"A Fair Verdict ??"

A FAIR VERDICT???

Finally, the world is free from the rule of a bloody tyrant, who did not care for the humanity and only believed in consolidating his own position, and now Mr. George W Bush is free and without any opposition to take over the throne. In response to the execution of Saddam Hussain , Mr. Bush said ” Today Saddam Hussein was executed after receiving a fair trial - the kind of justice he denied the victims of his brutal régime.” A fair trial??

Let us have a look at the proceedings of the fair trial point by point.

1.The Chief Judge trying the Dujali case was forced to resign midway,just because he made a casual observation that Saddam was a capable ruler.
2.Saddam’s lawyers were not allowed to present witness. And those appearing for defence were systematically harassed and three of them were assassinated.
3.The television link of the trial, provided by the US Company edited out the sound of Saddam and the others.
4.Following the accusation by the Shia and Kurdish leaders of lenience towards Saddam, a more acquiescent official was found to play the role of HANGING JUDGE.
5.Prosecuting lawyers were allowed to introduce new evidence without the court allowing the defence to preview it.
6.The presiding judge also had a habit of not allowing the defence to complete its arguments and abruptly ending its proceeding.
7. The United States largely funded Hussein's trial, and U.S. officials close to the trial said Sunday's outcome vindicated the policy of having courts in individual nations try cases involving war crimes and crimes against humanity. The Bush administration has been a leading opponent of international tribunals, fearing that U.S. soldiers could be tried before them for political reasons.

Saddam’s defence team said in a statement that, the “US Liberation Forces” provided millions of dollars to prosecution lawyers to unearth evidence against Saddam , while the defence lawyers were” assassinated, threatened , insulted and displaced out of the country”

All the evidence certainly points to a free, fair and impartial trial. Isn’t it? We do not need to have the brains of a rocket scientist to see that the so-called Iraqi High Tribunal court set up, to try Saddam Hussain for CRIMES AGAINT HUMANITY and all that crap, was all the doing of Uncle Sam. Even the more obvious fact, which the world chooses to dismiss, is that it was the United States and its poodle United Kingdom, which conducted a supreme Crime against Humanity, by invading a sovereign country, going against the United Nation and the entire world itself. Saddam Hussain was sentenced to death for the killings of 148 citizens
of Dujail in a failed assassination attempt on Saddam Hussain. So now, we must wonder
what punishment Mr. Bush and associates would get if they were tried for Supreme and Unimaginable crimes against humanity because reports estimate that 655,000 people have died in Iraq as a result of the 2003 invasion “. Even worse than that, are the horrors perpetrated by Mr. Bush at the prison in Abu Gharib and Guantanamo bay.

Here is an indicative list of the various methods of tortures employed by the US government to break physically and mentally the prisoners of the so-called war on terror. It is natural to want to disbelieve accounts of torture. It is sickening to discover the depths of cruelty our fellow men can sink to. We cannot stop the torture if you lie to yourself that it does not exist. It is real. There are even criminal convictions.

• Killing wounded prisoners
• Murder
• Kicking prisoners to death
• Sodomy with a broomstick and chemical light.
• Water-boarding where a suspect is strapped to a board, turned upside down, and immersed in a wet towel to simulate the feeling of drowning until he loses consciousness.
• Throwing off bridge into river and drowning
• Near suffocation
• Parents forced to watch son being tortured.
• Government documents show soldiers were ordered to “beat the fuck out of” prisoners.
• Chaining to the ceilings of cells for days at a time.
• Common personae strike aimed at a point just below the knee and intended to disable. Pulpifying the legs so they look as though they had though they had been run over by a bus.
• Starvation
• Sleep and sensory deprivation: Covering the eyes, ears, wrapping the body in bubble wrap. After a few hours of this, hallucinations set in then eventually permanent insanity.
• Claustrophobic technique: stuffing POWs into a sleeping bag and winding them with an electrical cord.
• Water pit in which detainees have to stand on tiptoe to keep from drowning.
• Breaking a teen's jaw, then wiring it shut.
• Hanging by arms from hooks, Palestinian Hanging.
• Permitting serious dog bites
• Bending back fingers
• Taping naked prisoner to board so that cannot move and leaving them there for weeks until they go insane.
• Intense isolation for more than 3 months
• Slamming the head into a wall until it bleeds.
• Stacking of naked prisoners in pyramids.
P.S. This is just an indicative list

The torture was not just a few bad apples. It goes right to the top. Both Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International USA say there is prima facie evidence against Rumsfeld for war crimes and torture. Moreover, Amnesty International USA says there is also prima facie evidence against Bush for war crimes and torture.

