Monday, December 29, 2008
Trip to Singapore
Just came to India after spending a few days in Singapore. A very cosmopolitan place indeed. Almost like a western city based in Asia with hoards of restaurants offering cuisines from all over the world. I enjoyed food more than anything else. Seafood especially was incredibly scrumptious with wide variety. It's a city almost made for tourists - one cannot be dissapointed with their facilities. Foods from all over the world, impeccable public transport system, inexpensive cab rides, swanky hotels, exceptionally good looking gardens and parks, umpteen massage places at every corner and beautiful beaches. Humidity is almost unbearable so I can rule out living there :) A society very much looking to ape western culture so not much local culture there. City is so green sometimes you feel as if you are in a park only even though you are on a main street. A good outing overall. I also got to meet some very good friends from University which was even more satisfying.
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Slumdog Millionaire
Just saw this year's golden globe nominations and Slumdog millionaire got 4 cruical nominations. Danny Boyle's this feature is my this year's favorite. A boy growing up in slums of Mumbai becomes a millionaire through a reality show - how does he do it against all odds? That's the beauty of the movie. It captures 2 Indias - One that's developing at rapid pace and the other which is still in dark and abject poverty. A love angle, fabulous music and some great locations make the whole movie a treat to watch.
The essence of movie lies in it's unique story telling which somehow captures the current state of India. A country with over billion people still stuggles to provide basic necessities to millions but has all the money and brains to build satellites to send to moon. A country where many people in rural areas still plough lands using cows and bulls has some of world's best IT schools. This is the same country where over 80% of the population doesn't speak english but has largest network of call centers catering to english speaking population of the western world. A country where illiteracy rate is over 50% but has over 1000 different newspapers (in over 30 different languages) circulating all across the nation.
Almost synonymous with the term bollywood, the country now needs to live up to its fun and frolic image. Long gone are the days of yogis and Gandhi. The present country is capable of exporting much more than just spiritual thoughts. It's the time of TATAs and Mittals to show the might of Indian enterpreneurship at world stage. A flawed democracy it may be, but it has all the channels in place for people to raise their voices for better equity. With over hundred news media channels and some thousand (or many more) entertainment channels, people are well connected to the world.
This is exactly what slumdog millionaire captures and that makes it a delightful watch.
The essence of movie lies in it's unique story telling which somehow captures the current state of India. A country with over billion people still stuggles to provide basic necessities to millions but has all the money and brains to build satellites to send to moon. A country where many people in rural areas still plough lands using cows and bulls has some of world's best IT schools. This is the same country where over 80% of the population doesn't speak english but has largest network of call centers catering to english speaking population of the western world. A country where illiteracy rate is over 50% but has over 1000 different newspapers (in over 30 different languages) circulating all across the nation.
Almost synonymous with the term bollywood, the country now needs to live up to its fun and frolic image. Long gone are the days of yogis and Gandhi. The present country is capable of exporting much more than just spiritual thoughts. It's the time of TATAs and Mittals to show the might of Indian enterpreneurship at world stage. A flawed democracy it may be, but it has all the channels in place for people to raise their voices for better equity. With over hundred news media channels and some thousand (or many more) entertainment channels, people are well connected to the world.
This is exactly what slumdog millionaire captures and that makes it a delightful watch.
Friday, December 5, 2008
Economic Imperialism II
Some more light on Economic Imperialism or as many say - Neocolonialism.
In World war II, Germans tried to steal natural resources from neighbouring countries and now US does it very subtly through their financial power. They patent seeds, genes and medicines and then applying pressure on countries to cut their productivity through the application of intellectual property law.
World Bank and IMF - America's Puppets - make life hell for poor countries. They make predatory loans to desperate countries knowing fully they cannot pay back.
Jamaica, in 1990s, going through one of their worst crisis, was loaned money by IMF to overcome their money supply crisis but in return they were forced to import American food products. Flour, Bananas, Milk and all kinds of products that Jamaica had in abundance already were pouring in from US. What did it do? Thousands lost employment and more depression in the country. Interest rates were so high on the loan, the island crumbled in loan which took the country into deeper recession. Today, the contribution of agriculture to the national economy has fallen significantly. In 2007 it was 5.3 per cent, compared to 8.5 per cent in 1980. Deteriorating economic conditions led to recurrent violence as rival gangs affiliated with the major political parties evolved into powerful organized crime networks involved in international drug smuggling and money laundering.
WTO threatens to impose trade sanctions on Asian countries if they tried to ban cigarrete advertising. Today, more than a third of Chinese men are addicted to cigarrete generating billions in annual profits for Big Tobacco companies who are right now producing more Chinese casualties than any war in China's long history.
Movies like Blood Diamond, The constant Gardner and many more expose western countries' economic pressures on African countries. Just to import their medicines which are of substandard quality, they kill thounsands but make their millions. Similarly, kids are exposed to find diamonds in the mines that are precariously dangerous. Kids grow up in the shadow of guns and bombs. See these movies to get taste of brutality inflicted on these poor nations.
There are many more instances but this should give you a good glimpse of how trade sanctions can turn everything upside down. The whole process filters down to bigger problems such as drug trafficing, gang violence and terrorism.
Feel free to share your thoughts!
In World war II, Germans tried to steal natural resources from neighbouring countries and now US does it very subtly through their financial power. They patent seeds, genes and medicines and then applying pressure on countries to cut their productivity through the application of intellectual property law.
World Bank and IMF - America's Puppets - make life hell for poor countries. They make predatory loans to desperate countries knowing fully they cannot pay back.
