Sunday Talking Heads

Yeah, yeah, yeah.
It is a day of worship - Chris Mathews, McLaughlin Group, Meet the Press, etc. There are some days when I'd like to put Eleanor Clift's little brain inside a garlic press.
-Pause-
I just spent about an hour crafting something clever and pithy. It was too clever. It was shit to read.
So, instead, I'll leave you with that image of Eleanor Clift and the confession that her voice gives me the same feeling as fingernails going down a chalkboard.

Bless me Father...

It has been more than a year since my last confession. It has been a lifetime...another life.
I find myself back in Florida. Been here, in fact, for a few months. Dithering away. Fiddling while Rome, er, Bangalore burned.
Contract issues and some other rot have kept me stateside. Not a bad deal if I knew beforehand that I would be here this long. Long droning story. However, not a long droning story about how ethically I've been handled.
My life, for what it is worth, was happening in B'lore. Tragically hip. Filled with all sorts of opportunities and pleasures. I am suppossed to get back there in October as long as I do not have a fiscal breakdown (or some other unforseen crisis).
Like I said...droning.
It has been a while since I last posted. That has been for numerous reasons. I guess the biggest one is that I was too busy living meaningful days to write about living meaningful days. Now that my wheels have been spinning for a while, maybe I can vent my spleen. As King of the Mixed Metaphor, I need an outlet for my current strain of angst.
Now I'm off to say a few Our Fathers and a couple of Hail Marys.

Angst for the memories...

It is four in the morning in NYC. Paper bundles are being delivered. The bakeries are running full bore so they can deliver by 6 am.
I can smell the fresh coffee. I can smell the baked Italian bread. I can hear the gentle drizzling rain as it lightly glistens the sidewalk and streets in the spring, in the city.
Of course this scene is all in my mind.
In reality, I've got the AC running (more for air quality than coolness), I'm taking five at my desk in my office. Now this is not a downside, as I've made my relocation back to Bangalore in India after a several year absence. So much has changed, but the character seems to have survived nicely.
After two weeks, I am still not settled in domestically, and my business life is still learning on a curve as I've got to marry up to the new client database. Lots of new names and faces to learn. But it has been wonderful to see the old faces again.
See you at Cafe' Coffee Day.

Onus Envy

"Well, mine is..."


So long Dan. Onus Probandi was not on your side. In short - You were a tool.

I'm Just Sayin...

Schadenfreude

While I was driving home to Florida, after securing my visa, I heard the good news.
The number one shitstain in Iraq (I will not include the bastard's name) was no more.
He was dead, deceased, kaput, no longer living, deprived of life, inanimate, no longer current, put out, extinguished, defunct, sterile, inoperative, shuffled off this mortal coil. It was suicide by ordnance - a pair of non-improvised explosive devices.
This good news was followed by Iraq's final cabinet positions being filled. Surely, there couldn't be more.
Today there was.
He did not go peaceably into the night. He suffered. He had witnesses.
I have shamat. I have Schadenfreude.

Chale Chalo

Had my run at the Indian embassy this past week in D.C. In fact, I need to make another go of it this coming Tuesday to pick up my visa.
The downside is having to drive from Florida north, back to Florida and now all over again.
I'll own up to a feeling of impending dread about it. I'm waiting to hear that something is amiss and the visa isn't ready. It isn't like I can call up and ask about the status over the phone. They never answer any of the multiple lines they have; nor do they respond to the recorded messages that you leave.
And so I drive...
The process itself wasn't bad. The line moved fairly quickly. It helped that a American-Punjabi girl sat next to me and kept me company while we waited. She was absolutely adorable. We chatted about Bollywood films and who our favorite actors were. She was big on Kajol while I favor Rani. We mutually agreed on the Big B.
Then my turn came up and I was out the door within 10 minutes. The only issue remaining was the pickup on Tuesday.
Once I retreive the damned thing, I have to head south and finish everything else I need to do quickly. I'll have four days befor my departure.

