text:
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Courts ordering Governments over policy matters
The separation of powers has the Government handling policy and day to day running of the country, and the Courts have interpretation of laws and the handling of civil and criminal disputes under these laws. So, normally you would not hear of courts getting involved in the matter of process of setting policy, or taking operational matters into their hands and providing directions to Governments. However, in India, the Governments have proved incompetent in so many matters that the courts have thought it fit to intervene using the basis of the rights of quality of life for citizens. Otherwise, who would have thought that a court would give directions to a municipal department to ensure that dengue protection steps are taken:
Delhi High Court on Wednesday ordered the city government's health department and its civic bodies, MCD and NDMC to take all necessary steps to prevent the recurrence of dengue in the city.
A Division Bench of Chief Justice M K Sharma and Justice Sanjeev Khanna asked the agencies to comply with its previous directions to prevent mosquito breeding. At the same time, it directed the government to provide sufficient platelets in the blood banks in the city so that they are prepared to face any eventuality.
It sounded so strange when I read it; after all, these steps are something that a Government agency should be able to take on its own without having to be told to do so. But the situation is such that every year, one can see so many cases of dengue being reported that could be prevented through simple precautions by the municipal department that they do not do; and hence the court felt it necessary to order such steps. However, it still seems strange, and one can only hope that the Governments wake up.
We have had many cases in the past where court orders have forced Governments to take steps that have helped citizens, such as the implementation of CNG in Delhi and removal of polluting industries from cities (all policy matters but the Government was dragging its feet until the court intervened).
Labels: Community, Court, Development, Environment, Governance, Health, Judicial, Reform, Welfare
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Supreme Court changes stand on rape criteria
For quite some time now, the Indian Supreme Court has been taking the stand that if a man offers a pledge of marriage to a women, and then has sex with her, and then moves away from his pledge of marriage, he can be convicted of rape. This was always a surprise, because even if you accept that in a relationship in this country, with its societal emphasis of marriage for a women, consensual sex cannot be equated with marriage. Even with a relationship of unequals, as long as the act of physical relations was voluntary, to call it a rape would seem illogical. After all, the scope for misuse is tremendous, relationships can break up after some period of cohabitation. The existing understanding seemed to be heavily biased against men. Well, it seems that the Supreme Court has thought again about this stand, and wants to evaluate it on a case by case basis:
A man having sex with a girl after obtaining her consent on the promise of a marriage does not necessarily constitute rape even if he retracts on his pledge, the Supreme Court has ruled. Such retraction by the accused would amount to rape only if the consent was obtained by coercion or threat, a bench of Justices Arijit Pasayat and D K Jain said while upholding an appeal filed by the accused Pradeep Kumar.
The apex court maintained that there was no straitjacket formula for determining whether consent given by the girl was voluntary or given under a misconception of fact as it has to be decided on the basis of the circumstances and surrounding factors which led to the alleged consensual sex.
This new interpretation also treats women more fairly. The earlier interpretation would assume that just because a lady was promised marriage, she would agree to have sex. This assumes that they don't have the wisdom to decide on their own whether to have a sexual relationship, just for the sake of the physical intimacy rather than as a prelude to a marriage.
Labels: Court, Discrimination, Law, Morality, Reform
Turnaround by the BJP after Advani's statement
It has been fairly surprising to see the statements by the BJP over the nuclear deal when it was announced. If you refer to my previous post, it would seem that the BJP, for the sake of being in opposition, was going against a deal that it would have supported in all cases if it was in power.
If you consider the deal in all its points, there are many positive factors for the deal from the perspectives of the BJP such as
1. Closer engagement with the US,
2. Access to more dual-use technology that was restricted in the past,
3. Agreement by a number of experts in the nuclear field and strategic fields that this deal seems to be a good one,
4. Deal seems to be more in tune with what the middle class in this country wants,
5. Agreement with the Indian-American community that wants a closer relationship between the US and India
All these are factors that are valued by the support base of the US, and one would have expected the BJP to try to claim credit for the nuclear deal by claiming that the deal was following the path set by it.
Some of the negatives in the BJP opposition flow from the same points as above:
1. Seems to be more closely aligned with what the Communists want, and if the BJP desires one thing, it is not to be grouped with the communist parties
2. Disonance among believers as to why the party is opposing the deal (even after it seems that a number of national security experts are fine with the deal)
These factors would have caused a great disillusionment in the support camp of the BJP, and was difficult to understand.
Well, looks like Advani wanted to get the BJP stand back to where it would have made more sense, whereby the BJP would not be seen as opposing the deal and yet make a few noises about caring for national security. Refer this article:
Advani had told The Indian Express on Sunday that "there is no problem with the 123 agreement", if the Government addressed the concerns of the party through amendments in Indian domestic laws. Advani's statement has created a flutter in the party, as many leaders who were uncomfortable with the original positioning that closely aligned the party with the Left and regional outfits found encouragement to push for amends.
Advani will lead the parliamentary debate for the BJP and is expected to outline the possible amendments in Indian laws that could reassure the party that India's right to test is protected and fuel supply for India's nuclear power projects will not be disrupted. He will also elaborate on his party's attitude towards the US.
This looks like a quick turnaround so as to reassure the constituency of the BJP that the party has not suddenly gone into a tailspin. Hopefully with this, the BJP will play a supportive role for this deal.
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
BJP's opposition to nuclear deal puzzling
I have been a supporter of the BJP for most of my adult life, and I can right now visualize that this is unlikely to continue if the party continues to act like it has been doing. When it was in power, and doing good, it was still difficult to condone the violent and threatening doings of the zealots of the VHP and Bajrang Dal, but somehow one accepted this. And then came the riots of Gujarat that were a big shock; never in my dreams would I have believed that the party could condone riots that killed thousands of Indian citizens.
But the BJP has always seemed to be the natural choice for citizens of many urban areas, propounding policies that seem to be nationalistic and more liberal than the policies of the Congress and other emerging parties. However, in the recent past, they seem to be going down the path of destruction.
First, their fight in the game for the Presidential election was an unnecessary fight. The UPA always had a higher number of votes, and most of the others would not have supported the NDA choice because the return was not good enough, and they feared getting tarred with the anti-Muslim touch. Yet the BJP persevered and finally had a bad loss. The BJP seems to have never recovered from the loss of 2004, and at current levels, with the infighting, rivalry and corruption, it seems to have become a 'B' team of the Congress.
And now this. After initiating the discussion with the US over a nuclear deal, they are fighting the same deal. Most people even in the BJP would not admit that they could not have get a better deal, but they still seem to be opposing just for the sake of opposing. This is a good deal for India overall in terms of acceptance into the technology regime, into removal of many dual-control lists, and overall acceptance as a non-NPT nuclear power, and yet, for the sake of politics, the BJP wants to oppose the deal.
If they were to look closer into their vote base, they would find that a number of them have their lives and fortunes closely linked to faster development, more job growth, more amenities and civil facilities. Turning down the deal now because of politics has the potential to shake all of that. Seeing this short-sighted attitude by the BJP makes me very concerned about the path being followed by the party.
Labels: BJP, Development, Governance, Nuclear, Politics
What does the Left really want ?
The Indian Left is right now in the spotlight as they have never been before. Used to calling the shots with the Congress Government, including forcing humiliating about-turns on the various reform policies tried out by the Congress, they must have found it strange that that suddenly the Congress seems to have developed a spine and refused to do their bidding. And for days now, most analysts, a lot of public reaction and media analysis has accused the Communists of being China lackeys, being fossils, anti-development and progress, die-hard members of the anti-US coalition, etc. But what does the Left really want in all the discussion on the nuclear deal ? I found this article to be an interesting pointer to what their main objections are:
In a stern warning to the UPA government against implementing the civil nuclear deal with America, the CPM said it should decide whether it would go with the US or 'remain firmly with the people'. "The Manmohan Singh government has to decide within a few weeks from now whether to go with the US or remain firmly with the people of India," CPM general secretary Prakash Karat told a public meeting.
Asserting that the Left parties were strongly opposed to any kind of strategic alliance with the US, he said it was a tragedy that the Central government had 'compromised' on the independent foreign policy stand enunciated by late Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.
And this is exactly what their bone of contention is. They do not want a foreign policy based on reality, based on what the country can get in terms of a realistic evaluation of its strength; instead they want to stick onto a policy that is essentially anti-US. It is no matter that their patron saint China has almost essentially junked the ideals of communism except for the name of the party and its repressive one-party rule; it does not matter that China has been promising such aid to Pakistan, a concept that is against India's strategic interest; it does not matter that in international affairs, most treaties involves give and take, and India could have negotiated for decades without getting a treaty that would have given everything that it wanted; it does not matter that the concept of India's nuclear program, something that the CPM and its allied parties are getting so worked over is a policy that they have been opposing from the start; it does not matter that India has been denied technology for long because of its refusal to sign the NPT, and this treaty promises to over-turn these restrictions; it does not matter that we are a energy-hungry country and nuclear energy that we can currently get domestically is not as advanced and has been shown to be delayed every time and expensive; it does not matter that most security analysts and nuclear scientists who initially were hesitant about agreeing to this deal are much more positive in the final version; it does not matter that the constitution enables the cabinet to be able to commit to such a decision and to go back now would mean a severe loss of Indian credibility.
None of these matter. In the calculations of the Left, a going back on this deal would hurt the emerging India-US cooperation and grant them what they want; and maybe India would be better served by the friendship of tinpot countries such as Iran, Cuba and Venezuela. In the end, a foreign policy is based on the true interests of a country, and at this time, this deal is the best deal that the country will get that promises to get most of what it wants.
And if the Congress goes back on this deal, it will be the end of all their credibility. Manmohan Singh will have zero credibility, and will most likely have to resign, with the media going hammer and tongs after him about his humiliation, and the Congress will have to live with the humiliation of being ordered around by a party that has 60 seats in Parliament.
Labels: Congress, Development, Electricity, Image, Left, Nuclear, Parliament, Politics
Saturday, August 18, 2007
The Left and the Nuclear Deal
This is getting to be a comedy. The Left has defined the relationship between itself and the UPA in terms of marriage, divorce, separation, issue based support, and so on. It is just as well that they have not gone more personal and intimate in describing the relationship :-). That would have been unbearable to read about.
So, read the latest comments from the central group of the Left parties:
The Left parties put brakes on the controversial Indo-US nuclear deal by warning the government of 'serious consequences' of operationalising it, but stopped short of withdrawing support to the UPA coalition.
Turning up the heat on the government, the CPM Politburo passed a resolution describing the deal as 'unacceptable' and demanding that the government should not proceed further on it by commencing negotiations with the UN nuclear watchdog IAEA for safeguards which would bind India in perpetuity.
Karat summed up the Left stand in these words: "So, we are saying don't proceed (with the deal), discuss the matter, take into account all the objections and concerns and then we can take a decision."
Total bollocks, is what one can say. The Left Government in West Bengal seems almost divorced from the stand of the centre, it after all wants to attract investment by US companies, and going all out against the US Government is not what it would want.
Essentially, the Left is against a closer interaction with the US, exactly the same as the patron saint of the Left, the Chinese Government would want. There is not much scope for a Non Aligned Movement now, yet the Left would maybe welcome closer ties with such tinpot dictatorships such as Cuba, Iran and Venezuela (whose main stand is also opposition to the US).
