political perspiration

Quikr - Items I am selling

2009-03-17T05:38:00.001-07:00

http://mumbai.quikr.com/u34161.html

Forget Earthlings, global warming on Earth is affecting the poor Martians also

2007-04-05T22:19:00.000-07:00

Lets understand what’s global warming…excess creation and emission of gases like carbon dioxide and monoxide that create a green house effect or a cover around Earth which forces increase in the overall temperature of earth from the usual. This is a phenomenon not debated any more, rather too late for that!! It is happening and the reasons are widely know. Global warming is associated with human activities like burning of fossil fuels, deforestation etc..which result in increase of CO2 in the air that traps more of sun’s heat resulting in melting of glaciers and snow bodies which are life line for fresh water. As a result not only Earth is heating up, Mars is heating up 4 times faster than our planet. The entire universe is getting affected.
The developed countries are to be blamed for the occurrence of this phenomenon. Nuclear tests, mechanization resulting in release of harmful gases. But the worst affected will be the third world countries. Whereas the developed countries have started taking steps to rectify for the damage that they have already done, third world countries with crumbling economies need to start focusing on this.
The worst and the major effect of global warming is decrease in snow line - melting of snow – increase of volume of fresh water at river basins – increase in sea level – submerging of low lying areas like Bombay, Indonesia, South America, Africa (list is long).
Among others are:
§ Climatic changes: Have you ever thought why Mumbai is hotter than usual in just April? Why does it rain in Delhi when it should be cold? Hailstorms in Rajasthan, wow you ever read that in your geography classes?
§ Lack of fresh water supply: Think why there are water cuts in Mumbai and other major parts of Mumbai and other cities in India?
§ Increase in types of various new forms of diseases.
§ Endangering number of species
§ I may be thinking aloud now, but may be evolution of human species which can cope up with this new climatic changes…but that wont be sooner than a few more million years!!
If the global warming continues at the current rate the height of our pride the Himalayas will reduce from 500,000 sq ft to 100,000 sq ft by 2030.
So what can we do to reverse this effect thereby minimizing the damage?
§ Use alternate sources of energy to avoid use of fossil fuels – Solar energy
§ Use wind mill energy to convert sea water into fresh water, very few countries like Sweden and Australia are doing this.
§ But most of all this is a simple demand and supply equation, because of increased human demand and consumption, supply is increased to cater to the growing demands. Population needs to be curbed at the most fastest pace or else no alternate source will be able to help humans.

What you and I can do:
§ Plant more trees, plants
§ Stop illegal falling of trees, and there is a law against this
§ Save water and electricity

Air India / Indian Airlines merger and its implications

2007-03-01T03:05:00.000-08:00

Status of the deal as of now
The consultants report on the merger has been accepted in principle by the Civil Aviation Ministry and approval from the Group of Ministers (GOM) comprising of Foreign affairs minister, Finance Minister, Civil Aviation Minister and Minister for law and company affairs has come. The expectation is that the deal will come through in the first half of 2007 itself.

Planned course
The merger of the national Airlines will be based on a holding company concept headed by a Chairman. Below the holding company, SBUs to cover Airline division, MRO, handling, catering etc will be set up under individual CEOs / MDs. The purpose of this organizational plan is to ensure greater autonomy and strategic focus on profitability.

Investments and funding
The investment plans already approved and committed by both the Airlines with regard to aircraft acquisitions, modernnisations etc will be brought under the holding company’s control and administration. Government is trying to over come issues like stamp duty and other taxes associated with M&As, by issuing ordinance to waive of such requirements to this merger plan.

Operating synergy
The merged entity will function on the business plan of one full service carrier and another low fare carrier under the same umbrella. Accordingly, the activities of Air India Express and Alliance Air will be brought under one common organization which will deal with the low fare market. The full service wings of Air India and Indian also would similarly be brought under a common platform.
According to trade and media information, the merged Airlines will focus on a hub / spoke strategy with prominent Indian points developing to feeder hubs for the long haul operations.
The current duplication of routes both on domestic and international routes will be eliminated, thereby aiming at optimal utilization of resources and consequential cost advantages.

