Nov 22, 2010
Oct 14, 2010
Aug 12, 2010
Jun 21, 2010
BP Gulf of Mexico oil spill & Bhopal Gas tragedy what's common and whats' not?
The oil spill in Gulf of Mexico has attracted constant media attention for 2 months now. It is seen as one of the worst ecological disasters. The implications and consequences are going to be far and wide. It has impacted tourism, sea food industry of Louisiana and New Orleans, Oil and anciliary industries, endangered marine life, caused loss of jobs,health hazards ... and so on. I would like to treat it as another example of slackness on part of a big MNC who have been after making money by cutting corners especially on safety issues. There is no doubt that oil industry and BP are life line of the people living in the region of Gulf of Mexico but this uncontrollable spill of millions of barrels of oil has brought doom all over. Inspite of several expensive attempts by BP and US administration the spill has not been contained. This incident has adversely affected the image of BP,brought down its share prices and resulted in a potential loss of tens of billions of dollars in the form of compensation.
I would like to draw some analogy of this disaster with Bhopal gas tregedy which happened couple of decades back. While there are similarities, there are some major differences that underpin the double standards adopted by the governments in handling.
Here are some similarities:
1. Both were man-made disasters caused by irresponsible operations of large multi-nationals
2. In both incidents serious damage to environment has been caused
3.The consequences are far beyond just environment and encompass health, livlihood of thousands of families
4. These incidents have brought big time image and cash loss for the companies
5. Governments of host country and operating MNC are/were actively involved in the handling of the actions
But there are some major differences:
1. The USA oil spill has not caused big loss of life whereas in Bhopal thousands of poor people lost their lives and their kin are compelled to live a hell like life thereafter
2. The US govt. has imposed serious penalties on BP and held it fully accountable for clean-up. But the Indian govt. of that time acted in collusion with Union Carbide(now Dow Chemicals) and let the CEO flee India and even after decades of legal battle the penalties and compensation ($500 each next of kin of those who died)announced were so ridiculous.
3. Now it has become a serious political issue in India and politicians are leaving no chance to encash this tragic incident to their benefit. The current Indian govt. is trying to show that it is making serious efforts for extradition of Warren Anderson and for review of the case to ensure justice for affected people. But it all looks a joke. Why not US President Obama apply the same standards for Dow and Anderson as he is doing in case of BP oil spill ?
4. The speed,sincerity and commitment to justice for affected people, displayed by Indian government and US government are so different and it also clearly shows double standard of a super power towards a developing nation.
As a true world citizen, I appeal to the heads of the nations to stop playing double standards when it comes to incidents affecting human lives. Also the big MNCs must be brought under stringent international laws (may need to bring in new ones) to prevent such type of man-made disasters. Making money at the cost of environment and human life cannot be and must not be allowed any longer.
I would like to draw some analogy of this disaster with Bhopal gas tregedy which happened couple of decades back. While there are similarities, there are some major differences that underpin the double standards adopted by the governments in handling.
Here are some similarities:
1. Both were man-made disasters caused by irresponsible operations of large multi-nationals
2. In both incidents serious damage to environment has been caused
3.The consequences are far beyond just environment and encompass health, livlihood of thousands of families
4. These incidents have brought big time image and cash loss for the companies
5. Governments of host country and operating MNC are/were actively involved in the handling of the actions
But there are some major differences:
1. The USA oil spill has not caused big loss of life whereas in Bhopal thousands of poor people lost their lives and their kin are compelled to live a hell like life thereafter
2. The US govt. has imposed serious penalties on BP and held it fully accountable for clean-up. But the Indian govt. of that time acted in collusion with Union Carbide(now Dow Chemicals) and let the CEO flee India and even after decades of legal battle the penalties and compensation ($500 each next of kin of those who died)announced were so ridiculous.
3. Now it has become a serious political issue in India and politicians are leaving no chance to encash this tragic incident to their benefit. The current Indian govt. is trying to show that it is making serious efforts for extradition of Warren Anderson and for review of the case to ensure justice for affected people. But it all looks a joke. Why not US President Obama apply the same standards for Dow and Anderson as he is doing in case of BP oil spill ?
4. The speed,sincerity and commitment to justice for affected people, displayed by Indian government and US government are so different and it also clearly shows double standard of a super power towards a developing nation.
As a true world citizen, I appeal to the heads of the nations to stop playing double standards when it comes to incidents affecting human lives. Also the big MNCs must be brought under stringent international laws (may need to bring in new ones) to prevent such type of man-made disasters. Making money at the cost of environment and human life cannot be and must not be allowed any longer.
