Former RSS chief, Shia leader appeal people to shun caste politics

Lucknow, Oct 30 (ANI): Highlighting the need for an exhaustive overhaul of the prevailing system of elections, former Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) chief K. S. Sudarshan and eminent Muslim Shia leader Kalbe Sadiq on Sunday appealed to the people not to vote on the basis of caste.
The two eminent community leaders, who met here, asserted that such polls reforms would rectify anomalies in the nation's democratic institutions.etting aside religious differences, Sudarshan, an eminent Hindu ideologue, and Sadiq, an equally respected and revered Muslim scholar, expressed concern at the growing rot in the nation's democratic system due to graft and also criminalisation of politics and politicisation of religion.
Sadiq appealed to masses to rise above social differences and barriers of faith while casting their franchise.
"Both of us agreed on the issue of poll reforms in the country. This is an absolutely valid demand. Secondly, people should not think about caste, creed and religious parameters while casting their votes. If I am a Muslim and I see an honest Hindu candidate contesting an election, then it is my duty to vote for him rather than for a candidate who may be a Muslim but is dishonest," Sadiq told mediapersons after his meeting with Sudarshan.
"The same holds true for the Hindu voters. A Hindu voter should also vote for a Muslim candidate with a clean image rather than for another Hindu contestant who is tainted and corrupt," he added.
Echoing similar sentiments, Sudarshan urged political parties and parliamentarians to bring about extensive reforms in the electoral process to reinforce India's democratic machinery.
"Today, a contestant is declared a winner even though merely 20 percent of electorate have cast their votes in favour of him. While the rest 80 percent of voters are against him, that candidate feels he represents the entire society in that particular constituency," said Sudarshan.
"However, he is only concerned with the 20 percent of the masses who voted for him. To rectify this anomaly, only that candidate who secures more than 50 percent of votes in an election must be declared the winner," he added. (ANI)

At last we are hearing some sane voices from the religious leaders.
Now what will Diggy Raja say.
He has been blaming the RSS for anything and everything.
I agree with these leaders.
After the Lok Pal bill is passed, the next action plan for Anna should be changes in the electoral system so that the winning candidate has to procure at least 50% of the valid votes cast in the constituency.
Provision should also be made for rejection of all the candidates if the voter finds none of the fit for getting his vote.
Polling expenses should be drastically reduced and closed monitored. At present only the rich can stand for elections. Better still, the state should fund the elections.
And most important, persons convicted should not be allowed to stand themselves or put up proxy candidates.
An appeal in a higher court against a lower court conviction should not negate the conviction and the convicted should remain barred.

Who is the richest?

The verdict is out.
Mukesh Ambani is the riches Indian(27 billion) and Carlos Slim Helu & Family (74 billion) are the richest in the world.
But who among the races are the richest?
Prakash Bhartia explains to us who is the richest.

A Catholic, a Protestant, a Muslim, a Chinaman, an Indian giant of industry, and a Jew were in a discussion after a bounteous dinner.

Catholic: “I have a large fortune....I am going to buy Citibank!”

Protestant: : “I am very wealthy and will buy General Motors!”

Muslim: "I am a fabulously rich prince.... I intend to purchase Microsoft!”

Chinaman: "I'm a Shanghai trillionaire....I intend to buy the NYSE"

Indian: "My ambitions require me to buy all ports on the West Coast of North America"

They then all wait for the Jew to speak....
The Jew quietly stirs his coffee, places the spoon neatly on the table, takes a sip of his coffee, looks at them and casually says:

“I'm not selling!!!...”

Scam Against Older Men

With the scams coming out daily and the media making so much noise, it is but natural that your ears pluck up as soon as we see the word scam.
Here is one scam described by Prakash Bhartia which affects the older male population.

Warning:

Women often receive warnings about protecting themselves at the mall and in dark parking lots, etc. This is the first warning I have seen for men. I wanted to pass it on in case you haven't heard about it.

A 'heads up' for those men who may be regular customers at Lowe's, Home Depot, Costco, or even Wal-Mart. This one caught me totally by surprise.

Over the last month I became a victim of a clever scam while out shopping. Simply going out to get supplies has turned out to be quite traumatic. Don't be naive enough to think it couldn't happen to you or your friends.

Here's how the scam works:

Two nice-looking, college-aged girls will come over to your car or truck as you are packing your purchases into your vehicle. They both start wiping your windshield with a rag and Windex, with their breasts almost falling out of their skimpy T-shirts. (It's impossible not to look). When you thank them and offer them a tip, they say 'No' but instead ask for a ride to McDonald's.

You agree and they climb into the vehicle. On the way, they start undressing. Then one of them starts crawling all over you, while the other one steals your wallet.

I had my wallet stolen Mar. 4th, 9th, 10th, twice on the 15th, 17th, 20th, 24th, & 29th. Also Apr. 1st & 4th, twice on the 8th, 16th, 23rd, 26th & 27th, and very likely again this upcoming weekend.

So tell your friends to be careful. What a horrible way to take advantage of us older men. Warn your friends to be vigilant.

Wal-Mart has wallets on sale for $2.99 each. I found even cheaper ones for $.99 at the dollar store and bought them out in three of their stores.

Also, you never get to eat at McDonald's. I've already lost 11 pounds just running back and forth from Lowe's, to Home Depot, to Costco, Etc.

So please, send this on to all the older men that you know and warn them to be on the lookout for this scam. (The best times are just before lunch and around 4:30 in the afternoon.)

How are you feelin?

A Newfoundland farmer named Angus had a car accident. He was hit by a truck owned by the Eversweet Company.

In court, the Eversweet Company's hot-shot solicitor was questioning Angus.

'Didn't you say to the RCMP at the scene of the accident, 'I'm fine?'asked the solicitor.
Angus responded: 'Well, I'll tell you what happened. I'd just loaded my fav'rit cow, Bessie, into da... '

'I didn't ask for any details', the solicitor interrupted. 'Just answer the question. Did you not say, at the scene of the accident, 'I'm fine!'?'

Angus said, 'Well, I'd just got Bessie into da trailer and I was drivin' down da road.... '

The solicitor interrupted again and said,'Your Honour, I am trying to establish the fact that, at the scene of the accident, this man told the police on the scene that he was fine. Now several weeks after the accident, he is trying to sue my client.. I believe he is a fraud. Please tell him to simply answer the question. '

By this time, the Judge was fairly interested in Angus' answer and said to the solicitor: 'I'd like to hear what he has to say about his favourite cow, Bessie'.

Angus thanked the Judge and proceeded. 'Well as I was saying, I had just loaded Bessie, my fav'rit cow, into de trailer and was drivin' her down de road when this huge Eversweet truck and trailer came tundering tru a stop sign and hit me trailer right in da side. I was trown into one ditch and Bessie was trown into da udder. By Jaysus I was hurt, very bad like, and didn't want to move. However, I could hear old Bessie moanin' and groanin'. I knew she was in terrible pain just by her groans.

Shortly after da accident, a policeman on a motorbike turned up. He could hear Bessie moanin' and groanin' too, so he went over to her. After he looked at her, and saw her condition, he took out his gun and shot her between the eyes.

Den da policeman came across de road, gun still in hand, looked at me, and said, 'How are you feelin'?'

'Now wot da fock would you say?'

Sent by Prakash Bhartia

Congress leader Digvijaya Singh on Friday said undertrials should not be kept in lock-up once they are chargesheeted. Asking the judiciary to take a cue from a US court granting Rajat Gupta bail, Singh tweeted: “Good to know Rajat Gupta got bail. Would our judiciary also take a cue and not keep undertrials in lock up once they are chargesheeted.” The tweet came a day after Gupta was released on a $10-million bond on insider trading charges.

Our Diggy Raja is very fast in comparing the US judiciary with the Indian judiciary in the matter of granting bail.
Why does he not compare the speed at which the US judiciary hands dowm sentences.
Afzal Guru,Kasab and a horde of others are still rotting in jails because his government is unable to take a decision on hanging them because of vote bank politics.
If it had been the USA, they would have been executed by now.
Take the case of Rajaratnam.
On October 16, 2009, he was arrested for insider trading.
Within two years to the day, he has been convicted and given a 11 year sentence.
Not only that.
He has been fined $ 10 million and $53.8 million of his wealth has been forfeited.
Would this have been possible with the Indian Judiciary.
Here, first of all, no action would be taken against him by SEBI.
If SEBI took action then SAT would negate.
If both agreed then the courts would come in the way.
If the courts allowed probe, the the government would put the CBI after the person who made the complaint as it is now doing against Anna Hazare's core group.
I would rather say, the Indian judiciary is very lenient.
We require much more harsher laws against criminals.

Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA)

Bangalore: For Kashmiris, freedom is only in words and not in deeds. There is not even a semblance of freedom in the world's most heavily militarized zone, where they are stopped any time for security checks and their homes are often raided.

