Poland 1

Finally landed in Poland after about 24 hours of flying. The flight is typically 8 hours from New York to Warsaw but my flying time compounded because I flew from Phoenix to Los Angeles to New York to Warsaw.

The flight attendants were very polite (absolute angels when compared to those in US Airlines) and even gave me a vegetarian meal although I had not asked for one in advance. Baggage took a little longer than what I'm used to but immigration was a breeze.

Polish people are fairly friendly but you would have to initiate the conversation. My hotel room is a little smaller than most American hotel rooms but facilities are comparable. Yesterday I was out try to buy an adapter plug for my laptop as the piece of shit, Radio Shack sold broke in about five minutes. After getting directions and an address for an electronics shop from the hotel receptionist I some how got lost. So I started asking people for directions making liberal use of body language and I got an overwhelming response although none of them could actually help me until I asked a girl.

Unfortunately her English was as good as my Polish. She started giving me directions in Polish and some sort of heavily accented English but stopped in the middle of her rant when she looked at my clueless face. So she decided to switch to sign language and said "Go straight (Using her hands), down - tuk tuk tuk, up tuk tuk tuk and turn left (using her hand again)". Considering my outstanding navigational skills, I did not get the directions so she finally said something in Polish and starts walking. At this point I thought I bugged her enough so I was looking around for a different person and all of a sudden I felt somebody tugging me. It was the lady I was talking to. I realized that she was actually going to show me the place which was very considerate of her. When we finally reached the little electronics store her initial directions made absolute sense. By the way down - tuk tuk tuk meant I had to go down a tunnel and walk up. This is how you cross major streets in Poland. The tunnel itself is very fascinating but I will talk more about in the next post. I thanked her profusely.

Warsaw's landscape is very interesting. It is mix of beautiful old buildings sprinkled with modern high rises, reflecting western European taste and dilapidated structures - a constant reminder of the years of communism. The city seems to have lots of trees but this being fall most of them have shed their leafs. The picture is not a true representation of Warsaw but a good one.

Arguing Rationally

I have always been a sucker for rational arguments but lately I have noticed that most of the people I reason with don’t understand the concept of arguing rationally. Here are a few key characteristics of a good argument:

1. Arguments must be logically valid: You cannot make a logically invalid argument. If you cannot deduce back to you conclusion based on your premises then you are not making a logically valid argument. Give yourself a few minutes to organize your thoughts before you start arguing.
2. Have a conclusion: More often than not people start off with a point but when then cannot substantiate their conclusions; they will listen to the opponent and try to find un-related flaws in their speech. This does make for a good argument. Have a coherent and conclusive argument and stick to the central point.
3. Present Facts not personal examples: It is quite common to derive from personal experiences and argue based on those derivations. This will not work well when discussing universal subjects because your personal experience might not be representative of the majority. So either get facts that indicate that your personal experience is in the majority or don’t base your argument on it.
4. Listen to your opponent: It is very important to listen to your opponent and give her/him due credit. The purpose of a good argument to share opinions and learn. Don’t demean others.
5. The loudest one is not necessarily the winner: This phenomenon is quite common is people who are aggressive and some how believe that the louder you are the better you are. More often than not these people lack coherent thought, refuse to listen to the other person’s view. Don’t argue with such people because it is a waste of time and energy. You cannot learn anything or impart any wisdom in these situations.
6. Begging the question: This fallacy, also known as circular reasoning, occurs when writers simply restate what they seek to prove as their conclusion. For example, one might say, “This test is hard because it is so difficult!” The reason offered, that it is very difficult, would certainly make the test hard, but this statement is circular because it does not address why the test is hard. In the editing process, arguers will likely benefit from persistently asking themselves, “But why is this true?” If one looks for support for this answer and merely find a restatement of it, then the reasoning is circular. At this point, it becomes necessary to either support the point or to make the point less sweeping and then support it.
7. Ad hominem: Another Latin name, this fallacy translates, “To the person.” In other words, to make an ad hominem argument is to attack a person rather than the person’s argument. The following is an example of this: “Sally says I should drive a more fuel efficient car, but her car gets even less mileage than mine; therefore, there is no reason for me to drive a more fuel efficient car.” The conclusion the argument makes is simply too strong: it is not entirely clear that Sally is being hypocritical (she may not be able to afford a more fuel efficient car, for example); and even if she is hypocritical, it is not clear why her hypocrisy makes it bad for the author of the argument to drive a more fuel efficient car.
8. Learn to Lose: This is probably the most difficult aspect to master. Know when you have logically been beaten and accept it. It is okay, well imperative that you lose as one cannot be right all the time. This is where arguments take a bad turn most of the time.

