Graffiti Spelling Fail

Seen in the lift (elevator) of my building. For a lot more fails, see failblog.

Laid-off Workers of the World, Unite!

First, the background:

Lalit Kishore Choudhary, the 47-year-old chief executive officer of Graziano Transmissioni India, died on Monday after sacked employees beat him up in the company's office, a senior officer said. [Reuters]

The sacked employees, all innocent-like:

"We were demonstrating peacefully to get our jobs back," one of the workers, Rajpal, told the Hindustan Times newspaper.

"Outsiders may have assaulted the CEO leading to his death. Firing by the guards agitated workers and they clashed with the staff," he said. [BBC]

Yeah, right. They were just demonstrating peacefully, caressing the CEO with iron rods. Poor guy couldn't take so much love and affection.

Nothing really weird about this, so far. Sacked employees got angry at some point during negotiations, and the angry mob beat up the CEO, resulting in his death. A criminal case that should be duly investigated and the culprits punished so as to serve as a warning to all those to think that mobs have the right to break laws. Right? Wrong.

Here is the real WTF stuff:

"This should serve as a warning for the managements. It is my appeal to the managements that the workers should be dealt with compassion," Union Labour Minister Oscar Fernandes told reporters at a press conference. [ToI]

I suppose it should be okay with the Government if its shareholders/workers (citizens of India) decide to implement a similar brand of justice on their management (Cabinet Ministers etc.).

Get Well Soon

Inspector Mohan Chand Sharma was one of the recipients of the Police Medal for Gallantry this year on Republic Day (full list - pdf). He took three bullets during the encounter in Delhi in which two terrorists were killed, and one was captured, while two managed to escape. Head Constable Balwant, who also received a bullet, is reported to be out of danger.

... Inspector M C Sharma, a highly decorated officer of the special cell who has won gallantry awards seven times, was in a "critical condition" at the Holy Family hospital. [Rediff]

Take a couple of minutes off, and say a prayer for him to get well soon.

Update: He succumbed to the injuries on Friday, cremation service was held on Saturday. May his soul rest in peace.

And we need better execution of counter-terrorism operations. We can't afford to lose people like him to hasty and insufficient planning.

Hating It: India TV

Read this article about the extent of paranoia whipped up by some Indian media outlets about the Large Hadron Collider, and weep. Weep for the innocent and the naive who take everything shown and said on TV to be true. Weep for the state of journalism in the country. And pour some hate on the fraudster TV channel which is the main culprit in spreading this paranoia about the Large Hadron Collider.

In this village, a woman named Mukesh recounts what she saw on India TV, a Hindi news channel—once a black hole opened up, the earth would be consumed in one second, followed by the moon in another second and the sun in another six. It even set a time for doomsday—noon, sharp.

“This has worried us so much that we haven’t even eaten properly for the last few days,” she says. On Wednesday, “my son Rishipal has an English exam, so I have to send him to school. But I’m not sending him alone. I’m going with him.” And then, very businesslike, she asks: “Tell me, should we go into the hills? Is that safer?” [Live Mint]

My mother called me early yesterday morning to ask me whether the world is going to end at noon. She sounded quite worried, so I tried to reassure her. I hope I succeeded. But what about those mothers who don't have engineer sons to call up for comfort every time this sort of nonsense happens?

The sheer outrageous nature of this channel's coverage of events connected to LHC is beyond belief. I can't find any clips on the web right now, but the excerpt above should give you a hint. Don't forget that this coverage was backed with visuals from disaster movies, flash animation, terrorizing sound-effects etc. Read this for some more details.

Also, please take a look at the descriptions of some of the shows being promoted on the front page of this channel's website:

To strike a balance between high tech modernization and astronomical calculations Sant Shiromani brings you GURUMANTRA with value added remedies of common ailments, foretelling future from Panchaang, and AAJ KA UPAAY. A perfect way to kick start your day.

Introducing you to your horoscope and numerological fortune, the proficient astrologer Acharya Indu Praksh reveals the connection between your celestial mechanics and the terrestrial dynamics. This daily dose of ‘Bhavishyavani’ aims to give you practical solutions to all your problems.Just dial 0120 – 2517251 and make a refreshing start to know your stars, just a phone call away.

'Jai Shani Maharaj' is a weekly show in which viewers get a chance to interact with proficient astrologer Dati Madan Maharaj Rajasthani Ji over telephone and get the solutions for Shani's impact on their life. Just dial 0120 – 251 7 251.

Yes, that's right: three daily shows devoted entirely to astrology. Yes, I know that a lot of people are superstitious and believe in such stuff. But must our media add to such nonsensical beliefs?

It looks like there might be some action taken against India TV and Aaj Tak for their alarmist fear-mongering. But the most effective action can only be taken by the viewers by refusing to watch such idiotic channels. You now have a channel which said that the world will end at noon. Well, it didn't. Isn't that proof enough that the channel was bullshitting you? Do yourself a favour and ask your cable operator to unsubscribe you from such feeds.

Update: There is a lot more evidence of sheer idiocy and inanity from India TV. Thanks to reader Amit Jain for the pointer in comments.

Questions For Sarah Palin

Looks like everyone has a few questions to ask the Alaskan governor Sarah Palin, now that she has granted her first interview as the GOP's VP-nominee.

Jack Shafer at Slate asks the following 10 questions:

1. What Bush administration policy do you disagree with most, and what would you have done differently?


2. How are you like Hillary Clinton?


3. You're running as a reformer, a crusader against the special interests and politics as usual. Setting aside for a moment Sen. Ted Stevens' legal problems, should Alaska return to the Senate this Republican who has delivered more pork to his state than virtually any other elected official? Yes or no?


4. Unique among all U.S. governors, you lead a state that shares a border with Russia, a sometimes hostile nation with a nuclear arsenal and new geopolitical ambitions. Given that, how do you evaluate Vladimir Putin?


5. Do you still disagree with John McCain's position that global warming is caused by man? If you've changed your mind in the last couple of weeks, please tell me why you changed your mind and when that happened.


6. On the campaign trail or as vice president, will you try to persuade Mr. McCain to adopt your position on drilling in ANWAR? Or have you adopted his?


7. Were you for the bridge to nowhere before you were against it?


8. For most in the nation, you're an unknown quantity. What questions should the press be asking you?


9. What have you learned about foreign policy from John McCain since joining the ticket?


10. Your son is being sent to Iraq. What is he fighting for?

He also has follow-ups to many of these questions. This is the list that I liked the most. As they say, read the whole thing [10 Questions for Sarah Palin]

The Foreign Policy magazine has put up a list of 20 questions they would like to ask her. Quite naturally, most questions on this list deal with foreign policy. I would have liked it more if they hadn't included trivia-type questions in it (naming world leaders, listing books, is Iraq a democracy, which world leader would you meet first and why etc.).

Huffington post also has a list of 20 questions for her, but it seems to be unusually heavy on sensationalism.

The Anchorage Daily News, a newspaper based in Alaska, pitches in with 9 questions of its own.