It has been 60 years since Gandhi was assassinated by Naduram Vinayak Godse. Regardless of how you view Gandhi's politics and his role in India's struggle for independence, the undeniable truth is that Godse is a religious extremist and a killer. BBC has an article on this. Excerpts:n the communally charged atmosphere during India's Partition in August 1947, Godse and his accomplices held Mahatma Gandhi responsible for the miseries of the Hindus and accused him of appeasing Muslims.
Right-wing Hindu nationalist organisations like the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, (Nationalist Volunteers' Organisation) were banned and many of its leaders were sent to jail following the assassination of Gandhi.
The RSS is the ideological fountainhead of India's main opposition party BJP.
'Selfless act'
Nathuram Godse was later tried and hanged but the RSS was exonerated and the government decided to lift the ban on its activities.
Even though the RSS publicly rejects Nathuram Godse, its leaders don't hide their appreciation for what they call his "selfless act".
"We will have to accept that Nathuram Godse acted with selfless spirit; he did not have any self-interest in it. He must also have been aware that he would be hanged for what he was going to do. This spirit cannot be denied," RSS ideologue Devendra Swaroop told the BBC.
"But he was wrong if he thought that Gandhiji was taking history in a wrong direction and by killing him he could correct the course of history," adds Mr Swaroop.
"RSS firmly believes that Godse acted at the spur of the moment and it was quite detrimental for the Hindu society. Gandhi dead proved to be stronger than Gandhi alive."
[More...]
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( 2.9 / 79 )Super Tuesday turned out to be more than what we bargained for. Democratic voters are nearly evenly split between Hillary Clinton and Barak Obama. With winner of New Mexico still not yet declared a few hundred votes difference, Obama is ahead by a mere 4 delegates over Clinton.I am still rooting for Obama and will be voting for him on Feb 12 in VA primary.
On the other side, while Mitt Romney just announced that he is dropping out from the GOP race, Mike Huckabee of GOP is still in the fray. McCain is clearly the front runner. Romney's parting statement:
"If I fight on in my campaign, all the way to the convention, I would forestall the launch of a national campaign and make it more likely that Senator Clinton or Obama would win. And in this time of war, I simply cannot let my campaign, be a part of aiding a surrender to terror."
What a joke!
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( 2.6 / 49 )
When it comes to politics, I am an independent. However, I have decided to vote straight democratic party line in the coming general election in US. My reasons are simple. I am disgusted by the utter incompetence, hypocrisy, religious extremism, and the divisive politics of GOP during the past 20 years since I have been in US.
Having said that, until last week, I didn't have any favorite in the presidential race. It all changed after I watched Obama's concession speech in New Hampshire and his victory speech in South Carolina primary. Yes, I will vote for Obama. In my earlier entry I said that being on the front cover of the Time Magazine is a contrarian indicator. I hope it is not the case this time and Obama wins the race for White House.
Tuesday, February 5th is the "super Tuesday" of primaries in United States. Voters in more than 20 states will go to the polls and pick their candidate for the president. A week after that (Feb 12), voters in my home state of VA will select their candidate.
One might ask, why Obama and why not Hillary Clinton? I think Hillary is well qualified to be the president. But, I am not convinced that she is the right candidate. A few things about her bother me lot.
1. Her vote for use of force in Iraq (at that time even I was saying it will be big mistake to go after Saddam). This shows poor judgment.
2. very recently she voted to declare Iran's revolutionary Guard as a "terrorist" organization. Really? Since when it is OK to declare legitimate wings of armed forces of a sovereign nation as "terrorists?" Is this necessary? Poor judgment again.
3. When NY Governor Elliot Spitzer wanted to issue driver's licenses to illegal immigrants, she didn't give a straight answer about what she felt about that law. she didn;t want to lose the votes of either the proponents or opposers of that bill. If you wanted to be president, you have to show more courage than that.
4. Most importantly, her return to the White House will bring all the bitter partisan battles of Clinton presidency. The country and the world could use a leader whose time is not tied up in the battles with the right wing media.
5. While I cannot stand most republicans in power today, I am OK with John McCain. John McCain is the only republican candidate who has a chance of winning the White House again. If it is McCain-Clinton race, I think McCain will win. Another republican presidency could put the supreme court to even farther right. We cannot afford that.
If the contest is between McCain and Obama, the race will bring a lot of excitement in the country and around the world. I am hoping that ultimately Obama will win. The reasons:
1. McCain symbolizes the past and will continue to serve us a reminder about everything that is wrong with the establishment.
