I hardly watch the Fox News Channel, but today while browsing channels I ran into Glenn Beck when he was predicting all gloom and doom. Sitting partially hidden behind a huge pile of papers - the new Govt Health care bill, he spoke about how about this new administration was determined to fundamentally change America by building a bigger government, piling up the national debt, promoting socialism and redistribution of wealth, and destroying the dollar. What stood out and caught my attention were the commercials that punctuated the show. All the talk of death, decline and destruction were followed by repeated commercials of companies like Rosland Capital and Goldline telling people how the huge government spending and Wall street bail outs were eroding the dollar and urging them to invest in Gold. Behind them in the parade were companies like Life lock telling people how insecure their identities were and how identity thieves could ruin their lives. Close on their heels were the Home Security companies encouraging viewers to buy their services and save themselves from home invasions.
I do not recollect the commercials that appeared on TV during a program on CNBC last week when Warren Buffet and Bill Gates addressed the students of Columbia Business School. Mr.Buffet, after talking about his $34 Billion investment in Burlington Northern, declared that "You cannot bet against America and hope to win." I am a certain that the optimistic vibes of that program would have been leveraged by commercials of companies like GE (Renewable energy), Vestas (Wind Power)..etc
Isn't it interesting to see how a program's disposition is reflected in the nature of the commercials that it interleaves ?
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Friday, October 9, 2009
President Obama wins the Nobel Peace Prize!!!!
My first reaction was "W H A T ? !!!!!" :-O.
I do admire president Obama for the amazing and challenging life that he has had: born in a middle class family with no political connections, growing up without his father around him, achieving academic excellence and rising to become the first African American president of the USA. His words motivate millions of people around the globe and he talks about fundamentally changing the world.
But is it for motivating people that he won the Nobel ? NO. It said that the prize was for his "extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples." So, does someone get a Nobel for "trying hard" or for "producing results" ?
Mahatma Gandhi never got the Nobel Peace prize, ( All he did was to teach a nation about truth, non-violence, Satyagraha and then take on the mighty British Empire to free India).
Do they give Nobel prizes to scientists for "trying hard" or for "contributing to the knowledge base in their respective fields" ?
I respect the president, but show me the results - "the results" !!!
My first reaction was "W H A T ? !!!!!" :-O.
I do admire president Obama for the amazing and challenging life that he has had: born in a middle class family with no political connections, growing up without his father around him, achieving academic excellence and rising to become the first African American president of the USA. His words motivate millions of people around the globe and he talks about fundamentally changing the world.
But is it for motivating people that he won the Nobel ? NO. It said that the prize was for his "extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples." So, does someone get a Nobel for "trying hard" or for "producing results" ?
Mahatma Gandhi never got the Nobel Peace prize, ( All he did was to teach a nation about truth, non-violence, Satyagraha and then take on the mighty British Empire to free India).
Do they give Nobel prizes to scientists for "trying hard" or for "contributing to the knowledge base in their respective fields" ?
I respect the president, but show me the results - "the results" !!!
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Evolution Versus Intelligent Design.
In this interesting conversation, Richard Dawkins, the celebrated Oxford University Professor and evolutionary biologist takes on Wendy Wright, a noted creationist. You will see that Wendy's concern is not with "accepting" evolution as a fact, but with its repercussions on the society. She fears (and rightly so) that a society based on Darwinian principles will not be based on love, care and mutual respect. But would you let such a fear blind you from the truth? or would you find God's design in evolution and use it to build the society that you dream of ? I am certain that the Catholic church would some day embrace Darwin (remember Galileo ??) and would come to the conclusion that it was God who put evolution to work. :-).
I am not an atheist and have my personal beliefs about God and religion. But I firmly believe that we should ask questions, search for answers and above all show the courage to walk down the path that science throws light on. Some day when we humans (if we haven't destroyed ourselves already) master inter-galactic and inter- dimensional travel, colonize galaxies billions of light years away, overcome death and become immortal, people would laugh at the days when life began on a tiny little planet called "The Earth" which revolved around a small star called "The Sun" and where the "early men" argued over evolution and intelligent design.
In this interesting conversation, Richard Dawkins, the celebrated Oxford University Professor and evolutionary biologist takes on Wendy Wright, a noted creationist. You will see that Wendy's concern is not with "accepting" evolution as a fact, but with its repercussions on the society. She fears (and rightly so) that a society based on Darwinian principles will not be based on love, care and mutual respect. But would you let such a fear blind you from the truth? or would you find God's design in evolution and use it to build the society that you dream of ? I am certain that the Catholic church would some day embrace Darwin (remember Galileo ??) and would come to the conclusion that it was God who put evolution to work. :-).
I am not an atheist and have my personal beliefs about God and religion. But I firmly believe that we should ask questions, search for answers and above all show the courage to walk down the path that science throws light on. Some day when we humans (if we haven't destroyed ourselves already) master inter-galactic and inter- dimensional travel, colonize galaxies billions of light years away, overcome death and become immortal, people would laugh at the days when life began on a tiny little planet called "The Earth" which revolved around a small star called "The Sun" and where the "early men" argued over evolution and intelligent design.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Monday, June 29, 2009
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Back to Gatlinburg, Tennessee.
