Every Dog Has Its Day

• Things were inexpensive
• There was no water problem
• Great weather
• Politics was better and cleaner

These were the reasons people would emigrate to UK from India.

And maybe these are the reasons people might want to come back to India now from UK

Liz Elizabeth Truss

• https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/0793d6f2-09e4-11ed-a986-fc91b4ad48f0?shareToken=7fd1936fa33649e5133adfdd988dd727
• https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/aug/03/boris-johnson-liz-truss-tory-members?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other: "According to that playbook, a leader can announce a half-baked policy one day and, on meeting with a backlash, rescind it the day after. On Monday, Truss proposed a “war on Whitehall waste”. Then Tory MPs who read the small print complained that the proposal meant docking the wages of teachers and nurses outside London. By Tuesday, Truss was denying she had ever had such a policy. Johnsonism is the technique of saying things to woo one audience without caring how they will be heard farther afield. "
• https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/aug/12/liz-truss-boris-johnson-tory-leadership-frontrunner-workaholic?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other
  
• https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/aug/14/liz-truss-economic-plan-ruinous-nonsense-no-reference-to-reality?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other
  
• https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/f3473da4-1fd4-11ed-b7c3-8b288ab55a56?shareToken=522611226e07deaf6681bc9b9055d8cf: "They were that she was intellectually shallow, her convictions wafer-thin; that she was driven by ambition pure and simple; that her manner was wooden and her ability to communicate convincingly to an electorate wider than the narrow band of Tory activists was virtually non-existent; that she was dangerously impulsive and headstrong, with a self-belief unattended by precaution; and that her leadership of the Conservative Party and our country would be a tragedy for both. “There’s nothing there,” I wrote last December, “nothing beyond a leaping self-confidence that’s almost endearing in its wide-eyed disregard for the forces of political gravity.”
• https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/sep/05/radon-liz-romps-home-in-a-pyrrhic-victory?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other
  

She, like Boris, seems to be a person who says and does everything based on what is immediately expedient as though she has only AI (artificial intelligence and no human one) regardless of her position earlier and regardless of what is morally/ethically appropriate.

A friend sent me this article: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/sep/02/mikhail-gorbachev-nelson-mandela-donald-trump-boris-johnson-liz-truss?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other. I was reminded of another article in Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/apr/19/fashion-fabrics-and-fishtails-why-we-need-to-talk-about-what-female-classical-performers-wear#comment-155980075 : Maybe at this point in time we should recap what the Oxford scholar Leah Broad said in this article. That while evaluating a female soloist one should evaluate also their dress. I am sure Ms. Broad would extend the logic to prime ministers too. That the PM should be evaluated not just for their fiscal or immigration policies but also for their sartorial correctness. Perhaps our opinion of Truss would be different then, all thanks to Leah.

• https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/09/03/liz-truss-uk-prime-minister/
  
• https://www.theguardian.com/politics/commentisfree/2022/oct/09/i-said-liz-truss-would-never-be-pm-bet-you-wish-id-been-right?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other
  
• https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/oct/14/kwasi-kwarteng-liz-truss-jeremy-hunt?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other: Very nice
  
• Liz Truss Is Finished: Scathing
  
• https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/feb/07/britain-liz-truss-boris-johnson-blame?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other: Even more scathing
  

Focus On Ethics

 https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/89504e5e-0779-11ed-a986-fc91b4ad48f0?shareToken=bfc2b68fe294077c5526c260b0d18235

Penny Mordaunt

 https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/f14014d0-0531-11ed-b180-5ddadbc72b86?shareToken=8eb1e870278eb4ece141fc703a37a01c

Boris Johnson (And Trump)

Boris has fallen. Trump is in still standing strong.

I wonder if this is any reflection on the strength of the system in UK vis-a-vis USA

Boris being far more silly and less vicious a scum than Trump, his eviction seems to indicate a lot less tolerance for bull in UK.

This is an article comparing the two. Boris Johnson faced revolt in his party. Trump never had that problem.

This is my comparison of the two.

Boris was thrown out by his own people (Tories). Trump is revered by his GOP. 

