Propaganda replaced News a long time back..

I grew up during the last vestiges of the Cold War in a place the least affected by it in any way. 

There it was Reader's Digest readers who "knew" that the US was the land of the free, and those who purchased Soviet books on everything from Russian folk tales to Marxism and Physics textbooks, sold at a price lower than the cost of transporting them. 

At times the dividing lines merged. 

I always detested the feel-good Reader's Digest, viewing it as covert American propaganda, which as an adult I learned that it in-fact was, same with Nat Geo and Popular Mechanics. But the key word here is "covert." 

With no television, it was a battle of government radio stations on short wave. BBC was still held to be truthful, till they exposed themselves much later during the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, lying even more than the US outlets. VOA and Radio Liberty for propaganda against the Soviet Union, and Radio Moscow for laughs. 

However, none of the cold-war rhetoric can compare with the deeply penetrating psychologically structured divisive venom and misinformation spread by today's corporate media the world over. Be it India, Russia or the "Free" west - They have divided people the way no Cold War spook could have dared to dream!!

#coldwar #propaganda #media #corporate #divisive #venom

Relatives and a Business Suit

 "Ravi, do you have any relatives in Delhi? "

No Sir!!

"Not even friends, with whom you can stay for a few days?"

No Sir!!! (More forcefully).

Big Sigh !!"...well try to find an economical hotel !!"

 It was 1996 and being the only person in the organization to know how to use computers and PowerPoint, I was selected to accompany the big Boss to the Auto Expo 96. My fellow young colleagues were all green in envy, especially as there was a rumour that I would be also getting a new business suit. 

That was till the time the Boss's wife called me into their office and asked me to try on a decidedly worn coat which  beaming she old me that was the one her husband wore on their wedding. It did fit, albeit a bit loosely, and I was told to wear a sweater underneath as Delhi would be quite cold anyway. 

So wear it I did, trudging a borrowed laptop, lodging in a common bathroom room in YMCA Delhi (which much to the relief of my Boss as it included complimentary breakfast). Thus, I attended my first ever international exhibition and I could consider myself lucky as a couple of our senior managers came to see it on their own expense. 

And yes, except me everyone including the Boss stayed as uninvited guests with their relatives. 

#expo #exhibitions #work #profession #businesssuit #relatives

Pavlik & Karens - Not a Sex Story!!

The story of "Pavlik Morozov" was compulsorily taught in soviet schools and his portrait hung in every classroom. He was a communist martyr, a boy who informed on his father to the authorities for some criminal activity (hoarding grains as per another version) and so was killed by his family. The moral was two-fold: A hero always places the state above his family and that it's perfectly all right to snitch on family members if they don't follow government dictates.

 The western world always expressed horror on such leftist indoctrination, but are no strangers to such behaviour either. Right from the days of the Catholic inquisition in Europe to McCarthy's anti-communist witchunt in the 50s, to standing in long ques for signing-up to spy on terrorists (neighbours) after 9/11 in the US. 

Now, in the era of Corona Karens, people are self-righteously spying and snitching on others for lockdown or mask-rule violations "all for the good of the State". So stop blaming communists and pseudo-leftists, as McCarthy and Bush were republicans, while BoJo the Clown is a Tory. 

Remember there are Pavliks & Karens aplenty in every society, all it takes is a government that promotes a "snitch on your neighbour" policy.

Google Censorship - Great Barrington Declaration

Covid Censorship - Google is not showing the Great Barrington Declaration page in its searches. Though its facing flake in the news because a handful of its signatories are fake, the mass media conveniently ignores the long list of medical professionals and their expertise who signed the declaration.

The declaration was authored by Sunetra Gupta of the University of Oxford, Jay Bhattacharya of Stanford University, and Martin Kulldorff of Harvard University. Cosignatories, across disciplines ranging from epidemiology, biostatistics, and public health, through psychiatry and self-harm, to finance and human geography, include Sucharit Bhakdi, David Livermore, Angus Dalgleish, Mike Hulme, Michael Levitt, Jonas Ludvigsson, Yaz Gülnur Muradoğlu, David L. Katz, and Karol Sikora.

https://gbdeclaration.org

B-School Scam ...er...Spam

 I really miss the days when spam email comprised of various ways to enhance my manhood, slimming pills, fabulous business opportunities from Nigeria or even correspondence from Ayesha,  Gaddafi's (one time) gorgeous  daughter who once solicited my help in transferring her father's millions. 

As today, it's either legit Insurance companies offering to protect me or my 3-year unused car, Medical test labs trying to test my prostrates or check me for diabetes or Covid, but most of all it's the B-Schools both Indian and from overseas  offering me their fantastic and probably utterly diplomas to enhance my career or to avert a midlife crisis, for a hefty  fee of course, a student loan option included...

Vibrators stick to Thailand!

It is impossible to ignore the hottest topic of the Indian Automotive world which is the not-so-sudden exit of Harley Davidson from the Indian market. 

I wouldn't poke a hornet's nest discussing the bikes; if people spend their money on a 2-wheeled jackhammer or vibrator is purely their choice, but the company has had it share of gross failings in the country. 

From ignoring customer's grievances which led to a slew of lawsuits, to charging exorbitant price of spares and servicing to lacklustre overpriced entry models, it had been following a potholed path where brand image and fanboys weren't enough to make their Indian foray either stable or profitable. 

And yet, one undeniable fact staring us in the face is that neighbouring Thailand continues being their assembly and export hub for the entire ASEAN region. Though not privy to their internal doings and with any real contact left in the automotive sector, one thing that I can say for sure am confident it will be vouched by everyone who dealt with the Indian top management of premium or major MNC brands is that the all-pervading "Brand Arrogance + Personal Arrogance" is not a productive way of conducting affairs and is doomed to fail at some point, or at best just remain a commodity level player.

 #harleydavidson #India #MNC #thailand #asean

India's Jinxed Energy (Generating) Field

I was asked my opinion by a niche player in the renewable Energy sector about the viability of setting up a pilot unit with a Power Purchase Mode of operation in India. 

My reply was swift :"Don't touch the power generation sector In India with a barge pole unless you want to lose your investment, irrespective of what a hustler may have pitched or a government officer promised. But you may come in as equipment vendors, that to after ensuring that costs and profits are covered in the 80 % of the quoted price." 

Instead of wasting time on a long narrative describing the woes plaguing the sector from defaulting, corrupt DISCOMs( Power Distribution Companies) to how multi-million dollar investments are turning NPAs from the Mini and Micro Hydel Projects of the early 2000s to the Gas Turbine Thermal Stations from the Reliance Gas Bubble days, then the Wind Power generators who have lost their wind and now the solar industry on the threshold of folding like a house of cards: I just sent a few links of article from the recent years from the Indian pertaining to the current scenario in the power sector to help them make up their mind. Never heard from them again...talk about shooting your own foot...