HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: banerjee@spot.Colorado.EDU (akb)
Subject: SALMAN RUSHDIE
Organization: University of Colorado, Boulder
Date: Wed, 9 Sep 1992 20:36:03 GMT

Boulder is a sleepy little town at the foot of the Rockies (though
the natives tend to have a somewhat more grandiose opinion) and it
is not everyday that one gets to see SWAT teams on the roof of the
EVENTS Center. Yesterday was such a day.

"Why should the world care about something written by an Indian 
immigrant, who is currently a British Citizen?" Indeed, why should
there be SWAT teams in Boulder when this same writer speaks
at the University of Colorado?

"Most of the people who condemn the book have not read it. For that 
matter most of those who defend it have not read it either, though
for obvious reasons that is a lesser concern"

SALMAN RUSHDIE and the SATANIC VERSES were in town.

"The world saw ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF SOLITUDE as a good though 
perhaps surrealist novel, in Latin America however, it was seen
as history." This quote could easily be paraphrased to the
current context, is the SATANIC VERSES merely another
novel (albeit a very good one) or is it (as the Islamic world
sees it) BLASPHEMY.

"IF god exists he will not be hurt by the Satanic Verses. Conversely
if god does not exist, he will still not be hurt by the Satanic Verses.
In either case it is between me and god, not between me and these
Mullahs that claim to represent God."


Rushdie was eloquent in his own defense and hardly needs my 
endorsement, it was interesting to hear him refer to his
secular Indian heritage. I wonder what our Pakistani friends
would have to say about that. No doubt they would claim
him as one of their own -- right after they have killed him.

By the way that applies to fundamentalists everywhere
- Muslim, Christian, Jewish or HINDU.
From: prem@prem.lbl.gov (Shirdi R. Prem)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.indian
Subject: Re: Speeding Ticket
Date: 15 Sep 92 00:36:10 GMT
Reply-To: prem@prem.lbl.gov (Shirdi R. Prem)
Organization: Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory
NNTP-Posting-Host: prem.lbl.gov

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
	Hey s.c.i.'ers,
		Let me know if you're not interested in this topic. I will
	start replying to flames by e-mail in that case.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

In article <1992Sep14.195937.16979@macc.wisc.edu> nmrdb@vms.macc.wisc.edu (BEVERLY SEAVEY) writes:
>
>How about obeying the speed limit? 

	I don't mean to be pedantic or anything, but we are discussing ways 
	of avoiding a ticket. Avoiding a speeding ticket while obeying the
	limit is a trivial case.       =:^)

>It is based on the judgement on what is safe

	Whose judgement ??

>for the population, including, perhaps, some senior citizen with slower 
>reflexes who doesn't adapt well to you cutting in front of them or perhaps 
>some inexperienced driver, a teen-ager or someone unfamiliar with the area.

	I did not recommend cutting in front of a "senior citizen with slow
	reflexes" (nice euphemism!) or an "inexperienced driver...."
	I am ONLY talking about how NOT to get a speeding ticket.

	In my own experience, I have seen several vehicles doing about
	80 mph in a close-knit bunch, and one bozo half a mile back doing 
	70 on his own. Guess who your neighbourhood gestapo pulls over ??

	The cops naturally are interested in stopping the speeder who is
	easiest to catch, not necessarily the one who is posing the greatest
	threat.

	And when YOU start driving, let me know when you make a long 
	interstate trip without ever going over 55.

	Prem!
From: vigneswa@ecs.umass.edu
Newsgroups: soc.culture.indian
Subject: Posting of Poems with Translation.....
Date: 14 Sep 92 11:40:22 GMT

	I select the proper newsgroups when I post something.  I did post
some poems written by Tamil poets in SCTamil with translation. Though the
poems  were kind of relevent to be  posted in SCSLanka and SCIndia, I did
not post them  here since they were mainly  in Tamil.  I thought that the 
mainstream readership  would not be interested.  However, after observing 
the distorted version of my posting, I decided to post them in these news-
groups too.  Most of the  readers know the  credibility of the poster who
partially reproduced my posting.  In anycase, I have to present my case I
believe.  If you are not interested in these, I do apologize.


