Fighting Terrorism | What we Citizens can do?

There have been 6 blasts in all! A daring attempt like this can not be a work of few people.. It involves a series of interdependent men. First ISI,then Millitant Groups and now we have these so called Indian Mujahideen (I wonder why they call themselves Indians?)

Intelligence.. It seems they are the last people to know about anything! They didnt know abt Diwali Blasts,Neither about intrusion on LOC nor about China’s stand in Arunachal Pradesh!! The things our Intelliegence agencies miss can be even guessed on the basis of series of event.. (Even our Cyber Crime Units have officers who are not familiar with basic operations of Internet!) I am sure that some Minister in this Government will come out with the facts that there had been far more bomb blasts in the regime of another Political Party.I do not have any liking for any particular political party but I support their manifestos if they are rational.Did anyone notice that there had been no major terrorists arrests in the regime of present Govt?

Its high time that we, citizens take more responsibilty and ensure safety of our surroundings.

Let me highlight a few points that the average citizen can do

1) Corruption: Do not give or take bribes in any case- this is one of the root causes.
example: A lot of anti-social elements give bribes and get ration cards, passports, birth certificates etc. Thus they get a valid identity.

2) Form an organisation that has intellectuals who are ready to fight for a cause legally.
example: A lot of criminals involved in arms and drug trade get scott free because of lack of evidence. This lack of evidence is becuase of intimidation and buying out of potential witneses. The aim of the organisation should be to put pressure on the government, cops and if need be hire competent lawyers or pay the state appointed lawyer inorder to get the accused prosecuted and also see to it that evidence and witnesses are not tampered with.

3) The average indian is by nature a quiet person who prefers to live and let live. My suggestion is to be more assertive and take action instead of putting your head down like the ostrich and hope that the problem goes away.

4) Make pamplets against corruption, terrorism, etc and spread them around. This does not mean you have to stand on the roadside and distribute them. But if this could be done it would be fantastic. A simpler way is to make say hundred copies of anti-corruption messageand pamplets. Distribute or just put ten in each train/bus you take. In the pamplet request that the person reading if possible make ten copies and spread them around.

5) Have street plays to educate the public about corruption and how it leads to terrorism, and other social evils.

6) If you are well educated, take some time out and volunteer to teach children in orphanages, municipality schools etc.

7) Do not constantly criticize the system, see how you can improve it.

8.) Shopkeepers and outlet owner, Devote a surveillance camera to the road. Record the happening and cooperate with police.We cant work by opposing the system.

9.) Above all , Find out ways in which you can be helpful. No one knows you better than you.

Give suggestions and feedback.. This list is still missing few points..

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Bomb blasts rock New Delhi, 14 killed

At least 14 people were killed and dozens injured on Saturday as a series of synchronised bomb blasts rocked some of the busiest market areas of the Indian capital, police said.

“We can now confirm five blasts,” said police spokesman Rajan Bhagat.

The Press Trust of India said a Muslim militant outfit, Indian Mujahideen, had claimed responsibility for the bombings in an e-mail. The group has claimed previous bomb attacks in other Indian cities.

“We can confirm 14 people killed, 40 injured,” Bhagat told AFP.

Television reports put the death toll as high as 18, with more than 70 taken to hospital for treatment.

The five blasts included two at Connaught Place — the city’s largest financial, commercial and business centre, and two more at the upmarket shopping district of Greater Kailash.

India’s television network NDTV quoted the email as saying, “In the name of Allah, the Indian Mujahideen has struck back again.”

Delhi Mayor Aarti Mehra appealed for calm as the blasts spread panic through the city.

“We have the strength to face this,” Mehra told reporters.

“Please stay calm. People in markets right now should go home. Do not be afraid.” he said. “The police and government agencies are on your side. Delhi’s strength is in its people. We cannot be frightened.”

The first blast went off around 6:30 pm (1300 GMT) on a busy Saturday evening, and the others followed in swift succession.

Police at one of the bomb sites in Greater Kailash searched for survivors among a mess of mangled motorcycles and shattered glass from vehicles caught in the blast.

“I was stepping out for a cup of tea when everything turned black in front of me,” said Gulab Singh, an underground train guard. “Then everyone started running.”

