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It is perplexing how the world’s most populous democracy is so flawed. How can a country, whose elections are cited as an exuberant example of people-power, produce governments that serve their people so badly?

By JOHN KAMPFNER

John Kampfner is chief executive of Index on Censorship, London

As an outsider, it would be inappropriate to enter into the debate about India’s internal political structures. But the broader picture is troubling: the extent to which the aspirations and behaviour of citizens in the so-called democracies and authoritarian regimes have converged over the past 20 years of globalization.

From Mumbai to Shanghai to Dubai (to coin that phrase of whizkid financiers), via London and New York, we have witnessed the erosion of liberties in our seemingly insatiable quest for wealth and our urge for an illusory security.

The model for this new world order is Singapore. The city-state has a large number of well-educated and well-travelled people keen to defend a system that requires an almost complete abrogation of freedom of expression in return for a good material life. This is the pact. In each country it varies; citizens hand over different freedoms in accordance with their own customs and priorities. Read More

As soon as the word Prohibition is uttered, the first word that comes to mind is Gujarat. The prohibtion on sale of alcohol or alcoholic products in Gujarat is the reason why.

Ever since I was a child I found it funny that my parents would always lament about not getting alcohol in Gujarat. Whenever we went for family vacations to Navsari (mom’s ancestral home) or our farm in Anklaach, off Valsad, or even to Udvada the Vatican of us Parsis, alcohol or rather the lack of it was the topic of discussion. It didnt help matters that we Parsis are known for enjoying the “spirits” and a Parsi “peg” will give any patiala peg a run for its money.

The TOI brings up the issue of Prohibition and an underlying need for a debate in this article.

When as a child I enquired as to why the sale of alcohol was banned in Gujarat, I was told that it was because it was the state of Mahatma Gandhi. The G word was the solution to all the ills of society it seemed at that time. In later years I did realize that the Mahatma was not to be blamed for this entirely.

Gandhiji advocated prohibition as a public policy first time in a long missive to viceroy before setting out on the Dandi march on March 12, 1930. His idea was that this would deny the government a huge revenue. Thus, Gandhiji mainly saw prohibition as a weapon to fight the British rule. There was no mention of wrecked lives, ruined homes, etc. He did not then raise social or moral issues .[link]

60 years later, Prohibition is in reality a failure. One can sit at the Globe Hotel in Udvada and get all kinds of beer and whisky without a hassle and with only a slight premium. At our farm in Anklaach, it is not uncommon for villagers to brew their own “mahuro”….a country liquor made from distilling certain flowers.

The last time I was in Ahmedabad was during a ZONASA Convention in 1996. Our hosts, the students at CEPT gave us easy pointers to where we could get our “khumba” as Old Monk Rum is referred to.

So then how is the prohibition actually working? Isn’t not allowing the official sale of liquor, actually forcing people into illegal trade and consumption? And who really benifits from this illegal trade ?

Allegations are flying freely that prohibition has spawned corruption in the police force. The initial fault, however, lay largely with the political leadership. Prohibition is essentially a social legislation and police comes in as a backup. Instead, men in uniform are the only one left holding it. Some in the force make the most of minding what is nobody’s baby..[link]

How farcial the situation is, can be seen as one drives from Udvada to Devka. Devka is in Daman, a Union Territory abutting Udvada. An official hoarding announces “Welcome to Daman, Union Territory” (or something similar). And within 50 meters of that hoarding on the Daman side are liquour shacks. And there are dozens as one drives into Devka. These shacks are no more than sheets of tin metal with a roof and plastic chairs and tables. The shacks contain cold storage for beer and other soft drinks to be accompanied with alcohol. And people drive in just to drink and drive back.

Daman has a glorious history that spans millennia. It saw empires and invaders come and go, leaving little marks on its otherwise vibrant culture, art and tradition. It is, however, not the rich cultural heritage that attracts tourists to the Union Territory. The main attraction of this place with 10 distilleries remains liquor [link]

It would be really interesting to see if Narendra Modi has the political courage to re-evaluate prohibition as a concept and move ahead on this issue.

In a way, prohibition is only illustrative of what Gujarat has come against as times change and the booming business in the state goes global. It is a defining moment and the task to examine the issue of prohibition should go to a proper commission of inquiry to be helped in its work with studies by experts in all that it involves. Not just how traditions and values dear to Gujarat would be sacrificed if a few people get to drink as they like.

With the current political scenario, it seems highly doubtful.

Disclaimer: If you cannot take sarcasm and humor, please leave this site. This article is not intended or meant to be demeaning or insulting to anyone except self-righteous US Politicians having extra-marital affairs.

India is the outsourcing capital of the world. Of this there is no doubt. Of course all the outsourcing is intrinsically linked to IT. The BPO’s attest to that. Even the recent KPO’s have their roots in the prowess of India as a backend server to the corporations of the world.

However there is one area where we need to buck up.