2. McCain's win will not end the bitter partisanship cultivated by the so called "Regan" republicans.
3. MCCain will certainly help restore some credibility for America among the world nations. At the same time, America will forever be viewed as a country which always elects a white male for its president and cannot overcome its race and gender biases.
4. Obama symbolizes the youth, future and hope. If there is one candidate who can reunite this country, and restore its dignity among it is Obama.
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( 2.9 / 38 )It is highly likely that the recent turmoil in the stock markets around the world would be impacting you personally. I have been into stock market investing in the US since 1991. I have taken my share of hits and hits (beatings and wins.) I read a lot and learned a thing or two about investing. I would like to share some of the things I learned here as a several part series. Take it for what its worth – which is to say, caveat emptor.
Part 1 – Anecdotal Evidence and Investing
You know the most powerful of all emotions in the investing world? If you thought it is “fear” you are correct. The fear of losing more potential gains drives the markets higher. The fear of losing money drives the markets lower. The stronger the fear the faster the speed with which the markets move in either direction.
Most technical analysts claim to predict market tops and bottoms based on some charts and other statistics. May be they can. But you don’t need to be a technical wizard to notice these. At the height of the market everybody who wanted to be in the market will be in. In other words, there is not many new players in the markets to push things higher. When things turn, it takes a while for those who are already in the market to figure out. How would you know if the market has peaked? Here are some anecdotal observations to be on the look out for:
1. Investment discussion dominate your social parties. Everybody and his/her spouse are talking about the money they already made and how much more they are going to make with their current holdings. If somebody who is invested has a long term track record to support their claims, pay attention to what he/she is saying. But if the boasting comes from a not-so-experienced person, or worse, form a stupid person (in your opinion, of course) – get out of the market. If you delay, and want to sell on a day like January 15 and 16 2008 when markets around the world tanked, you broker would be asking you, “sell to whom.”
2. When the cover of Time Magazine (or its equivalent) features a big winner who benefitted from the recent upswing or downswing in the market, that would be the time to take the opposite position. Here are some of the recent anecdotes that would have given you ample warning. Mukhesh Ambani becoming the world’s richest due to the stock market surge in India made a big news in India. Was he the front-page story in India Today? I honestly don’t know if he was or not. But if he was, this would be a big cue for you to dump all your shares. About two weeks ago The Wall Street Journal featured a front page article on a guy who benefitted the most by placing the bets that housing market would slump. In one year he made about 12 billion (3 billion to himself) on these bets. He is still bearish.
3. There are more, but that would be an information overload for you. :)
When I saw the above mentioned WSJ article, I told one of my colleagues, I think the bottom for this market is very near. Right now, I am willing to go out on the limb and say January 16th would be a short-term bottom (say, 12 months) in the world markets. Since the market bottom of 2001 (post 9/11 attacks) the easy money has already been made – especially in India. However, market gains here after would not come as easy they were in 2004 to early 2007. That’s my take. Again, take it for what its worth and don't place your bets based on my prediction(s).
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( 3 / 34 )When it comes to changing the fate of a candidate or even the fate of this country, South Carolina takes the top seat. The Civil War started with the succession of South Carolina from the Union. As far as the Republicans are concerned, nobody who lost in South Carolina primary went on to win the GOP nomination. The infamous smear attacks on John McCain by Carl Rove/George Bush team in 2000 primary season catapulted Bush to win the GOP nomination.
And then with a little help from the US Supreme Court, GW Bush was appointed the President of the United Stated. In other words, Bush was not only benefited by the votes by his Dad appointed SC judges, he also has taken advantage of the stupidity of SC voters.
This time, Obama wins SC primary? Will he win the Democratic party nomination? Will he win all the way? We just have to stay tuned. In the mean time, watch this video of his 'inspirational' victory speech in SC. Oh, ye, he took some swipes at the Clintons.
Victory Speech, Part 1Victory Speech, Part 2
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( 3.1 / 32 )Earlier on this blog I simply raised an issue, "will a possible recession in US affect Indian economy." At least one reader of this blog felt that India will not be affected by the downturn in US. If this observation is based on certain data, we can argue about it. But, this is mainly from "Indian pride" I have to say, "Sorry my friend. You are wrong." As they say, pride comes before the fall. Whether you like it or not, India is now dependent on US economy. Before you dismiss my claim, ask yourself the following:
- What is the percentage of Indian IT industry caters to the US clients?
