That's Greek To Me

The directed graph of stereotypical incomprehensibility

(Click on image for a larger version)

This graph was inspired by a comment by a reader on the blog Language Log:

When an English speaker doesn't understand a word one says, it's "Greek to me". When a Hebrew speaker encounters this difficulty, it "sounds like Chinese".
I've been told the Korean equivalent is "sounds like Hebrew".
Has there been a study of this phrase phenomenon, relating different languages on some kind of Directed Graph?

The most interesting observation was made by commentator Rachel Fulton:

It's fascinating that when the Chinese find something unintelligible, they assume it is a product of Heaven while everyone else (according to the graph) assumes that it is another human language they can't understand.

I wonder why the author has forgotten to put an arrow from Hindi to Farsi...

I find this graph very interesting - I didn't know mutual incomprehension could be mapped...Also, I didn't know that for Arabs the proverbial unintelligible language is Hindi and for the French - Javanese...Where and when did the French hear and learn about the existence of Javanese?
(The data for the graph has been taken from Wikipedia and Omniglot)

Gaza - The Closed Zone

Below is an Israeli short film detailing the plight of a Palestinian trapped in Gaza...



This is what Joe Klein of Time magazine has to say:

For a great many of us - Jews who support Israel, but not these policies - this government is an embarrassment. In fact, according to a recent poll conducted for the liberal group J Street, 60% of American Jews oppose the expansion of settlements [which are all illegal] and 69% oppose Lieberman's [an anti-Arab bigot who is the Foreign Minister] participation in the government. According to that same poll, 72% believed the US should exert pressure on both sides to move toward a deal--a policy one hopes Barack Obama will have the courage to pursue.

For more information, go to Closed Zone...

Favourite Ads From The 80s - Part 2

I couldn't find the Nirma ad...Who can forget the lyrics -
Washing powder Nirma.
Doodh-si safedi Nirma se Aaye.
Rangeen kapda bhi khil-khil jaaye.
Sub ki pasand Nirma!
Washing powder Nirma,
Washing powder Nirma. NIRMA!!

Favourite Ads From The 80s-Part 1

Down Memory Lane – The Golden Age Of Doordarshan

I’m definitely getting old because over the past few days I’ve been reminiscing at lot…Last night while I was surfing through the channels on TV, I realized that I didn’t watch even one Hindi serial…Kind of sad because I was a great fan of them in the 80s…

Humlog (1984)
The mother of all shows, Humlog started the craze for serials in India…It told the story of a family, a family that a large number of people could identify with…

Humlog revolved around the everyday life of a north Indian lower middle class family, with each episode focusing on the triumphs and tribulations of one or more of the central cast members…At the end of each episode, Ashok Kumar (Dadamoni) would appear to give a speech and summarize the serial…

The following were the main characters of the serial:

Basesar Ram: The alcoholic father played by Vinod Nagpal
Bhagwanti: The long-suffering mother and housewife played by Jayshri Arora
Lallu (Lalit Prasad): The unemployed eldest son played by Rajesh Puri
Nanhe: The younger son played by Abhinav Chaturvedi
Badki: The eldest daughter played by Seema Bhargava
Majhli: The second daughter played by Divya Seth
Chutki: The youngest daughter played by Loveleen Mishra
Dadaji: The grandfather (a retired teacher) played by Lahiri Singh
Dadi: The grandmother played by Sushma Seth

Buniyaad (1986)
Written by Manohar Shyam Joshi (who incidentally wrote Humlog too) and directed by Ramesh Sippy, Buniyaad was a mega serial based on the theme of Partition and its repercussions…It follows the story of Master Haveliram (a dedicated teacher) and his wife Lajoji and their children and their struggle as refugees in post-partition India…

Cast:
Master Haveliram - Played by Alok Nath
Lajoji – Haveliram’s wife played by Anita Kanwar
Veeravali – Haveliram’s sister played by Kiran Juneja
Dalip Tahil - Master Haveliram elder son
Lala Gainmal – Played by Sudhir Pandey
Vrushbhaan – Veeravali’s love interest played by Vijendra Ghatge
Satbir – Vrushbhaan’s illegitimate son played by Kanwaljit Singh
Haveliram’s elder son – Played by Dalip Tahil
Sulochana / Lochan – Haveliram’s elder daughter-in-law played by Soni Razdan
Jay – Vrushbhaan’s legitimate son played by Abhinav Chaturvedi