Coming to the reaction of the execution, India has meekly described the execution of saddam Hussain as an unfortunate event and hoped it would not affect the ongoing peace process (a car bomb killed 77 people just hours after the execution), while the need for the hour was a strong and independent response to the hanging. India hopes to gain US friendship in return of its feeble response to the killing, but it should not forget that the mujaheedins in Afghanistan and the Dark Lord of terror Osama Bin Laden was an American creation and even Saddam was one time friend of America.

When George HW Bush was vice president, Saddam Hussein was still seen as a potential partner thanks to his status as the enemy of America's enemy, Iran. It was in 1983 that Donald Rumsfeld was dispatched to Baghdad as a friend of the Reagan administration to shake the hand of Saddam Hussein and offer America's help against the ayatollahs during the Iran Iraq War. Alliance finally turned into animosity when Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait and President Bush cobbled together an international alliance of Western and Arab states to remove him from Kuwait but not from power. When the purpose of Osama and Saddam was served, the US did not hesitate to drop them like a hot potato. Therefore, we should exercise a word of caution, while dealing with the noble and righteous United States of America.

Here I take the liberty of modifying Martin Niemöller’s famous lines, which are applicable for the world in general and India in particular

First, they came for the North Koreans, and I did not speak out
because I was not a North Korean;
Then they came for the Vietnamese, and I did not speak out
because I was not a Vietnamee;
Then they came for the Afghans, and I did not speak out
because I was not an Afghan;
Then they came for the Iraqis, and I did not speak out
because I was not an Iraqi;
Then they came for me
and there was no one left to speak out for me.

The world is indeed a dangerous place; but courtesy Bush and allies it is becoming even more dangerous.

Circus in Iraq

BUSH TO DELAY STRATERGY ON IRAQ UNTIL NEXT YEAR.
Let some more destruction occur .Aisi bhi kya Jaldi hai

After the colossal misadventure named IRAQ, America is looking forward to the report to be submitted by Mr. James Baker (an aide of GB senior) for its future course of action. Its dilemma is understandable. That is like being caught between a hard rock and the sea. If America stays in Iraq, things will worsen. If they get out of Iraq, things will worsen. On one hand, you have your own people, calling for the withdrawal of troops for the fear of more casualties, on the other hand, we have the Bush Administration abeying all calls for a retreat, for the fear of inciting a’’ civil’’ war

What civil war????? What has been civil about the entire invasion anyway? The systematic torture of innocent civilians in the name of extracting information about the so-called Terrorists was not civil. The doctored verdict, which resulted in the death sentence of Saddam Hussain, was not so civil. Moreover, the fact that according to the study conducted by one of the most respected Universities in the world (John Hopkins), more than 600000 Iraqis have died since the Iraqi debacle.

Though these figures were dismissed as exaggerated by the US Govt, they do no wink an eyelid on quoting the very own figures given by the same university while talking about the problem in Sudan. Body count estimates quotes the minimum number of Iraqi deaths to nearly 53,000.We can imagine the ceiling figure. Moreover, the American Troops have not been left untouched .According to the reports, more than 2500 American troops have died for the greater good of the world .That’s a lot more than the people killed in the 9/11 attacks.
If I remember correctly, Bush and Blair were one of the nominees for the Nobel Peace prize 2 or 3 years ago. How could the Nobel peace prize committee even think of nominating the two bloodthirsty, power hungry cowards for a noble cause?

America, with its “Saving the World “thing has indeed made the world a more dangerous thing to live in than the terrorists have. When the Anglo American invasion started, there were calls from the French, German socialists and other European countries to the Iraqi’s not to resist it. Was it a ploy to appease the US or was it that Iraqi people are of lower breed and inferior people who prefer to be ruled by a foreign power than by a tyrant. Whatever it is, the Europeans were disappointed. The Iraqis gave the Americans the taste of their own medicine. What bitter medicine it was!!!!!. They say that they have encountered a bloody and violent resistance to the invasion but WHEN YOU HAVE AN UGLY OCCUPATION, YOU CANNOT HAVE A BEAUTIFUL RESISTANCE. (According to Mr. Tariq Ali and am sure we all agree with that)
.
The Iraqi people have a very weird way of expressing their gratitude towards the Americans for emancipating them from the tyrannical rule of Saddam Hussain and giving them an opportunity to enjoy the true pleasures of life in Iraq and for the fortunate few, in the lap of God himself. .The people of Iraq are indeed very ungrateful. On the other hand, are they? There must be a reason behind the generosity of the Americans. What was it then?
Genuine concern for the Iraqi people?? Weapons of mass destruction possessed by Saddam Was it Oil. Or for that matter that it was just a pro bono for their Israeli friends. Here George Bush helps us out.