Jun 9, 2010
O dear weekend
O dear weekend, you are so sweet
Longing for you keeps us going all week
Tom, Dick or Harry or any Geek
Everyone loves you every week
Joy,Fun and Laugther or Relaxation
You are a bundle of goodness, it's no exaggeration
Some may say that, weekend is no big deal
But no one can deny that you bring the zeal...you bring the zeal
Longing for you keeps us going all week
Tom, Dick or Harry or any Geek
Everyone loves you every week
Joy,Fun and Laugther or Relaxation
You are a bundle of goodness, it's no exaggeration
Some may say that, weekend is no big deal
But no one can deny that you bring the zeal...you bring the zeal
May 25, 2010
AI plane crash in Mangalore... machine or human error?
The Dubai-Mangalore AI Express flight IX812 is one of the the biggest air crashes in India in several years. The last one I remember was Charkhi Dadri near Delhi I guess in 1996 when 150+ people lost their lives. At that time also it was dubbed as human error as Kazakh cargo plane had head-on collision with Saudi Airline plane. If at that time it was error due to language (especially between Kazakh pilot and ATC) what were the lessons learnt and actions taken to avoid such things in future?
The new crash also, some quarters attribute happened, due to Serbian pilot (possible language issue).But I don't agree, because same pilot had 19 successful landings earlier at same airport without any problem and moreover he was a British citizen therefore can't question his English language abilities. I am sure ATC doesn't speak in regional languages. There were two very experienced pilots commanding the plane and they complement each other so where did the fault happen after touchdown? Was there some obstruction on the runway due to which sudden brake was applied and tire bursted leading to aircraft going out of control, eventually overshooting the runway and falling off the hill? Or was there a techincal fault in the aircraft like brakes or tires ...etc. I understand that before anyflight the aircraft is given fitness clearance by DGCA certified aircraft engineer after thorough check...so was their a slackness in checking the plane before take-off from Dubai? I personally do not agree to the theory of short or table top runway which is tricky. The Boeng 737-800 is not a very big aircraft that it can't land easily at Mangalore.I have myself travelled from Mangalore a number of times. I dont know about quality of surface on the runway but otherwise it looks OK. Airports at Agartala,Patna,Bagdogra,Srinagar,Leh and (old one at) Cochin are far more tricky or difficult than Mangalore. But international flights are not flown by novices they are under command of expert pilots.
So many innocent lives have been lost in this mishap and the nation deserves right answers for all questions throght independent & thorugh proble. Stringent measures must be implemented to remove any ignorance or casual approach on technical issues. Pilots selection, aircraft certification, runway safety and clearance must be stringent and accountability established for every critical functional area,random inspections must happen so that such incidents do not repeat in future and inncocent lives are not lost due to human error. India should implement such strong measures for aviation safety that even the developed countries may envy and try to emulate.
The new crash also, some quarters attribute happened, due to Serbian pilot (possible language issue).But I don't agree, because same pilot had 19 successful landings earlier at same airport without any problem and moreover he was a British citizen therefore can't question his English language abilities. I am sure ATC doesn't speak in regional languages. There were two very experienced pilots commanding the plane and they complement each other so where did the fault happen after touchdown? Was there some obstruction on the runway due to which sudden brake was applied and tire bursted leading to aircraft going out of control, eventually overshooting the runway and falling off the hill? Or was there a techincal fault in the aircraft like brakes or tires ...etc. I understand that before anyflight the aircraft is given fitness clearance by DGCA certified aircraft engineer after thorough check...so was their a slackness in checking the plane before take-off from Dubai? I personally do not agree to the theory of short or table top runway which is tricky. The Boeng 737-800 is not a very big aircraft that it can't land easily at Mangalore.I have myself travelled from Mangalore a number of times. I dont know about quality of surface on the runway but otherwise it looks OK. Airports at Agartala,Patna,Bagdogra,Srinagar,Leh and (old one at) Cochin are far more tricky or difficult than Mangalore. But international flights are not flown by novices they are under command of expert pilots.
So many innocent lives have been lost in this mishap and the nation deserves right answers for all questions throght independent & thorugh proble. Stringent measures must be implemented to remove any ignorance or casual approach on technical issues. Pilots selection, aircraft certification, runway safety and clearance must be stringent and accountability established for every critical functional area,random inspections must happen so that such incidents do not repeat in future and inncocent lives are not lost due to human error. India should implement such strong measures for aviation safety that even the developed countries may envy and try to emulate.
