Rakesh Rao
Indian genius defeats challenger Kramnik and retains title 6.5-4.5
Wins biggest titles in three different formats
Joins Bobby Fischer in unique feat
RETAINS TITLE: Viswanathan Anand retained his world title after drawing the eleventh game of the world chess championship against the Russian challenger Vladimir Kramnik in Bonn on Wednesday. The decisive game lasted 24 moves before Kramnik, requiring a victory to stay afloat, accepted a draw. Anand won by 6.5 points to 4.5.
BONN: Viswanathan Anand is the world chess champion again. The Indian maestro won the 12-game world chess championship match against Vladimir Kramnik of Russia 6.5-4.5 with one game to spare on Wednesday. Playing with white, Anand drew the 11th game at the Art and Exhibition Hall here to retain his title.
The 24–move deadlock was enough to give Anand the title that he had first won in 2000. Anand had taken a decisive three-point lead before the 10th game in which Kramnik fought back dramatically to win and extend the match.
On Wednesday, despite Kramnik’s determined effort, Anand played solidly to rule out any possibility of an upset and forced the draw that he was looking for. Anand, who turns 39 in December, now holds the unique record of winning the game’s biggest crown in three different formats.
In 2000, India’s first Grandmaster was the last man standing in the 128-player knockout format. Last year, Anand won an eight-player double round-robin field that included Kramnik to regain the crown.
Revels in match-play too
Here, the champion proved that even in match-play, where two players face-off over a pre-determined number of games, he was second to none.
Significantly, Anand scored over a player who holds the rare distinction of dethroning Garry Kasparov eight years ago in a title match. Kasparov, who defeated Anand in 1995, is arguably the strongest player ever to have played the game. This historic triumph saw Anand become the first player from outside the erstwhile Soviet Union nations — after Bobby Fischer in 1972 — to win a world title match. Fischer and Anand are the only two players who have scored over Soviets/Russians to claim the title in match-play in the post World War II era.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Monday, October 27, 2008
'42,000 Hindus converted to Christianity, only 2 followed law'
IANS First Published : 26 Oct 2008 12:09:45 PM ISTLast Updated : 26 Oct 2008 09:28:05 PM IST
KANDHAMAL (Orissa): There has been a 66 percent growth in Christian population in Orissa's Kandhamal region, which has seen attacks on Christians and churches. Of the 42,353 who adopted Christianity between 1991 and 2001, only two followed law to change religion.
According to data available with the district collectorate, the Christian population in Kandhamal was 117,950 in the 2001 census, up from 75,597 a decade earlier.
"The Christian growth rate in the district is 66 percent as against 18.6 percent for the overall population growth in the district," District Collector Krishan Kumar told IANS.
Kumar said that the Orissa Freedom of Religious Act, which came into action in 1989, allows people to change or adopt any religion but all such individuals need to submit a form to the district magistrate.
"We have received just two applications not just between 1991 and 2001 but between 1989 and 2008. We must understand that every one must follow law," Kumar explained.
However, he did not specify what action the district administration has taken to punish those who have violated the law.
Asked if he attributes the growth of Christian population to conversions, he said: "It could be because of two reasons - conversion and migration."
Of the over 650,000 people in the troubled district, at least 53 percent are tribals, less than 20 percent Christians. Of the nearly 118,000 Christians, a majority has converted from Dalit families.
Kumar said that conversion, longstanding caste conflicts between tribals and Dalits, poverty and growing influence of Hindu groups among the tribal population had led to several communal clashes in recent years.
Ever since the killing of Swami Laxmanananda, a Hindu religious leader, and four of his supporters by unidentified gunmen Aug 23, anti-Christian violence has been boiling in Kandhamal.
While Maoists have claimed responsibility for the murders, the Hindu leader's supporters have insisted that Christians were behind the murder. The Orissa Police are investigating the case.
At least 38 people including a Central Reserve Police Force trooper lost their lives in clashes. While over 3,000 houses, mostly belonging to Christians, were gutted or vandalized in Kandhamal, over 23,000 people fled from their villages fearing death.
"Yes, there is a growth in Christian population but that does not mean fanatics from organisations like Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad can kill people," Hemant Naik, a rights activists from Udaygiri town, told IANS.
"While talking about conversion, we must also talk about reconversion. While no one has complained about their change in faith to Christianity, 62 people have registered complaints about forced reconversion to Hinduism," said another activist, Issac Digal.
KANDHAMAL (Orissa): There has been a 66 percent growth in Christian population in Orissa's Kandhamal region, which has seen attacks on Christians and churches. Of the 42,353 who adopted Christianity between 1991 and 2001, only two followed law to change religion.
According to data available with the district collectorate, the Christian population in Kandhamal was 117,950 in the 2001 census, up from 75,597 a decade earlier.
"The Christian growth rate in the district is 66 percent as against 18.6 percent for the overall population growth in the district," District Collector Krishan Kumar told IANS.
Kumar said that the Orissa Freedom of Religious Act, which came into action in 1989, allows people to change or adopt any religion but all such individuals need to submit a form to the district magistrate.
"We have received just two applications not just between 1991 and 2001 but between 1989 and 2008. We must understand that every one must follow law," Kumar explained.
However, he did not specify what action the district administration has taken to punish those who have violated the law.
Asked if he attributes the growth of Christian population to conversions, he said: "It could be because of two reasons - conversion and migration."
Of the over 650,000 people in the troubled district, at least 53 percent are tribals, less than 20 percent Christians. Of the nearly 118,000 Christians, a majority has converted from Dalit families.
Kumar said that conversion, longstanding caste conflicts between tribals and Dalits, poverty and growing influence of Hindu groups among the tribal population had led to several communal clashes in recent years.
Ever since the killing of Swami Laxmanananda, a Hindu religious leader, and four of his supporters by unidentified gunmen Aug 23, anti-Christian violence has been boiling in Kandhamal.
While Maoists have claimed responsibility for the murders, the Hindu leader's supporters have insisted that Christians were behind the murder. The Orissa Police are investigating the case.
At least 38 people including a Central Reserve Police Force trooper lost their lives in clashes. While over 3,000 houses, mostly belonging to Christians, were gutted or vandalized in Kandhamal, over 23,000 people fled from their villages fearing death.
"Yes, there is a growth in Christian population but that does not mean fanatics from organisations like Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad can kill people," Hemant Naik, a rights activists from Udaygiri town, told IANS.
"While talking about conversion, we must also talk about reconversion. While no one has complained about their change in faith to Christianity, 62 people have registered complaints about forced reconversion to Hinduism," said another activist, Issac Digal.
Saturday, October 25, 2008
U.S. to target Taliban drug traffic
By Jim Michaels, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON — A stepped-up anti-drug-trafficking effort is emerging as a key part of a broad Bush administration revision in strategy for the war in Afghanistan, U.S. officials say.
The strategy review comes as U.S. forces face increased violence in Afghanistan and reflects a growing consensus that drug trafficking has become essential to a Taliban resurgence.
"I don't think we appreciated how fast the Taliban was coming back when it got drug money," said Dell Dailey, the State Department's counterterrorism coordinator. "You can build an army real fast if you've got money in your pocket."
The fundamentalist Taliban ruled Afghanistan and harbored al-Qaeda terrorists until the regime was toppled by a U.S.-led invasion in 2001.
More than 90% of the world's opium poppy crop came from Afghanistan last year, according to a United Nations report. The Pentagon estimates the Taliban makes $60 million to $80 million a year from drug trafficking.
FIND MORE STORIES IN: George W. Bush | Europe | Afghanistan | Iraq | al-Qaeda | Pentagon | United Nations | Pakistan | Taliban | US State Department | Gen. David Petraeus | Marine | Defense Secretary Robert Gates | New York University | U.S.-led | James Jones | Jack Keane | Dell Dailey | Barnett Rubin | More U.S
The administration's strategic review is likely to be completed after the election.
Some strategy adjustments are already being made. At the urging of Defense Secretary Robert Gates, NATO defense ministers authorized a counternarcotics role this month for their forces in Afghanistan.
It is limited to targeting drug networks supporting the Taliban, and the operations would be conducted alongside Afghan forces. It does not involve eradication of the poppy crop.
Washington is considering expanding anti-drug efforts further.
"What we probably need to do is highlight the problem this drug movement into Europe presents to the Europeans and get" greater involvement in counternarcotics efforts, Dailey said.
The military has to be careful to strike a balance in fighting the drag trade. Alienating poppy farmers could hurt efforts to win over the population, since the poppy is such a large portion of the economy.
The key is to target the trafficking and not the farmers, said Barnett Rubin, an Afghanistan expert at New York University.
Afghanistan has been "drifting toward becoming a narco-state," said James Jones, a retired Marine general who served as commander of NATO forces through 2006.
There have been 251 coalition deaths in Afghanistan this year, compared with 232 for all of last year, according to icasualties.org, a website that tracks war deaths.
"There will definitely be some adjustments" in U.S. strategy toward Afghanistan and Pakistan, said retired general Jack Keane, a key architect of the Iraq troop escalation strategy and close adviser to Gen. David Petraeus.
Among the likely changes: More U.S. troops will go to Afghanistan as they draw down in Iraq, the Afghan army will expand, and the coalition will step up efforts to work with tribes.
Washington also wants to help Pakistan stop militants in the tribal region that borders Afghanistan, which has become a Taliban safe haven.
WASHINGTON — A stepped-up anti-drug-trafficking effort is emerging as a key part of a broad Bush administration revision in strategy for the war in Afghanistan, U.S. officials say.
The strategy review comes as U.S. forces face increased violence in Afghanistan and reflects a growing consensus that drug trafficking has become essential to a Taliban resurgence.
"I don't think we appreciated how fast the Taliban was coming back when it got drug money," said Dell Dailey, the State Department's counterterrorism coordinator. "You can build an army real fast if you've got money in your pocket."
The fundamentalist Taliban ruled Afghanistan and harbored al-Qaeda terrorists until the regime was toppled by a U.S.-led invasion in 2001.
More than 90% of the world's opium poppy crop came from Afghanistan last year, according to a United Nations report. The Pentagon estimates the Taliban makes $60 million to $80 million a year from drug trafficking.
FIND MORE STORIES IN: George W. Bush | Europe | Afghanistan | Iraq | al-Qaeda | Pentagon | United Nations | Pakistan | Taliban | US State Department | Gen. David Petraeus | Marine | Defense Secretary Robert Gates | New York University | U.S.-led | James Jones | Jack Keane | Dell Dailey | Barnett Rubin | More U.S
The administration's strategic review is likely to be completed after the election.
Some strategy adjustments are already being made. At the urging of Defense Secretary Robert Gates, NATO defense ministers authorized a counternarcotics role this month for their forces in Afghanistan.
It is limited to targeting drug networks supporting the Taliban, and the operations would be conducted alongside Afghan forces. It does not involve eradication of the poppy crop.
Washington is considering expanding anti-drug efforts further.
"What we probably need to do is highlight the problem this drug movement into Europe presents to the Europeans and get" greater involvement in counternarcotics efforts, Dailey said.
The military has to be careful to strike a balance in fighting the drag trade. Alienating poppy farmers could hurt efforts to win over the population, since the poppy is such a large portion of the economy.
The key is to target the trafficking and not the farmers, said Barnett Rubin, an Afghanistan expert at New York University.
Afghanistan has been "drifting toward becoming a narco-state," said James Jones, a retired Marine general who served as commander of NATO forces through 2006.
There have been 251 coalition deaths in Afghanistan this year, compared with 232 for all of last year, according to icasualties.org, a website that tracks war deaths.
"There will definitely be some adjustments" in U.S. strategy toward Afghanistan and Pakistan, said retired general Jack Keane, a key architect of the Iraq troop escalation strategy and close adviser to Gen. David Petraeus.
Among the likely changes: More U.S. troops will go to Afghanistan as they draw down in Iraq, the Afghan army will expand, and the coalition will step up efforts to work with tribes.
Washington also wants to help Pakistan stop militants in the tribal region that borders Afghanistan, which has become a Taliban safe haven.
Dal Khalsa's Joke: Calls others extremists in its Panthic Newspaper
Hindu extremism on rise, state fails to protect minorities - Dal Khalsa
Friday 3rd of October 2008
Kanwarpal Singh
Amritsar Sahib - Terming the torching of churches, raping of nuns and killings of innocent christians as a 'cultural terrorism" unleashed by Hindu extremists, the Dal Khalsa held the Indian government responsible for miserably failing to protect the lives and properties of the minority community.
In a hard hitting statement, the party vice-president Manmohan Singh Khalsa, general secretary Dr Manjinder Singh and political secretary Kanwarpal Singh urged the United Nations to intervene as despite the public outcry and recoomendations of National Commission for Minorities to ban Bajrang Dal, the approach of the Indian government has been totally biased.
"Though the prime minister and the UPA chairperson belong to minority community, the response of the state machinery is being driven by prejudice". As elections are drawing nearer, there were fears that violence against minorities would escalate, they observed. The connivance of the RSS and VHP was visible as their militant wing Bajrang Dal leader Mahendra Kumar supported and justified the attacks on churches.
The worst anti-Christian violence in India since independence has reminded the horrors and agonies of Sikhs and Muslims who suffered the worst kind of genocides in 1984 and 2002 in the hands of Congress and the BJP respectively. The leaders condemned the attempts made by certain so-called Hindutva elements directing christian refugees not to return to their homes unless they converted to Hinduism.
Urging the Amnesty International and the Asia Human Rights Watch to seek explanation from the Indian government for failing to curb the violations of the human rights, they said the silence of the international community especially the West was unfortunate and ridiculous.
Friday 3rd of October 2008
Kanwarpal Singh
Amritsar Sahib - Terming the torching of churches, raping of nuns and killings of innocent christians as a 'cultural terrorism" unleashed by Hindu extremists, the Dal Khalsa held the Indian government responsible for miserably failing to protect the lives and properties of the minority community.
In a hard hitting statement, the party vice-president Manmohan Singh Khalsa, general secretary Dr Manjinder Singh and political secretary Kanwarpal Singh urged the United Nations to intervene as despite the public outcry and recoomendations of National Commission for Minorities to ban Bajrang Dal, the approach of the Indian government has been totally biased.
"Though the prime minister and the UPA chairperson belong to minority community, the response of the state machinery is being driven by prejudice". As elections are drawing nearer, there were fears that violence against minorities would escalate, they observed. The connivance of the RSS and VHP was visible as their militant wing Bajrang Dal leader Mahendra Kumar supported and justified the attacks on churches.
The worst anti-Christian violence in India since independence has reminded the horrors and agonies of Sikhs and Muslims who suffered the worst kind of genocides in 1984 and 2002 in the hands of Congress and the BJP respectively. The leaders condemned the attempts made by certain so-called Hindutva elements directing christian refugees not to return to their homes unless they converted to Hinduism.
Urging the Amnesty International and the Asia Human Rights Watch to seek explanation from the Indian government for failing to curb the violations of the human rights, they said the silence of the international community especially the West was unfortunate and ridiculous.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Erectile dysfunction linked to heart attack
London (PTI): Erectile dysfunction may hold early clue of a heart attack, warns an expert, who expressed concern that the risk was being ignored by doctors uncomfortable with the word 'erection'.
The warning by Geoffrey Hackett on the British Medical Journal Website suggested that erectile dysfunction gives a two to three year early clue of a heart attack.
However, the link between erectile dysfunction and the risk of heart disease is being ignored by doctors, writes Hackett from the Birmingham-based Good Hope Hospital in the UK.
Despite considerable evidence, erectile dysfunction is still treated as a recreational or "lifestyle issue" rather than a predictor of a serious health problem, says Hackett.
"Continuing to ignore these issues on the basis that cardiologists feel uncomfortable mentioning the word 'erection' to their patients or that they may have to deal with the management of a positive response, is no longer acceptable and possibly, based on current evidence, clinically negligent," Hackett stressed.
Hackett reports regularly seeing patients referred with erectile dysfunction after a heart attack, only to hear that they had developed erectile dysfunction two to three years before a warning sign ignored by their general practitioners.
It is well-known that erectile dysfunction (a symptom of vascular disease in the smaller arteries) doubles the risk of heart disease, a risk equivalent to being a moderate smoker or having an immediate family history of heart disease, the Science Daily online reported.
According to the report, erectile dysfunction in type 2 diabetes has been shown to be a better predictor of the risk of heart disease than high blood pressure or high cholesterol.
The warning by Geoffrey Hackett on the British Medical Journal Website suggested that erectile dysfunction gives a two to three year early clue of a heart attack.
However, the link between erectile dysfunction and the risk of heart disease is being ignored by doctors, writes Hackett from the Birmingham-based Good Hope Hospital in the UK.
Despite considerable evidence, erectile dysfunction is still treated as a recreational or "lifestyle issue" rather than a predictor of a serious health problem, says Hackett.
"Continuing to ignore these issues on the basis that cardiologists feel uncomfortable mentioning the word 'erection' to their patients or that they may have to deal with the management of a positive response, is no longer acceptable and possibly, based on current evidence, clinically negligent," Hackett stressed.
Hackett reports regularly seeing patients referred with erectile dysfunction after a heart attack, only to hear that they had developed erectile dysfunction two to three years before a warning sign ignored by their general practitioners.
