"me no big chief …

the only thought that could have gone through the mind of,

Warren Anderson, former chairman and chief executive officer of Union Carbide as he was being saluted up the steps of a private jet and flown out by the Indian authorities to jump bail and never to return to the scene of his ‘crime’ to stand trial.

Cops saw off Warren with salutes: Pilot

RASHEED KIDWAI: The Telegraph India: Thursday , June 10 , 2010

Bhopal, June 9: Warren Anderson made his escape from Indian law in a hail of salutes from senior Bhopal police officers and fell into a peaceful slumber during his 90-minute flight to Delhi on a state aircraft.

One of the two pilots, Captain D.C. Sondhi, told The Telegraph the police officers repeatedly offered to carry the American’s hand luggage as they escorted him to the plane at Bhopal airport. “Memories of that scene still make me angry,” said Sondhi, 72. “Here was a man responsible for the death of thousands, and our government officials were saluting him!” He added: “The buzz among bureaucrats was that US President Ronald Reagan had spoken to someone important in India to get Anderson out quickly.” The Union Carbide chief was arrested at Bhopal airport when he arrived four days after the 1984 gas leak that killed at least 15,000, but was let off within hours after an unidentified top government leader in Delhi made a call to chief minister Arjun Singh.

Captain Sondhi, then director of aviation in Bhopal, received the call from Arjun Singh’s office at 2.30pm. “I was asked to get the state government plane, a B-200 Super King, ready. Soon, city superintendent Swaraj Puri arrived with Anderson,” Sondhi said. “Anderson was carrying a garment box (containing a business suit) and a briefcase. I remember police officers repeatedly requesting him to let them carry these pieces of luggage. Anderson said, ‘No, no, I will carry them myself.’ When the plane was about to take off, the officers saluted him and wished him good luck.”

The other pilot, Captain Syed Hasan Ali, remembers Anderson dozing off mid-flight. “He was calm but in a hurry to reach Delhi,” said Ali, whose father had become ill after the gas leak.

never has there been the greater arse-lickers* like us Indians.
gosh, this makes me hang my head in shame.

it is not known who Mr Ronald Reagan rang to get this individual to escape Indian Law. we can only guess;
on that day in December of 1984,
Mr Giani Zail Singh was the President of India
Mr Rajiv Gandhi was the Prime Minister of India
Mr Rajiv Gandhi was also the Foreign Minister of India
Mr Ram Niwas Mirdha was Minister of State, External Affairs

Just to refresh our memories:

The Bhopal Tragedy 1984

And justice will be done? – Greenpeace Feature story – August 1, 2003

On the night of the disaster, December 3, 1984, an explosion at Union Carbide’s pesticide plant caused 40 tonnes of lethal gas to seep into Bhopal. Six safety measures designed to prevent a gas leak had either malfunctioned, were turned off or were otherwise inadequate. In addition, the safety siren, intended to alert the community should an incident occur at the plant, was turned off.

As the Union Carbide boss, Anderson knew about a 1982 safety audit of the Bhopal plant, which identified 30 major hazards. Rather than fix them in Bhopal, only the company’s identical plant in the US was fixed. Neglecting these hazards in Bhopal caused the deadly explosion. Anderson flew to India after the disaster but to the company’s surprise, police investigating the disaster immediately arrested him. He subsequently jumped bail and was flow by private jet back to the US, never to return to India.

While fleeing the law in India his company abandoned the polluted factory site allowing it to poison Bhopal residents for 18 years. He did not disclose the composition of the poisonous gas (the company still claims this is a trade secret), thus preventing doctors from properly treating the 120,000 people who are still sick. Company lawyers ensured survivors only got between US$300-500 compensation each, if they were ‘lucky’, for their ruined lives. Dow Chemical took over Union Carbide in 2001 but it claims Union Carbide has ‘settled’ the issue of Bhopal.

