Is this not Work ...

I hate beggars! Especially those that bug the shit out of you. They run behind you, say things, and do all sorts of things so as to compel you into giving em something. So there came a time in my life when I stopped giving to beggars. Shortly after I found out about the gangs and nexus etc. “Traffic Light” was not an eye-opener but confirmed on what I already knew or had heard. So these days we are all aware of these things and the number of people who have stopped giving to beggars is ever increasing. When bugged by a beggar I now shoot back “Go get work!”. A small kid begging at Ghaziabad station once shot back

“Ye kaam nahi hai kya!” (Is this not Work)

I’m not one of those quick witted folks and so spontaneity is not my thing. I had nothing to say to him. Was just shocked and kept quiet while he gleefully trotted away to beg from someone else.

Few days back I was browsing through the 22 Raedi market. I was looking for cups which I needed to purchase in bulk quantity. Received a couple of phone calls and was soon hard pressed for time. Just when I was about to exit the market I decided to make a dash for a cone of ice cream. In the hurry I shooed away an approaching beggar. Unlike others he said nothing and I saw him approach someone else over the edge of my shoulder.

A while later stepping out from the ice cream parlour I saw him again. He was no beggar. He looked at me through the corner of his eyes and gave me a gleeful smile. Soon the smile disappeared but the glee remained, it was static. In his right hand he held packets of candy coated Saunf (Aniseed) and in other a bag with more packets and money. He was Autistic. His hands and feet could not stretch to the fullest and he was limited in mobility. Dragged his feet is what he did while he went from customer to customer in this busy market place where blessed individuals such as myself found it hard to be of solid footing.

To not give to beggars is one thing, and to not give to challenged person trying to make a decent living is another. I walked up to him and browsed through all that he had to offer. Asked him the price for one packet to which he gleefully replied “Rs.15“. I didn’t have a fiver on me and gave him a 20. He was not capable of handling money and would have taken for ever to return to me a fiver. But I didn’t need the money, nor did I want the packet of candies I had just bought. Told him to keep the change and started walking away…

“Sirrr………… ………………I’m not a beggar!”

He said that to me, in voice shaky yet strong. And he did so in English! Yes, he made me wait for the fiver; didn’t let me leave without it.

God is strange.
Kisi ko sab kuch dekar kuch nahi deta, and kisi ko kuch na dekar sab kuch dae deta hai!

Live, Enjoy Life & Respect All !!! ~ Beast

Why Does China Finance Sri Lanka ...

Devil's Advocate ...

In short, Colombo is borrowing from China, but in fact actually pumping money into the Chinese Economy and not the Sri Lanka Economy.

However, many try to justify and portray that these massive Chinese loans are to rescue the Rajapakse administration from international economic pressure over Human Rights abuses.

While China’s loans are an immediate de-facto handout for Chinese companies (Which Sri Lanka is obliged through conditionality’s to hire and purchase from), which means, future Colombo government will be left with debts, at interest rates higher than other developmental lenders agree.

Already the biggest lender to Sri Lanka, China has now pledged more than $3bn (£1.9bn) for infrastructure development, maintenance and other projects, the BCC Sinhala service reports.

Much of the debt is offered by China’s fully government-owned Export-Import Bank.

And here is the catch …
Key Conditions:
“Chinese loans by Exim Bank are mainly offered to strictly buy Chinese Products and Services.”
“Contracting Firms, Sub-Contractors and Labourers are Chinese nationals.”
“There are also reports that 30% of the labourers are Chinese Convicts.”
“All Raw Materials is imported from China.”
“Sri Lanka gets no concessions or Favours on interest rates either.”
Mr Asantha Sirimanne of Lanka Business Online, reports to BBC Sinhala Service.

The World Bank and the Japanese government loans rates are far better.
Any country embarking on massive infrastructure relies on soft (long duration, low interest) loans from the World Bank – which exists to provide such assistance, or from Bilateral State Donors.

