UN Armed at Ready with a Bomb... A Nuclear Bomb

Yes its true, the UN, the body that is supposed to protect human rights has got its hand on a Nuclear Bomb and are armed and ready to use it, ironically, against those who violate human right.

News of the nuclear weapon first surfaced late last week when the United Nation's own watchdog group, the International Atomic Energy Agency, released startling new satellite photos of the uranium-based device. Shortly thereafter, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon issued a short and brazen list of demands, calling on all nations to "bow down at once to social progress."

"Tremble before the awesome might of this cooperative assembly of appointed representatives," said Ban, boldly holding a stack of diplomatic resolutions in his hand. "At last, when the United Nations calls for the development of more sustainable agricultural practices, the world at large will listen."

Added Ban, "We will no longer be ignored."

The warhead, an Oralloy U-235 thermonuclear detonator encased in a long-range ballistic missile, is believed to be currently housed beneath the parking lot of the U.N. complex in New York. According to Pentagon officials, it is likely that the United Nations has already tested the weapon, and may in fact be prepared to deploy it if its demands for global harmony are not met.

US didnt want to be left behind :"All efforts are being made to engage this nationless threat in diplomatic talks, but so far, they remain uncooperative," U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff said. "However, I can assure you that the United States will not be pushed around. We will not be bullied into limiting our carbon-dioxide emissions or honoring the conditions established by the Geneva Conventions. The United States will not bend."

That is just plain US arrogance and pride.

Anyway Gandhigiri Farewell, looks like UN Secretory general doenst care about willing peace price. He want to act tough and he should be. We dont want to have another hitler in the world. Its time to kick butt of the Pakis, Russians and any other rough nation trying to destabalise peace.

Call it a bluff or not, but if they do have a long ranged nuclear armed missile under their parking lot and if the circumstance required, who do you think will have the balls to push the button and accept responsibility of the millions that will turn to dust. Personally, I worried about the guy or gal in the car that is the UN parking lot right above the missile as it takes off.

Narendra Modi For PM???!!!

This morning I was shocked to see Narendra Modi being projected as the prime ministerial candidate for the next election. I wasnt surprised though. He has done a lot for Gujarat and thats why its the number 1 state in terms of industry today. Industrial growth has been phenomenal in his state. Therefore, not surprising,  it is the industrialist like Anil Ambani and Ratan Tata who are supporting him.

And why wont they, he is given them land, infrastructure and other fat perks to come into Gujarat. If this was America and I was a Republican, I would have voted for his party. But I am more of a Democrat. I want the peoples' agenda to be placed before that of industrialist. And one of the terms in the agenda it to provide security to the people. I dont want a man who looks the other was as his supporters cut open a pregnant women, rip out the fetus and parade it on the the edge of a spear all over town.

If a man cant protect and take responsibility of the people in his state how can he protect a billion people. The fanatics are going to trample over the minorities branding them as a threat to their religion, culture etc. and Mr Modi will look the other way and focus on his so called development which we all know, by looking  whats happening in the US and other developed countries, is virtual, temporary and potentially disastrous(riots, chaos and anarchy) if it happens to a country like India. If anyone want development leave it to Dr Singh afterall Singh is King!!

Afternoon In Moms' Class

Today afternoon I happened to go to my mothers school for some official work. Although been to her school many times before, Ive never stepped in her class. But today, since it was an open house and there were no student in her class, I decided to hang out with her for a while. She teaches the 1st standard so I had trouble sitting on the kiddy-chair. I looked around and saw the pictures around the class, some of which i helped her create. There were cards with multiplication tables on them, pictures of human expressions, Santa and the reindeer's, elves, fishes hung loosely on a net, a drawing of a peacock which had feathers that were actually the palm prints of every kid in her class. I realised I was at my moms workplace, in her office.

I observed her talk to her colleges. Like any school, there is always a lot of politics and therefore gossip that goes on but she just listens and speaks diplomatically. Her colleagues find it hard to accept that I'm her son. She looks too young to have a son as big as me. But I'm used to such embarrassment and humiliation.

She loves kids. I believe shes gifted with the talent of understanding kids just that I am with the art of sarcasm.But the problem is that parents what their kids to be in her class when they are promoted. Very little distinguishes them from a pack of hyenas fighting for the last piece of meat for their young. I apologise if the association sound rude but at 2 o'clock at night sitting at my workplace sitting side of my friend editing a wedding we covered last week and at the same time chatting with my old girlfriend recently posted to the US, i was running out of ideas. Anyways, parents fight over winning a seat in moms class for their kids. Caught in the crossfire are other teacher who feel left out but that's life.