May 2009, Re-visit
September 2005, My first visit to Gatlinburg.
The spell of the mountains still overcome me. We drove from Gatlinburg to the Ocanauluftee Indian Village through the mountains, stopping several times to capture the breathtaking views of the clouds nesting among the mountains. Four years ago, I wrote "Gatlinburg, Tennessee is a wonderful place. I remember Ruskin Bond saying that mountains have a magical effect on humans. Standing on one of the rocks in this mountain stream and listening earnestly to its sounds, i felt my spirits lifted, a cloud of calm settled on my otherwise turbulent mind. True, mountains have an inimitable charm, an overpowering presence that can blow away all perturbations of the mind and humble any inflated ego."... Still feel the same !
More details in another post.
May 2009, Re-visit
September 2005, My first visit to Gatlinburg.
The spell of the mountains still overcome me. We drove from Gatlinburg to the Ocanauluftee Indian Village through the mountains, stopping several times to capture the breathtaking views of the clouds nesting among the mountains. Four years ago, I wrote "Gatlinburg, Tennessee is a wonderful place. I remember Ruskin Bond saying that mountains have a magical effect on humans. Standing on one of the rocks in this mountain stream and listening earnestly to its sounds, i felt my spirits lifted, a cloud of calm settled on my otherwise turbulent mind. True, mountains have an inimitable charm, an overpowering presence that can blow away all perturbations of the mind and humble any inflated ego."... Still feel the same !
More details in another post.
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Kudos to my Country.
Today, the Congress party swept to a resounding victory in India's national elections, defying expectations as it brushed aside the hindu nationalists, the communists and a legion of small regional parties. I would like to set aside my opinion on what this could mean to the future of India and express my appreciation of how effectively and successfully we have been able to conduct this phased election and choose a government that would now steer the fate of a nation of over a billion people. Those who are aware of the political geography of the subcontinent would be aware of the fact that this nation of a billion people, the largest democracy in the world, has in its neighborhood countries like Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, China, Burma, North Korea and also the Arab world. Preserving and sustaining a vibrant democracy in such a negative environment is an admirable achievement.
Long live democracy, Long live freedom !
The Congress candidate, Shashi Tharoor trumped his nearest rival by close to 100,000 votes in my home constituency. Here are a couple of brilliant speeches by Mr. Tharoor,
CPD Distinguished Speaker Series: Shashi Tharoor - INDIA
Shashi Tharoor: Restoring America's Image in the World
Today, the Congress party swept to a resounding victory in India's national elections, defying expectations as it brushed aside the hindu nationalists, the communists and a legion of small regional parties. I would like to set aside my opinion on what this could mean to the future of India and express my appreciation of how effectively and successfully we have been able to conduct this phased election and choose a government that would now steer the fate of a nation of over a billion people. Those who are aware of the political geography of the subcontinent would be aware of the fact that this nation of a billion people, the largest democracy in the world, has in its neighborhood countries like Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, China, Burma, North Korea and also the Arab world. Preserving and sustaining a vibrant democracy in such a negative environment is an admirable achievement.
Long live democracy, Long live freedom !
The Congress candidate, Shashi Tharoor trumped his nearest rival by close to 100,000 votes in my home constituency. Here are a couple of brilliant speeches by Mr. Tharoor,
CPD Distinguished Speaker Series: Shashi Tharoor - INDIA
Shashi Tharoor: Restoring America's Image in the World
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Monday, May 11, 2009
Dan Brown needs a tonne of wax!
I read the book "Digital Fortress" by Dan Brown, the famed author of "Da Vinci Code". Unlike DVC, DF appears to be poorly researched and leaves the reader flabbergasted by some of the events depicted in the novel. Does Mr. Brown really expect his readers to believe that someone can write a worm that overheats a giant super computer, which then runs on end till all the sillicon it carries explodes, leading to the destruction of the building that houses it ? ....then when all the hackers of the world are at the doorstep of NSA, to lay their hands on US Intelligence secrets, Susan Fletcher- the beautiful and talented NSA cryptologist and her lover saves the country (and what the pass key finally turned out to be had me roll on the floor and laugh)!! That is Bollywood masala. Mr. Brown has the potential to be a great script writer in one of India's *ollywoods.
The story is certainly not without wax ! ;-)
I read the book "Digital Fortress" by Dan Brown, the famed author of "Da Vinci Code". Unlike DVC, DF appears to be poorly researched and leaves the reader flabbergasted by some of the events depicted in the novel. Does Mr. Brown really expect his readers to believe that someone can write a worm that overheats a giant super computer, which then runs on end till all the sillicon it carries explodes, leading to the destruction of the building that houses it ? ....then when all the hackers of the world are at the doorstep of NSA, to lay their hands on US Intelligence secrets, Susan Fletcher- the beautiful and talented NSA cryptologist and her lover saves the country (and what the pass key finally turned out to be had me roll on the floor and laugh)!! That is Bollywood masala. Mr. Brown has the potential to be a great script writer in one of India's *ollywoods.
The story is certainly not without wax ! ;-)
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
