Category: Humor and Silliness

Two consonent views on the 123 Agreement

The American administration sent a letter to the Congress clarifying what the 123 Agreement with India entails for the US. The letter was leaked recently. There’s nothing in the letter which should come as a surprise because its contents are consistent with what the Americans have been saying all along. What the letter strongly suggests is that either that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is lying or it is clearly delusional.

Here’s the view of a former chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, PK Iyengar, expressed in an article in The Pioneer. He says that India’s freedom to test will be curtailed. This is, in his opinion, undesirable as testing is essential for India to maintain a credible nuclear deterrence.

Arun Shourie makes the case that the Americans are bound by their Atomic Energy Act of 1954 and the Hyde Act, and that the 123 Agreement does not in any way invalidate them. (I don’t have a link to Shourie’s article, and so I will post his article below the fold until such time that I have a link.)

My view is that India should not sign the agreement. I find the arguments by Iyengar and Shourie persuasive. Just for argument’s sake, let’s assume that it is a bad agreement and India pays dearly for it down the line. What is the penalty that those who pushed India into such a bad deal face? None at all. Mr Singh and boss will never have the pay for the follies, just as their predecessors whose gross stupidity has caused untold misery on hundreds of millions of Indians got away with no penalty (and indeed they are celebrated as great visionaries and leaders.)

I think that the prime minister is not a deluded fool and knows fully well what the 123 Agreement will do to India. That forces me to conclude that he is dishonest in his insistence that it is good for India. But then it is not the least surprising to find dishonest politicians in India. That’s Indian democracy for you — and therein lies the only consolation for me: the people choose unwisely and it is they who will suffer the consequences of their choices.

It’s all karma, neh?
Continue reading “Two consonent views on the 123 Agreement”

Crackergate

The world is going to hell in a handbasket. That’s what you’d think if you consider all the bad news coming at you from all quarters — inflation, the rising price of food and fuel, the commies taking their ball and going home (you wish), the possibility of a disappointing monsoons, sundry acts of terrorism, and so on. Comic relief is what one sorely needs to lighten the doom and gloom.

So here’s some news of the weird that fits the bill. It comes from the University of Central Florida. (You have to take what you get — even if that is half-way around the world in some godforsaken state.)

‘Body Of Christ’ Snatched From Church, Held Hostage By UCF Student, reads the headlines.
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Achmed the Dead Terrorist

Here’s Jeff Dunham with Achmed, the dead terrorist. Is it work safe, you ask? Most certainly not. And besides, you should not be watching YouTube at work. Nor reading this blog, come to think of it. It is a waste of your employer’s money.

That video has had an astounding over 52,000,000 views and has a 5-star rating from over 200,000 reviewers.

Bono, ya evil bastard!

Bono, lead singer of the rock band U2, is famous throughout the entertainment industry for being more than just a little self-righteous. At a recent U2 concert in Glasgow, Scotland, he asked the audience for total quiet.

Then, in the silence, he started to slowly clap his hands, once every few seconds. Holding the audience in total silence, he said into the microphone, “Every time I clap my hands, a child in Africa dies.”

From the front of the crowd a voice with a broad Scottish accent pierced the quiet …

“Well, fookin’ stop doin’ it then, ya evil bastard!”

[Source.]

Talking of Bono reminds me. Here’s Jeff Sachs talking about his book “Common Wealth: Economics for a Crowded Planet” with Jon Stewart on the Daily Show:

http://www.thedailyshow.com/sitewide/video_player/view/default/swf.jhtml

Why?

Universal Studios should come out with a King Kong stage that features a brand spanking new toilette that should be put into place in a movie set resembling the oval office at the White House, where it is convex shaped like a giant lunar crater telescope mirror, and the vice presidential right arm flush lever would be holding a congratulatory second place nomination prize which should be in the shape of the Mars Phoenix Polar Lander surface digging tool.
Continue reading “Why?”

Go waste some time

Someecards are funny. I like the way they put a tiny label on top of the ads. The top banner ad says “Some advertising” and the side banner ad “Some more advertising.” And at the bottom of the page:

Someecards.com is possibly to probably the best site on the Web for free, funny ecards. We have greeting cards for every occasion – from important to utterly pointless. Send greetings for apology, birthday, baby, breakup, congratulations, encouragement, farewell, flirting, friendship, get well, sympathy, thanks, thinking of you, wedding, workplace, and holidays like Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Valentine’s Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. We suggest you e-mail them to friends, family, coworkers, loved ones, liked ones, and anyone else with fingers.