Thursday, June 18, 2009
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Chak De India!!!
This is an old post posted on Wednesday September 26, 2007 - 12:02am after India's win in the first T20 World Cup... I am posting it again when Indian team has crashed out of T20 World Cup'09
People on both sides of the road, people on rooftops, people on walls, people on trees, people braving the rain, people bringing the city to a stop. People cheering any one who passed, people cheering anyone with a tricolor in his hand, people cheering any BEST bus passing, people sending a roar up in the air for just about anything. A cavalcade of bikers with tricolors, a cavalcade of cars with tricolors, a cavalcade of police on bikes, then a van full of dancers and DJ blaring out loud music, and then the open double decker bus with the heroes waving the tricolor. And everyone cheered the T20 world cup winners.
I was the witness to the cliché “India a cricket crazy nation” today. 60% of Mumbai came to a halt as the cricketing heroes of the nation returned from their winning escapades in South Africa. The adulation was something to be seen to be believed. Crores have been raining on these champs since the moment they lifted the coveted trophy. Dhoni and his soldiers have written history and that too against the nations archrivals. And the nation is proud of each one of them.
But what about the other heroes of the nation? Those who lay their lives every time we are up against our archrivals in a game which if lost the price you pay is nothing less than your life. Does anyone even remember these heroes? Leave alone crores, has anyone ever bothered to ask whether their families are getting a decent livelihood?
Wonder why we didn’t give the Kargil heroes such a welcome? May be we were busy sulking about the Indian cricket team’s performance in the 1999 World Cup.
Monday, June 15, 2009
Windows '98
While returning home I saw some kids roller skating on the road. They would hardly have been 7 or 8 year old. I remembered my own days as a kid. To enjoy we would generally stick to games like cricket or playing tops or flying kites. But today its the age of roller skates or skate boards and virtual games.
These kids have been born with these gizmos in their hands. Mobile phone is a normal thing for them and is a hep thing for an 8 year old to have. Internet is something without which homeworks are out of question. Google is the present version of the good old Oxford dictionary. You aint kool if you dont have the biggest Bey Blade (most of us dont even know whats that) or if you dont watch, or play or have a set of Pokemon gizmos.
I know that I am too young to talk like this but think of the time when our kids will come to this world. Blue tooth enabled appliances will be the norm. Simulated strategy games which will be played in real time would have taken the place of roller skates. The latest version of windows which would run on your palm tops would be Windows don't know what. The latest Pentium offering would Pentium 10^10 a 100 ghz processor. The hottest selling toy would be BOOMLAKUA and I have no idea what that would be. But times would have changed drastically. Technology would have changed and we who think are using the latest technology proudly flashing our high tech gizmos in front of our friends would suddenly become outdated or in terms of an IT professional obsolete.
But the million dollar question is that will we be able to instill, the same values, the same culture, the same ethics that our parents have given to us? The sense of patriotism that I somehow feel is slowly diminishing in today's youth will that be wiped out by then? Will people start becoming obsolete like Technology?
Did you say no?
Think about this the number of divorce cases have been rising steadily. The number of extra marital affairs has been rising steadily.The plight of the knowledge worker is on the rise. The nuclear family system is on the rise.The time people spend with their families is decreasing. The time people give to their children is decreasing. The number of old people homes have been rising steadily.
Are we working towards our own doom?
Think about it or one day we might be obsolete like Windows 98...
These kids have been born with these gizmos in their hands. Mobile phone is a normal thing for them and is a hep thing for an 8 year old to have. Internet is something without which homeworks are out of question. Google is the present version of the good old Oxford dictionary. You aint kool if you dont have the biggest Bey Blade (most of us dont even know whats that) or if you dont watch, or play or have a set of Pokemon gizmos.
I know that I am too young to talk like this but think of the time when our kids will come to this world. Blue tooth enabled appliances will be the norm. Simulated strategy games which will be played in real time would have taken the place of roller skates. The latest version of windows which would run on your palm tops would be Windows don't know what. The latest Pentium offering would Pentium 10^10 a 100 ghz processor. The hottest selling toy would be BOOMLAKUA and I have no idea what that would be. But times would have changed drastically. Technology would have changed and we who think are using the latest technology proudly flashing our high tech gizmos in front of our friends would suddenly become outdated or in terms of an IT professional obsolete.
But the million dollar question is that will we be able to instill, the same values, the same culture, the same ethics that our parents have given to us? The sense of patriotism that I somehow feel is slowly diminishing in today's youth will that be wiped out by then? Will people start becoming obsolete like Technology?
Did you say no?
Think about this the number of divorce cases have been rising steadily. The number of extra marital affairs has been rising steadily.The plight of the knowledge worker is on the rise. The nuclear family system is on the rise.The time people spend with their families is decreasing. The time people give to their children is decreasing. The number of old people homes have been rising steadily.
Are we working towards our own doom?
Think about it or one day we might be obsolete like Windows 98...
Friday, June 12, 2009
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Sex Tourism
What is Sex Tourism?
Sex tourism is defined as traveling to a foreign country with the intent to engage in sexual activity with others. Sex tourism of children would therefore be defined as traveling to a foreign country with the intent to engage in sexual activity with a child younger than the age of 18. It is against the law for any citizen of the United States to travel to another country to engage in sexual activity with any child younger than the age of 18. Individuals who partake in this illegal activity are subject to prosecution in the United States even if they committed the crime on foreign soil.
