year in the UK are caused by filthy hospital wards. This was stated on BBC radio by an 'authority'.. I, myself, had to tactfully escape from an NHS hospital a few years ago and nowadays many people fear hospitalisation.

Health Secretary Alan Johnson has confirmed that a survey revealing how the risk of infections such as MRSA is far greater in overcrowded hospitals has been gathering dust in his department for at least three years.

IMO: PFI is at least partially to blame.

If Mr Johnson wants to fight a class war with consultants, why does he not give ward sisters the power to discipline them? The UK Telegraph recalls the story of a ward sister in the days when they still had unfettered authority who found a doctor had put sticky bandages on a patient's unshaven arm. Her response was to put the same bandages on the doctor's arm and then ripped them off, so he knew how it felt.

IMO: Hanging hospital consultants up by the ears is still illegal in the UK, but doing so might create more mutual respect between them and the public.

Guidelines on safe alcohol consumption limits that have shaped health policy in Britain for the past two decades were "plucked out of the air" as an "intelligent guess". This was actually confirmed by some of those who prepared the guidelines.

IMO: I would call the guidelines a 'moron's guess', as subsequent events have proved that sensible people should normally not drink alcohol at all if they are correctly given the facts. Otherwise, they ain't sensible. So much for Mr. Haig and his 18 pints a day nonsense. Cameron at least seems to mainly stick to tokes etc., but that is hardly the thing for a would be PM., and probably even more unwise, in fact criminally unwise. But so many parliamentarians are drunkards, drug addicts, lechers etc. that it is all lost in the crowd and one totally despairs.

IMO: Continual verbal battering of New Labor and its loss of public confidence. To my mind the Tories are much worse, in fact almost incredibly worse, and the LibDems patchy, though better in parts. It seems a pity that an often genuine desire to improve the health service by many people has, in particular, has met with so much spin, self-serving, and bigotry. The truth is that generally if you are seriously ill in a private hospital, you have to go to a public hospital to get sorted out. Many private hospitals in the UK are not even built to proper hospital standards, and improving private hospitals and particularly private nursing homes is often a real problem locally.

Even an elephant can paint


This elephant's work looks, on the face of it, better than many exhibits by "young British artists" in the Tate Modern. She can possibly actually paint better than the (now suspended from his post) Dr. James Watson. I like her work, and she presently resides at the West Midlands Safari Park, Worcestershire. The elephant is a consultant and might paint for you on request. She enjoys her work. There are many morals which we can draw, about elephants, life, the meaning of existence and quite possibly about qualia and consciousness - but I won't prolong the blog.

Thursday, October 18, 2007

Dr James Watson, racism and ageism

Nobel Prize-winning scientist Dr James Watson has been quoted by the Press as being "inherently gloomy about the prospect of Africa" because "all our social policies are based on the fact that their intelligence is the same as ours - whereas all the testing says not really".

Watson then started to get lecture offers revoked, for example at the London Science Museum.

He accordingly found himself obliged to say "To all those who have drawn the inference from my words that Africa, as a continent, is somehow genetically inferior, I can only apologize unreservedly. That is not what I meant. More importantly from my point of view, there is no scientific basis for such a belief."

IMO: Watson should be more careful and precise about what he says, not just saying any populist drivel for self-promotion. Undoubtedly there are mental differences between various categories of people, but to simply imply that skin colour provides a good source for correlation of such classifications is stoking the fire of resentment. It is somewhat like saying that Watson is a mad old coot, simply because some old people exhibit Alzheimers. The real problem is that some such issues deserve careful study and his own approach leads to the opposite result. Older people are already degraded in society, and often persecuted and unfairly treated for self-serving interests, usually financial ones. In a previous blog I mentioned how nurses in the UK may force elderly patients to crap in their pyjamas and not then be cleaned up, simply for self-serving reasons. Watson is old, and should be using his great powers of publicity and persuasion to reverse effects like the deliberate degradation of seniors for financial gain, and not to make them worse.

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

"Next, we consider Antarctica".

As Adolf Hitler apparently once said about the Czech Republic/Slovakia. According to Al Jazeera, Britain is planning to submit a claim to the UN to expand its territory in Antarctica by one million sq km, its foreign office has said.

