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.

Rahul Gandhi and Mumbai

Rahul Gandhi must be given a safe and secure stay in Mumbai. If the center cannot protect personalities like him within the country who can they protect? It is a shame that the center has watched quietly over the years when eminent citizens of a certain religion or community are harassed or property is destroyed over petty things. These are among the shameful aspects of India.

Teaching mathematics to children

Time and again grown ups want to teach mathematics to children and want everyone to get involved. There are plenty of funds for university professors to get involved and if you say that its not your career focus you are stigmatized big time. On the other hand if university professors are funded for getting involved in high school mathematics then they must teach a semester long course. That is the only way they make a real contribution. Just visiting schools and telling school teachers that they do not know how to teach is idiotic.

Brain drain of the past century

Until recently the world experienced a brain drain because all the best people of the world came to America and contributed to the development of this country. Except for Germany and hence it was the only happening country apart from America for a long time. Even England suffered major brain drain. In recent years because of the economic downturn many people have returned home or gone to other countries. And that is why we see sparks of development in all fields around the globe.

Legalizing Marijuana

Legalizing Marijuana in Mexico will solve a lot of Mexico's problems. Manmohan Singh eliminated crimes relating to smuggling in India by reforming customs. Mexico will benefit similarly by this move. It is best drug related problems become open so that young people in trouble can find help. There is a huge difference between smoking a cigarette and using drugs but more young people today shun smoking but use drugs. It is a social problem which can be solved only in a civilized manner.

India and Pakistan

As more and more Indians leave the Indian shores and travel and come to countries like America, Indians realize Pakistanis are the closest in mannerisms and culture to Indians than any of its neighbors. Compare Pakistanis to Sri Lankans, Bangladeshis, Nepalis, Chinese or even the Afghans, and you get the picture. In fact Pakistanis resemble Indians more than any other group of people in the world. But when you live in India, Pakistanis are misrepresented and misunderstood and it is all about competition in cricket or as threatening to Indian security. What you cannot see from close distance is better seen from far. Indians or Pakistanis can ill afford bickering for they have many problems that need to be solved.

Leave no child behind

When they say that we must leave no child behind in education the focus is on grades. On the other hand if the focus was on learning then no child will be left behind. Ideally every child must go to a school to explore, explore everything math, science, arts, commerce, etc. and try to learn the best he/she can. There are no hierarchies in subjects except temperament. In real life a politician is more important than a scientist but you never think of becoming one as a child. If you become a politician after graduating with a math degree and was unhappy, then its a lot better if you had learned literature and enjoyed it.

Judging students by grades is impractical and education systems are increasingly filled with a certain kind of people who feel no joy in anything they do except compete with others. There are some numbers they expect to be rewarded with as life goes on. The goal of every person in this world should be to be happy and make others happy. Learning is not punishing but in the current graded system it seems so. In learning there is no failing only attempting. In education systems teachers must record what happened to a child's attempt at a subject rather than failing them because they did not get all the tricky questions of some quiz.

Amchi Mumbai

The Sena has to define what a Maharashtrian is. Does talking in marathi make you a Maharashtrian or being born in Maharashtra make you one? If people live in other parts of the country or say in the world do they stop becoming Maharashtrians? Does the Sena want the Marathi people to never leave Maharashtra? Maharashtra is a land I was born in and I hardly ever speak Marathi. But Mumbai will always remain amchi mumbai to all the Bombayites and frankly Bombayites care very little for the rest of the country usually. Why should they? Bombay is a world of its own. Now there needs to be people looking out for interests of local people but the sena's approach is unconstitutional. If the law of a land allows people to invest their hard earned money and most importantly time in a place then if some special interests groups want them to leave, then they should be compensated. In fact constitution makers all over the world should have provided for such scenarios where a cantankerous group of people want to snatch property and livelihood of others on illegal pretext. Perhaps important cities like Bombay, Delhi, and Calcutta must be declared union territory. In fact ever city must compete to become union territory so that they can get universal recognition.

5 Challenges of this century

1. Faster air transportation
2. Setting up a moon base
3. 3-d printing (powder metal deposit)
4. Civil nuclear energy
5. Integration of communication - TV, internet, phones, etc.