Traffic rights
The protectionism enjoyed by the national carriers with regard to the traffic right entitlements is likely to continue even after the merger. This will ensure that the merged Airlines will have enough scope for continued expansion, necessitated due to their combined fleet strength.
The protectionism on traffic rights have another angle, which is aimed at ensuring higher intrinsic value , since the Government is likely to divest certain percentage of its holding in the near future.

Labour Issues
The merger is likely to eliminate duplication in activities, which eventually may turn to surplus manpower. The government has assured the labour unions that there will not be any retrenchment and all surplus manpower will be retrained for other activities that might arise out of expansion need. Government has also committed to the labour unions of protection of all the present service conditions and wage structure.

Other aspects
Issues arising out of non compatibility of systems and procedures are likely to crop up. Expert groups within the Airlines will be assigned to examine the feasibility of integrating the areas of divergence without conflict of interest and financial losses. The sharing of hangars and parking bays will be very beneficial in this infrastructure hungry condition.

Future forward

The merged Airline will have a fleet strength of over 150 aircraft, making it the biggest in India and comparable to established airlines like Singapore Airlines and Emirates. Till such time the merged Airline is privatized, it will continue to enjoy government’s patronage. To other Airlines in India, this protectionism is likely to cause great deal of obstacles in growth. However, it is expected that by 2010, before the common wealth games in DEL, government might embark on a privatization plan of the merged Airline and consequential withdrawal of some of the special considerations it is enjoying.
Such an action have two effects- The private airlines in India will benefit from the whole lots of traffic rights which are currently unutilized by Air India and Indian, but at the same time, the merged entity upon privatization may emerge more efficient and stronger.

Should Jade Goody be allowed entry in India?

2007-01-28T22:54:00.001-08:00

We Indians are a bunch of highly radioactive element, a little push and we react to any situation in a very fiery manner and forget it equally fast to move on to react to a different issue!!
A lot needs to be blamed on the way media has covered the entire issue of cat fight between our Bollywood beauty Shilpa Shetty (who is in dire need for publicity, specially after a flop career, though I am not saying that she has done it on purpose) and Jade goody (A nurse by profession but far from the attitude of one). Any such fight between two people on a celebrity show becomes “Breaking News” on Indian TV channels. Germans and Irish have never been portrayed in the positive light but how often have heard or seen them blowing their top. All I want to say is that India has reached and achieved such a global status that such issues should be dealt with dignity.
I am completely with the Tourism department for taking the bold step to invite “Oh not so Good!!” Ms Goody to come to India and taste out hospitality and tradition. The best way to humiliate someone is to make him/her face the truth and that’s what I am in favour of, let Goody be invited and come to India and we put our best foot forward to play host to her. Let her go back with only more colorful memories of India and be ashamed at her behaviour with our fellow Indian. In fact we can take this opportunity to promote tourism in India and project how warm India has been (in the past) and will always be to its guests.
Imagine the kind of publicity and coverage India will get with Jade goody enjoying the back waters in Kerala, river rafting in Ganges and shopping at innumerable places.
At the same time I support the bottle manufacturing unit in Gujarat for Jade Goody’s perfume, to halt the manufacturing to show our unhappiness and discomfort at such comments. But as Gandhiji said, never hate the human, hate the bad qualities he/she has and help the human to eliminate them.

Jade, we welcome you with open arms and warm heart.
“Atithi devo bhava”. We Indians have always welcomed and accommodated visitors, much visible from our diverse culture.

2007-01-28T22:54:00.000-08:00

Now and then trends in Aviation

2006-12-25T20:58:00.000-08:00

At the domestic front there is an unprecedented growth in capacity increase due 5 new airlines commencing ops in past 19 months in India. All of these have been low cost carriers except Kingfisher. In order to have a bigger share of the pie, the price induced demand has resulted in fall of benchmark fares. However, favorable situation for consumers.

Introduction of IPOs for raising funds for the expansion plans of the legacy and LCC in India.

