open crucible

let's not rip that Obama sticker yet?

2009-12-04T14:45:00.000-08:00

I am pleased by the progress (however tepid it has been) that Obama has been able to get out of China and India on the climate initiative - emissions control. Now, it remains to be seen if Obama can still get a climate bill passed in this Congress - with entrenched interests, and lobbyists (this is despite positive moves by some of the larger energy companies - like Duke Power and others).

When I was voting for Obama over Clinton, I did so because Obama is an 'incrementalist'. As this writer to Josh's TPM site calls, him a "left-leaning pragmatist". Excerpt pasted here -

I have always supported Obama, I still do, and, for the most part, I trust his instincts. What makes this especially sad is that -- alhough I think Obama should have broken up the big banks -- I am shocked by the way the Left has abandoned him. I disagree with Joan Walsh, for example, that Obama is a Centrist. That is only a label. I think that Obama is a left-leaning pragmatist, and he figures out a solution to every problem on its merits.

If the Democrats come crashing down, I think it will be as much the responsibility of ideologues on the Left as idiots on the Right.

Yes, I am hugely disappointed about the Big Banks, but from Obama's point of view, he did not want anything to distract from the passage of the health care bill (which still remains in Senate), and next the Climate bill. The Afghanistan troop surge is another gesture that is likely intended to give some benefit of doubt to the martial faction. A pure anti-war approach is the more desirable leftist approach.

I want to wait and see. The climate bill is big for me - if he can truly make India and China move on the emissions front, that will SAVE lot more lives (not just human) than any anti-war position.

time to rip the Obama car bumper sticker?

2009-12-02T18:12:00.000-08:00

Tom Hayden, a liberal activist, and a former husband of Jane Fonda and an early and eager supporter of Obama expresses his disillusionment with our President.

Tom writes in The Nation "It's time to strip the Obama sticker off my car.

Obama's escalation in Afghanistan is the last in a string of disappointments. His flip-flopping acceptance of the military coup in Honduras has squandered the trust of Latin America. His Wall Street bailout leaves the poor, the unemployed, minorities and college students on their own. And now comes the Afghanistan-Pakistan decision to escalate the stalemate, which risks his domestic agenda, his Democratic base, and possibly even his presidency..."

I paste this excerpt because Tom captures my own sentiments very well, and very eloquently. I am disappointed with Obama's decision to send 30,000 troops (the only decision so far hailed by the right-wing GOP). His follow-up saying he will withdraw these troops in Summer of 2011 (later clarified by WH as 'the withdrawal will start by summer 2011') seems like a decision he is making to appease the military brass (General McChrystal's memo was leaked earlier). It is a decision with little conviction, and unnecessarily stresses manpower and resources at a time when we can afford neither.

I am still left reeling by Geithner's soft pedaling of the overhaul of financial regulations on Wall Street (is he securing a job to go to there in a few years?).Where is the idealistic Obama I voted and canvassed for door to door? The community organizer who was close to the disenfranchised minority..

Pakistan in flames..

2009-12-01T04:43:00.001-08:00

The country of Pakistan is in critical state now, and nearly a failed state. A chilling report to wake up to was when NYT reported, "President Asif Ali Zardari has ceded his position in Pakistan’s nuclear command structure to his prime minister, in a sudden political maneuver widely seen as a fresh sign of turmoil on the eve of President Obama’s strategy announcement for the region."

Mr. Gilani, the Pakistani PM is a puppet figure, a life-long Muslim League party member before he jumped to the ruling Pakistan People's Party (PPP), who is likely more controllable by the mullahs. Pakistan was formed by a Muslim league, and formed to satisfy the personal ambitions of Mr. Jinnah, and conveniently satisfied the British theory of Divide (after conquer) before they left a former colony in shambles.

This post was inspired by a recent column by a Pakistan-watcher where he says, "As Pakistan staggers from one bombing to the other, some Indians must be secretly pleased. Indeed, there are occasional verbalizations: Is this not sweet revenge for the horrors of Mumbai perpetrated by Lashkar-e-Taiba? Shouldn't India feel satisfaction as Pakistan reels from the stinging poison of its domestically reared snakes?"

It is not satisfaction, as much as in vindication. India in the years past could not compete with the savvy Pakistani lobbyists who had found a sympathetic ear in the US Congress in Rep. Dan Burton. Since neither India nor Pakistan held any strategic interest for the US during the 1980s and 1990s, Dan Burton became the resident expert on South Asian politics to the US legislative body. If anything Pakistan, with its revolving door of military dictators, held much more of an interest to the Defense Industry of the US. This led to a series of corrupt regimes that were squirreling away the financial aid, while the MIDC (military industry defense complex) in the US was also fattening itself. Mr Zardari (formerly Mr. Ten Percent) was among the beneficiaries of this largesse as was the former General Musharraf (now retired and rich thanks to the US). All this while the fox was guarding the hen house - namely the ISI (Taliban's parent) creating Muslim reactionaries.

Well as Brother Malcolm would say, 'the chickens are coming home to roost'. Pakistan, an Islamic state, founded as a religious state (unlike the neighbouring country of India), is paying a price for linking church (or mosque, in this case) to the state.

dubai ..bye..bye..

2009-11-30T18:49:00.000-08:00

It was a story I had read as long ago as Feb 2009 in the NYT that was hinting at the collapse of these 'sand castles in the desert' (sic!). For me, Dubai, until recently, had been this destination that many Indians used to go to earn riches. It attracted mostly unskilled, or moderately skilled workers, that included nurses and construction workers and Malayalee watch-repairmen. I was never able to corroborate the watch repairmen story, but it sticks in my head.
Traveling back to India, on many occasions as I have, over these two decades of being an expatriate in the US, my familiar memory (the two times I may have flown Gulf Air) was that of mustachioed, dark skinned, young men with big boom-boxes, all joining at the Gulf location en route to Kerala. I had never visited Dubai because it never held any interest for me. It is probably for the same reason I have never visited Las Vegas in these 22 years, while I have been to San Francisco about 12 or 15 times.
However, two years ago, on a visit back from India to the US, I had a chance to visit Dubai to visit a relative who had recently taken up a job there. As soon as I landed, I was struck by the clear discrimination where all the westerners (that included us since we had American passports) were treated very well and were quickly whisked through immigration check, while the worker bees (mostly Indians), were sent downstairs in what looked like a cattle call. They clearly had to wait in much crowded lines. I felt uncomfortable. But until I became a permanent resident and then a citizen, I had to stand in similarly long lines at the US port of entry. The only difference was that I shared that line with other Europeans who had visitor or student visas. But here, it is almost the entire temporary work permit bearing people were of Indian extraction.
The rest of my three days in Dubai were not at all exceptional, that is, if one were to exempt the man-made extravaganzas, whether they be the fake beaches, the burj-al arab (the building that looks like a sail), indoor ski resort etc. Dubai looked so fake, that Las Vegas (I have never been there) might have seemed more authentic.
From what I have read, Dubai does share Vegas-style morals, the difference being Dubai is a whole lot more hypocritical about it.
Living in the US, where most of my Indian compatriots were scientists, doctors and engineers, it was a little sad (but understandable), that this is how a large number of my native people live - serving Arabs. I found these Arabs to be decidedly racist, lazy, hypocritical, and unworthy.
So forgive me, if I am enjoying as this "house of cards" comes a crashing. For all I care, they can go back to camel-herding. For the Indians who have lost their jobs and have to go back to India, don't be dis-heartened. While it is hard to adjust for a short time, you will soon be able to get back on your feet. After all, India just recorded a 7.9% growth in GDP!

A post about 'Buyout of America' -

2009-11-19T07:06:00.000-08:00

The other day, I happened upon one of the very interesting stories when Teri Gross interviewed Joshua Kosman, author of 'Buyout of America'. Check out the podcast/audio from the website. According to Kosman, by the end of 2011, 50% of all companies owned by Private Equity corporate moguls, which amounts to 1500 will have filed for bankruptcy as these CLOs (credit loan obligations) come due. The author painted a very revealing, and scary picture of the whole private equity industry - a euphemistic term for LBO - Leveraged Buy Out firms, a term tarnished by the moguls like KKR and others.
Here's an excerpt from Teri's website:

" The Treasury secretary is talking about private equity. It's not the private-equity firms themselves but the companies they own that are defaulting. During the boom years of 2001—7, private investors bought thousands of U.S. companies. They did it by having the acquired companies take on enormous loans using the same cheap credit that fueled the housing boom. That debt is now starting to come due.

