The Delhi High Court today declared Section 377 of Indian Penal Code (IPC), a relic of the British Raj, “violative of articles 14, 21 and 15 of the (Indian) Constitution in so far as it criminalizes consensual sexual acts of adults in private.” That means, from now on, police will no longer be able to arrest adult homosexuals having consensual sex. Gays have so far been living under terror in India because section 377 IPC empowered police to put behind bars those who committed “unnatural...

1969 was the year I began my career as a journalist with a leading Indian daily. That was also the year when a memorable event called The Woodstock Festival took place in a far-away rural town of Bethel, New York, and caught my fancy. As The Independent recalls: “Performers flying in on helicopters – a portentous sight in the Vietnam era – food and drinks spiked with LSD, acts going on 14 hours or a day late, the myth and legend of Woodstock has remained a potent signifier for baby-boomers...

Tomorrow (that is Tuesday, June 30) would be a shameful day for Boston…. It is disbanding United States of America’s first mounted police unit. The AP report states: “(The Boston Mounted Unit’s) 12 horses would be given new homes — at least until the city can come up with funds to restore the unit.” What a shame that the budget cuts would hurt this 136-year-old historic police unit. The mounted police plays a significant role in crime prevention and does high visibility...

I have no hesitation in admitting that I generally turn to The Economist when I am looking for details regarding any hot world issue, or if I fail to understand its different dimensions. This venerable British magazine has some interesting points to offer regarding the US health-care reforms. “Because health insurance is so expensive, nearly 50 million Americans, an obscene number in such a rich place, have none; those that are insured pay through the nose for their cover, and often find it...

If The Beatles managed to convey the increasing dominance of machine over man — with their voice and script struggling to rise over the clamour and force of musical instruments, Michael Jackson’s songs, accompanied with his unbeatable mechanical body movements, went a step further to deliver a similar message — the human beings gradually turning into robots. Thus, The Beatles and Michael Jackson crafted pop music into an enchanting lyrical philosophy, and a commentary on our present...

My two friends (surely they can’t be described as “socialists” by any stretch of imagination) have come out in full support of the US government’s SINGLE PAYER HEALTH INSURANCE scheme. However, they are amazed at the misinformation that is being spread regarding the scheme in the US media and the ads. Shyamal Bagchee, PhD, FRSA, Professor of English and Film Studies, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada, has drawn my attention to Bill Mann’s write up in HuffPost:...

It sounds like a routine alarm, but the things are getting serious. The question being asked in this part of the world is: Who would grab Pakistan’s nuclear weapons first…the Al Qaeda or the USA? To this speculation one may add an Aesop’s fable: Would it be the “monkey” India/Israel combo snatching the nukes away from the Al Qaeda/USA “cat” ? Here is a categorical statement from Mustafa Abu al-Yazid (photo above), the leader of al Qaeda’s in Afghanistan,...

I never miss an opportunity to treat others, and myself, to mouth-watering ice creams and frozen custards. I was delighted that dad Barack Obama gave a yummy frozen custard treat to daughters Sasha and Malia on The Father’s Day. ABC News tells us that Sasha, his youngest daughter, went for the big chocolate brownie sundae with frozen yogurt, hot fudge, a cherry, sprinkles, and whipped cream. “But, the full cup seemed a bit too much and she asked her father to scoop off the whipped...

White-collar job opportunities are just drying up. A former scholar Matthew Crawford, a PhD. in political philosophy from University of Chicago who after his studies became a motorcycle mechanic, says “The trades suffer from low prestige. Because the work is dirty, many people assume it is also stupid. This is not my experience.” Crawford writes in his book Shop Class as Soulcraft (and excerpted in The Week): “I turned full time to repair work several years ago after briefly serving...

Orangette…Cannelle et Vanille…Chez Pim…Dorie Greenspan…Becks & Posh…Steamy Kitchen..Homesick Texan…The Bitten Word…Tartelette. Hey what are these funny names? If you ever get tired of reading the political blogs…you may turn your attention to the above mentioned “appetizing” blogs included in The Times “50 of the world’s best food blogs.” More here… I tried finding Indian food blogs on the net…I wonder...

