Blogging Birds

Blogging Birds

Friday, March 26, 2010

American Health Bill

If communism was one extreme of sucking out people , then Capitalism is another extreme of human intolerance. Most of the world does not understand , why Republicans have to be against the Subsidy provided to health uninsured people.

If GM can be bailed out with billions of dollars, AIG can be bailed out, Banks can be bailed out, wars can be funded for years and years, then where is the logic, which supports that subsidy on health care is Un American.

Well, that is what is USA. A nation, where on side, people are generous in doling out billions of dollars for health care charity in Africa , but for their own set of under privileged people are reluctant to give away their tax dollar.

As it is Medical science is a failed science, wherein 90% of diseases are incurable and the top of it, if there is a support mechanism, expected from the society, then socially, we are unwilling to share our tax dollars. This is really funny for me.

I don't really need to compare Cuba or Europe or for that matter India, China and many such countries, where the health care is free or highly competitive in cost.

I also find it funny that Bush, vetoed twice the Stem Cells Bill in the name of saving of an unborn , lifeless egg and on the other side giving away the lives of young Americans to fight a war , which was rather not required.

Obama so far has moved rightly , but when it comes to dealing with the world, he is far too soft. I found Bill Clinton as one President, who had this charm and power to lead US to a Position of Strength.

Obama has so far not been able to show the same subtlety, but he still has time, as he has been engrossed with fixing up the economy and health issues etc. Nevertheless, he has done well on all counts within the US.

The real challenge still with US is Chinese undervalued currency, Middle East, Iran, Afghanistan , Climate Change and Terrorism. Which by any measure is not too much on Obama`s Plate.

Iran is almost a solved issue, given its own internal dissent.
China needs US more then US needs China, so, this is much easy, if US really wants to solve the issue.
Middle East, : Neither party is serious in resolving their issues, so just leave it in cold storage and move further.
Afghanistan is taking a good shape
Climate Change needs Carbon Tax.
Terrorism needs a UN anti terrorist force , same like UN peace keeping force. This is an international issue, so all members need to pool in the force. US cannot act as a policeman for all the time. UN has to take over this responsibility.

After this, US is up and running again , unless there are other skeletons falling from the closet and sinking the stock market, US is on its way up.

Monday, March 22, 2010

Food Blogs- Shame to the Five Star Hotels and Top Restaurants


For the life of me, I could not believe my own eyes, the kind of creativity which existed across the globe, when it came to Gastronomy.

Being a connoisseur of food and have traveled far and wide and with a passion to try one and everything which was veggie. I am overwhelmed to see the Gastronomy Adventures on the net.

The writing skills, the recipes, the pictures and the presentations are an example of mankind`s evolution of another color. Visit Tastespotting or Foodblogs or Foodgawker and so many more and one is visiting " Alice in Foodland ".

Food for me is like one of the highest form of Art. Art is something which appeals to the eyes and here is an Art Form, which appeals to the eyes, smell and tongue and finally the soul and at the end is very satisfying, when your body makes the final announcement of " Gahhhhhh"

Now, if you have been a restaurant freak and have enjoyed dining in all chains like Hyatt, JWM, Inter Continental, or Shangrila , then you know, the taste of an Industrial kitchen can never be something which is personalized and cooked leisurely with flavors . For that matter any of the top chefs there cannot match the variety and presentation of Tastespotting.

What is most shameful about fine dining restaurants is that the Menu is Printed Notice Board, where day after day , week after week and year after year, the chef makes the same dishes over and over again, without experimenting to improve or challenge the menu. This is one reason, if you stay at any five star property, you will find the no one dines in the hotel at all. ( Other then some lunch buffets or weekend buffets and that too is sliding off) One of course, other then the room charge, the hotel believes, it is there opportunity to fleeeeeeeeeeece the visitor away. Secondly , the taste is like a standard kitchen output, as if dining at McDonald's.

Why does the hotel or a fine dining restaurant not show innovation. Why on earth it should have a printed menu and why not a chalk board menu which changes as per the freshness of supplies available that day in the local bazaar.

Secondly, why do restaurants not use technology to present the food. All it needs is a LCD screen, which puts in pictures of the food and you while passing have the right to stop the screen and view further and make up your mind to step in. It does not need a menu to be placed outside the restaurant.

If all it takes a hand phone camera and a small computer to make a global presentation of your food on a blog, then the restaurants have failed miserably to spot the opportunity.

Lastly, if you are a chef yourself, then you know, how much fun is cooking .And with so much of variety thrown in to challenge you, one life is already booked trying all the recipes. For me Sunday is the cooking day and it starts with early walk to the street market, where the village fresh is allowed to be sold in the street market. Fun starts with wetting your fingers with the dew drops on the green leaves and flirting with the vendor girls and negotiating silly prices.

