What do Ron Paul, Jimmy Carter and Barney Frank have in common? Drugs!

In the days of divided American politics in which we find ourselves living, it is a rare issue that brings politicians on opposite ends of the political spectrum together to co-sponsor legislation. Somewhat surprisingly, federal control over marijuana happens to be just such an issue.

Last week, former President Jimmy Carter wrote a insightful Op-Ed piece in the New York Times urging the administration to call off the American led war on drugs launched under the the Nixon administration and reaffirmed by President Reagan. President Carter made reference to the "courageous and profoundly important recommendations" made by the Global Commission on Drug Policy, which includes as its members former Secretary General of the United Nations Kofi Annan, former US Secretary of State George P. Shultz, former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker, entrepreneur and Virgin founder Richard Branson, and former Presidents Ernesto Zedillo (Mexico), César Gaviria (Colombia), and Fernando Henrique Cardoso (Brazil). At its core, the Commission concluded that the "global war on drugs has failed, with devastating consequences for individuals and societies around the world." While the finding is harsh, it is indeed hard to conclude otherwise.

The principal recommendation made by the Commission is that governments "end the criminalization, marginalization and stigmatization of people who use drugs but who do no harm to others." This is a sensible recommendation that should be adopted. The escalation in rates of incarceration for non violent drug offenders is absurd. When President Carter left office in 1980, about a half million prisoners inhabited American jails. Today, nearly five times as many people are incarcerated and according to President Carter, the number of people incarcerated for nonviolent drug offenses has increasing more than twelvefold since he left office.

I recall a conversation I had with my judge, the Hon. Benson Everett Legg, United States District Judge for the District of Maryland, about a few policy issues related to drug sentencing. Judge Legg, who had seen many federal drug cases by the time I clerked with him in 2000 and has undoubtedly seen many more, shared his frustrations regarding the effectiveness of federal drug prosecutions. According to the judge, as soon as federal or state prosecutors cleared one Baltimore street corner of a drug dealer, another would surely pop up nearby. The inner city simply lacked opportunities for the young (and predominantly African American) men who were being convicted of selling drugs to the suburban (and predominantly white) consumers of those drugs. Supply and Demand 101: where there is demand, a supply will be available. These were not the musings of a liberal Democrat but rather a moderate to conservative jurist who had once been prominent in the Maryland Republican party. Judge Legg's views are hardly unique, however. Many federal judges are frustrated with drug policy and sentencing in the United States. (See generally articles in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, the Sentencing Project and salon.com)

Judge Legg's observations about Federal drug prosecutions on the streets of Baltimore back in 2000 are mirrored in the Commission's findings that "apparent victories in eliminating one source or trafficking organization are negated almost instantly by the emergence of other sources and traffickers." The futility of the war on drugs on the streets of the US and the amazing surge in the number of people in U.S. prisons and the phenomenal incarceration costs thereof represent the tip of the drug policy iceberg. As President Carter and the Commission note, a growing number of Latin American countries have witnessed an appalling surge in drug-related violence, corruption and gross violations of human rights as a result of the US led and funded war on drugs.

Against this backdrop, Reps. Barney Frank (D), a Massachusetts liberal, and Ron Paul (R), a Texas libertarian, who are often not on the same page on policy matters, will introduce a bill in the House today that would effectively end most federal control over marijuana by deferring to individual states on such matters and only invoking federal authority in cases involving cross-border or inter-state smuggling. If passed, the bill would allow individuals to grow, use or sell marijuana in states where it is legal. While the bill is not a legalization measure, it represents a solid and wise first step in the rationalization of federal drug policy.

I have long endorsed liberalization of drug policy, especially with regard to cannabis, and I welcome this most recent, even if long-shot attempt to do just that. To sign a petition to your member of Congress urging his or her support for the Frank/Paul legislation, please click here.

