In Praise (and Defence) of Blasphemy you still on about the diaspora thing? jesus.

Victims of Racism! Is it not Bengal that gave India Abangalis? though I don`t follow croquette, this was a hilarious read!

The Shattered World well uma shankar got one part right - life is an emotional blunder. funny, the grudges one harbors and dedicates one`s existence to.

A Star Manqué loved your down-to-earth writing style! sad how real talent fritters away.

Another earthquake
From Balakot With Trepidation - A follow-up of Oct 8
LINK TO SPONSOR A SHELTER ( cost USD$280)

http://www.aai.org.au/sponsor-a-shelter.htm

Another earthquake
From Balakot With Trepidation - A follow-up of Oct 8
Mr Husain thank you for the link. I am thrilled to note that the cost for each house is just under USD$250, or Rs 14,000. At this cost, I am sure many donors can sponsor at least one house if they want to.

http://www.aai.org.au/iras-programs.htm

``....All-Weather Rapid Shelter (IRAS) that meets all requirements of not only suitable emergency shelter but that of integration of emergency shelter into longer life structures.

The designers looked at the basic guidelines of temporary shelter and established that shelters should be, quick and easy to build by community members, be safe against extreme weather and further earthquakes that are common in this region, be inexpensive (costing about the same price as a non-winterised tent), easily transported to remote mountainous villages by foot, constructed of locally and culturally familiar materials and methods of construction, and built requiring no special tools or equipment.

The materials used include empty cement bags, filled with soil on site to construct the walls. These replace brick and stone. Barded wire is used as a binder instead of cement and gives the structure a monolithic design and contributes to earthquake resistance. The roof is made of only 5 sheets of CGI sheets requiring no internal supports due to the barrel vault roof design.....

....The IRAS is a transitional shelter and can last between one to five years depending on how well owners project the structure by using plastic sheeting or mud render. Therefore the cost of the design will go to providing a permanent outbuilding for animals or as a store in the future when communities move into their permanent structures.

The unit cost inclusive is approx $250. The major cost is the CGI sheets which have increased in value by up to 50% due to the supply demand....

Structural description and specifications of the IRAS

Floor area 72 sq feet (8` x 9`)
End/side wall height 3 ½` and 6`
CGI sheets 5 (12` x 3-6`)
Locally available metal door 3` x 5`
Barded wire Half roll .... ``

I do not know how to link to images from here, if someone could put up the image of the IRAS house here, it would be a very visual help, esp. for those drumming on army-airfarce inefficiencies, we all might be able to delve into our pockets a little deeper and surface our own shortcomings.

I was going to mention earlier about Nasir Khalili`s aga khan award winning structure with the barbed wire and sandbag design, but did not want to display my ignorance. Your IRAS design is a very good improvement on it, esp. with the tin sheets and larger size.

Another earthquake
From Balakot With Trepidation - A follow-up of Oct 8
Author must be familiar with Hassan Fathy`s architecture for the poor, adobe housing, using locally available inexpensive raw materials. I understand that domed houses built using this method are tolerant to seismic activity, with wood framework. would like to know how suitable that would be for this kind of situation. pls note that I am not an architect or engineer. interested in the viability of adobe and bamboo construction for flood and other natural disaster inflicted rural regions in southeast asia.

The Violent Face of South Asia http://indiabudget.nic.in/ub2005-06/bh/bh1.pdf

nice read. natl horticulture venture, upswing in agri credit... seems to me like a lotta dough is laid out for farm sector on a regular basis. don`t think any agri based nation is stupid enuf to totally ignore their primary livelihood.

salim - eh?

The Violent Face of South Asia read some comments thru 19. bored. just a quick observation to salim c, mr Kamath starts out with the generalization on all south asian violence, god knows why he started with pakistan`s fundos, maybe to try and interest pakistani readers here (sales tactic), but after the third para it becomes very clear he`s on about the naxalites, and that`s basically what the whole rest of his article is about. I don`t think he`s hitching himself to all kinds of violence in just one article, just trying to focus. but then, I`m not mr kamath..

godot, yes, to some readers his initial comments may seem very bjp, but he is very bjp, so it`s natural, live with it.

