Obama and Clinton: Changing one's fate

Last updated on: May 7, 2008 at 3:53 pm By Desh Kapoor

Last night Obama won North Carolina (56/42%) and lost Indiana (51/49%). He leads in the Super Delegates tally and the delegates. Now, he looks like the favorite to win. Even if Hillary won all the remaining states by 65-35% (something that she has never been able to do), she will still fall short of the delegates count against Barack Obama. So Hillary Clinton despite her injection of $6.5 million of her own money is set for a loss. Now, this happened AFTER the mess of Rev. Wright with Barack Obama. I thought he was gone last week. Obama was really tired and angry with this idiotic person called Wright. Idiotic because he knows that the media is taking him to town and using him as a weapon. As for his utterings, I am not sure how is that any different from what Pat Robertson - who has been guiding Bush and backed Rudy Guiliani and he says pretty much the same things although with a different standpoint as Wright said! Billy Graham was even worse when it came to being racists and a fundamentalist! In fact Wright, if taken in the correct perspective cannot be compared to these evangelist nuts! He is very fair in religious discussion for most part. His way of speaking is a little melodramatic and I guess its just a cultural thing for Black Churches vs White Churches. (Disclaimer: I have never ever attended any Church ever) Read more

Now Google Ocean

Last updated on: May 6, 2008 at 4:22 pm By Desh Kapoor

We have Google Earth, Google Sky... and now its the time for Google Ocean! Google is mapping every nook and crany of this planet and the Universe we live in so it can be indexed and searched upon! Its not easy, but Google has proved that they can do it.. and do it well! The company has assembled an advisory group of oceanography experts, and in December invited researchers from institutions around the world to the Mountain View, Calif., Googleplex. There, they discussed plans for creating a 3D oceanographic map, according to sources familiar with the matter. Read more

The Next Great Clash: Interview with Michael Levin

Last updated on: May 6, 2008 at 6:20 am By Desh Kapoor

I very rarely find a book that I cannot keep down, specially when it comes to politics. This book by Michael Levin is a revelation. Not many analysts really do serious research before writing. Levin is different. He is a serious analyst who has had long stints in Soviet Union/Russia and China and he is currently Executive-in-Residence at the Thunderbird School of Global Management. The Introduction to the book starts in the most thoughtful manner. It is so gripping that you start believing in the power of book introductions once again - an art that had long vanished! He discusses his tough childhood and fight with disease as well as his struggle to learn about Russia and his success after some aimless times. I love Levin's expression as it is profound although it talks of some mundane things like global politics. Like he says: "Reading is the collecting of intellectual income, writing is the spreading of it" He uses a lot of research and models of other researchers to test his conclusions that are based on his experience and knowledge. Overall, a great book to read! Here is an interview with Michael Levin, the author. 1. You have talked of "One Radical Imbalance (American Debt) sustains another (Asian Surplus)". Just as the "rich" in the US are betting, foolishly, on a never ending stream of debt; arent the Chinese, again foolishly, betting on unending stream of export wealth? And while talking of the aging US (and Western) population, we forget the same trend for China as well. So two questions: (a) is this a game of "who blinks first?" between US and China and - in that sense - a repeat of the Star Wars tactic to destroy Soviet Union under its own weight? (b) Is the Chinese "surplus" a notional surplus - since its invested in an instrument that it can best see ride down as the class with US increases? Two things to keep in mind: if there is an economic break between the US and china, china has an ace in the hole: it can divert its attention to satisfying the demand of its domestic consumers as a replacement for export-led growth. The US seems to be at a disadvantage - it does not have an ace in the hole... Read more

China attacks India!

Last updated on: May 5, 2008 at 5:49 am By Desh Kapoor

Contrary to all beliefs, India is being attacked by China as we speak! This is not just the age of Nuclear or bomb warfare but intellectual and computer (internet) warfare. And China is doing all it can to hit India where it can! Attacks on National Infomatics Center (NIC) - which was really targeted at National Security Council and Ministry of External Affairs were recorded in the last few months. Several other sites are targeted regularly. Its not as if India cannot do such damage - it can.. the only issue is that our IT folks in the Government babudom are severely underpaid and the private hackers do not really get into all this as yet. The Chinese hackers - ostensibly backed by their Government - are very active and vicious. And Chinese have really mastered the way to handle the accessibility to the internet in their country thanks to their zeal with censorship. Still, their defenses are not that great. Read more

Mount Washinton peak from my cell

Last updated on: May 5, 2008 at 12:30 am By Desh Kapoor

I was on a flight back from Seattle to Houston and we passed over Mount Washington. The day was clear.. and the pilot took us closer so we could have a better view. I quickly took some pictures of the peak. It was an amazing view! I used my Nokia 6110 to take the picture. Read more

Offical Moran

Last updated on: May 4, 2008 at 9:34 pm By Desh Kapoor

Rajesh just sent this. It has got to be the funniest thing I have seen in some time! And it seems to have come from Houston Chronicle.. hahaha Read more

How easily the Hindus are made to get hurt!

Last updated on: May 4, 2008 at 7:50 am By Desh Kapoor

True to their name - Hindu Makkal Katchi (HMK), the people of this organization keep peeking for Katchis or women's underwears! Honestly. First it was Shriya, who was merely wearing a white dress. Now it is Mallika. If they are so bothered about HInduism, they should start and do some study of the scriptures and learn... instead they keep on the lookout for what dress which heroine wears.. and how much they can see through it.. and if they get titillated (which is the main objective anyways I am sure) they start beating their chest about the hurt that all Hindus have! As if we could have a huge population with all women always dressed in heavy banarsi sarees! Read more

Good and Bad

Last updated on: May 4, 2008 at 7:39 am By Desh Kapoor

For there is nothing either good or bad, thinking makes it so. Read more

Americans eat more per capita than all others

Last updated on: May 4, 2008 at 5:05 am By Desh Kapoor

Here is an article which gives some extremely interesting stats that I wanted to record on drishtikone for future. This clearly shows that Americans eat more PER CAPITA than people of any other nationality! Not only that, they have been consuming at an increasing rate for the last few years. If you go to any restaurant, you would agree with that. In no other country do you find lunch plates with so mu ch of food on it! Total foodgrain consumption — wheat, rice, and all coarse grains like rye, barley etc — by each person in the US is over five times that of an Indian, according to figures released by the US Department of Agriculture for 2007. Each Indian gets to eat about 178 kg of grain in a year, while a US citizen consumes 1,046 kg. In per capita terms, US grain consumption is twice that of the European Union and thrice that of China. Grain consumption includes flour and by conversion to alcohol. In fact, per capita grain consumption has increased in the US — so actually the Americans are eating more. In 2003, US per capita grain consumption was 946 kg per year which increased to 1046 kg last year. Read more

Oil and Camel prices – do you have alternative transport strategy

Last updated on: May 4, 2008 at 4:31 am By Desh Kapoor

The camels sold as low as the price of a goat in Rajasthan. As the motorized vehicles became easier to afford and sturdier for the tougher terrains, the demand for this amazing animal had diminished. Even its population had declined. Now, the oil prices are shooting up and ethanol cannot help (Petroleum gasoline in US is in the vicinity of $3.40/gallon and the price for Bio-fuels are > $4.80/gallon). So the earlier premise of low cost is gone! The people in Rajasthan are smart. They are back to the camels. And with the rise in oil prices.. even the price for camels has shot up. The prices have risen 3 times in last 3 years. That's a fabulous return! Read more