“Doomsday coming on 11th May – Buy a container only $5500”

May 3, 2011
Taipei 101 as seen from Sun Yat-sen Memorial H...

Taipei 101: Image via Wikipedia

Teacher Wang predicts that a magnitude 14 earthquake and a 170 m tsunami are going to devastate Taiwan on May 11th and cut the island in two.

The Taipei 101 skyscraper and the Presidential Office will be destroyed he warns.  The only way for people to save themselves is by buying a container fitted for electricity, heating and air-conditioning and placing it in the hills beyond the reach of the coming tsunami. Each such container costs around $5500.

More than 100 such containers have been sold so far!!

Teacher Wang sounds more like an inspired marketing manager and less a doomsday prophet.

So far the police have not been able to find him.

From the BBC:

Police in Taiwan are investigating a self-proclaimed prophet whose doomsday warnings on a blog have caused panic. The man, identifying himself as Teacher Wang, said Taiwan would be struck by a magnitude-14 earthquake and 170m (560ft) high tsunami on 11 May. More than 100 cargo containers have been bought and set up in a mountainous area of central Taiwan.

Police said they were investigating if the blogger had conspired with a container business to defraud people. 

Taiwan’s famous Taipei 101 skyscraper and the Presidential Office building would be toppled, he warned.

More than 100 cargo containers have been discovered in the town of Puli, Nantou county. Workers had been hired to fit them with doors, windows and air conditioning, says the BBC’s Cindy Sui in Taipei. The containers cost about $5,500 (£3,300) each, once water and electricity are included, our correspondent adds.

Taiwan is in a quake zone. In 1999 a 7.6-magnitude tremor killed more than 2,400 people and damaged 50,000 buildings. But Taiwan’s Central Weather Bureau says there is no basis for the doomsday prediction, since a magnitude-14 tremor is unheard of, and quakes cannot be reliably predicted.

Officials say Japan’s recent devastating quake and tsunami may have led fraudsters to exploit people’s fears. The police have not been able to trace “Teacher Wang”, who had touted his theory to TV reporters but insisted his face not be shown. The authorities have removed his doomsday warnings from the internet. 

Fraud convictions carry a maximum five-year jail term while breaking the law on social order is punishable by a fine of up to $1,000, said Taiwanese police. “Teacher Wang” suggested people live in such containers to survive the disaster, which he said would kill millions of people and split the island in half.

Teacher Wang may be just another despicable fraud but he has confirmed that the gullibility of humans is unlimited and he has brightened my day! A $1000 fine with the return of the containers and the purchase price sounds like an appropriate penalty.

And while he may be a little less sophisticated he is much less dangerous than the Global Warming doomsday merchants who are milking billions of carbon trading dollars! If only Teacher Wang had linked everything to Global Warming he may have even been granted tenure at Penn State University……

Workers modify freight containers that are being converted into houses in Puli, central Nantou county on 28 April 2011

The survival containers: photo AFP

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Posted in Alarmism, Behaviour, Trivia | 6 Comments »

Food for conspiracy theories — Osama bin Laden “buried” at sea

May 2, 2011
A still of 2004 Osama bin Laden video

Image via Wikipedia

The New York Times reports that Osama bin Laden has been buried at sea.

In a dramatic late-night appearance in the East Room of the White House, Mr. Obama declared that “justice has been done” as he disclosed that American military and C.I.A.operatives had finally cornered Bin Laden, the Al Qaeda leader who had eluded them for nearly a decade. American officials said Bin Laden resisted and was shot in the head. He was later buried at sea.

If anything will feed all the theories that Osama died a long time ago, or that he was / is a US agent, or that he has been supplied with a new identity and is living safely in luxury somewhere in the Americas, it is the news released by the US Administration that he has been buried at sea. Now he can live forever!

It does seem strange that after a man-hunt for the most wanted man ever and which has lasted almost ten years that the evidence was disposed off so easily and so quickly and without any fanfare. Something smells.

The picture of the dead Osama on Pakistan TV seems to have a beard which is identical to that from a picture taken many years ago (2004?). It is plausible that the picture of the dead Osama is a montage. That the position of the open mouth, the teeth and the beard could be identical in 2 pictures taken years apart with one in life and one in death does strain credulity. 

Photo of dead Osama seems to have been photoshopped

Somebody was buried at sea. But whether it was Osama or somebody else is open to question.

