Thursday, December 31, 2009
Tollywood now under war conditions
Tollywood is the Telegu film centre for the world and produced 275 films in 2008. This number is substantial and compares with Hollywood production of 610 in the same year, though both Hollywood (California, USA) and Bollywood (Mumbai, nr beautiful downtown Vasai) probably produce less films than Chennai, Tamil Nadu
Tollywood has earned several Guinness records, including nods for the most films directed by male and female directors, the most films produced by a person and for having the largest film studio in the world.
The regional war in Andra Pradesh concerning the proposed state of Telegana is threatening to escalate and envelop the entertainment industry. Hours after actor Mohan Babu assailed TRS president K Chandrasekhar Rao for letting his party workers disrupt a film shooting for his home production on Tuesday morning, the TRS vitiated the stir further by urging shops in Telangana to boycott soft drinks promoted by actor sons of politicians against the division.
Chief Minister K Rosaiah today expressed the fears that the Telugu film industry might shift its operations from Hyderabad to Chennai in the wake of increasing attacks on filmshooting by pro-Telangana agitators. The chief minister made the statement today after several bigwigs from the film industry reportedly threatened to shut down their operations in Hyderabad.
IMO: Chennai is of course the largest film production centre in the world already, far bigger than Hollywood, USA, particularly after the downgrading of the entire USA to its present low standing in the world because of the corruption of its banking sector, the extremely poor level of its health care and its exposed role as a continued neocolonial exploiter by mindless wars which USA usually loses.
Tollywood has earned several Guinness records, including nods for the most films directed by male and female directors, the most films produced by a person and for having the largest film studio in the world.
The regional war in Andra Pradesh concerning the proposed state of Telegana is threatening to escalate and envelop the entertainment industry. Hours after actor Mohan Babu assailed TRS president K Chandrasekhar Rao for letting his party workers disrupt a film shooting for his home production on Tuesday morning, the TRS vitiated the stir further by urging shops in Telangana to boycott soft drinks promoted by actor sons of politicians against the division.
Chief Minister K Rosaiah today expressed the fears that the Telugu film industry might shift its operations from Hyderabad to Chennai in the wake of increasing attacks on filmshooting by pro-Telangana agitators. The chief minister made the statement today after several bigwigs from the film industry reportedly threatened to shut down their operations in Hyderabad.
IMO: Chennai is of course the largest film production centre in the world already, far bigger than Hollywood, USA, particularly after the downgrading of the entire USA to its present low standing in the world because of the corruption of its banking sector, the extremely poor level of its health care and its exposed role as a continued neocolonial exploiter by mindless wars which USA usually loses.
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Kidnappers of UK citizens may take part in Iraq elections
The kidnap group, believed to be an offshoot of the militant Shia Mehdi Army of Moqtada Sadr, is said by Iraqi government officials to be eager to take part in the elections - but will perhaps only be allowed to do so if it rehabilitates itself politically by cleaning up its act and releasing the hostages.
The Shia Mehdi Army released one live UK detainee and five dead ones recently. The 'release' of these prisoners may also be partly because US is handing back several hundred Iraqi detainees to Iraq.
The Iraqi public generally couldn't care less about the UK detainees.
IMO: Maybe some UK Paki could kidnap Tony Blair and then stand for the next UK elections. That could give him plenty of votes.
The Shia Mehdi Army released one live UK detainee and five dead ones recently. The 'release' of these prisoners may also be partly because US is handing back several hundred Iraqi detainees to Iraq.
The Iraqi public generally couldn't care less about the UK detainees.
IMO: Maybe some UK Paki could kidnap Tony Blair and then stand for the next UK elections. That could give him plenty of votes.
HIX NIX STIX BRIX
Country people in Maharashtra, many of them manoos and supporters of Shiv Sena, apparently do not yet support the creation of a separate state with provincial capital at rural Nagpur.
This is the case, even though some 22,400 suicides occurred last year in the area under question, most said to be due to bad central administration at Mumbai. Separate statehood does appear to be the situation in Telegana, Andra Pradesh where large numbers are asking for a separate state of Telegana.
The Telegana protest movement says: "Telangana region is part of Andhra Pradesh state in southern India. It constitutes Hyderabad, Adilabad, Karimnagar, Khammam, Mahaboobnagar, Medak, Nalgonda, Nizamabad, RangaReddy and Warangal districts. Telangana region is one of the least developed regions in India. Rampant poverty, illiteracy, malnourished children, child labor, farmer suicides, unemployment, water scarcity and electricity shortage are some of the problems of this region. There are millions of people who are not fortunate enough to send their children to schools or feed their children three times a day, or provide safe drinking water to their families in this area".
IMO: The Nagpur problem and the Telegana problem could probably both be resolved without creation of new states, but both would require substantial local government reform. It is hoped that some of the existing problems in Thane, where the present commentator is situated, will be resolved simply by the new local appointee Vivek Pandit, but it may still take some time for him to clear up the 'concrete jungle' and construction work dust, extremely heavy traffic, insufficient water and electric power and the like around here. We certainly hope things will improve. Some actually say the local conurbation in beautiful downtown Vasai will become more important than Mumbai itself, so care should really be taken with local progress. As far as I know there is as yet no strong movement for a new state of Thane.
