[silk] Nuclear Pakistan: inevitable necessity
http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/Opinions/Columns/28-Jun-2009/Nuclear-Pakistan-inevitable-necessity/1 The foremost necessity for Pakistan is its security and independence as a sovereign state. If the very existence of the country is threatened by a powerful hostile neighbour like India then what good is its accumulated wealth. The author himself has tacitly agreed to the deterrent value of the bomb when he said: Surely, neither side would like to see Delhi and Lahore reduced to rubble and millions killed or crippled for generations. With this admission there is no need of any further arguments and the case is closed in favour of Pakistan to be nuclear as an essential necessity and imperative to keep off aggressive India. These gentlemen who advocate no nuclear arsenal for Pakistan are oblivious of the facts of history of the subcontinent where the majority community, which is now Hindustan, spared no attempt to physically obliterate the minority community (Muslim) and even openly threatened to throw them into the Indian Ocean. It remained only empty rhetoric. India cannot change its attitude about Pakistan, it had never reconciled with the division of the subcontinent and ever since has been trying to undo the division, and partially succeeded in 1971 by severing Pakistan's eastern wing. Five explosions in 1998 by Pakistan changed the situation and forced India to change its tactics. Now it depends on insurgency in FATA, Waziristan and Balochistan and diversion of water of rivers like Chenab against the International Water Treaty. But dare no more use of its armed forces on battle fields. The bomb has done its job. God bless nuclear Pakistan. shiv
Re: [silk] Introducing myself: Tom Rielly, Fellowship/Community Director from TED Conferences in New York City
On Jun 25, 2009, at 5:21 AM, Udhay Shankar N wrote: On Thu, Jun 25, 2009 at 12:31 PM, Tom Rielly trie...@gmail.com wrote: I understand it is proper protocol to introduce myself. I'm a friend of Reuben Abraham's and am hard at work on our upcoming TEDIndia Conference in Mysore Nov 4-7, 2009. My job at TED encompasses several aspects: the TED Fellows program, the TED Book Club, Membership, and working on producing the conferences. I am also the conference's resident satirist, making fun of the speakers at the end of the conference. Right now we're in the process of selecting 100 Fellows for TEDIndia from hundreds of applicants. Fascinating, say more about this? Oh, and welcome aboard. Udhay -- ((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com)) Thanks Udhay, People apply for the Fellowship, or have been nominated by another, at which point we invite them to apply. They need to fill out an online form that attempts to get to know the candidates beyond the usual statistics about academic tests and degrees achieved. We're looking for accomplishments over potential, achievement over credentials, though many folks chosen will have strong bona fides. We select a heterogeneous group of leaders from technology, entertainment, design, science, humanities, the arts, NGOs and entrepreneurship. You'll find authors, filmmakers and bloggers. Our target age is 21-40, though anyone 18-20 or 41+ is welcome to apply, too. We focus on people from five regions of the world: Africa, Asia-Pacific, the Caribbean, Latin America and the Middle East. TEDIndia is unusual in that we're bringing 100 Fellows, rather than our usual 25. We also did this at our TEDAfrica conference held in June, 2007 in Arusha, Tanzania. Approximately 80% of the fellows will be from the subcontinent. In addition to India, you many see folks from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Tibet. How do we choose? We get asked this question a lot. Nearly all the applicants are high achievers. The shortest way to explain what we're looking for: Be interesting. Many of our fellows have started an organization or company made a film, written a book, invented a product, or done novel and interesting scientific research. Most have incredibly interesting stories that leap off of the screen at you. What aren't we looking for? Academic success alone, without achievement. Many promising students would make great Fellows later after they have begun their life's work (though other students have achieved an amazing amount in addition to their studies). Folks who are already so far along in their career that a fellowship might not prove transformative. Folks who could afford to pay to attend TED themselves. And, finally, not only candidates from NGOs, though we will have many amazing ones. Judging from the applications we've reviewed to date, we're going to have a great group. Let me know if I can answer more questions. I apologize in advance if there is a delay, as we are T-minus three weeks from TEDGlobal and must select our TEDIndia Fellows before we leave. Cheers, Tom Tom Rielly Community Director TED Conferences LLC 55 Vandam St. 16th Floor NY NY 10013 new mobile number: 646.256.7419 Tel: 212.346.9333 Fax: 212.227.6397 t...@ted.com www.ted.com TED2010 Long Beach CA SOLD OUT. Simulcast in Palm Springs CA now open. A few seats remain for TEDGlobal in Oxford, UK July 21-24, 2009. Watch for TEDIndia registration opening soon.
