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Can India Become A Knowledge Superpower?

krsmathews writes " New Scientist, in its latest issue, has a special report on India. It provocatively calls India the next knowledge superpower, though in a introductory story the caveats are laid out. It's a reasonably comprehensive look at India's high-tech research, pharma, bio-tech, space, and nuclear industries. The U.S. R&D expenditure is bigger than the next five countries put together, and India is nowhere in the picture. "

568 comments

  1. India R&D by Fred_A · · Score: 4, Funny

    Hah ! I'm sure Indian researchers had personal history deletion patented *years* ago.

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    May contain traces of nut.
    Made from the freshest electrons.
    1. Re:India R&D by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Oh, they did. Thats why amazon was able to innovate personal history deletion that lied to you!

  2. off-shoring by kloidster · · Score: 4, Interesting

    What I've been saying all along. We are telling brain-power to stay over there in India, rather than come over here to the United States. I wonder what it would be like if people like Vinod Khosla were told to work over there and don't come here to innovate.

    1. Re:off-shoring by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Who?

    2. Re:off-shoring by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      You know, the guy who invented shredded cabbage with mayonnaise, Khosla.

    3. Re:off-shoring by trusteR · · Score: 1

      Never heard of him :?

    4. Re:off-shoring by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      We are telling brain-power to stay over there in India, rather than come over here to the United States.

      No, we're not. If we were, then people wouldn't be complaining about H-1B visas.

      I wonder what it would be like if people like Vinod Khosla were told to work over there and don't come here to innovate.

      He's a venture capitalist. Spending money isn't innovating.

    5. Re:off-shoring by filipncs · · Score: 2, Informative

      The first sun ceo, I think.

    6. Re:off-shoring by kd5ujz · · Score: 2, Funny

      All our base are belong to you?

      --
      -William
      God is everything science has yet to explain.
    7. Re:off-shoring by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Coleslaw it is spelled, actually comes from the dutch word "kool sla" which means "cabbage salad"..

    8. Re:off-shoring by mikelang · · Score: 0, Flamebait

      Ehhmm... I'm afraid nothing :-(. The "brain drain" is a story of many other countries. And it occurs, that these people simple would not have enough infrastructure and institutional support to fully reach their potential outside U.S.

      I'm not saying that U.S. is in any way "superior", I just regret that so many countries do not know the way to let people fully use their mental abilities.

      To invest in people you simply need to be rich and little less corrupt (in a way you spend your money).

    9. Re:off-shoring by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I bet you're the life and soul of the party, you humorless cloggy cuntbag.

    10. Re:off-shoring by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That's two words, you fucktard.

    11. Re:off-shoring by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      "Spending money isn't innovating."

      It is for a fucking Indian, they're fucking tight bastards, worse than yids even.

    12. Re:off-shoring by slimy_dude · · Score: 1

      He would have been ground to a pulp by a stifiling, corrupt bureaucracy.

    13. Re:off-shoring by ellaiah_pusa · · Score: 1

      it is not that we come over there to work , it is that situation demands it

    14. Re:off-shoring by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The big lie to this statement is that most of their brainpower is trained in the US.

      If they are soooo damned smart, then why is most of their talent trained in the US?

      Fact: most of their talent is trained in the US. Fact: many of their entrepeneurs are US-trained, whether H1-B's that coded here and were sent home when they started demanding the same wages that US individuals did, OR they were trained here and went home to start their own companies... they were trained in the US.

      I see the same trend as in the '70's: oh, damn, I can't compete agianst the very same people that I trained to compete against me! US companies are all for making people work for them when the economic forces are with them (i.e. wages are lower for foreigners) but all against it when the economic forces are against them (i.e. how can I compete when the very people I trained are starting their own companies WITHOUT the expense of expensive assholes like me sucking all the profit out of the company!)

      Fuck 'em; just fuck 'em!

    15. Re:off-shoring by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The moment someone starts listing statements with "fact: " in front, I am immediately skeptical.
      When they fail to provide references, I ignore them completely.

  3. What about China? by mOoZik · · Score: 5, Interesting

    It has everything going for it. Growing economy, a collection of research labs of U.S. and domestic companies, and a desire to pace with and outdo anything the West can throw at it. I'd put my money on China before I put it on India.

    1. Re:What about China? by aacool · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Democracy and free markets seem to be better, in the long run, at fostering growth than totalitarian regimes, IMHO

    2. Re:What about China? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Funny

      China is already a super power... They are just fooling you Americans to believe they are not a super power :P

    3. Re:What about China? by mOoZik · · Score: 4, Insightful

      You are forgetting that China doesn't fit in the traditional Communist model, at least not economically. How many Communist governments have had economies growing at the pace that China is experiencing at this time? Maybe the Soviet Union in the first couple of decades, but clearly China is an exception, in that it mixes a Communist government with a quasi-capitalist economic system. And trends seem to indicate that China will increasingly become more democratic and capitalistic.

    4. Re:What about China? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Hong Kong, Tibet, and Taiwan are all waiting for their share of a more democratic China indeed.

    5. Re:What about China? by kaalamaadan · · Score: 4, Interesting
      In the absence of any corrective measures, I am sure even India can be like China. It has been acquiring a steady 6-7% growth rate for the past 5 years. That may not sound impressive next to China, but it is impressive when you consider that it is the *consensus* growth rate - not the huge urban-rural divide that China touts as progress.

      As a case in point, In Andhra Pradesh, the previous Chief Minister, Chandrababu Naidu transformed Hyderabad from nowhere to one of the centres of the tech glitz in India. Meanwhile, in the villages, Andhra farmers were in miserable condition - 3000 farmers committed suicide in the past four years. The farmers never forgave; Come election time, they did not forget to cast their vote. Out went Chandrababu. It was beautiful to see democracy triumph over J.P. Morgan. The same thing happened in the neigbouring Bangalore.

      There cannot be glitzy progress ignoring 75% of the people.

      Of course, this means that in the eyes of the financial analysts, India is not as lucrative as China. But, I am proud of the progress that my country is making. At least, we don't have to sweep unpleasant facts under the carpet.

    6. Re:What about China? by sfjoe · · Score: 4, Interesting

      I'd put my money on China before I put it on India.

      That remains to be seen. China's healthcare system is collapsing and, along with massive pollution, threatening to put a damper on much of the expected growth (this is Morgan-Stanley speaking, not me). China's problems reallly have no precedent so it's too soon to say whether they will be able to become anything more than a massive consumer.

      --
      It's simple: I demand prosecution for torture.
    7. Re:What about China? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Do you have any idea what's really going on in China right now, or are you just spewing what you hear?

    8. Re:What about China? by antifoidulus · · Score: 4, Insightful

      You are ignoring the fact that yeah, things are going great now, but what is going to happen when things start to go south? They cannot grow forever, and nobody knows how the system will work when things aren't so rosy. Also, if you look at Chinese history, you will see a dizzying cycle of amazing highs where China really is the "Middle Kingdom" and dominates the region, and then almost instantaneously crashes and looks only inward.
      Time will tell if this government is any different.

    9. Re:What about China? by Taladar · · Score: 1

      Sure you are not talking about the U.S. concerning the health care system and pollution problems?

    10. Re:What about China? by the+eric+conspiracy · · Score: 4, Informative

      Mod parent up. China is still largely a centrally managed economy on the macro level with policies set for political reasons, not based on sound principles. China has been stinting development of infrastructure so badly that there are problems expanding manufacturing due to power shortages. Lack of investment in capital has meant that China is actually losing manufacturing jobs faster than any other country on earth to more modernized nations because automation will always will out against manual labor once wages reach any reasonable level.

      With massive foreign loans and suicidally low currency valuations in order to stimulate exports China has backed itself into a trap where it must let currency valuations rise to pay off debt and raise capital for infrastructure investment, yet it cannot afford to let valuations rise because that will destroy it's export driven economy.

      Anyone who has really studied the current Chinese economy realizes that they are headed for a period of retrenchment, if not an out-and-out recession/depression in the not too distant future.

    11. Re:What about China? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Democracy and free markets seem to be better, in the long run, at fostering growth than totalitarian regimes, IMHO

      Actually, I'd put my money on the totalitarian regime with four times the population of the democracy. Oh, and not only are there four Chinese people for every USA citizen, but the USA keeps handing over cash to China for high tech gadgets too.

    12. Re:What about China? by flyingsquid · · Score: 3, Insightful
      You are forgetting that China doesn't fit in the traditional Communist model, at least not economically.

      Because, as the Economist points out, they are only nominally communist. They're actually fascist- fairly free markets but centralized, authoritarian political control- although the Economist (looking at the glass as half full) says that's a good thing, since fascist countries can make a successful transition to a Western model. Spain made the transition for instance. As awful as it sounds, cracking down on the students may have been necessary. Russia broke down the old system, but with nothing to replace it, oligarchs and crime lords took over and people have generally been worse off than under communism. Likewise, the American attempt to knock down Iraq has proven to be misguided, since they had no plan for what was going to follow it. Destroying the old order is easy. Building the new one is what's hard. China's changing, but in a stepwise evolutionary fashion rather than an all-at-once revolutionary fashion. The result is that freedoms will be slow in coming- but the problems that accompany transition to a more Western style government can be taken one at a time, instead of all at once.

    13. Re:What about China? by lasindi · · Score: 1

      The US needs to deal with pollution (we use 25% of the world's oil, after all) and the millions of people without health insurance, but China is a whole different story. As China rapidly industrializes, we're going to be dealing with well over a billion people driving their cars to work (as opposed to riding bicycles or working on farms); this contrasts with only 300 million Americans. And if you want to talk about health issues, take a look at the AIDS epidemic sweeping through China.

      lasindi

      --
      I have discovered a truly remarkable proof of this theorem that this sig is too small to contain.
    14. Re:What about China? by jbplou · · Score: 1

      Just like the USSR out paced the West. You forget about re-education camps and a poor education system.

    15. Re:What about China? by Valar · · Score: 4, Insightful

      "As awful as it sounds, cracking down on the students may have been necessary. Russia broke down the old system, but with nothing to replace it,..."

      I'm sure that is what the chinese government had in mind when they ordered the student revolts put down brutally.

    16. Re:What about China? by robertl234 · · Score: 1

      WTF are you talking about. Compared to China, India has no infrastructure to speak of. http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/GB16Df07.h tml

    17. Re:What about China? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes, but India is spending big money to build that infrastructure, while China doesn't even spend money to maintain what they have.

      It's clear that with India going up and China coming down, they'll pass each other, its simply a matter of when.

    18. Re:What about China? by YrWrstNtmr · · Score: 4, Interesting
      Likewise, the American attempt to knock down Iraq has proven to be misguided, since they had no plan for what was going to follow it.

      Jebus! The results from the first relatively free Iraqi election only came in a few days ago. Let's give the process some time to work out before it's declared 'proven to be misguided'.

      It's OK for freedoms in China to be "slow in coming", but not in Iraq? Why?

    19. Re:What about China? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      YS Rajasekhara Reddy (the new CM in power after Naidu was ousted) is no better. Ask anyone who is living in an AP village.

      He promised free electricity, free water, more rural funding (via loans and such), and so on. He delivered nothing. It was just two days ago that I spoke with a farmer from Ongole who was forced to move to a city into a life of manual labour. The suicides have not stopped, they have just been hushed up.

      Naidu did not discourage rural AP. He has, in fact, done more for them than any of the previous CMs. He has never ignored it.

      How is this relevant? Naidu's policies affected everyone in the state directly (positively) through a "trickle down" effect (as I have heard it called). This can be done at the national scale. All this requires is a bit of backing from the government in making the country more lucrative to investment, and encouraging education at all levels. Do not ever make the mistake of putting someone in power who claim they want the best for rural India. History has shown that they are lying. Oh wait, it's too late. We already voted the Congress into power.

      And BTW, it was during Naidu's tenure that my grandparents in Rajahmundry (small rural town near visakhapatnam) had access to the internet for the first time. I've stayed there for a while, so I'm not talking nonsense. Now all the place has is 8-hour-long blackouts and a severe water shortage (even though they have recorded the highest rainfall over the past few years this year)

    20. Re:What about China? by bluFox · · Score: 1

      mallu?

      --
      ~561
    21. Re:What about China? by kaalamaadan · · Score: 2, Funny

      who else could have such an id?

    22. Re:What about China? by Donny+Smith · · Score: 1

      Little respect for intellectual property rights and even less ways to protect/enforce IPR.

      Good place for churning out stuff, not good place for investing in things that can be stolen by copying them on mini USB drives.

    23. Re:What about China? by mc6809e · · Score: 0
      Democracy and free markets seem to be better, in the long run, at fostering growth than totalitarian regimes, IMHO


      Although China seems to be proving that it's free markets rather than democracy that leads to prosperity.



    24. Re:What about China? by CodeBuster · · Score: 4, Insightful

      As awful as it sounds, cracking down on the students may have been necessary.

      They machine gunned crowds of unarmed civilians and ran them over with tanks...Would you consider that to be a prudent and necessary step?

    25. Re:What about China? by EpsCylonB · · Score: 1

      I agree that countries with long histories that have evolved slowly over time to become democracies are generally very stable.

      The UK is considered to be one of the most socialy and politically stable contries in the world. Yet many americans show disdain for the UK because there isn't a formal constitution. I think this is actually a strenght and not a weakness.

      Its not to say that nation building is impossible, gemrany and japan are great examples. Its worth pointing out that in both those examples many more allied soldiers died in the process than have done in Iraq. It seems the US doesn't have the same stomach for nation building as it did after the second world war.

      But in a country like the UK, the fact that you can see the history and the roots of democracy can be traced back over a thousand years helps create a socio political climate that is very difficult for the people to criticise.

    26. Re:What about China? by nickco3 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Democracy and free markets seem to be better, in the long run, at fostering growth than totalitarian regimes, IMHO

      Unfortunately, much as a I want to agree with you, there is no strong correlation between democracy and economic growth.

      For example, 40 out of 48 African nations have held multiparty elections since 1990. At election time, they mostly swap one corrupt bunch for a different one. There is little sign of any democracy-dividend there.

      At the other extreme, there are prosperous, sort-of-free-market, definately authoritarian places like Singapore, Malaysia, and Hong Kong. In Europe in the 1930s, the fascist countries delivered much more impressive growth than the democracies.

      The real drivers seem to be low levels of corruption and proper law enforcement. It isn't particularly related to how often people go to the polls.

      --
      -- Nick "Hallo this is Beel Gates, und I pronounce weendows as ... WEENdows"
    27. Re:What about China? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Insightful

      We've been giving it 2 years now! Interim governing councils, coalition provisional authorities, "sovereignty" transferred, interim prime minister and ministries setup. When do you want to say its fair to judge? 2007?

    28. Re:What about China? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      As awful as it sounds, cracking down on the students may have been necessary.

      Ah, yes, the necessary murders of history. They're all just statistics, right Stalin? You disgust me.

      And it's OK for things to go slowly in China but not Iraq? Try thinking instead of parroting a Party line. Iraq just had free elections. When will China be evolving to that point?

    29. Re:What about China? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful
      I'm sure that is what the chinese government had in mind when they ordered the student revolts put down brutally.


      I'm sure you're being sarcastic, but yes, there are clear signs that that is wat they had in mind. They said so at the time, it has remained the official explanation, and it is plausible.


      Remember that China has had a Loon in power that tried to break down the old system and put in a new system in one fell swoop (or big leap forward, as he called it). That was called the Cultural Revolution, and it killed millions of people in re-education camps, starved millions of people, and generally was a terrible, terrible failure. Even the Loon-in-Power later admitted that, although of course very much later, and not too loudly.


      I'm certainly not defending the crushing of the student revolution, but it is better to understand your enemy. And I must give them my grudging admiration for the evolution they have implemented. Many other dictators have shown less wisdom.

    30. Re:What about China? by WarMonkey · · Score: 0, Interesting

      Jebus! The results from the first relatively free Iraqi election only came in a few days ago. Let's give the process some time to work out before it's declared 'proven to be misguided'.

      [sarcasm]

      Yeeaah! You never know.

      It might NOT turn out to be an AWFUL Shi'ite theocracy aligned with Iran.

      It could turn out to be a REALLY COOL Shi'ite theocracy aligned with Iran.

      [/sarcasm]

      Knucklehead.

      It's OK for freedoms in China to be "slow in coming", but not in Iraq? Why?

      How about because the Chinese are working it out for themselves?

      Are you really so morally crippled that you see no difference between letting things develop naturally versus imposing your will by force?

      I feel sorry for any of your dates, then.

      Oh, wait -- this is Slashdot.

      --
      -- I could tell right away that she was impressed with my HUGE Slashdot Karma.
    31. Re:What about China? by PurPaBOO · · Score: 1

      maybe, but the Indians speak better Engrish.

      --
      If it weren't for the rocks in its bed, the stream would have no songs.
    32. Re:What about China? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Oh yes china is SO much better. Ask the Indians that live on the border of china...

      And letting a brutal dictator fleece his own people was a good thing?

      OH yes lets just let him go along his meary way killing people. Did you know the death count went down dramaticaly? Just now you are seeing on the news everyday it makes you wonder what is going on. And you are doing what everyone else does. Blame the cloesest goverment in power there. CNN was in Iraq for 12 years before and they *could* not show ANY of these things for fear of their lives and being kicked out of the country. And for a news org that is death... They have said as much. But kept it fairly low key because they did not agree with bush as OTHER groups could go in and show the news then. You know the best competition is no competition.

      If you want to see how things REALLY work just follow the money. In china the majority of people live slightly above the poverty line. Making things we want for about 2-10 american dollars a week. Why do you think companies want into china? Cheap labor thats why. Why does the goverment there allow it? It keeps the people there in line with a SMALL glimmer of hope they can do better. A dull drone is much easier to 'reeducate' than a smart person with a bit of power. Dont belive me find someone from china they are everywhere by the way. Then ask why they risked DEATH to come here...

    33. Re:What about China? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ask Bush, why Saddam, and evil but stablizing force among the different ethnic groups, had to be removed, now, rather than wait until he dies of old age or whatever.. like the successor of the King of Morocco making some great changes.

      I think it's a great fallacy to believe democracy and 'freedom', are by default better. Strong social cohesion can actually make a nation much more effective..

      The best system is a system where "each individual is allowed to develop its talents optimally, in order to serve the collective optimally".

      Communism did not allowe individual growth, capitalism doesn't serve the collective sufficiently..

      Socialism as western Europe has or had it, is the best. Given that the quality of life can not only be expressed in an 'average' national income.

    34. Re:What about China? by NoOneInParticular · · Score: 1

      I'm sure the Chinese who put together your $50 DVD-player in sixteen hour shifts every day for a wage they can barely survive on beg to differ.

    35. Re:What about China? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Or why it was okay for Europe and US to create a monster out of Saddam, just like most dictators in middle-east and south americas, by supplying them with all these weapons? Saddam got his chemical weapons from the supposedly 'good' guys..

      We first create monsters when it suits us (enemy of our enemy is our friend, or just because alot of money can be made by selling weapons to them), and then turn around and say they are dangerous because of those weapons, when we need reason to get rid of them (because they are not US-friendly and make it difficult for us to get to their oil, and use their country to expand our markets)..

      It's all so damn predictable.

    36. Re:What about China? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I wish I had some mod points to mod you insightful.

      We so often close our eyes to alternative explainations!

    37. Re:What about China? by kevinbr · · Score: 5, Insightful
      Well we dropped cluster bombs and destroyed Fallujah and killed ( estimated by Lancet study) 100,000 Iraqis.

      This is slightly worse than Tianamen Square.

      Was this prudent? Different countries evolve at different paces. We in the US have a fine history of enslavement, genocide ( Indians ), child labor,dropping nuclear bombs on civilians, firebombing civlians etc etc etc.

      At the time it was felt nessasary to enslave Africans to lower labor costs. Prudent business practice?

      We are in no position ever to judge other nations.

      Our President only now speaks to invited supporters with no protesters allowed near. The police brutally beat and suppress dissent. Is this prudent?

    38. Re:What about China? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      How about the AIDS epidemic in India which has already made India the no. 1 in Asia ? I guess anything bad that can be said about China is fashionable but India is left out. Anyway, here's a CNN article
      http://edition.cnn.com/2003/HEALTH/07/03/ asia.aids /
      which says India already has 4 times the number in China.

    39. Re:What about China? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And its true because "I say so". The state of California is bankrupt too. May be India will soon surpass California too?

    40. Re:What about China? by khallow · · Score: 1

      Hrmmm, I don't buy that. You certainly aren't talking about coastal China (Hong Kong, Shanghai, Macau) or the area about Beijing. China made huge investments in recent years in these areas. And nationwide they've put a lot into "poverty reduction" programs which include significant investments in infrastructure.

    41. Re:What about China? by PsiPsiStar · · Score: 1

      While this will probably happen (why does China do the periodic self destruction thing?), the Chinese will seriously have built up their heavy industry by the time it does.

      --

      ___
      It's the end of my comment as I know it and I feel fine.
    42. Re:What about China? by khallow · · Score: 1
      Mod parent up. China is still largely a centrally managed economy on the macro level with policies set for political reasons, not based on sound principles. China has been stinting development of infrastructure so badly that there are problems expanding manufacturing due to power shortages. Lack of investment in capital has meant that China is actually losing manufacturing jobs faster than any other country on earth to more modernized nations because automation will always will out against manual labor once wages reach any reasonable level.

      Seeing as it gains more jobs than it loses, I don't see the point here. Second, IMHO most of the jobs it loses move to places with cheaper labor and aren't due to automation. With massive foreign loans and suicidally low currency valuations in order to stimulate exports China has backed itself into a trap where it must let currency valuations rise to pay off debt and raise capital for infrastructure investment, yet it cannot afford to let valuations rise because that will destroy it's export driven economy.

      You overestimate the problems to China. As I understand it, most of China's debt is either valued in Yen/Renembi or in US dollars. Both currencies are rapidly inflating. So that fixes the debt problem since debtors benefit under inflation. Further inflation as you note helps the export industry which China is overly dependent on.

      Anyone who has really studied the current Chinese economy realizes that they are headed for a period of retrenchment, if not an out-and-out recession/depression in the not too distant future.

      And it'll be a good thing when it happens. They need to shake out the bad investments and flaky companies. The US did that numerous times during its growth in the 19th and 20th centuries.

    43. Re:What about China? by Bongo · · Score: 1

      Russia broke down the old system, but with nothing to replace it, oligarchs and crime lords took over and people have generally been worse off than under communism. Likewise, the American attempt to knock down Iraq has proven to be misguided, since they had no plan for what was going to follow it. Destroying the old order is easy. Building the new one is what's hard. China's changing, but in a stepwise evolutionary fashion rather than an all-at-once revolutionary fashion.

      Very insightful. And as your post is pretty much in line with a developmental model of change, and you see past the simpler dogmatic categorizing of "communism" and "capitalism", you may also be interested in Spiral Dynamics theory--it fleshes out more what you're talking about.

    44. Re:What about China? by akuma(x86) · · Score: 1

      >> The real drivers seem to be low levels of corruption and proper law enforcement. It isn't particularly related to how often people go to the polls.

      Good points.

      I would also add, vigorous protection of property rights and a good banking system, which allows capital to flow more smoothly.

      Freeing capital to flow to where demand is and dictated by supply in the most efficient manner possible is a good predictor of economic success.

      Give the people what they want and let it happen through the coordination of the price signal (supply/demand) instead of through centralized government planning.

    45. Re:What about China? by khallow · · Score: 1
      That remains to be seen. China's healthcare system is collapsing and, along with massive pollution, threatening to put a damper on much of the expected growth (this is Morgan-Stanley speaking, not me). China's problems reallly have no precedent so it's too soon to say whether they will be able to become anything more than a massive consumer.

      It's astonishing that you can casually dismiss the vast growth in China's economy and living standards. They are far more than a massive consumer now and frankly pollution and healthcare problems never reversed a country's progress before (though Chernobyl as an impossible to hide disaster helped bring about the end of the USSR). The developed world went through this already. There's a huge amount of existing practices and technology that China can adapt to meet their needs.

    46. Re:What about China? by mc6809e · · Score: 0

      I'm sure the Chinese who put together your $50 DVD-player in sixteen hour shifts every day for a wage they can barely survive on beg to differ.

      Oh, you're sure, are you?

      The arrogance of certainty.

      It so happens that many Chinese working putting together DVD players, etc, do so because the alternative was working as peasant farmers and they didn't want to do that. They know that by earning a wage at a factory they can obtain things they'd never hope to get as farmers.

      As small as that wage is, it's still an improvement.

      But maybe you know better than they do.

    47. Re:What about China? by PsiPsiStar · · Score: 1

      Well, if you ask the people that left their country you're going to get a biased opinion. It's like asking a Linux user what they think of Windows.

      China is currently exploiting their poor so they can build up heavy industry. "When sheep eat people" is the term they use, refering to England's rise as an industrial power, and the exploitation of England's agrarian people it required.

      The same thing happened in America, with slaver and exploitation of the southern American states. It's a large part of what caused the Civil war, though Douglases and Lincoln's moral justification that it was 'to free the slaves' is often used.

      --

      ___
      It's the end of my comment as I know it and I feel fine.
    48. Re:What about China? by Lord+Omlette · · Score: 1
      genocide ( Indians )
      In a slashdot story on India, the very least we can expect of posters is to differentiate between Indians and Native Americans. ;_;
      --
      [o]_O
    49. Re:What about China? by maxume · · Score: 1

      Please don't include me in your we. Thanks.

      --
      Nerd rage is the funniest rage.
    50. Re:What about China? by zagatka · · Score: 0

      Riiiight, China's health care's system is collapsing while USA's health care system is so damn great. sure. I can't wait when you Americans finally begin living within your means and learn what that really means.

    51. Re:What about China? by mankey+wanker · · Score: 1

      So you readily admit your "free market" nonsense term means that you get yours and some poor asshole in China gets barely tolerable wage slavery?

      Good to know.

      Let me ask you something: why do "free markets" always mean that labor has almost no value? Yet, interestingly - labor must surely carry the force of democracy, there simply being more laborers than owners.

      So why aren't laborers more in charge of the world as we know it?

      Maybe there's a wealth and power factor I'm just not considering...

      -------------------

      I repeat: show me one free market anywhere on earth. Just one. Pretty please?

    52. Re:What about China? by A.Chwunbee · · Score: 0

      Sahb, which part of "long run" are you not understanding?

      --
      select * from base where originalOwner = 'you' and currentOwner != 'us'.
      0 rows returned.
    53. Re:What about China? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      man, you realize we personally (that is, our army) blew away tens of thousands of civilians in Iraq with our bombs?

      So which is it? Are elections in Iraq good? So then blowing away innocent civilians by the tens of thousands is justified, right Bush? Your ignorance and readiness to parrot what the man on the TV says appalls me. Rarely does a person contradict themselves as succinctly as you have with that post.

      We destroy and occupy a nation to free it. That's the official line (since the whole WMD angle didn't pan out) and people buy it. And that's the difference between "free" elections in Iraq and when a country evolves internally towards democracy. Mostly it's a matter of legitimacy. How would you react if the UN showed up, told us we had it all wrong and at gun point (after bombing much of the country and infrastructure, leaving us living in chaos) told us how to do government properly? What would it take for you to recognize this new government?

      The new government people at the top are of course American, but they fellate (metaphorically speaking or not) their UN masters at night.

      Are we then actually sovereign?

      See the difference?

    54. Re:What about China? by kevinbr · · Score: 1
      You make the typical mistake of allowing PR tripe about elections to cloud over the means and methods on the road to those elections.

      The Process? Was a the destruction of Fallujah part of the process. Learn to lok deeper than shallow banners such as "freedom" and "elections" and "democracy".

      I myself do not need any time to corelate that a dead baby killed by US desires and needs (proxied by cluster bombs and poor US marines) has nothing to do with freedom.

      Nothing that shall unfold in the future shall alter the fact that Americans blind eye to misguided foreign adventues is that .....misguided. Misguided is a very kind word.

      We are better to look inwards and contemplate our past sins and how they could inform us to our ability to harvest many future crops of "sins".

      Our wealth and success today is built upon a sordid past. This is not unique, this is how nations grow. Our failure to acknowledge our past while pointing fingers does not grow respect for the US.

    55. Re:What about China? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What is Engrish? :D

    56. Re:What about China? by sbrown123 · · Score: 1

      Of course, this means that in the eyes of the financial analysts, India is not as lucrative as China. But, I am proud of the progress that my country is making. At least, we don't have to sweep unpleasant facts under the carpet.

      India needs to be more like China. If you have something that is unpleasant, shoot it or run it down with a tank. Keeps it from spreading.

      Seriously, glad India is progressing BUT I have a sad feeling China will crush the growing Indian market when they push their wealth limited, unwashed masses of highly educated workers to the world scene.

    57. Re:What about China? by asonthebadone · · Score: 4, Informative

      The Lancet study is bogus as it is based on flawed sampling of the data. To arrive at the figure of 100,000 Iraqi dead, Lancet simply *interviewed* 998 families in 33 communities. The resulting extrapolated death toll ranged from 8,000 to 194,000. Well done.

      Lancet Civilian Death Report Kills the Truth

    58. Re:What about China? by Citizen+of+Earth · · Score: 4, Insightful

      We in the US have a fine history of enslavement, genocide ( Indians ), child labor,dropping nuclear bombs on civilians, firebombing civlians etc etc etc.

      You have absolutely nothing on totalitarian regimes. They kill civilians by the tens of millions while pacifists cheer them on (well, politely ask them to stop).

      The police brutally beat and suppress dissent.

      So, are the cops knocking at your door right now, or you just spouting the usual rhetorical histrionics?

    59. Re:What about China? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      And you're fit to judge me why?

    60. Re:What about China? by YrWrstNtmr · · Score: 3, Insightful
      We've been giving it 2 years now!

      2 years. How long did the same process take in Japan and Germany after WWII? How long did it take for the Soviet Union/Russia to move away from pseudocommunism to whatever it is they have now?
      When do YOU think the elections should have been held? What day would have been acceptable to you?

      If it had gone much faster, people would be bitching that the Iraqis were not given enough time to hold the election.

      I do not agree with how this second half of the 13 year long conflict got started. But now that the US has gone down this road, it must be seen to completion. Anything else would be far more cruel than what is going on now.

    61. Re:What about China? by kevinbr · · Score: 2
      You need to study how medical studies are done. The Lancet has very high standards and rigorous peer review.

      The most likely range was 100,000. Yes it could have been 8000 or 194,000, but it was statistically most likely to be in the middle at 100,000.

      And yes they excluded Fallujah.

      Explain in detail why this is flawed?

      Ah. it is flawed because it cracks the self image you want to have.

      We were supposed to be the good guys.

      It is time that citizens of this nation ( US ) start to get in sync with what reality is and how we can continue to have 5% of the worlds population yet consume 50% of the worlds energy.

      Believe what you wish. Reality is just around the corner.

    62. Re:What about China? by YrWrstNtmr · · Score: 1
      It might NOT turn out to be an AWFUL Shi'ite theocracy aligned with Iran.
      It could turn out to be a REALLY COOL Shi'ite theocracy aligned with Iran.

      Either way (or something else entirely), it will be what they choose to do. Whether we (the West) likes what Iraq turns into is irrelevant. Do the majority of Iraqis like it?

      We know it was an "AWFUL Ba'athist dictatorship" under Saddam. Is it possible for it to be worse, however the elections and ensuing policies turn out? I don't think so.

      Are you really so morally crippled that you see no difference between letting things develop naturally versus imposing your will by force?

      Did I say there was no difference between change from within or from without? No. But either way, it does not happen overnight.

