Barackface

Wednesday, June 10, 2015

Amitabh Should Do A Movie With Anushka

बीरू -- एक लव स्टोरी हो जाये --- age is just a number.

Plot suggestion -------- Amitabh is a 50 year old self made billionaire who has not been in a relationship for over a decade. He is a workaholic, also he is very particular when it comes to women, if he is not into you, he is not into you. It is not like friends did not try to set him up, leading to comic situations: to him it is a game where he enjoys deflecting. And then he meets her. She is 30, and extremely unconventional. An artist who does not care two hoots about money. When she first meets her, she has no idea who he is. She has to look him up online. Later. But what she falls for is he is just as unconventional, in his workspace as well as his personal space. The movie explores that overlap, that outlook, that worldview that both share.

There are ups and downs, and a near going back by Anushka to a former boyfriend, but then the two - Amitabh and Anushka end up in a live in situation, where the movie ends. And Amitabh's work takes wings, he starts scaling new heights. This was something he had not expected. What he likes is that she treats both his career and her career with equal respect. Just because she is an artist making much, much less is immaterial to her. As she sees it, they are both doing creative work. And precisely because she has this monk attitude, she takes to the high life like duck to water. She is fully in it, but still unattached, and she would walk away from him if the relationship did not feel right, which she once almost did.

उसको बाद एक मारधाड़ हो जाये --- आप गुंडों की खूब पिटाई करबाओ। खुद नहीं पीटो। Powerful people don't beat up themselves. They have people who do it for them. Next film after the love story. Back and forth होना चाहिए थोड़ा। कभी love story, कभी action.

Happy Birthday Amitabh Bachchan
ह्रदय सम्राट अमिताभ
भारतका विश्व शक्ति बनना और बॉलीवुड

Tuesday, June 09, 2015

The Tamils Of Sri Lanka And Me

Hillary Clinton And The Global Gender Basics
Does The World Government Have To Await A Total Spread Of Democracy?
World Government And Federal States
Abraham Lincoln?
Blaming Hillary For Benghazi = Blaming W For 9/11
The International Importance Of Owaisi

Percentage of Sri Lankan Tamils per district based on 2001 or 1981 (cursive) census. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I was Barack Obama's first full time volunteer in all of New York City. I identify with the blacks in America because I grew up Indian in Nepal. It is hard to explain. How can India be such a big country, and Nepal such a small country, and how can Indians in Nepal be having a hard time?

Well, Nepal is no exception. Indians are having a hard time in every South Asian country, the most glorious example perhaps is Sri Lanka, the most literate South Asian nation. Sri Lanka's high literacy rate is proof political discrimination and persecution is not something on the Human Development Index. Political problems have political solutions, and Sri Lanka's democracy has not delivered for its minority Tamils.

I have never believed in political violence, but when I started my full time work into Nepal's peace process early in 2005, I tried very, very hard to understand the political motives of the armed Maoists. I abstained from demonizing them. I believe in democracy, in human rights. In many ways I am more American than Americans. I believe in a total spread of democracy across the world. And I believe it is possible through peaceful means. And I don't suffer from America's original sin - race - like some white Americans sometimes do. That helps make my thinking on democracy much clearer. My gospel of democracy has no hint of white supremacy in it.

Somethings are political, somethings are personal, some are both. I am a Madhesi in Nepal. When Hridayesh Tripathy, a Nepali politician I admire, first showed up in Kathmandu as a Member Of Parliament, his house was attacked. In the aftermath he threatened to turn Nepal into a Sri Lanka. We Madhesis in Nepal identify with the Tamils in Sri Lanka. The word Tamil exists in Delhi. The word Madhesi does not yet exist in Patna, or Lucknow or Delhi. Power brokers in Delhi do business with the power brokers in Kathmandu who suppress the Madhesis, all the time. It is a terrible blind spot to be in.

At the geopolitical level, China can come in and help the Sri Lankan elite enact genocide on the Tamils, and India has not much to say. A Chinese border incursion in Ladakh is much less offensive.

Tamils should be able to achieve equality in Sri Lanka through democracy, otherwise democracy itself is the wrong tool. Tamils should be able to achieve equality in Sri Lanka through peaceful means, otherwise peaceful methods are suspect. But I don't think democracy is suspect, I don't think peaceful methods are suspect. The right to self determination is a fundamental human right, it is like free speech, it is like freedom of religion.

