The Global Guilt is not helping the under-developed societies like Africa

How and why the US and the other 'white powers' help the black of the southern hemisphere! A global 'white' guilt is being exploited by the political powers of the west with vested interests in the resource rich land known for its diamonds and yet to be exploited oil. The pre-recession era of the west was a place which had more money and less happ'y'ness. It is mostly a 'persuit' of this happiness that has been driving the white upperclass of rich nations to do charity in godforsaken lands like Africa (and India, recently even more after the success of Slumdog Millionare) and when charity comes so easy everyone joins hands to contribute. Giving away a day's burger can buy education for a girl in Africa some say. The charity is good but the problem is that the effort ends just there. No follow ups are made by most people, they trust their govenments which shows them impoverished faces with smiles and a bright colored flag on their favorite TV channels.
Movies like 'Black Diamond' are rare and though appreciated they fail miserably to excite the fancies of most. The west has been able to get to what it wants on most occasions. Many African governments are formed by the consensus of a 'white board' mostly populated by US and UK diplomats. If a couple of 'talks' and a donation of the surplus money of its nation can buy a land rich in resources, who would say no? The situation in a few other countries was similar. The west had an overwhelming interest in their resources and what followed was Afghanistan, Iraq, Vietnam, etc. In these places the society had a tougher political structure and a resilient army to involve in a fight-back. Africa, sadly, has been slow to evolve to be a strong resistance (or terrorists as they are mosty referred to by the west for most other cultures) and centuries of oppression and slavery could be blamed for this.
How is India and the subcontinent different, now? Drastically! We have emerged as important players in the economic scene of the world, have an intimidating armed force and a global presence (even a couple of Indians helping Obama frame laws for America!). It is another thing that most important resource of India is 'Human' and it is in the best interest of the west to reap the benifits of the human resource that is reared by the Indian Government and works for them! A colony (or colony like establishment like in Iraq and many parts of Africa) would result in weakening this important resource. The 'Slumdog' is infact bailing out the west out of these tough times in many ways.
Post recession things have changed. The west is no longer happy and no longer rich (like it was before). Most charities have dried up as even the big corporates who wanted to gain some SRI (Socially Responsible Index) points are now shying away from donating to the poorer continents.
So, the big question is, "Can money relieve the situation or is something else needed?" The answer is not simple but a number of measures like political influence, physical engagement, representation of these countries in the world forums/culture, development of industries inside Africa and a genuine support for the existing ones can make a big difference to the current situation.
How would Obama be different? Being a black and all he's expected to bring about a sea change to the situation not just in America but in the world (or the 'world' of America at least!). But, quite frankly, how black he really is? Obama is, first, an American citizen who has lived his life like one. His political career is not motivated by the evils against the blacks (something that motivated Martin Luther King) but rather the equality that he's enjoyed for major part of his life. A comparison which is often drawn is that of Mayawati aka Behenji. The parallel, unfortunately, lies just in the heads of a few media folks and is far from being a ground reality. A dalit, girl child in rural parts of India suffers much more than the 'black American citizen' of modern times can even imagine. She has been a champion of equality and life for the dalits in India and if continents like Africa have to come up with the modern society they need many more leaders like her rather than a philanthropic monetary effort as an outcome of a guilt which has always pressed the white population of the world pre-recession.

5 Observations

I went to Mumbai today for some work, and here are some interesting observations:
* 2 blind beggars in a Mumbai local singing "Darshan do Ghamshyaam.. "; 1 of whom was wearing a "digital" wrist watch
* A piece of newspaper or magazine with a shoe polish wala at CST station read - "India Shinning"
* The series of hoardings at Fame Cinemas, at Raghuleela Mall were as follows - 8x10 Tasveer, Barah Aana, Confessions of a Shopoholic, International, Fast & Furious 4, and "LK Advani". (wonder if BJP has even come up with a movie as a part of their election campaign)
* There were Streetlights lit on a particular locality at 6 pm, when there was sufficient sunlight and no lights at another at 8 pm when it was pitch dark.
* At one of the traffic junctions, a kid came up with a small bowl covered with a Obama's pic and the heading "Obama for Change" and the only thing that came to my mouth is "No Change".

THE OBAMA DECEPTION

Obama has become a synonym for good leader and a new inspiration for the youth world-over. I happened to come across a friend, whose excuse for not being interested in the coming General Elections is because we don't have someone like Obama as Prime Minister candidate.

In international relations theory, the term "new world order" refers to a new period of history evidencing a dramatic change in world political thought and the balance of power. However, in conspiracy theory, the term "New World Order" (the capital letters are distinguishing) refers to the advent of a cryptocratic or totalitarian world government.

