Let's face it - English is a crazy language.

Let's face it - English is a crazy language.

In what other language do people drive in a parkway and park in a driveway?

Why does night fall but never break and day break but never fall?

Why is it that when we transport something by car, it's called a shipment, but when we transport something by ship, it's called cargo?

Why are people who ride motorcycles called bikers and people who ride bikes called cyclists?

In what other language do thay call the third hand on the clock the second hand?

Why is it called a TV set when you get only one?

Why - in our crazy language - can your nose run and your feet smell?

Sometimes you have to believe that all English speakers should be committed to an asylum for the verbally insane:

If olive oil is made of olives, what do they make baby oil from?

If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian consume?

A writer is someone who writes, and a stinger is something that stings.

But fingers don't fing and grocers don't groce.

If the plural of tooth is teeth, shouldn't the plural of booth be beeth?

If the teacher taught, why isn't it also true that the preacher praught?

If harmless actions are the opposite of harmful actions, why are shameless and shameful behavior the same?

English is a language in which you can turn a light on and you can turn a light off and you can turn a light out, but you can't turn a light in;

In which the sun comes up and goes down, but prices go up and come down.

In which your nose can simultaneously burn up and burn down and your car can slow up and slow down, in which you can fill in a form by filling out a form and in which your alarm clock goes off by going on.

English is a crazy language. What is it that when the sun or the moon or the stars are out, they are visible, but when the lights are out, they are invisible?; and why when I wind up my watch, I start it, but when I wind up this essay, I shall end it?

The Fanatical Worshiper of Shiva

The Fanatical Worshiper of Shiva There is an old story of a man who was a worshipper of Shiva. There are sects in our country who worship God as Shiva, and others who worship Him as Vishnu. This man was a great worshipper of Shiva, and to that he added a tremendous hatred for all worshippers of Vishnu, and would not hear the name of Vishnu pronounced. There are a great number of worshippers of Vishnu in India, and he could not avoid hearing the name. So he bored two holes in his ears, and tied two little bells on to them, and whenever a man mentioned the name of Vishnu, he moved his head, and rang the bells and that prevented his hearing the noise. But Shiva told him in a dream, "What a fool you are! I am Vishnu, and I am Shiva; they are not different, only in name; there are not two Gods". But this man said, "I don't care I will have nothing to do with this Vishnu business". He had a little statue of Shiva, and made it very nice, built an altar for it. One day he bought some beautiful incense and went home to light some of the incense for his God. While the fumes of his incense were rising in the air he found that the image was divided into two : one half remained Shiva, and the other half was Vishnu. Then the man jumped up and put his finger under the nostril of Vishnu so that not a particle of the smell could get there. Then Shiva became disgusted, and the man became a demon. He is the father of all fanatics, the "bell-eared" demon. He is respected by the boys of India, and they worship him. It is a very peculiar kind of worship. They make a clay image, and worship him with all sorts of horrible smelling flowers. There are some flowers in the forests in India which have a most pestilential smell. They worship him with these, and then take big sticks and beat the image. He is the father of all fanatics, who hate all other gods except their own. This is the only danger in this Nishta Bhakti, becoming this fanatical demon. The world gets full of them. It is very easy to hate; the generality of mankind get so weak that in order to love one they must hate another; they must take the energy out of one point in order to put it into another. A man loves one woman, and then loves another, and to love the other, he has to hate the first. So with women. This characteristic is in every part of our nature, and so in our religion. The ordinary, undeveloped weak brain of mankind cannot love one without hating another. This very [characteristic] becomes fanaticism in religion. Loving their own ideal is synonymous with hating every other idea. This should be avoided, and at the same time the other danger should be avoided. We must not fritter away all our energies. Religion becomes a nothing with us; just hearing lectures. These are the two dangers. -Swami Vivekananda (From Bhakti Yoga)

To Krishna

Who owns the media in India?

A VERY INTERESTING ARTICLE...ONE MUST READ

Who owns the media in India?

Recent Gujarat election have witnessed unaccountable money paid to media persons of both, print and electronic by Saudi Arabia to discredit Modi and the Hindutva forces, which Media did very faithfully without success.

There are several major publishing groups in India, the most prominent among them being the Times of India Group, the Indian Express Group, the Hindustan Times Group, The Hindu group, the Anandabazar Patrika Group, the Eenadu Group, the Malayalam Manorama Group, the Mathrubhumi group, the Sahara group, the Bhaskar group, and the Dainik Jagran group.

Let us see the ownership of different media agencies.

NDTV: A very popular TV news media is funded by Gospels of Charity in Spain Supports Communism. Recently it has developed a soft corner towards Pakistan because Pakistan President has allowed only this channel to be aired in Pakistan. Indian CEO Prannoy Roy is co-brother of Prakash Karat, General Secretary of the Communist party of India. His wife and Brinda Karat are sisters.

India Today which used to be the only national weekly which supported BJP is now bought by NDTV!! Since then the tone has changed drastically and turned into Hindu bashing.

CNN-IBN: This is 100 percent funded by Southern Baptist Church with its branches in all over the world with HQ in US. The Church annually allocates $800 million for promotion of its channel. Its Indian head is Rajdeep Sardesai and his wife Sagarika Ghosh.

Times group list:

Times Of India, Mid-Day, Nav-Bharth Times, Stardust, Femina, Vijay Times, Vijaya Karnataka, Times now (24- hour news channel) and many more...

