Ok, I recently read an article on what make a blog good. One thing it mentioned was the need to be focused. As the article mentioned you can’t have one posting discussing globalization and the next one title “my cat died”. I guess my blog breaks pretty much every single rule mentioned there. But, who cares. I don’t. And, hope the internet wanderers who accidentally stop to read my blog don’t either.
BBC NEWS | South Asia | Bollywood shock at star's verdict
In general politicians and actors have a lot in common, at least in India. So, it is not uncommon to see such a reaction from Bollywood. Like every politician, the stars expect that the law cannot touch them. Remember “Sanjay Dutt did not have weapons, it was planted etc...” story. But, I have come to realize that there is more in common.
When you go to watch movies you root for the hero (or the villain) but at the end of the show you got poorer and both the hero and the villain got richer. Same is true with politics in India – which ever side you support you end up the loser. The politicians get rich off you. And, no other professions have such open connection with the criminals yet remain respectable like politics and filmdom. No wonder lots of actors try their hand at politics once they retire from acting. Ever heard of rioting or suicides because of the death of a doctor, scientist or industrialist? But, suicides (“self-immolation” being the most common method) are a regular feature when a “star” or politician dies.
This Salman Khan instance seems to be bucking the trend. Wonder if it is because the charge against him is “killing a rare buck” ;)
As I watched this morning’s “Meet the Press” on NBC I realized that there are no simple answers to the immigration debate. And, there is no one right answer, too. The hypocrisy of both sides is clear. For the most part I tend to agree with the Republicans – illegal immigrants are first and foremost illegal. But, what is legal and illegal depends on the government in power who pass the laws of the land. And, since Arizona, California, New Mexico and Texas were a few centuries back a part of Mexico can these new immigrants claim “right of return”?
Borders define a nation – its economic stature, its culture and beliefs – just like the four walls of your home define you. A porous border will dilute the definition. I don’t think that per se is a bad thing. But, are we (every one in the world) ready for it? Porous borders would mean sooner or later there will be homogenization. Just like globalization will at some point result in economic homogenization (at least, in theory).
I agree with the Republicans in that any amnesty program will only encourage similar behavior. And, I do think the guest worker program is a great idea but people who got into the country illegally should not an automatic shoo-in into this program. I agree with the Democrats that the illegal immigrants have contributed a great deal to the US economy. I also agree that they have helped keep the wages low in certain sectors and helped the US industries in those sectors to be competitive.
I think, the LA Times columnist who said that the protesters who were waving Mexican flags were “in your face” might have exaggerated a bit. I identify myself with India more than US. And, I might wave the Indian flag at a US /India cricket match. One can argue that protests over immigration are more serious than a cricket match. And, I agree. I really don’t know what I would have done if I was down there. Some of these protests were quite badly managed – there was one in Chicago that was held on a Friday evening. Imagine having your commute home on a Friday evening disrupted because of a protest by illegal immigrants. How sympathetic are you going to be for their cause? Rep. Luis Gutierrez’s assertion that these people are proud to be in America sounds hollow especially when he says, he had to tell the protestors to check in their national flags. I bet if you were to ask most of these people they would say they would be happy to be in Mexico (or, wherever they are from) if they can make a good living.
People who make the argument that this nation was built on immigration must realize that resources are limited – both for the nation and the planet. You cannot keep adding more people and expect everyone to have a better life. And, I suspect some of the folks who are on the side of the illegal immigrants are also the ones who oppose H1B etc… US government, for all its efforts to push WTO down the throats of other nations, still opposes WTO recommendations for free movement of professionals. Will the church take the case of illegal immigrants if they were from, say a Muslim country? And, I think it is not possible not to have some laws, restrictions etc… if you want to be better than the rest. If you want to be the same as the rest then tear down the borders, restrictions etc… - it will all level out, like water.
Finally, I did realize how different (and better) US is compared to India. We also have an illegal immigrant problem – the folks from Bangladesh. The far right screams about it from the hilltops and the rest stick their head in the sand and act as if nothing like that exists. There is no healthy discussion, debates on it. There is not even an acknowledgment of the issue. And, when a recent census revealed that the numbers of Muslims have increased considerably in the North East and certain other pockets of the country it was roundly criticized by the “secular” politicians and press.
Ever since I caught a glimpse a good Tamilian* talking to a white man on PBS when I was channel surfing I have been hooked on Spencer Wells' "Journey of Man". So, when National Geographic and IBM teamed up with him for the Genographic project I started thinking about being a part of the project.
I am J2 (M172) haplogroup. And, here is a study of indian Y chromosomes.
I also came upon an interesting take on the Aryan invasion stuff based on genetics.
Most Brahmins in India are of "Indo-European" origin - J folks like me. Hell, I am no brahmin unless you subscribe to the definition - Brahmin is one who is in search of brahman - the eternal truth. Now, the author of the article referred above feels that the genetic evidence supports Aryan invasion - the invaders put themselves on top of the caste system. Sounds reasonable. But, what I don't understand is why are the Hindu fanatics against the Aryan invasion hypothesis. Afterall, most of these folks are brahmins. Is it because they want to impress upon the rest of the population that they are locals (sons of the soil)?
And, why can't the "Indo-Europeans" in India be descendants of non-invaders, like traders etc...
Floating the rupee: Don't expect a big bang - Business - International Herald Tribune
Interesting article on rupee full convertibility. I remember my International Finance professor joke that Indians are big on yoga, meditation and other spiritual journeys because rupee is so undervalued that only journeys they could take were virtual/ spiritual.
About two months after I joined Dell in the Fall of 2002, I got a hand written thank you note from the office general manager along with a $100 "gift certificate". I had spent the previous eight weekends at work, not to mention long hours during the normal workdays to try get a derailed project on track. I thought the gesture was great. But, the "gift certificate" did not look like the usual AmEx gift certificates. But, I am no expert on gift certificates.
I tried using it at a few merchants and had problems using it. So, finally around Christmas time I decided to go to AmEx and encash the certificate. The whole of Chicago and their extended families seem to be at AmEx. After a 45 minute wait it was my turn. The woman behind the counter told me that what I had was not the gift certifcate but a form to buy a gift certificate. And, I could see she was trying her best to suppress her laughter as she said this.
I went back to the office and told the general manager about it. He agreed to take care of this. Over the next three months I followed up on this over email. I never received any response from the General Manager. I gave up. And, decided he was just cheap.
About three years later, in the Fall of 2005, I attended the Dell recruiting presentation at my business school. They held a draw for the Dell Ditty, flash based MP3 player. And, I won. When I went to collect the prize at the end of the event the woman told me that the Ditty was back ordered and they would send it once it becomes available. Five months and numerous emails later I finally got an ecoupon for $100 that was mailed to me by post. By then I was convinced that my earlier experience was not because the General Manager was cheap, it must have been the company policy.
I was bit saddened by the fact that I was not getting the Dell Ditty. I have never seen one and was quite intrigued by this product. From all accounts the itty-bitty Ditty is quite shitty. It is a pity that I will not know that for sure.
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