Dr. Jack Kevorkian, 1928 - 2011

Dr. Jack Kevorkian Dies at 83; A Doctor Who Helped End Lives
(NY Times)

I met Dr. Kevorkian through one of my closest friends at Michigan Law School, Nick Holmes, who along with his mother and sister were close friends of Dr. Kevorkian. Nick's mother and sister were integral parts of Dr. Kevorkian's legal team and were important in his several acquittals. I only met Dr. Kevorkian twice, once on the campus of the University of Michigan and once for Thanksgiving dinner at the Holmes residence. He was a brilliant man whose compassion and love for human dignity are made even more ironic by the "Dr. Death" title that the media gave him. I weeped for him the day of his conviction (though we all agreed that he had made several strategic and tactical errors in the positioning and defense of the Youk case) and felt such joy the day he was finally released.

Until I met Jack, I was unsure of how I felt about medically assisted suicide. My professor in law school, Yale Kamisar, is a leading advocate against the right to die. And while I think there are compelling arguments on both sides, I have come to conclude that the right to die with dignity is as fundamental as the right to live. If my difficulties with doctors and the medical system, as an able bodied middle-age man is any example, I can't imagine being afflicted with a terminal disease and in constant pain and at the mercy of an uncaring doctor and medical system. Dr. Kevorkian, was right.

Jack, the world never understood you but is better as a result of your brave and tireless work on behalf of those who were too weak to advocate for dignity, even in death. May you live in eternal peace.

For the NY Times obituary, please click here.

Loyalty Programs for Small and Boutique Properties (NYT)

Loyalty programs are the drugs that keep frequent travelers addicted to large hotel companies and brand systems. Whether for points or recognition, frequent travelers as a class have repeatedly demonstrated that they will pay more and be more loyal to a company if it belongs to a program that offers them benefits and/or points that become more valuable or accrue more rapidly as frequency of use increases. Best depicted in the recent George Clooney movie Up in the Air, loyalty programs have become an end, not merely a means, for the frequent hotel consumer

Big hotel companies such as Marriott, Hilton, and Starwood have built and are able to maintain a critical mass of hotels in their systems and therefore gain nearly automatic distribution for their rooms. With the exception of Starwood's W (which may not really be an exception), there has not been much in the way of loyalty programs for lifestyle and independent hotels. For the most part, having a loyalty program and running a boutique hotel have been mutually exclusive activities. With the growth in the importance of loyalty programs and the continued interest in the boutique or lifestyle segment, a new trend has emerged: the creation of consortium of independent assets tied to a common rewards system (see NY Times article). That development will most certainly aid in the development of innovative and independent properties, something we should all note.

As the larger hotel brands soften their sometimes stodgy images and products and open their own lifestyle and luxury hotels, it is important to note that loyalty and rewards programs, once viewed as a feature reserved for big chains, are fast becoming quite ubiquitous. Such programs, if available to boutique and independent properties, may no longer shield poorer branded products and services, like they have in years past. Branded products have long offered the promise of consistency and rewards. Creativity, passion, and excitement -- things we associate with lifestyle products -- have not been features we expect from the bigger brands. The availability of rewards and loyalty programs to consumers of those products may very well change the landscape of the industry by (a) further leveling the playing field between the independents and the brands and (b) altering the hotels that the large brand companies decide to build as a result. Stay tuned.

Click here for an article from the New York Times on loyalty programs being launched by small and independent hotel,.

Kelli Schaefer - Better Idea (Live at Ripcord)

This video is a great example of the transformative power of YouTube: upstart artist, strong video performance, ability to bypass the traditional recording studios/labels. Has changed the music business and its revenue model forever.

To watch the video on YouTube, click here.

It's time for sensible drug legislation

The movement in the Netherlands to reverse its leadership in the area of sensible drug laws compels me to again support drug legislation reform in the United States. I hope some of you will join me on the Founders Wall at the CCPR.


To contribute to the Coalition for Cannabis Policy Reform, please click here.
For news updates on the Coalition for Cannabis Policy Reform, please click here.

