Wednesday, October 31, 2001
I have read hundreds of reports on the war on terror. But this article in The Guardian, about the US running a terrorist training camp in its own backyard in Georgia, changes my whole perception of the war.
The article tells me that this school of terror has produced alumni who are responsible for more killings than what America witnessed on September 11.
So what can we do about this? I will quote from the article: "Well, we could urge our governments to apply full diplomatic pressure, and to seek the extradition of the school's commanders for trial on charges of complicity in crimes against humanity. Alternatively, we could demand that our governments attack the United States, bombing its military installations, cities and airports in the hope of overthrowing its unelected government and replacing it with a new administration overseen by the UN. In case this proposal proves unpopular with the American people, we could win their hearts and minds by dropping naan bread and dried curry in plastic bags stamped with the Afghan flag."
The article tells me that this school of terror has produced alumni who are responsible for more killings than what America witnessed on September 11.
So what can we do about this? I will quote from the article: "Well, we could urge our governments to apply full diplomatic pressure, and to seek the extradition of the school's commanders for trial on charges of complicity in crimes against humanity. Alternatively, we could demand that our governments attack the United States, bombing its military installations, cities and airports in the hope of overthrowing its unelected government and replacing it with a new administration overseen by the UN. In case this proposal proves unpopular with the American people, we could win their hearts and minds by dropping naan bread and dried curry in plastic bags stamped with the Afghan flag."
Monday, October 29, 2001
The war is increasingly looking like a bully fight gone horribly wrong -- for the bully, that is.
In the red corner is a rich, overgrown, domineering bully. In the blue corner is a sneaky, spunky little bundle of terror. Gathered around the ring are a bunch of spectators, all of them reluctantly cheering the red corner. Before the slugfest, the bully had warned, you are either with me -- or with him, in which case I will break your teeth.
So the bout begins. The bully rains a series of blows on Mr Terror; he ducks, weaves, takes a few, stumbles, falls. But is back on his feet just before the count is out. The bully's blows are beginning to get predictable. For every blow he lands, there are many he misses, some of them landing on the hapless spectators.
The spectators are beginning to get restive, they had expected a quick kill. It was turning out to be a hard-fought battle. The bully is tiring, the applause is turning towards the underdog. Realisation is slowly dawning on the bully that he may have bitten off more than he can chew. And that the little Mr Terror may well live to fight another day. And that fight may not necessarily be on the bully's terms.
I usually tend to root for the underdog. But this is one fight I hope the bully wins. Because, I fear, Mr Terror, the underdog in this case, has all the makings of a big bully.
In the red corner is a rich, overgrown, domineering bully. In the blue corner is a sneaky, spunky little bundle of terror. Gathered around the ring are a bunch of spectators, all of them reluctantly cheering the red corner. Before the slugfest, the bully had warned, you are either with me -- or with him, in which case I will break your teeth.
So the bout begins. The bully rains a series of blows on Mr Terror; he ducks, weaves, takes a few, stumbles, falls. But is back on his feet just before the count is out. The bully's blows are beginning to get predictable. For every blow he lands, there are many he misses, some of them landing on the hapless spectators.
The spectators are beginning to get restive, they had expected a quick kill. It was turning out to be a hard-fought battle. The bully is tiring, the applause is turning towards the underdog. Realisation is slowly dawning on the bully that he may have bitten off more than he can chew. And that the little Mr Terror may well live to fight another day. And that fight may not necessarily be on the bully's terms.
I usually tend to root for the underdog. But this is one fight I hope the bully wins. Because, I fear, Mr Terror, the underdog in this case, has all the makings of a big bully.
Saturday, October 27, 2001
To many, the whale is a mythical creature worthy of protection. But to the whalers of Norway's Lofoten Islands they're merely a resource by which their community can survive. So which life is more important - man or beast
To assume you are a target for a terrorist is a sign of an inflated ego, writes Mark Lawson in The Guardian on the English players worry over touring India.
Friday, October 26, 2001
Are Osama bin Laden and Taleban leader Mullah Omar dead?
A Chinese web site and a Japanese newspaper think so. And circumstantial evidence backs the claim.
A Chinese web site and a Japanese newspaper think so. And circumstantial evidence backs the claim.
Washington is running out of options -- and ideas -- in its war on terror.
In desperation, the Pentagon has turned to lay Americans to come up with plans to combat terrorism.
Makes you wonder.
Elsewhere, while Afghanistan burns, and US citizens run scared over the Anthrax threat, George Bush is busy promoting a grand penpal plan, when he should be busy providing leadership and assurance to the Nation.
In desperation, the Pentagon has turned to lay Americans to come up with plans to combat terrorism.
Makes you wonder.
Elsewhere, while Afghanistan burns, and US citizens run scared over the Anthrax threat, George Bush is busy promoting a grand penpal plan, when he should be busy providing leadership and assurance to the Nation.
Thursday, October 25, 2001
Surgeon to grow new nose in woman's arm
A Scottish surgeon is to reconstruct the face of a woman disfigured by a flesh-eating disease by growing a new nose in her arm.
A Scottish surgeon is to reconstruct the face of a woman disfigured by a flesh-eating disease by growing a new nose in her arm.