While the airline industry continues to grow, particularly in Asia, competition and resulting yields along with fuel prices continue to put immense pressure on profitability across the world. Fuel price fluctuations have significantly impacted profitability of carriers over the course of 2006. High prices in the early part of the year led to increase in fares and reduction of margins, whereas reducing prices have improved the situation marginally.
The race for survival is likely to push the trend of airline mergers across the world in order to reduce competition and rationalize yields to viable levels. Initial sign of consolidation is already visible with initial talks of the UA and CO merger. In the domestic scenario IA and IC merger will change the business dynamics. This may be good from the aviation industry perspective to usher in consolidation leading to greater stabilization however, customer will be affected. From simple economics point of view, more airlines, lesser fares. Fewer airlines, less competition, more fares.
Increased capital inflow in the aviation industry has raised hopes of further stabilization and growth. Example, consortium know as Airline Partners Australia comprising Macquarie Bank, Australian-listed Allco Finance Group Ltd and related Allco Equity Partners, US buyout firm Texas Pacific and Canadian investment firm Onex Corp, is investing 4.4 USD in Qantas. In a similar incidence, Travel-reservation Company Sabre Holdings Texas Pacific Group and Silver Lake Partners will invest $ 5 billion; this transaction would put the three largest travel reservation companies in the hands of private equity firms. Blackstone Group owns Travelport, which runs the Galileo reservation system, which it plans to merge with Worldspan, a third reservation company that is also privately held. Such activities have triggered extended business cycle with mergers and acquisition affecting the normal day to day activities.
Private participation in airports: The takeover of BAA by Spanish transport group Ferrovial has heralded a new era and is likely to lead to the increased move towards formation of large airport management conglomerates. Similar trend is seen at domestic Indian front with privatisation of major metro airports for infrastructure development.
Liberalisation of bilateral has gained significance with changing patterns of countries negotiating to regions negotiating for common bilaterals example EU on behalf of all countries with India.
With increase in the direct operations between India and US there may be reduction in traffic flow to third country hubs like Dubai. 2006 observed kick off of this trend with Delta starting direct operations between JFK and BOM.
Whereas, initial signs of consolidations were seen in 2006, but the real impact of stabilization will be felt only by 2007.

FDI and unemployment in India

2006-12-05T01:16:00.001-08:00

The issues will always keep coming back unless a decision is taken and are put to rest. Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) will only do well and bring more convenience for the Indian consumers who are fast adopting the western style of living and working. “One stop shop” is what the Walmart’s will bring to India. Conservative school of thought may be against the whole idea and argue that FDI will kick middle men and the local “Mom and Pop” shop owners, out of business. However, it’s important to realize that what’s applicable to the rest of the world has proved wrong in India time and again. Example, Mc Donald’s which used to take pride in standardization of its outlets – ambience and menu, across the world was forced to indianise its menu to suit Indian palate. In India, unlike anywhere else, there are various economic layers in the society, and various retail formats to suit the requirements of this varied middle income group. Here the organized retail comprises only 2% of the total retail business (remember Shopper’s stop, pantaloon, ShopRite Hyper are just metro phenomenon). This largely disorganized (98%) sector contributes to 11% of Indian GDP, which can still continue to be the case if it is emphasised that Walmart will source its raw materials and fresh products from India. China has become the manufacturing hub for Walmart, thanks to cheap labour, which is true for India as well. Walmart can focus in India to not only increase its consumer base but also to build up its logistics and inventory chain. This will not only give employment to people who may be uprooted due to organisation of retail but also add to the export figures. Win-Win situation for all.

Can Money buy happiness?

2006-12-01T02:28:00.000-08:00

The answer is simple, for those who have money say, money can’t buy everything and those who do not have money, are always thinking of money as the route cause of happiness. I think happiness is just a state of mind and it’s tuned the way you want it to.

It’s manifestation of positive thinking which depends upon your attitude and reaction to various external stimuli. Is Sanjay dutt happy today? Considering that the court’s verdict has finally brought some decision of his fate, its good news and the imprisonment is bad news but that’s the way it is and how you take the decision will decide what kind of attitude you have. Which will in turn decide whether you are happy or unhappy.

What’s happening in India, are we sleeping?

