CNN) -- A former Alabama judge accused of checking male inmates out of jail and forcing them to engage in sexual activity was found not guilty Monday on charges of sexual abuse, attempted sodomy and assault, his lawyer said.
Attorney Robert Clark said former Judge Herman Thomas was found not guilty on several charges and the judge in the case granted a directed verdict of acquittal on all the other counts.
The Mobile County district attorney did not immediately return CNN calls for comment.
Thomas, 48, denied wrongdoing. Clark said on October 20 that the judge was trying to mentor the inmates and did not assault them.
The judge does not deny bringing the inmates into his office, Clark said last week. "He was mentoring them. He was trying to get them to do right, to be productive citizens."
Thomas cried after the verdicts were read, Clark said Monday.
"He hugged me and he hugged his wife. And he had a courtroom full of supporters. It all worked out in the end," the attorney said.
One of the alleged victims testified October 19 that he doesn't know why his semen was found on the carpet of a small room used as an office by Thomas, according to The Mobile Press-Register newspaper. But he did say Thomas spanked him with a belt on several occasions, the newspaper reported, and that the paddlings took place inside a jury room, in the small office and at a Mobile, Alabama, fraternity house.
Another man testified that after he was charged with kidnapping and robbery in 2002, Thomas visited him in jail and urged the man to let Thomas decide the case instead of a jury, according to the Press-Register. Thomas convicted him of lesser charges, he testified, and sentenced him to a 90-day boot camp. He said Thomas also beat him with a belt on his bare buttocks about a dozen times at the courthouse, the newspaper reported. Neither man was identified.
"All of them [the alleged victims] were given preferential treatment at some point," Nicki Patterson, chief assistant district attorney for Mobile County, said earlier this month. "And ultimately, when some of them refused to continue participating [in the activities], they were given what I would view as excessive sentences. But certainly while the inmates were involved with the activities we allege, the state would say, it was extremely lenient sentences."
Clark said his client's next hurdle is the Alabama State Bar.
"They suspended him back in March because he got indicted. And we're fighting to give him his law license back," he said.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Police: 'Jane Doe' emptied bank account before surfacing in NYC
NEW YORK (CNN) -- The teen who mysteriously turned up in New York with apparent amnesia emptied her bank account and left behind "everything" before she left her home in Washington, police told CNN.
The woman, now identified as Kacie Aleece Peterson, 18, of Hansville, Washington, withdrew about $400 from her Bank of America account, said Scott Wilson, spokesman for the Kitsap County Sheriff's Office in Washington.
But Peterson "left everything," including her wallet, identification, cell phone, clothes and even her bike, which was secured outside a Wal-Mart, Wilson said.
Police still do not know how Peterson traveled cross-country to New York City.
The woman mysteriously turned up in Manhattan two weeks ago, claiming to have no memory of her family, her home -- or even her own name.
The woman, now identified as Kacie Aleece Peterson, 18, of Hansville, Washington, withdrew about $400 from her Bank of America account, said Scott Wilson, spokesman for the Kitsap County Sheriff's Office in Washington.
But Peterson "left everything," including her wallet, identification, cell phone, clothes and even her bike, which was secured outside a Wal-Mart, Wilson said.
Police still do not know how Peterson traveled cross-country to New York City.
The woman mysteriously turned up in Manhattan two weeks ago, claiming to have no memory of her family, her home -- or even her own name.
Report: Stray jet's pilots were on laptops
(CNN) -- The pilots of the commercial jetliner that last week overshot its destination by about 150 miles have said they were using their laptops and lost track of time and location, federal safety officials said Monday.
The Airbus A320 was flying at 37,000 feet over the Denver, Colorado, area at 5:56 p.m. Wednesday when it last made radio contact, the safety board said.
Northwest Flight 188 had departed San Diego en route to Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport carrying 144 passengers, two pilots and three flight attendants. Northwest recently merged with Delta Air Lines.
"Using laptops or engaging in activity unrelated to the pilots' command of the aircraft during flight is strictly against the airline's flight deck policies and violations of that policy will result in termination," Delta said Monday in a statement.
Pilot Timothy B. Cheney, 53, was hired in 1985 and has more than 20,000 hours flight time; First Officer Richard I. Cole, 54, was hired in 1997 and has about 11,000 hours of flight time, the report said.
Neither pilot reported having had an accident, incident or violation, neither had any ongoing medical conditions and neither said he was tired, it said.
They each had a 19-hour layover in San Diego; neither said he had slept or argued during the flight, but both said "there was a distraction" in the cockpit, according to the report.
Video: Military reviews jet overshoot
Video: Flight 188 passenger speaks
Video: Pilot: No one was asleep
RELATED TOPICS
* Air Travel
* U.S. National Transportation Safety Board
* Northwest Airlines Corporation
* Minneapolis
* Federal Aviation Administration
The pilots said there was "a concentrated period of discussion where they did not monitor the airplane or calls" from air traffic control, though both said they heard conversation on the radio, the report said.
