I wonder airport security standards could be so high yet immoral that it urged a woman to miss her scheduled flight. The criterion of not allowing change in pockets or jewellery seems to be a passé now and thanks to the revised version that considers women underwire bra on the top of to-be-deeply-scanned object list. The thumb rule is women with underwire bras won’t be allowed to enter the airlines and if you dare to break the rule (even out of ignorance) then possibility is you may have to face the destiny similar to Nancy Kates.
Jet Blue passenger Nancy Kates went through the same pain at the Oakland International Airport whils getting the security check done. The mental detector on duty sensed within minutes the presence of underwire bra alarming TSA agent to do the needful by pulling her out of the queue. Kates was treated no less than a criminal for wearing that particular “Bra” and accused the agent for being too personal as she said: “The woman touched my breast.”

Kates managed to meet the supervisor and reminded him of the fact that Constitution bars perverse searches and that “examining a woman’s brassiere is certainly unreasonable.” The entire incident is so unnerving that I can’t stop imagining the highest standards of security that travelers would be expected to meet (especially women) before flying. And isn’t getting the “reasonable” rejoinder in the form of a pat-down is humiliating?
Via Sfgate

By the way, the long forgotten King of Pop Michael Jackson will turn 50 tomorrow. There is no celebration. Yes, the fanfare is missing; in fact, one can’t even spot the man who was ruling the music arena for decades. You know once there was a popular joke that every child in the world would probably not know who the prime minister or the president of his/her country was but he/she would have definitely heard of Michael Jackson. But the same man has been erased from our memories; quite obviously he gave us reasons to treat him the way we are. So, don’t worry this article will not make you look at him differently. It will just go back into time to look at the singing sensation he used to be till he had a sharp fall from the top due to allegations of child abuse and his crazy whims.
Starting out as a member of Jackson Five, a music group formed with his siblings, in 1964 Michael gave hits like ‘ABC’ and ‘I’ll be there’ in even before he was a teenager. But he created history with ‘Thriller’, ‘Billie Jean’ and ‘Beat It’ in the late 70s. There was another plus point that Michael had — his impeccable dancing skills. You can imagine what fun people my age must have had growing up when Michael was creating musical and visual wonders all around. Women fainting at his live performances were a common occurrence; the special effects did actually take our breaths away. He was a star in the truest sense of the word, and not just in the west, he had a strong fan following all across the globe.
Perhaps that is the reason why he suffered such a severe downfall after the two accusations of child molestation against him in 1993 and 2003. And then there were also the debacle of marriages he entered intoa and the innumerous plastic surgeries. Oh yeah, and holding his baby from the window of the hospital he was born in, did not win Michael any brownie points.
Like many others, Michael blamed his behaviour to the abuse he faced at the hands of his father and to the challenges of being a child star. The latter definitely is a very scary statement that always lurks in the minds of parents whose children are rising to fame. We have had the likes of Britney Spears and Macaulay Culkin suffer the same fate as Michael did. They were sensations, people loved them, they went terribly wrong and then we forgot who they were.
Fame sure is a scary thing.

Finally, the sexual crime against men is being talked about in India. And who better than Bollywood to deal with the issue! Haven’t we heard of hundreds of ragging stories in college boy’s hostels where newcomers were asked to strip off completely, and some unfortunate ones even ending up getting raped? Well, no one’s really bothered to bring up issues like these before probably because we live in a male-dominated society. So quite obviously, the ‘superior male’ cannot be raped or abused; even the idea is completely unacceptable for the typical Indian mindset. But we all know how wrong they are. So you can see how the male domination goes against both women and men as well.
Scriptwriter Manish Gupta, a product of the RGV factory, is ready to don the director’s hat with his film ‘Hostel’. And nobody is going to witness a chocolaty college romance here but a grim tale of sexual abuse that male students are subjected to. Manish had been wanting to make a movie on this subject for a long time now. Apparently during his engineering college days, he once came across a male rape victim, who gave an expression as if he just died when asked if the rumours about his rape were true. As a positive step, the censors have cleared the film.
Quite a paradigm shift for India here, I must say. After all talking about a social evil is as good as preventing it.
Via delhitimes

We have to thank the self-proclaimed preservers of the Maratha culture like Bal Thackeray and the offsprings of his fundamentalist ideology, please read Maharashtra Navanirman Sena, to further divide our already divided country. The division of Indians on the basis of Maratha and non-Maratha and the exodus of many thousand north Indians from the state in the recent past is a shame to the much celebrated belief of ‘unity in diversity’. I seriously wonder why don’t they remove it from the school textbooks, isn’t the concept almost redundant?

