Today's by-poll election result held for 5 legislative assembly seats in Karnataka is a wake-up call for the ruling BJP. It's true that BJP has gained two seats and has opened an account in Chamaraja nagar district for the first time but two of it's heavyweight candidates, housing minister V.Somanna and C.P.Yogeshwar has bite the dust. Both these people have switched sides and had jumped to BJP within a year after having won on a congress ticket.
It's well known that BJP now having 117 seats is more stable and there is no need of "operation lotus" anymore. All it has to do now is just contain infighting within the party to complete it's five year term. People have given clear mandate today rejecting party hoppers. Now Yeddyurappa should focus on sorting out sickening power issue, improving infrastructure of Bangalore and development of a state as a whole.
Recent Posts
Showing posts with label General posting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label General posting. Show all posts
Friday, August 21, 2009
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Dr. Zhongjun Cao - Will he get justice?
I have been following this story since the beginning. It happened on January 12th 2008 in Footscray in Melbourne Australia. Footscray was the place where i used to live while i was studying in Australia.
The story goes like this. A group of eight young Australians met at McDonalds at the corner of Ballarat road and Gordon St in Footscray. A person by name John Caratozzolo,21, who was the leader of that group told others that he need to change his phone and he thinks Indians have a better phones. He asked his mates to join him in "Curry Bashing". Curry Bashing is the term used in Australia to assault and rob Indians of their valuables. It was already dark and these thugs went down looking for Indians on the streets, instead they stumbled upon Zhongjun Cao who was a Chinese academic at Victoria university. They mistook him for an Indian and assaulted him. One guy lifted Dr.Cao and dropped him head down. Caratazzalo kicked Dr.Cao's head so hard that he injured his own legs. They relieved Dr.Cao of his mobile phone, wallet and left him to die on street. Later that night the group assaulted another Mauritian student Binesh Mosaheb in Sunshine whom the gang mistook to be an Indian.
After that trial was held in Victoria's supreme court, two teenage thugs were given just pat on the wrist and handed over counselling and detention as punishment. The ring leader John Caratozzolo was sentenced to maximum 15 years in jail with being eligible for parole after 10 years. Another thug was sentenced to minimum of 6 years in jail (Read here).
These is just a plain injustice. I really feel for Dr.Cao's wife and daughter.They have to suffer throughout their life but these thugs will be out in the public within 2-10 years. Australia should get tough on criminals. Some Indian poilce may be corrupt but they treat these kind of thugs really the way they should be treated. This case encourages thugs to commit crime and getaway with it. If courts and Police doesn't get tough, crime will explode in Australia.
The story goes like this. A group of eight young Australians met at McDonalds at the corner of Ballarat road and Gordon St in Footscray. A person by name John Caratozzolo,21, who was the leader of that group told others that he need to change his phone and he thinks Indians have a better phones. He asked his mates to join him in "Curry Bashing". Curry Bashing is the term used in Australia to assault and rob Indians of their valuables. It was already dark and these thugs went down looking for Indians on the streets, instead they stumbled upon Zhongjun Cao who was a Chinese academic at Victoria university. They mistook him for an Indian and assaulted him. One guy lifted Dr.Cao and dropped him head down. Caratazzalo kicked Dr.Cao's head so hard that he injured his own legs. They relieved Dr.Cao of his mobile phone, wallet and left him to die on street. Later that night the group assaulted another Mauritian student Binesh Mosaheb in Sunshine whom the gang mistook to be an Indian.
After that trial was held in Victoria's supreme court, two teenage thugs were given just pat on the wrist and handed over counselling and detention as punishment. The ring leader John Caratozzolo was sentenced to maximum 15 years in jail with being eligible for parole after 10 years. Another thug was sentenced to minimum of 6 years in jail (Read here).
These is just a plain injustice. I really feel for Dr.Cao's wife and daughter.They have to suffer throughout their life but these thugs will be out in the public within 2-10 years. Australia should get tough on criminals. Some Indian poilce may be corrupt but they treat these kind of thugs really the way they should be treated. This case encourages thugs to commit crime and getaway with it. If courts and Police doesn't get tough, crime will explode in Australia.
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Attacks on Indians in Australia
Since last 2-3 months Indian media has been regularly reporting about attacks on Indian students in Australia.Two months back it was like media frenzy calling Australia a racist nation. Having studied and lived in Australia for two years, i was appalled to see the reputation of the place where i studied going down the drain. I was in Australia during 2003 July till 2005 Feb. My experience of Australia is as follows.
1. There are racists in Australia but its unfair to brand the whole nation as racist. I have met some nice people there.
2. My experience there was pleasureable and all people i have met there including people from my universities, factory(part-time work), neighbours were nice to me except a bunch of young people who were rude to me and had racist intentions.