The latest Sidhu-ism: "Statistics are like a bikini. What they reveal is suggestive. What they conceal is vital."
No wonder he continues to "bamboozle and mesmerise" millions of viewers.
No wonder he continues to "bamboozle and mesmerise" millions of viewers.
For years, Richard Penny searched for his father. He called every Richard Penny in the phonebook. He posted queries on the Internet.
Last week, news of the father finally reached the son.
After a decade of homeless shelters, his dad had made it to a steady job. But the job was for the WTC Recycling Project. And on September 11, he was collecting paper on an upper floor of the north tower.
A heart-wrenching article from the New York Times. Requires free registration.
Last week, news of the father finally reached the son.
After a decade of homeless shelters, his dad had made it to a steady job. But the job was for the WTC Recycling Project. And on September 11, he was collecting paper on an upper floor of the north tower.
A heart-wrenching article from the New York Times. Requires free registration.
Wednesday, October 24, 2001
Here's more on the strange ways of VSNL. I was finally informed about the fact that the ISP had indeed changed the login ids of all its subscribers to their email ids. But that was after I had figured that out, and had logged in using my email ID. The information was put into the log sequence just after you type in PPP. Now how VSNL expected anyone to get that far without any prior intimation beats me.
Innerspace meets cyberspace
A professor in the United States believes virtual reality could deliver calm and inner peace more effectively than the traditional yoga mat and sandalwood joss stick.
A professor in the United States believes virtual reality could deliver calm and inner peace more effectively than the traditional yoga mat and sandalwood joss stick.
There's been a lot of talk about the English cricket team players worrying whether their lives and limbs would be safe while touring India later this year. Saurav Ganguly has personally assured them. The British High Commission says there's nothing to worry. The English Cricket Board has made the right noises.
But it took two top British women snooker players, now playing a tournament in India, to put a fresh perspective on the issue: "They are men. They are wimps"
While I don't agree with the generalised conclusion of those words, as far as this issue is concerned that quote settles it for me.
But it took two top British women snooker players, now playing a tournament in India, to put a fresh perspective on the issue: "They are men. They are wimps"
While I don't agree with the generalised conclusion of those words, as far as this issue is concerned that quote settles it for me.
You cannot stop us, we have this anthrax.
Samples of what was received in the envelopes apart from Anthrax. Chilling. From the FBI site.
Samples of what was received in the envelopes apart from Anthrax. Chilling. From the FBI site.
Tuesday, October 23, 2001
Cigarette smoking, they say, is injurious to health. And a Taleban man discovered just how true that statutory warning is.
Pat Symcox, in his regular column in Outlook magazine, has launched a scathing attack on India for losing against Kenya, wondering in the process whether the match was fixed. While much of his attack on India's performance is justifiable, hinting at something sinister lurking in the changerooms, leads me to wonder as to his motives.
Is it a ploy to demoralise the Indian team ahead of the Test series, like the Aussies tried to do? Well, then it just won't work, as the Aussies learnt.
My bet is that, famed pace-bowling attack and all, India is going to give the South Africans a run for their money. And my bets are on India winning the one-day final.
Is it a ploy to demoralise the Indian team ahead of the Test series, like the Aussies tried to do? Well, then it just won't work, as the Aussies learnt.
My bet is that, famed pace-bowling attack and all, India is going to give the South Africans a run for their money. And my bets are on India winning the one-day final.
Brutality smeared in peanut butter.
Arundathi Roy is at it again.
"Nothing can excuse or justify an act of terrorism, whether it is committed by religious fundamentalists, private militia, people's resistance movements - or whether it's dressed up as a war of retribution by a recognised government. The bombing of Afghanistan is not revenge for New York and Washington. It is yet another act of terror against the people of the world."
Did you expect anything else.
Arundathi Roy is at it again.
"Nothing can excuse or justify an act of terrorism, whether it is committed by religious fundamentalists, private militia, people's resistance movements - or whether it's dressed up as a war of retribution by a recognised government. The bombing of Afghanistan is not revenge for New York and Washington. It is yet another act of terror against the people of the world."
Did you expect anything else.
Monday, October 22, 2001
A strange thing happened yesterday. I wasn't able to connect to my VSNL account all day. I wondered why. It was only later in the evening that I realised what was happening. My login ID on VSNL is myshortname@vsnl.com. My email ID is mylongname@vsnl.com. Since VSNL suddenly started rejecting my login ID, I took a chance on my email ID, and lo and behold, I was able to connect.
Strange are the ways of our ISPs.
Strange are the ways of our ISPs.
Things are hotting up in the most "dangerous place on earth". A Kashmir air force base was attacked this morning by suicide terrorists, even as Kashmir Chief Minister said a fourth Indo-Pak, after things had settled in Afghanistan, is what it would take to resolve the vexed issue.
Saturday, October 20, 2001
It was seven years ago. I was assigned to write an article for Mid-Day’s anniversary special on Bombay’s dancing bars.
I had a sense of déjà vu Saturday as I watched a grainy print of Chandni Bar on cable. The neon lights, the garish make-up, the garlands of money, the coquettish slap on a customer’s cheek with a tip just received, the lecherous men, and the dancing girls… all could have been straight out of the bar I wrote about so many years ago.
