The Hindu September 10, 2015 03:50 IST Irrational violence file you can read previous editorials...

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The Hindu September 10, 2015 03:50 IST

Irrational violence The most striking commonality among the murders of rationalists Narendra Dabholkar (in Pune, August 2013), Govind Pansare (in Kolhapur, February 2015) and M.M. Kalburgi (in Dharwad, August 2015) is not the modus operandi — motorcycle-borne men shooting to kill and speeding away — but the intolerance and hatred toward their strong views on religion and superstition that the acts reflect. Though investigators have found no substantive leads in any of these cases yet, and the killers’ motives remain unclear, there is little doubt that the three rationalists had provoked religious fanatics and sectarian elements in a deeply conservative society. What is particularly worrying is that the killings have been meant as a warning to other writers and intellectuals who may dare to question established belief systems. Activist-writer Bharat Patankar recently received hate letters asking him not to go the ‘Dabholkar-Pansare way’, and holding out a warning that it would be his turn next. Pansare himself had received threats after the killing of Dabholkar for opposing superstitious beliefs. Kalburgi too had come under pressure for his writings against religious beliefs. Often the threat of physical violence is held out against writers and intellectuals by casteist and communal groups, which are quick to take offence at anything that criticises matters of faith. Article 25 of the Constitution not only allows the free profession, practice and propagation of a religion of one’s choice, but also an individual’s freedom of conscience. Atheists, agnostics and rationalists have the right to propagate their views on religion as much as believers have the right to spread theirs. What Article 25 guarantees is not a collective religious right but an individual’s freedom of choice. However, communal and casteist groups have often asserted they have a right not to be offended by any writing or work. In effect, they seek a right to thwart or force the withdrawal of the publication of anything that they imagine gives them cause to take offence. Also, political mobilisation along caste and communal lines gives such groups an enormous veto power, that strikes at the very root of freedom of speech and expression. Sadly, whenever freedom of speech is thus threatened, the state, supposedly in the interest of maintaining law and order, takes the side of the collective mob against the writer/ artist/intellectual. Surely, the lack of any progress in identifying and nabbing Dabholkar’s killers must have emboldened the assailants of Pansare and Kalburgi. Whether or not there is a common thread connecting the three murders, it is imperative that the killers are tracked down. Otherwise, irrespective of the motives, the killings would have had the effect of silencing other voices of dissent and reason as well.

vocabs

modus operandi › a particular way of doing something

fanatic

> informal a person who is extremely interested in something, to a degree that some people find unreasonable: a fitness/film fanatic

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sectarian › (a person) strongly supporting a particular religious group and not willing to accept other beliefs: a sectarian murder

propagate verb (GROW) › to produce a new plant from a parent plant: Most house plants can be propagated from stem cuttings. Plants need certain conditions to propagate.

Atheist

› someone who believes that God does not exist

agnostic › someone who does not know, or believes that it is impossible to know, if a god exists: Although he was raised a Catholic, he was an agnostic for most of his adult life.

nab › to take something suddenly, or to catch or arrest a criminal: Undercover police officers nabbed the men at the airport.

embolden › to make someone brave: Emboldened by drink, he walked over to speak to her.

assailant › a person who attacks another person: Can you describe your assailant?

dissent › a strong difference of opinion on a particular subject, especially about an official suggestion or plan or a popular belief:



The Hindu: September 10, 2015 03:53 IST

A transfer amid a probe

The unceremonious transfer of Rakesh Maria from the post of Mumbai’s Commissioner of Police raises a set of serious questions. It came at a time when the 1981-batch IPS officer was steering the investigation in the Sheena Bora murder case towards crucial financial dealings possibly linked to the crime. The investigators had put together a team of chartered accountants and Economic Offences Wing officers to probe a complex web of shell companies, and requested the Enforcement Directorate to follow the money trail. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis signing the transfer order just before leaving for Japan reinforced the impression that the government did not want Mr. Maria to proceed with the probe. Though the Home Secretary explained that the transfer was deliberated over two to three weeks and had nothing to do with the fact that a high-profile figure was caught plotting the murder of her own daughter, the timing was clearly wrong. Mr. Maria was due for a cadre promotion on September 30 following the retirement of two senior officers. That promotion was advanced by 22 days, while he was effectively shunted out from the murder investigation. Moreover, appointing Ahmed Javed, who is one batch senior to Mr. Maria, to the post of Commissioner of Police, and then asking Mr. Maria to continue “monitoring” the Sheena Bora case as Director-General (Home Guards), has created a situation where two DG-level officers, who have not been in the best of terms with each other, have been put in charge of a high-profile case. Though Mr. Maria has indicated that he wouldn’t resign, his “punishment posting” amounts to dissuading him from pursuing the case in the right spirit. Such ad hoc measures point to the malaise of the political class seeking to exert control over police officers and playing a game of favourites. Given the power and prestige that go with it, the post of Mumbai Police Commissioner is a coveted one. There have been legal battles over it. A cumulative effect is that the Maharashtra Police are now top-heavy: there are seven posts of Directors-General, of which four, including that of DG (Home Guards), are insignificant, non-operational postings. In order to end ad hocism, eliminate lobbying for posts and make top-level appointments the outcome of collective decisions, a Police Establishment Board was set up. However, Mr. Maria’s transfer was not referred to the PEB, and the government used its discretionary powers. Only time will tell what impact this reshuffle may have on the investigation into the Sheena Bora case. But the message the transfer has for Dinesh Kadam, the investigating officer at Mumbai’s Khar police station where the case is registered, is far from encouraging.

