THE BYSTANDER

Ticketamerica.com for tickets

2011-12-28T06:49:00.000-08:00

During this holidays; you have a mind to witness concert of Alison Krauss or Luis Miguel; but not sure you that you will get the tickets in your preferred seats! Never mind, just visit Ticketamerica.com and get alison krauss concert tickets or luis miguel tickets . Even if you are interested you can find brian regan comedy tickets across the America. So, buy ticket of your choicest program; it's just a click away.

Porn Xchange

2011-12-05T08:53:00.000-08:00

Have you heard the names of Nikki Benz , Lisa Ann , Audrey Bitoni or Rachel? They are the most sought after porno stars; most favorites amongst several others and many unknowns. If you take interest in watching porn sites but get frustrated as none matches your taste; I can suggest you a review site for exclusively porn sites. The site is porn xchange. This site will guide you to various free, paid porn sites according to your taste. What is offered by which site; you come to know before entering into them by reading the reviews or of viewing the clips.

On the site your get options for paid porn , free porn of categories. You have the options to locate the site showing your favorite porn stars. The site porn site brazzer is one to most popular porn site; it has one thing or other for each and everyone. They have 4000 full length, each of 30 minutes average porn videos; featuring thousands of porn stars. With a nominal price of $7.99 per month you get to watch high definition videos with pop-ups and even you have the scope of free trial as well. I promise it has something to match your taste.

Entering the site you go for brazzer review. They review some of the most popular porn sites like BangBros, Twistys, Mofos, Reality Kings, PrnPros, Penthouse, Hustler, Naughty America, Mlf Hunter, Vivid Entertainment, Evil Angel and many more. Even for more adventurers they review sites like Burning Angel, Viv Thomas, BangBus, Back Room Casting Couch, Dancing Bear and Kint com. So you never chance upon being frustrated entering paid porn sites with brazzers.

You get the best recommendation from them. Even you can subscribe for their news letter in their site. Judging through popularity and viewership, quality of presentations they promote Best Porn of the Month in their site. Amongst the porn sites there is no lack of enthusiasm to occupy this place. As this is a matter of pride for them. Fair competition brings in better quality undoubtedly and you enjoy the fruits!

Horror Story !!

2011-11-27T08:46:00.000-08:00

This happened about a month ago near Lonavala. A guy was driving from Bombay to Pune and decided not to take the new expressway as he wanted to see the scenery along the old road. The inevitable happened, when he reached the mountains. His car breaks down - he's stranded miles away from nowhere. Having no choice, he started walking along the side of the road, hoping to get a lift to the nearest town.

It was dark and rainy. And pretty soon he got wet and started shivering. The night rolled on, and no car passed
by.

Suddenly he sees a car coming towards him. It slows down and nearly stops next to him. Without waiting or thinking a bit , the guy opens the door and jumps into the rear of car which starts moving by then.... Seated in the back, he leans forward to thank the person who had saved him. To his horror, he realizes there is nobody behind the wheel!!!........ Even though there's no one in the front seat, and no sound of any engine, the car starts moving slowly. The guy looks at the road ahead and sees a curve coming. Scared almost to death. he starts to pray, begging the Lord for his life.

He hasn't come out of shock, when just before he hits a curve, a hand appears through the window and moves the wheel! The car negotiates the curve safely, and continues on the road to the next bend. The guy, now paralyzed in
terror, watches the same hand appearing every time they approach a curve and later moving the steering wheel just enough to get the car around each bend.

Finally, the guy sees some bright lights ahead. God!..... Gathering all his courage, he silently wrenches open the rear door of the slowly-moving car, scrambles out, and runs as hard as he can towards the lights. It's a small town.

He stumbles into a restuarant, and asks for a drink, and breaks down. Then he starts talking about the horrible experience he's just been through, to the people around.

There is dead silence in the restaurant when he stops talking ......... . .

. .... . . . . . . . . .
.
.
. .... . . . . . . . . .

...... that's when Santa Singh and Banta Singh walk in.

Santa angrily points to the fellow and shouts 'Look Banta, that's the idiot who got into our car, when we were pushing it.'

My siprited Colleague; Amit Sammadar!

2011-09-20T10:18:00.000-07:00

I can not remember when I first saw him! May be in early 90s; when at our main branch in Dalhousie area used to hold lot of indoor games competitions like Carom, Bridge and Table tennis ; I found him playing cards. I remember his head was covered with a white towel cap. This made me curious! I heard of him earlier, that one alike me from Air Force, joined our Bank in one of our North Calcutta's branch. He was playing cards with deep concentration and some time howling with triumphal joy as usual in any competitive card games here. The man was heavily built with muscular body and emitting a masculine spirit in all his gesture. With a voluminous voice and typical accent of 'Bangladesh'; he sounded warm and humorous. That was the first sight of him I had.

Back in office I enquired about his 'towel cap' in sultry summer evening. To my utter surprise came to know the man was fighting cancer! It was his nose , that was affected. I tried to visualized the man I saw, full with spirit, not a slight symptom of any disease. I heard that chemo therapy had its effects and his hair fell; so he was covering his head with that cap! I scolded myself for thinking of him something mischievous; looked like joker! Anyway human minds go astray sometime, I consoled. He cast a deep impression in me; I felt him living with old Air Force spirit; fly till die.

For the past twenty years; time and again we met. Later got introduced, talked sometime in trivial matters, joked but never felt that the man standing in front , has been suffering from dreadful disease. Heard from his friends about his chemo therapies; how boldly he used to take them, surprising even the treating physicians. I never heard him discussing his disease or treatments on any occasion. He ever remained bold and spirited; hair fell and grew again but he remained the same.

This year he retired in the first quarter. I met him once after his retirement and found with the same spirit; talked about his time after superannuation. He seemed happy and fulfilled. Just yesterday I heard he is sick and admitted in a Nursing Home. Today I heard he left us for ever! Last word he uttered with a smile, I fought in Air there ; so fight with cancer here; both are risky but adventurous!

Well he was my colleague Amit Sammadar; hat's off; my kudos.

We loot; please don't hoot!

2011-09-12T08:03:00.000-07:00

M.L.Shah, who upheld the cause of circulation of small and medium news papers and periodicals in our country; specially in the eastern region. I remember him as he inspired me to fight with pen; the man never thought that the days of pen was counted then; the key board arrived, soon after his departure from this earth!The present generation may not know there were many small local news papers published from many of our district towns even two decades ago. Some small periodicals or weekly like Blitz; enjoyed pan Indian popularity amongst educated middleclass. Mr R K Karanjia was the editor. In 60s and 70s; his weekly carried a fresh report every week with the title “ India’s do-nothing projects”. That revealed the scams and quantified the loots, pinpointing the looters! With no Anna Hazare or omni present medias; they went on and on undaunted.

In fact India has a history of looters except Mughals; so you cannot blame us for looting. It is in our genetic codes. Generations after generations having been ruled, nurtured, cultured by looters; you ought to be their followers. The last band of looters were from overseas, the Brits. So now we loot, pilfer and stash the cash with overseas Swiss banks.v

India on the street -- a letter by Chetan Bhagat

2011-08-13T04:07:00.000-07:00

Chetan Bhagat; the 'Three Idiots' fame writer wrote a letter that I received today. He wrote it to an organization ' India against crime, corruption and reservation'. He wrote about justification of Anna Hazare's move. Though I justify Hazaare's move considering the fact that what else one could do! But I am not sure about its effect. However let me share Chetan's letter with you ..........

We have all had that one uncle who keeps on reminding you how India is terrible. He tells you about how every government authority takes bribes - from the RTO to the ration shop to the municipality. He will tell you how no government department does its job well - the potholed roads, abysmal conditions at government schools and poor healthcare all being examples to support your uncle's theory. It is hard to argue with him, for he is right. Things don't work. There is no justice. Power talks. Equality doesn't exist. All of this, even though uncomfortable to hear, rings somewhat true.

However, the uncle goes on to say this: "Nothing will ever change." He is convinced that our society is damaged irreparably, and India is destined to live in misery. Uncle Cynic goes on to doubt almost everyone, assumes the worst in people, and anyone who is trying to improve the country is branded as someone with a hidden agenda.

This is where i think the uncle gets it wrong, horribly wrong. For it is one thing to point out the problems, it is quite another to give up trying to fix them. Cynicism is not a counter-argument, it is an attitude. For the fact is we still have good people in the country: in society and even in government departments. It is just that they are crushed.

I don't want to give you the reasons why you must support Anna Hazare. It is almost beneath Anna's dignity that he actually has to beg or make a case for support when he is fighting for you, against an abusive, corrupt regime. Still, let me do a quick recap of the facts.

Anna did a fast in April, which became the nation's movement and spread virally. Concerned, the government agreed to make a good Lokpal Bill, shook hands with the activists and in principle agreed to Anna's version, designed to truly check corruption. Since then, the government has insulted Anna's team, thrown away their draft, and come up with its own almost pointless draft of the Lokpal Bill.

The draft the government is presenting to Parliament will not check corruption. Only 0.5%, or one in 200 government officials are under its purview. Your corrupt ration shop, RTO, passport office, panchayats or municipal authority will not be covered. State scams will not be covered - yes, the Adarsh society scam or the Jharkhand scams are all out of its purview. The prime minister is excluded as well. Ever heard of a corruption law in a democracy that only applies to a certain section of people?

The government is throwing magic dust in your eyes - and counting on India's illiterate and ignorant to not know the difference. However, you reading this are educated. You know when wrong is being committed. You know that while you have lived your life with corruption, you do not want your children to do the same. A bad Lokpal Bill may not affect you today - but tomorrow it will hit you when your child does not get a college seat, when your hospital gives shoddy treatment, when your government work doesn't get done. We live in a poor country - poor not because we don't have what it takes to be rich, but because our leaders have let us down. We have given them too much power, and they consider our vote as a mandate to steal and be incompetent. They hate accountability. However, without accountability, our progress will stall. There are countries where the average income per person is 50 times more than in India. Don't we deserve the same?

Thus, whatever your personal view on Anna, it is not him but his cause that needs support. The government can crush a few activists. However, it cannot crush India on the streets. A peaceful, firm, decisive protest is every Indian's birthright, and must be exercised in times of need. Come Monday, and we Indians have a job to do. We have to save our country's future.

A word for the government too. Just what exactly are you thinking when you are trying to shove an impotent law down people's throats? And what makes you feel that threatening, crushing or insulting Anna will take away people's need to rid India of corruption? Anna did not create an anti-corruption sentiment, he merely tapped into it. Crushing Anna will not take away that sentiment. It will just make it fester more. Right now, the movement is still controlled. By going back on your word, displaying arrogance and not listening to the people, you are risking the country's descent into chaos. Be careful. Accountability is much easier to deal with than anarchy. Fix the Lokpal Bill now, please.

Finally, for the people of India, it is time to prove Uncle Cynic wrong. There is a bigger truth than his 'nothing ever changes in India'. That truth comes from the Gita, which states "Nothing is permanent". The Gita also says, "When the pot of sin overflows, something happens to restore order." Now, it is up to you to determine if the pot of sin has overflowed. It is for you to say what it means for Indians to act out their dharma. And you, and only you, will decide if it is time to come on the streets.

(The writer is a best-selling novelist)

XXX Review - CAPSTAN SMOKING TOBACO POUCH - Review on XXX by abin542000 in Admanya.com

2011-08-12T09:36:00.000-07:00

XXX Review - CAPSTAN SMOKING TOBACO POUCH - Review on XXX by abin542000 in Admanya.com

Oh Rain !

2011-08-02T10:36:00.000-07:00

In this month of August; it's raining at last. I better say drizzling to be exact. In Kolkata, for the past few days the climate was so humid; it became unbearable. Take your towel; run for a quick bath, before the first drop from shower drops on your head; you are wet with sweat! And so again immediately after bath. The cloudy sky, sometime gray other time black keeps you toying with hope of rain. But that did not happen for past few days. The weathermen tore their hair forecasting rain. So were the rain gamblers; sources say there were lot of transaction during past few days.

You know this city dreads rain as it inundate the roads every year. People here say they hate rains. This year God seem to be determined to make them realize that better get deluged than remain wet in sweat!

Marriages are no more made in Heaven!!

2011-04-24T00:02:00.000-07:00

“Marriages are made in heaven”- the old adage still holds sense some believe. Though the phenomenal rise of broken marriages; puts me in doubt. Do God approve broken marriage! Perhaps not; so no more marriages are made in heaven; I infer. Marriages are initiated either by love ( mostly calculated) or by arrangement in this part of our planet. When a marriage takes place as result of love between the bride and groom; well their parents have hardly any role to play. Except arranging and witnessing the marriage and of course wishing the bride would fit in groom's there after. This is true specially for nuclear family and they are parents of groom. Parents of bride enjoys more freedom, as some believe, as for their case it's almost like a take-over. They get their daughter married and get a son in term of son-in-law. Given to the fact when the daughter is economically independent; either earning by herself or has earning from other sources. Her parent expects or sometime covertly demand the service from their son-in-law in the name of duties! Poor boys sometime get entrapped and later seek salvation breaking their marriage. Sometime the reverse is true for the bride as well; though usually such incidents are rare; mostly they take their groom out of his parent’s hold and start a separate family.

You can not deny the laws of nature; this is what going on in the unorthodox developed world for quite sometime. European or American parents hardly expect their son to stay with them after marriage; specially in the developed worlds. Now, this is becoming the norm in Indian urban society too. But still the expectation lingers. This more true in case of arrange marriage. Parents of boys hunt for brides that would be homely being educated and employed . Though the same parents may consider full independence for their married daughters. What a irony; I think,

Anyway my first experience to search the bride for my son is really an eye opener! An ad in my vernacular news paper attracted my attention. The girl is 21 years old and studying M.SC being a 1^st class graduate in physics, with 5'.5” height for my 6' tall son appeared interesting. The ad carried a phone number. I rang up. A lady responded and told me she was the mother. I humbly submitted where I am from and what my son is. The rapid fire of queries started , like the name of engineering college, name of company where he serves , whether the college is accredited by AICTE and many more seemed to be in the pipe line. I was rather puzzled as I expected only to exchange of information about family set ups; cultures and background ( may be socio-economic) for opening the negotiations. But her burst of queries in the line of material facts put me at my wits end! It is something like buying goods from hawkers and felt when holy marriages are negotiated with such manners at the beginning , where they will end!

Products & Service Reviews: K.C,Das Vs K.C.Dass

2011-03-27T07:29:00.000-07:00

Products & Service Reviews: K.C,Das Vs K.C.Dass: "There is a latest surprise! How we gullible consumers are misled by brand names and confused by those who are out to extract more by practi..."

THE ONLOOKER: CHITTARANJAN IN 50s PT.........2

2011-03-25T20:43:00.000-07:00

THE ONLOOKER: CHITTARANJAN IN 50s PT.........2+

The life at the small industrial railway town Chittaranjan ...............

The bleeding hearts!!

2011-03-24T07:47:00.000-07:00

The recent happenings in Egypt, Libya, Yemen, Bahrain and few more countries in middle east and Africa; the uprising of people and global pressures; some from freedom loving people and others from those whose interests are harmed by such turmoil. Who belong the second category you know, the same group of nations who first planted the poisonous plants like Osama Bin Laden or Taliban in Afghanistan, Saddam in Iraq or Gaddafi in Libya when they grew lager, blew the poisonous fumes towards their mentors then blow war bugle to uproot them! And thousands of innocents lives are lost because of their repeating such exercise ever since their own war WW-II ended. The feelings of common men is best portrayed by one great poet, Faiz Ahmed Faiz. Way back in 1959, sitting in Lahore jail he wrote this.................

chashm-e-num, jaan-e-shooreeda kafi nahi
tohmat-e-ishq poosheeda kafi nahi
aaj bazaar maiN paa_bajolaaN chaloo

dast afshaaN chalo, mast-o-raqsaaN chaloo
Khak bar_sir chalo, Khoon bada_maaN chaloo
raah takta hai sab shehr-e-jaanaN chaloo

hakim-e-shehar bhi, majma-e-aam bhi
teer-e-ilzam bhi, saang-e-dushnaam bhi
subh-e-nashaad bhi, rooz-e-nakaam bhi
inka dum_saaz apney siva kaun hai
shehr-e-jaanaaN maiN aab ba_safa kaun hai?
dast-e-qatil ke shaayaaN raha kaun hai?

raKht-e-dil bandh lo, dil_figarooN chaloo
phir hum he qatal ho aaiN, yarooN chaloo

Translation:

A wet eye, a shaken life is not enough,
The accusation of a hidden love is not enough,
With feet in chains, Let us go in public today.

Let us go with palms exposed, with a song and dance,
with dirt in our hair, with blood on our chest,
Let us go while the entire city of lovers watches.

For the warden of the city, and the crowd of the commoners,
And the arrows of accusation, and the stones of abuse,
And the glum morning, and the failing day,
Who is there to give them life except us?
Who is ready in this city except us?
Who is honorable enough for the killer’s hand except us?

Pack up your belongings O Injured heart ones!
Let us go friends and get killed once again.

Products & Service Reviews: Bengal Hyundai, Sevice Center at Manicktala and Ba...

2011-03-23T22:43:00.000-07:00

Products & Service Reviews: Bengal Hyundai, Sevice Center at Manicktala and Ba...: "Hyundai; makes good cars. When I made up my mind to buy a car since it’s more a necessity now than luxury; given to the city’s poor trans..."

Let's Pray For The Peoples In Japan

2011-03-14T09:00:00.000-07:00

As you know I am an Ex- Airman; means who served in Air Force. Of course leaving Air Force offered us an experience what is most similar to 'fish out of water'. But later we got together, thanks to internet and Sam Pitdra; and we have adjusted with the shore (!).
From one of our community we pray for the people of Japan, distressed by Tsunami. My friend Jagtar, sent me this; here it goes..................

Let us Pray for the people in Japan. thousands of people are dead.

Tsunami waves sweep along Iwanuma in northern Japan on Friday.

The earthquake slammed Japan's eastern coast and unleashed
a 13-foot tsunami that swept boats, cars, buildings and tons of debris miles inland.

Lord, at times such as this,
when we realize that the ground beneath our feet
is not as solid as we had imagined,
we plead for your mercy.

As the things we have built crumble about us,
we know too well how small we truly are
on this ever-changing, ever-moving,
fragile planet we call home.

Yet you have promised never to forget us.
Do not forget us now.

Today, so many people are afraid.
They wait in fear of the next tremor.
They hear the cries of the injured amid the rubble.
They roam the streets in shock at what they see.

And they fill the dusty air with wails of grief
and the names of missing dead.

Comfort them, Lord, in this disaster.
Be their rock when the earth refuses to stand still,
and shelter them under your wings when homes no longer exist.

Embrace in your arms those who died so suddenly this day.
Console the hearts of those who mourn,
and ease the pain of bodies on the brink of death.

Pierce, too, our hearts with compassion,
we who watch from afar,
as the poorest on this side of the earth
find only misery upon misery.

Move us to act swiftly this day,
to give generously every day,
to work for justice always,
and to pray unceasingly for those without hope.

And once the shaking has ceased,
the images of destruction have stopped filling the news,
and our thoughts return to life’s daily rumblings,
let us not forget that we are all your children
and they, our brothers and sisters.

We are all the work of your hands.
For though the mountains leave their place
and the hills be tossed to the ground,
your love shall never leave us,
and your promise of peace will never be shaken.

Our help is in the name of the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.
Blessed be the name of the Lord,
now and forever.

Waheguru Ji, bless all the distressed/

Online College Degrees

2011-03-14T00:37:00.000-07:00

With genuine desire to meet you goal nothing can stop you reaching the top! Are you one of those starving for time to attend college or university to further your qualification or study you area of interest ? May be your nature of your current job leaves you little time to pursue or you think you need a change to have a profession of your choice; say legal or academic! Here I give you the link of a site that offers you exactly that what you need; the most updated information about the online college degrees. Universities like Kaplan University, Rasmussen college, Full Sail University, University of Phoenix, Colorado Technical University offer various online college degrees covering several subjects. From this site you may find them and other information like type of degrees, fees and charges and the most important what degree would suit you the best; you may confirm from this site. Any question that does not cover in this site you can raise , within couple of days they will give you details.

Check out everything about online college degrees and read the views of various users and discussions to clear you doubts. Most of your queries are likely to be met with their posts. Further find the details of top 10 schools and their profiles in the given articles. All the related page links are available on the home page of the site; just click into them and find the information you need.