It is well-known that erectile dysfunction (a symptom of vascular disease in the smaller arteries) doubles the risk of heart disease, a risk equivalent to being a moderate smoker or having an immediate family history of heart disease, the Science Daily online reported.
According to the report, erectile dysfunction in type 2 diabetes has been shown to be a better predictor of the risk of heart disease than high blood pressure or high cholesterol.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Speed of eating 'key to obesity'
BBC
Slow down!
Wolfing down meals may be enough to nearly double a person's risk of being overweight, Japanese research suggests.
Osaka University scientists looked at the eating habits of 3,000 people and reported their findings in the British Medical Journal.
Problems in signalling systems which tell the body when to stop eating may be partly responsible, said a UK nutrition expert.
He said deliberately slowing down at mealtimes might impact on weight.
The old wives' tale about chewing everything 20 times might be true - if you did take a bit more time eating, it could have an impact
Professor Ian McDonald
Nottingham University
The latest study looked at the relationship between eating speed, feelings of "fullness" and being overweight.
Just under half of the 3,000 volunteers told researchers they tended to eat quickly.
Compared with those who did not eat quickly, fast-eating men were 84% more likely to be overweight, and women were just over twice as likely.
Those, who, in addition to wolfing down their meals, tended to eat until they felt full, were more than three times more likely to be overweight.
Stomach signals
Professor Ian McDonald, from the University of Nottingham, said that there were a number of reasons why eating fast could be bad for your weight.
He said it could interfere with a signalling system which tells your brain to stop eating because your stomach is swelling up.
He said: "If you eat quickly you basically fill your stomach before your gastric feedback has a chance to start developing - you can overfill the thing."
He said that rushing meals was a behaviour that might have been learned in infancy, and could be reversed, although this might not be easy.
"The old wives' tale about chewing everything 20 times might be true - if you did take a bit more time eating, it could have an impact."
'Biological imperative
In an accompanying editorial, Australian researchers Dr Elizabeth Denney-Wilson and Dr Karen Campbell, said that a mechanism that helps make us fat today may, until relatively recently, have been an evolutionary advantage, helping us grab more food when resources were scarce.
They said that, if possible, children should be encouraged to eat slowly, and allowed to stop when they felt full up at mealtimes.
Dr Jason Halford, Director of the Kissileff Human Ingestive Behaviour Laboratory at the University of Liverpool, said that the way we eat was slowly being seen as a key area in obesity research, especially since the publication of studies highlighting a genetic variant linked to "feelings of fullness".
His own work, recently published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology, found that anti-obesity drug sibutramine worked by slowing down the rate at which obese patients ate.
He said: "What the Japanese research shows is that individual differences in eating behaviour underlie over-consumption of food and are linked to obesity.
"Other research has found evidence of this in childhood, suggesting that it could be inherited or learned at a very early age."
He said that there was no evidence yet that trying to slow down mealtimes for children would have an impact on future obesity rates.
Slow down!
Wolfing down meals may be enough to nearly double a person's risk of being overweight, Japanese research suggests.
Osaka University scientists looked at the eating habits of 3,000 people and reported their findings in the British Medical Journal.
Problems in signalling systems which tell the body when to stop eating may be partly responsible, said a UK nutrition expert.
He said deliberately slowing down at mealtimes might impact on weight.
The old wives' tale about chewing everything 20 times might be true - if you did take a bit more time eating, it could have an impact
Professor Ian McDonald
Nottingham University
The latest study looked at the relationship between eating speed, feelings of "fullness" and being overweight.
Just under half of the 3,000 volunteers told researchers they tended to eat quickly.
Compared with those who did not eat quickly, fast-eating men were 84% more likely to be overweight, and women were just over twice as likely.
Those, who, in addition to wolfing down their meals, tended to eat until they felt full, were more than three times more likely to be overweight.
Stomach signals
Professor Ian McDonald, from the University of Nottingham, said that there were a number of reasons why eating fast could be bad for your weight.
He said it could interfere with a signalling system which tells your brain to stop eating because your stomach is swelling up.
He said: "If you eat quickly you basically fill your stomach before your gastric feedback has a chance to start developing - you can overfill the thing."
He said that rushing meals was a behaviour that might have been learned in infancy, and could be reversed, although this might not be easy.
"The old wives' tale about chewing everything 20 times might be true - if you did take a bit more time eating, it could have an impact."
'Biological imperative
In an accompanying editorial, Australian researchers Dr Elizabeth Denney-Wilson and Dr Karen Campbell, said that a mechanism that helps make us fat today may, until relatively recently, have been an evolutionary advantage, helping us grab more food when resources were scarce.
They said that, if possible, children should be encouraged to eat slowly, and allowed to stop when they felt full up at mealtimes.
Dr Jason Halford, Director of the Kissileff Human Ingestive Behaviour Laboratory at the University of Liverpool, said that the way we eat was slowly being seen as a key area in obesity research, especially since the publication of studies highlighting a genetic variant linked to "feelings of fullness".
His own work, recently published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology, found that anti-obesity drug sibutramine worked by slowing down the rate at which obese patients ate.
He said: "What the Japanese research shows is that individual differences in eating behaviour underlie over-consumption of food and are linked to obesity.
"Other research has found evidence of this in childhood, suggesting that it could be inherited or learned at a very early age."
He said that there was no evidence yet that trying to slow down mealtimes for children would have an impact on future obesity rates.
Sikh radical outfit backs Raj Thackeray
Press Trust Of India
MNS leader Raj Thackeray's drive against north Indian migrants in Maharashtra has found support from radical Sikh outfit Dal Khalsa, which has announced a march on November 1 to highlight among other issues the influx of migrants in Punjab.
H S Dhami, President of Dal Khalsa said in Jalandhar on Wednesday that MNS chief Raj Thackeray has been "misunderstood by all".
"He is right in his own way as he is struggling to preserve and protect the culture, language and rights of his own people", he said.
Endorsing Thackeray's approach, Dhami said it was "unfortunate that the state doesn't provide suitable environment for non-violent struggle".
Senior leaders of Dal Khalsa, including Kanwarpal Singh and Manjinder Singh, pointed to the migrant population in Punjab and asked the Punjab government to regularise migrants.
They said demographic change in Punjab seemed to be "alarming" due to "heavy influx" of migrant population into the state.
The leaders said Dal Khalsa perceives that like Assam and Maharashtra the "outsiders" issue is going to quickly emerge in Punjab also.
"All political parties, pursuing narrow political ends are oblivious of the social, cultural, religious and political damage done to Punjab by their unmindful support to the migrant population," the Dal Khalsa alleged.
MNS leader Raj Thackeray's drive against north Indian migrants in Maharashtra has found support from radical Sikh outfit Dal Khalsa, which has announced a march on November 1 to highlight among other issues the influx of migrants in Punjab.
H S Dhami, President of Dal Khalsa said in Jalandhar on Wednesday that MNS chief Raj Thackeray has been "misunderstood by all".
"He is right in his own way as he is struggling to preserve and protect the culture, language and rights of his own people", he said.
Endorsing Thackeray's approach, Dhami said it was "unfortunate that the state doesn't provide suitable environment for non-violent struggle".
Senior leaders of Dal Khalsa, including Kanwarpal Singh and Manjinder Singh, pointed to the migrant population in Punjab and asked the Punjab government to regularise migrants.
They said demographic change in Punjab seemed to be "alarming" due to "heavy influx" of migrant population into the state.
The leaders said Dal Khalsa perceives that like Assam and Maharashtra the "outsiders" issue is going to quickly emerge in Punjab also.
"All political parties, pursuing narrow political ends are oblivious of the social, cultural, religious and political damage done to Punjab by their unmindful support to the migrant population," the Dal Khalsa alleged.
Guess who's defending Raj Thackeray?
Urvi Mahajani, Hindustan Times
“He is fighting for the sons of the soil. He is fighting for us.”
That’s Akhilesh Choube, one of Raj Thackeray’s lawyers. He is originally from north India.
The Choubes settled in Mumbai three generations back and Akhilesh considers himself more of a Maharashtrian than a north Indian. He has studied law in Mumbai and has been a practicing lawyer for the last eight years.
Akhilesh was earlier with the Bharatiya Vidhyarthi Sena, the student wing of Shiv Sena which was headed by Raj Thackeray before he parted ways with his uncle Bal Thackeray. Being close to Raj when he was with the Bharatiya Vidhyarthi Sena, Akhilesh decided to move with him when he floated his own party — Maharashtra Navnirman Sena.
“I know him since 1987 and know what kind of a human being he is,” Akhilesh told HT.
But doesn’t Raj’s anti-north Indian drive affect you? “Not at all,” pat comes the reply.
Everywhere there is politics, said Akhilesh, adding: “Even the BJP does the same in the name of Hindus and Samajwadi Party does it for the minority.”
“He is fighting for the sons of the soil. He is fighting for us.”
That’s Akhilesh Choube, one of Raj Thackeray’s lawyers. He is originally from north India.
The Choubes settled in Mumbai three generations back and Akhilesh considers himself more of a Maharashtrian than a north Indian. He has studied law in Mumbai and has been a practicing lawyer for the last eight years.
Akhilesh was earlier with the Bharatiya Vidhyarthi Sena, the student wing of Shiv Sena which was headed by Raj Thackeray before he parted ways with his uncle Bal Thackeray. Being close to Raj when he was with the Bharatiya Vidhyarthi Sena, Akhilesh decided to move with him when he floated his own party — Maharashtra Navnirman Sena.
“I know him since 1987 and know what kind of a human being he is,” Akhilesh told HT.
But doesn’t Raj’s anti-north Indian drive affect you? “Not at all,” pat comes the reply.
Everywhere there is politics, said Akhilesh, adding: “Even the BJP does the same in the name of Hindus and Samajwadi Party does it for the minority.”
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Punjab IAS officer commits suicide
Press Trust of India
Monday, October 20, 2008, (Chandigarh)
The mystery shrouds the death of a senior Punjab cadre IAS officer whose body was found hanging on Monday in his official residence in Chandigarh.
A S Chatwal, secretary, science and technology, was found hanging from a ceiling fan at his official residence, police said.
He was taken to a hospital in the city, where he died, sources said.
Police recorded the statements of his family members and recovered a suicide note from his possession in which he had reportedly written that no one was responsible for his death.
He was around 48 and was alone in his house when he took the extreme step, police said, adding that they suspect that the officer was under depression.
Initial inquiry indicates that Chatwal had committed suicide, police said.
Chatwal was credited with having organised the first ever NRI sammelan in Punjab in December and top industrialists were part of it.
He was instrumental in bringing several proposals, including NRI police station and NRI fast track court, as he was NRI affairs commissioner as well.
Chatwal, who held an MBBS degree, is survived by his wife and daughter. Both of them are doctors by profession.
Monday, October 20, 2008, (Chandigarh)
The mystery shrouds the death of a senior Punjab cadre IAS officer whose body was found hanging on Monday in his official residence in Chandigarh.
A S Chatwal, secretary, science and technology, was found hanging from a ceiling fan at his official residence, police said.
He was taken to a hospital in the city, where he died, sources said.
Police recorded the statements of his family members and recovered a suicide note from his possession in which he had reportedly written that no one was responsible for his death.
He was around 48 and was alone in his house when he took the extreme step, police said, adding that they suspect that the officer was under depression.
Initial inquiry indicates that Chatwal had committed suicide, police said.
Chatwal was credited with having organised the first ever NRI sammelan in Punjab in December and top industrialists were part of it.
He was instrumental in bringing several proposals, including NRI police station and NRI fast track court, as he was NRI affairs commissioner as well.
Chatwal, who held an MBBS degree, is survived by his wife and daughter. Both of them are doctors by profession.
Monday, October 20, 2008
Pakistan divided on fighting Taliban and Al Qaeda
By Jane Perlez Published: October 20, 2008
ISLAMABAD: An unusual parliamentary debate designed to forge a Pakistani policy on how to fight the Taliban and Al Qaeda has exposed deep ambivalence about the militants, even as their reach extends to suicide attacks in the capital.
Calls for dialogue with the Taliban, peppered with opposition to fighting what is perceived as an American war, dominated the closed-door sessions, according to participants.
After seven years of military rule under General Pervez Musharraf, the new civilian government initiated the debate in an effort to convince the public and the political parties of the necessity of the war against the militants. Musharraf - who had been both head of the army and president, as well as an important ally of the Bush administration - never consulted Parliament.
The new president, Asif Ali Zardari, pledged a strong effort by Pakistan against terrorism during his visit to Washington earlier this month, and stressed the contrast between his civilian rule and that of his military predecessor.
But the tenor of the parliamentary proceedings, including criticism by politicians of a lengthy military briefing by a general on the conduct of the war, showed that members of the political elite have little stomach for the fight against the militants.
Today in Asia - Pacific
U.S. repeats Soviet missteps in Afghanistan, envoy says
With aid money going to the Delta, an imbalance forms in Myanmar
Pakistan divided on fighting Taliban and Al Qaeda
The Pakistani military launched a campaign against the Taliban and its Al Qaeda backers in the tribal area of Bajaur two months ago, an effort that American commanders have applauded as a way to stop the militants crossing into Afghanistan and launching attacks against American soldiers.
At a news conference in Islamabad on Monday, the U.S. assistant secretary of state for South Asia, Richard Boucher, called the "tough actions" of the Pakistanis "very impressive."
In a sign of the mood in Parliament, Nawaz Sharif, leader of the opposition party Pakistan Muslim League-N, sent a letter to the prime minister, Yousaf Raza Gilani, on Monday calling for dialogue with the militants. The letter suggested a halt in military operations while negotiations were given a chance, according to Ahsan Iqbal, an aide to Sharif.
In an interview last week, Sharif said: "What is wrong with talking?"
Pakistanis who support a tough fight against the militants have been surprised that the suicide bomb attack on the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad, which killed more than 50 people last month, has not produced more resolve in Parliament.
"I thought the Marriott would change everyone's attitude, but it has not," said Farook Saleem, a prominent newspaper columnist.
The sentiments in the speeches in Parliament were so opposed to fighting the militants that it was doubtful that the ruling Pakistan People's Party could engineer an "appropriate resolution," said Sardar Aseff Ahmed Ali, a senior member of the party and a former foreign minister.
A religious party, the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl, which serves in the coalition with the Pakistan People's Party, had voiced particularly strong opposition to the war against the militants, Ali said.
"They want the army to pull out of everything and start talks with the militants in North and South Waziristan, in Swat," Ali said. The army is fighting the Taliban in Swat, a settled area of North West Frontier Province, and has fought the Taliban in Waziristan, an area of the tribal belt.
It was possible, Ali said, that divergent opinions within the coalition could produce a parliamentary resolution that was "so hugely diluted that the whole exercise is left futile."
Behind the scenes, the idea of a parliamentary debate was encouraged by the head of the Pakistani Army, General Parvez Kayani, as a way to garner political support for the efforts of his military, according to two Pakistanis familiar with the general's thinking.
At a cabinet meeting attended by Kayani in late July, the civilian government gave the military permission to go ahead with operations against the militants.
But Kayani wanted more than cabinet approval, and was eager for a parliamentary debate that would show the army was responding to civilian rule, according to the Pakistanis who spoke to Kayani.
In that vein, General Ahmed Shuja Pasha, head of military operations for the Pakistani Army and the next head of the powerful Inter Services Intelligence agency, briefed a joint session of Parliament two weeks ago.
The presence of a senior general in Parliament was viewed in much of the Pakistani media as an encouraging, if fledgling, sign of civilian control of the military.
Pasha described what the army had done in several campaigns against militants in the past seven years, showed graphic images of militants slaughtering civilians, and said more than 1,500 Pakistani soldiers had died in operations, according to members of Parliament.
The briefing was poorly received by politicians, who lambasted it as showing little new. The members of Parliament also criticized Pasha for not offering a strategy for the future.
Salman Masood contributed reporting.
ISLAMABAD: An unusual parliamentary debate designed to forge a Pakistani policy on how to fight the Taliban and Al Qaeda has exposed deep ambivalence about the militants, even as their reach extends to suicide attacks in the capital.
Calls for dialogue with the Taliban, peppered with opposition to fighting what is perceived as an American war, dominated the closed-door sessions, according to participants.
After seven years of military rule under General Pervez Musharraf, the new civilian government initiated the debate in an effort to convince the public and the political parties of the necessity of the war against the militants. Musharraf - who had been both head of the army and president, as well as an important ally of the Bush administration - never consulted Parliament.
The new president, Asif Ali Zardari, pledged a strong effort by Pakistan against terrorism during his visit to Washington earlier this month, and stressed the contrast between his civilian rule and that of his military predecessor.
But the tenor of the parliamentary proceedings, including criticism by politicians of a lengthy military briefing by a general on the conduct of the war, showed that members of the political elite have little stomach for the fight against the militants.
Today in Asia - Pacific
U.S. repeats Soviet missteps in Afghanistan, envoy says
With aid money going to the Delta, an imbalance forms in Myanmar
Pakistan divided on fighting Taliban and Al Qaeda
The Pakistani military launched a campaign against the Taliban and its Al Qaeda backers in the tribal area of Bajaur two months ago, an effort that American commanders have applauded as a way to stop the militants crossing into Afghanistan and launching attacks against American soldiers.
