A time to wake up!

US officials have increased the estimate of crude leakage from 5,000 barrels a day to up to 20,000 barrels, making the oil well rupture, in the Gulf of Mexico the most disastrous US marine oil disaster, worse than the 1989 Exxon Valdez off Alaska.

The Exxon Valdez, was a marine disaster, caused by a negligent Captain and his crew, the echoes of which are heard to this day.

Even as President Obama, makes encouraging sounds, the crisis deepens as it enters its fortieth day, with British Petroleum trying to put up a brave face, despite the fact that they are reaching the end of their tether as far as capping measures for the oil spewing well are concerned.

Oil has washed up and inundated 160 km of the Gulf coast and flooded twelve hectares of fragile marshland.Hundreds of pelicans and other sea birds are coated in oil amidst the crucial nesting season. Fragile marsh areas, nursery to much of the Gulf's marine and waterfowl life, are also dying.

Closer home, large balls of tar, each weighing about five kilograms, have washed up on the beaches off Managlore.These effect not only the fragile Eco system but also the tourism industry in the area, which was beginning to look up.Apparently the tar is caused by ships, washing their cargo holds off the Managlore coast.Unless the central government comes up with an action plan, in tandem with the Navy & Coast guard, as well as shipping companies we are writing a recipe for disaster!

It is worth recalling that the Australian government, will not let ships, discharge, sea water, in their, coastal waters, if the sea water was picked up as ballast in another ocean! This to preclude bacteria, that could effect, their marine life.

India needs to wake up to the big picture before it is too late...........there is little use of having satellites in the sky, if we can't make use of them in safeguarding our natural heritage.

Terror & Traffic....

This morning, I spent a couple of interesting hours at the Indian Institute of Science at Bengaluru. As we crossed the, gate and stopped at a security check post to sign in, I was puzzled to see, sparse security.
About five years ago,the institute, India's premier scientific research place was subject of a LeT sponsored, terrorist attack.The lone terrorist, firing indiscriminately killed one scientist and injured a handful. The attack was inept & poorly executed, though brilliantly conceptualized.
Just imagine a nation crippled with its top scientists in rocketry,physics, space and chemistry gone in a single attack!
I asked, the professor that I met, as to why, security was so poor & and he said, that the scientists were against having tight security on a educational campus. A true academician and contrast this with the way a terrorist thinks, in killing indiscriminately, with the larger goal of destroying our intellectual capital!
While the plan to attack the IISC was brilliant why was the execution, on the appointed day, so poor? It is well known fact that, in this part of the world, we plan brilliantly but execute poorly. Apparently, there was a second terrorist involved, but did not turn up with weapons at the appointed hour!!!!!!!!!!
How did this come about? Did the terrorist turn yellow & decide not to go through with the strike? In fact what saved, IISC that fateful day was, the Bengaluru traffic! The second terrorist was caught in a traffic snarl putting the entire operation into jeopardy...........
These days when I'm in bumper to bumper traffic, crawling, I don't curse, but just sigh, turn the AC up and listen to Selena Gomez crooning on the radio, with benign patience. After all the traffic jams did us some good!

To live and work at the Institute is a special privilege. In reflection, an exchange between Morris Travers, the first Director, and Lord Willingdon, the then Viceroy, is worth recounting. Willingdon went around the Institute in June 1914 and said: "I had no idea that there was anything like this in India". Travers responded: "There is nothing like it in India; and nothing better in Great Britain".

However as a lay Bangalorean, I would sleep better, if our places of higher education were protected better from gun toting thugs!!!!!!!!!!!

The Educated Derelict

Calvin Coolidge, the great American President, once said that, a tragedy of life, amongst others, was to be an 'educated derelict'. The phrase, interested me but I could not nail it down. Derelicts, were quite common at sea. In the old days, ships, which were struck by pirates, or where the crew had run out of water and food, or died of sickness, were abandoned on the high seas, floating around unmanned and dangerous.A threat to other shipping in general. These days, as a shipowner you are liable to be prosecuted, if you leave a derelict, on the seas.

