Focus-1: "Soaring Prices and Stifling Inflation"

I had been to a marriage about ten days back. After the ‘muhurat’, there was a time gap for the lunch. Some of us gathered in a corner and were having a casual chat to while away the time. Somebody brought the topic two-digit inflation after more than 13 years. The OPEC was to blame as they raised the crude oil prize, causing spiraling effect all over, remarked one friend. Before we knew, more people have joined us and everybody seemed to have strong views on the subject. Somebody started abusing the ‘three economic wizards of India’ and ended with a prayer to God to save India from them. Everybody was getting excited and a torrent of violent, vituperative language was heaped on the ‘wizards’. This gathering consisted of men and women of different ages and almost all of them had nothing good to say about the present government at the Center. They were all giving vent to their fury and this seemed quite natural as the price of everything had gone up and everybody was feeling the pinch; further, they feared what the future might hold in store for them. If this gathering represented the majority of the people of this country and if the people could sustain their fury till the elections, I felt that the Congress party was in for severe drubbing.

Then somebody suggested that instead of attacking persons, they could attack problems and come up with solutions. Immediately another remarked that who was going to care for our suggestions. The former persisted that at least it would be an exercise for the brain. After a minute’s silence, everybody started coming up with suggestions. As a silent observer, recorder and compiler, I here try to post at least some of the ideas, for whatever they are worth:

1. Scrap all direct and indirect, central and state taxes on petroleum, diesel and other petro-products.
2. Ration petrol and diesel.
3. Petrol bunks to be closed every 4th day.
4. Petrol bunks to work from 6 am to 9 pm only.
5. Dual pricing of petrol and diesel – cheaper rate for public transport and two-wheelers and higher rate for gas-guzzlers and costly cars.
6. Production of battery-operated cars and two-wheelers to be encourage by tax exemption and subsidy, if need be. (Pollution problem is also gets reduced).
7. More public transport.
8. Ban future trading of essential commodities.
9. Ban online trading of essential commodities.
10. Speculators to be stopped from entering the essential commodities market.
11. Ban MNCs from entering the essential commodities market.
12. Permanently ban export of food grains and other essential commodities.
13. Encourage farmers to produce more by offering them fair levy price and making good storage facilities all over the country.
14. Finance Ministry, Commerce Ministry and Planning Commission to be headed by people-friendly politicians and send home the so-called ‘economic wizards’ who always take sides with MNCs, big business and capitalist countries.
15. Appeal to people to avoid using vehicles for short distances.
16. Promote and popularize cycle.
17. Special lanes for cycles on the road in cities.

You may also have idea. If so, I shall be thankful if you could kindly send it to me. If it is good, I would like to post in my blog. Even otherwise, you can offer your comments, which are most welcome.

Letters-27: "Stringent RTI Act to Fight Corruption"

This is with reference to the editorial ‘Sleaze Matters’ (The Times of India, Chennai, June 16, 2008). It is disturbing to note that, according to the recent UN report, corruption continues to be a crippling problem in the Asia-Pacific region. Of course, India is no exception to the issue of corruption. Corruption is not only the root cause of the major problems facing the country today, but also a stumbling block to the country’s economic growth. Recently the World Bank cut $2 billion in funds for the health sector in the country after learning that its previous welfare schemes were plagued by corruption.

As a first step, people should take the initiative of fighting corruption in all possible ways. They should vehemently protest against officials demanding money for paperwork. Maintaining transparency and retaining accountability in the administration is also essential. In this regard, the RTI Act is the best option.

P.Senthil Saravana Durai, Hyderabad.
'My Times, My Voice’, Mail Box, The Times of India, June 27, 2008.
Grateful thanks to Mr.P.Senthil Saravana Durai and The Times of India.

Health Watch-15: "Anaemia in Children"

Anaemia in children under two years o age may cause problems with coordination and the child may seem withdrawn, limiting its ability to interact and think intellectually.

