In the News

Good news. Geert Wilders was found not guilty in The Netherlands. It is a small victory against the forces of censorship and creeping Sharia in Europe, but a victory nonetheless. Free speech has to be protected if we value our freedom. Otherwise we will end up like those Islamic countries where people are strung up for speaking up. India’s situation continues to worsen with regards free speech — especially speech that upsets the “secularists,” who no doubt count the imam Bukhari as one of their own. The imam was in the news recently for protecting secularism in India by having his goons beat up a journalist.
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Special Parliament Session to Debate Poverty

Rajeev Chandrasekhar, member Rajya Sabha, the Upper House of the Indian Parliament, proposed a bold initiative on his blog on Oct 8th last week. In the blog post titled “Special Parliament Session to debate the path to a poverty free India,” he calls for “Special sessions of Parliaments of 3-5 days, which will only discuss National Priority issues – with no disruptions’, No partisanship. Such a session will also serve to get the attention of ‘heavily distracted media’ to focus the nation on the REAL challenges facing us.” Kudos to Shri Chandrasekhar for that proposal. I applaud his efforts in provoking asking for a discussion on real issues in the Parliament and in the media. What I attempt to do here is suggest a few specifics about what the discussions could be about.
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Dr Koenraad Elst’s Interview on the Ayodhya Verdict

Among sensible commentators on the whole Ram Janmabhoomi / Babri masjid issue, I find Dr Koenraad Elst to be one of the most articulate, level headed and persuasive. I am not disappointed to hear his views on the matter in an interview that was posted recently on the Indian Nationalist Post YouTube channel. Below I embed part 4 of the 6 part series, and a couple of quotes.
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Out of the Ruts of Ordinary Perception

“To be shaken out of the ruts of ordinary perception, to be shown for a few timeless hours the outer and inner world, not as they appear to an animal obsessed with survival or to a human being obsessed with words and notions, but as they are apprehended, directly and unconditionally, by Mind at Large — this is an experience of inestimable value to everyone and especially to the intellectual.” Continue reading “Out of the Ruts of Ordinary Perception”

Hauled from the Comments: An Open Letter to Manmohan Singh

My post, A few home truths for Indians, did not go down too well with some. They don’t like my pointing out the fact that the Gandhi-Nehru dynasty has been India’s primary curse, and one commenter apparently believes in shooting the messenger when he disagrees with the message. But it is a small price to pay for my continued education. (In recognition of the fact that I use this blog for my own education, I categorized that post as “My Continuing Education on the Web.”) I’d like to share with you one comment that clearly advanced my education.
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Hello from New Brunswick, NJ

I got here last night from Washington DC. I love being around New Brunswick, the home of Rutgers Univ. Lots of fun times and lots of heartaches. Khalil Gibran’s words best describe how I felt when I moved to California from here many years ago. “Nay not without a wound in the spirit shall I leave this city.”
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Readings: A Few Home Truths for Indians

Dateline: 29th Sept, 2010.
Washington DC.

The US is the world’s most powerful country. That’s clear enough to the casual observer. What should also be clear is that the US does not hesitate to use its power. Very few would disagree that the US does not always use that power responsibly, nor is it always successful in whatever it sets out to do militarily. No nation — even the most successful — is ruled by the infallible and the infinitely wise. Infallibility and infinite wisdom can only be claimed by the dynastic rulers of third world countries such as North Korea and India.
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Hello from Washington DC

Hi. Second time in Washington DC within the same month! I am meeting someone at the Willard Intercontinental Hotel — which is a stone’s throw from the White House. More about my excellent adventure in DC later.

The Importance of Considering a Spherical Cow

In the post — “Don’t believe everything you hear–even on TED” — I instinctively rejected the claim that it takes the energy equivalent of a lump of coal to transport one MB of data on them internets. I said that I would do the back of the envelop calculation upon request. Here it is for your kind information.
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Don’t believe everything you hear — even on TED

Gutenberg’s press was a huge success because it was used to print indulgences. That I did not know. Here’s more on that.
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