Once again, the state of Maharashtra has attracted attention with the MNS asking shopkeepers in the state to write the name of their shops in Marathi. Don’t take me as anti-culture. I am as proud of our rich Indian culture as you are, but I am not for imposition. Why are we forcing everyone to do as we like? Don’t we live in a democracy where we can do as we please as long as we are not crossing anybody else’s right? The fundamentalists negate both, they impose and they interfere with the fundamental rights of others. Shouldn’t the MNS be writing the name of their office in Marathi with a hope that others will follow? I thought that was the correct, Gandhian way to do things.

do check out http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Mumbai/Now_MNS_trains_guns_on_cable_operators/articleshow/3414650.cms

Being as objective as I can, I think the Bal Thackerays and MNSs suffer from an inferiority complex. How else will you explain their infantile obsession to force others to play along with their whims and fancies?

Via timesofindia

As far as Barack Obama is concerned, I feel history is being made. The dance of unity on the beats of the ‘Love Train’ by the Democrats when they nominated Obama as their presidential candidate yesterday will be remembered for generations to come. I can tell you the reasons why:
1. Obama is the first black American to achieve an honour of this stature. And one cannot ignore his middle name ‘Hussein’ which has not pulled him back from his moments of glory despite ruthless attacks by opposition. Does that mean the ‘infamous’ American attitude is calling out for a positive change? Well, it seems to be so.
2. One-time opponent, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton was the one to announce his name as the Democrat Presidential Candidate. We are aware of the mudslinging indulged in by the supporters of Clinton who did not spare any block of mud to mar Obama’s name. I somehow felt that Clinton herself shared the prejudices but maybe I was wrong.
3. There is hope that Obama will bring about a new world order. The energy crisis is a huge issue and Obama’s stance is believed to have gathered a tremendous support. But could the popularity also be due to his take on peace efforts, particularly with regard to Iraq.
4. He is a man of a colourful (Kenyan-American genes with a Muslim middle name) cultural background with a will to re-build the future.
I would like to conclude with what Former U.S. presidential candidate Gary Hart said after reading Obama’s book ‘The Audacity Of Hope’, “I see a man of relative youth yet maturity, a wise observer of human condition, a figure who possesses perseverance…”
Via reuters

In all honesty, the name Sanjay Nirupam would not have really rang a bell anywhere till the recent Bigg Boss participation by the man. Yeah yeah, he is a politician of sorts. But did we know anything more about him? Well, I don’t think so. But the man sure lives in delusions of grandeur. Believe it or not, on his ouster from the Bigg Boss house Nirupam told the media how the real-life-show experience was fulfilling as he got a chance to “live with commoners”.
Well, is that what we are to the likes of him? By that ‘we’, I mean the celebrities participating in Bigg Boss. If someone of their name and fame are like an ant to Nirupam, I guess people like you and me won’t be anything more than a unicellular organism. And we used to believe that politicians are our representatives. Weren’t they handpicked by us from the crowd that we now belong to? I am forced to wonder when did the blue blood complex creep in?
For the uninitiated, Nirupam grew up in a village in Bihar and gained media mileage (whatever little it was) only when he was asked by Bal Thackeray to play editor to one of his print publications and later was made the Shiv Sena MP to the Rajya Sabha until Nirupam decided to resign in 2005 owing to his friction with Pramod Mahajan.
After being evicted from Bigg Boss and having earned the criticism of his inmates (the ‘netagiri’ didn’t go too well with them either), let’s see how ‘King’ Nirupam makes life worthwhile for “commoners”.
Via ibnlive

After hearing news about the conviction of two of country’s top lawyers by the Delhi High Court, I decided to go through some jokes on lawyers (I simply love them!). While I was busy enjoying the jokes with a smile on my face, a thought crossed my mind and that broadened it. I wondered how two lawyers successfully became Father of the Nation for India as well as Pakistan. No offence to Mahatma Gandhi or Muhammad Ali Jinnah or to any of the lawyers across the globe, lest you drag my sorry ass to court, but it certainly amused me to an extent.  

Not being a fan of Mahatma Gandhi, I had to do some research on his career as a lawyer to get some answers. The first case that he got after returning to India in 1891 was of one Mamibai, though he absolutely refused to pay commission to a tout for it. When the proceedings started in the court for the case, Mahatma Gandhi was struck by lightning (not literally). His legs got weak and he was unable to speak, and fled from the courtroom. Later on, he began frequenting the Bombay High Court as a spectator, dozing off during the proceedings more often than not until he left for South Africa in 1893.  

On the other hand, Muhammad Ali Jinnah was a very successful lawyer. He had some fame in Bombay and was very well established.  

These provided some direction to my thoughts, but also generated some more queries. Rather interestingly, Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru, our first Prime Minister, was also a lawyer. And so was Dr. Rajendra Prasad, our first President. It is a known fact that Pt. Nehru did not cherish either the practice of law or the company of lawyers. He became a lawyer in 1912 and by 1919 he was associated with Indian National Congress.

Even Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel was a lawyer and a very successful one too. C. Rajagopalachari, Chittaranjan Das and many more eminent leaders in our struggle for freedom were lawyers.  

