The new decade

As I wrap up this blog as the year ends and a new decade begins, I pause to take a look at what the world looks like in the future. Poverty across the globe has reduced considerably. It can be quite fun to travel in comfort no matter which corner of the earth you are in. Some countries who were at the top for a long time are not sure how they long they will retain their standing and feel threatened. And they try to stop others from going ahead. And some countries who are trying to progress are feeling a push back. There is major strife. But it feels like a flower waiting to bloom and the new decade will see a better world. The vision for the new decade should be let us all together work for a better world rather than only let me prosper. Cheers and a happy new year!

The Ivory coast stand off

Before military action the United Nations must resort to recounting of votes in the Ivory coast. Stability is denied for Africa and international communities are behind it. A stable Africa would be a prosperous one but unfortunately a distant dream.

The dream act

It is not good for America to have millions of people especially children living here who are not allowed to dream because of their immigration status. Stealing dreams from children is criminal. The demand for labor is the reason illegal immigration was turned a blind eye to. This demand will always be there. A country benefits from having access to labor not necessarily cheap. Many times money will not induce people to labor. So temporary visas may help solve this problem. But if it is skilled labor temporary visas will not solve the problem because the employer will want to retain people he trained. So it is best to train people who the country really wants. But to steal dreams from children is a strict no no. We do need a world where a child wherever he is can dream to become president.

Smear campaign against Julian Assange

The smear campaign against Julian Assange is an embarrassment to civilization. People should not be treated like that. Now WikiLeaks may have questionable methods to getting to information but then that is called investigative journalism. If there is a story then the news guys need to go after it. But the media goons these days will report more about the smear campaign than what caused such a campaign. The things WikiLeaks have revealed should not be happening. We need to believe that this world can be a fair and decent place and work towards it.

Julian Assange wants to rein in America. America is a dangerous huge animal. It is best to appeal to its softer side namely the heart of the beast. This how most civil right issues are dealt with.

Uninsured by insurances

The word Insurance should have send alarm bells when introduced. Most of my life, life insurance agents were the biggest jokers you must avoid as much as possible. But in the US we insure ourselves from everything. It forms the crutches of false security. Only if we could insure ourselves from stupid ideas! How wonderful that would have been. Having said that making buying a health insurance mandatory is just like making car insurance mandatory. If one is fair the other is too.

Tax cuts for the rich

We all know that the rich will invest only if there are tax benefits. Show them some tax benefits and they will invest in small businesses or even expand their operations. Even charity by rich corporations is directly related to tax cuts. Tax benefits more than patriotism is what will induce corporations to invest in America again.

Of course there is this problem that small businesses will become dependent on the big companies. But with monopoly laws rarely used (except to trouble Microsoft) this is already the situation in America. It is worth studying the role big companies have played in stifling creativity and innovation in America in recent times. I suppose in the long term creating a situation where middle sized businesses can thrive is the best. But for now if there are no jobs out there, the country will slide in to an abyss of gloom.

Obama is trying.

We must grant that Obama as president is trying. He even brings in Bill Clinton to help him with an agenda. To share spot light like that is difficult but spells the need of the hour. Partition politics is fatal in times like these. Every one must do the part else the ship sinks.

Politics of the book.

When this wonderful concept of democracy came along it came with a book like religion. Thus evolution of the idea has been slow. People think that they reached the ideal and hence change is blasphemy. This is true for communism as well. Communism became an ideology when people were being subjected to immense exploitation by a class system. But once countries became communists, conditions changed, and they were quite lost. Karl Marx had made a perfect system that works already so changing or evolving was unthinkable. But most philosophies or ideologies need to evolve else they stagnate.

London fee hike protests by students

Students rioting in London streets reminds you of the protests of students in Tinanmen square, China many years ago. Time for powers that be to listen. Something has horribly gone wrong. Raising fees in this economy is almost like denying education to children. At least it would seem so. I would say make public how the tuition fees that are currently paid by students spend and let expenses come for vote by students.

Coteries in a democracy

Democracy is not true unless it is for the people, by the people, and of the people.
In certain democracies the players are outside the country so they are of the people only in name's sake. Leaders are elected in many democracies and so we may grant that
these democracies are by the people and of the people. But for the people is where democracy as it stands today fails. To get elected a leader of a democracy depends on coteries of special interests with the big funds. It is a myth that the common man gets truly represented in a democracy. To get a functional democracy decisions must come up for a vote too.

Aung San Suu Kyi's freedom

If Aung San Suu Kyi is set free she must say "Never again" and change Burma in a way that no one is treated like she has been treated. Its too much to ask of a frail woman. Unfortunately every one else seems to be wimps.

To know you is to love you

If you must know India then you must visit India. India is a happy country. No way can people put on such a show of exuberance. India is the good news in Asia's map today.

Obama's successful India trip

This trip by Obamas to India has been a triumph mainly due to Michelle Obama. She really connected to the people. Her Indian dances have the correct mannerisms and body language. Michelle is an awesome first lady indeed.

India celebrates

There is no particular reason why Indians celebrate. It is akin to the parties the people have in the west. I suppose Indians are a happy group of people and hence they celebrate. Happy Diwali to all in India.

Happy Diwali to President Obama

President Obama travels to India during Diwali the festival of lights. The many attempts of the US and Indian governments to connect have left something to be desired. But without a doubt the hearts and minds of the people of India and US have merged in a big way. We wish Obama a pleasant trip and stay in India which is a cradle of affection. May this Diwali light up in a big way to disperse all the darkness that has engulfed the world in recent times.

The election and Meg Whitman

Meg Whitman did not get to be governor. Many things worked against her. One she is a woman, two she is technical, and three she has money. Moreover there was an illegal weeping housekeeper. Perhaps, outside the silicon valley, people do not care about the computer industry and Ebay. Engineers rarely are popular. Now Jerry Brown did call this lady some names but it did him no harm. He got elected. People like that kind of aggressiveness towards women. Way to go California!

Rethinking poverty

My recent introduction to Latin America via some great documentaries got me thinking about how on earth are these countries poor? They are naturally blessed and have plenty of food and land and yet considered poor. This brings us to the question who is deciding poverty and how. Higher education, technology, material goods may be deciding factors. But if these people are eating plenty of organic sea food and meat, have non polluted air, and freedom of expression even in how they dress, they are no way poor in my opinion. In fact these countries must try to hold on to these virtues as much as possible.

Restoring sanity in America

It is a common desire to restore sanity in America. People are looking for outlets for expressing this desire at rallies and tea parties. I must say that even the government wishes this. It does generate humor to make it look like it is someone's fault but serves little purpose. Let us take a look at the efforts of the new government's attempts at restoring sanity and what can make these efforts better.

1. Unemployment benefits. This is a cushion that is softening the free fall. Some people like it I do not.

2. Encouraging small business. This is good but it should reach the common man. Unemployment bureaus across the country can bring in this program that guides the common man. Yes we need small business. More farms, industries, tailoring units, shops, etc. to restore quality if not sanity.

3. Terrorism. This is where the US is not doing too good. US must get out of conflict and protect its borders. I agree to what Stewart says that a person should be called a racist if he has the resume for it. Similarly a terrorist is one who has worked hard to become one and has a resume to show.

4. International relations. Us needs to rethink its relations with Cuba and other Latin American countries. It is a win win situation if both the parties get rid off outdated attitudes. Currently America's best friends are mostly rogue nations.

Illegal immigration in the US

Illegal immigration is bad. Forged documents and driver's licenses are dangerous for any country. But it is a humane problem that can be solved only by paying attention to the root causes. The first reason is poverty in Mexico and the scale signals exploitation. Without reforming Mexico it is impractical to expect people will not want to come to the US shores by any means. The second reason is the desire for cheap labor. Once human beings learn to pay a fair price for services there will be a huge reduction in human exploitation.

Where is justice?

There is crying injustice in Iraq. All the decent minded people of the world must take steps to stop this. The breakdown of justice is an act of fundamentalists of all faiths. It is sad. Faith is good and supposed to help. But faith now is bracketed to minting money and harassing innocent people.

Freedom of thought and Arundhati Roy

Arundhati Roy has expressed opinions that do not agree with mainstream Indians. But freedom of expression is her fundamental right. Yes there are people whose opinions have created havoc in the nation. If a nation adopts the policy of freedom of expression then they must be prepared to face the aftermath.

Arundhati says that Kashmir was never a part of India. I would say both Kashmir and Pakistan are a part of India. The partition was artificial and confusing. It also resulted in a failed state namely Pakistan.

It makes no sense to arrest Arundhati Roy for expressing an opinion that might be influential. No one dares arrest Bal Thackeray for his statements just because he has a huge backing. Arundhati has no huge following who will go rioting and that is the story of most honest people. A bit of honest conversations is the need of the day and I am glad she is initiating it.

There is a lot of injustice every where and the least people can do is talk about it. A democracy cannot succeed only by electing leaders but it will succeed only if the people also participate in the decisions leaders make. Because there is not much room for people's participation many leaders make false promises during elections which they do not have to worry about until the next.

Bursting some myths

There is a claim among European Americans that as soon as they immigrated to America they became Americans. They integrated and blended well. Did they now? They did with other European Americans. Yes they do not care much that their grandfather was French and their mother was Italian but they do care that their ancestors came from Europe.
I say European Americans have more difficulty blending with Americans from other cultures than immigrants from anywhere else in the world. It is a good time to do some soul searching.

Who should get the Nobel peace prize?

I would recommend Julian Assange the founder of WikiLeaks for the Nobel Peace Prize. He is trying to restore common decency in a world that has gone mad.

