With the US Presidential election less then 4 years away, its time to look back at the last one. Listening Post on Al Jazeera does just that.
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Friday, November 14, 2008
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Government Definition of Poor
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The sharp erosion in the value of money and the spiralling prices of essential items may have played havoc with people's lives, making it difficult for them to maintain their living standards, but the government is stubbornly sticking to its definition of who is "poor".
In an astounding position before the Supreme Court, it has held that one has to earn only Rs 455 ($10) a month in urban areas and Rs 328 ($7) in rural areas to escape the poor tag.
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Which century is the Indian government living in?
The sharp erosion in the value of money and the spiralling prices of essential items may have played havoc with people's lives, making it difficult for them to maintain their living standards, but the government is stubbornly sticking to its definition of who is "poor".
In an astounding position before the Supreme Court, it has held that one has to earn only Rs 455 ($10) a month in urban areas and Rs 328 ($7) in rural areas to escape the poor tag.
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Which century is the Indian government living in?
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Why Should we Bail Out the US Auto Makers?
Pressure is mounting on the current and the new US administration to bail out the US automakers to the tune of $25 Billion. This on top of the already $700 Billion of taxpayers money being spent on bailing out US financial institutions.
The US automakers have for years depended on a bad business model and maintaining a status-quo by building factory capacity for gas guzzling SUV's. These SUV's once the cash cow for the big three now have become a liability. And they cannot get rid of this liability fast enough and they do not have enough cash to innovate their way out of the mess that is their own making.
With the US big three burning cash at the rate of millions of dollars a day, the executives are doing the rounds of Capitol Hill asking for this $25 billion in loan guarantees so that they can use this money for innovation and build more fuel efficient cars. Where was the talk of innovation when they were making billions of dollars on the gas guzzling SUV's? Why weren't the profits from the sales of SUV's not reinvested back into R&D to develop better fuel efficient technologies? Who is to blame for all of this? Of course it is the management of these automakers which neither had the vision nor the werewithal to think far ahead into the future. Aren't the executives of these companies paid the top dollar for thinking ahead. Why should this incompetent management be trusted with $25 billion of tax payers money?
The US automakers have for years depended on a bad business model and maintaining a status-quo by building factory capacity for gas guzzling SUV's. These SUV's once the cash cow for the big three now have become a liability. And they cannot get rid of this liability fast enough and they do not have enough cash to innovate their way out of the mess that is their own making.
With the US big three burning cash at the rate of millions of dollars a day, the executives are doing the rounds of Capitol Hill asking for this $25 billion in loan guarantees so that they can use this money for innovation and build more fuel efficient cars. Where was the talk of innovation when they were making billions of dollars on the gas guzzling SUV's? Why weren't the profits from the sales of SUV's not reinvested back into R&D to develop better fuel efficient technologies? Who is to blame for all of this? Of course it is the management of these automakers which neither had the vision nor the werewithal to think far ahead into the future. Aren't the executives of these companies paid the top dollar for thinking ahead. Why should this incompetent management be trusted with $25 billion of tax payers money?
Monday, November 10, 2008
IT Destination of India?
For a state that claims to be a destination for anyting IT, the sorry state of affairs of some the Karnataka government websites is rather ironic. According to a recent report in the Times of India , some of the government run websites have not been updated for the last two to three years.
I did a little bit of digging myself on what actually is on some of these government websites. Below is an image of some Karnataka government websites which was are listed in the government e-strategy document.
If you are like me trying to find some of these webistes, good luck with that. Also the website www.bangaloreit.com (marked in red in the image) is a not a government run website. Such is the state of affairs in the IT destination of India.
I did a little bit of digging myself on what actually is on some of these government websites. Below is an image of some Karnataka government websites which was are listed in the government e-strategy document.
If you are like me trying to find some of these webistes, good luck with that. Also the website www.bangaloreit.com (marked in red in the image) is a not a government run website. Such is the state of affairs in the IT destination of India.