Courtesy: Chennai Times, June 5, 2008 (Toons & Trivia)

Facts & Figures-31: "Next to Wood, Coal is the OIldest Fuel"

Next to wood, coal is the oldest of fuels. The Chinese mined it as long ago as 1000 BC and used it to smelt iron and copper.

Courtesy: Chennai Times, June 5, 2008 (Toons & Trivia).

Grateful thanks to Chennai Times.

Eyecatchers-83: ‘Bizarre’

Hundreds of migrating snails caused a six car pile-up as they swarmed across a busy dual carriageway in Germany. Police and rescue officials had to close the road for several hours. Environmentalists believe the mass migration could have been an indicator of climate change as the snails sought a more suitable habitat.

Courtesy: Chennai Times, June 5, 2008 (Toons & Trivia).

Grateful thanks to Chennai Times.

Health News-4: '$168 million spent on Lobbying! '

The report from Newsdesk.org makes one feel uneasy. In the year 2007, a frightening sum of $168 million was spent by pharmaceutical companies for lobbying to prevent legislation placing new restrictions on drug advertisements.

Courtesy: Newsdesk.org. < http://www.newsdesk.org/news/>
For more info: http://www.newsdesk.org/archives/005576.html

For an article on “Lobbying” from Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lobbying

Article on the workings of pharmaceutical industries from Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pharmaceutical_industries

Book Review Article, “Drugs: Is Something Rotten?” from Newsweek, April 19, 2004 (“Books”) – Review of the book,
“THE $800 MILLION PILL : The Truth Behind the Cost of New Drugs” By Merrill Goozner, University of California -- 297 pp -- $24.95 - http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/04_16/b3879046_mz005.htm?chan=search

Article, “ The Pharmaceutical Industry and its influence on doctors and medical students” from The Lancet Student:
http://www.thelancetstudent.com/2008/01/07/the-pharmaceutical-industry-and-its-influence-on-doctors-and-medical-students/

Grateful thanks to Newsdesk.org, Wikipedia, Business Week and The Lancet Student.

Environment-4: "The Climate Change"

Climate Change is currently one of the most pressing environmental issues facing the international community, the business world and individual citizens. Responding to this challenge requires efforts on many fronts.

There is a broad scientific consensus on the gravity of climate change caused by global warming. the majority of the world’s research community predicts that the global mean temperature will rise by 1.4 to 5.8 degrees Celsius over the next 100 years. Even the lower figure will have dramatic effects. melting glaciers, increased precipitation, more frequent and stronger hurricanes, rising sea levels and desertification. Severe disruptions to land usage and food and water supplies, the spread of diseases and migration of people and animals will inevitably follow.

Researchers agree that human activities are the main cause of global warming, as we annually release billions of tones of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases through burning huge volumes of oil, natural gas and coal and venting industrial gases. In order to stabilise the concentration of CO2) in the atmosphere and prevent accelerated temperature increase, global CO2 emissions need to be cut by 70-80%.

Our activities not only have an impact on environmental and social aspects. Economic growth will also be damaged if the climate challenge is ignored. The latest research conclude that ‘Climate change presents a unique challenge for economics; it is the greatest and widest-ranging market failure ever seen’. Reducing emissions can be seen as an investment and must be viewed with economies of risk in mind. Acting now instead of waiting for the problem to escalate will, in the long run, reduce the total costs and provides a number of opportunities for innovation, growth and development as we move towards for carbon-constrained future.

Responding to the challenge requires efforts on many fronts. Based on its independent status, technology competence, risk management expertise and industry knowledge, DNV provides climate change services within three main areas: clean energy, emission reductions and adaptation.

CLEAN ENERGY
The urgent need for a clean, low CO2 energy future creates a unique challenge for everybody. However, most clean energy solutions suffer from a lack of maturity in terms of technology, economy, infrastructure and common acceptance criteria.

EMISSION REDUCTIONS
Switching to clean energy sources will not happen overnight. The energy supply will depend heavily on oil, gas and coal for many years to come. Emission reduction activities will therefore be important to mitigate climate change.

This includes oil and gas production with minimum emissions. It also includes efforts to make electricity production from gas and coal cleaner through energy efficiently measures, new power plant technology and carbon capture and storage.