Times Group is owned by Bennet & Coleman. 'World Christian Council� does 80 percent of the Funding, and an Englishman and an Italian equally share balance 20 percent. The Italian Robertio Mindo is a close relative of Sonia Gandhi.

Star TV: It is run by an Australian, who is supported by St. Peters Pontifical Church Melbourne.

Hindustan Times: Owned by Birla Group, but hands have changed since Shobana Bhartiya took over. Presently it is working in Collaboration with Times Group.

The Hindu: English daily, started over 125 years has been recently taken over by Joshua Society, Berne , Switzerland . N. Ram's wife is a Swiss national.

Indian Express: Divided into two groups. The Indian Express and new Indian Express (southern edition) ACTS Christian Ministries have major stake in the Indian Express and latter is still with the Indian counterpart.

Eeenadu: Still to date controlled by an Indian named Ramoji Rao.

Ramoji Rao is connected with film industry and owns a huge studio in Andhra Pradesh.

Andhra Jyothi: The Muslim party of Hyderabad known as MIM along with a Congress Minister has purchased this Telugu daily very recently.

The Statesman: It is controlled by Communist Party of India.

Kairali TV: It is controlled by Communist party of India (Marxist)

Mathrubhoomi: Leaders of Muslim League and Communist leaders have major investment.

Asian Age and Deccan Chronicle: Is owned by a Saudi Arabian Company with its chief Editor M.J. Akbar.

> > Gujarat riots which took place in 2002 where Hindus were burnt alive,

Rajdeep Sardesai and Bharkha Dutt working for NDTV at that time got around 5 Million Dollars from Saudi Arabia to cover only Muslim victims, which they did very faithfully. Not a single Hindu family was interviewed or shown on TV who's near and dear ones had been burnt alive, it is reported.

Tarun Tejpal of < <http://tehelka.com/>Tehelka.com regularly gets blank cheques from Arab countries to target BJP and Hindus only, it is said.

The ownership explains the control of media in India by foreigners. The result is obvious.

PONDER OVER THIS. NOW YOU KNOW WHY EVERY ONE IS AGAINST TRUTH, HOW VERY SAD.

Please pass this on to as many as possible. Let them know who feeds them with biased news and information- yet call themselves secular..

EGO....kills U

There was once a learned scientist.. After a lot of practice and efforts, he developed a formula and learned the art of reproducing himself. He did it so perfectly that it was impossible to tell the reproduction from the original. One day while doing his research, he realized that the Angel of Death was searching for him. In order to remain immortal he reproduced a dozen copies of himself. The reproduction was so meticulous that all of them looked exactly like him. Now when this Angel of Death came down, he was at a loss to know which of the thirteen before him was the original scientist, and confused, he left them all alone and returned back to heaven. But, not for long, for being an expert in human nature, the Angel came up with a clever idea. He said to the scientist addressing all thirteen of them, "Sir, you must be a genius to have succeeded in making such perfect reproduction formula of yourself. However, I have discovered a flaw in your work, just one tiny little flaw." The scientist immediately jumped out and shouted, Impossible! where is the flaw?" "Right here" said the Angel, as he picked up the scientist from among the reproductions and carried him off. The whole purpose of the scientist and his formula of reproduction failed as he could not control his pride and lost his life. So while one's Knowledge and Skills takes one to the top of the ladder and makes one successful, however the three letter word "EGO" can pull one down immediately.

[Hindi_Jokes] Jai Ho

Do you want funny Pictures? .

---

.

__,_._,___

Shiv Sena BJP Alliance

http://s575.photobucket.com/albums/ss195/shivsenamedia/?albumview=slideshow

Significance of Ekadashi fast

Significance of Ekadashi fast It is a common practice in most hindu households to observe fast on ekadashi. What is special about this day? Ekadasi in Sanskrit means eleven. Eka means one and dasi is the feminine form of the word dasa, which means ten. Ekadasi is thus the eleventh day of both the dark and light fortnight of each month. On these special days, devotees fast from grains and beans and make an extra effort to be in service to the Divine. There is a beautiful story about the origin of Ekadasi fasting. Once, in the Satya-yuga (the golden age) Lord Narayana was enagaged in battle with a demon called Mura. Feeling tired, the Lord decided to rest from the long battle. However, mura wanted to kill the Lord while he was sleeping. Suddenly from the body of the Lord manifested a young girl, who slayed the demon, Mura. This girl was the Mahasakti. Pleased, Narayana gave her the name Ekadasi( as she appeared on the eleventh day of the waning moon). He also granted her the boon that anyone who fasts on Ekadasi will become free from sin and attain His transcendental abode. There are certain rules regarding fasting on this day. For eg., one must strictly avoid eating grains and beans on Ekadasi. Fasting generally means completely abstaining from both food and drink. If this is difficult, one may eat a single nongrain meal once in the afternoon or in the evening. According to scriptures, one who observes fasting on Ekadasi is freed from all kinds of reactions to sinful activities and advances in spiritual life. These sacred fasting days greatly help any sincere soul achieve, even within this present lifetime, liberation from the cycle of birth and death, it is said therefore, Ekadasi gives one a real taste of renunciation, thus helping one give up trying to enjoy illusory sense gratification of this material world. Both western and ayurvedic medicine recommend fasting to maintain and improve health. Indeed modern medial experts and ancient sages agree that fasting benefits one, both physically and mentally. Even from the economic point of view, two such fasting days in a month will save tons of food. The basic principle is not just to fast, but to increase one's faith and love for the Divine. The real reason for observing fasting on ekadasi is to minimize the demands of the body and to engage our time in the service of the Divine. Reference(s) - Midas Babu (Mr. & Mrs), geocities.yahoo. com

OLd Memory

Take up one idea.

