Waking up neo Luddites in FIFA

Fifa should introduce latest technology in arbitrating disputes regarding goals at the earliest particularly the one that cross the goal line and are obvious goals. What happened in the Germany-England match is a case in study. The goal was denied to England and the audience across the world felt cheated (by the way England did play quite pathetically, the defense was unspeakably lethargic and uncoordinated …the one with Algeria was the worst match but I need add here that with Germany there was some competence, and I did feel sorry for them). FIFA’s argument that it is costly is rather tame and must say stupid. Sepp Blatter &Co stand accused of being neo luddites, they are denying the inevitable. Few minutes back I was watching Wimbledon, the commentator while commenting on call reversal in favor of Venus William with the help of latest technology asked Blatter to follow the example.

There is no debate here FIFA should get its act right and make the changes at the earliest or take the blame for any mishap that goes out of control. The red card is on Blatter & Co.

PS: though Argentina, Germany (and hopefully Brazil tonight) are doing extremely well this blogger is putting money on rank outsiders to win the world cup (I do hope Brazil or Argentina wins!!. It is fun to watch them)

Corporate Khap Panchayats and Youngistan ka Wow !!

Last few weeks media (in particular English media) is having a freak out time bludgeoning Khap Panchayats, rightly so, these are regressive, patriarchal and regrettable presence from past. These though are extremely fortuitous events for city based pretenders since it presents people who are rural and speak rustic Hindi into a pattern that makes us feel so very modern and advanced. This wedge is what media seem to be exploiting and its dismissive tone is in line with market’s construction of modernity. Though there is something seriously wrong with these panchayats in intruding the privacy of people and individual choices but the realities of villages and small towns needs these social groups and they have been tremendous help to people in majority of cases. It is regrettable that they have got themselves into mess and have not been able to change with time. I guess enlightened elders should be able look at these with empathy and compassion and focus on pressing problems than patriarchal arrogance. Modernity is contextual and evolutionary and not some commodity that is imported.

Any harm to individual life and property should be severely dealt and law of the land is supreme in these matters (the issue of polygamy and other regressive practices fall into these primitive patriarchal model, just because it is part of some skewed understanding of organized religion doesn’t in any way justify it. There should be same parameter in judging what is disparity). Now coming to the market driven media since when are they beacon of modernity?! This blogger is very much concerned about corporate khap panchayats. Look at the kind of regressive ideas they try to work in through ads-in most cases its juvenile and stupid. Look at the kind of products they have created right from fizz drinks to creams with ridiculous claims. To take the specific case of media you switch as many TV channels (they claim to be news channel, interesting!) and you will find all kinds of charlatans predicting future, indeed it is considered revered tradition, not to forget other nonsense as news!!. Market is exploiting these to hilt. It is worst than Khap. There is no killing or physical harm but the damage is significant. For some sophistication comes quite easy (Turd will nod vigorously her head on that) but there is something remarkable about people living in congested places and surroundings and facing all kinds of problems and intrusions, and still don’t go harming each other all the time, it needs tremendous resilience and tolerance. There is a difference between living in a room with dozen member family and poverty, and living in houses where you can shut your door and shut out others. You can have some great views and thoughts shut inside a room away from the crowd and problems (nothing wrong in that but the problem is most cannot even manage that, even minimum decency is found wanting in opulence) but the realities of what is considered eclectic philosophies are lived by people all the time otherwise India with all its problems and disparities wouldn’t be what it is. India should have been high crime rate ghettos. Those who shout for India in strategic places are just looking for personal benefits and acceptance from west, it is just positioning nothing much. And indeed most Indians don’t even recognize them.

Last few days some killings in delhi is making the news (there is feeling among Delhi based national channels that delhi is India!!. Nothing wrong but union ministers endorsing is unacceptable. India should start with Agartala, also means that when it comes to honoring people from art and culture into Rajya Sabha the government is expected to do a survey and serious study and not macaques and rodents salivating for power from holes of market media. Also there should be conscious effort to represent people from North East and other seriously marginalized communities and their cultural contribution. UPA has been regrettable and owes an apology. Scums have surrounded the policy makers), horror part of these killing is that they look like people who are what media defines as modern, they even have the style of the people who are creating youngistan ka wow. They have all the modern gadgets and swanky cars. And they are from Delhi, the capital city where all these pretenders have set up their shacks.The irony is obvious.

Isn’t that shocking? Not really. When I was in Delhi there was this intriguing case of Natwar Singh’s daughter-in-law who suicided, it seems Mister Singh (who claims to be a well read intellectual....well...when you are from Stephen these tags come quite easily with other comforts-patrons include Chinese stooge dear Ram-he also has royal blood, as much as poacher family who are vigorously trying to work on their brand value) and his family were against the marriage and they made unbearable for the hapless woman. This is just an example, to get more into primitive nature of these people open the newspapers on Sundays, an outsider will find these matrimonial 'requirements' funny as much as there is fun in being critical of khaps. As marketer would say there is nothing right or wrong what matters is where you have positioned for the lick (god save Nietzsche).

