An Example giving the reasons

Tribals protest quarry allocation to Dharmana's son
TNN, Aug 31, 2010, 12.37am IST

SEETAMMAPETA (SRIKAKULAM): Hundreds of tribals staged a dharna in front of the tehsildar office here on Monday in protest against the allotment of white granite quarry mines of Kannedhara Konda to revenue minister Dharmana Prasad Rao's son.

They demanded that the government immediately cancel the lease agreement.Tension mounted when tribals led by TDP and PRP leaders tried to barge into the office. The agitators set fire to Dharmana's effigy later. The granite mining lease was granted to the minister's son, Ram Manohar Naidu.

The tribals, who participated in the agitation, showed the pattas that were given to them by the government and condemned the statement of Dharmana's son that there was no farm land in the quarry site. The tribals were given pattas in survey no. 289 in Seetampeta and Kotturu mandals and about 600 tribals were given pattas in 920 cents in three phases at Puliputti village and surroundings.

TDP district president Chowdary Narayana Rao alleged that the revenue authorities and the mines officials gave the no-objection certificate despite knowing that there were farm lands in the site. PRP leader Palavalasa Karunakar warned the authorities that Kannedhara Konda would become another Sompeta, if the lease was not cancelled.

The above is just one example which gives the reason for the rise of Maoism in India.
These politicians ride roughshod over the rights of the tribals and poor people.
These poor people bear it as long as they can but when the water rises above their they take up arms.
Then the Prime Minister and his Home Minister give a call to come for discussions.
Why don't these leaders take action when the politicians and police terrorise these poor people.

Pranab says Black Money Stashed away in Switzerland cannot be brought back

New India-Swiss pact not to recover black money: Pranab Mukherjee
IANS, Aug 31, 2010, 01.53pm IST

NEW DELHI: Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday clarified that the revised double taxation avoidance agreement India signed with Switzerland will not help the country in getting back the black money stashed away by Indians in secret Swiss bank accounts.

"I would like to make it quite clear that as far as Swiss laws are concerned they don't give any information of their banking transactions," Mukherjee said in the Lok Sabha.

The agreement, inked here Monday by Mukherjee and Swiss foreign minister Micheline Calmy-Rey, allows exchange of information in accordance with the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) standards which were negotiated in line with the parameters decided by the Swiss Federal Council, the Swiss Federal Department of Finance.

"We cannot share this information to any other authority, including parliament. This information cannot even be shared with the Enforcement Directorate," the finance minister said.

He was replying to questions by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader LK Advani and Communist Party of India (CPI's) Gurudas Dasgupta whether the agreement would enable India to get the black money stashed in foreign banks.

The issue of Indians having secret Swiss bank accounts was a poll plank during last year's general elections. Indians are alleged to have assets worth billions of dollars in banks in Switzerland.

Mukherjee said it was an agreement between two "sovereign" countries and Switzerland "is in no way subordinate to us".

He said the agreement will help India access the information on unaccounted money for taxation purposes only.

"The new provision will be applicable only for prospective information and not for past information," Mukherjee added.

The Paris-based OECD sets the international tax standards. Switzerland has entered into revised tax pacts with many countries in accordance with OECD's Model Tax Convention to facilitate bilateral exchange of information related to bank account details of tax evaders.

What Pranab says is nothing new.
I had expected this plea from the government.
You don't expect the highly secretive Swiss to divulge their secrets unless it is squeezed out from them like the USA did.
We too will have to use their weak points like their banks or companies like Nestle who are doing roaring business in India to bring them to their knees.
That is if we are actually interested in getting back the stashed money, which I doubt very much for most of the money belong to congressmen and their cronies.
After all it is the Congress which has ruled India for most of the 60 years since independence.

Life to Bobbitiser cops?

Abraham Thomas | New Delhi

Three policemen accused of Bobbitising a person inside a Rajasthan police station 16 years ago may end up in jail for life after the Supreme Court on Monday suggested “exemplary punishment” for them.

The cops, accused of chopping the penis of the man, had got off the hook with a relatively minor sentence of four years awarded by the Rajasthan High Court.

Directing the CBI, investigating the role of the three policemen, to produce documents in favour of a higher sentence, the Bench of Justices Markandey Katju and TS Thakur said, “There is a limit to nonsense. There is something called civilised behaviour.”

Noting its concern over the case, the Bench said, “There has to be a strong and deterrent punishment…Just because you are policemen, you can’t do this. Today you chop off somebody's penis, tomorrow you can chop off someone’s head.”

Fortunately, the CBI too had pressed for exemplary punishment in the case as it noted that the trial court had awarded the policemen life sentence. But it was the Rajasthan High Court that took a lenient view of the matter and modified the sentence to four years. In doing so, the high court held that there were no independent witnesses to support the claim of victim Jugta Ram.

Jugta, who worked at a liquor shop in Barmer, had illicit affair with his employer’s wife and daughter and it was this reason that drove the owner, Beru Singh, to hand him over to police for questioning.

The accused cops — SHO Sohran Singh, ASI Sumer Dan and Kishor Singh — brought Jugta to the Sadar police station and questioned him in connection with the complaint. When he confessed to his illicit affairs, the policemen took out a razor and chopped off his penis. Despite the brutal act, the policemen enjoyed a free run till 2004, when the investigations got transferred to the CBI

I must commend the Supreme Court for taking a quick decision on the above matter.
But I cannot help wondering why is the Supreme Court not equally active when a woman is raped.
In both cases the sexual organs are defiled but we have seen cases drag on for years where women are concerned.
Is the above more heinous than when a woman is affected?

Reminesces of Sudha Murty

Sudha, Rohini Nilekani, Kumari Shibulal

Love Story of Narayana Murthy (Infosys Founder) and Sudha (From Sudha's Autobiography)

It was in Pune that I met Narayan Murty through my friend Prasanna who is now the Wipro chief, who was also training in Telco(TataMotors) . Most of the books that Prasanna lent me had Murty's name on them which meant that I had a preconceived image of the man. Contrary to expectation, Murty was shy,bespectacled and an introvert. When he invited us for dinner. I was a bit taken aback as I thought the young man was making a very fast move. I refused since I was the only girl in the group. But Murty was relentless and we all decided to meet for dinner the next day at 7.30 p.m .. at Green Fields hotel on the Main Road ,Pune.

The next day I went there at 7' o ! clock since I had to go to the tailor near the hotel. And what do I see? Mr. Murty waiting in front of the hotel and it was only seven. Till today, Murty maintains that I had mentioned (consciously! ) that I would be going to the tailor at 7 so that I could meet him.... And I maintain that I did not say any such thing consciously or unconsciously because I did not think of Murty as anything other than a friend at that stage. We have agreed to disagree on this matter.

Soon, we became friends. Our conversations were filled with Murty's experiences abroad and the books that he has read. My friends insisted that Murty as trying to impress me because he was interested in me. I kept denying it till one fine day, after dinner Murty said, I want to tell you something. I knew this as it. It was coming. He said, I am 5'4" tall. I come from a lower middle class family. I can never become rich in my life an! d I can never give you any riches. You are beautiful, bright, and intelligent and you can get anyone you want. But will you marry me? I asked Murty to give me some time for an answer. My father didn't want me to marry a wannabe politician, (a communist at that) who didn't have a steady job and wanted to build an orphanage...

When I went to Hubli I told my parents about Murty and his proposal.. My mother was positive since Murty was also from Karnataka, seemed intelligent and comes from a good family. But my father asked: What's his job, his salary, his qualifications etc? Murty was working as a research assistant and was earning less than me. He was willing to go dutch with me on our outings. My parents agreed to meet Murty in Pune on a particular day at10 a. m sharp. Murty did not turn up. How can I trust a man to take care of my daughter if he cannot keep an appointment, asked my father.

At 12noon Murty turned up in a bright red shirt! He had gone on work to Bombay , was stuck in a traffic jam on the ghats, so he hired a taxi(though it was very expensive for him) to meet his would-be father-in-law. Father was unimpressed. My father asked him what he wanted to become in life.

Murty said he wanted to become a politician in the communist party and wanted to open an orphanage. My father gave his verdict. NO. I don't want my daughter to marry somebody who wants to become a communist and then open an orphanage when he himself didn't have money to support his family.

Ironically, today, I have opened many orphanages something, which Murty wanted to do 25 years ago. By this time I realized I had developed a liking towards Murty which could only be termed as love. I wanted to marry Murty because he is an honest man. He proposed to me highlighting the negatives in his life. I promised my father that I will not marry Murty without his blessings though at the same time, I cannot marry anybody else. My father said he would agree if Murty promised to take up a steady job. But Murty refused saying he will not do things in life because somebody wanted him to. So, I was caught between the two most important people in my life.

The stalemate continued for three years during which our courtship took us to every restaurant and cinema hall in Pune. In those days, Murty was always broke. Moreover, he didn't earn much to manage. Ironically today, he manages Infosys Technologies Ltd., one of the world's most reputed companies. He always owed me money. We used to go for dinner and he would say, I don't have money with me, you pay my share, I will return it to you later. For three years I maintained a book on Murty's debt to me... No, he never returned the money and I finally tore it up after my wedding.

The amount was a little over Rs 4000. During this interim period Murty quit his job as research assistant and started his own software business. Now, I had to pay his salary too! Towards the late 70s computers were entering India in a big way.