I would never have paid to watch the film in a theatre. But once I started watching it on cable, I sat right through it, all two and sundry hours of depressing celluloid. Mind you, it isn’t a bad film. In fact, it is an honest attempt at capturing a slice of life few people will ever experience. But, hey, give me Rush Hour 2, any day.
There are two outstanding sequences in the film, though. Chandni Bar is worth watching, if only for those scenes.
Mumtaz (Tabu) is a dancer in Chandni Bar. Potya, a local gangster, takes a shine on her, marries her and they have two kids. Marriage and parenthood have little effect on Potya’s ways. There are shades of Bhiku Mhatre in Potya’s character and his inexorable journey to an inevitable but tragic end: a fake police encounter.
Outstanding Scene Number 1: Bereaved and helpless, Mumtaz vows to shield her children from the sleazy underbelly of an unforgiving city. She turns to one of Potya’s bosses for help. He offers to send her to the Gulf as a concubine of a rich Sheikh. “In six-seven years you will have enough money to last you a lifetime,’’ he tells her snidely. The change of expression on the just-widowed Mumtaz’s face as the vulnerability and diffidence give way to a steely resolve is priceless. “Aap bhaigiri chod kar, badvagiri kab se karne lage (Have you given up being a don, and become a pimp)?” she asks quietly.
The don’s reaction is equally telling. He explodes with an impotent rage that comes naturally to all oppressors, be it a chauvinist, a don or a dictator. He raves and rants, fumes and frets, but he knows there’s nothing he can do to either hurt her or break her spirit. I mean you can batter a body into submission, but you can’t get another mind to respect you. Fear may force the oppressed to be obsequious, but deep down in their hearts they know their oppressor is a piece of shit. And the latter knows that too, and he knows also that all the pseudo-power he has is futile when it comes to controlling what other people think of you.
Outstanding Scene Number 2: Mumtaz’s son is falsely implicated in an extortion case. A police fixer agrees to have him released for Rs 70,000. Her savings tote up to a measly 25,000. Her friend and guide, Iqbal, tells her there’s only one alternative: approach her old customers for the money in exchange for a few hours of her time. (Tabu is, once again, outstanding in this scene). Her daughter overhears the conversation. While Mumtaz does the rounds of her former benefactors, her daughter dons the war paint under the strobes of Chandni Bar.
Just as Mumtaz returns to her doorstep, a white Maruti screeches to a halt outside. Payal, her daughter, steps out. As realisation sinks into Mumtaz of what her daughter has done, there is first an expression of shock, and then slowly her shoulders sag in a resigned acceptance of her fate. Payal, on the other hand, looks vulnerable, violated and almost guilty, as she gingerly hands over the money to her mother. They break down, sobbing, embracing… knowing that the only solace they will ever find is in each other’s arms.
The end, like the rest of the movie, is depressing. “I wanted to give my children a future. But I see nothing but my past mirrored in their lives,” says Mumtaz. The moral of the story: If you are a lady of the night, you and your generations to come are doomed to be prisoners of neon. Chandni Bar holds out no hope.
But I guess for a people fed on a non-stop diet of saccharine, a touch of bitter reality won’t bite.
I had a sense of déjà vu Saturday as I watched a grainy print of Chandni Bar on cable. The neon lights, the garish make-up, the garlands of money, the coquettish slap on a customer’s cheek with a tip just received, the lecherous men, and the dancing girls… all could have been straight out of the bar I wrote about so many years ago.
I would never have paid to watch the film in a theatre. But once I started watching it on cable, I sat right through it, all two and sundry hours of depressing celluloid. Mind you, it isn’t a bad film. In fact, it is an honest attempt at capturing a slice of life few people will ever experience. But, hey, give me Rush Hour 2, any day.
There are two outstanding sequences in the film, though. Chandni Bar is worth watching, if only for those scenes.
Mumtaz (Tabu) is a dancer in Chandni Bar. Potya, a local gangster, takes a shine on her, marries her and they have two kids. Marriage and parenthood have little effect on Potya’s ways. There are shades of Bhiku Mhatre in Potya’s character and his inexorable journey to an inevitable but tragic end: a fake police encounter.
Outstanding Scene Number 1: Bereaved and helpless, Mumtaz vows to shield her children from the sleazy underbelly of an unforgiving city. She turns to one of Potya’s bosses for help. He offers to send her to the Gulf as a concubine of a rich Sheikh. “In six-seven years you will have enough money to last you a lifetime,’’ he tells her snidely. The change of expression on the just-widowed Mumtaz’s face as the vulnerability and diffidence give way to a steely resolve is priceless. “Aap bhaigiri chod kar, badvagiri kab se karne lage (Have you given up being a don, and become a pimp)?” she asks quietly.
The don’s reaction is equally telling. He explodes with an impotent rage that comes naturally to all oppressors, be it a chauvinist, a don or a dictator. He raves and rants, fumes and frets, but he knows there’s nothing he can do to either hurt her or break her spirit. I mean you can batter a body into submission, but you can’t get another mind to respect you. Fear may force the oppressed to be obsequious, but deep down in their hearts they know their oppressor is a piece of shit. And the latter knows that too, and he knows also that all the pseudo-power he has is futile when it comes to controlling what other people think of you.
