The FIFA world cup 2010 concluded after 40 days of fun and excitement. As many close to me know, I was supporting Spain from day one and feel vindicated at the end of it all. :-)
This was probably the first world cup where I saw a huge cross section of friends, family and colleagues keenly following the world cup and tracking their favourite teams. This made it all the more interesting during and post match discussions and it was such a lot of fun. I enjoyed it thoroughly!!
I am a lover of Jogo Bonito and have been following the EPL, La Liga, Serie A and Bundesliga for the last couple of years. Since this is where all the money is, most of the best players in the world play here and more often than not, the club football is more fun than when countries play each other. But the standouts during the last couple of years, in my view, have been Barcelona and as an extension Spain. They play a brand of football that I love to watch, endorse and play!
This is not to say that 4 years from now, I will continue supporting Spain. A lot of things can change in 4 years and I suspect the real stalwarts of the "Beautiful Game", like Brazil and Argentina will learn from their early exits from this world cup and go back to their style and flair rather than mimic the European nations. And then there are the bruised giants like France and Italy and the quintessential under achievers, England, who have a point or two to prove. And who can discount the Germans, who livened the world cup like no other team has!
As the excitement of one subsides, the wait for the next one starts...
Showing posts with label World. Show all posts
Showing posts with label World. Show all posts
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Very Messy
The BP oil slick in the Gulf Of Mexico has US very interested coz it is very close to home and by the same measure has indians very disinterested because it is far from home. I saw very little coverage in the media about this and thanks to that I didn't know of the extent of mess that BP had gotten itself and the world into.
Today I got some time to do some youtube searching and as expected I was not disappointed. Have a look at the below video.
The good part of being in India is, you are slowly but surely trained to accept most ill around you as inevitable and unavoidable and in the process we are all stoic about it. So, I don't know if this was closer to home, would it have made any difference? On a lighter note and with a touch of sarcasm, Scott Adams on BP.
Today I got some time to do some youtube searching and as expected I was not disappointed. Have a look at the below video.
The good part of being in India is, you are slowly but surely trained to accept most ill around you as inevitable and unavoidable and in the process we are all stoic about it. So, I don't know if this was closer to home, would it have made any difference? On a lighter note and with a touch of sarcasm, Scott Adams on BP.
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Outcry... really?
Nice weather, some errands to run and more resulted in me deciding to make my weekend a long one and stayed at home on Friday. This gave me time to do things I used to do a lot earlier and never find time to do now, like seeing TV channels other than Sun Music! :-) I decided to take a round of the breaking channels. The same stories were breaking in different channels albeit each channel focusing on a different one at any point of viewing.
The first one was regarding a ex-BSF jawan who was shown the boot by Canadian Immigration officials. Each channel was showing Canada in the worst light possible. It was as if they had committed the greatest crime against India. An insult so unbearable that some politicians (trying to cash in of course) wanted us to send back the Canadian high commission diplomats to Canada. While it is true that the reasoning given by Canada to reject the ex-BSF jawans immigration application was not the best possible one and in ways insulting to the Indian armed forces, I think a different look is worthy, considering the usual "trial by media" mode in which India and its media works these days.
1. Canada houses a HUGE population of Sikhs many of whom are ex-khalistan fighters who are not known for their peaceful ways. Coincidentally, the ex-BSF jawan was a Sikh and assume for the sake of argument that this was the reason that the officials didn't want him in Canada. Not letting him into Canada was their prerogative and if they had openly told the above mentioned reason, it would have amounted to racism and somehow the Caucasians somehow get the worst of it. Indians are just as racist if not more than any other country, but we and rest of the racist hypocrites would pounce on Canada if it had given this as the reason for rejecting the ex-bsf jawans visa.
2. Canada as a country has the right to not allow anyone to come into its territory. Fault it for the reason it gave, but not to its right to choose its citizens/immigrants.
3. The ex-BSF jawan was going to leave India and be an immigrant. Not a very patriotic thing to do, but somehow the media wants to make us and apparently succeeds in making us patriotic for this!
4. Some indian techies can vouch for much worse treatment by the US consulate during the visa process or the US immigration authorities at the port of entry. The reasons for rejection can be far more frivolous and yet we all are OK with it. Some of the horror stories my colleagues have faced is better left untold.
5. Racial profiling is the name of the game in European and US airports. They would never agree or accept it, but from their point of view, they stand a better chance of catching a Faisal Shahzad by doing this rather than check the Caucasian race people for the sake of being politically correct! Again, a country protecting its interests, can't fault that!
To summarize, I agree that Canada could have been more judicious in its reason, but is this really such a big deal ? We settle for far worse on so many more serious fronts, but somehow chose this to be the battle that needs fighting ?
Saturday, October 11, 2008
The Madness Continues...
The fall in the financial markets in the US continues unabated and the Indian markets can't be too far behind...
What's next ? Who's next ??
What's next ? Who's next ??
