They say - What goes around comes back around !!

Well this is not any grudge message or anything. Just a fair remainder on how certain things existed in the past, perhaps 80-100 years ago in imperial India when Banks were truly existential for the westerners who were ruling us then. The 'aam-admi' (read common man) then could not right royally walk into any bank and do their regular deposits or withdrawals. Now, with time things evolved to a state that now every bank be it whatever nature - Investment or Captive or Corporate, they want a piece from the developing country. No where in the world Banks make that much purely from the collections perspective as they would do in India.

In the US, the security number and the credit history would ensure whether you get a 2 or 3 or 5% interest, in India you have a standard 11% on Bank loans or 23% on credit cards or 15% on personal loans. Kinda kinky isn't it? That beside the point of my claim, going back to times when our grand parents called the shots, they would have had something like Suruku Pai(read as an affordable purse! This was a traditional purse for the Indian women some 100-150 years before Guccis or Vuittons came India's way) or a piggy bank where the initial savings used to be kept. With the current blow up operation where we see that our hard earned money which we think is safe in an investing bank just goes right out of the window into an 'abyss'. No one has a clue on what happens to them in trying times as these. Now this brings us back to a very important question we have to ask ourselves, Are banks actually safe with our money or do we go back to Suruku Pai times and hope to have a good night sleep atleast knowing that money is right next to me? Am I over reacting to this situation? Yes and a No to this. Can you imagine a bank which is 350 years old, which survived the 1920 depression and now claims bankruptcy? What happens to the money in the bank? I was told that any account that had more than 70,000$ would be frozen and would not be available for the people? Can anyone beat that statement? It is after all the person who is living in the county, who is owing the money. Many banks and investment banks have just brought it upon themselves just because of the greed and competition to make more money added to total disregard to the investors money.

So why did the global financial meltdown begin? Who is responsible to this nerve wrecking piece of work? To me, it begins in the US and ends in the US. I honestly believe that the greed rests in US which prompts other greedy dorks around the world to look greedy. Now imagine the Subprime situation in the US? Who brought that up? If you did not know what it means, it is just that NINJA loans [‘No Income, No Jobs and No Assets’] that led to this. A person who did not have ability to repay loans were given write offs obscene loans to an extent like 1,00,000 $. The bubble was being created there, then and it led to the greed among everyone to make it big. More loans, more offenders,no liability to the money they all took - the bubble was so big by now that it was time the burst was evident. And rightfully after the burst, the money was just gone, houses came back to the Banks because of defaulters.

Now, the million dollar question, why is my money is in danger? I am not even in US, I could be a farmer in Japan or Finland but still my money is under threat. How? how the banks were tied to the defaulters? Read this article here to get an idea how the whole laundering act took place. This would give a very good idea on the global melt down.

Man, for one, will combat terror, fight in unimaginable altitudes to save the country, will work 23 hours in a day to satisfy himself, does all he could to woo women of any kind and vice versa but when it comes to money loss, it shatters the complete desire to exist. Money has grown to have such a strong writing in our psyche.No money, no nothing. We now have come to an stage where we just cannot trust anyone for anything they would say. Your money is under threat, you are under threat. So do we retreat back to the old days where we would keep our money in a piggy and imagine the good ol' pal is taking care of your money. Will our ego let us come down to that state? Will our greed to quadrapole or hexapole the money allow us to do this? Will we be safe in this world? Has our old, dirty past come back alive from the grave to bite us in our back? Karma..... the piggies are no longer the forgotten creatures, they seem to have come around and now I see the smiling piggy in my desk, it tears me to bits !!

And the award night...

Well, Aarti, just threw an award away towards my direction, just threw it all away I think :-). So here are the trumpets glaringly loud, the drums rolling, the people anxious, the award goes to - Dudleybouy.

Animals and Men

Ever realized that man can be compared to any one animal at any point of time. When he gets dirty, compare him with a pig (on the hindsight, Pigs are quite clean), when he loyal, compare him with a dog and so on so forth. But ever wondered there is one innate characteristic of a person that cannot be compared with any animal and that would be using others for his own personal benefit. Read this is not about comparing with Grasshoppers where the female actually starts eating the male's head when they mate, the stupid male dies without knowing. It is part of their existence, that is the deal Grasshoppers got when they came to Earth. That is how they procreate so there is no escaping that fact. So let's not go there.

So people with this characteristic (insecure, haplessly pathetic) who think they are always right and think they should control other person's life all the time should seriously get help. An Idiot disguised as a Friend (thank god I knew the true colors now !!) went on a advise spree as to what I should write and post in the Blog world and say what I should do to change my thinking. And fundamentally his problem was that he thinks it is unethical to write this and that. LOL, sad part of this is that the jerk did not know what "Ethic" actually is. The idiot if ever will read this paragraph will know who I am talking about. But such is the experiences life offer us and it is all about how much we learn from it. I always wondered how animals did not exhibit such traits - the back stabbing. Or may be I don't know if they existed.

Anyway, that beyond the point, he is worth nothing anymore but I was thinking how easy it is in the Animal kingdom to draw an analogy to every human action. In your experience have you ever encountered some human acts that cannot be compared to the any animal extinct.

Funny ones

I was random surfing the internet when I chanced upon some real 'funny' pictures from here. Go on be my guest to see what this is all about - when logo's go absolutely wrong.

doughboys - pizza - salad - panini … and something extra?

Kudawara - What kind of pharmacy is this?

