Dependability in Election

I do not put faith in polls.

And yet if the polls are any indication, the third and last debate seem to have shifted the voters in favor of Mitt Romney. Even women segment which was leaning towards Obama before is now fleeing.

I know why.

Romney has moved to the center. He has become a moderate Republican. He is getting more and more alligned with Obama. The policies he proposed and supported  during Primary campaign  are no longer his policies.

This is a tactic he has employed just to get elected. The people are getting drawn into it.

I think everyone should be concerned that he is not dependable. He has changed from the Primaries to now. What is the guaranty that he will not change back to his original position; worse yet, move to even further right after he is elected? I am certain he will succumb to Tea Party and all the lobbyists as well as donors who have contributed mega bucks to his campaign. They will want their money's worth, and they will want it NOW.

Absurdity II

To follow up on my prvious post:


 If we jail the scientists who fail to predict siesmological activities, what shall we do with all the palmistry artists and fortune tellers whose predictions never come true?

Fascination with Longevity

Instinctively, humans do not want to die. Not wanting to die is one thing but to want to live an inordinately long life is quite another. I fail to grasp why so.
                                                         
                                                                                                           



Courtsey NYTimes



http://nyti.ms/RxhGh4

NYTimes: The Island Where People Forget to Die

Unraveling the mystery of why the inhabitants of Ikaria, an island of 99 square miles that is home to almost 10,000 Greek nationals, live so long and so well.

Absurdity

I used to think American Legal system, in some ways,  is absurd. It has created an economy unto itself by allowing people not to assume responsibility for their actions but sue others at the drop of a hat.  I also thought that the rest of the world, especially Europe, is slightly wiser in penal codes than USA.

My belief has been dashed.

Read the article and weep for insaneness of this case in Italy

Courtsey NY TImes

http://nyti.ms/RdGgpg

NYTimes: Italy Orders Jail Terms For 7 Who Didn’t Warn Of Deadly Earthquake
Prominent earthquake experts were convicted of manslaughter in connection with the earthquake that gutted the historic center of the city of L’Aquila.



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Early Voting

I performed my civic duty today.   I voted.  And I have a decal to prove it!!!

Malala Yousafzai

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/11/opinion/malala-yousafzais-courage.html?_r=0

A fourteen year old Pakistani girl was singled out by Taliban and shot at point blank. Reason: she advocated education for girls and women. The bullet has been removed from her body. While prognosis is good, she is not out of the woods yet. She is reportedly doing well in London hospital. That is a great news. I am rooting for her complete recovery.

What I am afraid of is all the media as well as the public attention she is getting; without her being aware of it. She is a fourteen year old girl who launched her idealist view of educating girls and women. I, myself, am all for it. As we know, all teenagers are idealists. So is she; and she has not had a chance to formulate her life's real objective. She does not have realistic world-view yet, which is as it will be and should be.

My concerns are: when she recovers and recovers fully, she will have an onerous obligation  pushed on her willy-nilly by public and media. An obligation that she has to carry on and push for her cause when she wakes up.

What if she is afraid and does not want to pursue it? What if she wants to pursue a different cause? What if she just wants to live a normal family life? What if someone is really successful in killing her?

Unbeknownst to her, a great obligation and therefore a greatness is being thrust upon her and I for one object it.

Roy Lichtenstein....



http://nyti.ms/VajUTR

NYTimes: Cool. Commercial. Unmistakable.
"Roy Lichtenstein: A Retrospective," at the National Gallery of Art, is the first major survey of the artist’s work since his death in 1997.

A Rogue Experiment......

http://nyti.ms/QuHkmM

"NYTimes: A Rogue Climate Experiment Outrages Scientists
An environmental entrepreneur scattered 100 tons of iron dust in the Pacific Ocean this summer without any academic or government oversight, startling researchers and regulators"

Haryana Rapes, on BBC Radio

BBC Radio reported that there have been a flurry of rapes in the state of Haryana, India. The news in itself is not only heart breaking but also infuriating. On top, it was also reported that it is widely acknowledged and understood among locals that the rapes ocurred because the rapists had had some oriental food, prior to the incidents, that caused hormonal imbalance in their bodies which made them rape the women. 

Is this a joke?

Second Presidential Debate of 2012

I was reluctant to watch last night's debate for the fear that Obama will not perform well, once again. He surprised me, pleasantly. He did extremely well.  He recouped some of the grounds he had lost in his last debate. I am glad I watched.

Romney came across as a badgerer, last night and prviously.

Next and last debate will be on Foreign policy. I expect Obama to do well there, because he has actually performed very well in that field during his Presidency.

Regardless, I want this election to be over with. It has frayed my nerves.

Abstract 101312

Abstract 101312

First Presidential Debate of 2012

It was a flop for Obama. 

Having said that, all presidential debates are flops; for one candidate or the other. I do not believe stage debate is a good forum to present one's case. While I watch them I do not give much credence to them.

These debates have to discuss serious issues at national and international levels. You cannot present solutions to such complex issues like economy,  job creation, growth etc.  to general public within allotted two minutes' time and expect common people to deduce whose solutions are better for them and the country! It is a fallacy that by debating the issues back and forth accurate picture of candidates' ability to resolve them will emerge; at least for common people. 

My thought is that each candidate, individually and severally, should present and lay out the issues first. Identify how each issue is connected with another issue, if it does. If necessary, use a black board, just like in a class room; use numbers; use math to explain. Once the issues are identified, lay out the solutions next to them.  Next, connect the dots; how one solution is connected with another solution or another problem. Present why your solution if adopted will solve it  and what are the consequences if not adopted.

Afterall, all issues and solutions are somehow interconnected.

Avoid criticizing the opponent for his solutions. Concentrate only on your position.

 More than debates what we need is to root out the bad elements that have crept into our government over the years; corruption, bribery, lobbying, lying, cheating, blatant disregard for the laws, superpacs, creating laws to serve one's own purposes, interpret the laws unjustly and unfairly.

If we do that, which I doubt will ever happen, we will never need debates.

I for one know neither candidate will create jobs, convert deficit into surplus and get economy rolling right away. It will require time; months perhaps years. Romney will require time along with shift in strategy which will undo what has so far been done by Obama.  I would rather give Obama time only.

Obama has my vote!