Myopia Magnified !

It seems Election Commission ( EC ) has issued a notification , banning advertisements by political parties on " Social Media " websites such as Wikipedia / Twitter / YouTube / Facebook and online Apps ( mobile too ? )

With a proviso that the political parties may do so , after getting for their ads , a " pre-certification " from competent authorities

But what about content ( camouflaged ads ? ) posted on internet by general public  ?

EC is in consultation with the Ministry of Communication and Technology , on practical ways to deal with such posts

Whoa !

What a gumption to dare monitor a trillion daily posts on a billion web sites !

Apparently , neither EC nor the Ministry , seem to have heard about the,

INTERNET  OF  THINGS

Under upcoming internet protocol ( IP  V 6.0 ) , each grain of sand on approx 100 earth-sized planets , would have its own unique IP address !

That would translate to a few billion IP addresses for each and every human being on our earth  !

Come 2019 Lok Sabha elections , Congress / BJP / AAP and umpteen other political parties would be delivering their election campaign advertisements ( or donation requests ) , on our ,

> Toothbrushes / Nail-cutters / Wrist-watches / Table cloth / Kitchen wall

Including on plastic lenses in our eyes  !


And wearable Google glasses are already connected to internet 


Scientists have already come up with contact lenses which can see in the dark  !

40 years ago , in his seminal essay , " Marketing Myopia " , author Theodore Levitt wrote ,

"  If you don't make yourself obsolete , someone else will "

May be EC need some advice from our very own Prof Jhunjhunwala , who has succeeded in delivering internet through each and every , humble domestic electric socket  !  Watch out , Internet Service Providers  !

It seems to me , EC is headed for the " Internet Cloud " !  No doubt , against its will  !

If a tiny country like ESTONIA ( population = 1.6 million ) can elect its entire parliament ( may be 20 persons ! ) , ONLINE , without a single physical booth , why can't we  ?

The pessimists among us , will argue :

" It can't be done when you have 814 million voters "

It is this kind of people who are obstacles to India's progress  !

Left to do their thing , they will take India back to 18th Century  !

I urge , Pitrodas and Nilekanis of beloved India , to muster courage and tell EC ,

" Sir , internet is unstoppable / un-controllable

  Don't even try  !  "

*   hemen  parekh  ( 20 March 2014 / Mumbai )

Arvind ( MP ) or Arvind ( Ex-MLA ) ?

Not surprisingly , many people would like it to be ,

Arvind ( Ex-MLA )

One does not need to be a NOSTRADAMUS , to be able to predict that - should Arvind decide to fight against Narendra Modi from Varanasi

Whereas , I can understand , leaders of both Congress and BJP , secretly hoping that Arvind does contest from Varanasi , I just fail to understand why AAP leaders too , want him to carry out a political suicide  !

Do they ( AAP leaders ) , believe that ,

>  a Arvind on the footpath OUTSIDE parliament building is worth much

    more ,

   than

>   a Arvind leading the opposition INSIDE the Lok Sabha  ?

If not , why do they advise him to fight Narendra Modi  ?

To make a martyr out of Arvind  ?

Don't AAP leaders realize that politics is purely a game of " Possible " ?

And one does not need to have mastered , NASH EQUILIBRIUM to see that , a fight between NaMo and Arvind , is a fight between UNEQUALS  !

Mavericks don't win elections .  Money does  !

Election is NOT about heroics / about bravado / about being foolhardy  !

It is only about getting into the Lok Sabha

And , in Arvind's case , it is about getting in there with fair and honest means  !

ARVIND ,

What are you trying to prove by fighting Modi  ?

That you are not lusting for power  ?

You don't have to . We know that

Forget about that referendum of people of Varanasi

Listen to what 814 million voters want

They want to see you lead the opposition in Lok Sabha

Ask of yourself :  What is more important  ?

Fighting Modi for 5 weeks on the streets of Varanasi - and losing ?

Or,

Fighting Modi inside Lok Sabha for 5 years - and winning  ?

So , fight from where people - not money , will vote for you

*   hemen   parekh  (  18  March  2014  /  Mumbai  )

Ides of March ?

