FREE THINKING WORLD YB

Capitalism vs. Environment

2011-06-06T07:15:00.000-07:00

World Environment Day was celebrated yesterday. I furnish below some questions and answers which occur to my mind:

Q: Is there a conflict between Capitalism and the Environment Protection?

Ans: Capitalism aims at profits. Environmental Protection is not against Capitalism earning profits, as long as it in its efforts to maximise profits recklessly destroy environment.

Q: Capitalism satisfies wants. Don't you want that human wants are to be satisfied? Do you want people remain in a savageous state?

Ans: Wants are of three types. Necessities, Comforts and Luxuries. We have to chose satisfaction of necessities, if there is a conflict between environment protection and satisfaction of necessities. World Population needs to be controlled, if aggregate quantum of human necessities are going to destroy the environment to an irretrievable level. We can give some leeway for comforts. Where is the place for luxuries?

Q: You seem to have a negative approach, worse even than Buddha.

Ans: I am not against satisfying human wants. Humans cannot live happily with unsatisfied desires. I must say that Buddha was somewhat impractical when he formulated that desire was the cause of misery. We can add two adjective prefixes to this idea. Numerous insatiable irresponsible desires cause misery. Not the attempts to satisfy the basic needs of existence, security and self-esteem. What should worry us the most is: Capitalism is not just satisfying human wants. It is creating wants. It is stoking the fires of the wants created by it. During Buddha's days, there was not the menace of the Capitalism creating fresh desires.

Example: A person living in a village/small town/a developing country, may not be aware of the existence of a fancy air-conditioned car. The Capitalists not only create, but also advertise too heavily through the media, and tempt the gullible citizens to buy them. The citizens lured by the Capitalists crave to earn wads of currency. Their lives become miserable from that day. The Citizens ultimately satisfy the Capitalists' wants by buying all the cars. The Capitalists do not remain content. They create fresh wants and send them on prowling the Citizens. Thus the vicious circle goes on. Environment becomes the casualty in the sordid process.

Q: Do you think that there is a link between 'Capitalists creating the wants' and the World Recession of the 2008?

Ans: Certainly. When citizens do not have bundles of currency or drawing power in their credit cards, they can't buy. The Capitalists make a hue and cry that the fall in demand will lead to recession and unemployment. The temporary recovery being experienced by the American and Western Economies is attributable to the creation of 'fresh drawing powers' extended to the banks facing hardships and induction of fresh lending power and fresh purchasing power. But how long a Federal Reserve Bank / National Exchequer can undertake this recurring process?

Q: If National exchequers/Federal Reserves/Central Banks of countries do not support their banks and investment firms, there will be massive unemployment. Can we be callous to it?

Ans: The Governments can invest their resources for creating infrastructure to produce necessities which are sine qua non to human survival. This is different from stoking the Capitalist Fires. Kaama (Sanskrit word for desire and fancy) is to be replaced by avasya-avasara (imperative need).

Venezuela's courage

2011-05-16T20:16:00.000-07:00

Venezuela is a country which has the courage to criticise the US killing Osama Bin Lauden. Of course, it has its own valid reasons.

US decided to cut ANTI DRUG aid to Venezuela. Venezuela's Foreign Minister called it a devil's aid. He promised to continue his fight against drugs. He also added that US aids only those countries which submit to its demands.

COMMENT: Is there any country today in the world which does not submit to US demands, including China. Venezuela's boldness deserves appreciation. At the sametime, it must realise "slow and steady wins the race".
Why this hypocrisy?

Davos Forum and WTO

2011-05-16T20:03:00.000-07:00

DAVOS FORUM SAID WHAT?

Davos Forum has ended with an appeal to help the poor. We find that Euro-American countries make frequent appeals calling for help to poor countries.

CRITICAL REMARKS: Who will help whom? First of all how, the poor countries and the poor people, how were they born?

Shakespeare said in his play "Much Ado about Nothing" :

"In time the savage bull doth bear the yoke.".

When will the Europe and America bear the yoke? They know only savageousness with an icing of preaching.

Low paying employers demand high employee productivity

2011-05-16T19:59:00.000-07:00

LOWPAYINGEMPLOYERS'>LOW PAYING EMPLOYERS

Low Paying employERs have high employEE turnover. Energetic youth join as freshers. Come cheap. Toil 24/7/365. Leave as soon as something better is obtained.