Neither pilot said he noticed messages sent by company dispatchers, it added. It said the men were talking about the new monthly crew flight scheduling system put into place in the wake of Northwest's merger with Delta Air Lines.
"Each pilot accessed and used his personal laptop computer while they discussed the airline crew flight scheduling procedure," the report said.
"The first officer, who was more familiar with the procedure, was providing instruction to the captain."Neither pilot said he was aware of where the plane was until a flight attendant called the cockpit about five minutes before the plane was to have landed and asked their estimated time of arrival, the report said.
"The captain said, at that point, he looked at his primary flight display for an ETA and realized that they had passed" the airport, it added. After 78 minutes of radio silence, the pilots re-established radio contact with air traffic controllers, it said.
After landing at Minneapolis-St. Paul, both voluntarily underwent alcohol breath tests, which proved negative, the report said.
The safety board said its investigators interviewed the pilots separately Sunday in Minnesota for more than five hours combined. The investigation will include scrutiny of the flight and voice data recorders, it said.
An airline spokesman said Monday the company has sent the passengers on the plane $500 travel vouchers to compensate them for their inconvenience, and that the pilots have been suspended until the conclusion of the investigations.
The NTSB on Monday interviewed the three flight attendants who were on the plane, a spokesman for the Association of Flight Attendants said.
The lead flight attendant told officers she was unaware there had been an incident aboard, according to the report.
Police who met the wayward jet said the pilots were "cooperative, apologetic and appreciative."
The NTSB is hoping the plane's cockpit voice recorder either will confirm the pilot's account or provide evidence of another possible explanation, including whether the captain and first officer fell asleep.
Watch the co-pilot speak
The voice recorder is capable of recording only 30 minutes of audio, federal accident investigators said. The plane was in the air for another 45 minutes after radio contact was restored, meaning that if the recorder was working properly, anything the pilots would have said during the time they weren't answering radio calls would have been recorded over.
But a former accident investigator said the voice recorder may still provide valuable information, because the pilots could have discussed the earlier events on the way back to Minneapolis after overshooting the airport.
The flight data recorder also could prove valuable because it would have recorded actions taken by the pilots during the 78 minutes they did not respond to repeated calls from air traffic controllers, the ex-investigator said.
Meanwhile, the North American Aerospace Defense Command, which scrambled fighter jets for the wayward plane but did not launch them, said it was reviewing procedures for launching the fighters to track potentially hijacked or suspicious aircraft.
At issue is the Federal Aviation Administration's apparent delay in notifying NORAD the Northwest jet was not in contact with controllers, according to a senior U.S. official directly familiar with the timeline of the incident.
Watch how the military is looking at a possible FAA delay
The official, who declined to be identified because the military and the FAA are reviewing the incident, said the FAA's request for military involvement came after the plane passed the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport. NORAD scrambled fighter jets at two locations. But as they approached the runway for takeoff, the FAA reported being back in contact with the Northwest flight, and the fighters stayed on the ground.
"My real question is why we did not know of the 'radio out' situation from the FAA sooner," the official said. "The FAA is also looking into that."
Since the September 11, 2001, attacks, NORAD has regularly launched fighter jets to track aircraft in unusual situations such as when they deviate from flight plans, lose radio contact or enter restricted airspace.
According to a second U.S. official, NORAD is in constant contact with the FAA so it can respond when situations arise.
CNN's Mike M. Ahlers and Barbara Starr contributed to this report.
The Airbus A320 was flying at 37,000 feet over the Denver, Colorado, area at 5:56 p.m. Wednesday when it last made radio contact, the safety board said.
Northwest Flight 188 had departed San Diego en route to Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport carrying 144 passengers, two pilots and three flight attendants. Northwest recently merged with Delta Air Lines.
"Using laptops or engaging in activity unrelated to the pilots' command of the aircraft during flight is strictly against the airline's flight deck policies and violations of that policy will result in termination," Delta said Monday in a statement.
Pilot Timothy B. Cheney, 53, was hired in 1985 and has more than 20,000 hours flight time; First Officer Richard I. Cole, 54, was hired in 1997 and has about 11,000 hours of flight time, the report said.
Neither pilot reported having had an accident, incident or violation, neither had any ongoing medical conditions and neither said he was tired, it said.
They each had a 19-hour layover in San Diego; neither said he had slept or argued during the flight, but both said "there was a distraction" in the cockpit, according to the report.
Video: Military reviews jet overshoot
Video: Flight 188 passenger speaks
Video: Pilot: No one was asleep
RELATED TOPICS
* Air Travel
* U.S. National Transportation Safety Board
* Northwest Airlines Corporation
* Minneapolis
* Federal Aviation Administration
The pilots said there was "a concentrated period of discussion where they did not monitor the airplane or calls" from air traffic control, though both said they heard conversation on the radio, the report said.