2006-11-16T05:01:00.000-08:00

As if the raise in the 27% quota was not enough, when the “well wishers” of the nation are asking for Muslim quota. Oversight committee chairman Veerapan Moily, plans to change the constitution now, in order to include the quota for his Muslim voters (what you thought is his effort genuine, grow up and wake up!!). Remember in this country, the poor will continue to be poor and deprived and the rich will continue to rake moolahs thanks to the “Politicians of this country” and thanks to educated people like us, who just write articles and send applications to the President. I am proud of “Youth for equality” for at least creating a platform and organization to voice opinion for people like us, who criticize the government while watching the TV and the criticism goes down the abdomen along with the cup of coffee and that’s the end of it all.

Though, Moily mentions that the quota benefits will be extended to only those Muslims who fulfill the criteria of socially and economic backwardness, what will happen in reality is that Muslim irrespective of backgrounds will be benefited at the cost of the real deserving candidates. And mind you the quota extends to not only the educational institutions but the jobs as well. However the issue is not so much of religion but the fact that the real deserving candidates’ dreams get massacred due to the vested interests of our politicians and it is time we Indians – Muslim or Hindus should realize this!!

Finally justice arrives - tragedy to triumph

2006-10-30T22:25:00.000-08:00

The justice arrives to Mr Chaman Lal Mattoo...Kudos to him, her friends and supporters, media and the High court for leading Santosh Singh to what he deserved ie to be hanged till death.
Hats off to the judges!!!
And caution Santosh's brother and friends to behave themselves or else, they may be behind bars fighting for a person (Santosh) who is already on his way to hell.

Too much politics, lets see what’s with Bollywood these days?

2006-10-28T22:54:00.000-07:00

We all know that India and its sentiments run high on cricket and movies. Cricket…well….hmm…I don’t want to talk much about the “too talked and too hyped game”….but yes our Bollywood is showing very positive trends these days on lines of the kind of professionalism that Hollywood boasts of.
The Indian public is crazy for its stars (need I mention the that our south Indian friends worship their stars)..well we north Indians are no way behind, we are also very good in tearing off the shirts of the people we love (read stars!!) – I am referring to the famous “shirt tearing” incidence with our young lass Hritik roshan.
Talking of him, it gets me back to the much required professionalism in this “oh so berserk and cluttered” industry. The tusi great ho and the balle balle pot bellied Punjabi producers are making way to the pin striped executives of the companies like Fame ad labs, Birlas and the financial partners to the likes of IDBI. Corporate money is finally finding its way to the movies and giving way to the deals in staggering amount. Yes your guess is current I am referring to the oh so talked about 33 crores deal that HR has signed with ad labs for 3 movies, under which he is free to select his entire unit of the movie, much in line with the Hollywood. Akshay kumar has signed a 16 cr deal with the company for 4 films (never mind, life is un-fair, some one gets more some one gets less). Director Vipul shah signed a 210 cr deal with adlabs to direct 8 fils and television programmes. Since 40% of the total revenue of the movie comes from the urban multiplexes this justifies the big budgets spent on the marketing of the film. If you have studies kotler’s marketing book (inspite dating with your GF in your MBA days), you may realize that all 3C and 4Ps can be applied to the industry called “BOLLYWOOD”.
The new breed of producers are very clear about their target audience, their marketing tactics (the marketing budgets has increased by 70% over the last couple of years), packaging of the product (read movies). Movies these days are never targeted or expected to run for months together (unlike in past), but the producers believe in extracting every single penny in that short period of a month or two when the movies are screened.
So next time when you go to watch a movie, see it carefully, you actually be able to understand the new changing trends more clearly.
Happy viewing!!!