Stop that! You'll go blind

It seems that the US Senate is oh so very pleased with itself over its "comprehensive" immigration bill. One of the major concerns was about "Criminalizing" illegals.
I said that right - "Criminalizing" illegals.
If someone is cited with the preface "illegal," wouldn't you presume that criminal activity was already a given?
They want to make it illegal to dig a tunnel under the border controls. Excuse me. Isn't that already against the law? How about robbing a 7-11? Want to criminalize that?
I've known for a long time that the American standard of English was under assault by tremendously lazy users in a grander society. Not that my grasp of the language is profound, but it may be better than some. However, this dumbing down pushed along by political correctness and popular culture now seems to be affecting legal language.
Remember "Ban Intolerance?"
The Senate has just taken part in this grandiose masturbatory exercise that is amazingly called reform. It is a painful selection of words proudly proclaiming amnesty for illegal migrants, impotent border enforcement, larger criminal presence in our society, greater drain on our "safety net," and general disrespect for our laws in general. Bravo!
If the identity theft, social security fraud and $20 billion dollars funnelled out of the country annually doesn't disturb you, what will? Perhaps a foreign head of state coming here to criticize the use of our own military in our own country, our immigration policies and ...oh. Fox was here yesterday.
Mexico does not want to reform its culture of corruption. It wants to unduly influence our domestic policies and agenda. It is (without doubt) dangling an oil coated carrot and stick in out face while whispering the name "Chavez" in certain circles. All the while, it is getting rid of hundreds of thousands of its underclass by printing up brochures telling them how and where to cross into sovereign US territory.
If they die...damn you George Bush!
Were it not for the US government's complicitness in the matter, their behavior could be deemed hostile. The list of affronts is very long and very troubling.
Now with Fox soon to be out of office, the US has a lot more to be concerned about. Who will take the helm - leftists or the right-wing. Neither will be of any real service to its northern neighbor. For some reason, when nationalists take over a country, there is cause for celebration, unless the Americans act nationalistic. That is arrogance.
Remember boys and girls, Mexico is our friend. Just don't drink the Kool-Aid.
So when the US Congesss proclaims the 12-17 million illegals in this country to be legal, remember that they can then petition to have x-number of their family members to come in as well. What are we talking here? An extra 30 million? This will be all legal. Not that that seems to matter to anybody.
So have a smoke America and don't forget to wipe the headboard.

The Thing That Wouldn't Leave

I remember a Saturday Night Live skit from the original series. John Belushi shows up at someone's house, invites himself in and just takes over the place, ignoring all efforts to show him the door. He sat on the middle of the couch, ate sloppy food, asked for more beer, played the telivision too loud, etc. Disregarding his hosts protestations, he overstayed his welcome. He greedily continued to take advantage of his hosts hertofore generous offerings. Seemigly, without end.
Pretty damned funny, right?
Now I have lived and worked a great deal of my life on foreign soil. I am, in fact, in the middle of doing so yet again. I know I shall have certain limitations on my sovereign rights because they differ every time the flag changes. So I have played by the rules in the past and shall do so again.
It has never been an issue really. I appear to have taken a lesson from my childhood, in that, I would go to a friend's house and the rules, language and so forth would be different from my own home. The reason being is that a good half of my friends were immigrants or 1st generation Americans. It was eye-opening.
The lesson in game parlance: the house deals.
Anyway, I learned a vital lesson then. Whenever I go to a foreign land, I am obviously a big, white, English speaking American, but I respect the house that I am in. I find out as much as I can beforehand and try to apply whatever is appropriate, when appropriate.
I am always (and will always remain) the outsider. No problem. I take it as an honorific. I am the guest. As such, I give respect to the house (country) by observing the rules that apply (often only to foreigners). It is the price of admission.
By learning what I am allowed and what I am not, I am perceived as paying respect to them and their hospitality (singular, local or national). I must admit that I, at times, have been given special dispensations due to being the "gora," "farang," "gui lao" or "gringo." However, once cautioned, I was expected to comply as best as I could. And so I did.
In this, I learn something new every single day. I learn about myself, what it means to be an American and about the place and people that host me. In this, I become better. In this, perhaps, they understand Americans a little better. In this is the seed for greater understanding.
Now comes the reality check. These migrant bastards (so many of them here illegally) that protested May 1st, waving foreign flags on my soil need to go. They do not respect my house. That house is an American house with American rules and they showed up uninvited. Then they take advantage of American generosity.
Those here legally are welcome at my table.
Those folks that claim ancestral rights (LMFAO!) better have their family tree pretty well laid out because many of them are claiming continental sovereignity. There was no monolithic nation here prior to the Europeans arriving. Their ancestral rights might be more applicable to present-day Honduras, Peru, or Chiapas (that is, if they are 100% native). It can also be claimed that the decendants of the American Southwest pretty much still live in the American Southwest.
Some of these folks may indeed have the proper lineage, but why then were so many carrying signs written in the language of the barbarian, genocidal invaders (clue: not English)? Hmmm. Should they all go back to Costa del Sol? Please. These claims of "Our Land Was Stolen" need to change to what this is really about - "You got yours. I want mine (and yours)."
When you invite someone into your house, you expect certain things. First, you expect only those invited to show up. You expect them to accept only what you offer. You expect them to be courteous. You expect them to do nothing to upset you - you know - have appropriate manners. You expect them to offer help in cleaning up (you'll decline but appreciate the offer nontheless). Then you expect them to leave (without the silverware).
Of course, you continue to invite people into your home. You continue to be a gracious host.
Some bring beer, wine or dip. Others bring flowers. What you do not expect is an invasion of parasites proclaiming squatter's rights. Make no mistake about it. This is squatter's rights.
A bunch of people arrived in America's living room May 1st, took a steaming dump, laughed and said "You can't do a damned thing about it?"
More to follow later, I have to go or I'll gnaw off my own arm.

