The 2 Presidents-The Good Iranian and the Bad American

I was shocked by the language used by the Columbia University President Bolllinger to his guest President Ahmedinijad. It is not the way to treat a guest, however repulsive the guest may be. And mind you the guest was invited, so the responsibility was with Bollinger to extend decent, human courtesy. He failed miserably in that, in public, in front of the students whom the University is supposed to educate in worldly ways.

My sympathies for President Ahemdinijad have increase manifold by watching his smiling face and unruffled reacion to the insults.

And don't forget the points he made. He was right about 'why Palestinians have to pay for what the White man did to Jews in Europe'. The British created the Palestine situation and as is their practice, got out of Palestine in a hurry, dividing the people there and creating arbitrary boundaries between nations and people. Americans stepped in later to exploit the troubled circumstances and made sure they got oil cheaply for decades. It was very correct of President Ahmedinijad to bring this point to the fore.

As for as nuclear energy is concerned, every nation on earth is entitled to expoit it. The real grudge of America is that Iran is not buying the technology and materials from it. If tomorrow Iran were to offer a business deal to USA, then all opposition would vanish. Witness the 123 deal with India. It is money that tickles Americans' fancy and that is what they live and die for in far off lands. What a shame?

I am glad that Bollinger gave a chance to President Ahmedinijad to show his statesmanship and tolerance and intelligence.

However Bollinger himself lost a good chance to show the 'Good American' to the world.

I am not ashamed to admit that I am not smarter than a 2nd Grader

Because I was that age once .

KIDS ARE QUICK as demonstrated by the following clever exchanges

TEACHER: Maria, go to the map and find North America .
MARIA: Here it is.TEACHER: Correct. Now class, who discovered America ?
CLASS: Maria.
____________ _________ _________ ______

TEACHER: John, why are you doing your math multiplication on the floor?
JOHN: You told me to do it without using tables.
____________ _________ _________ _________ ___

TEACHER: Glenn, how do you spell "crocodile?"
GLENN: K-R-O-K-O-D- I-A-L"
TEACHER: No, that's wrong
GLENN: Maybe it is wrong, but you asked me how I spell it.
____________ _________ _________ _________ _____

TEACHER: Donald, what is the chemical formula for water?
DONALD: H I J K L M N O.
TEACHER: What are you talking about?
DONALD: Yesterday you said it's H to O.
____________ _________ _________ ____

TEACHER: Winnie, name one important thing we have today that we didn't have ten years ago.
WINNIE: Me!
____________ _________ _________ _________ ___

TEACHER: Glen, why do you always get so dirty?
GLEN: Well, I'm a lot closer to the ground than you are.
____________ _________ _________ _________

TEACHER: Millie, give me a sentence starting with "I."
MILLIE: I is...
TEACHER: No, Millie..... Always say, "I am."
MILLIE: All right... "I am the ninth letter of the alphabet."
____________ _________ _________ ___

TEACHER: George Washington not only chopped down his father's cherry tree, but also admitted it. Now, Louie, do you know why his father didn't punish him?
LOUIS: Because George still had the ax in his hand.
____________ _________ _________ ________

TEACHER: Now, Simon, tell me frankly, do you say prayers before eating?
SIMON: No sir, I don't have to, my Mom is a good cook.
____________ _________ _________

TEACHER: Clyde , your composition on "My Dog" is exactly the same as your brother's. Did you copy his?
CLYDE : No, teacher, it's the same dog.
____________ _________ _________ _____

TEACHER: Harold, what do you call a person who keeps on talking when people are no longer interested?
HAROLD: A teacher.
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And my favourite

Teacher- Jack, when will you ever learn?
Jack-It is all up to you, you are the Teacher .

Lesson

Teaching is like Selling Customers dont like to be sold but they love to Buy Children dont like to be taught, but they love to Learn

Carnatic Music is Eternal-How to keep it so

I am constantly wondering how Carnatic Music is passed on from generation to generation.

Did the famous composers and masters did anything special or magical to keep this great Art form alive after their time?

I believe it is extremely difficult to teach Carnatic music in a formal manner like other subjects and expect it to be absorbed by any student.

Carnatic music is very unique. It has to be heard, listened to, felt, heard repeatedly, appreciated and generated by oneself for Self first and then for others to listen, enjoy and own and if they are so inspired to learn and practice.

So if any musician wants to propagate and promote Carnatic music then it is his duty to keep performing so others can hear and be inspired to learn as they like.

There has to be a basic Give and Take.
Performing and inspiring by the brilliance of the performance is the Giving.
Listening, appreciating and then being inspired to learn and practice is the Taking.

Theory plays a very insignificant part in the whole process.
To put it lightly, Music has to be like Economics, the practitioners of the latter art being the ones who see something work in practice and then go on to see whether it works in theory also. And if they do find it, go on to win a Nobel Prize too.

One question though, in this modern world with so many pressures and distractions for the youngsters, what can a parent do to find out if his or her child is 'musically inclined' and is ready to become a musician?

This blog post is under development and I am sure it is always going to remain a work-in-progress, just like learning and excelling in Carnatic Music is.

The Elephant and the Eagle-Is it the right match at the right time?

I am glad that USA has realised the significance of having a strong relationship with India and is making several overtures to India like the 'Nuclear Deal or No Deal' and the Joint Naval Exercise and similar stuff.

But there is a little uneasiness in my heart as to whether for India it is going to be a 'Good Deal' to get so close to USA at this time in the latter's world position. And what are going to be the covert terms imposed on the relationship by the 'Big Brother'. Already some of the Senators are saying that India should scale back its relations with Iran, and there might be behind-the-scenes pressure to settle with Pakistan on Kashmir in haste. And the close military exercises are bound to raise the hackles of the Bear and the Dragon.

