Ted Kennedy

The Kennedy family commands respect and love of most Americans. It is no mean thing to be cared so much about in this country where very few people can acheive this position. Americans are not much in to hero worship but more in to hero bashing. But the members of the Kennedy family are much liked by the public. May Ted Kennedy's soul rest in peace.

Censorship

Truth cannot be told about Jinnah in India nor Pakistan. Pakistanis put a stop to any hint of Jinnah being a secular politician and Indians do the same. Jinnah was an educated freedom fighter who fought along with Gandhi, Nehru, and others. If Jinnah is responsible for partition then so is Nehru because they all agreed to it. Sri Lanka happened but no one is angry with anyone though the tamils suffer. Pakistan happened and people were asked to move and that is the problem. If the division was geographical the hatred would not have lasted so long. This was the fault of Jinnah, Nehru, Gandhi, and all others involved in the decision.

Pakistan probably was inevitable. But if the geographical division was done first and people had migrated in an orderly fashion with passports and visas, the tragedy could have been averted. People could have sold their property for a fair price and moved to a place where they had something in store for them. What were the leaders thinking then? Free flow of people without any plans lead to the humanitarian disaster of loss of life and property. If the leaders had agreed to partition then they should have also planned how to go about it. Partition was not about who becomes prime minister, and where, which was all the leaders of India and Pakistan planned, for the greatest human migration of all human history. It was a pure administrative and political blunder and surely everyone cannot blame only Jinnah for it. Jinnah admitted that the partition was a mistake which is more than what a lot of leaders in India has done.

All memories of Indian independence is filled with the pain of partition of India and Pakistan. No one remembers Britain withdrawing. India ended making an enemy of a neighbor but remained great friends with Britain who exploited India beyond any invaders in Indian history.

Gender bender

The gender question in sports is getting murky. The sports authorities must test athletes before the competition not after they win. Its dirty tactics and reminds one of the Nazi era of denial. Goes to show that women while competing cannot only concentrate on the game but also prepare for mud slinging. Just because a female did awfully well raises questions about her being a woman is absurd.

School Attire

Controversies about what one can wear to school can be solved if everyone wears uniforms. If a college or school decides not to have uniforms then the institution must be mature enough to deal with surprises and variety. If there are no clear rules let us have no rules at all. Else the mean spirited find excuses to harass innocent students. The Indian constitution provides for practicing any religion in the country. But to expect schools to design uniforms that accomodates religious beliefs of all is too much. We just have too many hangups in India to make everyone happy. But a school must try to do that because a school is a place is where we must go to get educated and not just literate. A school showing respect and understanding cultural aspects of others is where kids must go to. Nevertheless, it is best people find schools where they are comfortable with the rules. Surprisingly the more stringent the rules the more popular the schools. Such is life.

Health care

It is good that people are debating public health care in America. It is sign that American democracy is getting vocal again and is working again. But unemployed people or disadvantaged people must get basic health care. That is the only morally right thing. Almost every nation in the world provides this option. They provide the care they can afford.

Clearly some people are arguing without thinking. Yes people can take individual responsibility if health care was affordable. Compare health care costs to all other costs an individual comes across in their life in America. The health care costs are quite unnatural and happens only in America. Remember, your trip to a dentist costs as much as your sofa set. If your insurance is not paying most of us could hardly afford to see a doctor.

Unrecognized

The airport authorities did not recognize Shahrukh Khan at the Newark airport. This is highly unlikely. Newark airport definitely has a lot of Indian employees and there might have been quite a buzz about Shahrukh Khan. To grill him for two hours because his name is Khan as a routine goes to show what other people with the name Khan must be facing. I sincerely doubt that Newark airport grills every Khan thus. It is time to find out who are the people behind trying to cut King Khan to size. Its quite childish.

The movies

The movies finally have no resemblance to real life. In the past movies were weird but there were a few sensible ones here and there. But now all of them have gone real fiction. Its almost like the movie makers are afraid of honest to good real life.

Obvious

Releasing Suu Kyi means the end of Junta. They will never do that. Suu Kyi has to set herself free. If she cannot do that she is not fit to lead. Such is life.

The spousal question

The wife of a successful man gets paraded around. In fact if someone asks about a man's wife he might be mighty pleased. Somehow women have a tougher situation about blending a husband with a job. Women like to disassociate the family from career perhaps fearing that they may appear unprofessional. More so because women in general are obsessed with family and relationships.

Health care

Almost every country in the world has health care provided by the govt. That is the sign of civilization. There will be public funded orphanages, old people's homes, and hospitals every time there is a civilized society. Private health care is usually better than Government hospitals but then they have to compete. And why not? After all they charge a whole lot of money. President Obama is on the right track. Choose what works best for you, a govt health care, or private care, or both as situation demands it. A robust private health care system with a minimal government one is what Americans should aim for. But right now private health care is quite minimalistic considering the money they charge for there are no alternatives. The only ones who will not like this plan should be the insurance companies. Health care is one of the primary reasons Americans work apart from housing. Removing this reason will encourage unemployment. Depending on free goods and services is never good.

Following your heart

The debate against discrimination against women is good. Women feel united in the experience. But discrimination never stopped people from achieving what they want and sometimes helped fire ambition. Following your heart and being passionate about things you do will see you through the rough times. And most often than not you leave people who bothered you so far behind that the rough times do not matter anymore. Discrimination is competition. Look carefully and what you think was discrimination is usually competition among women. And if you want the good jobs then you need to compete. Sometimes as a woman you are treated more than fairly and sometimes poorly. The dynamics between man and woman is complex and let it stay so. It is good to discriminate between man and woman else society will face real serious problems. Its best to follow your heart and do what you think you can do best. Everything falls in to place in the end.

Spreading out

People understand trade and do not like tirades. Trade and war are languages understood across cultures. It is good America is reaching out to many countries they did not care about before. All parties involved will benefit and that is quite clear. The pretenses are distracting. Diplomats must learn to stick to clear goals like mathematicians.

Creativity

The slogan these days is "Study, study, study". In America it is about getting better at math than chinese and Indians. In India and elsewhere it is about getting more people to do PhD. The jobs that did not require PhDs now are demanding it. This is true about most jobs. Apart from learning to read and write, education if it is not self driven, serves little purpose. There is no need to spend years learning to read and write. It is better to tap in to ones creativity and do what one likes best. Formal education system eliminated apprenticeship where one learned to be a carpenter, metal worker etc. and did nothing to replace it with a better system. Community colleges provide some sort of relief for this problem but is not enough. The mass is on a wild goose chase.

When in doubt

When in doubt its best to behave like you think is best. Bending over in all directions is not going to help. Some people say if you do this I am going to like you or not like you. But the loudest voices usually do not count at all. Such is life.