Outstanding Scene Number 2: Mumtaz’s son is falsely implicated in an extortion case. A police fixer agrees to have him released for Rs 70,000. Her savings tote up to a measly 25,000. Her friend and guide, Iqbal, tells her there’s only one alternative: approach her old customers for the money in exchange for a few hours of her time. (Tabu is, once again, outstanding in this scene). Her daughter overhears the conversation. While Mumtaz does the rounds of her former benefactors, her daughter dons the war paint under the strobes of Chandni Bar.
Just as Mumtaz returns to her doorstep, a white Maruti screeches to a halt outside. Payal, her daughter, steps out. As realisation sinks into Mumtaz of what her daughter has done, there is first an expression of shock, and then slowly her shoulders sag in a resigned acceptance of her fate. Payal, on the other hand, looks vulnerable, violated and almost guilty, as she gingerly hands over the money to her mother. They break down, sobbing, embracing… knowing that the only solace they will ever find is in each other’s arms.
The end, like the rest of the movie, is depressing. “I wanted to give my children a future. But I see nothing but my past mirrored in their lives,” says Mumtaz. The moral of the story: If you are a lady of the night, you and your generations to come are doomed to be prisoners of neon. Chandni Bar holds out no hope.
But I guess for a people fed on a non-stop diet of saccharine, a touch of bitter reality won’t bite.
American parents hold chickenpox parties to infect their children.
Healthy children are invited to play with infected ones in the hope they will catch it and get lifetime immunity.
The cure may be more dangerous than the disease.
Healthy children are invited to play with infected ones in the hope they will catch it and get lifetime immunity.
The cure may be more dangerous than the disease.
They joined the military for money, not war.
An increasing number of US military personnel who enlisted prior to Operation Enduring Freedom based on conscientious objections to the current war on terrorism and military action in Afghanistan insist that military advertising failed to present the reality of military conflict, focusing instead on money for college, job training, leadership and disciplinary aspects of the military.
An increasing number of US military personnel who enlisted prior to Operation Enduring Freedom based on conscientious objections to the current war on terrorism and military action in Afghanistan insist that military advertising failed to present the reality of military conflict, focusing instead on money for college, job training, leadership and disciplinary aspects of the military.
Islam: Empire of Faith
An excellent special feature from PBS on the various facets of religion that's so much in the news.
An excellent special feature from PBS on the various facets of religion that's so much in the news.
A really cool car.
Called "the pod", this car will smile, frown and cry, not to mention take your pulse and measure your sweat.
Wow!
Called "the pod", this car will smile, frown and cry, not to mention take your pulse and measure your sweat.
Wow!
Friday, October 19, 2001
You may strip off your clothes at a nudist camp, but your inhibitions will remain.
People at nudist resorts tend to behave similarly to the way they do in the outside world: with the usual sexual hang-ups, social distinctions and gossip about weight, breast enlargements and the size of personal endowments, said Ellen Woodall of the University of Florida in Gainesville.
People at nudist resorts tend to behave similarly to the way they do in the outside world: with the usual sexual hang-ups, social distinctions and gossip about weight, breast enlargements and the size of personal endowments, said Ellen Woodall of the University of Florida in Gainesville.
First they let him go, now they are out hunting for him.
The story of the Kerala police and a Sudanese suspected of having terrorist links
The story of the Kerala police and a Sudanese suspected of having terrorist links
He walks on artificial legs, after both his limbs were amputated due to frostbite. But that did not stop him Ed Hommer, an American Pilot and mountaineer, from trying to scale the Mount Everest. What did, though, was bad weather.
Some excerpts from the Osama Dossier by Ben Macintyre, published in The Times, UK
"There is not one Osama bin Laden on the loose in the world, but two. The first is the one he has invented for himself and his followers, the thoroughbred Holy Warrior for Islam, the battle-hardened, soft-voiced guerrilla who has become an idol to thousands, perhaps by now millions, of angry Muslims. The other is the terrorist mastermind of Western creation, the mult-millionaire, semi-lunatic trainer of suicidal killers, an icon of fear and horror. One is larger than life, the other larger than death."
"There are many gaps, passages of his life when the trail goes cold, but he has left his spore, the clues to his life, some intentional and some inadvertent, and he can be found."
"There is not one Osama bin Laden on the loose in the world, but two. The first is the one he has invented for himself and his followers, the thoroughbred Holy Warrior for Islam, the battle-hardened, soft-voiced guerrilla who has become an idol to thousands, perhaps by now millions, of angry Muslims. The other is the terrorist mastermind of Western creation, the mult-millionaire, semi-lunatic trainer of suicidal killers, an icon of fear and horror. One is larger than life, the other larger than death."
"There are many gaps, passages of his life when the trail goes cold, but he has left his spore, the clues to his life, some intentional and some inadvertent, and he can be found."
Thursday, October 18, 2001
Terminally ill woman loses right to seek husband's help in committing suicide
If you are not the kind of guy who subscribes to only one opinion: your own, then this is a great resource. Opinion-Pages features editorials, op-ed pages (for those uninitiated, op-ed is the page that appears opposite the editorial page in most newspapers), commentary, analysis, letters to the editors, etc from the world's best newspapers.