The Buning Middle East

2011-02-22T20:22:00.000-08:00

The Egyptian fire of rebellion is engulfing vast region covering most of the countries under overt or covert dictatorial rule and Sheikhdom. Though late but I think what human efforts have failed so far, the internet could do! See now it is widely known that a 26 years old woman in Cairo first entered her intention in FaceBook to protest against President Hosni Mubarak and oust him. Her's was not a call to join her, a simple declaration that she is going alone even if others don't do that. And you know the result.

Now one after another countries like Yemen, Jordan, Bahrain and more are following the suit. Mainly these rallies are made of new twitter, FaceBook generation; those who sans any political color but love liberation. I believe their very love for freedom is infused by web freedom , the freedom of information!! Don't you think so?

Cairo i s Burning

2011-02-02T08:55:00.000-08:00

This what happening in Cairo at Tahir Square or Liberation Square where most of activities are on :

There are few more photographs sent by my old friend Brinda Pant who is still there:

Lalgarh ....will be remembered forever

2011-01-09T04:48:00.000-08:00

How many of you ever heard the name 'Lalgarh'; if ever you heard ,never felt it's a name worth remembering until recent past. It is an area covering cluster of few villages in Midnapore district of West Bengal. However this name has etched a permanent impression on the worn pages of history. Though public memory is short but in future the students of political science will definitely read the story of Lalgarh as an example of 'Fascism'.

A group of ruling party's armed cadre, camped in a desolate house in the villege, opened fire killing eight innocent villagers and 17 injuring 17 others fatally. Nearly 1000 villagers on 7th Jan gathered around the two storied house at 10.30 AM in the morning. They were protesting against the diktats, imposed by those few 'armed thugs'; like guarding their camp in night , supplying ration and cooking for them. Villagers were asked to take part in physical exercise compulsorily and take armed training! Imagine, in democratic country ( world largest democracy!), in a state where people are most politically conscious ; as claimed; this happens! And when public protest, those goons dare firing on them indiscriminately and escape! Surprisingly police station is hardly two kilometers away. But they failed to turn up ever. Only after the massacre the men in uniform were visible to take an account of the situation. It is learned that on the day of the incident , the District Magistrate and Police Super, both were away strategically. Whom do hold responsible? Law and order is whose responsibility? Will they ( right from ministers to local 'thana' in-charge) every be put on the dock and asked to explain their actions?

5th hike in Petrol price during past Six months!!!

2010-12-16T02:08:00.000-08:00

Latest petrol price hike is the fifth price rise in past six months since government deregulated petrol price from its control. The total hike in past six months is around Rs 8.50/- and the petroleum ministry predicts further rise in future as the crude price in global market is on the rise. Since long the oil refineries were claiming deregulation of fuel price to cut down their losses. At last government gave in for petrol but diesel price is still under government control. So are kerosene and LPG as they directly impact the vote bank. But is it really so? Though the majority is not touched by the rise of petrol price directly but there are always indirect effects. So, any rise in fuel price fuels inflation. Hiking petrol price affects only middle class budget keep everyone else happy. Because government, in central or states garner more in terms of taxes. Let us see the approximate break ups of petrol price when it is Rs58.90 per liter. It is assumed that ex-refinery petrol price is around Rs 28.93 (the current crude price in the international market around $90 per barrel) per liter. It is added up with excise duty Rs14.35 plus education cess Rs0.43 plus Vat Rs5.50 plus crude oil custom duty Rs1.10 and petrol custom duty Rs1.54 with dealer’s commission Rs01.05 plus average transportation cost Rs 6.00 ; makes the total Rs58.90. However, it is very difficult to determine petrol’s ex-refinery price as it is produced along with all other petroleum products. The huge profits made by oil refineries arouse doubts about the figure they offer.

Cutting down the taxes may cut down the petrol price by at least 40-50% from its present level. Our government’s failure to collect direct taxes forces them to look for such alternative indirect taxes, axing the middle-class. It is tragic the most affected middle class salary earners are not the tax evaders. Their only weakness is they don’t have much say through ballot boxes.

A trip to TAKI, West Bengal , India

2010-12-03T05:16:00.003-08:00

As Bangldesh looks on the bank of Ichamoti, from TAKI, West Bengal.Take a closed look, a cattle corpse is floating on the river bed, near the Bangladeshi bank. Victim of transborder cattle smuggling.

I am not sure how young generation would react to the name of yester year’s one of the most popular writer portraying the essence of rural Bengal, its pains and joys, prosperity and poverty and off course the thread of society; Bibhuti Bhusan Bandopadhyay. His simplicity was eminent in is writing; that was best projected by famous film director Satyojit Roy in his internationally acclaimed films like ‘Pother Panchali’, ‘Aparajito’ et el. At the age of 9, I read ‘Pother Panchali’. Though I was not matured, enough to comprehend its intrinsic message of the content but the very story left a pugmark in my mind. I became more interested about the author later. The river ‘Ichamoti’ ; again and again surfaced in his rendition; so in my mind. I always cherished the idea to see the river. It was just yesterday on 28^th November of 2010 finally I could make it.

I went in company of my spouse and joined by my elder brother and his wife. We started from Kolkata at 8 A.M by car on road and headed for “TAKI’, a border town in the bank of river ‘Ichamoti’. The route we took is old one; we went through ‘Jessore Road’ up to district town ‘Barasat; and form there we took ‘Taki road’ leading to TAKI. The road passed through congested areas, covering on its way several villages and smaller towns like ‘De Ganga’, ‘Basirhat’. We could reach Taki at around 11.50 A.M. However, though the journey was time consuming but not tiring. Reaching Taki, first we went to a Municipal Guest House to book our lunches, as there seemed no eatery around. The price was reasonable; rather cheap. The Guest House is located with few others on the bank of river ‘Ichamoti’. The sight of the river from the balcony of the Guest House is very vivid and on the other side of the river lay Bangladesh’s Satkhira district. Cyril Radcliff, the Surveyor General of Queen drew the line through this river between India and Pakistan (now Bangladesh) way back in 1947, without considering how it would affect the people on both sides of such river-based border. I was thinking how painful it was for lovers in Indian side of border who had their beloved on the other side of the river! One find morning they came to know that they were from different nations; without passport or Visa they can not meet at any rendezvous!

Visiting Taki remains incomplete without its site-seeing program on ‘Van Rikshaw’. On the Guest House itself we met a friendly Van Rikshaw owner who took our charge. On the riverbank lay narrow concrete pathway, broad enough for a car or van rikshaw but seemed risky when they cross each other. The riverside is fenced with barbed wire; put up by Border Security Force personal in their futile efforts to check cross border smugglings or illegal trades. We gathered from our Van Rikshaw puller cum guide, smugglings of cattle across the river ( to Bangladesh) is a regular phenomena. In fact, we found the sign of recent repairs of damaged barbed wire at several points. Somewhere on the bank, two Security personals were sitting idly, keeping their rifle ajar on a wall and gossiping. Their real vigil starts after dusk. I found few corpses of cattle floating on the river. Our guide added some cattle die while crossing the river during high tide or due to their weak lungs. The beef price in Bangladesh is around Rs250/- pre Kg, the same across the river in Taki costs around Rs80/-, reasoned out our guide for livestock smuggling. The porous border in this part of West Bengal could never stop smuggling of livestocks or any goods. Practically it seemed impossible to plug this border to stop cross border trades or smuggling of human and livestock.

Anyway unlike other smaller towns in West Bengal; Taki seemed to have a strong Municipal Body as their activities were evident every where. Roads, parks, lightings are well maintained. The Taki Municipality runs few guesthouses and a old age home. The river facing old age home looked attractive to me. I thought with a secure birth at such old-age- home one can coolly look forward to old age!

A hut on Bangladesh soil on the bank of 'Ichamoti' river.

Free Credit Score

2010-11-20T08:51:00.000-08:00

Did financial slump of 2008 take toll on your personal finance? Have you suffered a bankruptcy in recent past as so many Americans did? If your answer is ‘yes’ or you could just escape such mishap; then this article is for you and you must read this.

In fact, all the Americans know how important their credit score are. Once you suffer from bankruptcy, failing to repay your debts, your credit score touches its bottom. In fact, misery of suffering bankruptcy further aggravated with very low credit score. As no financial institution offers loan or credit when your credit is below 580. There are ways to rebuild your credit. Anyway, you should always keep track of credit score after regular intervals. There is a site helps you with Free Credit Score, the site is americancreditreport.net.

Everyone knows how difficult it is to raise credit score after bankruptcy. At the same time, those who leave the task with reputed credit monitoring service always stand to gain. They know how in a very short time their credit score raised. Paying bills, at least the minimum amount due, keep your credit score okay. The problem is to find a lender so as you can make the payment in time and raise the credit. Better the credit greater the loan and that will make easier for you to come out of trap. American Credit Report will help to find ways and guide you to regain health of your Credit Report in shortest possible time. Just visit their site and find the information in details.

Have you heard of loan forgiveness? Those who find extreme problem to pay that their loans may seek assistance from government loan forgiveness program. There are hundreds of loan forgiveness programs and they fit to anyone’s bill. Only thing you need to track which program fits you the best so you get a ‘bail out package’. Seek assistance for that too; visit the site.

Products & Service Reviews: HOMETOWN-- The Shopping Mall at Rajarhat, Kolkata

2010-11-17T00:40:00.000-08:00

Shopping Malls are the latest craze with Indian consumer. But next time when you go to shop with plush shopping mall, take care you are not cheated...........

Products & Service Reviews: HOMETOWN-- The Shopping Mall at Rajarhat, Kolkata: "- Sent using Google Toolbar"

Addiction Treatment

2010-10-21T20:49:00.000-07:00

Civilization with it numerous blessings brought curses in guise of bliss. Like drug and substance addictions. This phenomenon spurted menacingly all over the world during 60s of last century. Addiction to alcohol has been a problem for centuries to mankind; later heroin, cocaine and several other substances have lengthened the list. Addiction forces the victim to get entrapped and robs him of his power to free from it. Many lives, families have been destroyed and numerous are suffering from diseases that if not checked ultimately lead to premature deaths. Helping the addicts to get rid of their addictions to alcohol or any other substances is the mission of rehabilitation centers; there are so many of them all over the United States but very few can claim the higher percentage of successful treatment.

Amongst the reputed drug rehabilitation centers Freedom Treatment Center based in Albion Michigan is the most successful in Addiction Treatment in the nation. They have the success rate around 70%. That means three out of four patients they treat are get total freedom from addiction. The best result of the treatment is considered to be found when the patients stay clean for ever and make no return ever in future to their drug addiction. Their unique Drug Rehab program far exceeds the traditional 12 steps and other alternative treatment in terms of result.
Freedom Center offers excellent treatment facilities in their rehab center with comfortable arrangements for in-patients. Alcohol addiction is no lesser serious problem; they have best facilities for Alcohol Rehab. Many turn tee-totals after receiving treatment at the Freedom Center for rest of their life. Just visit their site for more information. You can register yourself on the site itself or you can call them over phone. The best team of doctors, caregivers who are extremely cooperative, staffs the Center.

Take care of your Credit Cards

2010-10-20T07:24:00.000-07:00

This is an imaginary disastrous situation with credit card. But there are things to be learnt::

SCENE 1.

People sure stay busy trying to cheat us, don't they?

A friend went to the local gym and placed his belongings in
the locker. After the workout and a shower, he came out, saw the locker open, and thought to himself, 'Funny, I thought I locked the locker.
Hmm, 'He dressed and just flipped the wallet to make sure all was in order.

Everything looked okay - all cards were in place..

A few weeks later his credit card bill came - a whooping
bill of Rs.7,00,000!

He called the credit card company and started yelling at
them, saying that he did not make the transactions.

Customer care personnel verified that there was no Mistake in the system and asked if his card had been stolen. ?

'No,' he said, but then took out his wallet, pulled
out the credit card, and yep - you guessed it - a switch had been made. ?

An expired similar credit card from the same bank was in
the wallet.

The thief broke into his locker at the gym and switched
cards.

Verdict: The credit card issuer said since he did not
report the card missing earlier, he would have to pay the
amount owed to them.

How much did he have to pay for items he did not buy?

7,00,000! Why were there no calls made to verify the amount swiped? Small amounts rarely trigger a 'warning bell' with some credit card companies. It just so happens that all the small amounts added up to big one!

SCENE 2.

A man at a local restaurant paid for his meal with his
credit card. The bill for the meal came, he signed it,and the waitress folded the receipt and passed the credit card along. Usually, he would just take it and place it in his wallet or pocket. Funny enough, though, he actually took a look at the card and, lo and behold, it was the expired card of another person.

He called the waitress and she looked perplexed.

She took it back, apologized, and hurried back to the
counter under the watchful eye of the man.

All the waitress did while walking to the counter was wave
the wrong expired card to the counter cashier, and the
counter cashier immediately looked down and took out the
real card.

No exchange of words --- nothing! She took it and came back to the man with an apology.

Verdict: Make sure the credit cards in your wallet are
yours. Check the name on the card every time you sign for
something and/or the card is taken away for even a short
period of time.

Many people just take back the credit card without even
looking at it, 'assuming' that it has to be theirs..

FOR YOUR OWN SAKE, DEVELOP THE HABIT OF CHECKING YOUR CREDIT CARD EACH TIME IT IS RETURNED TO YOU AFTER A TRANSACTION!

SCENE 3:

Yesterday I went into a pizza restaurant to pick up an
order that I had called in. I paid by using my Visa Check Card which, of course, is linked directly to my check ing account. The young man behind the counter took my card, swiped it, then laid it on the counter as he waited for the approval, which is pretty standard procedure.

While he waited, he picked up his cell phone and started
dialing.

I noticed the phone because it is the same model I have,
but nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Then I heard a click that sounded like my phone sounds when I take a picture.

He then gave me back my card but kept the phone in his hand as if he was still pressing buttons.

Meanwhile, I'm thinking: I wonder what he is taking a
picture of, oblivious to what was really going on.

It then dawned on me: the only thing there was my credit
card, so now I'm paying close attention to what he is
doing.

He set his phone on the counter, leaving it open.

About five seconds later, I heard the chime that tells you
that the picture has been saved.

Now I'm standing there struggling with the fact that
this boy just took a picture of my credit card.

Yes, he played it off well, because had we not had the same kind of phone, I probably would never have known what happened.

Needless to say, I immediately canceled that card as I was
walking out of the pizza parlor.

All I am saying is, be aware of your surroundings at all
times.

Whenever you are using your credit card take caution and
don't be careless.

Notice who is standing near you and what they are doing
when you use your card.

Be aware of phones, because many have a camera these days.

FORWARD THIS TO AS MANY PEOPLE AS YOU CAN THINK OF. LET'S GET THE WORD OUT! JUST BE AWARE !

Never let your card out of your sight.....check and check
again!

Drug Addiction Treatment

2010-10-20T06:19:00.000-07:00

The phenomenal rise of reported drug or substance abuse cases in United States surpassed all time record in recent past. It is now estimated that in United States alone more than 40 million cases of death and serious sickness for drug overdoses occurring every year. The drug addiction is menacing and the result is disastrous. However unfortunate it is, you or any one whom you love or care for may be an addict. With the strongest will to get rid of drug addiction, little success is met. In fact, in most of the cases to recover from addiction need clinical, psychological support that drug rehabilitation center can only offer. In all the states in United States, you find there are such rehabilitation centers promising prompt recovery with higher rate of success. But the reality spells different. In most of such centers with the conventional treatment, some improvement is found but that is never with permanency. Lack of total Drug Treatment fails to kill the urge to come back for kicks in patients. So they return and remain where they were.

Now, for Drug Addiction Treatment you can depend on Delray Recovery Center at beautiful Delray Beach, Florida. Treatment4Drugs is their web site and alternatively you can call them at (866) 830-3211. The site offers all the information about various drug or substance addictions and their treatment. In details, you get the information the type of treatment they offer and the difference between alternative and conventional treatment of addiction. At their Drug Treatment Center, they offer comprehensive treatment of addiction and their recovery rate is quite higher than that of their peers. What is more they do not draw a rosy picture with false promise.

The doctors, caregivers and staffs are extremely cooperative and they offer treatment specifically the individual needs. They have facilities for inpatients and outpatients treatments as per individual requirement. This helps to avail the treatment at reasonable cost. They follow up the cases even after the release on full recovery. Just visit their site for details and in case of need contact them, they are 100% reliable.

The road to paradise

2010-10-16T09:58:00.001-07:00

*Poem by an Undiscovered "Bengali" Poet**

2010-10-07T07:02:00.000-07:00

Here is poem I received from someone I love; thought why not share it, at least with my Bengali readers.............................hope they will enjoy it.

Through the jongole I am went,
On shooting Tiger I am bent,
Boshtaard Tiger has eaten wife,
No doubt I will avenge poor darling's life,

Too much quiet, snakes and leeches,
But I not fear these sons of beeches,
Hearing loud noise I am jumping with start,
But noise is coming from damn fool heart,

Taking care not to be fright,
I am clutching rifle with eye to sight,
Should Tiger come I will shoot and fall him down,
Then like hero return to native town,

Then through trees I am espying one cave,
I am telling self - 'Bannerjee be brave.'
I am now proceeding with too much care,
From far I smell this Tiger's lair,

My leg shaking, sweat coming, I start pray,
I think I will shoot Tiger some other day,
Turning round I am going to flee,
But Tiger giving bloody roar spotting Bengalee,
He bounding from cave like footballer Pele,
I run shouting 'Kali Ma tumi kothay gele',

Through the jongole I am running,
With Tiger on my tail closer looming,
I am a telling that never in life,
I will take risk again for my damn fool wife!*

Just think it !!

2010-10-05T09:23:00.000-07:00

'Whenever God Closes One Door He Always Opens Another, Even Though Sometimes It's Hell in the Hallway.'

I would rather have one rose and a kind word
from a friend while I'm here
than a whole truck load when I'm gone.

Happiness keeps You Sweet ,
Trials keep You Strong,
Sorrows keep You Human,
Failures keeps You Humble,
Success keeps You Glowing,
But Only
God keeps You Going

Think, if this is how a Government rules!!

2010-10-02T07:03:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time the government with Ruling Party XYZ.. had a vast scrap yard in the middle of a desert. Ruling Party XYZ Said..
- "Someone may steal from it at night."

So they created a night watchman position and hired a person for the job. Then Ruling Party XYZ Said..

- "How does the watchman do his job without instruction?"

So they created a planning department and hired two people, one person to write the instructions, and one person to do time studies. Then Ruling Party XYZ Said..,

- "How will we know the night watchman is doing the tasks correctly?"

So they created a Quality Control department and hired two people. One to do the studies and one to write the reports. Then Ruling Party XYZ Said.. ,

- "How are these people going to get paid?"

So they created the following positions, a time keeper, and a payroll officer, then hired two people. Then Ruling Party XYZ Said..,

- "Who will be accountable for all of these people?"

So they created an administrative section and hired three people, an Administrative Officer, Assistant Administrative Officer, and a Legal Secretary. Then Ruling Party XYZ Said..,

- "We have had this command in operation for one year and we are $18,000 over budget, we must cutback overall cost."
So they laid off the night watchman.

"When you were born".............. a poem

2010-09-28T07:04:00.000-07:00

 English translation of urdu poem "Jab Tu Paida Huwa Kitna Majboor
 Urdu/Hindi Version Follows ...
    When you were born, how helpless you were,
 Thoughts of this world were no where near.
    Your tiny limbs were still not sound,
 You still had not dreamt of the world around.
    You would keep on weeping and weeping,
 After having ur milk ur only job was sleeping.
    It was ur mother who taught u how to walk,
 And the one to embrace u when u could not even talk.
    Under ur mother's shelter u kept on growing,
 And with time ur boat of life kept on rowing.
    Slowly n slowly u became young and strong,
 Soon the whole world became ur patron.
    Of ur stength u were proud all the while,
 Adorning urself in ur own style.
    One day u were swept away by a pretty maid,
 And before her your hand you laid.
    Your duties then you had forgotten,
 Seeds of hatred you yourself had sown.
    Your parents you started ignoring,
 Your own wishes you kept on fullfilling.
    For small things with them you would fight,
 Learning new ways in your plight.
    Remember the day when ur mother told you,
 How can we ever live without you?
    Listening to this your control you lost,
 You wanted your way at any cost.
    Enraged your mother you told,
 Till now I was quite no more can I hold.
    Today I am asking you to leave me alone,
 To break all the ties and to remain forlorn.
    You will get some work go and try,
 People die everyday why dont u also die?
    Your mother would sit and cry the whole night,
 But you remained untouched by her pitiful sight.
    Then with broken heart ur father went away oneday,
 How shattered your mother appeared that day.
    Death was the only thing she wanted,
 As her life had kept her haunted.
    Then finally death embraced the of hers,
 As destiny could no more see her tears
    With tears in her eyes, she passed away,
 Death was just an excuse nothing was left to say.
    A kind of peace on her face could be seen,
 To adorn her body you seemed very keen.
    Ages have passed how old are you!
 No one needs you just a burden are you.
    No longer do your children respect,
 Only hatred they have,love you cannot expect.
    U sigh and cry O! my mother,
 Now there is no one to care and bother.
    Now you too are left miserably alone,
 Where is ur pride and where has ur valour gone.
    Your memories now make you cry,
 You won't get what u lost no matter how much u try.
    You kept on ignoring the word of God,
 Tortured ur parents and displeassed ur Lord.
    Death is now all that you contemplate,
 Your mother's face you cannot forget.
    Behold! death will embrace you on time,
 Your grave will hail you on time.
    If one values his parents for all they are worth,
 He will find paradise on this very earth.
    And for their blessings if he keeps on yearning,
 God's grace too he keeps on earing.
    Remember these words of mine,
 The sky is then open for you to shine.