Just released in the US, Alex Jones's The Obama Deception, is a hard-hitting film that completely destroys the myth that Barack Obama is working for the best interests of the American people.

The title of this film is slightly misleading because it is not a film about Obama per se, his questionable character, or even the legitimacy of his presidency in light of the questions surrounding the true origin of his birth. It does cover some of his campaign messages/promises and his subsequent reversals upon assuming office.
The film tries to establish that the international banks are planning to loot the people of the United States and turn them into slaves on a Global Plantation.

Click to watch the trailer

So yet another of those interesting conspiracy theories that I love watching. Waiting for it to release in India or atleast to grab a DVD.

Political parties trying to ride the youth wave

Within hours of taking the oath, the President of United States of America, Barack Obama, launched a new version of www.whitehouse.gov . The message was clear, the new president is tech-savvy and knows that so is the electoral college which voted for him. The new website has features like announcement about his government's policies, his government's opinion on important issues, the agenda, a peek into the administration side of things, etc. Besides these there is the presidential blog. One of the most amazing features of the site is that the users are allowed to vote and comment on important issues and their votes and opinions are taken into consideration while formulating any law for the land. The people of US also get to subscribe to their President's youtube channel, RSS feeds from his blog, streaming video of his speeches and a lot more.
This is an expected move from a young President from a country where the depth of Internet connectivity is such that almost all its citizens are touched by the Web 2.0 phenomenon and are using Internet not just for sending emails but in all areas of their lives.

Things are quite similar in India even when Internet penetration is nothing compared to the First world countries (we are the first democracy to have electronic voting machines remember?). The 'great India election' dates were announced just a couple of days back but the ads campaigns have started long back for most political parties. BJP has again emerged as one of the pioneers when it comes to leveraging the power of Internet to stir up the tech-savvy voters of India. Almost everywhere you point your mouse these days, Mr. Advani's face is just a click away! (He's been able to make a lot of visits to CnC as well). With Arun Jaitely again in command for the election campaign (or at least the tech side of things for now) we can only see more and more of 'Vote for Advani' ads floating in the cyberspace. With most political parties realizing that election this year would be won based on which way the youth on India swings, everyone is trying to give a 'fresh appeal' to his/her party. Congress has been projecting Rahul Gandhi (the cute dimpled, stylish and supposedly dynamic 'Rajkumar' of the congress) as the hope for the youth of India, though staying clear of any internal complexities and commotion of showing any inclination to project him as a Prime Ministerial candidate for the future. BJP, on the other hand, void of any major 'young' names as of now, is making the old (and may I add, just about one more general election left types) Advani run up to gyms and spas all over the country to pick up dumbbells. He has also been visiting colleges in BJP-friendly states like Karnataka to 'advice' them on how they can play a role in bringing about a change (by making sure that India does not 'change' its old customs, traditions and pre-conceived notions about women-in-the-pubs). In one such address here in Bangalore last week the college students were made to sit for the function who later decided to boo the 'national leaders' when they started giving out 'gyan' to the young minds; most of them opted out of the meeting to catch up with some shopping in the commercial street or a sip at the nearest CCDs.
The message is clear, all political parties are trying their level best to capture the attention of the youth of India. Many young leaders are being considered for tickets, entertainment taxes are being cut in Karnataka, in states like Uttar Pradesh and Delhi congress is conducting special recruitment drives to catch young talented political minds, BJP is flooding the cyberspace with flash ad blocks.
With campaigns like Lead India and JagoRe.com things do look better this time. If the elected Indian political scene again shows the weakness that it has long been associated with, it would be for lack of options and not a dearth of young voters. With 'Jai ho' fast replacing 'Jai Hind' in the young circles of the country, it may perhaps be time for a government that promises to do something at the grass-root level to improve the situation of the nation that is going to be and not just speak about the legacy of Indian culture and the power it used to be in the times when the world was not connected enough to know about it!

Hyundai Assurance - A Certainty in Uncertain Times

You must be aware that two of biggest auto makers in US were brought to the brink of bankruptcy last year, as auto sales collapsed amid a credit crunch and widening recession.
A recent forecast says that total auto sales will be between 10 million and 11 million units this year, which would be the industry's worst performance since World War II after adjusting for population growth.
GM was offered a loan package worth 13.4 billion dollars in December, but is expected to ask for billions more in aid in order to stave off bankruptcy.
Last week GM said it would cut 10,000 white-collar jobs worldwide this year, reducing its headcount to about 63,000. There were even reports that it would lay off 47,000 workers all over the world (excludes India thou' )and even shut down a number of factories at various places.
Chrysler was presented a loan package of four billion dollars, but it has said it hopes to secure an additional three billion in loans.
Now while everyone is looking upto President Barack Obama and his task force to steer restructuring of the economic condition and bailout the auto industry, here is an interesting commercial from Hyundai Motors.

