According to international nuclear inspectors, a Russian scientist helped the Iranians with technical know-how and also helped them conduct complex experiments on ways of detonating a nuclear weapon. The fact that this information was revealed excitedly on the New York Times has more political reasons  than any real danger from either the Russian scientist or the Iranian nuclear hounds.

The U.S. has been trying to create the image of an impending calamity due to Russian aggressive behaviors when the real reason why Russians are growing increasingly aggressive is because they have their own fears. The Iranians may or may not pose a threat to the world, but a bigger threat to the world lies in the form of American foreign policies and propaganda such as the one about the Russian scientist. What appalls me is that a venerable newspaper like the New York Times is also not immune to prejudice and, directly or indirectly participates in the dissemination of American propaganda.

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The Bombay High Court is furious at the Maharashtra government. Justice J.N. Patel publicly reprimanded the Deshmukh sarkar for not taking adequate actions against Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray. The world has been hearing of Thackeray’s escapades of regional discrimination in the state. And it’s the same thing on everyone’s mind – why are the authorities not doing anything about it?

After the MNS activists vandalised shops without a Marathi name, complaints were registered by the frightened shopkeepers. The police booked a case against many vandalisers but not Thackeray. In such a scenario, Patel expressed his disappointment in the law protectors and enforcers; because of them the law system of our country has been put in a negative light.
As per Patel, if the authorities don’t take strict action against the miscreants, people will think that there are some who are untouchable by the law. The police is hardly controlling the chaos and the politicos are deliberately ignoring the issue. This may encourage anti-social elements to create more damage.
Via hindu

It looks like all of a sudden our country is surrounded by troubles of all kinds. I would not blame it on coincidence rather I’d say ‘this was bound to happen’. Amidst the terror threats and natural disasters, India is now faced with yet another problem. Yes, the retired folks either have no or insufficient pensions. As a result, they are compelled to return to work. And the problem does not end there as companies are only willing to bet their money on the young blood. Blame it on the changing lifestyles that the much revered PFs are falling short to make ends meet for the aged but there are others who do not have children of their own to look after their needs as they enter their golden years.
This reminds me of countries like Australia and Japan (I’m sure there would be others too). The infrastructure of the two countries includes looking after those who can’t look after themselves. Japan offers a monthly allowance for children while the Aussie law tells the country’s treasurer to shell out a neat pocket money to the unemployed. Similarly, India should also take up responsibility of the elderly amongst other worthy candidates of special concern like children, unemployed etc. In other words, we should reach a situation where people are no longer scared to age because the government will provide for them.
Yet another issue that needs urgent attention. Please do not ignore this time too.
Via ibn

Tokyo at night

I have been living in Japan for the past four months. Don’t worry I am not one of those ‘trying too hard to fit abroad’ Indians who do nothing but criticise India. I love my country with passion and tell you what, I like Japan too. And I feel there are so many things we Indians can learn from the Japanese and make our country a better one!

You’d be wondering why all of a sudden, I am writing about the merits of a life in Japan but hey, didn’t you hear the news? The oldest living man is Japanese, his name is Tomoji Tanabe and he is 113 years old. For the uninitiated, Japanese women have been topping the World’s longevity ranks for 23 years while the men follow a close third to Iceland and Honk Kong.

Ok, so let me try and elucidate the reasons for a LONG life in Japan.

1.    People are safe. You know you will come back home when leaving for work/school/market etc. etc. in the morning.

2.    The police actually help a lost soul find the way. You know something, that was precisely their job always but many cops have evolved their duties to suit their comfort or maintain the false aura of fear that distances the common people from them.

3.    They are well prepared to face disasters. We know Japan’s susceptibility to earthquakes. A natural disaster that cannot be predicted. But hey, even the Japanese are ready to deal with one if it happens. The buildings are made of a special kind of light-weight concrete. There are emergency earthquake packs in offices.

4.    Government offices are proactive and well-organised. And may I say efficient too!

5.    They are not afraid to get their hands dirty to keep the place clean. The pain that the citizens and the establishment takes to keep the country clean is commendable. No one complains about sorting the garbage as burnable, plastic, cans and what not. If you don’t do it, your garbage collecter will. So, in a way you are shamed to sort your trash yourself.

6.    You can drink water from the tap directly.

7.    Your children are safe playing in the park. Not just that, 10 year-olds can safely commute on their own by the metro.

Well, I did say I’d try and discuss a few reasons.

Hard to believe, but there is an almost ideal place on the earth. And guess what, it took a lot of effort to get there.

I don’t think the government employees could have asked for a better Independence Day gift. Well, PM Manmohan Singh at least knew this that the much touted and awaited sixth pay commission would be welcomed with zest and happiness. Yes, finally 5 million servants and soldiers will be able to flaunt a five figure pay package owing to a 25 per cent hike, which will be given with effect from January 1, 2006.
The defence friends I know are ecstatic. In fact, they were the ones to tell me about the discontent in the forces with the initial pay packages what with peers in the private sector minting money like Uncle Scrooge. C’mon a BPO employee can easily make more than 20,000 every month which would be much more than the basic pay of a Brigadier (which by the way is a rank achieved at least after 20 years of an impeccable record as a soldier) in the Indian army. Perhaps, that is the reason why the Ministry of Defence was flooded with applicants asking for release from the services. And those outside are not willing to come in. Reports inform that this year, the Indian Military Academy (IMA) had just 86 cadets in a batch where 250 cadets can be trained. The last time a full batch was inducted was in 1993!
Hope the pay hike is able to bring about a change to the shortage of approximately 11,000 officers.
Via telegraphindia

