Politics above the Nation?

I don't usually blog on the political happenings - although I have my views on such things - whether or not I know the subject completely :) But the headline today on The NYTimes ticked me off.

The US House Speaker's invitation to the Israeli Prime Minister, to address Congress next month - without the express permission from the POTUS (President of the...), let alone the State Department - leaves a bad taste in the mouth of any sane, right...er...correct thinking democratic person. How can someone invite a foreign personality, without proper permission - when the two nations are at unease, diplomatically?! That too - when that someone is lower down the chain of command...

I see only politics at play here at the cost of demeaning the position of the POTUS - and there by the position of the nation. With the general elections round the corner (2012) and the 'minority vote' at stake - this is a cheap trick by the Speaker. Someone cut the Speaker's tail please....

Swasti!!

Time to Return Home

'been thinking of returning home for a while now. 2009 was what I set my sights on, when I first came to this country. It was not to be, for various reasons - the most prominent being the state of the world economy. I say world economy because a couple of sponsors who were supposed to pen an agreement with us backed out in the last minute due to cash crunch.

Anyway, better late than never. After dilly dallying, without much happening but just stressful wait and the time ticking by - we finally settled on September 18th to be the D-day. So the process for the return started with the purchase of tickets - on none other than Air India. We will be landing in HYD on Sept. 20th. That will be a new beginning for me (and for us). It will be an all new Me 4.0.

Will try and keep you posted on what's happening between now and Sept 18th.
Swasti!!

Let BB go...

I am neither an economist nor do I claim to understand how the US Fed works (may be just a little, in passing). But I think Obama should let Ben Bernanke, the Fed Chairman, go. Isn't it under his stewardship that we had recession building and taking millions of 'lives' everywhere? Didn't he pledge allegiance to the failed economic policies, and was probably the brain behind drafting many?

When the economy tanked, and when the only way is up - however insignificant the change is, he did take some bold decisions to effect that change. Or was that a much delayed response in the first place? We will never know anyway.

No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it. -- Einstein

If BB was a part of the problem in the first place, doesn't it make sense to bring in a fresh pair of eyes and brain into this hot seat? ... who can bring in fresh thinking, better policy and the much needed change? BB's list of accomplishments could fill a realm of paper, printed 2-sided at that, but keeping the same dull heads who either didn't see this coming or didn't act on it earlier should be enough reason to change him, I think.

What's more...it could also help BB go make a 'decent living' for all his 'economic prowess'. Apparently he only makes $200k p.a. without any bonuses or pay raises, albeit the fact that the toxic assets he made the Govt. buy last year are bringing in huge returns. A Wall Street executive could have easily raked in a couple of billion for this kind of effort.

Let the people change. And so, let the rules of the game change...for better! It takes courageous leaders to take bold decisions. Haven't seen that yet in Prez BO.

Swasti!!

It's RED - let's face it

As much as the pundits keep harping the positive adjectives about the economy - stabilizing, growing, black, green, shooting up, etc. etc. - I still feel very uneasy at the state of affairs.

Yes, the stock indices went up.
Yes, the job loss numbers are coming down.
Yes, the banks (some at least) are reporting.
Yes, they are buying more cars than last year.
Yes, this...
Yes, that....

Yet - I still feel these are all just glossing over the reality.

That - the economy is not really strengthening at its core. But the icing is made sweeter. That's all. Me feels, it's just the speculative investers making the money. It's just the institutions trying to control the costs and showing black/green. It's just the incentives offered by various quarters pushing the public (some of them) to spend and boost the numbers.

But, the fundamentals of the economy are 'still strong' - as McCain famously said last year. Nothing (or not much) has changed since - to change the way business is done. Consumer credit is still in danger of collapsing. People are still living dangerously on borrowed money. 'Leaders' are trying for the 'feel good' factor rather than 'doing good'.

Or may be we will continue to grow this 'bubble' until the next burst, without actually changing anything. And may be that's how economies operate - not on reality but on speculation. Only.

Oh well... let's see.

Swasti!!

Nobel intentions ?!