Tackling the unemployment problem

There is nothing more annoying than realizing that the only action taken against unemployment is talk especially with regards to women. One point that the new government is beating to death is about educating women. A honest survey of employment bureaus across the country will bust this myth. A lot of highly educated people (not just women) are unemployed today. Education is not the problem something else is. That brings us to reflecting on people who are in charge of the employment departments today. I find them a group of air bags who think nothing about trimming an excellent resume down to nothing. Hey they have jobs and you don't and they would rather keep it that way.

What I would like to see if people must talk about tackling unemployment is a chart of an honest survey of who and where people are unemployed and the causes that lead to this state. It is illegal for people to be unemployed like it is to be uneducated.
It is a trend that goes against the survival of the species.

A fresh approach to education

India now is increasing its academic strength mainly because of problems faced by Indians going to study abroad. We must at this time think of why Indians go abroad? Perhaps the education system in India is geared for working outside India. The present education system is a continuation of the system established by the British to generate clerks for their administration. Most of the real work that are useful to India is done by the not so educated or people who could not excel in the present system. It is time that India spends tax money on education that benefits India. A lot more attention to Agriculture, art, architecture, and environment will be awesome. People who go to the few Art schools in India are highly successful. It is clearly not the case that people do not want such schools.

Miners in Chile

The trapped miners have shown the world that at the end of the day they do matter. More respect for labor is always good. Chile has been awfully decent about this event.

The common wealth games of 2010

The common wealth games has now gained major attention in India. The opening ceremony in Delhi was beautiful because it was quite original. India will shine only when it explores more and more of the good that is original within it. Australia sends a huge team for the CWG. Australia is quite vested in India. The cricket rivalry of India with Australia now has turned in to an unexpected partnership. Never know where games can lead you. We all search for the original and the different time and again. It is nice that India never disappoints.

The illegal housekeeper

Meg Whitman a contestant to become governor of California is now accused of employing an illegal housekeeper. It is a sad fact in California that if you are employing someone for labor that person might be an illegal immigrant. That this woman worked at Whitman's household for 9 years shows the integrity of the housekeeper. Seriously immigration status does not matter in the quality of services provided. It is time America stops attacking the dignity of these hardworking people and get to getting their papers in order.

Babri Masjid and the court

Though it would have reflected better on India to go to court before demolishing the Babri Masjid it is still a good thing that they are in court now discussing what to do in that area. We all do wish that governments and courts should not be dragged in to religious issues but its happening all over the world. The authenticity of whether the place was Ram Janam bhoomi lies on how old the belief is. If it is a belief that just originated in recent politics then it does not hold any ground. Typically property ownership is decided by who owns the papers. But considering hindu sentiment (not cooked up political sentiment), if this place was for thousands of years before Babar, considered Ram Janam bhoomi then muslims should be gracious enough to give room for a temple. After all Babar is just a King to everyone including muslims and Ram is god to hindus. The temple builders are in general considered trouble makers but there might be some solid facts in all the noise. Discussions will help discern the situation.

Chavez loses elections

Chavez came to power fighting corruption and gaining people's confidence. Then power gets to his head and it became a one man's show. A person clings on to a office because he thinks that is the end. A civilization is elite when people who know how to come to power also knows how to vacate office and make room for others.

India and her Brain drain problem

India has a big brain drain problem. It is not just that highly skilled people leave Indian shores in search of better opportunities but even many people living in India work for foreign companies. For example, Maruti cars that are sold only in India is a Japanese collaboration and a Japanese company holds more than 50% of the shares. We might say that people choose what is best for them and there is nothing anyone can really do about it. But are Indians really choosing what is best for them? Do we learn to recognize and understand the ceilings we face in future while training hard for a highly skilled job?

If we look at Nuclear energy or space technology Indians are doing well and the quality of work is of world standards. Though the number of people training for these jobs are few the success stories are big. Now Indian medical doctors on the other hand migrate in large numbers but the ones that stay behind work for Indian companies and we can safely say that the Indian medicine is of world standards if not better. On the other hand Indian engineering be it software or mechanical is way behind and brain drain is the reason behind it.

India and the Common wealth games

Many countries are threatening to pull out of the games it would seem. Boycott the Indian venue. Seriously who cares? It is amusing. It will be interesting to see what the common man's reaction is on the street.

The problem with Cuba

Cuba looked to Russia instead of America. It must learn to look at itself. Cuba needs lessons from Gandhi on sustainable development. If you learn to make do with what you have first you can expect more to come your way.

Why communism failed and what that means to exploited people

Communism like religion formed an ideology for many oppressed people to resist and come to power. But as we all see that communism has failed today across the globe. What do oppressed people fall back on now? We must step back and realize that the fight should not be against money and progress but against oppression and dishonesty.
For example redistribution of wealth by communist parties takes away the joy of working and building dreams. On the other hand every judicial system in the world knows how to deal with people who gather wealth by dishonest means. It is dishonesty and exploitation that is the problem not the desire to accomplish or become rich. One thing I am really afraid of is socialism of the mind. Some people may ask you to be less intelligent to bring equity of intellect in the society. Not that this is not covertly done already. Communism was bound to fail as an ideology because it was based on the existence of evil rich people. Take the rich people away and what do you have? A desire in every heart to become rich and may be evil too in the process?

Admission of Fidel Castro

Fidel Castro says that the communist regime does not work any more for Cuba and he is right. Communists regimes thrive on poor people for survival. Every time there is a revolution some poor people do attain power but soon they become tyrants and conditions of the poor rarely improve. Dignity of labor is the only way out. Paying people honestly for work where everyone can be bold enough to dream is the only way that works. The search for cheap labor usually means search for exploited people and dirty regimes. And that the world goes to communist China for cheap labor says a lot about what communists mean to poor people.

Antagonize

Antagonize for what purpose is what comes to mind when thinking of someone's plan to burn religious texts. Faith is ideas and not paper. However antagonizing people by some leads to unpleasant travel for many.

Tiger Woods and legal matters

Tiger Woods got me thinking that since polygamy is illegal then why is having extra marital affairs not? It might be because property need not be divided because of affairs. Thus we see all laws are made in material interests.

The bum decade

The US government policies of transfer of technology last decade was idiotic. With this policy in place IBM think pad became a chinese product. Transfer of technology happened all the while legally or illegally. All that these policies did was make life difficult for honest scientists making them feel like bums. The only people who can feel a sense of accomplishment in the last decade in the US are people who love harassing other people.

End of war

It is good war has officially ended in Iraq. Hopefully the blood shed stops. Many people now will need to undergo healing of the mind and body.

Iranian newspaper has lost it

Its bad enough that Iranians want to stone their own women to death for whatever reasons but now an Iranian newspaper want the French first lady dead too. Whats with the Iranian men?

Give reasons for the Iraq war

People cite many reasons for the Iraq war and let us analyze them.

1. George Bush did it as a personal revenge for his father against Saddam Hussein.

Did he have to really fight a war for this with so many people dying? Saddam could have been dealt with in so many ways a lot more gentler than what happened in Iraq.
Not that most people had problems with Saddam but it is no secret that Saddam definitely had issues with the Bush family.


2. It was oil interest.

To some extend this is true. But again why a war? America had a welcome presence in the middle east. People really wanted to work for American oil companies. If Iraq was closed to America it was only a matter of time. If there was an urgency in getting to the oil even then there was no need for a war. Right now the environment is unpleasant for Americans in the middle east. American presence in past years was mostly welcome because it was a symbiosis whether some people liked it or not.


3. Weapons of mass destruction.

Who believes in Santa Claus?

4. Terrorism

Too many countries would be at war if wars are fought for terrorism. Terrorism is police jurisdiction and not army's.

5. Bringing democracy and freedom to Iraq.

Possibly this might happen in future but Iraq has to come out of American occupation first. If America wanted this then there were better methods than a war.

Other reasons that are not cited and more plausible are stupidity, racism, arrogance, Israel lobby, Islam phobia, colonial aspirations, fate.

America has made too many enemies which was unnecessary. It is a quagmire.

Respect

Its easy to respect everyone's right to an opinion but it is not possible to respect everyone's opinion. Some opinions are far too stupid to deserve any respect.

Match fixing in cricket

Bollywood has been involved in cricket lately. However, the match fixing scandals make you wonder whether you are actually watching a match or something that is a Bollywood production. Some teams would rather pay for the cup than play for the cup. So if you won but did not play did you really win?

Sarkozy is crazy

Sarkozy is throwing out Romas and just a while ago he had problems with burkhas. Sarkozy and his silly wife represents very little of France. It is bye bye time for him soon.

The fear of becoming a bum

The numbers of unemployed people in America is staggering. If nothing drastic changes America will have a record number of highly skilled bums fading in to the sun set. A walk for jobs needs to organized to get a sense of how many and what kind of people are unemployed today in the US. Its anarchy.

India is the good news today

While looking at countries these days India appears liberal. The Indian government has been largely sensible. The bouts of corruption and fundamentalists eras in the government gets smoothed out by growing sensibilities. On the other hand in the US liberal voices are increasingly suppressed or ignored and the mood is cantankerous. There is little sign of this to change in near future. A lot of Indians are now going back to India. The influx of immigrants to the US are of a different nature. China grows in wealth but liberty and honesty is not a trademark of that region. The only other region that will follow India is the African region. African government is infested with corruption and looks like India did when she was newly independent. But that might change soon because the people are honest and they are liberal. Europe on the other hand is saturated and to grow it needs to look outwards. In countries like Mexico society is infested with crime and the road to recovery is a difficult one. America, China, and the middle east will have to deal with all the lies they have learned to live with all these years to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Every lie is supported by media propaganda in America, in China by government propaganda, and in the Middle east by religious propaganda. Use your brains for it has some function is all I can say.