Aiming for the moon

To aim for the moon is looking at the future. Space explorations are as real as the ocean explorations of yesteryears. Finding water on the moon clearly spells what mankind must do. It is a shame that they did not find water before, it really undermines credibility of space exploring institutions. But better late than never.
Getting good grades in schools are not going to make you compete but becoming sensible surely is always going to give you an edge on competition.

The culture of contracts

In institutions like NASA most jobs are given on contracts. Its funny that if you want to work for NASA you need to be a citizen but you could work for a contractor if you are not one. Most scientists at NASA thinks that they save as much money as possible but the contractors who do most of the real work are surely doing it for profit. A culture of contracts cultivates because no one wants to take real responsibility. NASA can save only if they cut down on contracts. There are plenty of reasons why NASA must make their projects more self sufficient. The main being that NASA can provide opportunities to develop real manufacturing talent.

More on manufacturing

Once people understand that an economy thrives on manufacturing the next step is to have higher respect for manufacturers. The whole idea of manufacturing cheaply makes the environment very unfriendly and everyone is on edge. On the other hand if universities and schools were paying attention to manufacturing and encouraging manufacturing professions, manufacturing can be quite fun. Nothing makes a person happier than being to able to cut metal and build a car or something.

Open debates

Obama is right about bringing the public in to a discussion about health care that concerns people so much. Lets see the debate on TV. Decision makers seldom maintain decorum and that might be why TV is not so welcome. No one wants to provide fodder to paparazzi about a senator losing temper over some non trivial issue here and there. Paparazzi thrives on such mishaps but the government loses credibility in the world. America cannot really afford that. But there are health care debates and everyone understands that. Lets have education care debate too.

Tata's land grab

The Tata group should not go around demanding acres of land from state governments for their projects. Dislocating people from their lands and homes is wrong. The Tata group must work around available space. There is no requirement that the company has to exist in a huge plot of land. They can exist at smaller plots of lands separated by reasonable distances. For their slight inconvenience they bring about great inconvenience to scores of innocent people. A Tata project like Tsunami threatens to dislocate people and bring goonda misery. It is time that the Tata group take a good look at their behavior.

Helping Haiti

Americans are doing a good job in Haiti and doing the country proud. We need to see Americans in more such role. In the long term everyone realizes that doing the right thing is more fun that playing negative roles. With great power comes great responsibility and its good to see Americans in responsible role playing again after a decade.

Tony Blair's arguments

Tony Blair claims that the world is better off without Saddam but the question is whether Britain would have fought this war without the argument of WMDs? I might say yes because you had to be a perfect fool to believe that the Iraq war happened because of WMDs. The WMD argument is the moral justification grown ups have to provide questioning children and sounds nice like Santa Claus.

The broader question is are politicians allowed to lie when leading a nation in to war? Some wars are for economic reasons and politicians are always subject to provide an alibi. A nation can always prevent a war proposed by a politician, but when they did not care to do that, and something does not work, they use the politicians as scapegoats. All politicians must realize this that when things do not work they are the ones to face the blame and hence needs to be very careful with decisions. That anyways is what leading means, you lead a whole nation with your decisions. But whenever a leader is wrong the nation was wrong too.

Tony Blair says that Sept 11 made him intolerant to regimes that built WMDs. But it looks like more countries are now keen on WMDs than ever in recent history post Iraq war. Everything he says gets the world more and more in to trouble.

The economics of manufacturing

Manufacturing thrives on cheap labor. For whatever reason people of a certain region works very hard for little. Britain was doing great in manufacturing and Charles Dickens has done a great job of describing that era in his books. America was leading in manufacturing during an era when many immigrants came to these shores willing to work hard for a living. Times changed and so did labor laws and soon enough manufacturing is profitable no more. China is now able to lead the manufacturing industry and this translates as that there are either many poor people or exploited people in China. Its manufacturing that makes a country rich and powerful but unfortunately the poor people never taste the fruits of their labor. The vicious cycle of the manufacturing industry never changes no matter which land it thrives at a certain point of time.

