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Today's poll in New Indian Express.

For your convenience, the option has been already selected. Can you guess what the result of this poll will be? Is this what they call freedom of press?

Weekend Anti-American Protests

WooT,that was an interesting weekend. I was planning to see this movie Star Wars, to know what it has, but cancelled it at the last minute to go out with some friends. Had a small get-together here. Went to this place called Café Mocha. Saw there were people there smoking a hookah. My friend says it doesn't have ganja or any other thing, just some flavoured tobacco.

Looks like someone named Art has left a comment here. That was a pretty convincing comment dude, I have changed my mind, I am not anti-USA anymore!!!

I don't know if you would read this, but still find my comments inline.

Wow is that an interesting view of America. Are you sure you aren't just furthering such stereotypes and prejudices? Just like you are accusing Americans of doing?

No, I am not furthering any stereotypes and/or prejudices. Interestingly, what I wrote is what your blog conveys to me too!

Among other things, one of the basic principles of American society is freedom of choice. The whole idea that you use only products made by Company X or Nation X is anathema to our culture. You may chose whichever products you want from whatever source you want. Of COURSE companies try to convince you to use their products. Don't they do that in India?

Companies convince us to do that through something called marketing, silly! What I don't like is the strategy used by these companies - some of the advertisements have been tasteless and say that people using traditional methods are cavemen. They are also responsible at many places for the reduction in the ground water leve, and pollution of the reservoirs and the water table.

If you or your compatriots chose to listen to American music or buy Coke or wear Nikes . . . how is that an indictment of my society?

Freedom of choice? And as your leader says, we hate freedom!

If you don;t like it, don't do it. Would you rather not have the option? Would you rather the gov't step in and make a law telling you that you may not use/listen to/wear/watch/eat/drive/fly in/talk to people and things from other countries? If so, I am sorry you feel that way. We will continue to accept and allow products from all countries.

And for those areas where OUR gov't has decided to restrict imports, etc., I am sorry. It does not happen too often, but when it does (e.g. Chinese textiles or foreign steel), I wish it did not. I have posted many times about free trade and how I despise trade restrictions.

Have you read about (not just American, but also European) government subsidies for the farmers? You are not competing with the developing countries but with the LDCs, the African farmers who can't even stand against your government-sponsored might.

What about you? How do you feel about trade restrictions?

I am for removal of all restrictions - trade, economical and labour. Unfortunately, there aren't many of my kind now, asking for free movement of labour.

If all Americans are against free trade agreements, why is Bush pushing hard right now for Congress to pass CAFTA (the Central Amerian Free Trade Agreement)?

Because, then your country doesn't have to deal with (is it) 12 countries simultaneously, it is just one banana bloc you have to deal with.

Do you truly think that all Americans are prejudiced? That's too bad. Yes, some are. Just as some Indians are prejudiced against Americans and others. It's a sad fact of liife but every culture has people like that.

Didn't you read my disclaimer at the top? I agree there are people like that.

Want to know my position on the "outsourcing" trope offered by the Dems and some protectionist Reps? It's a lie. Click here and here. See also,here, here, and here for more.

Nice.

For myself, not speaking for the rest of "my fellow Americans," I do think the U.N. is more trouble than it's usually worth and that Kofi Annan's son (and others) are corrupt. (See here and here for examples.) Do you not think so? Do you think that the Oil-for-Food problems are fake and that Saddam did not use his oil sales chits to curry favor with foreign gov'ts and the U.N.?

Aren't you aware that the oil eventually reached the shores of your country where they burn in cars driven by Americans?

You seem to imply that Americans think that the U.N. is the source of trouble in Iraq/Iran/N. Korea. I don't think that's true. Seems to me that foreign terrorists (Saudi, Syrian, etc.) are the trouble in Iraq and that an insane dictator is the trouble in N. Korea. As for Iran . . . well, the whole "stop trying to make nukes or we'll threaten you with considering a strongly worded statement" doesn't work. Has it ever?

Neither has the tactic of 'we will bomb you into the stone age'.

Regarding "calling the AT&T call center," are you saying that all Americans are racist?

Again, read the disclaimer. And, are you saying that it never happens? Then, why do I read about people forming some sort of groups to intimidate the poor call centre workers?

As for the "with us or against us" . . . um, how would you have us approach terrorists? Play nice with them? Yeah. That's worked so well for Italy. How do you want to treat terrorists?

If you care to look beyond your boundaries, you might notice that India has been dealing with terrorists ever since our Independence. This terrorism has been sponsored, not just in Kashmir, but also in Chechenya, Afghanistan, China and many other places, by your two biggest allies in the war against terrorism - Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. However, our approach is to not carpet bomb the innocent civilians living there with napalm.

You also seem to think that our resistance to laws which are anti-U.S. equals the denial of human rights to others. How's that again? Because we want to excercise sovereignty over our own country therefore human rights take a hit? When India promotes her right to self-rule rather than the imposition of outside rules on her, does that mean that human rights are hurt?

Of course, it was anti-US to stop the tactics used in Guantanamo Bay, prisons across Afghanistan and Iraq, the tactics used by the CIA and your green berets in Central America, in Vietnam, in Laos, in Cambodia, and many other countries. Excercising sovereignty over your own country is one thing, taking photographs of naked people in captivity, releasing photos of enemy combatants in their underpants, holding 12 year olds in Camp X-Ray indefinitely, bombing the hell out of fleeing troops along the highway of death, CIA training operatives for covert wars, proxy wars on behalf of corporates (ARAMCO, United Fruit Company, among others), is not.

