Today Right Wing Goes Down in France

As the sun goes down this evening, Nicolas Sarkozy would most probably go down in the French politics with the dubious distinction of a single term president since 1981. It seems Cliché would not be so much French word anymore with a socialist PM after 1995 and an incumbent president losing his election. This second round of election brought to fore the real face of President Sarkozy. There should not have been any doubt of his alignment to the extreme right wing face of Marin Le Pen. The arrogance with which Sarkozy ruled France for last five years smacked of his subconscious rightist elements. He ridiculed Berlusconi, forced Greeks to humiliating term and always tried to storm the world affairs.

This is not how a center politician behaves but someone who assumes power is his birth right. He wanted to be taken as a monarch with his courtship stories in the news, with the birth of his children being the news, with the music album of his wife in news. This does not seem like a leader elected by average people but from a right wing politician who thought power was his birth right. 

Francois Hollande will do what his former partner could not do five years ago. Now it is the time for the world to see that power does not come from pedigree or privileged birth but by common citizens. Now the world will see that power does not mean arrogant behavior to be in news but the economy, job, collaboration and acceptance of problem of your neighbors being important. Let’s hope that world will never again think that what you are, is not what you were born with, but what you can contribute in this world

Collectivism

"But the mind is an attribute of the individual. There is no such thing as a collective brain. There is no such thing as a collective thought. An agreement reached by a group of men is only a compromise or an average drawn upon many individual thoughts. It is a secondary consequence. The primary act—the process of reason—must be performed by each man alone. We can divide a meal among many men. We cannot digest it in a collective stomach. No man can use his lungs to breathe for another man. No man can use his brain to think for another. All the functions of body and spirit are private. They cannot be shared or transferred"

(Howard Roark courtroom speech in The Fountainhead - Ayn Rand)

The Blue Cafe

If only any cafe, preferably on the sea side, would be open at this hour of night/morning, then the perfect song would have Chris Rea's The Blue Cafe ! over a cup of coffee

Pity he isn't that popular, same as many others I have written about (Brian McKinight, et al)

May be one day I will have my own Blue Cafe...

Weird day

Got up in the morning with fever, still had to go to office, then to Tampere for a meeting. The ticket system of Finnish railways won’t work; bought the ticket on train with no reserved seats. Didn’t realize I was sitting on someone else’s seat, yet the old lady didn’t ask me to move. There are always good people around here

While coming back in the evening, missed my train by a minute, the train started to slide just when I was about to open the door. Had to wait for one hour for next train and the ticketing system still would not work. The good ticketing ladies were offering coffee coupons to make up for the inconvenience. Couldn’t care less for a cup of coffee but admired the attitude of saying sorry. In midst of all these didn’t realize that YLE cameras were rolling until now when I get a business mail that ends with btw - so you were at Tampere today – saw you on YLE news. Feeling better – the paracetamol is kicking in. Hopefully the day ends with this, no energy left for replying to any more mails.

The ticketing system was not working even on 24th August. Time for VR to change the system vendor.

Fiscal Unification of Euro

The concept of Euro bond was never discussed because never was the difference between Monetary union and Fiscal union so amplified. The way Euro zone was created and members were added, this was already waiting to happen. This discussion could have been triggered in the past, but it was waiting for the recession and debt crisis. Good times always discount warnings. Euro Zone consists of economically dissimilar countries. Consider this; In 2010 GDP of Germany was 2.5 trillion USD, while another Euro member Estonia’s GDP was 14 billion. In 2005, GDP growth of Ireland was 5.3%, while Germany’s GDP growth was 0.8%. To think that with such economic disparity - leading to varied fiscal policies - there could still be a ‘Monetary’ union was always a crisis waiting to happen.

Now when this crisis has come to fore, this is the opportune time has to achieve that fiscal union. Euro bond is that Fiscal union. Just like Ireland could not cool its economy by raising the interest rate of Euro because Germany needed growth, similarly Germany, and France can’t turn away from Greece now. That is if Euro zone has to survive in the present form. If there could be a fiscal union, then there will be truly one Euro, with the member states having co-relating economies. Growth in one would help slowdown in other and crises in one member state will have lesser effect on health of Euro.

