Without Borders

Heard of Medicine Sans Frontier? They are the Doctors without Borders. Similarly they have the Reporters Without Borders. Apart from these well known ones, there are other similar "without borders" groups that are working for one cause or another. 

The A-Z Guide of World's "Without Borders" Groups discusses the many other groups that individuals have formed for one cause or another.

Some of the few interesting ones were:

Bees Without Borders

Geeks Without Borders

Braille Without Borders

Mothers Without Borders - this came about as they were trying to reduce the number of children who were being orphaned.

Bands Without Borders

Clowns Without Borders

And many more at The A-Z Guide of World's "Without Borders" Groups. 

Check 'Em Out. Chances are you might end up signing up for any one of them. :-)

There are no such thing as limits to growth, because there are no limits to the human capacity for intelligence, imagination, and wonder. - Ronald Reagan

"Double-Edged Sword," He says.

A friend's brother who has been a doctor for seven years now, and is only one step away from becoming a full fledged surgeon, has decided to give up medicine entirely. .

"He is being idealistic", the mother claims.

"No point in practicing in something I hold no belief in." He responds.

The former doctor has now ventured into the public speaking arena to tell people to revamp their lives before its too late. He feels that, by the time they make that doctor's visit their health is beyond hope and they spend large amounts for better healthcare. Truth is, the body has already been deteoriated and doctors are only providing an environment to improve your existing damaged life. Cure is not always the case And he encourages a healthier lifestyle before going all out with the cash to the best hospitals.

"I have seen so much suffering  and pain, I find no hope in medicine when the body is capable of healing itself. Why torture the body in the first place? Take great care of the temple and work at improving individual lifestyles."

I have been studying medicine for two years. The rate at which the healthcare industry is changing is rapid. Medications and its side effects transform at an equally terrifying rate. Considering how different medications respond towards different immune systems, sometimes even the healers themselves lack answers to never ending questions.

My Father, a Homeopathy Physician who ironically is sponsoring my education in western medicine has no faith in what I am being taught. He finds the entire industry hypocritical and perhaps indifferent towards human life. Research annoys him when they are unable to find a cure. For one thing, I am not too sure if he understands the concept of research. Oh well, that's for another day. 

But of course, you can't stop the ones who believe in these high cost welfare. All patients want is to get better and back on their feet. If high cost means improvement, even if it is temporary; there are loads to plunge into it. There is no one to blame.

Back to the story, the ex-doc is now making arrangements to meet people and tell them to invest their hard earned cash with improving their health without any external contamination of medications or whatsoever. Rather, 

"Do it the traditional way by having more greens in the diet, exercise and positive energy."

Positive energy brings about a whole lot of changes into the environment that he believes changes things that scalpel fails to bring about. Which I gotta agree. :-)

A Leap Of Faith

Great Circular Indian Railway Challenge was an idea Mark Lester from UK came up with to raise money for the Railway Children. 

Two weeks. On the Indian Trains. From Mumbai - Dwarka - Amritsar - Udhampur - Dhemaji - Ledo/Tipong - Delhi - Darjeeling - Kolkata - Chennai - Kanyakumari - Rameshwaram - Mumbai.

Among the massive amounts of people and the unpredictable trains, 30 odd people from around the world are gonna get together on this epic train journey, all for the above cause. The event begins on Feb 18th 2011 and ends Mar 5th 2011. 

So, being one of the many 30 who are gonna attempt this helluva ride, I request you guys to check out the site and perhaps drop a donation? ;-) No worries it's just a suggestion or you can also join the facebook group that advocates the cause and the trip.

Thank you in advance.

Hidden Worlds

I am a documentary addict. I will watch any documentary provided it keeps me glued to the screen. There I was flicking through the channels while waiting for the water to boil. My parents use traditional kettles to heat water so yea, there is a certain while to spare before the water's temperature reaches boiling point. 

Anyway, that's not the point.

This documentary was about Transvestites from two different regions in Asia. 

