Pirates caught by commandos

This is the only way to deal with pirates. Pirates are beyond the pale. This is why whenever they were caught, they were summarily executed or punished. They do not work on the basis of normal behaviour. Whether we are talking about Julius Caesar or the North African Barbary States, they only stop once they have been thumped hard.

Similarly, these Somalian pirates need to be prosecuted to the full extent of the law and armed might. This is a very good step, I just wish the other navies take a step and do the same. Way to go, Sarko.

Technorati Tags: Piracy,France,Somalia,Indian Ocean

A graveyard of books

This set of photographs hurt.

Technorati Tags: Logophile,Russia

Islamophobic behaviour in full display

Now this is the kind of a behaviour which needs to be stamped down upon. When facial identity is not required to be proven, why on earth does the bus company need to know it or ask the woman to step off the bus? One has to be careful about these things and yes, the woman was perfectly within her rights to sue the pants off the bus company. What's next? asking me to remove my mustache because it wasnt as black as it was before? Disgusting. Then again, I personally do not have good experiences in Sweden...

I quote:

A 20-year-old Malmö woman has been awarded damages after she was asked to leave a bus for wearing a veil.

The woman has received 25,000 kronor ($4,203) from public bus service operator Arriva after an agreement was reached with the Ombudsman against ethnic discrimination (DO), according to local newspaper Sydsvenskan.
The woman was instructed to leave the bus in the southern Swedish city when she refused to remove the niqab veil that she was wearing as part of her sartorial hijab headdress. The niqab covers the entire face except for eyes.
The bus driver had asked the woman to remove her niqab so that he could identify her, however the woman was using a buss pass that did not require identification.
"The bus driver has not acted according to Arriva's values. There is no doubt where the fault lies and this is most regrettable. We are happy to pay out the money to make up for it," said Jan Wildau at Arriva.
As a result of the incident the bus driver, who was employed on an hourly basis, no longer works for Arriva.

Technorati Tags: Islamophobia,Sweden

Announcing my new photo essay blog

Well, I was told that I am mixing up too many things in my daily blog, so have decided to create a dedicated photo essay blog. It is called as PiquantPhotos and here is the link. I will slowly move my old photo essays on to this blog (if I am not too lazy...) but any new ones will be posted here.

University customer service?

This is a curious case, is this going to be related to a freedom of speech case or a defamation case. Well, this step by the university is frankly silly. Here's the video. Take a look at the comments, what defamatory comments?

On the other hand, students demanding to be like consumers? Absolutely, why ever not? They have paid good money for it and if the offering does not match what was given, then they have a perfectly good right to complain. I would complain as well. If a student has not learnt, a teacher has not taught. And after having had an MBA, having taught in business schools across the world, recruited from several across the world and having been on advisory boards, I firmly believe that business schools should practice what they preach. And Universities should realise that they are running a business.

But why on earth is the university not listening? I will tell you why, because business schools are almost always looked upon as cash cows by the university. They take the money from the business school and use it to pay for the salaries of people who are investigating the Mongolian cultural significance of the Argentinean blue bean. I am joking, of course, but this is fairly typical of what I have seen.

But again, if you are a business (and lets get this very clear, universities are businesses now), this is your customer complaining. What are you doing about it? Threatening your customer with legal action is NOT a great way to improve reputation or getting additional customers.

Also, what the university has forgotten (or is perhaps stuck in the 18th century) that removal of comments does not mean that comments are removed. This episode has now created an internet electronic footprint which will be available every time anybody searches for Anglia Ruskin University. Not good, their internet, student and media management leaves much to be desired (even if their education and teaching management is perfect).

Technorati Tags: Universities,United Kingdom,Freedom of Speech

India: 10 Million Innocent Girls Killed in 20 Years - The Myth of Gandhi India is non violent country

I wrote this note in response to this tragic story on a mailing list:

Actually, these estimates are actually still not counting the lot. I researched this topic in 2004 and I found a figure of 35 million girls missing in India. Absolutely disgusting.

Here's the full essay in case anybody is bored enough to read it.

As long patriarchal societies and cultures abound, the value of women will never be high. But the behaviour is also driven by economics. When women earn less or none compared to men, their value to their families will always be lesser than sons. And everything being equal, given the limited number of children a woman can bear, it is but logical that they try to maximise their earnings potential.

Why do you ask? Because in our countries, children are our pension funds, and because of culture and economics, a girl child will never be at the same level as that of a boy.

What am I saying? Well, what I am saying is that millions and millions of more girl children will die despite our best efforts. That does not mean that we should not do our best. You might point to education and training and prosperity as one way to reduce this female foeticide, yes? No, surprisingly, more educated and prosperous the man and woman, the higher is the probability that they would kill their daughter (either via abortion or via post birth murder). Some of the most prosperous districts of the country are showing the lowest ratio's.

For those who want to point at religious factors, here's the results from the last census, Christians had a ratio of 1009 while Sikhs had the lowest 895 with Hindu's at 935 and Muslims at 940. In terms of location: worst affected states are: Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat (the very state of Gandhi), where the ratio less than 800 girls for every 1,000 boys.

Very complicated situation and the solutions are complex as well, and all this while, girls are being killed, day in day out...

Technorati Tags: Women,India

Martyrdom Video of a Brit

Here's the video and here' the text. I was eating dinner when I saw this on BBC news. And I was watching this man threatening me and my family with death. Nice going, mate. Perhaps avoidance of martyrdom videos (both making and broadcasting) would help in reduction of Islamophobia, just a thought...

Technorati Tags: Terrorism,United Kingdom,Islamists

Asp in our own bosom

Here's something that is so bizarre that I cannot still understand it. So I am paying my tax money to support this man and his family who wants to destroy and kill me and my family? What about my right to security and my family's human rights are basically not counted then?

Technorati Tags: terrorism,al-Queda,jordan,united kingdom,human rights,legal system

Why most of the world is worried about Democrats?

This is an interesting column on why most of the world (at least the Asian bit) is worried about the fact that Democrats might come into power.

Aircraft Carrier in the Sea of Japan

A most amazing video of an aircraft carrier in the Sea of Japan. Can you imagine parking a 60 million dollar plane out in the weather like that? But there you go, the power of the sea versus power of the ship

All this to be taken with a grain of piquant salt!!!