India’s Elections – Whiskey Tango Foxtrot

Politics is strange, and eveyone knows that. Backstabbing, disgracing opponents and inflating self-achievement is common. Therefore, it is the drama of elections that brings out the creative genius of politicians worldwide. As seen in the recent US elections, media around the world simply loved how McCain and Palin dug their grave and Obama came out fluttering like the long-awaited minority hero. But what could you expect after 8 years of the legendary George W. ??

Now, looking eastward we see the drama of the Indian elections unfold. Described as the ‘age of coalitions‘ where no single party dominates the electoral college, multiple parties connive. If abbreviations like U.P.A. and N.D.A. were not enough, this year marks the glorious entry of the ‘Third Front‘ and I hear something about a ‘Fourth Front‘ as well. Something makes me feel that this could turn out to be a good script for a Bollywood thriller – who knows?

Some sanity to the Indian political battlefield was provided by the entry of United Nations veteran Shashi Tharoor. Campaigning from Kerala, Mr. Tharoor’s opponents could simply not control those creative instincts and spat out a gallore of illogical and baseless remarks.

Now comes the best part of this drama. The party in power, or actually the one that has control of the current alliance, the Congress party, decided that its achievements of the past few years may not be enough to win the upcoming elections. So how do they woo the masses? Show them ‘The Economist’ ! What else did you think? Gift giving is not cool, ok? So, what you do, is pick up a publication printed outside India which has an article that talks about all the follies of your political system, but if even a remote line claims you did your job well, voila, there you go – the magic persuassion formula!

Dumbass Congress – the article says, “For this reason, The Economist, if it had a vote, would plump for Mr Singh’s Congress.” Above it, in bold, it says “Better than the alternative” which as a sixth grader would explain, means that you aren’t the best! You’re just the better of the two evils!

Ok, I still support the Congress. Despite their latest persuasive strategy, their achiements cannot be ignored. Ideally Narendra Modi would be my choice PM, but he brings the baggage of the BJP. Which of course is the most disillusioned fanatical yet legal outfit.

Let see if there are any more twists and turns in this drama before we reach the climax.

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Other events coded whiskey-tango-foxtrot:

a) Sarah Palin ‘knows’ Russia because she’s from Alaska, and as everyone knows, Alaska is ‘close to Russia’. Take that for foreign policy experience! [link]

b) Mc Cain’s paranoid agenda which included an ambitious call for a ‘League of Democracies.’ Bet hey, we’ll exclude Russia and China from the league, ok? [link 2]

c) The fear that Mayawati may be next Indian Prime Miniter. Then, extortion will be legalized!

d) The ultra-rich independent candidate from Mumbai. (Worth Rs. 622 crore or Rs 6.22 billion)

e) A fascination to see how Obama has fared in ‘the first 100 days.’

f) Arlen Specter jumps from the Republican party to the Democratic party. So what if he was committed to the Republican ideology for the last 30 years? The rationale is, that Democrats have a higher chance of winning state elections. Howzzat?

g) Shoegate. Encore. Yet again.

h) Varun Gandhi

Enough for now.

Al-Qaeda Hails Financial Crisis

Al-Qaeda is watching the U.S. stock market’s downward slide with something akin to jubilation, with its leaders hailing the financial crisis as a vindication of its strategy for crippling America’s economy through endless, costly foreign wars against Islamic insurgents.

How interesting…. read here.

Some cartoons..

More on Sarah Palin

Comedians on Sarah Palin – Part I

Comedians on Sarah Palin – Part II

The Best of Sarah Palin

Sarah Palin, the US Republican Vice Presidential candidate, has to be the biggest political mistake on the face of this planet. Unimgainably ignorant and verbally-challenged, her every public appearance just seems to pull down Senator John McCain’s chances of being elected to Presidency.

Palin experience: Mayor of a remote Alaskan town for 6 years, Governor of Alaska for 2 years, and 1 year chairing the Alaskan Oil & Gas Conservation Commission. Thats it!! On the basis of simply her experience, I can’t imagine what John McCain’s team was thinking when they selected her. Taking into account that the 72 year old McCain may not survive his first term in office, it’s utterly absurd to think that she could someday be President of the US.

Things get worse, when she rambles on incoherently in interviews, combining the words healthcare, foreign policy, aid, job creation and $700 bailout plan in the same sentence! I’ve never heard her answer a single question with a related answer because she always seems to revert to using the few ideas that she may have been taught just minutes before the interview.

The web is filled with criticisms and parodies of her incompetency – watch the videos below to find out! (The best: Matt Damon’s question!)

Palin on Foreign Policy

Jack Cafferty Tells Us How He Really Feels About Sarah Palin

CNN Laughs It Up Over Sarah Palin Interview

Matt Damon Rips Sarah Palin

So, Sarah Palin – were there dinosaurs?

When the US Senate woke up…

It made the two long-awaited decisions: passed the $700 billion financial bailout plan (which can apparently put an end to the financial mess) & approved the Indo-US Nuclear Deal.

An hour with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was elected the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran by popular vote in 2005. Known for his rhetoric and ‘controversial’ ideas, he is probably one of the most important figures in the middle-eastern world.