Megaflicks - Not the best font for this word

Dirty dirty... This is a Lamp :-) :-)


This one is terribly wrong. Really. I can't help laugh everytime I see this :-)
Arlington Pediatric Center - Loving the kids a little too much

A-Style - Realy classy



Definitely Chinese.

Dental clinic - This seems to be popular

Yo! What's with this attitude?

Well I was meaning to write this yesterday but thanks to the media hogging the time sphere with there relentless show casing of the blasts in Delhi and what they think of the situation, I chose to wait for a bit. I was a bit sad at what is transpiring in this country.

To get the stats right, it seems there has been 20 terror strikes in 2 years time in India. And worst still there has been seven strikes this year (leaving the Jammu bombings, it is a normal affair there!). So what has the country/county done to avert the situation?!? In the US it happened and we know Bush is F'ing mad at Iraq for some reason, It happened in UK and there was some action taken.. But even after the seven serial blasts, the terrorists seem to be at large. Earlier they used to bomb and run the shit out of the place, now with technological advancement they communicate to the government about the bombing, place which is going to blow off and they bomb at will.

Here we are sitting and dealing with lot of stressful conditions like working our ass off, pay taxes in time, deal with the stupid x factor - inflation sitting at 12.04%(No other sensible country has this sort of a percentage going. My prev blog notes talk about this percentages in countries and you would find hopelessly pathetic countries taking the hit!), struggle to get any remotely girl like thing, we don't need bombings to make our already sorrow life to even remorsefully bad.

But that beside the point, in most of the attacks this year, particularly, I found a pattern. That is the day after the bombings - don't matter the magnitude, the people (read the survivors) got out to the open and started going to work as though nothing happened. The news channels and the ministers took a hint out of it and started calling it "The Spirit of the City" is what you see.

Is it really the spirit of the city that is making these people go to their respective jobs [OR] is it the indifferent feeling that people would have deep down? I wish I had known what this reaction meant. I will not be able to say or feel what it is unless we experienced any such bomb attacks. I am sure how this government would react to the people who would be running around like headless chicken ! They would issue notices to the smart still elusive terrorist group that 'we will catch you and whip your candy ass'.

And so the terrorists would continue to do what they do, the government would continue to do what they do, the headless chickens read the people would do what they do - In between all this, there would be this feeling sticking out in some people - Is this indifference or is this spirit of the city or is this people's response to their fate hanging lose or is it all the Y Factor - Karma?

I don't know, I don't feel anything, anymore. The more hate and anger towards the country, may be. Tomorrow I would become a headless chicken hanging loose - who knows, who knows...?

Games Indians Don't Win

Well this was a very interesting write up on why India does not come home with all medals in any event in big game forum.

Interesting read

Back from my hiatus

It was just getting to my nerves the amount of time and endless fight within myself dealing with people with varying capabilities at work. It was finally a situation like water under the bridge or over the bridge, we had to let it all go and I decided it would be wise to take a break and relax by going to a vacation. It was a mixed feeling the whole vacation but was wiser when I got back to think how some people, no matter whom you treat as friends and not acquaintance, will sometimes take you for granted and make a super dumb fuck out of you. Sometimes wonder what people do to boost their ego, well I guess you do this then you become alone in this world. End of story. I am glad I could learn how to deal with this experience and handle it so calm.

Anyway, that was not my point anyway, I had a surprise blood donation camp today at work and it was a super feeling to give blood to someone. Atleast think like that because if there are no takers for my blood group then chances are high that it might be thrown out to the drains. But I am sure this city is so big and vast someone would get benefited. I still have a big lump popping out of my right arm after the blood donation. They say it is good to donate blood every six months. It is a good thing after all the blood gets regenerated. So we lose nothing. Next time around if there are any blood donation camps, just give it a shot to see how you feel.

Back to the regular mundane chores of life, I would pen more frequently now.

And the power of the man goes for a toss !!

When ever I listened to Snap singing "I have got the power", Yea that old timer electronic pop song, I walked with pride and that smile seeing the women acknowledge. Then came the new age toys for the grown up ladies and men still did not lose their ground or territory. They knew they "had the power", if you know what I mean, Now, it seems all the men on planet Earth sure would be a bit touchy and would be losing the ground when they read this information. This "link" is just the last nail on the men's coffin. The scientists hit men below their belt. No literally [:-)]

For now on, the Lesbians too can bear children but the biggest question would be how they would look like. For their are no evidences now as to how the end product would be as a result of this exercise.

So until then, to all the men who are in a relationship, who seek to find a partner, who are letting go of their partners,who hump anything that moves, this is your last chance. Go for the kill and take control of the stock, if you know what I mean!

Why calamities shouldn't happen in Chennai?

Ah, you would have thought I was one of those philanthropist thinking high for the people. Sorry to burst your bubble. This is out of frustration that I wanted to vent my feeling. I mean for a few days now "Chennai is reeling under Petrol crisis". Now this was absolutely worsened by the panic stricken men who kept filling their Cars, Bikes, Barrels, Wife's mouth etc etc with petrol where ever they could lay hands on.

So technically the problem as they say was that "Diesel" read NOT PETROL which was scarce. Now what the people have done is to ensure Petrol is a rare commodity too because of their preposterous and overzealous reaction. I mean, I sure think they would have started drinking petrol thinking they could use it some other time. Mabbe these petrol guzzlers should not fart too while someone lights their match or whatever, for their back side would be on fire and the ONGC is going to think, they found a new "gas" reserve !