- How much of the boom in the real estate market can directly be tied to foreign and NRI investments, as well as to the newly rich and hip IT workers in India (a vast majority of whom work on US projects)?
[photo courtesy: BBC.com]
[Quotes from an article at bbc.com]Investors in India are calling it a market meltdown. The drastic fall in the value of Indian shares took investors here by surprise. No one had expected the impact from falls in regional markets to be so pronounced in India.
"It doesn't make sense for markets to fall so much," one investor said as he looked up at the flashing red arrows.
"We are the worst affected out of all the regional markets, but we were performing the best before this. It just doesn't make sense.
"I've lost a lot of money today and I don't know what to do next."
"I thought this was somewhere I could put my money safely and grow it, rather than putting in the bank like my dad did," said Gauravi Sharma, a first-time investor.
"My parents had never invested in Indian shares, they said it was unsafe. But I thought, after everything I heard on TV and in the news, that this was the right place to put my money. Now I'm not so sure."
Indian investors have just learned a harsh lesson. No matter how quickly a market goes up, it can fall just as suddenly too.
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( 3 / 38 )From AP:
Stock Markets Plunge Worldwide
Monday January 21, 12:45 pm ET
By Toby Anderson, AP Business Writer
Stocks Plunge Worldwide Amid Pessimism Over US Stimulus Plan
LONDON (AP) -- Stocks fell sharply worldwide Monday following declines on Wall Street last week amid investor pessimism over the U.S. government's stimulus plan to prevent a recession.
U.S. markets were closed for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, but the downbeat mood from last week's market declines there circled through Europe, Asia and the Americas. Britain's benchmark FTSE-100 slumped 5.5 percent to 5,578.20, France's CAC-40 Index tumbled 6.8 percent to 4,744.15, and Germany's blue-chip DAX 30 plunged 7.2 percent to 6,790.19.
In Asia, India's benchmark stock index tumbled 7.4 percent, while Hong Kong's blue-chip Hang Seng index plummeted 5.5 percent to 23,818.86, its biggest percentage drop since the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks.
Canadian stocks fell as well, with the S&P/TSX composite index on the Toronto Stock Exchange down 4 percent in early afternoon trading. In Brazil, stocks plunged 6.9 percent on the main index of Sao Paulo's Bovespa exchange.
[More..]
Us stock futures are indicating a SHARPLY LOWER Open for Tuesday...
North/Latin America: 3:00 PM, Monday Jan 21, 2008
INDEX VALUE CHANGE
DJIA INDEX 11,592.00 -514.00
S&P 500 1,265.10 -60.20
NASDAQ 100 1,773.50 -76.00
S&P/TSE 60 711.80 -35.10
MEX BOLSA 25,520.00 -1,443.00
BOVESPA 53,873.00 -3,507.00
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( 3 / 40 )Recession is defined as an economic condition where the growth in the Gross Domestic Process (GDP) is negative for at least two consecutive quarters. A lot of economists are saying that if we are not already in a recession, we are headed into one. Lots of questions..
1. A recession in US and a continued boom in India?
2. One Euro is now worth $1.5; nearly doubled since 2000. Wow! Even Rupee is much stronger against the dollar. Will this trend continue?
3. If there is in fact a recession on the horizon, for sure there will be a lot of jobs lost in US. But, what happens to all those outsourced jobs?
The trigger for this steep slide in the US stock markets is the unfolding mortgage crisis. Back in August 2007, I wrote something about this topic. You can read it at: http://teluguoneradio.com/tori/lahari.jsp, click on: The ABCs of Housing Induced Credit Crunch.
On the other hand, the trigger for the weakness in dollar is George W. Bush's illegal war with Iraq. This war exposed the weakness of the so called 'the only superpower' nation. What was once considered as a reserve currency is now treated as toxic waste.
The situation for the US dollar was exactly opposite after the first Gulf War, which was the war of George HW Bush. The fall of the Soviet Union, which was followed by America's (and its real allies') decisive win in the first Gulf war made America look invincible. That's when America called itself the "Only Super Power." The dollar was sexy. People shunned gold and flocked to the dollar as the only reserve currency.
