Mustered Musings

Why Your Boss Is Overpaid ?

2006-07-18T17:36:00.000+01:00

2006-01-06T17:02:00.000+01:00

जो मेहनत करी, तेरा पेशा रहेगा,

न रेशम सही, तेरा रेशा रहेगा,

अभी कर ले पूरे, सभी काम अपने,

तू क्या सोचता है, हमेशा रहेगा !

‍‌‍ = अशोक चक्रधर

Another job lost due to blogging

2006-01-06T13:14:00.000+01:00

This time it was turn of a scottish bookseller in UK, Joe Gordon to loose his job due to what he wrote about his boss on his blog ! He worked with the bookshop Waterstone's at Edinbugh for 11 years before his boss found out about his writing at his blog.

It is believed to be the first time in Britain a blogger has been dismissed for what they published on the web.

Gordon occasionally used his online diary to vent steam about his working life. Waterstone's says Joe brought firm into disrepute !

Gordon still writes a blog, and he was snapped up to work at a rival book company who liked his writing.

"Until now, people have thought freedom of speech was a legal or government thing. Now we're waking up to the fact that a bigger threat to people may come from companies, so you have to think, will my boss read what I do?" Gordon said.

Googled !

2005-12-27T13:29:00.000+01:00

New York based, Canadian passport holder Iranian blogger Hossein Derakshan (aka Hoder) had his quota of surprises when he decided to visit Toronto for a day. On his journey back to NYC, like anyone else on the bus he was stopped at the border by US Customs and Border Security people at the Buffalo border. To his surprise, when the officials realized that he was going to the States to speak at a blog-related conference (ConvergeSouth) they googled his name and found his blog.

It did not take them long in locating some of those things that are not quite appropriate to be on your blog when you are at the border ! Complete Story ...

Result is that he can not enter US for another six months, atleast.

Damn Interesting

2005-12-26T13:50:00.000+01:00

Damn Interesting...really.

Democracy as Universal Value..by Amartya Sen

2005-12-12T20:10:00.000+01:00

Here's an interesting essay on Democracy by Amartya Sen, winner of the 1998 Nobel Prize in Economics.

From the essay ...

"I have discussed elsewhere the remarkable fact that, in the terrible history of famines in the world, no substantial famine has ever occurred in any independent and democratic country with a relatively free press. We cannot find exceptions to this rule, no matter where we look: the recent famines of Ethiopia, Somalia, or other dictatorial regimes; famines in the Soviet Union in the 1930s; China's 1958-61 famine with the failure of the Great Leap Forward; or earlier still, the famines in Ireland or India under alien rule. China, although it was in many ways doing much better economically than India, still managed (unlike India) to have a famine, indeed the largest recorded famine in world history: Nearly 30 million people died in the famine of 1958-61, while faulty governmental policies remained uncorrected for three full years. The policies went uncriticized because there were no opposition parties in parliament, no free press, and no multiparty elections. Indeed, it is precisely this lack of challenge that allowed the deeply defective policies to continue even though they were killing millions each year. The same can be said about the world's two contemporary famines, occurring right now in North Korea and Sudan."

Another Plane Crash !

2005-12-12T19:31:00.000+01:00

Within a period of seven weeks of the Bellview airline's Boeing 737-200 plane crash, comes this news of another passenger plane cash belonging to Sosoliso Airlines.

Sosoliso Airlines Flight 1145 was a scheduled flight between the Nigerian cities of Abuja and Port Harcourt.

At about 14:08 local time (13:08 UTC) on December 10, 2005, Flight 1145 from Abuja crash-landed on the runway at Port Harcourt International Airport. The plane, a McDonnell Douglas DC-9-32 with 110 people onboard, burst into flames. The plane was 32 years old.

This plane crash has again brought Airlines and air safety related issues into focus.

Among the passengers were seventy five high school students from Loyola Jesuit college near Abuja. They were returning back to their homes for christmas.

The Black Sunday ...

2005-10-24T20:13:00.000+01:00

I was at the Onikan stadium attending the annual sports day function of the Indian Language School where I got the news about the sad and unfortunate demise of the first lady of Nigeria, Mrs Stella Obasanjo, wife of the President of Nigeria. The High Commissioner of India, who was the Chief Guest at the sports meet confirmed the news by formally announcing the news to the capacity packed stadium. I never knew before that complications arising out of a cosmetic surgery can have such fatal implications !

As it was not enough, came the news of Boeing 737 plane crash belonging to Bellview Airlines a few minutes after takeoff from Lagos airport. The plane was carrying about 111 passangers and 8 crew members. There are no survivors.

Incidentally, there has been complete power failure in our locality since Saturday afternoon. I am told there is no power for over 72 hours now in over 50 % of the city. Some coincidence that ! It indeed proved to be a black day.

Immigrating to Canada ?

2005-09-30T15:12:00.000+01:00

While you might have enough reasons for immigrating to Canada, here are some for not doing so !

Nairaland

2005-08-27T15:48:00.000+01:00

I have been a regular visitor to Nairaland. It's another thing that I never bothered to register to the site (well, it's free), as I used to spend more time reading the forum than feeling like contributing to the on going forum discussions. Somewhere in between my schedule kept me away from browsing and I could not visit the forum. When I finally checked the site after a long gap, I was in for a pleasant surprise. The forum not only carried a new look but is showing significant increase in it's registered memberships. Not to be left behind, I immediately got myself registered.

It is interesting to note how a young 23 years old webmaster Oluwaseun Osewa has been keeping the forum alive with limited resources and support from his family.

Looking at the hits Nairland is getting on a daily basis, I wonder if the forum can carry some useful links and local information for prospective expatriates planning to visit Nigeria for the first time. I know that currently outside world have no online resources providing correct and unbiased information about Nigeria but CIA facts book. After all, who wants to see the world through the US eyes only !

Keep up the good work Seun.

Google Talk

2005-08-24T14:04:00.000+01:00

A very light messenger Google Talk supporting voice chat with excellent quality is now available.

It's a must try.

New Google Languages

2005-08-22T15:37:00.000+01:00

Google now is available in 11 additional languages, including Yoruba !

User friendly

2005-08-05T13:34:00.000+01:00

Miraculous, strange indeed ...

2005-07-08T14:08:00.000+01:00

While we are accustomed of seeing cattle moving around freely on Indian road sides, as far as I can remember, I could not recollect any incidence like this happening elsewhere in the world.

In fact, during past one month, I heard about many incidents involving stray cows resulting into death of few people but what happened yesterday at Port Harcourt International Airport is absolutely bizzare !

An Air France aircraft A-330 carrying 196 passengers collided with a herd of cattle on Port Harcourt International airport's runway. Miraculously, the only causaltities involved were of 7 cows. The plane overshot the runway by about 200 metres, but the pilot managed to taxi the plane safely, and on time.

Daily Sun learnt that while the airline’s management counted their losses, there was the "sunny side" of the incident as airport workers who were on duty, had more than enough free meat from the slain cows.

Said an official, "the fast ones made away with as much as one leg and a head each before some villagers joined in the rush for meat."

Incidentally, the airport was closed for maintenance in February 2005 to reconstruct the runway to conform to international safety standards !

Minister of Aviation has already visited the site and promised hell for culprits !

Some Feedbacks ...

Then ... and now !

2005-06-15T16:24:00.000+01:00

Drop to pick up later ...

2005-05-25T18:47:00.000+01:00

Dropload is a place for you to drop your files off and have them picked up by someone else at a later time.

Microsoft End User License Agreement !

2005-05-25T18:43:00.000+01:00

If you really want to read it .... check it out

Man with Moustache

2005-05-17T12:15:00.000+01:00

There he goes again
Singing his dance and dancing his song
Smoooth
jokes and rough rhetoric
Building empty rapport
Making connections
Networking
Always selling
Remembering Glen Garry Glen Ross.

He walks and talks,
Toothy smiles, throwing his arms,
Pointing
at the guy who laughed,
"He knows what I'm talkin' about"
"My wife says
the same thing about me"
"My grandmother bought this"
Wait -
grandmothers...
But he's moved on,
Your needs don't matter,
You've
got to be educated
He's the master
The ying and the yang can't cover him
He's beyond all that.
He.
knows.
what.
you.
want.

Sounds like a broken record pitching used cars.

This man, this
man here,
He still can't sell, they still won't buy.
Because they know
what he doesn't -
You can't trust
A man in a moustache.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Posted by achilles on this site

His Life .. with 20 wives !

2005-05-13T18:33:00.000+01:00

Ask anyone, what marriage means to them, and majority of them would respond with "complete and mutual understanding of each other". Those in favour of a love marriage, probably would say that even friendship must be a necessary element for a successful union.

