What Does it Mean to be a Superpower?

The last few years has seen the talk of how the global balance of power is shifting from west to east. There is all this hoopla about how China and India will be the next superpowers. And the growing economic pains in the west have only added to more fuel to the fire. But what does it really mean to be a superpower in the world stage?

Having close to double digit economic growth make a country a super power? Or building new roads, bridges, super-fast trains make a country a super-power? Or flexing the new found muscles on the world stage, be it the UN, or the Climate Change talks make a country a super-power?

Sure all of these things can make a country get noticed. But it is how responsibly a country uses its new found recognition to further the greater good of human kind, is what will make a country a true superpower.

Case in point been the recent tragedy in Haiti. In response to an article by James Fallows, a readers writes:

"There are some moments in international affairs that put global power relations into perspective, however. The U.S. is committing $100 million to Haiti, plus probably untold amounts in private donations from aid organizations and religious groups. President Obama is deploying 5,000 troops including the 82nd Airborne and sending in a carrier task force. American companies are mobilizing humanitarian efforts, and there will likely be dozens of search and rescue teams from across the U.S. trying to land in Haiti. Miami Dade county alone is sending an 80-man search and rescue team.

"China is committing $1 million and sent 50 guys on an Air China plane.

"Yes, there is geographical proximity to consider [plus China being on average still very poor], but if this isn't the most obvious display of the massive combined military, economic, and soft power the U.S. can bring to bear if it chooses, then I don't know what is. To me, this shows the still enormous gulf in both power and the responsible use of power between China and the U.S. For all its faults and recent woes, the U.S. can and will step up and perform the duties demanded of the only indispensable nation. China, in spite of breakneck growth and a booming economy, cannot and will not."

Read the complete post at Unified field theory: Google, China, Haiti

When you have deep pockets........

When your pockets run deep enough and you live in one of the wealthiest suburbs in the US, a $170,000 stone wall is pocket change worth fighting for.

Ah!!! the power of capitalism......

Also read Think Before You Spend

The Meaning of Freedom

Below is a audio clip of a commencement speech given by David Foster Wallace at Kenyon College.

Meaning of Freedom


The entire speech This is Water is published as a book.

What is a Baby Thinking?

As a parent of a one year old, I can relate to this question in more ways then one. A toddler who can hardly keep his attention on one thing for more then a few seconds. One moment he is craving for the new toy in the store, like his life depended on it, and the moment you purchase it, the wrapping of the toy is his new best buddy; the toy just an after-thought. Examples like these abound where baby's are running around from one thing to the next in a matter of minutes. All of this brings us back to the one question: "What is the Baby Thinking?"

In writing a review for Alison Gopnik's new book, The Philosophical Baby, Paul Bloom writes:

Simple experiments demonstrate that babies are, for the most part, trapped in the here and now, a conclusion supported by the finding that the part of the brain responsible for inhibition and control, the prefrontal cortex, is among the last to develop. Gopnik uses the example of an adult being dumped into the middle of a foreign city, knowing nothing about what's going on, with no goals and plans, constantly turning to see new things, and struggling to make sense of it all. This is what it's like to be a baby—only more so, since even the most stressed adult has countless ways of controlling attention: We can look forward to lunch, imagine how we would describe this trip to friends, and so on. The baby just is.

Why Indians are the Way They Are?

This topic comes timely. We were having this discussion just a few days ago. Why is it that we as Indians do not obey the rules be it in traffic, are averse to general cleanliness in the public place when we keep our houses clean, do not think twice before relieving oneself in a public place. When the same Indians go abroad, they follow the rules to the hilt. We are one of the most law abiding citizens when we go abroad even though we may not be so back home. Why is that?

In response to a column by Aakar Patel in the magazine Mint, Amit Varma writes:

It’s a human characteristic, not an Indian one. How much we follow rules depends on the incentives offered. Abroad, as in Singapore, the laws of littering may be strict; or your peers may frown upon loutish behaviour, which is disincentive enough. In India, laws, where they exist, aren’t implemented; and littering and jumping lanes in traffic is normal, not deviant, behaviour.

