VINDICA

So said a colleague at lunch and cleared up his own bafflement at why people follow others who proudly proclaim them dumbness.

I absolutely love disruptive reviews. My favorite is Matt Taibi's review of Thomas Friedman's "World is Flat". The review of the new Sex and the City movie linked here runs close. The fab four go to Abu Dhabi of all places and "stone sexism to death". At sexism's funeral (which takes place in a mysterious, incense-shrouded chamber of international sisterhood), the women of Abu Dhabi remove their black robes and veils to reveal—this is not a joke—the same hideous, disposable, criminally expensive shreds of cloth and feathers that hang from Carrie et al.'s emaciated goblin shoulders. Muslim women: Under those craaaaaaay-zy robes, they're just as vapid and obsessed with physical beauty and meaningless material concerns as us! Feminism! Fuck yeah! If this is what modern womanhood means, then just fucking veil me and sew up all my holes. Good night. *smile*. Good day everyone.

A fantastic (and balanced) essay about Ayn Rand and here books. Unsparing in critizing her where deserved. Like this piece about her brag about "not faking reality in any manner". Rand had periods of heavy use (of amphetamines) in the 1950s and '60s.... As anyone who has had the experience knows, a good way to get a really, really distorted sense of reality is to swallow a couple of Dexedrines. If you want to take them anyway, don't go around bragging that you never "fake reality in any manner." ... but the article also provides a credible and heartfelt explanation of why her novels are popular (and great) ...a heroic vision of a blue-collar worker doing his job... Critics often accuse Rand of portraying a few geniuses as the only people worth valuing. That's not what I took away from her. I saw her celebrating people who did their work well and condemning people who settled for less, in great endeavors or small; celebrating those who took responsibil...

Loranism for the day (About fly fishing): It is easier to kill trout with a baseball bat than it is to fly fish it. One wouldn't think fooling a fish with such a small brain would be so difficult. You have to prepare the bait just so, so it resembles some food available in that particular stream. Then you have to dangle the bait just so, otherwise the damn thing wont bit. And all the Republicans have to do is trot out Sarah Palin and they all vote. I don't get it!

The big banks (JP Morgan, BofA, GS) reported that they made a profit on every single trading day. The chances of this happening in a fair game are astronomically small. Probably smaller than the chance of you getting struck by an astroid as you are reading this post. So if you reading this and are still alive, it means the game is fixed. Prudence would seem to demand not playing the game. What am I missing?

Won in the last game against Topolov in a hard fought match.

God is in the air. Again. After Dawkin's God Delusion and Hitchen's God is not great left scorched earth (but no prisoners) in their wake, comes a more subtle book written by Rebecca Goldstein - 36 Arguments for the existence of God - A work of fiction , where the protagonist, an "atheist with a soul", contemplates the universe that has suddenly made him rich and famous after his public confession of atheism. Arguments about God, and the ripostes thereof, have been an ongoing (and mostly mundane) phenomena for many centuries. Things got a bit more interesting during Enlightenment . Voltaire lies in his deathbed and a worried priest comes up to him and tells him that it is not too late. He can yet renounce satan. "Now is no time to make new enemies." says Voltaire. And dies. Although things had turned interesting, it isn't until the twentieth century, and until both sides had fully heard out the other side, that the arguments became stylized. Th...

The review argues that Twilight is just a female mirror image of boy movies like Die Hard, and that the reason why there is so much vitriol aimed at it is because of its conspicuous lack of male following. The author suggests contemporary culture equates lack of male following as equivalent to lack of "universality", while the same is not true for movies that lack female following. A subtle point, but very true from what I can tell.

This gut wrenching New Yorker story details the execution of Todd Willingham who was executed for starting a fire that killed his three children. New investigations suggest that he should have been found innocent not only because of new evidence, but even by the evidence and standards that were available at that time. Clearly the justice system cannot prevent innocents from being murdered by the state. Scalia's assertion that not a single such case exists is rotten bullshit. Death penalty must be banned and Texas has a historic opportunity to start the process by acknowledging officially that the system made an unpardonable error.

One cannot help but think that both the emotional parties in the Jinnah debate (BJP and Pakistani establishment) have jumped the gun in judging the book. BJP is distraught with thoughts of betrayal while Pakistan is elated at the vindication. However, the book may be more subtle than that. Consider Jaswant's interview in outlook magazine. In the book, I question the two-nation theory. I am saying Jinnah is wrong to say Muslims had a separate homeland. I say look into the eyes of Muslims and see their pain. How have they benefited from Partition? While Jaswant seems to be sympathizing with the difficult position of Indian Muslims in general and Jinnah in particular, he also seems to be rejecting the whole "ideology of Pakistan" business that seeks to portray Partition as necessary and inevitable. I wonder how the tone is going to change on the two sides of the border once everyone has had a chance to read the book! I guess the more sensible elements on both sides will ...

People of Otjivero in Namibia lived in absolute poverty. Women prostituted themselves for food while men were either drunk or waited around doing nothing (70% unemployment). 42% of the children were malnourished. A new kind of aid agency came up with a different idea for development. Just give them money! No discrimination between rich or poor. No bureacracy to determine eligibility. Anybody who wanted money was given 100 Namibian Dollars a month. Some time down the line, malnourishment is down to 10%. Unemployment and crime are plunging. This is the perfect model for aid delivery in India. What more, it is populist too! Imagine a government promising 1000 rupees a month instead of stupid schemes like Rs. 2 rice that are ravaged by corruption and middlemen. Popular, more efficient and ultimately better. Why does it work? Because the general consensus is that "Africa's poor need to be educated first before they can be given the right of self-determination, and that t...

