California Thoughts & Dreams

Your Choice 2009: Why Your Vote Matters

2009-04-09T14:07:00.000-07:00

In less than one week, an electorate 700 million strong will begin to elect 550 members to the lower house of Parliament, constituting the 15th Lok Sabha, deciding the government that will run the world's largest democracy for the next half decade. If you're one of those 700 million Indians reading this, the following things are probably true about you:

You are middle-class or above in the socio-economic strata.
You are young.
You are urban.
You are well-educated.

For you, a young, urban, middle-class, well-educated Indian, the following is probably and unfortunately true when it comes to elections:

You are far less likely to exercise your franchise than say, a poor, middle-aged, rural farmer.
While events such as 26/11 make it more likely you will vote this year, the odds are still steep against a dramatic increase in your demographic's turnout.

After all, "why should I vote?", you might say. In an electorate 700 million strong, does one vote really matter? In short, the answer is yes. For a more detailed explanation, keep reading.

The fact is that most Indian contests tend to be close and a swing of tens of thousands could change the outcome of the contest. The fact that in India we have so many political parties and no run-off voting system means that the politician who wins the most votes in a constituency (even if they took only 20% of the overall votes) wins the seat. And since in a Parliamentary democracy, the central government is formed by the party or coalition with the largest number of seats in Parliament, individual constituencies matter and as a consequence of that, individual votes matter.

Whether you want to vote for the BJP or Congress (or any of the other parties, although I have no idea why you would want to vote for anything but a pan-Indian party since that just leads to chaos and instability), it's up to you. This post is not to pitch for a particular party or coalition (that'll come later). This post is to tell you that your vote matters. The votes of your peers matter. As a well-informed, educated Indian, you can make an informed decision of what direction you want the country to go in during the next five years. Look at India's neighbors for a reminder that this is a freedom that should not be taken for granted.

If you are convinced, great. You can stop reading now or continue reading for a re-affirming your belief that individual votes matter. If you're not yet convinced, perhaps the following statistics from the 2004 General Elections will change your mind. The following list is by no means a list of all the competitive contests in the country or even all the competititive contests within these cities (ex. Mumbai has six Lok Sabha seats of which five were competitive, but I've just mentioned the two most competitive seats below). The following is just some statistics to underscore what I've been saying this entire post: your vote matters. So go, vote!

Mumbai

Mumbai North constituency
Govinda (INC) - 559,763 votes
Ram Naik (BJP) - 511,492 votes
Out of a total of almost 1.12 million votes cast in this constituency, the difference between the two leading candidates was less than 50,000 votes.

Mumbai South constituency
Milind Murli Deora (INC) - 137,956 votes
Jayawantiben Mehta (BJP) - 127,710 votes
Out of a total of almost 275,000 votes cast in this constituency, the difference between the two leading candidates was just about 10,000 votes. Considering that south Mumbai faced the brunt of the Pakistani terrorists' rampage on 26/11, it's worth considering whether an extra 10,000 people will show up to vote this year and whether they will hold the INC (which was part of the government both at the Center and State levels) responsible in any way.

Delhi

South Delhi constituency
Vijay Kumar Malhotra (BJP) - 240,654 votes
R.K. Anand (INC) - 224,649 votes
Out of a total of almost 480,000 votes cast in this constituency, the difference between the two leading candidates was just about 16,000 votes.

Delhi Sadar constituency
Jagdish Tytler (INC) - 140,073 votes
Vijay Goel (BJP) - 124,099 votes
Out of a total of a little more than 270,000 votes cast in this constituency, the difference between the two leading candidates was just about 16,000 votes. The winner from 2004, Jagdish Tytler, has of course been in the news as of late for his alleged involvement in the 1984 post-Indira Gandhi assassination anti-Sikh pogroms. The opposition parties alleged that his being given a clean chit by the Central Bureau of Investigation prior to the commencement of election season was a misuse of the CBI machinery by the ruling government. The resulting media exposure and public backlash has led the Congress party to drop Jagdish Tytler as their candidate from Delhi Sadar this time around. Given the small margin between the candidates in this constituency in the first place in 2004, this controversy may be all that was required for this seat to change hands this year.

Bangalore

Bangalore North constituency
Dr. H.T. Sangliana (BJP) - 473,502 votes
Jaffer Sharieff C.K. (INC) - 443,144 votes
Ibrahim C.M. (JD-S) - 208,588 votes
Out of a total of almost 1.16 million votes cast in this constituency (my home constituency!), the difference between the two leading candidates was just about 30,000 votes. Changing demographics in this part of Bangalore was instrumental in wresting this constituency away from Jaffer Sharieff, who has been repeatedly re-elected from this constituency since 1977, six years before I was even born! If the BJP is to keep this constituency this year, the changed demographics will again have to work in their favor. The 200,000+ votes that the JD-S pulled in this constituency should not matter too much since the JD-S does not have a seat-sharing agreement with either the BJP or the Congress. Besides, Deve Gowda and his JD-S are pretty much heading towards extinction in urban Karnataka thanks to their blatant anti-urban mindset anyway.

Bangalore South constituency
Ananth Kumar (BJP) - 386,682 votes
Krishnappa M (INC) - 324,411 votes
Out of a total of a little more than 800,000 votes cast in this constituency, the difference between the two leading candidates was a little more than 62,000 votes.

Mysore

Mysore constituency
C.H. Vijayashankar (BJP) - 316,442 votes
A.S. Guruswamy (JD-S) - 306,292 votes
Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wodeyar (INC) - 299,227 votes
Out of a total of almost 960,000 votes cast in this constituency , the difference between the two leading candidates was just about 10,000 votes. Mysore was a close triangular contest in the last election with the BJP candidate beating the JD-S candidate and INC candidate, who is heir to the erstwhile Mysore royal family, just barely. An increased turnout by urban, young, educated, middle-class voters will make all the difference in Mysore in deciding which of these three parties can claim this city's seat for the 15th Lok Sabha.

Pune

Pune constituency
Kalmadi Suresh (INC) - 373,774 votes
Pradip Trimbak Rawat (BJP) - 300,598 votes
Out of a total of almost 770,000 votes cast in this constituency , the difference between the two leading candidates was 73,000 votes. Here too, the BJP will be hoping on voter disillusionment with the Congress from 26/11 and other issues (as noted earlier when talking about Mumbai, the Congress is in power both at the Center and the state level in Maharashtra). With a large number of urban, middle-class, educated people in Pune, it is certainly not out of the question that the BJP can make up this 73,000 vote difference if turnout among this demographic increases and their votes fall in its favor.

Kanpur

Kanpur constituency
Shriprakash Jaiswal (INC) - 211,109 votes
Satya Dev Pachauri (BJP) - 205,471 votes
Haji Mushtaq Solanki (SP) - 159,361 votes
Out of a total of almost 620,000 votes cast in this constituency , the difference between the two leading candidates was less than 6,000 votes! The Congress, more or less extinct in Uttar Pradesh, the nation's most populous state and the state with more seats in Parliament than any other, will desperately be trying to hold onto this seat.

Hopefully, you are now convinced. To find out the polling dates, party candidates' lists and to look up results of past elections dating back to the 1st Lok Sabha elections held in 1951-52 for constituencies across the country, go to the CNN-IBN network's Politics page. The address is http://ibnlive.in.com/politics/stats.php

VOTE!

An Appeal for Obama (and other CA endorsements)

2008-11-02T16:34:00.000-08:00

Election day is here. For many, with record numbers choosing to vote early this year, the election is already over with simply the tallying of votes left to be done. But since I strongly subscribe to the policy of better late than never, here are my endorsements for 2008:

President and Vice-President: Obama/Biden '08

I am not going to list policy differences between Obama and McCain as reasons for my endorsement. This campaign has gone on long enough and positions stated often enough that doing so would be the equivalent of flogging a fossilized horse.

To put is succinctly, I support Barack Obama because he represents a generational change in politics. I truly believe he is running for President to lead all of America, not just 50% + 1 of America. While John McCain's campaigns has gone to great lengths to drive a wedge between "real" Americans and others, Barack Obama's message is the same now as it has always been: we do not live in blue states and we do not live in red states, we live in the United States.

Obama shares Howard Dean's 50-state strategy. The problems afflicting the people of Alabama are the same as those afflicting the people of New York. Obama, like Dean, knows that you do not abandon large tracts of the country assuming they will never vote for you. After all, if you don't respect them enough to go and explain your positions and ask them for their vote, what chance do you have of winning? This mindset of inclusive politics can be seen comparing the electoral map of today versus the electoral map of four years ago. The map is more blue than it is red and some of the toss-up states such as Virginia, North Carolina, and Indiana have long been derided as "deep red" and not worthy of putting up a fight. Barack Obama may still lose this election (unlikely as that may be), but it will not be because he did not try hard enough to get people with to vote for him.

A message of hope, unity and action versus one of division and 50%+1 politics. The choice could not be more stark.

This video says it all about the once-in-a-generation candidacy of Barack Obama!

California-specific Endorsements:

California is one of those peculiar states where elected representatives, despite having a job to do, pass the buck back to citizens in the form of propositions to vote on. This year is no different. So here are my endorsements on some of the major propositions before voters today:

Proposition 1A - Vote YES on 1A
Proposition 1A is a bond request measure to begin construction on the first high-speed rail network in the United States. This is an essential measure towards upgrading California's clogged and outdated infrastructure.

Proposition 2 - Vote NO on 2
Proposition 2 is a feel-good, sound-good proposition measure supported by the Humane Society of the United States. Proposition 2 however could not be any more wrong. Proposition 2 will simply cause egg production to shift from California to states such as Iowa, where there are far fewer regulations on animal welfare than in California, since it will be economically unfeasible to produce eggs here. It will destroy the egg industry in California, the vast majority of which consists of small farmers who already lead marginal livelihoods.

Furthermore, there is NO scientific proof that cage-free housing (cage free housing is DIFFERENT from free-range; this measure will simply require cages to be removed, not for the chickens to be free-range) is beneficial for chicken. In fact, there is scientific evidence that chicken kept in large numbers without cages actually display higher rates of cannibalism. Proposition 2 is a measure in contravention of scientific proof, promoted by an extremist advocacy organization , the Humane Society of the United States.

Proposition 7 - Vote NO on 7
Proposition 7 is another measure that reads really well. Unfortunately, it is a very badly worded proposition that will harm California's steps towards increasing renewable energy generation. It is such a bad proposal, it is opposed not only by the California Republican Party, but also the California Democratic Party as well as the Sierra Club.

Proposition 8 - Vote NO on 8
Proposition 8 would overturn the recent Supreme Court verdict and amend the state constitution to make same-sex marriages illegal. Vote against writing discrimination into the constitution. Vote for a tolerant California that can lead the way in America. Vote NO on 8.

Proposition 10 - Vote NO on 10
Proposition 10 would set aside a bond measure to reward consumers for natural gas and other alternative fuel vehicles. The Los Angeles Times editorialized that "Spending bond money on something as intangible as privately owned vehicles is a terrible idea unless there is a clear public benefit." Proposition 10 is opposed by the League of Conservation Voters. Another fishy thing about Proposition 10 is that it seems to disproportionately favor one Texas oilman, whose runs a natural gas supply firm for cars and trucks.

So tell me, just what is so effing special about China?

2008-09-25T20:43:00.000-07:00

You know what I don't get? All the focus on China and its "miracle economy" and its "booming stock-market". As an Indian, it's enough to give you a massive inferiority complex. Why oh why can't the Sensex match China's impressive performance, we lament. Then we actually go beyond the news media's infatuation with China to uncover the facts.

Both the Bombay Stock Exchange Sensex and the Shanghai Composite Index, China's flagship index, peaked early this year before dropping precipitously. In fact, the value of the Sensex has dropped about 30% from January 1, 2008. Before we consider this the end of India's economic progress, take note of this, by comparison, the Shanghai Composite has fallen by more than 60%.

OK, you might say, but in its boom years, China's stock market surely must have run laps around India's, right? Over the last 5 years, the Shanghai Composite has increased in value by roughly 50% while the Sensex is about 225% higher than where it was five years ago.

And if you look at the last 11 years, the Sensex has climbed at almost three times the rate of the Shanghai Composite (note the colors are switched below from above).

So when you look at a stock market that has drastically underperformed compared to its neighbor and an economy that is entirely focused on manufacturing cheap, low-quality, unimaginate products that occasionally poison dogs and babies, just what is so effing special about China?

While China may always be able to fill the shelves at Wal-Mart or deliver cars which are carbon copies of western makes (the copying is so blatant that the doors of the Chery QQ and the Chevy Spark are interchangeable), it does not seem capable of generating the innovative spirit that results in America's position today as the undisputed global superpower, Japan's dominance of electronics and automotive sectors or the feat of India's Tata Motors in revolutionizing the global auto industry by coming up with a "people's car" for hundreds of millions around the developing world.

There are signs everywhere that Indians are ditching their inferiority complex, which has spilled over from the British Raj, but it's a process that could, and should, happen faster.

Jammu and Kashmir: Forever a Quagmire?

2008-08-12T05:19:00.000-07:00

The crisis raging in Jammu and Kashmir currently, not to mention the absolutely deplorable handling of it by the state and central governments, is particularly illuminating with regard to how much change needs to happen now to secure peace in the state.

First, some history. The state of Jammu and Kashmir's boundaries are largely those of the princely kingdom of the same name that existed prior to independence. As such, it consists of three distinct regions: Hindu-majority Jammu, Muslim-majority Kashmir, and Buddhist-majority Ladakh. It's an unnatural combination forming a state at best and at worse times, the regions of the state can act as bitter enemies.

So what's precipitated this bitter crisis?

On May 26, 2008 the government of Jammu and Kashmir transferred 100 acres (~40 hectares) of forest land to the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board for the construction of proper facilities for pilgrims on the annual Amarnath Pilgrimage in Muslim-majority Kashmir.
There was opposition to land transfer by environmentalist groups on the grounds that it would damage the delicate ecological balance of the region. There was also opposition to the land transfer by many in Muslim-majority Kashmir who argued that this was an attempt to change the demographics of the region -- an accusation that I find totally absurd since this land transfer was to facilitate building facilities for pilgrims, who are by definition temporary visitors, and especially in light of the fact that Muslim separatists have already altered the demographics of Kashmir Valley by the forced expulsion of hundreds of thousands of Hindu Kashmiri "Pandits".
In late June, Muslim separatists (having had their influence wane in recent years) caught on to the land transfer issue and started rioting in the streets of Srinagar, in Muslim-majority Kashmir and also the capital of Jammu and Kashmir.
Political parties in Kashmir quickly bent to the demands of the separatists. The People's Democratic Party (PDP) which was part of the government and thus implicitly supported the land transfer initially quickly withdrew support to the government of Congress Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, reducing it to a minority government.
In a shocking about-face, Azad capitulated to the terrorists' violent actions and revoked the land transfer order on July 1, 2008 after just four days of rioting in Kashmir -- god forbid that he actually deploy security forces to control the rioting, which was instigated by the separatists. That would have actually been an act of governance.
The revokation of the land transfer order provoked intense protests in the Jammu region of the state with the Hindu nationalist parties quick to latch on to it, sensing a golden opportunity with which to fight the next elections.
For much of the past few weeks, an economic blockade has been forced on Kashmir Valley with Hindu groups not letting any trucks into or out of Kashmir through the only highway that connects Kashmir Valley with the rest of India.
Yesterday, Kashmiris trying to march across the Line of Control into Pakistan-occupied Kashmir with fruits and other produce, that are now rotting in trucks, were fired upon by security forces, killing at least 13 people and one prominent separatist leader.

My thoughts:

First, the revokation of the land transfer order by the Jammu and Kashmir government was unacceptable. The proper way to protest in a democracy is through legal channels that are available, such as a petition or peaceful marches. And the proper way to address an issue in a democracy is on its merits and demerits and considering the laws of the land. Neither were accomplished here. Separatist politicians encouraged rioting and violence in Kashmir valley and the government of Jammu and Kashmir, with utter disregard to the rights of Hindu pilgrims or the merits or demerits of the land transfer, capitulated to the Muslim extremists' wishes.

What did they seriously expect to happen? I am a secular person and traditional supporter of the Congress party, but you can really only push Hindus so far. Jammu has always received secondary importance compared to Kashmir and has been badly neglected by the state government. Did the government of Jammu and Kashmir seriously expect the people of Jammu to stand by idly as they capitulated to Muslim extremists in Kashmir? Hindus in Jammu and Hindus' interests in the state, beginning with making Kashmiri Pandits refugees in their own country, have been mistreated and disregarded for so long, it must have seemed almost like second nature for the Ghulam Nabi Azad government to capitulate to the extremists' demands, with nary a thought to the people of Jammu or to Hindus' interests or even to the Constitutional rule of law, for that matter.

The people of Jammu were right to rise up in protest and I absolutely support them in that regard. They have been mistreated for too long and it was high time to let the politicians know that they were in charge of the state, Jammu and Kashmir.

While I support the protests by the people of Jammu, the economic blockade of Kashmir is unacceptable. You do not have the right to starve and cut off economically an entire region and population because of disagreement on some policy or the other. Again, the economic blockade showcases the government's impotence in being able to keep the highways clear. Come on, it's called "government" for a reason and it's high time they begin governing.

The highway through Jammu and is the ONLY link between Kashmir and the rest of the country and it must be kept open at all times and all costs. Trade through Muzzafarrabad in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir is not an option because that will only further alienate Kashmir from India.

So what should be done now, with the crisis at current levels? My suggestions, in order are as follows:

Short-term measures

Sack the governor of Jammu and Kashmir N. N. Vohra immediately; he has primarily been responsible for the current situation with the land transfer order revokation.
Elections are expected later this year in Jammu and Kashmir and until then, Ghulam Nabi Azad is continuing as the caretaker Chief Minister. Sack him immediately and invoke Article 356 of the Constitution, putting the state under direct Central Government rule until elections.
Meet the Fruit Growers' Association in the Kashmir Valley and other economic entities and assure them that the highway through Jammu will be open; act on that assurance by escorting fruit-laden and other trucks with military convoys through Jammu. Protesters trying to block the highway should be dealt with harshly, including the use of tear gas and rubber bullets, if needed to clear the highway.
A state of emergency should be declared in the short-term in both Jammu and Kashmir regions, with mass arrests of both Hindu protesters in Jammu trying to block the highway/uproot railway tracks, etc and separatists in the Kashmir Valley trying to inflame tensions.
Constitute a special expert committee to study the environmental impact of the land transfer issue; this and only this should determine whether the land is eventually transferred or not. The committee should come up with a recommendation within a month and it should be immediately implemented. Any violent protests, such as rioting, regarding the final order should be dealt with swiftly and harshly.

Long-term measures:

Get rid of Article 370 of the Constitution that grants special autonomy to Jammu and Kashmir; all states in the Indian Union are equal and there should be no preferential treatment to Jammu and Kashmir or any state in the Union.
Speed up economic development in the Valley, including the construction of the railway link between Jammu and Srinagar (which has now been pushed back perhaps until 2025 due to Indian politics). Only by winning the hearts and minds of Kashmiris will lasting peace be gained.
Institute a committee looking into the rehabilitation of Kashmiri Pandits back into the Valley and provide security for any family that chooses to move back.

Only by conducting all these measures will lasting peace be delivered. Anything less will be just a temporary fix.

Freedom in the World 2008

2008-08-01T23:31:00.000-07:00

As regular visitors to my blog would know, every year, I provide an updated version of "Freedom in the World", by Freedom House, an organization that tracks political and civil freedom in countries around the world and ranks them as: Free, Partly Free, or Not Free. This year, they took their own time posting the map on their website, as a result of which this post, which should have come about in January is more than half a year late. Nevertheless, as they say, better late than never. So here we go.

The state of freedom in the world in the year 2007 was as follows:

Here's the link to my blog post detailing freedom in the world in the year 2006 for comparison. So what's worth noting?

1) As a matter of pride, I always like to point out the bright green jewel that is India in southern Asia, contrasted as usual with crimson red China to the northeast.

Around India:

2) Thailand has once again moved to "Partly Free" status as the one-year old military regime once again ceded power to a civilian, popularly-elected government after its 2006 coup d'etat. Lingering concerns exist about the degree of manipulation of the electoral machinery undertaking by the military regime, the Council for National Security, in the run-up to the democratic elections, which nonetheless brought about a reinstatement of exiled former-Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's followers to the government.

At the time of the 2006 coup, I spoke out strongly against the actions of the military regime, in multiple blog posts, arguing that however corrupt Thaksin was alleged to be by his urban elite detractors, the proper way to change the government is through the ballot box, not the tank. It seems that the people of Thailand, especially the rural poor who formed the backbone of Thaksin's vote-bank, were able to teach both the military and its urban elite supporters a strong lesson.

Elsewhere:

3) Tiny Togo, sandwiched between Benin and Ghana in West Africa, saw its status improve from Not Free to Partly Free, "due to the success of the 2007 legislative elections, including the ability of Togo’s opposition parties to demonstrate and campaign without interference." More power to the Togans!

Besides these two status changes, Freedom House generally recorded a poor year for freedom in the world in the year 2007, with substantial declines in freedom in numerous countries such as Russia (with its sham of a presidential election), Georgia (where the ruling party resorted to a state of emergency), Pakistan (where Benazir Bhutto was assassinated by Islamic extremists in the run-up to the elections - which were postponed as a result), and Kenya (with massive bloodletting and intertribal mayhem after elections where the ruling party was widely seen to have rigged the results in its favor).

Some encouraging signs:

1) Almost half of the people living in the world are free (3.0282 billion or 45.85%) and almost two-thirds of the world's citizens are either free or partly free (4.2135 billion or 63.79%).

India and China are again worth noting here. India is home to more than a third of the world's free people (~1.2 billion out of the total ~3 billion free citizens). Meanwhile, China is ignominously home to more than half of the "Not Free" citizens of the world (~1.3 billion out of the total of ~2.4 billion "Not Free" people).

2) The global trend has been unmistakably positive. In 2007, there were 90 free countries in the countries, as opposed to 81 in 1997 and, prior to the fall of the iron curtain, 58 and 43 in 1987 and 1977 respectively.

Other points worth noting:

1) As in 2006, the freest continent in 2007 was undoubtedly Europe, where 33 of the 42 countries (78.57 %) were free. The exceptions were:

Russia - Where a sham election saw the baton pass from Vladimir Putin to Dmitry Medvedev without a real alternative.
Belarus - A dictatorship that has the open backing and support of the Kremlin.
Moldova (Partly Free)
Turkey (Partly Free) - Where the military, & its hard-line secularist elite backers, continue to hold much power, often overturning the measures of the duly-elected government.
Macedonia (Partly Free)
Albania (Partly Free)
Montenegro (Partly Free)
Bosnia and Herzegovina (Partly Free)
Vatican City (Not Free) - A theocracy

Europe was closely followed by North America, where 18 of the 23 countries (78.26%) were free. The exceptions in North America were:

Cuba
Haiti (Partly Free)
Guatemala (Partly Free)
Honduras (Partly Free)
Nicaragua (Partly Free)

2) The most dismal continents for freedom were once again Asia and Africa. In Asia, oppression stretched in an unbroken chain from Jeddah in the southwest to Pyongyang in the northeast and Baku in the northwest to Ho Chi Minh City in the southeast.

In Africa, oppression stretched in an unbroken chain from Luanda in the south to Cairo in the north and from Laâyoune in the west to Asmara in the east.

7/25 - A date the world will not remember

2008-07-26T19:49:00.000-07:00

Some dates, such as 9/11, 7/7, and 7/11, will be forever stuck in the world's psyche due to the awful destruction caused by the terrorist attacks in New York, London, and Mumbai on those dates in respectively. On the other hand, 7/25 lies far below on the radar, the events of this day barely making the brief sections of international news organizations and was quickly overshadowed by the events that transpired on 7/26 in Ahmedabad.

On 7/25/2008, terrorists struck the peaceful city of Bangalore with eight low-intensity devices that were seemingly intended to disrupt the peace and economy of the city rather than inflict casualties. I was at the Indian Institute of Science campus at the time of the attacks and upon hearing of them, drove home immediately, stopping to drop off a friend at home along the way, and watched television for information on the attacks. For the rest of the day on Friday, I really did not pay much attention to the attacks and went through my normal routine.

On 7/26, as I prepared to head out to my cousin's place for a Saturday night out on the town, I was told about bomb blasts in Ahmedabad by my grandmother, but there was a power cut at the time and could not get more information. As I drove to my cousin's place, I realized that there has been a fundamental change in my outlook.

As I drove alongside ongoing construction on the Bangalore-Hyderabad highway, I reminisced about my thoughts from previous days. They were the thoughts of citizens living in "normal" countries around the world (as opposed to countries we readily associate with strife such as Iraq, Afghanistan, Sudan, etc). They were concerned with the progress of road construction on the highway, the progress of the construction of the Bangalore metro, wondering whether the UPA government at the Center would survive the trust vote or not, speculation about whether crude prices would continue on their downward trend, whether the Indian stock exchanges would continue on their upward trend, how the monsoon would play out in the coming months and whether the nuclear deal with the United States would go through or not.

Of course, all these issues do make it into my thoughts still, but as I was driving yesterday, for a brief moment, they seemed to be supplanted by something far more basic. For the first time that I can recall, I was thinking about whether the government could protect my life. Of course, India is no stranger to terrorism, with 13 major bomb blast incidents occurring in the country in the last five years (not including any in terrorism-prone Jammu and Kashmir), 10 of them in the last three years. But they always occurred in Mumbai, Jaipur, Hyderabad, Varanasi, Delhi ... places far enough away to elicit sympathy but not really hit home.

Now that it's happened in my city, more importantly when I was in it as opposed to being in the field or in the U.S., the feeling of "it could happen to me" struck me yesterday. Despite the fact that "only" 2 persons died from the terrorist attacks in Bangalore, yesterday as I drove, I felt a momentary sense of solidarity with persons driving through the streets of Srinagar, Kabul or Baghdad. Perhaps persons in those cities are more desensitized to the violence and Bangalore's attacks were more jarring because this is such a peaceful town and I fervently hope that it stays that way (i.e., the violence never gets the level where we begin getting desensitized). But I don't think it would be an exaggeration to say that the events of 7/25 contributed to a loss of Bangalore's innocence to an extent.

The increased vigil of citizens around the city prompted a provision store owner to call the police yesterday morning about a suspicious package left across the road, which turned out to be a live bomb and was defused by the bomb squad. Yesterday's incident was a reminder that despite the attacks on 7/25, we need to continue to maintain a higher level of vigil.

At the time of writing, five persons have been injured in a low-intensity bomb blast in the state of Jharkhand. God save India!

America's Downfall

2008-07-09T09:33:00.000-07:00

Now that the headline captured your attention, I'm not talking about the Iraq War or the actions of any of the members of the Axis of Evil. Rather, America's foreign policy and its elaborate plans to stabilize Afghanistan will be laid to waste by its so-called "ally" in the war on terror, Pakistan.

When General Musharraf was dictator of Pakistan, the Bush administration lavished billions of dollars of aid and Musharraf kept the American establishment content by providing a top al-Qaeda figurehead every now and then to prove his anti-terror credentials, while simultaneously ignoring the proliferation of a Pakistani Taliban bent on sabotaging the American-backed Hamid Karzai government in Afghanistan. He also exercised little control over Pakistan's rogue Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), which has carefully bred Islamic terrorists at home to use in a proxy war against India in the Kashmir dispute.

At least back then, the Pakistani government had some control over the Army and the ISI. Now, Pakistan is back to its familiar workings - a state where the civilian government has little actual authority over either its military or its intelligence services. Now that the ISI is free to let loose again, they have acted swiftly, attacking Indian interests in Afghanistan. India, a major backer of the anti-Taliban rebel Northern Alliance group, has poured over $750 million into Afghanistan in development projects and India's influence in Afghanistan must certainly have made Pakistan uneasy. But don't trust the Indian ambassador's words, even the Afghan government has pretty much blamed the ISI for carrying out the attack.

But the U.S. is the ostrich with its head in the sand. Even esteemed American newspaper organizations like the New York Times completely refuse to give credence to the fact that America's beloved ally may actually be sleeping with the enemy, making the Indian allegation seem completely without evidence and completely ignoring the fact that the Afghan government has made the same claims, by devoting all of one contemptuous sentence to the very real and important possibility that an American ally may be a state sponsor of terrorism: "Not surprisingly, Pakistan was swiftly blamed for the bombing, and just as swiftly, denied having a hand in it."

Perhaps the New York Times doesn't want to upset its Pakistani-American reader base and lose out on subscriptions or perhaps the attitude of the New York Times reflects the attitude of the American government, complete and utter denial of the fact that its so-called ally could really be one of the biggest destabilizers in the region.

Whatever the reasons, the situation is clear that America possesses neither the willpower nor the foresight to actually secure Afghanistan. It really is time for India to act like a regional power and deploy military forces in the region to protect its interests. India should not hesitate to strike within Pakistan and if the U.S. has any problems, too bad. The U.S. is responsible for Afghanistan being in this pathetic state in the first place after it diverted resources towards an unnecessary war for oil in Iraq. It's time for America to wake up and realize the ground realities that its ally is not as benign as it seems (as well as for the toothless U.S. media outlets (which in a democratic country, should be ashamed of themselves for their [lack of] journalistic courage)). In the meantime, let's go, India. Step up and fulfill your responsibility as a regional power. The time has come!

Delhi Hotel Experience

2008-06-23T00:17:00.000-07:00

I heard of an unpleasant occurrence during my overnight stay in Delhi that I feel I must talk about. There are a number of reasons why I did not want to discuss this issue online and they are:

1) The issue is founded only on the word of two people and I do not have any evidence, beyond circumstantial evidence, to back it up.
2) Equally importantly, I do not want the people who told me of this to suffer any adverse consequences which might affect their livelihoods.

