User:Pankaj sawalani

If you're sick to death, as I am, of the mainstream media's endless gushing over (His Wonderfulness) Barack Obama, here's a more reality-based view of his first 100 days in office.

From 100 Days, 100 Mistakes (The New York Post, April 25, 2009):for teachers to be our god and friend to ...

17. MEGHAN CLYNE ON: "I WON" AND THE DEATH OF BIPARTISANSHIP "Obama soared to victory on the hopeful promise of a new era of bipartisanship. During his inaugural address he even promised an 'end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn-out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics.'

"Too bad it took all of three days for the promise to ring hollow. The evolution of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi into the       'Mahatma ' of our times very much hinges on the principles that were the        guiding light of his life. Till his last breath, Gandhiji unflinchingly        adhered to these philosophies often referred by the collective term        'Gandhism'. Over the years the thoughts and the philosophy of Mahatma        Gandhi have inspired generations across the world and they have often        been the bedrock of civil rights movements waged against oppressive        regimes.

Truth Truth or 'Satya' was the sovereign principle of Mahatma Gandhi's life. The Mahatma's life was an eternal conquest to discover truth and his       journey to that end was marked by experiments on himself and learning        from his own mistakes. Fittingly his autobiography was titled 'My       Experiments with Truth.' Gandhi strictly maintained that the concept of        truth is above and beyond of all other considerations and one must        unfailingly embrace truth throughout one's life.

Satyagraha Gandhiji pioneered the term Satyagraha which literally translates to       'an endeavor for truth.' In the context of Indian freedom movement,        Satyagraha meant the resistance to the British oppression through mass        civil obedience. The tenets of Truth or Satya and nonviolence were       pivotal to the Satyagraha movement and Gandhi ensured that the millions        of Indians seeking an end to British rule adhered to these basic        principles steadfastly.

Nonviolence The principle of nonviolence or Ahimsa has been integral to many Indian       religions and Mahatma Gandhi espoused for total nonviolence in the        Indian freedom struggle. He was determined to purge the Satyagraha       movement of any violent elements and incidents of violence by        Satyagrahis in Chauri Chaura, Uttar Pradesh led him to call off the        civil disobedience movement. Gandhi's adoption of vegetarianism is often       regarded a manifestation of his faith in the principles of nonviolence.

Khadi Khadi, an unassuming piece of handspun and hand-woven cloth, embodies       the simplicity synonymous with Mahatma Gandhi's persona. After       renouncing the western attire of his advocacy days in South Africa,        Gandhi embraced the practice of weaving his own clothes from thread he        himself spun and encouraged others to follow suit. Mahatma used the       adoption of Khadi as a subtle economic tool against the British        industrial might and also as a means of generating rural employment in        India. Mahatma Gandhi's autobiography, 'The Story of My       Experiments with Truth,' is undoubtedly one of the most influential        books in the 20th century for the insight it provides into the life and        vision of the Mahatma. In the introduction of the book Mahatma reveals       that although he didn't intend to write an autobiography, it was bound        to take the shape of one filled as it was with his lifelong experiments        with truth.

In the autobiography Gandhi chronicles his life from early childhood to       the year 1920. Gandhi's life post-1920 doesn't find any mention in the       book since he opined "my life from this point onward has been so        public that there is hardly anything about it that people do not know..." The autobiography first appeared as a series in the weekly Gujarati       magazine Navajivan during 1925-28 which was published from Ahmedabad.

The title of the book, 'My Experiments with Truth,' couldn't have been       more apt for it illustrates the life of a man who made it a lifelong        mission to discover truth or Satya. Apart from elaborating on the tenets       of truth and nonviolence, Gandhi also discusses the deep influence of        spiritualism and religion on his life and principles. As one ruffles       through the pages, one is left awestruck at the vast wisdom of the        Mahatma.

The original Gujarati version of the 'My Experiments with Truth' was       first published in a book-form by Navajivan Trust, Ahmedabad in two        volumes. After the first publication, the book was revised and       translated into English by Gandhi's close associate and personal        secretary Mahadev Desai. Mahatma Gandhi and Bhagat Singh, two titans of the       Indian freedom movement and inspirational leaders who laid down their        lives while seeking emancipation for their countrymen. Committed as they       were towards the goal of India's freedom from British rule, the means        they adopted were as different as chalk and cheese. While one       spearheaded a civil disobedience movement founded on the principles of        nonviolence and Satyagraha, the other waged a revolutionary armed         struggle laced with violence towards the British regime.