I watched the movie adaptation of Richard Yate's novel "Revolutionary Road". It kicked off a debate with Sandhya about suburban life and what it means to live and to merely exist. For those of you who have not seen the movie, Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet are a seemingly happy couple living the suburban dream in a nice house. Kate desperately wants to get out. She convinces her husband that they can use their savings to move to Europe. She wants to stop being a housewife and take up a job there. She wants him to stop working and figure out what he wants to do. However, an unexpected pregnancy causes doubts in Leonardo and consequent rage in Kate. It is a nice concept, but I think it is a typical 50s story. I think the more appropriate theme for our times would have been the consummation of the European desire and subsequent disenchantment with it. However, Sandhya felt differently. In any case, it was a considerable surprise for me to come across Richard Yate...

Everyone seems to agree that Prop 13 that limited property taxes in California is to blame for the crisis. There is however, a large majority that believes that the law requiring 2/3 majority for raising taxes was a good idea. Now consider what has happened. Instead of raising taxes on cigarettes, the legislature was forced to cut spending in health care. This is inspite of the the fact that cigarette tax would naturally lower health care costs. Cutting health care would in fact RAISE healthcare costs since more people will drop through the cracks and start visiting ERs. The 33% minority that blocked the cigarette tax must be held accountable for this travesty.

Sashi Taroor used to be a UN Technocrat and India's strong preference to take over the Secretary Generalship of that organization. He was also the insider and in all respects the ideal candidate for the job. However, his candidature was torpedoed by a US veto and heavy money fuelled diplomacy in favor of Ban Ki Mooon. I remember thinking this was a travesty and a tragedy. However, the world's loss may well prove to be India's great gain. Mr. Taroor has just been elected to the Indian Parliament from Trivandrum . It would not be a great surprise if he is given a minor portfolio in the Government in spite of his first term status.

This article in Chronicle skewers the venerable book "Elements of Style" which millions (including yours truly) have assumed to be a concise, yet authoritative guide to style and grammar.

Story1 On the latest flight out of SFO, the airline actually had an English language newspaper for a change, and I got to read a delightful story about Japanese politics. For those who don't have the time to read the full story (I absolutely recommend it), here is the summary: * The Japanese media does not print any big news story until the ruling party indicates the direction that it wants the story to take. * This is why the story about the drunk Finance Minister at the Davo conference initially called it the result of fatigue. Later when party boss Mori indicated that Nakagawa (the Finance Minister) had been drunk, all hell broke loose and the newspapers were full of it, leading to his eventual resignation. * Current Prime Minister Taro Aso's approval rating is single digit and the ruling party is worried they are going to lose. * One strategy that the ruling party has used in the past has been to fill newspapers will manufactured controversies so as to prevent any meaning...

Episode 1 - The Triumph of Renewal In a hard hitting speech to the state senate today, State Governor Ron Stanford reiterated the need for urban renewal. "It is time to stop the decay or our inner cities before it is too late", said the Governor. He announced that he shall be putting together a high powered commission to look into proposals for urban development and renewal. - Crimson City Bee - 9th Feb 1984 "What you need is in fact a stadium for the Tsunamis", said Charles Munger. "Think about it, you have a place where people can come together, share in a common passion for our team while at the same time giving the economy a boost." "Sounds great, Chuck", said the Governor. "Show me some more details and we can take a serious look at this" "Sir", whispered the ever cynical Maynard. "We don't have the money to give Munger his stadium" "That is why we have bond measures", said the Governor. "...

The best thing about a new book by Thomas Friedman is that it gets reviewed by Matt Taibi. New book "Hot, Flat and Crowded" is reviewed at: http://www.nypress.com/article-19271-flat-n-all-that.html This one is another classic! On Friedman's style: "The first rule of holes is when you're in one, stop digging.When you're in three, bring a lot of shovels." First of all, how can any single person be in three holes at once? Secondly, what the fuck is he talking about? If you're supposed to stop digging when you're in one hole, why should you dig more in three? On Friedman's content: "I laid out my napkin and drew a graph showing how there seemed to be a rough correlation between the price of oil, between 1975 and 2005, and the pace of freedom in oil-producing states during those same years." Friedman plots exactly four points on the graph over the course of those 30 years. In 1989, as oil prices are falling, Friedman writes, "Berli...

John Kay is a columnist for FT and I have read a lot of original pieces from him. In this article he points out the silliness of corporate citizens claiming that all public sector work is "entitlement". He points out that public sector project created things like the computer and the green revolution without a need for financial incentive. He also points to the sense of entitlement exibited by corporate citizens who aparently need bonuses over and above their pay in order to do their jobs. (The corporate types) explained that in addition to the considerable salaries senior managers receive, large financial incentives were needed to persuade them to perform the duties that were attached to their jobs. In contrast, people who worked in the public sector mostly did so because they were too lazy or ineffective to get jobs in large corporations. They professed surprise that teachers did not relay these opinions to their charges. I understood why, and was relieved they did not....

Chennai On the way to the airport in Chennai, my call taxi fell into a pothole and broke its shocks. The journey to the airport completed in an auto. Tokyo, Narita International Airport Tokyo, To=Eastern, Kyo=Capital. All my connections were late and I missed the last flight to Oita. The airline staff are extraordinarily courteous and almost uncomfortably apologetic as they make arrangements for the night's stay. Tokyo, Haneda Domestic Airport I wake up in the morning and look at my ticket. It says "NH812". I don't know which airline NH is, so I head to the first counter. The person behind it signs 14, then walks up from behind the counter, and walks me all the way to counter 14. Turns out I needed to go to All Nippon Airlines, and his counter (and he) represented a different airline. I don't know why, but I was embarrassed. I had not asked him to walk me, that was his choice. Yet, I was embarrassed. Oita, Kyushu Island, Japan Oita, finally! I get dropp...