As the debate over the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) gets heated, it's that indomitable quest for freedom that shook the established political arrogance to rethink about a possible revocation of this draconian law. Under this rule, the troops can forgo warrants and use force. It even allows the army to shoot or arrest anyone on mere suspicion, a rule often criticized to be powering the army with complete impunity against human rights violation. The AFSPA was initially passed 1958 giving special powers to the army to be exercised in specially categorized "disturbed areas" in the North-Eastern states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura. The Special Powers Act was later extended to Jammu and Kashmir in 1990.

The act clearly says, "Fire upon or otherwise use force, even to the causing of death, against any person who is acting in contravention of any law" against "assembly of five or more persons" or possession of deadly weapons." It also permits the forces to arrest without a warrant and with the use of "necessary" force anyone who has committed certain offenses or is suspected of having done so. The army also can enter and search any premise in order to make such arrests.

While the government figures tell us that insurgency and fatalities due to terrorist attacks are weakening, it's startling to know that the soldiers-to-civilians ratio still remains to be very high that there is a soldier for every ten civilians in Kashmir.
However, the army has raised strong objections against the suggestions made by Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah for the withdrawal of the controversial special powers to the troops and it reportedly has the full backing from the defense ministry. The army would never agree on proposals on diluting the AFSPA until soldiers are assured of legal protection against being dragged to civilian courts.


Backed by the Home Ministry's suggestion that violence-free areas can be denotified as "disturbed areas," the state government is all-set to revoke the Disturbed Ares Act from districts like Badgam, Samba, Srinagar, and Jammu.

The iron-lady of Manipur Irom Sharmila's fight seems to have gotten the attention of the nation as several hundreds are taking it to the streets to join 'Save Sharmila Solidarity Campaign which calls for the revocation of the special armed force act. Her decade-long Gandhian way of protest has become a nucleus for collective protest against the draconian law.

The account of human rights violations under the shadow of this law is unimaginable as it can be better said to be "over 50 years of human rights violation" in Kashmir and in the North-Eastern states. While the army should be given its needed freedom and adequate protection in its fight against insurgency, the revocation of this draconian law would be the much-needed taste of freedom from the gunpoint.

The above is from Silicon India.

I do not agree with the author.
With China breathing down our necks in the north east and the Pak-China axis blowing hot in the west, how can we even think of withdrawing AFSA.
In spite of having the army present in Kashmir, the local population welcomes Pakistani infiltrators with open arms and resort to stone throwing and bandhs if any terrorist is killed, calling him a civilian.
The situation is not normal in Kashmir with infiltrators pouring in every day. Abnormal situations call for abnormal laws.
The only solution to the Kashmir problem lies in removing Article 350 which gives special status to Kashmir and does not allow outsiders to settle in Kashmir.
Hindus should be allowed to settle in Kashmir so that the demography is changed and the army finds itself surrounded by a friendly local population instead of a population who owes its allegiance to Pakistan.

Strong Password

The banks and credit card companies are always suggesting that we have strong passwords to protect our accounts.
Nothing could be stronger than this one

Sent by Prakash Bhartia

During a recent password audit by a company, it was found that an employee was using the following password:

"MickeyMinniePlutoHueyLouieDeweyDonaldGoofySacramento"
When asked why she had such a long password, she rolled her eyes and said:
"Hello! It has to be at least 8 characters
long and include at least one capital."

IT
HAD
TO
BE
A
BLOND'S
PASSWORD

NOAH TODAY

In the year 2010, the Lord came unto Noah, who was now living in America, and said:
"Once again, the earth has become wicked and over-populated and I see the end of all flesh
before me." "Build another Ark and save 2 of every living
thing along with a few good
humans. "He gave Noah the blueprints, saying: "You have 6
months to build the Ark before
I will start the rain, which will continue for 40 days and
40 nights."
Six months later, the Lord looked down and saw Noah weeping
in his yard - but no Ark.
"Noah!," He roared, "I'm about to start the rain! Where
is the Ark?"
"Forgive me, Lord," begged Noah, "but things have changed."
"I needed a Building Permit."
"I've been arguing with the Boat Inspector about the
need for a sprinkler system."
"My neighbors claim that I've violated the neighborhood
by-laws by building the Ark in my backyard and exceeding
the height limitations. We had to go to the local Planning
Committee for a variance."
"Then the local Council and the Electric Company demanded
a shed load of money for the future costs of moving power
lines and other overhead obstructions, to clear the passage
for the Ark's move to the sea. I told them that the sea
would be coming to us, but they would hear none of it."
"Getting the wood was another problem. There's a ban on
cutting local trees in order to save the Spotted Owl."
"I tried to convince the environmentalists that I needed
the wood to save the owls - but no go!"
"When I started gathering the animals the SPCA took me
to court.
They insisted that I was confining wild animals against
their will.
They argued the accommodations were too restrictive, and it
was cruel and inhumane to put so many animals in a
confined space."
"Then the Environmental Agency ruled that I couldn't build
the Ark until they'd conducted an environmental impact study
on your proposed flood."
"I'm still trying to resolve a complaint with the Human
Rights Commission on how many minorities I'm supposed to
hire for my building crew."
"The Immigration Dept. is checking the visa status of most
of the people who want to work."
"The trade unions say I can't use my sons. They insist
I have to hire only union workers with Ark-building experience."
"To make matters worse, Revenue Canada seized all my assets,
claiming I'm trying to leave the country illegally with
endangered species."
"So, forgive me, Lord, but it would take at least 10 years for
me to finish this Ark. "
"Suddenly the skies cleared, the sun began to shine, and a
rainbow stretched across the sky."
Noah looked up in wonder and asked, "You mean you're not
going to destroy the world?"
"No," said the Lord. "Big Government beat me to it."

Sent by Prakaash Bhartia

Layoff Letter

Little wonder why this guy is boss. He is sharp! You can't be any
fairer than this leader...

Dear Employees:

As the CEO of this organization, I have resigned myself
to the fact that Barrack Obama is our President and that
our taxes and government fees will increase in a BIG way.

To compensate for these increases, our prices would have to
increase by about 10%. But since we cannot increase our
prices right now due to the dismal state of the economy,
we will have to lay off sixty of our employees instead.

This has really been bothering me since I believe we are
family here and I didn't know how to choose who would have to go.


So, this is what I did. I walked through our parking
lots and found sixty 'Obama' bumper stickers on our
employees' cars and have decided these folks will be
the ones to let go. I can't think of a more fair way
to approach this problem. They voted for change......I
gave it to them.


I will see the rest of you at the annual company picnic.

Ron Eldridge Excavating, Inc.
1337 S. Main St .
Nicholasville , KY 40356

DOO-BAI , The Dubai Nobody Tells You About

Dubai is the land of the biggest, tallest, longest, widest, richest, fanciest, fastest...everything is ... in the world.

They have the tallest residential towers in the world, the tallest restaurant in the world, the largest number of Malbaris in the world, the highest crane operator in the world.

If it does not grow in Dubai, they'll make it artificially - artificial ski slopes, artificial islands, artificial oasis, coconut trees and lawns, artificial beaches, artificial economy.

Indians especially love it here because of the dirham-to-rupee value. Pakistani's adore it.

The Egyptians come here because there is nothing to do in Egypt. No more pyramids to build either.

The Filipinos come here because they have no choice; there’s nothing back home, not even dogs - they've been eaten up.

The Brits come here coz they have forgotten what it is to enjoy 3 meals a day in UK and nobody employs them there for the crap they give. .

The Lebanese come here to buy cars, dress to kill, wear Peter Pan shoes 10 sizes bigger than their feet, put 1 kg of gel on their heads and give everyone ball talk. They'll buy a 1980s Merc or BMW for 10k dirhams and drive the car like they’re sitting in the rear passenger seat, stretching their arms all the way to the steering wheel, giving you the piercing bald eagle look.

Russian girls come here for "fun".

The Bangladeshis come here to serve you when you honk outside a Bakala (shop), but would not even look at you if you park and go inside to pickup yourself.


Now according to the government Dubai is Tax free. Of course, that is true. You only have to pay for the visa, medical, sponsor, insurance, resident ID, Opening a bank account or even closing an account, Municipality, Sewerage, attestation of papers, translation of papers, driving license papers, lessons, Car license, testing, and .... But the salary is Tax Free.


Only, there is a Pay and Park scheme with 5000 parking lots, and 500,000 cars in the city, so where the hell do you park? And you are fined for wrong parking.


Toll has been introduced on many roads. You can avoid the toll tax by using alternative routes, but you'll end up in a traffic jam because everyone is trying to avoid the toll tax.


If you have any government related work like medicals for visa or immigration, you have 2 options - Standard and Urgent Procedure. Standard takes 7 days and Urgent takes 1 day. The difference is 100-odd dirhams. Everyone goes for the urgent option and the Dubai government makes money, urgently.


If you switch jobs you get a work ban and to lift the ban you pay a huge penalty.

In Dubai, without a car you are paralyzed (you don’t even get jobs if you don’t have a car). But you'll get your license in attempts ranging from 2 to 20. Each time you fail you have paid fees for Driving Classes & Driving Tests, which are 1000-odd dirhams. Imagine the money RTA makes.


