FINALLY THEY RIP....

Hey,

Its been a year since I last posted, the burden for folks in their eleventh and twelfth grade makes the tenth grade seem like an absolute joke...

This week I thought I thought I should definitely post following the events of Monday morning, an event which many felt would never happen, an event that sparked celebrations in many parts of the world....It was the death of the worlds most wanted terrorist...Yes.. Osama Bin Mohammed Bin Awad Laden was killed..

They named it 'Operation Neptune Spear' and craftily kept the code name 'Geronimo' for Bin Laden himself.A team of U.S Navy Seals carried out this brave operation and they finally got their man. It sparked celebrations all over the world, leaders from all over the world expressing a sense of great relief that the man who was quite literally the face of terror now ceased to exit.

It also came as something that Americans haven't experienced it for a long time..a feeling of being victorious and a chance to show the world that 'we really are a superpower'..

A sinking economy, 9% unemployment rate, things looked doomed for a country that millions flock to , to establish oneself and create a success story.Its been a country that has had a million success stories, however towards the beginning of the second decade of the 21st century its been really gloomy. But this one event has brought about a sense of patriotism and a feeling of togetherness back into everyone in the country. Its not a solution to the problems the citizens face but at-least its a moment that they all can celebrate never minding what happens the next day.

Its also a great victory for the man in charge. Its been a rough ever since Barrack Obama set foot into the Oval Office. A failed health care plan, Afghanistan, Gitmo, he looked like a man on the way out. But following this people have regained faith in him and I'm sure its a moment that he will savor for the rest of his life.

But Bin Ladens death though raises many questions..

The first and most troubling one being about where he was found and killed. He was killed in Abbottabad in Pakistan a place where there a many military institutions and a city that is 31 miles from the capital Islamabad. Reports seem to suggest that he had been living there for a long time.

With growing doubts over Pakistan's commitments to fight terror this comes as a mighty blow to the country's image. There are many allegations that the country's intelligence agency, the ISI, is aiding terrorists. Many former ISI officers have been linked to many terrorist organisations and have masterminded many terror strikes. Pakistan though has put up a brave face saying that the ISI is the country's 'asset', but many including I wonder what 'asset' openly supports terrorist.

The problem many face in Pakistan and that's why the situation in this country is probably worse than Afghanistan is that no one really knows which side is Pakistan on. When folks from Washington send Islamabad aid you see the representatives from army, legislature and executive take a hard stand on terror saying it will fully cooperate with US and the rest of the world to wipe out terror, but actions on the ground seem to indicate otherwise. They still hole up guys like Dawood and expect the world to believe that they are doing their best to wipe out terror.They even had the worlds most wanted man for 6 years in their own land and now claim they didn't know about it...Its not only me but that seems really far fetched.

Pakistan calls the operation as an infringement of the nations sovereignty and I totally understand that, but if you hole up the worlds most wanted man in your backyard and promise to work to get rid of people like him and take billions of dollars for that and do nothing, you are inviting operations like this to be carried out.

At the end of the day Pakistan's image has a taken a real beating. They have got to make their stance clear. People in their own country are tired of the double agent games they play and they have got to make it clear whose side are they on. If their with the US act accordingly if their with the Taliban and AQ then well at least freeze the aid . Like George Bush said 'Your either with us, or with them'.

But amidst all this its a great moment for the 3000+ families who lost their loved ones during those horrific attacks. Finally after ten long they have a closure and can sleep peacefully that the man responsible for all their sufferings and pain is now no more...Justice has been served...

FINALLY THEY REST IN PEACE.....

Shravan Karthik

A BIG SCAM, Premier league

Hey
Its nice to be back.long time since I have posted two weeks continuously,this post is from Hyderabad a stop for my vacation that was a bit cut short will get to the details next week once I'm back to Bangalore.