The Violent Face of South Asia MV Kamath on CHOWK? For Heaven`s Sakes! Well done Mz Versey! WOWZERS.

(btw National Geographic Nov 05 issue has a readable write-up on Maoists in Nepal).

I remember Lal Salaam reading this.

The American Nightmare: No Exit, No Entry As a Canadian American I will not debate Canadian politics with average Americans who do not comprehend the intricacies of dual citizenry, but will do so with Canadians. Romair, you are one of the few Canadians, even US-returned, who I find agreeing with me that taxes are reasonable in Canada. While we Canucks moan loudly about them being higher while in Canada, we have to literally compare them to the US to realize that most of our provincial taxpayers are much better off than American taxpayers in most US states. Canada has a lot of breaks for small businesses, and Canada Revenue Agency is ever helpful in matters pertaining to setting up small businesses, tax advice and even loan counseling. I have not found the US Internal Revenue Agency as forthcoming, in fact it is a quagmire unto itself.

Canada has made it very simple for immigrants to assimilate at once into its basic infrastuctural fabric, but there are severe hindrances when trying for employment in one’s own area of expertise. In order to immigrate to Canada, the barriers are set uncompromisingly high – college degree, years of relevant work experience, language expertise, friends and family circle, medical evaluations. The healthcare system on the whole benefits by a brushstroke practice of a skewed form of eugenics, and the nation on the whole benefits by demanding each new arrival speak rudimentary English at the very least, but by demanding higher educational qualifications of each and every aspirant to immigration, Canada is quickly finding itself stuck in the rut of scholars with no place to go and nothing to do. There is frustration and resentment brewing, and it will erupt sometime or the other, not in the faraway future by the hands of the citizen seedlings our Canadian government is so eager to sprout, but by the newly unleashed FOB immigrants themselves. People are not going to wait till tomorrow to fix their ills today.

Immigration quotas are also debatable, I for one am all for it, but know of very many recent immigrants who wish it would close. A part of it would be jealous human nature, but a large part is also based on employment outlook. While jobs are being created with a growing economy, it is painstakingly slow for some, and not at all materializing for others.

I disagree with the statement that healthcare is free in Canada. There is no drug coverage unless you have insurance through your employer, for which you need a to land qualifying job, preferably full-time with benefits. Small business owners (read under 25 employees) rarely have prescription coverage for themselves or their employees. The plan offered by the government for the elderly, that provides low-cost medicines, has substantial requirements, including income guidelines, and substantial waiting lists as well. Sooner or later, “healthcare” – meaning doctors’ and hospital visits - is going to be highly and eventually just subsidized, not free. The “use” of the medical system that many in the cabinet ministry see fit to label “abuse”, is putting too high a “burden” on the “employed” taxpayer. In my experience, professionals with well-paying jobs are the first ones to scream down with free healthcare. Perhaps they want to save on sick days. Prescription drugs are expensive in Canada, just like anywhere else, and the US-based bargain-hunter attitude of “it’s cheaper in Canada, let’s buy it from there” is one motivator in sending drug costs for average Canucks spiraling. In some cases a reverse drain has started in seeking medical services. While seniors from the US will drive all the way to Windsor or Niagara seeking flu shots which their government “forgot” to order in sufficient quantity, Canadian juniors and seniors are increasing looking to the US for cheaper spectacles (no pun intended). In Ontario for example, eye care including eye exams and reduced costs on eyeglasses has been done away with in 2004. One would presume eyes to be a vital part of one’s health. In the US, franchised opticians like America’s Best Contacts and Eyeglasses, offer multiple-year plans that can save a ton of hard currency for the penny-pinching father of five Eskimos. (This was just an example, not a sales pitch).