Pay freezes and roughing it up

Politicians from time to time show solidarity by roughing it up. They travel second class, dress down, take pay cuts and what not. And we all are supposed to appreciate this gesture of good will or something. Oh yes, they did suffer so for a day. They suffered for a day what we do every day and hence it is an insulting attitude to the lives regular people live. But most of the time we watch these leaders jet setting and living the high life with tax money. Nothing wrong with that but sham gestures are quite insulting to the brain. Gestures would be more fun if random people get a chance to travel air force one or live like the president for a day. Now that would be spending tax money by the people for the people with a gesture that can be truly appreciated for a change.

Shooting yourself in the leg

Google pulling out of China because Chinese can have freedom of expression on the internet is nonsense. More power to Yahoo and Bing and Baidu the biggest winner of them all. China is a huge consumer of internet. What prompted Google to play freedom fighter is unknown but even if they did want to help they need to stay. You cannot run from the battlefield and leave the fight to competitors.

Overpriced

Education and Health care are two overpriced services in America. If Insurance companies are the reason for the sky rocketing of health care prices, education loans may be the reason for fee hikes time and again. The third party in education systems are not obvious like insurance companies. Whenever there is an unreasonable jump in price from production to sales there is always the presence of middle men.

Socialists

When socialists come to power there is no hope for poor people because socialism thrives on poverty. Socialists destroy more than construct and feel nothing about wasting good money. Wherever socialists are in power jobs are few and poverty thrives. But some good for nothing politicians live the good life because of support of poor people.

Women and mothers of America

I wonder why the wives of American politicians stand by their husbands in scandals. Perhaps that gives them a victory over the other woman. In a twisted way its revenge. Make life hell for the man from then on. But seriously marriage as an institution needs rethinking so that grown ups can live with more dignity.

Minorities

In Nigeria christians are attacked mostly because they are a minority. Some may say that there is no point or advantage of being among the minority especially since changing one's religion is quite easy. Change the picture and a group of people who are in the majority in one place is among the minorities in another. So if you have formed a habit of attacking minorities simply because they are so, how will you argue when your time comes? Its best to keep the big picture in mind all the time so that everyone learns how to behave.

Technology transfer

Drones are more important than nuclear weapons in war. Nuclear weapons would have been great if people did not want to continue to live on this earth. America's supply of drones to some countries will not only tilt balance of power in some regions but also will come back to haunt the US in the future.

Marriage and Edwards

After seeing Edward a presidential candidate in the news for all the wrong reasons time and again I feel it is time people simply stopped getting married. That will be the biggest help to women's right issues. Everyone works and no one is asked to sacrifice etc. It is all so disgusting. Yuck!

My thoughts on Mexico

I visited Mexico and I realize that what Palestine is to Israel, Mexico is to US, that is, cheap labor. Though US does not bomb Mexico from time to time like Israel does to Palestine, Mexico never got out of the US shadow. The economy in Mexico is broken and their only hope is their strong family values. It is their family bonds that see them through a rough economy and keeps them quite happy. Perhaps that is exactly what keeps Palestinians going too.

India and Afghanistan

India and Afghanistan were neighbors forever whereas Pakistan is newly formed with migrants. Indians and afghans view each other favorably. The Pathans of India are much liked and all the top heroes of Bollywood are Khans and hence have Afghan origins in some distant past. It is sad that Afghanistan is in such turmoil now. Hopefully peace returns to this land so that more Amir Khans and ShahRukh Khans can come from there.

Why Bill Gates need to twitter

So I heard that Bill Gates is twittering and got curious about what he has to say. Most of the times we get edited version of opinions and this would be straight from the Horse's mouth. But to my dismay I found a few other Bill Gates on Twitter already. Yes, even Bill Gates' identity is not safe. In this era to protect your good name you are forced to develop a web presence. Else your identity gets contaminated. The first thing people do is Google you up and you cringe at the thought of mistaken identities. Thus its time that Bill Gates twitters.

Reading in to Massachusetts Elections

One election down and people are writing off Obama. Elections are tricky things. President Obama must take big risks and go by his heart in decisions and not look at opinion polls or at the elections down the road in 3 years. Just because everyone is looking at it. If people could truly win elections by looking at opinion polls then a lot of people will be winning right now. "Make changes when in office" like "make hay when the sun shines" should be the motto for politicians. Because you never know what tomorrow will bring but today you have a chance to make history.