The position before the deal was such that India was running short of nuclear technology and fuel, and under the current regime, since India was not willing to sign the NPT as a non-nuclear weapons state, it would not have got any support. It is okay to protest against such a regime, but it would have done no good. So, both the BJP and the Congress, having been in power and not hypocrites such as the Left, realized that such a deal was necessary, and overall, the deal seems to be fine for India. It surely would not have got everything it wanted, and overall, seems to be in a decent state. There are no restrictions on the military development, except for the condition of doing a test, on which it is unreasonable to expect that states will stand by and not have conditions.
Friday, August 17, 2007
The disaster over the case against 'Q'
It has been obvious for some time that Quattrochi is a favoured gentlemen in the current political dispensation, and even the orders of courts (including the Supreme Court) pale in front of the orders given by a higher court in the Congress party. For decades now, Quattrochi has been believed to be a favourite of the Rajiv Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi led Congress party, and it is very easy to believe that this is true, given events of the past. The net result of all this is that the law ministry of the largest democracy of the world has been shown to be a biased agency, and the paramount investigating agency of the country, the CBI, has been shown to be a useless agency, totally subservient to the political dispensation, and then being mocked at by a foreign court in far away Argentina. The Argentinian Judge then declared that the case made by the CBI was very weak, basically labeling it as incompetent. And to top it all, the CBI was then kept in the dark by the law ministry as the appeal against the decision in the lower court was blocked. It would be funny to think of the CBI Director being kept in the dark, if it was not so shocking, and harbinger of the total moral bankruptcy of Manmohan Singh:
CBI director Vijay Shankar claimed yesterday that he had no idea whether an appeal had been filed or withdrawn in the Ottavio Quattrocchi extradition case in Argentina. He said this when asked by The Indian Express why the Government last week withdrew the appeal and, thus, allowed Quattrocchi to walk away.
On July 28, just over a fortnight before Quattrocchi flew home from Buenos Aires, the CBI filed a status report in the court of the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Delhi — the court where the Bofors case is being heard and Quattrocchi is listed as an absconding accused— that an appeal had already been filed.
That Argentine Public Prosecutor hired by the government in March to press for Quattrocchi's extradition, Lilian Delgado, also confirmed to The Indian Express today that the Government had decided to withdraw the appeal. Speaking from Misiones, she said: "It is the Government of India which said no appeal should be filed in the Federal Court. I don't know the reasons why the Government of India did it. The Government of India has to answer the question why it said no appeal should be filed. I was all ready for the Federal Court case."
It is confirmed that it was the law ministry of the Government of India that essentially withdrew the case in the Argentinian court, and the CBI was left in the defense that it did not even know. This is the condition of the premier CBI. Maybe it is time to take it out of the control of the Government, at least out of the control of this corrupt Congress Government that has no scruples, and no sense of what is right and wrong. Or maybe Manmohan Singh has been told to lay off, in which case he is like any other politician hankering for power, and equally to be held in contempt.
However, this is not new. Earlier as well, the Government had sent a law officer to London to get the accounts of Quattrochi unfrozen, they did not have any valid reason for doing that, but just brazened it out; which is exactly what they are doing this time. And the oh so moral Left parties could not care less, this is a compromise they are making to keep the Government in power and their own influence intact.
Labels: Congress, Corruption, Court, Image, Judicial, Law, Left
Thursday, August 16, 2007
2 sides for a police action in Uttar Pradesh
There have been a lot of confusion regarding the alleged shooting of a dacoit by the Uttar Pradesh police in cold blood. Apparently when cornered, the police shot him even when he was being shot in cold blood. Now, this sort of action is something that a lot of people will be able to believe, after all, the police know that he is guilty, what is the point of bringing him in front of a court when there are chances that he might get off. Even a lot of movies, many of them top-grossing, propagate the same concept of police having the discretion of killing criminals in encounters. Refer this TOI article:
The Uttar Pradesh government has ordered an inquiry into the footage aired by a TV news channel purportedly showing an alleged fake encounter in which the police shot dead a criminal even though he was about to surrender.
The footage showed a criminal Pintu Mishra being chased by several policemen and purportedly gunned down in the civil lines area in Allahabad city on September 18 last year. State police chief Vikram Singh said that it was a very serious matter and was "not only a clear cut case of human rights violation but also of murder".
So, pretty clear that this was not an encounter, but a killing of a criminal. Now if I had been affected negatively by the criminal, maybe I would not feel bad. However, the rule of law is supreme, and the police are a law enforcer, not supposed to be a law breaker. They cannot just kill someone who is trying to surrender, not only for the rule of law, but because it will set a bad precedents for other criminals wanting to surrender. All these thoughts went through my mind, and then the shock of my life. I read this other article which turned my thoughts totally upside down. The article in fact was bylined by the same reporter who had written the first article on this subject. Read this article:
The alleged Uttar Pradesh fake encounter dates back to September 18, 2006, when, during a vehicle checking drive in the Civil Lines area of Allahabad, a police picket tried to stop three people on a motorcycle.
Instead of responding to the policemen, the motorcyclists allegedly threw a grenade targeting a constable, who died on the spot. The constable was later identified as Ashok Pandey. Meanwhile, the police launched a massive hunt for the two gangsters who had sped away from the site.
It was then that one of the gangsters appeared before the police holding his hands in the air. As the cops cautiously moved ahead to encircle him, the miscreant suddenly hurled a bomb while his associate began to fire indiscriminately at the approaching police. The exchange of fire left sub-inspector S K Sharma wounded and his right hand and legs suffered permanent disability.
The criminal allegedly repeated the act one more time before he finally appeared before the cops for a third time. But, unwilling to take any more chances by trying to arrest him, the police fired at him. The miscreant tried to run for cover but landed in a blind alley. It was there that he was shot dead by the police.
This changed the perspective of the situation totally. Even in a society much less tolerant of attacks by police or by any misuse such as the United States, attacks on policemen is seen as an attack on the authority of the state, and hence not easily forgivable. And if the cops here in Uttar Pradesh have seen criminals try to trick them by a surrender and then attack again, it is very easy to comprehend as to why the police finally did what they did. One can easily feel sympathy for the police in the end, after all, they did try to accept the surrender.
Labels: Law, Police, Responsibility, Security
Monday, August 13, 2007
Use of RTI to unearth bias by cop
There have been numerous instances now of people using the RTI Act to inquire about things of public interest, including cases of dereliction of duty, corruption in construction, the state of public spending under various development heads, and so on. For people used to a cold and secretive bureaucracy, the spotlight it shines on officials is an incredible asset, and can do wonders. The RTI Act has also been used by people to find out about the status of their files, and the very act of asking for this information normally leads to the file moving at a speed that the babus are unused to. But this particular application is one that I have not read about before:
Right To Information (RTI) query has exposed how a senior police inspector (now retired) allegedly favoured one businessman to settle scores with another in a civil dispute case.
Trader Jasmine Shah, arrested in a cheating case three years ago, has used RTI to prove that he was illegally arrested by then D N Nagar police station senior inspector M A Shaikh. The information Shah has obtained states that the departmental inquiry, conducted by then deputy commissioner of police (zone IX) Amitabh Gupta, found Shaikh guilty and resulted in disciplinary action against the officer for arresting Shah. Albeit, the department did not initiate any punitive measures against Shaikh as he had retired two years ago.
The acts of our police department, sans most means of accountability to the general public whom they serve, do not normally lead people to write about them in praise. But it is cases like these which lead to a clamour for reform, so that policemen cannot misuse their powers, and act with a bias. Given that the way that our police force has evolved, as a instrument used to control the Indian public during the British rule, it is no wonder that the police has an institutional trend towards behaving as they wish.
It is only when more people get enthused by this success that the use of the RTI Act will become more wide-spread. If we are to bring in more accountability and reduce corruption in our system, the RTI Act will be a major weapon in that.
Labels: Corruption, Governance, Law, Police, Reform, Responsibility, RTI
Sunday, August 12, 2007
Excellent article on the Taslima Nasreen episode
There is this excellent article by Jug Suraiya in the Times of India that took on the Taslima Nasreen episode, namely the attack on her (including by elected representatives of the MIM), and subsequent silence by most of our liberal class. Called 'Taslima and the soft underbelly of liberalism', do read the article:
Where have all the liberals gone, now that Taslima Nasreen, the outspoken Bangladeshi novelist living in exile in India, has come under attack from Islamic fundamentalists? Barkha Dutt and a few other media people have questioned the scant protest the incident has provoked among the country's liberalati who are, rightly, very vocal in condemning any flexing of Hindu fundamentalist muscle.
This is not an isolated case. Time and again, acts of violence and intimidation by Hindu zealots have been pilloried while similar instances of Islamic bigotry and intolerance have been received with an embarrassed silence and an averting of eyes on the part of self-professed champions of freedom of expression.
All this, of course, is gleeful grist to Hindu fundamentalists who point to this blatant example of double-standards to show up the hypocrisy of what they call 'pseudo secularism'. And they're right. Bigotry is bigotry, whether it comes from the majority or a minority community. So what's the liberal justification of its selective righteousness in the face of religious fanaticism?
Jug Suraiya writes on comedy, but he must have been moved enough to write this. And this is not an isolated problem. There was a vast under-current of shock when there was the furore over the Danish cartoons, and when a UP Minister (mind you, an important politician in the most important state of the country) spoke about an award to whoever gets the head of the Danish cartoonist, there was some media coverage; but no major criticism on the incitement to murder and no police action. Imagine if some Hindu (you know who, the Bajrang Dal or the VHP) put a price on the head of M F Hussain over the nude statues of Hindu gods, then imagine the furore there will be.
But when this happens in the case of Islam, there are very few people who speak up. In previous occasions, it has been people like Shabana Azmi and Javed Akhtar who have spoken up to denounce this, but none of the customary liberal apologists such as the Left parties and the intellectuals. Maybe they don't realize this, but they lose an important amount of credibility when this happens.
And not to talk about election stuff. How much do you want to bet that the BJP will not try to use this, creating CD's of the release of Madani in Kerala and his courting by the various parties, and also this current threat. To top it all, the Andhra police released the politicians involved very quickly, and then filed a case against Taslima over the charge of insulting religious feelings.
This puts very clearly, the attempt of Y S Reddy (Andhra Chief Minister) to not do anything against Muslim interest. This will no doubt backfire on him. The MIM retains a hard core Muslim loyalty, and this gambit might lose his some Hindu votes. But then thinking ahead is not the strong point of the Congress. The biggest losers among all this are the liberals who have been pointed out as bigots by even mainline newspapers.
Labels: BJP, Community, Congress, Discrimination, Governance, Law, Left, Minority, Muslim, Politics, Protest, Responsibility, Security
Thursday, August 09, 2007
The mess in Jharkand
Around an year back, the Congress won a major victory in Jharkand when they managed to topple the BJP Government and bring in a Government led by Madhu Koda. Now, Jharkand is not an easy state to manage. It is incredibly rich in resources, but at the same time faces many challenges. Being recently divorced from Bihar, there is the feeling that it will have shared the same Government apathy as was witnessed in Bihar. In addition, the state has a large number of tribals who are not exactly swimming in prosperity (in wretched conditions is more the term), and are a breeding ground for the naxalite movement, like other states nearby.
In such a situation, it is necessary that the Government and the Congress party provide good governance, especially since the Government is held up the Congress, and the Government is actually a UPA Government, just like the UPA Government at the center. So, in order to ensure good Governance in the state, one would have thought that the Congress would keep a special eye on the state; it seems like just the opposite though. Just like it tolerated Lalu's bad governance in Bihar and never raised its voice against it for political reasons, the same thing seems to be happening in Jharkand:
"The lack of ability of the Chief Minister to act on decisions of the ministers and his indifference have held up projects and created restlessness among the people." The Chief Minister in question is Jharkhand's Madhu Koda. And the comment is not from an Opposition leader but from one of Koda's cabinet colleagues, Bandhu Tirkey.