As a young lad, Bhagat Singh actively took part in the non-cooperation       movement and was an admirer of Mahatma Gandhi. He earnestly believed       that India would indeed gain freedom under Gandhi's leadership. But when       Gandhi called off the movement following the Chauri Chaura riot in 1922,        Bhagat Singh became disenchanted with Gandhism and gradually veered        towards the tenets of armed revolutionary struggle. Prior to his arrest       and subsequent execution, Bhagat Singh led many a valiant attacks        against the British machinery.

The pre-eminence of Mahatma Gandhi and Bhagat Singh in Indian freedom       movement and their distinctly different approaches have spawned many        controversies and even conspiracy theories. Most of these stem from       Gandhi and the Indian National Congress' alleged failure to prevent        Bhagat Singh's execution despite enjoying substantial clout with the        British government. In fact a number of recent Bollywood movies like       'Shaheed Bhagat Singh' are replete with subtle insinuations that Gandhi        indeed could have done more to save Bhagat Singh's life.

But Gandhi was an admirer of Bhagat Singh and publicly applauded his       patriotism on many occasions. The Mahatma in fact wrote to the Viceroy       pleading with him to commute the death sentence of Singh and his        accomplices.

Nehru as Prime Minister

Whenever one sets about assessing the life and works       of Jawaharlal Nehru, the realization invariably dawns that Nehru's        contribution to India's destiny as its first prime minister was in no        way less significant than his pivotal role in the freedom struggle. Come       to think about it, Nehru's very election as the prime ministerial        candidate was steeped in bitter controversy and his initial days in        office were marked by a wave of intense communal violence sweeping         across the country.

As being chosen as Independent India's first prime minister, Jawaharlal       Nehru addressed the Constituent Assembly of India on the eve of India's        Independence and in a soul-stirring speech entitled 'A Tryst with        Destiny,' he passionately enumerated the responsibilities that come with        freedom. Nehru envisioned a socialist India and the first step towards       this end was taken with the setting up of the Planning Commission of        India and the first Five-Year Plan in 1951.

Pandit Nehru realized that modernization and technological development       were vital to the growth of the nascent Indian economy and the        government took upon itself the task of establishing strategic        industries. Public sector enterprises became the pillars of the economy       while the government concentrated on providing electricity, healthcare        and roads to the rural population. Efforts were also made to augment       agricultural production and to alleviate poverty.

Simultaneously Jawaharlal Nehru's government invested heavily on       setting up of educational institutions of pre-eminence such as the All        India Institute of Medical Sciences, the Indian Institutes of Technology        and the Indian Institutes of Management. Nehru also envisaged plans to       ensure free and compulsory elementary education for rural children. He       espoused the doctrine of secularism and launched initiatives to improve        the status of socially disadvantaged groups.

Nehru was also India's foreign minister and under him non-alignment       became the guiding principle of India's foreign policy. Despite       entrenched acrimonies, he tried to improve India's relations with China        and signed the 1954 Sino-Indian Death Mystery of Subhash Chandra Bose

More than six decades after his allege death in a       plane crash, the mystery over that incident and Netaji Subhash Chandra        Bose's possible survival still haunts the Indian nation. The absence of       any credible evidence and the subsequent inability of the government        appointed committees to unravel the truth have spawned umpteen        conspiracy theories with a large chuck of the population refusing to        believe that their beloved leader indeed lost his life in a plane crash. Here we have tried to shed light on various facets of the death mystery       of Subhash Chandra Bose.

Government Efforts (1945 - 2005) The four-member Shahnawaz Committee was the first official endeavor to       examine whether Bose actually died in a plane crash in Taihoku (Taipei)        on August 18, 1945. The committee went to Japan in May, 1956 and a       number of Japanese army surgeons testified that they actually conducted        blood transfusion on a seriously injured Subhash Bose who later        succumbed to his injuries. The G. D. Khosla Committee, which carried on       its probe from 1974-1978, could not arrive on any definite conclusion. The Justice Mukherjee Committe, set up in 1999, submitted its report in       2005 and proclaimed that Netaji did not die in the plane crash.