Pakistan refuses India's aid for flood victims

The pompous Pakistani administration do not want India's help for flood victims. This is perhaps the worst Pakistani government ever. We wait to see what else they will do.

Plans for Ground zero

A bigger and better World Trade Center is what should be built at Ground zero.

Back on track finally

Something is looking better. America is getting back on the right track. Without honesty there can be no progress. War loot is usually stimulus for backward economies
but for the US its the desire to be looked up to as a nation of decent people will do the trick.

What Iraq must do.

All fights come to an end no matter how never ending it might look. For Iraq after the end of the American occupation sectarian violence will be a problem. A lot of people were uprooted and there were way too many life style changes in this decade in Iraq. Perhaps spiritual leaders might prove helpful in dealing with this. Like flood or earthquake reliefs Iraq will need the spiritual leaders of the world to come together and help people heal. Otherwise hatred carries on generation after generation.

The problem with communists

Every time a communist party takes over there is a lot of violence and injustice. Some may argue it is just paying back what poor people suffered for centuries. But there is no point if only people change but the attitudes remain same. All hate based political parties tend to be violent. The hatred for the rich which is so necessary for survival for communists parties today is exactly their problem. They would be better served if they replace their intense hate for the rich with intense love for the poor.

Pakistan floods and changing times

International help is missing in Pakistan floods. Its a sign of changing times. I wonder where we are all headed.

Religious buildings

Religion should not be used to make political statements. Its a private thing. But coteries in democracy push politicians to exhibit their pull and power. All I can say is that behind every tragedy there are vultures profiting. The moderate people suffer when extremists are appeased no matter which religion they belong to. It is true that everyone has a right to practice their own religion in this country as the constitution says. But it is also best to not get embroiled in unnecessary controversies. I am not sure that a lot many people have an appetite to be dragged in such controversies. If there must be a cause to fight for then it should be for better and bigger things like ending the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Religion you see is not about buildings but people.

Burmese elections

If Suu Kyi cannot stand for elections at least Suu Kyi's party should even at the cost of expelling her. The important thing is to defeat Junta so that Suu kyi can at least get out of prison. Burmese people are not logical and hence deserve to be ruled by Junta again.

Infosys and a US Senator

Senator Charles Schumer must apologize for calling decent companies that follow all rules chop shops. Oh yes, US jobs must be protected. But there is no point in making it unpleasant for thousands of people doing legal business. The US government can make it illegal for US companies to have branches in India. This will solve their India problem. Who is going to stop them from such a move? Indians rarely go out of India illegally. The politicians in America are spreading a toxic atmosphere everywhere in the world. It is a shame how they have lost all form of decorum in recent years. Imagine if politicians all over the world took to calling companies names. I mean this is a low point, calling companies names. For example, some politician in India calls Google or Apple whatever. Its all in bad taste.

Places of worship in America

There is much talk about permissions to building a mosque near ground zero. On the one hand religious discrimination is stupid but on the other hand places of worship are ever on the increase in America. I really wish America had not been dragged in to murky religious disputes. Its a waste of time and I miss the 90's America when people would think a moslem had something to do with Buddha maybe.

The economy and vacations

If the economy is bad does not mean everyone should suffer. If you can have a vacation have one. If everyone suffers the depression only gets worse.

Nalanda university and what we like it to be

There are efforts to revive Nalanda university and that is a good thing. To bring this university to glory however one has to think out of the box. To gain international attention one need to pay attention to oneself first. And if one is paying attention to oneself then seeking international attention takes a back seat as it should. I would like to see a revival of Nalanda university as a university that preserve and take forward ancient knowledge and infuse fresh ideas without rejecting anything useful. Some courses I would like to see in this university:

1. Documentation
2. Ayurveda and other traditional medicine
3. Metallurgy
4. Arts
5. Farming and nature study
6. Music and Dance
7. Science, Mathematics, and all the other regular stuff.

Cheers!

The break down of discrimination laws in USA

Tempers are failing and people are misbehaving and even killing each other these days. It must have been government policy or something that made people say things publicly that they should not. I do not know exactly what happened but I find manners and decorum changed in recent years. Too much stress I suppose for decent people.

A whole new world from Aladdin

A whole new world from Aladdin was a song I heard on my first flight to America. One sees the world and see its wanting more. Not very impressed. I find my old world was a lot more honest and beautiful.

The hate brigade

Time and again I face people who will claim that an entire group of people are loathsome because they speak a particular language, or pray to a certain god, or eats certain kind of food etc. I have trained myself to listen to it and say nothing. Saying anything is not going to help because these people are convinced and they are more than happy to convince you. Lately I have been wondering why I am not afflicted by this bug and I bet it is a mutant gene somewhere. The entire prejudice of the human race has passed me by.

The floods of pakistan

The help efforts of flood affected people of Pakistan is a crying shame. Pakistan is a failed state. Face it.

The Iraq Afghan exit

Its best if US leaves Iraq and Afghanistan. This is not the way to fight the war against terror. The war against terror is the effort of removal of causes for terror.
I wish to see America work for establishing regions where people can live and think free. Lets return to the Clinton era where a US President would think a loss of an American soldier's life would mean losing the upcoming elections.

Kashmir voices

All that we see in the media are protests or injured people in Kashmir. We really need to see the people's voices. Even in British rule there was an Indian national congress where people could publicly declare what their demands are. It is my opinion that Kashmir benefits by staying with India because their children and women will have more freedom than in Pakistan. But the grievances of Kashmiri people must be heard by the Indian people. Kashmiri people are traditionally peace loving people and a couple of decades back everyone's choice to go for vacation. Of course it is easy to blame Pakistan for this mess but to come out of this mess the Indian Government needs to hold public discussions more often than curfews.

Chelsea's wedding

Chelsea made a beautiful bride and looked way better than her handsome parents. Congratulations are in order.

Abuse of labor and women

The news talks about how in Kuwait domestic help is being abused. Though abuse and economics are directly related there needs to be laws governing domestic help employment. Hitting, abusing, and overworking female employees is quite common in many parts of the world and I am disgusted by society that can watch, know, and do nothing about it.

Pakistan floods

The floods in Pakistan is sad and help slack. I wonder where red cross and such organizations are these days? We do not see them like before. Something has changed big time in the world.

The Rate my Professors bug

I wonder if anyone has noticed yet that literally anyone can post on the "rate my professors" site and they do not have to be students. Imagine how well this will suit an envious colleague. Internet is becoming a moronic invention.

David Cameron

Must say Cameron is like a breath of fresh air in international politics. He says it like it is and it is quite a surprise that he even became the prime minister of Britain. Hopefully he brings about some change and peace to the world.

The Breitbart and Sherrod controversy

Whose fault is it that Sherrod lost her job because of Breitbart's edited videos? Who is responsible Breitbart or the Obama administration? This is a tricky question. In Sherrod's case it was clear that it was these videos that cost her her job. She was luckier than other people. How much of wrong edited information goes across the internet without the victim knowing it is appalling. It is high time laws become transparent about internet behavior. However there can be no laws against gossip and people who act on gossip are stupid like the current administration that fired somebody without checking facts.

WikiLeaks

Its high time that WikiLeaks came about. After all we are supposed to have free press in many parts of the world. Way to go Julian Assange.

Angry Whale

Stalking and harassing can get so bad that whales can lose temper. A whale flipped and landed on a couple's boat who I bet was bothering it. The couple deserve it and more.

Appreciating liberty

The Israel lobby or even the Arab lobby in America does not understand freedom of speech. The people who are in America who are from regions whose ancestors personally fought for liberty and freedom of speech understand it better.

Death by stoning

If Iran is practicing death by stoning of an adulterous woman, it is a shame. They need to learn about more civilized processes like divorce. How about chivalry in Iran? Whats with the men in Iran? If adultery is punishable by death then if the women's rights movement ever goes through in Iran a lot of men will die a painful death including Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani's lover.

The Grigory Perelman problem

Perelman declines a million dollar prize because he is opposed to the unjust practices of the organized mathematical community. At large the math community is not bad and in fact very good. But there is a pack hidden in there somewhere who harass decent mathematicians so much that if you have been a victim the lines blur from the good world from the bad. To get to the crux of that pack is the Perelman problem.

Lunatics

If Israel thinks that a person's higher education is not exceptional needs I can only think of them as lunatics. A person cannot live on bread alone.

Death of a model and some thoughts that surface

Actresses and models were among the first women professionals who made the big bucks. The "big bucks" is important here. And they have been the villified by the media and society and no alarm bells rang among women civil rights groups. No one villified doctors or engineers and the likes. But when the number of women making big bucks grows the strategy a male dominated world applied against these women will finally reach every woman who can make a living on her own. The men protect their very own existence by proving to the species that they are critical for the survival of the species by bringing in the bread. So lets take a moment, women, to take our hats off and salute these women who lead the way to financial independence and thereby a hope for respect for women kind.

Honor killings in India

Before it was in laws that troubled women, now it is the girls family perpetrating violence against them. There is nothing honorable about honor killings. People involved in such activities should be publicly insulted so that they can see clearly what happens to their honor if they trouble women. A lot of civilian groups are taking law in to their own hands. Vigil groups are okay as long as they work with the law of the land and if necessary change laws in a constitutional way. A lot of vigil groups harass people by stalking and bad behavior and there are not many laws that protect people against such groups. May be a vigil group must be formed against vigil groups.

Cheers!

Congrats Team USA for making the first round of world cup. It is important. Hopefully the team will win more matches and may be the cup.

Universities

Religious groups should not be formed in universities. It is kind of sad that religion is beginning to play too much of a role in the US. To escape religious persecution people will have to create a new country now if the trend continues to grow. Its better if overtly religious people are deported.