Traditional Indian arranged marriages relied on the ability of parents, relatives or a middle man (or woman) to locate such potential match and work with both parties to finally get the bride and groom side to agree on the marriage and bless them. This system has been successfully working for the centuries.

With the rise in educational level and financial independence of the youth in India, the arranged marriage to some people, who I feel are still a minority, sounds more like deranged marriage. To them, if the boy and the girl can meet each other on their own and develop the bond by themselves, that union makes lot more sense than one arranged by some other person. So even in the land of its origin the arranged marriage is slowly being replaced by "involved marriage" or "don't worry I will find my own marriage".

Despite the fact that the youth in India has a large number of people to choose from, Indian society does not promote polygamy in any way.

So, it was this article that really left me amused about the state of marriage affairs in Nigeria !

I have more than ten. In fact, when I publicly declared 10 wives and 40 children, my wives protested that they were more than that. In actual fact, they should number up to 20 and my children should be about 50. In fact, they are so many that I have lost count of them. It may shock people that I don’t even know most of my children anymore. Most of them were taken away by their mothers when they were babies. Even during my anniversary, some were fighting one another and we had to reconcile them. For instance, one came all the way from the North. I couldn’t recognise him but when he described his mother, I was able to know that he is my son.

Is it really a case of 20 times married ... 20 times happier !!!

Lost ... Lost ... Lost

2005-05-09T13:06:00.000+01:00

Lost my moustache this morning !
First time in my life, am without moustache on my face ...

Philosophy of Human Rights

2005-04-11T11:35:00.000+01:00

The International Society for the Philosophy of Human Rights has a site at Philohr. It was upon receipt of a mail from Don Kirk that I visited this site, and got to know about this Internet-based, world-wide group of Ph.D’s, students and professionals interested in the inquiry into the universal moral philosophy of ‘Human Rights’.

The mission of the Philohr society is to encourage, collect, and disseminate on the Internet the titles of the rigorous scholarship on the universal moral philosophy of Human Rights.

AMUL : The Taste of India

2005-03-29T13:20:00.000+01:00

Bollywood villian actor Shakti Kapoor watching footage of a TV news channel's sting operation on him - March'05

From : The best of AMUL ads.

Cinema in Nigeria

2005-03-19T15:26:00.000+01:00

Silverbird Galleria

Thanks to a Nigerian Entertainment Business conglomerate, Silverbird Productions of Mr. Ben Murray Bruce, a US-educated Nigerian entrepreneur, who already has his own TV and radio station, for opening a cineplex in Victoria Island, Lagos. Never ever have I heard opening of a cinema hall or a cineplex make so much news ! The launch of the cineplex took almost everyone concerned with cinema in Nigeria by surprise. The cineplex is over 6 months old now. Still there is lot of excitement around. This is due mainly to the fact that the cinema in Nigeria had been considered as going into extinction, over taken by the emergence of the video films in the nineties.

I read it somewhere that from the Victorian period, emphasis on entertainment of a Western nature was a prominent feature of the Lagos social life. Such entertainment included operatic productions known as Christian cantatas and film shows. In order to indigenize the entertainment industry, the local community proposed the erection of the Glover Hall, opened in 1893. This began the development of such spaces in Lagos. Subsequently, other venues were constructed for the showing of films and other forms of entertainment. These have included the Casino in Yaba, Pen in Agege, Metro in Somolu, Super in Surulere, Tarzan in Orile, Plaza in Lagos Island and the Cinma Halls of the monumental National Theatre in Lagos.

Prodominantly, the screenings have almost euqal shares of “cowboy films” of the Western world, the Indian films from Bollywood, the Chinese films of the Kung Fu Era and more recently the Nigerian Nollywood (!) video films. These films were shown in a variety of cinema houses that cut across social strata. While the rich went to the more expensive cinema houses, the poor took solace in the often run-down cinema houses in the suburban areas and the ghettoes.

Though in Nigeria, I never have come across or personally visited any of the cinema halls before my visit to Silverbird Cineplex, I am told over seventy five percent of the cinema halls are currently housing churches and other places of worship and in some cases have been converted into lock up shops. There are several reasons that are adduced for this development. One of the being the socio-economic conditions that made it impossible for celluloid films to be made in Nigeria, after the first attempts by such people as Ola Balogun, late Hubert Ogunde and late Ade Love. Secondly is the rather strong campaign by the religious groups associating the socio-economic problems in Nigeria to the hosting of the 2nd World Black and African Festival of Arts and Culture (FESTAC ’77) in 1977 !

While some optimism may be shared about the return of the cinema the question to ask is that will the emergence of the Silverbird Cinemas houses bring about a reintroduction of celluloid films? This is not likely to occur as the culture among film makers has shifted to the making of video films which are marketed essential for home consumption, given the high costs of making celluloid films in a depressed economy. So, the Silverbird Cinemas are likely to continue to screen Western, Indian and Chinese films for a long time to come.

Anyways, I know for sure that the Indian community of Lagos is very happy. At any given time, there always is at least one Bollywood movie being screened at the Silverbird. There has been excellent response to screening of movies like Ab Tumhare Hawale Watan Sathiyon, Swades, Veer Zaara, Aitbaar, Ailaan, and currently running Black. I already have seen Black, and looking forward to release of Bewafa !

Face of Festac

2005-03-18T11:49:00.000+01:00

A few days after I posted an entry about a site Face of Festac developed by some enthusiastic youngsters of a village town Festac on the periphery of Lagos, I noticed some nude pics with obscene remarks posted in the gallery section of the site. I was furious to the extent that I not only removed the post from this blog but also fired an email to the webmaster of the site. To my surprise, I got a prompt reply by him saying that he not only has set up an administrative team to monitor all postings to his site but also removed all such pictures from the gallery section.

I admire highly professional approach by these youngsters and wish them luck.

It indeed is a very well designed site with good intentions, and that too without any sponsorship or monetary help from anyone. Currently they do not have any advertisers to support them. The very fact that in Nigeria, where it indeed is tough for someone to sustain for long without any revenue coming in, their efforts are praiseworthy.

Global report on corruption pays tribute to Satyendra Dubey

2005-03-18T10:45:00.000+01:00

Transparency International has released it's Global Corruption Report 2005 with special foucus on Corruption in construction and post-conflict reconstruction.

The Global Corruption Report 2005 presents detailed case studies of large-scale infrastructure projects that have been plagued by corruption.

In the section on corruption in construction, Dubey’s story appears as Blowing the Whistle on Corruption: One Man’s Fatal Struggle.

Tranparency International's chairman Peter Eigen, in his remarks, mentions:

"The Global Corruption Report 2005 opens with a tribute to one individual, Satyendra Dubey, who was murdered after he courageously spoke out against corruption in the construction of a massive highway project in India."

Corruption in construction also has a direct cost in lives. Sub-standard construction projects, tainted by bribery, injure and kill when they are built in earthquake zones. The corrupt are all too often willing to put their personal gain before the welfare of others, as is no more clearly demonstrated than by TI Integrity Awards 2004 winner Satyendra Dubey, who was killed shortly after communicating his concerns about corrupt practices within the National Highways Authority of India.

Dubey was among the three posthumous recipients of the TI’s Integrity Awards late last year. He was also honoured posthumously in March 2004 as the Whistleblower of the Year by the Index on Censorship.

Dubey was shot dead after his complaint of corruption reached the Government which ignored his request for confidentiality.

In his letters to the Prime Minister's Office, Dubey had alleged that the 80-km stretch from Koderma in Bihar, a stretch of the Golden Quadrilateral he was supervising, was subject to "poor implementation" and largescale "loot of public money."

Also, current ‘Monuments of corruption’ from the Global Corruption Report 2005:

The Lesotho Highlands Water Project, in which US$2 million were allegedly paid in bribes by Acres International and 11 other international dam-building companies.
The Cologne incinerator project in Germany, where US $13 million was allegedly paid in bribes during the construction of a US$ 500 million waste incineration plant.
The Yacyretá hydropower project on the border of Argentina and Paraguay, built with World Bank support, is flooding the Ibera Marshes. Due to cost overruns, the power generated by Yacyretá is not economic and needs to be subsidised by the government. According to the head of Paraguay’s General Accounting Office, US$1.87 billion in expenditures for the project ‘lack the legal and administrative support documentation to justify the expenditures’.
The reservoir of the Bakun dam in Sarawak, Malaysia, which will submerge 700 km2 of tropical rain forest. The mandate to develop the project went to a timber contractor and friend of Sarawak’s governor. The provincial government of Sarawak is still looking for customers to consume the power to be generated by the project.
The Bataan nuclear power plant in the Philippines, built at a cost of more than US $2 billion. The contractor, Westinghouse, admitted paying US $17 million in commissions to a friend of former president Marcos. The reactor sits on an active fault line, creating a major risk of nuclear contamination if the power plant ever becomes operational.
The Bujagali dam in Uganda, which is currently being investigated for corruption by the World Bank and four different governments after a British subsidiary of the Norwegian construction company, Veidekke, admitted paying a bribe to a senior Ugandan civil servant. The cumulative environmental impacts of Bujagali and other dams on the Nile have never been assessed.