During the fag end of 1977 Murty decided to take up a job as General Manager at Patni computers in Bombay .. But before he joined the company he wanted to marry me since he was to go on training to the US after joining. My father gave in as he was happy Murty had a decent job, now.

WE WERE MARRIED IN MURTY'S HOUSE IN BANGALORE ON FEBRUARY 10, 1978 WITH ONLY OUR TWO FAMILIES PRESENT.I GOT MY FIRST SILK SARI. THE WEDDING EXPENSES CAME TO ONLY RS 800 (US $17) WITH MURTY AND I POOLING IN RS 400 EACH...

I went to the US with Murty after marriage. Murty encouraged me to see America on my own because I loved travelling. I toured America for three months on backpack and had interesting experiences which will remain fresh in my mind forever. Like the time when the New York police took me into custody because they thought I was an Italian trafficking drugs in Harlem .. Or the time when I spent the night at the bottom of the Grand Canyon with an old couple. Murty panicked because he couldn't get a response from my hotel room even at midnight. He thought I was either killed or kidnapped.

IN 1981 MURTY WANTED TO START INFOSYS. HE HAD A VISION AND ZERO CAPITAL...initially I was very apprehensive about Murty getting into business. We did not have any business background ... Moreover we were living a comfortable life in Bombay with a regular pay check and I didn't want to rock the boat. But Murty was passionate about creating good quality software. I decided to support him. Typical of Murty, he just had a dream and no money. So I gave him Rs 10,000 which I had saved for a rainy day, without his knowledge and told him, This is all I have. Take it. I give you three years sabbatical leave. I will take care of the
financial needs of our house. You go and chase your dreams without any worry. But you
have only three years!

Murty and his six colleagues started Infosys in 1981,with enormous interest and hard work. In 1982 I left Telco and moved to Pune with Murty. We bought a small house on loan which also became the Infosys office. I was a clerk-cum-cook- cum-programmer. I also took up a job as Senior Systems Analyst with Walchand group of Industries to support the house.

In 1983 Infosys got their first client, MICO, in Bangalore . Murty moved to Bangalore and stayed with his mother while I went to Hubli to deliver my second child, Rohan. Ten days after my son was born, Murty left for the US on project work. I saw him only after a year, as I was unable to join Murty in the US because my son had infantile eczema, an allergy to vaccinations. So for more than a year I did not step outside our home for fear of my son contracting an infection. It was only after Rohan got all his vaccinations that I came to Bangalore where we rented a small house in Jayanagar and rented another house as Infosys headquarters. My father
presented Murty a scooter to commute. I once again became a cook, programmer, clerk,
secretary, office assistant et al. Nandan Nilekani (MD of Infosys) and his wife Rohini stayed with us. While Rohini babysat my son, I wrote programs for Infosys. There was no car, no phone, and just two kids and a bunch of us working hard, juggling our lives and having fun while Infosys was taking shape. It was not only me but also the wives of other partners too who gave their unstinted support. We all knew that our men were trying to build something good.

It was like a big joint family,taking care and looking out for one another. I still remember Sudha Gopalakrishna looking after my daughter Akshata with all care and love while Kumari Shibulal cooked for all of us. Murty made it very clear that it would either be me or him working at Infosys. Never the two of us together... I was involved with Infosys initially.

Nandan Nilekani suggested I should be on the Board but Murty said he did not want a husband and wife team at Infosys. I was shocked since I had the relevant experience and technical qualifications. He said, Sudha if you want to work with Infosys, I will withdraw, happily. I was pained to know that I will not be involved in the company my husband was building and that I would have to give up a job that I am qualified to do and love doing.

It took me a couple of days to grasp the reason behind Murty's request..I realized that to make Infosys a success one had to give one's 100 percent. One had to be focussed on it alone with no other distractions. If the two of us had to give 100 percent to Infosys then what would happen to our home and our children? One of us had to take care of our home while the other took care of Infosys.

I opted to be a homemaker, after all Infosys was Murty's dream. It was a big sacrifice but it was one that had to be made. Even today, Murty says, Sudha, I stepped on your career to make mine. You are responsible for my success.

That's the Power of Love.

Every man needs a woman to motivate him and to give him a reason to live.....

Sent by U Banerjee, North Point

The power of Prayers

Amongst all of the stuff we get over
the internet, occasionally we get
something like this.

Sent by Parthasarathi Sengupta

As Tennyson said, "More things are done by prayers than this world dreams of"
Of course both the above prayees may be aking for contradictory things.
The boy may be asking for a new dog and
the dog may be asking for a new master!!

Tell the Sex of a Fly

A woman walked into the kitchen to find her
husband stalking around with a fly swatter

"What are you doing?"
She asked.

"Hunting Flies"
He responded.

"Oh! Killing any?"
She asked.

"Yep, 3 males, 2 Females," he replied.
Intrigued, she asked.
"How can you tell them apart?"

He responded,
"3 were on a beer can,
2 were on the phone."

Sent by Prakash Bhartia

Reminds me of Mr. P Yonzan, our Hindi teacher. I hope I got the name right. There was as C Yonjan and a P Yonzan, one taught Hindi and the other Nepali. I always got mixed up,
When teaching grammar in his Hindi classes he would ask whether Chiria (bird) was masculine or feminine gender.
Non plussed, we would look at him blankly.
He would then say, "Very easy"
You throw some grains in front of it.
If she "chugti hai" then it is feminine but if "chugta hai", then it is masculine.

The Bimal Gurung Effect

Darjeeling may be deserted this Puja
TNN, Aug 29, 2010, 05.18am IST

KOLKATA: Bookings for Darjeeling, once the favourite Puja vacation destination, are finding no takers. The numbers have fallen so low this time that even elite hotels are ready to give away rooms at 50% discount but still cannot find anyone, thanks to the turmoil in the Hills.

Darjeeling is facing an indefinite strike since Sunday evening.

There has been a shift towards North Bengal and Sikkim instead. Hotels and resorts, run by both state corporations and private operators, are overbooked. Tour operators say rush will continue till Diwali. In fact, many tour firms are discouraging people from heading for Darjeeling because they are afraid tourists will get stranded in the Hills and ask for cancellation dues.

State tourism department officials say their guest houses in Darjeeling are "more or less empty" throughout the Pujas. "Last year, the situation was slightly better, perhaps because there was a lull in political turbulence. Not so this time," said an official.

"The general feeling is that Darjeeling is no longer safe for travel. Too much political turbulence make tourists feel uncomfortable about visiting Darjeeling," said Debal Ghosh, spokesperson of West Bengal Tourism Development Corporation.

Till a few months ago, there were many inquiries from visitors of other states and foreigners too. But the brutal daylight murder of Madan Tamang on May 21 in an area frequented by tourists slammed the door on bookings. "People feared that it would trigger clashes. They realised that peace in the Hills was gone. Darjeeling still remains close to tourists' heart, but they prefer North Bengal and Sikkim for now," said Anil Punjabi, eastern India chairperson of Travel Agents Federation of India.

From Mahalaya onwards, at least 5,000-7,000 people would flock to Darjeeling daily. This year, not even 5% of that number is going towards the hill station, said Punjabi. "Tourists from Spain, France, Japan and Thailand made up the maximum number of foreigners in Darjeeling. This time, when they are seeing us for bookings, they clearly tell us they they have been asked by their countries not to visit Darjeeling," Punjabi said.

Darjeeling hoteliers did not want to comment directly. "August and September are lean periods anyway and are non-indicative of what might happen during the Pujas," said an official at Windamere. Rakesh Razzak, spokesperson of Anand Palace, said: "We do have some inquiries from within and outside the state. The Pujas are still two months off and we hope things will get better by then."


Shed ye tears, those who still have them for your old school.
The puja's were such a serene period during our school days.
Our second term exams were over and the results were out.
Football had given way to sports practise.
The monsoons had withdrawn and the hills were covered with greenery.
There was a definite nip in the air.
For those participating in the operas, this was the time for which they had been practising these last two months.
Then the sports would be held.
Club Drill, Hoop Drill and other drills which was brought to a climax by Bro Roe's Maze Drill,
The 100 metre dash, the tug-of-war, teacher's race, servant's race, musical chairs and the intermixed school relay race.
St. Helen's + Goethals vs Dow Hill + Victoria.
We always seemed to win in Goethals and they invariably won the event during the Victoria Sports.
I suppose the crowd cheering affected the performance.
Then the local boys used to go home but we students from far away would spend the puja holidays in school.
Played aimlessly during the day followed by a movie in the evenings.

Well all we can do reminisce.
The present boys cannot even dream of those things for the school is closed and the whole of Darjeeling is out in mourning the death of Bimal Gurung.
How I wish it would be true.
This person has finished Darjeeling.

