Pay Hike Proposed in Indian Academia

As I saw in this ToI article [and was also informed of the official report in the researchers returning to India yahoogroup], the UGC has recommended a huge pay hike in the salaries of Indian academics.

While these are still "recommendations", this at least shows that they are taking notice of the problem of the severe lack of faculty in India.

I would write more on this, but gotta prepare for la nuit blanche :). So I point you all to this excellent analysis by Abi, which ends with asking the question:

if you wouldn't consider an IIT faculty position for Rs. 30,000, would the new salary make you change your mind?

Would it?

VP Debate, its Analysis, and some Songs

update: Better factcheck with audio here.

Given that the VP debate was from 3am local time, and since I had to come to work today, I figured the best thing would be to listen to NPR's analysis in the morning.

And that is what I did, when I kinda woke up today at 5am, I started the analysis at this NPR post, and got what I wanted :). For NPR's factchecking of this debate, check this post out. Of course, if you want to see the whole thing, you can do it at NBC.

Or, you can read the wonderful analysis posted by Ms. Jamba Jagannathan at her blog post with the wonderfully pun-tastic title of Palintology And The Well Above Average Joe.

From the post:
Amy Poehler, at the end of the SNL skit on the Palin-Couric interview, asked "Forgive me, Mrs. Palin, but it appears that when cornered, you become increasingly adorable. Is that fair to say?

Oh doggone it, you betcha.

Tonight's VP debate proved just that, and Sarah didn't even need to be really cornered. Right down from talking about soccer moms and even winking in a "hey you" kind of way at the camera, Barbie all but asked Gwen Ifill and Joe Biden to join her at the Hometown Buffet for some moose steaks.

...

Still, her performance in this debate may have been the best thing to happen to a faltering campaign impeded further by McCain's annoying political dances around the $700 billion bailout.

Biden, on the other hand, did so well, he overshadowed Obama's performance during last week's debate.

And finally, some songs which I am swaying to this morning, as I sit with my headphones on, working at my desk at INRIA, waiting for the evening rendezvous with the K&K gang!

More on Palin, Rape, Incest, Abortion, and WTF?

First, if you have not, have a look at my previous post on this.

Then, have a look at the following videos: JS summarizes it like noone can.



and then, what happens if an unqualified woman takes charge?



and finally, if you want to see Jon angry, see this interview.

Bonus: One of the few profitable enterprise in America now - soups!

If you can, please watch the VP debate tonight [I am sure cnn.com and nbc.com will carry it], and let me know how it was.

Got raped by a relative? [Grin and] _Bear_ It

... or so says Sarah Palin [thanks to ToI for the link ]



WTF?

Kudos to Katie Courric for making SP state her stance clearly on this.

update: Here is the link to an article by a rape victim on this. [ref: S]

BTW, to prepare you for VP debates tonight, here it is - Cheney vs Edwards:

Missing Sewai, and Understanding the Bailout Vote

First of all, a tip of my hat to the good memories of Eids past, when mom and dad would take me to our neighbor's place, and I would have lovely sewai made by aunty :).

I miss those days, I miss the sewai, and I miss the innocence of the days when Eid for me was no different from Onam or Pongal, something _other people_ celebrated, and I got good food and a school holiday for.

Moving on to the current economic crisis, lets see JS's take on it, which I guess summarized it well.



I see his anger, and second it! wtf?!

The reason to not bomb Iran ...

... is that it, not unlike the Unites States, is inhabited by normal people who the world thinks are a bunch of extreme religious fanatics simply because of their current head of state, who is not liked by all his citizens either.

That, and because bombs kill people.

For more on this, I give you this interview by the author of "The Ayatollah Begs to Differ".



In other news, in these last months, thanks to the INRIA library, I have had the good fortune to watch some very good movies, which I had skipped when they were released. Interestingly, the last two I saw both had Paris :).

And Finally, yay for the Supreme Court of India for saying that if your underage kid takes your car and mows someone down, _you_ pay, not the insurance company.

