Nuclear or no-nuclear?

In a little town there lived a royal family in a beautiful palace. Not far from this palace were the colonies of humble middle class families who engaged in general services such as textile manufacturing, agriculture and farming, banking, everything that one requires for a town to thrive.

As half of the world turned democratic, so did this town, where they had a government body governing all the services provided by these middle class families. In this setting the royal family slowly lost all powers. Yet they continued to live in their beautiful palace and the colonies of middle class families maintained their respect towards the beauty of the palace and its symbol of power.

What no one knew, including the royal families themselves, was that as the royal family lost their powers so did they slowly began loosing their wealth. When they were about to hit bankruptcy, they decided it was time to join in the services. But to give up the palace and come down to the level of the humble populations was too great a loss to bear. Therefore they decided to provide their own set of services through the palace.

But to maintain such a vast palace and its beauty through the modest earnings of the services was too difficult. The royal family needed to charge a royal tax to their services so that they could continue living a comfortable life.

Now these services were more expensive than the middle class services, and as a result they lost even the modest earnings, for who would pay an extra sum of money when they could get the same service cheaper?

What could be done now? How could the royal members sell their services over the services of the general folks?

The royal family members had an idea to solve this problem. They realized that the only way to sell the royal services was to show that it was better than the general services found in the town. But of course, this was not true. For the general folks were providing the services since generations before the royal family, and hence they had way more experience. Therefore the only way to solve the problem was to falsely defame the general services and provide their services as a better alternative.

Hence they employed a member of the middle class, giving away a chunk of their wealth in order to buy his loyalty, and in return asked him to create rumors and fears against the general services, to condition the general public to view their own services as harmful and injurious.

The middle class colonies had not forgotten their respect for the palace, and so they put their faiths into these rumors and began to shut down their own services and buy in stead the royal services.

After a long time passed, they realized that neither did they have money to buy the royal services, as they themselves earned nothing, nor were the royal services up to the quality.

Wake up, 3^rd world countries. Realize before it’s too late.

While it is already too late for products like DDT and Endosulfan and its contribution towards agriculture, at least don’t let the EU funded NGOs turn us against nuclear power. Before you form your opinion get informed about what is nuclear power, how can it be beneficial to India economically, and what would that, in turn, mean to countries in the EU and America...

Such Is Our Media

28.04.2011, NDTV Hindi

Last night there was a short run on NDTV Hindi in order to debate the cause of Endosulfan. One person speaking against the ban (Anil Kakkar), one for it (Sunita Naraian), and three hosts. Three hosts that were already for the ban, therefore, clearly, the program was heavily on one side. Four against one speaker.

If you haven’t already noticed that this news channel is pushing its viewers to take a side, that the news is already bought, then notice when every time the speaker against the ban attempts to speak, he is over ruled by not one, but 4 speakers! Is this a democratic country we are living in? Is this freedom? IS THIS THE TRUTH WE ARE HEARING?

Anyways, so here’s what NDTV Hindi has to say:

It begins with a short documentary on the Kasargod “victims” of endosulfan. Now, here’s what the speaker against the ban was attempting to say, and it’s what all the speakers against the ban have always tried to ask: How is it that only the people in Kasargod show such extreme symptoms!! (We’ll come to their response within this show in a minute) Not just other parts of India, but other parts of the entire world have been using Endo, need I repeat – since 50 years! And the people we are talking about are farmers, who use but a prescribed dose of the pesticide. But what about the thousands who are producing endosulfan, working in factories and plants where it is manufactured, being exposed to such a god forsaken chemical day in and day out! By now their entire families should’ve been wiped out! But is that so?? Last I heard they were protesting against the ban through a peaceful march in Gujarat, for if this pesticide is banned, they’re going to loose their jobs! If you didn’t know about this, its because the media refused to cover it!

So now, in response to the question, NDTV Hindi show us another short documentary filmed in Madhya Pradesh. If you fall for this one, then congratulations, you pass for American IQ! First of all, the documentary gets two different products mixed up, endosulfan and celphos! When questioned about this by our speaker,  the NDTV speaker responds by saying that it is one and the same thing! And that they cut the endosulfan bit (I thought the debate was centering around endosulfan, why would you cut that bit??!). Then NDTV actually tells us that Endosulfan should be banned because farmers die when they drink it! Have we Indians come down to that dumb a level that a pesticide package needs to say “If you drink this you die!”??? Have we come down to that dumb a level, that we are asking to ban a product because certain farmers committed suicide by consuming this product!! Shame on these news channels! And shame on us if we don’t see through these lies and let our country go for a toss!