Vicky:
UMass, Sep 14
Newsgroups: soc.culture.indian
From: chaw@Xenon.Stanford.EDU (S. S. Chawathe)
Subject: Re: Speeding Ticket
Keywords: Speeding
Organization: CS Department, Stanford University, California, USA
Date: 11 Sep 92 21:53:11 GMT

deepak@konark.njit.edu (Deepak Kakadasam) writes:
>Once you have points, thats it. No classes can help you keep a clean
>record.

I don't know about other states, but in California it is possible
to have the offence off your record (thereby preventing an in-
surance rate hike) by doing driving school for a day.

-Chaw

_________________________________________________________________
Chaw@cs.Stanford.edu                                 tat tvam asi
Newsgroups: soc.culture.indian
Subject: Re: Kashmir Campaign
From: bhatnagr@ucunix.san.uc.edu (Raj Bhatnagar)
Date: Mon, 14 Sep 1992 16:10:58 GMT
Organization: University of Cincinnati


In article <1992Sep13.112847.25239@cc.uow.edu.au> g9220348@cc.uow.edu.au (adil shaikh) writes:

>Now these Kashmiris have started the UPRISING. 

Had the uprising been by the Kashmiris,
and in the name of Kashmiriat,
then thge religion of a Kashmiri would not have been an important
factor in the struggle.

What is happening in Kashmir is a replay of the division of
India in the name of "Muslims are different and can not
live with the Hindus" philosophy of some Islamis leaders.
This movement is obviously being supported by the earlier
result of the same religious fanaticism - the Pakistan.

So do not speak in the name of Kashmiris. If you talk of
separatism of Kashmir - your true colour lies in the
philosophy of an Islamic-state-being-carved out of India.


>If you are not aware of the hidden pain in the masses.

Oh yeah!

Are you aware of the pain of the hundreds of thousands of
those Kashmiri Hindus who have been thrown out of Kashmir
by the terrorists in another act of ethnic-cleansing of
the proposed Dar-ul-Islam in Ksahmir?

Shame on YOU sir, if at all on any body in this discussion
thread.


>Bye
>Adil

---raj


Newsgroups: soc.culture.indian
From: soma@ms.uky.edu (Somasekhar Tekumalla)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.indian
Subject: ROMANIAN AIRLINES INFO
Date: 9 Sep 92 16:51:28 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: University Of Kentucky, Dept. of Math Sciences

Hi,

	I am looking for info from people who have travelled by Romanian Airlines
	from NY to CALCUTTA roundtrip about the airlines : quality of service,
	comfort, safety, facilities etc etc.

		Any relevant info, first hand or otherwise, will be appreciated.

   Thanks in advance

   Bye

   soma

   soma@ms.uky.edu
   9-9-92
From: ngopala3@ua1ix.ua.edu (Ms. Nitya Feldstein)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.indian
Subject: Abortion rights
Date: 7 Sep 1992 00:32:50 -0500
Organization: UTexas Mail-to-News Gateway
NNTP-Posting-Host: cs.utexas.edu


A touchy subject. And one that has tempers flaring on both
sides. I was watching an ad on Tv just the other day, one
that shows so many little cute children, and ends with a 
message "Life, what a beautiful choice." The feelings of 
betrayal and rejection that an abandoned child feels does
not factor in the pro-lifers' equation. If abortion is to
be banned, then consequently it must also be made illegal
to abandon such unaborted children. Otherwise banning abortion 
is meaningless. What about the right of the child to love
and family life? Narrowminded religious beliefs aside, even
common sense should make it evident that one should not
create something that one cannot provide for.
And speaking of rights of mute organisms, what about animal
rights, why slaughter them for food when plants will do just
fine? Why wear leather shoes and silk sarees? Where does one
draw the line? My set of morals may not match other's, leave
alone religious beliefs. One does not have to tell a woman
that aborting a foetus is wrong, circumstances compel her to,
it is probably the most agonizing decision in her life.


Nitya. 

P.S. By the way what happened to that thread "Peanut butter and jelly?"
Is it still around or has it mutated into something else? After a long
absence it is interesting to know that the same inane "looking for" posts
dominate the subject threads.
Newsgroups: soc.culture.indian
From: ksprasad@kean.ucs.mun.ca
Subject: TR regulations
Organization: Memorial University. St.John's Nfld, Canada
Date: Fri, 11 Sep 1992 14:54:57 GMT



Hi folks:

I would appreciate if any of you could mail me the
rules and regulations for taking back personal
effects into India under "TRANSFER OF RESIDENCE (TR)"
clause.

