This is what happens when you have too much time in your hands and NOTHING to do. You go crazy!

Man breaks record by sitting in 39,250 seats

PASADENA, Calif. - Jim Purol took a seat at the Rose Bowl, and then another, and then another, until he broke a world record. The Anaheim man set a Guiness World Record on Wednesday for “Most Seats Sat in 48 Hours” by sitting in 39,250 seats. He began the task Monday morning, and he’s still going, hoping to rest his tush in each of the stadium’s 92,542 seats by sometime this week.

The 56-year-old, who already holds several other world records, says he has dreamed of tackling the Rose Bowl seats for 20 years — ever since he sat in all 107,501 chairs at the University of Michigan’s football stadium. The feat has taken a toll on his body and his cleanliness, as soot on the seats rubbed off on his clothes. He says he loves the Rose Bowl but calls the place “filthy.”

[ Source: Man breaks record by sitting in 39,250 seats ]

Talk about being screwed up. This guy seems to be royally screwed up! I wonder what good his future is now? Read the bolded section of text. Some Indian’s do manage to get neck deep in shit!!! And all for sending out a document.

One thing thats clear here is that this guy was played into this trap. His own current employer HP screwed him by reporting it IBM. I guess he must have stepped on all the wrong toes. Sadly for him, I guess it’s GAME OVER!

Atul Malhotra, the former Director of Sales and Business development in output Management Services for IBM Global Services will be sentenced on October 29 for 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000, reports PC world. However, Malhotra has pleaded guilty for spying trade secrets from IBM to HP, the U.S. Department of Justice, reported PC world.

Malhotra, who will be sentenced for 10 years imprisonment and a fine of $250,000 was pat ratted by HP. HP was very clear that Malhotra violated HP policies and that HP followed its policies by investigating, firing and reporting Malhotra to IBM and law enforcement. Followed by this move, Malhotra has been terminated from his role as vice president of HP’s printer division.

The email Malhotra sent to the HP executives said that the IBM document would help the HP sales team understand the goals of IBM as HP set pricing for prospective deals.

[ Read the complete story Here. Don't miss the comments section there.]

It’s high time somebody did something about this. But still, honestly don’t you think imprisonment for 30 months is a bit too harsh? After all, all he did was send mails. He didn’t rob or hurt anyone. For all we know it’s just a few extra emails in everyone’s inbox. Hmmm……

New York: Beware! Sending a spam is enough for police to take you to jail. A federal court in Manhattan on Tuesday sentenced a Brooklyn man, named Adam Vitale, to 30 months imprisonment for sending spam e-mails to more than 1.2 million subscribers of America Online (AOL), the online division of Time Warner. In this filthy act, Vitale, along with another man Todd Moeller, defeated AOL’s filter system by using several different computer servers to relay the e-mails and changed the e-mail header information to ensure the spam e-mails could not be traced back to them.

Vitale was sentenced after pleading guilty more than a year ago to breaking anti-spam laws. He was also ordered to pay $180,000 to AOL in restitution. Moeller, another defendant in the case, was sentenced last November to 27 months for his role in the scheme.

[ Original Source: You may be jailed for spamming ]

Now, don’t tell me that the government is trying to bring down inflation by such a cheap act. Just how low can you get???

MUMBAI: In what’s sure to rub salt into old wounds, the railways is approaching victims of the July 11, 2006 train blasts to ‘recover’ interest charges paid along with the compensation.

Bhayander resident Raju Kamble, one of the hundreds who sustained serious injuries on that fateful day, received a meagre compensation of Rs 28,000 from the railway tribunal in January. This was despite his pleas for an ex gratia of Rs 1.5 lakh. What shocked him even more was a court notice, which arrived at his doorstep a couple of days ago. It asked him to remain present in a case in which the central government (railways) wants to recover the extra Rs 980—which was paid to him as “interest charges”.