    63. Re:What about China? by AstroDrabb · · Score: 3, Interesting
      Likewise, the American attempt to knock down Iraq has prove to be misguided, since they had no plan for what was going to follow it. Destroying the old order is easy. Building the new one is what's hard.
      What idiots modded this crap "Insightful"? It is not like the Iraqi invasion took place 20 years ago and Iraq is still struggling to rebuild. The "war" in Iraq isn't totally over yet, and yet, the nation of Iraq has had their first ever democratic elections! A huge percentage of the Iraqi people came out to vote, even under the threat of terrorist attacks on them if they voted. I personally consider that an incredible achievement. I would personally like to see you lead a nation that removes a horrid dictator, and in practically no time turn around and hold a democratic election for president/prime minister with such a huge turn out. The achievements in Iraq have been great IMO. Setting up a true democratic government is the most important thing right now. The next phase would be to educate the people on the new government. It will of course take years to get people used to a new way of life and freedom and it will be hard. However, freedom and democracy will win. It will be a long-haul for the U.S.A to make sure that democracy takes place in Iraq and to ensure that no radical group comes back to power.

      I have read many articles/post about how non-Americans couldn't understand how the majority of US citizens could vote for Bush. However, I now know why they did. The US citizens _knew_ from our own history that it does take resolve to make these long-term changes and make them last. Electing a very week candidate such as Kerry would have brought Iraq to its knees and had Iraq ruled by some other radical group in a matter of months or years. Building a nation and especially a world based on democracy sadly takes takes blood and years, yet the final outcome is alway worth the price.

      I served in the U.S.M.C. I am a Conservative Christian, yet I am a Libertarian. However, I really have been amazed at how things are turning out for the people of Iraq. After all, the main focus should be "The People". I really hope they do set up the first democracy in Iraq and take over their own nation. You many come down on democracy all you want. However, democracy is truly the most peaceful system around. Most nations that deal with one another in a democratic fashion will almost never resort to war, look at the U.S.A and most nations in Europe. If the world converted to democracy over-night it would not become perfect, but I doubt war would happen again. Under a democratic world, there really is no reason for war.

      --
      If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land,
      it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy. -James Madison
    64. Re:What about China? by kevinbr · · Score: 1
      That Johhny robbed 10 banks does not make a defense when you are charged with robbing one bank.

      I myself am not cheering any killing but if it makes you feel better to believe that go ahead.

      My statement stands, we have no moral high ground to lecture or comment on other nations as they move towards our standard of living.

      A crime is a crime. Others might have killed more, but I am not them I am American so I am entitled to protest killings done in my name and dressed up as "freedom" and "democracy" when in reality it is just greed to ensure you can drive to the store and buy cheap crap and fill your car with cheap energy.

      That the police are not beating me HERE does not preclude me commenting on injustice THERE. But hey, get your neck deeper in the sand. Try this: US is about freedom? Wear a TShirt to a Bush appearance stating "Bush Sucks". Lets see if they beat you.

    65. Re:What about China? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Just a copy + paste diatribe. Blah,blah,blah.

    66. Re:What about China? by kevinbr · · Score: 2
      From your linked article:

      "In fact, intentionally or otherwise, that's pretty much what The Lancet did. Most of the clusters had no deaths whatsoever. But here's the real bombshell: "Two-thirds of all violent deaths were reported in one cluster in the city of Falluja," the journal reported. That's it; game over; report worthless."

      This guy quotes out of context. The researchers noted Fallujah but excluded Fallujah from the study and death estimate.

      Of course you did not download the Lancet study and read it yourself or investigate how medical studies are done or how the Lancet peer reviews.

      Thus we can dismiss this article as not factual but political.

      It does go with the theme of US inward looking blindness. We will duck and dive and scramble and distort reality to prove we are better then them. How many die is irrelevent in the face of how you feel. If you feel good and can find a politically slanted article that allows you to maintain your reality of good, then all is well.

      meanwhile those scarred by the death and mayhem deal with their reality and wonder why Americans can't look the reality of their moral corruption in the mirror.....

    67. Re:What about China? by mc6809e · · Score: 2, Insightful

      So you readily admit your "free market" nonsense term means that you get yours and some poor asshole in China gets barely tolerable wage slavery?

      No. We BOTH get something. That's why the wage earner bothers working. Its a form of reciprocity. Do you think he just stuffs dollars under his matress? No. He later trades them for goods and services.

      So it's not slavery. It's trade.

      Let me ask you something: why do "free markets" always mean that labor has almost no value? Yet, interestingly - labor must surely carry the force of democracy, there simply being more laborers than owners.

      Labor has almost no value because labor is common and labor accomplishes little without organization or the right equipment.

      I can dig and hole and fill it back in, claiming that I worked hard, but what has been accomplished?

      And so what if labor must carry the force of democracy? Democracy is just a collective decision making procedure and as such often produces mediocre results. There is no magic in democracy. There is nothing special about a bunch of people getting together and claiming authority over all because they have the larger numbers.

      So why aren't laborers more in charge of the world as we know it?

      Because they are ignorant. Not stupid, mind you, just ignorant. The people in power know how capital works. Labor is kept in the dark by capitalists that fear competition from more potential capitalists, and by "labor advocates" that don't know shit about how capital works and don't care. Hell, they promote ignorance of how capital works. They're always promising labor some utopia out there if we just throw the capitalists out.


      Maybe there's a wealth and power factor I'm just not considering...


      What you should consider is the real improvement in the lives of chinese labor. Forget the unconfortable feeling you get when you consider the small wage the laborer is earning. That feeling isn't logic or reason. That feeling is blinding you to the genuine improvement in the life of a person that would otherwise be a rural peasant with no options.

      It reminds me of the experiments done with people where a person is given the option of taking $10 or not. The catch is that the person is told another person will receive $10, or $100 or $500 if they choose to take the $10.

      It's interesting how the average person acts. The average person will often refuse the $10 if the other person gets $100 or $500.

      When economists are tested, however, they almost always take the $10.

      I submit that you should act like an economist and let the Chinese peasant have his $10 rather than nothing.

      I repeat: show me one free market anywhere on earth. Just one. Pretty please?

      There are degrees of freedom. China looks to be moving towards greater freedom in it's economy and it seems to be working.

    68. Re:What about China? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What role did fighting a war against pretty much the entire world simultaneously have in the "long run" versus the type of government in totalitarian Germany?

      Look, I like democracy and I think it's great that India's the largest democracy in the world. We need more, as I think democracy is useful in staving off evil dictatorship rule. I would of course always prefer to live in a well functioning democracy any day. However, I know of no real reason why democracy == long-term prosperity or even economic advantage.

      Don't talk to me about stability either, because we have historicaly data on monarchies (totalitarian by any other name ...) lasting longer than any modern democracy has managed to date. Actually, one of the longest runs in existence for a government we think of in the West is the Roman empire (hail Caesar). China has had totalitariam regimes (Ok fine, dynasties) last mind-numbing lengths of time, some of which also saw a rise in technology and economy through the stratosphere that lasted centuries.

      Totalitarian Germany was brought down by a concerted world wide effort of military action, triggered by its own millitary aggression. It had zero to do with the lack of voting booths and everything to do with the fact that it fought just about every wealthy nation in Europe and the Soviet juggernaught. At the same time.

      Seriously, can anyone give a real reason why democracy actually means squat in terms of economy?

    69. Re:What about China? by kevinbr · · Score: 1
      Are you always so elequent? Or is Blah Blah the sound you hear when someone disagrees with you

      We are trying to cling on to a position that is untenable and serious questions need to be asked about out futile use of military power to try to cling on to power in the steady erosion of our economic might.

      But in the interim, I look at pictures of dead killed in horror and terror by terrorists and I look at pictures of dead killed to bring "democracy" and I wonder did it matter, did the dead killed by use go in rapture knowing an american bomb ripped them asunder?

      Research? We need to research our fragile hold on the nature of reality.

    70. Re:What about China? by kevinbr · · Score: 1
      We have promoted the freedom of money to move here and there with no friction, move in, profit, move on to the next market.

      I say this is fine if the labor that the capital requires can also move freely across borders with no friction or with as little friction as the money.

      Then free markets will have more meaning.

    71. Re:What about China? by kevinbr · · Score: 4, Insightful
      And when will the good American people who were solid with Bush bring freedom to Sudan and Zimbabwe?

      You see in the macro position, your position makes no sense. Millions have died in the Sudan but there is no Oil. Zimbabwe has much death and repesssion but there is no Oil. Both were/are worse in terms of human suffering than Iraq was.

      The Sudan was not threatening to sell products in Euros ( not thet they have that much to sell). Your current living standard depends on the world using the Dollar as a reserve currency. Oil is denominated in Dollars. Iraq threatened the US not with Weapons but with ripping asunder the preeminent position where Saudis sell Oil in Dollars not Euros or Rubles.

      We are not in Iraq for Democracy. That is the fig leaf you choose to buy into.

      You rambling about democracy and war are that....ramblings. We as Americans have a fine history of using war to impose our desires on other nations.

      When it became clear that Ho Chi Mhin would win a democratic vote in Vietnam, we pulled out of supporting any vote and forced the division of the country and propped up a corrupt leader (Diem ) and called this abberation democracy. We then killed millions of Vietnamese and Cambodians to prop up our distortion of democracy.

      You need some new history books.

      India and China are using trade to defeat us. If we are threatened with economic defeat we will use military force.

    72. Re:What about China? by Taladar · · Score: 1

      So (taking the lowest figure) killing 8000 people is okay to you?

    73. Re:What about China? by Taladar · · Score: 1

      Nobody would have said anything (I guess) if the Iraq had been in the progress of conquering half a dozen of the countries surrounding it (like Germany was in WW2) and the U.S. had decided to attack them. The situation was totally different then. Most germans have a guilt feeling (especially the older ones) even today about that time. In a situation where everyone thinks it is necessary to start from scratch it is much easier to build a new country.

    74. Re:What about China? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What is so shocking about the cycles of highs and lows? Empire rises and falls. Some of the cycles that the Middle Kingdom had lasted easily over 400 years. Do you really think there is one kind of government that could sustain an empire for over 5000 years? The differences between US and China is, China has already had a number of "cycles", and seems to be on the upswing, where as US is still on its first one, and seems to be on the downswing.

    75. Re:What about China? by kevinbr · · Score: 1
      If it makes you feel better about what is happening, feel free. Anyone can construct their own reality.

      Or take time to read the study.

      Of the whole range, 100,000 was the most likely figure.

      My reality is differnt to yours.

      My morality is different to yours.

      Find a mortuary. Walk in. Find a dead body. Think about the nature of death. Take a deep breath. Try to empathize with the pain the dead went through, and the pain the living suffer. Read about what democracy really means. Read about History. Then pick any number that makes YOU feel good.

    76. Re:What about China? by Taladar · · Score: 1
      At election time, they mostly swap one corrupt bunch for a different one. There is little sign of any democracy-dividend there.
      Reminds me of the U.S. and most de-facto-2-party European countries.
    77. Re:What about China? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      you sound like you don't like this country very much. why don't you move to Canada? or Mexico?

    78. Re:What about China? by mc6809e · · Score: 1

      We have promoted the freedom of money to move here and there with no friction, move in, profit, move on to the next market.
      I say this is fine if the labor that the capital requires can also move freely across borders with no friction or with as little friction as the money.

      Then free markets will have more meaning.


      But the movement of money has actually reduced the need for labor to move. Now, instead of labor traveling a thousand miles, the capital travels to the labor. That a much better situation for labor.

      Consider for example the 40,000 mostly Irish laborers that died abord ships, in a single year, while coming to America for work.

      Now the capital can come to the labor.

    79. Re:What about China? by Taladar · · Score: 1

      I really doubt Chinese Workers will come anywhere near the U.S. concerning pollution, both per capita and total. That would require them to use cars with U.S. "technology" instead of the much better (concerning fuel-consumption) european or asian. China doesn't have the oil reserves the U.S. has to back up this kind of consumption and i doubt they can spare the money to import that much if there are other ways.

    80. Re:What about China? by Taladar · · Score: 1

      This could be a real adantage for China since it doesn't need ten lawyers for every developer just to check wether something is patented already.

    81. Re:What about China? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ...frankly pollution and healthcare problems never reversed a country's progress before (though Chernobyl as an impossible to hide disaster helped bring about the end of the USSR).

      Maybe you'd be taken more seriously if you didn't actually refute your argument in midsentence.

    82. Re:What about China? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The Iraqi's that decided to risk their lives to vote obviously put more credence in these elections than you sitting safely pontificating garbage on your computer.

      The enemy is not the American marines. It is the "insurgent" lackey doing the work for Baathists masters who wish power for themselves. Decency mandates that we wish Iraq well and for democracy to flourish. Do you wish otherwise?

    83. Re:What about China? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What about Taiwan?

      They have been going for almost as long as Japan, have the advantage of having a democratic system and are basically part of China (being all the chinese who fled the mainland when the revolution happened). Yet they are still not that impressive economically in comparison to Japan or Korea - by which I mean that they are not a super power.

      If you consider China == Taiwan only bigger. Then a Chinese future as a superpower does not seem that likely IMHO.

    84. Re:What about China? by rickbrodie · · Score: 1
      China's changing, but in a stepwise evolutionary fashion rather than an all-at-once revolutionary fashion

      Yes, exactly. In the embryonic stages of a new social and political model, stability is the key rather than personal freedoms.

      To a certain extent, the new state requires it's citizens to sacrifice their rights in order to help construct the infrastructure of the new system.

      As we see in Iraq, there are very few stable institutions present. It is this lack of stability which is making the reconstruction of the society so difficult.

      Once the infrastructures have been built, then the people can start to direct their energies towards giving themselves (or taking, depending on which way you look at it) various rights and freedoms.

    85. Re:What about China? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Because it's the American way to bitch about everything but do nothing about it?

    86. Re:What about China? by PW2 · · Score: 1

      And when will the good American people who were solid with Bush bring freedom to Sudan and Zimbabwe?

      Maybe some good non-American people will step up and solve these issues? Maybe the UN? I wish someone would.

    87. Re:What about China? by triumphDriver · · Score: 1

      So using Your logic.
      present Day Germans are still Nazis and responsible for the Holocaust.
      Japanese are still the rapers of Nanking?
      Russians are still responsible for Stalin.
      or pick what ever historical event and blame the current generation from that country for it.
      We are no more responsible for the sins of prior generations that anyone else.

      My American does not know slavery, but the America of my 5th great grand father did.
      My America Does not know segregation but the America of my Grand Father did.
      My America is not perfect and I am certain my children will state 'My America does not know X my Father's did."
      The Promise of America is not today or yesterday, but the Future. The constitution is an Ideal that we are still striving for. Each and every generation gets closer and closer to the ideal.

      --
      I grew up in the Fulda Gap, where did you?
    88. Re:What about China? by lasindi · · Score: 1

      I really doubt Chinese Workers will come anywhere near the U.S. concerning pollution, both per capita and total.

      It's true that US cars are generally less fuel efficient, but my point is that even American drivers with their thirst for SUVs will not be able to outdo 1.3 billion Chinese, who are also acquiring many of the same tastes as their American counterparts. China is, of course, not there yet, but we are talking about the next decade or two. The fact that our ideas (capitalism and democracy) are being exported while their products are imported is a good thing, but it means that if you think the US is bad in terms of green house gases, you ain't seen nothing yet (most likely).

      China doesn't have the oil reserves the U.S. has to back up this kind of consumption and i doubt they can spare the money to import that much if there are other ways.

      They don't have the oil, but neither do we. The market for many commodities, including oil, is exploding, and the Chinese are already looking at countries like Iran to buy oil from. This creates a whole new host of problems as Bush and the Europeans start focusing their efforts on getting Iran to stop its nuclear program.

      I think the gist of what you're saying is that China is not such a problem for the environment *right now*. That's true, but I'm saying that present-day developing countries like India and China (the big ones, but also the rest of the third world) will be eventually industrialized, and the problem of global warming will become much, much larger, and it won't primarily be America anymore.

      lasindi

      --
      I have discovered a truly remarkable proof of this theorem that this sig is too small to contain.
    89. Re:What about China? by AstroDrabb · · Score: 0, Flamebait
      Oh please dude, go hug a freakin tree. If you hate America so much, why in the hell do you _not_ leave? Go on, we don't need you and we would be better off without your kind. I served in the U.S.M.C and I am willing to fight for freedom for me, my family and others. Something I am sure you would not do. So go on and leave the USA and start your own utopia where you can have all the men running around "in touch with their feminine side" and all the women can run around sleeping with tons of men and getting abortions every-other-month. Oh, and you can pay 60%+ of your salary to your socialist government while your at it, because "they" know how to spend _your_ money better than you do.

      Me, I will stick with the USA and what we stand for.

      As for Sudan, have they asked for help? Do you even know what you are talking about? Sudan has been in a 20-year civil war. It is not the US's job to police the world. The people of Sudan have been fighting back and it is the people who will have their way, just as the USA didn't need intervention during our _own_ civil war. Also,

      The Government of Sudan and southern rebel forces signed a framework peace agreement in early June 2004
      it would be pretty stupid for the USA to come in and wreck things now. Also, there is the fact that the people of Sudan have been fighting back and have not been under a dictatorship such as the people of Iraq. Compare Apples to Apples.

      As for Zimbabwe, there has been a lot of humanitarian assistance, just search Google and see the tons of aid from the USA and the people of the USA.

      You need some new history books.
      No, you need some _real_ history books that haven't been rewritten by liberals.
      India and China are using trade to defeat us.
      Are you freaking kidding me? India and Chine don't even come close to our wealth. The USA has only 3% of the worlds population yet has/controls more than 50% of the worlds wealth. That is pretty damn good for 3% of the population IMO. Also, the USA spends more each year on military than the next top 25 nations combined (this was on the Science channel last night)! There is not one single nation that even comes close to the GDP of the USA, not one. Please point out one _single_ nation that is even close. So exactly how in the world is "India and China using trade to defeat us"?

      If you look at the GDP of China, they are where we were in 1970! I certainly wouldn't call that "China defeating us", since they are over 35 years behind us. Oh, and the GDP of India doesn't even come close to that of the USA. Just because a few low-tech jobs are out-sourced to India, doesn't mean we are being "defeated". A simple bill passed by congress could stop India and China in their tracks. Congress just needs to pass a bill that charges all US companies an extra "heavy" tax for out-sourced labor or any imported goods from China. That would slow things down for China and India and US companies could still do the same trade with other nations like Taiwan. The USA still has _plenty_ of tricks up-her-sleeve to make sure that we don't lose that #1 spot.

      So go on now and take your tree-planting-kit and move to Canada, eh!

      --
      If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land,
      it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy. -James Madison
    90. Re:What about China? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      China is buying all your debt. One day they will stop. And then you will be as poor as dirt.

      And then everyone in the world is going to get some payback on you American cunts.

    91. Re:What about China? by AstroDrabb · · Score: 1
      Actually I stand corrected on this point:
      If you look at the GDP of China, they are where we were in 1970!
      In adjusted 2000 USD, China is where we were in 1942!. As of 2004 China's economy has been growing well. However, China's GDP is still only US $1.65 trillion, while as of 2004, the US GDP is at least $11.7 trillion! I huge difference.
      --
      If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land,
      it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy. -James Madison
    92. Re:What about China? by Zeio · · Score: 2, Insightful
      The Promise of America is not today or yesterday, but the Future. The constitution is an Ideal that we are still striving for. Each and every generation gets closer and closer to the ideal.
      Somewhat. I'm a bit of a constitution lover myself, but it has been perverted and undermined as time goes on. Its just that everyone is getting screwed now equally.

      Amendment I has gone from absolute to interpreted. "Fire!" in a crowded theater is not protected. The list of things not protected have gotten longer and longer over time.

      Amendment II is effectively gone. Firearms ownership in this country is now about where Stalin, Hitler and Mao Zedong would have it. With registration and arbitrary and capricious limits on ownership, this amendment is gone - pissed into oblivion but a foolish society that doesn't respect its own Ace in the Hole on Doomsday:
      "All too many of the other great tragedies of history -- Stalin's atrocities, the killing fields of Cambodia, the Holocaust, to name but a few -- were perpetrated by armed troops against unarmed populations. Many could well have been avoided or mitigated, had the perpetrators known their intended victims were equipped with a rifle and twenty bullets apiece, as the Militia Act required here. If a few hundred Jewish fighters in the Warsaw Ghetto could hold off the Wehrmacht for almost a month with only a handful of weapons, six million Jews armed with rifles could not so easily have been herded into cattle cars.

      "My excellent colleagues have forgotten these bitter lessons of history. The prospect of tyranny may not grab the headlines the way vivid stories of gun crime routinely do. But few saw the Third Reich coming until it was too late. The Second Amendment is a doomsday provision, one designed for those exceptionally rare circumstances where all other rights have failed -- where the government refuses to stand for reelection and silences those who protest; where courts have lost the courage to oppose, or can find no one to enforce their decrees. However improbable these contingencies may seem today, facing them unprepared is a mistake a free people get to make only once
      - Federal Judge Alex Kozinski , Ninth Circuit. (Romanian naturalized US citizen. Its funny how those like Rand and Kozinski that had to live in the horrible state of Communism appreciate our own rights more than we do.)

      Amendment IV: Gone with the patriot act.

      Amendment V: Gone with the patriot act.

      Amendment VII: Gone. This amendment says any dispute of $20 or more can be brought to trial. Cell phone scum bag companies wouldn't be such scum bags if they had to face a jury of screwed over customers every time they cheated someone.

      Amendment VIII: If the death penalty isn't cruel, I don't know what is.

      I could go on, but its boring and sad.

      The great US of A is the last bastion of freedom, and its crumbling under an unreasonable bureaucracy and a stupid, undisciplined public who have so much time they invent issues (see gun control, "Pro-life", gay marriage (solution: government gets out of defining what marriage is ALTOGETHER)etc.) Welcome to the end of the least-worst system.

      Enjoy your little politically correct gay marriage no-guns no-terrorist cartoon world that can never exist but you'll destroy what's good about America to get there.

      - Sad non-authoritarian centrist libertarian.
      --
      Legalize the constitution. Think for yourself question authority.
    93. Re:What about China? by doubtless · · Score: 1

      Well, Sudan has oil, to the tune of some 210,000 barrels per day of real production during 2001. I'm sure it is slightly higher now.

      However, they are not very receptive to involvement of oil and gas companies, or any other companies from the west. For example, when we procure network equipments for a major oil and gas company to be used in joint venture operations in Sudan, they would not accept anything from US or Israel unless there is absolutely no alternative to be found.

      --
      geek page at KY speaks
    94. Re:What about China? by khallow · · Score: 1
      Maybe you'd be taken more seriously if you didn't actually refute your argument in midsentence.

      I didn't refute my sentence. My point is that this is as close as pollution or healthcare gets to causing economic setbacks. The actual economic damage that Chernobyl caused was to weaken confidence in the USSR and assisting in that way in the ending of the Soviet empire. The pollution and deaths from the disaster were insignificant compared to the firm demonstration that the Soviet Union made huge mistakes.

    95. Re:What about China? by The+One+and+Only · · Score: 1

      Not revolts. Peaceful protests.

      Not put down brutally. Turned to paste underneath the tracks of the PLA's tanks.

      --
      In Repressive Burma, it's not just your connection that dies. slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=314547&cid=20819199
    96. Re:What about China? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Hey, shut up you stupid git.

    97. Re:What about China? by Nrlll9 · · Score: 1

      I am Taiwanese, and I have to say that Far Eastern Asians like us, are far dumber than Indians.

    98. Re:What about China? by randallpowell · · Score: 0

      China may win once companies get sick of India's shit. Jobs will leave India for China and they can join us in "they stole my job" rants while American CEOs are buying mansions for their dogs.

    99. Re:What about China? by Lally+Singh · · Score: 1

      IMHO, I don't think there's much doubt that there will be long-lasting civil strive (if not war) within Iraq as the government attempts to build legitimacy. When a foreign power takes down a nation's government, then dictates the new one, the population associate the new government with the attacking power. When that power leaves, so does all respect for that gov't. It's happened far too often in the past to believe (at least for me) that Iraq will be this lighthouse of democracy or what-not.

      I'll put my money on the beliefs of the CIA & State dept: that while Iraq had very few connections to terrorism before (Saddam ran a secular state, which the fundamentalists didn't particularly like), it will be a breeding ground for quite some time now.

      --
      Care about electronic freedom? Consider donating to the EFF!
    100. Re:What about China? by The+Cydonian · · Score: 2, Funny
      Ladies and gentlemen, the Indian takeover of Slashdot is near complete. Not only do we have a thread discussing Mallu jokes, but we also have moderators who understand what the general honorific "Mallu" means.

      Now for some gnaa.ac.in action and we're set to become a knowledge superpower.

    101. Re:What about China? by raj2569 · · Score: 1

      nice to see this mod +3 funny! :)

      guess there are lots of mallus in /.

      raj

      --
      Sarovar.org Hosting for open source projects in Indi
    102. Re:What about China? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No no no. You sell them weapons and create a monster, then you put them down, destroy all those weapons, and sell them some more weapons again. While you're doing that, you can also sell your own guys a bunch of new weapons, because, well, they've just used them up. See how that works now?

    103. Re:What about China? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You fucking idiot, time to go back to uni (did you ever go?!) and take stats 1A again.

      After that, go read TFA.

    104. Re:What about China? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      Oh please dude, go hug a freakin tree. If you hate America so much, why in the hell do you _not_ leave? Go on, we don't need you and we would be better off without your kind. I served in the U.S.M.C and I am willing to fight for freedom for me, my family and others. Something I am sure you would not do. So go on and leave the USA and start your own utopia where you can have all the men running around "in touch with their feminine side" and all the women can run around sleeping with tons of men and getting abortions every-other-month. Oh, and you can pay 60%+ of your salary to your socialist government while your at it, because "they" know how to spend _your_ money better than you do.

      You know the rest of your argument would be a lot more persuasive without the bigoted rant at the start. Why don't you just come right out and call him a pinko? Do you have any idea how ignorant this crap makes you sound?

    105. Re:What about China? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Even if it were a 'mere' 8,000 deaths, this is still thousands more than the 911 attacks and Tiananmen square combined. Well done.

    106. Re:What about China? by kevinbr · · Score: 1
      We Americans are the main bleaters about peace. The rest of the world understands that freedom spoken by an American os code word for control by American Companies. The US is also the number one user of Security Council vetos. The UN only functions at the agreement of the security council.

      The point here is not that the rest of the world fails Sudan ( they do ). The point here is that the US bleats freedom selectively.

    107. Re:What about China? by kevinbr · · Score: 1
      "Me, I will stick with the USA and what we stand for."

      You have no idea what the US stands for. I hve a better idea, why do you not leave as you seem to want a facist utopia where force and ignorance rules ( Your post effectively makes my point ).

      Your willingness to fight - to attack other nations - to ensure American wealth is interesting. They hung Nazi camp guards who also were willing to "perform" for their nation.

      There is a difference between defence and attack that you fail to see.

      "It is not the US's job to police the world. "

      Oh? Then why are we in Iraq? Why does the US have more miltary bases in more countries than any other nation?

      You contradict yourself. Perhaps too much gun oil from stroking your weapons?

    108. Re:What about China? by kevinbr · · Score: 1
      Also note the involvement of China in joint ventures in the oil industry. When asked about the French revolution, a Chinese diplomat replied - too soon to tell.

      200,000 barrels a day os not worth attacking/controlling/freeing. We want to be in the heart of oil production.

      Our resources are OUR resources, their resouces must be used to maintain OUR wealth.

    109. Re:What about China? by kevinbr · · Score: 1
      In theory you are right. But labor requires constant or consistant investment. we witness flights of capital leaving the labor destitute. No money invested - no job.

      Ask some South Americans about capital flight.

      Labor wants to move to areas where capital investment is consistant and predictable and constant.

    110. Re:What about China? by kevinbr · · Score: 1
      Well you could always put me in a camp if I refuse to move? Your posting a comment under the label "Anonymous Coward" says it all. Healthy democracies demand debate and even dissention.

      I do not like what people like you have done to my country.

      and guess what? I have the right to disagree with you. Without having to move.

      Read a book about the meaning of democracy and freedom and freedom of speech. You missed a few days at school.

    111. Re:What about China? by kevinbr · · Score: 1
      "The enemy is not the American marines. It is the "insurgent" lackey doing the work for Baathists masters"

      The enemy are those who kill innocents for the wrong reasons, for any reasons.

      I had to cluster bomb you to free you does not ring true. You comments is a cheap simplification of the roots of the problem.

      For your information I spent a lot of time in Afghanistan and yes while I was there I felt free to utter an opinion. What have you done lately? But the truth is to speak freely requires no credentials of risk, any citizen in the US may speak and be listened to.

      Hosting dubious elections in Afghanistan and Iraq does not forgive our Empire by Proxy strategy.

      Your argument is cheap and nasty.

    112. Re:What about China? by kevinbr · · Score: 1

      We got to where we did by certain means. Others see that. That we sitting on the top of the heap now want others to not dislodge us from the top of the heap and condemn now what we never before condemned in the sense that we waited to reap the benefits fully before a change of policy.

    113. Re:What about China? by The+Dodger · · Score: 1
      They machine gunned crowds of unarmed civilians and ran them over with tanks...Would you consider that to be a prudent and necessary step?

      You've never gone shopping on London's Oxford Street on a Saturday, have you?


      D.

    114. Re:What about China? by The+Original+Yama · · Score: 1
      How long did it take for the Soviet Union/Russia to move away from pseudocommunism to whatever it is they have now?
      Given what Vladimir Putin's been doing for the past few years, I'd say pseudofascism.
    115. Re:What about China? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Thus illustrating the key to being satisfied with your liberty in America today: lower your expectations.

    116. Re:What about China? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Infrastructure? Power? Aren't they building a monstrously huge dam at the moment?

    117. Re:What about China? by AstroDrabb · · Score: 1
      You have no idea what the US stands for.
      Oh, and you do? You have it all figured out? You and your boyfriends figured it "all" out after your pot smoking, tree hugging and butt-slapping party? Please tell us what the US stands for. Oh, and don't forget to read your history and see what the US has stood for the majority of her existence.
      I hve a better idea, why do you not leave as you seem to want a facist utopia where force and ignorance rules ( Your post effectively makes my point ).
      Huh? That is _the_ dumbest sentence I have ever read here on /.. I am a Libertarian. Where did I ever say I wanted a "facist utopia"? I personally cannot stand most of the government of the USA and how the politicians act and are corrupted by bribes.
      Oh? Then why are we in Iraq?
      Hmm, I can tell you will only believe what your little conspiracies allow. So I won't waste my time. Go ahead and think that we just want oil (even though the USA is currently the worlds daily largest producer of oil), oh and I am sure we also just want their first born?
      Why does the US have more military bases in more countries than any other nation?
      Hmm, think hard now sunny-boy. If you are #1, there is no where else to go but down. When you are #1, _everyone_ wants to take a swing at you to knock you down. Oh, and there is also the benefits of the massive humanitarian aid that the US military does around the world. Having those bases comes in handy.
      --
      If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land,
      it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy. -James Madison
    118. Re:What about China? by kevinbr · · Score: 1
      I guess you believe in your tortured reality that anyone that disagrees with you is Gay or a TreeHugger.

      You are of course entilted to your opinions. You want to label yourself as Libertarian but you sound facist.

      You are against government yet you are for Military bases that keep you safe and in your style of life. Do I see a contradiction here?

      Finally you trot up the Number One argument. I am American as well yet I can see clearly where the US is better and I can also see where we are worse. You seem to live a life dictated by purile slogans that allow you to avoid deep though.

      You are number one in your own mind.

      But sadly you cannot articulate your own worth to the world so we just see you as a dumb simple redneck prick babbling about classes of people you hate.

      You have no idea how the world and your nation work.

    119. Re:What about China? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What you and everyone else is forgetting, is why we invaded and bombed the shit out of Iraq. You seem to think we wanted to "save" the Iraqi people from a dictator. Wrong, WMDs and ties to terrorism were the only reasons for our "preemptive strike." It was not a nation building mission. We attacked them based on lies. They had no WMDs. They had no ties to terrorism. Well, no more then our country for the past sereral presidents.