Hotel heiress Paris Hilton and pop star Britney Spears are pissed off. Recently, John McCain featured the two controversial babes in a political ad that attacks Barack Obama without their knowledge and consent. Britney’s rep said that she won’t give importance to such a petty thing and has bigger things to worry about than who runs for president. C’mon Britney there are things far more important than loving puppies! As for Paris, she has not seen the ad yet as she is touring with Benji Madden and isn’t watching television. But she is aware of the ad and is certainly not happy about it. Now, isn’t that interesting for Paris’ parents are strong supporters of McCain so much so that they have even contributed to this presidential campaign but it turns out she is not declaring publicly who she is standing by for the elections. 

That was about the varying opinion in the Hilton household but coming back to McCain; well he has stooped too low with this ad campaign. He has defined a new low, even lower than mudslinging. Imagine equating Obama to Paris and Britney. Indeed, the attempt is very below the belt. I hope the citizens of the world view this thing with open eyes.

Via thesuperficial

No this is not about a forthcoming ‘wonder’ from Ektaa’s camp. It’s about the political potboiler that bubbled over the national capital day before yesterday. One that acquired all the ambiguity of a Twenty20 match with a hint of match-fixing to boot: UPA scrambling for runs, the newly-weds NDA-Left-Mayawati looking for few sharp run-outs while bookies furiously working the phones. After innumerable instances of loyalties shifting by the hour and marriages of convenience…the fate of UPA was ‘decided’. It was safe rather saved. All’s fair in love and war. True, but it hurts nevertheless in some way or the other. The power game is indeed a dirty one. The figure of mullah which got traded to keep safe the government’s arse on the kursi and not to let it rest is mind-boggling. Most of the development issues of the country would have neared their death had half the money was invested in the right direction. But alas! It’s a far-fetched dream.

Another pivotal matter to note is that most political parties have at one time or other had MPs facing criminal charges and representing them. There is something terribly wrong when the fate of a country’s government rests in the hands of the people who have been convicted of committing serious crimes.
Convicts are not allowed to hold public offices, so why should MPs not held to the same standard? I don’t see any reason as to why someone who has committed a crime against the society should be allowed to continue to make decisions of behalf of that society. In countries like the US convicts are even stripped of their right to vote in an election. (And we think, we are at par with such countries when we talk of the Deal…don’t we?

Is this nation so lacking in leadership that we must now resort to asking jailbirds to decide the fate of the country? Criminalization of the Parliament or the kursi is only the most visible aspect. But it doesn’t have to stay this way…does it?

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What is patriotism? Now, that’s one question which has hounded us for a long time now. After waves of strong xenophobic sentiments and sometimes even complete indifference, Indians face yet another definition of the same heavy duty term. Amman Madan, a professor of IIT Kanpur, puts forth:

a) Patriotism is not based upon kinship. So, in the modern Indian context it has to be different from the love for one’s community, unlike the ancient and medieval times.

b) The feeling of patriotism comes from the idea of a nation and its central institution.

In other words, Madan finds the definition of ‘patriotism’ in the current times. The feeling is the same but the definition keeps on evolving to attune itself to the social context. He quotes the example of USA, which apparently is a melting pot of identities. If we forget the famous superiority complex of the Americans, we will see the depth in Madan’s words. The man sees Indian patriotism as a strong influence that overcomes all the boundaries of caste, creed and religion to combine everyone born on the Indian land as the citizens of India. But he doesn’t stop there. He says we can always develop a sense of identification, a feeling of brotherhood without melting in a pot!

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And history repeats itself. Year 2000 had American Vice Prez Al Gore lose the presidency because most liberals voted for Ralph Nader, who is an activist and had no chance of winning. Not only did Nader sweep away Gore’s chances of winning, but also gave the American’s the nightmare of the George Bush administration. Had Nader bowed out of the race, the USA would have had a new history in the recent past.

A similar scenario is being played out now with John Edwards. Hillary Clinton is the status quo candidate where as Edwards and Barrack Obama stand for change. Voters desiring change are forced to choose between Edwards and Obama. Edwards is clearly running the third spot in the race. He also has very little money backing further reducing his chances at winning. And we know how Clinton has been smearing Obama’s image through chain emails claiming he is a muslim set to destroy the United States.

In other words, if John Edwards doesn’t drop out, Barack Obama doesn’t have a chance. If Edwards goes away, Obama will be the only candidate left representing real change.

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Indian chapter of Transparency International conducted a fresh survey, Global Corruption Barometer 2007 among 1069 respondents revealed that political parties grab the lion’s share in the field of corruption.
As high as 76 percent of the respondents opined that political parties are “extremely corrupt”. The Police are only the competitor that goes neck and neck.
The recently conducted Gujarat assembly election is before us to show how low the parties campaigned against one another. The Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha are no exceptions to evidence the character of our politicians. No doubt few watch such programs.
Politicians who claim to posses’ blood of patriotism even do not know the lines of our National song or National anthem. Gone are the days when leaders and politicians exerted themselves for the betterment and upliftment of the common man.

Presence of MPs and Legislators in the Houses some time well below the mandatory quorum exhibits their loyalty towards nation and people.

Nations must eye at heightening level of CORRUPTION.