Khandaan
The first soap-type family entertainer that actually ended! I don’t think many watched it as I couldn’t find anything substantial on the net…I was an avid viewer and from what I remember, it was about big business and big ambitions with a few twists and turns…

Actors included: Neena Gupta, Dr. Shreeram Lagoo, Mohan Bhandari, Jayant Kriplani

Rajini (1985)
Basu Chatterjee’s first foray into television, Rajini (played by Priya Tendulkar) quickly became everybody’s favourite crusader…

Yeah Jo Hai Zindagi (1984)
This was the first really funny sitcom on Indian television…The episodes revolved around funny incidents in the lives of Ranjit Verma (Shafi Inamdar), Renu Verma (Swaroop Sampat) and Renu’s unmarried and unemployed younger brother Raja (Rakesh Bedi)…In each episode, actor Satish Shah played a different character who came into contact with the Vermas…

Kachchi Dhoop (1987)
I don’t know if anybody remembers this serial but I loved it…The title Kachchi Dhoop is a metaphor for young and impressionable minds…Written and directed by Amol Palekar, it was loosely based on ‘Little Women’…This fun and clean serial marked the debut of Bhagyashree as an actress…

Malgudi Days (1987)
Ta-na-na tana tane-naa…
Based on R.K.Narayan’s book (a collection of short stories) and directed by Shankar Nag, Malgudi was an imaginary town inhabited by timeless characters who could have been living anywhere in the world…

There were many more serials like Udaan and Fauji… If I write about all of them, this post would become very long and unreadable (I think it already is!)…I’ve not included Ramayana and Mahabharata because I didn’t like them…

Flashback - Music Of The 80s

I hope I'm not that old to be the only one who remembers music from the 80s...Back then, I was an Anglecized prude and only listened to English numbers (does anybody use the word 'numbers' anymore'?) I looked down on people who watched Hindi movies and listened to Hindi film songs...Needless to say, things have changed since then...Anyway, my older sister was the one who 'brought' the music into our household (my parents being true-blue Bengalis listened to Rabindra Sangeet which I can't stand and also Cliff Richards and the Beatles - the latter I adore and thankfully my husband does too)...

Some of the songs my sister listened to (older, naturally) and therefore I listened to (since she had the control of the 2-in-1) were:
1) Call Me - Blondie
2) Another Brick In The Wall - Pink Floyd (I forced her to listen to this...She didn't like it...Still my favourite)
3) Crazy Little Thing Called Love - Queen (one of my all time favs...My friend (who was in a band and who still plays) sang it for me at the SRCC (Shriram College of Commerce, Delhi) annual festival in the 90s
4) Funkytown - Lipps Inc. - I've been looking for this on the web to download bit can't find it...One of the best...
5) Working My Way Back To You-Forgive Me Girl - Spinners - What happened to them?
6) Celebrations - Kool & the gang
7) Physical _ Olivia Newton John (Gosh! Those were the days!)
8) AbraCaDabra - Steve Miller Band (I can't forgive myself for listening to this...Didi's fault!)
9) You can do the music - America (still like the song)
10) Down Under - Men At Work (chorus: Do you come from a land down under? Where women glow and men plunder? Can't you hear, can't you hear the thunder?You better run, you better take cover
11) Bonnie Tyler - Total Eclipse of the Heart (my husband hates it...According to him, this is the ultimate 'chick' song)
12) Take a look at me now - Phil Collins
13) Footloose - Kenny Loggins (who can forget this!!!!)
14) The heart of Roch 'N' roll - Huey Lewis and the News
15) Careless Whispers - Wham! (who can forget them...I had all their albums...Now I wonder why)
16) Everybody wants to rule the world - Tears for fear
17) Take on me - A-Ha (what happened to them?)
18) View to a kill - Duran Duran (my sister's favourite...She still loves Duran Duran)
19) Summer of '69 - Bryan Adams (my second concert was a Bryan Adams one in Bombay (Brabourne) in the early 90s...My first was a Bon Jovi concert in Sydney in 1989...Album name : New Jersey)
20) Into the groove - Madonna
21) Hold Me Now - Thompson Twins
22) Addicted to Love - Robert Palmer
23) Sledgehammer - Peter Gabriel
24) Walk Like An Egyptian - The Bangles (my sis and I were supposed to go for their concert in Sydney but it got cancelled and we went for the Bon ovi one - Thank god!)
25) Manic Monday - The Bangles
26) I still haven't found what I'm looking for - U2 (Needless to say, I didn't get tickets)
27) Tom's Diner - Suzanne Vega
28) Don't Worry, Be Happy - Bobby BcFerrin
29) Father Figure - George Michael
30) Kokomo - Beach Boys (wasn't Tom Cruise a dream in 'Cocktail'? Then he started Jumping on Oprah's couch - hmmm...Scientology kills)
31) Candle In The Wind - Elton John
32) Red Red Wine - UB40
33) Eternal Flame - Bangles
34) Living Years - Mike and the Mechanics
35) Veronica - Elvis Costello
36) Right Here Waiting - Richard Marx

