1/31/2006
Kuttas* v/s Kaminas**
It is a sorry state of affairs but there is a warm fuzzy side to this story. Cops in Maoist rebel infested areas of Bihar are not equipped to protect themselves and their neighbourhoods from regular attacks from these rebels. So they feed the stray dogs and the dogs in turn bark at intruders in the area and alert the cops.
K9 to 5 desi ishtyle
Police in India's Bihar state are so short of resources they are using a pack of stray dogs to protect themselves from Maoist rebels.
Three policemen at Paraiya station in central Gaya district were killed in a rebel attack in July 2003.
Now Paraiya's ill-equipped cops are benefiting from canine protection round the clock, officers say.
In return for food and their own kitchen, the dogs prowl the premises at night and bark at all intruders.
The number of strays has shot up from six to 36 in under two years.
"It's not possible to keep a watch on each nook and cranny of the sprawling campus of the police station, especially at night time," officer Baidyanath Rai told the BBC.
"We've also very limited resources and strength to keep the night vigil. So we've kept the street canines for the purpose."Isn't a dog a man's best friend?" he asks, as he pats the back of one of the older dogs, Shera, and thanks him for his unstinting service.
**Kamina = swine. Popular Hindi movie term for the bad guy.
Oasis in the desert
Back in the 80s, my cousin who lived in Dubai (obviously Mallu) would proclaim that you could practically get any Desi stuff there. I would look at him in disbelief. Life has come a whole circle and now it seems like you can even visit the Taj while in Dubai.
Not your everyday Taj Mahal in Agra
The Taj Mahal at the Global Village in Dubai is drawing huge crowds.
The replica is close to the one at Agra in grandeur and almost three-fourths the size of the original.
Spread over a massive 400,000 square feet, this unique structure now completed at the Global Village is drawing thousands of visitors' everyday.
Zee Television and the NRI-owned Dubai Hotel Grand have sponsored the project.
''We have opened the Taj Mahal for public viewing and are thrilled to welcome everyone to see this beautiful replica. We are delighted to partner with Real Media-Zee Network to showcase the Taj at Dubai, a place where world cultures unite,'' S P Singh, chairman, Dubai Grand Hotel, said.
The director of the Global Village Ibrahim Abdulrahim said the importance of having the replica of the Taj Mahal is that it helps broadens visitors knowledge about India's rich civilisation.
The Global Village plays an important role as the melting pot of over 160 nationalities, he added.
''While the original Taj Mahal took 23 years, 20,000 people and 1,000 elephants, its smaller replica in Dubai has been created in just three months by 600 people, of which 270 artisans were flown from India to recreate the magical splendor of the original,'' Singh said.
''Special stone was specially flown in from Jaipur, Rajasthan. The landscaping of the original monument has also found their way into the new creation,'' he added.
1/30/2006
The guy no one wants to be
Imagine yourself in his shoes (pun intended)
A stumbling visitor to a top museum has destroyed a set of priceless vases which stood on a shelf for 40 years.
The 300-year-old Qing vases were among the best known artefacts at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge.
The visitor is said to have slipped on a loose shoelace and fallen down a staircase bringing the vases crashing down as he tried to steady himself.
Tonight's State of the Union speech by George W. Bush
This is the first draft of tonight's State of the Union which will be delivered by our dear President co-incidentally sandwiched in between sitcoms.
MY STATE OF THE UNION SPEECH by George W. Bush
Mr. Speaker, Vice President Cheney, extreme members of Congress, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls and children of all ages.
As we boldly enter a new year of hurling before us, I've come before you to tell you that Freedom is spreading like cancer in the Middle East, our economy is even robustier than it was last year and, if we all work together in this coming year, there will be countless more fish to fry, or bake if you're watching your cholesterol.
Tonight, with more and more Americans going back to work, with our nation an active force for goodnicity in the world, the state of our union is truly flamboyiscious. (SP?)
This past year, we have accomplished many things that no one expected and some outright feared.