MITIGATION AND ADAPTATION
Due to past emissions, certain impacts of climate change are unavoidable, calling for adaptation measures in addition to emission reductions.

Excerpt from DNV Annual Report 2007, Det Norske Veritas, Sweden
Grateful thanks to Det Norkse Veritas, Sweden.

S&T Watch 13: "Fossil skull from eons ago discovered"

Scientists have unearthed a skull of the most primitive four-legged creature in the earth’s history, which should help them better understand the evolution of fish to advanced animals that walk on land.

The 365-million-year-old fossil skull, shoulders and part of the pelvis of the water-dweller, Ventastega curonica, were found in Latvia, researchers report in a study being published in Thursday’s issue of Nature.

Even though Ventastega is likely an evolutionary deadend, the finding sheds details on the evolutionary transition from fish to tetrapods. Tetrapods are animals with four limbs and include such descendents as amphibians, birds and mammals.

The team did not find the legs or toes of Ventastega, but was able to deduce that it was four-limbed because parts of its pelvis and the shoulders were found. From their shapes, scientists were able to conclude that limbs, not fins, were attached to Ventastega. – AP

Courtesy: The Hindu, Madurai, June 26, 2008

For Info on ‘Ventastega’ from Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ventastega

Article from ScienceNews: “Fossil helps document shift from sea to land”
http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/33623/title/Fossil_helps_document_shift_from_sea_to_land

Article from BBC News: “Fossil fills out water-land leap”
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7473470.stm

Grateful thanks to AP, The Hindu, Wikipedia, ScienceNews and BBC News.

Eyecatchers-82: “Jargon-busters at work”

British bureaucrats have been warned: no more synergies, stakeholders or sustainable communities.

The body that represents the UK’s local authorities has told its members to stop using management buzzwords, saying they confuse people and prevent residents from understanding what local governments actually do.

The Local Government Association, whose members include hundreds of district, town and county councils in England and Wales, on Friday (June 20, 2008) sent out a list of 100 “non-words” that it said officials should avoid if they want to be understood.

The list includes the popular but vague term “empowerment”, “coterminosity,” a situation in which two organizations oversee the same geographical area; and “synergies,” combinations in which the whole is greater than the sum of its part.

Officials were told to ditch the term “revenue stream” for income, as well as the imprecise “sustainable communities”.

The association also wanted councils to stop referring to local residents as “customers” or “stakeholders”.

The association’s chair, Simon Milton, said officials should not “hide behind impenetrable jargon and phrases.” He asked: “Why do we have to have ‘coterminous, stakeholder engagement’ when we could just ‘talk to people’ instead?” – AP

Courtesy: The Hindu, Madurai, June 22, 2008
Grateful thanks to AP and The Hindu.

Net Watch-1: 'New e-mail addresses from Yahoo"

Yahoo on Thursday (June 19, 2008) tripled the size of its globally-popular free online e-mail service by adding two domains as options to “yahoo.com” addresses.

The introduction of “ymail.com” and “rocketmail.com” as Yahoo e-mail address options comes as the Internet firm strives to convince investors it is on a path to reclaim faded glory and eroded revenues.

Yahoo Mail is the most popular web-based e-mail in the world. Its profitable, advertisement-supported service has approximately 266 million users, according to industry statistics.

Adding new domains is intended to let users who have outgrown or never really liked their yahoo.com e-mail addresses to have chances at better choices.

“We recognize that people want an e-mail address that reflects who they are,” said Yahoo Mail vice president, John Kremer. “We have a lot of user Ids out there and it is pretty crowded. We want to remedy that and make sure users get the ID they want.”

Free e-mail addresses are typically assigned on a first-come, first-served basis. This means newcomers choosing yahoo.com Ids are unlikely to get their prime choices when signing up.

A Harris Interactive study commissioned by Yahoo concluded that 70% of adults w0ould select an address that includes all or part of their names.

Yahoo says the rocketmail and ymail choices are meant to give another chance to email users saddled with addresses such “CutiePie4ever80” or “Mary2455”.