Most of the expats live alone with families back home. So they spend much on phone calls. And call charges from Dubai are high.


Another odd thing about Dubai - no matter where you go or who you meet, you take down phone numbers. Everybody has everybody’s number in Dubai. And everyone has a Visiting Card, whether you are a bootlegger, a masseuse, a hooker, a car cleaner, a watchman or a pizza delivery boy. Everyone knocks around with lots of cards in his or her wallet and one card in the palm. So whenever you shake hands with anyone in Dubai and let go, you end up with a visiting card in your palm.


If you’re walking on the road and you ask someone the time, he'll tell you 10:30, give you his card and say, I have new and second-hand watches.

At a restaurant when you are leaving they'll say here are my card, call us for home delivery.

If you're below your building, you'll meet those Chinese chicks giving you their cards, saying, Call us if you want DVDs.


If you’re standing at a bus stop, a
Pakistani will pull over in his 1980 Toyota Corolla, give you his card and say, If you want Pick-up & Drop Service, call me.


Dubai has amusing-looking buildings. Some have holes in them, some have giant balls on them, some look like aero planes, some look like sail boats, and, all of them reach into space with your window right in front of the moon.


Everyone in Dubai goes to malls. Not necessarily to shop. To beat the heat, go to a mall; business meeting, go to a mall; getting bored, go to a mall; want to take a leak or dump, go to a mall; want to do lukhagiri (little in your pocket, little in your mind), go to a mall.

If you want to go for a picnic go to a mall.


Some Malbaris go home to Kerala, get married, and then come to a Dubai Mall for their honeymoon.

THAT...MY FRIENDS.....IS
DOO-BAI

Sent by Prakash Bhartia

How good is the CBI?

Centre to bring bill on selection of Lokayuktas: Narayanasamy

New Delhi, Oct 22 (IANS) The government is planning to bring a 'model bill' to bring uniformity in the selection of Lokayuktas in the states, Minister of State for Personnel V. Narayanasamy said here Saturday.
Speaking at the valedictory session of the two-day biennial conference of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and state anti-corruption bureaux, he also lamented the fact that only 22 states have set up Lokayuktas.
'Lokayukta will be a model bill so that the state can bring uniformity in the law. In the selection process, they are involving the political people,' he said in his address.
'We will ensure that there should be an independent process for the selection,' he added.
Despite Prime Minister Manmohan Singh writing personal letters to all chief ministers, only 22 have constituted the Lokayukta while the rest are being 'persuaded', he added.
The minister also said that it has become a 'fashion' for states, including courts to refer cases to the CBI. But, he said he was happy with it as it shows the 'faith of people' in the investigating agency.
'Why should you come to us? You have a strong police mechanism, investigative mechanism in your state,' he said.
'Now it has become a fashion for every state, also the courts... whatever is there political parties also demand CBI inquiry to be ordered. It has become a fashion for them. Because the people of this country have faith and confidence in the CBI organization,' he added.
In his address Friday, Manmohan Singh had said that they are considering changes in the law to make private sector bribery a criminal offence.

It is good that Anna's agitation is bringing results and the centre is bringing a bill for appointment of Lokayuktas in all state. Let us hope it is in line with what Anna wants and not just political appointments. We have seen how effective a Lokayukta has been in Karnataka where the chief minister had to step down.
I congratulate the central government.
However, the centre should not congratulate itself with regard to the CBI.
In the states, it is mainly the opposition parties who demand a CBI probe since they have no faith in the local police who are under the control of the party in power.
Unfortunately, in the centre, the opposition has no choice.
There is nobody whom they can appeal to to carry out an independent enquiry. The CBI is under the thumbs of the government in power at the centre who manipulate the CBI as per its convenience. They initiate and withdraw cases against opposition party members according to whether they support or oppose the government.
THAT IS WHY ANNA IS DEMANDING THAT THE CBI BE MADE TRULY INDEPENDENT, NOT UNDER THE CONTROL OF THE CENTRAL GOVERNMENT.

Madurai Collector, U. Sagayam

Inspiration: A collector who does not take bribe

By refusing to take bribes, the Madurai collector has
earned 18 transfers in 20 years, a modest house and bank
balance and lots of respect

On a hot summer afternoon, on Madurai's busy main road,
the district collector, U. Sagayam, saw a young man
talking on a cellphone while riding a motorbike.
He asked his driver to wave the man down, got down
from his car and meted out instant punishment:
plant 10 saplings within 24 hours. Somewhat unconventional
justice, some might say. But that's how Sagayam works.

'Lanjam Thavirtthu, Nenjam Namartthu' (Reject bribes,
hold your head high), says a board hanging above
Sagayam's chair in his modest office.
That's the code he lives by, even if politicians
are incensed they cannot bend him their way-he's been
transferred 18 times in the last 20 years-and has made
enemies of both superiors and subordinates. "I know I
sit under a dangerous slogan and probably alienate
people," he says. "But I have been the same Sagayam
s forever."

Two years ago, as district collector of Namakkal,
he voluntarily declared his assets: a bank balance of
Rs 7,172 and a house in Madurai worth Rs 9 lakh.
Once, when his baby daughter, Yalini, who had breathing
problems, was suddenly taken ill, he did not have
the Rs 5,000 needed for admitting her to a private hospital.
At that time he was deputy commissioner (excise) in
Coimbatore and there were 650 liquor licences
to be given out. The going bribe for each was rumoured
to be Rs 10,000.

Sagayam started cleaning up Madurai the minute he
landed here. The main bus terminus at Mattuthavani
looked more like a bazaar, with shops all over the
bus-shelters and no waiting place for passengers.
Even a police outpost had been turned into a shop.
The system was well-oiled with haftas to local
politicians and policemen. Sagayam quickly went through
the rulebook, cited the relevant clauses and cleaned
up the entire area.
But didn't it hit poor shopkeepers who lost their
livelihood? "A violation is a violation," says Sagayam,
"but we will help them rehabilitate." Nageshwaran, a
taxi-driver and one of Sagayam's many fans, says,
"He's strict and hasn't taken even ten paise in
bribe during his career. He's like the upright
collectors they show in some films, a real hero with integrity."

Sagayam's masters degrees in social work and law
come in useful in his role as an administrator.
He knows the rulebooks in detail and is not
afraid of using them, however powerful the opponent.
No wonder then that Sagayam's career is marked with
the scars of countless battles.

When he was in Kanchipuram as revenue officer,
he took on the sand mafia, ordering them to stop
dredging sand from the Palar riverbed.
Large-scale dredging had made the area flood-prone.
The mafia sent goons to assault Sagayam, but he did
not budge and would not take back the
order. He also took on a mighty soft-drink mnc when
a consumer showed him a bottle with dirt floating in it.
He sealed the bottling unit and banned the sale of the soft
drink in the city. In Chennai, he locked horns with a
restaurant chain and recovered four acres valued at some Rs 200 crore.

Given such credentials, it wasn't surprising for
him to be picked by the Election Commission to oversee
elections in Madurai, as famous for its temples as its
political gods. During the last polls, Sagayam took on
M.K. Azhagiri, the local MP and son of former CM and
DMK supremo M.Karunanidhi. He conducted voter awareness
campaigns in colleges; the DMK petitioned the court twice,
seeking to end what it said was an attempt
to influence voters, but the court demurred.

Sagayam's wife Vimala has stood by him all these years
but she was rattled by some of the threats during the
elections. "He always says if you are right, nobody
can hurt you," she says. "But sometimes it becomes
difficult."

Sagayam takes a hands-on approach to his work. He
holds a Monday 'durbar',at which anyone can meet him
with their complaints. During tours of the
district for review meetings and inspections,
he will suddenly stop a school bus to talk to children
or duck into a school to take a class.
When students tell him they want to be IAS or IPS
officers, he asks, "It's all well to say now that
you'll be honest, but will you remain unbending
about not taking bribes throughout your career?"

Some months back, while driving to a village, he
found a 92-year-old woman cleaning rice. She said
she had to work in order to eat. He immediately
sanctioned Rs 1,000 as old-age pension for her.
When 60-year-old Vellamma met him during a tour
of Uthappanaikkanoor village this week and asked
him to grant her a pension, he said, "I can do that.
But do you want me to send your son to jail too-for
abandoning you?" He said it with a smile, as a joke,
but he has in fact taken action against
children who don't take care of their aging parents.

"I believe, as Mahatma Gandhi said, that India lives
in her villages,"says Sagayam, who also idolises Subhash
Chandra Bose. His years as a collector-he has slept
overnight in village schools many times-have
convinced him to better the lot of villagers by
strengthening the village administrative officer
(VAO) system. Many VAOs have never visited villages and
often stay miles away from where they should be, in
cities. In Namakkal, his action against errant VAOs
had them ganging up with politicians to get him transferred.
Over 5,000 villagers protested, saying they wouldn't
let Sagayam go. The politicians had to retreat.