Shocking: it is shocking that Tamil is not a language in Chennai High Court. First and foremost why this is still Madras High Court when the city is Chennai? High courts seem to be still trapped in colonial legacy. Each state’s High Court should have language spoken in the region as medium of communication. I hope the political class take up this issue at the earliest and reflect the realities of the nations (I am shocked that these biases still exits, the temerity of these people). If the learned judges don’t understand the language then translators should be appointed. This is excellent situation since it will give employment opportunities in the areas that is part of culture and heritage. Unlike the kind of dumb, superficial , exploitative jobs that have come into being in recent times, market will of course celebrate these jobs as career options, it is understandable.

Is it an upset World Cup?

Well the way things are proceeding fancied teams are having a tough time look at Brazil (North Korea!!), Spain (what happened there?), Italy, England (must say was disappointed), France (really bad performance)…Germany probably was an exception and was clinical (despite absence of Ballack). Paraguay was impressive. This world cup is exceptionally noisy…well that adds to the fun. Some incidents are memorable in its irony like for instance Thierry expressing disbelief on being denied handball however best was when the commentator said as Maradona, the coach, picked up the ball from the sidelines “that is the first time Maradona handled the ball in fifa finals” just couldn’t help laughing. Good one that. Camera work has been high quality. Great work.

Bhopal unfolds after 26 years: Its amazing to see the unfolding of Bhopal tragedy, wonder what was media doing all these years?. These “revelation” only adds to criminal negligence by all the people at the helm of affairs. What makes the contrast terrible is how Americans are handling the oil spill. These big companies have gotten away with worst transgressions in Africa. I guess some life are cheap, it’s a matter of geography. Isn’t former honorable Chief Justice of India Ahmedi contempt on society?. All the people who gained from these and other deals have passed these tactics/benefits to the next generation, so you know what this young new India is all about. It is extending what is passed from the corrupt/power hungry elder generation (it’s also about loving the one’s family!!). Recognize where the next big lick is and wag your tail accordingly. The binge is now on being liberal and yes viciously secular (whatever that means) and if you missed that one take the boat that goes the other extreme. Market media is into balancing act so you are sure to get your bite and god saving attention. India is relatively peaceful or for that matter secular (whatever that means) not because of these macaques who shout (one rodent has even sneaked into Rajya Sabha recently with his big mouth, till recently the moron was making fun of young people through reality shows,whatever crap you do if it is market friendly then there is a easy take as modern, if you have a muslim name wonderful, clearly our young leaders watch too much TV!!) but because of traditional/cultural values passed on from generations around the country, that provides the resilience (of course there are regressive elements too but that shouldn’t be the reason to condemn the whole) and reference points.This blogger is not against discussion but it shouldn't be entertainment with small timers. These are serious matter and in depth understanding needed and not frivolous titillations, anyway Delhi based tail wagers are not competent for these. They could learn from BBC (except that Punjab is not Pooonjab!! Sorry dear Master it is too late to change for your convenience). I take strong exception against using victims who don't understand English by English channels as dummies for their purpose, the onus is on TV channels to provide them translation of proceedings, that is basic decency. I hope they are also paid.

Hundreds of Bhopal (using it as a metaphor for corruption) happens all the time around the country, you have to be cunning to gain from these (as the marketer would say “capitalizing the opportunities”) and then it is about consolidating one’s position by doing some “good work” also referred to as charity (O the joy of giving), cynics would call it brand building!!. This blogger isn’t much bothered about Corporate Social Responsibility but is very concerned how responsibly/legally and ethically they earn. Laws should be stricter and any transgression seriously dealt. India is also one of the very few countries that have not ratified the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC), other countries that has not ratified the treaty (that was adopted in 2003 and came into affect from 2005) include Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Italy (it’s been under Mister Berlusconi for a decade now). Let me quote a para under Criminalization and Law Enforcement (Chapter III, Articles 15-44):