I was wondering why. Maybe because Boris is just a one man con-man. Trump is a movement. Trump created a legacy. 6 conservative judges out of 9.

Boris just got Brexit done and that too is a mess.

Additional reading:

• https://vbala99.blogspot.com/2022/03/trump-vs-boris.html
  
• https://www.thenational.scot/news/19858214.boris-johnson-school-letter-eton-teacher-despairs-pms-effortless-superiority/
• https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10398617/amp/Letter-PMs-Eton-classics-master-emerges.html
• Even diehard Tories can’t stand another minute of Johnson’s rollercoaster government | Rafael Behr e_btn_wa
  
• Boris Johnson’s Fight for Survival, Explained
  
• Boris Johnson Made a Terrible Mistake: He Apologized
  
• https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/jun/11/boris-johnson-stands-make-millions-after-no-10?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other
  
• https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/jul/07/boris-johnson-next-big-headache-is-finding-somewhere-to-live-says-biographer?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other
  
• https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/jul/07/boris-johnson-conservatives-resign-leadership?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other
• https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/jul/14/boris-johnson-brussels-bashing-stories-shaped-politics
  
• https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/b7c43982-fe0d-11ec-88db-ae1b6b9bdd3e?shareToken=8094d9e2e7911ce01465fb037da75426
  
• https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/f8b8e5ee-fe2d-11ec-88db-ae1b6b9bdd3e?shareToken=003dca738e8f0226f79cfd3688695c61
  
• https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/07/08/boris-johnson-resignation-donald-trump-republications-tories-gop-conservatives/: Very nice. Germany couldn't do it in 1930s. Russia and Turkey and Hungary aren't able to do it now. USA couldn't do it between 2017 and 2020. It's rather unfortunate that we can only cure now, at best. We aren't able to restrain a Boris from getting his hands on power. Eton and Oxford didn't see him as a person to be shackled. Nor did Princeton or the other alma maters!
• https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/0a94b7fe-ffa3-11ec-b9c1-d737fca5ec6a?shareToken=67b596e342b9762d2557e3d6436ea1e7
  
• https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/jul/09/boris-johnson-accused-of-trying-to-derail-rishi-sunaks-bid-to-be-next-pm?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other
  
• https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/07/07/boris-johnsons-resignation-shows-the-limits-of-shamelessness/
  
• https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/jul/23/boris-johnsons-plan-to-create-large-number-of-new-peers-comes-under-fire?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other
  
• https://vbala99.blogspot.com/2022/07/liz-elizabeth-truss.html
  
• Boris has gone Trump

Age Gap In Relationships

 https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2022/jun/14/he-was-40-and-i-was-23-but-we-had-something-real-the-couples-whose-love-bridges-the-age-gap?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

Opinion of Democracies About Russia

My friend:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/may/30/negative-views-of-russia-mainly-limited-to-western-liberal-democracies-poll-shows?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

Not everyone thinks of Russia as a bad boy it seems. Negative views of Russia is limited largely to Western democracies. The Indians have a net positive view of Russia.  Negative views of China are more widespread than of Russia. I think public perception of Russia is almost entirely dependent upon what their government thinks, and what the press in their country tells them. The Western leaders are all strongly anti-Russia, and so are the press and media here in contrast to other countries. Is the press in India more pro-Russia? If it is, that would explain the Indian perception of Russia?

My response:

Western democracies  (than Asian / African / south american) are very anti Russia because the issue is happening in Europe and in a "white" country. 

The same reason why when Finland and Sweden decided to join NATO, everyone (except Turkey) was keen to accept them. While Ukraine was left in limbo for many years.

Meaning there is a pecking order even among white countries. In terms of importance,  Scandinavia > Ukraine > say Moldova >  Macedonia and so on.

And when it was about Afghanistan, of course USA and UK did try to help. But what was the level of involvement? Was it anywhere like how they are involved in Ukraine?

A second season could be that countries like Afghanistan, Pakistan, Macedonia are hardly relevant to the world order unlike Scandinavia or even Ukraine. 

Rules Based

 A friend sent me this article: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/04/28/united-states-should-practice-the-rules-based-order-it-preaches/. She asked: Why are so many democracies unwilling to condemn Russia?