But the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty, agreed in 1991, designates Antarctica as a "natural reserve, devoted to peace and science". The protocol bans any activity relating to Antarctic mineral resources except for scientific research until 2048 when changes to the agreement can be made by unanimous agreement of all parties to the Antarctic Treaty.

Greenpeace told Al Jazeera that no one should be staking a claim for mineral exploitation in Antarctica, particularly oil and gas. "Actually staking a claim, makes governments and companies think of when to do it, how to do it, how soon they can get there, and ultimately brings forward the date when exploitation can begin." More details on Al Jazeera and, as usual, weak protests in the UK Guardian about these allegedly bad activities.

IMO: And yet again, the warnings of Greenpeace and others are apparently ignored by Lower Slobbovia (aka "United Kingdom").

C. difficile - I told you - with bent judges too, very bad

UK: Patients who begged for commodes were told by nurses to "go in the bed", because it was less time-consuming than helping them to the lavatory.

IMO: I explained that this was happening in my blog of August 2nd, faeces all over, how it is. Sorry I have no time to say more as I am too busy avoiding being murdered by the criminal pimps (property speculators) who are now trying to take over the money the nurses get for their so called 'personal services' -. I am trying to organise a case to get substantial, exemplary, and punitive damages (last murder attempt on me happened a few days ago) using local services. What the chances are of justice in a system like the UKs I am not sure - slim to none, so far. Blair was not put in the slammer, presumably because other parties are just as bad. Two oddballs outed from the liberals and the Tories keep their mouths relatively shut.Bent UK judges and their servants - known to be many - could turn the UK into something like Albania, with its 'death for a death' policy for some. And to be honest, even now it is sometimes the only way for the poor in India. One reason why Naxals are so liked by some.

Monday, October 15, 2007

BEST said to be best

The Brihanmumbai Electric and Transport Supply Company, which runs the old fashioned red buses on Mumbai's congested roads, are said to run the best bus service in the country. Unlike Blueline of Delhi, which some now say is WORST, apparently so bad that Delhi Govt recently threatened to cancel their permits.

Between April 2005 and March 2006, BEST registered 25 deaths compared to Blueline buses that killed 145 people in 2005. Between April 2006 - March 2007, BEST figures rose to 53, which is still short of the Blueline figure. From April 2007 onwards, BEST has caused 15 deaths while Blueline buses have caused much greater damage. ''We are the best in the country,'' said Uttam Khobragade, GM, BEST.

IMO: Maybe Blueline should change its name to WORST.

Sunday, October 14, 2007

Rizwanur Rahman again

Subsequent to my blog of October 11th on Rizwanur Rahman, I have been asked : "Why did Kolkata police murder Rizwanur Rahman?"

For a start of course I do not know if they did, but the explanation given is frequently as follows:
Rizwanur Rahman was a 30-year old computer graphics teacher from Kolkata. He was also a muslim who fell in love with and married a Hindu girl Priyanka Todi, who happened to be the daughter of Ashok Todi, a member of the Todi multimillion dollar Lux hosiery brand. You can probably guess the rest of the sad story, details here. I point out that the CPI (Marxist) Communist polit bureau apparently told the Press the police had no way of knowing that Rizwanur Rahman and Priyanka were a married couple (in fact the police had negotiated Priyanka’s 1-week stay fully knowing about the marriage). So at best there seems to have been lies and incompetence by the CPI (Marxist) party and the police and very probably a lot worse. By the way for those who do not know, CPI (Maoist) and CPI (Marxist) are very different parties. CPI (Marxist) are already being held to public rebuke by CPI (Maoist) for public murders on behalf of their criminal capitalist bosses, who are sort of like Roman Abramovich gone even more bad.

[Further notes: It is perhaps important to be aware that CPI(Maoist) has been declared illegal in India - but then, effectively so was the Christian Holy Bible in parts of the USSR in the old days. This makes the subject a rather sensitive one. Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress is still legal, I understand. Naxalites are so illegal that they may be shot at sight by police in some areas - and they sure ain't like the UK Menezes. The CPI (Maoists) are often referred to as Naxalites in reference to the Naxalbari insurrection by radical Maoists in West Bengal in 1967. CPI(Maoist) often claim to be conducting 'people's war', a strategical line developed by Mao Zedong during the phase of guerrilla warfare of the Communist Party of China. Currently it is said to have effective control over some regions of Jharkhand and Andhra Pradesh as well as presence in Bihar and the tribal-dominated areas in the borderlands of Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, West Bengal and Orissa. The CPI(Maoist) aims to consolidate its power in this area and establish a Compact Revolutionary Zone from which to advance the people's war in other parts of India. Perhaps an interesting topic for another blog, but obvious advice would be to keep well clear of Maoists and Naxals. That, of course, is not to say that they are always right or wrong, a thorny topic.]