Re: [silk] Introducing myself: Tom Rielly, Fellowship/Community Director from TED Conferences in New York City
On Jun 25, 2009, at 6:16 AM, Deepa Mohan wrote: Well, you riveted me while doing so Tom! Welcome...and if you can tell me how I could get into the audience in Mysore...could I be one of the ushers? Uh oh, from what you write, looks as if it might have been sold out some time ago Cheers, Deepa. Deepa, au contraire, registrations are still open. We are fortunate that our conference in Long Beach sells out in a week's time, but it took 20 years to achieve that. At TEDIndia, We expect to have 500-600 attendees and are way more than half way there. I hope that you can join us! Cheers, Tom Tom Rielly Community Director TED Conferences LLC 55 Vandam St. 16th Floor NY NY 10013 new mobile number: 646.256.7419 Tel: 212.346.9333 Fax: 212.227.6397 t...@ted.com www.ted.com TED2010 Long Beach CA SOLD OUT. Simulcast in Palm Springs CA now open. A few seats remain for TEDGlobal in Oxford, UK July 21-24, 2009. Watch for TEDIndia registration opening soon.
Re: [silk] Introducing myself: Tom Rielly, Fellowship/Community Director from TED Conferences in New York City
On Jun 25, 2009, at 11:47 AM, Venkat Mangudi wrote: More, more... am all ears. must one have applied already? Welcome, Tom. Hold on tight, and don't eat before the ride if you feel queasy on roller coasters. ;-) --venkat mangudi PS: Why is TED India so darn expensive? Venkat, The Fellowship application process is officially closed. If you know about a truly exceptional individual that you think we absolutely must have, I'm happy to hear about them but can make no promises. We already have a strong group of applicants. Re: TEDIndia pricing. I acknowledge that it is quite expensive relative to conferences held in India. We have two tiers of pricing: $2400 for attendees, and a limited amount of $1400 places for people from academia and the NGO world. This price includes housing on the Mysore Infosys training campus for up to five days. If, like many conferences we held TEDIndia in Mumbai or Dehli, a hotel alone might cost $2000 for five nights. All meals, evening events, and even a transfer from the Bangalore airport are included. I think it's fair to consider the true price of a conference how much is admission plus lodging plus transportation plus meals. We hope that attendees will find great value in attending. If it proves too expensive, which it will for many, know that eventually, nearly all the talks will be released for free for everyone on TED.com, and will also end up subtitled into a growing number of Indian languages for those who don't share this list's members English fluency. We have talks subtitled in 8 Indian languages on TED.com so far, with more to come. Respectfully, Tom Tom Rielly Community Director TED Conferences LLC 55 Vandam St. 16th Floor NY NY 10013 new mobile number: 646.256.7419 Tel: 212.346.9333 Fax: 212.227.6397 t...@ted.com www.ted.com TED2010 Long Beach CA SOLD OUT. Simulcast in Palm Springs CA now open. A few seats remain for TEDGlobal in Oxford, UK July 21-24, 2009. Watch for TEDIndia registration opening soon.
Re: [silk] Introducing myself: Tom Rielly, Fellowship/Community Director from TED Conferences in New York City
On Jun 25, 2009, at 1:47 PM, Sumant Srivathsan wrote: As Reuben Abraham keeps reminding us, TED India is priced at a fraction of the cost of the US sessions. Under half-price, I believe. In perspective, the India Today Conclave costs about the same amount. -- Sumant Srivathsan http://sumants.blogspot.com Sumant, The India Today Conclave is about the same price, but with Dehli hotel prices included, the total costs appears to us to be much more expensive. We definitely looked at their pricing model (and others) as a guide. TED will never be the least expensive conference to attend. However, those prices help bring the conference's speakers to the rest of the world on ted.com. By comparison, TED in Long Beach costs $6,000, $12,000 or $100,000 (five years). The two higher tiers have additional benefits, and are for people interested in funding our other work, including the TEDPrize, TED Fellows, and TED.com. TEDGlobal in Oxford is $4500. A limited number of tickets for NGO and Academic attendees at both conferences are available for $2,000. Finally, the TED Fellows program ensures a great group of 25 amazing people attend per conference as our guests. In subsequent years that number will grow as we add senior fellows. Cheers, Tom Tom Rielly Community Director TED Conferences LLC 55 Vandam St. 16th Floor NY NY 10013 new mobile number: 646.256.7419 Tel: 212.346.9333 Fax: 212.227.6397 t...@ted.com www.ted.com TED2010 Long Beach CA SOLD OUT. Simulcast in Palm Springs CA now open. A few seats remain for TEDGlobal in Oxford, UK July 21-24, 2009. Watch for TEDIndia registration opening soon.