The Americans were, according to Mr. George Bush, on a mission of God. At the beginning of the invasion, Big George confessed to have received the Stamp of God’s approval to pursue Saddam, to pursue Osama Bin Laden and to get rid the world of them. To quote his own words

“I am driven with a mission from God”
God would tell me “George, Go and fight the terrorists in Afghanistan “
And I did.
And then God would tell me “George, go and end the tyranny in Iraq”
And I did. (The Hindu October 2006, date between 5-10th cannot remember exact date)

Imagine, if Hitler had told the same thing if he were tried for war crimes and the pogroms of Jewish people (60 lakh Jews to be exact).


Therefore, who are the Iraqi people to interfere with MISSION OF GOD? What about the after effects of this ugly war .The prisoner of so-called WAR AGAINST TERROR (read war against Islam) and the torture cells in Abu Gharib and Guantanmo Bay. Just to narrate a few incidents which make a shameful reading:-

“Jane Mayer writes about the death of an Iraqi prisoner Manadel al-Jamadi in Abu Gharib.His head was covered with a plastic bag and he was shackled in a position that led to asphyxiation (suffocated to death).

Humiliation and indignity were also very helpful tools in the process of interrogation. A prisoner in Guantanamo Bay was questioned for as long as 20 hours, forbidden to urinate until he ‘went’ on himself and made to bark like a dog. His treatment was an exercise in humiliation. There were also other reports of prisoners being chained hand and foot to the floor for 24 hours until they urinated and defecated on themselves.

Did GOD ask Big GEORGE to do this too?

How was this torture better than the ones conducted by the Saddam regime .The torture conducted by Saddam was one of a tyrannical, power hungry despot, while the Democratic, Liberal and Oh –so concerned about the world America, is conducting the present one. It is in true words PURE TERRORISM. Which one is better is anybody’s guess.

These were the incidents, which “have been reported”. ‘God’ knows what other hellish incidents occur at the detainee camps and the secret torture cells in Eastern Europe courtesy the CIA, under the guise of the war against terror.
And what did they get out of it, an increase in suspicion among the Islamic countries, a toll greater than 9/11, practical fear of being forced to leave Iraq to dogs, loss of sympathy from some, if not all of its admirers, a massive loss in popularity among its own people and complete lack of direction on what to do next. Poor dear, what an IGNOMINIOUS END TO A NOBLE MISSION.

SOURCES:-
The Hindu
New York Times
Google.com
Works of Tariq Ali
bbc.com


POST SCRIPT: For those interested I would suggest a reading a poem by the Syrian poet Nizar Kabbani titled I AM WITH TERRORISM.

RESERVATION RAGE

It is indeed a pitiful site that, a person who is so weak that he requires support to stand up ad cannot even walk in a straight line is trying to give a new direction to the country and lead it to a strong and stable future. I suppose everyone has their own views about reservation for the OBC’s, but one thing I am sure we all agree upon is that giving reservation to the so called backward and not so developed groups is not going to reduce the gap between them and the others to a large extent. It is just a gimmick to maintain the vote bank of the political parties. True, that the purpose behind reservations was a noble one, though not as noble as it is now, and there were three objectives of a quota reservation system in jobs, education and other economic opportunities.
1. Provide succor to the weaker sections of the society.
2. Control or discipline masses in each quota category through quota
3. Distribute the national pie among elite in each category.

But since the past 54 years, the meaning of the purpose has been so distorted by the political parties that, it bears no semblance to the purpose our founding fathers hoped, it would achieve.

Let us look at, where it all started. The SC/ST reservation bill was passed in parliament when we as a nation were not even counted amongst developing nations (in 1952). This bill was passed for A TEMPORARY TIME to uplift the downtrodden & there was no timeline set for the validation of this bill (although no end period was set in written in constitution or any other document but it did not mean eternity). Till date there has been no amendment or abolishment of this rule. Reason? Because no ruling party wants to lose its votes or its vote bank. Simply calling --"KISSA KURSI KA".

