Holy C"rape"

"Julian Assange is charged with having committed rape. The rape victim - US Foreign Policy."

- Cyrus Broacha on CCN IBN, India

"Someone else’s cow may moo, but yours should keep quiet"

- Valdimir Putin
Reacting to Julian Assange's arrest and cyberfreedom preached by USA.

"Priceless"

“Freedom of expression is priceless. For everything else, there’s MasterCard.”

- Operation Payback( the group that hacked master card site. )

Meth and Cocaine Plus Point

“For many years I slept, on average, twice a week. This means that I have been conscious for at least three lifetimes.”

- Keith Richards of Rolling Stone

How hard is it to say IRAQ or IRAN

I never understood why so many in WEST mispronounce IRAQ(pronounced E-RAQ) as I-RAQ? After all they don’t pronounce Italian as I-talian!

East vs. West - wet TUSH and restroom habits

I have lived the better part of my life in east (as in eastern country). The reason I emphasize this fact is for the absolutely drastic difference in toilets in east and west. While some eastern countries like Japan and South Korea take it to a whole new level of advance technology of automated water jet and subsequent towel wipes, I wanted to discuss the Indian toilets.

You pretty much squat to get your business going and upon completion need to literally use water and hand (usually left) to clean. Let’s say its best I don’t elaborate any further. I was one of those who had practiced the same, you complete your ritual by a rigorous regime of disinfecting hands by washing them throughly upon getting out of toilet. Tissues in bathroom is very alien in this part of the world – to the extent that you will find tissue holders and tissues only in 5 star hotels

For the last decade I have been living in west where I got used to using tissues and now when I visit home – Once I am done with my business and after performing the cleaning ritual with water ‘washing’, which is a as much a tradition passed on from one generation to next, I have a panic attack as if there is a step I have missed, that the cleaning process is not complete yet. I find it utterly disgusting to get off the toilet with a wet tush! I know I would regret standing up, but alas there is nothing else to do – there are no tissues around. I stand up slowly, as if there is an impending danger that I am aware and should delay it as long as possible, only to regret the decision immediately. I feel the wetness all over my tush and feel myself trembling. It almost feels like I went to bathroom on myself!

I couldn’t take it and I went ahead and bought tissues( these are available only in areas frequented by foreign tourists- local grocers wouldn’t carry toilet rolls) the other day and keep in my toilet – the shopkeeper gave me a disgusting look when I asked him if he had toilet rolls. The look was “Not you. You are an Indian you can’t be disgusting like foreigners to use tissues!! You should be using water and your hands.”

I did not dare looking at the shopkeeper in eye – darn if I betrayed my fellow countrymen by choosing the wipe than to water!

Am I the only one who feels this way?