The Great Ch*nky Exodus [228/365]

Today is the Indian Independence day. 66 years ago, we convinced the British to leave us. What's remarkable is that we never threw them out, they left because they simply could not divide our unity and single-minded determination to be one nation. 

Albeit the partition, this was Gandhi's finest moment.

He fought against division based on race, caste, creed and color. And he won our battle only because we had enough of the crap and wanted freedom too.
Today, Gandhi must be turning in his grave. The south Indian State of Karnataka is seeing an exodus of people fleeing a city they've come to accept as their own.
After weeks of unconfirmed reports of harassment and veiled threats against them, nearly two million of the population from the north-east are fleeing. Trains and flights are packed as they are in a hurry to get out.

Clearly this is a rumor. And whoever is behind this is probably chuckling away even as we speak. But this is one joke that's gone so bad, it's not funny anymore. I can imagine the fear they must be going through. All this even as the State and the Central government stands helpless. I hear Manmohan and chief ministers' from the NE have speed dialed our chief. And I hope we get to the bottom of this and fast. We would all like to see the sick bastard who gave birth to this rumor publicly hung.

I am a Keralite. And a proud one too. I know a lot of Keralites who won't take a threat like this against us lying down the way the folks from the NE have taken. You threaten us to get out and we'll down shutters of every eatery and supermarket so fast your head will spin.
The chinks are easy targets. Dispensable. They are the sore thumb that stand out. In my previous post about the beautiful people from the NE, I mentioned how wonderfully nice they are. They might have a fantastic sense of clothing but are incredibly docile once outside their hometowns. What they need is not a legislation to punish the use of the word 'chinky' but equal opportunities and the freedom to be themselves and feel good in their skin. Of all the minorities in the melting pot called India, the folks from the NE are the most nicest.

But this is precisely what is wrong with our society as well. I hear our cops have promised to increase patrol in areas inhabited with the chinks. I also hear that all the outbound trains are being given adequate protection until the Karnataka border.
But why do I feel this is barely enough? Why are our minorities and women not protected always? After the infamous 'home-stay' raid in southern city of Mangalore, civil unrest in Assam, molestation in Guwahati and rapes everywhere else, India is beginning to look like a country that is taking three steps behind for every step forward.

When we harp about how Indians are discriminated abroad, we have such shining examples of racism in India. 

On India's 66th Independence day, isn't India for every Indian?

Monkey See, Monkey Do [227/365]

Source: folitics.in

Originality be damned. It pays to copy.
Anna tried to copy Gandhi. Baba tried to copy Anna. 

Gandhi - 1. Others - 0
Sherlyn copied Poonam. Poonam tried to copy Larissa Riquelme. 

Larissa - 1. Others - 0

A year ago, hairy baba molly cuddled with  Anna as he whipped up the crowds into a frenzy and decided to fast as well. Well, good for him. Looking at how well versed he is with yoga, a few days without food shouldn't really be a big deal. The gamble paid off. Anna and the Baba virtually brought the government to its knees. Cut to 2012, I bet neither of them saw how their fortunes could turn.

In several posts last year, I wrote about how Anna could fail in his fight unless they stayed focused on their goals. As Anna tapped out of a fight that started with earnestness, Baba tagged himself him. He made a lot of noise. When none of it really got him any of the attention he hoped he would get, he excused himself a'la Anna.
I'm surprised how the media and millions of his supporters believe he has made any change.

In the meanwhile, neither he nor Anna ever got the government to implement any sweeping changes that could have stemmed the rot. Instead what they have done is to force the corrupt to adopt a better strategy against future revolutions.

While I wont suspect Anna's intent, I believe future defenders of our freedom could take lessons out of misses that he and his team made. He believed that by copying Gandhi's method of non-violence, he could be the savior that modern India needed. And I won't blame him for being ambitious. His strategy did work initially.

Ambition can be a tricky thing.