Signs of the times ...

2005-03-02T12:06:00.000+01:00

I received this link from a friend on email. 9/11 still haunts ...

Am I agnostic ?

2005-02-04T18:58:00.000+01:00

Are we religious because we are strong enough from within ourselves and strongly believe in existence of that Super Natural Power, or because we are so weak internally to have faith in something super natural which can always rescue us from all evil, calamities and our wrong doings ? Isn't disbelieving in God the same thing as believing that he doesn't exist?

They say that being an atheist is like being a free thinker ! Of course, some people are atheists without having any particular logical argument to back up their atheism. For some, it is simply the most comfortable, common sense position to take.

I am no atheist, but time and again feel like questioning the very basis of all religions. I am believer probably due to my upbringing in such environment where religious activities were part and parcel of our daily lives, or maybe due to some inner weakness which forces me to seek strength from some dependable super natural power to always help in my times of trouble !

It was while browsing through one of my favorite sites Arts & Letters Daily that I came across this article ...

If God is God, he’s not good. If God is good, he’s not God. You can’t have it both ways, especially not after the Indian Ocean catastrophe... more» ... more» ... more»
From one of the links above,

Certainly the giant waves generated by the quake made no attempt to differentiate between the religions of those whom it made its victims. Hindus were swept away in India, Muslims were carried off in Indonesia, Buddhists in Thailand. Visiting Christians and Jews received no special treatment either. This poses no problem for the scientific belief system. Here, it says, was a mindless natural event, which destroyed Muslim and Hindu alike.

Are natural disasters merely random events caused by the uncaring and blind forces of nature ?

Scientists have perfect scientific and logical explanation for Tsunami strike, and non-atheist or believers don't. At least I 'm not aware of anyone who could justify this act as God's creation or if it is then to justify the reason He must be having behind this act !

I am confused. It seems my being an atheist or non-atheist depends upon situations I am in ! Conflicting opinions coherently existing, one being attributed to head, and the other to the heart ! Is it that head is an atheist and the heart is a believer. Even if my head offers some solutions, my heart refuses to follow, and vice-versa. Is it rational thinking ? Is it scientific ? Is everything scientific rational and non-scientific irrational? Do we have to be critical of science because it conflicts with our religious beliefs?

For me, religion is a way of life, my way of life. I take things as they come. I am atheist till the time I don't need His help ! And can't think of a time when I didn't need His help ! I am sure, and strongly believe that all other times, He is there to take care of me and my problems ! He is my Strength.

For those of you who still feel confused, here's an interesting mathematical proof of God's existence "from God's inexistence follows its existence".

I only hope, rather pray to God that you won't take this proof seriously.

Loose Jaw RJ's got away .. again !

2005-01-12T09:55:00.000+01:00

The radio jokeys' involved in making an abusive and threatening call to a call centre employee in India, have been suspended for a day (!) .

Offshore Outsourcing to India ... a sickening repurcussion

2005-01-11T13:27:00.000+01:00

The news about two loose-jaw radio jockeys' in US threatening an Indian BPO worker on a live programme left me completely shocked ! It's not easy to believe that some people find this outrageous act to be funny ! I guess, the air station who hired these two jokers should seriously think of outsourcing their jobs to India to bring in some sanity, and quality to it's programmes !

The debate over the impact of global outsourcing continues to rage. Lots of people have been expressing their opposite point of views whether short-term job losses brought on by outsourcing are mitigated in the long run by gains to American workers from free trade and consumption growth in low-wage countries !

Columbia professor Jagdish Bhagwati and colleagues acknowledge some temporary dislocation in low-skill jobs because of outsourcing but assert that the practice offers substantial gains to the U.S. economy through cheaper imports and stronger markets for exports.

As per some, corporate earnings and investors are benefiting. American consumers are also benefiting from cheaper prices because of global outsourcing.

But American workers are dislocated -- perhaps permanently in the manufacturing sector and significantly among professional and white-collar employees whose jobs won't return unless the country invests substantially in their retraining and education.

While arguments and counter arguements have been put forward to justify the stand for and against outsourcing; many people have so far shown little disagreement on at least one point, that Education and reeducation is an investment America can't afford to outsource. But then here comes the news about outsourcing of Maths tuition to teachers in Kerala by US parents !

Happy New Year ...

2005-01-08T14:58:00.000+01:00

We already are one week into the new year with rising hopes for peace everywhere, and africa in particular. With the end of 2004, is peace breaking out across Africa? It is too early to be sure but the year has begun on a hopeful note.

New year has brought new promise to troubled Africa . While everyone prays and hopes that the Sudan deal boosts hope of peace and brings in the good news in Africa.

In 2004, the world has been through turmoil due to one or the other human made or natural calamity. With fatality figures due to south east asian tsunami estimated to have crossed 180,000 and relief work still in progress, here comes fresh warning of tsunami charity scams by law enforcement agencies.

The speculations are already on about next megatsunami occuring in atlantic in unspecified future, the Nigerian Red Cross Society has urged Nigerians to be prepared for the possibility of a Tsunami-type calamity which took Asia, among other nations, by surprise last month occuring here.

Tsunami havoc continues ...

2004-12-30T13:02:00.000+01:00

Pic courtsey International Coordination Group for the Tsunami Warning System in the Pacific

While Dr. George P.C.'s site provides comprehensive details of the earthquake and Tsunami of 26th December 2004 which struck almost ten countries in Southeast Asia, here is news about another earthquake which hit Northern Sumatra, Indonesia today at 04:27:38 UTC with magnitude of 5.3.

Surprisingly, Tsunami monitoring facilities at hawaii had issued only a Tsunami Bulletin on 27th December 2004 about the Tsunami which struck the Southeast Asia; as per the bulletin, there actually were no Tsunami warnings or watch in effect !

As per the head of the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, U.S. researchers who detected a massive earthquake off Asia's coast on Saturday tried frantically to warn that the deadly wall of water was coming. But there was no official alert system in the region because such catastrophes only happen there about once every 700 years.

He added "We tried to do what we could, we don't have contacts in our address book for anybody in that part of the world." Within moments of detecting the 9-magnitude quake, he and his staff were on the phone to Australia, then to U.S. Naval officials, various U.S. embassies and finally the U.S. State Department.

They were unable to reach the thousands in the countries most severely affected--including India, Thailand, Indonesia and Sri Lanka--because none had a tsunami warning mechanism or tidal gauges to alert people, he said.

"Most of those people could have been saved if they had had a tsunami warning system in place or tide gauges," he said. "And I think this will be a lesson to them," he said, referring to the governments of the devastated countries.

Tsunami warning systems and tide gauges exist around the Pacific Ocean, for the Pacific Rim as well as South America. The United States has such warning centers in Hawaii and Alaska operated by the U.S. Geological Survey and NOAA. But none of these monitors the Indian Ocean region.

Now that Red Cross has estimated the causalty figures to have already crossed 100,000, Indian Govt has decided to go ahead with set up of a Tsunami warning system.

While Indian High Commission, Lagos, Nigeria is also accepting donations for Tsunami Relief Fund, please do lend a supporting hand by spreading the message around about sites like Tsunami Relief Fund - Lend a Helping Hand for collection of donations and the relief materials.

Spreading the word of Tsunami relief

2004-12-29T11:56:00.000+01:00

Pic courtsey International Coordination Group for the Tsunami Warning System in the Pacific

While the casualty figures from tsunami strike in Indian Ocean are constantly rising, many organisations and individuals including those from blogger community have come forward in generating resources for collection of relief material, donations, aid and volunteer efforts.

Some of them can be reached at the South East Asian Earthquake and Tsunami, Tsunami Victims (site built by dubai based mohankrishnan) or at rupya. More information is available at kiruba's blog as well.

There are many more sites like ILP where donations can be made.

The scientific background on Indian Ocean Tsunami and other resources on Tsunami are available at wikipedia,NOAA, ITSU, and at National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program.