Now what has happened because of this reaction is that they have etched their name as 'bad' people in tough times. I mean I saw people coming to petrol stations with Barrels man. And on the same note, we work in a place so darn close to the Beach and on Friday there was a prediction of Earthquake resulting in Tsunami (whatever) and you should see the way people crawled down the 13 floors. I mean you can listen to women talk about their in-laws, food plans for the evening and laughing around :-)... So I don't understand how the system works in this part of the world. People show urgency and clamor to things which could be better handled if they maintained composure and show utter disregard to things where one should be a bit diligent.

Anyway, there should be no calamities here for it would be one jokers paradise to see them all do things and perish. Amen!

What philosophy do you follow? (v1.03) created with QuizFarm.com

You scored as Hedonism Your life is guided by the principles of Hedonism: You believe that pleasure is a great, or the greatest, good; and you try to enjoy life’s pleasures as much as you can. “Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die!” More info at Arocoun's Wikipedia User Page... Hedonism 95% Existentialism 90% Strong Egoism 85% Justice (Fairness) 75% Kantianism 70% Utilitarianism 65% Apathy 50% Divine Command 35% Nihilism 15%

Joke time.

Gorilla Control

A man calls the Animal Control in his town, because there is a crazed gorilla on his roof, and he can't figure out how to get it down safely. Soon, a van pulls up, and an old man gets out, carrying a small dog, a baseball bat, and a gun. He hands the man the gun.

"Okay, here's what we do. I'm going to go up onto your roof, and threaten the gorilla with this baseball bat until he falls down. When he falls down, this little dog will bite him in the balls until he's incapacitated."

"Great," says the man. "But what's the gun for?"

"In case I fall down instead of the gorilla -- shoot the dog."

The Scottie Dog Who Knew Karate

There once was a young couple who lived in a town filled with crime. After three neighbors' houses had been robbed, the couple decided to get a guard dog.

So one day the wife went to the pet store and said, "I need a good guard dog."

And the clerk replied, "Sorry, we're all sold out. All we have left is this little Scottie dog. But he knows karate."

The wife didn't believe him so he said to the dog, "Karate that chair."

The dog went up to the chair and broke it into pieces, then he said to the dog, "Karate that table." The dog went up to the table and broke it in half.

So the wife bought the dog and took it home to her husband who was expecting a big guard dog. But then she told her husband that it knew karate, and he said "Karate my ass!"

Elephant Time

A young man is wandering around the zoo looking at the animals. He suddenly remembers about an appointment that he scheduled. Unfortunately, he forgot his watch. He searches for someone who could give him the time.

He sees a zoo keeper standing next to an elephant. "Excuse me, sir," says the young man "Do you know what time it is?"

The zoo keeper reaches under the elephant, grabs his balls and starts playing with them.

"Mmmmm, it is about 3:00," the zoo keeper responds.

The young man looks at him in awe, "How did you know that?" The zoo keeper looks back at the man, "I looked at the clock on the wall right behind you."

Penguins Go to the Zoo

A man drives to a gas station and has his tank filled up. The gas pumper spots two penguins sitting in the back seat of the car.

He asks the driver, "What's up with the penguins in the back seat?"

The man in the car says "I found them. I asked myself what to do with them, but I haven't had a clue."

The clerk ponders a bit then says, "You should take them to the zoo."

"Hey, that's a good idea," says the man in the car and drives away.

The next day the man with the car is back at the same gas station. The clerk sees the penguins are still in the back seat of the car.

"Hey, they're still here! I thought you were going to take them to the zoo."

"Oh, I did," says the driver, "And we had a swell time. Today I am taking them to the beach."

Surprise Package

A man was drinking in a bar when he noticed this beautiful young lady sitting next to him. "Hello there," says the man, "and what is your name?"

"Hello," giggles the woman, "I'm Stacey. What's yours?"

"I'm Jim."

"Jim, do you want to come over to my house tonight? I mean, right now??"

"Sure!" replies Jim, "Let's go!"

So Stacey takes Jim to her house and takes him to her room. Jim sits down on the bed and notices a picture of a man on Stacey's desk. "Stacey, I noticed the picture of a man on your desk," Jim says.

"Yes? And what about it?" asks Stacey.

"Is it your brother?"

"No, it isn't, Jim!" Stacey giggles. Jim's eyes widen, suspecting that it might be Stacey's husband.

When he finally asks, "Is it your husband?"

Stacey giggles even more, "No, silly!" Jim was relieved.

"Then, it must be your boyfriend!"

Stacey giggles even more while nibbling on Jim's ear. She says, "No, silly!!"

"Then, who is it?" Jim asks.

Stacey replies, "That's me BEFORE my operation!!"

Tight Skirt, Bus Stop

One day, at a bus stop there was a girl who was wearing a skintight miniskirt. When the bus arrived and it was her turn to get on, she realized that her skirt was so tight she couldn't get her foot high enough to reach to step.

Thinking it would give her enough slack to raise her leg, she reached back and unzipped her skirt a little. She still could not reach the step. Embarrassed, she reached back once again to unzip it a little more. Still, she couldn't reach the step.

So, with her skirt zipper halfway down, she reached back and unzipped her skirt all the way. Thinking that she could get on the step now, she lifted up her leg only to realize that she still couldn't reach the step.

So, seeing how embarrassed the girl was, the man standing behind her put his hands around her waist and lifted her up on to the first step of the bus. The girl turned around furiously and said, "How dare you touch my body that way, I don't even know you!"

Shocked, the man says, "Well, ma'am, after you reached around and unzipped my fly three times, I kinda figured that we were friends."

A 90-year-old man said to his doctor

A 90-year-old man said to his doctor, "I've never felt better. I have an 18-year old bride who is pregnant with my child. What do you think about that?"