In ancient Roman calendar , 15 March is called , " Ides of March "

A few days earlier in 44 BC , a seer had warned Julius Caesar to " Beware of the Ides of March "

On that day , on his way to Senate , Caesar joked to the Seer ,

" Ides of March have come "

Seer replied ,

" Aye , Caesar , but not gone "

Once inside the Senate , Caesar was assassinated !

Caesar paid the price for ignoring the warning  !

Thankfully , 2000 years later , there are no physical assassinations

But , what about political " harakiri "  ?  Self - inflicted wounds  ?

Entirely possible , when ego combines with anger - a deadly cocktail !

Why else should Arvind Kejriwal threaten ALL media by saying ,

" Media are corrupt . They are bribed by political parties and businessmen to air PAID NEWS

If we come to power , we will investigate and send ALL of them to jail "

Of Course , we understand the anger , the enthusiasm , the frustration with the present political system and can forgive AAP leaders for the following :

>  a few hundred people were inconvenienced when Arvind travelled by

    rickshaw / local train in Mumbai

>  some AAP workers misbehaved in their enthusiasm to show their

    support to Arvind's crusade

>  AAP organizers did not  apply for the necessary police permissions

    sufficiently in advance

We can also concede that media will place before the public , not the real / total / unblemished picture - but its " tainted " version , dependent upon that media's political leanings

Eg :

How many TV anchors thought it fit to place Nitish Kumar ( CM - Bihar ) in the witness box , when he brought the entire state to a grinding halt , a few days back  ?

Or when those election rallies of Narendra Modi / Rahul Gandhi disrupt millions of lives ?

Sure , Arvind is given to hyperbole and we could have brushed aside if he were to say ,

" In my perception ,- and I have no proof - , some TV channels are being financed by some people / parties , to tell white lies and to malign AAP

If we come to power , we would investigate such nexus , if any , and try to make media , truly independent of such undesirable influences "

But he allowed his ego to overtake his genuine / well-placed anger  !

ARVIND

It is still not too late to be warned - to militate with decency  !

The Ides of March is here  !

*   hemen  parekh (  15  March  2014  /  Mumbai  )

    

Bribing the Voters ?

Election Commission thinks Narendra Modi is trying to bribe the voters

By offering to voters ,  a FREE cup of tea at Namo Chai Stalls

Obviously , a serious breach of Model Code of Conduct  !

So , EC has asked BJP to stop this " Unfair " practice , right away

But the Geek Brigade of NaMo knows clever ways of bypassing EC strictures by pseudo-compliance with the code  !

By charging Re 1 / - for the first cup

Then offering unlimited free Re-Fills  !

Just bring the original polystyrene cup with NaMo face printed on it  !

No more breaking Code of Conduct  !

After all , aren't BJP " hiring " a Falcon Jet plane from a leading business house at just Rs 1,000 per hour , whereas , going market rate is Rs 3 lakh per hour !

What with this EC guys asking " hisaab " for every little thing  !

I never knew  that the 814 million Indian Voters are so deeply mired in poverty that they can be easily " bribed " with a single cup of tea  !

May be it is high time our Planning Commission revised downward , its definition of poverty from Rs 27 per day ( Urban ) and Rs 16 per day ( Rural )

EC could have done better by insisting that NaMo Chai Stalls use earthen tea cups instead of polystyrene cups

That will save our environment and provide jobs to the community engaged in making earthen pots and pans

Unless , of course , someone's son put up a factory to make millions of polystyrene cups , in anticipation of the forthcoming elections  !

*   hemen   parekh   (  13  March  2014  /  Mumbai  )

Does AAP have a Chance ?

Does AAP have a chance to win substantial number of seats in the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections  ?

Not , if we go by a Times of India article by Milan Vaishnav ( 02 Feb 2014 )

Following is my interpretation of the article :

>   CRIME  PAYS

     What is the probability of winning election ?

     #  Only 7 % chance of winning if candidate has NO criminal case pending

    #  22 % chance of

 winning if candidate has at least one case pending  !

      PROOF  ?