Our new defence minister Pranab Mukherjee

2006-10-28T00:38:00.000-07:00

Look out for this space in the evening

Political and influential links in “rapes” of judicial system in India

2006-10-19T00:24:00.000-07:00

Priyadarshini and Jessica are just names; these names have highlighted (again) the stinking Indian judicial system that India has. Ignoring the delay, better late than never, I want to congratulate High court for re-instilling the faith in the judicial system in India. However, this doesn’t mean they should be content and can rest on their laurels. Oct 17th will be written in the history of Justice in India in golden words laced with silver lining. Santosh Singh who raped and killed Priyadarshini in her VK flat in Delhi was convicted by high court. If court convicted Santosh Singh, we don’t need to give all the credit to police. He deserved it and he got it, yes we are thankful to Police and court to bring Mattoo’s case to a meaningful and right conclusion. But a bigger credit goes to Media and the Indian public, who for a change did not remain mum on such issues of national importance.
However, Jessica’s case was closed and reopened on account of media and public hue and cry. Jessica Lall a model in New Delhi was working as a celebrity barmaid at a socialite party when she was shot dead on April 29, 1999. Dozens of witnesses pointed to Siddharth Vashisht alias Manu Sharma, the son of Vinod Sharma, a powerful Congress politician in Haryana, as the murderer. Due to inadequacies in the investigation and an overall shoddy prosecution, Manu Sharma and a number of others were all acquitted by Judge S. L. Bhayana on February 21, 2006.
Referring to Mattoo’s case then should the Lall’s family presume that justice to their beloved family member will come around 2009?
In cases of both Jessica Lall and Priyadarshini Mattoo, the justice was twisted at the instance of high profile and politically connected accused.
The common link in both cases and which lead to delay of justice is the high profile connection.
In case of Jessica, Manu’s father is a senior politician and in September 2006, a TV program on Star News highlighted a Tehelka sting operation which showed how the witnesses were bribed and forced into retracting their initial statement. Vinod Sharma was named in the expose as paying millions of rupees to some of the witnesses. Facing pressure from the central Congress leaders (in view of forthcoming elections in the neighbouring state of Punjab), Vinod Sharma resigned from the Haryana cabinet on October 6, 2006.
However, now my question other than about Jessica lall’s murder, is where did Vinod Sharma get “million of rupees” to bribe. Don’t you think a CBI enquiry is required to solve this case (Case part 2: Jessica Lall’s murder case)??
Capital punishment is the correct judgment and the right end for people like santosh singh and manu sharma.
Their political links can keep them saved for some time from the hands of faith and trust but cannot save them for the rest of their lives.
Hope this makes their “influential” contacts also very clear that they cannot take the courts and the Indian public for a ride.

Pamukkale...Turkish wonder

2006-10-10T23:23:00.000-07:00

Pamukkale, meaning "cotton castle" in Turkish, is a natural site and attraction in south-western Turkey in the Denizli Province. The ancient city of Hierapolis was built on top of the white "castle" which is in total about 2700 meters long and 160m high. It can be seen from a great distance, eg. when driving down the hills on the opposite side of the valley to the town of Denizli, which is 20 km away. Pamukkale is located in Turkey's Inner Aegean region, in the Maeander River valley, which enjoys a temperate climate over the greater part of the year.
The tectonic movements that took place in the fault depression of the Menderes river basin did not only cause frequent earthquakes, but also gave rise to the emergence of a number of very hot springs, and it is the water from one of these springs, with its large mineral content, chalk in particular, that created Pamukkale. Apart of some radioactive material, the water contains large amounts of hydrogen carbonate and calcium, which leads to the precipitation of calcium carbonate. The effect of this natural phenomenon leaves thick white layers of limestone and travertine cascading down the mountain slope, making the area look like a fortress of cotton or a frozen waterfall.
Unfortunately, the place was abused for decades in the late 20th century, as hotels were built on top of the site, destroying parts of the remains of Hierapolis. The hot water was taken to fill the hotel pools, and the waste water was even spilled over the monument itself which turned brownish. In addition, a tarmac road ramp was built right into the main part. People walked around with shoes, washed themselves with soap and shampoo in the pools, and even rode bikes and motorbikes up and down the slopes.
After the UNESCO turned its attention to Pamukkale, and the site was dramatically losing its attraction, the officials finally acted. The hotels were demolished, and the road ramp was covered with artificial pools which nowadays are, unlike the most other parts, accessible to bare-footed tourists. Even tadpoles can be found in there. A small trench was carved along the outside of the ramp, to collecting the water and prevent it from spilling the "wrong" places. These brownish parts are left to be bleached by the sun first, without being covered by water, as this would worsen the problem. Many pools are thus empty. Others parts are covered with water for an hour or two according to a schedule which is on display on top of the hill.

