A twist in the tale
The story's getting more convoluted (read previous post).. we should make a bollywood movie on this- Saurabh now says he appeared for an examination conducted by Oxford University, UK to study at NASA. Huh?
http://us.rediff.com/news/2005/feb/24pradhan.htm
Update : Oxford University denies holding such an exam!
http://headlines.sify.com/news/fullstory.php?id=13679654&headline=Oxford~University~denies~UP~boy's~claim
Of Con Men and Delusion!
I thought after NASA denied conducting any examination, Rashtrapati Bhavan denied that President Kalam appeared for any exam, when the media finally woke up and published the truth (see my related post) , this whole episode would be over. But the story doesn't seem to end, with relatives of the "whiz kid" Saurabh Singh insisting he went to London to appear for the exam.
In fact they've given copies of his "certificate" and the Presidents "congratulatory note" to rediff.
http://us.rediff.com/news/2005/feb/24nasa.htm
The story has taken an even more "dramatic twist", with villagers from Saurabh's village protesting and demonstrating against the government and local authorities.
http://us.rediff.com/news/2005/feb/24nasa1.htm
Makes you wonder who's fooled whom and who's delusional. The media could have prevented this had they exposed this earlier..
National Colours
Ok .. so I knew we had laws in India to prevent misuse of the national flag, disrespect to the tricolour etc. But I think asking Narain Karthikeyan to remove the national colours from his racing helmet is taking things too far. There needs to be more discretion in applying this law and what "disrespect" means should also be redefined. A sportsman wearing his country's colours on his helmet (instead of selling the space to sponsors for logos) is a display of patriotism not disrespect. We're quick to point out how sportsmen play for money rather than the country .. well when any attempt made at displaying "national pride" is curbed in this manner theres no need to expect differently.
http://www.itv-f1.com/News_Article.aspx?PO_ID=32117
Thanks Drunkdancer for pointing this out !
Of Con men and the media
India doesn't have a shortage of conmen for sure .. right from a sadhu who claimed he could walk on water to a man who claimed he could convert water into petrol.The media has given full pubilicity to these people who have later found to be conmen. They don't seem to have learned too much from the past considering the frenzy caused by this self proclaimed "whiz kid" from UP.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1030100.cms
Why I don't need to cross the river .... (yet)..
Well the bill approved by VA House of Delegates died in the Senate. Virginia Senate took up the legislation yesterday quell the * international attention* it had received. Apparently,Howell's (who proposed this bill) office got phone calls from the media in Israel and Australia. Va Senators said they were also concerned it posed constitutional problems and that before they killed the bill, many senators received calls urging them to fight for the bill or admonishing them to focus on other matters.
Its good some people have good sense :)
Meanwhile we've missed watching protesters wearing underwear over their jeans taking to the streets !
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A15387-2005Feb10.html
Why I need to cross the river..
I always knew VA was a conservative state, having lived in the reddest part in the SW, when I was in school. I've moved more and more north ever since , now I'm just on the border, the river separates me from 2 blue states (DC, MD). Though my area is pretty cool and blue (being practically in DC), unfortunately the rest of the states getting redder. I've somehow hesitated to cross the river (too much paperwork to move to another state), but now when I can't even dress the way I wan to I'm tempted to jump and swim :)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A12612-2005Feb9.html
Rummy Speaks ..
Here are some quotes from Rummy's interview on CNN's Late Edition
1) On the US military - "It's clearly stressed, but they're performing brilliantly"
2) On recruiting more troops-
Lt. Gen. Steven Blum, chief of the National Guard Bureau said last week "As it pertains to the National Guard, the Army National Guard in particular, we were woefully underequipped before the war started. It's getting -- gets a little bit worse every day."The chief of the Army National Guard, Lt. Gen. Roger C. Schultz, said that the Guard met only *56 percent*of its recruiting quota in January. Maj. Dave Griesmer, spokesman for Marine Corps Recruiting Command told the press "The Marine Corps fell 3 percent short of its recruiting goal for January, the first time the Marines have missed a monthly goal since 1995."
Rummy said - "a few" goals have not been met, but the situation is not critical. "Basically overall, recruiting and retention are roughly on track."
Rummy also said - "If a second war front should open, "it might take somewhat longer, it might be done in a slightly different way, but the estimates I get are that, basically, we're capable of performing the tasks that the president has assigned."
3) On current number of Iraqi troops- Rummy insisted there were136,000 Iraqi security forces but acknowledged that some are "green as grass."
His justification - "Numbers are interesting, but they're not determinative.
-"Their quality is also important.Some of them just came out of training.
They're green as grass."
All this makes so much sense. No wonder W apparently rejected his resignation twice. It would have been a real blow to his cabinet to lose a Defense Secretary who is so articulate and such a fine thinker.
:)
Its fun to shoot some people!
Lt. Gen. James Mattis , a senior US Marine Corps General who commanded troops in Iraq and Afghanistan said "Actually it's quite fun to fight 'em, you know. It's a hell of a hoot. It's fun to shoot some people. I'll be right up front with you, I like brawling." He went on to say during a panel discussion, "You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn't wear a veil.You know, guys like that ain't got no manhood left anyway. So it's a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them." These comments where made at a conference in San Diego, CA. Incidentally Mattis will be portrayed by Harrison Ford in an upcoming Hollywood movie. Hmm .. I wonder whether these comments will be used as dialogues in the movie .. but then that might be too politically incorrect in Hollywood..
Not too many people seem to be concerned with these comments made by a high ranking military officer. In fact they're lightly being brushed off or justified by his military record.
Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Michael Hagee praised Mattis as "one of this country's bravest and most experienced military leaders." He said,"While I understand that some people may take issue with the comments made by him, I also know he intended to reflect the unfortunate and harsh realities of war.Lt. Gen. Mattis often speaks with a great deal of candor. I have counseled him concerning his remarks and he agrees he should have chosen his words more carefully."
"Counseled him".. shouldn't stricter action have been taken ... the man is a Lt. General .. should he not have any reponsibility about what he says keeping his rank in mind? This is not the first time he's made such a comment. In November 2001, after Marines took over a desert airstrip in Afghanistan, Mattis had declared "We have landed and we now own terrain in south Afghanistan." Maybe "choosing words" would not make any difference at all, especially if what he said, truly reflects the way he thinks. I guess its this general attitude toward the "invaded people" that results the abuse thats been rampant at Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib..