Nostalgic For Online '90s?

Then take a look at some web pages from then...

If you are still nostalgic, go to http://www.thevintageweb.com/ and http://www.archive.org/web/web.php

(Source: WaybackMachine)

Edited to Add:

I first went online in 1996...Netscape Navigator was the most popular browser then and Hotmail was the 'in' free e-mailing system...The web designs then were quite basic and static...

This Norwegian web page is an example of what e-commerce sites looked like back then...The clutter dazzles the eyes...For some reason, it still looks like this today...

Am I A 'Real' Indian?

Lately, I've been wondering if I'm a 'fake' Indian...Don't laugh...According to the media, 'real' Indians are those who live in poverty and squalor and not those who live a more comfortable life in urban areas...I understand that 77% of our population lives in poverty (and as a country, we have huge problems) but what about the 23% who don't? Aren't they Indians? What makes India exciting is its diversity and that includes the diversity in incomes and lifestyles...Mukesh Ambani is as much a 'real' Indian as a poor farmer in Vidharba so why does the media insist that only the latter is a 'real' Indian? Just because I speak English and went to English medium schools and colleges doesn't mean I'm totally removed from reality...Reality is all around me - my existence is a reality and not a dream...

Is Democracy In Pakistan Unconstitutional?

Some say it is…Why? Because the Preamble to the Constitution of Pakistan clearly states

Whereas sovereignty over the entire Universe belongs to Almighty Allah alone,
and the authority to be exercised by the people of Pakistan within the limits prescribed by Him is a sacred trust;
And whereas it is the will of the people of Pakistan to establish an order: -
Wherein the State shall exercise its powers and authority through the chosen representatives of the people;
Wherein the principles of democracy, freedom,equality, tolerance and social justice, as enunciated by Islam, shall be fully observed

Many religious fundamentalists believe that the constitution is violated whenever a military or democratic government takes over because both martial law and democracy are alien to Islam…According to them, democracy does not conform to Islamic principles because Islam is a perfect religion containing laws, express or derivable by ijma (consensus) or ijtihad (exertion), governing the whole field of human existence…Therefore, elections and elected legislatures are unnecessary and unconstitutional…

This got me thinking…What if Zardari signed the peace agreement with the Taliban in Swat only to save his seat and not to bring peace to the area? I wonder if the Pakistanis are as PIL-filing happy as the Indians…Can someone go to court to challenge the validity of a democratic government? If so, has someone done it?

Given the above reading of the preamble, does it mean what the Taliban are doing in Swat (compulsory purdah, no education for women, no entertainment etc.) is constitutional?

Has Political Correctness Gone Too Far?

