I have decided to make no new year resolutions this time. I've had too many and the usage that 'resolutions are made to be broken' has become impeccably true in the case of all my new year resolutions.
My resolutions are usually:
1. 'I will blog more consistently.' Never worked out.
2. 'I will try to lose weight.' Almost always failed. Usually would put in a month's hardwork and then put on a couple of extra kilograms to make up for the 'loss'. So no pressure this time.
3. 'I will become a little more serious towards life.' After two years of joblessness, this is a resolution I ought to be making but I'm afraid making it will undo the whole thing.
4. 'I will try to connect in a better manner with other people' i.e., cut down on selfishness. I still am in a dilemma. Am I selfish? When I decide that I'm selfish, I usually surprise myself by doing some good deed and vice versa. So I intend to continue in my ambivalent state. Like China. 'We understand India's aspirations with regard to UNSC reforms etc. etc.' These guys must have had years of training in symbolic logic of the Asimov kind.
5. 'I will finish reading the Foundation series.' I am working on that.
6. 'I will get a real job.' With this one, let's see if GoI becomes kind enough to finally send me my appointment letter.
7. 'I will use my talents to their maximum extent.' I dropped this one when I found that I have no talent of any valuable use.
8. 'I will be more optimistic.' Found I can't be more optimistic than my current levels seeing what condition we are in and where we are heading to.
...
So my resolution is to live life as I've been living for the past couple of years till someone forces me to get out. And that event, I'm 'afraid' is not going to take place any time soon!
Happy new year to all the morons reading this crap! May you get a real job this year! ;)
Friday 31 December 2010
Monday 13 December 2010
The Coffee Club, China and India
The Coffee Club is a group of countries that aim to thwart the efforts of the G4 nations to get into the UNSC by expanding it. G4 are the four countries that have the maximum probability of making it to the UNSC - Brazil, Germany, India and Japan. The Coffee Club officially goes by the name 'Uniting for Consensus'. Its leading members obviously are Argentina, Mexico (both opposed to Brazil), Italy (against Germany), Pakistan (eminently guessable) and South Korea (against Japan). There are about 40 members in the Club that was formed in the 1990s.
The 2005 text of the proposal for Security Council reforms by the Coffee Club calls for retaining the five permanent members. Another 20 non-permanent members would be elected for two years - six from Africa, five from Asia, four from Latin America and the Caribbean, three from Western and two from Eastern Europe. As you can see, that was no reform at all. The Coffee Club is a grouping India will have to take into its calculations while trying for a permanent seat.
China is another prominent headache. It is the sole permanent member of the UNSC that is not supportive of India's candidature. Though the last statement from Beijing hinted at a change in China's position, we cannot trust it until it openly proclaims its stand. China may not support India because firstly, it doesn't think India is worthy of a seat at the high table and secondly, the support will be seen in Pakistan as nothing short of betrayal.
That means that even if India gets Obama's support, U.S. does not have to worry about India's candidature for a long time. So we will continue to provide soft loans to Africa, lobby for the support of virtually-unheard-of-nations for at least one more decade and try for better relations with the land of ping-pong diplomacy (which is an impossible task). From the experience of other countries, it is obvious that a country can have good relations with China only if it no poses no threat whatsoever to China in any sphere which it cares about AND China needs it for some reason. Though China needs India for both markets and some raw materials, India is a rival to China in many spheres. That is going to make life difficult for a good number of Indian diplomats.
In short, achieving that permanent seat needs people of exceptional ability and intelligence in the External Affairs Ministry.
The 2005 text of the proposal for Security Council reforms by the Coffee Club calls for retaining the five permanent members. Another 20 non-permanent members would be elected for two years - six from Africa, five from Asia, four from Latin America and the Caribbean, three from Western and two from Eastern Europe. As you can see, that was no reform at all. The Coffee Club is a grouping India will have to take into its calculations while trying for a permanent seat.