Someone said: "If they cannot do well with a proper big state, they have no chance at all if they are separated into a small state".
IMO: For many years Mumbaikers have had to cope with the administrational distance from Delhi, and more complexeties may not help
This is the case, even though some 22,400 suicides occurred last year in the area under question, most said to be due to bad central administration at Mumbai. Separate statehood does appear to be the situation in Telegana, Andra Pradesh where large numbers are asking for a separate state of Telegana.
The Telegana protest movement says: "Telangana region is part of Andhra Pradesh state in southern India. It constitutes Hyderabad, Adilabad, Karimnagar, Khammam, Mahaboobnagar, Medak, Nalgonda, Nizamabad, RangaReddy and Warangal districts. Telangana region is one of the least developed regions in India. Rampant poverty, illiteracy, malnourished children, child labor, farmer suicides, unemployment, water scarcity and electricity shortage are some of the problems of this region. There are millions of people who are not fortunate enough to send their children to schools or feed their children three times a day, or provide safe drinking water to their families in this area".
IMO: The Nagpur problem and the Telegana problem could probably both be resolved without creation of new states, but both would require substantial local government reform. It is hoped that some of the existing problems in Thane, where the present commentator is situated, will be resolved simply by the new local appointee Vivek Pandit, but it may still take some time for him to clear up the 'concrete jungle' and construction work dust, extremely heavy traffic, insufficient water and electric power and the like around here. We certainly hope things will improve. Some actually say the local conurbation in beautiful downtown Vasai will become more important than Mumbai itself, so care should really be taken with local progress. As far as I know there is as yet no strong movement for a new state of Thane.
Someone said: "If they cannot do well with a proper big state, they have no chance at all if they are separated into a small state".
IMO: For many years Mumbaikers have had to cope with the administrational distance from Delhi, and more complexeties may not help
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Tory grandee du Cann & city character Tullett involved in UK airways scam
Margaret Thatcher former crony Du Cann chaired an advisory board, and Tullett was a member of the same group that crashed. Bruce Cartwright of Price Waterhouse Coopers (PWC), the Flyglobespan ’s administrator, has claimed that E-Clear had wrongly witheld tens of millions of pounds.
IMO: Not surprising to see former Thatcher crony Du Cann involved in fraud somehow. Many Africans take even Thatcher's own relatives to be petty crooks of a nasty kind and Tory policy under Cameron remains a policy for members of the wealthy upper-classes, like Tony Blair, who trample on the rights of the poor for personal profit.
Derek Tullett, now over 70, has been described by the Daily Mail as a Labor supporter. He certainly has paid the Labor party a lot of money, apparently at least £400,000, but this may have more to do with his desire to join the upper classes by trying for a knighthood, a fact which came out when he was investigated by the police in 2006 for corruption.
IMO: I would have normally said that these two have now totally smeared and tainted the Tory party - and to a much lesser extent Labor - but all Westminster parties already seem to have descended to the lowest level of corruption imaginable in a supposedly civilised country.
IMO: Not surprising to see former Thatcher crony Du Cann involved in fraud somehow. Many Africans take even Thatcher's own relatives to be petty crooks of a nasty kind and Tory policy under Cameron remains a policy for members of the wealthy upper-classes, like Tony Blair, who trample on the rights of the poor for personal profit.
Derek Tullett, now over 70, has been described by the Daily Mail as a Labor supporter. He certainly has paid the Labor party a lot of money, apparently at least £400,000, but this may have more to do with his desire to join the upper classes by trying for a knighthood, a fact which came out when he was investigated by the police in 2006 for corruption.
IMO: I would have normally said that these two have now totally smeared and tainted the Tory party - and to a much lesser extent Labor - but all Westminster parties already seem to have descended to the lowest level of corruption imaginable in a supposedly civilised country.
Friday, December 25, 2009
The Panbari elephant corridor is open
Elephants can now move between two fine areas of forest in Guwahati , reducing conflicts with humans, and enriching the life of the jungle
New Indian built manned spacecraft to be constructed
India will build a manned spacecraft and send an Indian into space by 2020 under a 10-year cooperation programme using some technology Russia uses to build its Soyuz spacecraft. Russia and India have a number of joint space and military projects, including a moon exploration programme and a fifth-generation fighter jet.
The Russian spacecraft Soyuz carried Rakesh Sharma, the first Indian to go to space. He stayed in Salyut-7 orbital station for 8 days and conducted many scientific experiments.
IMO: India is poor, and short of resources. There is the disgusting US and Pakistani problem just next door. But India, historically, is the greatest nation the world has ever known and must compete against such obstacles for the good of the human race.
The Russian spacecraft Soyuz carried Rakesh Sharma, the first Indian to go to space. He stayed in Salyut-7 orbital station for 8 days and conducted many scientific experiments.
IMO: India is poor, and short of resources. There is the disgusting US and Pakistani problem just next door. But India, historically, is the greatest nation the world has ever known and must compete against such obstacles for the good of the human race.