My response: "A much better way to frame the division in the world is between countries that believe in a rules-based international order and those that don’t. " From the same article. 

If Western democracies were  so rule bound as the author suggests why were UK USA etc in bed with Saudi, China and Russia all these years? Why was uk so cosy with Russian oligarchs until the Ukraine invasion? How did those oligarchs suddenly become persona non grata in Feb this year? 

Why are we still doing business with China or Saudi (despite what we know Saudi did to khashoggi)? 

Are we, Western democracies, so honorable really? Isn't survival the driving force really behind our actions? Do we think the western democracies were ignorant until Feb? 

Why this holier than thou attitude suddenly?

Akshara Murty And Rishi Sunak

• https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/apr/09/five-key-questions-rishi-sunak-and-akshata-murty-have-yet-to-answer?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other
• https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/apr/10/stench-entitlement-now-oozing-from-rishi-sunaks-home-as-well-as-boris-johnsons?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other: By the same token, the queen enjoys more privilege then the average Briton. Why is that entitlement not having a modicum of stench..How is the chancellor and his wife different from the queen? Why is the entitlement of one acceptable and that of the other, not?
• https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/f595bd44-b9c5-11ec-94e5-2197dead5942?shareToken=a5e9e77491db25c342963c1631dd931e
  
• https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/apr/07/akshata-murty-non-dom-rishi-sunak-wealth-chancellor?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other
  
• https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/apr/14/rishi-sunak-parliaments-icarus-fraud-furlough-chancellor?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other
  
• NDTV.com: UK PM Contender Rishi Sunak's Wife Akshata Murty In Hot Water Over Teacups. Since when did a person have to be embarrassed about their own wealth? What is happening to UK that media seems to look down upon akshara using expensive tea cups in her own home? This expectation is certainly unacceptable.
  
• How Sunak is doing
  

Boris And The Drinks

A conversation with my friend about Boris, the PM of UK.

My Friend:

I find it totally bizarre when Boris keeps saying even now that no rules were broken regarding the Partygate affair, and that he never attended any parties. It is now abundantly clear that rules were broken both after the Sue Gray report and now after the Police Report. Twenty people have been fined, but nobody is telling us so far whether the prime suspect, Boris, has been issued a fine or not. Still a secret that. Still the idiot Boris says no rules were broken in Downing Street even after people have been issued fixed penalty notices (FPN).

This is exactly like another idiot called Trump who keeps talking about the 'stolen election' even though he knows fully well that it is a total lie.

I don't know much of psychology, but this is just denial of facts when there is evidence flying against it in the face. What is it about these liars? Do they think the public are total fools, and simply denying it will somehow make it true?

I just don't get it. Clearly I am not as clever as they are.

My response:

Facts aren't a binary (Yes/no) for some people. They thrive on the grey. 

Their defense usually consists of a 3 step process:

1. No it (whatever they are accused of) didn't happen.

2. God forbid, if there is proof that it did happen, then the next response is "no, I didn't do it"

3. And if there is incontrovertible proof that they did do it, then the brahmastra "I never intended it". Boris is at step 2. He will move to the last step of expressing his intentions if proof of his drinks emerges.

Of course, we all know how important intentions are. And the great thing about intentions is that its existence can neither be proved nor denied. CCTV doesn't record intentions.

Thus one moves from the realm of incontrovertible proof of an act to the ambiguous realm of "didn't intend".

People from different walks of life follow this process. You just need to abstract their actions and words to see the 3 steps. 

Beware of anyone who focuses on intention rather than on action.

If you had chosen mostly wrong answers in an exam, would you have been allowed to pass it by just having expressed your fervent intention to choose the right answers?

But in life, our intention to choose right actions (without corresponding actions) gives us an enormous amount of bonus points that our exams never did!

Choose your intentions wisely, Sudha. And express them often. They give you far higher returns than actions..

India Vs UK

A friend said to me after yesterday's T20 cricket match between India and England:

India is punching its weight in the world.

I am rather struck by seeing how India is dictatating what it does, and punching above its weight in the world. We hear that India is refusing to export AZ vaccine to the UK because of some problems, whatever that is. That has got the government here all in a frenzy about whether it can reach their promised targets by the summer.

