Learn from history!

The deteriorating situation in Mexico, where the government is engaged in a losing battle with the local drug traffickers, concerns me more than what is happening other trouble spots of the world like Afghanistan and Pakistan. The Mexican government is on the brink of becoming a ‘failed state’, and the prospect of thousands refugees from Mexico crossing over to USA is a disturbing thought. The reaction of U.S. government to this threat? Put more troops to guard the borders! This is like giving antibiotics for any fever, without trying to diagnose what exactly is causing it. The root cause of deteriorating situation in Mexico is the insatiable demand for drugs in USA, and the lack of gun control in USA permitting the drug traffickers to arm themselves with heavy artillery to fight the Mexican police. (The Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s statement today pointing this out must be revealing to many in this country). USA has been at a losing battle with drug trade for decades, with the consumption of it increasing every year. The hapless Mexico ended up to be the portal for supply to USA from the South American countries like Columbia, Peru and Ecuador. The obvious solution to this will be to legalize drugs in USA, and to handle drug use as a health issue. But I guess it is too shocking a move for this conservative country. Nobody remembers the ill fated attempt to prohibit liquor in this country in the 1920’s. I am afraid that the prohibition of drugs has the same result.

The ‘Katrina’ moment

Just read an article by Frank Rich in NY Times saying that the present furor over the AIG bonuses is a 'Katrina moment' for President Obama. I agree. I have been, and still am, an avid fan and supporter of Obama. But I feel that about the current economic crisis, he is almost as clueless as President Bush watching the flooded city of New Orleans from Air Force One. I am quite worried.

The Kiss of Death

Today, with all the uproar going on over the AIG bonuses, the Press Secretary Robert Gibbs announced that President Obama has ‘complete confidence’ in Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner. Any assurance of ‘complete confidence’ is frightening to a public offical. It is like the kiss of the Mafia don on the cheeks of a capo whose killing he has just ordered.

Timothy Geithner’s days as Treasury Secretary are numbered. Soon he will have to resign to ‘spend more time with his family’.

An eye for an eye

USA is one of the few the countries in the world where death penalty is given as punishment. While most of the cultured countries abhor this practice, this barbaric punishment is meted out freely in this country. Here is an example. This week in Riverside County (near Los Angeles), the jury has convicted a man for setting a fire in a remote area which resulted in the death of five firefighters. Now the judge is deciding if death penalty or life imprisonment should be the punishment. Death penalty? Does anyone care to know that there is a mental disorder called ‘pyromania’ which makes people set fires for the thrill of it? Can anyone truthfully claim that the defendant had the death of firefighters in mind when he set the fire? No. This is unnecessary complication for the legal system in USA. If someone dies because of your actions, you have to die too, as it says in the bible (Exodus 21:23–27). Case closed.

3/18/09 Update

Well, the jury awarded him the death penalty!

Shut the damn door first!

I am getting very frustrated at the way the Obama administration is going about the freefall of the stock market. Granted that in just a few weeks after taking the office, the President has gotten a huge stimulus bill passed, and has come up with a budget which will start mending the country back from the huge toll she has taken under the Republicans. But to me, all these actions are like trying to keep warm in the middle of winter with blankets and hot drinks, while keeping the front door wide open! Unless the ‘walking dead’ big banks in this country are restored, the stimulus package and new budget are not going to help matters in the long run. So far all that is happening is the government pouring billions of dollars to prop up these banks and insurance companies. How long can this continue? The Treasury Secretary Tom Geithner with his ‘deer caught in headlights’ look does not show any signs of action to take control. No wonder the stock market is tanking!

Slowdown versus Crash!

The Wall Street Journal last Friday had an article titled ‘Indian economy slows’. In India the GDP grew only 5.3% last quarter, compared to 7.6% the previous quarter. The USA GDP growth was a MINUS 6.3% for the same period! Let us face it. The US economy is plummeting downwards, while India is undergoing just a mild slowdown. I think India will withstand the global recession much better than expected, as there are no big banks holding worthless securities. (Strict government regulations do not allow speculative trading). As for the outsource work to India drying up, it is not going to happen. The foreign corporations have become so dependent on it to drop it. The best example is the case of Satyam Computer Services. Despite of the revelation of an Enron like fraud, the company is still in operation as none of its big customers could afford to drop Satyam and go elsewhere!