========================================  
Urdu/Hindi Version ......
    Jab Tu Paida Huwa Kitna Majboor Tha
Yeh Jahan Teri Sonch Se Bhi Dour Tha...

Haath Paaon Bhi Tab Tere Apne Na Thay 
Teri Ankhon Main Duniya Ke Sapne Na Thay...

Tujh Ko Aata Sirf Rona Hi Tha 
Doodh Pi Ke Kaam Tera Sona He Tha...

Tujh Ko Chalna Sikhaya Tha Maa Ne Teri 
Tujh Ko Dil Main Basaya Tha Maa Ne Teri...

Maan Ke Saye Main Parwan Tu Chadne Laga 
Waqt Ke Sath Qad Tera Badne Laga...

Ahista Ahista Tu Kariyal Jawan Ho Gaya 
Tujh Pe Saara Jahan Meharban Ho Gaya...

Zore Bazoo Pe Tu Baat Karne Laga 
Khud He Sajne Laga Khud Hi Sanwarne Laga...

Ek Din Ek Ladki Tujh ko Gayi 
Ban Ke Dulhan Woh Tere Ghar Agayi...

Apne Farz Se Tu Door Hone Laga 
Beej Nafrat Ka Khud Hi Tu Bone Laga...

Phir Tu Maa Baap Ko Bhi Bhulane Laga 
Teer Baton Ke Phir Tu Chalane Laga...

Baat Baat Par Unn Se Tu Ladne Laga 
Qayda ek Naya Tu Phir Padne Laga...

Yaad Kar Tujh Se Maa Ne Kaha ek Din 
Abb Humara Guzara Nahi Tere Bin...

Sunn Ke Yeh Baat Tu Taish Main Agaya 
Tera Gussa Teri Aqal Ko Kha Gaya...

Josh Main Aake Tu Ne Yeh Maan Se Kaha 
Main Tha Khamoosh Sab Dekhta Hi Raha...

Aaj Kehta Hoon Peecha Mera Chor Do 
Jo Hai Rishta Mujhse Tumhara Woh Tum Tod Do...

Jao Ja Ke Kahin Kaam Dhanda Karo 
Log Marte Hain Tum Bhi Kahin Ja Ke Maro...

Baith Kar Aahen Bharti Thi Maan Raat Bhar 
Unki Aahon Ka Tujh Par Huwa Na Kuch Asar...

Ek Din Baap tera Chala Rooth Kar 
Kaise Bikhri Thi Phir Teri Maa Toot Kar...

Phir Woh Bhi Bas kal Ko Bulati Rahi 
Zindagi Usko Har Roz Satati Rahi...

Ek Din Mout Ko Bhi Taras Agaya 
Uska Rona Taqdeer Ko Bha Hi Gaya...

Ashk Ankhon Main Thay Woh Rawana Howi 
Mout Ki Ek Hichki Bahana Howi...

Ek Sukoon Us ke Chehre Pe Chane Laga 
Phir Tu Mayyat Ko Uski Sajane Laga...

Muddatain Ho Gayin Aaj Buddha Hai Tu 
Tooti Khatiya Pe Pada Bora Hai Tu...

Tere Bacche Bhi Abb Tujh Se Darte Nahin 
Nafraten Hain, Muhabbat Woh Karte Nahin...

Dard Main Tu Pukare Ke O MERI MAA 
TERE DAM SE ROSHAN THE DONO JAHAN...

Waqt Chalta Rahta Hai Waqt Kabhi Rukta Nahi 
Toot Jata Hai Woh Jo Ke Jhukta Nahin...

Bun Ke Ibrat Ka Tu Abb Nishan Reh Gaya 
Dhoond! Zor Tera Kahan Ab Reh Gaya...

Tu EHKAM-E-RABBI Bhulata Raha 
APNE MAAN BAAP KO TU SATATA RAHA...

Kaat Le Tu Wohi Tu Ne Boya Tha Jo 
Tujh Ko Kaise Mile Tu Ne Khoya Tha Jo...

Yaad Kar Ke Gaya Dor, Tu Rone Laga 
Kal Jo Tu Ne Kiya Aaj Phir Hone Laga...

Mout Mange Tujhe Mout Aati Nahi 
Maa Ki Soorat Nigahon Se Jati Nahi...

Tu Jo Khanse Tu Aulad Dante Tujhe 
Tu Hai Nasoor Sukh Kon Bante Tujhe...

Mout Ayegi Tujh Ko Magar Waqt Par 
Bann Hi Jaye Gi Qabar Teri Waqt Par...

QADAR MAA BAAP KI AGAR KOI JAAN LE 
APNI JANNAT KO DUNIYA MAIN PEHCHAN LE...
========================= 

Some achieve greatness!!

2010-07-19T09:09:00.000-07:00

Napoleon the III or IV (I forgot); is remembered with his famous quotation. It goes like this " some people are born great, some achieve greatness and some has greatness thrust upon them'; in fact that was he.

Hear I mention this for Big 'B' or Amitabh Bachan; though I am not a regular cine watcher; but I find it irresistible when his film releases. Usually I watch them at home; not all those can exploit him fully but some like 'Black' and recently 'Paa'; do it. They just show how one can achieve greatness through his diligence. My kudos to Big 'B'.

Hear I am going to show how difficult it was for him to take make-up for 'Paa'. There he played the role of a 13-year old boy Auro, suffering from a rare disorder called progeria.

It used to take four hours for make-up and 10% of the total budget of film was spent for his make-up!

Eight different types of clay were used for his make up.

This was the image 'Auro" was imposed upon.

He wore a denture to modulate his voice of a 13 years old boy. He wore it through out shooting of the flim

.That was Auro;

BLOGGING

2010-07-11T09:37:00.000-07:00

In my earlier article I just tried to guide you how to have your own blog with blogspot, offered by Google. Of course it's free, so anyone can try his or her hands. Not only Google; Yahoo, Hotmail and so many others offer their domain to create your blog free of cost. Different service providers offer different features, keeping basic blogging facilities. Try with them and find how best you can create your blog. You must keep in mind that how your blog looks though carry weight but principally what matters is contents in your blog. What you write should arouse interest in your readers. In fact the contents in any blog attract traffic. That is most important.
How?? Well you may be thinking; just creating a blog and writing anything you like is all that you want. But dear , let me tell you a popular blog with considerable traffic can generate good income too. For example look at this blog , it's hardly having any advertisement. Now look for the links given on the right side of this blog. Just click into one of them and see the various advertisements. These advertisers look for blogs with good number of readership and they pay for publishing their ads on different terms.
Hope you understand blog's potentialities.

Have your Own BLOG ; It's Simple

2010-05-28T07:47:00.000-07:00

Internet users use the net for various purpose. I am not talking about those use it precisely for professional purposes, like one in Bank, Insurance or hotel or Airline booking services. I am talking of them who use it for surfing, socializing or just for seeking information. Many of them sometime ask me how to own a site or blog. It is so easy if they have a Google account. In fact for a lay man like me could never have so many blogs , had Google did not offer blogspot free domain initially to open one and everyone of us any number of blogs.

Well if you still have none, just open your Google account or Gmail box. If you don't have any , just have one. Enter into your Gmail account. On the top of it, left side, there are number options like Orkut, Gmail, calendar, Web , Documents and More. Click into the More option. Sooner you click , a drop down menus hang out. At the bottom of it find "even more"; there your journey ends. Click into it, another site opens, find blogger account. Then click enter and follow the directions; they are simple like give a name to your site or blog, choose the site's name ( find if your preferred one is available)and few more simple options like choosing a template for your blog. That's it. Now you can start blogging . Happy blogging.

The secrets of French women remaining slim!

2010-04-16T08:30:00.000-07:00

French men are great lovers and French ladies are rarely fatty, with these facts keeping in mind I searched the secrets! It seems I met the success; here is book review about the diets of French women; hopefully you will agree with me...

French women seem to enjoy breads, desserts, and wine, but then don't gain the weight. American women, on the other hand, just think about snacking and magically put on ten pounds. In her bestselling book, French Women Don't Get Fat : The Secret of Eating For Pleasure, Mirelle Guiliano reveals the secrets that French women have at staying healthy and trim.

French Women Don't Get Fat begins with the account of the author, Mirelle Guiliano, growing up in France. By a stroke of luck she was sent to America in her teenage years as an exchange student. In America, she was introduced to brownies and cookies - which quickly became favorites. In no time at all, Mirelle put on twenty pounds. When it was time to return home she was a little nervous about what her family and friends would think of the "new" Mirelle. The story of seeing her family for the first time after being away is funny and heart wrenching at the same time. I can't do justice to this story, so I would recommend buying the book and reading it on your own. Later, her mother set up a secret meeting with their family physician, "Dr. Miracle", who helped her to shed the extra pounds, and more importantly, taught her how to live like a French Woman.

This book is not a miracle diet. In fact, French Women Don't Get Fat isn't a "diet" book at all. What it does is suggest ways to help you live a balanced, healthier lifestyle. The first thing the book suggests is to take an inventory of what you eat for a couple of weeks. By looking at your food journal, you should be able to see what your "offenders" are - meaning what foods you are overeating. For example, Mirelle's offenders were sweets. Once you recognize what foods you are eating out of balance, your next step is to identify why you overeat in this category. For example, if your "offender" is bread, you might notice that you are eating a lot of bread when you go to restaurants. You could then decide to only have one slice before your meal comes. The book also discusses changing the way you think. You aren't skimping on the bread because you are depriving yourself something you love, you are merely saving room for other things. The pleasure of most foods is in the first few bites, as French Women Don't Get Fat points out. After that we are just eating on autopilot. If you can avoid eating without thinking, you can avoid eating excess food. French women eat with their heads and do not leave the table feeling stuffed or guilty.

Another secret of the French this book points to is drinking more water. We all know that water is good for us, but how many of us really drink as much as we should? The secret is to add water to your daily routine. Drink a glass of water before you eat your breakfast. Once you have established this as part of your routine, then add another glass before going to bed. French Women Don't Get Fat reminds us that sleeping is a very dehydrating process. When both of these are routine, make it a habit to drink water each time you pass a water fountain. French women drink water all throughout the day.

Once you are drinking more water, you will probably feel healthier than ever. Since water has no calories, no preservatives, and nothing extra added, you might find that you are interested in the ingredients of the other foods you are consuming. Have you ever read the list of ingredients in a frozen dinner? What is all of that stuff? Why are we consuming things we can't even pronounce? Another key to eating like the French is what the author of this book calls "Ritual Preparation." While she lived at home, Mireille's mother prepared almost all of the food that she consumed. None of it was filled with preservatives, and most everything was fresh. French Women Don't Get Fat recommends going to the market several times a week, and selecting the freshest ingredients. By market the book is referring to a farmers market, and not the supermarket. Quality ingredients equal quality food. When you are eating quality, you won't need the quantity to make up for the lack of taste. Also, set the table like you would find at a restaurant - real napkins even. The extra attention to details will help you remember to savor your food. Also, sit down as a family, and turn off the television. Make meal time a ritual.

According to this book, you also need to move like a French woman. We aren't talking about hours of grueling exercise at the gym. What we are talking about is adding more movement to your daily routine. Walk to work, or if you work too far, then get off the train one stop early and walk the rest of the way to work. Or, add in a daily walk before eating breakfast. Take the stairs instead of the elevator when possible. French Women Don't Get Fat advised to not avoid precious steps: think of ways to add in more movement to your daily routine.

This book also includes recipes for foods such as Grilled Spring Lamb Shops, Asparagus Flan, Cauliflower Gratin, Grilled Chicken with Rosemary, Egg Omelet with Mixed Herbs and Ricotta Cheese, among many others. Since the French enjoy bread so much, recipes for Baguettes and Croissants are included too. The book has menu ideas as well.

If you need a good book to inspire you to lose a little weight so that you feel good about yourself, then French Women Don't Get Fat is where you should turn. Because the focus of this book is not about depriving yourself of good things, but about making focused choices to help you accomplish something even better, you will be motivated to change a few of your bad habits into good habits - and therefore live a more fulfilled and slimmer life.

How to control delinquent teens

2010-03-15T08:54:00.000-07:00

I often come across parents complaining about their teen aged kids who are unruly. Amongst my colleagues, friends, neighbors; every third parent is complaining about his or her teen aged child going delinquent. What I gather from them find some things common. Either their kids are born quite late after their marriage; both the parents are working or very indulgent. The effects of delinquent children may be varied in nature; some may be addicts, some just wayward or others just not serious about anything in life. They think as they have got everything they wanted from their parents; so life would offer them what they want! Now, they parents find it difficult to convince their ward that the rule of the world is different; it is something like “first deserve and then desire” as because they have never bothered to educate their kids that way for their own comforts. So the outcome is problem child. These days the common complaints are, kids are glued to their cellular phones, or chat sites of internet; he or she chats whole night and as a result after sleepless night they have sleepy days! To avoid any trouble they avoid confrontation but worry how to rein their children.
Listening such problem from one, who is closed to me I searched the web and found some solutions. It may help some parents, just log into the site http://www.familyfirstaid.org/out-of-control-teen.html.

I quo0te here some of their guidance for your perusal;

“It's a fairly natural process: Many teenagers rebel against their parents in some way. They also become moody and difficult in some cases. This is because teenagers are still developing, and the teen years represent some of the most rapid changes that the body goes through once beyond early childhood. On top of that, teenagers are experiencing a new range of emotions and urges as their hormones become active. There is a lot for teens to deal with as they grow up, and this can lead to some conflict in the home. However, occasional arguments and some moodiness and a degree of rebellion are all normal. What isn't normal, though, is an out of control teen that becomes regularly violent and willfully and consciously defiant at every turn.
Signs that you have an out of control teen (or defiant, struggling, rebellious teen)
There are signs that you might have an out of control teen on your hands. An out of control teen persists regularly and often in the following behaviors for at least six months:
• Constantly losing one's temper.
• Regularly arguing with adults.
• Defying requests actively and often.
• Refusing to follow rules.
• Trying to deliberately annoy others.
• Constantly blaming other people for their misbehavior, poor choices or mistakes.
• Showing spitefulness and vindictiveness regularly.
• Being very touchy and easily angered.
Many of these teenagers are very stubborn and continually push the boundaries. While there is a certain amount of testing with all teenagers, an out of control teen pushes the limits on everything, and is actively defiant about his or her behavior. An out of control teen shows no remorse for behavior that negatively affects friends and family, and shows aggression, rather than the normal teenage moodiness and occasional rule breaking.
Risk factors for an out of control teen
There are different reasons that a struggling teen might spiral out of control. Some risk factors have to do with genetic disposition, and others have to do with environment. And some are due to the influence of peer pressure. Some of the things that can influence whether or not a teen develops out of control behaviors and habits include:
• Favorable attitude of parents toward rebellious behavior.
• Conflict in the family and/or witness family violence.
• Friends who abuse substances or engage in delinquent behavior.
• Rejection by peers.
• Family history of mental disorders, addiction or problem behavior.
• Traumatic experiences in childhood.
Current family stresses can also cause out of control teen behavior. Financial stress, divorce, inconsistency in parenting techniques, very punitive practices in the family and severe illness or other family challenges can all result in a situation that a teenager finds difficult to deal with. This can in turn result in problem behavior as the teen looks for an outlet.
Another factor is a desire to be accepted. Some struggling teenagers develop out of control and problem behaviors as they attempt to be accepted by their peers. They might engage in substance abuse, illegal behaviors and other actions in order to find acceptance. These acts can, in turn, lead to destructive behaviors that can cause problems for the family, as well as for the teenager. In some cases, out of control teens develop violent tendencies that can threaten younger family members.
Helping to head off an out of control or defiant teen
There are some different things you can try in order to attempt to head off an out of control teen. You want to be able to help your struggling teenager cope with the challenges being presented, if possible. Some of the things that can help keep a teenager away from out of control behavior include:
• Family counseling. (Individual counseling may be needed as well.)
• Learning techniques for providing consistent parenting.
• Creating a loving home environment.
• Showing interest in your child's activities.
• Talking about your expectations of ethical and moral behavior.
• Listening to your teen and communicating regularly with him or her.
• Encouraging teenagers to participate in healthy extracurricular activities.
• Meeting your kids' friends, and their parents.
• Remaining the adult - and the parent - even when sometimes you'd rather be "cool."
• Avoiding arguments and trying to reason with your teenager when she or he is upset. Acknowledge a teen's position without condoning it.
• Pick your battles. Don't judge everything your teen says, does or listens to. Look for the important things, and don t get too fussed about unimportant matters.
In the end, your response to the situation can be important. If you show that you are supportive and want to help, this can be a way to rein in an out of control teen. However, there might times when nothing works, and you have no choice but to send a teen away for the good of the family. We have many options for these situations. “

Hair Loss; the reason and how to control

2010-03-05T07:04:00.000-08:00

Regardless of your age, you need to be concerned about your hair. The appearance and quantity of hair that you have is a reflection of your internal health. You can use natural hair loss remedies to save your hair.
Of course, when you are young you have plenty of hair. But, there are even some of you at an early age, twenties, start to lose your hair.

The appearance and quantity of hair that you have is a reflection of your internal health.

Aside from a having a serious illness, your hair loss is affected by scalp cleanliness, stress, diet, and excess DHT. Knowing this, you can check out many hair loss remedies available to you.

Scalp cleanliness
If you have dandruff, you need to get rid of it. Dandruff can be a source of hair loss when it combines with dirt, shampoo chemicals, excess sebum follicle oil. Over time this combination of chemicals can create a film on your scalp that hardens and start to plug up your hair follicles. Once plugged, your follicles can't support hair growth.

Dandruff can be caused by excess stress, dry scalp, or chemical irritations. Look to see if you have excess stress in your life and find a way to reduce it. Chemical irritations can come from the shampoos that you are using.

Look for shampoos and conditioners that have natural ingredients. Start moving away from those hair products that have so many petrochemicals and dyes. Petrochemicals are those ingredients that you are not familiar with on the ingredient label - propylene glycol, phenoxyethanol, methylparaben, ethylparaben, propylparaben, butylparaben, and FD&C colorings.

Stress
Stress is a major contributors to many illnesses. It can also be the main reason you can experience loss of hair. Many years I was under a lot of stress at my new job. During the first 3 month there I experience excessive hair loss on the top of my head.

When you have hair loss due to stress, you can recover this hair if you take action right away. First look at your high stress level and start reducing it. Next, start supplementing your diet with a good hair loss nutritional supplement.

Diet
What you eat feeds your body. The type of body you have is based on what you eat. If you do not provide enough nutrients to your body, you hair will not receive enough nutrients to grow and be healthy. Your hair is last in line for the nutrient you supply your body. One way to improve your diet is eat more fruits in the morning and more vegetable for lunch and dinner. You can consider eating natural food hair loss remedies.

DHT (di-hydro-testosterone)
When excessive amounts of testosterone are converted to DHT by the enzyme 5 alpha reductase, this DHT accumulates at the hair root where it blocks blood circulation to that hair follicle. This decrease in blood to the hair root weakens it and it loses its health.

DHT also accumulates in the follicle and starts to plug it, thus further inactivating this hair follicle. The result is your hair start to thin out.

For women, DHT formation is not a major activity until menopause. Before menopause, estrogen blocks the formation of DHT. When estrogen decreases after menopause, DHT starts to form causing hair loss in women.

There are now shampoos that help to clean off accumulated DHT from the scalp and from within the hair follicles. Use them to stop hair loss and to recover some of the hair follicles that are still alive.

There are also some pills that block the formation of DHT in the blood, but I don't recommend them since it is not known what the longer term effects are of this blocking.
Go to google to find out more about DHT (di-hydro-testosterone) shampoos.

See the Change!