Vedanta and Orissa

Vedanta behind Vedanta
Law of the land must apply to all businesses
Business Standard / New Delhi August 26, 2010, 0:16 IST

The philosophy (vedanta being the closest Sanskrit word for it) behind the Union government’s decision not to permit bauxite mining in the Niyamgiri hills region of Orissa by the mining company Vedanta Resources is impeccable. The company has been found to flout the laws of the land, so to speak, and must, therefore, be punished. The company did not adhere to the letter and spirit of the Forest Rights Act. The company has also been issued a show-cause notice regarding its alleged non-adherence to the Environment Protection Act in the case of the Lanjigarh refinery. The government has done well to insist that even the biggest of businesses must adhere to the law of the land. No one is above law. It would, of course, be helpful, from the viewpoint of upholding law, that the government also identify all such officials and agencies of its own that have erred and enabled the company to function with impunity till now. The Union Minister for Environment and Forests, Jairam Ramesh, has assured that there will be no “witch-hunting” and has given a clean chit to state government officials, declaring that they “were acting to the best of their ability and with the best of intentions”. Says who? Surely, no firm could have violated the law of the land and got away for so long without official complicity? Mr Ramesh’s selective allegiance to law and procedure can raise doubts whether the Union government’s decision was based purely on governance criteria or there is some politics in this. More to the point, the government should show similar commitment to implementing laws and punishing law-breakers across the board. If that is done retrospectively, however, India may well become an industrial wasteland, considering how much of Indian industry has thrived in the manner that Vedanta thought was par for the course.

One does not have to go very far from Lutyens’ Delhi in search of lawbreakers when it comes to land use. Farmhouses around Delhi are a good place to start! But one must eschew such cynicism and look at the positive side of such policy decisions as the minister has taken. There is no denying that the rights and interests of tribals have been trampled upon and environmental considerations ignored in the name of development. India needs a balanced approach to questions of development and displacement. As a resources-deficient economy, which India is on a per capita basis, and as an ancient land with every square mile of land holding some cultural significance for someone or the other, the country needs a policy framework and political consensus to balance the interests of all peoples, including those who seek employment from new developmental projects.

For its part, Vedanta should learn the appropriate lessons from this episode. It is instructive to note that so few of the local people came out in support of the company’s plans. Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is not just a public-relations activity, nor just one more administrative responsibility of managers. CSR has to be a means by which firms build long-term relations with all stakeholders. If Vedanta had done its CSR properly, it could have got local people marching in its support. The very fact that this did not happen shows that the firm did not strike roots in the soil it was mining

A leopard never changes its spot, no matter even if you place it among lions.
The Agarwals, Anil and earlier his father Dwarka Prasad, had never cared for the means by which they earned their wealth.
I remember around 1977 when I worked in Patna.
The Agarwals owned a small factory which made GI buckets.
Then they established a ACSR / AAC factory and did this business under the name Progressive Cables.
Rural Electrification was going on at a fast pace during those days and Mr. D P Agarwal used to supply these conductors to the BSEB (Bihar State Electricity Board).
BSEB was a den of corruption in those days.
I wonder if it still is for as I said , a leopard does not change its spots.
But, under Nitish Kumar it may have changed slightly.
The Agarwals, used to supply, the conductor drums to BSEB during the daytime and remove them during the night to be supplied again the following day. Thus the same drums were circulated again and again.
If you get a Kamdhenu Organisation like the BSEB, you can become rich very fast.
They then bought a closed factory known as Sterlite Cables in Mumbai and shifted base there.
This factory turned out to be a goldmine for them as they found plenty of copper cables and scrap and just at that time the price of copper went up.
The rest is history.
They have now become the richest Indians and have recently displaced Mukesh Ambani from that pedestal.
However, their basic methods remain the same.

Eureka! eureka! says the CBI

'84 riots: Delhi police conducted sham probe to shield Cong leader Sajjan Kumar, says CBI

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) today told the Supreme Court that the special anti-riots cell of the Delhi Police had conducted "sham investigations and farce prosecutions" in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots to apparently shield key accused – senior Congress leader and former MP Sajjan Kumar.

In an affidavit, the investigating agency urged the Supreme Court to vacate the stay it granted on Kumar's trial in August 13 after the former MP challenged his prosecution.

The CBI pleaded that the stay "seriously prejudiced" the prosecution against the Congress leader.

A Bench of Justices P Sathasivam and B S Chauhan -- while taking on record the affidavit – posted to September 7 the final hearing of the agency's plea to prosecute Kumar for the Delhi Cantonment riots.

"Mr Dave, nobody is insensitive," the Bench said when senior counsel Dushayant Dave, appearing for one of the victims, asked the court to vacate the stay on grounds that it involved the emotions of thousands of people.

So at last the CBI has become aware that others do the same as what they have been doing, ever since independence.
Of course, the party which benefits by the farce is dependent on who is ruling at the centre.
Like Mulayam Singh and Mayawati alternately being pressurized by investigations to make them fall in line.
Just see how fast they recognized the similarities when they accused the congress of cozying up with the BJP to get the Nuclear Bill passed by slowing down the investigations against Narendra Modi.
The entire government machinery is rotten and should be changed

Army getting Rs 9500 crore. How much will they spend?

Army to induct 'offensive' corps along China border
TNN, Jul 2, 2010, 04.22am IST

NEW DELHI: The Indian security establishment is considering the largest-ever upgrade of military capabilities along the China border as it tries to catch up with the militarily advanced neighbour.

Sources told TOI that the defence ministry has proposed the setting up of a Mountain Strike Corps and two Independent Brigades along the China border. The proposed corps would be India's fourth strike corps and the only one dedicated for offensive operations in mountainous terrain.

When contacted, a senior Army official looking after media affairs denied any such move. However, authoritative sources said the Cabinet Committee on Security is set to consider the proposal in the coming weeks. Once approved, the proposal would lead to a massive upgrade in India's military capabilities, and would be a huge step-up of Army presence along the border.

A senior official in the security establishment told TOI that the entire proposal was part of Army leadership's "vision" to catch up with China in military capabilities. The entire effort was "defensive in nature", he said.

Presently, Indian Army is engaged in raising two mountain divisions along the border with the giant neighbour. The proposed strike corps and two independent brigades would be separate from the two divisions being raised, he said.

The Army proposal, now under consideration at the highest levels of the government, envisages an expenditure of Rs 9,500 crore. The cost is primarily for new equipment such as ultra light howitzers and helicopters required for creating these highly mobile units. Units of the strike corps, to be based somewhere in the northeast, would be capable of operating like rapid reaction forces. The strike corps would have two divisions and other support troops, TOI has learnt.

The Army proposal includes raising of an independent brigade in Ladakh, and another brigade in Uttarakhand. Sources within the security establishment have for long been worried about India's military weaknesses before China's intimidating military modernisation. Coupled with a weak infrastructure, India's situation has been worrying to security experts.

After the defeat of 1962, India abandoned infrastructure development along border areas with China for decades.

I wonder how much of the Rs 9500 crores would actually go into the upgrading the army. If we go by previous records and Rajiv Gandhi's own statements, a rough guess would be Rs 95 crores. But we have an honest defence minister in Mr Anthony, so we can allow that maybe Rs 150 crores will be spent.
We have recently seen two cats fighting over the spoils of an ailing former defence minister, a trade union leader.
Everyday we now read about the corruption in the Indian Army.
So how much the army would benefit from the above is anybody's guess.

Some Colorful Sardarji humour

Interviewer:
what is your birth date?
Santa: 13th August
Which year?
Santa: Oye ullu ke pathe _ _ _ EVERY YEAR
-----------------------------------------------------------
Manager asked Santa at an interview.
Can you spell a word that has more than 100 letters in it?
Santa replyed: -P-O-S-T-B-O-X
----------------------------------------------------------
After returning back from a foreign trip, Santa asked his wife,
Do I look like a foreigner?
Wife: No! Why?
Santa: In London a lady asked me Are you a foreigner?
----------------------------------------------------------
One tourist from U.S.A. asked Santa:
Any great man born in this village???
Santa: no sir, only small Babies!!!
--------------------------------------------------------
Lecturer: write a note on Gandhi Jayanthi
So Santa writes, "Gandhi was a great man, but I don't know who is Jayanthi.
--------------------------------------------------------
Interviewer: just imagine you are on the 3rd floor, it caught fire
and how will you escape?
Santa: its simple. I will stop my imagination!!!
--------------------------------------------------------
Santa: My mobile bill how much?
Call centre girl: sir, just dial 123 to know current bill status
Santa: Stupid, not CURRENT BILL, just MOBILE BILL
--------------------------------------------------------
Santa: I think that girl is deaf..
Friend: How do u know?
Santa: I told I Love her, but she said her chappals are new
--------------------------------------------------------
Friend: I got a brand new Ford IKON for my wife!
Santa: Wow!!! That's an unbelievable exchange offer!!!
---------------------------------------------------------
Teacher: Which is the oldest animal in world?
Santa: ZEBRA
Teacher: How?
Santa: Bcoz it is Black & White
---------------------------------------------------------
Santa attending an interview in Software Company.
Manager: Do U know MS Office?
Santa: If U give me the address I will go there sir.
--------------------------------------------------------
Santa in airplane going 2 Bombay ..
While its landing he shouted: " Bombay .. Bombay "
Air hostess said: "B silent."
Santa: "Ok.. Ombay. Ombay"
-------------------------------------------------------
Teacher: "What is common between JESUS, KRISHNA , RAM, GANDHI and BUDHA?"
Santa: "All are born on government holidays...!!!
-------------------------------------------------------
Sir: What is difference between Orange and Apple?
Santa: Color of Orange is orange, but color of Apple is not APPLE
-------------------------------------------------------

Sent by Arun Shroff

Why Commonwealth Games?

'Commonwealth' Games no good to the public: Premji

Thursday, 26 August 2010, 08:11 IST


Bangalore: The spending of Rs. 28,000 crore of public fund serves nothing good to the common public and this kind of spending does not befit to the concept out of which the idea of Commonwealth Games had germinated.

