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Date:
Fri, 20 Apr 2007 13:08:17 -0700
Subject:
[saldwr] Lying Religiously (a report on the Hindu Students Council)

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[my apologies if you get this more than once -- ravi]
Dear Friends,
Greetings! The Campaign to Stop Funding Hate [www.stopfundinghate.org]
announces the launch of our new report on the Hindu Students Council
(HSC): "Lying Religiously: The Hindu Students Council and the Politics
of Deception" [hsctruthout.stopfundinghate.org]. The report brings
together evidence from multiple sources to demonstrate a web of
connections between the HSC and the violent, ultra-right Sangh family
(the RSS family of organizations, also referred to as the Sangh
Parivar), and exposes the deliberate efforts of the HSC leadership to
conceal its links with the Sangh family in order to deceive
Hindu-American college students. The report provides the first
comprehensive documentation of the origins, methods and practices of
the HSC.
The report, released at the "2007 Organizing Youth Conference" held in
New York City from April 13-15, was enthusiastically received by desi
youth (second-generation youth of South Asian origin) at the
conference. Some of them have joined us in our campaign to get the
"truth out about the HSCs".
Summary:
The HSC was started "as a project of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad of
America" in 1990. In the initial years, the HSC openly acknowledged
(or at least, made no efforts to hide) its links with the VHP of
America, supported the political projects of VHP in India, such as the
demolition of the Babri Masjid, and backed the VHP's Hindu nationalist
stance on Kashmir. Today, however, acknowledgment of these explicit
links has vanished, and HSC projects itself as a "tolerant, liberal"
organization devoted largely to the religious/cultural cause of
refashioning Hindu tradition to the contemporary situation of Hindus
in the United States. However, the denial of explicit connections with
the Sangh family is at best only a facade erected by the HSC,
especially if we look at moments of crisis, planning and celebration
in the Sangh family. Rather than the beginnings of a trajectory of
separation from the Sangh family, we actually see an integration of
the HSC into the Sangh family as a full and equal partner.
A note on methodology:
Similar to "The Foreign Exchange of Hate",
[www.stopfundinghate.org/sacw] the 2002 report documenting the flow of
money from the United States into the coffers of the Sangh family in
India, almost all of the documentation used to construct the current
report comes from the archives of the HSC itself and from the
publications of the Sangh family in North America and elsewhere. The
report documents the rise of early HSC leaders into the ranks of Sangh
family leadership in North America, the detailed family connections
between a significant section of the HSC leadership and the Sangh
family, and the central role played by the HSC in the creation and
maintenance of the Sangh family's internet infrastructure, including
the web infrastructure of the Sangh family's parent organization, the
RSS. The electronic infrastructure of the Sangh family was unearthed
using domaintools.com (formerly whois.sc), a domain name search tool.
The methodological emphasis on neutral primary sources and those
internal to the Sangh family is to ensure that the evidentiary basis
of the conclusions drawn is of the highest standards.
The report is supplemented by three appendices.
* Appendix A describes the Global Hindu Electronic Network (GHEN)
maintained by the HSC. The GHEN houses some of the most notable
Hindutva oriented organizational /activist / ideological websites on
the web, including www.rss.org, www.organiser.org,
www.Sewainternational.org and www.Idrf.org
* Appendix B is a primer on the RSS.
* Appendix C documents in brief the Sangh's regressive views on caste,
gender and sexuality -- some of it also shared by the HSC, though
expressed differently -- and its contempt for the pluralistic
traditions of Hinduism.
Over the last two decades, HSCs have worked to normalize a narrow
brand of upper-caste Hinduism on university campuses across the US. A
generation of Hindu and non-Hindu students (as well as university
administrators) have come to think of HSCs as apolitical, cultural
organizations that allow Hindu students to connect with their roots.
But it is exactly this normalization of a certain type of Hinduism
that allows for multiple expressions of Hindutva – on the one hand
through seemingly benign organizations that claim to be
service-oriented, such as Indicorps, and on the other it enables some
within the HSC fold to become more open about their affiliation to
Hindutva. As it gains confidence, it is possible that both HSC
national, in as much as it is in charge of the electronic
infrastructure for the entire Sangh, and local HSC chapters that are
fully mature could openly associate with Hindutva (as done by the HSC
at the University of Washington).
The Collective urges you to forward the report widely, and write about
it for your local newspaper or for a popular publication of your
choice. We look forward to hearing back from you (at
hsctruthout@gmail.com).
In solidarity,
Campaign to Stop Funding Hate

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The Rand Report "Building Moderate Muslim Networks" AnAnalysis By Waheeduddin Ahmed Ph.D. http://www.khabrein .info/index. php?option= com_content& task=view& id=215&Itemid= 58Rand Corporation, which sponsors and fundsconservative public policy studies, has recently(2007) published a report entitled “Building ModerateMuslim Networks”. The authors are: Angel Rabaca,Cheryl Benard, Lowell H. Schwartz and Peter Sickle. Itmerits serious attention and careful evaluation by allMuslim activists, especially those who may beconsidered “modernists” as defined by the authors, forthe report identifies such individuals andorganizations worldwide, glorifies them and sets themup for falling into a pro-Zionist trap and eventualdisgrace and destruction. I shall explain in thefollowing how it can happen.The outlines of the Report are that “extremism” inIslam is posing the gravest danger to the security ofthe West and that the West should respond by drawingon its experience of the Cold War. A parallel is drawnbetween the conflict of the past and the conflicttoday, where the perceived Islamic Fundamentalismreplaces the communist enemy. It is thus obvious thatwe are already in the middle of the second Cold War(CW2). The West had won the CW1, they allege, bycovertly and overtly supporting opposition groupswithin the communist bloc. The same strategy is deemedto be applicable in the CW2. The opposition group inthis instance is ‘moderate Muslims”. The reportstates:“What is needed at this stage is to derive lessonsfrom the experience of the Cold War, determine theirapplicability to the conditions of the Muslim Worldtoday, and develop a “road map” for the constructionof moderate and liberal Muslim networks.” --- “Sincemoderates lack the resources to create these networksthemselves, their creation may require an externalcatalyst.”Read full storyhttp://www.khabrein .info/index. php?option= com_content& task=view& id=215&Itemid= 58

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HelloKindly forward this newsletter to your friends andencourage them tojoin this mailing list.http://www.counterc urrents.org/ subscribe. htm In SolidarityBinuHow Iraq Was Looted By Evelyn Pringlehttp://www.counterc urrents.org/ pringle240307. htmCoalition Provisional Authority was granted theauthority to award reconstruction contracts in Iraq and it used thatauthority to implement what will go down in the history books as the mostblatant war profiteering scheme of all timeDeaths In Other Nations Since WW II Due To UsInterventions By James A. Lucas http://www.counterc urrents.org/ lucas240407. htmThe overall conclusion reached is that the UnitedStates most likely has been responsible since WWII for the deaths ofbetween 20 and 30 million people in wars and conflicts scattered overthe worldA Review Of Chris Hedges' American Fascists By Stephen Lendmanhttp://www.counterc urrents.org/ lendman240407. htmThis review will cover the essence and flavor ofAmerican Fascists beginning with some background on the Christian right,its influence, and danger it poses that Hedges covers in detail. He saidhe wrote the book out of anger and fear of the fundamentalist ChristianRight seeking to establish theocratic dominion over society in Americain the name of God and is using the Republican party as their vehicleto do itCorporate Accountability:Is Self Regulation The Answer? By Kavaljit Singhhttp://www.counterc urrents.org/ singh240407. htmWhile acknowledging that voluntary approaches could beused as tools for leverage on corporate behavior and therefore areworth testing, this chapter underscores the need for enhancing the stateregulatory and supervisory frameworks. Any strategy aimed atprivatizing regulation is bound to fail; even the limited gains made in the pastthrough voluntary approaches always rested on governmental backing.Voluntary codes of conduct can never be a substitute for stateregulationsUN Official Says Humanitarian Crisis In Palestine By Sonia Nettninhttp://www.counterc urrents.org/ nettnin240407. htmWith at least 530 barriers and checkpoints in place,peoples’ lives are completely disrupted. Moreover, Palestinianvillages have been torn asunder by movement restrictions because they do nothave normal economic lifeGonzales's Long Record Of Lawlessness By Mary Shawhttp://www.counterc urrents.org/ shaw240407. htmGonzales's position is that of the nation's highestlaw enforcement official. As such, he was entrusted with theresponsibility of protecting our rights and freedoms, and defending theConstitution. Instead, he has built a career on finding creative ways ofignoring or undermining the rules while evading accountability for himself andfor those he servedCrackdown In Jammu And Kashmir: Humiliation At ItsWorst By Syed Junaid Hashmihttp://www.counterc urrents.org/ hashmi240407. htmResearchers from Kashmir University maintain that alot of women are crying for the fate of their husbands and sons whoeither went missing or were killed in custody after being arrested during a"crackdown" where they were identified by informers working alongsidearmy and paramilitary forcesGet Under Society’s Skin By Gail Omvedt http://www.counterc urrents.org/ omvedt240407. htmThe Supreme Court’s recent decision and reiteration tostay the order regarding OBC admissions until accurate data isavailable has brought forth the expected reactions. Defenders of ‘equality’won by ignoring caste are hailing it; proponents ofreservations are trying to put on a brave face. But in one way, the decision is helpful:the Supreme Court has given cogent arguments for the need forinformation to underlay policy. However, what many of the opponents ofreservations may not appreciate is that this brings up squarely, onceagain, the argument for a caste-based censusIndia Needs A New Altar Of Reason, Not More Religion By Jawed Naqvihttp://www.counterc urrents.org/ naqvi240407. htmDo we need news agencies to remind us that there arescarcely any Muslims working in India's 10,000-strong externalintelligence agency, and neither Muslims nor Sikhs working as bodyguards forthe country's top leaders? The Outlook magazine reported in Novemberlast year that mainly Hindu but officially secular India has its first Sikhprime minister but his community is not trusted enough to guard him?Unpleasant Things,Pleasantly Speaking By Sirajul Islamhttp://www.counterc urrents.org/ islam240407. htmAs our military grows ever more confident, accusingthe queen-bees of Bangladesh politics corruption and flouting law, theymoves to either sent in exile the queen-bees or deploy forces on theirdoorstep meaning exclusion. So, I could be forgiven for believing thatwe're back to the bad old days of confrontation againIf You Haven'tMade A Donation YetDo It NOW !http://www.counterc urrents.org/ donate.htmYour Support Is AbsolutelyNecessaryFor Our SurvivalSukhia Sab Sansar Khaye Aur SoyeDukhia Das Kabir Jagey Aur RoyeThe world is 'happy', eating and sleepingThe forlorn Kabir Das is awake and weeping