Nothing seems to be moving in Koda's Jharkhand. Files are stuck and projects are held up while money meant for development is lying unused. Less than a year after it was formed, the UPA coalition government in Jharkhand has developed cracks and the ministers are displaying their restlessness in public.
The mess is not just about development. For the first time in six years, the Auditor General, in an affidavit filed at the Jharkhand High Court last month, indicted the government for not furnishing financial records of more than Rs 40,000 crore. Worse, the state has failed to utilise funds meant for development. For instance, against the plan outlay of Rs 6,500 crore during 2006-07, it spent just Rs 2,714 crore.
This is a disaster in the making, and it seems even worse that such a mineral rich state is suffering because of the ineptitude or carelessness of its Chief Minster. If the Congress does not watch out, the BJP will come right back and dismantle the Government in the next elections, or even earlier. When Ministers in the Government moan the lack of development, one can be sure something is badly amiss. Read the referred article, you will get an idea of how bad things really are.
Labels: BJP, Congress, Corruption, Development, Election, Governance, Responsibility
Ragging in our colleges
Ragging in Indian colleges is a given. It may be better than before, but there is no reason as to why a student, entering a college for higher education, has to obey the wishes of a person just because the person is a senior. There is no legal reason, and given the number of cases of ragging which turn ugly, there is no moral reason to have ragging exist. It is talked about as being a good way to bring about a closer interaction between seniors and juniors, but that is possible through more mentoring (assigning a senior to a junior as a mentor), or through more cultural and other such programmes where cross-year teams are encouraged. It is a bogus argument that forcing a student to suddenly start singing, or to go and propose to a girl, or to do other such things are okay.
An activity being okay is from the perspective of the person being forced to do it, and from my experiences in college, most freshers are happy at doing this because they are relieved that it was not something more. There is no basic desire to do such forced events. In fact, many students have a dread about the first days of college because they fear as to what ragging will bring to them. I remember from college of more than a decade past that college authorities had anti-ragging squads, but these would not reach the classrooms or inside the hostels, which is where most of the ragging had shifted to.
So, the Supreme Court implemented a set of measures in the current year which made ragging an offense, instructed colleges to take it more seriously, and file police cases. Colleges did not take too kindly to this intrusion, protesting that ragging was not so bad in their campuses, or that police cases would harm the careers of students who are affected, and so on. So, let us take a couple of cases from this year:
The ragging complaint rocked the Government Dental College and Hospital on Monday when the father of a student told the college authorities that his son had been subjected to physical abuse.
A committee member said, "We are going to question all the senior students in the college, who have been accused of brutal ragging sessions which include physical abuse. We will also look into the letter submitted by the student's father to college authorities."
When a committee is setup, you mostly know that there's not going to be any action. And here's another one:
The parents of a first- year MBBS student on Wednesday alleged their son was driven to suicide after being "severely ragged" in Government Medical College and Hospital, Chandigarh.
They said Manjot returned home after being severely ragged by senior students at GCMH and committed suicide. Manjot joined classes on July 21, phoned home saying he was "upset" in Chandigarh and that he would come back as soon as possible. "The very next morning he returned," Milap said. When the parents returned after shopping on Sunday, they found him on the bed "motionless", he said, claiming the boy had ingested some "poisonous substance". "Later, friends of Manjot told us he underwent severe ragging in college and then went into a depression," he said.
It should be very clear that ragging is not an entitlement, and is a criminal activity. As long as it has social sanction, there will be people who will feel that they are entitled to torture their juniors and get away with it. They do not have any authority to do it, and should face the required action.
Labels: Child, Court, Education, Health, Law, Punishment, Responsibility
Wednesday, August 08, 2007
Supreme Court rules out OBC education reservation for the year
In a major blow to the Congress hopes of securing a vacation of the stay order on the reservation for OBC's in educational institutions, the Court has refused to vacate the stay. This is a continuing drama, given that a few months back, when the Supreme Court had heard this case, it had make its objections clear. There were 2 fundamental grounds for objections as laid down by the court:
1. There is no data to back up the decision to use a 27% reservation. It seems more like that the Government did not want to cross the 50% limit set in the Indira Sawhney case, and hence it used the difference between 50% and current reservation levels of 22.5%. One can be pretty confident that this was the reasoning used by the Congress. The last caste based census was conducted by the British in 1931, which was 75 years ago, and there is no guarantee that data from that was collected accurately; in addition, to use such data for current purposes would be useless because of the time gap.
2. In addition, the Government refused to set aside reservation for the creamy layer. The Court have made it clear from the beginning that they do not approve of the rich, upper sections of the reserved classes availing of quota, since they have equal opportunity as anybody else. This is something that the Government finally conceded to after so many months of refusal; primarily in order to try and get the court to remove the stay. However, it is difficult to remove the creamy layer as all the politicians will automatically get excluded and this would not be something that they would agree to.
The reservation game has been a pet project of Arjun Singh (the same one accused of harassing his daughter-in-law for dowry) in order to try and bring about a place for himself in the party. However, this does not seem to have worked, and has instead landed the Congress in a soup. Predictably, for any electoral benefits, there are a whole host of caste-based parties waiting to claim the benefits; the Congress, because it tries to preserve its pan-society appeal, will not try to win votes on the basis of this reservation to avoid pushing the forward castes against it. It's stuck both ways.
Recently, in the Gujjar agitation, we saw how a society, attracted by the promise of reserved jobs, will try to declare itself as a backward caste, and at the same time, a caste already claiming the benefits (the Meenas) will do what they can to try and prevent their share of the pie from reducing. Instead of trying to get away from caste based politics and development, we are doing the opposite.
Labels: Caste, Congress, Court, Development, Discrimination, Education, Governance, Politics, Reservations
Tuesday, August 07, 2007
Left opens salvo: Attacks nuclear deal
Things suddenly got more difficult for the Congress. The India-US nuclear agreement is one of the signature agreements signed by the Congress Government, one that took a large amount of complex negotiations, and eventually lead to an agreement where both sides have compromised their positions to some degree. However, upon reading the summary of the agreement released so far, it seems pretty clear that it would have been difficult for Indian to have got a better agreement. To get the US to agree to fight its internal opposition and give India a status of almost a nuclear power, with the promise of cheaper nuclear civil technology for energy generation is really a big deal. For a long time, it has been a corner-stone of US diplomacy to retain the NPT as a way of limiting the nuclear powers of non-nuclear states, and India has always declined to sign the NPT.
With all this, the Congress Government knew that this is a very sensitive deal, bound to provoke an incredible amount of political opposition, much of it to embarrass the Government on the grounds of compromising national security. So, the Congress Government first got the scientists on board and reduced their opposition, and then started to work on the left parties. It is a natural policy for the left to oppose any pact with the US, and to be very suspicious of anything signed with the US. From statements of the past few days, it seemed like they have succeeded, but now things have gone the other way:
The Left parties rejected the landmark nuclear pact between New Delhi and Washington on Tuesday saying it compromised India's sovereignty and imposed US influence.
The fresh opposition by the Left parties comes days after India and the United States unveiled the text of the nuclear pact which will govern nuclear commerce between the two countries if and when it is approved by US Congress.
This is a major setback for the Government. Normally, such stands are a gambit by the left parties, which is slowly overcome by the Government after meetings and negotiations. This enables the left to keep on appealing to its natural constituency of anti-US voters, while at the same time preventing the BJP from gaining ground. If the left sticks to its position, then it is very clear that the Government will be in a sticky position, and will have to expend a lot of political capital to resolve. As always, the left is the Congress supporter aways trying to extract its pound of flesh, maybe in some other policy decisions.
Labels: Congress, Left, Politics, Responsibility, Security
Monday, August 06, 2007
Congress party supporting Sanjay Dutt
Imagine that you are located near the border, living in Punjab or Jammu & Kashmir. You have an idea of who the militants / mafia / terrorists are, although you have never assisted them in their work. One day, you think that you need some weapons to defend yourself and hence you go to the terrorists, ask them to lend you some weapons. They agree, and send you three assault rifles of the sort commonly used by terrorists and some grenades. You take your pick, and send the remaining back. Later when police call you, you realize that this could be something wrong, and you destroy the evidence. Remember, all this is illegal, with the case of actually keeping weapons banned under the Arms Act (minimum sentence of 5 years). Now, if you were a commoner, innocent in your mind, you would still have been prosecuted, with the chance of being included in the conspiracy and being racked up on terrorism charges. Sounds pretty legal so far. And now pretend that you are not a commoner, but a film star, but have done everything else the same. What should the sentence be, and should it be any different?
And this is exactly the case with Sanjay Dutt. he has been convicted under the Arms Act, and with the minimum sentence being 5 years, he has got 6 years. And once this sentencing has been done, there has been a high-profile campaign raised against this sentence, with people calling it unfair, that he has suffered enough during the time that the case was ongoing, and so on. Hogwash ! While I may sympathize with him, I cannot but feel that a country is the poorer if it treats people differently based on their social position and celebrity status. He broke the law, and got the punishment prescribed under the law. In fact, other convicts have protested at the better treatment that he is getting, after being out on bail for so long, and not even being sent back to jail after his conviction, but only after his sentencing.
Now, he has close connections with the Congress Party; after all his father was a minister and an MP for a long time, his sister is a sitting MP, and it is okay to plead for his betterment, and so on. At the same time, a party in governance is not expected to plead for differential treatment for him just because of his connections or because he is a celebrity. In such a case, the remarks by Kapil Sibal are totally unwarranted:
"We may be concerned or saddened. But any political party cannot do anything in such a case where the law has to take its own course," party spokesman Abhishek Singhvi replied to repeated questions about Sibal's support for the jailed actor.
His comments came after the Union Science and Technology Minister reiterated that the "Congress should stand by Dutt in this hour of crisis because of the long association his father had with the party and also because his sister is a sitting party MP."
Such statements are tantamount to asking for preferential treatment. However, the Congress would be careful about being too closely identified with the 'sentence is too harsh' lobby, since that would be a Public Relations disaster for the Congress; with the media and opponents criticizing it for not caring about the victims of the bomb blast, and for doing differential treatment based on his celebrity status.
Labels: Congress, Court, Discrimination, Law, Responsibility, Terrorism
Sunday, August 05, 2007
Commoner stops govt official promotion through RTI
The RTI Act has typically been used to bring about information mainly about the status of one's own files that are being processed slowly by the bureaucracy, or to root out some matters of public interest, typically in cases where some sort of corruption is involved. But as more and more cases come about, it is clear that RTI can make information freely available to people, and information is power. In this particular case, it has allowed a non-Government official to ask details about the record of a official who was promoted, once revealed, the information was such that the promotion was withdrawn.
Ashwin Patel, who is a drug manufacturer himself, had asked whether the promotion of assistant depot manager of the Central Medical Stores Organisation (CMSO) RS Shah can be considered legal or not. Shah was chargesheeted by his own department and a vigilance inquiry too was pending against him. At the end of the exercise, Shah's promotion was withdrawn on Friday.
Patel procured under the RTI Act two letters—- one written by the under secretary dated October 30, 2001 and the other written by a vigilance officer on October 11, 2001, categorically informing the department that it had been decided to initiate departmental enquiry against him. So perturbed were the health department officials that they never allowed Patel to even inspect the files pertaining to Shah's vigilance inquiry under the RTI Act. On Friday, Shah's promotion was nullified.
Do read the link above, it shows the Government officials have used the garb of secrecy to stall enquiries and promote one of their own. But, once you have people willing to challenge this (after all, the Government is setup for the service of the citizenry and is paid out of the tax-payer's taxes), more and more of such cases will be rooted. In the end, if corruption in India decreases and more efficiency and honesty gets promoted, the RTI Act will be one of the leading reasons for such a thing happening.
