Kasab's Trial: Military Court or Civil Court?

Gallup says "By 59% to 36%, more Americans believe accused Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed should be tried in a military court, rather than in a civilian criminal court. Most Republicans and independents favour holding the trial in a military court, while the slight majority of Democrats disagree." [Link]

According to the 9/11 Commission Report, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was "the principal architect of the 9/11 attacks." He is also believed to have confessed to a role in many of the most significant terrorist plots over the last twenty years, including the World Trade Centre 1993 bombings and many other terrorist attacks. [Link]

A lot of similarity between the trials of Kasab and Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.

How about trying Kasab in Military Court? What do you think?

Vivek

Old man and The C[omputer]

Getting old makes me feel low, why hide those feelings? My friends assure me that I am not an old man. Of course, my wife disagrees!

The desire to stay young grows higher as diabetes, blood pressure and their accompaniments keep raising their head. There are many ways to stay young [in spirit]. Booze and Blogs are two things that raise your spirits high. While the former is very effective, and its use is recommended only with discretion [yes with discretion, I repeat; lest people draw wrong inference about me - when you blog you have to worry about how you project yourself, man!], the use of latter brings to you a lot of new friends from blogosphere. For the lonely [and old, it is obvious] soul who has disconnected his ties with his little world [or vice versa, why take the blame?] it is so touching!

But there are young people who are interested in what old people do! I have documentary evidence now. And they are the freelance writers [may their tribe grow!]. They kind of remind the society that there are good minds at work albeit old.

Here is one such report in the Times of India, Do read it [Link]

Vivek

On Sachin, Kambli and Lulu's Chillies

‘Tendulkar is always reaching some landmark or other.’ I said holding newspaper to Lulu, my parrot. ‘I really admire the boy.’ I said.
‘Oh yes, he is a genius’ Lulu said.
‘Playing twenty years at such a high level of performance is really extra-ordinary.’ I said.
‘Well, you missed out the most important word ‘Consistently’. He is playing consistently at high level of performance. That is the difference between him, the genius, and the ordinary.’ Lulu spoke with the tone of my school teacher.
‘It must have been really difficult. After twenty years in my service I felt like running away from industry and started looking forward to retirement.’
‘Hmmmm…’ Lulu preferred eating chillies.
‘But look at the other side. He lost time at home, so little he could give to his family. He has not seen his children grow. He must have missed several family functions.’
Lulu stuck to eating chillies.
‘And in his prime youth, he rarely partied. He does not drink. He must follow strict diet prescribed by his team doctors.’
‘These chillies are mouth watering’ Lulu said, ignoring my observations on what Sachin lost.
‘And Sachin has stayed away from girls! Girls must have been after him like bees!! Looked at it the other way what a life to waste!! I think leading life like a normal person also has great advantages. It has its own set of pleasures!!!’

‘Nothing wrong about enjoying life that way. But then you land up becoming Vinod Kambli and not Sachin Tendulkar.’ Lulu said. 'The trouble is you behave like the mediocre and yet wish to be recognised as a genius!' Lulu resumed eating chillies.

'Those chillies must have been really very pungent' I said.

Vivek

Unbearable Pain and Palliative Care

I had never thought or read about palliative care. I stumbled upon this report in surfing the net. On Human Rights Watch website. You may like to read it too.

A short excerpt:

Failure to ensure pain treatment at India’s regional cancer centers—A form of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment.

The majority of patients at India’s regional cancer centers requires palliative care and suffers from moderate to severe pain. Human Rights Watch believes that the India government, while investing considerable funds into regional cancer centers, has failed to take reasonable measures to address their lack of palliative care availability. The government has at its disposal various ways to ensure that regional cancer centers offer palliative care and pain treatment—it could have specifically earmarked funds for palliative care or made the designation of “regional cancer center” conditional on the development of palliative care—but it has chosen not to use them. As of July 2009, more than half of India’s regional cancer centers did not have such services.

As demonstrated in chapter III, the failure to ensure availability of such treatment leaves many patients to needlessly suffer excruciating pain, which may persist over extended periods of time, often without any respite at any time of the day. The kind of suffering these patients endure is so serious that it meets the minimum threshold for government liability under the prohibition of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment.

Here is the LINK

Vivek

Andre's Confession and Steffi's autobiography

Lulu, the parrot, flew in and landed on my table.
“When are you going to write your autobiography?” he asked.

“I have no such intentions. Why this question, Lulu?” I asked.

“Because autobiography sells. Sensational disclosures sell. You will make good money. Haven’t you read what Andre Agassi has confessed? He has confessed to using and testing positive for methamphetamine in 1997. He says his father used to give him drugs to take before matches, including pills that were high in caffeine, and possibly even the illegal amphetamine speed. He has confessed to lying to the tennis authorities. It is now talk of the town and his book is selling like hot cake.”

“Well, I don’t play tennis and I have nothing to hide and nothing to confess. Moreover, who will be interested in reading about my misdemeanors?”

“Agassi will make tons of money now. Think about it. Autobiography is a great money making proposition for those in the autumn of their life!” Lulu said.