Canada has a budget surplus, not in small part from the landing fees as some new immigrants may like to think, however that is a fallacy. But how that surplus is being utilized is an intriguing question. There is no comparison to Canada’s ability to think ahead versus the US’s ability to just think. Retirement Savings Plans, the new Canada Education Savings Plans, the tax breaks on saving for and buying a new home, General Sales Tax credits that quite handsomely return part of the 15% sales tax, credits even for the millions of renters, single parents, daycare, childcare, elder care and dependent credits and benefits, all these have been so seamlessly integrated into the Canadian way of life, but still that way of life pales in comparison to the glamorous US, with its dollar purchasing power that I don’t for a second believe will ever achieve parity with the loonie. As for skyrocketing real estate prices, they are not going to burst anytime soon. The bubble may deflate a bit, yes, but all those nouveau riche (should I say fools?) with half a million dollar mortgages for three bedroom condos in Etobikoke are not going to let their prices fall as drastically as other (hopeful fools?) like to think.

I also do not agree that Canada’s educational system is affordable. If you think of the standard of living and earning power there itself, a parent still has to save a considerable amount if they want their child to go to university. Qualifying and applying for loans is being made more difficult, OSAP’s new website is testament to that. And the student loans do need to be returned at some point, otherwise the ever-chasing creditworthiness and dishonorable debt system is always present to track, hunt and maim, just like in the US, so there is no free degree. Plus, education will be a horrible nightmare in the years to come. Today, there are more children entering kindergarten with slim hopes of getting to college than twenty years ago. Every immigrant is encouraged to have more than one child, and they do. While the population is growing, the school system is not. There are not enough schools, colleges and universities put together that will accommodate the number of aspirants to their doors in the next twenty years. That begs the question, where will all that CESP funding go? I can count the number of postgraduate institutions in the whole of Canada on my fingers, I’m willing to bet so can you.

Canada’s emphasis on even hairdryers having certifications, after six-month or preferably year-long sojourns at nameless hairdryer schools accredited by the nation’s leading education advisory bodies, makes sure that even the hamburger has a diploma of some sort. What use it all is, is anyone’s guess. Spurious institutes with official sounding names have sprouted at every strip mall, laying claim to every other reject from the labor market. Right next to the institute you will find a Labour Ready butcher shop with its neon sign always on. They pay by the day, so that’s not all bad. But what does the MD from Bulgaria or the Chartered Accountant from Ghana with three young children that haven’t been fed meat in a month do when he/she can’t find a job willing to accept their fourteen year academic tenures from back home? Work in a steel or glass factory, or a warehouse that ships old clothes to Africa and makes a killing from the latest “western wear”. For every professional employed in their own fields living in shiny houses in Missisauga, there is a fellow immigrant with similar credentials counting pipes in a dingy factory in Ottawa, who is seething. Canada is failing to address that. Just as much as it has failed to address effectively what Canadian cattle ranchers should be doing with their US-designated “mad” cows, and other such political-technicality issues.

Instead of certifying meat, poultry, fish and their resellers, or inspecting the environment in which goods are being bought and sold, and not learning from the SARs scare that shut down half of Ontario’s businesses, the government’s emphasis on improving the nation’s standards by just improving the quality of people it allows into its borders, is falling short of every Canadian’s dream.

I have no more time, but want to end with the reminder that the US is Canada’s largest trading partner. For Canadians, this symbiotic relationship should suffice for never wishing the US to rollover and die.

Rabid wouldn`t have posted here if I could have just asked you, but writer are you also a chowk ed? I used that ``adam ant`` bit in a poem submitted like a month ago. hope that`s not the case, probably isn`t, but just thought to clarify. regards.

Culture Cloning I take it author has similar feelings against western cultural ``invasions``, has also never watched HBO, cinemax, columbia tristar`s latest releases, has similar objections to mtv, disney, noggin etc, has never sung happy birthday, hey diddle diddle, never heard pink floyd, never worn jeans and tees, and wishes the same for all pakistanis. pity.

The American Nightmare: No Exit, No Entry Re #138, ``There is no other goal``.

DUH! :)

money

buys happiness

buys democracy

buys lunch.

The American Nightmare: No Exit, No Entry RE #100 by SaimaShah on November 20, 2005 0:24am PT
Re: # 98

And how do you propose `people` should `adapt` to `change.` For example:
1. Who should adapt?

Whoever wants to keep their job and stay with that company/corporation

2. What does adaptation mean?

Changing the way you do things to fit they things your bosses want done.