Jamaica, in 1990s, going through one of their worst crisis, was loaned money by IMF to overcome their money supply crisis but in return they were forced to import American food products. Flour, Bananas, Milk and all kinds of products that Jamaica had in abundance already were pouring in from US. What did it do? Thousands lost employment and more depression in the country. Interest rates were so high on the loan, the island crumbled in loan which took the country into deeper recession. Today, the contribution of agriculture to the national economy has fallen significantly. In 2007 it was 5.3 per cent, compared to 8.5 per cent in 1980. Deteriorating economic conditions led to recurrent violence as rival gangs affiliated with the major political parties evolved into powerful organized crime networks involved in international drug smuggling and money laundering.
WTO threatens to impose trade sanctions on Asian countries if they tried to ban cigarrete advertising. Today, more than a third of Chinese men are addicted to cigarrete generating billions in annual profits for Big Tobacco companies who are right now producing more Chinese casualties than any war in China's long history.
Movies like Blood Diamond, The constant Gardner and many more expose western countries' economic pressures on African countries. Just to import their medicines which are of substandard quality, they kill thounsands but make their millions. Similarly, kids are exposed to find diamonds in the mines that are precariously dangerous. Kids grow up in the shadow of guns and bombs. See these movies to get taste of brutality inflicted on these poor nations.
There are many more instances but this should give you a good glimpse of how trade sanctions can turn everything upside down. The whole process filters down to bigger problems such as drug trafficing, gang violence and terrorism.
Feel free to share your thoughts!
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Economic Imperialism
My first Blog comes just after the deadly strikes that stunned Mumbai. I wish I had started my blog on a happy note but alas, it's not the case. How does one define a cowardly attack that took place in the heart of India? All of us will condemn this act, go out light candles, protest against goverments through various channels, send mass emails for unity and discuss with friends and family how disgusted we feel about all this. In a few days, we will all forget about this and wait for another attack to be instituted by some extremists and then say everything all over again. There is nothing that can describe the anguish, grief and pathos of people who lose their dear ones in these attacks. It's a tough pill to swallow and the real pain is only known to those ones.
What will stop these attacks? Tight security? Bombing terrorists sites where more innocents die than actual terrorists? Negotiations? The real question is - what satisfies terrorists? How does one counter that insatiable hunger for killing humans that stand against the people of their sect? The terrorists are human too but their thoughts are not. As quoted by Buddha, "All that we are is the result of what we have thought. The mind is everything. What we think we become". Now how does one change their mind? I don't know that but what we can do is stop the access of arms to them.
Terrorists can't fight without fancy guns, RDX, bombs and sophisticated gadgets. Who provides them with these invaluable instruments? Where is all that money coming from? Who is that person or a group that's funding these terrorists? That's the real question. One needs to go after these culprits hiding behind the shadow of their fake righteous path. Who are these people then? My guess is as good as yours.
World economy in true sense is orchestrated by a few large players. Rest of the world just accepts their decisions. Small and developing economies are heavily dependant on the major economies. Common man in these smaller economies suffers from ridiculous one sided trade agreements. We will only come invest in your country or lend you money if you import our stuff without any tarrifs, if your exports are cheaper than world prices, if you import stuff that you don't even need, if you export stuff that's scarce in the world and if you give us a piece of your land to occupy for our army base. What happens to the common man? Many lose jobs and are forced to venture into ideas that were never explored before. One of them - vandalising. Which leads to more anger after government oppresses them. Then? More violence, Jails, creating gangs within communities to fight and eventually leading to extreme options such a terrorism. Of course, religion is other reason but root cause there too is of the similar nature. Will write on that soon.
Major economies need to keep a balance with developing nations. There are number of instances where smaller economies suffered after their trade agreements in the name of free world. I will post a few cases in my next blog. For now, let's hear your views.
What will stop these attacks? Tight security? Bombing terrorists sites where more innocents die than actual terrorists? Negotiations? The real question is - what satisfies terrorists? How does one counter that insatiable hunger for killing humans that stand against the people of their sect? The terrorists are human too but their thoughts are not. As quoted by Buddha, "All that we are is the result of what we have thought. The mind is everything. What we think we become". Now how does one change their mind? I don't know that but what we can do is stop the access of arms to them.
Terrorists can't fight without fancy guns, RDX, bombs and sophisticated gadgets. Who provides them with these invaluable instruments? Where is all that money coming from? Who is that person or a group that's funding these terrorists? That's the real question. One needs to go after these culprits hiding behind the shadow of their fake righteous path. Who are these people then? My guess is as good as yours.
World economy in true sense is orchestrated by a few large players. Rest of the world just accepts their decisions. Small and developing economies are heavily dependant on the major economies. Common man in these smaller economies suffers from ridiculous one sided trade agreements. We will only come invest in your country or lend you money if you import our stuff without any tarrifs, if your exports are cheaper than world prices, if you import stuff that you don't even need, if you export stuff that's scarce in the world and if you give us a piece of your land to occupy for our army base. What happens to the common man? Many lose jobs and are forced to venture into ideas that were never explored before. One of them - vandalising. Which leads to more anger after government oppresses them. Then? More violence, Jails, creating gangs within communities to fight and eventually leading to extreme options such a terrorism. Of course, religion is other reason but root cause there too is of the similar nature. Will write on that soon.
Major economies need to keep a balance with developing nations. There are number of instances where smaller economies suffered after their trade agreements in the name of free world. I will post a few cases in my next blog. For now, let's hear your views.
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