Neither pilot said he noticed messages sent by company dispatchers, it added. It said the men were talking about the new monthly crew flight scheduling system put into place in the wake of Northwest's merger with Delta Air Lines.
"Each pilot accessed and used his personal laptop computer while they discussed the airline crew flight scheduling procedure," the report said.
"The first officer, who was more familiar with the procedure, was providing instruction to the captain."Neither pilot said he was aware of where the plane was until a flight attendant called the cockpit about five minutes before the plane was to have landed and asked their estimated time of arrival, the report said.
"The captain said, at that point, he looked at his primary flight display for an ETA and realized that they had passed" the airport, it added. After 78 minutes of radio silence, the pilots re-established radio contact with air traffic controllers, it said.
After landing at Minneapolis-St. Paul, both voluntarily underwent alcohol breath tests, which proved negative, the report said.
The safety board said its investigators interviewed the pilots separately Sunday in Minnesota for more than five hours combined. The investigation will include scrutiny of the flight and voice data recorders, it said.
An airline spokesman said Monday the company has sent the passengers on the plane $500 travel vouchers to compensate them for their inconvenience, and that the pilots have been suspended until the conclusion of the investigations.
The NTSB on Monday interviewed the three flight attendants who were on the plane, a spokesman for the Association of Flight Attendants said.
The lead flight attendant told officers she was unaware there had been an incident aboard, according to the report.
Police who met the wayward jet said the pilots were "cooperative, apologetic and appreciative."
The NTSB is hoping the plane's cockpit voice recorder either will confirm the pilot's account or provide evidence of another possible explanation, including whether the captain and first officer fell asleep.
Watch the co-pilot speak
The voice recorder is capable of recording only 30 minutes of audio, federal accident investigators said. The plane was in the air for another 45 minutes after radio contact was restored, meaning that if the recorder was working properly, anything the pilots would have said during the time they weren't answering radio calls would have been recorded over.
But a former accident investigator said the voice recorder may still provide valuable information, because the pilots could have discussed the earlier events on the way back to Minneapolis after overshooting the airport.
The flight data recorder also could prove valuable because it would have recorded actions taken by the pilots during the 78 minutes they did not respond to repeated calls from air traffic controllers, the ex-investigator said.
Meanwhile, the North American Aerospace Defense Command, which scrambled fighter jets for the wayward plane but did not launch them, said it was reviewing procedures for launching the fighters to track potentially hijacked or suspicious aircraft.
At issue is the Federal Aviation Administration's apparent delay in notifying NORAD the Northwest jet was not in contact with controllers, according to a senior U.S. official directly familiar with the timeline of the incident.
Watch how the military is looking at a possible FAA delay
The official, who declined to be identified because the military and the FAA are reviewing the incident, said the FAA's request for military involvement came after the plane passed the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport. NORAD scrambled fighter jets at two locations. But as they approached the runway for takeoff, the FAA reported being back in contact with the Northwest flight, and the fighters stayed on the ground.
"My real question is why we did not know of the 'radio out' situation from the FAA sooner," the official said. "The FAA is also looking into that."
Since the September 11, 2001, attacks, NORAD has regularly launched fighter jets to track aircraft in unusual situations such as when they deviate from flight plans, lose radio contact or enter restricted airspace.
According to a second U.S. official, NORAD is in constant contact with the FAA so it can respond when situations arise.
CNN's Mike M. Ahlers and Barbara Starr contributed to this report.
Reid backs health care public option
Washington (CNN) -- The contentious debate over health care took a new twist Monday as Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced his decision to craft legislation including a public insurance option allowing states to opt out.
Reid's decision is a major victory for the more liberal wing of the Democratic Party.
Reid, a Nevada Democrat, has been melding legislation from the more conservative Senate Finance Committee and the more liberal Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee. The Health Committee included a form of the public option in its bill; the Finance Committee did not.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has insisted that the House of Representatives will pass a health care reform bill including a public option.
President Obama is "pleased that the Senate has decided to include a public option for health coverage," White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said in a written statement.
"He supports the public option because it has the potential to play an essential role in holding insurance companies accountable through choice and competition," Gibbs said.
Video: Reid supports public option
Video: Reid rolls the dice
RELATED TOPICS
* Health Care Policy
* Harry Reid
* U.S. Senate
Although Obama has indicated his preference for a public option, he has not indicated that he would a veto a bill without one. Several top Democrats have expressed concern that the traditionally conservative Senate would not pass a bill with a public option.
"While the public option is not a silver bullet, I believe it's an important way to ensure competition and to level the playing field for patients with the insurance industry," Reid said on Capitol Hill.
Polls show that a wide majority of Americans support a public option, he said. Individual states would have until 2014 to decide whether they want to opt out, he added.