While much of the initial international attention on sex tourism of children focused on Thailand and other countries of Southeast Asia, there is no hemisphere, continent, or region unaffected by this trade. As countries develop their economies and tourism industries, this form of tourism seems to surface.Economic difficulties, civil unrest, poverty, and displacement of refugees all contribute to the growth of this industry. The United Nations International Children's Educational Fund (UNICEF) released a report in 1997 estimating more than 1 million children, overwhelmingly female, are forced into prostitution every year, the majority in Asia.3 End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography, and Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes (ECPAT), however, also reports increasing evidence of children being exploited in former Eastern Bloc countries. Reports of children entering prostitution, being exploited by foreigners and aid workers, and trafficked to Western European brothels are coming from the Czech Republic, Poland, Romania, and Russia.
Introduction
To many governments around the world, international tourism can be the answer to economic growth and development. Tourism also brings consumerism to many parts of the world formerly denied access to luxury commodities and services. Growing consumerism and the commodification of sexuality may also be contributing to an increase in sex tourism of children.
Why Does It Occur?
Children will continue to be victimized by these sexual predators for many reasons including
Anonymity
Availability
Affordability
Lack of child-protection laws in foreign countries
Low risk of detection
Role of the Internet
Unfortunately there are still numerous small travel companies throughout the world that promote sex tourism of children by identifying resorts where prostitution is widespread. Because these companies are so small, they rarely draw attention from law enforcement.
In addition the advent of the Internet has revolutionized the growth of the sex-tourism-of-children industry. Some Internet chatrooms, message boards, and online organizations not only encourage this form of tourism, but give detailed instructions about how to partake in it.
The various areas of the Internet allow offenders to communicate with others who have already traveled to another country for this purpose. From the comfort of their own homes, they can plan their vacation and purchase their tickets with relative anonymity.
Statistics
Although it is nearly impossible to provide accurate statistics about the number of children involved in prostitution, the examples below provide an overview of the problem.
Cambodia: As of 1995 one survey found minors from 13 to 17 years of age comprised about 31 percent of sex workers.
China: As of 1994 the Peking People's Daily reported more than 10,000 women and children were abducted and sold each year in Sichaun alone.
Costa Rica: The capital city of San Jose is home to more than 2,000 child prostitutes. Across the country, children are regularly sold to foreign pedophiles as part of sex-tour "packages."
India: In 1995, 20 percent of Bombay's brothel population was composed of girls who were younger than 18, at least half of whom were human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) positive.
Sri Lanka: 100,000 children between the ages of 6 and 14 are kept in brothels and an additional 5,000 children between 10 and 18 are working in tourist areas.
Taiwan: Estimates indicate the number of children in the sex industry to be around 100000.
Sex tourism is defined as traveling to a foreign country with the intent to engage in sexual activity with others. Sex tourism of children would therefore be defined as traveling to a foreign country with the intent to engage in sexual activity with a child younger than the age of 18. It is against the law for any citizen of the United States to travel to another country to engage in sexual activity with any child younger than the age of 18. Individuals who partake in this illegal activity are subject to prosecution in the United States even if they committed the crime on foreign soil.
While much of the initial international attention on sex tourism of children focused on Thailand and other countries of Southeast Asia, there is no hemisphere, continent, or region unaffected by this trade. As countries develop their economies and tourism industries, this form of tourism seems to surface.Economic difficulties, civil unrest, poverty, and displacement of refugees all contribute to the growth of this industry. The United Nations International Children's Educational Fund (UNICEF) released a report in 1997 estimating more than 1 million children, overwhelmingly female, are forced into prostitution every year, the majority in Asia.3 End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography, and Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes (ECPAT), however, also reports increasing evidence of children being exploited in former Eastern Bloc countries. Reports of children entering prostitution, being exploited by foreigners and aid workers, and trafficked to Western European brothels are coming from the Czech Republic, Poland, Romania, and Russia.
Introduction
To many governments around the world, international tourism can be the answer to economic growth and development. Tourism also brings consumerism to many parts of the world formerly denied access to luxury commodities and services. Growing consumerism and the commodification of sexuality may also be contributing to an increase in sex tourism of children.
Why Does It Occur?
Children will continue to be victimized by these sexual predators for many reasons including
Anonymity
Availability
Affordability
Lack of child-protection laws in foreign countries
Low risk of detection
Role of the Internet
Unfortunately there are still numerous small travel companies throughout the world that promote sex tourism of children by identifying resorts where prostitution is widespread. Because these companies are so small, they rarely draw attention from law enforcement.
In addition the advent of the Internet has revolutionized the growth of the sex-tourism-of-children industry. Some Internet chatrooms, message boards, and online organizations not only encourage this form of tourism, but give detailed instructions about how to partake in it.
The various areas of the Internet allow offenders to communicate with others who have already traveled to another country for this purpose. From the comfort of their own homes, they can plan their vacation and purchase their tickets with relative anonymity.
Statistics
Although it is nearly impossible to provide accurate statistics about the number of children involved in prostitution, the examples below provide an overview of the problem.
Cambodia: As of 1995 one survey found minors from 13 to 17 years of age comprised about 31 percent of sex workers.
China: As of 1994 the Peking People's Daily reported more than 10,000 women and children were abducted and sold each year in Sichaun alone.
Costa Rica: The capital city of San Jose is home to more than 2,000 child prostitutes. Across the country, children are regularly sold to foreign pedophiles as part of sex-tour "packages."
India: In 1995, 20 percent of Bombay's brothel population was composed of girls who were younger than 18, at least half of whom were human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) positive.
Sri Lanka: 100,000 children between the ages of 6 and 14 are kept in brothels and an additional 5,000 children between 10 and 18 are working in tourist areas.
Taiwan: Estimates indicate the number of children in the sex industry to be around 100000.
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