As if the SC/ST, OBC reservations are not enough, we have NRI Quota, management quota, Ex Servicemen quota, minority quota, ladies quota, sports quota, and NCC quota. Now, you tell me what is left. India is the only country in the world where people where people love being labeled backward and fit for QUOTA type. And the politicians are just waiting for a chance to fan this already smoldering sentiment
What do we get when we try to protest against the government’s opportunistic decision .Lathi Charge, Water Canons, and the supreme blow by the Supreme Court to stop the protest and return to work?.So what next now ????A quota for those affected by Quota. Is this how a democracy, which gives the right to speak one’s mind and the right to freedom, supposed to work? Though one bright spot of the protest was that people were not willing to blindly follow the government order and comply with that, but came in large numbers to not only attend but also organize the protests.Or Was it the RANG DE BASANTI EFFECT??? Delhi was the true capital of India once again, being the EPICENTRE of the protests.

It is a bitter fact that we are still living in an unjust society and certain sections of the society are still being exploited and deprived of their rights. But instead of eradicating this injustice the only thing we are doing is to create further splits in the already fragile structure. We should strive for a society which fosters equality among all the sections and for that we require the country’s youth (TOMMORROW’S CITIZENS) to make the people realize that division in the name of caste and creed is going to harm our own future.

FAKE SUPERPOWERS AND CYBER COOLIES

No offence meant for any one who works in the IT field and the views given in the blog are the authors personal views.I apologise for anyone hurt by the below material

Every day, countless commentator’s prophesize the ascendance of the world's next superpowers, China and India, the two "Asian giants" shaking off their ancient slumber and rising to the call of the 21st century. Let us leave China out of it as we are worried about India.

We have been hearing a lot of talk of our country being the next superpower and the decorations of our country with phrases like

INDIA –KNOWLEDGE BASED SOCIETY
INFORMATION SUPERPOWER
THE 21ST CENTURY BELONGS TO INDIA
INDIA A CAGED TIGER UNSHACKLED

I agree that the above phenomenon is occurring in our country albeit, not proportional to the amount of hype it has generated. The problem with our country is ------- There is too much smoke without any fire, -----------
The same reasons plague the Indian Cricket Team also. I agree that the boom in the IT sector has given people lot of opportunities which wouldn’t have been possible .It has given people the chance to earn more money in a comparatively shorter time when compared to other sectors such as manufacturing and pharma sector, but we should not be carried away by the TITLES which are handed over to us by the so called Industrialized and Developed countries.

Let us examine the facts first .India is being called a knowledge hub, when roughly half of the country is illiterate, with the literacy rate hanging around the mid to late 50’s. So the question of a knowledge based economy goes out for a toss. Our IT industry is mainly driven a export driven one and as far as I know, no world class software has been developed in our country. Leave the fact that about 25% of the employees of Microsoft are from India, because the Big Cat (Microsoft), eats away the cream.

Then there are the BPO’s and the KPO’s and the call centers (though they form a part of the two).We have the young people barely in their mid teens sidelining studies and hopping on to the BPOs bandwagon .I have no case against them doing so, as its their life, but if we have people who instead of completing their studies, doing jobs, what will happen to our future.
What will happen to our pure sciences and research fields? A country doesn’t only need IT professionals, it also needs musicians, it needs writers, and it needs sportsmen (preferably not cricketers).

India is still desperately poor country. Of the total of billion people in the country, nearly ¾ billion earn less than US$2 a day, according to World Bank calculations. The total number of workers in all possible forms of IT-related jobs in India comes to less than a million workers – one-quarter of one percent of the Indian labor force. For all its Nobel Prizes and brilliant scholars and professionals, India is the largest single-country contributor to the pool of illiterate people in the world. Lifting them out of poverty and dead-end menial jobs will remain a Herculean task for decades to come.

So let us stop going Ga –Ga over the IT revolution and the Growth of the software sector in our country and work towards a more balanced type of development pattern for the society .Then we can call ourselves THE TRUE SUPERPOWER

I find Robert Frost’s lines very appropriate here
The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
and miles to go before I sleep,
and miles to go before I sleep.

Sources: Yale Global online
Google.com
Stopping by the woods in a snowy evening by Robert Frost

O' my heart , become stone

O’ my heart, become stone

Introduction: This piece is about the current scenario in our society where people have lost their respect and their sympathy for their fellow beings. But the poet refuses to believe in these changes because his mindset is still attuned to the times when, people cared for each other. So he is a bit of anachronic of sorts. This poem is about the internal struggle of the man who is trying to make his heart, become akin to the new situation.


O’ my heart, become stone,
Why grieve over the impossible.
Times have long changed,
And now, so should you.