Re: [silk] Introducing myself: Tom Rielly, Fellowship/Community Director from TED Conferences in New York City
On Jun 25, 2009, at 3:31 PM, Deepa Mohan wrote: Er, I don't know these amounts...are the figures occult, or could we know them? When you say TED India is priced at...does it mean membership? Attending the lectures? I don't know how the framework operates. Well, so far, TED has been free to me; I have enjoyed a very wide- ranging variety of topics on the net! So now I suppose I get to see who's paying for all of that... Deepa. Deepa, perhaps we are occult or a cult, as some have suggested. : ) TEDIndia is priced at means the cost of admission, lodging, meals and transfer. We have a one price includes everything policy: There are no one day passes, or session passes or people coming and going. And I'm happy you enjoy TED.com for free. You will always be able to do so, and over time we will release virtually all the talks from TEDIndia online. People who do attend come for the amazing audience and the chance to meet the speakers and for the immersive experience we try hard to create. Cheers, Tom Tom Rielly Community Director TED Conferences LLC 55 Vandam St. 16th Floor NY NY 10013 new mobile number: 646.256.7419 Tel: 212.346.9333 Fax: 212.227.6397 t...@ted.com www.ted.com TED2010 Long Beach CA SOLD OUT. Simulcast in Palm Springs CA now open. A few seats remain for TEDGlobal in Oxford, UK July 21-24, 2009. Watch for TEDIndia registration opening soon.
Re: [silk] Introducing myself: Tom Rielly, Fellowship/Community Director from TED Conferences in New York City
On Thursday 25 Jun 2009 12:31:02 pm Tom Rielly wrote: Rielly may be best known as founder and former CEO of PlanetOut, the leading gay and lesbian Internet company which accomplished three firsts: first venture investment in, first corporate financing of, and first IPO of a company serving the gay market. What does a gay and lesbian internet company do? Does it cater to specific content? shiv
Re: [silk] Introducing myself: Tom Rielly, Fellowship/Community Director from TED Conferences in New York City
On Jun 26, 2009, at 2:55 PM, Kiran Jonnalagadda wrote: 2009/6/25 Venkat Mangudi s...@venkatmangudi.com PS: Why is TED India so darn expensive? Being one who can't afford the ticket, failed to apply for a fellowship, and wouldn't have qualified anyway, I will cheerfully camp in Mysore and expect (a) someone will see me waving like an idiot from the gate and will come out to say hi, and (b) the videos will be public within hours of each talk, so I can figure out who the heck that was who just came out and said hi. -- Kiran Jonnalagadda http://jace.zaiki.in/ Kiran, If you execute your plan, wouldn't be the first time. ; ) Alas, the video will talk appearing soon after the conference, but not instantly. The videos actually take a while to be posted, because we don't just take the live mix of the conference and encode it and post it. We shoot with five cameras (or more), and then take all the footage and produce it more like a short film with editors trained in B(Hollywood). We edit out the speaker's pauses, ums and ers, fix the sound and color correct and even add subtitles, including many Indian languages. Nonetheless, I'll keep an eye out for you. : ) Cheers, Tom Tom Rielly Community Director TED Conferences LLC 55 Vandam St. 16th Floor NY NY 10013 new mobile number: 646.256.7419 Tel: 212.346.9333 Fax: 212.227.6397 t...@ted.com www.ted.com TED2010 Long Beach CA SOLD OUT. Simulcast in Palm Springs CA now open. A few seats remain for TEDGlobal in Oxford, UK July 21-24, 2009. Watch for TEDIndia registration opening soon.
Re: [silk] Introducing myself: Tom Rielly, Fellowship/Community Director from TED Conferences in New York City
On Jun 28, 2009, at 11:38 AM, ss wrote: On Thursday 25 Jun 2009 12:31:02 pm Tom Rielly wrote: Rielly may be best known as founder and former CEO of PlanetOut, the leading gay and lesbian Internet company which accomplished three firsts: first venture investment in, first corporate financing of, and first IPO of a company serving the gay market. What does a gay and lesbian internet company do? Does it cater to specific content? shiv Shiv, that's a great question. Our company was founded to serve the gay and lesbian communities. It offered news, entertainment, travel, dating, and many other kinds of content and services. It achieved some important milestones: First organization to serve more that 100,000 GLBT customers (eventually 5,000,000), first company serving the gay community to receive venture capital, corporate investment and one of the first to attract international brands to advertise. However, I'm most proud of the services we provided to people who were in the closet, questioning their sexuality or just coming out. We helped a meaningful number of people accept themselves, address issues with their friends and families if any, and find relationships. It persists to this day, but was sold to another company and has been hard hit competing against free personal ads on Craigslist.org and niche dating sites. I left in 2000. Cheers, Tom Tom Rielly Community Director TED Conferences LLC 55 Vandam St. 16th Floor NY NY 10013 new mobile number: 646.256.7419 Tel: 212.346.9333 Fax: 212.227.6397 t...@ted.com www.ted.com TED2010 Long Beach CA SOLD OUT. Simulcast in Palm Springs CA now open. A few seats remain for TEDGlobal in Oxford, UK July 21-24, 2009. Watch for TEDIndia registration opening soon.
