Month: April 2014

The honor is well deserved for a man who has helped save precious manufacturing jobs in the UK. A Persian doing business in India by making cars in the UK and selling them in China. Bravo!!!

The
Queen Elizabeth II on Thursday conferred the rank of Knight Commander
(KBE) on former chairman of the Tata group Ratan Tata.  The KBE is one of the highest honours given by the queen to civilians.

Ratan Tata was given the honour for his “services to UK/India relations, inward investment to the UK and philanthropy”.

The Tata group is highly popular in UK.
Iconic British car brands Jaguar and Land Rover became part of the Tata
group in 2008. The company employs over 16,000 people at its
manufacturing facilities in the UK, including 3,500 engineers at its two
product development centres.   

 Tata’s association with UK academia also dates back to the
establishment of the Sir Ratan Tata Department at the London School of
Economics. Subsequently called the Department of Social
Sciences, it was set up to research the causes of poverty. Its first
lecturer, Clement Attlee, went on to become the British prime minister
who gave India its independence and also set up the British National
Health Service
Tata has maintained close links with the London
School of Economics through a research collaboration with the Tata
Institute of Social Sciences.
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A nice (well deserved) promotion but Colbert may have to tone down his lefty edginess and become more fair and balanced in order to appeal to a broader audience. We wish him good luck on his new gig!!!
….
CBS said on Thursday that Stephen Colbert will become the host of ‘The Late Show’ when David Letterman retires next year Colbert, who hosts “The Colbert Report” on the cable channel Comedy
Central, signed a five-year agreement with the network, CBS’ CEO Les
Moonves said in a statement.
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Extend your life by 10% (while getting rid of arthritis). If the claims hold true then Glucosamine would become a household name similar to Prozac and Ritalin. Even the good doctor who ran the studies is taking the pill himself. So go ahead, be happy and take a daily table-spoon. You will thank us later (when you are attending the first birthday of your great grand-daughter).

Finally, we would also like to fart in the general direction of Chinese millionaires who are destroying all flora and fauna with the motivation to extend their lives (and length of their Johnsons). Invest in medical science and keep your grubby mittens off the rhino and the tigers.
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Dr
Ristow, of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, is one
of many scientists around the world hunting for an anti-ageing pill or
potion.


Dr
Ristow first showed that giving worms glucosamine extended lifespan by 5
per cent. He then gave the supplement to ageing mice in addition to
their usual diet. These animals lived 10 per cent longer than a second group which ate normally, the journal Nature Communications reported.

The
supplement, which can be bought in health food shops – in the form of a
powder or more expensive capsules – also appeared to ward off diabetes.
It is thought it lengthens life by switching the body’s energy  supply
from sugary carbohydrates to fat  and protein. Low-carbohydrate diets are known to have benefits to health including lowering weight, blood pressure and harmful blood fats.

In
two large-scale human studies, people who took glucosamine lived longer
than others – but Dr Ristow said more research is needed to prove its
effectiveness. He added: ‘This may be considered a valid option, and yes, I have started taking glucosamine myself.

‘There is no definite proof of the effectiveness of glucosamine in humans. 

‘But
the chances are good – and since unlike most other potentially
lifespan-extending drugs there are no known relevant side-effects of
glucosamine supplementation, I would tend to recommend this supplement.’

Dr Ristow advised people
should take a daily tablespoon of glucosamine powder, mixed in water, or
alternatively, 3g to 5g a day in capsule form.
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This is a real dilemma, the (attack) dogs are raring to march to the western front to be part of the all-conquering future Emirate but the ISI babus want to focus on the eastern front. There is always the danger that if frustration boils over the dogs can turn on their masters.
….The current chief, Riyaz Bhatkal, who has
almost been sidelined by the Pakistan’s intelligence agency (ISI), and
his own men, became so frustrated that he began terming the ISI
officials as ‘dogs’ during his conversations.

ISI officials complained that the
IM cadres were interested in getting trained in Afghanistan and fight
alongside al-Qaida, which they didn’t like.

Over this issue,
ISI badly treated Riyaz, the chat messages, retrieved by the police,
stated. “Yeh sunnuu (meas dogs in Nawayati, a local language spoken in
Karnataka’s Bhatkal village) kabhi bhi chale aate hain aur pareshan
karte hain,” Riyaz wrote to Yasin.