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad chief, Ashok Singhal says Lord Ram is a prisoner of war in Ayodhya
Siachen jawans lose their telephonic lifelines, as BSNL cuts off two of the five phone lines popular with them, for non-payment of Rs 7 worth of bills.
A great guide to all that there is to laugh in the current climate of terror.
Funny pictures, limmericks, cartoons, and a lot lot more.
Funny pictures, limmericks, cartoons, and a lot lot more.
Bounty hunters are on the ground in Afghanistan hoping to hit the $25 million jackpot placed on Osama bin Laden's head
Brit woman pops into hospital, has a heart surgery and is back home in 30 minutes
Grunts and sighs may be able to control computers better than voice.
Bohemia, a new piece of fiction by Nobel laureate V S Naipaul
Wednesday, October 17, 2001
Death Row convicts are China's biggest source of transplants.
And many fear the convicts may not even be dead before the organs are removed.
And many fear the convicts may not even be dead before the organs are removed.
After Oliver Stone, another film director, Robert Altman, says Hollywood 'inspired US attacks'
IBM Patents Web Page Templates
IBM has been awarded a patent for software that automatically "generates [a] customized Web site without the Web site creator writing any HTML or other programming code".
IBM has been awarded a patent for software that automatically "generates [a] customized Web site without the Web site creator writing any HTML or other programming code".
Tuesday, October 16, 2001
Oliver Stone says mediocre Hollywood offerings may have been driving factor for Osama bin Laden and his minions.
Secret Loves and Worries
Survivors of those who died in the attacks are stumbling across sometimes shocking information in bills, receipts and diaries.
Survivors of those who died in the attacks are stumbling across sometimes shocking information in bills, receipts and diaries.
Prescient and prophetic
Three years ago, a former speechwriter to Presidents Reagan and Bush Sr, predicted terror attacks on America, while making a telling commentary on the way we lead our lives.
Simply amazing stuff!
Three years ago, a former speechwriter to Presidents Reagan and Bush Sr, predicted terror attacks on America, while making a telling commentary on the way we lead our lives.
Simply amazing stuff!
Suppose you were unlucky enough to name your company Ground Zero, what would you do?
Change the name, experts say. As one of them puts it, "No company in its right mind would call itself Pearl Harbor or the Holocaust."
Change the name, experts say. As one of them puts it, "No company in its right mind would call itself Pearl Harbor or the Holocaust."
Bob Dylan Denied Entry to his Own Concert
The singer wanted tighter security for his shows. But he got more than he bargained for.
The singer wanted tighter security for his shows. But he got more than he bargained for.
Colonise space, or risk extinction!
The human race is likely to be wiped out by a doomsday virus before the Millennium is out,
unless we set up colonies in space, warns Stephen Hawking.
The human race is likely to be wiped out by a doomsday virus before the Millennium is out,
unless we set up colonies in space, warns Stephen Hawking.
Monday, October 15, 2001
CBS, an American television network, is planning a comedy series based on the terrorist attacks on WTC.
Some Food for Thought:
Is War Violence or Non-Violence?
Violence and non-violence do not depend on the act but on the intention behind it. The basis of violence is anger, lust, hatred, jealousy, greed, frustration or aggression.
A surgeon cuts open a person's belly; so does a criminal. The action is similar. But the surgeon's intention is to save and the criminal's is to destroy.
Violence or non-violence is determined by the attitude and not the act.
Even a war can be non-violent if it is devoid of anger, hatred, jealousy or greed and it is for educating someone who cannot be educated in any other way.
Even charity can be an act of violence if it takes away self-esteem and inflicts slavery, and a war can be an act of compassion if it helps to put things in the right perspective.
Strange but True!
- Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, founder of the Art of Living Foundation
Is War Violence or Non-Violence?
Violence and non-violence do not depend on the act but on the intention behind it. The basis of violence is anger, lust, hatred, jealousy, greed, frustration or aggression.
A surgeon cuts open a person's belly; so does a criminal. The action is similar. But the surgeon's intention is to save and the criminal's is to destroy.
Violence or non-violence is determined by the attitude and not the act.
Even a war can be non-violent if it is devoid of anger, hatred, jealousy or greed and it is for educating someone who cannot be educated in any other way.
Even charity can be an act of violence if it takes away self-esteem and inflicts slavery, and a war can be an act of compassion if it helps to put things in the right perspective.
Strange but True!
- Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, founder of the Art of Living Foundation
Sunday Times, London, had some amazing reportage on the war on terror.
There was this expose on how Osama Bin Laden and his band of Al Qaeda men held secret meetings to build
a "dirty bomb" that could spray nuclear material over highly populated areas.
Then there was the article about how a cyanide attack on Europe was foiled.
And finally, the master of spy fiction, John Le Carre writing about the making of a master criminal.
Elsewhere, the Miami Herald reported that terrorists were closely studying Disneyland, Walt Disney World and Sears Tower as targets of possible attacks.
There was this expose on how Osama Bin Laden and his band of Al Qaeda men held secret meetings to build
a "dirty bomb" that could spray nuclear material over highly populated areas.