2010-02-10T08:43:00.001-08:00

The European Commission has just announced an agreement whereby English will be the official language of the European Union rather than German, which was the other possibility.

As part of the negotiations, the British Government conceded that English spelling had some room for improvement and has accepted a 5- year phase-in plan that would become known as "Euro-English" .

In the first year, "s" will replace the soft "c". Sertainly, this will make the sivil servants jump with joy.

The hard "c" will be dropped in favour of "k". This should klear up konfusion, and keyboards kan have one less letter.

There will be growing publik enthusiasm in the sekond year when the troublesome "ph" will be replaced with "f". This will make words like fotograf 20% shorter.

In the 3rd year, publik akseptanse of the new spelling kan be expekted to reach the stage where more komplikated changes are possible.

Governments will enkourage the removal of double letters which have always ben a deterent to akurate speling..

Also, al wil agre that the horibl mes of the silent "e" in the languag is disgrasful and it should go away.

By the 4th yer people wil be reseptiv to steps such as replasing "th" with "z" and "w"with "v".

During ze fifz yer, ze unesesary "o" kan be dropd from vords kontaining "ou" and after ziz fifz yer, ve vil hav a reil sensi bl riten styl.

Zer vil be no mor trubl or difikultis and evrivun vil find it ezi tu understand ech oza. Ze drem of a united urop vil finali kum tru.

Und efter ze fifz yer, ve vil al be speking German like zey vunted in ze forst plas.

If zis mad you smil, pleas pas on to oza pepl.

Ginger anodyne clears the palate

2010-02-01T06:57:00.001-08:00

Ginger anodyne clears the palate

Roomster Affiliate Program

2010-01-31T09:03:00.000-08:00

Do you blog about real estate? Then this is your great chance to make money with fast growing home and apartment search engine. They are looking for partners to grow even faster; you can register for roomster affiliate program and make money posting their links, banners and applications on your site. Join the program and earn.

Gold Rush!

2009-11-05T09:03:00.000-08:00

Gold touches the new high in Global Market. In fact International Monetary Fund is in need of dollar to lend to some countries to bail out them from crises. So they put around 400 tons of Gold on sale; India bought around 200 tons of gold from IMF with its bulging dollar holdings. This has an impact to offset the dollar price in India. The expectation of other countries especially China may follow India’s suit pushed the price of gold to new high. An ounce of gold sold at a price of $1094.4 in world gold market. Other feels as the major investing funds are expecting a plunge in stock price so they are diverting their investment to gold as a safe heaven. So gold is having more sheen now!

2009-10-27T07:36:00.001-07:00

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Investment Strategy ; Look before you leap

2009-10-06T07:33:00.000-07:00

Indian economy appears to be elusive; the stock market is bullish so the consumer market and all other. It is incomprehensible how the poorest of the poor Indians manage to survive with the skyrocketed prices of all most everything; from potato to pea-nuts, salt to sugar and egg to meat! The prices of many vegetables, edible oils, cereals, grams have broken all time records. But surprisingly there is no much furor over this. Is it only the middle class who are affected by this price rise? Are the people living below poverty line (they may constitute more than 60% actually despite of any official figures) being adequately supplied with subsidized food stuffs? Keeping Indian standard of distribution system through the mechanism available with various states in mind, you can be rest assured that it has never happened. What might have happened; the plight of the poor is not highlighted either by media or any political party for the reason best known to them. Their voices are maimed in most of the places or they are raising their voices through ultra like movements ( as Naxalites). We don’t come across urban poor discussing about the exorbitant price rise of food stuffs or hunger, this is really surprising again. How a man with more or less the same wage what he used to get few years ago; can manage to keep his body and soul together with prices are higher by two to three times or sometime even more!

The vast majority of Indian sub-continent has no concern for share price index. Only the riches and urban middle class are bothered of share price index. With every rise and fall in the SENSEX there are lots of comments we hear from experts about Indian economy. Most of them opine it is brighter than any other economy in this planet but fail to advance any solution for the common man’s economy. We all know when the prices of common men’s items go haywire; they are hardly left with any surplus fund to buy consumer goods or make any investment. With the share price index spiraling higher and higher; who is funding it or where from the funds are coming? There should be plunge in the demand of consumer goods and so with all other secondary markets. As a chain reaction, with domestic demands for industrial goods (since common men’s money is sucked by their cost of living) weakening day by day, falling exports with recession struck global demand; the only exception is bullish stock prices.

Obviously the market is zooming high because of overseas funds and with domestic fund managers’ manipulations (!); may be as the government is currently in the divestment spree and many public issues are in the pipe line; so the stage is ready. It will not be a surprise if the share price index make a free fall soon after this drama is over.

Blogger, Article writer

2009-10-02T09:16:00.000-07:00

Blogger, Article writer: "I am experienced blogger and article writer. I can ably write SEO, internet marketing articles and academic articles related to subjects like nursing, financ..."

2009-09-20T11:27:00.001-07:00

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Power Cuts in West Bengal

2009-09-18T06:09:00.000-07:00

Over the years, power cut in West Bengal at this time of year is plaguing; sometime it is due to routine service of the power plants or uncalled for breakdowns. They are usual and seem out of control. But the other factor what is surprising is coal shortage! Coal shortage is equally a routine affair every year. The coal mines being nationalized way back 1969 by government headed by Mrs Indira Gandhi did good to miners as well as those coal mine owners who were handsomely compensated for handing over underground infernos to government. In fact, many underground fires and land collapses in coal mine areas are due to most negligent mining by the mine owners. It is well known fact to anyone who is associated with Indian coal mining industry.
Now, the shortage of coal supplies to the power plants is causing power shortage, because numbers of power generating plants are kept idle. Year after year we the tax payers have to suffer for that! In the civil world, perhaps Indian example is unique; had this been happening anywhere, they would have found remedy to these ills on war footing. Every year we come to know the same problems, as the open cast mines are deluged, so coal cannot be excavated or the shortage of rail wagons is posing the problem to transport coal from mines to plants! To cap it all, when these two factors are not posing problem, then comes ash content! Ash content in the coal that is being supplied to the power plants by nationalized coal mines is far more than desired level so the power plants are having frequent breakdowns. Fortunately this year the “ash content’ story is not heard.
Mind it to overcome all these hurdles, the remedy is single; imported coal from countries like Indonesia, Australia and others. What seems surprising; most of them have their stocks ready on our shore i.e Paradwip port, in Orissa. Sooner the government approves the deal; the wagons are ready with the load. Does not that sound fishy? There must be some agents who stand to gain out of the entire imbroglio! Should someone take a closer look; here it is not expected that any government agency will take initiative to probe the facts. How about media! Are they sleeping?

The Indian Banking Industries

2009-08-30T00:37:00.000-07:00

Indian banking industries could avoid the global recession and its after effects like bankruptcy, liquidations that massacred US banking majors. No doubt the practice of prudential banking norm and government control what controlled their exposures to reckless banking practice. But what is ailing the industries is its policy and manpower. The wage in banking industries is one of the lowest amongst peer organizations under government control. For the past two years the employee’s fresh wage agreement is due. No doubt, the trade unions used to be super powers in this industries decade ago, but no more they are so now. As most of the trade unions are controlled by their political bosses covertly or overtly, so their influence in the government does matter. Unfortunately currently, most or all of these political bosses of trade unions sit in the bench earmarked for members of oppositions in Parliament; so there is none to consider their case seriously. Neither they are in any hurry as next State or Union elections are still far off. But whether they (read politicians or political bosses of trade unions) are with the policy makers or not, lingering with wage revision is a matter of practice and it’s paying too. Once the wage is settled the workers are required to dole out a levy i.e a percentage of the arrears of their revised wages to their trade unions which they belong. Obviously you understand the trick, more the delay in wage revision, more the amount of arrears so bigger the amount of levies! Surprised! but this is the norm of wage negotiations and despite of deep resentment amongst the workers (whose voices are always suppressed) for the delay and the undue levy, the practice is on ever since bipartite wage negotiation between Indian Banker’s Association and several trade unions.
Believe me, you must have an account with bank, with the present pay structure in the Indian banking industries, if one joins as a clerk he gets a salary or Rs7300/- in cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai or any other metropolis and of still lesser amount when he posted in smaller towns, as some allowances are not admissible there. With the ongoing wage negotiations, the proposed hike will get them Rs9300/- per month; whereas the person stands to get far better salary with lesser responsibility with any central or state government jobs. Even most the Municipal corporations are paying better to their clerical employees. The result is disastrous, as very few those stay with bank who join till they get another job.
Thus you find in most of the nationalized banks in India, are staffed by the dead woods and looks like those forests in Australia burnt by wild fire. It is truly surprising that an entire industry is being run without infusion fresh blood. Perhaps there is no parallel not only in India but all over the world.

Global Recession

2009-08-14T23:40:00.000-07:00

The acute phase of global recession seems to be over; as opined by some experts. Though it is too early to be sure, but there are certain symptoms evident in the global economy that is encouraging. The two major economy in Europe, Germany and France in the quarter ending June’09 have shown come back signs to economical phases. After a long period of recession during this quarter Germany has shown a growth of 0.3% in its national income. Some say this is due to their exports surpassed all imports during this period; during the month of last June, the export growth rate in Germany has touched almost 7%. So it is expected that during the third quarter, Germany’s national income would increase by 1 percent. Another lobby of economic experts held that this growth in German economy is due to increase in governmental spending. If that is true , then obviously it will not be sustainable. The same lobby also opines that the basic reforms in German economy are yet to take place. As banking in Germany is still under government protection; so it can never be ascertained that economical health of Germany is restored. But in case of France the symptom of growth is consistent, as they have rapid growth in exports and the demand of consumer goods in the domestic markets have increased remarkably.
Another emerging economy, India, has surprised all; as its index of industrial production touched 7.8 % during quarter ended Jun’09. This is the highest ever the index touched during last sixteen months. The rise of this index is significant. However due to draught like situation this year, India is going to be hard pressed to meet the demand supply gap on agricultural sectors. The health of Indian economy depends on how the Indian government tackles the crises.

Opening Gmail account

2009-08-04T08:14:00.000-07:00

In one of my blogs I wrote about the social sites. There are plenty in the web now. Earlier there were few dating sites, grossly they were considered to be the social sites; it was Google first brought Orkut.com in the web and the social site revolution started. Initially Gmail account could only be opened by introduction, not as of now, anyone can open an account, so was the Orkut. I read the article about Gmail with email data storage capacity upto 6MB in one of the famous English newspaper in India "The Statesman" published from Kolkata. I contacted the writer of the article, whose g mail address was given in the article too. I am not sure how delighted he was, when I asked him to introduce me to Google for opening gmail id. Can you thing such stricture now! Incredible. But that was it.
Now you know how easy it is, just click in, put anything in the space as your details, and the account is opened,.Good Luck!

Marriage or Live-together?

2009-07-11T03:12:00.000-07:00

Marriages are made in heaven ---- thus goes the old adage; but in reality we find otherwise. Though I know that there are very few people would agree to me openly but within they know what it is. Years ago I read somewhere that in Russia the marriages are conducted with much pomp and show as we find amongst the middle class and of course wealthy and riches in India or elsewhere in South Asia, but three out of five marriages breaks shortly. Now, it is evident here too in India, especially in amongst the middle class where marriages are solemnized as still something “holy.” Problems crop up for many things, amongst the middle class or the business class mostly it is on dowry (the goodies bride brings along at the time of marriage) counts, sometime torture on newly married brides follow for bringing more and more from her father’s house. The law enacted to protect them and punish the torturer, but that is also grossly misused. I have found men being held under anti-dowry law and taken into custody for trivial husband-wife skirmishes; as wife has been advised by her, so-called, well wishers or sometime over ambitious lawyers to charge her husband labeling the simple misunderstanding as dowry torture. This is mostly done to give him a lesson without considering its consequences or what goes on with the groom’s party or family.
Well this is the common story of those couples who get ready to part or have mental preparations for divorce or separation. With the separation it starts and ends with divorce with or without alimony. If they happen to have kids, the impression of such incidents lingers; without kids it’s easy to forget the affair early. Once the initial turmoil is over they may start the life anew, it is up to them. But there are many more couples who stay together under the same roof but remain separated from each other’s heart or soul. They have kids, raise them, and quarrel of and on in presence of them. This continues for first few years after their marriage in full force; then gradually the turbulence subsides as the children grow; they too ages but the discords remain.
You know who suffers most under such situations? The kids, they know not why their parents are not in harmony; neither they understand what is the problem between them. They remain the mute spectators and suffer. In modern society most of the families are nucleus. Couples and one or two kids make the family; with quarrelsome parents around and none to take care or console the kids; how isolated the kids feel is imaginable. The current band of problem children; we find in schools, public places, restaurants or anywhere, do come from such families. This has been found by the eminent psychologist and social scientists all over the world. The socio-economic factors may have links for creating such situations but the primary factor is lack of love and understanding. Marriages are made in heaven ---so said because it bestows love and understanding on the couple that turns hell into the heaven or supposed to do so. But unfortunately modern societies with its consumerist values fail to appreciate such sublime values of life. The results are disastrous.
In the developed world gradually “the marriage” as a necessary social endorsement, validity for man and woman to stay together or raise a family is fast becoming outdated. With no confidence or spirit to go ahead and complete the life’s journey as a man and wife, people prefer “live-together” concept. Albeit in still nascent stage in countries like India, where society is still conservative, at least in big metros the “live-together” couples are not rare. It leaves the couples free from the bondage of marriage, at least its legal aspects. If it does not work, well they can part at any time. Of course kids or children have no place in a “live-together” family.
So, from the cave age, the civilization progressed to the direction as it felt logical and justified. The journey is still on, no where it stopped, though it might have taken turn at times, then carried on for long in the same directions till it suited them or the majority as history suggests. Is that now another turn from “marriage” to “live-together”?

Social Sites

2009-06-19T07:20:00.000-07:00

Way back in the year 2004 I first took internet connection thorough my residential land line phone. The download speed was too slow, the service was costly and disruptive but still I was delighted with the thought that I am connected with all over the world. I use to imagine sometime I may come across some Eskimo while chatting; would ask how the life is for him there and what he thinks about us far away from his icy world! Unfortunately that never happened though I met many unknowns online and sometime some long forgotten known. Really it is amazing; meeting one or his son or daughter after 20,30 or even more years whom I knew before decades and have impressions of them.
In fact I can not remember which year I came to know about Orkut. One Sidhartha Banerjee wrote an article in my favorite news paper The Statesman. Google was offering to open gmail and orkut account on introduction; I logged in, mailed to the writer whose email address was given in that article. With his introduction I had my gmail and orkut account and we became friends thereafter. The Orkut offered me a new lease of lost social life. I think there are many to have similar experience like me. Of course the younger generation use this site with much enthusiasm but I felt it is useful to everyone. You may find, in fact, of men and women of every taste, liking and from every corner of globe.
In fact Google put all of us in debt offering this service free. Later there are many to follow Google's trail; so now there are many social sites in the web with various service. Surf them; you may encounter some surprise!

Apartheid Australia!

2009-06-10T08:21:00.000-07:00

Apartheid ; you know the meaning of this term when I searched the web I found “a political system in South Africa from 1948 to the early 1990s that separated the different peoples living there and gave privileges to those of European origin”; but it was a system not only existed in South Africa, it still exists! The recent reports from Australia portray the grim picture there. Every now and then students of Indian origin are falling victims of racial attacks. In Britain, it seems to be hush hush affairs, none talks about it, though it exists there too. Even I heard from one lady who was there for some years with her husband, who served with British Health Service, that many whites or Brits did not allow black or brown doctors to treat them or even touch them. So most of the doctors from this sub continent get the jobs with British Health Service as anesthetist or other low profile segment of medicine.
Australia, the continent was once used by the British Crown while colonizing as a place of settling its prisoners or criminals. The aboriginals are extinguished mostly and now the current generation can claim their ancestry to those who was released from British prison to colonize the foreign land. It seems their ancient blood forcing them to attack the new comers who may pose a threat to their ill gotten comforts!

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Whopping Compensation of Rs1 Cr. for Medical Negligence

2009-05-17T09:40:00.000-07:00

In a landmark judgment the Supreme Court of India has directed Nizam’s Institute of Medical Science, Hyderabad to pay Rs one crore or INR 10 millions for carrying out wrong surgery on Mr. Prasant S Dhananka decades ago. Mr. Dhananka underwent an operation that turned him paralyzed for life at the age of 19. It is only his spirit of perseverance that he fought the compensation case for more than 15 years and finally got the order from the Supreme Course. Though earlier he was awarded compensation of Rs 15 lakh by National Consumer Court but he decided to proceed further claiming compensation amount Rs 7 crores. The Supreme Court fixed the amount of compensation of Rs 1 Crore, first time ever in the history of consumer compensation in India. In fact amount of compensation is reached, in case of medical negligence, considering the age, potentiality and value of lost opportunities in victim’s life. But the Supreme Court in year 2000 expressed its views while giving verdict in “Charan Singh Vs Healing Touch’ case, that the compensation amount should bring the errant service providing hospitals in senses.
In India the cases alike Prasant are rampant, very few can afford to seek the judgment from court of law. Imagine the plight of them as his, having lost the most vital period of life; can any amount truly compensate their losses? Those who venture; they are harassed by the hospitals to such an extent in Indian legal system that most of the cases are dropped. It is equally difficult to get evidence against the errant doctors; because eventually that has to be drawn from the people of same profession. Filing compensation case before consumer court for medical negligence requires written statement from specialist doctors. It is a far cry, since the government has failed to create a panel of independent and impartial doctors to do such jobs. Given the existing situations in our irresponsible medical service, with little hope of getting justice or compensation, the chaos and devastation carried out by frustrated public in hospitals time and again is but natural!

Long life without Sweetness!

2009-05-13T10:11:00.001-07:00

Life without sweet or chocolates is unthinkable to many of us. Of course persons who are diabetics; are forced to quit sweet meats or chocolates, take coffee or tea without sugar. But they too can sweet when their sugar level is low in blood. Though it is established fact that sweet or sugar has nothing to do with diabetes mellitus for its initiation in our body. Once you get it, sugar aggravates it; so going very low with sugar or sweet is advised.
But now recent news may encourage many to quit sweet voluntarily forever. The oldest lady of world ( so far known), Sakhan dosova born on 27 th March 1879 in Karaganda, Kazakhstan died due to slips in toilet of her flat which was gifted by authority considering her woeful living standard at the age of 130! This has been reported by Daily Mirror on 11th May 09. What is interesting to note that she never took pill for any ailment in her life and neither took sweet ever! In last march she is reported to have told this secret in an interview adds Daily Mirror.

A Joke "you know your client better than I do!"

2009-05-04T09:08:00.000-07:00

Here goes a joke, that I received just a short while ago from my friend Arun; I think I share it with my readers;

An Officer stops a driver for running a red light.

The guy is a real jerk and comes running back to the officer, demanding to know why he is being harassed by the Gestapo!

So the officer calmly tells him of the red light violation..

The driver instantly goes on a tirade, questioning the officer's ancestry, sexual orientation, etc., in rather explicit terms.

The tirade goes on without the officer saying anything.

When he gets done with writing the ticket, he puts an "AH" in the lower right corner of the narrative portion of the ticket.

He then hands it to the "Violator" for his signature.

The guy signs the ticket angrily, and when presented with his copy points to the "AH" and demands to know what it stands for.

The Mountie says, "That's so when we go to court, I'll remember that you're an Ass..ole!"

Two months later they're in court.

The "Violator" has such a bad driving record he is about to lose his licence and has hired a top attorney to represent him.

On the stand the officer testifies to seeing the man run the red light.

Under cross examination the defense attorney asks; "Officer is this a reasonable facsimile of the ticket you issued my client?"

Officer responds, "Yes sir, that is the defendants copy, his signature and mine, same number at the top."

Lawyer: "Officer, is there any particular marking or notation on this ticket you don't normally make?"

Officer: "Yes sir, in the lower right corner of the narrative there is an "AH," underlined."

Lawyer: "What does the "AH" stand for, officer?"

Officer: "Aggressive and Hostile, Sir."

Lawyer: "Aggressive and Hostile?"

Officer: "Yes Sir!"

Lawyer: "Officer, Are you sure it doesn't stand for 'As..hole'?"

Officer: "Well Sir, you know your client better than I do!"

Never Play with Women -- A Joke!

2009-02-18T05:42:00.001-08:00

This piece of joke I received now as I opened my mail box.Though why not to share it !

NEVER PLAY WITH WOMEN

The FBI had an opening for an assassin.

After all the background checks, interviews, and testing were done, there
were 3 finalists.

Two men and a woman:

For the final test, the FBI agents took one of the men to a large metal
door and handed him a gun.

