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..

How Can She SLAP??

This is probably the most hilarious video I’ve seen recently! Its quite a viral piece and has spread through the web space at an incredible speed.

Turn up the volume and enjoy!!

New Pages: Read & Watch

I’ve just added 2 new pages:

Read

This includes a list of books that I’m reading and wish to read in the future. Most books may be non-fiction because I feel there are very few fiction books worth mentioning on a blog. I may throw in some good names at times though.

Watch

This is planned to be a list of documentaries as of now. When I have the time, I like watching documentaries related to the present world – like the genocide at Darfur (Darfur Now), the case for Global Warming (An Inconvenient Truth) – and the past (The Genius of Beethoven), rather than those that speculate the universe and its accompaniments. Its a personal choice.

Bow Down to Gunda!!

If you haven’t discovered the brilliance of Mithun Chakraborty, go watch Gunda!

I guarantee that these 2 hours will change you – for the better or the worse! Hah! The movie has a non-existent storyline, an absurd parody of dialogues, an insane cast and a director and writer who can twist the story to unimginable extremes.

Mithun plays a coolie at the start and ends as the avenging hero who destroys the underworld and corrupt cops, usually with just one blow of his mighty hands. From lifting cargo, he amazingly transforms into a rocket launcher yielding hero who knows how to drive and uses a cell phone to update his enemies. He sets dates to kill his enemies too..

Dialogues: There’s nothing to beat them in Hindi cinema.. Where else do you find lines like:

1. [in response to "kaun hai be tu?"]: “Main hoon jurm se nafrat karne wala, Sharifon ke liye jyoti, Gundon ke liye jwala”

2. Arrey itihas badalne wale ka naam kabhi itnihas mein nahi hota hai,
   Kyun ki itihas pathhar ki lakir hoti hai, aur usko mitaney wala khud aise mit jaata hai,
   Jaise woh kabhi paida hi nahi hua ho.Jis tarah train ke aaney par platform kaapney lagta hai na,
   Usi tarah merey khaunf ka bhukhar, tum sab ko kaapney par majboor kar dega.
   Ye mera wada hai! Aur us dhuein ki kasam hai, jo meri behen ki chitah se nikalney wala hai!!
3. Dekh randi, dhandey mein bethi hai, toh buddha kya jawan kya – Kya chhota kya bada – Kya baittha kya khadah!?!

4. Tere bhi marney ka date aa raha hai! Aaj ek October hai.. Do, Char, Chhey, Aat, Das – BAS!
   

Sorry for the 3rd one, but I just had to include it!!

Characters: Each one gives his introduction at the start of each and every scene! If you are lucky, he may also give you a recap of his misendeavours of preceding scenes! Characters include the protagonist Shankar (Mithun) and his enemies Bulla, Chutiya, Potey, Eegoo Hatella, Kala Shetty, Lambu Aata, Lucky Chikna and many more…

Songs: There’s a song for every scene with a female in the frame.. And its always Mithun and his love interest. Even when Mithun’s sister is romancing some guy, the subsequent song features Mithun. And yes, ehe wears a yellow shirt in all songs – without fail!

Action sequences: We see a Maruti Esteem, auto rickshaws, trucks, helicopters, a 2-seater plane, ships and a monkey who can guide you to dead bodies in the middle of a forest and catch babies flung by our hero over 30 feet! The action sequences take place just anywhere – Mithun’s locality, Villain’s house, shipyard, cemetery, random deserts and canyons that just pop out of nowhere, fields, a flying whore-house, a beach and an air strip (airport).

I mean.. C’mon.. WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT!!!??!! Just go watch it!!

Read GreatBong’s review here.

Buried Alive

I read on India Uncut about this article…

ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani lawmaker defended a decision by southwestern tribesmen to bury five women alive because they wanted to choose their own husbands, telling stunned members of parliament this week to spare him their outrage.

“These are centuries-old traditions and I will continue to defend them,” Israr Ullah Zehri, who represents Baluchistan province, said on Saturday. “Only those who indulge in immoral acts should be afraid.”

The women, three of them teenagers, were shot and then thrown into a ditch. They were still breathing as their bodies were covered with rocks and mud, according to reports, which said their only ‘crime’ was that they wished to marry men of their choosing.

I can’t imagine how a person with such a derailed and backward mind can be elected an MP in Pakistan. And I’d be horrified to find that he gets away scot free.

My Sistine Tandoori

Oh I wish I were back in India… Just for the humour!!!

This, by the way, is a clip from the show Goodness Gracious Me – a English language comedy sketch aired on BBC Two until 2001.

Impossible is Nothing

Now, the tag line used by Adidas has another meaning. Watch the video below.

We are like that only!!

Define : Idiot (?)

So what if there are thousands of cases waiting to be heard at the courts? So what if there are endless people waiting for justice? Its much more important for the Supreme Court of India to sit and define who an ‘idiot’ is!

The Supreme Court identified just four kinds of people who could be classified mentally unsound — idiots, the very ill, lunatics and drunks.