The Life You Can Save

How much money do you spend on a bottle of water, or a cup of coffee everyday? $2, $5 or even $10. Now imagine if somebody told you that if you had donated even half of that money to eradicating world poverty, we would be able to make some serious dent in reducing the number of poor people in the world.

Peter Singer, Professor of Bio Ethics at Princeton and author of the new book The Life You Can Save makes a case of individual action and responsibility in reducing world poverty.



Also read my previous post Think Before You Spend

Will Slumdog Millionaire Bring About any Changes in the Lives of the Real Slumdogs?

Slumdog Millionaire, a feel good film about a boys journey from the slums of Mumbai to the winner of the biggest game show, has been received very well across the world. For a movie which was destined for a straight to DVD release, the movies real life journey parallels the plot of the movie, "underdog beating all odds to achieve unprecedented success".

Though the movie provides an inspirational story line, it also raises some serious questions about the level of poverty and living conditions of people in real life in the slums of Mumbai. And this depiction of poverty in the movie has raised some controversy, with even Amithab Bachchan slamming the movie for portraying India as athird world developing nation.

With all due respect to the critics, criticizing a movie and its makers for portraying a side of India that is ugly and not pretty will not make it go away. Instead, it would be worthwhile if the same time is spent devising ways to inspire these people find their way out of the squalid conditions and achieve their dreams. Ultimately that is what the movie is supposed to be about: "Achieving ones dreams, no matter the odds".

Challenges for the New Administration

With the hoopla surrounding the inauguration of Barack Obama a thing of the past, it is time to focus on the challenges that the Obama Administration faces. Just thinking about them gives you a sobering feeling.

First there is the economy. The last year has seen the world economy nose dive. Wall Street as we knew of this time last year no more exists, with the sale of Bear Sterns and Merrill Lynch and the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers. What started as a sub-prime mortgage crisis in some parts of the United States has spread across the world. With jobs been lost and homes foreclosures increasing on a daily basis, the current economic environment calls for bold, swift and proper action.

Second, there are wars that are being fought on two fronts. First there is Iraq, which was a war of choice and then there is Afghanistan, which is a war of necessity. The new administrations challenge would be peacefully end the war of choice and focus its efforts on the war of necessity. Also on the foreign policy front, the Middle East presents a formidable challenge to the new administration. With the three week Israeli offensive on Gaza drawing down, the humanitarian crisis that is unfolding is just unacceptable. The unconditional support of the previous US administration to Israel’s actions has further stoked the sentiment of anti American sentiment in this region of the world. The current conflict offers the new administration a fresh starting point to bring the relevant players to the table and start over the peace process again.

Third, there is the question of energy and how American consumption of fossil fuels is propping petro dictators and warming up the planet. The new administration can take the first step by investing in green technologies like solar, wind and other environmentally friendly technologies. This will not only help in creating new better paying jobs but also will reduce American dependence of fossil fuel, which right now comes from the most unstable region of the world.

And finally, there are a whole host of domestic challenges that need to be addressed. For starters there is health care. For a country that spends the most of any developed world on health care, but has very little to show for it in terms of better patient outcomes, the rising cost of health care needs to be addressed. Also there is the question of basic education, where recent reports have indicated Asia outperforming US in Math and Science education.

None of these challenges are going to be easy, but they are not insurmountable either. As President Obama himself admitted in his inaugural speech and I quote “Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America: They will be met.” That is a reason to Hope.

MLK's Only Speech in India

Last week NPR reported on a speech that Martin Luther King gave to All India Radio during his trip to India in 1959.

The full text and the audio recording can be found at the Chicago India Consulate website.

