I really don't need anymore friends

I'm out of my head
And it's not the way that I wanted to feel
This loneliness and dread
gets your attention, makes us real
I'm going nowhere and it's slowly sinking in

I don't stand a chance
Until you get me out of here
I just don't have the will to pretend
I'm running for the door
Can you get me out of here?
I really don't need anymore friends

Well turning it on
It's getting harder and harder to do
Well don't get me wrong
That's dedication, good for you
It's just your atmosphere that brings me to my knees

Don't take it bad
Don't look so sad
If I turn around and walk away
Don't take it hard
I'll try to play that part
But I'm having such a bad day

And I'm not that much fun anyway

Three down, more to go

Three gone (Gadhafi, Mubarak, Ben Ali), two holding on in the face of daily protests (al-Assad, Saleh), two more (Kings Abdullah of Jordan and Mohammed of Morocco) trying to stay ahead of the curve of protest: After 10 months of the Arab Spring, the region is still in the throes of a heady and unpredictable transformation.

In the hindsight...

Now that a week has passed and the euphoria diminished it's time to ask how much did Anna Hazare's fast achieve? Could it be that the cold stark facts of reality are somewhat different to the hyperbolic cries of victory last Sunday morning? First, however, I unreservedly accept that Anna galvanized the national conscience with an unprecedented campaign to fight corruption. Rarely has India been so aroused. And he did it in a way that forced both the government and Parliament to acknowledge the depth of public anger, bow to it and speedily enact legislation. This is a heroic achievement.

But did Anna get what he sought? Or did he scale down his demands and, even then, have to settle for less? And, when Parliament legislates, could he find his glass yet more empty?

Anna's fast began with a demand that the Jan Lokpal Bill be passed by August 30. Later, Arvind Kejriwal stretched the deadline to the end of the monsoon session. When that seemed unlikely, Anna's position metamorphosed into a demand to formally introduce his bill in Parliament.  Finally, even that morphed into a demand for a resolution - not legislation  committing Parliament to his three "sticking points".

In response, Parliament agreed on a Sense of the House accepting "in principle" his three points. But it wasn't a resolution. Ask Pranab Mukherjee and he won't deny it. Nor was it a commitment. Ask Abhishek Singhvi and he'll confirm that.

Now, turn to what MPs said and you'll discover this "in principle" agreement isn't acceptance of Anna's position on the three points. MPs view them very differently.

The most MPs will do on the lokayuktas is to pass legislation with a model enabling bill for the states to adopt. But any one or all can reject it. It's not binding because Parliament can't legislate for the states without breaching the federal structure of our Constitution.

When it comes to the Citizen's Charter, Parliament can create one for all central government departments. But MPs may choose to create this grievance redressal mechanism outside the lokpal. The Sense of the House doesn't say it will be under it. And when it comes to the states, all Parliament can offer is a model law which they can ignore.

On bringing the lower bureaucracy under the lokpal, Parliament agreed to do so "through (an) appropriate mechanism". But what does that mean? Judging by the debate, it's either agreement to follow Aruna Roy's proposal that accountability will be enforced by the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC), which would only be administratively subordinate to the lokpal, or, as the BJP suggested, give the lokpal limited appellate authority. The latter is closer to Anna's position but still short of his full demand.

Finally, what about the rest of the Jan Lokpal Bill? Here, too, many of Anna's demands are unlikely to be accepted. The clauses that are clearly ruled out include bringing the higher judiciary and MPs under the lokpal and giving the institution disciplinary control over government employees. But even the treatment of the PM is likely to be closer to Roy's or the BJP's thinking than Anna's while the appointment mechanism will not fully adhere to his wishes. And no MP will give the lokpal power to tap phones.

So, has Anna got what he wants?

Yes and no. In terms of details, 'no'. But in terms of awakening India to the need to act, clearly 'yes'. Would anyone deny the latter is more important?

Do we get it?