The term 'commonwealth originally meant public welfare, things that are for the greater good of society. "There are few things as uplifting as watching a sportsperson push physical and mental limits to achieve the incredible. The Commonwealth Games, like the Olympics, are a celebration of the human spirit of excellence. Therefore, in itself, the Games are a worthy endeavour," says Azim Premji. The gross spending on the Delhi Commonwealth Games has been estimated at Rs. 11,494 crore which is quite exorbitant compared to its original estimate of Rs. 655 crore. If the additional amount of Rs. 16,560 spent by Delhi government for the development of infrastructure in the capital and the real cost of labour had to be included, then the real cost of the games will be much higher, says Premji.

The infrastructure included new airport terminal, wider roads, new flyovers, Metro rail extensions and when it comes to real cost of labour, Premji says that labourers were paid minimum wages, made to work in unsafe conditions and were housed in sub human tenements.

Premji pesters to question whether the thousands of crores being spent on the Delhi Commonwealth Games is being spent wisely. When it comes to schools, better infrastructure for existing schools and more teachers, we have to compromise on funds. To encourage sports in the country, the government must ensure playgrounds, good equipments and quality coaching. It would be a wrong priority to look snub the grassroot priorities and spend extravagantly on such a grand event of sport.

"Despite the wonderful economic strides of the past two decades, the reality is that India is a poor country. A recent study by the University of Oxford measured levels of education, health and living standard in the world's poorest countries. This study shows that India continues to be predominantly poor. In fact, there are more poor people in eight Indian states than in the 26 poorest African countries combined," Premji added.


The above is from Silicon India.

Premji has his head in the right place.
I couldn't agree with him more.
The CWG will never improve the standard of our sportsman as all the various games associations are controlled by a coterie of politicians who just scratch each others back. Even after so many corruption charges being levelled against Kalamadi, he will neither resign on his own nor be asked to resign by the party.
It is obvious that these sporting events are held to generate wealth for the already rich coterie of politicians and their cronies.
These b-----ds rejoice when national calamities like floods, earthquakes, droughts, Tsunamis occur for it allows them to mint money.
Pakistan is also the same.
I wonder how much of the money which is being given to them will go to the affected people? Maybe 2 to 3%. After all they are even more corrupt then us.

Giraffe - Guru

BABY giraffes never go to a business school. But they learn a very important management lesson rather early in life.

A lesson that all of us would do well to remember.

The birth of a baby giraffe is quite an earth-shaking event. The baby falls from its mother’s womb, some eight feet above the ground. It shrivels up and lies still, too weak to move.

The mother giraffe lovingly lowers her neck to kiss the baby giraffe. And then something incredible happens. She lifts her long leg and kicks the baby giraffe, sending it flying up in the air and tumbling down on the ground.

As the baby lies curled up, the mother kicks the baby again and again Until the baby giraffe, still trembling and tired, pushes its limbs and for the first time learns to stand on its feet. Happy to see the baby standing on its own feet, the mother giraffe comes over and gives it yet another kick. The baby giraffe falls one more time, but now quickly recovers and stands up.
Mama Giraffe is delighted. She knows that her baby has learnt an important lesson:

Never mind how hard you fall, always remember to pick yourself up and get back on your feet.

Why does the mother giraffe do this? She knows that lions and leopards love giraffe meat. So unless the baby giraffe quickly learns to stand and run with the pack – it will have no chance of survival.

Most of us though are not quite as lucky as baby giraffes. No one teaches us to stand up every time we fall. When we fail, when we are down, we just give up.

No one kicks us out of our comfort zone to remind us that to survive and succeed, we need to learn to get back on our feet.

If you study the lives of successful people though, you will see a recurring pattern. Were they always successful in all they did? No.

Did success come to them quick and easy? No, You will find that the common streak running through their lives is their ability to stand up every time they fall. The ability of the baby giraffe!

Sent by U Banerjee, North Point

Gulp! Diamond dash ends in Dubai airport

Mumbai, Aug. 24: Four Latin American jewel thieves who stole diamonds worth over Rs 6 crore from an expo yesterday and swallowed the stones were caught in Dubai today in a co-ordinated operation by police here and in the emirate.

The four — three men and a woman — entered the India International Jewellery Show in Goregaon posing as jewellery traders. Police sources said that around 4.30pm, while the three men chatted with an employee of Dalumi group at the Israeli diamond manufacturer’s outlet, their 24-year-old Mexican companion, Guerrero Lugo Elvia Grissel, picked up a box containing 75 packets of 887.24 carat diamonds “and hid it in her handbag”. The stones were worth Rs 6.6 crore.

The theft was detected by Dalumi about an hour after Grissel, her Mexican accomplices — Campos Molan Elias, 39, and Gonzalez Madlonado Mauricio, 24 — and Venezuelan Gutierez Orlando had left, said joint commissioner (crime) Himanshu Roy.

The expo organisers informed Goregaon police station in the western suburbs of Mumbai. The organiser, the Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council, provided the police with CCTV footage that showed the woman had stolen the diamonds.

The police alerted the immigration authorities at Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport but by then the group had boarded the Mumbai-Dubai-Hamburg Emirates flight around 10pm and taken off. The crime branch then called the Interpol wing of the CBI and the Union home ministry, which contacted authorities in Dubai.

Dubai police searched the Emirates flight around 2am IST, deplaned the four and detained them. They then administered medicine to the group to take out the diamond packets they had swallowed.

Roy said: “It appears that they had done a recce. They chose the last day of the show to commit the crime. We are investigating if they got any local help.” Mumbai police will send a team armed with the non-bailable warrant to bring the four back to the city.

Most likely, the four made on-the-spot registrations to enter the fair. For foreign nationals, the organisers ask for photographs and copies of their passport. As these details were available, the police could match the CCTV footage and identify the suspects.

The above method adopted by the crooks is nothing new.
My neighbour in Burrabazar, Kolkata had lost her diamond nose pin .
She suspected her servant may have taken it.
Under threats and questioning he admitted having taken it and had swallowed it.
My neighbour did not have medicines to help her but she was very resourceful.
She made the servant eat boiled raw bananas and kept him under observation.
The next morning when he wanted to go to the toilet, she made him sit in the room in front of her. She then made him search for the ring.
Lo and behold!
The nose pin was there.
When you think of it, it is so simple.
We have a 30 ft tube from the mouth to the rectum through which all food pass.
If the stomach chemicals do not have any reaction on the ingested food, it passes out, as it was when ingested, provided it does not get stuck on the walls of the pipe.
The boiled raw banana just provided lubrication so that the nose pin did not get stuck on the walls of the alimentary canal.

Smile Please!!

Humour is a very difficult subject. Nothing to joke about.
Timing is of essence and your audience reaction is of utmost importance.
Further, it depends whether your audience has heard the same earlier.
Hardly anyone can claim to recite original humour. They are passed on from day to day, week to week and generation to generation and nowadays from email to email.
Characters change according to the place whether the humour is being recited.
I always mention the source of my jokes, if I remember it.
The following are selected from "Silicon India" who send various interesting articles.
You may have read or heard some of them earlier.
I too have read some earlier but the criteria for a good joke is that it makes you smile, even when recalling it and it should not hurt anyone except Irishmen, Englishmen, Scotsmen, Jews, Bengalis, Marwaris, Sardarjis, Madrassis and blondes.

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A retired couple is lying in bed one night and are discussing all aspects of their future.

"What will you do if I die before you do?" husband asked wife.

After some thought, she said, "I'd probably look for a house sharing situation with three other single or widowed women who might be a little younger than herself, since she is so active for her age."

Then wife asked husband, "What will you do if I die first?"

He replied, "Probably the same thing."

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A young lady came home from a date, rather sad.

She told her mother, "Jeff proposed to me an hour ago."

"Then why are you so sad?" her mother asked.

"Because he also told me he was an atheist. Mom, he doesn't even believe there's a hell."

Her mother replied, "Marry him anyway. Between the two of us, we'll show him how wrong he is."

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A lady went to the police station to file a report for her missing Husband:


Lady: I lost my Husband
Inspector: What is his height
Lady: I never noticed
Inspector: Slim or healthy
Lady: Not slim can be healthy
Inspector: Colour of eyes
Lady: Never noticed
Inspector: Colour of hair
Lady: Changes according to season
Inspector: What was he wearing
Lady: suit/casuals I don’t remember exactly
Inspector: Was somebody with him ?????????
Lady: Yes my Labrador dog, Calvin, tied with a golden chain, height 30 inches, healthy, blue eyes, blackish brown hair, his left foot thumb nail is slightly broken, he never barks, wearing a golden belt studded with blue balls, he likes non veg food, we eat together, we jog together…. And the lady started crying…..
Inspector: Let’s search for the dog first!!!!!!!

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A police officer pulls over a speeding car. The officer says, " I clocked you at 80 miles per hour, sir."

The driver says, "Gee, officer I had it on cruise control at 60, perhaps your radar gun needs calibrating."

Not looking up from her knitting the wife says: "Now don't be silly dear, you know that this car doesn't have cruise control."

As the officer writes out the ticket, the driver looks over at his wife and growls, "Would you please keep your mouth shut?"

The wife smiles demurely and says, "You should be thankful your radar detector went off when it did."