Kamble is among the 710 other blasts victims who have received similar notices and are being “dragged” to court at a time when the city prepares to observe the second anniversary of the blasts.

The compensation was sanctioned by the railway tribunal with a rider that an interest of six per cent should be paid for any delay in disbursement.

[ Original News: The Times of India ]

If the government is trying to act so cheap and lowly because of lack of money in the country…. I wonder where all my Taxes go……

No comments…

Current estimates say the UAE’s oil will last 92 years at current production levels.

The 2008 BP Statistical Review of World Energy said the UAE’s proven oil reserves of 97.8 billion barrels make up 7.9 per cent of the world’s total reserves. The UAE’s crude oil output is currently at 2.66 million barrels per day. The Middle East’s proven oil reserves stood at 755 billion barrels.

[ Original Source: UAE oil to last nearly 100 years ]

Modi was invited last month to attend a Gujarati culture conference in New Jersey in August. Earlier in 2005, Modi was denied entry to the US to attend the same conference citing his role as the chief minister during the 2002 Gujarat riots.

The senior BJP leader has said he would not apply for visa until he was assured that his application will not be turned down. The State Department had in 2005 revoked his visa under the INA, which prohibits foreign government officials who are “responsible for severe violations of religious freedom” from obtaining US visas.

“As official bodies of the government of India have found, Narendra Modi is culpable for the egregious and systematic human rights abuses wrought against thousands of Indias Muslims. “Modi must demonstrate to the State Department and to the American people why he as a person found to have aided and abetted gross violations of human rights, including religious freedom should now be eligible for a tourist visa,” Gaer said.

[ Original Source: ExpressIndia.Com ]

On the brighter side, I would say, at least one minister wouldn’t be able to burn more of tax payers money on a US trip. I wish the US Consulate and all the other embassies in the world would come up with such or more stringent criteria on issuing visas to Indian ministers!!!

So…. Here I am… in Bangalore. I am joining Nokia R&D facility in Maratahalli Ring Rd, Bangalore. I shall be working with the Ux team at Nokia in the Software & Services division.

One of the first projects I am going to be engaged in is Ovi.com. It’s an exciting new concept from Nokia. You’ll probably be hearing more about Ovi from me in future.

After 2+ years of relocating to Chennai and joining Extreme Networks (EXTR), the time has finally come to say Good Bye… It’s been really wonderful working with a great team.

My special thanks to all my colleagues for making my life at extreme a truely memorable one especially my managers - Ajit Parthan, Ramki, Suresh Bopparaju, Michael and the rest of the team. The last two years have been really exciting and I was able to learn a lot!!! And as always, I feel my job here is done and it’s time for me to move on.

PS: I am also Chennai and relocating to Bangalore.

Ok….. So finally after almost 2 months of silence, I am slowly getting back into blogging and my routine way of life. The last couple of months have been really hectic. So much was happening so fast that I was struggling to keep up and maintain control.

Only very few close relatives knew that my mother has been suffering from a medical condition known as Motor-Neuron-disease (MND). A progressively degenerative medical condition which has no known cure. After almost a year of suffering, she finally surrendered to the disease on June 6th 2008.

I have no more words on this. Just that I have lost one of the 3 most important persons in my life…

Kenyan’s Sing Indian National Anthem to promote the World Pangea Day on May 10th. Nice!

Praveen has a really funny post on his blog… If you are tamilian, then its a must read for you…

1. Velaikku Avaathu - Mission Impossible
2. Karuttha Machan - Men in Black
3. Paayum puli, Padungum pambu - Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
4. Oatta Machan - Hollow Man ( though the actual movie was called Mayamanidhan) and the list continues….. !!!

I really appreciate the crude humour they project, for example, there is Sean Connery speeding down a road in a fancy white car yelling, “Roada paathu cara ootu da baadu” (in “7 Dhalapathigal”, also known as “The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen”). Man….. I tell you he really gives our “Gabdan Vijaykanth” and “dhesiavaathi Arjun” a run for their money….. !!!

