Edward Snowden - the surprises that failed to surprise!

For the past month or so, Edward Snowden had become a household name. Most people I met had an opinion about him and his revelations. They shared theirs and demanded mine. There was a problem, I didn't have one.

The first time, I suppose, I heard about the National Security Agency (NSA) was in 2003 or so when I read Dan Brown's years old novel - Digital Fortress. The plot, which I vaguely remember, involved a renegade ex-employee of the NSA, ironically. I personally feel, not before a friend pointed it to me, that Michael Chricton was a better researcher than Dan Brown, not to mention the plagiarism charges against the latter, I take it that this news was an open secret atleast since 1998 when the book was first published. So I was sure that it was entirely possible to be snooped upon by one agency or the other and given the age we were living in, I was quite sure it was happening.

However, the whole episode had 'exposed' many other things that 'surprised' me.

To start with President Obama of the United States of America. Though personally I like the Republicans more than Democrats, Obama was hard to be dismissed. He won with his oratory skills - emphasizing on Hope and Change and his famous - 'Yes, we scan' slogan. He seemed to be a person of his word and his promise on transparency did intrigue me. But now he has proved he is just another actor in the World's stage after he authorized the witch-hunt for Snowden.

Another person who I admire for his nationalism and resolve is President Vladimir Putin of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics Russian Federation. He had openly challenged the United States of America in many issues and called for a multipolar world. If there was someone who was expected to stand cold like the Russian Winter on the face of American diplomatic heat it was Putin. However, his recent statements that Snowden should stand down and stop embarrassing his 'partners' to gain asylum in Russia was a surprise of sorts.

Ecuador's earlier rhetoric and support for Edward Snowden and its sudden u-turn attributed to Julian Assange's statements suggesting that he was running the show rather than the Ecuadorean Government came in at a distant third in the surprises race.

Edward Snowden is like Steve Jobs, a prophet or messiah to a small or large crowd but to me he comes across as someone who took something old, polished it, smoothened some rough edges (rounded corners patent?!), gave a fancy name (PRISM?! How about iSnitch?!) and marketed it and became famous.

Systemic Bias.?!

The other day a friend of mine was asking me about Educational loans. Given my brief association with the Banking sector and the fact that my dad is still in active service with a Public Sector Bank, I have become some kind of a 'go-to-guy' for basic information regarding banking products. The friend's friend on whose behalf he was enquiring had aspirations to make it to a foreign university in a European country and my friend was quite excited, understandably, given that the aspirant was quite studious and well deserving. However, there was a problem. The aspirant's family was into agriculture full time and his dad, despite being quite successful, didn't possess any substantial assets other than massive farm lands.

Now that was bad news. The banking sector in India has been undergoing a silent crisis in the form of NPAs (Non Performing Assets) for some time now. A lot of corporate loans viz. Kingfisher have gone bad and many including Adani, GMR, et cetera are expected to go bad and not just that there has been a lot of delinquencies in the personal loans segments as well, especially Education, Home and Car loans, due to drying up of the job market. The picture was never green as far as Agriculture was concerned. It was almost a given that the Agriculture loans are either written off by the Banks or the Government at some point of time. Moreover, most public sector banks won’t accept Agricultural land as mortgage because they cannot go after it if the loan is defaulted as easily as they could with other property and also because in some states it’s illegal. If the banks were a little more cautious in extending credit earlier they wouldn't be so neck deep in trouble, the banks having realized that have pulled up their socks and in the process bringing untold misery to deserving loan applicants.

Recently a couple of news made headlines. Current Account Deficit (CAD) increases; driven mainly by Gold imports, Money Laundering by Banks expose by Cobrapost, Tax evasion and its impact on the fiscal deficit, Moneylenders, et al. I personally feel that the Banking structure in our country has directly resulted in such irritants in the system and I am going to follow the family and how their quest for funds for a legitimate and noble cause might come from unscrupulous and dubious sources.

There was a time not long ago when farmers can submit a proof of possession of agriculture land and Gold ornaments and collect nearly 75% of the value of the Gold as loan at a mouth watering interest rate of 7%. This was when Gold was at its all time peaks and there was a possibility that the interest rate might further go down to 5% with excess government subsidies. At that time the interest rates on Term deposits with the Bank was around 8% and technically if one invests the loan amount back in the bank they can earn up to 3% net interest margin (NIM). Just to give a perspective the NIM of popular banks during the same period hovered around the same figure give or take 1%. Now that gold has climbed down from its historic highs, the common man, especially small farmers, believing the trend would be repeated is trying to amass as much as they can, driving volumes up. Now RBI and Government had stepped in to douse the fire kindled by the passion for the fiery yellow metal which they could have done earlier and avoided the whole situation now. Now they blame the obsession of people with Gold, however, they were prima facie the reason for this obsession.

Turned away from the Banks and having already pledged all their Gold, the family might approach a Moneylender. These days’ moneylenders are exclusively servicing clients turned away from Banks and financial institutions and charge them interest which amounts to as much as the principle in many cases if not more. Over and top of this, since they aren't regulated, they take lands or other properties, even those banned from being mortgaged as security. None of the money that transfers hands goes through any bank accounts or anything, thus the whole transaction is as good as never happened, no taxes, nothing.