Yesterday, I met a school friend after 25 years…She came over and we chatted for a couple of hours…After she left, I had this feeling of emptiness – it wasn’t just the awkwardness of meeting after so long, it was something else…I kept on thinking about it and after a few hours I realized what the problem was – political correctness (PC)…She was being too politically correct…This friend has been living in the US for the last 15 years or so and it seemed to me that she gave a lot of thought before uttering a word…What was missing in our conversation was spontaneity and freedom…Everything was measured…This bizarre incident made me think of an article I had read some time back about the Founder & CEO of American Apparel Dov Charney…In the article he said that he felt PC had created an unbalanced culture that was unnaturally constraining...This is what he said:

Feminism is extremely restrictive. You can’t call a woman a bitch, you can’t call her this, you can’t call her that. But that’s what life’s really like. Yet she can do whatever she wants. It’s out of balance and that’s why young people
haven’t embraced feminism, because it’s out of balance.

Don’t get me wrong…I think his view of women is downright reprehensible (if you don’t believe me, check out the ads of American Apparel)…He uses women as a marketing tool, like numerous other companies, the only difference being his ads are simply distasteful…I’m digressing…Mr.Charney has a point…Like him, I feel that the 'elite' (who are a minority but claim to possess all the knowledge there is in this world) have established new limits on ordinary people on how to think and what to say in the name of PC...The laws that have been written on what is politically correct and what is not by this elite minority have done nothing but place a box around people's creativity and freedom...I do believe in being polite but I also think this concept of PC has gone a bit too far especially in the US…It has become a form of bullying where the bullies (elite & politicians) attack the psychology and thinking of another for their own satisfaction, even though something is said in complete innocence (and ignorance) of its origins…

Let me give you an example…The ‘n’ word is a big no-no when referring to an African American because it is a loaded word coined by white slave masters…Fine…I couldn’t agree more…What I can’t understand is why it is politically incorrect for non-Blacks to use it and is absolutely fine for Blacks to pepper their sentences liberally with it? I don’t see these PC bullies going after them, do you? What is wrong for one person should be wrong for everyone else and vice versa…

I feel a person’s upbringing and manners are more important than his being told to be politically correct…A well mannered person will automatically try not to offend another without being forced to think about each word he/she utters…We are lucky to live in a democracy which others envy...If we can't speak freely about issues including ‘hot’ issues, what’s the point of a democracy? Remember, PC doesn’t change people – education does…

Did you know...

• that the authors of the new stylebook, “Media Takes: On Aging,’’ would like the word "elderly" eliminated from our vocabulary...This is what they say:

Use this word carefully and sparingly. The term is appropriate only in generic phrases that do not refer to specific individuals, such as concern for the elderly, a home for the elderly, etc. In other words, describing a person as elderly is bad form, although the generalized category “elderly” might not be offensive. (Suggested substitutions include “older adult” or simply “man’’ or “woman” with the age inserted, if relevant.)

• that "nitty gritty" is a politically incorrect word because it has its roots in the slavery era
  

Women Should Be Hit For Wearing Sexy Clothing In Public

Who do you think believes in this statement?If you think it is the Sri Rama Sene, you are wrong...According to the findings of a recent survey conducted in England & Wales (for the Home Office), one in seven people believe it is acceptable in some circumstances for a man to hit his wife or girlfriend if she is dressed in "sexy or revealing clothes in public"...A similar number believe that it is okay for a man to slap his wife or girlfriend for "nagging or constantly moaning at him"...


(click to enlarge)

The findings also disclosed that about twenty percent of the people polled believe that wearing sexy or revealing clothing should lead to a woman being held partly responsible for being raped or sexually assaulted...Another sad finding of the survey is that only 52 percent of the respondants believe that prostitutes have basic human rights...

What does this survey tell us?It tells us that it doesn't matter if we live in the West or the East, in a developed country or an underdeveloped one, we all still live in largely patriarchal and misogynistic societies...But there is hope...I'm sure if this survey had been conducted 25 years ago, the number of people who believed that women were not to blame no matter what the circumstances were, would have been lower...
Edited to add:
I'm a bit concerned about the teenagers of today...I'm worried that they will start to slide back into the arms of Rape Culture via the proliferation of pornography and the celebration of violent entertainment...It takes generations to change regressive attitudes but the media can change positive attitudes to regressive ones in a matter of months...I hope the younger generation is intelligent enough to differentiate between make believe and reality...

RapeLay - A New Video Game From Japan

Trust the Japanese to come up with a risque video game called RapeLay in which players stalk and sexually molest female characters...Thankfully, this game is only available in Japan although pirated versions are available on the internet...