Congratulations to the President, for being chosen for the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize. The coveted prize, however achieved, is the greatest of the compliments.

However, the Nobel Committee's selection of Barack Obama raised more questions than it answered - about the selection process and about the panel's intentions, to name a few. Any which way I look at it, this award (verb), is not justified/appropriate at this time.

If Obama's aspirations, eloquence and initial steps helped change the world's perception of the United States - then he's just doing his job, correcting the wrongs of the previous administration. Nothing great there. If his grand vision of a non-nuclear world and sustainable peace across the globe is being rewarded, then he is not the only person of stature with those visions. There have been many who aspired as such, and worked hard and long for the same. Not enough reason, I think, for the award.

Anyway - as mentioned at the outset, a Nobel is a Nobel - however achieved. Congratulations Obama!! Luck is favoring your good intentions. Make the most of it and make a real difference in the world!

Swasti!!

Kiss a Pig?

I am for adventurism, not all out but to some extent. May be 51%, just to tilt the scale. But when I was reading a piece the other day on different fundraising ideas - I came across this. Kiss a Pig. (http://www.stepbystepfundraising.com/kiss-a-pig-fundraiser/)

Kiss a Pig?! What the heck is that?! Apparently, I learn, it's a big hit with Americans and fundraising. As conspiracy theorists have been writing, these kinds of events are probable causes of the outbreak of Swine Flu. May be it's true after all!

What else are you guys kissing out there?! Gosh!!

Save Humanity!!

Swasti!!

R I P Y S R

Setting aside political and ideological differences, my heart goes out to the sudden and tragic demise of the Chief Minister of A.P. - Dr. Y. S. Rajasekhar Reddy. Here is another avoidable tragedy that could have been easily averted, if only politics is simplified and power is decentralized in India; and political leaders are not looked upon as demi gods beyond questioning. My heart also goes out to the pilot, co-pilot, Chief Security Officer and YSR's Secretary (IAS officer) who went with Dr. YSR.

I can't help but think at this juncture that had the various govt. departments been allowed to work independently, with authority, the meteorologists/security personnel/pilots could/would have forewarned and refused to fly the chopper taking into consideration the grave weather conditions. But given the power structure in India, nobody can dare dictate what a CM can or cannot do, despite clear evidence/facts available otherwise.

In any case, that argument aside - it pains me deeply at the circumstances in which Dr. YSR met his end - untraced, unattended and un-covered - in that hostile weather in the open for more than 24 hours. For someone who transformed himself into a people's person over the course of the past 6-7 years, leaving his radical/violent past behind, he deserved a lot better. However, destiny is so powerful and its ways so mysterious, one cannot fathom any rhyme or reason.

Despite the political differences, I appreciate some of his good qualities - thinking big, dynamic leadership, going after what he thought is right - being a few.

May his soul rest in peace. May the others' souls rest in peace. May their families find strength in God in this hour of sorrow.

Swasti!!

If only Khomeini intervened

What a selfish, timid and weak leader Khomeini is! ha?! If only he were a true and strong leader, and acted as such, we wouldn't have so much unrest world over now. Look at this -

If only Khomeini intervened back in 2000 November and issued stern warnings of oil sanctions, we wouldn't have had a buffoon rule the US for 8 years.

If only Khomeini intervened then, we wouldn't have had 9/11 and the world would have been a far better place to live in today.

If only Khomeini intervened then, we would probably have seen a lady President by now, with a Black VP.

If only Khomeini intervened then, we wouldn't have seen the US automakers go under.

If only Khomeini intervened then, I could still arrive at the airport just 15 minutes before the departure time and still board the flight.

If only Khomeini intervened then, .......

Oh! The possibilities are endless. Suffice to say, 'World Peace' couldn't be used as a lofty goal any more! :)

But that's not to be! May be in another generation!

Swasti!!

Michael Jackson

To be honest here - I am not a western music buff. I am more of a classical music guy. I do listen to English music - but more of the jazz and classical type. That's not to say I don't get excited and enjoy when I happen to listen to a Dangerous or a Thriller or the likes from MJ. I just don't go out and about to get and hear to that music. That's all.

