Random Rhetorical Question 7

If a bastard is also called a 'love child', then what do you call the kid of a legally married couple?

Musical Charts

Boring evenings provide a lot of time to to kill. Hence:

I miss Venn Diagrams

For those who don't know what I'm talking about, I recommend this song-that-words-fail-to-describe that is hitting the airwaves.

And these other statistics that you may be interested in:

And

Random Rhetorical Question 6

Would you refer to an Egyptian born and brought up in the US as an African-American?

The News Is Not Enough

In the last 4 months, I followed the dynamics of war torn countries in Africa more than I normally would. This was largely due to my presence in the region and the effect these activities might have on my future location. Throughout this, one principal observation sounds out loud. The villains that are born from newsrooms may not necessarily be.

The logic is simple. If history is written by those who won the war, none can refuse the importance of mass media in correcting the direction of that history. Which is why coups generally involve capture of the State Media infrastructure as the immediate priority after the outgoing head of state himself.

Hence, when the breaking news from CNN or Fox talked about how Gaddafi was not broadcasting anti-Gadaffi protests in the state television, the world population, needless to say was stupid enough to not ask back why these democratic channels weren't broadcasting pro-Gaddafi protests. I hold no opinion on whether he was actually a bad man - No one person should be in power for so long anyway or treat civilians as he did.

But Facts are critical.

I certainly would cry foul at the ex-allies striking down on a foreign government, that so far, kept most western oil majors at bay from getting their paws at the reserves. Shouldn't a country solve it's own problems? Of course it should. Which is why foreign interference can be justified only by the portrayal of an absolute villain.

I would find out why the US hates Fidel Castro when he helped arm Guinea Bissau freedom force push the Portuguese colonists out.

I would find out why locals here in Africa say that Gaddafi funded most of the revolutions against tyrant leaders in West Africa and gives Oil at a subsidized rate to poor African countries rather than rich American buyers.

I would investigate the reason for Sarkozi's blood boiling for Libya and clearly not that of half the Libyan population itself that is standing by the current Government foreign policies.

I would question why Obama wants to save humanity in only Libya while Mugabe continues to fire away unabated.

Fundamentally, I suggest that you verify the history and context of an event that is on news. Not judge the event itself on television. Probably from a more democratic albeit academically unsound source of facts, The Wikipedia.

An evening stroll

This blog post is meant for all those who think that the UNDP/NGO sphere is really doing a great Africa job in Africa - Up Yours! And here's why:

Voinjama, Liberia

I went out for an evening stroll with my colleague Shaurya and our host Lu Tolbert in the town of Voinjama which is at the northern tip of Liberia. It is a small dusty place with old buildings scattered along the street, none of which have even a single wall that has no bullet holes in it. This was where one of the fiercest fightings took place, with rebels flooding in from Sierra Leone during the war until close to 2002 when things got calmer.

Non - Profit:

All the new buildings however, have no bullet holes. These were established post war by the UNDP and various NGOs with funds from all over the developed world: Hospitals, Schools, Offices and Government Buildings and UNMIL (UN Military in Liberia) Battalions.

The Schools and Hospitals are empty and the NGO offices have been abandoned. The local population, now used to free food and being paid to do their own work, have forgotten the importance of developing an ecosystem of self sustainability. Once the sun sets, the village is engulfed in darkness. Electricity has never reached their place. Though all UN offices glow brightly and even have decorative lights fueled by hundreds of gallons of diesel burning through the generators running for them 24/7.

Development

Lu Talbort is a Liberian who has spent most of his life in the US. He holds a degree from Columbia University and recently quit the UN due to bureaucracy that stopped him from doing anything real. He is now back at his home country and he means business. He has invested in land for plantations and is involving the local community and teaching them how to work for their own living. He will not tolerate laziness and did not flinch while firing the Local Chief's son for shirking his duties as a night guard.

He wants profitability. It is not a shameful word and slowly people around him are beginning to realise this. Thousands of people from the local communities will now have jobs in the region.

This, I am proud to say, is a blow in the face of all NGO people I've met so far who speak of "Farmer Exploitation" by corporations investing in Africa. Mining too is not what Blood Diamond showed you to be. They are professional set-ups on large scale fueling local development and creating jobs to a great extent.

Business is a proven form of development. There is no substitute for an economy invested with the purpose of profit as long as the right people run it. Aid, even for similar objectives with their hearts in the right place, is not provided by people who understand business and hence are bound to screw things up in implementation.

Music Aloud

Music Aloud started off a couple of years ago by my friends at IIM Lucknow as a platform for them to express their views on music and a stage for upcoming artists.

Today, it celebrates the completion of what I consider as two fantastic years of growth, both in terms of content and fan base. They have also managed to bag some impressive interviews of musicians from India and abroad. I'm really excited about how they are doing so far and am hoping to see them soon as the reference guide for Music in India. Do visit!