The diplomatic fix: Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade runs into trouble in USA.

What I've observed while running an arm of the American Government is that they don't fiddle with their operating practices or lose focus when they hear high-sounding names and titles (designations). We all know that America is far from perfection but when it comes to rules and regulations, they don't care for the status or the office of a person involved as we do in India. We have heard about various American leaders, bureaucrats and luminaries (not Indian leaders only) having been stopped, searched or fined by seemingly petty officers. It was big news when Ed Rendell, the Pennsylvania Governor was stopped and fined for some traffic violation by the highway police. If somebody is arrested (in the present case, there is a valid reason too), that person is to be taken to a nearby police station and kept there (in custody) from where he is taken to the court after preliminary investigation for adjudication proceedings. Rule of law prevails and emphatically enough, its not like India where the police may record arrest after several days and/ or produce the accused in court after several weeks or may minimize the offence depending on recommendation/ money. They don't have five-star amenities or VIP rooms in police districts (as they call it there). Everyone arrested (and they range from pan handlers to mafia bosses) has to be kept in a well-lit area where one or two armed officers will be on duty, watching over. And they strip- search everyone who gets there, not caring for their ranks or positions in society because that's what they are trained to do (besides, they may not have Master Degrees to know all about diplomats, diplomacy, immunity and associated jargon: this may be the first time they hear those words. This writer once walked into a U.S. court room and asked to see his clients- the accused in a criminal case who were arraigned there that day but was told by the duty officer that he doesn't know who the accused are, nevertheless, pointed out the defendants). After all, all those brought there are under some criminal charges or due to whatever suspicious activities and are detained according to the law of the land. Those officers and the police department don't want to take the risk of having somebody among the detainees keeping drugs or prescription meds or weapons (may be as small as a piece of blade or as simple as a string or elastic piece- of even an underwear- but capable of killing somebody) or potassium cyanide or some other poison, stacked away in some folds of their bodies, to end their own lives... After all, a person arrested and detained may have sufficient plus one reason to go to any extent viz., committing suicide and so the authorities will have to search each and everyone, especially a new offender who wouldn't have a rap sheet from which they can discern the history of that person. This does not mean in any way that I am advancing the American case but saying only that he who is assigned to do a particular job will do it which is the rule and not the exception there (they are required to do so or they may lose their jobs). They don't look for which political party the offender belongs to or who one is related to. This is still a mind set that the Indians are not used to. (profiling- racial or otherwise- is an allegation that has surfaced recently, though). Further, I believe that American bureaucracy had information of all that was about to happen; they may have planned it to establish their law regarding minimum wages- this may not have happened for the first time or with the first person. This 'nanny business', paying low wages, trafficking etc. would have been going on for some time. I would even guess that 'the Nanny' even might have applied for political assylm in America saying her employer is powerful and influential at home, capable of ruining her life and her family. In the circumstances, the US officials would have been waiting for the perfect timing or building up strong evidence or both. Now that our government has made a fuss over it, it's best to make amends/ adjustments at the diplomatic, still better, political level in a hushed tone (Am I voting against my own premise, here?) or boldly face the charges by employing a great lawyer in America. Thanks.

Bishop's extravagance

If I admit for argument's sake that the LA Bishop is driving Bentleys and Benzes as it is in vogue in the high-class vicinity of California , tell me how one will justify the Mar Thoma Metropolitan in Thiruvalla, Kerala, India being allotted EIGHTY LAKHS of rupees for the purchase of a luxury car by the apex body of the church when he already has a Mercedes Benz in which he is driven around. Also, how will one answer questions regarding the demolition of his residential building which is only 3 decades old and in excellent condition in order to construct a PALACE worth nearly TWELVE CRORES? These god-men live in such luxury when millions of people in India live without food, clothes and shelter; where they are deprived of their manhood along with the bare necessities of life. thanks.

On attaining 58

പിന്നിട്ട വഴികൾ ... തിരിഞ്ഞു നോക്കാൻ സമയമില്ല, 
അഥവാ, സമയമായില്ല. 
ഇനി ഒരവസരം കിട്ടിയാൽ ആ വഴി തന്നെ നടക്കാൻ തെരഞ്ഞെടുക്കുമോ? 
അല്ലെങ്കിൽ, എന്തിനൊരു പ്രവചനം? 
ഏതൊരു പ്രവാചക ശബ്ദം ആണ് അന്യൂനമായിരുന്നിട്ടുള്ളത്? 
ചെയ്യാനുള്ളത് അതിന്റെ സമയാസമയങ്ങളിൽ ചെയ്യുക, 
അതല്ലേ അതിന്റെ ഒരു ശരി? 

