Randolph and the family band

Ain't Nothing Wrong With That



Enchaai !

randolph and the family band

Going In The Right Direction




Sweet music !

the cool blues

The first time i have seen a guy play the electric guitar like a keyboard !
pretty cool

Robert Randolph & The Family Band - I Need More Love

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5X8LB6nBl4
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Regards,
Karthik Iyer

The fallout of the released CIA papers reaches india (aka Nehru was naive)

From: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Chinese_deception_Nehrus_naivete_led_to_62_war/articleshow/2155130.cms

Printed from The Times of India -Breaking news, views. reviews, cricket from across India

Chinese deception, Nehru's naivete led to '62 war: CIA papers 27 Jun, 2007 l 2345 hrs IST lCHIDANAND RAJGHATTA/ TIMES NEWS NETWORK SMS NEWS to 8888 for latest updates BIG BLUNDER: CIA document says Zhou repeatedly conned Nehru by telling him that there was no border problem except for some "petty issues" (TOI Photo) WASHINGTON: In revelations that could inject new mistrust between India and China and their efforts to resolve a long standing border issue, declassified CIA documents released this week extensively detail what the US saw as Chinese perfidy and Indian naivete that led to the 1962 war between the two sides. Three sets of documents on the Sino-Indian border dispute has been declassified by the CIA as part of new transparency efforts that also involved disclosing what has been dubbed "family jewels," describing covert CIA operations at home and abroad. One set of documents called the Caesar-Polo-Esau papers deal extensively with the communist regimes in the former Soviet Union and China, and the American reading of their policies. In the three chapters dealing with the India-China border spat, CIA analysts suggest that Beijing and its them premier Zhou en Lai (the old spellings Peiping and Chou are used in the paper) consistently fooled Nehru and India through procrastination and dissembling. The analysis says that Zhou repeatedly conned Nehru by telling him that there was really no border problem except for some "petty issues" which could be resolved by officials at lower levels. He also disarmed Nehru by pleading that Communist China had not had the time to revise maps from the old Kuomintang regime (which claimed areas that belonged to India.) At the same time, the documents also paint a picture of India's first prime minister Nehru as a naïve, romantic statesman who was gullible enough to be taken for a ride by the Chinese. Nehru, say the first set of documents, even kept border incidents and rising disagreement with China out of Indian public domain in order to contain public opinion and to maintain his relationship with Zhou. "The Chinese diplomatic effort was a five year masterpiece of guile, executed -- and probably planned in large part by Chou en Lai," the CIA analysis says. "Chou played on Nehru's Asian, anti-imperialist mental attitude, his proclivity to temporize, and his sincere desire for an amicable Sino-Indian relationship." Such was Nehru's trust of China and Zhou, the CIA says, that he dismissed a letter from then Burmese premier Ba Swe, warning him to be cautious in dealing with Zhou. Nehru declared Zhou to be an honourable man. The analysis goes on to say, "The Indians later complained, in pathetic terms, of the Chinese practice of deceit." But in a later analysis, the CIA also suggests that Nehru himself became intransigent and backed himself into a corner because of adverse public opinion and opposition criticism of his soft stance on Chinese incursions. This dynamic of Indian democracy -- of leaders having to respond to the mood of the country and be accountable to parliament -- is something the Chinese failed to understand. Eventually, the CIA analysis says, Beijing had to give up the idea of making a deal with India because "the only carrot acceptable to Nehru was the entire plain (Aksai Chin)." They were, therefore, left with various sticks of various sizes, and "when they used even a small one the Indians winced." Although there is nothing new in the CIA analyses and the India-China spat has been examined from every angle by military and diplomatic historians, the timing of the new disclosures are sure to embarrass New Delhi and Beijing and re-open a few old wounds and suspicions. Read this in Hindi