For an NY times article on the most recent movement in the Netherlands, click here.

The Observer and the Observed

In his interesting blog post, The Producers: Are Pictures Detaching Us From Life?, UC Berkeley Prof. Alva Noë writes of the creeping wedding-ization of experience. The proliferation of technology, especially digital imaging technology, is making us all detached producers rather than active participants in everyday life, he suggests. While the point is well taken, I wonder if we can't make a broader point about observation and the observer. In quantum physics, the observer and the observed are linked; the observed is affected by the observer. The video of Osama watching himself on TV, remote in hand, offers a stark recursive example of this phenomenon. The technology that is available today has no doubt democratized the producer function and with that created a new need for composers and editors as well as a realization that participatory detachment from the activity has its own impact. Yet, with or without technology, observation has the power to alter the observed. Our awareness of this law of nature and our knowledge thereof offers us our only real method to control how and to what extent we observer-participants impact that which we seek to merely observe.

India Calling (Little India Magazine)

Click here for Naomi Abraham's article on Indian Americans moving to India for opportunities, which has a mention of my own experience here.

Hangla's, the taste of Kolkata

Linking Road, Opposite Amarson's
Linking Road, Bandra (W), Mumbai 400 050
www.hanglas.in (non-operational when posted, but is the site they publicize)
Bandra: +91 7738-364225 and 91 7738-3364235

B
Located inside a newspaper stand-like street front stand alone structure on a corner of Linking Road in Bandra, Hangla's most recent outlet is a welcome addition to the Bandra culinary almanac. Nobody I spoke to when ordering could speak Bengali (odd for a restaurant which produces the "taste of Kolkata"). That, combined with the quality of my Hindi (and the quality of his English) made for a bit of a challenging ordering process. The food was Bengali enough to satisfy this Bengali's cravings, despite the initial language barrier.

I ordered three items to test Hangla's capabilities: a chicken kathi roll with egg, a mutton biryani and mutton kasha (essentially a Bengali mutton curry with a thick, relatively dry gravy). The chicken kathi roll with egg was delicious, as many online reviewers had suggested. The Kolkata style biryani was quite good as well, though chicken would have been less oily than the mutton, which couldn't quite free itself from a touch of red meat grease (though much less than most Hyderabadi style biryanis I've had in Mumbai). The kosha mutton was acceptable, though a touch sweet. The mutton, while tender and flavorful, did not fully satisfy me from an aromatic perspective.

The serving sizes were generous and the service quite fast. This was the first Bengali food I've been able to purchase in Bandra in my four years here. While the place is a street corner dive, and the quality wasn't stellar, it was Bengali enough, tasty enough, and clean enough to garner a return visit someday soon.

Just Another Victim of 9-11...

My mom's long time colleague and fellow Sociology Professor, Shirley Kolack, was married to Sol Kolack, the New England Director of the Anti-Defamation League. Sol, who passed away a few years ago at age 80 but whose image and principles are still vivid in my memory, stood for everything this inexplicable decision by the ADL does not: equality in law and culture for all religions and faiths. (Debate Heating Up on Plans for Mosque Near Ground Zero, New York Times, July 30, 2010)

While I can understand and appreciate a desire to be sensitive to the families of the nearly 3,000 victims forever lost at the site, we have to remember that the attack itself was committed by radical Muslim extremists against us and our way of life, which includes at its core religious pluralism and diversity. The hundred or so Muslims who also died in the attacks, who make up about a percent of the victims, and the families who loved them should not be forgotten.

Abraham H. Foxman's decision to endorse the Palin/Gingrich position opposing a Islamic Center near ground zero goes far beyond the professed goal of being sensitive to the majority of the victims and approaches the realm of religious intolerance that the ADL was formed to fight. Kudos to Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a Republican, for standing up for the principle of religious freedom, which may have just become another sad victim of that horrible day in 2001.

My Own Private Indian Joke?