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US-EU : An International Double StandardM D Nalapat____________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _If Asia is rising once again,much of the credit goesto the body of knowledge that originated in Westernsocieties. This columnist is himself a beneficiary ofthe education provided in India by Christianmissionaries who set up schools and colleges acrossthe country more than 150 years ago, at a time whenalmost none within the many echelons of the Britishcolonial administration believed the subjectpopulation to be either deserving of such education orcompetent enough to absorb it. The foundation laid inIndia by Jesuit,Anglican and other Christianeducationists is what the present system rests on, andwhich turns out millions of brainworkers forindustries across the globe, especially in InformationTechnology, Medicine,Engineerin g and increasingly, inServices. A reasonable fluency in the English language( though fortunately not in the accent) has meant theexposure of almost 300 million people in India towestern modes of thought. Across other countries inAsia, Africa and South America as well, an influentialand and increasing middle class is internalizing andaccepting as axiomatic concepts learnt from westerntextbooks such as universal human rights and values,which place the giving and getting of freedom anddignity at the core of a civilised society. Evenwithin societies with an unbroken tradition ofauthoritarianism, the democratic spirit is gainingstrength against despots It is this very section oflocal society, one respectul of and familiar withwestern standards of societal behaviour, that isbewildered at the perceived international doublestandard practiced by the US and the EU, which positsan "Us and Them" division of the internationalcommunity into western ( now expanded to include theformer Soviet east bloc) and non-westerncomponents,with a handful of countries such as Japantreated ( as was the case in apatheid-era SouthAfrica) as "honorary westerners". In opposition to aproclaimed fidelity to universal human rights, thereappear to be very different markers for non-westerncountries than are applied to the favoured other.Unfortunately for those within the US and the EU whoseek to enforce such a division upon the globe, thesedays, non-western countries (principally India andChina) are moving up the value chain in both economicand technological development, and it is no longer asfeasible to to simply impose the will of the west onthe rest as it was during years past,before hugeswathes of non-western society gained access towestern thinkingIndia's caste system could continue for milleniabecause an individual from a lower caste was put todeath whenever she or he showed the temerity to accessinformation reserved for the upper castes. Eventually,the resulting social calcification led to the repeateddefeats of Hindu dynasties at the hands of moreegalitarian Muslim invaders. However, the firewallsbetween different Hindu groups continued,and in someplaces still do,more than a thousand years after thefirst defeats at Muslim hands,and sixty years afterindependence from British rule. Thanks to the Britishand to a lesser extent the French refusing to followthe example of Spanish,Portuguese, German and otherEuropean conquerors in denying education to all excepta few, the barriers to knowledge evaporated by thestart of the last century, creating the momentum thatled to successful independence movements in firstIndia and subsequently in other colonies. Today, theshrinking of the globe caused by cable television, theinternet and air travel has dissolved most of theobstacles towards the mingling of cultures and peoplesthat is a requirement not only of a modern lifestylebut of the global economy as well, where a trainedprofessional ought to be as much at home in Shanghaias in Stockholm. It is no accident that thosecountries that have welcomed such diversity areprecisely those at the forefront of progress,includingthe UK,the US,India and China, in each of which thereare growing pools of expatriates. Hong Kong is stillan international city, as are London and New York and- these days - Bangalore. The Germany-led effort ofthe EU to create a Euro-obsessive envirnoment throughcurbs on migration and even using ethnic criteria topurchase IT and other technologies in key programmessuch as at Airbus will result in a weakening ofcompetitive ability against more flexible rivals.Sadly for international cooperation, these are dayswhen Lou Dobbs ( the US equivalent of theEuropeans-only Germans) seems to be driving much ofmigration and trade policy in the US, hitherto a muchmore open country than those within the EU. Even theUK - normally less ethnocentric than the rest of thebloc - is lately placing curbs on immigration that areplainly ethnic in nature. While Europeans deride theArabs and the Communist Chinese for their "intoleranceand authoritarianism" and praise themselves for havingvirtue of tolerance and acceptance of the tenet thatall humanity is one, the reality is that it is fareasier for Europeans to get work in the "fanatical"Middle East or in "authoritarian" Hong Kong andShanghai than it is for Arabs or Chinese ( or othersfrom societies with an ethnic origin different fromEurope) to find a job - any job - in "civilised"Europe. The obvious biases in immigration policy inthe EU and now increasingly in North America andAustralia as well as the hostility faced bynon-European origin residends there are at variancewith the stated image of the west as having put thecolonialist past behind it. That may be the casebetween France and Germany, or with Britain andIreland, but it is not so in Africa,where Paris sendstroops with casual abandon, or in South America, wherelocal ethno-based elites fighting to preserve theirnumerous privileges get vociferous support from the"civilised' world. Such an obvious double standard iswhat is giving traction to the Hugo Chavezes in theirefforts at replacing one form of racism with anotherThe self-described "civilised" world ( the US, the EU,Australia and New Zealand) is hyper-sensitive to theuse of military force by other countries in theresolution of disputes, yet they themselves use theNATO sledgehammer to pound recalcitrants intosubmission, including in Serbia. Today, NATO forcesled by the US have become the most interventionist ofany military, inserting themselves into locationswhere local populations have yet to overcome thecomplexes created by earlier occupations by Europeanstates. If the Chinese were to show a similarpropensity to use military muscle in their ownneighbourhood, or if India were to do likewise against- for example - Bangla desh,a country that ischeerfully hosting thousands of insurgents andterrorists that have New Delhi in their collectivesights, the reaction from western chancelleries wouldbe hostile. Yet this would be only a mirror image ofwhat NATO itself is doing, which is to give primacy tothe stick rather than tuck it away. The danger is thatcountries now moving up the development ladder will intime begin to adopt these Europeanist attitudes to thesettling of differences, and plunge the world into evengreater turmoil than the present. A case can be madethat rather than preserve the security of its members,the cavalier way in which the military might of NATOis being either flaunted or used can result inhostility towards the west that could erupt inconflict in a generation, when the scales will becomemore even between the contenders. Rather than behavein a manner that suggests that the use of militaryaction is a privilege reserved for itself, the US-EUalliance needs to set in stone a system ofinternational dispute resolution that avoids thethreat or use of force.This can only be by working ondeveloping "soft" power and by engagement with thosecountries seen as potential risks, such as Iran.Evidently, no lesson has been learnt by eitherWashington or London ( the principal actors,for thepresent) in Iraq. The imposition of a basket ofsanctions that resulted in the deaths of hundreds ofthousands each year (even as the Saddamites continuedto enjoy a billionaire lifestyle ) created much of theanger towards the west that is today expressing itselfin hostility towards the NATO occupation of thecountry. Despite the obvious lessons of such a failedexperiment, these days, key policymakers in the"civilised" world are seeking to replicate the sameIraq model in Iran, sealing off the country and itspeople and choking economic and other interaction thatcould give oxygen to those opposed to the stagnationthat the mullahcracy has brought upon a vibrantpeople. The fact that it is the US - a country thathas 83% of the offensive capacity of nuclear warheadsworldwide - which is leading the cry for Iran tocompletely surrender its nuclear technology,and thatit is countries heavily reliant on nuclear energy suchas Sweden that are foaming at the mouth whennon-western societies seek to emulate their example,contains a double standard that once again divides theworld into "civilised" and by implication,less-civilised or uncivilised components. It isnot,however, the latter that are flattening housesacross Iraq and Afghanistan, that are preventing anyform of organised life in the West Bank and Gaza, andwhich is intervening energetically to protect theprivileges of local elites across the world. Until atleast a few policymakers from the interventionistcountries are made to stand trial for human rightsviolations such as the killing of thousands of womenand children by " civilised" fire in Iraq, the entireprocess will lack credibility, and generate resentmentsthat can once again tip the globe towards ageneralised conflict. The EU can give effect toethno-based curbs on migration and the US and the UKoccupy a foreign country. Nuclear energy can getconverted into the exclusive property of a fewcourtesy the Global Nuclear Energy Partnershipinvented by George W Bush,and even India be sought tobe denied the right to develop its own technologiesfor this essential energy source,despite being theworld's largest democracy. Today, where once there wasan Iron Curtain, there exists an International DoubleStandard that divides the western world and itssatellites from the rest of the globe,and within ageneration, this new mental curtain can have a muchmore destabilizing effect on international securitythan Stalin's clumsy construct ever didSukhia Sab Sansar Khaye Aur SoyeDukhia Das Kabir Jagey Aur RoyeThe world is 'happy', eating and sleepingThe forlorn Kabir Das is awake and weeping

