The Pak probe team that investigated the horrendous episode of a girl, who goes by the name Chand Bibi, reportedly slogged by brutes in the SWAT valley, has termed the entire episode as fake. Yes, it never happened.
The investigating officer has termed the video evidence as a fake, saying he personally visited the place where the purpoted incident took place. While Chand Bibi and her husband have already denied this ever happening, even the people of the area have denied knowledge of any such incident. Read the story here
I'm just wondering as to why this 'officer' also did not claim that the Taliban does not exist in SWAT at all! It is all just imagination, phooey talk!
Borrowing some commonsense from an old joke, if somebody put a bomb in your mouth, what will explode first - your face or the bomb? But of course; your ass! Sabse pehle teri gaand fategi.
Does Mr. officer really expect people to believe him? Last I heard his 'government' has sold the land and the citizens of SWAT to the Taliban, who by the way have no intention of giving up their merry ways. How, pray tell me, does he even expect a witness to testify against the beasts who practically control his every breath? This, ignoring the fact, that the 'investigators' are part of the very democratic government (sic) that have sold him, not long ago.
Unless this Taliban is a new women-friendly organization that we haven't heard of, chances are there are already hundreds of Chand Bibis in that valley. It's a shame that the only thing her own country can afford her is to term her tribulations as fake on top of a spineless investigation. I wish the officer is right. I really hope this incident has never happened to any man or woman or child. But that is only wistful thinking.
Fake? Really?
Literacy vs Education
Literacy is basically the ability to read and write, at least in one language. Literacy empowers you to be on the same pedestal as the society in which you live. In a world where information comes mostly through the written medium this is a rather crucial ability for anyone. Being literate is necessary. Being literate is indispensable. Being literate is literally just that.
Being literate is not the same as being educated. Education is more of a process than an ability. It's a loop: observe -> learn -> understand -> apply -> observe. Literacy is a tool in this process, at least it is if your choice of education is academic: science, literature, history etc
That last sentence is important! Literacy is not the only way to be 'educated'. Suppose you want to be a great fisherman? You can't just read about the different types of fish, you have to go and catch some. You have to know when and where to fish. Suppose you want to be an amazing cook? You have to burn your fingers, burn the food, burn a few utensils, know the difference between ginger and garlic and so on.
A politician, no matter how illiterate, is educated in the art of being a politician (manipulator, diplomat, shrewd). A painter, even if he doesn't know the names of colors, can be a great painter if he knows how to use them such that it appeals to observers.
They are not the same, literacy and education. The difference between them is much like the difference between a tool and a process. Literacy will give you the ability to read a book. Education is when you, at least, understand what the author is trying to convey. As an ending note I'll give an example of self-help books, something like 'Learn how to lose weight in 30 days'. What's wrong with the title? Nothing. You can learn how to lose weight in 30 days. You can 'learn' it. When you actually lose weight ... then you'll know it ...
Being literate is not the same as being educated. Education is more of a process than an ability. It's a loop: observe -> learn -> understand -> apply -> observe. Literacy is a tool in this process, at least it is if your choice of education is academic: science, literature, history etc
That last sentence is important! Literacy is not the only way to be 'educated'. Suppose you want to be a great fisherman? You can't just read about the different types of fish, you have to go and catch some. You have to know when and where to fish. Suppose you want to be an amazing cook? You have to burn your fingers, burn the food, burn a few utensils, know the difference between ginger and garlic and so on.
A politician, no matter how illiterate, is educated in the art of being a politician (manipulator, diplomat, shrewd). A painter, even if he doesn't know the names of colors, can be a great painter if he knows how to use them such that it appeals to observers.
They are not the same, literacy and education. The difference between them is much like the difference between a tool and a process. Literacy will give you the ability to read a book. Education is when you, at least, understand what the author is trying to convey. As an ending note I'll give an example of self-help books, something like 'Learn how to lose weight in 30 days'. What's wrong with the title? Nothing. You can learn how to lose weight in 30 days. You can 'learn' it. When you actually lose weight ... then you'll know it ...
Writer's block ... ?
What the hell has happened to me? How the hell can I be unable to blog random nonsense anymore?
Does that make me a writer? Hooray ... sheesh ... bah!
Easing traffic on Ring Road
The Outer Ring Road, for the uninitiated, is literally a ring shaped road that goes right around Bangalore. With the city ever expanding there are now plans to build an outer-outer ring road in addition to the current Outer Ring Road but that is where I'll leave that.