Telegana and Goa
Amidst the continuous live coverage of bandhs, protests and resignations over Telangana, people woke up Christmas morning to shocking pictures aired by a local news channel of the 84-year-old governor of Andhra, Narayan Dutt Tiwari, in bed with three young women.
A woman named Radhika apparently sent the girls in return for mining projects she was promised. As the promise was not kept, she handed over some pictures taken by her.
IMO: You can certainly see Andhra may be having problems. Goa should take note as in Goa there have also been problems regarding mining and sex. Andhra may survive, if subdivided, but Goa has had ill-fortune ever since the Portugese left and possibly will not enjoy the success that Andrha has had to date. Diversification into the knowledge industry has helped Andhra considerably IMO and could do the same for Goa.
A woman named Radhika apparently sent the girls in return for mining projects she was promised. As the promise was not kept, she handed over some pictures taken by her.
IMO: You can certainly see Andhra may be having problems. Goa should take note as in Goa there have also been problems regarding mining and sex. Andhra may survive, if subdivided, but Goa has had ill-fortune ever since the Portugese left and possibly will not enjoy the success that Andrha has had to date. Diversification into the knowledge industry has helped Andhra considerably IMO and could do the same for Goa.
UK said to be a public disgrace
Ken Macdonald, Director of Public Prosecutions, 2003-2008, said on 20/12/09 "The degree of deceit involved in our decision to go to war on Iraq becomes steadily clearer. This was a foreign policy disgrace of epic proportions and playing footsie on Sunday morning television does nothing to repair the damage. It is now very difficult to avoid the conclusion that Tony Blair engaged in an alarming subterfuge with his partner George Bush and went on to mislead and cajole the British people into a deadly war they had made perfectly clear they didn’t want, and on a basis that it’s increasingly hard to believe even he found truly credible. Who is any longer naive enough to accept that the then Prime Minister’s mind remained innocently open after his visit to Crawford, Texas?... " and much more...
IMO: So, we could have guessed that . Now what of Afghanistan ?
More British soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan in 2009 than the total number of al-Qaeda in the country, which the US government apparently admits is just a few dozen.
IMO: Hm, looks like things need improving. Hard to say what is going on with all the lies. The UK was frogmarched into a dubious and rather Stalinist EU without a referendum. THE UK PEOPLE HAVE A RIGHT TO FREEDOM AND THE FACTS. NO ELECTED UK PARTY REVEAL THE FACTS OR OFFER FREEDOM.
IMO: So, we could have guessed that . Now what of Afghanistan ?
More British soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan in 2009 than the total number of al-Qaeda in the country, which the US government apparently admits is just a few dozen.
IMO: Hm, looks like things need improving. Hard to say what is going on with all the lies. The UK was frogmarched into a dubious and rather Stalinist EU without a referendum. THE UK PEOPLE HAVE A RIGHT TO FREEDOM AND THE FACTS. NO ELECTED UK PARTY REVEAL THE FACTS OR OFFER FREEDOM.
Thursday, December 24, 2009
After Telegana, what next ? Vidarbha ?
Some say Vidarbha. There are more than 32,000 farmers' suicides in Maharashtra in a decade, of which 70% being in the 11 districts of Vidarbha region.
Calls for a separate state of Vidarbha are partly due to the alleged continuous negligence from the state govt of Maharashtra towards this region and the alleged incompetent political leaderships in Vidarbha.
Shiv Sena oppose the creation of Vidarbha, so perhaps it is "Nagpur State nixed by Marathi hicks".
IMO: Riots and public disturbances usually cause more problems than end them. I'm very doubtful about all this changing state boundaries as being a cure-all for traditional problems. In those terms, the next thing might be to split the state of Goa into North Goa and South Goa and then give North Goa to Maharashtra, a clean tidy state which could solve the Mapusa litter problem etc. Also we would not need to worry about Goan tourists. Doubtless Sri Ram Sena would put them in their place. South Goa could then be annexed by Karnataka who could 'pursuade' the locals to speak Kannada instead of Goan. But it is clear to me that some of these alterations will not work in practice.
Calls for a separate state of Vidarbha are partly due to the alleged continuous negligence from the state govt of Maharashtra towards this region and the alleged incompetent political leaderships in Vidarbha.
Shiv Sena oppose the creation of Vidarbha, so perhaps it is "Nagpur State nixed by Marathi hicks".
IMO: Riots and public disturbances usually cause more problems than end them. I'm very doubtful about all this changing state boundaries as being a cure-all for traditional problems. In those terms, the next thing might be to split the state of Goa into North Goa and South Goa and then give North Goa to Maharashtra, a clean tidy state which could solve the Mapusa litter problem etc. Also we would not need to worry about Goan tourists. Doubtless Sri Ram Sena would put them in their place. South Goa could then be annexed by Karnataka who could 'pursuade' the locals to speak Kannada instead of Goan. But it is clear to me that some of these alterations will not work in practice.
Kids in UK often drug addicts
Of the 25,000 youngsters were treated for drug and alcohol abuse in 2009 in the UK, hundreds of these were cocaine users.