ജന്മദിനാശംസകൾ നേർന്ന ബന്ധുക്കൾക്ക്, സുഹൃത്തുക്കൾക്ക്, ശിഷ്യർക്ക് ഹൃദയത്തിന്റെ ഭാഷയിൽ നന്ദി... 

തുടരാം നമുക്കീ യാത്ര ഒന്നിച്ച്, 

മുന്നോട്ട്.

The Sunday Assembly

The non-religious Assembly is perhaps the fastest growing church in the world: Isn't It a Religion Now?
Atheists Start Their Own Mega-church: Organized Atheism is now a franchise. And structured godlessness is ready for export.

The other day,  The Sunday Assembly—the London-based “Atheist Church” that has, since its January launch,  been stealing headlines the world over—announced a new “global missionary tour.” In October and November, affiliated Sunday Assemblies will open in  22 cities: in England, Ireland, Scotland, Canada, the United States and Australia. “I think this is the moment,” Assembly founder Sanderson Jones told me in an email last week, “when the Sunday Assembly goes from being an interesting phenomenon to becoming a truly global movement.”

The Assembly has come a long way in eight months: from a scrappy East London community venture (motto: “Live Better, Help Often and Wonder More;” method: “part atheist church, part foot-stomping good time”) to the kind of organization that sends out embargoed press releases about global expansion projects. “The 3,000 percent growth rate might make this non-religious Assembly the fastest growing church in the world,” organizers boast.

There’s more to come: In October, the Sunday Assembly (SA) will launch a crowd-funded indiegogo campaign, with the ambitious goal of raising £500,000 (or, about $793,000). This will be followed by a second wave of openings. “ The effort reads as part quixotic hipster start-up, part Southern mega-church.

Like any attempt at organized non-belief, the Sunday Assemblies will attract their fair share of derision from critics. But the franchise model might dismay some followers too. For, a corporate empire needs an executive board; a brand needs brand managers; a federation needs a strict set of guiding tenets—and of course, consequences for those who stray from the fold. And isn’t that all wholly opposed to free thought?

A Dialogue

Original Post Anil Kumar 8:30pm Aug 25 മുഖ്യമന്ത്രിയുടെ കണക്ക് പ്രകാരം പതിനഞ്ചു കോടിയില്‍ പരം രൂപയും. ചീഫ്‌വിപ്പ്: കണക്ക് പ്രകാരം ആയിരം കോടിയില്‍ മുകളില്‍, എന്നിട്ടും ഈ തട്ടിപ്പ് നടത്തിയ രണ്ടുപേര്‍ ഇപ്പോള്‍ പുറത്തു. ശ്രി എം എല്‍ എ മുരളിധരന്‍ പറഞ്ഞത് പ്രകാശം പരത്തുന്ന രണ്ടുപേര് പുറത്തു പോയി ബാക്കി രണ്ടു പേര് എപ്പോള്‍ വേണം എങ്കിലും പുറത്തു പോകാം എന്ന്. കോടതി അപ്പോള്‍ അന്യായ വിധി അല്ലെ നടപ്പകിയത്. View Post on Facebook  Comment History Prof. Alex Odikandathil Ph.D. 10:38pm Aug 25 No. If it was for Krishna Iyer, he would have said "NOOOO" A fundamental right cannot be disposed of casually with the cryptic order: "Bail denied". Good reasons must exist for denial. The constitutional emphasis was made clear in Balchand (1977): "The basic rule may perhaps be tersely put as bail not jail". Here we need to understand three things: (i) Bail is a fundamental right (ii) The norm is bail not jail (iii) Good reasons, with full explanation in writing must exist for denying bail. Building on this, in 1980, the Parliament added to Section 437 of the CrPC that even in the most punishable cases, special consideration must be given to juveniles under 16 years, WOMEN, the sick and the infirm. There are times when all these are lost by judicial amnesia, though. The English common law rule (now modified from 1984) is 'no arrest without a charge'. In India, we follow the Imperial Raj Law that custody may extend to 60 or 90 days in the absence of a charge sheet. Judicial custody orders after charge are possible but should be avoided. Swayed by the blitz of publicity and their own biases, judges treat an accused as a convicted criminal even though he is innocent until proven guilty (see Kashmira (1977)). In this day and age, the four major concerns about bail can be easily met, namely: about the accused (i) absconding (ii) noncooperation with the police during investigation (iii) intimidating witnesses and (iv) tampering with evidence.In the case under reference, granting bail to the accuse d is the only lawful thing to do. Thanks. Anil Kumar commented on his post in Ente Chengannur ~ എന്‍റെ ചെങ്ങന്നൂര്‍. Anil Kumar 11:18pm Aug 25 ബഹു: അലക്സ്‌ സര്‍ പറഞ്ഞത് പൂര്‍ണമായും അങ്ങികരിക്കുന്നു. എന്നിരുനാലും പൊതുജനത്തെ കബളിപ്പിച്ചു തട്ടി എടുത്ത പണത്തിനു ഇതുവരെ ഈ അറസ്റ്റ്‌ ചെയ്യപെട്ട വ്യക്തികളുടെ സ്വത്തുകള്‍ സര്‍ക്കാര്‍ കണ്ടുകെട്ടിയില്ല(പതിനഞ്ചു കോടി രൂപ മുഖ്യമന്ത്രിയുടെ കണക്ക് പ്രകാരം) . എന്നിരിക്കെ ഇത്രയും നാള്‍ നമ്മള്‍ കണ്ട സമരവും മറ്റും പൊതുജനത്തിനു ബുദ്ധിമുട്ടിക്കാന്‍ വേണ്ടി അല്ലാരുന്നോ.