Lucknow teenage couple found dead inside a car

Lucknow teenage couple found dead inside a car


Lucknow teenage couple found dead inside a car

By ANI
Wednesday April 25, 06:42 PM
Lucknow, Apr 25 (ANI): Bodies of a teenage girl and a boy, who were reported to be missing since Tuesday evening, were found inside a car in Lucknow today.
Police is suspecting it to be death by asphyxiation and said that foul play could be a least possibility. ''The air conditioner of the car was on and it could be possible that they (the girl and the boy) were trapped inside,'' Additional Superintendent of Police Umesh Srivastava told reporters here.
The naked bodies of 16-year-old Charu and 19-year-old Sameer were found inside the boy's car in the garage of his residence. Soft drink bottles, packets of chips and condoms were recovered from the car.
Charu's father Pradeep Agarwal, who is a local jeweller, had filed an FIR on Tuesday evening in the local police station and had named Sameer's family as the suspect behind his daughter's disappearance.
Sameer's father Jamil, who owns a shop of local footwear, is being questioned by the police. The police are also trying to trace the domestic help of Aggarwal family, Salim, who was considered close to Sameer. (ANI)

NDTV.com

NDTV.com


Great Saviours of Indian CBI



NDTV GOOGLE

NDTV Correspondent
Wednesday, April 25, 2007 (Noida)
The parents of the children killed in Nithari, Noida, are furious with the CBI.They say the agency has wrongly given a clean chit to Moninder Singh Pandher, in whose house almost 20 children were assaulted and murdered.On Tuesday, they took the CBI to court. Meanwhile, the CBI filed a third chargesheet in the serial killings case on Tuesday. The chargesheet is in connection with the rape and murder of a five-year-old girl Payal.Surinder Koli, the domestic help who was named as the key accused in the first two chargesheets, was named as the main accused in this case as well.As expected, the other suspect, Koli's employer Moninder Singh Pandher - who was given a clean chit in the first two chargesheets - was not mentioned at all in the third chargesheet.Jatin Sarkar's little girl Pinky was among the 18 that were raped and murdered. CBI's chargesheet in his daughter's case said only Surinder Koli was involved in the murder but Jatin, like the rest of the parents, is not willing to believe them. ''They should have chargesheeted Pandher and not just blamed everything on his help Surendra,'' said Jatin Sarkar, Nithari parent.The families are all poor but they've managed to lodge a protest petition in the special CBI court in Ghaziabad. They've managed to hire a lawyer as well. ''Going by the prima facie evidence, CBI has a 101 per cent case against Pandher,'' said Khalid Khan, Nithari lawyer.It's a complaint that CBI has heard before and even though the agency says they can only go by hard evidence, the families refuse to give in.Tuesday's chargesheet for the murder of Payal is almost identical to Pinky's. It did not mention Pandher and indicted the servant only.The frustration against CBI is mounting among Nithari families. They are now going to Lucknow to meet a former UP police officer who was initially handling the case. It is, perhaps, a big sign of no confidence against the agency.
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DNA - World - Tibet's Panchen Lama turns 18 in custody - Daily News & Analysis

DNA - World - Tibet's Panchen Lama turns 18 in custody - Daily News & Analysis




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Tibet's Panchen Lama turns 18 in custody


AFP Tuesday, April 24, 2007 15:29 IST
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BEIJING: The Dalai Lama's choice as Tibet's second most important spiritual figure turns 18 on Tuesday after almost 13 years in Chinese custody amid signs of worsening repression, a rights group said.
The group, the Washington-based International Campaign for Tibet, describes in a report due Wednesday what it claims is a trend of tightening Chinese control over religious practice and scholarship in Tibet.
The report is based on official Chinese documents and interviews with lamas, monks and nuns, the vice president of the campaign, Mary Beth Markey, said in a statement ahead of its release.
"The Chinese government documents on the conduct of religion in Tibet, brought out in this report, indicate how seriously Beijing takes the enduring influence of the Dalai Lama," Markey said.
Beijing is determined to ensure that future Tibetan religious leaders, including top Buddhist lamas, are loyal to China's atheistic communist government, the statement said.
Nothing better symbolises this drive than the plight of a boy recognised by the Dalai Lama in 1994 as the reincarnated Panchen Lama, Tibet's second-most important religious leader, according to the campaign.
Gendun Choekyi Nyima, who turns 18 on Wednesday, 'disappeared' with his parents at the age of six after he was recognised by the Dalai Lama, who is Tibet's top religious figure, as the 11th Panchen Lama, the group said.
His whereabouts since then are unknown, and Beijing selected another boy, largely raised and educated in Beijing, for the role.
"Control over the Panchen Lama is perceived by Beijing to be essential as previous Panchen Lamas have played a role in the recognition and education of Dalai Lamas, and vice versa," the statement said.
China wants to control the Tibetan religious authorities "necessary for the transmission of teachings and the identification of reincarnate lamas," the statement said.
Beijing is also instilling patriotic Chinese education in Tibetan religious institutes and undermining traditional monastic education, it added.
China sent troops in to 'liberate' Tibet in 1951.
The Dalai Lama later fled to India in 1959 after an uprising failed and established a government-in-exile in Dharamsala.


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DNA - India - CBI files third Nithari chargesheet, Pandher let off again - Daily News & Analysis

DNA - India - CBI files third Nithari chargesheet, Pandher let off again - Daily News & Analysis

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CBI files third Nithari chargesheet, Pandher let off again
IANS
Tuesday, April 24, 2007 15:57 IST




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GHAZIABAD: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday once again spared Moninder Singh Pandher of involvement in the Nithari serial killings as it charged his domestic help Surinder Koli for the abduction, rape and murder of a five-year-old girl.

The third chargesheet in the sexual abuse and murder of at least 20 children and women from Nithari village in Noida was filed against Koli, but gave co-accused Pandher a clean chit for the third time in a row.

According to a CBI official, Koli was chargesheeted for offences of a criminal conspiracy to kidnap, rape and murder 15-year-old Payal.

The chargesheet was filed in the court of Ghaziabad Special Judge Sapna Mishra.

The Noida businessman being let off yet again drew a sharp reaction from the families of the victims, some of whom have filed a plea on the issue.

"We can't believe that Pandher was not involved in the killings of our innocent children. We have requested the judge to direct the CBI to look again in the matter," Durga Prasad, the father of a victim, said.

The second chargesheet in the case was filed April 10, naming Koli for the abduction, rape and murder of a 20-year-old woman, Pinki Sarkar.

The investigating agency had filed the first chargesheet March 22 in which Koli was listed as the main accused for the murder of another Payal, 26.

It was Payal's murder that had actually led to the unravelling of the sex-related butcheries in Nithari village in Noida, adjacent to Delhi. Skeletal remains of the victims were found from a drain behind Pandher's Noida bungalow Dec 29.

In the next few days, more than 20 skulls and several bones were discovered from the drain.

The CBI, which took over investigations from the Noida police January 10, has registered 19 cases so far.

According to CBI joint director Arun Kumar, there is no strong evidence against Pandher.

Pandher was only chargesheeted for indulging in immoral trafficking and bribing Simranjeet Kaur, a sub-inspector of the Noida police who has been suspended. The CBI took over the investigation from the Noida police January 10.