Our No Child Left Behind Act has not only increased our youngins' ability to read and do math, but we have decreased the student population dramatically, nationwide. Now, when a child graduates high school, not only will he or she be able to print his or her name tag while asking "Do you want fries with that?" they'll be able to add up the menu total.
The past year, we've reframed and totally regurgitated Medicare, creating thousands of jobs in emergency room care.
We have added two million jobs in non-auto construction related fields.
We have plugged the holes of the bankruptcy dykes, who threatened to cheat honest bankers and credit card employers out of their hard squandered cash.
We have tackled such hard questions as how frightened are you of Social Security disappearing, how many hurricanes can FEMA handle and how fast can the House pass a bill when no one is looking?
But we must not rest on our laureates.
The year ahead will present us with challenges both overseas, at home and elsewhere.
I'm going to remind you all that we're living in hysteric times. The decisions we make today will help shape the direction of events for years, even weeks, to come.
Now, recently, there has been a hornet's nest of inflappatory (SP?) rhetoric concerning my involvement with so called "domestic spying." It's true, I have allowed NASA to spy on Americans but let me remind you of one important fact: the world changed after 9/11.
Think about it. 9/10? You're riding your bike whistling a happy tune. 9/12? You're scared stiff. In between? 9/11. Bingo.
If any of you don't remember 9/11, we were attacked by a group of drooling madmen who hate us for our freedoms, so I decided to lessen them.
And, if NASA can safely land people on the Moon, it can handle this finely.
Our "domestic spying" program isn't. (Does that make sense, Karl?) It's a program devoted to "terrorist surveillance" or, as I call it, "terrorist tattling."
If al Qaeda is talking to you? E-mailing you? Sending you a candy-gram? I want to know about it. This program only involves American citizens who are calling known terrorists in another country or another state. We have a list of terrorist groups we're monitoring from al Qaeda to al PETA and al Quaker.
The terrorist tattler program is necessary to protect America from attacks either within our own borders or even closer. Terrorists will use every available weapon at their disposal, from dirty bombs to free speech, to break the will of the American people. I vow I will never let that happen. That's my job.
Some people say that I've broken the law. That's not true. A President has inherent authorities given to him by the Constitution. One of them is breaking the law. I hope this puts an end to the issue.
Oh, yeah, I don't know Jack Abramoff, either.
This year, I'm asking Congress to help me in passing bills that will help all American people struggle.
We're setting a goal of creating two million more jobs, some of them actually in this country.
We will tackle affordable Health Care insurance the way we did Medicare. By this time, next year, Americans will be dancing in the streets, unless they're too old or too sick.
We will help an additional 200,000 unemployed workers get training for a new job. If you could build a Bronco, you can flip a burger. It's the American way.
We should not be content with laws that punish hardworking people who want only to provide for their families, and deny businesses willing workers, and invite chaos at our border. It is time for an immigration policy that permits temporary guest workers to fill jobs Americans will not take, like joining the military. This will not apply to Canadians.
Because marriage is a sacred institution and the foundation of our society, it should not be re-defined by activist judges or odd people. For the good of families, children, and society, I support a constitutional amendment to protect the institution of marriage as long as divorce is left out of the equestrian.
As you all know, the world is facing a possible pandemonium of bird flu. As your President, I vowel that no foreign birds will be allowed in this country without having proper background checks done.
I'm also pleased to report that our ongoing War on Global Terror has had an explosive effect on the world. After 9/11, and our world changed after 9/11, we decided to go after the evil-doers and tackle Afghanistan. I'm proud to report that Afghanistan is now a democracy, the Taliban has started it's own political party and that formerly vicious warlords are now elected officials. Plus, their economy is booming thanks to farmers who grow flowers. From what I understand, they've had a record year.
In Iraq, the Iraqis are standing up so we can sit it out. They now have their own government, their own Constitution, their own problems.
