Senator Barack Obama’s Robin Hood Plan?

Most people are protective of their money. And that’s their right. Whether they work hard for it, inherit it, or win it, it’s theirs.

And when Senator Barack Obama recently stated that he has a plan that roughly states that, if you belong to a certain income bracket, some of what you earn could go to those less fortunate.

Say your annual earnings amount to two hundred thousand dollars or more, through the IRS system you would be taxed more so some of your income would go to the poor.

During a recent discussion about this matter with a few friends, it was noted that members of the country’s Middle Class have been giving to the rich for a number of years.

And granted, as humans we need to meet certain conditions if we want to live a comfortable life. We need: food, adequate shelter, clothes, transportation, entertainment.

In doing so, who owns or runs such enterprises? The rich. Right? So if Senator Barack Obama becomes President and his plan passes, will he be, in a way, turning it around on the wealthy?

Will the not so wealthy who have been giving to the wealthy for so long now have their turn in the sun?

Or will this be an extension of the Robin Hood plan?

On the Occasion of Sardar Patel’s Birth Anniversary: UNIQUE AND DEVOTED SARDAR by Dr. Ravindra Kumar

Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel was a great leader. For the freedom, progress, unity and integrity of the country, whatever work he has done, proved that he was a unique personality filled with dedication and devotion.

He accepted Gandhiji as his political preceptor and leader in 1918 on the eve of launch of the Kisan Satyagraha in Kaira district of Gujarat. After that his dedication for Gandhiji proved to be matchless in the entire Gandhian era of the Indian Freedom Movement.

Vallabhbhai’s dedication for Gandhiji could be seen to such an extent that he never forgot to wash the dish or to clean chappals of his preceptor. Furthermore, while staying with Gandhiji, whatever service he could do for him, he had done it. Moreover, in the Congress Committee, whenever there would be a voting for any resolution, he would see that in which direction Gandhiji’s hand rose up; he also raised up his hand in that very direction.

By seeing Vallabhbhai’s dedication and devotion for the Mahatma, many of his contemporaries believed that he was a blind follower of Mahatma Gandhi. But he was not a blind follower of him. He was firmly determined. He used to talk to Gandhiji in a clear-cut language. Fearlessness was in his blood and bone.

In this context the episode relating to the library of the Gujarat Vidyapeeth of Ahmedabad can be seen for an example. Gandhiji himself had founded the Gujarat Vidyapeeth and also set up a library in it in the beginning of the second decade of the Twentieth Century.

In those days Kakasaheb Kalelkar was the Principal of the Vidyapeeth. As per the advice of Kalelkar, Gandhiji handed over the charge of Vidyapeeth’s library to the Municipality of Ahmedabad. Since the Gujarat Vidyapeeth had its trust to manage its various faculties including the library, any decision regarding handing over its charge to the Municipality could be taken only by its trustees in a meeting. Vallabhbhai was one of the trusties [of the above trust]. But Gandhiji himself took up the decision, and at that time Vallabhbhai was not in Ahmedabad.

After sometime, when Vallabhbhai reached back to Ahmedabad, he came to know of Gandhiji’s decision. Immediately he saw Bapu, and asked him, “Bapu! How did you alone take the decision to handover the library to the Municipality? Had you got the right to do so?”

Gandhiji heard him speechlessly. Vallabhbhai told him, “Bapu! You have to withdraw your decision. The Vidyapeeth has its own trust, which can take any decision by majority. Yes, you can present your opinion, if any, before the trust.”

“Yes, it was my fault indeed”, Gandhiji accepted it. He told Vallabhbhai that he would correct his fault and would write to the Municipality to give back the charge of library to the Vidyapeeth. And, immediately he wrote to the Municipality about his non-democratic decision. As a result, the Vidyapeeth got its library back again. Such was the firmness and frankness of Vallabhbhai.

Vallabhbhai was a true follower of Gandhiji. He was fully devoted to the Mahatma. He considered him as his father. The path taken by Gandhiji for the welfare of his compatriots in prevailing conditions was the best one. Particularly, it was most relevant for the freedom of the country. Therefore, he accepted the Mahatma as his preceptor.