     Lok Sabha

    *  162 MPs have pending Criminal cases , of which , 76 face " Serious "  

        charges

     State Assemblies

    *  31 % of MLAs have pending Criminal cases , and 15 % face " Serious "

       charges

   Moral of the History  ?

     Give tickets to only those candidates who have one - or more - criminal

     cases pending  !

>   MONEY  WORKS

     What is the probability of winning election  ?

    #  Only 1 % chance of winning if candidate belongs to the poorest 20 %

         of the MPs

    #  A whopping 25 % chance of winning if candidate belongs to the richest

        20 % of the MPs  !

    Moral of the History  ?

    Give tickets to only those candidates who have declared assets of Rs 200

    crore or more

>  CRIME  VS  MONEY

    #  Only 6 % of the POOR ( bottom 20 % ) candidates face Criminal

        charges

    #  Nearly 20 % of the RICH ( top 20 % ) candidates face Criminal

         charges

    Moral of the History  ?

    To ensure 100 % chance of winning, give preference to those candidates ,

    who are both , RICH  and  CRIMINAL   !

   I just don't understand why those AAP aspirants are fighting with Arvind ,

   for getting tickets  ! 

In face of such irrefutable / overwhelming evidence ,

   what can the poor fellow do  ?

   How about asking each aspiring candidate to fill in their personal data  

   in the following formula  ?

            ( CC+NSC ) * FBA/BLD + CA/PRA

P = ------------------------------------------

             (  NPA + NRE ) - PFU

Where ,

P  =  Probability of winning the election

CC =  Number of Criminal cases pending

CA =   Current Assets ( Rs Crores )

PRA =  Rise in Assets in last 3 years (  %  )

NRE =  Number of close relatives

NPA =  Number of times changed political affiliation in past 5 years

NSC =  Number of Scams in which listed

FBA =  Number of Foreign Bank accounts ( not only Swiss banks )

BLD = Number of PSU Bank loan defaults ( only those above Rs 5 Crores )

PFU =  Party Funds used for Campaign

Why leave candidate selection to human judgment  /  bias  ?

It is high time to introduce some transparency in candidate selection process 

   *   hemen  parekh  (  10 Feb 2014 / Mumbai  )

    

State of the Republic

Sure , we are all worried about the cancer of corruption spreading thru the body of our Republic

Almost all political parties have made , " Elimination of Corruption " as their main election plank

People of India are mad - and very angry - with the corrupt politicians , bureaucrats , businessmen  etc

Corrupt politicians etc are " taking away " our hard-earned money

But they cannot take these money with them when they leave this world  !

Nor can those who inherit these ill-gotten monies  !

Someone has to finally " spend " these monies , in this World itself , generating some employment , somewhere , sooner or later , to produce goods or services

But what happens in cases where some persons " do not give away " what they are supposed to give away  ? - as opposed to " taking away " what they are not supposed to ?

For example :

Teachers are supposed to " give away " knowledge to students

If they fail to do so , what kind of corruption , would that be ?

  

Knowledge - deprived children suffer for their entire lives

That might cause their children and grand-children to suffer, as well

After reading the following statistics ( DNA / 08 March 2014 ) , we should feel " frightened " ( - not just " worried " ) , with the army of school teachers , who are " depriving " our children of knowledge  -  a corruption of worse kind  !

>  MSCE ( Maharashtra State Council of Examination ) conducted TET ( Teachers Eligibility Test ) in Dec 2013

>  TET is mandatory for aspiring teachers for schools in Maharashtra

>  Just after passing their own 12th standard exams , some 600,000 candidates appeared for TET

>  Only 5 %  to 6 % passed the test  !

If that was not " bad enough " consider the following :

>  MSCE exam papers contained  37 questions which were " Erroneous "  !

>  MSCE  " Answer-Key " contained  18  " Wrong "  answers  !

I would not be surprised if we come across similar sad " State of Education " in other States , if they were to conduct TET

Is " Reforming Education System " listed in the Election Manifesto of any political party  ?

I doubt

May be the people of India are not mad-enough , angry-enough with the sad " State of Our Education System "  !