Marijuana addiction accounted for half of the 25,000 under-18s who saw booze and drugs experts in England this year, with alcohol making up another one-third, the National Treatment Agency said.
IMO: UK has become a drug-addicted unhealthy culture. At least when global warming kills them all, UK citizens will be all drugged up so they may hardly know.
Marijuana addiction accounted for half of the 25,000 under-18s who saw booze and drugs experts in England this year, with alcohol making up another one-third, the National Treatment Agency said.
IMO: UK has become a drug-addicted unhealthy culture. At least when global warming kills them all, UK citizens will be all drugged up so they may hardly know.
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Existence of 'Sea of Krakens' on Titan confirmed
The "Sea of Krakens", a 150,000-square-mile lake of liquefied patio gas near the north pole of Titan, ice moon of Saturn. There are already plans to send out a small nuclear-powered robot sailboat to cruise the freezing patio-gas seas of the Titanian arctic. The Titan Mare Explorer (TiME), if approved for funding, might lift off in 2016 and splash down into the Sea of Krakens or the nearby, ice-island-studded Ligeian in 2022.
IMO: Hm, they could find living entities, even intelligent ones. It puts one in mind of Hal Clement's novella "Mission of Gravity", a great novel about a great sailor.
IMO: Hm, they could find living entities, even intelligent ones. It puts one in mind of Hal Clement's novella "Mission of Gravity", a great novel about a great sailor.
Undeserving Nobel prizewinners
Nowadays many people tend to castigate the Nobel Prize committee for making unwise decisions, typically the award of the prize to Obama, an award which is frequently compared with the Kissinger award. This is because of Obama's furtherance of the Afghanistan war and probable healthcare policy failures.
IMO: Obama always said plainly, prior to being elected, that he was going to further the Afghan war vigorously, so obviously those of his supporters who condemn him for being a turncoat are quite wrong. People tend to hear what they want rather than what is said I'm afraid. I think there are probably other ways the war could be furthered and I have mentioned some in this blog, but that's hardly the point.
IMO: On the healthcare issue, of course I understand the points than Sen. Kucinich and others have made and sympathise in most details. But any improvement at all in the present bad US healthcare system is an achievement for Obama and much to be welcomed. Elsewhere in the world the current US healthcare system is perhaps best compared to the death camp system in WW2 Germany or the worst nightmares of Stalin's regime. Amazing if any improvement can occur, present attempts towards progress is like closing down 'only one or two Gulags' in Russia or like a Hitler deputy shutting down Auschwitz and then getting complaints that there is still Buchenwald.
IMO: Obama always said plainly, prior to being elected, that he was going to further the Afghan war vigorously, so obviously those of his supporters who condemn him for being a turncoat are quite wrong. People tend to hear what they want rather than what is said I'm afraid. I think there are probably other ways the war could be furthered and I have mentioned some in this blog, but that's hardly the point.
IMO: On the healthcare issue, of course I understand the points than Sen. Kucinich and others have made and sympathise in most details. But any improvement at all in the present bad US healthcare system is an achievement for Obama and much to be welcomed. Elsewhere in the world the current US healthcare system is perhaps best compared to the death camp system in WW2 Germany or the worst nightmares of Stalin's regime. Amazing if any improvement can occur, present attempts towards progress is like closing down 'only one or two Gulags' in Russia or like a Hitler deputy shutting down Auschwitz and then getting complaints that there is still Buchenwald.
The EU at work
We've heard of the EU Stalinist necessity for bananas of a fixed size and shape. And some remember the wine lake and the sugar mountain. But are the EU really getting bizarre nowadays ? 75,000 passengers are caught up in the Eurostar backlog
"Imagine you're Eurostar's fat controller in charge of despatching trains. Two have gone into the tunnel and not come out. Do you send in trains number three, four, and five?
Not unless you're a blithering idiot or you simply don't know they're stuck in the tunnel. Let's give Eurostar HR department the benefit of the doubt and assume it doesn't employ blithering idiots. Why then did train number three get a green signal to enter the tunnel?
Next, with three trains stuck in the tunnel, why did train number four get a green light? And if it is beggaring belief that train number four got a green light for tunnel entry, how in the name of the all-seeing being did train number five get one?"
IMO: Perhaps the new particle accelerator is actually doing something and they are sending the trains into the 5th dimension on a secret test run. I recall a film on TV where the trains disappear into a mountain and come out in the future. Truth is stranger than fiction and we know that Caltech physicists propose quantum entanglement for systems of over 10 million atoms. Has the EU secretly solved quantum entanglement problems or are they just 'plain igernut' (or 'palin ignorant' as they say in USA). No prizes for the right guess.
"Imagine you're Eurostar's fat controller in charge of despatching trains. Two have gone into the tunnel and not come out. Do you send in trains number three, four, and five?
Not unless you're a blithering idiot or you simply don't know they're stuck in the tunnel. Let's give Eurostar HR department the benefit of the doubt and assume it doesn't employ blithering idiots. Why then did train number three get a green signal to enter the tunnel?