Reid's health care bill, which will be given a cost assessment by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, also includes a provision from the Finance Committee bill allowing for the creation of nonprofit health care cooperatives that would negotiate collective insurance coverage for members.
Reid hopes his compromise will appeal both to liberal senators insisting on a public option and to conservatives wary of a government-run plan, several Democratic sources said.
The sources said Reid does not have firm commitments for the compromise from 60 senators, the number required to break a Republican-led filibuster.
It is likely he would need that number for even a vote to begin Senate debate.
Reid's strategy of publicizing his intention is risky, multiple sources also said. A Reid aide said Sunday, however, that the majority leader is cautiously optimistic, based on a series of conversations with Democratic senators, that he will ultimately find the votes.
"I believe we ... will have the support of my caucus," Reid said Monday.
An administration official went so far as to call Reid's move "dangerous" but quickly followed by saying Reid knows his caucus better than anyone and will therefore have the support of the White House.
Reid said he was disappointed that congressional Republicans have almost unanimously opposed Democratic-led reform efforts. The number of moderate Senate Republicans can now be counted "on two fingers," he argued.
Reid said he hoped to eventually win over Maine Sen. Olympia Snowe, the lone Republican to back the Finance Committee bill. Snowe has indicated her preference for a "trigger" provision that would mandate creation of a public health insurance option in the future if specific thresholds for expanded coverage and other changes were not met.
Snowe issued a statement Monday, saying she was "deeply disappointed" with Reid's decision on the public option. She argued that a decision in favor of a trigger "could have been the road toward achieving a broader bipartisan consensus in the Senate."
"It's unfortunate the Senate majority leader decided to take a different path, because he did say it was a pretty good doggone idea with respect to the trigger in September, so I don't what has happened to change his mind," she said later.
"It's regrettable, because I certainly have worked in good faith all of these months on a bipartisan basis and, as you know, have been standing alone at this point as a Republican to do so because I believe in good public policy," Snowe added.
Reid said he was "disappointed that the one issue, the public option, has been something that's frightened" Snowe.
CNN's Dana Bash and Ted Barrett contributed to this report.
Reid's decision is a major victory for the more liberal wing of the Democratic Party.
Reid, a Nevada Democrat, has been melding legislation from the more conservative Senate Finance Committee and the more liberal Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee. The Health Committee included a form of the public option in its bill; the Finance Committee did not.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has insisted that the House of Representatives will pass a health care reform bill including a public option.
President Obama is "pleased that the Senate has decided to include a public option for health coverage," White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said in a written statement.
"He supports the public option because it has the potential to play an essential role in holding insurance companies accountable through choice and competition," Gibbs said.
Video: Reid supports public option
Video: Reid rolls the dice
RELATED TOPICS
* Health Care Policy
* Harry Reid
* U.S. Senate
Although Obama has indicated his preference for a public option, he has not indicated that he would a veto a bill without one. Several top Democrats have expressed concern that the traditionally conservative Senate would not pass a bill with a public option.
"While the public option is not a silver bullet, I believe it's an important way to ensure competition and to level the playing field for patients with the insurance industry," Reid said on Capitol Hill.
Polls show that a wide majority of Americans support a public option, he said. Individual states would have until 2014 to decide whether they want to opt out, he added.
Reid's health care bill, which will be given a cost assessment by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, also includes a provision from the Finance Committee bill allowing for the creation of nonprofit health care cooperatives that would negotiate collective insurance coverage for members.
Reid hopes his compromise will appeal both to liberal senators insisting on a public option and to conservatives wary of a government-run plan, several Democratic sources said.
The sources said Reid does not have firm commitments for the compromise from 60 senators, the number required to break a Republican-led filibuster.
It is likely he would need that number for even a vote to begin Senate debate.
Reid's strategy of publicizing his intention is risky, multiple sources also said. A Reid aide said Sunday, however, that the majority leader is cautiously optimistic, based on a series of conversations with Democratic senators, that he will ultimately find the votes.
"I believe we ... will have the support of my caucus," Reid said Monday.
An administration official went so far as to call Reid's move "dangerous" but quickly followed by saying Reid knows his caucus better than anyone and will therefore have the support of the White House.
Reid said he was disappointed that congressional Republicans have almost unanimously opposed Democratic-led reform efforts. The number of moderate Senate Republicans can now be counted "on two fingers," he argued.
Reid said he hoped to eventually win over Maine Sen. Olympia Snowe, the lone Republican to back the Finance Committee bill. Snowe has indicated her preference for a "trigger" provision that would mandate creation of a public health insurance option in the future if specific thresholds for expanded coverage and other changes were not met.
Snowe issued a statement Monday, saying she was "deeply disappointed" with Reid's decision on the public option. She argued that a decision in favor of a trigger "could have been the road toward achieving a broader bipartisan consensus in the Senate."
