Remembering Ken Nortan: Was he the Greater Boxer than Muhammed Ali ?

Legends are made and then they live forever. The recent death of Ken Norton at the age of 70 is the death of one such legend. Norton was suffering for 2 years from a variety of ailments and finally the boxer passed away on 19 September 2013. Norton was different from Ali. Whereas Ali dodged the draft by making incendiary statements like “The Vietcong don’t call me Nigger”. In contrast Norton served in the army from 1963-72. Ali converted to Islam; he was Cassius Clay earlier, while Norton struck to the roots of what he had been brought up as, a Christian.

The fights between Norton and Ali are the stuff legends are made off. In the first bout in 1973, Norton battered Ali and broke his Jaw. This is no mean feat against a boxer of the caliber of Ali, who had won the world heavyweight boxing title 3 times. Ali was confused with the tactics of Norton and lost the fight on points. In two other fights Ali won, but on points though many felt the real winner was Norton. Why, this happened? The fact is that the powers that be in the boxing world had decided that Ali must be champion and thus Norton had to lose. All the same Norton and Foreman are bracketed with Ali. We must bear in mind that if Norton and Foreman were not there would Muhammad Ali be as great? Norton won 33 out his 42 bouts and that is feat by itself. He was ailing during the last 2 years and finally father time took its toll and Norton is no more. But he has done enough to be remembered as a great fighter, a man who broke the Jaw of Ali and almost beat him in subsequent encounters. He packed a vicious punch

Navjot Singh Sidhu, Salman Khan and now Jayalalitha: Indian Judiciary has not changed .

In 2007 Navjot Singh Sidhu the BJP leader from Punjab was convicted by the Punjab and Haryana High Court of Man Slaughter and sentenced to 2 years in prison. Sidhu appealed to the Supreme Court , which stayed the punishment. Now 7 years have elapsed and the Supreme Court has not found time to hear the case of Sidhu. In the meantime the Sikh is enjoying himself and minting money with television shows. Alas what ails Indian judiciary and in particular the Supreme Court that the case of Sidhu is not decided in 7 years? Take the case of Salman Khan convicted for a jail term of 5 years under the wild life act and ths man is also roaming free. The latest is the corruption case against Jayalalitha the ex-Chief Minister of Tamilnadu, who like others has been able to get a reprieve from the Supreme Court and instead of undergoing a jail term is relaxing at home in airconditioned comfort. One thing is crysat clear. In India the Judiciary including the Supreme Court have a different set of laws for the rich and poor. I wonder how many stay on punishment the Supreme Court has given to poor litigants who have no money. The Judiciary more than any other aspect of Indian life needs a thorough overhaul and if that means sending 50% of the judges home so be it.

Is Raj Thackeray Correct: All Crimes of Rape and Murder are done by Biharis?

Raj Thacheray is a politician who is prone to making sensational and provocative statements. For this many FIR’s have been filed against him. Not for a moment will I support Raj Thackeray, but having said that it is important we analyse the crimes of rape and women in India. Socio Economic Situation in Bihar There is no doubt that the socio economic situation in Bihar is bad. The caste divide is extreme, so much so that people will be surprised to know that in Patna even the Police billets are segregated on caste lines. The second point that must be emphasised is that Bihar is a feudal state where the women have been subjugated and made second class citizens. Add to this the caste equation and you have a deadly concoction of the worst case of socio economic scenario . Bihar is almost a lawless state, despite all efforts of Nitesh Kumar the state remains steeped in obscurantism and backwardness. Industrial production is nonexistent and jobs are difficult to come by. With the loss of the mineral rich areas to Jharkhand, Bihar has almost empty coffers. Poor Economy and Migration Thus the pressure to migrate to other states is extreme and many Biharis migrate to Delhi, Calcutta and Bombay for a livelihood. When this crowd leaves Bihar they mostly leave their families behind and work single in the metropolis. Conditioned by a feudal background these Bihar men are easily susceptible to crime. There is no doubt that a large number of crimes of rape and other sex related matters can be traced to people from Bihar. Unable to visualize a freedom of girls in dress and demeanour, that they have not seen in Bihar these Bihari workers are easily swayed and base thoughts come to them resulting in crimes of rape. Unfortunately this also applies to Eastern Utter Pradesh which is also the sister state of Bihar in terms of obscurantism and backwardness. Last Word Perhaps the only solution is to not only enact stringent laws, but also improve the socio- economic scenario in Bihar and UP. Incidentally it is not only Raj who has articulated these thoughts but the Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dixit has also earlier gone on record with the same observations. The fact is the Bihar and UP constitutes 40% of India’s population and curbing this menace of rape and crime by men of this state is no easy task

Can Modi be Countered ?