Our people have gone mad,
But please don’t cry.
For the sky is darkest,
Just before the dawn.

Why do you care?
If you find no helping hand.
Nor a pleasing word,
For I say again, the times have changed.

When madness scores over reason,
The result is there to see,
For when thoughts belie action,
The man is lost at sea.

The only thing left,
Is to cry and bemoan.
When no man wants to atone,
O’ my heart, become stone.

POST SCRIPT: This time, I have tried something new for my blog for we all know that variety is the spice of life. Don’t know what you will call it, but I call it PROSE POETRY. The classical poets might be turning in their graves, but am ready to take brickbats as well as accolades (if any).

Need a World Leader

Don’t all of us need to be ashamed of such a situation???. A country on the forefront of progress and development , a country on the threshold of greatness, one of the world’s fastest growing countries and also a country aiming for a permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council, working without a foreign minister!!!!!!.With all due respect to our Prime Minister –The Great Economist , and all the work he has done for the country , frankly Foreign Affairs is not his forte.

You would say that “ Hey , we know all this”,” Yeh to hame pata hai”, my question is then why the heck do we not have a separate minister for external affairs. We all know the importance of the foreign minister and also know that a foreign minister should be a great visionary , because what decisions he takes today can alter the lives of future citizens of the country .

A best example of the above premise may be the INDO –US UNCLEAR (OOPS) NUCLEAR DEAL. Man , how much difference the order of the letters make. When I say UNCLEAR deal, I am not at all wrong. The opposition knows nothing of it , the cabinet ministers knew nothing of it at first , the people of the country know nothing of it .So much so for being the worlds greatest and largest DEMOCRACY.

It is said that LEADERS MAKETH A NATION. Today what our country lacks is a leader. It lacks LEADERS my friends , not politicians. There is not a single leader of the stature of Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi(who for all her misdeeds ,was INDIA’S BEST PRIME MINISTER), Or even for that matter a leader having the charisma of John Fitzgerald Kennedy or maybe the Spokesmen of the suppressed and the downtrodden Nelson Mandela.

These are the kind of leaders who not only were great rulers of their country , but were also great Statesmen of their country , especially in foreign affairs and in maintaining cordial relations with the world (Cuban crisis notwithstanding).

It was indeed greatly distressing to see our beloved country taking a backseat in the proceedings of the recently concluded NAM summit in Castro’s Land. While leaders such as Hugo Chavez , to an extent Md Ahmedinejad and Raul Castro spoke up against America and the illogical policies of America’s war on terror and their double standards on issues such as ----YOUR TERRORISTS ARE DIFFERENT FROM OUR TERRORISTS rhetoric, India maintained a mum silence on this issue.

And what we got out of the NAM summit is an illogical new Policy on Indo Pak terror , which many foreign affairs experts have termed Fit for Trash.

There is only one thing I need to tell India which considers America as its friend

IT TAKES GREAT COURAGE TO STAND UP AGAINST AN ENEMY,

BUT IT TAKES EVEN GREATER COURAGE TO STAND UP

AGAINST A FRIEND

Vande Mataram

The song Vande Mataram, composed in Sanskrit by Bankimchandra Chatterji, was a source of inspiration to the people in their struggle for freedom. It has an equal status with Jana-gana-mana. The first political occasion when it was sung was the 1896 session of the Indian National Congress.

Once gain our Human resource and development minister has managed to whip up Indian passions and tried to and mind you he has even succeeded in polarizing the Indian society by raking up the issue of Vande Mataram rendition. It is a great disappointment and very disgusting to see the rise of the UGLY HEAD OF POLORISED SOCIETY. And once again we have been made to realize, at least I have realized that politicians can stoop to any level to raise their profile among the voters and appease them, so that they may never leave their position of power.

This controversy was not at all needed at the time when India has been in danger from powers within and outside her. By making a mountain of a mole hill , they have given us a fair indication of what will happen if the country is left to the whims and caprices of some petty individuals.

And all this controversy for nothing because historians have pointed out that nothing of relevance happened to the song on September 7, 1906 to warrant its public singing precisely 100 years later. The song was composed in the 1870s, incorporated into the novel, Anandmath, a decade later, and gradually adopted as an iconic song and slogan of the freedom movement. But due to an official circular issued by the Union Human Resource Development Ministry in July instructing State Governments to ensure the song was sung at 11 a.m. on y to mark its "centenary," political parties, schools and even some government offices in many States across India held events commemorating Vande Mataram. The official circular was subsequently revised last month following the controversy sparked by its earlier draft, with some organizations, particularly Muslim ones, arguing that the Government had no right to compel citizens to take part in the public singing of a song with denominational undertones.