"It's unfortunate the Senate majority leader decided to take a different path, because he did say it was a pretty good doggone idea with respect to the trigger in September, so I don't what has happened to change his mind," she said later.
"It's regrettable, because I certainly have worked in good faith all of these months on a bipartisan basis and, as you know, have been standing alone at this point as a Republican to do so because I believe in good public policy," Snowe added.
Reid said he was "disappointed that the one issue, the public option, has been something that's frightened" Snowe.
CNN's Dana Bash and Ted Barrett contributed to this report.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Bangalore - City in beta
Interactive journalist, BBC News
MG Road development
MG Road is now a building site for the metro development
Bangalore is an Indian city where high tech and crippling poverty live side by side.
As the rate of development in Bangalore gathers pace, some fear that the many impoverished communities that also call the city home may be left behind.
Bangalore contrast
The famous Infosys glass pyramid seen above temporary dwellings
Since the liberalisation of the Indian economy in the 1990s, the Indian tech sector has expanded rapidly.
The major players - including Microsoft, Infosys, Cisco and Google - exist in enormous "tech parks" crammed with tall, shiny office buildings.
Meanwhile on the same block, piles of rotting rubbish, beggars and stray dogs surround traffic that is heavy with pollution and often locked in a loud and aggressive jam.
Contrast in this city is not new; the levels of poverty are growing faster than the tech industry as migrant workers from other states join the population to aid the development.
There are concerns that this impoverished population could be left behind in the city of the future, unless big businesses acknowledge that the local infrastructure is under a great deal of pressure.
Ethical business offline
Many foreign businesses have set up outsourcing hubs in Bangalore and beyond - India is a leader in this type of business.
Meanwhile non-governmental organisations and aid workers struggle to support the poorer aspects of society, and many believe that big businesses could have a more influential hand in helping those who are not doing so well out of the tech boom.
Azim Premji is the chairman of Wipro, one of the largest companies in India. He recognised the issues of his local communities and created the Azim Premji foundation.
It is a separate venture to his corporation and privately funded. It addresses methods of education in the hope that supporting youth will mean creating a better society in the long run.
If corporations accept that their employees have a life beyond the work place then they should take some responsibility and reach out to that life.
Dileep Ranjekar
CEO, Azim Premji Foundation
Foundation chief executive Dileep Ranjekar believes that large corporations could be making more effort to invest in their communities.
"Many corporate efforts are fairly myopic, narrow minded and self centred. These are strong words but they are realities," he argues.
"If corporations accept that their employees have a life beyond the workplace then they should take some responsibility and reach out to that life."
Bangalore is not the only tech city in India. Hyderabad was initially seen as a forerunner in the race for a technology capital.
Nishant Shah is the director of research at the Centre for Internet and Society. He says that the problems Bangalore faces are not unique.
"People only look at the IT industry and economy in Bangalore. But there are questions of culture, language and communities which also constitute this city."
Culture change
However winds of political change may begin blow in the favour of smaller businesses, as India's bureaucrats are starting to emerge from more diverse backgrounds.
Some live themselves in neighbourhoods that are officially designated as slum areas, and so have first-hand knowledge of the infrastructure problems that need to be addressed.
I think the argument about Bangalore changing too fast and growing too fast is a false argument.
Solomon Benjamin
National Institute for Advanced Studies
"It's these political conflicts and upheavals that show what democracy is all about," said Dr Solomon Benjamin, associate professor at the National Institute for Advanced studies.
"I think the argument about Bangalore changing too fast and growing too fast is a false argument."
New order
On the surface it may look as though big business, outsourcing and technology have brought about a socio-economic catastrophe.
Along the Mahatma Gandhi Road, couples used to walk, people used to meet.
Today it is a muddy area where the already crazed traffic struggles to get around the metro site construction. People don't tend to want to spend time there.
Bangalore feels like a city in planning where too many people turned up to populate it too soon. But it's those people who will hopefully build and restructure their city to make it work for them.
Dileep Ranjekar believes that they will pull together.
"When the pride of a society is challenged, people unite. Change comes when there is an acceptance that it is in the self interest of every individual. Everyone sees the benefit of that. You must create the right conditions."
MG Road development
MG Road is now a building site for the metro development
Bangalore is an Indian city where high tech and crippling poverty live side by side.
As the rate of development in Bangalore gathers pace, some fear that the many impoverished communities that also call the city home may be left behind.
Bangalore contrast
The famous Infosys glass pyramid seen above temporary dwellings
Since the liberalisation of the Indian economy in the 1990s, the Indian tech sector has expanded rapidly.
The major players - including Microsoft, Infosys, Cisco and Google - exist in enormous "tech parks" crammed with tall, shiny office buildings.
Meanwhile on the same block, piles of rotting rubbish, beggars and stray dogs surround traffic that is heavy with pollution and often locked in a loud and aggressive jam.
Contrast in this city is not new; the levels of poverty are growing faster than the tech industry as migrant workers from other states join the population to aid the development.