Below is an excerpt of the speech:
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It may be that, just as India had to take the lead and show the world that national independence could be achieved non-violently, so India may have to take the lead and call for universal disarmament. And if no other nation will join her immediately, India may declare itself for disarmament unilaterally. Such an act of courage would be a great demonstration of the spirit of the Mahatma, and would be the greatest stimulus to the rest of the world to do likewise. Moreover, any nation that would take such a brave step would automatically draw to itself the support of the multitudes of the earth, so that any would-be aggressor would be discouraged from risking the wrath of mankind.

May I also say that, since being in India, I am more convinced than ever before that the method of non-violent resistance is the most potent weapon available to oppressed people in their struggle for justice and human dignity. In a real sense, Mahatma Gandhi embodied in his life certain universal principles that are inherent in the moral structure of the universe, and these principles are as inescapable as the law of ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

I Have A Dream

Today being Martin Luther King Jr's day, I thought it appropriate to list out atleast 10 of his most memorable quotes. Even today, these quotes are as relevant today, as they were when he spoke them.

1. Ultimately a genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus, but a molder of consensus.
2. I am not interested in power for power's sake, but I'm interested in power that is moral, that is right and that is good.
3. True peace is not merely the absence of tension: it is the presence of justice.
4. Our scientific power has outrun our spiritual power. We have guided missiles and misguided men.
5. In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.
6. Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.
7. I submit to you that if a man hasn't discovered something he will die for, he isn't fit to live.
8. Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.
9. The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.
10. When you are right you cannot be too radical; when you are wrong, you cannot be too conservative.

But of all his memorable speeches and quotes none can beat the I Have a Dream speech delivered in front of the Lincoln Memorial.

Think Before You Spend

What would you do you you were given Rs 500 today... It depends on who you ask.



Video made by The Centre for Communication and Development Studies Open Space initiative.

Link obtained from Churumuri

Why Smart People Make Such Dumb Decisions?

Satyam Computers until last week was one of the titans of the Indian IT and Outsourcing industry. Founded in 1987 by founder and CEO, Ramalinga Raju, Satyam rose to global prominence with the outsourcing boom, claiming 140 of the Fortune 500 companies as its clients and accounting for $1 billion in yearly revenue.

As it turns out, most of the $1 billion in revenue was non existent and Satyam was infact the biggest corporate fraud in Indian history. This begs the question, why some of the smartest people in the world, who have worked so hard their entire life to be at the top of their careers, just throw it all away in one false swoop? What is it that makes them play with the lives of several thousand employees, as well as billions of dollars of investors money? And Ramalinga Raju is a recent addition to the long list or people which includes Bernard Madoff, Jeffery Skilling, Ken Lay, Bernie Ebbers, Wall street, Investment banking and Mortgage company CEO's for their role in the sub prime mortgage crisis etc..

All of us would admit that these people were some of the smartest people in the room until things unraveled around them. So what is it that leads these smart people to make some of the dumbest decisions in hindsight which ultimately led to their downfall. Is it just plain old greed? Or is it the feeling that I am the smartest person in the room, having achieved so much, whatever decision I make will be the right one's. Or is it pressure from investors and shareholders demanding continued growth, higher value and greater returns.

The answers may not be one of the other, but a combination of all a number of factors. What do you think? Please chime in with your thoughts.

2008 - The Year That Was

2008 is almost drawing to a close. If I were to describe the year in a few words, this is how it would be for me.

2008 was the year of when racial barriers did not matter in US presidential politics. This was the year of hope and change.

2008 was also the year of great triumph with Michael Phelps winning 8 gold medals in a the Beijing Olympics

2008 was also the year of great tragedies with India being attacked by terrorists multiple times.

2008 was also the year of great turmoil, with the world facing the worst financial crisis since the great depression.

I cannot remember any single year in recent memory where there was a so much positive and negative news in the same year.

Hope that the coming new year is filled with more positive news and energy.

What Should Pakistan's People Do?