Sri Lanka is going to go for fedaralism in which there is a Tamil state, and each state in that federal Sri Lanka has a right to self determination, the kind that Scotland and Quebec itch with. And Sri Lanka is going to do that because that is the right thing to do, because that is Sri Lanka's obligation as a signatory to the Universal Declaration Of Human Rights. Sri Lanka is going to do that because India is a big country and Sri Lanka is a small country, and it can not afford not to. Sri Lanka is going to do that because, if necessary, China itself will be taught a lesson or two in democracy, federalism and human rights. That is why the Tamils are going to be given federalism with the right to self determination. The right to self determination is not a debate, any more than free speech is. It is a right. Every Tamil in Sri Lanka was born with it.

The right to self determination is not a one way road to secession. It is an opportunity for Sri Lanka to become an inclusive state where minorities like Tamils and Muslims get their due share in national life. Sri Lanka is not just for Sinhalas. And if Sinhalas want a country just for them, they should be granted that.

Massive atrocities were committed when Rajapaksha ("Ravana") militarily eliminated the LTTE. Tens of thousands of innocent, civilian Tamils were killed, maimed, violated, scarred for life. Like Stalin said, one death is a tragedy, a million deaths? Statistics. This was Rajapaksha statistics. That was not a democratic act by a democratic leader. And I am glad he has been ousted at the ballot box. I hope some day he is served justice.

A friend of mine, CK Raut, a Cambridge University PhD in Computer Science, was jailed a few months ago, and recently released by orders of the court. His ways are non-violent, and he seeks to create a new country called Madhesh.

My immigration lawyer for the past few years has been a Tamil, a Harvard Law School graduate like Barack Obama: Rudrakumaran Visuvanathan.

Rudra pushes for ICC trial on Lanka

Launching a signature campaign to press for a trial by the International Criminal Court (ICC) into the genocide of Sri Lankan Tamils, Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam (TGTE) Prime Minister V Rudrakumaran on Wednesday said active support of the people of Tamil Nadu was crucial for generating international opinion to render justice to the Sri Lankan Tamils ...... Inaugurating the campaign in Chennai through skype, he urged the United Nations to refer the genocide of Sri Lankan Tamils to the ICC or establish a similar credible international judicial mechanism for investigation and prosecution of the war crimes and genocide. ...... Citing the UN Internal Review Report on Sri Lanka, he said there were 70,000 casualties in the first six months of the war and quoted former US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton who had listed Sri Lanka along with Bosnia, Burma, Congo and Sudan where rape was used a tactic of war. ..... the new Lankan government’s call for a domestic or hybrid mechanism to replace any international judicial process was an attempt to deflect the call for referral to the ICC and to delay other meaningful actions on accountability. Efforts to establish a domestic truth and reconciliation commission, he said would be another diversionary tactic to protect those who committed serious crimes against Tamils. ...... Listing out the reasons for an international investigation, the TGTE Prime Minister said “Even though the President has changed, the political environment vis-a-vis Tamils has not changed. Several former military personnel, including the military commander at the end of the war General Sarath Fonseka are in senior positions in the current government. The fact that the military apparatus is still intact and the militarisation of the north east continues to perpetuate fear among Tamils and had a deep impact on day to day activities. Therefore, it is unlikely that victims and witnesses will be truly independent before a domestic or hybrid tribunal”. ....... Besides, President Sirisena has served as Defence Minister during the end of the war, when large number of Tamils were killed and Sri Lanka did not have criminal provisions for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. ...... The unitary Lankan State and judiciary were not ethnically neutral and most of the crimes were perpetrated by the State apparatus. The island judiciary was always subservient to political leadership when it came to abuses against Tamils. Even under a Tamil Chief Justice, no prosecution was ever brought against anyone for the mass killings of Tamils in 1983, he added.

Monday, June 08, 2015

Bihar Is Now 55-45

For Nitish and Laloo to come together and for Laloo to agree to declaring Nitish the chief ministerial candidate: these two developments have boosted Nitish' prospects, but it might still not be enough to take him past the finish line. This prevents a total wipeout like in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. But if the BJP manages to rope in both Jitan and Pappu, both of whom are opposed to Nitish, it suddenly starts looking 60-40 or better for the BJP.

The wild card here is not who will ally with whom but respecting that all elections are about the future. What will Nitish do over the next five years? If he goes on the Give Me My Wages tangent like in 2014, he will lose, possibly decisively.

Nitish is more charismatic than Sushil Modi who still acts like he is trying to get away from under Nitish' shadow. Otherwise SuMo has a legitimate claim that he was crucial - indispensable - to Nitish giving seven excellent years as Chief Minister. It was the BJP that administered the road and health departments which showed some of the best work.