And finally, Miss Sunita Naraian! A threat to India’s development! Just one question for her: Do you sleep peacefully at night?

Be Sorry!

Times of India, Mumbai, 28.04.2011

“Be safe, not sorry” says Times of India. Not Sorry. Who is sorry anyway, in today’s world? These news papers? The TV channels? These NGOs? The public who blindly believe them?

Be Sorry! At least be sorry! No one’s going to act, no one’s going to correct. But at least be sorry, at least look at the wrong and definitely be sorry.

We see it in movies and may be hear things flying around in the air about the power of media. We may perhaps even believe it. But do we comprehend it fully, this "power"? And if we do, what can we do about it? Who knows what’s right and what’s wrong? Who can decide that? Whom do we believe in and trust? And why should we believe them?

Who owns Times of India and who owns NDTV and all the news mediums at large? Who funds the NGOs? Learn to question!

28^th April 2011, Times of India, Mumbai, page number 16, “Calls intensify for a national ban on pesticide endosulfan” Do read this article. Be sorry!

Kerela’s chief minister. Educated up till standard 8, worked in a village tailoring shop and later took up a job of meshing coir to make ropes at a coir factory (Didn’t have to go further than wikipedia). Does he have the right to comment on the structure of a chemical or what causes the health problems in Kasargod?

Who are the others commenting on this pesticide, according to this article? – Church representatives, movie stars, poets and civil society activists. If you cannot even feel sorry then laugh! Laugh also when you notice how much of this article is based on facts and scientific evidences. According to one study… Laugh, laugh!

“…84 countries, including America, Australia and EU members have banned the pesticide, India refuses to do so, stating it needs evidence across the nation. This reason is baffling.” Baffling!! That we can even expect ourselves to be a rational, thinking country.

Whatever this rubbish has been so far, but to say that it adversely impacts honeybee populations! (FYI honeybees are responsible for the pollination of fruits and vegetables.) This impact appears after 50 years of usage of endosulfan? And this America of yours who has so proudly banned endosulfan, lets look at their honeybee populations since the holy ban. Over 50% of honeybees wiped out!! (Vanishing of the Bees. Oh wait! Who’s responsible for this? Neonicotinoids? EU!?!!) Endosulfan is the ONLY existing pesticide in the world! that is soft on honeybees. Get your facts right. And by the way, this here, is India, the world’s second largest population. If such a catastrophe as in America were to happen here, imagine the impact on food and food prices, imagine the impact on the poor.

And then to say that the “government must show it values citizens’ lives and well-being”? Luckily, it is showing (Apart from Mr. Achuthanandan). Now citizens, we must ask the media to show it values citizins' lives, well-being and their right to correct, unbiased, unadulterated information. We must ask the media to do what it exists for, inform responsibly!

Luckily also, in this article the media has printed a counterview. Read that and understand it.

1. Proper use of the pesticide. Like all shampoo bottles and all medical strips have directions for usage and dosages, so of course do pesticides. Agreed, pesticides have ill-effects, just as a medicine has side effects. If you are one who takes herbal medications and practices yoga daily to keep healthy and fit, then go ahead and ban endo and treat your crops in the same way, organic farming, that is fantastic! But if you pop a crocin every time you have a headache, how the hell do you have the right to stop the crops from taking their medicines?

2. Cost-effective. We are not Brazil, our farmers are the poor populations, who own little pieces of land. You come up with cost-effective alternatives that are as safe as endo, sure, stop using it. But you have no right to support the ban if you do not have a solution.

3. And believe it or not, these “idol” western countries of ours, they are not here to guide us through our problems! What makes you think they are interested in banning this product in our country because they are concerned about the health problems of the poor populations of Kasargod? You think they have no vested interests? Oh laugh again then!

So you know what, its too late to do anything anyway, but BE SORRY!