Iran's money problems

Indrani Bagchi
10 October 2012, 01:21 PM IST

The Iranian currency was in free fall last week, a clear sign that US and EU sanctions on the country is hurting. While the rial has been a declining currency for some time, the Ahmedinejad government unwisely set up an "exchange center" for a fixed dollar-rial exchange rate for basic commodities. But the sentiment on the Iranian street was entirely different. The rial dropped like a stone, by over 40 per cent to about 37,000 to the dollar.Across the border in Afghanistan, the government, alarmed by the rial's slide and fearing massive losses to Afghan traders, put a cap of $1000 that could be taken out of the country.

Whatever the immediate causes of the rial's fall, Iran's economic woes are unlikely to end anytime soon. During a recent visit to the country we were told prices of consumer goods have been rising steadily. In August, the prices of chickens created a minor stir. This week, Iran's politically sensitive bazaar stayed closed while security forces cracked down on potential protesters, who are seeing their savings fall precipitously, while merchants are finding it impossible to source goods or commodities from overseas.

According to Bloomberg, "western sanctions haven't caused the feared increase in global oil prices, a result of Saudi intervention and a global economic slowdown. The current cost of sanctions to Iran, by contrast, is $133 million a day in lost revenue -- annualized, that would be about 10 percent of the country's annual gross domestic product. Iran's oil exports are down by 1.2 million barrels a day, or 52 percent."

However, dont be fooled into thinking that the pain of the population could change Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's mind about their nuclear programme. In fact, Khamenei, according to sources, is looking forward to the elections next year when he wants Ahmedinejad replaced. His choice, say diplomats who follow Iranian politics, appears to be Gholam Ali Haddad Adel, father-in-law to his son Mojtaba. This week, Adel was fielded to defend the regime. "The arrogant powers, in their crude way, think that the nation of Iran is ready to let go of the Islamic revolution through economic pressure but we are establishing Iran's economic strength," he said.

Simultaneously, Iran's cyber-authorities alleged that Iran had suffered another cyber attack this week which overwhelmed the country's internet services. Mehdi Akhaven Behabadi, secretary of Iran's High Council of Cyberspace, told Iranian Labour News Agency, "presently we have constant cyberattacks in the country," Behabadi said. Iran has been the target of sustained cyber-attacks that go by the names of Stuxnet, Dugu, Flame and Gauss.

Iran recently moved to a domestic internet system, somewhat like China's __ ostensibly to protect the country's internet infrastructure from sustained attacks. But Iranian voices say its also to tamp down on protest communications, much like China.

What happens? The regime seems undeterred. Quite apart from the nuclear program, Iran's full-throttle support to Syria's basher-al Assad is adding to the nation's burden, particularly as the Syrian conflict descends into a sectarian one, where Iran will be up against Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey who are funding and arming the rebel fighters. But Iran's support to Syria is more important because Syria is its greatest ally, and Iran cannot possibly dump Assad without giving a scare to its other proxy, Hezbollah, which targets Israel.

Meanwhile, the west is gearing up for more sanctions which threaten to be even worse __ this could include sanctions on gas imports in addition to oil. But the US has more financial measures currently being drafted. Sources say these are waiting for the elections to be completed before they are unleashed.

As the Iranian government lays the full blame of the present crisis on the sanctions, reports also point to a great degree of financial mismanagement by the Ahmedinejad regime, whereby unbridled subsidies and massive spending programs have contributed to the inflation.

Khamenei is the man calling the shots. One of the fears expressed in security quarters is not that Ahmedinejad will go next year. But what kind of regime comes after that. Diplomatic sources say the threat is from the conservatives within, who could go after Ahmedinejad for economic mismanagement.

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Kejriwal expose leaves parties in pre-poll tailspin

Vrajabala S V
10 October 2012, 03:17 PM IST

Anti-corruption activist Arvind Kejriwal is many moons away from taking the electoral plunge in an increasingly chaotic multi-party political system in India that has over 40 active outfits and hundreds of dormant ones. With less than two years to go for the next general elections, Kejriwal seems to have added a new narrative to the pre-poll dynamics.