Take up one idea. Make that one idea your life - think of it, dream of it, live on that idea. Let the brain, muscles, nerves, every part of your body, be full of that idea, and just leave every other idea alone. This is the way to success, that is way great spiritual giants are produced. We are responsible for what we are, and whatever we wish ourselves to be, we have the power to make ourselves. If what we are now has been the result of our own past actions, it certainly follows that whatever we wish to be in future can be produced by our present actions; so we have to know how to act. You have to grow from the inside out. None can teach you, none can make you spiritual. There is no other teacher but your own soul. The goal of mankind is knowledge ... Now this knowledge is inherent in man. No knowledge comes from outside: it is all inside. What we say a man 'knows', should, in strict psychological language, be what he 'discovers' or 'unveils'; what man 'learns' is really what he discovers by taking the cover off his own soul, which is a mine of infinite knowledge. We are what our thoughts have made us; so take care about what you think. Words are secondary. Thoughts live; they travel far. Where can we go to find God if we cannot see Him in our own hearts and in every living being. You cannot believe in God until you believe in yourself. The first sign of your becoming religious is that you are becoming cheerful If you think about disaster, you will get it. Brood about death and you hasten your demise. Think positively and masterfully, with confidence and faith, and life becomes more secure, more fraught with action, richer in achievement and experience.

Poetic resignation

Employee Resignation
------------ ---

The name is good, the brand is big
But the work I do is that of a pig

The work or the brand; what is my way?
I don't know if I should stay.

To work, they have set their own way
Nobody will care to hear what I say

My will be NULL, they wont change their way
I don't know if I should stay.

The project is in a critical stage
But to do good work, this is the age

This dilemma is killing me day by day
I don't know if I should stay.

The money is good, the place is great
But the development is at a very small rate

Should I go for the work, or wait for pay
I don't know if I should stay!

The managers don't know what they talk
The team doesn't know where they walk

That's a bad situation, what say?
I don't know if I should stay.

I can go to any other place
But what if I get the same disgrace

I can't keep switching day by day
I don't know if I should stay.

The -ves are more, the +ves are less
Then why have this unnecessary mess

No more will I walk their way,
It's all done, I won't stay.

Thanks & Regards
Employee

------------ ---
Manager Response
------------ ---

Reply: What I want to say? (Manager)

The decision is good or decision is bad
Only God knows still I am glad

Keep moving in life that is what I can say

If you feel right go in the same way
May god give you the work, the challenge you want

Anyway there is always a second chance
Chances are there, grab them snatch them

That is what I can say

Keep on jumping companies to get more and more and more....
That will keep you always a fore (Even to me)

From my experience I can tell you
Being in software development is like taking hell out of you

You are frustrated since you have no quality work
And you were frustrated because you had quantity work

It's always like that previous job was better than the current one
And expects the new job will be much better than this one

But what you get is a frustration level up to sun
Than you will again send the resignation like this one

This is all what I want to say

Have you completed all the formalities?
Filled the form and got it signed from department humanities (HR)

Once done you can take all your cash
But don't refer others as they will follow you're a*s.

At last I appreciate your contribution to the company
Even though there was not any....

You will keep a copy of this with you for FYI
Don't feel shy

As I also got it some time back from my old manger say Hi....
That is all what I want to say.

Thanks & Regards
Manager

Best of the day !!

Best of the day !!

Coins always make sound,

But the currency notes are always silent,

So,

When your value increases,

Keep yourself Calm and Silent..................

PANCHAAMRITAM 159

Pancha is five in Samskritam, Amritam is nectar

Poornima, Kali Yugaabda 5110, Sarvadhari Panguni 27 (April 9, 2009)

ONE

Dashrath Manjhi (born in 1934) of village Gehlour is a daily wage labourer. The nearest hospital was 80 kilometers away. In other words, a child in that village had hard time surviving. People with health problems found it nearly impossible to walk on a muddy road for 80 kms to get a pill or the doctor's advice. Some people even died on the way. One day Dashrath's wife fell down on that very path when she was on the way to meet Dashrath with his midday meal. It was at this point that Dashrath decided to build a tunnel through the Gehlour hills to make life easier for his village folk. Obviously the whole village thought Dashrath had gone insane. He earned his daily wages as a coolie, and then devoted a few hours everyday to this new challenge. He constructed a 360 feet long, 30 feet high and 25 feet wide passage through Gehlour hills with a hammer, chisel and nails working day and night for 22 years from 1960 to 1982. His feat reduced the distance between Atri and Wazirganj blocks of Gaya district (Bihar, Bharat) from 75 km to just one km. The village was blessed with a new lifeline. People from his village could reach the nearest hospital in 10 minutes. He felt peace in his heart as he knew an entire village benefited. The then President Abdul Kalam honoured him with the Padmashree Award for this selfless act. The government offered to give him a piece of land and a house in Karjani village. He requested the government to build a hospital in the land. He was hit by cancer and died in August 2007 at the age of 78.