“A happy user is one that stays around and is a Yahoo user for life.” Mr.Kremer said, “If you have an e-mail address that is your name at ymail, that becomes part of your identity.”

Yahoo expects users to readily recognize “ymail” because it is used for a version of the e-mail customized for mobile devices.

Rocketmail has a “hip retro feel” because it is a resurrect3ed e-mail address that belonged to a company Yahoo bought in 1997, according to Mr.Kremer. “This adds millions and millions of new Yahoo accounts out there for users. Effectively, we are tripling the size of the Yahoo name space.” – AFP

Courtesy: The Hindu, Madurai, June 20, 2008.
Grateful thanks to AFP and The Hindu.

Letters-26: "al-Qaeda"

The al-Qaeda came into existence as a result of the U.S.foreign policy in West Asia, aimed at protecting its interests in the oil-rich region. 9/11 gave the U.S. an opportunity to wage the so-called war on terror in Afghanistan where it succeeded in inflicting heavy losses on the al-Qaeda. But the occupation of Iraq has given a new lease of life to the outfit. As Daniel Benjamin, who served on Bill Clinton’s National Security Council, said: “There were no jihadists in Iraq before we invaded” but “there are now thousands, Iraqi and foreign, and they are going to be an enduring problem because many have embraced the global jihadist agenda.” - Mahmood Alam Siddiqui, New Delhi

Courtesy: The Hindu, Madurai, June 20, 2008
Grateful thanks to Mr Mahmood Alam Siddiqui and The Hindu.

My Photo Album-40: "Ammu and Aravind in their new school uniform"

Ammu and Aravind have moved to a new school. In the picture, they are in their new school uniform.

Grateful thanks to Vinod for the above photo.

Letters-26: “Child Labour”

The photograph of a boy repairing a scooter on the World Day against Child Labour and the accompanying caption “In shackles” (The Hindu, Madurai, June 13) speak volumes about the state of affairs across the country. Child labour is a common sight in automobile workshops and construction sites, besides individual homes. A lot has been talked about eradicating the social evil but very little has been done. The plight of children is worse in rural areas. Equally important is the issue of employing senior citizens, particularly those above 70, for strenuous physical work. – H.K.Lakshman Rao, Chennai.

Courtesy: The Hindu, Madurai, June 16, 2008 (Letters to the Editor)

For a detailed article on 'Child Labour' from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child_labour

Grateful thanks to Mr.H.K.Lakshman Rao; The Hindu and Wikipedia.

S&T Watch-12: "Chandrayaan-I launch likely on Sep.19"

India’s maiden moon mission Chandrayaan-I has reached a major milestone with scientists completing the integration of all instruments onto the spacecraft. The aim is to launch it by September 19.

Scientists at the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) last week completed the integration of 11 instruments – six indigenous and 5 under international cooperation – onto the spacecraft – onto the spacecraft, which is no bigger than a typical office cubicle.

“We are carrying out detailed integrated tests to ensure that all systems match our expectations and to record the spacecraft level data for future references,” Mylswamy Annadurai, Project Director of Chandrayaan-I, told PTI.

“The tests are expected to last another four weeks after which the spacecraft’s ability to handle the extreme thermal and vacuum environment of lunar orbit will be gauged. These assessments will be followed by vibration and acoustic tests. The spacecraft needs to be shifted to the launch-pad at least four weeks prior to the launch date to allow scientists and engineers to carry out necessary checks on the launch vehicle,” he said.

Chandrayaan-I will be launched atop a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), India’s workhorse rocket with a streak of nine consecutive flawless missions.

ISRO has packed the spacecraft with six instruments, including a high-resolution stereo camera capable of imaging objects about 16 feet in diameter.

It will carry near-infrared and X-ray spectrometers to determine the altitude of the lunar craft for spatial coverage of various instruments. These payloads will help researchers ascertain the composition and topography of the lunar-surface.

Indian engineers have built a 64-pound impactor that will be dropped from the orbiting spacecraft for a suicidal nosedive into the moon.