May 12, 2010
India's ICC T20 world cup debacle raises several questions
It has been a very disappointing ICC world T20 for India. Cricket has become a cult or religion for most youngsters and even elderly. There is so much of money,glamour,media glitz, controversy and politics ... you name it and that keeps big money spinning all round the year.Our player are by far the most highly paid sports people in the world. To me it looks as though it is coming too much too early for the younsgters and they are not capable to cope up and rise to the occassion to perform for the country in top tournaments. We have seen that in last ICC world cup,ICC T20 world cup to name a few. There is no learning from the mistakes of past.
For a country of 1 Billion plus with such huge fan following, it is a big let down by the players. The captainship in Super-8 stage was abysmal and unpardonable,so was team selection and execution of game strategy. The so called top ranked team in Tests and 2nd in ODIs proved to be very ordinary in-front of so called laggards like WI and Sril Lanka who on paper do not have star studded line-up and they get paid far less than Indian players and also the poor guys do not have much endorsement money either. I dont know why players like Jadeja, Pathan who have very consisitent poor performance getting place in final playing eleven? Even Murlai Vijay was very ordinary and unfit for this stage though he was brilliant at IPL.The big names like Gambhir, Yuvraj,Dhoni himself,Kartik all proved ineffective against real pace and bouncy wickets. Simply speaking they all need to work hard to come up with top performance at international stage. IPL itinerary is also to blame for this poor performance as Dhoni said in media but that is a lame excuse.
Except for Pakistan, all major teams had their key pleyers playing at IPL and some of them even had very tight schedule back home before joing IPL. That way all of them had same fatigue factor or so. But Australians proved once again what professionalism and commitment means. They are shoulders above all teams. England has also shown very improved and consistent performance beating all odds.
Our cricket team needs to work in following areas on urgent basis:
1. Right team selection (not based on past laurels alone but actual calibre for the format)
2. Good bench strength to fall back when major names fail
3. Rigorous SWOT analysis of players to identify weak areas and strenghten those
4. Killer instinct and aggressiveness on ground
5. Early planning and application of simulated training sessions for the team that matches actual conditions of major tournaments (like bouncy wickets, rain disturbed games, rising deliveries etc)
6. Game strategy and its execution and holding the nerves in crunch moments (clear all out action plan for final overs)
7. Bowling in right areas (disciplined approach)- no straying please
8. Improvements in fielding- a lot to learn from Australians and South Africans
My point is , if you are getting highest paid then you must perfom the best in the world. But you are not performing even 2nd or 3rd best in international tournaments and that's not acceptable.
Hope BCCI is listening and seeing these comments of a sincere Indian. This is not a criticizing note but an eye opener because I think Indian cricket team needs to work as a matter of urgency on above areas if they want to keep our heads held high as a nation. Jai Hind !
For a country of 1 Billion plus with such huge fan following, it is a big let down by the players. The captainship in Super-8 stage was abysmal and unpardonable,so was team selection and execution of game strategy. The so called top ranked team in Tests and 2nd in ODIs proved to be very ordinary in-front of so called laggards like WI and Sril Lanka who on paper do not have star studded line-up and they get paid far less than Indian players and also the poor guys do not have much endorsement money either. I dont know why players like Jadeja, Pathan who have very consisitent poor performance getting place in final playing eleven? Even Murlai Vijay was very ordinary and unfit for this stage though he was brilliant at IPL.The big names like Gambhir, Yuvraj,Dhoni himself,Kartik all proved ineffective against real pace and bouncy wickets. Simply speaking they all need to work hard to come up with top performance at international stage. IPL itinerary is also to blame for this poor performance as Dhoni said in media but that is a lame excuse.
Except for Pakistan, all major teams had their key pleyers playing at IPL and some of them even had very tight schedule back home before joing IPL. That way all of them had same fatigue factor or so. But Australians proved once again what professionalism and commitment means. They are shoulders above all teams. England has also shown very improved and consistent performance beating all odds.
