Private Medical Colleges and Teaching in India

Author : akdcts      Blog : Reflections      Date : 5/6/2013 6:34:00 AM

'( from the CNNIBN website) This is reblogged from the aalatimes.com newsletter. It speaks volumes about the state of medical education in India Why private medical colleges should win the NEET case Dr K R Kone (A Private Medical College Teacher) I want the NEET (National Eligibility cum Entrance Test) fiasco to be over early. I have so much stakes in this that I demand the honourable Supreme Court to validate the truism that justice is blind and wear its blind mask even tighter to g(...)'

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Malaysian Elections: An Outsider's View

Author : akdcts      Blog : Reflections      Date : 5/3/2013 9:41:00 AM

'Logos of the principal political parties of Malaysia It is Election Day in Malaysia this Sunday. Elections here are held every three years and luckily for them, both state and federal elections are held together on the same day. Only one state has its elections out of synchrony. This election is being touted as one of most significant in Malaysia’s history. There is a real possibility that the ruling party, the Barisan National will be voted out in what will be a huge upset. This co(...)'

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Bush Library: Brazen attempt to rewrite history

Author : akdcts      Blog : Reflections      Date : 4/30/2013 4:23:00 AM

'This post is reblogged from The People's World With a price tag of $250 million, the George W. Bush library is the biggest and most expensive of the 13 that have been opened to recognize the former presidents.It is a major part of a well-orchestrated campaign underway for months now to whitewash what was very likely the worst presidency in the history of the United States. We don't believe the campaign will succeed , however, because the memories of the American people are not short(...)'

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Tioman Island 2

Author : akdcts      Blog : Reflections      Date : 4/26/2013 4:10:00 AM

'The day dawns cloudy and windy. The temperature has mercifully dropped markedly and it is more conducive to outdoor activity. We go for a walk along inside the resort itself. The grounds are pretty, sandwiched as they are between the beach and the ocean and the hills. A golf course is laid out just below the mountain and some golfers are out taking full advantage of the cool weather. The clouds are, however, dark, pregnant with the promise of rain.We wait near the gate for our trans(...)'

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Tioman Island 1

Author : akdcts      Blog : Reflections      Date : 4/24/2013 2:50:00 AM

'Tioman island lies, in the fanciful description of the locals, like a half submerged dragon in the waters of the South China Sea. It has had its good times and bad over the centuries. It has been the port of call for sailors navigating the routes from China to the Spice Islands, and has also played host to nests of pirates who made these waters the most dangerous in the world whenever the local imperial power was weakened. It is closely accompanied by several islands and the secreti(...)'

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Roadkills in Malaysia: A personal experience

Author : akdcts      Blog : Reflections      Date : 3/28/2013 1:50:00 AM

'Roadkills have become a fairly common occurrence with the advent of motorized transport. As the motor car, the truck and other vehicles began to speed along highways which cut through wildlife areas, animals began to die as they were run over by speeding vehicles. The term roadkill refers to killing by motorized vehicles, but in North Bengal, the Doon area of Uttrakhand and several South Indian forests, trains are also pretty lethal for wildlife. In the Dooars in particular, elephan(...)'

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Hugo Chavez 2

Author : akdcts      Blog : Reflections      Date : 3/24/2013 9:15:00 AM

'Hugo Chavez as a Second Lieutenant in the Military Academy at Caracas, Venezuela( From the Venezuelan Ministry of Information and Communication website) This tribute was posted in Rabble.caHugo Chavez has died -- undefeated.Yes, undefeated. Chavez, no matter how many times the corporate media and the cheerleaders of the status quo call him a dictator, was elected repeatedly with overwhelming majorities.No matter how many times this slur is moronically or mendaciously repeated, peopl(...)'

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Hugo Chavez

Author : akdcts      Blog : Reflections      Date : 3/19/2013 3:02:00 AM

'Hugo Chavez died on the 5th March 2013. This was not entirely unexpected. Chavez was suffering from a malignancy which had recurred, it was obvious that this was one battle that the brave champion of the poor was not going to win. His death led to unconcealed rejoicing in the West, his defiance of the US and his strenuous and successfulHe efforts to unite the South American republics against US dominance did not go down well particularly with the Republican right. He had flaws, bu(...)'

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The Tomb of David Hare

Author : akdcts      Blog : Reflections      Date : 3/14/2013 2:19:00 AM

'David Hare was instrumental in the development of education in India and more particularly in Calcutta. Institutions which he, among others was instrumental in founding and nurturing in the early days include the Hindu college ( Presidency College), the present day Hare School and of course, our very own Medical College. The David Hare block in Medical College where I have studied, worked and lived for more years than I care to remember. As the first Principal of the college has tes(...)'

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The 49th Bengalees and the War Memorial in College Square

Author : akdcts      Blog : Reflections      Date : 3/5/2013 7:07:00 AM

'The First World War led to what was till then an unprecedented slaughter of men and women. It was not realized then that this was a prelude to an even greater slaughter just 3 decades later.However the Great War as it was then called, formally started in July 1914. India was also at war, not that Indians had much to say about it. However the Indian army which was even then the largest voluntary fighting force in the world comprised 240,000 men; by the time the war ended the size had(...)'

