Two for Two & More.......

In my last post I made some comments about the recent setbacks to the Bush Administration. Within a short period a lot has occurred including the election losses by the ruling congress party in India and recent assassination of former Pakistan PM Benazir Bhutto, who was considered a favorite to win the upcoming national elections in that country.

I mentioned that US - India Nuclear deal is dead, I rushed to conclusions on this one. Looks like the election results in India and Bush administrations reinforcement of the deal might lead to deal being approved by the Indian polity. With the Lok Sabha elections looming, ruling party would like to have this on its resume. So we should watch and wait for the official word on this deal.

As for the situation in Pakistan, I was cent pertain right about America's ill advised trust in the Pakistani president parvez musharraf. He is and will do everything to stay in power. This does not mean that he carried the attack on Bhutto but he is certainly responsible and happy to see her go. People around the world including Indians and Pakistanis are expressing their shock on the incident, but for me it was a sad happening but certainly not shocking. I have not seen any intelligence report suggesting that the intelligence community was not expecting another attack on her, I wish she survived this attack, but what is done is done. Now she is a martyr to everybody. Instead this might turn out to be a historic moment for Pakistan and maybe Americans realize what a big blow it is to their interests in the region.

I think the incident marks as a testament to the unspoken favor to musharraf by al-qaida, people forget that there was an incident back in the mountains of Afghanistan when Americans came close to getting bin laden, it was widely reported that Pakistani army rescued several of the taliban, by air lifting them when they were surrounded by US forces, without any exit. We also need to look at the treaty between the north west tribals and the current Pakistani Govt. These seem to be favors by musharraf to extremists in Pakistan and Bhutto's assassination is a favor to musharraf by al-qaida, it does not change the fact that Bhutto represented the biggest threat to extremism in Pakistan. I can only hope this incident is the beginning of good things for Pakistan. We Indians cannot have an unstable neighbor.

Benazir Bhutto was a brave woman. The world needs more of them.

Two for two.....

The Bush Administration has received two setbacks in South Asia in a one month span. The much touted Nuclear deal fell through because of the Democracy in India and the chance of return to Democracy dropped by the general in Pakistan.

What does the good old US lose? US lost billions of dollars in business if the Nuclear deal went through, it lost a chance to reduce Global warming, it lost a chance to reduce economic Inflation and above all it lost a chance to become India's #1 friend.

Even though India was to gain much from the deal, the process of democracy was upheld and that should be applauded. Who knows maybe we were compromising our National Security, instead we compromised National prosperity. Only future will tell us, Even after the deal's downfall, India is not far away from getting all the nuclear power. The pollution we generate in future will make the world request us to take up Nuclear power, maybe then we do not have communists, who count.

Compared to this the emergency in Pakistan is a bigger blow. No dictator in history has ever embraced democracy. You would think Bush administration would know this, after all nobody brought down more dictators than uncle Sam. On top of that, this same administration will be remembered as the reason for Saddam's downfall. When you count a dictator as your number one ally in the fight against terrorism, something is fundamentally wrong in the thinking itself.

What does Bush Administration lose in this, it lost its face.

Difficulty Breeders....

Oct 15th, 2007, last day to file for tax returns for people who took filing extension in April, 2007. I was one of them and waited until the last minute to file my taxes. At first I waited until last minute in April and due to not completing the paperwork in time, got an extension for Oct. How lazy of me. There was only one good thing in the whole process, my attorney was busy both times leading me to believe that there are more people in this world like me. Well this is just one more of such things where I had company. But this time I thought about it and here I am writing about what I thought.

Why do all of us make things difficult for us? its so easy if we just do it the first time and not wait until the last minute. If you just take a moment and think about what is happening around us and see how many people do what we do, u will be surprised. We people in general make things difficult for ourselves. It is not just individuals, its group of individuals and even governments, including the best there are.

Here is one example... Why is Manmohan Singh embarrassed about the N-Deal episode? Does not he get it, that he needs the parliament to approve any deal? does not he get it that before that he should get his coalition to approve it? I can go on with more examples...no need though...I think I made my point.

so "Just Do It" Damn it.

