Off lately I have been reading a lot of blogs discussing the Abu Ghraib prison torture case. As usual the media, CBS for particular has been trying hard to impress its viewers after the Janet Jackson pop-out. First they came up with the so called 'stunning' photographs of POW's in Abu Ghraib and then as if that was not enough, they try to dig out Princess Diana's scandal, years after her death, broadcasting photocopies of the car crash photographs and trying to discuss whether she was pregnant when she died or was she really in love with Dodi. I will usually never recommend any American news programmes other than the 30 minutes of BBC news shown twice daily and the News Hour with Jim Lehrer, both on the PBS channel. But not to digress..I think the Abu Ghraib prison torture case has been blown out of proportion. I do not blame the media completely, but the awe and disgust with which people react to it is something too much. I mean when a soldier or a person is taken as a POW, what the hell do you expect the captor to do with the POW.....fit an AC in his prison cell and treat him with food twice daily and a nice cozy matress to sleep on???? Excuse me.... this is war and chaos and commotion and confusion.....and war is a highly fluid situation!!! Obviously the POW's are going to be tortured! They will be forced to divulge information in anyway that is possible and whatever it takes to make them blurt it out. Even the slightest suspicion, that an individual holds information can lead to extreme torture until the captor is convinced that you are innocent. Not just Iraq, consider the plight of Indian POW's or even normal fishernmen taken captive in the Gujrat-Karachi waters. Some of them are returned back to India but what about those who go missing in action?? What about the POW's taken captive during Kargil. If anybody remembers, some of them were hacked to death and cut into pieces by the Pak soldiers. So such torture is bound to be obvious with POW's. It was a big deal when Jessica Lynch was rescued from Iraq after being held captive, but it was more important and a big sigh of relief when she was discovered physically unmutilated. Atleast her physical body was in one piece and I think she was extremely lucky. Had she not been found, we all would have probably forgot about her and considered her among those hundreds missing in action! Had Nick's headless body not been found on the highway, we probably would have not even known who Nick Berg was, and if the cheap video not surfaced on the internet, we wouldnt have gasped at the horrific act. I think it is not a heroic deed that the soldiers found Lynch but it was a great news that they found Lynch intact and alive. Also I admire Lynch for keeping a low profile and not try to make most of the situation where channels like CBS are always ready to pounce on such opportunities. I think it is highly doubtful and wrong to conclude from what you only see or what just comes to the surface. I think there is more behind the curtains from both sides and it is but natural. And then we have big talk about the Geneva conventions!
So coming back to the Abu Ghraib case, torture of POW's is obvious, and might still be taking place. It is only the dumbness of those who in the first place, took pictures and videos of such incidents and then again above all let the media lay their hands on it, and of all the channels it had to be CBS. "Langoor ke haath mein Angoor" I say (Grapes in the hands of a monkey) This is something very very extremely silly!! A place where the military intelligence and the CIA and FBI are highly active, I don't understand how can such a blunder take place?? The leaking of the photographs and their subsequent broadcast on prime time television is not only idiotic but also like splashing more oil to the terrorism fire. Extremists are always looking out for a chance like this and people like Al-Zarqawi would not hesitate to do anything more cruel in order to gain cheap popularity and clout in their own world of terrorism. The media giving more attention to all this does nothing but fulfills the exact reasons why terrorists do such things!
By the way if anybody watches 'The Early Show' daily morning on CBS, should be able to notice that, only co host Hannah Storm is somewhat acceptable and knows how to interview people on that show, but the other three- Harry Smith, Julie Chen and Rene Syler are just typical dumb-heads, asking silly questions. Also they are so conscious about the fact that they are interviewing someone, they make the opposite person equally uneasy. The trio is just really really pathetic.
I think I will stop here now.....More later!

Current Music : MAY IT BE :: Enya :: Best of Enya Disc 1

   [ posted by PseudoFreud @ 4:50 PM ] [ | ]

   Tuesday, May 25, 2004  

That's me, 1st row, 7th from the left. An old school picture probably when I was in the 2nd or 3rd grade. I was one of the 'tingu' in class. We used to have this play every year for the Christmas party and my most dreaded fear was that the class teacher would make me participate in the school drama. Invariably I used to try running away from it giving some reason or the other and somehow used to land up in the play either playing one of the three kings or the sheperd, during the birth of Christ! This picture was when I played the role of a sheperd. I remember most of my class mates, particularly the chubby girl (middle row, 1st from left), Cherylann. She used to stay next to our school and I think in the 4th grade, one rainy morning when I was walking to school, I saw that her apartment building had collapsed. Reaching school I came to know that she was in a critical condition and then she died the next day. I guess I was too small to understand the gravity of the situation then.

Speaking about it in general when you look back, you always wonder how childhood memories are the sweetest and the best! Nothing can ever surpass them! Thanks to Anuprita, middle row, 4th from left for the picture.

Current Music: Losing my religion: REM

   [ posted by PseudoFreud @ 1:22 PM ] [ | ]

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   Sunday, May 23, 2004  

Which Illicit Drug Am I??