Funny or Racist?

I had been hearing about Joel Stein's article in Time Magazine, My Own Private India, for a few days but until just a few moments ago, hadn't read it. Why read about a dust up involving Indians in Jersey when I feel that I'm living in one dust up or another involving a whole lot more Indians in India itself? For whatever reason, sitting here in Bangladesh inside a substandard hotel, I decided to read Stein's piece; perhaps the bad Indian food in Chittagong that has me throwing up stirred me to it.

There is a lot of outrage about what Stein wrote. While I understand that feelings were hurt within the Indian community, I can't necessarily understand the outrage. Many have said that Time should never have published the piece. I disagree. It has its moments of humor, partially reflects the jokes Indians tell about themselves, and doesn't shed the most positive light on the natives the immigrant Indians have replaced (i.e. "There is an entire generation of white children in Edison who have nowhere to learn crime.")

Sure, Stein's references to Arizona, and understanding how people there could support a draconian and racist new law can be viewed as hurtful. His message can be viewed as unfunny, his viewpoint misguided. Or, we can hear the guy out and laugh as much as we can about life and the people who live alongside us.

I am a North Andover, MA native, and must admit that the town has changed a lot over the more than 30 years I've lived there. I can't stand many of the new people who have moved there. They bring traffic, higher property taxes (because they have kids who actually require good public schools as opposed to just relying on the good ole Pike Schools of the world), and tons of new traffic lights to the sleepy little town I once knew and could speed through. Now, I could have said that I don't like the new white people who have moved into town (most of the new folks are, after all, white). Most of you who know me would have laughed because you know that I often interject race into humor to force people to laugh about the topic. It is the only way that I believe we will ever be able to tackle the much more complicated issues of race and religion in America and around the world.

Stein could also have left race out of his piece, and many would argue he should have. But then it would have just been a dry piece about his hometown growing up and evolving. Who reads stuff like that? His humor is overdone, for sure. But underlying a lot of his perhaps poorly executed humor are real facts: Indians who came here in the 60s and 70s were far more accomplished, on average, than the relatives who followed them more recently. That's not a necessarily important phenomenon to explain; after all, there are plenty of dumb white folks in Jersey too and they didn't need to move there, they've been there for a while. Did he need to explain that fact in this particular Time magazine column? No, but comedy routines, whether delivered in an article or as part of a stand up gig, never really need to do much, except make people laugh -- sometimes uncomfortably.

What I guess I don't get is that Russell Peters, the Canadian comedian of Indian origin that pokes fun at almost all races, does similar stuff. Perhaps his comedy is a touch different, perhaps a touch better executed. But underneath the humor is a lot of racial stuff. We laugh because he's a comedic looking Indian guy that pokes fun of every possible race including his own. Doing so may be funny, but it is also is eerily similar to Stein's humor.

I'm not defending Joel Stein. I'm just suggesting that perhaps we can all learn a thing or two by sometimes attempting to laugh and in the process see a different perspective and not assuming that everyone that brushes up against our racial sensitivities is a racist. I don't give a shit that Stein lost his town to a whole mass of Indian immigrants. They have as much right to be in Edison as he does. What I do care about is the ability for society to continue to laugh at itself and others in an effort to notch down the rhetoric that we see around us. Surely, there is racial humor that crosses the line into racist territory. While I don't think Stein does that, I also don't think that we should stop trying to poke fun at things that might be a touch thorny.

The great thing about America is that our freedoms allow us to speak openly and candidly and debate issues of significance (or even insignificance). During my recent travels in Bangladesh, I spoke to the owner of a TV channel that has been shut down for broadcasting, on live TV, views the current government finds offensive. Better we allow Stein to speak, and then respond -- either using humor, or when appropriate, otherwise -- than to censor and disallow because sensitivities may be affected.