Next, with three trains stuck in the tunnel, why did train number four get a green light? And if it is beggaring belief that train number four got a green light for tunnel entry, how in the name of the all-seeing being did train number five get one?"
IMO: Perhaps the new particle accelerator is actually doing something and they are sending the trains into the 5th dimension on a secret test run. I recall a film on TV where the trains disappear into a mountain and come out in the future. Truth is stranger than fiction and we know that Caltech physicists propose quantum entanglement for systems of over 10 million atoms. Has the EU secretly solved quantum entanglement problems or are they just 'plain igernut' (or 'palin ignorant' as they say in USA). No prizes for the right guess.
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Tatkal again
Mamata Banerjee certainly seems to have improved her public appearance in recent photos and I think that this is a wise move, as long as she does not overdo it. I have always thought of her as a sort of 'politican's Susan Boyle' - not in terms of her singing. Rather just as Susan Boyle was an unexpected potential pop star, so Mamata was that unusual thing in politics - an honest hardworking politician acting diligently for the public good (how unusual, these politicians do not seem to exist at all in Britain) who, lets face it, perhaps during stress or fast at times looked a bit 'homely' (as the Americans say). I saw the change immediately from recent photo pictures - she even smiled at the Anand Vihar opening I think- but I find that she is now being written up as having done an image makeover.
To me, Mamata Banerjee compares with a modern Mahatma Gandhi or with Australia's Ben Chifley, whose home for awhile was almost a national shrine because of its simplicity, no better than the home of the poor working constituents who voted him in as Prime Minister of Australia. I'm afraid we can compare Chifley's home - or presumably Mamata's home in Kolkata - with that of Pakistani president Zardari who for all his believed political benefits, appears to have obtained a $US7.3 million English home from 'nowhere'. And like Mahatma Gandhi, Mamata seems to be ousting strong political opponents in a beneficial way, in her case for example CPI (Marxist).Mamata seems to be doing good for a large number of people, whilst, like Ben Chifley, still seeing some advantages in some business enterprises and in the countryside.
Now regarding 'tatkal', I think that having to pay, say, the fare from Delhi to Mangalore to go from Mumbai to Tivim plus perhaps even more, seems a lot to pay. Also it seemed that the trains had a lot of spaces left and I would have guessed by the look of things that even then, many due for the fee had not paid it. This system needs improving and under Mamata Banerjee we can hope, at least, that it happens. Certainly there are much more important things than train fares but it is clear that Mamata has inherited a poisoned chalice and it is hoped that she and her staff behave fairly and well.
To me, Mamata Banerjee compares with a modern Mahatma Gandhi or with Australia's Ben Chifley, whose home for awhile was almost a national shrine because of its simplicity, no better than the home of the poor working constituents who voted him in as Prime Minister of Australia. I'm afraid we can compare Chifley's home - or presumably Mamata's home in Kolkata - with that of Pakistani president Zardari who for all his believed political benefits, appears to have obtained a $US7.3 million English home from 'nowhere'. And like Mahatma Gandhi, Mamata seems to be ousting strong political opponents in a beneficial way, in her case for example CPI (Marxist).Mamata seems to be doing good for a large number of people, whilst, like Ben Chifley, still seeing some advantages in some business enterprises and in the countryside.
Now regarding 'tatkal', I think that having to pay, say, the fare from Delhi to Mangalore to go from Mumbai to Tivim plus perhaps even more, seems a lot to pay. Also it seemed that the trains had a lot of spaces left and I would have guessed by the look of things that even then, many due for the fee had not paid it. This system needs improving and under Mamata Banerjee we can hope, at least, that it happens. Certainly there are much more important things than train fares but it is clear that Mamata has inherited a poisoned chalice and it is hoped that she and her staff behave fairly and well.
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Scotland Yard warns of 26/11 style terror attack on London
In the "bluntest" warning issued by British police, Scotland Yard has said that businesses in the city of London could face a Mumbai-style terror attack. They say companies should anticipate a shooting and hostage-taking raid involving a small number of gunmen with handguns and improvised explosive devices.
"Mumbai is coming to London," said a senior detective from SO15, the Metropolitan police's counter-terrorism command.
IMO: The current proposal is that a group of mujaheddin raid police stations and fire at them. They are asked to make sure that all those at the location are of age, that there are no children and so on. They are requested to insist on the locations and times where no Muslims or children are to be expected. Machine guns are available. The (Mumbai) operation is the ideal scenario for operations . This matter was published TODAY in a number of important Indian papers but it does not appear prominently in the British newspapers.
"Mumbai is coming to London," said a senior detective from SO15, the Metropolitan police's counter-terrorism command.
IMO: The current proposal is that a group of mujaheddin raid police stations and fire at them. They are asked to make sure that all those at the location are of age, that there are no children and so on. They are requested to insist on the locations and times where no Muslims or children are to be expected. Machine guns are available. The (Mumbai) operation is the ideal scenario for operations . This matter was published TODAY in a number of important Indian papers but it does not appear prominently in the British newspapers.