The probe will relay video imagery, altitude information and spectral data back to the earth through the mother ship, which will be in a lunar orbit 100 km away.

Delivery of five international instruments began last August. NASA’s Moon Mineralogy Mapper was flown to India from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

Nicknamed M3, the 15-pound imaging spectrometer will map the moon’s natural resources through visible and near-infrared wavelengths at higher resolutions than any instrument before.

NASA officials hope the device will help create mineral maps to find science-rich landing sites for future missions, possibly even including human expeditions. The M3 will also look for direct evidence of pockets of ice hidden inside craters near the lunar poles.

Scientists believe there are frozen water deposits deep within the eternally dark craters due to high concentration of hydrogen found there on previous missions. – PTI

Courtesy: The Hindu, Madurai, June 16, 2008.
Grateful thanks to PTI and The Hindu.

Eyecatchers-81: "Double Digit Inflation Hits India after 13-year-gap" by Ashok Dasgupta

The rate of inflation in India has galloped to a 13-year high to 11.05% for the week ended June 7, confounding the worst fears of the United Progressive Alliance Government as general elections loom. This has been caused mainly by the June 5 increases in fuel prices and its cascading effect on all food commodities and other manufactured items, such as consumer durable goods and steel.

The unexpected spurt in the wholesale price index-based inflation from 8.75% in the previous week evoked sharp criticism from all political parties, including the UPA’s coalition partners and Left allies, of the government’s failure to hold the price line and sustain the benefits of high growth.

Reserve Bank of India data show that the last time inflation was in double digits was in April-May 1995 when it ruled above 11%.

Excerpt from The Hindu, Madurai, June 21, 2008.

Wikipedia article on "Chandrayaan": http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chandrayan

Grateful thanks to Mr.Ashok Dasgupta, The Hindu and Wikipeddia, the free encyclopedia.

Letters-25: "Road Accidents caused by Juveniles"

The number of road accidents caused by under-aged and unlicensed youngsters behind the wheel is on the rise. Often, the victims are too poor to pursue medical treatment, much less, compensation. The juvenile culprits hail from wealthy families and employ the best legal brains to go scot-free.

Renuka Choudhary’s suggestion that parents of such children should be made accountable is worth consideration. Parents should allow their children to handle cars only after satisfying themselves that they are capable of controlling them. – C.N.N.Nair, Mumbai.

Courtesy: The Hindu, Madurai, June 19, 2008 (Letters to the Editor)

Wikipedia article on ‘Road Traffic Safety’ with lot of details and statistics:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Road_safety

Grateful thanks to The Hindu and Wikipedia.

Eyecatchers-80: "Picasso Painting Breaks Auction Record"

Sydney: Sylvette, a Pablo Picasso painting, auctioned in Sydney was sold for a record-breaking A$ 6.9 million.

Courtesy: The Hindu, Madurai, June 20, 2008 (Snapshots)

For a biography of Picasso from Wikipedia, click:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Picasso

Picasso in Wikimedia Commons:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Picasso

‘Sylvette’ in Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sylvette

Grateful thanks to: The Hindu, Wikipedia and Wiki Commons.

My Photo Album-39: "Achu on the Mobile!"

Achu loves mobiles. If he sees anybody talking on the mobile, especially his parents, he will try to snatch the instrument from them. Here Achu is talking to his uncle ('mama'). More than Achu's voice, you hear the voice of his admirers coaxing him to speak!

How to Let out Your Anger

from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit

"Oh, gosh, I absolutely despise that math teacher! Blah, blah, blah, 'Honey, pay attention, oh look, your test: let me rip it up in front of you and give you a zero!' Blah, blah, blah." Does this sound familiar? Whether it's your teacher or your boss, everyone gets mad at someone, and needs something to vent their aggravation out on.

Steps

Teachers/Bosses

1. Draw a picture of them and make it as ugly, hideous, and grotesque as you can.
   
2. Look at a mirror and pretend that they are standing right there, and you can't get in trouble for whatever you say.
   
3. Write a letter to them and write the most inappropriate things possible that you really would say to them if you could (do not actually send!).
   