Based on a write up by Shri Sandip Pradhan, Chennai. Also www.patnadaily.com.

Idea: Shri Vasuvaj of Samskrit Bharati, Bengaluru

TWO

Of all the institutions that The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) runs, `Sravanam' is unique. Sravanam is an institute specially started for the children who are hearing impaired. This is very special because it takes children up to 5 years of age and trains them to speak, unlike most institutes that train them in sign language. Along with the child, the mother is provided free board and lodging until the completion of the training. The institute was started with the first batch of 6 children. Today it benefits 120 children. What is amazing is that the student to teacher ratio. It has one teacher for two students. When the first batch of 'graduating' children spoke from the dais during a function, every eye in the audience was moist with tears. I write this to specially ask the readers to refer children with hearing impairment (Age up to 5 years) to the Sravanam, TTD, Tirupati. They will be pleased to take as many, so the future generations can hear and chant the Divya Nama of Govinda.The first batch of these 6 children are fit for admission into the regular schools of the TTD. From a note by Shri S V Badri, Chennai

THREE

We have seen the shortcomings of capitalism, communism and socialism. Now is the time for humanism and spiritualism. Politics without humanism and spiritualism is bound to be dirty. Many people believe that spiritualism is not for this world, that it is not a practical tool to bring about societal transformation. But that's a misconception. Mahatma Gandhi was spiritual. He conducted satsangs every day and played an important role in bringing freedom for our country. That is why today we need leaders who have a spirit of sacrifice, and who are spiritual in their outlook, to enter politics. (Sri Sri Ravishankar, renowned spiritual exponent in his post on March 30, 2009 at IBN Politics.com)

FOUR

While some tourist destinations lure people with pubs and free flowing drinks, a small village of East Khasi Hills district (Meghalaya, Bharat) already a popular tourist hub, has decided to go alcohol free. The picturesque Laitkynsew village has been declared a no alcohol zone by the Dorbar Shnong (village council), with village authorities also announcing a penalty for violation. Village sordar (chief) Modi Basaiawmoit said, the decision to ban drinking and manufacturing alcohol was taken by the Dorbar after noticing many social evils because of the menace of liquor consumption. The Dorbar Shnong also prohibited carrying of alcoholic drinks into the village from outside and asked volunteers to keep a close vigil in this regard, a villager said. Women of the village have lent their support to the campaign by volunteering to check any attempt to sell or produce alcohol in the village, which has about 150 households with the majority of the villagers being farmers. Dorbar Shnong, in collaboration with various NGOs, has organized a campaign against alcoholic drinks in the village. (Shri.Prashant Mahamuni, Seva Bharati (an NGO), in an email on March 8, 2009).

FIVE

Shri Navinbhai M. Shah of Narayanpura, Ahmedabad (Gujarat, Bharat), carried a packet containing 50 tolas (580 grams) of gold ornaments to the locker section of the Ahmedabad Mercantile Cooperatve Bank. He took out all the contents of the locker and checked them. He placed all of them back into the locker, but in a hurry, left the packet that he had brought for keeping in the locker on the table there, locked his locker and went home. An hour later Smt Namrata Behn Patel of Asarwa came to the bank to operate her locker. She was taken aback on seeing a packet filled with jewellery lying on the table. After finishing her work, she contacted the locker manager Shri Dilipbhai Patel and handed over the packet. He at once called all the customers who came that day to the locker section and after inquiries, handed over the packet to Navinbhai in the presnce of Namrata Behn. On getting back his jewel packet worth Rs 7.5 lakhs, Navibhai heartily thanked the manager and Namrata Behn. (From a March 20, 2009 report by Shri.Prakash / Shri.Vinod of HINDUSTHAN SAMACHAR, New Delhi, the multi-lingual, co-operative news agency - www.hindusthansamachar.com).

OOOOOOOOOOOO

Keep Walking.....

Quite interesting!
Keep Walking.....

Jus to check this out......
The Organs of your body have their sensory touches at the bottom of your foot, if you massage these points you will find relief from aches and pains as you can see the heart is on the left foot.
Quite interesting!
Keep Walking.....

Jus to check this out......
The Organs of your body have their sensory touches at the bottom of your foot, if you massage these points you will find relief from aches and pains as you can see the heart is on the left foot.

Typically they are shown as points and arrows to show which organ it connects to.

It is indeed correct since the nerves connected to these organs terminate here.

This is covered in great details in Acupressure studies or textbooks.

God created our body so well that he thought of ! even this. He made us walk so that we will always be pressing these pressure points and thus keeping these organs activated at all times.

So, keep walking...

Nothing is impossible in life....

Nothing is impossible in life....

21 yrs back in his grandma's place...

From one of the poorest family's chair to the most powerful chair in the world. ....!!!