Any election is fought around the issues close to common people. Winnability is a factor that dictates the election manifesto, besides picking candidates. Acts of omission and commission, malfeasance and allegations of corruption are issues that are traded between and among parties. Mrs Indira Gandhi was the first Indian Prime Minister to lose an election after she came under a cloud for alleged electoral malpractices. The next big corruption issue to slay a party was the Bofors gun deal kickbacks.

All other issues — more serious in nature, scale and magnitude, but much less discussed  — have caused ripples among the electorate but not enough to cause big waves, much less a tsunami.

Kejriwal has suddenly tasted success envied by political parties. The former IRS officer enjoys many advantages which the political parties lack because they are in the electoral ring: the biggest being an outsider advantage, a revenue officer with a nose for malpractices and, above all, a seemingly serious approach to tackle many strands of corruption.

It's beside the point that somewhere deep down, Kejriwal, we fear, might be overplaying his hand and his campaign could be overly one-sided. And a streak of megalomania too? But it's not all too right to prejudge a case since the show has just begun.'

The big question is: how much influence will Kejriwal wield in the upcoming elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, a little later in Karnataka and then the general elections? By taking the Congress head-on, is he singularly splitting the anti-Congress votes which might eventually afford the country's oldest political parties enough smiles? The jury is still out on this, but indicators are many that it may turn out so.

More important is the well-tested argument that eyeballs needn't translate into votes. They haven't. History is replete with examples. Inscrutable voters hold the aces. The battle is getting interesting, and the next few days will expose the political colour of the India Against Corruption. That decides half the battle.

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Surviving the Teacher's goad

Meeta Sengupta
10 October 2012, 04:46 PM IST

When I heard of the Nobel Prize winner whose teacher had said that he'd never make a good scientist I shook my head. Teachers, I thought. How could they do this to a child? Do they not know how much a child cares for their opinion, craves their approval and depends upon them for support? 

 

Because young children are so suggestible nursery and primary school teachers need to be very sensitive to the unintended consequences of what they say to the children. A casual negative remark can scar a child for life and impair creativity. A generation ago it may not have mattered so much since most jobs were based on tasks and boundaries. The next generation will have to move beyond that and all premium jobs will include initiative and creativity. The rest would be delegated to the cheapest option. A teacher's casual remark could mark the child for success, or not. 

 

And yet, there are some who are stronger than we give them credit for - the Nobel prize winner being a case in point. He does remember the teacher's remark, and most likely remembers the hurt too. But the fact remains that not only did he actually become a great scientist, but also was able to get recognition for it - requiring two entirely separate skill sets. 

 

A school teacher does make a difference, but it does not necessarily mean that the teacher must approach all children with kid gloves. Sometimes children need a challenge too. I do not justify the negative remarks of the laureate's teacher, but I do think we need to acknowledge that the smart teacher's toolkit has more than sugar in it.

 

 

In the case of Nobel Laureate Professor Sir John Gurdon, it seems to have goaded him on to great success. He has the remarks pinned on to his softboard in his office, reports say. Sometimes, the unfortunate remark has a transformative effect. 

 

There are some of us who are driven by the need to fight back. There are others that are resilient and can deal with negativity. And then there are those that crumble at the first hint of feedback, justified or not. 

 

While it is safe to ask teachers never to use negativity in the classroom, there is clearly a role for honest feedback. There is a role for using challenges to help students rise beyond their current abilities and a role for stretch targets that seem impossible. It is possible, sometimes, for a teacher to judge that a half joking - 'naah, you will never get it' may push a specific student to go that extra mile and actually achieve more. The teacher to Professor Sir Gurdon may not have been that well intentioned - but others might. 

 

But in this day and age, few teachers will use such tools - they would be inappropriate. Right? 

 

Sadly there are millions of students who suffer abuse from their teachers every day. One can only hope and pray that they are the resilient, vengeful type who will thrive under the challenge that the teachers so callously place in front of them. Corporal punishment is still not a thing of the past in many schools, and few teachers (and there are a special few who do) speak because they have already worked out the impact of what they will say. Many speak in anger, in frustration, in boredom, in acceptance of their lot - few speak to inspire their students to greatness. The goading remark is rarely used in academic classrooms to spur students, it is often a weapon of hurt.