Nevertheless, I followed casually the life of MJ and have great admiration for him for his skills and charisma. I pitied his condition many a time as well. A part of me tried to convince myself the allegations against him were untrue. Despite all his frailties and failures as a person, he is and will be remembered forever for his flair, skill and contribution to the western music world, by music lovers and casual observers alike. (It's no exaggeration when I say that a whole generation of music buffs grew up thinking western music is nothing but MJ.) King of Pop, he sure is!

May his soul rest in peace!

Swasti!!

Did USA vote last week?

The coverage for the past few days in the media, especially radio and online, is sure to give a busy bee occasionally tuning into the outside world such an impression! I don't remember the media being so restless even in Nov 2000, when a certain joker was 'sham elected' to the supposedly most powerful, democratic position in the world.

Whoever expected the Iranian Presidential elections to be clean and fraud-free? How can any sane person, worth his shirt (even if it is Made in Nicaragua), think democratic processes will be followed to the word and spirit in a dictatorial regime? Or does the western world suddenly see Iran as a democratic nation, with an aberration last week that needs to be corrected? Or did they pump so much money and resources into Iranian election and are confident of the opposition leader Moussavi elected President somehow, that when their pipe dreams went for a tail spin, they are crying foul now? Or did they realize President Ahmadinejad is not someone who can be stared down or even beaten down into submission, so they need a puppet there? Or are they now undertaking the holy task of liberating Iran, now that Iraq is successfully liberated and living a peaceful life? ...

Ok...more questions than anything else. Nevertheless, I am so amused at the sight of the western leaders jumping like a monkey whose behind caught fire learning that they will have to deal with Ahmadinejad for another 5 years.

Stay calm folks! He is only one. But he is probably already worrying how he can keep decorum with a bunch of jokers leading the rest of the world.

Swasti!!

[Disclaimer - yeah, constructs like exaggeration, hyperbole etc. should come to mind]

Real or Surreal?

The way the stock markets have risen over the past two months belies the real strength of the economy, I feel.  Not that I was looking for a complete crash to sub 5k levels, but looking at the lost jobs statistics, the wealth/funds that were wiped out across different sectors, coupled with the beating the financial institutions took - this growth trend looks surreal to me.  

True, I am not a stock-market investor and don't know the intricacies of how the markets work.  However with so much at stake for everyone, as the assets of various companies - financial or otherwise - are at stake in the markets and decide the future of many more jobs, I am concerned.  Is it just the hype created by the yet-again-cooked-up numbers by the various companies and banks or the hope created by the Obama administration that's behind this rally?

If it's really real - then that's great.  But if it's surreal without any solid basis, then it's better we go through the proper correction and come back strong, not overnight but gradually on the strength of real performance.

As always, only time will tell!

Swasti!!

Self imposed silence

Not that I am an avid blogger, blogging each and every thought every other hour here. But I imposed blogging silence upon myself for the past 20 days as I decided not to blog about the elections in A.P. given the sorry state politics are in, these days. Anyway, now that the polling's done there - I come out of my silence.

However, I am proud and glad to state that I associated myself with Loksatta Party and did my bit of volunteering by calling up some voters to urge their support for the lcoal LSP candidate. I also 'interviewed' 6 LSP candidates to prepare their profiles to be uploaded to the LSP website. I must say I am inspired by the stories they shared, of their lives, their electorate and what they face day in and day out. I'll see if I can summarize my findings, thoughts and feelings here sometime soon.

Swasti!!

I am with the G-19

During the recent G-20 conclave, Obama tried hard but failed to get the European heads of state to commit additional stimulus packages in their own countries in his ongoing efforts to try and kick start the economy back to speed. However, almost all the other heads of state are fixated on more market regulations and other long-ranging measures. I must admit, although I am a staunch Obama supporter - I am squarely with the G-19 on this issue.