The Bhartiya Janata Party went berserk and tried it’s once again “”Oh so Effective “”

Rhetoric of If u don’t sing the song then you are not an Indian. These people don’t realize that such acts of foolhardiness and rash nature dent the psyche of the already divided social and moral fiber of the country. We have already been witness to the acts of the BJP which would qualify with flying colors on being SOCIETY DIVIDING TECHNIQUES.

And to hear these people talking about the song is like

Ulta Chor kotwal ko daante thing

After the great flip flop on the HRD minister about the rendition of the song not being compulsory only goes to show his firm mind and rock solid conscience on national issues.

And surprises of surprise

Sonia Gandhi was conspicuously absent from the official congress rendition of the Vande Mataram. The reasons for her absence varied from being held up by prior appointments to being unwell. It was the duty of the leader of the Congress to represent herself in the song rendition after so much hulla balloh was raised on it.

Then according to the logic given by the BJP, Sonia Gandhi is not a true Patriot.

My advice to the BJP and the congress party is that, leave all such mundane issues in the corner and please concentrate on more important issues such as the nuclear deal and tackling terrorism both internal and external sponsored because

Our country is in danger

From external, deadly foes

And we must unite inside her

Or we will crumble from within.

Don Soundtrack: Care For Jhankaar Beats?

Don: The chase begins Again.: Music Review by Sumeet Borwankar

Isn’t that one of the most awaited movies of this year? OK now, this statement “The Most Awaited Movie of the year” sounds so clichéd especially this year what with so many HUGE movies releasing left right and centre.

Before the release of a movie the other most anticipated release is the movies music. Don is no exception in this category! So, Wassup with the music of Don. Does it live up to the huge expectation? Does the music hold you by the collar and order you to bloody sit at one place and listen to ME? Does it repulse you? What does it do? How does it fair?

Now even before I start reviewing the Music I want to make one thing clear. I am not going to compare it to the original by Kalyanji-Anandji. Sorry, it would be not fair to either parties (K-A or SEL).

The first track as one expected is Main Hoon Don. Opens up to some very catchy background score. It surely holds you by your collar for the first 30 seconds, then 10 seconds in between and then 20 seconds at the end. So, just a total of one minute? Nope!! The song is not for just one minute, it is a 5 min 30 sec one. Yes that is all it did to me, and I am not on Acid. The song reminds one of a lot of other songs. It sounds like a medley of many songs I had heard somewhere, and I am not talking of the classic K-A stuff. Listen to the line “Dushman Jo…” I would stop chewing my fingernails if anyone tells me that line doesn’t remind you of a song in Musafir. All said and done you cannot brush of this song. Makes me day-dream of the stuff Farhan might have done to this to give us a visual beauty. I will not guarantee the same about the Messiah of Loser’s (in reel life) A.K.A Shah Rukh Khan. One more last thing about the song before I move on is… Sounds to me like a narcissist number. Sounds like SRK is trying real hard to grab attention of the viewers a la 1990’s numbers of his.

The second one is the classic Helen number. Yeh Mera Dil.

The song starts with the music that you have heard in the 1980’s and goes on to become the one’s you been hearing in the late 90’s and early 2000’s. Slap me and ask how the hell you define Late 90’s and early 2000’s. Me going to grab your balls and tell you MO Fo it’s the era where every galli ka kutta came up with a re-mix with catchy names like… Blazing Bollywood remix, Big B remix and Tumhe chutya bana raha hoon re-mix. Sunidhi chauhan does an amazing vocal performance. SEL you had talent in your hands, then why the hell come up with a Cheesy, Corny and another C (which was religiously used in Omkara) re-mix which would make my Mom say. Band karo.

The most awaited number of the album comes third. Yes Bhaiyya’s and Bhabhi’s it is Khaike Paan Banaraswala. Singer: Udit Narayan/SRK.

I feel bad for Udit. He might have sung better than Kishore da (I know it’s blasphemous) but still people are going to rip him apart. The starting lines are changed a bit and he is talking about eating Halwa and eating Pan. Good until Udit tries to sound like….. Hold your breath… the greatest singer of all time… yes my dear Readers it is BALI BRAHMBHATT. Chalo jaane do, you come to accept it but then SEL doesn’t want to forget that the movie is a Re-Make. So, the Songs have to be Re-Mixed and that too to all the three C categories mentioned above. The Re-mix stops and you hear a strange sound of kikikiki…kiran SRK. Not a bad Job SRK I am impressed. But that “BIT” for some reason reminds me of the song from Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (Man Mohini)… Listen to the lines and tell me it doesn’t remind you of Zara Lachak Lachak Zara Thumak Thumak. The accompanying music is bad … sorry I take it back.. very bad but Udit and SRK have done a good job here.