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Author : akdcts      Blog : Reflections      Date : 2/24/2013 2:10:00 AM

'A Tale of Two Cows infographic by kylatomdesign.'

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Mandu

Author : akdcts      Blog : Reflections      Date : 2/19/2013 4:12:00 AM

'Malwa is an ancient part of India and plays an important part in its history. The name is associated with many romantic names that echo down the roads of Indian history and legend. It is here that Ashoka first won his spurs as a youthful governor of Ujjain. Bidisha, beloved to all readers of Jibananda was here. Kalidas wrote his famous plays in this very soil and the legend of Baz Bahadur and Rupmati, the stuff of so many romantic poems was also played out here. The Narmada flows th(...)'

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India and its Future Part 2

Author : akdcts      Blog : Reflections      Date : 2/18/2013 12:58:00 AM

'This is the second part of the post I had published last week.Here we hear about :India – the view from outsideHarsh is a consumer research & design consultant. An easy-going guy who strongly sees himself as a man of today's times. The job allows him an unique opportunity to observe people across countries & social strata. This touch with real people & his wife keeps him grounded in life. What keeps him going are traveling & cricket.India. The best thing about this word is that it(...)'

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India and its Future

Author : akdcts      Blog : Reflections      Date : 2/15/2013 2:29:00 AM

'I always wonder what exactly young Indians think about India and its future. We are the generation that benefited from the reforms of 1991; however our mindset and thinking was entirely from the seventies and eighties. We instinctively stiffen if there is even a mild criticism of India from a foreign source, we are instinctively left of centre and deeply suspicious of the United States, we are all for women’s freedom and participation in the workforce, but have to struggle to suppre(...)'

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India Moving?

Author : akdcts      Blog : Reflections      Date : 1/19/2013 10:30:00 AM

'I just got back from a two week stay in India distributed between indore, Mandu , its environs and Calcutta/ Siliguri. This is the best time of the year to be in India and that proved to be true this year as well. It was deliciously cold in Indore, Calcutta as well as in North Bengal. The sun was out for most of time so that we had glorious sunny days and crisp cold nights. Life was good as an advertisement says. It made us seriously wonder what we are doing in exile. I most enjoye(...)'

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Higher Education in India today

Author : akdcts      Blog : Reflections      Date : 1/14/2013 12:49:00 AM

'I am a member of a Yahoo group Called the Indian Higher Education Group. I got a very interesting message from the group which I felt should be shared. So here it is with no editing. Higher Education or Hire EducationBy Navendu Mahodaya" navendu.mahodaya@gmail.comBusiness Today, a leading business magazine of India Today Group, published an article (Sept. 2, 2012 edition) - “Hiring sleaze! Hiring scandal: How corrupt recruiters are cheating jobseekers, colleges and IT companies.” (...)'

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The King of Good Times: Vijay Mallya

Author : akdcts      Blog : Reflections      Date : 1/10/2013 8:11:00 AM

'I cannot help feeling a sneaking feeling of sympathy for Vijay Mallya. The original success story of the Indian liberalization he was the man who disdained to hide behind the hypocrisy that makes the rich hide under a garb of simplicity and an often fake religiosity. He was never ashamed of the fact that he sold booze and made vast profits out of it. He was like the schoolboy who had found an unexpected horde of chocolates which he wanted to show off to the whole world. When he rod(...)'

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Cancer Quackery Part 3

Author : akdcts      Blog : Reflections      Date : 1/6/2013 10:01:00 AM

'Electrical DevicesThe digital age brought computers and technology into the realm of questionable cancer treatments. Many types of unproven electronic devices are available; all promise to diagnose and treat cancer and other diseases with the use of electromagnetic fields and currents.5 These therapies frequently are described in pseudoscientific language borrowed from scientific biophysical concepts. Bioresonancetherapy, for example, is based on the unsupported premise that cancer (...)'

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Cancer Quackery Part 2

Author : akdcts      Blog : Reflections      Date : 12/21/2012 4:18:00 AM

'Unproven Oral TreatmentsEssiacDietary supplements and herbal remedies, typically unstudied or disproved, are commonly used by cancer patients. One enduring herbal remedy is Essiac, also marketed as Flor-Essence. Initially used by a Native American healer from South-West Canada, a nurse named Rene Caisse popularized the herbal formulation as a cancer treatment in the 1920s. She named the remedy Essiac, her last name spelled backwards. Initially comprising four herbs, Indian rhubarb ((...)'

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Cancer Quackery Part 1

Author : akdcts      Blog : Reflections      Date : 12/20/2012 3:43:00 AM

'This article first published in Oncology 2012;26(8):754–758 is an important contribution that debunks the irrational therapies that have unofrtunately become very prominent in the age of the internet. Those who have a Facebook account will also know what I mean. I think this is compulsory reading for everybody so that they can beware charlatans and quack medicines that can cost lives. Remember that even Steve Jobs became a victim of such irrational therapies which may have cost him(...)'

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