The educated terrorist

Doctors are supposed to heal, not kill. And architects are supposed to build, not destroy. But they have started doing just that. Mohammad Atta, the man who led the attack on the World Trade Towers, was an architect, and those who attacked the airport at Glasgow are doctors. This suggests that education is no longer a restraining influence on the use of violence. Indeed, amongst the many things that 9/11 demonstrated, the least commented upon or debated, relatively speaking, is the educated terrorist. Time was when it was only the semi-educated, brainwashed young man or woman who, wearing a belt of bombs, went and became a martyr. Not any longer. In recent years the world has seen several other instances of men and women whose education should tell them otherwise, indulging in acts of terrorism. It is instructive to examine the phenomenon.

In 2003, two Princeton economists, Alan Kruger and Jitka Maleckova, in an academic paper published in the Journal of Economic Perspectives, had said, with full support from cross-country data, that a lot of modern terrorism had nothing to do with poverty and income levels. In fact, their data showed that the suicide bombers of the Hezbollah were as likely to come from economically well-off families as from poor ones. There was also a 50 per cent likelihood of them being relatively well-educated. Similarly, members of the Israeli Jewish Underground, a terrorist group active in the late 1970s and early 1980s, were mostly well-educated and had jobs that were held in high esteem. Other studies of terrorist groups in different areas of the world, including the Red Army in Japan, the Irish Republican Army in Ireland and the People’s Liberation Army in Turkey, confirm this.

Two other economists, Charles Russell and Bowman Miller, who conducted one such study, say, “The vast majority of those individuals involved in terrorist activities as cadres or leaders, is quite well educated. In fact, approximately two-thirds of those identified terrorists are persons with some university training, university graduates or post-graduate students.” They also said that more than two-thirds of the arrested terrorists came from the middle or upper classes of their respective countries or areas. Yet another economist, Jessica Stern, who conducted a study in Pakistan, said that the madrasas are funded by many big industrialists. She also said that many of these schools trained their students to become part of extremist movements from a very early age. Thus, there seems to be little reason to believe that the alleviation of poverty and/or the education of more people will reduce the threat of terrorism. Why, they might increase it. It also seems to be the case that there is always a sub-set of the educated population that believes the end justifies the means, even if these are violent. This is not new. History is very revealing in this regard. There are scores of instances where highly-educated people have engaged in different degrees of violence and terrorism to achieve their aims. The best known was Vladimir Ilyich Lenin. A scholar in at least five languages, not including his mother-tongue, he had no qualms about using violence.

Closer home, India has had the likes of Charu Majumdar and Kanu Sanyal, the heroes of Naxalbari who enticed so many young men and women from even the stuffy Delhi University. Many members of ULFA are graduates; and so on. In the end, it would seem that some people, when they feel aggrieved at what they see as injustice, decide that violence is the answer. The problem is systemic and systematic injustice. When all else fails, violence becomes an attractive option. But is this option, really needed??? And who are to blamed fort his option ??। The indivisuals or society or who??.

BS

Dishman buys Solvay fine chemicals

Dishman Pharmaceuticals & Chemicals has made another incursion into European assets by signing a memorandum of understanding to acquire the fine chemicals, vitamin D and vitamin D analogues business of Solvay Pharmaceuticals at Veeenendaal, Netherlands। The deal is expected to close within four months। Dishman added that the acquisition”will not only increase the basket of products of Dishman but also bring in new customer relationships”.

Indications are that vitamin D3 production will be transferred to India, thus bringing more fine chemicals expertise there, while the other products will remain in the Netherlands. For Solvay, the sale of the two businesses will enable it to focus more on its core areas of cardio-metabolic and neuroscience treatments.

More importantly, Dishman’s existing contract under to supply about 90 tonnes/year of the API for Teveten (Eprosartan Mesylate), Solvay’s anti-hypertensive drug, will not change. The contract expires in December 2008, but can be renewed annually until its patent protection ends in 2013. Since an FDA inspection at its Bavla site in 2006, Dishman has been able to supply this API for use in the US as well as Europe.Separately, Dishman has announced the integration of another of its previous European acquisitions, SynProTec DCR of the UK, into CarboGen-Amcis.

SynProTec DCR specialises in process research and custom synthesis of pharmaceutical intermediates and has capacity of up to 4,500 litres for production of early phase APIs and large-scale intermediates. Griffiths said that capacity combined capacity will increase and material produced at SynProTec DCR can be further processed at CarboGen Amcis’s Swiss facilities.

Safety & driving: Driving in flood waters

• If you live in an area where flooding may occur, move your vehicle to higher ground if flooding is expected. As well as the risk of damage to your vehicle by leaving it in a flooded area, it may also be a hazard or cause obstruction to emergency services.
• Do not drive unless your journey is absolutely necessary.
• If you have to drive in a flooded area take care. Do not attempt to drive through water if you are unsure of the depth.
• Don't drive through fast-moving water, such as at a flooded bridge approach – your car could be swept away
• Drive slowly and steadily to avoid creating a bow wave, and allow on-coming traffic to pass first.
• Keep the engine revving by slipping the clutch otherwise water in the exhaust could stall the engine.
• Modern vehicles are fitted with catalytic converters in the exhaust system. The catalyst normally works at high temperatures and may crack if it is submerged in water. Replacement catalysts are expensive.
• The air intake on many modern cars is located low down at the front of the engine bay and it only takes a small quantity of water sucked into the engine to cause serious damage. All engines are affected but turbo-charged and diesel engines are most vulnerable.
• Be considerate – driving through water at speeds above a slow crawl can result in water being thrown onto pavements, soaking pedestrians or cyclists.
  
• If your car stalls, immediately abandon it and climb to higher ground. Watch your footing. Just six inches of fast-moving flood water can sweep a person off his or her feet.
• Test your brakes as soon as you can after driving through water.
• If the vehicle has been stood in the flooded area for any prolonged period contact your local dealer for further advice.
• If the vehicle has only been in a flood for a short period, drive with extreme caution and take the car to be checked at the earliest opportunity.