Now is the time for the new age DON. I mean some new songs. SEL gave us some really good original music, and have been doing this for sometime now. They don’t disappoint you with Maurya re. This song doesn’t grow on you. It instantly attacks your head, mind and legs and you start playing that music in your head while peeing, while going in the elevator and even when you are watching Baywatch. A very well sung, composed song. Now most of the Morya songs sound the same. But, this one has more than a striking resemblance to the ganapati song in Vastav. I am not taking away anything from this song. It’s a chart topper.

Now I guess we are in Mauritius. Phoren mulak and in a phoren mulak we need to have some beats. So, what if the beats are inspired by Bappi Lahiri. Enter Aaj Ki Raat.

I have the same problem with SEL all through the album. You are fucking kidding me by giving all that re-mix. Whatever happened to Dil Chahta hain. Trance music is one thing and stupid mixing of synthesizers is another. My complaint is that all the songs sound good, the Dhun is very fine, but why that repelling music behind it. Now, every song reminds me… or should I say takes me back to some old songs, and Aaj ki raat is not different. This has a late 80’s govinda’ish sound to it. Ohh did I forget to tell you that for the first 20 sec’s before the song starts I thought I was listening to Billy Jean by Michael Jackson

How about a re-mix of a re-mix… What the fuck am I talking? Well there is a Main Hoon Don re-mix. The sound playing behind makes wonder if this is the background score for the movie. All the suspense shots. All the fight sequences and all the heroism of SRK.

Don Revisited is an okay lounge or a club mix. I can accept that. It has all the famous Dialogues of Don Like..
Don ko pakadna Mushkil hi nahi na Mumkin Hain.
Don ke Dushmanon ki sabse badi galti yehi hain key who Don ke dushman hain

And SRK sounds so very masterjee giving naseehat than bloody commanding about his image with the cops. Suks!!!!

Don the theme starts with the famous dialogue between Zeenat’s brother and the Don

Kaun?

DON

This got me pumped up. This Theme is one helluva trip. Again I am not talking of Acid. Moms please don’t beat your kids if they start acting like Don when they hear this Theme. Well, I got my butt kicked during my childhood for doing the same. Theme of Don will make you feel Powerful… just listening to it. That is the charisma of Don and that is exactly what SEL has done to this piece of theme.
You get 100/100 in Math paper and fail in English. Whats the bottom Line …. You fail.

PS: This was my first reaction to the songs. There might be some songs which have a “Grow On you” effect. But I still would feel….. YAAR I HAVE DEFINITELY HEARD THIS KABHI YA KAHIN… LEKIN YAAD NAHI KAHAN.

I guess that’s why they christened the word Déjà vu and SEL Understood it the most!

Credits:

• Main Hoon Don By Shaan
• Ye Mera Dil By Sunidhi Chauhan
• Maurya Re By Shankar Mahadevan
• Khaike Paan Banaraswala By Udit Narayan & Shahrukh Khan
• Aaj Ki Raat By Alisha Chinoy, Mahalaxmi & Sonu Nigam

SECOND CLASS CITIZENS

A lot of uproar and hulla-baloo has been made about the recent findings of the CSF, regarding the levels of pesticides in the popular soft drink brands.And not only that, the point to note is that the level was more than 30 times the specified level is , a matter of greater concern.It is a known fact that the soft drink which we get in Atlanta----home of Coca Cola is very very different from the one which we get in Anand----Gujrat(For those who are perplexed by this nondescript name,it is the home of white revolution--Brainchild of Dr Vergheese Kurian).This is an example of GLARING DOUBLE STANDARDS ,which we hav had come to associate the United States of America with.Had the same findings been released in the US, people would have rushed to the courts filing lawsuits andseeking compensations for watever ills or danger to their lives .