Labels: Corruption, Empowerment, Governance, Law, Morality, Responsibility, RTI
Corporal punishment in schools
There is an old saying, 'Save the rod, and spoil the child'. It has a simple premise, that unless you teach a child the right and wrong and what to do / not to do, and actually implement these instructions with some punishment from time to time such that the lesson is imprinted. You would also have heard of teachings in Catholic schools where the nuns would imprint morals into a person, and make sure that these are properly learnt through the use of corporal punishment. What actually is corporal punishment? It is the using of some form of physical punishment in an educational facility as an aid to learning. Sounds simple, does it not; it worked in the past, did it not.
Well, guess what, in the past, society had no problems with the usage of such punishment as drawing and quartering, cutting of the head, and other barbaric forms of killing as a death sentence. As society evolves, it moves away from barbarism, and learns better ways of doing things. As a part of this, there is a realization that letting teachers use canes / rods / slaps as a means of punishing a student is no longer acceptable; in fact, for every 2 students who improve from this experience, there will be many others who get scarred with this experience, especially if it happens on a regular basis. There are other ways of making sure that students learn, and usage of such punishment is unwarranted, and in fact, is illegal in schools.
Why such a fuss ? Well, here's one experience:
In a shocking incident, the principal of a school in Andhra Pradesh gave electric shocks to a 10-year-old student. Police in Tuni town on Saturday registered a case against the principal of a residential school run by a Christian mission. Police were on the lookout for the principal, who allegedly justified the punishment before escaping to evade arrest.
"The investigations are on to find out as to how many students were given electric shocks," he said. The incident came close on the heels of another one where a school teacher allegedly pushed a five-year-old student so hard that he injured his tongue badly. Parents of five-year-old K. Devi Vara Prasad, a student of lower kindergarten at St. Mary School in Nallakaunta, lodged a complaint with the police in this regard two days ago. Last month, the head master of a private school in Mahabubnagar district was arrested for allegedly chaining a Class III student as punishment.
Corporal punishment is also a short-cut to try and discipline rowdy kids, or in the above case, to use one's own logic. Once corporal punishment is seen as an easy solution, in effect you are depending on the logic of a teacher to practise the restraint; and this can have fatal effects. In a recent incident, a student was beaten by the teacher with a stick, and ultimately his lungs collapsed and he died.
Secondly, when students are small, they are easily impressionable, and using corporal punishment can make them retreat into themselves, and avoid school.
Labels: Child, Development, Education, Governance, Health, Law, Morality, Punishment, Reform, Welfare
Saturday, August 04, 2007
How to save your own skin in a corruption case
The slum land allotment case in India suddenly blew up. From initial results, some things seem clear. The man who made so much money through this morass of corruption and theft, Ashok Malhotra, made a lot of money through the active help of corrupt MCD and DDA employees, including senior people. But you know the Government and the legal system, it depends on proof. And since there has not been a good track record in terms of arresting and prosecuting Government employees for their various nefarious activities, it is assumed that such a situation will continue. Or at least that's what the employees in the MCD office think. Get rid of the documentation, and voila, there's no proof. And the sad thing is, it might work:
An audacious Operation Cover-up has been launched to save the skin of scamster Ashok Malhotra and his accomplices in MCD. Within hours of TOI front-paging the story of this roadside chhole vendor who created a business worth Rs 100 crore with the help of politicians and babus, at least 2,700 files containing proof of allotment of resettlement colony plots to fictitious entities have gone missing.
Sources said the MCD brass is rattled by the brazenness of the cover-up operation and has initiated a vigilance probe into disappearance of at least 2,700 files, reported missing at last count. Heads in the Slum and JJ Wing have started rolling. A senior official of the building department, responsible for allotment of plots by MCD, has been divested of his responsibility and shifted to another post.
It is impossible for the legal system to function if something as basic as retaining evidence is not maintained. Destroying evidence located at Government offices is a crime of the highest order, and for example, in the US, destroying such evidence can lead to very bad consequences. But as I was saying, nothing will happen here.
In the Indian system, how do you punish an official ? You order his removal from his current position, and get this, you move him to another position. This realistically could be a major problem for the individual concerned since he could be very well moved out of a position where he was making a lot of money. But it is very much possible that when the pressure dies down, he can make his move back to his older position and resume what he was doing.
And of course, our high profile Delhi politicians are totally silent. All this has happened under the reign of Madam Sheila Dixit, so she should be held culpable for this major crime that has been ongoing for some time. It is even more so of a crime because it impacts the housing for slum-dwellers, who are not a very well-provided lot anyway. But, will anything happen? Yes, more such attempts will be made by officials to cover their respective asses.
Labels: Congress, Corruption, Governance, Law, Morality, Responsibility
Laloo, under fire for helicopter landings, blames pilots
Anything our politicians do is usually highlighted, and normally very reasonably. It is very easy to believe that our politicians are arrogant, act as if they know best, don't care about other people, treat everybody else as their servants, and overall are a pain. Well, if you wanted confirmation, here's confirmation. When Laloo Prasad was using an IAF helicopter for looking at villagers affected by flood, although he is the railway minister and not the home minister or the Bihar chief minister (although doing flood surveys and pretending to care looks very good on TV). And then what happened? Disregarding all norms regarding landing helicopters on places other than a helipad, and without an obvious need (such as delivering supplies, or dropping a doctor, or picking up injured people), he ordered the helicopter to land.
Obviously, in a heavily political sceanrio, such a violation of rules cannot stand, and hence a worker from another party filed a complaint that he was damaged by the sudden landing of the helicopter (could be easily true as well, a helicopter is a heavy machinery and also creates a massive down draft, especially helicopters used by the air force). And what does our embarrassed railway minister do ? He tried to shift the blame to the poor pilots:
"I don't know why they (pilots) landed, the decision was not in my hands," the Railways Minister said when asked about how the MI-17 helicopter had landed on the national highway near Manihari village, while he was undertaking an aerial survey of flood-affected areas of Bihar.
The incident of helicopter landing on the highway has come in for sharp attack from Opposition parties, who said this could have endangered civilian lives.
Meanwhile, the air force has sent a report to Defence Minister A K Antony about the unscheduled landing. IAF officials were tightlipped about the incident, but sources claimed that it was only on the insistence of the Railways Minister that the pilots landed on the highway, disregarding usual norms.
Only the very gullible will believe that the Railway Minister did not have anything to do with this. Does it seem possible that pilots, used to living a life bound by rules, and flying an expensive machine will suddenly land in violation of rules ? On the other hand, they are not easily able to refuse the order of a minister who seems to be a very powerful man in the government. India is not yet in a state where the officers can refuse and the minister would have to resign for trying to get government officials to do an illegal act. Laloo is a very valuable minister to the Congress and a firm ally; incidents like these will just get flicked off like a fly.
Labels: Congress, Corruption, Investigation, Law, Responsibility, Waste
Friday, August 03, 2007
Delhi land scam: Will there be any conclusion
The land scam in Delhi, where a poor guy made rich is picking up heat. For those who do not know, the canteen contractor of Delhi Vidhan Sabha, Ashok Malhotra was caught with an immense amount of money, something that no canteen contractor could ever make. What was the scam all about ? It was about the connivance of DDA officials with a man out to make money, and the people who were targeted were the poorest of the poor, slum dwellers.
Malhotra owns multiple houses, a large number of posh cars, and so on. And all out of corruption of the basest degree, through the creation of artificial documents with the cooperation of friendly (and presumably well treated DDA officials).
The CBI has recovered a number of incriminating documents suggesting connivance of officials at all levels within Delhi government and Delhi Development Authority (DDA). Though CBI officials remained tightlipped, they had made the aspect of larger conspiracy clear when they booked every politician's favourite man Malhotra along with five DDA officials. A senior official said, "We will have to scrutinise the documents, including blank identity slips of Delhi administration, fake ration cards, official rubber stamps, original allotment letters of plots and registers maintaining details of sale of plot with amount before coming to any conclusion."
Under a DDA scheme, all slum-dwellers were supposed to be given a plot each (measuring 20.9 square metres) at Dheerpur, Phase-I in north Delhi. "However, the accused DDA officials allotted a number of these plots in the name of fictitious persons, using forged identity documents, allegedly at the behest of Malhotra, who subsequently sold these plots at exorbitant rates," said an official. According to the FIR, which was registered on July 24, the probe into the land scam began on the basis of information which revealed Malhotra's nexus with DDA officials in grabbing the land worth crores of rupees. It was alleged that Malhotra entered into a criminal conspiracy with five DDA officials and filed applications for allotment of plots under the scheme using fictitious names, claiming to be erstwhile residents of Hudson Lines.
This is like stealing from the very poor, from slum-dwellers. Do these officials, supposedly to serve the citizens, have no shame. They deserve the punishment that they should get for such betrayal of jobs and their responsibility.
However, after seeing what happens in the Telgi scam, where a massive scam was portrayed and yet no official, politician, or policeman was sentenced, I really doubt whether something will happen in this case ? The Mumbai blasts case did sentence Govt customs and police for dereliction of duty and complicity, but that was an exceptional case.
Labels: Corruption, Development, Governance, Law, Morality, Welfare
Wednesday, August 01, 2007
Delhi Government trying to look at traffic discipline
Delhi to an outsider can seem to be a good place to drive. There are large roads, many of whom are maintained well (of course that vanishes when it rains, but that is a different issue). However, Delhi suffers from 2 curses:
1. Delhi has an extremely large number of vehicles, thus causing a major problems during peak time.
2. People in Delhi have the feeling that their time is extremely valuable, and wasting any of that time in traffic is an offense.
Why this talk about traffic? Well, for the past some time, the Delhi Government has been running radio ads calling for traffic sense and giving advice to people, and then having a small talk from the Chief Minister, Sheila Dixit about how it is so important to maintain discipline on the roads.
Now I would really like more discipline on Delhi roads. And when I talk about discipline, I am not only talking about Delhi proper, but the surrounding areas as well that make up the National Capital region, namely Delhi, Faridabad, Gurgaon, Ghaziabad, and Noida.
I have also realized that due to a combination of reasons such as a feeling of self-importance, time pressure, the belief that there will be very few traffic policemen on the roads, or that they will not bother to challan, or can be bought off, so many of Delhi drivers could not be bothered less with obeying rules.
A few months back, Delhi police grandly announced a special drive to police Delhi roads and enforce all rules, combined with an order from the High Court on compounding that made all fines costlier by Rs, 500. These were reported by the media, and for a few days, one could see more policemen questioning people, or actually cutting off a challan.
But like so many other things, all this fizzled out. Now, you hardly see any traffic policemen actually doing the role of inspection. Drives such as checking for helmet wearing (and on the head, not on the hand as most macho young guys want to do), checking for illegal windows film, jumping red lights can be soon so often. The drive seems to have fizzled out, maybe a target collection was required and that has been achieved.
Things are actually worse off when you move to places away from the center of the city, with nobody caring about red lights, not about allowing pedestrians to cross (in fact, in so many areas where the metro or other construction, the side walks are all gone, with pedestrians jumping between moving traffic), weaving in and out of traffic, and so on.
The answer is a complex one. Just a radio campaign does not work. Traffic training is part of respect of the legal system and laws, and should start from school. A kid asking a question when seeing a traffic rule broken can be very effective at challenging the person who has broken the rule. At the time of taking of license, people should be thoroughly questioned about the rules, and should be taken out in traffic to check rule implementation.
There are many countries that have strict traffic rules, and an equally strict implementation, and these rules are not a violation of anyone's civil rights. As an example, both the US and Singapore have good compliance with traffic rules, and that happens only because the rules are backed up by a fear of fines and police. Unless, in India, we start to put more traffic cops on the road and ready to fine violators, we will continue to have a bad traffic sense and reputation.


