A Voice from Koodankulam @ The World Court of Women against War for Peace, 2015, Bangalore

The World Court of Women against War for Peace, 2015 was convened at Mount Carmel College, Bangalore, India on November 16, 2015. Along with several other esteemed personalities, the event was blessed with the presence of Dr. S. P Udayakumar, the long-standing activist leading the protests against the Koodankulam nuclear power plant in Tamil Nadu. The following is an excerpt from the conversation he had with a few students from Christ University, Bangalore.

1.    Koodankulam has hit the headlines many times and the issue has gained much public support. How did you succeed in mobilising the people for this cause?

I believe in the truth of our goal. We are not against development though we are very often labelled so. I could make people understand the real dangers of this venture. The fact that the very existence of the people is in question lead them to organise such a mass movement.

2.    Considering that many of the inhabitants of the place are not very educated or exposed towards an issue like this, how difficult was it to mobilise people to come up with the protest?

In my experience, what I observed is that, though they were not the privileged people, the level of confidence they have is incomparable. That is our greatest strength. Education is not a determining factor determining their willpower. Strong convictions and incorrupt morale is what is guiding the activists. Once the people realised that this is a struggle not only for themselves but also for the future, there was not any difficulty in any respect.

3.    As someone who is working closely with the so called backward sections of the society, do you see any gender issues at work with regard to Koodankulam protest?

As I know it, the women of this area has shown impeccable courage and responsibility. They do not see themselves as victims or less fortunate anymore. The women activists, very much conscious of their rights and duties as citizens, are in no way inferior to any other group. In fact, their grasping abilities and unique thinking are far better than mine.

4.    How hopeful are you about this movement’s future and what according to you is the backbone of responses like this in our country?

I have no doubt about the success of this movement. My hope is in the students like you who are well aware of what the society demands at this point of time. I have immense hope in the potential of young activists and informed leaders. The response of the student community in many incidents is promising.

5.    What is your message to the student community?

You are all lucky enough to have quality education. This can work wonders. Students like you should seriously think of the plight and the rights of people around you and intervene in issues constructively.

                                 Upside  Down

Upside Down presents the relationship between developed (or “first world”) and developing (or “third world”) nations, illuminating the influences of the colonizer over the colonized. Seeing life as "upside down" becomes the central metaphor for looking at experiences throughout the book. Galeano’s epigraph clues the reader into this by farcically posturing Al Capone, as an authority on honor, law, and virtue. It is frightening that Capone delivers a truthful message about the realistic and corrupt state of affairs, given the business he works in.

Galeano suggests that we can start to understand our perceptions of power as based from media interpretations when these "facts" are turned upside down again and forced to stand on their own, inherently dropping all media constructed falsities. Common views of power and hierarchy within societies, institutions, and media begin to look less believable when held against the raw numbers Galeano presents to his readers. Galeano also challenges the First World, eurocentric readers with the question of why Europe and America are always presented on the top of the world, and why can't Latin America and Australia and Africa be seen as the top of the world.

The method of questioning also forces his readers to critically analyze themselves and their roles in these power dynamics.In Upside Down, Galeano makes a set of rhetorical and visual choices that expose the intentions of his book. Beginning with the title, "Upside Down: A Primer for the Looking-Glass World", Galeano uses the term "primer" to convey the educational goals of the book. Later on he uses the term "practicum" to reinforce such goals. Primer, in this case, both indicates Galeano’s wish for this to be the initial textbook that engenders a new structure of thought and also suggests a secondary meaning; he views Upside Down as a text that provides a clear foundation. Galeano's prose is accessible to intellectuals as well as non intellectuals; many examples are developed in very clear and simple terms. His desire to change his readers' manner of thinking is shown through the accessibility of this non-fiction piece. Overall, Galeano's choices seem to always enhance accessibility.

People are drawn to capitalism with the promise of choice, but as Galeano points out, those who are allowed to actually make those choices are limited often by money, gender, and race."This world, which puts on a banquet for all, then slams the door in the noses of so many, is simultaneously equalizing and unequal: equalizing in the ideas and habits it imposes and unequal in the opportunities it offers". Some of the ideas that Galeano puts forward as equalized are of what systems to reward and what to fear. For example, failure is condemned while injustices are often overlooked as a mere fact of life. Fear has taught us to look towards furthering security instead of justice.

For example, Galeano references the relief that most feel every time a criminal is killed, therefore choosing security over justice. Furthermore, Galeano points out that the idea of equalization works against the beauty of variant individual identities and cultural identities, molding numerous people into a common identity that fits better with today's capitalistic society. As globalization continues, the difference between the rich and the poor of the world just keeps growing, and with this increased polarization has come a new vocabulary of degradation to describe class and racial differences.

                        

                   PR  CRISIS  MANAGEMENT

A crisis is any situation that threatens the integrity or reputation of a company. Public relations is the discipline which looks after reputation, with the aim of earning understanding, support and influencing opinion and behavior. There have been several examples of public relations crises that were handled. At the same time, there are even more instances where companies have failed to properly manage crisis situations. What can, and must be managed is the response. Each crisis situation is unique and, therefore, requires a tailored response.

Public relations is the systematized function that evaluates public attitudes and behaviors; harmonizes the goals, policies, and procedures of an individual or organization with the public interest; and executes a program of action to earn public understanding, acceptance, and supportive behavior.

