Category: Current Affairs
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A hue and cry has been raised over the levels of pesticide found in Coca Cola and Pepsi sold in India, with many states jumping on the bandwagon to announce bans on soft drink sales. But is it only the soft drinks which are to blame?On a trip to India made in July 2004, I noticed…
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The second criminal trial of Andrea Yates is over and the jury has spoken – this time with compassion and rationality. I had written about Yates earlier this year when her re-trial began. You can find the gist of this tragic and grisly event here. (Sorry, the Houston Chronicle links to that post have all…
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India’s encounters with Islamic terrorism perpetrated by home grown militants supported by Al Qaida and its subsidiaries, has a long history. Long before Osama Bin Laden was a glint in the evil eyes of Bush-Cheney, India had been targeted for civilian deaths by Kashmiri militants, Al Qaida, Taliban and assorted Pakistan sponsored terrorists. Ironically, these…
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CNN is calling it India’s 7/11. There is no need for designating numerical symmetry to terror and horror for the sake of catchy news headlines. This is despicable any where, any day, against anyone. Some pictures of the Mumbai devastation here. An Update: Here is an interesting aside on the American right wing’s naive and self…
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The news from Iraq, Afghanistan and North Korea has been uniformly disconcerting over the past few weeks and months. Reports of gross criminal conduct by US troops in Iraq are the most disturbing of all. There is a lot of speculation about what prompted these young men to rape and murder Iraqi civilians. Reasons ranging…
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(Click for larger image: courtesy National Geographic ) The Indian monsoon is an object of much love and sometimes fear and awe. Indian poets through the ages have sung its praises as ardently and enthusiastically as do western poets about spring. The monsoon brings much awaited relief from the unrelenting Indian summer heat which desiccates…
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The NSA may have approached AT&T to set up a domestic call monitoring site seven months before September 11, 2001. Very interesting. Whenever challenged about its illegal snooping activities, the Bush administration has repeatedly insisted that such surveillance is an essential tool in the fight against global terrorism. Now let me get this straight. As…
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Those who had a hard time telling Ann Coulter and Adolph Hitler apart, now will know the reason why. Ann Coulter, the foul mouthed right wing diva may not be liberal in her politics but she is not above liberally lifting material for her books and columns from other published sources. So reports the New…
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The Carnival of the Liberals # 16, the Independence Day edition is up at the Uncredible Halqq. Please visit to get the sane perspective on things in a mad, mad world.
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The Jerusalem Post is reporting that Western Union routinely refuses or delays money transfers based on recipients’ names – especially when the name is Mohammed or Ahmed. (via Sepia Mutiny) Western Union’s action is in accordance with the US Treasury Department’s attempt to monitor and restrict cash flow to terrorist organizations. "Money transfer agencies like…
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Today we celebrate the idea that is the United States of America – democratic, free and one would hope, fair. It is also an annual reminder of our fundamental values and patriotic spirit, an emotion which when taken to thoughtless extremes can leave in its wake hapless and helpless victims. When the nation’s stewardship is…
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On ABC’s World News Tonight, I saw a clip of George W. Bush jogging on the White House grounds with a young soldier. It was an amazing and heartbreaking sight. Christian Bagge, a 23 year old Iraq war veteran is a double amputee who lost both his legs to a road side explosion near Kirkuk. …
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(click for a closer view) The heavy rain and flooding that have inundated the mid-Atlantic states for the last few days have caused wide spread damage to private and public property as well as to trees. Among the many trees which broke and toppled was an old elm tree that stood on the front lawn…
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Scientists are going to report in this week’s Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that men’s chances of being gay may be influenced by birth order and the gender of the preceding siblings. Apparently, the prenatal conditions in the mother’s womb after she has given birth to multiple sons, increases a younger son’s chances…
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