In response to the recent terrorist attacks in Mumbai, Tom Friedman, in his recent op-ed for the NY Timescalls on all of Pakistan's people to stand up and say enough is enough on terrorism.
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Sure, better intelligence is important. And, yes, better SWAT teams are critical to defeating the perpetrators quickly before they can do much damage. But at the end of the day, terrorists often are just acting on what they sense the majority really wants but doesn’t dare do or say. That is why the most powerful deterrent to their behavior is when the community as a whole says: “No more. What you have done in murdering defenseless men, women and children has brought shame on us and on you.”

Why should Pakistanis do that? Because you can’t have a healthy society that tolerates in any way its own sons going into a modern city, anywhere, and just murdering everyone in sight — including some 40 other Muslims — in a suicide-murder operation, without even bothering to leave a note. Because the act was their note, and destroying just to destroy was their goal. If you do that with enemies abroad, you will do that with enemies at home and destroy your own society in the process.
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Happy Teachers Day

Today being September 5th the birthday of Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, the second president of India, its time to remember our teachers who are vital in the development of us as individuals.

Teacher is not just somebody who you learn from in school or college or a university. Anybody who makes you a better individual then you currently are , be it your parents, friends, or family can be a teacher. So lets celebrate this day in honor of all those individuals who help us be what we are and hope that we can pass on these learning to other individuals so that we can make the world a better place for one and all.

The Last Lecture

Many of you may have already heard about Randy Pausch and the last lecture that he gave at Carnegie Mellon University. for those of you who do not know or have heard about Randy Pausch, he was a Professor of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon who passed away in July because of pancreatic cancer. He earned worldwide fame because of the inspirational lecture he gave titled "Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams" to audiences at Carnegie Mellon. You can watch the lecture below. Though it is supposed to be his farewell speech to students, friends and family, be prepared for laughs as you watch the video.

Another Sign of Global Pollution?

Disappearing fireflies may be another sign that our globe is changing and for the worse. The question is what do we need to do about it?

Read more about the disappearing firefly

Leroy Sievers - RIP

Leroy Sievers an award winning journalist for NPR passed away this past weekend of cancer.

Leroy made his battle with cancer public by documenting his experience living with the disease in his blog My Cancer. With his blog, Leroy provided a forum for a lot of people who suffer from cancer to share their stories and offer support.

Morning Edition today had a remembrance for Leroy Sievers, Leroy Sievers - A Farewell In His Own Words

Microsoft Confirms Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon

A recent study by Microsoft of all instant messange users confirms that on an average any two people are seperated by 6.6 degrees.

Read the entire story Six Stories

Also read my post on the same topic

Why Terrorists Hit So Often in India?

* May 13, 2008: Eight blasts rock Jaipur in a span of 12 minutes leaving 65 dead and over 150 injured.
* January 2008: Terrorist attack on Central Reserve Police Force camp in Rampur kills eight.
* October 2007: 2 killed in a blast inside Ajmer Sharif shrine during Ramadan, in Rajasthan.
* August 2007: 32 dead, 35 hurt in Hyderabad 'terror' strike.
* May 2007: A bomb at Mecca mosque in Hyderabad kills 11 people.
* February 19, 2007: Two bombs explode aboard a train bound from India to Pakistan, burning to death at least 66 passengers, most of them Pakistanis.
* September 2006: 30 dead and 100 hurt in twin blasts at a mosque in Malegaon, Maharashtra.
* July 2006: Seven bombs on Mumbai's trains kill over 200 and injure 700 others.
* March 2006: Twin bombings at a train station and a temple in Varanasi kill 20 people.
* October 2005: Three bombs placed in busy New Delhi markets a day before Diwali kill 62 people and injure hundreds.

The above list is but a few of the most recent terrorist attacks to hit various cities in India. As can be seen from the list above, terror has struck at temples, mosques, trains, markets etc. And with Bangalore being added to the list of places where terror has struck, it begs the question, "Why are terrorist attacks so common in India?"

E.R. Ramachandran in an excellent article on Churumuri explores the reasons why India gets hit by terror so often.