Therefore, all places and persons in this account shall remain unnamed.

-------------------------------------------------------------

I had about an 11 hour overnight halt in Delhi on my trip to Bangalore and rather than try to spend the night uncomfortably at the Domestic Airport, I decided it would be better if I got a hotel room for the night and tried to get some sleep (even a few hours' worth). I found a cheap hotel in a Tibetan area of town and booked my reservation through an online travel website from the U.S.

I also arranged for a taxi pick-up service from the airport and as promised, the taxi driver was waiting at the airport for me when I landed. On the way to the hotel as I chatted with the taxi driver, he seemed surprised that I was staying at this particular hotel. When I asked why, he said that generally the hotel owners do not give out rooms to Indians! Shocked, I asked why a hotel, in India, would not give rooms to Indians. He said he did not know, but said that if an Indian were to inquire about a room, they would be told that there were no vacancies even if rooms were available! When I asked what business sense it made, the taxi driver replied that even he has not been able to figure it out up until now.

At the hotel, as I checked-in, the lobbyist wrote down my details, as per Government of India regulations. As he looked at my passport, he asked me what my visa number was (to fill in the portion of his hotel-book that asked for the visa number). When I asked why I, an Indian citizen, would need a visa number, he said OK and continued noting down details. It seemed to me as if the man had never seen an Indian passport before. A quick look at the guest-book also revealed only Tibetan and Western names.

I didn't get much sleep that night (it was 31 degrees at 11 p.m. when I landed in Delhi with about 85% humidity making it feel 9 degrees hotter (I am not joking!)) and was at the lobby the following morning at 7 a.m. and asked them to call me a taxi to return to the airport. I had a different taxi driver in the morning than I did the night before. On the way to the airport, as I chatted with him, he too remarked surprise at the fact that I, an Indian, was staying in this particular hotel. He asked me how I managed to get the room and when I told him I reserved it online, he nodded and said that made sense.

Let me state that I remain an ardent supporter of the Tibetan cause, especially following continued Chinese transgressions in Tibet. That doesn't excuse the actions of Tibetans within India however. The fact that a hotel in India would discriminate against Indians is beyond unacceptable; it's criminal. Tibetans are, after all, guests in this country. Tibetan refugees from China have the option of taking Indian citizenship, but the vast majority of them have declined to do so, following the Dalai Lama's advice that taking the citizenship of other countries would dilute their numbers and consequently, their claim for an independent Tibet.

Instead, they have availed themselves of Indian policies which have provided them papers to live and work anywhere in the Indian Union. They are automatically granted refugee status and these papers upon setting foot on Indian soil and there is no annual cap for the number of refugees India will provide shelter for. India is also the home of the Dalai Lama for the past 49 years and his Tibetan Government-in-Exile. More than 100,000 Tibetan refugees make India their home, more than any other nation in the world (twice the number in Nepal and more than 10 times the number in the United States).

In light of this generosity and support that the Indian people and the Indian government (irrespective of which political party is in power) have provided the Tibetan people, what I heard of the happenings in Delhi is disconcerting, to say the least. It's unfortunate that my opinion of the management of this hotel has tarred my views of the overall Tibetan community in India, the vast majority of whom I am sure will not support such discriminatory policies.

Trip to India

2008-06-20T07:15:00.000-07:00

Instead of making one giant block of text, I'll separate my travel experience into various categories:

Jet Airways

I flew by Jet Airways, advertised as "India's Finest International Airline", from New York JFK to New Delhi via Brussels. I had heard good stuff from others, but I was nonetheless impressed. I flew on brand new Boeing 777s and the crew was friendly and prompt.

The best feature was having video-on-demand. There was a large selection of movies, which I watched during the Brussels-New Delhi leg as I tried to stay awake (I try to time my sleep on aircraft so as to adjust to the destination time and avoid jet lag). In the course of the 7 hour flight, I watched Rambo IV, The Golden Compass, and a chick flick whose name I do not remember. Rambo IV was awesome (which Rambo or Rocky movie is not?), The Golden Compass was OK (certainly not the Lord of the Rings which they compared to), and the chick flick was, well, a chick flick!

Now that I've sufficiently proven my masculinity, let me move on. Food on the flights was good and it certainly was a matter of pride to see the many non-Indians flying on the JFK-Brussels sector audibly marvel at the quality of the airline. Unlike the perennially awful state-owned Air India, Jet Airways is a sign of India's arrival on the international stage.

New Delhi

It had been a good 15-and-a-half years since I had last stepped foot in the nation's capital. While I had read about the changes that had happened, I am very impressed by the absolutely wonderful state of the infrastructure in the city, infrastructure that makes Bangalore (supposed "Silicon Valley of India") look like a village. Don't believe me, check out the photos.

An intersection near the hotel I stayed in a Tibetan area of Delhi. In Bangalore, this road would be a large arterial road and a point of pride for the city's residents. In Delhi, I noticed quite a few roads of this size.

A water cooler by the roadside. The government in Delhi has placed these kinds of coolers all over the city so that citizens who cannot afford to buy bottled water always have refrigerated water available, a very useful service in a city where summer temperatures can soar to 45 degrees.

We drove through a couple of green spaces, such as this park, en route from the hotel in the northeast of Delhi to the airport in the southwest of Delhi.

One of the more chaotic intersections we encountered proving that Delhi is still, after all, a part of India.

Another road in Delhi, where there was a green median separating us from oncoming traffic.

And as a not-so-concealed easter egg, here's a photo with cows, once again proving that Delhi is a part of India.

If our government tells us that they have to remove all the circles in Bangalore because there is too much traffic for them, how come Delhi still gets to keep its circles?

Ongoing construction on the Delhi Metro's line to the airport.

Entrance ramp to the national highway that heads down past the airport to Gurgaon. I think in Bangalore, our highways themselves are about as large as this.

National Highway 8 within New Delhi. Count the number of lanes on this side of the median.

Perhaps the one area that Bangalore fares better than New Delhi. Our Vayu Vajra and Suvarna buses are far better than the buses that the Delhi Transport Corporation plies to the airport, but then the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation is one of the more modern bus systems in India.

Delhi will also soon be deploying air conditioned buses to complement these non-AC buses to the airport. More importantly, Delhi will have a Metro connection to the airport by 2010.

The beginning of the flyover near the airport.

The exit towards the domestic airport.

Getting ready to take the exit. I wonder how many years we are from such roads in Bangalore. We have flyovers but not of these size.

Construction at Delhi airport; I wonder if that is the new terminal.

Bangalore International Airport ("Seeme-yenne canu airport")

I am sure that after reading my previous blog posts blasting the airport, you're all curious as to what my opinion of the airport is after traveling through it. Well, the airport looks fantastic and feels truly world class. But scratch the surface and deficiencies immediately appear. Let the photos below do the explaining.

The Good: As you can see, the airport looks very nice as seen from the plane.

The Good: The all glass facade facing the planes looks modern and international.

The Good: The glass gates also look very nice.

The Good: The inside of the terminal also looks very modern.

The Good: En route to the baggage claim area. The corridor looks clean and modern.

The Good: The baggage claim area.

The Good: They seem to be slightly confused about the name of the city (as is everyone else). The logo to the left and right of the sign states "Bengaluru International Airport" but it proclaims "Welcome to Bangalore".

The Good: The check-in area of the airport.

The Bad: The outside of the airport looks nice, but all visitors have to wait out here. I wonder why they are not let inside the airport. Maybe it's a Government of India regulation ...

The Bad: That's it. That's not one terminal of the airport. That is the airport. After 15 years, we have eight piffling gates at our service and from the number of stairs that can be seen here, many people will still be forced to climb and descend staircases, even in a brand, spanking new airport!

The Bad: I mentioned eight bridges, right? Here are two narrow-body airports parked next to each other and you can see the wingtips are almost touching. This means that two wide-body aircraft (such as Boeing 777, Boeing 747, Airbus A340, etc) cannot be parked next to each other. In times of heavy international flight presence, this reduces the number of effective gates to five! Seeme-yenne canu airport indeed.

We still are forced to go to the airport at odd hours of the morning to catch flights since there is not enough capacity and Albert Brunner's plans do not include a second runway for another 12 years, despite the aircraft being over-capacity in its first year.

Finally, there is the issue of there not being any coffee vending machines for the staff. Albert Brunner says that they can buy coffee from the stores at Rs. 50 a cup like anybody else. He says that vending machines will reduce the international quality of the airport. I wonder if he's paying the staff international wages. I am sure they would love to be paid at the U.S. minimum wage of $7.50 (Rs. 320) per hour, in which case they will gladly avail themselves of "international standard" coffee at the international-standard shops!

Albert Brunner cannot live under the delusion that the airport should be completely international while providing his workers third world wages. For a person in the U.S. making minimum wage, a $5 cup of coffee is about 40 minutes' work. For a person in India making Rs. 5,000 a month (a relatively large amount), a Rs. 50 coffee is about 2.5 hours of work. Do the math!

Seduction by California

2008-06-08T11:10:00.000-07:00

Philadelphia, at 1:45 p.m. EDT, 0n 06/08/2008:

Davis, at 01:45 p.m. PDT, on 06/08/2008:

For the uninitiated, compare the 52% humidity in Philly (which makes it feel 5 degrees hotter than it actually is) with the 14% humidity in Davis (which makes me quite comfortable as I sit in my non-air-conditioned room with the ceiling fan on.

It's funny, back in December when I visited Philly, I missed big city life and I was telling people here in January (a cold, rainy month in northern California) of how the difference in weather is not enough to keep me back from heading back east after I finish my Ph.D.

After spending one spring in California though, my views may have changed. I love the fact of being able to wake up six months out of the year (April through September) and knowing that there is a 99% chance it will be an absolutely out and out gorgeous day and that there will not be a single cloud in the sky. I look up and I see an ocean of light blue in all directions.

I seem to have fallen in love with California! How did that happen?

A Tale of Two Airports

2008-06-02T21:38:00.001-07:00

No, I have never read the Charles Dickens classic "A Tale of Two Cities" but that obviously has not prevented me from adopting its title for this blog post. Now that we've gotten that out of the way, we can talk about this article.

The article notes that:

"It has been eight years since the location of the new airport has been known; in all that time the state government of Karnataka state -- of which Bangalore is the capital -- didn't bother to build an expressway.

The net result is this: A software engineer working in Electronic City on Bangalore's outskirts may end up spending three hours on the road to catch a one-hour flight to another destination within India.

That, more than anything else, is why frequent fliers of Bangalore are feeling cheated with an airport they have eagerly awaited for so many years."

Yes, the lack of a proper expressway is a significant grumbling point for many Bangaloreans, but Albert Brunner and his thieving business partners would be sorely mistaken if they think that's the only thing that ails the airport. After promising Bangalore the sky (or at least an airport modeled on that of Zurich, Switzerland), these con-artists have done a number on Bangalore that's truly impressive. To con India, well known for producing illustrious con-artists, so thoroughly is no small feat by any yardstick.

The airport in its first year will be operating at 12.5 million passengers, 1.5 million more than its official capacity of 11 million. In its first year!!! What does Mr. Brunner have to say?

"The existing runway can handle 20 million passengers a year, he says, compared with the 12.5 million expected in the first year of operations."

The existing runway can handle 20 million passengers a year only if one continues the uniquely Indian practice of operating an airport 24 hours a day! The reason we have a new, larger airport is because we didn't want to have to show up at the airport for flights departing at 2:05 a.m. as we did at the old airport because it was too small to handle all the traffic in daylight hours.

Let's look at Mr. Brunner's home airport, the Zurich Airport, which Bangalore's new airport was supposed to be modeled on. In 2007, Zurich Airport handled 20.7 million passengers. By Mr. Brunner's assessment, it should have one runway, right, with expansion work being undertaken on a second runway? Wrong!!! Zurich Airport has three runways, which is the requisite amount for an airport of that size.

What about some other airports? Sacramento International Airport handles about 11 million passengers and has two runways, as Bangalore should have had. In neighboring China, Chongqing International Airport, for example, handled 10.35 million passengers in 2007. Though possessing one runway, after crossing the figure of 10 million passengers, the airport is about commence on a second and third runway to handle the increased air traffic.

In Bangalore, a second runway is not even planned for the immediate future and Albert Brunner seems perfectly happy to allow Bangaloreans to continue going to the airport at odd hours of the night to catch their flights and pay exorbitant "user-development fees" in the process. Hence, the litigation in the courts to keep the old airport open.

Siemens and the other private companies contend that the government agreed to give them a monopoly on an airport in the Bangalore area. Yes, that's true and the government should have given them a monopoly if they had provided a quality product. Instead, they have provided Bangalore a shoddy, third-class product that is under capacity. Clearly, the situation has changed and the courts should decree the original contract null and void and resume operations at the old airport in the public interest, which should be paramount in any democracy. Maybe some good old fashioned, capitalist competition is what is needed to get Brunner and his ilk to get to it and provide the airport that Bangaloreans deserve!

P.S. Did I mention the airport was a shoddy, third-class product? Click to read, this is a different article!

"Seeme-yenne canu" airport for a fast-becoming "seeme-yenne canu" city

2008-05-21T22:53:00.001-07:00

There is certainly humor, but also a certain foreboding sense of an accurate depiction of reality as one watches the following "Jaggesh" clip.

After something like a decade and a half, India's so called "IT City", Bangalore, finally will get a new airport at the end of this week. Ordinarily, this should be an opportunity to be proud and happy, but for Bangaloreans, the incompetent bungling of what should have been a simple and straight-forward job is something to hang our heads in shame. Bangalore truly is a "seeme yenne canu" city and a "seeme yenne canu" airport (the analogy being that we are seemingly about two decades behind the world as far as progress is concerned).

The new airport, although only 34 km (~21 miles) from the city, will take almost 90 minutes to get to. True, you would ordinarily think that anything has got to be better than the current airport, which is currently operating at three times the official capacity of 2.5 million passengers per annum. The crowding at the current airport, hemmed in from all sides of the city, is depicted accurately below:

State of affairs at the current airport: You can see the whole range of aircraft crammed into this tiny location, from the short-range Kingfisher Airlines domestic airplane in the front to the long-range transcontinental British Airways aircraft all the way in the back. The airport has only two gate-bridges, reserved for international flights. - NY Times photo

The government was supposed to provide adequate transportation capacity to the new airport. Talk was fluttering about two six-lane expressways and a high-speed rail connection that would connect the city center to the airport, making the new distance irrelevant. Such plans sadly remain on paper. Even the extension of one six-lane expressway has not yet been completed and the current hellish access to the new airport is depicted in the picture below. Truly, pictures are worth a thousand words.

I certainly do not see a six-lane expressway here, do you? - NY Times photo

To make it worse, the NY Times article reports that the new expressway will swallow up land that is currently owned by an animal shelter and a hospice that provides care for HIV/AIDS patients. Fine, in any democratic country, the government has legitimate rights to acquire land for development work. But there are allegations that influential people's land has been left untouched. In all likelihood, the allegations are probably true.

A major reason for the sorry state of affairs is due to the fact that one H.D. Deve Gowda, a virulent plague of a man who has befallen Karnataka, continues to live and that his cronies led by his son ran the last government. I wonder if any of Deve Gowda's land, which he propitiously acquired around the airport site prior to it skyrocketing in value was affected by this highway development. I'm going to go out on a ledge and say ... no!

While the courts (the last refuge for the ordinary citizen in India) look into this slew of cases before them, things will proceed at a snail's pace. Hopefully, the recent elections will restore some political stability to Karnataka and progress can only come if Deve Gowda and his JD-S party are denied any say in the formation of the new government. There are two reasons for why I believe they will be:

1) The last government in Karnataka was a JD-S / BJP coalition government. The agreement was that the JD-S would have the chief ministership for 22 months and then the BJP would have the chief ministership for the next 22 months. The first 22 months went according to plan, but before the BJP could get a chance to govern, Deve Gowda pulled out a number of unreasonable proposals for the BJP, effectively guaranteeing his party continued power, and when they would not agree, withdrew support for the coalition, putting Karnataka under central government rule and calling fresh elections.

The public widely treats it as a betrayal of the agreement and this sympathy vote is expected to help the BJP tremendously this elections.

2) The JD-S has constantly concentrated on the rural masses while spitting in the direction of Bangalore and other urban areas. Deve Gowda's loathing for the situation of the urban residents of Karnataka is well-known.

Unfortunately for him, this year, the elections are based on the 2001 census, rather than previous elections which were based on the 1971 census, a time when India was a far more agricultural country. The result is that Bangalore's representation in the legislature has dramatically increased from 16 seats in the assembly to 28 seats, an increase from 7% of total assembly to 12.5% of the total assembly. Although voter turnout in Bangalore has been low (about 45% as opposed to 70-80% seen in rural areas - a richer, urban India is seemingly mimicking the turnout of developed countries like the U.S.; also, there tend to be many more errors in the voting lists in urban areas. I personally know many people who tried to go and vote but had to come back because their names were not on the list (the concept of a "provisional ballot" does not exist in India)), the fact that urban areas had this increased importance was an eye opener to the political parties with all of them, even Deve Gowda, promising change to the city.

Anyway, results of the elections will be announced on the May 25th, 2008. I really don't care if it a Congress majority or a BJP majority. As long as Deve Gowda and his cronies and sycophants remain powerless in the new government, I'll be happy. Meanwhile, who wants to drive all the way to the new airport and pick me up when I come to Bangalore? Come on, it'll be fun ... the road is in great condition, it'll hardly take you a half an hour ... come on ...

And Bush blames India for the food crisis ...

2008-05-18T01:25:00.000-07:00

This article is a real eye opener. In light of this, it's all the more astounding that George Bush accused people being able to afford food in India as being a major cause of the global food crisis. In addition to the nonsensical policy of pumping food into SUV fuel tanks in the form of ethanol-based fuel, this massive wastage of food in the United States starting from the grocery store to ending up in people's homes is the cause of the global food crisis.

The amount of food people throw away as described in this article is astounding. For example, let me compare the average American family (and assume there are five people in a family) with myself over the past 9 months:

Average - Grains 18.5 lbs / month for the family --> 1.68 kg per person (3.7 lbs)
Me - Grains --> ~ 1 kg over the past nine months --> 0.11 kg (~0.25 lbs) per month -- Consisting of half a loaf of bread that I had to throw away in March and about 500 g of cooked rice I had to throw away this week, which I felt really awful about

Average - Meat and fish - 10.4 lbs / month for the family --> 0.945 g per person (2.08 lbs)
Me - Meat and fish - 0 - I'm a vegetarian, so I don't buy meat or fish, so the question of throwing it away really doesn't arise

Average - Sweeteners - 15 lbs / month for the family --> 1.36 kg per person (3 lbs)
Me - 0 kg over the past nine months

Average - Fats and Oils - 8.6 lbs / month for the family --> 1.78 kg per person (3.91 lbs)
Me - 0 kg over the past nine months

Average - Fresh fruits and vegetables - 24 lbs / month for the family --> 2.18 kg per person (4.8 lbs)
Me - ~4.5 kg over the past nine months --> 0.5 kg per month (1.1 lbs)
-- Partly the reason why I stopped going to the Farmer's Market and buy frozen food now instead. I never used to get the time to cook the vegetables by the time they spoiled.

Average - Processed fruit and vegetables - 10.5 lbs / month for the family --> 0.95 kg per person (2.1 lbs)
Me - 0 kg over the past nine months

Average - Fluid milk - 22 lbs / month for the family --> 2 kg per person (4.4 lbs)
Me - 0 kg over the past nine months

Average - Other food - 12.8 lbs / month for the family --> 1.16 kg per person (2.56 lbs)
Me - 0 kg over the past nine months

The reason for this comparison isn't to be self-righteous or gloat over how little I waste. I, too, wasted way more than I should have, the ideal figure should be 0 in all these categories. Rather, the point of this exercise is to encourage people to compare their wastage with the average American family. If it's anywhere near similar, you should be making major changes to your food consumption habits. Even if it is drastically lower, you may still find ways in which you reduce wastage.

A really hot May week

2008-05-12T16:21:00.000-07:00

So I'm looking at my calendar and wondering whether I've somehow time-warped and landed in late-June? Did I miss prelims? Should I already be in India by now? The weather here in Davis in the week ahead is bringing about these weird doubts.

Pander Country

2008-05-04T12:44:00.000-07:00

It's open season as far as pandering goes, with Hillary Clinton and John McCain trying to outdo each other, while Obama seemingly forges a lonely path of common sense on this issue. Well, the path is lonely among presidential candidates anyway. Unsurprisingly, those not looking to derive immediately political mileage are pretty much unanimous in their opposition to this inane idea coined by a senile, old man and quickly picked up by a candidate who would embrace Osama bin Laden if it would give her the presidency.

But I wonder if there just may be a middle path. What if instead of a gas tax holiday, there was a diesel tax holiday? That way, the relief would affect those who need it most, truckers who are particularly feeling the pinch of high fuel prices, while ensuring that the drivers of SUVs pay their fair share. The typical large truck in the U.S. contains something like a 250 gallon tank. An elimination of the federal tax on diesel fuel would save those truckers about $50 for every full tank, which when the truck is fully loaded, can take the truck about 1200 miles. On a run from New York City to San Francisco, the savings for a trucker would be about $125.

It makes sense to eliminate the tax on those who are disproportionately affected by high fuel prices, but ludicrous to eliminate it for everyone, since the average car driver would feel no difference while together, the hit on the system would be unimaginable. So if we're going to do this, let's target the right people.

Clinton declares global warming to be a hoax

2008-04-29T01:24:00.001-07:00

Well, she didn't actually in so many words, but now that I've got your attention ...

She pretty much spit in Al Gore's face. Now will he please go ahead and provide his endorsement for Obama? Meanwhile, let's see if this shameful pandering will get the "Straight Talk Express" and Hillary Clinton anything at the polls ...

But here's some good news. Small cars are now the largest segment in the United States. Who would have thought that the land of the Hummer would kneel before the Asian subcompact. Definitely not the suits at Detroit!

Another well-deserved nail in the coffin for the American auto industry that for years fought stricter emissions standards that would have, ironically, made them more competitive in the global marketplace today. It's sad that the incompetence of the fat-cats is causing misery for ordinary citizens, but life isn't fair. Some 3,500 people get laid off and the CEO of GM gets a $10 million bonus for pulling the company through these "tough times" and goes back to doing what he does best, lining the greasy paws of the likes of Mitt Romney who go around claiming that stricter emissions regulations are what are dragging America's auto industry down. Right ...

Boycott Intensifies

2008-04-19T14:38:00.000-07:00

Picture this scenario. Angered by the actions of government relating to the Olympic Games and the Tibet issue, an ordinary citizen begins a resolute boycott of all goods emerging from that country. If you think I'm referring to the ignorant, propaganda-fed sheeple who are boycotting French firms, you're not quite correct. I'm talking about myself boycotting Chinese goods.

What's that you say? How can I begin to boycott Chinese goods when I've always tried to stay away from Chinese goods? The difference is in the strength of the motivation. True, I've always tried to avoid Chinese goods, but usually, if there is no alternative, I might go for the Chinese good anyway. With the recent uprising and brutal suppression of peaceful protesters in Tibet by the thugs and goons running China, my feelings are markedly different. And unlike from CNN, the Chinese will get no apology from me, sincere or insincere ...

Anyway, getting back on track, I bought a digital camera two days ago. The choice was between a Fujifilm S700 and a Kodak EasyShare Z712 IS. They were both about the same price (~$195 including shipping and handling + 2 GB SD card) and same specs (Kodak probably beats the Fujifilm slightly, 12x vs 10x optical zoom, slightly better image stabilizing technology). Mani recently bought the Fujifilm S700 and I saw it in Mexico and it's a pretty decent camera. So that was another incentive for me to buy the Kodak camera, since it would be something different.

BUT ... I knew for a fact that (since Mani had it) that the Fujifilm S700 cameras were made in Indonesia (i.e., not China). I did not know where the Kodak Easyshare Z712 IS cameras were made. It might have been China or it might not have been China. In an ordinary year, this uncertainty may have been enough to get me to buy the Kodak and then if it turned out to be Kodak after all, oh well, too bad, I'll know not to buy Kodak next time.

But this is not an ordinary year. This is the year that China brutally suppressed (and continues to suppress) an uprising in Tibet and follows a year in which the military rulers of Burma with Chinese support brutally suppressed an uprising by monks in their own country. As a result, I went with certainty over uncertainty. I made the effort to go to a local RadioShack, where I noticed that one of Kodak's lower-end model cameras were manufactured in China. This was enough for me to conclude that there was a high-enough probability of the Kodak model that I wanted of being manufactured in China. I came back home and ordered the Fujifilm S700 and feel quite good about possibly denying the Chinese junta an extra $200 into their economy.

It's not just the big-ticket items either. I was at the Davis Co-Op the other day (I usually shop at Nugget Market, which I like a lot more, but Davis Co-Op was on my way home that day and I just needed a few things). I stop to pick up frozen okra and what do I see on the back of the packet? "Product of China". Okra!!!

Needless to say, I toss the packets back into the freezer, put everything else I had bought back on the shelves and left the place. I went to Nugget (as I should have in the first place) and finished shopping. The nerve of those hippies running the Co-Op! God forbid they stock enough Pepsi on their shelves so there would be some left when I got there (only about half their soda space is dedicated to the big, "evil capitalist" brands with the other half being devoted to cola brands I've never heard of). But they seemingly have no problem sourcing food from China to stock their freezers full of it. No wonder this town is sometimes called the "People's Republic of Davis." And we're not talking of exotic tropical fruits here. We're talking okra, which grows plentifully in the United States seasonally and in Mexico year round!

Anyway, this is just the start of my China boycott. The month of May is going to be my China total boycott month. I pledge not to buy ANYTHING made in China during that month. If I cannot find an alternative, I will do without. It's time to send the goons and thugs running China a message! They should know that boycotting is a two-way street ...

Olympic Torch in India: Mission Accomplished

2008-04-17T16:22:00.000-07:00

As far the Olympic torch's run in India goes, it was a mission well accomplished. The ruling junta in China intended for the torch to be a crowning symbol to the world of its "arrival" on the world stage or what Chinese propaganda claims to be China's "peaceful rise."

So far, where it has been displayed to the public, such as in London, Paris and San Francisco, it has met overwhelming opposition and disdain. In New Delhi, the torch passed through a sterilized bubble in one of the world's largest cities. China's primary mission of showing off its torch was a resounding failure.

Meanwhile, protesters against Chinese atrocities in Tibet ran their own torch relay in Delhi, a spectacular success that got far more viewers than the official Olympic torch. Somehow, I don't think that this is what the ruling junta in Beijing had imagined would occur. All in all, a good job by the Indian government. It burnished its diplomatic and security credentials (and a possible bid by New Delhi to host the 2020 Olympics) that it could provide the security for the torch's safe relay through the city, but at the same time showed the world the difference between autocratic China and democratic India in light of the numerous protest relays that occurred throughout the city. For once, the Indian government seems not to have messed anything up.

New Delhi, April 17, 2008

Tibetan protesters participate in the parallel relay in New Delhi. (AFP Photo)

The Olympic torch made a strange and lonely procession through central Delhi on Thursday, with the event so overshadowed by fears of the anti-Chinese protests that marred its appearances in other cities that no members of the public were allowed close enough to witness it. Here, officials waited for the torch in front of the presidential palace in New Delhi along a boulevard purged of spectators. - NY Times

Tibetan monks prayed next to their own "Olympic torch" in New Delhi on Thursday before a parallel torch relay to protest against Chinese action on Tibet. Demonstrators lit their own torch at the spot where the ashes of Mahatma Gandhi are buried and mounted a parallel, peaceful torch relay through central Delhi. - NY Times

Hundreds of Tibetan protesters marched through central Delhi shouting "Die for Freedom" hours before the torch was due to be carried through the Indian capital. - NY Times

Our Manchurian Candidates

2008-04-11T15:30:00.000-07:00

It's never been in doubt that the Left parties in India openly support their comrades in Beijing. This was the case, in 1962, when they were on China's side in the Sino-Indian war and were full of glee when India lost that skirmish and it is the case today as they try their level best to scupper any solidifying of India's ties with the "devil" (i.e., mainly the United States and Israel). They're held up the Indo-US nuclear deal because a strategic relationship with the United States is unfathomable for them.

OK, despite how much disgust I have for them, they are allowed to voice their views and when they have power, follow an agenda that serves their narrow, outdated mindsets. That's the beauty of India being a democracy and for all the frustration it brings about, I wouldn't have it any other way.

Unfortunately, the Leftists themselves don't seem to get that concept. It's not just the China-style appropriation of farmers' lands for building large industries and firing on and massacring farmers that protested. Revolting as the Nandigram violence was, the drubbing the CPI-M government received from 24 hour media coverage of the massacre, the denunciation by the Governor of West Bengal (who also happens to be Mahatma Gandhi's grandson), the isolation of the party in Parliament on the issue and the ruling by the High Court last November that
"The action of the police department to open fire at Nandigram on 14.03.2007 was wholly unconstitutional and cannot be justified under any provision of the law ... The action of the police cannot be protected or justified on the ground of sovereign immunity ... The action of the police cannot be justified even under the provisions of Criminal Procedure Code; The Police Act, 1861 for The Police Regulations, 1943 ... we direct the State of West Bengal to pay to the victims of the deceased as a result of the indiscriminating police firing on 14th of March, 2007 immediate compensation in the sum of Rs.5 (five) lakhs each ... We further direct the State Government to pay immediate compensation to the persons who were injured and whose particulars have been given the pleadings sum of Rs. not less than 1 (one) lakh each ... We further direct the State Government to pay compensation to the victims of rape who have been duly identified in the pleadings a sum of Rs.2 (two) lakhs each." seemingly would have reminded the Left Parties that they worked within the framework of democratic India, not Communist China.