vocabs

probe › to try to discover information that other people do not want you to know, by asking questions carefully and not directly: The interviewer probed deep into her private life.

unceremonious › done in a rude, sudden, or informal way: an unceremonious refusal



steer >to control the direction of a vehicle: She carefully steered the car around the potholes. This car is very easy to steer.

trail noun (PATH) > a path through a countryside, mountain, or forest area, often made or used for a particular purpose: a forest/mountain trail

dissuade › to persuade someone not to do something: I tried to dissuade her from leaving.

shunted past tense & past participle ) 1 verb If a person or thing is shunted somewhere, they are moved or sent there, usually because someone finds them inconvenient.

dissuade › to persuade someone not to do something: I tried to dissuade her from leaving.

ad hoc › made or happening only for a particular purpose or need, not planned before it happens: an ad hoc committee/meeting

malaise › a general feeling of being ill or having no energy, or an uncomfortable feeling that something is wrong, especially with society, and that you cannot change the situation: They claim it is a symptom of a deeper and more general malaise in society.

exert verb (USE) › to use something such as authority, power, influence, etc. in order to make something happen: If you were to exert your influence they might change their decision.

coveted › strongly desired by many: The Caldecott Medal is a coveted children’s book award.



discretionary › decided by officials and not fixed by rules: a discretionary grant

reshuffle › an occasion when the positions of people or things within a particular group are changed: They expect a Cabinet reshuffle in the summer.

The Dawn(pakistan)

Mainstreaming Fata THE call by Fata parliamentarians to have the region they represent merged with and administered by the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has once again shone a spotlight on that most ignored of governance, judicial and constitutional issues: the status of Fata as an integral part of Pakistani territory but deliberately kept outside the normal administrative and constitutional scheme of things. What the Fata parliamentarians have proposed also carries extra significance because the MNAs are directly elected by the people of Fata. As such, the parliamentarians’ recommendations carry more weight than the decidedly less representative and anachronistic system of tribal maliks and jirgas. In truth, however, the parliamentarians have proposed a halfway house: merging Fata and Frontier Regions with KP and administering those areas as a Provincially Administered Tribal Area. It is quite possible that the call for a separate province altogether, while deemed desirable was considered unfeasible, given the impact that it would have on the federation, from the composition of the Senate to that of bodies such as the Council of Common Interests. Whether Fata and the Frontier Regions are to be submerged into an existing province or given the standing of an autonomous province, this cannot be denied: the region needs fundamental reforms that go far beyond anything proposed over the last decade. The amendments to the FCR, the extension of the Political Parties Act and sundry tweaks to the administration of Fata since 2010 have done little to change the governance dynamics of the tribal areas. It is simply unacceptable that a region that has borne the brunt of militant rule and military operations for over a decade now should be treated as a zone cut off and separate from the rest of Pakistan. The very least Fata deserves is the sustained economic and administrative assistance of the state — and an iron-clad commitment to ensuring that at the end of the darkness that has engulfed Fata, there will be light for its people.



If Fata has been asked to sacrifice so much — vast sections of its people made homeless for years, the entire region treated as a laboratory for non-state actors and religious wars over the decades — surely its people deserve to be acknowledged as full and equal citizens of Pakistan. Ultimately, though, whether change for the better will in fact come to Fata depends on if the national institutions are able to agree on the necessary balance between the security of the country and the socio-economic needs of its people. Fata’s second-tier status has since the very beginning been linked to its proximity with Afghanistan. So long as the latter remains unstable and the border between the two countries remains porous, there will be a powerful lobby advocating a virtual wall between Fata and the rest of Pakistan. Arguably, however, it is that very wall that led to Fata becoming a hotbed of militancy and a threat to the rest of the country and the region.

vocabs

anachronism › a person, thing, or idea that exists out of its time in history, especially one that happened or existed later than the period being shown, discussed, etc.: For some people, marriage is an anachronism from the days when women needed to be protected.

Federally Administered Tribal Areas(FATA) The Federally Administered Tribal Areas is a semi-autonomous tribal region in northwestern Pakistan, bordering Pakistan's provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan to the east and south,

deem > to consider or judge something in a particular way: [+ obj + noun/adj ] The area has now been deemed safe.

unfeasible › not feasible (= able to be done or achieved)

submerge › [I or T] to go below or make something go below the surface of the sea or a river or lake: The submarine submerged when enemy planes were sighted. She was taken to hospital after being submerged in an icy river for 45 minutes.



-borne › carried or moved by a particular thing: airborne

cutoff noun [C] (STOP) › the act of stopping the supply of something: The US has announced a cutoff of military aid to the country.

engulf › to surround and cover something or someone completely: The flames rapidly engulfed the house.

lobby > to try to persuade a politician, the government, or an official group that a particular thing should or should not happen, or that a law should be changed: Small businesses have lobbied hard for/against changes in the tax laws.

a hotbed of sth › a place or situation where a lot of a particular activity, especially an unwanted or unpleasant activity, is happening or might happen: The police department was a hotbed of corruption.

Sep 10 2015 : The Economic Times (Bangalore)

Open Sesame For The Telecom Sector

Spectrum trading will bring some positive change

The Cabinet decision on spectrum trading is welcome, as it could pave the way for consolidation of

operations in the fragmented industry and remedy , in part, the scarcity of spectrum available with an

operator. However, the reallocation of existing spectrum among operators would not increase the per

capita availability of spectrum or, more to the point, the spectrum available per unit of carried traffic

(erlang, in telecom jargon) will remain as low as it is today . To remedy that, the government needs to

assign and release more spectrum for telephony .The spectrum trading decision could pave the way for



mergers and acquisitions in the telecom industry , apart from consolidation of operations. The banks'

non-performing assets could go up, as well.

