Musings

Trouble comes in two - Paulsons that is.

2010-04-21T18:29:00.012+12:00

The first was the ex-Goldman Sachs chief and ex-Treasury Hank Paulson who used his influence as a smart and astute investment banker to lobby for deregulation particularly in diluting the leveraging norms and got the Congress to allow his investment banking firm to lend 30 times its capital. His firm used it to ramp up all kinds of toxic assets and spread a culture of mercenary banking.

And then as Treasury Secretary he saw to it that the competition to Goldman is wiped out, first by helping JP Morgan Chase to buy Bear Stearns at a cheap price (with Government help underwritten by the Treasury and Federal Reserve) and then in September 2008 forcing Lehman Bros to declare bankruptcy, by refusing to extend the same helping hand.

Hank Paulson was also in the thick of scheming (along with Geithner of Federal Reserve then) to make sure Goldman and Morgan Stanley convert themselves into Banks to qualify for Government rescue. He thus effectively slayed the opposition in a series of wise moves.

Goldman became one of the two remaining Superpowers of Wall Street, which gave it a nice position to write the rules to make more money. It is a legend that Goldman started shorting its own clients and played all sides of a deal to keep making money.

Now comes the other Paulson, John whose scheming along with Goldman to create and short toxic bonds is the news of the day, as revealed by the SEC suit.

Below is a very concise description of what SEC’s suit is all about.

http://money.cnn.com/2010/04/16/news/companies/Goldmans_Sachs_fraud/index.htm?cnn=yes&hpt=Sbin

Wonder what ethics Goldman has if it ventured to bundle toxic assets into a synthetic or hybrid CDO tranche to sell to other 'sophisticated’ investors who were managing the funds of pension funds, churches, schools, municipalities, etc. And which other investment bankers did similar deals with deliberate intent to make money on toxic sub-prime loans ?

The key description of the deal as per the SEC charge:

Quote: So they seek out a reputable third party to, as internal Goldman memos state, put its “name at risk…on a weak quality portfolio.” Unquote

They were ‘Too big to be sued' till now.

Let us see whether this opens the floodgates of more such suits.

But wait, Goldman and its top management could escape making its Vice President,Fabrice Tourre, the fall guy. It appears that Goldman was aware much earlier that a suit like this might be laid. It is not unthinkable that they used their influence with SEC to name Fabulous Fab as an accused so he could become the fall guy. They have already issued press statements saying that the deal and its aftermath was the result of action of a single employee. They are obviously playing to distance themselves from Fabrice Tourre's action even though he worked in the firm, painting him as a 'rogue dealer'.

Who knows they may get away with it and carry on their merry dealings through more such 'rogue dealers'.

But again, the political reality of mid-term elections may work against Goldman getting off so easily. Obama and the Democrats are spoiling for a fight to push their reforms of the financial sector and may be using this as a test case or pressure to bring the titans into line. They have to convince the American public that they are working in their interests and not on the side of the fat cats and what better way than to get a win over the biggest titan, Goldman.

Gordon Brown, the British PM, who is also facing elections has nicely picked the opportunity to rail against the titans in UK.

So it is all becoming very political too. Witness the current bill in the Senate 'Restoring American Financial Stability Act' being upstaged by 'The SAFE Banking Act'. The former is not supposed to go far enough to brak the 'Too Big to Fail Banks' so the latter has prescribed some quantitative restrictions.

The question is - Will Obama do a Teddy Roosevelt and take on the Titans to break them up ?
He may well do, because this is an election year, after all.

To disclose or not to disclose-Transparency of the Bailout in USA.

2010-03-20T08:26:00.009+13:00

An interesting court battle is being waged in the USA regarding the Freedom of Information Act.

Huge sums of money were disbursed by the Federal Reserve during the Global Financial Crisis in the latter half of 2008 to banks, companies and other financial firms to stem the tide of deteriorating markets and to prevent the US economy from going belly-up.

Apart from the debate about whether this massive rescue effort was undertaken to save a few preferred Wall Street banks (which had its own ex-executives, including the Treasury Secretary, Hank Paulson at key places), there is a tussle going on to find out how exactly the funds were disbursed and who were the recipients of these rescue bailouts.

Bloomberg has filed the case under FOIA. Naturally the Federal Reserve is opposing the release of information. The arguments for release of information is that public money was used and public has a right to know. The opponents say release of such sensitive information will undermine the status of the recipients and there could be negative effect (even a run on them) on the prospects of these firms.

Both arguments are very valid.

Public money was spent so quickly in those turbulent times, even Congress baulked at authorising it at first. There is a story that Paulson went with just a one page proposal to Congress to throw $700 billion at the problem and not enough details were given to make an informed decision. It was pure scare-mongering that got the funds released.

After nearly 18 months of the rescue being in effect, it is still not clear who was saved and whether they were worth saving, because the ground position has not changed much, with the Wall Street bankers (those that are remaining that is) going about their secretive business and controlling the markets as they used to before.

On the other hand, the Fed is right in arguing that it has to conduct its business not in the glare of public light and certain decisions and acts are too sensitive to be released in a volatile market and such release may screw the market further, even risking the bailout money itself.

My view is the Fed was right to keep things secret at that time, but now after so much time has passed, it is not a bad idea to release it. The bailout has worked to the extent it was hoped for and the bankers don'e need continued protection for an indefinite time.

Also many stories are already coming out regularly about the events and players. Lehman's auditors are in the soup for signing off on a fictitious balance sheet and the firm is going the way of Enron with possible criminal charges against the then management.

Books and articles are being released regularly detailing what went on inside these famed institutions, including the Government then.

I recommend reading the book Too Big to Fail by Andrew Ross Sorkin. It is interesting to read about how Lehman was raped individually and in group by the Treasury, Federal Reserve and all the other bankers like Goldman, JPMorganChase, Morgan Stanley etc leading up to its final bankruptcy.

With so much information coming on, it would not be too damaging if the Federal Reserve is asked to release full details of the rescue it undertook along with the Treasury Department then.

In that light, I applaud the latest ruling by the US Court of Appeals in Manhattan authorising the release of the information.

The Public has a right to know, sometimes a little belatedly, because releasing the information as the events are developing may be harmful but that can't be the case forever.

But wait, the battle is not over yet. I expect the case to go to the US Supreme Court and it will be then interesting to see how the whole thing pans out in the next few months.

May be the Congress will legislate a holding period for such information before they are released.

Is the Love Affair between US and China over ?

2010-02-07T16:37:00.003+13:00

The increasing differences of opinions/stand between the two great Superpowers is being talked about more and more now.

To summarise the recent points of differences:

1. US is selling heaps of arms again to Taiwan, stoking Chinese fears and worries that US is again stirring up trouble in its backyard

2. US President Obama is going to meet Dalai Lama, always an issue of prestige and face for China.

3. US has been exhorting China to revalue its currency and give relief to the crisis US is facing at home due to job losses, slowing economy and myriad other ills afflicting US.

4. China is not supporting US stand against Iran and is also silent on North Korea

5. China is expanding influence across the Globe by buying up companies and even nations (with its money power) to ensure the supply of resources it needs to keep ticking.

6. The US manufactured GFC has been a WMD slicing off a big chunk of China's wealth and slowing China's growth.

So there it is. The balance of power has shifted and continues to shift and US is not comfortable with the loss of its status.

Obama, being so inexperienced, is not able to keep China close or in line. He has not charmed the Chinese with his silky tongue like he did his own countrymen. In fact he could not even woo the Muslim world which is also becoming more and more disillussioned with his policies on Afghanistan and Palestine. Obama's team have not really focussed on strengthening the relationship/partnership with China. Their focus has been all over and not getting any result on any issue.

China on the other hand, is not averse to playing its hand overtly and covertly especially now when the US is seen to be down and out on all fronts, economic and political.

The only link that is sustaining the relationship may be the huge investment China has made in the US Treasury bonds and other money-market instruments. China is seeing the value of this supposedly $2 trillion dollar investment not giving a good return and may even be losing a bit of capital too. But China is not able to make break away because of the trade with US.

But what if China one day awakens to the power it has over US and decides to do something about it.

One out of the box scenario.

How about China and US come to an agreement by which US withdraws its commitment to Taiwan and lets China absorb Taiwan if China writes off say $1 trillion of US's debt. In a manner US would be selling off Taiwan to China.

Similar scenarios can be thought of in the matter of N Korea.

Seems like more interesting times ahead for the world as the US and China try to force each other down.

Russia trumps US in cozying upto India.

2009-12-09T19:02:00.002+13:00

This will be a short one.

President Obama recently hosted Manmohan Singh, PM of India to a gala dinner with much fanfare (and some uninvited guests as well), but there was no meat on the burger.

No agreements were signed and the much-touted nuclear deal has not progressed either.

Contrast this to the recent visit of Manmohan Singh to Russia.

A very low-key affair with much meat delivered.

Several agreements signed, the most important being the agreement by which Russia will support India in its nuclear developments, no questions asked.

And there was the deal to continue arms supply with fighter jets, etc on the table.

Russia has once again proved that it is a better, long-term friend of India.

Obama and his team are paying lip-service to friendship with India, but their hearts and purse are with Pakistan.

Russia did not say that China has a role in resolving the Kashmir dispute, unlike the US.

Seems like US has a long way to go to believe in India or taking some real action to improve the relationship.

While Obama delivered a dinner, it was Russia which added spice to the meal.

I am sure the Indians lapped it up.

Obama to Afghanistan- We have no money to save you.

2009-12-02T22:16:00.005+13:00

Just now listened to Obama's speech outlining the strategy for the war in Afghanistan.

Obama has told Afghanistan in no uncertain terms that the US is not capable of funding a long struggle there to restore stability in that country.

Obama has outlined his most important goal to be to get out of Afghanistan within the next 18/24 months and the surge he is authorising by sending additional troops is with the sole aim of getting the Afghans to take over the war soon, so the US troops can get out. Winning the war in Afghanistan is not a primary goal anymore.

There was no mention of eradicating Al Qaeda or capturing Osama bin Laden or putting an end to the insurgency. At the end of 18/24 months it is very much possible that the Al Qaeda and the insurgency may still be troubling the Government/people of Afghanistan, but then it is their own problem. America would be out by then.

It is implied that the surge in troops is to get the conditions ready for retreat.

The goal therefore is not defeat of the enemy but a honourable retreat of American forces.

And to effect that successfully, America will be involved in micro-managing Afghanistan for the next few months, by supervising the Afghan Government.

And the main reason for this is that the US has no money or resources to prolong the efforts to eradicate Al Qaeda/insurgency.

America has been affected greatly by the Global Financial Crisis brought on by the Wall Street Wizards and it has to focus on rebuilding its own economy.

Sorry, they have no money to spend on Afghanistan. They have lost all their money in playing the market.

May be Pakistan, which will still be receiving some of America's aid money, will come to the aid of Afghanistan by closing its border/safe haven for the insurgents/Al Qaeda. But that prospect is up in the air, given the past misuse of American funds by the Pakistan Government and Army.

So watch out Afghanistan. The insurgents have to hang on for just another 2 years at the most.

You will be soon on your own with your own corrupt government and inefficient forces to take on the insurgents.

Best of Luck.

Too Big to Break

2009-11-15T08:34:00.002+13:00

After nominating (though not publicly) several Banks and institutions as ‘Too Big to Fail’, America is now caught up in a dilemma of how to manage/regulate these behemoths. The Federal Government is not disclosing which Banks/Institutions have been deemed as such, because that would give a signal to the Public that these institutions are basically unsafe and are being propped up with the Treasury money only. Though any one who is a regular reader of financial press can easily guess as to the identities of these institutions. But how long can they be treated as TBTF ? There are already rumblings of discontent and even a Boycott movement against these TBTF Banks.

Now the US Congress/Senate is attempting to redraw the rules and is working on a law which will give the authorities the power to break up these behemoths, so in future they will be less of a risk and can be allowed to die if they get into tricky situations without pulling down the whole nation. The first step would be to re-introduce some law akin to the Glass-Steagall Act which during the Depression split the Banks’ business into regular banking and investment banking and prevented any cross over.

As many know some of the provisions of the original Glass-Steagal Act were diluted in 1999 by the Gramm-Leach, Biley Act allowed Banks to do investment banking too and which has over the last few years enabled regular banking groups to take on other paper-based business and run up huge risk, which resulted in the Financial Crisis of 2008. Firms like Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley cleverly changed themselves into Banks during the height of the Crisis to qualify for the TBTF label and now they are flourishing not because of their Banking business but because of their trading actitivities.

It is a good move by the legislators to break up the TBTF institutions and combined with a re-introduction of the repealed provisions of Glass-Steagall Act, they would make sure that Banks confine themselves to the business of taking deposits and lending for productive and non-speculative real estate business and thus bring a semblance of normalcy to the Banking world. The Investment Banks should be left to live or die on their own efficiencies and merits and people who invest in them or avail of their services would be taking their own risks. Not like the average depositor or borrower who will deal with Banks.

But the Financial Services Lobby is a very powerful group in the US and it has opposed these moves. With key players of the Obama Administration sympathetic to the Big Institutions it appears the Lobby may win and may thwart all attempts to have meaningful regulations in place. The Federal Reserve is also not exhibiting any support for these changes.

May be America is still thinking that it is better to not regulate too much. But as Government is now a substantial owner in many of these TBTF institutions, it has a responsibility more towards the citizens than the Bankers. And long term health of the Nation will be better maintained if some hard decisions are taken now so the Crisis is not built up again. This may be the best chance to re-introduce meaningful and effective regulation and this may be more important than other initiatives of the Government.

Let not these Too Big to Fail institutions continue life as Too Big to Break too.

It will be interesting to see how this thing plays out.

An Update (21 Nov 09):

A bubble is a bubble is a bubble, whatever the cause. And it will burst.

US is exporting its trouble around the world. Money traders and speculators are making hay while the dollar dulls. This may push back many countries to adopt more controls and undermine Capitalism some more. It is now every nation for itself to protect itself. China is way deep into the US economy and can’t decouple easily without damage to itself.

Fundamentals have not changed much in any country (excepting may be Australia) to warrant irrational exhuberance again in the stock markets.

In the US they are re-thinking the ‘checks and balances’ between the Congress and the Administration, but as long as Lobbying is on, no benefit will come to the citizens.

Interesting times indeed.

Nobel not Noble anymore

2009-10-10T11:23:00.007+13:00

Difficult to understand how Obama got the Nobel Peace Prize, unless they want to influence him to withdraw from Afghanistan, but that is grasping at straws.

Too much accolade for one man who has not yet proved himself in anything, except that he has continued many of George Bush's policies/practices, including the support to the fat cat money bags like Goldman Sucks, etc. US is still not out-of-the woods in the unemployment and long-term growth aspects of economic recovery.

In Afghanistan, the US is supporting a corrupt Government which had hijacked the election and committed fraud on the citizens. Obama may very well increase troop levels leading to more deaths in the months to come. He is also supporting Pakistan with money which is being siphoned off by the Armed forces and the citizens of Pakistan are still paying the price of the US connection.

He has not solved the Palestine problem, on the contrary Israel is playing hardball and not stopping settlement. Where is peace in the Middle East ?

He has not come to any terms with Iran yet.

And he has not yet got even talks going on Climate.

He has even postponed meeting Dalai Lama under pressure from the Chinese.

Except that he won the election as President without unleashing a backlash from the Whites in US, there is no achievement yet.

Nobel Committee has degraded the value of this Peace Prize.

They should have put a condition that the Prize would be withdrawn if there is no peace in the Middle East and Afghanistan within a year. That would be a precedent.

Nobel is not noble any more.

Update (11/12/09):

Obama in his speech accepting the Prize at Oslo has told the Nobel Committee that they erred in giving the award to a "Head of State' especially of USA, because he is bound to wage wars.

Talkfest at New York/Pittsburgh

2009-09-26T10:46:00.005+12:00

The annual talkfest at United Nations this year brought a new Star, Barack Obama. The world leaders lined up to shake his hands and get their photos with Barack and Michelle and it was all a big Picnic and Vacation for the leaders.

But some good seems to be coming out of these talks now that US under Obama has recognised the importance of consensus-building again and drop its unilateralism which was the policy mantra under George Bush.

It was nice to hear Obama speak about the necessity of all nations pulling together to get out of the climate and economic mess. I specially liked his exhortation that countries which castigated US earlier for acting alone cannot now ask US to act alone to pull the world out of these messes. Good point. Obama seems to be getting the right vibes and responses and let us see what he can make out of this new honeymoon with the world.

The counter points to Obama were the speeches by Gaddaffi and Ahmedinijad. Gaddaffi in his rambling speech however highlighted the hypocrisy of United Nations being controlled by the Security Council which is a small club not really representing the world as it is today. His point about shifting UN itself to a more accessible place on the Globe needs some consideration. May be US would also be happy to be rid of UN at New York. I am sure the residents of New York would support such a move for UN, because then they would have less traffic/security hassles and could have the city streets for themselves.

Ahmedinijad's tirade against Israel could be dismissed but not his defence of Iran's right to develop nuclear technology. The US and a few Western countries should not have the monopoloy on nuclear technology and if any other country like Brazil or Iran wishes to develop nuclear technology then they should be allowed to do so. It is double-standard for US, Russia and China (even India and Israel) which have nuclear weapons (some developed overtly and some covertly as in the case of Isreal) to speak against other countries wishing to develop that technology for peaceful uses. Unless one approaches this with a degree of trust no agreement is possible. Isolation of any country will not work.

The other super meeting of the G20 at Pittsburg has decided that G20 would be the forum responsible for managing the world economy instead of the G8 (comprising of mostly West). Smart move, when the losses are now being socialised, to expand the responsibility for recovery and throw a smoke-screen over the culpability of the West for the economic mess they have brought to the world in the recent past. Hope it works fast.

Still the Bankers are a different, uncontrollable Beasts altogether and with so many ex-bankers in position of responsibility at Governmental level (especially in the US) the outcome is not very certain.

Why not integrate the G20 countries into an expanded UN Security Council which could be renamed Supreme Council with no veto rights for any one country, but 75% majority ruling required to pass all resolutions/actions ?

A lighter side-show to these meetings was the New Zealand Prime Minister John Key's appearance on the David Letterman Show where key plugged New Zealand unashamedly. Good on you mate.

Watch this at

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6b3VzcK2xqM&feature=player_embedded#t=265

September-The Crisis Anniversary Month- 9/11 and 9/15 - Osama and Lehman

2009-09-12T09:24:00.016+12:00

September is the Crisis Anniversary month for the world. Two events that shook the world this decade happened in September, both in New York. Both changed the world in political and economic terms and both had created more uncertainties and destabilised the world.

The 9/11 World Trade Center attacks by Al Qaeda instigated a massive retaliation by US in Iraq and Afganisthan, the effects of which are being felt even today and will continue in future. The US has spent trillions to avenge the 9/11 attack and has sacrificed many of its citizens in both wars. Iraq has been scarred forever and the US has put countless Iraqi citizens out of their homes and even out of their lives.

These wars have generated their own scandals, Abu Graib, Gitmo, torture, water-boarding (such an innocuous word sounding like a sport akin to snow-boarding), rendition (sounds biblical but very dangerous in practice) and similar exotic practices/phrases. The US is trying to slowly wind down from Iraq, but at the same time increasing the involvment in Afganisthan, much against the wishes of its own citizens. There seems to be no exit strategy from war abroad.

Similar is the story with the other Anniversary, 9/15, the day the financial chiefs let Lehman Brothers collapse, bringing on a Tsunami in the money world, which swept aside and destroyed the wealth of countless individuals and organisations.

It has been proved by the latest revealings in many financial magazines that the top-players in USA at that time did everything with a selfish interest to save their own firms and even some of them were brow-beaten into the scheme, with the Bush Administration having no clue as to what was happening or was going to happen.

It was Paulson all the way designing and implementing the recovery at a very rapid pace to save Goldman and his cronies. The world will continue to pay the price for this for many more years.

'Too Big to Fail' and 'Too Smart to be thrown out' have entered the Capitalistic vocabulary and are once again the underpinnings of the recovery/rebuilding.

And the ultimate 'Too big to fail' is the US itself and the whole world is sustaining what is unsustainable for long. So watch out for a similar scenario happening sometime in next few years. The Bankers are consolidating with the help of public money ready to unleash the next catastrophe on the world. It could come in the form of commerical property collapse, more securitisation may be of carbon/emissions trading, insurance scams (what with Obama feeding the insurance companies with his own Grand Plan), dollar crisis, inflation, and many such unforeseen events. The cost of picking up the pieces then will be more severe.

The exit strategy from this so-called stimulus is still not being thought of.

Two events from which the US and the World are trying to exit without much more damage, but the prognosis is not very good at the moment.

I am not being excessively gloomy, in the face of the nascent recovery and the 'green shoots' that is out there. I am just looking at the countless individuals/instititutions that lost wealth in the collapse as against the very few, bankers and stock holders, who are now benefitting from the small recovery that is happening now. The collapse was broadbased but the present recovey is too narrow to help those who lost everything in the collapse.

Need for rethinking Afghan Strategy

2009-08-17T19:33:00.012+12:00

The association with US and the assistance they are getting from US in comabting terrorism seem to be the kiss of death for Pakistan and Afghanistan and it is proving to be a slow death.

In the meantime, US and allies will get more and more mired in the Afghan imbroglio and will turn that into another Vietnam, with force escalations, despotic government installed by US and the same old stuff.
It was expected that President Obama would change George Bush's policy but he is repeating Bush's mistakes in Iraq with troop surge, etc.
The British public have already seen the folly of such moves and are pressuring their government to stop sinking deeper in Afganistan.
But in US they are pre-occupied with economic and healthcare crises and have no time to see how the Afgan and Pakistan policies are hurting the US politically and militarily.

In Pakistan and Afghanistan they rightfully hate the US for the carnage it has brought to them.

The US went into the region to avenge the 9/11 and the perpetrators needed to be punished.

But in Afghanistan, after engaging the enemy for so many years, they are nowhere near a solution.