The Ring Road is definitely the most plied on road in Bangalore, especially by buses and trucks and their heavier cousins. Many large IT parks are also alongside the ring road. The amount of traffic is truly unbearable at times (most of the time) with section of a couple of kilometers taking up to half-n-hour, especially near those signals which are close to these IT parks.
There have been a lot of talks of making the ring road 'signal free' (a mini Autobahn?) by converting all current signal crossings into underpasses and so on. Certain work has even begun in this respect for e.g.: a new underpass opened just today morning just ahead of Banaswadi in the direction of Hebbal.
There is one more thing I observed today morning, which I personally found to be a neat little piece of work. It is the making of a small cut in the side of the road to accommodate a bus-stop, in such a way that when a bus stops it doesn't hold up traffic behind it.
As you can see from the awesome image above (it's a 2 min job in ms paint, so thanks) the part in gray shown the bus stop. This means that when the bus halts for public to get in and out, there is no traffic held up. This means there is no lane-cutting or spillover of traffic into adjoining lanes. Once the bus has to start moving again it can seamlessly join the main traffic. The bus stops are especially a concern on ring road since most of them are just ahead of traffic signals. I'm optimistic about this little design helping out in making the traffic a lot smoother.
The Ring Road is definitely the most plied on road in Bangalore, especially by buses and trucks and their heavier cousins. Many large IT parks are also alongside the ring road. The amount of traffic is truly unbearable at times (most of the time) with section of a couple of kilometers taking up to half-n-hour, especially near those signals which are close to these IT parks.
There have been a lot of talks of making the ring road 'signal free' (a mini Autobahn?) by converting all current signal crossings into underpasses and so on. Certain work has even begun in this respect for e.g.: a new underpass opened just today morning just ahead of Banaswadi in the direction of Hebbal.
There is one more thing I observed today morning, which I personally found to be a neat little piece of work. It is the making of a small cut in the side of the road to accommodate a bus-stop, in such a way that when a bus stops it doesn't hold up traffic behind it.
As you can see from the awesome image above (it's a 2 min job in ms paint, so thanks) the part in gray shown the bus stop. This means that when the bus halts for public to get in and out, there is no traffic held up. This means there is no lane-cutting or spillover of traffic into adjoining lanes. Once the bus has to start moving again it can seamlessly join the main traffic. The bus stops are especially a concern on ring road since most of them are just ahead of traffic signals. I'm optimistic about this little design helping out in making the traffic a lot smoother.
Ludicrous!
Pawan Shetty, the youth who tried defending women from the Wanar Sena attack in Mangalore, has been threatened. Here is the article.
With all the 27 angry monkeys released on bail there's no saying what they'll do. I hope Pawan doesn't have to pay a price for doing the only right thing in that entire fiasco.
With all the 27 angry monkeys released on bail there's no saying what they'll do. I hope Pawan doesn't have to pay a price for doing the only right thing in that entire fiasco.
Are you enjoying the ride yet?
Ok, so this post was intended for lashing out at past week's Mangalore pub fiasco, in continuation of my question to mr. moral brigadier.
I'm not going to do so.
In one sentence, I believe it was all purely political and with the elections drawing close these incidents will happen more, peak during the elections, and dormancy will prevail for the next 4 years ... in the fifth year it will start again.
In the aftermath of the incident, mr. moral brigadier has downplayed the hooliganism of his monkeys, the NCW pointed fingers at irresponsibility of the girls who got beaten up (bummer?) then retracted and blamed it on the pub security even demanding cancellation of that pub's license, Ashok Gehlot has opined for an end to mall and pub culture saying that he is against boys-n-girls holding hands in malls (would you prefer boys-n-boys sir?), Yeddyurappa has ruled out action against Ram Sena saying he wants to wait and watch (???), Ramadoss has in all glory and authority stated that pubs are detrimental to Indian culture and society and an end should be brought to the nuisance ... let me stop here, the list is endless and meaningless.
