The All & Powerful Media & are we Immune?

Journalism has a new meaning... or was it the vague impression born out the better qualities displayed by journalists from the yore, that is helplessly clashing with these modern tasteful times. There is too much oxymoron in this sentence. Perhaps due to the confusion created by what is happening in the media.

Two celebrities Michael Jackson & Patrick Swayze died recently, and apparently there is a rejoice in the media. A frenzy of shows have poured over, recounting the last days and then the glory days. When Michael was alive the media called him "Whacko-Jacko" and now in his death, he is remembered as the "King of pop". Swayze perhaps did not have too much weirdness in his personal life to have been forgotten, until he came out with his fight against pancreatic cancer. Why is the media controlling the life of these great artists of our life time? The media seems to be in complete control of our emotions.

While I am writing this, a warning light is blinking in my head - Hypocrite? I am using the media to fight the media. The sole purpose of the blog is to expose this lack of justice to the people like Michael and Swayze. What kind of memories did Michael take with him when he died? Swayze gave us all an example of dignity and courage in his passing. I just feel we all need to offer this gratitude to these folks while they are alive than using them to sell news.

As per Merriam-Webster "Journalism" is

"2 a : writing designed for publication in a newspaper or magazine b : writing characterized by a direct presentation of facts or description of events without an attempt at interpretation c : writing designed to appeal to current popular taste or public interest";

I take offense to the meaning in "c". "Appeal to the popular taste"!! I'm certain that this is not at the expense of "b" .."presentation of facts or description of events without an attempt at interpretation".

There was much more honor in reporting and being civilized, or so I want to believe. Now it seems we are living like beasts, saved by all the fine prints in the legal documents. Recently Kayne West decided to exercise the first amendment, insulting a fellow musician Taylor Swift. After which he apologized profusely on Jay Leno's show. Serena Williams must have scared the living day lights out of the lines-woman at the US Open, and then "almost" apologized.

I thought saying "I'm sorry" meant feeling "ashamed". These days spouting these hollow apologies made infamous in the media is a sign of character. Just because you have these handy-dandy apologies lying around does not give you the right to be a jack-ass to begin with. There is a cost to character and it has nothing to do with having a PR.

We all need to understand this responsibility towards other people and ourselves. Even if the media makes a "wrong" look like "conditionally right" we all know the truth in our hearts. Following this conscientiousness may not be the fashion this season, but it has to be over our lifetime, if at all we wish to remain civilized.

Monopoly - US Economy 2009

Disclaimer: I am far from being even the novice in Economics & hence all the statements made on this blog entry are completely personal. The entry is merely a feeble attempt to verbalize the non-sense we all are reading & watching about in the news these days - Yr. 2009. I humbly seek your indulgence & pls. take this entry with a pinch or pint of salt.

Recently, I had an interesting chat with my friend Arun. He was was talking about how Rats camera went down. Here is the chat I had with my friend:

(10:42:49 AM) Arun:Rats cam closed,they owe canon and nikon 40 million $ and the store is shutdown
(10:43:28 AM) Ajay: wow! hence the ridiculous prices :D
(10:44:39 AM) Arun: canon lost almost about 25 million, nikon and others lost the rest, they went to bankrupt
(10:46:27 AM) Ajay: all these business models seem driven by only thing.. wishful thinking.. the demand will always grow, the consumers will always pay.. the market will always have a lot credit!!!
(10:48:52 AM) Ajay: just look at all these companies growing growing..growing.. globing globing globing.. under the assumption that monopolizing the market is the only way to b successful
(10:49:12 AM) Ajay: now they r all obese tearing at the seams and wondering why people r not buying
(10:50:02 AM) Ajay: the rate at which the stores/supply grew was never backed up by the purchasing power/jobs/income..
(10:50:11 AM) Arun: more over i don't understand one thing. they borrow money to buy merchandise then they sell them and then don't they return money back to the investors
(10:50:16 AM) Ajay: how can u assume demand?
(10:50:35 AM) Ajay: thats credit
(10:50:42 AM) Arun: i am talking about past 10-20 years they made money; spreading themselves too thin, where did all that money go

The main theme of this post begins here...

(10:51:13 AM) Ajay: yeah.. but its like the way i played monopoly
(10:52:18 AM) Ajay: i borrowed like anything.. bought all the places and put expensive buildings on them... now every time the player landed there.. i got a huge sum of money.. nobody could play w/ me.. and even the computer gave up..
(10:52:42 AM) Ajay: in real life.. people can stop going around.. and then the owner ends up owing a lot of money
(10:53:18 AM) Ajay: that dumb monopoly version makes the assumption that players continue to play and the game is over if they all quit
(10:53:40 AM) Ajay: not the later part, that now I owe a ton of money w/o any players and i must play until i pay off
(10:53:57 AM) Ajay: all these folks.. or the deluded capitalist play this stupid monopoly, the real one.. is the yr 2008-09 outcome
(10:54:33 AM) Ajay: i think the analogy is impeccable
(10:55:02 AM) Arun: you are brilliant
(10:55:15 AM) Ajay: :)

(10:56:36 AM) Ajay: its weird that businessmen make this mistake.
(10:57:45 AM) Ajay: there is a simple understanding.. how big can u grow? What is determining ur growth?
(10:58:01 AM) Ajay: I guess now we might appreciate why Apple likes its profitability than % market share .. Apple has a ton of money and less headache!
(11:10:37 AM) Arun: makes sense
(11:10:55 AM) Ajay: just imagine.. to the least, by cutting some cost Apple can boost the sales
(11:11:18 AM) Ajay: now imagine they launch new ipods, iphone.. diff. colors, diff features.. they can further invest in adds for more mac sales, these opportunities r still viable and they don't have to sweat it yet
(11:12:23 AM) Ajay: M$ on the other hand ...