The picture painted by the Treasury secretary in this imaginary scene, as dire as it is, is not total fantasy, nor is it a worse-case scenario. There are people in the financial world, including the head of restructuring at one of the biggest banks, who predict this outcome. Some knowledgeable observers say the carnage will start sooner. In December 2008, the Boston Consulting Group, which advises PE firms, predicted that almost 50 percent of PE-owned companies would probably default on their debt by the end of 2011. It also believed there would be significant restructuring at these companies leading to massive cost cuts and difficult layoffs.

A rain of defaults is already starting. From January 1 through October 31, 2009, 175 American companies defaulted on their debt. That is almost double the number for all of 2008. Half of those companies have been involved in transactions with PE firms at some point in their corporate life, according to the Standard & Poor's rating agency."

Wall Street Journal also has a nice review of this book. Fasten your seatbelt kids, the next roller-coaster ride is about to start ..

Most of you have likely been following the tepid reviews for Obama's Asia visit. At least, there were no public statements on how China's rigid stance on its currency is causing the depletion of capital and jobs from the US to China, and for that matter from the rest of the Western world to China. If anything, before Airforce One landed in Beijing, a high-ranking official of the Chinese government scolded America's laissez-faire in its lending and borrowing practices, and for its general financial irresponsibility (all deserved, surely). However, China pegging its currency to the US dollar, artificially, does not allow the free market forces to act normally.

Is this how America is going to start its slow downfall ..? We still have Apple (iPhones), GE, and many more ..

Wake Up Sid is for Bombay-lovers !

2009-10-24T09:16:00.000-07:00

I was really trying to go see some other movie, but instead of waiting for an hour for the other one to start, I wandered into Wake Up Sid and was pleasantly surprised. Sure, it's a bit of a masaala film, but it had some beautiful scenes of Bombay. I was telling my host (who took me to the film, and is a newly arrived person to Bombay), that this would make a great tourism film for Bombay. Karan Johar who has made this film, has spent some time reminding us of a Bombay of past. Not the current one which Slumdog Millionaire portrays. Karan Johar also had to apologize to Raj Thackeray (refer to my previous post) for having used the name Bombay in a lot of the movie instead of the bogus Mumbai. When I was asking why Karan would give Raj the pleasure by going to him, it was revealed to me that if Karan had not done that, Raj's Goondas would have absolutely destroyed the theaters etc. and caused a significant financial loss. Democracy by Goondaism. That is a Bombay that is not portrayed by Karan. The Bombay in the movie is the one I remember, where old Parsi and Goan families lived, along with Gujaratis, Tamilians, Bengalis and all ! I love and miss that Bombay. Not the current trash-heap that it is becoming!

It is true that some of the fun portrayed in Wake Up Sid is more of the kind the South Bombay-ites, what the kids who went to St. Xaviers and Jai Hind would do. A bit of me always envied that, knowing that I had been born into a middle-class, south-indian family who never could afford fancy jeans, or had never owned a car. Konkana Sen Sharma was "hot" in the film. Konkana Sen has this demure, but confident (I-am-independent-woman-hear-me-roar) portrayal of a young new entrant to the maximum city. Ranbir (brother of the absolutely-stunning-but-two-dimensional-shampoo-girl Kareena) Kapoor does a pretty decent job. But the role was likely written for someone like him, so it was not hard for him to play that role. We have to see if he can act in some other films. He looks like a potential-Kumar-Gaurav to me. Somebody you may never hear about in a few years. But I will reserve my judgement till I see more of his work. But if it happens, I predicted it here first!

So Wake Up Sid is fun with a cold beer (or your favorite beverage) and a bucket of popcorn (low on salt, and no butter for me!). And while you are watching it you can savor the fact that the troglodyte Raj Thakre cannot take away this Bombay from you. Another person who writes beautiful Bombay stories is Rohinton Mistry, like his Tales from Ferozeshah Baug !

So long Bombay-lovers ! To paraphrase Tony Bennett, "I left my heart in Bombay".

It's Bombay not Mumbai ! or whatever the heck the Manoos want to call it !

2009-10-24T08:52:00.000-07:00

Bal Thackeray, who has since been immortalized in celluloid by none other than Amitabh Bachchan (in Sarkar), is a little despondent these days. A man who rose to the ranks of part-time rabble-rouser and part-time Godfather, was a mere cartoonist for a Marathi-language newspaper before he built his street-cred one goonda at a time. What must irk him these days is that Raj Thackeray (not his heir-apparent) has essentially replicated the formula created by his don-like Uncle and has used that to flog his own uncle. In the most recently concluded elections in the state of Maharashtra, Raj Thackeray's newly minted cynical outfit, MNS, has handed Bal Thackeray's Shiv Sena their asses. The fruit has not fallen far from the tree ! And will be the downfall of the tree !

Raj Thackeray (who should be called Thakre, for reasons that will become evident soon) took the city of Bombay, the one with the Gateway of India, the coastal pearl of the Indian peninsula, hostage with his rants all around town castigating the Bombay-ites as outsiders. He claimed that the city belonged to “his people” the Mumbai-ites, the Maharashtrians, the Marathi manoos. During my trip to India in these past two weeks during the height of the election fever (and a postponed monsoon season) I was witness to a TV group discussion. The member from Raj Thackeray’s party called MNS (Maharashtra Navnirman Sena) which roughly translates to ‘We are the army of the new-and-improved Maharashtra’ was stating the usual xenophobic messages. With a little bit of investigation, it was revealed that he himself is originally from Uttar Pradesh, and had only migrated to Maharashtra about 10 years earlier. Hypocrisy reigns. In the same vein Raj Thackeray. whose dog is called James, should actually be Thakre, since Thackeray is the British version of the name.

But none of this really matters. Raj Thackeray, has used the charisma and brand identification built by his uncle and combined it with some modern cynical campaign tactics evident in our own US of A. Rahul Gandhi of Congress left Raj alone knowing that he could use him to downsize the Shiv Sena. Of course, in doing so he may have given birth to Shiv Sena 2.0.

Bombay is a melting pot. It was a state unto itself until it was incorporated by the rest of Maharashtra. It DOES NOT belong to the Marathi Manoos or whatever they are called. I AM NOT calling it MUMBAI. Take That ! I might refer to it as 'Maximum City' now and then though!

Beck

2009-10-20T07:20:00.000-07:00

Glenn Beck is a Mormon ! Enough Said !

President Obama lights the White House Diwali Lamp!

2009-10-16T09:53:00.001-07:00

Nice article by Aseem Shukla - first person account !

In this picture of the President getting a shawl, the priest is Shri Narayanachar of our Washington Sri Siva Vishnu Temple. This is the temple we attend for religious days and functions. The priest has become quite the celebrity in the temple now! We are all very happy for him, as there could not be a more deserving person !

This has a video of the proceedings and this newsletter has a nice coverage of the event !

the public option...

2009-09-30T03:14:00.001-07:00

I know. I got an email the other day that said the sender was 'public option' and the subject line read, 'reports of my death are exaggerated'. I'd like to believe that that is a true reflection of what is happening. But honestly, I am a little miffed by reports that the White House had made a deal a priori with the Big Pharma and Big Insurance so the whole Senate Finance committee vote may have been a charade ! I hope Max Baucus gets his a** handed to him at his re-election bid for committing this travesty of justice. I hope Obama knows what he is doing having made a deal with the devil on this one. I, for one, think this Obama's incrementalist philosophy at work. Get a bill without public option but with enough in it to reform the now clearly broken system. As Paul Krugman writes, "...But while many reformers, myself included, would prefer a single-payer system if we were starting from scratch, international experience shows that it’s not the only way to go. Several European countries, including Switzerland and the Netherlands, have managed to achieve universal coverage with a mainly private insurance system."

Also, I want to see if organizations like Moveon.org will rustle up the opposition to 'rolling over'. But this is the part that took the cake for me when I was watching a bit of the reportage of the failed public option vote on the Senate Finance committee. Senator John Ensign (R-Nevada), speaks and says, ".. well, if the public option is so good, how come so many democrats are against it... Uh-Uh (read in Beavis/Butthead voice)" Not only do I have to see the ugly face of a hypocritical, lying, scandal-ridden, slept-with-his-campaign-manager's-wife, I have to listen to him being inaccurate. Only 3 democrats on the committee (out of the 13) voted down the Schumer public option amendment. And they were Max Baucus (Montana), Conrad (North Dakota), Lincoln (Arkansas). Notice that the three states mentioned may not reflect "all of america". 65 percent of all americans prefer the public option ! Scumbag !