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The rights of robots - AOL News

The rights of robots - AOL News


Home | Email | AIM | Help | Make AOL My Homepage Join AOL Sign In JacobthanniGet HelpAOL Wednesday, 25 April 2007
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Will humans ever trust autonomous robots?
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In a recent study it was claimed that robots could, within the next 20 to 50 years, demand the same citizen's rights as humans including social benefits such as housing and even "robo-healthcare".

It was commissioned by the UK Office of Science and Innovation's Horizon Scanning Centre and entitled "Utopian dream or rise of the machines?". Scientists were speaking ahead of a public debate at the Dana Centre, part of London's Science Museum.

The predictions are contained in nearly 250 papers that look ahead at developments over the next 50 years.

"We're not in the business of predicting the future, but we do need to explore the broadest range of different possibilities to help ensure government is prepared in the long-term and considers issues across the spectrum in its planning," said Sir David King, the government's chief scientific adviser.

"The scans are aimed at stimulating debate and critical discussion to enhance government's short and long term policy and strategy."

The paper which addresses Robo-rights, examines the developments in artificial intelligence and how this may impact on law and politics. The paper says a "monumental shift" could occur if robots develop to the point where they can reproduce, improve themselves or develop artificial intelligence.

The research suggests that at some point in the next 50 years robots could be granted rights. If this happened, the report says, the robots would have certain responsibilities such as voting, the obligation to pay taxes, and perhaps serving compulsory military service.

Conversely, society would also have a duty of care to their new digital citizens, the report says. It also warns that the rise of robots could put a strain on resources and the environment.

The development and eventual deployment of autonomous robots raised difficult questions, said Professor Alan Winfield of the University of West England.

"If an autonomous robot kills someone, whose fault is it?

"Right now, that's not an issue because the responsibility lies with the designer or operator of that robot; but as robots become more autonomous that line or responsibility becomes blurred."

"I think that concerns about robot rights are just a distraction,

"The more pressing and serious problem is the extent to which society is prepared to trust autonomous robots and entrust others into the care of autonomous robots."


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Scientists find most Earth-like planet yet - Space.com - MSNBC.com

Scientists find most Earth-like planet yet - Space.com - MSNBC.com


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Scientists find most Earth-like planet yet

Models predict planet should be either rocky or covered with oceans



An Earth-like planet spotted outside our solar system is the first found that could support liquid water and harbor life, scientists announced today.

Liquid water is a key ingredient for life as we know it. The newfound planet is located at the "Goldilocks" distance — not too close and not too far from its star to keep water on its surface from freezing or vaporizing away.

And while astronomers are not yet able to look for signs of biology on the planet, the discovery is a milestone in planet detection and the search for extraterrestrial life, one with the potential to profoundly change our outlook on the universe.”The goal is to find life on a planet like the Earth around a star like the sun. This is a step in that direction,” said study leader Stephane Udry of the Geneva Observatory in Switzerland. “Each time you go one step forward you are very happy.”

The new planet is about 50 percent bigger than Earth and about five times more massive. The new “super-Earth” is called Gliese 581 C, after its star, Gliese 581, a diminutive red dwarf star located 20.5 light-years away that is about one-third as massive as the Sun.

Smallest to date
Gliese 581 C is the smallest extrasolar planet, or “exoplanet,” discovered to date. It is located about 15 times closer to its star than Earth is to the Sun; one year on the planet is equal to 13 Earth days. Because red dwarfs, also known as M dwarfs, are about 50 times dimmer than the Sun and much cooler, their planets can orbit much closer to them while still remaining within their habitable zones, the spherical region around a star within which a planet’s temperature can sustain liquid water on its surface.

Because it lies within its star’s habitable zone and is relatively close to Earth, Gliese 581 C could be a very important target for future space missions dedicated to the search for extraterrestrial life, said study team member Xavier Delfosse of Grenoble University in France.

“On the treasure map of the universe, one would be tempted to mark this planet with an X,” Delfosse said.

Two other planets are known to inhabit the red dwarf system. One is a 15 Earth-mass “hot-Jupiter” gas planet discovered by the same team two years ago, which orbits even closer to its star than does Gliese 581 C. Another is an 8 Earth-mass planet discovered at the same time as Gliese 581 C, but which lies outside its star’s habitable zone.

Possible waterworld
Computer models predict Gliese 581 C is either a rocky planet like Earth or a waterworld covered entirely by oceans.

“We have estimated that the mean temperature of this super-Earth lies between 0 and 40 degrees Celsius [32 to 104 degrees Fahrenheit], and water would thus be liquid,” Udry said.

The scientists discovered the new world using the HARP instrument on the European Southern Observatory 3.6 meter telescope in La Sille, Chile. They employed the so-called radial velocity, or “wobble,” technique, in which the size and mass of a planet are determined based on small perturbations it induces in its parent star’s orbit via gravity.


More space news
Cosmic Log: Happy birthday to Hubble
Images: Hubble's greatest hits
Mankind's rarest view: Earth from afar



Udry said there was a fair amount of time between the calculation of Gliese 581 C’s size and the realization it was within its star’s habitable zone. “That came at the end,” Udry said.

When it did hit him, Udry knew he would be spending time fielding phone calls from the media. “You right away think about the journalists who will like it very much,” he told SPACE.com.

CONTINUED: More to come
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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NDTV.com
EC changed face of Bihar elections



Election Commisssion and fair Elections in India


Prakash Singh
Monday, April 23, 2007 (Patna)
Gun firing, men scurrying around, booths being captured; it is what elections in Bihar once meant. This was until 1995 when Bihar witnessed its first high security khaki election.

It was an election that T N Seshan, the 10th Chief Election Commissioner of India, had made his battleground.

Large battalions of armies were spread across the state so people could cast votes fearlessly.

Voter turnout touched an all-time high at 60 per cent, mainly because Bihar's OBCs - so suppressed by the threat of upper-caste retaliation - came out to vote in strength.

The man they swept to power in that historic election was Laloo Yadav.

Today the great irony is that Laloo has only criticism for high security elections.

''These huge expenses on elections are just a waste of the taxpayers' money,'' Yadav said.

Laloo's anger today to high security elections is understandable.

In 2005 the wheel had come full circle. Laloo and Rabri Devi were fighting a make or break election and there were fears that his regime would prevent a fair election.

Drastic methods

It is when K J Rao took up where Seshan had left. Drafted as special observer during Bihar elections, he ordered polling in several rounds.

All tainted officers, even in police, were kept out of election duty.

Instead 70,000 policemen from 450 companies of central paramilitary forces were posted across booths. Polling was cancelled if enough security was not available.

But it was a hung assembly and Bihar went to polls again. Rao geared up yet again with more drastic methods.

Honest officers were airlifted and rotated between polling booths and all those with warrant pending against them were rounded up.

''I am happy that the election process has been completed. The credit goes to the Election Commission. I am happy. I'm sure it makes you happy as well,'' Rao had said.

In ten years, from Seshan to Rao, the face of Bihar's elections had changed completely. From bloody battles to peaceful polling where the only guns on the scene belonged to men in khaki.

BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Neanderthals 'not close family'

BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Neanderthals 'not close family'

Neanderthals 'not close family'

By Paul Rincon
BBC News Online science staff



Researchers compared 3D coordinates on more than 1,000 skulls


Enlarge Image

The Neanderthals were not close relatives of modern humans and represent a single species quite distinct from our own, scientists say.
3D comparisons of Neanderthal, modern human and other primate skulls confirm theories that the ancient people were a breed apart, the researchers report.

Others claim Neanderthals contributed significantly to the modern gene pool.

Details of the research are published in the US journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

"If we accept that Neanderthals were not the same species, what we're really saying is they did not contribute at all to modern human populations and in particular modern Europeans," co-author Dr Katerina Harvati of New York University, US, told BBC News Online.

Ancestral contribution

Researchers collected data on 15 standard "landmarks", or features, on over 1,000 primate skulls. Computer software transformed this data into sets of 3D coordinates for each skull and then superimposed all these sets on top of one another.

Using statistical analysis, they compared differences between modern human and Neanderthal skulls with those found between and within 12 primate species.

The results support the view that Neanderthals were indeed a distinct species.


Neanderthals seem to have been a species distinct from our own


Enlarge Image

However, other researchers view Neanderthals as a sub-species or population of Homo sapiens that passed on genes to modern humans either by evolving into them or by interbreeding with them.

Evolving hypothesis

The new research shows that differences between Neanderthals and the modern human populations studied are smallest in early Europeans.

Dr Harvati believes this has little significance because the distance is only slightly smaller than that between Neanderthals and living humans.

But John Hawks, assistant professor of anthropology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, US, disagrees: "It does perhaps suggest that they have some characteristics in common," he said.