 

In a perfect world we would have confident learners who would be able to see and rise to challenges in the spirit in which they are set before them. Such confidence too must be built step by step by the community of teachers, strengthened till it can deal with the vicissitudes of the world. Till then, it is the teacher's task to be supportive and encouraging, lest the tender shoots of success wither away.

 

 

 

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Big B’s big day

Shobhaa De
09 October 2012, 07:00 AM IST

Shall we just say Amitabh Bachchan has been declared the 8th Wonder of the World on his 70th Birthday? And why not? I cannot think of a single other actor in the history of cinema who has held his own for over forty years in as tough and competitive a business as movies? In an industry defined by the transitory nature of people's love and admiration, here's someone who soared to the pinnacle four decades ago, and pretty much stayed there. Yes, there have been a few hiccups along the way, and low periods, too. But somehow…. almost miraculously so, Amitabh has managed to stay in there, not as just another senior actor hired to play character roles in big ticket films, but , get this – as an undisputed Superstar, able to command a fawning audience on his own terms. That is a unique feat. And one has to hand it to him.

Amitabh's equation with his fraternity is equally unique. Not one to be on buddy- buddy terms with too many hangers- on, today, Amitabh conveys the image of a magnificent lion… the unchallenged King of the Jungle. A lone player, reasonably happy in his own lair, surrounding by his pride. Amitabh remains aloof and somewhat detached from the lunatic life in the movies, even as he puts in hours and hours of hard work at a pretty relentless pace. Men half his age can't or refuse to keep it. But this guy carries on… it's a job, and someone's got to do it. It is this admirable commitment to his chosen profession that has got Amitabh to where he is. Nothing more, nothing less. His positioning today is so phenomenal, it would not be an exaggeration to call him The Untouchable.

It wasn't always this way. Amitabh had to confront crises that might have destroyed lesser beings. Crises, in the professional and personal realms. That he rode them out without  a big dent on his halo, is remarkable. There aren't too many people who can claim to know Mr. Bachchan. Perhaps he prefers it this way. He has his loyal acolytes who'd happily give an arm and a leg for him, but those are  anonymous, discreet individuals, content to be in his orbit, demanding nothing from the man, but a few minutes of his attention. Apart from family members, his close friends remain the ones he made decades ago.There is no space in his crowded life for anyone else. Despite his killer schedule, he manages his relationships efficiently, maintaining a healthy balance between his career and personal priorities. 

For the past seven years, he has stayed away from alcohol. His health regimen is equally well calibrated, be it the vegetarian food he prefers or the disciplined exercise routine he sticks to. Amitabh's strict regime is worth adhering to.As an actor, he does what he is paid for -  he acts.He is alarmingly punctual on the sets, and comes well prepared , lines memorized, make up in place. Compare this  to the  roguish conduct of  far younger stars ( or even some of his contemporaries), there is a key lesson in there for those aspiring to his exalted position. Once on the set, he focuses on doing the best he can to interpret the director's vision. Zero interference, zero meddling. Once 'pack up' is announced, the man is off to occupy other worlds, pursue other passions. Blogs, Twitter and more recently, Face Book, The Big B at 70 is still a hyper active player and presence across platforms.

While watching the utterly captivating 'English Vinglish', a simple yet telling line flashed on the screen : 100 Years of Indian Cinema. 70 Years of Amitabh Bachchan. Take a bow, Sexy Sam…. the best is yet to come! 

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IAC Versus Vadra

V Raghunathan
09 October 2012, 11:27 AM IST

The India Against Corruption-Congress slugfest on whether or not Robert Vadra benefited unduly from DLF seems to be a needlessly high decibel affair.  Big guns from the Government, ranging from suave Ministers like like Salman Khurshid and others like Jayanthi Natrajan and Manish Tiwari have been deployed, to de-fang the high voltage allegations issuing forth from the India Against Corruption activists.

