In a short article in SEED magazine, theoretical physicist and president of the Santa Fe Institute, Geoffrey West explains “why the future of humanity and the long-term sustainability of the planet are inextricably linked to the fate of our cities.”
A few excerpts below the fold. Continue reading “Geoffrey West on the Fate of Our Cities”
Continuance of the UPA in power will jeopardize national security, according to Lt Gen S K Sinha, who retired as the Vice Chief of Army Staff. He is referred to as the “Scholar – Soldier”
An email received from Cdr P.P. Batra, describing the lecture by Lt.Gen(retd) SK Sinha, on 03 May 09, at the Constitution Club, New Delhi, is reproduced below the fold.
Continue reading “Lt.Gen. Sinha on the Danger the UPA Poses to India”
An excerpt from today’s mail from Keith Hudson, a respected friend who lives in Bath, England. “Ideas in one’s head are slippery, slidery things and it’s not until one acts on them — in the form of changed behaviours or the production of tangible items — that their validity can be fully tested in the real world. Writing about them is only a halfway stage. However, the words one uses (and perhaps the new terms one invents) are rather like seeds that plants produce. They can float away in the air to land and germinate in other minds. Or, if they don’t propagate in this way, ideas seem more like those seeds with hooks that remain passive until picked up by other individuals — such as those I frequently have to pick out from my dog’s fur after her morning walk.”
Continue reading “Keith Hudson on Ideas”
[Download May 2009 pdf edition of Pragati 3.7 MB.]
In an editorial piece for Pragati, Nitin Pai writes:
At a time when China seeks to play in the same league as the superpower of the day, it is to be expected that it will try to extract advantageous positions in the Indian Ocean region at India’s expense. The big scandal is not that China is securing bases in India’s neighbourhood by shoring up nasty regimes and abetting their outrageous policies; but rather, India does not even show any sign of doing what is necessary to protect its interests.
Nihar sends this picture from Ko Tao in Thailand — “Ko Tao (เกาะเต่า), literally Turtle Island, is an island in the Gulf of Thailand in the south of Thailand.”
Note what’s on the laptop screen 🙂
Good work is not done by ‘humble’ men. It is one of the first duties of a professor, for example, in any subject, to exaggerate a little both the importance of his subject and his own importance in it. A man who is always asking ‘Is what I do worthwhile?’ and ‘Am I the right person to do it?’ will always be ineffective himself and a discouragement to others. — G H Hardy.
Endgadget reports that “India bids mythical $10 laptop adieu, turns to OLPC.” Continue reading “India Orders 250,000 OLPCs?”
Just got to know that Iqbal Bano passed away on 21st April in Lahore, Pakistan. She was born and brought up in Delhi.
Listening to her sing Faiz Ahmed Faiz’s poetry is deeply moving. Among many well loved songs by her, my favorite is “dasht-e-tanhaai mein”: Continue reading “Iqbal Bano 1935-2009”
In an opinion piece in the Financial Times of April 15th (hat tip: Sudipta), Razeen Sally writes that “the Congress deserves to lose the elections”. Right up front, Sally wrote about “the do-nothing, zero-reform record of Manmohan Singh, prime minister, and his government.”
I have an excerpt from the piece below the fold. I agree with the particulars that Sally (who is director of the European Centre for International Political Economy) mentions supporting the argument that Manmohan Singh is a singular disaster but I cannot agree with the title of the piece. Continue reading “Just deserts: India Deserves the Congress”
The topic of the Taliban gaining control of Pakistan is hot this summer. Newspaper editors are busy with lots of serious hand-wringing and mopping of sweaty foreheads. An editorial writer at the New York Times is obviously worried to distraction, it appears from the opinion piece of 27th April, “60 Miles from Islamabad.” Continue reading “The Taliban Are Coming”