Both the regions were covered alternately. But I'm not gonna go back and forth of course. The first region was from this particular place called Koovagam from Tamil Nadu, South India. This area was famous for its large population of Transvestites or Hijras/Aravanis. They are often referred to as the Third Gender. I am assuming this reference is within the Indian population. Correct me if I'm mistaken. These people pray to a particular Hindu deity called Aravan which probably was the origin for the term Aravani. Why you may wonder, that they pray to this particular God and not to the well known Shiva or Elephant God. 

Apparently the reason goes back all the way to the Ancient Indian Scripture, Mahabharat. Aravan deity was looking for a bride and many refused to marry him. Seeing his plight, the Lord Krishna, took the form of a female and married Aravan. Funny how they choose to pray to Aravan and not Krishna. Hmm..The Anthropologists who were interviewed didn't clarify this choice either. 

So, one of the many rituals that these Hijras look forward to is the day when they will be married to Aravan. On this particular day, the "females" dress themselves up, purchase the sacred Mangalsutra and head to the temple of Aravan. There the priest ties the holy thread around the Hijras, to signify the sanctimony with their God. And only the Priest of that particular temple has the right to tie the knot. These brides remain brides only for a day. The next day the thread is cut, their bangles are removed and they are widowed. "This is the only way and Aravan  is the only person we can be married to", says one of the Hijras who was recently "widowed".

The other community were the Bugis people  from Sulawesi Islands, Indonesia. Many or at least the majority of the human race on Earth and the mentality we have been nurtured with is that 'there are two genders in this world'. What the Bugis men believe is that, there are not 2 but 5 genders in this society. The first two are the traditional male and female roles. The other three refers to males who are brought up as females, females brought up as males and finally a speciel group of male priests who are capable of being male and female concurrently. Strange would be an understatement. It is both interesting and baffling to learn about these communities.

Initially I thought these priests were being similar to bi-sexuals. But not exactly. The priests grow beards like males, they dress themselves up as females. They use cosmetics similar to that of females. A particular ritual meant requires them to prove that there is a spirit present in their body; a good spirit I'm assuming. To prove the presence, they use a traditional Indonesian knife or Kris and stab themselves in the palm, cos the hands are used to touch things. The throat, cos food enters via the throat and finally the stomach cos thats where the journey of the food ends. Their knowledge on digestion is not thorough but thats besides the point. 

These priests are the ones who also hold rituals for the two other genders apart from the conventional males and females.

I learn something new everyday and people amaze me every other day as well. I am impressed with the world I inhabit. 

A Random Ayu-bowan!

Cleared my room of the few stuff that still remains to remind me I grew up within that four purple walls. One of it was this huge world map that kept me company on days when I repeatedly told myself why the periodic table was my Bible.  The map by the way is gonna cross seas and accompany me back to Shanghai. :-)

I was doing all of these; cleaning and packing away without my mom telling me too. Which explains how so very bored I was. It was raining every other day, and I felt ill for a couple of days as well. On a whim I decided to leave the cuckoo's nest for a short while before I leave for my semester again. No, I didn't make that decision cos both my mental and physical status were on a record low. Randomness makes up my life.

Oh well, bottom line is: I have now recovered and am gonna head to the nation that has only recently, come to embrace peace. The location however only involved partial randomness. Budget control is a must for unemployed undergraduates. So, the place was a random pick from the list of where-usha-will-be-able-to-afford-ten-days-without-sleeping-on-the-roads.

googled the image guys :P

If any one of you reading this have visited this part of the world, let me know what I should be looking forward to. If there ain't none, wait a while and I will come enlighten you. ;-)

I-God

Note: The following was with reference to the States, I ain't no idea how the rest of the world is responding to the same news. :-) And its just for humor, though its content is true with reference to The New York Times.

Image courtesy of thundersquee.com

The recent Iphone apps that are becoming the talk of town are the one targetted at God and his (dis)likes. Both religious representative, atheists have begun producing Iphone apps for the benefit of their believers. These apps serve the purpose of  wanting to have a conversation with another with opposing beliefs and getting them to see reason.