Baazee.com case : Making sense of nonsense

2004-12-20T18:00:00.000+01:00

Till recently considered the safest country to do e-business, India is now in news for all wrong reasons. Arrest of baazee.com CEO Avnish Bajaj has again brought the myopic understanding of law by the law enforcing agencies in India.
The way Bajaj was arrested displayed the draconian approach of law enforcement agencies when the company had offered full cooperation in investigating as to how the MMS clip featuring two school students came up for sale at the portal.I feel extremely dismayed at the arrest of Avnish Bajaj.
Going by the logic put forward by Delhi Police, the CEO of the Telecom service provider whose MMS service was being used by the boy in question should also be arrested ! Arresting a CEO for an offence he has no connection with is highly questionable.
Besides, it is a well-established legal principle that unless a suspect is required for custodial interrogation or is likely to flee or tamper with evidence, bail should not be denied.

Changed Times ...

2004-12-14T15:58:00.000+01:00

On the keyboard of life, always keep one finger on the Escape key. - Anonymous

This is precisely what many people in Kenya have come to realise. The very people who criticised and opposed Prof. Wangari Muta Maathai and her Green Belt movement are now repenting and apologising. The reason for their change of heart is nothing but the international recognistion accorded to her by international community subsequent to her getting Nobel Peace Prize 2004.

Wangari Maathai

Born : April 1, 1940
Country : Kenya
Nobel Peace Prize, 2004

Fields: ecology, sustainable development, self help, tree planting, environment, member of Parliament, Deputy Minister in the Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources and Wildlife

Firsts: first woman in central or eastern Africa to hold a Ph.D., first woman head of a university department in Kenya, first African woman to win the Nobel Prize in Peace.

Also known as: Wangari Muta Maathai

Prof. Wangari Maathai founded the Green Belt movement in Kenya in 1977, which has planted more than 10 million trees to prevent soil erosion and provide firewood for cooking fires. The program has been carried out primarily by women in the villages of Kenya, who through protecting their environment and through the paid employment for planting the trees are able to better care for their children and their children's future.

Wangari Maathai's husband divorced her in the 1980s, complaining that she was "too educated, too strong, too successful, too stubborn and too hard to control." (quote from Encyclopedia of World Biography, 1999, Gale Group.)

She is internationally recognized for her persistent struggle for democracy, human rights and environmental conservation. She has addressed the UN on several occasions and spoke on behalf of women at special sessions of the General Assembly for the five-year review of the earth summit.

She and The Green Belt Movement have received numerous awards, most notably The Nobel Peace Prize 2004 "for her contribution to sustainable development, democracy and peace".

Politics of Double Standards ...

2004-12-07T11:53:00.000+01:00

It was subsequent to comments on my blog by Ingrid, that I got interested in going ons in Sudan, particularly through his sudan blog Sudan : The Passion of The Present.
Oil, ethnicity and ideology seems to have complicated the conflict in Sudan. Africa’s largest country faces conflict on many fronts — mainly in the south where rebels have been fighting the government since 1983 when Khartoum tried to impose Islamic law on the entire country. But violence has also erupted in the western Darfur region, triggering what the UN calls the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
I am not sure about how to express my feelings on going ons at Sudan. Not because I felt dejected, angry and helpless but just could not see the rationality behind action of international organisations like the U.N., African Union and the nations which really can influence the situation at the Darfur.
No action seems to be taking place in absence of the so called consensus amongst the nations and their unions. This time it seems the brothern african nations are playing the spoilt sport, and the reason for doing so is not because they are not aware of the genocide going on in Sudan but because they want to counter the double standards of the EU, and to signal a backlash against the U.S. abuse of the world body and international law !!
While US decided not to heed to any of the UN resolutions which were against its own interests in Afghanistan and Iraq, this time it finds it helpless (!) to do anything in Sudan since the United Nations General Assembly committee has rejected a resolution that would have condemned human rights violations in Sudan. The action drew a sharp rebuke from the United States and the European Union, and a spirited defense from African nations.
The General Assembly's committee on social, cultural and humanitarian affairs voted Wednesday to take no action on a measure that voiced grave concern at human rights conditions in Sudan.
Ninety one of the 191 U.N. member countries voted for the "no action" motion. The United States and European Union countries, which sponsored the resolution, were among 74 nations that tried in vain to save it.
Ambassador Scott called the refusal to condemn atrocities in Sudan "an indefensible parochially motivated action". He said "three consecutive failures of member states of the United Nations to present a unified front against well-documented atrocities would represent nothing less than the complete breakdown of the U.N.'s deliberative bodies related to human rights. If these bodies cannot speak with one voice on an issue as clear as Darfur, what can they do?"
Netherland's Ambassador Dirk Jan Van den Berg, representing the European Union, noted that the Security Council had passed several tough resolutions on Sudan in recent months, going so far as to threaten sanctions against Khartoum unless it took action to stop atrocities in Darfur. He said the General Assembly must follow suit or risk becoming irrelevant.
"How can we explain that the Security Council speaks out on the human rights situation in Sudan while the General Assembly remains silent," he said. "The European Union strongly urges delegations to vote against this motion to adjourn the debate, for reasons of principle, and to prevent the General Assembly from fading away into irrelevance."
But African countries, backed by many Islamic nations, stood firmly with Sudan in voting to kill the resolution.
South Africa, representing the African group at the world body, said it opposed all resolutions condemning a specific country.
Pitso Montwedi, director of human rights in South Africa's foreign ministry, denied that the "no action" motion constituted a defense of Sudan's rights record. He said condemning the Khartoum government would have undermined African efforts to end the country's long-running civil war.
"I should emphasize at the beginning that the African group had chosen to use this rule not as a denial of violations of human rights in Africa but only for the purposes of countering the double standards of the European Union," he said. (alas!)
The General Assembly also adopted a "no action" motion on a similar resolution critical of Zimbabwe.
Only yesterday, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said close to 2.3 million people were in desperate need of aid, more than a third of an estimated population of six million in Darfur. “In Darfur, chaos is looming as order is collapsing,” Annan warned.
All said and done, time and again the international happenings and the UN actions leaves one to wonder ... Is the United Nations going down the same ill-fated road as its predecessor, the League of Nations. The signs are not good.
Meanwhile, the African Union (AU) will launch a fourth round of peace talks between the Sudanese government and rebels in the country's Darfur region, in the Nigerian capital Abuja on December 10.
The people of Sudan are not only victims of atrocities being committed by their own government but are also victims of the double standards of the international politics.

The Flying President ...

2004-12-06T10:33:00.000+01:00

One area where President Olusegun Obasanjo has consistently received condemnations is his frequent foreign trips. After his re-election, President Olusegun Obasanjo seems to have again resumed his much-criticized foreign trips at the expense of the grave socio-economic crises besetting the nation. His frequent overseas visits paints a very sad picture of a leader who pays more attention to foreign issues at the cost of local ones. Last month, when a nation wide strike call was given by the National Labour Congress and the already crippling economy was threatened, instead of resolving the issues involved, he preferred to visit India and China ‘for increased trade and logistical support for African Union’s troops in the Darfur region’.

The day president travelled to India, the Nigeria Labour Congress and the civil society had held a rally to mobilize workers and Nigerians for the November 16 strike which they threatened would be ‘total’. It was disturbing that the President found it more convenient to mediate in the crisis in Darfur when his own house was on fire. Moreso because President Obasanjo’s chairmanship of the African Union is because of his position as the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and not vice versa, the interest and welfare of Nigerians is expected to be his primary responsibilities. His schedule and duties as the African Union Chairman should therefore is expected to be carried out in a way that will not conflict with his domestic responsibilities. Foreign concerns always seems to have diverted the President’s attention from the onerous task of national rejuvenation which Nigerians voted him to perform.

As per the local news reports, even in the face of a crawling economy, the sum of Naira 1.56 billion was proposed for foreign trips by President Obasanjo and Vice President Abubakar Atiku in the 2005 budget, apart from the N4.6 billion proposed as ‘trial payment for the purchase of Boeing Business Jet for the President.

Everyone expects that the lawmakers should help the President to stay more at home by diverting these embarrassing travel expenses to areas that will impact meaningfully on the people’s living standard .

The President recently denied that 70 percent of Nigerians languish in abject poverty, it is difficult to fault UNICEF’s recent statement that child mortality rate has worsened from 168 deaths per 1000 births in 1999 to 217 death per 1000 in 2003. The administration seems to be busy engaged in self-glorification and delusion over reforms that have not translated into good roads, education, potable water, employment and other social indices.

It is also sad that most public institutions including NEPA, NNPC, NITEL and NRC, still reek in corruption and are waiting to be given the much-promised dose of reform. For producing an experienced African statesman, Nigeria deserves to enjoy more of the acclaimed services which President Obasanjo dispenses freely abroad. He has nothing to lose by staying here to attend to the nation’s burning issues. There is a competent professional as Minister of Foreign Affairs, paid in dollars to manage the country’s external image.