A remarkably inept piece of PR – or perhaps the conspiracy theories do have some basis and this is actually a remarkably clever piece of misinformation.

Some of the conspiracy theories doing the rounds:

Version1: Somebody else was buried at sea and

  • Osama’s body is being secretly transported to the US where it will be minutely dissected, or
  • this covers up the fact that
    • Osama died a long time ago, or
    • Osama was a US agent and is living with a new identity, or
    • the terrorist known as Osama never actually existed and was created after 9/11.

Version 2: Osama died a long time ago – whereabouts unknown – and President Obama released this information at a time when he needed some good news for domestic politics and the body had to be “disposed off” quickly to make the story “unverifiable”.

Version 3: The persona known as Osama bin Laden had to be “killed off” so that the person acting out the Osama identity (name unknown) could be groomed to take over in Saudi Arabia when the monarchy falls.

Related: Osama bin Laden dead – but he changed our world

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Osama bin Laden dead – but he changed our world

May 2, 2011

All the deaths in the US, in Iraq, in Afghanistan, in Pakistan and in bomb attacks in many European, African and Middle-East countries can be linked to the events of September 11th 2001 and to Osama bin Laden. Whatever the subsequent duplicity and stupidity of Bush and Blair and Howard, they were merely reacting to what bin Laden had set in motion. Bush’s thirst for revenge in Iraq was enabled therefore by bin Laden.

Bin Laden’s body will no doubt be displayed as evidence buried at sea with DNA collected and there will be much celebration and jubilation in some quarters. There will be dismay and – hopefully – some despair and fatigue among those who use mindless violence for their political aims. The response to the events of 9/11 itself has perpetuated the cycle of violence and has even legitimised the use of terrorism as a political tool. Collateral damage has become acceptable. All manner of “means” have become justifiable and acceptable where the purpose has been the “War on Terror”. Fundamental values have been subject to new limitations and constraints. Using violence to effect regime change in other countries  is no longer taboo. Mass arrests, torture, pre-emptive strikes across country borders and the assassination of  political enemies have become legitimate actions for even “democratic” nations.  All that had been achieved in terms of civil liberties, human rights, freedom to travel and freedom to work since the end of the World War II suffered a massive setback after 9/11.

Ten years on his death is of course a milestone of great symbolic importance. But his death will not provide any simple closure to the  “War on Terror”. All the different political movements around the world which now use mindless violence and suicide bombers in public places will not cease their actions. The Al Quaida networks will not suddenly dissolve. The extremists will not disappear. But perhaps the long-term futility of using such mindless violence will become more obvious to them.

The developments in Tunisia and Egypt were not precisely what bin Laden wanted. He would have preferred a religious uprising. But the rise of the “democratic” yearnings in North Africa and the Middle East could also not have happened before 9/11. Even if the regime in Saudi Arabia is still in place and any democratic movement there is still a long way off, the popular expression of the fundamental yearnings of people  is irreversible and will not be denied.

Osama bin Laden will live in infamy far longer than Bush or Blair. The world after 9/11 is not the same as it was before bin Laden struck. 

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Saints galore – but plenty of room in Heaven for many more

May 1, 2011

BBC:

The late Pope, John Paul II, has been officially beatified at a ceremony at the Vatican in front of hundreds of thousands of Catholic faithful. Among those at St Peter’s Square is French nun Marie Simon-Pierre, who says she was cured of Parkinson’s Disease. Her apparently miraculous cure is part of the case for the beatification, the last stage before sainthood.

It comes amid criticism of the Church for the speed of the beatification and the clerical child sex abuse scandal. Much of the abuse occurred while John Paul II was Pope, from 1979-2005, and the Church has been criticised for not doing enough to punish those found responsible.

Police in Rome estimated that one million people had come to the city for the event, including large numbers of pilgrims from the late Pope’s native Poland. 

St Peter’s Square, in the Vatican, was packed, with the faithful waving banners and flags as Pope Benedict XVI declared his predecessor blessed, or beatified. Rome has not seen crowds of this size since the death of Pope John Paul II six years ago when some three million pilgrims converged on the Italian capital, says the BBC’s Vatican correspondent David Willey.

Zimbabwean leader Robert Mugabe was among those attending the beatification. A Roman Catholic, he was given special permission by the EU to fly to Italy despite being the subject of a travel ban.

