Anything Mickey or Donald can do, I can do better. Just superior IQ.
The benefits are immense, as long as I am not fighting personally.
Publicity- the media is dying for a war to start, so their dull lives interviewing local politicians can brighten up.
The ammunitions producers are happy that their Christmas Sale has started.
The army, navy and air force guys are happy they have something to do.
The public instantly forgets all the economic and social problems.
Epstein Files, anyone?
If they were made on current happenings, their titles might be-
1. Khul ja Hormuz
2. Mamata ki Kshamata
3. Hormuz- Kabhi khushi de kabhi gham
4. LPG- a Neverland
5. Hormuz ki dum Tedhi ki Tedhi
6. Iran Yuddh ka Kahufnaak Sach
7. Israel ki Giraft mein Trump
8. Vijay hi asli cheez hai
9. Keralam aur Raga- ek Prem Kahani
Looks like world leaders don't wait till April 1st to be foolish. Russia launched the war in Ukraine in February 2022. Not to be outdone, Trump launched his Iran war in February 2026.
We will have to wait and see if it ends by April 1st. Unless he gets the peace prize, looks unlikely. So some new foolishness may happen.
But the rest of the world can indulge in their own foolish things. Elections, for example. There are some coming up in the neighbourhood (Bengal where I am right now), and a couple of other states in India. I usually don't understand the claims and promises made by politicians of all hues every 5 years, and have mostly given up trying to.
Of course, there are other things. Pettiness in personal life, and pandering to the ego, in all sorts of people. Ego massage could be a big industry if it were monetised.
Fun times ahead, if you take a comical view of things. Look forward to April 1st.
It's all about sustainability, if it's not AI talk. So, here are some tips to sustain you through the next chapter of your life-
Bread is not as sustainable as cake. Marie Antoinette was right, you should eat cake if you don't have bread.
Chocolate is for winters, as it does not melt. Try ice apple in summers.
Jokes about bosses make your stay in the organisation less sustainable- they have informers. Wait until you have left the organisation to crack them.
War with Pakistan is sustainable - for us. Not for them. We just have more people.
A Ph.D. makes you immune to delayed gratification in all spheres of life. Try it!
Acting is temporary. Reality is permanent. Be real. (sorry, lifted from something equally inane said by cricket commentators- Form is temporary, class is permanent?- whatever that means)
This is about the futility of war, mostly. The thought hits you hard when you see any war begin- India-Pakistan, U.S. -Afghanistan, or Russia-Ukraine. Or the latest, Hamas-Israel. What does it achieve? Is it worth it?
I am not saying that self-defence is necessarily bad. But can it also be limited to defending without going too far? If we end up killing a large number of people and losing a large number too, what exactly is the gain from it?
There is so much productive work we can all be engaged in, and a lifetime is not enough to do it in. If not work, then at least one can enjoy the nature, man-made attractions and all the rest, without becoming destructive. There is so much beauty around to enjoy.
Just a thought for all the brainwashed armies around the world that have to go out and kill or get killed. Yes, they are doing their job. But what a job! To please an egomaniac or a megalomaniac in most cases.
You may think, like the East and the West, they (wars and humour) wouldn't meet (sorry, Kipling). But in my book (or blog) they do. Just one example, below-
Conversations between warlords Putin and Zelensky
Zelensky (he was a comedian earlier)- This is not funny. You are stepping on my toes, and disturbing the furniture in my house.
Putin- Go find some dole-outs from your new friends.
Zelensky- I am joining NATO
Putin- Natu, Natu, I mean, naughty, naughty (under his breath - 'these damn Oscars! They get on my nerves. I prefer Awara hoon')
Zelensky- I will put you out to dry, Putin!
Putin- That dialogue is czarring- I mean, jarring- to a modern Czar.
Zelensky- You ARE crude, like that oil you keep peddling as a carrot to all the world! And full of gas, like...
Putin- Shut up, or you will face the brand new missiles which I had to test on someone.
Zelensky- Ha, I will then test all the anti-missile missiles that Germany, France, USA wanted tested..
Meanwhile, Xi smiles slyly, as he Ok's a new virus test in the rebranded lab at Wuhan...
Anopheles, my winged female friend, was back after a hiatus. So I updated her on the Coronavirus pandemic that I had managed to survive, and a few other things, like the war in Ukraine. And, of course, the school shootings in the U.S.