As Gail Collins pointed out in this column, several weeks ago, "..Nothing is going to happen on health care without the approval of Baucus, whose vast authority stems from the fact that he speaks for both the Senate Finance Committee and a state that contains three-tenths of one percent of the country’s population.." Baucus - jerk ! The insurance lobbies know who to target. Target someone who represents an inconsequential electorate, but has a lot of power.

Via Agra to Afghanistan? ..

2009-09-21T12:38:00.000-07:00

Afghanistan is going to be the waterloo of Obama and the USA. Another "secret" memo from General MacChrystal warns that unless more troops are sent (boots on the ground), this war will be a failure. That is exactly how the quicksand sucks you in my friend. It starts with the boots.. Being in the White House and feeling the compulsion to show some success domestically and in foreign affairs, the young President may have chosen the wrong war to focus his efforts on. The object of this blog, however, is to share with you a column my friend AK has sent me.

A friend of mine sent me this column. Quite stunning .. He writes very eloquently. Starting with the story that the Allied forces are starting to bribe old patriarchs and tribal lords who control fiefdoms with Viagra. And from that on, he writes about the sheer lack of purpose, and the potential long-term lacunae of waging a war in a region few understand or can comprehend ..
Here's an excerpt,

"Failure in Afghanistan does not just represent a particular setback in a single war but the final unravelling of a grand narrative – the war on terror. These hostilities against an abstract noun were used not only to fight abroad but also to repress at home. In Britain the war on terror has not only curtailed our civil liberties but poisoned our racial discourse. Militarily, strategically, politically and diplomatically it has been an abject failure on its own terms. As a means of combating Islamism, facilitating democracy in the Middle East, integrating Muslims into the west and fighting terrorism it has proved not only ineffective but counterproductive. True, they have executed Saddam Hussein and toppled the Taliban (for now). But that is precious little to show for eight years of blood and treasure on this scale."

Another gruesome excerpt,
"And the innocent keep dying. Following the Nato air strike in Kunduz 10 days ago, bereaved civilians formed a line so that they might receive a charred corpse to call their own. "A man comes and says 'I lost my brother and cousin', so we gave him two bodies," said Omar Khan. "Another says I lost five relatives, so we gave him five bodies to take home and bury. When we had run out of bodies we started giving them limbs, legs, arms, torsos." Only five families left empty-handed."

America has stepped into the quicksand of Afghanistan. Instead of extracting itself from the succulent forces, Obama (afraid of being called "chicken"), is engaging himself more into this quagmire. I hope Afghanistan is not to Obama what Vietnam was to Johnson.

another South Carolina affair ...

2009-09-20T06:20:00.000-07:00

NYT reports that John Edwards is soon going to admit that he is the father of Rielle 'what-was-he-thinking' Hunter's child.. What makes it worse is that John's wife (I have met John at the International terminal in RDU) is so classy, beautiful, educated, articulate and someone who has fought off cancer (so far). NYT further reports that John had pleaded with an aide Andrew Young to falsely admit that he was the father of Hunter's child. This is wrong in so many ways. These secrets, of course, never really remain secrets forever, and finally, Andrew Young, has spilled the beans, ".. Mr. Young says that he assisted the affair by setting up private meetings between Mr. Edwards and Ms. Hunter. He wrote that Mr. Edwards once calmed an anxious Ms. Hunter by promising her that after his wife died, he would marry her in a rooftop ceremony in New York with an appearance by the Dave Matthews Band..."

John, you are disgusting, and to think that I supported you from early on ..

Stay motivated ..

2009-09-08T20:17:00.000-07:00

On health care reform let's get

Fired Up !
Ready to Go !

Change we can believe in ..

2009-09-08T19:21:00.000-07:00

I am waiting to hear what my President is going to say tomorrow to the joint session of Congress, and you can bet on me tuning in to watch. But here is my little piece before then ..

"There can be no health care reform without a public option" (paraphrasing Dr Howard Dean, and I agree).

The only way I can go without a public option, is, if the legislation creates a Health Insurance regulator who can negotiate insurance premiums on behalf of the citizen, set ceilings, caps on insurance premiums, and be a consumer advocate on what insurance companies can or cannot include coverage for (basically, no denials for any conditions. All pre-existing conditions starting from "birth" should be included).

Read the legislation being discussed in the Senate Finance Committee, Senate HELP Committee and the House of Representatives

The banks are at it again ..

2009-09-06T09:13:00.000-07:00

Just after they were given gobs and gobs of money and bailed out - the banks are contemplating yet another scheme and yet another bundled securitization - this time of insurance policies..

Check this -
"The bankers plan to buy “life settlements,” life insurance policies that ill and elderly people sell for cash — $400,000 for a $1 million policy, say, depending on the life expectancy of the insured person. Then they plan to “securitize” these policies, in Wall Street jargon, by packaging hundreds or thousands together into bonds. They will then resell those bonds to investors, like big pension funds, who will receive the payouts when people with the insurance die."

And it gets better -
"The earlier the policyholder dies, the bigger the return — though if people live longer than expected, investors could get poor returns or even lose money."

The earlier the policyholder dies - will in some weird Tom Clancy-esque scenario banks will start funding terrorist attacks to cause people to die early? Is that really that far out of the realm, after all the arabs own Citi..

You gotta love it ! Only in the US of A

the Public option...

2009-09-05T13:29:00.000-07:00

The re"public"ans are making the public option more of a pubic option.. And this has been an orchestrated war launched with much money and organization by well-funded insurance companies, their lobbyists, and the giant media companies that they have at their beck and call. It pains me that Obama and his administration are either capitulating to these lobbyists or one begs the questions, have they also been bought off?

This blogger writes with much disappointment and passion when he says, " "The far right is doing that again, quite predictably. And Obama is as crappy a vison-free, weak centrist and corporate shill as Clinton ever was. Let them tear him apart. I'm done with these assholes."

The infotainment media, comprised of the 3 stooges (CBS, ABC, NBC) and the itinerant CNN and Fox are veritable shills for whoever will pay the highest bid, and in effect have created an echo chamber. Obama won the election by being able to get around them using the grass-roots networks, internet and MeetUps. For them to not use it now again to bring forth the true message is either incompetent or shows that they have been already bought off.

The public option is essential to any health care reform. I will be watching next week President Obama when you address the joint session of congress - and if you indicate anywhere that you will compromise on that, then you can KISS my vote goodbye come 2012.

Where is Rahm Emanuel and the famed fish wrapped in a newspaper? If you can't get this passed with a democratic majority in Congress and Senate, then you deserve no respect. The republicans could shove wars down our throat without intelligence, and you can't get this done ! Shame on You !

Choices

2009-09-05T13:12:00.000-07:00

I have heard Terence Blanchard do a lecture-demonstration about 15 years ago in Chapel Hill. He truly is a artist and a professor with the way he explains things. He has a new project coming on now, called Choices. Here is Terence TV:

bye bye.. thopda-book

2009-09-03T19:52:00.000-07:00

ok, its official, i have left fb. when u want to leave it asks you, why you want to leave - i didn't bother leaving a trail there - but here it is - fb has suddenly become so lame (maybe it always was) .. but i have been feeling ambivalent for sometime. its like sitting at a bar, waiting for something interesting to come along or happen .. and finally going, screw it, i'd be better off going home to sleep or read.
so time saved not being on fb will be hopefully spent more in reading and writing ! and running, sleeping, listening to music, playing with the offsprings !
bye thopda-book !

Senator Ted Kennedy passes on..

2009-08-30T08:25:00.000-07:00

The passing of a lion ..

I am saddened to hear the loss of a man who spent most of his life fighting for the common man. Having endured a life with many tragedies, and sorrows, he did not give in or give up and came to work every day trying to make better the life of the common man. Be it, health care, civil rights, education or the minimum wage.
Here lies a true American hero !

For more pictures of a remarkable legacy, visit this gallery.

For President Obama's eulogy, check here.

California dreamin..

2009-07-21T17:01:00.001-07:00

The California budget negotiations are complete .. and as usual the people got screwed. I like what this blogger says, "

If you don’t care whether children get health care, whether the elderly, blind and disabled die in their homes, whether prisoners rot in modified Public Storage units, whether students get educated… you have a very good chance of getting a budget that reflects that.”

There is more than something rotten in the state of California ..

Sotomayor

2009-07-14T18:31:00.000-07:00

The irony ..

When Sonia Sotomayor said, her judicial philosophy is "fidelity to the law", the Republicans asked in unison, "what do you mean by fidelity?"