At a news conference in Islamabad on Monday, the U.S. assistant secretary of state for South Asia, Richard Boucher, called the "tough actions" of the Pakistanis "very impressive."
In a sign of the mood in Parliament, Nawaz Sharif, leader of the opposition party Pakistan Muslim League-N, sent a letter to the prime minister, Yousaf Raza Gilani, on Monday calling for dialogue with the militants. The letter suggested a halt in military operations while negotiations were given a chance, according to Ahsan Iqbal, an aide to Sharif.
In an interview last week, Sharif said: "What is wrong with talking?"
Pakistanis who support a tough fight against the militants have been surprised that the suicide bomb attack on the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad, which killed more than 50 people last month, has not produced more resolve in Parliament.
"I thought the Marriott would change everyone's attitude, but it has not," said Farook Saleem, a prominent newspaper columnist.
The sentiments in the speeches in Parliament were so opposed to fighting the militants that it was doubtful that the ruling Pakistan People's Party could engineer an "appropriate resolution," said Sardar Aseff Ahmed Ali, a senior member of the party and a former foreign minister.
A religious party, the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl, which serves in the coalition with the Pakistan People's Party, had voiced particularly strong opposition to the war against the militants, Ali said.
"They want the army to pull out of everything and start talks with the militants in North and South Waziristan, in Swat," Ali said. The army is fighting the Taliban in Swat, a settled area of North West Frontier Province, and has fought the Taliban in Waziristan, an area of the tribal belt.
It was possible, Ali said, that divergent opinions within the coalition could produce a parliamentary resolution that was "so hugely diluted that the whole exercise is left futile."
Behind the scenes, the idea of a parliamentary debate was encouraged by the head of the Pakistani Army, General Parvez Kayani, as a way to garner political support for the efforts of his military, according to two Pakistanis familiar with the general's thinking.
At a cabinet meeting attended by Kayani in late July, the civilian government gave the military permission to go ahead with operations against the militants.
But Kayani wanted more than cabinet approval, and was eager for a parliamentary debate that would show the army was responding to civilian rule, according to the Pakistanis who spoke to Kayani.
In that vein, General Ahmed Shuja Pasha, head of military operations for the Pakistani Army and the next head of the powerful Inter Services Intelligence agency, briefed a joint session of Parliament two weeks ago.
The presence of a senior general in Parliament was viewed in much of the Pakistani media as an encouraging, if fledgling, sign of civilian control of the military.
Pasha described what the army had done in several campaigns against militants in the past seven years, showed graphic images of militants slaughtering civilians, and said more than 1,500 Pakistani soldiers had died in operations, according to members of Parliament.
The briefing was poorly received by politicians, who lambasted it as showing little new. The members of Parliament also criticized Pasha for not offering a strategy for the future.
Salman Masood contributed reporting.
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Cure love sickness with sex, says research
London, October 18: It may sound strange, but it seems to be true. Victorian doctors recognised love sickness as a medical illness and prescribed sex as a treatment.
Dr Lesel Dawson of the University of Bristol, who carried out the research, said that feelings of love sickness were particularly prevalent when people were not allowed to express love. This caused anger and frustration and turned into a mental illness.
"Love sickness was quite often a 'class-crossed' love when a rich person was in love with a servant but they weren't allowed to express that," she said.
Dr Dawson, whose results are published in the book Lovesickness and Gender in Early Modern English Literature said that the best cure was seen to be sex - and this would often be recommended to the patient's family.
She said, "According to early writers, sex expelled the lover's excess blood and seed, which accumulated in the body and putrefied, releasing harmful vapours that could cause melancholy".
Dr Lesel Dawson of the University of Bristol, who carried out the research, said that feelings of love sickness were particularly prevalent when people were not allowed to express love. This caused anger and frustration and turned into a mental illness.
"Love sickness was quite often a 'class-crossed' love when a rich person was in love with a servant but they weren't allowed to express that," she said.
Dr Dawson, whose results are published in the book Lovesickness and Gender in Early Modern English Literature said that the best cure was seen to be sex - and this would often be recommended to the patient's family.
She said, "According to early writers, sex expelled the lover's excess blood and seed, which accumulated in the body and putrefied, releasing harmful vapours that could cause melancholy".
Ratan Tata’s open letter invites mixed reactions
Political Bureau
Posted: Oct 18, 2008 at 0220 hrs IST
An anguished Ratan Tata, in an ‘open letter’ to the people of West Bengal published in the form of an advertisement in select newspapers in Kolkata, once again explained the rationale behind his decision to pull out the Nano factory from Singur. Even as Tata raised critical issues like “history repeating itself” for Bengal in the form of investments flying out of the state , the letter created a fresh stir in political as well as industry circles.
The letter reminded the citizens of Bengal: “Many may have forgotten that West Bengal was the major centre for heavy industry and steel fabrication. It has only been in recent times that the present government has been able to rebuild the confidence of the investors to invest in the state. It is therefore ironic that, at this crucial time and moment of hope for the state, history appears to be repeating itself.”
Tata openly blamed the “confrontative actions” of Trinamool Congress for the pull-out and showered praise on the investor-friendly policies of chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee.
Sougata Roy, a senior Trinamool Congress leader, reacted sharply: “I think this is unprecedented that Tatas have stooped down to such a level to take political sides. How much they love Bengal is clear from the alacrity with which they moved away to Gujarat. We never asked him to shift. All we said was let the factory be there but return the land of the unwilling farmers.”
Congress legislature party leader, Manas Bhuniya refused make any definite statement. “The letter talks of a constructive Buddha and a destructive Mamata. I belong to Congress and I will not comment on the letter. It was a personal opinion of Ratan Tata and it is for the younger generation to decide whether they would agree to what Ratan Tata has to say,” Bhuniya said.
Md Salim, the CPI(M) MP saw hope in the letter. He said: “Younger people are well aware of what happened. They know how Mamata Banerjee and her supporters played a destructive role. On Tata’s part, they should take steps to consolidate the support they have received from the government to culminate into something positive.”
Sanjay Budhia, president, ICCI said the letter clearly showed that his heart lies in Bengal. “We want to take this as a positive indication. We might have lost the battle but in future if the situation is conducive, they might consider relocating to Bengal,” said Budhia.
Biswadip Gupta,...
Posted: Oct 18, 2008 at 0220 hrs IST
An anguished Ratan Tata, in an ‘open letter’ to the people of West Bengal published in the form of an advertisement in select newspapers in Kolkata, once again explained the rationale behind his decision to pull out the Nano factory from Singur. Even as Tata raised critical issues like “history repeating itself” for Bengal in the form of investments flying out of the state , the letter created a fresh stir in political as well as industry circles.
The letter reminded the citizens of Bengal: “Many may have forgotten that West Bengal was the major centre for heavy industry and steel fabrication. It has only been in recent times that the present government has been able to rebuild the confidence of the investors to invest in the state. It is therefore ironic that, at this crucial time and moment of hope for the state, history appears to be repeating itself.”
Tata openly blamed the “confrontative actions” of Trinamool Congress for the pull-out and showered praise on the investor-friendly policies of chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee.
Sougata Roy, a senior Trinamool Congress leader, reacted sharply: “I think this is unprecedented that Tatas have stooped down to such a level to take political sides. How much they love Bengal is clear from the alacrity with which they moved away to Gujarat. We never asked him to shift. All we said was let the factory be there but return the land of the unwilling farmers.”
Congress legislature party leader, Manas Bhuniya refused make any definite statement. “The letter talks of a constructive Buddha and a destructive Mamata. I belong to Congress and I will not comment on the letter. It was a personal opinion of Ratan Tata and it is for the younger generation to decide whether they would agree to what Ratan Tata has to say,” Bhuniya said.
Md Salim, the CPI(M) MP saw hope in the letter. He said: “Younger people are well aware of what happened. They know how Mamata Banerjee and her supporters played a destructive role. On Tata’s part, they should take steps to consolidate the support they have received from the government to culminate into something positive.”
Sanjay Budhia, president, ICCI said the letter clearly showed that his heart lies in Bengal. “We want to take this as a positive indication. We might have lost the battle but in future if the situation is conducive, they might consider relocating to Bengal,” said Budhia.
Biswadip Gupta,...
Friday, October 17, 2008
Husband seeks divorce as wife loses Rs 30L in market
18 Oct 2008, 0128 hrs IST, Radha Sharma,TNN
AHMEDABAD: The bloodbath in the stock market has not only led people to lose everything, it has also exposed cracks in relationships. A woman in Ahmedabad is in distress after her husband is talking of deserting her as she lost over Rs 30 lakh in the market in recent times.
"I am a 34-year old housewife. I am married for the last ten years and have one daughter. In my free time, I have been trading online in stocks and earned quite a lot. But recently in this bearish trend, my stocks are not doing well and I have run into losses to the tune of Rs 12 lakh.”
“I suppose, everyone who is into stock-trading is sailing in the same boat. But my husband is not ready to take this fact. He says that he is not going to support this loss. In fact, when I was making money in the market, he was enjoying its fruits and now when I'm passing through a bad market phase, he has washed his hands off.
He is also saying that he would prefer to divorce me than shoulder my losses. It is a question of patience but he does not seems to be supportive at all. Please guide me on what to do?"
This woman apparently poured her heart out on a website launched by city-based psychiatrist Dr Hansal Bhachech for free counselling, claimed to be the first of its kind in the country. She has sought help in this situation where she has not only lost money but is also struggling to keep her marriage.
"Many women who have taken to stocks are now facing twin problems - how to cut down their losses and cut flak from their respective families for losing their money," says Dr Bhachech.
AHMEDABAD: The bloodbath in the stock market has not only led people to lose everything, it has also exposed cracks in relationships. A woman in Ahmedabad is in distress after her husband is talking of deserting her as she lost over Rs 30 lakh in the market in recent times.
"I am a 34-year old housewife. I am married for the last ten years and have one daughter. In my free time, I have been trading online in stocks and earned quite a lot. But recently in this bearish trend, my stocks are not doing well and I have run into losses to the tune of Rs 12 lakh.”
“I suppose, everyone who is into stock-trading is sailing in the same boat. But my husband is not ready to take this fact. He says that he is not going to support this loss. In fact, when I was making money in the market, he was enjoying its fruits and now when I'm passing through a bad market phase, he has washed his hands off.
He is also saying that he would prefer to divorce me than shoulder my losses. It is a question of patience but he does not seems to be supportive at all. Please guide me on what to do?"
This woman apparently poured her heart out on a website launched by city-based psychiatrist Dr Hansal Bhachech for free counselling, claimed to be the first of its kind in the country. She has sought help in this situation where she has not only lost money but is also struggling to keep her marriage.
"Many women who have taken to stocks are now facing twin problems - how to cut down their losses and cut flak from their respective families for losing their money," says Dr Bhachech.
Blame men for women’s extra bulge
Thursday, 16 October , 2008, 20:22
Last Updated: Thursday, 16 October , 2008, 23:03
Melbourne: The secret behind a woman''s ‘yo-yo’ weight has finally been revealed, and it has nothing to do with hectic work life and laziness, in fact the culprit is – their men.
Yes, ladies fighting a constant battle to beat the bulge should blame their love life.
Flight carries only scripture from London to Delhi
According to boffins, a woman’s weight fluctuates depending on how happy she is.
The report found early courtship usually brings with it a strict diet regime resulting in the loss of around 5lb.
But things start to go downhill once the woman gets comfortable with her partner.
Wedding plans mean another sprint to shed a few pounds before the arrival of a baby reverses that weight loss, followed by a reinvention - which again sparks a diet drive.
The five stages of weight fluctuation, which can vary over around two stone, emerged in a study of 3,000 women by weight management firm www.slendex.com.
“Our emotions have an enormous effect on our health and weight. The periods in a woman’s life that see their weight rise and fall link directly to new chapters in their love life or family status,” The Daily Express quoted Jane McCadden, of Slendex, as saying.
“The study also illustrates how difficult women find it to maintain a stable weight throughout their lives. Even when women lose weight, bad habits soon return and another phase of weight gain follows,” the expert added.
Last Updated: Thursday, 16 October , 2008, 23:03
Melbourne: The secret behind a woman''s ‘yo-yo’ weight has finally been revealed, and it has nothing to do with hectic work life and laziness, in fact the culprit is – their men.
Yes, ladies fighting a constant battle to beat the bulge should blame their love life.
Flight carries only scripture from London to Delhi
According to boffins, a woman’s weight fluctuates depending on how happy she is.
The report found early courtship usually brings with it a strict diet regime resulting in the loss of around 5lb.
But things start to go downhill once the woman gets comfortable with her partner.
Wedding plans mean another sprint to shed a few pounds before the arrival of a baby reverses that weight loss, followed by a reinvention - which again sparks a diet drive.
The five stages of weight fluctuation, which can vary over around two stone, emerged in a study of 3,000 women by weight management firm www.slendex.com.
“Our emotions have an enormous effect on our health and weight. The periods in a woman’s life that see their weight rise and fall link directly to new chapters in their love life or family status,” The Daily Express quoted Jane McCadden, of Slendex, as saying.
“The study also illustrates how difficult women find it to maintain a stable weight throughout their lives. Even when women lose weight, bad habits soon return and another phase of weight gain follows,” the expert added.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
India has world’s largest hungry population
Vineeta Pandey
Wednesday, October 15, 2008 04:00 IST
Ranks 66th in global hunger index
NEW DELHI: India, the world’s largest foodgrain producer, also has the world’s largest hungry population, over 200 million. It ranks a poor 66th among 88 developing and transitional countries on the 2008 Global Hunger Index (GHI-2008), says a report by Washington-based International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
GHI-2008 measured hunger on three fronts - proportion of people undernourished or calorie deficient; child malnutrition (underweight children under 5 years of age) and child mortality rates (malnutrition or disease deaths of children under 5 years).
The report found that hunger was a major threat in 33 countries, including India, owing to rising food prices. The fact that food importers outnumbered exporters implied many more countries were likely to suffer from higher prices.
Despite years of robust economic growth, India scored worse than nearly 25 sub-Saharan countries like Kenya, Nigeria, Cameroon, Congo and Sudan, and all of South Asia, except Bangladesh, which ranked 70th. This was in spite of the fact that the per capita income in the African countries was much lower than India’s.
India’s slightly better performance over Bangladesh was because of higher agricultural productivity. But it fared worse than Bangladesh in child mortality.
Among the better-fed countries, Mauritius ranked 1st, followed by Jamaica, Moldova, Cuba and Peru. China ranked 15th, Thailand 23rd, Sri Lanka 39th, Nepal 57th and Pakistan 61st.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008 04:00 IST
Ranks 66th in global hunger index
NEW DELHI: India, the world’s largest foodgrain producer, also has the world’s largest hungry population, over 200 million. It ranks a poor 66th among 88 developing and transitional countries on the 2008 Global Hunger Index (GHI-2008), says a report by Washington-based International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
GHI-2008 measured hunger on three fronts - proportion of people undernourished or calorie deficient; child malnutrition (underweight children under 5 years of age) and child mortality rates (malnutrition or disease deaths of children under 5 years).
The report found that hunger was a major threat in 33 countries, including India, owing to rising food prices. The fact that food importers outnumbered exporters implied many more countries were likely to suffer from higher prices.
Despite years of robust economic growth, India scored worse than nearly 25 sub-Saharan countries like Kenya, Nigeria, Cameroon, Congo and Sudan, and all of South Asia, except Bangladesh, which ranked 70th. This was in spite of the fact that the per capita income in the African countries was much lower than India’s.
India’s slightly better performance over Bangladesh was because of higher agricultural productivity. But it fared worse than Bangladesh in child mortality.
Among the better-fed countries, Mauritius ranked 1st, followed by Jamaica, Moldova, Cuba and Peru. China ranked 15th, Thailand 23rd, Sri Lanka 39th, Nepal 57th and Pakistan 61st.
Recognise and reward productive people
Recognise and reward productive people
Radhakrishnan Pillai
All of us are surrounded by people who believe that it’s just not worth making an extra effort if the salary is fixed. This is where the theory of productivity and incentives kicks in: The more you work the more rewards you will get.
But the onus is on the boss and a firm’s owners to identify the productive people in their organisations to not only reward them but to also make them stay.
Chanakya gave a strategy for this: “In case more work is done than agreed upon, he shall not make the effort vain” (8.14.11).
In addition to being a rule for paying out bonuses, the above verse can also be used as a yard-stick to check if employees are good – just see if they have done far more than what they were expected to do.
If the answer is yes, then the management has to ensure that their ‘extra’ efforts are rewarded. But how can a boss keep a track of his employees’ productivity?
1) Keep notes
It’s important that the director, CEO or even the head of a department keep notes of people who are productive. People who are sincere, dedicated and committed are essential in every company.
Such people are the pillars of any organisation. While it’s good to keep mental notes of the staff’s performance, it would be best if these could be written down for future reference.
2) Look for new opportunities
A leader should keep looking not only for new business opportunities but also for opportunities that can be given to productive people.
The basic thought should be that an employee who has been very productive and dedicated to the company needs to be a part of any new and wonderful assignment with better rewards.
3) Promote when required
When seniors in an organisation find that certain people are good, they should not hesitate to promote them. Promotion means far more than just giving a higher designation.