The doctor considered his question for a minute and then said, "I have an elderly friend who is a hunter and never misses a season. One day when he was going out in a bit of a hurry, he accidentally picked up his umbrella instead of his gun. When he got to the Creek, he saw a rabbit sitting beside the stream. He raised his umbrella and went, 'bang, bang' and the rabbit fell dead. What do you think of that?"

The 90-year-old said, "I'd say somebody else killed that rabbit."

The doctor replied, "My point exactly."

Long Time Drinker

A skeleton walks into a bar. The bartender says, "What'll you have?"

The skeleton says, "A beer and a mop."

An Atheist and a Bear

An atheist was taking a walk through the woods, admiring all that evolution had created.

"What majestic trees! What powerful rivers! What beautiful animals!", he said to himself. As he was walking along the river, he heard a rustling in the bushes behind him. When he turned to see what the cause was, he saw a 7-foot grizzly charging right towards him. He ran as fast as he could. He looked over his shoulder and saw that the bear was closing, He ran even faster, crying in fear. He looked over his shoulder again, and the bear was even closer. His heart was pounding and he tried to run even faster. He tripped and fell on the ground. He rolled over to pick himself up, but saw the bear right on top of him, reaching for him with his left paw and raising his right paw to strike him.

At that moment, the Atheist cried out "Oh my God!...." Time stopped. The bear froze. The forest was silent. Even the river stopped moving.

As a bright light shone upon the man, a voice came out of the sky, "You deny my existence for all of these years; teach others I don''''t exist; and even credit creation to a cosmic accident. Do you expect me to help you out of this predicament? Am I to count you as a believer?"

The atheist looked directly into the light "It would be hypocritical of me to suddenly ask You to treat me as Christian now, but perhaps could you make the bear a Christian?" "Very well," said the voice.

The light went out. The river ran again. And the sounds of the forest resumed.

And then the bear dropped his right paw ..... brought both paws together...bowed his head and spoke: "Lord, for this food which I am about to receive, I am truly thankful."

English Patient

An English guy was very ill and his son went to visit him in the hospital. Suddenly, the father began to breathe heavily and grabbed the pen and pad by the bed. With his last ounce of strength he wrote a note, dropped it, and died.

The son was so overcome with grief that he didn't remember slipping the note into his pocket. At the funeral, he reached into the pocket of his coat and immediately felt the note. He excitedly read it thinking it might be something he could recite during the service. It said:

YOU WANKER -- GET OFF MY OXYGEN PIPE!!!

Rooster Prozac

Why was the rooster so unhappy?

Because he only got laid once and it was by his mother.

Rabbit Breakout

Three rabbits escape from a testing lab and find an entire field full of carrots. They eat themselves into a stupor and sleep throughout the night. The next morning, they find an entire field full of female rabbits with no males in sight. They screw themselves into a stupor and sleep throughout the night. The next morning, the rabbits get to talking.

"I'm gonna go back to that field of carrots," says one.

"I'm gonna go back to those cute little rabbits," says the second.

"I'm going back to the lab," says the third. "I'm dying for a cigarette."

Drunken Man and Blonde

After a really good party a man walks into a bar and orders a drink. Already drunk and delirious, the man turns to the person sitting next to him and says, "You wanna hear a blonde joke?"

The person replies, "I am 240 pounds, world kickboxing champion and a natural blonde. My friend is 190 pounds, world judo champion and is a natural blonde. And my other friend is 200 pounds, world arm wrestling champion and is also a natural blonde. Do you still want to tell me that blonde joke?"

The man thinks for a while and replies, "Not if I have to explain it three times."

A little boy was lost at a large shopping mall

A little boy was lost at a large shopping mall. He approached a uniformed policeman and said, "I've lost my dad!"

The cop asked, "What's he like?"

The little boy replied, "Beer and women with big boobs."

First Cut is the Deepest

Once upon a time, two little boys, Sammy and Tim, were sharing a room in the hospital. As they were getting to know each other a little bit, Sammy eventually asked Tim, "Hey, what're you in for?"

"I'm getting my tonsils out. I'm a little worried," said Tim.

"Oh, don't worry about it," Sammy said. "I had my tonsils out and it was a blast! I got to eat all the ice cream and Jell-O I wanted for two weeks!"

"Oh yeah?'' replied Tim. "That's not half-bad. So, Sammy, how about you? What're you here for?"

"I'm getting a circumcision, whatever that is," Sammy answered.

"Oh my god, circumcision? I got one of those when I was a baby and I couldn't walk for two years!

Stumpy and His Wife

Stumpy and his wife Martha went to the state fair every year. Every year Stumpy would say, "Martha, I'd like to ride in that there airplane."

And every year Martha would say, "I know Stumpy, but that airplane ride costs ten dollars, and ten dollars is ten dollars."

One year Stumpy and Martha went to the fair and Stumpy said, "Martha, I'm 71 years old. If I don't ride that airplane this year I may never get another chance."

Martha replied, "Stumpy, that there airplane ride costs ten dollars, and ten dollars is ten dollars."

The pilot overheard them and said, "Folks, I'll make you a deal, I'll take you both up for a ride. If you can stay quiet for the entire ride and not say one word, I won't charge you, but if you say one word it's ten dollars."

Stumpy and Martha agreed and up they went. The pilot did all kinds of twists and turns, rolls and dives, but not a word was heard. He did all his tricks over again, but still not a word. They landed and the pilot turned to Stumpy, "By golly, I did everything I could think of to get you to yell out, but you didn't."