Sagayam says he learnt honesty on his mother's knees.
He is the youngest of four sons of a farmer from Pudukottai.
"Our adjoining field had mango trees and my friends and
I would pick the fallen fruit," he says. "But
my mother made me throw the mangoes away, saying
I should enjoy only what is mine." Now his daughter
Yalini wants to become a collector. When she has an argument
with her brother Arun, she asks her father, "Is he
really your son? He just told a lie!" Both of them are
proud of their father. Recently, after a long time,
the Sagayam family went on a vacation to Kullu in Himachal
Pradesh. While visiting a gurudwara, a stranger came up to
their father and asked him, "Aren't you IAS officer
Mr Sagayam?" Yalini and Arun have not stopped beaming.

--
One Man with courage is a Majority. Andrew Jackson

Sent by Arun Shroff.

In this age where Anna Hazare is fighting against corruption in Government, it is refreshing reading the above.

Stuff you didn't know you didn't know!

Men can read smaller
print than women can; women can hear better.

--------------------- --------- --------- ----

Coca-Cola was originally green.

--------------------- --------- --------- ----

It is impossible to lick your elbow.

--------------------- --------- --------- ----

The State with the highest percentage of people who walk to work:



Alaska

--------------------- --------- --------- ----

The percentage of Africa that is wilderness: 28%
(now get this...)

--------------------- --------- --------- ----

The percentage of North America that is wilderness: 38%

--------------- ------ --------- --------- --------- ---------------

The cost of raising a medium-size dog to the age of eleven:

$ 16,400

--------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ---------

The average number of people airborne over the U..S. in any given hour:

61,000

--------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ---------

Intelligent people have more zinc and copper in their hair.

--------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ---------

The first novel ever written on a typewriter, Tom Sawyer.

-- ------------ --------- --------- --------- ---------

The San Francisco Cable cars are the only mobile National Monuments.

--------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ---------

Each king in a deck of playing cards represents a great king from history:

Spades - King David


Hearts - Charlemagne


Clubs -Alexander, the Great

Diamonds - Julius Caesar

--------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ---------

111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987, 654,321

--------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ---------

If a statue in the park of a person on a horse has both front legs in the air, the person died in battle. If the horse has one front leg in the air, the person died because of wounds received in battle. If the horse has all four legs on the ground, the person died of natural causes.

------ --- --------- --------- --------- --------- ---------

Only two people signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4, John Hancock and Charles Thomson. Most of the rest signed on August 2, but the last signature wasn't added until 5 years later.

--------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ---------

Q. Half of all Americans live within 50 miles of what?



A. Their birthplace

--------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ---------

Q. Most boat owners name their boats. What is the most popular boat name requested?



A. Obsession

--------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ---------

Q.. If you were to spell out numbers, how far would you have to go until you would find the letter 'A'?



A. One thousand

--------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ---------

Q. What do bulletproof vests, fire escapes, windshield wipers and laser printers have in common?



A. All were invented by women.

--------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ---------

Q. What is the only food that doesn't spoil?



A. Honey

--------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ---------

Q. Which day are there more collect calls than any other day of the year?



A. Father's Day


--------- --------- --------- --------- ---------

In Shakespeare's time, mattresses were secured on bed frames by ropes. When you pulled on the ropes, the mattress tightened, making the bed firmer to sleep on. Hence the phrase...'Goodnight , sleep tight'

--------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ---------

It was the accepted practice in Babylon 4,000 years ago that for a month after the wedding, the bride's father would supply his son-in-law with all the mead he could drink. Mead is a honey beer and because their calendar was lunar based, this period was called the honey month, which we know today as the honeymoon.

--------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ---------

In English pubs, ale is ordered by pints and quarts. So in old England , when customers got unruly, the bartender would yell at them 'Mind your pints and quarts, and settle down.'

It's where we get the phrase 'mind your P's and Q's'

--------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ---------

Many years ago in England , pub frequenters had a whistle baked into the rim, or handle, of their ceramic cups. When they needed a refill , they used the whistle to get some service. 'Wet your whistle' is the phrase inspired by this practice.

--------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ---------

At least 75% of people who read this will try to lick their elbow!

--------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ---------

YOU KNOW YOU ARE LIVING IN 2011 when...

1. You accidentally enter your PIN on the microwave.

2. You haven't played solitaire with real cards in years.

3. You have a list of 15 phone numbers to reach your family of three.

4. You e-mail the person who works at the desk next to you.

5. Your reason for not staying in touch with friends and family is that they don't have e-mail addresses.

6. You pull up in your own driveway and use your cell phone to see if anyone is home to help you carry in the groceries.

7. Every commercial on television has a web site at the bottom of the screen

8. Leaving the house without your cell phone, which you didn't even have the first 20 or 30 (or 60) years of your life, is now a cause for panic and you turn around to go and get it.