Take for instance, Sherlyn Chopra.
Seeing how none of her body parts were making the news for a while, Sherlyn did what Poonam would do- get naked and tweet.
This time, however, Sherlyn managed a coup d'état by posing nude for Playboy. Hefner, the luckiest horny man in the world, was happy. While the world will get to see all of Ms Chopra this November, if any of his former playmates are to be believed, Hefner will have surely made paisa vasool of the whole 'opportunity'.

But then, posing in Playboy is no mean feat. PETA darling and global swimsuit sweetheart Pamela Anderson did it. And so did Marlyn Monroe and a bunch of other beauty queens. Playboy is a must for any teenager with raging hormones and any man with supercharged sex drive. For the bodies models it is a wonderful once in a lifetime platform. If she hasn't already got one, she'll surely get a Bollywood movie, couple of sex tapes and a few reality shows post this spread. But I won't hold my breath hoping to see Sherlyn metamorphose into a star of any substance in this lifetime.

Imitation could very well be the sincerest form of flattery.

May this day [121/365]

Yesterday, the 30th of April, was the International Honesty Day.
Today, the 1st of May, is the International Worker's Day (also known as Labor Day)

Across the world today, what we are seeing is a crisis of ideals and morals. Employees stealing from their employers, Employers undercutting their employees, and corporations cheating their communities. There is a shocking dearth of honesty and integrity. This morning was no different.

Woke up to a headline which described how the Indian President went on an official trip with her grandchildren. (The high flying news here)

While it is true that she has been the least favorite and perhaps the most forgettable person to have occupied the highest seat in the Indian government, what is also shocking is how she has been the most corrupt too. But can you really blame her? 

She is only doing what every other civil servant does. 

She is only doing what your local MLA or cop does - They use their official vehicles for everything from shopping for groceries to picking up the in-laws. So like Pepsi used to say 'Nothing official about it'

Her stint at the Rashtrapati Bhavan is the fuzzy stuff that you dream about but want to forget in a hurry. In what can be described as a utterly shameful act of wasting the public exchequer, she is the most traveled Indian President in history. She will be one of the few Presidents who will be forgotten with a flourish. With her current term ending by the end of this month, I doubt if we'll ever get to see a prez with the acumen and caliber of  APJ Abdul Kalam.

With the kind of autocratic power that women like Mamata, Jayalalitha seem to be wielding, I am beginning to rethink how women in power in India has been a good thing. At the risk of sounding sexist, I say women leaders in Indian politics have been over-rated and over-sold.
While female leaders are a wonderful asset in a corporate, politically they are duds. Driven by the men or lack of one in their lives, they become the very monsters they started out to fight.

But here's a toast to the first day of May.
A day that is celebrated across the world, in one form or the other.
May we learn to live and work with honesty and integrity today and every single day here on.

In the meanwhile, here's a quote I read and one I think is very appropriate:

'Lord, give me work for all the days of my life,

And give me life so that I can finish all my work'

Poignant yet true, won't you agree?

GuestSpeak: Truth or Dare

Well this is my first guest post and I was thrilled when I was invited to be a guest blogger for 'Hold the thought, Get the point'.
I feel honored to write a post for such a notable blogger, though it took me awhile to think of a topic to write about and it struck me while watching Sach ka Saamna. 

One particular episode shocked me to the extent, that there was no way I wouldn't have written about it and discussed the subject with fellow bloggers.

So here goes:

photo credit: A passion to understand

She smiled through out the show while nodding her head in affirmative to all the answers except three ,Yes this was an episode of Sach ka Saamna, a reality show in which contestants are asked a few questions about their lives to which they have to answer in Yes or No and the answers are checked via a polygraph test also known as a lie detector test.

1: Were you ever molested by your father?
'Yes, but he couldn't do it', she added to rescue him from embarrassment .
He was sitting right across along with his wife, son and son-in law. The father through out the show talked about society and morals, who did not accept this girl and her husband for having eloped and getting married, a father who after so many years does not realise that what he sees as his daughter now is a personality developed by his own faults, surprisingly the mother accepted that the girl had discussed the issue with her but was kept under cover. Such mothers certainly deserve salutation. The daughter also confessed that she could never forgive her mother for not doing enough, nor she could ever forgive her for addressing her as a "prostitute" when she eloped with her lover, who is her husband now.