This week I shall talk about two leagues the Indian Premier league and the Barclays Premier League

Lets begin with the IPL.Let me begin by saying its a BIG and trust me BIG Scam .I was never a fan of the league and since day one knew it was just another racket and finally some questions are being asked. The finance ministry has at least publicly confirmed that they are going to scrutinise the IPL teams on basis of tax payment,Bookies,Fraud etc....
It wouldn't shock me one bit if some high profile names end up getting caught in this dirty dirty league. All the fuss started when Sashi Tharoor was involved in helping the the underworld buy the IPL team Kochi... hardly 24 hours after the story splashed on all newspapers and was flashing on all screens the guy says he is receiving death threats from the same people whom he help get in.....Am I the only one confused here.....

Besides now this thing has resulted in a political disaster as well, the other new team that from Gujarat the Congress says Modi forced the league to create a team, the BJP, well why on Earth would they agree to anything the congress said, insists that it is total rubbish....
I don't get it why doesn't anyone get it this entire league is an absolute scam and it really has made the gentleman's game look really sick. it really has to be scrutinised very very deeply or else it could help fund Anti social elements......That will be a major Catastrophe.

Now lets talk about a more dignified and less corrupt league the Barclays Premier league.Well not to be over confident or speak too early but it looks like England is going to have a new champion.....CHELSEA FC. Manchester United are 4 points behind the leaders with 4 games to play.Arsenal 6 points behind following a heavy loss at White Heart lane yesterday night to a buoyant Tottenham side...But,What a season it has been for Liverpool FC,well I have a Friend back at my old apartment who was a die hard Liverpool fan (his name is rishab by the way),and when I spoke to him a few weeks ago he said it was the worst season he had ever seen.They got knocked out of the champions league in the group stage,out of the Fa cup in the first round they played, out of Carling cup in the second round they played and they were out of the premier league well before Christmas,the only competition they are still alive is the Europa cup which I'm sure will not be a consolation even if the won it.They are also on the brink on loosing out on champions league football next season sitting sixth(Look at widget on thee right to see the table),this has been without a doubt a season any LFC fan would want to forget.The pretenders Tottenham, Man City,Aston Villa have had a fair season though it looks like Man City are finally going to break the traditional top four this season.Its been a great season for Fulham as well reaching the semi finals of the Europa cup.This season also witnessed history in the premier league with a premier league club suffering Administration and that dishonour went to Portsmouth...Its been a funny season for them relegated from the premier league but still in the finals of the FA cup where they face.....Chelsea

Finally its great to have Newcastle back to the Premier League they were a huge miss...
I hope the remaining of the season goes smooth and John Terry goes and lifts the trophy that has long been due.......COME ON CHELSEA!!!!!!

Well that's it for this weeks post. Will post again next week

Until then

Take Care
Shravan Karthik

back!!!!!!!!

Hi,

Its really has been ages since i blogged. The burden of the wretched 10th grade really did get up on me, but now that its over you really understand what freedom means.......

My last post was one I took time out for,it was on the eve of the Mumbai terror attacks,an event I will never forget and I hope we especially our so called leaders don't forget too.

Since that day a lot of things have happened Obama and the healthcare bill, Republicans in Massachusetts, Iran going on testing, Hamas leader killed in Dubai, Tiger Woods, Afghanistan's so called elections, Israel , LHC, Moscow train bombings, and the most shocking how close a lad from Nigeria came close to blow up a plane heading to the US that caught the entire intelligence agency off guard.Well these are just some of the things that happened around the world

Back home we faced terror again this time in Pune,womens reservation bill finally got some movement though the way it was done makes one loose entire faith in the system.IPL 3 back in India (unfortunately)......

There is one thing that is a constant pest and not one of the elected representatives seems to care about is the threat of Naxalism in India.Its a real shame that so many people have died and not a single person seems to give a thought about it. This is what I plan to talk about in this weeks post.

Irony is as I write this post News is flashing on the screen that 75 CRPF have died in an ambush in Chattisghar.For the government its just another number nothing else absolutely nothing else.....

I don't get it they have all the firepower they need to completely wipe these element out and they are resisting to do so for a reason I doubt even god knows,and what makes a common man such as I scratch my head and wonder is how on Earth are they politicians who sympathies with them.....absolutely disgusting.The situation is spreading to more regions and I foresee only one thin if actions is not stepped up....it being a major and I stress a major problem for the country if we don't curb Naxalism.What seems so ironical is that how can a country with an economy of 1.2 trillion $ and having the second largest army in the world not use force instead tend to negotiate with elements who believe in killing innocent and in violence....It really makes me wonder why some things are so very much complicated....when there is a simple way to do it.....