My maid has now become an expert on Indian, Japanese , Italian o and some Middle Eastern Veggie food with all my experimentation.

Food Blogs is a whole new world of ancient art of cooking, which got passed from grand mothers to daughters and is getting carried down. I am also looking further, some day, people will start posting on the ancient medical knowledge which got passed down in the same way. One of my friends mother came out of cancer, as the herbal doctor had a secret recipe.

Herbal Medical Recipes are the next big blog revolution, I look forward to and I am sure so much more will come out of one and every country . Rain Forest blessed countries will have the most unusual stories to tell. My own great grand mother could cure a snake bite with a mantra and some herbs and she wanted to teach this to my mother, who refused , as people told her that she would have to suffer, if she interferes with nature. Others would have been more wiser.

Love you all Food Bloggers and mine will be coming soon under the name " Ghongu-Lu"

Till then, keep reading

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Kabir - 21st century Needs You Back

By way of this blog, I am asking each country to immediately have the works of saint Kabir translated into their language and make it mandatory for each child to read his works. This alone will make compelling changes in the way the society shapes itself in the modern conflicts. UN also needs to notice that it is not only ancient heritage buildings and wildlife, which needs attention, but words of wisdom also need to be heritage-d. Modern world needs more wisdom, then more heritage sites.

Kabir is my favorite philosopher of all times. An uneducated saint, who out of simple common sense bought about a revolutionary change in the social pattern of the society. He jettisoned most religious practices and perhaps the first one of his times to challenge the religious books and religious beliefs. Not that the religious fanatics did not exist during his period, but his simple and straight poetry was more of music to the ears of people, then a debate on the religion.

If Kabir would come back and only repeat what he wrote then, he would still run away with a Nobel Peace Prize and Nobel literature price and of course would have been the most loved philosopher .

Kabir said, if God could be praised by worshiping a statue, then I am prepared to worship a mountain of a statue. But, better to worship the home grinder, that feeds the family.

For the Swiss controversy on Minarets, Kabir said in the 15th century, Mullah climbs the Minaret and screams to God, but why does he have to do that, God has not gone deaf anyway.

In Europe, the only country which recognized Kabir is France, whereas most of the world is still ignorant of this great Saint. Whose poetry needs to be recited every single day for all those who find their answers in religion and religious practices.

I will continue to write on Kabir endlessly. Meantime, if you get a chance, get the CD of Osho on Khumari, where he compares Kabir to Lord Buddha.

Sunday, March 14, 2010

Japan


While I have never Traveled to Japan, but Japan has always fascinated me/

An example of a very small country which went in to not only take over most of Asia pacific in the second world war, but after being bombed to rubble by the Americans rose to one of the most advanced nations and most prosperous nation in the world.

I will not go into the history of Japan, as wikipedia is better channel for it. But what wiki does not detail is that Japanese considered themselves as the direct race as descendents of “Sun God" And well, if such a thing did exist, then they have actually proved that they are actually the descendents of “Sun God”

On my flight out of Ceylon Airport in SriLanka, I had a Japanese reporter seated next to me and we went talking. The only question I kept repeating to him and he could not answer me successfully was " How is that a country which practically had a "Martial Race", and had conquered China, Korea, Parts of Australia, Singapore, Indonesia, etc etc had now become so much calm and quiet."

Generally a Martial race is hot headed and war inclined, but Japan is an example, how a full country changed to No War Country and though on account of US dictates, yet it is the people who actually embraced the new constitution. I may have very serious differences with US on the way the Japanese King was bailed out and allowed to continue with his royalty. No matter how much symbolic, but was fully responsible for the War Crimes of First and Second World War. The allied forces made similar blunders with Nazis, where hundreds of Nazi generals got bailed out on flimsy grounds.

Further, it was Japan, who first came up with Suicide Bombers and young men laid their lives for the sake of generals who lectured them to take up such an assignment for the sake of patriotism and be a martyr. Well, I dont see much of a difference between them and the modern suicide bombers glorifying themselves in the name of religion. Both were equally Brain Damaged. When a certain class of people feel threatened, then they find enough reasons to push their young men into death traps and satisfy their own whims and fancies. If only history is correctly written and read, most young men will immediately understand the game being played with them. But till then, more young men would be drawn into martyrdom, whether in Palestine or in Pakistan.

Both Germany and Japan then went into show the world that they had the true genius besides the military errors.

Japan has overtaken Germany many folds on account of small budget on army and also the country with its strong ties with US after the war changed the country.

There is lot to learn from the Japanese. They are the best Lateral Thinkers; though very very slow thinkers and poor managers. Japanese companies are not the best place to make a career, nor it is the best companies to do business, yet they make such reliable products at such nice prices, that they don’t get ignored. Infact, they come to the top, despite all the organizational weaknesses.