However, much development Aid, especially from the World Bank and Asian Development Bank, come from as grants, which necessarily does not have to be paid back by Governments.

Prior to Chinese lending of funds, 75% of Sri Lanka’s AID was from Japan, World Bank and Asian Development Bank.

China is no Forgiving friend to Sri Lanka, when it comes to funds.
Here’s what the Sunday Times Editor had to say: “Negotiations continue with China for several unpaid bills for Arms purchased during the protracted, insurgency.
Hence, China is offering to bail out European economies, it just won’t simply write off these loans to Sri Lanka as Bad Debt.

(What comes to mind is a stand up comedian “Russell Peters”, Indians and Chinese can never do business together … Chinese won't give a bargain, and Indians won't do without.)

Sunday Times also reported that Sri Lanka is applying and taking Soft Loans too from the IMF and Commercial Loans from Foreign Banks at even higher interest rates.

Whilst Sri Lanka is banking on the fate of Hambatota port, which is at present being constructed by Chinese contractors, Labourers and Financiers, in becoming a trans-shipment hub to generate income, this is no means a given.

Rajapakse administration envisions 10,000 ships coming to port at Hambantota each year.
At present all combined ports in Sri Lanka cannot handle 5,000 ships a year.

Sri Lanka’s existing container port, in Colombo, has already seen a serious growth in competition from fast and improving of one of many Indian ports such as Cochin and also Alalah port in Oman.

India in the meanwhile has been developing a number of ports, which is already proving to be a favourite for Chinese owned companies and reportedly also bidding.

Point made here is, if the Hambantota Port fails to generate sufficient revenue, repayment of Loan with its conditions is going to prove a serious disaster.

Sri Lanka is still amongst world’s heaviest borrowers.
In proportion to what it earns, Sri Lanka borrows more than almost any other state, according to the ratings Agency Moody’s.

Sri Lanka’s total debt in 2009 was 545 per cent larger than the total government revenue.
Moody’s LBO reports.

Only Lebanon rated B1, Jamaica and Pakistan rated B3 had worse credit metrics, amongst countries rated by Moody’s.

In 2010, the government’s own figures showed between January and April 2010, while the total revenue was Rs234, 345 million, total government expenditure was Rs410, 864 million. A overspend of Rs167, 520 million, over two thirds (69%) of its total Income.

In September ahead of the billion US dollar Bond issue, Moody’s rated Sri Lanka at a below investment grade of B1 with a ‘stable’ outlook.

Moody’s says its future assessment of Sri Lanka’s debt rating would be depend on whether Colombo demonstrated a commitment to Fiscal disciple and took action to cut the budget deficit.

Fitch and S&P rates Sri Lanka with B+ four notches below the lowest BBB- investment grade level.

The World Bank, Asian Development Bank, Japan Bank and IMT suggested and supported the idea that Rajapakse administration, should ask for assistance and guidance of Pr Manmohan Singh (The most respected Financier of our time) of India to view and oversee the finance of Sri Lanka, but was declined by the Rajapakse administration. This has raised serious concerns in the region.

Any State needs to generate cash to function day today, but at present Sri Lanka heavily relies on borrowing to meet its needs to survive.

Meanwhile Sri Lanka has set up a ‘Sovereign Rating Committee’ which is charged with devising a strategy of taking the country’s rating to an investment grade of BBB-, or higher over the next four years, The Sunday Times reports.

Exactly what the President of Uganda Dada Idi Amin did during his reign during the seventies, which resulted in bringing the country down on its knees.

Aninda Mitra, senior analyst and vice President of Moody’s Investors Services told Lanka Business Online that the rating agency was waiting to assess whether the 2011 budget will indicate a ‘Policy Intention to Improve Fiscal Fundamental.’

At present most African already troubled countries are subject to same finance policies by China.

I sense trouble ahead ... !!!