We must know that you will follow your instructions no matter what
the circumstances. Inside the room you will find your wife sitting in a chair. Kill Her!

The man said, 'you can't be serious, I could never shoot my wife.’ The agent said, 'Then you're not the right man for this job. Take your wife and go home.'

The second man was given the same instructions. He took the gun and went into the room. All was quiet for about 5 minutes. The man came out with tears in his eyes, 'I tried, but I can't kill my wife.' The agent said, 'You don't have what it takes. Take your wife and go home.'

Finally, it was the woman's turn. She was given the same instructions,
to kill her husband. She took the gun and went into the room. Shots were heard, one after another. They heard screaming, crashing, banging on the walls. After a few minutes, all was quiet. The door opened slowly and there stood the woman.

She wiped the sweat from her brow.

'This gun is loaded with blanks' she said. 'I had to beat him to death with the chair.'

A reassuring poem !

2009-02-01T05:56:00.000-08:00

Someone mailed me a poem, it is so assuring, I thought to share with you. In fact, gone are the days, full of leisurely hours, when we could visit a pub regularly or a point where friends met. The modern times ( having been drifted further from the way Chaplin portrayed in his famous film)hardly spare us to meet and seek assurance or share our joy and sorrow. Now, read the poem, I hope it is reassuring :

You are never alone, I am always near,
When your troubled, down or blue.
All you have to do is call me,
I am always here for you.
It does not matter where I am at,
It does not matter when.
When you need someone to talk to,
I am here to be your friend.
If you need someone to hold your hand,
or a hug to say I care.
If you need a shoulder to cry on,
for you I will be there.
So never think you are a burden,
when the weight gets to be to much.
You might find if look hard enough,
a good friend could be the right touch.
You are never alone, I am always here,
through the good times and the bad.
I am always here to be your friend,
I do not like to see you sad.

2009-01-31T09:14:00.000-08:00

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2009-01-22T09:22:00.000-08:00

2009-01-18T11:01:00.001-08:00

Diabetes Type 2: Nursing case study Part -II

2009-01-03T22:12:00.000-08:00

Continued from part - I...............

Identification of diabetes mellitus type 2

Unlike diabetes type 1, where the problem in the metabolic system with insulin production, in case of diabetes type 2, it is the response to insulin by body cells what is defective. It may go undetected for years, since the symptoms are sporadic and not acute. However, it may prove fatal if not managed properly. The major factors contributing to this problem are (Robbins & Cotran, 2004).

• Higher level of hepatic glucose production.
• Reduction of insulin-mediated transport of glucose to adipose tissue and primary muscles.
• Beta-cell malfunction.

The early detection of the disease helps to manage it better. There are some symptoms identified with diabetes like increased thirst, more urination, recurrent infection, weight loss and tiredness. The World Health Organization defined diabetes as raised glucose level in blood on two occasions. On fasting the level of glucose in blood should be > 7.0 mmol/l i.d 126mg/dl and/ or the tolerance test of glucose that is two hours after oral dose plasma glucose >11.1 mmol/l i.e 200mg/dl (WHO 2007).

Risk factors

Diabetic patients especially who are suffering from type 2, may have strong genetic connection. Type 2 diabetes is also associated with obesity, high cholesterol level and a condition termed as metabolic syndrome (Chiasson 2002; Torgerson, 2004). Further type 2 diabetes associates with cushing’s syndrome, acromegaly, endrinological problems. Obesity caused by type 2 diabetes changes metabolism and turn it insulin resistance (Camastra, Bonora , Del Prato, Rett, Weck & Ferrannini 1999).

Diabetic hypoglycemia is another risk associated with all type of diabetic patients (Cryer PE1997). It is sudden fall of blood glucose level and is seen as emergency. Because as fall out of hypoglycemia; patient collapses usually losing sense. It should be treated as emergency and prompt treatment with the recognition should be started lest brain or organ damage may occur. It may be reversed initially with the small intake of carbohydrate in solid or liquid form. In extreme cases patients losing consciences are called to be in diabetic coma. Hypoglycemia symptoms can be severe, moderate or mild depending upon the level of glucose fall in the blood (Diabetes Control and Complications (DCCT) Research Group 1993; Inzucchi & Sherwin 2005).

MONEY ON WEB |

2008-12-28T04:59:00.002-08:00

MONEY ON WEB |

2008-12-28T04:59:00.001-08:00

MONEY ON WEB |

Diabetes Type 2: Nursing case study

2008-12-25T04:47:00.000-08:00

The following study or observation was carried out during my service with a leading hospital and research centre in the suburb of Mumbai. It had a day clinic and with 50 bedded general ward for patients suffering from various illness but not infectious. A section of the ward comprising 5 beds was earmarked for patients suffering from acute diabetes or problems related to it. Though usually there were one among ten patients were diagnosed with diabetes. I have been working as a stuff nurse in that hospital or facility.

I was surprised to find patients of all age group suffering from diabetes. They specially visited the day clinic for check up or advices but some acute cases were admitted in the hospital for further care and investigation seeking the extent of damage the disease caused. Many of them were diagnosed with other ailments caused by diabetes being unchecked due to lack of client’s awareness. So I felt the patients of diabetes need more awareness to check or control the problem (United Kingdom Prospective Diabetes Study (UKPDS) Group1998).

The Resident

Amongst the patients there was one 42 years old man named John Moore (not real) who was admitted as he met an accident on road since he fell unconscious on rocky surface and broke knee bone. He was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes mellitus and hypoglycaemia occurred when he fell down. His case history suggested he has been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes for about five years prior to his admission in that hospital.

Overview of diabetes mellitus type 2

Type 2 diabetes or diabetes mellitus type 2 is also known as non-insulin dependent diabetes. It occurs in presence of high content of glucose in blood and the metabolic disorder in the system resist insulin to neutralise the blood glucose or due to insulin deficiency. At the early stage of detection of high content of glucose in the blood can be controlled by dietary modification and taking physical exercise but with the progress of disease medication may be needed. More or less 3 per cent of UK’s population are suffering from diabetes mellitus and the rate is ever increasing (Ismail, Beeching, Gill & Bells 1999; Amos, McCarty & Zimmet1997; Riste, Khan & Cruikshan 2001). The picture is more or less similar all over the developed and developing countries (Tuomilehto 2001). A study has shown doubling in number of diabetic patients in just six (1999-2005) years (Gerberding & Louise 2007).

To be continued..................

Horrible Chimney of Bajaj Electricals

2008-11-16T05:18:00.000-08:00

While making up your mind to buy any consumer durables, better not to go for the product that has come to market lately. Even it is backed by renowned brand name or company of repute. In India, time and again it is observed many companies try off line products (the products which they do not manufacture), and subsequently abandon it, leaving their customers to meet their fate. So happened, when Philips started selling fridge decades ago. It was not a successful venture for them, so they stopped. Imagine the plight of those who bought their fridges being wooed by Philips brand name! With Indian consumer protection laws being elusive, the gullible consumers are treated like guinea pigs practically.
My recent experience with kitchen chimney manufactured by Bajaj Electrical Products is equally bitter. From their web site it appears that they too have abandon their chimney venture. It was in the month of March I bought their kitchen chimney from one of the Kolkata’s most reliable show room Great Eastern, on B.T.Road, Kolkata. On the counter I was told that, the company would take care of fixing it against extra payment. The trauma started when I contacted the company for fixing it in my kitchen. What transpired from their brief conversation, I have to call in carpenter, mason, welders to fix it and their men would come to join the exhaust pipes! I contacted the shop where from I bought it, they denied having made such promises! I requested them to take it back deducting their delivery and pick up charges. A penalty for my naivety is justified. They did not agree. Finally I managed to fix it somehow with the help of a local contractor; Bajaj’s man came and joined the pipes only. They sold the pipes at a premium.
Six month only have past, the pipes loosened from the chimney, neither the chimney works properly. I contacted their local service centre, they promised to send their man. A week past, he is still awaited.

TATA SKY OR TATA SQUEEZE!!

2008-11-14T07:38:00.000-08:00

This is my debut article in the interest of Indian consumers. Just my humble contribution; to enlighten them about the product or service of famous TATA SKY. Amir Khan, the brand ambassador or Mr. Ratan Tata, the person at the helm of all TATA affairs, would be ashamed of TATA SKY, once they know instead of making the life “JINA LALA”; it is turning the life “JINA HARAM” with TATA SKY at times. With much expectation I switch over to TATA SKY from local cable operator in the month of May this year. Within six months twice I they have replaced their set top box. They went out of order and it is under warranty for one year. Every time I called their customer care, they receive they call as if your are naïve. They take no less than half an hour, to guide you to switch off and on , take out their digi-card and put it back, whether you are young or old caring a fig for that! Surprisingly their call centre’s number is not toll free! You are put on hold for ten minutes and another twenty minutes to act on their direction while paying for the call! Finally when nothing works, after lot of dilly dallying they take your complaints but send their service personal even after 72 hours. I confirmed, the set top box what they replaced are not new, but repaired stuffs. They always replace new with old and repaired set top box. It is not free once your warranty period is over; you have to pay at the price fixed by them at that point of time. They are generous to offer one year service contract @Rs550/-, which covers, set-top box and every time you call them another no less than Rs30/- more in terms telephone charges. They have bouquet of channels on offer, what costs more than double of the rate of local cable operators. Hey! I forgot to tell you, I am from KOLKATA. Afraid of thinking the plights of them who are in small towns or remote villages!

Changing Focus : Consumer's Interest

2008-11-13T04:50:00.000-08:00

After a long break I am back to blogging again. In between I had a short stint as a copy writer with some American agency. I fell short with my little knowledge in English to meet the demand of their language churning machines. Well said by one of my friend, they are out to make mass production of literature with that software, as Ford started assembly line of production of his cars, early in the last century. Anyway, I too am thinking to focus on different areas of discussion. Consumer movement is still in nascent stage in our country. Though the relevant laws are framed, many seminars, workshops are held with lots of drum beatings. Still we are there now where we were 20 years ago. Thanks to our system which puts snails ashamed! Getting judgments for your genuine grievances, the time factors saps all your energy. That offers the field day here to manufacturers, service providers, professionals’ et al to loot the gullible consumers.

You know the medicine you buy should cost much less. The bill you pay for any health care service would cost you much less, had they been free from the cut money or commissions paid to doctors! It is open secret, but we stand helpless. The consumer durables, like your TV, Fridge, Music systems, washing machine and all others, you buy may push you in a trap. The trap is laid as after sales service of service contract besides the products itself being substandard, many a times.
So, I thought of making some contribution though this, in the area of consumers’ right. I personally have gathered some experience as gullible a consumer; at least I can share those experiences, so others can stay away from such happenings. Of course your contribution in the form of comments may offer great resource.

The sub-prime crisis that triggerd global economic destabilisation

2008-10-26T10:08:00.000-07:00

The recent tsunami what has devastated the economy of the United States and with it many other west European economies and finally more or less the global economy as whole. It started from the sub-prime crises. That relates to housing finance in US. In fact we all by now know that. But what is a sub-prime crisis! It is the loan offered at an interest rate which is lower than the prime lending rate, fixed by the central bank. In India, Reserve Bank of India, review and fix it in every quarter. So, when the loans offered at a sub-prime rate of interest went bad (not paid back), that created the crisis. But how come that happened, is bit difficult to understand for them who are only exposed to prudential banking norm as it is in India. We know when we approach for housing loan to any banks or housing loan finance companies, as a security they take the housing unit as a collateral or hypothecation for the same loan. In case the loan going bad, the housing unit is sold off, the money realized, is first taken for settlement of loan and balance if any, after meeting the entire expenses paid back to the borrower. In case the amount of realization falls short of the due amount, then mostly it is written off as bad debt. However, in prudential banking norm, the margin for housing loan is sufficient enough to realize the dues, if the action taken in time. But this all happen in a stable economic condition. As of now, in the US the housing market crashed, say the housing unit that used to cost $100000 a year ago , right now it is available at a hyper discounted price at about anything between $25000 to $40000 ! Even with the best prudential norm any banker who might have financed that house, in case of the credit going bad, they can’t recover their dues by selling them off. But it is not that simple, on the first place we have to find how the housing price skyrocketed in the past five or more years in US. Who were responsible for that? How the housing bubbles burst and damaged the entire world economy!
The current crisis has raised several questions about the very success of market economy, globalization et al. The promulgators of free market economy who also favored the globalization always claimed that the market is matured enough to take care of itself. But on the contrary the socialistic measures have become so much necessary for rescuing the banking system by pumping exchequer’s funds into it. It is the measure required to restore confidence in the public mind in the age old banking system. The whole world is surprise to know that banker like Lehman Bros, or insurer like AIG were would have been bankrupt unless rescued by the Bush government. Let us get a close look into the matters for their becoming so.
The troubles bred in the hatcheries of US and west European financial organizations undoubtedly. It is because of the paradigm changes they have gone in the past years. The age old banking system, what is now multi dimensional, has increased the trend of risky finances in many folds. Because; now the risk for finance, is distributed or can be sold to others. Who is ready to buy it for cheap and reap profits if everything goes well, if not, then these finances are insured for their risk of going bad. Now the insure companies are to compensate the losses. It may be cleared with brief description how the financial system in the US and Western world goes on.
The conventional banking system use to offer a common platform to the depositors and borrowers, while playing the role of middlemen. Banks while accepting money from one; use to lend the same to another. In between they use to collect the interest from the borrower and a part which was paid to the depositor, the marginal amount was their profit. This is the way the stability of the banking system has been maintained.
But the new system is a multi level one, so it is complicated too. For example, let us consider a group of people have taken loan form bank for purchasing houses. Those houses are kept as mortgage with the bank as securities. It the old system, the money thus lent use to come back in installments lasting for 20 to 25 years. In the new system bank does not wait so long. What it does, it bundles up these finances then sell them to a new breed of bankers called investment banks, keeping their margin as low as 3 to 4 percent. Thus they absolve themselves of any risks related to those finance by selling them off. Now the risks of these housing finances are shouldered by these investment bankers. Better know, the Lehman Bros, Fanny mea or Freddy mac , all were investment bankers. Who all went sought insolvency and triggered the global economical destabilization. In fact , these investment banks have three more tasks to delegate after purchasing the loans from commercial banks. First of all they engage other financial institutions like JPMorgan, to collect the loan installment and interest from the borrowers. Next they get the loans insured by insurance companies like AIG, paying them regular premium, ensured the recovery of loan amount with interest in case they go bad. Finally, these mortgage housing loans are then sold to several investors like mutual funds, pension funds or commercial banks.
As the system looks, it is apparently safe, the investors who finally invested in those finances, considering these investments most safe as they are insured by insurance giants like AIG. All the financial institutions tagged in the chain; where investment is safe and profit is guaranteed.
This very sense of security, attracted uncalled for finances for reaping more and more profits. The banks started financing those who do not merit them. The inflow of fresh funds pushed up the housing prices artificially. That offered the fresh scope of taking loans by the same borrowers who earlier bought his house taking loan. When the same house’s price went up to considerable extent, fresh finance was sought against the same collateral. That way fresh funds infused in the system further pushed up the housing prices. But the bubble burst with the housing price’s down ward trend. Initially, when the borrowers failed to make the payment of their housing loans, initially the insurance companies promptly made good to the investment banks. But with number of defaulters ever increasing, they failed and went insolvent. Now, the onus of repayment to the investors fell on the investment bankers. Who started selling their securities, obviously they were housing units. In a falling market, any further sell would trigger the free fall of housing prices. So, now it is their turn to become bankrupt or insolvent. Since they go insolvent, they took along those who invested in their housing bonds. So the global crisis emerges as the participants in those investments were from all over the world.
So, such crisis never rose before, it is quite different than great depression what took place in 1929-1930. Though; many economists and gurus are comparing the current crisis with “the great depression”. The free market economy, what has been the shining son of capitalist worlds, is put to questions about its sustainability.

The Global Financial Crisis

2008-10-24T07:22:00.000-07:00

Here I give underneath the discussion took place with Bill Moyers with investment guru George Soros; this will give you the idea how global financial crisis is perceived the by him;

October 10, 2008

BILL MOYERS:Welcome to the Journal.

You are not alone if you are worried about the financial melt down. So is my guest George Soros, one of the world's best known and successful investors, making billions in times of boom or bust. He's been warning for years of a financial melt down fueled by easy credit and sleepy regulation. Now he's out with this timely book, "The New Paradigm for Financial Markets: The Credit Crisis of 2008 and What It Means."

In the interest of full disclosure, you should know that I served three years on the board of George Soros' foundation, the Open Society Institute, dealing with such issues as a free press, the rule of law, and human rights. But I've had no involvement in his political activities and nothing to do, with his business interests unfortunately. It's good to see you.

GEORGE SOROS:Same here.

BILL MOYERS:Let's imagine for a moment that we're not in a New York studio but we are in Neely's Barbecue Stand in Marshall, Texas, my hometown, and we're surrounded by people I know, people who have lost half of their 401(k)s in the last three or four weeks, and what they want to know is does this financial meltdown represent the end of the American dream as they have known it.

GEORGE SOROS:No. No. I think it's got nothing to do with the American dream as such. There has been some kind of an ideological excess; namely, market fundamentalism for the last 25 or so years. And now that world is collapsing...

BILL MOYERS:What do you mean "market fundamentalism"?

GEORGE SOROS:It's that markets will correct themselves, that you should leave it to the markets, and there is no need for government intervention in financial affairs. Letting markets run rampant. And that doesn't work.

Markets have the ability to adjust and they're very flexible. There is this invisible hand. But it is also prone to be mistaken. In other words, markets instead are reflecting reality. They always look at reality with a bias. There is always a prevailing bias. I'll call it, you know, optimism/pessimism.

And sometimes those moods actually can reinforce themselves so that there are these initially self-reinforcing but eventually unsustainable and self-defeating boom/bust sequences or bubbles. And this is what has happened now.

This current economic disaster is self-generated. It was generated by the market itself, by getting too cocky, using leverage too much, too much credit. And it got excessive.

BILL MOYERS:You used the word "disaster."

GEORGE SOROS:The financial system is teetering on the edge of disaster. Hopefully, it will not go over the brink because it very rarely does. It only did in the 1930s. Since then, whenever you had a financial crisis, you were able to resolve it. This is the most serious one since the 1930s, there hasn't been one as serious as this.

Unfortunately, the authorities are behind the curve. They are reacting to these crises as they emerge. One thing leads to another, one market after another gets into difficulty. And they react to it. And they don't quite understand what's hitting them. So they are not anticipating and not gaining control of the situation.

BILL MOYERS:This is what's interesting, why wouldn't the government be able to look at what you looked at and see what's coming?

GEORGE SOROS:Because actually they have been working on false premises. This sounds very strange, but there's been this development of, this belief of market fundamentalism. And particularly the idea that markets always revert to the mean and deviations from the mean occur in a random fashion. And you can calculate it.

And you will get a nice distribution and you can anticipate it. And based on that, you can manage your risk. And that actually was based on a false idea. This namely, the markets self-correcting because the market moods have a way of affecting the fundamentals the markets are supposed to reflect.

And there's always a divergence between our perception and what actually exists. For instance, take the simplest situation, namely housing.

Banks give you credit based on the value of the houses. But they don't seem to somehow understand that the value of the houses can be affected by the amount of credit they are willing to give. Now, we've developed these fabulous new ways of securitizing mortgages, which has made credit much more amply available.

And we've been able to calculate risk. And, therefore, we were willing to give more and more credit. And that has pushed up the value of the houses. Also, of course Greenspan kept interest rates too low, too long. And so you had very low interest rates, easy credit, and house prices have been appreciating at more than ten percent a year for a number of years. And the willingness to lend actually increased. There was an insatiable appetite for these new fangled securities.

BILL MOYERS:Yeah. Nobody understood, really.

GEORGE SOROS:Which they didn't properly understand. And there was always a separation between the people who generated the mortgages and packaged them and sold them to you and the people who owned them. So nobody was paying attention to the quality of the mortgages because they didn't have an interest. They — all day collecting fees. And then there were other people holding the mortgages.

BILL MOYERS:Right.

GEORGE SOROS:And that was not factored into those instruments. The idea was that by distributing risk, you actually reduce risk. But by separating the principal from the agent, you actually greatly increase the risk. And that was not reflected. And the rating agencies didn't realize it. So they gave triple-A ratings. And then a few weeks later, those triple-A bonds became practically valueless. And that's what has happened.

BILL MOYERS:But how does the system become deranged like that? So separated from reality like an individual who goes insane because he or she is separated.