To restore Nigeria’s image abroad, the president already have had the globetrotting binge of total over 380 days while news about the non-payment of utility bills in Nigeria's foreign consulates, non-payment of salaries to diplomats keeps pouring in.

Ofcourse there are others, who see the President's shuttle diplomacy as a vital instrument of forging bilateral and multilateral collaborations for sustainable development and peaceful coexistence and that it took the shuttle diplomacy of a leader of Obasanjo's stature to reassure the international community of the seriousness of what was initially deemed as Nigeria's precarious try at democracy !

The Day ...

2004-12-02T18:14:00.000+01:00

Time : 3.15 am
State : Sllleeeeepping
Action : Phone Call from Rana
News :Charvi's Yellow Fever Vaccination Card MISSING !!!
State : Confused...Shock..Confused ... means..she cann't board the plane today !
Action : Call to Sunil
State : Still confused
Result : Sunil also Confused
Action : Call Back Rana
Dialled - First Attempt
Call to a wrong Number
Conversation : Hello, Kaun, Bhabhi..Hellow..Bhabhiiiii
Haan Bhai..Bol rahee hoon, oye, kaun bol rahaa hai ?
Bhabhi, Main Hoon, Jittuuu
Kauuun ?
Hello Bhabhi, Main Jitu
oye kaun Jittu ? hain? uff, number check karo..wrong number ...
Whispered : Phittey Munh
State : More Confused
Action : Calls to Sunil, Anil, Rana..in same order
Result : Directions to Sunil, Instructions to Charvi
Action Plan I: Get a duplicate vaccination card
Action Plan II: Try to get her through without the yellow card
Action Plan III: Get booking postponed, and get the vaccination done :(
State : Not Sure
Action : Call to Sunil
Result : Sunil talked with someone senior at the ATC, given hope that
she will be able to board the flight on time
State : Happy
Action : Sleeeeppping again
Time : 10.00 am local
State : Ready for office
Action : Call to Sunil
Result : All on way to the Airport, vaccination done again, yellow card issued. Flight delayed by one hour, No more issues
Action : Call from Pinkoo
News : Charvi is through immigration
State : Relieved

मेरी पसंद ...

2004-12-02T17:17:00.000+01:00

गीत साहिर लुधियानवी
गायक मोहम्मद रफी
संगीत जयदेव
फिल्म हम दोनो

कभी खुद पे, कभी हालात पे रोना आया
बात निकली तो, हर एक बात पे रोना आया |

हम तो समझे थे के हम भूल गए हैं उनको
क्या हुआ आज ये किस बात पे रोना आया |

किस लिए जीते हैं हम, किस के लिए जीते हैं
बारहा ऐसे सवालात पे रोना आया |

कौन रोता है किसी और की खातिर ऐ दोस्त
सब को अपनी ही किसी बात पे रोना आया |

Fela Kuti: The Life & Times of Controversial Afrobeat superstar

2004-12-01T17:30:00.000+01:00

"77 albums, 27 wives, over two hundred court appearances. Harassed, beaten, tortured, jailed. Twice-born father of Afro-beat. Spiritualist. Pan-Africanist. Commune king. Composer, saxophonist, keyboardist, vocalist, dancer. Would-be candidate for the Nigerian presidency. There will never be another like him." - Jay Babcock, Mean

Fela Anikulapo Kuti, born in Abeokuta, Nigeria in 1938, was a singer-composer, trumpet, sax and keyboard player, bandleader, and politician. Kuti was one of Africa's most controversial musicians and throughout his life he continued to fight for the rights of the common man (and woman) despite vilification, harassment, and even imprisonment by the government of Nigeria.

Born to Yoruban parents, Kuti was strongly influenced by both parents, his mother being Funmilayo, a leading figure in the nationalist struggle. Practically all of his records are dominated by political events and discussions from the approach of Pan-Africanism.

In 1954, Kuti joined the Cool Cats as a singer in that highlife band (highlife being the rage of the Lagos music scene at the time). During this period Kuti developed his own unusual sound which he described as highlife-jazz. In 1968 Kuti announced the arrival of Afro-beat, within the year was promoting his sound all over the USA on a 10-month tour where he became influenced by American jazz. When he returned to his homeland he opened a nightclub, the Shrine, and changed the name of his band to Africa 70 (and later to Egypt 80). His bands traditionally included the typical huge line-up consisting of many singers and dancers, numerous saxophonists, trumpeteers, drummers, percussionists, and of course, many guitarists blending African rhythms and jazz horn lines with politicized song lyrics. His music was intricate, rather than calling it Afro-beat you might more arguably consider it Afro-jazz. Entire recordings often consisted of just a few songs and this propensity for jamming set up a roadblock for Fela to attain commercial acceptance in the United States. He also abhored performing a song after recording it, and this led to audience disinterest in the U.S. where the people wanted their music to be recognizable hits.

Kuti continued his outspoken attacks on the Nigerian government. When the people returned to power in 1979, Kuti began his own political party - MOP (Movement of the People). The military returned to power in 1983 and within the year Kuti was sentenced to five years in prison on a spurious currency smuggling charge. He was released in 1986 after yet another change of government.

Fela was a man with great influence in the African music world, he is irreplaceable and his presence will be sorely misssed.

His son Femi Kuty is carrying on with the legacy of his father, and is an established musician himself. Here is a message on HIV/AIDS by Femi Kuty to the UN assembly.

Here is the first interview that Fela granted to after being freed from prison in Nigeria on Saturday, June 21 [1986], largely though the efforts of Amnesty International. He appeared the week prior at the concert held to benefit Amnesty.

Fela Anikulapo Kuti died on Saturday, August 2, 1997, at 4pm (local time) in Lagos, Nigeria. It had been rumoured for some time that Fela had a serious illness he was refusing treatment for, many said he was suffering from prostate cancer. But as it turned out, Fela died from complications due to AIDS.

His discography is available here and here, and an articles by one of his fans is here.

Are you aging gracefully..or growing old real badly ?

2004-11-30T16:40:00.000+01:00

Aging gracefully, one would like to, I am sure; however this so often is not the case. Perhaps retirement has been over-rated. The time of life when the world is your oyster, so to speak. Old age does not always mean retirement either; retirement can become a dirty word for those who can not tolerate idleness or have problems learning how to relax! Many things for many people means that now is the time that you should really know yourself and have a good idea what you can do with the rest of your life. Some kind of flexible plan.

Youth appears early and stays for long in the lives of some people, while for others it comes late and fades early. Mental and intellectual capacity do not decline, except in debilitated conditions, until a very advanced age, but physical and sexual capacity wane with time, often before it.

Beauty is only skin deep. Yet, fortunes are made selling anti-aging drugs, creams, Hormone Replacement Therapies, cosmetic surgeries, beauty creams, vitamins, minerals and anti-oxidants. As life-spans are prolonged with the help of medical science, there's an upsurge need for healthcare and services for the elderly. Since you can't defy aging nor are you happy joining the Aged Club, the next best thing is to Age Gracefully.

Here are precautions, when 40 comes knocking.

A Poor Country !

2004-11-26T15:12:00.000+01:00

Nigeria is endowed with natural resources so vast that it would have made it a very beautiful country if only it had governance to handle her natural endowment. In 2000 Nigeria was the 5th largest supplier of crude oil to the USA. The fact is that Nigeria is an oil rich but at the same time one of the worlds poorest countries.

It was only last week that PRESIDENT Olusegun Obasanjo painted a gloomy picture of the nation's perceived wealth, saying that Nigeria is really a poor country.

Within a week's times comes another statement by the President ridiculing the World Bank report on poverty level of Nigeria.

Whatever be the economic state of the nation, the public spending by those in authority can not be justified.

President's chicken's lay golden eggs ...

2004-11-26T14:10:00.000+01:00

Against the backdrop of allegations of diverting public funds to finance his private business ventures, for the first time President Obasanjo has declared his monthly income.
As per reports, the President earns about 30 Million Naira ($ 250,000) per month from his private farm !

A land of unlimited opportunities ...

2004-11-25T17:58:00.000+01:00

Nigeria is a land with unlimited opportunities. Still many people wonder why Nigeria has failed to develop despite its oil wealth.

Nigeria is among the nations that have depended on the IMF and the World Bank for development cash. The harsh economic policies foist on nations by these organizations as conditions for loan, have derailed and destroyed their economic destiny. For instance, the IMF austerity measure imposed on Nigeria in the1980s led to rising inflation and unemployment, which cut the workers’ purchasing power in half. And class conflicts boiled prompting massive ‘capital flight’ and ‘brain drain.’ The Nigeria economy has since been in shambles.