Then there was the article about how a cyanide attack on Europe was foiled.
And finally, the master of spy fiction, John Le Carre writing about the making of a master criminal.
Elsewhere, the Miami Herald reported that terrorists were closely studying Disneyland, Walt Disney World and Sears Tower as targets of possible attacks.
Uttar Pradesh chief minister vows to put pro-Osama and -Taleban behind bars
Asked to bend, Indian government crawled.
Ten years before Kandahar, in the Rubaiya Sayeed kidnapping case the Indian government released five militants when asked to free just one. It could even have got away without freeing any militant.
Ten years before Kandahar, in the Rubaiya Sayeed kidnapping case the Indian government released five militants when asked to free just one. It could even have got away without freeing any militant.
Intelligence on militant activities in Kashmir is drying up with informers running scared and going underground.
Asked to bend, Indian government crawled
Ten years before Kandahar, in the Rubaiya Sayeed kidnapping case the Indian government released five militants when asked to free just one. It could even have got away without freeing any militant.
Ten years before Kandahar, in the Rubaiya Sayeed kidnapping case the Indian government released five militants when asked to free just one. It could even have got away without freeing any militant.
Are the truck bombs coming?
The FBI is investigating a Denver truck school where up to 35 Arab male students paid in cash for truck-driving lessons but did not seek help in getting jobs afterwards. Agents trying to head off possible future terrorist attacks fear truck bombs may be used in the future, either with traditional explosives or with hazardous chemical cargo.
The FBI is investigating a Denver truck school where up to 35 Arab male students paid in cash for truck-driving lessons but did not seek help in getting jobs afterwards. Agents trying to head off possible future terrorist attacks fear truck bombs may be used in the future, either with traditional explosives or with hazardous chemical cargo.
You certainly can't get Anthrax by email.
One fallout of the Anthrax attacks could well be the end of snail mail.
One fallout of the Anthrax attacks could well be the end of snail mail.
Sunday, October 14, 2001
It's the latest thing in air travel. Your plane just doesn't go where it's supposed to.
The first case: Four men buy one-way tickets, raise suspicion, FBI is called in and the flight is cancelled.
The second case: Two men say their prayers, raise suspicion, plane diverted.
The first case: Four men buy one-way tickets, raise suspicion, FBI is called in and the flight is cancelled.
The second case: Two men say their prayers, raise suspicion, plane diverted.
Cure for blindness found in spinach
Doctors now believe that an eye-drop containing a protein taken from spinach could be soon available to treat the millions of people suffering from age-related macular degeneration of the eye and retina pigmentosis.
Doctors now believe that an eye-drop containing a protein taken from spinach could be soon available to treat the millions of people suffering from age-related macular degeneration of the eye and retina pigmentosis.
The Truth has many dimensions. Here are some of them
The philosopher: The Truth is...
The consumer: The Truth is something I haven't been told yet.
The oppurtunist: The truth is nothing but a lie that hasn't been caught out.
The fatalist: Truth happens.
The X-files fan: The Truth is out there
Contributions welcome
The philosopher: The Truth is...
The consumer: The Truth is something I haven't been told yet.
The oppurtunist: The truth is nothing but a lie that hasn't been caught out.
The fatalist: Truth happens.
The X-files fan: The Truth is out there
Contributions welcome
This was written by a friend in the US.
Bombing, Anthrax, Film festival and what not.
I saw Murali Nair's second feature film, Oru Pattiyute Divasam (a
dog's day) at the 37th Chicago International film festival this week.
I went with some of my friends and co-workers, representing
almost all ethnic races of the globe; hispanic, white, second generation
asians etc -- the complete melting pot. They seemed to like the movie.
The movie was slow, the sort of visual style we see in movies of
Aravindan. It is a social satire. Even the naming of the movie
suggests he is trying to give a tap to the usual pattern of heavy
sounding words with lots of unneeded connotations. Think Mankolangal,
Sayam, Sayahnam and compare it with Pattiyute Divasam.
I liked it, especially after I had the misfortune of seeing Maya,
another Indian movie by newcomer Dig Vijay Singh. It was a Hindi
movie which left me with a lot of unanswered questions. It shows
religious rituals performed when a girl attains puberty. Everything
is plausible, only the gang rape of that small kid inside the temple
by the priests and generalising it as a common practice in Hinduism
is wrong. Good that he made a movie about Hinduism, or some freak
might have already put a fatwa on his head. With the current crop of
extreme right wing idiots in any religion you can't be sure though.
The find of the festival as far as I am concerned is the South Korean
film maker Kim Ki Duk. His Address Unknown is the most exciting
film I have seen in recent times on par with Amores Perros (Love's a
A Bitch) which lost the foreign film Oscar to Crouching Tiger. Amores
Perros had the most ferocious dog fights I have ever seen. Address Unknown
has dogs being the biggest delicacy. It is about a group of Koreans
living near an American military camp and the way their lives get
entangled with the camp.
Today I am going to watch Lagaan, it is also in the festival and I am
not sure I will be able to sit through the whole three hours of it.
I don't know whether there is a marked resentment against anyone
looking brown. The Bush interview on TV had strong language against
'discriminating against anyone who doesn't look like you'. After that,
Advani's words on India being a 'vigorous democracy' sounds hollow.