Friday, October 12, 2007

Al Gore has just become the Ray Kroc of Climate Change initiatives

With his Nobel laureate, scientifically valid facts, and the like.

This keeps climate change policy from being something that anyone else can take a lot of credit for, particularly the Clintons -- unless they can work out a deal. Gore actually has a huge global following now on climage change policy -- and Hillary Clinton, if elected, is going to need his approval and support, though it's going to be painful (on occasion) for her to ask for it. Gore's not the easiest guy in the world to work with. Gore knows he needs a strategic, capable thinker who can push forward hard-to-digest legislative imperatives in the White House. And, despite the Nobel Prize, Gallup says there is no 'Groundswell' for Gore for President. The 'GOP lite' Clinton will have to stroke the Gore machine to get a mutually beneficial arrangement that is somewhat win-win for both sides politically.

As for the crappy and rather minor UK judge who seems to dislike Gore - nuts to him. As UK Children's Minister Brennan mentions “Nothing in the judge's comments today detract from 'the Inconvenient truth'.”

IMO: A pity that science has to be dealt with politically - but it always has been. I always felt sympathy in some ways for the sentiment "The atomic bomb was OK as long as only General Groves knew about it - the trouble began when they let those scientists in on it". But the facts are there, we will all die if climate change is not dealt with, like it or not.

Alleged genocide perpetrator Turkey now apparently also seeks genocide fate for Kurds.

Turkey began about 90 years ago, as a nation constructed out of some remnants of the Ottoman empire, and was led very successfully by Ataturk as an essentially secular state.

Ferhat Kentel, a sociologist at Bilgi University in Istanbul said “The word ‘genocide,’ as cold as it is, causes a deep reaction in the Turkish society. Having been taught about its glorious and spotless past by the state rhetoric for decades, people feel that they could not have possibly done such a terrible thing.” He compared Turkey’s beginnings to a tenant who realizes that the house he has just rented is not new, but instead “has all kinds of rubbish and dirt underneath.”“Would you shout it out loud at the risk of being shamed by your neighbors ?” he said.

IMO:I think the world knows already, and Turkey is the ostrich of the year, with its head buried deep in sand. Rather like Soviet Lysenkoism, not a good thing for anyone but dictators and their henchman..

You could certainly see Ataturk's point, but the situation now is that Turkey, effectively a well meaning stooge of the USA, but with dangerous extreme Islamic tendencies, appears now hell bent to do another genocide. It apparently is giving its military a green light to cross the border into Iraq, following a number of ambushes apparently waged by a Kurdish rebel group with bases in northern Iraq. And on Wednesday, Turkish warplanes and helicopter gunships attacked suspected rebel positions close to the Iraq border. The current government, with its ostensible Islamic leanings, already has strained relations with the military, which is seen by some as the caretaker of secularism in Turkey. The Kurdish issue could be the Achilles' heel for the Turkish government.

IMO: Yerevan has excellent relations with Iran so this could involve yet another rather concealed CIA ploy. Some would say USA should have stayed with "Texas hold-em" and left international politics alone. It cannot afford involvement in yet more wars.

Thursday, October 11, 2007

Death of Rizwanur Rehman

Kolkata, October 11 A day after Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee slammed the government for allegedly trying to hush up the Rizwanur Rehman alleged murder case, the CID grilled TMC legislator Javed Ahmed Khan.

The allegedly notorious Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee today ruled out removing any of the police officers, including the Commissioner of Police, whose names figure in connection with the mysterious death of Rizwanur Rehman while CID investigation into the case is on. He also dismissed the demand for a CBI inquiry into the matter which has sparked off a public outcry against the state police and the ruling party.

The "Times of India" seems to think the cops may have been tapping Rizwanur's phone.

IMO: In the UK, recently corruption allegations against Tony Blair were dropped, even after Blair seemed to have accidentally admitted guilt on public television. Sounds like a similar pattern of events.