You are MARIJUANA. Weed. Pot. Grass. Dope.
Reefer. You are a laid back personality who is
fairly easy to get along with, although you can
be a bit annoying at times. Still, you're a
well-liked individual who goes with the flow
and knows how to take a joke. You know that
everything is right with the world so long as
you don't sweat the petty things and don't pet
the sweaty things. Haha, he said 'pet the
sweaty things.' That's funny.


Which Illicit Drug Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

   [ posted by PseudoFreud @ 4:30 PM ] [ | ]

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   Saturday, May 22, 2004  

Way to go Dr. MMS!!

"A former professor of economics, Singh is a shy leader who has never won an election. But he is also known to be a workaholic and went straight to the prime minister's office after the two-hour swearing-in ceremony."
What better example do we [ I ;-) ] need??

By the way, May 21st was the death anniversary of former PM Rajiv Gandhi!! What an extreme mix of events!

   [ posted by PseudoFreud @ 4:00 PM ] [ | ]

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By the way I get this Latin channel on my television and they are showing the wedding ceremony of Prince Felipe of Spain with Letizia Ortiz. Its quite a ceremony and also it is Spain's first Royal in 98 years!

   [ posted by PseudoFreud @ 3:01 AM ] [ | ]

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Just Awesome!!

I attended a concert by mandolin prodigy U Shrinivas today, and it was just awesomely awesome!!! I am not a big fan of carnatic music, but the mandolin notes and perfection of U Shrinivas, both combined I guess you really don't need to know or understand carnatic music. Mrindangam by Trichy Sankaran and Poovalur Srinivasan was just just amazing!!! By the way Poovalur Srinivasan is a faculty member at the University of North Texas at Denton and is also a leading personality in the world of percussion!! The jugalbandi between the two mridangams was just tooo toooo goood!!! The mandolin has a certain sweetness of its own, never going to a pitch that you would ever feel uncomfortable to your ears. By the way U Shrinivas was accompanied by his brother U Rajesh and on the Violin was Delhi Sunderajan....Don't ask me why is he named Delhi....I don't know!

   [ posted by PseudoFreud @ 2:50 AM ] [ | ]

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   Thursday, May 20, 2004  

LOOK AT THIS!!!

   [ posted by PseudoFreud @ 5:12 PM ] [ | ]

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   Wednesday, May 19, 2004  

Heard on Jay Leno yesterday nite:
God's punishment to woman is to make her suffer the pains of child birth and His punishment to man is to make him suffer by tying him to his wife all life long! God is angry about gay marriages not because it is unnatural in His eyes, but because man has found a loop hole in God's system and saved himself from the agony of enduring his wife all life long!! :)))

   [ posted by PseudoFreud @ 11:08 PM ] [ | ]

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Rahul...Rahul....Rahul.....Rahul........Priyanka.....Priyanka.....Priyanka......Priyanka.......Sonia.....Sonia.....Sonia.....Sonia....
.Manmohan.....Manmohan......Manmohan.....Manmohan......
What next????? What Next?????? What next?????

Politics and the Media....Come watch the circus....Whether its Bush...Kerry and CNN or ABV, Sonia, Rahul or Manmohan!!

   [ posted by PseudoFreud @ 8:30 PM ] [ | ]

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   Monday, May 17, 2004  

IF HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF...

Ms Juanita Gandhi would be PM of India, some 30 years from now! Obviously Vajpayee ji won't be alive then and even if God gave gave him immortality he would definitely pass away with a massive cardiac arrest and shock combined, looking at the incidents taking place!! Advani would first pull all the remaining hair on his head or to take revenge, might become the biggest drug lord in Columbia!! George Fernandes would attempt to fly our famous MIG 21/29 or the Jaguar, which would still be in use for training IAF pilots, and although expecting it to crash, would complete one successful sortie after another. Jaswant Singh and Yashwant Sinha would handle international operations and drug traffic money for Advani, exchanging their posts as the need arises!!! Well I cannot remember more ministers of the past government and so I think I will stop here!! But yes History does repeat itself and so don't be surprised!! Stay tuned with the past and be prepared for the future!! Hasta La Vista baby!!

Current Music: Ishq Bina Kya Jeena: Taal

   [ posted by PseudoFreud @ 2:19 PM ] [ | ]

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   Sunday, May 09, 2004  

Random Read...
Sprytny.....A polish word describing the common Polish mind as playful, combating and opportunistic. It is said that this is the quality and attitude that has helped the common Pols to survive through generations of difficult economy and become resilient. Now that they join the EU, they look forward to happy days!