The prospective sellers of spectrum are Reliance Communications, Tata Tele and Aircel. Their combined

debt is around ` . 85,000 crore. Now, suppose these companies sell their spectrum, rather than being

acquired along with their spectrum, customer base and debt. They will be able to repay a part of their

debt with the sales pro ceeds but the remaining debt would automatically turn non-performing -without

spectrum, they have no fur ther scope to generate revenue and the fiction that they will continue to

service their debt would cease to be viable. Of course, it is up to their creditors to look out for their own

interests while such spectrum sales take place.

The spectrum that is allowed to be traded is capped at 50% of a band and 25% of the spectrum available

in a circle. This might make spectrum sales difficult and prevent outright purchases of rival telecom

operators. Telcos are right to demand that spectrum sales proceeds should not be merged with

aggregate revenue, of which they pay the government a share as licence fee -after all, they had

purchased the spectrum in auctions. The current arrangement still falls short of the requirement of

making full use of the spectrum available, for which short-term trades of spectrum is needed, effectively

to create a common, shareable pool of spectrum

vocabs.

sesame › a herb grown for its small oval seeds and its oil:

pave the way <> If something paves the way for/to something else, it makes the other thing possible: Scientists hope that data from the probe will pave the way for a more detailed exploration of Mars.

fiction > the type of book or story that is written about imaginary characters and events and not based on real people and facts: The book is a work of fiction and not intended as a historical account.

viable > able to work as intended or able to succeed: In order to make the company viable, it will unfortunately be necessary to reduce staffing levels.



Sep 10 2015 : The Economic Times (Bangalore)

Compound? Yes, Confound? No

The finance ministry's decision to allow Indians holding undisclosed foreign bank accounts to compound their offences is pragmatic, and will add to the tax kitty. It will soften the blow on Indians who have bank accounts in HSBC Geneva, Liechtenstein-based LGT Bank and banks based in the British Virgin Islands, many of whom are facing prosecution for tax evasion. The prosecution proceedings against an illegitimate account holder will be dropped once she has paid taxes, penalties and cooperated with the government. In effect, the cases will be withdrawn and the person will not face a jail term. This will ease the burden on courts and the tax department that really does not have the wherewithal to pursue these cases. The Special Investigation Team on black money , which has a list of the names of foreign account holders, has cleared the CBDT's new rules on compounding of offences. That's fine. Withdrawing investigation on foreign account holders curtails the unhealthy tendency for the judiciary to transgress into the execu tive's turf. An internal panel of the CBDT will clear the applications on a case-to-case basis. This must not degenerate into harassment. The criteria used to grant one set of account holders reprieve must be extended to others as well. Care must be taken to make sure that Indians holding legal foreign bank accounts do not face harassment. The Modi government has promised to be tough on black money . Sure, the government must crack down on tax evasion, but a draconian law will not root out black money . The focus should be to stem the generation of black money . This calls for reforms on multiple fronts that include making the funding of political parties transparent, adopting the Goods and Services Tax and also bringing real estate under GST.

vocabs

pragmatic > solving problems in a sensible way that suits the conditions that really exist now, rather than obeying fixed theories, ideas, or rules: In business, the pragmatic approach to problems is often more successful than an idealistic one.

kitty noun (MONEY)

› an amount of money that is made up of small amounts given by different people, used by them for an agreed purpose: We all put $20 in/into the kitty to cover the cost of food.

prosecution noun (LEGAL) > the act of prosecuting someone: A number of the cases have resulted in successful prosecution.

illegitimate



› born of parents not married to each other › formal not legal or fair: The rebels regard the official parliament as illegitimate.

wherewithal › the money necessary for a particular purpose: Most people don’t have the wherewithal to hire the best lawyers.

curtail

› to stop something before it is finished, or to reduce or limit something: to curtail your holiday/spending

draconian

› Draconian laws, government actions, etc. are extremely severe, or go further than what is right or necessary: draconian laws/methods

reprieve › an official order that stops or delays the punishment, especially by death, of a prisoner: He was sentenced to death but was granted a last-minute reprieve. › an escape from a bad situation or experience: The injection provided a temporary reprieve from the pain.

Business Standard

Aviation's moment Low fuel price gives carriers time to reform Last week, state-controlled oil marketing companies cut aviation fuel price by 11.7 per cent after crude oil witnessed further fall. With this, aviation fuel prices are down almost 40 per cent from last year's level. As fuel is their principal expenditure, this has benefitted Indian carriers greatly. For the quarter ended June 30, the fuel bill of the two carriers listed on the stock market was down sharply: SpiceJet by 53 per cent and Jet Airways by 20 per cent. Fuel accounted for 34 per cent of SpiceJet's total expenditure for the quarter, down from 43 per cent in the year-ago quarter, while in Jet Airways' case, it fell from 36 per cent to 27 per cent. Both carriers posted an operating profit for the quarter, as against a loss in the year-ago quarter. Even state-owned Air India, which has been mired in