It can mean salary hikes, share in profits or even a decision to head a new venture. Thus, the person also feels empowered and recognised within the company.
They say: “People do not leave organisations, they leave their bosses.” But, according to me: “People should not leave their organisations due to lack of identification of skill by their bosses!”
Radhakrishnan Pillai
All of us are surrounded by people who believe that it’s just not worth making an extra effort if the salary is fixed. This is where the theory of productivity and incentives kicks in: The more you work the more rewards you will get.
But the onus is on the boss and a firm’s owners to identify the productive people in their organisations to not only reward them but to also make them stay.
Chanakya gave a strategy for this: “In case more work is done than agreed upon, he shall not make the effort vain” (8.14.11).
In addition to being a rule for paying out bonuses, the above verse can also be used as a yard-stick to check if employees are good – just see if they have done far more than what they were expected to do.
If the answer is yes, then the management has to ensure that their ‘extra’ efforts are rewarded. But how can a boss keep a track of his employees’ productivity?
1) Keep notes
It’s important that the director, CEO or even the head of a department keep notes of people who are productive. People who are sincere, dedicated and committed are essential in every company.
Such people are the pillars of any organisation. While it’s good to keep mental notes of the staff’s performance, it would be best if these could be written down for future reference.
2) Look for new opportunities
A leader should keep looking not only for new business opportunities but also for opportunities that can be given to productive people.
The basic thought should be that an employee who has been very productive and dedicated to the company needs to be a part of any new and wonderful assignment with better rewards.
3) Promote when required
When seniors in an organisation find that certain people are good, they should not hesitate to promote them. Promotion means far more than just giving a higher designation.
It can mean salary hikes, share in profits or even a decision to head a new venture. Thus, the person also feels empowered and recognised within the company.
They say: “People do not leave organisations, they leave their bosses.” But, according to me: “People should not leave their organisations due to lack of identification of skill by their bosses!”
'Taliban, Qaida trying to take over Pakistan'
15 Oct 2008, 0110 hrs IST, Sachin Parashar,TNN
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NEW DELHI: Could Pakistan fall to a Taliban-al-Qaida coup? Is India looking at the possibility of a Talibanized neighbour to its west, one with access to nuclear weapons? If Pakistan's senior minister for information Sherry Rahman is to be believed, Pakistan is in the midst of a serious internal security threat from a collection of Taliban, al-Qaida and J&K terrorist elements who want to take over the country.
Indian security sources said they have been receiving reports of a steady infiltration of Taliban and al-Qaida elements in Pakistan's biggest cities of Lahore and Karachi recently. In fact, in a recent incident which rang alarm bells, there were a number of Taliban posters in Karachi and Taliban spokespersons were quoted promising a better government in Sindh.
Rahman's statements were made during an in-camera briefing on national security and the war on terror in Pakistan's national assembly on Tuesday.
Rahman went on to state that the Taliban, who are trying to oust the Pakistan government, also had links with their Afghan counterparts and groups operating in J&K. While the fear of Taliban influence in Pakistan has increased in recent years, the latest assertions by a senior Pakistan minister linking the Taliban with J&K terror groups are a cause for concern in India.
India has been concerned about Taliban making inroads into urban areas and cities of Pakistan which are located close to the border. Only two days ago, MQM leader Altaf Hussain made a statement that more than 400,000 Taliban men had infiltrated Karachi. The Pakistani media recently carried reports about Taliban warning traders in Lahore not to sell "immoral" stuff.
Print EMail Bookmark/Share
Save Write to Editor
NEW DELHI: Could Pakistan fall to a Taliban-al-Qaida coup? Is India looking at the possibility of a Talibanized neighbour to its west, one with access to nuclear weapons? If Pakistan's senior minister for information Sherry Rahman is to be believed, Pakistan is in the midst of a serious internal security threat from a collection of Taliban, al-Qaida and J&K terrorist elements who want to take over the country.
Indian security sources said they have been receiving reports of a steady infiltration of Taliban and al-Qaida elements in Pakistan's biggest cities of Lahore and Karachi recently. In fact, in a recent incident which rang alarm bells, there were a number of Taliban posters in Karachi and Taliban spokespersons were quoted promising a better government in Sindh.
Rahman's statements were made during an in-camera briefing on national security and the war on terror in Pakistan's national assembly on Tuesday.
Rahman went on to state that the Taliban, who are trying to oust the Pakistan government, also had links with their Afghan counterparts and groups operating in J&K. While the fear of Taliban influence in Pakistan has increased in recent years, the latest assertions by a senior Pakistan minister linking the Taliban with J&K terror groups are a cause for concern in India.
India has been concerned about Taliban making inroads into urban areas and cities of Pakistan which are located close to the border. Only two days ago, MQM leader Altaf Hussain made a statement that more than 400,000 Taliban men had infiltrated Karachi. The Pakistani media recently carried reports about Taliban warning traders in Lahore not to sell "immoral" stuff.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Embassy attack due to increasing Indian influence in Afghanistan: US report
Lalit K Jha
Friday, October 10, 2008, (Washington)
The terrorist attack on the Indian embassy in Kabul, by pro-Pakistan elements, has been mainly due to the increasing Indian influence on Afghanistan, a Congressional report has said.
The massive suicidal car bomb attack on July 7 this year had resulted in the death of more than 40 people including a senior Indian Diplomat and injuring more than 100. This was the first ever attack on an Indian embassy abroad.
The attack and the possible reasons for it finds mention in the latest Congressional report on the security situation in Afghanistan. The report has been prepared by the Congressional Research Service - a research wing of the US Congress - for internal use of the US lawmakers.
"The growing Indian financial and political influence might have been a cause of the July 7, 2008 attack on India's embassy, presumably by pro-Pakistan elements that want to limit India's influence," CRS said in its 75-page report.
India is majorly involved in reconstruction and development work in Afghanistan in the post-Taliban era. So far it has funded projects worth about $750 million and another $300 million with the Asian Development Bank to bring electricity from Central Asia.
It has helped in the renovation of the well-known Habibia High School in Kabul and is building the Afghan Parliament. Besides, a large number of India-financed reconstruction projects are under way throughout Afghanistan, including a road to the Iranian border in remote Nimruz province.
Pakistan considers this as an increasing strategic depth of India, its arch-rival, in Afghanistan. It has openly accused India of using its nine consulates in Afghanistan to spread Indian influence.
The Congressional report said the attack has triggered more debate in India about whether it should deploy more security forces in Afghanistan to protect its construction workers, diplomats, and installations.
India, the report said, apparently decided in August 2008 to improve security for its officials and workers in Afghanistan, but not to send actual troops there, either as protection forces or as part of the NATO-led coalition.
Congressional report says India and Pakistan are working against each other in Afghanistan. India, which has been a victim of cross border terrorism, sees Taliban and Al-Qaida in Afghanistan as a threat to because of Al-Qaida's association with radical Islamic organizations in Pakistan dedicated to ending Indian control of parts of Jammu and Kashmir.
Friday, October 10, 2008, (Washington)
The terrorist attack on the Indian embassy in Kabul, by pro-Pakistan elements, has been mainly due to the increasing Indian influence on Afghanistan, a Congressional report has said.
The massive suicidal car bomb attack on July 7 this year had resulted in the death of more than 40 people including a senior Indian Diplomat and injuring more than 100. This was the first ever attack on an Indian embassy abroad.
The attack and the possible reasons for it finds mention in the latest Congressional report on the security situation in Afghanistan. The report has been prepared by the Congressional Research Service - a research wing of the US Congress - for internal use of the US lawmakers.
"The growing Indian financial and political influence might have been a cause of the July 7, 2008 attack on India's embassy, presumably by pro-Pakistan elements that want to limit India's influence," CRS said in its 75-page report.
India is majorly involved in reconstruction and development work in Afghanistan in the post-Taliban era. So far it has funded projects worth about $750 million and another $300 million with the Asian Development Bank to bring electricity from Central Asia.
It has helped in the renovation of the well-known Habibia High School in Kabul and is building the Afghan Parliament. Besides, a large number of India-financed reconstruction projects are under way throughout Afghanistan, including a road to the Iranian border in remote Nimruz province.
Pakistan considers this as an increasing strategic depth of India, its arch-rival, in Afghanistan. It has openly accused India of using its nine consulates in Afghanistan to spread Indian influence.
The Congressional report said the attack has triggered more debate in India about whether it should deploy more security forces in Afghanistan to protect its construction workers, diplomats, and installations.
India, the report said, apparently decided in August 2008 to improve security for its officials and workers in Afghanistan, but not to send actual troops there, either as protection forces or as part of the NATO-led coalition.
Congressional report says India and Pakistan are working against each other in Afghanistan. India, which has been a victim of cross border terrorism, sees Taliban and Al-Qaida in Afghanistan as a threat to because of Al-Qaida's association with radical Islamic organizations in Pakistan dedicated to ending Indian control of parts of Jammu and Kashmir.
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Send troops into mosques, says Thackeray
Mumbai, Oct 09: Stirring a potential controversy, Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray on Thursday night dared the government to send troops into mosques to tackle what he called "Islamic terrorism".
"Why can't they send troops into mosques", Thackeray thundered while addressing a large gathering of his supporters at his party's traditional Dussehra rally at Shivaji Park in Central Mumbai.
"Islam has engulfed the country and its grip on India is becoming tighter day by day," said the 81-year-old Sena leader, who has been addressing the rally for the last 42 years.
Thackeray recalled that the late former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was a woman of guts.
"She dared to send troops in the Golden temple(in Amritsar)", said Thackeray, who was taken up onto the stage by a lift owing to his frail health.
"Nobody cares for Hindus least of all the Government", said Thackeray , who spoke shortly after his son and Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray delivered his maiden speech at the Dussehra rally, said.
Thackeray made a reference to the tenor of Uddhav's speech and asked the crowd to judge whether his son's speech was aggressive.
He also accused the Congress-led government of appeasing Muslims only for vote bank politics, Thackeray said.
Conceding that age had taken a toll on his health and that he was tired, Thackeray made it clear at the very outset that he had "no new thoughts" to offer to the thousands of Shiv Sainiks gathered at Shivaji Park.
The Sena chief also launched a veiled attack on his estranged nephew Raj Thackeray, whose MNS is espousing the 'Marathi pride'.
"The Shiv Sena was set up for protecting the interests of Marathi people. I have been doing this since you were bed-wetting", Thackeray said without naming Raj.
The Sena chief addressed the rally from a chair as his failing health preventing him from standing comfortably and deliver the speech.
The Sena chief also attacked former Chief Minister Sushilkumar Shinde for the latter's remarks that promising free houses to slum dwellers was a poll gimmick.
Bureau Report
"Why can't they send troops into mosques", Thackeray thundered while addressing a large gathering of his supporters at his party's traditional Dussehra rally at Shivaji Park in Central Mumbai.
"Islam has engulfed the country and its grip on India is becoming tighter day by day," said the 81-year-old Sena leader, who has been addressing the rally for the last 42 years.
Thackeray recalled that the late former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was a woman of guts.
"She dared to send troops in the Golden temple(in Amritsar)", said Thackeray, who was taken up onto the stage by a lift owing to his frail health.
"Nobody cares for Hindus least of all the Government", said Thackeray , who spoke shortly after his son and Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray delivered his maiden speech at the Dussehra rally, said.
Thackeray made a reference to the tenor of Uddhav's speech and asked the crowd to judge whether his son's speech was aggressive.
He also accused the Congress-led government of appeasing Muslims only for vote bank politics, Thackeray said.
Conceding that age had taken a toll on his health and that he was tired, Thackeray made it clear at the very outset that he had "no new thoughts" to offer to the thousands of Shiv Sainiks gathered at Shivaji Park.
The Sena chief also launched a veiled attack on his estranged nephew Raj Thackeray, whose MNS is espousing the 'Marathi pride'.
"The Shiv Sena was set up for protecting the interests of Marathi people. I have been doing this since you were bed-wetting", Thackeray said without naming Raj.
The Sena chief addressed the rally from a chair as his failing health preventing him from standing comfortably and deliver the speech.
The Sena chief also attacked former Chief Minister Sushilkumar Shinde for the latter's remarks that promising free houses to slum dwellers was a poll gimmick.
Bureau Report
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
What made Hindus angry in Karnataka
François GautierFirst Published : 06 Oct 2008 02:12:00 AM ISTLast Updated : 06 Oct 2008 07:40:54 AM IST
I WAS born in a Catholic family. My uncle was a priest, a wonderful man of warmth and compassion and I spent most my early years in Catholic boarding schools. When I was young I wanted to become a missionary and to ‘convert’ pagans in Asia. What I was taught by priests was that Hindus worship false gods and they needed to be brought back to the True Word by Jesus Christ.
Then of course, I came to India and discovered that actually Hindus, far from being the heathens, as had been portrayed in Europe, not only believed God’s diversity, the wonderful concept of avatar, but had given refuge to all persecuted minorities of the world, whether the Syrian Christians, the Parsis, the Jews (India is the only country in the world where Jews were not persecuted), the Armenians, or today the Tibetans.
I am also aghast at the one-sided coverage by the Indian media of the Christian- Hindu problem: blasts after blasts have killed hundreds of innocent Hindus in Varanasi, Delhi, Mumbai train blasts, Jaipur, etc. Yet, neither Manmohan Singh nor Sonia Gandhi have pronounced once the word ‘Islamic terrorism.’ But when furious Hindus, tired of being made fun of, of witnessing their brothers and sisters converted by financials traps, of seeing a 84-year-old swami and his Mataji brutally murdered, of reading blasphemy about their Gods, vent their anger against churches, many of them makeshifts, the Indian government goes after the soft target which the Hindus are. The same thing applies to the United States: they never warned Muslim organisations in India about the killing of Hindus, but when dollars are used to buy new converts and it angers the majority community of India,Washington has the arrogance to issue a warning, and Manmohan Singh does not have the pride to tell the US to mind its own business.
Neither the Indian press nor the western correspondents bothered to write about what made Hindus angry in Karnataka: Newlife, one important westernfunded missionary centre ( http://www.newlifevoice.org), began making conversions in and around Mangalore by accosting poor people in market areas, or in bus stands, befriending them and then taking them to churches to introduce them to the father.
Upon introduction they were paid Rs 2,500 per person and then taken to the Velankanni shrine, in Tamil Nadu, where they would get another Rs. 3,000.
When they finally converted to Christianity by changing the name, they got an incentive of Rs 10,000 onwards.
Newlife would then give them instructions to abandon wearing tilak on forehead, not to visit and offer prayers at the Hindu temples, replacing the photos and idols of Hindu gods and goddesses with a Cross, etc.
But what really angered local Hindus was when Newlife went one step further and published a book in Kannada — Satya Darshini — which was widely distributed by its missionaries. Here below is the translation of some of the most abusive passages: “Urvashi — the daughter of Lord Vishnu — is a prostitute.
Vashistha is the son of this prostitute.
He in turn married his own Mother. Such a degraded person is the Guru of the Hindu God Rama. (page 48).
When Krishna himself is wallowing in darkness of hell, how can he enlighten others? Since Krishna himself is a shady character, there is a need for us to liberate his misled followers (page 50). It was Brahma himself who kidnapped Sita.
“Since Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva were themselves victims of lust, it is a sin to consider them as Gods. (page 39).
When the Trinity of Hinduism (Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva) are consumed by lust and anger, how can they liberate others? The projection of them as Gods is nothing but a joke. (page 39). God, please liberate the sinful people of India who are worshipping False Gods. (Page 39).” When blasphemy and much worse is brought against the most sacred Hindu Gods, Hindus are supposed to take it meekly as sheep and let themselves be converted to a foreign religion! There are more than 4,000 foreign Christian missionaries involved in conversion activities across different states.
In Tripura, there were no Christians at the time of independence. There are 1,20,000 today, a 90 per cent increase since 1991. The figures are even more striking in Arunachal Pradesh, where there were only 1,710 Christians in 1961, but 1.2 million today, as well as 780 churches! In Andhra Pradesh, churches are coming up every day in far-flung villages and there was even an attempt to set up one near Tirupati.
Christians throughout the ages have strived on the concept of persecution and as a brought up Catholic, I remember feeling bad about all those martyred saints of Christianity. Christians in India like to say that they are only two per cent and can do no harm. But it is a sham: in the Tamil Nadu coastal belt from Chennai to Kanyakumari, there must be now 10 per cent Christians posttsunami and the same may be true in other parts of south India.
My heart goes out to Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa who took a courageous stand against unethical Christian conversions, but is now under pressure from the Centre.
The BJP, having learnt from bitter experience that the Congress has no qualm in invoking President’s rule under fallacious pretexts in states which are ruled by non-Congress governments is in a quandary: it must show some action against militant Hindu groups while remaining true to itself.
This is why Yeddyurappa took some action against Hindu groups while saying that his government will not tolerate forcible conversions and will take stringent action against missionaries involved in conversions.