Then came the Euro in 2002, with the backing of the economies that are almost as big as the American economy. For decades, oil was traded only in Dollars. Saddam Hussain broke that tradition in 2001. Some say that GW Bush went to war with Saddam for accepting Euros for oil. I would suspect this may not be the only reason for the war, but it could be one of the main contributing factors to the current Iraq war. If Bush did go to war to solidify the dollar as the only reserve currency, he achieved exactly the opposite.
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( 3 / 40 )
Humility in Victory. Grace in defeat. These are the traits of great personalities. Some of the most inspiring speeches of current times are coming from Senator Obama. I was awe-struck by his charismatic personality, ability to draw the youth, who are otherwise indifferent to politics, to the polls and the eloquence in his speeches. His win in Iowa caucus and loss in New Hampshire primary are both unexpected. He sounds upbeat and optimistic in both victory and defeat. The concession speech [click on the image to watch it on YouTube] he gave after New Hampshire primary is fantastic.
Whether Obama, or Clinton wins all the way, Obama is correct in saying, "Change. That's what is happening in America."
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( 3.2 / 18 )
On Monday January 7, Indian cricket player Harbhajan was banned for making a racist remark against the Australian player Andrew Symonds during their tempestuous defeat to Australia in the second Test. Singh was found guilty of breaching the players' code of conduct. The International Cricket Council held a four-hour hearing after the Test finished on Sunday, finally announcing their verdict deep into the night in Australia. Things apparently got ugly and pretty quick afterwards.Indian cricket team threatened to walkout of the Australian Tour unless the ban on Singh is nullified. The Team contends that there is no hard evidence that Singh made any such insensitive remarks. The Indian team alleged that they were in fact the subjects of discrimination from the test match officials. They allege that Symonds was declared not-out when he was clearly out, which made all the difference in the first test.
The most recent news is that Team India decided to continue with the tour. Of course, you can get this news from any news outlet. However, how do you react to this bizzare set of events?
India and Australia were not strangers to such high drama. Here is a recount of the drama that happened during the 1981 Melbourne Test from Rediff.com.
G R Vishwanath batted as only as he can, scoring 114 in India's first innings score of 237. Australia replied strongly with 417, Allan Border hitting a gritty 124 and veteran Doug Walters scoring a brisk 78. Spinners Dilip Doshi and Shivlal Yadav sent down 84 overs between them capturing five wickets for 209 runs while Karsan Ghavri and Sandeep Patil claimed two each. The match seemed lost.
True to tradition, India's second innings was a different story. Skipper Sunil Gavaskar and his partner Chetan Chauhan were cool and confident and the runs began to flow. The century partnership arrived and the Australian bowlers did not look like taking any wickets.
When the stand reached 165, the drama began. Dennis Lillee was the bowler. Gavaskar was rapped on the pads, there was a huge appeal, and the umpire raised his finger. Gavaskar looked at the umpire disbelievingly and indicated his bat to convey the message that he had played the ball.Lillee, always the showman, ran down the pitch and ordered Gavaskar to walk. Words were exchanged. Gavaskar, furious, did walk, but indicated to Chauhan to leave the crease and return to the pavilion as well! What was going on, everyone wondered.
Disgusted with the overall umpiring standards on the tour and this decision in particular, the captain wanted to walk away with his partner. It would have amounted to conceding the Test match to the Australians, something that had never happened before.
The patient Chauhan talked urgently to the captain and signalled to the pavilion. The team manager, Wing Commander Durrani, trooped to the ground. As the disbelieving Australians watched, he persuaded the captain to return to the pavilion and allow the game to continue.
After things had cooled down, Gavaskar, while maintaining that he had played the ball and hence was not out, apologised for his actions. Dennis Lillee in his book Over and Out claimed that Gavaskar had not played the ball at all and was clearly out.
Anyway, in an action-packed match, this incident stood out. But there was more drama on the field. After losing Chauhan for 85, India were all out for 324. Yadav, whose fractured toe was encased in plaster, volunteered to bat and was ready with his pads on. Kapil Dev injured his ankle badly and hobbled along and it was doubtful if he could bowl when Australia batted again, needing only 142 to win.
What hurt the Indians more was the attitude of some people who were present at a private party that the Indians attended that night. Rude comments were made about their cricketing ability. It was like the nightmarish reception at the Indian high commission in London on the evening of the 1974 Lord's Test after the Indians were bowled out for 42. Everyone, including the high commissioner, was rude to the players!