Just imagine, a scene from ‘Mummy’ , where an improperly embalmed mummy looking more like my college staffs shouts at the audience ” buhuah ha ha haaaa…..Naan unne ippo sapide poren…!!! ” or our James Bond introducing himself as ” Aaei…..en paeru baandu…..james baandu… “.

[Source : Original Post ]

Now…. How sick is this????? And this is called art….!!!

An art display which invited the public to put live goldfish through a food blender did not constitute cruelty to animals, a Danish court has ruled.The goldfish were placed on display swimming in the blenders, and visitors were told they could press the “on” button if they wanted.

At least one visitor did, killing two goldfish.

Peter Meyer, director of the Trapholt Art Museum in Kolding, 200 kilometres (125 miles) west of Copenhagen, was fined for cruelty to animals after complaints from campaign group Friends of Animals.

The exhibit was created by Chilean-born Danish artist Marco Evaristti, who was apparently trying to test visitors’ sense of right and wrong. Mr Evaristti said at the time he wanted to force people to “do battle with their conscience”.

The idea, he said, was to “place people before a dilemma: to choose between life and death.”

“It was a protest against what is going on in the world, against this cynicism, this brutality that impregnates the world in which we live,” he said.

[ source: Liquidising goldfish 'not a crime' ]

This one had me laughing MAO!!!!!!

Now… This is one different interview…!!! Must watch!

I don’t know whether this is a good move or a bad one. On one angle, in the light of news like this, it seems that increasing government salaries is the right thing to do. It might attract the younger generation to look at government jobs as a career.

On the other hand, I feel bad that more of my tax money is going to go to people who sit on their asses doing nothing. As it is, any Indian knows what kind of treatment can be expected in the government office. Now, I hate to be paying them more from my pocket and then get insulted. But, I hope that atleast bribery and corruption comes down a bit after a pay hike.

If you look at what used to happen 10-12 years ago, when government servants used to be paid as much or as well as the private sector. But today, its very different. Today, private sector salaries are 10 times government salaries, especially at the top. So in India, people in the government are sort of overstaffed, overpaid and under worked at the bottom and understaffed, overworked and underpaid at the top. This has to change if you want the government to do well.

[ Source: Private sector salaries for Govt employees? ]

So… the time is in our hands…. or rather…. your brain… This kind of explains why the world stops moving when I am tense!!!

Excessive gaming, emailing and text messaging should be added to psychiatrys official guidebook of mental disorders, according to an article in this months American Journal of Psychiatry.

Dr Jerald J Block, the articles author, outlined four distinct symptoms displayed by sufferers. Withdrawal and an associated sense of anger or depression when users cannot reach a computer, the constant need for better equipment and the feeling of social isolation and fatigue are all signs of technology-related mental disorders.

“Attempts to measure the phenomenon are clouded by shame, denial and minimisation,” said Dr Block. The conditions are difficult to treat because internet addiction is ” resistant to treatment, entails significant risks and has high relapse rates”.

Dr Block said that the problem is most acute in South Korea where internet addiction is one of the countrys “most serious public health issues”.

“Using data from 2006, the South Korean government estimates that approximately 210,000 South Korean children are afflicted and require treatment, ” said Dr Block. South Korea set up a network of 140 tough love rehabilitation centres in November 2006 in a bid to curb the growth of internet addiction among the countrys teenaged population.

[ Source: Usability News - Internet addiction classed as Mental Disorder ]

This guy from California is an MND patient and I found these words of his from a discussion forum. Really Inspiring…

Several years ago I realized I was creating my own reality…literally. I understood that my thoughts were causing things to happen; manifesting situations, people, and objects. As I examined my past, I saw that I had been doing this all my life. I began to deliberately use this tool, and it is has enhanced my life immeasurably.