Current Music :Los Pelegrinitos (They were pilgrims) :: Francoise Atlan & Juan Carmona; Juan Carmona :: Espanas Disc 1

   [ posted by PseudoFreud @ 1:24 PM ] [ | ]

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   Saturday, May 08, 2004  

I sometimes wonder people have so much energy! Saw this mom with her two daughters on the city bus. We all were waiting at the same stop for the bus and there itself she was continuously playing with her kids. There she sat on the bench and had some kind of a box in her hand. Started banging on the box to create some beat and there were her daughters dancing systematically to it. The kids approx 4 and 7ish of age, probably had some professional training as their dance could tell. It was pretty elegant. Then the bus arrived and we all got in. By the way they had done some groceries and had some 15-16 polythene bags stuffed with it. The 3 of them somehow managed to get into the bus with all their household needs and after they were settled and the bus started moving...the elder kid started reading the spanish banners and instruictions in the bus. From their appearance the trio did not look anywhere from 'Mehico' at all, and I was a bit surprised at her fluent Spanish. She got stuck with a word and the Mom immediately to the rescue corrected her. I said to my self...Hmmm Maybe it runs in the family!! All this time, the ruckus was continuously going on as the younger kid and mom continued with their dancing and the music respy. Then a guy sitting opposite to them, started talking to the Spanish reading kid in Spanish...and of course I couldn't understand what the conversation was about. But now I knew that the trio knew English and Spanish. Then after a while, man and the mom started discussing about which is the most difficult language and the man first started in french.... and the mom followed, and then he started in Italian and the the Mom followed again. I was taken aback....the Mom so fluent in foreign languages, what is she doing on a bus with 15 bags of groceries. Her kids danced so well....which showed that they had talent.....I was really really surprised. After a while their stop came and the wonder trio got off the bus with as much equal excitement as they had all boarded it. The commotion........the ruckus(a pleasant one) all stopped at once. There was just pin-drop silence there after. I kept on thinking some people have so much energy! I was so tired even to write this post but then I wrote it just thinking about the wonder trio!

Current Music:: Raag Bilaskhani Todi::Aarti Ankalikar

   [ posted by PseudoFreud @ 8:18 PM ] [ | ]

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   Friday, May 07, 2004  

Twain said:

"Good friends, good books and a sleepy conscience:
this is the ideal life."
Mark Twain
- Notebook, 1898

Ohh sure it is.....and 106 years later it still stays the same with the option of a good internet connection and a good movie added to it! Isn't that right???


Current Music :Winter Dance :: Uttara Kuru :: East Wind

   [ posted by PseudoFreud @ 9:28 AM ] [ | ]

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   Monday, May 03, 2004  

DEFENSE OUTSOURCING.....IS THAT WHAT WE SHOULD CALL????

Many might have read this article in the Times Of India about 100's of Indian ex-army men being deployed in Iraq by private security agencies to guard key places such as oil wells, refineries and supply depots. Many doubts and questions spring to my mind and the most important being:

1. Is this the beginning of 'OUTSOURCING' defense force??? Since there are less American troops in Iraq, the Indian security agencies must have been paid heavily (considering the $) and hence the Indians are replacing the US forces. Well that turns out to be pretty cheap isn't it?? Tomorrow when N.Korea attacks S. Korea, Indian/Chinese troops/ troop like people might be outsourced to fight against N. Korea cos it turns out to be cheaper. I know I'm thinking too far but thats what came up to my mind.

2. The Ex-servicemen deployed in Iraq show that the retired army personnel are so badly paid after retirement, that they have to put their remaining lives at risk to earn more bucks.....although a real Indian jawan will never do that. The 'retired' army personnel deployed, might be those who join the army just for the benefits that they get after retirement (land, ration, concessions in educational admissions for their kids etc etc) and quit the army after the required term of serving. Though I hope there are not many of such kind.

3. Also all those deployed in Iraq might not be necessarily ex-army men, considering the corruption and the 'Gussao-fying' practices everywhere, many might be just picked up from anywhere, anybody who looks pretty healthy and hefty might have been considered eligible to be deployed in Iraq.

4. Also immigration visas surely will not be a problem here as the US forces would like as much man-power inflow as possible. And by the way who cares of the visas and other formalities in such a chaotic zone??

5. What if the US forces are laid off, as their post would be taken up by those outsourced from India?? Can you imagine that???



Current Music :El Paño Moruno :: Francoise Atlan & Juan Carmona; Juan Carmona :: Espanas Disc 1

   [ posted by PseudoFreud @ 10:40 AM ] [ | ]

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   Saturday, May 01, 2004  

THE ANGRY YOUNG MAN SPEAKS!!


"Every other journalist asks me when I'll win an Oscar. I think that's a stupid question. We aren't making films in the English language, so how can we qualify for the mainstream Oscars? Let them come here and make films in Hindi".
READ MORE

Ofcourse the question is absolutely stupid....and off lately I have observed that the Oscars really do not hold much meaning. Ever since the movie 'Something's Gotta Give' was nominated for the Oscars and to top it all, Diane Keaton was nominated for the best actress award......If anybody saw that movie.....Do you call that acting????? I'm beginning to think its all a farce as far as the Oscars go....It was the same case I guess last year or 2 years back, when Halle Berry(Monster's Ball) received an Oscar for the best actress against Judi Dench and Nicole Kidman...Now who can say that Halle Berry was better than Judi Dench(Iris) and Nicole Kidman(Moulin Rouge). Definitely NO..... :(

Current Music :Reel Around the Sun :: Bill Whalen :: Riverdance

   [ posted by PseudoFreud @ 1:08 PM ] [ | ]

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