THE NEANDERTHALS

The name means 'Man from the Neander Valley'
These human 'cousins' lived 190,000-28,000 years ago
They lived in Europe, Central Asia, and the Middle East
Skulls had large noses and prominent brow ridges
Body shape was stocky and muscular
If interbreeding with Homo sapiens occurred it was limited

"It really is an impressive collection of work," said Dr James Ahern of the University of Wyoming.

But Dr Ahern added that, while the Neanderthal specimens used in the study are all male, several of the early modern Europeans the authors compare them with are female skulls.

"We know that males and females differ greatly in their anatomy, and males will look more archaic than females.

"Because of this, I think the difference they observe between the Neanderthals and the Upper Palaeolithic sample is exaggerated," he explained.

"My own view is that the rate of evolutionary change was great enough that when we compare samples we are going to find that they were different because of the time," said Dr Hawks.

"[Neanderthals] existed at an earlier time and hadn't yet acquired all the characteristics that we have today."

'Lost genes'

This view is at odds with the single origin, or Out of Africa 2, theory, which postulates that all living humans expanded from a single, small population that evolved in Africa more than 150,000 years ago.

As modern humans left their African homeland, they replaced "archaic" humans living in other parts of the world.

Neanderthals appeared in Europe around 190,000 years ago, characterised by a stocky physique ideal for conserving heat in an Ice Age climate.

Shortly after modern humans arrived in Europe 35,000 years ago, Neanderthals disappear from the fossil record.

Studies of mitochondrial DNA from Neanderthal bones also suggest they had little affinity to modern populations.

But some researchers believe this does not exclude the possibility that interbreeding occurred.

Dr Magnus Nordborg, of Lund University in Sweden, has calculated that even if Neanderthals had comprised 25% of the population after merging with modern humans, their DNA might be impossible to detect today.

BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Neanderthal DNA secrets unlocked

BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Neanderthal DNA secrets unlocked

Neanderthal DNA secrets unlocked
By Paul Rincon
Science reporter, BBC News



Neanderthals disappeared around 28,000 years ago (Copyright: Natural History Museum)
A genetic breakthrough could help clear up some long-standing mysteries surrounding our closest evolutionary relatives: the Neanderthals.

Scientists have reconstructed a chunk of DNA from the genome of a Neanderthal man who lived 38,000 years ago.

The genetic information they extracted from a thigh bone has allowed them to identify more than a million building blocks of Neanderthal DNA so far.

Details of the efforts appear in the journals Nature and Science.

"The sequence data will serve as a DNA time machine," said co-author Edward Rubin, from the Joint Genome Institute in Walnut Creek, California, US.

Research will now extend to complete the whole genome of a Neanderthal

Prof Chris Stringer, Natural History Museum
"[It] will tell us about aspects of Neanderthal biology that we can never get from their bones and associated artefacts."

Studying the Neanderthal genome will shed light on the genetic changes that made our species what it is, after the evolutionary lineages of Neanderthals and modern humans diverged from one another.

It could also reveal what colour hair, eyes and skin Neanderthals had, whether they were capable of modern speech, shed light on aspects of their brain function and determine whether they contributed to the modern human gene pool.

'Technical triumph'

Researchers have already sequenced mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) from 12 Neanderthals. This is DNA from the cell's powerhouses, and which is passed down from mother to child.

While mtDNA has confirmed that Neanderthals were indeed different from us, the information gleaned from it is limited.

THE DNA MOLECULE

The double-stranded DNA molecule is held together by four chemical components called bases
Adenine (A) bonds with thymine (T); cytosine(C) bonds with guanine (G)
Groupings of these "letters" form the "code of life"; there are 3.2 billion base-pairs in the Neanderthal genome
Written in the DNA are genes, which cells use as starting templates to make proteins; these sophisticated molecules build and maintain the body
To answer more detailed questions about our evolutionary cousins, scientists had to extract DNA that came from the cell's nucleus. This nuclear DNA encodes most of an organism's genetic blueprint.

Researchers used cutting-edge DNA sequencing techniques to retrieve genetic material from the Neanderthal femur found in the Vindija Cave, Croatia.

Writing in Nature journal, Professor Svante Paabo and colleagues describe how they recovered more than one million base-pairs - the building blocks of DNA - by directly reading the genetic sequence.

In another paper published in Science magazine, Professor Rubin's team used a different approach called metagenomics, in which the fragments of genetic material were incorporated into bacteria. These then copied themselves, generating a living "library" of DNA sequences.

This method resulted in the recovery of 65,250 base-pairs of Neanderthal DNA.

While direct sequencing allows scientists to recover more genetic material, it is a random process. The metagenomic approach should allow scientists to call up specific genetic sequences of interest from the DNA library in a targeted manner.

Language question

Professor Paabo told BBC science correspondent Pallab Ghosh that he planned to look at the form of the gene FOXP2 in Neanderthals; this gene is implicated in the development of language skills and has undergone evolution in modern humans since our divergence from chimpanzees.

"We have two little snippets of genes involved in skin and hair colour, but they don't give any hint of a special variant that would be of interest," Paabo told the BBC News website.


Our closest evolutionary relatives are still something of a mystery
The two teams basically agree, within their margins of error, that the evolutionary lineages of Neanderthals and modern humans split somewhere around 500,000 years ago. This fits with previous estimates from mtDNA and archaeological data.

Professor Paabo, from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, and his team also show that Neanderthals came from a very small ancestral population of about 3,000 individuals.

At their peak, Neanderthals dominated a wide range - stretching from Britain and Iberia in the west, to Israel in the south and Uzbekistan in the east. This stocky, muscular human species was our closest evolutionary relative.

Modern humans entered Europe about 40,000 years ago; and within 10,000 years, the Neanderthals had largely disappeared from the continent. By 24,000 years ago, the last survivors had vanished from their refuge in the Iberian Peninsula.

Extinct relative

The question of whether modern humans and Neanderthals mated when they encountered each other 40,000 years ago is highly controversial.

One US scientist recently suggested modern humans might have acquired a variant of the brain gene microcephalin through interbreeding with Neanderthals.

Edward Rubin's team found no evidence for a Neanderthal contribution to the modern gene pool, but Professor Paabo's analysis hints at a possible contribution in the other direction - from modern humans into Neanderthals.

The researchers say more extensive sequencing is needed to address this possibility.

Professor Chris Stringer, from London's Natural History Museum, said the results "confirm the distinctiveness of the Neanderthals, and support previous estimates of the divergence time.

"Research will now extend to complete the whole genome of a Neanderthal and to examine Neanderthal variation through time and space to compare with ours."

The researchers aim to produce a rough draft of the full Neanderthal genome sequence over the next two years.

Paul.Rincon-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk

BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Humans show big DNA differences

BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Humans show big DNA differences

Humans show big DNA differences
DNA comparisons: Gains (green), losses (red), the same (yellow)
Scientists have shown that the genetic make-up of humans can vary hugely - far more than was previously thought.
A UK-led team made a detailed analysis of the DNA found in 270 people and identified vast regions to be duplicated or even missing.

A great many of these variations are in areas of the genome that would not damage our health, Matthew Hurles and colleagues told the journal Nature.

But others are - and can be shown to play a role in a number of disorders.

"We were certainly surprised; we expected to find that there would be some variation, but we weren't expecting to find quite this much," Dr Hurles told BBC News.

To date, the investigation of the human genome has tended to focus on very small changes in DNA that can have deleterious effects - at the scale of just one or a few bases, or "letters", in the biochemical code that programs cellular activity.

And for many years, scientists have also been able to look through microscopes to see very large-scale abnormalities that arise when whole DNA bundles, or chromosomes, are truncated or duplicated.

But it is only recently that researchers have developed the molecular "tools" to focus on medium-scale variations - at the scale of thousands of DNA letters.

Big factor

This analysis of so-called copy number variation (CNV) has now revealed some startling results.

It would seem the assumption that the DNA of any two humans is 99.9% similar in content and identity no longer holds.

The researchers were astonished to locate 1,447 CNVs in nearly 2,900 genes, the starting "templates" written in the DNA that are used by cells to make the proteins which drive our bodies.

This is a huge, hitherto unrecognised, level of variation between one individual and the next.

"Each one of us has a unique pattern of gains and losses of complete sections of DNA," said Matthew Hurles, of the UK's Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute.

"One of the real surprises of these results was just how much of our DNA varies in copy number. We estimate this to be at least 12% of the genome.

"The copy number variation that researchers had seen before was simply the tip of the iceberg, while the bulk lay submerged, undetected. We now appreciate the immense contribution of this phenomenon to genetic differences between individuals."

Evolving story

The new understanding will change the way in which scientists search for genes involved in disease.

"Many examples of diseases resulting from changes in copy number are emerging," commented Charles Lee, one of the project's leaders from Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston, US.

"A recent review lists 17 conditions of the nervous system alone - including Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease - that can result from such copy number changes."