As the officer makes out the second ticket for the illegal radar detector unit, the man glowers at his wife and says through clenched teeth, "Woman, can't you keep your mouth shut?"

The officer frowns and says, "And I notice that you're not wearing your seat belt, sir. That's an automatic $75 fine." The driver says, "Yeah, well, you see officer, I had it on, but took it off when you pulled me over so that I could get my license out of my back pocket."

The wife says, "Now, dear, you know very well that you didn't have your seat belt on. You never wear your seat belt when you're driving."

And as the police officer is writing out the third ticket the man turns to his wife and barks, "WHY DON'T YOU SHUT UP!??"

The officer looks over at the woman and asks, "Does your husband always talk to you this way, Ma'am?"

She replies, "Only when he's been drinking."

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A guy phones up his Boss, but gets the bosses' wife instead. "I'm afraid he died last week." she explains.

The next day the man calls again and asks for the boss. "I told you" the wife replies, "he died last week."

The next day he calls again and once more asks to speak to his boss. By this time the wife is getting upset and shouts, "I'VE ALREADY TOLD YOU TWICE, MY HUSBAND, YOUR BOSS, DIED LAST WEEK! WHY DO YOU KEEP CALLING?"

"Coz," he replied laughing, "I just love hearing it..."

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The artist tried to concentrate on his work, but the attraction he felt for his model finally became irresistible. He threw down his palette, took her in his arms and kissed her.

She pushed him away. "Maybe your other models let you kiss them," she said.

"I've never tried to kiss a model before," he swore.

"Really?" she said, softening, "How many models have there been?"

"Four," he replied, "A jug, two apples, and a vase."

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A guy dials his home phone from work. A strange woman answers.

The guy says, "Who is this?"

"This is the maid," answered the woman.

"We don't have a maid!"

"I was just hired this morning by the lady of the house."

"Well, this is her husband. Is she there?"

"Um...she's upstairs in the bedroom with someone who I just figured was her husband."

The guy is fuming. He says to the maid, "Listen, would you like to make 25,000 bucks?"

"What do I have to do?"

"I want you to get my gun from my desk in the den and shoot that witch and the jerk she is with."

The maid puts down the phone. The guy hears footsteps, followed by two gunshots.The maid comes back to the phone.

"What should I do with the bodies?"

"Throw them in the swimming pool!"

"What! There's no pool here?"

"Uh... is this 2263841?"

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Healthy eating habits for Diabetics

Diabetes and diet tip#1: Be smart about sweets
Eating for diabetes doesn’t mean eliminating sugar. But in order to get the most enjoyment out of sweets, it is best to save them for special occasions. After all, they are called treats for a reason. If you have diabetes, you can still enjoy a small serving of your favorite dessert now and then. The key is moderation.

How to include sweets in a diabetes-friendly diet
Eating sweets at a meal adds extra carbohydrates. Because of this it is best to cut back on the other carb-containing foods at the same meal. Carbohydrate-rich foods include all flour products (i.e. bread, tortillas, crackers), rice, cereal, fruit, juice, potatoes, corn, etc. This will help you keep your blood glucose levels on track. Just keep in mind that these carbohydrate-rich foods have many nutrients your body needs, so don’t substitute too often.

Tricks for cutting down on sugar
There are many ways to reduce your sugar consumption. Here are a few suggestions:

Make healthy substitutions. Substitute sparkling water for soda, a bowl of frozen fruit instead of ice cream, one slice of your favorite cheese instead of cake, a piece of fruit instead of pie.
Clear your kitchen of sweets and don't purchase them. Instead, you can enjoy a dessert when you are away from home.
Split dessert with a friend when out and enjoying a treat.
Slowly savor each bite when you do eat a treat.
Reduce or eliminate the amount of sugar called for in recipes.
Your definition of sweet may change
As your eating habits become healthier, and you eat fewer sweets, your taste buds may shift. Foods that you used to love may seem too sweet. Instead healthier foods may become what you crave.

Diabetes and diet tip#2: Balance your carbs
Carbohydrates have a big impact on your blood sugar levels, but you don’t have to avoid them. You just need to be smart about what types of carbs you eat and how you balance them in the rest of your diet.

Simple vs. complex carbs
Carbohydrates include simple sugars and complex starches and fibers. Your body breaks down carbohydrates into glucose (blood sugar), which is the fuel for your cells.

Simple carbohydrates: Includes fruits and some vegetables, which in their natural form offer vitamins, minerals, and fiber. Simple carbs also include processed and refined foods, or “empty carbs,” with little nutritional value, such as soda, candy, snack foods, and white products such as white flour and white rice.
Choosing healthy carbs
Complex carbohydrates (also called slow-release carbs): Found in starchy vegetables, legumes, and whole grains such as whole grain brown rice, millet, quinoa and steel cut or rolled oats. Complex carbs take longer to digest, which helps you stay full longer and keeps your blood sugar level more even.

Tips for balancing carbohydrates
Eat brown rice instead of white rice, steel-cut oats instead of processed cereals or instant oatmeal, or whole-grain bread instead of white bread.
Balance your meals with all the food groups and make veggies the largest part of the meal. Eating carbs along with protein or a little fat helps reduce the impact on your blood sugar levels.
Reduce how much soda and juice you drink. Switch to water or mineral water with a little juice mixed in instead.
Eat sweet potatoes or winter squash instead of white potatoes.
Choose a bran muffin over a croissant or pastry.
Why fiber matters
Fiber, also called roughage or bulk, is the part of plants that your body can’t digest. Fiber is found in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, nuts and seeds. In general, the more natural and unprocessed the food, the higher it is in fiber.

Fiber’s role in preventing and controlling diabetes:

Improves your blood sugar control and thus may reduce the risk of diabetes.
Fiber intake is associated with a lower risk of heart disease.

Sent by U Banerjee, North Point

Long Live the king

Minister in frisk fracas
OUR BUREAU
Calcutta, Aug. 21: The Bengal government threw its weight around after health minister Surjya Kanta Mishra was stopped for frisking by guards at a city hotel this morning, the administrative chain reaction exposing the deep-rooted prejudices against security drills despite repeated terror attacks in the country.

The incident occurred at Hotel Hyatt Regency in Salt Lake where Mishra was to take part in a meeting with his central counterpart, Ghulam Nabi Azad.

When he was stopped for frisking, Mishra called senior state officials who summoned the police, who secured an apology from the hotel personnel. The government has ordered an inquiry too.

Hearing of the commotion, Azad, who was getting ready for the meeting, rushed down from his fifth-floor room. “It’s the hotel security staff who did the mess,” Azad later said.

The almost identical reactions of the ministers from two parties — Mishra is from the CPM while Azad is a Congress leader — came although the hotel guards do not appear to have broken any rules.

The police said there was no formal list of people who were exempt from such frisking and that it was largely left to the discretion of private establishments.

Only airports have such a list, which has drawn criticism for creating a security caste system that goes against the idea that ministers should take the lead in showing other citizens how to cooperate with personnel protecting others.

The Chittaranjan National Cancer Institute had organised its governing body meeting at the hotel from 11am. Azad is the governing body chairman and Mishra its “alternate chairman”.

At the entrance, two security personnel from an agency hired by the hotel asked Mishra to stop for frisking with a hand-held metal detector after the minister had walked through the metal-detector frame. The second, manual scan appears to have upset Mishra, although random checks are considered an ideal step the world over.

“I won’t enter. I will go to Swastha Bhavan and let the meeting be held there,” a fuming Mishra told a health department official.

North 24-Parganas superintendent of police Rahul Shrivastav led a police team to the hotel and sternly addressed the staff.

“We wanted to detain the two (security) personnel but the minister himself asked us not to,” a police officer said. He said several hotel employees were questioned but no one was detained.

The issue was sorted out around 11am after hotel officials and the security personnel apologised to Mishra and he agreed to go in.

“I will not say anything on this,” Mishra later said in response to a question.

When Hyatt Regency was contacted this evening, the spokesperson said: “We have nothing to comment.”

But state chief secretary Ardhendu Sen said: “It’s a deplorable incident and I have asked the North 24-Parganas police superintendent to conduct an inquiry.”

“The private security personnel of Hyatt were conducting the security check. Despite (Mishra) identifying himself as the state’s health minister, the security personnel were adamant that he had to go through the entire procedure and said they wouldn’t allow him in otherwise,” home secretary Samar Ghosh said.

“It was a big mistake on the organisers’ part. Some of their representatives should have been at the hotel gate to receive the minister,” he added. “The minister called me from there and said he and Union minister of state for health Dinesh Trivedi had been refused entry. Then I asked the superintendent of police of North 24-Parganas to intervene.”

Ghosh said the organisers should offer an apology.

“There is something called courtesy which we expect the hotels to extend, and this should have been done in the case of a state minister,” a police officer said, without explaining if it was discourteous to frisk the countless ordinary people who underwent such checks daily.

Cancer institute director Joydip Biswas said a representative had been present to receive Mishra. “Our representative apologised to the minister but he said it was the hotel staff who should apologise,” Biswas said.

Trivedi, who is from the Trinamul Congress, arrived at the hotel around 10.45am and found the situation “extremely tense”. He said: “The health minister was very upset and said he wouldn’t enter the hotel.”

Trivedi quoted Mishra as saying: “How dare the hotel staff stop a minister?” and added: “The hotel’s security personnel were not diplomatic either and it didn’t help the situation at all. I defused the situation.”