In a country which has unemployment, there will be no dearth of freshers. Consequently, the low paying employers will get a continuous stream of freshers. Enthusiastic to learn. Contribute a lot to the employers, with a little training and encouragement.

The employers pay a pittance. On the other hand well paying employers will have senior workers with annual salary increases.

MERITS 1. They are committed. 2.Experience raises efficiency.

DEMERITS:1. Though they want to work hard, aged bodies do not co-operate. Their energies will be dwindling. 2. Since nobody, will take them, they do not leave.

Thus, this is a paradox.

What is plagiarism?

2011-05-16T19:39:00.000-07:00

PUBLICATION SCENARIO

PUBLISHERS AND PLAGIARISM

PUBLISHERS WANT FAT GUARANTEED RETURNS. New writers are ready to accept lower royalties

Now, the question is, why do the publishers encourage plagiarism? Why should the writers trod a stale and worn-out path and expose themselves to law suits?

The charges/disputes involving plagiarism are rising. Thousands of subjects/themes/topics remain uncovered/unwritten. Development of new technologies, travel and internet access to new countries have open up new avenues both in FICTION and NON-FICTION. They are waiting like brides for suitable bride grooms (or vice versa). Will the writers free themselves from bondage of the publishers?

A writer, has a few days back, received an offer from an IT Company, asking him to participate in a test.

They have made a very pleasant promise: There will be no shortage of work.

They have asked the aspirant writer to study the source material sent by them carefully, rewrite it and upload it back. There are numerous clauses and covenants warning the writer of the dangers of plagiarism.

They have also sent sample writes-up, examples of bad editing, examples of plagiarism, examples of good edititing etc.

The whole exercise smacked of that Company's probable hidden object: Their goal is search-engine optimisation (S.E.O.) for the websites of their clients.

Their client wanted to create some dozens or hundreds of website which should contain the same matter, but should be capable of not being caught by the anti-plagiarism programmes used by the Search engines for filtering the copycats. The business content-writer's work has become something like the work of an aircraft designer who is asked to create a stealth aircraft which will not be caught on radars and which is silent, like the recent helicopters used by the American soldiers for landing on the mansion of Osama Bin Laden.

Just as the fighter-planes and choppers have to in due course yield to the 'drones' on the war-field, probably the human content-writers have to someday yield to automatic website content generators.

Then, what for all these gyrations and hullabaloo about plagiarism?

Commercial War or Conversion War?

2011-05-16T18:41:00.001-07:00

The top four highly-populated religions of the world are :

Christianity
Islam
Hinduism
Buddhism

The overt and covert battles and wars initiated by NATO with or without the approval and acquiescence of the UNO raise one principal question.

Are they Commercial Wars? --	Strategies of the MNCs to control the oil wells.
Are they Conversion Wars? --	The tentacles of Christian Missionaries spreading everywhere fuelled by Euro-American funds.

Why Hinduism is not crazy of converting?
Hinduism is not a proseylitizing religion though some self-exported monks like Swami Vivekananda, Swami Paramahamsa Yogananda, Maharshi Mahesh Yogi, Prabhudasa et al tried to spread their own cult. They had, at some point or other in their lives, disclaimed their Hindutva.
Those monks who have tried to attract people to Hinduism could not find a suitable caste to place the new entrants in.
Hindus with the exception of bureaucrats, businessmen, bureaucrats, money-spinning professionals and politicians, -- are poor.

I shall not say that Hinduism is free of defects or evils.

But then, are Buddhism, Christianity and Islam pure like distilled water?

The religious strife we see in Orissa and some tribal areas of India is a reaction to vigorous conversions made by Christian missionaries.

Christian and Islamic countries have money.

Practitioners of Islam have fallen on a sort of nervousness owing to the onslaught of Christianity.

The Islamic clerics have, consequently started tightening their dictatorial and superstitious grip on populations and Governments. Driven to the wall Islam is fighting out in a negative manner. Earlier, I could very rarely see a burqa-wearing girl/lady/woman in our town. Today, burqa/niqab/some facial cover which allows only eyes to see and to be seen has become ubiquitous. I pity the poor girls suffer owing to the ignorance of their elders. I am not going to say that they should parade in the City wearing bikinis. The purpose of a dress should serve its natural purpose of protection from cold-heat-rain. The dress must enhance appearance. It should not unnecessarily sexually provoke weak male souls. The dress can be affordable. It need not have glitter.

