QOTM : August!

"Great discoveries and improvements invariably involve the cooperation of many Minds" ~Alexander Graham Bell

Devil's Advocate defendth the Apocalypse

The paki foreign minister(Devil's advocate!) was calling the Indian reaction after the blasts as a rhetoric.
It never appeared that he was on the TV show to discuss about the Indo-Pak strained relations and the Bloody massacre of 200 odd people in Mumbai trains.
Pakis are confident after the Americans asked the Indian government of proof of pakistani involvement. Its a known fact that America supports pakistan for its role in its so called War against Terror campaign.
But why is the close co-operation between americans and pakis. Thats beacause the Americans had created/funded/abetted the Taliban out of thin air with the help of pakistanis.
All the while pakistan has helped america fulfill its nefarious designs/dreams.

So that being the case, expecting a volte-face is out of question.
But lets see what america stands to lose in this whole process.
Its not an un-common fact that with Indians technological prowess the Americans can go places.
It can use india as a very good peacetime ally.
It can progress as a Civilization.

A War-time ally like Pakistan may not be required in a polarized world.

After all America has finished countries like Iraq,Afghanistan. Its anybodys guess that the last of the islamic countries will either surrender to the American might or get destroyed. The day will come when Israel or America will have to attack Pakistan to defend its soil.
That would be the day I am waiting for.
Pakistan with its Nuclear Arsenal can pose a threat to its Western Ally.

Games people like Musharraf play are bloody.
He did get a Bloody nose in Kargil from the Indian Army.
But I believe he will get his share of bloody nose again. And the next time it may be a chemical death rather than a bloody nose for him ;-).

~P

Govt's Timed Bomb

The UPA govt has returned the Office of profit bill to the President. this is a perfectly timed bomb from the Coalition partners aimed @ weakening the constitution.
This in essence amounts to insulting the Highest office in our constituition.

Well I don't hear many complaints in the media. Media is again focussing on stale topics. One more case of how irresponsible media can hurt rather than help a country.

If I were Abdul kalam I would have explored Legal ways to stall this bill.
But as they say Gentlemen finish Last. Our president by being gentle will end up playing into the congress governments hands.
The Sonia Administration has chosen this time post-mumbai blasts period for such a move. It also appears to be a right move for them as the Nation is gripped with the Bomb Blasts centric media coverage. The UPA government makes most use of the banana republic in India to push its dirty designs into the constituitional fabric.
hope Abdul kalam manages to humble the UPA Coalition impropriety. which actually appears a near impossibility right now, looks like the Office of Profit Bill will be passed.

~P

Bombay Dieing man :-(

Recent bombay blasts shook me a great deal!
I used to sing the Bombay Dyeing song to remember my good ol Bombay.
wud like to draw ur attention to the famous ad in which Shashi Kapoor's Son Karan kapoor had acted.
It was an ad for the Bombay Dyeing Clothing company & It went somethin like this ->

Every nite i hope n pray DreamLover wud come my way!
His touch i feel beyond the Dream ...
Dream Lover its a Bombay Dyeing Man !

After the Ravaging of bombay I wanted to write an ode to the Victims who left us due to this Worst_DreamBomber . I somehow could not write-up anything for days as the scenes were so vivid n graphic, I was bit lost in them.

in Retrospect the same jingle I feel is changed to.

Every nite i hope n pray SuicideBomber wud'nt come my way!
His thought scares me beyond the Worst Dreams ...
Suicide Bomber have some sense ... Its Bombay Dieing Man !

my heart-felt condolences to the Families of the victims.
Hope the perpetrators get their share of the pain they inflicted on the 200 odd ppl and their folks.

~P

Some Soul-searching required...

Recently Atmel sold it Grenoble(france) wafer fab. Some news-searching revealed the causes to be :

• High Wages
• High Taxes
• Stringent Labour laws

Which means Europe is slowly getting in its own way of progress. The labour laws scare away the Semiconductor Investor to cheaper and newer markets in Asia.

Intel restructuring : 1000 managers to be laid off .
What I can understand from this is that Intel wants to cut its excess baggage.
But where did this excess baggage come from ?
Managers got Intel inside after proving themselves and showing revenues to Intel.
Now with revenues dipping Intel wants to Focus on Research and Development to get back in business.
now question remains what's gonna happen once they are told by Lehmann brothers that scientists need to be chucked out and new Products need to be brought out in the market.

It seems companies in the US take the US labour laws into account while laying off employees.
Intel fired some employees in Bangalore. But it did forget that the Labour laws differ in other geographies. So it invented novel ways to get Intel inside people outside, It laid off people on charges of faking bills. While this might be true sometimes but specially since Intel did this twice makes it a bit Murky.
This improreity I feel is the ingenuity of the Intel HR dept which exploits loopholes in employment laws to achieve the re-structuring.

Does anybody in India probe such unfair trade or employment practices ??