The above incident reminds me of stories where subjects were ordered to stand with bowed heads while the royalty passed.
They were not even allowed to look at the royalty.
How could the security people dare to frisk a minister in the Left Front Government?
These are examples of the so-called people's leaders.
It is not surprising that the left front and its leaders are being kicked out.
It is because of such leaders that 26/11 occurs.
Once security is relaxed for such scums the terrorists find the loop holes and create havoc.
This Surya Kanta Mishra should be sacked by Buddha Dev Bhattachary for raising tantrums and endangering the security of the nation.

Lesson in Management - Mahatma Gandhi

Non-violent parenting

Dr. Arun Gandhi, grandson of Mahatma Gandhi and founder of the M.K. Gandhi Institute for Non-violence, in his June 9 lecture at the University of Puerto Rico , shared the following story as an example of "non-violence in parenting":
"I was 16 years old and living with my parents at the institute my grandfather had founded 18 miles outside of Durban , South Africa , in the middle of the sugar plantations. We were deep in the country and had no neighbors, so my two sisters and I would always look forward to going to town to visit friends or go to the movies.
One day, my father asked me to drive him to town for an all-day conference, and I jumped at the chance. Since I was going to town, my mother gave me a list of groceries she needed and, since I had all day in town, my father ask me to take care of several pending chores, such as getting the car serviced. When I dropped my father off that morning, he said, ' I will meet you here at 5:00 p.m., and we will go home together. '
After hurriedly completing my chores, I went straight to the nearest movie theatre. I got so engrossed in a John Wayne double-feature that I forgot the time. It was 5:30 before I remembered. By the time I ran to the garage and got the car and hurried to where my father was waiting for me, it was almost 6:00.
He anxiously asked me, ' Why were you late? ' I was so ashamed of telling him I was watching a John Wayne western movie that I said, ' The car wasn ' t ready, so I had to wait, ' not realizing that he had already called the garage. When he caught me in the lie, he said: ' There ' s something wrong in the way I brought you up that didn ' t give you the confidence to tell me the truth. In order to figure out where I went wrong with you, I ' m going to walk home 18 miles and think about it. '
So, dressed in his suit and dress shoes, he began to walk home in the dark on mostly unpaved, unlit roads. I couldn ' t leave him, so for five-and-a-half hours I drove behind him, watching my father go through this agony for a stupid lie that I uttered. I decided then and there that I was never going to lie again.
I often think about that episode and wonder, if he had punished me the way we punish our children, whether I would have learned a lesson at all. I don ' t think so. I would have suffered the punishment and gone on doing the same thing. But this single non-violent action was so powerful that it is still as if it happened yesterday. That is the power of non-violence. "
"Forgiveness is - giving up my right to hate you for hurting me."

Sent by U Banerjee, North Point

Why Sharks Circle You Before Attacking

Two great white sharks swimming in the ocean spied survivors of a sunken ship.

"Follow me son" the father shark said to the son shark and they swam to the mass of people.

"First we swim around them a few times with just the tip of our fins showing." And they did.

"Well done, son! Now we swim around them a few times with all of our fins showing." And they did.

"Now we eat everybody." And they did.

When they were both gorged, the son asked, "Dad, why didn't we just eat them all at first? Why did we swim around and around them?"

His wise father replied, "Because they taste better without the shit inside!"

The above was sent by Pradeep Mohan and the following are from Rex Barker

Mama Needs A New Pair of Shoes...

A young blonde was on vacation in the depths of Louisiana. She wanted a pair of genuine alligator shoes in the worst way, but was very reluctant to pay the high prices the local vendors were asking.

After becoming very frustrated with the "no haggle" attitude of one of the shopkeepers, the blonde shouted, "Maybe I'll just go out and catch my own alligator so I can get a pair of shoes at a reasonable price!"

The shopkeeper said, "By all means, be my guest. Maybe you'll luck out and catch yourself a big one!"

Determined, the blonde turned and headed for the swamps, set on catching herself an alligator. Later in the day, the shopkeeper is driving home, when he spots the young woman standing waist deep in the water, shotgun in hand. Just then, he sees a huge 9 foot alligator swimming quickly toward her.

She takes aim, kills the creature and with a great deal of effort hauls it on to the swamp bank. Lying nearby were several more of the dead creatures. The shopkeeper watches in amazement.

Just then the blonde flips the alligator on its back, and frustrated, shouts out, "Dang it, this one isn't wearing any shoes either!"

An old prospector shuffled into town leading an old tired mule.
The old man headed straight for the only saloon to clear his parched throat.

He walked up and tied his old mule to the hitch rail. As he stood there, brushing some of the dust from his face and clothes, a young gunslinger stepped out of the saloon with a gun in one hand and a bottle of whiskey in the other.
The young gunslinger looked at the old man and laughed, saying, "Hey old man, have you ever danced?"

The old man looked up at the gunslinger and said, "No, I never did dance... never really wanted to."

A crowd had gathered as the gunslinger grinned and said, "Well, you old fool, you're gonna dance now," and started shooting at the old man's feet
The old prospector --not wanting to get a toe blown off-- started hopping around like a flea on a hot skillet. Everybody was laughing, fit to be tied.

When his last bullet had been fired, the young gunslinger, still laughing, holstered his gun and turned around to go back into the saloon.

The old man turned to his pack mule, pulled out a double-barreled shotgun, and cocked
both hammers.

The loud clicks carried clearly through the desert air.

The crowd stopped laughing immediately.
The young gunslinger heard the sounds too, and he turned around very slowly.
The silence was almost deafening.
The crowd watched as the young gunman stared at the old timer and the large gaping holes of those twin barrels.

The barrels of the shotgun never wavered in the old man's hands, as he quietly said, "Son, have you ever licked a mule's ass?"

The gunslinger swallowed hard and said, "No sir..... but... I've always wanted to."

There are a few lessons for us all here:

Never be arrogant.
Don't waste ammunition.
Whiskey makes you think you're smarter than you are.
Always, always make sure you know who has the power.
Don't mess with old men, they didn't get old by being stupid.

I just love a story with a happy ending, don't you?

Happy Weekend

Play Chess & Enjoy

Do you like playing chess? Then enjoy your game and start immediately
The best way to play chess -- Inovation has no end


DEAD Pieces ARE TO BE DRUNK by the killer.

Sent by Pradeep Mohan

Beware of the Butchers of IMA

On the 18th evening a school friend staying in Delhi contacted me on the phone.
He was becoming breathless and doctors had advised him to undergo a stress test (TMT).
The test was positive as the testing had to be stopped after 5 minutes.
The doctors had then asked him to do a angiography to locate the extent of blockages in his arteries.
He wanted my advise.
Since I was a master in angiography, I had undergone two angiographs and two angioplasts, he had contacted the right person.
The first angio was done in 2001 when I started getting breathless while going to office. It was performed at RTIICS (Rabindranath Tagore International Institute of Cardiac Sciences), which was started by Dr. Devi Shetty.
By the way, just for your information, Dr. Shetty started this institute because he was fed up of the malpractises going on at the B M Birla Heart Research Institute.
This institute, B M Birla, was recently in the news for all the wrong reasons. They had been fined Rs 37 lakhs for carelessness which resulted in the death of a heart patient.
So, Dr. Shetty was right in leaving that organisation.
I was talking of my first angio.
Just after the angio, I had started doing pranayam as advised by Swami Ramdeo.
My body started performing better and I could carry out my normal activities.
After about two years, I became so confident that I stopped taking the prescribed medication like Atorva 10, Betaloc 50 and Ecospirin 75.
That, I suppose, was the cause of my downfall.
I again became breathless and had to undergo a second angio in 2003 at RIITC
While the first cost me Rs 80000/-, the second cost me about Rs 150000/-, the difference being on account of some new medicated stents they used in the second case.
Fortunately, my younger son, who had just joined Dell had both me and my wife covered through medical insurance and so I had no financial worry.
Since 2003, I have been careful with my medication and have continued to do pranayam and other exercises as had been described in my earlier post
http://goethals1907-2007.blogspot.com/2007/11/swami-ramdeo-and-pranayam-synonymos.htm

Besides the above, I have been taking the following:
1.Aloe vera juice 15 ml in a glass of warm water, in the morning on empty stomach.
2. One tea spoon of powdered (Cinnamon) Dalchini with one tea spoon of honey, at bed time.
3. One tea spoon of Arjun Chal (Terminalia arjuna) in four cups of water. The water is allowed to be boiled until it reduces to one cup. The mixture is strained and the juice is taken.It is bitter, I must warn you.

I advised my friend to keep the Angiogrpah on HOLD for 15 days and to follow my above medication and do pranayam during this time.
If he did not find any improvement, he could go in for the angio.

This is what I would recommend anyone who proposes to go in for an angio or a bypass.

As I have been repeatedly saying, our Indian doctors are vultures who want to make quick money. I know of one doctor who recommended angio in spite of the TMT test being negative.
So before allowing these butchers to cut you open, please, please give the above treatment a try.
I ASSURE YOU YOU WILL NOT HAVE TO UNDERTAKE THE SURGERY.

Information about Gonorrhea Lectim

The Center for Disease Control has issued a warning about a new virulent strain of this old disease. The disease is called Gonorrhea Lectim. It's pronounced "Gonna re-elect 'em," and it is a terrible obamanation.