Helping hand

The sight of homeless people in winter is quite chilly. There are shelters that the homeless can go to in the US but many prefer the cold of the streets. The homeless who have cars are lucky. Instead of sweeping homeless people under a rug as unsightly, I suggest giving them a helping hand. Shelters are crowded and perhaps feel like jails. May be a small space like a mobile car will make all the difference. In this huge and still quite rich nation it is sad that people sleep on cold streets especially old people.

Giving up option

Marriages that involve a woman making adjustments to her career goals from the start must be avoided at all cost. Sania Mirza plans to give up tennis because she will marry a man no one heard of. To be such a sports personality is not easy and to give it up for marriage is not the ideal young women in India or the world must follow. Women should not be expected to give up their hard earned careers because some man wants to marry them. The very idea is disgusting to me and such men should be shunned by all women on earth. As long as everyone is accomplishing to their god given potential, whether it be a man or woman, married or unmarried, everyone is happy. Someone might say Sania is giving up tennis on her own without any duress but then she must not use marriage as an excuse. It sounds moronic when men say I will give up a career because I am getting married and it is no different when a woman says it too.

Haiti

Its sad that the earthquake did so much damage in Haiti. Looks like the Haiti engineers did a lousy job with construction. The natural calamity was made worse with poor construction.

The volunteers

Time and again we hear the army deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan are volunteers then why is a single mom charged if she cannot make it the call of duty? More respect for the soldier is in order.

The obesity trend

In the news there is always this talk about how obesity is growing in the US compared to say 50 years ago but to my amazement the models and actors who represent the standards in society look a lot skinnier today than they did 50 years ago. Fifteen years ago someone who is considered healthy today would be checking with doctors to see if something is wrong because they are so skinny. Health is too important to be taken for a ride by the media folks. All good food is today unhealthy. I will say that it is not unhealthy but unfashionable. It is not only the body but also the mind that get nourished by food because the mind games really are all about chemicals. It is time to study this going skinny trend seriously and study health effects. Thousands of years of how to eat studies are thrown out by current fashion trends. Eating carrots make you a bunny whereas eating fish can make you a bear. There is more to eating than the eye can see.

The only way

The only way to get the economy back on track is to make sure that the right people have jobs. Moving money around is not going to help as long as the same people are in control. Stimulus happens because of stimulating people. Sometimes you see politicians debate for getting votes and you see that they see nothing. Rewarding the morons who are responsible for economic downfall with more money to create stimulus is a joke. And the politicians are jokers whose jokes are getting stale. Accountability and asking some tough questions is what will save the day. I wonder how many people are tired of conversations that are sound bites and not meant to convey any messages that make sense. Somethings I would look at if I was among the powers that be would be:

1. How many companies that would create jobs are killed by unfair competition? The giants out there allow very little competition to survive unless they function in hiding or are servile.

2. Are companies that are doing good work rewarded appropriately? Rewards have a way of rotating among morons.

3. What happens to hard working people in establishments? Why did they get fired? Was there a way a company could get some help before they fire people?

And so on ....

It is not lack of money that has taken the stimulus out of the economy but the lack of opportunity.

The movie Avatar

The movie Avatar is thought provoking. There is a difference between imperialism and migration. Migration is good and enriches the land mostly whereas imperialism destroys the very fabric of the land. The spiritual tree representing the balance of life was brilliant. Native people understand a land to its very roots and with them thrive native plants and animals. Imperialism destroy not only the people but also the flora and fauna because they have no understanding of it. Imperialists begin to learn from scratch what natives know for thousands of years and have much catching up to do. In that process they may destroy some delicate balances which may destroy the very earth. Earth really is a small percentage of land in a huge ocean. Its best to be willing to pay for what you want instead of trying to grab it at gun point.