Anup Kurien
Comments, Anyone?
Bombing, Anthrax, Film festival and what not.
I saw Murali Nair's second feature film, Oru Pattiyute Divasam (a
dog's day) at the 37th Chicago International film festival this week.
I went with some of my friends and co-workers, representing
almost all ethnic races of the globe; hispanic, white, second generation
asians etc -- the complete melting pot. They seemed to like the movie.
The movie was slow, the sort of visual style we see in movies of
Aravindan. It is a social satire. Even the naming of the movie
suggests he is trying to give a tap to the usual pattern of heavy
sounding words with lots of unneeded connotations. Think Mankolangal,
Sayam, Sayahnam and compare it with Pattiyute Divasam.
I liked it, especially after I had the misfortune of seeing Maya,
another Indian movie by newcomer Dig Vijay Singh. It was a Hindi
movie which left me with a lot of unanswered questions. It shows
religious rituals performed when a girl attains puberty. Everything
is plausible, only the gang rape of that small kid inside the temple
by the priests and generalising it as a common practice in Hinduism
is wrong. Good that he made a movie about Hinduism, or some freak
might have already put a fatwa on his head. With the current crop of
extreme right wing idiots in any religion you can't be sure though.
The find of the festival as far as I am concerned is the South Korean
film maker Kim Ki Duk. His Address Unknown is the most exciting
film I have seen in recent times on par with Amores Perros (Love's a
A Bitch) which lost the foreign film Oscar to Crouching Tiger. Amores
Perros had the most ferocious dog fights I have ever seen. Address Unknown
has dogs being the biggest delicacy. It is about a group of Koreans
living near an American military camp and the way their lives get
entangled with the camp.
Today I am going to watch Lagaan, it is also in the festival and I am
not sure I will be able to sit through the whole three hours of it.
I don't know whether there is a marked resentment against anyone
looking brown. The Bush interview on TV had strong language against
'discriminating against anyone who doesn't look like you'. After that,
Advani's words on India being a 'vigorous democracy' sounds hollow.
Anup Kurien
Comments, Anyone?
Saturday, October 13, 2001
If A equals success, then the formula is: A=X+Y+Z
X is work. Y is play. Z is keep your mouth shut.
Picked it up from editorial notes
X is work. Y is play. Z is keep your mouth shut.
Picked it up from editorial notes
Saunas casue stupidity
"IQ is affected by dehydration, which is why sweating in the sauna can play havoc with your intelligence," says a German scientist-psychologist.
Well, I know many who would qualify for being stupid without ever having set foot into a sauna room
"IQ is affected by dehydration, which is why sweating in the sauna can play havoc with your intelligence," says a German scientist-psychologist.
Well, I know many who would qualify for being stupid without ever having set foot into a sauna room
I like the way this article begins.
"In a land where the sun never sets, the day begins with the sound of zippers being undone."
Get a sneak peek at life on Mars, thanks to a bunch of scientists on Devon Islands, a place on earth that's most like the red planet.
"In a land where the sun never sets, the day begins with the sound of zippers being undone."
Get a sneak peek at life on Mars, thanks to a bunch of scientists on Devon Islands, a place on earth that's most like the red planet.
Schoolboy's predicition of World Trade Centre fall no urban myth.
Cops baffled by the chilling tale.
Cops baffled by the chilling tale.
The boots will power your gizmos with every step
A Californian company is working to create a shoe that will convert the mechanical energy of walking into electric power to charge up gadgets, batteries and other devices.
A Californian company is working to create a shoe that will convert the mechanical energy of walking into electric power to charge up gadgets, batteries and other devices.
US Vice President Dick Cheney says Anthrax may be linked to Osama Bin Laden
Friday, October 12, 2001
FBI has changed the address of its press release warning of further attacks, after a controversy over its use of the name Skyfall for the file.
Wired Magazine reports that the heavy-metal band Anthrax is not changing its name, after a surge of traffic hit their web site, anthrax.com.
It's latest album is titled Spread the Disease
It's latest album is titled Spread the Disease
Teacher exposes students to Hepatitis C virus.
During a demo on drawing blood, a Hepatitis C-infected Montana teacher used the same needle with which he punctured his fingers on his students.
During a demo on drawing blood, a Hepatitis C-infected Montana teacher used the same needle with which he punctured his fingers on his students.
Indian Prime Minister hints at military action in Kashmir.
I guess, that's all we need at this moment.
I guess, that's all we need at this moment.
Widow sues Osama and Taleban over WTC attacks, in the first civil case arising out of the deadly strikes.
Ever felt that buzz in your brain when your eyes meet those of a gorgeous woman?
Now there might be a scientific basis for why a pretty face lights up the brain.
Now there might be a scientific basis for why a pretty face lights up the brain.
Thrash-metal band Anthrax may change its name.
A friend suggests Basket of Puppies, says its lead singer, Scott Ian.
A friend suggests Basket of Puppies, says its lead singer, Scott Ian.
Thursday, October 11, 2001
The WTC attacks have not put a dampener on Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's plans to build the tallest building in the world in Madhya Pradesh. The skyscraper will be built by the same firm that constructed the World Trade Centre towers.