Now the family probably has enough money, however, he would have to wire a part of that money as college fees and other expenses. Now the Banks which had earlier turned them away due to systemic reasons will have to act intermediaries to transfer the amount. Call it strung by guilt of not able to help a hard working farmer and setting it right or to earn some precious commission from the wire transfer, the banks would give out some precious ‘advise’ on how to do it without arousing the suspicion of the Income Tax Department.

The money borrowed would soon be back doubled or tripled and end up with the money lender as black money. The banks might bend backwards to convert it to white counting on precious commissions, anyway, if not they some other bank would do it and the process goes on. If the farmer was able to get help through official channels easily this whole trail could have been avoided.

I have personally seen how farmers and small businessmen suffer because they don’t have proper banking access. RBI’s ‘Financial Inclusion’ through opening banks all over the country alone will not help achieve anything. Some prejudice against such debtors and systemic bias in the system should be corrected for real betterment of the society.

A new meaning of Ethics.?! Is Ethics really absolute?

Wipro, one of the largest and well recognized Indian company involved in Information Technology, Consulting, Business Process Outsourcing services and other product manufacturing in the non-IT space (which they have decided to demerge) has been named as one of the most ethical companies in the world by a leading think-tank, Ethisphere Institute in their annual rankings.

Immediately my thought went to an Economic Times report on IT companies spending substantial amount of money in Lobbying. Then my grouse was whether the employees whose jobs depended on such activities complain about corruption in India. 

Between January and March this year (2011), Wipro spent nearly $60,000 (Rs 27 lakh) to lobby lawmakers and other officials about restrictive visa rules and policies that favour local companies. - The ET report

However, many pitched in to 'educate' and 'enlighten' me that Lobbying was legal in the United States of America. But I couldn't take it - will a corporate bend back on its motto of maximizing shareholder's wealth to appease a stakeholder? I don't think so. Why then would a government bend back (fewer jobs at home for the general public) to appease the stakeholders (foreign/domestic investors/players)? And the process that assists this, lobbying, is legal? I can't buy it.

Ethics are absolute. 

The Ethisphere Institute's website on the World's Most Ethical Companies Ranking website starts with this line. I don't think so. If two countries, India and USA, can have two different take on something as simple as lobbying on whether it is legal (Radia tapes and Walmart controversies), and am not even comparing USA and Venezuela (Comrade Chávez, RIP!). How then can ethics be absolute?

I believe ethics or for that matter any trait can only be relative. And the award can at best be named World's Most 'Legally Compliant' Companies Ranking.

DISCLAIMER 

(I know the work ain't a 'Vishwaroopam' or as true and open about IIPM, still why take the chance in case someone brings it up as an Amicus curiae!)

• I have nothing against Wipro, in fact, I have become a fan of Mr. Azim Premzi with all his philanthropic activities and support for higher taxes and his choice of car (a Toyota Corolla 1.8 Petrol, I was told).
• I understand the pains and effort that has gone in putting up the list by the Ethisphere Institute. Really Commendable.
• I am an Indian and am proud an Indian company has figured in there.

There are two kinds of people in the world..

There are two kinds of people in the world, largely – the optimists and the pessimists, the rich and the poor, the healthy and the weak, the young and the old, et cetera. However, in my home state of Tamil Nadu in India I have seen three kinds of people as far as the Tamil issue in Sri Lanka is concerned – the good, the bad and the ugly. The first are the dangerous and hawkish people who staunchly defend a solution carved out with guns and bombs and sealed in blood, even if it is that of innocents. The second are the ones who don’t give a damn about the whole issue, the more dangerous ones, because going by The Right Honorable Edmund Burke – the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. The third is the category in which, I believe, I fit in. The people who have every feeling of comradeship with our brethren in Lanka, crying when they cry and withering in pain as the shells explode and shudder every time the mines go off, deep within our hearts. We are often dismissed as anti-Tamils, cowards, congress party agents and backstabbers by the people in the first category and as people-yet-to-get-a-life by the second category.

One of the justifications the central government gave the country when the government extended a quasi-support to the Lankan government on the operation against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) was to prevent the Chinese or the US getting a stronghold in India’s backyard by stepping in to fill the void left by India’s indecisiveness on an issue having a huge bearing on the emotions of countless Tamils and the security of the country. However, what we have witnessed ever since the end of the war is a Lankan government that is intoxicated having bathed and drunk on the successes of the war, an even more displaced Tamil population and more humiliation for India in the world stage with its weaknesses exposed as regard its policy towards Lanka with the latter cozying with China, faster.

It is beyond me why would India, a nation that can detain Italian marines for killing fishermen, even voice it out to Sri Lanka over similar incidents. The Chinese cooperation has extended into infrastructure building and offers of military assistance are also being heard. And the latest space cooperation, I think, is just an indication of what is yet to come. India may have pulled off many diplomatic victories but Sri Lanka is somewhere I think we messed up. Hope the irritant in the relation with Maldives doesn’t go the Sri Lankan way.