So the Indians had something to prove. Though they had lost Dyson and Chappell, the hosts were expected to win comfortably. Kapil was on pain killers, Yadav could not field or bowl. But Dilip Doshi kept one end going (two for 33 in 22 overs) and Kapil used the helpful wicket to devastating effect. Bowling off a shortened run, he moved the ball both ways and cut it off the pitch to finish with five wickets for 28 runs in 16.4 overs. His victims? Bruce Yardley, Allan Border, Rodney Marsh, Dennis Lillee and Jim Higgs.
India achieved a remarkable victory. Though I was not at the finish I celebrated with the rest of the nation. Greg Chappell gave way to Kim Hughes as the captain. But to this day, the Melbourne Test is remembered for Gavaskar's action in walking away with his partner Chetan Chauhan, ready to give the match away to the opposition!
Dennis Lillie's infamous 'Howzaaat' stance and his trying to hush Gavaskar out of the grounds was only the trigger for Gavaskar's reaction. included among several other reasons for this was a news paper column written by former Australian skipper Ian Chappel, the older brother of Greg Chappel. In that column Ian Chappel wrote the following (I am paraphrasing):
"If Indians cannot take the Australian heat, they should go and play in the shades with a club team in Sri Lanka." (At that time, Sri Lanka was not yet a test playing country.)
This is history. But the present is not as bad. If Singh actually hurled the alleged racial remarks, he deserves the ban. What do you think?
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( 3.1 / 14 )
This is a bit dated news. I could not post it when it happened as I was too busy then.
Do Indians have enough fire in their bellies to become top executives at Fortune 500 companies? Indra Nooyi, was the first Indian born woman to become the CEO of this elite group of companies. On Dec 10, 2007 Vikram Pundit was officially named the CEO of the prestigious Fortune 500 company, Citigroup. Who was Vikram's competition for this top job? Included among the many names floated were Former (Clinton's) Treasury Secretary, Robert Rubin. Enough said about how big an accomplishment for Vikram himself. The most important element in this appointment is that the perception of Indians in business circles changes for the better.
------------------
Profile of Vikram Pandit from Wikipedia.
Pandit worked for Morgan Stanley for two decades and was the President and Chief Operating Officer of the Institutional Securities and Investment Banking Group at Morgan Stanley where he was responsible for the overall management of the group and focused on the trading, sales and infrastructure aspects of the business (2000-2005). Before that, he served as the managing director and head of the Worldwide Institutional Equities Division (1994-2000), and as the managing director and head of the US Equity Syndicate (1990-1994) for Morgan Stanley. Pandit left Morgan Stanley with a few colleagues to start a hedge fund Old Lane Partners, which Citigroup bought in 2007 for $800 million.
Pandit serves on the boards of Columbia University, Columbia Business School, the Indian School of Business and The Trinity School. He is a former board member of NASDAQ (2000-2003), the New York City Investment Fund.
On December 11, 2007, Pandit was named the new CEO of Citigroup, replacing interim-CEO Sir Winfried Bischoff. Pandit is the effective successor to Chuck Prince who resigned in November 2007 due to unexpectedly poor 3rd quarter performance, mainly due to CDO and MBS related losses.
Early Life and Education
The 50-year-old Pandit was born in Nagpur, Maharashtra, India to a moderately affluent Karhade Brahmin[2] family. Pandit did his schooling from the Dadar Parsee Youths Assembly High School, situated in Dadar, Mumbai. At the age of 16, he moved to the United States to attend college at Columbia University. He received B.S. and M.S. degrees in electrical engineering in 1976 and 1977 respectively, and later earned a Ph.D. in Finance in 1986.[3]
He is a trustee at Columbia University. He was a junior finance professor at Indiana University Bloomington in the mid-1980s before joining Morgan Stanley. As head of Morgan Stanley's institutional-securities division from 1994 to 2000, he pushed the company into more electronic trading and helped build the firm's prime brokerage services that cater to hedge funds. He led the institutional-securities business from 2000 until March 2005.
Pandit and his wife Swati reside at Central Park West and 81st Street. The apartment was purchased from the late actor Tony Randall for $17.85 million in September 2007. The 10-room apartment has 20 windows facing Central Park.
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( 2.9 / 13 )
The point of this blog entry is to elicit the emerging tale of two Indias - the India of "haves" and the India that belongs to "have nots." If this sounds to you like the repetition of the slogan "Two Americas" from John Edwards' campaign, you are correct! Every time I visit India I do see these two Indias. Some of my rich friends easily spend thousands of Rupees for just one meal. The same amount is the monthly wage for a lot of people (probably for the the majority in India).