3. What does the change you talk about look like? The leader (CEO and senior management) should know, or knows. Their vision for the corporation.

What is changing? Whatever they (top exec mgmt) want, including themselves.

who is changing IT? The followers (managers and staff)

and why? To make more money.


4. How should we convince people that it is they who need to adapt to change?

You influence them using whatever legal persuasive means you have.


5. If they agree to `adapt` to `change` what can they do to prove they have successfully `adapted?`.

Benchmarking, scorecard, etc.


My A in Leadership class still rankles...

The American Nightmare: No Exit, No Entry re # 55 and 57, Hi Saima Shah, I haven`t followed what went after the fifties posts, so apologize if this may have been stumbled on by someone already, but here are some of my thoughts to your response. When I said people recoup costs on an education in the long term, it wasn`t meant necessarily in their own field. A jobless scientist could find work as a shoe salesperson, and still be better employed financially compared to a regular high-school dropout shoe salesperson. S/He may not be very effective (ie. a better salesperson) but they would be more efficient at what they did (in things like sales reports, presentations etc). That would create value for their employers as well as making themselves better-off than in their previous unemployed state.
Likewise, corporations that offer training to their employees, if they outsource, do you really think they outsource everything? Including management? No, that stays at home, in controlling hands, that are better able to direct the use of such-and-such resources. So, if someone, including the most basic functionary in the corporate hierarchy- the factory worker - finds themselves out of their own job after being retrained, they still have the option of other jobs that utilize parts or all of their whole (new and old) skillset, either within the old company or next door. Companies very rarely like to lose good employees, esp. losing them to competition. If the payoff from retraining is less than the benefits from outsourcing, in the US atleast (where my work experience has been), they prefer to give employees the choice to be trained on something totally new, and still remain within the organization. Employees that have a history with their firm also bring understanding of company philosophy, corporate culture, work lifestyles, etc.. - the intangibles - that are often as valuable as their skillset itself. Good companies, that know how to make money - would rather hold on to those employees than lay them off. It`s easier, and may be good business, to layoff a factory worker pressing a lever 40,000 miles away than fire a staffer in the same building as the main centers of management, which is where all the business really gets done, where all the decisions really get made, the core. Effective management can not be outsourced. Yes, call centers and customer service desks in India have managers, supers, etc.., but they still have to answer to Corporate, and Corporate is always retraining its own people to stay cutting-edge. Plus, if a company becomes so ``mature`` in the economic growth stage, that it dies out, and its employees all find themselves out of luck getting work in their areas again, well, theoretically as well as in my experience, it`s a plus for the market as a whole. Obsolescence is obsolete, and new blood comes in, brings fresh ideas, technology, needed skills, etc.. People find themselves asking for new careers, seeking newer degrees etc.., and that cycle starts all over again. What`s old hat goes away, and new suits take their place, bringing with them new ways of doing things, more productively, more profitably - it benefits everyone in the end. It`s cruel but it`s necessary.
Ok about being an insider, all I care to say is, there is evil only if you choose to look at it that way. I don`t agree with the statement that Corporations are staffed by people who loathe each other, on the contrary, I firmly believe corporate philosophy drives the attitude of each and every employee, and those that don`t fit in, simply disappear (get left behind in the promotion circus, voluntarily leave or ultimately get fired, not because they don`t know how to do things, but because they don`t know how to do them right - or the Corporation`s definition of right, which varies from company to company). Direction from the top is imperative to achieving objectives and goals. Look carefully around you, your co-workers are working together on a corporate issued directive and may not even realize it. Even the worst of corporations have their agendas faithfully carried out by their minions, and that`s not evil, that`s teamwork. Those inefficiencies are an integral part of the makeup, they are there not because the top brass don`t know about them, but because they choose to ignore it. No, imo, corporations are never going to go away, rather, they are going to become bigger and larger and more gigantic, so huge that they will seem to explode and become tiny tiny tiny fragments of individual beings doing their own thing moving to their own rhythm singing their own songs... but that is all a grand illusion, one which Corporations are very good at, since the beginning of time. Enjoy.