Recent beatifications

  • Oct 2003: Mother Teresa, 1910-1997
  • March 2008: Marianna Donati, 1848-1925
  • Sept 2008: Michal Sopocko, 1888-1975
  • Sept 2010: John Henry Newman, Cardinal, 1801-1890

Steps to sainthood

The process, which cannot begin until at least five years after the candidate’s death unless the pope waives that waiting period, involves scrutinising evidence of their holiness, work and signs that people are drawn to prayer through their example:

  • First stage: individual is declared a ‘servant of God’
  • Second stage: individual is called ‘venerable’
  • Third stage (requires a miracle attributed to candidate’s intercession): beatification, when individual is declared blessed
  • Fourth stage (requires a further authenticated miracle): candidate is canonised as a saint for veneration by Church
But the beatification, canonisation and recognition of Saints is a highly political process – and always has been. It is the Catholic Church’s version of an Honours system and canonisation carries with it many benefits for the region or Order or community the Saint comes from. There are also certain business benefits which flow as a consequence of sainthood and usually associated with the viewing of relics, sales of souvenirs and the promotion of religious tourism.

John Paul reformed the sainthood process in 1983, making it faster, simpler, and cheaper. The office of “Devil’s advocate” – an official whose job was to try to knock down the case for sainthood – was eliminated, and the required number of miracles was dropped.

The idea was to lift up contemporary role models of holiness in order to convince a jaded secular world that sanctity is alive in the here and now. The results are well known: John Paul II beatified and canonised more people than all previous popes combined.

There are over 10,000 named saints and beatified people from history, the Roman Martyrology and Orthodox sources, but no definitive head count. 

The Catholic Church teaches that it does not, in fact, make anyone a saint. Rather, it recognizes a saint. In the Church, the title of Saint refers to a person who has been formally canonized (officially recognized) by the Catholic Church, and is therefore believed to be in Heaven. By this definition there are many people believed to be in Heaven who have not been formally declared as saints (most typically due to their obscurity and the involved process of formal canonization) but who may nevertheless generically be referred to as saints. All in Heaven are, in the technical sense, saints, since they are believed to be completely perfected in holiness. Unofficial devotions to uncanonized individuals take place in certain regions. Sometimes the word “saint” is used to refer to Christians still sojourning here on earth.

Yesterday apart from a few minutes on the TV news I managed to avoid watching the massive political PR exercise represented by the Royal Wedding. Today I watched a few minutes of the beatification ceremonies and even if it sounds cynical, I could not help thinking that it was just another political and stage-managed PR exercise. No doubt the ritual and the pomp and the ceremony on display at both events fulfils some deep-seated human needs. 

It is fortunate that Heaven lies in the realm of the infinite and there can be little cause to worry about over-crowding (and again I can’t help wondering if there are any cases of some unfortunate people who have been recognised and proclaimed as Saints but who – for God knows whatever reason – are languishing in the Other Place).

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Power and empowerment

April 30, 2011

Edmund Burke 1729-1797

“Do the thing and you will have the power. But they that do not the thing – had not the power”.

In the style of  Michel Foucault building on Niccolò Machiavelli, I take social power to be the state of an individual which can be applied to enable the mobilisation of actions. It can be taken to be similar to the state of energy of a material which enables, by its release, the doing of work.

  • Social power is the ability to mobilise actions.
  • The exercise of power is the mobilisation of actions.
  • The proper exercise of power is the mobilisation of the necessary and sufficient actions for a particular purpose.  

Empowerment then is not merely the delegating of authority. It is the increasing of the ability of the receiver to mobilise actions in his turn and may include some delegation of authority.

Empowerment then consists of actions to increase one or other of the states of human condition which confer power on his subject (knowledge, skill, social status, wealth or authority for example), so as to enhance the subject’s capability for mobilising actions.

But whether empowerment of others is needed or beneficial is a different matter. It should not be done merely for the sake of empowerment. It needs to be done for the sake of enhancing the ability of others to mobilise actions for some defined purpose.

Empowerment carries risk.

Empowering the incompetent is putting a loaded gun in the hands of a chimpanzee.

From Essence of a Manager: Chapter 2

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Posted in Behaviour, Management | 1 Comment »

Here come the health-fascists – now an obesity tax!!

April 28, 2011

The world is full of “do-gooders” who in the name of the good of the majority indulge in introducing new and wonderful ways of oppressing the minority. The environmental and health fascists who use coercive means – usually taxes and the banning of substances and even the behaviour  of others – have converted the oppression of those who don’t think as they do into a fine art.