Tuesday, October 07, 2008
Sub-prime prequel
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Enough already!
So Atlantis has not got back from space. We are worried, as worried as we need to be. Sunita Williams along with some more folks are in trouble and considering the recent US space history, everybody has reason to worry. There are all these articles of second Indian lady in space walking the same path as the first(Kalpana Chawla). But lets make one thing very clear... Sunita Williams is NOT an Indian. She can be called as of being of Indian origin, but I am sure there are more foreigners doing more good for India than Sunita Williams ever has or will. I have nothing against Sunita Williams, but she is far less important to India than what she is made out to be. I mean, Times Of India actually have this on the very first page followed by a lengthy article later on.
Does the average Indian really have to know that she is craving for pista ice cream and chocolate! Like everything these days, news is also bubblegum-style, masticate the same news over and over, blow it up as hard as possible and then out it goes to stick on someone's memory sole!
Does the average Indian really have to know that she is craving for pista ice cream and chocolate! Like everything these days, news is also bubblegum-style, masticate the same news over and over, blow it up as hard as possible and then out it goes to stick on someone's memory sole!
Friday, June 08, 2007
Hot Air?
The 5th of June was World Environment Day. I could see the appreciable difference in awareness among people and also more focus on the issue at hand by the media. The media of course is just following the world scene, where there is a general urgency and seriousness to tackle the problem of global warming. The term "global warming" actually encompasses many different parts for the general public(me). It means you keeping your vehicle well serviced so that it spews less smoke, it also means using less electricity, it also means using paper instead of plastic etc etc. Now I know not many of this makes sense in the true meaning of global warming, but this what I understand it to be and probably what most people would think of it too. In effect I have just been doing enough to be a good citizen in the global resource pool called Earth. But apparently global warming is all about CO2 (Carbon dioxide).
I saw the documentary "An Inconvenient truth" a couple of months ago. It was a very passionate, dramatic and a bit of self propaganda presentation by Al Gore. It was quite a scary eye opener for me to see how our modernization was killing earth. On the back of this documentary and the constant media attention meant that I, who anyway was a good global citizen became more conscious and more vocal about the destruction of earth(people near and dear to me can vouch for that). I then happened to read a blog which gave a different spin to the whole problem of global warming. I of course was a skeptic to this new spin, in fact I responded to it massive intolerance at the possibility of there being another explanation to global warming. Global warming seems to be the first issue in a looong time that has global acceptance and affirmative actions being discussed. How can all the world leaders be wrong? How can all the media that I am exposed to be wrong? Then I read a bit on the net and then some more and finally saw this. Those who want this documentary and have net access to me, I can send it across, else you can watch it online. Just as much an eye opener as the Al Gore one, this gives more credible data (at least looks credible) on why humans are too small a player in the universal or earthly scheme of things. It tells:
1. Sun makes earth a lot hotter than CO2 can ever do.
2. The clouds help the Sun in this process
3. The amount of CO2 humans generate is less than 1% of the total CO2 emissions in the world.
4. The temperatures on earth have been going hot and cold for lot longer than humans and their industrialization.
It then goes a step further are disproves many of the claims made in "An Inconvenient Truth". The number of scientists who have come forth in this documentary when compared to "0" (if I remember right) in the Al Gore one gives more credence to this one. Am I converted, hmm... not quite. But I can see a lot of sense in what is being told here and I am now more open minded to consider the alternatives.
1. The climatologists will get a lot more grant money if the fear of global warming keeps lurking.
2. The developing or under developed economies will in all probability stop their economic growth if they were to follow the strict guidelines laid down by the developed countries to prevent global warming. For e.g. India has all the coal it needs to keep burning, but his constant CO2 threat is going to make these reserves next to useless.
3. Gives one more topic to the developed countries to align itself with the developing economies so that the developing economies ensure the already globalized companies in the west keep the margins high enough to ensure the quality of life in these developed countries.
If this sounds like a fresh convert speaking, let me assure you, the last two points above have been in my mind a long time, and this new explanation on global warming gives me a reasonable connection to the reasons. I completely agree with green peace activists and the environmentalists telling us to treat the planet better and be more environment friendly. But I now question the politically and economically backed motive in driving reforms down the throat of the "finally catching up" developing economies of the world!