Vie Deck & Lounge

102 Juhu Tara Road,
Vile Parle West
Mumbai, Maharastra 400 056 India
Tel: +91 22 26604884

D+

Mistakes and Mosquitoes. That summarizes our recent meal at Vie Deck & Lounge, which in my opinion has become nearly unbearable for anyone seeking decent food and passable service. While I can't entirely blame Vie for the mosquitoes, I can certainly hold them accountable for the mistakes. We were seated at perhaps the worst outdoor table in the house. I asked repeatedly about better tables that appeared to be available. All taken, I was told. More than two hours later, when we left Vie, most of the tables I had inquired about were still empty. The one table that was no longer empty was taken by a couple that apparently was given a different answer by the restaurant; they hadn't reserved that table either. Let's set aside seating issues. After all, had the restaurant been packed -- and not nearly empty -- we might have justifiably been seated where we were.

Unfortunately, the food and service were unacceptable as well. The humus plate came with six mini pita wedges. Yes, mini wedges (think pita chips from a bag). Having ordered the humus in the past, I had ordered extra pita wedges. The ten additional mini wedges that came for Rs. 150 (US $3) were equally inadequate. The baked mushroom appetizer was tasteless, while my kebabs/skewers were woefully undercooked (evidenced by the pool of blood and the fact that the kebabs refused any attempt at cohesion). Raw and unacceptable. I asked that the kebabs be cooked some more. They were taken back to the kitchen and never returned.

Besides the food quality, the service left me feeling cheated for leaving the house. My drink order came without the vodka that I had asked be repeated and a pasta dish with shrimp came without the shrimp. When I asked Glen, our server, about the missing crustaceans, he advised me that he had heard and confirmed that the dish was to be presented with mushrooms. While all four of us at the table had heard shrimp be ordered, there was a bigger problem with Glen's claim: the pasta lacked even the mushrooms he had based his defense on.

I spoke briefly with the manager, Dilip, who offered little in the way of consolation. When the bill finally arrived, the bloody kababs had been taken off, but a service charge had already been added to the check. Given how bad our experience was -- and we were multiple-time repeat clients -- I would have expected some additional gesture from the restaurant to help palliate our concerns.

On my way out, manager Dilip walked me to my car and said, "hope to see you again, sir." No, Dilip, I don't think you will. I wasted an evening at Vie. I won't let that happen again.

Goodbye my dear Sammy Dog...

Samantha "Sammy Dog" Das

August 2000 - August 16, 2009

A prayer for my beloved greyhound, Sammy

Oh dear lord, you have been so kind to me and everyone close to me. You have protected me from harm, helped provide me with abundant love, health, education and sustenance. You have provided me a lovely family, a loving home, and all of the possessions anyone could ever hope for. For a majority of the past decade, you have blessed me, my family, and my friends with the love and affection of one of your servants. Our dear Sammy Dog, who you lent us for nine years, has gone back home to you. Please care for her in her new home as you did in her old one. Please pass along the following few words to her:

Goodbye, my sweetheart Sammy Dog. You picked me at the animal shelter all those years ago. I knew so little about greyhounds back then. You walked right over to me, and instantly but silently asked me to look no further. And I never did. You have constantly been by my side, patiently waiting for me to come home, and expressing the kind of unconditional love only you could provide. Through professional turbulence and personal turmoil, you always gave me your kind and compassionate support. You never complained, never doubted, never acted in anger. You just loved.

Your grandma, grandpa, all your friends around the world and I will miss you. I am forever grateful to you for making me a kinder, better person. I love you. Goodbye.

Om Shanti. Shanti. Shanti.

A bedtime thought for May 12th...

A little perspective...
Mumbai, India

Most of you who know me and have been in touch recently are aware of why today was not one of my better days.