*arse-licker:

Longman: Dictionary of Contemporary English
arse-licker – noun [countable] British English spoken not polite
someone who is always very nice to people in authority because he or she wants to be liked by them – used to show disapproval

BhopalUnion CarbideWarren Anderson

I have spent days, and hours watching
the moves, the passes, the dribbles,
the shots, the goals, the misses,
the joys and the agonies.
every four years.

I have been searching for a reason to put myself through it all again.
and I have found it, just in time, in this anthem;
in the words of the song

Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)

You’re a good soldier, Choosing your battles
Pick yourself up; And dust yourself off; Get back in the saddle

You’re on the front line; Everyone’s watching
You know it’s serious; We’re getting closer; This isn’t over

The pressure’s on; you feel it, But you got it all; believe it

When you fall get up oh, oh
And if you fall get up eh, eh

Tsamina mina zangalewa; Cause this is Africa

Tsamina mina eh, eh; Waka waka eh, eh
Tsamina mina zangalewa; This time for Africa

Listen to your god; this is our motto
Your time to shine; Don’t wait in line; Y vamos por todo

People are raising their expectations
Go on and feel it; This is your moment; No hesitation

Today’s your day, I feel it, You paved the way, Believe it

If you get down; Get up oh, oh
When you get down; Get up eh, eh

Tsamina mina zangalewa; This time for Africa

Tsamina mina eh, eh; Waka waka eh, eh
Tsamina mina zangalewa; Anawa ah ah
Tsamina mina eh, eh; Waka waka eh, eh
Tsamina mina zangalewa; This time for Africa

Awela Majoni Biggie Biggie Mamma
from A to Z
Athi sithi LaMajoni Biggie Biggie Mamma
from east to west

Bathi . . .
Waka Waka Ma Eh Eh
Waka Waka Ma Eh Eh
Zonke zizwe mazi buye O Mazize Africa

Tsamina mina mina; Waka waka ah, Tsamina mina,
Tsamina mina mina; Waka waka ah,

Tsamina mina eh, eh; Waka waka eh, eh
Tsamina mina zangalewa; Anawa ah ah
Tsamina mina eh, eh; Waka waka eh, eh
Tsamina mina zangalewa; This time for Africa

Zambo eh eh; Zambo eh eh
Tsamina mina zangalewa; Anawa ah ah

This time for Africa, This time for Africa,
For all africa

originally sung by Golden Sounds, a makossa group from Cameroon.
did she steal the song?

with versions of the song from far flung places
with cover versions by umpteen artists,
does it matter?

… and so once again,
I will be cheering the Netherlands,
the land of Johan Cruyff, Marco van Basten, Ruud Gullit, Dennis Bergkamp ….

Shakirawaka wakaworld cup 2010

it will be 40 years tomorrow,
two men went to the moon

and returned safely back to earth

I was a young boy in Calcutta then
Calcutta had no TVs – no stations no broadcasting
I was forbid from tuning in on the radio late at night
but it could not keep me away from
the excitement
the enthusiasm
the anticipation tinged with fear
I had to wait sleepless nights to read expedition news in the morning papers

my world could no longer be the same
my mind could only look up and beyond,
my mind had embarked on an adventure of my own
to explore the wonders of space, the universe
wonders of the unknown

I was so very young when I heard this song
I loved the tune

Written by John Stewart
I heard the version sung by the American singer Lobo
I could not find either of their versions on youTube – so I give you this

ARMSTRONG

– Words By John Stewart © Bug Music, INC. / Burgle Publishing (BMI)

Black boy in Chicago, Playing in the street
Not near enough to wear, Not near enough to eat
Don’t you know he saw it,
On a July afternoon
He saw a man named Armstrong, Walk upon the moon

Young girl in Calcutta, Barely eight years old
The flies that swarm the market place, Will see she don’t get old
Don’t you know she heard it,
On that July afternoon
She heard a man named Armstrong, Had walked upon the moon

The rivers are getting dirty, The wind is getting bad
War and hate are killing off, The only earth we have
But the world all stopped to watch it
On that July afternoon
To watch a man named Armstrong, Walk upon the moon

And I wonder if a long time ago, Somewhere in the universe
They watched a man named Adam
Walk upon the earth

tomorrow
the world will look back 40 years to that day

no longer the young boy,
now I will look all around me before I look up and beyond
on earth
we are still divided, prejudiced and intolerent
we are yet to find unity; find peace for all mankind

for 40 years we have failed to live up to the promise we left behind on the moon.