Economics of Obesity

I see a lot of ridiculous surveys come up in the news on a daily basis. I see them and always come up with better ideas for surveys. Well I came up with one today. I was reading somewhere about the rising prices of wheat, corn and milk etc., because of increasing demand from Asia and use of these things for other purposes (eg. Ethanol production). Also a number human beings are gaining weight and of course the world population growth. All this brings in more demand and when demand rises non-proportional to supply, prices go up (Basic Economics). Well Population growth will be taken care of by the superpowers when things get ugly on the third rock or we are introduced to aliens, but what does the over weight people doing to the demand? why does we have to pay a dollar for a Big Mac? why not 50 cents? anyway somebody should find out. I do not know if somebody has already found out but if not this might be helpful information, this might be a good project for an MBA or an Economics student class.

What's in a name? 60+ years of a country's history

What's in a name? Well the next time you raise this question, remember the following.......

Sonia Antonia Maino a.k.a. Sonia Gandhi (religious affiliation Christianity) W/O Rajiv Gandhi F/O Rahul Gandhi CB/O Varun Gandhi S/O Maneka Gandhi (religious affiliation Sikhism) W/O Sanjay Gandhi S/O Feroze Gandy a.k.a. Feroze Gandhi (religious affiliation Zoroastrianism) H/O Indira Priyadarshini a.k.a. Indira Gandhi D/O Jawaharlal Nehru S/O Motilal Nehru (religious affiliation Hinduism)


Forbes..........thoughts........
Sonia Antonia Maino - Nobody
Sonia Gandhi - World's 6th most Powerful Woman (2007)

I was considering religious affiliations at birth, I could not come up with religious affiliations for some people mentioned above, reason being bit too confusing for me.

Also, if you know the list of Indian Prime Minister's, you may come to a conclusion that a donkey has a better chance when he/she is from Gandhi family than yourself, if you both are considering to contest for India's Prime Ministership. Sorry Sonia, truth hurts baby.

Guns or Roses

There was a small arms survey done by Graduate Institute of International Studies. According to the survey there are 875 million guns held by civilians around the world. 270 million of them are with Americans. Shockingly (for me) India is second on the list with number of guns. Indian civilians have 46 million guns. Even though the number of guns per 100 people is very small for India, I could have never imagined more Indians have guns than anybody else except Americans.

I am an Indian living in USA. Concerned countries being #1 and #2 on the above mentioned list. I am living in a society where almost everybody has guns, but this very society is considered a very safe society. I do not disagree with that a whole lot. When I go out I do not worry about getting shot. But I do have difficulty understanding the need for guns. I could only come up with one, which is making me think of owning a gun myself. Looking at the numbers what happens if there is a conflict? what happens to those who do not have a gun? the only justifying reason I came up with is everybody has one, I do not want to be left out.

The other reasons which are a little farther from reality for me to own a gun include - one day I want to represent India in the Olympics or go on a hunting trip.

Now I am looking at owning a gun myself. This is a shocking development even for me, u would understand if you read my post after the Virginia Tech massacre.

What do I know about India?

Whenever I call home and talk to my family and friends and try to preach them, they would just tell me - You don't know nothing about India maan, you live in America. What do you think Hyderabad is the same? you visited two years ago, there is a earth-sky difference from then and now. You Don't know Nothing.

Well my response is always been - Come on don't give me that crap. I know enough about India and Indian people, I lived in India for 23 years you know and have you heard about Internet, I would know things before they happen you know.

This might have happened to lot of you guys and gals out there. The last time this happened I decided to take more interest in the news from India, which I have gone away from.

My belief is a country will go as far as the people of that country. I quote Mahakavi ("The Great Poet") Gurujada Appa Rao "Deshamante Matti Kadoi Deshamante Manushuloi" meaning - A country is made up of people not soil. It is considered the universal truth. I have spent the last seven years in USA, but never stopped talking to my family and friends in India during that time. I hear the same things I heard back when I was in India. Though I cannot base the whole country's progress on the progress of these few I have always interacted with, I can certainly see why the progress of these few have been limited. India has certainly progressed during this period, maybe faster than some people might have thought, but not fast enough, not for me. Why do I think such is the case, its simple, India has become a larger free market during this time. Any free market depending on the size of the freeness, will progress proportional to that.

Anyway, economics aside I will go back to taking more interest in the Motherland, I decided to watch the new acclaimed movie "Chak de India". I could not watch more than first five minutes. The movie starts with a hockey match between India and Pakistan. Watching the speed at which the hero and other so called athletes were playing I could not take it anymore. It is a complete disrespect to the sport itself, because in reality the intensity on the ground will be so high that the athletes in such a match will have additional testosterone going. This first five minutes of the movie shows you the progress Indian cinema has made. I don't think the hockey players around the world would appreciate it for its depiction of a real life hockey game. of course they cannot replicate the reality but they can certainly reduce the gap. Well it resembled more to a street hockey game.

