End of a golden era

The United States of America is reeling under pressure to maintain it's glory which now seems like old times. The economy including financial markets have literally crumbled in the past few months. We have seen trillions of dollars erode away from markets.
The question one has to pose is that is this consumer nervousness or has the economy peaked? One cannot ignore the negative market news every day of the week.
America is now faced with some fundamental challenges in the wake of recession, unemployment rates at a 26 year high, crumbled financial markets, credit squeeze and liquidity issues, falling demand for it's auto industry, high standard of living and the list goes on and on.
In between all of these crisis, the economic downfall lends itself to a question whether the principles of free markets and capitalism can thrive. Day after day we hear cases for regulation and government intervention through bail out packages.
In the midst of this, one has to seriously ask a question as to where is the country heading to and is this the end of a golden era for America? Indeed if this is so, the country has to accept reality with a pinch of salt and go back to basics. Going back to basics really does not mean manufacturing more of the junk american cars that market does not want. It really means addressing issues from a grass root level such as education, health care, rebuilding of infrastructure, maintainence of bridges and other infrastructural facilities, create employment opportunities, reskill people with a different set of objectives as the jobs that have been exported to India or China will not return back to the USA.
Not to forget that the dysfunctional compensation patterns in the corporate world are not helping the case either. This brings up another question as to whether the country is ready for redistribution of wealth? lowering of standard of living to become more competitive and rekindle manufacturing. Are there trade measures that can be taken to bring a balance by raising prices on certain exports to balance rising costs of imports?
America needs to address these issues quickly if it intends to continue to be a dominant player in the world markets and meanwhile countries like China and India are more likely to steal the show as things stand.
Welcome to the club Mr. Obama, reality is different to election speeches and campain rhetoric.
Come up with solutions rather than with problems.

India-Pakistan Mind Games

I am not sure as to who is playing mind games here. About 200 innocent people were killed. Many innocent people were also killed in the Kabul blast. The world does not need any more patience with Pakistan I suppose. The Indian government seems to be on the defensive when they really need to be on the offensive. Forget about upcoming elections, forget about personality clashes, forget about religious differences, it is really about innocent people who died. Assume for a second if it was your immediate relative, How would one feel?
Bottomline, India needs to retaliate and do this quickly and there is no need to issue press statements. Get moving!!!

Indian Response

Now that the targets have been secured and terrorists either killed or captured, the question is how does India respond?
If Pakistan is involved as being suggested by India, why not bring it out in the open? I am surprised to note that Pakistan;s authorities keep denying their involvement and Indian authorities keep silent.
Why link Kashmir tensions with Mumbai terror attack? These are unconnected issues for now.
I believe the jury is out in the open and if Pakistan is really not involved then they should have no issues with fighting the militants together with India. Both countries know where these guys are operating from.
Hopefully India and Pakistan unite and really fight this to the end.

Mumbai Attacks - A Test of Patience

India has become a haven for terrorist attacks of late. Indian is a secular democracy. What comes up as a question for the entire world today is how should the Government respond ? Immediate reaction would suggest that a counter attack against the groups would be an appropriate reaction. However, one must bear in mind that in a secular democracy this can be a real problem as there a large number of minorities that may get impacted. Above all , there is politics mixed with religious extremism. If India has to effectively respond, it may mean an attack on the Kashmiri groups as well as the tribal groups in Pakistan. In order to organize this kind of an attack, India would require the support of USA and Russia. Bottom line, this has to be conducted as a world response and not just an Indian response.

In conclusion, the time has come for the world to unite and offer an appropriate response to the terrorist groups.