Apollo11neil+armstrongmoon landing

where the heart takes me

to question the unexplained wrongs
beliefs blinded by aeons of
superstitions
prejudices
and religions

Faith of the Heart

a song written by Diane Warren
originally performed by Rod Stewart for the soundtrack of the 1998 film Patch Adams
also the opening soundtrack for “Enterprise” – the Star Trek prequel

sung here by Russel Watson.

It’s been a long road
Getting from there to here
It’s been a long time
But my time is finally near

And I can feel the change in the wind right now
Nothing’s in my way
And they’re not gonna hold me down no more
No they’re not gonna hold me down

‘Cause I’ve got faith of the heart
I’m going where my heart will take me
I’ve got faith to believe
I can do anything
I’ve got strength of the soul
And no one’s gonna bend or break me
I can reach any star
I’ve got faith, I’ve got faith, faith of the heart

It’s been a long night
Trying to find my way
Been through the darkness
Now I’ve finally have my day

And I will see my dream come alive at last
I will touch the sky
And they’re not gonna hold me down no more
No they’re not gonna change my mind

I’ve known the wind so cold, and seen the darkest days.
But now the winds I feel, are only winds of change.
I’ve been through the fire and I’ve been through the rain.
But I’ll be fine.

It’s been a long road.

the dust has settled,
so has the shock, the anger, the grief – and the emotional voices

let us go back to what did happen
on a weekday morning at 08:40 at a busy roundabout in Lahore Pakistan
12/14 individual – fired automatic weapons – launched grenades
and escaped ON FOOT, unhurt and remains undetected

I read Chris Broads narration of events:

Broad fury at Pakistan security

Source: ESPN Star | Wednesday 4th March 2009

Broad, who expressed fears for his security before the start of the tour, said at a press conference: “I am angry at the Pakistani security forces.” He added: “We were promised high level security and in our hour of need that security vanished and they left us to be sitting ducks.“

Broad continued: “I had an inkling before the Test match leg of the tour that something might happen. “I raised my concerns with the ICC before the tour started and they passed on those concerns to the Pakistan Cricket Board and they assured me through email that all security would be taken care of, presidential-style security. And clearly that didn’t happen.

“When we were in the van we weren’t aware of what was going on outside. But afterwards when you watch the TV pictures you can clearly see the white van we were in, in the middle of a roundabout and not a sign of a policeman anywhere.”

and I also read these reports – duplicated on multiple websites

‘Anonymous call led police to change route of SL team’s bus’

Source: TOI | 4 Mar 2009, 1313 hrs IST, PTI

LAHORE: A last minute call by an unidentified person led the city police to change the route of the bus taking the Sri Lankan cricket team to Gaddafi stadium here, a Pakistan media report said on Wednesday.

An unknown caller asked police escorting the Sri Lankan team to use the Gulberg route leading to the stadium instead of travelling along Ferozpur road as had been decided earlier, The News daily quoted interior ministry sources as saying. Police followed the caller’s instructions without ascertaining his identity, the report said. This led to the police falling into a “trap”, the sources said.

I do not believe any policeman regardless of how dumb or stupid he maybe
would change routes unless he knew the authority of the caller

the best form of protection would have been for the two teams to travel together
the ultimate human shields
so where were the
Pakistani players!

