Tell it like it is, Manmohan !

Manmohan Singh rips into L.K.Advani today:

 

"Mr. Advani has the unique ability to combine strength in speech with weakness in action. This is not the kind of strength we need"

 

"..But unline the NDA's prime ministerial candidate, I will not be found weeping in a corner while hoodlums tear down a centuries-old mosque. Nor will I be found wringing my hands in frustration while one of my Chief Ministers condones a pogrom targeted at minorities."

 

Not all good though: He offered a weak defence regarding the lack of justice for the killings of 1984.

A little fun with Vibhat

Vibhat (good friend) sent me mail after a long time. Mail thread went like this:

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From: Vibhat Nair
Subject: What is your phone

I seem to be missing it. How is ptiya with her pregnancy?


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From: Vijay Krishna
Subject: Re: What is your phone
My phone is a Nokia low ender, don't remember the model (I want to start a website http://cheapestmobileinindia.com) . 'Ptiya' is doing fine !

More later,

Vijay Krishna

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From: Vibhat Nair
Subject: Re:What is your phone

Dude: you are a true nerd. what is your phone no.?

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From: Vibhat Nair
Subject: Re:What is your phone


And. Oh the sensitivity to typos. What will you do if you go an iPhone ?

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From: Vijay Krishna
Subject: Re: What is your phone

What will I do if I go an iPhone ? Oh, I don't know, maybe I will teach it some english ?

Phone no is 98801 37097. Also Skype seems to work fine, I am x_vijay.
Good to hear from you, btw :-) and even better to rag you,
Cheers,

Vijay Krishna
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I got the better of that exchange didn't I ?
Here's a contest, why don't you come up with *your* smartalecky response to Vibhat's mails, and we'll see who's wittier. If you insist (and yes, Arvind, we know you insist), you can take Vibhat's side instead and take potshots at me.

Ready steady go.

The Rise of the Shoe-ice Bomber

A brilliantly satirical piece by Sainath.I had no idea the man had this talent in him. Replete with puns:

 

The Rise Of The Shoe-cide Bomber

 

By P. Sainath

 

09 April, 2009
Counterpunch

 

When Muntader al-Zaidi hurled one shoe then another at George Bush in Baghdad last year, he couldn’t have foreseen the fallout. Doubtless inspired by the Iraqi journalist, Jarnail Singh, a veteran Delhi reporter, tossed his shoe -- a solid Reebok trainer -- at Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram. Jarnail works for the Hindi newspaper, dainik jagran (The Daily Awakening). For the Home Minister, it was a rude awakening. Jarnail Singh was miffed with the Congress Party for fielding two tainted candidates from parliamentary constituencies in Delhi in our ongoing national elections.

 

Read More at: http://www.counterpunch.org/sainath04092009.html 

As forwarded by Vishwanath:

My comment : My intaxication lasts for a long time, the fact that the money was mine in the first place (and went to the gourmint because of my incompetence) doesn't dampen it

 

 

 

 

 

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Here is the Washington Post's Mensa Invitational which once again asked readers to take any word from the dictionary, alter it by adding,subtracting, or changing one letter, and supply a new definition.

Here are the winners:

Cashtration (n.): The act of buying a house, which renders the subject financially impotent for an indefinite period of time.
Ignoranus: A person who's both stupid and an asshole.
Intaxicaton: Euphoria at getting a tax refund, which lasts until you realize it was your money to start with.
Foreploy: Any misrepresentation about yourself for the purpose of getting laid.
Giraffiti : Vandalism spray-painted very, very high
Sarchasm: The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the person who doesn't get it.
Inoculatte: To take coffee intravenously when you are running late.
Decafalon (n.): The grueling event of getting through the day consuming only things that are good for you.
Glibido: All talk and no action.
Dopeler Effect: The tendency of stupid ideas to seem smarter when they come at you rapidly.
Beelzebug (n.): Satan in the form of a mosquito, that gets into your bedroom at three in the morning
and cannot be cast out.
Caterpallor (n.): The color you turn after finding half a worm in the fruit you're eating.


The Washington Post has also published the winning submissions to its yearly contest, in which readers are asked to supply alternate meanings for common words.