Scientists are not sure why the copy variations emerge, but it probably has something to do with the shuffling of genetic material that occurs in the production of eggs and sperm; the process is prone to errors.

As well as aiding the investigation of disease and the development of new drugs, the research will also inform the study of human evolution, which probes genetic variation in modern populations for what it can say about their relationship to ancestral peoples.

DNA - World - US Fortune smiles on six Indian-origin CEOs - Daily News & Analysis

DNA - World - US Fortune smiles on six Indian-origin CEOs - Daily News & Analysis

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US Fortune smiles on six Indian-origin CEOs
PTI
Sunday, April 22, 2007 10:58 IST


To reprint this article, contact 3DSyndication





Page 1 of 2
NEW YORK: Cola queen Indra Nooyi is not the only person of Indian origin heading a behemoth like PepsiCo in the US, she is in company with five others at the top of the latest Fortune league of American corporate giants.

Besides PepsiCo, the global soft drink giant, persons of Indian origin are running another five companies figured in the expanded Fortune 1000 list of the biggest firms in the US, published in the latest issue of US-based business magazine.

While PepsiCo tops the list of the Indian-run firms in the US at 63rd rank, it also features Hartford Financial Services, Rohm & Haas, Sigma-Aldrich, Tellabs and LSI Corporation, all of which have an India-born as the CEO.

The US-based cola giant is led by Indra K Nooyi as its President and CEO, a position she assumed last year.

Chennai-born Nooyi was elected to PepsiCo's board and became President and Chief Financial Officer in May 2001 after serving as Senior VP and CFO since February 2000.

The list also has at 82nd rank, Hartford, a diversified insurance and financial services firm, which has an IIT-Mumbai alumni Ramani Ayer as Chairman, President and CEO.

Rohm & Haas, a US-based global specialty materials company, is also led by an another IIT graduate, Rajiv L Gupta, as the company's Chairman, President and CEO. The company has been ranked at 292nd position in the Fortune list published in the April 30 issue of the magazine.

Joining ranks with them in the exclusive club of Indian origin CEOs of Fortune-listed US firms are chemicals maker Sigma-Aldrich's Jai Nagarkatti, semiconductors and storage device firm LSI Corporation's Abhijit Y Talwalkar and telecom equipments maker Tellabs' Krish A Prabhu, who is the third IIT-alumni on the list.

Continued on next page...

DNA - World - Naipaul’s fourth book on India by year end - Daily News & Analysis

DNA - World - Naipaul’s fourth book on India by year end - Daily News & Analysis

Naipaul’s fourth book on India by year end

Paras Ramoutar / IANS
Monday, April 23, 2007 01:04 IST




To reprint this article, contact 3DSyndication





TRINIDAD & TOBAGO: With a confirmed voice that he has no plans to retire, V.S.Naipaul has announced publication of his fourth book on India. He said that this book will be ready for the bookshelves by year’s end. Asked that if his harsh criticisms of India in his previous works, notably An Area of Darkness, India, a Million Mutinies, India: A Wounded Civilisation, have changed, Naipaul said that these works are relevant today as when they were published. He did not reveal his thoughts on the fourth publication.

At a press conference and later luncheon at the Principal’s Office of the University of the West Indies, St.Augustine, Naipaul said that returning to the land of his birth after he retired from writing was in abeyance. “When I retire the question might arise. I am still working. A writer’s job is never completed.”

In the same vein, Naipaul repeated his claim that he learnt nothing at Oxford University, but enjoyed the opportunity to write.” I would do it all over again.I wouldn’t change a thing. It was my vocation to do it.”

On the question of neglecting to recognise Trinidad and Tobago as the land of his birth, when he received word that he had won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2001, his wife, Lady Nadira, intervened and took the blame for this anomaly. She said,”I made that mistake. I was taken aback. It was my negligence. It was nothing to do with my husband. The statement to the press was given by me. I am at fault here. It had nothing to do with my husband who was fast asleep, he slept for eight hours.”

Asked to define which of his books were his greatest work of art, Naipaul muttered that writing was a developmental process for the author and to select any one work would lose the idea of writing. “All of it matters”. And at Lakshmi Girls Hindu College, on invitation by Satnarayan Maharaj, secretary general of the Santan Dharma Maha Sabha , Naipaul warned the high school students that, everyone who wants to write, has to find his own way and anyone who pretends to give you advice, may get you into trouble.

He was caustic and at times seemed to be tempered as was evidenced in his responses to several questions from the students.

Capitalism and communism have lost relevance: Advani - Sify.com

Capitalism and communism have lost relevance: Advani - Sify.com




Advani's Wisdom

PTI

Capitalism and communism have lost relevance: Advani

Sunday, 22 April , 2007, 18:57

Pune: The two major ideologies of capitalism and communism, which were contending for supremacy in the 20th century and were founded on an understanding of human society divided into classes, have lost their relevance in an era of globalisation, senior BJP leader L K Advani said.


"The Marxist notion of class struggle is now consigned to the dustbin of the past. Similarly, the capitalist approach of exploitation of one section of society by another, and of one country by another, has also been shown to be inimical to human nature," the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha said.

He was speaking at the convocation of the Symbiosis Centre of Management and Human Resources Development here.

The reason behind India's growth is spiritualism and the traditions of 'bhakti' and `shakti'. "Today, we live in the era of globalisation when the world has already become integral and increasingly interdependent," he said.

"However, the era of economic domination of Western countries is well and truly over. When experts study the future of the global economy, they no longer give priority to the US or Europe. They give priority to China and India," the former deputy prime minister said.

The four BRIC countries -- Brazil, Russia, India and China -- and especially the last two are expected to be the main drivers of the global economy in coming decades, he said.

An important outcome of the change in India in the last decade or so is that young and talented people have started to see their motherland as a land of opportunities. In fact, many Indian companies in Pune, Bangalore, Noida and other places have started to recruit people from the US and Europe, Advani pointed out.

What are STPs? How they help make money

What are STPs? How they help make money







Indian Mutual Funds

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April 18, 2007

Volatile markets are a way of life for the Indian investor. Often that can deter mutual fund (MF) investors seeking growth. But that need not be so, if you have the right approach.

Take the case of Chanchal Das, a 45-year-old HR consultant from Delhi. Eight months ago, when he decided to invest Rs 1 lakh (Rs 100,000), he made sure that market volatility doesn't significantly impede the growth of his investment. He took recourse to a lesser-known, but highly effective approach of a systematic transfer plan (STP).

What is an STP? Through an STP, the investor can transfer parts of a lump sum from one MF scheme to another, within the same fund house, at regular intervals. Such a transfer averages the cost of purchase and thus mitigates market-related risks. The investor can first park his funds in a liquid or floating rate debt fund, and then get it transferred to the scheme (usually equity or balanced) of his choice at regular intervals.

Who needs an STP?

STP works well for investors who have a large sum of money to invest in equity markets, but do not have the skill or information to judge market movements and time their entry into the market.

Why should you invest through an STP?

"STP allows averaging of the cost even as your money earns more returns while in the waiting mode," says financial planner Gaurav Mashruwala.

Periodic transfer of money to an equity fund would mean that the investor gets more units when the markets are down and the net asset value (NAV) is low, and fewer units when markets are high. Therefore, the STP route will help the investor average the cost of acquisition of units. Thus, in effect, an STP follows the same approach as an systematic investment plan (SIP), which many of us are more familiar with, giving the benefit of cost averaging.

The major difference between the two being that STP works better for lump sum investments. Of course, STP hands you another advantage. The money parked in liquid or floating rate funds earn a higher return, currently as much as 6-7 per cent per annum.

This is much higher than the 3.5 per cent per cent per annum that you would get from a savings account if you were to wait for the market to calm down. Last, but not the least, STPs provide the flexibility of reviewing the amount to be transferred and the intervals at which the transfer takes place.

Where should the funds be parked and where should it be transferred?

Generally, investors choose to park their money in a liquid or floating fund as the NAVs of these do not fluctuate much. Opt for the dividend reinvestment option in liquid funds. Even though dividend distribution tax has been raised to 28.32 per cent, up from 14.03 per cent, it still works out better for those in the 30 per cent tax slab. Stick to the growth option if you are in the 10 or 20 per cent tax bracket.

The investor needs to check the minimum investment size of a MF before deciding on a parking slot. Some MFs like HSBC and HDFC require a minimum investment of Rs 1 lakh in liquid funds. However, the minimum investment size for Sundaram, SBI, Reliance and Prudential ICICI is Rs 5,000 for any type of fund.

However, even before you determine the parking slot, or the liquid or floating rate fund, you need to zero down on the ultimate destination of the funds: the equity fund. This is important since this will determine the fund house you will choose for both the schemes.