The message has not clearly gotten through. The West Bengal government banned a peaceful protest rally by Tibetans and their supporters that was to take place a few days ago. Police canceled the protest citing "pressure from above." The [weak] excuse provided by the West Bengal government is that the protests run counter to India's "China-centric policy". First of all, India does not have a "China-centric policy" ... the Left parties may, but they don't represent either India or the Indian government. Secondly, so what even if we did have a China-centric policy. The protest could be anti-Indian policy for all we care. In a democratic society, the people do not have to toe the official government line.

An excellent editorial from the Times of India on the topic:

"Whatever their long-term goals, the fact is that Left parties in India function within the framework of a constitutionally sanctioned parliamentary democracy.

They contest elections like any other political outfit, run administrations in three states and support the current dispensation at the Centre."

"The Indian government has assured China of a safe and incident-free passage for the Olympic torch. It has not suspended the democratic rights — to disagree and protest peacefully — of either its own citizens or that of the Tibetans-in-exile.

That is because we are a democracy, and therefore value human and individual rights and give space for the expression of dissent.

To be sure, West Bengal is part of the Indian union and the state government cannot suspend democratic rights, especially when there is no threat to public order."

"The Left in India is often accused of being more interested in China's well-being than India's.

It only gives more reasons to believe that the accusation is not completely baseless."

My question now is: who will be held accountable? The protests did not take place, but someone in the West Bengal government has to be held accountable for the outrageous abrogation of citizens' political rights.

Meanwhile, the Chinese government had the gall to ask the Indian government if we would ban Tibetan protests all across the country. Oh, wouldn't that make them happy! Thankfully, the central government seems to have given them a fitting reply. The central government has also given them a firm no for being part of the security cordon in New Delhi. What's next? Will the Chinese request access to India's intelligence files?

China had better check its expansionist ambitions at the Himalayas. India is not and will never be a Chinese puppet or be willing to kowtow to its demands, regardless of what some of our own politicians may think.

The Torch Arrives in San Francisco

2008-04-09T17:50:00.000-07:00

San Francisco, April 9, 2008

This torch relay is now completely chaotic. The city of San Francisco changed the torch route numerous times, the closing ceremony at the waterfront was canceled (probably because "mighty" China doesn't want to be humiliated again by peaceful protesters) and the Chinese consulate bused in its nationals from all around the region (including from Davis) to project its propaganda of a "harmonious" world accepting the "harmonious" rise of China with the "harmonious" Olympics about to be played. Not everything was harmonious though ...

A man carrying a Tibetan flag is attacked by pro-China supporters awaiting the start of the Olympic torch relay on Wednesday in San Francisco. AFP/Getty Images

I guess old habits die hard. If you can beat Tibetans for peacefully expressing their opinions within Tibet, I guess it's fair game outside Tibet as well. Right?

Protesters [both pro-Tibet and pro-China] waited along the original torch route. City officials rerouted the torch amid worries about a repeat of protests in Europe. - NY Times

One World, Shared Disgust

2008-04-07T10:26:00.001-07:00

Everywhere across the world, wherever the Olympic torch goes, people are protesting in a massive show of global defiance and disgust. This post will keep track of protests along the torch's route, as a world stands up and speaks out in favor of human rights and against the crackdown in Tibet, and indeed all across China, as the Chinese government "clears" its streets of potential "troublemakers" ahead of the games. The Xinhua propaganda mouthpiece has labeled these protests as the "vile misdeeds" of a "few Tibet separatists" and that "people welcome the torch." These photos however show one world with one dream, Free Tibet!

Paris, April 7, 2008

"French police grappled with a demonstrator trying to grab the torch. What organizers had billed as an occasion to celebrate the Olympics' sporting ideals of peace and harmony is turning into a contest between China's supporters and critics." - NY Times

Was the IOC really stupid enough to not expect anything like this to happen? I think they fully realized what was going to happen, but chose to mortgage their so-called Olympics values in exchange for rolling around in Chinese money. And the protesters are not politicizing the games. The IOC and China have already did that. China has long been promoting these games as evidence of its "peaceful rise" - never mind the thousands languishing in Chinese gulags or undergoing torture - and as a measure of success of the Communist Party. The IOC and the Chinese government have politicized these games long before the protesters.

"Protesters with Tibetan flags at the Place du Trocadero opposite the Eiffel Tower before the arrival of the Olympics torch relay on Monday." - NY Times

London, April 6, 2008

Chinese security officers (in light blue uniforms) provided security for the torch route in London! What's next, a Tiananmen-style massacre in Trafalgar Square? Gordon Brown should be ashamed of himself for capitulating before the Chinese as such. Source of photo: New York Times

"One protester who broke through the police cordon, David Allen, said his anger flared at the sight of British sports stars being guarded in London by Chinese security men.

“It makes us complicit in the regime’s repression,” Allen said. ”You have to ask: Where were these security men last week? Beating up people in the villages of China, no doubt.”" - NY Times

"Thousands of demonstrators crowded the streets of central London as the Olympic torch was carried through the city on its way to the summer Olympic Games in Beijing." - New York Times

Bhutia Refuses to Carry Torch of Repression

2008-03-31T22:46:00.000-07:00

India's football captain Baichung Bhutia has refused to carry the Olympic torch as it passes through India. Finally, someone in India shows they have some integrity. As someone else remarked in the Times of India comments section, let the spineless Indian politicians carry the torch, if they so wish to and if they are capable of even!

Meanwhile, here is an excellent, exclusive NDTV interview with His Holiness The Dalai Lama in light of the recent uprising in Tibet. Definitely worth watching!

Maroon Revolution in Tibet?

2008-03-14T15:18:00.000-07:00

OK, the events that transpired in Burma last September and October taught me not to hope, but still, a part of me came alive when I heard of monks marching in the streets of Tibet against Chinese rule.

Not surprisingly, the Chinese government has cracked down, hauling monks away to secret prisons and even firing live ammunition into crowds. The protests in Lhasa turned violent, unlike the peaceful protests in Burma last year, with ordinary citizens protesters stoning military vehicles and other property.

The protests by the monks themselves have continued to be peaceful. It will be interesting to see how hard China will crack down upon them, especially as the world's gaze is directed at it in these months prior to the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.

Clearly, China cannot afford to act anything like how the Burmese junta acted last year. If it acts similarly, then it is almost certain that the Olympics will face a major boycott from the West, one would hope at least.

These are the eye-witness accounts from Lhasa. While it's understandable that Chinese owned businesses will be targeted, due to the resentment among Tibetans of the favored treatment that Han Chinese migrants have been getting in their homeland, such violence against ordinary civilians will ultimately not be beneficial.

Any violence towards Han Chinese civilians by Tibetans will provide an excuse for China to carry out a bloody crackdown, an excuse that the world may well accept. And besides, violence against civilians is something I can never condone, however justifiable the arguments may be. The Dalai Lama has called for abstaining from violence and it would be better if the Tibetans directed their anger against the Chinese military occupying their homeland.

Unlike the junta's handling of protests, China has been extremely efficient (ruthlessly efficient , some would say ). This is proven by the fact that only now we're receiving news that this is going on, despite the fact it's been going on for the past few days now.

How China responds to this will be interesting. The time is now, because as noted, with the Olympics looming, the ruling cabal in China can ill-afford another Tiananmen Square ...

Senator McCain's Choice

2008-02-13T17:59:00.000-08:00

When I supported John McCain's candidacy, the main reason was his stance on torture. I admired him for standing up to the Republican right-wing and arguing based on principles. But unfortunately, it looks like Barack Obama is right. Somewhere along the way, the wheels came off of the straight-talk express.

Senator McCain had to choose between staying true to his principles and courting the independents and moderates that have brought him this far or abandon his principles and pander to the right-wing of his party. Unfortunately, he seems to have made his choice.

I feel betrayed and used. Independents are what brought McCain this far and now he's stabbed us in the back as he bends over backwards to court the right-wing of his party. I was willing to look the other way on his 180-degree flip-flop on the Bush tax cuts, but no way am I going to pardon him for this.

Congratulations, John, you just doomed your candidacy. Let's see how many independent votes you get in November, especially if you run against Barack. Don't think these flip-flops are going to make you any more endearing to conservatives. Even if you do complete a hat-trick and flip-flop on immigration as well, I very much doubt the ALIPAC crowd will support you.

For a while, I thought we would see an election between two principled and equally qualified presidential aspirants. Guess it was too good to be true. Oh well, at least this gives Barack more ammunition going ahead.

Justice Scalia Opens His Mouth

2008-02-11T23:41:00.001-08:00

The more people like Justice Scalia keep running off at the mouth, the more it will drive independents and moderates into the Democratic camp run November.

I really do respect John McCain, but the prospect of another Scalia-type justice appointee makes me support Obama's candidacy all the more fervently.

I'm amused at how Republicans keep referring to people like Scalia a "strict, constructionist judge". Scalia is right, the Founding Fathers might not have considered smacking someone in the face as cruel and unusual punishment.

But waterboarding and other forms of torture is another issue entirely. To put it this way, if Justice Scalia's over-the-top, Jack Bauer scenario of a "bomb about to blow up Los Angeles" were to actually happen, I wonder if he would consider it appropriate to break a finger or two to get the information?

I mean, come on ... If simulated drowning (which the mind cannot distinguish from real drowning) is not "cruel and unusual punishment", surely a few broken bones aren't either, right?

The likes of Scalia being a "constructionist" is about as accurate as George Bush being compassionate.

Intense Drama Continues

2008-02-08T23:28:00.000-08:00

The intense drama that is the United States Presidential Primary Elections continue. After what was billed as Super Tuesday, when 24 states voted in the closest thing to a national primary we've ever had, things seem to be settling down for the Republicans, with Sen. John McCain almost sealing the nomination, while being as muddled as ever for the Democrats.

First, the Republicans, with Mitt Romney's withdrawal from the campaign (good riddance to bad rubbish), McCain is set. Ann Coulter and Rush Limbaugh aren't happy but that's the way the cookie crumbles.

Things are far less clear on the Democratic side.

Hillary did win the states of California and New Jersey, two states on which her presidential campaign was literally staked on. If she had lost both of these states, her campaign would have been effectively over and she would have joined Romney on Wednesday morning to withdraw.

But Obama did a fantastic job of catching up to her. Hillary won by only 10 points in both California (52% to 42%) and New Jersey (52% to 42%). Her campaign tried to inject some last minute spin by saying before the elections that if Obama didn't win California by at least 13 points, it would be a loss for him, but as Obama's campaign rightly pointed out, a few weeks ago, he was down by almost 30 points. To close the gap as he did was an achievement in itself.

Obama also won more states (13) as opposed to Hillary (8), with counting in New Mexico still incomplete with just a few hundred votes separating them.

And forget California or New Jersey. Those states will swing blue in the general election no matter who the nominee is. Let's look at some of the states where Obama won:

Alaska: Obama beat Hillary by 49 points (74% to 25%)

Idaho: Obama beat Hillary by 62 points (80% to 17%)

Utah: Obama beat Hillary by 17 points (57% to 39%)

Colorado, which is now considered one of the new swing states in the Inter-mountain West: Obama beat Hillary by 34 points (67% to 32%)

North Dakota: Obama beat Hillary by 25 points (61% to 37%)

Minnesota, a traditional Mid-Western swing state: Obama beat Hillary by 34 points (66% to 32%)

He topped off his successes with wins in Alabama (56% to 42%), Georgia (66% to 31%), Delaware (53% to 42%), Connecticut (51% to 47%), and his home state of Illinois which he carried by 32 points (65% to 33%) compared to Hillary who carried her own home state of New York by only 17 points (57% to 40%).

But you might say, wait a minute! Isn't Hillary's true home state Arkansas and didn't she carry that by 43 points? Well, I guess, but then you could say that Obama's true home state is Kansas, where his mother is from, and he carried that state by 48 points (74% to 26%)!

Most importantly, let's look at the traditional bell-weather state of Missouri, which is depicted as a microcosm of the United States as a whole. Obama narrowly carried this state by a few thousand votes.

Hillary carried two states by margins greater than 20 percent (Arkansas and Oklahoma) while Obama eight states (Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, and North Dakota) by margins greater than 20 percent, sometimes by double that!

The point is, by winning these traditionally Red states such as Idaho, Colorado and Kansas by impressive margins, Obama can be competitive (or at least make the Republicans spend resources) in the general election whereas Hillary will be blown out of the competition.

When I myself despise her, it leaves nothing to the imagination of what Red State voters think of her. This is further underscored by this CNN article that shows Hillary statistically tied with McCain while Obama has a lead in the polls.

If the Democrats want to shoot themselves in the foot while going into the general election, they should vote for Hillary in the remaining primaries. If they actually want to try to get the White House back, they should vote for Obama.

So what's up with me, you ask? Wasn't my blog, for the past month, geared up as a pro John McCain propaganda machine? It was and it contributed in getting the job done. One politician that will say or do anything to get elected is out, one more is left. The one that's out happened to be on the Republican side and Sen. McCain is almost confirmed as the Republican nominee.

On Super Tuesday, I was a bit disconcerted by talk of Evangelical preacher-turned-governor Mike Huckabee as a potential vice-presidential nominee under McCain. So I decided to withdraw my support to McCain until I see who his VP pick is. And besides, I am genuinely excited about Obama's historic candidacy. It would be beyond amazing for this country to elect its first Black president.

God forbid, if Hillary is the Democratic nominee and McCain's VP is *anyone* to the left of Huckabee or Fred Thompson (I know there's no chance in hell Romney will be the VP pick), then this blog will be back to pulling for the Mac.

But an Obama vs. McCain match-up, that will not be an easy decision to make ...

My Life ... In Comic Form

2008-01-31T12:42:00.000-08:00

You do NOT realize how often this happens to me! LOL.

ALIPAC & Mainstream America

2008-01-29T22:50:00.000-08:00

Mani at one time pointed me towards this xenophobic website (don't be fooled by the name, these guys are against all immigration, legal and illegal) where self-proclaimed patriots gather to bash immigrants of all stripes and colors. Therefore, it was with some glee that I went into the discussion board tonight to see the acrimony that the McCain win in Florida would have caused.

I was not disappointed.

One poster "USA-born" whose online avatar was a bald eagle head posted:

"I'm sick too [about McCain's win]. I wonder if we're out of step with mainstream America?"

Well, let's see. If mainstream America is composed of borderline - no, scratch that - of racist, xenophobes who are the modern day descendants of the Ku Klux Clan, no, certainly the members of ALIPAC are not out of touch with mainstream America.

What's that? Mainstream America is not composed of bigoted racists? Oh, tough luck "USA-born".

Olympic Torch of Repression

2008-01-29T11:28:00.000-08:00

Anyone who held fantasy ideas that the arrival of the Olympics, and the attention of the outside world that it brings, into China would somehow make the government less repressive and more tolerant of human rights was sorely mistaken.

On the contrary, China is moving aggressively to stifle even whimpers of protests ahead of the Olympic Games in an attempt to ensure that foreign visitors see a sterilized, "harmonious" society envisioned by the cabal that heads the Communist Party of China. Virtually anyone with the integrity or courage to speak their mind about rampant abuses of political and civil rights are being arrested left and right, akin to sweeping anything that might make your society look less "harmonious" under the carpet.

Perhaps what is most disturbing is that China has moved to repress even persons who are not necessarily voicing political opinions. Hu Jia is one such unfortunate soul. Hu has been detained on and off since 2006 and has been under house arrest along with his family for much of that time. With Hu in police custody again with unsubstantiated and politically motivated charged leveled against him, his wife has been cut off from the internet as well as most human contact.

The ruling junta in Beijing seems to be sparing no effort in squashing any and all signs of protest ahead of the Olympics. The rest of the world, meanwhile, continues to fawn over China and watch as the Chinese people are subject to restrictions that no human beings should have to bear.

Despite all this, the courage of those willing to speak out is remarkable. As Hu Jia once remarked to his mother:

“If I don’t shed blood for the country, who will? If I don’t go to hell, who will?”

What Hillary Clinton and Mitt Romney have in common

2008-01-27T16:21:00.000-08:00

So what do Hillary Clinton and Mitt Romney have in common? Well, for one thing, they both epitomize sleazy politics and a win-at-any-cost, by hook or by crook mentality when it comes to their candidacies.

I've already shed some light on previous posts of Romney's antics: from promising unemployed workers in Michigan that he'll bring every single job back to shamelessly telling voters that his experience in the private sector (where his main achievement was downsizing jobs) is what this country needs in times of economic crisis.

Hillary is not so different. Despite the fact that the Democratic National Committee has penalized Florida for moving its primary date ahead and that all the candidates had previously promised not to campaign there, Hillary Clinton is now maintaining an active presence in Florida. I guess her rationale is that if she can't beat Obama fair and square in an election where they both compete, she'll just have to win in states where she can monopolize and hope those delegates are enough to send her over the top.

She did the same in Michigan which was similarly penalized, by refusing to take her name off the ballot, despite the fact that both Obama and Edwards had done so. So far, she lost in Iowa, managed to steal a victory in New Hampshire by shedding some crocodile tears before the election, won in Michigan uncontested, managed to steal a narrow victory in Nevada where she falsely accused Obama of supporting Ronald Reagan (when in reality all he had said was that Republicans at one time had ideas, even if he never supported those ideas), and lost by a landslide in South Carolina despite the fact that she and Bill Clinton stooped to levels that I did not think possible of a former President and First Lady.

So I guess her strategy is to win in Florida by being the only Democrat to campaign there and then try to use that win as a feeble attempt to win the Feb 5 primaries in 20+ states. I guess now I know what the Republicans mean when they talk of the "Clinton political machine." Let's hope that her nefarious plot does not succeed.

An Appeal? How Quaint ...

2008-01-24T14:42:00.001-08:00

So apparently, the Western "powers" issued an appeal at the World Economic Forum in Davos in an attempt to pressure the Burmese regime to achieve even modest targets such as freeing political prisoners, forget achieving actual change.

I think the word pathetic is an understatement ...

Platitudes are one thing, but the West is clearly not willing to take the strong steps that are required such as boycotting the 2008 Beijing Olympics and installing and tightening existing arms embargoes on China, India, Thailand and other nations that back the Burmese regime.

Instead, we Western "powers" issue appeals ...

Yeah, that's going to work!

Mitt Romney: Universally Hated

2008-01-24T08:27:00.000-08:00

Every now and then, there is an article that says exactly what I'm thinking. This is one of those articles.

I told my roommate about a week back that I hated Mitt Romney. She said, "Well, of course you do, you support John McCain". That got me thinking. My dislike for Mitt Romney goes well beyond that of a normal political opponent for someone I support. My dislike for Mitt Romney extends to the core of my very being and it's spurred by everything that Mitt Romney does, which ultimately goes down to his penchant for saying *anything* that could get him elected.

From talking to other people, I know I'm not the only one with such feelings. The surest thing that Republicans can do to put a Democrat in the White House is to nominate Mitt Romney as their candidate.

And if John McCain should not get the Republican nomination, I really hope that Mitt Romney gets it, albeit for very different reasons. It would be nice to fight a general election *against* a Massachusetts flip-flopper this time.

Romney's Oily Pandering Works in Michigan

2008-01-17T10:50:00.000-08:00

Almost a month and a half ago, before all this primary madness began, the Economist gave us strong reasons of why we should look at John McCain, reinforcing my impressions from the debates.

It basically cast the difference between the two Republicans leading today as follows:

"His [McCain's] willingness to stick to his guns on divisive subjects such as immigration stands in sharp contrast to Mr Romney's oily pandering."

I love that characterization, not least because it's true. McCain leveled with the people when he said in Grand Rapids last Wednesday:

"I've got to give you some straight talk: Some of the jobs that have left the state of Michigan are not coming back. They are not. And I am sorry to tell you that."

And as McCain pointed out, neither is it the government's responsibility to protect certain segments of the economy from market forces or globalization. McCain said in Livonia:

"It wasn't government's job to protect buggy factories and haberdashers when cars replaced carriages and men stopped wearing hats. But it is government's job to help workers get the education and training they need for the new jobs that will be created by new businesses in this new century."

As a former CEO and venture capitalist well versed in how the free-market economy runs, Mitt Romney knew this. McCain and Romney both know that the best thing that the government can do for unemployed workers is to provide them the skills that they need to compete now and to get back on their feet as soon as possible, not offer them false hope.

Unfortunately, Romney did what he does best, pander. Mitt Romney claimed that "He [McCain] said, you know, some jobs have left Michigan that are never coming back. I disagree. I'm not willing to accept defeat like that."

Romney went further with his pandering. He railed against the new mileage regulations passed by Congress and signed into law by Bush, saying it was akin to an anvil on a drowning industry. Never mind that the Massachusetts flip-flopper had, in his time as Governor, signed into law some of the toughest emissions standards in the country. Never mind that the decline of the American car industry has been because Detroit has refused to increase efficiency while Asian rivals have and now unfortunately workers are paying for the CEOs gross incompetence and neglect.

But perhaps Romney's views on emissions regulations, like his views on abortion and gay rights have "evolved" and as the Economist pointed out, "in a direction that is strikingly convenient - perhaps through intelligent design."

Before the Michigan results came out, a blog post on The New York Times remarked that if Michigan voters selected John McCain's hard truths and rejected Mitt Romney's feel-good pandering, "it may signal that industrial-state voters understand more about modern reality than most of their leaders tend to think."

Unfortunately, that didn't happen. Industrial-state voters continue to cling to vestiges of hope and I can't blame them. I can however blame politicians who are willing to distort the truth and raise false hopes for people who are down on their luck so they can lie, cheat, or steal their way into office. We've already had one such President under George Bush. Do we really need another one in the form of Mitt Romney (I wonder if Mitt Romney makes it to the general election as the Republican nominee, and that's a big if, then will his views intelligently design themselves again to the new group of voters?).

For now, the Mac's looking good in South Carolina. Fortunately, Romney's oily pandering will not work everywhere.

Daily Kos' Dirty Tricks

2008-01-11T18:46:00.000-08:00

Apparently, the Daily Kos is urging Democrats to go and vote for Mitt Romney in the Michigan Republican Primary in an effort to mess with the Republican Presidential struggle.

Is it me or is this a gross and petty distortion of the democratic process? I am sickened by this pathetic move.

Their main arguments in favor of this is:

1) Republicans have done this before, so now it's payback time.

2) "Open primaries are stupid. Should we be meddling in their primary? To be honest, open primaries like this Michigan one are ridiculous. As far as I'm concerned, if someone isn't a Democrat, they shouldn't get to decide my party's nominee. If someone isn't a Republican, they shouldn't get to decide the Republican's nominee. So if this little campaign adds impetus for closing primaries, so much the better. But as long as the law allows crossover voting, there is nothing wrong with picking up the ballot you think best helps YOUR candidate."

I am not even going to waste my time arguing against point #1.

Now, point #2. This is why extremist organizations like Daily Kos are dividing the country. They want to hammer people into groups like Republicans and Democrats and ensure that you always vote party line.

I'm a proud liberal, but there's no one on the Democratic side who interests me. If I want to support McCain, I should have the freedom to forfeit my choice on the Democratic ballot and vote in the Republican primary.

That is one of the great assets of the open primary system. It gives supporters of a candidate, regardless of which party they belong to, a chance to support them through the primary process. To misuse this process is nothing short of spitting on the democratic values this country was founded on.

Let's hope, for the sake of the country, that Daily Kos' despicable dirty tricks campaign doesn't work.

The People's Car & Modern Imperialism

2008-01-10T09:49:00.000-08:00

Today, Tata Motors achieved history by unveiling the people's car, a car to be sold in India priced at just 100,000 Rupees (about $2,500).

This car signals a new phase in the automobile revolution because it takes people in developing countries who currently transport their whole families on overloaded scooters and motorcycles and actually gives them an enclosed car where they are afforded some safety.

It is almost a boon from heaven for people like 35-year old Vijay Pawar.

Surely, everyone must be ecstatic at the prospect of people in India, and soon all over the developing world, improving their standards of living? No, not really, the elitist intelligentsia in the U.S., the likes of Tom Friedman of the New York Times introduce us to the latest form of western imperialism.

Tom Friedman proposes that India "tax it (the $2,500 car) like crazy until it has a mass transit system that can give people another cheap mobility option". Surely, the two are not mutually exclusive. Surely, efficient mass transit can be built without condemning people living in lower socio-economic strata to life without a car.

Also, I wonder if Friedman knows that the $2,500 car is powered by a 33-hp engine that provides 50 miles to the gallon or 21.26 kilometers per liter? But what the hell, let's have India tax that car like crazy so that people in rich countries don't have to feel guilty about driving giant SUVs that provide 15 miles to the gallon or 6.37 kilometers to the liter.

Who said western imperialism was dead?

My Case for John McCain

2008-01-09T19:38:00.000-08:00

This is an excellent article in The Economist on why America would do well to elect John McCain as the next President.

The Case for John McCain

Personally, why do I support McCain? I'm going to keep this short but I'm also going to try and convince you why he is right when it comes to the issues. Here are the issues that are of most importance to me, from the most important down.

1. Torture - John McCain, when he appeared on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, drew raucous applause from the audience when he said that if he became President, one of the first things he would do is to shut Guantanamo Bay down. Things such as the existence of the detention facilities at Guantanamo Bay, denial of habeas corpus and due process under the law to those held in our custody, and extraordinary rendition by the CIA detract from America's international image and rip to shreds the Constitution. John McCain has time and again been crystal clear as to where he stands on these issues. Forget other Republicans, with the exception of John Edwards, even none of the Democrats have taken as high a moral position as John McCain on this issue.

2. Iraq War - I've said it before and I'll say it again. I was against the surge. I thought it would cause increased bloodshed, for both American troops and Iraqi civilians. I was wrong. The surge does appear to be working. The Democrats seem to either have missed this or they are pandering to the anti-war fanatics who would have us leave Iraq no matter what, even if we are to leave sectarian genocide in our wake. And these people call themselves liberals and progressives? I can only shake my head in disappointment.

3. Global Warming and the Environment - John McCain is one of the few Republicans who believes the threat that global warming poses and is ready to step up to face the challenge. Even on the Democratic side, the only person who seems more capable is Al Gore and would certainly have gotten my support, the only problem is that he's not running. The rest of the Democrats pay lip service to fighting global warming, but they fail to convince me that they would do more than John McCain on this front. In fact, I'm convinced that Hillary would do less.

I disagree with John McCain's viewpoints on issues such as abortion or gay marriage, as he is anti both. However, I agree with him on the bigger, more important issues and respect the man's integrity enough to give him my support, realizing that we need not agree on all issues. A politician that says what he believes in is rare. A politician that says what he believes in even when it is deeply unpopular is rumored not to exist. John McCain is that politician.

Is torture torture?

2008-01-09T19:33:00.000-08:00

Why do I support John McCain? Watch the following video. Also, not only is Mitt Romney a jack-ass, he is a jack-ass with little regard for either the Constitution of the United States or for international treaties such as the Geneva Conventions or for that matter, basic standards of human decency.

Mac is Back

2008-01-08T18:19:00.000-08:00

Mac is Back!

Over the past two weeks, my endorsement for President has shifted. Here's my updated endorsement:

1. John McCain

2. John Edwards

3. Barack Obama

Edwards' campaign was going well, but I'm increasingly concerned at what he's recently been saying about Iraq. Much as I was against it, the surge in Iraq does seem to be working, but in an attempt to appeal to the hardcore anti-war fanatics, Edwards seems to be suggesting unconditional retreat and leaving Iraqis at the mercy of sectarian genocide no matter how well we're doing.

Also, Edwards' increasingly protectionist and big government message on issues such as free trade and health care is a bit disconcerting. He pulls at the heart strings on issues such as health-care and the plight of Americans lower down on the socio-economic ladder, but I am nervous about letting government handle everything.

For the general election, I believe the best man to fix George W. Bush's mess is John McCain. He's been right so far on Iraq, he believes in finishing a job once it's started, he'll speak his mind even if something is unpopular and will cost him the election (unlike the Economist's characterization of Mitt Romney's "oily pandering"), he truly believes in America's ideals when it comes to issues such as torture and Guantanamo Bay, and even as a 71-year old, he is far more energetic than many far younger Americans.

On the Democratic side, I am supporting an "anyone-but-Hillary" strategy. She has once again shown how calculating she is by exploiting her gender to the hilt, first by accusing her contenders of "piling on" at the Drexel University debate a few months back and most recently by shedding some crocodile tears (most likely from a planted question) in a pathetic attempt to showcase her "human side".

But for now, my hopes rest with the Mac.

My Trip Back East

2008-01-01T20:36:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year everyone! Here are some worthy moments from my trip back east. I left Davis for Philadelphia on Friday, December 28, 2007. I was flying United from Sacramento to Chicago O'Hare connecting to Philadelphia. I had heard plenty of horror stories about United and I was quite apprehensive.

I had a connection time of slightly more than an hour in Chicago O'Hare. Unfortunately, due to snow in Chicago that morning, the flight coming into Sacramento was delayed and we took off from Sacramento over an hour late. We made up some of the time in the air and landed in O'Hare at around 8:40 p.m., about 45 minutes behind schedule. I switched on my cell phone when landed on the runway and immediately received a call from Capstone who was tracking my progress and updated me on my connection status, which was quite helpful, albeit a little creepy.

My scheduled 8:53 p.m. departure to Philadelphia was delayed to 9:00 p.m. and then again to 9:04 p.m. giving me precious minutes to make my connection. Unfortunately, the captain announced that the gate was still occupied and it would take about 10-15 minutes for us to get to the gate. At this point, I gave up my chance of making the connection. I thought it would have made some sense for the flight crew to request all the passengers making connections to get off first while the rest remained seated, but they didn't and I wasn't able to follow Capstone's advice, which was to flag down a flight attendant to request they do that. To further compound my bad luck, I was all the way in the back of the plane.

