Archive for the ‘News’ Category

From the Times of India

I’m not implying that this collection of stories accurately represents India, but I am saying that all of these stories ran in The Times of India on ONE day.

Gandhi approved killing stray dogs

Donkeys fetch record prices due to labour shortage

Teacher hacks, burns student to death

Women devotees throng to cook rice on streets

Man bites off wife’s thumb

Daughter refuses to study, mother sets herself ablaze

Gelatine sticks found in Kolkata bus

Friends of Friends of Hollis

FOFOH
.

Hollis Hawthorne, a fellow San Franciscan traveling in India, was recently in a very bad motorcycle accident and sadly is in a coma at a hospital in Chennai. Her friends and family have launched a campaign to raise $150,000 to get her back home, where she will have the best chances of recovery at Stanford Medical Center.

Neither of us actually knows Hollis, but we know San Francisco, and when someone needs help, we all pitch in and do what we can. That’s just how we roll. We’re going to make a small donation; and if you are able, we encourage you to do the same. She seems like an amazing person, our hearts go out to all concerned.

To make a donation, or for more info about Hollis, click HERE.

Mangalore goons target noodle straps !

Seems there’s a pretty serious Talibaptist movement in India afoot. A couple were arrested for kissing in public recently…a married couple. This is an actual article from a recent India Times:

Mangalore goons target noodle straps

NEW DELHI: Hooliganism in the name of ‘‘Indian culture’’ is still thriving in Mangalore. Local goons there have now issued threats to young women to desist from wearing ‘‘noodle straps’’ and ‘‘tight jeans’’ or face action, indicating that localauthorities have done little to curb vigilantism unleashed by extreme right-wing groups.

A central ministerial probe into the Mangalore pub molestation case, which generated national outrage, has found that fresh threats against ‘‘indecent dressing’’ were still being given in the run-up to Valentine’s Day on February 14.

This finding is contained in a report submitted by the two-member probe team sent by the women and child development (WCD) minister Renuka Choudhary. The report, prepared by ministry joint secretary Kiran Chaddha, was submitted on Tuesday. The report says these threats, coming on the heels of the pub violence, have generated fear among young couples. When contacted, the minister was unwilling to talk about the report. According to sources, the team met with victims of the pub attack and found them terrified. ‘‘The girls do not feel comfortable traveling alone,’’ the source said. The team was informed of two previous incidents when goons disrupted fashion shows.

The team has recommended that security arrangements be beefed up by the state government so that girls do not fee unsafe. This report comes after National Commission for Women member Nirmala Venkatesh visited Mangalore and virtually exonerated the goons by saying the pub’s security was lax.