The Soviet Angle Many believe that Subhash Chandra breathed his last in Soviet custody       years after the alleged crash in Taiwan. There are unconfirmed reports       that in 1946 Russian strongman Josef Stalin and diplomat Vyacheslav        Molotov actually discussed whether Bose should remain in the Soviet        Union. More startling is the alleged incident that India's ambassador to       Russia, Dr. S. Radhakrishnan was permitted to meet Netaji in an        undisclosed location in the Soviet Union.

Sole Witness Lt Colonel Habibur Rahman Khan, Netaji's trusted Aide-de-Camp, is       widely believed to be the sole survivor of that fateful plane crash. Rahman later enshrined Bose's ashes in the Renkoji temple Tokyo. However       despite repeated interrogations by British authorities, Rahman never        substantiated Netaji's death and throughout his life maintained that he        was bound by an oath of secrecy to his deceased leader.

Conspiracy Theories Conspiracy theories abound regarding Netaji's death. It is alleged that       both the Congress leadership and the government were tense about the        impact of Subhash Chandra's possible return to India. They believed that       in such a circumstance, it would be impossible for the Congress or        anybody to stop him from coming to power give the way he was worshipped        by the common people.

treaty based on the tenets of Pancha       Sila. However due to his pacifist nature, needs of Indian armed forces       were put on the backburner and only the defeat of the Indian Army at the        hands of the Chinese in 1962 finally made him woke up to this reality. This humiliating episode alone took much of the sheen from his       invaluable contribution to the nation as its prime minister.

Netaji and Gandhiji

Both Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose and Mahatma Gandhi       were infallibly dedicated to the cause of Indian freedom. They were       loved by the masses and feared by the Raj. But between themselves, these       two icons of India's freedom movement shared a rather frosty        relationship and history is replete with instances of trenchant        differences between them.

Although Subhash Chandra was a follower of Gandhi during the initial       days, the later part of the 1930s witnessed a growing radicalization of        his thoughts and Bose became increasingly frustrated with the lack of        momentum in the independence movement. As Bose started to assert his       bold stance in various party forums, it led to a polarization in the        Congress party ranks.

Bose found himself frequently at loggerheads with Gandhi and their       differences often came out in the public. All these bickering reached a       climax when Subhash Chandra Bose became Congress President for a second        term in 1939 defeating Gandhi-nominated candidate Pattabhi Sitaramayya. Unable to hide his displeasure, Mahatma commented "Subhash' victory       is my defeat." But this unhealthy environment within the party made       Bose's task all the more difficult and soon he resigned from his post.

Subhash Chandra Bose and Gandhi also disagreed over their visions for       the post-Independence Indian state. Bose was influenced by the success       of the five-year plans in the Soviet Union and he advocated for a        socialist nation with an industrialized economy. Gandhi was opposed to       the very concept of industrialization.

In spite of all the differences in ideologies, both these great men       admired and respected each other. In 1942 Gandhi called Subhash Bose the       "Prince among the Patriots" for his great love for the        country. Bose too admired Gandhi and in a radio broadcast from Rangoon       in 1944, he called Mahatma Gandhi "The Father of Our Nation."

Mahatma Gandhi fell to an assassin's bullets way back       in 1948. But the visions and the philosophy of the Mahatma are as much       relevant today as they were more than half a decade ago. His teachings       and ideology have struck a chord with people from all over the world and        many have attempted to portray Mahatma Gandhi's life through different        creative avenues. As such one comes across a plethora of examples where       the life and the works of the Mahatma have been depicted in popular        media platforms such as film, literature, and the theater.

Film The 1982 film, Gandhi, is perhaps the most acclaimed tribute to Mahatma       Gandhi's life. The film, directed by Richard Attenborough and starring       Ben Kingsley as Gandhi, went on to sweep the Academy Awards that year by        winnings eight Oscars including Best Picture, Best Actor and Best        Director. But as far as social impact is concerned, the 2006 Bollywood       movie Lage Raho Munna Bhai wins hands down for its role in awakening a        whole generation of Indian youngsters to the principles of Mahatma        Gandhi. The film, featuring popular actor Sanjay Dutt in the lead role,       coined the term Gandhigiri to bring home the relevance of Gandhi's        tenets in today's world.