2: Were you ever molested by your brother?
Before she could answer the question, buzzer goes off and guess who pressed it, her own brother.
So, the question went unanswered but neither mother nor her father turned to look at their son. The rule is that if the friends/relatives of the contestant present at the show dont want to hear the answer to a particular question they can press the buzzer,this can be done only once in the entire show.

3: Have you forgiven your husband for having betrayed you? 

Yes. The answer is wrong!

Such is the state of our society. I will not say that it happens in every household but is quite common.
Why don't we talk about some law to punish such offenders? I had often heard of such cases but it was the first time I saw a victim of incest who despite having been hurt had the courage to smile and carry the burden within.
I must say it gave me shivers, but I was quite happy for her for having won a prize money of Rs 10,00,000. The best thing that could have happened to her in the show was that her husband who looked quite offended through out, hugged his wife and said 'We were paired in heaven and I am very proud of my wife'.
A happy ending but an eye opener for any one who must have watched the show but unfortunately forgotten by now.

The crux of the story, we all cry rape but there are several other social evils that plague our society and incest is one of them. Unlike a rape victim, a victim of incest suffers silently at the hands of a family member and it may continue for years . The most painful part in most of such cases, the victim is unable to disclose it to any one and even if she does the matter never gets reported to police . A punishable crime which will continue to flourish untill some awareness is brought about among girls to open up their mouth like a rape victim does.

Written for 'Hold the Thought, Get the Point' by our guest blogger Alka Narula.

Find more information about her at Indiblogger

Do not try this at home [94/365]

NOTE: This post might contain sections that might offend your sensibility. 

Reader discretion is advised.

In a matriarchal society like Kerala, rapes were (note the tense) a rarity. Women were the more respected among the gender. One of the most oft heard rhetorical statement meant to put any adventurous man into shame was - 'Don't you have mothers and sisters in your family?'

But that was in the past.
Back from one of my trips to Kerala, I could see the difference. Politicians are public enemies of the young women.
Bus stations and roads are fair ground for gropers who lurk. I've heard stories of middle-aged married women who were groped in buses and were passed lewd comments and gestures while passing them on the street.
Ofcourse these men do have mothers, sisters and wives.

Source: CreativeCommons

Off all the women who I know has been preyed upon and victimized by ruthless men, Furuta Junko's is the one that stands out in my mind as the epitome of what men are capable of.

Furuto is a school girl who became a victim of cultural violence.
Abducted on her way to work by four teenagers and brutally raped in the most unimaginable way until she died of the torture 44 days later. (Read about the torture here)

Why did Furuka unwittingly spur on the boys into torturing her more?
Why didn't the perpetrators display any signs of remorse or conscience?
Why were the parents and neighbors silent and unwitting spectators to such a crime?
And more importantly why didn't the justice system deliver?

We cannot really blame the perpetrators nor the victim of what happened.
I believe Japan's deep rooted cultural references influenced a crime this grotesque.

One of the perpetrators were a low level yakuza leader.
The Yakuza, the Japanese mob, was and is still highly feared and respected, depending on who you ask. With the government unwilling to step in to curb the influence, the yakuza grew. Much of how the yakuza grew in power and might is also one of the reason why Japan is extremely resilient. In the years following the devastating nuclear attack that ended the WW2, the yakuza made sure that the people got their lives up and running.