Simply pumping more and more billions into the market, without the needed checks and balances in place, is not going to bring true economic revival. True, it will make the investors (read, speculators) happy, and helps drive up the indexes. However, the fallacy of this policy is that once the stream of stimuli stops coming, the market (again read, speculators) will have nothing else to speculate upon and drive down the markets. Because, I believe, 'the fundamentals of the economy are not strong' (to borrow from Joe, the Also Ran). These investors look for each and any such stimulus or short term gains news and pump up the market, as we have seen recently. Once that stops, they run out as fast as they came in - at the expense of common man, thus wreaking further havoc on the psyche.

So, even if it is painful, I'd say - stay the course; strike the iron while it is hot - bring in the correct checks and balances needed for the long term health of the system, rather than announcing one package after another. That's what we expect of the man with the vision - long term vision, i.e.

Swasti!!

Nature - The greatest leveler

In this day and age of great seismologists, -graphs, technology and communication media - it is sad that the Italian government was not able to evacuate its subjects from the affected areas in advance. I didn't read the news items in detail but gather from the radio (NPR is my news source) that over 200 people and several centuries old/historical/heritage sites are among the casualties.

When I heard that, I couldn't help but think of what a great leveler nature is. Loss of life is very sad, but that's not what I was reflecting on. The greatly preserved heritage sites. Governments and private institutions shell out millions and millions to restore, preserve and promote such sites. But all that counts for nought, when Nature comes calling.

Isn't there a profound lesson to be learnt?!

Swasti!!

Happy New Year (India)

According to the Telugu calendar, today is the first day of New Year, titled Virodhi (meaning 'enemy', 'against' etc.) Doesn't sound like a good name for a year we all look forward to, to bring in positive change...does it?! What more?! This also happens to be an election year in India. And if positive change is not to be expected, based on predictions, then the prospects shudder me to no extent.

However, to a large extent, last year seemed to be a pretty bad year what with the earthquake in China, financial meltdown, recession, Mumbai attacks, etc. taking unprecedented toll on the common man. The politics and governance in India reached new lows as well last year.

What could go worse this year?! The politics?! The governance?! I can believe that - and we already see that in play.

But God! Save innocent lives and make this year better than last year atleast in that count. As for politics and governance - they reached such lows even God is helpless. The system has to correct itself after it can't go down any further.

Anyway, enough of the dark stuff. Wish you all a very pleasant new year! Even in the darkest clouds, we can see silver linings. I hope and wish for many such silver linings this year - so much so that the darkness could be withstood and forgotten.

Swasti!!

The forgotten Martyrs

Wherever there's an attack by rowdy/terrorist elements on a celebrity (or plural), the whole world including the govts. and the media only focuses on the well being or predicament of the celebrity. Seldom are the lives of the security forces and the innocent passers-by given a second thought.

Consider the recent attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore. 9-12 security forces have been killed in the shoot out. But all you hear about is how the cricketers escaped and how many got bruises in their legs, arms etc. (To give credit here, a couple of them with a bullet or two in non-critical parts of their body). Mind you, I am not trying to belittle the incident nor the suffering of the Stars. I am peeved at the raw deal meted out to the men and women in uniform who put their lives on the line to save these Stars. Dead or alive, the latter get all the attention and support. Dead or alive, the former never get a second look.

Blame it on .... WHO/WHAT? The corrupt politicians/governments? The celebrity crazy media? The public's insatiable 'paparazzi'sh' appetite, which is fed by the media? Or the degrading value for life (if it is not ours) ??

May the martyrs lives rest in peace! And their families stay strong, healthy and find better living.

Swasti !!

Wake up the bull? Not anytime soon...

Markets are going down for a few months now. Not just in the USA, but everywhere. One would think the indexes have tanked and they will start turning back up pretty soon. But every passing day brings with it some other bleak story - pushing the numbers further down. Once in a while we see speculators pushing it up a little bit, in vain hopes of the govt. recovery package doing wonders. But alas, we see the bear shaking its back ever more vigorously on the Street.

We have seen hundreds of thousands of jobs wiped out recently. Many more are on their way out. Again, not just here - but every where else as well. Banks collapsed. Many companies were shut down. Auto giants are on their way out or getting ready to be marginalized to being minions. One would think the nation would start getting into a savings mode never seen in recent times. But I haven't seen that in my community here where the restaurants and malls are ever so crowded even during weekday evenings, let alone on weekends.

