IT'S A MAD MAD WORLD

US teen accused of using banana in robbery attempt WINSTON-SALEM (North Carolina): Police say a North Carolina teen who was thwarted as he tried to  rob a store with a banana ate it  before they could arrive.  Winston-Salem authorities say 17-year-old  John Szwalla held the  banana under his shirt when he  entered the store on Thursday, saying  he had a gun and demanded money,  the Winston-Salem Journal reported.  Owner Bobby Ray Mabe says he and  a customer jumped Szwalla, holding him  until deputies arrived. While they waited,  Mabe says the teen ate the banana.  Mabe says deputies took pictures of the banana peel. Forsyth County Sheriff's  office spokesman Maj. Brad Stanley says deputies joked about charging Szwalla  with destroying evidence.  Szwalla faces a charge of attempted armed robbery. Jail Bangladesh cops cross-dress to nab thieves 19 May 2009, 1441 hrs IST, AFP DHAKA: Police officers across the  Bangladeshi capital are donning  wigs  and wearingwomen's clothing to  catch criminals targeting females on the  city's streets, a senior official said on Tuesday.  "We took this unusual move because of rising crime in the city and it is working," said deputy police commissioner Imtiaz Hossain.  "In the past four days we have arrested some 60 wanted muggers who have been targeting our officers thinking they are women civilians."  The specially formed teams across Dhaka, nicknamed "burka squads" after the Muslim female garment, are helping to catch muggers, bag snatchers and pickpockets, which are on the increase in the city.  Some male officers wear full burkas, while others opt for wigs to disguise themselves  as women at busy intersections and crowded places where most of the crimes occur, Hossain said.  Authorities said the special patrol teams  would continue to work on the streets in disguise until the law and order situation improved in the Muslim-majority country. UK's oldest Twitter user is a 103- yr-old woman 15 May 2009, 2056 hrs IST, ANI LONDON: While most ladies her age prefer  to sit quietly, 103-year-old English lady Ivy Bean loves to Twitter, something that has made her the oldest  user of the social  networking site.  Bean, a great  grandmother, decided to join  Twitter after  she got bored of using  Facebook, where  she had made  4,800 friends.  "I'm enjoying Twitter  and having my photo  taken - and I'm looking  forward to Deal Or No Deal, " the Sun quoted her as telling her web readers.  The ex-mill worker got a helping hand to smooth her switch to Twitter by calling in IT experts The Geek Squad.  "It's brilliant to help someone as inspirational as Ivy to get started and teach her about Twitter," boss Martin Dix said.  "She's already signed up to Facebook with 4,800 friends. She shows others that you shouldn't be frightened of technology," he stated.  Bean's enthusiasm is spreading among her friends at Hillside Manor care home in Bradford, West Yorks.  "All the residents are taking a leaf out of her book. Four signed up for computercollege," manager Pat Wright said.  "Others have joined Facebook or surf the net and enjoy themselves with ten-pin bowling on the games console," he added.  Twitter membership figures are soaring, thanks to its popularity with celebrities like US President Barack Obama, singer Britney Spears and TV star Stephen Fry.

The Chinese think big, we don't

Rajesh Kalra  Tuesday May 19, 2009

A number of readers were upset with my blogpost 'Slumdog India' because I had compared India with China and portrayed China as a nation that had its infrastructure priorities right. Readers pasted me on the comparison and held forth on China's shocking human rights record.

I am a proud Indian and have no doubt that despite poor infrastructure, we are a better country to live in. We have the freedom to do things that would be the envy of the world, leave alone China. But this post, unfortunately, is again a comparison between the two nations, but in a different context.

Let me get to the point straight away and look at the geopolitical aspirations of the two nations. We all know that while we have aspirations, China has gone far ahead, and is feared and envied the world over. A strong dose of such a feeling was administered to me last week as I cycled around the Ladakh region.

In the Changthang region of Ladakh, at 14,000 feet, there is breathtakingly beautiful Pangong Tso (Lake). Only 40% of this 130-odd-km-long lake is in India and the remainder is in Tibet (China). Since the lake is shared between the two, it is inevitable that the forces of India and China have boat patrols too.