During one of the
yahoo messenger chats with an IM operative, Afeef on May 22, 2013, Yasin
learned a discomfort was growing within the IM over the leadership.
Most of the IM cadres wanted to join fight in Afghanistan against Nato
forces while Riyaz’s decisions were restricted by the ISI which does not
want IM to tie up with al-Qaida.

“Afeef mentioned that he was
not bothered of Riyaz’s decision to not sending him to Afghanistan, but
Farhan, Saleem, Sultan, Shafi and Salim Ishaqui (all IM operatives, now
based in Pakistan) were also demanding to send them to the battle field
in Afghanistan. Afeef had asked Riyaz to leave the chairman’s post and
to give opportunity to Sultan so that all the members could get together
for work under a new commander.  Afeef mentioned that Riyaz always cited
‘technical problems’ whenever they spoke about joining al-Qaida and
handing over the outfit’s reign in other hands, however, Afeef felt the
main ‘technical problem’ was Riyaz himself. Yasin stated that he was
afraid of some action against them by the ISI over their internal
disputes,” the NIA charge-sheet stated.
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It would be a brilliantly ironic joke if the circumstances were not so utterly tragic.

Shahidullah Shahid, Pakistani Taliban spokesman,
said, “It’s tragic that innocents have been killed in attacks on public
places. Such attacks are ‘haram’ (unlawful).”

….
At
least 23 people were killed and nearly 120 injured when a powerful bomb
went off at a crowded marketplace in Islamabad early on Wednesday. The
deadliest bombing occurred at a wholesale fruit and vegetable market of
Pakistan’s capital on the edge of its twin city, Rawalpindi.
The attack was claimed by United Baloch Army, a little known
militant group seeking separation from the Pakistani state. “We carried
out the attack in reaction to the continuous military offensives against
us in our homeland,” said an outfit’s spokesman.

Eyewitnesses
said the blast sent boxes of fruit and vegetables flying and left a deep
crater at the site. Police cordoned off the area and started search
operation. “It was an act of terrorism,” said a police office, adding
that the explosives were planted in a box of fruit and may have been
detonated remotely.

The dead and wounded were rushed to nearby
hospitals in Islamabad and Rawalpindi. “So far, we received 19 dead and
54 injured in the hospital,” said Dr Aisha Eisani, the spokeswoman for
the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) in Islamabad. “Almost
all the injured and deceased are adult males, with many exhibiting head
injuries. The bodies have been shifted to the mortuary and preserved,”
she added.

In an email statement
sent to reporters, Shahidullah Shahid, Pakistani Taliban spokesman,
said, “It’s tragic that innocents have been killed in attacks on public
places. Such attacks are ‘haram’ (unlawful).” Shahidullah claimed hidden
elements were responsible for the recent acts of violence in Islamabad
and Baluchistan. “The TTP remains committed to its ceasefire,” he said.

However, inside sources revealed there was intense rivalry within the
ranks of TTP over the issue of the ongoing talks with the government.
The group opposing talks associates itself with slain Taliban chief
Hakimullah Mehsud while the pro-dialogue group is represented by Khan
Said Sajna, a senior Taliban commander considered one of the top
contenders for the post of TTP chief after the death of Hakimullah
Mehsud.

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What is wrong with marriage? An ordinary man may become distracted and lose focus, but a Great Man should have no such misgivings.

What is wrong with having a good woman by your side? Usually it is the Ceasar’s in-laws that create most of the problems. Look at the first dynasty and the mad mango man (son-in-law).

Who is the ideal man? We expect a man to always stand by his wife. For life. Even the most perfect man (Ram) had erred grievously when he abandoned his wife (Sita). It is acknowledged that the man (as a minor) did not have a say in the nuptials (but neither did the woman) however once you have said the vows you have no choice but to honor them. 

If you treat your wife dishonorably how will you treat (Mother) India?
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Married
at 17 to a bride about his age, BJP’s PM candidate Narendra Modi has
admitted for the first time under oath that he has a wife.


In
his nomination form for the Vadodara Lok Sabha seat, which he filed amid
much fanfare on Wednesday, he entered the name of Jashodaben as his
wife. She is a retired school teacher in Brahmanwada, a village about
35km from Modi’s hometown, Vadnagar.

Now 63, the former RSS
pracharak had left the column blank in the last four state assembly
elections in 2001, 2002, 2007 and 2012. This was first openly challenged
in pamphlets distributed by Congress in January 2001 when Modi
contested the by-election to the Rajkot-2 assembly seat, three months
after becoming Gujarat CM.