There are concerns that this impoverished population could be left behind in the city of the future, unless big businesses acknowledge that the local infrastructure is under a great deal of pressure.
Ethical business offline
Many foreign businesses have set up outsourcing hubs in Bangalore and beyond - India is a leader in this type of business.
Meanwhile non-governmental organisations and aid workers struggle to support the poorer aspects of society, and many believe that big businesses could have a more influential hand in helping those who are not doing so well out of the tech boom.
Azim Premji is the chairman of Wipro, one of the largest companies in India. He recognised the issues of his local communities and created the Azim Premji foundation.
It is a separate venture to his corporation and privately funded. It addresses methods of education in the hope that supporting youth will mean creating a better society in the long run.
If corporations accept that their employees have a life beyond the work place then they should take some responsibility and reach out to that life.
Dileep Ranjekar
CEO, Azim Premji Foundation
Foundation chief executive Dileep Ranjekar believes that large corporations could be making more effort to invest in their communities.
"Many corporate efforts are fairly myopic, narrow minded and self centred. These are strong words but they are realities," he argues.
"If corporations accept that their employees have a life beyond the workplace then they should take some responsibility and reach out to that life."
Bangalore is not the only tech city in India. Hyderabad was initially seen as a forerunner in the race for a technology capital.
Nishant Shah is the director of research at the Centre for Internet and Society. He says that the problems Bangalore faces are not unique.
"People only look at the IT industry and economy in Bangalore. But there are questions of culture, language and communities which also constitute this city."
Culture change
However winds of political change may begin blow in the favour of smaller businesses, as India's bureaucrats are starting to emerge from more diverse backgrounds.
Some live themselves in neighbourhoods that are officially designated as slum areas, and so have first-hand knowledge of the infrastructure problems that need to be addressed.
I think the argument about Bangalore changing too fast and growing too fast is a false argument.
Solomon Benjamin
National Institute for Advanced Studies
"It's these political conflicts and upheavals that show what democracy is all about," said Dr Solomon Benjamin, associate professor at the National Institute for Advanced studies.
"I think the argument about Bangalore changing too fast and growing too fast is a false argument."
New order
On the surface it may look as though big business, outsourcing and technology have brought about a socio-economic catastrophe.
Along the Mahatma Gandhi Road, couples used to walk, people used to meet.
Today it is a muddy area where the already crazed traffic struggles to get around the metro site construction. People don't tend to want to spend time there.
Bangalore feels like a city in planning where too many people turned up to populate it too soon. But it's those people who will hopefully build and restructure their city to make it work for them.
Dileep Ranjekar believes that they will pull together.
"When the pride of a society is challenged, people unite. Change comes when there is an acceptance that it is in the self interest of every individual. Everyone sees the benefit of that. You must create the right conditions."
My love is like a blue, blue rose
My love is like a blue, blue rose
Blue roses named Suntory blue rose Applause
The "blue" rose required 20 years of research
by Kathryn Westcott
BBC News
The blue rose has long been referred to by horticulturalists as the "Holy Grail" of the plant breeding world.
Now what is being described as the world's first genetically-modified blue rose will soon hit flower shops in Japan.
A Japanese firm has announced that it will be the first to put the unique flower on sale to the public - at a not-to-be-sniffed-at 2,000 and 3,000 yen (US$22 and US$33) per stem, about 10 times more expensive than normal.
Genetically, there is no natural blue pigmentation in the rose to allow a true blue rose to be bred by conventional methods.
ARE RED BEST?
A single genetically modified blue rose
Blue Roses, Rudyard Kipling
Roses red and roses white
Plucked I for my love's delight.
She would none of all my posies -
Bade me gather her blue roses.
Half the world I wandered through,
Seeking where such flowers grew;
Half the world unto my quest
Answered me with laugh and jest.
Home I came at wintertide,
But my silly love had died,
Seeking with her latest breath
Roses from the arms of Death.
It may be beyond the grave
She shall find what she would have.
Mine was but an idle quest -
Roses white and red are best.
But in 2004 whisky distiller Suntory said it had succeeded in developing natural blue roses.
With Australian biotech company Florigene, it said it spliced into roses the gene that leads to the synthesis of the blue pigment Delphinidin in petunias.
The fruits of that 20-year research project will be delivered to the public next month.
Talk of blue roses is not new. Faux blue roses were traditionally created by dyeing white roses.
And nominal "blue roses" have been bred by conventional hybridisation methods. But, according to experts, these are more accurately described as light purple in colour.
In 1847 American nurseryman Samuel Parsons wrote in his book The Rose that progress in science and technology might, indeed, enable gardeners to cultivate blue roses.
If so, he said, they would be worth the effort.
Rosebreeder Bernard Mehring says that as far back as the 1900s there was a German variety of "blue" rose known as the Veilchenblau. But the petals are, again, more a "mauvey-grey", he says, and it only flowers once.
