The North Korea Question

Trump’s policy toward North Korea is founded on false assumptions that the Supreme Leader, Kim Jong-un, will give up his nuclear weapons, that China can save the day and that military options are real...... a war here would be not just a regional disaster but a nuclear cataclysm. ....... the American military estimated back in 1994 that another Korean war would cause one million casualties and $1 trillion in damage. Today, with the possibility of an exchange of nuclear weapons, the toll could be far greater: One recent study suggested that if North Korea detonated nuclear weapons over Tokyo and Seoul, deaths in those two cities alone could exceed two million........ both sides are fearful of appearing weak and are trying to intimidate the other with military bluster, but that each would prefer a peaceful resolution — yet doesn’t know how to get there politically.

How about Trump and Kim holding summit talks Reagan Gorbachev style? That is better than the military option that is not even an option. This is not about political ideology. This is about avoiding nuclear catastrophe.

भारत १५% कर सकता है

जब अमरिका बेलायत जैसे देश समृद्ध हुवे तो उस समय उनके लिए ५% तो क्या ३% भी बहुत हुवा करता था। शताब्दी लगाते थे। समय तो कोइ गिन नहीं रहा था। जब चीन ने १९९० में छलांग मारने की सोंची तो उसने १०% कर दिखाया। न कोइ रिसेशन न कुछ। दशकों तक १०% । लेकिन भारत आज ६% पर है तो सब तौबा तौबा कर रहे हैं। एक समय आएगा जब भारत १०% कर रहा होगा। लेकिन वो १०% भी कम मानो। भारत १५% कर सकता है। Complete digitization, total electrification, absolutely clean energy, total transparency.

https://t.co/RWt0dqsiGs

— Paramendra Bhagat (@paramendra) September 30, 2017

Modi's 2019: Contested And Won Already

New economy for new India: Fundamental changes put in place https://t.co/HbNJ4xXxEC

— Paramendra Bhagat (@paramendra) September 28, 2017

जयंत सिन्हा ने दिया अपने पिता यशवंत सिन्हा को जवाब - https://t.co/EOZi3PxsbC

— Paramendra Bhagat (@paramendra) September 28, 2017

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley defends demonetisation & GST, trashes slowdown talkhttps://t.co/oVfHvZ2wid

— Paramendra Bhagat (@paramendra) September 28, 2017

Arun Jaitley reminds Yashwant Sinha, Chidambaram of their own track record as finance ministerhttps://t.co/IiN0DcJViL

— Paramendra Bhagat (@paramendra) September 28, 2017

PM Narendra Modi 'singularly responsible' for damage to economy: Anand Sharma https://t.co/A3OUSDiN5Y via @economictimes

— Paramendra Bhagat (@paramendra) September 28, 2017

26 of 27 Congress MLAs shun Sonia-appointed Bihar chief - Times of India https://t.co/DQnPEVSu9U via @timesofindia

— Paramendra Bhagat (@paramendra) September 28, 2017

Moving Fast and Breaking Things, a Saudi Prince Tests His Publichttps://t.co/0s9QHWVPc3

— Paramendra Bhagat (@paramendra) September 28, 2017

BBC हिंदी - सोशल: यशवंत सिन्हा का हमला, 'अरुण जेटली ने बेड़ा ग़र्क कर दिया' https://t.co/8C7d1xTM83

— Paramendra Bhagat (@paramendra) September 28, 2017

https://t.co/tjEvKWSJc3

— Paramendra Bhagat (@paramendra) September 28, 2017

Ab Ki Baar: For 2019, PM Narendra Modi Hedges on Caste as Flagging Economy Throws Up New Social Coalitions https://t.co/76e05spifs

— Paramendra Bhagat (@paramendra) September 29, 2017

Skipping Traditional Infrastructure In Rwanda

Delivery Drones Are Saving Lives in Rwanda and Tanzania | Backchannel https://t.co/3q54m6qoHH via @backchnnl

— Paramendra Bhagat (@paramendra) September 19, 2017

Indians skipped landline phones. They went straight to mobile phones. Now looks like Rwanda is going straight to drones, skipping roads and bridges.

“Countries like Rwanda can make decisions fast and can implement new technologies in concert with new regulations fast, so we’re now in a position where the US is trying to follow Rwanda,” says Keller Rinaudo, CEO and co-founder of Zipline. “They’re not trying to catch up to US infrastructure. They’re just leapfrogging roads and trucks and motorcycles and going to a new type of infrastructure.”