10. You get up in the morning and go on line before getting your coffee.

11. You start tilting your head sideways to smile. : )

12 You're reading this and nodding and laughing.

13. Even worse, you know exactly to whom you are going to forward this message.

14. You are too busy to notice there was no #9 on this list.

15. You actually scrolled back up to check that there wasn't a #9 on this list.


~~~~~~~~~~~AND FINALLY~~~~~ ~~~~~~~

NOW U R LAUGHING at yourself.


Go on, Go lick your elbow.

Sent by Prakash Bhartia

Indian Civilisation

HMV had once published a pamphlet giving the history of gramophone record. Gramophone was invented by Thomas Alva Edison in the 19th century. Edison, who had invented many other gadgets like electric light and the motion picture camera, had become a legend even in his own time.

When he invented the gramophone record, which could record human voice for posterity, he wanted to record the voice of an eminent scholar on his first piece. For that he chose Prof. Max Muller of Germany, another great personality of the 19th century. He wrote to Max Muller saying, "I want to meet you and record your voice. When should I come?" Max Muller who had great respect for Edison asked him to come at a suitable time when most of the scholars of the Europe would be gathering in England .

Accordingly Edison took a ship and went to England . He was introduced to the audience. All cheered Edison 's presence. Later at the request of Edison Max Muller came on the stage and spoke in front of the instrument. Then Edison went back to his laboratory and by afternoon came back with a disc. He played the gramophone disc from his instrument. The audience was thrilled to hear the voice of Max Muller from the instrument.They were glad that voices of great persons like Max Muller could be stored for the benefit of posterity.

After several rounds of applause and congratulations to Thomas Alva Edison, Max Muller came to the stage and addressed the scholars and asked them, "You heard my original voice in the morning. Then you heard the same voice coming out from this instrument in the afternoon. Do you understand what I said in the morning or what you heard in the afternoon?".

The audience fell silent because they could not understand the language in which Max Muller had spoken.It was `Greek and Latin' to them as they say. But had it been Greek or Latin, they would have definitely understood because they were from various parts of Europe . It was in a language which the European scholars had never heard.

Max Muller then explained what he had spoken.He said that the language he spoke was Sanskrit and it was the first sloka of Rig Veda, which says "Agni Meele Purohitam" . This was the first recorded public version on the gramophone plate.

Why did Max Muller choose this? Addressing the audience he said, "Vedas are the oldest text of the human race. And Agni Meele Purohitam is the first verse of Rig Veda. In the most primordial time, when the people did not know how even to cover their bodies and lived by hunting and housed in caves ,Indians had attained high civilization and they gave the world universal philosophies in the form of the Vedas”

Such is the illustrious legacy of our country.......!!

When “Agni Meele Purohitam” was replayed the entire audience stood up in silence as a mark of respect for the ancient Hindu sages.- this verse means

"Oh Agni, You who gleam in the darkness, to You we come day by day, with devotion and bearing homage"
So be of easy access to us, Agni, as a father to his son, abide with us for our well being "


This has been sent by Arun Shroff.

It is always good knowing your history or ancestors for those who forget history are forced to repeat it.
But then we should not sit on our laurels.
What is India now?
It is a country staggering from one scam to another run by a political class steeped and drenched in corruption, with the poor becoming poorer and the rich becoming richer and the population of the poor increasing by the day.

Hisar Listens to Anna, Time for Anna to Enter Politics?

Bangalore: Has the apolitical nature of Anna Hazare's anti-corruption crusade vanished? Is the Hisar by-poll election result an indication of Anna's political significance? 'Yes' can be the answer for both, though team Anna stoutly opposes both.

The Hisar by-polls that marked the beginning of Team Anna's direct involvement in politics, has created also marked the beginning of an open political fight between Team Anna and its opponents, precisely the Congress Party. His opponents argue that there is nothing apolitical in Anna's campaign and the Haryana Janhit Congress' Kuldeep Singh Bishnoi, rather the fact that Congress candidate has been pushed to the third post Hisar elections, has proved the fact that Anna's voice is strongly hold in the public. However, the integrity of his call to defeat Congress has been widely criticized as the other two candidates, Bishnoi and Ajay Singh Chautala, face corruption charges.

However, Bishnoi chose to give no credit to Anna Hazare and said, "I attribute it only to my father and the BJP." Congress troubleshooter and Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said the defeat is sad and the party will review its loss in the by-election in Hisar.
Should Team Anna have waited until the winter session of the parliament when the congress party has promised to bring a stronger version of Lokpal Bill? Team Anna's decision to campaign against the congress party in Hisar and in UP is viewed as a prejudgment of the expected Lokpal Bill and an electoral attempt against a single party is termed a foul move. This decision has also dented the credibility of the movement, left its supports confused, and divided its own core team. A prominent member of the team Santosh Hedge had publicly questioned this move and it has been reported that others like Prashant Bhushan were against it. It was also surprising that Team Anna did not make Khadakwasla, Maharasthra or Koppal in Karnataka its testing ground.

The questions is heard from every corners that with his enormous goodwill and the support of the large mass who are sick of corruption and unholy politics, is it not time for Anna Hazare to get into politics? With the general elections due in 2014, Team Anna's political stand is defiantly going to make an impact, but what surety Anna can give to the people that an alternative political formation such as the BJP-led NDA coming to power, will do wonders to change the system?

I do not think Anna will enter politics and I would not advise him to do so.
Anna had to take the decision in Hissar polls as the congress had still not learnt how serious Anna is and how much the people support him. It was taking him fore-granted as it had on earlier occasions. It was still fibbing and obfuscating the issues and its dirty trick department led by Digvijay Singh was issuing lies one after another.
Let the defeat of the Congress be an eye opener for all political parties.
In the coming elections, Anna should issue a warning to all political parties before they file nominations.
All candidates would be analysed by Anna and his group and only honest candidates,who had no corruption charges against them, no matter of which political parties should be supported by him.
Of course, provided, the Lok Pal bill as proposed by Anna should be passed by the Congress party in the winter session of parliament for I fear the congress would want to water it down, to save the corrupt.

The Anti-Corruption movement

Slamming the central government over various scams, veteran social activist Anna Hazare's key aide Arvind Kejriwal has said that the Centre plays politics of power, corruption, and crime whereas they are fighting for truth, and honesty.

Addressing people at an anti-corruption rally in Kanpur, Kejriwal said government plays bad politics whereas Anna and his team are fighting for the welfare of the country with honesty.

"These people play politics of power, corruption, and crime and we fight for truth, honesty, and people," said Kejriwal.
Reiterating the importance of an effective Jan Lokpal Bill that will help to counter the problem of rampant corruption in the country, Kejriwal said: "The campaign has been initiated to make the public aware and put pressure on their representatives to support the passage of the Lokpal Bill during the coming Winter Session of Parliament."

Kejriwal also added that corruption has affected people and made the government system opaque.

"The people are distressed with corruption and there is big support for Jan Lokpal (Ombudsman) bill. We conducted a referendum at various places and results show that 90 per cent of the people want Jan Lokpal bill, but some people and media dismissed it by saying that this referendum was conducted by us and questioned the sanctity of the referendum," he said
"Now this referendum has been conducted by Central Election Commission and Jan Lokpal bill was made an issue and in that the Congress was defeated. It is clear that people want a strong Jan Lokpal bill and we want UPA government to introduce Jan Lokpal bill and we are not against the UPA government," he added.

Kejriwal also said that every single citizen who is against corruption is a part of the anti-graft campaign.

"We don't have coordinators; every single man who is against corruption and who doesn't want corruption is a part of this campaign. When people came to Ramlila Maidan, we didn't ask people at the entry gate that whether he or she is tainted or not, or whether you have any ambition or not," he added

How did Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi look when he first came from South Africa? He gave up a flourishing practice at one call from his country to fight for his countries Independence.
Did he have the same looks as Arvind Kejriwal?
Kejriwal joined Tata Steel right after his graduation from IIT Kharagpur. Kejriwal quit his job with Tata Steel in 1992 and spent some time working with Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity in Kolkata, the Ramakrishna Mission in the North-East India and Nehru Yuva Kendra.
Kejriwal joined the Indian Revenue Service (IRS) in 1995 and worked as an Additional Commissioner of Income Tax in Delhi. In January 2000, he took a sabbatical from work and founded Parivartan, a Delhi based citizens’ movement which works on ensuring a just, transparent and accountable governance. Thereafter, in February 2006, he resigned from the job, to work full-time at Parivartan. In December 2006, Kejriwal along with Manish Sisodia and Abhinandan Sekhri started Public Cause Research Foundation, which works for promoting better local self governance and RTI related campaigns
In Anna too we have the same zeal as Gandhiji in his later years, ready to go on a fast for any cause he strongly felt about.
So, here, we have two Gandhi's required to fight a demon which is much more worse than the British Empire, the Congress party, which too are led by two pseudo Gandhi's.
The battle is to be bloody for the pseudo Gandhi's will use all the arsenal which a government in power will use.
Now a PIL has been filed in the Supreme Court against Anna's NGO by some lackey of the Congress party to defame Anna.
Earlier, the income tax department at the behest of the Congress party had sent a notice to Arvind Kejriwal to refund money

A whale of a Photo

The photo was taken at the entrance to Katlian Bay at the end of the road in Sitka , Alaska ...
The whale is coming up to scoop up a mouthful of herring......... (the small fish seen at the surface around the kayak). The kayaker is a local Sitka Dentist. He apparently didnt sustain any injuries from the terrifying experience. The whale was just around the corner from the ferry terminal, and all the kayaker could think at that moment in time was: "Paddle Man - really fast!"

The whale's mouth is fully open with the bottom half under the boat. If the whale had closed his mouth before he furiously paddled away - He might have been LUNCH!!!
Look at the picture again - He is in the whale’s MOUTH!

Wonder who took the photo ?

Sent by Arun Shroff

No Freebies

The folks who are getting the free stuff don't like the folks who are paying for the free stuff,
because the folks who are paying for the free stuff can no longer afford to pay for both the free stuff and their own stuff.