According to the Victorians, who promoted floriography - the language of flowers - blue roses were believed to signify mystery or the attempt to attain the impossible.
Since those times the colour of a rose has represented a different sentiment or feeling.
Red roses still imply passionate, romantic love and pink roses a lesser affection. White roses suggest virtue and chastity and yellow roses still stand for friendship or devotion.
A natural blue rose would signify something that is expensive and rare
Royal Horticultural Society
Sarah Holland from the Flowers and Plants Association in the UK says she believes natural blue roses "would be hugely in demand".
Dyed-blue roses, which are also a soft purple colour, sell well in the UK, she says.
"They don't appeal to everyone because they are unnatural, but there is definitely a place for them. They are, for example, popular for weddings."
Her association receives lots of inquiries about black or blue roses every year ahead of Valentines Day, she adds.
"Roses may be ubiquitous nowadays. But they haven't lost their meaning, and people are always looking for something that is unique."
Standing out
Helen Bostock, a horticulture advisor at the UK's Royal Horticultural Society, says that while a true-blue rose sounds fabulous, it could stand out like a "sore thumb".
"A natural blue rose would signify something that is expensive and rare. It would signify exclusivity.
"It has been the Holy Grail to rose breeders, but, personally, I think it would look odd - a bit like a plate of blue chips."
Red roses
Red roses are associated with passionate love
She is doubtful that any blue rose would be anything other than a novelty.
"A red rose signifies passion, but blue is a bit cold, in my book."
Breeder Bernard Mehring is also unimpressed by the news of the blue rose.
He has managed to breed a black rose, but says that if you tried to grow it in the garden the sunlight would cause the petals to shrivel up.
He thinks the blue rose would, for different reasons, would be no good in the garden. "I can't see that a natural blue rose would be easy to grow."
It would also not be allowed to be cultivated in some countries, such as the UK, because of the controls imposed on genetically-modified plants.
Feeling blue
Roses have been the subject of many myths, legends, poems and paintings. Our fascination with them stretches back centuries.
The Romans loved roses. The Emperor Nero was believed to have had an extravagant rotating banquet hall in which rose petals were said to have cascaded from the ceiling.
And Napoleon Bonaparte's Empress Josephine instructed collectors to send her roses from around the known world, even during the Napoleonic Wars.
In Japan, where the act of present-giving is highly ritualistic, the new blue variety, Applause, will be marketed as a "luxurious gift for special occasions such as wedding anniversaries".
There are no current plans to sell the new variety overseas, which might not be a bad thing, according to Mr Mehring. He warns that in some countries blue is not a popular colour for flowers.
"In Italy, the blue is associated with mistrust or bereavement," he says.
In China, however, according to one Chinese folk tale, the blue rose signifies hope against unattainable love.
Blue roses named Suntory blue rose Applause
The "blue" rose required 20 years of research
by Kathryn Westcott
BBC News
The blue rose has long been referred to by horticulturalists as the "Holy Grail" of the plant breeding world.
Now what is being described as the world's first genetically-modified blue rose will soon hit flower shops in Japan.
A Japanese firm has announced that it will be the first to put the unique flower on sale to the public - at a not-to-be-sniffed-at 2,000 and 3,000 yen (US$22 and US$33) per stem, about 10 times more expensive than normal.
Genetically, there is no natural blue pigmentation in the rose to allow a true blue rose to be bred by conventional methods.
ARE RED BEST?
A single genetically modified blue rose
Blue Roses, Rudyard Kipling
Roses red and roses white
Plucked I for my love's delight.
She would none of all my posies -
Bade me gather her blue roses.
Half the world I wandered through,
Seeking where such flowers grew;
Half the world unto my quest
Answered me with laugh and jest.
Home I came at wintertide,
But my silly love had died,
Seeking with her latest breath
Roses from the arms of Death.
It may be beyond the grave
She shall find what she would have.
Mine was but an idle quest -
Roses white and red are best.
But in 2004 whisky distiller Suntory said it had succeeded in developing natural blue roses.
With Australian biotech company Florigene, it said it spliced into roses the gene that leads to the synthesis of the blue pigment Delphinidin in petunias.
The fruits of that 20-year research project will be delivered to the public next month.
Talk of blue roses is not new. Faux blue roses were traditionally created by dyeing white roses.
And nominal "blue roses" have been bred by conventional hybridisation methods. But, according to experts, these are more accurately described as light purple in colour.
In 1847 American nurseryman Samuel Parsons wrote in his book The Rose that progress in science and technology might, indeed, enable gardeners to cultivate blue roses.
If so, he said, they would be worth the effort.
Rosebreeder Bernard Mehring says that as far back as the 1900s there was a German variety of "blue" rose known as the Veilchenblau. But the petals are, again, more a "mauvey-grey", he says, and it only flowers once.