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Wising up to Caribbean frankincense
David Gill, Guest Editor of the Tree Conservation special issue of Oryx-The International Journal of Conservation, has chosen 'Making business scents: how to harvest incense sustainably from the globally threatened lansan tree Protium attenuatum' as one of his editor's picks from the issue. In this blog the author, Jenny Daltry, discusses her research in more detail.
Following the edge of the Forest Reserve on the Caribbean island of Saint Lucia, Adams Toussaint pointed to a startling trail of destruction. One tree after another was covered in slashes and cavities. Some had even snapped in two, leaving only a ragged stump. A sweet woody odour hung in the humid air. Adams— a forester and keen naturalist— had studied Protium attenuatum for his Masters degree, and knew something had to be done to save these fragile and valuable trees.
Named from the French l'encens (incense), lansan trees belong to the frankincense family Burseraceae and produce a pungent white resin that makes an excellent incense. The incense is widely used by churches and by many Saint Lucians to ward off mosquitos or evil spirits. Tappers extract the resin by cutting or removing the bark, returning about two weeks later to scrape off the congealed lumps.
Unfortunately, lansan trees are highly prone to decay and careless tapping can swiftly lead to death. Across most of their range in the Eastern Caribbean, these endangered trees have disappeared. Only Saint Lucia and Dominica still have sizeable numbers left, and Saint Lucia's population is in decline. Resin tapping has long been prohibited on state land, but that has proved difficult to enforce and, besides, nobody wished to deprive poor tappers of an important livelihood.
We posed ourselves the question of whether resin could be harvested without killing the trees. The Global Trees Campaign and Flagship Species Fund kindly sponsored our experimental study, which entailed studying over 370 lansan trees using 10 different methods and carefully monitoring the resin yield and the tree growth and condition. Methods ranged from techniques customarily used by local tappers to ideas borrowed from the resin industry in other parts of the world. Every tree was tapped every two weeks and we monitored its condition closely.
This study was not without challenges. Only a few weeks into the start, a dozen of our study trees were swept away by landslides and our team was cut off for more than a week. Later, the unexpected discovery of endangered but potentially dangerous vipers Bothrops caribbaeus in our study site added a frisson while picking our way from one tree to another. Our team enjoyed working in the forest, however, and as the data accumulated, some interesting patterns started to emerge.
Of the 10 methods tested, one was the clear winner: the application of a weak acidic solution to a simple cut in the bark. This stimulated the trees to produce significantly more resin and yet the trees remained perfectly healthy (the acidic wash may have also helped to disinfect the cuts). In contrast, methods traditionally employed by local tappers were highly damaging. Not only did these trees deteriorate and decay, but disease spread to non-tapped trees nearby.
Following on from this study, a new management plan for Saint Lucia lansan has been developed which sees local tappers becoming professionally trained and licensed to use our recommended, and very productive, method of extraction. Each tapper is being granted an area of forest which they can use and help to protect in cooperation with the Forestry Department. Lansan trees are also being planted as part of post-hurricane reforestation efforts.
These are still early days but thanks to our success in finding an effective and tree-friendly way of harvesting resin, Saint Lucia has the makings of a win-win-win: for the tappers, for the communities who traditionally use incense, and for the conservation of these endangered trees.
Read Jenny Daltry Oryx article in full for free here until the end of 2015.
Access the entire Tree Conservation special issue
Main image credt: Jenny Daltry