Pass the chutney please

I like to listen to online radio while I work. This allows for me to listen to my New York City local radio (which I very much miss while driving) as well as the BBC Asian Network which is somewhat of an addiction.
I have, this past year, developed a fancy for the Sonia Deol program. I have, as the slogan goes, "Switched to Sonia." She has a chat program that combines a nice bit of news, Indo-Brit pop and general chatter which is a great diversion from an otherwise bleak assortment of vanilla formulaic programming.
It isn't that other programs stink. Hardly. It is just that sometimes I need a bit of masala with my brain food. Sonia, so the bio goes, is a Birmingham girl from a South Asian family background (get it? Asian network.) ergo, a bit of the subject matter covered is South Asian oriented. Her cohorts, Sohail and Sonal, make for great banter and the humor can get near to wicked.
For those of you who find a woman's tone to be important, let me say one word - delicious. Having recently put a face to the voice - wow. She just happens to be a doll too. This just adds to my overall listening pleasure.
Well you can see for yourself: http://www.bbc.co.uk/asiannetwork/sonia_deol/?focuswin
There are several shows on the network that I'll listen to but Sonia's efforts bring me the greatest rewards.

Squatters Rights

We can now look back with hindsight on the events of May 1st. For myself, looking back is to revisit seething anger. Betwixt the American and Mexican flags were the "This is our land" and "This Land Was Stolen" ad infinitum posters.

This declarative begs a question or two. The land was stolen by whom, when, and it it belonged to which group (not those on the streets of Chicago or LA).
If we were to follow this particular vein of thinking, pray tell, where would these people be sneaking into then - not Canada, because that particular piece of geography was stolen from the Mohawks, Aleuts, etc.

Wait! Which groups came from the southwest US? Perhaps those claiming aboriginal rights did not hail from there in the first place. For instance, perhaps those coming from Ecuador should be invading Peru?
Then there is the whole percentage bit. How much Spaniard blood is acceptable? Listening to the rhetoric of boycott organizer Javier Rodriguez, the United States and Europeans committed genocide and have been parasites. Hmmm.
This is an extension of "We Are America?"

We cannot forget all of the sympathetic "Hate Bush" crowd. No protest is complete without them
Mixed messages? Not at all. I got the message loud and clear.

RICOH Suave

Today is the day of the Great American Boycott, Nothing Gringo Day and "A Day Without an Immigrant."
Mierda del toro!
First off. This smacks of the same intellectual dishonesty as in the film "A Day Without a Mexican." This was a funny movie. Perhaps not so intentionally. The film put forth the notion that everyone with a Spanish background disappeared and California was in tatters. The end result being that the day ended and even the Border Patrol was putting out the welcome mat. This celluliod detritus implied that all the folks named Gomez are Mexican.
*Insert the aforementioned by-product del toro here.*
Now fast forward to today - May 1st 2006. What we have to clear up here is semantic. This is not "A Day Without Immigrants." To be proper, it is "A Day Without Illegal Migrants." You see, the argument about these people being "undocumented" is fallacious. This would equte with the Minutemen in Arizona, New Mexico, Texas and California being "undocumented Border Patrol agents." They are also not to be confused with immigrants because a large amount of them only want to make as much money as they can and go home to live off their dollars.
Even the new fangled Especial Anthem ends with "Somos Latinos." Those signs that were handed out for weeks state "We are America!" None of them said "We are Americans."
However, I will not stand by and allow myself to be labeled anti-immigrant. I was raised in a city that was majority immigrant. My first love was a foreign born refugee. More than half of my closest friends and definately the women I've had relationships with in my life (that adds up to a lot of ... years) were born on foreign soil. I have two sisters-in-law who are foreign born. My sisters' husband is foreign born. All arrived here legally.