When Chief Olusegun Obasanjo took office of the President in 1999, many thought of him as the savior, but he is today one of the controversial leaders in Nigerian history. The unending fuel price increases, which is also the hallmark of this administration, has caused more crises in the society than during the years of military misrule. This has particularly overburdened the poor, as the middle class has virtually withered. Nigerians are working harder and paying more to feed their families and for transportation. Despite the administration’s claims that its reform programs are making economic miracles, the Nigerian economy remains comatose. The hardship currently in Nigeria gets one so depressing you want to scream!

Ineffective and inefficient utilization of the abundant resources and the inefficient social institutions are seriously hampering growth. And the prospects for economic recovery are bleak because the nation still depends on the policy prescriptions of the IMF.

Is there any wonder why has Nigeria failed to progress? Nigeria has failed to develop economically because it lacks the preconditions for meaningful economic growth and development. For the nation to progress it must first tame corrupt practices and change the mindset of the population. The 2004 Corruption Perceptions Index released recently by Transparency International (TI) rank Nigeria as the third most corrupt country in the world, against its second position in 2003.

In addition, the society should fix its roads, provide reliable electricity and good water supply, and improve its communication systems, and basic health services. And the failure to provide good operating environment, such as political stability and rule of law, are among the obstacles for sustainable economic growth and development. Evidence shows that political instability has caused serious disruption in the economy. It has been pointed out that a mere democratic form of government is not a prerequisite for economic growth, but a lack of it could limit the prospects for growth, if it results in political instability. That is the crux of the matter in Nigeria!

Part of the reasons why Nigeria has failed to develop could be linked to the poor state of its educational institutions. Investment in human capital is a critical area Nigeria has neglected for too long.

The policy prescriptions of the foreign financial institutions would not make up for the lack of transparency in governance, tame corruption, bad leadership, improve the educational system, and or its skewed value system and dilapidated social institutions. In addition, the policies would not resolve the inappropriate fiscal and monetary policies and Nigeria’s long history of relative political instability, which are the stumbling block to sustainable economic growth and development. In fact, these are the more compelling reasons as to why Nigeria has failed to develop, like is the case with any third world country !

Another Fraud involving Indian Firms ...

2004-11-25T17:31:00.000+01:00

While most of the big industries and business houses in Nigeria are owned by Indians, almost at regular intervals we continue to get news about many of such companies being closed without any notice, proprietors either collecting all money and running away to other countries or being deported out of this country for unethical business practices.
These people are not only responsible for making things more and more difficult for the expatriate community but are also contributing to the further degradation of already rusting economy of this country.
Now we have another news about fraud of 3.2 Million Naira by Indian firms in connivance with Nigeria's Minister of Agriculture.
But at the same time, is it also true that Nigerians, and not foreign contractors, are the best image-makers for their own country. If Nigerians do not put a good image on their country, no one else, no matter how competent he may be as a public relations guru, can do it.

मेरा पहला हिंदी पर्यास ...

2004-11-23T16:37:00.000+01:00

शुक्रिया जितेन्दर चौधरी का, जिनकी बदौलत यह कोशिश भी कर ही डाली | गल्तीयों की उतनी चिंता नहीं, जितनी खुशी हिन्दी में लिख पाने की है | उम्मीद है, भविष्य में कई पूर्ण लेख लिख पाऊँगा |

A Classic Coup ...

2004-11-23T13:44:00.000+01:00

K. Asif's all-time classic Mughal-e-Azam has caught the nation's fancy. From Mallika Sherawat, everyone seems to have switched loyalities to Mallika-e-Husn (the goddess of beauty) Madhubala.

2004-11-22T15:42:00.000+01:00

Interesting advt..received on forwarded mail ...

More of Nigeria ...

2004-11-22T13:17:00.000+01:00

There is more of Nigeria, in many more aspects to write about, but today's headlines seems to be highlighting what everyone knows this country to be best known about -- 419 scams (advance fee frauds), financial crimes, its churches and pastors, armed robbers , travel advisories or call for nationwide strike given by NLC against fuel price hike.
Talking of armed robberies, it seems Benin Republic already has surpassed the Nigerian records that it has to seek Nigerian police's help in curbing the robberies manace outside Nigeria's border.
There is much more to write about this wonderful nation but seems its everything negative that gets the media attention !

Electronic Voting System of India

2004-11-20T13:56:00.000+01:00

Indian electronic voting machines have been receiving a positive response ever since they were put to use in 1998. During Indian elections 2004, many delegations from various countries including United States, Australia, Russia, Sri Lanka, South Africa, European Union and Pakistan visited India to get a better understaning of Indian electroal process. The world witnessed the largest democracy conduct its the first-ever all electronic poll.
Now its turn of a Nigerian delegation to visit India to study Electronic voting system of India for possible use during its 2007 presidential elections.

Computer staring may lead to Gluocoma !

2004-11-20T13:15:00.000+01:00

A new study in the British Journal of Ophthalmology says too many hours in front of the computer is putting us at increased risk for glaucoma. As per another study published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, heavy computer users were 74% more likely to develop visual field problems as compared baseline in a group of 10,202 randomly selected workers. Furthermore, heavy computer users were found to be 81% more likely to develop glaucoma."
news items .. here and here.

Cosmetic Neurology

2004-11-19T16:59:00.000+01:00

Cosmetic neurology: the fix for brains that have trouble with algebra or suffer from any phobias ! It’s coming, whether bioethicists like it or not ... link

Nigeria's Guru of Peace

2004-11-18T13:11:00.000+01:00

It is on Lagos - Ibadan expressway that I read 'Sat Guru Maharajji' written on a series of roadside sign boards. I was a little amused to notice a walled compound on lines of any Ashram of an Indian Holyman, in Nigeria. Time passed and I never got a chance to probe more about the Nigerian Sat Guru Maharaj and his sect called One Love Family. It was much later that I came across some new items on this Nigerian holyman.
Despite appearances, Maharaj Ji is not an Indian, but a native of Oyo state who declared himself God after a trip to India. To his followers, "God is no longer in heaven but in the Satguru Maharaj Ji Village, Kilometre 10, Ibadan-Lagos Expressway, Ibadan." His claims are, not surprisingly, widely controversial among Nigeria's Muslims and Christians, many of whom mention him unfavorably in their prayers.
He's also well known in the law enforcement community, which has investigated him repeatedly for drug offenses and murder (although he's always beaten the rap).
Complete story about Nigerian Sat Guru Maharaj ;-) and the clarification from One Love Family member.
Another site with detailed story is available here.

Nigerian prophets saw Kerry win

2004-11-18T11:13:00.000+01:00

The headline story on BBC News, UK Edition that "Nigerian prophets see Kerry win…Prophets are predicting a win for Democrat John Kerry in the United States poll, says a Nigerian tabloid," published Tuesday November 2, 2004, threw some challenges to those that might have some doubts in prophecy. It went on to report that "Spiritualists and church prophets told the Daily Sun newspaper it had been decreed in the spiritual realm that President W. Bush would lose." The most captivating from the story was that "Nigerian spiritualists are best known for making vague predictions at New Year about people's health and wealth." Satguru Maharaji said, "His chances of retaining his White House seat are very slim because of his antecedents."
The outcome of the US election to the astonishment of the rest of the world, Bush won the election. Now it gets more confusing with this type of publicity about prophecy. Let us leave the rest of the story to History.
The complete story is ... here.

Union Suspends Looming Strike

2004-11-16T16:54:00.000+01:00

"We have decided to suspend the strike for now, to give the government a chance,"

"It's not exactly what we want. But we're convinced one important point has been made — the government can't behave as if its word is cast in stone, irrespective of what the people what," congress leader Adams Oshiomhole during press conference announcing the suspension of nation wide strike call given by National Labour Congress and other civil liberties groups.

Unions had threatened to cripple Nigeria's daily oil exports of 2.5 million barrels. Nigeria is the fifth-largest supplier of U.S. oil imports.

A four-day "warning strike" called by the unions in October shut down schools, hospitals, banks and other businesses but did not target oil production or exports

Happy Diwali ...

