Dilution of the Nuclear Liability Bill

Won't we ever learn ? One would have thought the Bhopal tragedy would have made future Indian Governments wary about formulating laws which hold foreign firms accountable for accidents happening on Indian soil. But no. It appears that the Nuclear Liability bill has been diluted favouring American suppliers.
See here.

Clause 17b which says "Foreign suppliers can be sued for damages by the operator if the nuclear accident has resulted from the willful act or gross negligence on the part of the supplier" has been deleted on the insistence of the Americans.
What’s more, the bill pegs the maximum amount of liability in case of each nuclear accident at Rs 300 crore to be paid by the operator of the nuclear plant. In other words, if, God forbid, if an accident occurs which kills some 10,000 Indians, the maximum damage that can be extracted is Rs 300 crore.

Compare this with what's happening in the US over BP's Gulf of Mexico oil spill disaster. On the insistence of the US, BP has set up a USD 20 billion fund to compensate for the damages caused by it ! Yes - 20 billion. (It will take me a while to calculate the number of zeroes in that figure )

BP is being bled dry and the Indian Govt is being apologetic about formulating a bill which takes care of extracting adequate compensation by potential wrong doers !

Greenpeace has started an online campaign. You can express your outrage against this. Pls take 2 minutes to do so.

Count your blessings

Here is a list of things - material or otherwise which - I take for granted but which are out of reach for the majority of India's population. To be very frank, compiling this list scared me.
Needless to say, by no stretch of imagination is this list comprehensive.

Ghee with every meal
Fruits
Electricity and all its associated comforts
Plumbing and a decent toilet
The ability to purchase new clothes whenever the urge hits me
The ability to dial a pizza whenever the urge hits me. (Pizza ? The poor don't even have access to 2 chappattis a day)
Telephone
Services of a doctor
A private vehicle
Internet/Computer
Television
Domestic help

The very thought that 600 million Indians are not able to afford even one of the above mentioned things is sad. Whether we are able to do anything to alleviate their lot is a different matter. We should at least be aware that there exists a world outside our little cocoonish life - a world that's dreary, miserable and wretched.

Raavanan - not my Mani's worth

Raavanan was a let down for me. During the weeks leading up to a ManiRatnam movie release and for a few days after, I usually devour all the reviews/analyses that I come across. It serves as a nice buildup. This is what I did this time too. Most of the reviews were good which, I guess, upped my expectations.
Well, I knew that this movie was based on the Ramayanam. I supposed that the general story would be used. But this is a straight lift - down to Shurpanakha's nose humiliation ! It is as if characters and scenes have been injected into the storyline just to make it fit into the Ramayan mould. There are some loose ends which want tying up as well. How the SP identifies there is a traitor in his camp is never shown.

The dialogues fall flat. Suhasini Maniratnam is the culprit. The vacuum created by Sujatha's death is all too tangible.
When Prithviraj rescues Aishwarna and taker her back home, he asks her to take a polygraph test to prove she is 'clean'. The scene is so un-Maniratnamesque. Left me squirming in my seat.

The climax is also messed up. Dozens of STF personnel start shooting at Vikram with Rai hardly two feet from him. She is also shown mourning Vikram's death ! Doesn't quite add up.

The photography, though, is brilliant. The movie is a visual treat. Rahman's music would stand up to critique. No complaints there.
But the cons outweigh the pros. Definitely not my Mani's worth.