In his second interview at the Charlie Rose Show (telecast on PBS), Ahmadinejad creates the case for a nuclear empowered Iran. He attacks the US government for interfering in the domestic governance & administration of Iraq and other mid-east countries, and questions the responsibility the US has taken upon itself to ‘help’ countries which are apparently in distress. The President also claims that the IAEA is a puppet in the hands of the US which is one of the strongest members. He questions why the US – the strongest nuclear power – does not wish other countries to use the same technology for peaceful purposes. Trashing the idea of any nation actually using nuclear weapons, he claims the Iran aims to advance in nuclear technology as well as biotechnology, nanotechnology, arts, etc.

In the interview, Ahmadinejad also talks about the strategic location of Iran in the middle-east and its role in helping the nations around it. Extending his argument, he questions the interests of the US in Iraq.

Today, news from across the world is (ultimately) biased in favour of the Americans, and we rarely sit up and question what we hear. Why do Americans feel responsible for cleansing the world? Is it really their responsibility?  Do they really have a plan? And, who judges their actions?

There are violent critics on both sides of the fence who could argue endlessly. But, what’s the solution?

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I’ve just been directed to President Ahmadinejad’s blog: http://www.ahmadinejad.ir/

Leaving Baghdad: Culture Shock in America

This is a beautifully written piece by Ahmad Fadam on his experiences in USA.

Having stayed in the US for two months, Ahmad reflects on a number of issues: the freedom he was never aware of when he lived in Iraq, how people take it upon themselves to represent their culture abroad, his rich Iraqi heritage and culture, the ignorance and disinterest of common Americans towards a country they’ve invaded, and yet their amiability and sympathy on recognising him as an Iraqi.

Written in simple english, Ahmad’s deliberations and questions are evoking and moving. It’s a piece you wouldn’t want to miss!

C’est la vie!

Credit: Time Magazine

The Mind Control Project

According to this article by the Time magazine, the US Army has commissioned a $4 million contract to a coalition of scientists from the University of California at Irvine, Carnegie Mellon University, and the University of Maryland to begin developing “thought helmets” that would harness silent brain waves for secure communication among troops. Ultimately, the Army hopes the project will “lead to direct mental control of military systems by thought alone.”

The idea is not that far-fetched as a commercial video game that uses brain-wave technology will be on shelves by the summer of 2009. The US Army’s requirements, however, are much more sophisticated and may take decades to develop.

The ethical question of reading people’s minds is squashed by the scientists who claim that the technology requires willing consent as well as cooperation to train the helmet to recognise the unique brain-waves of each participant.

If some day, such technology is available, it would find numerous other applications!

Meet Sustainable Dave

I wish there were more people who emulated Dave Chameides – Emmy Award winning TV cameraman who stores all the trash he creates.

Keeping it all in his LA basement has made him actually realise the amount of unrequired products he buys. Consequently, he’s reduced buying crap that he doesn’t really need, thereby minimizing waste. And over a period of 8 months Dave has reduced waste production by a phenomenal margin too.

He points out that the garbage from NY is dumped over a 100 miles away. That from LA is dumped 40 miles outside the city. With landfills getting clogged, and recycling progressing at a rate significantly slower than waste production, one can only imagine the problem we face in the future.

Though this is in the context of the US, I’m quite sure that countries worldwide face a similar problem. And a starting step to solve this issue, could be as simple as reducing the garbage we actually produce. Think about it..

Obama the Anti-Dumb

“Most of the things Obama’s taken heat for saying this summer fall into these two familiar patterns — attempts to find a rational common ground on controversial issues and dumb-avoidance.”

Read here.

The Politics of Rage: Why Do They Hate US? by Fareed Zakaria

A fabulous article with a different perspective to understanding the reasons behind the Mid-East’s hatred to the US and Americanism.

This article propelled Fareed Zakaria into the forefront of politico-economic debates and analyses. He is considered as one of the more influential and original voices on American foreign policy and politics. Zakaria is an Indian-born, Yale- and Harvard-educated Muslim who moves easily between Condoleezza Rice and Pervez Musharraf, Tony Blair and Prince Turki Al-Faisal. He’s a conservative who is willing to question one of the most cherished principles of the West -democracy – but also a naturalized citizen who believes in America’s world-historical mission.

Today, Zakaria is regarded as one of the Top 20 Public Intellectuals in the world – in league with influential people such as Gulen, Gore and Kasparov.

Profiting from others death?

In the US, shady brokers are making horrific deals. Read here.

They first find a person who has life insurance and is currently in need of money. Then they find investors who currently have some money to invest for a phenomenally high return with literally no risk. The investors agree to pay the insured person’s premiums plus some more cash up front, and the insured person agrees to make this investor his/her beneficiary. In simpler terms, when this insured person dies, the investor will claim the insurance amount! In the middle, this broker makes money too.

The pangs of old age are unimaginable. And if you don’t have any beneficiaries, are hard up for money, and without any other sources of income, this could be an option you’d consider, I guess. It does not seem morally correct, but then at that age, the position you’d be in, and relentless persuasiveness by brokers may just cause you to give in.

On the whole, I think the insurance industry should take such astonishing figures into account and introduce regulations/features that would dissuade policy-selling.

Paying premiums through cash values is an option, but it doesn’t provide money if you’re hard up and have current needs right?

Stretching my moral boundaries, a one-off deal between a seller and an investor (for mutual benefits) may just be acceptable.

However, commercializing this is not. Even what the Legacy Funding Group is doing (providing beneficiaries the net amount) is wrong! They benefit from the death of the insured (and by a fairly large margin!) – so who knows, they may just encourage it !?! No idea how far they could go too..

I may be a skeptic, but its ‘people’ and ‘money’.