Ajmer dargah holds special place in many hearts

When Pakistan’s President Pervez Musharraf could not make it to Ajmer in 2001, as per his original itinerary in Agra (he flew off in a huff), the then Indian Foreign Minister, Jaswant Singh, said; “Ajmer wahi jaate hai, Khwaja jinhe bulaate hain (only those people, whom the Khwaja invites, are able to visit Ajmer).”

The dargah houses the tomb of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti, Gharib Nawaz, the founder of the Chishtiya Sufi order in the region. Born in 1143 in Sistan in southern Iran, he came to India and preached Sufism. He died in Ajmer in 1236. The dargah gained tremendous prestige in the times of Akbar, chiefly as he used to walk barefoot from Agra to the shrine in Ajmer. The Chishtiya-Sufi order that the Khwaja founded started as a puritanical and pacifist one, that emphasised the ‘Oneness of God’ (Wahdat ul Wujud). But slowly, it came to symbolise a crucial and unique aspect of Islamic spiritual life and became the holiest spot for followers of the Chishtiya silsila — an order within the Islamic framework that is premised on what its followers term “universal human brotherhood”.

A shrine revered almost equally by both Hindus and Muslims, it has carved a unique place in popular Indian life, with a visit to the dargah being vital before undertaking auspicious tasks, asking for special things, as well as a place that virtually symbolises Indian syncretic life for centuries now.

Says renowned historian, Mohammed Amin: “There is pressure from some Hindu fundamentalist groups and Muslim fundamentalists respectively, asking followers not to go to such places which defy both the rigid Hindu and Muslim boundaries. Yet, Ajmer continues to attract lakhs of people of all faiths each year”.

The terror attack on the Sufi shrine of Moinuddin Chishti in Ajmer on Thursday has prompted the Union Home Ministry to deploy Border Security Force personnel to secure the Dargah. The blast, which took place a little after 6 pm (IST), left two people dead and 17 others injured. It was reportedly caused by an explosive device placed under a tree inside the shrine.

IMO: On such bombings, we may well say of their perpetrators, as many already say of US behaviour in Iraq, "On their fruits may ye know them" (Matt 7:20).

123 again - perhaps the best real option ?

As OutlookIndia mentions, China and US big business have a cozy relationship. For the last three decades China has acted as a giant manufacturing factory, providing also cheap labour working in slave conditions, to enable US multinationals vastly increase their profit margins and cause loss of jobs to American workers. Big business leaned on US governments to allow a five to one trade surplus to China.

China's system runs on exports for which US cooperation is crucial. America's system runs on overdraft for which China's lending is crucial. China's links with US big business allow it to exercise powerful influence over all democratic (??) governments with which it deals.

This has led to an unspoken alliance between the so-called Left and so-called Right in India which should explain the odd reactions that the Indo-US Nuclear Deal has aroused within India.

Indians should ignore disparate arguments from questionable sources betraying dubious links, and focus on a single fact: if a non-NPT nation like India signs the deal it will achieve a unique distinction.It will be recognized as a nuclear power. That would enhance significantly its global role.

IMO: Best summary I have seen so far in favor of 123 or something like it. Probably, perhaps regrettably, the best real option on the table.

Tuesday, October 09, 2007

Iran: internal and external problems

France, and most European nations are willing to make it more difficult for Iran to smuggle in components for weapons, particularly nuclear bombs. This forces Iran to be more dependent on Russia and China for their weapons and industrial needs. That suits Russia and China just fine, as they compete with European firms all the time, and it's nice to have an edge in Iran.

Iranian artillery has nearly doubled the range of its artillery shelling against Kurdish separatists inside Iraq. Iranian shells are now falling up to 17 kilometers from the border. More Iranian patrols have been spotted inside Iraq, as well as Iranian recon aircraft.

Allegedly the Americans have electronic warfare devices that blind radar, and enable smart bomb attacks to be made at will. If oil shipping is interfered with, Iran loses its oil revenue, as well as imports of refined petroleum products and food.

American troops are capturing more Iranian weapons, including portable (SA-7 like) Iranian surface-to-air missiles. Economic conditions inside Iran are getting worse, not better. The increasing oil prices enrich the clerical dictatorship and their followers. Most Iranians are screwed around every day by the greed and incompetence of the clerics, and the thugs used to keep people in line. As Winter approaches, the political climate is warming up.