Blockades

To deny weapons to people of Gaza to defend themselves will never be accepted. If Israel agrees to never use weapons on Gaza and fight all wars people of Gaza may face from others in future then this might make sense.

Will not allow

A leader cannot say that someone will not allow him/her to do something. There will always be people like that. Getting around such people or getting them on board is what is called as leadership. People rarely allow someone to be a leader.

The role for Gaza

Gaza becomes a concept of fight for some people and they will never allow people of Gaza to rest in peace. In the name of helping people of Gaza many propagate their own agenda and profit from it. Very few are thinking of people of Gaza as opposed to how to get back at Israel or attain prominence. Having said that Israel deciding what Gaza needs is ridiculous. There should be no blockades. On the other hand if people in Gaza keeps attacking Israel, Israel will retaliate with blockades and all. And if Israel keeps encroaching on the land of Gaza attacks will keep happening. Israel cannot be secure nor can Gaza be secure as long as the two continue to fight. Both these nations need help from outside to fight each other. Its a tremendous waste of resources and human life.

The role of Gaza towards Israel because of its size that suits it best will be like that of Nepal to India. Peaceful coexistence. Otherwise Gaza will serve as a base to launch attacks on Israel which helps no one. The problem is that Israelis are viewed by the world as occupiers whereas they are settlers. There is a difference. One must understand that in history people get displaced in unjust ways and jewish people have been displaced many times. In retrospect the Jewish nation should have been built elsewhere but ironically the Jewish people felt safer in Israel. A lot of anti-semitism comes from the story of Jesus but everyone knows that God from their own religion promised this land to this very people and Jesus was a jew. In the current scenario finding out ways to peacefully coexist is the only solution to this conflict. The Jewish people of Israel unlike their counterparts in the rest of the world has failed to be useful to their neighbors and formed friendships far away from where they live.


Gaza and West bank are quite divided geographically and it will be quite difficult to maintain the two as one country. Reminds one of Pakistan and Bangladesh. I wonder how the landscape will look in a decade.

Rise of fundamentalism

Fundamentalists are now gaining grounds in most parts of the world, be it hindus, christians, jews, or muslims. I guess only fundamentalists that will be harmless will be the buddhists, may be. It spells dark ages in many parts of the world. Fundamentalist no matter which sect they belong to are pariah, pests, and disgusting.

Altercations

A woman getting punched on the face by a cop in Seattle is a disgusting sight. She should not be arguing with a cop. But if a cop faces arguments he should fine people or something not go about man handling folks. The whole scene is bad behavior.

Iran and a world divided

Iran has posed a clear threat to the world order. No its not India nor China as was once believed but Iran. Military might and wars change world order. Iran is spreading its influence in the middle east and neighbors like Afghanistan and Iraq look up to Iran. Spreading of weapons by Iran is bound to happen. Firstly Iran is well funded and its funds will only increase with time. A lot of first world countries depend on middle east for their economies. Military strike on Iran is one strategy to preserve balance of power but it is not going to be easy and the world economy will plunge for another decade or so. Isolation of Iran on the other hand will develop a parallel world of business and technology. Say America says no internet for Iran then Iran develops an internet of her own with help of well funded friends and so on. The world is headed for division and I am kind of sorry. It is sad when you have to enter countries with a booming of gunfire when visas sufficed once upon a time. Moreover I for one have no favorite sides to take either.

Volatile world

If Bush thought that many countries in the world were making weapons of mass destruction then it is more true today than it was then. And America is currently playing the role of policing world weapons of mass destruction. The truth is that sanctions and confrontations only expedites arsenal. The environment has to change before any slow down in ammunition happens. The hope that the Obama administration would change how the world viewed America is soon fading and America still remains the global bully. Bribing nations with perks and hoping to get them to vote like America wants will not achieve the goal. American perks can never match the profits Russia or China can get by selling arms to the middle east. The saving grace for America is that the world (even Iran) still wants to be on its good side and one might be surprised its not because of America's military might. I for one prefer America - the land of the business men to America - the land of military men.

Helen Thomas and political correctness

Helen Thomas has stirred up a hornet's nest by asking Jewish people in Israel to go home back to Germany, Poland, America and everywhere else. So we ask where is home for the Jewish people of Israel? Israel was supposedly promised by god to Jewish people and so the chosen land of these people. They surely cannot go back to Europe where they were ill treated for centuries. America is alright. But say would some of the new worlds like New Zealand and Australia suit them? I would say not. Anti-semitism in is a real thing in most christian and muslim parts of the world and can spur up any moment. Perhaps somewhere near China, Africa, or India Jewish people may feel more safe. Its weird that how one person's religious beliefs many times stir up trouble for another. The only option is that Jewish people make peace with Palestinian people for they surely had a rough deal in all this. It is wrong to think of Jewish people as occupiers but must be thought of as immigrants to the land where they feel safe. I say its a little ironical.

Legal troubles of celebrities

I am a little amazed at how many celebrities got in to legal trouble in US.
1. Jessy Owens
2. Muhammad Ali Clay
3. Bill Gates
4. Martha Stewart
5. Michael Jackson
6. Arthur Miller

Extremely small countries

Now the Gaza strip is a problem because it is awfully small. It is situated so near the border of Israel that unless Israel and the people of Gaza are at peace, it becomes a security problem for Israel who everyone loves to hate in that region. Only when every country in the world decides that they will not anchor expanding border ambitions can small countries feel safe. Gaza if it becomes an independent state either needs to seek peace with Israel or else the world will have to provide security for Gaza which is a far fetched wish.

Solidarity

Its a lot easier for people to join a peaceful protest than a violent one. That is the secret of success to gather people of the likes of Gandhi and Martin Luther King. Injustice is distasteful to many no matter who or where they are but not many will want to involve in activities propagated by hooligans. Consensus of people is required to face many issues facing the world today. Nothing says it louder than an orderly group of decent men, women, and children. A society that can organize such gatherings are only a step from attaining and retaining its freedom. If such meetings are not possible governance is not possible once freedom is attained.

Peaceful methods however are not successful without mass participation. Aung San Suu Kyi remains in jail in Burma. This is a failure of the Burmese people. Peaceful methods can win only in elite societies and so India is one of those. The salt march always is a matter of personal pride for me. People in these societies are aware, will protest, and demand rights as long as it does not involve doing wrong themselves. Whenever there is mass participation in achieving a goal the society evolves since they learn to recognize the enemy within themselves. Mass participation usually involves societal reform and I for one am all for it.

Becoming villains

Sometimes you are a villain by another's actions. To some extend Israel is a unique country which becomes an easy target of hate for zealous religious groups and others. But Jewish people in most parts of the world command a respect because of their artistic and scientific skills. No reason why Jewish people in their homeland should not emulate their race in other parts of the world. Military strategies are not working and injustice towards palestinian people make no sense. Time for a rethink for Israel.

Afghanistan's job

Afghanistan has to demonstrate peacefully to the world time and again that it can manage its own affairs. It is the very absence of peace that allows foreign powers to control it. Some people would find more satisfaction in getting some kind of military victory. But peaceful means are more popular and always works if one keeps track of human history. The only people who can be free and deserves to be free are people who can look beyond aggression and seek goals and means to reach the goals. Luckily humanity is at a stage that nations have to give explanations for their actions however lame it may be. A couple of centuries back we were not that civilized. I say regular people do not have such civilized situations in their daily lives and are faced with "I said so" situations more than explanations.

The humane domination

Whenever a group of people face injustice that is when their best elements come up. But there need be no crisis for being humane. Helping others out, seeking justice, working hard, and such things, makes life a lot more satisfactory though these qualities have become unfashionable in many parts of the world. Troubling others and grabbing is more in and its really making no one happier.

Boats to freedom

More boats to Gaza strip should be the strategy. In fact boats must flood the waters to Gaza. Perhaps like the salt march in India's freedom, Gaza needs a boat march. The sparrow remains free because it will not tolerate imprisonment. It dies when caged so that the species remains free. But parrots remain caged. So its a choice people must make and there is a price to be paid. Freedom is not cheap and a much valuable commodity.

Subsidized manufacturing

Being self reliant in agriculture is a big bonus for America and this happened because of intelligent subsidies. If some one had done that for manufacturing too then America would not have had so many manufacturing job losses. Subsidies may be one of the ways to compete by keeping prices of goods low. Another is of course large scale cnc manufacturing. Labor leaders try to keep automation out on the pretext of losing jobs. But the real reason is they are afraid that they may not be able learn new skills. And thus most jobs got shipped elsewhere. People must become leaders only if the are willing to keep on top of new technology so that they can predict where their followers must go. Frankly, current labor leaders all over the world are opportunistic and dumb and do nothing for struggling labor except to make sure the leaders do not lose their power.

There is nothing more exciting than manufacturing. Morever, CNC manufacturing will bring in jobs across the spectrum, a lot more real jobs than alternate energy jobs which is all the rage today. New areas like alternate energy is well funded with very little expectations in return. So a lot of people have a well paid vacation in the name of research. On the other hand manufacturing cannot lie. Everyone can clearly see how many pens you made and how much it should cost. Moreover there is no room for misleading experts to interpret results. Now are we surprised that manufacturing jobs are rather unpopular in these times and place?

Human vultures

The Palestine Israel conflict is an excellent scenario for human vultures to get their fill. Israel wants palestinians to just go away and they make life very hard for them.
The international charity organizations want them to stay so that they get their funds flowing in the name of helping the suffering people of Palestine. The status quo is quite profitable for vultures. If you can do something about a situation then you must do it. If you cannot then the next best thing is to express an opinion and the last best thing is to boycott and wash your hands off the crime. But profiting out of human (or animal) misery is gross.