We got to the gate at about 8:50 p.m., but I only exited the plane at about 8:58 p.m. and made a dash for it. My connecting flight was in the next terminal over. I run across a few gates, down an escalator, on a moving walkway, then along another moving walkway (seeing the crowd on the walkway, I rightfully concluded that it would be faster if I ran alongside it rather than on it), and up an escalator into the next terminal and down a few more gates until I reached B6. Arriving breathless at 9:05 p.m., I noticed the gate door closed. The person at the counter asked me to wait a minute, but nonetheless I piped up and asked him if I had missed my plane to Philadelphia. He asked me if I had a ticket and when I replied in the affirmative, he got me on the plane. There were a number of people like me and by the time we all sat down and pushed off from the gate, it was about 9:20 p.m. Thanks to favorable wind conditions, we reached Philadelphia on schedule. I was almost certain that my luggage would not arrive and neither would I have faulted the ground crew, who had only a half an hour at most to transfer the suitcase.

Not only did my luggage arrive, however, it was one of the first few pieces to roll in on the conveyor belt in Philadelphia. On the whole, I was pleasantly surprised with my United flying experience. Maybe American airline operators are not hopeless, after all. I still would not fly an American carrier on a long-haul route, but my esteem for them has gone up slightly.

So anyway, regarding my trip thus far back east, it has been amazing. I had forgotten what it was like to be in a big city and it was wonderful to be back in Philadelphia over the weekend. I've eaten food so far in Rangoon, had bubble tea in The Bubble House, went to my favorite bar in the world, The New Deck Tavern (where, unlike in Davis, they know what a martini is and can actually make a decent one), had food in Philly Diner as well as amazing Indian food in Iselin, NJ. It's been amazing thus far being back east.

Right now, I'm staying with Mani in Ocean Grove, NJ. Tomorrow, I'll be heading up to my favorite city in the world, New York City where I want to have food in Big Wing Wong Chinese Restaurant in Chinatown and Mandoo Bar in the Korean section in Midtown. On Thursday, I'll be heading back to Philly and am hoping that my favorite food trucks will be open so I can grab lunch. On Friday, we'll be dropping our friend back to Binghamton, NY. I'll be in Philadelphia on Saturday and half of Sunday. This trip has been amazing so far, I just wish it didn't have to end so soon. I miss the east coast!

Flying Spaghetti Monsterism as an Alternative to the Theory of Evolution

2007-12-26T16:12:00.000-08:00

The hard work of Pastafarians was instrumental in making those that wanted to teach Creationism in Polk County, Florida the laughing stocks of their communities and beyond. For a good read sure to make any rational person's day, go here.

The article above also mentioned that while the ugly head of religion masquerading as science has been defeated in Polk County, it's still at large in nearby Pinellas County, Florida. So I took the liberty of writing this following e-mail to the Pinellas County School Board members.

"Dear Pinellas County School Board Members,

Four members of the board, Ms. Bostock, Ms. O'Shea, Ms. Gallucci, and Ms. Cook were recently quoted in the St. Petersburg Times of being in favor of teaching alternative theories to evolution in public schools.

http://www.sptimes.com/2007/12/18/Southpinellas/Origin_theories_clash.shtml

As a believing member of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster since 2006, I think it is an admirable move on their part. As Ms. Gallucci was rightly quoted, "students should be given the opportunity to view all theories on how man evolved and let their science background and their religious background take over as to which one they believe in."

I expect that Ms. Gallucci would also insist that equal time be devoted for the theory of creation according to the beliefs of Flying Spaghetti Monsterism. Our central beliefs are that the Universe in the beginning consisted of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, a Mountain, upon which there were some Trees, and a Midget. While scientific techniques such as radiocarbon dating or fossil records seemingly disprove our religion, we believe that such measurements are not accurate as each and every measurement taken by us are modified by His Noodly Appendages.

Of course, there is absolutely not a shred of scientific evidence in support of our theory, but it's obvious that Board Members Bostock, O'Shea, Gallucci, and Cook have not let minutiae such as that stop them.

Of course, we also expect that these board members will be introducing alternatives to the Theory of Gravitation, Theory of General Relativity, and Electromagnetic Theory, among others and that alternatives to these theories as described by Flying Spaghetti Monsterism will receive equal time to the scientific theories currently being taught.

Remember, as Ms. Cook remarked to the St. Petersburg Times, "To teach one [theory] as if nothing else existed, I think we're doing our students a disservice."

Absolutely, which is why students must know that the reason that large objects exert greater force of gravitation is not due to something silly such as "mass", but because the Flying Spaghetti Monster finds it easier to grip large objects with His Noodly Appendages and push them together.

Kudos to Board Members Bostock, O'Shea, Gallucci, and Cook. As happened to your counterparts in nearby Polk County, I look forward to your becoming the new laughing stocks of the nation. Thank you for spreading some holiday cheer for us to enjoy."

Now, it's up to all of you. If you have the chance, please write the School Board. If you're a Pastafarian, then insist that the Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster is given due consideration in science classes. If you're not, make up a theory and insist that it be taught. Clearly, as I've mentioned, for the aforementioned board members, scientific proof is certainly not a requirement for what should be taught in science classes.

Sierra Nevada

2007-12-21T22:07:00.000-08:00

Today I understood why the mountains to the east of Sacramento are called the Sierra Nevada, Spanish for "Snowy Range". At about 4:45 p.m., I was driving east on I-80 along the causeway across the floodplain that covers spans some 10 km between Davis and West Sacramento, with the setting sun just about the horizon behind me.

With flooded rice fields to either side of me, I could see the modest skyline of Sacramento ahead. The mountains that usually loom in a bluish color ahead were instead capped with a brilliant white from top to about halfway down, proudly showing off the 100 cm plus snowfall they've received in the storms of the past week. The jagged outlines of the mountains were clearly visible with the sun's rays (now almost parallel to the ground) hitting the mountain face and reflecting off at almost a 90 degree angle, creating a beautiful contrast with the orange-blue sky.

For a moment, it did not seem like California. I felt as if I was driving along the prairie heading west towards Denver with the Rocky Mountains behind. But no, this was very much California. So on this shortest day of the year, December 21, 2007, I was once again astounded by California's natural beauty. This state never fails to surprise.

A Small Penstroke for Man, A Great Leap for Mankind

2007-12-17T14:13:00.000-08:00

New Jersey became the first state in the U.S. to ban the use of the death penalty and replace it with life imprisonment without possibility of parole through the use of the legislative process. By doing so, New Jersey has now joined the vast majority of civilized societies around the world that have discarded the notion of state-sanctioned murder, i.e. the death penalty, realizing that no one can be declared guilty 100 percent accurately and that the death penalty is one "mistake" that if made, can never be rectified.

I also take this opportunity to remind everyone that this once again marks New Jersey's quiet domination of liberal politics in this country, and along with New Jersey's legislative approval of gay civil unions and forthcoming legislative action on gay marriage, New Jersey is undoubtedly the most progressive state in the country.

I feel the need to mention this because I currently live in California. Californians possess gigantic egos in everything from supposedly how "badass" they are in driving to how liberal they are, flattering themselves with undeserved slogans like "the Left Coast." First of all, Californians need to visit the Phila.-NJ-NYC area to really see "badass" driving in the U.S. and secondly, they are nowhere near as progressive as New Jersey.

Rather than brag about it, New Jersey just goes about pushing back the boundaries of hypocrisy and antiquated policies in a quiet, unassuming manner. More power to it!

My Endorsement for President

2007-12-17T13:15:00.001-08:00

Running down to the last few weeks before the beginning of the Primaries, I thought I should add my own endorsement for the world to see. Rather than endorse a member for the primaries, I am going to endorse the top three people I am supporting to become the 44th President of the United States of America.

#1: Former Senator John Edwards (Democrat - North Carolina)

#2: Senator John McCain (R - Arizona)

#3: Senator Barack Obama (D - Illinois)

Any of these men, in particular either of the first two, would make a fine President and are far ahead of their competitors. The media in this country has already chosen a winner who is not among these three. It is my fervent hope that the people of this country reject the media's corporate choice and ensure that one of these three men, that represent change and a break from the status quo, becomes the next President of the United States.

America, Your Choice is Clear

2007-12-13T12:19:00.000-08:00

In the Democratic debate in Iowa today, the last before the all-important caucus on January 3, 2008, the candidates were asked what they would do in the first year of their office. Here are the front runners' responses.

Hillary Clinton: Bring the troops home; send bipartisan emissaries around the world and let them know the era of cowboy diplomacy is over; rescind executive orders that undermine the Constitution; end the “Bush war on science” and sign some of the legislation he vetoed, like the one on stem cell research.

Barack Obama: End the war; initiate diplomacy to stabilize the country; review every single executive order issued by Bush and rescind those that would undermine the constitution.

John Edwards: End the war; close Guantanamo; restore civil liberties.

Note the only person to mention Guantanamo Bay and civil liberties, the two points undermining the human rights record of this country. That's why I support Edwards, the only man whose response when presented a thought-provoking question was not just to provide answers that flow with the political winds of this country but to make a statement with conviction on exactly what you believe, though it may not be most popular.

Hillary and Barack, for your information, the very existence of Guantanamo Bay detention facilities undermine the Constitution. Just so you know.

Remember, America is not a democracy, a flawed system that would eventually result in tyranny by the majority. We are a constitutional republic. That means, even if a majority of Americans support something, it cannot be law if it violates the fundamental rights of human beings as enshrined in the Constitution. The detention facilities at Guantanamo Bay violate the fundamental rights of human beings. America should not be holding people for years on end without a trial.

Disregard My Last Post "The Burmese Situation"

2007-12-07T17:27:00.000-08:00

Once again, realpolitik wins over truth.

If we were steadfast, we would threaten a boycott of the 2008 Olympics and pass punitive measures against India, China and ASEAN. The gist of the article, that we have no clout in the region, is nonsense. If we wanted to have clout, we would have clout. It would take sacrifices on our part, but we could do something.

But, people of Burma, we care more about cheap goods to increase the luxury of our own lives than we do about your fundamental rights as human beings.

On behalf of western society to the people of Burma, I would like to say the following, meaningless as it may be to you as you suffer unjustly at the hands of a brutal regime.

I am sorry.

The Burmese Situation

2007-11-20T12:03:00.000-08:00

ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) signed a new landmark charter setting out ASEAN's principles and rules for the first time, which included a commitment to promote human rights and democracy. That's great, but one of ASEAN's members is Burma, a nation whose military dictatorship brutally suppressed peaceful protests by monks less than two months ago. So unless ASEAN wants its new landmark charter to become irrelevant sooner than the ink dries, it needs to finally take tough action on the Burmese regime.

Philippine President Gloria Arroyo had it right when she said that the Philippine Congress would have great difficulty in ratifying this new charter unless the Burmese junta made real progress on human rights, including freeing opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and progressing on talks towards meaningful, democratic reform.

Way to go Philippines, now can we see more of the same from other ASEAN nations?

I've said this a million times before, but the West needs to morally lead on this, because ASEAN, China and India are all morally bankrupt when it comes to Burma. Their response to the situation has been downright deplorable. It's clear that Burma's decline into the abyss threatens to take down ASEAN with it. The junta is clearly trying to buy time and hoping the international attention shifts elsewhere, or perhaps stall until the Beijing Olympics are over so that China loses any interest in resolving this issue. We can't let that happen. Economically, the U.S. and E.U. need to start punishing corporations with targeted sanctions from ASEAN, China, and India that help prop up the Burmese regime. Either corporations from these countries choose to do business with Burma or they choose to do business in the U.S. and E.U. They shouldn't have it both ways.

The E.U. recently ratcheted up its sanctions on Burma, including on Burmese gemstones. Both the U.S. and E.U. need to aggressively move to ensure that Burmese gemstones are blocked even when routed through a third country. The sale of gemstones is one of the biggest source of revenue for the junta. Financial tightening is having a limited effect on the junta and the West needs to tighten that noose as much as possible.

We can't let up on the pressure now. ASEAN, China and India need to know that the world's gaze is still fixed on them.

End of Romance? From Tennessee to North Carolina!

2007-11-14T14:15:00.000-08:00

Before former President-elect Gore began to ratchet up his string of accomplishments this year, that started with an Oscar and ended with a Nobel Peace Prize and included a worldwide series of concerns highlighting climate change in between, Donna Brazile, the manager of Gore's 2000 Presidential Campaign, said "I’m dating. I haven’t fallen in love yet" regarding a 2008 bid.

In the months since, horrified by the thought of a Hillary Clinton presidency, thousands of grassroots supporters like me acted to tried to convince him to run again for the Presidency, knowing that he could win again, just like he did last time. We chipped in what we could to run a full page ad in the New York Times last month and run television commercials in key early primary states such as Iowa and New Hampshire. I myself recently volunteered to start collecting signatures to place Al Gore on the ballot for the California Primary.

Well, remember Donna Brazile's comment, unfortunately, it seems like the romance is dead, at least for this year ...

California Draft Gore, the organization heading the effort to place Gore on the primary, received communication from a member of Gore's staff discouraging any efforts to place his name on the primary and subsequently, the group has halted all signature collection and fund raising efforts. This is not the happiest of days, but the Draft Gore movement and its grass roots success will hopefully prod other candidates to take stronger stances on global warming and work with Gore and the private sector to maximize renewable energies.

As for the former Vice-President and President-elect himself, by taking a position in a venture capital firm to promote green technologies, he is obviously trying to tackle climate change from the private sector, where the Supreme Court cannot steal his victories.

Now, who is the next person to get my endorsement for the Presidency? From what I've seen so far in the debates and beyond, I was very impressed with John Edwards and Edwards is my man. Hillary is a disgusting alternative and I really don't see what's so great about Obama, except for the novelty factor that he's black! Obama's main weakness is his inexperience and I think that an Edwards / Obama ticket is the best for the nation at present.

Why Bush-Lite?

2007-11-04T15:20:00.000-08:00

With the political winds in this country stiffly blowing to the left and a nation hungry for change, I continue to be astounded beyond belief of why there is such strong support for Bush-lite, a.k.a. Hillary Rodham Clinton rather than for real change.

Iraq:

Barack Obama said on October 26, 2002:
"I am not opposed to all wars. I'm opposed to dumb wars. [...] You want a fight, President Bush? Let's finish the fight with Bin Laden and al-Qaeda, through effective, coordinated intelligence, and a shutting down of the financial networks that support terrorism, and a homeland security program that involves more than color-coded warnings."

John Edwards voted for the resolution authorizing the war in Iraq, but he's human. On November 13, 2005, he came out and said in the Washington Post, "I was wrong."

On the contrary, Hillary Clinton voted for the resolution authorizing war, refuses to admit she did anything wrong, and turned against the war only when the political winds became overwhelmingly favorable for it. She instead parrots repeatedly,

""Obviously, if we knew then what we know now, there wouldn't have been a vote," she said in her usual refrain before adding, "and I certainly wouldn't have voted that way.""

As a nation, haven't we had enough of a president who cannot admit to any wrongdoing? Do we really need four ... (or perhaps eight) ... more years of this nonsense?

Iran:

While in the most recent Democratic debate, Hillary Clinton was the ONLY candidate to vote for the saber-rattling initiative of George Bush's planned war on Iran. The question of whether she has learned nothing from Iraq is irrelevant because she is for the war in Iraq. She only says she's against it because it's politically expedient now to say so. In all her actions, including those on Iran, she is as much of a neo-con hawk as George Bush, Dick Cheney, or any of the other thugs in this current administration. What was that word that Edwards used to so succintly yet comprehensively describe Hillary Clinton? Ah yes, double-talk.

Real Change in Washington:

The Money Race:
Democrats Find Favor With G.O.P. Mainstays

"People working for energy and natural resources companies gave 80 percent of their presidential contributions to Mr. Bush in 2004. This year, 59 percent of their money has gone to Republicans. Mr. Giuliani has been the biggest recipient, with $818,000. Mrs. Clinton is second with $569,000."

I guess we can forget about a President Hillary Clinton doing anything about global warming ...

"The health care industry, which had a rocky history with the last Democratic administration, President Bill Clinton’s, has given $6.3 million to Democrats, including $2.6 million to Mrs. Clinton, more than any other candidate. It has given $4.8 million to Republicans."

With more than 40% of the health care industry's Democratic contributions going to Clinton, let's forget any action on her part to reform the health care industry in this country. The pharmaceutical and other giant corporations will continue to pull the strings behind a President Hillary Clinton.

"The construction industry still favors Republicans but less than before. It put about 70 percent of its presidential money into Mr. Bush’s campaign in 2004 but has given just 59 percent of it to Republicans this year; Mr. Giuliani received $1.4 million, and Mrs. Clinton received $1.3 million."

Say goodbye to any major measures to protect American forests from the hands of construction ...

"Likewise, agribusiness, which gave to Republicans by a 3-to-1 ratio in 2004, has only slightly favored Republicans this year, with $3.2 million for presidential candidates. Mitt Romney received the most, $565,000, but Mrs. Clinton was close behind, with $524,000."

Expect more of the same here as well ... gee, so what's the difference between Republicans and Democrats?

I so far haven't been able to figure out how anyone could be apathetic about politics, but if the 2008 general election comes down to Rudolph Giuliani (a bonafide fascist who really believes that he can do whatever he wants, Constitutional-constraints notwithstanding) vs. Hillary Clinton (a money-whore who can be bought by any industry to do their bidding), I'll be sitting at home watching House on Tuesday night, November 4, 2008 rather than any news channels.

If any of you reading this happen to be Hillary Clinton supporters, please please please tell me what makes you support her presidential aspirations? Do you truly believe that she has even an ounce of integrity or that she will be any different from George Bush?

A Nobel Laureate President

2007-10-12T10:18:00.000-07:00

Run, Al, run!

Watching history unfold

2007-09-22T13:18:00.000-07:00

Burmese monks pray alongside Thai monks at a monastery in Thailand; a small group of monks marched in central Burma in defiance of the junta's bloody crackdown last month, photo from BBC News

EDIT 29, 10/31/07: This article describes the steps that the Burmese junta has taken to try to break up the opposition from the monks. Despite all this, despite the knowledge of what happened a month ago, despite the overwhelming sense of fear and intimidation, the monks have decided to march again. My admiration and respect for their bravery in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds knows no bounds. Let none of us take freedom for granted, for it's something so precious that these monks are willing to spill their blood again and again.

EDIT 28, 10/31/07: We all know what happened a month and a half ago. Monks marched in protest, military junta launched a brutal crackdown, the world was outraged but did nothing except send an envoy. The junta took small steps such as meeting Aung San Suu Kyi but nonetheless slept at night in peace knowing that it had crushed any threat to its power.

Not so fast ... in a heroically brave show of defiance, a group of more than 100 monks marched in the streets of Pakokku on Tuesday, in central Burma near Mandalay. Incidentally, it was the junta's beating of the monks in Pakokku that sparked the nationwide mass protests against the junta by the monks in September. It's too soon to tell if this will be the launch of a series of new protests (since scores of monks are still missing and presumably either dead or in the junta's custody), but with UN Envoy Ibrahim Gambari due to be in Burma all of next week, all eyes are on the junta now.

Meanwhile, ordinary Burmese people themselves continue to show defiance to the junta wherever possible. As one incredibly wise Burmese shopkeeper noted, "If we stop now, we will get the government that we deserve." The Burmese people are fighting hard, it's time for the world to honor our obligations to our fellow humans yearning for freedom.

EDIT 27, 10/23/07: A lot of events have happened over the past few days and unfortunately I didn't have the time to report on them in a timely manner. So in case any of you have not been following the news daily, let me provide an update of what's happening.

The general sense of fear and intimidation by the military is there, though it's clear that Burmese society has been shaken to the core due to the junta's acts of violence against the monks.

Though the Burmese junta has taken a step of two forward by lifting the curfew in Rangoon, allowing the UN's human rights expert to visit after refusing him permission for four years, and meeting once again the UN Special Envoy Ibrahim Gambari, the fact on the ground is that thousands of monks are still missing and presumably being tortured in custody, the manhunt for participants in last months' protests continues, and a climate of fear is all pervasive.

Meanwhile, India seems to be tepidly exploring the possibility of actually stepping forward and doing something. India's response to this whole crisis, to me as an Indian citizen, has been downright shameful and reprehensible. As the only liberal democracy in the region, India has behaved no better than autocratic China and if a government headed by Aung Sang Suu Kyi decides to sell Burma's natural resources only to the E.U. and U.S. rather than to India, a country that abandoned the Burmese people when they needed it most, I will actually be happy.

It's a massive sign of the junta's incompetence that Arakan state in Burma which has one of the natural gas reserves in Asia and with so much potential for development is also so desperately poor. For now, the people are back to their sad routine of being preoccupied with finding food for their next meal, but being the optimist I am, the junta's days are numbered. If only the western world possessed the moral fortitude to place sanctions on Burma's backers, India and China, as well.

EDIT 26, 10/13/07: Despite the UN Security Council's statement and assurances given to the UN that arrests have stopped, three more key democracy activists (the last expected to be still at large) were arrested by the junta. The Burmese junta, encouraged by the fact that their Chinese allies will deflect any real UN pressure, are making a mockery of the UN. Let's see how many photo ops Gambari poses for this time around with the generals.

EDIT 25, 10/11/07: There has been some sobering news from Burma but there has been uplifting news as well. Democracy activist Win Shwe died in custody (murdered would be more appropriate) and he was likely tortured as well before his death. This hero's death needs to galvanize the international spotlight on the thousands of other innocent Burmese citizens still in the junta's clutches and who are likely in equally or more desperate situations.

The UN Security Council adopted a statement today deploring the junta's crackdown on peaceful activists. Though watered down (instead of "condemning", the Security Council "strongly deplored" the use of violence), the statement is somewhat significant since China did not veto it. How much this international pressure will work on a regime known for its insularity is unclear, but UN Envoy Gambari is set to return to Burma next week thankfully much sooner than his earlier stated intent to return by "mid-November".

Meanwhile, here's another article on Burmese society and its struggle to come to terms with what the junta has done to that which is most sacred in junta, the monks that are the living representatives of Buddhism.

EDIT 24, 10/09/07: The steps that the international community can take on restoring peace in Burma are few. The Burmese people, more than democracy, just want food on their table and sanctions would not help their desperate situation. Clearly, Burma's junta gets more than enough patronage from China and India, so sanctions would hurt the ordinary Burmese citizen, not the junta.

A peacekeeping force seems to be the best option for now, but it's likely that Russia and China would veto any UN peacekeeping force. As for NATO, it is stretched far too thin from Kosovo to Afghanistan to be able to secure yet another country. The best option would be to use as much leverage as possible in order to secure a peacekeeping force from ASEAN, China and India to control sensitive cities and prod the junta on a path to political reconciliation. The Olympics can be used as pressure on China to contribute troops and where China goes, India will certainly follow to protect its own interests. But is there political will to do this?

Meanwhile, the junta is trying to deflect tension while appearing to be ready for talks, but with conditions that are so preposterous, the offer is basically meaningless.

EDIT 23, 10/08/07: "I hate government."

That's the message that Burmese citizens are still trying to get across to the international audience, often at great personal risk. As nighttime raids continue and the junta's propaganda machine tries to sell what no one is buying and even if the fires of democracy have been seemingly extinguished, the embers are still very much smoldering, waiting for favorable conditions again and until then, surviving in fear and uncertainty.

Meanwhile, the junta has seemingly appointed a go-between for talks with Aung San Suu Kyi although they are continuing to insist that she admit to offenses she has not committed.

EDIT 22, 10/06/07: This is an interesting article regarding the Burmese junta mindset. It's important that as the international community tries to resolve the situation in Burma, it keeps in mind that the crackpot generals leading the country really do believe in their own propaganda. The highly insular nature of the military ensured that it did not flinch even when ordered to beat and kill Buddhist monks, the moral center of Burmese society. The military itself believes that even these Buddhist monks were being controlled by foreign colonial powers and that it's the military's job to to "protect" Burma.

Thanks to generous sops and pay scales, the Burmese military is detached from the grinding struggle that is life for ordinary Burmese citizens. We have to keep in mind that economic sanctions alone will not affect the Burmese regime. Our action has to be more concrete, such as a total arms embargo that will choke the military itself. If China and India need to be punished to fall in line, then so be it. It's clear that any moral imperative on this issue needs to come from the West, as Burma's neighbors seem only too keen to place economic interests above human rights.

In the meantime, protests continued throughout the world against the Burmese junta. As the lady marching in London said, it's important that we follow Aung Sang Suu Kyi's pleas. We must use our liberty to promote liberty in Burma.

Meanwhile, I managed to catch an interview of UN Envoy Ibrahim Gambari by Matt Frei on yesterday evening's BBC World News. Matt Frei really ripped apart Ibrahim Gambari who continued to parrot the same phrase over and over again: "I have gone to Burma to convey the Security Council's outrage ... blah blah blah." As Matt Frei pointed out, while Mr. Gambari was posing for photo ops with the Burmese generals, soldiers were dragging people out of their homes in the middle of the night and hauling them away to secret, remote prisons. To this Mr. Gambari responded that he was informed that during his visit the raids had stopped. What kind of envoy is this if he doesn't even know what's going on in the country he's supposed to be an envoy to? Now he's planned a visit to Burma earlier than mid-November? It almost seems to me that the UN is taking as much time as possible hoping that this issue disappears off the world radar. That can't be right, can it? Certainly not from an organization that has countries like China and Saudi Arabia on its "human rights council"?

A group of monks listen to the testimony at the UN, Photo from NY Times

EDIT 21, 10/05/07: The UN Envoy Ibrahim Gambari has described before the United Nations Security Council the horrors unfolding inside Burma. The Security Council has heard all it needs to know about the night time raids, arbitrary arrests, mass relocations, and beatings "being committed by security and non-uniformed elements."

Not surprisingly, China seems to be trying to act preemptively to avert any kind of real punitive measures, i.e. anything beyond words and expressions of "concern." The Chinese ambassador to the UN said: “If the situation in Myanmar [Burma] takes a worse turn because of external intervention, it would be the people of Myanmar [Burma] who will bear the brunt.”

Right, as if China, or for that matter any of Burma's neighbors, have an iota of concern for the Burmese people. China and India are trying to pump out as many natural resources from Burma as quickly as possible and if that means propping up an illegitimate regime and condemning a nation to starvation and penury, so be it! It's time for the world to prod Burma's neighbors harder. India is not so closely linked economically with the Burmese junta and there is a real grassroots movement in Indian society vilifying the government's stance on the issue, so the Indian government should cooperate with the West eventually, especially in the face of a threat of decreased investment. For China, it seems that a boycott of the Beijing Olympics is the greatest leverage we have at our disposal and we should actively use it if Beijing refuses to go beyond mere words in helping resolve this situation in Burma.

As for the junta's offer to meet Aung San Suu Kyi, the conditions they have put forward is so ridiculous that it isn't even an offer at all. The junta says Ms. Suu Kyi should drop her "attitude of confrontation" and support for "economic sanctions" on Burma. That's so ridiculous that only the lunatic junta in Burma could possibly conjure it up. First of all, when Ms. Suu Kyi's party was elected in a landslide victory in democratic elections in 1990, it was the junta that nullified those results and has kept her in house arrest since. It was the junta that orchestrated that a gang of thugs attack her entourage when she was briefly let out of house arrest in 2003. It is the junta's illegitimacy in the eyes of the world's civilized nations that is the cause of the economic sanctions on Burma, not Ms. Suu Kyi. The junta is trying to buy time and aided by their masters in Beijing, they're trying to say something, indeed anything, to get some of the international pressure off.

If the junta indeed were serious about reconciliation, then they still wouldn't be conducting night-time raids and hauling thousands of monks away to remote prisons.

EDIT 20, 10/03/07: According to this article, things are desperate and the immediate outlook for those detained by the junta is very bleak. As the businessman looking for his missing 18 year old daughter said, "that [pressure from the outside world on the junta] has to happen now. Not next week or next month." With thousands of citizens missing and regular night-time raids on houses, one would think that there would be a greater sense of urgency on the part of the international community. Anyway, let's see what Gambari has to say in the next day or two and how quickly the Security Council can respond to what he says.

EDIT 19, 10/03/07: According to latest news reports, scores of monks are now trying to escape from Rangoon, presumably in order to avoid the ongoing crackdown by the junta. Reports indicate that night-time police raids are still continuing. The report from UN Special Envoy Ibrahim Gambari is expected later this week. Given that Mr. Gambari seems to be taking his own sweet time and there doesn't seem to be a real sense of urgency, I would hope that his report is thoroughly comprehensive and outlines a plan for reconciliation in Burma. I somehow doubt that because the junta's actions since Mr. Gambari's visit show no indications of reconciliation. The Security Council's response, especially China's response, will be interesting. If China vetoes a Security Council move again, then we are going to have to demand a boycott of the Beijing Olympics.

Also unfortunately, the flow of information out of Burma has been cut. The junta has shut off the internet in the country. While various other repressive regimes have resorted to cutting off the internet, again the junta in Burma is a special case. For a country that is so isolated from the international world, cutting off the internet will have little economic consequences and even if it does, the illogical junta will hardly care. We can only hope that those Burmese citizens still brave enough to risk torture to spread the word will be able to find another way to communicate.

EDIT 18, 10/02/07: The UN Envoy Ibrahim Gambari met with junta leader Than Shwe and subsequently with democracy activist under house arrest Aung San Suu Kyi a second time before leaving Burma. The fact that he met Ms. Suu Kyi a second time gives me hope that there is some scope for political reconciliation, but this is the same junta that fired live ammunition into crowds of peacefully protesting monks last week. Those same monks are being confined in squalid conditions about to be shipped to secret, remote prisons. So maybe the glimmer of hope I have is misplaced. I've said it once before and I'll say it once again. The international community has to respond. If the junta doesn't continue on the path to reconciliation, then the UN Security Council will have to impose sanctions and arms embargoes. If China vetoes this resolution, then the 2008 Olympics must be boycotted. That's the only language the Chinese will understand and that's the only way to bring them around.