Head of Skate

My great friends at Tremendosaur posted this on their blog:



To get more context, watch this [Thanks to L for the links]:



and then, compare with this:



And as far as I understand, the GOP is going to win in November. Good luck America!

The Return to Washington

This post sat in my drafts box for a bit too long, and a lot happened in the meantime.
- Another blast happened in Delhi. Fscking craziness!

- The US presidential debates happened. I watched part of it live, and was wishing Obama called McCain's bluffs more harshly, but the clearest summary and analysis is here on NPR.

Back to my older post:

JS explains McCain's "sacrifice" by suspending his campaign



... and moves on to the most awkward loan interview



More insight on this can be seen in his interview with Bob Schieffer

And to end, a prominent women's org endorses Palin Obama/Biden.

Videos: Suspended Campaigns, and the US Economy

[Post tributed to the amazing women I know, esp S and A -- for their views on SP :)]

First, watch this video

Watch CBS Videos Online

Amazing what happens when she is cross-questioned!!
Thanks to S for pointing me to this page which had the video.

Update: Katie C's feedback here.

Moving on, as you might know, John McCain has suspended his campaign, so he can focus on the crisis in the economy [read: avoid a debate with Obama].
Jonny S says it best.




In solidarity with McCain, the coal-bear also suspended his show:



Moving back to Palin, and how her handlers don't allow press conferences, here is a report on her going to meet all leaders in the UN. [remember how pissed A was with this :)]



Colbert's take on Palin follows:



Also, to prove that JS lives not on republican's blood, but politician's blood in general, here is take on Biden



and finally, a segment on Asif Mandvi. I loved his 'childhood video'




Yeah -- I know, a lot of videos, but hey -- a lot of good art was created yesterday -- what's a blogger to do? ;)

2000 apple pies and a bulldog with lipstick

First, the fast went well -- I survived :).

Next, here is JS's amazing analysis of the economic crisis and the statement of 'dear leader' W for this.



and listen on to the very end of John Oliver's analysis for the _aim_ of GWB
:) :| :(



Moving on, Abi points to this amazing Newsweek article about Sarah Palin. Read it.

Also, see Aparna's post on barbie going global, [and thanks to her for recommending my blog :). Love'ya Appu!]

Finally, check out JS's interview with Billy C - part 1 and part 2.

update: This "the word" best explained the situation IMO, hence added :)

Waiting for Iftar

The USC MSU is not organizing the fast-a-thon this year, so I was told. Apparently this is too early in the semester, and they need time to organize this.

Well, for me, fasting without water from sunrise to sunset is all about solidarity with my muslim friends, and so I randomly chose today as the day this Ram[z|d]an, to fast for a day, like I did in the past years.

Sunset is at 7:50pm, so I guess I will get back to work :).

cheers,
-A
P.S. Got a coding question? Check out Slack Overflow -- I like it so far.

Why Megyn Kelly will lose her job at Fox

Because first she points out that the McCain campaign is lying about Obama increasing taxes



and then points out that Papa Bear is wrong about the rights of media organizations about information stolen from other people [case in point, Sarah Palin email] [ref: Wired]



wow!

Doesn't she remember that Fox's job is to present both sides of an issue -- the President't side, and the Vice President's side ?

RIP [Resign in Peace] Megyn.

Videos: PC, and of Spine-ful media

Friend of mine know I don't like Microsoft's closed-door policies, but I do think the ads below are a nice one :).





In other news, MSNBC grows cajones and actually points out that the McCain campaign is using untruths. [ref to this page for a controlled experiment PoV of this]



And Finally, the Onion got a hold of Obama's email account. Direct pic here.

Being Generally Generic

Yes, my love for Jonny boy continues :).



Full episode here.

P.S. Some random facts from the episode:
1. You can lead a cow up stairs, but not down
2. Bats always exit caves and turn left
3. All polar bears are left-handed
4. When a polar bear hunts, it puts its white furry paw over its black nose to improve camouflage :)

Jon S loves Sarah Palin

And here's why


quoting JS: "yeah, its true, its fscking true!"