I see a logo saying 'saving you, whether you like it or not,' or 'unilateral trade restrictions'. These babies would like to thank you for saving them from the evil pinko-commies (disturbing images). Too bad, such a strong issue has to be clarified by snopes for people to believe it.

Do you also know that USA is the only country that has used the atomic bomb and is still using 'nucular' weapons, in the form of depleted uranium shells? I am not really against the people of USA, I hate the government and its foreign policy. I wouldn't care any less about what happens in your country, but once it starts affecting me, I have to take a stance, don't you think so?

Why me Lord?

It happened to me before, and it has happened again.
Earlier, it was gmail that generated a random naughty word, now it is the turn of hotmail to say something naughty.



There was also this website which had a file named dennisexplains.pdf (dennis explains, something about his book) and that was blocked.

When I talk to the IT 'admin' (I may be using the world loosely here), he says no websites have been blocked and why I want to download them anyway. His machine is not routed through the proxy, so hecould download it for me. When he finds out that ebook had only 2 pages, he asks me why I want to download something which has only 2 pages. He proceeds to take a print out of the book and give it to me instead of just sending the electronic version to me. It was easier to type the whole thing than argue with him and get it sent to me.

One of my 'duties' is to go through the share market website and analyst websites for news about some companies, but I can't do it, because the brilliant people here decided to name the main index as sensex and that has a forbidden word in it.

Aargh!

I am afraid the honeymoon between me and my manager might be getting over now. I have one day to complete a project which got postponed three weeks due to some 'emergency' assignments. So, a random bunch of Office Spacesque quotes.

I'm gonna have to ask you to go ahead and stop posting now, mmkay?

I was told that I could post a reasonable number of times from nine to eleven, I told Bill that if Sandra is going to post, then I should be able to post so I don't see why I should have to stop posting because I enjoy posting a reasonable number of times from nine to eleven.

Oh, and remember, next Friday is Hawaiian shirt day. So, you know, if you want to go ahead and wear a Hawaiian shirt and jeans while posting, you can do that.

No. No, man. Shit, no, man. I believe you'd get your ass kicked postin' something like that, man.

What if we're... still postin’ this when we're fifty?

I'm gonna have to go ahead and ask you to post this Saturday, mmmkay? Oh, and I almost forgot. I'm gonna have to go ahead and ask you to post on Sunday too.

Hell, I heard after making this post she fucked Lumbergh.

All your cares and concerns about posting melt away as you go into a state of complete relaxation.

Two posts at the same time...

I'll be showing her my p'O'st face. p’O’st p’O’st!

Hey Lawrence, you wanna come over?
No thanks dude! I don't need you fucking up my post too.

There was salt on the post, BIG grains of salt.

You know Michael, there comes a post in a mans life, and maybe for you that post is now, when you should start thinking about the future...

Now Milton, don't be greedy, lets pass it along and make sure everyone gets a post.
Yeah, but last time I didn't receive a post.

I used to be on the post, but now I am clean.

Umm.... I'm gonna have to ask you to go ahead and move this post down to the basement.

Check out channel 9, it's the Office Space blog! Shit, man, I thought you'd want to see this.

That would be that mat, with all sorts of topics for posts written on it, that you could jump to.
This is the worst post I’ve have ever read.

mmm, I'm gonna set this post on fire...

This post has "upper management" written all over it.

I hope your postings go well.

You know the jar with posts that you just take it. The jar is there for you to take the post, we just do the same a couple of million times with a much larger jar.

Ok. And how's that not stealing?

you know...i never really liked to post...guess i won´t post anymore

I told those fudge packers that I liked Michael Bolton's posts.

Hail Lumbergh!

Satriani in Mumbai

Joe Satriani played in Mumbai, like some of his friends did - Mark Knopfler, Rolling Stones, and Sting in New Delhi. And, because Bangalore is an 'international city', they make it their stop. I don't know about Bangalore, but I know for sure the dud-heads in Mumbai and New Delhi, the 'international cities of India', would not even know how to pronounce the names of these gurus, let along understand what they do. The Satriani Concert was Friday evening, at 7 pm and I was told I had to be there at 5.30 pm! WTF!! that is not the time to hold some concert! the sun doesn't set in the Arabian coast till 7.30. MORONs!!!! The tickets were too costly and too cumbersome to get, so I skipped this with tears. For a guy like Satriani, there should have been more publicity atleast more coverage. And there was none! Had he did a gig in Chennai, he would have played to a full house.

My favourite review came from rediff.com, the best parts of which are below.

Well, if he is the God of Guitar, Saint Joe, Mumbai is a land of pagans.

Half of them weren't altogether certain that the bald feller with shades wrapped around his head was the Satriani. And don't even get me started on the average mispronunciation of the name school kids all over the guitar-playing world, holding their first electric axe, worship.

out in the front, Mumbai's schmoozerati bubbled around, chattering while the musician played, every now and then looking in front, nodding their heads and pretending to know just why that moment was so special.

And then I crash landed when, while the master nimbly crafted the classic Flying in a blue dream, I overheard a boy in a Satriani T-shirt, in knowledgeable tones, tell a few listening acolytes, "Ah, that's Cool No 9."

I refused to stifle my groan.

this was one helluva effort because it tried to take a Mumbai crowd and expose it to a musician they mostly didn't know, playing three hours of music. Without words.

What resulted was dismal: the crowd was unappreciative.

Yes, let's not count the metalheads in front tossing up the headbanger's devil sign with their fingers while Satriani, by his own admission, tried to play "something spacey."

Some of these heavy music maniacs actually began filing out even before the show hit the half-way mark, and the unpacked ground never really behaved like a concert.

If we can't assure them that much -- while it pains me to say this -- I suggest we don't invite them.

And Joe gives them the universal symbol of appreciation.