GEORGE SOROS:Well sometimes we get carried away. I mean, you know, let's say in the Middle Ages, people were religious. And so they had tremendous discussions about how many angels can dance on the eye of a needle. Now, if you believe that angels can dance then that's a legitimate question. And this is exactly what has happened here. You thought that you could slice and dice and engage in this kind of financial engineering. And it became very, very sophisticated and got carried away.

BILL MOYERS:What happened that we lost control?

GEORGE SOROS:There was a failure of regulations because they couldn't understand these new instruments. But they said, "Oh, well, the banks have very good risk management techniques. So we leave it to them to calculate their own risks."

And, you see, it wasn't only in the housing market. There were all kinds of other financial instruments. So there was not just one bubble. I describe in my book there is the housing bubble. But this housing bubble, when that burst, it was only the detonator that exploded the bigger bubble, the super bubble.

Which is this 25 years of constant credit expansion using greater and greater leverage. The amount of credit in the economy has been growing at, I don't know, I don't know the exact figure, but maybe at least twice as fast as the economy itself. I think it's more like three.

And now, suddenly, you have a contraction of credit. And it's a sudden thing. And it's a period of great wealth destruction. And that's how these poor people in Texas suddenly find that their 401(k) is worthless.

BILL MOYERS:So as we talk, Secretary Paulson and the government seem to be coming around to what you've been advocating and that is taking taxpayer money, public capital, and injecting it directly into the banks — in effect, nationalizing some of these banks. Why do you think that will work when everything else has failed?

GEORGE SOROS:Well unfortunately because they are delaying it, it may not work so well because there's a certain dynamism. And they're always behind the curve. So there are many things that they're doing now if they had done several months ago, it would have turned things around.

BILL MOYERS:That's a very gloomy assessment. You're saying that everything they're doing is coming too late? How does that ultimately play out?

GEORGE SOROS:Unfortunately, that is the case. I'm quite distressed about it. I hope that you know, eventually they'll catch up.

We are determined to put the money in, not to allow the financial system to collapse. And that's the lesson we learned in the 1930s. It's an important lesson. But because we are behind the curve, the amounts get bigger and bigger. If we understood it earlier, we could have brought it to a halt perhaps sooner. But they've got still a number of things to do. And this idea, you see, of just buying noxious instruments of you know, off the balance sheet of the banks was a non-starter.

BILL MOYERS:But that was the idea.

GEORGE SOROS:But it was the wrong idea.

BILL MOYERS:But this is disturbing, George. If everything we're doing keeps accelerating the downward negative feedback and isn't working, are you suggesting, can one insinuate from what you say that we're heading for 1930?

GEORGE SOROS:Hopefully not. But we are heading for undoubtedly very difficult times. This is the end of an era. And this is a fact.

BILL MOYERS:End of an era?

GEORGE SOROS:At the end of an era.

BILL MOYERS:Capitalism as we have known it?

GEORGE SOROS:No. No, no, no. Hopefully, capitalism will survive. But the sort of period where America could actually, for instance, run ever increasing current account deficits. We could consume, at the end, six and a half percent more than we are producing. That has come to an end.

BILL MOYERS:So what do we do now?

GEORGE SOROS:We are probably at the height of the financial crisis. I think it can't get much worse. I think it could get a bit worse yet. But then you have the fallout in the real economy.

BILL MOYERS:We're in a downward spiral.

GEORGE SOROS:We are in a downward spiral.

BILL MOYERS:How long will it go on?

GEORGE SOROS:Look the one thing that my theory says is that you can't predict the future because the future depends on how you react to it. So if we do the right things then things will not — will be less painful. If you do the wrong things, they'll be more painful. Now, so far we've been doing the wrong things. I very much hope that we'll have a different government in a few months and they'll be doing the right things.

BILL MOYERS:Well, don't be shy. What do you think the new government should do?

GEORGE SOROS:Well, first of all you have to prevent housing crisis from overshooting on the downside the way they overshot on the upside. You can't arrest the decline, but you can definitely slow it down by minimizing the number of foreclosures and readjusting the mortgages to reflect the ability of people to pay. So you have to renegotiate mortgages rather than foreclose.

And you provide the government guarantee. But the loss has to be taken by those who hold the mortgages, not by the taxpayer.

BILL MOYERS:You mean the homeowner doesn't take the loss. The lender.

GEORGE SOROS:The homeowner needs to get relief so that he pays less because he can't afford to pay. And the value of the mortgage should not exceed the value of the house. Right now you already have 10 million homes where you have negative equity. And before you are over, it will be more than 20 million.

BILL MOYERS:But, you're talking about taking action three months from now, whether it's a McCain administration or an Obama administration. What happens in these next three months? And I'm serious about that.

GEORGE SOROS:I am very worried about it. And I hope that they will have a new secretary of treasury, somebody else.

BILL MOYERS:Sooner than later?

GEORGE SOROS:I...

BILL MOYERS:You don't think...

GEORGE SOROS:It would be very helpful if...

BILL MOYERS:You don't think Paulson's up to it?

GEORGE SOROS:Unfortunately, I have a negative view of his performance.

BILL MOYERS:Why?

GEORGE SOROS:Because he represents the very kind of financial engineering that has gotten us into the trouble. And this buying off the noxious things was a...

BILL MOYERS:Buying the bad assets, that was his...

GEORGE SOROS:Yeah.

BILL MOYERS:First idea.

GEORGE SOROS:Yeah, and before that, he wanted to create a super SIV, special investment vehicle, to take care of the other special investment vehicles. That didn't fly. And they are now within a week recognizing that they have to change and inject money into the banks to make up for the whole in the equity because those banks lost money. And they can't make it up by taking their assets off their hands. You have to recognize the losses and replenish the equity.

BILL MOYERS:Is that what you would do with the bailout money now? Right now?

GEORGE SOROS:Yes, yes, yeah.

BILL MOYERS:You would put it where?

GEORGE SOROS:Into the capital of the bank so that the capital equity can sustain at least 12 times the amount of lending. So that's an obvious thing. And every economist agrees with this.

You see, what is needed now the bank examiners know how those banks stand. And they can say how much capital they need. And they could then raise that capital from the private market. Or they could turn to this new organization and get the money from there. That would dilute the shareholders. It would hurt the shareholders.

BILL MOYERS:Of the bank?

GEORGE SOROS:Of the banks. Which I think Paulson wanted to avoid. He didn't want to go there. But it has to be done. But then, the shareholders could be offered the right to provide the new capital. If they provide the new capital then there's no dilution. And the rights could be traded. So if they don't have the money, other people could, the private sector could put in the money. And if the private sector is not willing to do it then the government does it.

BILL MOYERS:The assumption of everything you say is that the government is going to be a big player now in the economy and in the financial markets. But what assurance do we have that the government will do a better job?

GEORGE SOROS:We don't. Right now they are doing a bad job. So you want to use the government as little as possible. The government should play a smaller role. In that sense, people who believe in markets, I believe in markets. I just want them to function properly. To the extent you can use the market, you should use the market.

Governments are also human. They're also bound to be wrong. Moreover, they are bureaucratic. So they are slow and they are subject to political influence. So you want to use them as little as possible. But to not to use them, see, assumes that markets are perfect. And that is a false belief.

BILL MOYERS:Has the whole global system become so complex with such gargantuan forces interlocked with each other, driving it forward, that it doesn't know how to obey Adam Smith's natural laws?

GEORGE SOROS:No, I think our ability to govern ourselves doesn't keep pace with our ability to exercise power over nature, control over nature. So we are very complicated civilization. And we could actually destroy our civilization because of our inability to govern ourselves.

BILL MOYERS:Would this all be happening if we still had a strong sense of the social compact? I mean, our social safety net has been greatly reduced. The people have a real sense that the gods of capital have left little space for anyone else. People at the top don't have much empathy for people at the bottom.

GEORGE SOROS:There is a common interest. And this belief that everybody pursuing his self-interests will maximize the common interests or will take care of the common interests is a false idea. It's a suitable idea for those who are rich, who are successful, who are powerful. It suits them to justify you know, enjoying the fruits without paying taxes. The idea of paying taxes is an absolute no-no, right?

BILL MOYERS:Unpatriotic.

GEORGE SOROS:Unpatriotic. So, yes, you must have, in my opinion, you need, for instance, a tax on carbon emissions. But that is unacceptable politically. So we are going to have cap and trade. And the trading will have all kinds of loopholes and misuse of the regulations and all kinds of ways of making money without actually dealing with the problem that it's designed to cure. So that's how the political process distorts things.

BILL MOYERS:So let's think about those people down at Neely's Barbecue going home tonight having heard you. What they've heard you say is the system is really disfunctioning right now. It's out of control. Nobody's in charge. They've heard you express your own worry that in the next three months it could get much, much worse.

And they've heard you say that you don't see much good news immediately on the horizon. So let's leave them something to think about as they go home. Let them go home and say, "Mr. Soros said here are three things we can do, simply." One?

GEORGE SOROS:Well, deal with the mortgage problem. Reduce foreclosures. Recapitalize the banks. And then work on a better world order where we work together to resolve problems that confront humanity like global warming. And I think that dealing with global warming will require a lot of investment.

You see, for the last 25 years the world economy, the motor of the world economy that has been driving it was consumption by the American consumer who has been spending more than he has been saving, all right? Than he's been producing. So that motor is now switched off. It's finished. It's run out of — can't continue. You need a new motor. And we have a big problem. Global warming. It requires big investment. And that could be the motor of the world economy in the years to come.

BILL MOYERS:Putting more money in, building infrastructure, converting to green technology.

GEORGE SOROS:Instead of consuming, building an electricity grid, saving on energy, rewiring the houses, adjusting your lifestyle where energy has got to cost more until it you introduce those new things. So it will be painful. But at least we will survive and not cook.

BILL MOYERS:You're talking about this being the end of an era and needing to create a whole new paradigm for the economic model of the country, of the world, right?

GEORGE SOROS:Yes.

BILL MOYERS:One of the British newspapers this morning had a headline, "Welcome to Socialism." It's not going that way, is it?

GEORGE SOROS:Well, you know, it's very interesting. Actually, these market fundamentalists are making the same mistake as Marx did. You see, socialism would have worked very well if the rulers had the interests of the people really at heart. But they were pursuing their self-interests. Now, in the housing market, the people who originated the houses earned the fee.

And the people who then owned the mortgages their interests were not actually looked after by the agents that were selling them the mortgages. So you have a, what is called an agent principle problem in socialism. And you have the same agent principle problem in this free market fundamentalism.

BILL MOYERS:The agent is concerned only with his own interests.

GEORGE SOROS:That's right.

BILL MOYERS:Not with...

GEORGE SOROS:That's right.

BILL MOYERS:The interest of...

GEORGE SOROS:Of the people who they're supposed to represent.

BILL MOYERS:But in both socialism and capitalism, you get the rhetoric of empathy for people.

GEORGE SOROS:And it's a false ideology. Both Marxism and market fundamentalism are false ideologies.

BILL MOYERS:Is there an ideology that...

GEORGE SOROS:Is not false?

BILL MOYERS:Yeah.

GEORGE SOROS:I think the only one is the one that I'm proposing; namely, the recognition that all our ideas, all our human constructs have a flaw in it. And perfection is not attainable. And we must engage in critical thinking and correct our mistakes.

BILL MOYERS:And that's one...

GEORGE SOROS:That's my ideology. As a child, I experienced Fascism, the Nazi occupation and then Communism, two false ideologies. And I learned that both of those ideologies are false. And now I was shocked when I found that even in a democracy people can be misled to the extent that we've been misled in the last few years.

BILL MOYERS:The book is "The New Paradigm for Financial Markets: The Credit Crisis of 2008 and What It Means". George Soros, thank you for being with me.

GEORGE SOROS:Pleasure.

USBTurntable

2008-10-22T11:36:00.001-07:00

CHEAP METAL ART ,CANVAS ART

2008-10-22T11:32:00.001-07:00

Hale and Hearty

2008-10-05T12:33:00.000-07:00

Here was a chat, arranged by WIPRO for its employees, with Dr.Devi Shetty,
Narayana Hrudayalaya (Heart Specialist) Bangalore.
The transcript of the chat is given below. Useful for everyone.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Qn: What are the five thumb rules for a layman to take care of his heart?

Ans:
1. Diet - Less of carbohydrate, more of protein, less oil
2. Exercise - Half an hour's walk, at least five days a week; avoid lifts
and avoid sitting for a longtime
3. Quit smoking
4. Control weight
5. Control blood pressure and sugar

Qn: Is eating non-veg food (fish) good for the heart?

Ans: No

Qn: It's still a grave shock to hear that some apparently healthy person
gets a cardiac arrest. How do we understand it in perspective?

Ans: This is called silent attack; that is why we recommend everyone past
the age of 30 to undergo routine health checkups.

Qn: Are heart diseases hereditary?

Ans: Yes
Qn: What are the ways in which the heart is stressed? What practices do you
suggest to de-stress?

Ans: Change your attitude towards life. Do not look for perfection in
everything in life.

Qn: Is walking better than jogging or is more intensive exercise required to
keep a healthy heart?

Ans: Walking is better than jogging since jogging leads to early fatigue and
injury to joints .

Qn: You have done so much for the poor and needy. What has inspired you to
do so?

Ans: Mother Theresa, who was my patient.

Qn: Can people with low blood pressure suffer heart diseases?

Ans: Extremely rare

Qn: Does cholesterol accumulates right from an early age (I'm currently only
22) or do you have to worry about it only after you are above 30 years of age?

Ans: Cholesterol accumulates from childhood.

Qn: How do irregular eating habits affect the heart?

Ans: You tend to eat junk food when the habits are irregular and your body's
enzyme release for digestion gets confused.

Qn: How can I control cholesterol content without using medicines?

Ans: Control diet, walk and eat walnut.

Qn: Can yoga prevent heart ailments?

Ans: Yoga helps.

Qn: Which is the best and worst food for the heart?

Ans: Best food is fruits worst are oil.

Qn: Which oil is better - gingili, groundnut, sunflower, saffola, olive?

Ans: All oils are bad; the so-called best oil company has the largest
marketing budget.

Qn: What is the routine checkup one should go through? Is there any specific
test?

Ans: Routine blood test to ensure sugar, cholesterol is ok. Check BP,
Treadmill test after an echo.

Qn: What are the first aid steps to be taken on a heart attack?

Ans: Help the person into a sleeping position, put an aspirin tablet under
the tongue with a sorbitrate tablet if available, and rush him to a coronary
care unit since the maximum casualty takes place within the first hour.

Qn: How do you differentiate between pain caused by a heart attack and that
caused due to gastric trouble?

Ans: Extremely difficult without ECG.

Qn: What is the main cause of a steep increase in heart problems amongst
youngsters? I see people of about 30-40 yrs of age having heart attacks and
serious heart problems.

Ans: Increased awareness has increased incidents. Also, edentary lifestyles,
smoking,junk food, lack of exercise in a country where people are
genetically three times more vulnerable for heart attacks than Europeans and
Americans.

Qn: Is it possible for a person to have BP outside the normal range of
120/80 and yet be perfectly healthy?

Ans: Yes.

Qn: Marriages within close relatives can lead to heart problems for the
child. Is it true?

Ans : Yes, co-sanguinity leads to congenital abnormalities and you may not
have a software engineer as a child

Qn: Many of us have an irregular daily routine and many a times we have to
stay late nights in office. Does this affect our heart? What precautions
would you recommend?

Ans : When you are young, nature protects you against all these
irregularities. However, as you grow older, respect the biological clock.

Qn: Will taking anti-hypertensive drugs cause some other complications
(short / long term)?

Ans : Yes, most drugs have some side effects. However, modern
anti-hypertensive drugs are extremely safe.

Qn: Will consuming more coffee/tea lead to heart attacks?

Ans : No.

Qn: Are asthma patients more prone to heart disease?

Ans : No.

Qn: How would you define junk food?

Ans : Fried food like Kentucky , McDonalds, samosas, and even masala dosas.

Qn: You mentioned that Indians are three times more vulnerable. What is the
reason for this, as Europeans and Americans also eat a lot of junk food?

Ans : Every race is vulnerable to some disease and unfortunately, Indians
are vulnerable for the most expensive disease.

Qn: Does consuming bananas help reduce hypertension?

Ans : No.

Qn: Can a person help himself during a heart attack (Because we see a lot of
forwarded emails on this)?

Ans : Yes. Lie down comfortably and put an aspirin tablet of any description
under the tongue and ask someone to take you to the nearest coronary care
unit without any delay and do not wait for the ambulance since most of the
time, the ambulance does not turn up.

Qn: Do, in any way, low white blood cells and low hemoglobin count lead to
heart problems?

Ans : No. But it is ideal to have normal hemoglobin level to increase your
exercise capacity.

Qn: Sometimes, due to the hectic schedule we are not able to exercise. So,
does walking while doing daily chores at home or climbing the stairs in the
house, work as a substitute for exercise?

Ans : Certainly. Avoid sitting continuously for more than half an hour and
even the act of getting out of the chair and going to another chair and
sitting helps a lot.

Qn: Is there a relation between heart problems and blood sugar?

Ans: Yes. A strong relationship since diabetics are more vulnerable to heart
attacks than non-diabetics.

Qn: What are the things one needs to take care of after a heart operation?

Ans : Diet, exercise, drugs on time. Control cholesterol, BP, weight.

Qn: Are people working on night shifts more vulnerable to heart disease when
compared to day shift workers?

Ans : No.

Qn: What are the modern anti-hypertensive drugs?

Ans : There are hundreds of drugs and your doctor will chose the right
combination for your problem, but my suggestion is to avoid the drugs and go
for natural ways of controlling blood pressure by walk, diet to
reduce weight and changing attitudes towards lifestyles.

Qn: Does dispirin or similar headache pills increase the risk of heart
attacks?

Ans : No.

Qn: Why is the rate of heart attacks more in men than in women?

Ans : Nature protects women till the age of 45.

Qn: How can one keep the heart in a good condition?

Ans : Eat a healthy diet, avoid junk food, exercise everyday, do not smoke
and, go for a health checkup if you are past the age of 30 for at least once
in two yrs. And work very hard and Enjoy ur Life...

2008-09-29T07:20:00.000-07:00

2008-09-25T05:30:00.000-07:00

INVESTMENT GUIDE PART - II (For young buddies)

2008-09-25T04:21:00.000-07:00

In the first part I discussed why I thought of writing this article. The current generations, many with their thick pay packet know not how to spend or invest prudently. Their working conditions will hardly permit them to continue till superannuation. Most of them are likely to take early retirement form their professional life (but not from life). So what harvest they will have depends upon how they reap now.
First of all budgeting is most important factor in young professional’s life. Unless you do that you wonder where your money goes! Writing a budget shows actually how do spend and shows the area and how you can control them. You can identify the area needs to be controlled. Never forget to add the expenses you do on shopping and entertainment and include your savings too. Keep a track on your utility bills and keep comparing them. Mind you the plastic money or credit cards are major boosters to spending. Not that they do not have any role to play. At an odd hours, god forbid, you need to meet a medical or hospital bill , then you find the credit card is a blessing. It turns a curse, when you over spend and keep repaying the bill in installments with high interest. Interest rates are as high as 42%! So, beware of using credit cards, think twice before you take it out from your wallet.
Start the saving early even it may be of smaller amount, but save it regularly. You do not know the strength of compounding. Open a recurring deposit account with any bank for longer tenure, preferably when interest rate is high, since it fluctuates off and on. Buy some mutual funds scheme under SIP (systematic investment plan), when a particular amount will be invested by you every month and this will cushion the market fluctuation. Even you can do both with as little as Rs500/- per month.
This should be starting point of any investment plan. You should set the objective like short, medium and long term. This should be adjusted to your future program, like marriage, son`s education, buying a house or car et al. Early you save better you gain later; this is specially a reality for buying insurance covers. Since lesser the age, lesser the premium and now all the insurance companies offer unit linked insurance plans besides their age old conventional plans. Better spread you investment in buying insurance cover. For basic cover go for term insurance, it may or may not have return. But with low premium it offers maximum covers. What is the amount of cover you should buy? The rule of the thumb is just six times of your annual income. As the income grows in tandem with that you should increase the amount of your cover too. These all are your primary investments. Beyond them there is wide horizon of investment market. The stock, commodity and currency markets offer immense scope of investments with its inherent risk. Learn first from various resources including sites, how to invest in the market and how the mood of market changes. Identify the stocks which are called blue chips, dark horse and penny stocks. Judge your capacity and risk appetite; then invest in stock or commodity market. If you are a income tax payer then you must think of some tax savings scheme. One of the is Public Provident Fund. Its tenure is 15 years , thereafter renewable by 5 years every time. Though the current interest rate being 8 per cent is not attractive but keeping the long term yield, it is one of the best options. These days all the mutual funds offering various schemes with lock in period for three years. Many of them are good and the best part of it , even with Rs500/- you can join them. Mind you slow but steady wins the race…….this old adage, still holds good for investors in the stock market.
So, bon voyage !