Stumpy replied, "Well, I was gonna say something when Martha fell out, but ten dollars is ten dollars."

Marital Counseling

A husband and wife came for counseling after 20 years of marriage. When asked what the problem was, the wife went into a passionate, painful tirade listing every problem they had ever had in the 20 years they had been married.

She went on and on and on: neglect, lack of intimacy, emptiness, loneliness, feeling unloved and unlovable, an entire laundry list of unmet needs she had endured over the course of their marriage.

Finally, after allowing this to go on for a sufficient length of time, the therapist got up, walked around the desk and, after asking the wife to stand, embraced and kissed her passionately as her husband watched with a raised eyebrow. The woman shut up and quietly sat down as though in a daze.

The therapist turned to the husband and said, "This is what your wife needs at least three times a week. Can you do this?"

The husband thought for a moment and replied, "Well, I can drop her off here on Mondays and Wednesdays, but on Fridays, I fish."

Third Opinion

Three Doctors are dicussing which types of patients they prefer. Doctor Watson says, ''I prefer librarians. All their organs are alphabetized.''

Doctor Fitzpatrick says, ''I prefer mathematicians. All their organs are numbered.''

Doctor Ahn says, ''I prefer lawyers. They are gutless, heartless, brainless, spineless, and their heads and rear ends are interchangeable.''

Grandma

What's that wrinkly thing on Grandma?

Grandpa.

Is Brinda Parekh a Man or Woman?

P.S look more intently at the what you see in the groin area [:D].. Quite confused as such.

10 nations with highest inflation

Courtesy "The Economist".

The Indian people and the government are both quaking with fear with inflation hovering at around 8%. The people can barely make two ends meet with prices soaring, and the government knows that if prices don't fall, the government will.

But India is not the only nation grappling with rising inflation. The entire world is. So which are the nations with highest inflation rates? Read on.

1. Zimbabwe: 355,000%!

The inflation in Zimbabwe for the month of March 2008 rose to 355,000%! Yes, 355,000 per cent! It more than doubled from the February figure of 165,000%.

Economists say that it is a miracle that the Zimbabwean economy is still surviving and prices have been rising to unprecedented proportions. Inflation surged between February and March following the sudden rise in money supply that flooded the economy to finance the 2008 elections. Apart from this food and non-alcoholic beverages continued to drive up inflation.

Almost 80% of the nation is unemployed. The Zimbabwean central bank has introduced $500 million bearer cheques (or currency notes) for the public, and $5 billion, $25 billion, $50 billion agro-cheques for farmers. Just last fortnight the nation had introduced $250 million bearer cheques.

A sausage sandwich sells for Zimbabwean $50 million. A 15-kg bag of potatoes cost Zimbabwean $260 million. But then, Zimbabwean $50 million is roughly equal to US$ 1!

Image: A Zimbabwean man holds up a new $500-million note on May 16, 2008 in Harare. | Photograph: Desmond Kwande/AFP/Getty Images

2. Iraq: 53.2%

War-torn Iraq is also facing a huge problem, not only on the political front but also on the economic one. Inflation in Iraq is running amuck. It currently stands at 53.2%.
Rising oil prices, political instability, terrorism and the other post-conflict dynamics have led to inflation in the nation rise to unmanageable proportions
Some hurried counter-by the Iraqi central bank to curb inflation too have added fuel to the fire.

Image: An Iraqi money changer holds a handful of Iraqi currency in central Baghdad. | Photograph: Sabah Arar/AFP/Getty Images

3. Guinea: 30.9%

Guinea is also one of the world's poorest countries. The inflation in the nation is at 30.9%.
Although blessed with rich mineral wealth -- with huge iron ore, gold and diamond deposits -- Guinea has been languishing as one of the poorest nations on earth with large-scale unemployment, lack of industry and infrastructure dogging it.

4. San Tome and Principe: 23.1%

The mainstay of the economy of San Tome and Principe, an African nation, is agriculture. The main export from the nation is cocoa. It also exports coconut, coffee, etc.
The current inflation rate in San Tome and Principe is at 23.1%.
The country does not produce enough to meet domestic demand and thus is forced to import some essential commodities. With prices of food and other essential items rising in the global markets, imports for the nation have become almost unsustainable, leading to high prices and inflation.
The nation has undertaken myriad measure to reform the economy, but it is still early days and the results of liberalisation will only be noticeable over a period of time.

5. Yemen: 20.8%

Yemen is going through terrible times. The Yemini economy is experiencing an inflation rate of 20.8%.
More than 87% of Yemenis live for less than $2 a day. About 52% of children less than 5 years old suffer from malnutrition.
Most of the people are engaged in agriculture, followed by the services and infrastructure sectors, while unemployment is rampant at 35 per cent.

6. Myanmar: 20%

Myanmar is one of the world's poorest nations. It has suffered immensely under military rule for decades and has been categorised as one of the 'least developed countries' in the world by the United Nations. Its inflation rate is at 20%.
The economy of Myanmar is mostly controlled by the military junta leaving little room for private entrepreneurship or growth.
The military regime has also decided to do away with all reforms suggested by economists, throwing the nation's economy into further turmoil.

7. Uzbekistan: 19.8%

Uzbekistan is slowly moving from a somewhat closed to a market-based economy. The economic reforms have helped achieve some growth, but not nearly as much as the nation would ideally like to enjoy.
Also, lack of infrastructure, tight state control over the economy, occasional skirmishes with neighbouring nations, and an unstable political environment have seen inflation rise sharply here. The nation's inflation rate is at 19.8% currently.