4. Download a picture of them onto a picture editing program. See how they'd look with a mustache, beard, runny nose, etc.
   

Friends

1. Apologize.
   

In General

1. Take a run, go swimming, play a sport with a friend. Physical exertion is a great way to get rid of stress. Anything to get your mind off of the topic.
   
2. Scream into a pillow. Pile all the pillows you can get, jump onto them, scream, and punch at the pillows. Pretend it's the person you're mad at.
   

Tips

• If you find that you're using this article excessively, you might want to lower the hatred on people you meet.
  

Warnings

• Do not let any teacher, friend, or boss witness any of the things you wrote, drew, or spoke! YOU COULD GET FIRED, SUSPENDED, OR LOSE A FRIEND!
  
• Do not actually send the angry letter.
  

Related wikiHows

• How to Control Your Anger
  
• How to Make a Hate Relief Doll
  
• How to Get Rid of Anger
  
• How to Calm Down
  

Article provided by wikiHow, a collaborative writing project to build the world's largest, highest quality how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Let out Your Anger. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.

How to Make Big Money Speaking

from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit

Imagine if you could make good money talking about something that you love. Well, you can! Almost any subject can be a good foundation for building a speaking business. And, you can do it even if you have little or no experience or capital.

Steps

1. Choose a subject to speak about. Whatever area of expertise you have, it’s likely that there are people who would like to hear you speak. If you’re a relationship expert, you’re sure to find women’s groups who want to hear about how to improve their marriages. If you’re a gourmet chef, you could find cooking classes who’d love to hear your secrets for making high-class meals in a hurry.
   
2. Decide how long your seminars will be.Whatever the length of your presentation, you’ll want to divide it into three parts: A beginning, a middle, and an end. Your beginning will be your introduction – which is your opportunity to hook your listeners’ attention. Your middle will contain the substantial information that you’ll share. And finally, you’ll have an ending where you’ll sum up what you presented. If you do wish to market additional “back-end” products, this is the time to do so.
   
3. Create your Marketing Plan. There are many different options as far as earning money as a speaker is concerned. You can directly market yourself to organizations that might hire you. For example, if you have a wealth of knowledge about fishing, there are many fishing clubs that might want you to speak at one of their events. In addition to recreational activities, virtually all business trade groups present speakers to their members. And, you could even approach companies that have employees that could benefit from your knowledge.
   
4. Use a bureau. Additionally, there are speakers’ bureaus that work as an agency who can procure speaking engagements for you. While many of these bureaus specialize in celebrity speakers, there are others that book speakers for less prominent events where a speaker only needs to be well qualified to do the presentation. A search on a major Internet search engine with a key term like “speaker’s bureau” is a good place to start.
   
5. Hold your own seminars where you will market the event directly to the public. While this can be done on a national basis, the easiest place to start is locally. You either rent use of a facility to hold the seminar or perhaps partner with an entity with a facility and then promote the event. You can use traditional advertising methods like newspapers and radio or if you have a target audience that is identifiable, you may want to use direct mail. Have you ever been to a seminar on something like wealth building that was promoted in the newspaper? These are always been packed with hundreds of people.
   

Tips

• Make sure that, whatever subject you choose, you know enough to sustain an intelligent, useful presentation and to answer any questions your audience might have. You’ll also want to choose a subject you love – neither you nor your audience will enjoy your speech on photography if you hate snapping pictures.
  

Warnings

• If you haven't done much public speaking before then you should practice a lot in front of friends and relatives so you can feel confident that you'll be fine.
  
• Make sure that you're ready with answers for the questions you'll likely get asked.
  

Related wikiHows

• How to Start Your Own Private Lesson Business
  
• How to Organize Your Online Business for Success
  
• How to Start an Internet Auction Business
  
• How to Compete with Other Lemonade Stands
  

Sources and Citations

• Speaking by Paul Lawrence Original source of article; shared with permission.
  

Article provided by wikiHow, a collaborative writing project to build the world's largest, highest quality how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Make Big Money Speaking. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.