And, the folks who are paying for the free stuff want the free stuff to stop.
And the folks who are getting the free stuff want even more free stuff on top of the free stuff they are already getting!

Now... the people who are forcing the people who pay for the free stuff have told the people who are RECEIVING the free stuff that the people who are PAYING for the free stuff are being mean, prejudiced, and racist.

So... the people who are GETTING the free stuff have been convinced they need to hate the people who are paying for the free stuff by the people who are forcing some people to pay for their free stuff
and giving them the free stuff in the first place.

We have let the free stuff giving go on for so long that there are now more people getting free stuff than paying for the free stuff.

Now understand this. All great democracies have committed financial suicide somewhere between 200 and 250 years after being founded. The reason?
The voters figured out they could vote themselves money from the treasury by electing
people who promised to give them money from the treasury in exchange for electing them.

The United States officially became a Republic in 1776, 231 years ago. The number of people now getting free stuff outnumbers the people paying for the free stuff. We have one chance to change that in 2012. Failure to change that spells the end of the United States as we know it.

A Nation of Sheep Breeds a Government of Wolves!

Obama: Gone!

Borders : Closed!

Language : English only

Culture: Constitution, and the Bill of Rights!

Drug Free : Mandatory Drug Screening before Welfare!

NO freebies to: Non-Citizens!

Sent by Prakash Bhartia

The following is a corollary to the above


The Alberta Ministry of Labor, Division of Labor Standards claimed a small rancher was not paying proper wages to his help and sent an agent out to investigate him.

GOV’T AGENT: “I need a list of your employees and how much you pay them.”

RANCHER: ”Well, there’s my hired hand who’s been with me for 3 years. I pay him $200 a week plus free room and board.

Then there’s the mentally challenged guy. He works about 18 hours every day and does about 90% of all the work around here. He makes about $10 per week, pays his own room and board, and I buy him a bottle of bourbon every Saturday night so he can cope with life. He also sleeps with my wife occasionally.”

GOV’T AGENT: “That’s the guy I want to talk to - the mentally challenged one.”

RANCHER: “That would be me.”

Tolerance

I am truly perplexed that so many folks are against a mosque being built at or near Ground Zero. I think it should be the goal of every American to be tolerant.
Thus the Mosque should be allowed, in an effort to promote tolerance.

That is why I also propose that two nightclubs be opened next door to the mosque, thereby promoting tolerance from within the mosque.
We could call one of the clubs, "The Turban Cowboy", which would be gay, and the other a topless bar called " You Mecca Me Hot ."

Next door should be a butcher shop that specializes in pork, and adjacent to that an open-pit barbeque pork restaurant, called " Iraq o' Ribs."

Across the street there could be a lingerie store called "Victoria Keeps Nothing Secret", with sexy mannequins in the window modeling the goods.

Next door to the lingerie shop, a liquor store called "Morehammered."

All of this would encourage the Muslims to demonstrate the tolerance they demand of us, so the mosque problem would be solved.
If you agree with promoting tolerance, and you think this is a good plan, please pass it on.

For the sake of tolerance!

Sent by Prakash Bhartia

Hisar by-poll result Anna's defeat: Moily

Kolkata, Oct 17 (IANS) Senior Congress leader and union minister M. Veerappa Moily Monday termed the Hisar Lok Sabha by-poll result as a 'defeat' for Anna Hazare, saying if corruption had been the issue the result would have been different.
'You should know if Anna's appeal has worked. It has worked against him because I don't want to comment on the person who has won. It is the matter of those people who elected him. The big question is whether the cause of Anna Hazare has been served by the result of the election. That is the question he has to answer, people have to answer,' Moily told mediapersons on the sidelines of a programme here.
India's ruling Congress finished third in the Hisar Lok Sabha by-election in Haryana where Anna Hazare had campaigned against it. The party also lost the other three assembly by-elections in Bihar, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra Monday.
Of the four states, the Congress is in power in all except Bihar.
In Hisar, the Haryana Janhit Congress' (HJC) Kuldeep Singh Bishnoi triumphed, while the Indian National Lok Dal candidate came second and the state's ruling Congress third.
'If you want to make a study of the poll result, the question is for Anna Hazare or his team or for the nation to judge whether it has served the cause that is very dear to him, namely corruption.'
'If corruption is an issue I don't think this kind of result can happen. Notwithstanding the corruption issue the result has come. If corruption was an issue, the Congress candidate should have won. That means it is not victory of Anna Hazare, rather it is his defeat.'
Moily also rubbished queries that Hazare could pose problems for the Congress in the near future.
'The Congress party has seen more than 130 years. You know when the British empire was not a problem then how can one individual or a group of individuals be a problem for the Congress. There is an inbuilt capacity in the Congress to face any tsunami or turbulence and it can come out successfully,' said Moily.

Moily can appear to take take solace by lulling himself that it was defeat of Anna.
But it is not.
Anna was just driving home the point that the congress being in power and also the party having the largest number of MPs, it is its duty to expedite the anti-corruption drive.
Right from the time Anna started his agitation the congress has been dragging its feet using some pretext or other trying to find chinks in Anna's armour to defame him putting out their pet dog like Manish Tewari and Diggy Raja to bark at Anna.
His comparison with the Congress's fight against the British is entirely misplaced.The congress at that time and now is completely changed. At that time it had leaders who thought for and fought for the country. Now all the leaders are just grabbing wealth for themselves.
The whole nation at that time was behind the congress party as they wanted to drive out the congress.
Now the whole nation is behind Anna to drive out the congress.
And yet they are not seeing the writing on the wall

The Lord's Prayers

The top marketing director of Nescafe manages to arrange a meeting with the Pope at the Vatican.After receiving the papal blessing, the Nescafe official whispers, 'Your Eminence, I have some business to discuss. We at Nescafe have an offer foryou. Nescafe is prepared to donate $100 million to the church. If you change the Lord's Prayer from 'Give us this day our daily bread' to 'Give us this day our daily coffee'."The Pope looks outraged and thunders, "That is impossible. The Prayer is the word of the Lord, It must not be changed." Well," says the Nescafe man somewhat chastened, "We anticipated your reluctance. For this reason, and the importance of the Lord's Prayer to all Catholics, we will increase our offer to $300 million. All we require is that you change the Lord's Prayer from 'Give us this day our daily bread' to 'Give us this day our daily coffee'."Again, even more sternly, the Pope replies, "That, my son is impossible. For the prayer is the word of the Lord and it must not be changed."Finally, the Nescafe director says, "Your Holiness, we at Nescafe respect your adherence to your faith, we realize that tradition is essential to your beliefs, we fully understand the importance of the word of the Lord......... ........but we do have one final offer. Please discuss it with your cardinals. We will donate $500 million to the great Catholic church if you would only change the Lord's Prayer from 'Give us this day our daily bread' to 'Give us this day our daily coffee'. Please, please consider it.." And he leaves. The next day the Pope convenes the College of Cardinals. "There is some good news," he announces, "and some bad news ....... The good news is, he continues to a hushed assembly, ' that the Church will get $ 500 million.""And what is the bad news, your Holiness?" asks a Cardinal."Sadly" says the Pope, We would have to lose the Britannia Account.....

God's Will
While creating wives, God promised men that good and obedient wives would be found in all corners of the world.


And then he made the earth round


Sent by Prakash Bhartia

Revocation of American Independence

To the citizens of the United States of America
From Her Sovereign Majesty Queen Elizabeth II
In light of your immediate failure to financially manage yourselves and also in recent years your tendency to elect incompetent Presidents of the USA and therefore not able to govern yourselves, we hereby give notice of the revocation of your independence, effective immediately. (You should look up 'revocation' in the Oxford English Dictionary.)
Her Sovereign Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will resume monarchical duties over all states, commonwealths, and territories (except Illinois, which she does not fancy).
Your new Prime Minister, David Cameron, will appoint a Governor for America without the need for further elections.
Congress and the Senate will be disbanded. A questionnaire may be circulated sometime next year to determine whether any of you noticed.
To aid in the transition to a British Crown dependency, the following rules are introduced with immediate effect:
1. The letter 'U' will be reinstated in words such as 'colour,' 'favour,' 'labour' and 'neighbour.' Likewise, you will learn to spell 'doughnut' without skipping half the letters, and the suffix '-ize' will be replaced by the suffix '-ise.' Generally, you will be expected to raise your vocabulary to acceptable levels. (look up 'vocabulary').
2. Using a limited vocabulary of perhaps 25 words interspersed with spacers and meaningless fillers such as
' like' and 'you know' is an unacceptable and inefficient form of communication. There is no such thing as U.S. English. We will let Microsoft know on your behalf. The Microsoft spell-checker will be adjusted to take into account the reinstated letter 'u'' and the elimination of '-ize.'
3. July 4th will no longer be celebrated as a holiday.
4. You will learn to resolve personal issues without using guns, lawyers, or therapists. The fact that you need so many lawyers and therapists shows that you're not quite ready to be independent. Guns should only be used for shooting grouse. If you can't sort things out without suing someone or speaking to a therapist, then you're not ready to shoot grouse.
5. Therefore, you will no longer be allowed to own or carry anything more dangerous than a vegetable peeler. Although a permit will be required if you wish to carry a vegetable peeler in public.
6. All intersections will be replaced with roundabouts, and you will start driving on the left side with immediate effect. At the same time, you will go metric with immediate effect and without the benefit of conversion tables. Both roundabouts and metrication will help you understand the British sense of humour.
7. The former USA will adopt UK prices on petrol (which you have been calling gasoline) of roughly $10/US gallon. Get used to it.
8. You will learn to make real chips. Those things you call French fries are not real chips, and those things you insist on calling potato chips are properly called crisps. Real chips are thick cut, fried in animal fat, and dressed not with catsup but with vinegar.
9. The cold, tasteless stuff you insist on calling beer is not actually beer at all. Henceforth, only proper British Bitter will be referred to as beer, and European brews of known and accepted provenance will be referred to as Lager. New Zealand beer is also acceptable, as New Zealand is pound for pound the greatest sporting nation on earth and it can only be due to the beer. They are also part of the British Commonwealth - see what it did for them. American brands will be referred to as Near-Frozen Gnat's Urine, so that all can be sold without risk of further confusion.