Thanks in advance

Prasad
Newsgroups: soc.culture.indian
From: arastogi@nyx.cs.du.edu (D Murari)
Subject: Re: There is no Australian or Canadian embassy in India
X-Disclaimer: Nyx is a public access Unix system run by the University
	of Denver for the Denver community.  The University has neither
	control over nor responsibility for the opinions of users.
Organization: Nyx, Public Access Unix at U. of Denver Math/CS dept.
Distribution: na
Date: Mon, 14 Sep 92 22:46:20 GMT

In article <1992Sep13.221341.23225@unixg.ubc.ca> banarji@unixg.ubc.ca (Ajai Banarji) writes:
>
>	There is no Canadian or Australian Embassy in India
>
>  Just thought that you may like to know that neither of these countries
>has an embassy in India. Commonwealth countries have High Commissions (not
>embassies) in other Commonwealth countries.

Thanks for pointing out the mistake. But, what differnce does
it make to any ordinary man, who is applying for a tourist/student/
business visa to either of these high commissions. Being a commonwealth
country, India and its citizens do not get any special privileges
from these high commissions. So, why not call them embassies?
Just another PJ.:)-

AR      
Newsgroups: soc.culture.indian
From: thaya@solan.unit.no (Thayanantha Balasundaram)
Subject: please do not contact me thanks
Followup-To: m
Keywords: upset,peace
Organization: Norwegian Institue of Technology
Date: Thu, 10 Sep 92 16:12:57 GMT

bye bye
From: venki@mpg.phys.hawaii.edu (N. Venkateswaran)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.indian
Subject: Re: DEFENSE - Following the Wrong footsteps?
Date: 9 Sep 92 00:51:54 GMT
Organization: University of Hawaii, Dept. of Physics & Astronomy


>: J.Ainikkal@massey.ac.nz (J. Ainikkal) writes:
>: : India seem to be following suit. I do realise the importance of
>: : defence, and the need to annihilate Pakisthan if we are attacked or
>: : if their support for 'terroism' continues, but we might be going
>: : down the wrong direction with our talent(as the U.S. or U.S.S.R.).
>: : 
>: : Any comments?

	GOI must spend atleast the same amount for education as for defence. 
	That said, IMO, the defence budget of US$9B for a country as large as
	India, both geographically and population wise, is quite measly. And
	given the experiences of the past, colonisations, intrusions etc, 
	GOI needs to ensure adequate defence preparedness.
	
	Although it has become fashionable to cite the decline in the economies
	of the US and ex-USSR as an example of defence profligacy,reality 
	suggests a different picture. Subsidized protection to the satellite
	countries took a large toll on the economies. In the case of the
	soviets, it was free/cheap petrol and fuel and technology to the Warsaw
	pact countries. The US spent $300B in the defence of Europe and $100B 
	in Japan. Plus extra-favorable trading conditions.

	The apparent weaknesses in the US and Russia is
	exaggerated. Mind you, in spite of long food lines at grocery stores 
	in moscow, no country, not even China and Japan, has seen it fit
	to alter the extant boundaries. On the other hand, were Russia or
	America were perceived to be militarily weak, its safe to predict major
	changes for the World-Atlas people! 

	In a world where the rich are predominantly colonials(historically) and
	the poor the colonised, a weak defence is a sure recipe for disaster.
	Consider this: In a prosperous Western Europe, Switzerland spends $10B
	plus annually on defence. And it is surrounded by Italy, France and 
	Germany! Great Britain spends close to $50B and it has recently
	increased its nuclear capability. Bad timing, considering that the
	Soviet threat no longer exists.

	In diplomatese, a strong defence is to safeguard vital national 
	interests. Which means: If you have something that I want and I am 
	stronger than you, I'll take it. Civility and Fair trade and Oh yes,
From: bala@ulysses.att.com (Bala Krishnamurthy)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.indian
Subject: More than 1000 die in Indo-Pak Floods
Keywords: Floods India Pakistan
Date: 15 Sep 92 10:32:13 GMT