2004-11-15T13:27:00.000+01:00

It's Diwali time .. and the time for our annual official get together. So this time on Saturday night, the Diwali party was organised at the Lagoon. Since Ananya had just recovered from the viral fever, we decided against him attending the dinner along with Arti since she had to stay back with him. So, I left on time, at about 7.30 pm for the venue, and was questioned by one and all for coming all alone without family. It was at about 9.00 pm when I noticed Arti and Ananya in the party ... thanks to Sanjeev, Geetu and Mrs Gill who called Arti on her mobile, and as per Arti..terrorised her to make her attend the party. They even sent a car to pick Arti and Ananya from home. No need to mention that she was too pleased to receive their calls. So, it indeed was a pleasant surprise for me and do I need to mention that I had a gala time thereafter.

On Diwali day on Friday the 12th, lots of Indian families from all over Lagos come to our residential compound to burst crackers. It is a big compound with ample open space. As usual, the police came at about 11 pm and arrested a few people who were released later in the night after payment of heavy bribes. It is the annual ritual here. Am told, same thing happened at other places also.

From tomorrow we again are having nation wide strike called by the National Labour Congress (NLC) against recent petrol price hike.

Persona non grata !

2004-11-10T18:28:00.000+01:00

An Indian historian Ramchandra Guha was not allowed in by immigration officials at the Vancouver due to reasons well known to them, or may be due to reasons mentioned by Guha ... here!

Nigerian Scam Baiting ...

2004-11-06T14:11:00.000+01:00

An Interesting site on courses on 'Ethical Business Studies' - exclusively for prospective scammers ... can be found here !

Blogware comparison

2004-11-05T18:31:00.000+01:00

An excellent comparison of various weblog software (server installed scripts only) is available here.

Latest Browsing ...

2004-11-02T19:11:00.000+01:00

It was during casual browsing that I landed at Kamat's Potpourri. It indeed is a mind boggling site of rare depth and coverage on literally anything and everything concerning India. I have yet to come across any site which can match Kamat's in terms of coverage, completeness, and depth. A must visit for everyone ...

Still Elusive Ticket !

2004-10-30T14:28:00.000+01:00

No seats available on Milan-Mumbai sector during Dec '04-Jan '05 .. so no journey to India during this year ... Still holding on to the Free Ticket prize from Alitalia ...

Happy Dussehra... with FREE Ticket to India

2004-10-26T15:33:00.001+01:00

Me and Ananya were too sick and down with viral fever to attend the Dussehra Mela organised by the Uttar Bharat Samaj at the Kings' College's ground. It was Sunday afternoon and I was bed ridden after a heavy dose of analgesic when I got the call from Jiten Godha.
I was not amused when he tried to convince me that Arti indeed has won the First Prize in the raffle draw. While I was still trying hard to keep my eyes open, he took pains of adjusting his mobile so that I can hear the annoucements being made at the stage .. could hear the speaker announce something like....'its nice to see the prize go from GlobaCom to Multi-Links ...'.
The mela was being sponsored by the GlobaCom. Well, I still was half convinced when I put the phone off..which rang immidiately...
Congratulations..you have won a free return ticket by AliTalia from Lagos to Mumbai ...
Despite having severe body pain, just could not pretend to be sleeping any more. Now it was time for me to call back Jiten to say thanks..with my eyes wide open this time.
To top it all, the winning ticket was brought by Arti from a collegue at school, just to keep her heart !

2004-10-23T13:52:00.000+01:00

Durga pooja

Festival time

2004-10-23T13:47:00.000+01:00

It seems to be festival time here at Lagos for the Indian community. Be it fasting period of navratras, garba festival , Durga Pooja or Dussehra, almost everyone from indian community of Lagos seems to be busy either organising or participating in various functions to mark the festivities.
While we attended the garba at the Geeta mandir on 16th and 17th Oct, yesterday it was Durga Pooja at the Ilupeju. Today we intend to visit Geeta Ashram, Lekki to attend garba and to see Ravana's effigy be fired down. Tomorrow its going to be Dusshera Mela organised by the Uttar Bharat Samaj at the King's college and then later in the evening another Garba programme at the Park 'n Shop.
Being away from home and moreover, considering local conditions, the effort of so many people in organising such very well attended events, is highly commendable.

Arts & Letters Daily

2004-10-23T13:09:00.000+01:00

It was by chance that I came across http://aldaily.com, a site having excellent collection of worth reading material. The site has been neatly composed with links to some excellent articles on varied interests.

Tragic lesson from the Beslan school

2004-09-07T10:31:00.000+01:00

Children make it different. The terror that stalks the classrooms of besieged Middle School 1 in Beslan, North Ossetia, is highly disturbing.
Who in these torrid days of random, global violence has not become accustomed, even inured, to the suicide bombings in Iraq or a host of other troublespots? Yet who, anywhere in the world, is not touched, angered or frightened - or all three - by the thought of young kids traumatised by masked killers wearing bomb-belts?

When the victims are children, the sort of horror on show in Beslan, real or threatened, represents the adult world's ultimate betrayal of innocence, its final failure to nurture and protect. Here is a shared disgrace, borne of a universal grief. Here is an international crying shame, beseeching an urgent remedy.

My heart goes all out for the people of Beslan ...

2004-09-02T11:19:00.000+01:00

Past few months have been problem ridden with no immediate solutions in sight. I still seem to be strolling in complete darkness. At times it becomes quite frustating. On early morning of Sunday the 22nd we had a fire in our server room. It all started with the split unit of the air conditioner which burnt itself down on the computer table and the chair underneath taking down some of the box files from the adjacent rack with it. It all piled up into a burning stack and the room filled with smoke. The fire detector did not detect it till the room got completly filled with smoke. By that time all plastic covers of computers and other AC units got melted and wires caught fire. While power to adjacent rooms got disrupted, power supply to the affected room did not trip at all. Not a single MCB tripped ! And on top of that, the centralised CO2 gas release system failed to work. It took a lot of effort on part of office staff to control it with the help of fire extinguishers. When fire brigade arrived they did not have any gas based extinguisher to fight electrical fire. Despite my repeated requests, without wasting any time they soaked all the machines with water.

The three of us, myself, Ranojoy and Madhu spent days and and nights at office to replicate the complete setup and put everything online with the support of Abhay and Deep. It still is all a big mess with no end to our sleepless nights in sight.

Is it a concidence that accidents happen in my department whenever I am not around? It is at least the fourth time it has happened. By the way, I was attending training sessions and was not attending office for about 5 days. On the day the fire incident took place, I again was to attend the concluding session of the training but had to miss it for obvious reasons.

"...When we long for life without...difficulties, remind us that oaks grow strong in contrary winds and diamonds are made under pressure." -- Peter Marshall

Birthday

2004-07-14T15:11:00.000+01:00

Its been long since my last post. A lot of things seems to have happened in between this period. Charvi joined her new school at Pilani. While we were satisfied with her X class CBSE board exam's performance, she was not happy about her marks in mathematics and insisted for re-evaluation. The re-evailutaion result is out, and her marks stands revised upwardly ! She now has 89 % in aggregate. She already has been selected to represent her new school in Round Square conference on Heritage and culture at the Daly College, Indore . She seems so much excited to visit Indore, and so am I for her trip. I 'm missing her so terribly. The work at the new house seems no where near completion. One day it's the carpenter who's missing, the other day any one of the painter, plumber, electrician, welder, tailor ... it's a crazy place !
My only worry is .. will Arti be able to understand that I DID try to get all work completed in her absence ? I am sure she will ;-)
Yesterday, the day started with a call from Arti to convey B'day greetings! Another call from Sanjai and Archana with a reminder to join them at dinner, and then loads of mail messages. Spent evening with Sanjai-Archana, and their kids Gauri and Siddharth. It was sweet of them to have got a cake arranged for me to cut. Children presented a hand made greeting card. I even got a birthday gift ..like always. Its been a week since have been dining at their house !
I had lots of things to be arranged at home but after tummy full of food and a cup of steaming hot coffee just managed to carry myself to the apartment. I was in bed a little early than usual time.

Comes the Dawn

2004-06-25T12:51:00.000+01:00

After awhile you learn the subtle difference
Between holding a hand and chaining a soul.
And you learn that love doesn't mean leaning
And company doesn't mean security.
And you begin to understand that kisses aren't contracts
And presents aren't promises,
And you begin to accept your defeats
With your head held high and your eyes wide open.
With the grace of a woman, not the grief of a child.
You learn to build your roads
On today because tomorrow's ground
Is too uncertain for plans, and futures have
A way of falling down in midflight.
After awhile you learn that even sunshine
Burns if you get too much.
So you plant your own garden and decorate
Your own soul, instead of waiting
For someone to bring you flowers.
And you learn that you really can endure,
That you really are strong.
And you really do have worth.
And you learn and learn...and you learn
With every goodbye you learn.

Veronica A. Shoffstall

Why me again ?