We need newscasters like this.

And then, the Coal-Bear added "How Dare You?"


P.S. This gem from NBC is also worth a watch

Pourquoi?!!!?!!?

Why? Why do we have to periodically endure the pain of innocent people being killed, regardless of religion, cast, creed, and political opinions. Normal people, aiming to earn their daily bread -- killed in cold blood by extremists.

I do not pretend to know the answers. I do not know how to stop this. But I do know the following:

1. I don't like how the UPA govt handles these issues, with its lax treatment of the law-and-order wing.
2. I do not support the right's hawkish attitude on terror, since the mistreatment of one non-terrorist can easily create more terrorists, esp in the polarized India of today.
3. I do not consider the left to be a party whose PoV is worth listening to, after the way they have handled the singur issue in WB [and the nuke deal, etc etc].
4. The people are sick and tired of this, but they are also concerned about their livelihoods. If we do not capitalize on the current "awareness" of people about this, noone will ask the powers-that-be for a pragmatic and effective solution to this situation, and this will repeat again in some time.

I'm sorry if you came to my blog expecting a witty or humorous post, or some kind of solution to this crisis -- I am just not in the mood for the former, and I have no idea about the latter. If you have some, do comment and let me know.

Outraged, and agitated,
-A

Rappin' 'bout the El-Etch-See

I have known about the LHC for some time now, including the fact that in the off-chance, it could destroy the world ;). MP sent me this discovery article about it yesterday, which explains it in more details.

As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words, but I say that a video is worth 24 pictures each second! ;)

So here it is, a rap made by a grad student for the LHC [ref: the article above]. Enjoy!



BTW, I will be in Nice for conference when this thing fires up. So just in case we all get sucked in, so long, and thanks for all the comments ;).

-A
P.S. A TED Talk on this topic is here, but I still prefer the rap format :).

Update [9Sep08: 8pm CET]: Apparently they started it, and got some images too -- but the main thing will happen only in a couple of weeks :).

Maverick Reformer or Reformed Maverick?

The Daily Show just kept getting better and better as the week went on. So this post will pretty much include all of the segments from last night's episode :)

First: The acceptance speech


Then: The bio movie [shows exactly why he lost all my respect]


And Finally: Small Town Values


I hope Cyrus Broacha at The Week that Wasn't gets to this level soon :).

P.S. As a bonus, watch this interview of NY's Mayor with Stephen Colbert. This was one of the rare interviews when the interviewee got more laughs.

A more Honest Union [and corn on the cob]

Although you all must watch both the Daily Show and the Colbert Report for yesternight, here are the best segments, in my opinion. [btw, see the comments on my previous entry on this topic, for very interesting links]

First: The coal-bear praises the new Veep nominee.


And then, Sam B asks the republicans about.. you know.. when you have two things, and you can have only one.. you make a... what's the word?


Seriously, watch the full episodes :).

In other news, I was walking in the post-rain Paris today, after my medical exam [for the work permit], and I smelt the fragrance of corn being roasted! Just like those days in Banaras :). And sure enough, there was this desi-looking guy, selling 1 euro corn-on-the-cobs. And unlike the US version, and very much like the Indian version, it was NOT sweet :).

Needless to say, I was soon sitting in the Parisian Metro, eating my Indian-style bhutta :).

P.S. NPR on the "facts". And more.

Hypocrisy-exposé: Why I LOVE Jon Stewart

I LOVE JON STEWART!

to find out why.. see the following. I implore/recommend/request/beg you.



Deep down within me, I believe that America is rotting, and that Jon Stewart and the Daily Show will be remembered in history for speaking the truth to the people in an easily palatable form.

What do you say?
-A
P.S. To their credit, NPR also did a fact-finding piece on the grey areas in Sarah Palin's stance on the bridge-to-nowhere.
P.P.S. Watch the video. Seriously!
Update: Check out this digg comment to see how the RNC's speeches has so many 'untruths'.