Of course, fund houses also offer STP combinations involving lower risk options such as balanced funds. The equity fund you choose for the STP could already be part of your portfolio or could be one that you are seeking to invest in. This means you can have combinations such as Sundaram Floating Rate Fund-Sundaram Select Midcap/Sundaram Capex Opportunities and SBI Magnum Cash Fund-SBI Magnum Contra Fund/SBI Magnum Global Fund .

Utility to the fore

STP's utility comes to the fore especially in volatile market conditions such as those today. They would have worked well in the past too but unfortunately, they didn't exist then. If we assume that a person invested Rs 1 lakh per month in index funds from January to December 1993, a period when markets were volatile, he would have seen a growth of 39.70 per cent in his investments.

The Sensex, on the other hand, gained only about 36 per cent in that period. But, the STP does not work as well in a market steadily going up. The return on STPs (index funds) was 24 per cent between January and December 2006 (when the markets went up steadily except for a couple of months in between) as against the Sensex growth of 48 per cent. The periodicity of the transfer is an important determinant, too. A monthly transfer imparts greater cost averaging benefits compared to a quarterly transfer since it captures greater market movements.

Other positives

As of now, not many people take the STP route. Rajiv Kumar, head, regional distribution (Delhi and Rajasthan), Karvy Stock Broking, says: "At present, only 3-5 per cent of investors opt for STP. It will take time for people to understand the product. The numbers will increase gradually."

However, STP is not a magic mantra for generating returns. It is just a way for disciplined investing over the long-term.




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What are STPs? How they help make money

What are STPs? How they help make money







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April 18, 2007

Volatile markets are a way of life for the Indian investor. Often that can deter mutual fund (MF) investors seeking growth. But that need not be so, if you have the right approach.

Take the case of Chanchal Das, a 45-year-old HR consultant from Delhi. Eight months ago, when he decided to invest Rs 1 lakh (Rs 100,000), he made sure that market volatility doesn't significantly impede the growth of his investment. He took recourse to a lesser-known, but highly effective approach of a systematic transfer plan (STP).

What is an STP? Through an STP, the investor can transfer parts of a lump sum from one MF scheme to another, within the same fund house, at regular intervals. Such a transfer averages the cost of purchase and thus mitigates market-related risks. The investor can first park his funds in a liquid or floating rate debt fund, and then get it transferred to the scheme (usually equity or balanced) of his choice at regular intervals.

Who needs an STP?

STP works well for investors who have a large sum of money to invest in equity markets, but do not have the skill or information to judge market movements and time their entry into the market.

Why should you invest through an STP?

"STP allows averaging of the cost even as your money earns more returns while in the waiting mode," says financial planner Gaurav Mashruwala.

Periodic transfer of money to an equity fund would mean that the investor gets more units when the markets are down and the net asset value (NAV) is low, and fewer units when markets are high. Therefore, the STP route will help the investor average the cost of acquisition of units. Thus, in effect, an STP follows the same approach as an systematic investment plan (SIP), which many of us are more familiar with, giving the benefit of cost averaging.

The major difference between the two being that STP works better for lump sum investments. Of course, STP hands you another advantage. The money parked in liquid or floating rate funds earn a higher return, currently as much as 6-7 per cent per annum.

This is much higher than the 3.5 per cent per cent per annum that you would get from a savings account if you were to wait for the market to calm down. Last, but not the least, STPs provide the flexibility of reviewing the amount to be transferred and the intervals at which the transfer takes place.

Where should the funds be parked and where should it be transferred?

Generally, investors choose to park their money in a liquid or floating fund as the NAVs of these do not fluctuate much. Opt for the dividend reinvestment option in liquid funds. Even though dividend distribution tax has been raised to 28.32 per cent, up from 14.03 per cent, it still works out better for those in the 30 per cent tax slab. Stick to the growth option if you are in the 10 or 20 per cent tax bracket.

The investor needs to check the minimum investment size of a MF before deciding on a parking slot. Some MFs like HSBC and HDFC require a minimum investment of Rs 1 lakh in liquid funds. However, the minimum investment size for Sundaram, SBI, Reliance and Prudential ICICI is Rs 5,000 for any type of fund.

However, even before you determine the parking slot, or the liquid or floating rate fund, you need to zero down on the ultimate destination of the funds: the equity fund. This is important since this will determine the fund house you will choose for both the schemes.

Of course, fund houses also offer STP combinations involving lower risk options such as balanced funds. The equity fund you choose for the STP could already be part of your portfolio or could be one that you are seeking to invest in. This means you can have combinations such as Sundaram Floating Rate Fund-Sundaram Select Midcap/Sundaram Capex Opportunities and SBI Magnum Cash Fund-SBI Magnum Contra Fund/SBI Magnum Global Fund .

Utility to the fore

STP's utility comes to the fore especially in volatile market conditions such as those today. They would have worked well in the past too but unfortunately, they didn't exist then. If we assume that a person invested Rs 1 lakh per month in index funds from January to December 1993, a period when markets were volatile, he would have seen a growth of 39.70 per cent in his investments.

The Sensex, on the other hand, gained only about 36 per cent in that period. But, the STP does not work as well in a market steadily going up. The return on STPs (index funds) was 24 per cent between January and December 2006 (when the markets went up steadily except for a couple of months in between) as against the Sensex growth of 48 per cent. The periodicity of the transfer is an important determinant, too. A monthly transfer imparts greater cost averaging benefits compared to a quarterly transfer since it captures greater market movements.

Other positives

As of now, not many people take the STP route. Rajiv Kumar, head, regional distribution (Delhi and Rajasthan), Karvy Stock Broking, says: "At present, only 3-5 per cent of investors opt for STP. It will take time for people to understand the product. The numbers will increase gradually."

However, STP is not a magic mantra for generating returns. It is just a way for disciplined investing over the long-term.




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BBC NEWS | Programmes | Click | Web 2.0 wave starts to take hold

BBC NEWS | Programmes | Click | Web 2.0 wave starts to take hold

Web 2.0 wave starts to take hold

By Ian Hardy
Click's North America technology correspondent


Whether you use your computer for work or fun, the programs you use generally have one thing in common - they are stored on your PC. Increasingly though, that software is moving online.


Google has made a variety of programs available online

The move to put more and more of those familiar programs on to the web has been happening for a while but its latest incarnation has won the name of Web 2.0.

What is it - the definition is imprecise at best, but it loosely describes a category of websites that are known for interactivity, collaboration and community.

Developments in underlying web technology make this all possible and mean that what the sites can do is very new. Simplicity is often the key. Often it is an online application that does one thing and does it well.

CNET.com's Caroline McCarthy has a few favourites: "I have just started using a new site called Remember The Milk, which is a task manager. It's incredibly simple, a very easy to use list of things you have to do, places you have to go, things you have to buy, that sort of thing.

"Clipmarks is a site where you can just share clips or portions of a website rather than the entire bookmark, so it's good for quotations.

"Tumblr is basically a blogging platform for people who don't want to use a blogging platform. If you look at things like Wordpress and Blogger, which a lot of people use to create blogs, they're very functional. Tumblr is very simple."

Picturedots is a good example of the creativity that the so-called 2.0 sites display. You load in a photograph, trace the numbered dots on top of the image and print out the final result as a puzzle.

In a basic way it demonstrates how web browsers are gradually being used by consumers for far more than just looking around in cyberspace.

"The idea of using your web browser as a tool is still a fairly new concept," explained Mark Chackerian of Picturedots.

"I'm an internet professional, for me my browser is like a Swiss Army Knife; I use it for a lot of things and in a much greater capacity than most people.

"So for me to find a way to demonstrate to people how they can use their browser to do new kinds of things, makes me part of that new trend."

A future online?

As people gravitate to the internet for more and more free services and solutions the web browser could become the central window through which our daily lives are conducted, potentially replacing most desktop applications.


They know it's going to be a big part of their companies in 10 years

Nick Thompson, Wired Magazine

Software giants like Microsoft and Adobe have been launching their own online applications, some of which resemble their well-known retail titles.

Adobe has released a stripped-down web version of its video editing software, called Remix, and later this year plans to launch an internet version of its very successful photo manipulation program, Photoshop.

"Microsoft and Adobe are in a bind," says Nick Thompson, senior editor of Wired Magazine. "They make tons of money from the software they sell in shrink-wrapped boxes. But they also know that the future is online software. So what do they do?

"I think they're doing two things. I think they are genuinely trying to figure out how to make this work, because they know it's going to be a big part of their companies in 10 years.

"But they're also trying to keep their current customers happy, and they're trying not to make it look like you should switch immediately because maybe you should buy that one last Office upgrade."

Meanwhile Google has been building an entire suite of free online applications over the past few years.

Docs and Spreadsheets is a product that most consumers could happily use instead of Microsoft Office, with multi-user, location free collaboration being an added benefit.

Advertisers' advantage

The key question is whether online software is of genuine use to the consumer or is just about advertising revenue.