“An idiot is one who is of non-sane memory from his birth, by a perpetual infirmity, without lucid intervals: and those are said to be idiots who cannot count 20, or tell the days of the week or who do not know their fathers or mothers or the like,” said the judgement by Justices Arijit Pasayat and M K Sharma. They added that it was for the accused to prove they were idiots or otherwise of unsound mind.

What tops the mere definition, is the last line – which indicates that there must be a clear distinction between an idiot and a person of unsound mind. I cant for the love of God understand what the judicial system is thinking – Law itself is complicated, but lets just complicate things further!!

Question to George W. Bush: Who’s your daddy?? Haha..!!

Rock On!!!

Wow! This is a refreshing movie -GO WATCH IT!

Rock On is not some indigestible ‘mushy’ crap that’s usually churned out of Bollywood. Its a movie with a simple story line, but brilliant acting, music and direction. Farhan Akhtar as an actor and singer is remarkable. Arjun Rampal looks comfortable being annoyed and sometimes frustrated. Purab Kohli and Luke Kenny have done a remarkable job too. Though I felt that Kenny’s dialogues and acting made him look more a priest than a rock star! Even Prachi Desai, a newcomer, plays a fine supporting role as Akhtar’s better half.

The fact that the vocals have actually been performed by the four lead actors is truly remarkable! Rock On’s songs are a breathe of fresh air when you compare them to most of the nasal (and irritating) movie tracks in the last couple of years, and I actually hope that Farhan Akhtar sings playback in the future.

Cast:

• Farhan Akhtar: Aditya Shroff
• Prachi Desai: Sakshi
• Arjun Rampal: Joe Mascarenhas
• Purab Kolhi: KD
• Luke Kenny: Rob
• Koel Purie: Devika
• Shabana Goswami: Debbie
• Nicholette Bird: Tanya

Crew:

• Directed by: Abhishek Kapoor
• Produced by: Ritesh Sidhwani, Farhan Akhtar
• Lyrics: Javed Akhtar
• Music: Shankar Ehsaan Loy
• Production Design: Shashank Tere
• Screenplay : Abhishek Kapoor, Pubali Chaudhuri
• Story : Abhishek Kapoor
• Dialogues: Farhan Akhtar

Link to official site – click here.

And my favourite song:

Paralyzed

I’m back home in India for a couple of weeks and there are two disturbing facts to think about.

Firstly, despite being a metropolitan, my city does not offer a substantial internet connection. Speaking to my friends who live in my area, I learned that the fastest ‘broadband’ connection I could get was 96Kbps. A thought bubble above my head compared this speed to the 100Mbps connection I use in my university, and it only made me feel a little challenged.

That brings me to my second point. My dependency on the web. No, I’m not a techie or a related functionary. But I depend heavily on the web for news and knowledge. Google and Wikipedia are my lifelines. News from across the globe is inaccessible without the web.

(I don’t really trust news channels – especially some Indian broadcasters who find time to air comic shows rather than informing people about the impeachment procedures in Pakistan’s National Assembly, or Russia’s invasion of Georgia, or that India finally won an individual gold at the Olympics.)

Such dependency on the web is something I need to think about.

I hope Musharraf got whip lashed! Darn the net.

PS: I’ve succumbed to using a cyber cafe.

Cuil – A new search engine

A new search engine was launched yesterday - Cuil. Though I don’t think it can threaten Google at present, I think it may just have the potential to topple Google’s monopoly.

Its USPs:

1. It claims to search 3 times as many webpages as Goggle and 10 times as many as MSN.
2. Suggests search words (Google already has this)
3. Categorizes searches and displays these categories on the right side of the screen – pretty helpful if you’re searching for a very general term.
4. Tabbed searches – you’ll figure this out when you use it
5. Search results are displayed in columns (apparently this makes it easier to read)
6. And lastly, its developers are the ones who’ve built/helped build Google. This lends some credibility to the processes it uses.
7. Stronger filtering capabilities (i.e. it’s better at removing adult content and streamlining results)

However, the functionality and impressive developers don’t overshadow some downfalls:

1. No options to search for only images or videos.
2. Few search results per page as compared to other search engines. This is quite annoying because I don’t really want to move more than a couple of pages to find the result I’m looking for.

Probably the biggest reason why Cuil can’t think of breaking Google, is because unlike the latter, it does not resort to online advertising (yet). However, Google commands a $150 billion market cap, with 99% of its revenue coming from online advertising.

Next. Cuil’s searches are not exactly great, and they are pale in front of Google. If you type a phrase and search on both engines, you’ll see far more results on Google while Cuil may just not find a single match!

Overall, I don’t really think Cuil is a threat to Google. But it would be interesting to see the market players react. Microsoft has been bidding for Yahoo only to compete against Google. Now with Cuil in the picture, a new allegiance could form. Lets watch.

And most importantly – unlike Google, Cuil did not find my blog. (Urghh!)