Today Collection

 *US scathing about for India's security forces: 

BANGALORE:The United States may have emerged as a key partner in counter-terror efforts post-26/11, but it has a very dim view of the capabilities of Indian security forces.

It also felt till just a couple of years ago that India was reluctant to have an effective anti-terror partnership because of suspicions about American policies towards Pakistan, its independent foreign policy stance and sensitivities over Muslim sentiments.

"India's police and security forces are overworked and hampered by bad police practices, including the widespread use of torture in interrogations, rampant corruption, poor training, and a general inability to conduct solid forensic investigations," the US embassy observed in a cable it sent on February 23, 2007, after a not-so-satisfactory meeting of an Indo-US counter-terrorism joint working group.

The memo further said, "India's security forces also regularly cut corners to avoid working through India's lagging justice system, which has approximately 13 judges per million people. Thus Indian police officials often do not respond to our requests for information about attacks or our offers of support because they are covering up poor practices, rather than rejecting our help outright."

The communication disclosed in the cable refers to the US unease over the arrest of a computer expert, Mukesh Saini, who was working with India's National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC), and was arrested on charges of spying for Americans. US's acting coordinator for counter-terrorism, Frank Urbancic, took up the matter with his Indian interlocutor, K C Singh, then an additional secretary in the MEA.

Urbancic called Saini a key working-level interlocutor at the NCTC, dismissed the charge of espionage and said his arrest had cast a "negative shadow" on the functioning of the counter-terror working group.

The criticism of the Indian police only echo the widely-held perception that it is ill-equipped to meet the growing terror threat and other internal security challenges. The limitations were exposed fully by the Lashkar-e-Taiba gunmen involved in during 26/11 strike, but the brutally candid opinion, coming from a foreign power, that too one seen with a chip on its shoulder, will lead to considerable heartburn.

In a communication leaked earlier by the whistle-blower website, the US had raised serious doubts India's ability to implement its "cold war" doctrine — a rapid, short and limited push within Pakistan's territory as a reprisal against terror attacks and other hostilities.

The cable sent by the serving US ambassador on February 16, 2010, Timothy Roemer, called the doctrine, a "mixture of myth and reality". "The value of the doctrine to the government of India may lie more in the plan's existence than in any real world application."

Saying that India was diffident in teaming up with the US in the war on terror, the 2007 cable said, "India's lingering zero-sum suspicion of US policies towards Pakistan, its fiercely independent foreign policy stance, its traditional go-it-alone strategy towards its security and its domestic political sensitivities over the sentiments of its large Muslim population, have all contributed to India's caution in working with us on a joint counter-terrorism strategy". 

*jewels on Christmas tree ownership of emirates Palace denies

 

The jewels on the said tree, which is part of an annual tradition followed by most hotels in the UAE and the rest of the world, are the sole ownership of Style Gallery.
Abu Dhabi: Emirates Palace Hotel has denied press reports claiming its ownership of the jewels decorating the Christmas tree which was erected in the lobby of the hotel in celebration of Christmas and the New Year.

The jewels on the said tree, which is part of an annual tradition followed by most hotels in the UAE and the rest of the world, are the sole ownership of Style Gallery who has paid all the costs of making and decorating the tree.

The jewels will be recovered by their owner at the end of celebrations, according to a statement by the hotel.

"The hotel is just a venue for exhibiting the tree", the hotel said.

The hotel regretted "attempts to overload the tradition followed by most hotels in the country with meanings and connotations that do not fall in line with the professional standards which the Emirates Palace Hotel keenly respects and complies with."

"Putting the Christmas tree is not a novelty, rather it is a tradition meant to share in celebrating occasions guests hold while they are away from their home countries and families, which is within the framework of the UAE's policy which is based on the values of openness and tolerance," the hotel added.

*Wasted over Rs 146 crore?(parliament logjam)

 The 2G spectrum scam may have caused a colossal loss to the national exchequer, but the standoff between the government and opposition over it has resulted in the further wastage of over Rs 146 crore as the entire Winter Session of the Parliament was virtually washed out.

The Winter Session began on November 9 and since a day after it, the entire Opposition has been hell-bent on demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into 2G spectrum allocation, which is believed to have resulted in losses to the tune of Rs 1.74 lakh crore.
This includes salaries and other allowances of MPs, Speaker and Deputy Speaker of both the Houses, the expenditure incurred for the member's foreign visits and meeting the expenses for foreign delegations visiting India.

In a year, Parliament meets thrice -- for the Budget, Monsoon and Winter session. As per the business schedule of both the Houses, there should be a total of 83 sittings this financial year -- 35 sittings during the Budget session and 24 each in the other two sessions.

This means, on average the government is spending Rs 6.35 crore per day to run the institution. As the Winter session was adjourned sine die on Monday, the 23rd consecutive working day also ended without transaction of any business.

This makes it clear that Rs 146.05 crore were spent without Parliament transacting any substantive business like Question Hour, debates and other legislative business.
This earned the Winter session the dubious record of being washed out virtually in its entirety. Parliament could function barely for a few hours during the 23 sittings which began on November 9, as the united opposition forced adjournments almost everyday, within minutes of assembling.

The other times when Parliament witnessed such continuous protests were in 2001 and way back in 1987. In 2001, there was a 17-day deadlock in Parliament over the Tehelka scam, while in 1987, it was the Bofors scandal that wasted 45 days of business in both Houses.
With only two working days left, the winter session of Parliament looks all set to be lost to the stand-off between government and the Opposition over the issue of a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into the 2G spectrum scam as another day was wasted on Thursday.

Parliament witnessed possibly the longest such paralysis as the 20th consecutive working day on Thursday was wasted because of pandemonium with a united Opposition persisting with the demand for JPC.

The opposition demand for a JPC probe has led to the longest shutdown of Parliament in independent India.

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