And ultimately, the blame must fall on Hindus: they are 800 million in India, the overwhelming majority; they have the brains, they have the money and they have the power. But either their intellectual and political class sides with the minorities, out of fear, inferiority complex imbedded by the British or just sheer crass political opportunism, or the bigger mass is indifferent inert, selfish, un-civic conscious. Every Hindu is the inheritor of the only surviving spiritual knowledge which at the moment is under a concerted attack by Christian missionaries, Americanisation, Marxism and Islamic fundamentalism.
fgautier@rediffmail.com
I WAS born in a Catholic family. My uncle was a priest, a wonderful man of warmth and compassion and I spent most my early years in Catholic boarding schools. When I was young I wanted to become a missionary and to ‘convert’ pagans in Asia. What I was taught by priests was that Hindus worship false gods and they needed to be brought back to the True Word by Jesus Christ.
Then of course, I came to India and discovered that actually Hindus, far from being the heathens, as had been portrayed in Europe, not only believed God’s diversity, the wonderful concept of avatar, but had given refuge to all persecuted minorities of the world, whether the Syrian Christians, the Parsis, the Jews (India is the only country in the world where Jews were not persecuted), the Armenians, or today the Tibetans.
I am also aghast at the one-sided coverage by the Indian media of the Christian- Hindu problem: blasts after blasts have killed hundreds of innocent Hindus in Varanasi, Delhi, Mumbai train blasts, Jaipur, etc. Yet, neither Manmohan Singh nor Sonia Gandhi have pronounced once the word ‘Islamic terrorism.’ But when furious Hindus, tired of being made fun of, of witnessing their brothers and sisters converted by financials traps, of seeing a 84-year-old swami and his Mataji brutally murdered, of reading blasphemy about their Gods, vent their anger against churches, many of them makeshifts, the Indian government goes after the soft target which the Hindus are. The same thing applies to the United States: they never warned Muslim organisations in India about the killing of Hindus, but when dollars are used to buy new converts and it angers the majority community of India,Washington has the arrogance to issue a warning, and Manmohan Singh does not have the pride to tell the US to mind its own business.
Neither the Indian press nor the western correspondents bothered to write about what made Hindus angry in Karnataka: Newlife, one important westernfunded missionary centre ( http://www.newlifevoice.org), began making conversions in and around Mangalore by accosting poor people in market areas, or in bus stands, befriending them and then taking them to churches to introduce them to the father.
Upon introduction they were paid Rs 2,500 per person and then taken to the Velankanni shrine, in Tamil Nadu, where they would get another Rs. 3,000.
When they finally converted to Christianity by changing the name, they got an incentive of Rs 10,000 onwards.
Newlife would then give them instructions to abandon wearing tilak on forehead, not to visit and offer prayers at the Hindu temples, replacing the photos and idols of Hindu gods and goddesses with a Cross, etc.
But what really angered local Hindus was when Newlife went one step further and published a book in Kannada — Satya Darshini — which was widely distributed by its missionaries. Here below is the translation of some of the most abusive passages: “Urvashi — the daughter of Lord Vishnu — is a prostitute.
Vashistha is the son of this prostitute.
He in turn married his own Mother. Such a degraded person is the Guru of the Hindu God Rama. (page 48).
When Krishna himself is wallowing in darkness of hell, how can he enlighten others? Since Krishna himself is a shady character, there is a need for us to liberate his misled followers (page 50). It was Brahma himself who kidnapped Sita.
“Since Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva were themselves victims of lust, it is a sin to consider them as Gods. (page 39).
When the Trinity of Hinduism (Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva) are consumed by lust and anger, how can they liberate others? The projection of them as Gods is nothing but a joke. (page 39). God, please liberate the sinful people of India who are worshipping False Gods. (Page 39).” When blasphemy and much worse is brought against the most sacred Hindu Gods, Hindus are supposed to take it meekly as sheep and let themselves be converted to a foreign religion! There are more than 4,000 foreign Christian missionaries involved in conversion activities across different states.
In Tripura, there were no Christians at the time of independence. There are 1,20,000 today, a 90 per cent increase since 1991. The figures are even more striking in Arunachal Pradesh, where there were only 1,710 Christians in 1961, but 1.2 million today, as well as 780 churches! In Andhra Pradesh, churches are coming up every day in far-flung villages and there was even an attempt to set up one near Tirupati.
Christians throughout the ages have strived on the concept of persecution and as a brought up Catholic, I remember feeling bad about all those martyred saints of Christianity. Christians in India like to say that they are only two per cent and can do no harm. But it is a sham: in the Tamil Nadu coastal belt from Chennai to Kanyakumari, there must be now 10 per cent Christians posttsunami and the same may be true in other parts of south India.
My heart goes out to Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa who took a courageous stand against unethical Christian conversions, but is now under pressure from the Centre.
The BJP, having learnt from bitter experience that the Congress has no qualm in invoking President’s rule under fallacious pretexts in states which are ruled by non-Congress governments is in a quandary: it must show some action against militant Hindu groups while remaining true to itself.
This is why Yeddyurappa took some action against Hindu groups while saying that his government will not tolerate forcible conversions and will take stringent action against missionaries involved in conversions.
And ultimately, the blame must fall on Hindus: they are 800 million in India, the overwhelming majority; they have the brains, they have the money and they have the power. But either their intellectual and political class sides with the minorities, out of fear, inferiority complex imbedded by the British or just sheer crass political opportunism, or the bigger mass is indifferent inert, selfish, un-civic conscious. Every Hindu is the inheritor of the only surviving spiritual knowledge which at the moment is under a concerted attack by Christian missionaries, Americanisation, Marxism and Islamic fundamentalism.
fgautier@rediffmail.com
Maharashtra to legalise live-in relationships
8 Oct 2008, 2159 hrs IST,PTI
MUMBAI: In a bold step to "legalise" live-in relationships, Maharashtra cabinet on Wednesday approved a proposal suggesting a woman involved in such a relationship for a "reasonable period" should get the status of a wife.
The proposal is based on recommendations of the Justice Mallimath Committee which said if a man and a woman are living together as husband and wife for a reasonably long period, the man shall be deemed to have married the woman according to customary rights of either party.
The committee had also mooted that the definition of the word 'wife' under Section 125 of the CrPc, be amended to include a woman, living with the man like his wife for a reasonably long period.
The proposal was passed at a meeting of the state cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh.
According to Section 125 of the CrPc, the woman would even be entitled to alimony, an official said.
As CrPC is in the concurrent list of the Central Government, the cabinet proposal would be sent to the Centre for obtaining President's assent, the official said.
MUMBAI: In a bold step to "legalise" live-in relationships, Maharashtra cabinet on Wednesday approved a proposal suggesting a woman involved in such a relationship for a "reasonable period" should get the status of a wife.
The proposal is based on recommendations of the Justice Mallimath Committee which said if a man and a woman are living together as husband and wife for a reasonably long period, the man shall be deemed to have married the woman according to customary rights of either party.
The committee had also mooted that the definition of the word 'wife' under Section 125 of the CrPc, be amended to include a woman, living with the man like his wife for a reasonably long period.
The proposal was passed at a meeting of the state cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh.
According to Section 125 of the CrPc, the woman would even be entitled to alimony, an official said.
As CrPC is in the concurrent list of the Central Government, the cabinet proposal would be sent to the Centre for obtaining President's assent, the official said.
Monday, October 6, 2008
Split in Al-Qaeda & Taliban
By Owen Bennett-Jones
BBC World Service
Pakistan believes al-Qaeda's presence has been massively reduced
Seven years after 9/11, the taunting continues.
"Leave us alone to establish the Islamic Shura state which will unite the Muslims of the earth in truth and justice," said a recent al-Qaeda webcast.
"A single word of American protest will be silenced by a thousand Islamic bombs."
But since that morning in 2001, al-Qaeda has not landed one blow inside the United States - and this year the head of the CIA said the group had suffered "strategic defeat."
So how strong is al-Qaeda?
'Collective losers'
Pakistani intelligence officials claim that the organisation is down to around 80 people in their country. They say al-Qaeda survives in the tribal areas only thanks to its alliance with the much more numerous Taleban.
But the problem is that recent military strikes by the Americans in Pakistan's tribal areas are unifying the different radical Islamic groups.
The bombing of Islamabad's Marriott Hotel reawakened terror concerns
"If the Taleban are given respect, if they are treated as actual partners and stakeholders in Afghanistan, I'm very sure they will play their role in containing the threat of al-Qaeda," said security analyst Zaid Hamid.
"If the West is serious about containing al-Qaeda, they must engage the Taleban... There's a split going on right now between al-Qaeda and the Afghan Taleban.
"And if the West cannot see this or cannot exploit this, or if Pakistan cannot understand this, then the world will be collective losers."
But far from talking to the Taleban, the West is fighting it. And not for the first time. When Kabul fell to the Americans following 9/11, hundreds of al-Qaeda fighters fled Afghanistan and opened a new front - in Saudi Arabia.
Al-Qaeda attacked Western housing compounds, assassinated senior police officers, and fought gun battles in cities across the Kingdom.
But the Saudi authorities prevailed.
"If we take al Qaeda as an organisation, it has been destroyed," said Abdul Rahman al-Hadlaq, from the Saudi Ministry of Interior. "...by arresting their leaders and their followers, you are basically destroying their organisation."
Formidable enemy
Being extremely rich - oil revenues are a $1bn (£560m) a day - the Saudi state really does have the strength to get things done, things like wrapping up al-Qaeda.
The West is worried about the use of the internet by extremists
But in nearby Jordan the story is different. There, I meet a man who would not give me his name but who said he had recruited fighters for al-Qaeda - specifically for Iraq.
"Everyone in the world knows that America has launched a crusade against Islam all over the world. Iraq is one of those spots," he said.
"It's a duty for all Muslims to support Jihad and Mujahedeen in the war against this occupation. So we go to Iraq to protect our lands... to make the Americans leave and to protect our fortune."
Despite these words, al-Qaeda has met a formidable enemy in Iraq.
At a US base just outside Baghdad you can see the scale of the American operation. Helicopters fly in and out every few minutes disgorging soldiers and picking up fresh ones.
It is an awesome display of power. And the Americans are increasingly confident - one retired General wrote recently that the al-Qaeda leaders in Iraq are "dead men walking".
"We've had offensive operations directed at where they've been, intelligence tells us where they might go," said US Colonel Gerry O'Hara.
"So not only do we have operations that are on top of them, we have operations planned on the escape routes that they would use to set up in another location," he said.
"We're not going to let up on them. We're taking every bit of safe haven away from them."
New attack?
Al-Qaeda's problems were compounded by the American surge of 2007. The US not only sent more troops to Iraq but also starting paying Sunni tribal leaders to oppose al-Qaeda. It was called the Sunni awakening.
Bin Laden had called on fighters to force America into "protracted, exhausting close combat," particularly in cities.
However Nabil Haj, an advisor to the American military in Iraq, said that the strategy failed.
"We pushed al-Qaeda out from the urban areas like Ramadi, Falluja, Baquba, central Baghdad. They were pushed out to the rural areas," he said.
"So they are really fading, fading out."
But while al-Qaeda's campaigns in Iraq and Saudi are not going well, it is still winning recruits.
Algerian jihadists have sworn allegiance to al-Qaeda, and Western officials are concerned about developments in Morocco, Tunisia and Somalia too.
And the West never knows if there is going to be another major attack - perhaps with weapons of mass destruction.
The head of the CIA, General Michael Hayden, has warned of a new generation of recruits brought up in the West. That worries EU officials too.
"Pakistan is so important - both as a place where people can get training, and where an al-Qaeda corps can hide itself," said Gilles de Kerchove, the EU's counter-terrorism coordinator.
"On the other hand, you have this new development where you have this home-grown terrorism, where people get this information just on the internet and do not train," he said.
"That to a certain extent is good news, because it leads to a less sophisticated attack."
Nevertheless, with one attack al-Qaeda could transform the current situation.
As things stand, the organisation is down but by no means out.
BBC World Service
Pakistan believes al-Qaeda's presence has been massively reduced
Seven years after 9/11, the taunting continues.
"Leave us alone to establish the Islamic Shura state which will unite the Muslims of the earth in truth and justice," said a recent al-Qaeda webcast.
"A single word of American protest will be silenced by a thousand Islamic bombs."
But since that morning in 2001, al-Qaeda has not landed one blow inside the United States - and this year the head of the CIA said the group had suffered "strategic defeat."
So how strong is al-Qaeda?
'Collective losers'
Pakistani intelligence officials claim that the organisation is down to around 80 people in their country. They say al-Qaeda survives in the tribal areas only thanks to its alliance with the much more numerous Taleban.
But the problem is that recent military strikes by the Americans in Pakistan's tribal areas are unifying the different radical Islamic groups.
The bombing of Islamabad's Marriott Hotel reawakened terror concerns
"If the Taleban are given respect, if they are treated as actual partners and stakeholders in Afghanistan, I'm very sure they will play their role in containing the threat of al-Qaeda," said security analyst Zaid Hamid.
"If the West is serious about containing al-Qaeda, they must engage the Taleban... There's a split going on right now between al-Qaeda and the Afghan Taleban.
"And if the West cannot see this or cannot exploit this, or if Pakistan cannot understand this, then the world will be collective losers."
But far from talking to the Taleban, the West is fighting it. And not for the first time. When Kabul fell to the Americans following 9/11, hundreds of al-Qaeda fighters fled Afghanistan and opened a new front - in Saudi Arabia.
Al-Qaeda attacked Western housing compounds, assassinated senior police officers, and fought gun battles in cities across the Kingdom.
But the Saudi authorities prevailed.
"If we take al Qaeda as an organisation, it has been destroyed," said Abdul Rahman al-Hadlaq, from the Saudi Ministry of Interior. "...by arresting their leaders and their followers, you are basically destroying their organisation."
Formidable enemy
Being extremely rich - oil revenues are a $1bn (£560m) a day - the Saudi state really does have the strength to get things done, things like wrapping up al-Qaeda.
The West is worried about the use of the internet by extremists
But in nearby Jordan the story is different. There, I meet a man who would not give me his name but who said he had recruited fighters for al-Qaeda - specifically for Iraq.
"Everyone in the world knows that America has launched a crusade against Islam all over the world. Iraq is one of those spots," he said.
"It's a duty for all Muslims to support Jihad and Mujahedeen in the war against this occupation. So we go to Iraq to protect our lands... to make the Americans leave and to protect our fortune."
Despite these words, al-Qaeda has met a formidable enemy in Iraq.
At a US base just outside Baghdad you can see the scale of the American operation. Helicopters fly in and out every few minutes disgorging soldiers and picking up fresh ones.
It is an awesome display of power. And the Americans are increasingly confident - one retired General wrote recently that the al-Qaeda leaders in Iraq are "dead men walking".
"We've had offensive operations directed at where they've been, intelligence tells us where they might go," said US Colonel Gerry O'Hara.
"So not only do we have operations that are on top of them, we have operations planned on the escape routes that they would use to set up in another location," he said.
"We're not going to let up on them. We're taking every bit of safe haven away from them."
New attack?
Al-Qaeda's problems were compounded by the American surge of 2007. The US not only sent more troops to Iraq but also starting paying Sunni tribal leaders to oppose al-Qaeda. It was called the Sunni awakening.
Bin Laden had called on fighters to force America into "protracted, exhausting close combat," particularly in cities.
However Nabil Haj, an advisor to the American military in Iraq, said that the strategy failed.
"We pushed al-Qaeda out from the urban areas like Ramadi, Falluja, Baquba, central Baghdad. They were pushed out to the rural areas," he said.
"So they are really fading, fading out."
But while al-Qaeda's campaigns in Iraq and Saudi are not going well, it is still winning recruits.
Algerian jihadists have sworn allegiance to al-Qaeda, and Western officials are concerned about developments in Morocco, Tunisia and Somalia too.
And the West never knows if there is going to be another major attack - perhaps with weapons of mass destruction.
The head of the CIA, General Michael Hayden, has warned of a new generation of recruits brought up in the West. That worries EU officials too.
"Pakistan is so important - both as a place where people can get training, and where an al-Qaeda corps can hide itself," said Gilles de Kerchove, the EU's counter-terrorism coordinator.
"On the other hand, you have this new development where you have this home-grown terrorism, where people get this information just on the internet and do not train," he said.
"That to a certain extent is good news, because it leads to a less sophisticated attack."
Nevertheless, with one attack al-Qaeda could transform the current situation.
As things stand, the organisation is down but by no means out.
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Mulla Omar: Taliban no longer with al Qaeda
By Nic Robertson
CNN Senior International Correspondent
LONDON, England (CNN) -- In a groundbreaking meeting, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia recently hosted talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban militant group, according to a source familiar with the talks.
King Abdullah of Saudia Arabia hosted meetings between the Afghan government and the Taliban, a source says.
The historic four-day meeting took place during the last week of September in the Saudi city of Mecca, according to the source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the negotiations.
King Abdullah broke fast during the Eid al-Fitr holiday with the 17-member Afghan delegation -- an act intended to show his commitment to ending the conflict.
Eid al-Fitr marks the end of Ramadan, the Muslim holy month of fasting. Learn more about Ramadan »
Taliban leader Mullah Omar was not present, the source said.
It marks a significant departure by the Saudi leadership to take a direct role in Afghanistan, hosting some delegates who have until recently been their enemies.
In the past, Saudi Arabia has generally dealt with Afghanistan through Pakistan.
The desert kingdom's current foray marks a significant shift and appears to recognize the political weakness of Pakistan and the need to stem the growth of al Qaeda.