And isn't it a damned shame that this spate of name calling mandates that arguments begin with "some of my best friends are..."
It is a shill game.
America is great because of the influx of "others." However, this is not France and mobs do not make the law. Congress makes the law. Mobs seemingly break those laws. At the very least, mobs defy those laws.
Ergo, they act illegally. Cogito they are criminals.
Let us take a quick look without moral equivalence or emotional sleight-of-hand.
Fact: The migrants are here illegally.
Fact: They do not all pay taxes.
Fact: Those that do using false identification, social security numbers and so forth, are committing a form of identity theft.
Fact: Money earned here is being funnelled back to Mexico - the largest source of revenue second only to the Mexican oil industry.
Fact: The most properous country in the world has a porous border with a corrupt third world nation that encourages people to leave.
Mexico wants these people to keep going to the US as sort of a pressure release. What loss is 300 thousand highschool dropouts to El Fox? It keeps that government from having to make radical reforms.
My own notions regarding the dispute: 1) Stop the hemorrhaging at the border by shutting it down "like an Iron Curtain." Build a very large wall from the Gulf of Mexico to Imperial Beach. This would provide a lot of jobs in areas of the US with high unemployment rates. We could add irony to insult by using some of those unemployed former East Germans who made the other "Wall." Perhaps some H-1 Visa Israeli engineering students could intern there.
2) Consider using the RICOH laws to punish business owners who encourage illegality by hiring these criminals in "solidarity." It is conspiricy, is it not? To show we are not without heart, we should promise to put them in the same prisons.
3) Promote more rallies. Hire more deputies to round up illegals at said rallies and process them for deportation. Use shuttered military bases if you run of of room.
4) Change the 14th Amendment so as to end "Birth Tourism."
5) Fine and/or impeach politicians who promote voting by non-citizens. RICOH Suave!
6) Now that the border is secure. Promote the hell out of legal immigration.
All in all, I do not want the rally to be a one day thing. I am for making "A Day Without Illegal Migrants" an everyday thing.
This is a subject I shall return to. In the interim, pass the chimichangas.
Somos Latinos? Well, some are; somos not

Far Too Easy

You may have seen this (or something similar) and wondered what the fuss was about.
Allrighty then. I'll share.
Find Michael Jackson in the photo.
I'll give you a clue - He is not the visibly black individual with the hooded children.
That is right - He is the one dressed like an Arab woman.
You cannot condemn a man for being unusual. You cannot even condemn a man for being bizarre. You can, however, condemn a man for inflicting his torturous behavior onto "his" children.