The game:

(It) begins with a man standing on a subway platform, stalking a girl in a blue sundress. On the platform, you can click "prayer" to summon a wind that lifts her skirt. She blushes. Once she's on the train, the assault begins. Inside the subway car, you can use the mouse to grope your victim as you stand in a crowd of mute, translucent commuters. From here, your character corners his victim—in a station bathroom, or in a park with the help of male friends—and a series of interactive rape scenes begins.RapeLay relies on the horrendous, wildly sexist fantasy that rape victims enjoy being attacked.Although many violent Japanese sex games feature happy endings in which formerly victimized women end up as fulfilled, adoring wives, RapeLay allows only for dark outcomes. The first possible conclusion has the original subway victim stabbing you to death during sex. There's also the possibility that you can impregnate one of the victims. If the player doesn't force her to have an abortion, the game's protagonist, fittingly, throws himself under a train.

Like movies and books, video games reflect the social environment of the country of its birth...Subway perverts are a big problem in Japan and RapeLay only reflects this...A 2004 report cited that 64 percent of Tokyo women reported that they had been groped on a subway train...

What is more disturbing than the game are the comments on a report on RapeLay:

"Video games of this nature are beyond appalling, and people of good conscience need to speak out against them," People with a good conscience know this is JUST a video game.

Why is an assault with reproductive organs so much more horrifying and repugnant than pumping shots of lead into someone? Male on male violence is so acceptable but male on female violence makes everyone quake in their boots. And yet it's *all* violence, no matter the gender of the victim. I wonder if they have a version of the game that features men assaulting other men in the same way? Would that make it any less upsetting?

oh Please you are the same idiots that were whinning about the Columbine Game (which was a total POS) did you moran ever think that if the news didn't brother with this sensationilism reporting no one would even know about this POS game, GET OVER IT! once again the righious crusade has another piece of meat stuck in their teeth! ISN"T THERE ANY REAL NEWS TO REPORT?

This just reminds me how depraved our society has become...I am depressed...

A Message From The Vatican On International Women's Day

“In the 20th century, what contributed most to the emancipation of Western women?” questioned an article in the Vatican Daily, Osservatore Romano...Hmmm...Let me see...Well, I think the pill and the choice of working outside the home are two of the most important contributors...But wait, the Vatcian doesn't think so...It had a novel message for the women of the world: give thanks for the washing machine...This humble domestic appliance has apparently done more for the women’s liberation movement than anything else...And guess what the headline of the above mentioned article was? The washing machine and the emancipation of women: put in the powder, close the lid and relax...I would have laughed if it weren't so offensive...

I have this question for you: do you feel liberated now that you don't have to handwash your husband's soiled clothes?
My answer: No, because I still have to load the machine, hang out the clothes and iron, fold and put them away...What would really liberate me is a machine that would do all the above for me in one go...Really, the Bishops at the Vatican are totally clueless...

Edited to add: I'm on a roll now so here is another nugget from Osservatore Romano, the Vatican's daily newspaper...

"after so many years it sounds merely like the boasting of an English working-class lad struggling to cope with unexpected success". 

And what was this in response to?John Lennon's infamous claim (March 1966) 

"Christianity will go...It will vanish and shrink.We're more popular than Jesus now - I don't know which will go first, rock and roll or Christianity. Jesus was alright, but his disciples were thick and ordinary. It's them twisting it that ruins it for me." I think he was spot on - Jesus was alright, his disciples are not...

Why do people become terrorists?

I’m sure you have wondered numerous times why a person becomes a terrorist…I know I have and I've always blamed the reason on religion (at least Islamic & Hindu terrorism)…Apparently, I'm wrong...It seems that religion or a common goal is not the main reason a person becomes an Islamic terrorist…According to Max Abrahms, a pre-doctoral fellow at Stanford's Center for International Security and Cooperation, terrorist groups are typically incapable of maintaining a consistent set of strategic goals, much less achieving them…If this is true, then why do people become terrorists? Simple…It is fraternal bonds they want, not territory, not influence, not even (in most cases) to affirm religious beliefs…Apparently, the reason for joining a terrorist organization is the same as the reason for joining a neighbourhood gang…Terrorist groups usually don’t have long term strategic goals or plans – usually attacks are one off and demands are improvised…