Copenhagen a total failure
Greenpeace say "The city of Copenhagen is a climate crime scene, with the guilty men and women fleeing to the airport in shame ..... A lack of trust between developed and developing countries played a large role in preventing any real progress. Leaders from industrialised countries have had plenty of time to commit to ambitious greenhouse gas emission reductions and to find the billions of dollars needed to help developing countries both adapt to and mitigate climate change...... Developing countries showed a willingness throughout the year to take on their share of the effort. Developed countries failed to move far enough. Bringing up the rear has been the US. It must take the lion’s share of the blame".
IMO: We know politicians are disgustingly corrupt and could not have expected different. From what Greenpeace says, the US must take the major part of the blame. Its success as a country is ephemeral but the disaster it will cause to mankind will remain for ever. US citizens should act fast to put matters right, or go down in posterity - and now - as the vilest nation that ever existed.
IMO: We know politicians are disgustingly corrupt and could not have expected different. From what Greenpeace says, the US must take the major part of the blame. Its success as a country is ephemeral but the disaster it will cause to mankind will remain for ever. US citizens should act fast to put matters right, or go down in posterity - and now - as the vilest nation that ever existed.
Friday, December 18, 2009
Railways report suggests Lalu scams
The white paper on railways, presented in the Lok Sabha on Friday, suggests scams during Lalu regime. It seems Mamata was asked by Congress to keep quiet about it, to protect the Congress Party.
The report also said excessive money was charged for schemes such as ‘tatkal’, putting common people to hardship even as punctuality took a beating during the period.
IMO: I suppose it is all more or less as many people thought. I usually go long distance by bus now anyway. It is claimed that all train seats are taken and yet when I have been able somehow to get a seat, there have been a lot of spaces all the way.
The report also said excessive money was charged for schemes such as ‘tatkal’, putting common people to hardship even as punctuality took a beating during the period.
IMO: I suppose it is all more or less as many people thought. I usually go long distance by bus now anyway. It is claimed that all train seats are taken and yet when I have been able somehow to get a seat, there have been a lot of spaces all the way.
Global warming - 15 billion dollars could slow it
15 billion dollars is a rough price tag for providing clean stoves to the 500 million households that use open fires, fed by wood and animal dung and coal, to heat their homes and cook. Those fires produce one-quarter of all so-called “black carbon,” a sooty pollutant that’s adding to the planetary heat burden.
IMO: It may also improve the monsoon to the benefit of all, so why cannot the West hand over the money ?
IMO: It may also improve the monsoon to the benefit of all, so why cannot the West hand over the money ?
Friday, December 11, 2009
Is Headley India's battle ?
America has hugged the Headley case so tightly to itself perhaps because Headley was an undercover agent who worked for them and then went rogue.
The New York Times has chronicled how Headley crossed sides and worked for America’s Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) after he was arrested for smuggling in heroin in 1998. The NYT report even quotes court documents to say that Headley knew Pakistan’s narcotics underbelly so well that he was imprisoned for less than two years, after which he was sent to Pakistan to “conduct undercover surveillance operations for the DEA”. In the post-9/11 world of American security, the lines between drug trafficking and terrorism have blurred. In other words, the CIA may well have been just one step away from the DEA.
We have been told that Headley abandoned his real name of Daood Gilani and embraced an American sounding, Christian name, so he could travel in India without attracting suspicion. If Headley was an informant for the US administration, isn’t it likely that he took on a false name so that he could whiz in and out of airports without popping up on security lists? This could help explain why it took so long for the US to "find" his name change.
Another investigative journalist, Gerald Posner, confirms this thesis, writing, that, “in a world of high security, Headley somehow managed to then move with apparent ease in and out of Pakistan. A convicted felon of Pakistani descent, making frequent trips back and forth to the US (there were apparently at least four in one year), would have been monitored by US tracking agencies.”
The FBI had warned India that Mumbai could come under attack in September 2008. Was their intelligence so specific because Headley had supplied the information to them as an informant within the Lashkar-e-Tayyeba before turning double agent on the US?
IMO: Headley’s half brother has turned out to be an official in the public relations office of the Pakistan Prime Minister. Will Indian intelligence officials will ever even get to meet Headley, leave alone interrogate him ?
The New York Times has chronicled how Headley crossed sides and worked for America’s Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) after he was arrested for smuggling in heroin in 1998. The NYT report even quotes court documents to say that Headley knew Pakistan’s narcotics underbelly so well that he was imprisoned for less than two years, after which he was sent to Pakistan to “conduct undercover surveillance operations for the DEA”. In the post-9/11 world of American security, the lines between drug trafficking and terrorism have blurred. In other words, the CIA may well have been just one step away from the DEA.
We have been told that Headley abandoned his real name of Daood Gilani and embraced an American sounding, Christian name, so he could travel in India without attracting suspicion. If Headley was an informant for the US administration, isn’t it likely that he took on a false name so that he could whiz in and out of airports without popping up on security lists? This could help explain why it took so long for the US to "find" his name change.