Before the United States of America drove out the Butcherer of Baghdad, Iraq was a country filled with mass graves. Today? There are no more mass graves, just a whole bunch of little ones. Before the United States went to the aid of our Iraqi brothers and sisters, Saddam brutalized his own people. Now that they have their own elected government, Iraqis are free to brutalize each other as they see fit.
(Karl, I think this is where we should introduce dead soldiers' parents, wives and kids. See if you can get one kid to bring a bunny. Bunnies are cute. Plus, Easter is right around the corner.)
Democracy is on the march in the Middle East, with more and more people choosing ballots over bullets or, sometimes, both.
As you know, even in Palestinia, there were free elections. And, if not free, relatively cheap. We look forward to working with the Humus Party in reaching a peaceful settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian problem as soon as they take Israel's total destruction off the table.
Now, I know, when it comes to my foreign policy of peace, democracy and loving yourself as much as your neighbor does himself, there are some naysayers in this country who say "nay." But, where you say "nay?" I say, "hey, how's it going?" And many brave people with purple fingers say "hey" back, but it's in a different language so I can't quite catch all of it. It's awesome-inspiring.
I suppose that makes me an optometrist. Some people look at a glass and wonder if it's half-empty or half-full of it. I always know it's half-full of it.
Now, in order to protect our great Homeland and to allow it to prosper, I ask Congress to do two things: make my tax cuts permanent and re-authorize the Patriot Act.
Many of my opponents have unfairly said my tax cuts are biased because rich people save the most. Well, a-heh-heh (Karl. People love it when I wink and laugh.), any economist knows that rich people have the most money to save because they have the most money. (Karl. Is this redundant or smart?)
They, then, take their savings and put it back into our great economy, creating new jobs for house servants, valets, car detailers, and tennis pros.
And don't forget the backbone of our country, the small businesses run by entremanures. My tax cuts guarantee them savings when they expand their temp services, limousine services and landscaping enterprises.
As some of you know, the world changed after 9/11 and, since the creation of The Department of Homeland Security, we have not been attacked a second time. Sure, a lot of other countries have, but they don't have Homeland Security departments. We do. They don't. That simple.
Remember, these evildoers we are fighting never sleep. Their vision is dark and dim and they never have their eyes checked. Like the Tin Woodsman in 'The Wizard of Oz,' they have no hearts. They don't even have tin. They kill innocent men, women, children and bunnies (Karl. I guess I'm just in a bunny mood today.). In order to save the children and bunnies, I ask Congress to make Homeland Security a bastardion of our country.
The War on Global Terror will last a bazillion years. In Iraq alone, we're battling "rejectionists," "poo-pooers," "al Qaeda," "foreign fighters," "local fighters," "commuters," "Baathists," "Showerists," and Venutians. We have to be vigilant. We have to stand tall in the saddle.
Now, I know I have my critics because of the war and Homeland Security, and I know this is an election year but, in the spirit of bi-partisanship, I extend a fig towards the opposition and say, if I may use Latin? "Ix-nay."
Every bad thing you say about the War on Global Terror makes the evil-doers laugh and our soldiers cry. Think about it.
So, in closing, in this coming year, we must not look back. We must look in the opposite direction. We must jog on the treadmill of hope towards a more peaceful and zesty future. The road somewhere will be long and, maybe, lumpy. But it's up to us, as pothole filling patriots, to keep that road alive and well. And tread upon it as we do ourselves.
As Franklin Deleanor Roosevelt once said: "We have nothing to fear but fear itself." So, smile and be afraid. I'm in charge.
God bless me. God bless Mommy and Daddy. And Barney. God bless all Americans. God bless der Homeland.
1/27/2006
Catholic school's mistake has International students reaching "hot, horny girls"
"Hey there, sexy guy. Welcome to an exciting new way to go live one-on-one with hot, horny girls waiting right now to talk to you," the recording tells callers to the second number before prompting them to enter their credit card numbers.
Embarrassed Seton Hall officials said it appears two digits in the phone number were swapped on the undergraduate application