Mangalore air crash

Tough to see people from Mangalore cry. One happens to be quite fond of that city. The air crash is unfortunate.

Al Jazeera's excellent news reporting

Over the last decade Al Jazeera has done an excellent job of news reporting surpassing BBC and the likes for a while now.

Nature cure centers in India

Nature cure centers are very popular in India and is actually really good for health. People need to go to sanatoriums to service their bodies as they would service a car. But because nature cure is not main stream it tends to be awfully expensive. Like sandalwood and teak, ayurveda needs urgent attention by the Indian government. I can picture a world where temples and hospitals all over India offer ayurveda centers and people more contended, at peace, and healthy than they are today. Heaven!

America in the middle east

Let us step back in time and think about what American presence was in the middle east a decade back. It was mostly a good thing. People preferred working for American and British companies because the compensation was good and employees were treated well compared to not only companies owned by people from the middle east, but when compared to world standards. It is to that state that America must return for in the long run the inherent goodness of the American people is more powerful and prosperous than its barrels and guns.

Women's education

An educated woman's home gets educated. Some fundamentalists by keeping women behind are keeping society behind. I hate the creeps. Diplomacy takes flight when I see fundamentalist creeps.

Nuclear weapons fear

Nuclear weapons by Iran is not so frightening, not for the US, at least. Iran cannot and will not use it in its own neighborhoods without harming itself. But of course it can export the technology to rogue nations who are suicidal. Iran's history has no such tendencies. What one needs to worry is how good Iran has got at other weapons like missiles which can do real time harm to US presence in the middle east. America's interests lie in making friends with Iran which in my opinion is a progressive nation in the region compared to Saudi Arabia or even Kuwait. Also Iran benefits by making friends with America because it will have access to technology it needs to progress. Yes there are other injustices happening in the world but the solution to each problem is different and not quite connected.

Freedom

Jean Jacques Rousseau said that Man is born free, yet he is everywhere in chains. And some people claim they are free. Freedom is a much cherished dream very hard to achieve. And when they are free they do smile.

The monopoly game

Big companies are unpopular mainly because they establish monopolies. Microsoft was quite unpopular in the nineties with competition always whining that they did not stand a chance of survival. But if we take a moment we realize that Microsoft stayed at the top because it was able to come up with competitive products that always carved a market for itself. The Nineties were easy because companies had Microsoft to blame till Google happened. Microsoft to date has not been able to come up with a search engine that can truly compete and hence loses its lead. Technology always wins and whining helps little is a lesson to learn.

Human rights

The only way children's rights will improve is when women's rights improve. The same people who torture women torture children.

On not giving up

While discussing some annoying reviews on my work someone just told me not to give up. That advice amused me. Why would I give up? I was thinking all the while that the reviewers need to give up. Clearly they do not know their job, are frustrated, and talking nonsense. And we all see that I have signed my name to this opinion as opposed to the anonymous goons who write absurd reviews. I never was one to support anonymous reviews in scientific communities. Ah! we do have the habit of wishing for the sky!

Mangalore pub attack

Attacking young girls in Mangalore is really a shameful act. No matter what your child does I do not think any parent will like a bunch of goons punching them around. If some people think there needs to be law that protect culture then it must be done with debates and in a more democratic way. In some countries pubs are illegal. Make pubs illegal in Mangalore. The very idea of making pubs illegal in Mangalore is a no no because the majority of people in Mangalore like to have pubs around maybe. I say make anything you like illegal in Mangalore but make sure that law abiding people can know beforehand what the laws of the land are. So Ram sena should have attacked the people who gave licenses for pubs or lawmakers instead of attacking children who were doing nothing illegal.

The problems of immigrating

Indian women must think twice before agreeing to come to US on a H-4 visa. Many women who are professionals like medical doctors come to US and stay home for years before they are allowed to work. It is a huge waste of resources. Young people make mistakes which in a society like India are smoothed out by elders. But here there are no such support systems. It is important that young people join cultural groups as soon as they come here so that they do not forget who they are and their backgrounds. Sometimes, there are benefits to immigration, and sometimes there are none. Especially for Indian women these days benefits seem few. Many Indian immigrants join the rat race and there are a lot of instances of people committing suicide and killing their family because they lost a job. Step back, take time, and contemplate. You did not get to where you are without immense blessings. A regular count your blessings and options will save the day.

When a person gets married the hope is that all is going to be great from then on. The hope is so strong that a person is not trained or advised on serious problems he/she may face among new people. Similarly, people immigrating to new countries must have a backup plan to fall back on if the promises are not met or if they face serious problems which include personal ones too.

Insulting Indian shooters in UK

Indian shooters who went to UK to compete for a world cup are insulted and harassed. The organizers are trying hard to get some cups for the UK competitors. If they were so worried why do they organize world matches? If you must play, you must play fair. Else declare yourself winners, who cares? Competitions are getting nastier every where and people are forgetting their manners.

Losing the feathers in a plume.

When one culture meets another, invariably, people lose their plumes. So the west mocked an African prince for one prince looked very much the same as the other. And people from the east can never tell which man in which suit is more important than the other. The plumes make sense among your own but its best you wear your own than anothers. So Aishwariya Rai in her gowns on the red carpet never looks as gracious as Aishwariya in a sari or a lehenga. I say hold on to your plumes across cultures to preserve grace and beauty. Nothing fits more ill than borrowed plumes.

Arizona and its immigration problem

Is Arizona right or wrong in passing a law that requires that people carry documentation all the time? Now this causes an uncomfortable feeling to all people of color. Though the news is all about Latinos, Asian Indians, Pakistanis, Chinese, East Europeans, and all other immigrants wonder whether they will be targeted. Moreover the police officers of Arizona are not all of one particular race. So one of these days the governor herself may be called upon to prove citizenship. This law is going to be awfully annoying to every one, I can bet.

Now comes the problem of immigration. I am appalled how all the critical jobs are held by immigrants. Plumbing, electrical, machining, farming, loading and unloading, janitorial, etc are done by Mexicans, the Asians run hair salons, laundries, do nursing, clerical, and other such jobs, and the Indians do the programming. Now the European and African Americans usually either do a good job like managerial or technical jobs, else they do not work at all and live off government money.

A lot of American businesses will be critically affected if they do not have illegal immigrants. This is a reality that law makers must face. Temporary work permit may solve the problems. No one is illegal then. But at the same time temp work permits may not attract Mexicans to come to America.

Exams you cannot fail

Maharashtra is experimenting with not failing students from class 1 to class 8. Grading without failing anyone is a good idea. Grading is a good judge of the student's expertise in a certain area of study. Moreover awarding students for doing well in a subject is a much better idea than punishing some one who did not do so well.

Not failing students allow them to have an opportunity to learning for 8 years of their life. Very rarely do students who are thrown out of school, because of repeatedly failing, go back to school. School dropouts later become social problems. Of course this means the teachers have to be extra good to motivate students to learn. Even if there are no great teachers this is a better system.

Recently came across the idea of "money for getting good grades". Its an awesome idea and motivates like nothing else. Pythagorus will not like it because he was of the line of thought that it was demeaning to seek wealth or for that matter anything in learning. You study because you are he might say. But a lot of children and grown up people think that studying improves a person's economic standing. This is a myth. Marie curie for most part of her studying life lived an impoverished life and got sick time and again because of inappropriate lodgings. Emmy Noether lost her job because of Nazis and in general academicians are not rich and their families suffer financially. Hindus believe two women cannot get along and hence the goddess of learning (Saraswati) and the goddess of wealth (Laxmi) will not reside in the same house.

But some how studying is a good thing. A learned person is a better person.

Unpainted walls and nostalgia

A few decades back the buildings in Bombay were mostly unpainted for years. A painted building would stand out as someone dressed in new clothes. Now freshly painted buildings have become a norm. And unpainted building are sought after in arts. No wonder because there is something comforting about unpainted buildings. It is so true that becoming richer cannot make you happier. When the money is limited you are spending it right on things that matters most to you. For example, the outside of a building is for outsiders and we paint only our homes. Similarly when one gets richer a lot of money gets spend for and on outsiders.

Race and education

The whole approach of doing more or less for some students based on race is stupid. People come from all backgrounds to a classroom. Education is between you and some books and some edging and encouragement surely helps. But great scientists seldom got any. Dividing young children on the basis of race, religion, etc in a classroom is passe and an era that should never return. What was the purpose of an exclusive outing for black children to meet a black astronaut? To show that even you can become one. I think this is really stupid. Why on earth should little children think they cannot become who they want to because they have a particular skin color? Schools by doing such things are telling children that the norm is not that you can be who you want to be and you have to try harder. The truth is no one has it easy.

Discrimination of blacks is a relatively new phenomenon that began with colonization a few hundred years old. Discrimination of jewish people lasted a lot longer for almost 2000 years. Now there is a new trend of discriminating against muslims. Brahmins who traditionally discriminate were discriminated against in Tamil Nadu and had to leave the region. Russians thought Polish people should not have higher education and Marie curie had to go to France after working as a governess for four years to continue her studies. The germans under Hitler threw Emmy Noether out of her university position and she died young. Yes, the two women I admire most in science have been discriminated against.

Any one can be discriminated against. It is like your house can be hit with a burglary and hence burglary is bad and a crime against humanity. The reason why Niemöller words will never lose its relevance.

"THEY CAME FIRST for the Communists,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist.

THEN THEY CAME for the Jews,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew.

THEN THEY CAME for the trade unionists,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist.

THEN THEY CAME for me
and by that time no one was left to speak up."

