Desi In Toronto

Hey George Orwell, your dream is coming true.

“Talking” CCTV cameras that tell off people dropping litter or committing anti-social behaviour are to be extended to 20 areas across England.

They are already used in Middlesbrough where people seen misbehaving can be told to stop via a loudspeaker, controlled by control centre staff.

When I read the book 1984 by George Orwell, one of the most frightening things in the book was the talking camera. The fact that as I type this, some fucking bureaucrat is looking at me and telling me to sit straight and not drink beer as it may affect the quality of the post, is truly frightening. I think this is a bad idea.

I am still on the fence as far as CCTV’s are concerned but a “talking” CCTV…..uh, uh….no way.

I don’t get it. Outsourcing is a really bad word here in North America. Politicians are heavily involved in this matter, particularly in the USA. And I have seen a couple of people whose job has been outsourced and how it hits them so badly especially being told that their job is being done by someone else for half the pay.

But then you come across this news,

The rush by companies, particularly of the high-tech persuasion, to apply for H-1B visas for next year has officially come to an end–only one day after it began.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said Tuesday that it had received 150,000 applications as of Monday afternoon for the controversial work permits, which allow foreigners with a bachelor’s degree in their area of specialty to be employed in the United States for up to six years.

That’s more than enough applications to meet the cap for the fiscal year 2008 crop of visas, which is currently 65,000, so USCIS said it would be accepting no more petitions.

So, 65, 000 jobs in the US were filled at the snap of the finger. 150,000 jobs requests were applied for by the US industry. My question is, why the big hullabaloo? If 150,000 jobs are requested by the US industry, why cannot they be filled by employees currently in the US? Don’t the politicians know this? Of course they do. My theory is that this is a very easy bird to skin. A person who has lost a job here in North America can easily be pushed and prodded into giving up his/her vote as long as they hear the right words by the current opposition weasel. Do these downsized people get jobs? No. Not everyone does. But the way politicians cry and moan about “lost opportunities” to another nation, it seems like the streets of every North American city is filled with unemployed white collar workers.

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Women civil servants in India have expressed shock at new appraisal rules which require them to reveal details of their menstrual cycles.

Under the new nationwide requirements, female officials also have to say when they last sought maternity leave.

Women civil servants say the questions are a gross invasion of privacy. One told the BBC she was “gobsmacked”.

Thank god that this stupid idea was dropped. I am still trying to figure out - WHY?

With yesterday’s news of death of 6 Canadian soldiers, the question of the Afghanistan Mission has again sprung on to the front pages of our collective consciousness. And with outpouring of grief and sadness of this irreplaceable loss, anger and blame trickle out too. I usually just ignore this kind of anger because I can understand that sometimes people need an outlet for their frustrations. And, invariably, upon reflection these people are usually repentant. But I will not let this kind of statement go unanswered :

“Why is it that when we see the pictures of dead Americans, we see Latinos,
Blacks etc but when we see the pictures of dead Canadians, we see only white
faces. Immigrants come to this country they had better serve instead of
banking on us to protect them”.

Only a very ignorant and a stupid person will say such a thing. I have tried it my best to ignore such people in my life (yes, as a brown person living in Canada, I have come across such people) but this comment really rattled me and I wanted to put my opinion out there in the blogosphere stating a different perspective than our ignorant friend. Keep in mind that my perspective is that of a South Asian.

Immigration to Canada really took off in the 70’s and 80’s. Now it is a steady 200,000 odd immigrants to Canada every year. The families that moved to Canada back in the 70’s and 80’s were predominantly from the middle class or the farmer class from India. This section of the India population has very strong military tradition. But those people that migrated to Canada had absolutely no military background. I have met people like those in India and they do not like the military nor do they want their children to serve in it. The children of such parent were required to become doctors, engineers or lawyers. Military and policing was NOT for them OR for their kids.

When these people came to Canada, they, unfortunately, bought these attitudes with them. Therefore, you will see no sons and daughters from the 1st generation migrant children in the police or in the military. Even in the 2nd generation you will not see people of colour in the military service because the patriarch of the family generally has a say in matter of children’s lives.

And that’s the reason why there are no or very few migrants in the military. It’s simply a matter of “following your parents’ wishes”. These kids did not realise that to actively participate in military services of Canada is not only an honourable step but also a very helpful step.

Moreover, I have seen that military service in Canada is viewed more as “what my father did or what my grandfather did” and “what my children will do” kind of a service. And that’s how it is in England. No one is lining up to join the military because it is an excellent opportunity for the kids but rather because it runs in the family. And until the migrants are taught that the option of military is actually a really good one, they will stay away from it in droves. And that’s where educating the migrants has failed. Most of the migrants I meet or hang around with would not even consider military or police as an option for themselves and, definitely, not for their kids.

I, for one, would be very proud of my daughter, if she told me she wanted to serve for her country - Canada. I would be scared shit-less for the rest of my life but I would be proud.

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US astronaut Sunita Williams is set to run the Boston Marathon … in space.

Williams is in the middle of a six- or seven-month rotation aboard the International Space Station (ISS). She may in fact break the record for the longest stay in space by a US astronaut because it is not certain when a shuttle will launch to pick her up.

The 41-year-old will run the 42.2-kilometre (26.2-mile) race on the station’s treadmill on 16 April and will circle the Earth at least twice during the event, putting her speed relative to Earth far above the other entrants.

Ok, this is either a part of a secret experiment or she has absolutely nothing else to do up there. Running in space? What’s next? Who can hold the lotus pose (yoga) the longest? Isn’t this akin to golfing on the moon? That was the lowest point in NASA’s history of exploration of space. And I refuse to believe that NASA officials did not know that an astronaut carrying golf clubs in the lunar module.

OK, am just ranting needlessly. Good luck to Sunita.