Month: February 2010

Security in the Hands of the Retarded

Two days ago on Friday I had I a learning experience. My friend AN who had stopped to visit me in Pune for a few days on his way back from Australia was leaving. AN had worked and studied in Canberra for a few years and is now in the process of settling in Delhi. He was leaving and I went down with his bags to see him off. We had to stop at the shopping complex close by and so decided that we would leave his big suitcase at the gate of the housing complex and come back in a few minutes instead of dragging the suitcase around the place. What followed was instructive at many levels. Continue reading “Security in the Hands of the Retarded”

I am fine

Many people know that I live in Pune. I want to assure everyone that I am fine. Thanks for your concern. I used to live about a mile from German Bakery and would often get cakes and cookies from there. A few years ago I moved out of Kalyani Nagar (which is adjacent to Koregaon Park where the German Bakery is).

Bomb Blast in Pune

This evening there was a bomb blast at a bakery in Koregaon Park in Pune. A few dozen killed. Not a big deal. Indians don’t mind such minor inconveniences. Indians take mass-scale murders in their stride and don’t blink. We will read in the newspapers about the resilience of the population tomorrow, especially in The Times of India. Continue reading “Bomb Blast in Pune”

Now you can read this in Italian!

Finally something connected to this blog that the Italian Madam in Delhi will approve of. Good news for all Italians in India and around the world: Bernardo Parrella, editor of “Voci Globali: il meglio della blogosfera internazionale” wrote to say that this blog will be part of their “best of international blogosphere.” Continue reading “Now you can read this in Italian!”

Notes from Charlie Munger’s 2007 Commencement Speech at USC Law

Charlie Munger said, “Safest way to get what you want is to deserve what you want. Deliver to the world what you would buy if you were on the other end” in a commencement address to the USC Law School in 2007. A copy of full transcript is here. The “Cliff notes” of that speech was posted by some kind soul and I am reproducing them with gratitude (but without permission.) Continue reading “Notes from Charlie Munger’s 2007 Commencement Speech at USC Law”

Deception but not Self-Deception

B Raman’s piece Pakistan’s World of Illusions in OutlookIndia.com ends rather surprisingly. Raman makes a very convincing case of Pakistan’s duplicity — not a very difficult thing to do, you would say. Perhaps the people at the Time of India running the crazy Aman ki Asha scheme need to read Raman. What I find puzzling is the paragraph Raman concluded with. Continue reading “Deception but not Self-Deception”

Announcing the “Great American Road Trip 2010”

The Great American Road Trip 2010 will start off on July 15th from the east coast on June 15th 2010 and end in the San Francisco Bay area around July 21st. Keep checking the site for updates. Continue reading “Announcing the “Great American Road Trip 2010””

Why Government Monopolies are Bad: The School Choice Example

If you thought the USA was the land of the free and the home of the brave, think again. Even the US is not free from government control. And it is going to get a lot worse. A Center for Freedom and Prosperity video explains why government monopolies are bad. “Competition promotes innovation and results in higher quality and lower costs. Government-run schools are a tragic example, by contrast, of why monopolies generate bad results. This video uses the example of school choice to explain why competition is a better approach.” Continue reading “Why Government Monopolies are Bad: The School Choice Example”