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Regards,
Karthik Iyer

Pakistan unplugged

From: http://www.rediff.com/news/2007/jun/12guest.htm

What a visit to Pakistan revealed Colonel Dr Anil Athale (retd) | June 12, 2007 | 15:05 IST On May 26, a few Indians and four Pakistanis gathered at Mumbai's MIG Club to commemorate the first anniversary of the Peace Process initiative by the South Asian Free Media Association, or SAFMA. The initiative had the blessings of both governments and the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, or SAARC. But the long shadow of recent events in Karachi fell on this effort and unlike last year, the guest list from Pakistan was very small. The initiative, launched with much hope and hype last year, seems to be meeting the same fate as many such initiatives. It is thus a good time to take a long hard look at the peace process and examine likely scenarios. On May 22 last year, a 33-member Pakistani delegation from Karachi arrived in Mumbai on a four-day visit. On the first day, the delegates kept mostly to themselves and seemed reluctant to even strike up conversations with Indians. But from the second day, as they got used to freedom in India, all of them, with an odd exception, behaved as if they had just entered a ' de-compression' chamber, doing all the things that are prohibited in a strict Islamic society, from eating ham and bacon at breakfast to guzzling down whisky. The dominant impressions of the interaction were: Lack of understanding about Indian issues, systems and processes; Nostalgia for bygones; 'Me too' as a constant theme to show that Pakistan is at par with India; Hypocrisy on religious taboos; General dislike of the state of affairs in Pakistan including the domination of the military; Sense of envy about India and Indians due to the freedoms we enjoy and progress we have made. A Indian delegation, led by Murlidhar Chaini, Chairman, Reliance Industries and President, Maharashtra Economic Development Council (a kind of state Planning Commission) paid a return trip to Karachi from June 10 to 14, 2006. Other members of the delegation included Dr Ravi Bapat, former vice-chancellor, Medical University, Dr Nikhil Datar, a leading gynaecologist, Dr Sunil Deshmukh of Bombay University, Chandrashekhar Nene, VP, Kingfisher Airlines, Sulaxana Mahajan, an architect and three journalists from local newspapers. Some delegates were accompanied by their spouses. Loksatta Editor Kumar Ketkar of SAFMA was the coordinator of the delegation. I was part of the delegation as a representative of an NGO involved with the peace process. Six other persons, mainly artistes from various fields (like poet Javed Akhtar, singer Faiyyaz) were denied visas by the Pakistani high commission in Delhi. All were Indian Muslims. Conclusions from that visit: There is tremendous dislike of the army dominance while Musharraf is not unpopular. There is a sense of insecurity in city of Karachi; even by 7 pm the city streets are deserted. India is an object of envy for its freedom, independent judiciary, election commission and economic and educational progress. The civil elite is conscious of the fact that in a globalised world only peace and cooperation with India can lift their country out of its present morass. The army does not want the people to come in contact with Indian Muslims as that will give a lie to their propaganda. There is great reluctance to permit free flow of information media and people. The people to people contact is sought to be only confined to the elite, and not the masses. In Karachi the Muttahida Quami Movement's dominance has ended the sway of the Jaamat-e-Islami, Masood Azhar and anti-India jihadi forces who seem to have shifted to Punjab. In the recent terrorists incidents in India there are hardly any links to Karachi-based groups. Karachi is dominated by Pashtuns, with a common refrain being that there are more Pathans in Karachi than in Peshawar. The overall situation in Karachi, and by proxy, Pakistan, is unstable and any trigger like the capture/killing of Al Qaeda chieftain Osama bin Laden or Musharraf extending his presidency could trigger events which could threaten the continuance of military rule. The ongoing violence in Waziristan, Baluchistan and Afghanistan only adds to the volatility.

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Regards,
Karthik Iyer

Ku Klux Klan: A Secret History

An excellent documentary by the History channel.
History Channel - Ku Klux Klan: A Secret History 1/10
History Channel - Ku Klux Klan: A Secret History 2/10
History Channel - Ku Klux Klan: A Secret History 3/10
History Channel - Ku Klux Klan: A Secret History 4/10
History Channel - Ku Klux Klan: A Secret History 5/10

History Channel - Ku Klux Klan: A Secret History 6/10
Ku Klux Klan: A Secret History 7/10
History Channel - Ku Klux Klan: A Secret History 8/10
History Channel - Ku Klux Klan: A Secret History 9/10

History Channel - Ku Klux Klan: A Secret History 10/10
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Regards,
Karthik Iyer

a simple physics puzzle

Hi,
Here is a simple puzzle.

Weight of the flying bees

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We have bees flying in a jar, not touching it. Jar is closed and air in it has standard atmospheric pressure. Here is the question: if we put that jar on a weighing-machine, is it going to show the mass of the bees? Why?

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Regards,
Karthik Iyer

http://wwww.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=170218

The versatility of the english language

Listen to the attached audio. Warning: uses a the word "f**k" frequently, but it is a revealing and funny talk !

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Regards,
Karthik Iyer