The Golden 80s

My all time favorite Whitesnake is back in an electrifying style with a their 12th album called Purple. An official announcement from the hard rock band's site says "The Purple Album will be released in North America on May 19th... is a re-imagination of classic songs from David Coverdale’s time as the lead singer for Deep Purple’s Mark 3 and Mark 4 studio albums." And their cover of Deep Purple classic Stormbringer is gaining traction on YouTube. Obvioulsy, the cover song is more scorching and thrashy than Deep Purple's original.

A new UN report titled Water in the World We Want  urges that "...national governments must make sustainable advancements in water, wastewater, and sanitation management, reduce corruption, and hold energy and agricultural sectors responsible for waster use efficiencies. The 94-page report is a comprehensive one for experts working on managing water and water resources. Let me quote a few gems from the repot: The global water crisis is not that there isn’t enough water on Earth to meet all needs; it is a crisis of there not being enough water where we want it, when we want it, of sufficient quality to meet these needs. As long as there are governments, corporations, and individuals out to protect only their own interests, wealth will continue to be ill-distributed, financial resources will remain inadequate, and vulnerable populations will continue to bear inequitable costs and consequences. Lack of basic services actually increases expenditure in other sectors and categ...

While the BJP's debacle at New Delhi cannot linked to lack of reforms, Indian Express feels that reforms should be accelerated in collaboration with the opposition and the states. I can't agree more with "Liberalism can’t be taken as a licence to indulge in vulgarity" as said by the Express  about the ever-increasing fall in the standards of language in popular entertainment. And it is nobody's case that India stands a chance in the cricket world cup down under. The Hindu writes that dealing with black money requires internal and external steps, and in the second edit questions the recent tie-up of Facebook and Reliance. The Telegraph cannot agree with a bit of decency on TV, followed by Hindustan Times  who echoes the same liberal pro-western values. Deccan Herald blasts the Bihar Governor's impropriety in giving time to Manjhi, and in another editorial  supports South Africa to win the cricket world cup. Deccan Chronicle also finds problems with ...

The environment ministry's existence requires an overhaul. It has so far functioned as another project clearance agency, a remnant of the old licence-permit raj dispensation. The principal activity of this department must be to safeguard the environment of India, and not the single-handed purpose of clearing projects. Instead, it has degenerated known for its controversial decisions, yes or no to high-profile projects, and lies created by a section of pro-free-market journalists First of all, the ministry must have an environmental philosophy that outlines what exactly it will achieve in the next few decades. The environment ministry's objectives should never be for the next five years or the period when the existing government is in power. The philosophy must be to safeguard the environment without landing in controversies involving delayed project clearances that subverts its primary mission and functional role. It requires a cadre of officials, professionals, political...