Theater The play 'Mahatma vs. Gandhi' directed by Feroz Khan and starring       Naseeruddin Shah as Mahatma, seeks to explore the complex father-son        relationship between Mahatma Gandhi and his eldest son Harilal Gandhi. The play 'Me Nathuram Godse Boltoy,' directed by Pradeep Dalavi, is an       autobiographical take on the life of Mahatma Gandhi's assassin Nathuram        Godse. The play generated much controversy for the supposedly unbiased       portrayal of the circumstances in which Gandhi's murder was plotted and        carried out by Godse.

Television and Internet While films and plays based on Mahatma Gandhi's life are basically       serious productions, the same cannot be said about the depictions in        television and the Internet. While the MTV cartoon 'Clone High' featured       the clone of Gandhi as one of the main characters, the cartoon 'Time        Squad' on Cartoon Network has an episode where Gandhi is portrayed as        craving for a career in tap dancing, instead of leading the Indian        freedom struggle. In the first week of 2007, a video posted in the       video-sharing website Youtube.com sparked off a controversy for showing        a man dressed as Gandhi gyrating to music and doing a pole dance.

"Start with Obama's big meeting with top congressional leaders on his signature legislation — the stimulus — on the Friday after his inauguration. Listening to Republican concerns about overspending was a nice gesture — until he shut down any hopes of real dialogue by crassly telling Republican leaders: 'I won.' Even the White House's leaking of the comment was a slap at the Republican leadership, who'd expected Obama to adhere to the custom of keeping private meetings with congressional leadership, well, private.

"It's only gone downhill from there. The stimulus included zero Republican recommendations, and failed to get a single House Republican vote.

"It's not just the tactic of using Republicans for bipartisan photo-ops, and then cutting them loose before partisan decisions, that irks Obama's opponents. The new president wasted no time rushing forward with policies and legislation guaranteed to drive Republicans nuts. The first bill he signed into law was the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act — a partisan hot-button that drew all of eight Republican supporters in the entire Congress. Then there was the swift reversal of Bush policies on abortion and embryonic-stem-cell research — issues dear to the Republican base.

"And when Obama and the Democrats in Congress took up SCHIP — the children's health-insurance bill that Republicans say vastly expands government's role in health care — they had an easy chance for real bipartisanship. After all, the bill had been hashed out in the previous Congress, and a bipartisan accord was reached before President Bush responded with a veto. Did the Obama team push for the compromise version in the 111th Congress? Nope. They went back to the drawing board, ramming through the Democrats' dream version.

"Of course, the lack of bipartisanship isn't limited to Capitol Hill. Obama has taken gratuitous swipes at the Republicans who recently decamped Washington, blaming President Bush for everything from the economy and the war to the lack of sufficient puppies and rainbows. And who could forget the Rush Limbaugh flap — in which Obama's top advisers, including chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, orchestrated a public relations campaign meant to undermine the Republican National Committee chairman, Michael Steele, by framing talk-radio personality Limbaugh as the real head of the Republican Party.

"For now, Obama's back-pedal on the bipartisanship promise just makes him look insincere. But the real consequences of the mistake will be felt soon enough. As Presidents Bush and Clinton could tell him, congressional majorities do change — and at some point, Obama will need Republicans on his side. He'd be smart to spend his second 100 days making up for the serious snubs of his first."

To this list, I'd add the Chas Freeman debacle; his nonstop apology tours; his Orwellian additions to the English language: "overseas contingency operations" and "man-caused disasters"; his apparent eagerness to throw Israel under the bus; his selling out our allies on missile defense; his losing Kyrgyzstan as a military base; his buzzing Manhattan with Air Force One. Oh, and his belief that Austrians speak Austrian. (I'm sure if I think a while, I can come up with more.)

Not the greatest start. I ..Love You ..... aaaaaaaaaaaa

Toon042809

Posted at 10:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0) April 20, 2009 Seven Jewish Children

Seven jewish children Caryl Churchill's Seven Jewish Children: A Play for Gaza debuted two months ago at London's Royal Court Theatre. The ten-minute playlet, which looks at the last seventy years of Israeli history, has generated much controversy. Here are some responses to the play:

From Howard Jacobson's Let's See the 'Criticism of Israel for What It Really Is (The Independent, February 18, 2009):