      As for the vote in Iraq, people running for office that are too afraid to publicly anounce that they are running for office or even put their name on the ballot is not an acomplishment. It is a sham.

      As for our vote, 2000 Bush lost and had the Supreme Court apoint him. 2004 election is surounded in voter fraud.

      But you will not think about anything the I or anyone else writes before you fire back something insulting and void of any real content. Enjoy.

    120. Re:What about China? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I have read alot of your comments on other threads. You seem like a well educated person. You seem like you are willing to give advice as well as take it in all subjects except politics. You resort to name calling and insults when talking politics. Don't take the subject any more personal then computers and your comments may be heard and not reacted to.

    121. Re:What about China? by Blackjax · · Score: 1

      Sorry to nit pick, but I see a lot of people make this mistake, and it sometimes hampers discussion of the topic. Parent said:

      "clearly China is an exception, in that it mixes a Communist government"

      No country anywhere ever has had a Communist government. Communism (like Capitalism and Socialism) is an economic system, not a form of government. Democracy, Monarchy, Oligarchy, Dictatorship, etc. are forms of government. So you can have Socialist Oligarchies, Communist Monarchies, Capitalist Dictatorships, or any combination of economic/government system you like.

      That being said, I think communism tends to promote systems where the power becomes intensely focused in the hands of a few (i.e. Dictatorship/Oligarchy) because it strips a form of power/control (economic) from the bulk of the population.

    122. Re:What about China? by A.Chwunbee · · Score: 0
      What role did fighting a war against pretty much the entire world simultaneously have in the "long run" versus the type of government in totalitarian Germany?
      My good man, that was make no sense. At leest one of us is not speaking english!

      Anyways around, is clear that I was challenging assertion by ruddy fool (buxton4) who say nazi germaney was totalitarien country that was able to grow. Was only growing by conquesting countrys all around it like the polland and france, which is why was not growing in the "long run" because other country (russia,britons,USA) getting pissed off wit it.

      --
      select * from base where originalOwner = 'you' and currentOwner != 'us'.
      0 rows returned.
    123. Re:What about China? by The+Cydonian · · Score: 1

      You sure? For all you know, it could be vindictive Bongs!

    124. Re:What about China? by zero_offset · · Score: 1

      It's "sonny-boy", not "sunny-boy".

      Lost the "Senior Programmer" job in the bustling metropolis that is "Davenport, FL", eh?

      --

      Slashdot quality declines as the number of hot grits posts decreases. - Provolt's Law, Apr-09-2005

    125. Re:What about China? by AstroDrabb · · Score: 1
      Lost the "Senior Programmer" job in the bustling metropolis that is "Davenport, FL", eh?
      Eh? Why in the world do you think that?
      --
      If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land,
      it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy. -James Madison
  4. Some questions... by aendeuryu · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The US R&D expenditure is bigger than the next five countries put together, and India is nowhere in the picture.

    Granted, that's impressive spending, but how much of this has to do with a higher overall cost of living in the US, and therefore, higher salaries for your workers? Also, how much of that spending is directly related to the military?

    Just wondering how much overall dollar output directly relates to one's place on the R&D totem pole.

    1. Re:Some questions... by ScrewMaster · · Score: 1

      Military spending often comes down to Earth in commercial ventures, so I don't really have a problem with that (BMDO spinoffs, etc.) But here's the kicker: prior to outsourcing and the "global economy", R&D investment generally went to benefit U.S. businesses and consumers. I don't really see that happening anymore. Sure ... money gets spent on research but foreign interests seem to be reaping the rewards.

      --
      The higher the technology, the sharper that two-edged sword.
    2. Re:Some questions... by Dagowolf · · Score: 1

      Granted, that's impressive spending, but how much of this has to do with a higher overall cost of living in the US, and therefore, higher salaries for your workers? Also, how much of that spending is directly related to the military?

      Add to that how much of the money is spend researching how to abide by asinine rules and regulations put in place due to the scientific communities inabiity to effectively communicate with the US public. Not to mention scientists are often constrained by those very rules. Stem cell research for instance.

    3. Re:Some questions... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      India will be the next big knowledge superpower, because America is selling itself out. Investing all of their money in India's knowledge. Investing in their education and development. All at the cost of its own. India will become a superpower, because America is making them one.

      And we will be left behind to warm McNuggets and put them in a bag. Of course, we won't take the order (because it will be taken by a drive-through service outsourced from India) and we wont' make the nuggets (those will be produced by a machine in a warehouse). But we'll press the buttons on a microwave and stick the nuggets in a bag and hand it to you at the window.

    4. Re:Some questions... by ooze · · Score: 1

      Add the lawyer costs for contract and patent issues...

      --
      Just because I can imagine doing a hippopotamus, doesn't mean I'd like to do it.
    5. Re:Some questions... by uujjj · · Score: 1

      Defense R&D typically makes up about $40Billion, out of total US R&D of $284B.

      Take a look at this from the oecd.

  5. I think not ... by puiahappy · · Score: 1, Interesting

    Maybe is just another mistake, like many that we have seen in the world`s history, as industry India could make progreses but as a superpower ... i don`t think so.

    --
    Think like a hacker, act like a hacker, but never become a hacker !
  6. And the U.S. is so smart by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    that the population believes that a supernatural being being created man by pointing a finger and created woman from a rib of that man.

    Much better.

    1. Re:And the U.S. is so smart by djplurvert · · Score: 3, Funny

      That's only in indiana where they tried to get a law passed for a more sensible definition of pi. Every other american is WELL aware that man was made by aliens.

    2. Re:And the U.S. is so smart by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Sorry - only the dorks think that.

    3. Re:And the U.S. is so smart by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Flamebait

      Some define 'smart' as anonymously posting religious (which for white people means 'Christian') bilious ridicule on the internet. Mother Theresa defined 'smart' as devoting her life to feeding the beautiful victims of India's caste system.

      And if you don't believe in a supernatural afterlife, kill yourself and prove us 'dumb' people wrong... or do you lack the courage of your convictions??

    4. Re:And the U.S. is so smart by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And if you don't believe in a supernatural afterlife, kill yourself and prove us 'dumb' people wrong... or do you lack the courage of your convictions??

      Umm... it's the other way around buddy.

      I'm not even going to explain why your statement is wrong.
  7. R&D expenditures by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    The only reason "India is nowhere in the picture" is because the USA R&D is going towards the likes of making teeth whiter, and the 4 hour erection insted of "high-tech research, pharma, bio-tech, space, and nuclear" research.

    1. Re:R&D expenditures by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The only reason "India is nowhere in the picture" is because the USA R&D is going towards...

      Don't worry, your investments in American R&D are going straight to hiring Indians to staff the new R&D labs being built in India.

    2. Re:R&D expenditures by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      with all the history of the US investing in space travel, all the US has to show for it is an overprised death trap (the space shuttle). And thats just one example.

  8. Maybe...not. by coKestar · · Score: 5, Funny

    No nation where cows do not fear Ronald McDonald cannot be trusted!

    1. Re:Maybe...not. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No nation where cows do not fear Ronald McDonald cannot be trusted!

      Too...many...negatives...my...head...asplodes.

    2. Re:Maybe...not. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      No nation that re-elects Bush can be trusted.

    3. Re:Maybe...not. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You and your lying liberal commie Kerry lost the election. Get over it.

    4. Re:Maybe...not. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Bush lied...and many soldiers have died.

      And Kerry actually went to Vietnam, whereas Shrub apparently thought the Viet Cong might try to invade Texas.

    5. Re:Maybe...not. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Doesn't matter who fought or not, you still got you asses whipped hard by the viet gooks.

    6. Re:Maybe...not. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Not quite.

    7. Re:Maybe...not. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful
      Interesting that the same libs who protested Vietnam are now praising Kerry for actually participating in it and demeaning Bush for not!

      Hypocrisy abound!

      The hypocrisy is in those who love war heroes, but instead vote in a coward who's ready to send someone else's kids to die for his own stupidity, while knowing full well that if he were in those kids' shoes (as he was during Vietnam) he would have done whatever it took to dodge the very same war he created. Shrub was a war dodger, although he was paradoxically a hawk on the war. Now that's hypocrisy my gullible friend.

      His rationale for choosing to join the National guard in 1968 instead of gambling on Vietnam via the selective service lottery:

      "I was not prepared to shoot my eardrum out with a shotgun in order to get a deferment. Nor was I willing to go to Canada, So I chose to better myself by learning how to fly airplanes."
      GW Bush - 1990 interview with the Dallas Morning News

    8. Re:Maybe...not. by Foobar+of+Borg · · Score: 2

      You know (and someone may have said this before), I think we may have found the /. equivalent of Godwin's Law. There should be some metric that is used to calculate the relevance of the post to American politics and the number of posts it takes before the Americans on /. start screaming for or against Bush and/or Kerry.

    9. Re:Maybe...not. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Bush fought like hell (to avoid combat duty).

    10. Re:Maybe...not. by ggvaidya · · Score: 1

      the number of posts it takes before the Americans on /. start screaming for or against Bush and/or Kerry

      Errr ... if it's against Bush, I don't think it's just the American /.ers who're saying it ...

    11. Re:Maybe...not. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "No nation that re-elects Bush can be trusted".

      Don't tell me you believe this was a fair election and Bush really won??! I would suggest doing a little research on electronic "voting" machines.
      Here's a good place to start: http://www.blackboxvoting.org/

    12. Re:Maybe...not. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      When u say "deal" you kill some 2-3 million hungry colonized Vietnamese and drop more bombs in Vietnam than was dropped in the entire world war 2 all over the world. And calculate the destructive effect such "deal" had on tens of millions of lives and the natural environment in Vietnam (and surrounding nations) over 30 years. I am sure you are proud of such "dealing". And here some Osama puts a plane into a building and killed 3000 people and since then the US economy has been struggling to recover. You have defined hypocrisy at its finest.

    13. Re:Maybe...not. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Wow, if only 4 liberals could beat the US in Vietnam think of what they could do if like 10 of them got organized?

      Damn, conservatism must be really weak if they lose to 4 people without guns.

  9. The diaspora already is by __aadkms7016 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    The Indian diaspora, like the China diaspora, is already a knowledge superpower -- as a look at the nationalities of the IEEE Fellows, the US NAS and NAE, and the equivalent academies in other countries will attest. All we're discussing here is the current mailing address of the talent.

    1. Re:The diaspora already is by the+eric+conspiracy · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Talent knows no geographical boundaries. The key is that it is a diaspora, not an Indian or Chinese institution. For example, despite the vast talent pool in the Chinese population, no Chinese citizen has ever won a Nobel Prize, Those prizes have gone to members of the diaspora working in western institutions.

      Until India and China build institutions comparable to the best in the west they will never become true knowledge superpowers.

    2. Re:The diaspora already is by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'd agree with you. Here in the UK, a huge proportion of professionals are of Indian or Chinese origin, especially in the fields of medicine and technology. If you look at subjects like Vedic maths, you'll find that these kind of subject areas are ingrained in their history - possibly moreso than they are in Western culture.

      If India does become a knowledge superpower, it won't be the first time...

    3. Re:The diaspora already is by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Talent knows no geographical boundaries. The key is that it is a diaspora, not an Indian or Chinese institution. For example, despite the vast talent pool in the Chinese population, no Chinese citizen has ever won a Nobel Prize, Those prizes have gone to members of the diaspora working in western institutions.

      Until India and China build institutions comparable to the best in the west they will never become true knowledge superpowers.


      I'm not sure what to make of this. India and China will not be technological innovators until they create their own version of the Nobel prizes?

      As you point out, it is interesting that no Chinese citizen has ever won a Nobel prize. Statistically the odds that a Chinese citizen has not come up with a development that *should* have won a prize (potential chinese candidates/total potential candidates * prizes/year * years >> 1) are ridiculous so why do you think this is? I can come up with a number of hypotheses but I really don't know the answer. I don't believe that it is a function o budget or quality of schooling since the Chinese have a huge edge on many laureate's countries in both of those respects.

      In short, it is one thing to fail to publically acknowedge a country's level of technological ability. It is quite another to assume that such a construct actually reflects reality. The US is in the mess it is in (as evidenced by Bush suddenly trying to rebuild the bridges he gleefully burnt over the last four years) due to this exact practice: deciding what it wishes were true, creating a perception that it is so then using that perception as proof.

    4. Re:The diaspora already is by the+eric+conspiracy · · Score: 1

      why do you think this is?

      War, totalitarian government, censorship, political repression, the cultural revolution etc. make it pretty hard to establish and maintain the infrastructure or academic freedom needed to support the sort of work needed to win a Nobel Prize. Things have gotten a little better recently, but for essentially the entire history of the Nobel Prize China has been a place where you flee from if you have aspirations of this sort. Also China still has a long way to go with its educational system - a higher percentage of US residents have masters degrees than Chinese citizens who can read. This is very different from India which has a pretty high literacy rate.

      The closest China has come to having a citizen win a Nobel Prize was in literature. Gao Xingjian renounced his Chinese citizenship several years before winning the prize, and lives in France as a French citizen. Since he is not politically acceptable to the Chinese government his work is banned in China and the government has never made a statement acknowledging his award.

      China claims the Dalai Lama is a Chinese citizen, and thus has a claim on his Nobel Peace prize, but His Holiness refutes that he has Chinese citizenship, and most countries do not recognize China's annexation of Tibet.

      There is also a Taiwanese born chemist who won a Nobel Prize while working in the US. China of course claims Tiawanese citizens are really citizens of China. However he was a naturalized US citizen at the time he did his work, so he does not qualify.

      There is also a Nobel Laureate in Physics (1957) who is a Chinese born American citizen now living back in China. Apparently he is now politically acceptable since China occasionally runs articles about him in their press. Good thing he was outside China when the Red Guard was rampant. They probably would have re-educated him, if not worse.

      People who think China is reformed because they have adopted a limited form of captialism are sadly in error. The way of thinking that led to Tiananmen still has the upper hand in China.

    5. Re:The diaspora already is by blitz77 · · Score: 1

      Nope-you're wrong there. China has a physics nobel laureate, who incidentally recently got married again at the age of 82 to a 28 year old graduate, and a literature laureate

  10. Re:maybe we should be buying Indian stocks by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Yes, we know how much science and technology innovations socialist countries in the EU are making.

    LOL.

  11. Innovation as well as knowledge?? by sfjoe · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The one area where the USA has excelled over the decades is in cooking up innovative ideas and turning them into profitable businesses. The basic model of education in the USA has been based in large part on creative thinking. As tax-cut mania takes over and US schools do less and less educating, we can expect to see other countries start catching up in the area of innovation. However, since most places, India included, prize rote memorization as the best way to educate, I can't see them ever turning out large numbers of innovators the way the US has.

    --
    It's simple: I demand prosecution for torture.
    1. Re:Innovation as well as knowledge?? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I don't see what tax cuts have to do with anything. The reason why countries like India are succeeding at such fast paces if becuase the majority of their people are economically depressed and they have a bigger reason to value knowledge and ability to do highly technical things, so it becomes a bigger economic advantage for them to become scientists, mathmeticians, and programmers than it does for the average American to do these things.

    2. Re:Innovation as well as knowledge?? by rsidd · · Score: 3, Informative
      However, since most places, India included, prize rote memorization as the best way to educate,

      Rubbish. While US school boards are still arguing about whether to teach evolution in schools, US school students are being creamed in science and math competitions worldwide. Where the US scores is in university education, especially at the graduate level. As you go up the educational ladder in the better universities in the US, the proportion of foreigners steadily increases, exceeding 50% in many departments at the postdoc and faculty level. People are still going to the US for graduate study and postdoctoral work (though even there, reportedly numbers from Asia have fallen over 25% in the last year or two). What's changed is they're not hanging on in the US after that: they're going back home.

    3. Re:Innovation as well as knowledge?? by the+eric+conspiracy · · Score: 1

      US school students are being creamed in science and math competitions worldwide.

      THe US is punished in these tests by the diversity of it's population. If you compare the top 10% of US students vs. the rest of the world, the numbers are very different than a comparison of the average students. That top 10% of US students is absolutely competitive with the top 10% from any other country in the world.

    4. Re:Innovation as well as knowledge?? by NewbieProgrammerMan · · Score: 1
      The basic model of education in the USA has been based in large part on creative thinking.
      And what in the world do you base that on? Is this from your particular experience, or is there a study somewhere that shows that US schools teach creative thinking? I've never seen such an emphasis, so my anecdotal evidence cancels yours out. :)
      --
      [b.belong('us') for b in bases if b.owner() == 'you']
    5. Re:Innovation as well as knowledge?? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I don't see what tax cuts have to do with anything.

      Huh? Who do you think funds schools? The tooth fairy ?

    6. Re:Innovation as well as knowledge?? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      We pour billions and billions more into education every year. Tax cuts aren't affecting the schools (and schools in the US are largely funded at the local and state levels, not at the federal level).

      If you haven't noticed, the billions we pour into our schools aren't really helping. The test scores are continuing to drop. The issue here is a cultural one, not an institutional one. The kids who really want to learn have the oppritunities to do so (though they end up learning far more on their own than they do through a public school system)

    7. Re:Innovation as well as knowledge?? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny
      THe US is punished in these tests by the diversity of it's population.

      And also by it's load's of surplu's apostrophe's.

    8. Re:Innovation as well as knowledge?? by Taladar · · Score: 1

      And if you have ten statistics and only pick the favorable one you will never see or solve your problems.

    9. Re:Innovation as well as knowledge?? by drsquare · · Score: 2, Insightful

      So you're saying that 90% of American students are below standards compared to other poorer countries?

      THe US is punished in these tests by the diversity of it's population.

      By 'diversity' you mean that some are clever and some are completely thick, whereas in other countries most of them are clever?

    10. Re:Innovation as well as knowledge?? by jav1231 · · Score: 2, Insightful

      The fact is the U.S. spends TOO much on education. As such students spend more time learning about "socio-political correctness" and less about mathematics and sciences. The past 40 years has seen more and more money diverted to the school system and less to military and other programs. Think about it. The reason more money doesn't work is simple. You take a mandated system like education, continually flood it with money, and the system gets fat and starts viewing the fundamentals as less important. The money should be with the teachers, not with the bureaucracy. If we want to save education we need to start applying standardization and cutting the fat.

    11. Re:Innovation as well as knowledge?? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      He is stating that a larger subset of the student population takes these tests in the US than in other countries. Therefore there are more of the less talented students that get factored into the average.

    12. Re:Innovation as well as knowledge?? by the+eric+conspiracy · · Score: 2, Interesting

      And if you have ten statistics and only pick the favorable one you will never see or solve your problems.

      And conversely if you pick only the unfavorable statistics derived from a standardized test of questionable relevance you will chase problems that don't exist.

      Once the American citizen enters the work force it appears he is very well prepared indeed - his productivity is absolutely world class. Isn't that the most important measurement?

    13. Re:Innovation as well as knowledge?? by mbkennel · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I'm an academic researcher professionally.

      The facts are that the USA recruits students heavily internationally as well as faculty, to a degree that other major universities do not reciprocate.

      It is rather difficult, for instance, for a student from the USA to attend a major research university in Europe (much less Japan or China though the language problems are far more difficult).

      In faculty hiring, again the USA opens the pool to everybody, but nearly all other nations significantly favor their own (in Europe, it is usually pan-European favoritism).

      In the USA, the Universities get significantly more money from foreign students (they have to pay full tuition), and in addition, the foreign students are entirely dependent on staying in the good graces of their department and advisor in order to avoid being deported. Hence they are favored institutionally and professionally.

      The foreign students often get their own source of money from their own governments to study in the USA. There is far less of this available for US students to study abroad---at least for lengthy graduate technical education as opposed to one semester of "personal enrichment".

      However, the primary reasons the foreigners are going back is very simple: there are jobs for scientists overseas, and there are fewer and fewer here, most especially if you don't want to work on new ways to kill or spy on people.

      Lack of competitiveness in the USA is NOT in technical education, it is in technical employment!

      US students go for technical education precisely to the level the rewards are worth the very heavy costs.

      Beefing up primary and college science education only will generate only more disillusioned graduate students, not more US productivity.

      Industrial labs are sending jobs to India and deleting them in the US. Indian students don't need a work permit to work in India---they are citizens.

    14. Re:Innovation as well as knowledge?? by rsidd · · Score: 2, Insightful
      It is rather difficult, for instance, for a student from the USA to attend a major research university in Europe (much less Japan or China though the language problems are far more difficult).

      In many cases the language issue is the main barrier. In France, for example, one has to write one's dissertation in French, except at some EU-run places. But European universities have plenty of foreign students all the same, Indian universities have long had a large student population from Iran and some African countries, and I recently met a German student doing her Ph.D. in China.

      At the postdoctoral level it is even easier -- there is no dissertation requirement so the language barrier is much lower. I myself did a stint in France.

      At the faculty level, there could be some preference for local candidates. However, in all these cases, the two main attractions of US universities are, and will continue to be for some time, quality of research and level of funding. Salaries and grants are far higher in the US, and that won't change soon, especially in the developing world.

      Many Indians are willing to take a pay cut to return to India (especially since they know that living costs are extremely low, so in real terms the pay's not bad.) Many non-Indians will not be willing to do this.

      I also have the feeling Americans (and English-speaking people generally) are intrinsically less willing to travel abroad, especially to non-anglophone countries. I run into hardly any English-speaking foreigners where I live in India, but there are several continental Europeans. This is also true in the major tourist resorts around here. The few English-speakers are typically Brits -- practically no Americans around.

    15. Re:Innovation as well as knowledge?? by Artifakt · · Score: 1

      The top 10% is always a highly motivated group that will seek to learn, whether the schools are any good or not. Practically, you could probably extend that to the top 1/3 or so - it's not like there's a sharp cutoff. At the other end, you have a bottom of at least 10% that is either utterly incapable of learning or has tremendous motivation problems.
      All you can reasonably conclude from the top 10% doing well is either the teaching systems actually helped, or didn't matter one way or the other, or the systems sucked, but were unable to hinder these people enough to stop them from getting educated anyway. It's when you look at the next few tiers down, the students who were somewhat motivated, or showed progress at times but not others, or the students with blocks to learning that were small enough to be addressed by a time and money limited system, that you are starting to judge the teaching methods and the overall concepts driving a country's educational system.

      --
      Who is John Cabal?
    16. Re:Innovation as well as knowledge?? by northcat · · Score: 3, Interesting

      However, since most places, India included, prize rote memorization as the best way to educate, I can't see them ever turning out large numbers of innovators the way the US has.

      I live in India. I can't begin to describe how much I agree with this. Our education system turns us into machines. Computers. By "education system" i mean not only the official curriculum part of education, but also the way the teachers teach us, and how kids and parents approach learning (parents play a big role in the education, employment and general future of their children. rather too big.)Once we are taught something our minds become completely confined to whatever is taught to us. We can process the input given to us and give output very well. But we can't do anything beyond that. I'm struggling for words here... It's like education is like software development for us. We are computer programs, we are programmed to do certain things. We do that very well, but we can't do any thinking or innovation of our own. And if we have to do something new, another software module has to be added to our brains to handle this new task. If something needs to be done for which a module hasn't been developed yet and it can't be implemented using the logic of the computers that are our brains, then we fail, we can't do it. Softare development (the kind done by Indian offshoring companies) has now developed to a large extent. There already rules and methods on how to do it. These rules are taught to us and we can succefully use these rules and thus offshoring industry is blooming here. But things that require a lot of innovation haven't reached India yet. Sure R&D will reach India (it's already started) but only because the rules have started to develop. I suppose "true" innovation will never reach here, since you can't really make rules for 'innovation'.

    17. Re:Innovation as well as knowledge?? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful
      The past 40 years has seen more and more money diverted to the school system and less to military and other programs.
      We already spend almost as much on the military as the rest of the world combined. You seriously want our government to spend even more?? You've a really fucked up priority dude. And if you think throwing more money at DoD will make your life safer, you are even more delusional that I imagined.
    18. Re:Innovation as well as knowledge?? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Your opinion seems to be rather uninformed. There has always been a great deal of tension between innovators and investors; they detest each other but also need each other. America was made into what it is just as much buy the capital that backed the innovators as it was by the innovators.

      The sorry state of American education actually has its roots in the desire of industrial magnates (Morgan, Carnegie, et al) to cultivate/create a nation of economically dependant consumers, and the among the techniques used to accomplish this are those rooted in India's caste system, including compulsion schooling. Viz.:

      How Hindu Schooling Came To America (I):
      http://www.johntaylorgatto.com/chapters/1m.htm/

      Ironically, roles appear to be reversed and not only is the innovation and hungry creative problem solving that was once the bedrock of American prosperity is showing up BIGTIME in India, but so is the capital that once lifted the US into the economic stratosphere.

      As a consultant to an investment bank (yes, the evil "international banksters" of tinfoil hat fame), I am a firsthand witness to BILLIONS in assets formerly invested in US securities flooding into India, and not just high tech companies.

      So back to your point: "However, since most places, India included, prize rote memorization as the best way to educate, I can't see them ever turning out large numbers of innovators the way the US has." If the big money needs innovators in India, you better believe that the cream of the crop will get the kind of education you assume doesnt exist there.

      IIRC, it was a Rothschild who said "the best time to buy is when blood is flowing in the streets". Now India may not be a violence infested third world wasteland, but there is one HELL of an upside to their economy, whereas the US "Superpower", is really past its peak and the average American just hasn't figured it out yet.

      BTW, I am an American, and love my country, but let's be objective about this, and save ourselves a catastrophic fall. Its going to be painful enough if even if we recognize it and prepare for it...

    19. Re:Innovation as well as knowledge?? by the+eric+conspiracy · · Score: 1

      At the other end, you have a bottom of at least 10% that is either utterly incapable of learning or has tremendous motivation problems.

      Or is disconnected from the whole society by language, culture and economics.

      One thing to keep in mind is that the US educational system includes much more post secondary education than other countries where admission to university requires top marks in a very competitive exam. Something like 70% of US students study formally past high school. That is not factored into any assesment that tests say 7th graders.

      In any assesment of the educational system you have to examine the performance of the end result (adults) and how their educational experience in total prepares them. As I said before, I have great doubts that these tests are really relevant or should be the measure we use to evaluate our educational system.

      There is a huge disconnect in the results of these tests versus the performance and productivity of the adult American in the US economy. To me it really calls into question the validity of the measurements these tests are generating. I certainly would NOT overhaul the US educational system with the goal of generating good results on these tests - you may find you are throwing away what is best in the US system in favor of teaching to a test that has no or very limited correlation with economic performance.

      If you travel outside the US, and talk to educators in other countries, they all envy the emphasis on independent thought that is part of the US educational system - they are all evaluated on the results their students get on competitve exams that emphasize factual knowledge - which leads to abominations like the cram schools common in Asia, and forces the teachers to teach to those exams.

      Is that what we should be doing? I think NOT.

    20. Re:Innovation as well as knowledge?? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You're probably correct that Americans are less likely to travel to other countries (since the US is big enough that travelling within that country seems to satisfy most), but you made it sound like it was based on racism, when I would wager that it is not.

      Additionally, Britain has had strong ties with India for a very long time, whereas America has not. Thus, your example is probably skewed significantly from the norm.

    21. Re:Innovation as well as knowledge?? by Dr.+Cody · · Score: 1

      Excuse me, but are you pleasuring yourself with a copy of "The Way Things Ought to be" right now?

    22. Re:Innovation as well as knowledge?? by rlds · · Score: 1

      Interesting comments, though I can't agree on the assumed superiority of the USA educational system. This is from personal experience, having observed non-USA engineers both at the postgraduate level and at work here in the USA. But if you think my observations are biased, disregard and consider that there's something else besides educational system quality at play here.

      One thing bothered me recently when I heard a venture capitalist from Silicon Valley touting the benefits of investing in new startup firms that can offshore the engineering work. Traditionally the VC money was going to those tech startups with top notch engineering talent. Where is the innovation coming from then? Of course, if the VC was just looking for cheap labor and innovation is secondary, something is wrong with that picture. This may have nothing to do with the educational system in the USA but just the cost of labor.

    23. Re:Innovation as well as knowledge?? by rlds · · Score: 1

      So he should have said by the law of large numbers rather than diversity since you can have a diverse sample that is relatively small.

    24. Re:Innovation as well as knowledge?? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Innovation is a function of surplus disposable income a country has. If you are trying to meet your basic needs, you won't take the risk of trying something new and risk your meagre savings. As Indian economy grows, innovation will grow too.

      It's already happening in India. I know a lot of people who have left their cushy jobs in India to start their own companies. This wouldn't have hapened 15 years ago. If they failed, they wouldn't have a job waiting for them. 15 years ago you got a job and stayed their for your lifetime. Now, you can leave your job to innovate and if you fail, you are sure of securing a high-paying job in India. (Notice I say high-paying. What sounds like a pittance in American dollars are actually high-paying jobs. Imagine if you could buy a nice home for $30,000 in a big city in America, did not have to pay $500/month in medical insurance and everything else incredibly cheap, what Salary level would you be willing to work for?)

    25. Re:Innovation as well as knowledge?? by doktor-hladnjak · · Score: 1
      Interesting comments, though I can't agree on the assumed superiority of the USA educational system. This is from personal experience, having observed non-USA engineers both at the postgraduate level and at work here in the USA.

      I think it's important to recognize that the non-American engineers somebody would deal with in the US are generally some of the best those countries have to offer. Their abilities probably speak more towards their own intelligence and work ethic than the quality of their primary through undergraduate educational system.

      For example, some of my Indian friends have talked about the various IIT campuses and how they compare to American schools. First, IIT is really the top of the heap in India with respect to technical education. Something like 2% of applicants are accepted (I don't remember the exact numbers but the percentage in the single digits for Computer Science). And then of those 2%, only the very best graduates will go on to do graduate school (postgraduate) in the West.

      Despite the quality of these students, all of them said the resources offered by Western universities (specifically, this was in Germany) was vastly superior to anything in India. There might have been a lot of great students and even great instructors in India, but for money, equipment and future opportunities the West was the place to be.

      In my experience, the US is somewhat better than Europe with regard to resources and opportunities as well, but it varies substantially by institution and field. On another note, I do feel that American education (at least in Computer Science) does place a heavier focus on creativity than other education systems.

      In my own experience in the German and American graduate educational systems, the American system (in my mind) clearly values and encourages creativity more than the German one. Virtually every course I'd ever taken in a German graduate program involved sitting in a lecture, doing some sort of homework (paper or programming) and then usually taking one big test at the end (some had midterms) that only consisted of questions slightly different (say, different numbers) than on the homework. I've heard similar things about other graduate education systems in continental Europe as well as those in eastern Europe (although the latter tend to more strictly prescribe which courses you must take).

      A lot of the graduate level courses I've taken in the US have been project courses, where the students were expected to spend several weeks working on something (often novel), resulting in a working demo and a writeup. This is clearly better preparation for doing research work and is also more relevant to working in industry. It's my understanding, that in Canada, things are more in this direction than the Continental model.

    26. Re:Innovation as well as knowledge?? by rlds · · Score: 1

      If the opportunities in the West are drying up for those IIT grads (I've hired a few over here), then you would expect that more students are deciding to remain or go back to India. I also know US universities are about to panic about the reduction of foreign students wanting to come to the US for education, at any level.

      But my point was that this offshoring trend was driven by economics, not by the quality of education here or there. If it turns out that US companies find out that they can get more for their money elsewhere besides India, that's where they are going to go next. Could that be back to the USA? Possibly, but not until labor costs are driven down further here in the USA.

    27. Re:Innovation as well as knowledge?? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Tax cuts aren't affecting the schools (and schools in the US are largely funded at the local and state levels, not at the federal level).

      Everything affects everything. When the Republicans at the federal level cut programs, the states must shift their finances around. Ask anybody who actually know what's going on whether or not tax cuts are affecting schools. They are and not for the better.