According to a spokesman, the Vedic mantras chanted inside the building will keep it safe.
According to a spokesman, the Vedic mantras chanted inside the building will keep it safe.
Why the Muslim world and the West is not doomed to perpetual conflict.
Published in 1994 in The Economist
Published in 1994 in The Economist
Omar Sheikh's Diaries
He is the man suspected of partly bankrolling Mohammed Atta, the WTC attack mastermind. Reproduced is his diary, where he speaks about his mission to free Maulana Masood Azhar.
He is the man suspected of partly bankrolling Mohammed Atta, the WTC attack mastermind. Reproduced is his diary, where he speaks about his mission to free Maulana Masood Azhar.
As Russia and Georgia trade threats and allegations over the bombing of villages in Abkhazia, the incident threatens the fragile situation in the region.
Rajasthan cops mistake bearded, turbaned man for Osama bin Laden
Two good pieces on Islam, morality, war and religion. One from Christian Science Monitor and the other from Salon, Religion of the Sword
Wednesday, October 10, 2001
NATO chief warns of "poor man's nuclear bomb" risk.
Chemical and biological weapons, according to him, pose a real threat to Allied forces in Afghanistan.
Chemical and biological weapons, according to him, pose a real threat to Allied forces in Afghanistan.
Add one more to the growing list of biochem scares. This one at a restaurant in Cincannati
Smallpox, rather than ebola or anthrax, is ideal biowarfare weapon.
The Force is Strong
And now the UK census has officially made Jedi Knights into a religion. To some, though, it always was.
And now the UK census has officially made Jedi Knights into a religion. To some, though, it always was.
Are the skies over our heads jinxed since September 11?
The latest in a series of air mishaps has a Thai air force jet crashing in training, killing the pilot.
There's the Milan Airport crash. Then on October 4 a Russian Sibir Airlines Tupolev 154 from Tel Aviv to Novosibirsk in Siberia exploded in mid-air and crashed into the Black Sea, killing 78 passengers and crew.
Closer home, there was a hijack that wasn't and Madhavrao Scindia's tragic aircrash.
I am not going to be flying for a while, that's for sure.
The latest in a series of air mishaps has a Thai air force jet crashing in training, killing the pilot.
There's the Milan Airport crash. Then on October 4 a Russian Sibir Airlines Tupolev 154 from Tel Aviv to Novosibirsk in Siberia exploded in mid-air and crashed into the Black Sea, killing 78 passengers and crew.
Closer home, there was a hijack that wasn't and Madhavrao Scindia's tragic aircrash.
I am not going to be flying for a while, that's for sure.
Are terrorists equipped with biowarfare capabilities? Jane's Defence Weekly has a good article on why and how terrorists could use anthrax
A northern California man who used to have two pets -- a pit bull terrier and a Burmese python -- now has only one -- a 200-pound python with a pit-bull-sized bulge.
Tuesday, October 09, 2001
The anthrax case is getting curiouser and curiouser.
ABC News: FBI suspects foul play.
Reuters Report: FBI denies crime in Anthrax case
And while confusion prevails, fear is becoming contagious. An Anthrax scare, reported in Naples News, led to the evacuation of three buildings. Turned out to be a false alarm. Meanwhile, an IRS office in Covington was locked down and hazardous materials experts were investigating after workers reported a suspicious sticky substance in an envelope that had been handled by several people. And finally a suspicious incident at a Washington subway leads to panic.
ABC News: FBI suspects foul play.
Reuters Report: FBI denies crime in Anthrax case
And while confusion prevails, fear is becoming contagious. An Anthrax scare, reported in Naples News, led to the evacuation of three buildings. Turned out to be a false alarm. Meanwhile, an IRS office in Covington was locked down and hazardous materials experts were investigating after workers reported a suspicious sticky substance in an envelope that had been handled by several people. And finally a suspicious incident at a Washington subway leads to panic.
Biowarfare expert says anthrax outbreak may be deliberate attack.
Now downsizing catches up with carrier pigeons in Orissa.
Email is turning out to be a cheaper alternative.
Email is turning out to be a cheaper alternative.
PowerPoint & Excel vulnerable to mailicious hackers, Microsoft has warned.
Monday, October 08, 2001
NASA is all set to commercialise space and promote tourism to space stations.
The American Museum of Natural Heritage presents a virtual exhibition on The Elements of Hindu Devotion
Friday, October 05, 2001
Wednesday, October 03, 2001
After years of reporting distant wars from the trenches, this journalist finds the front in his backyard.
A great piece of writing!
A great piece of writing!
Photography fuses with poetry in this captivating documentary on the aftermath.
An emergency telephone operator's log tells chilling tales of the panic, minutes after the attacks on WTC
An Elementary School teacher is fighting to keep her job, after charges that she said she wished the .president had been killed in terrorist attacks or that she visited pornographic sites with a school computer.
Tuesday, October 02, 2001
Climb a mountain and write about it, says a Colarado judge to a defendent who pleaded guilty of being an accessory to murder.
Indian Prime Minister A B Vajpayee writes to the US President George Bush, expressing anguish over the Jaish-E-Mohammed attack in Kashmir. An attack sponsored by Pakistan.