 But in the world of adults, the way the Government is managing the affair is naive. There can be only two alternatives: Either Kejriwal and Prashant Bhushan are wrong or they are right.  The argument that Robert Vadra is a private citizen, and is being targeted by Kejriwal (and others) just because he happens to be the son-in-law of Sonia Gandhi is neither here nor there.   After all, not every private citizen is exempted from being frisked at the airport security.  This particular private citizen has been given that exemption (when accompanied by Priyanka Gandhi) only because he is the son-in-law of Sonia Gandhi.  So the Government cannot now take refuge behind the fact Robert Vadra is just another private citizen.  Nor do senior-most Cabinet Ministers and Official spokespersons of Congress come on media, all guns firing, to defend every private citizen.  The very reason for which they do so is also the reason why Vadra is targeted by India Against Corruption (IAC), the Opposition et al.  Nor can the government simply dismiss the allegation as baseless and defamatory, and expect Prashant Bhushan or Kejriwal to file a suit in the court to substantiate their seriousness about the accusation as Ms. Jayanti Natarajan was doing on the national television.  One can simply reverse the logic and say that if Prashant Bhushan or Kejriwal's accusation is baseless and defamatory, nothing stops Robert Vadra from filing a defamation suit against them in the court. That would be the only credible way to call their bluff. 

 

Equally naive are the counter accusations by cabinet ministers like Salman Khurshid or Natrajan against the likes of Prashan Bhushan about his plot of land in Gurgaon. The Ministers represent the Government, and if the Government believes Prashant Bhushan procured some land illegally, it is entirely open to the Government which controls the CBI, ED and the rest of the investigating machinery, to launch a full-fledged investigation and nail him. A Kejriwal or a Prashant Bhushan as political aspirants may have some justification in airing their allegations in the media because they do not have the wherewithal to prove their accusations conclusively, but the Government, with all the machinery behind it, has the authority as well as the obligation to take even its suspicions, leave alone allegations, to their logical conclusion.

 

Such 'defense', spirited and loyal as it may be from the view point of the ruling Ministers, is hardly likely to sound credible to the ears of the common man.

 

Let us face it. Even an idiot on the street knows that what is legal can be immoral and vice versa.  Interest-free loans  extended by companies to enable a politician or a bureaucrat (through their relatives) to acquire under-priced assets in return for a favour  is an age old trick. The trick understandably provides a legal format to questionable deals.  In this case DLF has denied any 'interest-free loan' to Vadra, choosing to call it 'business advance', except that business advances are usually given by buyers and not sellers (as DLF is alleged to have sold under-priced properties to Vadra), whether in real estate or any other business. These are the reasons why, prima facie, the public is bound to believe such allegations, unless the defense against the accusations is more crisp and credible. 

 

That is why, if Kejriwal is wrong, and if the Government is confident that nothing illegal or even immoral has happened, and most importantly if the Government is keen to make a strong case before the common man, with the elections not too far away, the best course of action would be to allow a transparent probe.  And yes, if the allegations turn out to be baseless, surely necessary action can be initiated against those making the false charges?

 

True, Congress has already rubbished the demand for any probe, claiming the charges against Vadra to be baseless and alleging that is also the reason why IAC is not lodging a case against Vadra in the court of law. But Congress is overlooking the fact, as already stated earlier,  that the same logic can be turned around to apply to them. If the allegations are baseless and defamatory, and why don't they file a defamation suit against those making the allegations? If the Congress wishes to be perceived as not guilty, perhaps a probe is in order.

 

After all, whether or not an interest free loan or a business advance has been granted or made by DLF for purchase of real-estate by Vadra from DLF can be easily established. As for whether or not these assets were sold rather cheaply to Vadra can also be reasonably established from the land records of other deals done by DLF around the same time.  Similarly, whether and at what price the shares of Hilton Garden were sold to Vadra and a realistic price of such shares can also be established in a reasonable manner.  After all in the US, they managed to establish motives even for insider-trading cases where no actual profits were made by Rajat Gupta, for instance, didn't they?  Such an exercise will only help the Government's case, instead of having its Ministers engage in verbal duals on the media.