Rational and civil arguments are an important part of learning and try to use them effectively.

(Works Cited: Kahane, Howard and Cavender, Nancy. 1998. Logic and Contemporary Rhetoric. 8th edition. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth and David Roberts, UR Writing Fellow)

Nokia to sell $25,000 phones

Fueled by the rising demand especially in China and India, Nokia the cell phone manufacturer, has started selling a Ferrari cell phone which costs about $ 25,000.

The Indian and Chinese consumers are in frenzy about this new introduction. Ling Vu, a resident of Beijing, said “I cannot wait to get my hands on this phone. Iphone is so yesterday. The only problem is that there are a lot of homeless people on the street where the Nokia store is located. I don’t understand it, why can’t they go away.”

When asked about whether spending $25,0000 on a phone is justifiable, Pam (Parmila) Mehta of the plush Juhu, Mumbai said “Well my husband makes the money and I have the right to spend it. I think poor people are lazy and that is why they are poor. So don’t expect me to feel sorry for them and by the way we were poor once too. My parents used to have 2 cars only. They worked hard to get where they are and so did my husband. I gotta go as I have a 1 PM appointment to pray at the Ganesh temple. I like god. Then I have to rush off to the Nokia store.”

Peace

Facts:

India

Per Capita Income: $979

% of population below poverty line: 25

China

Per Capita Income: $2034

% of population below poverty line: 10

Iraq war almost won - New French president Nicolas Sarkozy hints at supporting US

The election of the new French President Nicolas Sarkozy imparts a phenomenal boost to all those who want the Iraqi war to end. Mr. Sarkozy has hinted towards establishing better relations with the United States, which is the primary player in the Iraqi war. Many a defense analysts have pointed out that the inclusion of the French Army will radically change the scenario in Iraq. The logic behind this statement is derived from that the French Army's war record. The last war that France won, fighting by itself, was during the rule of Napoleon Bonaparte (1805-1815) and they won the hundred years war which started in 1337.

The recency and consistency of the French Army, reflected by the above stated facts, is a very desirable quality. I think that the coalition forces in Iraq would get the badly needed shot in arm with the introduction of the French Army. There are others, who have a lot more faith in the French military strength. Guy Pierre, a French Analyst and part time pickle taster, said "I think the terrorists will be shaking in their boots the moment they find out that the French might decide to help the Americans. I can see Osama and the rest running scared. Well you cannot blame them; the mighty French will suffocate them (Not with their body odor as some you thought). Look at our track record."

Meanwhile Renuka Choudhary, the women’s and child welfare union minister of India, has sent a letter to the French Government asking for their help in her fight against any sort of Fundamental Intelligence or Common Sense.

Peace

Paris in flames...

Paris was in a tense mood today. No I’m talking about the end of campaigning for the French elections but rather of the more important Paris Hilton. Once again the wheels of justice have rolled over the super rich “Ms. Hilton”, who was sentenced to 45 days in jail for driving with a suspended driver’s license. Los Angeles mayor Antonio Viallraigosa, in retaliation to accusations about the severity of the sentence said “Well she better be happy that she is alive. You know the LAPD cannot distinguish the driver’s color especially when the car has tinted windows. Ms. Hilton was very fortunate.”

Ms. Renuka Choudhary, the women’s and child welfare union minister of India, called this sentence an outrage against all women. She also said “I hope women all over the world rise up against this atrocity. Men must suffer the consequences of their actions. These pigs need to be put back in their pens. How can they punish a woman for driving with a suspended driver’s license when it was a MAN who made the rule that women need licenses to drive? Moreover it was a MAN who invented the car. So men are responsible for all the problems of women.” Considering Ms. Choudhary’s infinite intellect and compassion for men this is a very meek reaction.