losses for several years, hopes to report a marginal quarterly profit towards the end of the current financial year. This state of affairs is likely to continue for some more time. Crude oil prices are expected to remain low for a while, thanks to the Chinese economy slowing down, which will help keep aviation fuel prices under check. To help matters, domestic air traffic is growing fast. According to the International Air Transport Association, India's domestic passenger volumes grew 28.1 per cent in July, which makes it the fastest growing market in the world. Globally, the traffic grew just 7.8 per cent. As a result, most Indian carriers have seen an improvement in their plane load factor. This combination of lower fuel costs and strong demand is a golden opportunity for the Indian aviation sector to turn around and reorganise business models. However, it is important that the carriers should not get into a fare war at this stage. That could be suicidal. The Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation, in its outlook for 2015-16, said that in the quarter ended June 30, carriers "compromised yields to generate cash". At this moment, discipline in pricing is, therefore, of critical importance for airlines. As it is, fares are at rock-bottom now, which perhaps is the reason for the strong growth in air traffic. Any reduction from here, or some kind of a slump sale, will fritter away the gains they have made in the last few months. Thankfully, the likelihood of a price war is low because the market is all set to move into the busy phase for at least three to four months. Carriers usually launch slump sales in order to get rid of unsold inventories during the lean season. Also, experts expect modest capacity expansion in the quarters to come, which should help the carriers hold their tariffs. The only cloud in the horizon is the recent fall in the rupee. About a quarter of a carrier's costs are in dollars, so any depreciation is bound to increase the burden. To that extent, some of the gains of the lower fuel prices have been nullified. This makes the need for pricing discipline all the more urgent.

vocabs

be/become mired (down) in sth › to be involved in a difficult situation, especially for a long period of time: The peace talks are mired in bureaucracy.

slump verb (REDUCE SUDDENLY) › (of prices, values, or sales) to fall suddenly: The value of property has slumped.

fritter sth away › to waste money, time, or an opportunity: If I've got money in my pocket, I tend to fritter it away.

modest adjective (NOT LARGE) > not large in size or amount, or not expensive:



They live in a fairly modest house, considering their wealth.

in many countries around the world, the `lean season` is when farmers and their

families are forced to turn to food aid to survive, but in one small part of

Mozambique, small-scale farmers and Oxfam partners are working to stretch the

growing season, focusing on community gardens, irrigation and drought-

resistant crops ...

Indian Express

Such a long journey

Queen Elizabeth has presided over vast transitions, and her own irrelevance

Queen Elizabeth II replaced Queen Victoria as the longest-serving British monarch, having reigned for 63 years and 216 days — she’ll have to live till 108 and hope the king of Thailand, who has reigned for 69 years, doesn’t beat her to it if she covets the world record. In many ways, the story of the queen’s time at the top is the story of the modern age. When her father died and she ascended the throne in 1952, Stalin was at the helm in the Soviet Union, Truman was in the White House, Churchill in 10 Downing Street and Nehru in Teen Murti Bhavan. The Cold War was hotting up and much of the world was recovering from the battering of World War II and colonisation — Britain, for instance, still had food rationing. Indeed, there was still such a thing as empire and Pakistan was not then an Islamic republic; in fact, it had a white woman head of state, Elizabeth. Today, the age of deference to the royal family is long past. The Windsors, “Britain’s favourite fetish” and reality show, perforce live their lives in public — buffeted by an inquisitive and aggressive media, they have become a constant source of hilarity, gossip, entertainment, even scandal. After a four-century-plus dry spell, The Family has even seen a succession of sensational divorces. Shock horror, the queen even pays taxes now. The fundamental compact between the queen and her “subjects” is much altered. She is not seen to reign as much as serve their need for a unifying symbol. And the investment value of the Windsors is much discussed and justified — costing only 56 pence per taxpayer, it could be argued that the United Kingdom receives its money’s worth from the hordes of tourists gawking at Buckingham Palace and the Tower of London every summer. Of course, some things never change. The queen still owns all the swans in the Thames and you could end up in the tower at her majesty’s pleasure if you try to eat one.

vocabs

transition > a change from one form or type to another, or the process by which this happens: The health-care system is in transition at the moment.

covet › to want to have something very much, especially something that belongs to someone else:



She always coveted power but never quite achieved it.

preside over sth › to be in charge of a situation or place : This government has presided over some of the most significant changes in education this century.

perforce › because it is necessary

at the helm (of something) › in control: She is the first woman to be at the helm of this corporation.

buffet › (of wind, rain, etc.) to hit something repeatedly and with great force: The little boat was buffeted mercilessly by the waves.

inquisitive › wanting to discover as much as you can about things, sometimes in a way that annoys people: an inquisitive child

hilarity › a situation in which people laugh very loudly and think something is very funny: What was all the hilarity about?

unify › to bring together; combine: If the new leader does manage to unify his warring party it will be quite an achievement.

horde > a large group of people: Hordes of students on bikes made crossing the road difficult.

gawk › to look at something or someone in a stupid or rude way: Don't sit there gawking like that - give me a hand!



The Moscow Times

Donbass Is Clinging to Illusion of Peace (Op-Ed) There was neither shelling nor shooting in Donetsk in the first week of September. The city seemed strikingly normal, with people out in the streets enjoying long balmy evenings, sipping drinks in outdoor cafes, strolling on the river bank. The warring sides appeared to stick to their pledge to observe a cease-fire, so as not to ruin the start of the school year. The air in the city center vibrated with chitchat and music. Not a single blast broke the illusion of peace. However, it was nothing but an illusion as weapons on both sides stand at the ready. Checkpoints across the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) are still teeming with men in fatigues with no insignia. Some are aggressive and clearly drunk. Two twitchy fighters who stopped our car near Gorlovka were very keen to find out whether we had any cash, especially "dollars or euros." Fortunately, they were too drunk to follow up on their inquiry. Another bunch of fighters went up in arms at the sight of a camera: "Who are you spying for?" Spy mania is overwhelming. One foreign correspondent told us some local busybody reported him to the rebel security services as "an American undercover agent" — an accusation that almost landed him in one of the irregular jails the insurgent authorities continue to operate. Luckily, his acquaintance in law enforcement saw the just-released "wanted" alert and put a stop to it, flagging that the man in question was not a spy but rather a reporter. A man in a coffee shop in Donetsk, where I was getting my morning fix, told his friend, laughter mixed with despair, that when the fireworks in honor of the annual City Day festivities resounded in the last weekend of August, elderly women in the courtyard of his apartment building screamed and ran for shelter: "'Grannies,' I yelled after them, 'What in the world are you doing? These are just fireworks! Today's a public holiday! You're supposed to enjoy the show!' But they hobbled down the basement stairway mumbling, 'Right, you'll be singing a different song when those shells start hitting the ground!'" Military bases and heavy weaponry are located right next to residential buildings. On Chelyuskintsev Street, a group of fighters has taken over an office building right next to several apartment houses. The inhabitants say the fighters go on drinking sprees and run around shooting their Kalashnikov assault rifles at nothing, frightening the children.