 

Even the most illiterate Indian voter is no fool, as he/she has shown time and again in the past. With the national elections barely a year and a half away, the Government cannot afford to obfuscate the issue without paying a heavy price at the next round of elections. Not holding a probe by dismissing it as politically motivated, would only strengthen the hands of the detractors of Congress. Of course the accusations are politically motivated and with good reason, because Kejriwal is indeed taking a political stance.

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Why doesn’t India produce a Gangnam Style?

Asha Rai
09 October 2012, 07:10 PM IST

Korean rapper PSY's Gangnam Style has the world dancing, or shall we say, horsing around, to its extremely catchy, hoof beat movements. It has, in particular, caught the fancy of sports stars the world over. While Indian audience were treated to the West Indian team – with Chris Gayle leading the charge--- doing the Gangnam style with  gusto after winning the  T20 world cup in Sri Lanka last Sunday, in Beijing it was Novak Djokovic who celebrated winning the China Open with  Gangnam Style moves accompanied by  an enthusiastic ensemble of ball boys and girls.  Football player Camilo Sanvezzo of the Vancouver Whitecaps celebrated a goal last week with, yes, Gangnam Style.

Gangnam Style, like most other K-pop hits, is loud, garish. As Times Curator had said a couple of weeks ago,  it has "Inane lyrics, catchy but shallow tunes, quick dance moves, highly stylized videos featuring pretty boys and girls prancing around in a meaningless frenzy of enthusiasm."

The definition can stand most Indian film songs too. Why then hasn't an Indian song/video crossed over like Gangnam Style? Considering that nobody outside Korea understands what PSY's rapping and singing about, obviously it hasn't become a worldwide sensation for its melody or thought provoking lyrics.

Why then haven't Bollywood/Tollywood/Kollywood songs, which have the more or less the same mix, fail to find audiences aboard beyond the Indian and to a limited extent, South Asian diaspora?

There's a theory that when a country becomes an economic powerhouse its arts and culture also find acclaim. Soft power flows from economic power. America being the best example so far.  With  South Korea definitely making a successful transition economically -- It is the only country other than Japan from Asia to have globally recognized  brands such as Samsung, LG, Hyundai, Kia and others -- perhaps it isn't a surprise that its music and movies are finding an international following.

Does this mean that Indian pop music will cross over successfully when it raises itself from its low income nation status and attain a rich country tag? You bet.

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Gifts from USA

Archana Khare Ghose
07 October 2012, 03:57 PM IST

Much before the Indian economy opened up and changed forever the way we looked at ourselves and the world, a gift from the US by a visiting relative (often condescending) used to be the single most defining factor of relationships in families that were divided along the 'America' fault line – with those who had 'made' it to the US sharply separated from those who had not, even though the latter may had chosen not to make it to the US. Of course, no one admitted this fascination for 'a gift from USA' in public but not many minded flaunting it either, even to the point of being obnoxious.

 With due respects and a sincere hope that she doesn't read this blog, I remember an aunt in the neighbourhood who couldn't wash her hair with anything made in India after a relative of hers married in the US gifted her a bottle of shampoo on her first post-marital visit to India. I remember being part of a neat little crowd that was subjected to a display of this bottle of shampoo along with many other gifts (which on hindsight look like ex-inmates of dollar shops). The shampoo bottle really looked harmless – I couldn't fathom in my growing up years as to how it had become dangerous enough to evoke such extremist thoughts in that aunt. 'I cannot wash my hair with any Indian shampoo now,' she had wailed loud and clear at the prospect of running out of its contents before her relative's next India visit.

 No wonder, label-spotting used to be a discrete exercise though only two labels were under scrutiny – Made in India and Made in USA. The former was a sign of abject poverty of a nation that had nothing but its ancient culture to fall back on and was struggling to find its feet in the modern world. The latter, of course, shone even from the back of the neck of its wearer like a godly halo.

 To cash in on this obsession, the smarties even conjured up the locally manufactured USA label – made by the Ulhasnagar Sindhi Association that gave the township near Mumbai the dubious distinction of supplying fake Made in USA products to the hungry and the wannabes.

 Those were the days.