Let me have your views ...
Paza Sauti ...
Awaaz Utao ...

Sri Lanka's Displace People ...

Devil's Advocate ...

By 2002, over 80% of Sri Lanka’s displaced people were Tamils.

This is an extract from Amnesty International report from 2006 into the plight of the internally displaced.

According to a census of all IDP’s in Sri Lanka conducted by the Ministry of Rehabilitation, Resettlement and Refugees in 2002.
The displaced population was:
80% Tamil.
13.7% Muslim.
4.56 Sinhalese.
0.88% Other.
(There has been no comprehensive survey of IDP’s since 2002.)

Many of the IDP’s have suffered multiple displacements during the course of the conflict.

What are these Politicians of the world up to?

Mass Exodus and Ethnic cleansing will not work.

When Humans ever learn from History’s past?
Half the Issues are caused by Religion and Power Hungry Politician.

Punjab paid the price. Due to the Partition by the British, all hell was let loose. What has Pakistan or Punjab achieved. The others may have.

In 1984, again the Sikhs were singled out!!!

In 2009, Ethnic cleansing in Kenya!!!

Rwanda, Dafore, all religion based, by the Rich and the Politicians!!!

Do they have a conscious?

Why? Why? Why? It’s a Sin to forgo with this action against Mankind?

Let me have your views ...
Paza Sauti ...
Awaaz Utao ...

Obama: India cannot ignore abusive States ...

Devils Advocate ...

Barack Obama ~ India cannot ignore Abusive states.
24th Nov 2010 - Guardian

US President Barack Obama criticised India for shying away from condemning Rights abuses in repressive states, saying those states with Global aspirations should not remain silent and Ignore “Gross Violations” in other countries.

Is America enticing India to get aggressive with neighbouring countries?

Go to War?

Or is trying to de-stabilise the emerging region?

Or is genuinely concerned?

Remember it is NOT Barack Obama, I am questioning, but the US Policies. It’s the Policies that drive the Presidents.

Let me have your views...

Paza Sauti !!!
Make your Opinion Count !!!
Awaaz Utao !!!

Kenya lifts ban on Mau Mau ...

The Kenyan Government has decided to legalise the Mau Mau, the movement that fought colonial rule, over 50 years after it was banned by the British authorities.

The decision, announced by Kenya's minister of national security, will allow former Mau Mau fighters to register as a society and end the stigma that has hung over the movement, even after independence in 1963.

President Jomo Kenyatta was jailed for his alleged links with the group
Mau Mau - or the Land and Freedom Army, as they called themselves - have waited a very long time to receive recognition.

Their attacks on white settlers threw colonial society into panic and Britain imposed a state of emergency in 1952.













Yet despite their obvious role in fighting for independence, no Kenyan Government has previously been prepared to lift the ban.

This is because the Mau Mau rebellion was, at least in part, a civil war.

'Bury the past'

Kenya's first President, Jomo Kenyatta, was a strong nationalist, but he was not a member of Mau Mau, despite being convicted of belonging to the movement in what historians regard as a rigged, show trial.

Once independence came, Kenyatta's government included more people who had fought against Mau Mau than had participated in the rebellion.

"When he came to power in 1963, Kenyatta tried very hard to bury the past, to put Mau Mau behind him," says David Anderson of St Anthony's College, Oxford.

"He told Kenyans that they should forget it, that the quickest way to curing the evils of that period was to forget it. And so in public life, it became almost impossible to mention Mau Mau, never mind to memorialise it."

The conflict took a terrible toll: Mau Mau lost around 20,000 men.

They killed some 4,000 people - including 32 white settlers.

The movement administered oaths and inflicted death on anyone who betrayed them. More than 1,000 were hanged, including their leader, Dedan Kimathi, whose body still lies in a Nairobi prison. ~ By Martin Plaut

Kenya wants UK "Atrocity" apology

British soldiers are accused of rape, torture and killing
Kenya has demanded an apology from the UK for alleged atrocities committed against Mau Mau fighters seeking independence in the 1950s.
Justice Minister Kiraitu Murungi said it was the honourable thing to do to formally apologise for "barbaric crimes against humanity".