I spent the day at work -- thinking a lot about the direction in which my life appears to be going. On the one hand, I have a job I really enjoy for a company I like, my family is generally happy and healthy (knock on wood), and I have yet to really go in want of something I really desire in life (let's leave out, for a moment, the over the top fanciful items like the Gulfstream). On the other hand, the past few years have seen enough stress (the economic downturn of '01, the crazy exit from my previous employer, etc.) to cause me to lose more hair than has unmercifully already fallen, the long term performance of my overall investment portfolio remains anemic and pathetic, and I have yet to find success in relationships. The analysis that I ran through my head all had me feeling much worse for myself than perhaps would be warranted by a rational review. Yet, I left work and headed home this evening feeling like I had been defeated. I felt that my most recent life failures had left me an unfortunate and unusually unlucky man. A sad soul, lost, even if temporarily.

This evening, as I entered by bedroom to prepare for bed, I remembered a thought I wanted to share with all of you . Only a few hours before, I had returned home through the dusty streets of Mumbai in my comfortable German car. Yes, this was the car that I recently purchased because the late model Japanese car it replaced had "no soul," in my oft repeated opinion. This was the car I had purchased to help myself enjoy my life more.

My housekeeper was waiting for me to arrive home before leaving for the evening. As I took my blazer off, she asked rather meekly, "Sir, is it OK if I take the pillow you had thrown away home with me tonight." I remembered back to yesterday, when I had thrown away a spare pillow that had gathered a touch of mold. "This isn't safe at all," I had wondered while promptly discarding the pillow. As I wondered why would she could possibly want a moldy pillow, she told me about an old woman without any pillows that she was going to see. "She would really appreciate it, sir," my housekeeper continued. Lest she upset me for re-using something I had thrown out without my permission, she had asked. While suddenly feeling guilty for having thrown out something that perhaps many view as a luxury here, I quickly added another pillow to my housekeeper's bag to take over to this old pillow-less woman I would likely never meet.

The story I have just recounted has no real purpose, plot, or punchline. However, it did give me enough pause to ponder the fact that during a day when all the fancy material goods that surround me could not buy me a simple smile, a moldy pillow I had discarded would provide someone much less fortunate than me exactly the smile that had eluded me all day.

It is perhaps important, in these lives we lead, to take a step back and place our lives in perspective on occasion. It is with the perspective gained from a moldy pillow that I sign off tonight. And yes, I go off to bed finally with that simple smile on my face.

Good night everyone.

- Beej

Bev & Barry from Shooters Bar, Calangute, Goa

Bev & Barry from Shooters Bar, Calangute, Goa

I have finally located traces of Bev and Barry from Shooters Bar in Calangute. After stopping at Shooters over a period of several months asking for Bev and Barry, the owners, and being told that they were still not back from their travels, I began to suspect the worst... Had the pair left Goa for new adventures? Alas, after a bit of internet research (ok, fine, a quick google effort), I have located the pair's blog. For all of you who have accompanied me to Shooters for a shot of something strong and tasty, here's a link to the pages of the couple, who are apparently back to traveling for a bit. Stop in to their blog and say hello!

This is not the time to bail on General Motors...

While the debate about whether the government should bail out Detroit rests on largely theoretical grounds, the failure of General Motors in this economy would have a significant and sustained negative impact on the nation's industrial base. Some argue that saving General Motors is merely a stop gap measure to prop up an ailing industry giant that cannot ever again emerge as a world leader. While there is some evidence to support the contention, I would argue that General Motors can and will emerge as a strong player in the global marketplace. It should certainly be given some help to attempt such a recovery.

As a car buff for nearly the last thirty plus years, I have often been a critic of Detroit and its ailing car makers. The early eighties saw the atrocious Cadillac Cimarron, a compact car built upon GM's J platform. Unfortunately, the Cimarron was nothing but a Chevrolet Cavalier with a Cadillac badge. Years of such antics did not help General Motors compete with the Japanese and German automakers, who continued steadily towards technologically advanced vehicles that were aesthetically pleasing, reliable and safe. GM's mandate has not always been to build world class cars without regard to other considerations. In fact, General Motors, like much of the US industrial base, has been hamstrung by prehistoric union arrangements that have kept labor and medical costs astronomically high. It is hard to build a world class car when nearly $2,000 of every car you build pays for entitlement programs for past and current employees. The market may have wanted GM to change, but its past often did not allow for it. Surely unions did not account for all of GM's woes, and management shares significant culpability, but organized labor did play an important role in where GM is today.