"Say someone calls you narrow-minded because you think Jesus is the only way to God," says one top-selling application introduced in March by a Christian publishing company. "Your first answer should be: 'What do you mean by narrow-minded?' " -The New York Times

By not being 'broad-minded'? What kinda question is that?

BibleThumper, an app for the skeptics to share some humor around their religious counterparts. It allows the users to be ready to 'attack' with phrases from the Bible.

Some christian foundations are becoming increasingly worried at the rising numbers of atheist and Christians who are evolving into skeptics. Hence, they are doing their part to outnumber the Iphone apps that might influence minds by coming up with their respective apps for the religious ones. Then again, there are many such apps in existence already.

Image courtesy of iphonesaviour.com

For the non-believers who happen to own an Iphone and lack apps that are similar to their mindset, have Jason Hagen to thank for. Apparently, he bought an Iphone and was disappointed by the overwhelming number of religious apps and nothing for individuals like him. Voila! He soon wrote the now famous app, The Atheist Pocket Debator. 

Iphone app created by religious personels like the Fast Facts; provides immediate access to Bible information and everything else related to it. It encourages the user to question non believers and their apparoach towards religion. For instance,

"When someone says, "There is no truth,' " the Fast Facts app advises, "ask them: 'Is that true? Is it true there is no truth?' Because if it's true that there is no truth, then it's false that 'there is no truth.' " - The New York Times

When I first read that, man, I was laughing out loud. It sounded hilarious and yeah perhaps a little confusing at the same time. I was even planning on putting it up as a facebook status, such are the days of social networking. 

One interesting and funny one was by The Atheist Pocket Debater,

If Jacob saw the face of God (in Genesis 32:30), and God said, "No man shall see me and live" (in Exodus 33:20), then "which one is the liar?" he asks. - The New York Times

That was freakin' hilarious! If I were to use this on Jan, she will skin me alive and hang me out to dry. =.= 

World Cup Depression Continues

BRAZIL LOST!

I AM VERY SAD!

THEY LOST TO NETHERLANDS OF ALL TEAMS!

I WANNA CRY!

HOW CAN BRAZIL LOSE?! (refrain from bringing up the previous occassions when they lost!)

Saying I am depressed would be an understatement. I am hopelessly shocked at this turn in events.

I NEVER anticipated this!

Kaka was there!

Fabiano was there!

Lucio was there!

Julio Cesaer was there!

Robinoh was there!

What went wrong?! Elano's absence?! The blue jersey?!

England broke my heart. Now Brazil just shattered the broken heart. If Germany doesn't kick Argentina's ass and come out alive to  face Spain, I might as well not watch the finals anymore.

:( :( :( :( :(

Powerful Power

Back in 2008 when I was reading the Communist Manifesto for a particular Socio-Political elective, I concluded the writings to be rants of a dysfunc communist who went by the name, Karl Marx. The ideas he proposed were a tad twisted as his beard appeared to be. His mind was a one way track that possibly was due to his deprived upbringing. Which, I am assuming, was the basis for his theories.

Then again, I also have to agree, bits of what he conveyed did make sense. Quoting Marx,

"Men is a perpetually dissatisfied animal".

He felt or perhaps knew that men was always after something. If his primary needs were fulfilled, he develops new needs and maybe just wants. And once again according to Marx,

"These new needs are the first historical act".

That was how history was created. If man hadn't had the curiousity to to ask questions and seek something better in replacement of his existing life, science would probably not have ventured far. Or at least that is what I think. When these needs manifests itself onto man to a point, whereby being the best takes over being better, greed takes over.  

And for the most famous Marx Theory which was in favour of communism was probably a result of how he felt about Religion in particular. 

"Religion is the opium for the masses."