Another investigative journalist, Gerald Posner, confirms this thesis, writing, that, “in a world of high security, Headley somehow managed to then move with apparent ease in and out of Pakistan. A convicted felon of Pakistani descent, making frequent trips back and forth to the US (there were apparently at least four in one year), would have been monitored by US tracking agencies.”
The FBI had warned India that Mumbai could come under attack in September 2008. Was their intelligence so specific because Headley had supplied the information to them as an informant within the Lashkar-e-Tayyeba before turning double agent on the US?
IMO: Headley’s half brother has turned out to be an official in the public relations office of the Pakistan Prime Minister. Will Indian intelligence officials will ever even get to meet Headley, leave alone interrogate him ?
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Pakistan has rolled back its “India is behind trouble in Balochistan” charge.
Reacting to Interior Minister Rehman Malik’s claims about having “concrete evidence” regarding India’s involvement in terror activities inside the country, Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has said that evidence against New Delhi was not enough.
“The possibility that there are elements who want to destabilise the country cannot be ruled out. But information received by us in this regard, is insufficient. We need more information and material to plausibly argue our case.” Earlier, Malik had claimed that the interior ministry has substantial proof against India, and that it has been handed over to the foreign office.
IMO: That is good news. There seems more hope for mutual benefit to India and Pakistan by this slightly more appropriate attitude. But what a bunch of tinkers all politicians are!! For instance, look at the UK expense situation as Guido Fawkes mentions it today, AFAIK all decent UK taxpayers are in the same boat - near shipwreck.
“The possibility that there are elements who want to destabilise the country cannot be ruled out. But information received by us in this regard, is insufficient. We need more information and material to plausibly argue our case.” Earlier, Malik had claimed that the interior ministry has substantial proof against India, and that it has been handed over to the foreign office.
IMO: That is good news. There seems more hope for mutual benefit to India and Pakistan by this slightly more appropriate attitude. But what a bunch of tinkers all politicians are!! For instance, look at the UK expense situation as Guido Fawkes mentions it today, AFAIK all decent UK taxpayers are in the same boat - near shipwreck.
Wednesday, December 09, 2009
Was Headley a CIA double agent?
Indian authorities suspect Headley to be a double agent who might have been planted as an agent in the CIA by the LeT itself.
One thing that has surprised the authorities here in India is that why the US agencies figured out Headley’s change of name from Daood Gilani as late as on February 15, 2006, in Philadelphia, when every Pakistani or Arab born citizen is double-checked after the 9/11 fateful twin tower attacks.
IMO: At any rate, visa regulations for American tourists wishing to visit India may soon be changed requiring them to take a 60-day break between each exit from India and re-entry. It seems to me that if the US were competent they should be using more drones and less troops. Anyway according to Wired magazine the US certainly seems to be messing up the Afghan war.
One thing that has surprised the authorities here in India is that why the US agencies figured out Headley’s change of name from Daood Gilani as late as on February 15, 2006, in Philadelphia, when every Pakistani or Arab born citizen is double-checked after the 9/11 fateful twin tower attacks.
IMO: At any rate, visa regulations for American tourists wishing to visit India may soon be changed requiring them to take a 60-day break between each exit from India and re-entry. It seems to me that if the US were competent they should be using more drones and less troops. Anyway according to Wired magazine the US certainly seems to be messing up the Afghan war.
Headley trial for attempted Jew prayer hall murder
Pakistani-American jihadist David Headley on trial. The U.S. Justice Department filed the Mumbai-related charges against Headley on Dec. 7.
Lashkar-e-Toiba plotted a series of strikes on Jewish prayer halls in no less than five Indian cities, a plan which if it had succeeded, would have severely tested India's restraint over going to war. Delhi, Pushkar, Goa, Pune and Mumbai were targets.
IMO: Sounds bizarre, though it could have had the desired effect. Chabad House in Delhi's Paharganj, for example, is hardly known to most people.
Lashkar-e-Toiba plotted a series of strikes on Jewish prayer halls in no less than five Indian cities, a plan which if it had succeeded, would have severely tested India's restraint over going to war. Delhi, Pushkar, Goa, Pune and Mumbai were targets.
IMO: Sounds bizarre, though it could have had the desired effect. Chabad House in Delhi's Paharganj, for example, is hardly known to most people.
Monday, December 07, 2009
Elephants again
I am informed that the elephants are not begging at all.
Elephants are Godly creatures and wherever they go they are offered food and money anyway.
In fact they look so good on the roads we would like to have even more. The problem is too much traffic, too many people and too much pollution. These problems should be taken into account.
Elephants are Godly creatures and wherever they go they are offered food and money anyway.
In fact they look so good on the roads we would like to have even more. The problem is too much traffic, too many people and too much pollution. These problems should be taken into account.
NGO demands action against cruelty to Vasai pachyderms
Times of India says "Despite The Plant and Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) repeatedly complaining to the police stations in metro cities pertaining to misuse of elephants by their mahouts for begging, no legal action is being taken by the concerned authorities".
Founder and secretary of PAWS and Animal Welfare Board of India demands strict action against mahouts using elephants for begging in the metro cities like Mumbai, Thane, Navi Mumbai, Vasai and Kalyan and demands that the pachyderms be rescued from the cruelty meted out to them.