The disease is contracted through dangerous and high risk behavior involving putting your cranium up your rectum. Many victims contracted it in 2008...but now most people, after having been infected for the past 1-2 years, are starting to realize how destructive this sickness is.

It's sad because Gonorrhea Lectim is easily cured with a new drug just coming on the market called Votemout. You take the first dose in 2010 and the second dose in 2012 and simply don't engage in such behavior again; otherwise, it could become permanent and eventually wipe out all life as we know it.

Sent by Prakash Bhartia.

The above disease, it seems is contagious, and also exists in a virulent form in India

A study in Contrast

Traffic haywire after cave-in
A STAFF REPORTER

The subsidence near Raj Bhavan threw the morning rush-hour traffic haywire, forcing police to change the route chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee’s convoy takes on its way to Writers’ Buildings.

Traffic on the road in front of the western gate of Raj Bhavan, part of which caved in, was suspended for almost half an hour till police put in place an effective diversion plan.

“From 9am to 9.25am, traffic was suspended along the road. From 9.25am, all vehicles heading south down Council House Street was diverted through BBD Bag North, BBD Bag East and Old Court House Street,” said a senior traffic police officer.

Vehicles heading for NS Road from Strand Road were asked to travel further north in an attempt to minimise congestion in the central business district.

The chief minister had to make a detour on his way to office from his Palm Avenue residence.

Bhattacharjee’s convoy was diverted through Government Place North from Council House Street. It then travelled through Old Court House Street, BBD Bag South, NS Road and BBD Bag North to reach Writers’.

Vehicles heading towards Red Road was allowed to ply down the stretch where the cave-in occurred after 2pm, by which time the crater had been fenced.

Traffic crawled along the stretch, with cops struggling to manage the situation over their manpacks.

The ripple effect of the cave-in and the subsequent diversion of traffic left several arteries choked and vehicles jostling for space. The affected stretches were RR Avenue, Red Road, Mayo Road and Goshto Pal Sarani.

“Things became difficult when judges were heading for the high court. There cannot be any hold-up on a judge’s way. The same thing happened in the evening but we managed to pull it off,” said a senior officer.

Portions of two roads cave in, traffic disrupted on Delhi's Ashoka Road
PTI, Aug 18, 2010, 12.22pm IST

NEW DELHI: Portions of two roads in Lutyens Delhi caved in due to rains affecting traffic in the area today.

For the second time in three days, a portion of Jaswant Singh Road near Andhra Bhavan caved in due to overnight rains creating problems for commuters passing through Ashoka Road. On Monday also, the same road had caved in.

Vehicular movement was also affected on Rajesh Pilot Marg towards Hotel Claridges as a portion of the road caved in.

Commuters said they had a difficult time reaching Connaught Place and Parliament Street.

A senior police official said adequate personnel were deployed to manage traffic on the stretch.

The official said vehicles were moving at a slow pace on Rao Tula Ram Marg to Moti Bagh due to an uprooted tree while breakdowns of vehicles affected traffic on Outer Ring Road in Mukundpur, Rohini and Seelampur.

Rains have led to waterlogging in many areas like Lajpat Nagar, Ashram, Kailash Colony, Gulmohar Park, Ashram, Moolchand and Gupta Market last night.

Coincidently, the above two news items have come on the same day.
The first is from Kolkata and the second from Delhi.
The sewers in Kolkata were made in 1867, that is around 150 years ago.
The roads in Delhi were made only recently, maybe just 5 or 10 years ago.
Do I have to say any further of the corruption existing in India after Independence.
And these leaders want an increase in salary and would like us to remember the freedom fighters while they continue looting the country.
I would suggest their salaries are reduced rather than increased just like an employee is demoted if he does not perform.

Rs 37-lakh blow for hospital

From The Telegraph
The family of a Tollywood director who died after undergoing bypass surgery at a reputable city hospital in 2007 has won a compensation claim of Rs 27 lakh for medical negligence, misinformation and false billing.

The State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has slapped an additional fine of Rs 5 lakh on BM Birla Heart Research Centre in Alipore for publishing “misleading” advertisements and using the logo of an American institute — Cleveland Clinic Foundation — without having any operational tie-up.

The hospital has also been asked to pay the family of late Anjan Chowdhury an extra Rs 5 lakh as litigation cost. Officials said it was the highest payout ordered by the consumer forum against any private hospital in Bengal.

“We hope my father’s soul will now rest in peace,” Chumki Chowdhury, the director’s daughter, told Metro after Monday’s verdict.

The hospital said it would challenge the consumer forum’s ruling in court. “Chowdhury was a diabetic who was taken for a high-risk surgery with his family’s consent. Unfortunately, he died. We are not accepting this verdict and will move higher courts,” said a spokesperson for the institute.

Chowdhury, who had directed box-office hits like Shatru, Gurudakshina and Mejo Bou in a career spanning over two decades, was admitted to the Alipore institute on February 1, 2007, with chest pain and recommended a coronary artery bypass graft.

According to the complaint lodged by the 63-year-old director’s family, the hospital not only misled them into agreeing to the surgery but also did not tell them that he had slipped into a coma.

“My father was taken for a check-up but the doctors suggested that he be admitted immediately for surgery. After the surgery (on February 14, 2007), he slipped into a coma but the hospital authorities assured us that he was fine. When we checked the records later (Chowdhury was officially declared dead at 10.30pm on February 21), we found out that he was operated on thrice after his bypass, about which the authorities did not tell us,” said daughter Chumki.

The consumer forum held the hospital guilty of suppressing information about “surgical interventions” following the bypass.

The Rs 27 lakh that Chowdhury’s family is supposed to receive includes Rs 2 lakh for “arbitrary” billing and Rs 1 lakh for an HIV test being carried out without the patient’s consent. The Rs 5 lakh fine for misleading advertisements about accreditation to the National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and Healthcare Providers would go into the State Consumer Welfare Fund.

I am sure the above decision of The State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission must be heart warming for thousands of patients who have been at the receiving end of such malpractises and it will encourage them to take these vutures to the court more often.
I know that the Birlas are powerful and will take the matter to the High Court and maybe to the Supreme Court to get themselves acquitted like Dr Kunal Saha had to take his case to get justice for his wife Anuradha who was killed because of wrong treatment at AMRI and the Medical Council would not punish the guilty doctors.

Jail, not bail for builders refusing to refund money: HC

Posted: Tue Aug 17 2010, 01:14 hrs
New Delhi:

Builders in the city doling out fancy promises to woo prospective buyers when they don’t even have the land deeds in place, beware. The Delhi High Court has ruled that “jail and not bail” is the caveat for realtors who receive money from buyers on the basis of promises which in reality are nothing but misrepresentations.

Justice S N Dhingra held that no such person, who refuses to give back money to the consumers even after his lies come out in the open, should be released on bail. “Cheating has become a profession these days. Builders often make false promises about the land and buildings and induce people to invest money in colonies, which exist only on paper, when in fact they do not have land or permission to set up colonies. This menace of cheating is increasing day by day and courts cannot take a casual approach towards those who had admittedly received huge amounts but are not prepared to refund,” said Justice Dhingra in his order on Friday.

The court was adjudicating a petition by Dr Raman Kumar Juneja, who was aggrieved by a sessions judge cancelling his bail on the complainant’s prayer. As per the FIR, he had claimed to be the absolute owner of a property at Rajpur Road in Civil Lines and entered into an agreement in July 2008 to sell it to the complainant. While Juneja received Rs 1.5 crore as initial consideration of the property, which was valued at Rs 6.75 crore, he allegedly kept on postponing execution of the sale deed.

Later, the complainant found out that Juneja did not have the title of the access road to the property and had misrepresented facts to induce him to part with the money, as per the FIR. When the complainant demanded his money back, Juneja refused and allegedly told him that the entire money had been forfeited.

While a magistrate granted bail to Juneja, the complainant approached a sessions court, which cancelled his bail last August. The Sessions Judge observed that prima facie it was a serious case of deliberately inducing the complainant to part with the amount by making false representation about ownership of the passageway to the property. The facts had disclosed that his intention was malafide from the very beginning, the judge added.

Juneja challenged this order in the High Court, claiming there was no valid reason for cancellation of bail. But Justice Dhingra refused to entertain Juneja’s arguments and said his intention from the very beginning had been to swallow the money or he would have not misrepresented facts to the complainant.

I wonder if Dr. Raman Kumar Juneja is a medical practitioner.
If so, this is an added feather in the cap of the medical profession.
Besides all the other malpractises like excessive billing, prescribing excessive medicines, back scratching (passing on patients to their fellow colleagues, connivance with nursing homes to conduct unnecessary operations and even billing patients relatives after the patient is dead (keeping the fact hidden), doing illegal business in organ transplant, aborting female foetus now they have started cheating the public by becoming builders.
I suppose this is all part of Hippocratic Oath.

But then we Indians are masters in making illegal money.
See how easily Suresh Kalamadi has done it in the CWG.
Forget the games and India's prestige.
We have to make money first.
The Congress party tries to distance itself from Kalamadi.
They forget, Kalamadi got this post because he was from the congress pary.
THE CONGRESS PARTY IS ANSWERABLE FOR ALL ACTS OF OMISSION AND COMMISSION COMMITTED BY KALAMADI.
THERE IS NO POINT NOW IN MANMOHAN SINGH LOCKING THE STABLE DOORS AFTER THE HORSES HAVE BOLTED.
THE CWG IS FINISHED FOR ALL PRACTICAL PURPOSES.
NEW ZEALAND HAS FIRED THE FIRST SALVO

Law of the Garbage Truck

One day I hopped in a taxi and we took off for the airport.