Aung San Suu Kyi's imprisonment

Aung San Suu Kyi has been in jail for too many years and it is demotivating for people in similar situations. A sense of hopelessness prevails. For people who have lived free
some things are incomprehensible but yet something like this could happen to any one. Scary I must say because you see a whole world watch without doing anything when an innocent woman goes to jail.

Interviewing at Google

I wonder how many people in the world have been interviewed by Google. It must be a past time for Googlers to interview people. I think there is hardly an English speaking person who does not know at least one person who interviewed at Google. Getting an interview call from Google is mostly a joke unless you are a software programmer from Stanford. Google is willing to talk to any one who applies, artists, acrobats, and all. Its true that words are cheap and plenty and Google do not pay the interviewee.

The vulnerabilities of the stock market

As a casual visitor to the stock market I was appalled at the vulnerabilities of the stock market. Some people think of dealing in stocks as gambling but there is a big difference. Stocks can be manipulated big time and by very few people. For example you just need to sell a couple of stocks at about 20 % less than the current value and see the stock dip in one day. A big company is usually watched by shorts (we can call them as stock vultures waiting to devour the carcass) and there is no escape usually. Yes there is competition out there and quite smart ones too and a company is naive to think no one is out to get them especially if they are quite successful. The workaround may be is to limit the quantity of stocks that go outside the company and also may be deny sales at price way below a reasonable percentage. Seriously, alarm bells should ring if the current value of a stock is 20 and 50 people bough it at that price and suddenly 10 people decide to sell it at 18. These dips have to be steep to make a difference else the authentic sales can smooth out these ripples. Ironically, you may make more money shorting a stock than holding on to it once you are certain a company is doing well.

Dirty teams

Teams usually form for a good reason and sustains for a bad one. If there was no other team to play against very rarely can a team last together. Thus the fundamentalists team, the maoists team, the stalkers team, the paparazzi team thrive and harass individuals. If a team bothers you, you need to go after the head, the few people who harness the mob. Boy, you would love to see some heads rolling if you ever have been victim to dirty team harassment.

Joy over hanging

India celebrates as Kasab hangs. Kasab killed and will die for no reason. There is no one crying for him in India or Pakistan. He is ostracized. It is a social problem that youngsters are promised heaven and made sacrificial goats. Young people will learn a lesson from Kasab's case that they are no heroes if they behave like him and there are no people who care. Greedy people want to make scape goats of people like Kasab and Kashmir. Its a sad situation. Cannot say I feel joy in hanging any one, its not just me. It would be of academic interest to find out why Kasab became who he is and his background. It is no personal agenda because India has never done anything to him. Then where did his motive come from? Looks like the people involved in the attacks were drugged or crazy.

Not so long ago I heard an Iraqi say than Iraqi blood is now cheap. 50 people dying is no longer news. I think blood has become cheap of all people around the globe in the last decade. Perhaps it was always cheap. Anyways India has brought to justice the people who were involved in 26/11, a lot more than we can say about what the US has done so far about 9/11.

A window to poverty

Dalit literature provides a window in to poverty that other books do not. Oh yes, Tolstoy, Dickens, and Tagore did write about poverty but the works by people who have experienced extreme poverty is a lot more compelling and eye opening. Poverty is a lot worse than that described by Tagore or Tolstoy because a poor person laments more the deprivation of his soul than stomach. For some reason most people (including me) believe that a certain group of people can face hardships better than others and that is the myth these windows burst.

Dignity of labor

As long as unskilled labor remains undignified people will need to resort to tricks and gimmicks to find it.

Social prejudices

Having been fairly free of social prejudices for most of my life, my recent brush with dalit literature got me thinking about these prejudices and where they come from. Most prejudices are nurtured and encouraged if there is a direct economic benefit. So the upper classes in India exploited a group of people for work they themselves did not do and paid no wages. What could be better than that? Slaves provided by religion or so it may seem. Culture propagates this economic benefit and the perpetrators of this crime loathe the victims. The loathing helps the exploitation. But this is subconscious for most people and they do not think about it. If the exploitation was not so financially beneficial then people would seriously ask "Can a dirty cloth wipe a desk clean?" No. The people who sanitize the sorrounding have to be cleaner than everything else so that they can clean. Or at least that should have been the logical way to go. So if the society was truly logical I would find eating food in a bhangi's house safer than a Brahmin's because the bhangi is a professional cleaner and knows the job. Alas, the society leans more towards exploiting than logic.

Cleaning is among what I consider unskilled labor. I see no reason to hate unskilled labor. Of course if you are skilled you may be justified in seeking more respect but there is no particular reason to loathe unskilled labor. Especially in modern India where you do have to pay for janitorial services. I say we can safely do without the pretenses of caste superiority.

Incidentally, the caste system prevailed all through the 700 years of Mughal rule and the 300 years of British rule but came crumbling down in democracy. For all the failings of democracy we must say it did get rid of this unnecessary evil.

The concern of men

Considering that the male species very existence is threatened in nature, man has taken a lot of care to make sure he lives long. In species where females are self sufficient like spiders and especially in communities like bees and ants, the males live a very short life. Among farm animals the males face the butcher way before a female does. Among apes and humans the males by providing protection and food and by removing the independence of women became quite important. The apes males may retain their importance if the forest survives but the human males are increasingly of not of much use to society. If a man complains of old age he might as well not and thank his stars instead. Imagine if he was a farm goat he would never have had a chance to see grey hairs. Ideally the birds are the best examples in nature of freedom and dignity a family must stand for unless we are talking about chicken.

Freedom of press - a myth or reality?

The idea of freedom of press is great. But does this freedom exist in reality? Freedom of press works well for Paparazzi who one wishes did not have this fundamental right. On the other hand decent news papers and magazines depend greatly on advertisements and sponsorships and a free press in a corporate setting is a joke. In oppressive regimes people yearn for the freedom of the press and when people become free they become paparazzi or corporate. So we come to the conclusion that propagating freedom cannot be a job but either it is an ideology or a hobby. This holds for academics too. In the past either the rich like kings studied or the hermits did. Both had no need to earn a living. And then there was freedom in academics.

Retiring to one's strengths

While the European and US economy has been on the down slide, the economy around the globe is improving. China is returning to its old glory. A country that gave the world silk, tea, paper, etc is bound to come back to spot light again. India is also doing well again. More than natural resources it was people's skill that made China and India popular in the old world. Indian textiles, spices, and other food products have retained their quality over centuries. Eventually every one must return to their inherent strengths and goodness for the well being of this world.

Leading by example

In good neighborhoods one do not worry of theft as much as in bad ones. The idea is to make one's country and neighborhoods good. Piling of weapons for security happens in bad places. It is not natural when some one you are afraid of comes and tells you to throw away your weapons. It is more natural when you have good and strong friends that you feel there is no need for weapons. America's foreign policies in recent years have made many countries stop believing in diplomatic friendships.

The mirror

Nothing amazes one more than seeing some one has the same image of you as you have of yourself. Makes you believe some one was eavesdropping.

Documentation on the person

Instead of asking people to carry documentation like passports and green cards the government needs to spend some serious tax dollars in improving the border security. They have been spending quite a bit of tax dollars securing US in Iraq and Afghanistan without worrying about the Arizona, Texas, or California border for years. Or perhaps that is what we are supposed to believe dumb that we are. Carrying documentation all the time makes one feel like one is stuck in some airport for life. I do not understand why Americans are picking up fights with muslims, mexicans, etc etc. Some cantankerous people are in the office for sure. I do not understand how so many people can support this law in Arizona. Perhaps they do not understand that "every one" has to carry documentation because some one who looks American to one need not look so to another and that includes people from European shores too.

Dignity of labor

The hindu philosophy of karma determining your life is critical to save today's economy. As long as some jobs have lower status in society, any one who is doing that job feels miserable and wants out of it. Hierarchies of work is not logical as anything else is in this world. For example, children of farmers in India prefer being a driver than a farmer and the life of a driver is far more difficult than being a farmer. And so the farming industry suffers and so does society along with it. If schools made farming a huge priority (as they should considering we need food to exist), educated people would choose farming as a profession. And the job will be as far as your strength can take you. Though the brain has recently gained more popularity than brawn, strength sure is an asset which sustains. How about a star farmer along with a star ball kicker (a lot of sports is about hitting a ball with a stick or leg, they sure hate balls in sports) in schools? That will be the day.

Misogynists and fundamentalists

Fundamentalists hate women. Women are objects meant to be degraded and to be controlled for them. This hatred is a result of hatred fundamentalists have for themselves. Not surprisingly fundamentalists are loathsome to themselves. After all they live with their lies more closely than any one else.

Consumerism in America

American consumers until now are the goal of manufacturers. Though one might lament how consumerism has been bad for general health, those were the good times. Today its a global race and one country's consumers aint just enough.

Clothes and a French debate

Sarkozy's rant against the burkha brings back attention to fashion and what it really stands for. The naive theory is that weather determine fashion. Really a burkha that an Arab woman wears is not that different from what an Arab man traditionally wears except that the face is covered. Perhaps this dress is what best suits the harsh desert weather. But then why do women across the globe wear the burkha? Here comes the role fashion plays. Dominant cultures leave their memory of their dominance in what the people they once dominated wear. Islam was once the dominant religion of the world and hence you see the islamic wardrobe all around. It is the same as why men wear suits and pants all around the world regardless of the weather. The lungi is much laughed at in India and that is laughable. The women are usually subjected to uncomfortable fashion a lot more than men. Men usually prefer to identify themselves with dominant, current, and most importantly comfortable fashion whereas women in many parts of the world hang out in comfort zones and it does not matter what they wear. And their clothes get ridiculous.