My fascination for bus rides and backpacking/trekking has remained intact. I was delighted to learn that even among the car-loving Americans, bus travel is now becoming popular. Well, this may cause a social and economic revolution in the USA!!! People are more “loath to get into their cars.” The Federal Highway Administration says Americans drove 81 billion fewer miles in the year ended January 2009 than in the previous year, reports WSJ. The Week magazine says: “Hard economic...

How does one make the USA, or the world, more secure? History tells us that ultimately a nation has to fall back upon the tried and tested “civilian instruments” such as diplomacy and foreign aid. The world has seen the dangers inherent in “creeping militarisation” of US foreign policy. Lexington, in his column in The Economist, states: “Mrs (Hillary) Clinton’s success has partly been a matter of good fortune. The State Department is delighted to see the arrival of an administration...

The ex-Beatles pop music sensation Sir Paul McCartney and his two daughters are avidly campaigning for meatless Mondays to “reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the world’s livestock, among the most serious contributors to global warming.” The Independent reports: “The McCartneys have attracted support from across the worlds of showbusiness, science, business and the environment. The singer Chris Martin, Hollywood stars Kevin Spacey and Woody Harrelson, actress Joanna Lumley...

While the US media and the blogs are going hysterical about the health care issues of “Americans”, Mary Clare Jalonick (Associated Press Writer) provides us with a moving insight into the continued poverty, deprivation and neglect of the “other” Americans — the indigenous people who live within the borders of the United States of America. The story revolves round the death of five-year-old Ta’Shon Rain Little Light (See photo). “Ta’Shon’s story...

I love American and Australian pies. They may be world apart in flavour and ingredients, but the pie lovers just can’t do without them. And here comes a fascinating biography… Pie is the latest in a series of small, engaging and beautifully illustrated books edited by food historian Ken Albala, who wrote last year’s entertaining Pancake, writes The Age. “Janet Clarkson, a GP and lecturer in medicine at the University of Queensland, is also a culinary historian — and...

Charles de Gaulle (French general, writer and statesman, 1890-1970) once said “Diplomats are useful only in fair weather. As soon as it rains they drown in every drop.” Australia’s High Commissioner to India John McCarthy has been a doyen among New Delhi’s diplomats for a record five years…that is until the dam burst a few weeks ago when the news of attacks on Indian students in Australia started flashing in Indian newspapers/TV channels like neon lights downtown. McCarthy...

What a way to celebrate one’s 85th birthday!!! A jump from the plane…Up in the sky…And enjoying a wonderful bird’s eye view. That’s what former US President H.W. Bush did, and got an affectionate kiss from wife Barbara on safe landing. Also present on the scene was his son, former US president George W. Bush, who generally sought thrills of different kind!!! Bush famously skydived on his 75th and 80th birthdays and hopes to repeat it on his 90th birthday as well. Birthday...

It is interesting how John Boynton Priestley (13 Sept 1894 – 14 Aug 1984) an English novelist, playwright and broadcaster, whose works I have admired/enjoyed, has become “a voice of our times”. Writes Benedict Nightingale in The Times: “Whether Priestley was writing tragedies, comedies or a mix of both, he was scathing about hypocrisy, pomposity, callousness, selfishness, cynicism, idleness and avarice. “When the title character of An Inspector Calls accuses a rich, smug...

Can we live without Google? asks James Harkin in The Times. A reader taunts Harkin: “Can we live without GOD? YES. Can we live without GOOGLE? Silly Question. Of course, We can, if we want.” Harkins reminds us that eight out of ten people prefer Google, a search engine that is now worth roughly £100 billion. “In the space of a single decade, internet search has changed the way we look at the world beyond recognition. Google has become our binoculars and our window on to the net.” But,...

I am no fashion expert but I enjoyed reading The Times of London’s good natured taunt at the dress the First Lady of the USA chose to wear for her visit to the power centre in London — the Westminster Abbey. Writes Alice Olins: “Mrs O is a clever woman: pretending to have just thrown on any old holiday number whilst actually acknowledging pioneering catwalk ideas is no mean feat, she is probably laughing at all the criticism as I write. “From a fashion purist’s perspective,...