All things bright and beautiful

The resplendent sun

A nation of faith

Religion is the opium of the masses - Karl Marx

We are a nation with about 83.6 crore (77% of population) surviving on less than 20 rupees a day, But still to my amazement Crowds gather and vote when one Mr. Owaisi (an elected MLA) declares: "His faith makes people braver than others, Only if Police give him an opportunity to show that"

Never mind, his community seems to have missed more on economic growth than others accounting for twice (22.6%) occupancy in jails than its population (10.6%). But well Mr. Owaisi is the knowledgable leader of masses, who visits London for medical treatment. He must be more well-informed on the issue.

Not to be outdone Mr. Togadia declares his faith's strength by the bodies piled up by his followers.

Both leaders are banking on the fact that "Faith will provide 2 square meals to the 83 crore Indians", perhaps reasonably so because it is providing feasts in their homes, at least.

As Mark Twain put it in his book Following the Equator: "It is wonderful, the power of a faith like that, that can make multitudes…. enter without hesitation or complaint upon such incredible journeys and endure the resultant miseries without repining."


Source:
'Most Indians earn less than Rs 20/day in India' accessed on 10 Feb 2013, 10 pm
More Muslims in Maharashtra and Bengal prisons than Gujarat accessed on 10 Feb 2013, 10:30 pm
After Owaisi, it’s Togadia’s turn to make hate speech accessed on 10 Feb 2013, 10:40 pm

;)

The new judge in town

Interesting choice of words:
Mallya’s holding company will get Rs.2,400 crore from Diageo.
Though Mallya has not publicly said so, he is expected to use at least some of the proceeds of the Diageo deal towards debt repayment and equity infusion in his grounded Kingfisher Airlines.

Who is expecting Mr. Mallya to do that? Is this Media speculation? Reminds me of posts by some people on facebook, a while back, which labeled Sachin a Congress sycophant for taking retirement to divert attention for UPA government because UPA nominated him to Rajya Sabha. Do the people think that Sachin should ask them before retiring, since they watch his matches.I wonder, Why should Sachin be answerable to public for his retirement? It's his life, it should be his decision. Perhaps, we need to stop trying to decide for famous people, what they should do in their life.


Also true for court cases where media declares who is innocent and who is guilty while case is still going on in courts. This makes so much more difficult for courts to deliver judgement. Is Media, the new judge ?




Personal freedoms are sacrosanct

Martin Niemöller wrote about the inactivity of German intellectuals following the Nazi rise to power and the purging of their chosen targets, group after group. 

First they came for the communists,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a communist.

Then they came for the socialists,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a socialist.

Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a trade unionist.

Then they came for me,
and there was no one left to speak for me.

Sugar

Beautiful song and video!

Research has proven a direct relationship between consumption of sugary drinks and an increase in obesity, which promotes diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and many other health problems.

Health :

An extra sugary drink each day increases a child’s risk of obesity by 60% (The Lancet, 20010)

Drinking one or two sugary drinks (such as Pepsi, Coca Cola, etc.) per day increases your risk for type 2 diabetes by 25%.
Diabetes can lead to erectile dysfunction.
Diabetes in the cause of more than 60,000 amputations a year (U.S. Centers for Disease Control)

Beauty :
The sugars and acids in soda promote tooth decay (Surgeons General’s Report on Oral health, 2000)

So it's not advisable to make a habit of consuming such drinks regularly.

Detailed plot : Why the bears? What's the story exactly?
http://www.popisms.com/TelevisionCommercial/64595/Center-for-Science-in-the-Public-Interest-an.aspx

Wise words

No one else will accept you if you don’t love yourself.You really have to love yourself to get anything done in this world.