Kerala This Week Ver 5.02, 2010

Some time back, one of the posts here queried the readers "Where is the only place in the world that a malayali will stand in a queue?" and there was a resounding flurry of correct answers - the state run alcohol shoppes! So this time we are asking a slightly tougher question. Where is the only place in the world that a malayali will show discipline as well as follow traffic rules? Ahh..This time we are giving you the answer as well instead of testing your 100% literacy yet again! The alcohol shoppe again!! Yes, most of the people in the line at the "beverages" outlet wear their helmets! What if it is for a certain level of anonymity. Yet, we refuse to wear it on the road..all because it is a law? What a shame it will be to fall in line, to obey, and all that silly stuff. Those are not for us greater beings, they say; those are just means to impose and restrict the "freedom" of the "common man".

So what if we overtake from the left, or park in front of a No Parking sign, cut through a one way lane? Is it not this attitude and arrogance that converts into road rage and sheer disregard for traffic sense that makes our state one of the toppers when it comes to road accidents and related deaths? Last week there was a report that a 75 kilometer stretch of highway down south kills nearly 150 people every year and injures others several fold. The state police needs to be commended for initiating several awareness programs as well as enforcement plans. However, it is important that we the people cooperate with these great initiatives. If you get caught by a cop, dont bribe him, dont say your dad is a politician, and dont make excuses - just pay the fine, get the receipt and remember the rule. Thats progress and the educated response which will take us forward.

According to an official report given in the news, Kerala has nearly 55,167 people infected by HIV. This information dissemination was a prelude to the arrival of the Red Ribbon Express, a wonderful awareness initiative against the spread of HIV, in the state later this week. Wonder if some people are perhaps misinterpreting the color red. As the saying goes, spread love and peace, not the virus!

Taking the piracy-walas head on, cops have initiated a strong campaign. According to reports, nearly 2,500 raids were made in a single month which fetched over 18,000 fake CDs! And apparently, repeated offenders will be booked under the Goonda act! Looks like someone is showing guts, and it is no wonder the cell is headed by a woman. Lets hope they also show the same mettle and turn on the heat against organized crime and the goons as well.

Talking about heat, the weatherman from our little state says that the sun is already blazing and the temperatures are rocketing along with the prices. There is no instruction yet on what we are allowed to drink this summer. Colas are banned, milk is short, and someone told me water is yet to come from Japan. No wonder theres a long line in front of the "beverages" outlet. Alright, let me get my helmet and go stand in line.



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Its A Dog's World!

A million reasons why you should never post your picture on the web, especially on sites such as orkut or facebook, unless you have locked them from public viewing! This probably includes even matrimonial sites and also emailing photographs to people you are not really familiar with. There are frustrated psychopaths who seem to be bent on collecting pictures of women and pooling them on sites, some of which are extremelty obscene and others that are titled like "Desi girls .." and "Beautiful..Non-nude Gals!". And I am talking about pictures of girls and women picked from their personal albums, school albums, family photos, friends, etc.

Today it could be a random face, tomorrow it could be your friend or relative!

I dont know if the authorities are incapacitated enough not to intervene and raid server locations where these pictures are hosted, even if they are outside India or within. I hope someone who has both sense and power (a rare combination I suppose!) is reading this and has the courage and ability to do something.

I think privacy is something we all take too lightly, especially in Kerala where we are least bothered about respecting someone else's privacy!. Although this message is not really about Kerala, but rather its because I got really angry seeing such pics. The link to one such site was sent to me by a friend, whose colleague's pictures were put on the site - the picture was taken from her personal online album. They are trying to contact authorities regarding this, but none seem interested to do anything concrete. Most of the related sites on these domains are pornographic and disgusting.

I think this also underscores the fact that we really have no sense of respect or concern for our women. I have to point out that this is true especially of men in Kerala, where a lot of instances and events point to the fact that women are being treated more as objects rather than human beings, and a large section of the population thrives on scandals and gossips, which in turn feed this sort of deplorable perversions. Disgusting as it is, posting these pictures of innocent girls and women on these sites takes ourselves to new lows!

Pray someone can do something about this!


P.S. Initially I posted the links to some of these sites, but on second thought I decided to remove these, since it would mean more publicity to the pics of these innocent victims. But if you are someone who can do something about this whole scam, please post a comment and I will contact you and give you the details of these sites
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