Words

There is nothing wrong with African American dialect. It is all the rage in hip hop. Negro is a forbidden word only in America but all that is history and best it remains history. Slavery is not a black thing and only became so after European acquired guns. There were slaves of all colors and people do not go back in time and get offended by it. Come to think of it Romans would feed people to lions, the French would hold public executions with women in the audience (yuck!), Indians had caste system, and slavery was rampant in Egypt. All that was really gross and it was not about skin color. People get exploited but its a good thing to come out of such situations. What we want to remember is the strength that lead us out of darkness more than the darkness that sorround us at a given point of time.

It does not matter whether Obama has a particular kind of dialect or not. I would say he does speak a little like an African American and that is a good thing. Ever since Obama is president some people are always trying to create some kind of silly controversies. The race card will turn up again and again. But he remains quite popular. Most of America cares little about race and marriages happen across race and cultures without anyone batting an eyelid. But there are a few who carefully bring about the topic in a twisted way hoping to gain mileage among the white population. But it mostly backfires.

Harry Reid should not resign about issues like he said - she said stuff. There are more urgent issues that America faces today that Republicans never seem to notice.

Two sides of the same coin

Israel and Palestine are two sides of the same coin in that they are puppets of external powers. I wonder what make puppets become so verbose. Its best that the two sides come to their senses.

Indians in Australia

The attacks on Indians in Australia is very tricky. The fact that Indians are doing so well at work and academics at home and abroad is creating envy and anxiety. For some reason India is in the hate list of many groups and not necessarily racist groups alone. To solve this mystery of attacks, Indians need to look at which hate lists they figure in Australia and other places. Its really a small world.

Tharoor's troubles

The Congress party in India is good in a lot of ways but this worship of the Nehru family is a sham. Of course the Nehru family is respectful and much liked but the problem today is that a politician gains mileage by showing respect. Every respectful Congress politician has to visit the Nehru family graves to stay in power and perhaps very few people like Tharoor may see it as unnecessary. Tharoor is in trouble for being sensible for there is nothing more dangerous than the voice of reason. The common man is too busy to think about all the things that happen to him but the voice of reason awakens him. Tharoor is closely watched for his opinions but my guess is that Tharoor whether he stays in the party or not will bring big changes. If overt servility to a dynasty was what we all wanted the world would still have kings.

Coming to senses

I do not see what problem Malaysians Muslims have with Malaysian Christians calling their god Allah. The entire debate serves no purpose but people and property are attacked. Malaysians come across as crazy to me.

Health care

There is a problem with health care in America. I will narrate an incident. A man came to a clinic with a hand fracture on a weekend and the receptionist tells him that if he came on Monday he will have his fees covered by the insurance. Else he has to pay. He thinks for a minute and say I can survive with pain killers and come back on Monday and he leaves. For me this was a shocking scene. Firstly it does not cost that much to bandage a fracture (we learn this at high school as part of first aid) and secondly a fracture is treated as an emergency (we learned that again in high school). But the hospital did not think so. The patient could not afford the price of bandaging a fracture and did not expect his fracture to be treated as an emergency. He went home and America is supposed to be an advanced country. Health care is not about paper pushing there is a human element involved and the word care is mostly forgotten.

Everyone must recognize that the human element must return to health care, in fact I would say, in every job. People are not documents. But health care reform should involve more support from republicans. Something is wrong in the senate too. Perhaps the human element is missing again. Both sides must reach out a little better.

Bollywood today

I must say Bollywood movies today are really entertaining. Gone are the days when fun was limited to running around trees, hanging above drums of acid or boiling oil or from cliff tops. Bollywood movies have become a lot more creative these days. Some people miss weepy old Bollywood songs, cannot say I do. I wonder why the formula films decided to have those hanging people and chasing tree in the first place. The older generation do not look like people who cared for such things in particular. Movies reflect society not so much in terms of documentation but in terms of taste. And what must we say of the taste of people of yesteryears?

Journey

A Journey is always more than the destination. If destinations were all that mattered then the journey of life would be mean birth and death. People tend to forget this when they travel. In other words forget to stop and smell the flowers.

"LEISURE" By Wm. Henry Davies.

What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.

No time to stand beneath the boughs
And stare as long as sheep or cows.

No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.

No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night.

No time to turn at Beauty's glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance.

No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began.

A poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.