Looking at the Indian history of freedom struggle and the contribution of lawyers, I surely would have lost interest in the jokes about lawyers long ago. But ending the flashback here, the lawyers making news these days are Sanjeev Bansal (Cash for judgment scam), R. K. Anand and I. U. Khan (BMW hit and run case), B. N. Aggarwal (PF Scam), M. S. Brahmabhatt (issuing arrest warrants for the President of India) and plenty more. Our great leaders must have tarnished your image but you have successfully redeemed it. A sincere thanks to you all, you surely live up to the reputation and keep the fun alive. Here’s one for all of you:  

Q: What’s the difference between a dead dog in the road and a dead lawyer in the road? 
A: There are skid marks in front of the dog. 

Not Funny? Sue me! 
Via ibnlive

I like the man called Aamir Khan. Don’t worry this post will not be a documentation on the actor. It’s just that he has an uncanny knack of knowing how to make a difference to India (maybe Aamir feels that he should concentrate on his motherland first and take on the world later). First, it was ‘Rang De Basanti’ that gave the Indian Youth a whole new perspective. Spoke to them out loud about their responsibilities towards their nation. Then came, ‘Taare Zameen Par’, which was full of childhood and innocence begging the society to preserve both in the young ‘uns. And now, Aamir has come forth to add value to the age old Indian belief ‘Atithi Devo Bhava’ (our guest is like God to us).

Signing up as the brand ambassador for Incredible India’s Atithi Devo Bhava campaign, Aamir will now been seen grooming tourist guides and taxi drivers. He shall be conducting training sessions on personal grooming and appropriate behaviour. That’s something we really needed to look into. It amazes me how Aamir is able to reach out to help in such incredible ways. C’mon what have tourists always meant to Indians? Purses of money? Cattle to be misguided? When was the last time a taxi driver actually showed respect to a foreigner? He is more like to shear him/her of all the money he /she possess or should I say of his/her modesty. And when was the last time, we gave correct directions to a tourist or passerby? Yes, these are simple questions with tough answers.

I have been living in Tokyo for the past three months and never once, have I come across a rude person (despite the language barrier) who is not willing to help me find my way. Believe it or not, but here a policeman actually takes out a map and helps you find your destination. Cops here aren’t hooligans that we try to avoid at every instance in India. They are here to help…US!!! I’m glad that at least one famous person in India has decided to change things around and not just sit pretty on the heap of money he has made. Wish you luck Aamir.

Via ibnlive 

Come August 22 and the Indian mobile phone market will never be the same again. The much-hyped Apple i-phone will finally arrive! We all were eagerly waiting for it. After all, it’s an Apple product. So much is the hype that other mobile phone companies are already running for cover. New mobiles are being launched by Nokia, HTC, Samsung et al with the pseudo-name ‘i-phone killer’. Meetings are being called, strategies are being discussed and even the smallest glitch in the I-phone is being magnified to humongous proportions.  

Apple Inc. has a huge reputation in the consumer electronics market. Its products have aesthetic designs and are objects of desire to most of us. Apple added a new dimension to the portable media players with the launch of i-pod. It created a new industry for i-pod accessories. But are the products of Apple Inc. over-hyped? If you ask me, my answer would be a YES! 

Without going into the features of the phone, here are a bunch of reasons why we need to look over all the gaga for the i-phone. Firstly at 31,000 INR for 8GB model it is overpriced. Apple is known for post-launch price changes. When launched in US, the price was slashed by $200 just two months after the release. Secondly, downloads from Apple’s I-tunes music stores will not be available on the I-phone. Thirdly, as 3-G network is not available in India, many features of the phone will not work. Fourthly, it’s the iTunes monopoly. When I bought my i-pod 2 years back, I did not have a personal computer. Getting music/videos used to be a tedious task. And last but not the least, once you buy an i-phone, it needs to be activated. As a lot of sales are expected on the date of launch, I bet the i-Tunes servers would be overloaded. So you might have to wait for a day or two before you can actually start using the phone.  

So there is no need to make a beeline to the electronic stores for the i-phone on August 22nd unless you really need to flaunt it!
Via rediff

“Condom, condom” will be on the lips of mobile phones in India. Yes, it is a ringtone that has been launched to promote safe sex in the infamously conservative society. Cheekily called the ‘condom capella’, this effort flaunts the support of Bill Gates and his wife Melinda and hopes to become popular with the youth.
The BBC World Service Trust, charity behind the ringtone, reports that 2.5 million people suffer from HIV in India. The idea of a ringtone came into existence in order to use a day-to-day aspect of our lives to make condom talks more acceptable, and tackle the growing problem of AIDS in the country. Radharani Mitra, creative director BBC World Service Trust, said, “We thought it would be a fun way to deliver a practical message. Ringtones are regarded as personal statements. We are hoping “condom, condom” will lift the taboo over condom usage in India.”
Well, the itsy bitsy fact that the mobile telephone market is growing fastest in India on the globe may be another reason behind the ringtone endeavour.  A very smart approach… any takers?
Via dnaindia