It was not lost on me that, the irony that is, when Jeff Sessions (R-Alabama) wants to tell the Puerto Rican first-generation American, how she should guard from letting prejudice cloud her judgement.

And then, Lindsay Graham (R- SC), was lecturing Sotomayor that, if he were to say to the people of South Carolina, that he was a better senator because he was a caucasian, that they would have his head ! They would have his head fitted for the prized hood, they would !

Republican party, the old Dixie-crat party, the party of Falwell, Thurmond, Helms, etc etc wants to lecture Sonia Sotomayor on race and prejudice.. Maybe Palin will lecture us next on the benefits of a good education (the woman who went to 4 colleges in 5 years to get 1 degree).

Bunch of waahoos ... get a fricking life !

happy father's day

2009-06-21T19:23:00.000-07:00

I had a great father's day weekend - got a new wrist-watch (just in time too!), and yesterday went to a movie with my daughter. This morning started off with me going over the Shelter Food Kitchen to volunteer - washed and chopped vegetables, stirred the cauldron of soup. This was followed by some late breakfast at a le pain de quotidien (delicious Peruvian organic coffee). We took the kids to the swimming pool after that, and here I am watching some telly and working at my blog.

I am re-posting my poetry ..

prattle

first
'twas the rattle
that presaged
what came after
peals
of laughter
and joy - this
beautiful boy
given to fits
o' tantrum
takes away
the humdrum
and the clutter, this
musical box
of chatter
and his sister
angelic
yet caustic
quick
comeback
cuts no slack
artist, musician
danseuse, and
my muse
is this heaven?

Ustad Ali Akbar Khan passed away at 87 - Tribute

2009-06-20T10:53:00.000-07:00

Ustad Ali Akbar Khan ji passed away today. He was 87.

Khansaheb was born April 14, 1922, in Shivpur, East Bengal (now Bangladesh). He began playing the sarod -- a 25-stringed instrument that is similar to the Middle Eastern oud -- and other instruments as a young boy. His father was Ustad Allauddin Khan, widely considered the greatest figure in north Indian music in the 20th century.
He famously used to say, "If you practice playing Sarod for 10 years, you may start to please yourself. If you practice for 20 years, you may please an audience. If you practice for 30 years, you may even please your Guru (teacher). If you practice for 40 years, you may truly please yourself - and maybe even God".
Ustadji, God is enjoying your music now.

Are Republicans more manly..?

2009-06-17T19:41:00.000-07:00

Ok, the latest news is that Senator Ensign (R-Nevada) was having an affair with a married woman, and then outed the couple when the husband of the woman allegedly came to collect.. I thought Republicans liked pay-go !! This, of course, comes after news about Sen. Larry David (R- Minnesota), and David Vitter (R-Louisiana). Let's not forget that the current mouthpiece of the R party is none other than Newt Gingrich who divorced his wife while she was on her death bed fighting cancer, because he wanted to hook up with his paramour. Compassionate conservativism, you gotta love it.
All we have is Billy-boy Clinton. Now, I know why the republicans are constantly bringing up Pelosi and her San Francisco values. She stayed home and raised five children before launching into her political career.

ponderings on current events..

2009-05-29T20:10:00.001-07:00

velupillai prabhakaran - while i had been following the advances (or incursions - it's all perspective) made by the sri lankan army into the tamil stronghold, thanks to a gleeful sinhala colleague, the news of the capture and death of prabhakaran was a shock certainly. last week or so the telly has been all about the refugee camps in lanka where thousands of displaced tamils are staying, very sad and tragic spectacle. there was, however, very little coverage all this time about the issues. the TV is interested in you only if something catastrophic happens not one minute before - of course the tragic plight of the displaced tamils has been now displaced on TV by the Sotomayor nomination, North Korean missile, Mahmoud Abbas' visit to the WH, and Hillary's speech on 'no settlements, outposts, camps etc..' - a categorical rejection of israel's, or specifically Likud's, position on expansion of settlements.
so much humanity, and so much accompanying tragedy - all the time - too much to absorb. no wonder it is said that we are de-sensitized.

rummaging
through piles
and ramshackles
and debris
stealing
pieces of
humanity,
freedom, and liberty.
scornful,
not the least bit
mournful
uncaring,
matter-of-fact,
jus' doin-me-job
does
this storm
tear through
leaving
tears though
unrepentant,
unequivocal,
such is
life as it is.
so
pick up
your chips
and start the
game
all over.

gangs of new york

2009-05-29T19:35:00.000-07:00

just finished watching the movie 'gangs of new york' (director Scorcese) which focused on the riots of 1863 and the Irish immigration of that time in the neighbourhood of Five Points in New York city. The movie is a few years old, and very violent..quite gruesome.

House of Cards..

2009-05-28T16:22:00.000-07:00

After waiting for weeks, I finally got a copy of Bill Cohan's 'House of Cards' from the library .. can't wait to get into it ...

Pakistan .. ticking ...?

2009-05-28T16:09:00.000-07:00

The recent PBS Frontline show on the seemingly growing influence of Taliban in Pakistan was quite shocking to say the least. They seem to have decided that since the Pakistani government (or whatever that is) is not going to openly (or even covertly) help them, why not use the existing networks and infrastructure to make an example out of Pakistan. It is likely that the Taliban scores victories in local elections, or even get into power by coup. Quite alarming ...

Sonia Sotomayor

2009-05-26T18:22:00.000-07:00

Oh.. many have spoken, and many more will over the next few weeks. But I do want to state on record here that her biography is compelling. Of course, I am hoping that those, in Obama's staff, who have vetted her candidacy have done a thorough job, but from what I have read so far it does not seem like a particularly extraordinary or high-profile. On the other hand, of the few cases that have made the mainstream press her opinions seem populist, so Obama may have selected what he was looking for - one who is sympathetic, and has the experience that reflects the struggles of the common person ! A kid who grew up in the projects in Bronx done good! After the nomination and confirmation of Eric Holder, this is the second New Yorker done good at a high profile position in Obama administration!

rahulla-bulla of an election ..

2009-05-25T15:54:00.000-07:00

The Indian elections are over.. and they do it in style, don't they? 420 million people over a period of several weeks across a large peninsular mass elected their next government! While Narendra Modi's party had tyre marks on it ( haha!), the Congress party scored a convincing victory. Now what they will do with this 'political capital' (as W would call it!) is yet to be known. On the day the election results were declared, I was celebrating the fact that the Indian electrorate did not serve up one of those schizoid multi-party coalition results that they are reputed to do! There is much discussion that India has not succumbed to the nationalist manifesto of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). I think this has less to do with that, than the fact that the BJP does not have the credentials to guide the Indian ship through such economic icebergs. Much has been made about the fact that Rahul Gandhi, the (I like this word) scion of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty launched a massive grass-roots campaign and is in large measure responsible for this victory. That is probably true. The congress party, in Rahul, represents a new 'potential'. This brings me back to my original point, that, for them to stay relevant, they better not while away this opportunity, with petty bribery scandals, and poor governance. I am still bothered that the average age of the Prime Minister's cabinet is 64. What happened to the young and vibrant Indian National Congress? Rahul better remember that if his party screws this one up, they will be sent packing, and instead of Rahul, Modi will be the next PM (come 2014).

economic ramblings ... bank stress tests..

2009-05-05T20:25:00.000-07:00

..if you have been waiting to find out when the stress test results come out, don't hold your breath.. tim the G-man is not going to tell you. because if he does, it will become a self-fulfilling prophecy.. the guess is that citigroup and bofA are the ones who are in trouble. the latest ultimatum to these banks from the administration is, "you have to secure private capital".. no more sugar-daddy.
.. i am still reserving my excitement on the much-touted economic recovery underway.. there is still talk of the multi-million foreclosures that might happen still ... and if the 2 banks truly 'fail' that situation is only bound to get tighter... so watch this. don't uncork the champagne bottles yet..

sunday - 'daddy-son' day

2009-05-03T19:56:00.000-07:00

..instead of watching TV, first thing in the morning, my little boy (3 yrs old) and I decided to go out and check out a museum. we got to the nearest metro station and parked our toyotamobile (2 miles away) and got on the metro.
raining as hard as it was, we got off at the smithsonian ..and sprinted into the air and space museum. as soon as we walked into the museum, the little guy goes "Wow!" That was it, I thought .. well worth the trip. We spent the next 45 minutes or so, checking out the planes, the Orville and Wilbur exhibit, and the space.. they have a nice exhibit of the inside of a plane with the pilot controls clearly visible..
after we were done at the air and space .. we went to the hirschhorn gallery right next door. there is a prominent spider exhibit (louise bourgeois' "Maman").. after another half hour or a little over, we called it a day, to head home for lunch...
nice daddy-son day !