Well my heartfelt condolences to the family of the victims....I hope appropriate action is taken and is done so quickly to avoid loss of innocent lives......

Take Care

Shravan Karthik

26/11 one year on.....

Hey,

I'm finally back blogging,a busy schedule of exams and celebrations for the 50th year of my school has kept me away from updating it and I fee really bad for not having updated pretty often.

There have been many issues which would have caught the world's attention some of them being Iran,Afghanistan,China and America and not to forget Pakistan.

But in this weeks post I want to talk about something close to home,something I feel was maybe the second biggest event of 2008 (1st being Obama becoming President) an event which I felt united all of us(Indians) no matter of which religion or caste they belonged to , together.The event I am talking about is the Mumbai terror attacks,and on its first anniversary I would like to recall,pay tribute and see if we have actually learnt anything.

On the fourth Wednesday of November of 2008 an attack of proportions unimaginable took place in a country which has an economy more than a trillion an attack which made everyone question are the people we elect and choose to represent us really capable and bother about the people,and it was an attack that made everyone question WHAT ON EARTH WAS OUR SECURITY SYSTEMS DOING???When six terrorists entered the India via the Gateway of India without being stopped even once it made us wonder were we really so vulnerable.

On the days of 26th 27th 28th 29th The City of Mumbai was on its knees, Attacks on the Trident The Taj Mahal hotel, Nariman house,Leopold Cafe,Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus and numerous other locations took the entire country by absolute shock,Everyone stood bewildered as they watched the atrocious crimes committed by these Barbarians.The media gave minute to minute updates and live footage with relatives and friends waiting desperately to see if their near and dear one would come back alive or would just be another addition to the casualty. Finally after the bloody massacre in which over a 200 people died and left 1000's of people life transformed forever, the people lives,ordinary people of this Extraordinary nation came together and prayed consoled one another,Shared their greif and collectively identified themselves as AN INDIAN..

Those dead included people from various walks of life just maybe coming to celebrate or meet and discus important matters or waiting to catch a train home to meet their loved ones. They also included the brave and courageous men who went into Abyss in an intention to rescue others lives not minding putting their own life at risk,just to save the ones who were shell shocked by this event.Extraordinary peope like Sandeep Unnikrishnan , Ashok Kamte ,Hemant Karkare, Vijay Salaskar and the even more simple Tukaram Omble died a martyrs death with only one intention to protect the inncoent people.They are people whom I look up too and really respect and I feel the entire country should too.

The Barbarians also killed Raabi and his wife who was pregnant at Nariman house but miraculously the kid and the Domestic help survived when they were just maybe few second from death.

After all these disasters I feel one year has changed absolutely nothing for the family of these victims and for the entire country.

Now a year later I feel its time to inspect and see what has changed if any.

A year has passed and the government is the same both in the center and in the state.This is the first factor that has not changed.The home minister has changed at the center however the country still remains on a knife edge.We are still vulnerable and still there is no fool proof security.The home minister at the state has not changged and i feel that is an absolute disgrace.A man who has been through 7/11 and 26/11 has been reinstated again.I feel that is an absolute insult to the family of the victims and it hurts them right in the gut.Secondly the government seems to be treating the only Barbarian left behind alive from these terror acts as a famous dignitary.This is also another big blow and makes people loose faith in the system.Thirdly, dialogue with Pakistan has been an absolute waste of time and energy.The country seems to be facing internal rebellion and the Last thing that seems to be there on their mind now has been to accept and take action to dismantle terror networks,and to capture those who have masterminded these attacks.The government needs to be much more strict and push Pakistan more so that if not willingly at least due to pressure and force they arrest and execute those behind such gruesome attacks.

One year later not much seems to be done and people still suffer pain, agony and a feeling that no word can describe when you oose your loved one.

One year later I pray for all those who have lost their loved ones or whose lives have been changed .I pray for god to give them strength, to help them in every way possibe,to help them get justice.And I finally pray and hope that those who sacrificed their lives will never be forgotten for generations to come.