Yesterday I was sitting through a selection interview and the process rambled along, as the candidate looked smart, was articulate and reasonably intelligent ( with a degree in management ), till I asked this girl what her opinion about Bengaluru was. My interested, perked as she said that she did not like the city, too much! On further probing she said, she found, 'local people' unfriendly.........I probed further and to my amazement she said, that she found auto drivers, unfriendly, because, they did not speak her language and that she equated, auto drivers, with the general local population of Bengaluru!

I was taken a back, to say the least. I suggested, that there were two possible solutions:

#1. Use the local buses.( like many in Bengaluru )
#2. Considering that she had stayed in Bengaluru, for about four years, she could learn to speak, Kannada and circumvent, the problem.

The lady, shrugged, her rather shapely shoulders and said, she could not be bothered!
Contrast, this with Jason, an American, working here. I bumped into him at a seminar & introduced myself with a handshake. Jason, in response executed a perfect 'Namaste' and said 'Namaskara. He seemed to be at home and was keen to learn the local culture.he was curious & excited.

Bengaluru, is a wonderful city and is not that way, because, of its weather or pubs.While I have nothing, against, many of my friends clamoring for pubs to remain open all night or stand in judgement against them staggering home, drunk, in the wee hours of the morning, I cannot accept, the city's culture being dependant on pubs.The city derives it culture, from its people, including the auto drivers, that I talked about earlier.

When a person, of the type being interviewed, gets into an auto, she must realize that there is a veritable clash of civilizations, within the confines of the auto. One upper class, rich & well taken care of India against a poorer, struggling, deprived India.To live in a glass house is one thing, to live in a glass house and throw stones at others is rank stupidity.

The sense of entitlement, selfishness and opaqueness coupled with a ruthless ability to use other people is alarming to say the least.Are these traits of an aspirational society or poor upbringing? I have no ready answer. Since the girl hails from one of India's very poorly governed states, I suggested, why she could not think of going home and work towards its improvement. She said, that was not worth considering since, it was too difficult!The path less trodden, is not for my pampered young friend.

Calvin Coolidge's phrase, about 'educated derelicts' has sunk home!

A Nut's tale!

During my travels in the city of Bengaluru, I see many signboards on house gates. The commonest being, 'Do not park in front of the gate'. I also see, 'Beware of Dog'. However, the other day, I saw a sign which said, 'Beware of Coconuts'. I was amused and looked up to see a couple of towering trees, arching into the road! The amusement turned to concern, as a couple of days ago, as a nut, falling from a height of about thirty feet, almost smashed into the roof my Honda City. I was, shaken, to the core of my stubby feet, thinking, as to the cost of repairs, should the nut have found its mark. Bangalore, is one city where, folk have planted coconut trees, rather indiscriminately & found much to their chagrin, that eventually, it would be cheaper to buy a nut rather than pluck one from the tree.Though much of the population have come to realize this fact, they are chary of getting rid of the tree! Why? The only explanation, I can think of is as follows, called Escalation of Commitment.

Escalation of commitment was first described by Barry M. Staw in his 1976 paper, "Knee deep in the big muddy: A study of escalating commitment to a chosen course of action". More recently the term sunk cost fallacy has been used to describe the phenomenon where people justify increased investment in a decision, based on the cumulative prior investment, despite new evidence suggesting that the decision was probably wrong. Such investment may include money, time, or — in the case of military strategy — human lives. The phenomenon and the sentiment underlying it are reflected in such proverbial images as Throwing good money after bad and In for a dime, in for a dollar (or In for a penny, in for a pound). The term is also used to describe poor decision-making in business, government, information systems in general, software project management in particular, politics, and gambling. The term has been used to describe the United States commitment to military conflicts including Vietnam in the 1960s - 1970s and in Iraq in the 2000s, where dollars spent and lives lost justify continued involvement. Alternatively, irrational escalation (sometimes referred to as irrational escalation of commitment or commitment bias) is a term frequently used in psychology, philosophy, economics, and game theory[citation needed] to refer to a situation in which people can make irrational decisions based upon rational decisions in the past or to justify actions already taken. Examples are frequently seen when parties engage in a bidding war; the bidders can end up paying much more than the object is worth to justify the initial expenses associated with bidding (such as research), as well as part of a competitive instinct.