I saw the documentary "An Inconvenient truth" a couple of months ago. It was a very passionate, dramatic and a bit of self propaganda presentation by Al Gore. It was quite a scary eye opener for me to see how our modernization was killing earth. On the back of this documentary and the constant media attention meant that I, who anyway was a good global citizen became more conscious and more vocal about the destruction of earth(people near and dear to me can vouch for that). I then happened to read a blog which gave a different spin to the whole problem of global warming. I of course was a skeptic to this new spin, in fact I responded to it massive intolerance at the possibility of there being another explanation to global warming. Global warming seems to be the first issue in a looong time that has global acceptance and affirmative actions being discussed. How can all the world leaders be wrong? How can all the media that I am exposed to be wrong? Then I read a bit on the net and then some more and finally saw this. Those who want this documentary and have net access to me, I can send it across, else you can watch it online. Just as much an eye opener as the Al Gore one, this gives more credible data (at least looks credible) on why humans are too small a player in the universal or earthly scheme of things. It tells:
1. Sun makes earth a lot hotter than CO2 can ever do.
2. The clouds help the Sun in this process
3. The amount of CO2 humans generate is less than 1% of the total CO2 emissions in the world.
4. The temperatures on earth have been going hot and cold for lot longer than humans and their industrialization.
It then goes a step further are disproves many of the claims made in "An Inconvenient Truth". The number of scientists who have come forth in this documentary when compared to "0" (if I remember right) in the Al Gore one gives more credence to this one. Am I converted, hmm... not quite. But I can see a lot of sense in what is being told here and I am now more open minded to consider the alternatives.
1. The climatologists will get a lot more grant money if the fear of global warming keeps lurking.
2. The developing or under developed economies will in all probability stop their economic growth if they were to follow the strict guidelines laid down by the developed countries to prevent global warming. For e.g. India has all the coal it needs to keep burning, but his constant CO2 threat is going to make these reserves next to useless.
3. Gives one more topic to the developed countries to align itself with the developing economies so that the developing economies ensure the already globalized companies in the west keep the margins high enough to ensure the quality of life in these developed countries.
If this sounds like a fresh convert speaking, let me assure you, the last two points above have been in my mind a long time, and this new explanation on global warming gives me a reasonable connection to the reasons. I completely agree with green peace activists and the environmentalists telling us to treat the planet better and be more environment friendly. But I now question the politically and economically backed motive in driving reforms down the throat of the "finally catching up" developing economies of the world!
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
Vision!
India's 59th Independence day celebrations are over and a big hooray to democracy, it still survives in some shape and form. After all these years India is still fighting some inside battles. Almost all of us have one complaint or the other from the governing bodies. Strange are the ways of these political demigods and their band of bureaucrats. For e.g. I have a small stretch of road before getting into the layout where I stay. This road got into a bad shape thanks to the trucks going to and from a nearby apartment being built. After almost a year, "authorities" came and asphalted these roads. My happiness was unbound as my car would be spared its regular bumps. This lasted a little over a month and last week "authorities" dug up the road to lay down pipes. Now, we are back to waiting for "authorities" to come fix it! 
This points to so little planning and communication on the part of the concerned authorities. Quite ironically I have been closely following a series on National Geographic(TV) called Megastructures. Each and every episode of this series is mind boggling in terms of cost, size, vision, execution and conviction. The one that really impressed me the most was the episode on Palm Jumeirah.
Of course the whole land reclamation, simultaneous construction and managing natures fury was all impressive, but most impressive was the vision of the man who wanted to make this at any cost and on time(2006). The Crown Prince of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, knows all too well that the oil reserves of the middle east and more specifically his country will not last forever. Understanding the urge for the average joe in most developed/developing countries having a penchant for travelling, he decided on banking on tourism to keep his coffers from running dry once the oil ran dry. His first project was the Burj-Al-Arab, the costliest hotel in the world.
He quickly realized that what the tourists love the most about his country was its luxurious lifestyle and the beautiful coastline. But unfortunately Dubai has only some 70kms of coastline. People don't want to be crammed close to one another on the beach! And here started the story of the Palm Island(s). As if the Palm Jumeirah was not tough enough, he has already started work on two more Palm islands! Does this stop the man? Nope! If we have gotten this far, why not have a bunch of islands placed in the middle of the ocean in the form of the world?? Each costing a few millions!
Now, this is vision, conviction and execution at its best!
This points to so little planning and communication on the part of the concerned authorities. Quite ironically I have been closely following a series on National Geographic(TV) called Megastructures. Each and every episode of this series is mind boggling in terms of cost, size, vision, execution and conviction. The one that really impressed me the most was the episode on Palm Jumeirah.
Of course the whole land reclamation, simultaneous construction and managing natures fury was all impressive, but most impressive was the vision of the man who wanted to make this at any cost and on time(2006). The Crown Prince of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, knows all too well that the oil reserves of the middle east and more specifically his country will not last forever. Understanding the urge for the average joe in most developed/developing countries having a penchant for travelling, he decided on banking on tourism to keep his coffers from running dry once the oil ran dry. His first project was the Burj-Al-Arab, the costliest hotel in the world.
He quickly realized that what the tourists love the most about his country was its luxurious lifestyle and the beautiful coastline. But unfortunately Dubai has only some 70kms of coastline. People don't want to be crammed close to one another on the beach! And here started the story of the Palm Island(s). As if the Palm Jumeirah was not tough enough, he has already started work on two more Palm islands! Does this stop the man? Nope! If we have gotten this far, why not have a bunch of islands placed in the middle of the ocean in the form of the world?? Each costing a few millions!
Now, this is vision, conviction and execution at its best!
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