I walked around her class thinking and trying to imagine how it would be like doing this everyday. To be honest, although it didn't feel challenging to my chaotic and restless intellect, I did feel it to be soothing and satisfying, to realise that you have made a huge positive impact in the lifes of a bunch of kids at the time they need it the most and to help and see them shape into good people. As one parent put it, during the gossip "Our kids don't listen to what we say but what the teacher says is the word of god".

My personal mission in life it to make a  lasting, inspiring and memorable contribution to the world. But in my quest to fulfill this mission,  I realised that there was a whole part of my mothers(and fathers) life I overlooked. But thankfully it took me just an hour in her class to realise that in her small way she, in fact, already is fulfilling that very same mission whereas I haven't even started.

So who was the teacher that made the biggest impact in your life?

Govt awarding Satyam 2000Cr for its mess

I can understand the 60000Cr package given to farmers who cant repay their loans. Afterall agriculture is the backbone of our economy. But what I cant understand, if CNN-IBN report is to be believed,  is why Rs 2000Cr of taxpayers money is being given to one company that may or may not exits in 2 years. They have made mistakes and the have to pay the price. It may sound harsh but the employees were well paid and they should have been smart enough to save for times like these.These guys are skilled and highly skilled workforce. Having said that, most of them will need money to repay their loans and credit card debts; money they borrowed to live in luxury assuming their company is invincible and their job are secure. Those who are concerned about their welfare should also be concerned about those in poverty and are starving.

I'm not a communist but if the govt should act like any other corporate and acquire a share of the company and run it like public sector bank. Make it an investment. Otherwise it just seems that(which is an obvious fact anyway) the govt is creating a vote-bank for the next elections

One Reason Why Citibank is falling.

Citibank never targeted the right customer segment. In India, all they targeted was a corporate account, so they could get their hands on loads of cash, and salary account, so they could hold on to the same loads of cash, just in a different account. If a average person wanted to open an account, they were ignored or  treated with arrogance and disrespect. It took my friend nearly 40 days to open a Suvidha account. That is compared to a 3 day it took me to open a salary account.

The problem with this strategy is that holding on to corporate cash is not easy. It comes in as fast as it goes out. Also the bank is obliged to give loans. On the other hand, an average Indian want to save. They would put money in the bank at let it remain there for years. The same money could be given to deserving companies with which the banks would earn. The bottom line is that the common man is loyal and in a country like India you cannot refuse deposits made by the common man. Its because of small busniess and vendors, savings of hard earned individuals etc is the reason why most banks in India are growing at a rapid pace.

No matter in what business you are you have to segment the market and tailor you products for each segment. It doesn't matter how profitable one is over the other. Citibank's narrow-minded approach of targeting just the (risky) upper segment has lead to it downfall.

Tata Telcon Shutting Jamshedpur plant and the Stock Market

Tata Motor's subsidiary Telco Construction Equipment Company (Telcon) today announced closure of its Jamshedpur plant from January 14 for four days, the second time in this month on slump in demand.  Whatever be the reason or excuse, I wonder why should the news be so public. Could there be something more sinister going on? The Satyam fiasco has made me suspicious of any and every piece of news about a company.

Anticipating that the prevailing global economic slowdown was unlikely to improve at least in this financial year, Yadav, also the company spokesman here said, Telcon has reduced its production target to  65 units each of heavy vehicles like crane and excavator for January and February. But what happens to the stock price? Could it be that this decision, that maybe taken based on genuine reasons, could be must to manipulate stock prices and thereby some amount of profiteering the the decision makers. Only time will tell. For now we just have to see whether or not the BSE and NSE ticker goes down tomorow and if this news has anything to do with it.

Haven't seen Slumdog Millionaire? Why?

I don't WATCH movies in the theater, I celebrate their success in the theater. For entertainment, I'd rather wait a year and watch it on TV then loose 3 hours of my life which I wont ever get back. Well Slumdog millionaire is one great movie. It just won 4 Golden Globe awards and is a promising candidate for the Oscars.

There is a lot of huu haa about the movie in India. Im glad to see that there are no demonstration by some 3rd grade organization protesting against their sentiments being hurt. But sarcasm aside, the million dollor question is that is it a Hollywood Movie or a Bollywood movie, or maybe a Britishwood movie. The financing came from abroad, it was Anils' Kapoors Dream, and had a British Direction Danny Boyle. I like to think it a Universal-wood movie. It could be made anywhere else in any other slum and it would be that successful. Ofcouse, AR Rehman is God and I have nothing to say that will match his true greatness.