The initial objective of capturing Osama has now become so many things that the US is continuously risking the lives of everyone involved, most of all the innocent civilians.

Just imagine if every county that was the victim of a terror attack started a war against the country that housed the perps. For example, is India allowed to start a war (like the US against Afganistan) against Pakistan to avenge the Bombay massacres ?

The US wrongly invaded Iraq after 9/11 and spent all its energies, money and many soldiers and civilians died in the process.

Now the same thing is happening in Afganistan.

My concern is US on the one hand has lost the wealth of the world by its financial shenanigans and now they are destroying the human wealth in other countries on an imaginary threat which is not going to go away by such wars.

Why not the US step back from Afghanistan, withdraw the forces and work out a more effective way to capture Osama, instead of just throwing men and arms against everyone in Afghanistan and Pakistan ? They are not succeeding with the military option they have embraced.

May be the US should give an ultimatum and task Pakistan to capture Osama and his top deputies within 6 months are so, failing which they would lose all the aid/funds they are getting from US now. This would give Pakistan a deadline and an incentive to work harder to fight terrorism.

A respite in the war may win more friends for US than what is happening now.

If you have $5000 would you invest in shares of Google or Microsoft ?

2009-07-30T21:19:00.003+12:00

I just read about the deal between Microsoft and Yahoo agreeing to combine their search engines as competition to Google. Started wondering what would be the long term outlook for both Microsoft and Google.

Microsoft is really getting soft with not many useful innovations or upgrades coming out. Their presence on the internet market is practically zero. Now their Operating System Windows is also under threat of rival Google which is going to introduce Chrome OS soon. Google has already introduced Chrome browser which has received critical acclaim by techies. Chrome does not crash as often as Windows and successive upgrades in Windows have not stabilized it and have in fact confused users.

Microsoft wanted to get in the Search Engine market dominated by Google (I understand Google has more than 80% market internationally and more than 65% in US) and its child Bing is too young to pose a threat to Google. So the move to acquire some bling by getting Yahoo engine so Bing can be marketed as a robust version. May work , but will take time.

Google has become a generic product and it will be difficult to wean away customers from that.

To add to its luster, Google is going after Apple’s share in the smart phone market with its Magic handset, which I understand integrates well several applications.

It is not a stretch to think that Google’s next project (or may be it already has a secret one under development) is in the music scene to compete with I Pod.

So Google seems to be looking to several innovations/applications whereas Microsoft is kind of floundering in the wild and does not know what to do with Windows and where to go next.

And remember Bill Gates has effectively moved away from Microsoft, pursuing his philanthropy. He is out to make a gentler image for himself in the world. So it seems the hunger to do business may be dimming at Microsoft.

Google on the other hand is readying its weapons on several fronts and it seems that it could expand its presence in several fields. The old adage that nothing succeeds like success may work for Google as it succeeds in new products/services.

Granted Google has an image problem, being the giant it is, just like Walmart, I would guess.

Still it is working smartly and it looks like the choice for investment would be Google.

Am I right ? Can Microsoft be dismissed too quickly and easily ?

Mighty interesting to watch.

PS: I just stumbled upon a website which allows one to simultaneously use Bing and Google SEs

http://www.bing-vs-google.com

Clever but at this rate we may have to increase the monitor size to accommodate everything. May be we can buy a 50'' LCD TV, put it up on the living room and play 'Search Game' for parties.

Time to make India a Permanent Member of UN Security Council

2009-07-26T12:59:00.004+12:00

The UN Security Council has only 5 permanent members since inception.

Which is not really reflective of present day geo-political situation of the World. The world has moved on from the war years. Economic expansion and population increase in other countires dictates that the present 5 permanent members, viz, US, UK, France, Russia and China do not adequately reflect or represent the World in UN. This can no more be the very exclusive club it has been so far.

Economically UK, France and even US have had major crises/collapses in the recent past and their currencies do not command the value they have done in the past. Russia is a broken state after the disintegration of USSR and the Russian economy is not robust or healthy. Only China has improved its economic and political clout in the last several decades.

There are other countries which have now come to the fore-front in world affairs. India being the principal of these newly emerged countries. With the large population, stable democracy, improved economic situation and the expected role India is likely to play in world affairs in the next few years, it is the right time to expand the permanent membership to include India. India and China have to be co-opted into the Global Environmental Scene and what better way than to give India the importance it deserves in the world affairs.

Granted in the past India has not taken any sides and has gone the non-aligned way, but things are changing. India and Us are co-operating in the energy (nuclear) field and US is considering India as very important for security and anti-terrorism matters. Indian economy has grown to commanding heights and the market in India cannot be ignored either. In fact they say India is a better bet than China in the economic field. And technolgy absorption and development is increasing in India. The Silicon Valley is said to be powered by ICs (Indians and Chinese).

While that is being considered and done there are a few other countries which qualify as well, notably Brazil, Saudi Arabia, Australia and even South Africa and Nigeria.

It would be a better world and a better UN if proper and just representation is given to all geographical areas and more members are included from a resurgent Asia and Africa.

It might be even a good idea to merge the permanent and elected members into one single group with say 12 important members from all continents.

My choice for such a revampled uber-council would be US, UK, Germany, France, Russia, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, India, China, Nigeria, South Africa and Australia.

Update on 27/9/09

Or as an alternative how about the following

The G20 countries have agreed at Pittsburgh that this forum (with following members) would become the main economic forum to manage the world economy.

The G20 countries are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, U.S., U.K.

Why not integrate these countries into an expanded UN Security Council which could be renamed UN Supreme Council with no veto rights but 75% majority requiring to pass resolutions.

Iran better watch out for an attack.

2009-07-16T18:48:00.002+12:00

The drum rolls are beating strong.

Joe Biden has stated that Isreal is best capable of deciding its threat and taking action.

Though Obama has played the Good guy to Biden's Bad guy, he is under pressure to get results from Iran for his soft approach.

And Israel has to do something to get back the US support.

So what better way than to do the hard job for US and take out Iran's nuclear facilities and get US in its debt for the next few decades.

Obama is painting himself into a corner, the latest being the September deadline for Iran to dial back on its nuclear development.

Clinton has sent the message that time is running out for Iran and military options are not ruled out.

And the US is drumming up support from Europe and Russia for some sort of action.

Sanctions have not worked in the past and will not be effective again.

All this with no clear sign that Iran is pursuing nuclear weaponry.

With Afganistan turning into another Iraq (what with troop surge, getting UK deeper in, increasing casualties), the US may soon need some victory on another front.

The recent elections in Iran did not go the way the West expected and now they are stuck with the hardliners Ahmedinijad and the Ayotollahs for some more years.

Could be that Israel is being encouraged to up the ante slowly for a final assault.

Will this strategy of intimidation fly ?

Not sure. US and Israel may have to deliver on their threats soon.

Where is the UN ? Sleepy and silent as always.

And the Arabs ? They don't really have a clue and are not able to exert any influence, notwithstanding the Oil they own.

Public right to comment on a Murder trial

2009-07-12T09:03:00.005+12:00

There is a case going on in New Zealand about a murder of an University student by her Tutor, who stabbed her several times to death, then mutilated her body. His main defence is that she provoked him with her tirade and angry words and he is claiming 'manslaughter' instead of 'murder'.

There is a Facebook group against him, where comments are being posted which is disturbing the judiciary here.

The link is

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/technology/news/article.cfm?c_id=5&objectid=10583896

It is rather interesting to see the postings on the Facebook which question the defence for taking any available means under the law to get the sentence they want and at the same time to see the judiciary trying to suppress free speech.

I think both sides are entitled to their actions. It is foolish and impractical to expect the public to keep quite when a trial is going on and the proceedings are detailed in the media daily. People will have their reactions and in Facebook they have found an immediate way to describe their reactions. If the judiciary is alarmed about the effect of reading this may have on the jurors and their final decision, then the only way that can be avoided in this technological age is the sequester any jury (at least in capital crime trials) without any access to media reporting or the net. If the authorities move to shut down such discussions either directly or indirectly, then what is the difference between New Zealand and Iran or China which regularly try to control the contents on the net. The Public voice should not be suppressed. That is what Democracy is all about.

As for the defence, they should have the freedom to wriggle out using whatever legal means are possible, because that is what a 'Defence' is all about. Otherwise the Defence Attorney is not doing his job. That is also why cross-examinations and defence presentations are allowed in a trial. Even with an overwhelming evidence and sometimes even with an admission of guilt, the defence is allowed to proceed, so they can atleast argue for a lenient sentence. If in any case the Defence gets away with something which is not acceptable to the Public, then the only course is to close the loophole in future by legislative action. This defence has also called for such action in New Zealand, that is to remove the defence of provocation. But how that will pan out is another story. For the latest on that, follow the link below :

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/crime/news/article.cfm?c_id=30&objectid=10583823

Democracy and Fair Judiciary have to work for everyone, even the accused.

In the meantime it is interesting reading for people like me.

Update on 22/7/09

The jury has returned a verdict of Guilty. The provocation and temporary insanity pleas did not succeed. Jury proved they are wise. Otherwise it would have established a precedent that if you kill with one stab or bullet it is murder, but if you kill with multiple stabs or bullets then it is temporary insanity. Murderers would have taken to more stabbings or more bullets. Sanity prevails with the jury verdict.

Some random thoughts

2009-06-03T19:20:00.006+12:00

Obama and the Muslims.

I think President Obama has to first develop a consensus among Americans as to what should be the approach to the Muslims of the World. He cannot claim to speak for a majority of Americans or even a majority of his own Democratic party on this important issue. Whatever he says if it is not backed by his country-men and women would be just rhetoric and will risk the failure due to lack of action afterwards. President Obama seems to be on a mission to collect brownie points from various corners of the world, but his support among Americans is becoming shaky, because of his economic policies and flip-flops on a few issues like releasing the photos of Army abuse of prisoners. He is trying to do too many things and is losing focus and support. So he has to be careful about what he promises by way of actions on behalf of all Americans.

More so when Benjamin Netanyahu is not playing along with the American demands to give more concessions and stop/dismantle the settlements. Netanyahu is not even ready to look at the two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian issue. This has made Obama’s task of wooing the Arabs more difficult. They will be looking up to him to solve the Palestinian issue or at the least to come out with a workable policy which he will have to sell to Israel.

Without building a consensus in USA, President Obama will only issue more sound-bites which may come back to bite him later.

Sri Lanka – What now ?

The tragedy in Sri Lanka is not over yet and will not be over for a few more years. The Government has won the war, but not the minds of the Tamils. They have for now gathered the Tamils in refugee camps with no stated plans for their return and rehabilitation. The world had let the Government prosecute the war with no rules or mercy. There had been no great condemnation of the Army’s policy of not allowing any journalists or outsiders to report on the progress of the war and its effect on the innocents. Even now they are not sure as to how many Tamils died during the end period of the war. The US and other Western countries were pre-occupied with their economic troubles and India had its attention on Pakistan and election. It is a surprise that the Sri Lanakan Tamil issue did not play out in the recent election campaign in India , especially Tamilnadu. That must make the Tamils in Sri Lanka more despondent about their future.

Now that the war is over, there is an urgent need for an International initiative may be lead by India to make Sri Lanka accountable for the future of the Tamils there. The government must be made to come out with a timeline for resettling the refugees and return of their land and properties and help them in rehabilitation. Aid to Sri Lanka for this must be channeled by an International Group overseen by efficient administrators. Otherwise the refugee problem will fester and the Tamils may become the next Palestinians. It is not clear whether the seriousness of this has been realized by the world leaders and the UN yet.

General Motors – Who cares ?

I read recently that the folks of Detroit are angry that Americans elsewhere did not really care as to what happened to General Motors. An Icon of American industrial supremacy has fallen and is being dragged through unseemly forums to survive in a truncated form. I really do not understand the Bankruptcy move. Why did not the Federal Government simply take over the company and get concessions from the creditors, union and others to sell off assets ? The Bankruptcy and rebirth as a majority Government-owned new entity seems to be waste of resources and precious judicial time. May be Obama and his team had no idea as to how to effectively nationalize and run a troubled company. They should have taken lessons from India, which successfully averted a crisis in Satyam by immediately taking over the management and getting a new team in place which quickly found a willing buyer for the Company. The Indian stock market has absorbed this shock well and is coming back well.

May be the Detroit folks are right. No one cares about General Motors.

Free online news- How long will it last ?

We are seeing the death of newspapers and magazines which put all their wares for free on the net, banking only on the advertisement revenue. They thought they had a good business model going there. But the Economic Crisis has put paid to their future plans of delivering news and making money from the net. Now they have started talking about charging readers on online news like Itunes or some such thing. Will the net surfers bite ? I don’t think this is the right time for asking readers to pay for service which they have taken for granted. The economic crisis is putting many out of jobs and spending on inessentials is down. Is news very essential to the common man or woman ? I think we will see more of these bankruptcies and in the future Television news channels becoming more popular once again. CNN and Fox news and even Al Jazeera may cash in where NY Times and Washington Post lose readers and revenue.

Green shoots and Toxic Assets

Now we have a new phrase 'green shoots' to rival 'toxic assets'. What recovery exactly are we expecting ? Is it going back to the world economy as it was pre-2007, with US consuming, China exporting and Banks and Investment Bankers and Hedge Funds making money for themselves. I don't think that kind of recovery would do any good. The American auto industry is out and the infrastructure there needs trillions to repair and restore. The next recovery should focus on manufacturing, eradicating poverty, destroying arms, stopping warfare and improving health care for everyone. It should not be based on spending on consumer goods. How about a real estate boom in the third world giving everyone there an opportunity to have a shelter of their own ? This is the kind of recovery we should be working for.

USA vist

2009-04-18T08:24:00.002+12:00

I had a great trip to USA recently

Some of my impressions recorded on a daily basis, copied from my Facebook page, because I am lazy to re-write.
However I might add more.

Off to US tomorrow to boost US economy by spending time and money there, hope Obama gives me some of those bailout $$, even 50% would do

I am here in Washington DC, having a good time, weather co-operating well, saw the Georgetown Yuppies yesterday, they are still at their mocha, so life is good

Kumar's Lexus Hybrid is great, the navigator lady got wild when he would not take the turns she suggested, so she shut herself off, how about wives do the same

Got on the famous Washington beltway and off, how about they put a conveyor belt underneath, so cars can save on petrol, (this is called Kadi Joke in Tamil)

Update on Kumar's navigator. We are talking to the company to change her to a HE, because I thought it was sexist of the company to have the default a female

In the Big Apple now, met with Lady Liberty, Saw One Fifth Ave, wondering where the rest 4 fifth has gone, Empire State Bldg view from top was great minus Kong

Started at Ground Zero yesterday and stayed on the ground for the whole day, walking nearly 100 blocks from UN Plaza to Central Park and back to 3rd street. Tried to revive the Bull of Wall St, but it had gone to deep sleep, no luck there. Waldorf Astoria needs a coat of paint. De Beers and Van Cleef have some fantastic diamond necklaces on display. Unfortunately Liz Taylor was not with me to buy me some diamonds.

Went to Philadelphia and trod on Ground Holy there, Liberty Bell on the ground was not so awe-inspiring, but the Independence Hall and the Park Rangers' comentaries were really great.Learnt that New York was the capital for just a few days before Philly took that over for a few months before Washington DC was purpose-built as the Capital. Had my first American cup cake, but found it very treackly and sticky.

Yesterday I developed a new cocktail and am dedicating to Americans. It is called 'Peace of Mind' (can also be called Vodka and Blackberry) and goes like this. Fill a tall glass of Vodka and put the Blackberry in it and go to sleep. Guaranteed to give you good night sleep and peace of mind. Americans need it. Visited Princeton Uni yesterday, great architecture and nice grounds with squirrels and rabbits running. I am sure they get their own degrees. There are a few nice sculptures on the ground, whoever figures out what they mean will get a PhD from Mohan University. I am in Providence now, catching up with the in-laws, so it is all legal for 2 days.

Went to Boston today, visited Harvard campus, this trip is turning into a Uni trip. I am hoping something will rub off on me from those brainy youngsters floating around these great learning institutions. Harvard is all Red whereas Princeton is all greay and black ( I mean the architecture). Wish I can go to Yale too, not going to happen, May be I will go to Uni of Chicago.

What if Osama Bin Laden declares Peace on America ? I am just wondering what if Osama Bin Laden declares- My dream has come true, America is down and has come to a standstil, what I attempted to do when I sent in those planes to hit the Twin Towers, thanks to the Wall Street Wizards. I am now declaring my Mission Accomplished and am putting an end to the Jihad. All my followers, please note, the Jihad is over, go and love the Americans. Will Obama still pursue Osama ?

Yesterday was the visit to Newport where we checked out the mansions of super-rich, like the railroad baron on early 20th century, the Van Der Bilts. Great stuff, marbles, paintings, artifacts, gold and silver, etc. Came back and bought a Powerball ticket. Had to see Brown Uni at night, so could not be sure it is really Brown. The cliff walk on Newport during the typical New England mini-stormy weather was surreal.

Spent the day in the Windy City (Chicago) which also turned out to be the wet city today. Dug into a sumptuous deep stuffed pizza, the specialty of Chicago. Really unique. The shore drive on Lake Michigan was very nice. They have very impressive tall, double decker trains here, very sleep with steel cladding, etc. Heard Obama has started a car mechanical and servicing company to service all cars sold previously by GM and Ford. Hope they do something like that in NZ too. But if it means we have to go into a deep recession, then no thanks. Saw a Bank in Chicago called Fifth Third Bank. Trying to work out what it means.

I heard there was a BankOne, and then the other Banks started calling themselves Bank Half, Bank One third etc. But Bank Fifth Third still beats me. Unless it was because the Bank was started at the intersection of Fifth Ave and Third Street.

Today was Miller Time , no, make it Miller Day. Visited the Miller Brewery at Milwaukee, Wisconsin (2 hrs train ride from Chicago) and went ont he Brewery tour and sampling, all free. Can't go better than that. Weather was good, sunny and blue skies. Reminded me of Auckland in Summer. It is still snowing there in Milwaukee and they are making sculptures out of unmelted snow.

Walked the beautiful city of Chicago today, thier own Central park is called Millennium Park, Anish Kapoor cleverly has put a mirror in the Park, shaped like a doughnut and now everyone is having fun seeing the skyscrapers reflected on it. Tried to take money from ATM, Bank of America had no cash to give, Citi wanted to charge me a fee, but JP Morgan Chase gave the cash quickly with no fuss. No wonder they are no 1 here.

Came back to Washington for a gorgeous steak dinner, ate the juiciest steak at Logan's-thank you Kumar. Yesterday was smack in the middle of Cherry Blossom Festival in DC. Heaps of crowd straining the metro system whihc is not designed to that much crowd. The monuments walk and White House phot-op were fantastic. DC Rocks. Go Obama.

Took a long drive to Raleigh, NC. It became greener as we travelled south from DC, but not as green as NZ, which I would say is unique. Yesterday was at DC, taking in the Capitol and walking the Mall. They have a Chevy Chase Bank here, I am looking for the George Cloony Bank. Had a fabulous Japanese Food. So all going well and on track.

Saw a few Smithsonian museums today, need another week to see them all, but unfortunately no time for that. It was cold and windy, equalling Chicago. Windy Washington may be wants me to get out. Had a good pasta meal, freshly prepared at a quaint little place. Good value for money. I wonder why Smithsonian does not have a section for Asia in its Mammals display.

Now that Illinois has given two Presidents to USA, why don't they call themselves the "The Presidential State'

Last day in Washington DC. Went to Hooters for lunch, the lovely girl asked to see my ID before serving me a beer. I felt very flattered. Went to Teddy Roosevelt's memorial. It is hidden and forgotten by DC. Even FDR's memorial needs cleaning up. Why have the Roosevelts falln from grace ? The Iwo Jima memorial was great. Good bye DC.

Back home after the last leg of 2 days in Vegas, which is a magic fantasy land, glowing more after sunset. Liked the NY, NY themed hotel the best, with a roller coaster ride and duplicate Liberty statue. Vegas at dusk is at its best. Caught a show 'Crazy Girls' at Riviera. Do you know these girls have their own statues (of their backside only) at the entrance of the Hotel and punters rub their bottoms for luck before going to play in the Casino. Just like hte Bronze Bull on Wall Street in NY. But the luck is very elusive and not long-lasting as recent events have proved.

Here is the link to some of the photos of the trip. Enjoy. Thanks

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=87312&id=650781016&l=3a3ffb9f97

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=86253&id=650781016&l=27e18e7eb8

Some suggestions for USA

2009-03-29T11:55:00.004+13:00

To deal with the current crisis, why not Obama try these:

1. Create a National Housing Corp to buy out the undewater homes and then rent them out to the ex-owners at some nominal rent so they would have the incentive to stay there, take care of the asset, look for a job and restart their lives. This could save lot of time and money that is going in foreclosures and similar legal actions. Also this way the bailout money could be used directly to help home owners instead of being swollowed by the Banks

2. Start a new Bank of USA, owned by the Government with initial capital of say $250 billion or so. This could give incentive for people to shift their money from the failed banks like Bank of America, Citigroup etc which can be allowed to merge with the Bank of USA. The new bank could have new management and new policy directions to help the development of the needy sectors of the economy.

3. Obama should invoke emergency powers to take tough economic and financial decisions like these. In the present climate I am sure the Congress, Senate and the Public would support him

4. At present it looks like Obama is acting for acting sake and is throwing money indiscriminately at the problem without any control about who gets it and how it would be used. The Banks are scaring him into giving them the money to compensate them for the book losses that they may incur if they recall all the bad loans. Which need not happen. The losses can be continued and only the rules for marking the assets to the market need to be changed so Banks can still have a healthy balance sheet. ( Remember at present the balance sheets are like , ' there is nothing right on the left side and on the right side nothing is left'

5. The Americans should revalue their values of Public and Private Sector roles in the Economy and also about the 'Too big to be allowed to fail' syndrome. Like the Auto industry is heading towards consolidation the Banking and Finance industry also need consolidation with dishonest, stupid and incompetent Banks and Finance firms allowed to fail or merge.

