just another blog on the block
First they came for the Jews
and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for the Communists
and I did not speak out because I was not a Communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists
and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for me
and there was no one left to speak out for me.
the German theologian, Martin Niem”ller
I am trying to get hang of philosophy nowadays so im trying to make a note of all these seemingly profound thoughts .
“Don’t think about what you’ve left behind” The alchemist said to the boy as they began to ride across the sands of the desert. “If what one finds is made of pure matter, it will never spoil. And one can always come back. If what you had found was only a moment of light, like the explosion of a star, you would find nothing on your return.”
— Paulo Coelho (The Alchemist)
“Because it’s not love to be static like the desert, nor is it love to roam the world like the wind. And it’s not love to see everything from a distance, like you do. Love is the force that transforms and improves the Soul of the World. When I first reached through to it, I thought the Soul of the World was perfect. But later, I could see that it was like other aspects of creation, and had its own passions and wars. It is we who nourish the Soul of the World, and the world we live in will be either better or worse, depending on whether we become better or worse. And that’s where the power of love comes in. Because when we love, we always strive to become better than we are.”
— Paulo Coelho (The Alchemist)
When things go wrong as they sometimes will.Whn the road youre trudging seems all up hill. When the funds are low and the debts are high.And u want to smile but u have to sigh, Rest if u must – BUT DONT QUIT.
“You will begin to touch heaven, Jonathan, in the
moment that you touch perfect speed. And that isn’t
flying a thousand miles an hour, or a million, or flying at
the speed of light. Because any number is a limit, and
perfection doesn’t have limits. Perfect speed, my son, is
being there.”- jonathan livingston seagull
This is just a reproduction of the editorial in The Hindu written by Mihir Shah published on 20,sept 2008.
This editorial is a reply to the book “first best option” written by the economist Arvind Subramaniam. This book deal with Direct Cash Transfer (DCT) as a solution to address poverty in India. He makes a strong case for his theory.
According to Arvind India has granted a total monetary support of about Rs 2,00,000 crore including various subsidies on fertilizers , food and fuel et cetera . So if we divide this entire amount among the people it is meant for ,it would come upto 1 crore for every gram panchayat . Mr.Arvind feels that people know what to do best with there money so why not transfer this amount directly to the people it belongs to so that they can fend for themselves. The government will be saved of a lot of burden if the rural areas can practice self governance.
This articles by Mihir Shah contradicts Arvind theory by giving suitable examples .Shah starts of by saying that anti-poverty programmes will work only if they lead to sustainable lively hoods for the people and end the dependence on doles .
He shows various situations in which just DCT has failed miserably. He talks about the Indira Awas Yojana , the SGSY where the DCT has failed to be propitious ,
Indira Awas Yojana which is a DCT to help poor build houses has not bought about suitable results . A lot of money has been transferred to the poor people and the heads of the gram panchayats but the problem has been the translation of money into houses . As poor people have different priorities at various points of time and they use the money they get for a different purpose. Sometimes they don’t end up building a house because the money they get is insufficient to build a house and also they do not have sufficient inputs like masons and materials etc.
Secondly he talks about SGSY which grants loans for income generating activities. The government has transferred a lot to people who want to start off a business without ensuring that the people have sufficient knowledge and required inputs to carry out the activities profitably. This has turned a lot of people into loan defaulters.
The third area where Arvind felt the direct transfer of money would be beneficial was in place of PDS , but the during these time of spiralling inflation the poor will not be able to procure food from the open market .
The NREGS is held up as a DCT where infact it is not. It is an organised scheme where people are given employment which could help private investments.
India right from 1992 after the liberalisation policies has been shown as a ever growing country . But these reforms which have taken place failed to take the rural areas under their ambit . The rural areas lack development though there are crores of rupees being issued for their development. This has happened for quite a few reasons like lack of proper leaders and even the politicians who have shown a blind eye for the rural areas.
Rural development is imperative now that most of the cities are saturated and so we need to infuse a lot of professional into this sector. It is high time we don’t look at this as some kind of charity and work seriously to develop our rural areas .
Thus anti-poverty programmes need more than DCT to succeed. Strengthening institutions, providing appropriate technologies, skill development are of paramount importance for the rural people and for them to have a sustainable income.
With the world in an economic crisis . I think there is no better person to unlesh the sanctions onto us poor souls than our very own FM doin it ala beatles style .
yo yo yo this is Dj FM Cheee-damn-ram comin out at ya wit this track by the Legendary “BEATLES”
TAXMAN
One, two, three, four…
Hrmm!
One, two, (one, two, three, four!)
Let me tell you how it will be;
There’s one for you, nineteen for me.
‘Cause I’m the taxman,
Yeah, I’m the taxman.
Should five per cent appear too small,
Be thankful I don’t take it all.
‘Cause I’m the taxman,
Yeah, I’m the taxman.
(if you drive a car, car;) – I’ll tax the street;
(if you try to sit, sit;) – I’ll tax your seat;
(if you get too cold, cold;) – I’ll tax the heat;
(if you take a walk, walk;) – I’ll tax your feet.
Taxman!
‘Cause I’m the taxman,
Yeah, I’m the taxman.
Don’t ask me what I want it for, (ah-ah, mister Wilson)
If you don’t want to pay some more. (ah-ah, mister heath)
‘Cause I’m the taxman,
Yeah, I’m the taxman.
Now my advice for those who die, (taxman)
Declare the pennies on your eyes. (taxman)
‘Cause I’m the taxman,
Yeah, I’m the taxman.
And you’re working for no one but me.
Taxman!
I love cricket like all indians.it can b exhilarating , though many would disagree.Ive been watching cricket from when India beat Pakistan in the 1996 world cup<the then defenders> and it has never been so PReDICTABLE ,SO BORING.
Ive been doing a lot of work on my vocab recently and banal,trite, hackneyed and platitudinous are some of the adjectives i’d use to describe an AUSSIE V ANYONE MATCH
The pigeons and the punter and the hulk and the list goes on .anybody who comes into an aussie team is world class….Tait for example..the pigeon keeps pecking away at the stumps ,punter keeps punchering the attacks and the hulk does what he is best at….BULLYING PEOPLE..the plots become so mundane now.I hate them,they are spoiling the sport some say.
But i love their cricket.Ya im controverting,but i have to.they are just showing the world another dimension.I havent seen the SIR VIVS AND THE MARSHALLS AND THE HOLDINGS AND THE SOBERS….IT JUST AMAZES ME,how good they might have been??
Well today is the final Lankans vs the Aussies. Im sure 8 out of 10 want the Srilankans to win just because they don’t want Australia to win.they don’t even want the best team to win…makes me laugh..is it right to wish bad for a team which is showing the world they aint good at it? We talk appreciatively about the West Indian legends ,are we going to do that when this present Australian team finishes off,only time will tell.I have also seen we hate them clubs running around ..reasons apart.
To finish it off i’d wish Glenn Mcgrath great felicity,its been one heck of a career..”the only pigeon which sledges”
