Congress, Nepotism and Corruption

Congress, Nepotism and Corruption: The Eternal Rotten Braid

The three — corruption, nepotism and the Congress party — form India’s most enduring triumvirate. It is hard to think of one without thinking of the others because they characterize India’s politics and political landscape like nothing else conceivably can. The Congress party is the fiefdom of one family — being part of that confers the inalienable right to be the boss. Nepotism gains a whole new meaning in the hands of the Congress. Chronic, acute and pervasive corruption at the highest levels of governance India could only have been engineered by the political party which has held the reins of power for practically all of India’s existence since 1947. So it was with incredulous wonder that I read two news items yesterday.
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About Pakistan’s Nuclear Program

This is posted under the category “Humor and Silliness.” It’s funny stuff. Actually, it’s hilarious.
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PowerPoint is 25 Years Old

Really! It turned 25 a couple of weeks ago. I use it quite frequently. Sometimes it helps if one is prepared but it cannot rescue an ill-prepared presentation, and indeed can make a bad thing worse. I take a very poor view of people who put too much stuff on slides and/or read slides. These people should be slapped for not knowing that the audience can read. The BBC News Magazine has an article on how people mess up making presentations with it. A bit from there below the fold.
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B Raman: “Counter-terrorism & Appeasement”

Mr. B Raman, in his South Asia Analysis Group paper of 20th August — “Counter-terrorism & Appeasement” — writes:

* There have been four acts of mass casualty terrorism since 1981. All the four were carried out when the Congress (I) was in power in New Delhi.

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Looking for Causes must precede the Finding of Remedies

Garrett Hardin (April 21, 1915 – September 14, 2003) proposed what he called the First Law of Ecology, which states “You cannot do only one thing”. He is also the author of the 1968 paper, The Tragedy of the Commons. I admire Hardin for his deep ecological thinking. Here’s a quote from his book ‘Living Within Limits:Ecology, Economics, and Population Taboos‘ (1993, OUP).
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Making the 10th Board Exam Optional

Furious re-arranging of the deck chairs going on as the ship sinks. “The Class X board exams will become optional in all CBSE schools from the coming academic year (2010-11).” (rediff.)
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