VIP taking luxuries is nothing new. We do it all the time.

I understand that using one’s Senate postion to get a better deal on a mortgage is against Senate ethics, but don’t we all abuse our status and our friends’ positions to a certain extent if we could? I have to agree with Roland Martin from CNN who said that on multiple occasions people use their friends.

“Do you remember when you were in high school and you found out that you had a buddy working at the movie theatre, your first thought had to be, Cool! I get to get in free! You could apply that same response to a girlfriend working at the fast food restaurant. Uh, oh, free burgers every Friday night! We are a nation that likes free stuff. And if we can bypass a line in order to feel privileged, we’ll do it.”

I’m surprised that a “scandal” that Senator Dodd has been charged for is coming out now. I find it hard to believe that not one Senator has ever used his/her position to gain some benefits. I’m sure if they have, they hide it better. Things come out sooner or later. Look at Spitzer. But I still stand by Dodd. Leave the man alone. Don’t movie stars cut their taxes because of their celebrity status? Maybe we should probe into that too.

 

All I can say is, “wait, what?”

This story is even hard to imagine. ” In a ritual that would terrify most mothers, Indian villagers have cheered as screaming babies were dropped from a 50-foot temple tower.” I have lived in India for 17 years, and yet I’ve never heard of it, but I’m niot surprised. People go through great lenghts to “bless” their babies. Villagers still hold onto tradtions that are “rooted in religion”, but clearly is ridiculous to anyone who is educated. However, that is the problem. Most of the people in villages are not educated and don’t have enough money or time to get one. They are more interested in earning money inb order to survive. This particular ritual is harlful to a child’s safety and it must be banned by the Indian governement. I’m surprised that I’ve never heard of it before. Maybe it’s one of those things the government does not want you to hear.

Update to Sri-Lanka

The Tamil tigers kill 100 Sri-Lankan troops. Thousands of Sri-Lankan troops have been killed so far. The Tigers are fighting for their own seperate state in the North-East portion of the country. The conflict started because the Tamils demanded equal rights as the Sri-Lankans. They were marginalized, and thus sought to violence in order to gain attention to their cause.

Since then, it has been a bloody affair. Violence is not the solution, but this contention will take more decades to reduce. I do not think the Tigers will stop at anything less than a new state, even though the Sri-Lankan government vows to eliminate them by 2009. I do not understand rebels who move to a new country and expect a new state. They should have stayed with their home country.

More killings in Sri-Lanka

The Tamil tigers kill 100 Sri-Lankan troops. Thousands of Sri-Lankan troops have been killed so far. The Tigers are fighting for their own seperate state in the North-East portion of the country. The conflict started because the Tamils demanded equal rights as the Sri-Lankans. They were marginalized, and thus sought to violence in order to gain attention to their cause.

Since then, it has been a bloody affair. Violence is not the solution, but this contention will take more decades to reduce. I do not think the Tigers will stop at anything less than a new state, even though the Sri-Lankan government vows to eliminate them by 2009. I do not understand rebels who move to a new country and expect a new state. They should have stayed with their home country.

Indian trains-unsafe

“More than 20,000 people have been killed on Mumbai’s notoriously overcrowded train system over the past five years — many of them crushed, run over, or electrocuted — according to official data.” This is a sad state of Indian transportation because the public cannot even expect basic safety. These large number of tragedies occur because the trains are over-crowded. People are hanging outside the compartments. The Indian government should establish a limit on the number of people allowed in each cart. However, this will take time because of the large number of people who are dependent on trains for their daily transportation. But, if China can do it, so can India.

Bangladesh resestablishes links to India

The first direct train between Bangladesh and India in more than four decades has been resumed. “The inaugural train — decorated with garlands and festoons — started off Monday amid performances by traditional musicians from Dhaka’s Cantonment Railway Station”. This is a positive step in repairing the relations between Bangladesh and India. It also gives people from both countries to reunite with their relatives and friends. Hopefully, this train will continue without much interference by militant and activist groups. We will have to wait and see.

Protests in Bangladesh’s capital

Islamic rights and women rights clash in Dhaka in Bangladesh. People of the Islamic Constitution Movement threw stones at the police over a new draft advocating for equal inheritance rights for women and men. It just goes to show how women’s rights are still considered secondary to that of men in Bangladesh. It is incidents like these that gives Islam a negative image. The protestors said the law was against the Koran.

I think that religion plays a major role in today’s conflict, and holy books are used as a go-to for everything. Unfortunately, they are being interpreted negatively, thus playing with people’s and especially children’s minds.

Out of a Hollywood movie

Robbers escaped with $1million from Malyasia’s international airport. They shot and wounded six people on Wednesday. They opened fire at two currency exchange workers and two security guards that accompanied them.

It seems like a situation right out of a hollywood movie. It just goes to show that no matter how much security you have; people will find ways to breach the security if they want to. This article brings out various points. The security of currency workers are threatened because of the amount of cash that they deal with. Also it shows that security check is not enough because people could be carrying weapons before they reach that point, or even as visitors.

China entering Sikkim?

China has been recently intruding the borders of Sikkim in the Eastern Himalayas. This region borders TIbet. “There have already been already as many as 40 “intrusions” by Chinese troops across the 206-km border between Sikkim and Tibet since January this year, say top sources”.

It is bothersome as to why China would be engaging in such activities. It is really surprising that China chooses to continue to probe into Eastern India, especially after it has been a part of India officially for over sixty years. ” Even a comprimise formula was worked out by prime-minister Atal BIhari Vajpayee in 2003 when he visited China.”

However, some officials feel that this is part of China’s game plan to use Sikkim as leverage in its policy of exerting relentless pressure on India over the Tawang tract in Arunachal Pradesh.” China has been trying to gain India’s Eastern states for a while by claiming that the inhabitants are more Chinese than Indian. China should learn to mind its business and stick to improving its government. It is not the time to acquire states especially when they belong to a democratic country.

 

 

Indian students feel unsafe in the US

Insecurity grips Indian students in the US as four students have been killed in the past year, which started with the Virginia Tech incident. The two most shocking incidents for me were of the two Louisiana State students who were found murdered in their apartment, and of the Indian student who was shot in Duke. I am rather surprised that a reputed college like Duke is unsafe. I’m flabbergasted that a certain student paid tens of thousand of dollars to come to college to kill someone else. The psyche of such a person seems askewed.

I am unsure whether their ethnicity and background has to do with the murder, but it is still rather shocking especially since I am an Indian student studying abroad. Security in American colleges has been flailing ever since Virginia Tech. I think the problem with the number of shootings in America is the lack of gun control. It is rather easy for American citizens to obtain a gun. I agree guns are sometimes needed if there is a threat to personal security, but I think they should not be available to everyone. The procedure for an application should be based on the location of a person and whether he/she is facing imminent threat.

“Shootings that left six students, including the gunman, dead at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb on 14 February shocked NIU master’s student Ravi Kiran. Things like this don’t happen in India, says Mr Kiran. ” This is because not every common joe has a gun or can get a gun. In India, you need to be rich, under threat, or have mob connections, and most of us don’t.