Religious beliefs functioned to blind people so they could not recognise their exploitation and their real political interests. Religion emphasises salvation, compensation for misery and alienation on earth. Which justifies social inequality. As of recent, news on destruction is often followed with a "salvation according to his/her beliefs". This statement of his, may not be the best way to describe religion or its devotees. Then again, on some levels, people are lead by blind faith. Who's to say for that?

Oil leak in America and Obama's response to the entire incident is almost always making headlines these days. How citizens are upset at the governing party to be taking matter slowly and perhaps lightly instead of the attention it requires. His popularity status compared to the time when he was campaigning, has certainly headed for a plunge.

Politicians and Citizens. These parties will never be satisfied. Both these sides will never cross each other. As a citizen you will always be disatisfied with the way things are run. You will have hoards of opinions on how things should run. However, once inside the Oval office, you will be just as 'good' as the one before you. Even if the leader does understands your situation, what he attempts to do to better your life will eventually fall short of your expectations.

"Without government, human beings would compete for territory, resources and power. Fighting would be common, survival would depend on strength and cunning". 

- Hobbes, Thomas

In other words, we will no longer be the civilised beings we are now. It will all be a matter of kill and grab. Self before others. Or perhaps we already are evolving into that mentality...

World Cup Depression

World Cup and the depression it has brought upon just within a time span of 24 hours is immense. I am VERY sad. THIS IS A RANT! If you are looking for something meaningful to read, this aint it so you might wanna stop reading right here.

I sacrificed my study time to watch the matches, telling myself it was a once in four year thing and there are always supplements to fall back on when it comes to my finals. My sacrifices were in vain.

Earlier in the day Germany disappointed me so much! Germany vs Serbia was the most stressful match I had to witness this season. Though I am a little happy that Argentina thrashed South Korea badly, it still can't replace the void created by Germany's loss. What happened to the Germans?! I have to agree the Serbians were good with their defense. Shouldn't I be saying the same thing about Germany too? I hate the refree who headed the match! If refrees could be awarded a red card, he needs to be given one immediately! And Podolski? No comments on that man.

And so with great hopes of having my low spirits lifted by the Englishmen, I sat to watch the England vs Algeria match. It just brought upon me another big round of tsunami sized SIGHS! The refree was useless. Almost inexistent. The enthusiasm among the English players were low. Or at least thats what it seemed like to me. Their attempts to score often lead to the loss of the ball to the Algerians. They tried and I acknowledge that. But they didn't try enough!!! And the Algerians, besides their riduculous shorts seem to be combating the English pretty well.

Sigh-zers! 

Abstract Expressionism

Mona Lisa Smile. One of my favourite movies. I watched it again for what..the millionth time again last night. Every time I watch it, it makes me feel good. Julia Roberts, her beliefs in the movie. Her character that breaks the norms, its just awesome. Actually, awesome is an understatement. I love her. I love the movie. They're both amazing. Maggie Gylanhaal, one of the best character portrayals I have seen her in thus far. 

Jackson Pollack whilst creating his Composition 31 

                           (http://www.beyeler.com)

The movie was set in the early 50s. How credible the movie was in conveying the real Wellesley girls is beyond me. However, I do believe the general mentality of women of that era, to some extent, was accurately portrayed. Why travel back in time to the 50s? I am surrounded by girls who still withhold the mentality. And I have failed to understand why. 

            Composition 31, Jackson Pollack

      (http://www.flickr.com/photos/wallyg/564478895/)

What Pollock did for the widely accepted masterpiece of his, was simply to lay a canvas on the ground and start pouring oil paint over it. He repeated the action for a long time. Using other materials including traditional paint brushes, some other improvised 'brushes' and the existing Gravity, to create the image. His art forms were classified under Abstract Expressionism. How aptly named!

Not all Who Wander are Aimless

Especially not Those who seek Truth
Beyond Tradition, Beyond Image
Beyond Definition.

- Mona Lisa Smile -

Aye Captain! My Captain!

Captain James Cook. Well, who doesn't know him right. He discovered Australia, almost figured out the cure for scurvy. Yeah, he actually was one of the first of many sailors to have not lost a single crew during the entire voyage. 

