Ambimama - India

This blog is 5 years old. We have tried to cover subjects that we understand well. The Internet is a very vast source of knowledge and people today read even Newspapers (rather News) on the Net. I have downloaded many books from the Net. I do read books on paper when Power cut is there in Chennai.

This year is unusually cold in Chennai! And I have to enjoy this cold climate as there is winter in Chennai for only one month. This year before the summer starts there will be hike in power rates. The increase in milk and bus rates does not bother my family much as I travel less by bus.
Anna Hazare is well known as a Gandhian and his fast for Lokpal bill has started. I am sure the youngsters understand his motive and will find India on a good path.

Happy New Year 2012!

Tomorrow will be a very important day in deciding if the hunger strike scheduled for December 27th is to be called off.

Source : NDTV

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi are meeting all UPA allies this evening to discuss the latest version of the Lokpal Bill, which will be shared with the opposition tomorrow at an all-party meeting.
The anti-corruption bill has been championed by activist Anna Hazare. He meets with his team of activists tomorrow in Delhi to assess whether the Bill is strong enough for him to call off a hunger strike scheduled for December 27. So far, Anna has rejected the draft of the Lokpal Bill because it excludes some of the key demands of his movement. At a debate hosted by his team in Delhi on Sunday, political parties agreed with most of these features.
The public stand taken by parties like the Left and the BJP highlighted that the government is in a minority over its insistence that the Lokpal - a new ombudsman agency - should not be allowed to investigate the Prime Minister or 57 lakh junior bureaucrats who are central government employees. So last evening, the Prime Minister reached out on the phone to an array of parties to seek consensus; he was reportedly successful in pitching a new bill that seems to have the blessing of most big political players.
So the Lokpal will likely be allowed to investigate the Prime Minister, though with safeguards, for charges of corruption. Junior bureaucrats will also be accountable to the ombudsman. The premier investigating agency - the CBI - will report to the Lokpal when investigating complaints of corruption against government servants. Anna had said that unless the bill included these factors, he would use a fast to launch a new campaign in which he would urge people to "fill every jail in India."

To prove its intent in checking graft, the Union Cabinet also cleared two important bills this evening - the Judicial Accountability Bill and the Citizens’ Charter Bill. (Read) The former sets up a committee of five members to deal with charges of corruption against judges. The latter makes it necessary for government offices to post a notice that indicates how long it will take to deliver a service, and the penalty for officers who don’t meet that deadline. Anna, had asked for the Lokpal Bill to include judges and the Citizens’ Charter. As indicated earlier to him, the government has addressed these spheres through separate bills.
The government’s actions in recent weeks have suggested a sort of allergy to seeking consensus - that has led to public and face-first crashes on important matters like foreign direct investment in retail. The Opposition said it had not been consulted; so did allies like Mamata Banerjee, whose party, the TMC, is the second-largest member of the UPA coalition after the Congress. After announcing that it was opening up retail to foreign ownership, the government had to suspend the reforms that were meant to telegraph this government’s policy paralysis had ended.

The need to allow the Lokpal to investigate the PM’s office for charges of corruption was emphasised at Sunday’s debate at Jantar Mantar in Delhi. The government has been suggesting that the PM must complete his or her term before the Lokpal can follow up on charges of graft. "But why should we tolerate a corrupt PM for even a day?" asked the BJP’s Arun Jaitley during the debate. So though the new formula places the PM under the ambit of the Lokpal, there are safeguards. To avoid frivolous complaints, for example, a charge against the PM would be referred to a full bench of the Supreme Court before being accepted by the Lokpal.
The CBI has argued ardently against being made to report to the Lokpal - the agency believes this will defeat the objective of ensuring its autonomy. So it will now have the Lokpal as its boss only for investigations related to corruption. The government is also likely to propose an independent mechanism for the appointment of the CBI Director. Opposition parties at Anna’s debate said the CBI has to be freed from government control - and that every party that has formed the government has been tempted to use the investigating agency for political vendetta by launching investigations against opponents, and protecting its supporters. Sources say both the BJP and the Congress may agree that the CBI director should be appointed by the PM, the chairman of the Lokpal and the Leader of the Opposition.

Australia lost to NZ at home by 7 runs. Australia is making it a habit to play close finish test matches this season only this time they ended up in the loosing side.

Source: http://www.espncricinfo.com/australia-v-new-zealand-2011/engine/current/match/518948.html

The hosts’ chase of 241 had been guided expertly by David Warner, but Bracewell’s removal of Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke and Michael Hussey, all on 159, left Australia a nervous 5 for 173 at lunch, and on resumption the remaining five went down for a mere 60. In all it was a collapse of 8 for 74, Warner left marooned on 123 when the last man, Nathan Lyon, was bowled by Bracewell

As New Zealand celebrated, Lyon sank to the ground, disbelieving that the match had been lost. Bad as he felt, it was the batsmen other than Warner who had greatest cause to feel poorly.

A child’s smile is god-given. It is as though God laughs. No hidden feelings, just smile! Of course we all enjoy the smile because the mother takes all the pain of giving the child proper care of feeding, removing the clothes at proper time and other routines. And when the child cries however we may try to cajole, ultimately it finds comfort in the mother’s hands. Such is God’s creation. I do not remember how much pain my mother would have gone through. The children are all God’s own and we have to respect and treat them with joy. It is manmade World and the children learn to behave in it the way we have made and want them to learn the way we want. All the child’s merry is gone when he becomes an adult and then the cheer returns when he gets a child of his own.

We human beings are made up of emotions, thinking, actions and decisions. Thinking and emotions alone will not help us to achieve what we want. Actions and decisions must be positive to me and the World. Actions include your job, daily activities social or personal apart from eating, sleeping and other personal things. Decisions must be taken whether you like it or not for the benefit of society at large.

But sometimes the actions we take knowingly or unknowingly may harm the society at large. A simple case is feeding others (includes animals also). I may forget to feed the morning rice to crows (A thing which we do daily). The city crows have much place to go – even to the Biriyani shop and feed themselves. But the crow is habituated and hungry and gives a call in the exact time my morning cook is over. I just explained one of my routine things that have come to me from my forefathers’ habits. I cannot and have forgotten many good things that they have done for the harmony of the Earth. But I must and find a new way to remember the good things and follow them in my daily life. I cannot afford to cry and I must have positive feelings always towards others and other beings on this Earth.