China is another prominent headache. It is the sole permanent member of the UNSC that is not supportive of India's candidature. Though the last statement from Beijing hinted at a change in China's position, we cannot trust it until it openly proclaims its stand. China may not support India because firstly, it doesn't think India is worthy of a seat at the high table and secondly, the support will be seen in Pakistan as nothing short of betrayal.
That means that even if India gets Obama's support, U.S. does not have to worry about India's candidature for a long time. So we will continue to provide soft loans to Africa, lobby for the support of virtually-unheard-of-nations for at least one more decade and try for better relations with the land of ping-pong diplomacy (which is an impossible task). From the experience of other countries, it is obvious that a country can have good relations with China only if it no poses no threat whatsoever to China in any sphere which it cares about AND China needs it for some reason. Though China needs India for both markets and some raw materials, India is a rival to China in many spheres. That is going to make life difficult for a good number of Indian diplomats.
In short, achieving that permanent seat needs people of exceptional ability and intelligence in the External Affairs Ministry.
Sunday 12 December 2010
Fraudia
The newspapers in Kerala are having a wonderful time thanks to the jobs-for-money scam that has been unearthed. News nowadays has become more interesting than soap operas with real-life, believable allegations, counter-allegations and drama. People having connections to both political fronts are involved, with plenty of suggestions of backstabbing, wheeling and dealing, etc., etc.
I think that we have become so hardened by the almost daily exposure to these scams that we no longer feel abhorrence when we read about them. I read the scam about the organic farming money chain with an almost voyeuristic pleasure. Couldn't help smiling at the idiocy of the people who fell prey to these literally unbelievable scams. I mean, don't people have the commonsense to understand that the rates of return these companies promise are beyond the realm of possibility?
A long time ago, I used to believe that people here were fooled because of the lower quality of education we had. Bernard Madoff did me a great service by proving that it was not true. People with doctorates in financial management can be fooled too, provided you are sufficiently sophisticated.
I think that we have become so hardened by the almost daily exposure to these scams that we no longer feel abhorrence when we read about them. I read the scam about the organic farming money chain with an almost voyeuristic pleasure. Couldn't help smiling at the idiocy of the people who fell prey to these literally unbelievable scams. I mean, don't people have the commonsense to understand that the rates of return these companies promise are beyond the realm of possibility?
A long time ago, I used to believe that people here were fooled because of the lower quality of education we had. Bernard Madoff did me a great service by proving that it was not true. People with doctorates in financial management can be fooled too, provided you are sufficiently sophisticated.
Saturday 11 December 2010
Uncles, aunts and 'chechis'
In India, we have the peculiar custom of calling any man reasonably older than us 'uncle' and any woman 'auntie'. Anyone below that particular age limit becomes a 'bhaiyya' or 'didi' (older brother or sister) or another local variation of the two terms. It leads to comical situations. For example, our former landlord's granddaughter used to call me 'chechi'(older sister). I used to call his mother 'chechi'. She used to call my mother 'chechi'. So logically, the kid's mother becomes his older sister. If that was funny, listen to this. The daughter of my current landlady calls me 'auntie' and my sister 'chechi'. Needless to say, I am mightily miffed!
This bizarre custom started as a way to show respect to older persons. It was sensible as India was a patriarchal gerontocracy. Now, however, with the gradual emergence of equality and rationalism, this custom ought to be buried. I find no sense in calling a person 'chechi', uncle or auntie when they are in no way related to me. I believe there are many similar souls who feel oppressed by this irrational system of nomenclature; who find that they have become uncles or aunts even before their sisters or brothers get married. I don't believe that calling a person by his name shows disrespect. Respect can be shown to others in much better ways than by adding useless tails to their names.
This bizarre custom started as a way to show respect to older persons. It was sensible as India was a patriarchal gerontocracy. Now, however, with the gradual emergence of equality and rationalism, this custom ought to be buried. I find no sense in calling a person 'chechi', uncle or auntie when they are in no way related to me. I believe there are many similar souls who feel oppressed by this irrational system of nomenclature; who find that they have become uncles or aunts even before their sisters or brothers get married. I don't believe that calling a person by his name shows disrespect. Respect can be shown to others in much better ways than by adding useless tails to their names.
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