    28. Re:Innovation as well as knowledge?? by Taladar · · Score: 1

      I see the problems at german universities (or at least the one where I study) every day. The ones you mention are largely caused by bad funding (a.k.a. not enough teaching personnel) as everything is streamlined for less work for the staff. Indiviual, novel work costs much more time to correct and evaluate so most exams just focus on easily correctable questions. I guess if we had more than just 2-3 part-time workers for every course of 300-500 students it would be much easier and the quality would be better.

    29. Re:Innovation as well as knowledge?? by orin · · Score: 1

      You're probably correct that Americans are less likely to travel to other countries (since the US is big enough that travelling within that country seems to satisfy most), but you made it sound like it was based on racism, when I would wager that it is not

      I'll quietly disagree. Contiental Australia is approximately the same size as the Continental US. Australians are far more likely to have seen Europe and Asia than they are to have travelled to Darwin or North Western Australia.

      Also - Australia is farther away from everything than the US is. Americans can get to Europe, Asia, South America and Africa on average quicker than Australians can get to most of these places.

    30. Re:Innovation as well as knowledge?? by orin · · Score: 1

      If the productivity was "world class" there would be a lot less outsourcing going on wouldn't there.

    31. Re:Innovation as well as knowledge?? by jav1231 · · Score: 1

      Does it hurt to be stupid? No really. I've wondered. You totally missed my point. My discussion was on education. I never said we needed more spent on the military. I'll say it now but I didn't say it above. Learn some logic skills, Skippy. And as far as "the rest of the world combined" it comes in damn handy when they sit back and expect you to a) give them a handout and b) fight their battles for them.

    32. Re:Innovation as well as knowledge?? by rsidd · · Score: 1
      You're probably correct that Americans are less likely to travel to other countries (since the US is big enough that travelling within that country seems to satisfy most), but you made it sound like it was based on racism,

      No I don't think I did. Unless you interpret "non-anglophone" as racism. Xenophobia, yes (as in, "fear of foreigners", not necessarily "hatred of foreigners").

      Additionally, Britain has had strong ties with India for a very long time, whereas America has not. Thus, your example is probably skewed significantly from the norm.

      I said most foreigners I see are continental Europeans. They have almost no historical ties with India, except for France (Pondicherry) and Portugal (Goa) -- but I run into plenty of French tourists rather far from Pondicherry, as well as Germans and Italians who have no historical links with India at all. If you go to a touristy town like Jaisalmer, there are actually a lot of guides who speak French and other European languages.

  12. And? by mindstormpt · · Score: 5, Interesting
    The US R&D expenditure is bigger than the next five countries put together, and India is nowhere in the picture.
    Money != Brains.

    It does seem that Money = Arrogance though.
    1. Re:And? by NegativeFX · · Score: 1, Funny

      You Americans with your huge expenditures. Japanese expenditure so, so small.

    2. Re:And? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Money != Brains.

      It does seem that Money = Arrogance though.


      On the other hand, Arrogance != Ignorance.

    3. Re:And? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Howerver, Brains == Money!

    4. Re:And? by ReverendHoss · · Score: 1

      While money does not equal brains, money does free up brains to concentrate on things other than making money.

      "An electronic calculating device? We would only sell 10 world-wide, tops. You're insane, Eckhert. Mauchly, sober this guy up, will you? I'm trying to run a business here!"

      Then there's high quality equipment, additional manpower so the brains aren't emptying their own trash, etc.

      While money spent isn't the end-all-be-all of what you can do, it sure does open up doors. So looking at R&D budgets (adjusted for cost of living) is a completely valid way to compare countries' efforts.

    5. Re:And? by Razzak · · Score: 1

      Somehow...

      I seriously doubt the submitter should be credited with the voice of all money/brains in the U.S.

    6. Re:And? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Uhhhh, R&D usually involves research (and probably development, surprisingly enough). Spending money on research leads to new knowledge which may not have otherwise been discovered if everyone was in the working class.

      A better argument would be that living costs require the US to have much higher R&D costs than India while still gaining the same amount of knowledge. But you're a troll, so you probably didn't think that far.

    7. Re:And? by I+Be+Hatin' · · Score: 1
      It does seem that Money = Arrogance though.

      I take it you're rich then...

      --
      I know god exists. I read it on the internet, so it must be true.
    8. Re:And? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Historically though, Money == enough time to learn.

      Remember, if you must spend all of your time working a subsistance job, you probably have no time to learn any other skills.

    9. Re:And? by mindstormpt · · Score: 1

      You're right but look at it this way. Taking the recent tsunami as an example, you can develop a tsunami warning system for $30.000 or $30.000.000. That doesn't necessarily imply that the later is better. Throwing money at the problems doesn't solve them unless it is well spent.

    10. Re:And? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Money != Brains.

      It does seem that Money = Arrogance though.


      No. The important equation here is: (institutional cash flow * 0.9) == pork.

    11. Re:And? by Eminence · · Score: 1

      Money != Brains.

      As long as brains need food, clothing, shelter and some little pleasures which are not purely intellectual money == brains.

    12. Re:And? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Not as rich as you, fucktard.

  13. The US R&D expenditure is bigger than the next by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "The US R&D expenditure is bigger than the next five countries put together, and India is nowhere in the picture."

    Yeah, but how much of this money is going to find itself in Bangalore?

  14. What about europe by Shadez666 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    "The US R&D expenditure is bigger than the next five countries put together, and India is nowhere in the picture." If you consider Europe as a country like entity then i am not sure the U.S. are so superior.

    1. Re:What about europe by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      Kinda nice how Europe gets to pick and choose when to be thought of as the "EU" entity or as separate countries as the situation warrants (to its advantage, of course). Need a large market? Well, the EU is a single entity!..and lookee lookee how good it stacks up against the US and China. The EU doesn't have a coherent foreign policy to deal with the crisis in the Sundan? Well, what can you expect? The EU is not one country!

      Quite craven and self-serving if you ask me.

    2. Re:What about europe by uujjj · · Score: 1

      No, the US is still superior. Take a look at the numbers from the OECD.

  15. Re:Things are happening in that region ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Yeah, what a bargain: a decade or two of magnificent economic growth accompanied by more and more extreme weather. I hope you and your kids will enjoy category 6 storms, tsunamis, arctic Europe and severe flooding of all coastland.

  16. Forward Capiltalism! by ObsessiveMathsFreak · · Score: 1, Interesting

    India appears to be doing incredibly well under the American Model. It's developing new technologies and expanding its industry and developing nuclear missiles at a huge rate while much of its population still lives in third world conditions, like Detroit.

    I'm just wondering if gross inequality is a nessessary or sufficient condition for a country to undergo economic growth.

    --
    May the Maths Be with you!
    1. Re:Forward Capiltalism! by the+eric+conspiracy · · Score: 1

      much of its population still lives in third world conditions, like Detroit.

      If you think Detroit is 3rd world, I suggest you visit Bangladesh.

      I'm just wondering if gross inequality is a nessessary or sufficient condition for a country to undergo economic growth.

      It seems clear that there has to be a reward for hard work and talent for a country to undergo economic growth. However that is only necessary, not sufficient.

    2. Re:Forward Capiltalism! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Reminds me of North Korea. Building up their military and producing nukes. Meanwhile their population lived under third world standards. The only difference is North Korea isn't building an economy at the same time.

    3. Re:Forward Capiltalism! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      ...while much of its population still lives in third world conditions, like Detroit.

      Can't blame the rest of America for Detroit. No one makes Detroit's inhabitants steal cars, torch buildings, or kill each other.
    4. Re:Forward Capiltalism! by Vedanti · · Score: 1

      developing nuclear missiles at a huge rate

      Where did you get that information ?

      --
      karma : former act as leading to inevitable results
    5. Re:Forward Capiltalism! by ObsessiveMathsFreak · · Score: 1

      Here for a start.
      Of course now as I think about it India is also embarking on a space program. It's just ironic that all this is going on while may people in India are still living in third world conditions. One could argue about the size of the country being a factor here, but if people are living in third world conditions in your country then it could well be argued that nuclear arms and space exploration are currently unnessary.

      However, as I think about it, the space race gave us many of the technologies that we have today. As did the cold war arms race. And many russians were then, and still are, in similar conditions to many indians today.

      I still wonder if poverty is still present because of economic growth or in spite of it. Does a country have to care about its weakest members at all in order to become (generally) prosperous?

      --
      May the Maths Be with you!
  17. Red States by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Note that you're talking about the Jesusland (aka. Red States) - some of us (a minority, I admit) stopped believing in fairytales a long time ago.

    1. Re:Red States by djplurvert · · Score: 1

      I hope you aren't suggesting that the religious beliefs of Bill Clinton and John Kerry are somehow equivalent to the nutty beliefs of the bushes and the regans? Please! I don't seem to recall Kerry telling us that god "talks directly to him". I think, in fact, that it's ronald talking to him from the grave, and that nancy had that all set up through her astrologist.

  18. Re:Things are happening in that region ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Hint: Just becuase you saw it in a movie does not make it true.

  19. Innovation as well as knowledge??-A Risky Affair. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Insightful

    "The one area where the USA has excelled over the decades is in cooking up innovative ideas and turning them into profitable businesses."

    That's because we have the legal base to allow people to take the risks involved in being innovative. Hate IP all you guys want. Results speak for themselves, and countries that don't have the base (lacking or no enforcement) are less prosperous.

  20. Corporate funding for R&D in school by 1tsm3 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    As long as the corporate funding for R&D in schools is as low as it is now in India, I don't think India (not Indians) will ever become a Knowledge superpower. I'm an Indian who is now in the U.S. It's just amazing on how many new things the undergrads in the US can work on when compared to how little the grads in India can work on. The difference is in extremes. Here in the U.S, even small univs undergrad team builds solar cars, in India, even the grads don't get enough money to work on something useful. Most of it is theory in India. Sad, but true. I wish corporates in India put enough money into R&D in Indian schools.

    --
    -ItsME
    1. Re:Corporate funding for R&D in school by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Do not underestimate the value of theory. While the practical approach to education provides for hands-on learning, it carries the risk of "amateurism" or "simplism" when trying to solve complex problems.

      Of course, balance between the two is what makes a good education.

    2. Re:Corporate funding for R&D in school by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I have worked with software engineers in India and believe me when I say that amateurism and simplism very accurately describes their approach to problem solving.

    3. Re:Corporate funding for R&D in school by DrFalkyn · · Score: 1

      Undergrad research experience is not all its cracked up to be, at least in the sciences. With few exceptions, professors don't want to deal with neophyte undergrads, and all the important research is done at the graduate/post-grad level anyway. If they are lucky enough, undergrads can get some "monkey" work to do - this is especially true the Big Three sciences: biology/physics/chemistry.

    4. Re:Corporate funding for R&D in school by 1tsm3 · · Score: 1

      Yeah! But that's better than nothing at all. Also, even if it's monkey work, it definitely kindles interest which is very important.

      --
      -ItsME
    5. Re:Corporate funding for R&D in school by khallow · · Score: 1
      Do not underestimate the value of theory. While the practical approach to education provides for hands-on learning, it carries the risk of "amateurism" or "simplism" when trying to solve complex problems.

      The only difference between an amateur and a professional is that a professional gets paid to do it. And real hands-on learning on real problems quickly eliminates simplistic approaches to complex problems.

  21. cost of doing business by freshfromthevat · · Score: 5, Interesting

    In my experience (USA working with OEMs doing high tech products) the cost of doing business with Indian Engineers is too high. They have a long (45 day) import delay for prototype hardware. The engineers who hire with companies I'm familiar with stay for training and then jump jobs. The communications difficulties (time shifted from USA offices) and language/cultural difficulties (different holidays, different work culture) make doing business awkward and less efficient than working with rural Americans (for instance).

    Eventually Indian companies will run their own engineers and see some efficiencies that way. Then USA OEMs could see some serious competition. The only thing that would hold Indian OEMs back is internal costs of doing business, duties, taxes, crime, limitations on cooperation due to secrecy, government corruption, etc.. . Like here in the USA. The top dog world wide is going to be the country with the greatest efficiencies of doing business. Time will tell.

    --
    .. Blub falls right in the middle of the abstractness continuum. -- Paul Graham
    1. Re:cost of doing business by Taladar · · Score: 1

      The inefficiencies you describe are a matter of perspective. Most industrial countries don't have a large time difference compared to India but almost all of them have it compared to the U.S.

      You are almost alone on your side of the World, not India.

    2. Re:cost of doing business by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The drawbacks you mention vary from company to company. The offshore startup I work for has close to zero attrition (because they pay well, and the work is intersting), we synch our holidays to the US (for the same reasons), and time differences are seen as an advantage (24 hour dev cycle). Perhaps you should re evaluate your offshoring processes, and your management should look at the offshore engineers as engineers rather than drones, then perhaps you can avail the benifits that a global work force has to offer.

  22. Good question by SparklesMalone · · Score: 1

    And not just how the military factors, but also how the number is derived. Are US dollars expended on an outsourced project still counted as US dollars? I gotta believe that Indian corporations are only a tiny fraction of the revenue into those outsourced jobs. I RTFA but (typically) it didn't describe its sources, nor did I see that reference about the US R&D budget being bigger than the next 5.

  23. The knowledge base will be distributed by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If you look at a global corporation like General Electric, they've distributed the R&D to pull the best talent/resources from each region. They have research facilities in the US, India, China and Germany, and they are expanding all facilities including the US. I think this will be the trend for the future as opposed to total offshoring of R&D talent to one country.

  24. Indians and higher education by Andy+Dodd · · Score: 1

    The biggest flaw with your argument is that many Indians come to the United States for higher education.

    ESPECIALLY in graduate programs. I would say that around half the students in Rutgers' graduate electrical engineering program are Indian (and I don't mean of Indian descent.) Over 80% of the students in the program are Asian (Indian, Chinese, or Korean), and nearly all of them are foreign and not just of Asian descent.

    It says a lot of sad things about American attitudes towards education that almost all of the graduate engineering students at a state-funded school are not only from out of state, but from out of the country.

    --
    retrorocket.o not found, launch anyway?
    1. Re:Indians and higher education by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

      Why is it sad? It shows that Americans can live a prosperous life without spending years and much toil in a graduate program. Asians come here becuase it is a way for them to come out of poverty and live a better life.

    2. Re:Indians and higher education by antifoidulus · · Score: 2, Insightful

      How many of them honestly desire a higher education versus how many just desire the status with being a PhD? To me, it seems like a status symbol more than anything else for a lot of the asian grad students at my school. Some of them aren't really even interested in the research, they just do what you tell them to in the hopes that they will get their PhD. It's the equivalent of a Mercedes where they come from.

    3. Re:Indians and higher education by nomadic · · Score: 1

      It says a lot of sad things about American attitudes towards education that almost all of the graduate engineering students at a state-funded school are not only from out of state, but from out of the country.

      Well what do you expect. Look at slashdot. How many of you didn't go for a graduate degree (or even a bachelor's degree) in engineering? Yes, I know, you wanted to go right into the workforce so you could make your money, but when enough people do that you eventually end up with the system as it is.

    4. Re:Indians and higher education by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It could also be because asians value education more than americans do. Your post certainly makes it evident that you are not well informed about the rest of the world and particularly asia.

  25. Re:Nope! They are not! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Is this supposed to be an example of irony? It sure seems like you fit the description very people you claim to be describing.

  26. Re:Things are happening in that region ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful
    What do you mean? Did I refer to a movie anywhere?

    I am talking about scientific facts. Atlantic conveyor belt effect is what keeps Europe warm. It's driven by a saline gradient that WILL change when the polar ice melts. Hence, the conveyor belt effect would change and Europe would get as cold as Siberia. It's science, but you seem to be hell-bent on burying your head in the sand and go for the short-term economic gains - it will be our children who'll have to pay the price for our greed.

    Hell, even in the extremely unlikely case that we'd later find out that the global warming was not caused by human activities, acting now is just common sense: emissions are bad in other ways too (health issues) and reducing them results only in economic loss. In fact, I don't understand how anyone would put economic gains first over loss of human life and environment.

  27. Re:Things are happening in that region ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    What you say is NOT supported by scientific facts and reflects the inane hysteria supported by movies put out by Hollywood. Whether global warming exists or not, Kyoto is not going to do a damned thing about it - read it and weep

  28. Re:Nope! They are not! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I can say that every bit of code I have seen from an Indian programmer (even those in the US) has been sub-standard (and typically re-written because of never decreasing bug counts). Sure they do excessive amounts of technical work. But very little of that work is as ingenous as work done by other cultures.

    And you can deny it all you want. Culture has an immense role in the kind of technologies its people produce. A ridgid society will produce ridgid, uncreative engineers. America may have its faults, but the lifestyle and culture of Americans produces some of the most productive and creative people ever.

  29. Both India and China has quite a long way to go... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    They

    ... don't innovate (copy is the norm in China).
    ... got social problems (a lot of poor people)
    ... got cultural problems (both countries have problems with terrorism). The U.S. has these problem too, but the U.S. tries to deal with it instead of trying to put the lid on the kettle.
    ... are not as materialistic as the Americans, so their domestic market is not as dynamic.

    Sure, China and India are marching on to prosperity, but people tend to overstate things.

  30. Re:Nope! They are not! by Morgahastu · · Score: 0, Troll

    And apparently your class can't spell.

  31. I liked this one... by bogaboga · · Score: 5, Interesting
    [...]The US R&D expenditure is bigger than the next five countries put together, and India is nowhere in the picture."

    This I should mention includes inflated costs and bribes for bureaucrats. The Russians do much more and produce very durable space and nuclear equipment for less than one-third of our cost as Americans. This same reasoning presumes that if an individual lives on less than a dollar a day, they must be very badly off. I visited Uganda where a meal costing 4 US dollars was more than enough for me for two days!

    Yes, India can and will be superpower whether we like it or not. It's not how much money one spends guys. The latest Russian aircraft costs less than half as much as our most advanced one, yet delivers more power and is even easily maintained. I wish our politicians get this into their heads.

    1. Re:I liked this one... by saigon_from_europe · · Score: 3, Insightful
      The latest Russian aircraft costs less than half as much as our most advanced one, yet delivers more power and is even easily maintained.
      Most interesting devices that you can see from former USSR are devices made in 70s - early 80s. After that period, West run far further than Russians were able to follow.

      What is exciting in their design is simplicity, and maintainance. With lack of resources, their design had to be robust. You may laugh on Ladas, but Lada Niva, Russian SUV is a good car. Russian mechanical watches, optical devices were pretty robust.

      Their military equipment followed these rules, too (and I am officer in reserve). Unfortunately, it does not mean that their devices are efficient (as they always had a lot of cheap fuel - there is even a joke in Serbia told for someones who spends too much - "to spend like Russian vehicle"). It does not mean they are ecological - all their eqiupment has NiCd batteries, but NiCd batteries are best (exluding being highly toxic).

      Compare AK47 (ok, it is a bit old design - from '47 as its name says) with M4 (I had both of them in my hands). M4 is subtle, but AK is robust. It means that it can be mass-produced with inexpirienced technicians. M4 requires a lot of maintance, AK does not. Result - M4 is less heavy, which is good for its purpose, but most typical problem with AK can be solved using your boot or even hammer (ok, handle, not the head). Don't try that on M4.

      Unfortunately, I think that these two design patterns will tend toward each other, ot more precisely, that Russian model will follow Western one. Lack of some resources, with cheap other resources (in Russian case, metal and oil) gives inovative ideas. But now, when resources cost everywhere more or less the same, designs will everywhere be the same.

      I would still suggest, just as a part of education, every engeener to take one standardly built device with one comparable device developed while resources were expensive. Just like AK - M4 comparison. Or, for instance, study all devices made by soldiers on front lines, or ilegal devices designed by prisoners. There is a lot to learn.
      --
      No sig today.
    2. Re:I liked this one... by ashayh · · Score: 2, Insightful

      This I should mention includes inflated costs and bribes for bureaucrats.
      You cannot compare corruption in the West to India.You have NO idea what corruption is until you see it in a country like India. As soon as you get off the airport, ask the taxi guy what does he do when a cop stops him. Start with him to learn about corruption there.

      At least in the US, corrupt officials do not play with peoples' lives. In India, trains, bridges, airports, buildings, electricity, water, military equipment, hospitals, schools, relief to disaster victims, etc.. EVERYTHING is substandard. Lack of money is not the main cause of this... its the mind bogling amount of corruption involved.

      If you know the right people, or have money, you can get away with murder, rape, genocide... ANYTHING you want.

    3. Re:I liked this one... by el-spectre · · Score: 1

      Also, the AK is significantly less accurate than an AR-15/M-16/M4

      --
      "Faith: Belief without evidence in what is told by one who speaks without knowledge, of things without parallel." - A.B.
    4. Re:I liked this one... by khallow · · Score: 1
      Also, the AK is significantly less accurate than an AR-15/M-16/M4

      That's because the gun tends to have a shorter barrel and a heavier slug. For fighting in places with a lot of clutter, eg, an urban or jungle environment, the AK-47 should do better (at least than the M-16 and AR-15) because it's bullets aren't deflected so much by obstacles.

    5. Re:I liked this one... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It (corruption) might not be on a scale as big as that of India, but Americans also "play" with people's lives. How many times have I heard that some drug was known to be problematic, yet it was released after being approved by the FDA, simply because some people's hands were greased? Who does not know that for example, to get "into" some fertile place, one has to "know" some big fish inside? What about Halliburton and today's American VP?

    6. Re:I liked this one... by rmayes100 · · Score: 1

      It's always difficult explaining to foreigners that come to the US that you can't bribe the police here (at least it would prohibitively expensive to do so). In places like India and Thailand $5 US will get you out of most traffic violations. My wife's cousin damn near went to jail here in the US when he tried to bribe his way out of a speeding ticket, he's from Thailand, it's standard practice over there.

    7. Re:I liked this one... by el-spectre · · Score: 1

      It's primarily because the Kalashnikov has (by design) extremely loose tolerances. To the point where bullets practically rattle down the barrel...

      This is good in terms of reliability, since rust/mud/whatever does little to impact ability to fire, but it screws up accuracy. In close quarters, such as urban warfare, this doesn't matter quite as much, especially if you try to counter poor accuracy w/volume of fire. The AK is very popular in the 3rd world because it is cheap and it doesn't take a marksman to spray w/a fully automatic weapon.

      --
      "Faith: Belief without evidence in what is told by one who speaks without knowledge, of things without parallel." - A.B.
    8. Re:I liked this one... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This same reasoning presumes that if an individual lives on less than a dollar a day, they must be very badly off. I visited Uganda where a meal costing 4 US dollars was more than enough for me for two days!

      So, given that you spent about two dollars per day for food, then someone with less than a dollar per day to live on is, in fact, pretty bad off.

    9. Re:I liked this one... by Lord+Ender · · Score: 1

      Ha! You are seriously implying that there is more political bribery and corruption in the USA than in Russia? That's rich!

      --
      A slashdotter who didn't build his own computer is like a Jedi who didn't build his own lightsaber.
    10. Re:I liked this one... by Scott7477 · · Score: 1

      True, but typically in infantry firefights I believe that a rifleman is not expected to take down enemy fighters one bullet at a time but rather through bursts or full auto covering fire...

      --
      "Lack of technical competence coupled with the arrogance of power, as usual, leads to no good end."
    11. Re:I liked this one... by el-spectre · · Score: 1

      True, this is also why the M16 doesn't have the range of the old M-14... you don't have to be a great marksman to use an assault weapon.

      Incidently, the second (and current) version of the M16 doesn't go full auto, cuz you can't hit shit with accuracy (and you waste a lot of ammo). I have fired 1 full auto gun (an MP5) in both single shot & full mode. Full auto put 4 rounds into the target, and about 10 into the roof. Gimme a good ol' double tap any day :)

      --
      "Faith: Belief without evidence in what is told by one who speaks without knowledge, of things without parallel." - A.B.
  32. Sucess isn't garanteed by FiReaNGeL · · Score: 4, Informative

    From what I'm seeing, it seems to me that India WANTS to be a knowledge superpower. Following the massive outsourcing of IT to their country, they are seeking for ways to do it again in other hot fields, such as bioinformatics, drug development, etc. As the poster suggested, I think they are spreading their resources too thin. Will they succeed? Only time will tell. But from what I'm seeing on most bioinformatics related boards, most young Indians wanting to get in the field are not enough informed; most of the time, they want to study in bioinformatics without knowing anything about it, just because they've been promised jobs (it's a hot topic, you know?). Most of them don't speak English fluently too, which doesn't help us informing them.

    Typical example taken from the Bioplanet forum:

    "hi everybody,
    i did my b.sc. in biotechnology(with 78%) from India & presently doing PG diploma in bioinformatics, but i confuse what will better for me, shall i do m.sc.. But i want job,so please help me by sending information about biotechnology & good colleges for doing m.sc. in Biotechnology & finally give me your valuable suggestion. ................Thankyou."

    Tons of posts like this one on bioinformatics boards, daily. I hope this represent a minority and that most Indians are better informed. There's a difference between outsourced tech support, where what you answer to the client or whether you fix his problem doesn't really matter, and being a 'knowledge superpower'. Now don't get me wrong, I hope that they'll succeed; developing fields like bioinformatics (and R&D in general) can always use more brainpower, and I don't care where it'll come from. But R&D needs money too... and tons of it.

    It's a gamble India is taking with this. No guarantee of success, but at least they're trying, investing in the future.

    1. Re:Sucess isn't garanteed by Daniel+Dvorkin · · Score: 1

      Well, hell, it wasn't that long ago that would-be bioinformatic[ists|icians]* in the US and other Western countries had the same attitude. The bioinformatics bubble, IMO, was very much like the dot-com bubble in miniature: there's real value there, and it really does have the potential to do great things, but first we had to get through the phase where world + dog sees it as the Next Big Thing and people who have no business in the field are all trying to jump in at once. Now things are finally settling down, and real work is being done. India will figure this out too.

      * I don't care. REALLY.

      --
      The correlation between ignorance of statistics and using "correlation is not causation" as an argument is close to 1.
    2. Re:Sucess isn't garanteed by FiReaNGeL · · Score: 1

      I totally agree with you! And I don't care about the 'ist/ians/icians' "controversy" either :)

    3. Re:Sucess isn't garanteed by Daniel+Dvorkin · · Score: 1

      Heh. Looks like I overtyped a little there.

      A friend of mine says, "I tell people you work with computers ... and biology ... and stuff."

      --
      The correlation between ignorance of statistics and using "correlation is not causation" as an argument is close to 1.
    4. Re:Sucess isn't garanteed by Lord+Omlette · · Score: 1

      What you don't realize is that all the posts come from the same guy :P

      --
      [o]_O
  33. One word by mattboston · · Score: 1

    NO!!!

    1. Re:One word by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      A few more words...

      The world is dynamic. India aside, look closely at China and nations that are already there (other than the US).

      If I recall correctly last year, sometime, it was reported that only 30% of patents now come from US based researchers. This figure was closer to 75% or more some 10 or 15 years ago. (Yes, vague because I don't recall the actual numbers. The trend which may have asymtoted, however, is clear.

  34. China .vs India, China Wins... by Saeed+al-Sahaf · · Score: 1

    I think China will eclipse India. While both will be taking top spots as the Western world continues to focus on financial dominance rather than technology research. But China will pull ahead simply because of numbers of brains and the fact that China is doing basic research while India is taking advantage of existing technologies, with very little basic research.

    --
    "Who are in control, they are not in control of anything - they don't even control themselves!" - Glen Beck
    1. Re:China .vs India, China Wins... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Number of brains? Get one yourself! China and India are similarly populated.

    2. Re:China .vs India, China Wins... by Saeed+al-Sahaf · · Score: 1
      Number of brains? Get one yourself! China and India are similarly populated.

      According to the CIA World Fact Book, the population of India is around 1,065,070,607, and China is around 1,298,847,624. It's less of a spread than I had thought, but a difference of 233,777,017 is, well, more than just a few.

      And anyway, the point is that China is doing more basic technology research that India. Just the way it is.

      --
      "Who are in control, they are not in control of anything - they don't even control themselves!" - Glen Beck
    3. Re:China .vs India, China Wins... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Much of this was fuelled by US investments - US government sanctioned. Near as I can tell it was policy and perhaps a fear of the differently corrupted India bureaucracy (though within a democracy). China has significant headstart that probably cannot be overcome or matched in the near term (for anyone).

    4. Re:China .vs India, China Wins... by doktor-hladnjak · · Score: 3, Informative

      True, but India's population is growing more than twice as fast as China's. CIA World Factbook gives annual rates of 1.44% for India, 0.57% for China, 0.92% for the US and Canada, and -0.45 for Russia.

  35. Re:Things are happening in that region ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful
    What you say is NOT supported by scientific facts a

    And you're a scientist? It's a well known fact that every "scientist" who says that global warming is not caused by human action has ties to oil and gas corporations. On the other hand, the evidence supporting human induced climate change is mounting.

    But you're absolutely right about Kyoto. It alone is not going to save us from global warming. We need much more drastic action and NOW, but Kyoto is a good start. Shame on America for putting economic growth first.

  36. Best of both worlds? by Doc+Ruby · · Score: 4, Insightful

    But how much of that US R&D expense is being spent in India, and how much of the produced knowledge will stay in India?

    --

    --
    make install -not war

  37. India's Mafiosos are a real Problem by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This will never be true until India gets out of the Mafia power structure mentality. Just google for stories of extortion in India. Unfortunately the USA is moving towards the Mafia direction with an attendent drop in it's productivity (ie MPAA, RIAA, Software Patents, etc).

  38. Newsflash c1630: Cheap Russian Labor for Gustav II by SparklesMalone · · Score: 2, Interesting

    So Sweden paid to provide a valuable learning experience to Indian undergrads?

  39. A growing kid by argoff · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I like to look at India like my precious daughter. She is growing 5 times faster than I am now, but she will likely not grow taller than I for quite awhile. The fundamental things holding back the USA are taxes, regulations, intellectual "property" restrictions, and just plain too much restrained freedom.

    Eventually India will reach these barriers too, and so will the rest of the world until someone finds out how to persue and implement the "next generation" of freedoms. So even though they might eventually outsize the US because of sheer population - they will probably not surpass it per/capita until the next frontier of freedom is reached. (it will probably be ocean based communities in international waters)

    1. Re:A growing kid by khallow · · Score: 1
      I like to look at India like my precious daughter. She is growing 5 times faster than I am now, but she will likely not grow taller than I for quite awhile. The fundamental things holding back the USA are taxes, regulations, intellectual "property" restrictions, and just plain too much restrained freedom.

      Well, I somewhat disagree here. The tax load just isn't that great. Sure less taxes would mean a boost, but remember the US taxes about 18% of its GDP (going up to 22% or so when you count the borrowing). Most member states of the EU (and many other countries) have considerably higher taxes than that.

      Regulations are a good point. Intellectual property and freedom IMHO hold back small businesses and entrepreneurs.

      A key point you miss is the state of education in the US. The public schools are for the most part terrible. The universities collectively are descending into mediocrity.

    2. Re:A growing kid by Tablizer · · Score: 1

      How the hell will lower taxes change anything? The fat cats will just buy 30 Mercedes instead of 20. There are already incentives to reinvest. Massive gluteny turned into hypermassive glutteny will not change anything.

    3. Re:A growing kid by argoff · · Score: 1

      Well, I somewhat disagree here. The tax load just isn't that great. Sure less taxes would mean a boost, but remember the US taxes about 18% of its GDP (going up to 22% or so when you count the borrowing). Most member states of the EU (and many other countries) have considerably higher taxes than that.

      What are you talking about, I would die for 18% or even 22% tax. Between property, sales, state income, federal income, 100's of misc taxes, and social security (which may as well be a tax for anyone under 50, because they'll never see a penny of it - not to mention that you are taxed on it both before and after you get a paycheck). Between all that I could easially end up paying 40 to 60 % of my income.

      Also the public school system in the USA is so bad because it's paid for in a way that has absolutely no direct accountablilty. You don't see these problems in US private schools. To the extent that India uses public schools, thy'll end up suffering these problems too.