And the winners are:

Coffee, n. The person upon whom one coughs.
Flabbergasted, adj. Appalled by discovering how much weight one has gained.
Abdicate, v. To give up all hope of ever having a flat stomach.
Esplanade, v. To attempt an explanation while drunk.
Willy-nilly, adj. Impotent.
Negligent,adj. Absentmindedly answering the door when wearing only a nightgown.
Lymph, v. To walk with a lisp.
Gargoyle, n. Olive-flavored mouthwash.
Flatulence, n. Emergency vehicle that picks up someone who has been run over by a steamroller.
Balderdash, n. A rapidly receding hairline...
Testicle, n. A humorous question on an exam.

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Vote for your favorite. I liked the Dopeler effect, abdicate, negligent, lymph. Tough call for the single favorite, I'll select lymph

Hindu Muslim

We're never going to resolve the Hindu Muslim conflicts in India without understanding more about each other and where are these avenues for understanding? I don't know of any.

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Photo by audi_jo, clickthrough

Elections

There are far too many political parties in India now and far too large egos that prevent parties from merging when they outlive their usefulness. I look forward to a period of consolidation when things shake themselves out and become more reasonable. But this election looks like it might end up inconclusive with a period of prolonged instability.

I have also the seeds of a theory that needs building out, that party-based 'competitive' democracy is stupid. It encourages competetiveness instead of co-operation. It encourages negativity -- the opposition party has to keep on opposing whether there is validity or not in the actions of the government. We need to find a better form of democracy. We could start with villages (though I have hardly any 'locus standi' to talk about what should be done in villages) and say that panchayat elections should be by consensus not by competition.

Jagdish Tytler over whose name a permanent pall resides due to broad public opinion that he was involved in the killing of Sikhs in the 1984 riots is standing from a New Delhi constituency as the Congress candidate. Disgraceful behaviour by the Congress party. Even if he wasn't convicted in a court, this is simply not on.


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Photo of Chiranjeevi in a Praja Rajyam election poster by kalyan3 on Flickr. Clickthrough for more.

Comments:

Responses to comments:

Arvind left this comment in response to my Hindu newspaper posting, which I regretfully had to delete:
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Dsyw, I liov toi hxifn nsoespape. Wheif elosp cso I tais to wposivis I wais to sao a bosiu os intellocisllly imspten fokxj wovit an uziantsox rveigistoaone of tss fecis uoefo tsi gixis os "baoxidke vici." Wheoc eisi in Iciks cao I tice to to sxi sdibids on tsi Cislens paydrll? Wsoer esol cib I tnor ta ffi asoi Tsiit pdidifigis? Wso eisk wsidirl esifitiris on ssoript 3 dsou a wsood asi on uncofitrollale tsivin lsik UG fsifine piolich tofiels Tinbokakoo ? Linf lins thi Hondi nispapr.

Dear Arvind: I am seriously concerned. I hope the isolation in Tokyo is not affecting you. Or was the above written under the effect of the local rice sake? Naughty, naughty! Nandita -- I would start tracking Arvind more closely if I were you!
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Sidharth: Apologies for the self-indulgent post (self indulgent blog?). I was referring to the fact that the Hindu has a blind spot as far as Tibet is concerned; it vociferously defends every action of the undemocratic chinese government in Tibet. So when you see an article with a title like "Tibetans enjoy comforts of progress" it is not even worth reading the article to see if it has anything reasonable in it.
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Sajini, sorry for the broken link, the right link is:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sidwork/
Enjoy!

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Photo of sake by rossorosso on Flickr, click through for more

Stupid-ass Hindu newspaper

"Tibetans enjoy comforts of progress" is an article today.
Atleast they also had an article by Sainath.

No one else is allowed to criticise the Hindu here! (least of all you Arvind!). Only I do: as a passionate supporter of the Hindu, I am allowed to point out its faults.


PS: In reference to a recent previous post, now to expect the Shiv Sena goons to beat me up for being critical of hindus.

Photo from Dennis Archer on Flickr, click thru for more. Search for 'Tibet' on Flickr for some gorgeous images.

Hot news

Rather quietly without many people knowing it (well, at any rate without me knowing it, and without announcing it on our class mailing list), C.V.Shankar, physics genius and good man, and May, math cat and good friend, had a baby recently.



Clickthrough should take you to the album let me know if it doesn't (Sajini, haven't yet checked the problem you reported earlier).

Terminal City

Shiv Sena goons in Mumbai attack the house of the court-appointed advocate who is to defend Ajmal Kasab

(Photo from Dharmesh on Flickr, click through for more)