Posts from — February 2005

The next few days will see this blog undergo a major upgrade as it undergoes a complete overhaul. I just came back from Bhootkannadi where Ashwin has done precisely this. I have in mind the following points to act upon:
1. With Wordpress 1.5 released, the innards of this blog will be updated to run the feature-rich version of Wordpress
2. The look and feel will also get a makeover with the Kubrick template that comes as a default with WP 1.5
3. I also want to get down to building a customized 404 page and
4. There’s also the task of putting up an ‘About’ and Disclaimer pages.

So here we go…

I like where Gaurav is going with this. I agree completely with the contention that India is not a poor country as most people within and outside the country would have us believe! So, I am looking forward to the continuation of his discourse.

In my view, the 5 leading reasons for India’s pervasive poverty are,
1. Inequitable distribution of resources,
2. Absence of a reasonable buying power in most people,
3. Lack of sustained effort to generate the buying power through economic growth,
4. Lack of will to educate and train masses,
5. Dependence of people on State doles

But of course, not being an economics or a humanities student, I could be completely off the mark!

Now that the US (through the newly appointed Condoleeza Rice) is making pre-invasion noises about Iran’s nuclear program, India should sit up and protest!!

I know it is too much to expect from a soft-state. India had tactfully endorsed (through its ‘middle-path’ approach) the US action in Iraq. There were of course token protests from the usual suspects and the internet savvy youth considered Bush to be the worst person since Hitler. But on the whole, India could not go against an action which sought to replace a dictatorship by a democracy.

But now… things are completely different! Iran is a democracy. But that is merely a moral justification for a case against an invasion against Iran. India’s resistance of any action against Iran should not stem for morality but from its self-interests!!

The recently announced oil pipeline from Iran to India is going to go a long way in satisfying India’s growing thirst for energy. The importance of this pipeline can be gauged from the fact that India has agreed without the usual posturings to let the pipeline run through Pakistan. As Swaminathan Aiyar observes in his weekly column in Times of India, “Putting energy security before conventional security, India suddenly views Pakistan as a potential partner, not just a foe“. He also talks about upping the ante and proposing a grand pipeline from Iran to China, passing through Pakistan and India. This will not only be in the Chinese interests, but also hugely benefit the Indians who can charge the Chinese a great deal in transit fees. These transit fees can pay the charges that India will need to fork out to Pakistan as transit fees and still earn India a tidy profit.

But there is more to a possible pipeline to China than just profit. With China in the picture, the US will have to think twice before initiating an adventure in Iran. This will be just the thing that India needs for India cannot afford to miss out on the Iranian oil given its continuously rising oil needs. If the US does indeed do an Iraq in Iran, the oil pipeline to India will be seriously jeopardized… at least in the short to medium term. Swaminathan Aiyar’s notes this point quite astutely…

The USA is desperately trying to isolate Iran and undermine its economy. The last thing the USA wants is a great and glorious partnership between Iran, Pakistan, India and China.

The USA is not in a position to force China or India to desist from a pipeline.

Thus in a single stroke, India can achieve,
1. Partial fulfilment of its oil needs at an economical price,
2. Reasonable amount of peace in the sub-continent,
3. Some useful foreign exchange,
4. Continued position on the moral high ground as far as its opposition to the US threat to Iran’s sovereignty.

Who says it’s not all about oil?!

For all you PayPal users out there, there’s a new hoax to contend with!

It comes in the form of an e-mail, supposedly from PayPal, with the subject-line “PayPal Account Security Measures“. The contents of the mail are as follows,

Dear PayPal Member,

Your account has been randomly flagged in our system as a part of our routine security measures. This is a must to ensure that only you have access and use of your PayPal account and to ensure a safe PayPal experience. We require all flagged accounts to verify their information on file with us. To verify your Information at this time, please visit our secure server webform by clicking the hyperlink below

Click here to verify your Information

Thank you for using PayPal!
The PayPal Team

Please note that this is not a genuine PayPal e-mail. It is a fraud!!

The URL to supposedly verify your information takes you to the fraudster’s website where any information, that an unsuspecting PayPal user might enter, is phished!

As usual, I checked with PayPal by forwarding this suspicious mail to spoof@paypal.com. And a few minutes later, PayPal confirmed with a reply which said,

Dear Sameer,

Thank you for contacting PayPal.

Thank you for bringing this suspicious email to our attention. We can confirm that the email you received was not sent to you by PayPal. The website linked to this email is not a registered URL authorized or used by PayPal. We are currently investigating this incident fully. Please do not enter any personal or financial information into this website.

There! … straight from the horse’s mouth!! :-)

Stay informed!!

Update: Thanks to hpnadig for pointing out the following resources on information on these ‘homograph attakcs’.
1. Phisihing, IDN and Gecko Browsers
2. The state of homograph attacks

Hewlett-Packard has ousted Carly Fiorina, its Chairman and CEO. She had always been criticized for pushing through HP’s merger with Compaq.

Fiorina, who joined HP as CEO in 1999, became a lightning rod for criticism from investors and some in the Silicon Valley establishment for pushing through the 2002 merger with rival PC maker Compaq.

Critics, including family members of HP founders William Hewlett and David Packard, argued that the merger diluted the value of HP’s crown jewel, its profitable printer and imaging business.

[source: Reuters]

The disillusionment within the company and its investors was such that immediately after the announcement of Fiorina’s ouster, HP’s stock jumped up 10 percent!!

Incidentally, Carly Fiorina was considered to be the most powerful businesswoman in the world (and 10th most powerful woman) in 2004 by Forbes.com.

As an aside, the same Forbes.com considered Sonia Gandhi to be the 3^rd most powerful woman in the world in 2004!!