George Bernard Shaw - Wikiquote

George Bernard Shaw - Wikiquote: "My method is to take the utmost trouble to find the right thing to say, and then to say it with the utmost levity.

* Answers to Nine Questions"

This is a very nice quote by GB.Shaw. I wish I knew the context in which these were uttered.
Aside : "The Art of Asking Questions." by Stanley L. Payne seems like it could be an interesting read.

In Chechen’s Humiliation, Questions on Rule of Law - New York Times

In Chechen’s Humiliation, Questions on Rule of Law - New York Times: "Ms. Soltayeva, 23, had been away from home for a month and was reported missing by her family. When she returned, her husband accused her of infidelity and banished her from their apartment. The local authorities found her at her aunt’s residence. They said they had a few questions.

What followed was no investigation. In a law enforcement compound in this town in east-central Chechnya, the men who served as Argun’s police sheared away her hair and her eyebrows and painted her scalp green, the color associated with Islam. A thumb-thick cross was smeared on her brow."

Clearly civil behavior is not s a stable state for the human beings. Years of training in a good educational and social system can improve them to be in this state longer than usual. However for most of the members of this 6.5 billion population there is little or no access to this kind of training. I wonder if some sociologist can measure civility of our socities and spot a trend, from the time we call the dawn of civilization. I suspect there is a flat trend which is a minuscule level over barbarianism.

BBC NEWS | Technology | Not as wiki as it used to be

BBC NEWS | Technology | Not as wiki as it used to be: "For some time the people behind Wikipedia, the online encyclopaedia assembled from reader contributions and edited and maintained by those who care to get involved, have been coping with the fallout from a widely-publicised failure of their quality control mechanism.

Last November US politician John Seigenthaler took Wikipedia to task in the columns of USA Today over a false and defamatory biography of him that had been posted on the site."

When you distribute power, people tend to misuse it. But then centralization of power is not the solution. Where is the solution then ? Is there NO distribution of power in a social structure that is optimal and lasting ?

Animal Farm - George Orwell

My latest read was "Animal Farm" by George Orwell. I read this on my way back from San Diego.  Its a classic which I had never read. I dont think I had even heard of it until recently. I think Orwell's writing in the 1950's still resonates with the theory of Chomsky that Power can drive humans the wrong way and kill  ideas which had the noblest of intentions. " One could characterize this novel as a perfect portrayal of a world where absolute power corrupts absolutely."

BBC NEWS | South Asia | Speedy justice in India's badlands

BBC NEWS | South Asia | Speedy justice in India's badlands: "'Speedy trials make sense if all steps from filing charge sheets to the trial are done properly. Otherwise, there may be a miscarriage of justice.'

The police are, however, upbeat about fast track trials, and now setting higher targets.

'This is just the tip of the iceberg. Soon, there will be 10 convictions in the state every day compared to just three now,' says Mr Abhyanand.

Time will only tell whether these trials have been fair and will help in checking crime. "

And Now, Islamism Trumps Arabism - New York Times

And Now, Islamism Trumps Arabism - New York Times: "“The losers are going to be the Arab regimes, U.S.A. and Israel,” said Dr. Fares Braizat of the Center for Strategic Studies at the University of Jordan. “The secular resistance movements are gone. Now there are the Islamists coming in. So the new nationalism is going to be religious nationalism, and one of the main reasons is dignity. People want their dignity back.”"

BBC NEWS | South Asia | Bhopal activist dies with broken dreams

BBC NEWS | South Asia | Bhopal activist dies with broken dreams: "He was wearing his favourite T-shirt. It said in bold relief 'No more Bhopals'.

Sunil was a survivor of the 1984 Union Carbide gas leak - and a victim, suffering serious mental illness in the years since the disaster.

The end came without him realising his dream of seeing anyone brought to justice over the world's worst industrial accident.

Satyanath Sarangi, president of the Bhopal Group for Information and Action (BGIA) and a close friend, says that Sunil felt strongly that people responsible for the gas disaster should be punished.

In an interview in 1985, Sunil said: 'The people must know who was responsible for the gas disaster - who killed their loved ones?

'And those who are found responsible must be hanged. What is the use of all the money if those who have killed so many go scot-free?'

No one had faced trial over the leak by the time Sunil hanged himself."

Time

I am moving as fast as I can, but time doesnt seem to slow down. Was Albert Uncle wrong ?
No reading done in quite sometime. We should all have this ability to gate our clocks, that would be fun. Should be back online by the end of the month. A group of people want to synchronize their work and take stock of work accomplished and I need to help them because they pay my bills.
Mazdoor Union Zindabad !!

Elusive Proof, Elusive Prover: A New Mathematical Mystery - New York Times

Elusive Proof, Elusive Prover: A New Mathematical Mystery - New York Times: "Quoting Poincaré himself, Dr.Yau said, “Thought is only a flash in the middle of a long night, but the flash that means everything.”

"

Calm Assertive Energy

HAhaha I watched this program called "Dog Whisperer" on NATG. Its about this Italian guy who does psychoanalysis of pet dogs, much like Super Nanny.
He keeps using this term "Calm Assertive Energy" which is the state one should be in always.

Electronics | Shrinking wireless | Economist.com

Electronics | Shrinking wireless | Economist.com: "The researchers intend to use the standard lithographic techniques employed in chipmaking to coat a semiconductor with microscopic magnets. These magnets will generate local magnetic fields that point in opposite directions at different points on the chip's surface. Electrons have a property called spin that is affected by magnetic fields, and the team hopes to use an effect called inverse electron-spin resonance to make electrons passing through the chip emit microwaves."

What is wrong with the American Media ?

The analysis and the reporting of the news on CNN, MSNBC, FOX is so simplistic. It is so evident that they are not looking at issues from all possible aspects.
If they are unable to do so should there not be an admission to this fact. Why take strong positions based on limited vision.

Does this reflect the intellect of the American population ? Is this what the majority wants to see and hear ? Its very disturbing to see this nation with the brightest minds in the world have such an attitude. Maybe the people are used to not being exposed to global issues and do not really care. Why then does the media take this stand if not to bolster its TRP ratings ? Is it just so that their owners have dealings with the people in the administration and want to do them favors? I find so much brilliance in individuals in this country and yet their social institutions do not seem to be a reflection of their intellect.

US Womens Soccer

Its pretty interesting to see these women who recently(retired) from women's soccer. Mia Hamm being the most popular of them.  They have a fascinating story behind their success.  I was watching this documentary about them on HBO. USA, China and Norway have seemed to  be on top of the womens soccer world. Does this say something about their societies. Specially the Chinese women. I guess its to communisms credit that women are treated equally at least in this respect. The rankings here have no correlation to the mens sports.