A friends family, went through a horrendous experience, when, a person they had hired to pluck nuts, got into their home & threatened them with the chopper, for money! The family, then spent, a good twenty grand on having the offending trees uprooted & carted off!As for the intended thief, he was picked up by the cops, a few days later, putting an end to what seemed to be the first 'Coconut Thief', that Bengaluru had seen.

When my Dad built, a house, the first, discussion centred around where the Coconut trees, should be put. On relocating, a few years later, we resisted the strong urge to have Coconut trees again....now, with, all the talk about cholesterol and such, the omnipresent Coconut has all but disappeared from our diet.The good old nut has really fallen from grace!

I'm sure this bit would get your attention: "Falling coconuts kill 150 people worldwide each year, 15 times the number of fatalities attributable to sharks," said George Burgess, Director of the University of Florida's International Shark Attack File and a noted shark researcher.

Analyzing the force at which falling coconuts might hit a person,it is true that one can be injured, and in some cases killed by falling coconuts because the trees are tall, and the falling velocity of the coconut accelerates. It would essentially be the equivalent of dropping a coconut, in many cases, off a ten-story building.



How nutty can we get?

Khan of Khans!

Leadership is a nebulous trait, difficult to learn and even more difficult to practice.In various areas, we have seen leaders who have stamped their undeniable mark, for posterity. One such leader surely was Chengiz Khan.

At his death Chengiz Khan, ruled an empire four times the size of Alexander the 'Greats' and twice the size of the Roman Empire at its peak.

A close look at the Khan would tell you why he was such a great leader.......

#1 : Domain Knowledge: A brilliant military strategist & warrior, he reorganized his army and tactics.He learnt his fighting on the battle ground!

#2: Vision: Mongols ruling the world, with Karakorum its political & cultural capital.

#3: Mission: To achieve his vision within his span of life.

#4: Goals: To conquer, every major civilizations or get them to accept his kinship.

#5: Strategy: A brilliant force, utilizing every natural strength of the Mongols, he was utterly ruthless. Invading China, he laid siege to Beijing & starved the city. On Beijing being taken his troops are said to have burnt, looted, raped & mercilessly killed the citizens, of this great city. European ambassadors, who visited the Chinese capital a month later, recorded that the roads in Beijing were slippery with human fat........and just outside the city, was a mountain of bones.Ghastly!

The Chinese were protected by the awesome Great Wall, impregnable, or so they thought. The Mongols solved the problem, by going around it! Many years later, one Adolf Hitler did that to the French & their Maginot Line. History repeats itself.

#6: People's man: He was close to his troops and believed only in merit. A carpenter's son was one of his foremost generals! Chengiz Khan , is said to have provided each of his soldiers, with a silk shirt ( silk was very, very expensive )Why? Arrows did not break through silk, so when a soldier was pierced by an arrow, the shaft could be easily extracted! Such care, for the common soldier! In dangerous campaigns he got captured enemy soldiers to lead from the front, protecting his troops.

#7: Careful:Though powerful, he was always protected by an elite, handpicked, guard of 10000 Mongol warriors, who were his personal body guard.

Did Chengiz Khan, have faults? Yes he did..........his empire unravelled & disappeared a mere 100 years post his death. He did not believe too much in succession planning!

Chengiz Khan, also comes across as a vain man, who spent a great deal of time, trying to get immortal, in vain of course!

He also comes across as a crass, bloodthirsty monarch and pales in comparison to Asoka, Alexander or the Cesar's.

An enduring mystery is why, the Khan did not invade India! Chengiz Khan, gave India one of its finest rulers, in Akbar, three centuries later....................& what of the Mongols today? They continue to be simple sheep rearing folk, with faint echoes of the great Khan, who once lead them!

Oily Death!