Azad's brother in BJP justifies Babri Masjid demolition

http://www.twocircles.net/2009apr12/azads_brother_bjp_justifies_babri_masjid_demolition.html Azad's brother in BJP justifies Babri Masjid demolition Jammu : Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad's younger brother Ghulam Ali Azad, who recently joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Sunday justified the 1992 demolition of the Babri Masjid, saying the mosque in Ayodhya never existed. Ali Azad lambasted the Congress for accusing BJP senior leader L.K. Advani of being involved in the demolition of the 16th century mosque. "There never was a mosque, nor it exists today nor it will ever," Ali Azad told reporters. The mosque was a mosque constructed by first Mughal emperor Babur in Ayodhya in the 16th century. On Dec 6, 1992 it was destroyed by Hindu extremists who believe that Babur destroyed an existing temple at the site, built to commemorate the birthplace of Rama. The demolition triggered widespread communal unrest in the entire country. Babur, Ali Azad said, was an "invader. We cannot glorify him as a leader of Muslims in any sense of the word." The brother of the former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister said Congress leaders were working against one another. He said he had joined the BJP because it was a party of principles and an ideology rooted in keeping the nation together.

Political Rivalsy , to blame each other and when time come for Power, they unite, shamelssly

Mon, Apr 20 10:55 PM

Patna, April 20 (ANI): Anil Kumar Sharma, President of Bihar regional unit of central ruling Congress party,accused chief of regional Rashtriya Janata Dal Lalu Prasad,on Monday,of being involved in 1989 communal riots.At a press conference, Sharma accused Lalu of plotting the 1989 Bhagalpur riots and protecting the main conspirers involved.

Manigachi (Bihar) In controversial remarks, RJD chief Lalu Prasad has said the Congress too was responsible for the demolition of the Babri mosque as it did nothing to prevent it.

"Babri masjid was razed to the ground and Congress too is responsible for it as it did nothing to prevent it," he said addressing an election meeting at Manhgachi in Bihar's Darbhanga district on Friday.

"If anyone continues to talk nonsense, I will reveal more," he said, without elaborating.

Lalu, who had recently been chastised by the Election Commission for his 'crush-under-the-roller' remark against BJP candidate Varun Gandhi, described the saffron party as 'Bharat jalao party'.

"The BJP is Bharat jalao party. It wants to see that India is up in flames," he said.

Accusing Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar of calling up district magistrates and commissioners pressurising them to recommend cancellation of voting at polling stations in areas of influence of RJD, Lalu said, "I am least worried; the more they will try to harm me, the more votes I and my allies will get."

A wave is blowing in favour of the alliance of RJD-LJP-SP, he claimed.

Abut love

In real love you want the other person's good.
In romantic love, you want the other person....
(Margaret Anderson.)

............ ......... ..................... ..

He drew a circle to shut me out, heretic rebel, a thing to flout.
But love and I had the wit to win,
We drew a circle that took him in....
(Edwin Markham.)

............ ......... ..................... ..

I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where.
I love you straightforwardly, without complexities or pride;
So I love you because I knew no other way than this,
Where 'I' does not exist, nor 'you'.
So close that your hand on my chest is my hand,
So close that your eyes close as I fall asleep....
(Pablo Neruda.)

............ ......... ..................... ..

We say we love flowers, yet we pluck them.
We say we love trees, yet we cut them down.
And some people still wonder why some are afraid
When they are told they are loved....

............ ......... ..................... ..

Madan Mohan Malaviya

Madan Mohan Malaviya

Madan Mohan Malaviya was trying to build a good university; he had to overcome many difficulties and barriers. He worked with great determination to start the university. There was a funds crisis; but he did not get disheartened. He went from town to town, met many rich people and traders to collect donations.

He went to the Nizam of Hyderabad to request him for funds. The Nizam was furious, 'How dare You come to me for funds and that too for a Hindu University? He roared with anger and took off his footwear and flung it at Malviya.

Malviya picked up the footwear and left silently. He came directly to the market place and began to auction the footwear. As it was the Nizam's footwear, many came forward to buy it. The price went up.

When Nizam heard of this, he became uneasy. He thought it would be an insult if his footwear were to be bought by someone for a pittance. So he sent one of his attendants with the instruction, 'Buy that footwear no matter what the bidding price be!'

Thus, Malviya managed to sell the Nizam's own footwear to him, for a huge amount.

He used that money to build the Banaras Hindu University.

============ ========= ========= =====

Moral of the story

+ facts from history:

It is not what You have,

but it is how You use

what You have

that makes the difference in Your life. Please also remember,

above our shoulders;

we have a tank

and

it is called as think tank.

Use it appropriately;

as & when it is needed.

__._,_.___

Why we should fear the Samajwadi Party's manifesto

Why we should fear the Samajwadi Party's manifesto

T V R Shenoy | April 14, 2009 | 16:08 IST

Hours from now as I write various parts of India shall be celebrating
Vishu, Baisakhi, Rangoli Bihu, Naba Barsha, and so forth. Call it what
you will, it is essentially the same festival under different names,
the day traditionally marked as the first day of the Hindu solar
calendar.
But which year shall we be inaugurating? More to the point, if we look
at the considered opinions of the Samajwadi Party boss we can
justifiably ask not which year but which century we are entering.

Here are some of the gems from Mulayam Singh Yadav as he lifted the
veil off his party's manifesto. 'The use of computers in offices is
creating unemployment problems. Our party feels that if work can be
done by a person using hands there is no need to deploy machines.'

The Samajwadi Party's hatred of machinery is not limited to offices.

'A harvesting season brings employment for the labour class for at
least six months but these harvesters will snatch their earnings.'

Did you hear that, you farmers of Punjab, by next Baisakhi you will be
expected to offer more employment to the unemployed of Uttar Pradesh
and Bihar.

