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Tuesday, August 30, 2005

Mini in maxi trouble

The Apple Store (U.S.)

Apple's mini was supposed to catapult Apple to the top of the personal computers market. Looks like that was just a dream. Now, they are pinning their hopes on MacTels. I don't think that is going to happen. Milk the iPod until the craze lasts and then go back to being a "niche" player.

Friday, August 26, 2005

Reality bites...

BBC NEWS | South Asia | 'Encephalitis spreading' in India
BBC NEWS | South Asia | India child malnutrition deaths

A few days back I received an email from a friend titled "India in the future". It was the work of someone who had lot of time on their hands and poor imagination. It was about some "phoren" folks waiting at the Indian Embassy to come work in India. I guess the writer must have spent quite some time at the US consultates in India for an US visa. Anyway, it was around the same time I read these two articles.

The reality on the ground is far from rosy. Before we become the nation of choice for all information services we should try provide our citizens access to information. And, before we become the world's biggest genric drug manufacturer and center for drug research we should figure out how to help provide primary health care to our citizens.

First... do no harm

BBC NEWS | Africa | Can aid do more harm than good?

I have always wondered why the west is eager to write checks to save the poor in Africa and else where but reluctant to remove the subsidies on agriculture in their own countries. It is the classic case of giving fish but refusing to teach/help them learn fishing.

A few years back I used to be a member of Amnesty International. I quit when I realized that I can't get involved in human rights activities related to my home country. Instead, I was being asked to send petitions to governments of other nations based on the stories in the Amnesty International newsletters. The person who is close/ on the ground is the best resource to assess and act, not someone sitting miles away.

Sunday, August 21, 2005

WWGS...who the f*@k cares?

Of stem cells, what would Gandhi say? - Asia - Pacific - International Herald Tribune

What would Gandhi say? This seems to be the desi version of WWJD. Seriously, who cares? The author has done a good job of indulging in selective quoting. And, invoking Gandhi is a ploy of the stupid.

“Thus, for Hindus, as much as for Catholics, life begins at conception”, says the author. But, he fails to mention that divinity in man is a very common concept in Hinduism.  Then, he quotes Mahabharata and how the Kauravas were born from a mass of flesh that was divided (cloning? Stem cells?) . And, that their birth is considered as an ominous event. He fails to mention that according to the same epic the Kauravas entered heaven even before the Pandavas (the good guys did).  

The concepts in Mahabharata and Hinduism are pretty simple as I understand it (and, since it is not religion based on a book or an institution, I think I am as good an expert as anyone else) – Do no evil, Good and bad are two sides of same coin just like life and death, and what you sow is what you reap even if it may be deferred. So, let us not drag Mahabharata or Hinduism into what is essentially a Christian debate.

My thought is simple – if you have the right and means to destroy a life then you should have the right and means to create one. And, since we have pioneered numerous ways to achieve the former it is time we start focusing on the later.

Friday, August 19, 2005

FDA fails to do its job and the consumers pay

BBC NEWS | Business | US giant punished for faulty drug

Ok, did Vioxx go through FDA trials and approval? I think they did. And, now Merck is dinged with $253m damages in another case of the stupid jury.

This is the first of the 4200 lawsuits. Guess what, your drug prices are going to go up.

Thursday, August 18, 2005

Bankrupt Promises

BBC NEWS | South Asia | India villagers get job promise

Damned if you, damed if you don't. That is the story here. If you do, the government goes bankrupt and if they don't they are out next time. Reminds me of what Maggie Thatcher once said - The job of the government is to create opportunities, not give handouts. When will our desi guys get this.

Monday, August 15, 2005

Flickr

This is a test post from flickr, a fancy photo sharing thing.

Thursday, August 11, 2005

Justice delayed is justice denied

Who are the guilty?

Growing up on Hindi movies I would often wonder when the oft repeat line "The house of God is late but never dark". Often, this line in the movie was to portray that justice was finally served. Let us leave the discussion on exiistence of God aside for now. I always thought this was a stupid line. The judiciary system has nothing to do with God, it is man made and a good one is useful to build a strong nation. A judiciary system that comes with a report 20 years from when the crime was committed and then does not go far enough is a joke.

We all know who the perpetrators are. What we don't know till date is who pulled the strings. Yes, the silence of the judiciary is bad enough but the silence of the public is deafening. The "secularists" must be feeling why go after the lesser of two evils.

An aside - It is interesting to note the Indian ministers tender their resignation to Sonia Gandhi first and not the Prime Minister. Indians seem to fall at the feet of the women leaders - Indira, Jayalalitha and now Sonia. Bravo....

Sunday, August 07, 2005

India : Tragedy of the commons

Yesterday, a friend of mine mentioned that we indians have come to realize that less government is better. He gave me the example of middle class indians increasingly buying generators and invertors to overcome the erratic power supply as a sign of it.

I am not sure if that can be taken as a sign of anything other than "I got enough money. I don't care about the electricity board and power. I have my ways". I guess, this "I have my ways" is the root cause of corruption. After all for corruption to thrive there should be supply and demand.

Now, if only the middle class will assert itself by making its elected representatives and the electricity board accountable. And, do its part like pay the electricity bills on time, not tamper the meters etc...

This phenomenon is not restricted to individuals. Take the darlings of the Indian industry - they demand special rates/ conversion of farmland to commercial land to setup their campuses. Why can't they pay the market price? Then, they setup hotels within their campuses so save their corporate guests from the traffic jams and pollution. Why can't they exert their influence in creating a better infrastructure? I have always wondered why a country full of IT companies has very little IT consumption both in the public and private sector. Why can't these companies offer their IT services to the public institutions in return for tax sops.

Friday, August 05, 2005

Chutzpah?!

BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Art prankster sprays Israeli wall

Maybe, this is what they call in Yiddish - chutzpah. Love this guy! And, love his art.

Tuesday, August 02, 2005

Salaam Bombay

BBC NEWS | South Asia | Mumbai's looming ecological disaster

A lot has been written in the media about the spirit of the people of Bombay. I would like to applaud their spirit, their ability to pick up and carry on with their lives as if nothing has happened and possibly repeat the same thing all over next year.

I would be in awe of the spirit of Bombayites if they could hold their elected officials and beauracrats accountable for the disaster that happened. The utter paralysis of official machinery was amazing. The information super power was not able to provide information that could have helped its citizens save their lives.

Rains disrupt life in south India

BBC NEWS | South Asia | Rains disrupt life in south India

Here is an idea... cut down more trees, fill the rivers with garbage and the hillsides with the cheap plastic bags and all this will go away. If it doesn't rain it is a problem and if it rains it is a problem.

Every time I travel through Kerala I see the hills stripped clean, rivers running dry, the farm land converted to concrete homes and plastic bags of various colors litter the landscape.