subset: commoncrawl


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What Could Be More Fun Than an
I Spy Bag?
I used the free pattern from http://ajpadilla.com/patterns/reduce-reuse-recycle/i-spy-bag but you can do an Internet search & find several patterns & even In the Hoop embroidery machine patterns. I started out to make 2 for the grandboys for Christmas. Now, I have made at least 1 1/2 dozen for gifts.......great for young & old alike.


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"Triple Threat is a collection of 3 classic essentials in one fabulous kit. From stilettos to flats, these cushions will help you walk more comfortably in your favorite shoes. • Tip Toes: ball of foot shoe cushions help feet stay in place, absorb shock in the high-impact ball of foot area, and help you walk with perfect posture for overall back and leg relief • Heavenly Heelz: back of heel shoe cushions keep the back of your heels from slipping out, and protect against red marks and blisters • Killer Kushionz: 3/4 insoles protect your entire insole from bottom of heel to ball of foot • Made in the USA • Recommended by the American Podiatric Medical Association "
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Best Price
Whomp whomp. There're no Warpaths for sale.Sell yours
Perhaps the most sought after of the Series 2 minibots, Warpath was hard to ignore as a nearly to scale tank with great firepower and strength stats. His rear panel (behind his turret) is often found cracked.
- MSRP (Canada) (Unknown)
- Release Date January 1, 1985
- Packaging Carded
- Manufacturer Hasbro
- Brand Transformers
- Product Line (Unknown)
- Class (Unknown)
Still the best-looking tank toy I've ever seen. Stands out for not being "cutesy" like all the mini-car type toys from Generation 1. The color scheme is just perfect.
Minus a half-star just because the robot mode looks slightly ridiculous.
the original autobot tank. red and ready to do. Warpath has the coolest altmode the 1985 minibots and perhaps the worst bot mode. still a must buy. He is a cool little bugger.
Warpath is pretty standard for a transformers mini-bot. Transformation is simple, but good. Warpath transforms fro robot to tank.
Warpath is another rare mould. I really like the transformation. This toy is also very robust. My daughter transforms it all the time and it hasn't damaged. The transformation needs to follow a specific order or else you could crack the plastic but the quality is high and stood up to the abuse.
"Bang, Pow". In the words of Warpath, he never let size show any weakness. Cool vehicle mode, robot mode did not look as cool.
warpath is a great character. I was happy to see him in the fall of cyberton game. he likes to say things like POW!
Tiny little tank Transformer ya gotta love these early sculpts on the miniature transformers of Gen 1.
A great toy from a great line--who doesn't love the G1 mini vehicles? Warpath is still one of the best looking tanks we've ever gotten. His robot mode isn't all that, but this toy still stands the test of time.
I find sometimes his head can be a little tight to get out and if he is still tight he you have to be carfull transforming him
great figure. love the details. perfect for display on shelf or desktop. must have for the collectors! love this guy, g1 is the best.
My Warpath acts oddly. His waist is sometimes too tight, and sometimes it is too loose. This is odd.


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Events for 24th Feb 2019 - 2nd Mar 2019
Showing 1 to 4 of 4 events.
- Date: 6th October 2018 - 23rd March 2019
- Every day
- Location: Gallery, Museum of Oxford
- Time: 10:00 - 17:00
- Cost: FREE
While the Museum of Oxford's galleries are undergoing a major re-development, visit our small but perfectly formed 'Micro-Museum'! The only gallery dedicated to the history of the City, this temporary exhibition in the Town Hall Gallery holds as many of our objects as we could fit in and also includes a community created display that will change throughout the year, featuring the Windrush Years - Next Generations until 23 March 2019.
Please note, the Micro-Museum is not open on Sundays.
The Windrush Years - Next Generations
- Date: 6th October 2018 - 23rd March 2019
- Every day
- Location: Gallery, Museum of Oxford
- Time: 10:00 - 17:00
- Cost: FREE
Visit our first community exhibition in the Micro-Museum. See our Caribbean living room exhibition and find out about the experiences of the Windrush with the voices of local people and costumes from BK LUWO. Created in partnership with ACHKI (Afrikan Caribbean Kultural Heritage Initiative) and BK LUWO.
This exhibition will be available Mondays to Saturdays.
Key facts about the HMT Empire Windrush:
- British troopship anchored at Tilbury Docks in Essex on 21 June 1948
- It was 500ft and 3inches long
- On 21 June 1948, the Empire Windrush carried 1,027 passengers
- More than half on board stated their last country of residence was Jamaica
Undiscovered Oxford - Family Trail
- Date: 9th February 2019 - 22nd March 2019
- Every day
- Location: Gallery, Museum of Oxford
- Time: 10:00 - 16:30
- Cost: FREE
Discover 8 things you might not know about Oxford!
This family trail can be picked up from the Micro-Museum in the Gallery. It will be available Monday to Saturday (excluding Bank Holidays).
Gloucester Green Market - general market
- Date: 21st October 2015 - 31st December 2025
- Every week
- Location: Gloucester Green
- Time: 09:00 - 16:00
- Cost: Free
Gloucester Green Market - general market
The market at Gloucester Green is a traditional and vibrant open air market offering a wide range of goods on different days.
The market operates every Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday. Visit the LSD Promotions website for more information.
- Wednesdays - General market, all types of traders welcome
- Thursdays - Antique, Vintage, Art & Craft
- Saturdays - Funky Food, Crafty Craft, all things Vintage & Arty