In early 2018, Zipline will officially kick off the world’s largest delivery drone service in Tanzania, Rwanda’s much larger neighbor. The Tanzanian government aims to use Zipline’s delivery drones to make up to 2,000 deliveries of medical supplies per day. Those deliveries of supplies such as blood products, medicines, and snake antivenom will go to more than 1,000 hospitals and clinics serving 10 million people. An operation at this scale will dwarf anything previously attempted in the drone-delivery universe.

Priyanka Chopra's Unique Position To Influence

PC, having straddled the two biggest movie industries on the planet (by production volume and dollar volume) - Mumbai and Hollywood - is uniquely placed to influence how men and women see women.

Bruce Lee did not start out wanting to make movies. He was a martial arts innovator. But he got into movies because he figured that was the best way to reach out and teach the largest possible number of people. He was right. 

She acts, but also has her own production house. And she sure cares. 

She knows marketing Indian style, she knows marketing American style, and she knows marketing Chinese style. Her much anticipated Baywatch movie did so so in the US but earned major dollars in China.

मेरी प्यारी भान्जी/भगिनी विसीता। छठा महिना शुरू। I am the primary caretaker. मा बाप वापस नेपाल चले गए न। इसके नहीं, मेरे। बाल कलाकार बनेगी ये। बडी़ acting करती रहती है। दो सेकेन्ड में मुड change. #nofilter

A post shared by Paramendra Kumar Bhagat (@paramendra) on Aug 6, 2017 at 7:57pm PDT

I love to cook, time permitting. There is a secret recipe behind this chutney that I am willing to open source. The taste is an absolute delight, if you like it "hot." The top quality is it is super healthy. I also make pizza with whole wheat flour. मैदा स्वास्थ्य के लिए अच्छा नहीं होता। I make exceptionally good chicken curry, goat curry and fish curry. I make decent vegetable curries. दाल भी बहोत अच्छा बना लेते हैं। But enough bragging. चावल बनाने का अपना अलग स्टाइल है। लेकिन मेरा recommendation है रोटी खाओ। (रोटी बनाना नहीं आता) Health is supreme. Body Mass Index (BMI) ठीक रखो। Smoothie एक favorite item है। Grinder जिन्दाबाद। ये चटनी भी मुख्य रूप से Grinder में ही बना।

A post shared by Paramendra Kumar Bhagat (@paramendra) on Apr 14, 2017 at 9:09pm PDT

दही जो मैने जमाया

A post shared by Paramendra Kumar Bhagat (@paramendra) on Aug 9, 2017 at 6:36pm PDT

Gender is a social construct. Men can learn to take care of babies. Men can learn to cook. No problem. It is also about this point in time. The global economy is fast becoming a knowledge economy. Women, when given a chance, seem to have a leg up there. Many American colleges now make a point to admit enough men for gender parity even though their test scores suck.

I think there is room for a movie character who will lead the way on gender role transformation. I think there is room for a movie franchise around that character. I am thinking one movie every three to four years. A female James Bond, if you will, only she is not a government spy. She is a corporate leader on the cutting edges of technology and innovation. But movies being movies there are plenty of action scenes, sure.

मैंने एक script पर काम शुरू कर दिया है। Working draft हाथ में आ जाए तो पेश करूंगा।

A Movie Production House Big Enough For PC

मैंने एक script पर काम शुरू कर दिया है। Working draft हाथ में आ जाए तो पेश करूंगा। @priyankachopra https://t.co/HJ9NnAxqWH

— Paramendra Bhagat (@paramendra) September 12, 2017

I think there is room to build a company around the idea. The Internet could be the central distribution channel for the franchise.

So it is a challenge in gender role transformation, movie making (gotta use the latest in computer animation technology), as well as riding the wave of video as a medium getting mainstream online because soon gigabit will be all the rage in most parts of the world.

This is to be social science fiction. Has to feel like science fiction.

बिजली, पानी, इंटरनेट और Access To Credit

सबसे जोड़ access to credit पर होना चाहिए। जिसको अमरिका में small business sector कहा जाता है और इंडिया में जिसे informal sector कह के dismiss कर दिया जाता है, भारतके अर्थतन्त्रका सबसे महत्वपुर्ण हिस्सा वही तो है। Job creation होगा तो उसी सेक्टर में होगा नहीं तो नहीं।