These terror attacks may have dented steel of many buliding and people but they cannot dent the steel of Indian Spirit........................

JAI HIND...........

Shravan Karthik

Afghanistan a step back??,Obama's health plan a huge mess,

Hi

Well,its great to be back.Its been quite a hectic week for all schools and especially for the teachers who were desperately trying to complete portions after the schools shutdown to prevent the spread of the disease.As I mentioned this was a really hasty move and should have been thought over.At least I'm glad its over and things seem to be back on track

A lot of things have happened in the last week around the world.The most significant without a doubt is the Afghan elections.In this week I shall talk about it and how Obama's health plan is going to be a huge disaster that if executed could leave America in deep deep trouble...

On Thursday 20th of August the most dreaded day for any Afghan civilian had just arrived.Yes,on the 21st the country was hosting elections and people were absolutely surrounded with fear of violence increasing and many people dying in the process.The Taliban promised to disrupt the elections and when they say it they rarely joke.the picture on the eve of the election was exactly the ones you might have seen in many movies-people didn't know whom to vote for as there seemed no real option,The NATO troops moved from the Halmenth province that they have captured to Kabul to prevent suicide bombings and to sum it all up that day there was a suicide bombing killing six people........this was the situation just before the day of elections.the next day people did come out to vote and it was largely peaceful.Many people said that they came out to vote as they wanted to defy the Taliban.

6 years ago post 9/11 President Bush pressed for a military offence in Afghanistan to wipe out the insurgents.Taliban rule was literally brought down to its knees providing a ray of hope for democracy in the country.People came in large numbers and voted hoping Afghanistan would be a normal country-peaceful prosperous and happy........6 years later it's anything but that with the Taliban growing in power day by day.So is this government just going to hand over the rule to the Taliban or is there just that glimmer of hope for that country to change its fate...............only time can tell

Now In USA people are absolutely pumping with rage on the Barrack Obama's(who I still feel is not sticking to what he is saying) health care policy.Town hall meeting across the country saw people having heated exchanges with the democratic senators.The president himself addressed the people stating "I don't want to have any difference between the health care policy that the senators have and the one that you have".However people feel if this bill is passed it is a huge storm in the waiting.they feel its going to put the market in debt(which in a deep pit),but the president seems very determined to get it through but with republicans in the way it could be very very difficult to get through...........

Well that's it for this week's post

Until next week,

Take care

Shravan Karthik

'swine flu' the big damn hype

Hi

Well its been a pretty chaotic week for all of us in India.The H1N1 virus has hit the world's largest democracy and after as ussual the Indian media lived up to its reputation of absolutely screwing everything up.On the brighter side one of my freinds seems to following my blog(Yippe!!).

Well in this weeks post I shall be talikng about the swine flu in India and how both the Indian media and the whole country is being a little to precocious.its just about one topic for this weeks post

'girl dies of H1N1 virus in Pune'-Damn this headlines changed it all.What seemed to be an ordinary flu that would probably be cured if we avoided working and took enough rest suddenly changed into something that if contracted would instantly cause death.Well the folks who are largely to be blamed for this is without a doubt is the Indian media which is certainly world renowned for its screw ups did it yet again.Special shows with doctors comming and telling you how not to contract the virus and how to be careful just sent the alarm and panic levels really really high.And absolutely useless 'exclusive interviews' with the parents of the victim is another thing that made my blood boil as it send panic waves throughout the country.And following the media closely were many public institution and office who thanks to the extra ordinary hype of the situation closed down.In this economic depression I wouldn't think that would be too wise to do.

Well my school too closed down stating that they were'precautious' what I don't get it what do they mean by precautious.As far as my knowledge is concerned I don't recollect a single person in my school down with symptoms even close to the swine flu.So why close down and create unnecessary panic.The fact still remains that swine flu consumes 4 out of every thousand people affected by it which is very much similar too the normal flu.Just because it does not have a vaccine does not mean its a virus that is going to eat you up completely and leave you dead in a couple of hours.