War veterans are preparing to sue Britain for compensation, claiming they were tortured in detention.

Official estimates say 11,000 Mau Mau were killed by British forces.

The minister made the comments at the launch of the book Caroline Elkins' Britain's Gulag: The Brutal End of Empire, which details the crackdown of the rebellion and the Kikuyu community.

Ms Elkins, who is a professor at Harvard University, disputes the official death toll saying many more died in the conflict.

"I now believe there was in late colonial Kenya a murderous campaign to eliminate Kikuyu people that left tens of thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands dead," she writes in the book.

Corruption

"I call upon the government of the United Kingdom, as a civilised nation to do the honourable thing and issue a formal apology to the Mau Mau, their families and the people of Kenya for these barbaric crimes against humanity," Mr Murungi said.

British servicemen who suffered atrocities at the hands of the Japanese during the Second World War were compensated, he said.

It's only that way that we can say that our humanity is recognised

Lawyer Paul Muite
"We do not believe it would be too much to ask the UK government to extend the same principle to the Mau Mau war veterans and their families."

A spokesman from the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office said the UK government understood the issue still created strong feelings in Kenya and that the hardships during the emergency had caused pain on both sides and marred the progress towards independence.

"But this took place 50 years ago. Kenya needs to look to future challenges like fighting corruption, fighting injustice and building a strong democracy," he told the BBC News website.

Relations between the UK and Kenya have recently been strained after the UK High Commission to Nairobi accused the Kenyan government of massive corruption.

Doing wrong

Vice President Moody Awori, also at the function, said the British campaign was "cruel and pitiless".

"The fact that colonialists put so much effort to conceal their actions means they knew what they were doing was wrong," he said.

The allegations in the book include rape, torture, murder and theft of property.

"We want the British government to acknowledge their wrongdoing and say sorry," Paul Muite, one of a group of lawyers preparing to sue Britain for compensation on behalf of former Mau Mau fighters, told AFP news agency.

"It's only that way that we can say that our humanity is recognised."

Winston Churchill~1mil Deaths in India Famine ...

Winston Churchill Blamed For 1m Deaths In India Famine

Sir Winston Churchill may be one of Britain's greatest wartime leaders, but in India he has been blamed for allowing more than a million people to die of starvation.

Winston Churchill said Britain could not spare the ships to transport emergency supplies Photo: PA

According to a new book on the famine, Sir Winston ignored pleas for emergency food aid for millions in Bengal left to starve as their rice paddies were turned over to jute for sandbag production and supplies of rice from Burma stopped after Japanese occupation.

Between one and three million died of hunger in 1943.

The wartime leader said Britain could not spare the ships to transport emergency supplies as the streets of Calcutta filled with emaciated villagers from the surrounding countryside, but author Madhusree Mukerjee has unearthed new documents which challenge his claim.

In her book, Churchill's Secret War, she cites ministry records and personal papers which reveal ships carrying cereals from Australia were bypassed India on their way to the Mediterranean where supplies were already abundant.

"It wasn't a question of Churchill being inept: sending relief to Bengal was raised repeatedly and he and his close associates thwarted every effort," the author said.

"The United States and Australia offered to send help but couldn't because the war cabinet was not willing to release ships. And when the US offered to send grain on its own ships, that offer was not followed up by the British," she added.

The man-made famine and the contrast between the plight of starving Indians and well-fed British officers dining in the city's many colonial clubs has been described as one of the darkest chapters in British rule on the Indian subcontinent.

Miss Mukerjee blames Churchill's 'racism' for his refusal to intervene.

He derided Gandhi as a "half-naked holy man" and once said: "I hate Indians. They are a beastly people with a beastly religion."
He was known to favour and support anything against India. The mighty size of India bothered him immensely.

