Mr Lee Kuan Yew: An Interview

If I were asked to name one national political leader — contemporary or in the past — who is deserving of deep respect I would answer “Mr Lee Kuan Yew.” There is something about him that puts him in the top of the heap, in my opinion. It could be his basic intelligence, his deep insight into politics, his masterly understanding of world affairs, his breadth of vision, his obvious scholarship, his impish wit and his Confucian wisdom. The more I read him — and read of him — the deeper my appreciation of the man and his accomplishments become.

I have one piece of advice to all. Stop wasting so much time on news. If you stop reading the newspapers and watching TV news for a few days, you will not have missed much. Things that matter are not news; they persist. So by not wasting too much time on news, you free up some time to gain some insight into deeper issues. Knowledge of the deeper issues would help you makes sense of the news when you do get around to the news eventually.
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The Financial Crisis According to The Long Johns

[This is a repost of a January 2008 post. Even if you have seen the video before, I am sure that you will appreciate it even more now since it rings so true.}

The other day, a BBC producer from London called me up and asked me if I would care to comment on the recent big sell-off in the Indian stock markets. I confessed that I am not fully qualified to do so but added that in all honesty that my guess would be as good as any one else’s. Still I declined. The best we can do is pull out Keynes’s “animal spirits,” which unfortunately is not amenable to rigorous scientific or economic analysis. The essential story of the stock market is well told in this cartoon.

That pretty much sums up how the stock market swings between fear and greed, the abrupt change from panic to irrational exuberance. And here are The Long Johns (John Bird and John Fortune) on turbulence in the financial markets. As one of the Johns so astutely observes, “You have to remember two things about the markets. One is, they are made up of very sharp and sophisticated people. These are the greatest brains in the world. The second thing you have to remember is that financial markets — to use the common word — are driven by sentiment.” I won’t spoil the fun for you. Just watch the video and fall off the chair laughing.

That’s why I don’t mess around in the stock market. 🙂

The Powerful Nutcase of Iran

Mr Ahmadinejad is a nut-case. Unfortunately, he is also very powerful and his nuttiness can harm a lot of people, not just Iranians. He’ll come to a sticky end, undoubtedly, but he will also lead a lot of his compatriots to misery and doom.

This is the only economy in the world – indeed possibly in world history – in which you can borrow money from the bank and then receive a higher rate of interest by depositing it in the same bank.

Mr Ahmadinejad, who says he is proud of his ignorance of economics, also seems to believe the laws of supply and demand do not apply to the Islamic republic. [BBC]

Iran has the largest combined natural gas and oil reserves in the world, and is the third largest exporter of oil. One would have expected Iran to be a wonderfully developed economy. But it isn’t. It is well recognized that natural resource wealth, if mismanaged, can be a curse rather than a boon. Add theocracy to oil and you have the makings of a powerful bomb — a suicide bomb.

Two broad generalizations. First, economic development requires good policies, not just a wealth of natural resources. That implies good leadership. Good leadership depends on a dynamic, forward-looking, and scientific culture. Second, mixing religion with affairs of state is a bad idea.

India has yet to learn those two lessons. Its economic policies continue to be socialistic — meaning, it is static, regressive, and harmful. This is understandable as the policy makers are neither smart nor good. Most disastrously, the Congress led UPA government is mixing theology with state policy. It sits in judgment and privileges one religion over another.

I look at Iran and just hope that India does not go that way.

What did Nehru Incarnate as?

This one is really funny. And a bit sad. My friend Anup in Australia sent me the link to an article, Prabhupada And Nehru’s Incarnation, from the Prabhupada Hare Krishna News Network.

The setting is in Brooklyn, New York, a few weeks after Nehru’s death in 1964. Someone asks the guru Prabhupada what he thought became of Nehru after his death. The writer of the article recounts Prabhupada’s answer. Read on.
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These are a few of my not-favorite things

Some things make me see red. Not in any particular order, here’s the list. It is not exhaustive, merely a random set that I can unfortunately recall right now.
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Shubho Bijoya Dashumi

This morning I went to say farewell to Devi Durga at the Durgamahotsav close to where I live. I took the picture of the protima above. The traditional belief among Bengalis is that Ma Durga along with her children — Lakshmi, Saraswati, Ganesh and Kartik — comes to visit her parental home for 10 days. Today is the 10th day, Vijay Dashmi, when she goes back to her in-laws. People then visit each other and wish “Shubho Bijoya” after she leaves.

Durga will be back next year, of course. But Durga is just one manifestation of Shakti, the consort of Shiva. Shakti will be back as “Ma Kali” in about three weeks. Kali puja occurs during Diwali. Diwali is not a big deal for Bengalis but Kali puja is.

So here’s wishing you all a Shubho Bijoya.

[Previous posts on Bijoya: 2007, 2006, 2005.]

Standup Comic Dan Nainan

Source.

[Thanks to Jayant for the link.]

I find the bit about “grazed” donuts really funny because I have known a lot of Japanese people. Too bad he “exprained” it. Also the bit about getting a couple of immigrants to do the dirty work — shows that his father does have a sense of humor. Have fun.

Post script: Thanks to Amit for pointing out the typo in the name. It is “Nainan” and not “Nianan” as originally posted.

Pictures from India

Here’s a collection of scenes from India at The Big Picture from bostom.com. (Thanks to Raja Sekhar for the link.)

There are 34 pictures in all there. I chose to include a small version of a picture of Durga idols being made because today is Maha-Ashtami — the 8th day of Durga Puja. In two days, it will be Vijaya Dashmi — the day on which we celebrate the victory of Mother Durga over evil.

Related Post: The Big Picture collection of pictures of the Large Hadron Collider at CERN.

On IITs, PanIIT, and the Funding of 50 New IITs

PanIIT 2008

It’s coming up to that time of the year again when a very large group of completely self-absorbed people with very inflated egos gather to congratulate themselves on how astonishingly amazing they are and how they are the almighty’s gift to humanity, if not the entire creation.

The PanIIT 2008 site declares: “IIT Alumni 2008 Global Conference is being held at IIT Madras, from 19th to 21st December. With 3000 alumni participants from around the globe, a galaxy of eminent speakers, and selected sponsors who are leaders in their industry, the 2008 Global Conference will be the most impressive ever. The focus this year is to inspire IITians to innovate and transform India.” [Emphasis added.]

The Bright and the Beautiful

Really very impressive. Especially the globe and galaxy bits, and the eminent speakers. Shilpa Shetty and Hema Malini are eminent speakers. Not impressed, are you? Well, then consider this. Not only will Prof Amartya Sen be there, but the “Nobel Laureate has rescheduled his busy schedule to make time for us”.

Now are you impressed? Do you have any idea what it means when a NL flies in to attend even though it means major disruption of his other engagements? What on earth could be more important than the annual PanIIT circus?

Now that I am done with expressing my disgust with the organization and its c-j antics, it is time to move on to more substantial and important matters. It has to do with gratitude, credit constraints, education, fairness, development, and India.
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