IPL

I think the real reason that Chidambaram did not want IPL to be held during election time is not security concerns....He probably was afraid that the crowd attending election meetings of Congress would become even thinner than it already was.

Last year I was supporting Kings Eleven Punjab and was engaged in a running battle with my son (Sachin fan - Mumbai Indians) and daughter (Sharukh fan - Kolkata Knight Riders) throughout the tournament. I am not exactly a Sreeshanth fan but yes.... I like him. More because of his "attitude" than his bowling style (which is surprising because his attitude is one thing most other Mallus dislike). I firmly believe that Sreeshanth, Gambhir and Bhajji are the type of players India needs to give Dhoni the required support in keeping India at the top. Guys who carry an "In Your Face" attitude!

Even though Sreeshanth is not playing this year, I am planning to stick on with Punjab as Yuvarj, Brett Lee and Sangakkara are also my type of players.

WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION

Finally Americans have found out the elusive "Weapons of Mass Destruction" in Iraq!

The shoes that the Iraqui journalist hurled at Bush have proved to be more lethel and powerful than all the arsenal Iraquis had so far used to defend their country. By declaring the jounalist as a National Hero, the people of Iraq have in fact hit the final nail in the coffin of American credibility.

Yes, we can

Electing a black to stay in the White House
who.........
-shares his middle name with the former enemy number one
-has a surname which rhymes with the present enemy number one
-has been branded as a Socialist
-has consistently opposed Iraq war from the very beginning
-advocates active Government intervention in Economy
Tell me.....
Are the Americans sending out a strong message to the world?
Are our leaders listening?

Indians getting beaten up

Indians are getting beaten up! No, not in Pakistan. Right here...in the most cosmopolitan city in Asia - Mumbai!!

Of course, there is a prefix "North" added to the word Indians. But does it make any difference? Earlier the prefix was "South" - 35 years ago. Now it is North. But the crude fact remains that Indians are getting beaten up - again and again - in India.

Now how do you explain this to the North Indians (and South Indians) in Indian Army serving along the Pakistan Border? They are spending sleepless nights in the Border areas under very difficult conditions, while their brothers and friends are getting beaten up back home! What should they do? Give up their border vigil and come to Mumbai to deal with this situation?

This is something our leaders should ponder. If the Govt. does not act immediately, things may get out of hand very soon.

No wonder the terrorists in Mumbai are keeping quiet nowadays. MNS and Shiv Sena are doing a better job of terrorising the citizens!

Mamata for Gujarat

It is reliably learnt that Mamata Banerji will be contesting the next election to Lok Sabha from Gujarat. She is sure to get elected unopposed, as she has contributed so much for the growth of industrialisation in Gujarat! However she is yet to decide on her election symbol: it could be either a "small car" or a "big road-block"!!

After the bailout

Now that US Congress has finally passed the US$700 billion bailout, doubts have started to surface about exactly who (or what) will be bailed out --- US economy or the common man or the big business or only some cronies of the present rulers! Already there were criticisms that these measures would be helping only the big business. But now it seems that even among the big business only a select few will be receiving the goodies!

Mr. Paulson, US Tresury Secretary, and his fellow Treasury officials will not be implementing this bailout package on their own. Instead they would be outsourcing nearly all of the work to professionals, who will oversee this work for a management fee. Here comes the catch - Mr.Paulson - who was earlier CEO of Goldman Sachs, the investment bank - has already recruited several of his former colleagues as advisers. The other professionals being recruited by the Treasury also would be from US investment banks only. In other words, the wall street investment bankers, who had originally created the mess, are now being handed over tax payers money to manage the same mess!!

Bush and Paulson can now leave office without worries - they have bailed out their close friends and clients! At least their retirement plans are working!!!

USA becomes USSR

Marx must be smiling! Finally Americans are also coming around to his line of thought!!

After 200 years of self-denial they have finally recognised the need for Government intervention in Economy. It is very easy to advise other countries to give full freedom to private enterprise by getting rid of regulations, but when these private companies start going bust in their own country, it's very difficult to walk the talk. Then you have to literally beg to get USD.700 billion of tax payer's money to bail out all those mighty Wall Street giants from imminent bankruptcy!

As one journalist suggested, United States of America (USA) is turning into United States Socialist Republic (USSR)!!!