When the Muslim party was established, he quickly took sides and supported the break up of India. Some say, He was known to favour Islam over Hinduism.

"Winston's racist hatred was due to his loving the empire in the way a jealous husband loves his trophy wife: he would rather destroy it than let it go," said Miss Mukerjee.


A brief Biography on Winston Churchill:
Winston Churchill, the son of Randolph Churchill, a Conservative politician, was born in Blenheim Palace, Woodstock, on 30th November, 1874. His mother, Jennie Jerome, was the daughter of Leonard Jerome, a New York businessman.

After being educated at Harrow he went to the Royal Military College at Sandhurst. Churchill joined the Fourth Hussars in 1895 and saw action on the Indian north-west frontier and in the Sudan where he took part in the Battle of Omdurman (1898).

While in the army Churchill supplied military reports for the Daily Telegraph and wrote books such as The Story of the Malakand Field Force (1898) and The River War (1899).

After leaving the British Army in 1899, Churchill worked as a war correspondent for the Morning Post. While reporting the Boer War in South Africa he was taken prisoner by the Boers but made headline news when he escaped. On returning to England he wrote about his experiences in the book, London to Ladysmith (1900).

In the 1900 General Election Churchill was elected as the Conservative MP for Oldham. As a result of reading, Poverty, A Study of Town Life by Seebohm Rowntree he became a supporter of social reform. In 1904, unconvinced by his party leaders desire for change, Churchill decided to join the Liberal Party.

In the 1906 General Election Churchill won North West Manchester and immediately became a member of the new Liberal government as Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies. When Herbert Asquith replaced Henry Campbell-Bannerman as Prime Minister in 1908 he promoted Churchill to his cabinet as President of the Board of Trade. While in this post he carried through important social legislation including the establishment of employment exchanges.

On 12th September 1908 Churchill married Clementine Ogilvy Spencer and the following year published a book on his political philosophy, Liberalism and the Social Problem (1909).

Following the 1910 General Election Churchill became Home Secretary. Churchill introduced several reforms to the prison system, including the provision of lecturers and concerts for prisoners and the setting up of special after-care associations to help convicts after they had served their sentence. However, Churchill was severely criticized for using troops to maintain order during a Welsh miners's strike.

Churchill became First Lord of the Admiralty in October 1911 where he helped modernize the navy. Churchill was one of the first people to grasp the military potential of aircraft and in 1912 he set up the Royal Naval Air Service. He also established an Air Department at the Admiralty so as to make full use of this new technology. Churchill was so enthusiastic about these new developments that he took flying lessons.

Churchill: A Life
Churchill's Wit
On the outbreak of war in 1914, Churchill joined the War Council. However, he was blamed for the failure at the Dardanelles Campaign in 1915 and was moved to the post of Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. Unhappy about not having any power to influence the Government's war policy, he rejoined the British Army and commanded a battalion of the Royal Scots Fusiliers on the Western Front.

When David Lloyd George replaced Herbert Asquith as Prime Minister, he brought Churchill back into the government as Minister of Munitions and for the final year of the war, Churchill was in charge of the production of tanks, aeroplanes, guns and shells.
Churchill also served under David Lloyd George as Minister of War and Air (1919-20) and Colonial Secretary (1921-22). Churchill created great controversy over his policies in Iraq. It was estimated that around 25,000 British and 80,000 Indian troops would be needed to control the country. However, he argued that if Britain relied on air power, you could cut these numbers to 4,000 (British) and 10,000 (Indian). The government was convinced by this argument and it was decided to send the recently formed Royal Air Force to Iraq.