Marc Sageman, a forensic psychiatrist and former Central Intelligence Agency case officer in Afghanistan, collected biographical data of 400 terrorists who had targeted the United States…He found that 88 percent became terrorists not because they wanted to change the world but because they had friendship/family bonds to the jihad… This is what he has to say:

Most people think that terrorism comes from poverty, broken families, ignorance, immaturity, lack of family or occupational responsibilities, weak minds susceptible to brainwashing - the sociopath, the criminals, the religious fanatic, or, in this country, some believe they’re just plain evil.

Taking these perceived root causes in turn, three quarters of my sample came from the upper or middle class. The vast majority—90 percent—came from caring, intact families. Sixty-three percent had gone to college, as compared with the 5-6 percent that’s usual for the third world. These are the best and brightest of their societies in many ways.

Al Qaeda’s members are not the Palestinian fourteen-year- olds we see on the news, but join the jihad at the average age of 26. Three-quarters were professionals or semi- professionals. They are engineers, architects, and civil engineers, mostly scientists. Very few humanities are represented, and quite surprisingly very few had any background in religion. The natural sciences predominate. Bin Laden himself is a civil engineer, Zawahiri is a physician, Mohammed Atta was, of course, an architect; and a few members are military, such as Mohammed Ibrahim Makawi, who is supposedly the head of the military committee.

...only four of the 400 men had any hint of a disorder. This is below the worldwide base rate for thought disorders. So they are as healthy as the general population.I didn’t find many personality disorders, which makes sense in that people who are antisocial usually don’t cooperate well enough with others to join groups. This is a well-organized type of terrorism: these men are not like Unabomber Ted Kaczynski, loners off planning in the woods. Loners are weeded out early on. Of the nineteen 9-11 terrorists, none had a criminal record. You could almost say that those least likely to cause harm individually are most likely to do so collectively.

At the time they joined jihad, the terrorists were not very religious. They only became religious once they joined the jihad.

Marc Sageman and Max Abrahms argue that Islamic terrorists think about strategy either very poorly or not at all...They believe that Al-Qaeda attacked the United States because it was there, it was not a part of an overall strategically thought out plan...If it really wanted an Islamic Caliphate as it claims it does, it would have started building it a long time ago...Therefore, Islamist jihad is not about religion but about gang wars...

With Pakistan having given legitimacy to Islamic fundamentalism in Swat, one has to wait and see if the Taliban have a long-term strategic plan to create a Caliphate...If they do, the world is in trouble because Pakistan has nuclear weapons which would be disastrous for all of us...

Although the above mentioned observations pertain mainly to the Al Qaeda, they do give us something to think about...

Gandhigiri Circa 2009 - The Tamasha

The Indian government's hoo-haa about freeing Gandhiji's personal belongings from foreign clutches is quite laughable...What was it doing for the last sixty years? If these objects are so important, why and how were they allowed to be taken out of the country? This is nothing but a campaign tactic by the Congress party...

Then there is James Otis, the American collector, who put up amongst other things Mahatma Gandhi's famous spectacles, sandals and pocket watch for auction in New York...This is how he justified his money-making action:

My intent never was to create any sort of anger or animosity towards the auction, it was the opposite: to promote Gandhi's words, actions, and to promote nonviolence in any way we can.

Bullshit...He was out to make money...Why not just admit it?If he were so concerned about the health of India's poor, why didn't he do something about it?Why did he make this statement

I would be very happy to welcome any serious offers from the Indian government and it might not even have to be financial. There are things they could offer in terms of helping the people of India that I would more than welcome, for example improving health care for the poorest Indians in exchange for the items. I would welcome any ideas like that that would benefit the Indian people.

after the controversy broke?

Then after the auction,Culture Minister Ambika Soni had this to say:

The Government acquired five personal possessions of Mahatma Gandhi at an auction in New York through the “services” of business tycoon Vijay Mallya.

According to Vijay Mallya,who acquired Mahatma Gandhi's memorabilia at an auction in New York with a $1.8-million bid on Friday

he had not been contacted by Indian officials on this but would gift the items to the government.