10. Hollywood will be required occasionally to cast English actors as good guys. Hollywood will also be required to cast English actors to play English characters. Watching Andie Macdowell attempt English dialogue in Four Weddings and a Funeral was an experience akin to having one's ears removed with a cheese grater.
11. You will cease playing American football. There are only two kinds of proper football; one you call soccer, and rugby (dominated by the New Zealanders). Those of you brave enough will, in time, be allowed to play rugby (which has some similarities to American football, but does not involve stopping for a rest every twenty seconds or wearing full kevlar body armour like a bunch of nancies).
12. Further, you will stop playing baseball. It is not reasonable to host an event called the World Series for a game which is not played outside of America. Since only 2.1% of you are aware there is a world beyond your borders, your error is understandable. You will learn cricket, and we will let you face the Australians (World dominators) first to take the sting out of their deliveries.
13. You must tell us who killed JFK. It's been driving us mad.
14. An internal revenue agent (i.e. tax collector) from Her Majesty's Government will be with you shortly to ensure the acquisition of all monies due (backdated to 1776).
15. Daily Tea Time begins promptly at 4 p.m. with proper cups, with saucers, and never mugs, with high quality biscuits (cookies) and cakes; plus strawberries (with cream) when in season.
God Save the Queen!

Sent by Prakash Bhartia

Yeddyurappa arrested, sent to jail till Oct 22

Bangalore, Oct 15 (IANS) In a major embarrassment to the Bharatiya Janata Party, the party's first chief minister in south India who had to quit over corruption charges B.S. Yeddyurappa was jailed Saturday after a court rejected his bail plea and ordered his arrest.
The 68-year-old Yeddyurappa sported a smile as he came out of the Lokayukta special court after Judge N.K. Sudhindra Rao directed that he be sent to judicial custody (jail) till Oct 22.
Yeddyurappa, who was largely responsible for bringing the BJP to power in the state, was taken to Bangalore's main jail at Paprappana Agrahara in eastern part of the city late Saturday afternoon.
Earlier in the day, Rao rejected Yeddyurappa's bail plea in the two cases of illegal denotification (freeing from government control) of land in and around Bangalore in return for monetary gains.
The cases were filed in January this year by two Bangalore advocates Sirajin Bhasha and N.K. Balaraj.
The arrest of Bookanakere Siddalingappa Yeddyurappa came after high drama and confusion about his whereabouts as he was not at his official residence on Race Course Road in the city centre when the police came armed with the warrant to arrest him.
The police also searched for him in vain at his private residence in south Bangalore, leading to speculation that he might have either got admitted to a hospital or taken shelter in a 'math' (religious complex).
Over four hours after the judge ordered his arrest, Yeddyurappa turned up at the court and surrendered.
In the jail, Yeddyurappa will have the company of his former ministerial colleagues Katta Subramanaya Naidu and S.N. Krishnaiah Shetty.
Shetty was also arrested Saturday as his bail plea in the two cases was rejected.
Yeddyuappa was not present in the court whne the special judge took up the hearing on his case. He sent a medical certificate saying he was suffering from back pain.
Shetty, who was present, collapsed in the court hall and burst into tears as Rao rejected the bail plea and ordered his arrest.
Katta Subramanya Naidu was jailed Aug 8, along with his son Katta Jagadish, a Bangalore corporator, for taking a kickback of Rs.85 crore to allot 385 acres of land on Bangalore outskirts to an software firm.
Yeddyurappa's another ministerial colleague, mining baron G. Janardhana Reddy, is also in jail - in Hyderabad - for illegal mining in Andhra Pradesh.
However, Yeddyurappa's two sons -- BJP Lok Sabha member B.Y. Raghavendra and B.Y. Vijayendra -- and son-in-law R. Sohan Kumar were granted conditional bail. The three were also accused in the cases.
The two Bangalore advocates have filed five cases against Yeddyurappa, his two sons, son-in-law and others. Hearing in the other three cases is on.
Yeddyurappa is the first accused in all the five cases of illegal land denotification for monetary gains.
Basha and Balaraj filed the cases after Governor H.R. Bhardwaj gave them sanction to launch criminal proceedings against Yeddyurappa and his kin for conspiring to denotify lands in and around Bangalore for monetary gains.
Yeddyurappa quit July 31 after the then Lokayukta (ombudsman) N. Santosh Hegde recommended his trial for graft in illegal land mining scam.

As I have been saying, all parties are equally involved in corruption and Mr. Advani's rath yatra against corruption is just an eye wash.
Anna knows it and yet he has asked the people of Haryana to vote against the Congress party thus indirectly benefiting the BJP.
Why?
Well, if you have to chose between two evils, you have to chose the lesser evil.
The BJP was initially hesitant in supporting Anna as they themselves were involved in the muck in Karnataka. But once the Karnataka baggage was jettisoned with the resignation of Yeddyurappa, they have wholeheartedly supported Anna, may be unwillingly, but still they have supported.
On the other hand, the Congress has made a mockery of its support to Anna and unleashed the foot-in-the-mouth diseased, Digvijay Singh, on Anna. Diggy sees the ghost of the RSS everywhere like our Indian commies used to see the hand of the CIA everywhere.
Initially they unleashed Manish Tewari but that gentleman put his whole leg in his mouth and so had to be withdrawn double fast.
Anna has not asked anyone to vote for the BJP. He has just asked them not to vote for the Congress.
Seeing the Congress's behaviour as mentioned above, why shouldn't he?

Honeymoon Over

I contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle.
-- Winston Churchill

This picture captured on the back of a Marine's jeep is priceless and definitely a "sender"!

This is so good!!!
Hwy 59 at Hwy 43 - across from Marshall High School

Sign at Hutchinson, KS, 35 miles SE of Wichita

Obama's honeymoon is over !!
Would love to know the Patriot who paid for this sign!
W O W !!!
I wonder how long this will be allowed to stand?
Sign POSTED on Hwy 61, Hutchinson, Kansas.


Sent by Prakash Bhartia

Does God Exist?

A man went to a barbershop to have his hair cut and his beard trimmed.
As the barber began to work, they began to have a good conversation.
They talked about so many things and various subjects.
When they eventually touched on the subject of God, the barber said:
"I don't believe that God exists."

"Why do you say that?" asked the customer. "Well, you just have to go out in the street to realize that God doesn't exist.
Tell me, if God exists, would there be so many sick people?
Would there be abandoned children?

If God existed, there would be neither suffering nor pain.
I can't imagine a loving God who would allow all of these things."
The customer thought for a moment, but didn't respond because he didn't want to start an argument.
The barber finished his job and the customer left the shop.

Just after he left the barbershop, he saw a man in the street with long, stringy, dirty hair and an untrimmed beard.
He looked dirty and unkempt. The customer turned back and entered the barber shop again and he said to the barber:
"You know what? Barbers do not exist."
"How can you say that?" asked the surprised barber.
"I am here, and I am a barber. And I just worked on you!"
"No!" the customer exclaimed. "Barbers don't exist because
if they did, there would be no people with dirty long hair and untrimmed beards, like that man outside."

Sent by U Banerjee, N P

Donkey and Shovel of Dirt

One day a farmer's donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do. Finally, he decided the animal was old,
and the well needed to be covered up anyway; it just wasn't worth it to retrieve the donkey.
He invited all his neighbors to come over and help him. They all grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well. At first, the donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly.
Then, to everyone's amazement he quieted down. A few shovel loads later, the farmer finally looked down the well. He was astonished at what he saw. With each shovel of dirt that hit his back,
the donkey was doing something amazing. He would shake it off and take a step up.
As the farmer's neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up.
Pretty soon, everyone was amazed as the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and happily trotted off!

MORAL :
Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt. The trick to getting out of the well is to shake it off and take a step up. Each of our troubles is a steppingstone.
We can get out of the deepest wells just by not stopping, never giving up! Shake it off and take a step up.
Remember the five simple rules to be happy:

1. Free your heart from hatred - Forgive.
2. Free your mind from worries - Most never happens.
3. Live simply and appreciate what you have.
4. Give more.
5. Expect less from people but more mercy from God.

You have two choices... smile and close this page,
or pass this along to someone else to share the lesson. God bless us all! Jai Shree Radhe!!!
*****

Find It!
“There’s a better way to do it. Find it.”
-- Thomas Edison

Honesty …
“Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom.”

Sent by U Banerjee, N.P

2 held for attacking Prashant Bhushan

NEW DELHI, OCT 13:
Two youths, who escaped after attacking lawyer-activist Prashant Bhushan, were arrested here this morning, police said.

Mr Tejinder Pal Singh Bagga and Mr Vishnu Verma were apprehended from a place near Baba Kharak Singh Marg, they said.

Mr Bagga had yesterday said that he would surrender in a local court. Mr Inder Verma, who claimed to be the Delhi president of Sri Ram Sene, was arrested yesterday in connection with the incident.

Mr Bhushan was assaulted yesterday by three youths belonging to a right-wing group in his Supreme Court chamber for advocating the holding of a plebiscite in Jammu and Kashmir.

The attack on Bhushan came live on the TV screens when the trio barged into Chamber No 301 of New Lawyers Chamber opposite Supreme Court and attacked him mentioning “Kashmir, Kashmir”. Mr Bhushan was giving an interview to a TV channel at the time of the incident.

On social networking site ‘Facebook’, the account holder in the name of ‘Bhagat Singh Kranti Sena’ had claimed they “hit Prashant Bhushan hard in his chamber in Supreme Court. If you will try to break my nation, I will break your head” which was repeated on Bagga’s Twitter account as well.

Although I support Anna, I do not agree even 0.1% with what was said by Prashant Bhusan. These politicians think they know everything and want to take decisions which affect the common man just to please their own egos.
I fully support these young men who beat up Prashant Bhusan for his anti-national statement.
Thousands of our jawans have laid their lives protecting Kashmiir and this man wants to gift it away.
I would say these young men are about 64 years late.
If they were there when India was partitioned and one J L Nehru and M K Gandhi were beaten up like Prashant Bhaushan was, we probably would never had partition and a permanent sour on our western flank.
Those two people should have been beaten up when they agreed to partition India. As it is, refugees from both the eastern and western flank are infiltrating back into India and negating the affect of the partition.

Should Bail be granted as a right?

Lock-up question unlocks debate
New Delhi, Oct. 12: The Supreme Court today took exception to a statement attributed to law minister Salman Khurshid on "locking up businessmen", swivelling the spotlight to the contentious issue of bail, though the minister did not mention the word.
The Indian Express had on Monday quoted Khurshid as asking: "If you lock up top businessmen, will investment come?"