    4. Re:A growing kid by khallow · · Score: 2, Informative
      What are you talking about, I would die for 18% or even 22% tax. Between property, sales, state income, federal income, 100's of misc taxes, and social security (which may as well be a tax for anyone under 50, because they'll never see a penny of it - not to mention that you are taxed on it both before and after you get a paycheck). Between all that I could easially end up paying 40 to 60 % of my income.

      So? (to use my most common cliche on slashdot) I wasn't kidding when I said that taxes are very low in the US. Most GDP gains ends up in capital investments in business while most taxes are on income. It surprised me when I found out about it.

      Hmmm, also I wasn't counting state and local taxes, except to say those taxes can vary quite radically from location to location. Here's an OECD table that shows the US tax burden at roughly 25% of GDP (which compares with other members of the OECD).

      Also the public school system in the USA is so bad because it's paid for in a way that has absolutely no direct accountablilty. You don't see these problems in US private schools. To the extent that India uses public schools, thy'll end up suffering these problems too.

      Most countries don't have the sort of problems that the US does with public schools. But yes, I agree. Private schools are a lot better.

    5. Re:A growing kid by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Lower taxes mean less money in government and less corruption.

      The fat cats already OWN the government outright (as well as the courts and the laws).

      As you put it, hypermassive gluttony will not change anything. Better break out with the liposuction and the knife.

    6. Re:A growing kid by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Way back in the 80s, I had commented that India was a powerhouse economy waiting to happen. That much education (granted, mostly in the upper classes) and you had to expect something good to come out of it (or a bunch of deranged philosophers, but still...).

      As the US has settled down to a nice fat middle age, it makes me wonder if India will repeat the mistakes of their parents.

      I am still awed by the potential. I just hope the admiration isn't bittersweet.

  40. Four words by Billobob · · Score: 1, Insightful

    The Indian Institute(s) of Technology.

    --
    If you have to ask, you'll never know.
    1. Re:Four words by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Which one of those isn't a word?

    2. Re:Four words by roror · · Score: 1

      I allow you to drop "The". Other words are necessary.

  41. India = CMM5 by hacked · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Most companies in India are certified CMM level 5 (the highest level) using the Software Engineering Institute (SEI) conceptual maturity model. Most companies in the US are certified CMM level 3. This says a lot.

    1. Re:India = CMM5 by KontinMonet · · Score: 3, Interesting

      It says absolutely nothing. The number of (useless) people I interviewed from CMM5 companies whilst I was based in India proved to me that their CMM certs were an illusory wallpapering solely to impress ignorant Western purchasers.

      --
      Did he inhale?
    2. Re:India = CMM5 by Xyrus · · Score: 1

      Yeah. It says the CMMI isn't all it's cracked up to be.

      No matter how much "process" you enforce, it will not make a madiocre programmer a good programmer or a good programmer a great programmer.

      I've seen this first hand. CMMI has a way of stifling a lot of creativity because you spend more time writing down everything than experiementing and finding new and innovative solutions.

      Don't get me wrong, some of the key practices are quite useful, even necessary for large projects. But a significant fraction of it is, for lack of better words, idealistically ignorant.

      CMMI was based on a whole bunch of research conducted by Carnegie-Mellon into what the best engineering practices were by conducting surveys of major corporations.

      They did well on depth, but not breadth. They left out some of the young pioneering guys. They tried to make a one-size-fits-all model that would essentially render engineering more like an assembly line. The CMMI slogan is there are no heroes. Everyone is a component of a machine. No one is any more valuable than anyone else.

      This naive idealism about engineering, of course, is 100% incorrect. Like any profession, some parts can be streamlined or nailed down into a fixed pattern. But I have yet to work on any project where it could not have survived without the aid of exceptional talent and dedication.

      In other words, creativity, inspiration, leadership, and innovation do not follow process.

      Process is expensive. For each KPA, there is overhead. Documentation adds up. Managers must learn how the metrics apply. People have to be hired to manage the process. It could be argued that the cost of process is only worth it if it offsets the cost of your inefficiencies. Sometimes that is not the case, or there are better methods.

      Learn about CMMI. Take the parts that are useful and throw the rest out. It's a source of ideas.

      But don't ever asssume that just because a company is CMMI 5 means that they're any better than a CMMI 3 company.

      That is unless you think you can measure a programmer strictly by lines of code and pages of documentation he developes per month.

      ~X~

      --
      ~X~
    3. Re:India = CMM5 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      While they may be smarter (tests don't prove much) they still can't communicate for shit.
      I'm a little mad mostly becuase I've been lied to TWICE (yes, proven on tape) by them. At least the Americans know they're stupid... (yes, I've had friends that work in tech support for Dell)

    4. Re:India = CMM5 by YrWrstNtmr · · Score: 1
      Having been on CMM Level 2 and 3 cert teams while in the US Air Force, I can say that your statement "Most companies in India are certified CMM level 5" is absolute crap. Level 5 is incredibly hard to get right. It takes years to do. You have to build up a history of process management and consistent development style, not just a one time shot.

      If your statement (numerous Level 5's) is anywhere near true, it probably speaks to faking and corruption within the cert teams and local certification process, rather than actual CMM Level 5 process management. Not denigrating Indian developers and project managers, but I simply don't believe your Level 5 claim.

      In front of a truly independant cert team, even faking it is incredibly hard.

    5. Re:India = CMM5 by nazzdeq · · Score: 1

      CMM doesn't mean shit. I currently work with Indian firms where we design the software and they build it.

      Let me tell you the quality of code they write is apalling.

      It seems that they just cram anyone into a Java class over there.

      They're no where close to becoming a knowledge superpower. All they do is what outsourcing companies tell them. There's nothing original in that.

    6. Re:India = CMM5 by kevinbr · · Score: 1

      50% of all CMM Level 5 companies are in India. It is prized perhaps more than in the US.

    7. Re:India = CMM5 by kevinbr · · Score: 1
      Having worked with Indian CMM level 5 companies, what I find is there is an impedence mismatch. The Indian companies have tons of process to be fed before the works starts......so the work never starts.

      Usually the company looking to outsource just wants cheap smart programmers, and ignores the internal lack of process. If they could fix their bad organization they might not need to outsource.

      One Indian company get the rating and used it to get business and then the rest jumped on the bandwagon.

      Make sure if you outsource, you partner with a compnay that gives you what you need. If you want cheap programming stay away from CMM organizations. If you have deadlines stay away....

    8. Re:India = CMM5 by sql*kitten · · Score: 0, Troll

      Most companies in India are certified CMM level 5 (the highest level) using the Software Engineering Institute (SEI) conceptual maturity model. Most companies in the US are certified CMM level 3. This says a lot.

      Well, I've worked with a subsidiary that's CMM level 5. They got this without ever having completed a major project - literally the office was physically built, a bunch of recent grads were hired, 6 months later they announced they were CMM level 5. You don't even need an external auditor apparently, you just declare yourself to be.

      The people rating themselves level 3 are probably the ones who've actually done some major projects and realized that good intentions rarely survive contact with real-world projects, and have answered the questions with what they DID rather than what they think they ought to do should they ever do some real work. I'll take an experienced level 3 over a rookie level 5 any day.

      Maybe one day I'll run a tech company - and anyone spouting CMM bullshit will immediately be shown the door.

    9. Re:India = CMM5 by rossifer · · Score: 1

      Most companies in India are certified CMM level 5 (the highest level) using the Software Engineering Institute (SEI) conceptual maturity model.

      I worked with a "CMM Level 5" outsourcing company for the last year. When I visited the office to mentor the team on the software we were developing, I found absolutely none of the "learning organization" features that I would expect from a CMM Level 3 organization. Heck, I couldn't even find the process improvement awareness that I would expect from a CMM Level 2 organization.

      They hired the people they could find and provided them with good equipment and effective communication. That was pretty much it. The amount of process mentoring going on was minimal. Most of the team crosstalk was about acquiring certifications and skills, and even that was pretty lightweight stuff. CMM Level 5 was an outright falsehood.

      CMM Level 5 is very difficult to achieve, and IMHO, is of dubious value at best. The CMM rulebook denigrates what I firmly believe in: creativity and intelligence are what succeed, not conformity and the willingness to keep cranking at the wheel. NASA has CMM Level 5 teams, but those teams are still using 1980's technology because that's as fast as their process allows them to move.

      Color me unimpressed (that's a shade of pale cyan :)

      Regards,
      Ross

    10. Re:India = CMM5 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Seeing as yet another Indian consultant from a CMM5 company just F'd up a whole weekend's worth of database maintenance, I'd say your CMM5 cert isn't worth as much as the Cottenelle I use to wipe my ass with.

  42. What happened to buy "Made In America" by HockeyPuck · · Score: 1

    Y'know we used to take pride in "Made In America" whether it be clothes or cars. Odd how we'd rather outsource to another country employing 1000s in the foreign country so a few (read: execs) in American can prosper.

    If the US is turning into more of a consumer based economy by importing more and less of a producer/exporter, then where does our income come from? What will these countries by from us besides food?

    -HockeyPuck-> .

  43. China not really 1 big block of anything. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    I think India would be less splitered culturally than China. While to most westerners China is just one nation it's really a huge mish-mash of cultures and languages - it's no gross exaggeration to say that in many instances somone living there can't understand the local language of someone who's only like an hours drive away.
    Imagine someone from Detroit being totally unintelligible to someone from Chicago? (Ok, bad example).

    1. Re:China not really 1 big block of anything. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Well, almost all people can understand Mandarin, the official dialect. Cultures may be different, but almost all of them profess to be of Han people.

    2. Re:China not really 1 big block of anything. by Usquebaugh · · Score: 1

      Go look up caste as it applies to india.

    3. Re:China not really 1 big block of anything. by poningru · · Score: 1

      Unfortunately so is India, they have around 26 states last I checked (they split like superman in a kryptonite mine) many of these states speak in Hindi (the national language) but most of these states have their own specific language(Kerala->Malayalam, TamilNadu->Tamil etc.) Now buisiness isnt really hampered by this since the education system teaches english at an early age and almost all the government is supposed to operate in the english language (theoretically, not in reallity). So it is more splintered than china but this doesnt matter to westerners since almost everyone can speak english. Now china is attempting to do the same by mandating english in their classrooms etc. (no direct experience only word of mouth, could be chinese propoganda spewing)

      --
      Calm down people, its a religion not an operating system.
  44. The time has come... by devadutta · · Score: 1

    Indians, according to me, were attracted to U.S because of the kind of opportunities(and pay scales) they got there. But now, the Indian politicians are finally showing some maturity and are waking up to encourage Indian talent. This is partly because of our president, who is a missile scientist himself. With a full fledged effort from both the civilians and the leaders,India will become a knowledge superpower very soon.

    1. Re:The time has come... by KontinMonet · · Score: 1

      ...and Maggie Thatcher was a chemist. Look where that got us. I bet all my karma points she'll eventually be denoted the worst PM of the 20th century.

      --
      Did he inhale?
    2. Re:The time has come... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      > Look where that got us. I bet all my karma points [Maggie Thatcher will] eventually be denoted the worst PM of the 20th century.

      Two words: Neville Chamberlain

      Now where's my karma?

    3. Re:The time has come... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This is partly because of our president, who is a missile scientist himself.

      In a parliamentary democracy, the president has no worthwhile power. So thats an invalid point.

      For India to become a knowledge superpower you need to treat your women and lower castes properly. Until that happens, the knowledge superpower thing will be a buzz word used to fool and feed useless ego into the minds of impoverished people.

    4. Re:The time has come... by KontinMonet · · Score: 1

      Actually, a MORI poll considered Anthony Eden the worst. MT has an entry at number 3 in the 2003 List of "100 Worst Britons" (sponsored by Channel Four and also voted for by the public).

      But I'm sanguine, another 25 years and the majority of academic reports and the public will agree with me.

      --
      Did he inhale?
  45. As Someone who just came back from India... by AnyLoveIsGoodLove · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I took a trip to the south of India (Kerala, Banglore, and Channai (Madras). I spent a month and for the most parts avoided the tourist areas. My inlaws live far away from the nearest town in Kerala.

    discoslure:

    I'm a 31 year old white male whose worked in the computer industry since I graduated from college.

    A few General Observations:

    What India has going for them....

    1) I've never seen a country so utterly focused on education (remember I spent my time in the South). Education is the only way out for Indians. The pressure is unbelievable for young people to perform in school. Everywhere you go you see signs for schools / education

    2) English is spoken fluently among the college educated. English is the language of business in the south (in major cities, white collar type of work) b/c there are 19 "official" languages with an unbelievable number of dialects. Combine with the business process outsourcing (BPO), and you get a lot of focus around English language skills. I tried to learn the local dialect, but everyone wanted to practice English...

    3) India graduates over 1 M engineers a year. There schools are extremely competitive. Areas such as Kerala have a 100% literacy rate, this meets or exceeds any Western country...

    4) Motivation and drive. It's amazing what people will do to better themselves. This motivation and drive provides the foundation for the above. Spending a week in Bangalore was absolutely refreshing (and the food was great). To see all the young people full of life and excited was contagious... I can't wait to go back. I love seeing all the tech companies signs....

    5) Economics. The largest middle class in the World, in sheer numbers. In India, it takes 2,000 USD a year to achieve a middle class lifestyle, that's ~1,500 EUR and ~1200 UK sterling. This middle class will drive the world's manufacturers to provide low priced quality goods, and the whole world will benefit.

    6) Politics. Democracy works, although its not neccessarliy the kind the US imagines. A diverse group of cultures / languages get a long in a basic sense. Is it perfect no, but it gives me hope for places like Iraq.

    What Challenges are ahead for India

    1) Education: The focus on engineering has led to a culture that is not entrepreneur focused. It takes a diverse set of skills to move out of the BPO / Manufacturing mindset. Take Apple's IPOD. It took American design and a world wide supply chain to make this happen. The key is the design. That's what makes a product sell, manufacturing is important, but if you don't move up the chain, you will always have difficultly. Note to engineers: Get jobs that are customer facing and can't be outsourced...

    2) Gaps There are 100's of Millions still in dire poverty and extreme education. If the middle class and the rich get too far ahead of the rest of the country, I think there will be a lot of social unrest.

    3) Environment. India is a shit hole to put it nicely. If they don't clean up sooner rather than later, India will face a lot of health care cost for the population. Also, in Kerala, fresh water is an issue.

    It's the old problem of changing mindsets. The tech version is a company that sold hardware and now wants to sell software or services only. Its huge change and most fail.

    That's it I look forward to replies to others who have been to the south and I'm curious what your opinions are...

    I loved it and I can't wait to go back......

    --
    "It's technical in a psychometric kind a way" -- C. Parish
    1. Re:As Someone who just came back from India... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      I really think this post hits on something. If India is to become a knowledge superpower, won't knowledgable people expect more than the shithole they currently live in. And if they do, then won't things get more expensive over there?

    2. Re:As Someone who just came back from India... by Tablizer · · Score: 1

      Spending a week in Bangalore was absolutely refreshing (and the food was great). To see all the young people full of life and excited was contagious...

      Kind of reminds ya of the days we had computer jobs :-)

      One thing I really wonder about is the socialistic tendancies of India. Unless there is some trickle-down, those who feel they are not getting the benefits are not going to be very happy. If socialism is put in place, it may reduce the motivation and wages of those who bust their balls trying to get ahead.

      One Indian outsourcer said after receiving hate-mail from unemployed US programmers he was surprised that the US govmt offered almost zilch assistence for those displaced by lower-wage countries.

      The US is just about the only country that has tolerated heavy dog-eat-dog Darwinian capitalism for a fairly long period of time. I don't think India will do the same, based on its history. When the fruits of capitalism stop flowing, such as during a deep recession or yet cheaper countries taking their share, they may opt for more socialism.

    3. Re:As Someone who just came back from India... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Not everyone has the same standards of "quality of life" as we do here in the US, where EXCESSIVE CONSUMPTION is a God given right.

    4. Re:As Someone who just came back from India... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      In short, you liked the chicks.

    5. Re:As Someone who just came back from India... by ashayh · · Score: 1

      Also, in Kerala, fresh water is an issue.
      Umm.. its an issue everywhere. Including Bombay. In my parents apartment building in bombay, the residents bribed the town officials to get 24hr water. The nearby slums suffer in silence (and thirst).
      At the rate people are destroying water reserves and the enviroment, I predict a massive health care crisis in 25 years.

    6. Re:As Someone who just came back from India... by rsidd · · Score: 5, Insightful
      They have 160 million Dalits ("untouchables")

      Whoa there. Caste-based discrimination was outlawed back in 1950 when independent India's new constitution was adopted (less than three years after independence) and has in fact nearly vanished in the cities (except in some things like marriage), though it persists in many rural areas. Now check out how long after independence the US persisted with slavery, how long after that the US failed to extend civil rights to blacks, how long after 1950 it took for the civil rights movement to have an impact, what the current state of racial relations is in the major cities of the US, leave alone the rural south. Then come back and comment on India's Dalits.

    7. Re:As Someone who just came back from India... by YU+Nicks+NE+Way · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Sorry, rsidd, but your analgoy between the Dalits and the freed slaves in the US is more apt than you know. There's a clear caste boundary, and there's clear oppression of the Dalits throughout both urban and rural India. Jim Crow is alive and well there.

    8. Re:As Someone who just came back from India... by khallow · · Score: 1
      Not everyone has the same standards of "quality of life" as we do here in the US, where EXCESSIVE CONSUMPTION is a God given right.

      So? Standards will rise as income continues to rise.

    9. Re:As Someone who just came back from India... by gimpboy · · Score: 1

      Now check out how long after independence the US persisted with slavery, how long after that the US failed to extend civil rights to blacks, how long after 1950 it took for the civil rights movement to have an impact, what the current state of racial relations is in the major cities of the US, leave alone the rural south. Then come back and comment on India's Dalits.

      I don't think you could make the same claims if India had garnered its independence at the same time US did.The world has changed alot in a couple hundred years, and to ignore this fact when drawing analogies is synical and dishonest.

      Now, while caste based descrimination has been outlawed in India, that doesn't mean it does not exist. While I haven't been to India as you have, I do have many friends from there. According to them, there is a lot of descrimination, even in the cities. They are also slightly resentful of the affirmative action like placement of people from lower castes into universities --- which wouldn't be necessary if there wasn't a systematic problem.

      --
      -- john
    10. Re:As Someone who just came back from India... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      There's much more that 160 million. The OBC's (other backward classes) form 49.5% of the total population. Some 22.5 % form another chunk of oppressed people. Caste system is not only alive but its brutal in almost all parts of rural India (where 70% if Indians live). And its exists very well in urban India and plays a role in all aspects of life. In the south of India even muslims and christians (converted Hindus) have castes!

      Who are you kidding? Copying a constitution from the British code of law does not eliminate a 4000 year old system.

    11. Re:As Someone who just came back from India... by vistic · · Score: 1

      I'm a 23 year old white male... and just got back from a month in India (Delhi and some parts of Rajasthan)...

      I don't know how India can quite get on track to become a really nice place to live at this point. In Delhi especially I noticed that no one cared at all to obey any traffic laws whatsoever... people use any place as their bathroom... there were lots of slums and beggars...

      Delhi is building a big mass transit el-train (the delhi metro)... and even the recently completed parts of it seemed like it was pretty shoddy construction.

      I have to give them credit... and the people were very nice and generally very happy over there.

      But they deserve better than what they've currently got. And to me it seems that growth and expansion can only hurt them at this point... they need to clean up and get some sense of order in their government (and do away with all the corruption and stupid Hindu/Muslim or North/South prejudices they have) before they can think about expanding.

      It's like a seed... right now it's a dirty, corrupt, defunct seed that can only grow into a dirtier, more corrupt and defunct tree... but if they take the time now (actually they should have done it years ago) to clean up so that they have a clean, honest, functioning seed... it will grow into a cleaner, more honest and functional tree.

      Currently I fear for India's future.

    12. Re:As Someone who just came back from India... by AnyLoveIsGoodLove · · Score: 1

      I do have a special place in my heart for Indian woman.... I married one...

      --
      "It's technical in a psychometric kind a way" -- C. Parish
    13. Re:As Someone who just came back from India... by vistic · · Score: 1

      Look at any Indian newspaper in the matrimony section and check out how many people mention their caste (oooh, a brahman!) or their "fair" skintone...

      I was in a small village and heard a story about some lower caste (just lower, not untouchables) people who were recently killed for getting a drink from this village's well.

      There's no reason to bring up the US since no one was pretending the US doesn't have problems. But just because other countries have problems, doesn't mean that what's going on in India is ok or acceptable. It's no justification to say "oh yah, well look at what you guys did!"... it does not make it right.

    14. Re:As Someone who just came back from India... by AnyLoveIsGoodLove · · Score: 1

      You could have easily just described late 19th century New York, London, Paris etc... India is catching up to western standards very quickly. This speed is also the major contribution to pollution, water problems etc. We take a lot for granted in the US, fresh water, access to health care (at least an emergency room) and public schools. It was not always so in the US. For many parts of the US, these have only come fairly recently ( 50 years).

      My in-laws told me the India of the south is very different than the north. We So I have not seen the extreme poverty in the cities in the north.

      I guess I'm just an optimist, I think India's own people will force the changes in labor, environment etc, much like we did over here. It will be a difficult fight, but there is nothing inherently different about India that she won't be able to suceceed, much like we have. Again, it might not be pretty, but it will get done.

      --
      "It's technical in a psychometric kind a way" -- C. Parish
    15. Re:As Someone who just came back from India... by vistic · · Score: 1

      You're right... that could have described the cities you mentioned in the late 19th century...

      I just hope it's truly analogous to India today... and there's not something fundamentally different between those times and the present day... such as the nature of the industries that's driving the expansion. Or the existing infrastructure of these governments... or the huge difference in population size between, say, 19th century New York and present day Delhi.

      I think everyone wishes India the best... I just really hope they can do it.

    16. Re:As Someone who just came back from India... by TheConsultant · · Score: 1

      That is right on the dot! And one of the best analyses I've seen in a long time.

      I'm an Indian working for the High-tech arena in the States. Allow me add my two cents to this discussion. I've presented a the discussion with comparisons to the US references, so that it makes more sense to the majority to readership -

      The Things that say there's going to be good music tomorrow morning -

      1. Perfect observation on the education system. I've often heard the cries of (very educated and enlightened) Indians about the uselessness of Education system that is propagated in India. But, believe me when I say that the competitiveness index to get into one of the better schools (Esp. professional education schools) is among the TOUGHEST I've seen anywhere in the world. The education system highlights competition in the most aggressive form and that shows when engineers and doctors from these schools work their way in the world. (Wishful thinking - If even an iota of this was visible in the entrepreneurship domain, there would be many truly global business houses based of India today).

      2. A truly global economy is building up today. It's not just the knowledge industry that serves as an outlet to this, but also niches in manufacturing and also the burgeoning import market that the country is propagating.

      3. The most successful expatriate population in the world (I know the industrious Chinese are not to be discounted in any manner, but when I must add - with all due respect - that there is an element of state persecution that had many Chinese emigrate. Indians did it purely for economic reasons - long term benefits on personal bank accounts and inward remittances to the country would show up).

      4. Last, but not the least, the key word - D E M O C R A C Y (that's a fav word on many media channels nowadays!: ) ). Maturity of the Indian democracy is truly amazing (Remember ladies and gentlemen, Indians have had just over 50 years of experience in the domain as compared to a much longer democratic history of the United Sates). Should an investor be worried that the state would tomorrow decide all of a sudden to promulgate a negative policy? The answer is no. Indian political system, despite all its grave misgivings, ensures a great leveler - the vote. Any decision that has a negative impact on inward investment (and consequently on the local economic situation) would show up as a vote sooner or later in the ballot box. If there's anyone who didn't know this, recent Indian elections presented a ballot where an Italian born woman could have been the Prime Minister of a nation with a billion (non-Italian born!) Indians. And no - unlike the US, India has never even been an immigrant nation in modern history! Some call it demeaning or even self-defeating attitude, but I call it acceptance at its height. Maturity of the democratic process can reach no greater heights (never mind the personal irk I had with the results!: ) )

      The Things that say there's going to be loud crashes tonite -

      1. If there's one arena where India truly lacks the strategic thought that is the infrastructure. There's ample reason - traditionally Indian governments have been run (and brought down) on a variety if issues, efficiency has never been one of them. Whenever there is innovation, individuals who had true entrepreneurship spirit capitalized and moved ahead. Governments have to be conducive to this process (The United States is a perfect example). This is totally lacking in the Indian context. But, it doesn't take much to change this. As I said before, it's just an issue of awareness - and it could be as near as the next ballot.

      2. War. It's a bad word, as most sane people would agree round the world. But in the modern day context, war does not always mean mobilization of nukes and tanks - it means an attack on the sense of security of the general public. The act of terrorism serves to affect economic situation anywhere on the planet. Military action always does not answer the

    17. Re:As Someone who just came back from India... by Intetsu · · Score: 1

      Hey "AnyLove.."

      So, I just got back from Kerala. I am a 29 year-old, American raised, Keralite who has worked in IT industry now in Law School. I agree with most of your Positives...

      1. Agreed. It is really hard to impress on people in the States how focused Malayalee's (The native term for Keralites) are on education. Here is an anecdote,... My mother-in-law was shocked when I told here there are people in the US that DON'T go to college. I had to explain to her, that we need people to flip burgers.

      2.Agreed

      3.Agreed. The competition is Intense. Law school is cake compared to what some of my cousins go through. You are ranked on State-wide exams. The top 100 students can easily get a free medical school education. That is quite a bit of motivation...

      4. Agreed, with a caveat... they are motivated, but they are motivated by money. This has a LOT of negatives... I can't even trust some of my blood relations. They make an automatic assumption that since I live in the States, I'm loaded.

      5. Agreed. Every family in Kerala I know has a car, has a cell phone, etc. They are becoming a consumer economy. With all the negatives that come with it too...

      6. DISagree. Politics in Kerala, and India as a whole SUCKS. Most politicians keep private armies of "gundas" (thugs) to cover their backs. Politicians are there to line their pockets. Everyone is in the political "game" for themselves.

      BUT

      The number one challenge that India faces from my perspective is the abject failure of LAW and ORDER. Both the police and the legal system are terrible. Don't even bother trying to file for medical malpractice...you'd get laughed out of court. Hopefully, as the middle class starts getting wealthier they will be able to start demanding proper (unbribable) police protection, but that will take a long time in coming. In the mean time, mobsters, politicians, and thugs rule the streets. Watch your backs, don't go out at night AT ALL if your a woman, keep your jewellery in the bank, and don't trust your fellow man. THAT is the greatest problem in India.

    18. Re:As Someone who just came back from India... by robinsc · · Score: 2, Informative

      Note that there are advantages to being a member of the untouchable castes in india today due to the government policy of reservation of govnt jobs. So much so that many non dalit youths resorted to self immolation in protest against the mandal commission report. Basically being untouchable is looked at by many as a free meal ticket and there used to be a rampant industry of fake caste certificates especially in bihar.

      --
      Linkedin http://in.linkedin.com/in/robinsaikatchatterjee
  46. It's a cultural thing. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I agree with you totally.

    We have a culture where anybody can innovate. Look at all the companies that started out in someone's garage. There is the idea that anyone can do anything, the idea that a kid from the worst ghetto might someday become the president. Other cultures don't have that idea. It's a precious idea. The greatness of our culture and economy are based on it.

    Having said the above, innovation requires certain conditions. People need enough economic surplus to be able to devote their time to something that may not pan out. People need a good enough education to be able to innovate. If we have a society where you go to school and then have to work two jobs to pay off your student loans, you don't have the surplus (time, money) to innovate; you have become a wage slave. If you have to sell your business to pay your doctor, you can't innovate. If you can't get a decent job because you grew up in a ghetto and the cops made sure that everyone had a criminal record, you can't innovate. If the Microsofts and Walmarts crush your budding business, you can't innovate.

    The bottom line is that while I agree that we out-innovate the rest of the world, I sure wouldn't take that for granted in the future.

    1. Re:It's a cultural thing. by pommiekiwifruit · · Score: 4, Insightful
      There is the idea that anyone can do anything, the idea that a kid from the worst ghetto might someday become the president. Other cultures don't have that idea.

      No, other cultures just actually do it, rather than pretending that they do. I mean how many black presidents has the US had? How many women? How many working class? It's not like Poland or the UK or New Zealand or other countries where normal people can become president; you need to be a multi-millionaire to have a chance (since TV advertising is expensive).

    2. Re:It's a cultural thing. by gimpboy · · Score: 1

      I tend to agree with your overally point. However, there are a few exceptions. Clinton is the first to come to mind. He came from a broken white trash family in Arkansas. This isn't ment in a negative way --- I came from a broken white trash family in Arkansas ;). He did have powerfully weathly people backing him though.

      --
      -- john
    3. Re:It's a cultural thing. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Clinton was our first black president. And one could argue that either Nancy Reagan or Hillary Clinton was our first women president.

    4. Re:It's a cultural thing. by drxray · · Score: 1

      I'm still waiting till we have a black Queen of England :)

      --
      Slashdot - Mutual Assured Discussion
    5. Re:It's a cultural thing. by RTMFD · · Score: 1

      One Name: Condoleeza Rice

      (aka, one of the most powerful women in the world, arguably has more power now than Maggie Thatcher did back in her day.)

  47. Re:Nope! They are not! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    And apparently his class
    speaks at least one foreign language.

  48. More to the problem than R&D spending. by JPriest · · Score: 1

    A lot of it has to do with "keeping with the Jones's". Citizens in the us are happy living in their comfort zone, it is not disgraceful to be supported by government aid or drop out of school. People of the US are mostly fat, lazy, and happy.

    --
    Saying Java is nice because it works on all OS's is like saying that anal sex is nice because it works on all genders.
    1. Re:More to the problem than R&D spending. by JPriest · · Score: 1

      Oh, and the "keeping with the Jones's" is something people are less concerned about today.

      --
      Saying Java is nice because it works on all OS's is like saying that anal sex is nice because it works on all genders.
    2. Re:More to the problem than R&D spending. by caltman · · Score: 1

      What an ignorant generalization. I'm guessing you're from somewhere other than the US because you couldn't have drawn the conclusion that we're "fat,lazy and happy" if you live here.

    3. Re:More to the problem than R&D spending. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Maybe it just depends which part of the country you live in. People around here (NY) are rarely more dedicated than just showing up for work and going through the motions. I tend to see a much more dedicated and professional work ethic with the Indians I have met.

    4. Re:More to the problem than R&D spending. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And as I said (but not clearly) is that in our socialist/liberal society that money is no longer as important of a status symbol as it once was.

    5. Re:More to the problem than R&D spending. by uujjj · · Score: 1

      Yes, Americans are fat. Yes, they are happy unless you ask them about anything specific (wife, government, job). However, Americans work longer hours than most people in industrialized countries.

    6. Re:More to the problem than R&D spending. by caltman · · Score: 1

      The US is not a socialist/liberal society. I do get the impression that NY is socialist/liberal but I'm in Virginia and and the amount of capitalism and competition is huge. I see no lack of ambition from my neighbors or my peers. With that said, I work with Indians too and they are clearly as hungry as us to get ahead.

  49. Europe publishes twice as many science papers by Cryofan · · Score: 4, Interesting
    According to this study, the so-called "social democracies" of Europe do far better at publishing peer-reviewed papers when you compare them to America on a per-capita basis. The social democracies of Belgium, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland published 2 papers in peer-reviewed journals for every 1 by America, when you correct for population. Here is a news story covering the study.


    The above mentioned countries have a population of 53 million and generated 12.7% of papers, while America, with a population of 288M, published 34%.


    One might speculate whether the social democracies with their high taxes and well-funded universities do more hardcore research. Here in America it seems that research is aimed more at the low-lying, commercially-viable fruit.