Joint Delhi Police Commissioner Ajay Kashyap said an unexploded bomb had been found in Connaught Place.

An explosive expert with one of the bomb disposal units said the explosive devices appeared to have been packed with steel ball bearings and nuts and bolts “to cause maximum harm.”

Triple blasts in New Delhi in October 2005, blamed on Pakistan-backed Islamic rebel groups, claimed nearly 70 lives, while a 2001 attack on India’s national parliament complex also blamed on Muslim militants killed 14 people.

Indian Mujahideen had claimed responsibility for a wave of bombings in July that killed at least 45 people in the western commercial city of Ahmedabad.

The Ahmedabad blasts came a day after a series of bombings in the southern high-tech city of Bangalore that killed one person and injured eight.

SC rectifies pension gap between brigadiers & generals

In a rank conscious Army, this must have been a sacrilege — a retired brigadier drawing more pension than a retired major-general. Higher ranking retired Army officers continued with their heartache for more than 12 years till September 9, 2008, when the SC set right the anomaly and directed the Centre to pay them higher pension and arrears at 10% interest.
Charging the government with violating the fundamental right of the retired senior Army officers, the court asked the Centre to address the identical anamoly for similar ranking retired officers in the other two wings of the armed forces — the Air Force and the Navy.
The disparity arose because the rank pay stopped at brigadiers. When the Fifth Pay Commission recommendations were accepted by the government in 1996, the minimum pay of a major-general became less than that of a brigadier who had reached the maximum point in his scale, pointed out senior advocate Nidhesh Gupta to a Bench comprising Justices Altamas Kabir and Markandey Katju.
For the Centre, additional solicitor general Vikas Singh admitted the mistake in computation of pension and said that corrective measures were taken. It stepped up the pension of major-generals, who had retired prior to January 1, 1996, so that they did not receive pension less than what was given to brigadiers, he said.
But this equation of pension between brigadiers and majorgenerals created another problem. This created two distinct class of officers in the rank of major-generals, those who retired prior to 1996 and those who retired after, Gupta countered. Writing the judgment for the Bench and agreeing with Gupta, Justice Kabir said: “It would be arbitrary to allow such a situation to continue since the same also offends the provisions of Article 14 of the Constitution guaranteeing right to equality.”
Taking into account similar case decisions of the apex court, the Bench said the date of retirement of an employee could not form a valid criterion for classification, for if that was the criterion, then those who retired by the end of the month would form a class by themselves. Holding that the fundamental right of the major-generals, who retired prior to 1996, had been violated, the Bench directed the central government that pay of all pensioners in the rank of major-generals and its equivalent rank in the two other wings of the defence services — the Air Force and Navy — be notionally fixed at the rate given to similar officers of the same rank after the revision of pay scales with effect from January 1, 1996.

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Six Pay Commission | Judge’s Salary set to go up Three-Fold

After the recent hikes in salaries and perks of Central Government staff as per the recommendations of the Sixth Pay Commission, the Centre is set to clear a proposal of the higher judiciary for a three-fold raise in salary and perks to the Chief Justice of India, Supreme Court judges as well as to the Chief Justices and judges of High Courts.

If the move gets the approval of the Parliament — salaries of higher judiciary are governed by Acts of Parliament — the CJI’s monthly salary with go up from Rs 33,000 to Rs 1.10 lakh while that of his brother-judges and CJs of High Courts will increase to Rs 1 lakh from the present 30,000. Sitting judges of the HCs will get Rs 90,000 as against the present Rs 26,000.

Such a raise is what was recommended by a three-judge panel set up by the Chief Justice of India and comprising Justices Ashok Bhan and Justice Altamas Kabir of the Supreme Court and Madras High Court Chief Justice A P Shah.

In its report to the CJI, the committee said: “In deciding the salaries of judges we should take into account not only the cost of living but also the earnings by members of the Bar, so as to appoint competent judges with impeccable integrity…Judges in our country are highly underpaid as compared not only to compensation paid to judges in other countries but also to the income of a averagely-successful lawyer”.

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Six Pay Commission | Excise, Customs men up in arms against pay panel ‘anomalies’

Peeved by the recommendations of the Sixth Pay Commission, superintendents of Central Excise and Customs have decided to stage a protest before Parliament on September 16 to press for higher pay scale and better promotional avenues.