When wages and earnings structure is so lopsided that the rich get richer and the poor either stay poor or get poorer, it is not good for the economy. It is not good for the nation.
BBC featured an article that draws our attention to this tale of two Indias. Tanya Kapadia, the newly rich woman, a PR executive apparently didn't blink buying a pair of designer boots for $1500 (I think the reporter did say $1500, not rupees).
I did some sleuthing to find out what those expensive footwear could look like. These boots (on the right) cost $885 at Macy's. Whatever she bought, it is nearly 70% more expensive than these $885 shoes. Quite honestly, it is the good looking women in these shoes , not just the shoes, appeal to the senses of men - all men. So, is the appeal for her here just fashion? One might wonder, heck even the US Secretary of State, Condy Rice is obsessed with fancy shoes even New Orleans was drowning and what a 28-year old hip Bombay executive to do? OK - I lose this round.
Here is an excerpt from the BBC article:
From a nation of savers, India is quickly turning into a nation of
spenders, leaving behind the austere, simple lifestyle of
pre-liberalised India, when spending was seen as unclassy.
This new generation of Indians is enamoured by brand names, empowered
by soaring stock markets and embracing the new culture of conspicuous
consumption.
But this is still largely the privilege of the wealthy. The change in
attitudes towards spending here is certainly a generational one, but
it's not being seen across all segments of Indian society.
Now, let's go to the India of "have nots." The same BBC Article mentions Zubeida Shadadpuri. Another excerpt from the article:
Zubeida Shadadpuri, like millions of Indians, barely makes enough to
feed her large family.
While incomes have risen in India, so have the prices of essential
goods such as food, putting even more of a burden on the backs of the
poor.
Out on her weekly shopping trip for fruits and vegetables, Zubeida
tells me that life for ordinary people in India is just becoming
tougher and tougher.
"The rich may be getting richer, but for us, the poor, life here is a
daily battle," she says picking up her weekly supply of vegetables.
"We end up spending more than what we earn - and it's not enough to
keep our homes running."
This is the story of India: a tale of two nations. Conspicuous
consumption and utter destitution live side by side here.
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( 2.7 / 13 )
Intolerance of other faiths has been the essence of extreme elements among all religions. As much as I would like to believe that Buddhists and Hindus are an exception, it is not true.Churches in Orissa come under attack.
A curfew has been imposed in parts of the eastern Indian state of Orissa after Hindu hardliners attacked up to a dozen Christian churches, police say.
.....
However it started, the violence appeared to culminate in the attacks on churches on Christmas Day.
Christians were chased out of several churches - in many case just mud huts with thatched roofs - before they were set alight, officials said.
.....
Christians said it was sparked by Hindus objecting to a performance they were staging to celebrate Christmas.
But a Hindu group said it began when Christians tried to attack a local Hindu leader on Monday, Christmas Eve.
[Click here for the BBC article]
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( 3.1 / 12 )
Mrs. Benazir Bhutto, June 21, 1953 – December 27, 2007
A lot is said about her death elsewhere. I have nothing more to add other than saying, "No matter what her politics are, she is one brave woman." She is one of the most charismatic leaders of our times. Rest in peace, Mrs. Bhutto.
From my blog entry on Oct 29, 2007:
If Musharraf-Bhutto power-share is the best US can come-up with in terms of foreign policy in the most volatile nation in the world, the world may be in for big trouble.
How True!
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( 2.8 / 11 )
Recently I came across this well written synthesis on a myriad of Bush Administration scandals. Hugh's list has over 292 scandals. Introduction: George Bush, the Connecticut cowboy, the good old boy from Yale is a man of mediocre intelligence, little imagination, and great stubbornness and vindictiveness. He may be the Decider but his handlers have long known how to manipulate him. The key is to hook him with short, simple sells. Karl Rove, Dick Cheney, and Condoleezza Rice know that once he has consulted his gut and perhaps his higher father his decision is forever. So whoever gets to him first is likely to carry the day because he doesn't like to be challenged and is, quite simply, too lazy to change his mind. The Bubble is a natural consequence of this decision making process where logic, reason, and facts have little or no role.
1. Ill-treatment of the wounded veterans at Walter Reed Hospital
2. Improper dismissal of US attorneys for not bowing to the pressure indicting
...and the list goes on. Here is some heavy reading for your holidays.
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( 3.4 / 14 )
Calendar