AFAIK nobody really cares, I have hardly heard the Labour Minister Kapil Sibal say anything at all apart from apolitical talk.
Employees of indian companies such as Infosys, Wipro and TCS never think of any other company and laying off is a thing unheard of phenomenon.

Both the above stories show that labour laws can be a boon or bane.
India should especially tighten its labour laws to such MNC Fancies such as lay-offs.
As population in India explodes we need to bring in better labour laws which can help the emerging industries while not scaring away the Investors.
The Labour Laws have to study the Employee-Employer case studies and strike the right balance which will favour both the parties. But do we have qualified Labour Ministry which notices such anamolous MNC operating behaviour.
I believe our Democratic setup lets loose Opportunistic ministers who don't really exercise or administer their authority for the greater well-being of the Country.

Well till then the MNCs will have a Gala time axing people at their whims and fancies.

~Prasanna.

Mosqy Bites : Chicken Gunya

Its bad news for some bangaloreans. Karnataka is gripped with a infection spread by Mosquitoe bites. its called Chicken gunya and is supposed to be fatal infection. Interestingly this is spread by mosquitoes which are active during daytime.
Hope the Civic Authorities clean up the public places which can avoid further fatalities.
I found this piece info at the same time on the net.

Read up What mosquitoes do hate about Humans !!!

The mosquitoes might be callin it Freedom of Bite :-)

~P

@ Lhasa: Chinese Ego Express rolls...

China built railway tracks at the highest point in the Himalayas. Much to the dismay of Tibetan people . The train from Beijing to Tibet set out Saturday carrying business travelers and thrill-seekers on the world's highest railway, which critics fear could devastate the Himalayan region's unique Buddhist culture.

is this an Engineering marvel or an Amazing Engineering feat! ?
But whats the point. China projected it to be a just another technical jewel in their crown.
Well MeThinks it was built to debunk the Tibetan State.
China wanted to bridge the Himalayan Barriers and compel the Tibetans into submission by hacking into everything they would ever need.
Well the Third-World is always a mute spectator. Bodies such as UN are Institutions with many such Skeletons(Tibet) in its cupboard. The aspirations of Tibetans are crushed under the Tyranny of the Chinese Will.

India is too scared to intervene for fear of the Chinese.
The Super-Power concept is such a bad thingy after all.
All over the Internet you could find protests from Tibetans. Communist troops had marched into Tibet in 1950. Tibet till then, had been independent State.

China might have proved a Point. But the Tibetans tell the Chinese...the Point is not taken.
Well it might have been a point well-taken if they had given autonomy to Tibet and helped build the Train. All it now appears is a Ego-Express which is only fool-hardy chinese aspire to ride.

With this undetaking China is better strategically positioned against india.
But Really did India ever stand a chance against the Military might of the Chinese ?
India may have a deterrent with its going Nuclear. But certainly its no match against the might of the Chinese.

Sometimes good Engineering can be such a bane (for india and tibetans) rather than a boon.

~P

-Qotm-

We've been all the way to the moon and back,but have trouble crossing the street to meet a needy person.

-Infosys Foundation.

Waking up to Indian Success Stories!

Reading Newspapers daily morning filled with Indian Success stories is a very heartening fact. Today the pages are filled with the *Mittal* stories. One man, despite all odds ended up buying a European Biggie and managed to give the bad-mouthing Europeans a bloody nose.

While we are used to reading Jack Welch'ish type success stories. I guess we should now take a leaf from Mittals,Nilekanis,Muthys and (CK )Prahalads. By this I mean, the whole world is waking up to the fact that Indians conduct business better. Mittal had achieved this feat without even starting a steel company from scratch. He has made better use of others mistakes and rectified the same after buyin the ailing steel companies. A different Business Model in itself. It is one which takes lot of guts. But then Business is all about risk-taking right.

I am sure the Chinese, the Americans and the rest of the world is noticing the Novel ways Indians work and accomplish things. The americans thwarted UNOCAL take over by china national co., Why the developed countries are shying away from such Mergers?
Their in-securities are brought to the fore now.

It will not be surprising if a Foreign MNC hires a Indian to set its house in order.
Hiring a foreigner has helped japanese electronics major SONY.
It hired American-Brit Howard Stringer to set things in order.
Well who's next. Indians are always more than willing to take such a challenge and the competition.

Mittal has written a new chapter in Mergers and Acquisitions :-)
Until now I had observed the ways of Larry Ellison. Having worked @ Oracle I also used to admire his winning ways. But those ways seem to stem out of Financial Stability. I am not sure if Ellison would be successul if he were in Mittal;s shoes.
Oracle-Peoplesoft merger proved his manipulative ways beyond any doubt.

Also Ellison's model is more about buying the competition and then overdosing the clients with so much of software that the Customer in the end decides to buy the Goodies anyway :)

With the Mittal Success story behind us i hope there are many such "Wins Abroad"

India Shining in Europe.. :) thats a good feeling ain't it !

Cheers!
~P