Money Breaks Families!!!

Money, wealth, riches, opulence, treasure, whatever the term one might use to describe the means of transaction in this world is often the cause of disputes between people. Money has the power to buy anything in this world... people joke that "Those who say money can't buy everything doesn't know where to shop". In the same parlance money makes best friends into worst enemies, and turns family into foes.

This is what has happened to the family of the late Civil Rights Activist Rev. Martin Luther King's family. His children have been fighting over his estate of papers, letters, property, and now even the bible he carried and his Nobel Peace Prize are in the dispute. I came across a news article about how the daughter and sons of the late hero are in court battling over the possession and ownership of the last two items mentioned above.

Sad but true children don't seem to care about their parent's legacy if it doesn't turn into money. I guess then money is what makes the world go round for these people.

Minimum Wage Workers - the New Generation of Slaves

America has a history of Slavery and now it seems as if the history is being repeated in the form of low wage workers and high earning executives (read CEOs and management). I was listening to Diane Rehm Show on NPR and was appalled to hear that one of the panelists thought that minimum wage workers receive a "phenomenal" wage increase in the first year. I wonder if he is properly informed about the prevailing situation in the market.

I know a friend of mine who works in one of the leading hospital systems in DFW area, TX. His first year wage raise was a mere $.07 an hour, which translates to 2.80 a week and $134 a year. The years salary raise doesn't even cover his gas bills for one month and this gentleman thinks it is a phenomenal raise. I think he needs to get down and dirty before making such comments.

Bangladesh Phenomenon Moves to America

In the recent past news reports on building collapses and factory fires in Bangladesh were the hot topics. The trend seems to have moved half way around the world to Philadelphia, US, where a building collapsed in downtown and had several people trapped in the debris. Of course thanks to the greater amount of space and much higher response speed there have been no deaths reported yet in the Philly collapse.

Initial speculations are pointing to an industrial accident in one of the construction sites nearby. We will wait for the right verdict on this case if at all it becomes public and newsworthy for the media to carry.

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Islamic Terrorist Getting Paid in Jail

In 2009 America was rocked by the gruesome act of one of its own. A Muslim army officer - Major Nidal Hassan took up arms and shot active duty military staff in Fort Hood Texas. The rampage ended with the death of at least 13 soldiers and 32 injured to several others. The perpetrator of such heinous act Major Nidal Hassan was of course shot and captured alive and is currently in a high security prison.

It has been several years and he is yet to face trail. I don't know what the military courts are doing. In the meanwhile Major Nidal Hassan has been receiving full pay and perks of his position and has thus far received $278,000. According to a investigative report published on liberal online media NBC the defense department confirmed this. This is like a slap across the face of the families of dead soldiers, the criminal is in jail but we will continue to pay his salary, even though he is not working and has not done anything to deserve the pay. On the contrary he has done everything to receive the highest punishment possible.

On the other hand soldiers who were injured by Major Nidal Hassan are still fighting with the Pentagon to get their rightful combat-related injury compensation. The liberal US military has refused to classify the incident as a "Terrorist Attack", instead it has labelled this as "Workplace violence".

I am totally appalled by this lackadaisical attitude of the military top brass and the federal government.It looks like America is trying to show off their superior customer service skills to heartless Islamic terrorists and win them over. Well there is no winning Islamic terrorists without using bullets. I hope the American Military will take action at least now.

Devastation in Oklahoma

As the details emerge in news channels and other media the devastation in Oklahoma becomes apparent. The thunderstorm has caused more devastation at Oklahoma than the one in Hood County, TX last fortnight. According to a newsreport on Weather the death toll of yesterday's events is about 24 as reported by the state's medical examiner.

Hundreds have been injured and more left homeless as the thunderstorm with winds upto 60mph plowed through Moore, OK and surrounding counties. One TV report even suggested that the thunder storm traveled as far as Kansas and wrecked havoc there. A weather bureau warning I heard on the radio last night said that there would be heavy rains with golf ball sized hail in north Texas area. Luckily there was no storm hitting us in Denton, TX.

To me this sounds like the scenario in India where every year during the monsoon floods occur and cause widespread death and destruction. Of course India is a poor third world nation with corrupt establishment and politicians so preparation for such calamities doesn't happen. But in America the world's richest and most powerful nation this kind of tragedies taking lives, is totally not acceptable. I sure hope that further calamities of such kind will be prevented.

I know that weather can't be controlled but people's response to the weather changes can be. When there is a thunderstorm warning, people can be evacuated. America is a large nation with a relatively small population. There is enough space to resettle these people for a short time so that they are alive and can safely return home once the severe weather passes.