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I don't think I have ever felt so comfortable working with a language at work. Javascript is incredibly expressive, and adapts to the implementation of my needs on a per project basis quite well. In that way, JS lends itself to being used in interesting and evolving ways on the same project.
Some are good others are horrible, some should be fucking illegal.
Async. Event Handling
I am responsible for maintaining a lump of patchwork that is considered the mobile web SDK, the idea being that people website owners, or publishers, should be able to incorporate ads into their website without having to bother learning some new bullshit and without having too much complication, and above all else we have to make sure they are trafficked and tracked appropriately – they should be kept out of that. I am a firm believer in in-sourcing projects that are important to your business, and so here I am.
We have a number of very odd behavior coming from our event tracking, like when the first quartile event arrives after the third quartile or completion events, so clearly something was up. I spent some time thinking it through and well, asynchronous JavaScript comes to the rescue.
Our events are tracked by a series of URLs that need to be hit, and we don't really care for the response or confirmation, if our sites go down things will be known well before people ask about tracking data, and there are backups I also don't worry about. Anyways, I came up with a cascading request manager that handles things:
var requestManager = (function () { var RequestManager = function () { }; RequestManager.prototype.RequestInProgress = false; RequestManager.prototype.CurrentRequest = null; RequestManager.prototype.RequestsQueue = []; RequestManager.prototype.Execute = function (url, callback) { var rm = this; if (rm.RequestInProgress !== false) { rm.RequestsQueue.push({url: url, callback: callback}); // console.log("Request in progress"); return null; } rm.RequestInProgress = true; rm.CurrentRequest = new XMLHttpRequest(); rm.CurrentRequest.onreadystatechange = function (response) { if (response.target.readyState != 4) return; rm.RequestInProgress = false; if (typeof(callback) !== "undefined") callback(response); if (rm.RequestsQueue.length > 0) { var tmp = rm.RequestsQueue.shift(); rm.Execute(tmp.url, tmp.callback); } }; rm.CurrentRequest.open("GET", url, false); rm.CurrentRequest.send(); return rm.CurrentRequest; }; return new RequestManager(); })();
Sure it isnt the most efficient design for an example possible, but the cascading request format is as useful as a semicolon in this environment. The kicker is the way that it handles events. An XmlHTTPRequest is created, its destination is set and then we monitor the results of the request. Once the request is completed, readystate == 4, we hand off the response to a user defined callback and check to see if there is a new request to be made. If there is we spin up a new request and send it along the exact same flow.
requestManager.Execute(url, function (response) {});
This an example of the usage, hiding some of the complication. The idea is to be able to execute this function call an it arbitrary number of times, and ensure that the requests are eventually executed.
If you happened to be needing something like this, enjoy. Otherwise, feel free to enjoy its simplicity.


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|Christian Schneider <ch...@die-schneider.net>
|Re: Customizing method body of wsdl2java generated code
|Tue, 02 Feb 2010 07:19:23 GMT
Hi Anto, I guess the best way to generate additional code is writing a xjc plugin. Have a look at example 6 in http://cxf.apache.org/docs/maven-cxf-codegen-plugin-wsdl-to-java.html on how to use such a plugin . In the CXF source you can find the source of some xjc plugins (in path common/xjc). You can use one of those plugins as a base to write your plugin. Perhaps you even find what you need in jaxb commons: https://jaxb2-commons.dev.java.net/ In any case you should not change generated code manually as this means you can not simply regenerate it. Could you explain a little more what exactly you want to achieve? Greetings Christian Am 02.02.2010 08:06, schrieb Anto Paul: > Hi, > > How to embed custom code into method body of implementation classes > generated by wsdl2java tool? I am writing a tool that calls wsdl2java to > generate service implementation classes from WSDL and the generated code > should contain code for calling existing service layer. CXF wsdl2java > generates method body that is no usable by me. Instead of modifying that > manually or using another tool to modify generated method body, I need to > replace this method body with what I supply to the tool. Is this supported > by wsdl2java? If not which class I should look to customize the generated > code? I need to do the same for client. > > Thanks in advance > > Anto > >
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Prominent Kuwaiti educationist and businessman Ibrahim Jaber Shuaiber passed away on 22 August, 2016. Announcing his sad demise, the Shuhaiber family said that final rites for the deceased would take place on 24 August at St. Paul's Church in Ahmadi at 12 noon, followed by burial at Sulaibikhat cemetery.
The family further announced that a three-day period of condolence-acceptance will be held at Sabah Al-Salem, Area 5, Street 1, Block 1, House No. 52, from 5pm to 7pm on 24 August; from 10am to 12 noon and from 4pm to 6pm on 25 August and from 4pm to 6pm on 26 august. May his soul Rest in Peace.
In 1968, Mr. Shuaiber, along with a group of expatriates under the guidance of the then British Cousul, found the English School Fahaheel (ESF) in Mangaf. An enterprising businessman, he was also instrumental in forming several business enterprises in Kuwait.
When ESF opened, more than 48 years ago, there were no English curriculum schools in south Kuwait, with the possible exception of a school run by Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) for children of its employees.
Over the years, ESF has maintained its position as one of the country's top schools, thanks to its emphasis on high academic standards which has in turn led to consistently excellent exam results.
In 2014, in honor of his contributions to education in Kuwait, Mr. Shuhaiber, as owner and Chairman of ESF, was appointed to the Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE), which was presented to him by British Ambassador to Kuwait H.E. Matthew Lodge. He was also presented the Award of Merit by the British Business Forum for his efforts in upholding excellence in British education.
Speaking on the occasion of receiving the Award of Merit, Mr. Shuhaiber said: "I am extremely proud to have supported the cause of British education in Kuwait for 45 years." He added, "I always feel so very proud when school alumni return to tell us of their experiences since leaving the school and the success of their careers."
He attributed the school's continued success "to the high standard of teachers it has been able to recruit from the UK and to the school's overall understanding of Kuwaiti culture and traditions." Excellent academic results and strong links with the community also contribute to sustaining ESF's popularity.
He was also selected to serve as the Chancelier Commandeur of the Chaîne des Rôtisseurs, an international society founded in Paris in 1950. The Kuwait chapter of the Chaîne, which was formed in 1982 and now has nearly a hundred active members, brings together culinary and hospitality professionals and non-professionals who share in the 'spirit' of the Society and who appreciate and enjoy its values.
"It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed."
"Envy comes from wanting something that isn't yours. But grief comes from losing something you've already had."


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Recent SAP TechEd events have emphasized NetWeaver BPM and the importance of the Business Process Expert. To get a sense of why SAP is so committed to building a true "Business Process Platform," and whether or not BPX skills are still relevant in this struggling economy, Jon Reed of jonERP.com spoke with Puneet Suppal, the SAP SOA Solutions Leader for Capgemini North America. (Puneet also writes on SOA trends in his Puneet Suppal for SAP SDN/BPX.)
At the time of the podcast taping, Puneet had just returned from giving a presentation entlitled "The Business Process Imperative" with Global BPX Head Marco ten Vaanholt at TechEd Berlin. He also shared plans to head out to TechEd Bangalore to deliver a similar talk. Having done this presentation at TechEd Las Vegas as well, Puneet's views on this podcast are informed by his recent SAP Community experiences. The result is a focused conversation on how project teams and individuals should approach "BPX skills innovation" during challenging economic times.


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Programme announcement: 9 April, 2019 – Ticketshop opening: 10 April 2019
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His voice with retro charm resonates like an ode to the soul of Curtis Mayfield or Marvin Gaye. Since being revealed through the irresistible groove of "I Need a Dollar" in 2010, Aloe Blacc has been exploring subtle blends of pop, soul and folk. In 2013 he co-wrote and sang Swedish DJ Avicii's worldwide hit "Wake Me Up", an acoustic version of which is on the album Lift Your Spirit. That record is the clearest proof yet of his ability to bring together different styles, knowing that in the 1990s he rapped with the duo Emanon. Back at the Festival after two trips to the Montreux Jazz Jab and a memorable showcase at the Chalet de Claude Nobs in 2015, this year Aloe Blacc is tackling the Auditorium Stravinski! Crazily comfortable on stage, this California singer whips his voice around like it's the easiest thing in the world...


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Early in the fourth quarter, with the Lakers ahead of the Golden State Warriors by 22 points, Pau Gasol did a quick spin along the baseline for a reverse layup while being fouled by Dan Gadzuric.
Gasol made the free throw for a three-point play, just another of the many moves and displays of skills produced by the 7-foot center during the Lakers' 107-83 rout of the Warriors on Sunday night at Staples Center.
He led the Lakers in scoring with 26 points on 10-for-19 shooting. He was second in rebounding with 12, five offensive. He had four assists, tied for the team lead with three other teammates. He also had two blocked shots.
"Obviously, individually, things are working and I'm feeling very well out there and effective," Gasol said. "I think I can still be better. But I feel pretty satisfied how things are going so far."


