Is this our government??

I am ashamed of our government and poilticians.

1. The Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh. Did you watch his first speech when he was talking about the Mumbai attack? If you didn't, don't worry, you didn't miss much. He would probably have put you to sleep. Hell, he would have put himself to sleep! George W., for all his faults, atleast roused patriotism in the Americans when he told them that their country had been attacked, but the evil-doers would not get away with it.

2. The President. Whats her name? Where is Kalam when you need him?

3. The Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Vilasrao Deshmukh. What do I say about him? He would have done really well in Bollywood movies. Reporters asked him if he was worried about being asked to quit. He gave them a deep, villainous laugh, "ha ha ha! Do I look worried to you? Don't I look relaxed?" He also quite enjoys the celebrity side of fame and the thrill of danger. He went on a "terrorism tour" of the Taj and took along with him, cameras, the media, his actor-son Rietesh Deshmukh and wannabe horror/action movie director Ram Gopal Varma with him. Why did he take RGV? a. "RGV happened to be there." b. He is a "good friend" of Reitesh. c. "He is not a terrorist." d. "He was not there to get material for his next movie." So what? How was he connected to the attacks and why was he allowed to enter an area secured by armed forces because of recent events? Then Deshmukh offered to take responsibility for the attacks and offered his resignation. Gee, really! Protecting the people of his state was his duty and he failed. He SHOULD take responsibility.

4. The Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra, R.R.Patil. I don't know what this man was thinking. He definitely suffers from foot-in-the-mouth disease. He merely opens his mouth to exchange feet. On the morning of the 27th, he got a call from reporters asking him what the status was in Bombay. I don't think he comprehended the seriousness of the situation because he, promptly and confidently, said, " Es, everything is under control." It actually took 3 days for things to be under control. Then he said, "Bade sheheron main aisse cheese hote hain?" So didn't he think that something should be done about it? Duh!

5. Chief Minister of Kerala, V.S. Achutanandan. As an afterthought, he decided to pay his respects to Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan's family and offer his condolences. He was on his way back to Trivandrum, had a stopover in Bangalore and thought it was the perfect opportunity. Unfortunately for him, the family was grieving, angry for the loss of their only son and didn't want fame or politicians to come a-calling, they wuld rather have had their son back. So the father yelled at him, called him a dog (he actually said, "Po da patti") and threw him out. V.S. got his mundu in a twist and retaliated in the media by saying, " If it wasn't for Sandeep, even a dog wouldn't have visited the house." Both were mean, but the father did say that he overreacted and shouldn't have. I don't know if V.S. understood.

6. The thugs of Maharashtra-Raj Thackeray, Bal Thackeray, Uday Thackeray. They are all bark no bite. They show fantastic skills when protecting the Marathi manoos from innocent, unarmed citizens of Mumbai. Where were they when armed terrorists came along and went on a killing spree? Probably peeing in their pants as they hid under their beds. Bal Thackeray is old, so he was probably praying he didn't have a heart attack.

7. The entire BJP party and Congress. Why should anyone be left out? The BJP promised, at first, that they would not use the terrorist attacks in Bombay for their campaign. Two days later their promise was broken as they campaigned in Rajasthan. Anyone surprised?! Shocked? Angry? Of course! We all should be. In fact none of us should go out and vote. Until someone gets out there and fixes the security in this country and proves that they can unite the country, none of them should be in power. The BJP isn't any better than the congress party. They would have been just as incompetent as the Congress party. Fools! The whole lot! Maybe we should become a dictatorship...

8. Next time we should send thugs from the South-Vaiko, Azhagiri etc etc. They are so busy trying to save Sri Lankan Tamils and fighting over the fact that the family newspaper published a survey showing how unpopular they are. What were they doing when the country needed them? Peeing in their pants?

I still think Lalu is the best... He is such a lalu... I also think that no Indian should pay their taxes this year. Our employees, the government and politicians, have not done their duty-protecting the citizens of this country, who entrusted them with power to rule. All they are doing is becoming fat, old, and lazy, and are greedily pocketing all our hard-earned rupees. Its about time they worked for their pay!

We should applaud the staff at the Taj Mahal Palace hotel. As per information from guests, they were very helpful, kept calm and did their best to keep guests safe. There is no contact with The Oberoi Hotel. They are still speculating on the number of hostages. I'm sure the staff there are doing their very best.

Are our politicians prepared to handle this? Why are all of them making their way to Bombay? Do they have what it takes to unite an anxious country? Do they know what it means to be Indian? I hope they do.
I think the Indian Army, Navy, RAF, Marine commandos, Bombay police and all other security forces are doing a fantastic job. It takes a lot of courage to put your life on the line for your job. Earlier today, it was worrying watching the police walking around with bulletproof vests and morning walkers standing right outside the Taj watching the situation unfold. Another matter of concern was the fact that the CM of Maharashtra didn't seem to comprehend how dangerous things were. He made a statement that everything was under control. It wasn't then and it still isn't, but security forces are surrounding the buildings.
There has been some talk about negotiations, but I think they are just having talks. They should just take the terrorists down.
Heard from Shalu earlier. She and Arch and their families are safe. Arch lives next door to the Taj.

I was shocked this morning when I woke up to the news that Bombay had been attacked by terrorists. It is so hard to believe that the city where I was born and grew up in was so vulnerable to these attacks. Terrorists attacked the Taj Mahal Palace HOtel, The Oberoi, The Trident, Nariman HOuse, Metro Cinemas and VT Station. This crisis which began at 10pm last night is still in progress. These attacks seems to be so organised and well-coordinated. How did they do it? HOw did they know where to go?