“The reason behind it (the protest) is the apathetic and indifferent attitude of the authorities concerned in matters of promotion, pay scale, working condition, staff position etc,” the All India Association of Central Excise Gazetted Executive Officers (Delhi unit) said in a statement on Friday.

The government has already notified the recommendations of the Sixth Pay Commission, which will put a burden of over Rs 23,000 crore on the government coffers during the current financial year.

The Association has alleged that compared to employees in other cadres, the promotional opportunities are far less for inspectors and superintendents engaged in collection of indirect taxes like Central Excise, Customs, Service Tax, Inland Air Travel Tax and Foreign Travel Tax.

It further said the Sixth Pay Commission has failed to address their grievance of equity with the employees working in other departments like Central Bureau of Investigation, Intelligence Bureau, police etc.

The income tax inspectors, officers, examiners and appraisers have better promotional opportunities, while the Central Excise superintendents retires as superintendents, despite being recruited through the same competitive examinations, the statement said.

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How to Download Wikipedia?

Last night in my Orkut Community Books and Books , I found a request for encyclopedia , a member wanted history encyclopedia with images.

So here is a way to download the biggest encyclopedia

Wikipedia – A huge ultimate reference material and knowledge hub which attracts millions of people everyday who are drowned in the deep linked articles filled with huge amount of information.If you do a quick search on the Internet for wikipedia cd’s then you will get lot’s of products containing wikipedia articles,pages which are required to be purchased.

But the cost is a bit too expensive,also there are some free service discussed in this post which allows you to read and download the content and required articles to access wiki offline.Not everyone has a unlimited Internet connection or many people tend to use Wiki as a source of  reference offline as it is much faster and easy.

Definitely you can’t save each page of wikipedia pages on your hard disk,even if you do then it takes lot of time.So if you are wondering how to get most of the articles pages easily and for free then read on..

Do you know that it is possible to download the entire Wikipedia Encyclopedia to your computer and use it offline. Other than static HTML pages, you can also download all the images and photographs from the Wikipedia website in one go.

The full Wikipedia website and the images are available in zipped format that can be extracted using the free 7-zip utility.

Example:
Download Wikipedia HTML webpages – Nov 2006 Dump

Download Wikipedia Images – November 2005 Dump

These dumps are intended for private viewing in an intranet or desktop installation – you may not host them on a public website.

Geeks may prefer to download Wikipedia Database Dumps that are vast and have more current information than the static HTML dumps. These are essentially XML files for MediaWiki software that can be imported back in SQL databases using freely available php scripts.However, These methods are not easy.

For more visit this :  http://download.wikimedia.org/

Download Wikipedia free Package :

Pocket Wikipedia is a excellent freeware application which downloads the  Wikipedia pages to your PC and Windows Mobiles for offline usage. This Pocket Wikipedia has a 175 MB zipped fileof Wikipedia articles with 14 Million words and 24,000 images (size of a fifteen volume encyclopedia ) which has enough pages and required information to access offline.

Pocket wikipedia works on Windows Mobiles, Linux PCs and Windows PCs.You can download all the 14 million words with images,article,pages using rapidshare or primary download link.A good way to access wikipedia anywhere,anytime.

Click here to download Pocket Pedia (Primary download)

Click here to download Pocket Pedia (Rapidshare)

Firefox Offline Wikipedia addon :

Firefox browser supports addons which makes it one of the finest useful browser,here is a tricky addon called as Zipedia.When you have no Internet, or when the Internet is so slow, this addon will help you access everything offline on your computer.Zipedia can process such compressed wiki dump to be used locally on your computer.

Example – ‘wikipedia://wiki/Egypt’ for immediate offline access to a wikipedia article without Internet connection.

First you will have to download the wikipedia XML dump for offline use (no need to run neither MySQL nor mediawiki ).Now install the Zipedia addon and Go to Tools-> Add-ons-> zipedia-> preferences. The wizard will guide you through the steps of downloading the wikipedia XML dump (~3G for the English wiki) and the conversion process which is simple and will take few hours.

Download XLM wiki dump

Download Firefox extension Zipedia

Note: While it is possible to download wikipedia using software like wget or httrack, Wikipedia policies prohibit using web crawlers to download large number of articles from Wikipedia servers.

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