As I sat watching this great movie in Inox - Panjim in Goa, I realised the implications that this movie has on Indian Cinema and Indian Audience and it is profound. Although Slumdog Millionaire doesnt deserve to branded as a Bollywood film, the fact that it is being branded signals an urge to change the perception of old hag producers, directors and writers that refused to do this film because it was not "Filmy". It says that Indian Audiance want more Slumdogs and more Rock-Ons that dont revolve around actors but around the story and the art of film-making. We want to see people like us in the film so we can relate to them and more important, be inspired by them. We want to fulfill our dreams amidst our hectic lives, like the characters in Rock-on. We want to believe that we can come out of slums and make our lives better. We dont want to loose our happy-ending-sing-and-dance-films nor flood the industry with movies like slumdog. We just want varienty and new ideas.

So my suggestion is that if you haven't go watch it and be a part of the Bollywood Revolution.

On a final note, Congratulation to Anil Kapoor. He is one actor who has had and is still having a successful career in Bollywood but unfortunately he is not acknowedged as much as he deserves. Watch him sprung out of his seat at the Golden Globe. I guess he'll fly if he bags the Oscar.

Advertisers Committing Moral Pedophilia!

Have you seen advertisements these days. Dont you think there are too many kids in these ads. Gone are the days when children used to be sparingly used for chocolates, candy and nutritional drinks, biscuits, and so on: stuff that were only meant to be consumed by kids. People believed in the evil eye and thought that displaying their kids in public, let alone TV will cause harm as a result of envy of others. But today kids are seen as an alternate income source of the family, atleast the cute and talented ones(i didnt mention smart since those kids are only supposed to study).

Im not against kids working, I believe it bring discipline. But what I hate these days is that the way kids are used to bring out emotions in brands that first, dont require kids and second, the product needs to be chosen on logic not emotion. Insurance is just one product. Every brand is competing amongst each other, not in the benefits of their product (and what clauses they hide) but in how much emotion and GUILT they can bring in out in the viewer. If you dont insure, your daughter (and not son) wont have money to pay for their education, you family wont be able to live a happy life, your wife wont be able to afford your daughters marriage etc etc. Not just that, you are branded as smart (ICICI prudential advertisement) if you select their product; else it implies you are dumb.

And what about cell phones (Reliance, Vodaphone) and other products like electronics(LG, Samsung), toothpastes(close-up, miswak pepsodent etc) even cement(Ambuja Cement). I feel companies are trying to show innocent faces on Television to show how honest and innocent they are. That they care about you like a parent cares for their child. We all know that is far away from the truth unless you are talking about turtle parents.

I hate govt regulation but I cant help but wonder whether in this case it is required. Then again nothing is enforced in India and there are always crack through which you can getaway with anything.

An undeniable fact is that advertisers have lost their creative neurons and are stooping to new lows. They have run out of ideas. All that they can use is Sex, Violence(in most bike ads like Pulser, Hero Honda etc) and Children. Although it hasnt happened till now, its just a matter of time that some imbecile with a deadline and without new ideas will combine all three.

Can we turn away from them, yes and no. Eitherway if this doesnt work and some day it wont, advertisers will seek new ways of attracting and attaching customers to their brands. Untill then one things for sure, there are a lot of parent who are smiling away to their bank accounts.

Govt MAY not take any action against oil PSUs mgmt

This was the headlines I read on Business Standard RSS feed. Obviously the wont take any action because of political constraints. After all being a Hero and delivering justice does not win you votes. But whatever may be the cause if the strike, the whole thing could have been avoided if we had an efficient judicial system.

Take a look at America. These strikes never take place because employees can sue their employers and have the entire conflict settled in days. I dont like strikes but what Ive learnt from the strikes Ive participated in during my college days(4 in all and one of them hunger strike), there is no other way you can have your voice heard.

Although the decision of the Govnt not to pursue the Oil PSUs is right, I hope they spend some time and money improving our judicial system and making it efficient and therefore we can get speedy justice.

$50 Billion Note

Zimbabwe's central bank will introduce a $50 billion note and will be enough to buy just two loaves of bread in their attempt to cope with inflation. 

Zimbabwe is grappling with hyperinflation now officially estimated at 231 million percent, and its currency is fast losing its value. As of Friday, one U.S. dollar was trading at around ZW$25 billion.

When the government issued a $10 billion note just three weeks ago, it bought 20 loaves of bread. That note now can purchase less than half of one loaf.

What should one do when in this situation. As the worlds richest man said, "you have to invest in your self". Learn some skill, maybe cooking, carpentry etc spmething that people are ready to pay for no matter what happens to the economy. The least you can do is barter or in the case of Zimbabwe, by selling just a loaf of bread you can become a billionaire.