The next decade, owing to mutual apprehensions, is therefore, going to be extremely tumultuous.

Funnily enough, Buddhism has started to run the race very seriously. I have come across some propaganda philosophical books of Buddhism in my mother tongue Telugu language, published with funds from Taiwan. Some books are in my hand. I am analysing them. Chinese and Japanese funds may also be in circulation.

There is a Telugu film song worth quoting here: 'Okat`ee hrudayam koosamuu iruvuri poot`ii doosamuu'. Approximate translation runs something like : ' The ill of two persons contesting for one heart'. The two persons here are : Buddhists Missionaries and Christian Missionaries. Heart is : Weaker Sections who suffer from disease and poverty. There is no bar on one person giving his/her heart to one-two-three at his/her choice. Recently, I saw one advertisement on tv as well as in English newspapers titled : "Threesome!" whatever it meant.

#012 ARE ASTRONAUTS NOT HUMANS?

2009-09-23T05:22:00.000-07:00

ASTRONAUTS ARE HUMAN

(Feb. 7, 2007)NEWS: An American Astronaut has been charged with attempted murder of love rival.

BLOGGER'S VIEWS
What is wrong? Are Astronauts not humans? Won't they have human emotions? Media has a habit of blowing up and intruding into personal lives. Besides, the guilt of the Astronaut is yet to be fully investigated and the Court is to be convinced. I sympathize both the women and the husbands and lovers involved in the affair.

#008 HARRY POTTER MANIA

2007-07-21T07:55:00.000-07:00

Reuters reports that Harry Potter book flies off shelf, receives glowing reviews.

BLOGGER'S VIEW

Propaganda machine can do miracles.

#006 CIA AND AMERICAN LAW

2007-06-10T07:03:00.000-07:00

THIRD DEGREE METHODS

The CIA says about using third degree methods to obtain confessions from the Middle East prisoners: "... The plain truth is that we act in strict accord with American law , and that our counterterror initiatives — which are subject to careful review and oversight — have been very effective in disrupting plots and saving lives. ... "

If what CIA says is true, the American Law itself must have been cruel.

#011 WHEN WILL BUSH BE IN A LISTENING MODE?

2007-06-09T23:01:00.000-07:00

US President Bush said about Pope Benedict: "He's a good thinker and a smart man. I'll be in a listening mode."

BLOGGER'S VIEW

Thank God! Bush will listen at least to one person.

#005 WILL AMERICA REALLY AID THE NEEDY?

2007-06-09T22:50:00.000-07:00

AMERICAN AID

PRESIDENT BUSH SAID in a pre-visit interview, before meeting Pope Benedict : "... much of our foreign policy is based on the admonition to whom much is given, much is required ... ."

The world is to be prepared for by a beating and lashing by Bush.

#004 WHY SHOULD PARIS HILTON'S HAIR BE DISHEVELED

2007-06-09T00:00:00.000-07:00

AMERICAN SYSTEM OF "CRIME AND PUNISHMENT"

Associated Press News reports indicate that Ms. Paris Hilton, the glamorous hotel heiress has been ordered back to jail. She has been handcuffed. Her hair is disheveled.

The story will make tailor-made theme material for classic poet and sharp satirist of fashionable society's foibles, like Alexander Pope, of "The Rape of the Lock" fame.

#003 WILL THERE NEVER BE COMPETITORS TO BOING AND AIR BUS?

2007-06-07T23:08:00.000-07:00

American President Bush and Sarkozy (President of France) will meet in Berlin, as a part of G-8 Summit. What they are likely to discuss?

The general perception and the media biz is: 'they will discuss greenhouse emissions.'

My guess: They may even discuss Boeing and Air Bus Competition. Businesses are more important than greenhouse gases.

Securing business for Corporates is the best form of diplomacy. Not culture. Not flattery.

#002 CAN RUSSIA AFFORD TO BE POOR?

