Twin Escapede - Part II !
Apparently, a twin enabled his twin brother to escape from jail way back in 2004! Got this one from a friend.
Read on:
Regards,
N
Monday, 9 February 2009
Saved from execution because of a Twin!
Saved from execution because of a Twin!
Here's a real life story of a guy who escaped the death penalty because of the fact that he had an identical twin, and the cops didn't know which one was the real culprit.
My queries:
- The guy who did it knew that it was him - Should he have surrendered by admitting guilt in the interest of justice?
- Should other criminals be punished merely because they have no twin brother?
- Should not both the twins have been sentenced to death? (For the sake of saving a larger society, one can sacrifice a single innocent person - and the other one was, after all, guilty beyond doubt!)
- Will not all other identitical twins now get the courage to go and commit the worst of crimes, knowing fully well that they have a fairly foolproof escape route?
Regards,
N
Friday, 19 December 2008
Indian Frugality ... ... ...
Indian Frugality ... ... ...
Of course, we knew about it. Guess it is high time that the world realised it:
Enjoy frugality in these tough times. The habit will last a life time!
Regards,
N
Sunday, 16 November 2008
Confusing the readers
Confusing the readers
Came across the following piece in a column entitled "The Ahimsa Way" by one Ms. Usha Jesudasan in The Hindu today (November 16, 2008):
Had it been in an obscure publication, one would have chosen to ignore the same. However, when it comes in The Hindu, it calls for a prompt response:
As the author herself rightly claims, there is no single definition of "Simple Living" that is universally accepted. Even if such a definition were to exist, one doesn't comprehend how "wanting more" by someone else's definition can be a form of violence.
Dear Ms. Usha, please, for heaven's sake, don't invent new definitions of violence. We have enough of violence as it is. Once we start expanding the gamut of what is considered violent behaviour, you'll find more and more people becoming immune to the same, and, as a corollary, become more willing to indulge in violent behaviour.
If, for instance, one's value system includes murder and arson as violent behaviour, a certain percentage of people will be willing to indulge in violent behaviour.
However, if we extend our attention to, for instance, mosquitoes, and claim that killing mosquitoes is also a form of violence, you'll find a much higher percentage of people ready to be violent. This will potentially lead to a dangerous situation because while people will be more reluctant to move from "non-violent" to "violent" behaviour, they are likely to be more willing to move from one level of violent behaviour to the next higher plane of violence.
Surely, this cannot be the purpose of anyone espousing the cause of Ahimsa.
Regards,
N
Tuesday, 11 November 2008
Humility
Humility
Of late, there has been a lot of talk about how
- India is "destined to" take on a leadership role in the comity of nations
- Indian system of pragmatic (read slow, steady, socialistic style of introducing reforms) financial policies & systems is protecting the Indian economy
- India can and will teach tons of things to the rest of the world, especially to "failed economies" like USA, Europe, etc.
In this context, it is nice to hear sober voices which bring us back down to earth. Read on to have a look at Narayanamurthy's views on India and its potential to play a leadership role in the world:
Regards,
N
Wednesday, 29 October 2008
Compulsory conversions & causes for backlash against Christians
Compulsory conversions & causes for backlash against Christians
Got this one from a cousin. Out of curiosity, I visited the link given below.
Wonder about the veracity of the contents in that link. If any of you know about the veracity or otherwise of the same, do let me know.
If however, the contents are true, India is (and Indians are) certainly in trouble. It is only likely to increase the numbers and percentage of radical Hindus, Christians & Muslims, while reducing the moderates (who, in any case, just keep their mouths shut and bother nothing about the society around them till they are indeed personally impacted).
Regards,
N
Wednesday, 15 October 2008
Need for Self-regulation in the media
Need for Self-regulation in the media
I'm sure that all of us would have had experience coming across stuff that is "not appropriate" for different audience segments or target groups.
Here's one such article that I came across in Times of India, Chennai, on October 12, 2008:
I certainly don't consider myself to be either prudish or part of the increasingly common brigade of moral police.
When one sees an article of the above "type" in a magazine that's generally focussed on a certain type of audience - say, magazines focussed on adults, or upwardly mobile "forward-thinking" folks or "yuppie youths", I'll certainly have no qualms about the same.
However, Times of India is a newspaper that's supposed to be meant for the masses. TOI readers include
- Young pre-teen kids
- Senior citizens - including a whole lot of traditional, orthodox senior citizens
- Impressionable teenagers who may not yet know enough to differentiate between "right" and "wrong" (Though others of the same age from a completely different background may be entirely capable of differentiating between "right" and "wrong")
- Youths from "traditional" backgrounds, possibly in their first jobs who may again be "impressionable" because they are "suddenly seeing a lot of money" with a lot of freedom and independence - but yet to know the real implications of the freedom and the responsibilities that go with it! Here again, others of the same age group but from a completely different background will react differently.
- Couples in marriages where one partner is a bit of a "modern, independent person" but the other partner may be from a traditional, orthodox background or, worse still, from a rural, traditional, orthodox, poor family and may be too dependent on the first partner for livelihood. (In such a case, the person concerned may not even know the meaning of terms like informed consent, open marriage, etc.)
Considering the obvious implications of such an article on target audiences such as the ones mentioned above, I guess that the articles should certainly not be published in newspapers like Times of India.
I'm equally sure that folks interested in such "Open Marriages" will find enough of sources both in the print media and in the world wide web to take care of their need for such articles. Both for curiosity value and for actually reading about "like-minded folks"!
Any reactions???
Wonder what Times of India will have to say about this!
Regards,
N
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