The current round of talks is anticipated to be a first step in a long process. According to the source close to the talks, it has taken two years of behind-the-scenes meetings to get to this point.
The talks took place between September 24 and 27 and involved 11 Taliban delegates, two Afghan government officials, a representative of former mujahadeen commander and U.S. foe Gulbadin Hekmatyar, and three others.
It was the first such meeting aimed at bringing a negotiated settlement to the Afghan conflict and for the first time, all parties were able to discuss their positions and objectives openly and transparently, the source said.
Saudi Arabia was one of only three countries that recognized the Taliban leadership during its rule over Afghanistan in the 1990s, but that relationship was severed over Mullah Omar's refusal to hand over al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.
While Mullah Omar was not present at the talks in Mecca, the source said the Taliban leader has made it clear he is no longer allied with al Qaeda -- a position that has never been publicly stated but emerged at the talks.
It confirms what another source with an intimate knowledge of the Taliban and Mullah Omar has told CNN in the past.
During the talks, all parties agreed that the only solution to Afghanistan's conflict is through dialogue, not fighting. The source described the Mecca talks as an ice-breaking meeting where expectations were kept necessarily low.
Further talks are expected in Saudi Arabia involving this core group and others.
The reasons for Saudi Arabia's involvement are numerous, including having the trust of the United States and Europe to play a positive role at a time when the conflict appears to be worsening and the coalition's casualty toll is climbing.
Also, Saudi Arabia may fear that Iran could take advantage of U.S. failings in Afghanistan, as it is seen to be doing in Iraq.
Several Afghan sources familiar with Iranian activities in Afghanistan have said Iranian officials and diplomats who are investing in business and building education facilities are lobbying politicians in Kabul.
The Afghan sources wish to remain anonymous due to their political roles.
Coalition commanders regularly accuse Iran of arming the Taliban, and Western diplomats privately suggest that Iran is working against U.S. interests in Afghanistan, making it harder to bring peace.
Saudi sources say perceived Iranian expansionism is one of Saudi Arabia's biggest concerns.
CNN Senior International Correspondent
LONDON, England (CNN) -- In a groundbreaking meeting, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia recently hosted talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban militant group, according to a source familiar with the talks.
King Abdullah of Saudia Arabia hosted meetings between the Afghan government and the Taliban, a source says.
The historic four-day meeting took place during the last week of September in the Saudi city of Mecca, according to the source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the negotiations.
King Abdullah broke fast during the Eid al-Fitr holiday with the 17-member Afghan delegation -- an act intended to show his commitment to ending the conflict.
Eid al-Fitr marks the end of Ramadan, the Muslim holy month of fasting. Learn more about Ramadan »
Taliban leader Mullah Omar was not present, the source said.
It marks a significant departure by the Saudi leadership to take a direct role in Afghanistan, hosting some delegates who have until recently been their enemies.
In the past, Saudi Arabia has generally dealt with Afghanistan through Pakistan.
The desert kingdom's current foray marks a significant shift and appears to recognize the political weakness of Pakistan and the need to stem the growth of al Qaeda.
The current round of talks is anticipated to be a first step in a long process. According to the source close to the talks, it has taken two years of behind-the-scenes meetings to get to this point.
The talks took place between September 24 and 27 and involved 11 Taliban delegates, two Afghan government officials, a representative of former mujahadeen commander and U.S. foe Gulbadin Hekmatyar, and three others.
It was the first such meeting aimed at bringing a negotiated settlement to the Afghan conflict and for the first time, all parties were able to discuss their positions and objectives openly and transparently, the source said.
Saudi Arabia was one of only three countries that recognized the Taliban leadership during its rule over Afghanistan in the 1990s, but that relationship was severed over Mullah Omar's refusal to hand over al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.
While Mullah Omar was not present at the talks in Mecca, the source said the Taliban leader has made it clear he is no longer allied with al Qaeda -- a position that has never been publicly stated but emerged at the talks.
It confirms what another source with an intimate knowledge of the Taliban and Mullah Omar has told CNN in the past.
During the talks, all parties agreed that the only solution to Afghanistan's conflict is through dialogue, not fighting. The source described the Mecca talks as an ice-breaking meeting where expectations were kept necessarily low.
Further talks are expected in Saudi Arabia involving this core group and others.
The reasons for Saudi Arabia's involvement are numerous, including having the trust of the United States and Europe to play a positive role at a time when the conflict appears to be worsening and the coalition's casualty toll is climbing.
Also, Saudi Arabia may fear that Iran could take advantage of U.S. failings in Afghanistan, as it is seen to be doing in Iraq.
Several Afghan sources familiar with Iranian activities in Afghanistan have said Iranian officials and diplomats who are investing in business and building education facilities are lobbying politicians in Kabul.
The Afghan sources wish to remain anonymous due to their political roles.
Coalition commanders regularly accuse Iran of arming the Taliban, and Western diplomats privately suggest that Iran is working against U.S. interests in Afghanistan, making it harder to bring peace.
Saudi sources say perceived Iranian expansionism is one of Saudi Arabia's biggest concerns.
Militants in Indian-administered Kashmir are terrorists:Zardari
Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari says India has never been a threat to Pakistan, and that militants in Indian-administered Kashmir are terrorists.
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, he also seemed to acknowledge that his government has given consent to US air strikes in Pakistan.
The unorthodox views run counter to those held by Pakistan's military, which views India as a threat.
India and Pakistan have fought three wars but have made recent peace moves.
Deep suspicions
Pakistan's powerful military has long-defined India as an existential threat, and in the past it has given covert backing to the militants in Kashmir.
The two regional rivals did take part in a faltering peace process under the former president, General Pervez Musharraf.
But suspicions always ran deep, and relations have soured recently.
Mr Zardari's comments thus mark a radical break with the past.
The Wall Street Journal also reports that Mr Zardari acknowledged that the US was firing missiles at militant targets inside Pakistan with his government's consent.
"We have an understanding, in the sense that we're going after an enemy together," it quotes him as saying.
But the Pakistani army is adamant that coalition forces do not have permission for such cross-border raids.
These incursions have stoked enormous anger in Pakistan - and Mr Zardari's comments may do the same.
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, he also seemed to acknowledge that his government has given consent to US air strikes in Pakistan.
The unorthodox views run counter to those held by Pakistan's military, which views India as a threat.
India and Pakistan have fought three wars but have made recent peace moves.
Deep suspicions
Pakistan's powerful military has long-defined India as an existential threat, and in the past it has given covert backing to the militants in Kashmir.
The two regional rivals did take part in a faltering peace process under the former president, General Pervez Musharraf.
But suspicions always ran deep, and relations have soured recently.
Mr Zardari's comments thus mark a radical break with the past.
The Wall Street Journal also reports that Mr Zardari acknowledged that the US was firing missiles at militant targets inside Pakistan with his government's consent.
"We have an understanding, in the sense that we're going after an enemy together," it quotes him as saying.
But the Pakistani army is adamant that coalition forces do not have permission for such cross-border raids.
These incursions have stoked enormous anger in Pakistan - and Mr Zardari's comments may do the same.
Pakistanis biggest supports of Al-Qaida, Taliban
ISLAMABAD: How much should India fear Pakistan, considering a recent BBC 23-nation survey found that Pakistan and Egypt were the only countries to take a relatively positive view of al-Qaida. The poll said that only 19% of Pakistani respondents had a negative view of Osama bin Laden’s terrorist network. ( Watch )
Should this be reason enough for India to worry about the stability and intentions of its next-door neighbour? Pakistani experts don’t think so. They say the survey actually shows Pakistanis as desperately keen to oppose the US rather than support al-Qaida. "I don’t think the public makes a distinction between opposing the United States and supporting the al-Qaida," says Ahmad Bilal Mehboob, executive director of the Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency (PILDAT). "Washington has been backing unpopular regimes in both Egypt and Pakistan, thus giving birth to anti-US feelings, besides imposing the war against terror," he adds.
Kamran Rahmat, Islamabad-based news editor of television channel Dawn News, points to an "overriding anti-America public sentiment" in Pakistan.
There is some dispute over whether this anger is directed at the US as a whole or the Bush administration. Surprisingly, India seems to have gained from this turn of events as it is no longer seen as Pakistan’s Enemy Number One. Political analyst Ijaz Shafi Gilani says, "Undoubtedly, India was perceived as enemy number one by the Pakistani people for decades but that has changed over the last couple of years." He says that Pakistan’s rising hostility towards the US has tempered the anti-India feeling.
A Gallup poll in Pakistan, conducted in 2007, showed greater support (compared to previous years) for trade with India, followed by support for relaxing bilateral visa arrangements. There was less support for boosting bilateral cultural exchange. Similarly, a 2006 Gallup survey showed that half of the respondents favoured Pakistani actors working in the Indian entertainment industry, but 49% were against this and 1% said they were undecided or had no opinion.
But anti-India feelings do persist. Tariq Rahman, a professor at Islamabad’s Quaid-i-Azam University, says many Pakistanis believe that Indian consulates along the Afghan border are stoking low-intensity conflict in Balochistan and indirectly funding the Taliban. However, he insists that this anti-India feeling is greater in the NWFP region and Punjab, not in Sindh or Karachi.
Noted columnist Ayaz Amir says there is a feeling in some quarters that General Pervez Musharraf and his successor as president, Asif Zardari, have gone too far in their attempts to please the Indian leadership. He also believes that Islamabad has overstepped the mark in its repeated denunciations of terrorism.
Rahmat says it is important to understand that Pakistan’s residual anti-India feelings don’t necessarily stem from al-Qaida ideology. "Al-Qaida is not teaching its operatives to hate India as the US remains the sole target," he says. In other words, America’s pain is India’s gain.
But Ameer Yousafzai, a grocer from the NWFP’s Swat region, who has faced the brunt of the Pakistan Army’s yearlong operation against militants, does not mince words: "We should not be hypocrites. The US and India, both are our enemies. When India is waging a war against Pakistan, the US quietly stands aside. Now, India is happily seeing the Pakistanis die under American bombs and missiles." He believes the Army operation was meant to please Americans.
A majority of the people this correspondent spoke to was emphatic that the people have no love lost for al-Qaida or like-minded entities. Columnist Ayaz says: "With the ongoing US strikes inside Pakistan, anti-American feelings are bound to soar but the polls wrongly reflect that there is support for al-Qaida across the country." News of US troops' reinforcement in Afghanistan is viewed as US'preparation to invade its tribal areas. The PPP-led ruling coalition has been trying to sell the war on terror as Pakistan’s own war but few are listening.
Yet, Ayaz insists that Bin Laden is not a hero in most parts of the country and "the issue is not denunciation of Osama or al-Qaida; it’s the high handedness of the US that is relevant here."
The public anger is seen to be a result of the Musharraf regime’s policies and its flawed counter-terror strategy. "We were fighting for survival by tilling our farmland but the military operation uprooted us and claimed dozens of lives, though we never stood in the way of the government," says Ahmad Jan, whose entire tribe has been displaced from Bajaur Agency to Attock, about 100 km from Islamabad. He believes al-Qaida or Taliban may never become irrelevant so long as US troops stay in Afghanistan.
Many experts say polls to gauge Pakistan’s attitude to al-Qaida often use questionable methodology and betray suspect timing. PILDAT chief Bilal Mehboob recalls that another survey in January found that 12 % Pakistanis believed terrorism to be the biggest issue facing the nation but by June, only 2% were found to say terrorism and suicide bombings were the most important. Mehboob says the results would have been different had the poll been conducted after Marriot Hotel bombing just a few weeks ago.
Karachi-based sociologist Nazish Brohi believes that the newest BBC poll suggesting Pakistan’s 'positive'view of al-Qaida was conducted at a difficult time — from July to September, when "the US was violating Pakistani airspace frequently, along with an Army operation in Bajaur which resulted in massive displacement of people." Brohi explains that the al-Qaida "stands for anything in Pakistan that is anti-US or anti-state because the state is seen here as an entity that usurps the rights of the public". James Crabtree, a British national who visited various regions of Pakistan last year, says, "People on the streets didn’t dislike Americans, but did hate George Bush."
But the Pakistan Institute of Public Opinion (PIPO), the local affiliate of Gallup International that conducted the poll, says the BBC poll used the right methodology. A PIPO spokesman says 2,000 respondents were interviewed, their number being proportionate to the respective provincial population. He says the results were in line with the trend in 2006 — that the US and the war on terror have been unpopular since 9/11. But more empirical data may be required to establish a direct link between Pakistan’s alleged support for al-Qaida and its implications for South Asia, particularly India.
Should this be reason enough for India to worry about the stability and intentions of its next-door neighbour? Pakistani experts don’t think so. They say the survey actually shows Pakistanis as desperately keen to oppose the US rather than support al-Qaida. "I don’t think the public makes a distinction between opposing the United States and supporting the al-Qaida," says Ahmad Bilal Mehboob, executive director of the Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency (PILDAT). "Washington has been backing unpopular regimes in both Egypt and Pakistan, thus giving birth to anti-US feelings, besides imposing the war against terror," he adds.
Kamran Rahmat, Islamabad-based news editor of television channel Dawn News, points to an "overriding anti-America public sentiment" in Pakistan.
There is some dispute over whether this anger is directed at the US as a whole or the Bush administration. Surprisingly, India seems to have gained from this turn of events as it is no longer seen as Pakistan’s Enemy Number One. Political analyst Ijaz Shafi Gilani says, "Undoubtedly, India was perceived as enemy number one by the Pakistani people for decades but that has changed over the last couple of years." He says that Pakistan’s rising hostility towards the US has tempered the anti-India feeling.
A Gallup poll in Pakistan, conducted in 2007, showed greater support (compared to previous years) for trade with India, followed by support for relaxing bilateral visa arrangements. There was less support for boosting bilateral cultural exchange. Similarly, a 2006 Gallup survey showed that half of the respondents favoured Pakistani actors working in the Indian entertainment industry, but 49% were against this and 1% said they were undecided or had no opinion.
But anti-India feelings do persist. Tariq Rahman, a professor at Islamabad’s Quaid-i-Azam University, says many Pakistanis believe that Indian consulates along the Afghan border are stoking low-intensity conflict in Balochistan and indirectly funding the Taliban. However, he insists that this anti-India feeling is greater in the NWFP region and Punjab, not in Sindh or Karachi.
Noted columnist Ayaz Amir says there is a feeling in some quarters that General Pervez Musharraf and his successor as president, Asif Zardari, have gone too far in their attempts to please the Indian leadership. He also believes that Islamabad has overstepped the mark in its repeated denunciations of terrorism.
Rahmat says it is important to understand that Pakistan’s residual anti-India feelings don’t necessarily stem from al-Qaida ideology. "Al-Qaida is not teaching its operatives to hate India as the US remains the sole target," he says. In other words, America’s pain is India’s gain.
But Ameer Yousafzai, a grocer from the NWFP’s Swat region, who has faced the brunt of the Pakistan Army’s yearlong operation against militants, does not mince words: "We should not be hypocrites. The US and India, both are our enemies. When India is waging a war against Pakistan, the US quietly stands aside. Now, India is happily seeing the Pakistanis die under American bombs and missiles." He believes the Army operation was meant to please Americans.
A majority of the people this correspondent spoke to was emphatic that the people have no love lost for al-Qaida or like-minded entities. Columnist Ayaz says: "With the ongoing US strikes inside Pakistan, anti-American feelings are bound to soar but the polls wrongly reflect that there is support for al-Qaida across the country." News of US troops' reinforcement in Afghanistan is viewed as US'preparation to invade its tribal areas. The PPP-led ruling coalition has been trying to sell the war on terror as Pakistan’s own war but few are listening.
Yet, Ayaz insists that Bin Laden is not a hero in most parts of the country and "the issue is not denunciation of Osama or al-Qaida; it’s the high handedness of the US that is relevant here."
The public anger is seen to be a result of the Musharraf regime’s policies and its flawed counter-terror strategy. "We were fighting for survival by tilling our farmland but the military operation uprooted us and claimed dozens of lives, though we never stood in the way of the government," says Ahmad Jan, whose entire tribe has been displaced from Bajaur Agency to Attock, about 100 km from Islamabad. He believes al-Qaida or Taliban may never become irrelevant so long as US troops stay in Afghanistan.
Many experts say polls to gauge Pakistan’s attitude to al-Qaida often use questionable methodology and betray suspect timing. PILDAT chief Bilal Mehboob recalls that another survey in January found that 12 % Pakistanis believed terrorism to be the biggest issue facing the nation but by June, only 2% were found to say terrorism and suicide bombings were the most important. Mehboob says the results would have been different had the poll been conducted after Marriot Hotel bombing just a few weeks ago.
Karachi-based sociologist Nazish Brohi believes that the newest BBC poll suggesting Pakistan’s 'positive'view of al-Qaida was conducted at a difficult time — from July to September, when "the US was violating Pakistani airspace frequently, along with an Army operation in Bajaur which resulted in massive displacement of people." Brohi explains that the al-Qaida "stands for anything in Pakistan that is anti-US or anti-state because the state is seen here as an entity that usurps the rights of the public". James Crabtree, a British national who visited various regions of Pakistan last year, says, "People on the streets didn’t dislike Americans, but did hate George Bush."
