The same thing is with many ISP's in India but at different levels. I got a Hathway broadband service last month. While viewing online videos on youtube.com or any other streaming videos there used to be a lot of freezes as the video used to stop for a while for buffering and that is very frustrating. I'm having unlimited 256kbps plan from Hathway but my friends on airtel broadband faced no problems in streaming videos. I have read in some forums that hathway blocks some downloading ports. Dont't know whether it is true or not.

It is an irony that technology is misused by people. To me and to many others Orkut is a platform for reuniting with old friends. If it is not on such a platform where else should I put up my picture? Calling what abhishek did a "prank" is shocking because what he has done is nothing short of crime.We,the users of technology should be responsible for our actions. What we need is a set of proper rules to check cyber crime.Its not orkut that is the "new danger". Perverse minds, thoughtless use of technology and the surity that anyone will getaway with so called "pranks" is the driving force behind such sad outcomes of some concept as beautiful as orkut.

"I have always been against Saddam and the kind of rule he forced upon the people of Iraq. But I still do not feel that his death sentence is fair. He was a curse for many of his own people, including his daughters, but this sentence has not been passed by Iraqis and, therefore, in my opinion, is not valid. If Iraqis chose to hang him, I would have no problem with that. But this court is not truly representative of Iraqis. If he is hanged, it would be a travesty of justice. And, anyway Saddam killed far fewer Iraqis than the American forces. So who is the bigger killer?

"One must realize that the definition of power can be comprehensive as well narrow one. In the traditional sense, power can mean only one thing: 'might is right'. However, power in a broad sense means not merely military might, political power, muscle power or economic strength. It also includes a variety of other ingredients such as knowledge, scientific and technological developments, developed human resources, leadership skills, ability to influence decisions of others, popularity, attractiveness, and so on and so forth. It is not at all necessary that there should be unanimity on all the definitions of power. However, one must take into account the criteria that any particular magazine or selection committee is applying for enlisting anybody as powerful. There could be various combinations and permutations of different yardsticks. Therefore, it would be little unfair to dismiss other views just because one disagrees with them. Let us congratulate all the winners and get inspiration from them to excel in our respective walks of life."

Well written piece. We have all been suffering the agony of driving in the congested city and don't know what more can the government do, at last in Delhi, having emptied its coffers in the run-up to Commnwealth Games. Let's wait and see how Metro helps ease the pressure on the Delhi roads after 2-3 years. I have my doubts if it can dcongest the city. It's a mammoth problem to which no answer seems convincing. Of course broadening of raods is no answer. The more the roads get wider, greater is the traffic. What's true of Delhi is true of Mumbai, Bangalore and Kokata.

"While Musharraf sounded and behaved like obedient servant, giving GW Bush Pakistani military annual performance report on war of terrorism. The windfall is expected to be in tens of millions of dollars. According to the publishers, this was "the biggest publicity stunt" ever pulled off by a publisher for a forthcoming book. It is expected to be a bestseller in the US and the UK. The private book promotion tour was arranged as an official visit to the US and 60 or so ministers (cronies) enjoying luxuries on hard-earned taxes of poor Pakistani citizens. While right wing evangelists want people to "buy the book", I would strongly advise to "burn the book". Musharraf and his book is a slur on integrity and honour of a proud nation, because Musharraf has shown himself to be a person who is a modern-day "Judas", willing to sell his soul to devil for few pennies.

I think the problem is that people keep looking at the UN as if it had any self authority. The UN is but the sum of its parts!... Moreover, I think the UN helps to promote dialogue between its members and that is very important in itself. We shouldn't expect the UN to promote peace or Human Rights. If you want this then you should be supporting the International Court of Justice

It is not only that "it is a thankless sports" but more profound is the fact that we are a thankless people. The Media also plays a sordid role, catering only to cricket and a few other personalities. Why does only cricket makes headlines even when the performance does not deserve any accolades? In other poorer cousin sports, where the sportsman only perseveres on the strength of his motivation, we leave him high and dry? The question is whether we deserve world champs?

There is much truth in yr last para, Shantanu-da but rage gets us nowhere, nor does hollering. Anyway he was speaking to the NRI kid, not u but any kid with spirit - as Wodehouse will put it - should have, with courtesy & a smile( which I thought come naturally to every woman) put it across to Yakumbe. I have been in Japan + met many over the years. A Jap may be about to shoot u, Shantanuda but u will not know it from his behaviour. I was witness to a fellow Indian in Wash DC in 1976 who was harangued at a bus stop by a white knowledgable American lady on Indira Gandhi having just become a dictator in India (remember the Emergency?). I let my bus go as I found myself treated to his reply that made the lady look sheepish & sorry: "Well, Madam, what would u like yr President to do if the USA were as free as India before Indira became a dictator as u put it? Can yr people burn buses/trains at will, deface station names, bring the students out of schools/colleges, bring life in DC to a standstill including hospitals/essential services, sometimes the whole nation? We call it 'hartal'. Can yr Congressmen walk out of a sitting Congress every other day, shout each other out & prevent work of any kind for days together? And all this without being taken to task? Indeed, supported by many others + State Govts & possibly building up his electorate for a sure win next time? ...." Why, that sounds like CHAOS! said the good lady, now not indignant but amazed! "Is THAT what Mrs Gandhi wants to stop by assuming 'draconian powers" as our media put it?" No wonder both of us had a far more pleasant companion next to us in the third bus that came along!

You have touched upon a relaively untouched topic with an immensely high level of sensitivity viz a viz India`s political and strategic interests. Though the conventional media seems wake up to highlight this issue off and on every time Bangladeshi Forces butcher our civilians and many times our armed forces also. If we look at the recent history o incidents at Indo Bangladesh border. The skirmishes at the border between the two border forces have left Indian armed forces rubbing hands in fury with hands tied out of political indecisions or lack of a political guts to hit back and teach these people a lesson. Being the third or fourth largets army in the world and in all combnations and comparisions Indian armed forces over qulaify to be termed as a definite super power compared to Bangladesh and still our government shrugs off the needs of a stringent action in the name of strain. Well I would not call the Israeli appraoch a perfect one though at the same time I would defintely urge the Indian government and the political leadership to learn a few things from the Israleis who dont hesitate to even wage a war to rescue their soldiers.

I am amazed at the views presented by the author of the article. I would not coment on the stats quoted in the article, because I neither know the source nor am I aware of the methodology employed to arrive at these results. Were dropout rates compared against social environment, financial levels, etc. Or was it an example of a hastily arrived at conclusion. If inability to be able to do well in a course were to be a reason to eliminate the course altogether, perhaps geography ought to be eliminated for people like me. Also, what relevance does perhaps history, as we learnt it in our curriculum, have for a person in marketing or finance?Primary and high-school education is aimed at a well-rounded development of the individual while allowing for room to focus on a specialised field of interest. The dearh of world-class sportspersons is not on account of the curriculum but on account of the lack of facilities for the professional training and grooming of the potentials coupled with the lack of familial support for sports as a career, selection process opacity and politicisation of sports. There may be other reasons as well, but counting mathematics as one, is suggestive of a faulty analytical process.