In India, ""aisa nahi hota hai yaar"".Let me tell u what will happen.Firstly, some states , not all will impose ban on the sale of cool drinks.Secondly, a fact finding and fact verification committee will be set up.Thirdly , after 5-6 months (commissions hav gone on for about 15-20 years in india),and lastly everthing will be forgotten till the CSF comes out with the findings again next year.So why do people keep drinking soft drinks then????.let me give you my reasons and more importently -------Why do we allow us to be treated as second class citizens who can accept anything substandard compared to what exists in other countries-----

The main reason for such discrimination is WE ACT THIRD WORLDLY
or maybe to demonstrate our so called RESILIENCE---may it be in the case of mumbai bomb blasts , on the cricket field or for that matter, ON THE BATTLEFIELD.

A very good example to prove this observation of mine would be the case of cross border terrorism and the idea of bringing the perpetrators of crime against humanity , to justice.
We have been telling the World , by shouting at the top of our voice , calling for the need to bring
Pakistan(with all due respect to all those who are no way related to the activities of the terrorists ,that is to say the comman man) and we hav been giving evidence for substantiating our claims of these acts, but the entire so called FIRST WORLD OR THE CIVILIZED WORLD(TO SAY), has been turning a blind eye to our accusations.Only when the world felt the ""pinch of terror"", have they woken up to this fact.

They did not care to take action against the same people when we were being attacked ,they kept mum when our stock exchange and the air india building was bombed , they kept telling us to maintain calm after each incident of terror in Jammu and Kashmir,but woke up only when the horrifying incidents on the Sept 11 and to say July bombings of the London metro took place.
How does it matter to them if innocent lives of the people of asia ,africa and to an extent south america are lost.And the recent announcement of the British airport authorities to cross examine only those people"--- who are most likely to look like terrorists---",that is asian immigrants and people from africa who go to the Queen's Land in search of a better life.This is a gross violation of the very human rights of an individual or to say A PARTICULAR SECT OR GROUP OF INDIVIDUALS.
Add to it the phrases such as
SMOKE EM OUT(by GWB after 9/11)
IF YOU ARE NOT WITH US,YOU ARE WITH THEM
WE FEEL SORRY FOR THE ACT OF TERROR ON YOUR COUNTRY , BUT HEY MAN LOOK AT THE FLIP SIDE .
YOUR COUNTRY HAS TOO MUCH POPULATION,HOW DOES IT MATTER IF A FEW THOUSAND ARE REDUCED.(i made up the last one)
only corroborate their lack of respect and their lack of regard to the concerns of India

silence is frightening

For the last one month, we have been hearing the news of Israeli air strikes over Lebanon, carried out on the pretext of wiping out the Hezbollah an destroying the terrorist infrastructure of theirs. everyday the Israelis advance towards what they think is their target (destruction of Hezbollah), but what they don’t know is that, instead of extinguishing the flame of fidayeen or the so called terrorist movement, it is working as adding fuel to fire an giving rise to an increasing number of people who incensed with the injustice meted out to them an the lack of world opposition to the Israeli action, will take up matters in their own hands.
it is indeed disgusting an disappointing to see that the world in general an the united nations in particular has been a mute spectator to this carnage. the blatant disregard for the un ,which was obvious in the death of un peacekeepers indeed inspires pity an anger. for those who don’t know, when Israel was carved out or rather snatched away from the Palestinians, most of the refugees of the so called Israeli war of independence had fled to Beirut , which was a fledging city then an was the centre of education an culture. It was a cardinal sin to remain silent over the Qana massacre where the primary victims were children.

and the Americans ,instead of going forth an stopping the carnage an massacre of the innocent citizens ,goes around supplying sophisticated an more an more advanced weapons to Israel with a clause of--------- "" BE CAREFUL""----------.SO MUCH SO FOR BEING A CRUSADER FOR PEACE AN BIG DADDY OF THE WORLD. An that woman Condoleezza Rice has shown her political immaturity by ,negating all calls for cease fire till a more permanent solution is found(AN EUPHEMISM FOR MORE DESTRUCTION AN MORE KLLINGS) .

don’t these people realize that even a small an affirmative action by America can stop all this or i probably think that it doesn’t matter to them how many are killed(1000 on last count), as long as their interest are served .

it is no surprise that so called empire which took pride in having an empire where the sun never set, is playing America’s poodle .in spite of want the public opinion be or what the opinion of the cabinet be, they have gone ahead an dipped their hands in blood too. it is better to disassemble the united nation which has been reduced to being America’s puppet. Israelis know that any resolution which may be harmful to their interest will be vetoed in the UNSC---- by the US. So it’s up to us whether we want to remain silent an remain a spectator to the bullish a roguish nature of a few countries or be rather a leading supporter in the real fight against terror (America an Israel).