Posts from — July 2006

Three years ago, Kynhun, a Yahoo! group caused a storm in a teacup when a CERT-In directive to Indian ISPs to block it, resulted in a blanket ban on the entire Yahoo! Groups.

Whether the government, acting through CERT-In, was justified in its request to block a website, is a matter for another debate as it involves the volatile issue of freedom of expression or an individual’s right to make an independent choice as opposed to the government making it for her.

But it was clear that CERT-In had asked for blocking only the Kynhun group and not the entire Yahoo! Groups. Indian ISPs, claiming they did not have the expertise to block individual sites, went ahead an blocked the entire domain resulting in a blanket ban. A classic case of throwing away the baby with the bath water!

Everyone granted the ISPs a benefit of the doubt since this was the first ‘known’ case of such nature. And the ISPs, a chastised lot, had claimed they would work with CERT-In to rectify their mistakes and ensure they wouldn’t happen again.

And now… history repeats itself!! After CERT-In asked the ISPs to block 18 websites (some of them blogs hosted on blogspot and typepad) due to their communal nature, given the curent climate in India, the ISPs went ahead and brought out their blankets!!

Haven’t they learned anything in the intervening 3 years? Hasn’t technology improved since 2003? Do the ISPs have any clue?

Anyone who’s had the mis-fortune of interacting with ISP helpdesks in India can vouch for the fact that  ISPs don’t give a damn! … about their customers… or about technology!

And here, there is no private versus government-owned distinction. Private doesn’t mean better. We have seen that last year in Mumbai when Reliance Energy left their customers high and dry when mumbai was soaked under a deluge. And Reliance, MTNL, etc. have shown it once again… by their incompetence… this time around!!

Mumbai Blast Help/Updates

[12th July 2006, 06:45 PM IST]

• Just noticed this on Mumbai Help. Bhagwati Hospital in Borivali has an unidentified wounded person. The description is thus… 15-year-old male, dark complextion, has a previous burn mark on his upper left arm. He’s not too severely injured but is kept in the ICU. He’s unconscious. Please get in touch with the hospital in case anyone happens to recognize this description.

[12th July 2006, 05:20 PM IST]

• There has been a bumper crop of rumours today. Earlier in the day there was a rumour of a blast at Elphinstone Road, followed by a rumour of a blast at Borivali and also at Chembur. Needless to say, please do not believe in a piece of news unles it has been vetted reasonably beyond doubt. My tips for busting rumours:

• Tune in. Check at least two or three news channels on TV to get a confirmation.
• If you do not have access to a TV, call someone who may have access. Folks at home , for example. Get them to confirm the news for you.
• If phones are jammed due to network congestion and you cannot get through to anyone, tune in to any of the FM channels. If the news is true, at least one of the FM stations will be broadcasting the news at any given time.
• If you hear only songs on the FM channels for a good amount of time, chances are that the piece of news is just a rumour.
• If you still want to confirm it, call up a radio channel or send a SMS to them asking them to confirm. Be assured that a RJ will come on air immediately after your query reaches them. They will either confirm or bunk the piece of news.
• You will notice that I haven’t mentioned anything about calling the emergency helpline numbers. You can do that of course. But I prefer to confirm/deny rumours by these methods first. Emergency helplines will invariably be clogged in times of crises. This is just a way to take some load off those helplines.

• Union Home Minister says Mumbai Police have no clues about the Mumbai blasts. The Home Secretary however says that the government has some leads already. This kind of a confusion is common on the part of the government following a crisis. Do not be alarmed.
• Maharashtra Chief of Police, PS Pasricha claimed that the police are investigating the actions of certain political leaders. “Unki harkate theek nahin hain“, he has said.
• Needless to say, a visit to Mumbai Help is always helpful in knowing the latest updates.

[Read more →]

To Mr. Terrorist a.k.a. cowardly weasel,

You seek to create fear by your despicable underhanded methods. But you repeatedly forget that in face of adversity, Mumbai unites. And in unity, it finds its strength, courage and compassion.

If you look back while you’re fleeing your scene of destruction, tail between your legs, you will find Mumbai laughing… mocking your cowardice, hurt… but standing tall and proud.

Regards,
A Mumbaikar.

There have been fresh bomb blasts in Srinagar today killing at least 8 people, most of whom were innocent tourists. It’s a co-ordinated series of blasts. The count is at least 5 and could possibly increase! At the time of writing this post, some websites were already reporting about a sixth blast!

In the first incident, terrorists lobbed a grenade into a minibus carrying tourists through Srinagar, killing five and wounding 14, said a senior police officer, Farooq Ahmad.

Among the dead were four women, he said.

[source]

Brilliant!! … such ‘freedom-fighteresque‘ courage and bravery!! They actually sought out a tourist bus and lobbed a grenade in it knowing fully well it contained defenseless tourists!! But then… attacking tourists is the hallmark of terrorists!! Filthy cowards!!
With all the talk of confidence-building measures between India and Pakistan over the Kashmir issue, I think the only people who’re getting more confident than ever are the terrorists!
I guess with a beleagured and straightjacketed Prime Minister at the helm, the government can’t be expected to tackle the terrorist problem effectively!

When Zinedine Zidane headbutted Marco Materazzi in extra time, he was probably reacting to something uncharitable that Materazzi said to him after an innocuous-looking t-shirt pulling session between the two. Of course, the Italians have denied that Materazzi provoked the great French player (One would not expect them to do anything else!) But even after watching the replays, one would find it hard to believe the viciousness with which Zizou drove his balding head into the tall Italian defender’s chest. This could only mean that whatever Materazzi said to him was so cheap and demeaning that it instigated one the game’s all-time greats to react the way he did… on probably his last ever competitive appearance on a football field! The provocation that led to the incident that blighted the Final encounter might remain hidden forever unless Zizou tells all in an interview or an autobiography. Another thing that may stay mysterious is the way in which the fourth and fifth officials intervened proactively to influence referee Elizondo’s decision to red card Zidane.

But one thing is absolutely certain and there can be no two ways about it, whichever way you look at it. Zinedine Yazid Zidane, arguably the best footballer of his time, had no business driving his head into Materazzi’s chest whatever the provocation may have been. It is said that Materazzi, arguably the worst Italian defender of World Cup 2006, used a racial slur to provoke Zidane. But common sense dictates that racial taunts would not be an uncommon occurrence for Zidane to handle! And the way he reacted was quite vile and shameful… especially when the game was poised on the brink of a penalty shoot-out and he was a sure candidate to take one of the spot-kicks. The referee’s decision was 100% justified and perfectly within the letter and spirit of the laws of the game.

Zizou let down his team, his country and his fans in one fell blow! And what could’ve been his finest hour turned into his worst nightmare. All his career has been scarred by one moment of reckless lunacy and suddenly, the “Golden Ball” award, for the best player of World Cup 2006, that he won, seems undeserved… even though everyone would agree that he thoroughly deserved it!

It is true… the line between genius and madness is a thin one!