We were driving in the right lane when suddenly a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us.

My taxi driver slammed on his brakes, skidded, and missed the other car by just inches! The driver of the other car whipped his head around and started yelling at us.

My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. And I mean, he was really friendly.

So I asked, 'Why did you just do that? This guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital!'

This is when my taxi driver taught me what I now call, 'The Law of the Garbage Truck.'

He explained that many people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and full of disappointment.

As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it and sometimes they'll dump it on you. Don't take it personally.

Just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on. Don't take their garbage and spread it to other people at work, at home, or on the streets.

The bottom line is that successful people do not let garbage trucks take over their day.

Life's too short to wake up in the morning with regrets,

So ... Love the people who treat you right.

Pray for the ones who don't.

Life is ten percent what you make it and ninety percent how you take it!

Have a blessed, garbage-free day!

Sent by U Banerjee, North Point

Book Release by Viraj Thacker

Dear Mr. Sharma,

It seems like we were destined not to meet in 2010 (despite the proximity)!

It was a hectic time in Kathmandu with little opportunity to travel.....Just got home on Friday after a hectic 4 months in Nepal. All ventures were successful with the book launch as the major highlight.....media, TV coverage and all !! Wish you had been there .....the next one perhaps!

I also managed to screen my 31 minute documentary on the subject of globalization ( a series of POVs from Adelaide, Australia to Mumbai, Kolkata, Darjeeling (India) and finally Kathmandu (Nepal). The book and the documentary were well received.

My Kolkata plans were also interrupted by a last minute trip to Adelaide and I left Kathmandu on the 27th, popped Down Under and I am finally back home in Iowa City!

Well, I do have plans for book four in 2011 and if you're up to it.............it would be a delight to have you on board!

With due apologies for my absence from our blog........

Warmest Regards to you and the family,
Viraj.

PS - I have attached some stuff related to the book launch. Among our special guests and speakers were: Mr. Prabhakar SJB Rana (Old North Pointer, CEO, Soaltee Group Hotels, Ktm); Dr. Dipak Gyawali (intellectual, cultural theorist and well known environmentalist); and the Hon'ble Governor of the Nepal Rastra Bank. I have posted a set of pics on Facebook.

Court boost for Muslim women

13 August 2010
press trust of india

NEW DELHI, 13 AUG: A Muslim man is bound to maintain his divorced wife and minor children till she gets remarried, Delhi High Court has said in a judgement that calls to mind the Supreme Court’s Shah Bano verdict of 1985.
The High Court said that irrespective of Muslim personal law, under which the husband is bound to maintain his wife only during the Iddat period which is around three months after divorce, the wife is entitled for maintenance under Criminal Procedure Code till she remarries. “It is crystal clear that even a Muslim divorced woman would be entitled to claim maintenance from a Muslim husband till she has not married (again). This being a beneficial piece of legislation (CrPC), the benefit must accrue to the divorced Muslim women,” the court held. “Petition under Section 125 CrPC (pertaining to award of maintenance) would be maintainable (for the wife) before Family Courts so long as she does not remarry and the amount of maintenance to be awarded under the Act cannot be restricted for Iddat period only,” it said.
It further said that the husband owes responsibility to maintain not only his ex-wife but also the minor children living with her. The High Court passed the order while dismissing a petition filed by a man challenging a lower court's award of maintenance of Rs 2,000 per month to his minor daughter living separately with her mother.
Brushing aside the man's contention that the right to get maintenance for the minor children ceases after two years of divorce as provided in personal law, the Court said that the sustenance right cannot be restricted unless the divorcee gets remarried. “I consider that this contention is baseless. Even a wife who has been divorced under Muslim Law is entitled to claim maintenance under the Criminal Procedure Code after the Iddat period... I consider that the benefit cannot be denied to a minor daughter because of any restrictive provision contained in Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986,” Mr Justice SN Dhingra said, referring to the then Rajiv Gandhi government's legislative initiative that effectively overturned the verdict in the Shah Bano case.
The SC, in 1985, had ruled in favour of Muslim divorcee Shah Bano, declaring that her husband should pay her maintenance under Section 125 of the CrPC. But a voluble orthodoxy deemed the verdict an attack on Islam and forced the Rajiv government to enact the 1986 Act, which shifted the onus of maintaining a divorced Muslim woman on her relatives or the Wakf board after the iddat period.

I wonder how long is this victory for muslim women going to last.
People had hailed the verdict during the Shah Bano case but soon Rajiv Gandhi, that spineless Prime Minister of India caved in and overturned the verdict.
One of his Ministers Arif Mohammad Khan had resigned in protest of Rajiv's action.
However, his, Rajiv's wife, Sonia, herself being a woman, is made of sterner stuff.
I don't think she will cave in.
But then Vote Bank Politics is another matter and she too may follow her husband's footsteps.
Only Time can say?

Assam Accord - In the dustbin?

Implementation of Assam Accord a total failure: AASU

White paper on Assam Accord

By our Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, Aug 13: The All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) came down heavily on the Centre and the State Government for their failure to implement any of the major clauses of the Assam Accord in the last 25 years, during which deported Bangladeshis re-entered the State, even fought election and moved the Gauhati High Court claiming themselves as Indians.

Publishing a white paper on the failure of the Centre and State Government to implement the Assam Accord, the AASU said: “The Assam Accord accepted March 24, 1971 as the cut-off date for deportation of foreigners, but the Centre and the State Government did precious little towards that end in the last 25 years. Rather many deported Bangladeshis re-entered the State, fought election and moved the high court claiming themselves as Indians.”

“The Accord clearly spelt out that foreigners who had entered the State from 1966 to 1971 should be identified and their names be deleted from the voters list for ten years, but the government didn’t identify such people in the last 25 years,” the white paper said, and added: “On the constitutional safeguard for the indigenous people of the State too, the government failed to do anything worthwhile. The AASU had demanded 100 per cent reservation of seats for the indigenous people of the State in State Assembly, Lok Sabha, and local body elections, but the Centre hasn’t spelt out any reservation of seats for the indigenous people as yet. In this regard, while the Prafulla Kumar Mahanta-led AGP Government did nothing, the Tarun Gogoi-led Congress Government formed a Group of Ministers (GoM) to take the decision on the definition of the word ‘Assamese’ as mentioned in the Accord. However, even after four years, the GoM hasn’t come out with the definition of the term.”

On the Assam Gas Cracker Project, now called Brahmaputra Cracker and Polymer Ltd (BCPL), the white paper said: “The Centre set March 2012 as its target for the completion of the project, but the pace of the project work is very slow. This apart, the State Government has utterly failed to protect the interests of the local populace in the BCPL.”

The white paper further said that the Centre had failed to seal the Assam-Bangladesh border in the last 25 years though it had the track record of sealing the India-Pakistan border in just two years. “In 1990, the AASU had sent a proposal to the Centre on NRC update. The tripartite talks held on May 5, 2005 took the decision to update NRC in two years, but five years have elapsed, and even the work of the NRC pilot project is yet to be completed, not to speak of NRC update. Taking the pretext of the July 21 protest by the All Assam Minority Students’ Union (AAMSU), the State Government stopped the work of the NRC pilot project. This is a tactic to delay the process of NRC update.”

Addressing the press, AASU president Sankar Prasad Ray dared various parties and organizations to challenge if the white paper published by the AASU today had anything wrong in it. He said that in the May 5, 2005 tripartite talks the Centre had declared floods in Assam as a national problem, and the State Government too published an advertisement in that regard, but floods in the State were never given the status of a national problem, and the problem was far from being solved.

Ray said that the State had 36 Foreigners Tribunals, but 15 of them were non-functional. He demanded of the State Government to increase the number of Foreigners Tribunals to 100. He said that tomorrow all central committee members of the AASU would resort to a fast from 6 am near Dighalipukhuri till the hoisting of the National Flag on August 15 in protest against the failure of the government to implement the Assam Accord.

AASU general secretary Tapan Kumar Gogoi said that the AGP, Congress, BJP, CPI and the CPI-M that had been in power in the State and at the Centre did not pay any heed to the call for implementation of the Assam Accord in the last 25 years.

AASU advisor Samujjal Bhattacharya said: “On August 15, 1985 the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi said while hoisting the National Flag in Red Fort that the Assam Accord had put an end to the Assam Agitation. The Assam Accord is a national assurance to the people of Assam. However, the government has failed to fulfil the assurance as it has surrendered before illegal foreigners and communal forces.”

The AASU is as much responsible as the Centre and State for the present state of affairs of Assam.
Prafulla Mahanta and his his gang who lead the agitation turned out to be just as corrupt as the other leaders before them.
The Congress always had a short term policy of appeasing the minority just to get their votes. This they are doing to this day in supporting the ASMU. But why did the people like Mahanta not do anything when they were in power.
In Kashmir, the Congress government allowed infiltration from Pakistan to jepordize the very exixtence of the state.
They are doing the same in the North East.
Fortunately, Bangladesh is a landlocked country and they are not able to push in the Al-Qaida and other muslim terrorist outfits so far.
However, the days are not far when the North East too will start burning like Kashmir, if the Congress government continues to play with fire.