Monday, November 03, 2014

If The Senate Goes Republican

President George W. Bush (right) is greeted by...
President George W. Bush (right) is greeted by Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal (left) and his wife, Supriya Jolly Jindal (center), on his arrival to Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport Monday, April 21, 2008, where President Bush will attend the 2008 North American Leaders’ Summit. White House photo by Joyce N. Boghosian (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
I have not been following this election, but there is no missing the headlines. There is talk the Senate will go Republican. The Clintons have shown up plenty on the campaign trail. If the Senate goes Republican, I think that might be the end of Hillary 2016.

Maybe Hillary never intended to run in the first place. I think she is eager for family time.

Right now I don't see me following the 2016 election with any intensity, other than grabbing headlines here and there.

But I do watch elections. I will be watching Bihar next year with utmost interest.

I think of Bobby Jindal as the dark horse of 2016. The pendulum of democracy might swing, and after eight years of a Democrat, the country might opt for a Republican. That is not to say Obama has not performed well. He has. But the democracy pendulum likes to swing.

Elizabeth Warren is the dark horse on the Democratic side.

Will Hillary run? That still is the million dollar question for 2016.

Bobby has already said it is the White House or bust. Should Hillary run, I wonder what that match up would be like.

Should Bobby make it, I think a lot of people will take a fresh look at the conservative philosophy. Because, going by his face, Bobby should have been a Democrat, right? Not so fast, pal. The guy is whip smart. I find some of his social positions bizarre to fascinating. But as long as they stay in the live and let live category, I am just plain eager to see someone who will help create the industries of tomorrow.

Defending Modi's Pride In The Hindu Mythology

Lord Ganesha carved in wood
Lord Ganesha carved in wood (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Modi's pride ..... : According to Modi, " [It is said in the Mahabharata that Karna was not born from his mother’s womb. This means in the times in which the epic was written genetic science was very much present. We all worship Lord Ganesha; for sure there must have been some plastic surgeon at that time, to fit an elephant’s head on the body of a human being.] ... Even worse, Mr. Modi’s views echo those of Dinanath Batra. His books are now part of the curriculum in 42,000 schools across Gujarat and carry messages from Mr. Modi when he was Chief Minister. They claim stem cell research was known in the days of Kunti and the Kauravas, television was invented at the time of the Mahabharata and the motor car existed in the Vedic period. Few would deny this is nonsense. Why wouldn’t you say the same for the claim India mastered genetic science and plastic surgery in prehistoric times? "



1,000 years from now, it would be wrong to conclude Americans were already traveling to galaxies back in the 1980s. But you will have to give credit that they imagined it pretty well. So well that when inter-galactic travel finally became possible, it looked like is shown in the Star Wars. I think the ancient Hindu epics have to be seen in the same light. They are amazing. I remember reading about mountains of diamonds in one of the Hindu stories as a child. Recently I learned that they actually exist! Jupiter has mountains of diamonds, the mountains are larger than planet Earth. Go figure.

Let the man feel his pride. I see no harm in that. Americans feel plenty proud of Star Wars.



The two faces of Mr. Modi

Sunday, November 02, 2014

Eric Schmidt, Jared Cohen, Condi Rice

Watch Out For Nitish And Kejriwal

हिन्दी: देश के उप राष्ट्रपति मोहम्मद हामिद अंस...
हिन्दी: देश के उप राष्ट्रपति मोहम्मद हामिद अंसारी पटना में पूर्व मुख्यमंत्री सत्येन्द्र नारायण सिन्हा(छोटे साहब) की 94वीं जयंती पर आयोजित व्याख्यानमाला श्रंखला पर पूर्व सांसद किशोरी सिन्हा और मुख्यमंत्री नीतीश कुमार के साथ (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Right now I think Modi will do 10 years as Prime Minister, easy. I expect him to perform. But India is not China. India is a democracy. And an India that hits double digit growth rates is not an India that will have a weak opposition. The opposition will be vibrant. And the two most promising figures on the horizon are Nitish Kumar and Arvind Kejriwal. I expect both of them to become Chief Ministers again, and I expect them to do well.

With an able PM and a vibrant opposition, India could become the fastest growing economy on earth.

Bihar registers record agriculture growth: Radha Mohan Singh
JD(U) to contest Bihar polls under Nitish Kumar's leadership: Jitan Ram Manjhi

Thursday, October 16, 2014

Saif Ali Khan On So-Called "Love Jihad"


Saif Ali Khan: Intermarriage is not jihad, it is India
I know intermarriages because I am a child of one and my children are born out of it. Intermarriage is not jihad. Intermarriage is India. India is a mix. Ambedkar said the only way to annihilate caste is intermarriage. It is only through intermarriage that the real Indians of tomorrow can be truly equipped to take our nation forward with the right perspective. I am the product of such a mixed marriage and my life has been full of Eid and Holi and Diwali. We were taught to do adaab and namaste with equal reverence. ..... My children were born Muslim but they live like Hindus (with a pooja ghar at home), and if they wanted to be Buddhist, they would have my blessing. ...... We are a blend, this great country of ours. It is our differences that make us who we are. We need to get beyond mere tolerance. We need to accept and respect and love each other. ..... There are different laws for Hindus and different laws for Muslims. This is bound to create trouble. ..... I think we should have one law for all Indians, a uniform civil code, and we should all think of ourselves as one nation. ...... I stopped believing in the Tooth Fairy first, then Santa Claus, and finally, I really don’t know what I feel about a personal god. But I believe in love and in trying to be good and helping the world. I don’t always succeed and then I feel bad. My conscience is my god, I think, and it tells me that that one tree in Pataudi near which my father is buried is closer to god than any temple, church or mosque.

Wednesday, October 08, 2014

$100 Billion Plan To Save The World

The bitcoin logo
The bitcoin logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

  1. Scale out the Google/Facebook drone initiative to blanket the planet with internet access, effective immediately. Cost $25 billion.
  2. Design a $25 smartphone and flood the Arab countries (and subsequently rest of the world) with them. The dollar a day crowd gets the phone for free. Distribute shared solar chargers alongside. Cost $25 Billion. 
  3. Use Bitcoin technology (zero cost for money transfers) and mPaisa technology (bank account on your phone, you get money on your phone, you pay back on your phone) to radically expand microfinance globally. The goal is to not generate any profit, just to keep the fund intact. Cost: $50 Billion. Anyone with a phone with internet access can borrow upto $100 per year as long as they keep up with their monthly payments. If they miss three monthly payments in a row, they don't get to borrow any more for the following two years, after which they can choose to get back in the swing. You need a phone, and you need to send in an image of your fingerprint to a central database, and your picture perhaps. There is an app for that. A credit rating agency is instantly being set up. This program comes from the air. There is nothing between the dollar a day crowd and the internet. The interest rate on the loan is 5% per year. This is to make room for the fact that 5% of the borrowers will default. You can only get $100 per year for now. The next Warren Buffet should add another $50 billion to this. This would be the magic bullet of curing poverty. 
The best way to fight ISIS (population: 20,000) is to show to them and to the two billion Muslims and everyone else how small and irrelevant they are. They don't speak for two billion people. This political challenge is primary. The military threat, though very real, is secondary.