..baby got a gun ..

2009-04-13T19:04:00.000-07:00

..ok, it's all I have been thinking about most of this first quarter - it's more like I am waiting to see what's going to happen next, even as I am absorbing all this news about bail-outs, job cuts and layoffs. The 60 minutes story this past Sunday (yea, in between the Symbicort and Cialis commercials) was about how Virginians (and other hicks who can drive to Virginia) are stocking up on guns expecting 'chaos' resulting from this economic downturn. No money for rent, but baby got a gun !
.. i just returned from a trip to the big apple, where I was staying not far from an empty Citi Smith Barney building. There is a strange melancholy about the city, like a hangover from a party - a party that has resulted in many arrests. Rents are falling in Manhattan like gravity found new.
.. and then there is the other part of new york, i found a revived, pleasant, artistic alcove in brooklyn far away from the greed and rat race. Re-settled Former East-Villagers who were priced out by the wunderkinds of wall street. But i wonder if this economic storm will affect this borough, for sludge always travels downstream - for now, brooklynites, keep painting, writing poetry, and strumming your guitars.
..

Israel-Gaza version 2008-09

2009-01-02T07:22:00.000-08:00

I am either imagining this or having a strange sense of deja vu. This would seem to be not the first time that during a transition in the US administration, Israel decides to "finish off" the job before the new administration takes office. Of course, I don't know why they would be worried about the new government. Hillary Clinton is very friendly to Israeli aspirations or to state it alternatively, very sympathetic to its concerns. The W man is beyond caring. He is looking wistfully at pictures on his desk as he packs up his boxes. There are apparently parties planned in the Blair House till Jan 15, 2009. So clearly, he has to be thinking about those, working on seating charts etc.

What does this latest version of blood shedding accomplish for Israel, I can't say. That America is silent, and is allowing the killing of scores of civilians is very depressing !

Madoff - Made Off with their money !

2008-12-18T11:31:00.000-08:00

I just finished reading this NYT piece about a lot of rich people losing money with Madoff. While it is very sad that many charities have lost money and therefore a lot of the poor and underprivileged will not get the help they need, I felt a sense of schaudenfreude that some of these landlords and overlords lost their money !!
Tell me you don't share that feeling when you read this line,

Indeed, at an industry fund-raiser at the Grand Hyatt hotel in Manhattan last weekend, much of the chatter over sushi and crudités was about money feared lost with Mr. Madoff, according to people who attended. And a Manhattan psychotherapist who counsels real estate leaders and bankers said most of the patients he has seen this week have close friends and relatives who lost money with Mr. Madoff.

What next..?

2008-11-30T20:05:00.000-08:00

Dear Dr Manmohan Singh:

I hope you have the best counsel available to you from India at this critical juncture, and that you are in your wisdom listening and parsing the variety of ideas. I hope any idea that you choose to implement is a multi-pronged approach that uses diplomacy and an act of force.

Any act of force must be preceded by a careful sifting of data that identifies precise targets where the terrorists are hiding including the headquarters of organizations like LeT. Recruit, if you need, the help of the Mossad, and with surgical precision attack those centers. After an attack like India has just experienced, there is a finite amount of time where you get complete carte-blanche, and you must use this wisely and demonstrate your determination that you will not allow this to happen again.

By working with Israel, and the US/Brits, you will be able to minimize the diplomatic problems at the UN, and thus be able to act more freely to get your job done. It would help to send a secret envoy to China, and clearly advise them that you are acting in self-defense, and that China should not even remotely consider getting involved in this. Better still, your envoy should let it be known that China's looking the other way while you are setting the house in order will be "remembered" in future, when other geopolitical events come to play.

Isolate Pakistan. Work closely with Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan and offer their government help in combating the terrorist/Taliban/al-qaeda nexus. Mr. Karzai may not be averse to an Indian "base of operations" near the Eastern provinces of Afghanistan. Recruit the help of Iran, with whom India already has a trade deal for natural gas. Iranian majority are Shiites, and are no more fond of the Sunni terrorists than we are.

Inside India: Do not tolerate communal riots. We do not want another Gujarat in our hands. But, unabashadely, let the Islamic Imams know that the Indian RAW will be watching them and their flock carefully for external infiltration, and that they better cooperate. In reciprocation, your RAW and CBI should treat the Muslims with respect. Indian Muslims are our brothers just as much as anyone else. What we are looking for are external nefarious elements that are slipping into the country under the radar.

Act swiftly, and without hesitation. Pakistan will again try to bring up Kashmir etc. Do not let that distract you. Clearly state to the US and Brits that they do not internationalize what is a blatant act of War on the sovereign state of India.

Dr. Singh, make us proud, we place our trust in your hands. But we will not wait for long. This time, we shall show them - you don't mess with Mumbai !

Pakistan likely had a hand in this ..

2008-11-30T20:02:00.000-08:00

The latest news following interrogation following the capture of one of the terrorists reveals a link to Pakistan. "There were 24 of us who took one-year training in camps organised by Laskar-e-Taiba (LeT) at Mansera and Muzzarafabad in Punjab province of Pakistan. Ten of us were later handpicked for the Mumbai operation,'' said Ajmal Amir Kasab during interrogations.
Kasab's specific mission was to target the twin towers of India's economic success, namely, the Taj and Oberoi. This was for all purposes to replicate a 9/11, this time on India.
Enough is Enough ! We have to do something !

Bombs away in Bombay ...

2008-11-29T11:47:00.000-08:00

I was born in Bombay and spent 13 years of my life there and which is still home, in that, my heart lies in there somewhere. Be it, the spicy bread pakoras sold by street hawkers, or the wistful architecture that reminded you of a city that was Indian yet British yet Indian. Bombay is unforgiving, for all my sentimentality in remembering it.The city does not really have the time to dwell on itself or us romantics, and would likely show me an out-stretched digit and keep walking, or running. Bombay is a living paradox, it shows how wealth can be right next to pure poverty and squalor and not feel a damn thing about it. The poor slumdog does not grudge the rich "seth", if anything, has a mild admiration for him and looks to him as an inspiration to better his own life. There is nothing catholic or guilt-ridden about this city. "If you can make it here..." goes the saying about New York, but could have been written about Bombay just as well.
Suketu Mehta (Maximum City) has a column about his (and mine) erstwhile city. In reading it, I was quite shocked by Amitabh Bachan's revelation in the aftermath of the bombing earlier this week. Really? Is that what we need, at this juncture, Mr. Tough guy?
I am not asking that we all hug, sing kumbayah, and brush this one under the carpet, but should we all be hiding a revolver under our pillows Mr Karorepati?
Look, the Indian government, opportunists like Mr.Narendra Modi notwithstanding, should deal with this in a broad-based and with clear determination. For example, it should take this opportunity to work closely with Mr. Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan, the US, Israeli and British authorities to identify the precise antecedence of this particular violent act in the Western provinces of Pakistan and either with or without the help of the Pakistani government go in and take out a chunk of that infrastructure. Enough dilly-dallying. Use the CBI, Mossad, CIA and MI-5 to go take out the terrorist centers, with minimal collateral damage as possible.

South is Out !

2008-11-11T06:42:00.000-08:00

A nice article in NYT ..

Excerpt:

"One reason for that is that the South is no longer a solid voting bloc. Along the Atlantic Coast, parts of the "suburban South," notably Virginia and North Carolina, made history last week in breaking from their Confederate past and supporting Mr. Obama. Those states have experienced an influx of better educated and more prosperous voters in recent years, pointing them in a different political direction than states farther west, like Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi, and Appalachian sections of Kentucky and Tennessee.
Southern counties that voted more heavily Republican this year than in 2004 tended to be poorer, less educated and whiter, a statistical analysis by The New York Times shows. Mr. Obama won in only 44 counties in the Appalachian belt, a stretch of 410 counties that runs from New York to Mississippi. Many of those counties, rural and isolated, have been less exposed to the diversity, educational achievement and economic progress experienced by more prosperous areas."

Whew ! its good to have escaped being called a "redneck state" by all of 13,000 votes.