2007-06-07T07:16:00.000-07:00

I always wondered: "Russia is the largest country geographically in the world. As land is unlimited, there should be no place for poverty or lack of liberty. If a person is poor and unhappy, he could go to some nook and corner of the vast waste land and live cultivating a small bit for his minimum needs. An armed revolution by the "Poor" is possible only when they are extremely desperate and in a irretrievable condition without an armed revolt. The 1917 Bolshevik revolution, therefore, surprised me. While going through the works of Swami Vivekananda, his memoirs of European travel I found the hopeless state of poverty prevailing in Russia of around 1900. Vivekananda noted that poor in Russia would place a lump of sugar in the mouth and allow tea to pass over it and after finishing drinking tea, he will pass on the lump to another person for repeating the process.

The Bolshevik revolution and the Communism seemed to do wonders for the Russian poor through "equalisers". In the last decade of the 20th Century, the dream broke. The condition of poor in today's Russia is not known. Have they resumed the passing on of sugar lumps to others and recycling it, while drinking tea?

#007 WHO WILL ATTACK EUROPE?

2007-06-06T08:33:00.000-07:00

Bush said: "Russia is not going to attack Europe?".

Then who will attack Europe? The EU members will attack one another! Reason: Fighting for markets. Fighting for cheap labor from Africa or Asia! (Europeans will be too old to work.)

Or will US attack Europe? Reason: Market rivalries.

010 WHY AMERICANS ARE RICHER THAN OTHER NATIONS?

2007-06-06T08:21:00.000-07:00

POVERTY COMPARISONS

It is said that a rich Latin American is poorer than 90
% of Americans. It occurs to my mind that same must be the case of Indians, i.e. a rich Indian is poorer than 90% of Americans. The richest among the Indians Mukhesh Ambani and Anil Ambani, rank well among the World Rich.

What does really cause prosperity or poverty of nations and individuals? Ability to produce and sell at exorbitant prices? Export and Marketing successes?

#009 CAN'T USA SELL THINGS OTHER THAN ARMS AND WHISKY?

2007-06-06T08:01:00.000-07:00

Today, I visited the blog of www.ghaffarkhan.blogspot.com. I am astonished to find a queer info. "US's largest selling product is whisky. (Next to arms)" . I make an acceptable approximation that India's largest selling product should be liquor of all kinds. The world-over, the position may be same. I invite comments from enlightened and conscious readers of other countries about the largest selling products of their countries. I am unable to extract this information from Net as on date. If I could get it, I shall inform our readers.

#001 CAN THAILAND AFFORD A MEAL OF $25,000?

2006-11-24T23:42:00.000-08:00

AFGHANISTAN

TALIBAN CONTROLS AFGHAN TOWN MUSA QALA (AP NEWS REPORT)

(Feb 7, 2007)

US and Nato seem to be worried about physical controls. Actually, Talibans control at least 50% of the Islamic minds through places of worship. They have their grip on the clerics whose modern education levels are low and who depend on the income from mosques. The US and Nato should do well to conquer the minds of the Muslims through the process of education and love, rather than air rides.

AUSTRALIA

WHAT FOR ARE DEFENCE AGREEMENTS

(Feb 6, 2007):The Australian Prime Minister termed that their accord with Japan is not aimed against China.

COMMENT: Now-a-days, Defence Agreements aim at selling something or the other, particularly, the arms and weapons. Now, what Australia is aiming to sell to Japan?

|||||CHILE|||||

CHILE LEFTISM ON OPEN PATH

(Feb. 11, 2007): The President of Chile, wants Chile to be an Open Economy.

COMMENT: The Chile President was elected on a centre-left promises. Now, she seems to be drifting towards Capitalism in the name of "Open Economy". It is not the question, whether "Open Economy" is good or not. The question is : Why promise something and deliver something else?

|||||CANADA|||||

CANADA DEFENCE PURCHASES

NEWS: Canada is purchasing tanks from Germany for use on Afghan war front.

COMMENT: Every seemingly good samaritan act (saving Afghans from Talibans) of the developed world, generates trade opportunities for them. Now, what will Germany buy from Canada? We have to wait and see.

\\\\\CHINA\\\\\
CHINA IS WASTING RESOURCES

(Feb. 13, 2007): NEWS: China blasted its 18 years old Wulihe Stadium, Shenyang, to build a shopping complex, as a part of preparation for Olympics.

COMMENT: What a colossal waste of resources by a Communist country which professes to be the savior of the Proletariat!

CHINESE PRESIDENT'S VISITS TO AFRICA

(Feb 7, 2007) Chinese President visited Cameroon, Liberia, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, Sudan, Zambia and South Africa.