As known to us, his elder brother Vithalbhai Patel, whom Vallabhbhai considered as his father and gave all respect to him, had also emerged as one of the stalwarts on the horizon of India’s politics in the end of the second decade of the Twentieth Century, but Vallabhbhai accepted Gandhiji as his Guru and leader and not his brother. In 1920, during the time of the Non-Cooperation and Khilafat Movement, Vallabhbhai declared that he had locked himself and had given the key to Bapu.

In fact, there is a special joy in devotion and dedication. Shri Rama is in the centre of the Ramayana, and next to him people consider according to their own understanding are Sita, Laxmana, Hanumana, Bharata. It is natural because devotion of all of them to Shri Rama is better than another. That is why; they are also considered as great characters. But in the entire Gandhian era of India’s Freedom Movement, in spite of presence of personalities like Rajendra Prasad, Abul Ghaffar Khan and Sarojini Naidu, who were loyal to Gandhiji, it was only Vallabhbhai Patel who had uttered that he had locked himself and given the key to Bapu. Firmly it can be said that all of them believed in Gandhian philosophy and they were following the footprints of the Mahatma, but among them Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel was the only one who had become happy to lock him and by giving its key to Gandhiji.

He was such a unique and devoted leader.

______________________________________________________________________________

*Dr. Ravindra is a renowned Indologist; he is a former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Meerut in India

How You Can Tell If You Have Been Playing Animal Crossing DS Too Long

Animal Crossing Wild World for the Nintendo DS is a great game. Part Sims part adventure, your role here is to be the best new resident in Boomtown.

It’s played in real time, so if you go to Mr. Nook’s store at 7:58 AM and his establishment opens at 8:00 AM, you might have to hang around a couple minutes for it to open.

In addition, the game itself is long and involved. So whether you spend your playing time collecting ‘Bells’ or money to pay off Mr. Nook for that mortgage, or helping out your neighbours with whatever they need help with, here are a few indications that can let you know if you have been spending too much time playing Animal Crossing Wild World for the Nintendo DS.

Whenever the time of day ends in a number 4, like 1:14, or 1:24 etc, you jump up wondering, where is my DS, it’s time to shoot a balloon with a present attached out of the sky with my regular or golden slingshot.

Whenever you hear the name Gulliver, you don’t think of the Jonathan Swift work, Gulliver’s Travels. Instead you find yourself thinking of the in game UFO character, Gulliver.

Whenever you help out a neighbour, and you go to him/her telling him/her that you have fulfilled his/her request, you linger a bit as if you expect them to give you a present in return.

When you spot a shovel, you look at the ground for a star that indicates something special is buried there, like something rare or valuable.

One of your friends or neighbours says he/she is thinking of leaving town and you try to convince him/her to stay.

When you go to your local Post Office to mail something off, you find yourself wondering if you can also make your mortgage payment there. Or whether you can access your bank account from there.

There are no Zeldaesque or Final Fantasy type monsters to fight in this game, but it will keep you returning if you want to sharpen your fishing skills, or keep expanding your in game home.

Some gamers say this game has no end, but that is up to you, the gamer. For me, it became more enjoyable once I got the Golden Slingshot.

Hotel Dusk Room 215

The first time I heard and read about Hotel Dusk Room 215, I was intrigued. It sounded like a game I could really like, but at the time the game was so popular that no matter where I went to see if I could purchase a copy of it, no one had it.

So eventually I became so involved in other things and games that I forgot all about it. That was until I recently stepped into the local Gamestop store and happened to see a copy of it on the shelf. Needless to say, I became instantly ecstatic. And once I got to playing it on the Nintendo DS, what I found here was indeed an enjoyable and involved game.

In it you take on the first person perspective role of former NYPD detective, Kyle Hyde. Now he works for an oufit known as Red Crown, that occasionally sends him to find things that do not want to be found. And in this venture, he is in search of his former partner, Brian Bradley.