Now what was interesting about him was that, unlike many famous explorers, he was not a Captain before he sailed for his journey. He was a Lieutenant. One among the 900 Lieutenants of Britain. He wanted to prove himself and hence was given one of the difficult tasks of that time. He was to travel south to discover land, that may or may not existed otherwise. Another thing that set him apart from his predecessors was his interest in Astronomy. He was so keen with the Planets, the distance between them and so on. He would draw charts to keep himself updated about the universe beyond the seas. He was the only sailor (or perhaps the only man) to have calculated the distance between the earth and sun with much accuracy.

He also took in this Botanist on his voyage. This botany would then go on to draw the many species of flowers and plants that were previously left undiscovered. This was one of the reasons, how they came to realise that vitamin C in citrus fruits prevents scurvy. Although, the Sauerkraut that Captain Cook insisted to be in the meals proved worthy as well. But he was not aware that sauerkraut contained the antidote for scurvy as well.

He was hailed as a Father figure by his crew members for his unconventional ways of getting things done. For instance, when the crew refused to eat Sauerkraut. He removed it from their list and placed it as a compulsory item on the main crew list. Now that made the crew of the lesser positions wonder, and soon enough the entire ship's crew were into Sauerkraut. It saved their lives when some came down with scurvy. He was humane even when his quest required him to take over territories. Before he got off the ship on Australia, he instructed him crew members to interact with the natives as they would with one another. Tell them that they were there to visit, to look around, and not suppress them in any way. No mis-understanding was caused between the Captain Cook's crew and the natives. Unlike, Ferdinand Magellan who got himself slaughtered for wanting the Lapu Lapu (Phillippines) natives to succumb to Christianity and belong to Spain. It was all war, sadly. 

Now the funny bit about their entire voyage was, the entire crew of the Endeavour were incapable of swimming. Surprising init? I always thought, if you were a sailor, you better be good at swimming. Sadly, Captain Cook was handed with a bunch of people who had no idea how to save themselves if Endeavor crashes. Which by the way, almost ocurred. 

As the Endeavor approached The Great Barrier Reef, the large wooden ship hit the rocks that surfaced. It created a hole in the ship causing water to flow through. The tides were low, and there was no way they could get back at sailing unless, the ship decides to unhook itself from the rocks.

The ship has to be saved. Lest, my crew will drown.

Those were the Captain's thoughts. According to his Great-Great-Great-Nephew, he managed to throw out some of the heavier items off the ship to lighten the weight. He then, used straws, cloth and dung to secure the hole for the time being. And they waited. 

When the high tide arrived, the ship was back on its way to England. Lieutenant James Cook became Captain James Cook, who discovered Australia. 

He was truly a Hero. 

An Irredeemble Mistake

One of the hospitals, here in China, resorted to purchasing blood from illegal dealers. The blood was then transfused into 14 patients.

The 14 individuals are now 14 HIV positive individuals.

And I thought we were working towards saving lives.

Life is short, and Art Long
The Crisis Fleeting; Experience Perilous
And Decision Difficult.

The Physician must not only be prepared
to do what is Right Himself

But also to make the patients
the attendants, and externals
Cooperate.

- Hippocrates -

World Aids Day 2009

Today is World Aids Day. The Day is initiated to raise awareness about the epidemic which is still far from being totally eradicated. I was online the whole day reading about the many articles and the many changes the UNAIDS and many other organisations have undertaken to ensure respective countries and the involved governments take the required measures to bring about changes. And one of my favourite blogger Emm in her blog, A Passion to Understand, wrote an article regarding today's Aids Commemoration day. Please do read. One will learn a lot, least I did. :) :)

This year's theme is Universal Access and Human Rights. Universal Access is to ensure that treatment and preventive measures are universally available. Human Rights was chosen in compliance with the many laws that certain nations withhold in limiting human rights or female rights in particular. And also the many limitations that are posed upon a HIV positive individual hence reducing their opportunity to excel.