INVESTMENT GUIDE PART ONE (FOR THE YOUNG BUDDIES)

2008-09-08T07:36:00.000-07:00

I have a son, last year he grabbed his B.Tech degree and a job with a coveted company. Like any father I was happy to see my son being successful in getting degree as well as a job with software industry. Knowing nothing; about the software industry. It was ok, till I saw his job offer letter. I was surprised to find the amount of initial remuneration as a trainee with that company. After serving for no less than 37 years in a nationalize organization, which was reputed as one of the best pay master when I joined; what I get now, my son is likely to get little less than that amount. His mother was too happy finding her only son starting with such a thick pay packet. I thought what goes so high that falls with more acceleration and may get crushed! Naturally I started enquiring about the industry where he found a berth. My enquiry with my contemporaries did not yield much. After all, at the time when they joined the industry, then the software industries was never heard off! However, for me they gathered the information from the people of their next generations and who are engaged with the same. I am told that people associated with these industries do not make it to the age of superannuation. Either they fall sick or they are frustrated. In both the cases, by the time they quit the jobs, mostly at their 40s, they make enough money to enjoy a good living. Though I cannot imagine how the life would be, had I retired with enough of money, at my forties…./
However, this is the reality and what I felt it is my duty only to pass my experience for the benefit of next generations. May be the time for them is not that tougher as we faced being born after Second World War. May be there would not be any great depression as our father faced during 1930s! May be there won’t be any more cold war, any more sanction; the world would be more livable. However, our old schooling reminds us the old adages like “trust in friends, but keep your power dry” or “have faith in God , but keep your camel tied.” So , I think our current progenies of” would be high net worth individuals” should take a lessons on managing their money from their college days. Here I try to offer them some tips what I have gathered during past 28 years with watching the mood of the markets.
(Investment guide Pt. I…..to be continued)

The Computer Woes

2008-09-06T22:52:00.000-07:00

Excess everything is bad…thus goes the old adage. Last century saw the emergence of deadly HIV virus as a result of free-sex; now it is one of the great threats to humanity. This century is taking the toll on our young generations, especially in the developed and developing countries. They are stripped off their capacity to scribe legibly! Obviously this is due to their overexposure to computers. The present generations are introduced to e-culture. They usually communicate more through SMS, e-mail or use likes MS Words to write anything they need to.
A recent report suggests that thousands of teenagers are seeking `scribes’ to help them write their A-level and GCSE paper because they are incapable of answering questions in longhand themselves, a study has revealed. The number of people, in UK seeking `ghost writers’ to help do exams rose from 28324 in 2005 to 40215 in last year. The number of students asking to use a word processor or computer also soared by more than 50 per cent, to 21713. This is in tandem with the ever rising requests for practical assistance short of a `scribes’, such as a teacher sitting in to help a pupil to write legible, also increased. The experts observe more script than ever are illegible because the email and text generation are unable to write properly by hand.

Saving earth by Geo-engineering

2008-09-04T00:00:00.000-07:00

Geo-engineering is subject what is least discussed about. In fact recently when I came across an article on environmental issues where geo-engineering was mentioned; I remotely remembered having heard the term earlier Nothing much I knew about it. As the name suggests; later I came to know it has to do with the climate changing technique or technology with scientific knowhow. Obviously, since it concerns the global climate control, the size and enormity of project is beyond our imagination. Steve Connor of The Independent, London reported the recent proposed activities related to geo-engineering.
Fears that not enough is being done to cut carbon dioxide emissions have caused a lot of concern and scientific community are considering to “to think the unthinkable”. They are toying with an idea to alter global climate artificially with mega-engineering projects. Royal Society, later this year, will launch a study aimed at reviewing the possibility of saving the planet by “geo-engineering” the climate on the grandest scales imaginable. Geo-engineering encompasses schemes such as fertilizing the oceans with iron fillings to draw down carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, creating more reflective clouds or eve pumping vast quantities of sulphate particles into the air to simulate volcanic eruptions that cut our sunlight and lower global temperatures.
“ Global emissions of greenhouse gases continue to rise, so there is inevitably interest in technologies that may be able to provide a ‘fix`, says Lord Rees of Ludlow, the president of the Royal Society. “It`s not clear which of these geo-engineering technologies might work, still less what environmental and social impacts they might have, or whether it could ever be prudent or politically acceptable to adopt any of them…. None of these technologies will provide a ‘get out of jail free card’ and they must not divert attention away from international efforts to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases”
The Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, published recently, devoted an entire issue to examining ways of altering the climate or interfering with the carbon cycle in a way that could offset the rise in greenhouse gases and the consequent increase in temperatures. Professor Ken Caldeira of Stanford University says it is important to plan now for the possibility of having to use geo-engineering. : Every year carbon dioxide emissions continue to climb” he says. “Reducing carbon dioxide emissions requires individual sacrifice in the here and now for the public good of the distant future. If we start soon, we can phase in climate engineering slowly and cautiously, and back off if something bad happens. The least risky thing to do is to start testing soon”.
Professor Stephen Schineider, a climate scientist at Stanford University who has resisted geo-engineering in the past, says “We are being paced in the precarious position of choosing the lesser of two evils. Potentially dangerous, uncontrolled climate change due to greenhouse gases emissions, or technological fixes involving large scale geo-engineering projects.”

Let us see how the geo-engineering projects work;
High reflection: The eruption of Mount Pinatubo in 1991 pumped enough sunlight-reflecting sulphates into the upper atmosphere to cool the earth by 0.5 degree Celsius for up two years. It may be possible to inject sulphates into the stratosphere from aircraft, right, but this would not deal with ocean acidification caused by rising carbon dioxide and might cause acid rain.

Low Reflection : A variation would be to pump water vapor into the air to stimulate cloud formation over the sea, thus raising the earth`s albedo (proportion of light reflected). Seawater cold be atomized to produce tiny water droplets tht would form low-level maritime clouds.
Fertilizing the sea : The limiting factor for growing phytoplankton - tiny marine plants – is the lack of iron salts. Adding iron to ‘dead` areas of the sea leads to blooms which absorb carbon dioxide. But whether the plants will sink, taking the carbon out of circulation or be eaten, returning it eventually to the atmosphere is not clear.
Mixing layers : Giant tubes could be built to carry surface water rich in dissolved carbon dioxide to lower depths where it will be locked under the temperature gradient that keeps deep water layers from surfacing. Critics fear it could instead bring carbon locked in the deep ocean to the surface.

FREE TRADE REGIME - A TRAP

2008-08-29T06:07:00.000-07:00

Free trade regime – what is advocated by the developed countries in WTO; the developing nations are not agreed to that for several reasons. However, let us see how the worked for other countries in the globe who accepted it to the letters. Let us take very recent example of Ghana. Ghana implemented the “liberalized economic system” in the early 8s, at least 10 years before India. The country was projected by the World Bank and the IMF as success story of Africa. But the reality was exactly otherwise. The liberalized economy in Ghana has ruined its agriculture and at the same time failed to boost any substantial manufacturing industries. The mantra of consumerism has failed there too. The poor consumers in Ghana were denied the price stability and pushed to further predicament. The free trade meant lack of price stability for the people of Ghana, since the government has bowed out of price-setting to make way for the market. Likewise the poor producers face highly uncertain prices, they sell cheap in the harvest season and buy the same back for their own consumption later in the year when the price have risen. The situation has worsened further due to cheap imports killing the local industries or produces. The local traders find that since markets have been liberalized, it is not worth buying from farmers in remote districts, as whatever they pay will be undercut by cheap imports. Even local companies that might be expected to enjoy the freedom to source from the cheapest place, argue that they would rather have long-term relationships with local suppliers, if those suppliers could be helped to increase their productivity and meet local demand. All these groups want some form of protection from the uncertainty and volatility of the market. Poor producers want sell their goods first, before markets are flooded with cheap imports. Poor consumers want the government to set up storage systems, so that prices remain more stable throughout the year. Traders want a market where local products can hope to compete with imports. Moreover, local companies want the local industries should be supported and protected to some extent to face the competition form cheap imports. It is always favored to buy locally than imports for price stability. This is the experience of “Free Trade Regime”.

POOR INDIA; POORER WORLD !

2008-08-27T09:10:00.000-07:00

Everyday those of us belong to third world or developing countries like India, Pakistan, China, Brazil, Russia or any countries in the continent of Africa come across of poor. In many of these countries they are found, living in shanties, ghettos either sitting idle with a vacant look or working hard to keep their soul with body. Since this I write for my blog, presumably the readers do have access to internet, so for all of us it is difficult to imagine how it is to earn only $1 or $1.25 per day or how to live with that paltry sum of money! Believe it, as per a recent World Bank report no less than 723 million people are just pulling on with that kind of earning, there are more who even do not earn that amount! Their plight is unimaginable. There have been big successes I the fight to overcoming extreme poverty but economic estimates show that there are now more poor people around the world than it was thought previously, the World Bank said in study recently. The revised estimates suggest for India, the percentage of people living below $1.25 a day decreased from 60 per cent in 1981 to 42 per cent in 2005. Even at a dollar a day (2005prices), poverty in India had declined from 42 per cent to 24 per cent over the same period, the multilateral bank said in a news paper, “The developing world is poorer than we thought but no less successful in the fight against poverty”.

As per the study since 1981, it is found that 1.4 billion people (one in four) in the developing world were living below $1.25 a day in 2005, down from 1.9 billion (one in two) in 1981. It reflects improvements in internationally comparable price data, offer a much more accurate picture of the cost of living in developing countries and set a new poverty line of $1.25 a day. These are based on the results of the 2005 International Comparison Program (ICP), released early this year. The World Bank study estimated India`s purchasing power parity rate in 2005 to be 40 per cent of the market exchange rate, up from 23 per cent in the 1993 PPP. This results poverty levels measured against an international benchmark are higher in the latest global estimates. Both the parameters a dollar a day and $1.25 per day indicate that India has made steady progress against poverty since the 1980s. It measures poverty rate declining at the rate of 1 percentage point per year.
The estimated poverty rates in the country correspond to 267 million people living below a dollar a day in 2005, down from 296 million in 1981. However, the number of poor under $1.25 a day has increased from 421 million in 1981 to 456 million in 2005. This indicates that even while the number of people living on less than a dollar a day has come down, there are a large number of people living just above this line of deprivation and their numbers are not falling. The high GDP growth in India has reduced poverty. Now India should look into the area of inequalities where poor are not able to participate in the growth precess.

STOCK MARKET TREND

2008-08-24T09:54:00.000-07:00

Indian stock market after its long journey through bull phase, according to some experts, is entering its tryst with bears with mid to long term association. “We are likely to see a sideways movement for the next one year at least” says Edelweiss Capital Chairman and managing director Rashesh Shah, adding that the next 3-4 months could be tough. “There are no positive triggers in sight. Inflation and crude oil prices are still not under control, and corporate earnings are set to plateau over the next couple of quarters” he added.
Bears seem to be tightening their grip over the stock prices, as evident in the recent trend and technical analysis of stock indices, and they are forwarding in for the kill. The micro as well as macro condition are in their favor. On the macro front inflation escalated to a new 16-years high to 12.63%, creating expectation that the interest rate is due for a further hike. The global situation is more gloomy since the experts feel that worst of sub-prime crisis is yet to be unfolded. Given to this situation market watchers expect another round of sell-off in the next few days. Small investors or day traders should exercise extreme caution in taking the investment decision. It is suggested the ETFs which are yellow metal based are better options, since their price is down and may come down further. If that does not happen still gold is gold and safe in current situation. Bank interest rate going higher, investors may look for bank deposits as well, since for parking the funds till things change for better in liquid merits preference.

2008-08-24T01:36:00.000-07:00

BANKING AND TRADE UNIONS IN INDIA

2008-08-16T07:48:00.000-07:00

In India, banking industries are taking a paradigm change to compete with the global and private banks playing here. In Indian nationalize banking s scenario the White elephant State Bank of India, with its largest network and manpower sharing the market share much lesser than emerging private banks like ICICI Banks, or HDFC Banks. Though the nationalize banks are off late trying to shake off their slumber but as it seems unless the dead woods are out it is difficult to fall in line. On 18th August the Officer`s Union of State Bank of India and its other associate banks have given a strike call, protesting against merger. The most surprising part of it that most the staff members of the Associated Banks are in favor of merger with State Bank of India, since that will accrue them lot of benefits, like pension as 3rd benefits, higher pay scale , local transfer et al. So how come the Unions have given strike call? The union leaders, who are primary from political parties and most of them are retired long ago from banks, feel that it will devalue them and deprive them of their privilege status. There are seven associate banks of State Bank of India, out of them on State Bank of Saurasthra is merged already and others are likely to follow the suit. Imagine, all these seven banks have seven trade union leaders and seven MDs, CGMs and alike. By the merger their posts are likely to be erased and that seems their problem. Their higher managements of these banks are not coming into the fore front but must be encouraging the unions to go ahead with their agitation. Longer they last, better for them, they too can cling to their chair and enjoy the special privilege offered by their respective banks.
This is the first time in the history of Trade Unions in Banking industries, where 50 per cent of officers declared openly that they are in favor of merger and not going to participate in the strike on 18th august. Next follows “BHARAT BANDH”, by several trade unions, among them Banking Trade Unions are in the fore front, with their demand for dropping the merger proposal, protesting against the high inflation and many more. These unions are workers union, having huge membership and are well in a position to paralyze the life. But first time ever it is observed that these Unions are under pressure knowing well that their members are not with them with their mind and may revolt at any time. It is well known that inflation merits more production to be checked, never a strike that results huge loss in production can address it. It is high time that the union leaders should pull up their socks and realize that their members are no more the sheep of Orwell’s “Animal Farm”, and not going to buzz to their tune, they can judge themselves.

GOLD VS LIQUID GOLD

2008-08-03T03:16:00.000-07:00

Contrary to the apprehension global oil price instead of going higher is coming down. The reason being he demand supply scenario is changed as the experts believe and off course the speculative forces are receding as well. But there is another story cooking up behind the curtain. It is reported “ a powerful relationship measured by gold/oil ratio (GOR) --- has been a trigger for the sell-off in oil contracts by investors, mainly global hedge funds, on overseas exchanges”—by informed sources. It is believed that in addition to selling oil contracts, these investors have created long positions in gold. It is presumed that yellow metal is relatively inexpensive vis-a-vis the black gold. Most of the analysts think that gold may outperform oil in the near future. This is because yellow metal is considered a hedge against higher inflation, what is driven by higher oil price. Sean Darby, the Asia Pacific strategist of Nomura International says “ It (GOR) normally represents good tool for investors to establish the relative of commodities. It clearly implies buy gold and sell oil”. This subscribes to the same theory. It is observed that earlier this calendar year the GOR was calculated by dividing gold price per ounce to oil price per barrel. That was in the range of 9 to 11.1 earlier but now has come down to 6.8:1 of late. The ration rose to 7.5:1 on early this week from 6.3:1 mid-June. Historically, it is observed that many investors have been buying gold when the GOR is below 10 barrel/ounce. So far in 2008, crude oil has risen 30% roughly at Nymex exchange, while gold has gained only 11% in the same period. Obviously the investors feel that oil due to lack of demand might have lost the steam to rise further. So, sell oil and buy gold what is always a safe heaven and hedge against inflation. So, the small investor may look for investment opportunity in gold funds or the funds that invest in gold mines and allied industries.

TERRORISM - AN INHERITED CURSE!

2008-07-27T08:29:00.000-07:00

The serial blasts that rocked places in two consecutive days, first it was in Bangalore, next Ahmadabad was the target in India shows that the terrorists are hyper active in more or less any part of India. The lives lost in the blasts, were of innocent civilians, passersby, all were ordinary citizens. The whole world expressed the sympathy and anger against such heinous acts. But the lives lost will permanently damage the prospects of those families whom they belonged to. The vacuum created by the blast victims, none can make up. With the passage of time, it will be mentioned as another terrorist attacks. The terrorists are no different people than their victims. The only difference is what they are paid for planting the explosive. Obviously the front liners in the terrorism are ignorant enough to comprehend any ideology. It is the small bucks what they get, doing such acts, matters. It is their sole point of consideration. So far the most of the people convicted for such acts confirms that. What a irony! The intelligent sources claim they have reasons to believe the terrorist outfits are sneaking through ultra-porous Inda-Bangla borders. This is very much possible since the borders are guarded by corrupt BSFs (Border Security Forces, notorious for their corruptions in smuggling anything for consideration) in Indian side and BDRs with no less reputation for corruption in Bangladesh side. In vast country like India, with its corrupt forces guarding the borders, it is next to impossible to stop infiltration through borders. It is established not only the terrorists with their explosives are finding easy passage; the fake currency notes amounting in Millions are smuggled in. This all undoubtedly, to derail the India socio-economically.
Be it Kashmir, north eastern states of India where terrorism is rampant, the big fishes remain behind the curtain. They are supported by presumably other nations who are neighboring in the region. Just think; had India, Pakistan, Bangladesh been one country, terrorism by Islamic terrorists would have found no place. As at the time of partition the big few, like Nehru, Jinnah was the determinants. Who failed to foresee the massacre that followed the partitions (Oh, what leaders they were!). Though Nehru was rather forced to accept the partition accepting it as “tryst with destiny”, for Jinnah it was his ego and only ego factors what won. He managed to have a separate country for his men whose faith lied with Islam leaving many more, even much more than who joined him in his Pakistan, in India. So, what the partition was for? Just to get a bigger Zamindery for Jinnah? Who had already been suffering from tuberculosis and kept the fact a secret. Had that been known to others, at least we would have not rue over partition or the post partition massacre could have been avoided. The curse of our partition at the time of independence is still haunting us. We inherited it for no fault of ours. This is applicable for all Indians, Pakistanis or Bangladeshis. Any sensible citizens of these three countries agree to that but not their leaders. Who the leaders are? Are they not supposed to reflect the sentiments of those whom they lead? In an ideal state of democracy it should be that. But alas, not the kind of democracy what prevails in these countries. It is farcical! Strangely enough it is the biggest also. Because in India alone can boast of highest number of voters in any democracy in the globe.
Wiping out terrorism and terrorists from India, Pakistan or Bangladesh is not possible. The socio-economic measures prescribed or being taken to cure the evils is failing to show any result. The political masterminding of engineering terrorism has to be stopped. State policing to suspend basically all the activities of any fundamental political, religious or social is the need of the hour. This should be brought into force in all these three countries together. International agency like UN should police the three countries seeing them through such acts sincerely. This alone can see this part of world free from terrorism, at least lessoning of it , immediately.

THE ONLOOKER: Global Stock Markets; the difference

2008-07-25T06:02:00.000-07:00

THE ONLOOKER: Global Stock Markets; the difference

CURRENT ECONOMIC SCENARIO : INDIA

2008-07-24T08:19:00.001-07:00

Sooner the political uncertainty is over; stock indices looking upward, the bulls are back in Indian burses. The FIIs are watching the situation with caution. The macroeconomic condition is still not bright, global crude oil price; reduced corporate earnings, inflationary pressure and rising trend of interest rates are the factors bothering them. It is reported this year FIIs till date have been net sellers amounting $7 billion dollars (Rs 27614.20 crores). However, the stability of government ushers a strong hope for going ahead firmly with more economic reforms. Institutional investors domestic as well as international all are expecting in the same line. It is reported again that Institutional investors invested in gold and companies associated with it have shown good returns. Though the near term sustainability is uncertain but long term trend of their investment is bullish. General public or investors in general may wait for number of Public Sector Undertaking issues in the pipeline. They are RITES, OIL INDIA,NHPC, NTPC, IRCON INTERNATIONAL, COAL INDIA, HPCL, GSPC, BANGALORE METROPOLITAN TRANSPORT, NATIONAL AVIATION COMPANY, TELECOM CONSULTANTS INDIA; this are likely to meet the fiscal deficits. Wait and watch for the opportunity, look before you leap.

GORKHAS AND GORKHALAND

2008-07-21T07:58:00.000-07:00

An article in my another blog "BUGULE" earned a lot of comments with criticisms. In fact the recent hue and cry raised over the GORKHALAND issues, inspired me to search the history of Gorkhas in India, particularly in West Bengal, Darjeeling and its adjoining areas. So the article is the result. The Gorkhas whom, at least, I never felt ( and I know there are many like me)alien, all of a sudden became hostile, specially who were tourists and travelers received their wrath and suffered. It is a stupid action for any one to agitate pressing for any demand that makes the tourists to suffer ,in their place. The very economy of the locals depend upon what tourism. It is the tourists help many hearth burning there. However, the comments the article received merits worth reading. Hope that will impart you some deep understanding about their contribution and standing.

