Fueling Thoughts

  It has been a consistent trend in all US foreign interventions not to give a damn about what happens after they are gone, except for installing a puppet regime or dictator who gets deposed in no time. In the US occupation of Iraq after the ouster of Saddam Hussain as much as $ 9 billion of their gold reserve vanished, just like $6 billion of the Iraq reconstruction fund, all paid for by Iraqi oil. All under the watchful eye of the US Presidential envoy Paul Bremmer. The more far-reaching and deadlier consequence was the rise of Islamists in a hitherto secular country with armed and fanatical Shia and Sunni militias, culminating with the formation of Daesh or ISIS. Laos, which had never been at war with the US is the most heavily bombed country in the world, again courtesy of the US Air Force, only due to being a neighbour of Vietnam where the latter was fighting a losing war. Cambodia is a close runner up, having the largest number of landmines, with even deadlier long-term consequen

  It is a matter of vexation that the word Startup these days is associated solely with raising money and not what that concern is trying to do and which problem statement it is trying to solve. It was during a recent expo where I participated, that I had an otherwise well-meaning young chap with his own budding enterprise, constantly asking me the same question in one way or another "Heh, heh, so how much investment have you been able to raise??" Finally fed up, I made him sit down and told him," Zero"! But I have had over 20 outright rejections to my pitches( I stopped counting after 20) as my work of building safe, sustainable and affordable riverboats and nautical equipment is seen as very limited in size and scalability. I was also told that I was too old to start a Startup, was mocked for not having a formal technical education, that my designs were pinched from the internet, that I lacked a team, traction and that it is a matter of doubt whether my perenniall