I would definitely love to see India progress at the current rate or at higher rate in the future. Once again that depends on how fast we Indians progress.

A video collection of funny commercials from around the world

"Much as we in the West may resent it, India has a lot to teach us when it comes to religious tolerance" - Gary Weiss

India's Jews -

There's no question that India's secularism is under strain. Militant Hinduism remains as much a potent force as extremist Islam. The ongoing bloodletting in Kashmir is an open sore, and the periodic spasms of communal violence in Gujarat, combined with memories of the Mumbai bombings of 2006, have led to undeniable tensions. Just have a chat sometime with a Kashmiri Pandit--a Hindu displaced from that war-torn region--and you will know what I mean.

Yet this country of 1 billion largely impoverished people, home of the second-largest Muslim population in the world, still manages to maintain a sturdy system of democracy based on respect for religious and ethnic diversity. In the U.S., diversity is a politically correct slogan. In India it is a historical fact. Much as we in the West may resent it, India has a lot to teach us when it comes to religious tolerance.

To my mind, the best example of that can be found in the remarkable story of a tiny minority--India's Jewish community. India may be the only country in the world that has been free of anti-Semitic prejudice throughout its history. As the Jewish genealogical journal Avotaynu recently observed in an article on one Indian Jewish group, "The Bene Israel flourished for 2,400 years in a tolerant land that has never known anti-Semitism, and were successful in all aspects of the socio-economic and cultural life of the people of the region."

That's really a bit astonishing, if not ridiculous, when you think about it. Compare that with any Western nation, be it France or Russia or even the U.S., where discrimination against Jews in housing was a fact of life as recently as the 1950s. But in "backward" India, from the beginning, the Jewish communities have not only been free of discrimination but have dominated the commercial life of every place where they have settled--something that has fed traditional European anti-Semitism.

Why has India remained free of this scourge? Various reasons have been advanced for that--such as, the Hindu religion does not seek to convert those from other faiths. What we do know is that anti-Semitism seems alien to the Indian character. And if you don't believe me, I suggest you take a trip to a southern Indian town called Kochi, in the state of Kerala. There you can find the physical evidence of this glaring historical anomaly.

Kochi, formerly called Cochin, is a former European settlement with a large Christian population and a seafaring heritage. It is a town of enormous charm that reminds some visitors of the Caribbean more than India. On a shabby lane in Kochi you can find a complex of four 439-year-old buildings--the Paradesi Synagogue.

There you have Exhibit A for India's tradition of secularism and day-to-day tolerance of religious diversity: the fact that this synagogue exists at all.

Kochi's Jews trace their descent back to 700 B.C., and lived in harmony with their Muslim and Hindu neighbors until--well, I guess I’ll have to backtrack a bit on my claim that there was never anti-Semitism in India. There was quite a bit in the 16th century.

Kochi's Jews were indeed persecuted--not by Indians but by the Portuguese, following in the glorious traditions of the Inquisition. With the help of the Hindu maharaja and the Dutch, Kochi's Jewish community rebuilt its synagogue, burned by the Portuguese, in its current location near his maharajah's palace. It has remained there, unmolested, ever since.

The Jews of Kochi are largely gone now, mostly emigrated to Israel, but it remains a very Jewish landmark in a very non-Jewish country. The synagogue, at least when I last visited it, had none of the heavy security that is common in large New York City synagogues. A short distance away is a Jewish cemetery, and again the distinction is in what you don't see--there's none of the overturned headstones and vandalism that have been sadly common in Jewish cemeteries in the U.S. Yes, even in Brooklyn.

It's pretty much the same story elsewhere in India. Separate Jewish communities were established over the years in Mumbai, where the Bene Israel arrived over 2,000 years ago, and in Kolkata, where a more recent community of Middle Eastern "Baghdadi" Jews became established. In the northeast of India is the Bnai Menashe, who trace their origins to the Israelite tribe of Menasseh.

The Indian Jewish community has never been very large, with the Bene Israel numbering just 35,000 at its peak in the 1950s. Yet Indian Jews have achieved distinction far beyond their numbers. A great many chose to make a career in the military under the Raj (British rule that ended with independence 60 years ago this week)--a phenomenon that, believe me, is certainly foreign to the Eastern European Jewish experience.