 Then came 1990 and Indian economy changed forever. We had not envisaged the big debate on FDI in retail back then but what it did give us was the pride in our own label. Soon, Indians began travelling abroad in big numbers and started taking pride in this label that they spotted in swish stores of the glam world capitals.

 But Made in China had already started swarming the universe.

We began reading about it and began consuming it too. And now even our children don't need to be told what Made in China means. But why am I talking about this right now?

Because very recently, my senses were assailed for a month by the 'Chinafication' of the local markets of a country that despite its economic troubles is still the promised land. The US of A.

For somebody who has had the divine blessings of good enough travels through South East Asia and mighty China itself, my eyes can spot the discounted yet blingy Made in China product from a mile and my nose can smell it even if I'm blindfolded. My shopping excursions to the numerous cities that I visited in the US this past month – from east coast to the west with generous stopovers in mid-country – were futile as everything was Made in China. And here I was, harbouring a harmless desire to buy something bonafide Made In USA. After all, I already have enough of Made In China stuff from other countries that I've dropped anchor in, whether in Asia or Europe. I don't want any more of that.

Of course, China's superpowerdom in global economy is not fresh news. But I wanted to pick up something genuinely Made in USA. Some small thing – a coffee mug with Washington D.C. or NYC printed on it or a fridge magnet in the shape of USA's map or the names of its well-known destinations. Or may be sauces, butter, jam and waffers? Clothes, woollens, socks and shoes? Perfume, creams, shampoo and hair spray? My search for the endangered Made in USA label was rendered futile 99.9% of the times I turned over a product. My eyes began scanning the 'Made in' label even before the price tag.

As the Made in USA label remained elusive, those jostling for space with the Made in China label in my goodie bag were Made in Honduras, Gautemala, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and a few others. The ratio between China and the rest would be 85:15. I didn't pick anything Made in India for obvious reasons.

I don't know how the Americans feel about it. Happy, perhaps. But I still want to bring home some authentic local gift from a country I visit. I squirm at the prospect of travelling the world and having only Made in China products to bring back from everywhere. Then why buy at all when even in India the story is beginning to be somewhat similar?  

The write-up shouldn't reek of jingoism, if it does I apologise. But please picture a world where everything is Made in China – products, people, nations, emotions. That would be a boring world; scary too, perhaps. And I don't even want to indulge in a debate that would bring views of Nobel-prize winning economists and the movers and shakers of global economy on my table.

I would like to finish off with an anecdote which was narrated to members of the group I was travelling with by a representative of the US Department of State that had hosted the trip. I don't know if it is true or is a legend to explain the Chinafication of the US. The representative told us that at a meeting between leaders of the US, China and Tibet, the flags on the table were Made in China. Even Tibet's!

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Why India cannot have televised debates between PM candidates….

Prashant Panday
07 October 2012, 04:55 PM IST

After the exceptionally brilliant television debate between Obama and Mitt Romney, many Indians wistfully wonder why we cannot have similar debates between our PM candidates on TV. There are several reasons for that of course like "language issues", "multiple parties rather than just two-three", "party-based elections rather than individual-led" etc. But the most important of them all is the low level of maturity of our leaders and our media.

Language issues refer to many things. The absence of a common language across the country that leaders can converse in; the inability to speak fluently and concisely so that debates don't go on endlessly. Given such language issues, a "better debater" (one who has better control on language) may win a debate over a poorer debater, even though he may be much lesser informed. By "multiple parties", obviously what I mean is that debates would have to be held between innumerable leaders and the whole advantage of public debates would be lost. By "party based elections", what I mean is that a leader's personality and views are somewhat less important than a party's ideology and agenda. That is why our PMs are mostly elected after the party secures a leadership. That is why we have party manifestos instead of TV debates.

But the most important reason why debates are meaningless in our country is that our leaders simply don't have even a basic appreciation of debate decorum. The decency to let someone complete his or her point. The ability to complete one's point within the allotted time frame. The willingness to listen to the other person's point and attack only when time is provided for it. And equally, the maturity not to turn the debate into a personal attack on each other.