One particularly popular version, pseudo-scientific in tone, understands Zionism as a political form given to a psychological condition – Jews visiting upon others the traumas suffered by themselves, with Israel figuring as the torture room in which they do it. This is is pretty well the thesis of Caryl Churchill’s Seven Jewish Children, an audacious 10-minute encapsulation of Israel’s moral collapse – the audacity residing in its ignorance or its dishonesty – currently playing at the Royal Court. The play is conceived in the form of a family roundelay, with different voices chiming in with suggestions as to the best way to bring up, protect, inform, and ultimately inflame into animality an unseen child in each of the chosen seven periods of contemporary Jewish history. It begins with the Holocaust, partly to establish the playwright’s sympathetic bona fides (“Tell her not to come out even if she hears shouting”), partly to explain what has befallen Palestine, because no sooner are the Jews out of the hell of Hitler’s Europe than they are constructing a parallel hell for Palestinians.

Anyone with scant knowledge of the history of Israeli-Palestinian relations – that is to say, judging from what they chant, the majority of anti-Israel demonstrators – would assume from this that Jews descended on the country as from a clear blue sky; that they had no prior association with the land other than in religious fantasy and through some scarce remembered genealogical affiliation: “Tell her it’s the land God gave us... Tell her her great great great great lots of greats grandad lived there” – the latter line garnering much knowing laughter in the theatre the night I was there, by virtue of the predatiousness lurking behind the childlike vagueness.

You cannot of course tell the whole story of anywhere in 10 minutes, but then why would you want to unless you conceive it to be simple and one-sided? The staccato form of the piece – every line beginning “Tell her” or “Don’t tell her” – is skilfully contrived to suggest a people not just forever fraught and frightened but forever covert and deceitful. Nothing is true. Boasts are denials and denials are boasts. Everything is mediated through the desire to put the best face, first on fear, then on devious appropriation, and finally on evil.

Churchill From Christopher Hart, writing in The Sunday Times (February 15, 2009):

A leaflet handed out before the show, inviting donations to Medical Aid for Palestinians, tells you how “brutal” Israel’s “invasion” of Gaza has been. “Bombardment”, “devastation”, “earthquake”: these are reassuring little signposts. Otherwise, you might worry that Churchill has written a play that considers both sides of the conflict. In seven one-minute acts, Israeli adults discuss what to “Tell her” — in each case, an imaginary young Israeli girl. About the Holocaust? Suicide bombings? About 1967? “Tell her not to be afraid” is a recurring and poignant refrain. This simple device could have been highly effective, but it’s ruined by the play's ludicrous and utterly predictable lack of even-handedness.

We all agree, I think, that the scenes coming from Gaza are not good. But the enormously complex reasons for such horrors are not considered here. Instead, Churchill comes across like a very minor Old Testament prophet, bewailing the Wickedness of my people Israel (Jeremiah 7:12). And the final lines, delivered by an Israeli in full rant, about how the Palestinians are “animals”, how he wants to see their children “covered in blood”, are simply outrageous.

“Tell her we killed more of them” is one suggestion earlier. Ah, yes, the idea that you can fairly judge the righteousness or wickedness of either side in this miserable conflict by looking at the casualty figures. You hear this on the BBC, too. Hamas rockets rarely kill anyone. They don’t really mean it, they’re just teasing. Not like those ruthless Israelis. In fact, Hamas would love their rockets to kill Israelis — men, women, children, whatever. The reason their rockets rarely kill anyone is that they’re really rubbish at aiming them. Israel, on the other hand, despite having directly caused the deaths of more than 1,000 civilians in Gaza recently, does not deliberately target queues of people at bus stops.

Seven Jewish Children isn’t art, it’s straitjacketed political orthodoxy. No surprises, no challenges, no risks. Only the enclosed, fetid, smug, self-congratulating and entirely irrelevant little world of contemporary political theatre. Fresh air is urgently needed. But I’m not holding my breath.

Theatre J, a Jewish theater in Washington, D.C., is now staging a production of the play. Jeffrey Goldberg of The Atlantic debates the theater's director, Ari Roth, on the merits of the play.

Posted at 09:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0) Do-Re-Mi Do_Re_Mi_1

This is sure to make you smile.

Teacher Hell

Kakori Train Robbery

The Kakori train robbery was a watershed event in the       annals of Indian revolutionary movement. The sheer audacity and courage       of this assault and its successful execution gave an impetus to the        fledgling rebellious activities being waged across the country. Frontline leaders of the Hindustan Republican Association, an       underground rebel outfit, such as Ashfaqullah Khan, Ramprasad Bismil and        Chandrasekhar Azad were the lynchpin of the Kakori train robbery.

