Blog Mela #5 at Ashwini's place

Ashwini has hosted this week’s Blog Mela, a collection of some good Indian blogs. Please check it out. Also please blog about it today.
*Update*: The Department of Media Sciences, Anna University, Chennai is hosting a “national conference on Blogging”:http://www.geocities.com/mdeii/event.html. (Link via “Kamat”:http://www.kamat.com/vikas/blog.php?date=3/25/2003)

Dialogue with terrorists

“Yesterday”:http://www.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=20016 in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir
bq. In a pre-dawn strike, militants on Monday gunned down 24 Kashmiri Pandits, including 11 women and two children, at a hamlet in Pulwama district of South Kashmir, dealing a blow to state government’s plan to bring back Hindu migrants.
and here is what “Richard Boucher”:http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_221254,0008.htm , the state department spokesman had to say
bq. Boucher said “violence will not solve Kashmir’s problems. Dialogue remains a critical element in the normalization of relations between India and Pakistan,”
How come you did not invite Saddam Hussein or Osama to the white house and engage in a dialogue ? Indians have even done that. Our Prime Minister “went to Pakistan”:http://www.rediff.com/news/1999/feb/20bus1.htm, asked for peace. Musharraf sent his troops to “Kargil”:http://www.rediff.com/news/1999/may/26kash2.htm. We invited “Musharraf to India”:http://www.punjabilok.com/musharraf_visit/main_page1.htm. We got more terrorists after that. So please, don’t insult the Indians by asking for dialogue. You look ignorant and stupid in the eyes of 1 Billion people.
Update: “The real tragedy of Kashmir”:http://www.sulekha.com/redirectnh.asp?cid=305233
Suman Palit as always puts it “more eloquently”:http://www.palit.com/2003_03_23_tkl_archive.asp#200044764.

Iraq Govt. still functioning

How else, would they find time in the middle of a war to expel CNN journalists. It was like, we can stand the war, but CNN is worse. CNN also “shut down”:http://www.kevinsites.net/2003_03_16_archive.html#200025634 the blog of Kevin Sites. CNN should ” learn something from BBC”:http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/2873651.stm here and take advantage of the new media. As “Dan Gillmor”:http://weblog.siliconvalley.com/column/dangillmor/archives/000875.shtml#000875 says, we have various other options now, and don’t have to depend on Amanpour for our news.

Saddam Injured ?

“Saddam injured in US strike: report”:http://www.mid-day.com/news/world/2003/march/47911.htm
bq. Witnesses saw Saddam being carried away from the wreckage of the compound hit early yesterday with an oxygen mask over his face, according to intelligence sources quoted by the US network.
(link via “The Command Post”:http://warblogcorner.blogspot.com/2003_03_21_warblogcorner_archive.html#200023266)

Next Blog Mela

“Ashwini”:http://www.ashoo.org/blog/archives/cat_blog.html#000079 is hosting “the next blog mela”:https://varnam.org/archives/000018.html. Please send your entries to her by Tuesday March 25th. If you want to know what the heck a blog mela is, take a look at “this week’s one”:https://varnam.org/archives/000021.html

The War

All American TV Channels are trying to cover the war the whole night,
without any real information. They go to correspondents all over the
world, and they all tell the same information. Fox has switched to
American Idol. NBC is showing some cool animation of aircrafts taking
of from an air base and launching bunker busters. After many months of
“Target Iraq” programs on various channels, the TV channels would have
been disappointed if the war had not happened.
“Salam Pax”:http://dear_raed.blogspot.com/2003_03_01_dear_raed_archive.html#90955865 (from Baghdad) tells that there was a rumor floating that
Saddam’s brother had asked him to surrender, but in turn he has
imprisoned him
bq. It is being said that Barazan (Saddam?s brother) has suggested to
him that he should do the decent thing and surrender, he got himself
under house arrest in one of the presidential palaces which is
probably going to be one of the first to be hit.
BBC is reporting that Saddam is going to address his people in a while.

Bharatiya Blog Mela #4

If you want to summarize this week, the key words are garbage
and UN. Some people think both are the same, especially here in United States.
But I am talking from the context of the best of
Indian blogs for this week

Ratheesh Krishna
Vadhyar gives us his thoughts on garbage, garbage collection and
garbage disposal. He is not talking about Java Garbage collection, but
with respect to plastic bags. (See Mar 12th blog)

Suman
Palit tells why India should NOT be a part of UN Security
council. Ravi
Kiran tells us why India should be part of it.


the mallu devil explains why bandhs and hartals are good for the
country.

Suman
Kumar, takes a look back at how he started watching
television.

Hrishikesh Ballal
has a photo blog, which I think is the only one in Indian Blogsphere.

Zilch Zilch writes on some important issues covered in Indian Newspapers.

If you would like to host next week’s Blog
Mela, please mention it in the comments. The previous three blog mela’s were hosted by realwomen