While we live many miles removed from the oil spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, the effects of the spill have begun to take their toll.

It is also important to understand that no Indian agency, including the Navy, Ports or Coast Guard are comprehensively equipped to deal with a major oil spill. Also, the surveillance on ships spilling oil into the sea is so poor, on our coast, that ships get way with murder.

In many parts of the world oil spills are serious crimes and can lead to the Captain & Chief Engineer of a defaulting ship being thrown into jail and slapped with massive fines.

In India, many of our ports are already inundated with oil, from errant ships. But then, who cares?

Please follow the link, to see, how damaging and cruel, the actions of man can be!

http://green.in.msn.com/gallery.aspx?cp-documentid=3914678

Leadership in Safety!

As I topped the tank of my sedan, this morning, my mind went back to the, Gulf of Mexico oil spill and the explosion on the oil rig which killed eleven crew members and sent scores into trauma.

The spill now threatens the Louisiana coast & threatens to inundate beaches with heavy crude oil, destroying marine life, flora & fauna and beach resorts in its unsympathetic wake.The Americans are beginning to realize the enormity of this dreadful disaster on their shores and are rightfully aghast.

Churchill once said ' I like Americans! They invariably arrive arrive at the right course of action after unsuccessfully trying every other option!'The Americans from miracle worker Obama, downwards, have begun to ask questions and gun for the owners & operators of the oil rig, British Petroleum ( BP ).

For their parts, the executives for BP, Transocean, and Halliburton – the companies that owned the lease for, operated, and did contract work on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, respectively – pointed fingers, at each other, a common enough occurrence once the shit hits the fan.

While I'm sure the Americans will eventually nail the right or in this case the 'wrong' guy, questions are also being asked as to BP's safety standards and a series of accidents that they have been through in the recent past. Brought into the limelight is the role played by BP's legendary CEO Lord Browne in developing a safety culture at BP, which is in a high risk area.

In his book 'Beyond Business' Browne portrays himself as

“a visionary leader who transformed a lacklustre organisation into one of the world’s biggest, most successful and admired companies”.

My take on it is that he was admired by his peers but not as much as he was by himself.The making of a first class Narcissist!

This was bound to have consequences. After the successive disasters of Texas City, Thunder Horse and Prudhoe Bay, Browne insisted that his management style was not part of a systemic failure of control right across BP and its unravelling safety culture.

An independent review committee set up to investigate the cause of the Texas City disaster (The Baker Panel) believed that there were issues with the quality of management at BP, which Lord Browne was not ready to accept.

In his book regarding the series of failures, he says, in anguish:

‘I wish someone had challenged me and been brave enough to say: “We need to ask more disagreeable questions.”’
He may have longed for the ‘disagreeable questions’ but he never stood a chance of getting them.As CEO he’d surrounded himself with sycophants and yes-men enshrouded in a cloud of corporate hubris wallowing in their own sense of infallibility.

Safety in industry is bonded strongly with top leadership & the boss's ability to ask and receive tough questions on the safety culture within his organization.Unfortunately in many organizations safety comes under the purview of the HR department, who are generally not equipped to deal with safety issues, of any magnitude.

Browne even admits that:

“You cannot do everything yourself. Leaders and organisations are strengthened, not weakened, by empowering others. You have to enable people to challenge you. That is, in my experience, very difficult to achieve especially when people are jockeying for position – even your position.”

True leaders cannot do everything, but as far as safety is concerned, one needs to be in a state of unease all the time. I was asked many a time, what was your main job as Captain of a ship- My main job was to worry for my men & the ship...period! Performance came next. When we juxtapose the two in high risk enterprises as BP seems to have done you are going to have disasters like the one in the Gulf of Mexico!

Mudson & Hudson!

There are politicians & politicians.....if Winston Churchill was one our own HD Deve Gowda is another!

