One Year Anniversary (and a bit of a big up for Manmohan Singh)

Today marks the first anniversary that saw more than 170 innocent bystanders murdered in Mumbai.

Prayers started in the economic capital of India last night, and parades of police marched past the Taj Palace and other landmarks today that marked the scene of this horrific terrorist attack.


Pakistan has arrested and charged 7 citizens for master-minding and organising the massacre and the trial continues of Ajmal Qasab, the only surviving gunman arrested in India.

I can´t believe it has only been a year when we were glued to news reports for three continuous days watching events unfold.

Like most economic hubs, resilience is strong and despite the still recent memory of these bloody few day, life goes on. Security on the street is tighter, tourism is up, and despite the World economic recession, business is up as well. Life for the most part has returned back to normal.

Mumbai joins the ever –increasing list of towns and cities to have fallen victim to terrorist attacks with diverse locations of New York, London, Madrid and Denpasar (Bali). Basically, no town or city in the world is safe. I´m staying in a village and keeping a low profile.

Meanwhile it has been good to see the love and respect offered to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in the US with a full state banquet put on by Obama. I have got a lot respect for India´s 14th Prime minister.


Born in Gah in the Punjab (now in Pakistan), he lost his mother when very young and was bought up by his paternal grandparents. With no electricity, he studied hard by candlelight, first securing a place in Panjab University in Chandigarh and progressing on to study Economics in Oxford where he went on to receive his DPhil. in 1962. He subsequently went on to teach at the University of Delhi.

Not only is he very shrewd, thoughtful and intelligent, remarkably he is seen as honest and incorruptible – rare in politics and most especially in India. His integrity hasn´t slipped during his nine year tenure. Long may this last

Ed Add-on: Having signed a petition to promote the Copenhagen Climate Summit I have been sent Singh´s telephone numbers. Give The Man some love and give him a call on (+91) (11) 23012312 / 23013040 / 23019983

Hello Kitty turns 35

Many thanks to ex-Nam Wa Poite, “Loud Shirt” Chip who kindly passed me this article from Weird Asia News.

Hello Kitty has always been big in Hong Kong. It freaks me out – no mouth and rabbit-like? Surely some kitty abomination of nature!

Thanks to the marketing skills of Japanese company Sanrio, Hello Kitty’s cute-cat character has been going strong for 35 years and has become an internationally-recognized brand. One of the most diverse and unpredictable places in the entire universe, the world of Hello Kitty encompasses a vast collection of strange products that dazzle the mind and serve as material for an extensive list of noteworthy weirdness.

Since there are thousands of Hello Kitty products in just about every category imaginable, it’s difficult to find the weirdest of the weird. Some of my favourites include the following. Which is your favourite?