What if Osama declares Peace on America

2009-03-29T00:07:00.003+13:00

I am just wondering what if Osama Bin Laden declares- 'My dream has come true, America is down and has come to a standstill, thanks to the Wall Street Wizards, which was what I attempted to do when I sent in those planes to hit the Twin Towers. I am now declaring my Mission Accomplished and am putting an end to the Jihad. All my followers, please note, the Jihad is over, throw away your guns and bombs, don't hate Americans instead go and love the Americans'.

Will Obama still pursue Osama if he does this ?

Taking knife to a Tagger-Is it justified ?

2009-02-16T19:25:00.002+13:00

Recently in Auckland there was an incident of a 15 year old tagger having been killed with a knife by the home owner after a brief chase. The link is
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10556542

The home owner has since been convicted of manslaughter and been sentenced to 4 years prison term, which he may appeal.

This case has raised a big debate in New Zealand about the justice meted out, whether the home owner was justified in killing the boy and whether the boy deserved what he got.
The debate can be followed on this link
http://blogs.nzherald.co.nz/blog/your-views/2009/2/13/bruce-emerys-sentence-fair/?c_id=1501154&objectid=10556569

I am very disturbed about the support the home owner is getting from many in New Zealand. He is almost made out to be a hero who in defending his property from petty vandalism, is entitled to give out the capital punishment which the justice system itself has fore-sworn.

The majority opinion expressed seems to be that the kid deserved what he got. I thought death penalty had been abolished in New Zealand. But it appears to be okay when it is administered outside the courts. What next, private vigilantism?

Not an healthy situation to be in. There have also been questions about the kind of parenting the boy has received, coming from a poor family with a single mother who had gone overseas for a job. Parenting however cuts both ways. Remember the home oewner is a parent too. Should he not have been more cool-headed and avoided taking a knife with him?

It is facile to say that he decided to chase the boy, but took with him a knife to protect himself, in case he was attacked. Looks a bit deliberate to me. As deliberate as the kid when he took a spray can with him. One does not excuse the other.

The kid consciously took a spray can to damage some one’s property. The property owner consciously took a knife to damage some one’s body if not life. I wonder which was worse, inspite of who provoked whom and what provoked what. Where is the Christian spirit of showing the other cheek ? Can society be peaceful with such indiscipline and anger ?

Break down of family and society, lack of efective policing because of small number of police doing inessential stuff, police not being on the beat/street to send out a message, police not responding within reasonable time to reports of crime, lenient sentencing, availability of early parole, etc are probably some of the many causes of such incidents.

Very scary to think where we all are going.

Ring a Ring a Roses-All Fell Down

2009-02-14T09:38:00.004+13:00

The Basle committee had mandated capital adequacy ratios for banks and many banks had their own rules for recognising impaired loans. But with the introduction of sub-prime, mid-prime, altA, interest only, negative-amortised, option ARM and other such loans the Banks and their regulators moved away from proper recognition of risk and capital backing.

This is as much a failure of Central Banks as any other. Now they are making another great mistake in thinking that tweaking interest rates will be the solution to the crisis.
The Banks are basically insolvent and have no will or resource to carry on their basic business of lending and making profits. Whatever funds are pumped into them will go in a bottomless sinking hole to compensate for the losses already on the books and losses yet to be recognised. This is the sorry state of Banks in US and UK and a few other key western countries today.

In return for the ‘Made in China’ goods exported to USA, the Americans have sent ‘Made in USA’ financial crisis and recession to the whole world. And what Osama Bin Laden failed to do, the Wall Street Wizards have done to USA, i.e bring it to a stand-still.

The crisis started with home loans and the remedy has also to start there. The home buyers who took these toxic mortgages have to be given subsidies to compensate for the loss of equity which can be applied to write down the debt. The funds pumped in should get the Government ownership of the Banks for the near future. Management of the Banks has to be changed with priority to keep to basic Banking. The relief has to be spread to the whole gamut of bank customers and home owners. Those who paid their loans properly could get some tax relief.

I am also wondering whether the world is once again following a wrong trend being set by the Americans in the economic/fiscal fields.

The American brains have been the principal culprits in creating the crisis in the first place by designing exotic financial products which they sold all over the world. BY following that trend the Banks and Financial Institutions have lost all their money and credibility. Now the cure being tried by the Americans, namely, lowering interest rates, pumping money, rescuing troubled lenders (who may not deserve such rescue), throwing big money at the problem etc is again being followed by most of the world.

Is this the right way forward ? This may result in more inflation, higher interest rates and more restraints on the business in the future, deepening the depression. Why not take a pause, let some Banks/institutions fail and the whole field be cleaned out. IN the meantime whatever money is available should be used to help the citizens who are affected, may be by direct assistance to reduce their loans, cash subsidies, increased unemployment benefits, etc.

May be it is the right time to call a meeting like the Bretton Woods conference. One thing that can be immediately decided at such a meeting is to stop all warfare and arms production so trillions can be saved and diverted to nation building everywhere. But we don’t have a strong leader to lead and direct anywhere in the world.

In the absence of such an initiative each affected nation may stumble from step to step and like the nursery rhyme ’round and round and all fell down’.

Hope this does not come true.

Ignore Slumdog, Ignore not Srilanka

2009-02-07T21:05:00.004+13:00

Yesterday I saw Slumdog Millionaire and felt it to be a big ‘bakhwas’ i.e. nonsense. I am not concerned about the poverty and crime portrayed in the movie, because such things exist all over the world in different forms and styles. However the movie did not have any worthwhile acting or storyline or emotive scenes. The actor who portrayed the lead character had the most wooden face I have ever seen on the screen and his delivery of line more like mumbling. Anil Kapoor acted awfully. The main premise of the story that a successful contestant will be immediately thrown to the Police to be beaten and interrogated was so unrealistic. May be the producers wanted to take a dig at Gitmo. I think the movie is appealing to Western critics because India and particularly Mumabi is the flavour now. It would be a big tragedy and travesty if this movie gets any Oscars for any thing. I can’t picture this movie in the Oscar league with films like Gone with the Wind, Gandhi, Godfather, One flew over the cuckoo’s nest, etc.I hope people realise that this is one more botched Bollywood style movie, made by Britishers and leave it to its own fate in the box office. No need to glorify it with any award.

Sri Lanka becoming an hotspot

It is very concerning to see once again the innocents caught in the cross-fire between the government and the rebels in Sri Lanka. But it has to be admitted that by following a path of military confrontation, the Tigers invited this result eventually. The government would one day win because the rebels could not perpetuate their fund-raising and arms-buying forever, especially when the economic conditions are not good and when the world is getting tired of wars in several corners. The United Nations had effectively withdrawn from peace-making long back and with India pre-occupied with Pakistan and Kashmir, the Sri Lankan rebels did not have much hope of keeping their enclave for long. (The UN has become a Police, investigating Benazir Bhutto's assassination. May be they should also investigate the Mumbai Massacre).

The Sri Lankan government should now make a good offer of peace and protect the Tamil citizens to establish its credibility. However the way things are going on the ground, I am afraid the Sri Lankan Government would keep the Tamils in camps/enclaves for a porlonged time which would not give them any hope of participating/leading better lives in future. I fervently hope that these camps do not turn into sources of deep discontent among the Tamils and lead them to a desperate sitiuaton and start thinking of getting out of Sri Lanka. Then they would flood into India which would be their natural first port of call.

My fear is things could get out of control if the Government does not implement an immediate plan to assimilate the Tamils into the national fabric and reassure the Tamils that Sri Lanka is their country too and they have a future there. Otherwise it could easily escalate into an international incident involving India and several other countries.

May be it is time for the government to offer an amnesty programme so the remaining rebels also could embrace peace.

Can Capitalism be turned on and off like tap water ?

2009-01-31T13:07:00.002+13:00

These are extra-ordinary times and require similar thinking and actions.

Capitalism and private enterprise have blown their chances by playing fast and loose and are on retreat all over the world.

Central Banks have to rethink their monetary intervention policies. Tweaking OCR will not work anymore because that is the rate at which Banks get their money but not the rate at which customers get it for their loans. Banks do not pass it on fully, naturally, as they are middle-men and look to their profit and bonuses (dirty word now) especially in these lean times. And also Banks hare now afraid of lending - like the proverbial cat that drank the hot milk and shied away from milk for a long time.

The way to go forward may be that Central Banks should get involved in Commercial Banking either directly or indirectly (part nationalisation perhaps) and direct lending to desired sectors of the economy at desired interest costs so the economy could be given the boost correctly.

Western Governments can play this game and use their resources to buy up some good financial assets which they can offload later for profit. Remember the bailout funds now being given to the Banks are going nowhere now and even the Americans are being stumped as to what to do. Call it 'market socialism' or whatever. One caution though, don't hire the financial wizards from the American Universities who screwed up the world economy in the first place.

Some European countries like Sweden have done it successfully in the past.

So it is time to start thinking outside the box of standard Capitalistic and Free market style at least for the next few years.

Early repayment penalty and Withholding tax on Bank interest

2009-01-30T17:42:00.007+13:00

The fall in interest rates in many countries has not percolated to the home owners who had borrowed and fixed their loans earlier. In several countries like New Zealand, the Banks charge a penalty to unfix the loan and refinance at the current lower rates.
The Governments should come to the party with a Early repayment Subsidy for unfixing the loans fixed at higher rates.
The banks are getting tax payer money as bailout and guarantees. So why should not the taxpayer get help from the Government for lessening his financial burdens.
Remember it is the Central Banks which ratcheted up the interet rates in the last few years to cool the housing market. Now they are reducing it to boost the housing market and want citizens to increase their loan liabilities.
What is the guarantee they will not stiff the borrowers with higher rates again in the future.
Why should the banks be always winners and the citizens the losers.
The early repayment penalty is being collected by the Banks upfront which many may not afford.
Granted there are contract terms and all that, but consider that the whole mess internationally has been brought about by Banks and Finance Wizards playing fast and loose and now they have gone off with their fat bonuses.
Also look at the bigger picture. The financial wizards who were trusted with the tax payers' money in the form of deposits played fast and loose and lost all of it in many shcemes they themselves did not understand. They were greedy for their fat bonuses and speculated with someone else's money. Now Governments all over the world are coming to their rescueby pumping billions into the Banks which really do not deserve it.
How could an ordinary citizen who wanted to just buy a house understand the complexities of loan contracts and forecast the future losses. I also suspect that in most of the cases the borrowers' attention was not specifically drawn to the implications of all this when they signed the documents.
Besides the above subsidy, to help the elderly who have invested money in Bank Term Deposits who are affected by the lowering of interest rates, the Government should immediately remove the withholding tax on the Bank deposits may be with a ceiling. This would give good relief to those who depend on interest from these deposits for their livelihood. They have trusted their hard earned money with Banks which sadly in the recent past had not taken good care of it.
The Governments should direct their assistance correctly to immediately benefit the tax payers which will also boost the economy.
Otherwise people would lose faith in the Government as they have lost in the Finance guys.

Open letter to Obama

2009-01-28T19:17:00.001+13:00

Bravo, President Obama

In your interview to Al-Arabiya you have said all the right things in the right tone and manner. Now you have taken the issue to the Muslim world and it is transparent that you want friendship and peace with all the peace-loving Muslims. I am sure there will be positive reactions to this. America under your leadership seems to be putting the correct step forward.
Please make sure all your administration embraces these sentiments and style and then you will win hearts and minds.
I am also impressed by Robert Gates when he talked about the limited goal of the world community in Afganisthan. The focus should be to 'get the limited job done quickly and get out'. If you also follow through on your promise to get out of Iraq within a short time-table you would show your sincerity to the world.
But remember USA also has a commitment to rebuild the countries ravaged by it. May be the present economic circumstances in USA do not permit you to start a Marshall Plan for Iraq but you have the responsibility and liability to start some rebuilding going there.
I wish you all the best.

Obama, the Economy and India

2009-01-21T19:29:00.004+13:00

The whole World is expecting 'Jesus Obama' to do nothing less than save the world (may be from the Americans themselves). Good luck. God Bless.

As some of his priorities I think Obama has to say sorry on behalf of USA to the thousands of Iraqi innocents and the American soldiers who were killed in Iraq because of the War started by USA there on false grounds and get the hell out of Iraq immediately. Then he should focus on putting the American economy in order and abolish lobbying in USA to prevent future fiascos.

He can also allow the United Nations Security Council to expand and remove the veto system there and promote adopting majority decisions in UN.

Speaking of putting the economy in order, how about the following for the banks in USA.

Get 51% stake in all the major banks for the money invested in them
As majority owner, get the Treasury nominees on the board of the Banks and may be CEO and CFO too, so the banks can be run tight
Fix ceiling on remuneration of top executives and introduce performance ratings which will govern pay increases
Limit the activities of Banks to basic banking and make sure they do not enter into exotic financial products
Write down the loans of poor home-owners affected by the sub-prime and housing crisis to match the capital pumped into these banks. For those who paid their mortgages honestly in the last 3 years, give a cash refund of the principal paid by them (which might compensate them for the fall of house value)
Give directions to the Banks for prioritising their lending to important sectors of the economy and make sure they actually lend.
Let the Hedge funds go bankrupt and let the shareholders take the loss.

If this all sounds like Socialism or Mixed-economy then let it be. After the runaway excesses of Capitalism, it may be the bitter medicine needed. If necessary they can get expertise from India which nationalised banks a few decades back and is still having an healthy dose of public-private sector banking mix with good regulation.

In a lighter vein it seems like the Americans may also have to take a leaf from Indian Banks’ famous (infamous) ‘Loan Melas or Loan Festivals’ if the Banks there do not come forward to lend again, inspite of all the funds they got as bailout from the Government.

Obama is all set to spend more than one trillion dollars to prime the pump in America. That much money will attract all kinds of shady lobbyists. He and his team have to be very careful in how the funds are deployed. It will be a good idea to withdraw America from all the wars immediately to save money. This will save American lives and pockets. There is no threat to America from anywhere or anyone in the World. With the Department of Homeland Security running effectively they can stop all perceived terrorist attacks on American soil.

I also hope Obama does not meddle too much in the Kashmir affair and make it difficult for India and Pakistan to solve the issue. In the guise of neutralising Taleban, Obama and his team should not be drawn into the Kashmir issue and lose their goodwill with democratic India.

Finally I can’t escape the irony of George Bush and Dick Cheney wanting to get rid of Osama and instead getting Obama to head the USA. Just an alphabet change, but what a change it is for America. And it is funny that Bush and Cheney lost the war against the Muslims and paved the way for an African-American with a Muslim middle name to become the President of USA. I know I am taking a cheap shot here, but could not help myself.

How to stop the carnage in Gaza

2009-01-08T19:09:00.003+13:00

The rich Arab countries in the Middle East are cozy with USA and are spending billions every year to buy arms and ammunition from USA, even though there is no threat of any country invading them and taking over the oilfields.
USA is the main backer for Israel which also receives arms/ammunition from USA. The Arab countries instead of spending on arms can give their funds to the Palestinians by way of grant every year to live peacefully in their cities without provoking Israel.
Granted the land is precious to both the Jews and Palestinians, but some sort of peaceful co-existence can be worked out with enough cash for the Palestinians from the Arab countries till they settle down.
It is horrible to see the Muslims being massacred by the Israelis. USA can't solve this issue because of its role as the main arms-supplier. I am sure the ordinary citizens of Palestine will be ready to lead a normal life with cash support from the Arab countries and get on with their lives.
I think USA is the main culprit in keeping the Middle east situation alive, because it gives an oppoprtunity for the arms makers to continue to sell to both sides and make money. The Arabs should realise that they are being taken for a ride.
Instead they should boycott USA and refuse to sell oil to the Americans. There is enough demand elsewhere for the Oil to be sold at $40 per barrel. The Americans should not get the Oil or the Oil money which is being invested there. That would put a stop to their supporting Israel. A public promise of continuous annual subsidy to each citizen of Palestine by the rich Arab for a promise not to back thehardliners like Hamas or Hizbullah will make the Palestinians realise that there is a better way for peaceful co-existence. What I am saying is 'remove the middle-men, both the Americans and the Hamas/Hizbullah' from the scene. This requires a bold vision and guts, which the Arabs should demonstrate they have and work now or lose another opportunity.
Remember what was said of Yassir Arafat-He never lost an opportunity to lose the opportunity to make peace.
However I have the feeling that all the negative opinions against Israel will not make any difference to the situation. Israel and USA will continue their policies of keeping the Middle east under tension, so they can pursue their practice of making war and money by sale and use of arms.
The US congress has laid down the gauntlet by passing a resolution supporting Israel and its right to self-defence. Will the Arab countries take up the gauntlet by passing similar resolutions expressing support for the Palestinians and pledging to do whatever it takes to see justice done and acting on the promise ?.
I am not sure. Till that will and determination is developed, America/Isarel Team will call the shots in the Middle East. Middle East has the resource which America needs but America is calling the shots. What a shame
United Nations in its current structure and rules with veto systmes is not going to be of any help.
The Arab countries are too much linked with the market in USA for their oil revenues and investments. The Palestinians are not going to get any justice soon.
There has to be a shock to the International Community. That can happen only if all nations who support Palestine withdraw from the UN, the Arabs boycott the USA and stop selling oil to USA and if the Arabs come together to give an ultimatum/deadline for the peace process to be completed. The Arabs should withdraw their investments from the Western World and look elsewhere for their security. America/Israel team is not invincible.
But what do the Arbs want?

Communism died naturally, but Capitalism overdosed

2008-12-28T10:36:00.002+13:00

The rise of Capitalism in the West during the last few decades had the elements of unbridled borrowing, lending and buying to stimulate economic growth. Which worked when many countries were rebuilding after several wars and end of colonolialism.
But the real underpinning of Capitalism should have been creating wealth by production, savings and meaningful investment in things that benefit the humankind.
The avarice that was practiced to an excess in the last few years when financial assets assumed more significance than real assets has brought Capitalism to its knees.
Regulation or lack of it was one of the contributing factors, the main factor being the unseemly pursuit of personal wealth by greedy and fraudulent means, led by the financiers of USA and UK and aided by the Governments either directly or silently. Manufacturing and infrastructure development was pushed aside. Now the World is paying the price and will pay it for a few more years.
Governments now should focus their energies on helping citizens to work, produce and save for a decent living. A moral sea change is required.
Will America under Obama lead the way or will it need a new leader with a new Phlosophy, may be from the East?

USA-the Bailout Nation

2008-12-18T18:40:00.002+13:00

After the Banks it is now the turn of the Car companies to seek the bailout funds being handed out in USA. But before handing out any money to the Car companies the US government should force the 3 automakers to merge into one single company, give them funds to continue in business, but dismiss the entire top management and give out a management contract to Toyota or some such innovative foreign auto company with the mandate to revamp the production line to start making sensible, fuel-efficient cars which the customers can buy at affordable prices and run with less damage to their purse and environment.

GM, Ford and Chrysler should go out as brand names because those brands are dead. The government should get majority stake for the investment and the auto-workers should get shares as part of the compensation for their promise to work for less wages in future. They will then have a stake in the success of the venture.

This type of nationalisation may be better than throwing good moeny at bad manufacturing and management practices and losing, just to keep jobs going. That will only postpone the inevitable.

Random thoughts-Bush, Obama, Clinton and Mumbai

2008-12-07T11:40:00.003+13:00

George Bush has recently said that he was unprepared for War. In fact he was unprepared for anything, most of all 'being President of USA'. He came in to the Presidency by fraud, courtesy of Supreme Court which awarded the Presidency to him. His invasion of Iraq resulted in the death of more American citizens in the War on Terror than was killed on 9/11. His obsession with Iraq and his alliance with Dick Cheney and Big Business (which are the only winners of the Iaq war) diverted his attention from the domestic scene in USA. He took his eyes off the economic ball, which has resulted in another catastrophe in the financial markets, the financial costs of which will be no less than the Iraq war and will play out for more years to come. He screwed up the USA , Iraq and the World.The only positive to his long bad reign is that he made Americans cry out for change in record numbers and so desperate that they were even ready to elect an African-American as President, which might not have happened otherwise.

However Obama's selections for his Team, especially Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State is not the 'Change' the Americans voted for. The same old, same old.... Watch the Money Bags of Democrat Party make hay while the sun shines under the Obama administration. The campaign contributors to the party have to be paid back in the course of time and it will start happening soon after January the 20th.

It seems like everyone is expecting Obama to save America and Hillary Clinton to save the World. Remember both are equally inexperienced in their areas and both are going to be more reactive than pro-active, in view of the domestic economic/financial crisis in the USA and the multiple flash points in the world. USA's reputation as a Leader in the Financial and Political arenas has diminished considerably in the last few years. Obama is not proving to be the 'take-charge' President everyone expects him to be. His selections for his Economic and Foreign Policy Teams in the last few weeks have shown that he would be more of a 'give-charge to others' President. He and his Team may be relying on more of the same old with the Democratic public-spending slant. The outside events will shape their actions rather than the other way around. Don't waste your breath expecting any miracle.

The carnage in Mumbai has been discovered to be the act of foreign terrorists or locals recruited by foreign terrrorist organisations, may be linked to the struggle in Kashmir. The sophisticated arms and ammunitions used, for example, machine guns, grenades etc indicate that funding and weapons have come from outside India. India has many faceless enemies and it is too big a place to defend effectively 24/7. This probably is the price many large democracies will be paying more often in the future. As it becomes increasingly difficult to attack America, the terrorists will be looking for other targets elsewhere. Constant vigilance and better policing and intelligence-sharing may be able to stop some of the attacks. The downturn in the world economy may create more frustrations and lead more prople to cross-over to the dark side. It would be nice if arms production and distribution is curtailed with more concerted effort by the major world players. Insha-Allah, the innocents will be spared that way.

As long as the Israeli-Palestine and the Kashmiri problems are not solved the flash-points in West and South Asia would be simmering, waiting for a spark to explode anytime. May be statehood for Palestine and Kashmir is the only way out. It would take guts for Israel and India to cut off and set free Palestine and Kashmir, but hanging on to them may rip out their guts slowly, who knows ?