Nostalgia brings back peer pressure. Looking back on friends who have come and gone, I tend to remember all the good things, all the things I miss about them and how much fun it would be to hang out again. Then reality steps in. Your chance comes along and you realise that while losing a friend is painful, it can be the best thing that ever happened to you. A blessing in disguise! All I felt, recently, at a get-together, was relief! Isn't that wonderful!
Then I realised why:
1. I am at peace with myself. I am not involved in the backstabbing and politics. I don't have to worry that everyone else's life is so boring, that they are going to interfere in mine.
2. I don't have to go for every single party. The only reason I wanted to go was to hang out with my friends and I know I can do that at anytime. I am not missing out on anything, except for alcohol and late nights. I have tequilla at home, and ever-ready guinea pigs, who are more than willing to try out my new concoctions.
3. I used to wonder what everyone is doing, are they having fun, am I missed. Thanks to Facebook, I actually have the answers to all my questions. :). I know I am definitely having fun. I don't do the same things every weekend-Zara/Distil/ Leather Bar, followed by Pasha, ending at 601. Yawn!
4. I don't have to hang out with rude individuals, just because they are a part of the group. I enjoy the company of the people I do hang out with and that makes the difference. There has to be more to friendship than partying every night and getting drunk.
5. Without the extra stress, I am a nicer person.

I am glad I went for dinner. It was a moment of clarity I needed. Sometimes it is better to have no friends than to have the wrong friends. I call this spring cleaning. I AM FREE!

Aren't the police supposed to protect citizens? Isn't it their duty to protect the weak who are unable to protect themselves? How does a police officer excuse himself from doing his duty, when he stands by watching a boy being beaten to a pulp? That is exactly what happened yesterday at The Ambedkar Government Law College, one of the oldest government colleges in the country. The agitation began between the Dalit and Non Dalit students because of a poster. Media crews had footage of a young law student being thrashed by atleast 5 other students, with lathis, while the cops stood hardly 5 feet away watching the entire episode calmly, doing nothing to stop it. The poor boy lying on the ground, covered in blood, couldn't defend himself.

It is a known fact that, in this country, lawyers and cops don't get along. It is also a fact that law students can be thugs. So was it a personal grudge? The Madras High Court immediately said that the media should use discretion while broadcasting the violent footage. What a joke! The Chief Minister did not fire the police commisioner, only tranferred him because he is a permanent employee. The comissioner wasn't there so you can't really blame him for the behavior of the junior officers. However, every single officer who, stood outside the gates of the college, watching events unfold, should be fired. They are a disgrace to the uniform they wear and should be punished appropriately for their misconduct. Instead of asking for discretion, the High Court should have issued arrest warrants for the police and for the students who were beating each other up. The police, who are so worried about the morals of the citizens of Tamil Nadu, don't seem to have any of their own.

I wanted to add to this post, although it has nothing to do with what I wrote below, but it is something I want to remember... Barrack Obama was elected the 44th President of the United States and the first African American president. I was working with one eye and both my ears on the T.V. as I watched this historical election take place. Congrats Obama!

Some people get stuck in the past. Its difficult for them to let go and move on. They talk about their past, blame their past and keep doing the same things over and over again. You make mistakes in life, but aren't you supposed to learn from them? When you repeat the same behavior several times over, it becomes an ingrained habit. Habits are difficult to change. If that habit works for you, why would you want to change it. The excuses you use to explain the behavior then become just that-EXCUSES! When is it time to start taking responsibility for your life? For your behavior? For the choices that you made? For the lives that you ruined along the way?

I have been thinking about giving up watching T.V. during the week. Its a difficult decision to make because I love watching T.V. I can give it up; I don't want to. Most shows have reruns on the weekend. There are shows like 'Friday Night Lights' that runs on Star World, Monday to Friday, which I enjoy, but they don't show reruns on the weekend. I guess, the real question is, what am I missing if I don't watch T.V.? The answer is simple- its one of my favorite forms of entertainment. Yet it is limiting. Sometimes, I choose T.V. over exercise or going out. There are times when I just want background noise-I have the T.V. on, I can hear the conversation and I read a book or I am on the computer. I just feel that I am watching too much T.V. Maybe its time to indulge in some of my other favorite pastimes like reading and doing crosswords. It definitely will increase conversation time and prevent fighting over the remote or which show to watch. As I said right at the beginning though, I'm thinking about it.

I wonder if the Tamils in Tamil Nadu realize that the Tamils in Sri Lanka are not from Tamil Nadu. They were originally from Bihr and Bangladesh. They don't even speak the same language. In a survey done by the Indian Express, 80% of their focus group thought that the Sri Lankan Tamils should be protected by India.
The ploy, on the part of the DMK, to resign from the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, was quite clever. The MPs were meant to resign if the Indian Government did not send troops to Sri Lanka to protect the innocent Tamils, who were caught in the crossfire between the Sri Lankan army and the LTTE. So 8 MPs gave in their resignation letters-not to the speaker of the house, who would then make it official, but to the leader of the DMK party. Interesting move! It was a threat. Like chess, the government was meant to be their pawns. Also, to make sure that everyone was aware that they did not support the LTTE, the DMK had Vaiko arrested for supporting them.
Today, a minister from Sri Lanka, arrived in India and met with the Indian prime minister, Manmohan Singh. This appears to have satisfied Karunanidhi, who announced that none of his MLAs would not resign. It was a hoax! Someone called their bluff and immediately they backed out. Drama for the attention deprived! If only this meeting had taken place before. Who would have thought it would be so easy!