One of the residents told us he was sitting outside with his neighbors, by a small wooden table in the yard when an armed fighter flopped down next to them, clutching an open bottle of vodka in one hand and a bottle of Pepsi in the other. When offered a glass, he snorted, "This is not how Russians drink!" — and guzzled his vodka right from the bottle. Back in July, one of the fighters in that unruly group set off a hand grenade right in the middle of the courtyard, killing himself and scaring the residents half to death. Another two had a drunken fight and started shooting at one another. Both were wounded and taken away by medics. When we drove up to the fighters' headquarters, we saw several military vehicles parked there, including an armored personnel carrier, just a few meters away from civilian housing. It's hardly surprising that the apartment buildings in the neighborhood have been damaged by shelling — this is precisely what happens when military objects are placed in a densely populated area, and the very reason the laws of war, aimed at minimizing civilian harm, warn the warring sides against this practice. The locals have complained time and again, but rebel authorities pay no heed to their pleas to move the weapons and rein in the fighters. The city, pockmarked with traces of shelling, features countless freshly printed posters and billboards with the insurgent leader, Alexander Zakharchenko, in his camouflage uniform, in suit and tie, with schoolchildren, teachers and miners. The images are accompanied by slogans about "peaceful sky above your head," "building our future together," and other throwbacks to Soviet-era cliches. These omnipresent images are reminiscent of Chechnya at the end of the second war, with its abundance of posters of the Kadyrovs, first the father Akhmad and then the son Ramzan, in similar poses and with similar slogans rising over the ruins of Grozny in 2003 and becoming ever more flamboyant over the years. The first week of September was a week of quiet in Donetsk. But people are tense from apprehension, suspecting, fearing that fighting will flare up any time soon. The city was last shelled at the end of August and there is little hope the nightmare won't resume as the "start of the school year agreement" supposedly expires in just another few days

vocabs

cling verb (HOLD) >[I + adv/prep] to stick onto or hold something or someone tightly, or to refuse to stop holding it, him, or her: We got so wet that our clothes clung to us. They clung together in terror as the screams grew louder.



One little girl was clinging onto a cuddly toy.

illusion an idea or belief that is not true:

He had no illusions about his talents as a singer. I'm under no illusions (= I understand the truth) about the man I married.

she'll noun (EXPLOSIVE) › a container, usually with a pointed end, that is filled with explosives and shot from a large gun: Artillery and mortar shells were landing in the outskirts of the city.

balmy › (of weather) pleasantly warm: a balmy summer evening

stroll > to walk in a slow, relaxed manner, especially for pleasure: We could stroll along the beach after dinner.

warring › Warring countries or groups of people are at war with each other: warring tribes

teem with sth › to contain large numbers of animals or people: The mall was teeming with shoppers that Saturday.

overwhelming >difficult to fight against: She felt an overwhelming urge/desire/need to tell someone about what had happened. >very great or very large: She said how much she appreciated the overwhelming generosity of the public in responding to the appeal.

despair > the feeling that there is no hope and that you can do nothing to improve a difficult or worrying situation: a mood/sense of despair

hobble verb (WALK)



› [I usually + adv/prep] to walk in an awkward way, usually because the feet or legs are injured: The last time I saw Rachel she was hobbling around with a stick. Some of the runners could only manage to hobble over the finishing line.



stairway › a passage in a public place with a set of steps that leads from one level to another

mumble > to speak quietly and in a way that is not clear so that the words are difficult to understand: She mumbled something about being too busy.

spree › a short period of doing a particular, usually enjoyable, activity much more than is usual: I went on a drinking/shopping/spending spree on Saturday.

unruly › Unruly people are difficult to control and often do not obey rules: an unruly class of adolescents

flopped down>To fall or lie down heavily and noisily: flop onto the sofa. 2. To move

about loosely or limply: The dog's ears flopped when it ran. 3. Informal To fail utterly:

The play flopped.

heed › to pay attention to something, especially advice or a warning: The airline has been criticized for failing to heed advice/warnings about lack of safety routines

plea noun [C] (REQUEST)

> an urgent and emotional request: He made a plea for help/mercy.

pockmarked › marked with pockmarks: a pockmarked face › A pockmarked surface has a lot of holes or low areas in it: The old barn was pockmarked with bullet holes.

camouflage › [U] the use of leaves, branches, paints, and clothes for hiding soldiers or military equipment so that they cannot be seen against their surroundings: a camouflage jacket

reminisce



› to talk or write about past experiences that you remember with pleasure: My grandfather used to reminisce about his years in the navy.

flare-up › a situation in which something such as violence, pain, or anger suddenly starts or gets much worse: There was another flare-up of rioting later that day.