The minister was explaining how the functioning of the government could be affected if other institutions did not understand "the kind of political economy we are faced with today".
Khurshid, the Oxford-educated minister with a degree in jurisprudence, did not mention "bail" but his comments came against the backdrop of several businessmen accused in the 2G scam spending months on end in jail, though they have not yet been pronounced guilty.
Some commentators have pointed out the irreconcilable nature of the principle "presumed innocent till pronounced guilty" and incarceration while the trial is on, but the government has largely been silent on the issue.
The CBI, the investigative arm that officially cannot be equated with the executive authority, has been advocating jail on the ground that evidence could be tampered with if the accused were granted bail, although the alleged offence was committed three years ago.
The Supreme Court today asked the government to explain whether the minister did indeed make such a statement.
"The minister has suggested that we are interested in keeping business people behind bars. This is disturbing for us. So, do you support this? If it is so, why are we wasting our time?" a two-judge bench of Justices G.S. Singhvi and H.L Dattu asked additional solicitor-general (ASG) Haren P. Raval.
The bench was hearing the bail pleas of Unitech Wireless MD Sanjay Chandra, Swan Telecom director Vivek Goenka and Reliance Telecom's Gautam Joshi, Surendra Pipara and Hari Nair.
Raval initially said he was only representing the CBI in the case, prompting Justice Dattu to remind him that he was wearing two hats ' that of CBI counsel and the ASG. "You can't say that the CBI is not part of the central government," Dattu said.
All this talk about "political economy" may be the "personal" views of the minister, Justice Dattu said. "Please understand that we are in the midst of a serious matter. We have had six hearings on this. We thought today that you will change your stand," he said. "This (the minister's remarks) is surprising. If this is the stand of the government, please clarify," Justice Singhvi said.
Khurshid later suggested that what he said was not the government's stand. "Why should I regret (my comments)? Not government stand, government stand is in the form of affidavit," he said.
"We all have to see the direction that our country's political economy is going. We all have to work in collaboration... It's for the court to decide the merits of each case," he added.
In response to a question from The Telegraph, senior lawyer Rajeev Dhavan said: "The court must realise that the minister is doing his job just as the court is doing its job. The minister is concerned that the climate must not be hostile to investors."
"The question whether the Indian system should not be hostile to investors is a policy statement…. It is not necessary that the court should react to every statement of a minister," he added.
The Supreme Court bench also asked the CBI to explain the veracity of another report which said that the agency would not oppose any bail plea made by Kanimozhi, MP and DMK leader M. Karunanidhi's daughter, in the lower court.
Raval denied the report immediately. "There is no change in my instructions. My instructions are to oppose bail on a legal and factual basis in every case," Raval said.
Justice Singhvi said the court would only go by "established parameters for grant or refusal of bail" to the accused in the case. That includes whether there was an apprehension that they would tamper with evidence and witnesses or flee the country.
Opposing the bail pleas, Raval said economic crimes were rising in the changed socio-economic scenario, making out a case for not handing out bail so that it would act as a deterrent.
Bail should be denied as a matter of rule in every corruption case unless the court was satisfied that a prima facie case was not made out against the accused, he said.
The ASG cited international conventions, too, to buttress his contention.
However, in the US as well as in the UK, bail is the norm and jail the exception during trial as the principle of habeas corpus (which is used to combat unlawful detention) is applied to uphold individual liberty.
In the US, bail is usually granted, unless the suspect is prone to violence or the case is charged under the Patriot Act that deals with terrorism.
An American case in point is that of Raj Rajaratnam, who was convicted in May for insider trading. The charges carry nearly 25 years in prison but he is out on bail till sentencing, which is expected tomorrow. Even when he was arrested in October 2009, he was released a day later on a bail bond of $100 million.

Our ministers compare our system of granting bails with those those in USA.
They should.
But while going about it they should also compare the way justice is meted out expeditiously to criminals.
The Rajaratham case cited above is an example above.
He was charged in May and the verdict has already been given.
If it had been in India, even the charge sheet would not have been filed.
When one compares, they should compare everything.
Nixon had to relinquish office because of break-in he had authorized which became known as the Watergate scandal.
Would that be possible in India?
Indira Gandhi and later Rajiv Gandhi became involved with various scandals but they continued merrily and now their children and grand children are now planning to continue the good work.
Our judiciary is too slow and lenient.
Because these criminals are granted bails, they continue to drag the cases. If they are not granted bails, it would be in their own interest to have the case disposed expeditiously.
I would suggest that bails are never granted in cases involving murder, kidnapping, extortion, terrorism, adulteration of food, manufacturing spurious medicines.
In corruption cases, the properties amassed by the culprits should be confiscated.

A scam developing in the auto sector

The Indian auto industry is facing some headwinds in the form of rising input costs, fuel prices and interest rates in recent times. All of which has dampened demand for vehicles as well. Increasing vehicle pollution is also an issue that it needs to address. And so the auto industry body Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) has made a suggestion to the government that all private cars made before 1996 should be scrapped. This would boost demand for new vehicles and push sales of environment conscious vehicles. SIAM opines that a regular scrappage policy should be put in place for private and commercial vehicles as well as for two wheelers like it in the West. This would ensure that there is a regular churn and burn-out of old vehicles, while adding new and more efficient ones at the same time. SIAM has suggested a cut-off point of 10 years for commercial vehicles, while for private vehicles a cut-off point of 15 years or above could be considered. At present, with no such policy in place, the average age of vehicles on the road is quite high. That said, introducing such a policy without incentives for new purchases, in the form of lower excise and sales tax as well direct cash benefits for those who scrap their old vehicles, may not go down well with consumers.

The above is from the mail I receive from Equitymaster.

I totally disagree with SIAM.
WE should not ape the Western countries blindly. Their mindset of eat, drink and be merry today for you know not what tomorrow holds for us. See where this philosophy has landed them. They are all falling like nine pins.
It is our habit of saving which has saved us during these difficult times.
All these vehicle manufacturers have paid billions of dollars importing plant and machinery of western car manufacturers to try to induce demand forcefully.Having failed to do so, now they would like the government to pass a law.
We should be allowed to run our vehicles as long as the cost of running is it is less than the cost of buying and running a new vehicle. The vehicle owner is the best judge as to when his vehicle should be scrapped. It does not have to be time bound but depends upon how well the vehicle is maintained.
I see another scam building up.
These SIAM people will probably pay money to some minister to have a new law passed to scrap old vehicles.
Here is another point for Anna to raise his voice to nip the scam developing in the bud.

Govt seeks 2G trial blackout

New Delhi, Oct. 10: The Centre today told the Supreme Court that the unintended consequences of open hearings in the 2G case were "destabilising the system" and suggested further proceedings be conducted behind closed doors.
"The media coverage and applications (filed by petitioners), based on incomplete facts, are not in anyone's interest," senior lawyer P.P. Rao said, adding that these were "destabilising the system without any justification".
This is the first time that the government has linked the "destabilisation" factor ' a common refrain of governments under siege ' to court hearings in the 2G case.
The court was hearing arguments on whether home minister P. Chidambaram, who was finance minister when 2G licences were allotted, should be investigated. The court has reserved its order.
Rao questioned the scope of court monitoring in the case. The CBI also felt that as the chargesheets had been filed, the top court could direct it to probe the case in any which way.
"Investigation can't be held in public. Investigation needs to be conducted confidentially, away from the glare of the media and the public, including the petitioners, as otherwise, public interest would suffer and the object of a thorough investigation frustrated," Rao said.
He described as "destabilising" the demands of Subramanian Swamy and lawyer Prashant Bhushan that former Supreme Court judges monitor the case.
"The applications were based on assumptions, conjectures and wishful inferences," Rao's written submissions handed over to the court said.
"Open court hearings of such applications and the media coverage without having access to the actual contents of progress reports (submitted by the CBI) is becoming counter-productive and is retarding the pace of investigation and defeating the object of investigation. It would be in public interest to monitor further investigation in respect of offences not yet taken cognisance of in chambers and to allow public servants concerned to discharge their duties unaffected by undue speculation in the media based on incomplete facts."
The suggestion that further hearings be held in-camera prompted the two judges, G.S. Singhvi and Asok Kumar Ganguly, to point out that the submissions were being made belatedly.
"Can we prevent anyone from filing applications? Can we tell the media not to write?" the bench wondered.
Justice Ganguly asked the government to file a proper application seeking in-chambers hearing, shorn of the media and public, if it so wanted.
The bench wondered if directing a further probe into allegations was in any way against the law. "We are not asking the CBI to probe in a particular way," Justice Ganguly said.

The media has not always covered itself in glory.
During 26/11, when terrorists attacked Mumbai, the media was responsible for a number of deaths at the way they gave ball by ball description of what our security forces were doing. This alerted the terrorists within who they took action to kill our people.
The media goes out of its way to describe how the police go about trapping the criminals. The next lot of criminals become wise of the police ways and change their tactics.
The police too are to be blamed for this state of affairs. They are so publicity thirsty that they relay the smallest bit of new to the media.
Why can't they follow the FBI or Scotland yard who do not announce anything unless they have a iron clad case against the criminals and arrest the criminals.
Our police make all the announcements so that the criminal can flee.
Having said that, I would like to point out that the premier investigation agency of India, the CBI is under the thumbs of the government.
The government makes it move the ways it wants it and not the way which will bring justice.
The courts are the only refuge of the common man and the government is trying to put fetters on the courts functioning.
There should not be in camera sittings.
Let the people know how corrupt our government is.