Mon mon

With a long and ranting speech,
given by the host.
With a great dinner - 'cept the baby seethed
with liquor flowing with "GOD?" looking on,
All in All not bad for a bored mon

Goya's Ghosts - was underrated and is totally worth a watch

Rep Mulling

So after 17 years the Liberhan Commission finally submitted its report today. I'm not going to write about the report itself as to me the real issue here is why it always take so long for these sort of reports to be tabled. For instance it took a decade an a half for the Srikrishna Comission report to be opened.

It pretty much depends on which party is currently at the center. There is no way that the Liberhan report would have ever been allowed to be submitted much less tabled at parliament if a NDA coalition was in power. Just like the Justice Srikrishna report was rejected by the BJP/Shiv Sena combine in Maharashtra in 1999.

Also, these reports are very rarely revealed, in complete, to the general public - and revealing only half the information in a report could be an extremely dangerous thing.

A question - Is it worth having a report as touchy as this (and especially something like the Justice Srikrishna report), tabled so late? Maybe all it will do is open old wounds.

Def mulling

Hahaha what a bunch of hypocritical farts. Also "Weaponised Keynesianism"!! The term hits the spot bang on! Sounds like an RATM song or something.

http://thinkprogress.org/2009/06/23/frank-f22-monopoly/

Point to note - Concerning the system of governance in the US I didn't know that House Armed Services Committee can over overrule the objections of a Defense Secretary as well as the Presidents Administration (essentially the President himself). Does this not nullify the failsafe of having an elected representative itself? Especially when you have a president with a fairly strong hold over Congress.

Also, what's the process out here? All I hear about is the delays in funding defense projects and the fact that we are very slow when in this sort of situation (which may actually be a good thing?? dunno).

Add to places to travel to

Illegal Arms market - Durra, Pakistan

Moron of a filmmaker but what a crazy market. Now that is a trip worth making.

Tiananmen Square Blues

It is a sign of the times we live in that so few people remember the Tiananmen square massacre whose' 20th anniversary would be today. Except fo the usual "we need to make this token protest - but we don't really mean it - and everyone is gonna forget about it by tomorrow anyway" stuff nothing much seems to be happening in the international communiy. The weird thing is why nobody has said a thing about why the media has been so silent on the subject.

I guess if things were different now it would sort of be ok to ignore the anniversary - but the truth is that nothing's changed since '89. China continues to have a miserable civil rights record, the Commie govt still does what it likes to the environment, what happens outside a Shanghai or a Beijing is still anyone's guess, even the actual figures and facts about what happened in Tiananmen square that day is murky. The Tibetan issue has been shot to hell and back. Hell! I recently met more than one person who did not know that Tibet had been an independent country just around 40 years back.

Actually let me correct the 'no change' bit - China's economy is booming. This has basically resulted in the governments of most countries stampeding over each other in order to kiss some Dragon ass. This has obviously resulted in most nations "suggesting" that mainstream media go easy on China. As far as Indian foreign policy on the issue is concerned it's simple - there pretty much isn't any. Ignore it ever happened and maybe China will suddenly feel for us and give up their claim over Arunachal Pradesh - HA!! What else do you expect from a bunch of old fogey babus who can barely take a stand to pee much less on an issue of concern.

Anyway, I am going to do what most well-meaning, direction-less folks do in this situation.... light up, curse, and probably hope that the times actually are a' changein'.

Kam dhanda nahi tha. And for the uninitiated, yes I am carrying a Bo.

Album Art

This is a pretty decent collection of album art considering the fact that there is a lot of really good work out there. Most of them are not that obscure though. Good to see the King Crimson and KMFDM albums on the list.

http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009/05/13/100-obscure-and-remarkable-cd-covers/

No shelter if youre looking for shade
I lick shots at the brutal charade
As the polls close like a casket
On truth devoured
Silent play in the shadow of power
A spectacle monopolized
The cameras eyes on choice disguised
Was it cast for the mass who burn and toil?
Or for the vultures who thirst for blood and oil?
Yes a spectacle monopolized
They hold the reins, stole your eyes
All the fistagons the bullets and bombs
Who stuff the banks
Who staff the party ranks

From RATM's Guerrilla Radio.

I did not cast a vote for anyone this General Election (I registered though). I am glad. Even more so because it does not matter in this fucked up system of coalition politics. With everyone sleeping with everyone irrespective of any ideology or principle.

Rip off

The crew the crew,
they danced by the light of the moo'.
With bread in their stomachs,
and dripping sweet brew,
and mud caked nails and shaggy beards,
and spent steam rising off their glinted spears,
the moon, the moon,
they danced by the light of the moon.


* I think this is ripped off from some poem I learnt in school