During the ordeal, Furuka was gang raped by hundreds of men, was beaten and her teenaged body ravaged in unimaginable ways. Ways that I've only seen and heard happening during wartime. Why?
The answers lie in the most unlikeliest places - Porn.
In Japanese porn, like porn anywhere else, the girl is often a teenager.
But unlike porn in the West, the girls in the Japanese porn are portrayed as weak, timid and scared yet silently and secretly wanting a good 'session'. The lady will always put up a fight, request to be left alone and in peace, yet give in to the man's physical dominance. The lady is forced to strip often in full view of a dozen or more men watching her. What follows is a good measure of foreplay, if it can be termed that. The lady will be forced to masturbate herself while the men proceed to insert dildos, vibrators of every color, size and intensity inside her vagina. Some of the movies will even display extreme bondage and S&M. Apparently S&M movies are a wild rage in the Orient. The women in these movies often take part in group sex with as many as 50 men, all of whom will ejaculate inside her. Through the entire ordeal (which can take an hour or so) the lady will moan, cry and sob in 'pretend' pain (many of the performers have even perfected the art of faking a moan and to quiver in pleasure as the man ejaculates inside her). What is unmistakable is the degree (and the similarities) of the violence that the men inflict on the woman.

While many of us will not like to admit this, this is not something endemic only to Japan.
Coincidentally, many 'desi' MMS's and much of the amateur porn that circulate the internet today is a very grim reminder of the amount of violence, perversion and voyeurism in the society today. Many young men who watch such clips and movies are addicted to the notion that women enjoy being violently raped. They are addicted to the idea of having an orgy with a single woman. While some of them will never rape a lady, most of them who have the means and the time will do the deed. Judging by the number of posts and kind of comments within adult forums, raping a girl (teen) or a lady and taking a video of you doing it is highly expected if you want to be a raging stud online.
As a result, pictures of cleavage, navel and nipples of unsuspecting women are flooding the internet in a way that was unimaginable just a few years ago. Clips from hidden cameras at hotel rooms, changing rooms, shower rooms are a common place online. On a recent visit to Goa, my wife found a hidden camera in a changing room at a very popular bikini showroom. When we pointed this out to the female shop assistant, she was nonchalant and brushed it off as a non incident. The voyeur turns into the perpetrator and the cycle continues.

In a circle where the real becomes reel and vice versa, men are recording what they do, how they do it and who they are doing it with, with less impunity and more bravado. Forums have posts boasting the frequency of updates ('daily updates', some declare),  the date, time and place of the act.

In the west, as people become more aware and vocal against such incidents, corporations and individuals have been working towards correcting our tendency to imitate art (pun intended). In one of the most eloquent instances of how one corporation has been making a mark, the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) has been running a campaign for many years warning, coercing and encouraging viewers and fans to not attempt any of the stunts or fights they see on the show at home, school or anywhere. And it's worked. Statistics show that violence imitating the WWE fights have come down in many parts of America. Many Adult movie producers and performers encourage safe sex and discourage sexual violence. While sorority date rapes and drunk orgies will still continue, many youngsters are more careful about what happens and when than a couple of years ago if the current Spring breaks are any indication. The wet TShirt competition and spontaneous public displays of sexuality are less popular than until a few years ago.

While no one's advocating absolute abstinence, the balance of society fails when men and boys try what they see on TV, in movies and on the internet on women no matter who you are.

Recommended Read:
Devoid of Morals

Quarter times the fun [59/365]

This month just got longer.
February 2012 was an exciting month.
As rightly predicted, this month did have all the ingredients that could quench our insatiable thirst for gossip and voyeurism.

Personally, I've had a good month. I've been able to achieve some of my personal and professional goals and I set new ones for the rest of the year.

Dirty Word of the Month: Sexy
When the Chairperson of the National Commission for Women (NCW), Mamata Sharma said and I quote "'You should take the comment in a positive manner instead of protesting, resisting or going to the police' (Foot in Mouth here), I was rubbing my eyes in disbelief. It was truly a WTF moment.

I remember the first time I heard and used the word. As an impressionable 16 year old, the word was taboo.
But when chairperson of a committee that is supposed to be the watchdog of women in India confirmed that using the word was okay, I was finally at peace.

While I don't think this foot in mouth comment of her's could lead to any more rapes than what will happen or if this will lead to Indian women loosing their integrity, because I know that Indian women are made of sterner and worthier morals than what Mamta Sharma can claim to possess. 

And as for women, if living in India's lecherous metro and her conservative villages amidst a million gazes was not enough, now her 'Roadside Romeos' can finally expand their vocabulary too.