2008-07-19T09:43:00.001-07:00

A NEW FACE OF WORLD BY 2050 A.D

2008-07-11T06:46:00.000-07:00

The recent summit of G8 in Hokkaido, Japan is drawing lots of attention world over. G8 is the world elite nation`s club, naturally US being the top dog of it. The summit is currently drawing out the plan to control world`s carbon emission and charting a plan extending up to 2050 A.D. The most develop countries of the world must have say on these issues. After all they consume more, emit more carbon in the atmosphere; so they must ensure other do not follow their suit to further pollute the planet earth. Wise thoughts! No doubt.
But 2050A.D is still far off. I doubt by the time we complete half of the current century (though many of us will not be here to witness!), this G8`s program will become irrelevant. Not that I am a soothsayer, Mr., Jim O`Neill, the chief economist of Goldman Sachs has drawn a future economical map of the world that spells so. According to him Brazil, Russia, India and China; these four emerging economy, acronym given to them is Bric, are all the way likely to overtake G8 by then. He and his team prepared a econometric model to try to project how these countries are likely to grow vis-à-vis the G7 over 50 years. Their prediction is taking shape faster than they have expected to be.

The order last year in the size of economies ran: US, Japan, Germany, China, UK, France, Italy and Spain. Now have a look as per their prediction for 2050 A.D; it is utterly different. Goldman models top eight will be China, Us, India, Brazil, Russia, Indonesia, Mexico and the UK in the order of their economic advancement. Does it sound ridiculous? Wait, it does not end there; Goldman suggested after Bric , it will be ‘next 11’, a next tier of emerging economies. They will be led by Indonesia with Turkey, the Gulf States and Nigeria. Some of the most interesting data given by Goldman about these emerging economies that there will be a explosive growth of the new global middle class. This will continue with decline with global inequality. Further they suggest that by 2030 another two billion people may have joined the middle class. This is while a lot of focus on rising inequality in the emerging economies but globally the reverse is true.
As a result in next or next to next summit of G8 may have agenda like protectionism in US or European Union to restrict China or all those emerging economies.

INDIAN STOCK MARKET

2008-07-07T06:10:00.000-07:00

Indian burses are yet to be stabilized. Though national political unstable conditions arisen due to ‘nuke’ deal is apparently averted. Still bears are too strong. The inflationary trend is still exerting upward thrust, last Govt. admitted that its hovering around 11.63%, highest for last 13 years. Bank rate is increased for both; deposit and credit. Industrial growth is likely to suffer, since debt is costlier and market is favorable for raising funds. Silver lining is the monsoon; it seems to have arrived in time and dose is normal. So, inflationary pressure is likely to be curbed provided harvest is good. But, how about the burses, have them to wait till things look up! The small investors have abandoned the market, the institutions are sitting on the pile of cash; the FIIs are dumping their holding with every opportunity and withdrawing their funds to be utilized at their own country or for oil speculations. If it continues further (and very likely to), the share indices will dip in tandem.
Now, the time has come for big corporates to declare the Q1 results of financial year 2008-9. The entire market community is looking forward to it. The IT giant Infosys will declare their result on 11th July, hopefully it will be better than expected. The rupee being weak against dollars for the past quarter, their exports are likely to make more in rupee terms. The entire IT industries depend heavily on their export earnings, are likely to benefit due to weakening of rupee against dollars. The same is applicable for any other export oriented industries that san import for their inputs. Market may gain confidence, albeit for time being, with the good performance of the companies.
However, the experts opine that market will look upward when oil price cool down. But, when? That is the big question.

MULTIPLE CREDIT CARDS HELPS

2008-06-29T00:52:00.000-07:00

Inflations is eating away much of your monthly salary check. All the bills, like grocery, garments, launderer`s, conveyance and every other thing are north bound. Every other day they are going high. For you and me, the earning remains same, for many like us there is no scope to increase it . The pensioners, the elderly people who runs on meager pension and interest on their fixed deposit with banks are suffering the most. No immediate sigh is visible for restoration of price stability. Though the economists are forecasting that in the next year, provided the monsoon is good, the inflation is likely to be controlled. Let us hope so. By this time let us see how with multiple credit cards you can meet the cash crunch. Off course, for that there should not be any interest burden.

Most of the credit cards companies offer the balance transfer facilities from other credit cards these days. Having multiple credit cards and using them wisely may help you to meet sudden expenditure and enjoy interest free credit for few months. You know, for the credit cards there is statement date. That is fixed. Look for the statement date for all your credit cards and note them. Suppose the stamen date of a credit card is 20th of every month, then make sure to buy things on 21st. Because, it will be billed on next 20th and that will be payable on 11th of next to next month. That means buying something on 21st January, is payable on 11th March of the same year, this way you get the interest free credit for 51 days for the first card. Instead of clearing the bill on the due date, with another card, you can transfer the due amount to your 2nd card, thus saving the interest on the first card. For doing so, you may need to pay 5% or minimum amount due of the dues, and that is with no interest, to the 2nd card. Then again you can enjoy the interest free credit for 51 days. But this can not be endless, only thing with number of card you prolong your repayment program by few months.

Mind you , it is always better to the credit card due in one go, because paying them installments will entail you to pay anything between 36-46% p.a interest. You must take care oF your credits, that you should not fall in a debt trap. In case you find the problem for repayment in one go, then convert your credit card dues into bank loans. They charge interest @15% p.a, that is far more bearable.

The Alternative Fuel

2008-06-19T11:47:00.000-07:00

As if it is a natural judgment! The industrial revolution, that started way back in late eighteenth or early ninetieth century and delivered a hordes of inventions to mankind for better living, have been exploiting the nature all along. See; the steam engine could initially not run without the fire woods, later coal. With the invention of automobile, exploitation of nature further increased by way of fossil oil pumping out of underground. Gradually the whole world has become dependent onfuel so much so, that without it the world is not even imaginable! The usage of burning woods and coal found exit to some extent because of electricity. But again for power generation, if not a hydel power generation system, then again to generate electricity fossil fuel or coal is needed. Off late, solar power or wind power generation system is gaining popularity with many countries where nature permits them. In India, wind power is being generated along it`s southern coastal provinces by a corporate. But despite much is yet to be done and there are vast scopes for such generation remains unexploited. The government should offer special benefits to attract more and more players in this field. Same is applicable of solar energy exploitation. Little is done in this regards. In remote areas as in deltas of the province of West Bengal, government agencies put up some small projects to light specially it`s tourist destinations with solar batteries. But that again is too meager to make any dent comparing to the vast source what still remains unexploited.
What is surprising, we all know that the fossil fuel is not going to last forever. The current skyrocketing of crude prices globally is an outcome of such fear that the fossil fuel is going to last not so long as foretold earlier by experts. May be or may not be this is a rumor but anyway this is not going to long, that is sure. Then why there is no major research undertaken to find out an alternative of fossil fuel? US spends trillions of dollars on space research through NASA; but too little for such research. Neither much breakthrough is visible to develop the battery operated automobile. Time and again some news paper reports that some car of such sorts is designed and developed, which are eco-friendly. They are run in city areas, as we find them in our Kolkata ( the one of the most populated metro city in India), plying between short distance. No efforts so far have been made to popularize the use of such vehicle by putting up proper chains of establishments for recharging of batteries all over the country. Even none of major car makers anywhere in the world seemingly taking interest to develop battery operated vehicle. Instead, despite of oil wells being dried up day by day, the major car manufacturers are vying with each other to grab the market share by rolling out new models every other day! This raises question, are their steps not suicidal? No government in the world have asked the car manufacturers to limit their production, knowing fully well that this will dry up the world of its fuel resources much early besides polluting it to the dangerous level.

Much impetus should be given to find out some kind of alternative of fossil fuel. Many say the future fuel is liquid hydrogen which will replace fossil fuel without replacing the existing auto engine. Developed and developing nations should take up projects to find an early solution to extract hydrogen in a commercially viable way. At the same time in the country like India, where sun light is available plenty almost throughout the year, the solar energy should be exploited maximum. Even law can be enacted in cities for the builders to have solar panel on the roof to generate electricity at the time of constructions of multistoried buildings. Electricity generation by wind mills must be made mandatory, where nature permits that for the industries. Actions such as these taken though late, may arrest the pollution of global environment, warming as well as address to the crisis cropped up due to oil price`s meteoric hike.

GOLD IS FOR EVER

2008-06-05T04:52:00.000-07:00

Inflation is that when too much of money chases too little of things. The gap between demand and supply increases thus causes inflation. During inflation, what happens, you find the price is ever rising with no immediate sign of halt. It may continue for years some time. The flood, draught, or other natural calamities may act as an additive. These days, in the era of globalization it is practically impossible to insulate oneself (read here any country or nation) against global trend. Be it inflation or recession or deflation; when a major economy is struck by any one of them, it has to infect many other countries, whoever has trading relations with them. This is having a cascading affect as those countries would infect in turn others who are in dealings with them. So the chain continues. As this is evident at present, the fuel price hike by OPEC countries has affected developed, developing and poor countries simultaneously. This has triggered the food crisis surreptitiously. Strange is that, not so? In a fray to find some alternative of fossil fuel and at the same time cut down the ever increasing import bill on account fuel imports, many countries have been looking for bio-fuel. That has catapulted the food grain shortage due to lack of production. As much of the cultivable land were allocated for bio-fuel. Even President Bush blamed emerging Chinese and Indian middle class for their garrulous consumption. Ironically what his own countrymen are famous for. After all passing the blame on others to save own face for any wrong doings, is an old practice. He rightly chose that in most opportune moment as the campaign of American Presidential election is gaining tempo.

Well, history teaches us that such things come and go, it is matter of time. It was just after 2nd world war , inflation took a frenzy flight. The clashes of various “ism”s lasted for few decades, claiming each better than all other. At last the best is what God ever created i.e capitalism, all agree to it, though through different covert widows. The history shows us, that the riches and super riches survive to rule and the poor too survive to be ruled through any crisis , the world had ever faced. The big question is what about the middle class? The history of middle class is not too old, it is hardly 100 years or less. So their survival is not guaranteed by any historical evidence. They do not have much, but whatever they have they cannot survive without. God forbid, if the current trend of global recession, inflation continues for long, not too long the clan of middle class will sustain like many species which failed to prove themselves fittest for survival.

In the developing countries like India, the inflation rate has touched all time high in the last two decades. The value of paper money is eroding fast. The bank rate is lesser than the rate of inflation (which is currently 9% as per the Govt. release, but actually 80-90% for those whose major part of earning goes to grocers). Share market is uncertain in the present scenario; in the event of recent US crisis; Indian industries are likely go out of work, which are more dependent on US exports. Indian banking system is waiting for another sub-prime crisis of Indian version, for their over emphasis in disbursement of personal and housing loans for the past few years.

The economy going tumble tosser, the middle class, in the quest to protect their hard earned money of its value, better keep in mind what French President Da Gaulle said in 1965 : 'Indeed, there can be no other criterion, no other standard than gold. Yes, gold which never changes, which can be shaped into ingots, bars, and coins, which has no nationality, and which is eternally and universally accepted as the unalterable fiduciary value par excellence.' Not that I suggest to go without bank account, or investment in stock or mutual funds but to focus the time tasted GOLD, which sans rusts or losing value.

e.'

Human Warmth

2008-05-24T07:12:00.000-07:00

Thursday last, 22nd May 2008 I went to attended a post marriage bride reception party call “ Bohubaht” in Bengali, at Katwa a small sub-divisional town in the province of West Bengal, India. This is the first time ever I happen to visit this part of India or better say Bengal. Traveling by local train to cover the distance of little more than 100 kilometers in 4 hours is exhaustive. There is no provision of toilet in the railway coaches designed to ferry the local passenger. What transpired they never expected one to travel from the train`s starting to destination point! However, when you get out of your city, what has transformed itself in a concrete jungle, the greenery is bound to absorb your mind to forget the rest. In the month of May, the climate offered bit cool, since the sky was cloudy. So the journey was pleasant. More so , when I met my hosts there. The people in this big mega city, Kolkata, have become long ago , mechanical. They force laugh or greet mechanically and we all are used to it. So, when you happen to experience the genuinely offered warm reception, it reminds you what busy city life forced you to lose.
I noted many came to attend the party , flying in from distant lands , like UK, or America. Took their time out , spending a good amount of sum to meet the traveling expenses , for attending a party that relates no political, business, bigwigs, is equally surprising. I truly wondered first, then I asked my self , why did I ago to attend the same? Came the prompt reply, it was the warmth of invitation that made it impossible to avoid. We still cherish to get such treatment in our mind, though do not expect in real life. Like the soap operas run in the form of TV serials, that attracts hordes of us, to view most of the time a well knitted family life passing through the labyrinth of complexities. Here what actually interests us the big family, the warmth of relationship not the problems they are facing, but how they are facing it. So, the more the human warmth , dearer the relationship. Truly speaking I forgot that still men deals other in the long forgotten way. I felt what civilization taught us, was this and slowly we are forgetting this. May be the speedy life, nucleus family and off course the over attention to self have deprived us the luster of such warmth. It is because this warmth people take their time offe from the busy schedule of their working , business life and take long journey to join such a get together, hosted my big hearted , now rare, these few men.
My host was an engineer of a steel plant in India, served his organization as best as he could. Earned recognition and laurels from the management. Raised two kids, now both are in their mid 30s, it was the younger one`s marriage, that offered the occasion. For the past 25 years I received numerous opportunities to attend such outstation party but never attended. They lacked the warmth. This time after attending I am feeling had I not attended this, I would have missed it for my residual life time. It replayed those long forgotten days what we use to have before 30-40 years. In a house such social function taking place, it use to be a joyous big gathering. The kiths, friends, relatives use to stay at the place not with much comfort but with big pleasure. Gone are the days of non-stop “Addas” , usually such occasion offered, and we use to look forward to it. In such a gathering many new relations, new partnerships were formed. Mind it , they are not present day`s relationship with business interest. It use to be purely emotional, intellectual affairs, a matter of heart not the head.
Can’t we get back those days again! This I am brooding over, how about you?

UN`s inaction for Gypsy`s inhuman plight in Kosovo

2008-05-18T10:26:00.000-07:00

Those of us live in any part of Asia or Europe, one time or other , most of us have met Gypsies. Here in this part of globe, India, we are likely to find them on road sides, in busy cities. Camping and littering all around, kids are tottering, women cooking and the male members of the group smoking tobacco or busy in some odd jobs. This nomadic tribe practically left no clear cut history behind them to find their family tree or their origin. However, the evidence suggests, they migrated from Asia to Europe through land routs thousands of years ago. Geographical boundaries carry no meaning to them until recent decades. Where the borders are not porous and strict vigil maintained, there they get stagnated. Off late it is found at some places in Europe they have settled in the outskirts of few cities, as they did in Mitrovica, a town in northern Kosovo. This town is on the bank of Ibar river which separates physically Serbians and Albanians as border.

Askhkali, Roma and Egyptian are three different Gypsy groups have been residing in and around Kosovo. These three names suggest where they came from. Askhkali took their name from the town of Turkey bearing their name till date with 70% Gypsy population. Egyptians might have migrated probably in 14th century from present day Multan, then called Little Egypt. They have been living peacefully along with Albanians, Serbians and other minorities in Kosovo like Goranis, Turks and Jews. Their ordeal started after the war in 1999, when NATO troupes took over Mitrovica. The local Albanians drove them out of there ghettos, destroying their homes. The NATO force ignored pleading they were not there for policing. Truth is this that UN- NATO forces openly encouraged the Albanian terrorist Kosovo Liberation Army to drive out 230000 ethnic Serbians and other minorities from Kosovo. It is presumed that before the NATO troupes arrived there were 120000 Gypsies in about 17500 homes. After the driving out operation in connivance with the same troupe by Albanians, only about 5000 Romas and 15000 Ashkali remaining. Rest left the country not to return again and entered all over the Europe .
The tragic incident is that when UN took over the charge of Kosovo for peace keeping , seeing the ravaged Gypsies , they raised a temporary camp, which was expected to last for only 45 days and settled around 1000 Gypsies in that camp. They are lingering till date in unthinkable condition. Those camps were raised on abandoned lead mines. Prolonged stayal in those camps, inflicted lead contamination on entire populations of refugees. Specially the children are worst affected. They register symptoms of hard of hearing, glassy eyes, lack of concentrations, dizziness, vomiting, and disturbances of growth and organ damages. The only way to address their plight is shifting. Even UN like agency is failing to do that or pursue the task!

2008-05-17T12:01:00.000-07:00

Think of a different world

2008-05-13T08:36:00.000-07:00

Some time, in idle hours, it crosses my mind, had Mr. Md Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, been a Hindu, then the post independence history of India must have been quite different. Such thought crossing my mind is not totally baseless. It was Jinnah’s grandfather who embraced Islam. Ironically, Gandhi and Jinnah both originally belonged to the same caste; Guajarati Baniah! It was truly tryst with destiny, as Pt. Nehru use to say while referring Indian freedom. Had Jinnah continued to be a Hindu, the very Pakistan would have been with in India. Off course till this 20 ::20 matches take off, we would have missed all these cricketers on the same field for quite some time. However, lots of other misery, like partisan, then couple of wars, between two cousins ( or brothers !) could be avoided. And to the envy of the developed world , India would have excelled long ago economically.

All these I write, because as I use to think such change in the course of history, and happenings thereafter; in fact I find a great protagonist of indulgence in such thoughts. The personality is no less than a Nobel laureate, her name is Doris Lessing. Who describes her Nobel as great disaster since it robs her time to write. Interviews, felicitations all that captured her life there after caused her agony. The lady is 88 years old. She earned her Nobel for literary contributions. Her latest book “Alfred & Emily” is a master piece. Named after her parents, whom she was born to, in 1919, in Persia now in Iran. Just after world war I, narrates in this novel, had the war not taken place, how the world would have been for her and for others. The first part of the novel is imaginary in that line and the second part what actually happened with Alfred & Emily, her parents, and off course to her.

Really, think in her line; we all get blown in the wind of imagination and reach to a different world. Perhaps free from war, terrorism, suppression, mayhem et al.

2008-05-08T23:32:00.001-07:00

Know your finger prints

2008-05-05T07:09:00.000-07:00

Fingerprints and physical appearance in general are part of an individual’s phenotype, which arises from the interaction of the individual’s genes and the developmental environment in the uterus. In the case of fingerprints, the genes determine the general characteristics of the patterns that are used for fingerprint classification. As the skin on the fingertip differentiates, it expresses these general characteristics. However, as a surface tissue, it is also in contact with the amniotic fluid in the uterus. The fingertips are also in contact with other parts of the fetus and the uterus, and their position in relation to uterus and the fetal body changes as the fetus moves on its own and in response to positional changes of the mother. Thus the microenvironment of the growing cells on the fingertip is in flux, and is always slightly different from hand to hand and finger to finger. It is this microenvironment that determines the fine detail of the fingerprint structure. While the differences in the microenvironment between fingers are small and subtle, their effect is amplified by the differentiating cells and produces the macroscopic differences that enable the fingerprints of twins to be differentiated.

Indian Cuisine and Western Style

2008-05-02T08:26:00.000-07:00

Indian meals , rather delicacies when served in western style , specially buffet they can mess up the whole thing. Imagine after board room meeting when the buffet lunch is served how sometime one feels. You may hold a plate over a paper napkin, served on them chapattis with “dal makani”. The spoon, fork and knife lay by the side, you have to help yourself with your fingers. The big question comes, what use the spoons, forks and the knife have? You never know. More humiliating when you are served with chicken breast roast or “ tondur” dishes. I feel so embarrassing when I can`t hold the stuff with my both the hands and help myself ! In such buffet, you have to eat while people are milling around you, there is the tension, that a lump of gravy may jump off your plate and spoil your coat or shirts , god forbid it may spoil others apparel as well. Think , it that personality happens to belong to fairer sex!

Our dishes are best suitable to be ate on floor and off course with the freedom of fingers and tongue. Think how frustrating it is , if you cannot lick your fingers after dipping them in ” Kheer” or the spoon ; in case that is in use! Unless you comfortably sit on floor, possibly with bare torso, how can you feel the pleasure of eating “Gulab Jamoon”, dripping the sweet syrup. Oh, instead imagine the Director of your organization helping himself with “Gulab Jamoon” in one hand and on the other, a mug of coffee! After it is office lunch or dinner, there is etiquette. I feel god bless them.

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