Today on my drive back to the city campus of ABS from the central campus at Anekal, I noticed a huge hoarding by the wayside. Curious, I lowered my window & had a look.
It read ' Welcome to Shri H.D.Devegowda, Farmer Indian Prime Minister of India'. I was puzzled & ruminated about the 'farmer' for quite a while. Was it a slip & should have read as 'former' or was the farmer intentional, as HDG always claims to be a farmers man & likes to be called as 'Mannina Maga', loosely translated as 'Son of the soil' in Kannada.
HDG was always a maverick, said to have slept his way through parliament, after becoming default prime minister. He always associated himself with farmers & projected a pro poor image.
There is an apocryphal story, which bears no proof and runs as follows:
Gowda is no great lover of cricket and was once invited to a India/South Africa tie, wherein he was introduced to both teams. The poker faced HDG, showed little interest till he arrived at SA batsman Hudson. HDG is said to have got all excited & embraced the surprised Hudson! Why? Because it rhymed with mudson ( mannina maga ).
Though, apocryphal it is indicative of HDG and his politics.
Recently, a belegeaured Gowda, was in the news, when he is said to have called the incumbent CM of Karnataka, Yeddi, as Blxxxxy Bxxxxxx, sparking off a wave of protest & the BJP questioning HDG's mental health. The cornered former PM, eventually apologized & laid the matter to rest.
I could never relate to the man or his politics & remember him for a potholed & power deficient Bengaluru........
As to the Farmer Prime Minister, I intend to have a closer look ASAP,at the hoarding, as who knows I might have got it wrong & only time will tell if many of us got this doughty politician wrong!

Good to Great!

There is a seemingly apocryphal story, about one of Britain's greatest Prime Ministers, Winston Churchill, which goes as follows:

Young man (seeing Churchill leaving the bathroom without washing his hands):

At Eton they taught us to wash our hands after using the toilet.

Churchill: At Harrow they taught us not to piss on our hands.

This conversation, personifies the man! Opinionated, razor's wit and rigid he is my favourite politician, who recognized, Adolf Hitler & the Nazi's for what they were, even before the rest of the world had woken up to them and the threat that they posed.Churchill brilliantly navigated the Brits through WW 2, but on cessation of the great war was seemingly lost & voted out of power.

There is another story that I really like.............

Churchill, found himself at an airfield in reviewing the airmen. He was introduced, to one airman, who had, survived a stricken & on fire bomber and had saved himself and his other colleagues under very trying circumstances.Meeting the Prime Minister was a momentous occasion & the airman was very nervous. Churchill, noticed this and asked the man if he felt small in his ( Churchill's ) presence? The airman said yes, he did, looking awkward. Churchill, then said, he too felt very small in the airman's presence, because he could never have been so brave!

Power distance & placing folk on a pedestal have plagued us & continues to do so.In the classic Forrest Gump, the young Forrest is called stupid by all and sundry, till his mother steps in and says, 'stupid is as stupid does'. What a revelation & how true! You can only be stupid if you do stupid things, you cannot be intrinsically stupid.Striking insight!

I think the analogy hold good for the 'Greats' as well.......you are great as long as you do great things and vice versa!A person's greatness lies in his actions and not in the position that he/she holds.

Churchill was a vain man who understood greatness and gave it its due, with wry humor and that for me made him great and in in the same breath endowed him with a great sense of humility!

He says.....

When I was younger I made it a rule never to take strong drink before lunch. It is now my rule never to do so before breakfast.

Reply to King George VI, on a cold morning at the airport. The King had asked if Churchill would take something to warm himself.

Power Distance.......not Churchill!

Lawless Seas!