Our cricket team needs to work in following areas on urgent basis:
1. Right team selection (not based on past laurels alone but actual calibre for the format)
2. Good bench strength to fall back when major names fail
3. Rigorous SWOT analysis of players to identify weak areas and strenghten those
4. Killer instinct and aggressiveness on ground
5. Early planning and application of simulated training sessions for the team that matches actual conditions of major tournaments (like bouncy wickets, rain disturbed games, rising deliveries etc)
6. Game strategy and its execution and holding the nerves in crunch moments (clear all out action plan for final overs)
7. Bowling in right areas (disciplined approach)- no straying please
8. Improvements in fielding- a lot to learn from Australians and South Africans
My point is , if you are getting highest paid then you must perfom the best in the world. But you are not performing even 2nd or 3rd best in international tournaments and that's not acceptable.
Hope BCCI is listening and seeing these comments of a sincere Indian. This is not a criticizing note but an eye opener because I think Indian cricket team needs to work as a matter of urgency on above areas if they want to keep our heads held high as a nation. Jai Hind !
May 4, 2010
Sri Sri Ravishanker's talk on nature
Back to nature
Deccan Herald, 3rd May, 2010H.H. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Ancient scriptures have it that human beings have five sheaths: the environment, the physical body, the mind, the intuitive sheath and the fifth sheath is purushartha, i.e., the blissful state. The environment is our first body and one of the most important sheaths. If our environment is clean and positive, it has a positive impact on all the other sheaths and they are in balance.Environment consciousness is inbuilt in the human system. Historically, nature has always been adored in India; mountains, rivers, trees, the sun, the moon, have always been honoured. It’s only when we started moving away from nature that we started polluting nature. We need to revive the ancient practice.Today man has become greedy, he wants to make quick profits and achieve quick results. This obstructs preservation of ecology. It not only pollutes the physical environment but also stimulates negative emotions in the subtle level. These negative emotions do not stay limited to that one person but rubs off onto all those who he comes in contact with. These negative vibrations once compounded are the root cause of all disasters and misery in the world.Most of the wars are triggered off by such feelings; which is always accompanied by waste and natural disasters that take ages to balance out. We need to attend to the human psyche which causes pollution, whether physical or emotional. If compassion and care are kindled within the self, they reflect in the environment.Just observe nature; the five elements of nature are opposed to each other. Water destroys fire, fire destroys air. Then there are so many species in nature - the birds, reptiles, mammals; all these different species are hostile towards each other and yet nature balances them out. We need to learn from nature.In ancient times, if a person cut one tree, he planted five in return. The ancient people did not wash clothes in holy rivers; only ashes of cremated bodies were to be submerged in the river so that everything gets digested back to nature.We need to balance our views with a free mind. We need to work out ways and means of protecting our beautiful planet earth. For this to happen, human consciousness must rise above greed and exploitation. We need to revive the ancient practice of honouring and conserving nature. Spirituality has been a time tested answer. It eliminates all the negative emotions; it elevates one’s consciousness and promotes a sense of caring and commitment for the whole planet.(H.H. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar is the founder of the Art of Living)
Apr 14, 2010
IPL is entertaining but its politics sucks
The recent exchange of tweets between Lalit Modi and Shashi Tharoor has not done any good for IPL and image of India. It is tarnishing the image of this great cricketing fair which aspires of gaining status similar to English Premier League (EPL). While people are having good time enjoying the exciting T20 games which are closely contested, the murky dealings are also pointing to possibility of "dirty money" being used in IPL . Franchisees are making money, players are making money, sponsors are making money,new talents are getting noticed ... all this is very good and must go on.
But I feel Lalit Modi is acting as a king and he thinks that he can get away with whatever he says and does. No doubt he is a smart and innovative entrepreneur but his lust for power and limelight is very clear ever since inception of IPL. Be it controversy with ICL or TV rights or auction of Pak players in IPL3 he has always created controversies. The latest spat with Tharoor and BJP support for him is pointing towards his political ambitions (who knows !). I am not saying that there should not be transparency or clean dealing but all I am saying is it should not be an affair between two individuals. Government must act on it and BCCI must clear all doubts the sooner the better. BCCI has itself gotten into controversies like bowing down to Shiv Sena... and so on.
I am hopeful that sense will prevail and all this worthless spat will stop soon for the good of cricket and for the good of India. Jai Hind !
But I feel Lalit Modi is acting as a king and he thinks that he can get away with whatever he says and does. No doubt he is a smart and innovative entrepreneur but his lust for power and limelight is very clear ever since inception of IPL. Be it controversy with ICL or TV rights or auction of Pak players in IPL3 he has always created controversies. The latest spat with Tharoor and BJP support for him is pointing towards his political ambitions (who knows !). I am not saying that there should not be transparency or clean dealing but all I am saying is it should not be an affair between two individuals. Government must act on it and BCCI must clear all doubts the sooner the better. BCCI has itself gotten into controversies like bowing down to Shiv Sena... and so on.