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Giant African Land Snails Arrive in Houston

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

The above video displays a news report about the occurrence of the giant African Land Snails in Houston, TX. The news report reveals who found these animals and the dangers associated with handling the animal but doesn't say how these animals got to America. These animals are land snails so they couldn't have swam their way from Africa to America! Someone must have brought a few of these creatures alive for breeding and possibly to sell their colorful shells, now that many of these are running wild it would be difficult to find them and prevent them from infesting the rest of the country.

Hiking in Lake Ray Roberts State Park

It was an evening well spent on the banks of Lake Ray Roberts in the State Park. Though I walked only about 3.5 miles in the lush green forests of the Lake Ray Roberts State Park the experience was definitely worth while. I am glad I have been buying the Texas State Park Pass every year, this enables me to enter any state park in the state of Texas absolutely free.


Anyway earlier this evening I just decided to go there and take a dip in the cool waters of the lake. Drove down to the state park and found that I was among the handful of visitors there. I decided to walk one of the trails there before hitting the water and so was off on the Randy Bell Scenic Trail which is about 2.7 miles long but since I took several detours to get by the lake waters, I probably walked a good 3.5 - 4 miles.


The trail is moderately hilly and completely paved so it is impossible to trip, fall or lose the way. Moreover being surrounded by thick undergrowth, trees, and grasses there is lot of wildlife sighting opportunities. Today I saw several white tailed deer, which are not scared of humans at all, they continue to graze unperturbed even as people walk along the trail. Even the animals know they are safe in the park, if it were in a different setting, the deer would be shot and eaten.

Grief Strikes America at times of Joy

The happiness that Christmas Holidays brings year after year to hundreds of thousands of families in the world is not going to be so happy in America this year. An unfortunate incident that ended in a school shooting has put the nation in a pall of gloom. According to news reports the Connecticut school shooting took a toll of 20 children and 6 adults.

My prayers go out to the families affected by this tragedy. May god give them the strength to tide over these tough times and emerge stronger so that the nation as a whole can find ways and means that can prevent such incidents from ever happening again.

Picture courtesy Yahoo News

Now of course every opponent of gun ownership will come forward and say that guns must be banned. Some people will say that students/ teachers/ visitors should be frisked before entering school/ public building premises. None of these are real solutions to the problem of shootings such as these. It is time American's looked within to find solutions.

There seems to be something wrong with how children are experiencing life in general. There appears to be a emotional disconnect between young people and suffering. There is too much comfort, too little responsibility and high stress levels. It is upon us as adults of this society to look inward and find solutions.

Another way to Immigrate to America!!!

I read the Yahoo News about how a luxury home is being maintained as a birthing location for Chinese nationals who would like to give the gift of American Citizenship to their yet unborn Children. Their modus operandi is simple, get pregnant in China travel to US when they are few weeks from delivery and give birth here. This way the child becomes an American Citizen, the parents can't be removed. The government here will be forced to give them green cards and they will bring the rest of their extended family. A neat strategy to take over the country, infiltrate, immigrate, and populate. China wants to be the superpower in the world and what better way than to takeover the existing superpower by overpopulating the nation with their people.

Winter clouds!!!

Here in Texas the best days to look at the sky and clouds is during the early winter or fall days. The sun is bright but not blazing down and burning everything in sight. The sky has a fair share of clouds which provides a nice contrast of white against the bright blue skies. Here are some pictures I shot as I drove along the endless highways of Texas.

Veterans Day in America

One thing that the rest of the world must learn from Americans is the way they respect their soldiers and celebrate their leaders. Today is veterans day and every news channel, media outlet, school, college, government department, and private entity is talking about it. There have been thousands of events across the country to honor veterans and thank their families. This kind of adulation and respect naturally attracts young men and women of this country to want to serve their nation and make it great.

Today I was listening to a radio program on KERA in which a veteran was being interviewed. His only message to all the citizens was not to just thank a veteran today but to ask them for a story. In short the speaker urged citizens to make a veterans day by asking them to tell a story of their service days.

Anyone will feel good when others show an interest in their life and story. Especially so if one has fought a war and placed their health and life at risk. I wish every nation in the world celebrated their fighting soldiers the same way.

Wild Flowers and Hiking Trails

Whenever I go hiking the only things in abundance that are noticeable are wild flowers. Like any tourist and wanna be photographer I shoot pictures of these creations of nature and post them on my blog. Here are some examples:

A website for Geeks and discount lovers!

Majority of my friends are into the information technology (IT) profession. They are what one would call 'geeks' they live and breathe technology, gadgets, software, hardware, and other cool stuff. I have always wanted to be one up on them and give them information about latest gadgets and cool gizmos. For a long time the information I gave them was already old.