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Didi's Manners & Etiquette: Best and Worse Manners from 2014
Thursday, January 01, 2015
Devastated by husband's Facebook status
My husband announced our breakup on Facebook, before I had a chance to tell my closest friends and family. Worst is our children hadn't been told and that's how they found out. Things haven't been good, but now I'm feeling even worse. How do I respond to our status on social media?
~Ellie, Providence
Try to forget about frigging Facebook. If you feel you have to soften the blow, do a status update directed to close family and friends saying that you have both agreed to a peaceable uncoupling. Because he announced it first, it makes him sound like the bad guy. By you graciously announcing the breakup was by mutual consent, you come out as the more rational voice.
Talking to your children is the most difficult. Together, gently tell them that you both will always love them no matter what, and they will have two homes instead of one. On this, you may want a professional consult.
'Wealfie' brazenness
How do I get my fiancé to see that it is not polite to brag about his riches on social media by taking selfles while standing in front of his latest acquisition? It's embarrassing. He feels he has to show off his toys -- including a private jet and Italian race car -- on Facebook so that his friends and colleagues will see how successful he is. How do I get him to understand that it is not polite -- or cool -- to brag about his wealth?
Artists have been painting and drawing self portraits for centuries. Taking a selfie, a photo of yourself, is not an anomaly. The need to connect and be recognized is inherently part of our makeup in a society that encourages self-expression -- taking photos of ourselves. Posting 'wealfies' is how your fiancé shows off his wealth by taking a selfie along side his outrageously expensive props. Seeing a friend or colleague's 'wealfie' taken in St. Moritz about to ski a run and then sipping champagne on a yacht in St. Bart, gives glimpses of a privileged life.
Mention your concern to your fiancé. Remind him that now that he has showed the world his expensive toys, and enough is enough. Suggest that for you and his self-respect going forward, he makes a New Year's resolution to stop flaunting his riches. Tell him boasting makes him seem insecure -- and you know he's really cooler than that.
Worst dinner guest ever
It is unbelievable to me that a person can attend a dinner party sick. This is the second time over the holidays when I have been seated next to someone with a full-out, blown-out cold or perhaps flu.
It was as though they just came down with the flu when they sat down next to me. Nose running, coughing into their hands, sneezing into the sleeve of their elbow, using their napkin as a tissue. The woman last night was so sick she spilled a full glass of red wine down the front of my jacket, shirt, tie and trousers. Today she texted to tell me she would pay for the dry cleaning.
I don't want to have contact with someone like her again. Don't these people understand how common colds and flu colds are transmitted?
What do you do when you're stuck with someone who is quite obviously really sick and should be home in bed? If you're sick, do us all a favor and stay home.
~Furious, Washington DC
My sympathy to you who may come down with an airborne cold or flu, and to the two guests who were sick. Give at least one of them the benefit of the doubt that their cold medicine was wearing off when they sat down to dinner. Next time, suggest that the person lie down in another room until they feel better, and say that you'll check on them after dinner to see if they need a ride home.
As to the dry cleaning bill. She offered to pay. Have the entire suit and tie dry-cleaned and the shirt laundered. Then send her the bill with a stamped self-addressed envelope for her to return with your check inside.
There is nothing to do at a social occasion, but be compassionate toward the person feeling ill.
Don't find yourself in a similar situation, such as your sick dinner partners did — making everyone in close proximity as miserable as you were.
The inconsiderate traveler
Traveling has become such a nightmare we no longer look forward to taking a trip. Nobody pays attention to where they're walking because they're texting. If our children know absolutely nothing about traveling politely, neither will their progeny. Are there any ground rules about the etiquette of travel?
~E.D., Boston
When children see their parents constantly connected, it's hard to put limits on texting, but I agree. It is difficult to navigate a car when you see people crossing intersections with their eyes glued to their device.
The good news is the trend that major cities such as New York -- where on any given day six million people use the subway system -- will soon be posting good etiquette posters in subways suggesting riders be considerate of space-related incursions: don't block doors or hog poles, and carry backpacks in front instead of on their backs. Certain foods may be banned: no more eating messy, smelly food. No playing loud music, nor tending to personal grooming -- including applying nail polish and deodorant, clipping nails, flossing teeth, and nose picking. Not hogging seats by spreading their legs in the shape of a V -- a sore spot for busy travelers. Just ask them to move over when they're taking up two seats. Riders should give up their seats for pregnant women and the elderly.
Watch, soon to follow we'll be seeing etiquette posters in bus stops and airport terminals. Most suggestions are logical. Storing your carryon luggage in the overhead compartment putting the wheels in first to speed up the seating process making the compartments easier to use. When someone kicks the back of your seat, you feel what the person in front of you will experience if you kick his seat. Constant use of the reclining button can be annoying. If every traveler was considerate, traveling would be more so.
Do you have a dilemma about love, family and life in general for Didi? Go ahead and "Ask Didi." If your Question is used, we can withhold your name and/or location.
Related Articles
- Didi's Manners & Etiquette: Be the Best Guest & More
- Didi's Manners & Etiquette: Breaking Holiday Traditions
- Didi's Manners & Etiquette: Holiday Tipping + Entertaining
- Didi's Manners & Etiquette: Last Minute Gifts & More
- Didi's Manners & Etiquette: Thanksgiving Fêtes


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The man at the tiller during much of the Roaring '20s was President Calvin Coolidge, even though he didn't roar. "Silent Cal" died 74 years ago today at his home in Northampton, Mass., of coronary thrombosis at a relatively young 60. He had lived long enough, however, to see Herbert Hoover complete almost all of his term, the deepening of the Great Depression, and the landslide victory of FDR in the election of 1932.
Coolidge is receding from living memory at a fair clip now, toward the realm of obscure presidents. That's too bad, because you have to like anyone about whom such entertaining anecdotes are told, though most of them are probably apocryphal. No point in repeating them here, since many web sites or articles or books dealing with President Coolidge are going to cite the usual-suspect bon mots of Dorothy Parker and all the rest (Wikipedia is as good a source for these as any, see "Slient Cal.")
History has a way of being revised and rethought, and so it is for Calvin Coolidge, at least for those few who pay him any mind. In a sympathetic and touching article originally published in Yankee magazine in 1996, presidential historian Richard Norton Smith posits that Coolidge struggled with deep depression after the death of his beloved second son, Calvin Jr., in 1924. He was able to mask it well, however, and so his suffering never entered the popular or even scholarly imagination about the president. (Besides, it's more fun to quote Dorothy Parker.)
In another vein, columnist Robert Novak speculates that the nation and the world were worse for Coolidge's decision not to run in 1928, an election he would have certainly won. Would he have done things differently than Hoover, even ameliorating the Depression with better decisions? Maybe. In any case, Coolidge offers a good deal more to think about than the taciturn New Englander stereotype that he's been stuck with.
Two more things: songs that mention Coolidge. Who would have thought? Mentioned in passing, but he's still in them. (There's also the mention of "the Coolidge dollar" in "You're the Top," by Cole Porter, but that's not exactly about the president.)
"Crazy Words, Crazy Tune," by Irving Aaronson and His Commanders, recorded when Coolidge was in office (Febraury 4, 1927).
"When Lindy Comes to Town," by Al Stewart, released in 1995 on his Between the Wars album.


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I have used DSP from Nursery Nest with Pink Pirouette and Marina Mist card stock. The brads are from the brights collection and the ribbon is white organza. The stamp is from the Tagtastic hostess set from the current Ideas Book and Catalogue.
I have decided to enter this into this weeks challenge at Just add Ink, JAI # 106 which is a Sketch challenge and also in the SUO challenge # 39 which is to make a Birthday Card.


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Every Christmas I try so hard to get a start on things early. It just isn't my nature to be overly prepared for anything. So, every year I decide to get things taken care of early so I can enjoy the season. Every year Christmas comes and I am kicking myself for the things I didn't get done the way I had wanted.
So, here's the story this year. Those of you beloved friends and family who have yet to receive a Christmas card. They are in the mail. Yes, they were just dropped tonight, but they are technically "in the mail." I did get pictures done in the fall so they would have beautiful colors and be ready for Christmas cards. No, I didn't get on top of the whole card thing until like a week ago. Lame. I make myself so mad.
I do have a fun Christmas post coming, but in the chaos of my home post-present opening, I seem to have misplaced the cord to my camera. It has been a wonderful day, and I am super-duper excited to post the video of Pete. He was so dang cute this morning. I, on the other hand did not look so cute, so there may not be any pictures of how beautiful I look on Christmas morning. I know, you are all very disappointed.
I hope everyone had a great Christmas. Remember I love you, and to prove it, the card is in the mail. Or, because I am an airhead you can tell me if I forgot.


text: Atenção! Esta oferta já expirou, não sendo possível efectuar mais candidaturas. Emprego Java Back-end Developer (M/F) Empresa:Landing.Jobs Data Publicação:01/09/2017 Descrição da Função:In the UK & Ireland, Sky has been making entertainment better for over 27 years. We're part of Europe's leading entertainment company with over 21 million customers across five countries and are now starting our operations in Portugal. Delivering Sky's mix of TV that people love, pioneering technology, award-winning service and super-fast broadband is a genuine team effort. Across our business, whether in front of the camera or behind the scenes, we're always looking for new ways to make things better for our customers.That's why we are doing all we can to encourage talented people like you to join us and help make the future happen. We believe in better and that means offering a better choice of high-quality entertainment for the whole family and using technology to put them in control, whenever and wherever they want. We are currently looking for a passionate and skilled Java Developer to join Europe's leading entertainment company in our team in Lisbon. Requisitos: Degree in Computer Science or similarExperience with Java developmentExperience with back-end web developmentExperience with application serversCreative mind and team spiritStrong English skillsFluent Portuguese Oferece-se:Local:Lisboa (Distrito de Lisboa) Partilhar esta informação Enviar a oferta: Java Back-end Developer (M/F) Comentários Atenção! Esta oferta já expirou, não sendo possível efectuar mais candidaturas. Candidate-se a esta oferta Será redireccionado para o site da empresa