8. Democratic Republic of Congo: 18.2%

Global investors do not feel that the Republic of Congo has a foreigner-friendly investment environment as it does not offer any incentive to the investor. Added to that a disorganised yet costly work force, high electricity costs, irregular supply of raw material, occasional civil unrest, political instability have only added to Congo's woes.
And even as the nation grapples with its myriad problems, the Congolese economy has been going from bad to worse. And its current rate of inflation is 18.2%.

9. Afghanistan: 17%

Afghanistan has long been a theatre of conflict and that has affected its economy adversely. Perpetual battles, an environment of fear, lack of infrastructure, industry and services has led to a once-proud nation turn into one of the world's poorest. The inflation rate in Afghanistan is at 17%.
The influx of billions of dollars of international aid has not really helped the economy much, although it is supposed to be much better now than it was in 2002

10. Serbia: 15.5%

Serbia's fragile economy, which mostly rests on agriculture, services and some manufacturing activity, has been going through a reform process for a long time. However, economic sanctions that were imposed on the nations in the 1990s have hit Serbia's economy so hard that its myriad economic problems continue to this day.
Unemployment is rampant, foreign investment is down to a trickle, foreign exchange reserves are low, and political instability are keeping good projects from taking off.
Although the nation is growing at a robust pace, the rising inflation -- currently at 15.5% -- is hurting the Serbian economy.

How to grow beard in 90 seconds?

You think it is not possible? Wait up before you conclude, this is the funniest video. Watch on

Yo, Gangsta, what's with the drinking story yo?

Well it was nothing about me into the drinking issue but the recent edition of Outlook (India's weekly news magazine), which was going non stop about the women in recent past taking to drinking and the effects on them. It reminded me about how stupidly women (particularly Indian women complained and nodded about men going to sleep after sex, they forgot they do the role of 'dead logs' beyond anyone's belief!) complain and blame men going south immediately when they get intimate. Anyway, I will talk about this later sometime.

There is a point to those complaints but then what I was thinking hard was why are women being nailed down by these moral police. I read that article and all I saw was that there was some loser women group who over did the drinking habits and became addicts. The case same as some men who indulge in sleep therapy after sex or over drink and become a menace. Now what has this to do with the increasing women group taking to drinks. To have generalized that the middle class, growingly confident, financially independent women - Drink a lot, was an awful story liner to start with.

I understand there are repercussions when you over do this but then, tell me honestly, do you think there is any activity which women or men can do without being castrated as being social outcasts (Other than being in the house) and then experience no stress, and to expect all good things happen to them. This is a new age and I think whether you drink or party or smoke or don't practice sex or don't annoy the moral police, you will be nailed down easy with the increasing stress patterns and work both men and women equally have to do. Welcome to the new age of 21st century.

Things were lot different, atleast in India, say 30 years back where you did not have much exposure. Now not only women compete but also are equally aggressive as men(Oh, we have lots sloths too), so obviously if men party, women also can party but know the limit when consuming alcohols. Binge drinking is the new age thing that has gone the full distance and has come back. It is not a taboo anymore to women, particularly, because they have learnt the art of ignoring people, read society, who cry loud if they wear jeans, shorts, micro shorts etc. Did we actually deal with a situation, 30 years back, women being managers and leading bigger corporations? Did we deal with one where women used to compete with men for a top draw managerial position way back? Did we ever know of a situation back then when women could remain single and yet achieve so many things they wanted to instead of being nailed down and buried down as early as 20 under the pretext of marriage? Did we imagine women driving or riding on their own vehicles 30 years back? So much advancement, so much progress they have all made. It looks like to me there are certain group of men who still ride on the dinosaurs back and they think they are invincible and now they are being threatened seeing women in places where it was men who crowded often. No position is safe for anyone and I feel it is these men, powered by media, go for the few party lovers who drink or smoke and make lewd comparisons.

The whole premise of my argument is not about women should not drink or drinking is not good. It is about having fun and hanging loose then there are characters who come along and make big drama queens by complaining loud that all women drink and get wasted soon and are pretty much on the track of self destruction. Eventually I feel it is about how you want to relax and knowing the limitation which is more important because the one weary thing about alcohol is that unless you know when your body cannot take more, every thing around you will sound fun. The moment you cross that you become a nuisance to all.

But do you think men drinking or women drinking and having fun in parties is bad? Do you think it is because of the new age verbs - relax and chill, that is forcing all to take to drinking habits to appear cool? Is it that the moral police wants us all to just consume health drinks and listen to carnatic muzik (which is Indian culture!) when we want to relax and chill?

Cruel existence

I was just amazed at how people ever survive in Africa particularly Zimbabwe. I mean I have been following their inflation situation for a long time now and I was, today, stumped when I got to know that their inflation is heading towards 5 Million% as of today. I mean how can a common man ever live with confidence. No wonder you see there are people who get out of that country and get into some other to do job.

To quote what I read from somewhere - "Weary Zimbabweans are facing a new wave of price increases that will put many basic goods even further out of their reach: A loaf of bread now costs what 12 new cars did a decade ago.

Independent finance houses said in an assessment Tuesday that annual inflation rose this month to 1,063,572 percent based on prices of a basket of basic foodstuffs. Economic analysts say unless the rate of inflation is slowed, annual inflation will likely reach about 5 million percent by October.

As stores opened for business Wednesday, a small pack of locally produced coffee beans cost just short of 1 billion Zimbabwe dollars. A decade ago, that sum would have bought 60 new cars."