Interestingly, the British when they ruled the world did not influence fashion as much as after world war 2 when they began to tend to their own business. So you saw African women dressed for the weather in early National Geographic magazines. The cameras and coverage expedited the covering of the African woman as much as it did the uncovering of her European counterpart. Hence fashion is imitation at a subconscious level and spreads more by words than swords.

Turn back the clock a few decades and we see a french politician raving about the state of undress of savages in Africa like Sarkozy now does about the state of over dressing in the middle east. No wonder French are leaders in fashion for their politicians are overtly interested in it.

The signs to look for

A school rocks when the students are more excited about what they learn than they are about their friends.

Something magical about Seattle

Amazon.com is among the few good news in today's US economy. The companies from Seattle have preserved the interesting qualities of old America (from a decade back). Even the alumni from the schools of Seattle achieve quite a bit without creating much ado about nothing. The bay area companies on the other hand are boisterous and have a pack mentality of spreading slander and gossip about competition.

The many facets of illegal immigration

People migrate to the US based on the dream or the promise of a better life. It is not necessarily true that these days illegal or for that matter legal immigrants or true blooded Americans are having a great time in the US but its the dream that keeps people hanging on to these shores.

Unskilled labor is a valuable asset. People ready to do any kind of work for a quick buck is necessary for most industry to survive. In history society has resorted to many tricks to make sure that they have access to cheap labor. In India it was caste system that made people believe it was the sins of their past birth that made them who they are and they had to pay for their sins in the present life by working hard for people who lived their lives better in previous births. America had slaves and Europe had colonies. In recent times illegal immigration has provided America with a much needed cheap labor force.

Its amusing in a macabre way that the lives of laborers are hard because of the work they do, moreover they have to contend with the contempt of society who benefit from their deplorable status. People who do not do manual work do not understand the concept of dignity of labor.

Immigrants have nothing to lose because their life is hard and they can survive in one place or another. Its people who had it easy who are going to lose if they do not mend their manners. The immigration debate is an election gimmick because a certain group has a particular favorite party while voting.

Turning point of the debate

Looks like the French are moving the focus of their debate from burkha to polygamy and women's rights. Burkha is fashion quite different from the french may be but reflecting on women's rights will shed some light on their own record. Women's rights are something that needs serious debate and welcome whether it is about Islamic women or others.

illegal immigration

Illegal immigration is a border patrol problem. It is embarrassing that so many illegal immigrants are already in the country. Makes American border security look weak which it is not. So illegal immigration was encouraged because of the obvious reason that there was a demand for workers from certain parts of the world. Randomly checking people on the street for their immigration status is a no no. Checks if done should be done more diplomatically, discretely, and with more dignity. Illegal immigrants are in America because there is a demand for them. It is best to make every one legal. More temporary workers permit may be a way to go. I suggest if Arizona does not want immigrants, California should get them. More money for California.

Genocide

Victims of mass killings or genocide must learn from the Jewish people. The Jewish people never forget their own and hence the world remembers. The Jewish people do not go about blowing themselves up. They seek justice with existing laws around the world and also document and share information of the tragedy they faced. Victims must form groups and use peaceful means of protests so that the victims themselves and the world can come to a better understanding of how to avoid such problems. In other words, victims of genocide must forgive but not forget.

Labor and prosperity

Immediately available plenty of labor not necessarily cheap labor is essential for prosperity. Dwindling labor force in India will become reason that will stunt the growth of India's economy soon enough. Laborers migrate from India big time and this trend can stop only when there is more dignity of labor. In America attitudes are going to stop the migration of people coming in for a quick dollar. Its best to know when the going is good and salvage what works for an economy.

The shenanigans of progress

Progressive countries in many regions of the world are also called westernized. That makes one wonder what progress really stands for? Is it adopting a particular way of dressing? In many cases that is as far as progress goes. Adopting or let us say aping western costumes and mannerisms is considered progress. It is questionable that the western world stands for liberty (considering how they propagated slavery and colonialism) but surely liberty spells progress to me. Adopting mannerisms without adopting liberty may make one westernized but not progressive. And once you adopt liberty, you are free to feel pretty in a burkha, a sari, or a bikini.

Smear campaigns

The scandal being blown out of proportion against the pope has political reasons. It is necessary to look for who is behind this scandal and why. Abuse of children is illegal and not just immoral and the police must be informed by anyone who witnesses it. I would think its beyond the jurisdiction of the church and the pope.

Culprits if any need to be punished but this looks like a smear campaign. Some people have created havoc around the world with smear campaigns. A smear campaign is a crime that is hard to punish. No laws deal with gossip. Moreover a sustained smear campaign over a long period of time can cause serious harm to the catholic church, an act the world can ill afford. With philosophy taking a back seat in today's curriculum, the catholic church serves as the back bone to moral health to millions of people who are not necessarily catholics.

Paparazzi providing sensationalism in news is the evils of modern times which the Vatican must learn and teach how to deal with. Lead the way is what I will say to the church. Prominent personalities, some awfully powerful people, have been harassed by the paparazzi time and again. The reaction is to defend when faced with a smear campaign. Perhaps attacks with libel suits would be a better strategy.

The shorting menace

In time stocks of major companies get attacked by shorts. The shorts or day traders sell for small profit and buy at small drops. So the shorts remain in picture through out the day. A company's stock is doomed when the number of shorts become high. Competition can kill a company by just using a shorting strategy.

The French burkha problem

It tickles my sense of humor that the french have a problem with burkhas. It is true that if you go to some developing countries every one is forced to wear a particular kind of dress and tempers flare at any suggestion of slight to culture. But the French one thought was broad minded. Not surprisingly, considering French history, it looks like the French have a long way to go before becoming comfortable in their own shoes. Or perhaps the French need to vote Sarkozy off. The French have no idea what hurts the dignity of a woman. Telling women what to wear surely hurts a woman's dignity and also fashion sense. By the way, a lot of so called progressive muslim countries ban the burkha too in universities, mainly because they fear that fundamentalism returns when burkha returns. Perhaps the french take their cue from westernized Islamic countries.

The state of Palestine

Its in every one's best interest to have a free Palestine. Looks like the demands of Palestine are quite fair now. A few decades back the existence of Israel would not be acceptable to Palestinians. That has changed and its a step forward. The only thing Israel will lose is dirt cheap labor and some kind of racial superiority which is a small price to pay for lasting peace. A peaceful Palestine will still provide a work force for Israel because of Israel's technical prowess but not dirt cheap like now. A small price to pay for peace. Moreover Palestinian people can truly make progress and breath free.

The words we need to hear

Economy is the only thing that matters now. Its unfortunate that Obama does not have the luxury of his predecessors because now that is all one tunes in to hear. Lets hear about what we can about economy. In the recent past American presidents had the luxury to make lasting decisions on foreign policies. Obama has no choice that foreign policy is on top of his agenda with American soldiers in two countries (a condition some people call war). But that is no longer top priority for Americans. Its all about the economy. In other words the mood more than ever is take care of America and the world will take care of itself. America was criticized in the past for being so self indulgent but I think its a character that suits her best.

A pope and the scandal

The pope cannot be qualified to head the catholic church if he is not morally disgusted when children are abused. Leaders need to react to injustices in a particular way as litmus tests to their leadership.

Purse money

The Indian rulers accepted purse money from the British and did nothing. They lived as ceremonial heads. Purse money reminds me of the Indians or immigrants in America who run after social security or unemployment benefits. Ceremonially qualified people who will exist for some reason. You are no king if you have no kingdom. I rest my case.

Propagating imperfection

The imperfect propagate imperfection so that they can survive. On the one hand I have nothing against imperfection and imperfections make people human. But drag everyone else down so that you can look good is a no no.

Tunnels in human tolerance

The tunnels in the Gaza strip to smuggle goods is mortifying and is worse than holocaust. People live with unjust conditions for a long time. Slavery, caste system, etc are conditions that existed forever till some decent people had enough of it. Question is when does modern injustice become intolerant to decent people?

In the support of religion

Religion forms a basis of rules formed by collective wisdom to make the society a happy one. Rejecting religion makes every individual struggle to come to the same understanding on their own which is a waste of time and energy. But on the other hand custodians of religion are not as smart as the ones that formed the religion and they tend to be intangible and punishing. Perhaps like the constitution, a country must adopt a moral code which can change with time but is under the scrutiny of scholars.

Sanctions!

The US and the West are always imposing sanctions on one country or the other for a multitude of reasons. Sanctions have never worked in the past. We do not remember a single instance where sanctions worked to achieve some goal but smart diplomacy surely works. America by isolating Iran is cutting itself off from a whole lot of other countries. More money to China the smartest nation today. China has so far been the second choice compared to the US for many but soon that will change with American attitude of shooting herself in the leg time and again. That China will agree to sanctions is very doubtful. Why would china withdraw from a market, it is establishing, to come back on a future date to compete with sanctioning nations? In the current scenario, Russia will make money on the sly, India will be assured future trade, while China will continue to flourish. It is not time for sanctions but a time for establishing markets.

The muck of democracy

So now Tharoor faces political muck. What did he expect? Power is quite attractive and attracts all kinds and mostly the wrong kind. A democracy is only as good as the people who form it.

The power of peace

Peace is so powerful that it can do great harm even. For example, colonization of the world by a tiny country like Britain would not have happened if it did not involve the church or schooling. It is said that Mughals got a grip over India because of peaceful sufi saints. Every one likes peace. So India became independent because Gandhiji asked people to choose peaceful resistance. This way the number of people participating grew exponentially and the nature of resistance changed. Never underestimate peaceful resistance because it sure brings down huge empires with more certainty than any other means of resistance.