Prof. Dr. Alex Abraham Odikandathil	2:34 PM (3 minutes ago)
to Reply

Thank you Mr. Anil Kumar. I agree with you on the point that the properties of the accused may be attached until the disposal of the case. And I am solidly behind you when you say that the agitation surrounding the case was unwanted, serving no useful purpose, and wasting the public money with no regard to any established norms. The tragedy is that the opposition in India, no matter who that is, resort to such unfair practices causing much inconvenience to the public at large. It very seldom happens in any advanced, industrialized countries.

RIP

Apostle Paul wrote of the apparent end of his own life and said in Second Timothy 4:6-7, “For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.” 

As Paul looked back over the years since he met Jesus on the road to Damascus, Paul said that he had accomplished three things: “have fought a good fight, have finished the course, have kept the faith.”

Remember:

If one continues to fight the fight of faith, he will be able to look forward to the same thing that Paul was looking forward to. A reading of Second Timothy 4:8: “Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.” Paul did not look for rewards in this life. His hopes for the future were entirely tied up in what the Lord would say to Him in the next life.

I think, so were you, Mr. John; 
RIP.

A Pacifistic War (Defence) Minister?

Unworldly pacifist as Mr. Antony is, I consider his statement over- ambitious: that India is trying to reach a long term peace pact with China. Aren't you aware, Mr. Antony, of its recent moves which reflects the cold calculation of a confidently rising power. China now aims to stake out a monopoly over the fishing and energy resources of the West Philippine Sea in its bid to become a regional, and later a global hegemon. So BEWARE.

UN leader Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday called for an 'amicable' settlement to a mounting West Philippine Sea territorial dispute between China and other Asian nations. Asked about the Philippine's decision to refer the case to a UN tribunal, Ban told reporters he has been following the dispute “carefully”. The United Nations is ready “to provide technical and professional assistance, but primarily all these issues should be resolved by the parties concerned,” the UN leader added, carefully avoiding backing any country involved. And he too echoes Antony.

Whatever the source of its provocative posture, Beijing’s moves have alarmed its neighbors. In a meeting of its foreign ministers towards the end of June, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) reminded China of its “collective commitment under the [2002] Declaration of Conduct [of Parties] to ensuring the resolution of disputes by peaceful means in accordance with universally recognized principles of international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), without resorting to the threat or use of force, while exercising self-restraint in the conduct of activities.” They too echo Antony.

But none of the above relay- statements would deter China: the reason why America is taking pro-active steps to disseminate its military power in the Philippines.

China, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam and Taiwan- all have overlapping claims to the territory to which China raises arbitrary claims now.