Saturday, October 20, 2012

In OMG

In OMG, God has two faces, so the depiction of God, shown as
both love and fear is full of contradictions. This film takes
you away from religion and God. But had the director been a
more imaginative person, he would have invoked the great
lines uttered by Krishna in the Bhagwad Gita:

paritranaya sadhunam
vinasaya ca duskrtam
dharma-samsthapanarthaya
sambhavami yuge yuge

Translated, this means, In order to deliver the pious and to
annihilate the miscreants, as well as to reestablish the
principles of religion, I manifest Myself millennium after
millennium. But this is really not shown in the film and
neither does it bring about any lasting change in the
custodians of religion in society.

At the most, such films can stir up a religious debate among
people and show the audience some aspect of God that they can
dwell upon.
Unfortunately, the director misses this point.Daily I open
the newspapers and what do I get to read? Of bridges
collapsing, buses falling into deep gorges, travelers being
charred in trains, short circuits and fires, suicides,
murders, and molestation of women. I feel overwhelmed just
looking at the headlines. And oh yes, I forgot: Now attempts
by the Taliban to access nuclear warheads add to the doomsday
scenario. Are we powerless? Is it true that we have little
control over what is happening to us or what might happen to
us by force of dire circumstances?

Let’s look at it this way: We do have power – not just to
cause harm and create terror but to help ourselves out of
this seemingly hopeless scenario of doom and gloom. It might
seem contradictory that people are empowered and empower
others, merely by being  kind and compassionate and not
because they are overbearing, manipulative and unkind and
force their view on others. A kind word, a good deed, a
caring gesture, a warm smile, all these are like power kegs.
Kindness and compassion spring from inner security whereas
aggression and hatred come from inner insecurity. When our
backs are up against the wall, positive inner resources come
to the rescue. Sometimes they are invisible but in times of
distress, they give us strength and help us emerge as
powerful gamechangers.

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Radadiya said he had also sent copies of his letter

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In a letter to party president Sonia Gandhi, Radadiya claimed
that the entire CCTV footage of the episode was not produced
before police and media to show what forced him to take out
the gun that he kept for his "personal safety".
The Lok Sabha MP told TOI that he wrote to the Congress chief
since there were many such instances of toll plaza employees
ill-treating MPs and other people who are exempted from
paying toll. "In most cases, toll plazas are managed by
ignorant and less educated people, who can't even read
English and the identity cards. Main operators are subletting
these facilities on commission basis and also deploy bouncers
to harass commuters. That's why I have requested
investigation into operation of all toll plazas across the
country," he said.
Radadiya said he had also sent copies of his letter to
highways minister C P Joshi and his deputy Tushar Chaudhry
since these issues were dealt by the surface transport
ministry.
Asked whether his letter to Sonia was aimed at silencing his
critics within the state Congress unit, the MP said, "Since
many MPs might have faced such a situation where toll plaza
employees either misbehaved or argued with them, she should
also be apprised of the problem. We are not taking any undue
benefit since MPs are entitled to free passage through all
NHAI toll plazas."
Recalling the episode at a toll booth near Karjan in Vadodara
district, Radadiya claimed that he was sleeping in his car
when it reached the plaza. His driver went to the toll gate
and even showed the MP's identity card. But the staff did not
accept this.

Once campaign season is over

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When voters soundly rejected this agenda at the ballot box, Schwarzenegger returned to the center, and ran a reelection campaign that emphasized environmental protection. He cruised to victory.
But his second-term performance, again, has been uneven. "Once campaign season is over, he looks more and more like a traditional Republican," says Stephanie Pincetl, director of UCLA's Center on People and the Environment. Last July, word broke that the state's fleet of more than 1,100 "flex-fuel" vehicles--whose ability to run on an ethanol blend Schwarzenegger touted as a major advance--had so far been running on gasoline. He vetoed a handful of high-profile bills backed by environmentalists and fired the head of the ARB. His decision to commute daily to the Capitol from Los Angeles by private jet gave off a whiff of hypocrisy (though he buys carbon offsets). Last summer, a poll found that less than half of Californians approved of Schwarzenegger's record on the environment.