[silk] PK and climate change and its implications
I don't think there's been enough discussion in the popular sphere about the consequences of climate change in the Indo-Pak situation. Cheeni http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2009/06/22/failed_states_index_the_last_straw The Last Straw If you think these failed states look bad now, wait until the climate changes. BY STEPHAN FARIS Hopelessly overcrowded, crippled by poverty, teeming with Islamist militancy, careless with its nukes—it sometimes seems as if Pakistan can’t get any more terrifying. But forget about the Taliban: The country's troubles today pale compared with what it might face 25 years from now. When it comes to the stability of one of the world's most volatile regions, it's the fate of the Himalayan glaciers that should be keeping us awake at night. In the mountainous area of Kashmir along and around Pakistan's contested border with India lies what might become the epicenter of the problem. Since the separation of the two countries 62 years ago, the argument over whether Kashmir belongs to Muslim Pakistan or secular India has never ceased. Since 1998, when both countries tested nuclear weapons, the conflict has taken on the added risk of escalating into cataclysm. Another increasingly important factor will soon heighten the tension: Ninety percent of Pakistan's agricultural irrigation depends on rivers that originate in Kashmir. This water issue between India and Pakistan is the key, Mohammad Yusuf Tarigami, a parliamentarian from Kashmir, told me. Much more than any other political or religious concern. Until now, the two sides had been able to relegate the water issue to the back burner. In 1960, India and Pakistan agreed to divide the six tributaries that form the Indus River. India claimed the three eastern branches, which flow through Punjab. The water in the other three, which pass through Jammu and Kashmir, became Pakistan's. The countries set a cap on how much land Kashmir could irrigate and agreed to strict regulations on how and where water could be stored. The resulting Indus Waters Treaty has survived three wars and nearly 50 years. It's often cited as an example of how resource scarcity can lead to cooperation rather than conflict. But the treaty's success depends on the maintenance of a status quo that will be disrupted as the world warms. Traditionally, Kashmir's waters have been naturally regulated by the glaciers in the Himalayas. Precipitation freezes during the coldest months and then melts during the agricultural season. But if global warming continues at its current rate, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimates, the glaciers could be mostly gone from the mountains by 2035. Water that once flowed for the planting will flush away in winter floods. Research by the global NGO ActionAid has found that the effects are already starting to be felt within Kashmir. In the valley, snow rarely falls and almost never sticks. The summertime levels of streams, rivers, springs, and ponds have dropped. In February 2007, melting snow combined with unseasonably heavy rainfall to undermine the mountain slopes; landslides buried the national highway—the region's only land connection with the rest of India—for 12 days. Normally, countries control such cyclical water flows with dams, as the United States does with runoff from the Rocky Mountains. For Pakistan, however, that solution is not an option. The best damming sites are in Kashmir, where the Islamabad government has vigorously opposed Indian efforts to tinker with the rivers. The worry is that in times of conflict, India's leaders could cut back on water supplies or unleash a torrent into the country's fields. In a warlike situation, India could use the project like a bomb, one Kashmiri journalist told me. Water is already undermining Pakistan's stability. In recent years, recurring shortages have led to grain shortfalls. In 2008, flour became so scarce it turned into an election issue; the government deployed thousands of troops to guard its wheat stores. As the glaciers melt and the rivers dry, this issue will only become more critical. Pakistan—unstable, facing dramatic drops in water supplies, caged in by India's vastly superior conventional forces—will be forced to make one of three choices. It can let its people starve. It can cooperate with India in building dams and reservoirs, handing over control of its waters to the country it regards as the enemy. Or it can ramp up support for the insurgency, gambling that violence can bleed India's resolve without degenerating into full-fledged war. The idea of ceding territory to India is anathema, says Sumit Ganguly, a professor of political science at Indiana University. Suffering, particularly for the elite, is unacceptable. So what's the other option? Escalate. It's very bad news, he adds, referring to the melting glaciers. It's extremely grim. The Kashmiri water conflict is just one of many climate-driven geopolitical crises on the horizon. These