At first I thought I had some special ability, but now I know that everyone can do this. In fact, we are all doing it all the time, we just don’t realize it. The human mind is unique in the known Universe. Our attention focused on our perceived surroundings and circumstances, actually creates and changes reality. Quantum Physics proves this scientifically. It is a law of the Universe just like gravity. What you think about will manifest in your life, consciously or unconsciously, positive or negative. If this process is happening anyway, you might as well take control and guide it in a direction that will bring you happiness.

Applying this principle is crucial when confronting a difficult life circumstance such as ALS. If you habitually focus on the “bad things” that are happening to you and repeatedly cultivate negative emotions, the Universe will dutifully provide you with more situations that generate these thoughts and feelings. On the other hand, if you work to cultivate positive thoughts and emotions, even gratitude, the Universe will comply by providing an abundance of positive experiences. It will manifest more things for which to be grateful. I use my mind (the only thing I have left, but also the most powerful tool I ever had at my disposal), to deliberately create peace, understanding, compassion, and well-being in my life.

Looks like difficult times are ahead. Another bubble burst????

Here’s one part of it:

IT companies will be the worst hit. “India as a product base will be in for a hard time,” says Manish Sabharwal, chairman, TeamLease Services. “In IT companies, we are bound to see a reduction in headcount and blunted wage acceleration over next two years.” Early signs of an impact in IT are visible. Says Vishal Chibber, head of HR at Kelly Services India, a staffing company and HR solutions provider, “The benchstrength in IT companies has reduced and in some cases, completely evaporated.”

And check out this…

Similarly, people graduating from engineering colleges already have deferred offers and your negotiating powers with employers are down if you have just 2-3 years of experience.

And this…

Adds Chibber, “India’s cost advantage as an outsourcing destination has eroded as salaries have risen. Countries like the Philippines, Indonesia and Ireland are more attractive in terms of cost.” But there’s a bright side too. Says E. Balaji, COO, Ma Foi Management Consultants, “While it is difficult to say in which direction the wind will blow, companies with captive centers in India are likely to raise their India headcounts.”

Boy!!! Leaves you with a positive outlook… Doesn’t it?

[ Source - TOI ]

I am impressed!!! No. Seriously. Am Impressed! It takes balls to set to work on something like this. And kudos to these guys. However….

(there always is a ‘however’… isn’t it?)

I did find a few things really amusing about this whole affair… If the guys behind this are ready to filter out the sarcasm and treat this post as a constructive criticism, it would be great!

(you knew it was coming…)

First the disclaimers:

• I have not played the game. My comments are just based on what I found in their website.
• These comments are in no way meant to ridicule the real good effort that has gone into making this game.
• We are talking about a game here.
• I hope the folks who are working on this treat this post as a feedback for improvement.

Now, lemme list what I found GOOD about this:

• It is nice to know that now there are startups in India venturing into untapped areas of technology other than BPO and call centres.
• Not all ‘real’ Indian programmers have left for USA. Some are still here in India.
• The game environments/levels look pretty interesting and rich in graphics. In fact the graphics are really good.
• The character movements are also much better than previous Indian attempts in animation.
• The game priced at Rs. 549.00 (USD 13.64) is pretty affordable. Buy your copy here.

And so, here’s the BAD part of it:

• The whole plot is so badly stupid. It’s not a game for any serious gamer. It may interest teenagers and school goers.
• AGNI - QUEEN OF DARKNESS? That’s the best you could think of??? And they had to steal half of it from ‘Lara Croft: Angel of Darkness’ ?
• The logo (AGNI written in flames with 3 paws marks tearing through) looks like an old Hindi 4th grade horror flick poster (remember Khooni Shikunja)? - While on the subject …. read this.
• Why does the protagonist (Lead character) look like a hooker? FOlks, if you were trying to pull off a Lara Croft here….. Sorry, it doesn’t quite get there. Lara Craft is a sexy sophisticated buxom babe. But, She doesn’t look like a slut! And Tara looks right out of a 70’s cinema cabaret scene.