The NewYork Times

Poland Shouldn’t Shut Out Refugees WARSAW — It was to become Poland’s most recognizable logo. Bold red letters, in shapes evoking human figures, formed the word “Solidarnosc.” Today, 35 years after Solidarity was created and 26 after its victory over Communism, not much remains of that spirit in Poland. Nor should others expect any solidarity from Poles: When in June the European Commission, facing an unprecedented influx of hundreds of thousands of refugees, called on Poland to accept 3,700 of them, the country announced that it “refuses to submit” to European Union quotas, which were intended to be compulsory. As other countries also balked, Brussels had to opt for lower, voluntary and unenforceable quotas. Eventually Prime Minister Ewa Kopacz declared that the country, as an expression of “European solidarity,” would take in 2,000 people over the next two years, mainly from Syria and Eritrea. It will have to do more. The public reaction, as shown in a June survey by CBOS, a pollster, was initially harsh: 53 percent of Poles were opposed to taking in refugees. A September Millard Brown poll shows that over 50 percent now say refugees should be helped. Still, if foreigners are to be admitted, a majority of Poles want them to be “like us.” Over half of respondents said they would welcome Americans, Czechs and Germans, but believed that the presence of Arabs and Turks on Polish soil would be “detrimental.” The Internet has erupted with hatred: The prosecutor general has ordered an investigation of anonymous posts recommending that Poland reopen Auschwitz and send refugees there.In an election year, the government is taking objections to taking in refugees seriously, especially because the ruling Civic Platform Party is expected to lose. The first group of refugees, 60 families from Syria, has arrived. They are, however, not part of the 2,000 Ms. Kopacz has mentioned. These families were brought in by a private foundation, Estera, which pays for the rescue of Syrian Christians; the government only facilitated the paperwork and vetted candidates. To date, there is no comprehensive refugee assistance policy — and any official initiatives are haphazard. It appears that Estera’s mission of only assisting Christians actually weighed in its favor.



“Christians, subject to barbaric oppression in Syria, deserve today for a Christian country like Poland to react quickly and come to their aid,” Ms. Kopacz said. The newly elected president, Andrzej Duda, from the opposition Law and Justice party, seemed to agree. “I am sure they will be well-received here,” he declared during an electoral debate. “They are culturally close to us.” He has since been silent on the issue. Mr. Duda’s party colleague Witold Waszczykowski, a possible future foreign minister, was less enthusiastic: “Since we have been forced to make such decisions,” he said, “they should be Christians, as there is some hope they’ll assimilate in Poland.” Such language directly violates Article 3 of the United Nations 1951 Geneva Convention on refugees, which bans racial and religious discrimination. There are, however, no sanctions for violating the convention, and the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia have all announced a Christians-only policy. Estera’s chairwoman, Miriam Shadeed, a Christian of Polish-Syrian background, explained matter-of-factly that all Muslim refugees “are in fact ISIS soldiers infiltrating Europe.” This sort of talk does not raise any eyebrows in Poland. Jaroslaw Gowin, a former justice minister, concurred: According to him, Muslims spread terrorism. Hostile attitudes and Islamophobia are hardly being challenged. Roza Thun, a member of the European Parliament, and Malgorzata Fuszara, Poland’s minister for equal treatment, were the only politicians to endorse a pro-refugee demonstration in Warsaw in August. Meanwhile, Pawel Kukiz, a rock star who unexpectedly garnered 21 percent of the presidential vote, claims that a sinister plot is afoot. “I’ll give an African refugee much, but only if he’s in Africa, or Germany, France or England,” he said at an electoral rally. “But why here? Maybe there’s a plan for Poles to be scattered around the world, and diverse nationalities are to live here?” Mr. Kukiz is now running for Parliament as head of an extreme-right movement. His suspicions about Poles “being scattered” reflect the fact that since the country’s accession to the European Union in 2003, over two million people have emigrated, looking for jobs and a better future. In the 1980s, during the period of Solidarity’s struggle against a Communist military dictatorship, over a million people escaped Poland, and were received and accepted in the West. And it wasn’t only the West that helped: During World War II, Iran took in over 100,000 Polish refugees fleeing the Soviet Union. Seven decades later, this episode of generosity from a Muslim country is hardly reflected upon. In fact, public opinion has been so callous that the Polish Catholic Church has had to remind citizens that it is their “Christian duty to help refugees.” The church has called on each parish to prepare to take in refugees, regardless of religion. Taking in refugees and migrants also happens to be in the country’s self-interest, and not for reasons of demography alone. To do so is to act, as Ms. Kopacz said, in European solidarity — and Poland desperately needs it. After all, it was the transfer of European funds that fueled the country’s spectacular economic growth over the last decade. Europe also remains the cornerstone of Poland’s foreign policy, especially in



the deepening confrontation with an aggressive Russia on our eastern border. Nor can Poland expect that its NATO allies will strengthen the alliance’s eastern flank if Poles remain indifferent to other countries’ concerns regarding the refugee crisis. Poland’s future depends on European solidarity. The country can’t be seen as grudgingly and selectively submitting to the demands of the European Union. Poland could also soon find itself flooded with refugees the way Greece and Italy are today. The war in Ukraine could flare up again, and tens of thousands will then head west into Poland. Currently, the flow is a trickle: There have been only 6,000 applications for asylum this year (and only 262 were granted in 2014), compared with 800,000 applications expected in Germany. Poland, thriving on European funds and sheltered by Europe’s geography from the brunt of the current refugee influx, can economically afford to do more. And politically it can’t afford not to.

vocabs

solidarity

> agreement between and support for the members of a group, especially a political group:

The situation raises important questions about solidarity among member states of the UN.

a Polish organization of independent trade unions founded in 1980: outlawed by the government of Poland in 1982.