"There will always be people who say that this is just a mechanism to get more eyeballs on our ads," says Jonathan Rochelle of Google.

"But I don't think people see that, and I certainly don't see that as evil, as a bad thing. If that was the case and we ended up getting more people to look at our ads it's not necessarily a bad thing."

One incentive for companies to supply online software is compatibility. In one go all customers can be upgraded to the newest version and create files that are universally compatible, unlike different generations of Word documents.

"Another advantage of online software is that the companies can track exactly what you do and how you use it. Then they can target specifically to you," said Mr Thompson.

"If you send a lot of e-mails about they'll know that maybe you're trying to buy a cellphone, and they can serve you ads on cellphones.

"So the companies really like it, and it's to the companies' advantage for the software to work extremely well and for you to use it all the time because then they get more information and then they can sell you more stuff."

To older users of desktop applications, who are usually more cautious about their online activity, this might seem disconcerting, but for younger computer users, the MySpace generation who freely flaunt the details of their personal lives, it might be not be such a big deal.

Top News- Scientists Offer Frightening Forecast - AOL News

Top News- Scientists Offer Frightening Forecast - AOL News


Updated:2007-04-21 22:33:02
Scientists Offer Frightening Forecast
By Ker Than and Andrea Thompson



(April 22) -- Our planet's prospects for environmental stability are bleaker than ever as the world celebrates Earth Day on Sunday. Global warming is widely accepted as a reality by scientists and even by previously doubtful government and industrial leaders. And according to a recent report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), there is a 90 percent likelihood that humans are contributing to the change.


Dire Predictions for Earth

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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The international panel of scientists predicts the global average temperature could increase by 2 to 11 degrees Fahrenheit by 2100 and that sea levels could rise by up to 2 feet.

Scientists have even speculated that a slight increase in Earth's rotation rate could result, along with other changes. Glaciers, already receding, will disappear. Epic floods will hit some areas while intense drought will strike others. Humans will face widespread water shortages. Famine and disease will increase. Earth’s landscape will transform radically, with a quarter of plants and animals at risk of extinction.

While putting specific dates on these traumatic potential events is challenging, this timeline paints the big picture and details Earth's future based on several recent studies and the longer scientific version of the IPCC report, which was made available to LiveScience.

2007

More of the world's population now lives in cities than in rural areas, changing patterns of land use. The world population surpasses 6.6 billion. (Peter Crane, Royal Botanic Gardens, UK, Science; UN World Urbanization Prospectus: The 2003 Revision; U.S. Census Bureau)

2008

Global oil production peaks sometime between 2008 and 2018, according to a model by one Swedish physicist. Others say this turning point, known as “Hubbert’s Peak,” won’t occur until after 2020. Once Hubbert’s Peak is reached, global oil production will begin an irreversible decline, possibly triggering a global recession, food shortages and conflict between nations over dwindling oil supplies. (doctoral dissertation of Frederik Robelius, University of Uppsala, Sweden; report by Robert Hirsch of the Science Applications International Corporation)

2020

Flash floods will very likely increase across all parts of Europe. (IPCC)

Less rainfall could reduce agriculture yields by up to 50 percent in some parts of the world. (IPCC)

World population will reach 7.6 billion people. (U.S. Census Bureau)


The Global Warming Threat

2030

Diarrhea-related diseases will likely increase by up to 5 percent in low-income parts of the world. (IPCC)

Up to 18 percent of the world’s coral reefs will likely be lost as a result of climate change and other environmental stresses. In Asian coastal waters, the coral loss could reach 30 percent. (IPCC)

World population will reach 8.3 billion people. (U.S. Census Bureau)

Warming temperatures will cause temperate glaciers on equatorial mountains in Africa to disappear. (Richard Taylor, University College London, Geophysical Research Letters:)

In developing countries, the urban population will more than double to about 4 billion people, packing more people onto a given city's land area. The urban populations of developed countries may also increase by as much as 20 percent. (World Bank: The Dynamics of Global Urban Expansion)

2040


Nature News From LiveScience.com
Feed
Study: Global Warming Could Hinder Hurricanes Huge California Surfing Waves Explained Earthquakes Intensify Volcanic Eruptions Greenland's Mysterious Winds Tied to Global... Crusty Old Discovery Reveals Early Earth's... The Arctic Sea could be ice-free in the summer, and winter ice depth may shrink drastically. Other scientists say the region will still have summer ice up to 2060 and 2105. (Marika Holland, NCAR, Geophysical Research Letters)

2050

Small alpine glaciers will very likely disappear completely, and large glaciers will shrink by 30 to 70 percent. Austrian scientist Roland Psenner of the University of Innsbruck says this is a conservative estimate, and the small alpine glaciers could be gone as soon as 2037. (IPCC)

In Australia, there will likely be an additional 3,200 to 5,200 heat-related deaths per year. The hardest hit will be people over the age of 65. An extra 500 to 1,000 people will die of heat-related deaths in New York City per year. In the United Kingdom, the opposite will occur, and cold-related deaths will outpace heat-related ones. (IPCC)

World population reaches 9.4 billion people. (U.S. Census Bureau)

Crop yields could increase by up to 20 percent in East and Southeast Asia, while decreasing by up to 30 percent in Central and South Asia. Similar shifts in crop yields could occur on other continents. (IPCC)

As biodiversity hotspots are more threatened, a quarter of the world’s plant and vertebrate animal species could face extinction. (Jay Malcolm, University of Toronto, Conservation Biology)

2070

As glaciers disappear and areas affected by drought increase, electricity production for the world’s existing hydropower stations will decrease. Hardest hit will be Europe, where hydropower potential is expected to decline on average by 6 percent; around the Mediterranean, the decrease could be up to 50 percent. (IPCC)

Warmer, drier conditions will lead to more frequent and longer droughts, as well as longer fire-seasons, increased fire risks, and more frequent heat waves, especially in Mediterranean regions. (IPCC)

2080

While some parts of the world dry out, others will be inundated. Scientists predict up to 20 percent of the world’s populations live in river basins likely to be affected by increased flood hazards. Up to 100 million people could experience coastal flooding each year. Most at risk are densely populated and low-lying areas that are less able to adapt to rising sea levels and areas which already face other challenges such as tropical storms. (IPCC)

Coastal population could balloon to 5 billion people, up from 1.2 billion in 1990. (IPCC)

Between 1.1 and 3.2 billion people will experience water shortages and up to 600 million will go hungry. (IPCC)

Sea levels could rise around New York City by more than three feet, potentially flooding the Rockaways, Coney Island, much of southern Brooklyn and Queens, portions of Long Island City, Astoria, Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, Queens, lower Manhattan and eastern Staten Island from Great Kills Harbor north to the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge. (NASA GISS)

2085

The risk of dengue fever from climate change is estimated to increase to 3.5 billion people. (IPCC)

2100

A combination of global warming and other factors will push many ecosystems to the limit, forcing them to exceed their natural ability to adapt to climate change. (IPCC)


Most Popular - Last 24 Hours
Killer's Family Feels 'Helpless and Lost'Catholic Church Reverses Teaching on LimboNASA to Examine Security After ShootingFlorida Crew Lands 1,063-Pound Mako SharkWife of Slain Preacher Convicted of ManslaughterAtmospheric carbon dioxide levels will be much higher than anytime during the past 650,000 years. (IPCC)

Ocean pH levels will very likely decrease by as much as 0.5 pH units, the lowest it’s been in the last 20 million years. The ability of marine organisms such as corals, crabs and oysters to form shells or exoskeletons could be impaired. (IPCC)

Thawing permafrost and other factors will make Earth’s land a net source of carbon emissions, meaning it will emit more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than it absorbs. (IPCC)

Roughly 20 to 30 percent of species assessed as of 2007 could be extinct by 2100 if global mean temperatures exceed 2 to 3 degrees of pre-industrial levels. (IPCC)

New climate zones appear on up to 39 percent of the world’s land surface, radically transforming the planet. (Jack Williams, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences)

A quarter of all species of plants and land animals—more than a million total—could be driven to extinction. The IPCC reports warn that current “conservation practices are generally ill-prepared for climate change and effective adaptation responses are likely to be costly to implement.” (IPCC)

Increased droughts could significantly reduce moisture levels in the American Southwest, northern Mexico and possibly parts of Europe, Africa and the Middle East, effectively recreating the “Dust Bowl” environments of the 1930s in the United States. (Richard Seager, Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory, Science)

2200

An Earth day will be 0.12 milliseconds shorter, as rising temperatures cause oceans to expand away from the equator and toward the poles, one model predicts. One reason water will be shifted toward the poles is most of the expansion will take place in the North Atlantic Ocean, near the North Pole. The poles are closer to the Earth’s axis of rotation, so having more mass there should speed up the planet’s rotation. (Felix Landerer, Max Planck Institute for Meteorology, Geophysical Research Letters)