आधार revolutionary चीज है। Biometric ID से रास्ते खुलते हैं। विश्वके प्रत्येक व्यक्ति तक इसे पहुँचाना होगा। छोटेमोटे प्रत्येक बिजनेसकी रजिस्ट्रेशन उतना ही आसान कर दो। प्रत्येक चायवाला लोन ले सके ऐसा कर दो। Job creation आप हो जाएगी। Small business सेक्टर को एक पांच साल का टैक्स holiday ही दे दो। नहीं तो taxman के डर से बिना कारण बहुतों रजिस्ट्रेशन ही ना करबायें। और बगैर रजिस्ट्रेशन के वो बैंकिंग सेक्टर से जुड़ सकते नहीं। Demonetization का एक बड़ा फायदा ये हुवा कि जो बहुत पैसा बैंक में न था वो अब सब बैंकों में जमा हो गया है। मोदी FDI के लिए दर दर भटक रहे थे। पुँजी घर के भितर ही पड़ा था काफी। Now the banks can lend more. उतना ही नहीं बैंको पर प्रेशर बढ़ गया है। लोगों को बिजनेस लोन नहीं देंगे तो कैसे होगा? बैंक में जमा किया गया पैसा ब्याज मांगता है।

New Telecom Policy may ensure Internet access for 1.3 billion Indianshttps://t.co/iKSgnOJxX9

— Paramendra Bhagat (@paramendra) September 10, 2017

प्रत्येक गाओं तक गीगाबिट हाई स्पीड इंटरनेट पहुँचाना --- प्रत्येक भारतीय को कॉलेज डिग्री दिलाने का इससे अच्छा इससे सस्ता तरिका क्या हो सकता है? गाओं गाओं में हाई स्पीड इंटरनेट पहुँच गया तो फिर उसके बाद किसी को सरकारी दफ्तर जाना ही क्यों?

प्रत्येक को स्वच्छ पिने का पानी मिल गया तो स्वास्थ्य के हिसाब से एक ट्रिलियन डॉलर का फायदा समझो। वो और सुबह सुबह एक घंटा योग। मैं RSS का कोई बड़ा फैन नहीं हुँ लेकिन अगर उसी बहाने सबके सब सुबह योग करने लगें तो मैं कहुँ सब ज्वाइन कर लो।

प्रत्येक चायवाला को access to credit मिला कि नहीं? उसी प्रश्न के जवाब में मोदी का भविष्य है।

Modi's Remarkable Political Maneuvers Are Nobel Peace Prize Size

Of all the heads of state on the world stage right now, Modi is the most remarkable. He promises to be the economic Gandhi of India, the Deng Xiaoping, the Lee Kuan Yew. None of the three - the Mahatma, Deng, or Lee - had to contest elections like Modi has to. And it is not just every five or four years. In India a France size election is just round the corner all the time.In that sense India is not just the largest democracy. It is a perpetual democracy. 

The true test of political leadership is if you can get the people to make short term sacrifice for long term gain, and Modi seems to have managed to do it. His grand moves of demonetization and the GST ("good and simple tax" in his words) might have dragged the growth rate down from a high of 7.9% to a still impressive 5.7% but without demonetization and the GST perhaps India could not have aspired for a growth rate of 10% or more. Now it can. 

But Modi does not have the luxury of time. The growth rate has to now go past at least 8% before he has to go back to the people in 2019 to renew his personal mandate. 

Job creation is a major hurdle. It will happen or not in the so called informal sector. Making available credit to the chaiwalas (tea sellers) of India is what will do the trick. 

On the political front Modi seems to be defying gravity. He repeated his total sweep of Uttar Pradesh. Nitish Kumar, projected by many as his most likely rival in 2019, has instead switched sides and joined him again. This would be like if John McCain were to join the Democratic Party.

Modi's challenge is to remain Prime Minister for at least 15 more years and give India sustained double digit growth rates, and then give the country a successor who will continue on that double digit path. All electoral victories however impressive will not mean much unless that economic objective is met. So far he shows all signs he will deliver. 

In his very first year as PM Modi successfully concluded India's border dispute with Bangladesh. The dispute made the Israel Palestine land dispute look like a piece of cake. Just recently he got China to step back from potential war, or at least a skirmish. These are Nobel Peace Prize size political moves. A prize that he deserves, by the way. But it will be Gandhiesque if he does not get it. There is no telling he will not fall into the white blind spot. This is Time magazine Man Of The Decade if you ask me. 

The thorn in his side continues to be the extreme right wing of his own organization. Hindu pride is fine. But anti-Muslim intolerance is offensive. If ever the BJP ends up in disgrace, that social weakness is going to be the reason why. It is the same God both Hindus and Muslims pray to. Five blind men are touching the same elephant.