Chinese scientists genetically modify human embryos

This sounds straight out of a science fiction film.  This reportedly had been carried out by Chinese scientists.  Though the results were not outright successful, a beginning has been made.

Needless to say, something as controversial as this is bound to have its pro's and con's,

The single most important argument in its favour is that it eliminates diseases and would lead to birth of healthy babies.  This is quite a compelling factor to push for such studies.  Parents would no longer need to worry about the well being of their new born and their several associated complications.

On the negative front - it tantamounts to meddling with nature and would go against the natural way of life.  But ask any parent of a differently abled child and I am sure he would rather take this chance than let his child endure the agony for a life time.  So, this argument does not hold good and further research is the definite way forward.

The only real cons are two:-

1. How do we stop parents then from going for designer kids?  I would definitely want my children to look like Hollywood film stars - so what stops me from altering/replacing their genes? what are the socio-ethical considerations in that?  There is nothing wrong in that too!!! Just like a parent of differently abled child wants a normal one - a parent of normal child may want a child with movie star looks!!! Nothing wrong but what effect it will have on the society cannot  really be estimated now!!

2. The second and the more serious one is - what effect this genetic alteration/replacement will have on the future generations of the same child.  Will they lead to some abnormal mutations and lead to some strange babies being borne?  We already hear stories of a few abnormal babies who are largely attributed to genetic mutations as a result of pollution, but the genetic mutations as a result this gene therapy may produce such babies on a large scale.  However, it is only a 'may' and it will take decades after the treatment is perfected to know the results!!

In the short term atleast, this treatment is likely to bring joy to many parents.

Juvenile Justice??

It is justice at last for victims in cases such as that of  'Nirbhaya', where the perpetrators of the crime have gotten off very lightly because of their age being less than 18 years.  The Nirbhaya case especially sparked of a spirited debate to reduce the age to be tried as an adult.

The standard appeal was - if a boy is old enough to molest, rape or kill - he is also old enough to be tried for those crimes, for, there is nothing 'juvenile' about a rape or a murder.  The idea of a juvenile home was to ensure that the child's mind does not get scarred by jail life but in the cases of these rapists and murderers, their minds are already so scarred that there is no harm in sending them to a jail.

The honourable courts may be requested to further harden their stand and define which crimes will be always be tried 'as if committed by an adult' irrespective of age.  Bcoz a 'rape' or a 'murder' will always be a rape or a murder for the victim irrespective of the attacker's age - so, why should the punishment be any lesser? - in any case there is no 'loss of innocence' of a child by sending him to prison as his mind is already corrupt.

So, it is time for us to think of waiving off this age requirement altogether for heinous crimes which may be defined by the courts. and more importantly, it is also time to now get that juvenile who badly bruised 'Nirbhaya', into the ambit of this new law and not let him get away.  That would be one legal battle which we all must stand by and I am sure that would bring joy to 'Nirbhaya' in the heavens above!! 

LEST WE FORGET

Khap panchayats and the girl child

If we can save the Cow , why can't we save the girl child?! - a Khap panchayat asked!!!

We all have to agree that they have got this one dead right.  They have decided to fight female infanticide both by education of villagers and with the threat of outcast of the people who indulge in such acts.

Now, they must press on with their agenda without bowing to any political/class/caste pressure and I am sure their acts will bear fruit in the years to come.

While their efforts in this direction need to be appreciated, the larger issue which khaps need to address is - why does female infanticide happen in the first place?  we dont hear of  male infanticide!!! 

I am also rather certain that parents do not want to dump a baby just like that.  It's got to do with social and economic considerations which have been amply brought out in my earlier post

http://recklessmusings.blogspot.in/search/label/Family%20Balancing

If Khaps could address the issues mentioned in the above post, they would etch their existence in glory.  

I hope they do!!

aiims doctor Mrs Priya vedi suicide

I was aghast to read that a 30 year old resident doctor Mrs Priya Vedi had allegedly committed suicide by slitting her wrists on 18 april 2015.  The reasons listed by her were:-

1.her marriage of 5 years was not consummated

2.her husband was gay

3.she was harassed for dowry by her in-laws

I presume she did everything possible to avoid that fateful decison because nobody will part with their life at the first go itself.  My heartfelt condolences were with her for the strange situation she found herself in and i ardently pray that her soul rests in peace.

I don't agree with her decison though. C'mon, she was an educated woman, that too a senior resident doctor in aiims - does she really have to end it that way.  What sort of an example does she set for the less fortunate ones - those who are not educated enough to get a small job even.  how do they survive domestic violence and dowry harassments? do they all committ suicide??  Whatever the complications, an educated independent lady could have obtained divorce (however painful it might have been) and started her second life.  anything would have been better than taking her life.  This was just not OK Lady and you may have set a bad example for few others. 