Meanwhile, within Burma, things are far from normal. The uprising is far from over, it's just been smothered by the heavy military presence. The underlying grievances which gave rise to these popular protests remains unsolved. In addition, people are outraged but also terrified seeing that the military would not hesitate even to massacre Buddhist monks. Monasteries are still refusing to accept alms from the military, a hugely symbolic gesture in a devoutly Buddhist country. In addition, there are still pockets of resistance in the country, tremendously brave acts considering that these people have seen just to what level of brutality the junta is willing to go to.

EDIT 17, 10/01/07: Thousands of monks currently being detained are about to be shipped by Burma's junta to remote prisons in the country's far north. Meanwhile, the junta is merrily delaying meeting with the UN Envoy, Ibrahim Gambari. The junta has managed by brute force to stamp a picture of normality in Burma and snuff out the protests for now. Thousands of disrobed, shackled, and hungry monks are being shipped to secret, isolated prisons. Everything still depends on the international community. I myself am beginning to fear that, in this instance, the rise of democracy has been crushed by an iron hammer.

Editorial cartoon by Stephane Peray, The Nation, Bangkok, Thailand

EDIT 16, 09/30/07: The above editorial cartoon seems to once again confirm the UN's worthlessness. If the UN Special Envoy Ibrahim Gambari can't deliver results, then perhaps it would be best if the United Nations sticks to humanitarian efforts and ceases to pretend that it is actually worth something.

EDIT 15, 09/28/07: The junta seems to have for now quelled the protests. Rangoon saw intense security cover on Friday and most of the monasteries were sealed off completely. Sporadic groups of protesters took to the streets but the Burmese military were quick to use force in dispersing them. UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown believes that the number of dead may be many times that of the official figure of 9. Meanwhile, UN Special Envoy Ibrahim Gambari is due to arrive in Burma on Saturday. While the junta may have succeeded in quelling the protests for now, international condemnation is another matter entirely. Intense pressure will be on the junta to begin inclusive talks of democratic reform, which will include talking to Aung San Suu Kyi and release of all political prisoners. Again, everything rests in how much influence China, mainly, and India as well, can place on the junta.

EDIT 14, 09/27/07: This article describes well the sacrifices that Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi has made for her country and her people. She is a lady who is rightfully the elected leader of Burma, but is languishing under house arrest for the past two decades. She had to choose between her husband and her country and as a result was not able to be near him when he died of cancer. She is a lady who for the past few years has been in total isolation under house arrest, with NO visitors allowed. Imagine, no human contact! She is a lady of boundless courage and determination, and as the recent protests have shown us, a tremendous number of the Burmese people share these noble characteristics.

Street littered with sandals left by fleeing protesters after the Burmese military opened fire, Photo

EDIT 13, 09/27/07: The Burmese military opened fire on protesters in Rangoon on Thursday, killing at least nine people. Again, we have seen little but token words come from the international community. China, for the first time, publicly expressed concern and hoped that the authorities would prevent the situation from getting "complicated." With troops firing on unarmed protesters, I think the situation is already complicated. It's time for more than words.

The military in overnight raids arrested and trucked away hundreds of monks, so the monk presence on the streets was lighter. Nonetheless, before troops started firing on the crowds, a crowd of 50,000 comprised mainly of civilians with some monks, gathered in the Sule Pagoda in downtown Rangoon to jeer the soldiers. A crowd of another 10,000, led by monks, protested some distance away. It will be interesting to see what the response to the shootings by the troops will be tomorrow. More interesting will be how the international community handles this situation. Boycott Beijing 2008, anyone?

EDIT 12, 09/26/07: India *finally* seems to be getting into the act, however timidly, even as the junta conducted nighttime raids and arrested scores of monks overnight.

"In the first high level comment by his country, the Indian Foreign Minister, Pranab Mukherjee, said India hoped all Burmese people would be involved in national reconciliation and political reform."

Meanwhile, India's leading newspaper, in its trademark fiery fashion, said the following:

"India should quietly urge Myanmar towards it [seeing another point of view]. We are not like China. We champion democratic values. Do something."

Yes, Manmohan Singh and co., DO SOMETHING!

Monks face off in a peaceful manner against armed forces, Photo from NY Times

EDIT 11, 09/26/07: For all the optimism these protests being, this article is a bone-chilling reminder of what reality in Burma is. I don't think China has to worry about "losing" Burma to India. There cannot exist a scenario where India will stay silent while China speaks out about human rights abuses, not in this world at least. The bigger worry for China is that the protests in Burma may give its own people some ideas. On the one hand at the extreme, China is faced with a boycott of its Olympics. On the other hand at the extreme, the survival of the Chinese Communist Party may be at stake.

EDIT 10, 09/26/07: I've said it before and I'll say it again, yay for technology! Every Burmese citizen who takes a photo, who records a video, who logs onto an unregistered computer, who bypasses government controls and censorship, who gets word to the outside world on what the Burmese people are facing, is committing an act of immense heroism. So here's to their bravery!

"On a broad avenue near the temple, hundreds of people sat facing a row of soldiers, calling out to them: “The people’s armed forces, our armed forces!" and, "The armed forces should not kill their own people!”"

Burmese soldiers, are you listening?

This is all that the monks are asking for

Civilians formed a human shield to protect monks. Contrary to the junta's claim that this uprising involves only young monks, the reality is clearly different. Photo from BBC News.

Red Cross workers tending to injuries on a monk, photo from BBC News

EDIT 9, 09/26/07: Despite the use of tear gas and baton charges by the Burmese military and riot police, 10,000 monks and civilians marched through Rangoon defying the junta's very real threats. One monk was reportedly beaten to death and two others are in critical condition. Another Reuters report says that two monks and one civilian have been killed so far. An emergency meeting of the UN Security Council has been called for 1900 GMT today. It will be interesting to see China's response.

EDIT 8, 09/25/07: Riot police have started beating monks in Rangoon. I'm about to go sleep now. When I wake up in the morning, I really hope the worst will not have transpired.

EDIT 7, 09/25/07: It is now morning, Wednesday September 26 in Burma. Apparently, Burmese troops have surrounded the monasteries in an attempt to prevent a ninth day of protests. They wouldn't be stupid enough to cause bloodshed, not when the entire world is watching, right? Meanwhile, the monks leading this protest are trying to apply as many lessons from the 1988 massacres as possible.

Monks leading a protest on Tuesday, photo from NY Times

EDIT 6, 09/25/07: The junta has now imposed a dusk to dawn curfew and deployed troops along the routes the protesters have taken. A showdown is now imminent. In 1988, the government was able to convince the foot soldiers that the protesters were incited by communist insurgents. But now, I wonder how many soldiers will fire at unarmed Buddhist monks, if given such an order. China and India, the world is watching you as well.

EDIT 5, 09/25/07: On Tuesday, September 25, army trucks went around Burma's cities warning citizens not to take part in these protests, otherwise "action will be taken." It was not a warning to be taken lightly. Burma's military junta is among the most repressive regimes on the planet and the last time that mass protests were cracked down upon, 3,000 civilians were dead. To their immense credit, defying the junta's threats, tens of thousands of brave Burmese monks led tens of thousands of brave Burmese civilians in protests in Rangoon and other cities.

Meanwhile, in New York at the United Nations, U.S. President George Bush denounced the junta's "reign of fear" and announced new sanctions. However, as I said in my last post, it's imperative that Burma's main trading partners, China, India, and Thailand, get involved and defuse this crisis before widespread bloodshed takes place. The junta's time is up. It's time for them to sit down at the table and start the process to real democracy.

Monks marching in a Rangoon suburb, photo from BBC News

EDIT 4, 09/24/07: The U.S. will announce a wave of fresh sanctions on Burma at the UN General Assembly. The E.U. will undoubtedly follow suit. Unfortunately, the impact of the U.S. and E.U. will be very limited, mainly because the we don't do much business with the junta in the first place.

The actions of the U.S. and E.U. have been completely overshadowed by the deafening silence emanating from the nations that the junta does conduct business with, China and India. While China's refusal to speak out in favor of democratic protests is completely understandable, India's silence is inexcusable. India has clearly abandoned the Nehruvian ideals under which it was founded and money seems to be India's only motive these days, which is truly sad. In fact, as the Burmese monks and civilians were trudging along the streets of Burma demanding freedom, India Petroleum Minister Murli Deora was meeting with the junta and penning a new $150 million investment in Burma. This Times of India article explains India's stance well.

India cannot stay silent forever. If the junta responds violently to the protests and India remains silent, then India's motto "Satyameva Jayate" ("Truth Always Triumphs") will prove to be something solely to be printed on the cover of passports.

EDIT 3, 09/24/07: On Monday, between 50,000 to 100,000 protesters marched in Rangoon, with huge columns of monks leading the way. The junta has met with senior clergy and warned them to control the young monks leading this protest and has now warned of "taking action." These protests are going to get larger day by day.

Here are some photos of the latest marches.

I really hope the junta does not resort to violence against these unarmed, peaceful protesters, but if it does, the international community needs to be galvanized into action. For now, let's wait and see what happens. In the above article, scroll down to the comments section. The Burmese people are filled with hatred for the regime and desperately want freedom, but there seems to be a very real fear of retribution from the junta. I can only imagine the conditions under which these brave people have to live their lives. Our prayers are with the Burmese people in their struggles.

EDIT 2, 09/23/07: Here's a New York Times article on the protests. Two significant points of the article are worth noting. First is the comparison between the 1988 protests with those now. In 1988, there was no internet, no blogs, no method for the outside world to follow what was happening in Burma. As they say, out of sight is out of mind. So yay for technology that facilitates the spread of freedom! The eyes of the world as well as Burmese people from all walks of life are now on the military junta.

Secondly, it's fascinating to see how this protest has evolved. Two "sons of Burma" (students and monks) have joined together and when the third son (the military) joins as happened during the Carnation Revolution, the junta's days are over.

EDIT, 09/23/2007: The protests are now the largest in 20 years, with thousands of civilians joining the monks. Let's all take a moment of silence every day and think of the brave people of Burma marching in the streets for freedom, something we take for granted day in and day out. Fyi, this is how this story is being reported in societies living under tyranny. I love how all the related news articles publicize the talking points of the ruling junta.

It's not often in the course of our lifetimes that we can see history unfold. Famous events have of course been the landing of man on the moon, the Carnation Revolution, the fall of the Berlin Wall, or the massacre of pro-democracy activists at Tiananmen Square. At the time all these above events happened, I was either not born yet or was too young to understand what was going on.

This week, we just may be seeing history in the making and it's my fervent hope that the outcome is different from what happened in Tiananmen Square. Angered by a dramatic increase in fuel prices in August, monks in Burma, renamed Myanmar by the ruling military junta, have been marching in protest of the regime. Contrary to everyone's expectations, the protests have picked up in intensity. The monks have publicly staged a showdown with the military junta and have denounced the junta as the "enemy of the people" and have vowed to not rest until they "wiped the military dictatorship from the land."

For some background info on how repressive conditions are in Burma under the junta's rule, these are some nice articles:

Burma: Orwellian state, with teashops

Daily struggle to cope

Burma's public service suffering

Burma's opposition muted but alive

Should tourists go to Burma?

Now that you know the background and are hopefully sufficiently outraged, here are some articles about the ongoing protests. Let's hope they continue to grow in strength and the "three sons" of Burma join forces to liberate this country and its people. It has long been my belief that the winds of democracy may follow a winding path, but they will eventually reach every nook and corner of this planet.

On the run in Burma

Suu Kyi greets Burma protesters

Rumbling protests worry Burma's leaders

Protests bring new hope to Burmese

Burma junta faces monks' challenge

Paul Krugman's Wile E. Coyote Moment

2007-09-21T17:11:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, the U.S. dollar reached a new low against the Euro at $1.41 and it reached parity with the Canadian dollar. While we know this makes traveling abroad for Americans very difficult, it causes numerous other problems abroad. If you think of the global economy as a car engine, the United States is the piston & crankshaft assembly. Basically, the U.S. economy dictates the global economy.

Already, reverberations are being felt in Europe. Companies like Airbus are obviously the big losers, due to their sales being in dollars and operating costs being in Euros, they lose big to competitors such as Boeing. The problem could echo across Germany. As the article says, German automakers (as well as Japanese, Korean, British, and pretty much anyone else) depend on U.S. sales heavily. With the slide in value of the dollar, they'll either be forced to raise prices or shift manufacturing facilities to countries outside Europe where the Euro is not in use. Either way, it's going to cost them. Together, the slide of the dollar could very well force Europe into a recession.

So you may ask, why do we care about the Europeans? If Boeing and U.S. automakers benefit, isn't that a good thing? Why can't we let the dollar continue sliding and reap profits? Well, it's more complicated than that.

You probably don't know, but the Chinese own us. The Chinese possess $900 billion in U.S. treasury bonds, thanks to our massive trade deficit. Basically, we're continuously pressuring them to devalue their currency, which desperately needs devaluation, and our own currency is sliding. Since the Chinese renminbi is pegged to the U.S. dollar, their currency slides along with ours and it doesn't make them happy. China has repeatedly threatened to liquidate their entire store of $900 billion in treasury bonds, something referred to as the "nuclear option" in state run media. In addition, we're now hearing rumblings from the Middle East where the Saudis are thinking of decoupling their currency from the U.S. dollar. The above article explains this well.

Basically, even the Chinese "nuclear option" by itself is enough to push the U.S. into a recession. The Bush administration has long been plagued by inaction because of the belief that a weak dollar would stimulate U.S. exports and make the Bush economic record rosier than it actually should be. Well, I think we're close to the breaking point. We need to act before we reach the Wile E. Coyote moment?

Ahmedinejad's Visit to Columbia

2007-09-21T12:58:00.000-07:00

So apparently Mahmoud Ahmedinejad is visiting Columbia University and this has ruffled quite a few feathers. I think Mayor Bloomberg is doing the right thing. In this country, universities have the right to invite who they want to speak and individual citizens have the right to attend or not attend, to protest or not protest. That's one of the great things about living in a free society.

A major part of the opposition to Ahmedinejad's visit is his call for the destruction of Israel and his statements in the past denying the Holocaust. So what, the man's clearly a nutcase, but he's entitled to his opinions just like anyone else, isn't he? After all, how different are people that deny evolution compared with those that deny the holocaust? The former are even found in the highest echelons of our current government.

The problem is that the Holocaust is often viewed as a great exception. Free speech is great, EXCEPT when it concerns the Holocaust. After all, so many European countries have anti-Holocaust denial laws and ban Nazi symbols. Perhaps they're right. After all, the Holocaust is probably the single worst thing that has happened in human history. Sure, religious persecution is as old as humanity and religion itself, but never was it carried out with the systematic scheming and planning as during the Holocaust.

And when the anti-Holocaust denial laws were enacted in immediate post-World War II Europe, they probably made a lot of sense in a continent struggling to comprehend what had just happened. But do they make sense now? 60 years later, aren't we mature enough in our modern democracies to allow for unconditional free speech and have people make their own informed, free decisions? Why, even after more than six decades, are we still so touchy regarding the Holocaust that we are willing to make exceptions to the concepts of free speech and expression that we hold so dear?

So I don't think there's anything wrong in Columbia's decision to invite Ahmedinejad. Don't get me wrong, I have problems with the "liberal intellectual crowd" as well. A few years ago, former Iranian President Khatami was speaking somewhere in the U.S. and when pressed on one topic, he said that homosexuals should be given the death penalty. If any Republican or evangelical said that on stage, he would have been booed off stage or worse. But in the case of Khatami, the audience sat silently and listened without so much of a response. I would have expected the crowd to walk out en masse or something of the sort. Surely, our liberal ideas should not be dependent on who's speaking? Similarly with the event involving the leader of the Minutemen who was speaking in Columbia that Bloomberg mentions in the above article. I think the Minutemen are over the top and I do not agree with their vigilante justice methods, but they have a right to speak their opinions. Universities in this country should uphold free speech in all forms, whether in the form of a vigilante, xenophobic cowboy from the southwest or an anti-semitic nut case from the Middle East.

Getting back to Ahmedinejad, yes, he denies the Holocaust and rails for the destruction of Israel. But he's a politician and he does that to get votes. How different is he from our politicians (Giuliani, McCain, et al.) that continue to connect (or attempt to connect) 9/11 with Iraq, and demand that groups like MoveOn.org be "thrown out of the country", notwithstanding constitutional guarantees of free speech in order to get votes? So let's relax, just treat Ahmedinejad as the "McCain of Iran" or "Giuliani of Tehran" and boycott his rants just as we would of those of the Republican nut cases over here.

Final post on the war, for now

2007-09-14T19:18:00.001-07:00

I wasn't able to get home and watch Bush's speech last night on Iraq (it was 6 p.m. out here), but I did read about it and the Democratic response by Sen. Reed. I also watched four presidential aspirants (Obama, Giuliani, Edwards, and McCain) give their thoughts on it and the war later on in the evening.

To be honest, I wasn't happy with anyone. I do not support calls for an immediate withdrawal, because we are seeing some progress in Iraq. But I have to agree with Democratic critics when it's stated that 3 out of 17 benchmarks that have been met is pathetic and of that, it has been mainly helped by factors other than the troop surge.

Both Obama and Edwards talked about the need for political reconciliation in Iraq and getting the Shia and Sunni to sit together and work things out, failing which we would pull our troops out. They are both intelligent men, so I am sure they knew that what they were talking about was complete garbage. Most of the people in power, which now belong to the Shia majority, have NO INTEREST in working things out with the Sunnis and political progress will continue to be tortuously slow, if at all. While many Iraqi politicians may act along with the U.S., they are in reality being controlled by hardline clerics such as al-Sadr and his Mahdi Army. al-Sadr can't wait for American troops to leave. He doesn't want to work with the Sunni minority, he wants to ethnically cleanse them from the country. The carrot will not work in Iraq, the various sectarian tribes have to be brought together using the stick. The Sunnis aren't working with us now because they like democracy, they're cooperating because America is their only chance for survival and they know that. Similarly, only with American might behind the Sunni factions will the Shia majority be willing to sit down and talk.

So does that mean that I agreed with Giuliani and McCain? Sadly, no. Giuliani, instead of dissecting this quagmire openly and honestly, reverted to what the Republicans have been harping about for the last six years. He constantly mentioned Islamic terrorism, the dangers Iran "poses", he played the politics of fear and division that Bush & Karl Rove played so insidiously the last six years. He gave a glimpse into the future in that a Giuliani presidency would be little different from a Bush presidency, as far as the Orwellian warnings about impending doom go at least.

As for McCain, well, his boot licking of George Bush continued unabated. He continued to insist that George Bush is right, much as he has for the past year and beyond.

So you might be wondering, who did I agree with? Well, none of them and all of them, in part.

George Bush - George Bush is right about ONE THING. We have made some progress and our troops should "return on success". However, it's clear that this President does not have a plan for success. He refuses to diplomatically engage Iran and Syria, which is critical if they are to stop interfering within Iraq. If anything, he continued to vilify Iran and ensure that our troops in Iraq face a much tougher task than they have to and will have to stay put much longer than is needed. According to his plan, six months from now, we will be at the same troop strength where we were a year ago and even in January 2009, when he will be leaving office, there will still be 100,000 troops in Iraq!!! If that's what's needed after exhausting all the resources at our disposal and ensuring stability, then fine. But, if this President doesn't want to do the tough things that are needed on the diplomatic front, such as engaging Iran, then his plan is UNACCEPTABLE. His ideological stubbornness is unfair to the troops, it's unfair to the Iraqis, it's unfair to America!

Democrats - I cannot agree with calls for an immediate withdrawal. It would be disastrous and it's playing partisan politics with the security of a nation, a nation we illegally invaded. If we get it wrong, then in any genocide or ethnic cleansing that follows, the blood will be on our hands. However, the Democrats are dead right in calling for engaging countries "we don't like too much" such as Iran and Syria. The Democrats need to drop their calls for an immediate withdrawal and ensure that we use all the diplomatic, as well as military, tools at our disposal to ensure Iraq's stability and get the troops home as quickly as possible.

What the Dems need to do: It's clear that this neo-con administration will sooner disappear rather than diplomatically engage Iran. That leaves the Democrats with only one choice. Impeach Bush, impeach Cheney, and let a President Pelosi do the job right. This President cannot leave his mess for the next one. Once he's impeached, let's try him for war crimes as well.

Sadly, the Dems are too scared to do what's right, they just want to do what's politically expedient. So they'll continue with calls for an immediate withdrawal, Bush will continue to ignore them, he will leave office in January 2009 with 100,000 soldiers in Iraq fighting and dying for a half-hearted cause.

Iraqis' views on the occupation

2007-09-11T14:31:00.000-07:00

This is another nice article, reflecting ordinary Iraqis' views on the occupation. Let's also remember, this is from the NY Times, whose editorials loudly and frequently call for a start to troop withdrawal. However, the article reflects Iraqis' wishes are anything but for a quick withdrawal.

And before anyone asks why we should invest our money and effort for them, let's remember that George Bush and his wild west cowboy diplomacy caused this mess in the first place. If we really want to punish Bush, let's impeach him, impeach his attack dog (also known as Vice President Cheney) and have a President Nancy Pelosi finish the job in Iraq. But let's finish it.

Let's face it. No Democratic president would ever have embarked on this misadventure, but it has been embarked upon and it is our moral responsibility to not leave a sectarian bloodshed in Iraq.

War Progress Report

2007-09-09T23:28:00.000-07:00

With General Petraeus ready to give his status report on the war, I currently agree with most Americans. While I certainly don't trust the Bush administration, I don't trust Congress either in deciding how this war should be waged. I was against the war before it began, against George Bush's 2004 election, and against the troop surge in January. But this summer, the troop surge may have provided modest gains. I think we owe the Iraqis a chance at stability (especially after illegally attacking their country and destroying their infrastructure and society) and if there are signs of improvement (even modest) and General Petraeus thinks things can be improved further, we owe him a fair chance at doing his job.

From another NY Times article, I found this little nugget equally fascinating:

"Mrs. Clinton said that nothing General Petraeus told Congress would persuade her to endorse the Bush administration’s current strategy in Iraq."

Wow, I don't have words to describe this woman. First, she signs a black check for whatever Bush proposed in the aftermath of 9/11, the Patriot Act, the war on Iraq, EVERYTHING! And then, she has the arrogance to refuse to apologize or even admit she was wrong. Instead, she parrots repeatedly "had she known then what she knows now", she would not have acted the same way.

And now, despite the fact that the situation on the ground may be improving and we may be able to control the bloodshed in Iraq and bring about stability before we leave, she insists that she will not listen to a word that anyone else says and will burnish her "anti-war" credentials before the 2008 presidential election!!

Hillary is as much an assault on reason as George Bush. If it's down to Hillary vs. Giuliani or McCain in 2008, vote third party. If it's down to Hillary vs. any of the Republicans that don't believe in evolution, then vote for Hillary, but please perform some penance afterwards.

Run, Al, run!!!

Photos!

2007-09-07T22:09:00.000-07:00

Ok, people, the wait is over. Here are photos of my house, neighborhood, and Davis in general.

Looking southeast down the street from my house

Looking northwest up the street from my house

My house

Another view of my house

What you see as soon as you enter through the front door

Looking up the stairs where the bedrooms are. That's my roommate's dog, Tofu, looking on.

The ceiling of the living room

The living room and the dining area

The kitchen

The cooking area in my kitchen

Our backyard

The lawn area in our backyard

My room is straight ahead. And just to make it clear, the pink laundry basket isn't mine.

My room prior to being furnished, prior to anything actually

My furniture

My room, all furnished and ready

A view of my room from another angle

Capitol Corridor at the train station. You can't beat a $19 ticket to the Bay Area!

Area around the train station

Davis train station, quite a bit smaller than Philadelphia 30th Street Station

Train station during the day

Not in my backyard!

2007-09-06T18:15:00.000-07:00

That phrase and the idea that accompanies that phrase has to be the bane of America. Everyone wants all these benefits, but no one wants to accept any responsibility or even the slightest inconvenience for these benefits? What's next, free lunches for everyone?

Now, the latest hue and cry coming from these armchair protesters is regarding flight paths.

"The plan by the Federal Aviation Administration, in the works for nearly a decade, would simplify the paths taken by aircraft landing at airports in the New York and Philadelphia areas and provide more routes for takeoffs.

The agency expects the plan to result in delays that are 20 percent lower in 2011 than they would be if there were no change in how the air space was being used.

More direct flight paths and steeper takeoffs, which get jetliners into thinner air more rapidly, would curb fuel usage and save $248 million a year, the F.A.A. said."

Hmm ... less delays, less fuel usage, so far this seems like a great plan to me. Oh, and there's another benefit to steeper takeoffs.

"The F.A.A. contends that fewer people would be subjected to noise, in part because planes taking off more steeply would mean fewer low-flying aircraft near homes. But if takeoff routes were varied, people unaccustomed to such noise would start hearing it. Home values, among other considerations, could be affected as flight paths shifted."

And here's where the ugly truth comes out:

"David Neeleman, chairman of JetBlue Airways, which operates from Kennedy Airport, said neighbors near his Connecticut home are upset about the F.A.A. plan, which they believe would redirect flights over well-to-do suburbs not used to such noise."

Ah ha! So it's better that flights continue on their current flight grades causing great inconvenience to a small number of unfortunate (often also referred to as less-fortunate) citizens rather than adopt steeper and varied flight paths that would cause lesser inconvenience, but affect more people.

Hmm ... so take all these problems and subject them to as small a demographic as possible. That's the American way!

Never mind that people from these well-to-do suburbs in Connecticut not used to such noise are probably the business travelers that created this mess in the first place. The last thing a wealthy businessman needs to hear when he gets home from his trip abroad is the sound of planes flying overhead. It's best that those inconveniences be left to the persons residing in the ghetto who just see and hear planes, rather than fly in them.

And lest you think it's just flight noise that affects these suburbanites, there was an article in the NY Times a few months back as to how New Jersey suburbanites were protesting a windmill one of their neighbors erected in their backyard and the noise it created (which at 60 db was similar to moderate traffic). Clearly for most people in this country, things such as fighting global warming are meant to be preached from their bumper stickers, but not practiced in the course of their lives.

Those Smoky Summer Days!

2007-09-05T14:05:00.000-07:00

Today as I got ready to leave the house around 10 a.m. today, I realized something. It wasn't bright and sunny outside as it has been for the past week and as it will most likely be for the next 40 days at least. It was actually cloudy and cooler as a result (it's only 31 degrees outside now, as opposed to the forecast 36 degrees).

Must be a stray summer thunderstorm in the area, I figured since this is the summer thunderstorm season (I am not calling it a monsoon because the "North American monsoon" is not a true monsoon like the Asian monsoon. Ask me for details if you're interested, although I seriously doubt any of you will be) for the intermountain West. Well, apparently, those aren't clouds up there but smoke! It's smoke from forest fires in the Sierra Nevada which is being blown northwards into northern San Joaquin and the Sacramento Valley, where I live.

I love California weather, it's so interesting! I can honestly say this is the first time I've seen the sky blotted out by smoke, not even in Bangalore have I seen that.

Illegal Immigration: A Middle Path?

2007-09-03T18:53:00.000-07:00

Up until now, I've largely stayed out of the illegal immigration debate. It's because I find both of the vocal sides in the debate too extreme in their views. On the one hand, you have the xenophobes and outright racists who while pretending to be against illegal immigration are against all immigration and anything that contradicts their image of a native, ethnically homogeneous (read white) America. On the other hand, we have people like Ted Kennedy and his left wing supporters whose amnesty proposals for illegal immigrants trivializes the hoops and mounds of paperwork that legal immigrants have to go through to enter and stay in this country.

I like this opinion article in the New York Times though. It's fair, realizes that the business culture we have nurtured till today is to blame for our illegal immigration problem, and allows any illegal immigrant that is employed a chance to live in the U.S. legally and chase the American dream. More importantly, it urges sanctions against employers who hire illegal immigrants. Isn't it convenient how those that vilify illegal immigrants as little more than scum turn a blind eye to the business interests that hire them and fuel this problem? If you ask me, it's these businesses that are the real scum, exploiting human misery to boost their profits.

Anyway, getting back to the time, I wonder if there a realistic hope that our politicians will do what's not politically expedient, but what's actually fair and reasonable?

Chinglish!

2007-08-31T13:06:00.000-07:00

Not every post of mine regarding China has to contain vehement passion. As proof, here's to a lighter side of Chinese society, at least to English speakers.

Signs in Chinglish

Mani, I know that you are currently able to access this blog only intermittently using Torpark, but when you do see this post, please send me photographs of any such signs you have come across, incl. the "deformity toilet" (i.e., handicapped restroom) in your office building.

And I thought we were bad when I took this photograph on Indian roads:

California or Bust!

2007-08-30T10:08:00.000-07:00

Note: All times mentioned are local. Also, this is going to be one of my long(er) posts, detailing my arrival in Davis and how I find things over here, so be prepared.

Well, I'm here! I was supposed to take the 7:20 a.m. Frontier Airlines flight from Philadelphia to Denver and then connect to a 12:30 p.m. Frontier Airlines flight from Denver to Sacramento and get home by around 3:00 p.m. I was a bit late in getting to the airport on Tuesday and got there around 6:40 a.m. To my chagrin, I discovered that unlike virtually every other domestic airline, Frontier Airlines closes all check-in counters 45 minutes before departure (for me, that was 6:35 a.m.) and I had missed my flight.