(Check out her new law. I did not write a blog about this because I’m still awestruck by her stupidity. No not Paris Hilton’s. www.youtube.com/watch?v=in_4QhWQaq4)

The dramatization of news in India

I was very proud of most of the national news sources in India not only for their journalistic values for what their comprehension of news was. The print is still following this trend but the advent of 24 hour news channels has changed the concept of news. If one were to watch a 24 hour Indian news channel, it would be a lot more representative of a day time soap rather than a news channel. These channels seem to focus on Human Interest stories filled sadness and wretched people and present them to the viewers. There is a very high possibility that most people would assume these kinds of incidents are common place in India - which they are not. I think national news channels must focus universal issues and how our leaders are working towards solving them.

I understand news channels need to fill air time but India does not have a dearth of issues. Instead they tend to hone down on appealing but relatively low priority stories. I think this is a practice they have borrowed from the American Media but it can really impact the Indian image outside the country and the locals as well. My biggest fear is that watching this rare incidents the politicians might try to pass laws while ignoring what truly needs to be done. Every one knows that one becomes a politician if one lacks any sort logical reasoning capacity. Based on what they consider populist issues (Since it is on TV so many times) our fearless leaders might try to pass laws.

Lets hope for the best
Peace

Britney's hair on eBay as fears for superstar grow

Fuck I'm a genius.

Britney's hair on sale

Britney Spears recently checked into a rehab center and checked out a day later. There are a number of rumors as to why she checked into rehab but the most obvious answer is that she was addicted to "Being herself". Although the pop star tries hard to shake off the trailer trash image she apparently always seems to take a step in the wrong direction. The new Britney has shaved her head; well she probably had a $1000 per hour hair dresser do it for her.

Ron Burgundy, a native of little town Indiana, is the highest bidder for the hair (does not include body hair0 that is being auctioned by Federline enterprises. A lesser know fact is that Kevin Federline was granted half of Britney's hair as a part of their divorce settlement. Mr. Burgundy is ecstatic about the bid but is quite vary of the competition. When asked if this hair is for his girl friend he said "Are you crazy, youalls knows how great it would be to make a wig out of her hair? I love mullets and theys are in fashion. I love Billy Ray Cyrus, god bless em".

Meanwhile Ms. Spears was pleasantly surprised that she has fan following in the trailer trash community and said she will make a lot more effort to cater to their needs.

Peace

Gen. Petraeus shocks world with new comments about Iraq

General David Petraeus, the new U.S. military commander in Iraq, shocked the world when he said that the Iraq would be doomed unless the present civil war is not contained. There was an immediate furor worldwide as people thought that Iraq would be doing well even if the civil war were to continue. Secretary Rice praised the new appointee's ability to understand the situation so well. Vladimir Putin, the Russian king, was so surprised by the news that he called his American counterpart to confirm the message that was conveyed.

General Petraeus also stated that the stakes were very high in Iraq which caught the attention of the American public who were unaware of the fact. Foxnews was the first to congratulate the general on his honesty and truthiness (Thank you Colbert Report). The world watches in anticipation as the experienced General jumps into action and I think we will hear more from him in the near future. So don't be surprised to hear things like the Shia's and Sunni's are fighting in Iraq but be grateful to General Petraeus as he is all about telling us what we don't know.

Peace

De Beers sets things right

De Beers, one of the biggest diamond mining companies in the world, has finally set things right in the diamond world by selling 26% of its share to a black owned company. Hektor Van Mask, a De Beer's spokesperson, said "Well all the small inconveniences caused to the locals would be resolved by this gesture. We hope that you would give your girl friend or wife a diamond this Valentines day. The black people need the money." Mr. Van Mask declined to accept the fact that there was such a concept as rebels using proceeds from mined diamonds to commit atrocities against innocent people. He said "We have never heard about it but we cannot comment if the black company that owns a part of De Beers is responsible for it. So Caucasians and Asians are absolved of causing or supporting any voilence in Africa. Rappers your motherland is Detroit."

Jim Teddy, a resident of New York said "I'm so happy. You have no idea the kind of suffering I went through gifting my Girl Friend a diamond ring last year. It was a very difficult time for me and thanks to De Beers I can buy diamonds at peace. Oh yeah, things are better in Africa with all the rich black people."

Peace

Till death do us part

Anna Nicole Smith provided a lot of material for TV over the past years and I had laughed at jokes that were directed at a her quite a few times. It is funny although I lack any connection with the her I think it is sad that she had died at a young age.
Tragedy is a very funny thing. It brings people together. Well hope she is in a better place.

Peace