Just look at what happens on debates on TV channels. Each participant makes wild accusations against the other and the anchor makes absolutely no attempt to moderate the discussion, believing that a chaotic and raucous debate makes great content. Reputations are routinely sullied on prime time TV – and the channel takes no responsibility of holding back accusing panelists, or of putting out the right facts on prime time once they come out. It's part of our culture –accusing someone in public is considered part of acceptable politics. In a country that lives on gossip, public accusations without an iota of evidence are cool. How can one have meaningful debates in such an environment?

Take the Kejriwal accusation against Robert Vadra as an example. Kejriwal's big moment under the sun emerged not from any "scoop" but from publicly available documents. He has made wild allegations without giving the opposite party any time or opportunity to react or respond. The media has played along, again without giving Vadra a chance to explain. The other accused –  DLF – has given what appears to be a solid explanation questioning the facts that Kejriwal has put out. The point here is not about what is right or who is right or wrong. The point is about the quality of our basic value systems. Kejriwal could have filed an FIR against Vadra. He could have approached the courts.  But no, he chose to make arbit accusations in media. In the recent past, an India Against Corruption activist accused BJP President Gadkari of trying to scuttle the demand for a probe against corruption charges in the irrigation scam in Maharashtra. Again, she had nothing to prove, and indeed her case would be thrown out in the first hearing in the courts. So she preferred to go to the media. With such immaturity, how can informed and intelligent debates take place on TV?

The media has no ethics about carrying such wild accusations. In fact, Scam TV decided to put up a full show on the IAC activist's charge against Gadkari. Even the respectable TOI put out the accusations against Vadra on page 1 yesterday, but put our DLF's detailed explanations only on an inside page today. Tarnishing someone's reputation in this way is worse than the worst forms of corruption. And yet Kejriwal's main weapon all along has been exactly that. With such disdain for the basics of justice, how can we dream of decent TV debates?

A key requirement of TV debates is that debaters must swear to stick to facts. In India, everyone prefers half-truth and full-lies. For example, Kejriwal's charge that Vadra acquired the Saket hotel property at a throwaway price is factually wrong. Today DLF has clarified that the market value of the Saket property was indeed Rs 150 crores (the charge made by Kejriwal), but the company also carried debt worth Rs 80 crores on its books. Vadra paid 50% of the equity valuation (Rs 70 crores) and "assumed" (took on) liability for the Rs 80 crores debt. Hypothetically, if the debt was Rs 150 crores, a person could buy the company at "zero" price. That would not be a scam! That would only indicate that the one who bought it had taken on the responsibility of settling Rs 150 crores of debt. If Kejriwal were less driven by political sensationalism, he would have understood this in no time. After all, he was an IRS officer in his earlier avatar. But Kejriwal intentionally hid this.If all this went on prime TV in the form of a debate, we've had it. How can lay people be expected to understand this when an ex-IRS officer refuses to do so?

The real truth is that we simply cannot have televised debates between PM candidates in our country. We simply do not understand the basic rules of a debate. For us debates are based more on emotions, and less on facts. Anyone can make a random personal charge against someone else and get away with it. We routinely misunderstand a "toilets are more important than temples" comment (poor Jairam Ramesh is in trouble for this). Not surprising then that as a society, we don't deserve the joys of such TV debates…..

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Top 10 immunity boosters

Rachna Chhachhi
07 October 2012, 06:46 PM IST

Follow these for a round the year relief from sniffles, flus and allergies and keep serious lifestyle diseases at bay!

1.         Fruits & Vegetables. Stop rolling your eyes and put some color on your plate. 3-4 servings of fruits and vegetables each day can reduce risk of diseases by 30-40%.

2.         Pop a pill. Every working urban adult needs a multi-vitamin pill. Supplement this with higher doses of Vitamin E, C and Zinc. And Calcium with 400 IU Vitamin D one hour after dinner.

3.         Move your body. Get moving for 30 minutes a day, four days a week. It ups immunity drastically. Over working out or under working out lowers it.

4.         The powers of zzzzzz. Eight hours. No less. No more.

5.         Listen to your body and learn from your family history. Get on a preventive diet for what your parents, grandparents have/had. It will save you high cost of surgery, and maybe, your life.

