Nothing in particular

Classes at the Academy start only on June 9. I have decided to take Pub Ad and Socio as my options.(Still can't forget the smirks on many faces when they first heard the phrase 'pub ad'!) Unlike its abbreviated version, public administration is a subject you can read only if you have a tremendous amount of willpower. Sociology is more of a gossipy kind of subject. I am talking after comparing everything with engineering, of course. Engineering was precise, accurate and actually, boring. Sociology is anything but the above three. Confounding questions like 'Is touching the feet of your elders a norm, a custom, a more or a tradition?', details of interesting customs like kula and the rather eccentric observations of the sociologists like 'avoidance between relatives is practised to avoid incest'(This is obvious: Freud's opinion.), ideas like the class struggle of the Marxists, the Fourth World, the Post-Industrial society, the theory of power etc make it a really interesting subject to read. Where else would you find Plato, Marx, Spencer, Comte, Freud and a host of others together?

Now, to today's news. The Flotilla story is slowly losing out on its coverage in newspapers. There was an Op-Ed by the Israeli Ambassador in NYT. Read it to have a balanced view. Whatever that means. Meanwhile Israeli PM says blockade will continue.

There is a really a lot of discussion going on about the EA minister's to the US. Barry is coming to India in November. US says it is 'definitely committed' to consider India's demand for UNSC seat. Our Prez went to China recently. I could not make out what they said about it. Most of the newspapers say the leadership has supported India's demand but I find that particularly difficult to believe. You'll have to give me the entire sodium chloride on this planet to make me believe that. Most probably, China will change its stand when it comes to voting. I believe the journalists have really misunderstood what the Chinese premier was saying. After all, we are not so proficient in Mandarin.

Not so about English, though. Another Indian-American has won the Spelling Bee contest. Why don't they outsource the contest to India?

Nearer home, Phet spared Gujrat, but struck Oman. There was a fire in Bangladesh. (Seems to be a problem with colonial-era buildings. They are catching fire like dry log wood these days. May be its the temperature. Global warming sceptics, please take note! )

Everyone is talking about doing something about N. Korea. However, N.Korea has nukes, and Dubya is not in office. So, by deduction, there won't be war in that region. I just can't understand why everyone is so concerned about N.Korea. Those fellows are not going to start a war. Not with China around! Why is no one bothered about those trigger-happy nutjobs in Pakistan? I would have felt safer if Iran had nukes than Pakistan! At least, that country has a government!