But why, one might ask, are so many people fleeing the haven of
Mulayam Singh Yadav's Uttar Pradesh to reap the harvest in Punjab? Or
to paint houses in Delhi? Or to sell vegetables in Mumbai? Why can't
they find gainful employment in their own state?

Could it be because of the employment policies espoused by the likes
of the Samajwadi Party? 'The salaries provided by private firms should
be in sync with the minimum wages that have been set by the
government.' In other words, the Samajwadi Party is bent upon pulling
down salaries in the private sector as far as possible rather than try
to raise the income of the poor.

I pass with a wince over the Samajwadi Party's apparent antipathy
towards the English language. Desperately back-pedalling in an attempt
at damage control, Samajwadi Party campaigner Sanjay Dutt said the
manifesto merely spoke of the 'need to put an end to expensive English
medium schools.'

I wonder if that description includes the likes of the staunchly
Anglophone academy in Dholpur, Rajasthan -- where Mulayam Singh Yadav
enrolled his only son, Akhilesh Yadav. The heir apparent of the
Samajwadi Party then went on to earn a bachelor's degree from the
University of Mysore before leaving for the University of Sydney, both
of which use English as the chosen medium.

It is easy enough to go through the salient points of the Samajwadi
Party's manifesto, mocking the sillier promises along the way. But at
the end of it all I was not disgusted but depressed.

Think about it for a minute, this is an election manifesto put out by
the fourth largest party in the current Lok Sabha. In the last general
election the Samajwadi Party won 35 of Uttar Pradesh's 80 Lok Sabha
seats, the largest party by far in the state. (The Bahujan Samaj
Party's tally was 19 seats, the BJP won just 10 seats, and everyone
else was in single digits.)

Given the disarray in the ranks and their lacklustre performance in
the Vidhan Sabha polls of 2007, it is safe to assume that neither the
BJP nor the Congress shall do markedly better. But even if the BSP,
now the ruling party in Uttar Pradesh, doubles its tally, that might
still leave Mulayam Singh Yadav with a score of MPs in the next Lok
Sabha -- which could be crucial.

Election manifestos, please remember, are documents explicitly
designed to attract voters. That is what I find so depressing.

Mulayam Singh Yadav, a seasoned political operator and a successful
one, thinks the best way to woo Uttar Pradesh is with promises to curb
the use of English, to restrain use of information technology, to cap
salaries by government fiat, and even to halt the use of mechanisation
in agriculture. If he is correct then India's largest state is going
to be a very large stone around India's collective throat for years to
come.

We have walked down this ruinous path earlier. The Left Front tried to
promote Bengali by removing English from primary schools when it came
to power in West Bengal 30 years ago. The result is a wasted
generation, one that finds chances of employment outside the state
significantly reduced. And of course those poor people were forced to
look outside West Bengal because the Left Front's economic policies
crushed employment generation.

Now here is Mulayam Singh Yadav trying the same tactics on a far
larger scale. It is doubly depressing because it was just recently
that the Mayawati government, in a significant if generally ignored
announcement, said English would be taught in Uttar Pradesh from Class
One on.

It is not just the prospect of all those millions of unemployed --
possibly unemployable -- people from Uttar Pradesh that is so scary.

There is also a national security angle because of the Samajwadi
Party's views on foreign policy. Mulayam Singh Yadav says he will try
to ensure stronger ties with Pakistan and Bangladesh. 'The basic cause
of terrorism lies in regional differences. The forums across the world
which deal with the issue of terrorism work at the behest of America.'

In other words, the threat of Pakistan-based terrorism shall be played
down just as the United States begins to take that threat seriously.

Mulayam Singh Yadav could well be in a position to carry out at least
some of his promises in the next Lok Sabha if neither the BJP nor the
Congress is in a position to lead the government. I am sure the
Communist Party of India-Marxist will be only too happy to join the
Samajwadi Party in an anti-American tirade. Or, for that matter, in
placing salary caps or raising taxes to promote their version of
'social justice'.

Could that happen? Why not? Mulayam Singh Yadav, unlike Lalu Prasad
Yadav and Ram Vilas Paswan, has consistently refused to back the idea
of a second stint for the Manmohan Singh ministry. (The cynic in me
says that both the leaders from Bihar would consider backing even L K
Advani if the BJP weren't allied with Nitish Kumar!) A Third Front
government would be preferred by both Mulayam Singh Yadav and Prakash
Karat.

Where would that take India? A single sentence on the Samajwadi
Party's Web site -- apparently hatred of computers goes only so far!
-- sums up everything behind that wretched manifesto. 'Samajwadi Party
is a party primarily based in Uttar Pradesh, where it bases its
support largely on OBCs (Other Backward Castes) and Muslims,
particularly Mulayam Singh Yadav's own Yadav caste.'

It would be a monstrous tragedy if all of India were left hostage to
small sections of Uttar Pradesh. But it could well happen.

I want to wish all my readers a happy new year to come but the thought
of a CPI-M-Samajwadi Party dominated Union Cabinet freezes any such
thoughts.

Why did Holbrooke visit India on poll eve?

April 14, 2009

B S Raghavan

Two millennia ago, the Arthashastra of Chanakya and Panchatantra of Vishnu [Images] Sharma enjoined extreme caution on a ruler when suddenly emissaries from another country descended upon him flattering him to the skies and ardently pressing him to join in a venture. The authors of both the treatises were aware that in all such cases, it was not what was explicit but what was implicit that mattered, and the art of diplomacy lay in giving to the emissaries the satisfaction of having had their say, while not swerving from the paramount duty of safeguarding the nation's interest.

