Warren Buffett and Bill Gates: Keeping America Great

This is a great video. Their views are thought provoking!

Mumbai Maze

Outbursts in the aftermath of Mumbai attack are slowly dissipating. Lets look at the strategy + tactics from different angles. 

Congress party: They are under pressure for some face saving measures. Army showdown at the border like in 2001 parliament attack is of no use. They might again do it, for aam janatas' sake - who might/might not fall for it.  Troops mobilization will also raise another set of humiliating questions - lack of snow boots, lack of proper equipment, et al.

Opposition: Its absence or slumber, will not be missed. 

Raj Thackeray/Marathi nationalists: Now they should start thinking about on par suicide missions to attack terrorist schools in Pakistan or wherever they are. Who will be the one to volunteer first? 

Public-1: Clamour for resignations will continue for some time. Either a few or the few or entire Government and employees can resign. Shivaraj Patil was the first one to go. If he was incompetent, why was he made a Minister in the first place? Should the public who voted for him - or those who do not exercise their franchise also express their sorry??

Public -2: On day one; I have seen people who were glued to TV streams and counting the casualties. Exchanging information and making a guess on when it would end and the final count. It reminded me of people watching a cricket match. Probably they were following the developments to express their condolences in proportional magnitude. Now every one is back to the pubs, cafes and shopping for luxury products or at least their counterfeits. And human spirit and resilience is wrongly labelled as unique Mumbai

Pakistan: This is a blessing in disguise for them. They are again in focus. More funds will pour in to their country - particularly for army; to help America's fight against terror. All over the world the countries are for or against terrorism. However here its a hybrid situation. If at all they can play their cards right, they can use this opportunity to bolster democracy and civil leadership. Last week they got a bailout of $7.6 billion from IMF, which will come with riders to improve efficiency and viability of services and processes. Government will use this opportunity to rise costs, while the public attention is diverted. 

Terrorists: Taking cues from cost-cutting across the sectors; even they have innovated and delivered more bang for the buck. 10 guys grabbed the mindshare of the world for 3 days and aftershocks continue. Indian lives are no longer the most wanted. They can kill any number and any time. Now they are hunting foreign national for that shock-value; as Mumbai spirit is easily overcoming blasts.

Lessons from Mumbai tragedy : An noteworthy take.

  

Interesting:

• If only 10 or less people have died in this attack and within an hour; will public react same way as they are doing now?
• Ram Gopal Varma movies' and visits have flopped. Any ways, why is his stroll important and deserve so many soundbites and attention?
• Are Indians going to buy more life insurance? as a response. Spend more time with family and increase frequency of prayers?
• Who wants to be Blamed? a new game show can be launched. 
• Similarly, who should Resign? game
• More candle light vigils, wear black badge or white shirt, ....... But how many will remember the incident after 30/60/120 days and retrospect? 
• Will Indian media grow up? As in Amitabh's stomach ache, RGV visit and Commissionar ka kutta missing. 
• Is Shoba De the Sarah Palin of India? 
• Will we get a real Intelligence agency >
  
• Will the majority of audience( union of urban, educated & youth) to this media coverage will vote in the next elections? For the right reasons?

I am a die-hard optimist; just like most of Indians. Nation will progress against all odds and calamities. Just consider the growth of India in the last two decades. Today we have relatively better transportation system, medical facilities, communication, more jobs and disposable income,..... 

But the question is whether we can accelerate that growth or not. It all hinges on the people. Rather than venting emotional and silly slogans; can WE make rational and sensible choices? Right from paying bribe to the next traffic cop and voting in elections. Even if you cannot, dont worry - India will rise, albeit at a slower pace.  

amherst fun*

After my "Indian food:Been there, ate that" ; I started off on an expedition to explore 'Points of Interest' in and around Amherst. I wanted to visit all of them before I leave amherst. Fortunately I am not moving far away and can finish them at a slower pace and thus started off on a different trajectory now ;). Now I want to share those with you.


Most of you must have already been to those clichéd places like Antonio pizza, thai food, black sheep, etcetera in the down town, so skipped them from the map.

There are lot of ways to classify the places to visit. I will stick to just two classes: must visit and visit. 

 Right now I am a bit busy with lot of things, so couldn't write explicit comments for each site. But will keep updating this post frequently, as time permits. As of now, I have plotted about 50% of the places I know. Do let me know if I've missed out anything, which deserves inclusion in the list. 



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Must visit:

• watch UMass band perform 
• Yankee candle
• Magic wings butterfly conservatory 
• watch atleast one basketball game at Mullins (sit close to the band)
  
• UMass sunwheel (day time and star gazing)
• Herrells icecream (among usa top 10 ice creams)
  
• Mount Sugarloaf (see Amherst from there)
  
• Bread Euphoria (all items 2x expensive - but worth it. try bouchon & chocolate croissant)
• Bike trail to Northampton
• fall down at ice rink
  
• Vermont Fall drives (my team-mates at intern helped me chart about 25 routes. will share that map shortly) 
•  see a movie at Amherst cinema (tiny theatre - independent films)
  
• Shelburne falls
  
• Doves nest(breakfast)
• Sullys (breakfast - entrées are named after her grandchildren)
• Quabbin reservoir(for visiting and opposite end for hiking) 
• Mi Tierra (authentic mexican)
•  Amherst farmers market
• J.M. Paseinick Farmstand (> than smiarowski farms - for icecreams) 
• ...........

VISIT:

• rest of them on the map. keep exploring and you will be surprised. just this morning I spotted Llamas.