Over to the UGLY. Lets look at the Plot/Characters now:

• Tara: A tragic figure, Tara has lost her daughter “Mili” to the denizens of the underworld. Even though she arrives in The Agnilok unarmed and scared, she is more formiddable than first impressions might impart…She has a unique ability in this place to carry other soulds inside her. They call her the Vessel for this reason.
  Wait a minute… The protagonist is a MOM? And she is called TARA? That’s good. Nothing’s wrong about it!!! And she arrives where? Oh Yeah! Agnilok… Really interesting name…!!! And what is Tara’s other name? VESSEL? Vessel? I can’t believe it. Vessel??? Who in the world thought of that name??? Wow!!! Really creative!!!!
• Agni: Agni is the first of the entities that Tara encounters. Agni is the embodiment of Rage and Revenge. She is a very powerful warrior that will come in handy in many overwhelming situations. She is a master of close combat, and has several devastating offensive and defensive moves.
  So…… AGNI is the name of the game. But, Tara is the protagonist. So, Agni is what? She is Tara’s enemy? Then why is the game named after the enemy of the protagonist?
• Ghayab: As his name would imply, Ghayab can easily move through the underworld undetected. He is a self proclaimed “sneak” and assassin. He is weak in a fight, but can be extremely deadly against an unaware foe. He’s also instrumental in moving through the levels that have large impassable areas (using his grapple), or passing through areas undetected by using invisibility. He can also unlock certain doors, and turn off security devices.
  Give me a break!!! GHAYAB? That cartoon looks like the thing in Aliens and has been named Ghayab? Anybody remember Ghayab from DD’s cartoon show? Why would you have such silly names for characters that are supposed to be so serious?
• Adhira: Adhira is the final entity that you encounter in the game that can aid in your search for Beatrice. He is the son of Lucifer and was betrayed by Aitaan, imprisoned in a foul place, and left to rot (literally). He is eager to exact revenge on his captor, but there is more to his story than at first it might seem. Adhira is a long range expert, and is very strong against ranged attacks. He weak in close combat. He does have some interesting abilities that make him a formidable foe, despite is frail exterior.
  I have no words for this. Son of Lucifer? Betrayed by Aitaan? Long range expert? Who cooks up this stuff???
• Plus….. I think there in serious need of a creative writer. Their website has got grammar mistakes in it. I guess that kind of explains the lousy theme and douchbag characters.
• The PROMO video is worse than a 4th grade cheap porno promo. They have chosen the wrong song (a really slow and melodious masterpiece) and then gone ahead and FUCKED IT UP BADLY. And then added that semi nude slutty character dancing lustily with gyrating groin movements with the game in the background. How can somebody screw things up so badly????

In short…. I think it’s pretty good for a start. They still have way to go before calling it a finished product. And they need to hire some new talents!!!! And importantly - Fire the creative director and if possible tie the PR person who was responsible for the video and throw him off a cliff!!!!

I know I needn’t be so mean and arrogant. But, this is a dog-eat-dog world. If you miss the first opportunity you may end up eating dirt. And these guys have done a good job in general. I just hate to see it wasted because some guys didn’t know the first thing about what they were trying to do.

And by the way, I need to see that gun when ever I feel like it!!!

Thats what the recent India-US deal on the USS Trenton says. I have only one thing to say here - WTF? Why does India go for all these deals where we have end up looking like beggars. Yeah. Right! US is much ahead of us when it comes to military technology. But, thats no reason to fall into traps such as these deals. Maybe I am missing the bigger picture here…. Anyway, read this news here.

New Delhi: It seems India has signed away the right to use its scond-biggest warship in the event of war.The Comptroller and Auditor General has slammed the UPA Government for accepting what it terms as “restrictive clauses” in the purchase of the American warship, USS Trenton — now renamed INS Jalashwa.