Ze List v1.0

In the spirit of having lists, 2011 was among the most interesting year in this decade.

Ze List is my take on what was interesting, on what made the cut, what didn't and what mattered this year. (In order of importance, of course)

God

Though an unusual entry at Ze List, I think it is important to understand that everything that happens in our life happens for a distinct reason.

Arab Springs

Indian Politics/Incompetence

Stumbling through critical policy matters, fumbling with crisis our politicians have managed to sleep walk through 2011. Yet again.

 Corruption,scams and scandals

The sheer volume of money that was siphoned off this year boggled the mind’s arithmetic. There was an average of new scandal a month.

Twitter

In 140 characters, much of the world spoke to each other this year. Against injustice, discontent, joy, sorrow and everything in between.

 Arab Springs

Lending itself to the lexicon, the Arab world erupted against autocratic rulers and ruthless democracies with a vengeance that does not seem to die.

Julian Assange

Anna Hazare

Offering a glimmer of hope, what started out as a promise is threatening to fizzle out. Anna needs to strategize and stabilize.

Japan

Japan is not new to natural calamities or man-made disasters. As if a devastating earthquake, a huge tsunami in its aftermath was not enough, the nation reeled under the familiar threat of a nuclear holocaust.

Mumbai

The City of Dreams had another nightmare. While any other city in the world would have learned their lesson from 26/11, Mumbai appears to forget. Snooze.

 Wikileaks

A little known whistle-blower site founded by Julian Assange became the nemesis of much of the world’s corrupt, by leaking top secret diplomatic cables and documents. Embarrassed, the West scrambled to muzzle the whistle, Assange has always managed to stay one step ahead every single time.

Meanwhile, he’s promised to reveal the account holders of all that money that has been siphoned off India into tax havens abroad in 2012. Now, that should be interesting!

Oil

As the world continued its love story with fossil fuels, Oil Producing and Exporting Countries (OPEC) will continue to call the shots. Here’s to another year that went to fluctuating crude prices.

Conrad Murray

32 Rupees

In an attempt to show the world and an embarrassment to the government, a government planning commission declares that anyone who earns more than Rs 32/- a day is over the poverty line and cannot be entitled to schemes for individuals below poverty level.

Well, Mr Planning Commissioner 1987 called and they wanted your 32 rupees back.

Vaccine against Malaria

Against a disease that still kills millions of individuals across the world, a vaccine against the disease is just what the doctor prescribed.

China

Progress.

For a nation that has the largest and cheapest workforce and the fastest growing infrastructure in the world, China is perhaps one of those nations you can’t afford (pun intended) to ignore.

Indian Tennis

It appears like we finally managed to get our sneakers all nice and ready. Starting with a really good show at the CWG last year, the winning streak continued with good shows at tennis and…

Pope Benedict

Indian Cricket

… yes, Cricket too. We won the World Cup. Finally, some justification to all the millions that we pay to our over-rated and over dramatic cricket players.

Conrad Murray

The physician who lived his dream of that one famous client as he walked into the sunset, was finally convicted to a four year prison sentence for administering the fatal dose of surgical anesthetic that killed the king of Pop- Michael Jackson.  

Iraq

It’s all about the Oil, honey.

Iran

With Iraq finally within Uncle Sam’s kitty, it was time to move on to Iran.

Suresh Kalmadi & Tihar Co.

After the fiasco called CWG, much drama and many investigations, Mr Kalmadi finally got the axe. Well, maybe he was just the most convenient scapegoat but was soon united with many of his colleagues for company.

 Yeddy & Reddy

Starting off as a politician with a squeaky clean image, the chief minister of the southern state of Karnataka showed how he was like any of the other jerks around him – Corrupt and Power hungry.

Along went his compatriots in corruption, the Reddy brothers who stripped entire mountains in the mineral rich region of Bellery for it’s iron ore. Billions looted.