    --
    eat shiat and bark at the moon
    1. Re:Europe publishes twice as many science papers by Quantum+Fizz · · Score: 1
      The above mentioned countries have a population of 53 million and generated 12.7% of papers, while America, with a population of 288M, published 34%.

      Huh? Did you even read that first link you posted? Firstly, they analyed both number of publications AND number of citations, but the focus was more on citations than publications. Usually it's citations that ar measured for 'quality' of published work, because as my advisor told me the other day, it's relatively easy to publish a large number of shoddy works.

      [On a side note, my advisor made an amusing metaphor. She related scientific publishing to Hollywood. Namely, if an actor doesn't appear in a movie for a few years and then stars in something good, his/her career doesn't really suffer even though they were out of the spotlight for awhile. But if an actor, trying to keep their presence, stars in mediocre movie after mediocre movie, their reputation will really take a beating. So too in science, it's better to publish really good meaningful papers than shoddy repetitive articles just to get publications through the door.]

      Anyway, the numbers you mention that I quoted in this post are misleading, because they shouldn't be normalized to the size of the whole population, but the size of the population of scientists. Maybe those countries have a higher density of scientists, which would be a tidbit of information worthy in itself. I actually don't know the population of scientists in the countries you listed, but there's no reason to normalize to the total population.

      The size of a country's population is irrevelent to a scientist doing research, what really matters is the size and quality of the scientific community they're working within. Renormalize your numbers to this size, and that's the figure that counts.

      One might speculate whether the social democracies with their high taxes and well-funded universities do more hardcore research. Here in America it seems that research is aimed more at the low-lying, commercially-viable fruit.

      Not necessarily true at all, why would you say Europe is studying more hard-core research than America? Where are you living, where have you done research, and in what field? In my field (experimental condensed matter physics) I routinely read related publications from institutions around the globe (eg US, Netherlands, France, Russia, etc) and there's really no observable difference at all between the focus, relevence, or quality of the research amongst these countries. Actually, many papers are jointly written, with authors residing in different countries anyway, so things really do blend together.

      It's kind of ironic, but to those of us actually within the scientific community, we're all for collaborative international progress, all trying to further scientific knowledge in general, and not playing stupid nationalistic favorites. The people that usually claim "my country is scientifically superior than yours, nya nya nya" are typically those not within the fields, trying to ride of the successes of others.

    2. Re:Europe publishes twice as many science papers by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      >The people that usually claim "my country is scientifically superior than yours, nya nya nya" are typically those not within the fields, trying to ride of the successes of others.

      Sadly enough, that's mostly americans doing this. And this research would help educate the americans in this.. it is not Europe who claims to be superior in the world.. we remain fairly humble, compared to america.

      Ask the average american about who is superior, in science, medical care (availability especially) or educational standards, and I bet you majority will say US.

      However, the only research that compares educational standards, is TIMMS, joint effort among different particiapting countries, with main office at Boston college.

      Prooves scandinavian countries, netherlands, norway, sweden, are almost always in the top 3 in sciences and the US is very very low.. especially when you look at younger aged kids, the US is way way on the bottom 5 of around 30 countries.

    3. Re:Europe publishes twice as many science papers by Quantum+Fizz · · Score: 1
      Sadly enough, that's mostly americans doing this. And this research would help educate the americans in this.. it is not Europe who claims to be superior in the world.. we remain fairly humble, compared to america.

      well, the majority of country bashing i encounter on slashdot tends to be anti-US. Most notably in attempts to prove that something else is better in Europe or elsewhere.

      Ask the average american about who is superior, in science, medical care (availability especially) or educational standards, and I bet you majority will say US.

      And similarly, ask the average European who is superior in science, medical care, or educational standards, and I bet you a majority will say Europe.

      The current atmosphere here on slashdot, at least, appears to say that pro-US nationalism is bad, being nationalistic for almost any other country is just fine. Myself, I'm stuck in the middle because I know there are many other countries doing things much better than the US, but it's also annoying to hear citizens of these counties being cocky, bashing regular Americans, or just trying to find any way to belittle the US for no apparent reason. sigh.

      And yes, you're right, Scandinavian countries are very good in the sciences, but the original poster was drawing conclusions that didn't logically follow from the data.

  50. R&D expenditure by l0b0 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    It could be very interesting to know how much is used for non-military R&D, and compare that to the rest of the world...

  51. Here's what would happen by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Well, considering Vinod Khosla would sell his own mother for a buck, let alone screw over the country which gave him opportunity, we'd probably be better off.

    Let the crooks stay offshore.

    And yes, I've met the man personally.

  52. R&D spending or R&D achievements? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Who cares how much India spends on R&D? What actually counts is what RESULTS are obtained. American companies and governmental agencies spend vast sums doing R&D, often with foreign nationals (including Indians) on the R&D teams. When the results are in, when some breakthrough is achieved, or when some product or device or technique is developed, the foreigners can go home and take the information with them. Net cost of that R&D to their homeland = zero.

  53. Re:Nope! They are not! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    May be that happened due to the excellent English spoken at your university? May be in the eligibility/qualifications your UNI asked for 'mayor's and 'batchelor's and got what they asked for!?

  54. China may have the edge over India by teaDrunk · · Score: 0

    China can be the knowledge super power everyone else should worry about, more than India. The only thing that could hold them back is their own heavy fisted policies against spread of news/information etc, & that rises from paranoia (like all autocracies). What helps them is that they may be more disciplined than most other countries with potential, like India.

  55. What about American research centeres in India? by xot · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Most of the bigger companies have research centers based in India.And HUGE onnes.Most of them are based inthe south, in or around Bangalore.Theres GE,IBM,HP,Microsoft etc..
    Not only does the American company benefit from these R&D centers due to the cheap & skilled labour(does research count as labour?) but so does India as it takes almost as much from the R & D as does USA.

    --
    Lord of the Binges.
  56. Outsourcing! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Well, i've seen this first hand. I where working for a large corp and i got sacked because they outsourced all the scripting to India, so i'll got to find myself a new job because of this.

    Bits of News

  57. No they won't and I'll tell you why by Orion+Blastar · · Score: 0

    in order to have a knowledge superpower, you need the best communication and language skills you can get. If the Help Desks in India are any indication of their communication skills, they are not going to do too well. If they speak broken English with a thick accent that hardly any other English speaking person can understand, how can they communicate knowledge in the same way?

    The only way they can do this is to do extensive English and other language training to speak those languages properly.

    Written skills are a must as well, and in some cases, they actually have good writing skills.

    --
    Remember, Slashdot does not have a -1 disagree moderation, and no, troll, flamebait, and overrated are not substitutes.
    1. Re:No they won't and I'll tell you why by freeplatypus · · Score: 1

      Ehem...

      USA population is about 250 millions (right?), Canadians (I don't know how many), add to this approximatelly 250 millions people who speak fluently English in Europe ... so You have atmost 500-600 millions of people who speak English (I don't count Asia, cause I have no knowledge about thier knowledge of English).

      Now, let's see. 1.1 bilion of Indian people... hmmm. Yeap, definitly, every one should speak english. SIC!

    2. Re:No they won't and I'll tell you why by iggymanz · · Score: 1

      Also, I'm sure help desk workers may not have the highest level of english speaking skills amoung all Indians. As far as the global languages to learn, there's but 350 million native english speakers in the world. 260 million of those live in a country that is farming out more and more IT work to India anyways. The worlds most common native spoken lanauges: mandarin chinese, spanish, and hindi. That's over one and a half billion people. So I don't think india needs to invest any additional effort in learning english.

    3. Re:No they won't and I'll tell you why by Orion+Blastar · · Score: 1

      So when the USA outsources to India, they turn around and speak Hindi back to us? Is that what you are trying to say?

      It makes about as much sense as all employees of a McDondald's speaking Hindi to customers who only speak English. If you cannot communicate with your customers, you are not going to do very well. This is a common business issue when globalising one's business. Speak the language of your customers well, or else you will fail.

      --
      Remember, Slashdot does not have a -1 disagree moderation, and no, troll, flamebait, and overrated are not substitutes.
    4. Re:No they won't and I'll tell you why by iggymanz · · Score: 1

      we know they can turn around and speak heavily accented english to us, and we know the outsourcing will continue.

  58. ofcourse by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    we have the brain power but not the resources but thats changing quickly. its obious that there are more skilled indians 'cos we can easily steal american jobs :P

  59. Re:Progress? Female Infanticide by xx-AlphaQ-xx · · Score: 1

    I dont know from where you came up with this. Here is the Actual Details: Sex Ratio (Source - World Fact Book, 2003) -------------- India at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.03 male(s)/female total population: 1.07 male(s)/female (2003 est.) Enough said.

  60. Blah US the biggest and the best blah... by theolein · · Score: 1

    The US R&D expenditure is bigger than the next five countries put together, and India is nowhere in the picture.


    Was there a special reason for the submitter to put that line in, since I actually RTFA and couldn't find it anywhere, or was it just his sense of nationalistic angst getting the better of him because some brown people are growing faster than whitey?

    That line kind of spoiled the article for me, because it brought me straight back to the reality of nationalist bullshit and the way it colours perception, although I'm sure you'll find that in almost any nation, including India.

  61. US R&D expenditure is bigger than by turnin · · Score: 1


    US R&D expenditure is bigger than ...

    Will it be bigger even after a super inflation to US economy?

  62. Are you implying that by slobber · · Score: 1

    R&D expenses for other countries don't have "inflated costs and bribes for bureaucrats"? It is funny that you give Russia as an example... in case you ever go there, you'll find out what "bribe driven" economy means pretty quickly. BTW, pure alcohgol is the most common form of bribe there.

    --
    "You mortals are so obtuse." -Q
    1. Re:Are you implying that by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If war breaks out, neither bribes nor alcohol matter -- just vehicles, performance, and cost.

      It didn't matter how wonderful the Aryan stock workers in Germany were -- on the steppes of the southern part of the Eastern front, what mattered was that the Soviets could put more and bigger tanks onto the line, and faster.

    2. Re:Are you implying that by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      $20B will buy a lot of vodka.

  63. No by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This is not meant to be flamebait, but I'm sure the P.C. crowd will mod this to -1.

    Anyway, some people are more creative than others. For example, America has invented practically everything cool in the 20th century, besides the CD and minidisc (Japan), radar (England), the jet and the rocket (Germany).

    India, with its 1.1 billion people, has invented....nothing.

  64. Re:A country so smart.. by lgw · · Score: 1

    I used to work under an Indian VP, perhaps the most inspiring exec I've worked for. He used to say "In this organization there are no sacred cows. And coming from me, that means something!" I miss working for him.

    --
    Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
  65. Re:Things are happening in that region ... by wasted · · Score: 0

    I am talking about scientific facts. Atlantic conveyor belt effect is what keeps Europe warm. It's driven by a saline gradient that WILL change when the polar ice melts.

    The Gulf Stream Current is driven by the semi-permanent high pressure system over the Atlantic, just as the Kuroshio Current is driven by the semi-permanent high pressure system over the Pacific. Even if the polar ice cap melts and changes the saline gradient, the semi-permanent high pressure systems will continue to drive the currents.

  66. tax-cut mania?? WTF? by walterbyrd · · Score: 1

    Funny, I thought "tax-cuts" were just political hype, and that the USA (especially middle income) has never had a true tax-cut. They just shuffle the numbers around, but in the end, the USA government takes more money every year.

    Furthermore, I thought schools were about 95% funded by state and local taxes.

    Also, I thought schools were getting more money than ever. When has the $$ spent per student ever gone down?

    In fact, I thought that we continue to throw money at education, the USA just keeps falling further behind.

    Where am I wrong?

  67. Not really by teaDrunk · · Score: 0

    "conceptual" / in theory/, thats all. That label is ok only for marketing the company name. No guarantees that inidividuals are always better that ones from companies that are not certified.
    That being said, underkating such certification is a good effort, and very much advisable in "vendor/developer" neighbourhoods like china, india..etc, it will help in us vs next door guy pitch.

  68. India gets a lot of those US R&D dollars.. by Christ0ph · · Score: 1

    Many US startup companies are doing all their research in India and are only hiring management in the US. CEOs, etc.

    So India will get a lot of those 'US' grants, through subcontracting and direct offshoring..

    Does anyone know what the situation is for US programmers working in India?

    Can US citizens work there? I would like to stay employed in my field, but there is so little in the US. Do they have anything like our H1B program except working there, for Americans?

    It appears that India is where those jobs have gone..

    1. Re:India gets a lot of those US R&D dollars.. by karthik_r085 · · Score: 1

      Yes, you can. Guess what? They pay really more to US people working in India compared to Indians, just because you have been getting paid heavily here and they don't want to hurt you by paying what Indians get. Also, when you compare the standard of living, it is pretty good. There is not a item I have noticied that is in US that is not in India, and they costs less. Also, you make the same savings or more, as you do in US. Lot of Indians work in US for 2 years, and return back to India, so, they get paid like US people. When my roommate went to bar in India, he found more Americans than Indians. I do not know anything regarding the visa procedures. But, it is a lot simpler and easier when compared to an intl. getting an US visa.

    2. Re:India gets a lot of those US R&D dollars.. by sch7572 · · Score: 1

      Few months back, there was a New York Times article about a 20 year old American kid working for Infosys in Bangalore (as if it represented some major trend). Apparently he was treated like God in the company.

      You'll live comfortably (maybe even lavishly) while you are working in India. What you cannot do is to dream of saving enough to return back to USA and retire happily-every-after on those savings. The 1:40 currency ratio of dollar:rupee value kills any such plans. Remember, its primarily cheap labor that's driving their hi-tech growth.

    3. Re:India gets a lot of those US R&D dollars.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Apparently he was treated like God in the company.

      I can bet that he was "white". Indians don't treat their own dark-skinned people so nicely. I have heard of US company folks (Indian manager and white American employee) going to India on a business trip and then facing this odd situation where everybody starts kissing ass of the white guy and ignoring (even insulting) the Indian guy (who's the manager). If there is one people who really look down on dark skin, its the Indians and they have been doing it for centuries now (at least since the advent of the Aryans).

      I guess, in that respect (attidute towards dark skin), Indians and Americans/Europeans think alike. The only problem is that more than 95% of Indians are dark-skinned and predominantly from a non-caucasoid gene pool (note that one drop of sugar in 1 ton of water does not make it a syrup). Funny thing is many Indians who consider themselves "fair" in India will be considered as "blacks" in Europe and the Americas.

  69. Money "doesn't matter" by Atomic+Frog · · Score: 1

    You forget, for the cost of 1 researcher in USA, you can get about 10 of them in India or China...
    It doesn't matter if USA spends more, it'll never catch up.

    It doesn't really help that virtually all the grad students are from overseas too. Since USA doesn't let them stay really, guess where they're all heading?

    USA is like China several hundred years ago. It's losing the lead but is too blind to see it.

  70. Indian R&D dollars by supabeast! · · Score: 1

    "The US R&D expenditure is bigger than the next five countries put together, and India is nowhere in the picture."

    Dollars spent on R&D per nation is a pretty misleading statistic. China and India have done a great job over the last decade of showing that they can do great R&D for a lot less money than the USA. The USA, on the other hand, has shown that when a bloated bureacray wraps everything in red tape and allows contractors to get away with numerous multi-billion-dollar failures without penalty, things go right down the tubes. As long as India doesn't flush money down the toilet by giving R&D contracts to companies like Lockheed Martin, it will never need to spend remotely near what the US does to get better results.

  71. Explain?! by adeydas · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Then perhaps you could explain why India is having an influx of brain-gain and why the US companies are outsourcing their R&D here instead of China?!

    1. Re:Explain?! by Taladar · · Score: 1

      Probably because India speaks english and China is more often seen as a future super-power enemy for the U.S. on the horizon.

  72. Re:How about some protection by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I believe smart people are able to account for variability in knowledge, education, and intelligence within a population. As the population increases so does the absolute numbers who fall into risky categories.

    Why were you not smart enough to draw such a simple conclusion>

  73. Offshoring vs Brain Drain by karthik_r085 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Earlier and even now, all the smarties come to US and contribute to US advancement in technologies. These technologies were invented by Americans+Indians+Chinese+Minority and not just Americans alone. In order for US to become a superpower, it trapped all these smarties, made their life comfortable, relaxed visa regulations, gave them green cards, etc. Even now, there is a special quota, around 20,000, for US employers to hire International MS/PHD students only besides the normal 65,000 quota reserved. Now, more are staying back and contributing to India's advancement in technologies. America is recoginizing India's power and not just cheap labor. So, it is setting up R&D's in India, to save cost and make the smarties still work for them, which again contributes to US advancement in technologies. Comparing China and India, China will become the superpower in hardware, while India will become in Software. Even though we are nowhere in position to compete with China in Hardware, but, by 2035, when India's population will be greater than China's, we will be a serious competitor. But, India's role exists in both the countries. So, does America's.

  74. US comparative advantage? by Tablizer · · Score: 1

    Can somebody please tell me what the US's comparative advantage is again? Innovation? I don't think so. To think we are significantly more innovative than Indians or Chinese is arrogance. Besides, their population is so much larger that they have a bigger pool of ideas. even if the per-person creativity was by chance higher in the US, they would come out ahead.

    Taking risks? Companies now dump the risk off to the third world also. VC's often are required to have an "offshore strategy" in their business plan to get funding.

    1. Re:US comparative advantage? by 3arwax · · Score: 1

      The US advantage is freedom of thought and system of education. It has been my experience that Americans are much more likely to think "out of the box" and question existing ideas.

      We may not be able to rattle off thousands of math equations but we can modify old ones and create new ones better then any other nation.

    2. Re:US comparative advantage? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      It has been my experience that Americans are much more likely to think "out of the box" and question existing ideas.

      Yes, but then you get canned for not being a "team player".

    3. Re:US comparative advantage? by nazzdeq · · Score: 1

      We are waaay more innovative. What basic inventions have Indians invented? Electricity? Radio? TV? Satellites? Space Shuttles? Airplanes? Microwaves? Sorry. If you ever travel to India you'll see that it's such a shithole there's nothing to be worried about. Trust me. We didn't even live that bad in the 17th century. -Nazz

    4. Re:US comparative advantage? by the_masked_mallard · · Score: 2, Insightful

      how about 'o' ? the decimal system ?

      bet ur satellites and electricity wouldnt amount to much without it!

    5. Re:US comparative advantage? by Tablizer · · Score: 1

      Yes, but they are rapidly moving up the Maslow's Pyramid of Needs, at least the middle class. Besides, innovation does not mean much if most of the money to bring it to market goes overseas now. It does not trickle down locally as much.

  75. Re:Nope! They are not! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    So what? That means jack shit.

  76. Schools aren't needed anymore, the GOP thinks by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Public education was debated for years, but only funded when US industry needed workers for factories..

    Now that need is ending, so there is a big debate about public funding of education, even if it is going on away from public view..

    Many Republicans feel that schools are basically preparing people for jobs that dont exist..

    or that wont exist in a few years..

    Why increase people's expectations unrealistically, they say...

    Scary, but the very idea of public schooling is endangered in the US now..

    By greed..

  77. Let me help you. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    Here is an article from "The Economist". It has a good breakdown.

    Overall, the sex ratio is 1.08 males to females. For children (which factors in sex ratio at birth) in several districts like Rohtak, the ratio skyrockets to 1.25 boys to girls.

    When you see Vinod Khosla, the male Indian students in your classes at MIT, and their ilk, you are looking at animals. They fight with tooth and nail to stay in the USA but reject Western values. They talk about how "great" Indian society is.

    1. Re:Let me help you. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Is that rationalized racism of yours one of those "Western values"? I think I'll reject them too.

  78. Motivation by DelawareBoy · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Great. Maybe this will force American students to get off the couch and start learning things.. Or maybe not. Sputnik was a great impetus for learning science. Nine Eleven was one for learning Arabic.

  79. i wonder by harryoyster · · Score: 1

    I wonder when the US will start to feel even more threatened as other countries start to grow. with cheaper labor forces etc..

    --
    Got a question about UNIX ask it here : Unix/xBSD Forum
  80. Hmm by t_allardyce · · Score: 0, Redundant

    1) Release and advertise "Slashdot India"
    2) See productivity drop through the floor
    3) ???
    4) Profit

    --
    This comment does not represent the views or opinions of the user.
    1. Re:Hmm by t_allardyce · · Score: 1

      0, Redundant - have I been outsourced to India!?

      --
      This comment does not represent the views or opinions of the user.
  81. Re:Progress? Female Infanticide by YU+Nicks+NE+Way · · Score: 3, Informative
    The parent, an AC, writes:
    The sex ratio at birth (SRB) in Indian culture is 1.20 males to 1.0 females. The normal SRB is 1.05, which Japan, Sweden, and other Western nations have.
    Where did you get your figures? The CIA factbook article on India gives the following figures:

    Sex ratio:

    at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female

    under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female

    15-64 years: 1.07 male(s)/female

    65 years and over: 1.03 male(s)/female

    total population: 1.07 male(s)/female (2004 est.)

    Those are quite reasonable figures, and quite comparable to the United States' figures. I think you're confusing the figures in India with those from the PRC.

    Sex ratio:

    at birth: 1.12 male(s)/female

    under 15 years: 1.13 male(s)/female

    15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female

    65 years and over: 0.91 male(s)/female

    total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (2004 est.)

  82. censorship by biryokumaru · · Score: 0, Flamebait
    i did a "search discussion" and it seems no one has mentioned the sexual repression and severe censorship of all media, or the opressive caste system that even today most indians are actually legally bound into. i wouldn't bet on either china or india to become powerful at anything until they become a free society.

    in short: gandhi failed, the poor bastard

    --
    When you're afraid to download music illegally in your own home, then the terrorists have won!
    1. Re:censorship by ggvaidya · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Errr ... maybe that's because of the severe censorship of all media? ;)

      I'd love to see evidence of any of the above, though ... agreed, stuff like bureaucratic slowdown, corruption, intercaste violence, and poverty are rampant, but sexual repression? Most of my friends back home seem to be quite sexually active, afaik ... severe censorship of the media? Several cases of rampant corruption have been uncovered by media-coordinated sting operations in the last few years ... the caste system, well, I'd argue that the mental associations are much worse than any legal measures (who actually follows in the law in India anyway?). I have seen older relatives checking up on which caste and subcaste someone who married into the family is, but never heard that kind of stuff from anyone in my generation yet, so hopefully we've heard the end of that matter.

      India has a LOT of faults, but I don't think the ones you mentioned are.

      (Of course Gandhi failed. He was trying to hold everybody up to impossible standards of perfection. But I agree with you: he would have prefered to see an India "where truth prevails", although I'm sure he'd appreciate that however bad things are, they could have been a lot, lot worse ... we are still a sovereign socialist secular democratic republic. And in a world of dictatorships, political instability and racism, that is something to be proud of)

    2. Re:censorship by alphakappa · · Score: 5, Informative

      " i did a "search discussion" and it seems no one has mentioned the sexual repression and severe censorship of all media"

      What, sir, are you smoking, and where can I have some of it?

      Seriously though, the only media that is subject to censorship is movies since all movies have to go through the Central Board of Film Certification to get a U (universal) or A (adult) certificate. (There are more categories). (If you do watch Indian movies though, you will find that it is a very loose form of censorship).

      No media including newspapers, or magazines or the Internet is subject to even the feeblest form of censorship in India. And I have spent a good part of my life in India and I know what I talking about.

      --
      "When the only tool you own is a hammer, every problem begins to resemble a nail." - Abraham Maslow (1908-1970)
    3. Re:censorship by biryokumaru · · Score: 1
      well, thank you! thats good to know!

      i heard somewhere that porn was illegal in india, is it just rated "a?"

      --
      When you're afraid to download music illegally in your own home, then the terrorists have won!
    4. Re:censorship by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      Well, it depends on what you mean by porn. There isn't much hardcore stuff. Most of it is softcore and involves a dumb storyline (no surprises there). Most of the movies are shown in theaters as a night show (supposed to start at 10 PM, but some theaters have one more show at midnight). You'll have to ask around discreetly if you come here. Be warned - the porno theaters are much poorer and cheaper than mainstream theaters.

      We're a bit weird when it comes to showing sex in movies. Sex itself is more or less taboo. Partial nudity alone is considered softcore porn. Partial nudity accompanied by provocative dances and music is considered family entertainment stuff that can be shown on primetime TV. It's a surreal experience, like watching the Spanish language version of "Lost in Translation".

    5. Re:censorship by alphakappa · · Score: 1

      I believe porn is illegal, but I never found any shortage of porn :-) It can be found quite openly too. If you look around on the Indian torrent sites you can find plenty of Indian stuff (meaning stuff shot in India). The rules are there (since they were framed during British India and no one will change them now - seriously, which politician wants to campaign for legalizing porn?), but porn, like prostitution is just a part of life that is always going to be there (though no one will openly admit to liking/buying it).

      About movies, the adult movies get away with an 'a' certificate, but the amount of stuff you can get away with in an 'a' movie varies from movie to movie. I have seen English and other foreign movies get away with a lot of explicit stuff. Hardcore stuff cannot be shown in theatres though. One of the censor board chiefs (Vijay Anand) wanted porn to be legalized (with certain theatres given permission to show them), but the government would not agree, and he resigned in protest. (This was a year or so back).

      --
      "When the only tool you own is a hammer, every problem begins to resemble a nail." - Abraham Maslow (1908-1970)
    6. Re:censorship by narsiman · · Score: 1

      We supplement Censorship with apathy. Trust me it work a whole lot better.

  83. Re:Not Funny: Sweden vs. India by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    of course now the japanese waste insane amounts of money that isn't really theirs yet on spectacular public improvement projects...

  84. You know they've reached parity with the west when by Tablizer · · Score: 1

    ...they beat up their nerds instead of exault them.

  85. And the U.S. is so smart-Scary Religion. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "that the population believes that a supernatural being being created man by pointing a finger and created woman from a rib of that man."

    Oh yeah! It's a scary notion living in a country were everyone isn't an Athiest, and an Evolutionist.

    How are we a better nation by swinging to the opposite extreme, and relegating religion to a "don't ask, don't tell" status?

    1. Re:And the U.S. is so smart-Scary Religion. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I wrote the post that you replied to.

      It was a comment to a post that made fun of India because they thought that cows were sacred. I believe it was intended as a humorous comment. That post was modded into oblivion and I'm surprised that my post didn't go down in flames with it. I mean, either both posts should have been +5 funny or -1 troll.

      Anyway, my point was that if you take it out of context, christianity can sound stupid too.

      The most interesting part with this though, was that a post that made fun of Indias religion was modded -1 troll and my post, which made fun of western civilization religion got modded +4 funny (as I write this). Why is that?

    2. Re:And the U.S. is so smart-Scary Religion. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > Why is that?
      Maybe for the same reason racism is acceptable as long as it's against white people. Misguided or excessive political correctness.

    3. Re:And the U.S. is so smart-Scary Religion. by A.Chwunbee · · Score: 0

      No Sahb, is becaes is only IT workers who are reading the slashydot. And of course they are, I am so so proud to be saying, all Indian!

      --
      select * from base where originalOwner = 'you' and currentOwner != 'us'.
      0 rows returned.
  86. Female Infanticide is Straight from "Indian Times" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    Check this story, which was published in the "Indian Times" in 2005 February.

    The sex ratio at birth in New Delhi is about 1.20 (1000 / 807) males to females. The CIA fact book is out of date.

    Look at those male Indian animals in your engineering classes. You tell me whether they are hypocritical bigots when they talk about how "great" Indian society is. Isn't "it" amazing that these Indian supremacists mouth their supremacy in the comfort of their Western apartment or residential home?

  87. Re:A country so smart.. by hawkeye_82 · · Score: 1

    Hmm. I remember this incredibly intelligent discussion about how evolution is being outlawed in Kansas schools. Wow, Americans have it all figured out.

  88. Re:Things are happening in that region ... by generalleoff · · Score: 2, Funny

    How the hell did "Can India Becmome A Knowledge Superpower" turn into "Hippies Vs. Red Necks"?

  89. Re:Female Infanticide is Straight from "Indian Tim by YU+Nicks+NE+Way · · Score: 1

    You should read your own article, chump -- it doesn't say what you think it says.

    (Yes, I'm feeding a troll. The problem here is that it's one of those "all that is required for evil to triumph" situations -- the AC is feeding the bigotry behind anti-Indian sentiment in the US, and those people need to be answered. I don't give a shit about him, but third parties need to know that what he's lying.)

  90. It's like we lost a war we didn't know we fought. by blair1q · · Score: 1

    India and China now own the Internet industry. We're still dabbling in it, having invented it, but it's clearly theirs to advance, at this stage.

    This is a $1 Trillion investment of American capital, all the goodwill and intellectual authority of which has been ceded to a foreign nation.

    The only other thing that could take a $Trillion out of an economy is a war.

    So it's very like India and China defeated us in a war without having to risk anything themselves.

    The people at the top of the corporate system in our country surrendered our economy willingly to the enemy, in return for a slice of the profits.

    Which, as I read history and the law, makes them traitors.

  91. Yes it is! by ggvaidya · · Score: 1

    Here's 2004 in review. As you can see (scroll down to see the graph) there was a crash in mid-2004 immediately following the election results, as a socialistic party with communist allies came into power. Support for the government grew after it was announced that two of India's best finance ministers in recent times were going to have prominent roles in the government, one of them as the prime minister. Also, as the leftist partiest didn't interfere with government policy, the market rose, hitting new highs towards the end of the year.

    It's now at around 6500, so it hasn't changed much since last December.

    1. Re:Yes it is! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Wow, which party in India "socialist" (except for name)? There's as much socialism in India as there is life on every other planet of the solar system. So, now people get called names even if they come to power thru elections? The BJP government (which is surely "anti-socialist") got kicked out because it just failed. So will other parties in time and the merry-go-round will continue.

  92. US versus Common Europe by handy_vandal · · Score: 5, Informative
    If you consider Europe as a country like entity then i am not sure the U.S. are so superior.

    Common Europe is a formidable economic powerhouse, comparable to the United States:
    "The euro area's GDP was only 60% the size of America's in 2001. If current exchange rates are sustained [circa December 2003], it swells to around 80%. If the economies of Britain, Sweden and Denmark are added to the euro area, the European Union now has a slightly larger economy than that of the United States."
    Source
    Further evidence of global economic conflict between Common Europe and the United States: Iraq switched from US dollars to the euro in 2000:
    "On November 6th of 2000 Iraq became the first country to receive all of its oil export payments in euros instead of American dollars. This switch was estimated to cost Iraq $270 million dollars, but Iraq had since actually come out on top due to the rise in the value of the euro, which was actually probably influenced by Iraq's decision to use the euro as its foreign exchange currency."
    Source
    However, following the US invasion of Iraq,
    "the US ... installed its own authority to rule the country and as soon as Iraqi oil became available to sell on the world market, it was announced that payment would be in dollars only."
    Source

    -kgj
    --
    -kgj
  93. Telecom by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Eventually Indian companies will run their own engineers and see some efficiencies that way. Then USA OEMs could see some serious competition.

    China is the step ahead on this... Just look how Huawei sucks up engineers from companies like Cisco, Lucent Technologies and Nortel Networks, and transfer their knowledge (proprietary or not) into their own product line.

  94. intellectual property by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    R&D with no IP = $0

    1. Re:intellectual property by Orion+Blastar · · Score: 1

      So the company that outsources to the India Tech Shop owns the IP, and not the consultants, right?

      --
      Remember, Slashdot does not have a -1 disagree moderation, and no, troll, flamebait, and overrated are not substitutes.
  95. Re:bullshit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    I always hate writing out rebuttals to posts like the parent who talk like paper tigers "There cannot be glitzy progress ignoring 75% of the people". Tax rates are pretty high in India. Everything is taxed to kingdom come. But still the poor are just that, poor.
    India is going to go to hell unless they control their population.
    "At least, we don't have to sweep unpleasant facts under the carpet". Yes, for 50+ years now we having been wallowing in self-pity because we like to keep these facts in front of us. I cannot or should not make money because the person next to me is still poor. This is the attitude past govts have employed. Look where India is today.

