I write this as the UN is voting on the matter of establishing the no-fly zone over parts of Libya where the crazy leader Gadhafi (Gadha in Hindi means ass) is bombing his own citizens
India is "Abstaining" from voting on this resolution. The reason is obvious for those familiar with the matter -- that India follows the rule of "Pancha sheel" ordained by Gandhi (correction welcome), which has five clauses one of them being non-interference.
Now, how is that helping us really? It is in India's interest if democracy blooms in this world. And also, what about the principle of "non-violence"? Not acting when defenseless people are being slaughtered means supporting violence
It's really time we got got out of Nehru and Gandhi era. And anyway, we have already done so in the corruption front. So why not in a better sense? And while we are at it let us give up the fancy dress competitions in parliament and attend sessions like normal people. Because shirts and pants are now manufactured ingeniously enough (at least as relevant to our age)
Sigh, when will India wake up?
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Breed of sales-persons
There is a movie "Salesman of the year" in Hindi. You might want to catch that in Netflix (it has English subtitles). It is about how a guy builds business through honesty and hard work.
The other day I wandered into Best Buy looking for a capacitor for my TV, and I met this sales guy. I asked him where I might find capacitors, and he said, "Oh you want to repair your TV and avoid buying a new one? Well capacitors are expensive, that's what I have heard. It might be better to go in for a new TV. Capacitors cost something like $200.. I don't know, but that's what someone told me"
Of course capacitors don't cost so much. And I subsequently found them all, for well under $10. And repaired my TV. But that's another story.
The real real is about this Best Buy guy. Just like in the movie above, Best Buy is an old school business that thrives on bullshitting the public and milking them for money. They are not alone, however. I have seen many cheap repair shops in India that do just the very same. In the movie, the Hero thwarts the competition by playing by fairness and honesty. And in this e-age, honesty is more important than ever, because the truth is much nearer your reach.
I subsequently finished watching the movie on my newly repaired TV. Bravo!
The other day I wandered into Best Buy looking for a capacitor for my TV, and I met this sales guy. I asked him where I might find capacitors, and he said, "Oh you want to repair your TV and avoid buying a new one? Well capacitors are expensive, that's what I have heard. It might be better to go in for a new TV. Capacitors cost something like $200.. I don't know, but that's what someone told me"
Of course capacitors don't cost so much. And I subsequently found them all, for well under $10. And repaired my TV. But that's another story.
The real real is about this Best Buy guy. Just like in the movie above, Best Buy is an old school business that thrives on bullshitting the public and milking them for money. They are not alone, however. I have seen many cheap repair shops in India that do just the very same. In the movie, the Hero thwarts the competition by playing by fairness and honesty. And in this e-age, honesty is more important than ever, because the truth is much nearer your reach.
I subsequently finished watching the movie on my newly repaired TV. Bravo!
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Transfering currency
I sometimes wonder how Western Union is surviving. True, it makes money transfer easy and quick. But it robs you in the process, both by fee and by a cut in the exchange rate. Really, they are pathetic! Buck up guys, the rest of the world in catching on. Some day you will fall, and fall hard.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Disaster handling
In recent times we have seen at least 2 disasters. One, the BP oil well blast, and the other the Japanese Nuclear plant after the big earthquakes and tsunami
The oil disaster was 100% man-made, while the Japanese nuke plant was partly both, at least per me. The oil disaster is a well chronicled series of human failures, oversight and bad management and escapism.
When the Japanese PM first announced about the nuke plant, it was in pretty calm terms. Just like when the blast took place in the oil well and BP immediately made the statement that there was no leak. This fact being in memory, I somehow knew I would be hearing more about the Japanese plant as well. And when I did, the news was : people around 3 kilometer radius were being evacuated, about 50,000 of them. The question still remained in mind, however, because the plants were still far from being mended, and the numbers have gone on ahead.
So are the Japanese similarly irresponsible as BP executives? Far from it. Because, imagine if they had hit the panic buttons immediately. What would have ensued was the mass exodus of people from regions near and far. Inevitably, this would have led to chaos and traffic jams and general violence. Instead, the Japanese have managed their disaster in a sensible way, by evacuating the people in the 3 Km radius first, then proceeding to move out more, who were further away, thus before the disaster could reach them (hopefully).
I suspect there will be a lot of lessons that will be drawn from this episode. Well, maybe we needed this disaster, so our species could be better inoculated from the dangers of our new technology in future. When playing "Big Spoiler" what Nature has done is to result in technological advancements. It is true: what doesn't kill us makes us stronger.
The oil disaster was 100% man-made, while the Japanese nuke plant was partly both, at least per me. The oil disaster is a well chronicled series of human failures, oversight and bad management and escapism.
When the Japanese PM first announced about the nuke plant, it was in pretty calm terms. Just like when the blast took place in the oil well and BP immediately made the statement that there was no leak. This fact being in memory, I somehow knew I would be hearing more about the Japanese plant as well. And when I did, the news was : people around 3 kilometer radius were being evacuated, about 50,000 of them. The question still remained in mind, however, because the plants were still far from being mended, and the numbers have gone on ahead.
So are the Japanese similarly irresponsible as BP executives? Far from it. Because, imagine if they had hit the panic buttons immediately. What would have ensued was the mass exodus of people from regions near and far. Inevitably, this would have led to chaos and traffic jams and general violence. Instead, the Japanese have managed their disaster in a sensible way, by evacuating the people in the 3 Km radius first, then proceeding to move out more, who were further away, thus before the disaster could reach them (hopefully).
I suspect there will be a lot of lessons that will be drawn from this episode. Well, maybe we needed this disaster, so our species could be better inoculated from the dangers of our new technology in future. When playing "Big Spoiler" what Nature has done is to result in technological advancements. It is true: what doesn't kill us makes us stronger.
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