These clauses forbid the use of the warship for offensive purposes and even allow intrusive on-board inspections by the US.

The Left feels vindicated by the report, and says, “I told you so”. RSP MP, Abani Roy says, “I dont know why the Government purchased this warship. I dont understand who they are trying to satisfy or who is asking them to purchase such things.“

[ Source: US clauses restrict India from using warship ]

Bill Clinton, Bill Gates, and Al Gore were in an airplane that crashed. They’re up in heaven, and God’s sitting on the great white throne. God addresses Al first.“Al, what do you believe in?”

Al replies, “Well, I believe that the combustion engine is evil and that we need to save the world from CFCs and that if any more freon is used, the whole earth will become a greenhouse and we’ll all die.”

God thinks for a second and says, “Okay, I can live with that. Come and sit at my left,”

God then addresses Bill Clinton. “Bill, what do you believe in?”

Bill Clinton replies, “Well, I believe in power to the people. I think people should be able to make their own choices about things and that no one should ever be able to tell someone else what to do. I also believe in feeling people’s pain.”

God thinks for a second and says, “Okay, that sounds good. Come and sit at my right.”

God then addresses Bill Gates. “Bill Gates, what do you believe?”

Bill Gates said, “I believe you’re in my chair.”

Barrons says the company is doing fine and the the stock selloff is overdone. As of FY087 EXTR had $225M in cash vs a current mkt cap of $350M. EXTR also owns is HQ in highly desireable Santa Clara, CA. Barronss states after backing out the tangibles, the core business is only vlaued at $100M. $5/share upside target.

[ Source ]

A really sad story about one of our national heroes. Read it completely. You would understand what’s in store for you if you are planning to serve the country with all those patriotic dreams in your mind… So sad… Countries like the US fight to bring back their dead soldiers so that they can be buried in their home country. And our government neglects the living relatives of people who have sacrificed their living life for the sake of the our country.

:: Bowing my head in shame::

I am highlighting some really interesting statements in the news.

Kashmir Singh, who was freed from Pakistani jail after 35 years, on Friday admitted that he was an Indian spy and did his best to serve the country, but deplored that successive governments at the Centre did nothing for his family.

”After my arrest in 1974, the successive governments did nothing for my family. I did the duty assigned to me as a spy…but the government after my arrest did not bother to spend a single penny for my family,” a calm and composed looking Singh, who was accompanied by his wife Paramjeet Kaur, told reporters in Chandigarh.

Sixtyseven-year-old Singh thanked God for being kind to him and said the various governments at the Centre did nothing for any of the prisoners languishing in various jails in Pakistan. ”The Central government did not bother to take care of my family following my arrest. The government does only the paper work,” he said. Asked whether he was sent to Pakistan by the Military Intelligence and the route he took to go there, Singh said ”even Pakistan authorities failed to get this information from me”.

”I was paid Rs 400 as salary…as per duty, I went to serve the country,” he said. Asked what he would like to say for some other people who are working in similar kind of professions, Singh said ”I was a spy and did my duty…about others I will not comment…I am not President of the country to give reply to such queries”.

Singh, who was lodged in seven different jails in Pakistan, said: ”I will not tell the story of my ordeal in Pakistani prisons as it will damage the cases of about 100 other such prisoners languishing in jails there”. ”Only I can say that I am a firm believer of God and even offered namaz and kept roza (fast) in the Pakistani jails,” he said.

When asked how she managed to sustain her family, Kaur said ”I worked as maid’‘. ”After my husband’s arrest, the Central government gave no compensation to the family and left me in lurch,” she said.

He said in Pakistani prisons he was known by the name of ‘Ibrahim’. ”I was kept in solitary confinement and remained chained for 17 long years,” he said. Earlier, Singh along with his wife met Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal.