COMMENT: It has become a custom for Presidents and Prime Ministers to make marketing tours, particularly for arms. But Chinese eyes are bent on energy and mining resources. Chinese textile exports have already hurt the African textile industry.
He made some promises to buy African products. We have to wait and see how he will keep his promise.

|||||DENMARK|||||

DENMARK WANTS TO CUT TAX RATES AND WELFARE SPENDING

NEWS: Denmark wants to reform its taxes and welfare economics. It wants to cut taxes to become investment-competitive. It wants to reduce spending on welfare.

COMMENT: This is a global chorus song!

|||||FRANCE

FRANCE IS WORRIED ABOUT HOSTILE TAKE-OVER BIDS

NEWS: France is worried about hostile take over bids. It is searching for effective weapons.

COMMENT: Now, at the receiving end. When French Companies take over foreign Companies, they rejoice.

\\\\\GERMANY\\\\\

ASSESSMENT OF HITLER

I place below an assessment of Hitler made by me at another blog site.

Nationalism when extended to grow beyond rational proportions can become Fascism. Nazism had strains of racism. Though the Western Nations in their propaganda exaggerated the atrocities performed by Hitler, it is certain that he committed atrocities, though may not be 100% ghastly. Windows has 16,777,216 Red Blue Green color combinations. Hitler is one such combination. That means, there can be a no 100% perfect or imperfect person. Then we go for rating say on a 10 point scale. We have to weigh different traits such as leadership style, harmony between preaching and practising, tolerance etc. When a person is in power, the literature produced at the point of history paint him as the Greatest of humans. In 1936, Hitler might have thus been the greatest, with all positive characteristics. Then, power corrupts people. Coterie surroounding a great person misrepresent to him the facts. The Great person would believe whatever he wanted to believe and the persecution starts. Thus we have to weigh Hitler in the environment he worked. We have to take into consideration the provocations made by Stalin, Churchill, Roosevelt, Truman et al. To summarise, Hitler was a politician, and politics is the last resort for scoundrals.

As far as massacres are concerned, there were/are numerous politicians/leaders/rulers who indulged in genocides. West recognises only some. For example, the Air raids made by US on civilian locations of Afghanistan and Iraq are worth examining. US used poisonous gases in Vietnam in 1960s. The genocides made Uganda's Idi Amin, Cambodia's Pol Pot, Iraq's Saddam Hussain were magnified. US showed Col. Gaddafi of Libya as a villain for sometime, but now that he surrendered, he is clean. Robert Mugabe of Zimbabway continues to be a villain.

||||||JORDAN|||||||
HATS OFF TO QUEEN OF JORDAN

(Feb 10, 2007): According to AFP, the Queen of Jordan (Ms Rania) said that Muslim women need not wear veins and that moderates should rise up.

COMMENT: Good advice. We have to see how the Islamic world will respond.

\\\\\PAKISTAN\\\\\

PRESIDENT OF PAKISTAN

The President of Pakistan said on Nov. 16, 2006: " I know what is happening across the border and I have spoken about fencing, mining the border. Let us mine the border and make sure that nobody crosses it. I am for it."

The Pakistan President is referring to the Pak-Afghanistan Borders. The crossing of border refers to the trespassing by Taliban Militants from Quetta into Afghanistan and vice versa. According to him, the West does not find it useful and that Afghanistan is not interested.

COMMENT: Though some expense is involved, this can be tried. If it can stop cross-border militancy, the Pak President will be doing a great favour to the world.

|||||RUSSIA|||||

RUSSIA ACCUSED US OF INSTIGATING ARMS RACE

(Feb. 11, 2007): ASSOCIATED Press reported that Russia accused US of sparking Arms Race.

COMMENT: Inevitable. Otherwise, how can arms be sold? Weapons cannot be stored for ever. New weapons are to be invented. Old weapons are to be sold or used, in return for some other resource. Eg. US uses its weapons and planes in Iraq in exchange for Oil and Reconstruction Contracts.

|||||THAILAND|||||

$ 25,000 MEAL IN THAILAND

(Feb. 10, 2007): Associated Press and Yahoo News have reported a meal costing #25,000 served at a Bangkok Restaurant, organised by a French Hotel. The meal consists of truffles (probably chocoletes), choice vintage wines, beef, fish etc.

COMMENT: The epicurean delicacies did not include gems, diamonds, gold, platinum and other cheap stuff.