Americans ask: Are we a nation that tortures people?

After the Blackwater affair. Burson-Marsteller, the P.R. firm whose CEO, Mark Penn, is Hillary Clinton's top strategist, has been advising Blackwater. Details in Huffington Post, and elsewhere. So if murder and torure is not wanted, the Post apparently suggests not voting for Clinton (who is apparently 'GOP lite'), and that the possibly politically murdered Paul Wellstone could have been happier Presidential material.

IMO: Bad Press comment is only one factor, but these are unhappy matters which should be faced squarely by all US voters.

Saturday, October 06, 2007

India tests nuclear capable ballistic missile

Agni 1 is the first of the Agni series missiles. It has a range of about 700 km and can carry a one-tonne warhead.

Officials said the intermediate range missile was tested from Wheeler Island near Dhamra in Bhadrak district, off the Orissa coast, about 150 km from the state capital Bhubaneswar, at about 10:40 am. The importance of the mission was that the Army, user of the missile, executed the entire launch operation. Agni-1 has already been inducted into the Army.

Agni-1, with its rail and road mobility and a range of 700 km, can target most cities in Pakistan without having to be launched from the border. The successful launch bolstered India’s “credible, minimum nuclear deterrent.”

In April, India tested the Agni-III ballistic missile, which has a wider range of over 3,000 km.

Friday, October 05, 2007

Bear Stearns facing Federal crime probe

Beleaguered investment bank Bear Stearns is the subject of a criminal investigation into the collapse of two of its mortgage-related hedge funds and the loss of $1.6bn (£800m). In spite of the investigation commencing, it is known that criminal probes into the trading practices of hedge funds are very rare, with cases extremely difficult to prove. It is thought that the only way of bringing a case would be if some form of malfeasance against investors was uncovered.

Bear Stearns is said to have misrepresented the funds as low-risk, conservative vehicles.

IMO: They almost certainly did. This sort of problem, referred to in this blog earlier, could well have led to another international market crash, and could still do so.. Those ninja (no income, no job) mortgages at the root of it that half the world seems to have taken out are a true sign of the decadence of capitalism,

Thursday, October 04, 2007

Parents hope sacking of Madeleine McCann police chief is turning point in probe

Mr Amaral’s dismissal is considered to be of huge significance to the progress and tone of the investigation into Madeleine’s disappearance. Mr Amaral’s appointment to the case was criticised, partly because he faces a criminal hearing over allegations that he covered up the torture of a mother accused of murdering her daughter. Leonor Cipriano, 36, claims she was forced to kneel on glass ashtrays with a bag over her head as police repeatedly hit her during almost 48 hours of questioning. She is serving 16 years for the murder of her eight-year-old daughter Joana, even though the body has never been found and she has since retracted her statement.

IMO: Sounds usual "Life on Mars" tactics. I have encountered much the same sort of thing, only much milder to date, in the UK.

"Thin oil rim" in Vasai gas field

Norsk Hydro has already acquired 10 per cent stake in the KG-DWN-98/2 block where ONGC struck gas last year and entered into a technological co-operation pact with the Indian major for commercial exploitation of a “thin oil rim” discovered in the large Vasai gas field Western offshore.

Wednesday, October 03, 2007

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Symptoms Reduced By Dark Chocolate Consumption

45 grams per day of high cocoa content dark chocolate, or about two blocks.. Polyphenols are present in large quantities in dark chocolate. Polyphenols have been linked to reductions in blood pressure, as well as other health advantages. Atkins and team believe the polyphenols are having an impact on levels of serotonin in the brain. Only 10 patients in trial study, though. None of the trial participants put on any weight during the pilot study. After two months of treatment, some patients went back to work.

Polyphenols have been linked to reductions in blood pressure, as well as other health advantages. Atkins and team believe the polyphenols are having an impact on levels of serotonin in the brain. Serotonin is also believed to play an important role in the regulation of anger, aggression, body temperature, mood, sleep, vomiting and appetite. So taking a couple of blocks of dark chocolate a day - not milk chocolate - can be good for you, but actual CFS is another matter.

CFS symptoms: Symptoms relapse after mental or physical exertion, Sleep is unrefreshing, Concentration and memory are significantly impaired, Muscle pain, Aches and pains in multiple joints, New types of headaches, Sore throat, The neck and/or armpit lymph nodes are tender.

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