In recent times American politicians have gone left right and center in having extra marital affairs. The pioneer of the current era was undoubtedly President Clinton. And since then there have been a whole bunch of politicians who have “sinned” in the very Christian sense. Funnily most of them are Republicans and “God-fearing” men of the faith. And at least one of them is a hypocrite of the highest order. South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford voted to impeach President Clinton, but then still goes ahead and has one fulll blown affair and then confesses to having more than a roving eye with various other women.

However this very casanova Sanford may have created an opportunity for India. He outsourced his affair to a Latina from Argentina. As a late night comedian put it….”Oh what happened to the good old days when hot blooded US politicians had affairs with US women….are these US women now not good enough ?”.

Here is India’s chance. Indian women are some of the most beautiful in the world. Of that there is no doubt. And now there are direct flights to India that can get these US politicians to our shores in 14 hours!

So there I say, lets start advertising India as a great destination to have an affair. Market it to all the US politicians, be they Democratic or Republican. Issue them visas, give them sops, prepare custom made holiday packages and while at it, throw in “have one, get one free” deals.

More outsourcing power to India, what say ?

The above video is one of the most enlightening, especially because of the audience it is addressed to and the geographic location that it is coming out of.  Listen to the whole video speech.

The original article is here.

This is a wonderful song with the lyrics below.

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10. "Let’s practice your bewildered silence."

9. "Can you try saying ‘yes’ instead of ‘you betcha’?"

8. "Hey, I can see Mexico from here!"

7. "Maybe we’ll get lucky and there won’t be any questions about Iraq, taxes or healthcare."

6. "We’re screwed!"

5. "Can I just use that lipstick-pit bull thing again?"

4. "We have to wrap it up for the day — McCain eats dinner at 4:30."

3. "Can we get Congress to bail us out of this debate?"

2. "John Edwards wants to know if you’d like some private tutoring in his van."

1. "Any way we can just get Tina Fey to do it?"

The below is an email I received as a forward. I am no economist, but this makes perfect sense to me. If you know the name of the author, or the source, please let me know via the comments section

I’m against the $85,000,000,000.00 bailout of AIG. Instead, I’m in favor of giving $85,000,000,000 to America in a WeDeserve It Dividend.

To make the math simple, let’s assume there are 200,000,000 bonafide U.S. Citizens 18+.  Our population is about 301,000,000 +/- counting every man, woman and child. So 200,000,000 might be a fair stab at adults 18 and up..

So divide 200 million adults 18+ into $85 billon that equals 425,000.00. My plan is to give $425,0 00 to every person 18+ as a We Deserve It Dividend. Of course, it would NOT be tax free. So let’s assume a tax rate of 30%.

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When the hell will there be a reality check and people realize how damaging and dangerous it can be for the country if they elect John McCain and Sarah Palin.

McCain with someone else would have not been as grave a threat as he is with Palin, who is but a heartbeat (or lack thereof) away from the presidency.

My cynicism increases when I read something like this

On the “CBS Evening News” on Thursday, Katie Couric asked Ms. Palin, Senator John McCain’s running mate, what she meant when she cited Alaska’s proximity to Russia as foreign affairs experience. Ms. Palin could have anticipated the question — the topic of their interview, pegged to her visit to the United Nations, was foreign affairs. Yet Ms. Palin’s answer was surprisingly wobbly: her words tumbled out fast and choppily, like an outboard motor loosened from the stern.

“That Alaska has a very narrow maritime border between a foreign country, Russia, and on our other side, the land — boundary that we have with — Canada,” she replied. She mentioned the jokes made at her expense and seemed for a moment at a loss for the word “caricature.” “It — it’s funny that a comment like that was — kind of made to — cari — I don’t know, you know? Reporters —”

Ms. Couric stepped in. “Mocked?” Ms. Palin looked relieved and even grateful for the help. “Yeah, mocked, I guess that’s the word, yeah.”

Ms. Couric pressed her again to explain the geographic point. “Well, it certainly does,” Ms. Palin said, “because our, our next-door neighbors are foreign countries, there in the state that I am the executive of.”[link]

This is indeed a difficult time for the US…..all their own doing. However it cannot be that 300 million otherwise smart, wordly individuals can listen to such rubbish and not revolt.

As a big fan of Jon Stewart, I am really touched to see this episode. He just went up a few notches in my standing.

A forward….initially anonymous…but from reading it I think it is by SS Anklesaria Aiyer. Makes interesting reading. Note that its from end 1999, so is a bit dated

In this last Swaminomics of the millennium, I would like to sum up our performance in the 20th century in one sentence. Indians have succeeded in countries ruled by whites, but failed in their own.

This outcome would have astonished leaders of our independence movement. They declared Indians were kept down by white rule and could flourish only under self-rule. This seemed self-evident. The harsh reality today is that Indians are succeeding brilliantly in countries ruled by whites, but failing in India . They are flourishing in the USA and Britain .

But those that stay in India are pulled down by an outrageous system that fails to reward merit or talent fails to allow people and businesses to grow, and keeps real

power lies with netas, babus, and assorted manipulators. Once Indians go to white-ruled countries, they soar and conquer summits once occupied only by whites.

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