An uprising of more than 100,000 armed tribesmen took place in 1920. Over the next few months the RAF dropped 97 tons of bombs killing 9,000 Iraqis. This failed to end the resistance and Arab and Kurdish uprisings continued to pose a threat to British rule. Churchill suggested that chemical weapons should be used "against recalcitrant Arabs as an experiment." He added "I am strongly in favour of using poisoned gas against uncivilised tribes to spread a lively terror" in Iraq.

The divisions in the Liberal Party led to Churchill being defeated by E. D. Morel at Dundee in the 1922 General Election. Churchill now rejoined the Conservative Party and was successfully elected to represent Epping in the 1924 General Election.

Stanley Baldwin, the leader of the new Conservative administration, appointed Churchill as Chancellor of the Exchequer. In 1925 Churchill controversially returned Britain the the Gold Standard and the following year took a strong line against the General Strike. Churchill edited the Government's newspaper, the British Gazette, during the dispute where he argued that "either the country will break the General Strike, or the General Strike will break the country."

With the defeat of the Conservative government in 1929, Churchill lost office. When Ramsay MacDonald formed the National Government in 1931 Churchill, who was now seen as a right-wing extremist, was not invited to join the Cabinet. He spent the next few years concentrating on his writing, including the publication of the History of the English Speaking Peoples.

After Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party gained power in Germany in 1933, Churchill became a leading advocate of rearmament. He was also a staunch critic of Neville Chamberlain and the Conservative government's appeasement policy. In 1939 Churchill controversially argued that Britain and France should form of a military alliance with the Soviet Union.

On the outbreak of the Second World War Churchill was appointed First Lord of the Admiralty and on 4th April 1940 became chairman of the Military Coordinating Committee. Later that month the German Army invaded and occupied Norway. The loss of Norway was a considerable setback for Neville Chamberlain and his policies for dealing with Nazi Germany.

On 8th May the Labour Party demanded a debate on the Norwegian campaign and this turned into a vote of censure. At the end of the debate 30 Conservatives voted against Chamberlain and a further 60 abstained. Chamberlain now decided to resign and on 10th May, 1940, George VI appointed Churchill as prime minister. Later that day the German Army began its Western Offensive and invaded the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg. Two days later German forces entered France.

Churchill formed a coalition government and placed leaders of the Labour Party such as Clement Attlee, Ernest Bevin, Herbert Morrison, Stafford Cripps and Hugh Dalton in key positions. He also brought in another long-time opponent of Chamberlain, Anthony Eden, as his secretary of state for war. Later that year Eden replaced Lord Halifax as foreign secretary.

Churchill also developed a strong personal relationship with Franklin D. Roosevelt and this led to the sharing and trading of war supplies. The Lend Lease agreement of March 1941 allowed Britain to order war goods from the United States on credit.

Although he provided strong leadership the war continued to go badly for Britain and after a series of military defeats Churchill had to face a motion of no confidence in Parliament. However, he maintained the support of most members of the House of Commons and won by 475 votes to 25.

Troublesome Young Men
Churchill continued to be criticized for meddling in military matters and tended to take too much notice of the views of his friends such as Frederick Lindemann rather than his military commanders. In April 1941 he made the serious mistake of trying to save Greece by weakening his forces fighting the Desert War.

One of the major contributions made by Churchill to eventual victory was his ability to inspire the British people to greater effort by making public broadcasts on significant occasions. A brilliant orator he was a tireless source of strength to people experiencing the sufferings of the Blitz.

After Pearl Harbor Churchill worked closely with Franklin D. Roosevelt to ensure victory over Germany and Japan. He was also a loyal ally of the Soviet Union after Adolf Hitler launched Operation Barbarossa in June, 1941.

Churchill held important meetings with Franklin D. Roosevelt and Joseph Stalin at Teheran (November, 1943) and Yalta (February, 1945). Although Churchill's relationship with Stalin was always difficult he managed to successfully develop a united strategy against the Axis powers.