In today’s competitive market, reputation can be a company’s biggest asset, the thing that makes you stand out from the crowd and gives you a competitive edge. Effective PR can help manage reputation by communicating and build good relationships with all organization stakeholders. Public relations is about reputation  the result of what you do, what you say and what others say about you. Public relations  is the discipline which looks after reputation, with the aim of earning understanding and support and influencing opinion and behavior. It is the planned and sustained effort to establish and maintain goodwill and mutual understanding between an organization and its publics. Public relations take many forms in different organizations and come under many titles, including public information, marketing or customer relations.

A great example of a American company acting quickly is Breeze, who’s juices were contaminated.  Despite where  contamination took place (though it was found that some of their oranges contained the E. coli making consumers ill), they knew they needed to recall their juices. They also changed their methods of making the juice to avoid and lower the possibility of contamination. Breeze is a juice company that built its reputation  and its business  on providing natural  juice drinks to health-conscious people. After drinking Breeze drinks containing apple juice contaminated by the E. coli bacteria, 65 people, including many children, became severely ill. Then, when it looked like the worst was over, one of those infected by E. coli, a 16-month-old girl, died.

The company is still feeling the effects of the crisis, but its financial picture is improving. Its products are still on the shelves, customers are coming back, and stock prices are up, so the company’s future looks positive. The picture today might be very different if  Breeze had looked at the E. coli contamination problem from a purely risk management standpoint. Since risk managers seek to minimize the company’s risk it might have taken the very different strategy of denying liability for the contamination  or  of  waiting to act until the link to its products was proven. Instead, Breeze considered its philosophy and its customers in formulating its approach. In doing so, it protected its most valuable asset - good name. And that’s what effective public relations is all about. Any company runs the risk that a problem with its products or actions could affect its reputation. Having an action plan ready before crisis strikes will help you act quickly and correctly. Like your buildings or inventory, your company’s reputation is a valuable asset that deserves protection. Public relations, used properly, can help you protect this asset.

Every organization is vulnerable to crises. Used effectively, public relations can prevent a critical situation from resulting in irreparable damage to the business’s reputation and goodwill. Any action is better than nothing and it is surely better than the denial that some managers tend to do with the public and the press. A better action is to choose a well-trained spokesperson that can give the bad news in a ″sweet″ way in order to gain the respect of the people and at the same time not expose every detail that is harmful. During a crisis, effective spokespersons must, through their non-verbal cues, leave their audiences with the impression that they are: compassionate, competent and confident.

                     

Letter to the Editor: The Hindu
Date: January 4

                

                     Trump video for Triumph

The video released by Al-Qaeda featuring Donald Trump's message to ban Muslims from the nation has created a stir among the citizens. I beg to differ with the views of Trump to ban Muslims from the nation. it will lead America as country of institutionalized prejudice against blacks and Islam. Trump's anti-Muslim rhetoric was a gift to jihadist propaganda. The comments made by Trump will boost many peoples to turn to Al-Qaeda and IS groups. The footage also strengthens jihadist groups to reach to common citizens of the nation and can easily convince them about why they have to wake up and to fight against U.S. At the end of the day, its all politics and it will lead America to chaos.

                                  Speak easy with Donald trump

1: Would you fire your son or daughter?

2: What do you do to chill out.

3: At the end of our life, what do you want to be remembered for?

4: TV is TV, real life is real life: What’s the most important real-life     advice you can give to an entrepreneur?

5: You started your campaign saying a bunch of things that are not  real. Obama and where he was born — that's not real. You know where he was born. You know that we're not going to deport 11 million people. Then why this kind of a talk?

6. What is the first change that you would make if you become the U.S president?

7. What defines success for you?

8. Do you believe in American Dream. If yes, why?

9. The biggest mistake that has ever happened to you?

                       Ad Analysis

        ·     Apple: (mac vs pc)

                    

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          Apple is known for its insane attention to detail. Often times, it's what sets Apple's products apart from the competition. Some of these features are incredibly useful and make its products more enjoyable, while others are purely cosmetic. Regardless of the value they add to the overall experience, it's fascinating to learn about the lengths Apple goes to when it comes to design and product development.

The ads of Apple are simple and easy to understand for the common man. In their promotion of Mac they used the easy way to communicate to the audience. Two guys standing and talking and its set in a white background. It provides no lengthy list of product features, no mention of price, no information to how to buy a mac, They only aims to make one point, that is one way in which mac’s are better than pc’s. Apple billboard ads are similar in this way. The reason behind the success was:

1        Simplicity in marketing

       They uses quality media platform and design firm

   Communicates in the language of audience: it makes no sense to talks about megabytes, gigabytes and all. They instead of using display resolution, uses edge to edge glass, retina display and all, Which paves the way for its success.

    ·    Kfc

KFC was one of the first fast food chains to expand internationally, opening outlets in Canada, the United Kingdom, Mexico, and Jamaica by the mid-1960s. Like Rolex, KFC doesn’t needs to market its own brand. In world level there is no competitors for them. It was just a lust for promotion that landed them into a great trouble. KFC made an unusual offer on a TV show called oprah and the viewers were told that they could download a free coupon for a two piece chicken meal with two side dishes and a biscuit. The only problem was that they weren’t at all prepared to honor the deal. When 4 million people showed up to collect KFC’s across U.S, the country fell apart. There were mini riots, service refusal and most important there was not enough chicken. The show oprah had to pull the coupons from their website. At the end, 10.5 million coupons were downloaded and Americans consume 42 million worth of free food. It was just a crispy marketing fail!

Public service ads