One hopes that the India's National Security Advisor M K Narayanan, and Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon, with whom the US Special Envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan (fused into a new diplomatic concoction Af-Pak), Richard C Holbrooke, and the Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen [Images], had parleys on April 8, would have borne in mind this age-old wisdom.

Inexplicable forbearance

It is patent, though, to the observers of the pattern of behaviour of the pivotal office-holders, from the Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh [Images] downwards, of the present power structure in New Delhi [Images] that they are for aligning India's policies with those of the US. The entire saga of the nuclear deal, the stand on Iran, the joint defence exercises, Dr Singh's smothering of George W Bush [Images] with the love of the entire Indian people and generally, the deafening silence seemingly signifying consent in respect of the moves of the US which would have, in other times under other dispensations, evoked vocal opposition, bear testimony to the desire of India under the present dispensation to march in step with the US to the maximum extent possible.

The ministers and the mandarins in the government at New Delhi have shown inexplicable forbearance without openly expressing their concern in regard to, for example, the worrisome uncertainty over H1B visas, the pronounced tilt towards protectionism, denial of tax concessions for companies in US engaging foreign employees, placating Pakistan despite its flagrant defiance of UN resolutions for countering terrorism, and rubbing in where India stood in the US calculations by dropping it from the itinerary of the first trip to South Asia by the US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton [Images].

This is not to suspect their motives. They may be entirely honourable in that they have come to the conclusion for reasons they consider justifiable that strategic partnership with the US, overlooking any grating aspects of its policies, is conducive to the best interest of India. If so, the government owes it to the people of the country to clearly spell out the reasons which could, then, form the basis for a meaningful nation-wide debate. In view of the Congress party having been the dominant constituent of the United Progressive Alliance, the occasion of the imminent election to the Lok Sabha affords its spokespersons, especially Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee [Images], an opportunity to take the electorate into confidence as to the background to the soft corner the government has for the US.

Be that as it may, one is unable to make out the circumstances that have compelled Holbrooke and Admiral Mullen to come calling at a time when there is a possibility of a new government being in place in about a month. What was the point in taking all the trouble "to consult and inform India", that is, Narayanan and Menon, to be specific, when there was at least a notional chance of their not being there in four weeks' time?

Strange timing

No such visit was necessary merely to inform India and the world, as Holbrooke did at the media meet, that India was a 'vital' leader in the region, and 'absolutely critical' in playing a constructive and positive role, or tell a lame duck government that "We cannot settle Afghanistan and many other world problems without India's full involvement". These are all platitudes and truisms.

The strange timing of the visit leads inevitably to the question whether there is more in it than meets the eye. Can it be that the Americans wanted to press on the government, regardless of its electoral fate, demands that they felt could not wait and that somehow they could bring the government round to comply with them and leave the fait accompli for the successor government? Can it also be that they were gambling on the possibility of the continuance of the present team under Dr Manmohan Singh after the election and hoping to benefit from the thrust given now in furtherance of their so-called Af-Pak strategy? If so, what parts of that strategy lend themselves to the ground to be prepared in Delhi to achieve the American objectives of eliminating the Al Qaeda [Images] and the Taliban [Images], pressuring Pakistan to rub terrorist groups out of existence from its soil so that they no longer pose a threat to US security and extricating the US from the quagmire of Afghanistan?

In the eyes of the Americans, this will call for prevailing upon India to make a substantial contribution of troops to a long talked about surge into Afghanistan, allaying Pakistan's fears about its flanks being exposed to India's powerful presence in Afghanistan brought about by means of its developmental projects and helping Pakistan focus on a fight to the finish against terrorists breeding and operating on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border which Obama [Images] has described as the world's most dangerous place.

Siege psychosis

All the three components of the Af-Pak strategy will not take off unless India is brought round to the US line of thinking. Bolstering Pakistan at all costs, even if it be by throwing good money after bad, has become an obsession with the US because it has worked itself into believing that that country, as per the ominous prediction of the Atlantic Council, an American think-tank, might face "internal collapse" within six months, leading to rabid jehadi terrorists swarming all over the globe and the Pakistani nuclear button becoming theirs for the pressing.

Nothing will suit the US better than if, somehow or the other, India could be made to demonstrate its solidarity with the US by joining the 'surge' in Afghanistan, make room for other players, the US and other industrial countries, perhaps, in building up Afghanistan to lessen Pakistan's 'siege psychosis' centering on India and turn the fixation of Pakistan away from Kashmir and get it going with the implementation of the Af-Pak strategy on its Western borders.

For all the denials and protestations, there is every possibility that this was the mission of Holbrooke and Admiral Mullen during their recent recent visit to India. Right or wrong, there is a buzz that Holbrooke is inherently sympathetic to Pakistan's susceptibilities. Pakistan, as per the columnist of Islamonline.net, has been 'delighted' by Holbrooke's appointment as Special Envoy and its Foreign Office spokesperson is on record hailing it as the harbinger of peace and stability in the region. Holbrooke is also known as 'the bulldozer' for his hard-hitting way of conducting business and for not taking no for an answer.