The two latest health-fascists are members of a so-called expert group, Dan Andersson and Anna Fransson who want to tax people for being fat – for their own good and the good of society of course.

And to rub salt into the wound,  tax-payer’s money is used to generate this rubbish.

Svenska Dagbladet reports:

To stop the runaway cost of Swedish obesity a “fat tax” should be introduced,  according to a new report “Calories Cost” released by the Expert Group on Public Finance (ESO) on Thursday and written by Dan Andersson and Anna Fransson

They estimate that the cost to the public sector, in terms of healthcare and social insurance due to obesity was 15 billion kronor in 2003, a figure that could rise by between 40 and about 80 percent by 2020, according to the report.

 The authors consider that there are good reasons for the government to do something about the weight trap. “Fat taxes” could be invested in, for example, bike lanes and general public health surveys of adults.

Health costs could be minimised further by introducing a birth tax and perhaps with the tax increasing for every year of survival. This could even encourage people to commit suicide once they retire and their  economic burden becomes too heavy – for the good of the majority of course. It would solve the pensions problem and the ageing problem as well.

Perhaps it is time to introduce legislation prohibiting the fascism of “do-gooders” and banning all expert groups.

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Posted in Alarmism, Behaviour, Sweden | 1 Comment »

Eurofighter Typhoon and Dassault’s Rafale make the shortlist for Indian MMRCA order

April 27, 2011
Eurofighter Typhoon

Eurofighter Typhoon: Image via Wikipedia

The Indian $10 billion MMRCA order for 126 fighter aircraft now lies between the Eurofighter Typhoon and Dassault’s Rafale. They have been invited to the Indian MoD for further discussions on their commercial bids on April 28. The commercial bids are to expire tomorrow.

These two vendors seem to have have made the shortlist and the other four – Lockheed Martin F16, Boeing F/A 18, MiG-35 and Saab Gripen IN have been left out. Saab confirmed that they have been informed that they have not made the shortlist. (Svenska Dagbladet).

Dassault's Rafale: Dassault

Under the Indian system of procurement, the top two qualifying vendors will be invited for commercial negotiations and the one which offers the best terms (lowest price) will be eventually selected.

Related:  Indian MMRCA decision in two weeks – Eurofighter Typhoon still leads

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Posted in Aviation, Defense, India | 3 Comments »

Energy saving light bulbs are not so friendly after all

April 26, 2011
Modern fluorescent light bulb with E27 thread ...

Image via Wikipedia

From The Telegraph:

Fears have been reignited about the safety of energy saving light bulbs after a group of scientists warned that they contain cancer causing chemicals.

Their report advises that the bulbs should not be left on for extended periods, particularly near someone’s head, as they emit poisonous materials when switched on. Peter Braun, who carried out the tests at the Berlin’s Alab Laboratory, said: “For such carcinogenic substances it is important they are kept as far away as possible from the human environment.”

The bulbs are already widely used in the UK following EU direction to phase out traditional incandescent lighting by the end of this year. But the German scientists claimed that several carcinogenic chemicals and toxins were released when the environmentally-friendly compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) were switched on, including phenol, naphthalene and styrene. Andreas Kirchner, of the Federation of German Engineers, said: “Electrical smog develops around these lamps. “I, therefore, use them only very economically. They should not be used in unventilated areas and definitely not in the proximity of the head.” ……

The latest report follows claims by Abraham Haim, a professor of biology at Haifa University in Israel, that the bulbs could result in higher breast cancer rates if used late at night.

He said that the bluer light that CFLs emitted closely mimicked daylight, disrupting the body’s production of the hormone melatonin more than older-style filament bulbs, which cast a yellower light.

The Migraine Action Association has warned that they could trigger migraines and skin care specialists have claimed that their intense light could exacerbate a range of existing skin problems.

Related: 

Bring back my incandescent light bulb!

A reprieve for incandescent bulbs? 


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Posted in Alarmism, Energy, Environment | 2 Comments »

Parrakeet to be eliminated from the wild: So much for bio-diversity

April 25, 2011

A case of alarmism vs. alarmism.

That the clamour for protection of biodiversity is just so much alarmist nonsense becomes obvious from this report. The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds apparently supports this action to eliminate a species from the wild even though it has not yet caused any damage!

Bio-diversity alarm always takes second place if any species poses even the slightest threat – real or perceived – to the human species. 