apnews reports:
	   SRINAGAR, India (AP) _ Army helicopters scrambled today to
rescue victims of flooding and landslides that have killed more
than 1,000 people in India and Pakistan and to move thousands of
others away from rising rivers.
	   More than half a million people were ordered to evacuate areas
of southern Pakistan near the Indus River, which is rising rapidly
with water churning south from last week's torrential rains.
	   At least 434 people have died in India from the rains. The
Pakistani death toll is at least 650.
	   Reports from the Indian states of Jammu-Kashmir and Uttar
Pradesh said floodwaters ripped apart thousands of wooden shacks,
submerged farms and swept away livestock.
	   The rains hit as farmers were beginning to harvest rice, a
staple of both countries' diets. In Pakistan, troops were placing
sandbags along the Indus to keep the surging water from destroying
the sugarcane and cotton crops.
	   Roads and communications links were washed out to many villages,
making the extent of the disaster difficult to assess.
	   Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif of Pakistan estimated preliminary
damage in his country at about $105 million.
	   He announced a grant of $50 million for food and medicine for
victims, many of whom are spending nights on rooftops or in
government relief camps.
	   In Jammu-Kashmir, soldiers pitched tents in hundreds of camps
across the state and set up makeshift kitchens to dole out rice and
lentil soup twice a day, Nabi said.
	   In Pulwama, 20 miles south of Srinagar, soldiers paddled boats
to rescue people, some of them stranded in trees.
	   Army engineers reported that at least 60 bridges were damaged in
the state and more than 400 villages cut off from safe water
supplies.

Newsgroups: soc.culture.indian
From: jog@kpc.com (Rajeev Jog)
Subject: Re: India's New Advanced Light Helicopter - Technical Details
Organization: Kubota Pacific Computers Inc.
Date: Thu, 10 Sep 1992 18:22:38 GMT

Nice article.  Unfortunately, the article didn't give any figures on how
much the helicopter cost to develop, and what the return on that
investment is going to be, and whether there is any plan to sell the
helicopter to other countries.  If it's really better than the others,
then there is a export market waiting to be tapped.

-- 
Rajeev Jog
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kubota Pacific Computer Inc.                                   +1 408 727 8100
2630 Walsh Avenue, Santa Clara, CA. 95051-0905, USA.               jog@kpc.com
Newsgroups: soc.culture.indian
From: thaya@solan.unit.no (Thayanantha Balasundaram)
Subject: chilli hood :=: chicken smell
Followup-To: m
Keywords: closure you by my eyes,golf,bowling,golden spoon,river full bed do not
          not care me 
Organization: Norwegian Institue of Technology
Date: Tue, 8 Sep 92 15:20:06 GMT

Newsgroups: soc.culture.indian
From: rnk@cbnews.cb.att.com (ram.n.kumar)
Subject: Re: Should Indian states need more autonomy?
Organization: AT&T
Distribution: na
Date: Sun, 6 Sep 1992 05:13:57 GMT

In article <Bu3z5F.MxI@cs.psu.edu> narayana@psuvax1.cs.psu.edu (Kuram T Narayana) writes:
>In article <1992Sep5.023700.15538@cbnews.cb.att.com> rnk@cbnews.cb.att.com (ram.n.kumar) writes:
>>In article <Bu2L5q.Fp3@cs.psu.edu> narayana@psuvax1.cs.psu.edu (Kuram T Narayana) writes:
>>>
>
>
>>If you do NOT have the decency to accuse publicly that  Rajiv did
>>take Bofors kick-backs, you have no business/moral right to be accusing
>>Karunanidhi or anyone else for that matter on the basis of
>>unproven allegations and charges.
>>
>>This actually applies to all of us, not just you. Whatever way you
>>treat Rajiv is how you should treat every other Indian citizen.
>>If want to give Rajiv the benefit of  doubt, do the same for
>>everyone else (regardless of your feelings/attitudes towards
>>that person).
>>
>May I advise you to think twice before you write! There was an
			^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>overwhelming reporting of the fascist Karunanidhi's govts
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>dealings in in the newspapers at the time the IPKF was in
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>Sri Lanka.
>


Overwhelming reporting in newspapers is not recognized and is not
interpreted one way or other in Indian or any constitution anywhere
in the world.

There has been overwhelming reporting of Bofors too. So what?
How many want to draw conclusions of Rajiv's or anyone else's
involvement, based upon newspaper reporting?


You have every right to decide that overwhelming newspaper reporting
is proof-enough for you to label Karunanidhi as a facist.
I'd rather wait until a court decides one way or other. I dont care
either about Karunanidhi or about Rajiv Gandhi that much. 