She was perplexed.
"I thought you people had more sense," she said.
That was justified, given how it looked. But I tried a defence.
"Not all of us are like that," was my lame defence.
"What are you going to do about this? Are you trying to stop the war? At least the rich guys in the West?"
I had to confess "Not exactly, they are sending more weapons, huge quantities, to Ukraine."
"And the gun lobby is not about to give up either, on tighter laws to stop individual proliferation."
"But we have almost stopped the pandemic," I said, looking at the brighter things.
"Tell me, do you also have wars?" I was curious about her world.
"Yes, but only a war of words. Or buzzwords, if you want to be technical about it. Whoever creates a larger buzz, wins," she said.
"And what are some of these buzzwords?" I asked her.
"Energy through Efficient Flapping, Minimum noise, maximum output or Efficiency in Bites, Working around Mosquito Nets and other Obstacles, Co-opetition for Sharing Prey, Information System Updates to Find your Quarry, Investigating the Effect of Burgers and Pizzas on Blood Quality of Humans... there are lots."
"Illuminating, I said," and switched off the light, while bidding her good night!
Don't quite remember the old one, but you might, after reading the following.
What will happen in the Russia-Ukraine war?
There are two possibilities-either Russia will win, or Ukraine will win.
A. If Russia wins, they may stop all exports to Europe, as revenge. B. If Ukraine wins, they will reopen all the ports that Russia has captured.
If A, then Europe will be starved of gas, and a few other things. If B, they will have to return all unused arms supplied by the west through those ports.
If starved of gas, European countries may colonise some countries which have sunshine, like they did once before. If arms are returned to the Western countries, the arms producers have to find new clients, maybe in the Middle East or Africa, like they did sometimes earlier.
and so on. The wars will continue, if not in the present sector- Russia-Ukraine, somewhere else.
So why worry? Produce arms if you can, and sell them too, and you will be fine.
Ok, war is bad. We all know that. But it is necessary for the war machines to keep production of ammunition going and growing. We also know that. Therefore, we need innovation in wars-or innovative wars.
There have to be wars. Understood. But destruction, killing, mass migration? These are not inevitable. So, to achieve painless but real wars, here are two suggestions (one borrowed from a friend, one mine)
1. Have real ammunition fired at specially created dummy targets created in the enemy country, by prior arrangement with them. Fire all your missiles into those. That's how films do it, so we have the expertise, in creating sets that will get destroyed, instead of real people. The warmongers get the satisfaction of having done their macho thing. No people are harmed.
2. Both sides acquire technology which can divert all missiles and bombs to sites that are harmless, once these are fired/dropped. They are detected midstream and diverted, so there is no damage to life and property, but both sides can claim that thousands of bombs were dropped on the enemy.
How about it? Both are viable solutions, and the first is cheaper- just set aside some land for the bombings.
This story from my childhood is quite pertinent. In world affairs too. Not the romantic ones, but war-like situations.
When Putin decides to invade some neighbouring country, others cry wolf. But what about Iraq? Afghanistan? Or earlier, Vietnam? They were not even neighbouring countries, for invaders.
The tendency is to view themselves as holier-than-thou, and this has little to do with religion. The Napoleon-Alexander mentality still shows up from time to time, among global wannabe policemen of every ilk. Amusing, but also tragic for people in the crossfire.
Being peaceful is so much easier, and better!
It is popularly seen as a romantic day or day for romancing. But if you expand the meaning to a larger one, maybe we could view it as a day to celebrate universal love and brother/sisterhood.
Why we need such days more frequently, is that wars, coups, persecution and grief are the order of the day in large parts of the world-many for no good reason. Hoping that these will reduce through the next few years. But certainly, expressing good feelings towards everyone, including significant others, is always a welcome idea. Celebrate parents, children, friends and in my case, students too.
Happy Valentine's Day, in advance!
What has been happening in Afghanistan probably has parallels with Vietnam in many ways. Fortunately Vietnam recovered from those events and became a thriving economy. I have visited the country, and found it very vibrant.
Hope that something good comes out eventually for the sake of the common people in Afghanistan. Even if they recover, it may take a few years or decades. Hope for the best.
In general, meddling in countries which are so far away, makes little sense. But then, is anyone listening?
Went to Chennai for a few days, after quite a while. I used to attend a December conference at Great Lakes Institute for a long time. This ...