(11:18:25 AM) Ajay: companies like Rats ... r stupid
(11:20:02 AM) Ajay: "According to the bankruptcy filing, the company's profits in film processing were hurt by the shift to digital photography." [r]
(11:20:25 AM) Ajay: *hurt by the shift to digital photography* that explains a lot why Rats went down.
(11:20:49 AM) Arun: the shift happened 5 years ago
(11:21:03 AM) Ajay: and these guys were in business since 1918 .. but they had no idea how the industry will evolve??
(11:21:38 AM) Ajay: no connections w/ canon or nikon to realize what will happen??
(11:22:10 AM) Ajay: i think Chapter 11 is like "Here's ur sign!!"
(11:22:44 AM) Ajay: but i seem to go back to the obesity crisis and these companies
(11:23:12 AM) Ajay: don't call me fat.. i need special provisions.. u cannot discriminate.. all the plain BS
(11:23:35 AM) Ajay: if u r fat.. u r fat.. deal w/ it!! if u r making losses.. then deal w/ it!!
(11:23:55 AM) Ajay: close down shops... 800 of them, make it 400
(11:24:18 AM) Ajay: adds, new bigger places w/ lot of hands on training, invite great photographers for review
(11:24:48 AM) Ajay: 1/1 meetings between Experts & Amateurs, reduce the stupid workforce and inventory
(11:25:11 AM) Arun: also they have to offer something additional to compete with online stores
(11:25:12 AM) Ajay: 1/2 the stuff is made from china and completely useless
(11:25:21 AM) Ajay: precisely!!!competitive prices, offer training, consultation, open discussion
(11:25:57 AM) Arun: event contests
(11:25:59 AM) Ajay: make a community out of the photographers
(11:26:02 AM) Ajay: yep
(11:29:36 AM) Ajay: "Forget about learning anything, u can buy everything!!" - US motto of this decade??

(11:30:25 AM) Ajay: its like the early industry founders believed in Legos, the only game they ever played
(11:31:16 AM) Ajay: same blocks, same colors, mass produced - everything everywhere!!! food, services, language, vehicles, furniture, name it!!
(11:32:03 AM) Arun: things will break down and i think we will see a lot of smaller stores soon
(11:33:00 AM) Ajay: It might be a bit to outrageous to hope that this economic crash could bring about a cultural revolution
(11:33:18 AM) Ajay: bb

r: Sorry I don;t have the reference to this article.

Allegged Confessions of a Senator/CEO

The only thing I have to say about the current economy is .. as follows.. one Senator or CEO.. saying..

..Hmm...

I did cause this, but in America we believe in the teachings of Gordon Gekko .. "Greed is good!" Why else "Wall Street" the movie, is a recommended must see in Business Schools. I thought I was the only one with this novel idea of making a lot of money and never expected that all my colleagues had the same one.

So what if I overindulged in greed, there is nothing illegal about it. And you say its unethical, hey I chose to be a capitalist - if I don't capitalize on opportunities, somebody else would. I was only digging graves, I never expected people will jump into it. It was their greed, that caused them to desire a lifestyle they could never afford. If I just brainwashed them by constant adds as to what they are missing in their lives and provide them money to acquire it, I'm only being generous.

I am pursuing "My" American dream, if it so happens to be a public nightmare that "your" grand children may suffer, its not my problem. If it was not for all my colleagues doing the exact same thing at the same time, I would have been super rich and the rest super jealous. But now it is affecting the entire economy and all my clandestine affairs are public.

Look its even on this stupid blog!

There is a reason why a Senator may also have this burden on his conscientious.

"Behind every successful businessman there is a more successful politician. "

* As usual the IMHO disclaimer applies!

Democracy.. or something like that! Part I

Long long ago, there was an ideal of democracy. Where some wise people realized that if they can't have all, no one shall. Not like this but perhaps experience taught these noble men that power corrupts and we are only human?

Democracy is meant to distribute power, so as to facilitate the greater good - justice, fairness & to defend the rights of every person.

Then why this ranting? Did something go wrong? Oh yes indeed! I am going to talk about US and not about the largest democracy in the world, India. Again, pls. keep in mind that the "IMHO" will be applicable to all entries on the blog; hence the blog and not the NY Post!

Power is available to a select few: Oligarchy! If your Daddy is not a politician, bad luck.

Public service is missing the "Public". Only politicians, Lawyers & public servants retain the power. Again we have this word "public"? Why is the Government not afraid of the people; their right to vote, to accept or deny what the government is doing to the people.

Why does the Law make it so difficult to sue a public servant?

Why can a law laid out by a court, learned people in the profession of justice & public service seem to go against common sense? Why is common sense so under rated & it seems necessary to have a warning on a step saying "Heres a step!"

Now like a monarchy we can inherit public services; say being a Governor or a President.

From the movies that I have seen, the court seems to be lenient with any kind of crime if the defender pleads insanity. So what if you want to get away with breaking all sorts of laws, where you decide to break the constitutional right of the people, or condone people who are being convicted of breaking the law. Well media spins it off as humor & people can get away with anything.

Is doing the right thing a political career suicide? How can we sack a politician for screwing it up? How can the Congress feel the heat from the people for creating crappy legislators?

Why can't we just scrap the stupid laws & legislations made over the past 30 yrs? Will we loose a lot of wisdom or our proclivity to dumbness.

Where the Supreme court seems to always decide 5:4 in favor. What are the other 4 justices thinking? Cases being pleaded by the Supreme court could be decided unanimously. The importance of the matter should be self evident, being the Supreme court & yet, 4 justices are against it.

.. I will continue later.