Despite intense pressure from Stalin to open a second-front by landing Allied troops in France in 1943, Churchill continued to argue that this should not happen until the defeat of Nazi Germany was guaranteed. The D-Day landings did not take place until June, 1944 and this delay enabled the Red Army to capture territory from Germany in Eastern Europe.

In public Churchill accepted plans for social reform drawn up by William Beveridge in 1944. However, he was unable to convince the electorate that he was as committed to these measures as much as Clement Attlee and the Labour Party. In the 1945 General Election Churchill's attempts to compare a future Labour government with Nazi Germany backfired and Attlee won a landslide victory.

Churchill became leader of the opposition and when visiting the United States in March 1946, he made his famous Iron Curtain speech at Fulton, Missouri. He suffered the first of several strokes in August 1946 but this information was kept from the general public and he continued to lead the Conservative Party.

Churchill returned to power after the 1951 General Election. After the publication of his six volume, The Second World War, Churchill was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. Churchill's health continued to deteriorate and in 1955 he reluctantly retired from politics.

Winston Churchill died on 24th January, 1965.

Catapult Experiences ...

All those who have used this apparatus at least once in their lifetime … Must leave your experience of where and when used.

I’ll tell you of one of mine.

In Mombasa 1969ish, At the age of 9-10yrs old, I was a loved favourite of a very kind neighbour who I treated like an older brother (Still Do) known as “Bato Din”.

I had been begging and crying for one, so Bato very kindly let me have his the finest in the neighbourhood. So me armed, we all went bird hunting, I did not even know how to use well enough, so I loaded it with a pebble and aimed to fire, it misfired hit the left arm of the catapult and diverted to a Beetle Car and smashed the windscreen. Shocked I looked up and realised that all my gang of hunters had fled, so I ran after in pursuit. That was the end of that.

However, years after in London in 90’s, I went with a friend to meet an old friend and we sat chatting and soon the conversation led to Mombasa and he told me where he had lived.

Mmmm ... I asked him if he ever owned a Sky Blue VW Beetle Car and if its windscreen had ever been smashed?

To his amazement (The Look on his Face) he said yes he had a VW Beetle and Yes! Its windscreen was smashed by some Rascals.

I then took a deep breath and confessed to him that I was that Rascal that had broken his windscreen!

He sat there shocked that I had confessed and then called his entire family in the room and asked me to repeat my confession again. I did...

We all laughed and a true gentleman he proved to be. He was pleased that I had the guts to confess and told me to write it off my conscious for ever. (The matter was closed)

What is your story … Go on share it with me/us.

Jupiter In Astral Collision ...

Rare flash of light seen on Jupiter in astral collision

A flash of light believed to be caused by astral matter colliding with Jupiter has been captured on camera by an amateur astronomer in Japan.

Video footage depicting the unusual flash of light was recorded by amateur stargazer Masayuki Tachikawa at his home in Kumamoto City, southern Japan.

It is the third sighting of flashes of light on Jupiter this year, with similar reports by astronomers based in the Philippines and Australia.

Junichi Watanabe, a professor at the NAOJ, told Kyodo News: "This kind of footage is rarely filmed."

It was in the early hours of Saturday morning that Mr Tachikawa, 52, recorded a glow that lasted for around two seconds near Jupiter's equator using a video telescope at his home.

"I took it for noise signals at first but I was really surprised because the image of the light remained on the video," Mr Tachikawa said.

Astronomers believe that the astral body that hit Jupiter was most likely less than 1km in width as there was no trace left after the flash subsided.

With the rise of sophisticated telescopic equipment on the market, a growing number of amateur astronomers are making significant planetary observations.

In June, amateur planet-watchers also captured on camera a similar fireball that seemed to hit into Jupiter with a flash.

Further investigations by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope concluded that this flash was caused by a giant meteor as it plunged into the atmosphere surrounding Jupiter.

By Danielle Demetriou in Tokyo - Published: 5:13PM BST 23 Aug 2010

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-video/7960799/Astral-matter-collides-with-Jupiter.html