Update on Bush(14/01/09)
I think George Bush's legacy would have been correctly highlighted if he had named the aircraft-carrier 'USS Mission Accomplished' instead of 'USS George H W Bush'. That would shine the spotlight on the lies and falsehoold that pervaded the Bush Presidency for the last 8 years, which incidentally he won in 2000 by fraud and with the support of US Supreme Court. But what is likely to happen is may be Jenna or Barbara Bush will become President one day and name another aircraft-carrier after her father George W Bush. Anything can happen in America with the Oil and Business lobbies active.

Two Elections that have brought Change

2008-11-09T17:33:00.003+13:00

The voters in USA and and New Zealand have both responded to the calls for change and have voted new Governments into office. It is nice to see that the Americans have crossed the racial divide and it is great that Barack Obama has been able to appeal to all Americans with his policies and pronouncements.

Obama owes much of his victory to George Bush who by his mis-rule and incalculable damage to America and the world, created a stage in USA where practically every one was crying for Change and an end to the Republicans at the control. That is Bush's legacy as President for 8 years.

Now that he is President, Obama will have much to deliver to his supporters in USA and in the World. He has to start acting quickly so his programmes can be started when the Nation's goodwill is with him, before they all wake up to the realities of the Executive, Legislative and Judicial wrangling that is bound to slow down things. He has to clean up the nation's finances and tell the bad news to the American people about the long and hard times ahead and how the recovery is going to be a gradual process with no miracles happening soon. Much Hope is riding on the Change Obama has promised.

Now how he delivers that is in his own hands. Best of luck to Obama.

In New Zealand, Helen Clark has been dethroned after nine years in the Government and John Key has brought the National Pary back to Office.

But I worry about how much John Key will depend on Bill English and how he will be influenced by the old guards of National Party led by English, who I consider as the Winston Peters of the National Party.

Key had adopted many Labour policies to make National seem like Labour Lite to get the votes. He should not become only the Front Man for the National Oldies and be controlled by them. The NZ public got bored with Helen Clark and the vote is as much against her personality as against Labour's long reign. If she had handed over the leadership of the party to Goff or Cunliffe six months ago and allowed them to lead the campaign the results could have been different or closer.

John Key should not waste this opportunity and slip back in his promises or actions to make his Government work for all of NZ, instead of only the rich and business class. The dynamics have changed all over the world and there is no clear Left or Right anymore. All countries are affected by the Economic turmoil and Financial Crises and it requires a steady and balanced hand and clear vision for facing the difficult times.

Hope Key delivers as much here in New Zealandc as Obama is expected to deliver in the USA.

Economic Topsy-turvy - Chinese Curse

2008-10-14T21:01:00.005+13:00

Is it not ironical that a few years back the world saw Russia privatizing its state-owned enterprises and activating its stock market thus increasing prosperity for atleast some Russians and now we see the Western World on a nationlising spree, coming to the aid of its' ailing banks and stock markets to preserve the wealth of few Capitalists.

Who will have the last laugh or will it only be crying for all concerned for the foreseeable future, both in the East and West ?

Asia which includes China, India and the Arab countries may be able to save the world with their enterprise, savings habits and oil wealth. But will they be given the chance or will they be hijacked by the corrupt capitalists of the Western World again ?

Also it is really sad that now all the renowned International Banks want everything guaranteed by governments, viz their lendings, their borrowings by way of deposits from Public, inter-bank borrowings and much everything else.

It seems Risk management has gone out of the window as far as Banks are concerned after they have played fast and loose in the last few years. Why should they then be rewarded with fees and interest and profits ?. No risk, no reward.

It appears that all banks have to be nationalised by their respective Governments and only Sovereign Risk will have to be assessed for lending for any purpose. What a come down for Banks. Thanks to USA's leading financial brains for making a mockery of all Banks.

Consider this.

Paulson as chief of Goldman Sachs pushed Congress to liberalise rules for Investment Banks so they can take on higher leverage to speculate and make more money betting on worthless loans and paper securities. His firm sold these to other Banks, etc. Then he becomes Treasury Secretay and sees the mess explode the financial markets. He allows Bear Stearns and Merryl Lynch to be taken over by bigger banks, lets Leehman collapse thus killing the opposition and that leaves Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley standing. They turn themselves into Banks. Meanwhile Paulson drums up the Bailout Plan of $700 billion to buy the toxic mortgages and another $250 billion to recapitalise Banks. Guess who benefits, his old firm Goldman Sachs. The Bailout is going to be administered by his ex-aide at Sachs, Neel Kashkari who is now the Bailout Czar. Shows how one of the Villains of the Crisis has morphed into the Hero of the Bailout.

God save USA.

To paraphrase a Chinese curse 'we are living in interesting times'"

USA-Crisis in the Financial markets

2008-10-01T19:51:00.015+13:00

There is a pattern here.
Every few years USA has to get into a war, using its arms and ammunitions and weapons and then rebuild/buy again. It used to be called the Military-Industrial complex. Now one has to add the Finance-Business to that complex.
Because now every few years the finance guys rip off the economy and common citizen by blowing and bursting bubbles (S and L Crisis, Junk Bond Crisis, Dotcom Crisis, Sub-Prime/CDO Crisis etc) which cost the tax-payer ultimately in rescue and recovery and more taxes. There are many Industry/Business/Military/Finance executives and Politicians in USA who benefit by this cycle with rich pickings.
The average Joe is expected to bail out the economy and nation repeatedly by assuming more tax burden, boosting consumption by taking on more debt .Meanwhile the USA goes deeper and deeper into debt. USA should have been declared 'Insolvent and Bankrupt' years back and other nations should have stopped investing there.
Now the whole world is suffering and will continue to suffer yet again.
USA seems to have ‘lost the plot’ and in the process ‘lost its cash/wealth too’.

I also think a good percentage of the $700 billion will be siphoned off into the pockets of vested interests and individuals who will be tasked with designing and implementing the bailout being discussed.
It is ironical that the Goldman Sach's former chief Paulson is leading the bailout which helps firms like Goldman more than the average Joe.
And Warren Buffet after investing in Goldman is pushing for the bailout. A clear signal that the Wall street executives and the big money men are all interested in using Government funds for their own welfare and profit.
The money should not be used to bail out banks and firms which bet on paper securities not backed by any assets. They should be left to die on their own swords.
If the US government has $700 billion to spend it should be used to directly help the homeowners struggling to repay their mortgages, by way of loan write-downs, interest rate reductions, tax credits etc. Congress should not buckle and should stand firm on not helping the corrupt and inefficient finance firms/executives.
And finally the mere fact that George Bush is supporting and rooting for the bailout should give pause to the scheme. He has a lousy track record. He is leaving a costly legacy by way of Iraq War to the Americans. He should not be given another chance in the last stage of his Presidency to screw up further the lives and finances of Americans for many years to come.

US Presidential Election - Going to the Wire

2008-09-06T12:09:00.005+12:00

Obama is being compared to John F Kennedy and now McCain has introduced his own Kennedy factor, this time 'Jacquie Kennedy' in the form of Sarah Palin. Let us see which Kennedy pulls in more votes to win the Presidency.

Obama may create history by becoming the first African-American to become President. John McCain may also create history by giving Sarah Palin the chance to become the first woman to become President, if as they say he is too old and may die while in office.

Sarah Palin has proved by her fiery speech that she has what it takes to shine in the 'centre stage' of the campaign. Joe Biden is a poor comparison to her charisma. And her family 'story and troubles' may get her more sympathy votes from women and mothers. She is appearing to be "All American' to Obama's 'Elite' personality.

Obama talks of change but went for Biden as running mate which is not exactly change. And he is still not very specific in his policies and what his administration will do and when.

McCain has proved he is willing to do 'change' by picking Palin as running mate. And he has shown that he is not afraid to take the risk of his running mate outshining him. Who knows he may redefine "Vice-Presidency' as well if he becomes President.

The news media seem to be against McCain-Palin. Obama does not seem to be as independent of his party as John McCain is of his.

Palin is the only one with a little adminisrative/executive experience, the other major players have nothing.

The choices are pretty difficult for the American voters and till the election they may be changing their views on daily basis.

But I think it will all come down to that moment in the voting booth when Americans will decide to what extent they are ready to create history and I have a feeling they won’t with Obama.

Let the Olympic Torch light up the Dark Continent

2008-08-10T16:36:00.004+12:00

Reflecting on my earlier blogpost about the Olympic Games, I have thought up an alternative vision for the Olympics for the future.

Instead of having the Games at different cities every 4 years and spending huge amounts of money building up facilities with the attendant dislocation, scrutiny of host country’s policies and politics and creating publicity disasters, why not select a city in a poor African Country and build permanent facilities there so the Olympic Games can be held there every four years.

The construction of the facilities can be sponsored by the Multi-National Corporations and Sports Equipment Manufacturers who benefit more by the holding of the Games. Or the rich Arab Nations who are making more money than they can spend in the current oil price boom can chip in. Of course they will get the Naming rights and Advertisement Preferance for their money.

This would focus a big development effort on a poor African Country and will symbolically shine the Olympic Light on the Dark Continent. Imagine the benefit of development and construction and jobs and economic growth that could accrue to Africa. The World Community can thus put their purse in place of their pronouncements towards the development of Africa. The facilities could be held in Trust for the World by the United Nations.

The facilities built could be maintained properly and the maintenance cost could be shared by the News and Broadcast Media organizations which are the other beneficiaries of the Olympic Games.

The Games can be held in this venue every 4 years and in between the facilities could be rented out for other events. They could also be used for training budding African athletes and sports persons.

The regular holding of Games would bring funds into Africa and would be of immense benefit to the development there.

This could also remove all politics and commercialism from the Olympic Games in future and the Games could go back to their original intended goals of promoting friendship among the Nations of the World and sports excellence in different fields.

Any takers?

Olympic Games – They are not about Sports anymore

2008-08-07T20:00:00.003+12:00

On the eve of the opening of Olympic Games in Beijing, George Bush has come out with scathing remarks about the human rights record of China. Was he not aware of this record for the last few years when China was getting ready to host the games? Why the sudden rush to condemn a Nation with which the USA has trade, economic and political relations and from which the USA is getting billions to shore up its troubled economy.

What is this sudden Enlightenment about?

It is about playing politics. Bush is taking the opportunity presented by the spotlight on China to say a few condemning words to shore up his image in his own country.

The Olympic Games themselves have become in the last few years more political and commercial. The host nation treats it as a chance to showcase itself and its potential for investment and trade. It builds facilities in a short time by borrowing and by dislocating people and industries to receive short-term infusion of funds with hopes of long term commercial benefits. The facilities are disused and left to collapse or pulled down later or sold.

The host nation runs the risk of the media and political spotlight which will expose its undesirable features and policies.

The sponsors, advertisers, the media etc are making money out of the Games.

The awarding of the Games itself has been shrouded in scandal as the selectors are wined and dined and corrupted with gifts and even money.

The Beijing Olympics have drawn the attention of the Western Media to the pollution and smog in Beijing and how the atmosphere there compares unfavourably to elsewhere in the developed world. Instead of appreciating the efforts taken, albeight for the short duration of the Games, by China to clean up the atmosphere, the reports always have a negative slant. Was the world not aware of what the climate and atmosphere would be in Beijing in August when the Games were awarded? What is the point of berating China?

If pollution is a relevant topic in the Games, are not the USA, UK and other western countries to be blamed more for the irresponsible use of natural resources and increasing
Global Warming and bringing the Earth to its present state now?

And if human rights is to be the focus, is not the USA and George Bush responsible for invading Iraq under false pretences resulting in the killing of thousands of Iraqis and causing indescribable damage to that nations and its people? USA is on the same floor as China in this regard, witness the Gitmo and Abu Graib.

The Olympic Games have ceased to be about promoting Sports and athletic competition and about fostering friendship among people as was intended by the Greeks centuries back and when the Games were revived later.

They have become more about making money, showcasing and the downside is inviting criticism and condemnation.

I am looking forward to the treatment London will get during the next 4 years in the run-up to the 2012 Games.

Israel-Much Too Promised Land

2008-05-16T07:07:00.004+12:00

In 60 years Israel has become 'too much Promised Land' and Palestine has become the 'Forgotten Land'.

There was a necessitiy for Israel to be established in 1948 but in the last 60 years, Israel itself has also created a necessity for Palestine to be established. It will happen eventually. Israel would do well to enable that process and earn the goodwill of Palestinians who are going to be with the Jews forever.

The sooner they realise that Palestinians are their 'Brothers' (Like Issac and Ishmael were) the better for the development of the Region.
Just look at the similarities in the Jewish and Arab names.

David-Dawood
Solomon-Sulaiman
Abraham-Ibrahim
Joseph-Yusuf
Jacob-Yakoub
Mariam-Miriam
and much more may be

The Bible and the Koran both acknowledge and recognise that Jews and Arabs are brothers, though the Arab identity was established much later than the Jewish identity. So in a way the Jews are the elder brothers to the Arabs and have a duty to take care of the younger ones.
There is no harm in their taking the first step to solve the Israeli-Arab issue once for all.
'Cede some land and extend proper respect and recognition' and the whole region can go forward to living in Peace and realising the 'Promise' of prosperity for both Tribes.

The georgraphy of a Palestine State is a matter of compromise and can be solved by the UN just like that body helped create Israel. The time has come to literally 'bury the hatchet' and join hands.

Israel has to cut its apron strings to USA and learn to live independently in Peace with the Arabs. As the American Political and Economical scenes change, there won't be any guarantee of continued support for Israel at the present level. The rise of the wealth of the Arab Oil producers show that the Region has a strong base to develop in the near future and branch out into other sectors of economic development. When the Arabs get together (which may be soon) then it is only a matter of time before they can pressure the Western World to dilute the support to Israel. The United Nations will have to evolve and recognise the rising powers of China, India, Brazil, South Africa etc and the political climate is bound to change in favour of Arabs.

Then there would be another UN conference to establish Palestine. Israel should expedite this process.

Shalom-Salaam

Is Obama going to play his trump card-Hillary as Vice President?

2008-05-10T13:51:00.009+12:00

Now that Barack Obama has almost won the Democratic Nomination (the remaining primaries are sure to go his way and the Super Delegates are swaying his way already), I have a sneaking suspicion that he will cement his chances of winning the Presidency by offering Hillary Clinton the VP ticket. Both of them have become much nicer to each other during the end-run and both are united in their resolve to snatch the Presidency from the Republicans.

That would be a win-win for Obama, Clinton and the Democrats.

Obama would immediately get the support of Hillary's constituency of White middle-class, women and some cross-over democrats who might otherwise vote for McCain. Which would give him an iron-clad lock on mainstream Americans of all ethnic and racial types. With his huge popularity among Blacks this would be the tipping point for him to go within a striking distance of winning the Presidency in November.

Hillary for her part will still keep alive her dream of becoming President, especially if Obama stumbles in the Office during his first tenure (then she can be the sure bet for the 2012 election) or if Obama were to have a mis-hap while in the office just like JFK. Hillary as VP would be able to influence Obama towards her issues and may also make enough money (like Dick Cheney) to recover her own investments in her campaign. And she can't refuse after promsing that she would do all she could to see a Democrat elected as President. She would be in the envious position of having advised 2 Presidents from close quarters.

The Democrats would have a better chance of beating McCain with the Obama-Clinton slate than with Obama-Someone else slate. If they blow the chance this year (after the disastrous Bush Presidency the Nation is crying out for change) then it is difficult to get such an ideal situation/opportunity to remove the Republican Incumbent. The Super Delegates then will not have to agonise over their decision of whether to support Obama or Hillary.

It would be a nice touch of cleverness for Obama. Having trumped Hillary in the Primaries - then to use her as his Trump Card for winning the Game.

And think of the History they would make and start- A Black and A Woman in the Presidential Team.

Protest againts Beijing Olympics-It is simply not Cricket

2008-04-09T20:59:00.005+12:00

Now that the Beijing Olympics is almost upon us the protests have started against the same. First Tibet and now the protest at Olympic Torch Rally. It is really funny that for the last 4 years nobody thought of raising the issue of Tibet and suddenly now they all want to bring the spotlight on China.
Granted China's human rights record is not all that great, but I wonder whether the protests should really interfere with the holding of Olympics.
If bad human rights is the only criteria, then protests should now start against holding the 2012 Olympics in London, because Tony Blair and his British Government lent blind support to the invasion of Iraq on false and misleading grounds which has resulted in mass killing of Iraqi civilians which is continuing even now. Or how about stopping USA from holding any Olympic Games, given its role in invading many countries in the past and its illegal occupation of Iraq.
Compared to that China atleast is improving its record gradually after its integration with the Global Economy and its economic development in the last few decades. Millions of Chinese have lifted their standard of living and the freedoms are increasing too. The World should applaud the progress being made and should encourage the same, not by protesting against or boycotting the Olympics but by more contact and engagement with China. New Zealand has gone a great step ahead by signing the Free Trade Agreement with China. Constructive Engagement will make life easy for the Chinese Civilians in the years ahead.
And who knows China may review its role in Tibet and grant more autonomy, freedom etc. And even get out of Tibet. But the world cannot expect this to happen soon just as the World is not expecting the USA to end its occupation of Iraq soon.
The point is, no country has a perfect record on Human Rights and almost in all Nations, at some point or other including the present, human rights of some sections of the populace is being violated to some degree. It is not possible to find an ideal venue to hold the Olympics.
Olympics is an International Event and should be used to promote integration and cross-pollination of ideas and culture in a sporty atmosphere. A valuable opportunity to engage China will be lost if protests and threats of boycott continue.
Olympics is not like Cricket which is played by a few nations only. For example, there was effective pressure on South Africa in the past by excluding it from International Cricket Events to apply pressure on it to relax apartheid. But it is ridiculous to organise a protest or boycott of Olympics because the spirit of Olympics is different and far more Noble.

USA- Random thoughts

2008-04-09T11:49:00.006+12:00

Cost of War in Iraq
One can thank George Bush and Tony Blair for prosecuting an unjust war in Iraq and in the process running into ground the American and Gloabal Economy. The cost of war to the Amricans and the British is bound to go up and up as long as the occupation of Iraq and the unwinnable war in Afganisthan continue. The dollor is seeking new lows daily, oil prices are going up and the American Banks and Companies may soon be owned by Sovereign Funds from the Middle East and other Oil Producing Countires.
But the real tragedy is the countless lives lost in Iraq and the disasters visited on the citizens and families there. It is nightmarish to think how the survivors will pick up the pieces and rebuild their lives and when can they start to do so. American soldiers and their families are another aspect of this tragic misadventure by Bush and Blair. It is pathetic that America cannot find enough money or resources to treat the wounded and traumatised soldiers coming back from the battlefield.
The mighty America has fallen a lot dragging the British along in a massive self-inflicted catastrophe.And giving Democracy a bad name in the process. I can hear the Russians laughing all the way to the Bank

Election 2008

The US Presidential race will really get interesting if McCain picks a Woman or Black as his running mate. Then he is sure to win. Clinton and Obama are splitting the Democrats and whoever is nominated will find it verydifficult to fight against a McCain slate with a Woman or Black as a running mate. May be he can go one better and select Condi Rice and thus appeal both to the Blacks and Women.

But I am afraid that McCain will prove to be 'Bush Lite' in office and will continue the policies of the present Republican Administration without much change and with little dilution. He has already stated that th USA has to be in Iraq for decades more. He is not having a great agenda on the economy either. He has confessed to his lack of understanding of financial markets. So he will be another laid-back President enjoying the privileges of Office and letting the country slide further.

Hillary Clinton Plumbing the Depths

2008-03-11T19:43:00.004+13:00

Hillary Clinton seems to have become very desperate and is willing to do anything to become the President of USA.

Her invitation to Barack Obama to be her Vice-Prsident is one such low. Besides being desperate, it is also very stupid. Why would Obama who is leading her in the Primaries accept a second position? And if as she has repeatedly said that Obama is not Presidential material on a/c of his inexperience, how can she ask him to be Vice President which gives him a chance to become President should something happen to Hillary ? Does not make sense at all.

In fact viewed against Hillary's record, all her wrong experience seems to be of no good use to America. I am reminded of a quote about experience-'My father always said he had 40 years of experience but what he really had was one year of experience repeated 39 times'.

Hillary has also stated that a Republican would be a better President than Obama.
Is she hoping to scare the Democratic voters ?

It appears that the Democrats have lost a golden chance to reover the Presidency. After the disastrous Bush Regime, the Democrats had a very good chance as the country is crying out for change to put things right ASAP. But all the Democrats could come up with was Hillary who is hated as much as George Bush and Barack Obama who may not appeal to many (let us be frank here) because of his colour, background and lack of specifics.

I am afraid if Obama is nominated for the Democrats then between the convention and the Election date many mainstream Americans may have second thoughts about having an African-American as President and could use his lack of experience as an excuse to vote Republican.

So it looks like John McCain can trounce either Obama or Hillary in the election and help the Republicans retain the Presidency. He has all the experience, war hero appeal, good -looking wife and he could appeal to disaffected Democrats as well.

But what would really make the race interesting is if McCain picks a woman or black as his running mate. Then he is sure to win.

Clinton and Obama are splitting the Democrats and whoever is nominated will find it very difficult to fight against a McCain slate with a woman or black as a running mate.

May be McCain can go one better and select Condi Rice as his Vice-President and thus appeal both to the blacks and women.

Farm Loan Waiver in India-Bank Managers are happy

2008-03-02T21:25:00.003+13:00

I am sure thousands of Bank Managers in India are saying thanks to the Finance Minister for announcing loan waiver to small and marginal farmers amounting to $15 billion.

These loans have caused much headache and footwork for the Bank Mangers tasked with recovering them. The Indian banking and legal system being what they are, these loans had to be meticulously documented,and the loan documents kept alive by regular acknowledgements from the borrowers. The loan servicing was a big job, with regular visits and writing of reports. Many of the loans had to be first classified as difficult then doubtful and annually audited with voluminous reports. Then the individual banks had to claim reimbursements for these doubtful loans from another Government Organisation. The carrying cost of these small loans was much more than the original loan amount and the process took a few years.