Polish Solidarność

vocabs

unprecedented >never having happened or existed in the past: This century has witnessed environmental destruction on an unprecedented scale.

balk verb [I] (BE UNWILLING) › to be unwilling to do something or to allow something to happen: I balked at the prospect of spending four hours on a train with him.

detriment › harm or damage: Are you sure that I can follow this diet without detriment to my health?

erupt verb [I] (START SUDDENLY) › to start suddenly and violently: At the end of a hot summer, violence erupted in the inner cities.

vet



› to examine something or someone carefully to make certain that they are acceptable or suitable: During the war, the government vetted all news reports before they were published.

haphazard › not having an obvious order or plan: He tackled the problem in a typically haphazard manner.

barbaric › extremely cruel and unpleasant: She found the idea of killing animals for pleasure barbaric. barbaric acts of violence

oppress verb (RULE) › to govern people in an unfair and cruel way and prevent them from having opportunities and freedom: For years now, the people have been oppressed by a ruthless dictator.

oppress verb (MAKE UNCOMFORTABLE) › to make a person feel uncomfortable or worried, and sometimes ill: Strange dreams and nightmares oppressed him.

assimilate verb (JOIN) › to become part of a group, country, society, etc., or to make someone or something become part of a group, country, society, etc.: The European Union should remain flexible enough to assimilate more countries quickly.

infiltrate › to secretly become part of a group in order to get information or to influence the way that group thinks or behaves: A journalist managed to infiltrate the powerful drug cartel.

concur

› to agree or have the same opinion: The new report concurs with previous findings.

sinister › making you feel that something bad or evil might happen: The ruined house had a sinister appearance.

afoot › happening or being planned or prepared: There are plans afoot to launch a new radio station.



emigrate › to leave a country permanently and go to live in another one: Millions of Germans emigrated from Europe to America in the 19th century.

callous › unkind, cruel, and without sympathy or feeling for other people: It might sound callous, but I don't care if he's homeless. He's not living with me!

desperately adverb (SERIOUSLY) > extremely or very much: He was desperately ill.

deepening › increasing or becoming darker: They felt a deepening sense of despair.

confrontation > a fight or argument: Some couples seem to like confrontation, but Josh and I hardly ever argue..

flank › to be at the side of someone or something: The president was flanked by senior advisors.

grudging › A grudging action or feeling is one that you do or have unwillingly: She won the grudging respect of her boss.

flare-up › a situation in which something such as violence, pain, or anger suddenly starts or gets much worse: There was another flare-up of rioting later that day.

trickle noun (SMALL NUMBER) › a very small number of people or things arriving or leaving somewhere: We usually only get a trickle of customers in the mornings.

thriving



› very healthy or successful: The dog is thriving in its new home.

Harvard Business Review

What a Year of Job Rejections Taught Me About Pitching Myself

After sending out hundreds of copies of my résumé to dozens of companies over the last year, I realized that I was getting nowhere because my approach was wrong. I did everything I was taught to do: I created a list of the top 20 companies I wanted to work for, I customized my résumé for each opening, I networked online and offline. I met some fantastic people throughout the process, but nothing got me closer to a securing a role, or even a chance to interview. What I had failed to do was ask myself some of the tough and honest questions early on. My story began in May 2015 when after 10 years of building a successful career in the Middle East, I decided to move to Silicon Valley to look for opportunities with tech companies. I wanted to learn, and to be part of something big. I knew it would be a challenge to restart my career in a new market, especially one that is densely populated with talent, so I expected the process to take a few months. As a few months turned into a year and I saw no signs of progress, I reached a point of panic. Something felt wrong. Something was wrong. How was no one interested in learning more about my background? How could a career that ranged from working with royalty to Fortune 500 brands and startups not pique the curiosity of any hiring managers? As a marketer, I decided to re-frame the challenge. Instead of thinking as a job applicant, I had to think of myself as a product and identify ways to create demand around hiring me. I applied everything I knew about marketing and storytelling to build a campaign that would show Silicon Valley companies the kind of value I would bring to their teams.



The experiment was a report that I created for Airbnb that highlighted the promise and potential of expanding to the Middle East, a market that I am extremely familiar with and until recently they had not focused on. I spent a couple of days gathering data about the tourism industry and the company’s current footprint in the market, and identified strategic opportunities for them there. I released the report on Twitter and copied Airbnb’s founders and leadership team. Behind the scenes, I also shared it by email with many personal and professional contacts and encouraged them to share it if they thought it was interesting — most did, as did some of the top VCs, entrepreneurs and many peers around the world. Within hours of releasing the report, a recruiter from Airbnb reached out to me to schedule an interview. Within a few days, I had interviews with many of the area’s top tech companies. And within a few weeks, I had identified an exciting role and have since joined Upwork, an online platform that connects businesses with freelancers. I was fortunate that the novelty of my approach — along with a little bit of luck and a lot of social media strategy — got me on everyone’s radar. It opened all the doors that I had dreamed of. I figured that if I created something that inspired people and got a wide audience talking about it, that would force talent scouters to take notice. That happened to the tune of millions of social media impressions and global media coverage, but the lessons I took away from it went beyond the power of a good marketing campaign. What I realize in hindsight is probably one of the most important lessons of my career so far. The project highlighted the qualities I wanted to show to recruiters; more importantly, it also addressed one of the main weaknesses they saw in me. In my case, having moved from Jordan to California, I was at a disadvantage. I didn’t have a network of people that I had worked with in the past, people who knew my work and would want to bring me onto their teams. The company I had co-founded there didn’t have the recognition that it enjoyed throughout the Middle East either. I had only looked at those shortcomings from my perspective until recently. What I had failed to see was that from most recruiters’ perspectives, the market I was coming from was irrelevant. What the report helped me do was show, not tell, my value beyond their doubts. It refocused my perceived weakness into a strength: an international perspective with the promise of understanding and entering new markets. And though none of the roles that I interviewed for in the last two months focused on expansion, by addressing and challenging the weakness, I was able to re-frame the conversation around my strengths. In almost all interviews candidates go through, there is the cliched question that is asked: “What is your main weakness?” Most people are trained to answer that question by thinking of a strength and