Chapter III calls on States Parties to establish or maintain a series of specific criminal offences including not only long-established crimes such as various forms of bribery and embezzlement, but also conduct not already criminalized in many States, such as trading in official influence and other abuses of official functions. The broad range of ways in which corruption has manifested itself in different countries and the novelty of some of the offences pose serious legislative and constitutional challenges, a fact reflected in the decision of the Ad Hoc Committee to make some of the requirements either optional on the part of States Parties (“…shall consider adopting…”) or subject to domestic constitutional or other fundamental requirements (“…subject to its constitution and the fundamental principles of its legal system…”). Specific acts that States Parties must criminalize include active bribery (the offer or giving of an undue advantage) of a national, international or foreign public official, and passive bribery of a national public official and embezzlement of public funds. Other mandatory crimes include obstruction of justice, and the concealment, conversion or transfer of criminal proceeds (money laundering). Sanctions extend to those who participate in or attempt to commit corruption offences. The Convention goes thus beyond previous instruments of this kind that criminalize only basic forms of corruption. States are encouraged – but not required – to criminalize, inter alia, passive bribery of foreign and international public officials, trading in influence, abuse of function, illicit enrichment, private sector bribery and embezzlement, money laundering, and the concealment of illicit assets.

This time its Africa !!!!

The game begins at Madeba land

The place to be in for next few weeks is South Africa, and as audiences I would say Kerala is always exciting place to be in during the matches it is electrifying. Traditional supporter of Brazil and Argentina this time I am putting my money on an outsider England. Don’t know I am doing a blasphemy… yah guys why not England they look quite balanced, of course Spain is always a threat. So it is a goaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaal for next few weeks

Travesty

It is a matter of shame, it just goes on to show how cheap life of common Indians are. So shouldn’t the gas victims take up arms or join the Naxals?. They have tried everything possible peacefully and it is clear that Indian state is not equipped to give justice nor it seems particularly bothered. This blogger believes that this case should be tried at the international level this is crime against humanity. Not only the criminal negligence by the company but the politicians who are involved in these as also the lack of justice for so many years.

Union carbide is now back as Dow chemicals and our policy makers have rolled out the red carpet- O the precious unscrupulous FDI (not the least by comrades in Bengal), it seems our life (and yes death too…cheap deaths) is dependent on it. And then there is a case for GDP that makes lot of people ecstatic. The moral of the story is if you swindle, swindle it big so that you are too precious to fail (Wall Street can teach more on this). You can poison and maim thousands of people for generations and still live like Anderson in villas on some US beach. I like most people are tired of this joke. The least they could have done was to atleast show that justice is being given but today’s verdict is a cruel joke , accentuated by the fact that this is the first conviction in 25years of struggle. Shame on Indian Judiciary.

Post Script: BP oil spill is such a catastrophe and gallons of oil is leaking every second causing significant damage to ecology but the CEO (fellow named Tony Hayward) after initially denying it as minor and then shirking responsibility is now using this precious time to come out with an ad trying to garner sympathy (the way he express his sadness should fetch him an Oscar). A seasoned marketer would say “that is capitalising opportunity this is in the nature of market”. What kind of scoundrels are these?

What a charming movie!!

I am just out of theater watching the movie Avatar, thought of blogging about it since I have an hour to surf. What an amazing movie. It so happened that the movie was being shown at PVR Gold, now I have absolutely no idea about these classifications only when I reached the theatre (quite far from where I stay) that I came to know it is super luxury class- the ticket costing almost thousand bucks !!!. I had such a shock, it took me moments to gather my senses then evaluated my options (this is the only theater that is showing this movie and so on) and decided to shell out the money, though quite reluctantly. The theatre itself was quite an experience the kind I don’t think I will forget in a hurry. Cozy sofas that stretch all the way, waiters waiting to take order from the menu placed and so on. Man it was some other world!!.

Coming to the movie, it is a stupendous effort. How do they do it?. How do they create these amazing worlds? I think the previous movie which left me astounded was almost two decades back: The Jurassic Park, I couldn’t believe what I saw (only Steven Spielberg could make that one. Richard Attenborugh was amazing presence, I am a big admirer of David Attenborugh too- incidentally there is a new program in Discovery channel every day at 8pm that i love so much...it is nothing short of incredible), James Cameron has extended that world o so beautifully. Amazing visual kept me spell bounded, the story too had lot of contemporary relevance ('shock and awe'...yah cud see that!!). Some dialogues stand out like when she says “mother earth doesn’t take side she only balances life”. Overall I loved this movie and will cherish for a long time

I would love to see the movie again but I guess the cost factor is a dampener. I could have seen this movie earlier but one thing or other came up, also I rarely go to crowded theaters and I was into traveling and so on (not that I was busy, I rarely am busy. Love it that way)

Where exactly is UN?

Israel has seriously flouted international laws and norms, and if UN doesn’t take any action then we are in for it. This could escalate into dangerous new level. Most importantly it will give legitimacy to fringe groups as happened after invasion of Iraq. What Israel has done is nothing but state terrorism and if international community doesn’t deal with situation in all its fairness then we can expect extreme elements to capitalize, and for a country like Turkey this is catastrophe. UN is expected to take stringent action at the earliest.