There is nothing much to think about a second time. In India,
the freedom of press can not be taken for granted. Neither can the
newspaper reporting can be viewed as impartial. It all depends on
which paper you are reading, who owns it, and on what the owner's
political views are. True,
there several independent news papers. At the same time
there are too many party-oriented newspapers too. That is why I was
suggesting the use of a common/consistent standard for all leaders
(Rajiv or Karunandihi or some XYZ).

That's all. I repect your right to believe in anything you want.
Let us agree to disagree. I think it is not unreasonable to ask that
much. Fair?  Stay cool.

Bye
Newsgroups: soc.culture.indian
Subject: Re: Arrogant Indians and Susan Forgach
From: <RIPBC@CUNYVM.BITNET>
Date: Tuesday, 8 Sep 1992 21:48:24 EDT
 <18dnraINNjt4@roundup.crhc.uiuc.edu><BuABnp.L20@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu>
Organization: City University of New York/ University Computer Center


-From: gauri@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu (Gauri Pavate)
-
-
-        The decision basically allows unrestricted abortion in the
-first trimester of pregnancy and restricted abortion (only when
-necessary for the mother's health) in stages subsequent to the
-viability of the fetus.  The states have almost full power to
-ban abortion in the final stages of pregnancy.
-
-        In essence, what the decision is doing is giving greater
-weight to the rights of women in the early part of the pregnancy
-and greater weight to the rights of the fetus in the later
-part of the pregnancy.
-
-        This seems fair, acceptable, and the best possible
-decision to resolve irreconcilable claims in this issue.
-
-                                        Gauri.

 No, the symmetry is apparent, not real.  In the first trimester, the state
may not regulate abortion, in the second trimester it may regulate abortion
but ONLY in the interests of the woman and in the final semester, it MAY
protect the foetus if it wants to.  But it NEED not.  The woman gets
two and a half semesters, and the foetus gets half a semester (half a
chance that the state will protect it in the third trimester).  This is
not exactly equitable, is it?

One thing that is in my opinion objectionaable is that RvW does not allow
the state to give an incentive to the woman to have her abortion early.
Maybe there are uneducated women who do not know that they are prgnant,
but under the present system, even a woman who is teaching a course on
reproduction, MAY delay her abortion to five and half months if she wishes.

I think that Bush and the fundamentalists are partly responsible for this
state of affairs.  With their talk about banning all abortions, they have
made women paranoid, and now they are using their very real political power
to see that the foetus and the father have no rights at all, not even
modest ones.  It is a pity, because it is extreme and is not going to be
good for anyone in the long run.

Rohit Parikh

PS:  I liked your article about Sati - very well researched and informative.
Newsgroups: soc.culture.indian
From: bala@tdd.sj.nec.com (Bala Sreekandaswamy  x2961)
Subject: Re: PAL/NTSC & NTSC/PAL CONVERSION
Organization: NEC-AM TDD, San Jose, California
Distribution: na
Date: Wed, 9 Sep 1992 17:24:22 GMT



> Can anyone in the net post the following info to the group so everybody
> can benefit:
>	I have some video cassettes in PAL format that need to be converted
> to NTSC format. Is there any reliable store/person who will be able to convert
> to this format at a reasonable price and do it within a day or two? If
> so please let me know the name of the person or store so I can contact him.
> Some of the stores in the bay area I have used kept the cassette for more
> than a week before I could finally get the tape back as they work as the
> middle men for this type of tape conversion.
>	Any input will be greatly appreciated.
> Thanks,
> Ramki


	The cheapest & best quality place I found is the Indian Video &
Saree shop "MAIL BAG" in SanJose, CA. Their turn around and quality is 
very good. They charge $7.50 per conversion and finish the job in 48hrs.
In some of my cases, they have done conversion in 24 hrs.
Their tel. # is (408) 946 - 3131. I hope this is useful to you.

-- Bala
Newsgroups: soc.culture.indian
From: pvk00@RUTS.ccc.amdahl.com (Prasad Kongara)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.indian
Subject: Medical Insurance
Date: 11 Sep 92 17:54:03 GMT


Hi Netters:

I am looking for some companies in the Bay Area
who can give temporary medical coverage for people
visiting from India. I called State Farm and a
couple of other companies. They said they don't
cover people who just arrived into the U.S.

I know that there is a policy which one can buy
in India. But, for us that option is out. The
person is already here.

Thanks for your help.

- Prasad

Sunnyvale, California U.S.A
Newsgroups: soc.culture.indian,soc.culture.sri-lanka,soc.history