A rag tag opposoition is planning to oppose Narendra Modi. Most of the opponents are those who have been roundly defeated by the elctorate and had ambitions to be Prime minister. Among them are men like Nitesh kumar. This man thought he would be king( become Prime Minister). Unfortunately he over estimated himself and was soundly thrashed at the elections. In panic he joined up witha convicted criminal lalu Prasad Yadav( convicted in the Fodder scam) and is hoping he can survive the Modi avalanche. Most other leaders like Rahul Gandhi, Ms Mayawati, Mamta Bannerjee, Karunanidhi among other wont be able to make a come back for at least a decade , by which time we would be writing their obituary RIP

Ms jayalalitha has had her dreams Shattered

The special court in Bangalore sentenced Jayalalitha for a prison term of 4 years and also fined her Rs 100 crores and on failure to pay a further prison term of one year. What does this mean? It means that apart from the jail term, she is debarred to contest an election for 6 years and is immediately disqualified as a MLA as per the Peoples Representation Act. Theere is merit in the judgement of the court and the net effect is that this schemer has been effectively debarred for aspiring to be the Prime Minister of India. This was the ambition of the lady, to sit in the PM's chair. I wonder how a lady as corrupt as Jayalalitha could aspire to be the Prime Minister of India ? This is the bane of a democracy like India where the voters vote more on caste and secterian lines than on merit. God save India !

First Time in History The US has no Policy to Counter IS( Islamic State)

The ISIS ( Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) is now transformed into the IS( Islamic State). It is an organization that has split from it parent organization the Al Qaeda, but its doubly fearsome as it has a dedicated following and its appeal for an Islamic Caliphate runs across all sections of Sunni Muslims. I say Sunni Muslims , because the very nature of the IS precludes any accomodation with the minorities or the Shia minority in Islam.

 Thus the IS is waging a two front war, one against the decadent West and second against the Shia and other minorities. The IS is getting recruits from all over the world. Large numbers from the UK and the USA have enrolled to fight for the IS. In fact the recent beheadings of 2 American reporters were the handiwork of two British Muslims. Obviously these men kept their faces covered as they feared reprisel and like all cowards they want to live.Yet these men have been identified and one hopes they can be brought to justice. 'Brought to justice' is a fine phrase, but who will execute this?

The one power capable of taking on the Sunni fanatics is the USA and strangely with Obama at the helm of affairs a strange paralysis has encompassed the US government. They have no policy to counter the IS and Obama has admitted this in so many words. Its frightening that the number 1 power is clueless how to deal with the IS except a sporadic aerial bombardment that is not having the desired effect.

 The USA under Obama is more like a toothless tiger and I feel the American think tank must be berefit of ideas. Otherwise they would never have toppled two bulwarks aagainst al Qaeda and its ilk namely Gaddafi and Saddam Hussein. By toppling the USa has opened a can of worms that will enter in the long run the US stomach. They continue their shortsightedness by opposing Assad. The so called moderate Islamic rebels the US is arming are the very men who sold the US correspondent to the IS for $ 25000-30000. What a mess created as this poor man was beheaded and a video circulated. America needs a great President now, one who can salvage US pride and face the danger of a resurgent Sunni Islam. Obama is not the man,

 I wonder how the American people could have voted in a man who is half Muslim and studied in a Madrasa( Islamic religious School) for 2 years.

Arvind Kejriwal: The man who sought the crown of India when it didnt fit him

Arvind Kejriwal is a Humpty Dumpty. The famous nursery rhyme says that that " Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, Humpty Dumpty had a great fall and all the kings horses and men could not put Humpty Dumpty together again". This sums up Arvind Kejriwal. This man opposed Shiela Dixit the Delhi Chief Minister and won. He thought he would similarly trounce Narendra Modi at Varanasi and that victory would catapult him to the chair of the Prime Minister of India. Unfortunately Kejriwal lost , in fact he lost his deposit and wasn't much of a challenge to Narendra Modi. Along with this his party candidates were humiliated everywhere and it is reported they lost deposits to the tune of Rs one crore. Kejriwal must understand that outlandish statements and rhetoric is not anything that will take him far. He seems to be a man consumed by hatred and that is apparant in his conduct and speeches. So sad, as like Humpty Dumpty Kejriwal will have years in isolation.