Ron Hira Ko Gussa Kyon Ata Hai *

* What Makes Albert Pinto Angry? (after, Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyon Ata Hai)

Dr. Ron Hira, is an Assistant Professor of Public Policy at Rochester Institute of Technology and IEEE-USA's chair on Career & workflow Policy. He is very vocal critic of outsourcing, offshoring and H1B. And, often gets quoted in articles regarding this issue. For a while I was surprised and angry with this guy of Indian origin for his stance on outsourcing and offshoring. But, I do realize that it is bad to form an opinion based on statements attributed to him in articles written by others.

So, the other day I listened to a conference hosted by Software  Development magazine featuring him. And, that made me realize that he is just doing his job. He is an office bearer of IEEE-USA (the US local chapter) and is concerned about fewer people choosing to become engineers. He is also concerned about the government not having a clear policy to handle the effects of offshoring. And, he is upset about the visa loopholes that are being abused by corporations – local and foreign. Fair enough…Hero Hira-lal!!!



    

A fresh blast of reality

BBC NEWS | South Asia | Deadly blasts hit Indian capital

So, there was a time after the Kashmir earthquake that both India and Pakistan were making statements as if the ground reality had changed due to the earthquake.

I was amused and alarmed at the various statements - amused at Mush's suggestion at throwing open the Line of Control border (which he does not recognize) after taking his own sweet time to get aid to Pakistan occupied Kashmir (probably wanted to make sure that there were no evidence of them helping the terrorists). Then, there were reports stating the terrorists camps may have been destroyed by nature. This, when the terrorists managed to kill over ten people immediately after the quake to prove that it is business as usual for them.

Now comes this co-ordinated blasts in Delhi around Diwali time - a reminder that fighting evil is not by turning the other cheek. Or, that in this case an eye for an eye can make people see things in a new light. Time to act rather than pussy foot peace.

Salad Bowl or Melting Pot... who cares?

washingtonpost.com: Myth of the Melting Pot: America's Racial and Ethnic Divides    

It has been a while since I updated my blog. And, it was a while back that my colleagues and I had this discussion over lunch. The topic of conversation was “American culture”. The guy from Russia felt that was an oxymoron. A few of us felt there are very little efforts made to reach out and understand other cultures. Of course, the Pakistani guy felt it was the best – “salad bowl” that is what he called it – take the best of different cultures and throw the worst. Wonder which culture gave him “scheme IKEA” and “share DirecTV receivers”.

Anyway, I wonder why we always get caught up with this mine is better than yours.  The Washington Post special is really good.

Sounds familiar

Chinese tourists getting a bad image

Flying from the US to India with fellow desis is always an experience. They form an orderly line to check in here at ORD. And, by the time they reboard in LON there is just a semblance of order. Once you get to India all order vanishes. It is difficult to believe it is the same set of people behaving this way.

It is as if the flight or cab will leave without them. Or, maybe the darwinian "survival of the fittest" that has been ingrained in them whhile growing up playing out.

Partying like the infidels

BBC NEWS | South Asia | Huge alcohol seizure in Pakistan

Looks like Bin Laden's buddies love to party the way the infidels do. Whazzaup ... with that?

Rural riches

Poor rural India? It's a richer place

The IHT article is interesting and heart warming. I wonder how the picture will look if the government eliminates the subsidies like free electricity, free water and reserve prices.

Don't get me wrong. I think farmers in India have a tough time - mostly because of lack of access to capital and information. As for the subsidies those are usually lapped up by the rich farmers and in quite a few cases "farmers" on paper.

Look ma... its our neighbour

Names of Vanishing Companies,Dates of Incorporation,Names of Directors and

I came across this list. It was tucked in some article. The site is rather slow. But, hey I think these guys should get same amount of publicity as sexual predators and violent criminals.

So, if you find someone you know on this list call the cops.

Just another day in paradise

BBC NEWS | South Asia | 'Cruel joke' of India's relief effort  

So, I waited for someone to create one of those wonderful emails that does lot of chest thumping,  tells us how wonderful we are – like, the one that came after hurricane Katrina that compared US relief efforts after the hurricane with Indian relief effort after the Mumbai  rains. It never appeared. Wonder if the writer of the original email has gone into hiding.

I thought this would be a great opportunity to show our humanitarian side and also gain some much wanted political mileage out of it. But, it never happened. It is not just the government; even the NGOs did not seem to care. Search the web for Indian websites accepting donations for Kashmir earthquake, there is hardly any.

Hopes that the earthquake would dent the militancy were quashed very early. On the day of the earthquake they killed a few people. And, quickly followed up with more killings.

Most people think that militancy in Kashmir started immediately after Indian independence and the secession of Kashmir to India. They don’t realize that while the seeds of the problem were sown at the time of independence, militancy started only in the 80s after a series of rigged elections, absolutely no efforts at developing the local economy. In the early 90s I had a chance to share a train journey from Madras to Delhi with a Kashmiri couple. We played Antakshari and talked about a number of things. One of the things the man told me stuck with me – “when we have 3 hrs of electricity a day in winter and hardly any jobs it make it a little more easy for people to choose militancy.”

I bet if people had opportunities and were busy making money there would be less chance for militancy.

Can you walk with the devil to cross the bridge?

In the company of scoundrels

We all think that people who look like us, dress like and are educated like us (or, even better) will think like us. Sai falls into this trap. He is hoping that Dr. Singh and President Kalam would act as he thinks he would. I guess he fails to realize that both owe their current positions to the Indian political establishment.

President Kalam may be a great scientist but he is not a great politician. Einstein was smart when turned down the Israeli presidency. Same with Dr. Singh - he won't win an election in any place other than a "safe" constituency. The only guy living mentioned in the article who has been elected by the masses is Laloo. Love him or hate him but you can't deny that the guy can "connect" with his base.

I remembered something from an article - "He tried to change the system but the system changed him." The article was talking about Rajiv Gandhi but I guess same is true for a lot of actors in Indian politics - Dr. Singh and President Kalam are no exceptions.

Of Terrorists, Radicals and Nobel Peace

BBC NEWS | Europe | ElBaradei wins Nobel peace prize

There were two news items this week that made me take notice - the random coincidences that makes you wonder if it could have been any better had it been planned.

The first one was President Bush making yet another speech about "war on humanity" by "terrorists and other radicals" (wonder, if the far right falls in the other radicals group). And, even before I could figure this out came the news of IAEA winning the Nobel peace prize. Wasn't this the same organization that was being called ineffective by Bush? At times it looked as though he would go to war against ElBaradei. Now, he must be having the last laugh.