Boy, are we being taken for a ride or what? Ram Sena, Maharastra Navnirman Sena, Shiv Sena, Hoysala Sena, Anand Sena, Saxena oops! sorry, no Saxena but ... its like a friggin' virus! I even have the unwanted privilege of knowing a guy back in Mumbai who proudly speaks about his MNS membership and how his 'ideals' are valued in this 'struggle'. There are thousands rather millions like him across our country; disillusioned with their state in life - due to unemployment, poverty, big list - and they are easy targets for these self-proclaimed leaders who use the anger of these millions to achieve whatever they want. These creeps can get them to do just about anything , why pubs, they could get them to even vandalize schools and colleges, breakdown hospitals, libraries, museums ... its not just their blind faith in their leader that makes them do these things. This vandalism makes them feel power-drunk, authoritative and dominant; for that brief period they feel important ... you can't reason with such a man. Any talk of morality, society, conscience, values is alien to him ... in his opinion he has gained nothing from those things, the society in question has rejected him long ago, whereas here he is suddenly a part of a peer-group that is willing to accept him for all his hooliganism. All he has to do is break and destroy more than the other guy ... I find all this extremely disturbing.
There are a large number of voices asking for a ban on these Senas. It won't work that way. It's like the phrase 'War on Terror'. You can't fight terror, you can only fight a person. Finishing him doesn't kill the ideology. We have to look beyond the who and come to the why in these cases. Why is it so easy to mislead them? You know the answer ...
In no way am I saying that those b******s should not be punished. They have to face the law and they should get the treatment that their crime deserves. We are not fuckin pushovers! We need to twist their arm before they can hear us speak. But let's speak to them ... let's not brush this issue under the mat like shoe dust.
We are far too quiet, and that we includes me. We are resilient, but maybe not by choice. We are resourceful, but maybe because we are forced to be so. We are far too quiet ...
I'm not going to do so.
In one sentence, I believe it was all purely political and with the elections drawing close these incidents will happen more, peak during the elections, and dormancy will prevail for the next 4 years ... in the fifth year it will start again.
In the aftermath of the incident, mr. moral brigadier has downplayed the hooliganism of his monkeys, the NCW pointed fingers at irresponsibility of the girls who got beaten up (bummer?) then retracted and blamed it on the pub security even demanding cancellation of that pub's license, Ashok Gehlot has opined for an end to mall and pub culture saying that he is against boys-n-girls holding hands in malls (would you prefer boys-n-boys sir?), Yeddyurappa has ruled out action against Ram Sena saying he wants to wait and watch (???), Ramadoss has in all glory and authority stated that pubs are detrimental to Indian culture and society and an end should be brought to the nuisance ... let me stop here, the list is endless and meaningless.
Boy, are we being taken for a ride or what? Ram Sena, Maharastra Navnirman Sena, Shiv Sena, Hoysala Sena, Anand Sena, Saxena oops! sorry, no Saxena but ... its like a friggin' virus! I even have the unwanted privilege of knowing a guy back in Mumbai who proudly speaks about his MNS membership and how his 'ideals' are valued in this 'struggle'. There are thousands rather millions like him across our country; disillusioned with their state in life - due to unemployment, poverty, big list - and they are easy targets for these self-proclaimed leaders who use the anger of these millions to achieve whatever they want. These creeps can get them to do just about anything , why pubs, they could get them to even vandalize schools and colleges, breakdown hospitals, libraries, museums ... its not just their blind faith in their leader that makes them do these things. This vandalism makes them feel power-drunk, authoritative and dominant; for that brief period they feel important ... you can't reason with such a man. Any talk of morality, society, conscience, values is alien to him ... in his opinion he has gained nothing from those things, the society in question has rejected him long ago, whereas here he is suddenly a part of a peer-group that is willing to accept him for all his hooliganism. All he has to do is break and destroy more than the other guy ... I find all this extremely disturbing.
There are a large number of voices asking for a ban on these Senas. It won't work that way. It's like the phrase 'War on Terror'. You can't fight terror, you can only fight a person. Finishing him doesn't kill the ideology. We have to look beyond the who and come to the why in these cases. Why is it so easy to mislead them? You know the answer ...
In no way am I saying that those b******s should not be punished. They have to face the law and they should get the treatment that their crime deserves. We are not fuckin pushovers! We need to twist their arm before they can hear us speak. But let's speak to them ... let's not brush this issue under the mat like shoe dust.
We are far too quiet, and that we includes me. We are resilient, but maybe not by choice. We are resourceful, but maybe because we are forced to be so. We are far too quiet ...
One question for the Moral Brigadier
Mr. Pramod 'Ram Sene' Muthalik, I have just one question for you ...
Have you not gotten paid or have you not gotten laid?
More on this over the weekend ...
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