[ Source : NDTV.com ]

It’s news….. In case you missed itin the news dailies… here it is….!!! Note that this is only for a period of one year. The news item seemed pretty confusing to me. They seem to alternate between ‘I should pay rs. 20/-’ and ‘i need not pay any money’ with each paragraph. I wonder who thought this person journalism!!!!

• Para 1 says -  Customers will have to pay a maximum of Rs 20 for withdrawing cash from an ATM
• Para 2 says - Aiming to make all ATM usage free from April 2009
• Para 3 says - RBI also said that banks cannot charge their own customers for ATM usagePara 5 says - a bank will not be able to charge more than Rs 20 for transactions carried

Anyway…. From what I understood….. We will have to pay Rs. 20/- for all atm transactions done in 2008. From March 2009, its all going to be free!!! Is this right??? I am not sure..!!!

NEW DELHI: Customers will have to pay a maximum of Rs 20 for withdrawing cash from an ATM of another bank from March 31, 2008. However, balance inquiries will attract no charge with immediate effect.

The charge for cash withdrawal is only till March 31 next year, after which it will become zero. Aiming to make all ATM usage free from April 2009, the Reserve Bank of India on Monday said banks cannot charge for balance inquiries and capped the fee for cash withdrawals at Rs 20 per transaction, irrespective of the amount and the bank where the customer holds the account.

In a circular issued to all commercial banks, RBI also said that banks cannot charge their own customers for ATM usage, with immediate effect.

This is the first instance of RBI fixing tariff for the use of ATMs. So far, banks fixed such charges on their own. As charges vary from bank to bank, a customer can’t be sure of the amount he will have to pay for using an ATM of a bank other than the one in which he holds an account.

In the wake of the circular, a bank will not be able to charge more than Rs 20 for transactions carried out using the ATM card of another bank.

[ Read original news ]

This is a very interesting post on the sad state of affairs in this world. While on one hand peoplpe are working to make this world a better place, there are these poor souls who cannot defend themselves and no country is ready to step up to their aid. Why? Probably, because these women across the world do not own OIL????

In spite of real progress around the globe, the bedrock problems that have dogged women for centuries remain.

Olivia Ward [ Foreign Affairs Reporter ]

The image of the 21st century woman is confident, prosperous, glowing with health and beauty.

But for many of the 3.3 billion female occupants of our planet, the perks of the cyber age never arrived. As International Women’s Day is celebrated today, they continue to feel the age-old lash of violence, repression, isolation, enforced ignorance and discrimination.

“These things are universal,” says Taina Bien-Aime, executive director of New York-based Equality Now. “There is not one single country where women can feel absolutely safe.”

In spite of real progress in women’s rights around the globe – better laws, political participation, education and income – the bedrock problems that have dogged women for centuries remain. Even in wealthy countries, there are pockets of private pain where women are unprotected and under attack.

Some countries, often the poorest and most conflict-ridden, have a level of violence that makes life unbearable for women. Richer ones may burden them with repressive laws, or sweep the problems of the least advantaged under the carpet. In any country, refugee women are among the most vulnerable.

So widespread are the disadvantages that it’s hard to pinpoint the worst places in the world for women. Some surveys rate their problems by quality of life, others by health indicators. Human rights groups point to countries where violations are so severe that even murder is routine.

Literacy is one of the best indicators of women’s status in their countries. But Amnesty International Canada’s women’s rights campaigner Cheryl Hotchkiss says building schools alone doesn’t solve the problem of equal education.

“There’s a huge range of barriers women face to getting an education,” she says. “It may be free and available, but parents won’t send their daughters out to school if they can be kidnapped and raped.”

Health is another key indicator, including the care of pregnant women, who are sometimes forced into disastrous early marriage and childbearing, as well as infection with HIV/AIDS. But again, statistics fail to show the whole, complex story.