In the nuclear world no one is strong….everyone’s weak and prone

2006-10-10T02:15:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, N Korea became the 8th country in the world to conduct the nuclear test. Now the standard operating procedure will be followed of applying sanctions against Pyongyang. But isn’t the country already in a bad condition? US and Europe will be the first to enforce sanctions but the neighbouring countries will rather be more careful than be sorry. Due to sanctions, the living conditions will deteriorate further. China and South Korea will be badly hit due to huge flow of refugees.
Encouraged by the North Korean Nuke test Iran would like to go nuclear. This can have negative impact on the passage of India-US Nuke bill by congress. There are two schools of thought; the one against the bill argues that the passage will encourage Iran. As per IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) there are 40 countries which have the technical abilities to go nuclear. So Pyongyang’s nuclear test may show a chain reaction by Tokyo and Seoul following suit. With Iran attempting, Egypt and Saudi Arabia will follow the example. All in all this is not a good incidence in the history of Non Proliferation Treaty.
But people (read countries) who are policing the other countries against the nuclear test and armaments must evaluate their own position. Just a few days back Britain’s PM Tony Blair announced that he plans to replace the ageing Trident nuclear weapons system, and today he comments that NK’s first nuclear test is an “irresponsible act” and should be prepared for “repercussions”. Height of blatant hypocrisy.

Now let’s debate what N Korea did was wrong or right. To start with, is it good news for Koreans? To some extent no. While people in NK continue to starve. Government is spending more on something that will not quench the thirst and contain hunger of its people. Hence, it’s not been fair on part of the government to ignore the basic needs of its citizens. At the same time, safety and the security of nation is also very important. But the catch is that the Government must understand “with great powers come great responsibilities”. With most of its neighbours now nuclear or plan to be nuclear, I would say NK took a smart decision. But what most people do not understand or may be understand and ignore, if this time world has a war, human race will be washed off the face of Planet Earth. There will be no one to account for who is the police and who the culprit. Every one will be the victim!

Some more construction to improve the infrastructure or……..think about it.

2006-10-05T22:52:00.000-07:00

Oh yes I realized someone important is gracing this city again by its presence. And how did I come to know? While coming from Vikhroli to Powai, I have to go through the thin curvaceous, beautified by potholes, top of a little mole hill road. Simplex, BMC, MSRDC and MUTP has made sure that people who pass that road every day in the morning from 8-10AM and evening 5-9PM remember them religiously (read curse). “Oh Priyanka control your emotions”. Anyways, the traffic police and the state police were present in abundance to control the maddening traffic (Did you know it takes half an hour to cover that patch of 1KM in front of IIT Powai).

This is Dr. Manmohan Singh’s 7th visit since he took up the post of PM. This gives me immense happiness and feeling of pride that our beloved Mumbai holds such important position in his list of things. He launched Rs 11,446 cr Mumbai-Delhi Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) project at Parel, the single biggest project being taken up by the railways after independence.Dr. Singh’s dedicated speech to United Progressive Alliance commitment to strengthen Mumbai's infrastructure is rather appreciating!

Dr. Singh where do we doubt your sincerity towards developing the infrastructure of Mumbai, but the real problem is not the initiation of projects in space hungry city like Mumbai but the COMPLETION OF THE PROJECTS. But history is evident to the shabby way of working of the state authorities. By the time something like this gets completed a decade is gone by and poor citizens of the city have faced the full brunt. What I am saying is that “Inconvenience caused is regretted” but nothing is done to reduce the inconvenience. “Men are at work” and hence it’s important to “Be careful” but there is always a right way of doing the things right without troubling the citizens.

Mumbaikers are equally responsible for their current condition. We quietly suffer and accept it the way of life. Development is happening every where in all the countries, but the way Indians suffer is unique. We accept that if a road is re-constructed or a bridge is under construction, we have to follow the ritual of going through the rubble, the stones, potholes, resulting in jams. And this has become part of our lives.

Hence, Mumbaikers join me in pleading to the state and central government to speed up such projects. Just initiating a project does not add another feather to their cap (Read another issue for campaigning and promoting themselves during elections) but completion is equally important.
Most importantly completing it the proper way by being a little sensitive to the basic needs of the people.

Jaago before its too late!!

Destroyers of democracy are pleading for mercy - from whom? No one else but democracy itself..