"Blah blah blah got your lovey-dovey sad-and-lonely
Stick your STUPID SLOGAN in:
Everybody sing along,

Are you ready
For the new shit?
Stand up and admit,
tomorrow's never coming.
This is the new shit.
Stand up and admit.

Do we get it? No.
Do we want it? Yeah.
This is the new shit,
Stand up and admit."

The biggest scam Part I

Recently my little cousin asked me to explain why was USA against Saddam. This, i explained would be unfeasible to explain in one go. So I plan to begin gathering my answers and hence i write what i have read/assimilated/heard...

Back in 1971, the US of A printed far more paper money than it could back with Gold.
A few years later, the French demanded redemption of its paper-dollar holdings in gold. Soon to be rejected the America, as it actually didn’t have enough gold for the dollar it had already printed out and spent all over the workld, ths committing an act of bankruptcy.
So, the US goes to the Saudis and cut a deal, OPEn dominate all sales ofcrude oil in US$ ( the cartel took actions to offset the devaluation of the U.S. dollar, not by switching to another currency but by setting the price of crude.)
From that point every nation that needed to buy oil had to first hold US$, which meant they first exchanged their goods and services for US$, which America had just printed.
Now, the US bought the oil literally for free by printing those dollars, the ultimate free lunch for the americans at the expense of the world
However, the scam began to unravel when Saddam Hussain began to sell Iraq’s oil in Europe directly for Euro, hence abrogating the cozy arrangements the Americans had with the OPEC, hence he had to be stoped.
US concocted up a pretext to wage war, invade Iraq an the first thing they did was to revert the oil sales back to Dollar. Averting the currency crisis for the moment.
Now, Hugo Chevez, the Presidnt of Venezuela, also started selling Venezuelan oil for currencies other than dollar, so there were a number of attemts on his life and regime change, traceable right back to the CIA.
The Iran president, Ahmedinejad, decided to kick the great satan and sell oild for every currency EXCEPT dollars.
The cat was out of the bag.

**Like all commodities whose derivatives are traded through NYMEX and CBOT, contracts are written and settled in dollar terms.
**At one point, the U.S. was the world's leading producer and leading consumer of crude oil, so it would make sense that where oil is pumped, refined, distilled, traded and sold, it would adapt the local currency.
** more to some

Some questions...unanswered

Why doesn't Tarzan have a beard?
Why do we press harder on a remote control when we know the batteries are flat?
Why do banks charge a fee on "insufficient funds" when they know there is not enough?
Why do Kamikaze pilots wear helmets?

Why does someone believe you when you say there are four billion stars, but check when you say the paint is wet?

Whose idea was it to put an "S" in the word "lisp"?
What is the speed of darkness?

Why is it that people say they "slept like a baby" when babies wake up every two hours?

Are there especially reserved parking spaces for "normal" people at the Special Olympics?

If the temperature is zero outside today and it's going to be twice as cold tomorrow, how cold will it be?

How is it that we put man on the moon before we figured out it would be a good idea to put wheels on luggage?

Why do people pay to go up tall buildings and then put money in binoculars to look at things on the ground?

Who was the first person to look at a cow and say, "I think I'll squeeze these pink dangly things here and drink whatever comes out?"

Who was the first person to say, "See that chicken there... I'm gonna eat the next thing that comes outta its bum."

Why do toasters always have a setting so high that could burn the toast to a horrible crisp, which no decent human being would eat?

Why is there a light in the fridge and not in the freezer?

Why do people point to their wrist when asking for the time, but don't point to their bum when they ask where the bathroom is?
If corn oil is made from corn, and vegetable oil is made from vegetables, then what is baby oil made from?

If electricity comes from electrons, does morality come from morons?

Why do the Alphabet song and Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star have the same tune?
Stop singing and read on.......

Did you ever notice that when you blow in a dog's face, he gets mad at you, but when you take him on a car ride, he sticks his head out the window?

Does pushing the elevator button more than once make it arrive faster?

...More to come