However, the Frontier Airlines people were very helpful and set me up as a stand-by passenger for the 5:05 p.m. Philadelphia-Denver flight which connected to the 9:30 p.m. Denver-Sacramento flight. Luckily for me, both flights were reasonably open and I got a confirmed seat and was here at home in Davis around 11:50 p.m. Tuesday night.

I still think Frontier Airlines is pretty good. Their service, cleanliness and performance is unmatched in domestic flying and their EarlyReturns frequent flyer program gets you a free round-trip ticket within the lower 48 for only 15,000 miles, as opposed to 25,000 on most other major airlines.

Anyway, I was supposed to take a taxi from Sacramento International Airport to Davis, but I noticed that they had the airport Super Shuttle over here, so I just signed up for that. It was pretty nice, since I ended up spending $27 (incl. tip) for the 33.5 km (21 mi) trip as opposed to the ~$60 that I would have spent on a taxi. While waiting for the shuttle, I noticed that almost all taxis are white Toyota Corollas here, which is something very different from the Ford Crown Victorias we are used to seeing on the east coast.

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (I just think it's so cool that The Terminator is my governor now!) announced plans in late September 2006 pledging to reduce California's greenhouse gas emissions to 25% below 2005 levels by the year 2020 and recently, Gov. Schwarzenegger led an initiative by six western states and two Canadian provinces called the Western Climate Initiative that aims for a total 15% reduction below 2005 levels by 2020.

So I wouldn't be surprised if the taxi industry's greenhouse gas emissions are regulated in California and this is a reason why taxi companies are shifting their fleets from the gas-guzzling, outdated technology of the Ford Crown Victoria to the modern, fuel efficient technology of the Toyota Corollas. Either way, it's a step in the right direction and it may not be long before hybrid taxis become the norm around the streets of California and, eventually, the U.S.

On the way here, I was talking to the shuttle driver (I was the only person coming towards Davis) and he was telling me that he couldn't understand it why people take taxis since they're so much more expensive than the shuttle, which also drops you to your door. The only thing with the shuttle is that you may have to wait up to 15 minutes. I was telling him that maybe people don't know the concept of a shuttle. We have shuttles out in the Phila.-NJ-NY area, but maybe they're not there in other parts of the country.

Anyway, the weather is beautiful out here. I'm not sure what the temperature was when I landed, but it was probably around 25 degrees when I landed and it didn't feel even slightly uncomfortable. In Philadelphia, if it's 25 degrees, it's impossible to fall asleep without the AC on, but here, I just had the ceiling fan on and it was perfect. I was asleep in no time (it also probably helped that I hadn't slept the previous night while staying up for the morning flight and I had slept only from 7:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at the Philadelphia Airport while waiting for the evening flight).

Anyway, when I went out for some errands on Wednesday, it was about 40 degrees outside. That's hot by any standard, certainly Bangalore's standards where 36 degrees is more the norm for hot days in summer. But the air here is drier than even in Bangalore (the humidity was 17%) and while in Philadelphia, at 35 degrees, I would be gushing sweat, here I hardly felt any sweat on my clothes. It's not the sauna heat of the east coast. Rather, when you're in the sun, it's like that heat that radiates off an electric stove or electric heater. You're kind of being dry roasted in the sun out here.

Also, the difference between night and day is huge here. As opposed to the east coast, where the night temperature is usually around 8-10 degrees lower than the day temperature, here it's about 18-20 degrees. So once this heatwave subsides and we're back to seasonal highs of around 32-33 degrees next week, the nights are going to be quite chilly. With the advent of the rains in the winter, the night-day difference will come back down to about 8-10 degrees in the wintertime.

Anyway, one of my errands was to go grocery shopping. I went to Nugget Markets, the closest grocery store to my house about 2.4 km (1.5 mi) away using the UniTrans bus which stops just a few blocks from my house. They had a very good selection of food (including lentils and mustard seeds which I needed for cooking and which I found). Unfortunately, I also need tamarind paste, asafetida powder and garam masala and I am going to have to wait until I can head down to the Indian store in Sacramento before I can buy these things. I wanted to buy them at the Indian store in Philly, but I never got around to it. But anyway, getting back to Nugget Markets, they had a good selection of food and, in particular, Organic food (everything I bought today, except the rice, lentils, and vegetable oil was organic).

I thought it was expensive at first, but after reviewing my bill, it seems reasonably priced. The milk was cheaper than in Philadelphia. The organic Clover milk here costs roughly $1.80 per liter, while in Philadelphia, the organic Stonyfield Farm milk costs about $2.00 per liter. I thought regular rice is more expensive here. I saw like a 4.55 kg (10 lb) bag of regular rice being sold for $9.99 and I think that was the cheapest. Just a few weeks ago, at Pathmark, I had bought the same size bag of parboiled rice for something like half that price. However, brown rice is similarly priced over here to Philly at about $2.18 per kg and I did end up buying about a kg of brown rice.

I could try going to Safeway next time to see how cost effective that place is. But it's further away (~3 km, 1.9 mi) and I have to take two buses to get there, so I am probably going to end up going to Nugget Markets. I'm not going to consume more than 5 kg of rice per month anyway, so at less than $11 a month for rice, it's not too bad and it's worth the convenience of the place. Besides, Nugget Markets seems to be a good environmentally-friendly, socially-responsible grocery chain.

Prior to entering the store, I noticed that they had a container for recycling plastic bags right in front of the store. So at the checkout counter, the bagger asked me whether paper bags would be OK. I asked him to give me plastic and he seemed somewhat disappointed. I noticed that the paper bags had handles and I could recycle them right in front of my house rather than bringing them back to the store, so I asked him to go ahead and get me the paper bags. After getting home, I realized that the paper bags themselves are made from recycled paper with 40% minimum post-consumer content, so they were clearly the right option. Anyway, the eco-consciousness of the baggers at Nugget Markets is clearly different from those of the employees at Gray's Ferry Pathmark that double-bag and triple-bag groceries into plastic bags with no thought.

Also, the main other thing I have to comment upon is the flatness of the land. I live near the eastern edge of town and on the way to the supermarket at one point, there's nothing but farmland to the east. You can see the Sacramento skyline about 18 km (11.25 mi) away clearly and the land in between is flat as a table. The trees here look like those in Bangalore in the peak of summer before the pre-monsoon showers, with leaves that are a very brownish, dirty green rather than the lush green of the east coast. The grasslands are also very brownish awaiting the beginning of the rains in October.

Of course, I am talking about the natural vegetation which exists here and there. Like everywhere else in the U.S., California also seems to exhibit a "screw nature, man is king" mentality. The consequence being green lawns in front of people's houses, trees in the medians along roadways being watered daily and looking bright green. It looks very pretty, but it's unnatural. This area is certainly not as green as the east coast is right now, but it's way greener than it naturally should be in this climate.

I'll upload photos tomorrow, stay tuned.

Cat's out of the bag

2007-08-22T20:51:00.000-07:00

Apparently this article is inaccessible for those trying to access it from within China. I guess the Chinese are trying hard to keep the fact that they are pulling the strings behind India's Left Parties a secret.

Congress' New Found Courage

2007-08-22T07:58:00.001-07:00

So the Indian National Congress is finally becoming pro-active when it comes to policy. It certainly took them long enough. For those unfamiliar with Indian democracy, a quick overview. India is a Parliamentary Democracy with 543 seats in the lower house of Parliament, which is responsible for government. The Prime Minister (Executive) is decided upon by this lower house. The Indian National Congress is the largest single party with 145 seats and the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party is the second single largest party with 138 seats.

The Congress is part of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) which is a group of parties that together control 218 seats and the BJP is part of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) which is a group of parties that together control 181 seats. Neither of these alliances reach a majority 272 seats required to form a government.

The Left Front, which consists of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), Communist Party of India, Revolutionary Socialist Party, and the All India Forward Bloc, holds 59 seats and decided to extend outside support to the UPA which allowed them to form the government. For the first time in recent history, the Left Front had a policy making voice in government.

They could have used this opportunity to advance the cause of India's poor. They could have ensured reforms targeted at rural Indians, ensured that a large portion of the budget was spent on education and infrastructure, among other things. Instead, over the past three years, they have stymied reform after reform, resisted privatization, disinvestment, propped up corrupt trade unions, and their decision making body, the Politburo (and their masters in Beijing), have watched with alarm as India forged closer ties to the U.S. and to Israel, anathema to the Cold War mentality which these morons are stuck in.

Now three years after the nuclear deal was first announced and the government had met all their conditions, they suddenly realize that they are against the idea of such a deal with the U.S. and are threatening to withdraw support for the government.

It's time for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his government to call the bluff. This government cannot have every single major initiative of its crippled by these buffoons and he knows it as well. The Congress is fighting back and I am very happy. It's time to publicize the "invisible Chinese" hand behind the Left's actions. It's time to publicize the "pro-poor and pro-people" policies of the Left which are in reality very "anti-poor, anti-people, anti-India, pro-China and pro-Pakistan."

The Left will (hopefully) not be foolish enough to provoke fresh elections. It is very unlikely to garner as many seats as it did in 2004 and it would be downright stupid to lose the say in policy making that they have currently. But even if fresh elections are provoked, I'm happy that the Congress is ready to fight. For the first time since I began following politics, the Indian National Congress has my respect.

Treason from within

2007-08-21T15:30:00.000-07:00

Nuclear deal is passed by Indian Parliament and U.S. Congress ... Left Parties demand certain safeguards regarding India's rights ... Skillful negotiations between both sides results in India winning those rights, garnering a major political victory ... three years after accord was first announced, the Left decides that it is ideologically opposed to cooperation with the U.S. and demands scuttling the deal, knowing fully well that this Congress and any future U.S. President is very unlikely to offer anything half as good. And did I mention that nuclear power will slash India's power deficit, without relying on greenhouse gas producing fossil fuels? By reducing India's reliance on oil imports, it would control inflation as well, helping the common man. But the Left is opposed, stuck in a Cold War mentality.

This is treason, pure and simple. Crippling the nation from within the halls of Parliament.

The Chinese must be rejoicing with glee. Mao's followers within India are ensuring Chinese dominance over India for the next fifty years.

Well, enough is enough. Let's take the concept of democracy to the politicians. If you are an Indian citizen, please sign this petition and get as many other citizens to sign as possible. My aim is to send a copy of this to these so called "Parliamentarians" and let them know what the real pulse of the people is, as opposed to what they feel it is.

IF YOU HAVE ALREADY SIGNED IT, please don't forget to forward the link to as many people as possible and remind them to forward it as well. We need volume here!

Chinese Colonialism

2007-08-21T05:54:00.000-07:00

The New York Times has recently run a series of articles exploring Chinese investment in Africa and it's simply disturbing. Once again, the Chinese Government has shown itself to be the near epitome of evil, plundering natural resources and destroying local economies in the process.

Unless the Africans realize that the Chinese colonialists are no different from the European colonialists from the 1800s, it may be too late for them. Already the emerging signs from Africa are disturbing.

"The factory used to roar. From the day it opened more than 20 years ago, the vast compound had shuddered to the whir of rollers and the clatter of mechanical weaving machines spooling out millions of yards of brightly colored African cloth.

Today, only the cotton gin still runs, with the company’s Chinese managers buying raw cotton for export to China’s humming textile industry. Nobody can say when or even if the factory here will reopen.

“We are back where we started,” said Wilfred Collins Wonani, who leads the Chamber of Commerce here, sighing at the loss of one of the city’s biggest employers. “Sending raw materials out, bringing cheap manufactured goods in. This isn’t progress. It is colonialism.”"

Perhaps the worst consequence of Chinese imperialism in Africa is the impact on democracy, corruption, and transparency in African countries. As can be seen from the junta's rule in China, none of those things are very important.

While western nations and international institutions require minimum standards of transparency and attempt to bolster democratic forces by tying them to development money, this investment by China has served to undermine our efforts in bringing about a political change in Africa. Some excerpts from the article are below:

"“China’s no-strings-attached approach is problematic, particularly if its effect, if not its intent, is to undermine others’ efforts to change situations on the ground,” said Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch. “Often what is happening,” he added, “is underwriting of repression.”"

"But Limassou Saleh, a community organizer in Bongor, said he was deeply skeptical. “Chad is maybe the most corrupt country in the world,” Mr. Saleh said. “We have a long history of human rights violations, of lack of transparency, of exploitation. China has a reputation for corruption. They are one of the worst human rights abusers. They have no record of transparency. What would we want with a country like that? Only to make our own problems worse.”"

Of course, China is not alone. India, too is increasing investment in many African countries as well as Myanmar, which has one of the worst democratic records in the world. Unfortunately, India must look out for itself, since it's pretty much the only nation in the developing world which can potentially stand toe-to-toe with the Chinese juggernaut. It's also lagging behind, in no small part due to the fact that radical change happens more slowly in an election booth when compared to an iron fist. Although, concerns regarding China are pushing forward investment in Indian infrastructure.

A concerted effort by the world's democracies is needed to contain the Chinese and ensure that they do not hinder the progress of the developing world. First and foremost, intense pressure is needed so that the Chinese yuan, which is severely undervalued, is floated freely so that Chinese exporters do not enjoy an insane advantage. At the same time, it's important for the world's democracies to invest in nations around the developing world, such as Zambia and other nations with democratic governments, in order to counter the Chinese and prove to the people that there is an alternate to Chinese colonialism.

Television Ads

2007-08-17T18:26:00.000-07:00

Anyone who has lived in both the U.S. and India will know that television ads in India beat those of the U.S. hands down. For those visiting this blog who have not ever had the fortune of watching Indian ads, well, here are some of my personal favorites.

TVS Apache RTR Motorcycle Ad

Center Fresh Candy

-- The mobsters ask him what he saw and then he stutters. Then in the end he says, "Sir, your shoes ..." and is sunk.

Mentos Ad

Another Mentos Ad

-- Yeh hai aam aadmi = This is the average man
-- Yeh hai Mentos aadmi = This is the Mentos man

Happydent Chewing Gum Ad

This is mainly from memory. I'll add more as I remember / come across them and if I find them on YouTube.

Once a wimp, always a wimp

2007-08-12T13:11:00.000-07:00

... or so the [more or less accurate] saying goes. I'm talking about the "Protect America Act." This act, enacted by a Democratic Congress & signed into law by a Republican President, legalizes the abrogation of our civil rights for a further six months. Bush and his cronies can continue to wiretap into phone calls made by Americans suspected (read "randomly picked on a hunch or prejudice") to be terrorists without a court warrant. The judge and jury on who needs to be wiretapped continues to be Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, a partisan hack whose firing of Democrat leaning federal prosecutors has lost him the support of much of Congress.

Even though Nancy Pelosi voted against this act, she still brought it onto the floor of the house with the intention of it passing. Why? One can only assume that fear has once again ruled the day for Democrats and lest they be open to political attacks through their summer vacations, they just decided to mortgage our civil rights.

Ironically, this is the group of jokers that can't even wait for General Petraeus' progress report in September and is screaming from rooftops about opposing George Bush and pulling out our troops immediately. But when it comes to civil rights, they're perfectly content with polishing Georgie's shoes. Why? Oh, that's right, the political winds are blowing with them on the Iraq issue and while the public probably supports them on the wiretapping issue, it's probably better to be safe than sorry, right? After all, it's only civil liberties. Who cares? And the Democratic Congress wonders why it's approval rating is lower than that of George Bush.

You see, when Nancy Pelosi promised us "A New Direction" in November 2006, I didn't think she meant the same direction, but this time packaged in a bright blue color. How stupid am I?

Between a rock and a hard place

2007-08-12T05:06:00.000-07:00

It's no secret that I support Al Gore's nomination as the 2008 Democratic Presidential Candidate. He's the only one who has the "street cred" to pull this off and he's the only one the Republicans are terrified of, which is why they are going after him in their internal mailings even before he has announced his candidacy.

I told a friend some time back that if the contest were between a Republican & Hillary, it wouldn't matter since she's from the "Republican wing of the Democratic party, a.k.a. the "centrist" Democratic Leadership Council." He asked me if I had watched the Republicans' debates and when I said no, he said that I should & I would realize that any Democrat is preferable to these scary lunatics. From reading this article, I'm beginning to think he's right.

“Forty-five million killed since Roe v. Wade is not worthy of this great land,” he [Brownback] said.

... he [Tancredo] pledged that, as president, he would “deport people who are here illegally, because it’s the law.”

-- Never mind if you tear families apart or cripple the working force of this nation.

Not to mention their previous railings against global warming, evolution, science, as well as reinstating teaching in schools that the Earth is the center of the universe because it says so in the Bible. Did I mention that they bend over backwards in who supports torture more and why America's favorite torture prison (Guantanamo) should be expanded?

Yes, I suppose that even an arrogant, flip-flopping, Republican-in-Democrat clothing candidate (Hillary) is preferable to theocrats, torture-philes, xenophobes, and racists.

2008 Presidential Debates

2007-08-11T07:08:00.001-07:00

Anybody else realize how crazy this year's debates have been, so early this season? This article sums it up quite well. The most noteworthy paragraph is listed below:

For all that, what has been striking this year is the extent to which Democrats are more confident about appearing at forums of liberal interest groups than they would have been four or eight years ago. It reflects a party that seems secure in its political standing, and just how much the political landscape has changed since President Bush was re-elected.

Thank goD for that! Much of the last two decades has been a depressingly downward spiral into conservatism, with Bible-quoting, science-skeptic medievalists being considered most "electable." In November 2006, propelled by George Bush's war, I think we passed the winter solstice. The future belongs to liberalism, until, of course, we become corrupt with power ...

EDIT: The Economist also coincidentally has an interesting article on this topic. America's turn to the left. Run, Al, run!!!

A new chapter in my life as well as my blog

2007-08-11T07:00:00.000-07:00

Now that I am about to embark on a new chapter of my life, I think my blog should change along with me. Hence, I introduce you to the new blog. Of course, all my previous postings are still accessible because, let's face it, anything I write is golden and to delete it would be a sheer unimaginable waste.

Now that I've gotten modesty out of the way, a little info regarding my new blog. It will be more political, but it will also be succinct. The emphasis will be on short, quick statements, interspersed with long, thought-provoking posts when required. Think of it as having the depth of the [sympathetic] New York Times, the succinctness of the Metro, and none of the right wing garbage of the New York Post. In addition to politics, this blog will also contain humorous and / or thought provoking commentary on daily life.

So, without any further ado, it begins ...

My Mudumalai Experience - Feb 13-22

2007-02-25T18:43:00.000-08:00

After months and months of waiting, I am finally in the field. I'll try to provide an update of what I see each day that day itself. But getting here was an ordeal in itself. I was supposed to leave Bangalore last week, but because of the Cauvery River situation, my travel had to be delayed since Mudumalai National Park is in Tamil Nadu.

Monday, February 12 was the all Karnataka bandh, when nothing would be running. One of the options was to leave Bangalore on Tuesday morning, by the KSRTC bus, at 10 a.m. which would get me to Mudumalai by around 4 p.m. or so. But in the event that there was trouble in Mandya, a very volatile region about 40 kms before Mysore on the route to Mudumalai, the bus would be delayed and it would be dark by the time I reached the forest. Since it was my first time coming here, I didn't want to land here in the dark.

The other option was to leave Bangalore on Monday night by the train which would take me to Coimbatore from where I would have to take a bus to Ooty and then another bus down to Mudumalai. This would be an extremely circuitous trip which would result in 12 hour plus journey from Bangalore to Mudumalai.

So I decided to go to Mysore and stay in my cousin's house on Sunday night and then leave Mysore on Tuesday morning. I left Bangalore on Sunday evening by the 6 p.m. train and reached Mysore a little after 9 p.m. I waited out the bandh in Mysore on Monday in my cousin's house and left by the 9 a.m. bus on Tuesday. I was here at the field station in Masinagudi by 11:45 a.m.

Masinagudi is a small village enclave surrounded by the national park on all sides. At 960 meters above sea level, the weather is almost identical to the weather in Bangalore although it is slightly drier. To the south, I can see the Nilgiris hills rising another 1500 meters above my current elevation. Its now about mid-February and typical February weather at this elevation means hot days and chilly nights. Generally, high temps reach about 32-33 degrees during the day and drop to 16-17 degrees at night.

View of the Nilgiris from the front porch

Anyway, let me get to the wildlife now:

Chital (spotted deer) - I first spotted these animals on the bus soon after we entered the park limits and I've seen them on every excursion out into the forest since then.

On my first excursion, we left the field station at about 3:30 p.m. on Feb 13. As soon as we got onto the interior forest roads, we came across some langurs hopping from tree to tree. A little later on, we stumbled on a large herd of elephants. Unfortunately for us, they were downwind of us and smelled us. As soon as we came into view, they retreated into the cover. We spent more than 90 minutes in the area waiting for them to come out into the open but the wind kept shifting and they kept getting our scent (elephants have very poor eyesight, pretty good hearing, and an excellent sense of smell). The researcher who I was going with climbed some trees to get some views of the elephants and he said it was a large herd with some 10-15 animals, including calves. We only got to get a good look at about three of them though.

Elephants that we spotted on the forest road

One of the elephants that we got a better look at

Ari on the tree trying to spot elephants

We waited around until 6:30 p.m. after which it got too dark to take any discernable photographs and left the scene. Before we left the scene, at around 6 p.m. we were waiting in the forest surrounded by thick cover on both sides. To our left, we could hear the elephants rustling and to our right we heard a langur give an alarm call, subsequent to which a tiger called. Unfortunately, we couldn't see anything because of the cover, which as you can imagine was extremely frustrating.

Now I've been talking about the cover. Mudumalai National Park has a sharp rainfall gradient. The westernmost part receives more than 1700 mm of rainfall annually and is moist evergreen rainforest. The central and west central portions receive 900-1300 mm of rainfall annually and are mainly dry deciduous forest. The easternmost portion of the park lies in a rain shadow area and receives only about 600 mm of rainfall annually is dry thorn and scrub forest. On the afternoon of Feb 13, we were mainly in the west-central portion of the forest, in the dry deciduous habitat.

This habitat used to be covered with deciduous trees (shedding their leaves in the dry season) and grasses, which elephants feed on. In the years of 2001 and 2002, there was a severe drought which resulted in one particular weed taking over. The years following this saw heavy rainfall which caused this weed to die out but then another weed, lantana, took over. This lantana is what is predominant now. An exotic species, lantana grows to a height of more than 2 meters (~6.56 feet) and is very, very thick growth. It suppresses light and causes the grass to die out. Elephants do not eat lantana and find it somewhat difficult to navigate through. The ecological implications of the lantana explosion need to be determined in the coming years. A year or two of lesser than average rainfall (but not drought) will definitely curtail the lantana, since it needs a lot of water, while not allowing the drought-favoring weed to take over either. But anyway, because of this cover, it has made researchers' job a lot tougher.

Note the thick lantana cover on the shore of the watering hole

The grass still covers some stretches of the forest; at one time, much of the forest used to look like this

And now it looks like this, with the lantana explosion

By the way, tigers seem to love the lantana since they now have an amazing cover to stalk their prey. Lantana's effect on herbivores and tigers is another interesting topic to potentially explore. Anyway, in addition to the elephants, on my first excursion, I also saw a peacock, some other birds, and two mongooses crossing the road.

On the morning of February 14, we headed out into the scrub forest at around 8:00 a.m. This forest is an entire world different from where we were yesterday. Lantana was gone, but so were the tall trees and grasses. Some dry grasses were present, lots of stunted trees, as well as plenty of cacti. Yes, you heard me right, cacti. We had a very exciting morning in the scrub forest. We first saw a group of black bucks, part of a very small population in this park, and one came and went right across the road when the jeep was stopped. After this, we came across some more langurs, chital and then saw two black naped hares on separate occasions as they crossed the road. We were going along the Moyar River trying to catch elephants as they headed for a drink in the morning. Multiple times, we came across fresh dung and figured we had missed the elephants on some occasions by a matter of hours and on other occasions by a matter of minutes. My colleague got a phone call on one occasion and stopped the jeep and turned it off. While he was talking on his cell phone, a big male gaur (Indian bison) came out of the scrub jungle onto the road about 100 meters in front of us. With the jeep off, he must not have heard us. Gaur are extremely shy and though I moved quickly for my camera, he crossed the road and into the scrub before I could take a shot.

Further along, we saw some sambar deer as well, also an elusive, shy species. So basically, it was a good morning. We saw everything that resides there except leopard, elephant and sloth bear. Tigers do not prefer the scrub forest since there isn't much cover for them there.

We went back along the Moyar River around noon to try and see if we could see some elephants and again we saw dung. It's now almost 4 p.m. on Feb 14 and we are planning to go back to the same region of the forest later this evening at about 5 p.m., when we should have a fairly good chance of spotting the elephants along the river.

Note the cacti in this dry thorn forest; they were introduced by the British when there was a famine here early this century

A view of the dry thorn forest

Black buck on the road

Sambar deer

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I'm not going to write about what I saw each and every time I head out into the field since that would be too much trouble for me to write and for you to read. I'll just restrict myself to anything I happen to see which needs to be commented upon or if I do something out of the ordinary. Regarding the evening of February 14, I went out to the village of Moyar on the eastern edge of the sanctuary where one of my colleagues wanted to buy some farm fresh vegetables. Unfortunately, the farmer usually doesn't get customers on his farm and he didn't have a balance with him to weigh, so we couldn't get any. But let me talk a little bit of Moyar village. It is a prosperous farming village (the villagers seem quite well off, relative to farmers in other villages I've seen at least). Though in a rain shadow area surrounded by scrub jungle (the village receives less than 700 mm of rainfall annually), irrigation from the Moyar River keeps the fields green. But the main thing about the village is the breathtaking scenery. Land from Moyar drops gently down until it rises sharply to meet the Nilgiris, which run east to west as far as the eye can see. And in the soft orange glow of a cool February evening, you might as well be in paradise.

Moyar village, breathtakingly beautiful scenery here. The green, irrigated fields are backed up by the forest, which are further backed up by the Nilgiris which run east to west as far as the eye can see

Anyway, while going to Moyar, we saw a herd of elephants, including two calves, but since we were directly opposite the light, we couldn't get any good photographs. While returning from Moyar, we saw a big tusker on the opposite side of the irrigation canal. We approached on foot (since there was a water body separating us, we were safe). He saw me, tried to retreat into the forest, but couldn't because there was a steep cliff right behind him. He quickly spun around and adopted a threatening posture, curling his trunk inwards and kicking the earth with his leg. He then realized that I couldn't get to him because of the canal and started walking across the canal. In the meantime, someone motioned to an elephant crossing the canal using a bridge about 50 meters from us, so we walked back to the jeep. The fading light of the evening (it was past 6:30 p.m. when I saw the tusker and the sun had set almost half an hour ago) prevented us from getting any good close ups of the animals on the road.

Tusker we spotted on the way back from Moyar

On the morning of February 15, I went up to Ooty to get my research permit from the Wildlife Warden, whose office is there. Ooty is about 30-odd kilometers from where I am staying and the easiest way to get there is by the Kallatty-Sigur Road. This is one of the steepest roads I've gone on. It consists of 36 hairpin bends, where in a distance of about 12 kilometers you rise about 1.2 kilometers. So for every kilometer you travel, you're going up by 100 meters. That's phenomenal! I am staying at an elevation of 960 meters above sea level and Ooty is at an elevation of 2200 meters above sea level. The train station at Ooty (Udagamandalam is the full, tamil name of the town) is the highest station in south India and may be the highest train station in India. I have to check on this when I get back to Bangalore. On the way back down, I took some photographs on hairpin bends 3 and 15, which are among the best views. Hairpin bend 3 is at an elevation of about 2000 meters above sea level and hairpin bend 15 is at an elevation of about 1700 meters above sea level.

Ooty train station, 2203.247 meters above sea level

I met the wildlife warden for Mudumalai, who is interested in my project, which looks at elephant-traffic interactions within the sanctuary. He said he was particularly interested in my project since there is increasing pressure to widen the highway within the sanctuary and so far he has been able to oppose it. If it were to be scientifically found that existing traffic is disturbing elephants within the sanctuary, it would be able to help his case against expansion. As anywhere, construction and road widening under the name of "development" is big bucks in India. A significant portion of the money is embezzled by contractors, politicians, and innumerable other sources. It's amazing, as you drive down from Ooty and leave the last hairpin bend, the road is a smooth two lane highway through the Singara Reserve Forest. As soon as you enter the Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary, it becomes a one and a half lane, bumpy road. Again, entering Masinagudi village limits, it becomes a two lane highway. Leaving the village, it goes back to the narrower lane. The one and a half lane highway ensures that when two cars traveling in opposite directions come across each other, they must both slow down and have to go offroad a little to pass by each other. It also deters motorists from traveling through the sanctuary and use other roads. Proponents of the widening argue that road widening will bring economic development and animals such as elephants and deer will have no issue in crossing the road. Well, that's what I will be looking at in the next few months. Exactly how does the road impact elephants?

Anyway, on the way up to Ooty, I learned a great deal of the Indian Civil Services from my colleague. To be in the Civil Services, IAS (Indian Administrative Services), IPS (Indian Police Services), and IFS (Indian Forest Services), you have to take the respective exams after graduation. In these highly competitive exams, those who make it within the 40th rank get to choose the state of their posting (and many choose their home state). After the 40th rank, the officers are assigned on an alphabetical basis based on their name as well as the alphabetical order of the states. So thus, I pity the person who ends up serving in a state such as Bihar. These postings are lifetime postings, with the exception of 5 years which a person may serve under the Central Government in New Delhi.

I'm going to take the example of the wildlife warden of Mudumalai to describe how this works. Let's say that this person was assigned / chose Tamil Nadu as his posting. He usually serves for roughly 10 years at the division level. The division level would include something such as Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary and National Park Division, or Singara Reserve Forest Division (just south of Mudumalai on the Ooty road), etc. In his 10 years at the division level, an officer usually serves in about three divisions, staying in each place for about 3-4 years. They may be adjacent divisions or they may be in opposite corners of the state.