I am hopeful that sense will prevail and all this worthless spat will stop soon for the good of cricket and for the good of India. Jai Hind !
Apr 13, 2010
Cloud computing is the next big thing for this decade
Cloud computing is the next big thing happening in the IT industry after the internet. This is going to totally change the way enterprises look to meet their IT hardware and software requirements. Using internet as delivery vehicle it will bring real efficient use of computing resources.
There are three broad classifications for service delivery models in cloud computing:
IaaS (Infrastructure as a service): Here the enterprise outsources the IT hardware used to support its operations.
PaaS (Platform as a service): This delivery model offers platform and software solutions as a service without the need to buy or manage underlying software or hardware layer.
SaaS (Software as a service): This model providesaccess to OS and applications without need of downloading or installing them on the user's subsystems.
These services can be made available instantly on-demand and billed as per actual usage. This will bring tremendous cost reductions.Cloud computing leads to reduced capital expenditure,more efficient use of resources, and instant access to latest technology at all times,greater innovation and lower adminstration costs.
Cloud coumputing involves use of large number of computer servers and other resources as a group. Common business applications are made available through data centres which can be accessed from a web browser.
There are three types of clouds : External, Hybrid and Internal
All these have got their benefits and limitations. It depends on the enterprise type and business process as to what cloud and delivery system will be appropriate. Issues that are important to look into are flexibility,scalability and security. While external or public clouds are cheaper, they do not provide control to user. Hybrid clouds are combination of internal and external counds and the cost is higher than external cloud. Major IT servie providers like Infosys ,TCS and Wipro have already started lot of activities in cloud computing and I have a strong feeling that they will benefit as early movers. It is expected that as we move on , security and connectivity issues shall be addressed and enterprises will have far more efficient and cost effective IT operations using cloud computing which will give businesses using it , a definite competitive advantage.
There are three broad classifications for service delivery models in cloud computing:
IaaS (Infrastructure as a service): Here the enterprise outsources the IT hardware used to support its operations.
PaaS (Platform as a service): This delivery model offers platform and software solutions as a service without the need to buy or manage underlying software or hardware layer.
SaaS (Software as a service): This model providesaccess to OS and applications without need of downloading or installing them on the user's subsystems.
These services can be made available instantly on-demand and billed as per actual usage. This will bring tremendous cost reductions.Cloud computing leads to reduced capital expenditure,more efficient use of resources, and instant access to latest technology at all times,greater innovation and lower adminstration costs.
Cloud coumputing involves use of large number of computer servers and other resources as a group. Common business applications are made available through data centres which can be accessed from a web browser.
There are three types of clouds : External, Hybrid and Internal
All these have got their benefits and limitations. It depends on the enterprise type and business process as to what cloud and delivery system will be appropriate. Issues that are important to look into are flexibility,scalability and security. While external or public clouds are cheaper, they do not provide control to user. Hybrid clouds are combination of internal and external counds and the cost is higher than external cloud. Major IT servie providers like Infosys ,TCS and Wipro have already started lot of activities in cloud computing and I have a strong feeling that they will benefit as early movers. It is expected that as we move on , security and connectivity issues shall be addressed and enterprises will have far more efficient and cost effective IT operations using cloud computing which will give businesses using it , a definite competitive advantage.
Mar 14, 2010
Feb 10, 2010
My First Blog
Today is a very important day for me as I created my Blogspot. This will help me to speak up and bring my thoughts on various subjects and also share them with friends and community. Its a very powerful yet simple and easy to use tool. I thank and congratulate Google for gifting us such a .
wonderful tool.
In this first blog of mine I am going to talk about the ruckus created by Shiv Sena over the issue of Mumbai for Marathi Manoos only and several issues linked to it like North Indians, SRK movie release, allowing Australian players in IPL etc.I feel that media is giving more coverage than what the Thackeray's deserve and indirectly it's benefiting their cause of reviving their lost grounds politically. The govt needs to rise above the narrow vision of political gains in forthcoming elections and act tough to punish the perpetrators of hatred and violence.India's strength lies in diversity and when we are gunning for big role to play at international stage as a super power , such acts by self-centred politicians malign the country's image.It's clear that govt of Maharashtra and for that matter the central govt as well are acting too soft. We must stop this and work for nation building rather than creating divide in the name of language or region or forcing what we like on others.
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