3. Melbourne really had a best public transport system with train, trams and buses. I have travelled in London's tube but i can tell you Melbourne's train system is better. Recent attacks had happened mainly in trains or near train stations. I used to catch last Sydenham train at 12AM and get down at Footscray but never faced any issues. These attacks may be recent.
4. I lived in Footscray which is a western suburb as it was cheaper and closure to the university. Most attacks have taken place in the Footscray and sorrounding suburbs like St.Albans, Sunshine etc. These suburbs have more ethnic population than any other suburbs in Melbourne. Except drug trafficking, Footscray didn't had any problem during those days.
5. Most Indian students during that time were attending universities to get degrees. There were 11,000 odd Indian students. Now overwhelming majority attend colleges to get some cooking or hairdressing diploma. No one is fool to spend $30,000 and study cooking in an alien country. They pay that much because they were promised that they will get permanant residency once they finish their course as these skills were in skills shortage list for permanant residency visa and get them extra points. It's safe to assume that student who is neither rich nor attending some top university in Australia is there only for permanant residency.
6. Many Indian students drive taxis to make up for their living expenses there by branding all Indians as taxi drivers in Australia. Even during 2003 majority of Taxis drivers in Melbourne are Indians. Few people have asked me "Do you drive taxi for living?". Taxi driving is not a profession for many but just a stop gap job till they get a better one.
To conclude i believe there is an insecurity creeping in the minds of Australians that their country is being taken over by Indians as there are 97,000 students there. These students take up jobs which a young, unskilled, highschool dropout Australian also vie for there by leading to clashes. Also few youngsters may have found Indians as soft targets since Indians wont report crimes fearing it may affect immigration application if their name is featured in Police records.
1. There are racists in Australia but its unfair to brand the whole nation as racist. I have met some nice people there.
2. My experience there was pleasureable and all people i have met there including people from my universities, factory(part-time work), neighbours were nice to me except a bunch of young people who were rude to me and had racist intentions.
3. Melbourne really had a best public transport system with train, trams and buses. I have travelled in London's tube but i can tell you Melbourne's train system is better. Recent attacks had happened mainly in trains or near train stations. I used to catch last Sydenham train at 12AM and get down at Footscray but never faced any issues. These attacks may be recent.
4. I lived in Footscray which is a western suburb as it was cheaper and closure to the university. Most attacks have taken place in the Footscray and sorrounding suburbs like St.Albans, Sunshine etc. These suburbs have more ethnic population than any other suburbs in Melbourne. Except drug trafficking, Footscray didn't had any problem during those days.
5. Most Indian students during that time were attending universities to get degrees. There were 11,000 odd Indian students. Now overwhelming majority attend colleges to get some cooking or hairdressing diploma. No one is fool to spend $30,000 and study cooking in an alien country. They pay that much because they were promised that they will get permanant residency once they finish their course as these skills were in skills shortage list for permanant residency visa and get them extra points. It's safe to assume that student who is neither rich nor attending some top university in Australia is there only for permanant residency.
6. Many Indian students drive taxis to make up for their living expenses there by branding all Indians as taxi drivers in Australia. Even during 2003 majority of Taxis drivers in Melbourne are Indians. Few people have asked me "Do you drive taxi for living?". Taxi driving is not a profession for many but just a stop gap job till they get a better one.
To conclude i believe there is an insecurity creeping in the minds of Australians that their country is being taken over by Indians as there are 97,000 students there. These students take up jobs which a young, unskilled, highschool dropout Australian also vie for there by leading to clashes. Also few youngsters may have found Indians as soft targets since Indians wont report crimes fearing it may affect immigration application if their name is featured in Police records.
Statue - Politics or Brotherhood
The statue of the Tamil poet Thiruvalluvar was unveiled today in Bangalore after being under the wrap for almost eleven years. Through this great poet deserved every respect he can and this should be laudable, i doubt the intentions of politicians from both states behind this. It's well known fact that there has been many long standing disputes between the two states such as Cauvery, Hogenakkal etc and there has been riots and loss of lives before like the riots of 1991 as a result of interim verdict handed out by Cauvery tribunal board. Unveiling Thiruvalluvar statue in Bangalore was one of the condition that slain bandit Veerappan had set to release the then abducted Kannada matinee idol Dr.Rajkumar.
I smell something rat here as Karnataka CM Yeddyurappa has arranged all these in a hurried way. He is struggling with administration as state has been witnessing power cuts like never before. There are many more pressing issues in the states that needs to be addressed. His party BJP which lost Lok Sabha elections badly has realised that unless it spread it's wings in Tamil Nadu and Andhra, it can't make it in the center. These two states were the key swing states in favour of the congress and BJP has no base here. By unvieling this statue, may be Yeddyurappa want to send a message to Tamil Nadu people that BJP is more friendly to them. This also makes it easy for BJP to get some alliances in the next general election.