The Indian government has been lousy in its stance too.They allow testing a treatment to happen in government hospitals only which anyone who lives in India will know is painfully slow and inaccurate.private hospitals should get into the stream as well and TAMIFLU should also be circulated quicker.The govt of India has declared as stage 1 which means its not at all dangerous.

This is a clear example that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing...............

Well that's it for this weeks post

Hope things ease out a bit next week,

Till then

Take care

Shravan Karthik

Kargil 10 years,is it really slowing down?,vga cables a problem on the backside,big bands sad breakups

Hi

Well it has been a very good week for me.My tests went on well and I finally ended up finishing what I was really planning to do over the last couple of months by a VGA cable to help enable me to watch movies on tv from the laptop.It has also been a week where thanks to the media it was a walk down memory lane where I reflected my thoughts on Kargil and old classic bands.Oh!those good times

In today's post I shall be talking about Kargil and how thanks to the media(for once their right) we still remember them,Is the slump of the economy slowing down,how finding the right VGA cable was a real pain on the back side and finally a look back at some of the greatest bands and a feeling of disappointment for me as they have broken up....

'Kargil was something that inspired many Indians to join the army'-Yogendra Singh Yadav-Param vir chakra awardee.

Ten years on it still inspires true patriots to join the army and help protect their country.I was a little too small (about 5 yrs) to understand what was actually happening all I sensed was that there was tension as my dad used to put on the television and there used t be some red flashing lines and some explosions.But I did see the documentary on the tele this year and realised what a real display of might will and patriotism by the Indian army.What happened in the beginning when many regions such as tiger hill were captured by the Pakistanis killing more than 200 soldiers made the whole country drop their jaws and some burn in rage.It took absolute will determination and planning to drive them out.People such as Captain Vikram Batra who died in the very end of the war are really the true heroes of our country."we will See who is on top of the hill" he told his enemy commander in a radio conversation and he risked his own life for another soldier stating that he had children and a wife and asked him to get back.A truly noble soul who in many years will continue to be an inspiration for others.But I was absolutely levied that neither the prime minister nor the president (chief of the army) made it to the memorial site.Lets just hope the we never forget their sacrifice

People like Vikram Batra are truly what Indians represent 'assertive and caring'.JAI HIND

Next I would like to move on to a topic that is kind of instilling hope into everyone present in the Worlds largest economy.Recent figures show that the rate of decline of profits this quarter has slowed down.Even though the companies didn't make profits they made more than what they expected.The housing sector for the first time in a really long time is looking healthy with prices starting to steady a little bit.But one thing I have to point out is the 14 billion $ profits made by Goldman Sachs ,incredible that's about 110 million dollars per employee.But the one thing that makes me apprehensive is that they are returning back the money to the US govt.They are continuing the risky dirty practises that led to the cause of the slump.But all round I think its safe to say the worst may have just passed.Lets just hope its right.

Next I would like to talk on how absolutely no website provided me the right information on what was the right vga cable to buy so as to enable me to see a movie on my tv that I had downloaded from the laptop.After six visits to the hardware ship I finally ended up getting the right cable and the audio cable

these are the combinations possible

1.the best one is to have HDMI cable on both the sides.This enables you to both see the video and audio on the tv.

2.if you don't have a HDMI port then you can buy a 15 pin VGA cable for the video and then you can buy a 3.5 mm jack acellory port for the audio.

3.you can also have a 15 plug vga cable and have component output if you don't have a 15 pin plug on your tv .for the audio you can by an audio cable also having component audio

4.finally you can s video connecting your tv and laptop and have the same two audio components.

I would like to end this weeks post with a feeling of sadness that bands that performed truly amazing songs have broken up during their peak.I was just listing this week to a few songs by the Beatles and I was amazed to hear the kind of music that they made.Later I heard a few songs by the ABBA.I had heard that these bands had broken up.I felt so bad that bands like what I mentioned above had to break up when they were creating amazing music.Just imagining what kind of music they would have produced if they were still alive is way beyond imagination.I don't seem to get the cause maybe starting solo career but they didn't come close to what they did when were together as a band.The Beatles are gone so that's a miss but I like many hope that ABBA maybe reunite and for one last time perform....

Well that's it for this weeks post

Will be back next week

Till then

Take care

Shravan Karthik