US and India- is anything changing?

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The recently concluded meeting ,on June 13, between US and India in Washington cannot be dismissed as another on the list of many for reason that the dialogue now includes discussion of problems OUTSIDE South Asia. The conversation can now be called "strategic" in real sense as both the countries are now in serious counsultation regarding region other than South Asia. Hence we can say that the global flavour is taking the place of the local one.

The two topics discussed are Indian Ocean Security and East Asia. The other topics include the ones where U.S and Indian interests was apparent to both the sides eg. Afghanistan but the topics still missing are the ones in which the discussion could be a little uncomfortable. Top candidate being Iran and second being Pakistan. If this partnership is to grow and flower, the strategic discussions need to extend to subjects on which the two countries have more serious disagreements.

The economic relationship also need a relook though the bilateral trade has now topped $100million. For the US,it includes India's restrictions on foreign investment, intellectual property and more recently, India's apparent move away from its internatiional tax treaties. For India the hardy perennial involve primarily visa issues.

What is required is the active and forced involvement of leaders of the both the governments and to sort out issues by visits and meetings. Hopefully the strategic part of the discussions shall be progressive in nature and shall become part and parcel of future exchanges.

Based on article Expanding Strategic Partnership, The Hindu 26 June 2012(pg no.7)

Paul Krugman and Greece

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 India License.

Paul Krugman who looks so ominously out of his picture in The Hindu(his eyes remind me of a person in trance), normally throws all his economics jargon at me,but has become more of a philosophical kind at least in the yesterday's newspaper . Thanks to the "who will bell the Greece?" game going around in Europe or I would say the world. Everyone is interested in the game but no one wants to actually win the game. Shirking the responsibility has taken a new name "memebers of Eurozone". Everyone is scared of 1931 but no one wants to actually learn from their Great grandfathers. Paul Krugman really impressed me not because he wrote something extraordinary but because it was lucid and ordinary for a laywoman like me to understand. I am really thankful to him to help me boost my ego and self-confidence, for i too will dare in future to read his column again rather than just staring back at those generously big eyes. He also draws parallel in Fed Reserve's inability to gesticulate and actually do something because everyone believes "ki yeh mera kaam nahin hai- very typical Indian PSU attitude". The unemployement figures in USA are soaring as high above as Michelle Obama(refrencing to her tallness). At the end what i understand is that Economics is nothing more than a game of knowledge coupled with decision. The absence of any of the two concepts can lead to another Greece. So are you ready to bell the cat....er Greece....

My knowledge about Paul Krugman is very sub-atomic so incase you wish to enlighten yourself go ahead and enjoy the link below........may be he inspires you....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Krugman

THRIVE ON PAIN.

Thrive on pain,

It makes sure.

You are never out of ,

supply chain.

Happiness is ephemeral,

a smiling Devil.

Wicked, wicked ....it is, as it

always tricks.

Pain, begets pain,

helps you to sustain.

Happiness preys you, eludes you,

and finally you are drained.

Hope, you don’t run after the

golden deer,

and enjoy the sermon from pain,

an elderly seer.

Dump yourself in pain,

as what is there to gain.

Brave, never lived ever after, and

so did the pessimistic traveller.

Are YOU brave enough?

to BE HAPPY.

Or another soul scared,

hiding.

Hope you get the courage,

to smile, in all situation.

Coz, it’s better to question life,

and look straight into its eyes.

Than live our all mortality,

in worthless pain.

Do, hell with your bewitching entrails’

always in mystery like the holy grail.

Pessimists are the cowards, who

romanticize pain in an arcane shroud.

Let, the pain writhe in its grave,

lament, cry and deprave.

I can fight pain,

I am not its holy slave.

I will cherish my happiness,

cause I am BRAVE.

****************************************************

P.S :The pic on top looks so much like a painting na..........but its a pic of the sky again from my terrace.........

Daily dose of Current Affairs.

1. Chandrayan-1 finds traces of water on moon. The mission which abruptly ended last month got vindicated as it collected data about presence of water molecules on the lunar surface before it was rendered useless due to high intensity of solar radiation. The moon minerology mapper (M3) a U.S supplied instrument that flew with Chandrayaan-1 also confirmed the reports.
   
2. Anil Kakodar, Atomic Energy Commission Chief (AEC) and R.Chidambaram,ex-chief AEC and presently Principal Scientific Advisor to the Union Government, clarified on thursday that the controversy surronding the yield of thermonuclear tests was unnecessary (raised by the project leader of POKHARN-II ,K Santhanam and P.K Iyengar a former AEC chairman.
   
3. Hafiz Saeed- leader of the Jamat-ud-dawa has been booked under Antiterrorism Act by Punjab Province of Pakistan, has questioned the same in the court as the antiterrorsim law is for the proscribed outfits and Jamat-ud-dawa isn't.
   
4. 13 Indian Firms make it to the Forbes Asia List including Reliance Industries, Bharati Airtel, Infosys Technologies,TCS in the top 10.
   
5. China regains FIBA-Asia (basketball) championship held at Chennai.
   
6. Ramesh Kumar of Haryana wins Bronze at the World Championship in wrestling, in Herning Denmark. He defeated Alexandr Burca of Moldova in the 74 Kg category to beocme the Ist Indian in 42 years to clinch a freestyle medal. Vishambhar Singh was the last Indian wrestler who bagged a free style medal in 1967 World Championship.

America's war on terror

Well till now i have not been able to comprehend as to why America goes poking its nose in the crevices every nation. Does it think that the rest of the world especially the developing world is not intelligent enough to maintain its own house in order.

With the biggest financial deficit of one trillion dollar and going forward to 2 trillion dollar i think USA has enough work carved out for itself. I think the nation though brags so much about its development but has not been able to give health care reforms/insurance for its own people till now. It first pays for terrorism and then make everyone else pay for it. First it gives pay check and then checks everyone till it gets a Shahrukh Khan on board. Its mind boggling the number over here we are talking about.........it just gave pakistan 1.5 billion dollar and is going to give another spate of moolah amounting to 7.5 billion dollar in the next 5 years.

Norman Borlaug

Norman Borlaug breathed his last on 13th September at a ripe age of 95. He was a scientist, a revolutionary and above all a great man. Rightly honoured with a Nobel Peace Prize for in 1970, he helped millions to fight hunger,especially India. The 'dwarf' strain of wheat (which was definitely not dwarf in any way) which he had produced found way into the stomach of millions of Indians. He was a soldier, a hunger fighter.

In a country like India where diversity and differences are so overpowering that with the name so well achieved as the back office of world and IT hub and all, she also harbours in her womb world's 1/6 th population of hungry poor.

Once while staying in a PG....... i had slept during dinner time and thus skipped dinner, the hunger pangs had kept me awake the whole night and finally i had to sit up on the bed and eat a packet of snacks which my sister had given me. That was the only night i knew hunger. I am one of the few blessed indians who don't have to go through the ordeal of thinking about hunger, and the only thing i knew about it was that my dad once told me that hunger is the best appetiser.

Thanks Norman for giving us food security and helping our country to become self sufficient in food production. Thank you M S Swaminathan, it is because of people so great like you that world's still seems a better place to live.