Britney Spears

Europe Financial Crisis and the US Debt Ceiling

With an economy that has been feverish for a very long time, its cousin from across the Atlantic sent stock exchanges around the world into a tizzy when crisis hit. Credit ratings fell and so did the CEO of the credit agency that downgraded the rating.

Bank Of America 5% Debit Card charge

When you’re bailed out by money that really belongs to the people, you normally wouldn’t think of taxing them anymore. A decision by Bank of America (BOFA) to charge 5% monthly was perhaps one of the many ill informed decisions that the bank regretted. Victory lap, anyone?

Pope Benedict

Paid for the sins; who as Cardinal Ratzinger oversaw pedophile priests.  

Google+

Was supposed to the Facebook killer.

Didn’t happen.

Muammar Gaddafi

 Gaddafi

If it was Saddam earlier, this year we had Gaddafi.

For all the bodyguards that surrounded him during his hay days, the utterly miserable he died at the hands of his citizens was a lesson that we wish autocratic rulers and despotic dictators would learn.

Royal Wedding

For much of the beginning of the year, all the empire really spoke about was The Wedding. *Yawn*

Britney Spears

After almost crashing and burning, Britney reinvented herself. She’s back!

Kim Jong II

Overseeing the last bastion of communist rule, Kim Jong 2 held a tight grip over North Korea and managed to taunt the West until his death at 69.

Swami Nithyananda

Nithyananda

After being implicated in an embarrassing tape that showed him in a compromising position with a regional movie actress and devotee, he managed to slip into oblivion unable to stand the uncomfortable glare of the media and society. Did we all say ‘Déjà vu’

 Sai Baba

The self styled godman and philanthropist died after multiple organ failure. Alas, the search for a god that is immortal continues.

Osama Bin Laden

One of handful of people who changed the world this century, he was unceremoniously killed by highly trained SEALS in a covert operation in the one place where he shouldn’t have been – Pakistan.

Sheela, Murderous Women and DK Bose

Talk about going viral. This year was a year of movie songs that went viral and beyond borders as Indians across the nation asked ‘Why this Kolaveri de?’. Maybe, this is what we need to ask Pakistan and our government.

MF Hussain

MF Hussain

Shorn by his motherland, MF spent the last few decades of his life with his eccentricities as a nomad, finally dying in Qatar.

Dennis Ritchie

The inventor of C, the computer programming language, Dennis’s death barely created a ripple as his death was overshadowed by the death of a more iconic compatriot...

Dennis Ritchie

Steve Jobs

Enough has been said of and about one of the most ‘iconic’ CEO’s. Hardly a philanthropic or as charitable as any of other CEO’s of his time, his death resulted in worldwide mourning.

Mamata Banerjee

From being a central government Minister, she fought the Communists and won state elections and became the chief minister of the north eastern Indian state of West Bengal (aka Paschimbanga). A firebrand and a populist, she is one politician to watch out for.

Harold Camping

Looks like all kinds of clowns are predicting the end of the world. Harold’s failed doomsday predictions made him the laughing stock among the believers and non-believers alike. Harold, start preparing for the 21^st Dec, 2012.

Tablet Wars 

If Apple set the cat among the pigeons by launching the iPad, 2011 saw a slew of companies releasing their versions of the iPad killers. Not much luck there.

Harold Camping

3D everything

3D movies became all the rage. Even television and mobile phones.  

Imagine watching Freddie vs Jason on 3D.

Arnold Schwarzenegger

The Guvornator and his wife of 25 years; Maria Shriver separated after it was revealed that he had cheated on his wife and fathered a son with one of the domestic help.

Elizabeth Taylor

The iconic and much married Hollywood diva died leaving much of Hollywood grieving and reminiscing.

Rupert Murdoch

Rupert Murdoch

The news magnate had to apologise for unauthorized phone taps. Reality bytes.

Cheaters

Cheaters, the TV show earned a right to be on Ze List, sheerly because of the way, you are reminded of how partners will cheat and when confronted fight back, and still want to “get the f*&$#W@* cameras out of my face”. Isn’t it interesting that they all wanted to be asked if they were cheating in private? Ya right.