Taking stock ..of the Repudiated Party

2008-11-06T18:40:00.000-08:00

It has taken me a day to still understand what just happened. I'll be honest, it isn't like I didn't expect Obama to win. I felt, as well all did, that the Republican party is cooked this year. But the margin 364 electoral college votes (and counting)is a mandate. When W won in 2004 (and it hurts me to write those words), he claimed that he got a mandate, and "some political capital and I intend to use it". And he barely got over the 270 vote required majority. And here a historical (sorry, I won't use it again!)candidate with a record voter turnout and margin, says humbly, "I need your help".

That in itself says the attitude. The Republican party henceforth to be called, the Repudiated party, because it has lost its way. The truth is after 1964, when LBJ lost the Dixiecrats (the Storm Thurmond people), that crowd moved en masse to the Republican party as a protest. And over time, that segment became the head of the Republican party and began to dictate the the agenda. The Rove-Bush cabal just made that extreme. So from Republican party, it had become the Redneck party. It was evident to anyone that turned the TV on, that McCain's rallies looked pasty-white, while Obama's rallies had varying shades of hue.

While Rove-Bush cabal won (barely!) elections by offering fear not hope, it didn't help that these past few years, their worst representative government was not only dishonest, but truly incompetent.

Some of these southern republicans or their spin-meisters are smarting from this severe defeat, and want to dig their heels in (for example, Laura Ingraham)that think the party needs to go back even stronger to the values agenda.

These next four or eight years, the republicans should spend some time to rebuild their goals and agenda. If that means that there needs to be a split in the party, the midwest-northern half, and the southern republican party then that's what should happen. From what this shows, they have begun to think ..

A dream realized..?

2008-11-04T06:30:00.000-08:00

I am as confident as I have ever been that Barack Obama will be our next President, and will in all earnest help us all to put things back to some sense and order. Recently an old black woman was interviewed on NPR and she said the following, "
Rosa Sat
so Martin could Walk
Martin walked
so Obama could Run
Obama ran
so our children could Fly

I have been thinking a lot about a speech Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave on April 3rd, 1968, the day before he was assassinated - referred to as the "Mountain top speech". Every time I see it, I get a lump in my throat ..

If all goes well, America will have turned a corner today!

Knocked on doors ..

2008-11-01T16:59:00.000-07:00

Apex, NC - Obama Campaign Office: That's where I spent my morning till 2 pm today. I knocked on doors today .. The first canvassing packet had the addressess and details of 64 registered voters, it was an apartment complex. Lots of "un-affiliated", a few democrats and some republicans (particularly one that shooeed us away as they saw our badges). My campagin co-worker was Ronnie (originally from Israel, and a working professional in the area) and we climbed up and down three flights of stairs 10 times and knocked on doors .. Several apartments, no answer. As we were walking out of one of the apartment units, we saw that a couple of female Jehovah witnesses were also knocking on doors. I engaged the young black woman, and asked her if she had registered to vote and if we could help her find the nearest precinct etc. She came back with some crazy stuff. That they don't ever vote, they don't think governments run the country, God does .. Oh man.. some weird stuff. Anyway, we made some quality contacts too. One guy, a 45-yr old black man, was polite to us when we knocked on the door. And it looked like he was going to go to the mall and early vote because of our suggestion. He was worried that he didn't have a voter registration card. I assured him that he was in the system, that all he had to do was show up with a picture ID and he can vote. That is the purpose of door-to-door canvassing. Inform, Inspire and Encourage.

Ronnie drove us back to the campaign office and we handed the 1st packet, and picked up a second packet with 41 voters. I was keen to get a sub-division of single family homes. This time, again, we walked quite a bit, knocked on many doors. Lots of Obama-friendly homes. One McCainer. He was trying to engage us, we thanked him politely, and moved on. One home that we knocked in an older woman answered the door. My sheet said that there should have been a 24 yr-old woman lived there, who had registered as a democrat. The older woman told us, no, that's a mistake, and that's my daughter and we are both voting for McCain! We met a nice family out for a walk who had already voted for Obama, and asked if they could help give people rides. We asked them to go down to the campaign office and register as a volunteer. All in all, good day, Gobama!

Injecting Capital .. Where does it go next?

2008-10-25T07:46:00.000-07:00

Very eye-opening article from Joe Nocera at NYT. The money that is being given to the banks by the Treasury ($250B has been disbursed until now, $500B of "wealth to be still spread around" to rich banks!).
When asked what they will do with the $25B recently given to Chase (by an employee at an employee conference), Jamie Dimon, the shameless socialist-capitalist, says,
“Twenty-five billion dollars is obviously going to help the folks who are struggling more than Chase,” he began. “What we do think it will help us do is perhaps be a little bit more active on the acquisition side or opportunistic side for some banks who are still struggling. And I would not assume that we are done on the acquisition side just because of the Washington Mutual and Bear Stearns mergers. I think there are going to be some great opportunities for us to grow in this environment, and I think we have an opportunity to use that $25 billion in that way and obviously depending on whether recession turns into depression or what happens in the future, you know, we have that as a backstop.”
That is scandalous. Instead of the money going to Main Street, it is only going to fatten up this already fat-cat.
This is the Republican version of Socialism ! Take everybody's wealth and spread it around a small group of people !!

Greenspan mea culpa

2008-10-23T11:40:00.000-07:00

NYT reports today that Alan Greenspan in his briefing to the House, concedes error in his ways..

"..But in a tense exchange with Representative Henry A. Waxman, the California Democrat who is chairman of the committee, Mr. Greenspan conceded a more serious flaw in his own philosophy that unfettered free markets sit at the root of a superior economy.

“I made a mistake in presuming that the self-interests of organizations, specifically banks and others, were such as that they were best capable of protecting their own shareholders and their equity in the firms,” Mr. Greenspan said.

Referring to his free-market ideology, Mr. Greenspan added: “I have found a flaw. I don’t know how significant or permanent it is. But I have been very distressed by that fact.”

Mr. Waxman pressed the former Fed chair to clarify his words. “In other words, you found that your view of the world, your ideology, was not right, it was not working,” Mr. Waxman said.

“Absolutely, precisely,” Mr. Greenspan replied. “You know, that’s precisely the reason I was shocked, because I have been going for 40 years or more with very considerable evidence that it was working exceptionally well.”

The oversight committee is holding hearings to determine what gaps in the regulatory structure abetted the crisis that has roiled the world’s financial markets.

Mr. Greenspan appeared alongside Christopher Cox, the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, and John W. Snow, who served as secretary of the Treasury early in the Bush administration.

In his prepared remarks, Mr. Greenspan said he was in “a state of shocked disbelief” about the breakdown in the ability of banks to regulate themselves. He also warned about the economic consequences of the crisis, saying that he “cannot see how we will avoid a significant rise in layoffs and unemployment.” Consumer spending will decline, too, he said, adding that a stabilization of home prices would be necessary to bring the crisis to its end..."

B and O

2008-10-23T06:33:00.000-07:00

I stopped by at a Bang and Olufsen store yesterday. Granted, I have walked by this store many a time only to find it closed, because I was always there after the store closing time. So I was glad to get in yesterday. I checked out one of the speakers, I thought it was Ok, but not worth that much ... $5,200 for a 6-disc CD player ..
Oh boy, they are ridiculously expensive ! $17,000 for a plasma TV (and that is a SALE price!).. B and O should stand for Braggadacious and Obscene.

Powell's more than casual endorsement ..

2008-10-19T12:04:00.000-07:00

Gen. Colin Powell is redeeming himself (from his unfortunate UN speech over 5 years ago).

Early Voting in NC..

2008-10-18T09:27:00.000-07:00

Turn out at the voting places in NC metropolitan areas was quite robust from what I learnt by speaking to the volunteers there. And this is early voting still, a good two weeks before the actual polling day. This bodes well. But like I said, don't celebrate yet. Go Vote !! I got mine in !

a new book announcement ..

2008-10-17T10:33:00.001-07:00

a good friend of mine has just published his first book, Napoleon in Shanghai. Let me know what you think !

Where was this guy in the debate last night?

2008-10-17T07:37:00.000-07:00

McCain at the Alfred E Smith Memorial Foundation speech ..

Here's Obama:

Plumbing out of this clog .. where have I seen this before?

2008-10-17T05:54:00.000-07:00

This is getting to be a bad, and recurrent nightmare. Another Republican administration, another raiding of the treasury with gigantic tax cuts, and wars, and we are in yet another recession, economic slow down whatever! I am really getting tired of it. And to think that these bubbas don't understand this and keep voting for these economy-challenged and morally-bankrupt gasbags. Americans have become like domestic abuse victims. Just because the Republicans promise to not hit them again (in the pocket!), they let them come back to power. So here, you read this here - this time it seems very clear that the Democrats will win the White House and likely the two houses of Congress.