After 10 years, the officer would be promoted to Circle level. Mudumalai comes under the Coimbatore Circle, which also includes Singara Division, Coimbatore North Division, Anaimalai Wildlife Sanctuary Division, etc. Again, in this time, the officer usually serves at least in two circles, probably three.

After about 10 years at the circle level, the officer is promoted to the State level where in the case of Tamil Nadu, they would be posted to Madras where they would serve posts such as Chief Wildlife Warden or Principal Chief Conservator of Forests. Combined with five years deputed at the Central Government, this includes roughly 35 years of service. Since most people usually join the civil services only by the age of 26-27, roughly 35 years of service translates into retirement at 61-62 years age. As you can see, the Indian Civil Services is very hierarchical and very structured. The alphabetically based posting ensures that anyone from any state can be posted to any state, which I personally think does a great deal for national integrity. I've met two civil services officers so far, one in the IAS and the other from the IFS, and both are from Uttar Pradesh and have been posted to Tamil Nadu.

They have been bound to another corner of the country for a lifetime and in this time, they will certainly absorb a lot of this very different culture here as well as give a lot. And as I discussed at a class at Drexel, compared to places like Africa, India has done a lot, lot, lot better job in conserving its wildlife and natural environment. African countries complain about overpopulation, but India's population density is about ten times that of Africa as a whole. Even taking the vast emptiness of the Sahara into account, India has a lot more people in a lot less area. We were trying to think of reasons for this and we eventually decided upon a combination of a culture that respects nature as well as political will (that great savior of Indian wildlife, late-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi), but more so on a very structured and codified civil services, which is very competitive and attracts the most dedicated. It is this, backbone of Indian government that has kept it from degenerating into a banana country like so many other countries in Asia and Africa.

And no, this post is not to suck up to any particular officer in the Indian administration. I really do appreciate the civil services, despite all their numerous faults (major egos, bureaucratic red tape, etc).

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The day before I came back to Bangalore for the weekend, I had some good luck in the field. In the morning, I witnessed a forest fire. Unlike in North America, there are no natural forest fires in India. Every single fire has been lit by man and there are dozens of these in Mudumalai alone annually. Some are small and some are large. I thought the one I witnessed was large, but the locals tell me that it was actually pretty small compared to some that get lit deep in the forest. This one happened right next to the road and was spotted immediately by the Forest Department.

Anyway, I asked my tracker why the villagers light these fires. Apparently sometimes it's in an attempt to catch deer within the burning lantana bushes or grasslands so that the antlers can be poached at a later time. EDIT 08/11/07: I've also heard that ever since the forest department started suppressing fires starting a decade ago, tribal villagers light them clandestinely because they believe that fires are good for the forest. As for whether they actually are, the jury is out. Personally, I would think that since these fires have been happening for hundreds, perhaps thousands, of years, the ecosystem would have adapted to them by now.

Anyway, what I was really shocked about was seeing the forest department staff handle the fire. They had none of the safety equipment or fire fighting equipment common in the West. No flame retardant clothing, no fire fighting sprays, no helicopter backup, nothing which would be even the minimum in the developed world. Instead, they were in their cotton clothes, near flames that sometimes leaped up the branches of trees, trying to beat the fire down with bushes. And no, there is no concept of hazard pay in India either. For this life threatening, tedious labor in the hot midday sun, they make 80 rupees per day, which works out to roughly $1.78. It really goes to show that when you have one billion people, the value of a single human life really does not exist.

Fire in the forest

Forest department fire-fighter

Later on that evening, I saw my first complete elephant group. They came up to the road, looked around, saw no traffic and crossed, making sure the calves were safe beneath their feet. I saw the same behavior in humans yesterday crossing the road in Bangalore where all the children were safely within the group. This is why I love elephants, my favorite animal. To repeat my oft-mentioned statement, they are like humans, without the evil.

Elephant crossing

Anyway, I'm back to Mudumalai tonight and I will be there for three to four weeks. So expect the next blog posting then.

Really Exciting Weather

2007-02-08T09:02:00.000-08:00

The weather in the middle latitudes so far this winter has been exciting to say the least. Let's take a look at some places:

United States east of the Great Plains: After an unusually warm November, December and the first half of January, winter came back with a vengeance. First, let's rewind to the warm weather. November, December, and the first half of January were very, very, very warm. Temperatures crossed 20 degrees Celsius in Philadelphia on 7 days in November (including on the last day), 2 days in December and a day in January (topping out at 22 degrees on January 6, a record high for that date).

It even led weather speculators in the media to contemplate the chances of a snow-free winter, saying that if Central Park were to go through winter without seeing a single flurry, it would be the first time it happened in 150 years of record keeping. In Philadelphia, I noticed trees blooming across Drexel's campus in December and I wouldn't blame them. The phrase on everyone's mind was "global warming."

Then once in late January and again in early February, the jet stream dipped south and a massive blast of Arctic air came down from central Canada onto the U.S. mainland. Philly saw the mercury fall to -12 degrees on January 26 in the first Arctic blast, warm briefly, and then plummet again to -12 degrees on February 5 and 6 and -11 degrees on February 7. This time, the warm up is going to be a lot slower than last time (today's low is expected to be -9 degrees and tomorrow's and the day after's low will be -8 degrees). Compare that to average lows around this time of year of around -3 degrees, we're talking 5 to 10 degrees below average. By the way, the wind chill made it seem like -20 degrees in Philly in the past few days (am I glad I'm currently in Bangalore where the day time highs are around 29 degrees and night time lows around 16 degrees).

Chicago meanwhile saw its coldest day in 10 years when the mercury dropped to -20 degrees or lower on February 3, 4, 5 with the coldest night (Feb 5) seeing a low of -23 degrees Celsius. I can only imagine what the wind chill must have been over there (probably somewhere close to -30 degrees or so).

Anyway, this very unusual winter pattern (prolonged unseasonably warm weather followed by a massive Arctic blast) has created quite a volatile combination in the Great Lakes region. Normally, moderate cold waves pass over the Great Lakes in late November and December, causing Lakes Erie and Ontario to freeze over gradually and causing moderate lake effect snow on the lake shores of Ohio and New York. When the truly Arctic blasts come in January and February, the lakes are usually mostly frozen over.

This year, the lakes had no ice on them through the middle of January. When the Arctic blasts came, the cold, dry polar air readily absorbed moisture from the relatively warm lake surface as a dry sponge would. When this reached the other side, this has resulted in staggering amounts of lake effect snow, particularly in New York state off Lake Ontario (I guess because Lake Erie is shallower and more of it would have frozen in the first Arctic wave in late January).

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17042993/?GT1=9033

Parts of New York have received up to 60 inches (~150 cm) of snow in as little as 24 hours with snow sometimes falling at the rate of 5 inches (12.7 cm) per hour. The event is not all said and done yet, but some places are expected to break the 100 inch (254 cm) mark before the proverbial fat lady sings.

While people have readily associated the warmer months with potential climate change, not many would associate these Arctic blasts with global warming. But they may be associated after all. One of the theories regarding global warming suggests a slight increase in temperatures but with a greater number of extremes.

For example, consider Anytown, America. In a normal winter (90 days), Anytown, America sees low temperatures of 20 days below -10 degrees Celsius, 50 days between -10 degrees Celsius and 0 degrees Celsius, and 20 days with low temperatures greater than 0 degrees Celsius. The average low temperature for winter is -5 degrees Celsius.

According to this theory of climate change, the average low temperature would shift by some amount like 2 degrees warmer to -3 degrees Celsius, but you would see something like 30 days with low temperatures below -10 degrees Celsius, 40 days above 0 degrees Celsius and 20 days with low temperatures between -10 degrees Celsius and 0 degrees Celsius. It's a scenario where extremes of cold and warm dominate with what used to be considered "normal" hardly being seen anymore.

It is of course one of many theories of what could happen and events of the winter of 2006-07 seem to go along with this. But next winter could follow a completely different theory. I'm not even saying that current weather is an indication of climate change, since I only have detailed knowledge of what's going on in the eastern United States. All I'm saying is that even this cold snap could be a consequence of climate change, according to one of the theories. I'll leave it up to the climate scientists to calculate average global temperature and count the cost of severe / freakish weather.

Speaking of freakish weather, here's what happened elsewhere in the world, briefly:

United States Rockies and West: While the eastern two-thirds of the country basked in unseasonably warm weather for much of November, December and the first half of January, the west shivered. In December, Los Angeles saw low temperatures approach the freezing mark, San Francisco saw a few snow flurries, and Denver saw snow storm after snow storm wallop it.

And January in California has been more or less seasonal as far as California, but it has been unusually dry. This is strange because 1) it is the rainy season. Also 2) some people have proposed that this is an El Nino year, which explains the warm conditions across much of the U.S. This could be true, but El Nino years are usually unusually wet for California, while much to the contrary, it has been unusually dry.

Europe: Europe was unusually warm through much of December and January, leading to a feverish crescendo over there to do something on climate change. Then in the third week of January (a few days after I passed through London on my way back to India), England was hit by a massive storm that created gale force winds across the island tearing down trees and roofs, canceling flights from airports, and battering the coasts with massive waves.

Subsequent to this, England seems to be hit by a freakish snow storm. An unexpected storm combined with some unusually cold air seems to have provided a wide swath of snow about 100 miles wide stretching diagonally down from northwestern Wales through southeastern England. Many major English cities have seen about 4 inches of snow (~10 cm) and portions of England could top 6 inches (~15 cm). While this number seems minuscule compared to what's happening in upstate New York, we have to remember that England usually doesn't get snow and even if it does, it's no more than a light dusting. The English are woefully unprepared to handle even a very modest snowfall such as this and this latest bout of freak weather is causing a lot of headaches on the other side of the Atlantic as well.

Meanwhile, Moscow had to cancel its ice festival this winter since the weather was too warm and the ice was melting away. In January, when Moscow usually averages about -9 degrees Celsius in January, Moscow saw high temperatures above freezing for the first 22 days of January, topping out at 8 degrees on January 11, about 14 degrees above average.

Asia: In Beijing, cherry trees are currently blooming. Beijing only saw one day in January when the high temperature dropped below the freezing mark (the average high temperature for January) and topped out at 8 degrees on January 17 and January 29. Unlike in Europe and North America, February has not seen a return to normal yet in China. Temperatures reached 12 degrees on February 3 and 13 degrees on February 6. Over the next ten days, temperatures are expected to cross the 10 degree mark on 5 days. The average high in Beijing for this time of year is 3 degrees. Temperatures are expected to cross that mark on every single one of the next ten days.

I wish I had as much detailed information about the rest of the world as I do about the eastern U.S. Somewhat worrying, but at least no one can complain that the weather has been dull, not even England, perhaps the home of monotonous weather.

Water, water everywhere, not a drop to irrigate?

2007-02-05T06:02:00.000-08:00

It seems that every time this city moves towards normalcy and sets its sights on prosperity, a monkey wrench is inevitably thrown in the process. Today, it is the much awaited final verdict of the Cauvery River Tribunal, which after 17 years of deliberations has said that of the average of roughly 730 tmc (thousand million cubic feet, or billion cubic feet, which is what I will refer to it henceforth as) of the annual Cauvery River flow, Tamil Nadu deserves 419 billion cubic feet, Karnataka 270 billion cubic feet, Kerala 30 billion cubic feet and Pondicherry 7 billion cubic feet.

When this first broke out on television, I was stunned. Karnataka was under an interim order by the Tribunal issued in 1991 and was required to release 205 billion cubic feet of water. The final verdict more than doubled the amount of water that Karnataka was required to release, which amounts to 57 percent of all Cauvery River water! Shortly after that, sporadic violence broke out across the city, schools and businesses closed early and bus services between the two states were canceled, and tires and the occasional vehicle bearing Tamil Nadu registration was burnt. Anticipating violence like the major anti-Tamil riots of 1991 (when the interim verdict was issued), the state government had ramped up security across the city which has thus far kept violence to a minimum.

Meanwhile as this whole situation was unraveling itself, more details emerged. The 730 billion cubic feet is the ENTIRE flow of the Cauvery River and the 419 billion cubic feet that is Tamil Nadu's share is part of that ENTIRE flow, which includes rain that falls within Tamil Nadu as well as groundwater recharge of the river in Tamil Nadu. The amount of water that Karnataka is supposed to release to Tamil Nadu from its reservoirs is 192 billion cubic feet, which is in fact lesser than the 205 billion cubic feet that it is currently releasing as per the interim 1991 order. But due to the media's hasty actions, the damage had been done. The magical number of 419 billion cubic feet was out there and being circulated amongst the agitating farmers and the masses on the streets of southern Karnataka (although much of the Karnataka share is used to irrigate land in southern Karnataka, more than 500 million liters per day is pumped more than 100 kilometers to quench Bangalore's thirst (~60% of Bangalore's daily water needs)).

Because of the media's hastiness in announcing this verdict without having the details in full, the politicians in Karnataka were forced to express "shock and disappointment" with the verdict. Thus we had the unusual situation where the politicians in Karnataka are promising to appeal the verdict while the lawyers that represented Karnataka before the tribunal hailed the verdict and said the Tribunal had done a "tremendous job."

So what is the actual situation? Of the 730 billion cubic feet of water that is the Cauvery's annual flow, about 475 billion cubic feet falls within Karnataka. Of this, Karnataka is required to release 192 billion cubic feet of water to Tamil Nadu, or about 40% of Karnataka's annual catch. Of the 192 billion cubic feet that Tamil Nadu receives, it is supposed to let 10 billion cubic feet flow to the sea for "environmental reasons" which probably includes the health of the diverse aquatic riparian ecosystem in the Cauvery River delta.

Tamil Nadu has ended up a winner here, however. It was widely expected that Tamil Nadu would receive no more than 300 billion cubic feet of water total and no more than 75-100 billion cubic feet from the Karnataka side. 419 billion cubic feet is certainly a victory for Tamil Nadu and Karnataka farmers have a right to be sore.

The main problem is that Tamil Nadu is downstream of Karnataka and they receive their monsoon rains later. The rainfall in the catchment areas of the Cauvery River in the Western Ghats mountains of Coorg district occur mainly June through September. During this time, Cauvery water is flowing downstream to Tamil Nadu which farmers in the Cauvery delta utilize. In addition to this, Tamil Nadu receives its annual monsoon rains in the months of October through January. So in effect, Tamil Nadu farmers will have a continuous supply of water from June through January, or two thirds of the year. In addition, being a lowland state, Tamil Nadu has ample groundwater reserves that farmers up in the Deccan Plateau here in Karnataka do not have.

There have been allegations that the decision by the Tribunal was politically motivated (The ruling party of Tamil Nadu is also a part of the coalition running the Central Government in New Delhi. The ruling party in Karnataka on the other hand is in opposition in New Delhi), I do not think this is the case. In fact, until yesterday, the Tamil Nadu government was expecting the verdict to go in Karnataka's favor and was blaming the former Tamil Nadu government for changing lawyers too often during the Tribunal review process. I do think however that the verdict is not fair to the people of Karnataka and Karnataka should appeal the verdict. If the Tribunal rejects Karnataka's appeal as well, the only recourse is for Karnataka to appeal to the Supreme Court. If the Supreme Court should reject the state's stand as well, we should abide by the terms and conditions and move on. A release of 192 billion cubic feet is not the worst scenario Karnataka could be facing.

Also, the Tribunal needs to articulate specifically what needs to be done in "distress years." When the monsoons have been good, 192 billion cubic feet is not a problem. But when there is a drought like in 2001 through 2003, that figure is impossible to achieve. The Tribunal has said that in distress years, the water release should be lowered "proportionately." It needs to expand on that and set strict limits of what water Tamil Nadu is entitled to demand in years of scarcity.

Most importantly, let's remember that since the Cauvery River Tribunal was first convened in 1990, the population of Bangalore has more than doubled and the populations of both states have increased at a rapid pace. But the annual flow of the Cauvery is still 740 billion cubic feet. Conservation needs to be emphasized and agricultural practices have to be improved. The Israelis have learned to grow crops in the desert, water can certainly be better managed here.

Freedom in the World: January 2007

2007-01-27T03:57:00.000-08:00

You would probably remember my previous post where I first put up the 2006 Freedom Map, reflecting freedom in the world in the year 2005.

Well, with the new year, Freedom House has released a new map reflecting freedom in the world in the year 2006.

So what's new and what's not new?

1) India is still shining green, as brightly as ever.

But around India,

2) We see Thailand has moved from orange (Partly Free) to red (Not Free) as a result of a military coup that overthrew the fledgling democratic government.

3) As a result of immense grassroots protests, Nepal has moved from Not Free to Partly Free, as the King of Nepal relinquished his power and reinstated the nation's Parliament. Yet more progress remains, but I come one step closer to being able to white water raft in the Nepalese Himalayas (I have a policy of not giving my tourism dollars to nations that are not liberal democracies).

Elsewhere in the world,

4) Guyana has moved from Partly Free to Free.

5) Trinidad and Tobago has moved from Partly Free to Free.

6) A few islands in the western Pacific have moved from Partly Free to Free.

Here's an interesting note:

7) Despite the Bush administration's propaganda about elections in Iraq, Freedom House still lists Iraq as Not Free in 2006, just as it did in 2005.

So all in all, with the notable and shameful exception of Thailand, 2006 has been a good year for worldwide freedom. Although it could be argued that the majority of the world's people do not live in free countries (with China accounting for a lion's share of this), it could be counter-argued that there are more people living in Free countries today than ever before and more than 45% of the world's people now live in Free societies (with India accounting for almost half of these people).

The inexorable march of freedom continues ... it is only a matter of time that the people of nations such as Myanmar, the Congo, and China break themselves free of the military juntas that rule them.

Isla del Encanto

2006-12-27T20:19:00.000-08:00

This was probably my first real "overseas" vacation as an adult, although its debatable whether you could call la "isla del encanto", a.k.a. Puerto Rico, overseas since it is still part of the U.S. However, it did seem distinctly foreign and I will consider it overseas. I'm going to to try and cover the major events of our week long trip, although we lost two days in travel and spent five days in Puerto Rico.

On our first real day, Dec 20, being in San Juan, we decided to visit Old San Juan. Unfortunately, we woke up late and by the time we got ready (we had to make a trip to the Farmacia to buy basic items like toothpaste, deodorant, and shaving cream, and contact lens solution) and had lunch, it was already past 1 p.m. We didn't take toothpaste, deodorant, and shaving cream because of my experiences with the TSA officials at the airport. Contact lens solution was OK with the TSA agents in Philadelphia, Oakland, Los Angeles, and San Francisco airports on my California trip, but the guys at Newark, in their infinite wisdom, decided to confiscate it, lest it be an explosive chemical which could be used in an act of terrorism. These very same guys in Newark made the lady in front of me at the security check remove her toddler's shoes to be passed through the x-ray machine.

Anyway, so by the time we took a bus to Old San Juan, it was already past 2 p.m. We decided to visit the Bacardi distillery, so we took the ferry from Old San Juan across San Juan Bay to a town by the name of Cataño. The fare for the ferry was by the way 50 cents. Mani and I are still astounded as to how they operate a ferry on that fare. We took one more bus from Catano to the Bacardi distillery. At the distillery, we toured the facility and had a couple of drinks on the house. I had a daiquiri, which is basically rum, lime juice, and sugar. Very, very refreshing, especially on a hot afternoon. Mani had a Cuba Libre, or rum and Coke. I didn't like it and neither did he. The second drink I had was a Mojito, which is rum, lime juice, and freshly crushed mint leaves. I didn't like it too much since it had too much of a minty taste and Mani's second drink was the Daiquiri.

Between our drinks, we toured the factory, which is the largest rum distillery in the world, where they process more than 400,000 liters of alcohol every 24 hours. I loved how the guy when talking about the Bacardi family would get a special accent in his English every time he mentioned "Facundo de Bacardi" from "Santiago de Cuba." But I guess the same would happen to me if I said, "Hi, this is my friend Manikantan (Last Name)." But it was still funny.

After touring the factory, we went back to Old San Juan, walked around the place, which is basically like Old City in Philadelphia, except a little bit more beautiful with tropical greenery around everywhere (the hottest temperature we experienced was about 32 degrees on the last day our stay and the coldest temperature we experienced was about 19 degrees when we were driving through the high altitude regions of the Toro Negro Forest Reserve (our rental car had a little temperature display)).

On the second day, we again got up late and got the rental car by about 1 p.m. or so. We drove into Old San Juan and parked. We visited El Fuerto San Felipe del Morro, a naval fort guarding the entrance to Bahia de San Juan (San Juan Harbor). It was really weird to be in what seemed a very foreign country with people speaking mainly Spanish, but come across the familiar Dept. of the Interior, National Park Service uniforms that I could find if I headed down to the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia. The fort was pretty cool, being almost 500 years old. We explored all the various defensive structures and read up on the history of it. The views from the fort across the Bahia de San Juan as well as out onto the Atlantic Ocean were phenomenal. We even saw a complete rainbow (arc of 180 degrees) out over the ocean which seemed to be getting closer and closer, at which point we started getting hit by rain. The shower was very brief and light, fortunately. In front of El Fuerto San Felipe del Morro, there is a huge lawns which reminds me more of what England should look like than Puerto Rico. We noticed several lawnmowers working to keep the rampant plant growth in check in a tropical region like the Caribbean.

After that, we headed out to the place where we would be spending the next three nights, El Yunque, or Caribbean National Forest. The first place where we had booked was a cabin called the Casita Zumbador. We went there and met the hosts, Matt and Karen Needham. We introduced ourselves and Matt seemed as if he had met a ghost. Searching for a few words, he informed me that there was a misunderstanding and they had overbooked. Apparently, another Vivek had contacted him for the same night! He didn't realize we were different people and had given the room to the other guy. This was extremely funny, because as he explained to me, "I've never met a Vivek before in my life" and all of a sudden, two booked for the same day. Also funny, because earlier Mani and I were remarking over how few desis we had seen in our first 48 hours. Fortunately for us, the Needhams were kind enough to secure accomodation for us in another lodging in the vicinity. We then decided to go into the nearest town, Humacao, some 15-odd kilometers away for dinner.

Reaching Humacao, we went into the a Chinese take-out restaurant. Unlike what we had previously seen in San Juan, the menuboard was entirely in Spanish. We asked the lady at the counter for vegetable lo mein but she didn't understand and passed us an English menu. Unfortunately, there was no vegetable lo mein on the menu, only chicken, beef, and shrimp lo mein. So I tried to improvise some Spanish. I had previously seen street signs in San Juan that said "Calle sin salida" meaning "road without exit," i.e. dead end. So I asked for lo mein sin pollo. She then asked me, "sin po-yo?" since apparently the double l is supposed to be pronounced as a y sound. I said yes and we got our vegetable lo mein. This would be the beginning of our language difficulties, but also the most interesting part of the trip where we would learn what universal human communication is.

On the third day, we hiked on a trail in El Yunque along a path that gave us nice views of the hill to a point that looked out over the ocean in the distance. We must have walked a total of 10 kilometers or so over rough terrain and the view wasn't that great, but it was a good hike through the rainforest. We would have preferred hiking to a waterfall though. After the hike, we decided to go to Humacao again for dinner and on the way down the hill, our rental car got a flat tire. We managed to change the tire before sunset, despite being exhausted from the hike.

So we got the donut on the car and drove to Humacao where we came across a Pep Boys. At the Pep Boys, we talked to one of the mechanics and told him we had a flat tire. He replied in Spanish and understood when we pointed to the tire. He directed us into the store and luckily, the guy who worked in there seemed to have lived on the mainland U.S. for some time since he spoke English, with an American flavor.

He told us that it would take about an hour to fix the car, so we decided to go and get something to eat. We had noticed a Domino's about a block and a half away, so we decided to walk there. We seemed to be in luck when we walked into the Domino's since the menu was in English. So when the lady came to the counter, we asked for a medium Vegi Feast pizza. She said something in Spanish and had this look on her face that seemed like, "SOB, English!" Luckily we were able to point to the English menu and say what we wanted. So that went more or less fairly well. Anyway, the remainder of the day was uneventful, we picked up the car and went back to our accomodation at the Casita Zumbador.

For the fourth day, the plan was to wake up early in the morning and leave by around 8 a.m. or so. The plan was to drive across to the eastern side of the island through the mountainous central roads. Once on the eastern side of the island, we would visit the Rio Camuy Cave Park and the Arecibo Observatory, made famous by the James Bond movie Golden Eye. Unfortunately, by the time we did eventually leave, it was past 10:30 a.m. We had two choices, either drive across the mountainous central roads or take the high-speed highways, known as the Autopistas, up to San Juan and then along the northern coast. We opted to try the central highways since we wanted to drive along a portion of the Ruta Panoramica, which passed through the Toro Negro Forest Reserve.

When we left the autopista in the town of Caguas on the plains, the temperature meter on the car read 26 degrees. By the time we reached Barranquitas, about 600 meters above sea level, the temperature had dropped to 22 degrees and the sky had turned cloudy. The going along the twisting, turning mountains roads was tough but it was a pleasure to drive along. I only wish I had a manual transmission. When we reached the Ruta Panoramica, we entered the Toro Negro Forest Reserve which was breathtakingly beautiful. The sights from the crests and ridges were amazing. The best sight by far was when we drove down from a crest into the road to see Cerro de Punta, Puerto Rico's highest peak rising in front of us shrouded by mist and clouds. By the way, the view we got was a million times better than the one listed on the Wikipedia page since we got the view from within the Toro Negro Forest Reserve.

Also, it was along the Ruta Panoramica that I showed the Puerto Ricans how to drive. This one guy in what seemed like an old, white hatchback was driving in front of us. I overtook him on a downhill in a maneuver that in retrospect was a bit hasty. After some time, Mani was unsure if we were on the right route so we pulled over to the side of the road to check. We were on the right route, but while we were checking, the white car went past us. We got back on the road and I soon got on his tail again. He was right behind a red car that was driving even slower, no doubt driven by some American tourists who couldn't drive (we had previously met some people from Alaska who complained that Puerto Ricans drove badly since they didn't adhere to all stop signs). I tried overtaking the white car a couple of times, in perfectly safe situations, but he kept coming to the left and blocking me deliberately. This quickly became annoying. This guy obviously was a Puerto Rican "cheapo", driving a dilapidated car with loud Spanish music blaring from it. But he obviously had never come across an Indian "cheapo", me. So at one point I moved left to overtake him, he tried to block me, I slammed the accelerator and horned loudly. The horn threw him off balance and he instinctively moved to the right and I sped past him and the car in front of him. Within five minutes, he was no longer in my rear view mirror.

Lesson to Puerto Ricans, you may drive better than mainland Americans but your skills are nothing compared to Indian drivers, so don't even try to compete. Mani and I plan to visit the Dominican Republic within the next couple of years, so I think they may prove to be more of a challenge to me.

Anyway, despite my best efforts, it took us more than four hours to cover the 100 miles along the mountain roads. This included a stop in a Chinese restaurant in a small town, Comeria, along the way, where we had more language issues. Anyway, by the time we got to the Rio Camuy Cave Park, it was almost 4 p.m. and unfortunately for us, they closed at 3:30 p.m. (don't ask me why since even in December, the sun only set well past 5:30 p.m.). So we decided to hit the Arecibo Observatory. Unfortunately for us, the observatory closed at 4 p.m. and we got there only around 4:20 p.m.

While the drive through the Toro Negro Forest Reserve was definitely worth it, we did want to see at least one of these things. We decided that we could see caves pretty much anywhere in the world, so we decided to come back early next morning to see the Arecibo Observatory. On that night, we were originally supposed to stay in some rainforest cabins but since that involved a hike up a steep mountain and it would have been near impossible in the dark when we got back, we decided to stay in the only other accomodation available. The people that owned the rainforest cabins also rented out their neighbor's house, known as Mr. Ko's House. Mr. Ko's house was an experience and a half. For $35 a night, it was unbelievably cheap. The name of course is hilarious. Only the bedroom is finished. In the bed room, there was a king size bed with a small desk and lamp on one side. Now on the other side of the bed was a machete, kept upright. More suited for hacking through rainforests rather than adorning bedrooms, we tried to imagine why Mr. Ko would keep a machete in his bedroom while simulataneously trying to control our laughter. On the flight back to Atlanta, the Delta Airlines magazine had a travel article in which the authors described their travels. One of the things in the article was "Most Memorable Lodging." That honor definitely goes to the house that Mr. Ko built!

On the fifth day, we woke up early and were out of Mr. Ko's house by 8 a.m. Using the autopistas, we reached the Arecibo Observatory by about 10:30 a.m. We hung around for about an hour and headed back to San Juan. After returning the rental car and checking into the hotel, we took the bus to Old San Juan again. We took the ferry across to Catano where we had these amazing cookies the previous time. Unfortunately, the sidewalk vendor who was selling them wasn't there. So we just walked around Old San Juan, took in some final sights and sounds of Puerto Rico and headed back to the hotel.

We left San Juan early morning on Christmas Day. Our flight was at 10 p.m. We passed through security check and got to the gate. As we proceeded onto the narrow connecting bridge to the plane, we were blocked by three U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security agents who were confirming the passengers' legal status in the U.S. They asked us what nationality we were, whether U.S. or non-U.S. When we replied non-U.S., they directed us to the third guy who checked my green card and Mani's visa.

Now if we had said we were U.S. citizens, what would have happened? Would they have asked for our passports? Unlikely, since Puerto Rico is marketed as "U.S. Passport not Required" and we technically were still in the United States. And since the coast guard patrols Puerto Rico, there is an equal chance of someone on a raft landing in Puerto Rico as landing somewhere in Florida. So will they check immigration status at Miami next?