Indeed, the most well-known Indian Jew is an eminent soldier: Lt. Gen. J.F.R. Jacob, who commanded Indian forces in the invasion of East Pakistan in 1971. Other Indian Jews achieved distinction in Bollywood, such as the pioneering actress Sulochana, queen of the Indian silent movies. It would probably surprise most Seinfeld fans to learn that Brian George, who played the sad-sack Pakistani restaurant owner Babu Bhatt, is an Israeli of Indian descent.

To be sure, the small size of the Jewish community has meant that the Jews of India never rose to become a political force. As a community it has never exerted any influence on Indian politics, and certainly not on the rabidly anti-Israel foreign policy that has marked much of India's modern history. In other countries, the absence of Jewish communal influence--or even the absence of Jews--has not prevented rulers from using Jews as scapegoats. Poland of the late 1960s, the era of "anti-Semitism without Jews," is a good example.

All this has a way of mystifying Indians. I've always had difficulty with Indians when we've discussed anti-Semitism. They don't understand it, and to tell you the truth, I've had difficulty explaining it myself.

Indians are sometimes accused of being condescending toward Westerners, and of being excessively preachy in their attitude toward other nations. That accusation is sometimes correct. But when it comes to India's treatment of one of its smallest and most vulnerable minorities, there is ample reason to be both condescending--and proud.

Article Link

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The above article was written for Forbes by Gary Weiss as a tribute to 60 years of India's Independence. As an Indian I found a lot of statements true in this article. When I first read this, I was going through my emotions of Mr.Weiss being so right. In a statement Mr.Weiss writes of difficulty explaining Indians about anti-semitism. Well anti-semitism was an unknown fact for me until I came to USA. I think his article explains a little bit why it is difficult for Indians to understand anti-semitism even when they were introduced to it. Lets see how by putting together certain points

- In the U.S., diversity is a politically correct slogan. In India it is a historical fact
- The Hindu religion does not seek to convert those from other faiths
- In one paragraph, he mentions Portuguese, Dutch, Hindus and Jews, well go back to point one and two. you would understand why the Hindu Maharajah restored the Synagogue.
- The Indian Jewish community has never been very large

I totally disagree on one subject with the writer, there is no truth at all about the existence of militant Hinduism in India, associating militancy and Hinduism is just propaganda or shear ignorance. If the author refers to RSS or the incidents in Gujarat, then he should understand that RSS is not a militant organization and the Gujarat incidents are examples of failure of democracy, it is a result of government officials taking a back step or in some cases joining the mob. It is an example of misuse of democracy and what misinformed and angry citizens even in a Democratic setup will do if the Law is not enforced. I can site tons of examples of those failures associated with American Democracy, one being the incidents after Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, where everybody including some police officers were caught on tape stealing. Hindus, even today after bitter division of country in 1947, through 3 wars with Pakistan, through Militancy in Kashmir and in Punjab and with numerous terrorist attacks in recent history, will be the first people in this world to embrace peace with Muslims of this world. Period.

Rich Indian's Poor India

If you looked at my last post I was talking about my visit to my Doctor. Well my doctor is of Indian origin and we had a little talk about how much doctors make. I will tell you what Doctors can become millionaires in somewhere between 5-10 years. You know how many doctors in USA are of Indian origin, close to 41,000. Yes 41,000. How many you think in UK? 29,000. Well guess what they are almost all are millionaires.

OK how many millionaires are there in the world? lets say close to between 9 million to 10 million. Now close to 3 million of them reside in USA (Yeah I know u guessed it). Well now guess how many Indian American's are millionaires? 200,000. Now How many Indians in India are millionaires? 100,000. Well I could not find how many Indian's in the rest of the world are millionaires, but we know there are lot of people of Indian origin in UK, Europe, South Africa, Canada, Australia, Singapore and Dubai (I mean Middle East). So lets make a guess and say about 200,000.

As many as 4 times of Indian millionaires live outside of India than in India. WOW.

What can I say "Rich Indian's - Poor India".

Ignorance Is Bliss?

Well today somebody told me that he is glad that I am not a Doctor. It did not hit me, so i said why? then he said that all the people caught in the foiled terrorist act in London were doctor's. It still did not hit me, what's it got to do with me? Because at that time i did not know that two of them were from India. Well I am an Indian, so may be he is trying to say something else. But anyway I was not up for a discussion so i left the conversation at that.