Remember $19 car rentals at Avis, Hertz and Budget in most markets? Those rates did not come easily. They came from years of Detroit's subsidization of auto rental companies, which served as repositories for vehicles the markets could not and would not absorb. GM and other domestic auto producers needed to manufacture those vehicles to finance and pay for the massive labor and health care entitlement program obligations they had accumulated over time. Despite its baggage, over the past two years, General Motors has made significant strides to returning to a respectable position amongst global auto makers. Transformation of an industry that for years served as a jobs bank for nearly three percent of the US labor force cannot happen overnight. First must come products, which after a drought of nearly a decade, have come to GM. Products like the new Cadillac Escalade, the 2008 Cadillac CTS Sedan, the Chevy Corvette, and the 2008 Chevy Malibu are vehicles that can compete on a global scale. The upcoming Chevrolet Volt, and the re-engineering of the energy supply for consumer vehicles that comes with it, will put GM and America in a strong position for automotive leadership. The problem is time. GM needs more of it, and so does America. The aid that GM needs can come in the form of legislative assistance through revision of "closed shop" rules in certain states, it can come in the form of incentives for new products, and it can come in the form of tax incentives and loan guarantees. I haved argued that all of them will be needed in some form or another.

No strong industrialized global economy currently exists without a healthy or emerging automotive industry. Manufacturing in Germany and much of continental Europe has survived on the wings of Daimler-Benz, BMW, Volkswagen, Volvo, Fiat and Renault for years. England's manufacturing fortunes, once uplifted by Rover and Jaguar, have waned as those brands were acquired and traded. Japan and Korea all have growing automotive industries and China and India are waiting in the wings with domestic offerings of their own. America cannot afford to lose the industrial base that auto manufacturing provides. Perhaps never, but definitely not now.

We also cannot risk the industry on the theory that foreign automakers will somehow fill in the gap left by the US companies. The retooling and re-engineering required to allow suppliers who service GM, Chrysler and Ford to serve purely foreign manufacturers will take years, not months, and will spread the "rust belt" well into America's manufacturing heartland. Millions of US jobs are vested in the hundreds of automotive suppliers that feed the big three. In this case, the sum is significantly greater than all of its parts. I hope the current outgoing Congress will show leadership on this issue and give GM and its ailing siblings the loan guarantees and aid they need to continue the transformation of America's important auto industry from an outdated jobs bank into a potent force for global automotive leadership.

For another viewpoint, see Mitt Romney's article in the New York Times.

Focus on Indian Hospitality: The road to economic growth and lower inflation

The road to economic growth and lower inflation
Guest Column
Hospitality Biz India, May 2008

This is an article I wrote a bit ago that was recently published in an Indian hotel publication. I would love to hear your thoughts. Click here to be taken to the article.

Home BBQ Done Right
The Big Green Egg Smoker and Grill
A-

Savoring the Celtics Game 2 victory in the 2008 NBA Finals was nearly matched by another exceptional experience I recently had while dining on meats cooked on an ingenious little charcoal grill called the "Big Green Egg" that my friend Mitch has at his Chestnut Hill home The device comes in several sizes, and allows for very accurate temperature control. Various attachments also add to the cooking possibilities.

The art to this grill and smoker is the ability to use charcoal fired heat to slowly cook meat in a container that protects against moisture loss. You can slow cook or smoke meats for hours and days using this thing. I enjoyed a very tender beef teriyaki skewer and herb encrusted steak that the Big Green Egg had produced under Mitch's guidance. In the day and age of stainless steel gas fired grills mass produced in China and sold at Home Depot, the Big Green Egg stands apart. It is definitely worth checking out this American designed grill and smoker which is sold only through distributors and, on occasion, on ebay.