Today Greece is being blamed for not shoring up its economy. Even after the first bail out capital and tough austerity measure, there hasn’t been much change in the economy, nor is it predicted to be. Euro is also to be blamed for this. Greece can’t become competitive because it can’t devalue Euro! The strongest evidence in support of this argument comes from the situation of another European country that was not part of Euro zone. We should not forget Iceland, which has gone out of news sheet. The reason Iceland could fend for itself and in few years will be back in shape was only because it could devalue its currency. This can’t be said about Ireland which is still languishing or about Greece.

If Greece can’t change Euro, then Euro zone should change itself to accommodate Greece or let Greece go out of this monetary union. I would be pleasantly surprised if we could have any other resolution to the present debt crisis. It is as much a test of political resoluteness now.

The Sequel - 2

Seven years ago 'Eternal Sunshine of Spotless Mind' was released. This movie deals with aspects of memory and little sci-fi techniques of erasing memory. I am sure everyone has watched this movie atleast once.

Joel Barish(Jim Carrey) is getting his memory erased and during the process realises some are too precious to be lost. He tries hiding them by going back in his life and shacking his adult memories under childhood times. It doesn't work and they get erased.

(Eternal Sunshine of Spotless Mind - Line 209 of 'Eloisa to Abelard' by Alexander Pope)

The Sequel - 1

I come, I come! prepare your roseate bow'rs,
Celestial palms, and ever-blooming flow'rs.
Thither, where sinners may have rest, I go,
Where flames refin'd in breasts seraphic glow:


(from- Eloisa to Abelard - Alexander Pope)

I Wish...

I wish people to have Integrity

I wish people to say Not Right, when they see things that are not right.

I wish people to rise above allegiance of self interest

I wish people to not trample others for their own self

I wish people to be modest and humble

I wish people to know the difference between someone who always says Yes, to those who can stand up for their conviction even if that means saying NO

The Lives of Others

‘The Lives of Others’ (Das Leben der Anderen) is a film that from the very beginning promises a powerful description, and betters itself with the progress. I wasn’t sure about this movie and picked it due to my previous experience of ‘Der Untergang’. I think my next German film will also be good. Credit should also go in equal measure to the direction and superb role play by the actors.

The film, in the year 1984, starts with a typical Stasi operation of East Germany but soon transforms from a thriller to a powerful drama. The next two hours are filled with tryst of the characters with their emotions. There is not one but several thread of emotions interlaced to give a fulfilling two hours and few crystallized moments that lingers even after the movie ends. In this movie one can also get a glimpse of difficult life in those communist days and how far were they from the ideals they wanted to propagate.

In between the layers of - an artist’s wish for creativity, a poet’s wish for free expression, ideals abased to servility - lies the central theme of man and the ultimate triumph of his conscience over his training. A Stasi star captain, who loved socialism ideals of GDR, finds the calling of his conscience while listening to wire taps. All the experience, all the training crumbles when conscience decides the action. The Stasi captain who was to monitor a poet and actress couple will end up protecting them. In the process he pays for it with his own career but the gratitude he receives at the end of the movie more than makes up for all his trouble.

Life is too complicated to be lived by thumb rules or to be described in black & white.

The movie is directed by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck and the Stasi captain Wiesler is played by Ulrich Mühe. Further details and story could be found on the linked IMDB site

People Expectations

One of the things I would absolutely love to do is to spend a day with a film director. I don’t know how many will agree, but a movie director’s job is one of the toughest. He is directing a human being, an asset with no predictability. What makes it bit easier is that such directors can have re-takes. In real life you don’t get second take.

The key then is to realize that this is one thing in world that can’t be controlled. Whatever is done, people at a certain point of time will deviate from the script, may be a little, may be more, but they will. Trying to control this will lead to frustration and hurt. Not everything will go as per one’s wish, one has to accept the asset one has, and this has to be accepted. I guess this is what comes from high degree of Emotional Quotient, to be self aware, to self manage and social awareness.

Never expect from others what you expect from yourself. It leads to nothing but hurt for both. The more one is ambitious, more difficult will life be. With all these epiphanies, still lies the bigger one – it is easier to write here than to practice!