2006-10-05T03:38:00.000-07:00

Isn’t the world very small? You come to face what you have done in this lifetime itself. Wife of Mohammad Afzal Guru, who tried to attack our parliament house – The epitome of democracy, is asking for clemency.
I want to ask her, where was she when her husband was planning attack on Parliament? Why didn’t she approach The President of India at that point in time to apprise him of what’s happening in her house and neighborhood?
I have nothing against our Kashmiri brother and sisters; they are as much part of India as any Punjabi or malyali. But my belief gets shaken time and again by incidents like these.
Has anyone thought why terrorism was wiped off the face of Punjab but the same could not be achieved in Kashmir. Due to the deeds of some Muslims the entire Muslim community is suffering today. Our innocent Muslim brothers who love India as their own country and motherland suffer because of such few Muslims who have decayed this system.
Tabassum Afzal, has no shame left asking for clemency for her husband. Lashing out at media and system. If she thinks that Kashimiris are surrounded by “Hatred filled atmosphere” it’s a byproduct of what people like her husband have been doing over the number of years and will do over the years to come. And who suffers? Every one. Humanity. Democracy. Country.
I remember there was once upon a time, when any Sikh was looked upon as a terrorist, but now Sikhs are the most developed and well to do caste. They have risen above the situation. These are people who respected democracy and the country much above any relation.

Tabassum, through this medium I want to ask you, tell me isn’t what you are doing against the interest of the nation? Don’t you think even for a fraction of second what your husband did was wrong? Or do you think attacking the Parliament is no big deal?
His wife says that the system is punishing the conspirator and the terrorist is still free. This is not a valid reason for freeing Md Afzal. He is a culprit and should be punished for the crime.

Today you are standing in front of our President and begging for justice. If god forbid, Md Afzal was successful in doing what he came to do, then what would have happened? I shudder even at the thought of the consequences.

Mr. President, I appreciate you are giving time and respect to the lady but the entire nation is looking up to you and your decision will recreate our faith in democracy. But people like Md Afzal should be hanged till death to set an example for all those who are even thinking of doing something closer to this.

Section 49-O of the Constitution

2006-10-03T22:26:00.000-07:00

Did you know that there is a system in our constitution, as per the 1969 act, in section "49-O" that a person can go to the polling booth, confirm his identity, get his finger marked and convey the presiding election officer that he doesn't want to vote anyone!

Yes such a feature is available, but obviously these seemingly notorious leaders have never disclosed it. This is called "49-O".

Why should you go and say "I VOTE NOBODY"... because, in a ward, if a candidate wins, say by 123 votes, and that particular ward has received "49-O" votes more than 123, then that polling will be cancelled and will have to be re-polled. Not only that, but the Candidature of the contestants will be removed and they cannot contest the re-polling, since people had already expressed their decision on them.

This would bring fear into parties and hence look for genuine candidates for their parties for election. This would change the way, of our whole political system... it is seemingly surprising why the election commission has not revealed such a feature to the public....

My friends and partners in "Equality for youth" spread this news to as many as you know... This is a wonderful weapon against corrupt parties in India... show your power, expressing your desire not to vote for anybody, is even more powerful than voting... so don't miss your chance.
So either vote, or vote not to vote (vote 49-O) and pass this information...
Use your voting right for a better INDIA.

President Bush fails to garner support for Iraq war

2006-10-03T22:21:00.000-07:00

President Bush has been unable to reassure Americans about the war in Iraq, with nearly 60 percent of those surveyed in a new state wide poll saying his administration has "deliberately misled" the public about theprogress of the war. Despite a recent speaking tour aimed at bolstering support for the conflict, only 32 percent told pollsters they approve of Bush's management of the war. And support for the war itself slipped to 38 percent, down from 40percent, last week.
But do you think Bush has any right to decide whether he should or should not bomb any country let alone Iraq? What about Pakistan? China? Afghanistan? All are silently supporting the war on terrorism?
If Bush gets evidence against any of these 3 countries, will it start a war against them? What about India? In the middle of the stage surrounded by its helful neighbours..what will be India's condition and response? Are the politician's sleeping? Is any one listening? Its time we woke up to the reality and fight against terror.