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. "