Now with a single step, the Finance Minister has enabled the Banks to remove these loans from the Banks' books and give immense relief to the Bank Managers.

There are similar loans to other small sectors like small businesses which may also have to get similar relief in future.

In fact there was a joke doing the rounds when such loans were given under political pressure in Loan Melas: 'why not disburse the loans directly by debiting the Profit and Loss A/c, saving trouble all around and also get tax relief'.

It is great to see that the Finance Ministry has realised this atleast now and has taken the first step.

Also, it is only just that the economic prosperity that many sectors in India are experiencing in the last few years be shared with the small and marginal farmers, who are not able to otherwise participate in the boom, by leaving their farms and joining call centres.

The Congress Party came back to Power because of the disaffection of marginalised populace who could not benefit immediately from the booming economy, so it is right that the Party gives something back to its consitituents.

In the process the Banking sector gets a much needed clean-up and the Bank Managers have been made happy.

Win-Win for all concerned.
Bravo, Mr Chidambaram.

Anti-Human Predictive Tests for Children

2008-01-27T10:36:00.000+13:00

I am so appalled by a proposal being discussed in New Zealand for testing children as young as 3 years tor future predictive behaviour and so identify future criminals, etc. So smacking of George Orwell's 1984 and Hitler's experiments. The next step could be Eugenics and the State mandating who can mate with whom and who can procreate.

The link to the story is
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/466/story.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=10488674

The fallacy can be exposed just by asking - what about children who grow up to be harmful politicians, military dictators, autocrats, dishonest businesspersons, etc. For example think of George Bush, Pervez Musharaff, Saddam Hussein, Osama Bin Laden, Jerome Kerviel, Conrad Black, Enron Chief and similar persons who have done more damage to the humankind than a small time criminal or violent person who might cost about $25000 to the society.

The point is anybody can go wrong in different ways and every human has the potential to do immense good or immense harm to others. There can't be any single or universal means to test for what a person will grow up to be and how circumstances will shape that person.

It is really stupid and anti-human to conduct a single or series of tests to predict the future of a child.

Life or Nature is not that simple.

Even if the tests are somewhat okay and identify some children, what is the state going to do? Can they guarantee a programme that will turn that child around and make sure he or she grows into an acceptable person? What if there is change of government and lack of funding for such purposes? The children so identified may be just left stranded. What about the feelings and rights of the parents?

It is all so stupid to even think that the State or some Professor who has done some sort of research has all the answers.

Evolution is a dynamic thing and the measures that are being considered may all have more damaging unforeseen consequences for the society to pay later.

Instead more time and fundiing could be devoted to ensure a stable and happy atmosphere in as many homes as possible with employment, schooling, housing and of course stricter law enforcement and may be a more rigorous sentencing and rehabilitation for criminals.

Just remember, modern Australia was founded by convicts and if they had been screened earlier and put under some Government Programme, Australia would not be there as it is today.

Cricket-Monkey play between Indians and the Aussies

2008-01-09T21:50:00.001+13:00

The Aussies have been the worst sledgers in recent cricket matches and now they seem to have got some back. And they don't like it.
The match was played in a very bad atmosphere continuing on from the acrimony generated during the Aussie's recent tour of India.
Symonds has been on the receiving end for a while and may be the Aussie authorities wanted to make an example of Harbhajan and used the match referee.
But what was the clinching proof of Harbhajan's guilt?It would be interesting to find that out.
If the punishment has been decided only on the words of Symonds, then it is not enough proof of guilt.
The Indians are equally passionate about their players and they did not like the bad umpiring which probably lost them the match.
But all said and done, on the field it looks like the Aussies are the better team and one has to accept that, as evidenced by their all-round performance in batting and bowling. But fielding and catching, that is a different story.
And finally the message to the Players should be-'Quit the Monkey-play and Please play Cricket'

Update on 19/01/2008

Looks like they played cricket properly at Perth.

Congrats to India on the win.
They showed the Aussies, didn't they.
Well done boys.

However I am surprised that the Aussies did not win this one, though history was against them. Seems no team had gone on to get more that 400 in the last innings to win a test in a long time.
But if there was any team that could have done it, in my view, it would have to the the Old Pakistani Team lead by Javed Miandad and the present Aussie Team led by Ricky Ponting. I hope they get the challenge again soon to show that World what they are capable of. Best of Luck.

Benazir Bhutto felled by The American Kiss of Death

2007-12-29T08:09:00.000+13:00

The tragedy of Benazir's assassination could be attributed to the American desire to impose a Fast-paced democracy on Pakistan. They got tired of supporting Musharaff and struck a deal with Benazir to be their person in Pakistan. But the American Embrace and Kiss are always a Kiss of Death for anyone in a country like Pakistan.

America has been a player for too long there, propping up an Army Despot and alienating the ordinary people and the revolutionaries. Poor Benazir, she did not read the signs on the streets properly and might have thought that she could resurrect her image with American help and money. But it played out in a more deadly way for her.

It appears that Al Qaeda has claimed responsibility for the assassination, but they also may be taking advantage of an act they wish they had done. The real perps may be hiding in the Army, who knows.

I have a feeling that Benazir's assassination was an opportunity seized by the gunman. He was positioned there but Benazir gave him the chance when she stuck her neck out of the sun-roof. The real terrorist event planned and executed might have been the bomb-explosion. The gun-man might have taken the chance and shot Benazir when she stood up and presented an easy target. The assassination probably was not pre-planned. The bomb-explosion a few feet away did not hurt anyone else in Benazir's van or her alternative van behind. Out of the people in these important vehicles, only Benazir was killed, that too because she stood up.

All that is now left is for America to contemplate one more failed Foreign Policy Initiative for which Benazir had to sacrifice her life. Musharaff may have all the reasons now to postpone the elections. And it may be right to have a cooling-off period to let the emotions and hatred settle down a bit.

And the Lesson here is Stop listening to America and don't do things to suit American needs. Pakistanis are capable of sorting out the mess themselves without Western assistance. If at all any outside help is required they can take it from the Muslim Community of Middle East.

Americans are not Friends in need or Friends indeed.

Meanwhile the Army may have an internal coup and Musharaff could be removed and replaced by another General, more civil and acceptable. Then everyone, including USA first, will fall behind the new leader.

Putin and Modi - Victory in Adversity

2007-12-25T08:58:00.000+13:00

It is interesting to see how Vladimir Putin and Narendra Modi both have come out victoriously and on top of their respective worlds recently.

Putin is now Time Magazine's Person of the Year, because of his part in bringing Respect and Glory back to Russia and its citizens. Putin is not loved by the West and is depicted to be Undemocratic and at times even Autocratic. But he has done enough to restore Russsia to a lofty place in the world order. He has re-ignited a sense of Pride in the Russian Citizen. After the end of Cold War, USA was supposed to be the sole remaining Super Power. But George Bush lost it all in a unjustifibale war and the American Economy and Declining Dollor are not helping the American Cause. Putin wisely took advantage of these, the high price of Oil particularly and also silently increased Russia's influence among the Nations disenchanted with the Americans. He has tightened his hold on the Russian Politics and has finally come out ahead.

Narendra Modi in Gujarat was vilified by everyone for his anti-Muslim practices. But the other side of the coin was he too instilled a sense of Pride among the Hindus of Gujarat and made them realise that being Hindu is not a shame. He led by example with a simple life, uncorrupt policies and moved heaven and earth to develop his state of Gujarat. Witness the industrialisation that is proceeding there at breakneck pace and general increase in wealth. This must have trickled down to many oridinary residents in the state, including Muslims. Modi was steadfast in his path and actions and has been rewarded by the electorate. Against a massive campaign by the Opposition parties and the Media, Modi has prevailed.

I think the reason for both Putin and Modi's tirumph is they have worked for their people.

Leaders should not forget that People come first and Power will follow.

Pouring Oil on Troubled Banks

2007-12-17T17:48:00.000+13:00

George Bush's misguided war in Iraq and the sub-prime fiasco have pushed USA into a record decline. The net result is the astronomical increase in oil prices, which is going to the Middle Eastern Oil Producers making them wealthy beyond imagination/expectation.

The surplus funds in their hands are being used to buy plum American Banks and Companies. The poor losers are the American Public who pay higher taxes, see a decline in the value of their homes, face increasing gas prices at the pumps and see their dear dollor lose all value, putting a dent in their holiday plans.

There is no point in decrying the economic effects of wrong decisions by the American Government and Banks.

USA is a great advocate of free markets and sometimes the markets work against them and they have to face the consequences.The sub-prime crisis will play itself out soon and the Banks will go back to their merry lending ways. The market will correct itself when demand and supply positions balance out.

Americans should realise that a great recycling of wealth and influence is taking place in the world and there is not much they can do about it.If they want to act against anyone it is George Bush.Time to impeach him and put a stop to the war in Iraq.

Till then Americans should drive less and consume less.

Obama and Oprah-Made for the Media ?

2007-12-11T19:44:00.000+13:00

I THINK it is a desparate measure by Barack Obama to get Oprah to campaign for him. He was losing his mojo and did not really become a great hit on issues. He also saw Hillary getting ahead inthe polls with a broad-based support including from many Blacks, thanks to Bill Clinton's goodwill among the Blacks.

So Obama had to get his own Black Celebrity to endorse him. It has great entertainment value for the American Media that Oprah is out there campaigning. But it is only that,mere entertainment and a means to make more money from a gullible public. The Media must be laughing all the way to the Bank. And Oprah is getting her name and image more out there.

Poor Obama is relegated to the background, just mouthing the same old stuff about how Experience is not equal to Better Judgement and all those punchlines about New Vision, etc.

But when it comes to Administration, experience really counts, and there are going to be some bad calls, but experience is all about learning from the mistakes. Obama has not made any mistakes to learn from and the country is not going to risk him to do that now, especially as President.

I believe when it comes to the crunch, Americans will go for a good adminstrative background and will elect Rudy Giuliani, nothwithstanding his personal iamge issues

Rudy Guiliani- The next President of USA-No more

2007-10-31T20:18:00.000+13:00

I have been saying it for some time but now I have decided to record it.

I believe Rudy will be elected the next President of USA in 2008.

I think America is not yet ready for a Black or a Woman to be its President.

Barack Obama is self-destructing and has lost his momentum. He has lost his audience because he is not seen to be patriotic anymore. He is not wearing the 'Flag Pin' and did not think it was important to sport it as a symbol. And anyone who does not want to vote for him can use the excuse that 'he is too young and inexperienced' and does not reperesnt the majority of Americans and they may be right too. He is too early on the scene. With a difficult War raging on and the American economy down and the Dollar almost disappearing from the Global Arena, most Americans may not want to risk an unknown Black person at the helm of affairs.

Hillary Clinton on the contrary is too well-known and many may not like what they know of her. She has the Clinton Baggage weighing her down and she is seen to be too ambitious and may be too compromising to attain her personal goals. What is her real achievement anyway? She had a bad go at health-care and has not controlled Bill well while she was the First Lady. She might have generated more credibility if she had disowned Bill after the Monica Lewinsky affair, but instead she stuck with him, may be with the idea not to jeapordise her political advancement. She does not represent the average American Woman and is seen to be more Male than Bill. What is her record as a New York Senator?

Rudy Guiliani has a good track record as Mayor of New York and his patriotism has been burnished by the 9/11 tragedy. He had cleaned New York and had run a tight ship. His personal problems may create sympathy with the voters as he fronted up and dealt with them in full public glare and came out unscathed. And he has the immigrant success aura as well. His experience in governance is there for everyone to examine and assess.

So my gut feeling is Rudy will defeat the Democratic Nominee (Hillary, most likely) and will win hands down. I won't be surprised if at the right time, George Bush endorses Rudy,which may bring the extreme Right into Rudy's fold.

If it becomes cliff-hanger between Rudy and Hillary, you can always count on John Robert's Supreme Court to swing the decision in favour of the Republicans and Rudy.

God Bless America.

Update on 31/01/2008.

Well, there goes my reputation. Rudy has gone off, just after a stupid one-state stand/
What a waste. To think that he could have made a decent fight if he had taken the whole campaign more seriously. Anyway. America may be more blessed now.

Newsmakers-Dr Watson, Al Gore and Benazir Bhutto

2007-10-20T16:49:00.000+13:00

Dr Watson's theory of White Supremacy

Dr Watson has just disproved his own theory. His statements have demonstrated that the White man is not so intelligent or clever, after all that genetic advantage .They have a knack for putting their foot in their mouth. Does not make them superior , does it? Thanks Dr Watson, what a way to prove the White Man's supremacy in things brainy.
Keep doing this, you might bring about racial equality soon.

Al Gore's Nobel- Was it a noble deed by the Committee ?

It looks like the Nobel committee was swayed by the crying and scare-mongering of Al Gore. Is that the only criteria for getting the prize. Shout about an important issue? Where is the action?
Based on this criteria, the next Peace Prize should be given to the person who shouts most advocating non-violence and vegetarianism. That at least would be aimed at saving countless lives, both human and animal.

Benazir Bhutto's bloody return to Pakistan

I wonder what legitimacy Benazir has to contest in an election with a conviction for corruption in her past. Why did the British and Americans work out this deal with President Musharaff ? Is Pakistan's fate being decided overseas and has it's government been outsourced ? Seems like the USA and UK are makiing sure of their continued influence over Pakistan and ensuring the use of its land and space for their alleged War on Terrrorism. And Benazir has conveniently positioned herself to gain from this imperative to stage-manage her return and white-washing of her convciton. Money laundering is a crime for Americans, but political laundering is welcome, especially when it helps American interests. Once again the ordinary Pakistani citizen has to pay the price.

And there is a slight suspicion in my mind that the bomb blasts were also the handi-work of outside interests (CIA dirty tricks may be or MI6 manipulation perhaps) to create instant sympathy for Benazir and to ensure her future election prospects. I fervently hope I am wrong, but will have to wait for the dust to clear on this one.

There will be many shadow-plays between Bhutto and Musharaff. The day is not far off when Musharaff strikes a deal with Bhutto (and her American Masters) to get out of Pakistan with all the loot he has amassed over the past several years. Then Bhutto will be allowed to become the leader of the country with the full support of Americans. How much she will amass is left to anybody's imagination. How much of the American money being sent to Pakistan goes back to the Principals in America is the real question. The American citizens and Pakistani citizens are being ripped off massively.

Genocide or Political Suicide ?

2007-10-16T20:24:00.000+13:00

Once again USA is stupidly taking the moral high ground, passing out strictures on another sovereign nation. This time it is the Congress passing a resolution against Turkey.

And the Administration is opposing it because it needs to be friends with Turkey. If it was a stricture against Iran or Sudan then the Adminstraion would have joined in. What a shambles.

Why should the Americans label everything and everybody and every nation on this earth to fit into their categories? And the funny thing is the labelling keeps changing as per the prevailing political wind and need.

Has America forgotten its own past of uncivil treatment of many of its own citizens, the native Indians, Blacks, Japanese, Communists and even War protestors.

Why can't the Americans be labelled anti-humanists? Is it because of the money power that USA is getting away with such stupid acts?

Any way, now that the damage has been done, can the US Congress please make a list of all similar large-scale massacres going back to since the time of Jesus Christ and certify all of them as genocides and be done with it.

Please be sure not to miss out the massacres suffered by various people at American hands either in legal or illegal wars and covert and overt actions, past and current.

And make sure that Congress reserve a session every year to update the list, because I am sure America will have a large contribution to make in future.

May be this can be even published as a book by the Congress Library.

It is a pity that the Democrats have started or are participating in this political suicide. Must give great comfort to Rudy Guiliani.

Does America need a President?

2007-10-06T07:55:00.000+13:00

Here is the former Fed Governor Alan Greenspan's answer to a question made to him about the American Presidential Election in 2008.

Interviewer: "Who would you like to win next year?"

Greenspan: "Is one of the choices leaving the office open? "

I immediately thought 'what a Capital idea'

We all know the damage that has been done to America and the World by one President in the last few years and I am sure it will take a few more years for another President to set things right, provided he even realises that things have gone awry and takes the responsibility to address them.

But the reality of American Presidential Election rules out that possibility.

There are so many interest and influence groups from Right and Left and Centre and Outer Space (God may be) that it would be nearly impossible for a President as an individual to make up his own mind as to what needs to be done.

And we have seen the quality of the Candidates; not very inspiring at all. The same old Politicians in different style and form, mouthing same old platitudes.

To think that the next American President may be elected based on whether he is pro or anti-life , pro or anti-God, pro or anti-Oil, pro or anti-World is very depressing. Added to that is the complication of how a Woman or Black candidate in a leading position may threaten established interests and how the people will really vote in face of such candidates. The heart may play a larger part in the decision-making than the mind. Is it for good?

May be this is the right time for America to realise the limitations of giving unlimited power to a single individual and consider changing their Government system to a Parliamentary model?

I know a few Parliamentary Democracies are thinking of the opposite, but the largest Democracy of all, India, seems to have considered the options and decided that the present Parliamentay system is working well.

The framers of American Constitution devised many checks and balances between the Legislative and Executive branches, but George Bush has shown that it is easy for one to dominate the other, even overrun the other, especially when when the Legislative branch is week and blind to the realities. So the balance may tip and the check may disappear, as proved by the events of last few years. How to restore the balance?

May be abolising the post of President altogether is the right way to go.

Or as Greenspan has implied, 'Give it a rest and let the post be vacant for a few years to see whether a President is really necessary'

The World and Americans really need a Break.

The 2 Presidents-The Good Iranian and the Bad American

2007-09-26T19:55:00.000+12:00

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

2007-09-25T20:04:00.000+12:00

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.
--------------------------------------------------------------
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

2007-09-10T21:38:00.001+12:00

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?

2007-09-08T08:34:00.000+12:00

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

2007-09-05T21:48:00.000+12:00

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

2007-09-02T08:25:00.000+12:00

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

2007-09-01T08:18:00.000+12:00

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

NINJA, SubPrime and CDOs

2007-08-21T17:33:00.000+12:00

Sub Prime has now taken Prime Time

It is just another Ponzy scheme, but done by large and so-called respectable players

The ultimate losers will be the tax payers and ordinary citizens who have either lost their savings or will be taxed more in future to pay for the rescue

This type of mis-adventure by the financial insitutions is a oft-repeated story, particularly in USA.

Remember the S & L crisis of a few decades ago.

The builders and real estate agents have made their money and now it is the turn of the vultures, who may buy the foreclosed properties cheap, to benefit

What a shame ?

Do you know that if you live in USA you can also get a NINJA loan?

That is people with 'No Income, No Job and No Assets' are given home loans

These are worse than 'Sub Prime' loans.

All these 'exotic' loans are then bundled into CDOs (Collateralised Debt Obligations) or 'Certain Death Ordnanace' perhaps and sold to Investment Banks, Money Market Funds, Hedge Funds etc

And if these Big Players lose their investment and go broke (the amount involved is upwards of $500 billion), then the Federal Reserve will step into lower rates, give them tax reliefs and may be even buy the properties foreclosed

Meanwhile the builders and real estate people laugh all the way to the Bank , if one is left standing that is.

Long Live the Fed

Only downside is you have to put up with George Bush and may have to go to fight in Iraq and come back in a body bag

Any takers?

India-Sexy at Sixty

2007-08-16T07:26:00.000+12:00

India-Sexy at Sixty
Pakistan-Dragged down by the Military
Bangladesh-Never given a chance to grow
Sri Lanka-Paradise Lost

The above is the latest situation of the sub-continent, 60 years after the British left the region. The partition itself was a botched affair, never thought out properly, done in haste. Of course the leaders of the undivided India at that time were also largely to blame for forcing Britain's hand in dividing and running away.
It is fortunate that India had a multi-cultural, multi-lingual and multi-religious society which acted as a great check and balance against domination by one group. It really allowed India to develop on the theme 'Unity in Diversity' and took the best of all communities. India had to be divided into linguistic states early on to give a sense of identity and ownership to different people and it has paid off in healthy competition between regions. Though places like Bihar and Orissa could not capitalise on that. English education and Central Planning to industrialise was the underpinning of India's slow growth, but grow it did.
The computer gave a chance to India to break out of its morass and the IT revolution has shown that Indians are capable of innovation, grabbing opportunites and leading in anything they want to. Democracy is thriving in India in a unique way. The next step will have to be address the inequalities in living standards. May be a little bit of 'outsourcing at home' in planning and execution of welfare projects will lead the country to spread its wealth and prosperity.

Pakistan has to throw the military out and settle with India the Kashmir issue before it can hope to do some growing up. It is an irony that inspite of being an Islamic country, Pakistan is not getting the support of the rich Arab nations in its development. It has been forced to take the side of USA, but that is costing it dearly in unrest at home and diversion of resources to Military. The sooner the link with USA is cut, it may be better for Pakistan.

Bangladesh has to be handed over to a Trust and Management Agency for identifying its potential for development. The natives are so mired in poverty and natural disasters they have time only to struggle to survive. May be United Nations can play a role here or rich Western Nations can adopt Bangladesh and have a sort of 'Marshall Plan' in place to develop it. The potentials are there.

Sri Lanka has to be defacto devided into two, with Tamils and Sinhalese having their own land and administrative regions, may be under a Federation. Tourism is the way out for them but that requires peace. With proper division between the two ethnic groups the country can develop into a 'playground for the world' and lease out its facilities for 'International Events' and 'Theme Parks'. How about a 'Harry Potter's Hogwarts' in Sri Lanka?

Auckland University in a Mess over Professor-Student Dispute

2007-08-10T22:20:00.000+12:00

There is a debate raging in Auckland following the sacking of Dr Buchanan at Auckland University who had sent an insensitive and dismissive email to an Overseas student from UAE.
The debate is going on about the merits of the actions of Dr Buchanan and the University, besides the policies of admitting Overseas Students with poor English and inadequate academic background.

The full story can be read at

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/466/story.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=10456458&pnum=0

It appears that Dr Buchanan lost his cool, following concerns about the impending cancellation of funding for his Centre for Latin American Studies and has on-going issues with his employer Auckland Uni and his colleagues. He probably is not a good team player. No doubt academics are bound to be very individualistic and I presume Dr Buchanan was more so, being an American. If he was not in any way happy with the University's policies regarding International Students, he should have raised his concerns in other forums and fought for changing the rules/system.