Although the sketches of the characters are in black and white, and may remind music lovers of AHA’s eighties music video of their hit single, ‘Take On Me,’ the story line is tightly woven and makes you feel as if you have stepped into a mystery novel.

Lack of voice acting aside, this game does not have the Final Fantasy or Zeldaesque monster bashing/hack and slash type of excitement. In fact, it is a bit heavy on the reading side when it comes to conversing with the other characters you meet in the game.

In fact, if you have played SNES’s Ultima The False Prophet, and you thought that was reading intensive, then playing Hotel Dusk Room 215 should be a breeze since it’s way shorter than Ultima The False Prophet.

Containing just ten chapters, in Hotel Dusk, you basically search for clues everywhere you can without being caught in certain off limits areas by the hotel owner, Dunning Smith. And you also talk to everyone or the other guests to see if they know anything.

By the time the game is over, you find out that they, the guests, are all connected to someone who stayed there previously and you help them sort out their own problems as well. I really like this game and I am on my second play through of it as I played it so fast the first time out that I missed a few things.

Like getting the paper clip from the Hotel Dusk brochure or even bothering to read the summary at the end of each chapter.

So if you don’t mind taking a break from the hack and slash, monster bashing kind of RPG and you want to try your Nintendo DS stylus on a good point and click sort of mystery, take Hotel Dusk Room 215 for a spin.

You will be sort of glad you did.

Rated T for Teen for mild violence and the use of alcohol once the hotel bar opens.

Attacks On Churches Are Cowardly By Gandhian Scholar: Dr. Ravindra Kumar

India is a country of “unity in diversity” where harmony is the basis of its integrity and solidarity. Therefore, friendly contact among followers of different religious-communities, sects and sub-sects is necessary and not clashes among them.
Religious harmony is possible if the followers of one religious-community, sect or sub-sect pay due respect towards others’ faith and vice versa. Showing superiority of one’s own faith over another is most dangerous for a country like India.
Furthermore, attacking places of worship of a particular religious-community or killing innocent people by allegedly tempting them into conversion is not the tradition of India.
Those who make such attempts under the cover of their own religious-community misunderstand their religion and draw a wrong conclusion from the teachings of great founders of their religious-communities. Moreover, they do not follow the true Indian way.
The recent violent attacks on churches and killing of Christians in Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Orissa are acts of cowardice and have nothing to do with the Vedic-Hindu view of life. In fact, Hinduism stands for forbearance and tolerance, the two chief supplementary values of Ahimsa or non-violence. Therefore, any such practice in the name of protecting Hinduism cannot be justified. Rather, such acts are regrettable and condemnable.
Like others, Christianity has also contributed towards strengthening the Indian way. Through love and service, the two chief values of Christianity, great Christians like Sister Alphonsa and Mother Teresa, without any religious, gender, creed, colour or caste-based discrimination, rendered great service to the nation. Their services are matchless and we are proud of them.
Following a particular religious-community is a matter of one’s own choice. So is conversion. Moreover, it is the sense of self-purification. It is self-realization. Therefore, not a single person with constructive approach can oppose conversion based upon one’s own will. Conversion is dangerous only if it becomes a business.

*Dr. Ravindra Kumar is the former Vice-Chancellor of CCS University, Meerut [India]. He is the Editor of Global Peace International Journal.

Elections 2008: Experience Or Lack Thereof, Please…

Lately Sarah Palin has been sharply criticized for not having enough or any experience when it comes to the matter of politics. Or running a country for that matter.

Or some people are afraid that if Senator John McCain were to become president and something of a near fatal or fatal nature were to occur to him, would Sarah Palin, have enough experience to lead America. And is experience or a lack of it, is what some persons are really concerned about?

Or have most people forgotten that when President George W. Bush ran in 2000, he was governor of a state, Texas to be exact. No one seemed to care then whether or not having or not having enough experience was a factor.

But Sarah Palin was not just governor of Alaska, before that, she was also mayor of the town of Wasilla, Alaska. Now, don’t get me wrong here, running a town and or a state is not the same as running an entire country, but as far as having experience goes, it’s better than having no experience in that matter at all.