In the interests of public accountability and transparency, as also to avoid any future controversy, Narayanan and Menon should, with the permission of the government, come out with what actually transpired during their elaborately set-up discussions on the eve of election with Holbrooke and Admiral Mullen.

Truth about Rahul Gandhi's M Phil

Revelation of Swiss bank accounts

Revelation of Swiss bank accounts

This is so shocking.... If black-money- deposits was an Olympics event.... India would have won a gold medal hands down. The second best Russia has 4 times lesser deposit. U.S. is not even there in the counting in top five!
India has more money in Swiss banks than all the other countries combined!
Recently, due to international pressure, the Swiss government agreed to disclose the names of the account holders only if the respective governments formally asked for it. Indian government is not asking for the details..... ..any marks for guessing why?
We need to start a movement to pressurize the government to do so! This is perhaps the only way, and a golden opportunity, to expose the high and mighty and weed out corruption!
Please read on.......and forward to all the honest Indians to.....like somebody is forwarding to you.......and build a ground-swell of support for action!
Is India poor, who says? Ask the Swiss banks. With personal account deposit bank of $1,500 billion in foreign reserve which have been misappropriated, an amount 13 times larger than the country's foreign debt, one needs to rethink if India is a poor country?
DISHONEST INDUSTRIALISTS, scandalous politicians and corrupt IAS, IRS, IPS officers have deposited in foreign banks in their illegal personal accounts a sum of about $1500 billion, which have been misappropriated by them.
1. This amount is about 13 times larger than the country's foreign debt.
2. With this amount 45 crore poor people can get Rs 1,00,000 each. This huge amount has been appropriated from the people of India by exploiting and betraying them... Once this huge amount of black money and property comes back to India , the entire foreign debt can be repaid in 24 hours. After paying the entire foreign debt, we will have surplus amount, almost 12 times larger than the foreign debt.
3. If this surplus amount is invested in earning interest, the amount of interest will be more than the annual budget of the Central government.. .
4. So even if all the taxes are abolished, then also the Central government will be able to maintain the country very comfortably.
Some 80,000 people travel to Switzerland every year, of which 25,000 travel very frequently. 'Obviously, these people won't be tourists.. They must be travelling there for some other reason,' believes an official involved in tracking illegal money. And, clearly, he isn't referring to the commerce ministry bureaucrats who've been flitting in and out of Geneva ever since the World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations went into a tailspin!
Just read the following details and note how these dishonest industrialists, scandalous politicians, corrupt officers, cricketers, film actors, illegal sex trade and protected wildlife operators, to name just a few, sucked this country's wealth and prosperity. This may be the picture of deposits in Swiss banks only. What about other international banks?
Black money in Swiss banks -- Swiss Banking Association report, 2006 details bank deposits in the territory of Switzerland by nationals of following countries:
TOP FIVE
1. INDIA | $1,456 BILLION |

2. RUSSIA | $470 BILLION |

3. U.K. | $390 BILLION |

4. UKRAINE | $100 BILLION |

5. CHINA | $96 BILLION | (No wonder China beats us Economically - Their Politicians work for their country - our politicians work for themselves)
Now do the maths - India with $1,456 billion or $1.4 trillion has more money in Swiss banks than rest of the world combined. Public loot since 1947:
Can we bring back our money? It is one of the biggest loots witnessed by mankind -- the loot of the Aam Aadmi (common man) since 1947, by his brethren occupying public office. It has been orchestrated by politicians, bureaucrats and some businessmen.
The list is almost all-encompassing. No wonder, everyone in India loots with impunity and without any fear... What is even more depressing in that this ill-gotten wealth of ours has been stashed away abroad into secret bank accounts located in some of the world's best known tax havens? And to that extent the Indian economy has been stripped of its wealth. Ordinary Indians may not be exactly aware of how such secret accounts operate and what are the rules and regulations that go on to govern such tax havens.
However, one may well be aware of 'Swiss bank accounts,' the shorthand for murky dealings, secrecy and of course pilferage from developing countries into rich developed ones.
In fact, some finance experts and economists believe tax havens to be a conspiracy of the western world against the poor countries. By allowing the proliferation of tax havens in the twentieth century, the western world explicitly encourages the movement of scarce capital from the developing countries to the rich. In March 2005, the Tax Justice Network (TJN) published a research finding demonstrating that $11.5 trillion of personal wealth was held offshore by rich individuals across the globe.
The findings estimated that a large proportion of this wealth was managed from some 70 tax havens. Further, augmenting these studies of TJN, Raymond Baker -- in his widely celebrated book titled 'Capitalism's Achilles Heel:
Dirty Money and How to Renew the Free Market System' -- estimates that at least $5 trillion have been shifted out of poorer countries to the West since the mid-1970.
It is further estimated by experts that one per cent of the world's population holds more than 57 per cent of total global wealth, routing it invariably through these tax havens.. How much of this is from India is anybody's guess.
What is to be noted here is that most of the wealth of Indians parked in these tax havens is illegitimate money acquired through corrupt means.. Naturally, the secrecy associated with the bank accounts in such places is central to the issue, not their low tax rates as the term 'tax havens' suggests. Remember Bofors and how India could not trace the ultimate beneficiary of those transactions because of the secrecy associated with these bank accounts?
IS THERE ANYONE WHO CAN SAVE INDIA..? PASS IT ON IF YOU WISH INDIA GOOD.

Best Regards,
Yogeesh S. Rao