Do it yourself

Thought for the day "I have never made but one prayer to God, a very short one: 'O Lord make my enemies ridiculous.' And God granted it." —Voltaire (French, 1694-1778) Word for the day Commodious (adj) Spacious and convenient; roomy: a commodious apartment . Malice towards none "Intellectual Bankruptcy".....huum! Should government consider making it part of the proposed Bankruptcy Law? First random thought this morning The monkey of Brexit has been riding the back of global financial markets for some time now. No respite is seen from this lingering worry till June. There have been strong arguments made, both in favor and against Brexit. The June referendum might settle the matter for now. What I fail to decipher is how Britons would overcome the lure of free ECB money and free European market that may explode with rehabilitation of millions of refugees. My vote is "nay". ...

Thought for the day "Appreciation is a wonderful thing: It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well." —Voltaire (French, 1694-1778) Word for the day Psittacism (n) Mechanical, repetitive, and meaningless speech. (Source: Dictionary.com) Malice towards none When morality takes over the rule of law - stars bite dust, everyone gets to play saint, mob imparts the justice, and no one is winner. First random thought this morning I shall be ever grateful to our hyper-enthusiastic TV news anchors and our parliamentarians. They helped generously in treatment of my addiction to the idiot box. There was a time, I would watch anything showing on TV. But no longer. My pendulum has swung to the other extreme. Now I loath to go to the rooms where TV is playing. As they say, "whatever happens, happens for the good".   Rally may strengthen led by banks Greed being conquered by fear, time for a new beginning In past few months, broad...

Thought for the day "Social progress can be measured by the social position of the female sex." —Karl Marx (German, 1818-1883) Word for the day Isonomy (n) Equality of political rights. Malice towards none How and when Dr. Vijay Mallya will be suspended from Rajya Sabha and his privileges, inlcuding diplomatic passport, be withdrawn? First random thought this morning Reuters reported yesterday that Chinese banking regulator (PoBC) is contemplating a equity for debt swap scheme to get over the problem of burgeoning NPAs. The move may allow indebted corporates to reduce their leverage, reducing the cost of servicing debt and making them more worthy of fresh credit. It would also reduce NPL ratios at commercial banks, reducing the cash they would need to set aside to cover losses incurred by bad loans. Being Chinese, the plan prima facie looked like a huge ponzi; till the time I realized that it is nothing bu...

Thought for the day "Democracy is the road to socialism." —Karl Marx (German, 1818-1883) Word for the day Rabble-Rouser (n) A person who stirs up the passions or prejudices of the public, usually for his or her own interests; demagogue. Malice towards none Dear FM, if nothing else is working, trying renaming the proposed GST Act   as Rajiv Gandhi GST Act (RGGA) First random thought this morning The famous 2014 general election win of PM Modi also popularized his designer kurtas and phoren returned PR agent cum election strategist Prashant Kishore. The day is not far when our vigilant media discovers the hair stylist responsible for the new look of Modi Ji. It is good that PR agencies, fashion designers, hair stylists are getting their due share in Indian democracy. I hope a day will come soon when Indian politicians will publically proclaim their life partners and a victory kiss in full public view will not be ...

Thought for the day "History does nothing; it does not possess immense riches, it does not fight battles. It is men, real, living, who do all this." —Karl Marx (German, 1818-1883) Word for the day Sylvan (adj) Of, relating to, or inhabiting the woods. Malice towards none Want freedom from traffic jams - call the FM to your area and keep him stuck in jam for two hours! First random thought this morning Since Kanahaiya Kumar and Richa Singh have taken over the headlines, the common man is being seriously deprived of the "real" news, e.g., Why did Anushka and Virat break up? Why did Ranbir and Katrina break up? Why Aamir Khan has been chosen as brand ambassador for irrigation department of Maharashtra? Why Salman and Shahrukh have crossed swords again? By the way, do you know the viewership statistics of the latest videos of RaGa, NaMo and KK's on Youtube? Tippy Tippy Tap - What color you want?...

Thought for the day "There is a specter haunting Europe, the specter of Communism." —Karl Marx (German, 1818-1883) Word for the day Factotum (n) Any employee or official   having many different responsibilities. Malice towards none Brent Crude is up staggering 41% since the low recorded on 20th January this year. The domestic petrol prices are down by over Rs3 during this period. First random thought this morning In a series of media interviews post his release from jail, a soft spoken Kanhaiya Kumar (KK) evoked emotions by playing a perfect victim; with a conspicuous glee on his face already declaring a victory. I find him "not honest to himself", "no icon", a sequel to Arvind Kejriwal (AK) may be, but "no JP or Lohia". Nifty: All star aligned for an up move After almost six months, daily, weekly and monthly charts are aligned for a move of the similar magnitude in...

Thought for the day "An intellectual hatred is the worst." — W. B. Yeats (Irish, 1865-1939) Word for the day Supercilious (adj) Haughtily disdainful or contemptuous, as a person or a facial expression. Malice towards none The evidence emerging from Haryana   strongly suggests a total breakdown of constitutional machinery during recent RIOTS in the State. If this is not a fit case under Article 356 for imposition of president rule, then there could never be any case for its use. First random thought this morning In past few years, an overwhelming large number of Indian politicians have demonstrated their disregard for the democratic institutions, most notably, the Parliament & various State Assemblies, the Judiciary, the CAG, and office of State Governors. It is critical to stop here and examine whether only a certain class of elected representatives have lost faith in the working of democracy in India...

Thought for the day "If suffering brings wisdom, I would wish to be less wise." — W. B. Yeats (Irish, 1865-1939) Word for the day Parapraxis (n) A slip of the tongue or pen, forgetfulness, misplacement of objects, or other error thought to reveal unconscious wishes or attitudes. Malice towards none Will US finally have a woman president? First random thought this morning Inarguably there are serious gaps in government statistics. A large number of CSO data seems inconsistent, and incongruent with what we see on the ground. For example, manufacturing growth does not tally with IIP numbers, persistent decline in exports and lower railway freight tariff. Besides, the current government has been changing the goal posts in some cases, e.g., change in the matrix for assessing economic growth. Some may find it to be a cause for skepticism; or even cynicism. I do not care, as I know for sure that the inconsiste...

Thought for the day "The worst thing about some men is that when they are not drunk they are sober." — W. B. Yeats (Irish, 1865-1939) Word for the day Passel (n) A group or lot of indeterminate number, e.g., a passel of dignitaries . Malice towards none Is Mahishasur more relevant than the anarchy in Haryana! Why no one is seeking a debate in the Parliament over Haryana massacre? First random thought this morning The government has given a firm reply to the allegation of crony capitalism, by hitting the alleged friends of PM hard in the budget. The hit was so hard that even communist Sitaram Yechury was seen sympathizing with corporate India. Congress too could not find anything material to criticize in the budget. Frivolity is what we shall see in the days to come. The morning after The morning after market woke up fresh and excited. There was no feeling of tiredness or nausea. The cynics tried h...