But here's my fear, in spite of having a majority in both houses and a President from their party, the Democrats will lack the spine to make the bold decisions that are needed ! The Blue Dog democrats, (basically, Republicans in Democratic clothes) will create some big stinker, and keep challenging anything useful from being done. And in 2010, the House will lose sitting Democrats, and we will no longer have a clear majority. By 2014, in Obama's second term, the senate will also lose Democratic seats, and we will not have accomplished anything significant in health care, energy, or economic revitalization.

You may think I am being a pessimist. But you can't blame me, for this is a scene that has played before. So here's a challenge democrats, prove me wrong ! and I will eat crow. Prove me wrong when I said, you lack the spine. This is your chance ! Do Good ! Do No Harm ! Pass a sensible healthcare reform package, an environmental plan and a sensible energy initiative. Say what you want about Tom Delay, he and his party accomplished what they set out to do! Bankrupt the country morally and financially!

Oh, BTW, Congratulations on winning the 2008 election season, I guess !! But, before you celebrate GO VOTE!
OBAMA'08 !

Ecomccainically speaking ..

2008-10-09T00:42:00.000-07:00

McCain has been honest about his lack of understanding of the economy. He has stated that he will use Greenspan's book as a reference. As it turns out, it shows that McCain is even more 'out of touch'. Greenspan's messianic faith in the power of 'derivatives' a complex set of financial instruments which even veterans like George Soros and Warren Buffett have confessed to not understanding, and Buffett specifically called them, 5 years ago, as "..financial weapons of mass destruction.." is the topic in NYT today.

As Peter Goodman's article in NYT points out Greenspan declined to heed the warnings. In a stinging rebuke, Goodman documents Greenspan's views on derivatives. For more than a decade, the former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan has fiercely objected whenever derivatives have come under scrutiny in Congress or on Wall Street. “What we have found over the years in the marketplace is that derivatives have been an extraordinarily useful vehicle to transfer risk from those who shouldn’t be taking it to those who are willing to and are capable of doing so,” Mr. Greenspan told the Senate Banking Committee in 2003. “We think it would be a mistake” to more deeply regulate the contracts, he added.

Here is a more current day schizophrenic view that McCain is displaying about the passing of the $700 billion bailout (which ballooned to $850 billion) - Here's Jon Stewart's incisive commentary:

McCain unhinged?..

2008-10-09T00:00:00.000-07:00

Okay, this is getting a little scary. To see a man literally lose his marbles right in front of your eyes. Not only did McCain refer to Sen. Obama as 'that one' during the debate on Oct 7th, he also made the strangest freudian slip at a speech he gave the next day, instead of saying "my fellow citizens' he said 'my fellow prisoners' .. he has become a prisoner of his own bizarre campaign! Where is the ol' maverick straight talker? It's sad to see the scion of Navy royalty disintegrate so publicly ...

mansour travels abroad .. chp.2

2008-10-07T09:29:00.000-07:00

Touch Down

Mansour held onto the arm-rests of the seats tight as the giant metal capsule touched ground. As soon as its wheels landed, the plane growled as it sped with a seeming vengeance for having been denied any more flying time and as if protesting on being forced to land. It was quite scary for the novice traveler who felt as if the aerial projectile until now had become a terrestrial one and was soon speeding to its own climactic end. But that was not to be, and the old plane slowed down, not so gently, and began to turn to get to a pre-determined parking spot in the tarmac of London’s Heathrow airport.

In a few moments, Mansour joined the throng that disembarked, and limped out as he squinted to look for anyone he could ask for help. The young woman who had been sitting behind him in the plane stopped to ask him if he needed any help.
He grinned and said in the most exhausted gasp, “No Angrezi !” And to his amazement, the woman, began speaking in chaste Urdu and introduced herself as Nazneen.
She offered to carry his solitary carry-on bag. He insisted on not parting with the passport pouch which hung from his neck. She also noticed that he was limping, and asked him if he was Ok.
He pointed to his knee and spoke in Urdu, “Beti, this blasted knee. Sitting in that plane for so long has caused the pain to flare”.
She motioned him to sit at a chair while she offered to look at the knee. “Mein doctor hoon, ...

to be continued..

mansour travels abroad .. chp.1-pt.2

2008-10-07T01:54:00.001-07:00

Chapter one continues .. - part 2

And it was this trip to the Holy Land that Irfam had in mind when he told Mansour to be careful as he began planning his trip to America. It was an unexpected series of events that really brought about Mansour’s trip to America in the first place. Having been childless, and with Saira having departed the earth 2 years ago, Mansour would have been content to just continue his modest life in the chawl near Haji Ali in Worli, an ocean front suburb of Bombay.

Mansour gently rubbed his beard as he sipped his tea. “Ya Allah,” he grimaced, this is worse than dish water, he thought. How can they call this tea? He was too afraid to call the aasmane pari (fairy of the sky), who clearly was not very tolerant of this old man. He continued sipping, relishing the warmth of the fluid that touched his parched lips. Saira would often admonish him; he remembered fondly, that he drank his tea too hot. She would say that it would cause third degree burns of his throat. He would laugh at that, and rebuff her pleadings; by calling her “my illiterate sweet begum” and reassuring her that nothing of that sort would happen.

Mansour looked down to see that his tea cup was empty; he had gobbled all of it, this tasteless but warm concoction. With not much of an idea how long his trip still lasted before he would arrive in the “States” he stretched his legs, as best as he could and rested his head on the pillow. Oh, what he wouldn’t give to get one of Saira’s head massages now.

Irfam, as Mansour remembered, would come around in the evenings and often find the old couple relaxing in a cane easy chair, an old-fashioned chaise lounge. Mansour would be sitting all the way back and Saira would be sitting beside him on a stool giving him warm towel presses on the forehead. As soon as she saw Irfam, she would stop, and welcome Bhai jaan, brother, as she would call Irfam while adjusting her head scarf. Irfam would often tease her, saying that she was spoiling Mansour that what would he do, if she had to go away somewhere. “Tauba, tauba, Irfam-bhai. Jaaye mere dushman. Blasphemy, brother, may my enemies die, Where would I go?”

Little did she know that she would go before him? Mansour wiped his eyes, which did not even tear anymore. His eyes would itch a little as if to squeeze out a drop, but nothing would come out of it, certainly not a tear drop. A proud self-made man like Mansour, he never thought anything could get him down. Maybe it was because of this pride, he would often think, that Parwardigar, Almighty, was trying to teach him a lesson. But it was this pride that Saira had found incredibly strong and resolute. They were an odd but loving couple to anyone who watched them. Mansour was the strong, hard- working self made man, while she was always the faithful, dutiful and yet devout Muslim woman. What others saw as pride, she took to be self-assuredness of a man who had traveled the right road.

Mansour’s day dreaming was interrupted by a crackle in the cabin. In an undecipherable language, or maybe it was the speakers, he could not make out what the man was saying to the travelers. He could only make out “landing in 30 minutes”, and that Mansour found very pleasant to his ears. He could only hear out of one ear clearly, the other ear had lost about half its hearing capacity over the years. Living so close to the train tracks, as they did in the modest flat in Bombay, he had been subjected to a constant barrage of loud noises morning, day and night. And it seemed to have gotten worse in the past 4 years. Until the last week of her life, Saira would keep asking her husband to go and get a check up at Dr. Kadam’s clinic in Parel. “Go see him” she would say. “Ruksana’s husband has got a new ear phone, and he can hear a lot better now”. It was like speaking to a deaf ear, because, Mansour paid no heed. He was happy to have lost part of his hearing, he would say, “Less khit-khit, nagging, from you and your friends”.
Suddenly he was distracted again from his reminiscences, as the plane began to descend. He had never felt this sensation before. The last time he found that his stomach was trying to go up to his mouth was when he came down from the 25th floor in World Trade Center at Colaba in Bombay. Ooh, he felt like he was going to throw up his intestines. Mansour held his arm-rests tighter and squeezed them as if to hold on to the terra firma as the world rose under him. He looked around to see the stewardess come toward him. She was pointing to his seat and saying something. But he could not hear anything. He suddenly thought that he had lost hearing in both his ears. He opened his mouth to tell her to speak louder, when an ear-popping sensation filled him with her voice again. “Please straighten your back rest sir,” she said.

This was a different woman from the previous stewardess, and in a gesture of help, she touched a button on his arm-rest and straightened his chair. “Can I get you some water sir? Are you Ok?”