“On a rural lake in Zambia, I met a woman who had not told her husband she was HIV-positive,” says David Morley, CEO of Save the Children Canada. “She was already living on the edge because she had no children. If she told him, she would be kicked off the island and sent alone to the mainland. She felt she had no choice, because she had no power at all.”

Putting power in women’s hands is the biggest challenge for improving their lives in every country, advocates agree. Whether in the poorest countries of Africa, or the most repressive of the Middle East or Asia, lack of control over their own destinies blights women’s lives from early childhood.

Here are 10 of the worst countries in the world to be a woman today:

• Afghanistan: The average Afghan girl will live to only 45 – one year less than an Afghan male. After three decades of war and religion-based repression, an overwhelming number of women are illiterate. More than half of all brides are under 16, and one woman dies in childbirth every half hour. Domestic violence is so common that 87 per cent of women admit to experiencing it. But more than one million widows are on the streets, often forced into prostitution. Afghanistan is the only country in which the female suicide rate is higher than that of males.

• Democratic Republic of Congo: In the eastern DRC, a war that claimed more than 3 million lives has ignited again, with women on the front line. Rapes are so brutal and systematic that UN investigators have called them unprecedented. Many victims die; others are infected with HIV and left to look after children alone. Foraging for food and water exposes women to yet more violence. Without money, transport or connections, they have no way of escape.

• Iraq: The U.S.-led invasion to “liberate” Iraq from Saddam Hussein has imprisoned women in an inferno of sectarian violence that targets women and girls. The literacy rate, once the highest in the Arab world, is now among the lowest as families fear risking kidnapping and rape by sending girls to school. Women who once went out to work stay home. Meanwhile, more than 1 million women have been displaced from their homes, and millions more are unable to earn enough to eat.

• Nepal: Early marriage and childbirth exhaust the country’s malnourished women, and one in 24 will die in pregnancy or childbirth. Daughters who aren’t married off may be sold to traffickers before they reach their teens. Widows face extreme abuse and discrimination if they’re labelled bokshi, meaning witches. A low-level civil war between government and Maoist rebels has forced rural women into guerrilla groups.

• Sudan: While Sudanese women have made strides under reformed laws, the plight of those in Darfur, in western Sudan, has worsened. Abduction, rape or forced displacement have destroyed more than 1 million women’s lives since 2003. The janjaweed militias have used systematic rape as a demographic weapon, but access to justice is almost impossible for the female victims of violence.

• Other countries in which women’s lives are significantly worse than men’s include Guatemala, where an impoverished female underclass faces domestic violence, rape and the second-highest rate of HIV/AIDS after sub-Saharan Africa. An epidemic of gruesome unsolved murders has left hundreds of women dead, some of their bodies left with hate messages.

In Mali, one of the world’s poorest countries, few women escape the torture of genital mutilation, many are forced into early marriages, and one in 10 dies in pregnancy or childbirth.

In the tribal border areas of Pakistan, women are gang-raped as punishment for men’s crimes. But honour killing is more widespread, and a renewed wave of religious extremism is targeting female politicians, human rights workers and lawyers.

In oil-rich Saudi Arabia, women are treated as lifelong dependents, under the guardianship of a male relative. Deprived of the right to drive a car or mix with men publicly, they are confined to strictly segregated lives on pain of severe punishment.

In the Somali capital, Mogadishu, a vicious civil war has put women, who were the traditional mainstay of the family, under attack. In a society that has broken down, women are exposed daily to rape, dangerously poor health care for pregnancy, and attack by armed gangs.

“While the potential of women is recognized at the international level,” says World Health Organization director-general Margaret Chan, “this potential will not be realized until conditions improve – often dramatically – in countries and communities. Too many complex factors, often rooted in social and cultural norms, continue to hinder the ability of women and girls to achieve their potential and benefit from social advances.”

[ Read the original article at TheStar.com ]

Some snaps from the presentation I did for The Chennai Cold Fusion User Group. The event was very nice. Akbar and team managed the