007 things I love about the latest 007 flick – Skyfall

<<<<<-----SPOILER ALERT----->>>>>

001 – Realistic, Old school style

By bringing in a cyber war-esque theme the flick is in sync with the times we are living in, unlike most other spy films which lives in their own fantasy world of villains with technology that are alien or prohibitively expensive for governments across the world to possess. A throwback to the old school style of shot guns, Scottish castle, escape tunnel, chapel, dynamite and death by knife throw, all in the ‘Gangnam’ era is a welcome relief.

002 – A failed, underdog, agent saves the world

An agent who fails the tests, considered inappropriate and unfit for the job takes up the mantle and delivers, in style. The movies with underdog heroes have always fascinated me because in real life, problems are always herculean; the same reason why I like Rocky series and the recent Dark Knight trilogy.

003 – Aston Martin DB5

The car screams British Engineering from all sides and from an era that saw the Ford Mustang and the Jaguar E-type. More than the car it’s the feelings Bond exhibits which shows his passion for the car. Be it when he threatens to eject M out when she complains about it being uncomfortable or when he is irritated when Silva has the DB5 destroyed by the gunship, it touched the part of my heart that loves and respects old, classic automobiles.

004 – A radio and a gun. What were you expecting an exploding pen?

The gadgetry at display in this flick was minimal. I loved it when Nathan Muir tells Bishop that all that a good spy needs are a stick of gum, pocket knife and smile in Spy Game. I liked it when all Bond carried was a radio transmitter (Radio! Not even GPS) and a Walther nine millimeter (albeit with finger print sensors).

Please grow up Q

005 – New quartermaster is young, computer savvy and predictably arrogant

The new Q is young and boasts of competence to commit damages with a computer however fails to live up by not foreseeing Silva’s plans on disarming the security measures.

R(etire)IP M. You'll be missed!

006 – An assertive M

M has been one of her best. Be it when cold about Silva’s accusations and her defense of ‘she did what she had to do’ or when enquiring what took so long for Bond to return back to duty. She wouldn’t compromise and retire with ‘dignity’ without completing her job and her testifying before MPs acknowledging the fight is no more with known nations or faces rather unknown faces.

007 – A relatively powerful villain who remains a step ahead most of the time

Silva was one step, if not many steps, ahead of MI6 throughout the movie. After his capture with the three royal marines’ helicopter hovering over the island tracking the radio signal I was a tad disappointed but when it dawned on me that it was a plan to stage his arrest, confinement and break out it got me gripping again.

Lessons from the roads

We, Indians (including me of course), could always use a lot of Road lessons. But today I discovered that the infamous Indian roads have something to give.

The festival of lights, Diwali, is just around the corner and the conservative southern city of Chennai is bursting at its seam with people and traffic. The fact that most of the city’s migrant workforce are hurrying back to their hometowns to spend time with their family is stretching the infrastructure of the city to its limit. The city’s police have been doing a good job in controlling the chaos from spiraling out of control and at times employ tactics that blows me over. Just the other day at the Wavin junction in Mogappair the police signaled me to drive on the right side of the road to clear the area. He held traffic on all sides of the four way junction to let us pass and he did well, he was able to clear the logjam at close to twice the speed of what he could do by using only one side of the road as mandated by laws.

The laws require us to drive on the left side of the roads (reminds me of the joke – when a foreigner asks an Indian as to which side of the road they drive – the left or right, the Indian supposedly replied that they drive on what is left of the road! :)) but the traffic constable wanted me to break the law. The reason is the infrastructure constraints, a problem with the system. When the infrastructure improves the law would automatically be followed.

Of late the Indian society has been hearing about scandals and scams and corruption. Everyone talks about punishing the guilty but no one talks about addressing the source of the problem, including Mr. Anna Hazare and Mr. Arvind Kejriwal. A Gestapo like power wielding Jan Lokpal with jurisdiction over the judiciary, legislature and executive is not the solution nor shaking and breaking the system going to help.

Remember punishing me or the constable or both is not addressing the problem, improving the infrastructure is going to make the problem disappear. Dear politicians and civil society warriors please start driving your own vehicles; there are lessons to be learnt from the roads too. :) 

Riders on the Storm..

D Guy:

                      

Shanky. An Awesome Guy!

D Plan:

The planning was done over French fries and burgers as to the destination and the means of travel on board Snow White, the WagonR. A few days back I had been caught unaware in a slight stormy and unrelenting rain shower while returning from office on the Chennai Bypass and had my jitters for a trip on bike when the dark clouds were looming large as per weather forecasts and so suggested Snow White rather than Scarlet (CBR250R) for the trip. But while the planning extended over Gtalk (a lil’ old school for geeks?!), I had a change of heart as I saw bike trip adventures (Youtube links courtesy Shanky!) with ‘Riders on the Storm’ and ‘Hotel California’ as background scores. It was decided – the trip will be in bikes, come hail or storm. The destination was pinned as Kolli Hills after considering Kodaikanal, Ooty and a drive down the East Coast Road, mainly driven by the fact that I had never been there and Shanky had had a ‘thrilling’ experience from his trip before and wanted to relive it.

D Ladies:

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