His opponents hope that this
disclosure will dent his popularity among women who might empathize with
Jashodaben, whom he never returned to after two weeks of their
nuptials.

The declaration is reported to have come after strict
legal advice that he come clean on the marriage which, his family
members say, was never consummated.

As per the Representation
of the People Act, 1951, every candidate is required to declare even
assets held in the name of the spouse. In his nomination form, Modi has
said he has no information about Jashodaben’s income, IT returns and PAN
details.

The Supreme Court in November last year had refused
to entertain a PIL accusing Modi of leaving the column on marital status
blank in the nomination papers for the Maninagar assembly seat in 2012.

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Brahmins (210), Muslims (19), SCs (17)!!!

One group has ruled India for a few centuries. The other group has been the social leaders for many more centuries.

Now the (dalit) Rani riding high on her elephant is graciously offering them (more than a fair share) a seat at the high table, provided she is made the high priest. The pyramid is inverted and a giant leap for social evolution!!!

This rainbow coalition must be driving the caste-hustlers nuts.
This
Lok Sabha election, the elephant will seek to trample the opposition
with the power of Muslim-Brahmin combination. In a tactical shift,
Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati on Thursday decided to give a
larger chunk of seats to Brahmins (21) and Muslims (19) in comparison
to what she did in 2009 Lok Sabha election, when 20 Brahmins and 14
Muslims got the BSP ticket. The higher allocation of seats to the two
communities has thus decreased the number of OBCs, who are ostensibly
being wooed by both Samajwadi Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party.

The move to give more seats to Muslims is seen as an attempt to woo the
community in the wake of west UP riots that claimed the lives of around
60 people, ostensibly from the minority. The lesser number of seats
allocated to OBCs is seen also as a shrewd move of Mayawati given the
fact that the community is already divided between SP and BJP. The BSP
chief also decided to field 17 SCs, eight Thakurs and seven women
candidates.

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Option one: Reservations for everybody (already many political parties have floated the concept of reservations for economically lagging forward castes) as per political calculations (which are by necessity big tent- you cant win on the back of any one community, while simultaneously polarizing others) and held to strict scrutiny by the Courts.

Option two: Reservations for low income (low wealth). This way only poor people benefit from reservations. It will be difficult to argue that poor people of all classes are not equally deserving. After all, this is a principle which is already accepted in Option One.

The difference between the two is not expected to be significant, except the caste factor will be blunted in the second case. It may be also a clear cut way of introducing reservations for Muslims. 

Instead what we have is a bloody mess involving various communities fighting amongst themselves to prove how backward and how deserving they are. This only sharpens the caste factor and amplifies grievance and puts people in various (permanent) boxes. For greedy, grubby politicians- what is not to like?
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Mausi Mars (Mangal) is coming closer and closer to Ammi Earth (Prithvi). There is no need to pack your emergency gear (yet), she is 92 mil km away!!!

In the meantime the pride of Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) the Mangal Yaan which left Earth on November 05, 2013 and has crossed the half-way point as of Wednesday, April 09, 2014 at 0950 hrs (Indian Standard Time).

The D-day (Mars insertion step) is September 24, 2014. Watch this space for updates.

“On Wednesday at 9:50am, India’s Mars Orbiter Spacecraft crossed the
half-way mark of its journey to the red planet along the designated
helio-centric trajectory,” the Indian Space Research Organisation said
in a statement.

India’s Deep Space Network, aided by NASA, has
been tracking the orbiter since its launch and six orbit raising
manoeuvres after which it left the Earth orbit on December 1 last year.

Through six orbit raising
exercises, scientists have brought the apogee (the spacecraft’s farthest
point from Earth) from the initial 25,000 km to 1,92,000 km.

As the spacecraft goes through the spheres of influence of the Sun and
Mars, four trajectory correction manoeuvres (TCMs) were planned to keep
it on course. Originally the TCMs were planned in April, August and
September, 2014.  The Mars orbiter insertion will be carried out on
September 24, 2014.

If all goes fine, MOM will study a range of
things including early signs of life or supporting system on the red
planet and its atmosphere through five indigenous instruments or for at
least five months.

India is among an elite club of nations to
take up interplanetary probes. Of the 51 Mars missions by the US and
Russia/ USSR, only 21 had been successful. Fourteen days after India’s
MoM, the US launched a similar mission, MAVEN, which is also on its way
to the red planet.

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