Iran

The only realistic demand the UN (or lets say the so called developed nations in the UN) can demand from Iran is not to use nuclear weapons against them without cause or attack Israel and sign some kind of treaty. Iran is a sovereign nation with no corrupt dictator in power. Iran has a unique democracy with religious leaders in control. It is not the ideal because it is less flexible than a government that disconnects from religion. Religion is rigid but at the same time every government in the world borrows ideology from religion. So Iran is currently quite fine and it will be very difficult to impose the will of the western world on Iran. It looks like the western world is waging an unnecessary cold war with the rest of the world. Though many other nations are not opposing western nations openly that is exactly how they must feel.

What is in a name?

If you thought names did not matter think again. Apart from cultural, national, racial, religious affiliations and the prejudices that come with it, names now have a new twist of importance. In these times the slogan is "If you have no web presence, you do not exist". If you have a common name you are competing with many others to be noticed on the web or lets say Google. So the race will begin among parents to name their children with a name as unique as possible. Soon names will sound like passwords:
Hello123dog#1fetch, xym12985df, etc.

Health care bill

Congratulations are in order to President Obama and his team for getting the health care bill passed in the senate. Goes to show that the new government has a new way of functioning. Hopefully all other issues will be solved like this too. Somehow faith is getting restored in the government's ability to deliver again.

Marriage in modern times

It amuses me that gays want to marry when traditional marriages (man-woman marriages) are becoming increasingly unpopular. The institution of marriage might have been created so that children feel secure. The death do us apart motto has long been substituted with till divorce kicks in which meant financial burden and so marriage itself has been kicked off as a concept or happens with prenups. I wonder what makes gays want to marry. Perhaps it is because they do not have many quarreling couples as examples for a deterrent.

Ironic

Mamta banerjee is offering railway jobs to farmers in return for their land. Was Tata not doing the same? If Mamta chased away Tata from Calcutta why is she grabbing land from farmers? Please let farmers be. It is best if farmers realize that there is no job that can be better than being a farmer. Its an honored profession. Also Indian soil really can grow heera moti like Manoj Kumar movie songs claim. Instead of easing up red tape so that farmers can do their bit Mamta Banerjee and her likes eliminate their profession all together. And she gets voted to power too. Its ironic.

Government

People in general self govern. It is a myth that Washington makes the big decisions. Of course wars murder a lot of people and one has to pay taxes. Apart from such direct decisions most governing bodies are ornamental or at the most detrimental. Think about it how many robbers are actually caught by the police and if caught very rarely is the money recovered. Or for that matter crimes like murder seldom get caught. So people usually take care of their homes and personal belongings and family knowing that if they lose something nothing really can help them. Its like the lock on a door that keeps most robbers away. A lock is not much and can be easily broken with a stone but its says "Private, keep off" and brings something decent about the robber to the surface and makes him/her obey. So musicians blaming the loss of freedom in society to governments or corporations makes no sense. Face the music honestly that the society itself has become less intelligent and choose what they get. The only security people can really bank on is the decency of other people. It is the good in us that is essential to our survival.

Indians getting killed in Australia

It is time to seriously look at who is behind the murders of Indian youth in Australia. Clearly the dumb Australian police are not capable to unravel this crime. The Indian Embassy must look in to it.

Testy faith

Some people are offended when concepts of their faith are put to test by a sarcastic or disrespectful comment. But faith is tested and survives such comments only if it is strong enough. In other words fundamentalists are weak in faith and hence stronger in reaction when their beliefs challenged. Whereas people who are strong in their faith are immune to sarcasm or disrespect.

Bailing out Rathore

Bail for Rathore is just two lakhs. It is too less considering the misery he put Ruchika's family through. Rathore has insulted the police department by abusing his powers to harass Ruchika's family. Such things should not be tolerated in today's democratic world. Remember Rathore's pay check comes from taxes that likes of Ruchika's family pays.

Happy New Year

A New year refreshes the old world. We look forward to what 2010 will bring. The last decade ended leaving us worried about the environment, energy, war, human relationships, finance, etc. This decade we must all work towards eliminating these worries. A lot more respect for each other and the world we live in is what will save the day.