The mastermind behind this daredevil dacoity was Ramprasad Bismil who       first conceived the plot while traveling from Shahjahanpur to Lucknow in        Uttar Pradesh by the Number 8 Down Train. He noticed that at every       station moneybags were being taken into the guard's van and being        dropped into an iron safe and despite the valuable bounty security        arrangements were lax and virtually non-existent inside the train. At a       meeting with his fellow revolutionaries, Ramprasad laid bare his plan.

The members of the HRA approved this audacious plan and decided that       the looted money would be used to garner arms and ammunition for the        movement. August 9, 1925 was chosen as the D-day and a select group of       ten including Ashfaqullah Khan, Ramprasad Bismil and Chandrasekhar Azad        was entrusted the responsibility for execution. As the train was       approaching the Kakori town, one of the revolutionaries stopped the        train by pulling the chain and the rest overpowered the guard. After       breaking into the guard's van the rebels escaped with the loot.

Repercussions of this robbery were swift and lethal. The government       used all its resources in launching a massive manhunt and one by one all        the revolutionaries fell into the police dragnet. After a farcical       trial, Ashfaqullah Khan, Ramprasad Bismil, Roshan Singh, and Rajendra        Lahiri were hanged. But the eternal survivor that he was, Chandrashekhar       Azad managed to elude the police and continued his fight for many years        to come.

Black hole The Black Hole of Calcutta

This American Life presents a fascinating report about a holding pen for wayward teachers in New York City.

Teachers are told to report there instead of their classrooms. No reason is usually given. When they arrive, they find they've been put on some kind of probationary status, and they must report every day until the matter is cleared up. They call it the Rubber Room. Average length of stay? Months, sometimes years.

You can listen to a podcast of the show here. (Look for Full Episode on the left of the page. The report begins at 7:25)

There's also a movie called The Rubber Room by Five Boroughs Productions. Go here to watch the trailer.

Posted at 11:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) Cover-Up

Police_lineup

From The Onion:

Facts about Mahatma Gandhi

Mahatma Gandhi's life is so much entwined with the       Indian freedom movement that rarely do people endeavor to acquaint        themselves with other facets of his eventful life. We provide below some       interesting facts about Mahatma Gandhi:

The Birth of 'Mahatma' Mahatma Gandhi was born Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi and the title       'Mahatma' was accorded to him much later. Mahatma literally translates       to 'great soul' in Sanskrit. Even though opinion is ambivalent as to how       Gandhi came to be known as Mahatma, people generally believe that noted        poet and philosopher Rabindranath Tagore bestowed the title of 'Mahatma'        on Gandhi.

Mahatma Gandhi and the Boer War Despite his lifelong pursuit of nonviolence, Gandhi found himself       embroiled in a war at an early stage of his life, albeit in a        humanitarian role. During his stay in South Africa the Second Boer War       broke out and Gandhi organized a volunteer medial unit of free Indians        and indentured laborers called the Indian Ambulance Corps. This unit       provided exemplary medical service to wounded black South Africans and        post -war Gandhi became a decorated sergeant of the Corps.

The Gandhi Statue in Pietermaritzburg Pietermaritzburg in KwaZulu Natal province of South Africa was the       place where Gandhi was shoved out a train 1893 after refusing to move        from the first class to a third class coach while holding a first class        ticket. This unsavory incident proved to be landmark event in Gandhi's       life as he made it a mission to protest such incidents of racial abuse. The downtown of Pietermaritzburg city now hosts a commemorative statue       of Mahatma Gandhi.

Mahatma Gandhi and the Nobel Prize It is indeed a sad irony that Mahatma Gandhi, the greatest exponent of       peace and nonviolence, was never deemed eligible for the Nobel Peace        Prize. After four previous nominations, Gandhi was chosen for the Prize       in 1948, but because of his unfortunate assassination the Nobel        Committee had to shelve their plans and the Peace Prize was not awarded        that year.

Mahatma Gandhi and the Time Magazine Time Magazine, the famous U.S. publication, named Mahatma Gandhi the       Man of the Year in 1930. In 1999 the magazine declared Mahatma the       runner-up to noted scientist Albert Einstein as the "Person of the        Century".