Unfortunately he took it out on a poor student and picked the wrong one at that (A lady, Arab, Muslim, etc). His language and tone in the email he sent is abominable and he, of all people, should have exercised restraint. He is supposed to be a role model for his students, is he not? Dr Buchanan obviously forgot that his speciality was supposed to be 'international" and 'relations'. He has failed on both counts. May be he is not the right person for his job. And the University recognised it and did away with him when the opportunity presented itself. It is ironical that Dr Buchanan himself provided that opportunity.

George Bush does not speak good English and he does not know his Gerography either. Still he is President of USA and has wrought havoc on the world. It is no crime 'not being proficient in English'. To quote Woodrow Wilson, ' The use of a University is to make young persons as unlike their parents as possible'. So the academics there can always be a little more patient with 'language-challenged students'.

In this inter-connected world today, people are going to move to other countries for different reasons, education being the most important of them. Understanding is required to tolerate them and teach them. Being 'culturally sensitive' cuts both ways.

I am sure most of the students who come to New Zealand to study, take their responsibilities seriously. I do not believe that a girl student would lie about her father's death, just to get extension for an assignment. Cooler heads should have prevailed right from Dr Buchanan's level and this situation could have been avoided.

Now that the die has been cast, it would be interesting to see how everyone involved, including the University Authorities get out of this mess.

Mohammed Haneef's case-Principle of Law turned around

2007-07-30T19:36:00.000+12:00

One thing is sure after the Mohammed Haneef's tragic saga in Australia. Leading Western Governments have turned around the cardinal principal of criminal law. Instead of 'Innocent until proved Guilty' it has now become 'Guilty until proved otherwise'.

What a shame that leading countries like Britain and Australia have fallen into the American trap of paranoid viewing of people of other religions, colour and culture. Like it has exported it's detrimental influence in food habits, entertainment and sex, now USA has succeeded in forcing its allies to re-write their law and practice of law. Witness the movement in UK for micro-chipping and surveillence, etc. Here also, USA is getting Britain to try out the dirty things first, because in USA because of the separation of powers and the strong Supreme Court and Congress and Civil Liberties Movement, such things cannot be introduced.

In Australia such attitudes led the police force to arrest and isolate a medical practitioner on false, trumped up charges and show no remorse. Witness the utterances of the Australian Prime Minister and Immigration and Foreign Ministers. I saw Alexander Downer, the Aussie Foreign Minister on TV telling 'Get real' meaning Haneef will gloat in his release, but Australia will not change the way it enforces USA's dictums.

It has been proven beyond doubt that the irresponsible and illegitimate way USA responded to the 9/11 atrocity has created chaos and damage to many societies and nations and has created a particular xenophobia in several Werstern societies. Instead of stengthening Democracy's benefits, Bush has given a bad name to Democracy. While saying he has invaded Iraq to promote democracy, his USA and Allies are trampling the basic tenets of Democracy, while also taking the assistance of autocratic countries like Pakistan. How is that justified?
To persist in such practices will alienate a large section of population living in those Western societies and will deepen the rift.

It is high time cooler heads prevail and steps are taken to engender and promote trust. We are living in an inter-dependent and inter-locked world. Just for example, Australia wants to export Uranium to India to participate in the expected boom in nuclear trade there after the Indo-US agreement. But Australia has treated an Indian very badly without cause and is showing no remorse.

It is simply not on.

Dubai buying Auckland Airport-It is not Oil in Troulbled Waters

2007-07-24T19:14:00.000+12:00

The best business news in Auckland now is the interest of Dubai in buying the Auckland International Airport. It would be a good opportunity for Auckland. Of course there are voices of opposition to this proposed buy, stating that a national asset should not pass onto foreign ownership. But Auckland Airport is a listed company already and it is known that the NZ company Infratil already owns and operated airports overseas. So there is nothing wrong in a commercial venture with majortiy foreign ownership.

Dubai has a reputation for building and operating a world-class airport, which they are expanding manyfold. Emirates has been a grand success in the airlines field. They have the money to invest in Auckland Airport to expand it to be a big hub for international travel from the Pacific. It would bring much required foreign investment, jobs and will be a great boost to the Auckland economy. The Dubai Emirate is in this sort of investments all over the world for the long haul. They are one of the rising stars in the world and it is no dishonour to be associated with them.

A visit to Dubai by the skeptics here will show that they mean business and it will be profitable joint venture, may be leading to more win-win deals for both countries in the future.

And while we are doing the deal, how about getting a preferred deal for import of oil as well from UAE?

Harry Potter's Biggest Enemy-Internet and not Voldemart

2007-07-21T08:58:00.000+12:00

I am just laughing at how Harry was brought down by the Net
Looks like all his secrets have been revealed much before his creator was ready.
All that effort to keep things in the Dark brought to Light by the Net
Long live the Net

Here is what I think is the right version , though it could be wrong.
I will be checking whether this is true when I get the book soon
Mind you I am not buying it, but getting it from the Library where I am on the top of the waiting list .

Quote from http://www.zendurl.com/h/hallows/

Ron dies.
Lupin dies.
Percy dies (this death occurs before the wedding, inevitably throwing events into chaos).
Voldemort dies.
Snape dies.
Details aren't needed. Just say BELLATRIX KILLS RON!
Snape's loyalty? I found this to be the saddest part of the book. As many people guessed, all was not what it seemed with Dumbledore, and the two did indeed have a plan that would eventually result in Snape killing him. But, Snape was only in on things for personal gain, and when Voldemort learns of this, he is obviously furious with Snape. Snape tries to make up for things by luring Harry to him, but Harry manages to escape, and Voldemort kills Snape before the final conflict.
I don;t know what all these rumours are about Voldemort kidnapping Ron, it's a complete lie. Ron is killed by Bellatrix Lestrange in The Battle of Hogwarts, but Neville manages to finish off Bellatrix after Ron weakens her before his death.
Harry Potter is not a horcrux.
As I've already stated, Voldemort kills Snape.
Voldemort is killed in the Department Of Mysteries. He baits Harry Potter about his parents, Sirius, Dumbledore and Ron. which turns out to be the worst thing Voldemort could have done. As Voldemort steps out into the circular bit with many doors, Harry Potter opens the locked door, and Voldemort is destroyed by the blinding light, which heals Harry Potter, who seems close to death (he does not die).
The cover art shows Voldemort + Harry Potter at the Deathly Hallows, Harry Potter is attempting to summon Voldemort's Horcrux, as Voldemort is doing his best to keep the enchantment in place.
No-one loses a body part, no idea where that came from?
Also Harry Potter does not get drunk whoever said that.
Harry Potter does not lose his powers.
What's the deal with the dragon on the US deluxe cover?
The trio fly on it to get to the Deathly Hallows. Only Harry Potter and Voldemort can fight on the Deathly Hallows, but this is not their final encounter.
What's happening on the UK kids cover?
Gringotts. The trio are searching for the locket (it isnt there) but they get vital information on Ravenclaws book here.
How's the epilogue done?
I didn't like it. It was in the form of a newspaper article, a sort of 'Where Are They Now?' thing, 20 years on from the final showdown.
You said Ron dies so what happens to Hermy at the end?
As said, her love life isnt specified. But she becomes a Healer at St. Mungo's.
What's Luna/Hagrid/Weasley twins/Neville's fate?
Becomes editor of Quibbler (her dad passes it on to her)/Remains at Hogwarts to this day/Weasley's Wizard Wheezes becomes multinational/Herbology teacher at Hogwarts after Sprout's death (old age she isnt killed)
What happens to Voldy's body in the end?
Completely obliterated by the love from locked room.
What are the horcruxes? How does Harry Potter find and destroy them?
Nagini/Locket/Cup/Ravenclaws Book. Symbol on UK spine is a device that enables Harry Potter to locate 'soul fragments' if you will, Harry Potter can destroy them a lot more easily than Dumbledore.
What's the deal with the mirror? How does RAB and Kreacher come into the story?
Sirius has left an almost 'voicemail' message on the mirror, to advise him on destroying the horcrux. Kreacher has to tell the trio (on Harry's orders) about the history of the symbol and where to find it.
What's the lies of Dumbledore chapter about?
Neon was right about this, this is to do with the plan with Snape. I don't know if he got lucky because the Grindelwald thing isnt even close.
What happens to all the teachers? Who's new headmaster etc?
McGonagall is new headmistress.
What's Harry's fate in the end? Job etc?
Becomes an almost freelance Auror but refuses to work for the MoM

Chapter summaries

Dark Lord Ascending
another first chapter that is not Harry's point of view very dark
first death
Bellatrix and Voldemort interact

In Memoriam
back to Harry's point of view
Dumbledore's past
Rita Skeeter appears here. Apparently, Harry is not pleased.
The Dursleys Departing
The Dursley's leave Privet Drive

The Seven Potters
Harry, Ron, and Hermione are reunited

Death Eater attack
another death
very intense

Fallen Warrior
another death
one person loses a body part
scenes afterwards set in the Burrow
Apparently, Harry gets drunk!
tells what happened with Ollivander

The Ghoul in Pajamas
general plan discussion all around
Hermione is scary (lol)

The Will of Albus Dumbledore
Harry's birthday! Ron gives him a funny gift.
Minister of Magic is back
Lupin is acting off

The Wedding
Weasley relatives, Luna's father, and Krum all make ppearances
Krum argues with Luna's father over the symbol
Dumbledore's past again, which is not pleasant
Kingsley makes an appearance with some bad news.

A Place to Hide
Harry, Ron, and Hermione leave the Burrow, and run into Death Eaters
Hermione gets hit on by drunkards
They go to Grimmauld Place

Kreacher's Tale
Harry finds a letter from his mother saying disturbing things about Dumbledore
R.A.B. is Sirius's brother (everyone knew that, lol)
lots of complex stuff on Horcruxes

The Bribe
setting is Grimmauld Place
Harry has sent Kreacher on an errand
Kreacher seems to be getting friendlier
Lupin is still acting off, and states something extremely surprising (off in an easily irritated, jumpy way. We've also been told that Lupin/Tonks shippers will be over the moon, so, perhaps Tonks is pregnant?)
Trio find out who has the locket, and they are shocked.

Magic is Might
Trio plan to get the locket from the ministry
The Muggle-born Registration Commission
Umbridge
persecution

The Thief
Trio leave Grimmauld Place and Kreacher
Trio stays in the woods.
Harry sees through mind-link that Voldemort is not in the country, and is looking for a stolen object that has something to do with wands.

The Goblin's Revenge
Ron does something weird.

Godric's Hollow

Bathilda's Secret
Someone named Bathilda wrote the History of Magic book. IDK if this has anything to do with anything, but still, might be worth noting.

The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore

The Silver Doe
Hermione is sleeping. Harry sees a Patronus and follows it. It leads him to a thing Dumbledore has left him. He is reunited with Ron. The entire scene with the destruction of the Horcrux and display of Ron's insecurities happens.

Xenophilius Lovegood
The Tale of the Three Brothers
The Tale of Three Brothers is a wizard children's story. The story involves three objects called the Deathly Hallows. Three brothers, three objects, AKA the Deathly Hallows.
Trio goes to see Luna's dad
He tells them a wizarding fairy story about three objects
They are called the Deathly Hallow
The Deathly Hallows
Harry follows lead of DH story instead of Horcrux stuff
He becomes stupidly obsessed over it, kind of like how he was over Malfoy in HBP
Makes a huge mistake and gets the trio captured

Malfoy Manor
A couple of people have died, one important
Someone else is being kept in the manor
Someone else dies
The trio is tortured for info
Dobby helps them escape
Another someone else dies

The Wandmaker

Shell Cottage
Gringotts
The Final Hiding Place
The Missing Mirror
The Lost Diadem
The Sacking of Severus Snape
The Battle of Hogwarts
The Elder Wand
The Prince's Tale
The Forest Again
King's Cross
The Flaw in the Plan
Epilogue

Unquote

Well now that I have read the book the first part of the above net version has proved to be wrong. The Chapter summaries are correct and the highlights of the first few chapters is also correct. So it seems the book really leaked on the Net.

The last 250 pages of the book are good and the story moves at a fast pace. All loose ends are tied up. It has a soap-opera ending with Harry and Ginny and their kids and Ron and Hermione and their kids. But where is Voldemart's heir?

I really think that the book Hermione is reading 'The history of Magic' might be an interesting read.

Will JKR write and publish that?

Harry Potter-Guess the End Game

2007-07-18T17:49:00.000+12:00

I believe that Hagrid and Snape both will die and Cho is also seriously affected in her head, leaving the way for Harry and Ginny Weasley to come together. Voldemart is vanquished with the miracle performed by Hermione for Harry.She of course joins Ron and they live happily everafter. Any takers to add on more or different guesses?

40th Anniversary of 1967 Arab-Israeli War

2007-06-10T13:12:00.000+12:00

In my view the 1967 war established Israel as the primary military force in that area of the world, because of their adroit exploitation of their military intelligence and weaponry supplied by USA. It also show-cased to USA that Israel could be their main client to absorb new weapons technology and be their proxy to protect their oil interests. It served a dual-purpose, gave Israel a foothold for expansion of their territory and gave USA a bigger foothold to expand their influence.
Unfortunately Israeli occupation also created a Palestinian Diaspora, which similar to the earlier Jewish Diaspora, stoked the sympathies of the World. Coupled with the raising money power of the Middle Eastern Oil countries, the stage was set for a long-drawn war between two displaced people, both of whom have had tragedy forced upon them. Whose claim is more legitimate, whose history should have priority? Is it not better to draw a line and say that both Jews and Palestinians have a right to live there in peace. The economic benefits to all of a life of co-operation would be awesome.
With the American influence declining and with Israel losing the goodwill of the World because of its inhuman occupation, may be it is the right time for United Nations to urgently get involved in the Region. They could recruit the backing of the rich oil countries like Saudi Arabia and Iran and call upon the leadership of European and Asian powers to work out a plan to give Palestinians a home land of their own. UN should repeat history and create Palestine as it created Israel in 1948. And guarantee its existence till it can stand on its own feet. This is not an impossible task. It just requires a more aggressive United Nations and support of emerging powers of Asia and the established powers of Europe.

Parliament has no Prayer

2007-05-31T19:15:00.000+12:00

There is a debate currently on in New Zealand as to whether a Christian Prayer should continue to be held at the start of Parliament sessions.

I am a New Zealand citizen of Indian origin. I believe it is utterly unnecessary to change the present prayer or discontinue it from the Parliament. I understand that there is a reason for the same and the tradition need not change now. It may be a Christian prayer directed to Jesus Christ but I am sure it does not offend the later migrants to this beautiful country, whether they are Hindus, Muslims or Buddhists. The spirit behind it is that God be invoked at the start of an important day's work, and it does not matter which God it is addressed to.

As for the large number of people (stated to be about 35%) in New Zealand who are non-believers, I think most of them really don't care whether there is a prayer or not. The issue is being raised and blown up by a small number of people and is playing into the hands of Destiny's Church and similar hard-liners.

The new comers to any country have no reason to question each and every age-old tradition unless they impinge on their rights and well-being. It is enought that New Zealand is a tolerant and peaceful country; we are number 2 in the peace index, what an honour. As long as that continues and there is no prejudice on account of race, age, sex or whatever, a prayer need not be a divisive issue.

I am sure our Parliament can do with prayers of all kinds and wishes.

The President and the Prince - Down and Out

2007-05-20T19:15:00.000+12:00

I am glad Wolfowitz has at last resigned as President of the World Bank. He had lost the trust of the World community and could not have continued as a top Banker. He has however done a service by demonstrating how the World Bank could be influenced by the Americans, who themselves bleat so much about corruption, etc while their own leaders and heroes are being proved corrupt. Wolfowitz has added one more nail to the coffin of American decline in World Affairs.
I fervently hope that the next President of World Bank is not the one nominated by USA as has been the practice till now. I hear that they are thinking of nominating Tony Blair. That would be another disaster. Blair was a dishonest politician and there is no place for him in any financial institution. This is the right time to change the practice of an American being the President of World Bank and a European becoming chief of IMF. It will be a good opportunity to look for the right person.

Prince Harry is blessedly out of Iraq. But I really can't understand how the British Military Top Brass allowed news of his proposed deployment to leak and be discussed so openly. I think a better way would have been to keep such postings secret and get it over with outside the limelight. Have Harry go in secretly and serve for 6 months or so, take a few photographs and videos and after he comes back, release the footage with a good commentary to prove to the world the he has done his duty for the motherland. Instead the Military bungled the whole affair and finally handed a Public Relations Coup to the Iraqi insurgents. What a mindless strategy, No wonder they are losing the war itself.
I am also compelled to think about Richard the Lion Hearted, the famous English King who lead his troops in the Crusades. Where is that courage and daring nowadays from the Royals? May be Democracy as practised by Tony Blair's government has robbed the Royal Family of its Majesty. What a pity.

Housing unaffordability in New Zealand

2007-05-05T08:19:00.000+12:00

The present state of the housing market and the housing unaffordability in New Zealand is being talked about so much, I think any thing the Government will do to improve the situation will result in demand going up, pushing the prices further. That will be another short-term fiasco.

The demand pull in the housing market is due to different reasons, viz, immigration, overseas investment, New Zealand being a small economy with limited supply of houses, the unwillingness of Government to free land and rules to improve housing stock, the attractiveness of living in a peaceful country and of course the benefits of having rental properties. Inspite of high prices and higher cost of mortgages, people are compelled to buy houses, because they see that as their economic and social security. The demand pull has to be reduced by making available alternative investment opportunities. The stock market is small and shallow with very little movements to interest speculators. Tax regime is against savings and income levels are low.

The solutions could be
1. Tax incentive to save money. Tax rebates for interest and mortgage repayments.
2. More housing finance companies in the market to push down the rates
3. Asking Reserve Bank not to be too pre-occupied with inflation. Renting and interest costs are anyway too high adding to inflation.
4. Alternative investment avenues with tax concessions
5. Raising pay levels to reflect the efforts of workers and to keep up with international arena.
6. Subsidies to exporters.
7. Streamlining taxation to make more surplus available at the hands of people. With huge government surplus this is not impossible. Why should the marginal tax rate for individuals be 39% when the highest tax rate for companies is 33%. Is this not indirectly subsidising businesses when the reality should be other way around?
8. Development of other regions of the nation to reduce the pressure on Auckland area. Subsidies and tax incentives and may be migration assistance to people moving to other areas may help.
9. RBI or Governemnt intervention in foreign currency market like in USA, UK may be required to bring down the high dollor

All these will add to government costs, but a little bit of higher inflation may be the bitter drug required to bring the market to good health. Then the demand and supply position will correct itself over a period of time bringing some sense to the market.

Holiday in Europe-Few impresssions

2007-04-30T17:21:00.000+12:00

I recently had a wonderful holiday in Europe, visiting Turkey, Greece, Paris, London, Birmingham and Dubai.

A few impressions.

Turkey is not a third world country at all, so developed it is. It is the only place where I could use my credit card to make telephone calls from the public phone machines. May buy shares of Turkish Telecom.

Greek men are very handsome and the Arab girls in Paris are the most beautiful, taking your breath away. Hope they don’t take to wearing the veil .

The best Indian food I ate was at Jimmy’s Spices in Birmingham. The buffet spread is fantastic, covering Indian, Thai, Chinese and Italian dishes. I had to restrict myself to the Indian items. Wish I can go again 3 more times to try out the others.

Paris is a beautiful city, even though I am the 100th billion person saying so. Grand palaces and museums need a life time to view. ‘Paul’ is a superb patisserie with delectable scones, rolls, etc. They have branches in London too.

Raki and Ouzo are similar drinks from Turkey and Greece respectively. It is fun to watch them turn cloudy when you add water. My daughter preferred the Turkish variety though.

The Eurostar station at Gare d’Nord in Paris was not easy to navigate, with climbing up and down required. Very tough on travelers with luggage. May be good for daily commuters with just a briefcase. The coach numbers are not on the coaches, but pained on the platform edges. Do they expect people to walk with downcast eyes?

Thanks to the Sales Manager at De Beers in the Mall of the Emirates, Duabi who allowed me to hold a 5 carat diamond ring, worth USD 125000. They had very limited items of jewellery on display, but each one very beautiful and I am sure costing the equivalent of a good sized house each in each of the major cities of the world.

Dubai has developed a lot and you need an helicopter to go from one place to another. The legendary traffic jams prove that Dubai is firmly in 21st Century. They are building a metro. Hope they cover all the Emirates and especially have a dedicated line to Abu Dhabi, taking the pressure off the road traffic.

Speaking of Metros, can’t help but appreciate the vision of London civic authorities who built their Underground ages back. It is being upgraded regularly and is a model for the developing cities everywhere.

But poor Queen of England, living in an unimaginative and architecturally challenged box of a home. No wonder the members of the Royal Family always seem depressed and are grim and unsmiling (Diana excepted of course, God rest her soul)

The Wooden horse at Troy masquerading as the Trojan Horse was smelling of fresh paint, but the view from inside the horse was very good, though I could not get a glimpse of Helen or Brad Pitt's butts.

Had a Turkish bath and Oil Massage in Kusadasi (Turkey). Very thrilling and relaxing. Do they have anything like that in Auckland?

Visited all the memorials in Gallipolli. Felt like I have done the Haj required of the New Zealander. Why is there no memorial for the more than 1200 Indian soldiers who died in the war there? It is sad to realize that the world is still creating more Gallipollis in places like Iraq, Afganisthan, etc. When will the madness stop?

Most of the Paris shops, especially on the Champs-Elysee had tall, strong Africans as security guards. Very intimidating but very gentle when you ask them something. The one at the Lacoste shop was very helpful, in fact he acted as the salesperson, helping me to select the right size etc. Thanks mate.