“Sorry I don’t agree. Raju of Satyam Computers confessed to his role in the fraud of several billion dollars. He lost money. I think people will make confessions to make money or to mitigate the punishment as in Raju’s case.” I said.

“No Sir! Do you know that false confessions are a big problem in crime detection and justice? More than 500 persons gave false confession in the Black Dahlia case!!”

“Hmmmm…....This is making me go crazy; it is all too complex. I would rather wait to hear what his wife, Steffi Graf, says on this subject. And I would await her autobiography!

Vivek

The Bystander Effect

“Hello, you are so absorbed watching TV, what’s that?” Lulu, my wise parrot, asked.
“You are a very keen observer Lulu,” I said, “I am watching National Geographic. A buffalo and a calf are encircled by Hyena and they are attacking the calf, what a horrible footage! I am unable to take off my eyes and unable to watch it too. Soon the Hyenas, who are hunting in a pack, will devour the calf.”
“Oh yes,” said Lulu, “But are you seeing what I am doing too?”
“What’s that Lulu?” Lulu always had a ‘bird’s eye view’ of everything. I have always wondered whether the birds would be using a phrase like a ‘man’s eye view.’
“Don’t you see that the rest of the herd is watching helplessly from a distance? And does that remind you of anything?”
“???”
“Isn’t this called The Bystander Effect?” Lulu asked, much to my surprise.
“I always knew you as an intelligent bird, but now I suspect that you are a well trained psychologist too.”
“Don’t laugh it off! You can take a dispassionate view, an unconcerned one because you are seeing animals in the National Geographic Film. Let me explain this ‘Bystander Effect’ to you. Substitute the animals with men in Nat Geo film and you will understand what I mean.” Lulu retorted.
“Well, hold on! You are painting an extreme picture. No civilized person worth his salt will hold himself back. Haven’t we seen how people help those involved in Highway accidents?” I could not tolerate the avian attack on human values.
Lulu laughed and tapped on my head with his beak a few times before settling on my shoulder. “You have not only no touch with reality, but you are also not reading newspapers. A young girl gets raped in USA, twenty people watch and no one reports to police! Isn’t it similar? The gang rape went on for two hours!!”
“That’s really sad, and horrible. Anything can happen in USA, they do so many crazy things there. We in India have a special status for women.”
“That is a very unfair comment. There is nothing peculiar to USA when it comes to Bystander effect. It happens everywhere in the world. What happened when a girl got raped in a running train in Mumbai? There were four bystanders, they watched but did not intervene!” Lulu said. “And what happened when a lady was raped in a running train near Nasik and somebody was thrown out? There were bystanders there and it wasn’t happening in USA! Must I remind you of what happened when Kauravas were stripping Draupadi in Mahabharat? Her husbands sat there helplessly watching the attack on her modesty!”
“Ok, Ok, I take your point. It happens everywhere!”
“Not just that, it happens almost all the time around us” Lulu said. “Do you remember that a man who had lost his mental balance was killed at Dadar Railways Station in Mumbai some years ago by a mob? Do you remember how a woman was paraded naked and people silently watched it? The Gujarati couple going for morning walk was brutally attacked by two goons riding a motorbike, they injured couple was lying on pedestrian walk and no passerby helped them.”
“Why doesn't anybody help the victims, Lulu?” I asked.
“Because nobody is called by name and asked to help, according to one sociologist. People are galvanized into action when they are specifically asked to step in. At that juncture it is difficult not to intervene and stay aloof.” Lulu continued, “Malcolm Gladwell says in his book, The Tipping Point – “When people are in a group, responsibility for acting is diffused. They assume that someone else will make the call, or they assume that because no one else is acting, the apparent problem- isn’t really a problem”.
Lulu was unstoppable; he continued, “Aren’t you seeing like thousands others, your country being ruined by corrupt officials, goons in the garb of political leaders who foster fissiparous tendencies instead of uniting people. You are also watching and not acting, because nobody has called out your name and said, “Hey Vivek, You feel strongly about this issue, come join me, let us do something about it.”
“Difficult to digest what you are saying Lulu. I think I would rather have a drink to calm my nerves.” I said.
Vivek

Two Ways of Handling Succession

Succession planning is a very sensitive subject in the corporate world. But some have managed it quite well.

The latest case in discussion is Deepak Parekh’s succession. New reports say Keki Mistry is slated to take over and that Parekh will take over as non-exec Chairman. Very smooth transition. [Are you listening Mukesh and Anil?] Parekh himself said in an interview that detachment from his current role and adapting to the new role could be a challenge. But awareness itself is half the battle won.

The TCS story also made big news, with Ramadorai handing over the reins to Chandrasekaran, it must not have been easy because both are young.

Very commedable work at HDFC and TCS.

Against this background, look at what is happening to the succession for the biggest role, Chief Minister of Maharashtra. We hear from all so-called leaders, a typical, “We have left the decision to Sonia Gandhi! Whatever the ‘high command’ decides will be acceptable to us!!” I often wonder why they are called leaders at all.

What a contrasting picture in the commercial capital where Parekh, Ramadorai and Chavan [Chief Minister] sit within a 200 meters radius!
Vivek