The Thoughts Within
Universal health care is the only way America can combat obesity.
Because only then will the FDA reign in the food industry and tax / restrict unhealthy foods that makes health care expensive and Americans obese.
With universal health care and the FDA under one roof (public sector) the left hand knows what the right hand does and vice versa.
If unions have to go, so do lobbyists. They’re both collective bargaining.
The difference being that Unions represent the workers in X industry while Lobbyists represent the business owners in X industry!
Why should owners get to make their point with unity but not the workers?
One of my favorite writers Salman Rushdie speaks on what he knows best “Freedom of Speech”. Salman Rushdie is the author of numerous books, a multiple award winner & has been in hiding since the late 80’s because the Iranian Ayatollah issued a Fatwa (A Death Edict – Asking any & all Muslims who see him to kill him) against him for his book “The Satanic Verses”.
But most importantly he beautifully sums up how today “Offense” & “Respect” are being used to muffle free speech, stifle debate & undermine any criticism.
He chides Indian Congress Party leader and heir-apparent Rahul Gandhi for indulging in vote-bank politics by banning him (Salman Rushdie is an Indian born author) from attending the Jaipur Literary fest and using the issue for political mileage in the recently held UP Elections (a state with a sizeable muslim population).
See the Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNzGgYvz92s
Talk about whiners over at the AMCHA.. Can’t even take a lil criticism. People should be entitled to their opinions and being anti-zionist (Fighting the UN resolution which took Palestinian land and made it an Israeli state) is not the same as being anti-semitic.
Sanctions & embargo’s against the South African Apartheid government were tolerated and encouraged .. why can’t one even talk about it when it comes to Israel.
As Winston Churchill once said “Criticism may not be agreeable, but it is necessary. It fulfils the same function as pain in the human body. It calls attention to an unhealthy state of things.”
Read on…http://www.salon.com/2012/04/24/ucla_professor_warned_about_israel_views/
Since it’s virtually impossible to criticize the Israeli state without being branded an Anti-Semite or worse. Perhaps Anti-Zion criticism should be directed towards the UN for it’s Palestinian Partition Plan and pressure should be applied on them to roll back the plan. Since they started this mess perhaps it’s best if they resolved it.
Using the UN as the forum for resolution will also address some concerns 1. US and other western “peace brokers” are biased and heavily influenced by organizations such as AIPAC 2. Are motivated by geo-political balance of power issues i.e. It’s a resource rich region 3. Influenced by Business interests which want to keep the status quo i.e. parties that profit from the current situation will fight & stifle any change 4. Very little emphasis on the Humanitarian Agenda. The UN cannot shrug off it’s humanitarian responsibilities as easily as the US or any Nation State.
In my opinion the bid for Palestinian state membership to the UN is a crucial first step in the resolution of Palestinian – Israeli differences.
A lovely video & song created using the sounds and the imagery of the Annual Rural Olympics held in Qila Raipur, Ludhiana, Punjab.
MTV India’s Music Director Sneha, Folk Singers Sultana & Jyoti along with a melange of characters from the games give folk music a much needed make over. Using the technology & tastes of today .. They give us a folk dub-step beat with Exotic Imagery!
Check out the Music Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2PXi2wpKFM&sns=em
& here’s the making of http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X21kvYl0Mds&feature=relmfu
If History has taught us anything, it is that All empire’s will fall.
History also shows us that in hindsight the demise was obvious, power gets centralized and abused by a few while the masses suffer, till they can suffer no more and the system comes crumbling down once it loses the support of it’s foundation (the Masses).
The world’s oldest democracy is facing it’s biggest challenge yet. How to stop Billionaire’s from controlling government policies that enrich them while depriving millions of others of basic necessities. To follow the path that led the US to this point and to learn if this scenario will play out the same way in other democracies around the world… Read on..
http://www.salon.com/2012/04/01/how_billionaires_destroy_democracy/
The Two Ambani brothers are among the 5 richest people in India, & in the top 10 around the world, a country of over 1 Billion.
Together the brothers are often monopolies in multiple sectors. From Petrochemicals (Reliance) to Energy distribution (ADAG), Pharmaceuticals (Reliance) to Hospitals (ADAG), SEZ’s (Special Economic Zones- Reliance) to Infrastructure (ADAG).
If one brother does petrochemicals the other does electricity, so literally the entire energy sector’s manufacture, delivery & pricing is controlled by them. This formulae plays out in multiple other related industries.
In any other country the judiciary would already have filed anti-trust & monopoly cases against the Ambani’s. But not in India, where the judiciary tends to do what the government says, and the government tends to be in bed with industrialists. But surely the WTO would have applied pressure in time.
So how did they get away with it? What did they do? They faked a break-up!
Anyone who’s seen Indian Movies knows that one of the most common story plots used is that of warring brothers. So why mess with a time tested formula. Using this as the storyline, the Ambani brothers managed to roll out the Perfect PR Decoy.
They started to war publicly in the media and presented the case, through they’re PR departments, that the differences between the brothers were irreconcilable. Hence each had to go his own way & the company needed to be broken into 2 entities which would be completely independent of each other. The brothers even had a tacit agreement on which industries each brother would rule. Mukesh got all the old established Industries and Anil got a boat load of money (which was quite generous for warring brothers) to start companies in new Industries that Mukesh & Reliance Industries were’t already in.
Doesn’t this sound absurd?
All of Anil’s experience was gained working in those very industries with his father, Ambani Senior. Why would he abandon all his learnings to work in a new industry.
Wouldn’t you think Anil Ambani would want to prove something by beating his brother Mukesh Ambani at his own game, on the same playing field, in the same Industries using his skills to prove that he is the better manager.
But perhaps they really wanted nothing to do with each other and move on for good. Let’s see how the story fares on further inspection.
In order to believe the Ambani’s story one has to believe that the brothers & more importantly their businesses are now 2 different entities and that there is no collusion between them or their companies.
The brothers still live together in the same house. Which Billionaire does that? They were so offended with each other that it was morally acceptable for them to split their beloved father’s businesses but obviously not offended enough to move into separate houses!
Reliance Industries (Mukesh Ambani) & ADAG (Anil Ambani) have been broken up for under 10 years but already they are in business together on Infrastructure, Mining & a few other heavy investment sectors. Who knows how many businesses they will be in by 2020, I fear as many as they can get away with.
Break-up the Monopoly.
There is renewed interest in the debate on multiculturalism & whether it’s truly possible for society to be secular. Many have stated that it is a failure & the recent attacks in France have only charged the debate further.
I though am a firm believer in multiculturalism and its benefits. Opponents to multiculturalism, in my opinion, are merely slow-adapters to change (you have some of those everywhere, many were adverse to the internet!)
The dangerous & disturbing trend is how those who oppose it are resorting to violence. Whether it be far right groups in Europe or marginalized minorities in western & developing countries.
To see how the benefits outweigh the teething problems read on…
http://www.salon.com/2012/03/17/multiculturalism_can_be_saved/singleton/
BomBay before it was Mumbai. When romance was in the air and royalty walked the streets. Exotic & Amazing Bombay!!
The Great wall of china, one of mankinds greatest collective accomplishments is actually longer than initially thought.
Researchers working on the man-made structure which can be seen from space found remnants of a high wall deep in the gobi desert using google earth technology.
Read on….