Her suicide is actually indicative of the mindset of women in India and I cannot but feel perturbed about it. It may not even be their fault entirely.  It may be getting ingrained in their minds due to the way we bring up the girl children in our country which includes staunch fear of rejection of a divorcee from the maternal household.  The maternal household may be unwilling to support the divorcee due to various reasons - financial and social.  Unless we address such deep rooted issues women may continue to dangerously flirt with thoughts such as these. But, whatever may be the   compelling causes for suicide, let us join hands in shunning such practices by women.  suicide is not the answer.  life is too valuable to throw it away over domestic violence.  we need to give more confidence to our girl children that they indeed are loved and would be supported despite a divorce!!!

having said that - may this young lady's soul rest in peace and hope we don't get to hear any similar news even in the distant future.

Greenland

If you have seen the old movie 'water world' (with Kevin Costner in the lead) it gives an idea of how the world would be if the land gets submerged by the seas.  I happened to watch it again today and it set me thinking!!

Can we discard it as another 'doomsday' flick?  or is that a reality we may be faced with in a few hundred years from now?!!

How is this happenning!! Well to my understanding the reason lies in the oft heard and repeated word 'global warming'.  'How' and 'why' global warming is happenning is  a subject in itself but in simple layman terms - it means that the surface temperatures on the Earth are rising with every passing year, which is now a well established fact.  The average temperatures in my home town were 20 to 35 degrees a decade back whereas now they are 10 to 45 degrees. The temperatures rose steadily every year.

Melting ice

So what happens to the ice?  Let us take a simple analogy.  The ice is like a frozen packet of milk which you place on your stove or defrost in the oven to bring it to liquid form.  In both cases, heat is generated to melt the frozen milk.  similarly due to the rise in the heat, the ice is melting and as a result more amount of water is being generated.  

Though the net mass available of earth is constant (remember - matter cannot be destroyed and only changes form!!!) it has changed form, from a vertical ice block to a horizontal sheet of water.  This horizontal sheet of water naturally increases the height of water level and severely endangers islands and shallow land areas.

One of the most threatened countries reported on, Maldives may loose majority of her land to seawater by the turn of the next century and even that timeline is given only if she undertakes extensive coastal protection measures.

A one metre rise in water would make Maldives (comprising about 1100 islands), Micronesia (about 600 islands) and many others such as Solomon islands, Palau etc to be unsuitable for inhabitation or cause severe difficulties for human settlements. We should also include Greenland as she is the one set to loose this mass of land(ice).

Not just ice - lotsa people too

There are millions of people living in these low lying areas/islands and they all have to relocated.  They would loose their life time of earnings,their homes,memories and everything they love about their own homeland.  But the relocation of the people of these islands would only be the beginning. 

As the levels continue to rise, more and more land may get inundated by the sea - a typical scenario out of our sacred books - where they see all the land being inundated by the sea and the end of all civilisation!!!

Are we heading there - I wonder!!!

censor board for TV

Yesterday i found my 4 year old daughter humming the lyrics of the sunny leone song 'baby doll'. I was shocked as i try my best to avoid unneccessary tv exposure to my little one.

Now here she is, despite my best efforts singing this song!!!  One can be dismissive and simply brush aside the whole issue saying that - i could have locked the channel, switched off the tv, disconnected my cable connection etc etc ... the list is endless.

but look at it from my point of view.  how many channels can i lock? with subtly sexy ads and songs coming in all channels with no prior warning to viewers, how do we react to this?

In addition i must say - if a thief manages to enter your bed room - whose fault is it - your's or the thief's? -  these tv visuals are like thieves who trespassed into our houses and they are refusing to go!!!!!

Its not only the shows/songs but also the advertisements that have turned objectionable with deo sprays, condomns and even some ointment ads being made to look like ultra soft porn.  Some super righteous and super idealistics have said that only perverts can find 'ads' to be porn.  Well I wish to say to all of them - hey this is the real world!! please let go your lofty ideals, come down to grass roots level and see what is happening every day on the ground!!!

The TV shows do carry a notice that if we wish to, we can complain to the Broadcasting authority of India against the content.  This shows that there is already a regulatory body to keep a check on TV.  But why entertain complaints after the show is broadcast - why not have it screened by the regulatory body prior broadcast like for movies.  

This may need some additional organisation, manpower and resources but then, this is the need of the hour.

It's time - yes -it's time that we have a censor board for TV shows and the adverts too.  

Virat Kohli

Well, apart from having the gorgeous anushka as his girl friend, Virat has several firsts as an Indian cricketer - He is extremely aggressive, swears loudly, celebrates even mile stones with cuss words and leaves no stone unturned in giving it back to the opposition.

Not sure if he can be a role model for young children in his present avatar but he is definitely not a  "Tendulkar".  But Virat probably has more power packed performances in difficult situations than Tendulkar which even his die hard fans (me included) have to concede.

But what got me grinning from ear to ear was the fact that the Aussie team finds him agressive.  C'mon, is it the case of the "pot calling the kettle black?"   The Aussies have for a long time sledged with gay abandon and turned it into a special art.  "You got to stand a bit of it on the field mate", said an unapologetic Aussie great.  Well how much is a 'bit' is a very relative term and anyone who followed the TV visuals closely or read interviews of people who toured down under would realise that  "bit" means "quite a bit".  For many years Indian players too were at the receiving end of this "quite a bit" with even a few occassional skirmishes.