From the BBC:

Monk parakeet

A species of parakeet that threatens wildlife and crops is to be removed from the wild, the government has said. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said the monk parakeet, originally from South America, was an invasive species.

It announced control measures to either rehouse the birds, remove their nests, or – as a last resort – shoot them. Defra estimates there are around 100 of the green-and-yellow birds in the UK, mainly in the south east of England. 

Although the species had not yet caused any damage, Defra said they had the potential to threaten “national infrastructure”. It said extensive damage to crops had been reported in both North and South America, and the birds could cause power cuts when their nests were built on electricity pylons, particularly when they become wet from rain.

…..

A spokesman for the RSPB, the bird conservation group, said: “Our understanding is that they are going to be brought into captivity; we don’t see it’s necessary for them to be culled. “We’re happy action is taking place in that they’re being removed from the wild.

“It’s a small population at large, as the birds are colonial and are concentrated in one or two sites, so it will be possible to deal with as we think it could be a problem.”


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Jail time coming for Anil Ambani?

April 23, 2011

As an “anti-corruption” wave sweeps through the normally long-suffering and silent majority in India, Tihar Jail in Delhi is filling up with the rich and the famous now being caught up in the wake of the Satyam scams, the 2G scam and the pig-troughs surrounding the Delhi Commonwealth Games.

And about time too.

If this wave becomes a tsunami Tihar will soon need a new wing.

The 2G scam was based on the underpricing of 2G spectrum by the Telecom Ministry of India, resulting in a loss to the exchequer of some $40 billion and with a corresponding benefit to the companies being allocated the 2G licences. The former Minister and a number of other players are all currently in jail though a trial and convictions are still a long way away.

Back in February Tehelka reported:

THE 2G spectrum scam is getting murkier by the day. A well-known Maharashtra politician and a Delhi- based real estate group have now come under the probe agencies’ scanner for their suspected role in the scam.

This new revelation takes the probe to the doorsteps of political parties other than the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK). Over the past week, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has interrogated at length senior officials of the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG) and Amit Sarin, the Delhi-based billionaire and real estate tycoon, asking them to explain a string of suspicious transactions, particularly one where Rs. 100 crore was transferred to Mumbai billionaire Shahid Balwa a day after he applied for a telecom licence.

The CBI has unearthed a money trail of Rs. 100 crore that starts from the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, goes through the Delhi-based real estate company Anant Raj Group and Balwa, and finally ends with a company associated with the influential Maharashtra politician.

Now evidence is forthcoming from the banks involved in the jungle of transactions  involving the menagerie of companies controlled by Anil Ambani’s ADAG Group and which confirms that Anil Ambani was central to the games being played:

Anil Ambani and wife Tina were the only two individuals with unlimited powers to transfer money and make payments for the sevenAnil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG) companies that are now under CBI investigation for their links to the 2G scam-linked Swan Telecom, according to the testimony of Amit Khot, deputy branch manager of ICICI Bank’s Nariman Point branch, where these seven companies have their accounts. 

From Tehelka again:

Swan, Tiger, Parrot, Zebra, Penguin, Giraffe: A corporate menagerie
The CBI believes that the conspiracy behind the Swan Telecom was hatched in early 2006 when ADAG created a web of newly formed companies named after animals.

The following six companies were incorporated between March and July 2006:
1. Swan Infonet (later renamed Parrot Contelesultants); incorporated on 17 March 2006
2. Penguin International Ventures Pvt Ltd (later renamed Reliance Utility Engineers) on 26 June 2006 
3. Swan Advisory Services Pvt Ltd (later renamed Zebra Consultants Pvt Ltd) on 21 March 2006
4. Giraffe Consultancy Pvt Ltd (later renamed Sidhartha Consultancy) on 27 June 2006 
5. Tiger Traders on 20 March 2006, and
6. Swan Capital Pvt Ltd (later renamed as Swan Telecom) on 13 July 2006

All these companies were incorporated with an initial share capital of 1 lakh each. Even these few lakhs allegedly came from the bank accounts of top ADAG officials. Besides, either an ADAG company or directors of ADAG owned equity in these companies. The addresses provided in the incorporation documents were those of the registered office of ADAG.

The ADAG Menagerie: Tehelka

Tina and Anil Ambani with friend

It would seem to be just a matter of time before Anil Ambani is taken in for questioning about the 2G scam but whether he spends any jail time remains to be seen. (Commentary removed – October 2014)

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