According to the Victorians, who promoted floriography - the language of flowers - blue roses were believed to signify mystery or the attempt to attain the impossible.
Since those times the colour of a rose has represented a different sentiment or feeling.
Red roses still imply passionate, romantic love and pink roses a lesser affection. White roses suggest virtue and chastity and yellow roses still stand for friendship or devotion.
A natural blue rose would signify something that is expensive and rare
Royal Horticultural Society
Sarah Holland from the Flowers and Plants Association in the UK says she believes natural blue roses "would be hugely in demand".
Dyed-blue roses, which are also a soft purple colour, sell well in the UK, she says.
"They don't appeal to everyone because they are unnatural, but there is definitely a place for them. They are, for example, popular for weddings."
Her association receives lots of inquiries about black or blue roses every year ahead of Valentines Day, she adds.
"Roses may be ubiquitous nowadays. But they haven't lost their meaning, and people are always looking for something that is unique."
Standing out
Helen Bostock, a horticulture advisor at the UK's Royal Horticultural Society, says that while a true-blue rose sounds fabulous, it could stand out like a "sore thumb".
"A natural blue rose would signify something that is expensive and rare. It would signify exclusivity.
"It has been the Holy Grail to rose breeders, but, personally, I think it would look odd - a bit like a plate of blue chips."
Red roses
Red roses are associated with passionate love
She is doubtful that any blue rose would be anything other than a novelty.
"A red rose signifies passion, but blue is a bit cold, in my book."
Breeder Bernard Mehring is also unimpressed by the news of the blue rose.
He has managed to breed a black rose, but says that if you tried to grow it in the garden the sunlight would cause the petals to shrivel up.
He thinks the blue rose would, for different reasons, would be no good in the garden. "I can't see that a natural blue rose would be easy to grow."
It would also not be allowed to be cultivated in some countries, such as the UK, because of the controls imposed on genetically-modified plants.
Feeling blue
Roses have been the subject of many myths, legends, poems and paintings. Our fascination with them stretches back centuries.
The Romans loved roses. The Emperor Nero was believed to have had an extravagant rotating banquet hall in which rose petals were said to have cascaded from the ceiling.
And Napoleon Bonaparte's Empress Josephine instructed collectors to send her roses from around the known world, even during the Napoleonic Wars.
In Japan, where the act of present-giving is highly ritualistic, the new blue variety, Applause, will be marketed as a "luxurious gift for special occasions such as wedding anniversaries".
There are no current plans to sell the new variety overseas, which might not be a bad thing, according to Mr Mehring. He warns that in some countries blue is not a popular colour for flowers.
"In Italy, the blue is associated with mistrust or bereavement," he says.
In China, however, according to one Chinese folk tale, the blue rose signifies hope against unattainable love.
Giant' orb web spider discovered
Orb-weaving spiders can spin webs of up to 1m (3ft 3in) in diameter
A new and rare species of "giant" orb web spider has been discovered in Africa and Madagascar.
In the journal Plos One, researchers describe Nephila komaci as the largest web spinning spider known to science.
Only the females of this groups of species are giants, with a leg span of up to 12cm (4.7in); the male spiders are tiny by comparison.
Scientists say the female spiders are capable of spinning webs that reach up to 1m (3ft 3in) in diameter.
Orb-weaving spiders are a widespread group which take their name from the round webs they typically spin.
The few preserved female specimens had bodies almost 4cm (1.5in) long
The new spider was identified by Matjaz Kuntner, a biologist from the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, and his colleague Jonathan Coddington, from the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History in Washington DC.
Dr Kuntner told BBC News that the discovery was "very unusual" because Nephila spiders were so well-studied and so large.
But this species is so elusive that even Dr Kuntner has not seen one live. He was able to identify the species from a specimen he first examined in 2000.
The giant female was in a collection belonging to the Plant Protection Research Institute in Pretoria, South Africa.
"It did not match any described species," said Dr Kuntner.
In his search through more than 2,500 samples from 37 museums, no further specimens turned up and he assumed the spider must be extinct.
But when a colleague in South Africa found three more of the spiders, it became apparent that they belonged to this same new species.
 Nephila komaci" border="0" height="220" hspace="0" vspace="0" width="226"> Male Nephila spiders look tiny in comparison to "giant" females |
The discovery will enable scientists to study the evolution of the dramatic size difference between male and female Nephila spiders.
Dr Kuntner explained that the widely accepted theory was that evolutionary pressure was causing female "gigantism", with the females increasing in size in order to produce larger numbers of offspring.
He and his colleague, Jonathan Coddington, from the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History in Washington DC, fear the rare spider might be endangered.
"Its range is restricted and all known localities lie within two endangered biodiversity hotspots: Maputaland and Madagascar," said Dr Coddington.
Dr Kuntner named the species in honour of his best friend and fellow scientist Andrej Komac, who recently died in an accident.
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