The National Gallery in London was superb with a special exhibiton on Impressionist paintings. Got to see an early Picasso which was not cubist. Painting of a small girl with a dove in hand and a coloured ball at her feet. Great. And they have one of the four Sunflowers by Van Gogh. The whole holiday was worth it because of these 2 paintings alone.

The Aegean Sea is really a very large swimming pool, with clear blue calm waters. I had to restrain myself with much difficulty from jumping off the bus/taxi into the water. Very inviting.

Half the Athenians are on the sidewalk during the day, enjoying a light lunch, drink etc. Made me feel very jealous. The cafes are very colourful.

The visit to Troy, Ephesus, Delphi etc rekindled the interest in Greek Mythology and I have bought a couple of books to read up on that, with good photos.

Louvre in Paris is so vast and stocked with art works of all kind. I M Pei's glass pyramid is really a bold addition in the middle of the old architecture. Bravo the French for taking a huge risk and pulling it off. I heard that Louvre will be soon opening a branch in Abu Dhabi and is getting a big funds infusion from that Emirate. Wonder what they will think of next? May be a mosque in the middle?

I applaud the French for sticking to their style of cuisine even for the tourists and not diluting it for an international uniformity. The dinner on the first level of Eiffel Tower was superb and I tasted the best ever Onion Soup (garnished with a large cheese spread and nice bread) at a nice cafe as part of the Paris by Night tour. Moulin Rouge is definitely better than Lido's.

It is very convenient that all the major attractions in Istanbul like the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, Top Kapi palace are all within walking distance of each other. One strange thing though that all of these are on the European side of the city. One would expect them to be on the Asian side.

Once you visit these places you can see why it was very stupid of the British to try to conquer the Dardanelles and capture Istanbul during the WW I. It is very easily defendable and I am sure whoever tries it can be choked and defeated. The best way to conquer these places is with a digital camera not with ships and guns, which is what I did.

My daughter made me carry a package of painting and poster all over Europe and bring it to Auckland. I almost lost it at the Athens airport, leaving it in the toilet. Luckily found it again. But I did leave a packet in the toilet at Louvre and had to spend money again to buy a couple of books and prints.

The Yeoman guard at the Tower of London who took us on a small tour was very witty and tailored his jokes to suit all the nationalities in the group, though he picked more on the Yankees and that was good too. I was thrilled to see that Duke Wellington was a Yeoman Guard too, but did he really have the title of Field Marshall when he was alive?

It was good to see Aishwarya Rai and Jonah Lomu at Madam Tussaud's but where was Sachin Tendulkar and Helen Clark? It is not fair that John Howard is there and no Helen Clark to keep him company. By the way when are they going to have Abhishek there? Seems odd to see Amitabh only next to Aishwarya Rai. Or is it their way of telling the world that the union of money is more important?

The visit to Sherlock Holme's house at Baker Street and the exhibition there made me think for a moment that may be Sherlock Holmes was really alive once, though I knew otherwise. Anyway checked with George who drove me from London to Birmingham to confirm that Holmes was a fictional character. George was a great company on that drive, giving me his insights into what is happening in UK and Ireland. He was an ex-fire fighter and told me one of his daughters is considering a move to Australia. Best wishes then George.

London is not an environmentally friendly city, apart from Tony Blair flying around increasing the carbon emissions. The tabloids give out millions of papers free everyday to commuters in the morning and evening, which are read and thrown away in a few minutes. Imagine how many trees are being slaughtered daily for feeding this habit. Why not issue a Tablet PC to regular commuters (who purchase season tickets) and beam the news directly on to the computers which the commuters can read. Of course advertisers could have their own channel too. I wish Bill Gates can read this and get Microsoft to do something about it.

Many airports provide free trolleys but some charge and you have to pay coins in a slot to get a trolley released. Very inconvenient if you have arrived just then and don't have the local coin. Why not add some small amount to your fare when you purchase the ticket and get the trolleys free at all airports. Can call it the Trolley Tax. Will Emirates or Singapore Airlines start this?

Will add more soon.

Cricket World Cup 2007-Finally Over.

2007-04-29T17:14:00.000+12:00

Inspite of the funny ending, there were some great moments in the final match.

1. Gilchrist's 2 sixers straight down the line
2. Sangakkara's brilliant sportsmanship in singalling that the catch was not completed and the wicket had not fallen
3. Glenn McGrath being hit for sixes and fours
4. The brilliant four by Silva off a full toss, swept down the fine leg area
5. Clarke bowling out Jayasuriya
6. Jayasuria's strong hits contrasted by Sangakkara's graceful stroke play when he got going finally
7. Seeing Mathew Hayden really trying to find his form in the crucial match and conceding the ground to Adam Gilchrist
8. The ICC lost another great PR opportunity when they had Sir Gary Sobers standing mute in the presentation stage, without inviting him to say a word or give away a medal or trophy.

Well the Cup chase is over and it is poetic that the people who won the chase were having it themselves all the time.

Wolfowitz-Wolf in sheep's skin

2007-04-24T14:35:00.000+12:00

The Wolrd Bank President should resign immediately, undoubtedly. The one cardinal principle of banking professionals is that they should always maintain their trust-worthiness and credibility in the eyes of their customers and employers. Wolfwowitz has plainly failed on both counts, notwithstanding he was the ultimate boss of the World Bank. His real bossses are his customers and they have lost their trust and confidence in him. What he did is inexcusable and unpardonable. He should go and go quickly without hanging on to save his reputation and US's interest and influence in the World Bank.

There is nothing to save anymore. Let an honest bankder come into the role and restore the world's faith and trust in the World Bank. It is also high time to question the tradition of the US handpicking the World Bank head and European's having a say in who heads IMF.
There are other worthy candidates from other countries too. One such example is the Nobel laureate Mohammed Younus for Micro Banking fame.

Iran releases British Captives/PR coup by Iranian President

2007-04-05T06:46:00.000+12:00

Kudos to Iranian President Ahmedinijad for a wonderful Diplomatic and Public Relations Coup.

He has released the British captives at the right time. I particularly enjoyed his remark that it is a gift to UK for GoodFriday/Easter and Prophet Mohammed's birthday. Contrast this to the hanging of Saddam on Eid day by the American puppets in Iraq. What a way to show the West.

I am happy that this issue is reolved peacefully. I also hope that the leaders involved in the Middle East take a more pragmatic approach henceforth and not be rhetorical in their speech, which does not serve any useful purpose at all.

Well done Iran.

Iran centre stage again with British Captives

2007-04-02T07:26:00.000+12:00

I think Iran is over-doing this, parading the captives and getting them to write letters repeatedly with overt political messages. Does not seem to be genuine pleas by the captives.

Also the recent attacks on UK embassy by the mob is not a good omen. It has the overtones of the earlier American Hostage drama of 1979.
Iran should handle this very carefully. Without going into whether the captives were in Iranian waters or not, it has to be said that 'now that they are held by Iran they should be treated well'.

They should not be used as publicity material and should not be displayed at all, except for assuring the world that they are safe.

And it is Iran's responsibility to find a quick solution and come to a stage so they can release the captives unharmed. They have to trsut the sailors' story that they might have strayed into the Iranian waters accidentally. The point has been made for Iran that they would deal with trespassers. There is the risk of Iran losing the good will of the world and playing into Bush's hands and being painted as the Evil Axis.

Now is the time to be magnanimous and release the captives and get goodwill of the world community. The sailors were no big threat to Iran, so let them go.

The message has been sent to UK and other big powers. Period.

Just punishment for the Indian Cricket Team

2007-03-25T08:19:00.000+12:00

They have hit us in the heart and made us all weep for their failure. Let us hit them in their pockets where they have stashed their gain from the advertisements and endorsements.

Each player in the team should be asked to give back atlease 50% of his income from other sources since the last world cup. The funds collected should be used to start a Cricket Academy which can spot and train new players.

And yes, the players in the current team should also be asked to do community-service by giving free coaching and training at the Academy till the next world cup.

Howzzat?

How to bring about an end to the War in Iraq

2007-03-20T06:53:00.000+12:00

I think Bush and Cheney should be impeached ASAP for starting this illegal war on false grounds and misleading representations and continuing to cause irrepairable damage to another nation. They can also be charged with inciting genocide. The American Public better act fast to put a stop to this carnage.

The Democrats have enough majority in the Capitol to bring about an end to Bush's presidency. Then whoever becomes the new President can apologise for USA's role and appeal to United Nations to bring together a peace-keeping army to Iraq, which can be supported by all of Iraq's neighbours. That will be the real "Coalition of the Willing"

With Iran and Saudi Arabia backing such a force, the Sunnis and Shiites in Iraq will see the advantage of stopping the sectarian strife. The USA, of course should pay massively for the re-construction of Iraq. The Oil production can be increased and the Iraqi citizens can benefit from the present high prices of Oil, which is their national resource.

Any takers?

Waiting for Surgery in New Zealand

2007-03-18T18:59:00.000+12:00

In New Zealand, waiting for surgery has become a hot topic of debate and there are stories of people on the waiting list for years together and also of being bumped off the list altogether.
Private health insurance is a costly option and not everyone can afford or have it.
The health system is struggling to meet the demand for surgeries.

However I am really puzzled as to why these surgeries are called "elective surgeries". No one elects to have a surgery unless it is plastic surgery to improve ones features. All other surgeries are forced upon people because of their medical/sick conditions and they all should get treatment immediately. Otherwise what is the health system there for? It appears that they are practising some sort of "selective surgery", making people wait till they cant bear the pain of their ailment or till they become life-threatening. Not a healthy state of affairs.

I understand it is all because of lack of enough medical practitioners, surgeons, nurses, hospital facilities, etc. But the long-term solution for that would be to promote medical education more widely and if necessary to start few more Universities devoted to medicine and nursing education. I am sure the private sector and even overseas educational institutions would welcome such an investment opportunity. Which incidentally may also divert funds from the residential housing sector, which the Reserve Bank is trying to cool down.

Names- Meanings

2007-03-10T10:47:00.000+13:00

As promised in the earlier blog, here are the meanings of the Names I like

Medhini (G)- Earth
Medhavee (U)- Omni-scient, One who has all knowledge and wisdom
Manini-Name for Mahalakshmi, One who is worship-worthy

Abhu – One who creates himself , also Unborn (so undying)
Vibhu- Ever living

Sahasrajit- One who overcame thousands of enemies
Anantajit- One who personifies Victory, Unbeatable
Shatrujit – Victorious against all enemies

Abhay- Protector
Nirbhay – Fearless

Dhanvee (U)- The best archer, unbeatably skilled with the bows and arrow
Dharmee – Source/Holder of all Dharmas (good conduct, habits, practices)
Vaakmee- Source of the Word and Speech
Swasthee – Personification of Peace and Prosperity
Vathsee- Father of all beings
Lakshmi -Wealth
Padmee -Lotus
Brahmee- One who is worshipped by Brahma, Brahma’s Lord
Amanee – One who is not pompous or self-gloating

Jitamanyu - Angerless
Jithaamithra – Victorious against internal (provoked by the senses and mind) and external

Virochan – Shining like Sun and Moon
Ravilochan – One who has Sun and Moon for his eyes

Adhbuth- Wonderful (which can’t be easily experienced)
Athruth – One who does not require any support or help, Supremely self-suffiecient

Ghathakraja – Worshipful who can be pleased by chanting of mantras
Gharudhathwaja- One who has Garuda on his flag (Garuda the Eagle carries Lord Vishnu)

Vachaspathi – One who knows all Vedas and Epics
Udharanee – The perfect example
Udharathee – Beneficient, Giver, Philanthrophist

Sumedha- Supremely Wise
Sathyamedha- Wise and Truthful

Vasuretha – Golden and One who is Gold himself
Viswaretha- One who created the Universe
Vasupradha – Wealthy also One who takes away all sins

Kesava- One who has the beautiful, black and curly hair
Kesiha - One who killed Kesi, the demon sent to destroy him

Sridharan- One who has Lakshmi (Wealth and Happiness)
Srikaran – One who does good, One who offers bounties

Srinidhi- Wealth of Lakshmi
Mahanidhi- All/supremely Wealthy

Adhathaa – Invincible
Vidhatha-One who gets things done and gives rewards for the deeds also One who carries the Universe
Avignyatha – One who knows everything but also one who does not want to know the deficiencies of his adherents

Sathayavan – Personification of Truth
Lakshmivan- One who holds Lakshmi in his heart (Lakshmi is Vishnu’s wife and consort)Aathmavan- Source of life in all living things

Ekaathma – One who lives in all beings
Ameyathma- One who has uncountable forms/avatars
Khabeeraathma – Unknowable, Supreme
Samaathma- One who is supremely impartial
Viswaathma- Life of the Universe and all beings

Visudhaathma – Blemishless
Vidheyaathma – Ever available for His adherents
Vijidhaathma – One who has mastered all senses and enemies

Padmanabha- One who has Lotus on his navel, which is the seat of Brahma the creator
Ratnanabha – One who has diamond like navel(for twin boys)

Mahaan- Role Model in Conduct and Character
Srimaan – One who has Lakshmi and all the wealth she represents

Vasudevan (Hidden, Unknown, Unreachable or Unknowable)-
Sankarshnan ( One who takes in the whole Universe on its last day)-
Anirudhhan(One who cannot be stopped)-
Prdyumnan (Owner of uncountable wealth and prosperity)
Vishwaksenan- Lord Vishnu’s Commander-in-Chief, also Lord Vishnu himself

Veerabhahu – One with the strongest arms
Vithbhanu- One who knows everything, Supremely intelligent and knowledgeable

Sushenan – One who has the most beautiful and powerful army
Sugoshan- One who creates the holy sound (This was also the Conch carried by Lord Krishna during the Mahabaratha battle)

Srashtaa – Creator of the Universe and all things and beings
Shreshtaa- The Best ever, nobody can exceed him or her in anything

Vishnu- Omni-present
Sahishnu- Tolerant, One who controls his senses

I think I will keep adding to this list

Pirate of the Caribbean-Cricket World Cup predictions

2007-03-10T08:16:00.000+13:00

This is the year of Cricket and the Greats and Minnows are soon going to bat it out in the sunny Caribbean. Who will be the successful Pirate of the Caribbean?

I am thinking that this time around it would be a bowlers' cup and the teams with the strongest and consistent bowling attack would have the best chance. Based on that my money is on either South Africa or Sri Lanka. Both have good bowling attacks and their batsmen can always give good totals for the bowlers to defend.
Australia is not yet in the game because it does not have good bowlers with Lee not playing and others not yet upto the mark. But that may change as the competition progresses. They are a fighting team and fantastic pack-hunters so can't really write them off.
New Zealand is showing some promise with a revived batting line-up, but their bowlers including Vettori are sliding.
England is an enigma. Do they have a good team play? They should be okay for a couple of good matches, but I dont see them going into the finals.
West Indies could give a run for the money but I am not sure they have the staying power, what with their mercurial attitude to the game.
Pakistan could throw a spanner in the works/plans of the major teams and they are the ones who can beat South Africa and spoil their chances.
India would be a dark horse, provided they hit the stride well and early.
It would be great if one of the minnows make it to the semi-finals to give a shock to the established teams.
But one thing is certain, it would be great fun to watch and follow the cup.

Names I like

2007-03-06T21:26:00.000+13:00

I like the following names, most of which are from the list of 1000 names by which Lord Vishnu is worshipped in a Sanskrit Poem from the Great Hindu Epic Mahabharatha. I wish I have my own children to give some of these names to, but I am listing them here, so those who like them can use them. Some of them are girl's names indicated as such and some are uni-sex names.

Medhini (G)
Medhavee (U)
Manini
Abhu
Vibhu
Sahasrajit
Anantajit
Shatrujit
Abhay-Nirbhay (Names for twin boys)
Dhanvee (U)
Dharmee
Vaakmee
Swasthee
Lakshmi and Padmee (for twin girls)
Brahmee
Amanee
Jitamanyu
Jithaamithra
Virochan
Ravilochan
Adhbuth-Athruth (names for twin boys)
Ghathakraja
Gharudhathwaja
Vachaspathi
Udharanee
Sumedha-Sathyamedha (for twin girls or boys)
Vasuretha
Vasupradha
Kesava-Kesiha (for twin boys)
Sridharan-Srikaran (for twin boys)
Srinidhi-Mahanidhi (for twin girls)
Vidhatha
Avignyatha
Sathayavan
Lakshmivan
Aathmavan
Ekaathma
Khabeeraathma
Samaathma
Viswaathma
Vidheyaathma
Vijidhaathma
Padmanabha-Ratnanabha (for twin boys)
Mahaan-Srimaan (for twin boys)
Vasudevan-Sankarshnan-Anirudhhan-Prdyumnan (Krishna and his 3 brothers)
Veerabhahu
Vithbhanu
Sushenan
Sugoshan
Srashtaa
Shreshtaa

Look out for the meanings of above names in future blogs

A Good Start to Peace between the Arab Sects

2007-03-05T07:31:00.000+13:00

I am very heartened by the meeting between King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia and President Ahmedinejad when both of them declared their intention to work to stop the sectarian strife in Iraq.
This is the most important and positive development that has happened in the Middle East. This meeting is very historical and I am glad they did not need the intervention of any outside force or institution to have organised this meeting and joint statement.
I have been maintaining that the Arabs themselves are the best people to solve their problems and utilise their valuable resource of Oil for the benefits of their population.
Sunnis and Shiites are brethren following the same religion and Allah and Prophet Mohammed and they should not be fighting among themselves.
I hope this meeting will lead to further talks between the leaders of both sects, may be under the auspices of GCC or OIC and a way to completely stop the fighting in Iraq and other places will be worked out. I fervently wish that US or other Western countries do not interrupt this process or throw a spanner in the works. Their interests are different and do not have the prosperity of Arabs as their first priority.
The Arabs should move with utmost speed on this positive start and wrap up an action plan to bring the fighting in Iraq to an end and start on the path or reconstruction. The oil money can play an important role in this and the leaders like the Saudi King and Iranian President should administer the process with the blessings and co-operation of all Arab countries.Insha Allah, Peace will come to the region soon.

Wrong justification for immoral acts

2007-03-03T19:08:00.000+13:00

The lawyer who represented the Asst PC who was acquitted in the sex abuse scandal twice in 2 years has said that it is not a crime for the APC to have engaged in group sex as according to him more than half of New Zealanders engage in group sex.
The point is not whether half the NZ population have had group sex, the point is if half or a majority of population does something, does it make it acceptable or pleasant or legal.
How about smoking or drinking then? If it is acceptable because only a large percentage of population is doing it, then our laws should be re-written and continuously updated to reflect that percentage. Is that what the esteemed lawyer wants? How absurd to justify something on the basis of number of people doing it?
There are two courts, legal and public opinion. The lawyer should remember that public opinion can result in modification of law in a democracy. So what is okay or escapable today may not be so tomorrow. And then the same lawyer will have to live and practise the revised law.
Also, the standard of behaviour expected of a public servant is higher and it is clear that the accused had not lived up to that and have brought disrepute to the institution of Police. They have to pay the price for their behaviour.

Should there be a legal time limit to report and invetigate sex crimes ?

2007-03-02T16:12:00.000+13:00

There is a debate about imposing a statute of limitation on allegations, investigation and prosecution of sex crimes.

A sex crime is the most violent form of invasion of privacy and is worse than murder because the victim is left to live with the consequences.

However in their own interests, the victims would benefit by reporting the crime as soon as they are able to do so, so evidence can be collected and prosecution can be started early to resolve the case soonest.

Having a time limitation for reporting and investigating such claims, may on the face of it appear unjust to the victims. But mandating such a limitaion clause is not a bad idea, because this would also compel victims to report such cases soon. Furthermore, this would give a chance to the accused to be either cleared or convicted of the charges (under due process of law) and would let them get on with their lives, one way or other. If they are guilty, then society would benefit by their early prosecution and conviction and sentencing. If not, they won't have to be surprised much later in their lives by such accusations, which may affect them and their families differently at a different stage in their lives.

So yes, having a very reasonable limitation period for reporting, investigating and prosecuting such sex crimes would benefit the society and the Courts.

Cops found Not Guilty-Was Justice done in Full ?

2007-03-02T06:58:00.001+13:00

Three NZ cops including an Assistant Commissioner of Police have been found not guilty yesterday by a panel of Jury in the case where they were accused of indecenlty assulting and sexually violating a young girl several years ago. They were acquitted of a similar case in 2005 also.

I am a little puzzled by the law in the above cases.

When there is no evidence other than the 'She said, He said-He did, She did' evidence of the Plaintiff and the Defendants, the case has to be decided only on the credibility of the parties involved. In that case, should not the earlier history and conviction of any party be put before the juries to make up their minds as to who is likely to have lied and who is likely to have told the truth. What is the prosecution's responsibility in such cases? Should they not have insisted and got the permission to reveal the history of the defendants before taking on the case?

It appears that though justice was done, it does not seem to have been done in full. Am I the only person feeling that some good opportunities have been lost to uphold the integrity of the Justice system in this great country?

The web-link for this is http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/1/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10426607

How nice if it is possible for women to have a camera implanted on them so such incidents can be recorded as they happen so they can get justice if they so need it ?

Nostalgia Rules at the Oscars

2007-02-27T06:49:00.000+13:00

The Queen (Best Actress) and the lost King (Best Actor) taking out the top Oscars.
Departed and Dreamgirls, two period films about gangsters and motown taking a few Oscars.
Martin Scorcese and Ennio Marconi getting their just rewards finally.
And Sherry Lansing being honoured for life-time achievement.

Who said Nostalgia is not what it used to be.
It is alive and kicking in Hollywood, as witnessed by the top awards at this year's Oscars

It feels very good to see the Academy going back to more entertaining and peaceful times.
The movies that have been recognised are all wholesome entertainment.

Well done Oscars. Thanks heaps for a well-conducted ceremony and the parade of beauties who too looked Royal in their own way.

It is fitting that in these troubled times you have gone back in time and brought back Nostalgia to reign at tinseltown.

Only one question: Who will play George Bush in 15/20 year's time to win an Oscar ?

Can the Black Caps win the Cricket World Cup ?

2007-02-20T20:31:00.000+13:00

Why not?