In comparison, Senator Barack Obama was neither mayor of a town nor governor of a state. To which some persons might say, some experience is better than none.

Sarah Palin may not have been a senator for three or four years, but she knows how to govern a state and run a town. And no matter which way you dissect or analyze it, knowing how to run a town and govern a state equal having the knowledge and experience to do it.

Things To Go Hmm About

Every once in a while, there come a series of events and forms of entertainment that might make some of us wonder a few things.

And one of those things is a set pattern. Here are just a few of my latest observations that seem to follow a certain pattern. Or they may be things that make you go, hmm…

What’s up with television shows that have one word titles? Shows such as: ‘Jeremiah,’ ‘Sanctuary,’ ‘Numbers,’ just to mention a few.

And what about shows with the world has ended and a handful of survivors are going to help rebuild, reconstruct, and reorganize a sense of order theme? Is it a theme that is being overdone or over used?

The folks at Apple Itunes recently became a little agitated, when a group of Congress appointed judges are to decide whether or not to have Apple and other internet based distributors pay increased royalty charges to music publishers.

If the powers that be keep it up, maybe there will come a day when we will obtain our music the pre computer age way.

You know, you take a trip to the nearest music store to purchase music as opposed to buying them the internet way from websites such as Itunes.

And from a slightly political angle, what’s up with all this sexism? When Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton made a go at it in the 2008 Democratic Primaries, ‘Clinton Haters’ crticized and belittled the New York senator so much that it was more than enough to make anyone go hmm.

So when Senator John McCain chose Governor Sara Palin to be his running mate, some of us are not so surprised when we learn that someone or some group is trying hard to belittle her.

But I guess people have their fears. Some are afraid of the dark, aliens, the supernatural, certain insects and animals, and some are obviously afraid to have a woman as Vice President or President.

And that’s enough to make anyone go, hmm…

Need to Apply Gandhism in Prevailing Circumstances-Dr. Ravindra Kumar

“Gandhism, which is an amalgam of Mahatma Gandhi’s views and actions and which revolves around non-violence-the most ancient, natural and perpetual value, is still relevant and significant if it is applied according to the demand of time and space. Gandhi’s ideas are fully capable of resolving all kinds of problem, doesn’t matter if they are individual or social in nature. Moreover, through Gandhism struggles and conflicts can be transformed and a sustainable culture of peace can be created through it successfully”, said Dr. Ravindra Kumar, a leading Gandhian Scholar and the Former Vice-Chancellor of Chaudhury Charan Singh University of Meerut, India.

Dr. Ravindra Kumar was speaking as the Chief Guest in a debate organized on the eve of Gandhi’s 140th birth anniversary by KMC College of Nursing, Meerut (U.P.), India, on Gandhism and Terrorism .

In his 30 minutes address Dr. Kumar added further, “Today problems have become common. Therefore, their solution could be feasible through collective efforts. Particularly, the problem of terrorism could be controlled through a concrete international understanding and cooperation.”

Stressing upon adoption of Gandhian technique of non-cooperation at international level Dr. Kumar said, “These are the days of globalization. Today not a single country of the world, doesn’t matter how forceful or wealthy is it, can think of its survival in a state of isolation. When in a state of isolation it cannot think of survival, how it can assume of its development? In such a situation if a country exploits the people of another country or snatches their freedom, or oppresses them, then bearing the wide interest of the people in mind and with extra care, if other countries of the world take the way of non-cooperation with that country, it is not possible for it to endure such an action. Rather, such an action, besides being within the scope of Gandhism, would accord justice to those oppressed or exploited…”

The function was attended by well-known persons of the City. It was sponsored and conducted by Dr. Sunil Gupta, a leading physician and director of the College and was presided over by Prof. SS Lal, Former Head of department of Zoology, CCS University, Meerut. The Principal of the college Dr. Poonam Kaushik proposed a vote of thanks.

Reported by: Secretary, W. P. M. T.