Then we have the learned economists asking the public not to withdraw into their savings shell, but continue to spend as if nothing has happened. They say that is the only way to beat the recession. Yeah - right! Aren't these the same elite who brought about this situation? How can a reliable solution come out of their brains, which created this mess in the first place? Are we to believe that they realized their mistakes and now are prescribing the right formula?

Methinks, in simplistic terms, that all these economists and highly learned folks, complicated the otherwise keep-it-simple theories only to suit their own self serving purposes without any social relevance in mind. You earn money, save it and spend it for your needs first, and then wants. You borrow at times to meet those. But what we have seen is that the second step is missed completely in recent times and that the wants and may-be's have become needs and cannot-live-without's. All because of the media and marketing blitz added to the plethora of pundits that rule this world with their short-circuited brains and convoluted thinking.

Keep it simple, stupid!

Swasti!!

Trillion Dollars

Imagine, for a moment, opening your wallet and pulling out a one trillion dollar bill. May be you could give it to Obama and ask him to use it for the grand Economic Recovery/Stimulus Plan.

But wait a minute...we are talking of a different nation - and you use it to pay for a loaf of bread, which - if you're lucky enough to find one - costs 300 billion dollars. In Zimbabwe, where the government is forced to start printing trillion dollar bills a few weeks ago, that's the situation people face today. Now imagine living there and trying to get, and pay for, the basic necessities of life - let alone a decent education or what not.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/africa/01/16/zimbawe.currency/index.html

If the story moves you, please consider doing something about it, in your own capacity. Even a few Dollars (not Zimbabwean) or Rupees or whatever your currency is (as long as it is relevant) you can spare to help the plight of our brethren in that country - please do so without waiting for a better opportunity.

They need our help NOW. If we wait any longer, they may not be alive to receive your generosity. Select a cause and support it.

Swasti!!

My favorite moment of the Inauguration

I have been wondering what Barack would call himself during the Oath ceremony. The announcer earlier introduced him as Barack H. Obama. But when the time came to be sworn in as the 44th POTUS, he boldly, rightly and confidently called himself Barack 'Hussein' Obama without trying to omit, hide or ignore his origins.

It showed his great strength of character. It showed his unwavering integrity to what's real - the fact. It showed his belief in looking to the future while standing his ground. It showed great hope for the peoples of the world to be ones own self and strive for excellence. He glowed all through his campaign and this definitely is a very defining moment. I am impressed.

Looking forward to a great Presidency and wonderful times...
Swasti !!

Let the truth come out

I received a forwarded email the other day - purportedly written by a Satyam employee and posted on www.akhilandhra.com. The gist is: how can the totally-corrupt politicians cry foul at Raju? Raju has done many great things, created 53k jobs, so on and on... and questions what fault has Raju done - other than to sacrifice himself for the benefit of the company.

I can understand the anguish of the 'employee'. But I don't agree with the email's logic. It tries to circumvent the issue at hand and casts allegations on the self-confessed-rogues (a.k.a. politicians). However, a rogue or a normal person/common man - allegations against Raju stand. And he is 'guilty until proven otherwise' - having confessed of wrongdoing himself. What remains to be known is - is the wrongdoing the same as what he wrote about, or the exact opposite?

We were all in the front row applauding Raju's great deeds, in starting the company, employing almost 1/2 a lakh employees worldwide, bringing in the much needed forex to India, taking the company to great heights, enhancing the pride of all Telugu loving people. there's no denying his achievements and on the same token, there's no dearth of encomiums for the same.

But make no mistake! Just because he achieved so much, doesn't give him a free ride when he does such a colossal blunder. Especially when it tries to bring down each and everything that we praised him for, in the first place. The rotten eggs of the society (read 'politicians') joining the blame game doesn't make it an unfair field. These rotten eggs have to be plucked and 'destroyed' as well. But let's not lose our focus here.

Let justice prevail - be it in the case of a corrupt politician or a corrupt corporate officer.

Best wishes,
Swasti !!