Month: September 2008

On a recent transatlantic flight, a plane passes through a severe storm.
The turbulence is awful, and things go from bad to worse when one wing is struck by lightning. One woman in particular loses it. Screaming, she stands up in the front of the plane.
‘I’m too young to die,’ she wails.
Then she yells
‘Well, if I’m going to die, I want my last minutes on earth to be memorable! Is there ANYONE on this plane who can make me feel like a WOMAN?’
For a moment there is silence. Everyone has forgotten their own peril. They all stare, riveted, at the desperate woman in the front of the plane.
Then an Englishman stands up in the rear of the plane. He is gorgeous, well built, with golden hair and steel blue piercing eyes.
He starts to walk slowly up the aisle, unbuttoning his shirt. One button at a time.
…….No one moves.
…….He removes his shirt.
…….Muscles ripple across his hairy chest.
…….She gasps…
…….and he says……

‘Iron this, and get me something to eat….

T V R Shenoy writes an excellent article about the religious majority.

The Silent Majority
Their silence is letting the small brand of extremists hijack the religions.
It does not help that the religious leaders are sitting mum.
By sitting mum they are actually giving their support to these extremists.
Like a naughty children who does not get rebuked by their parents extremists are having a field day.

It is time for the religious majority to stand up and be counted.
Why do you think that the religious leaders are not taking a stand?

this article by Livemint tries to find out the reason why india has the second highest number of billionaires per unit GDP in the world.

the reason why I liked this article is because, until now I thought the threat of Oligarchy came from Judiciary. You can read my previous article attempting to highlight the risk because of too many judicial intervention in the democratic process of the country.

Amit forwarded me some nice RTI Videos. you might like to take a look at them

I wonder why in a country where there is so high level of unemployment, its so hard to get a domestic-help. Even if you are fortunate enough to be able to get one, then be prepared to treat your servant as a King. Your domestic help will take an unscheduled leave, or even abscond whenever guests are supposed to visit your home. Not only that, every third month, they would hold you at ransom and demand to increase the wages.

It cannot be a typical demand and supply problem because, esp. in metros the maids get a respectable pay… often more than what the traditional office jobs offer.

There is summary of a nice Bloomberg article that explains out how rating agencies caused this financial crisis.

The whole world is a sucker for AAA+ rating and all the world’s investment flows towards it. However the agencies that award it, claim that its their mere opinion (backed by private research). Hence they are not liable if the ratings go wrong. No wonder, most of the Mortgage bonds that enjoyed AAA ratings defaulted without any repercussions for these agencies.

In this world where everyone is believed to fend for themselves, the neighbors don’t know each other, and any conversation that lasts longer than a smile or the word “HI!” is an intrusion of privacy.

I think the biggest sign that humans beings are still a social animal is that when someone genuinely says that He/she missed you, you feel delighted and the bond between the 2 of you strengthen.

Can you imagine what the Bible would have to say if instead of the three wise men, you’d have three wise women?
You might get the following:

* They would have asked for directions.
* They would have arrived on time.
* They would have helped deliver the baby.
* They would have cleaned the stables.
* They would have brought practical gifts.
* They would have made a casserole.

But what would have happened when they left?
You’d have heard:

* “Did you see the sandals Mary was wearing with that gown?”
* “I heard Joseph isn’t even working right now.”
* “And that donkey they were riding has seen better days, too.”
* “Virgin, my a$$! I knew her in high school.”
* “That baby doesn’t look anything like Joseph.”
* “Want to bet how long it will take to get my casserole dish back?”
* “Did you see that drummer boy? He can beat my drum anytime!!!”

This wonderful blog post tries to capture the real reasons why the Fed bailed out some of the companies, and allowed the rest to fall.

Do women who lecture the world about hazards of Heavy metals like Lead/Mercury/Cadmium know what they are talking about. And if so, then why do they apply Sindhur and expose themselves and people around them with them?