A Nation of Mutts

I've been away from this blog for more than three weeks. Anybody notice? Anybody care? Hello!
Yeah, I fell off the planet. It isn't because there is a lack of things to write about. It isn't because I am no longer pissed off enough to vent my spleen online any longer. It isn't even because I am in a tempestuous relationship which commands my attention (well..sort of).
I will own up to being in the final throes of an existential-level move.
Huh?!?
Well, I shall be back in India in a few weeks and I am basically shutting down (for now) my U.S. domestic life. I'm keeping my home and such, but I am selling (or sold) vehicles, giving away clothes et. al. because I shant be here. I'll be in Bangalore eating dosa to my heart's content.
Why the move? Well, simply put, I fell in love with India a few years back.
I've lived in and worked around the Asia Pacific region on and off over (dare I say it?) the past 20 years. The passion has its roots in my childhood. It is a great region to live and work in. However, I was not prepared for India held in store for me. What initially brought me there and what I found is a long, albeit interiesting, story for another time. Suffice to say that India is like nothing else I've encountered.
Having said that, I shall be updating my profile and so on. I shall be addressing the 800 lb. gorilla - outsourcing (which I support wholeheartedly), the US-India marriage and...well, let us just say I shall be dealing with my geography more.
Being the nationalistic sort, I'll admit that I believe the direction that the US and India are pursuing is going to benefit both countries well into the 21st Century. The arranged marriage between the world's oldest democracy and the world's largest is going to be of historical significance as the global paradigm shifts beneath our feet. We are witnessing, if you care to see beyond the length or your nose, these two secular giants push the global democracy and cooperation agenda forward.
As an American, I am proud. I am profoundly happy to feel as if I have even a clue as to what direction the world is heading. The synergistic energy which propelled the US into the preeminent position it finds itself in today is based on global knowledge which asserted itself on American shores. That knowledge comes from Americans, hyphenated and homegrown, with global DNA who use their different backgrounds to solve puzzles and meet challenges here in this nation of mutts. THAT is synergy.
The world has already begun to, as Thomas Friedman put it, "flatten." The US needs to address the source. We need to be more proactive. We need to reach out to find a global partner that is simpatico. And we did. India. Go down the list.
So I may be a bit spotty over the next month. I'll try to keep it as a personal goal. we shall see.

Casseur ibn DeGaulle

Well, my postings regarding the riots in France earlier this year needs an additional comment or two. In light of the recent activity by French students, the earlier problematic behavior by disenchanted Muslim youth proves to be rather French indeed. Perhaps they are adjusting to the French lifestyle after all.
After reading several news stories and commentaries, I had to sit back and shake my head. I don't get it.
A recent article by the BBC stated that "Hundreds of thousands of people - mostly students - have taken to the streets in France for a second week of protests against the controversial new employment contracts."
Their plight? The government won't tuck them in anymore. They want a powerful government to give them everything or they will shit on everything for everybody else. Very French.
“All it could take is one careless spark for this howl of existential anxiety to explode,” went the article.
I do not mean to relish in the woes of the French...but part of me does. It has to do with their inferiority complex. Right. Inferiority, not superiority. I mean that in the sense of "Me thinks thou doth protest too much." The French complain about everything and blame the Anglo-American hegemony for it all while they are at it. They claim to be so civilized while they burn shit to the ground.
If you remember, they offerred to buy back New Orleans because they have a more tolerant society. What a yuck that was. Of course there are still issues in the States. People are people. However, the overt racism in Europe makes the US look like we are all sitting around a campfire together. NIMBY? Please!
I guess I would not revel in it so much if their juvenile petulance was not equal to their determination to block anything put forth by the States. Jesus wept! Their general lack of gratitude is nothing new. The iconic DeGaulle was an egotistical douche bag. He could have screwed up a wet dream. Forget war plans. The post-WWII France? Can we say "Anti-American agenda" any louder?
Yet, I'll admit that I like France. However, to paraphrase a buddy of mine "But there are too many French people there." I have French friends and we agree to disagree on a plethora of issues. We get along fine. I would even enjoy living there, I'm sure. I like the wine, language and cafe' society for sure.
Unfortunately, the thing that that stands out from my last sojourn there was a petite, young American girl being knocked down by a 20-ish Frenchman running around a corner, then her being ignored by him as he sped off after being momentarily inconvienenced.
Yes. All those ill-mannered, ungrateful Muslims rioting in the Paris suburbs. Seems to me that matches the French notion of liberty and fraternity all too well. After all, the seed for the Islamic Revolution in Iran was germinated there. So was the Bolshevik one for that matter.
As Caroline Wyatt sublimely stated in her BBC story "To the barricades, they went, these revolutionaries, to fight for their rights - to pensions, mortgages and a steady job. Such odd revolutionaries. No heartfelt cry to change the world, but a plea for everything to stay the same. For France to remain in its glorious past: a time of full employment and jobs for life - a paternalistic state to take care of them from cradle to grave."
I guess I just don't get it. If a government is powerful enough to give you everything, they sure as hell are strong enough to take all you've got. I guess that is why some things in the US are "self evident."

Absence makes the heart what exactly?

