Srinivas Padma: Personal Musings on Life, Growth, and Connections

A study conducted by the Transparency International India has found that the least corrupt States in the country were Kerala, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh , in that order. This study was quoted by the World Bank in its appraisal of the AP economic reforms loan-III (also known as development policy loan) of $ 200 million sanctioned on January 11. The Opposition may cry hoarse about corruption at high places but the bank gave a clean chit to the State government. As per the study, Bihar is the most corrupt State, followed by Jammu and Kashmir . The survey assessed corruption using 11 benchmarks, including rural financial institutions, income tax, municipal services, judiciary, land administration, police, schools, water supply, public distribution system, electricity and government hospitals. While police is the most corrupt institution throughout the country, it is surprisingly not the case in AP, where government hospitals and water supply are more corrupt. The State g

Team India coach Greg Chappell was attacked by a member of the so-called “Kalinga Sena” at Bhubaneswar airport on Monday. Chappell escaped unhurt. The superintendent of police of Bhubaneswar, Mr Amitabh Thakur, said some members of the outfit had assembled outside the airport to “highlight the issue that no player from Orissa has been selected for the national team.” One of them turned violent. The Indian team flew into Bhubaneswar on Monday afternoon ahead of the second ODI against the West Indies, to be played at Cuttack on January 24. As the players and support staff came out to catch the team bus, a fanatic forced himself through the secu rity barricade and “stumbled on” Chappell. Orissa Cricket Association council member Kamalanath Pande, who was an eyewitness, said the attacker was seen “trying to take a knock at Chappell.” But the latter “showed quick reflexes, and ducked.” The police came to Chappell’s rescue almost immediately, and the attacker was caught and taken into custo

Naked members of PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) protest in front of Pielespana, the International Leather Fashion Exhibition, in central Barcelona, Spain January

After Abhishek Bachchan’s exit from Rakyesh Omprakash Mehra’s Delhi 6 , it was heard that the director had approached Hrithik Roshan for the role. The latest buzz is that Akshay Kumar has replaced him in this movie. It was rumoured that Hrithik had suggested some changes in the script to which Mehra objected, and hence Hrithik opted out of the film. Neither Mehra nor the Dhoom 2 actor were available for com ment. Hrithik is busy with his shoot for Jodha Akbar at Karjat and was not reachable when contacted. However, his secretary Ashok Vashodia confirmed that Hrithik is no longer doing the film. “I would like to inform you that Hrithik is no longer doing Mehra’s Delhi 6 and we don’t want to say anything more on this issue,” he said.

Steve Jobs , Apple’s showman nonpareil, provided the first public glimpse of the iPhone last week, gorgeous, feature-laden and pricey. While following the mas ter magician’s gestures, it was easy to overlook a most disappointing aspect: like its slimmer iPod siblings, the iPhone’s musicplaying function will be limited by factoryinstalled “crippleware”. If “crippleware” seems an unduly harsh description, it balances the euphemistic names that the industry uses for copy protection. Apple officially calls its own standard “FairPlay”, but fair it is not. The term “crippleware” comes from the plaintiff in a class-action lawsuit, Melanie Tucker Vs Apple Computer Inc., that is making its way through federal district court in Northern California. The suit contends that Apple unfairly restricts consumer choice because it does not load onto the iPod the software needed to play music that uses Microsoft’s copy-protection standard, in addition to Apple’s own. Tucker’s core argument is that the ab

For probably the first time, more American women are living without a husband than with one, according to a New York Times analysis of census results. In 2005, 51 per cent of women said they were liv ing without a spouse, up from 35 per cent in 1950 and 49 per cent in 2000. Coupled with the fact that in 2005 married couples became a minority of all American households for the first time, the trend could shape social and workplace policies. Several factors are driving the statistical shift. Women are marrying later or living with unmarried partners more often and for longer periods. At the other end, women are living longer as widows and, after a divorce, are more likely than men to delay remarriage. Source: SAM ROBERTS