Barack Obama for President

Dear Friends,

As most of you have known for some time, my frustration with the political process stems not from a belief that it does not work, but rather that those who share the center-liberal leaning beliefs that I do have accepted political defeat as a necessary condition. Some have argued that our leaders don't materially affect our lives while others feel that any impact is offset by the hassle involved in exercising one's ability to make a choice. This proposition, though wrong today as in the past, must now be totally banished from our thoughts.

In 2000, we watched Al Gore and Joe Lieberman go down to defeat. In 2002 and 2004, we watched as George Bush's political machinery gained momentum by convincing enough people that the external threat from global terrorism warranted changing our entire way of life. Over the following several years, we watched as Bush, his allies and handlers ran roughshod over our way of life and the great American constitutional system that put up as much resistance as it was designed to present. I remember watching in horror from London as the election results from 2004 came again. Much like 2000, moderates and liberals had lost their voices at the most critical time. Little did I know that the damage Bush would inflict on America would be as severe as it has turned out to be.

Since those two elections, with the events of 9-11 as his own personal weapon of mass destruction, George Bush and his forces have systematically reduced our constitutional protections one by one. Most of us watched this happen, constantly deferring meaningful opposition to some later day.

Well, my dear friends, we no longer have the luxury to defer the expression of our political will. Please join me in supporting Democrat Barack Obama in the quest to regain America. Let us allow our political will to launch a movement: a movement to restore human rights and the protections of the Bill of Rights, a movement to ensure opportunity for all Americans, and perhaps most importantly, a movement to return America to its rightful place as a beacon for hope and opportunity for all of mankind.

Please make a contribution today and join me in helping elect Barack Obama as our next President of the United States. To make a donation, please click on the following link: DONATE NOW.

Thanks,
Beej

Shradh Ceremony, Dev Kumar Datta, October 1, 2007

"Hari Om Tat Sat"
Om Ganga

With grief we inform you about the sad demise of our beloved father Dev Kumar Datta on 22nd September 2007 at 3:00am (21st September night).

To pray for his departed soul, you are invited to attend the Shradh Ceremony which will be held on Monday, 1st October 2007 at our residence from 11 am onwards.

Venue

West Hill, East Wing
4th Floor
27 Nepean Sea Road
Mumbai 400 036
Tel: +91 22 23695917

Deeply Mourned by:

Uma Rani Datta
Mitra Das, Chitra Datta
Rati Datta, Kaveri Datta
Sanjukta, Pronoti
Priyanka, Piyali

Mukti Lal Das
Sree Kumar Datta
Pranab Kumar Datta
Pradyut Datta
Abhijit, Sarosh

Dev Kumar Datta, 1912-2007

In Memoriam: Dev Kumar Datta

b. November 20, 1912
d. September 22, 2007

Today is a sad day in the life of my family. For nearly thirty four years, I have been blessed to have the loving support and affection of both of my grandparents on my mom's side. That changed today. Early this morning, at around 3:00am, I lost my grandfather. My dadu (grandpa, in Bengali) died rather unexpectedly. His death came after a short period of deterioration in his health. It was a mere four months ago that dadu was the healthiest and most vibrant 94-year old I could ever imagine. Today, dadu left us in the same exemplary manner in which he lived his entire life.

My grandfather was a wonderful father, a loving husband and brother, and an amazing grandfather. It was my dadu that named me Abhijit when I was born, it was he who greeted me with the same reassuring "I am well if you are well" every time I asked him about his health, and it was he who has taught me more about living with discipline and dignity than any other human being ever has, and perhaps ever will.

It is far too late tonight to do this post justice and my emotions are still unsettled; there is much that remains to be written about dadu and I look forward to completing this post over the next few days.

Goodbye dadu. You are my inspiration and I shall never forget you. I miss you.