Sushil Modi should tell the people of Bihar what he will do over the next five years.

One of these two will become Chief Minister, the other will be Opposition Leader.

Another wild card is PM Modi. If he makes enough campaign stops, he will make a bad situation worse for Nitish. A victory in Bihar gives NaMo greater leg room in the Rajya Sabha, gives him a political boost nationally as he starts his second year, and brightens his prospects for Uttar Pradesh, a twice big a prize, and one that would cure all his Upper House woes. It is like NaMo needs the Bihar victory more than SuMo does. So expect him to campaign hard and make life miserable for Nitish.

Saturday, June 06, 2015

बिहार के उभरते चेहरे

Bihar: My Projections
बिहार में आम की राजनीति
सुशील मोदी क्या कह रहे हैं?
Sushil Modi In Janakpurdham
मोदी के चाय दोकान पे चर्चा
बिहार के लिए फोर्मुला

औरत एक भी नहीं --- ये तो प्रॉब्लम हो गयी।

The M-Pesa Concept Applied To Voting

Just like the blockchain technology can be used for bitcoins but also for many other things, I believe the basic technology and promise behind the wonderful m-pesa can be leveraged for the cause of democracy in the developing world.

You should be able to vote through SMS. You should be able to participate in internal voting inside political parties. You should be able to use this for what is often called electronic voting. You would reply to a SMS, send 1 for candidate A, send 2 for candidate B and so on.

Mobile phones that do voice calls and text messages are pretty widespread by now. Almost everyone has one.

I believe SMS can also have ecommerce applications.

Why does Kenya lead the world in mobile money?

Paying for a taxi ride using your mobile phone is easier in Nairobi than it is in New York ...... now used by over 17m Kenyans, equivalent to more than two-thirds of the adult population; around 25% of the country’s gross national product flows through it. M-PESA lets people transfer cash using their phones, and is by far the most successful scheme of its type on earth. Why does Kenya lead the world in mobile money? ...... Once you have signed up, you pay money into the system by handing cash to one of Safaricom’s 40,000 agents (typically in a corner shop selling airtime), who credits the money to your M-PESA account. You withdraw money by visiting another agent, who checks that you have sufficient funds before debiting your account and handing over the cash. You can also transfer money to others using a menu on your phone. Cash can thus be sent one place to another more quickly, safely and easily than taking bundles of money in person, or asking others to carry it for you. This is particularly useful in a country where many workers in cities send money back home to their families in rural villages. Electronic transfers save people time, freeing them to do other, more productive things instead. ........ M-PESA has since been extended to offer loans and savings products, and can also be used to disburse salaries or pay bills, which saves users further time and money (because they do not need to waste hours queuing up at the bank). One study found that in rural Kenyan households that adopted M-PESA, incomes increased by 5-30%. In addition, the availability of a reliable mobile-payments platform has spawned a host of start-ups in Nairobi, whose business models build on M-PESA’s foundations. Mobile-money schemes in other countries, meanwhile, have been held up by opposition from banks and regulators and concerns over money-laundering.

Bihar: My Projections

It was advantage Modi during the Lok Sabha election last year. It was advantage Nitish during the bypolls that followed. But much has changed since then. Nitish has lost Jitan Majhi and Laloo has lost Pappu Yadav. Not only has Nitish lost Jitan Majhi, he has lost him to the BJP camp.

बिहार में आम की राजनीति

If it were the BJP, Paswan and Kushwaha one one side, and Nitish, Laloo, Congress, NCP, Left, Jitan, Pappu on the other side, it was a 50-50 contest with a slight advantage to the BJP still. That was the case during the bypolls, but that is no longer the case. Pappu is in neither camp right now.

So right now, the way I see it, it is Advantage Sushil Modi.

But that is if Nitish and Laloo manage to stick together. If they contest separately, the BJP sweep of the state might mirror its sweep during the Lok Sabha elections last year.

Sushil Modi In Janakpurdham
Janakpur Patna Kolkata Industrial Corridor
बिहार के लिए फोर्मुला
World, India, Bihar
The Next Chief Minister Of Bihar?

A nightmare scenario for Nitish would be if even Pappu decides to join the BJP led front. At that point it is a no contest. It will be a clear BJP sweep.

Nitish gave seven excellent years to Bihar, उसके बाद उन्होने अडवाणी के लिए आत्म दाह कर लिया।

The BJP has declared a desire to contest 185 seats, Paswan wants 60, Kushwaha 40, Jitan wants 40, Pappu is open to being part of the alliance. Considering there are only 245 seats available, they might go for a 130-35-25-30-25 kind of split.