They have received a tremendous boost from the victory in the Chappell-Hadlee trophy. The run chase was great and the team showed that they can beat the best on their day.
However, they need to look at some changes in the way they play.

First Fleming should not open the innings. It is apparent that he has lost the ability to read the new ball well. He may be better off batting 3 or 4 down when the ball has lost its shine. He is still a great batsman but needs to adjust his game.

Ross Taylor and Lou Vincent should be developed as the opening pair. Both of them play courageously and are not afraid of the new ball. They have good techniques and with better training they can shine in the opening role.

Also Vettori needs a good support with a permanent second spinner. Jeetan Patel should not be dropped from any match. He should be given the time to get into stride and study the various batsmen of the other teams. What better way than to play in all matches and keep bowling, which is probably how Vettori became a great bowler himself. And Patel is an asset on the field as well.

McCullum has cemented his place lower down in the order and should be playing like Michael Bevan did, steadying the innings when necessary and accelerating at the right time.

The team should also have a few team building exercises so they become comfortable with each other.

And most important, they should enjoy their cricket and there should be more fun visible on the field.

The Chappell-Hadlee Trophy-Absence of Ponting and Gilly

2007-02-14T17:55:00.000+13:00

Ricky Ponting and Adam Gilchrist are not going to be in the Australian Team coming over to New Zealand for the above 3 matches.

I think it is a golden opportunity for NZ to call the Aussies bluff and beat them at cricket. The matches are very important and if NZ can win, it will definitely boost the Black Caps' confidence. They are not doing very bad, but they don't seem to be enjoying their cricket.

It appears that Stephen Fleming has lost his heart in leading and his demeanor on the field shows he is under pressure of playing. It is high time the Kiwis play for the fun and enjoyment of the game. The team is not coming together and Fleming may have a lot to do with that. May be the age gap is too much for him to effectively communicate and mingle with the team.

It may be a good idea to develop Vettori as captain and give him the chance to bring the team together. Also for the coming matches, the coach should announce the team and stick with it and drop his rotation policy. Let the team of 11 or 12 know that they are there for the long haul and individual match performance won't affect their position, in the normal course. Then get the team together for some intense training and team building exercises.

May be they can take the assistance of a corporate consultant for this.

And if Fleming does stay as captain, get him to loosen up and be cheerful.The Aussie team is a good example of a group of good players having fun together on the field and in Lou Vincent's words, the Black Caps can do with some pack hunting themselves.

Tony Blair- Dishonest and Insincere

2007-02-13T06:16:00.000+13:00

I view Tony Blair as a very smooth politician,very insincere and interested in only the image he projects. He has undermined the political landscape in UK and the World by blindly supporting USA. Even that I suspect is to buttress his personal image and to align himself with a more powerful nation. I think he wants to be like George Bush, with all th e trappings of power that comes with it.

He is very glib and gets out of tough questions by asking a question in return, without honestly answering the question posed to him.

I dislike his repeated statements 'let us not focus on what has happened in the past, what mistakes we have made, but let us focus on the present and what we have to do to retrieve the situation, etc'. This has been his standard answer in many forums to questions about his worngful support of Iraq invasion, etc. He should try a more honest tack, admitting the reponsibility and doing something concrete to rectify them and give redressal to the affected people.

I believe he is long on talk and very very short on action.

But with his boyish looks and smooth-talking manner, he has been able to fool the people of UK and some sections of the world population.

I only hope he is consigned to the oblivion he deserves, without being resurrected as a senior statesman or a diplomot or some such thing.

To prove my point Tony Blair is continuing his dishonest and unreliable streak with the latest announcement to withdraw British troops from Iraq. He has once again confirmed by this action that he is motivated to act only to preserve/boost his image and ratings and has absolutely no principle or policy or ideals. He took Britain to an illegal and immoral war, to follow in the footsteps of George Bush, expecting they would win easily and he can bask in the glory of being a top man on the Winning Team. But when that has turned sour, he is now ready to ditch his grand ally across the Atlantic, with the sole aim of restoring his crumbling reputation. He has now shown that he has no guts to stick it out till the end. It is better if he resigns immediately without further damaging the name of Great Britain.

Good luck to Gordon Brown, who inherits a shamble and has to work doubly hard to rebuild a new British image in the international arena.

Michael Cullen doing a Allan Bollard

2007-02-09T20:00:00.000+13:00

Michael Cullen the Deputy PM of New Zealand holding the Finance Portfolio has suggested that a levy on the mortgage interest rate is an option before the Government to cool the housing market and bring down the value of NZ dollor, all with the idea to help exporters and driving away foreign investors who are dumping their funds into New Zealand, attracted by the high interest rates.

Looks like Cullen is attempting to do what Bollard tried and failed, that is talking up a scare and hoping this will have the desired effect of cooling the housing market. He should know better. If this is a threat, does Labour have the political will or majority or support to deliver on the threat? They don't. He is going to cut a sorry figure as did Trevor Mallard in the waterfront stadium fiasco.

The stock market here lacks depth. The movement in prices are limited to a few cents. There are lack of good investment opportunities and what good pickings are there, they are tending to be bought up by Aussies. Unless the country's stock market really delivers by giving a good return like the emerging markets of India, Brazil, Russia (which seems unlikely in the near future), there seems to be no good alternative investment prospects.

The government should encourage individual savings in designated instruments by giving tax breaks and let the fund gatherers mop-up the money and invest wisely to give an equal return as the housing market. They may have to invest all over the world. The success of Cullen Fund which is managing the superannuation/government surplus funds is a good example.

Also the surplus of the government can be used to subsidise house-buying by first-home buyers, who may be given an interest-principal holiday at the government's cost. Though it will initially raise the demand for house prices, once the scheme is stabilised, people may be confident of utilising the scheme when required and this may flatten the housing boom-bust cycle gradually.

Another good investment opportunity is to privatise University Education and allow opening of more Universities for special programmes like medicine, nursing, software development, etc. Many countries have used this route to make Education a good investment opportunity and at the same time increase the level of expertise in chosen fields. We require more doctors and nurses, etc and it would be a good idea to get more of them qualified and trained here itself to work in the health sector here at good pay scales.

Such schemes may divert surplus funds away from the housing sector and will benefit the country in other ways. It is really not a good idea to scare away foreign funds. Instead they should be channelised into infrastructure and development oriented projects so the long term benefits would be more and will help in growth of the New Zealand economy consisitently. This is an art that our politicians and money-managers should learn and practice better.

Ajay saved me today

2007-02-04T20:23:00.000+13:00

Today I had an accident at Raglan when I almost drowned. We had gone to Raglan with a friend Ravi and his family, wife Geetha and sons Ajay and Arun, 13 and 9 years old.

After reaching there , we took a couple of kayaks. Ajay was in one and I was in the other. That was my first Kayaking expedtion, though I have rowed boats and can pretty much manage it well. The Kayak lady, Candide, explained how to use the paddle and advised how to react should we tip over. She emphasised that the kayak or we would not drown and it was quite easy to upright the Kayak and climb in. She warned though that for young boys it is easy to climb in and adults have to actually contort their bodies the right way to get in again. She said 'don't panic, you will be alright and won't drown as you will have the life-jacket on'

We got into our respective Kayaks and rowed under a couple of bridges enjoying the scenery. After about 30 minutes, I started feeling uncomfortable with a pain developing in upper torso and feeling very tight around the stomach and chest. My legs went sort of wobbly, started feeling pain around the knees and upper thigh. I knew something was wrong and told Ajay that I was not feeling okay.

We started to row back. I still felt unwell and wanted to lie down on my back but could not. I felt that if I loosten the belt I might feel okay. But I forgot Candide's remark that there was no belt and they deliberately do not strap people in. While extending my hand sideways to search for the imaginary clasp on the imaginary belt, what do you think happened?

I tipped over into the water, upturning the Kayak. The water was deep , but we were not very far from the bridge. But I panicked and went down into the water, with the life-jacket weighing me down a bit and took in a bit of water. One hand holding the kayak, I could sense my spectacles fall into the water and instantly became blind, as my the prescription glasses are high-power and I can't see very well without them. My panic went up several notches, I shouted to Ajay. He immediately jumped into the water and came to help me. Though I know swimming and could have left the kayak and swam to the shore, I lost my presence of mind. I did not know how well Ajay could swim and I got scared that I was putting him in danger. I still did not release the Kayak, may be thinking I was responsible for returning it to Candide.
Ajay came near me and we both pushed the kayak upright, he climbed in, but I could not. It was too much for him to pull me in.

Meanwhile I went into the water a couple of times, stupid of me and felt I was having a heart attack. I requeseted Ajay to shout for help and both of us started shouting. We had slowly moved towards the bridge and could see cars driving on it. We shouted some more, all the time pulling towards the shore, thanks to Ajay who kept his cool and almost dragged the Kayak towards the bridge, with me clinging on and beating my legs in some kind of swimming motion. I still can't figure why I could not think of letting go of the Kayak which would have enabled me to swim. May be my chest pain was increasing and clouded my thoughts.

A couple of cars stopped and people started coming down the banks. We had by this time reached the rocks under the bridge leg near the shore, and Ajay pulled me up part way. But then I collapsed as my lower body and legs refused to co-operate and I was out of breath, with salt water irritating my throat. I just leaned on the rocks and let the people who came down carry me up the bank to the grass edge.

Somebody had already phoned for Ambulance which showed up shortly.

Roynie the para-medic (I think I am right) slowly walked me to the ambulance and checked my pulse, heart-beat and breath and declared I was gradually returning to normal. After checking my story and my condition, she suggested that though I was not in any immediate danger, I should consult a doctor and offered to take me in the Ambulance to Waikato Hospital.

Meantime we had telephoned my wife who brought the car over. Initially I did not tell her the full story on the phone, but after reaching the scene, she took in my condition.
We debated for sometime and then decided not to go to the hospital straight-away, but take rest at Raglan and recover, which is what we did.

I wish to thank Mark from Auckland and the passengers of other 2 cars ( I could not get their names, but one of them is a Maori couple) and also the gentleman who rowed the kayaks from the middle of the backwater on to the grass.

Ajay played a major role in rescuing me. He kept his cool, did not panic, remembered the instructions of Candide and guided me correctly to the shore. It must have been physically a tough task for him, but he did it somehow.

We are grateful to Ajay and Mark, Roynie and others who were there today to bring me back.
And a big sorry to Candide for messing up her peace of mind for a long time today.

Thanks heaps guys and I wish you all the best forever.

Post-US World-Is it a threat or opportunity?

2007-01-31T23:08:00.000+13:00

Fareed Zakaria of Newsweek has recently written that the USA was not prominent at the Davos Summit and other nations did not really miss it. He went on to state that if USA gives up the leadership of the world, it will result in chaos and doom so other nations should be careful in not giving offence to USA, lest it withdraw its involvement and co-operation in international affairs.
He has warned that 'But for those who have been fondly waiting for the waning of American dominance—be careful what you wish for'.

I think Fareed Zakaria need not lament so much the decline of America and issue predictions of doom and chaos. Intelligence and leadership is not the exclusive domain of Americans. China, India, Brazil etc have valid concerns that their growth is not being welcomed by the Western World and the bogey of Global Warming will be used to stunt their growth. Mr Zakaria should acknowledge that the present environmental disaster is more attributable to the rampant development in countries like USA, which still use most of the vital resources of the world like oil and which go to war to protect their supply. Having reached a level of comfortable living, they now want to retain their exclusive position at the cost of other countries. This is not a valid or acceptable position. And remember that USA still has not signed the Kyoto accord and its own leaders like Al Gore are beating the drums of environmental responsibility.

Leaders will emerge in other nations to take the place of USA, if it is ready to give up its dominance. USA has adopted an unilateral approach and definitely this is not going to be liked by other nations. Countries like India, Russia, China, Australia, and even the old powers of Europe have much to offer and contribute. It is for USA to engender an atmosphere of co-operation and use forums already in place to work with the Global community. But President Bush has taken USA in a separatist path and his nation has to face the consequences.

There is no point in smarting about the indifference to the absence of USA. USA can be as relevant as it wishes. If they are not ready to come to the party, the party won't stop. It will go on and others will have the fun and hangover too. The world does not require micro-managing by USA which anyway is not infallible as events have proved.

Don't be condescending, is what I say.

Debate about Maori Flag on the Harbour Bridge in Auckland

2007-01-31T20:29:00.000+13:00

There is a beautiful tradition in Auckland to fly the flags of other Nations on their respective National Days over the Harbour Bridge in Auckland. This makes the people who came from those countries who presently live in New Zealand feel proud that this country is recognising their native land and feel proud to be living in New Zealand. And it is also a way of New Zealanders to project a friendly face to the World from this corner.

However a debate is currently on as to whether the Maori Flag should be allowed to fly over the Bridge on Waitangi Day. The objection seems to be based on the fact that Maori is not a separate Nation. New Zealand which started as a Maori Nation has morphed into a multi-cultural modern nation.

May be this is a good time to rethink the idea of a new flag for New Zealand incorporating some Maori design and our National symbols of Silver Fern and Kiwi.That will be a way to honour both the Maori and the Pakeha who have written the history of this country by their toils and contributions. I am sure the new migrants to this country who have since become citizens will also welcome the change.

It is high time New Zealand developed its own identity based on its history of multi-cultural migration to this 'Paradise on Earth', starting from the Maoris and continuing with the present day influx from all over the world.

Bush-Unrepentant and Stubborn as ever

2007-01-24T20:58:00.000+13:00

President Bush has delivered his State of the Union message to a State which is not United in its approach to Iraq. Bush has again stood his ground and has spoken of 'Victory'. He has mentioned that he like everyone else, would like the 'war over and won'. It appears the operative word is not 'over' but 'won'. With this goal in mind, Bush is not going to relent. He has not yet faced up to his follies in starting the war, conducting it badly and not giving up when the conditions deteriorated. He has not experessed any regret for the destrucion to Iraq, the deaths of uncountable civilians and his major part in igniting a civil war there. Not to speak of USA's earlier support and propping of Saddam himself when it suited their policies. It is tragically funny that he is still seeing the war in terms of 'finishing with a victory for USA', whatever that may mean, only he knows.

The Democrats and the moderates in the Republican Party better see through this sham and take urgent steps to bring the war to an end at the earliest. There is no victory to be gained, only more deaths and destruction all around.

Nothing can justify the continuation of this illegal war. There is no shame in accepting the Big Mistake that was made and get the help of UN and other neutral countries to bring the war to an early end. I am sure that is what the American and Iraqi citizens want.

Hope better senses prevail soon.

Shilpa Shetty and her Big Brother Show

2007-01-19T18:58:00.000+13:00

I am sure Shilpa is having all of us on by her stunt. It appears that the whole issue is being stage managed to give her an advantage. Yes there was initially some bitchy comments but this has been blown up and now people are hooked to this show and are looking for all offensive comments. And the participants are obliging by piling on the venom.

The producer must be laughing his way to the Bank and may be Shilpa will get a boost to her career as well as good money. Don't forget she is an actress and is quite capable of manipulating her way into or out of trouble. But her expressions belie her supposed anger and frustrations.

So may be she is not such a good actress after all.

In the words of Andy Warhol 'Shilpa has had her 15 minutes of fame (or shame).

It is a pity that many people are falling for this and waste their time in demonstrations and protests.

God and Religion

2007-01-13T10:06:00.001+13:00

There is a debate going on here about a Bishop who has declared himself to be an Agnostic

I agree with the view that declaring oneself as an Atheist could be construed as being very arrogant. I think may be that is why many people who really don't believe in God like to take up the lable 'agnostic', which could also mean to be 'being indifferent' to the whole issue of God and Religion. It is not 'sitting on the fence', but incorporates the realisation that human beings as they are today do not fully know everything about the nature of things including as to how the brain functions, how thoughts originate, etc. We are still evolving and more discoveries about nature and human existence are being made. So it is perfectly alright for a rational person who does not believe in one single Superhuman being and who does not want to be shackled by the rituals of being religious to take the position of being Agnostic.

Having said that I should also say that the concept of God is understandable but the practice of Religion is unwarranted.

I agree with the author Steve Berry that religion has been created as a tool by men to manipulate and control other men and in the search for answers to many questions of the human mind, even those that are unanswerable, the unbelievable has become gospel.

This is my personal experience as well.

But as far as the Bishop here is concerned, I believe that once he has declared himself to be an Agnostic, he has no right to be in a religious institution whose bedrock is believing in God. It would be appropriate for the Bishop to resign his postion and seek his own truth elsewhere.

I visit several temples, churches etc and I am impressed by the effort and faith that have gone into their construction and maintainence. I can understand the passion of the adherents to raise monuments to honour their deities. I believe it enriches the culture and the architecture is simply great and mind-blowing, particularly in old Hindu temples, historical churches, etc.

How nice it would be if tolerance for each other's belief or non-belief spreads and all people can co-exist without trying to convert or force others into their way of thinking.

My final submission is that being religious or non-religious is a very personal thing and each person has to find his own way into or out of it.

Ashley X - The tragic decision for parents to make

2007-01-11T19:07:00.000+13:00

It is sad to read and see the plight of Ashley, the disabled child whose growth is being stunted surgically so her parents can take care of her better. My heart goes out to all of them and it is really tragic for parents to be forced to take such drastic decisions for the protection of their child. But I can understand the compelling grounds which have forced them to take this step.

I think this is a decision that is best left to the parents. Depending on their circumstances including financial, they can decide how they want to care for their severely disabled children.
When parents are responsible for healthy children and decide on their upbringing and values teaching on a daily basis, why not let them decide about these severely disabled children too?

Unless governements can fund the care and assure life long abuse-free care for these children, the parents are the best persons to decide. The world has to be understanding of the plight of Ashley's parents and leave them alone to take care of Ashley in the best way they can.

Whatever we feel or say will be very inadequate.

Baghdad-Will it be George Bush's Waterloo ?

2007-01-11T18:43:00.000+13:00

Congratulations to George Bush for turning an initial military victory into a grand failure in Iraq and particularly Baghdad. When the war was started the Coalition troops were able to roll into and capture Iraq in a matter of days because of the saturation bombing. But the situation in Baghdad now is very dire, after more than 3 years of occupation. The Americans are presently mired in a deeper civil war and are again using warplanes to re-capture Baghdad. May be George Bush should have learned the lesson from his father 'to quit when he was ahead'.

And now Bush is committing more troops especially with the mission to re-secure Baghdad. They are in for the toughest fight of their lives, in the mean streets of Baghdad. They better watch their back too, because many of their so-called Iraqi friends from the Shiite community swear allegiance to Iran, the arch-enemy of USA. George Bush could not have designed a worse hell for his troops.

There is also speculation that USA is playing out a grander plot to destabilise the Middle East and gain more influence in the oil-rich region to ensure supplies to USA. But it is a stretch to credit George Bush with authorship of this idea and more so the ability to bring this about. He is doing it all the wrong way and it is not possible to cause such a destabilisation programme with so many enemies in that area like Iran, Palestinians etc. America does not have the resources or determination or stamina to engage in such a long drawn-out scheme. Moreover the world has moved on and people have become smarter with better priorities and values. Countries like UAE, Qatar, Bahrain and even Saudi Arabia are ruled by intelligent rulers. This scheme is not going to be successful.

All that will happen is USA troops will get more entangled in the street fighting and either America will escalate the war with more aerial bombings or the Democrats and Public Opinion will force George Bush to beat a retreat and re-enact the Vietnam pull out. I am praying for the latter outcome as early as possible.

Technorati link

2006-12-31T19:56:00.000+13:00

Technorati Profile

Saddam's Execution-Milestone or Millstone

2006-12-31T18:55:00.000+13:00

At last George Bush has done it-got his revenge for his father, who could not finish off Saddam. After 15 years Bush Junior has proved to his father that he can do something his dad could not.

He must be feeling great. And he has described the execution as a 'Milestone in Iraq's history'.

But more likely this untimely execution which has once again proved how insensitive the West can be to other cultures, may become a 'Millstone' around the neck of USA.

George Bush may feel that he has won a battle, but in his own words he has admitted that the 'war is not being won'. That is the war he started illegally against the opinions of the whole world and which is causing death and destruction to Iraq and also put thousands of American soldiers in harms way.

George Bush and his administration has a lot to answer for and he is compounding his crime daily. The latest example is the hasty execution of Saddam to which he must have given his blessing. The puppet government of Iraq has done his bidding, but they may be the one along with the Iraqi people who are going to face the consequences of the deepenig division in Iraq.

May be George Bush has an hidden agenda here, which could be the ultimate partition of Iraq on sectarian lines, giving him the control he has sought over the oil fields.

I wish the Arabs (not only those living in Iraq, but in the whole Middle East) realise soon the devious tactics of USA and pull themselves out of their myopic alliance with USA.
They have the wealth and the resources and if they need help there are other countries like the European Union, Japan, China, India and even Russia available. They must realise that they are not dependent on USA and cut their losses.

Will it happen soon enough?
Insha Allah!!!!!

Saddam's final days

2006-12-30T07:03:00.000+13:00

Saddam is to be hanged any day and may be executed within the next couple of days- This is the latest news.

I am thinking that once again, the USA and the present Iraqi Government are picking the wrong time for this final act in Saddam's chapter. The next few days are very important for Muslims because of the Haj Pilgrimage and they would not like to be side-tracked with this horror show. Their minds and heads are lifted towards God and one of God's tenets is not to harm anyone and that killing even the smallest animal or insect is against God. Granted Saddam was a monster but forgiveness is Godliness, is it not ?
Also the USA is yet to come out with a 'new way forward' to end its Iraq mis-adventure and things on the ground are very much dicey. This definitely is not the right time to hang Saddam and make him more of a martyr and stoke the anger and passions of the Sunnis. This will mean the divisions between Sunnis and Shiias will be deepened and may become more difficult to repair. The civil war will become entrenched and USA will find it extremely difficult to extricate itself.
Not a good way to start the new year, which should begin on a more hopeful note.
I hope better sense prevails and the Iraqi Government does not rush into this.
They have held Saddam for so long and they can afford to wait some more for a more opportune time to carry out the hanging.