Virat is a winner we know for sure, but for the Aussies to crib that Virat is aggressive on and off the field is quite a revelation!!! This means that he is able to play them in their own game - for good or for bad.  That really is something and I can only say - Whatever you are doing buddy - just keep doing it.  

Its working and we can do with a bit of aggression down under.

Wish you all the very best.

pure heart

Ideals which one should try to imbibe

CIBIL - grinding on regardless

I was shocked to read that CIBIL now intends to use your utility bill payments to determine credit history.  I heard of this some time before but never thought that they will actually get down to implementing it.

There are reasons why this should not be implemented:-

telephone bill -

1. many a time, the telephone bill is inflated and you are in a protracted negotiation with the telecom provider for reduction of the bill. 

2. many outlets do not accept post paid mobile payments.
3. your job may involve frequent tours and you may not be available in the city to pay your bills.  all the bills paid after the due date will not only attract 'late fee' but also 'reporting to CIBIL' i.e you are doubly punished for the same event.

4. in any case, they charge a late fee of about rs 100/- (which is nearly 50% of your monthly plan) and they even cut your telephone within a month of not paying. they then charge reconnection charges also.

5. if DPD(days past due - which is number of days payment is due after the payment due date) is implemented just like in credit cards, the consumer will be under excessive pressure to pay the bill even if minor errors are present.  This will  unduly benefit the telcos and put the consumer at a severe loss.

other utility bills-

the same could be said about all the other bills also. best/govt electric agencies would not hesitate to cut off electricity to your house if the bill is not paid within a month.  so why should anyone be additionally harassed by virtue of reporting to CIBIL.

Presently, as you all are aware banks are sharing info with CIBIL. For example - if a fraudulent transaction took place on your card and you are in negotiation with the bank for dispute resolution,  the amount in question continues to remain as outstanding and would be reflected as DPD till the time the issue is resolved.  Many banks share info on a monthly basis and you continue to be a defaulter till the issue is resolved.  And even after it is resolved the onus is totally on you (and not on the bank) to get your name cleared in CIBIL.

If that is the case with banks (where the employees are more responsible) you can imagine the state of telcos (a routine interaction with the staff at any outlet of any major telco shows how careless they are). they would report you at the first possible oppurtunity and will not take your name off the list.

On the legal front, there are no penalties imposed on the banks for wrongful reporting to CIBIL and CIBIL by themselves claim that they are not responsible for any wrong reporting by any bank.  The individuals are advised by CIBIL to take up with the concerned bank directly.

To avoid all these problems and because utility bill amounts are small, the customer may be forced to end up coughing the money even if the amount is not due just to avoid a credit downgrade.  This is definitely not in the interest of the common man.

Finally, before the ambit of CIBIL is expanded to cover different kind of payments, it may be time to pitch for a regulatory framework wherein both the reporting banks/agencies and CIBIL are made accountable for wrong reporting.  

CIBIL especially cannot absolve themselves of responsibility because:-

1. they are making a lot of money in the process

2. the banks are basing their lending decisons on CIBIL data which means the dreams of many a common man are made or unmade based on the data supplied by them!!!!

India's daughter

This saga sems to be continuing!!! The documentary film maker refuses to let the issue pass.  Now, she even started sermonising the Indian society and it is reported that she  petetioned the honourable PM against the ban.

The editor's guild of India also appealed for the ban to be revoked. Wonder what their view point is!!!

While she is certain to draw accolades for her film with the kind of attention it generated, the same could not be said about the content or the intent of the film.

The film and the kind of movie star like attention it heaped on the perpetrator of the crime also doesn't do any good to anyone.  This is one thing that the late Nirbhaya would certainly agree!! May God be with her in these tough times and let her soul rest in peace.

An insult to Nirbhaya

BBC went ahead and broadcast the documentary on Nirbhaya.  In fact they preponed the broadcast date to yesterday night in U.K.  

What was the tearing hurry to broadcast the film without court clearences in this country and further upload it on you tube is a question which BBC would be hard pressed to answer.  

Sample a few stats in this regard-

as per open sources - 85,000 women are raped in u.k every year

which means that everyday 232 women are being raped in england.

In India 93 women (as against 232 in england) are raped every day.

Now compare the populations of both countries.

India has a population of of 1200 million and england has a population of about 50 million.

Therefore the % rapes of women in uk is 0.0017 per year 

whereas in India it is 0.0000028 

i.e rapes in india are 1000 times lesser. 

So, the simple question - if BBC wanted to highlight the plight of women why didnt they look inwards into the British prisons and interview the rape convicts there.  Why did they come here and why did they feel that broadcasting an interview of an Indian rapist only should make the cut?

Lastly, how do we address this blatant disobedience of our govt's requests and court's directives by the BBC? 

How we address this issue could be one of the defining moments of the inner strengths of our great Nation.

Hope our Govt gives a befitting reply to this stance of BBC.