Hmmm...Very interesting...Who should we believe?I believe Mr.Mallya...what about you?

Who Is Good And Who Is Bad?

I am stumped by the ongoing discussion in the media about the “good” Taliban and the “bad” Taliban…Until now I thought all Talibs were bad…Kind, generous, helpful, honest, respectful, and loving are some qualities I associate with a “good” person and I can’t see any of these qualities in the Taliban (okay, some individual members may have certain good qualities but the organization as a whole is bad)…

According to some strategists in Pakistan and the US, the ultra conservative Pakistani Talibs are good because they are interested only in the local affairs of Swat whereas the other Talibs are bad because their interests are global and therefore their actions would affect other countries…Even if the Pakistani Talibs have only local interests, how can they still be called good? Didn’t they terrorize the citizens of Swat to such an extent that thousands had to flee? Didn’t they destroy hundreds of schools and ban girls from attending them? Didn’t they ban women from working and leaving their homes alone? Didn’t they force women to wear burqas and men to grow beards and wear salwar kameezes? How can such people be called good? Just because the Pakistani Talibs are at the moment only interested in local affairs does not mean that they don’t have national and global ambitions…Anyone who forcefully enforces Sharia rule necessarily believes in Islamic domination of the world and will go to any extent to achieve that goal…

Talibs are all bad because they are intolerant, violent and are hell bent on taking the world back to the Stone Age - all in the name of religion…The Pakistani government cannot justify its incompetence and its deal with Maulana Fazlullah by defining the Maulana's group as "good"...

Edited to Add:

The 'good' Taliban at work

The Hindu reports:

PESHAWAR: Islamist terrorists on Thursday blew up the mausoleum of a 17th century poet in Peshawar, apparently because women visited it. It was revered in both Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Another Criminal Enters Politics

This post was inspired by an observation a fellow blogger made about how people have not protested former cricketer Azharuddin's entry into politics...It is true...None of us have...As I see it, politics is the right profession for him...He has experience in fixing things for money without thinking of his fans or his country...He'll be a good politician by being a disgrace to our country...And guess which party he has joined - the Congress, a party of cheaters and manipulators...He's going to be projected as the party's new Muslim face, to take on the All India Majlis Ittehadul Muslimeen...Okay, a lot of people may say his involvement in fixing matches has never been proven in court but obviously there was some evidence otherwise he wouldn't have been banned from cricket...I mean, Sanjay Dutt was declared a non terrorist by the court and yet we had a problem with him joining politics, so why don't we have a problem with Azharuddin joining politics?They were both involved in illegal activities and therefore both should not be allowed to contest elections...

Corporal Punishment In Government Schools

In yet another instance of corporal punishment meted out to a Delhi school student, an eight-year-old boy’s face was painted black on Saturday for scoring low marks in his class test.

These kind of stories are commonplace these days...The question is, what is the government doing (if they are doing anything at all)to minimize such incidents?I think education has become just an election issue for political parties and very few even care about what is happening to children in government run schools...The apathy is unbelievable...What is happening to the 2% cess that they are collecting from tax payers? Is the money being used to train teachers and/or build infrastructure or is it being used to line the already heavy pockets of ministers and bureaucrats?

What kind of people are hired to teach in government schools? Is the criteria the same for private and government schools? I think not...I know for a fact that all private school teachers have to have a B.Ed. degree; I don't think government school teachers have to (I may be wrong)...I have a feeling that most teachers in government run schools are teaching there because they were unable to get more lucrative jobs elsewhere...As a result they are frustrated and take out their frustrations on little defenseless children by hitting, pinching and stripping them...What gives them the right? Power does...What these teachers don't seem to understand is that corporal punishment does not instill discipline in children- instead it lowers their self esteem...School going children are still developing and their minds are impressionable...Rebuking them in public or hitting them creates deep scars which only compound with time...As a result of corporal punishment, many lose interest in studies or simply drop out...

Some states like Delhi, Tamil Nadu and Goa have banned corporal punishment but what is the use of banning it when no action is taken to punish the teachers or to ensure such incidents don't occur?

Children are our future, the country's future...Corporal punishment has no place in a civilized society, period...