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The Research & Analysis wing in India has always had significant electronic intelligence hardware and has always been looking for more funding & more engineers to work for them. I know in some sense that they are indeed working their things to let me live my life in some sort of passive ignorance. The thing that pisses me off about this is the day and time they decided to announce this.

I haven't touched yesterday's copy of my paper (the hindu), because it is very likely that the mass hysteria about the last year's terror attacks in Mumbai will overcome any real news that they have to say. I feel sad for the victims of the attack, but in the fight between the government and the terrorists (well, militants for the 90s people), the rights that really being eaten away are mine.

So, pushing this legislature yesterday was an act of emotional blackmail on an entire country. To do this while they're still feeling vulnerable and to ensure that anyone opposing it will get vilified in the press.

while India had its own opinions and a democracy which meant they didn't roll over when the US asked

No, the problem was not with India's Democracy per se, the problem was with their Democracy being penetrated throughout by KGB. It began in the 1950-ies and was complete over subsequent decades. The rest of the world got the chance to learn about it (and other KGB secrets) in the 1990-ies, when Mitrokhin archive became public, but the US government, no doubt, knew all along and could not trust the Indian, despite all the sympathy for their Democracy and culture...

It was not that long ago — in all likelihood, there still remain busy politicians and government workers in India, who either never got off Russian payroll, or could be blackmailed by Russia into new cooperation...

Here's a couple of other people musing on the subject. It's hard to prove, of course, but it does seem spooky how every trip abroad to announce a big donation is followed by meetings on the subject of Windows contracts. As I said - no one actually states there's a connection (would you?).

Business Week

The Hindu Newspaper

I mean, does it REALLY matter what O/S is on the computer that the reaches these people?

Of course it does. Software is the first breakthrough in resource creation since farming. New and valuable things can be created and then copies made for almost no cost (for the copies). The new economy that this could create would free the poor of their long running reliance on the rich for plant and capital. That is not something Gates and his multi-billionare club want to see, since it this they who reap the reward of that reliance.

It matters a lot.

TWW

If you're not spending more than 75% of your income on imports, then you either must live in one of the few places in the United States where Agriculture and manufacturing hasn't been utterly destroyed by imports, or you actually believe "Made in America" means something more than parts created in Mexico & China and shipped here for assembly.

Your single biggest expense, most likely, is housing, which is still priced in dollars.

Next after that are various services — the labour of fellow Americans, mostly, as well as immigrants (legal and otherwise), which are all priced in dollars too. This labor is the biggest part of the price of those "Made in America" items, which you dismiss as merely assembled here. It is also a big part of the retail price of just about anything you buy (wherever it is made)...

Manufacturing? China's currency is pegged to the dollar at the moment, and will be for a while. China-made stuff is thus not getting more expensive, whatever dollar/euro ratio is — that covers nearly all manufactured items sold in US — for better or worse.

What did I miss? Oh, yeah, imported wines and cheeses...

Amazing. A few months ago we were lamenting, how the techies are underpaid, and how all tech jobs are outsourced to India (as if Indians are any less deserving). Now comes the news of tech-salaries growing rather quickly, but the lamentations don't cease!

The H-1 visas are all "sold-out" within hours every year — hundreds of thousands of people dream of coming here to work (white-collar work) for the salary you seem to dismiss as insufficient... Maybe, you ought to pack up and leave to make room for fresh immigrants — evidently, your family has used up its time in this country, if the latest generation (you) is so unappreciative.

Just to add. Kerala already has a presence in the open source community:

C-DIT develops Malayalam Open Source Software

Keli, a free opentype font for Malayalam (under GNU GPL).

Malayalam Font released as 'free and open' software

Iraq asked us to stay: Do you mean the Iraqi's or the U.S. installed interim government?

Saddam was a cruel, murderous dictator: Why don't we take out the other murderous regimes? The Turkish seem to be a good fit.Oh wait, we've been giving them millions in military aid during the last decade, and we've been trying to get them in the EU. Hardly the same treatment that Saddam received for his similar atrocities.

And, uh, you're use of the word "fact" is not very accurate. They're opinions, or just plain wrong. As I said, it was the interim government, not Iraq (that would imply strong majority support of the populace) that asked us to stay, and it's *your* opinion tht Saddam had to be taken out. So, that whole line there is laughable.

I only assumed you listened to Hannity, O'Rielly or Limbaugh since they are the *main* purveyors of such ridiculous trash as you've been spewing. Hardly hypocritical to make an assumption. I never claimed that you were wrong for making one. Lookup hypocrite.

I just find it odd that even before the war started, we were building an oil pipeline through Kuwait up to Iraq. Don't you find that odd?

Another oil pipeline, suited for the U.S. More.

Hey, at least you do believe oil played a roll. There's hope for you yet.

Anyway, I'm not irked. I'm laughing at your expense. I find your attempts at logic enjoyably bad, and your "knowledge" of the world so sorely lacking that it is on the verge of hilarity. So, please don't stop.

'Vegetarianism no shield against diabetes'

"Iraq continually violated those resolutions and was as uncooperative with the inspectors as it felt it could get away with without provoking another war."

Here are a few sources that contradict that claim:

Annan Calls Iraqi Cooperation 'Good'

Head of Atomic Energy Agency Will Tell Security Council
Saddam Has Done `Quite Satisfactory' Job in Cooperating

Iraq's cooperation active: Blix

I'm afraid that it is clear in retrospect that there was nothing that Iraq could have done that would have prevented the US from invading. I hope that you will understand that this is not an anti-american statement, but merely an observation of fact.