Who would have thought some 40 years ago that India would tell the West what it wants and can do to help them?

Gone are the days when India was at the mercy of others for science and technology. Let's not even talk about cricket. As someone said, India is the centre of the cricket universe! England and Australia have just had some bitter medicine.

 

I replied:

Well, India still has miles to go. I would say England punches above its weight consistently. A country (is England really a country in the first place or just a part of UK) of about 5 crore people facing a country of 130 crore in cricket. The results don't seem to indicate a 5 to 130 handicap.

Let's not even get to football. And same in most other spheres. 

UK makes India look like the David (instead of like Goliath).  That's embarrassing.

My friend wrapped it up:

England is a football nation. The irony however is that it has never won the World Cup or even the Euro Cup in football. Aa far as cricket is concerned, it won the World Cup for the first time only in 2019 after a dramatic and controversial finish. In tennis, it produced a British (Scottish) champion after 72 years.

So England or shall I say UK for now (until it splits and becomes England only), it is definitely not punching above its weight in sport. Just trying to, but not quite reached there yet.

China - Thought Leader

In the last 2 years, China has shown  leadership in 2 very different areas.  Both times it acted in ways that seemed, at the time, strange, gauche to the rest of the world. And within a month, the world was following its footsteps.

Now let's come to the two things. Going in a reverse chronological order, let's point out the way China handled the epidemic Coronavirus.  The West was aghast at China for literally locking up Wuhan province and its citizens. The democratic countries till February 2020 thought that freedom of citizens was an important factor to be considered while fighting the virus.

We now see Italy, Spain, UK, USA Switzerland scrambling while China has finished its show and is watching. The West has started to lock up, doing something that China thought of did much earlier.

The second thing I want to mention is unlike Corona, not many may recall China's contribution to the issue. And this issue is just 1 to 2 years old. 

So let's expand on it.

This is about Boeing 737 Max. (Read: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_737_MAX)
An Indonesian airline flying that aircraft crashed killing everyone in it in Oct 2018. While everyone was scrambling to locate the CVR (Cockpit Voice Recorder) and decode the information, in March 2019 an Ethiopian airlines flying the same Boeing 737 Max aircraft crashed killing everyone in board.

As usual, FAA and various governments were trying to figure out the CVR. 

China was the first country which, out of the blue, took a decision to ground all the 737 Max aircrafts in order to prevent any future accidents. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_737_MAX_groundings)

Within a month, most airlines followed China's decision. 

In both cases, Boeing 737 Max and coronavirus (in chronological and alphabetical order) China's decision had been stunning initially and left the world shocked. And within a few weeks to months, others followed suit.

Is China really the place which only makes cheap trinkets?

Why Do I Read A Newspaper?

What do I read a newspaper for?

To get news obviously. Sports, weather, politics, movies. But recently I decided to stop subscription to a newspaper. I subscribe to a few and it had been nagging me for sometime. Finally I wrote a mail and requested that the subscription be stopped.

I wondered what exactly I didn't get from that newspaper - a much acclaimed one.

I look at the numbers of articles I click and read. More the number, better I feel, considering of course how much I enjoy reading the article. 

That leads to the question: which articles grab my attention? Articles are of two types:

• Who did what when where.
• Observation of a trend or an analysis of a situation that gives a bird's eye view. I find that this kind of article is what grabs my attention. 

I then thought. Why is it that I don't make my own analysis from the first type - from the What When Where etc. These articles provide excellent fodder for analysis. For some reason I am unable to analyze these unless I have a pre-existing interest in the subject. 

When there is such an interest then even just plain data stimulates analysis. In the absence of such interest, I just see the article as data and find myself unable to process it. 

The NF (as in MBTI) I think it's capable of taking any kind of data for analysis - because of their interest in almost anything. 

Not bring NF, my interests are very narrow. So, either the article has to be an analysis or present data in a subject of my interest. 

Unfortunately the person who replied to my request to stop the subscription to the paper never asked me the reason. That remains unknown to the paper unless they come across this post and somehow link my cancellation request to this post!