The U.S. Dept of Homeland Security is possibly one of the most inefficient, illogical, and idiotic government agencies ever. They were basically relying on the honor system to enforce immigration laws at San Juan International Airport. Those of us who were truthful about our nationality were subject to scrutiny and had to make sure we had all our papers in order. While those who lied about their nationality status could have potentially gotten away scot free. This, ladies and gentlemen, is pretty much American immigration in a microcosm. Legal immigrants have to endure excessive processing fees, processing times, and strict quotas in their effort to achieve the American dream while illegal immigrants are pretty much given a free ride until Congress decides it's too much effort to deal with them and discusses an option to make them legal, or in other words, amnesty.

Anyway, besides, the slight tangent at the end, this was our Puerto Rico trip, on the whole pretty awesome.

Back in Philly

2006-11-29T13:51:00.000-08:00

So I've been back in the U.S. for about 24 hours now. Here are my travel experiences regarding the flight and the first day in the U.S.

1) First of all, I have completely avoided jet lag. This I did by getting only about two-and-a-half hours of sleep the night before I left in Bangalore. I went to sleep around 01:00 a.m. and got up at 03:30 a.m. to leave for the airport. My flight from Bangalore was at 06:45 a.m. on a Boeing 777 and after breakfast, I went to sleep. I love traveling in the off-season! On the Bangalore-London flight, I was at a window seat and I had all three seats to myself between the window and the aisle. So I was able to nicely stretch out and go to sleep. It still wasn't uninterrupted sleep owing to turbulence and the narrowness of the seat for sleeping, but it was adequate and restful on the whole. And thanks to the map on the screen right in front of me, I was able to track my sleep and position.

So I went to sleep right off the coast of India, off of Goa. When I got up and looked at the map, I was somewhere near Tabriz in northwest Iran, near the Turkish border. Then I went back to sleep. The next time I woke up, I was somewhere over the Bosphorus crossing into Europe. I went back to sleep once again. I woke up again one final time during the flight as left the Balkans into central Europe. They served me lunch and I landed at London Heathrow at about 12:30 p.m. GMT or 06:00 p.m. IST.

2) At Heathrow, I passed through two more security checks (in addition to two in Bangalore) and I entered the transit terminal, which is HUGE. After buying Toblerone chocolates, one of my traditions at any European airport, I went to a computer and sat down to check e-mail. I logged on to find this short e-mail from British Airways.

"Dear Customer,

Flight BA69 on 28 Nov/LHR - our apologies this flight
is cancelled due a/c tech, please call BA reservations to rebook.

Yours sincerely,
British Airways Customer Service"

That's all! I was momentarily confused until I realized that BA 69 was my London Heathrow to Philadelphia flight. So I went to the customer service counter and told the lady that I was supposed to be on the Philadelphia flight. She asked me to go downstairs one level and said they were rerouting us through New York. So I went down there and my reservations were changed to a flight landing at New York JFK. The plane left about two hours earlier and I would reach New York about two hours earlier (though New York is marginally closer to London, increased air traffic results in a longer wait time for landing, hence the exact same flight time). The lady told me that British Airways would arrange for ground transportation to take us from New York JFK to Philadelphia and that our baggage would be rerouted to New York JFK.

The other main thing that I noticed in London was the sky. For the first time in about nine months, I noticed a subdued light even in midday. In Bangalore, the sun at noon even now in late November is roughly 67 degrees above the horizon, or roughly where the sun in Philadelphia is in late March or mid September. But in the middle latitudes, in the winter, the sun is low in the sky, even at noon, and the light is much more subdued since it's striking the sky and dispersing at an extreme angle. The blue is much more darker and softer. It's like early evening throughout the day. At London at this time of the year, even at "high" noon, the sun is only 30 degrees above the horizon. It was a sudden realization that I had left the warm Bangalore climate and was back in lands of cold winters.

By the way, I used the word middle latitudes because I do not like the word "temperate regions." According to traditional European and American teachings, we live in the "temperate zone", Bangalore is in the "torrid zone" and the polar regions are the "frigid zone." I'm sorry, that is entirely up to interpretation and is another reflection of a superiority complex on the part of Europeans and Americans. For me, Bangalore is in a "temperate zone", Singapore or Madras would be "torrid zone" and a place like Minneapolis would be in the "frigid zone". Rather than use subjective terms, we can just use terms like "tropics", "middle latitudes" and polar regions.

3) The flight from London Heathrow to New York JFK was more or less normal. In order to avoid jet lag, I had slept on the Bangalore to London Heathrow flight and I had to stay awake on this one. Aboard this Boeing 747-400, I had seats in the middle of the aircraft all to myself. Did I mention how much I enjoy traveling in the off-season? So I watched a number of movies, including Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, Cars, and Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift. Regarding the movies, I felt the first Pirates of the Caribbean was way better, Cars was a propaganda piece manufactured by the oil & auto industry, and Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift was no different than previous Fast and the Furious movies, only now it was with left-hand drive cars instead of right-hand drive cars. But I did manage to keep myself entertained for about seven and a half hours and landed in New York JFK at around 05:30 p.m. EST (04:00 a.m. IST).

4) I landed in New York JFK and passed through immigration to the baggage claim area. As I waited there, I heard an announcement that requested some passengers to bypass baggage claim and exit directly after immigration to the British Airways counter. I half-expected my name to be called and it was! I exited customs and went to the British Airways counter where I told the lady, "I think my bags are in London." She asked me my name and confirmed what I had just said. So they gave me a baggage coupon and said that my bags would be coming on the flight the day after and would be delivered by FedEx the day after that (which didn't turn out to be the case since I *still* don't have my luggage yet).

5) Mani picked me up at Philadelphia International Airport (British Airways had arranged for a bus from New York JFK to Philly) at around 10:15 p.m. (08:45 a.m. IST). We came to Drexel and met Manu and went to Manu's place for some time. I wanted to drive back from Manu's place, which was interesting.

For one thing, after getting in the car, I was fiddling with the windshield wipers until I realized I was in the U.S. and that the lights were on the left of the steering. I also instinctively lowered my left hand to release the handbrake and at this point, Mani started getting nervous. It didn't help his nervousness when at 34th and Lancaster, I turned on the wipers when I had intended to turn on the right turn signal.

But I got my bearings and proceeded smoothly until from there onto I-76 W. As I merged onto I-76 W, I quickly moved into the left lane and as I proceeded, I noticed that there was traffic merging onto the highway from my left. In this merging lane, there were three cars where I was parallel to the last car of the three. I honked to let them know that I was there.

At this point, Mani is staring at me. I even turned to him told him, "Why is your horn so weak?" I think somewhere as I was completing this sentence, I realized what I had done. I started laughing and told him that I had honked because I didn't want the people merging to suddenly come into my lane, to which Mani responded, "You dog, they don't do that over here." Clearly, driving in India will take longer to eliminate from my system (although a few miles ahead of this incident, a giant pick-up truck did cut me off, necessitating the use of the horn).

And that was the story of my trip here and my first 24 hours here. More to come in the next few days.

Olympics Beijing 2008

2006-11-26T17:20:00.000-08:00

How the Chinese prepare for the Olympics.

"For about 20 minutes the Chinese side impressed their guests with slick presentations, and a deluge of facts and figures; everything from the number of trees being planted, to the treatment of Olympic sewage.

The presentation complete, the group of Chinese officials sat back smiling, confident that the foreigners had been suitably impressed. But Ken and Seb clearly hadn't read the script.

Lord Coe immediately launched into a string of questions: "How would the facilities be used after the Olympics? What percentage of energy used during the Olympics will come from renewable sources? How would the Chinese achieve their aim of making the Olympics carbon-neutral?"

A look of panic came over the officials faces. Why were these foreigners asking questions? Hadn't they been listening to the carefully prepared presentation?

For a few minutes the officials floundered and waffled, before the meeting was brought to a swift close."

LOL!!!

"For Seb and Ken it was lesson number one in Chinese bureaucrat-dom, official information is there to be consumed, not questioned."

"Take the example of Beijing's international airport. To cope with the extra Olympic visitors, it's being doubled in size, with a vast new terminal building and third runway, in a design by Lord Norman Foster.

But while in London, Heathrow airport's new terminal five started life somewhere back in the mid 1990s, and still isn't finished, Beijing's new space-age terminal three only broke ground in early 2005.

By the end of next year it will be complete. It's also about twice the size of the Heathrow building, and includes a new runway, railway link, and new motorway.

To make way for all this, three villages and thousands of villagers had to be moved.

In Britain this would represent a huge legal and financial obstacle. Not in China."

Bangalore's new international airport is floudering for similar problems. Unlike China, there's this pesky thing called human rights in India which the government has to take care of before pursuing a gigantic project.

Who's in India? Hu is in India!

2006-11-23T06:57:00.000-08:00

Chinese dictator Hu Jintao just today concluded a four day visit to India. Throughout the four days of his summit, Tibetans in exile protested across the country targeting Hu Jintao in their demonstrations. And with good reason, Hu Jintao was the leader of the Tibetan "Autonomous Region" in the late 1980s when China brutally put down some protests there.

In any case, the protests were widespread across India from Bangalore to New Delhi to Bombay to Darjeeling. I drove past a site of protest in Bangalore on Nov 21 and decided to stop and explore it further. Unfortunately, I did not have my camera with me and whatever I did capture was with the primitive camera and video recorder that my phone here possesses.

I stuck around the scene of the protest for about 45 minutes during which time the protesters raised slogans against China and Hu Jintao and the protest was forcefully ended by Bangalore police who broke it up. I was both heartened and disappointed by the protest, as I'll explain now.

I was heartened to see the protest because it stood as a symbol of India's vibrant democracy as well as India's commitment to human rights.

The Tibetan flag, which if flown within Tibet will get you imprisoned and tortured by Chinese authorities, fluttered proudly in Bangalore as it was waved by a Tibetan protester. The Tibetan flag is one of my favorite flags, in my opinion it looks absolutely beautiful, and to see it being waved around proudly always does my heart good. It represents the struggle the Tibetan people face in their quest for a basic human right, the right to self-determination and the right to freedom. When I visited a Tibetan store in Berkeley, CA about a year ago (almost to the week), I tried to procure a Tibetan flag to hang in my living room, but he didn't have any more left.
There were plenty of placards all around denouncing China for burying nuclear waste in Tibet and warning of dire consequences regarding China's military expansionist ambitions showing a red China stretching across Asia including half of India.
An animated Tibetan youth led a candlelight protest for Tibet and rallied the group by shouting catchy slogans such as

"Who's the murderer? Hu Jintao! Who's the killer? Hu Jintao! Who's the torturer? Hu Jintao!"
"Free (crowd screams Tibet!)! Free (crowd screams Tibet!)! Free (crowd screams Tibet!)!"
"Tibet ki aazadi, Bharat ki suraksha" which is Hindi for "Tibet's freedom, India's security" and makes the point that India would never have to spend hundreds of millions of rupees in militarily protecting an Indo-Tibet border.
"Hu Jintao kutta, maro jutta!" which roughly translates into "Hu Jintao is a dog, pelt him with shoes".
"Long live the Dalai Lama, free the Panchen Lama!" (the Panchen Lama was abducted by Chinese authorities when he was a toddler and he and his parents have not been since. The Communist junta has installed a fake Panchen Lama of its own (don't ask me how a supposedly atheist government decides where a Buddhist monk has been reincarnated).

There were some other slogans, but I forget them. By the way, my cell phone does not record sound, so no, there is nothing wrong with your sound card when you watched those videos. Everything I described until now was heartening. So what disappointed me? Well, the way the protest ended. There was a police contingent standing by the protesters throughout the day and at around 7 p.m. a large empty police van showed up along with dozens of police officers.

One of the police officers went up to the lead Tibetan protester and from what I could hear of their conversation, which was in English, it went like this:

Police: You will have to end this protest and disperse now.
Protester: Why should we disperse now?
Police: You had taken out permission to conduct this protest today until 2 p.m. and now it is 7 p.m. You can come back take permission again and come back tomorrow, but you have to leave now.
Protester: Why should we come back tomorrow? Why can't we have permissio now to continue the protest?
Police: (inaudible) ... You cannot occupy this public area now without permission. You must vacate this place. Come back tomorrow if you want with fresh permission.
Protester: You say we are occupying this area. China is illegally occupying Tibet without permission. We are saying they should vacate Tibet!

What that last sentence of the protester had to do with anything, I have no idea. Anyway, failing to convince the protesters to disperse peacefully, the policemen charged the crowd beating them with lathi sticks and hauling them into the police van, which newspaper and media photographers had a field day with the drama that was unfolding. I didn't take too many videos because I didn't want the police damaging my phone (they confiscated a Tibetan's camera as he was taping, although they returned it about 15 mins later since they have no legal right to take it). The police van was filled and in the time a new one came, some protesters gathered themselves in a corner and continued to shout slogans against Hu Jintao and China. I didn't stay till the end, but from seeing all the debris left behind (plastic water bottles, cardboard signs, etc), there was going to be a lot of work for the Bangalore Mahanagara Palike the next day.

Towards the end, I was disappointed with the Tibetans' behavior and felt it marred an otherwise powerful protest. We in India are not their enemies. In fact, India has given them refugee status and many of them that are born in India have the option of accepting Indian citizenship, although they have been asked not to by the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan Government-in-exile for fear of diluting the Tibetan cause.

The Tibetan Government-in-exile itself is given a more or less free reign in India, including the power to collect annual taxes from Tibetan refugees living in the country. The least the Tibetan protesters could have done was to respect the law of the land. Ideally, in a democracy, protests should be allowed anywhere, anytime. However, in the interest of maintaining law and order as well as security, many free nations require protesters to take permission for protests, which will be assigned a time and a place. India is no different.

The Tibetan protesters had a permit to protest all of Nov 20, which they did. On Nov 21, they had taken permission to protest until 2 p.m., according to the police. They stayed on five hours past their permission and refused to move, instead bringing up an inane attempt at an analogy for the Chinese occupation of Tibet to justify their presence. When they did finally leave / were removed, they left a big mess. In my opinion, it was an abuse of India's freedoms. Of course, everyone in India abuses Indian democracy in similar manners (such as an unpermitted protest involving the Communist Party of India-Marxist's CITU Autorickshaw Drivers Union that blocked and caused a major traffic jam in a busy area of the city today).

Nonetheless, had the Tibetans peacefully dispersed taking their refuse with them leaving the intersection as it originally was and returned the next day with fresh permission, they would have garnered all the more of the public's, including my own, sympathy.

Of course, there could be reasons that I do not know about, such as Indian police not giving permission to the protesters for political reasons and India and China get increasingly chummy with each other, but that did not seem to be the case here, since the policeman invited the protesters back the next day. Instead of winning the hearts of Bangaloreans, the Tibetans' actions led to one of the policeman say to the laughter of an assembled crowd, "Illi bandu jagala madthare. Namma awurige jaga illa", which in Kannada means, "They come and create a ruckus here. We don't even have space for our own people." Indians by and large are sympathetic to the Tibetan cause, but that doesn't mean we'll condone everything even as blatant disrespect is shown for the law of the land.

On a final note, I found it somewhat ironic that the Tibetans were protesting against cultural genocide in Tibet, of which a major component is the suppression of Tibetan language by Chinese people. A report commissioned by the Tibetan Government-in-exile found:

"It was noted that very few Chinese in Tibet could speak Tibetan. Even those who were born in Tibet or had lived there for many years, rarely spoke Tibetan. Those who did speak Tibetan had extremely limited language skills. From conversations with Tibetans and Chinese on this subject, it was learned that Chinese and Tibetans believe that it is not necessary for Chinese living or working in Tibet to be able to speak Tibetan. Urban Tibetans on the other hand, need to learn Chinese in order to be able to function fully in their own urban society. In one Chinese restaurant on the Beijing Donglu, the mission tried to order food in Tibetan, but the Chinese waiters and waitresses were unable to understand. After several minutes a Tibetan girl working in the kitchen was asked to translate for the mission from Tibetan into Chinese. However, her command of Chinese was not sufficient for this task. As some of the staff spoke fluent English, orders were then taken in English. The Tibetan girl told the mission she was from a rural area and had recently started her job in the Chinese restaurant. When asked how much she earned per month, she answered she was rather uncertain about this. After her first month she had received RMB 300 while her colleagues earned around RMB 1000 a month. When asked why there was a difference between her salary and those of her colleagues, she answered that she did not know as her Chinese was not good enough to ask for an explanation. It was clear that the girl was severely handicapped by not being able to speak and understand Chinese sufficiently."

What appeared as ironic to me is that the Tibetans were shouting slogans in English and Hindi, imposed by North Indians as the "national language" while no slogan was raised in Kannada, the local language spoken in Bangalore. Of course, while the situation in any southern Indian state is nowhere near as bad as that of Tibet, north Indians in southern India do exhibit many of the characteristics that Chinese exhibit in Tibet, with many of them not knowing the local language even years after living here and believing it is their God-given right that everyone in India be able to understand and speak to them in their own language.

But I'm going somewhat off topic here. And before I end this post, one final note. I was surprised and angered by the Indian government's decision this time to confine radical Tibetan independence activist Tensing Tsundue to Dharamshala this year so that he wouldn't "embarrass" the Indian government.

In the past, Tsundue has carried out dramatic protests such as unfurling the Tibet flag across from the hotel where the Chinese leadership is staying in India and the like. It was also unfortunate that the Indian government has decided to restrict Tibetans' movements in India and keep them out of sight of the Chinese dictator as he toured India. In addition, China has requested and India has agreed to "not allow Tibetans living in the country to engage in anti-China political activities from Indian territory."

I fully agree with a recent editorial in The Times of India that said:

"New Delhi has officially accepted China's occupation of Tibet, but it has no business to demand that all sections of civil society toe the line."

In concluding this blog post, I would like to remind both the Chinese and Indian governments that India is a democratic society where many citizens can and often will have views that sharply different from the government, and we will make every effort to express those views in public. Meanwhile, I would like to urge the Tibetans to respect the law of the land and disperse peacefully when their protests end rather than fighting with police. If you want to fight, please do so against the People's Liberation Army. Trust me, by protesting responsibly, you will win a lot more people to your cause, which ultimately is a righteous one.

"Desis" in Congress

2006-11-10T08:44:00.000-08:00

EDIT (11/13/06): I forgot to mention this earlier, but perhaps the most important impact made by an Indian-American was by a person who wasn't a candidate at all! I am, of course, talking about Mr. S.R. Sidharth, who was a campaign worker for Jim Webb, Senator-elect from Virginia and was insulted by George Allen who called him "macaca," a racist slur that means monkey. That statement turned this "Republican-leaning" state into a "toss-up" which was colored blue on election election. Here are some articles on Mr. S.R. Sidharth, one which he gave to The Washington Post in August and one he gave today to Deccan Herald. And of course, everyone and their grandmother's in laws now know that Virginia's race ended up coloring a blue majority in the Senate, thereby shattering the evil "genious" Karl Rove's hopes of a "permanent Republican majority." By the way, does anyone else think that "permanent Republican majority" sounds a lot like "Thousand Year Reich?"

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Here in India, people share a kinship with other Indians all around the world, always very eager to hear how their brothers and sisters in far off lands are faring. Today was no exception. In today's Deccan Herald, almost the entire "Foreign" news page was devoted to the U.S. midterm elections. Of that space, about half was devoted to how Indian-Americans fared in various federal, state, and local races.

There were quite a few Indian-Americans who ran for the U.S. Congress, but only one was reelected. This person is Mr. Bobby Jindal, R-La. It is pretty sad that he's the sole representative of Indians in Congress though. He's about as far of a right-wing nutcase as you can get.

For starters, he has a 0% rating on conservation and environment related issues from Defenders of Wildlife, and during the 109th Congress, he voted on everything from drilling and spilling in the Arctic Wildlife National Refuge to helping the "America's Number 1 Wildlife Villain" and soon-to-be-out-of-work Congressman Richard Pombo, R-Calif, redefine the historic Endangered Species Act. On other issues, his stance is no better. He is against abortion in all cases, even in the case of rape or incest, and he has not yet stated his stance on abortion when the mother's life is at stake. And he is a exteme jingoist, who supports a constitutional amendment prohibiting flag burning!

Hmm, I thought that the constitution was to ensure that the fundamentally inherent rights of all human beings weren't taken away. But these new brand of Republicans want the Constitution to be pretty much another legislature, whether it be with flag burning or gay marriage. The Constitution tried legislating once, with prohibition, and we all know how great that turned out.

Anyway, so what about the remainder of the desi candidates? Well, I don't know too much about them. Although, I would not have minded if Mr. Raj Bhakta had won election to Congress. He was running for a congressional district that covered some of northeast Philadelphia and parts of Montgomery County, Jenkintown, etc. The man's half Indian, half Irish. Now you might be asking, "Vivek, how could you support someone who ran against Allyson Schwartz, who received a 100% conservation rating from Defenders of Wildlife? Well, first of all, Raj ran as a pro-environment Republican. His web site stated his opposition against drilling in the Arctic as well as how he would fight against members of his own party and the president to protect the environment. That very important issue was quickly off the table. And he supported the India-US nuclear deal while Allyson Schwartz voted opposes it. But he lost, pretty handily. It was hard for anyone to win this year who had a R following their name, borne out by the story of Lincoln Chafee, Republican Senator from Rhode Island who is actually to the Left of five Democrats in the Senate and who did not vote for George Bush in 2004.

So for the moment at least, Mr. Jindal remains the only desi in the Capitol building. And he is a far cry from the last desi in Congress, Mr. Dalip Singh Saund, who represented the 29th district of California from 1957 - 1963. Unlike, Mr. Saund, who was a progressive and campaigned for South Asians to be naturalized (prior to the Luce-Celler Act being passed in 1946, South Asians were considered "unassimilable" and were not able to become naturalized citizens of the U.S.), Mr. Jindal is yet one more self-righteous Republican bigot from the South. Oh, well, perhaps in the coming years, there will be someone who I as an Indian can be proud of.

YEEAAAGGGGHHHH!!!

2006-11-08T03:35:00.000-08:00

If there ever was a day to justify the explosive enthusiam that the Dean Scream represents, it was today, 11/08/2006, a day which represented a bright, new direction for America.

I woke up at 06:30 a.m. today to turn on CNN and watch the election results pour in. When I turned on the tv, many of the eastern states had just finished polling and the count in the House was 30 seats for Democrats, 12 seats for the Republicans, and 393 seats undecided.

These past few days was one of nervousness. Here's a little bit of what happened before:

Nov. 7, 2000 - I was in Bangalore then as well and woke up at early in the morning on Nov. 8 to watch CNN. I remember my feelings when with the fate of the presidency at stake, CNN called Florida for George Bush Jr. around 2 p.m. IST, give or take an hour, and declared him the 43rd president of the United States. I was crushed, I had so fervently wanted Gore to win. Then hope sprang anew as Florida went from red to yellow as it was once again placed in the "Too Close to Call" category. Then over the coming weeks, I saw in disbelief as the Supreme Court handed the presidency to George Bush on partisan lines. Despite the fact that there was precedent for the vote count to be continued all the way to January, the 5 Republican appointed judges declared that enough time was spent and George Bush took the presidency with a lead of 537 votes.

Nov. 5, 2002 - I don't quite remember the details of this election, only that it wasn't a happy one. This was one of those rare elections for which I actually was present in the U.S. I remember the Senate being lost and reading in a news article how Bush had whooped and pumped his fists when he saw the results come in. The election results didn't do anything to make those gloomy, cold, dark November days any brighter.

Nov. 2, 2004 - This was one of those races where I tried everything possible to ensure that George Bush left office. Once again, for this election, I was in India on holiday. I had submitted commentary after commentary to my university's student newspaper on why George Bush should not be reelected. Everything seemed to be going great, Kerry routed Bush in the first presidential debate. The polls showed them in a statistical heat. I woke up again early on Nov. 3 to watch election results on CNN. I turned on CNN, saw big leads in the key battleground states of Florida and Ohio, and a few hours later, George Bush was reelected. This time, surprisingly, there was no shock and no feeling of crushing disappointment. I turned off the tv and continued on with my life.

But today, EVERYTHING was different.

At one point, when I was watching CNN, the Democrats had captured seven key "toss-up" races in the House and needed eight more. In a spurt, race after race came on the screen and flashed blue as Democrats took seats from Indiana to New York to Arizona. There was a tidal wave of resentment and anger against the Bush administration that swept the country. A net gain of 28 seats! Today was fantastic.

I was watching the post-election interviews and it's clear that everyone in the Democratic camp was in the same frame of mind as me. We had won! We had actually won. It's been such a long time since we tasted victory, we had forgotten how sweet it was.

Nancy Pelosi will be the first female Speaker of the House. The Senate will likely enter Democratic hands as well, Jim Webb and Jon Tester are both leading by very small margins in Virginia and Montana respectively. If they can survive the recount, the Senate will be 51-49 in Democrats' favor and with our strong House majority, we can *finally* provide the kind of oversight that this administration desperately needs.

For the moment, let's relish this victory. We have provided a New Direction for America. I look forward to the first 100 hours of the New Congress when we enact landmark legislation such as increasing the minimum wage and making healthcare affordable to all Americans, irrespective of income.

On a personal note, this will also be the last election in which I am a mere spectator. I intend to apply for citizenship immediately on my return to the U.S. in July. I look forward to taking part in the Democratic primary for the 2008 presidential elections as well as the presidential elections themselves.

Politics of Language

2006-11-05T09:23:00.000-08:00

I was waiting along with my friend in a queue at the Bangalore City Bus stand yesterday. We were both traveling to Mysore (about 140 kms southwest of Bangalore) and were waiting to buy tickets. I hadn't seen her in almost two months and we were just chatting generally. Usually, when I talk with my friends in/from Bangalore, depending on who it is, it usually varies from about 70-95% English, with Kannada making up the remaining part.

So anyway, we were just chatting and this guy standing in the queue near us suddenly interjects. He was like, "Listen, you know Kannada, she knows Kannada, so why don't both of you talk in Kannada? You can talk in English at your workplace, but talk in Kannada now. Are you ashamed of speaking in Kannada?" First thought in my mind was, what business is it of his what language I speak in, especially when it doesn't concern him in the least. So I replied, "Yes, we both know Kannada ..." and I was going to finish with "but we'll speak how we're comforable" when he interjected, "so talk in Kannada then."

At which point, we decided to ignore him and continued speaking in English, while he complained to the guy next to him, "See what the fate of Kannada is when even people who know it don't speak it." Well, I have news for him. The world is getting globalized and English is the lingua franca. It's sad that people are losing touch with their local languages and mother tongues, but that's the price of progress. For example, I do feel bad about the fact that my "thinking language" is English, not Tamil which is my mother tongue. But that's besides the point. This guy has no right to tell me what language I should speak in with my friends. I generally do try to speak in Kannada as much as possible when I go to stores, etc and if I had asked this man a question first, I would have spoken to him in Kannada, not English. This man, unfortunately, represents the wave of linguistic fanaticism that crops up the state every now and then.

I mentioned the lingustic fanatics in my last post who are fighting to keep English out of being taught in government-aided schools. This anti-English illogic doesn't stop there! The announcement was made on November 1, 2006 and within the next couple of months, the names of Bangalore, Mysore, Bellary, Hubli, Belgaum, and Mangalore are going to revert back to their pre-British names of Bengalooru, Mysooru, Ballary, Hubballi, Belagaavi, and Mangalooru respectively. First of all, Bangalore sounds a million times cooler than Bengalooru. We even have a English word named after it for God's sake, "Someone's job gets Bangalored." So from now on, is it going to get "Bengalooroed?" Come on, don't tell me that the Government of Karnataka doesn't have anything better to do than to change the names of cities. This process involves a huge cost, because all the signs on the roads, highways, government documents, legal documents, etc has to be changed. It's expected to cost hundreds of millions of rupees before all is said and done. Is this really necessary? Couldn't this money be better spent ensuring that the children of Bangalore have decent schools, the citizens of Bangalore have a decent subway system that will unclog the roads. Really, what is the need of the hour, infrastructure or a new name? Our brilliant politicians, aiming for that votebank of lingustic fanatics, obviously decided on the latter.

Sadly, this is not a trend restricted to Karnataka. Bangalore is the most recent city to fall victim to this waste of money and time. Bombay became Mumbai, Madras became Chennai, Trivandrum became Thiruvananthapuram, Alleppey became Alappuzha, Quilon became Kollam, Cochin became Kochi, Cannanore became Kannur, Calicut became Kozhikode, Panjim became Panaji, Baroda became Vadodara, and Calcutta has become Kolkata. So you see, the insanity has not been restricted to Bangalore, but is widespread around India.

So is Cubbon Park in Bangalore, named after Mark Cubbon, a British designer of the city, going to be renamed? Why not change the name of the country itself? After all, India is a name given by the British. In Indian languages, the name of the country is Bharata. So should we all become citizens of Bharata? My passport says "Republic of India" in English and "Bharat Ganarajya" in Hindi. In front of a State Bank of India in Bangalore, you would see a sign that says "State Bank of India" in English and "Bharateeya Rashtriya Bank" in Kannada. The point is that the country is always referred to as India in English and Bharata in Indian languages. Similarly, Bangalore was always Bengalooru in Kannada. In fact, the bus I am sitting on right now on the way back from Mysore says in front, in Kannada, "Madikeri - Mysooru - Bengalooru" and the corresponding English sign says "Madikeri - Mysore - Bangalore." Even when I speak in Kannada and refer to Bangalore, it's always referred to as Bengalooru, since it sounds right. The point is, Bangalore was already Bengalooru in Kannada, so why bother with changing the name of the place in English? It's kind of like how Rome is Rome in English but Roma in Italian. Similarly here, in government documents in Kannada, Bangalore has always been referred to me with Bengalooru.

So, will someone please throw these lingustic fanatics out of the Vidhana Soudha and let the government handle some real work.

And did I mention how horrible Bengalooru sounds in English? If I could only have that beautiful name Bangalore back for this city!