Sympathy for Google in China (src: Vincent Thian/associated Press Photo)

If you picked a newspaper – oh I forgot they are obsolete now!. I mean if you read news or blogs within last week, you would know about the bitter Google Vs China cyberwar. Google took a fancy stance (that of course only a company with such huge stature can afford) by declaring that it will uncensor its search engine in China or move out. Although morally applauded for standing against the ‘human rights violating’ Chinese laws, Google’s motivations appear to be coming from avenging the harsh cyber laws it has long faced in the country. The recently discovered large scale cyber attacks/spying merely gave Google a wound to gain sympathy for.
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Ghalib's haveli (src: flickr)

Unfortunate is the land that can’t uphold it’s own legacy. To have been blessed with the affections of the peerless Mirza Ghalib is sufficient alone to make Delhi special but Delhi has decided to hand the honor over to the oblivion. In recent news article from TOI, the Delhi govt. or the archaeological department had no clue how Ghalib’s haveli was permitted to be used as a marriage banquet hall. Such incidences are not merely a proof of the corruption and govt’s incompetency but questions the level of awareness among the people themselves. A place that should be boasted off is left to decay. Thanks to some celebrities who are still proud of this Indian heritage such as Gulzar and Vishal Bharadwaj, the forsaken place was paid its dues in a candlelight vigil on the poets 212th birthday on 27th Dec. I know at least one place I have to visit when I go to Delhi this time before the haveli is reduced to a mockery of the value of art in India.
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The Russian thinker Ayn Rand continues to amuse and intrigue me. Her mind boggling influence fascinates me. If you scan daily journals, you would have undoubtedly come across critics and reporters connecting Rand’s theories with recent financial downturn.

Going Galt Tea Party

Some interesting excerpts-
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Today’s feature-

If Thomas Paine were alive today, there’s little doubt you would find him blogging from www.commonsense.org, challenging concentrated power, conspicuous wealth, and a culture amusing itself to death. Paine would likely have cherished the chance to engage his readers in debate, and spur them to direct action for better government and a more equitable economy. When people pick up a newspaper or view it online, they need to feel that the multitude of voices within are devoted to them: a democratic people determined to stay that way. One man, with one voice, did that for the American colonies—and it changed the world.

No matter what form journalism takes in the coming years, it will only remain relevant if it follows Paine’s example and treats people like citizens worthy of serious conversations. The profession forgets this at its own peril. Or, as Paine would say: “Character is much easier kept than recovered.”

-Matthew Harwood

A good solid read at Columbia Journalism Review. The name ‘Thomas Paine’ has crossed my eyes much too often recently, no wonder since it’s his death anniversary week. But first things first- Who is Thomas Paine?

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So is Obama crazy? Good question.

Some people — they call themselves “birthers” — who believe that the president is Kenyan-born and so not eligible to be president (and also in unicorns) have made it their cause to mandate that future presidents establish their Americanness beyond the shadow of a doubt before being allowed to offer themselves as national candidates. But after the last eight years, it is the sanity of the president that we ought to be more inclined to care about. If there were no other baseline qualification for the job, it should be that one. Of lesser concern during times when presidents aspire to do small things, certainly, but as we find ourselves at present in the maelstrom of the Obama Revolution, we can only hope that the president is as sober as he appears to be. For he may have campaigned on hope, but he’s governed with implacable audacity.

-Charles. P. Pierce

Feature articles are going to be my new point of focus and I found the above quoted article at Esquire worth mentioning. This last para was too interesting even though patches of political references in between are outside my ken.

Please send me any worth reading features that you come across, thanks in advance.