Mansour could not get the words out, but nodded with a grateful smile. She quickly produced a glass of water. She had been carrying them on a tray on her other hand, Mansour noticed.

He could barely utter “Thank you” which came out “Than Jou” from his toothless mouth.

The stewardess rushed back with a small plastic cup with water and stood over Mansour as she urged him to finish it fast so that she could sit down and buckle up for the landing. Mansour gulped down the aliquot of water, which relieved his ears, and wiped off the water tricking from his white beard.

The stewardess plucked the cup from his hand and was a bit sheepish about hurrying him, and then quickly turned to go to her seat.

mansour travels abroad .. chp.1

2008-10-07T01:48:00.000-07:00

Chapter One

Some of his best memories were of sitting by a rainy window, Mansour thought. Pitter patter the rain would come down, occasionally a clap of lightning would light up the sky followed by the resounding “ahem” of the clouds.

Four months in a year it would rain in Bombay. They called it Mumbai these days, but seventy one year old Mansour Ramadaan didn’t know it that way. He called it Bombay and dismissed the ploy of these name changers who were trying to re-write history. These revisionists were denying the 200 year old history of the British colonialists, even while continuing to use the buildings, roads, the roundabouts and the very train systems built by the erstwhile rulers. It was odd he thought, to deny something that you lived in and lived by everyday. That dilemma was not his to be though. He had grown up during the colonial days and therefore not confused or confounded by these modern-day counterfeiters. He would only be a little curious about the little boys and girls that knew this city only as Mumbai but could not explain how the British- made buildings came to be. “Aasman se tapak pada?” as in, fell from the sky? - would be his quizzical refrain.

“What would you like to drink, Sir?” a feminine voice with a quasi- British Indian accent woke him from his day dreams. At first appearing confused, and not knowing where the voice came from, Mansour didn’t answer and looked at the passenger next to him. But the stewardess asked him again, this time with impatient politeness, “Sir would you like a drink?”

Mansour quickly composed himself, as if trying to look good to this ‘fairy’ of the skies, and said with a toothless grin, “I will take some tea with milk and sugar please”. He gently rocked his cap-covered head as he spoke. He had to look down as he peered from above his reading glasses. Mansour had always taken tea with sugar and milk for as long as he could remember. If anything he would complain that Saira, his wife who had departed 2 years ago, made his tea too “thick” he would say. He liked his tea ‘Dilli-style’ thin but ‘kadak’ as in strong. Strong as he liked his tea, it never made sense to him why someone would drink black tea.
“Arrey, black tea is to treat loose-motion, take some milk no?” he would say. It was ironic that what was an age-old recipe had only been recently imported by American companies under the eponym “Chai” Latte. Chai is the Indian word for Tea. But old man Mansour was blissfully unaware of all this. This was after all his first trip so far from India.

He was visiting the “States” - he had been proudly telling his neighbors for weeks. What appeared to be great anticipation was actually a sense of faux bravado; in truth he was quietly dreading this trip. The last time he had gotten on an airplane was when he went to Colombo during the days it was called Ceylon. He had gone there to visit his sister whose husband worked in a tea plantation. For all his idle bragging about going to “States” Mansour’s long-time friend Irfam Hakim was well aware of his childhood friend’s trepidations. Irfam would have a knowing smile, one that was barely visible from the outside, if he happened to be around Mansour whilst he was proudly describing his upcoming trip to America.

Irfam, on the other hand, was a seasoned traveler. He was among the few in his mohalla, or block, to have done the Haj. At only 63 years old, he was considered quite young and fortunate to have earned the name Haji Irfam Hakim. And he was quite aware of it, and in typical humility would never use the prefix so as not to offend anyone else. After all, the only reason he could do the Haj at such a young age, he would say was because of Allah’s incomparable mercy and the entreaties of his young son Ali, who was a successful engineer working in Jeddah in Saudi Arabia. Ali had moved to Saudi Arabia 8 years earlier, and for the past four years he had been asking Abba jaan, as he called his father, to come to Jeddah and do the Haj with him.

to be a son..

2008-10-07T01:45:00.001-07:00

His fat finger
is what I remember
which filled my palm
as I kept up with him
through busy streets
and alleys.

Held onto it, as I did
for dear life
like a climber does a rope
and a blind man
the dog's leash
as he guided me
and dragged me
through
obstacles and potholes

Holding that digit
I knew I couldn't
get lost
He was my boat,
in this Ocean of life
rocking through
tides,
leaky sometimes
unforgiving at times
as he threatened to
throw me overboard

But what a ride it was
And now the ocean
has taken my boat away -
Mere zindagi ki Naav -
I stand in front of that mighty ocean
awed by its power
I am but a single man

the commuter ..

2008-10-07T01:42:00.000-07:00

passing the same landscape
over and over
reliving a past
again and again,
i can't tell the future from
the past
or the present -
hurtling through
paved asphalt
as i do
in a tin can
week after week
nothing changes -
neither the origin
nigh the destination
i wonder the purpose of
life after life.

birth and death, they
all blend
into an oft-beaten
road
with few landmarks,
some strewn hedge hogs
deers
stripped remains of tires.
exits with
ramps of anticipation
that lead
to nowhere
but minor
distractions and
short-stops, that
punctuate
the ne'er-ending
commute.

to be a father..

2008-10-07T01:35:00.000-07:00

prattle

first
'twas the rattle
that presaged
what came after
pealso'
laughter
and joy - this
beautiful boy
given to fitso'
tantrum
takes away
the humdrum
and the clutter, this
musical boxo'
chatter
n' his sister
angelic
yet caustic
quick
comeback
cuts no slack
artist, musician
danseuse, and
my muse

black creek .. chp.1

2008-10-07T01:32:00.000-07:00

Winding the Trail

It was my third lap around the Black Creek trail. There was nothing new to see as I had already walked this stretch over and over, so I could spend my time thinking of other things. These thoughts were often interrupted by someone walking across in the other direction, fat, short, old or tall and athletic. Frequently, a beautiful, nicely chiseled woman would be passing by and I had to be careful not to run into a tree or someone else walking towards me.

Black Creek trail as you probably surmised was a walking trail that traced the path of a creek, nothing about which was black. If anything there was some residual water from a shower earlier in the week and mostly there was brown crud down below. I often wondered if a snake would pop out from somewhere near the wilderness around the creek. The trail was an asphalt road that was shared by walkers, joggers, stroller pushing moms, and occasionally bicyclists. The dogs had to be leashed as the sign said but often they were not. They weren’t really menacing, maybe a little boisterous and as they chased each other could easily run into a person and knock them down. I steered clear away from them. I never took to the slobber of an overly friendly canine. I was not, as my friend Anne pointed, out a ‘dog person’.

I frankly felt people spent too much time and money on their animals. In a society where half the marriages couldn’t keep the ‘til death do us apart’ promise, people were more attached to their pets than to their human relationships. That was my cynical side emerging as I made the third lap around the big oak tree with a curved nose. I called it the ‘big nose’ oak and it was a landmark that even known among my friends. It often served as a meeting point. Walking around the creek, was mobile meditation for me, and while I quietly and briskly paced with the pounding of the pavement matching my heart beat, it also allowed me time to think about events, and today I was especially occupied with events of the last week.

put on your seatbelts...

2008-10-07T01:26:00.000-07:00

"these are difficult times.." is the oft-repeated sentence from the political survivors of the 2008 season of "The Big White House". With the last two remaining contestants, what remains is how does the jury (the people) vote. The fact that we cannot state it clearly still is a ringing endorsement of the jury!

In the meantime, lets see what's been going on lately .. the $700 billion bailout (which has ballooned to an official $840 billion, and unofficially is thought to go over a trillion) of the banking industry, bailout of the 3 automakers, who have been unable to sell their giant SUVs and other gas-guzzlers, because of the price of gas. Of course, you recall that in the beginning of 2001, Cheney helped introduce a measure where if you were to buy a heavy vehicle (a big SUV, a hummer, big pick-up truck etc- essentially Bush-Cheney voters.) you could essentially take a giant tax deduction. This was done to encourage the consumption of these gas-drinkers, and now treasury is being raided to rescue these irresponsible car makers that perpetuated the obscenity in the first place. $25 billion was the amount granted to them just earlier this month.

On a personal note, a lot of my friends are losing jobs. They have no idea where they are going next. Guys who used to make nearly $200,000 are looking for jobs that pay $85,000... or less.you bet, " these are difficult times.." and what are you going to do about it?