I was a little surprised to get a click in from the xpenser stat site.. and I went to check. I had written a post on the benefits of xpenser. And I found that many of the readers had clicked on it and went into the xpenser site. In fact 114 clicks went in from Drishtikone..just one below labnol... and far above lifehacker!! So, my endorsement of a site was pretty successful for that site 🙂 (click on the site for a larger view) Read more
Republicans are basically sick minded these days. But this was something that even took me by surprise!! Al Austin - a former Finance Chairman for the National Republican Party sent out an email - which he now calls a "joke" - where in a cavalier manner said that .... if an airplane carrying Obama and his wife were blown up "it certainly wouldn't be a great loss, and it probably wouldn't be an accident either." Now, it is not the first time that this sentiment of "killing" Barrack Obama has been aired by the fanatic Republicans. It has been done in several rallies of Sarah Palin and McCain. It is amazing but these folks are talking about the future President of the US! And like a lot of African Americans I have met believe (and say in private) that if they rise higher enough, some one from the "right" will kill him! In fact some - who even liked Obama were not willing to vote for him lest he become a "target"! Will the worst night mare of the largest minorities unfold right in front of the world's eyes?? I hope to God (or whoever) that it be not as all hell will break lose... Read more
To discover the new mind, not only is it necessary for us to understand the responses of the old brain, it is also necessary for the old brain to be quiet. The old brain must be active but quiet. You are following what I am saying? Read more
Is India poor? Its a good question but when you look at the records of how much black money the corrupt and the rich have stashed away in Swiss banks, you realize that the amount of "dirty money" is more black money than the rest of the world combined!! The figure is $1.5 Trillion (~ 13% of world's total $11.5 trillion). And here is the sad part: The USD 11.5 trillion of assets held offshore would generate a return of about USD 860 billion a year at a 7.5% rate of return, and a consequent tax loss of USD 250+ billion for sovereign nations, more than three times the OECD countries' official development assistance to the entire world. There is a reason why the tax system and law policing in India should be better! Despite being the country with the largest booty stashed in off shore accounts, India still has been growing substantially! Imagine if all this wealth could have been harnessed for the country's use? Surprisingly, India -- still regarded as a poor country by many -- has USD 1.5 trillion in Swiss banks, which is more black money than the rest of the world combined. This is thought to be unaccounted money earned in India by inappropriate means as otherwise any Indian citizen or corporation wishing to open a bank account abroad has to take permission from the Reserve Bank of India and records do not show any such permissions granted for deposits in Switzerland. A 2006 report of the Swiss Banking Association claims Indians are the biggest depositors of black money in banks located in Switzerland. Top five countries in terms of such deposits are: India: USD 1,456 billion Russia: USD 470 billion United Kingdom: USD 390 billion Ukraine: USD 100 billion China: USD 96 billion Read more
When you say, 'discipline', all discipline is based on a method according to a certain pattern; and the pattern promises you a result which is predetermined by a mind which has already a belief, which has already taken a position. So, will a method, in the widest or the narrowest sense of that word, bring about this new mind? Read more
Was discussing this topic with a teenager - "war is the only answer for peace with our neighbours". Here are my thoughts on this topic. Before we go into the answer one way or the other, let us see what the situation is on the ground for India and what the possible options are. I wanted to start with two quotes from the first Prime Minister of India - Pandit Nehru that bring out the options we face. In reply to first commander-in-chief of the Indian armed forces, General Sir Robert Lockhart, just after Independence when Lockhart presented a plan for growth of Indian Army, Pandit Nehru said: "We don't need a defence plan. Our policy is non-violence. We foresee no military threats. You can scrap the army. The police are good enough to meet our security needs." Within a year, the strength of Army personnel had been reduced in half. In the year 1963, after a terrible defeat at the hands of Chinese - after we had signed the Panchsheel peace pact - Nehru was to tell Rajya Sabha members: "I remember many a time when our senior generals came to us, and wrote to the defence ministry saying that they wanted certain things... If we had had foresight, known exactly what would happen, we would have done something else... what India has learnt from the Chinese invasion is that in the world of today there is no place for weak nations... We have been living in an unreal world of our own creation." This second statement which described Nehru's dejection very well underscored one major principle of war - You cannot practice peace when you are weak! India has never attacked another country in its history, but has been attacked from time immemorial. These wars have taken several forms. What India faces now from Pakistan, and from the Bangladeshi illegal immigrants is an invasion. The entire demography has changed in the North East. Last month, there were terrible riots, between the local Bodos and illegal Bangladeshis, in Assam where hundreds were rendered homeless and killed. Read more
A Python stirred things up in its Mangalore campus recently.. not really the language "Python".. but the reptile! You can see the rest of the pics here. Read more
Nazmeen is 11 years. She wanted to try on some lipstick but her grandfather was not amused. When she challenged him by putting on the lipstick, the 55 year old Saleem (who runs a shop) got up, angry.... and molested her.. beat her up.. and then put her on fire. She is in a very critical situation. The girl has made a statement and urged whoever can listen - "to punish him'!! "The accused has been charged under section 307 - attempt to murder - and section 354 - molestation. We interrogated neighbours and the family and they have confirmed what happened," Mohan Singh (Superintendent of Police) said. It is shameful that so many years after our independence we have not educated people enough to make the correct decisions in life. Imagine the pain given to that little girl - all FOR trying lipstick??? Read more
I found this picture on one of the sites. The photographer is Nick Brandt from UK. Easily the BEST set of wild life pictures I have ever seen!! That too in black and White. Read more
This is a fictional story about when our third eye for the first time opened its eye lid like a heavy curtain in a theater. Once upon a time lost in the ancient sands of humankind, something useful was urgently needed to avoid the dead by ferocious animals. So God placed this organ on the man’s forehead. At the precise moment it was opened it cast three powerful beams of light; the first one created three bluish diamonds forming a triangle; the second beam of light projected seven bright rubies forming the star of David with a dot (a ruby) in the middle of this perfect triangles; the third beam of light was bright green it created twelve beautiful emeralds forming a perfect circle. And then they stared to move in two fashionable ways: Like clockwise to project like an echo to transmit detecting and receiving signals from the outer world, in other words the physical world; Counterclockwise to travel inwards to our very real spiritual world reaching the multiple levels of our subconscious mind. Read more
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