IMO: One elephant I saw in Vasai seemed to have a pinkish looking skin and parts of its normally very thick skin seemed to be peeling off. On just looking at it I was very worried about its health but I am no vet. It looked happy though, I thought and probably in a better position than logging elephants in Thailand. One story I heard was that the authorities have put the elephants there to make the place look more homely. Others say the elephants cause traffic obstruction but I would have thought the elephants a very minor cause of obstruction, compared to many other factors like the new walkway construction near Vasai Road station. Maybe one answer is to keep the elephants but to ensure they are well treated.
Founder and secretary of PAWS and Animal Welfare Board of India demands strict action against mahouts using elephants for begging in the metro cities like Mumbai, Thane, Navi Mumbai, Vasai and Kalyan and demands that the pachyderms be rescued from the cruelty meted out to them.
IMO: One elephant I saw in Vasai seemed to have a pinkish looking skin and parts of its normally very thick skin seemed to be peeling off. On just looking at it I was very worried about its health but I am no vet. It looked happy though, I thought and probably in a better position than logging elephants in Thailand. One story I heard was that the authorities have put the elephants there to make the place look more homely. Others say the elephants cause traffic obstruction but I would have thought the elephants a very minor cause of obstruction, compared to many other factors like the new walkway construction near Vasai Road station. Maybe one answer is to keep the elephants but to ensure they are well treated.
Thursday, December 03, 2009
Swiss Ban on minarets
For once, Jews back Muslims. Citing religious discrimination, a diverse coalition of Jewish organizations is objecting to Switzerland's ban of minarets on local mosques.
IMO: But, the tradition for both Jews and Muslims is to self-isolate themselves. For example, Jews in Cochin for 2000 years or Saudi Arabia today. Surely the Swiss have some rights. Roughly this seems to be a situation where militants wish to remove the rights of others - and for all parties to defensively assume that those with views differing from theirs are in the wrong.
Ultimately a simple gloss on the situation might be that Jews want there to be only Jews, Muslims want only there to be only Muslims and the Swiss (after a vote) want to pursue their own lives in peace. To me the Swiss at any rate seems sensible. Enough is enough.
IMO: But, the tradition for both Jews and Muslims is to self-isolate themselves. For example, Jews in Cochin for 2000 years or Saudi Arabia today. Surely the Swiss have some rights. Roughly this seems to be a situation where militants wish to remove the rights of others - and for all parties to defensively assume that those with views differing from theirs are in the wrong.
Ultimately a simple gloss on the situation might be that Jews want there to be only Jews, Muslims want only there to be only Muslims and the Swiss (after a vote) want to pursue their own lives in peace. To me the Swiss at any rate seems sensible. Enough is enough.
Tuesday, December 01, 2009
Climategate
Furedi writes, inter alia, "The 'Climategate' emails remind us, quite forcefully, of one deeply regrettable development in recent years: the politicisation of the institution of ‘peer review’. The emails reveal scientists having quite cynical and political discussions about whose work should get the peer-review stamp and whose should not".
IMO: I ran a physics journal for 7 years. What Furedi says is only too true but one problem amongst many is that when you try to improve things, strangely it can too easily lead to even worse work reaching print. I don't mean 'controversial' or 'unfortunately incomplete or badly presented', I mean real crap. But things need a lot of improvement. Even attempts like Arxiv have now fallen into the same category as the terribly biased peer-review journals, but only UTAP.
Furedi also says "peer reviewing is often more of a cultural than a scientific accomplishment. Indeed, the way that peer review is now used in public debate as a form of divine revelation – where we are told that ‘the peer-reviewed science’ shows that we must believe and do certain things – indicates how this institution risks being corrupted by advocacy researchers".
IMO: Yes, it is getting that bad. And global warming is very real. The old saying used to be "the meek shall inherit the earth" but today it looks more like "the self-seeking, vociferous and greedy of all persuasions will destroy the earth". In other fields in science than global warming, the truth of this hits me in the face every day.
IMO:Yes, we will very probably all die because of the greed in science and outside of it today.
IMO: I ran a physics journal for 7 years. What Furedi says is only too true but one problem amongst many is that when you try to improve things, strangely it can too easily lead to even worse work reaching print. I don't mean 'controversial' or 'unfortunately incomplete or badly presented', I mean real crap. But things need a lot of improvement. Even attempts like Arxiv have now fallen into the same category as the terribly biased peer-review journals, but only UTAP.
Furedi also says "peer reviewing is often more of a cultural than a scientific accomplishment. Indeed, the way that peer review is now used in public debate as a form of divine revelation – where we are told that ‘the peer-reviewed science’ shows that we must believe and do certain things – indicates how this institution risks being corrupted by advocacy researchers".
IMO: Yes, it is getting that bad. And global warming is very real. The old saying used to be "the meek shall inherit the earth" but today it looks more like "the self-seeking, vociferous and greedy of all persuasions will destroy the earth". In other fields in science than global warming, the truth of this hits me in the face every day.
IMO:Yes, we will very probably all die because of the greed in science and outside of it today.
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