6.         Switch to mineral. Drink eight to ten 250 ml glasses of water to flush the toxins out. Mineral water boosts immunity, while purified water strips essential minerals from water.

7.         Eat the good fats. Oily fish, nuts and seeds, extra virgin raw olive oil drizzled over salads, mustard oil for regular cooking.

8.         Be social, stay connected, have fun. A positive person falls ill less, it's been proven scientifically!

9.         Have regular sex. Sex releases happy hormones that boost immunity, burns calories and keeps the hormonal cycle in order. Women are prone to diseases when their hormonal cycles get affected. Never been a more enjoyable way to keep disease at bay!

10.       Practice stress reduction techniques. Pranayam, breathing exercises, being in the moment and enjoying the world pass by....the more said about their benefits, the less it is. They release toxins, reduce internal inflammation, make aches and pains disappear, give that yummy glow to your skin, banish acne.... want me to go on?

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Waspadai Dan Cegah Osteoporosis

Waspadai Dan Cegah Osteoporosis PENYAKIT keropos tulang atau osteoporosis adalah penyakit yang harus dicegah dan diwaspadai sejak dini.  Tingkat risiko penyakit ini di Indonesia cukup tinggi dan akan menjadi salah satu isu utama yang tak kalah pentingnya ketimbang penyakit menular.

"Di masa depan, penyakit tidak menular akan lebih menjadi isu utama. Masyarakat nantinya akan menghadapi masalah penyakit salah satunya adalah osteoporosis," ungkap  Direktur Pengendalian Penyakit Tidak Menular (P2TM) Departemen Kesehatan RI, DR, dr, Yusharmen, pada acara Media Workshop Peringatan Hari Osteoporosis Nasional 2008, di  Jakarta, Kamis (30/10).

Yusharmen menambahkan kewaspadaan terhadap osteoporosis sejak dini harus ditingkatkan mengingat prevalensi atau angka kejadiannya di Indonesia cukup tinggi.

Menurut data "Indonesian White Paper" yang dikeluarkan Perhimpunan Osteoporosis Indonesia (PEROSI),  prevalensi osteoporosis pada 2007 mencapai 28,8 persen untuk pria dan 32,3 persen untuk wanita.  Angka ini juga didukung hasil analisis data risiko osteoporosis oleh Puslitbang Gizi Depkes bekerja sama dengan Fonterra Brands Indonesia yang dipublikasi 2006 lalu bahwa 2 dari 5 orang Indonesia memiliki risiko mengalami osteoporosis.

Fakta-fakta  tersebut, kata Yusharmen, menunjukkan bahwa tingkat risiko osteoporosis di Indonesia cukup tinggi dan selayaknya menjadi perhatian. Melalui hari Osteoporosis  Nasional tahun 2008 yang tahun ini mengambil tema "Berdiri Tegak Bicara Lantang" Kalahkan Osteoporosis, Depkes menyerukan agar pencegahan osteoporosis harus menjadi  perhatian sedini mungkin.

 "Masyarakat dapat melakukan upaya pecegahan dengan rajin mengonsumsi makanan berkalsium tinggi seperti susu," ujarnya.

Tanpa gejala
Sementara itu Ketua Perkumpulan Osteoporosis Indonesia (Perosi), Prof Ichramsjah Rachman, mengingatkan bahwa osteoporosis adalah penyakit tanpa gejala atau silent disease. Kurang dari 25 persen pasien pengidap osteoporosis dapat diidentifikasi setelah terjadi patah tulang, di mana hal ini merupakan fenomena gunung es atau artinya jumlah penderita sebenarnya mungkin akan jauh lebih banyak.

Masalah lain yang patut menjadi perhatian adalah nyeri pada patah tulang akibat osteoporosis mengakibatkan menurunnya kualitas hidup dan meningkatkan ketergantungan kepada orang lain. Dari segi ekonomi, terapi dan rehabilitasi pasien patah tulang akibat osteoporosis juga membutuhkan biaya yang tidak sedikit Waspadai Dan Cegah Osteoporosis.

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