The marine fraternity watched with bated breath as a Russian warship, with naval commandos, headed out to the Gulf of Aden, to assist, a sea jacked oil tanker, 'Moscow University'. The tanker was carrying 86,000 tons of crude oil from Sudan to China, valued at over $ 50 million, when it was captured by Somalia pirates on May 5 and rescued by a Russian anti-submarine cruiser the next day in a commando operation. Apparently the tanker carrying crude oil was taken over by heavily armed Somali pirates off the coast of Somalia.In ensuing events the ship was boarded by the Russian commandos & after a firefight, in which one pirate was killed, all the ships crew were saved & moved to safety.The Russian Defense Ministry said, the Russian anti-submarine destroyer Marshal Shaposhnikov freed the Moscow University.
While the commando operation has been lauded the world over, Russian Prime minister, Putin has praised the ships crew for their fortitude, skill & valor. I think the conduct of the Captain & his crew on the oil tanker was exemplary.They seem to have followed, all security instructions, as drilled into them, created a secure perimeter & taken shelter in the ships Engine Room. Not only did they prevent the pirates at getting at them, but were also prepared for a long siege, with adequate water & food. The Captain had also radioed for help as soon as the pirate attack began & when Russian commandos reached the stricken ship, the pirates were sitting ducks. Contrast this with the Belgian ship, captured a couple of days ago. The pirates have physically taken hostage of the ships crew ( 13 Indians ) & enormously improved their bargaining power.
From an organization point of view, what is to be learnt, from this episode? The Captain of the 'Moscow University', said that he & his crew took their anti piracy drills very seriously, so when the crisis hit, they responded, correctly and effectively.Good planning & preparation does that for you!
The Russians have also captured, ten of the pirates & now seem to have a quandary on their hands, whether to hand the pirates over to the defunct Government of Somalia or try them in Russia.Because international laws are so loose & poorly defined, many fear that the Russians, could take the short route & execute the pirates, to bring closure to the event.Suspected pirates from other cases are in custody and awaiting trial in France, the Netherlands and the United States.Handling of internation disputes, continues to be an area of challenge for most nations!Many countries are keen to hand over, captured pirates for trial to Kenya, but the Kenyans, are not very interested, as of now, due to their own internal issues......

Port O Peace!

Many years ago, I did an extremely dangerous towing from Cochin to Mormugao, Goa. The exuberance of youth allowed us to disregard the risk. Another aspect of this voyage, was my discovery of Karwar.

Karwar, a tiny port, then, in North Karnataka looked beautiful from the sea & the waters off the coast turned azure and crystal clear. The coast, with its green cover, looked breathtakingly lovely.

I visited Karwar, a few times later, and watched as the small port was turned into India's largest Naval Base ( INS Kadamba ), called Sea Bird. Sea Bird houses, India's largest & most sophisticated warships. It also houses a rather rustic looking house, on a hillock, overlooking the sea. Exactly about 150 years ago, Rabindranath Tagore, visited the place and lived at here, for a while.

Tagore is said to have said:

"The sea beach of Karwar is certainly a fit place in which to realize that the beauty of Nature is not a mirage of the imagination, but reflects the joy of the Infinite and thus draws us to lose ourselves in it. Where the universe is expressing itself in the magic of its laws it may not be strange if we miss its infinitude; but where the heart gets into immediate touch with immensity in the beauty of the meanest of things, is any room left for argument"

Karwar, also had some of the friendliest folk, who would offer you a meal after an invite to their simple homes.The place also had some of the most beautiful beaches and while the waters are calm and very swimmable what haunts you are the presence of deadly sea snakes. I have a visceral fear of snakes and this effectively kept me out of the water.The blue waters around Karwar, are also, home to the jelly fish, in vast numbers. The harmless looking jelly fish, can be extremely harmful if they come into contact with your skin.The famous Sherlock Holmes adventure," The Lions Mane" is said to feature the innocent jelly fish as its villain!

The place has its place in history, with the Arabs, the Portugese & English all passing through the port, which the Arabs called Baithkol, or peaceful port or bay.They got it Right, because that is what, Karwar is, a place of peace.

A boring world!