But the Pakistan Institute of Public Opinion (PIPO), the local affiliate of Gallup International that conducted the poll, says the BBC poll used the right methodology. A PIPO spokesman says 2,000 respondents were interviewed, their number being proportionate to the respective provincial population. He says the results were in line with the trend in 2006 — that the US and the war on terror have been unpopular since 9/11. But more empirical data may be required to establish a direct link between Pakistan’s alleged support for al-Qaida and its implications for South Asia, particularly India.
Advani, Singhal, Togadia natural target of Maoists?
BHUBANESWAR: Branding Sangh Parivar as a 'fundamentalist' grouping, Maoist leader Sabyasachi Panda has said senior BJP leader L K Advani and VHP's
Ashok Singal and Pravin Togadia are "natural targets" of the Left wing extremists as they are instigating communal passion.
Panda alias Sunil, who met a group of journalists at an undisclosed place in the state yesterday, said Maoists were in search of an opportunity to eliminate the three leaders "as they are instigating communal passion in the country".
A transcript of the press conference was made available to PTI today.
"We will kill the trio whenever a chance is available," Panda who was declared as 'most wanted by Orissa Police said.
"These leaders always come to meet the people under the protection of CRPF jawans. Therefore, we could not kill them till now," Panda, who is the secretary of the state organising committee of CPI (Maoist), said.
Admitting that the Maoists had for the first time intervened in any religious dispute by killing Laxamananda Saraswati, Panda said they wanted to create a casteless society devoid of exploitation where the people would not face discrimination of any kind.
Asked whether Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik was also in the hit-list of Maoists, Panda said: "No.
"It is a fact that we are angry with Patnaik for running the government in Orissa at the instruction of BJP leaders. But he is not in our target."
The Maoist leader asked Patnaik to work for the people instead of appeasing BJP leaders.
Ashok Singal and Pravin Togadia are "natural targets" of the Left wing extremists as they are instigating communal passion.
Panda alias Sunil, who met a group of journalists at an undisclosed place in the state yesterday, said Maoists were in search of an opportunity to eliminate the three leaders "as they are instigating communal passion in the country".
A transcript of the press conference was made available to PTI today.
"We will kill the trio whenever a chance is available," Panda who was declared as 'most wanted by Orissa Police said.
"These leaders always come to meet the people under the protection of CRPF jawans. Therefore, we could not kill them till now," Panda, who is the secretary of the state organising committee of CPI (Maoist), said.
Admitting that the Maoists had for the first time intervened in any religious dispute by killing Laxamananda Saraswati, Panda said they wanted to create a casteless society devoid of exploitation where the people would not face discrimination of any kind.
Asked whether Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik was also in the hit-list of Maoists, Panda said: "No.
"It is a fact that we are angry with Patnaik for running the government in Orissa at the instruction of BJP leaders. But he is not in our target."
The Maoist leader asked Patnaik to work for the people instead of appeasing BJP leaders.
Saturday, October 4, 2008
तिरंगे की आड़ में जी रहे हैं पाकिस्तानी
Oct 04, 09:04 pm
टोक्यो। दुनिया भर में इस्लामिक कट्टरपंथ और आतंकवाद के कारण बदनाम हो रहे पाकिस्तान के प्रवासी नागरिक जापान में अपनी पहचान एक हिंदुस्तानी के रूप में कायम कर सुकून अनुभव कर रहे हैं।
जापान की राजधानी टोक्यो में एक हजार से भी ज्यादा भारतीय भोजन परोसने वाले रेस्तरां है जिनमें से 80 फीसदी से ज्यादा के मालिक कराची, इस्लामाबाद, रावलपिंडी, लाहौर या मुल्तान के रहने वाले हैं, लेकिन उनके रेस्तरां के साइनबोर्ड में भारतीय तिरंगे ध्वज बड़ी शान से उकेरे हुए दिखाई देते हैं। कुछ ही रेस्तरां के साइनबोर्डो पर पाकिस्तानी झंडा दिखता है और वह भी छोटा और हाशिए पर। इतना ही नहीं, अंदर भी दीवारों पर भारतीय ब्रांडों की बीयर, साट ड्रिंक्स एवं अन्य उत्पादों के विज्ञापन पोस्टर लगे देखे जा सकते हैं।
एक पाकिस्तानी व्यवसायी ने तो अपने करीब 50 रेस्तरां की श्रृंखला का नाम ही ग्रेट इंडिया रखा हुआ है। सिद्दीकी खाना, पोटोहार, ओल्ड देहली आदि ऐसी ही रेस्तरां श्रृंखलाओंमें से कुछ है। इन रेस्तरां में काम करने वालों में ज्यादातर पाकिस्तानी, बांग्लादेशी और नेपाली नागरिक हैं।
दिल्ली के साउथ एक्सटेंशन जैसे यहां के इलाके शिन्जूकू में पोटोहार समूह के एक रेस्तरां में काम करने वाले इस्लामाबाद के मोहम्मद सगीर और कोलकाता के शेख करीमुद्दीन भाइयों की तरह काम करते हैं और उनके रेस्तरां में अगर कभी कोई हिंदुस्तानी या पाकिस्तानी पहुंच जाए तो वे खूब खुश होकर बड़ी खातिरदारी करते हैं। सगीर से पूछा गया कि रेस्तरां का मालिक पाकिस्तानी है उसके मैनेजर की हैसियत वाले सगीर भी पाकिस्तान के हैं तो फिर रेस्तरां पर सिर्फ भारतीय झंडा और भारत का नाम क्यों, पाकिस्तान का नाम और पहचान क्यों नहीं। इस पर वह अचकचा गए और करीम का मुंह ताकने लगे, फिर कहा कि साहब हिंदुस्तान को दुनिया जानती है सलाम करती है। पाकिस्तान को कौन मानता है। वहां के हालात आप भी जानते ही होंगे। दो मिनट रुक कर वह फिर बोले आखिर हम अलग हैं कहां। सीमा बंट जाने से खान-पान रहन-सहन और बोली थोड़े ही बदल जाती है।
सगीर से पूछा गया कि क्या ऐसी उनकी निजी राय है। टोक्यो में रह रहे बाकी पाकिस्तानियों की क्या राय है। उन्होंने कहा कि न सिर्फ टोक्यो बल्कि ओसाका, नीगाई, नागासाकी आदि शहरों में भी रहने वाले पाकिस्तानियों की भी ऐसी ही सोच है। जापान में पीपुल्स टू पीपुल्स डिप्लोमेसी में सक्रिय इंडिया सेंटर फाउंडेशन के प्रमुख विभव क्रांत उपाध्याय कहते हैं कि इस तरह की विचारधारा एक देश की जनता के मन में दूसरे देश के लोगों की छवि और आपसी व्यावसायिक हितों के कारण उत्पन्न होती है। वैसे उपाध्याय इसे एक दूसरे नजरिए से भी देखते हैं। वह कहते है कि अगर प्रवासी पाकिस्तानी अपनी इसी सोच का प्रचार स्वदेश में भी करें तो पाकिस्तानियों को अपनी छवि सुधारने और पूर्वाग्रहों से मुक्त होने की प्रेरणा मिलेगी, जिससे भारत की एक बड़ी समस्या के समाधान में भी मदद मिल सकेगी।
टोक्यो की आबादी करीब पौने दो करोड़ है। यहां रोजाना करीब डेढ़ लाख जापानी नागरिक शहर के इन भारतीय रेस्तरांओं में भारतीय करी और नान का लुत्फ उठाते है। टोक्यो में तो महज दो ढ़ाई हजार भारतीय परिवार ही रहते हैं। ऐसे में भारतीय रेस्तरांओं का धन्धा जापानियों की पंसद पर टिका है। यही वजह है कि प्रवासी पाकिस्तानियों की सोच भारतीय तिरंगे के नीचे ही अपनी पहचान कायम करके तरक्की की राह ढूंढती है।
टोक्यो। दुनिया भर में इस्लामिक कट्टरपंथ और आतंकवाद के कारण बदनाम हो रहे पाकिस्तान के प्रवासी नागरिक जापान में अपनी पहचान एक हिंदुस्तानी के रूप में कायम कर सुकून अनुभव कर रहे हैं।
जापान की राजधानी टोक्यो में एक हजार से भी ज्यादा भारतीय भोजन परोसने वाले रेस्तरां है जिनमें से 80 फीसदी से ज्यादा के मालिक कराची, इस्लामाबाद, रावलपिंडी, लाहौर या मुल्तान के रहने वाले हैं, लेकिन उनके रेस्तरां के साइनबोर्ड में भारतीय तिरंगे ध्वज बड़ी शान से उकेरे हुए दिखाई देते हैं। कुछ ही रेस्तरां के साइनबोर्डो पर पाकिस्तानी झंडा दिखता है और वह भी छोटा और हाशिए पर। इतना ही नहीं, अंदर भी दीवारों पर भारतीय ब्रांडों की बीयर, साट ड्रिंक्स एवं अन्य उत्पादों के विज्ञापन पोस्टर लगे देखे जा सकते हैं।
एक पाकिस्तानी व्यवसायी ने तो अपने करीब 50 रेस्तरां की श्रृंखला का नाम ही ग्रेट इंडिया रखा हुआ है। सिद्दीकी खाना, पोटोहार, ओल्ड देहली आदि ऐसी ही रेस्तरां श्रृंखलाओंमें से कुछ है। इन रेस्तरां में काम करने वालों में ज्यादातर पाकिस्तानी, बांग्लादेशी और नेपाली नागरिक हैं।
दिल्ली के साउथ एक्सटेंशन जैसे यहां के इलाके शिन्जूकू में पोटोहार समूह के एक रेस्तरां में काम करने वाले इस्लामाबाद के मोहम्मद सगीर और कोलकाता के शेख करीमुद्दीन भाइयों की तरह काम करते हैं और उनके रेस्तरां में अगर कभी कोई हिंदुस्तानी या पाकिस्तानी पहुंच जाए तो वे खूब खुश होकर बड़ी खातिरदारी करते हैं। सगीर से पूछा गया कि रेस्तरां का मालिक पाकिस्तानी है उसके मैनेजर की हैसियत वाले सगीर भी पाकिस्तान के हैं तो फिर रेस्तरां पर सिर्फ भारतीय झंडा और भारत का नाम क्यों, पाकिस्तान का नाम और पहचान क्यों नहीं। इस पर वह अचकचा गए और करीम का मुंह ताकने लगे, फिर कहा कि साहब हिंदुस्तान को दुनिया जानती है सलाम करती है। पाकिस्तान को कौन मानता है। वहां के हालात आप भी जानते ही होंगे। दो मिनट रुक कर वह फिर बोले आखिर हम अलग हैं कहां। सीमा बंट जाने से खान-पान रहन-सहन और बोली थोड़े ही बदल जाती है।
सगीर से पूछा गया कि क्या ऐसी उनकी निजी राय है। टोक्यो में रह रहे बाकी पाकिस्तानियों की क्या राय है। उन्होंने कहा कि न सिर्फ टोक्यो बल्कि ओसाका, नीगाई, नागासाकी आदि शहरों में भी रहने वाले पाकिस्तानियों की भी ऐसी ही सोच है। जापान में पीपुल्स टू पीपुल्स डिप्लोमेसी में सक्रिय इंडिया सेंटर फाउंडेशन के प्रमुख विभव क्रांत उपाध्याय कहते हैं कि इस तरह की विचारधारा एक देश की जनता के मन में दूसरे देश के लोगों की छवि और आपसी व्यावसायिक हितों के कारण उत्पन्न होती है। वैसे उपाध्याय इसे एक दूसरे नजरिए से भी देखते हैं। वह कहते है कि अगर प्रवासी पाकिस्तानी अपनी इसी सोच का प्रचार स्वदेश में भी करें तो पाकिस्तानियों को अपनी छवि सुधारने और पूर्वाग्रहों से मुक्त होने की प्रेरणा मिलेगी, जिससे भारत की एक बड़ी समस्या के समाधान में भी मदद मिल सकेगी।
टोक्यो की आबादी करीब पौने दो करोड़ है। यहां रोजाना करीब डेढ़ लाख जापानी नागरिक शहर के इन भारतीय रेस्तरांओं में भारतीय करी और नान का लुत्फ उठाते है। टोक्यो में तो महज दो ढ़ाई हजार भारतीय परिवार ही रहते हैं। ऐसे में भारतीय रेस्तरांओं का धन्धा जापानियों की पंसद पर टिका है। यही वजह है कि प्रवासी पाकिस्तानियों की सोच भारतीय तिरंगे के नीचे ही अपनी पहचान कायम करके तरक्की की राह ढूंढती है।
Soft Drinks - Hard Facts
Soft drinks are today's trend or much better, you can call them 'fashion' especially among the youth. Do you know that this colorful liquid does not do a bit good to you?
Soft drinks are everywhere you look today. From vending machines to school canteens to TV ads or giant billboards as you drive to work, it's hard for you (or your kids) to escape them. Recently, with concerns over childhood obesity, they've been deemed to be a bit too "cool for school" and most dentists will warn you of the effect of their acid and sugar on teeth. But what are the nutrition issues for adults? And what should you really choose to get your fizz?
Just think before you gulp down soft drink, what are you consuming? Scientific studies reveal that 1 to 1.5 liters of soft drinks a day can raise risks of numerous health problems, such as: To help separate fact from fiction,lets review the latest scientific findings, be forewarned, however: The results can be a lot like soft drinks themselves, both sweet and sticky.
Obesity:
Soft drinks are mainly composed of filtered H2O, artificial additives and refined sugar. Thus, they lack nutritional value and only add up calories through their refined sugar; therefore, they make you gain weight. But is shifting to "Diet Soft Drink" the solution? The fact is that diet soft drinks contain aspartame (an artificial low-calorie sweetener). Although aspartame does not add up the calories it makes you feel hungrier and crave for food. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) no longer allows foods containing aspartame to be labeled as "weight reduction product ". Now it insists to label these products simply as "Diet Drink" or "Diet Food ". Research also shows that aspartame causes migraines, dizziness and more over it reduces your memory.
Tooth Decay:
Sugar isn't the only ingredient in soft drinks that causes tooth problems(like caries). The acids in soda pop are also notorious for etching tooth enamel in ways that can lead to cavities. Acid begins to dissolve tooth enamel in only 20 minutes.Phosphoric acid, present in carbonated drinks is violently poisonous, it de-oxidizes blood. In detergent manufacturing industries, phosphoric acid is used to produce water softener. Water softener removes Ca²+ and Mg²+ ion from hard water. In human body, the function remains the same by removing Ca²+ from bones causing osteoporosis (porous bones).
Effect of Caffeine:
In most of carbonated beverages, caffeine is deliberately added to make it addictive. Caffeine in carbonated drink is more readily absorbed than any other drink (like coffee, chocolate etc.). Caffeine disturbs sleep by stimulating nervous system. It also makes premenstrual syndrome worse, causes dehydration and induces stomach to produce acids, aggravating hyperacidity. Since caffeine disturbs sleep, the body is more likely to produce C - reactive protein, which plays an important role in heart disease.
Bone risks?
There are also studies showing that cola drinks may lead to a decrease in bone density in women. The researchers have found that this is not due to women having lower calcium intakes from less milk consumption or due to the caffeine in soft drinks causing bone mineral loss. It's thought that it may in fact be due to phosphoric acid in cola drinks which is thought to interfere with bone absorption of calcium. Phosphoric acid, present in carbonated drinks is violently poisonous, it de-oxidizes blood. In detergent manufacturing industries, phosphoric acid is used to produce water softener. Water softener removes Ca²+ and Mg²+ ion from hard water. In human body, the function remains the same by removing Ca²+ from bones causing osteoporosis (porous bones).
Malnutrition:
Some people who are addicted to soft drinks deprive themselves from food until they become victims of malnutrition. Since gastrointestinal disturbance of these drinks lead to poor appetite thus surviving on soft drinks and little amount of food will cause malnutrition, retarded growth and other physiological problems.
Effect on Gastro-Intestinal System:
When you open the bottle of a soft drink, bubbles and fizz are immediately emitted out. This is due to phosphoric acid and carbon dioxide (CO2) content, which make these drinks highly acidic. The pH of soft drink ranges from 2.5-3.4 which generates a highly acidic environment in the stomach. Throughout the digestive system, that starts from the mouth and ends up at the anus (liver, gallbladder and pancreas play the role of accessory organs) only the stomach can resist an acidic environment up to pH 2.0. But before the acidity of soft drink reaches the stomach it passes through all the other organs involved in the digestive system thus causing an abnormal acidic environment. Hence the linings of the mouth, pharynx and esophagus are highly sensitive to acids. Also there is a very common practice of taking soft drinks when a person suffers from acidity or after having a heavy meal. However, this is wrong. The phosphoric acid present in soft drink competes with the hydrochloric acid of the stomach and affects its functions. When the stomach becomes ineffective, food remains undigested causing indigestion, gassiness or bloating (swelling of stomach). Thus people who are suffering from acidity should not be drinking soft drinks because actually it increases acidity further.