Mullerperiyar Dam

The 116 year old masonry gravity Dam has been one of the few bones of contention between Tamil Nadu (who has a 999 year lease on the dam) and Kerala (in whose land the dam is situated). Several quakes and an aging Dam have put the two states at loggerheads.

Kingfisher Airlines

In the Red. Both literally and figuratively.

Angry Birds

Caught the imagination of the kids within us. Was certainly not good for birds though!

Skype

Acquired by Microsoft. Finally.

Vladimir Putin

Returned to the hot seat after a short sabbatical. Back to business.

'Occupy Wall Street'

Tried to create a sequel to the ‘Arab Springs’. Ended up with a spoof.

Rebecca Black

'Satyam' Raju

And after several months in prison, the investigating agency botched up the one chance they had to punish the guilty for the biggest accounting fraud in Indian corporate history.

Donald Trump

After keeping the nation guessing on whether he will be running for presidency or not, he decided he would rather stick with ‘The Apprentice’ for now.  

He would have made for an interesting Prez though!

Rebecca Black 'Friday'

A hit solo, 'Friday', with it’s catchy tune went viral within a few weeks since it was illegally uploaded on online video sharing portals. Well, any publicity is good publicity for a budding 14 year old.

Charlie Sheen

Crash, burn, booze, babes. Repeat cycle.

Sunny Leone

One of the few very successful female Asian porn performers, her entry into the Indian version of the Bigg Boss, made headlines across India. Toeing a fine line, she has managed to stay in the news.

Sunny Leone

Kim Kardashian quickie

Marriages are no longer made in heaven. 72 days after they proclaimed undying love in a ‘made for media’ marriage, they completed their marital duties too. I guess marriages are now made over business lunches and sealed tight with a prenup.

David Beckham

After a pretty forgettable 2010 and much of the years before that, Beckham bounced back to prove why you must still bend it like Beckham.

Volkswagen 'The Force' Advt

One word – Cute.

Chrysler 'Imported from Detroit' Advt

Touched all the right chords. Spoke all the right words. Poignant.

Kim Kardashian

Norway Massacre

Another brutal reminder that the world does not need an Al Qeada or a Saddam Hussein. Just one pathetic, depressed dude with a meticulous plan to kill.

Shah Rukh Khan

For proving that movies are only meant to rake in the moolah and not because they must entertain. We could certainly see/hear a lot less of the king of mediocre movies.

Poonam Pandhey

Barely made it to Ze List. I hear she is happy now.

Honesty Always Prevails

Has it struck your mind that no matter who corrupt and deceptive a person is, truth always has a way of getting the three count in a pin-down?

Now, I realise that I've spoken about how the circle of life ensures justice prevails, but truth?

Throughout history, we have seen many many instances of how people in power and out, have lied, cheated and corrupted their way to seemingly limitless wealth. But alas, not a cent was taken away from earth. 

This past week, we have seen how people who had an almost superhuman ability to amass wealth and appeared to be beyond the law, getting caught in the sticky arms of the law. While we all know that, 'Kanni'mozhi, and her croonies will walk scott-free in a couple of months, all thanks to the limitless wealth that her daddy has, but right now, she ain't going anywhere but back to jail. 

Daddy's girl, in much happier times

Ofcourse, she will still laugh all her way to the bank when she gets out..

Ofcourse, she will write a book and somebody will make a movie and make a couple of more millions but what rang the bell for me was how justice was served. 

In a country where millions starve because we have corrupt government officials who'd rather export subsidized food for an inflated price and peddle substandard food to the needy in our neighbourhood, the judge's decision to deny bail to the scamsters was a wonderful thing to read.

But, why must they corrupt?

How much money do you really need to live the life you need?

Have we really managed to create a society of people who have turned their conscience off?

If there is anything I've noticed, if there is something that will prevail across history, over barriers of geography and socio-economic rankings, it is the truth. 

Juicy Notes:

(Incomplete) List (!) of politicians who have fallen to the lure of the fast buck and hot scams