To ease cash shortages, Zimbabwe recently introduced a $500 million note, see BBC report here.

In India, we are talking about a 8% (and growing) inflation. It sure needs a thinking and helping administrator who can take a stab at the situation. Sadly so this seems to be lacking in Zimbabwe and that is the reason for this atrocious situation now. But going by what is happening around, every country is going through a sad phase and it looks longingly at the people who are wearing the 'smart' hat and designated as ministers.

I feel awful at the present situation in Zimbabwe though.

Long live the saint. Long live ahoy!

Yea, I survived another year and it was quite interesting and funny the way people responded to my survival. But I maintained my status quo for this year too. Importantly, I liked this reaction better for this year, people I knew were not thinking twice bestowing me with gifts and blah blah.

Anyway, the wish remains the same, to impress a girl hard enough. Interestingly, people around were asking what was the plan for the 'year'. I was thinking why people normally look to an year from the day they are either born or celebrate their existence. Personally, there were many girls whom I liked and hanged out only to break up in the end and many bummed me but few of them remain itched in my memory. One of the them jovially said long before as a reciprocal to my memory loss on her birthday, that she will ensure she forgets my birthday and sadly we broke up long before that to see if she would have forgotten my b'day :D

That's about it. Another year well spent and survived with less diseases, spent with less losers & suckers, all I hope is an another interesting year to come by. So yea this would be a bad news to those who now know I am still alive [:D]

Yes - I am busy. I am busy....

Well that is not what I was meaning to write indicating how I was with the things around me but I have been thinking about this so called 'busy people' sucking it all up in the messengers around us with titles like 'I am busy working on a thing and don't disturb unless important'.Now now, I know, the busy word has several connotations. The person is actually preoccupied or an act to fool people around or trying to choose who they want to talk to or just hangin in there watching which person came online and went offline without doing a thing. But I always

wondered why people get into the online messengers if they were that busy and did not want to be disturbed.

I can get that feeling if you are in a messenger at work. Some weird people track when you come to work by the time you log in to your messenger. I had a German manager who used to do that pretty much concluded that I start the day late. How? I log into the messenger at work late by 10:30 ish. Then to wade through these characters who want to take stock of the situation as to when you log into the messengers. It makes sense if you said "Don't bother to respond. It is just for my sick manager who is tracking my activities".

Now how about Gtalk, Yahoo or AOL where people put up this funny one liners under the pretext of being busy. I think if you are so busy then I feel you should not be logged on at all. However, if it is for filtering out people you don't want to talk to, then how about "Blocking" them? That is more easy I say. Anyway, what is your take on when you see such liners when you get into the messenger and see a person has this next to his/her name? How will you react and what will you specifically feel?

Celebrities say it all - Being silly is not bad

I was meaning to write so many posts back to back on Economics, Attitude of the the so called Indian men(includes women, for those feminists who blame it all on man!) under the pretext of Indian culture yada yada. Then finally I made a "U" turn and decided to keep it all light and cool.

So yea, remember the celebrities can actually be dumb. Maybe we all know that the celebrities in the wild wild west are more vulnerable but then don't let go of the leash on the Indian ones too. Reason why they never appear dumb is because the Media does not cover that part of them. Else we would have gone head for head with the Hollywood dumb ones. I wonder why women are always there in that list. :-] .. Honestly, I do know some male celebrities who goofed up big time.

Anyway, these were some very very interesting comments made by some. Enjoy, if it interests you ! BTW, there are a lot of funny things told by big stars, if you have spare time and like reading funny stuff, follow the - Link and this Link and laugh it all.

To me the funny one liners were :
“I saw a woman wearing a sweatshirt with 'Guess' on it. I said, "Thyroid problem?" - Arnold Schwarzenegger,California Governor and actor

“I've read about foreign policy and studied, I now know the number of continents.” - George Wallace 1968 presidential campaign.

"I can't really remember the names of the clubs that we went to." - Shaquille O'Neal, basketball player, on whether he had visited the Parthenon during his visit to Greece

Now to the celebrity fun.

"First of all, let's get one thing straight. Crack is cheap. I make too much money to ever smoke crack. Let's get that straight. Okay? We don't do crack. We don't do that. Crack is wack."

Yea - Gimme expensive weed to dope and I would say we need crack. I wonder who ever wrote that marvelous script for her !


"Like, I thought Europe was a country? Is France a country? ...I don't think France is a country."

Ok, sorry to burst your bubble. Yea Europe is a country and France is a big continent, my fair princess !!!

"I'm drinkin' a soy latte, I get a double shotey/ It goes right through my body /I do yoga and Pilates and the room is full of hotties/ So I'm checkin' out the bodies and you know I'm satisfied," lyrics to "American Life."

I wonder what troubled her when she penned the lyric. Just sums up what shit comes in the modern day muzik. Any thing in English = Lyrics.

What's Wal-Mart? Do they sell, like wall stuff?"

Oh yea !! Wall, Buildings.... And I wonder what IKEA sell. Eye?

"So, where's the Cannes Film Festival being held this year?"

:-) Cannes Film Festival.. err for this obnoxious comment made, firstly, are you even invited?

"Butterflies are always following me, everywhere I go." "If critics have problems with my personal life, it's their problem. Anybody with half a brain would realize that it's the charts that count." "I may believe in Santa, but I'm not delusional."

I am pretty sure you are not delusional and sure they all have a problem.


CNN's TUCKER CARLSON: A lot of entertainers have come out against the war in Iraq. Have you?
BRITNEY SPEARS: Honestly, I think we should just trust our president in every decision that he makes and we should just support that, you know, and be faithful in what happens.

