The Congress government returned to power with a clear mandate in the last general elections on the Aam Aadmi plank with a promise to work for the greater good of the common Indian and the country as a whole.
Since then all the ministers have been raising the right noises about working for the people or worried about the problems faced by the man on the street etc. but somehow the ground realities are not reflecting the intention ...
1. Fuel prices have increased after the elections.
2. Food prices are at a record high with Tur/Arhar daal being sold for Rs.90 / kgs
3. Interest rates are feared to spike too.
This when most of the rest of the world is facing deflation. The idea everywhere is to stimulate demand but if prices of essential commodities rise to such levels how will people save money to invest on other commodities?
Which Aam Aadmi is this government working for? The budget laid focus on this persona increasing social outlays ( which I don't dispute ) but where is the money coming from? All the plans for economic reforms are still on the back burner though the "Left has been left behind". With rising fiscal deficit we would soon be in the mix of inflation and then how does the government plan to help the common man - by giving out more doles?
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Friday, July 10, 2009
Economic Belligerence
Over the past few days if you have been following news coming out of China sample this -
1. 4 Rio Tinto employees arrested on charges of spying in China.
2. China has closed down all mosques in the disturbed areas.
3. China suspended the words democracy, freedom etc. from the TV feeds during the Tiananmen Square anniversary
4. China being asked to support the sanctions against North Korea
and so on...
Reading the above snippets don't you get the impression that China basically does what it decides to do with nobody questioning it. My analysis - this is just because of the economic might of the country.
G8 countries made a statement yesterday that they will push for renewed call for CTBT and ensure that NPT becomes prominent again. I believe it was not so subtle a hint to India the only non NPT nation present at the meeting to get its act together and join the NPT. Without debating whether India should do so or not ( thats for another blog )I can bet that if in place of India it was China which was a non signatory to NPT the world could do nothing about it.
North Korea has been threatening the world with its missile tests, nuclear tests and aggressive posturing towards its neighbors namely Japan and South Korea. Sure it has been slapped with even tougher sanctions but its not widely known that inspite of these sanctions the North Korean economy is still growing - some estimates say by 4%. Ever wondered how is this possible? Ever wondered who is the biggest trade partner of this rogue nation?....China and it is this tacit support which is allowing North Korea to cock a thumb at all. Now the question is why is China able to get away with this? again because of the economic power it has.
In order to fund the 1 Trillion Dollars stimulus package which US has introduced the Treasury has been forced to issue more of the Treasury Bonds. These Bonds have been bought in large numbers by China. Hence if tomorrow China decides to offload these bonds in the world market, US economy could be crippled. In addition, over the years China has emerged as the factory of the world. In such kind of a situation is it a big surprise that everybody looks the other way irrespective of whatever this big nation does?
1. 4 Rio Tinto employees arrested on charges of spying in China.
2. China has closed down all mosques in the disturbed areas.
3. China suspended the words democracy, freedom etc. from the TV feeds during the Tiananmen Square anniversary
4. China being asked to support the sanctions against North Korea
and so on...
Reading the above snippets don't you get the impression that China basically does what it decides to do with nobody questioning it. My analysis - this is just because of the economic might of the country.
G8 countries made a statement yesterday that they will push for renewed call for CTBT and ensure that NPT becomes prominent again. I believe it was not so subtle a hint to India the only non NPT nation present at the meeting to get its act together and join the NPT. Without debating whether India should do so or not ( thats for another blog )I can bet that if in place of India it was China which was a non signatory to NPT the world could do nothing about it.
North Korea has been threatening the world with its missile tests, nuclear tests and aggressive posturing towards its neighbors namely Japan and South Korea. Sure it has been slapped with even tougher sanctions but its not widely known that inspite of these sanctions the North Korean economy is still growing - some estimates say by 4%. Ever wondered how is this possible? Ever wondered who is the biggest trade partner of this rogue nation?....China and it is this tacit support which is allowing North Korea to cock a thumb at all. Now the question is why is China able to get away with this? again because of the economic power it has.
In order to fund the 1 Trillion Dollars stimulus package which US has introduced the Treasury has been forced to issue more of the Treasury Bonds. These Bonds have been bought in large numbers by China. Hence if tomorrow China decides to offload these bonds in the world market, US economy could be crippled. In addition, over the years China has emerged as the factory of the world. In such kind of a situation is it a big surprise that everybody looks the other way irrespective of whatever this big nation does?