I believe that India should play its cards very very carefully, mindful of the history that USA had deliberately ignored India for decades and was always somewhat skeptical and condescending towards India.

If there is one thing that makes the Americans tick it is the smell of money. All right, it works for India too to strengthen the economic and commercial ties with USA. So in that perspective, the Nuclear deal is a great opportunity for both countries. But the strings attached to the deal should be examined and should be made sure that they don't turn into a noose around India's neck.

India should always keep in mind that first of all it is an Asian Powerhouse on the way to become a World Player but it has still a long way to go. Cozying up too much to the Western Chief might not be a good idea at this time when that Chief and his Tribe are in all kinds of troubles.

The strong ties built over decades with Russia and the exciting possibilities of combining with China for dominance in the Commercial Arena could be the guiding posts for India. And I am sure there is more long-term prosperity on that path.

Of course, the West needs all the friends it could get now and India need not be shy of accepting the friendship, but in Reagan's phrase India should 'trust but verify' and take each deal on its own merits and examine the downside of getting tied too much to one Camp.

India has always been plowing its own very unique course and time has justified that approach. They should continue on that path.

There is however, one way Americans can show their good faith. How about a deal to Outsource the running of US Government to India. I am sure The Murthys and Premjis and the Raos of the IT world can work out a viable and profitable business plan for this and pull it off.

May be the means to a Nation's heart is through its Computers where you can play 'Soft' and 'Hard' to everyone's benefit

Mission Accomplished- Part Two

I think Bush will declare 'Success' and get out fo Iraq soon

Don't forget he decalred 'Mission Accomplished' 4 years back

Only the Iraqis did not take him seriously and prolonged the fighting.

Poor George, had no option but to play along

But 'Victory' and 'Success' is in sight and he has seen it first hand at Anbar in Iraq.

We are breathlessly waiting for his pronouncement of "Mission Fully Accomplished -Part II'.

And let us not be stingy.

Let us all agree.

Especially the Iraqis who are very tired of all this destruction

They should heartily certify that Bush's mission has succeeded and wish him and his troops farewell

God speed to the Victorious Yankees.

Update on 16/9/07

Bush the Bania
George Bush is doing the typical retailer's trick. Incease prices by 300% and then offer a sale discount of may be 50%. He increased the troops in Iraq by 30,000 soldiers earlier this year for the 'surge' and now he is advocating the return of 7,500 or so, because Iraq is now a 'Success'. And he has changed his goal from Victory to Success. What Success? Once American oil interests are protected by the passing of the Oil Bill in Iraq, the USA will declare full 'Success'. The 'Defeat' will be for the Iraqi people. They are the losers in all scenarios.

Still there can't be anything wrong with America withdrawing its troops, either gradually or all at once.

Shame on India

I am doubly saddened today when I read that the Juhu Plaza Hotel in Mumbai (earlier Bombay) had thrown out a Pakistani Film Producer Hasan Zaidi just because he is a Pakistani national.
More horrible is the hotel representative's justification that many hotels in Bombay ( and I don't know where else in India) follow a similar policy of not giving rooms to Pakistani and Bangladeshi Nationals.

I am very ashamed of this behaviour and I feel the Central Government should step in and immediately revoke the licences of these hotels to operate. There is no justification for such exclusion on any ground at all.

I am worried that with India getting closer to USA economically and with the Nuclear deal in the offing, there should not be any copying of America's tactics of excluding or profiling people on the basis of Nationality, Names, Skin colour etc. "War on Terrorism' should not force civilised nations to do despicable things in the name of 'protection and security'. It is all very wrong.

India just recently celebrated her 60th Anniversary along with Pakistan and one of the themes in all the news items was the evils of partition and the massacre that took place at that time. After the passage of 6 decades, attempts should be made to bring the two people together and small-minded people and organisations that work against this should not be encouraged at all.

Hope the Indian Government acts fast to rectify this injustice

Mahatma Gandhi's Nation has to lead by the right example

Be very Offended and Angry

This is the news item I saw today morning which made me feel very sad

Quote
People speaking Arabic stops plane
5:15AM Saturday September 01, 2007
All passengers on an American Airlines flight from San Diego to Chicago were ordered off the plane, after passengers complained of hearing a group of Arabic-speaking Iraqi men.
The Iraqis were questioned by police but released. All of the passengers had to stay overnight.
Unquote

Of course, this should make many people feel very very offended, justifiably so and also very angry too. What is happening to the country which has the Statue of Liberty as its primary icon, proclaiming to the world 'send me your poor and unfortunate and they can work towards prosperity in America, bringing glory to themselves and the Nation'

It is very depressing to see that George Bush's America has become such a paranoid place that it has to be afraid of people speaking different tongue. Will this pattern be extended to people speaking other languages too, in course of time, as and when Bush declares other nations as 'Axis of Evil'.

So next to be targeted will be Korean and Persian speakers. And in future it could be Afghans speaking Pushtoo and one day it will come closer to home when Hispanics speaking 'Spanish' may also be feared. But will they make an exemption for them because America was discovered by Amerigo Vespussi and Christopher Columbus.

What if this practise is adopted by other countries which are America's allies like Australia, UK etc. So if you speak your native tongue (which is not English) in any one of these countries you could be arresed or thrown out of restraurants, deplaned etc.

What a great service to the 'Unity of Mankind' by Geroge Bush. Does he still deserve to be the American President ?

And finally does it give a right to the French and Italians and the Arabs to extend similar treatments to people speaking 'English' in their countries?

I think it does.

Be very offended and concerned