Err.. Britney, well.. hmm you had to go AGAINST the war in Iraq. Meaning, saying War is bad, not good for the economy. Meaning against the president..Are you still on dope to sorta go completely opposite. I wonder how Carlson would have reacted when he saw her say this. :-)

"Is this chicken, what I have, or is it fish? I know it's Tuna, but it says: Chicken of the Sea."

Sure, chicken of the sea indeed !


"I dress sexily - but not in an obvious way. Sexy in a virginal way."

"We are the most powerful nation on the globe, and by God, that comes with benefits! I'm not saying we should travel in arrogance or cockiness and strut through downtown Baghdad expecting people to part like the Red Sea. All I ask is for the rest of the world to treat Americans with respect so we don't have to kill you."

First thing, dude, there ain't no downtown in Baghdad and what you just said is slightly against the first sentence. Arrogance, Cockiness.. wonder what that means in your dictionary.

All pictures courtesy http://www.rhapsody.com/

Why no place is safe for kids?

Well to all the expectant parents, already parents, swingers, lovey-dovey couples whatever, do you ever think this world is a safe place for the kids? Imagine with a rule that we put that the kids should not know a 'thing' about sex until a particular age, what is the best place to cool the mind of the kids - Zoo? Well, the once thought of a safe place for the kids is no longer a fun zone. LOL - quite bizarre pictures. Read on and have fun.

Birth of Chinese Olympic symbol

One of the many things about people, sane people, is that they can make others laugh with interesting observations from a totally different angle.

I got a forward on how the Chinese chose their Olympic symbol. Quite profound the thought. This is how it goes and it had be smiling for a while.

And the value of a million is grim

I have always been quite interested in the economics and I have been following the updates in Zimbabwe. Sadly, the situation has gone from worse to worser and I wonder how much the Africans are going to be helped by the world.

Today as we stand by it seems that it is very very easy to become a multi millionaire (atleast if you take the local money worth). Yes, it is sad that the economically depressed country's currency has gone so low that 25 million Zimbabwe dollars = 1 USD ! The official Zimbabwe inflation trebles in one month to 66,000 percent and to top it the cost of a chicken has risen more than 236,000 percent to 15 Million Zimbabwe dollars. How can someone ever EVER live in such situation.

Apparently, the government has not done much in the recent past and the US or other countries have not cried foul. Perhaps it is because they don't have oil there else Mr. President would have occupied Zimbabwe. That seems to be the war cry at this point of time though.
The currency on above was deemed useless because this was worthless on the second day of its issue. The inflation has climbed up to mystery proportion that it seems better that the civil war breaks up anytime now !

It is more interesting to see the news that with Zimbabwe dollars mostly available in bundles of 100,000 and 200,000 notes, one $100 note bought nearly 20 kilograms (40 pounds) of local notes at the new market rate Wednesday.

The above picture is for the cost of a beer !

To combat this situation the government has recently released a new 50-Million Zimbabwean dollar note in a desperate attempt to stabilize the flatering economy. Interestingly, CNN says, the new note is worth about 2 dollars (in the black market) and can buy 3 loaves of bread !

But the super stores are anxious about the present state that they remain empty all the time.

And if this was one side of the ruler who failed to understand that all countries in the past have dealt with the Inflation/Deflation and how to rule at that point of time, India is still in news for some other reason.

It is amazing to read the news that a person who drives Honda City is living below the poverty line ! The government is busy embezzling the money that it does not have any corporate governance in place which would keep track of everything, from an account perspective. They just let everything go and it is quite weird that we are still dealing with such situations. Just sums up how much difficult it is here to rule the country.

If only the people who rule the country are not short sighted(in both the countries!). I wonder how ever would we deal with an inflation situation if ever it became like Zimbabwe. The odds are less considering there are other countries around India which will not be able to survive. So perhaps, at that time the leaders might take a hint. But on a general note, the world is not a very comfortable place to live and how much the print on the paper - Money, rules us all...

It was for no reason, someone sang:

"Money makes the world go around,
the world go around, the world go around,
Money makes the world go around,
it makes the world go round.

A mark, a yen, a buck or a pound,
a buck or a pound, a buck or a pound,
Is all that makes the world go around,
that clinking clanking sound,
Can make the world go round.

If you happen to be rich, and you feel like a night's entertainment,
You can pay for a gay escapade.
If you happen to be rich, and alone and you need a companion,
You can ring ting-a-ling for the maid.
If you happen to be rich and you find you are left by your lover,
Tho you moan and you groan quite a lot,
You can take it on the chin,
call a cab and begin to recover on your fourteen carat yacht.

Money makes the world go around,
the world go around, the world go around,
Money makes the world go around,
of that we both are sure.
(Raspberry) On being poor.

When you haven't any coal in the stove and you freeze in the winter
And you curse to the wind at your fate.
When you haven't any shoes on your feet and your coat's thin as paper
And you look thirty pounds underweight,
When you go to get a word of advice from the fat little pastor,
he will tell you to love evermore.
But when hunger comes to rap, rat-a-tat, rat-a-tat, at the window
See how love flies out the door.

For money makes the world go around, the world go around,
the world go around.
Money makes the world go around,
the clinking, clanking sound
of Money, money, money, money,
Money, money, money, money,
Get a little, get a little,
Money, money, money, money,
Mark, a yen, a buck or a pound,
That clinking, clanking clunking sound
is all that makes the world go round,
It makes the world go round."