2004-06-25T12:43:00.000+01:00

It was just one of those days when nothing seemed to be going the right way. Arti and kids were to travel to India by afternoon flight, and in morning I had to attend a meeting at Abuja. So, the day started early, and we were at the international airport before 8 am. After completing the check-in formalities by 9.30 am and seeing then off, I rushed for the domestic airport to catch 10 am flight to Abuja. The flight was late by 30 minutes so had no problems in boarding it on time. Immediately after landing at Abuja, I got the news that the meeting stands cancelled. Sucks… It took me minutes to absorb the shock that it was a waste after all the running around. Within minutes of being out of the arrival lounge of Abuja airport, I was in from the departure lounge to catch the return flight to Lagos. The scheduled flight of 11.45 am was again delayed by another 30 minutes due to some ‘VIP movements’. I was back to office in Lagos by 2.15 p.m. and the moment I entered my room, got a call from Abuja that the meeting is ‘ON again’! So, I had to be on a conference call with people at Abuja. After all the hulla-bulla, it finally was the ten minute’s conference call that did the trick.

2004-06-12T13:30:00.000+01:00

Talking of show-off, here's a pic courtsey Subhankar.

First month of blogging ...

2004-06-12T13:06:00.000+01:00

Seven logs in a month's time is much better performance than what I expected from myself when I started this blog. It's exactly a month now that I posted my first blog entry, and have not missed any oppurtunity to show it off. I am expecting some of my friends also to start their own blogs. After all blogs are not only for slobs. Moreover, if I can then anyone can ...

Leisure time ...

2004-06-11T11:06:00.000+01:00

It was Sanjai who took this pic on Sunday the 6th June at ECO Resort's private beach. Arti seems so short in the pic probably due to that fact that she was standing deep into the sand ... ;)

That's Service ...

2004-06-09T11:30:00.000+01:00

In this competitive business world, an unselfish helping hand is rare indeed. Fighting the tendency to self-absorption is difficult as pressures escalate. Yet, there is much gratification in knowing that somebody's actions whom you do not know personaly prove to be beneficial to you.

This is precisely what happened when I approached my bank IndusInd to prepare and despatch a demand draft (DD) in favour of Birla Balika Vidyapeeth, Pilani to complete formalities for admission of my daughter to class XI. The school authorities failed to relate the received DD with the registration form that was earlier couriered to them by me, directly from this place. On receipt of the DD, the school principal got in touch with the lady from the Bank who has handling my account. She not only attended all the queries from the school but alos went out of way to call the school many times on my behalf. My daughter has finally got the admission to the school.

While it's up to us now, the initial results would not have been possible without excellent service and support from my bank.

I thank the staff of IndusInd for making me more aware of ways in which others can be helped and for reaffirming my belief in the goodness of human nature.

Who Cares ...

2004-05-19T19:12:00.000+01:00

About 9 years back, I got the oppurtunity to attend a lecture by Mrs Kumar, ex-principal, Springdales school, Delhi during inaugural function of a seminar at New Delhi. The seminar was organised by a publisher in association with the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), and the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) to draft and recommend the syllabus of Computer Science subject for CBSE schools.

During the lecture, she liberally quoted Khalil Gibran. It was the first time I heard anything about Gibran. Immediately after returning back to Indore, where I was working with the Choithram School, I wasted no time in searching for Khalil Gibran's work in the school library. As was to happen, I could not find anything relevant, and with time I even stopped making any effort in this regard. No need to mention that during that period, the internet access was still a luxury, and not accessible to a teacher like me !

A few days back, after almost a decade, I do not know from where the thought came up again, and I started searching for Gibran's work on internet, and ye lo... had lots and lots of information and sites on display. And here it is, the chapter on Teaching from The Prophet by Khalil Gibran.

"No man can reveal to you aught but that which already lies half asleep in the dawning of our knowledge.

The teacher who walks in the shadow of the temple, among his followers, gives not of his wisdom but rather of his faith and his lovingness.

If he is indeed wise he does not bid you enter the house of wisdom, but rather leads you to the threshold of your own mind.

The astronomer may speak to you of his understanding of space, but he cannot give you his understanding.

The musician may sing to you of the rhythm which is in all space, but he cannot give you the ear which arrests the rhythm nor the voice that echoes it.

And he who is versed in the science of numbers can tell of the regions of weight and measure, but he cannot conduct you thither.

For the vision of one man lends not its wings to another man.

And even as each one of you stands alone in God's knowledge, so must each one of you be alone in his knowledge of God and in his understanding of the earth."

In order to catch up with educationists like Mrs Kumar, It might have taken only a decade to find out about references made by her, I know for sure that I will always be many decades behind people like her.

I guess, it was right on my part not to pursue my career in education.
May be...may be not .. may be ..

Yeah, I know it is no criteria at all, but still... maybe..maybe not !!!!

Who cares ? Not me atleast ...

Kal Ho Na Ho ....

2004-05-18T10:37:00.000+01:00

Having listened to this song so many times, never would have realised that unlike so many other songs it would get recorded somewhere in the back of my mind, for so long a period. It seems, at times the lyrics dominate other thinking process going on in my mind and I would invariably start murmering the lyrics.

Song Title: Kal Ho Naa Ho
Movie: KAL HO NAA HO
Singer: SONU NIGAM
Lyrics: JAVED AKHTAR

Har Ghadi Badal Rahi Hai Roop Zindagi
Chaav Hai Kahhi Hai Dhoop Zidnagi
Har Pal Yahan
Jee Bhar Jiyo, Jo Hai Sama
Kal Ho Na Ho

Chaahe Jo Tumhe Poore Dil Se
Milta Hai Woh Mushkil Se
Aisa Jo Koi Kahin Hai
Bas Vahi Sabse Hasin Hai
Us Haath Ko Tum Thaam Lo
Woh Meherbaan Kal Ho Na Ho
Har Pal Yahan
Jee Bhar Jiyo Jo Hai Sama
Kal Ho Na Ho

Palko Ke Leke Saaye
Paas Koi Jo Aaye
Lakh Sambhalo Paagal Dil Ko
Dil Dhadke Hi Jaaye
Par Sochlo Is Pal Hai Jo
Woh Dastan Kal Ho Na Ho
Har Pal Yahan
Jee Bhar Jiyo Jo Hai Sama
Kal Ho Na Ho

Loose Talk ...

2004-05-17T19:02:00.000+01:00

Words are but pictures of our thoughts. -- John Dryden

What influence a person having loose mouth or with loud words have on the work environment at the office-place ? I always carried the impression that such people never last long in their job but lately have realised that no matter for how long or shorter period they stay in the job, their job tenure depends entirely on one factor - their target. When the Management itself becomes the target of such talk, no time gets wasted in ensuring that such a mouth gets shut at the earliest possible. By the time it happens, in most of the cases a lot of damage already gets done, affecting the silent workers, and the work environment in general.

Why such people should get encouraged at the first instance itself ? Why do the staff has to bear the brunt of selfish attitude and indecisiveness of the management, knowing fully well that there is going to be only one outcome ?

Woops ... Am I doing loose talk myself ?

I find that the harder I work, the more luck I seem to have. - Jefferson, Thomas

Good-Bye ...

2004-05-15T13:13:00.000+01:00

"Happy trails to you, until we meet again" - Dale Evans Rogers

Skillful pilots gain a reputation maneuvering machines through both tranquil weather conditions and raging thunder-storms. Each situation requires a different approach, but a successful landing is always the ultimate goal.

This sounds so true in case of Subodh, a senior member of our team, to whom we are bidding farewell today. Employees like him enable organizations to manage traffic patterns with professional skill.

Having known him for a quite a long time now, I hold high opinion about him. He is one of very few people with whom I cherish relationship which never was in any confused state. It was either a case of complete disagreement, or complete agreement.He not only has been very straight forward but has been highly achievement-oriented and enthusiatic.

I always have heartily appreciated and acknowledged his knowledge, skills, and talents. Beyond being achievement-oriented and enthusiastic, he has the ability to get the job done.

It never seems to be the case of Past-tense, Present tense and future perfect with him. In his case, his past and present have been perfect, and I wish and prey that future also is going to be perfect.

It had to happen ...

2004-05-11T17:20:00.000+01:00

"The shell must break before the bird can fly." -- Tennyson

Having regularly gone through many blogs, I could not have avoided having one of my very own, for long. So here I am, not even sure of what to post or for how long will be able to keep it updated. Nevertheless, I am assuring myself visit by at least one visitor to my blog on regular basis ... and thats ME.
Going by the events of this month, I am expecting action packed period ahead for me. I am about to complete 5 years in Nigeria with Multi-Links, and my family deserves kudos for that.