Effect on Kidneys:
Kidneys are less able to excrete phosphoric acid when it is in excess. Thus, there is extra work for kidney. Soft drinks remove Calcium from the body, causing an excess amount of Calcium that tend to be deposited in kidney, resulting in nephrolithiasis (kidney stones). Effect on Skin: Acidic blood affects the action of glutathione, which is an antioxidant enzyme. In addition, these drinks lack vitamins and minerals. By taking these drinks, people cut their intake of fresh juices, milk and even water and deprive themselves from essential vitamins and minerals that are mandatory for skin. Thus, the skin becomes more prone to wrinkles and aging.
Top choice?
Water is still the one, however, with zero sugar and virtually no kilojoules, while diet or "no sugar".
Prevention:
Use straw to reduce direct contact with teeth. Rinse your mouth with water after drinking aerated drink. Or simply do not drink soft drinks.
Remember that diseases do not develop overnight but do develop over the years with improper dietary habits. Also each individual has different tolerance level. So think of all long term effects on your body. The multitude side effects depend on your genetics and an individual's physical strength. Chronic illnesses are not a direct cause but they are triggered or worsened by bad food habits.
Soft drinks are everywhere you look today. From vending machines to school canteens to TV ads or giant billboards as you drive to work, it's hard for you (or your kids) to escape them. Recently, with concerns over childhood obesity, they've been deemed to be a bit too "cool for school" and most dentists will warn you of the effect of their acid and sugar on teeth. But what are the nutrition issues for adults? And what should you really choose to get your fizz?
Just think before you gulp down soft drink, what are you consuming? Scientific studies reveal that 1 to 1.5 liters of soft drinks a day can raise risks of numerous health problems, such as: To help separate fact from fiction,lets review the latest scientific findings, be forewarned, however: The results can be a lot like soft drinks themselves, both sweet and sticky.
Obesity:
Soft drinks are mainly composed of filtered H2O, artificial additives and refined sugar. Thus, they lack nutritional value and only add up calories through their refined sugar; therefore, they make you gain weight. But is shifting to "Diet Soft Drink" the solution? The fact is that diet soft drinks contain aspartame (an artificial low-calorie sweetener). Although aspartame does not add up the calories it makes you feel hungrier and crave for food. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) no longer allows foods containing aspartame to be labeled as "weight reduction product ". Now it insists to label these products simply as "Diet Drink" or "Diet Food ". Research also shows that aspartame causes migraines, dizziness and more over it reduces your memory.
Tooth Decay:
Sugar isn't the only ingredient in soft drinks that causes tooth problems(like caries). The acids in soda pop are also notorious for etching tooth enamel in ways that can lead to cavities. Acid begins to dissolve tooth enamel in only 20 minutes.Phosphoric acid, present in carbonated drinks is violently poisonous, it de-oxidizes blood. In detergent manufacturing industries, phosphoric acid is used to produce water softener. Water softener removes Ca²+ and Mg²+ ion from hard water. In human body, the function remains the same by removing Ca²+ from bones causing osteoporosis (porous bones).
Effect of Caffeine:
In most of carbonated beverages, caffeine is deliberately added to make it addictive. Caffeine in carbonated drink is more readily absorbed than any other drink (like coffee, chocolate etc.). Caffeine disturbs sleep by stimulating nervous system. It also makes premenstrual syndrome worse, causes dehydration and induces stomach to produce acids, aggravating hyperacidity. Since caffeine disturbs sleep, the body is more likely to produce C - reactive protein, which plays an important role in heart disease.
Bone risks?
There are also studies showing that cola drinks may lead to a decrease in bone density in women. The researchers have found that this is not due to women having lower calcium intakes from less milk consumption or due to the caffeine in soft drinks causing bone mineral loss. It's thought that it may in fact be due to phosphoric acid in cola drinks which is thought to interfere with bone absorption of calcium. Phosphoric acid, present in carbonated drinks is violently poisonous, it de-oxidizes blood. In detergent manufacturing industries, phosphoric acid is used to produce water softener. Water softener removes Ca²+ and Mg²+ ion from hard water. In human body, the function remains the same by removing Ca²+ from bones causing osteoporosis (porous bones).
Malnutrition:
Some people who are addicted to soft drinks deprive themselves from food until they become victims of malnutrition. Since gastrointestinal disturbance of these drinks lead to poor appetite thus surviving on soft drinks and little amount of food will cause malnutrition, retarded growth and other physiological problems.
Effect on Gastro-Intestinal System:
When you open the bottle of a soft drink, bubbles and fizz are immediately emitted out. This is due to phosphoric acid and carbon dioxide (CO2) content, which make these drinks highly acidic. The pH of soft drink ranges from 2.5-3.4 which generates a highly acidic environment in the stomach. Throughout the digestive system, that starts from the mouth and ends up at the anus (liver, gallbladder and pancreas play the role of accessory organs) only the stomach can resist an acidic environment up to pH 2.0. But before the acidity of soft drink reaches the stomach it passes through all the other organs involved in the digestive system thus causing an abnormal acidic environment. Hence the linings of the mouth, pharynx and esophagus are highly sensitive to acids. Also there is a very common practice of taking soft drinks when a person suffers from acidity or after having a heavy meal. However, this is wrong. The phosphoric acid present in soft drink competes with the hydrochloric acid of the stomach and affects its functions. When the stomach becomes ineffective, food remains undigested causing indigestion, gassiness or bloating (swelling of stomach). Thus people who are suffering from acidity should not be drinking soft drinks because actually it increases acidity further.
Effect on Kidneys:
Kidneys are less able to excrete phosphoric acid when it is in excess. Thus, there is extra work for kidney. Soft drinks remove Calcium from the body, causing an excess amount of Calcium that tend to be deposited in kidney, resulting in nephrolithiasis (kidney stones). Effect on Skin: Acidic blood affects the action of glutathione, which is an antioxidant enzyme. In addition, these drinks lack vitamins and minerals. By taking these drinks, people cut their intake of fresh juices, milk and even water and deprive themselves from essential vitamins and minerals that are mandatory for skin. Thus, the skin becomes more prone to wrinkles and aging.
Top choice?
Water is still the one, however, with zero sugar and virtually no kilojoules, while diet or "no sugar".
Prevention:
Use straw to reduce direct contact with teeth. Rinse your mouth with water after drinking aerated drink. Or simply do not drink soft drinks.
Remember that diseases do not develop overnight but do develop over the years with improper dietary habits. Also each individual has different tolerance level. So think of all long term effects on your body. The multitude side effects depend on your genetics and an individual's physical strength. Chronic illnesses are not a direct cause but they are triggered or worsened by bad food habits.
Coke is spermicidal
Spermicide Coke, stale chips research wins Ig Nobels
Fri Oct 3, 2008 7:01pm EDT
By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Editor
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A researcher who figured out that Coke explodes sperm and scientists who discovered that people will happily eat stale chips if they crunch loudly enough won alternative "Ig Nobel" prizes Thursday.
Other winners included physicists who found out that anything that can tangle, will tangle and a team of biologists who ascertained that dog fleas jump farther than cat fleas.
The Ig Nobels honor real research, but are meant as a funny alternative to next week's deadly serious Nobel prizes for medicine, chemistry, physics, economics, literature and peace.
Awarded by the editors of the Annals of Improbable Research, a scientific humor magazine, the prizes are based on published research, some intended to be humorous but often not. Usually the "honored" researchers go along with the joke.
Deborah Anderson of Boston University Medical Center and colleagues were awarded the chemistry prize for a 1985 study published in the New England Journal of Medicine that found Coca-Cola kills sperm.
She said she was serious in testing the soft drink because women were using it in a douche as a contraceptive and, later, to try to protect themselves from the AIDS virus.
"It definitely wouldn't work as a contraceptive because sperm swims so fast," Anderson said. But Coke made with sugar quickly kills sperm, she said, probably because sperm soak it up. "The sperm just kind of explode," she said in a telephone interview.
It kills the AIDS virus too, she said.
Fri Oct 3, 2008 7:01pm EDT
By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Editor
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A researcher who figured out that Coke explodes sperm and scientists who discovered that people will happily eat stale chips if they crunch loudly enough won alternative "Ig Nobel" prizes Thursday.
Other winners included physicists who found out that anything that can tangle, will tangle and a team of biologists who ascertained that dog fleas jump farther than cat fleas.
The Ig Nobels honor real research, but are meant as a funny alternative to next week's deadly serious Nobel prizes for medicine, chemistry, physics, economics, literature and peace.
Awarded by the editors of the Annals of Improbable Research, a scientific humor magazine, the prizes are based on published research, some intended to be humorous but often not. Usually the "honored" researchers go along with the joke.
Deborah Anderson of Boston University Medical Center and colleagues were awarded the chemistry prize for a 1985 study published in the New England Journal of Medicine that found Coca-Cola kills sperm.
She said she was serious in testing the soft drink because women were using it in a douche as a contraceptive and, later, to try to protect themselves from the AIDS virus.
"It definitely wouldn't work as a contraceptive because sperm swims so fast," Anderson said. But Coke made with sugar quickly kills sperm, she said, probably because sperm soak it up. "The sperm just kind of explode," she said in a telephone interview.
It kills the AIDS virus too, she said.
Friday, October 3, 2008
'India has right to test, others have right to react'
New Delhi, October 3: India said on Friday that despite the nuclear cooperation agreement with the US, the country still retains the right to conduct a nuclear test, while others have a right to react to such an incident.
"...India has the right to test, others have the right to react," External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee when asked to comment on India's options to conduct an atomic test after signing the Indo-US nuclear deal.
However, India had declared a voluntary moratorium on future nuclear tests after the 1998 atomic tests at Pokhran in Rajasthan, Mukherjee told a news channel.
"In regard to testing, I have already stated we have voluntarily declared moratorium on the further tests and we will continue to bind ourselves by this book," he said.
However, the minister made it clear that New Delhi would not like to convert the voluntary moratorium on testing into a treaty-bound obligation.
"We would not like to convert this voluntary moratorium into a treaty-bound obligation. That position has been maintained," Mukherjee said.
The nuclear deal with the US has opened nuclear trade to those countries which are interested in having the commerce with India, he said.
Mukherjee said India's nuclear trade will depend on the type of bi-lateral, bi-party agreements which will have to be entered into with the countries concerned.
The US Senate passed the Indo-US civil nuclear deal with an overwhelming majority and is expected to be signed by Mukherjee and his American counterpart Condoleezza Rice on Saturday.
"...India has the right to test, others have the right to react," External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee when asked to comment on India's options to conduct an atomic test after signing the Indo-US nuclear deal.
However, India had declared a voluntary moratorium on future nuclear tests after the 1998 atomic tests at Pokhran in Rajasthan, Mukherjee told a news channel.
"In regard to testing, I have already stated we have voluntarily declared moratorium on the further tests and we will continue to bind ourselves by this book," he said.
However, the minister made it clear that New Delhi would not like to convert the voluntary moratorium on testing into a treaty-bound obligation.
"We would not like to convert this voluntary moratorium into a treaty-bound obligation. That position has been maintained," Mukherjee said.
The nuclear deal with the US has opened nuclear trade to those countries which are interested in having the commerce with India, he said.
Mukherjee said India's nuclear trade will depend on the type of bi-lateral, bi-party agreements which will have to be entered into with the countries concerned.
The US Senate passed the Indo-US civil nuclear deal with an overwhelming majority and is expected to be signed by Mukherjee and his American counterpart Condoleezza Rice on Saturday.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Rushdie glad he wrote 'Satanic Verses'
London, October 1: Notwithstanding the death threats he faced for over a decade for penning the controversial book, India-born author Sir Salman Rushdie says he is still glad that he wrote 'The Satanic Verses'.
Rushdie's remarks about the book he wrote 20 years ago came in the second of a series of interviews with leading cultural figures filmed exclusively for 'The Times' daily.
He said he would regret not having written a book confronting major religious and philosophical questions.
"The question I'm always asking myself is; are we masters or victims? Do we make history or does history make us? Do we shape the world or are we just shaped by it?
"The question of do we have agency in our lives or whether we are just passive victims of events, I think, a great question and one that I have always tried to ask. In that sense I wouldn't not have wanted to be the writer that asked it," he told Australian broadcaster Cilve James.
Rushdie's comments came at a time when extremists have again driven a literary figure into hiding – this time Martin Rynja, a Dutch-born London publisher who had agreed to release 'The Jewel of Medina', a controversial novel about the Prophet Muhammad.
Rynja's home in Islington was firebombed on Saturday. Under-cover police tipped him off hours earlier and arrested three men from East London.
Rushdie, in the interview, said he is an atheist who found dead religions "much more attractive" but added he has nothing against true believers until their faith spills over into the public sphere and becomes "my business".
The Satanic Verses was banned in India, and Ayatollah Khomeini, then supreme leader of Iran, in 1989 issued a 'fatwa' calling on all Muslims to murder Rushdie forcing him to go into hiding for the best part of ten years.
Rushdie's remarks about the book he wrote 20 years ago came in the second of a series of interviews with leading cultural figures filmed exclusively for 'The Times' daily.
He said he would regret not having written a book confronting major religious and philosophical questions.
"The question I'm always asking myself is; are we masters or victims? Do we make history or does history make us? Do we shape the world or are we just shaped by it?
"The question of do we have agency in our lives or whether we are just passive victims of events, I think, a great question and one that I have always tried to ask. In that sense I wouldn't not have wanted to be the writer that asked it," he told Australian broadcaster Cilve James.
Rushdie's comments came at a time when extremists have again driven a literary figure into hiding – this time Martin Rynja, a Dutch-born London publisher who had agreed to release 'The Jewel of Medina', a controversial novel about the Prophet Muhammad.
Rynja's home in Islington was firebombed on Saturday. Under-cover police tipped him off hours earlier and arrested three men from East London.
Rushdie, in the interview, said he is an atheist who found dead religions "much more attractive" but added he has nothing against true believers until their faith spills over into the public sphere and becomes "my business".
The Satanic Verses was banned in India, and Ayatollah Khomeini, then supreme leader of Iran, in 1989 issued a 'fatwa' calling on all Muslims to murder Rushdie forcing him to go into hiding for the best part of ten years.
Rumours of a ‘ghost’ take off at BIAL
Hemanth C S | ENS29 Sep 2008 05:11:00 AM IST
BANGALORE: After capacity constraints, connectivity hurdles and criticism from all and sundry over shabby infrastructure, there is now a problem quite without precedent at the Bengaluru International Airport (BIA).
Rumours have been doing the rounds for the past week that airport staff have been seeing ghosts on the runway. The description of the ghost has been varied: its gender, attire and features all change, depending on who sees it. A few claim that the ghost is a woman in a white saree, while others say the mysterious creature is headless.
A Kingfisher employee who works at the Cargo section told to this website's newspaper that the ghost, a woman in a white saree with her hair flying loose, has been wandering on the runway. He said this saree-clad ghost had disrupted flight movements. “A pilot of an international carrier had to abort landing after spotting a ‘woman’ with outstretched hands in the middle of the runway. Finally, after two failed attempts, when the ‘woman’ did not move from the runway, the pilot could only land in his third attempt,” he said.
Several employees say another ghost, a headless creature, was spotted near the escalators in the terminal area and in the parking bays. A photograph of the ghost is also said to have been captured on an infra-red camera by an employee.
“All that was visible on the photograph was a skeletal figure of the ‘woman’. This was later passed on via bluetooth to mobile phones and posted on YouTube,” he said. On checking, however, one only got images of ghosts wandering about airports in Thailand and Malaysia; there was nothing on our own native ghost! BIA officials flatly deny these rumours: there was no ghost buster team deployed at the airport. “It’s hard to convince someone to come down from New Delhi to investigate a bhoot. If a flight had to be diverted, we would need to take permissions. There are 10 airport controllers and none of them have seen the woman on the runway. One of the staff had a picture on his mobile, but it cannot be true,” said a BIAL official.
BANGALORE: After capacity constraints, connectivity hurdles and criticism from all and sundry over shabby infrastructure, there is now a problem quite without precedent at the Bengaluru International Airport (BIA).
Rumours have been doing the rounds for the past week that airport staff have been seeing ghosts on the runway. The description of the ghost has been varied: its gender, attire and features all change, depending on who sees it. A few claim that the ghost is a woman in a white saree, while others say the mysterious creature is headless.
A Kingfisher employee who works at the Cargo section told to this website's newspaper that the ghost, a woman in a white saree with her hair flying loose, has been wandering on the runway. He said this saree-clad ghost had disrupted flight movements. “A pilot of an international carrier had to abort landing after spotting a ‘woman’ with outstretched hands in the middle of the runway. Finally, after two failed attempts, when the ‘woman’ did not move from the runway, the pilot could only land in his third attempt,” he said.
Several employees say another ghost, a headless creature, was spotted near the escalators in the terminal area and in the parking bays. A photograph of the ghost is also said to have been captured on an infra-red camera by an employee.
“All that was visible on the photograph was a skeletal figure of the ‘woman’. This was later passed on via bluetooth to mobile phones and posted on YouTube,” he said. On checking, however, one only got images of ghosts wandering about airports in Thailand and Malaysia; there was nothing on our own native ghost! BIA officials flatly deny these rumours: there was no ghost buster team deployed at the airport. “It’s hard to convince someone to come down from New Delhi to investigate a bhoot. If a flight had to be diverted, we would need to take permissions. There are 10 airport controllers and none of them have seen the woman on the runway. One of the staff had a picture on his mobile, but it cannot be true,” said a BIAL official.
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