September 11, 2001 came and gone, and now all we hear from every single person is that it changed their lives. Anything and everything from then has to do with terrorism. I don't think these same people stop and think and find out how they can make a difference. They think that the government should take care of it. Do these people try to find out more about religious extremism? no. They listen to people like Sean Hannity and Bill O'Raelly and others in the media and take their words for granted. Every time I see and hear these so called experts on terrorism, talking about stuff, i wonder why anybody needs to hear this simple stuff. Can't they get it by themselves. Being in the most advanced country in the world you assume that these people might be well informed. But I bet 90% America does not even know that India has the second most Muslim population in the world. On the other hand they might know who Paris Hilton is. Well its their choice. Democracy at least does give us enough freedom to choose what we want to know.

When i realized what the person meant, i felt the same way as somebody in India saying all the priests have sex with teenage boys after hearing about one priest doing that. Well I would have reacted similar to that person. Its his ignorance which brings him to such conclusions ain't it? or maybe he is stupid. There is an old American saying which is quite often used at my work place, "You Can't Fix Stupid", well it is true you just can't fix a stupid.

I went to see my doctor earlier today, I would say this much I am not glad that I ain't a doctor.

Raj Binder in Las Vegas

Here is how You Cover Up a fart

Believe me I have seen this clip many times and I burst into laughter every time I watch it.

What Women Need

There was a recent article in Economic Times, a business newspaper in India, about a survey done by somebody about how much fewer women in the labor market costing the economy of India. The survey found the number to be in Billions of dollars. Duh! why do a survey when its so obvious and simple. This is simple, two hands can do more work than one and four more than two, but it is very important for India, To become an Economic power in this world, the women had to contribute equally or more than men for that to happen.


I was trying to find the link for the article i mentioned earlier but instead found this, "The Economics of Dowries in India" , a paper written by Vijayender Rao of Developmental Research Group, World Bank. It is very interesting. One of the functions of www.warondowry.com (a project in progress) is to discuss the economics related to dowry.

If you are wondering when i am gonna talk about what women need, here it is. Women need an education in economics, i bet if somebody does a survey about women professionals, they will find that women with a degree in economics will be the most successful women financially because they know the cash flow and intern they will be the most happy people around.

Virginia Tech - who to blame - guns / people

My condolences to the families and friends of the victims of the Virginia Tech massacre on April 16Th 2007. No body deserves a death like that and those students and professors will never be forgotten by this world. The media has made the perpetrator a hero and the experts are trying to find out why he did it. Well there is only one answer for that he cannot make sense between right or wrong. Influenced by the wrong elements of society and used the tools provided by the society against it. Well instead of focusing on the victims and their achievements and their families as usual the American media is focused on the killer and his act. As a result almost everybody knows more about him than any of the victims. Its a shame, media thinks that they did their duty by reporting what needed to be reported,well i ask this media a question, what is the difference between you and the people who video taped and broadcast Saddam's hanging? Nothing. Both are wrong you cannot make a killer a hero. You just cannot do that. FCC should do something about things like these rather than focusing on Janet Jackson's pop up.

Now the other day after the killings i cannot stop myself thinking about who to blame guns or people? well possessing fire arms is a right of every American, as spelled out by the second amendment. Well news flash, its old, and people who quote its my right should find out the history behind second amendment. It should be extremely difficult to get firearms for any individual. of course some people will always find a way, but others like cho might have difficulty. Do we talk the same talk about fire arms if one of our loved ones is a victim? Does a shotgun would have had the same impact? Does the doctors be protected from revealing private information of individuals to authorities? should institutions react to a killing on campus by immediately shutting down activities? these are the questions we have today.

My bet is we will still have these questions till another tragedy happens. Unfortunately.

Have enough not more not less

New Year's Party has come and gone and I have some advice to give. Guys/Gals do not drink more than you can handle, when u are outside in a club its a no - no. If want to drink and puke do it at home, buy your own beer and drink and puke as much you want, and where ever u want. That's my number one advice and second, if you respect the alcohol never - I repeat - never abuse it.

Third - If you bring any fools to a party, Take care of them from start to end. Do not ask others to take care of them. Fourth - When the party is over Go Home. Fifth - When you drop a beer bottle, don't worry about it go get a new one. Leave the old bottle get a new one, once again never in a club, one exception is when there is no way to get a new one.

And of course don't be like HOMER and Drink and Drive.