Been absent for two weeks. Took some time off on the Gulf side of Florida - Tampa-St. Pete. Saw an old friend and some family - sis and mother. It felt nice to be back on the road (for what it was).
I like new terrain. I like the feeling of not having been on a road before; not knowing what lies beyond the next bend, light, corner or hill.
I look forward to the next time.
It did, however, leave me with a sort of liberation hangover. I returned to my humble abode spent. I had nothing to give. I guess it has been a form of depression.
You see, I am on the verge of a great (as in substantial) move. It is a move of distance and duration and it has me in a bind. Time is speeding by at breakneck speed and I have so much left to do. This pace is in no way matched by my deeds and the drag it produces brings me way down. I want it all cleared away so I can begin this next chapter quickly but ...

Crow Chutney

Must begin with what I believe is grounds for a retraction on my previous posting. I was all over the Bush in South Asia program. I read many of the online papers and gobbled up tons of images that poured from the event. Yes, even the "Kill Bush" image.
This is the point I sought to retract. At least, I shall judge this in need of retraction with the same faith I had put into the source's veracity. It was a news feed. Simply that. An image along with many others that accompanied the US president in India - protests that were taking place all across India.
This is where today's venting comes from. The image was cropped so that "Kill Bush" was clearly evident. Checking out the hundreds of others showed none of the same. They did, however, show countless images of "Killer Bush." That, my friend, is merely free speech - an expression of inference, not expression of intent.
The protests were anti-US, anti-Bush, anti-globalization and anti-capitalism. What they weren't were calls for execution (albeit there were burnings in effigy). They were not incitements to riot (albeit violence did occur). They were still, clearly, filled to the brim with intolerance. But, you know what? Free speech is kinda like that - all messy and pointed and putting people on edge sometimes.
I feel much better about India today.

Dosa Intolerance

Well today I received a bit if a jolt. I was caught off-guard I suppose. It was something I did not expect to see. I was checking the news from Bangalore and caught some of the country-wide anti-bush protests. Yes, there it was - a banner that included "Kill Bush."
How original.
What an Einstein it must have taken to come up with that catchy slogan. All that was needed was a slightly off construction and spelling of a sentence utilizing a variation on the word fuck. Ha! The week is young.
I know I should not be so put off by this. This is, after all, the world's largest democracy. I know protest is protest, but this level of intolerance is enough to make me cry.
I know the anti-Bush protest across the country engaged a lot of the communist/socialist and Islamist-types. I'm sure there were moderate mozzies and plenty of others in the mix too. However, when I see "Kill (fill in the blank)," I have to hang my head whether it is in shame or sad resignation. This takes a special kind of social retardation. Maybe they grew up in a room of peeling lead paint?
India is a lot like the US in this matter. We produce a Lincoln. We killed him. India produces a Mahatma Gandhi. They kill him. Hell, lots of folks named Gandhi were murdered. Not to be outdone, the US produced some Kennedys to kill.
The two countries have given its citizens just enough liberties with which to off themselves (others too). Some elect to take up the gauntlet, yelling "everyone is free to choose but my group will choose for everybody."
Ignorant bastards. They're everywhere.

CoulterGeist

I cannot claim originality regarting the title here. I had Googled "Coulter" yesterday in order to find a certain item I had seen in the past which lampooned Ann Coulter and caught "CoulterGeist" as a tagline. Hadda go there.
Coulter is quite the polarizing figure. I happen to fall on the side of those who absolutely love her. She has a rapier wit and a fearlessness which must be witnessed (and admired). I have always loved smart, assertive women (even if I disagree with them). Damn you Emma Peel!
She also seems to love all of the negative (visceral) responses she leaves in her wake. I have to laugh as well, especially when I see all of the men, suppossedly in touch with the feminine, when confronted by such a woman. How dare she be smarter, better looking and funnier than some of the harpies and (girlie)men that jump through hoops in a vein attempt to put her down.
Her books sit (read) on my bookcase. Her columns arrive (and get read) in my email account. Her appearances in various media are eagerly awaited and tremendously enjoyed. I know I'll get to laugh at her (often outraegeous) jibes and enjoy the view.
Love her or hate her. She make the intelligent think, laugh and get outraged. She makes the reactionary earn their monikers. She makes the insipid left sit in their own fetid juices and stew.
I'm just sayin...

Guess Who

When I first saw this image in the news a question hit me soundly -


Is this the new Hamas Prime Minister or is it George Clooney leaving the BAFTA Awards?