You see a lovely tree with its leaves sparkling after the rain; you see the sunlight shining on the water and on the gray-hued feathers of the birds; you see the villagers walking to town carrying heavy burdens, and hear their laughter; you hear the bark of a dog, or a calf calling to its mother. All this is part of awareness, the awareness of what is around you, is it not? Read more
Colonel Dr Anil Athale (retd), a former joint director, war studies, ministry of defence, and co-ordinator of the Pune-based Initiative for Peace and Disarmament, writes in a rediff article about the impending Talibanization of Pakistan.[1] He of course, has not mentioned how Taliban has almost solidified their hold of Karachi.. and now have reached a deal with Dawood Ibrahim. It makes sense for both the sides - Taliban will get access to the money-making machinery of Dawood in Karachi and Mumbai.. while Dawood gets access to the opium from Afghanistan and the ready route out of that area to Europe and beyond for the contraband, which will be blocked from Afghanistan without the patronage of the Taliban. Another thing he didn't mention was the ABSOLUTE lack of Government writ in Swat - and all this has happened in just a couple of years - just a few kilometers away from Islamabad. If you want to know how bad it is - read the interview of Geo TV Executive Editor Hamid Mir about the death of Musa Khankhel in Swat and the complete withdrawal of press from that area in view of sheer force of blackmail by Taliban![3] I A Rehman writing in the Dawn newspaper on February 12 says 'the Pakistani armed forces were indoctrinated in General Zia-ul Haq's rule to reserve senior posts for genuine Islamists. The Pakistan army [Images] may have the capacity to kill hordes of people, but it will not -- and cannot -- do that.' The army and the State may well disintegrate if it does. General Ashfaq Kayani, son of a former soldier, is the first non-elite chief of the Pakistani army. Given his socio-economic background, he is more likely to be part of the 'natural' constituency of the Taliban. Read more
We have been talking of the Alternatives to health Insurance and how to take care when one loses a job. This is the third article in the series. Wanted to discuss two options if one loses his/her job and doesn't qualify for COBRA. Private Health Insurance: If one is not eligible for COBRA or cannot pay the premiums that COBRA brings along.. then it is better to shop. You never know how, by looking around and maybe even splitting your and your spouse's insurance you could get a better deal - based on your "individual needs". One place to start the search is: www.ehealthinsurance.com or talk to an eHealthInsurance licensed agent, free of charge, at 1-800-977-8860 Coverage For All: The site lists public programs for laid off people to help them find an alternative if they cannot get the private insurace. This site has a database, with more than 176 government-sponsored programs in 50 states and the District of Columbia to help people in need find public health coverage. Website: http://www.coverageforall.org/ Read more
Swami Vivekananda was a non-vegetarian. When once asked by a questionner if being vegetarian is important for spiritual advance. He replied that when you reach a certain level, you automatically lose all the cravings and same goes for the desire to eat non-vegetarian foods. However, when it came to the subject of "Sex", he was emphatic that one has to shun it to advance. To me, this dichotomy has never made sense! How can lust of one ORGAN be different from that of another? And ultimately it is NOT about organs... it is about the MIND! Desire of ANY kind is a symptom of attachment. Attachment will not set you free. By suppressing ONE idea and clinging to another.. has ALSO not set you free! By saying that I will "detach" myself from sex - forcibly, if required - and "attach" myself to stern and disciplined celibacy.... and that alone will set me free from attachment is utter nonsense! You are changing the SUBJECT of attachment. Attachment however... remains! There is no such thing as a "better desire"! A nun from the Catholic Church in Kerala - Sister Jesme has come "out of the closet" and has disclosed the "dirty secrets" of the Church administration. How, under the hood of nun-hood and priest-hood, and the entire celibacy thing, sexual harrassment and abuse is rampant! We have seen it in the US as well. My thumb rule is that the guy who talks the loudest against the gays is a confirmed gay and has been screwing young boys in the church premises itself. To take the guilt off his mind he rants so much. Every gay scandal among the conservative evangelists and church leaders in the last few years demonstrated that. Read more
Disclaimer: This is just for education and information and is not meant to be any form of legal advise. Please call up your Immigration attorney or Ms. Sunita Kapoor for more information. With the Downturn of IT due to the economy turmoil and critical H-1B investigations and immigration raids around the country, it is suggested that it is worth spending some of the slow time in self auditing your files for compliance and reviewing the current workforce to adapt to the needs. If you are facing reduction in work and the bench period is being extended, you must take appropriate measures. If the change in business is temporary and you expect your business to pick up in few months, it is not good to lay off your employees. One of the options to retain your good employees without hurting their immigration status and also to reduce your burden of payroll is to amend the previously approved H-1B for part time or flexible hours H-1B. This creates benefits for both employer and the employee. The employee is able to maintain his status and able to look for another part or full time job if needed. Or he uses his time to wind up his affairs in US such as dependents' education, job, selling cars or other property. On the other hand the employer is able to retain his workforce until the economy improves. Read more
This is the second part of the Ashtvakra Gita audio. Read more
"Going on the road to Sichuan is as hard as going to heaven." says a Chinese Proverb. Well, it seems it was easy to be in heaven all these years - riding on the US economy and large household spending in the other countries... where the Chinese goods used to end up. Now, that is coming down. Over the years owing to the manufacturing boom, 120 million farmers had migrated to the cities and were working as labor in the new factories. Now, 70,000 factories in China have closed down. And that means 20 million jobs have evaporated. Read more
Ok, guys its not to do with Valentine anymore.. its about cash... After California and New York - it is the turn of two other states to be in financial mess: Kansas and New Jersey. Garden State, NJ has now increased its projected deficit by a some... 71% from the projection a month back - a budget shortfall for the current fiscal year of $3.6 billion from a projection of $2.1 billion a month ago.[1] What a difference a month MAKES! Governor Jon Corzine to call for unpaid days off and for "substantial adjustments to the state budget" - which invariably means job cuts and holding off on tax refunds..... .... and is the case for Kansas! Read more
So much of the tax payers' money in the US has been put into the Stimulus package ... now and for the coming months. Where is the money going? Here is a chart to show that based on the information on Recovery.gov. Do you agree with it? Do you think it will help the middle class? Read more
We often want love to be according to our age old thoughts and rules of the past. In our attempt to experience the familiar and term THAT as "love", we keep reinforcing our own prejudices over and over. And probably hardly ever experience the "new"... the more beautiful version of "Love". Take a listen to my thoughts in Hindi.... Read more
Drishtikone
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