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Back to Black
I have an imaginary list of music acts I would give anything to watch. The list looks something like this - Led Zepplin, The Doors, Pink Floyd, AC/DC, Queen, Metallica, Rainbow, Deep Purple, Iron Maiden, Dire Straits, Robbie Williams, Uriah Heep, Rolling Stones, The Beatles and I am trying to get as many ticks on it as possible.
On May 22nd I was able to tick off AC/DC. The legends played the Hockenheimring and believe me they literally played the ring. I dont know how many people were there in actual numbers - the next few days I got to hear figures between 70,000 to 90,000 but one needed to be there to appreciate the scale. For better measure, S and I actually went the previous day to check how the arrangements were proceeding and to our surprise actually saw that outside the Ring people were camping and partying while inside the Ring people were busy as a bee working the long hours to get the show ready. Going the two days helped in getting the right perspective in terms of what goes into preparing a show outdoor specially by a mega band.
AC/DC was supported by The Answer ( a band which impressed ) and Claudia Cane Band ( a band which didn't impress ). We waited for hours for the band to rock but when they did all the wait was worth it. The kind of energy Angus Young brings onto the stage is euphoric. One needs to see it to believe it. The concert began with a whole frigging steam engine coming onto the stage and ended with a 30 minutes guitar solo by Angus half of which he played on top of an elevated platform, erected on a projection ramp which brought him so close to where I was standing that I could almost touch him with fireworks going all around.
Following is the setlist -
1. Rock N' Roll Train
2. Hell Ain't a Bad Place to Be
3. Back in Black
4. Big Jack
5. Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap
6. Shot Down in Flames
7. Thunderstruck
8. Black Ice
9. The Jack
10. Hells Bells
11. Shoot to Thrill
12. War Machine
13. Dog Eat Dog
14. Anything Goes
15. You Shook Me All Night Long
16. T.N.T.
17. Whole Lotta Rosie
18. Let There Be Rock
19. Encore:
19. Highway to Hell
20. For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)
It was one of those concerts where I knew each and every song. Guess so did lots of others and its one hell of an experience where thousands and thousands of people shout, sing or dance together. The show went straight to being one of the top 3 shows I have ever seen. It has such a profound effect that when I went to see The Eagles a few weeks later I had trouble enjoying the performance as AC/DC had just raised the bar way too high.
On May 22nd I was able to tick off AC/DC. The legends played the Hockenheimring and believe me they literally played the ring. I dont know how many people were there in actual numbers - the next few days I got to hear figures between 70,000 to 90,000 but one needed to be there to appreciate the scale. For better measure, S and I actually went the previous day to check how the arrangements were proceeding and to our surprise actually saw that outside the Ring people were camping and partying while inside the Ring people were busy as a bee working the long hours to get the show ready. Going the two days helped in getting the right perspective in terms of what goes into preparing a show outdoor specially by a mega band.
AC/DC was supported by The Answer ( a band which impressed ) and Claudia Cane Band ( a band which didn't impress ). We waited for hours for the band to rock but when they did all the wait was worth it. The kind of energy Angus Young brings onto the stage is euphoric. One needs to see it to believe it. The concert began with a whole frigging steam engine coming onto the stage and ended with a 30 minutes guitar solo by Angus half of which he played on top of an elevated platform, erected on a projection ramp which brought him so close to where I was standing that I could almost touch him with fireworks going all around.
Following is the setlist -
1. Rock N' Roll Train
2. Hell Ain't a Bad Place to Be
3. Back in Black
4. Big Jack
5. Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap
6. Shot Down in Flames
7. Thunderstruck
8. Black Ice
9. The Jack
10. Hells Bells
11. Shoot to Thrill
12. War Machine
13. Dog Eat Dog
14. Anything Goes
15. You Shook Me All Night Long
16. T.N.T.
17. Whole Lotta Rosie
18. Let There Be Rock
19. Encore:
19. Highway to Hell
20. For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)
It was one of those concerts where I knew each and every song. Guess so did lots of others and its one hell of an experience where thousands and thousands of people shout, sing or dance together. The show went straight to being one of the top 3 shows I have ever seen. It has such a profound effect that when I went to see The Eagles a few weeks later I had trouble enjoying the performance as AC/DC had just raised the bar way too high.
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