Diwali, Pepsico, potato chips and Target

I was pretty amused to see a flyer which said "Share the joy of Diwali" with the symbols of Pepsi and FritoLay. This is advertisment targeting Indians. How about celebrating Diwali with Pepsi and potato chips? What is the role of Indra Nooyi in "Celebrate Diwali with Pepsi and potato chip"? Soon we will be celebrating Pongal, Onam, Vishu, Sankranthi, Holi, and Navratri with Pepsi and potato chips!

The power of words!

Here are words in modern “fed speak” – “extraordinary exuberance” and “unusual uncertainty”. The former introduced by the former Chairman of the Federal Reserve Alan Greenspan and the latter by the current Chairman of the Federal Reserve Ben Bernenke. What cleverly crafted phrases to capture the attention of the public! Eventually both phrases mean “nobody knows the basis for what is happening in the market/Wall Street”!

Oranges and mangoes - or any fruit for that matter

It has been a while since I have updated my blog. Here is one baout oranges, mangoes = or any other fruit for that matter.
How many of us venture to think about the time it takes for a fruit to be borne by a tree and ripened to the stage when we are able to enjoy it? Be it an orange or a mango it does not take more than five minutes to be consumed. How long does it take for the mango or orange to progress from a flower to a fruit on a tree and then ripen enough for us to enjoy? Orange blooms appear in the spring and the fruits are ready by end of autumn or beginning of winter. You see, that is at least 6 months. As for mangoes, the blossoms appear in January and the fruits are ready in June. That is again close to 5-6 months. So when relishing these fruits think of the time, energy and care invested by the trees in satisfying your taste buds – all in less than five minutes.

The 2009 healthcare discussions in the U.S.

The country is in the midst of intense discussions on reforming the health insurance. It started with the goal of ensuring that the cost of health insurance is brought under control. A number of factors contribute towards this persistent increase in the cost of insurance year after year. One of the factors is that the cost of healthcare for the 47 million uninsured individuals in the country is shouldered by those who are insured. The answer for this was to ensure that the 47 uninsured are provided the opportunity to have affordable insurance. Sometimes it is not the affordability; it is the rejection by some insurance companies to provide coverage because of pre-existing conditions. The proposal to provide an option to any individual who needed insurance (”public option”) has come under intense criticism. The underlying concern for the criticism was the concern that the availability of such an option would undermine the “monopoly” of the private insurance companies. It is difficult to come up with any other reason for the not so civil town hall meetings. One concern was that government sponsored insurance would stifle the private insurance. Responding to this criticism President Obama was quick to respond in brilliant fashion. He responded that despite the existence of the United States Postal Service, a government run agency, private companies like FedEx and UPS continue to thrive while the United Postal Service was the one in perilous existence. His made it clear that a public option was important for ensuring sufficient competition for the private insurance companies. After all despite the availability of the numerous health insurance companies, they all seemed to be functioning like one company. Another concern by those against the public option is that they do not want bureaucrats making decisions as to when and what they will pay. They are oblivious to the fact that is what is happens currently with the private insurance companies. It was also humorous to hear many individuals, including the Chairman of the Republican Party, Michael Steele, making superficial statements on how much they were against government run health care option without realizing that Medicare is a government run health insurance program! It is not unusual to hear many people at the town hall meetings make such statements that contradicted one another. One has to wonder if these not so well thought out statements are made because of confusion in thought, insecurity or because they are made by individuals from the opposition party with the aim of depriving a democratic President a victory whenever possible.

Are eighteen year olds ready make decisions on their own and be independent?

Are eighteen year olds ready make decisions on their own and be independent? As a parent of a child off to the University, I have had to confront this question. At the orientation I was make acutely aware, the staff at the University “Your child is an adult. You do not have any right to their documents, medical records etc;”. Incidentally when it comes to paying for college, the parents are still kind of responsible!
So, are eighteen year olds really equipped emotionally to make decisions and be independent? My experience is that it depends on the child. Some children are well grounded and mature and can make decisions. But not all children are ready. What are the consequences when society decides to give all eighteen year olds the status of adults – even those that are not ready to handle the independence? Unfortunately, I suppose there is no way to apply different standards to the two groups in a university setting. I am sure the staff will tell you that all students need this independence (irrespective of their level of maturity) to explore the various aspects of life and that they will all step up to the challenges.
I only hope that this is indeed the case!

The need to distinguish between literacy and education

Recognizing the difference between a tool and its application is critical in using knowledge. It is not unusual to come across a system in which one can see significant strides made in developing the tool but very little development in its use. Often there is confusion in using the terms literacy and education. Literacy is the tool to be used in its application, education. Attaining 100% literacy does not mean gaining significant levels of education. Education involves more than reading, writing and arithmetic. An important component of education is critical thinking and developing strategies on how to use the knowledge gained through the use of literacy. Once the literary component of the educational process has been achieved – the system has to start training individuals on the application.

Obama's speech in Cairo

Listening to Obama is absolutely refreshing after eight years of disappointment. He is not only thoughtful in comments but extremely articulate. Does his experience as an academic Professor contributed to these characteristics? Most probably. Whatever the reason, it is doing a lot of good to the world.