Now I have found the Geek Blog which will keep me ahead of my geeky friends. This blog offers the most contemporary information on the latest cool gadgets, gizmos, innovations in technology and other related stuff. How I found this website is itself quite an interesting story.

I was looking for some discount coupons to buy a gift for a friend. I found this website with Toys r us coupons and was immediately taken. As I browsed more I found more discount coupon codes and offers. I was surprised at the amount of information, discount codes and offers that this website has.

I found LL Bean coupon code which was another bonus for visiting this website. Now I am waiting for the opportunity to surprise my geeky friends with all the new information I have gathered here.

College Artworks

Recently I started an art appreciation class and one of the assignments in school is to go round the campus and document the art works that I can see. Well I went around the campus with my camera and captured the images of what I saw. Some are good, others are well... I will let you decide...

Rock Climbing area in Mineral Wells State Park

Rock climbing in Dallas area means going to a gym and ascending their epoxy resin walls. This can be done throughout the year and through the day. On the other hand real rock climbing is pretty much impossible in the Dallas area or so I thought till I visited Mineral Wells State Park. Here there is a small area in one corner known as the Penitentiary Hollow where there are medium sized rock formations ideal for top-rope climbing. So for people in Dallas who want to do real rock climbing the few months of the year when it is pleasant and not extremely cold or hot Mineral Wells is the answer.

Lake Mineral Wells State Park

Lake Mineral Wells State Park is one of the few areas around Dallas where one can see hills and rocks. This is one of the large lakes that dot the area and not too long ago it was believed that the waters had healing properties and people from all over the country would come here for a bath. The city and its water was so famous that at one time the mineral water originating from here was the most sought after. Anyway now since there is more pollution and modernity has set in nobody visits this area for the special water. This is now a small country town which attracts adventurers for its outdoor activity offerings. The state park offers bicycling, hiking and rock climbing options.

18 percent Americans don't have enough for food!!!

America continues to dominate the world militarily, economically, and politically, but a significant percentage of its citizens are finding it difficult to afford two square meals a day. On one hand there are super rich multi-billion dollar wealthy Americans and then there are those who work(ed) for these people who are literally living a hand-to-mouth existence. When I was in India, all that was mentioned about America was that everyone in this country was rich and there was hardly any poverty. Since I moved to the US in 2007 I have seen with my own eyes the state of this country. Yes there is a lot of riches in this country, there are extremely rich people and even the poorer people own cars. The overall level of comfort these people enjoy is far superior to most lower-middle-class folk elsewhere in the developing world. There is the weak underbelly of America which fades under the glaring brightness of its wealth. This is a small but growing population of people who are finding it difficult to make ends meet, not just that... they are finding it difficult to put food on the table. Reference: Yahoo News

Crazy or Stupid or Plain Idealistic - I don't understand

The Fort Hood Massacre by US Army psychiatrist Major Nidal Hassan made headlines across the country several months ago. Then there was a lull as the army decided to investigate the case and court martial Hassan. Meanwhile he was placed in a military prison in solitary confinement.


This morning I read a news item titled  Juror bias worries Hasan’s legal team which elucidates that the legal team appointed to defend the renegade ex-soldier's religion will have an adverse effect on the case. My first reaction was of shock, which soon transformed into outrage and then frustration not only with the media for publishing such a news item but also about the army lawyer who is stating such.

In my opinion a nation's most important citizens are the soldiers - those who defend the borders, followed by the police - who maintain peace in the civil society and then comes everyone else. This man who belonged to the first group turned his guns on his colleagues and killed 13 soldiers in cold blood. There should be no doubt about what he did and how it will impact the society. I don't care if he is a Muslim or Christian or Jew the fact is that he killed soldiers who are the protective arm of this great nation. He should be brought to justice and given the highest punishment that he deserves.

Instead of urging the jury to pass the most severe judgement these lawyers are worried about the murderer? I simply don't understand. I just hope the jurors will take the right decisions and pronounce the appropriate judgement.

Artificial Waterfalls

In the Prairies and Lakes area of Texas the landscape is flat and houses seem like outcrops. The landscape is quite boring so what do builders do, they create artificial landscaping. If you want a hill they will go and dig up some dirt from somewhere and pile it up to create one. If you want a waterfall they can do that too. I recently saw one such feature at a premium residential neighborhood where they have created an artificial river and a waterfall, here are some pictures:

July 4th Celebrations in Castle Hills

I blogged about the American Independence Day celebrations at Castle Hills, Lewisville yesterday but I wasn't able to upload any pictures of the event. Here are some pictures of the event for your reference.