Younis says Pakistan team lucky to escape attack

Source: reuters UK | Tue Mar 3, 2009 2:32pm GMT

LAHORE (Reuters) – Pakistan captain Younis Khan said his team were lucky to escape the attack on Sri Lanka’s team bus Tuesday.

“Thank God we decided to leave our hotel five minutes after the Sri Lankans” Younis told a news conference. “We are a young team and God forbid if both buses had been moving together it could have been catastrophic.”

in the last minute the route was changed
in the last minute the Pakistan team decided to travel separately

just luck?

Pakistan team avoid attack thanks to late change of plan

Source: Guardian UK | Tuesday 3 March 2009 13.09 GMT

Pakistan’s cricketers came within a whisker of being caught up in the terrorist attack in Lahore this morning and owed their near-miss to a last-minute change of plan, according to the team’s coach. Intikhab Alam said that the captain, Younis Khan, decided not to leave for the stadium at the same time as the Sri Lankans as they had previously.

According to Alam, both teams usually departed together at about 8:40am, but that did not happen this morning. “The Sri Lankans decided to leave five minutes early today and our captain had decided we would go separately,” he said.

I find that very hard to believe.

This was a pre-planned and well executed ambush.
The timing had to right,
the target too had to be precise – the Pakistani players could not be touched.

The Pakistan team must have been held back by someone who knew –
so sending the Sri lankans alone into the ambush – they had been the intended target.

What the killers did not account for,
the grenades missing the bus or rolling under unexploded,
the driver of the bus would be alive and be able to drive the bus to safety.

Terrorists turn guns on cricket in Pakistan, a nation at war with itself

Source: Times Online | March 4, 2009

Pakistani officials have already suggested that the attack bore the hall-marks of Lashkar-e-Taiba, the militant group believed responsible for the siege of tourist hotels in Mumbai.

CCTV footage showed the gunmen, like the Mumbai attackers, working in pairs, armed with assault rifles and grenades in backpacks. But they also carried rocket-propelled grenade launchers, a weapon of choice in the Afghan and Pakistan tribal areas. Their escape, melting into the Pakistani city least hospitable to Islamist extremism, will raise fresh and disturbing questions about their links to the security and intelligence services.

Lashkar-e-Taiba is one of several militant groups created by Pakistan’s powerful Inter Services Intelligence to battle Indian rule in Kashmir.

The attacks on Mumbai and Lahore are classic “fedayin” assaults – suicidal rather suicide – taught in Lashkar’s training camps by ISI officers. What Pakistan experienced in Lahore was the backlash, deepening the sense of crisis confronting the flailing civilian Government.

If I take you back to Chris Broad’s remark that,

“we were in the middle of a roundabout and not a sign of a policeman anywhere.”

does it all seem coincidental?
not to me, it does not.

on a weekday morning at 08:40 at a busy roundabout in Lahore Pakistan
12/14 individual – fired automatic weapons – launched grenades
and escaped ON FOOT, unhurt and remains undetected

there was no presidential-style security
forget military guards or armed convoys
there is no report that the terrorists had been fired back upon,
no bodies,
no DNAs,
any possibility that they could be IDENTIFIED, DEAD OR ALIVE, like in Mumbai – had been excluded

Referee in deadly Pakistan ambush says police fled

Source: Associated Press | By RIZWAN ALI – 04 March 2009

On Wednesday, new video from a surveillance camera broadcast on local TV showed several attackers apparently escaping along a deserted side street on motorcycles while carrying weapons. Three were also shown walking down the middle of the street, apparently in no hurry, indicating they did not believe police were in the area or hunting them down.

“They were not under pressure … nobody was firing at them,” said team captain Mahela Jayawardene said.

Someone in Pakistan Military or the ISI
I clarify NOT the President or elected government –
but the pro-Taliban element in their military knew or authorised this attack.

I truly feel sorry
for the policemen, and their friends and family,
who gave their lives for the Sri Lankan players – for they were the intended collateral loss

cricketterrorismpakistan