    Did you know that if the Indian govt directly gave 2.2 $ to every Indian who was classified as living below the poverty line, India would have no poverty at all. India spends a 3+ $ on these programmes and yet the poor Indian probably does not see more than 5-10 cents of it.

    "In the absence of any corrective measures, I am sure even India can be like China. It has been acquiring a steady 6-7% growth rate for the past 5 years."

    Yes, India will be in 2020 what China is in 2010. Mark my words, 2008 olympics is in china, 2016 is in india.

    I haven't been to AP in a few years but what I do know is that Naidu did make Hyderabad liveable and attract a lot of companies. These companies create high paying jobs, meaning there is a trickle down effect in the economy.

    Would you rather have Naidu who courts companies or some populist leader who dances to the tunes of farmers for their votes?

    Being a former US resident, and a current bangalore resident, let me assure you that the bangalore(karnataka) govt went out only because of the drought. The previous govt was so much fucking better than the current dharam singh govt in place.

    If you read the newspaper, you will see that the current govt is fucking pathetic in all aspects.
    They have made bangalore a living hell with traffic mismanagement, no funds for infrastructure. All the chief minister does is give empty promises. His rural promises are also ring hollow.
    Think about it. Bangalore's industries provide 70 % of the state's revenue. Why will you want to mess with that and the govt has taken bangalore and its citizens for granted. Many software companies are expanding, but not in bangalore. In other cities and states.

    Read India Today" Dec 13 2004 issue "No Bang for the Buck" to know about blore. The current govt is going to pay for their lackadaisical attitude.

    Now let us talk about China. It has one govt(whatever your opinion is on the political issue, lets focus on the economic one).
    One govt means that it can focus on economic issues without political distractions. The chinese govt is putting a lot of its energies into building the infrastructure in China, be it power, communications, highways etc.

    Just compare that with India. Here politicians cannot end squabbling among themselves, economy is down on their list.
    Do you how many small cities in China are getting their own airports? How long is it taking to build the bangalore airport? See "indian bureaucracy is least friendly in asia" july, 04 in the deccan herald.

    Democracy is a beautiful thing. That is why see what Bihar is today. Democracy works when your population is under control, not out of control with 30 million births a year.

    Compare the infrastructure: in, cn. For amusement, take a look at just one feature in Iran's factbook, ir
    Compare the number of runways above 3000m that India has and the number that Iran has.
    That will give you an indication of how pathetic indian infrastructure is even when compared to a economy like Iran which has been under sanctions for 20+ years.

    At the current rate India is progressing, it w

  96. Hmm... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    We may see some money and jobs going from west to the east but the east doesnt have a mythology/culture to support sustained technological progress. Both china and India are dependent on the west not only for the markets, but also new ideas and direction for progress. Left to themselves, they would both wither away.

  97. 1.10 is "Better": Murder of Indian Girls by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    I checked the latest news in an article by the Christian Science Monitor. The latest ratio, for 2001, is about 1.10 (1000 / 830). Now is 2005, the ratio of male babies to female babies surely exceeds 1.10.

    Sorry. I confused the 1.20 with South Korea.

    Nonetheless, my point still stands. You see gangs of male Indians in American colleges and companies. They talk claptrap about how great Indian society is, and they send their kids back to the Indian fatherland each year to imbibe them with Indian culture. These Indian animals reject Westernization.

    Guess what? They kill Indian girls so horribly that the sex ratio is horribly out of whack. There are 1.10 Indian boys to girls. The normal ratio is 1.05, which Japan and the rest of the West have.

    Do you think that "it" is rather ironic that the male Indian animal types SlashDot articles about how great India is yet he does so from the comfort of his home in the USA? That Indian animal should put up or shut up. He should stand by what he says and get the hell out of the USA and go back to India, which he considers a "haven".

  98. Re:A country so smart.. by anand78 · · Score: 1

    Yet Western countries spare no effort to go about converting Indian hindus to christianity.
    And what are they thmselves doing with it well for starters molesting kids in churches.
    Besides we are capable of growing VEGETABLE so we eat that. Which crop are you growing on Snow by the way, we dont need to eat cows to survive but you do.

  99. Bah... by MassD · · Score: 1

    They COULD become a superpower... if the average IT worker over there didn't have their head up their backside. I work for a company that has a support and R&D office over there. The work we get from those offices is consistantly late and pretty much total crap.... Turnover rate is measured by the minute so even if you do get one worth a damn, he's gone in a week. Companies are starting to pull out of there because it costing far more money to clean their mistakes than any cost those offices save.

  100. Re:Not Funny: Sweden vs. India by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The last 60 years of history in Japan make nuclear weapons programs a bit of a touchy subject. Besides, Japan has had the protection of the US nuclear umbrella and as such, has had no need of an independent nuclear program. (but, I'd wager they have the seeds of one at the ready and could get it up and running quite easily should the situation warrant it..ie, the US pulls its troops out of the region).

  101. Re:It's like we lost a war we didn't know we fough by nazzdeq · · Score: 1

    ...and how do you figure this? The future of the internet will not be in Chinese, that much is certain. So, you can count them out. As for India, they don't make anything that foreign companies haven't told them to. When's the last time you bought a piece of Indian developed hardware, software, etc? I mean fully Indian design, crafted and implemented? How about games? word processors? many a cool operating system? If they can do this so cheaply, why don't they?

  102. No, China is very VERY dangerous by argoff · · Score: 1

    Every country that grows has political and economic pressures. Even the US suffered protests and riots in the 60s. In the US, the outlet for these pressures was democracy and protest, India which is also a democracy will have similar such outlets, but China has none. It is a powder keg waiting to explode. That's why I would bet my money on India long before I even touched China.

    Don't be supprised if the Chineese leaders try to deal with these pressures by becomming more authoritarian like the Germans did in 1939. Sure the Germans in early 1940 had strong economic growth, but as history has taught us - economic growth without political freedom growth is very very dangerous.

    1. Re:No, China is very VERY dangerous by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And you are forgetting South Korea, Singapore and Hong Kong which were either dictatorships for considerable periods of time and/or colonies and and doing fine. Also, you must never have read history to ignore the fact that Hitler had the stupidity to start a world war. Does it look like China will do that?

      The problem is that most folks living in small countries do not understand the dynamics of "billionaire" countries like India and China and show off their hollow expertise here on slashdot.

    2. Re:No, China is very VERY dangerous by argoff · · Score: 1

      All the successes you mentioned happened specifically because they were held accountable to western powers. Are you recommending the same with China? And yes, China has threatened several times to start a major war over Tiwan. If they want so badly to be one country, they should submit themselves to the sovreignty of Tiwan - they would certainly be better off for it.

      BTW, I'm from the US - maybe you consider US a small country, but I think we're doing pretty well compaired to everyone else, thank you. Hint: it's the freedom.

  103. Yet over here, all Indians I've worked with by melted · · Score: 0

    Yet over here, all Indians I've worked with do just barely enough to get by. Copy & paste is their preferred coding method, and architecture and proper design are nowhere to be found.

    There was one exception in my 5 years in the industry - the guy was extremely, unbelievably bright. He wrote a book on ATL. He typed so fast I couldn't see his fingers, and he was the best programmer in 50 people team. But he's just an exception that it seems reinforces the rule.

    Quantity doesn't matter. Quality does.

    1. Re:Yet over here, all Indians I've worked with by Karma+Farmer · · Score: 1

      Yet over here, all Indians I've worked with do just barely enough to get by. Copy & paste is their preferred coding method, and architecture and proper design are nowhere to be found.

      The same can be said for most of the American programmers I've worked with, too.

      Seriously, 90% of everything is shit. 90% of Indian programmers are shit; 90% of Bulgarian programmers are shit; 90% of American programmers are shit.

  104. A pollyannaish view by br00tus · · Score: 1
    I often see a tendency towards a Pollyannaish view of such things. The Monthly Review has an article this month called "India, a Great Power?" which questions whether India can even get on the same track China is on, never mind grow into an industrial power like Japan or Germany or the US. The article makes sense to me, although some might find it offbeat - then again, people who would find it offbeat probably didn't find articles during the Internet boom praising the bubble offbeat.

    If you look at history from the mid to late 19th century on, one thing in common is all countries which industrialized were demonized and attacked by the industrial world - from the late 19th century to the mid 20th century that would be Germany and Japan. Japan is really the last country to become an industrial nation, although South Korea is on the way. Industrial nations always try to smother industrializing nations on the edge of joining them in the cradle. Every nation since the beginning of the 20th century to push itself towards industrialization has had a socialist revolution, namely, Russia and China. Both were backwards, feudal countries - not how Marx envisioned things turning out certainly. They seem not to have been able to sweep capitalism out of their houses, but they did get rid of all the existent feudal structures. As the article says, India still has a lot of the colonial, feudal structures in place. China always resisted colonialism on some level, and was not under it too long, while India, like Ireland, was under colonialism for many centuries. And Ireland only got going with a large injection of money from the EU.

    India will not be a China unless it has some radical changes, and not the kind Wall Street, the World Bank, WTO and IMF proscribe.

    1. Re:A pollyannaish view by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The author of the article Monthly Review is clearly a Communist and it's the influnce of these kind of ideas in the Indian Polity that has kept India poor for the last 50 years. Perhaps this author dose not understand the concept of private property and contractual agreements and is enamoured of China. But author Samir Amin does not realize is that China is no longer a communist society. The current growth in China and the subsequent decline in poverty there has been caused by the capitalist policies not communist.

      The author Samir Amin praises the Naxalite movement in India which the majority view as terrorists. He also praises the communist government of West Bengal without mentioning that in the last 30 years, they have destroyed wealth in the state and driven industry out. Calcutta, once the richest city in India is now a big slum, thanks to the communists.

  105. what is your field of study. by gimpboy · · Score: 1

    In the USA, the Universities get significantly more money from foreign students (they have to pay full tuition), and in addition, the foreign students are entirely dependent on staying in the good graces of their department and advisor in order to avoid being deported. Hence they are favored institutionally and professionally

    In the USA, the Universities get significantly more money from foreign students (they have to pay full tuition), and in addition, the foreign students are entirely dependent on staying in the good graces of their department and advisor in order to avoid being deported. Hence they are favored institutionally and professionally.

    I think this might depend more on the field of study. I'm a graduate student in chemical engineering. In my field US citizens are normally preferred. There is alot of funding which is only available to US citizens, and for some reason higher enrollment of US citizens is considered more prestigious.

    Also, in chemical engineering, most students don't pay for higher degrees. Almost anyone accepted for study will get a fellowship of some kind. So while the university might want foreign students because they would have to pay higher tuition, the people who actually pay for the tuition (the Department/advisor) are also responsible for determining wether or not the students are accepted.

    With the exception of Indian and European students, US citizens are also preferred because of language barriers. With all things equal, most advisors (again in my field) would prefer to deal with people who are native english speakers.

    So why don't we have many US grad students? Most would rather get jobs. If a chemical engineer considers the money they are not making by staying in school, grad school becomes an economically costly option. This is true even if you consider the average earning potentials of someone who does and someone who does _not_ earn a higher degree in chemical engineering over a long period of time. The person who goes straight into industry after getting their BS will typically make more money.

    --
    -- john
  106. China .vs India, China Looses by argoff · · Score: 1

    In the 1950's/60's the former USSR had a head start on fundamental R&D in many areas that the USA couldn't even touch (like space and math). But over the long term they simply didn't have the "social/policital infrastructure" to support them and the USA prevailed.

    China is in a similar positon, if they don't go democratic quick - they are going to be totally unable to handle the changes and demands that a modern economy will bring and social chaos will ensue.

    1. Re:China .vs India, China Looses by jameszhou2000 · · Score: 1

      Today's China is not like USSR 50 years ago. There are some major differences between the two. First, China is no longer planned economy any more. Second, China is opening and doing business with all other countries around the world. Third, China has a lot of related or culturally related rich neighbors. As a matter of fact, China's largest trading partner is not US, but Japan. Also, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and South Korea are acting as the bridges between the east and the west. In Shanghai city, the population of Taiwanese has reached 300,000. Most of them have settled down there and enjoyed their lives. Investment from Hong Kong played a crucial role in early stages of reform. South Korea has a close connection with Liaoning Province and Shandong Province in China. In fact, North Korea is very mad that China has a closer relationship with South Korea. All of the above show that China is no longer an isolated, mysterious, and closed castle.

      You are right that the weakest link in Today's China is its social/policital infrastructure. China is still politically unstable and unpreditable. But it seems that it is on the right track, and it is now in a transition stage.

      I don't think China will repeat USSR's path.

  107. Re:It's like we lost a war we didn't know we fough by ggvaidya · · Score: 1

    India and China now own the Internet industry.

    Some people would beg to differ.

    Are there any Indian or Chinese companies with this kind of web presence? I doubt it.

    Also, remember that outsourcing isn't happening to be traitorous, but to cut back on costs and increasing costs (although some people are finding it cost-inefficient after all). So, technically, the US economy is making money by outsourcing.

    There is a cost to the job market, of course, but introducing robots on production lines got lots of people fired - while creating new supervisory posts. From what I hear on Slashdot, it sounds like many companies are hiring again. If that's happening, it might well be the best of both worlds - outsource the codemonkey jobs, while doing the important stuff in-house, paying programmers well for their time.

    Of course, as an Indian, I have no particular problem with something which is creating jobs in my home country, as well as resulting in plenty of foreign inflows :).

  108. Re:A country so smart.. by ggvaidya · · Score: 2, Funny

    Cows are sacred. Or didn't you know? ;)

  109. Well, you know, seeing how everyone by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    has their tech support "outsourced" to India, I'd imagine those people are learning at some kind of geometric rate. And it's likely they're learning what not to do, when you're trying to get people started with computers and avoid a monoculture.

    So, yes.

    India is likely to become a knowledge superpower, probably within the next decade.

  110. Quite craven and self-serving by handy_vandal · · Score: 1

    Quite craven and self-serving if you ask me.

    Spoken like an Anonymous Coward.

    -kgj

    --
    -kgj
  111. Re:A country so smart.. by ggvaidya · · Score: 1

    All figured out? Sheesh, I'd be happy if they pronounced "nuclear" correctly ...

  112. Female Infanticide/foeticide = no progress by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Thanks for the approximate figures from CIA world factbook which are at best inaccurate and obtained from other sources. After all, the CIA does not conduct census in India and spying won't get you these numbers.

    Also the difference between 1.05 and 1.054 in India (which now has about 1.08 billion people) is approximately 0.004*1.08 billion/2 = 2.1 million people! So even 3rd place of decimel matters a lot and yet a third decimel place does not show up in the CIA numbers.

    If you want a realistic analysis, please read
    http://www.indiatogether.org/2004/apr/hlt-cs ratio. htm
    which brings out the real facts underlying the sex ratio problem.

    Frankly, China has a similar problem but India is much worse. And it shows. Here in the US universities, there are far more women from China than India in higher studies, a reality that shows India is indeed socially much more backward.

    Frankly, there are more Chinese women in US universities doing graduate studies in high-tech fields that US American "white" women but thats a digression from the main topic.

    1. Re:Female Infanticide/foeticide = no progress by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      OMG- you are such an idiot...

      How would spying not get you those figures since a part of the CIA's job would involve stealing copies of India's own raw census data since such demographic information is a great resource.

      Also unless you are going around asking the citizenship status of thoes 'Chinese' women I'll wager that you'll find that they are actually 2nd or 3rd generation Americans.

  113. We are India. by ggvaidya · · Score: 0

    Prepare to be assimilated. Resistance is futile. This will be your last warning.

  114. Re:Can It? by X0563511 · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    Um... off topic?

    WTF, at least moderate with the right moderation!

    Read the title of the submission! How can this be off topic?

    --
    For large sets, this will be our guide even unto death, for the LORD will work for each type of data it is applied to...
  115. Re:Not Funny: Sweden vs. India by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    And the U.S. put billions into putting a man on the moon, that served little to no purpose, only to 'beat' russia.. while the US knows poverty like western europe does not..

    Yet, the world still likes to kiss american butt. Propaganda helps sell yourself, gain respect and admiration.. and that becomes a launcher for economic and political growth.

    And, the way the US has been approaching the world, India knows that unless you're a nucleair power, you get pushed around.. once you have nukes, you're approached with respect and care, in the most diplomatic ways.. which makes Iran and N. Korea and all the other states who feel threatened by the outside world (US in particular) to reach for nukes, as sad and scary as it is.

    But who makes these rules? We do.
    Image should mean nothing, but since the majority of the people in the world go by terribly ignorant perception, image is everything. And so huge sums of money spent on image building, will, unfortunately, pay off.

  116. Only if Hinduism is not dominant by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If the Hindutva fascists gain power, India will go back into prehistory. A worldview where nothing is real is not conducive to the development of systematic science or engineering.

  117. Wait a minute ... by ggvaidya · · Score: 1

    Naah, it didn't work for Japan, did it?

    Wait a minute ... wasn't Slashdot Japan started in 2000 sometime? Wonder how Japan's been doing since ...

    *gasp* oh my ... don't think we've ever slashdotted an entire nation before ...

    (this would all be so much funnier if Slashdot Japan hadn't been founded in 2001 :|)

  118. Re:Things are happening in that region ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    LOL!

  119. Re:It's like we lost a war we didn't know we fough by ggvaidya · · Score: 1

    How about games?

    Does chess count?

  120. Re:1.10 is "Better": Murder of Indian Girls by kd5ujz · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    Is christian science not an oxy-moron?

    --
    -William
    God is everything science has yet to explain.
  121. Why does population matter? by PsiPsiStar · · Score: 1

    Most Chinese people are not formally educated. Uneducated labor is only going to be worth so much... as support staff for those with better educations and such. Populations stopped being considered supplies to be captured during war around WWII. Now it's the natural resources and goods that matter, and to hell with the people. If that tells you anything about the value of a dense population to a nation. It might be better to say that America has more natural resources that can be put towards building it's economy rather than supporting an overgrown population.

    --

    ___
    It's the end of my comment as I know it and I feel fine.
  122. pffft by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I hardly see how any nation that will eventually be nuked into oblivion by China or Pakistan can become super anything.

  123. Not from my experiences... by MrLogic17 · · Score: 1

    Ever try to call HP for support? If these experiences are any indication, India is currently just a source of cheap labor- not skilled labor.

    Plentifull cheap labor does not an IT powerhouse make. There needs to be a *lot* of cultural and economic change first.

    -MrLogic

  124. Re:A country so smart.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You need to work 'belongTo' into your sig, 'owner' isn't quite funny. ;) And remove the 'zig' column from the query results, for great justice.

  125. StarCraft by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    My StarCraft-playing experiences tell me that R & D is not as important as the size of your work force.

  126. India has to first solve Kashmir/Pakistan problem by Vedanti · · Score: 1
    As someone closely following India's economic progress, I think that needs to kept in mind is the Kashmir problem.

    It is acknowledged by all India experts that the "K" problem needs to be solved and permanent peace established with Pakistan before India can have growth rates close to China.

    Otherwise India will continue to remain a "sleeping elephant", even though it has come out of the "Hindu" rate of growth in the past decade or so.

    --
    karma : former act as leading to inevitable results
  127. Wrong by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Speaking as a parent - more money is needed for education. I continually need to donate items like paper, pencils, and pens to our elementary school so that the kids have enough supplies to get through the year. The kids have to learn in stupid portables that are used continuously for YEARS when they were designed to last 5 years or so and to get the school through a short time while permanent expansion was done (the money for permanenet expansion never comes through). Fire all the bureaucracy you want - there isn't enough cash.

    1. Re:Wrong by jav1231 · · Score: 1

      Exactly. I'm a parent too. Why should you and I be buying supplies for the classroom? Have you seen the amount of money budgeted for education? Where does it go? To far too many things outside the classroom. That's my whole point. You and I agree on the symptoms, we just disagree on the cure.

  128. ahahahahah by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    India. a superpower.

    A country without roads. A country that still has the plague!

    Oh thats fucking scary.

  129. questionable abilities by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The software techs we've used, both in B'Lore and as US employees are not detailed oriented. While I understand you'll have a range of abilities in any grouping they have been, by and large, 80% bad.
    There is an arrogance among some that prevents them from seeing any problem in their work.
    I will try to hire US, European as much as possible.

  130. Re:Nope! They are not! by Dr.+Cody · · Score: 1

    This guy isn't just talking trash.

    Your average Indian student in Sweden applied to dozens of English and American universities before he settled for Sweden. As such, there is probably a much higher proportion of Indian students who have come here with forged degrees or qualifications here than in the US or Britain. We here plenty of these stories from compsci students here.

    I was just paid to correct the English in an Indian students thesis. This thesis was as though it had been xeroxed out of "Tricks of the 3D Game Programming Gurus"'s first chapters. He told me he hadn't in his last eight years of education once used Unix (Linux, Ajax, etc) once. This man was supposed to have had three bachelor's. Additionally, a friend of mine in Lingkoeping tells me of a bit of a scandal surrounding a student who had copied a thesis verbatim from a uni back home.

  131. Re:A country so smart.. by A.Chwunbee · · Score: 0

    Fuck RASCIST bastard who mod me troll, whatevre that is being.

    --
    select * from base where originalOwner = 'you' and currentOwner != 'us'.
    0 rows returned.
  132. now... by tacokill · · Score: 1

    if we can only get that stupid "infrastructure" stuff down. Telecom, Power, basic emergency services. Outside of the large cities, it's pretty tough.

  133. Blah Blah Blah by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Isn't this just like the '99 & '00 claims that New York's "Silicon Alley" was going to overtake California's "Silicon Valley"?

    India is just the latest fad. Offshoring is just the latest fad.

  134. And read "Maximum City" by wintermute42 · · Score: 1

    The parent post rambles around a bit but I take it that the major point is that the infrastructure in India is broken and that without infrastructure support you can't move into the modern world.

    There is more to infrastructure than just phones, highways and clean water, although these may be the most important part. Infrastructure also includes a working legal system and something approaching "the rule of law".

    The book Maximum City by Suketu Mehta makes the point that India is broken on many levels, not the least in the legal system where there is no redress when someone rips you off except to go to the local Mafia.

    And then there is the violence between Hindus and Muslims. And so on and so on...

    I don't see India as being a superpower in the next century. I see China in this role.

  135. Not so fast, YOU forgot Poland! by gomel · · Score: 1
    If we are talking mad IT skillz there is a way to find out who's on top!

    Just take look at topcoder.com's School and Country Rankings.
    Here's a short extract for your consideration:
    School Rankings
    Rank Name Member Count Rating
    1 Warsaw University 25 2218.85
    ...
    22 Indian Institute of Technology 17 1153.36
    ...
    26 IIT Bombay 18 989.65

    What's that, IITs on a meager 22th and 26th place?

    Country Rankings
    Rank Name Member Count Rating
    1 United States 1133 2747.95
    2 Poland 131 2528.69
    ...
    19 India 273 1592.25

    Only 19th place? So why is India THE outsource destination, huh?
    --
    Fight Frist Psoting!
    Browse Slashdot with 'Newest First'!
  136. No, not good points... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    In countries where prosperity grew rapidly, there was always less free flowing capital. Capital flows to the lowest point, poorer countries. As soon as any country starts becoming prosperous, capital leaves and the people without the capital get poorer. This is what is currently happening in the US and Europe, and the other almost first-world countries. Since only a small percentage of the people have the capital, and most of the rest just have to work for a living, this is NOT a good thing. Globalisation and free flowing capital is good for a few, but bad for most. We should start to think about how we want the world to be.

  137. No by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Indians have one fatal flaw. Their culture is highly resistant to change.

  138. India is NOT a free country by registro · · Score: 2, Insightful

    India is not free country either. India is an ultra-conservative society where people are routinely coerced into arranged marriage, and gays are persecuted. Homosexuality is illegal, a crime punishable with live in prison. That's between 100 and 50 million oppressed gays, more repressed people than any other country in the word , other than China.

    None of the expected advantages of democracy can be expected on a country that represses sexual minorities; the intellectual vanguards can not flourish without sexual liberation. Further more, sexual repression inevitably translates into AIDS pandemics. India HIV numbers are going up, fast and steady. Keep in mind that this is a society where you can't talk freely about a condom, let alone buy one on your local village store. Answering straightforward questions about your sex live to an AIDS prevention outfit or seeking help for AIDS may translate on ostracism, being cut off from your family, physical attacks, and/or live in prison, without access to medicines.

    Other countries on the region (China, Thailand) actually respect sexual minorities, and are managing to reign over AIDS expansion much better. Yes, India may have managed to get an impressive engineering work force, but how good is that if your workforce is going to be decimated by AIDS on a few years time?

    1. Re:India is NOT a free country by CRCulver · · Score: 3, Informative

      The intellectual vanguards can not flourish without sexual liberation.

      You could have fooled me. India already has a Nobel laureate for literature (Tagore), and a world-famous controversial author with a fatwa against him (Rushie). Then there's Seth, Roy, and the great ancient grammarian Panini. It's amazing how many Indian authors I can call to mind when I can't name more than one or two from the sexually-liberated Netherlands. I don't think you can assert a correlation.

    2. Re:India is NOT a free country by registro · · Score: 1

      You are comparing India intellectual product with that of a country 70 times smaller. That is in itself very telling. Why don't you compare it with Europe, a small 450 Million union? Or the US. Or South America. Go counting literature novel prices, design, technology innovation and plastic arts there. The truth is Bangalore is not San Francisco bay area, nor Milan, and for good reason.

    3. Re:India is NOT a free country by tovarish · · Score: 2, Insightful

      you are right with those observations but it is not state repression but the views of the society in general. Changing minds of people isin't easy, it was not too long ago that blacks could't be in the same schools as whites in the usa. Homosexuality is not a punishable crime in the sense that no one has been convicted of it in recent years. On the other hand american prisons are full of gays every one knows ;)

    4. Re:India is NOT a free country by registro · · Score: 1

      "'it is not state repression but the views of the society in general."

      Not quit true: Is both, democracy at it's best, mob-mentality voters upholding laws for the legal lynching of repressed minorities.

      "Homosexuality is not a punishable crime in the sense that no one has been convicted of it in recent years."

      Unfortunately that's not true either, they are still putting people in jail, http://www.sodomylaws.org/world/india/india.htm.

      Gays are also harassed on many other ways, police eats, rob and sometimes rape then on cruising areas, and all form of active discrimination is of course legal. AIDS counselling is unavailable, what usually translates on a death sentence.

    5. Re:India is NOT a free country by The+Cydonian · · Score: 1
      The actual section involved is an archaic provision that we inherited from the British Common Law. The interesting bit is that, like all other colonial-era laws, it is vague enough to be completely unenforceable. More to the point, there has been no particular case of court-sanctioned imprisonment because of the law.

      Still, I agree; it shouldn't be there in the first place.

    6. Re:India is NOT a free country by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What, Live goes to prison if homosexuals are discovered ?!?! And I'm a Live fan !

    7. Re:India is NOT a free country by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The fact that the Netherlands has a 70 times smaller population may have something to do with that. Or that you can't read Dutch.

    8. Re:India is NOT a free country by registro · · Score: 1

      > inherited from the British Common Law

      True, that's the ironic part. It was the European colonist fault, but now, somehow, Indians think of homophobia as part of ancestral Indian identity, while gay people are considered just a perverted influence from western countries. Go figure.

      >there has been no particular case of court-sanctioned imprisonment because of the law.

      You are wrong on this one >URL:http://www.sodomylaws.org/world/india/india.h tm>, they do put people on jail there, and, "More to the point", even if they don't always do you get the same effect: gay people live in fear, their freedom has been curtained, they are oppressed.

    9. Re:India is NOT a free country by igb · · Score: 1
      Rushdie is a British Citizen, and has been since Birth. He needs a visa to enter India.

      You might also like to recall that India has a rather larger population than Holland, and India also has English as one of its official working languages again unlike Holland.

      ian

    10. Re:India is NOT a free country by The+Cydonian · · Score: 1
      Note that the way the particular section has been worded, it could be applicable to everything from sodomy to bestiality and everything else. Let me, therefore, clarify on my earlier point once again: YES, the law has been used, but NO, as far as my memory goes, no COURT as ruled against two *consenting* adults caught in a homosexual act. (skimmed through your link quickly; haven't found any)
      gay people live in fear, their freedom has been curtained, they are oppressed.
      I think this has to be taken into context. See, even heterosexual couples are often harrassed by the police for bribes, there's this law against eve-teasing that they can successfully use to harrass, but none of that can stand up in a court of law.

      So essentially, my point is that while homosexual Indians may be harrassed by the police for bribes and such, or perhaps, by mobs with political agendas, it would be difficult to argue that there is systematic persecution of homosexuals in India. This, of course, is not to say that everything's hunky-dory legally speaking; like most other parts of the Indian judicial system, the law against "unnatural sexual acts" is also in need of urgent legal reform (or at least, some sort of a clarification, perhaps, from the Supreme Court that the section doesnt cover homosexual acts).

      Then again, there are other parts of the legal system (such as the religion-based Personal Laws, the police system in general) that require even more urgent reform, so it's probably understandable why gay rights is on a backbench.

  139. India is breaking apart by dearborn70 · · Score: 1

    Most of the India is living in dark ages. The gap between rich and poor is increasing. Yeah, there are few exceptions. IT is limited to a handful of areas. Indian farmers have one of the highest suicide ratios. Take a look at this BBC story. And its common story. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3004930.stm Girl weds dog to break 'evil spell'

  140. India's Index of prosperity by Prodigy+Savant · · Score: 1

    I am in India, a software techie. While it is great that I get good opportunites to extend my love for computing into my job, I think I will *feel* India has arrived when porn is legal here.
    Here is why:

    Porn in India is not legal. This is, sadly, true. But ofcourse bootleg VCDs of porn is available (going rate? ~30 INR about 70 cents :D). It is a pity that not much porn gets made here though. The only ones that you see are what seem to be hidden cam ones ... or amatuer vids.
    I am waiting for the day when Vivid outsources to India. That will be the day when I will really *feel* that India has arrived :)

    As Salman Rusdie said, porn is the index of free society... i will extend that to say that porn is also the index of prosperity.

    India is not too hot on freedom of speech either. I once did a lampoon site of a local leader who in my opinion is a Hindu Fascist... the site featured him as Hitler. I am glad I did not mention my actual home address... for before I knew it, I got to read in the Times of India that a terrorist group had made a site on this real big wig politician... they mentioned that the CBI was on the case. I was shit scared as I had done the site right from home. But nothing happened . (those were the early days of the internet in India).
    Doing this site, I believed that it was perfectly legal to do... the constitution of India does grant me freedom of speech -- only in theory. I was younger then and more idealistic and thought for sure that I would not be convicted in court if I did get arrested.
    Now, a little wiser with the ways of this democracy, I do not think so... atleast one press guy who did an expose got his ass to jail and was butt-fucked (not literally, but he'd prefer that to being beaten tied up naked, for sure). I am lucky that I was not caught by the low tech intelligence :)

    Another way I measure the progress of a country is its level of tolerance ... yea it has been increasing, atleast in Delhi. Girls arent afraid to move around in exposing dresses (god bless them!), gays arent too afraid of coming out in public...
    yea this is happening, we *are* heading in the right direction... if only the asshole politician i lampooned and his breed of die hard Hindu Fanatics dont screw it up some time soon ... if they come to power (you know who!) then just maybe I (we?) are doomed :(

    --
    Dont make a better sig, you insensitive clod!
  141. Well, this is something I haven't observed by melted · · Score: 1

    Sure there are crappy American programmers (albeit the percentage is dramatically lower), but there's an important cultural difference. A halfway decent American programmer is more likely to tell his boss to fuck off when he puts forth an unrealistic schedule or requirements. An Indian will not say anything. He will just copy&paste shit all over the place and call the resulting spaghetti code a product.