Sunday, November 9, 2008
An Artist in Exile Tests India’s Democratic Ideals
MF Husain may be known to many Indians as a painter and an artist. But very few realize that he is currently living in Dubai for fear that his life may be in danger for doing what he is famous for. He was forced out of the country by some Hindu nationalist parties because he painted some Hindu Goddesses, sometimes portraying them nude.
Below is an exerpt of an article printed in the NY Times.
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Freedom of expression has frequently, and by some accounts, increasingly, come under fire in India, as the country tries to balance the dictates of its secular democracy with the easily inflamed religious and ethnic passions of its multitudes.
The result is a strange anomaly in a nation known for its vibrant, freewheeling political culture. The government is compelled to ensure respect for India’s diversity and at the same time prevent one group from pouncing on another for a perceived offense.
The rise of an intense brand of identity politics, with India’s many communities mobilizing for political power, has intensified the problem. An accusation that a piece of art or writing is offensive is an easy way to whip up the sentiments of a particular caste, faith or tribe.
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For a country with such a rich diversity, in terms of its religions, culture and even the languages that we speak, and for a country which aspires to be one of the superpowers in the world, we have lot of work to do. If history is any guide, it is these petty differences in religions, beliefs, and views that were exploited by the British which resulted in them ruling us for almost 150 years. Its been almost 60 years since we won independence from the British and we wrote our own constitution. which provides us with a fundamental right of Freedom of Speech and Freedom of Religion. It is high time that we stand up for these rights. Otherwise what is the difference between a secular India and some of the Islamic fundamentals who demonstrated against the publication of images of Prophet Muhammad in a Danish Newspaper.
Read the complete NY Times article on MF Husain
Below is an exerpt of an article printed in the NY Times.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Freedom of expression has frequently, and by some accounts, increasingly, come under fire in India, as the country tries to balance the dictates of its secular democracy with the easily inflamed religious and ethnic passions of its multitudes.
The result is a strange anomaly in a nation known for its vibrant, freewheeling political culture. The government is compelled to ensure respect for India’s diversity and at the same time prevent one group from pouncing on another for a perceived offense.
The rise of an intense brand of identity politics, with India’s many communities mobilizing for political power, has intensified the problem. An accusation that a piece of art or writing is offensive is an easy way to whip up the sentiments of a particular caste, faith or tribe.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For a country with such a rich diversity, in terms of its religions, culture and even the languages that we speak, and for a country which aspires to be one of the superpowers in the world, we have lot of work to do. If history is any guide, it is these petty differences in religions, beliefs, and views that were exploited by the British which resulted in them ruling us for almost 150 years. Its been almost 60 years since we won independence from the British and we wrote our own constitution. which provides us with a fundamental right of Freedom of Speech and Freedom of Religion. It is high time that we stand up for these rights. Otherwise what is the difference between a secular India and some of the Islamic fundamentals who demonstrated against the publication of images of Prophet Muhammad in a Danish Newspaper.
Read the complete NY Times article on MF Husain
Saturday, November 8, 2008
The Doomsday Scenario
With the financial crisis taking a toll on the world economy, PBS conducted a interview with Nassim Nicholas Taleb the author of The Black Swan and mathematician Benoit Mandelbrot.
According to them we have just seen the tip of the iceberg with the current financial crisis. The globalization of our world and financial system have interconnected us to such degree, that they have made the world more prone to risks. A problem with one bank or an financial institution in one part of the world can bring the entire system crashing down. This is what is currently happening or as in Nassim Taleb's words "We live in a world that is way too complicated for our traditional economic structure. It's not as resilient as it used to be. We don't have slack. It's over-optimized."
Read the entire transcript of the interview and watch it at Doomsday Scenario
According to them we have just seen the tip of the iceberg with the current financial crisis. The globalization of our world and financial system have interconnected us to such degree, that they have made the world more prone to risks. A problem with one bank or an financial institution in one part of the world can bring the entire system crashing down. This is what is currently happening or as in Nassim Taleb's words "We live in a world that is way too complicated for our traditional economic structure. It's not as resilient as it used to be. We don't have slack. It's over-optimized."
Read the entire transcript of the interview and watch it at Doomsday Scenario
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