Let's do our part, even if its a bare minimum to change the way the society views AIDs and to eliminate the stigma that goes with it.

Go Red for AIDS Today.

Another SuperTramp

The last time I talked about a particular Alexander SuperTramp who at the age of 22 donated the money in his education fund and took to exploring the world. That was some where in mid 90s. Now in this present era, there is one.

This fella goes by the name Lukas Baumann. he drove 36,000 km from Zurich Switzerland to Melbourne, Australia to cross the finish line for the Melbourne Cup. He was on the roads for 7 months with his 2nd hand Volvo for company. Before embarking on this journey, our dear friend quit his job as a businessman, sold his apartment and left Zurich sometime early this year.

Having come so far, I want them to let me drive over the finish line to make the trip complete.

The finishing line he was referring to was the finishing line for the Melbourne Cup. And so I went to check out what this Melbourne Cup was about. It turns out to be a Horse Racing event, where the competing horses race on a 3200 m track. What I don't understand is how he plans to drive to a finish line meant for horses. Whatever the reason was, he took to the challenge of traveling from one continent to another and that calls for an ovation.

At this point I am contemplating biking around Singapore. It's a good place to start with considering it's small size. OK, tiny.

Road to Hell

Before:

Three year old. Sitting in the back seat of a car. Metal Pipe.

Assumed:

Three year old. Gun.

Aftermath:
Dead Three year old. Mistaken Policeman.

The toddler was seated at the back seat of a car. The policeman went up to the car and fired through the window. The next thing he knew, he had mistaken a pipe for a gun. Though, CNN reports read no pipe or weapon was found at the crime scene. Another officer jumped out of the police van, grabbed the victim's uncle nearby pushed him to the ground and called him a suspect of a crime that had yet to be mentioned throughout the ordeal. The dead boy was later removed from the seat placed on the ground beside the ground waiting for a morgue van to arrive. The body laid there for 6 hours and the mother was not allowed to go near while the @%#^&^ police officer was sucking on a lollipop. The police must have been so frightened by the presence of the toddler and his life threatening device!

This is certainly not the change people, both Africans and the rest of the world, are looking forward to. Apparently this is not the first since the policy was implemented. A man and his mother were shot and this gets worse, the police were actually called in to settle a domestic fight!! A domestic fight! They killed the man and the mother was wounded. Police do not mean safety anymore. On another occasion a 30 year old female died in a van that was shot at 13 times cos the officials assumed it was hijacked! Many of these random killings were based on ASSUMPTIONS! And their instincts just suck! Africa is infamous for its crime rates and with such a law in place, it certainly does not make an outsider feel any safer in that country.

South Africa's Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation this to say: 

These incidents are not random events but reflect an overall breakdown of control over the use of lethal force within the SAPS [South Africa Police Service]. It is reasonable to believe that this breakdown of control is due to a climate of confusion which has been created by statements which have been made over the last year, and particularly in the last couple of months, by senior politicians and police leaders.

South Africa's government has implemented a Shoot to Kill Policy whereby the Police is allowed to kill suspected criminals without further interrogation. The top officer who suggested it and later got it approved by the government claims it is to ensure a safe South Africa for the 2010 Word Cup.

What the statistics have proven is the other way round. Compared to 51 people dying daily in South Africa its now 81!!  Instead of the existing criminals, it this random killing that is gonna keep tourism away from the nation. And the shootings are legal! Sighs!

While reading about Africa, I realised that perhaps Africa and Russia belong to the same damned boat after all. Similar to Africa's Shoot to Kill policy, Russia's secret security services in the name of "investigation" to root out rebels lay their hands on innocent victims. Many Russian families (especially from the area Ingushtia) have lost their young sons to such brutal behavior by the "secret" police. They barge into houses in the wee hours, they refuse to produce identification and instead demand you to produce a passport, drag the supposed suspect away together with his passport, he goes through a hell of a time and is later left to die.