Out at last2

WASHINGTON—More than a week after President Barack Obama's cold-blooded killing of a local couple, members of the American news media admitted Tuesday that they were still trying to find the best angle for covering the gruesome crime.

"I know there's a story in there somewhere," said Newsweek editor Jon Meacham, referring to Obama's home invasion and execution-style slaying of Jeff and Sue Finowicz on Apr. 8. "Right now though, it's probably best to just sit back and wait for more information to come in. After all, the only thing we know for sure is that our president senselessly murdered two unsuspecting Americans without emotion or hesitation."

Added Meacham, "It's not so cut and dried."

Since the killings took place, reporters across the country have struggled to come up with an appropriate take on the ruthless crime, with some wondering whether it warrants front-page coverage, and others questioning its relevance in a fast-changing media landscape.

"What exactly is the news hook here?" asked Rick Kaplan, executive producer of the CBS Evening News. "Is this an upbeat human-interest story about a 'day in the life' of a bloodthirsty president who likes to kill people? Or is it more of an examination of how Obama's unusual upbringing in Hawaii helped to shape the way he would one day viciously butcher two helpless citizens in their own home?"

"Or maybe the story is just that murder is cool now," Kaplan continued. "I don't know. There are a million different angles on this one."

So far, the president's double-homicide has not been covered by any major news outlets. The only two mentions of the heinous tragedy have been a 100-word blurb on the Associated Press wire and an obituary on page E7 of this week's edition of theLake County Examiner.

While Obama has expressed no remorse for the grisly murders—point-blank shootings with an unregistered .38-caliber revolver—many journalists said it would be irresponsible for the press to sensationalize the story.

"There's been some debate around the office about whether we should report on this at all," Washington Post senior reporter Bill Tracy said while on assignment at a local dog show. "It's enough of a tragedy without the press jumping in and pointing fingers or, worse, exploiting the violence. Plus, we need to be sensitive to the victims' families at this time. Their loved ones were brutally, brutally murdered, after all." Nevertheless, a small contingent of independent journalists has begun to express its disapproval and growing shock over the president's actions.

"I hate to rain on everyone's parade, but we are in the midst of an economic crisis here," political pundit Marcus Reid said. "Why was our president ritualistically dismembering the corpses of his prey when he should have been working on a new tax proposal for small businesses? I, for one, am outraged."

The New York Times newsroom is reportedly still undecided on whether or not to print a recent letter received from Obama, in which the president threatens to kill another helpless citizen every Tuesday and "fill [his] heavenly palace with slaves for the afterlife" unless the police "stop the darkness from screaming."

"President Obama's letter presents us with a classic journalistic quandary," executive editor Bill Keller said. "If we print it, then we're giving him control over the kinds of stories we choose to run. It would be an acknowledgment that we somehow give the nation's commander in chief special treatment."

Added Keller, "And that's just not how the press in this country works."

Chuckles copy

(via Don Preston)

Posted at 09:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) Poem: Tattoo

Oak tree snow storm Oak Tree Snow Storm, Ansel Adams   and using of things.....

Tatoo

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It seems "latter-day Noahs" are busy building arks these days. Jonathan Cheng writes about the latest replica in The Wall Street Journal. Here is an excerpt:

HONG KONG -- This city's three billionaire Kwok brothers have just the answer for the rising waters threatening the global economy: the world's first life-size replica of Noah's ark, built to biblical specifications off the coast of this recession-struck Chinese financial center.

The message in its 450-foot-long hull, its rooftop luxury hotel and 67 pairs of fiberglass animals: "The financial tsunami will be over," says Spencer Lu, the Kwoks' project director at Noah's Ark, which is opening soon. d name pankaj sawalani.... std on --10th

sai english school......................................................

The land-bound ark wasn't built in response to the current global turmoil; it has been in the planning for 17 years. But the financial storm provides a nice marketing hook for the Kwoks' ambitious project, which will probably need to lure visitors from beyond Hong Kong's city limits to be an economic success. It also ups the ante in the competition to build a big ark. Middle brother and ark champion Thomas Kwok insisted that it be constructed according to biblical specs, in part to distinguish it from one in the Netherlands that actually floats and boasts real farm animals but is just one-fifth the size of the biblical original.

Here's a slideshow of some other arks that have been built. Ark On Mount Ararat, Turkey. (Photo by Manuel Citak/Greenpeace)

Posted at 11:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | Track

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