Thursday, November 15, 2012

When Calamity strikes

Reading latest issue of New England medical Journal I was impressed with the way Newyorkers handled a very grave emergency when the Typhoon Sandy hit them.

I imagined a few calamity situations that could hit this city of Bangalore and would like my fellow Bangaloreans to get a bit worried.

Scenarios

Massive power failure due to River Sharavathy drying up and no hydroelectric power and Raichur thermal power plant trips.

No water supply due to power pumps failing to pump water up the gradient from river Cauvery to the city

Out break of variant of HINI virus for which there is no cure and fatalities are 80%

Do we have a disaster management plan to tackle these three real possibilities?

Answer: my friends is a frightening NO
Obama Re elected

I have always been Obama's admirer. Not because I share his skin color but because of his basic qualities of head and heart. Social concerns are difficult to implement as they cost money and will be resisted by the affluent upper class [it will mean more taxes]. Spending money on welfare will necessarily mean more taxes and who will pay more taxes? Those who can afford to pay. The upper economic group. Many who belong to this group will have reached there after hard struggle and naturally will grudge the government who will ask them to pay more taxes to look after the less privileged.

Is there no other way to raise money other than taxation? There is. Our basic living style has to change. The way we now live encourages consumption and wastage. If we consume less and thus spend less we will improve savings and an economy based on savings is better than an economy based on borrowing and increased taxation. If there is less consumption what about production and what about job creation? Won't we have increased unemployment?

Difficult questions to answer. But watching wasteful living indulged by many just because they can afford,I am convinced that less consumption is the answer.

I hope USA is better off with Obama and democrats.

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Hope and Despair

Hope
It is nearly a month since I wrote about Arvind Kejriwal.Since then he has come up with some startling revelations about corruption at high places with names of the powerful personalities involved. He also said that in the present system of governance prevailing in the country these will come to nothing despite these being true.
His sole purpose appears to be to sensitize the population to the large scale wrong doing that is going on in this country and then prepare them for a peaceful revolution at election time. Will he be able to put up the right candidates to contest elections, will he have the wherewithal,  will he be able to build an infrastructure of motivated workers, and will the emasculated voters of the country wake up to his call? This is my worry and hope.

Despair
Deepawali is a festival of lights. Over the years this festival has become a festival of noise and pollution. The city's air becomes murky and the streets littered with graffiti strewn from the fire crackers. These two days
are also occasions to show off the wealth. Gift giving and taking used to be a delicate and informal affair and now it has become an affair bordering on vulgarity. Unable to personally come, the gift giver has taken to sending the gift with a courier who demands a receipt for the goods received!
I received a four page ornate wedding invitation which must have costed the sender at least two hundred rupees! Imagine the kind of money he would be spending on the actual wedding. Founder of our nation, M.K.Gandhi tried teaching us the virtues of simple living. We are doing any thing but that.
This is despair