Each week, according to Mutsolgov, young men are taken by the security services: 

They can be taken on suspicion of being a rebel, knowing a rebel or just having been seen with a suspected rebel." He adds that men are also taken in for appearing too overtly Muslim.

Mutsolgov works for a human rights Organisation called Mashr. According to Mashr's statistics: Since 2002, ever since the Russian forces took over the Southern Russian Area of Ingushetia, 1000 Russians have died and 175 have been missing.

Since, the killings are by authorised secret services called FSB, relations of victims are unable to make appeals or request for further investigation into the matter. In the attempt at trying to eradicate the nation of extremists, the Russian secret services have indirectly paved the way for grieving relations to join existing rebellions just to take revenge on the FSB.

Both these nations are need to revamp their policies. It is just not the right way to eliminate crime rates. I honestly do not see a difference between genocide and the current policies these countries have recently undertaken. Humans have gone berserk and Human Rights is down the drain.

John Howard Griffin

This was one guy, who during the 1950s went around convincing people he was not a white man, but rather a black. He took Oxsoralen, a drug to fight vitiligo. Plus some standing under a UV lamp and this fella got himself a brand new brown skin. Why did he go through all of this? Just to find out if the color of one's skin really mattered in the  society. Period. He even took up menial jobs that were usually left to the blacks then, to prove that he was not white. This went on for 6 weeks. He travelled with this changed identity of his throughout several American states. Soon enough, many were convinced. He went through the discrimination that the blacks went through, first hand. This six week bizarre exploration is better revealed in his book titled - Black Like Me.

I just found out about him on BBC. It has been 50 years since he has passed on it seems. A white guy went through a drastic change just to prove to people who discriminate other races how shallow, and how much a skin spoke for itself then a person's character did back then. Also, promoting his book and the things he learnt as a 'black man' caused him to be seriously injured by people against his ideals.

It is encouraging to see that things have changed over the past 50 years. :)

Casting off Caste

US Human Rights Watch have urged India to recognize caste segregation as a form of discrimination. Given the fact that the basis of the whole nation indirectly rests upon the ancient caste system, will India acknowledge it? The official documents carry the column for caste status. If India does agree it is a form of discrimination, it will have to make major amends and eradicate the system. Will that be possible? If not for the urban areas, the rural areas are still heavily dependent on the caste system. According to this documentary, a middle aged villager; father of a 4 year old was saying that his daughter will be married off to someone of a similar caste when she is 12 or 13. The world's largest democratic nation has some thinking to do...

Homosexuality leading to death

Iraq's gays are tortured and killed! They are made to seek forgiveness before the perpetrators brutally murder them. A computer science graduate uses the Internet to locate these homosexuals via chat rooms that might be linked to gay sites. The victims are then kidnapped and killed. Some of them have been really good sons, daughters and siblings who were killed simply because they were not straight. A total of 680 have died so far. And these murderers feel they are doing a favour to the society and their religion cos the victims have supposedly sinned. Homosexuality might be considered a sin according to the religion but I am pretty sure murder is definitely a greater sin!

Reincarnation

A writer who goes by the name Semkiw has been doing research on reincarnation and his findings have recently suggested the US born environmentalist Van Jones is a reincarnation of Mahatma Ghandhi, the freedom fighter. How valid this claim is I have no idea. Before this claim, he apparently has proved with regard to similar personality traits, facial features,  and other research evidence that famous personalities like Anne Frank has been reincarnated to be some some present day Swedish and the current US President to be a reincarnation of Lyman Trumbull. Damn! I was guessing along the lines of Martin Luther King.

International Literacy Day

We have knowledge within our reach. We have been taught to read and analysie to improve our lives and the lives of many others. According to statistics, there are about four billion literate people in the world. That should be more than enough to spread the benefits of education. But, inadequate resources, flawed managements often slow down the process of reaching out to people. Then again, there are many instances where well educated people are setting their time aside to help the ones who might have missed out on gaining valuable insights. Once such incident is this: Quenching a Thirst for Learning