Being called stupid, at school, was fairly routine! You failed a test, in Math, and not only were you stupid but your very future was in jeopardy. By definition, the flip side of being stupid was being intelligent. Those were the types, that had their collective noses glued to books all the time & came up with the right answers ( as from books ) and invariably indulged each other with high fives every time, one or other of the group cracked a problem, which would be incomprehensible to the rest, of the class. Intelligence, as we know and schools seem to tout is restricted to books and further drills down to Mathematical & vocabulary skills.Of what good is being good at a sport? Does it make any sense to sing well? Is it any good being a painter?
Due to the inability of many a teacher & schools to comprehend that intelligence, is not a mathematical equation, but a fuzzy, grey area, a whole lot of students have gone through life believing that they were stupid.Many have spent, time in a cobwebby corner, having been termed a dunce, contemplating a bleak future!
A story- A bright young kid, is all set to join an upmarket & prestigious school, after passing the mandatory, math & English test. He says in his biography " On receiving the math paper, I stared at it, for a while. Then I entered my name on the foolscap, posted the #1 and copied the first question. Not knowing what to do next, I circled the # 1, very neatly and handed in the paper after waiting for an hour"
Sir Winston Churchill went on to become one of the most admired leaders, that the last century has thrown up.Was Churchill stupid?

And then came the theory of MI. The theory of multiple intelligences was developed in 1983 by Dr. Howard Gardner, professor of education at Harvard University. It suggests that the traditional notion of intelligence, based on I.Q. testing, is far too limited. Instead, Dr. Gardner proposes eight different intelligences to account for a broader range of human potential in children and adults. These intelligences are:

Linguistic intelligence ("word smart"):
Logical-mathematical intelligence ("number/reasoning smart")
Spatial intelligence ("picture smart")
Bodily-Kinesthetic intelligence ("body smart")
Musical intelligence ("music smart")
Interpersonal intelligence ("people smart")
Intrapersonal intelligence ("self smart")
Naturalist intelligence ("nature smart")

Gardner also showed that different people march to different tunes & learn differently. So if a person does not learn something, maybe you should check the way he is being taught and wait a while before he/she is termed stupid and relegated to the dunce's corner!

Also, I belive that the world would be very boring place, if we only had guys, who were strong in mathematical & language skills!Just imagine, a world devoid of the 'Pirouette' of a ballerina!

Change.....

Today on my morning walk, I was surprised to see a few mongrels watch silently as I strolled by. Why surprised ? The very dogs had incessantly barked at me, over the last month or so, every time I went past, causing me to carry a baton. I rationalized the dogs were now used to seeing me going by & had decided that I could do no harm.

How many of us are like that? We see a threat, and if the threat does not cause immediate trouble or is seen to be a cause of imminent danger, it is relegated to the back burner & all but forgotten. Till, it reaches Frankenstein's proportions and cannot be handled at our level.The Nazi's taking over Germany is an excellent example!

While thinking, about this my mind drifted back to a rather interesting book called the " House On Garibaldi Street"................about the capture of the dreaded Nazi Colonel Adolf Eichmann, from Argentina in 1960. Israeli intelligence, knew that Eichmann lived in Argentina, and desperately wanted him ( who would not want to bring a man who gassed, millions of Jews to death ). The problem was getting him out of Argentina.Israel would be violating Argentinian sovereignty by kidnapping Eichmann and taking him out of the country. Moreover, Argentina and South America had been a haven for Nazis and their sympathizers since the end of World War II, and it could be counted on that many of them would make things difficult for the Israelis if they knew what was afoot.
Israeli agents, painstakingly infiltrated, the cargo section in Buenos Aires airport, worked as porters & when they were sure they would not be checked by Argentinian airport security,who were lulled into seeing them on a daily basis, captured Eichmann & flew him to Israel.On May 23 1960, Israeli prime minister David Ben-Gurion announced to the Knesset that "Adolf Eichmann, one of the greatest Nazi war criminals, is in Israeli custody"

While gradual change, in many instances, is nature's way, a gradual deterioration in the the quality of services or products on offer, many a time are ignored, before it is too late to correct, because the deterioration is so slow, that it escapes the attention of many.Mighty organizations have been felled this way.
It is imperative that, the fall in standards anywhere, however small, should not be ignored but corrected, failing which many of us would be shooting ourselves in the foot!

What about Eichmann? He wasn hanged to death in Isreal, after a two year trial, much like what we are witnessing with Ajmal Kasab today.In court Eichmann looked so cooperative, simple & friendly that many could scarcely belive that he had been an agent of death!