*  hemen  parekh  (  09  March  2014  /  Mumbai  )   

Arvind's Unfair Questions ?

Since he could not ask Narendra Modi these questions in person , I believe Arvind has sent these to NaMo by courier

I just overheard NaMo dictating a reply to his secretary , which went somewhat like this  :

Q 1... When will you raise KG Basin gas price to $ 16  ?

A  1... Not immediately

Q  2... You are buying solar energy at high prices

A  2.... Sunlight is expensive in Gujarat

Q  3.... How do you claim Agri growth rate is 11 %  ?

A  3.... Gujaratis maintain duplicate books of account , where 1+1=11

Q  4.... Will you shut down all small industries in the country and handover

           to select business houses ?

A  4.... Even Ambani / Adani empires are a mere  1 %  in size of big World

           Corporations . Who says they are big  ?

Q  5.... How do you claim there is no corruption in Gujarat ?  People are

           talking otherwise  !

A  5...  Kuchh  to  log   kahenge   /  Logo  ka  kaam  hain  kahena   !

Q  6.... Couldn't you find 2 honest persons for your ministry among 6 crore

           Gujaratis  ?

A   6...  Yes , we found Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar Patel

            But they are unwilling to join  !

Q   7...  Comment on your relationship with Mukesh Ambani

A   7....  In politics , there are neither permanent friends nor permanent

             enemies. Only permanent interests

Q   8...  How do you claim there is no unemployment in Gujarat  ?

A   8...  Even an " Employed " Gujarati is always doing some personal " part

            time " business on the sideline . And all , so-called " Unemployed "

            Gujaratis are " self-employed  " !  Ha  !  Ha  !

Q  9...  Can an educated , self-respecting person survive on Rs 5,300  ?

A   9...  Of course , he can

            Aren't you surviving without ANY salary for past 3 / 4 years  ?

            People say , despite being " Self respecting " , you are " thriving "  !

Q  10...  With such an education system , how can country progress  ?

A   10... All Gujaratis are " self educated " at home . Why go to school  ?

             Remember , what eminent philosopher / mathematician Alfred

             Whitehead , wrote in his seminal book , " Aims of Education " ?

             "  Only education worth its name is Self - Education  "

Q  11...  Under such circumstances , why are you making claims of providing

             good health services in Gujarat  ?

A  11.... If we were not , why would doctors from  around the World , call

             our Anand , the " Surrogate Capital of the World "  ?

            Our medical services are so good that Medical Tourism is booming !

Q  12...  In the last few years , 800 farmers have committed suicide in

             Gujarat and you have stopped all subsidies to farmers

A  12...  Suicide - rate amongst Gujarati Farmers is no worse than these

             rates amongst Gujarati Dowery-Brides , Gujarati Jobless , Gujarati

            Labour , Gujarati Minorities etc , which are , in turn , on par with

            similar rates in other states .

Q  13...  When you are not even giving power connections to farmers , then

            why are you making hollow claims on providing electricity  ?

A   13...  So what is the big deal  ?

              Haven't we given to all of them " Internet " connections to watch

              my holographic 3-D projections online  ? Don't make a mountain

             out of a mole-hill  !

Q  14...   You have snatched away farmers' lands and given to industrialists

              at cheap rates

A   14...  Bullshit ! Farmers who sold their lands to TATA-NANO in Sanand ,

              are all driving around in MERCs and AUDIs  !

Q  15....  No water for Kutch . Why this discrimination  ?

A  15...   If there is plenty of water in Kutch , Pak Terrorists will infiltrate it

              everyday  ! Surely you know that across the Kutch border in Sind -

              Pakistan , there is no water . Humm ! A business opportunity  !

Q   16...   Land of Sikhs in Gujarat . Why not take back your court case ?

A   16....  How can I get a " clean cheat " unless and until , Supreme Court

               appoints a SIT  ?

TV  ANCHORS  ,

Fill free to air this " Scoop of the Week " in your " Big Debate " etc

I am sure Jai Narayan Vyas and Gopal Rai would happy to answer

And , in person , too  !

*  hemen  parekh  (  08 March 2014 / Mumbai )