Now, the forces of the two nations have an unwritten understanding (as conveyed to me by a senior army officer) that since it is a peaceful region, they would not fire at each other. So, what the two forces often indulge in is a game of cat and mouse. They enter each other's territory, activate their opponents, and rush back to the safety of their home waters. If you shut your eyes, you can actually imagine the Indian game of 'kabaddi'. Both sides have power boats for the task.

It is even so far, but don't pop the bubbly yet. In any case, we have this irritating habit of popping the bubbly too soon. Sania Mirza wins a point in the first round of a US Open game, and we behave as if she has won the grand slam. OK, that may be an exaggeration, but it surely happens when she wins a set in the first round.

But getting back to the boat patrols. How would you imagine, this 'kabaddi' is played? I would have imagined that our guys are sitting ready, in their hideouts, and as soon as they sense an incursion, they scramble into their power boats and chase the Chinese back. How lovely! And the Chinese would be doing the same. I really would have loved to see a game. Pity, neither side obliged. Apparently, that is not how it happens, though. I went around talking to more of our guys around, and the information was startling.

Our high-speed power boats look great, and they can move really fast on water, but, they take 30 minutes to warm up before they can chase our Chinese brethren. We have two such boats. Of course, we have other small motor boats too belonging to the army and the border police, but they are like the ones tourists use when they go visiting a vacation destination. Thankfully, at that altitude, not many are in the frame of mind to demand such facilities.

And how many such boats do the Chinese have? Though villagers claim the number to be upwards of 40, the army guys acknowledge the number to be around 22. So the ratio is 2:22, if you disregard the locals, who are normally well informed. These locals are diehard patriots, who also proudly showed me the indelible ink mark on their fingers that they voted. Ladakh had elections in the last phase, on May 13. They were also aware that no such rights exist on the other side of the border.

I asked the villagers to compare our boats with the Chinese. The honest assessment was that though our boats are fast, their boats are smaller and faster. But that is not what has caught their imagination. Almost all of them claimed that the Chinese boats emerge out of water suddenly, at high speed, and dive back in too. This means the Chinese are using submersible boats.

When I confronted an armyman with this claim, he pooh-pooed it: Why would they have something so expensive here? This one sentence itself made the comparison futile. We think small, they think big!

TIMES NEWS

IS IT A GOOD TIME TO DO AN MBA

Is it a good time to do an MBA?  With headlines like ‘MBA salaries dip by 10%’, MBA aspirants are confused as to whether an MBA is the right career choice now.  An objective examination of the issue can offer us some answers. First, while it is true that the starting salariesof MBAs have not grown this year, it is also true that MBAs from good B-schools have got much better jobs than the other graduates.  Secondly, most economists agree that India is far less affected by the global economic turmoil and will recover much faster. The current scenario is, therefore a correction in salaries.  Thirdly, most economists agree that the global economy will recover in the next two years and that by 2012 the worst will be over. So if an MBA aspirant takes CAT ‘09 and gets admission into one of the IIMs for the 2010-12 batch, she/he will be best-positioned to take advantage of the economic upturn expected by 2012. This is probably the best time to prepare for an MBA if you want to be in the right place at the right time.  So, how does an MBA help?  Fact 1: An MBA from a good B-school (not just IIMs) builds capability and is a force-multiplier in career growth.  Fact 2: There is hardly a postgraduation course that is better than an MBA and can significantly improve your career prospects.  Economic slowdown results in lower investments by organisations and lower growth in salaries. Hence the best time to build capability through education is during the slowdown when existing career opportunities are limited.  The history of MBA enrolments and economic activity in the US also suggest that there is a good correlation between economic slowdown and MBA enrolments in the top B-schools.  To sum up, now is perhaps the best time to do an MBA. However, don't be complacent. The competition to get into one of the IIMs is fierce. A serious aspirant needs holistic assistance to bag one of those 1,800 seats at the IIMs.  Coaching institutes not only help you build strong fundamentals and benchmark your performance against other aspirants, they also help you to identify your relative strengths and weaknesses and fine-tune your strategy.  T.I.M.E. is one of the largest and fastest growing coaching institutes in India for MBA entrance preparation. It has a brand turnover of Rs 200 plus crores and has consistently produced good results.  More than 50% of the students studying at IIMs have been trained by T.I.M.E. With a 2000 plus strong team, including the largest number of IIM graduates in the industry, T.I.M.E. is possibly the best guide to help you get into a top B-school.