  142. Re:1.10 is "Better": Murder of Indian Girls by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Yeah, how dare those brown dot-head pseudo-nigger animals be proud of their culture, don't those monkeys know that if it ain't white it ain't right?

    Come fellow AC, join me in a cross burning won't you?

  143. R&D expediture != results by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    "The US R&D expenditure is bigger than the next five countries put together, and India is nowhere in the picture. "

    I'll bet if you normalize R&D expenditures for salaries in India vs. US, the amount you accomplish/dollar is much closer.

  144. Re:bullshit by nandu_prahlad · · Score: 1

    I heartily agree with the parent. One more thing I would like to add is that human effort is really cheap in India. If you recieve less money for your work, then you wont have any incentive to innovate and you will only stick to those things that bring you the maximum money.

    You can already see this in action. Every guy and his grandma there wants to get into software. Yeah it's great that people are becoming IT savvy, but I'm talking about people chucking careers in English, History, the Pure Sciences and joining Tech Support companies. When you have a monoculture it is not good. It is always better to have diversity.

    The long term improvement of a nation comes from RnD and I don't see a bright future for India if it's researchers migrate to the US and Europe as they don't have many opportunities back home.

  145. Re:1.10 is "Better": Murder of Indian Girls by jc42 · · Score: 1

    Is christian science not an oxy-moron?

    Actually, no; the oxymoron would be "fundamentalist science".

    There have been a great many scientists who were Christians (or other religions). Charles Darwin was trained as a minister, for a really famous example.

    Most Christian denominations don't have any particular conflict with science. It's the fundamentalist churches that cause the problems, because they're the ones who insist on a "literal" interpretation of the bible, and refuse to accept that their God would speak in metaphors or other poetic language.

    Also, fundamentalists in some other religions have a similar conflict with science. It's not really a Christian problem so much a fundamentalist problem.

    Even the Catholic church has pretty much made its peace with science (though it did take them a few centuries to forgive Galileo ;-).

    --
    Those who do study history are doomed to stand helplessly by while everyone else repeats it.
  146. Fuck Sand Niggers by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Yes fuck em all. Be a true patriot

  147. Much US R&D spending is making its way to Indi by budGibson · · Score: 1

    Many companies such as Google, Microsoft, and biotechs are opening research offices in India. The "organic" Indian R&D spend may not be high, but the fact that other countries are investing in Indian R&D is of note.

  148. Re:bullshit by karthik_r085 · · Score: 1

    We may not become a superpower. But, we will certianly play a bigger role, close to superpower in IT, ITeS, Bioinformatics.....everything

    True that farmers are ignored by the Govt. But, after couple of years, that will change.

    Population: Current generation seems to go according to the rule(max: 2). Besides, we will witness a huge reduction in population somewhere in 201*.

  149. Re:Blah US the biggest and the best blah... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "That line kind of spoiled the article for me, because it brought me straight back to the reality of nationalist bullshit and the way it colours perception, although I'm sure you'll find that in almost any nation, including India."

    Speaking of colors and perception, your kind of fucked up in yours. The only one spewing angst here is you.

  150. Re:A country so smart.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Besides we are capable of growing VEGETABLE so we eat that. Which crop are you growing on Snow by the way, we dont need to eat cows to survive but you do.

    Try looking at a map, photos, and temperature data sometime, you ignorant clod - by some miracle, the countries west of you don't all sit under a permanent layer of snow.

    I would assume you were just joking or something, but based on my experiences with 99% of the Indians i've dealt with, that level of stupidity does not (sadly) seem out of the question.

  151. Re:1.10 is "Better": Murder of Indian Girls by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    I have news for you, wise a$$. I am African American.

    About 5 years ago, I lived next to an Indian couple in Detroit, Michigan. The husband would periodically beat his wife and kids. I could near the screaming through the apartment walls. One night, my conscience got the better of me, and I finally took matters into my own hands and knocked on their door.

    This huge Indian guy answers the door and starts pushing me around. I could hear the sobbing in the background. He really pissed me off, and I pulled out my 38 special and blew his head off.

    His wife testified that I acted in self defense, and the police did not pursue charges. The wife and kids remain in this country, and I testified at their immigration hearing.

    I cannot tell you how much I hate Indian culture. When I see the sh|t that these male Indian animals write, boasting about how great Indian society is, I think about that Indian wife and her children. I have only 2 words for these male Indian animals. They are "FVCK YOU!"

  152. Let me guess by saha · · Score: 1
    India is an ultra-conservative society where people are routinely coerced into arranged marriage, and gays are persecuted. Homosexuality is illegal, a crime punishable with live in prison.
    Let me guess...you've never visited nor lived in India. What percent of the population are you stating is forced into arranged marriage and what percentage of the population is gay? Got any real numbers to back that up. Perhaps one should take that high powered critical eye and focus it in the mirror. Or perhaps you forgot that there are eleven states in the U.S. that have changed their state laws to ban gay marriage? In fact in the state of Michigan there are lawsuits against several state funded institutions challenging domestic partner benefits and denying medical health care insurance to gay partners.

    That's between 100 and 50 million oppressed gays, more repressed people than any other country in the word , other than China
    Interesting...where did you pull this amazing number of 10% - 5% of the population of India to be homosexual? Honestly, what deep dark crevice in your rectum did you pull that number out of?

    the intellectual vanguards can not flourish without sexual liberation
    Got one word for you. Kamasutra. If someone such as youself who claims to be sexually liberated has ever read it. It talks about same sex situations and many other unconventional encounters. Oh by the way, did you know India has a very open eunuch population? Did you have any information of these folks getting arrested? I DON"T THINK SO. Eunuchs during the days India had monarchies where used as high level spies and held highly respected posts in the kingdom. They are no longer used in convert or clandestine activities but Indian society leaves them alone. I'd also like to add that the Great Britain seemed to do fine after Oscar Wilde was imprisoned. Don't get me wrong I'm a Oscar Wilde fan, but you statement does fall short of the facts. As for intellectuals the list is long and distinguished. Tagore (literature), Raman (physics), Chandrasekhar (phyics), Ramanujan(math), J.C. Bose (physics) ... need I go on?

    India HIV numbers are going up, fast and steady. Keep in mind that this is a society where you can't talk freely about a condom, let alone buy one on your local village store. Answering straightforward questions about your sex live to an AIDS prevention outfit or seeking help for AIDS may translate on ostracism, being cut off from your family, physical attacks, and/or live in prison, without access to medicines India has a growing AIDS issue and they'll need to tackle that issue, that I'll agree. Now the fact that you state that "a society where you can't talk freely about a condom, let alone buy one on your local village store. Funny, that the Govt. of India actually makes a condom subsidised for the lower income classes. In contrast the current United States administration is pushing for "abstinence" from the faith based programs and trying to reverse Roe vs Wade by changing the bench for the supreme and appellate courts. The administration also is cutting funding of programs that dispense condomss. I could argue that India has more freedoms for sexual choices because we don't picket in front of abortion clinics and deny people the right to choose.

    Other countries on the region (China, Thailand) actually respect sexual minorities
    You're a troll. "China actually respect sexual minorites". Good Lord, what kind of crack are you on?

    1. Re:Let me guess by registro · · Score: 1

      >Let me guess...you've never visited nor lived in India

      3 month there so far.

      > What percent of the population are you stating is forced into arranged marriage and what percentage of the population is gay?

      Gay activist usually claim that up to 10% of the population is gay. More conservative assumptions are around 5%. 100/50 million figures is only for gays, add arranged marriages.

      >Perhaps one should take that high powered critical eye and focus it in the mirror. Or perhaps you forgot that there are eleven states in the U.S....

      Nonsense. I'm Spanish.

      >Honestly, what deep dark crevice in your rectum did you pull that number out of?

      Well, that was homophobic. Let me guess, you are Indian. Or American.

      >Got one word for you. Kamasutra.

      Porn is illegal. Gay sex is illegal. Kamasutra? Please...

      >In contrast the current United States administration is pushing for "abstinence" from the faith based ...

      Keep on comparing with the U.S. Two wrongs don't make a right.

      >You're a troll. "China actually respect sexual minorites". Good Lord, what kind of crack are you on?

      Homophobic, rabidly anti-American, and not very knowledgeable. Que te jodan, capullin.

  153. India Has What It Takes to Become a Superpower by Sundroid · · Score: 1

    And what it takes is democracy. This is a nation that not long ago elected Sonia Gandhi, an Italian-born woman, as their prime minister (although she graciously stepped aside and gave the job to someone else), and that national sense of "harmony" is the greatest asset of Indian people. There has been a dubious comparison between China and India, with the emphasis being put on a major hurdle India has to overcome, namely, its significant population of the poor, as if China had no poor folks -- nothing can be further from the truth. China has a cunning censorship that basically airbrushes its citizens living in poverty out of the rosy pictures of gleaming high-rises and manufacturing facilities in Shanghai and Beijing. The abundant success stories of Indian immigrants in the U. S. will serve as historical anecdotes for this future superpower. Now, here is the commercial -- I wrote a novel that deals with Tibet, and the novel is published in its entirety online at: http://losangelesnow.blogspot.com/ . I will caution that those who prefer not to hear the truth about Tibet should not bother to read it.

  154. Old age by suhit · · Score: 1

    One thing people here are also forgetting about China is that due to their draconian policies to reduce population growth (while an admirable goal) has led to a country that is quite old. In fact, the Economist recently reported that for every four grandparents, there are two parents and one child in China. This has led to quite an imbalance in the size of the workforce relative to the population. One child now has to help take care of a larger number of relatives on a per capita income that hasn't increased to match such a change. I forget the exact statistics (it was in the Economist from last month and I cannot find the article now) but the average age in China was something like 28 in 1990, rising to 33 in 1995. And looking to the future, the proportion of those over 60 will rise from something like 10 per cent of the population in 1995 to 22 per cent in 2030.

    Now, besides the obvious problems like the massive reduction in the young workforce over the next couple of decades, many of you have pointed out that healthcare in China is quite archaic and is not equipped to handle (when couple with all its current problems) something like this. IMHO. While India's healthcare system is not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, it will not be hit by the problems of a large swath/percentage of its population turning old all at once. I think this will give rise to a semblance of stability.

  155. Short answer: NO by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    They're a nation of robots. Robots cannot lead; they can only follow and do what they are programmed to do.

    They can enhance, they can simulate/emulate, but they severely lack the spirit and originality that has made other countries great. And judging by any standard other than the technological, India is such a polluted backwater (socially as well as environmentally) that unless they resolve all the issues that plague their infrastructure first, they will always be viewed as third world beggars trying to play a first world game.

  156. Re:A country so smart.. by anand78 · · Score: 1

    I guess that tells a lot about how biassed you are. No offence here but isn't Western countries responsible for all the ills. Apartheid, Nazi, Slavery, you name it.
    And besides I am based in Western country and looking outside my Windows all I see is snow. Also I went to do grocery and found none of the products "Made in Western Country".
    I don't know why you think you are so smart, going by the way things are going Indians will have the last laugh.

  157. chinese people may think like this by panxing_personal · · Score: 1

    Thank you for your point. That's just what the goverment plans to do---"transforming into something similar to America as peacefully as possible". To achive this, bloodsweat workshop, crackdown, nationalist and even corruption are tolerated in this country these decades. Someones think it is the price to transform such a backward country to a modern one. Due to the nature of chinese(looking at the history), the country too often crashed all at once. And foreign invasion may be too easy!(1 milion barbarians can easily conquer 100 million civilized population) This transformation may not be as safe as chinese goverment think. But they have to do it.

  158. India has already been a knowledge superpower by EmbeddedJanitor · · Score: 2, Insightful
    So the question is not if, but can it be a knowledge superpower again.

    Consider that over 3000 years,Inda was a cultural and scientific power house when Europe was still rolling around in its own shit. eg. Pythagoras theorem was proven in Inda before 1000BC - ovef 400 years **before** Pythagoras was even born.

    --
    Engineering is the art of compromise.
  159. Art imitating life by V4Victory · · Score: 1

    The U.S. R&D expenditure is bigger than the next five countries put together

    Ahh, yet another example of CIV3 paralelling our world!

  160. Are you a latent racist or a bigot? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Because you might just be a racist or a bigot.

    Technology and Engineering should not be confined to one ethnicity.

    The only reason that American Management doesn't want American Engineering is that they don't want to pay the engineers what they are worth.

    So they hire Indians and Chinese. Indians are better at kissing ass.
    Chinese are better at acting like the expert.

    Neither group has a higher percentage of good engineers than the American and European and African groups do.

    Basically any idea that Indian or Chinese engineering is better than any other type is either stupid nationalism, which is silly and not really a problem, or it is racism and bigotry which is always a problem.

    I have observed that there is a certain racism is some people. Surely we don't want this to be considered a worthy trait.

    After a time it will all equalize again. The United States monied class doesn't want to share with the techies any more of their money. but people will do what works and real engineers of any nationality will always be valued and have good work as long as we have rational, and non racist policies.

    Can we have that please, here?
    Can't we do away with the evil racism and the stupid nationalism?

  161. Haven't read the article but... by foniksonik · · Score: 1

    What it really all comes down to is "how badly do you want it?"

    It doesn't matter how much money you spend or what talent you have available... if you want it enough the money and talent will come to you. This applies in all things in life.

    --
    A fool throws a stone into a well and a thousand sages can not remove it.
  162. Re:Can It? by randallpowell · · Score: 0

    Yes. Considering companies now prefer Indian employees over Americans, I think India can easily out do us. Send more jobs there and we can trade world status.

  163. Re:1.10 is "Better": Murder of Indian Girls by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Bullshit, I'm a pink fuzzy alien wise ass (looky looky I can type the actual word!!!) and when I came to earth in the 1820's I went and bought some niggers to work my plantation but one of them got all uppity so i blew his head off with my laser musket gun and since i owned his black ass no one cared. I can't tell you how much I hate black culture but now when I see shit like niggers who know how to read i think back to that uppity nigger I killed way back when and just drag their black ass into space where I eat them.

    I know what I'm doing is the right thing because of my single experiance with that one nigger so I know all the millions of them are bad.

  164. Re:Blah US the biggest and the best blah... by theolein · · Score: 1

    "you're" is the word you're looking for.

  165. Lack of funding is not the problem by DigiShaman · · Score: 1

    The real problem with education starts at home. When both your parents work, do not promote ethics and morals, and your subjected to environment that promotes sex, drugs, and scandals as a way of life for the elite through the media...then it becomes a SOCIAL problem and not one based on finances.

    My sister-in-law is a school teacher here in Austin, TX. She has told me countless times how students are more violent and abusive they are. Worse yet, trying to punish them can often cost you your job out of the aspect of maintaining "political correctness".

    Gee, and people wonder why our educational system is fucked up. The problems with it are not a cause, but a symptom of modern American society.

    If I ever get married and have a child, I'll either send them to a private school, or home school them myself. And most important, I will NEVER ship them off to daycare as though they are a burden (sic). A proper society for any nation starts at the home.

    --
    Life is not for the lazy.
  166. Re:Not Funny: Sweden vs. India by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Even if you want to live in India, we wont give you Visa. We already have enough people, we dont need more immigrants, not any one from west, we have learnt our lesson from our past experience with westerners.

  167. "rhetorical histrionics"? don't make me vomit by astflgl · · Score: 1

    What a load. Most totalitarian regimes were put in place by more powerful countries, first and foremost among them the USA. For example, the massacres (a.k.a. "economic and civil reforms") in Indonesia were second only to the nazi holocaust in terms of human suffering and death toll, yet they were initiated and lauded by first world countries.

    I highly recommend the following linked page for a very interesting and eye-opening account of the massive double standards involved when first world countries deal with totalitarian regimes, using the recent reforms in indonesia as the example. The content was written by John Pilger, a man who has won british journalism's highest award twice, so be assured that the reporting is of the highest quality.

    link: http://www.inminds.co.uk/globalisation-in-indonesi a.html

    Also, your second point, that the guy doesn't have valid complaints about law enforcement because the cops aren't beating his door down is almost 100% stupid. Just because you don't agree with someone dosn't mean you should just spout any old crap to dispute them. Or maybe you should, it did get you to +4 with very little effort..

    --
    sorry
    1. Re:"rhetorical histrionics"? don't make me vomit by kevinbr · · Score: 1
      John Pilger is a fine Journalist and Writer. However, my fellow Americans learn through the filter of the restrained eduactional system and a dead and complient press ( not really journalists, they are cheer leaders)

      Hunter S. Thompson today took his own life. A sad day for freedom and journalism.

      The voices of sanity and restraint and education grow weaker and weaker.

      Like Hitler, soon our only valid political expression will be screaming Hail Bush in a stadium.

  168. Re:bullshit by maniac_inside · · Score: 1, Insightful

    I think [ being an Indian ] that in my entire reading of slashdot over the last one year, this is one comment that seems to come from mind rather than just following the heart and politics . People seem to believe that IT-industry is the panacea of all Indian troubles. However if you closely examine companies like Infosys, TCS, CSC and other companies all they are doing is @labor@ work or to be more educated @service@ work. R&D in India is stilll pathetic.

    I really don't remember When was the last time I used a software research and developed in India. Yes components of VB.NET were built in India but Microsoft is NOT an Indian Company. Adobe Photo Album software was designed and developed in India but Adobe is NOT an Indian company. Google, Intel and other are doing R&D in India, but when was the last time I came across ground breaking paper in Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry or for that matter even in Computer Science.

    I really laugh my ass out when someone says India is an IT superpower, I have friends at CSC and Infosys they are ready to admit that the only reason that they have got jobs is because of cheap labor in India not only because they are skilled programmers.

    Facts:

    a) In India you will have to pay at least Rs 500 even when you want to register a complaint against police. Better commit suicide if the criminal has a relative in @Govt@ department.

    b) Educational system is pathetic. Never does it encourage one to think. Yes we have IIT's but did you know that every year 250,000 people attempt to get into IIT and only and only 3000 get through. IIT's definitely are great but look beyond it.

    c) R&D is pathetic, too much focus on encouraging the service sector is only causing harm to the overall skill level. Today as Americans are willing to go in for higher graduate studies, a lot but not all are satisfied in India to work at call center.

    d) Politics, As you mention every year we come out with these policies like providing
    Rs 250,000,000,000 to the poor when more than three quarters goes to the pockets of corrupt politicians like Laloo. He spends what

    Rs 200, 000,000 on his daughter's wedding when is monthly salary is

    Rs 25,000

    e) And where is the Internet growth, What are your figures on Broadband in India, still 0.01%. I live in North, there is still now sign of any one offering affordable broadband. That is all when in US you have more than half of the total population and more than 75% of the students having brodband.

    Several reasons put into india being an IT-superpower

    a) English speaking nation, this is by far the most important reason. Nobody would have been here if half of Chinese could speak English.

    b) Skilled labor, this also can't be ignored but doesn't China has that it certainly with its R&D facility stand a better chance to beat us.

    My advice to people coming India, come be my guest but do visit Bihar or any other place than Banglore. If you are able to come out of Bihar @alive@ please come and have coffee with me.

  169. insults and assumptions are tools of fools by astflgl · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    Why do these people think that trying to improve the usa's foreign policy makes a person into a tree hugger, or an america hater? Honestly, responding to these complaints with shit like "go hug a tree" is the most ignorant shit i've ever heard. And it's not just slashdot, not just the internet. If you ever go to fark.com and read the political flamewars, you can almost always spot a right wing post by looking for either insults or assumptions about the person they are replying to. P.J. O'Rourke's latest book, Peace Kills, supports right wing policies by ripping on hippies and liberals for about 180 pages (but it's excused because the man is quite funny). Bill O'Reilly with his most ridiculous item of the day. it is a really effective way of denouncing/discrediting someone's argument, and it's quite easy to do as well. maybe us liberal scumbags should start fighting fire with fire...

    Mate, go learn how to think for yourself instead of believing all the shit you're told by people who you think are better than you. I can see why you joined the military, as you obviously haven't got an original thought in your head. Hey, here's a good idea, why don't you go shoot some foreigners, they're not as good as americans anyway. Obviously you're a bit of a submissive bitch, because you seem to value a country by how many rich assoles it contains. to clarify, you and your kind contribute basically didley squat to the quoted 50%, that figure is made possible by corrupt assholes who don't care if you live or die. but good on you for volunteering your life for these people, not many of us are that stupid. oh yeah, and your economic insight is astounding. why don't you take up teaching your retarded little theories about socialism to your buddies at the hunting club or wherever the fuck you go, i'm sure they would love the opportunity to cement their ignorant and confused views about the world even further into their giant oversized retarded mullet-clad heads.

    Hmm, i'm beginning to see why only stupid assholes write shit like this. i feel like an absolute dipshit for typing the above, but who knows, some clown will probably mod it up.

    --
    sorry
    1. Re:insults and assumptions are tools of fools by kevinbr · · Score: 1
      Americans have a sad tendancy to trumpet their military services as if we should all then shut up and defer to those who have fought.

      If that were the case Nazi camp guards would be the power today.

      He will have to be ordered to fight, I went volantarily to Afghanistan to help the peoplel there ( yes and to get pay as well, I am not so altruictic to work for free).

      Not all Americans are as closed monded as the poster above, there are still a few of us left who can read and think outside of the "approved:" media.

    2. Re:insults and assumptions are tools of fools by AstroDrabb · · Score: 1
      Where did I say I was a "right-winger"? I am not. I am a libertarian.
      Hmm, i'm beginning to see why only stupid assholes write shit like this. i feel like an absolute dipshit for typing the above
      Well you should asshole. You not even close to being correct. So go and hug your tree and smoke your pot you little hippie commie. And and don't forget that when I nation is in need, you can run like a little bitch and cry why real men go and protect her.
      --
      If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land,
      it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy. -James Madison
    3. Re:insults and assumptions are tools of fools by kevinbr · · Score: 1
      You wish and dream that the world will see you as a real man cause you have learned that closet huff puff gay talk.

      Real men do not talk about how they are eager to go to war to fight.

      You are a classic case of closet queen. Your type when faced with a real man suddenly lose your bully butch bravery and start to whimper and snivel.

      It is OK, you can now admit you looked at other mens butts in the shower and liked it.

  170. Re:Nope! They are not! by VanillaCoke420 · · Score: 1

    Oh, come on. You're not Swedish, because if you were, you'd be much better at English. I can't imagine how anyone could be this bad.

  171. Re:Not Funny: Sweden vs. India by MrRTFM · · Score: 1

    And the U.S. put billions into putting a man on the moon, that served little to no purpose, only to 'beat' russia.

    I disagree - that single but expensive act inspired an entire planet [those who had comms at least] and showed us what could be achieved. I agree that it had no military advantage, no economic gains and minimal scientific outcomes, but hey - it was 'cool' on a planetary scale, and some things are worth doing 'just because'.

    I wouldnt want to pay for it, and if my government now said I had to pay $400 a year tax to subsidise interplanetary travel, I would be initially pissed off - but once that ship reached its destination I 'd realise that it was worth it.

    --
    You can't expect to wield supreme executive power, just because some watery tart threw a sword at you
  172. Technically your reply is beneath my threshold by saha · · Score: 1
    Technically your reply is beneath my threshold and doesn't dignify a response. Against my better judgment I'll try to point out where you're way off base.

    > >Let me guess...you've never visited nor lived in India
    > 3 month there so far.
    I guess living there for 3 months makes you an authority on India right? I've lived in Chile for 3 months, so that must make me an expert on the region and pass sweeping judgment of where I lived. I know people living in Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) for the past three years. The one thing they do miss is broccoli. Broccoli isn't contraband in India, it's just in low market demand for it and it's just that its difficult to find and you have to know where to get it. Apply, that to your porn and other magazines. Adult or X rated videos are sold at small video stores in big cities. As for sex toys, well...very low market demand for vibrators and a. beads is not unusual when the large portion of the country is poor and can't afford to spend it on frivolous items like that. Most people in western countries don't walk into a shop to buy items from a sex store, they order it from a catalog, and have it mailed to them in a discreet parcel. The problem is that most mail is misplaced or stolen in India's postal service. Just because you can't find the items you're looking for in the first 3 months of living in a new country, doesn't mean you have the right to write it off with your cursory evaluation of it. I migrated to OS X two years ago and I'm still finding out those little gems or ways of doing things that where equivalent to the ways I used to do tasks in the past with other systems.

    > Nonsense. I'm Spanish.
    Well, mucho gusto to you too.

    > > What percent of the population are you stating is forced into arranged
    > > marriage and what percentage of the population is gay?
    > >Gay activist usually claim that up to 10% of the population is gay. More
    > > conservative assumptions are around 5%. 100/50 million figures is only for gays, add arranged marriages.
    You're siting me numbers from gay activists. Great, give me real numbers from a credible source (e.g. WHO, UN) , otherwise you won't have much to flout with me. You know there are rather vocal and dogmatic Mac acolytes who'd like to think that they have 10% of the US market. They'll skew their numbers like counting old 8 year old Macs as part of their stats, even though those machines aren't seeing any use. I've also seen Linux fans who claim 5% of the global market. Vocal and over enthusiastic members in minorities tend to have the habit of exaggerating their numbers.

    > >Honestly, what deep dark crevice in your rectum did you pull that number out of?
    > Well, that was homophobic. Let me guess, you are Indian. Or American.
    Funny, you've never heard of the expression "where did you pull that out of your ass". So, all of a sudden I'm homophobic? You must play that homophobia card all the time. The danger of over using it in unnecessary scenarios is that if becomes less effective you use it poorly. If you're going to jump to conclusions to allow me to call you myopic, unexposed, judgmental, racist against Indians. Then again you might not be an anti-Indian bigot or hope that you are not.

    > >You're a troll. "China actually respect sexual minorites". Good Lord, what kind of crack are you on?
    > Homophobic, rabidly anti-American, and not very knowledgeable. Que te jodan, capullin.
    Of course I MUST be homophobic and anti-American, and uninformed according to you. Funny, you should say that about some one who was trying to educate Michigan voters last year on how amendments to the state constitution was preventing the rights of same sexed couples to health care benefits and other legal ramifications of those laws. I must be SO anti-american when I spend my time (vacation days), money and energies last year participating in the democratic system in the land of the free (that's the ol' U.S of A). By the way I

  173. Who modded you interesting?Iraq was thewrong place by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    The US citizens _knew_ from our own history that it does take resolve to make these long-term changes and make them last. Electing a very weak candidate such as Kerry would have brought Iraq to its knees and had Iraq ruled by some other radical group in a matter of months or years.

    Interesting definition of a weak candidate. Some how the fact that Bush did not complete his duty in the Texas National Guard seems to evade you and the fact that you bought into the RNC spin and Swift Boat baloney really is quite telling about your ability to make clear reasoned judgments. Its amazing that as a U.S.M.C you're more impressed with a man who's family had political connections to get him out of Vietnam tour of duty versus a man who volunteered to go to Vietnam to serve.

    I am a Libertarian
    That explains so much. Libertarians are the polar opposites of communists, both however share quixotic notions of their utopian societies.

    Let me lay the facts down for you buddy, since you're highly confused watching your Fox News propaganda. We went into Iraq because we had incorrect intelligence that Saddam had WMDs. Are you with me so far? Then after looking like a bunch of morons to the rest of the world who we gave the finger to (e.g. "Old Europe") for starting a preemptive war that was clearly unjustified. The administration puts the spin on it that it was all about promoting freedom in the middle east. Okay ... now for the bad news.

    You many come down on democracy all you want. However, democracy is truly the most peaceful system around. Most nations that deal with one another in a democratic fashion will almost never resort to war
    Lets talk about freedom and democracy for a second since thats what both you and I can agree that is a good thing. Why is it that we support and ally with a military dictator who over threw the democratically elected leader in a coup d'etat on one side of the world and who's country has been selling nukes to all the pariah nations. Then using questionable intelligence invade another country that didn't have nukes and then put the spin on it by declaring the promotion of "freedom" and "democracy" in the middle east. I fail to see how the public don't see this glaring irony. By the way has anyone see Bin Laden around?

    The Man Who Sold the Bomb

    Khan's Dangerous Game

    Musharraf Named in Nuclear ProbeFebruary 3, 2004

    Pakistan Ended Aid to Taliban Only Hesitantly December 8, 2001

    Musharraf: Bin Laden may be dead23 December, 2001

    Pakistan's leader thinks bin Laden deadJanuary 18, 2002

    Bin Laden trail is cold, Musharraf admitsDecember 6, 2004

    A Hostile Land Foils the Quest for bin LadenDecember 13, 2004

    Protest at Musharraf's army role 19 December, 2004
    So much for us supporting "democracy" and "freedom"

    With North Korea's recent declaration of possessing nuclear weapons. One should stop to ask Pakistan's military or ISI (Intra Service Intelligence) how the hell N. Korea, Libya and Iran all got their nuclear weapons. How Pakistan traded their nuclear know how for N. Korea's medium range missiles.

    The best part of all this is that A.Q. Khan, the father of the Pakistan atomic bomb is consider to be a "hero" in his home country and is

  174. Until the Robots Take over!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    We have like 50-75 years before robots take over all the menial jobs. When I say robots I don't just mean cool androids, but I mean like "McDonalds as a vending machine", where that vending machine takes the frozen patty, cooks it up, forms it into combo-meal of choice and spits it out on a tray with a computer generated smile. Meanwhile, Roombas will clean the lobby and the toilets will clean themselves.

    Walmart, similar story.

    Mass transit, similar story.

    Get into politics now, it may be the only job left!

  175. Different value system by heroine · · Score: 1

    India is currently the world's knowledge superpower mainly because they have a value system which emphasizes knowledge. Other countries emphasize style, image, and symbolism to achieve technological superiority. India emphasizes knowledge to achieve technological superiority.

  176. Indians use more common sense ... thats it. by shreyasonline · · Score: 1

    India, an over crowded country, the only thing working fine is the peoples common sense. This is the reality for the prople living here. For instance, the owner of a manufacturing company named Kirloskar, needed some eqipment for their manufacturing plant. So they planned to buy it from a company in US. While knowing about the equipment, Mr. Kriloskar asked the engineer, what if there is a sudden power failure while the process is on? The engineer was confused so he started to see the blue prints of the machine after failing to understand what would happen, he called upon the designers of the equipment and the designers simply said that they never thought about case of power failure on the machine! And they realised that power failure had a devastating effect on the machine. So Mr. Kirlosker could not buy the machine as there are many times that power failure occur in India.

  177. Re:bullshit by kaalamaadan · · Score: 2, Interesting
    Good points. Before the current Chinese Leap, there was the great leap forward. 13 million people died. On the other hand, India has never had a famine or a similar holocaust on a "genocide" scale for quite some time now.

    A lumbering democracy is much preferrable to a draconian system which can take drastic steps in any direction. The key is debate. It takes time. I want to be able to live in a livable country, not necessarily in a superpower.

    And did you overlook the small fact that Iran is an oil-rich country?

  178. Money == productivity? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The fact that the United States' research budget is enormous does not necessarily imply that the United States is more productive than another nation. Actually, GDP is a measure of that. But what the article looks at is a very specific type of productivity--that is, technological advancement.

    To my knowledge, there aren't any specific indicies that measures this, but if there was, it would be the Asian countries at the top, probably Japan and S. Korea. Technological innovation is far greater there, where inefficient bureaucracies and large monopolies cannot stop the popular culture from shifting every few months, thus driving the demand for constant innovation. India and China are also major technological powers, by sheer size. Many older technologies lsuch as coal power plants cannot be implemented on such large scales, thus driving up research demand for more efficient means of doing things.

    The amount of money put into research means nothing in terms of how much new knowledge is produced, and certainly has no bearing on the pragmatism of the knowledge.

    While I don't believe that there is such a thing as useless knowledge, I do think that even if the US was the largest research producer in the world, the Asian nations are getting a larger bang for their buck.

  179. Re:It's like we lost a war we didn't know we fough by blair1q · · Score: 1


    Some people would beg to differ.

    Are there any Indian or Chinese companies with this kind of web presence? I doubt it.


    I thought I'd just pointed out that those are now Indian and Chinese companies.