packaging it as a weakness. As job-seekers, we tend to think of what the person across the table wants to hear. If I’ve learned anything from this experience, it’s that asking yourself a different version of that question is going to make you better prepared for any conversation with a recruiter, a potential client, or even a potential investor. The question I should have been asking myself wasn’t “What is my weakness?” but rather “What do they perceive as a weakness in my background?” Had I asked myself that question and been honest with the answer earlier, I would have realized the reason I wasn’t making any progress was not necessarily because of errors in how I was applying, but in what I was communicating. Rather than focus on why I’d fit into a top organization, I should have been telling them how I’d stand out. Vocabs

cliché > a saying or remark that is very often made and is therefore not original and not interesting: My wedding day - and I know it's a cliché - was just the happiest day of my life.

pitch noun (LEVEL)

› the level or degree of something: The piano and organ were tuned to the same pitch (= note).

pique

› a feeling of anger, especially caused by someone damaging your feeling of being proud of yourself: He stormed from the room in a fit of pique, shouting that he had been misunderstood.

hindsight

› the ability to understand an event or situation only after it has happened: With (the benefit/wisdom of) hindsight, I should have taken the job.

Scouter

>an adult leader in the Scout Association.

The Economist

Forecasting a global recession



IT IS rare for economists, particularly those at an investment bank, to forecast a recession. For a start, it is difficult to get it right; a recession is by definition a change in trend and economists tend to extrapolate from past ones. But secondly, it is a career risk. One economist once told Buttonwood that, “I never forecast a recession. If I’m right, no-one will thank me; if I’m wrong, I’ll be fired.” Perhaps it is no surprise that the forthright Willem Buiter, once a member of the Bank of England’s monetary policy committee and now the chief global economist of Citigroup, a bank, has been willing to go out on a limb. He once called gold a “6000-year old bubble” and back in 2012 predicted that there was a 90% chance of Greece leaving the euro area. He now says a global recession is the “most likely” outcome with a 55% probability. But it is worth noting that he defines a global recession, not as a period of falling output, but as: ...a period during which the actual unemployment rate is above the natural unemployment rate or NAIRU [non-accelerating inflation rate of unemployment, the lowest level of unemployment obtainable without causing inflation due to the economy overheating], or during which there is a negative output gap; the level of actual GDP is below the level of potential GDP. To avoid excessive attention to mini-recessions, this period of excess capacity should have a duration of a year or longer.Translating this definition of a moderate recession into GDP growth rates for the next few years, a moderate global recession starting in the second half of 2016 means global real GDP growth at market exchange rates declining from its likely current rate of 4% or slightly less, to 2.5% or less by the middle of 2016 and staying at or below 2.5% for a year or more. So what is driving his view? He cites: ...the very weak—indeed negative—world trade growth in the first half of 2015, the continued weakening of (real) commodity prices, the weakness of the global inflation rate, the recent decline in global stock prices, plus indications that corporate earnings growth is slowing down in most countries, and the unprecedented decline in nominal interest rates. The problem stems from the emerging markets and, in particular, China. No emerging market is outperforming Citigroup’s forecasts for 2015. China’s official numbers may look fine but Mr Buiter reckons the real rate of GDP growth is currently 4% and may drop to 2.5% by the middle of next year. In Chinese terms, that is a recession. Investment in China has been, on average, woefully inefficient—especially since 2008. Most of it continues to be allocated to infrastructure, construction and traditional industrial and extractive activities. A reduction in the share of fixed investment in GDP by 10% is overdue... the question is whether this reduction in investment can be achieved without aggregate demand damage. He thinks that is unlikely. This will have significant knock-on effects in the developed world. China’s share of world GDP in 2014 was 13.3% and 14.3% of global trade. Even countries that don’t directly trade that much with China will be affected, since they sell to countries that do export to China. The developed economies are unlikely to respond with fiscal stimulus. So Mr Buiter concludes that: ...the monetary authorities once again will have to do the heavy lifting. If the Federal Reserve and the Bank of England raise rates this year or early next year they may, if the global recession scenario materialises, be cutting rates again during the second half of 2016.

vocabs



knock-on › causing other events or situations to happen, although not directly: High petrol prices could be having a knock-on effect among manufacturers.

forecasting › the job or activity of judging what is likely to happen in the future, based on the information you have now: economic/market/sales forecasting The report looks at the role of sales and market forecasting in the operation of the business.

extrapolate › to guess or think about what might happen using information that is already known: You can't really extrapolate a trend from such a small sample

forthright › (too) honest or direct in behaviour: His forthright manner can be mistaken for rudeness.

out on a limb › having an opinion that is different from most people's and is unpopular: She's going out on a limb in criticizing her own party leadership.

unprecedented > never having happened or existed in the past: This century has witnessed environmental destruction on an unprecedented scale.

reckon verb (THINK) > informal to think or believe: I reckon it's going to rain.


The Hindu September 10, 2015 03:50 IST Irrational violence file you can read previous editorials...

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