"In times like these, buying a new car is a big commitment for most people..
So what about the company selling it to you? How committed are they?

Introducing the Hyundai Assurance.
Now finance or lease a new Hyundai; if you lose you income next year, return it to us with no impact on your credit..

A car company that stands behinds its customers
May be commitment is not so scary after all."

Overview:
Hyundai is the first automaker in the US to offer a vehicle return program that allows you to walk away from your loan or lease without having to worry about the negative equity. It lets you return your vehicle in case of certain live-altering circumstances. That's the Hyundai Assurance.

Program details:
Availability on all new Hyundai vehicles.
Availability to everyone regardless of age, health, or employment history
12 months complimentary on every new Hyundai vehicle financed or leased.
Covers up to $7,500 in negative equity

Coverage in case of:
Involuntary unemployment
Physical disability
Loss of drivers' license due to medical impairment
International employment transfer
Self-employed personal bankruptcy
Accidental death

We've got your back - isn't that a nice change?

Pratibha Patil, another 'pratima' of inaction !

Honourable President of India, Shrimati Pratibha Patil, was in Bangalore a few days back (sorry I don't remember which day it was!).

If you are one of those people who have never wished for a president like Mr. Obama, or never thought that it was important who was running the country as long as your salary was fat enough to feed your dogs, then you will continue to have presidents like Mrs. Patil who fail to make their presence felt on any platform (quite miserably). The news that the president was in Bangalore was covered by the newspapers but very few people knew about it. She was here for inaugurating some new facility of Apolo hospital. For a president as jobless as her it wont be surprising if she would be available for the inauguration of a CnC 'Guess who?' quiz!!!

Your next PM or President would have 'pratibha' or would be just another 'pratima', you decide! Jai Hind!

A Black Man occupies the White House

At around 10:30 PM last night, there was a sudden rush near the TV sets at my hostel. I wondered what it was for ?? a new episode of MTV Roadies or an Arsenal vs ManU, the telecast of STAR Screen Awards or the worst fears in the minds of every Indian, another Terrorist Attack.
As soon as I entered the room I understood that all my friends how are getting ready to dawn managerial roles in the corporate world assembled to watch Barack Obama's Swearing in Ceremony.

I thought twice but I could not recollect myself having watched Pratibha Patel's Swearing Ceremony. I asked people around and they too had similar things to say. Like me, a few had probably watched ex-President Dr. APJ Abdul Kalaam's entry into the Rastrapati Bhavan . So it boils down to the fact that at times a person or an individual attracts more attention than an event or activity.

This man is stepping into the critical position at one of the worst times in US economy. Most people in the United States and other parts of the globe are eagerly waiting to see the "CHANGE" that this man has promised to bring about. He is entering the White House with the burden of numerous hopes and aspirations for better governance and bringing radical change across sectors for the revival of the US Economy.

But then I don't know who would really serve as the best example in Indian context. If we speak about Dr. Kalaam, then yes; both can been seen as a welcome change in their respective political setup. In case of Pratibha Patil, while Obama is the first Blank Man in White House, she is the first lady to become a Rashtrapati (President). So the idea here is that CHANGES are happening in India since long.

Last General Elections we elected the first Sikh as our Prime Minister. A man who was primarily responsible for the great Indian growth story as the finance minister in 1990s was bestowed greater responsibilities.
Even the President of the Party having the highest stake in the current government is not an Indian by birth. So while America is welcoming a person from a minority Community we Indians have had moved beyond all these. We have had all the ranks in our governance held by people from diverse backgrounds and representing various sections of the society.

We have had a stage where our President was a Muslim, Prime Minister a Sikh, President of the Leading Party a Christian, whose father-in-law was a Parsi, and the leader of Opposition - a Hindu.

But then when it comes to evaluating their performance, we don't have new standards,any benchmarks or regulations. In the coming General elections we expect to vote more prudently and have a more responsible, committed politicians* at power and doing things right. All magazines are predicting that the younger generation of politicians would be the instrument of the real change. Lets wait with optimism and see how things turn out in months from now.

* I guess after the recent protests, they would soon come up with a new word to describe themselves, as "politician" has become quite a negative word these days