Scales of unhappiness

Lack of money cannot make you as unhappy as mean people can!

Accomplishments

People who look down upon other people's accomplishments are invariably the ones who never accomplished anything themselves. It takes effort to understand another person's efforts.

Resistance without Hope

Suicide attacks are a sign of people who are objecting to something and reacting to it without the hope of gaining justice. In the freedom fighting of Africa you see people hanging themselves after breaking the law. But India in her fight for freedom used the existing judicial system. So the extremists hanged but they were hung by the British government and the jails were filled. Going to jail was quite a respectable thing those days and I believe a politician would not be taken seriously if they had not been to jail after India's independence. Communication is increasingly lacking among people. Justice cannot be gained without hope. Hopeless fighting no matter what the cause is useless.

The naxalite problem of India

States where major exploitation of poor people take place are breeding grounds for naxalites. States where villages have hamlets like Andhra Pradesh and Bihar have long ill treated poor people. The attitudes people hold for hard working but poor people is appalling. States like Karnataka and Kerala do not have hamlets and there is more equity in society. In such states poverty is a result of personal karma as it should be and not exploitation. Poverty in states like Bihar is also karma but not of the person who is poor but the ones who are rich.

Naxalites love death and apart from providing a sense of revenge do nothing to solve problems faced by poor people. The laborers of India are ill served by their leaders. Labor leaders across the country are puppets of the rich and are mostly uneducated and ill informed. Other leaders who are from rich families but have soft hearts go about pitying poor people which is again stupid. Poverty is no terminal disease that cannot be fixed with right steps. Its like the poor people are lead by the blind. So they choose between violent groups or stupid groups and are stuck in a rut.

Communists as I have long maintained thrive on people being poor and so poor people cannot change their fates by becoming communists. Like why are there a few awfully rich people in China today that is supposed to be a communist country? Because they are awfully good at exploiting poor people. Dignity of labor and respect for life is what will save the day. When Gandhiji preached about abolishing untouchability he should have mentioned abolishing hamlets too. Hamlets are the embodiment of all that is evil in a feudal society.

Signing up

When did Indian (or for that matter Pakistani) women sign up that a marriage can be annulled by becoming fat? Shoaib Mallik must do the decent thing and proceed with a proper divorce settlement. Sania must watch out if she marries this guy that some day she gains weight he will deny that he married her. Considering that Indian women tend to put on weight as they grow older Sania is taking big risks by marrying a man who is overtly concerned about the weight of his spouse to the point of denying a marriage. I might say that Indian Pakistani marriages in the past have been plastic and this is quite a typical outcome of such a marriage.

A new group

Perhaps the huge youth group that Rajiv Gandhi is forming in India will help solve many of the roadside disputes. Challenges are best met with a team albeit under deserving leadership. There are many challenges that India faces and the biggest are the divisive forces. For sake of getting elected or financial gains a few people create problems that last a very long time. For example, Pakistan wants to grab Kashmir without giving a thought to millions of muslims in other parts of India.
Fundamentalists in India use religion to get elected. Spreading awareness and forming groups are essential to solving such problems so that people do not feel alone while facing such problems. Groups usually form for negative reasons and hence groups must be formed for positive reasons too.

Life on Moon

Its great that Saturn's moon may contain life. My bet is Earth's moon contains life too.

Buying agricultural land in India

Most of the time you are breaking some law if you are buying agricultural land in India. The laws for agriculture needs to be reformed. You need to prove you are from a farming family if you buy land in India (a reminder of the caste system, may be). The intent may be to provide agricultural land a little cheaper than industrial land etc. Perhaps India must think of agricultural zones, forest zones, etc and make it a strict implementation. There are lands without record and land which is heavily populated but called forest land. So farmers cannot cut trees from their own land without breaking a law or paying a tax. NRIs cannot buy farm land, you cannot grow sandalwood or timber. Farming in India is exhausting if you want to be law abiding.

The rule is that if your yearly income is more than 2 lakhs you cannot buy agricultural land. Where did this rule come from? Beats me. Most people who do not have that income cannot afford agricultural land. So all deals involving agricultural land in India is illegal. No wonder the president of India is now in trouble. I must say its a good thing because if presidents and prime ministers of yesteryears in India had interest in agriculture the laws would not have been such a mess in the first place.

BT Brinjal

There is no harm in trying BT Brinjal. In fact BT Brinjal can offer no threat. Organic vegetables are best and the farmers (not scientists) know better than any one else about that. There are farms in India where the farmers produce organic vegetables, fruits, and grains for themselves and use pesticides for what they sell. Consumers in India must look for an organic stamp like they look for the ISI stamp of quality. Farmers are largely ignored or laws passed that affect farming are by people who understand or care little about farming. Prices of commodities do not reflect the skill, effort, nor time required to produce the same.

Increasingly plastic

Child obesity should not translate as underfed children. If growth is hampered in a child, it leads to lots of health problems as an adult. America is becoming increasingly plastic with the white house leading the trend. Whats wrong with regular people with all shapes and sizes? Exercise is good and the focus could be that people should eat healthy and exercise etc. But the focus on fighting obesity makes people worry about their self image all the time leading to a unhappy and unhealthy society. To sell products America makes it a fight against some concept of fear. Like drink dangerous tonics because you are fighting obesity, sell weapons because you are fighting terrorism etc.

The wonder about life is you exist as this mass of cells in so many shapes, sizes, colors, and forms. Its wonderful and no one should go about life not being thrilled about being alive every waking moment. Life is not plastic so celebrate.

The sad Kashmir problem

I do not understand that on one hand the constitution provides for freedom of speech and on the other hand protests are curbed by force in Kashmir. What is India afraid of? If Kashmir is a part of India and I would think it is then it is time for dialogue. Its unhealthy that the army has stayed so long in Kashmir and the problems have only gotten worse. What went wrong and what can make wrong things right is what the Indian government must find out. People of Kashmir and the rest of India wants to know how the Indian government deals with this situation. The army is not for use against one's own people. Sometimes there is no choice but in Kashmir control with an army seems to be the only method employed and for too long.

On failure

Failure is not good. It is not a preferred state. Failure makes a person unhappy. You or a system must never fail if possible. Failure is correctly unpleasant but is not the end of the world. I will never encourage failing and I hate people who do. Its always best if everyone is placing themselves and others in the most pleasant conditions. If they cannot they must not make a virtue of it.

Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel - Samuel Johnson

For a few parties minority bashing is a last refuge when asking for votes. Shah Rukh Khan and his movie "My name is Khan" presents a big challenge. No matter what "My name is Khan" will be watched and quite liked too. Such is life.

Japanese cars

Japan has been able to supply very good quality cars at a reasonable price and that is the reason they dominate the market. It is amazing how when everything is so overpriced in Tokyo they keep the price of all their export goods affordable.

Science and Technology and how it works

Iran now has a really strong space technology and perhaps nuclear technology. May be even better than India and China because India collaborates with developed countries and Iran is pretty much on its own. Moreover Iran's programs will be well funded because its a matter of pride for the middle east. Scientists understand that determination is the key to getting results and politicians (or the bad scientists) think there is some magic or secret. America and the west try to control global science and technology but must remember that they lost control around the time colonization ended. It is time to understand that everyone now has to compete with talent and hard work and there are no short cuts. The faster America realizes it the faster it is on its way to recovery. America faces great many challenges and people from many parts of the world are writing America off. The people responsible for governing US neither should play the fiddle while Rome burns nor drink too much tea.

Who becomes responsible?

Now there is pressure on Indian Government to do something about attacks on Indians in Australia. Well Indians cannot police Australia. Its best that Indians who migrate to other countries understand the laws and conditions of the place they are going to. Currently Australia is not safe for Indian students and the government can issue a warning about going there. Anyways, no matter where you are one must fight to withhold justice. But there is little Indian government can do about this situation. They cannot forcefully stop Indians from migrating. It is clear that Australia by allowing Indian students in benefits from it. Indians do not go to Australia illegally.
If Australia does not benefit from Indian students studying in their universities then they must stop issuing visas. There is no compulsion on Australia's part to go about giving visas to foreigners but it sure is mandatory to provide security of life and property for people who chose to live there legally. In today's world, civilization expects that of countries for travelers else it reflects badly on the host country.

Kashmir

India must discuss Kashmir with Pakistan. Pakistan's demand for Kashmir is not valid. Muslims live in all parts of India and Pakistan cannot ask for regions in India where muslims live. It is India's job now to make sure that Kashmiris want to stay as part of India. There is no advantage for Kashmir to join Pakistan. The little influence that Pakistan has had in recent years in Kashmir has all been troublesome and negative. In other words lets hear the voice of India in Kashmir.

Crime busting

If Pakistan like Mexico legalizes marijuana then the only two organized crimes left to combat will be extortion and terrorism.

Debate of Regional vs National sentiments

There is no question that without a nation, a region is never safe. Now the Indian army is a lot more secular than the police. Why is that so? Because the selection of army candidates is done at a national level and the army therefore is quite a mix and there is not much room for regional sentiments. Whereas police recruitment is from a certain region and thereby regional prejudices carry over.

Certain institutions and resources are possible only at the national level. For example Bombay has IIT, museums, international airports, etc. This is because India thinks Bombay is important to India and develops it. This importance is not achieved by maharashtrians but by Bombayites no matter which language they speak or where they come from. Bombayites who come from all over the country bring talent, money, and energy to the city.

Regional parties however are necessary and must focus on how to get the people of a region to use the resources they have access to because of national interest and also to compete. That is a good thing and beneficial. Regional parties sadly now serve the purpose of picking up fights with hardworking and/or talented people. In other words regional parties in India play more of a negative role than positive role and its time to rethink their approach.