Why there are no stray dogs in Dallas?

Since arriving in the US I had been wondering how cities maintained their streets free of stray animals. Whenever I see people walking their pets ranging from micro miniature sized designer dogs to huge beastly looking but very friendly furry canines, I would wonder if America has only thoroughbred dogs of pure bloodline. What about native species of dogs? Where are they gone, were they massacred like native Indian tribes? What if some dog just escaped and got lost? What about unwanted puppies, what happened? These questions continued to plague me and I never got any convincing answers. I had read about pet adoptions in newspapers on and off and seen some adoption drives during earth day celebrations at the college. These were not large scale operations which would take all dogs off the road.

But then suddenly out of the blue I got all the answers I was looking for in the form of a newspaper article yesterday. The article written by Steve Blow in Dallas Morning News came as a shocking blow to me. According to the article there is a well oiled stray dog slaughtering machinery in place in Dallas, managed by Dallas Animal Services and Adoption Center. Here "Animal Services" means killing or euthanising or putting them to sleep.

As I read the article I broke into cold sweat and wondered how governments can enact such cruel policies. The staff of the Animal euthanasia department don't like their jobs but they don't have a choice, if they have to feed their families they have to mercilessly kill stray dogs. The number killed is not one or two but run into hundreds... daily and thousands... annually. The statistics are shocking, 29,000 stray/ unwanted/ neglected animals were killed last year (2007) alone. And this is an everyday phenomenon.

While in Bangalore as a member-volunteer of PFA (People for Animals), I have been instrumental in bringing to book several individuals who had meted cruel treatment to stray animals and pets. What the municipal authorities did back home in Bangalore was to vaccinate, deworm and spay stray dogs and set them free back where they come from. Bangalore city alone had about 70,000 stray dogs, when the civic authorities suggested culling, there was a public outcry and most citizens said that, we had no right to take away a life, be it a human or animal. But here value systems are different and there is nothing wrong in killing thousands of dogs regularly.

As I completed reading the article, I wondered, America is five times the size of India and hosts 20 percent of the population which is at least 10 times richer. Is it impossible to establish some kind of a system where stray animals are not slaughtered and buried along with trash in landfills? Can we show a little human courtesy and kindness to these gentle creatures which are said to be "Man's best friends"?

I'd like to know your opinions on this.

Uno the One-wheeled motorcycle

Bikers across the world are accused of reckless riding and being a hazard to road users, especially in first world countries where speeds are very high. In heavy traffic nations like India, China, motorcycles are considered very dangerous vehicles. This was the reports we heard when motorcycles had two wheels. Now there is this new motocycle named "UNO". The creation of 18-year-old innovator and motorcycle designer Benjamin Gulak, the Uno actually has two wheels but they are set side-by-side, instead of one behind the other as in traditional models. But since the wheels are so close together it can be considered as one entity.

It is simple to ride this electric powered wonder. You lean forward to make it move ahead and lean backward to slow it down. There is a single on/off switch to operate this uni-motorcycle. The Uno was showcased at the 2008 National Motorcycle Show in Toronto and attracted lot of attention. This was the first public appearance of the bright orange and grey Uno.

I am sure it would become very popular in India where space is premium as also economy. Powered by electric motors this wont consume too much petrol and being compact it will fit into the small parking spaces that are available. And it can carry two people too.... at least there is a pillion seat.

Read detailed article here

Making money out of E-Waste

It is common to read about the amount of electronic wastes that are plaguing this world. Old computers, motherboards, outdated cellphones, music systems, compact discs etc are all categorised under e-waste and someone is yet to come up with a effective way to dispose of them. But now suddenly E-wastes seem to have become pricey commodities. According to a news report I read online in the Times of India there are experts who mine e-wastes for precious metals including gold, copper, silver among others.

Apparently this form of "Urban mining" is very popular in Japan. Astounding is the statistics that a tone of gold ore gives only 5 gms of pure gold but a ton of mobile phones would return nearly 150 gms of gold. Urban mining is indeed far more lucrative than real gold mining.

So next time you think of discarding your old mobile phone, think again. You may be throwing a cache of precious metals into garbage. I am pretty sure this industry will start thriving in other countries very soon and it should if we are to have any success in combating E-wastes that are plaguing our earth.

Uniforms and Gear for Military and Police

As a child I was always fascinated by the impressive uniforms, pins, badges and medals worn by armed forces staff. In my experience I have noticed that people in uniform exude a kind of authority and confidence which is not seen in many civilian staff. The uniform gives them some kind of added strength which makes them come across as authoritative. Once attired in BDU pants even the normal person starts to exude some kind of strength.

With the evolution of police and armed forces the need for uniforms and other gear has grown. To cater to this need there are numerous enterprises which supply top quality material which enhance the appearance of the staff. One of the leading companies working in this area is LA Police Gear. The website showcases the wide array of apparel, gear and other related items manufactured and supplied by this company.

The array of uniform stuff is simply mind boggling and there is virtually everything available to equip a complete police force or a army regiment. Clothes, knives, boots, hats, tasers, vests, backpacks, goggles, LED laser lights etc. These gear are not only for police forces, but also supplied for private security agencies and others. Visit the website and be amazed by the array of products available.

Discover India - A colourful outdoor fest

Yesterday, the Trammel Crow Collection of Asian Art, a private museum with loads of ancient and modern artworks from India and Asia had organised the Discover India outdoor fest in Downtown Dallas. This was organised much akin to the outdoor Ganesha festivals in India. The street was blocked for traffic and there were stalls/ booths of various Indian establishments including restaurants, boutiques and NGOs who are trying to remote control development in India.

This event to celebrate India has been organised since 7 years and every year the scale is getting bigger and better revealed the organisers. It was a great opportunity to showcase the positive features of India and the technological, social and economic advancement. But unfortunately few local non-profit organisations decided to do otherwise, they portrayed poverty, disease and other problems that are affecting the country. These issues are being faced even by America, precentages may be low but then they would never showcase it. We Indians need to learn how to portray ourselves better.

The Dallas Morning News published an article about the event. This was perhaps one of the few non-negative newsreports about India published in this widely circulated daily. The well-written article revealed some amazing facts, presented below:

1. Asian Indian population is among the fastest-growing ethnic groups in the United States.
2. Indian American population grew from almost 1.68 million in 2000 to over 2.32 million in 2005 – about 38 percent in five years. (U.S. Census Bureau)
3. Indians comprise 16.4 percent of the entire Asian-American community.
4. Indians are the third largest Asian-American ethnic group, first being Chinese-Americans and second Filipino-Americans. Isn't it surprising that there are more Filipinos than Indians in America, considering that Philippines is such a small nation.
5. An estimated 130,000 Asian Indians live in Texas (80,000 in North Texas alone).