Most of the back-office works of American companies are done in India. Looking at the competitive advantages outsourcing provides, it is only a matter of time before rest of the companies start doing the same. Outsourcing is simply a resultant of economic maturity. As economy of a particular country progresses, other economies begin to experience a competitive advantage in terms of cost effectiveness. This is an economic reality and can not be avoided. As long as businesses are run on the principle of “Profit First”, outsourcing will remain the last word in cost controlling. United States is feeling the pinch now, but sooner or later others will also experience the same. Who knows, in some years one may see some guy sitting in a central African nation resolving a complaint from an Indian customer.

The bottomline : You may try to stop outsourcing as much as you want, but it may jeopardize the same free market principle on which the giant american economy is built upon.

Though Muslims live throughout the world, Islamic Terrorism started and is most pronounced in Middle East. Why is it so? Besides the obvious reason that most of the people living there are Muslims, there is another reason. Middle East is the region that has faced American terror the most.

So what could be the reasons for the the American atrocities in Middle East? Is it religion? Is USA biased against Islam or Muslims? No, the answer lies in the American geo-political aspirations. USA has two major interests along with many small ones in this region. One is to keep countries within its sphere of influence and other is to protect and grow its oil interests. Any country which refuses to give in to these American objectives, is either wiped out like Iraq or faces economic boycotts, like Libya and Iran.

The two important interests make Middle East the most vital place for American foreign policy. This is the reason why you don’t see continuous american presence and interference in other regions of world. Sure, Colombia,Cuba and Vietnam have had their share of trouble with America, but they don’t endure it anymore.

Incidentally, the place holding so much interest for USA also harbors an equivalent or even greater hatred for it. Unfortunately, people of the Arab land believe that USA is out there to destroy Islam and Muslims. The truth is USA would have tormented the people of Middle East, had they been Jews or Christian, instead of being Muslims. If anybody has a doubt, there are examples of Venezuela, Colombia, Mexico, North Korea, Vietnam and others. These countries have borne the brunt of American terror and none of them is a Muslim country. Had USA considered Muslims as enemy, they would have never gone in to save Kosovo Muslims from Serbian Christian. There are scores of Muslims residing in USA from different countries and ethnic backgrounds, I haven’t heard of any discrimination and bad treatment to them yet unless they are a security threat.

There is another aspect to the topic- America’s supposed support to Israel. America doesn’t do it because it is particularly fond of Israel or Jewish people. It supports Israel to counter Russian support to Egypt and Syria. You see, super powers really don’t love or hate anybody; they only love money and power.

It doesn’t really feel right to me when I read somewhere that USA is the enemy of Islam. The truth is somewhat complicated.

In order to refresh historical facts, Kashmir was supposed to be a part of Pakistan during the time of partition based on the religious majority line. But the twist was it was an independent state unlike the rest of British India and hence had the right to be free or to be assimilated into either India or Pakistan. The Hindu king of the Muslim-majority state wanted to remain free. But the Pakistani attempt to take the land by military force compelled him to seek Indian help. Indian Government played the cunning move and wanted Kashmir to be a part of India in return. The hapless king had no other choice but to comply in order to save the state from Pakistani marauders. Nobody wanted or even wished to know what the Kashmiri people wanted.

Post-integration, Kashmiris slowly became aware of the truth. They naturally wanted Indian Government to leave from the valley in order for a free Kashmir. But the Indian Government showed the legal papers signed with king Hari Singh  and claimed Kashmir to be rightfully Indian territory. From then till now the stalemate has been on. In between Pakistan got the chance to wash it’s hands in the dirty water by supporting the Kashmir separatists. Here is an article which written by a Kashmiri shows their precarious situation. Now let’s examine what’s wrong in the picture so far?

No doubt India has legal claims on Kashmir, but are the claims rightful? It is similar to American invasion of Philippines. Though the USA Government ceded Philippines according to the Treaty of Paris, they didn’t ask the Filipinos if they wanted an American rule. The results-a long-standing feud and subsequent wars which ultimately paved the way for Philippines independence.

Now let’s see what do the Indian citizens feel about the issue? Most see Kashmiris as the trouble mongers and agents of Pakistan. Of course, Kashmiri separatists helped spread the impression when they ousted thousands of innocent Kashmiri Pandits. Indian people are strictly against Kashmiri independence or an integration with Pakistan. Why is it so? Because for long, they have been fooled by Government propaganda that Kashmir is the inseparable part of India. They don’t even know that the Kashmir they see on Indian maps has long been divided and a major chunk is in Pakistani control(called Azad Kashmir) and minor part in Chinese control(called Aksai Chin).

So, what’s in store for Kashmir? What is the future? The nearest guess is It Is Complicated. If Kashmiris want Azadi(Independence), they must dis-associate themselves from violence. They can’t possibly fight the Indian Government or else, the conflict will drag on. The more violent they become or the more is the Pakistani involvement, less is the chance of Indian Government complying with their demands.Their best move is non-cooperation. It may sound cowardice but it is the only workable solution. Let no Kashmiri be a part of the Indian democratic process. Let there be no politician in Kashmir valley. Pressurize the Indian Government to withdraw the troops by peaceful protests. Once these objectives are achieved, then decide the political future of Kashmir.

I still think Kashmiris will benefit immensely by being a part of India rather than by being free or a part of Pakistan. Many Kashmiris get the chance to study and work in the booming economy of Indian cities. As Indian Government has made it clear that Kashmiri Sovereignty is out of question, Kashmiris may want to settle with greater autonomy and complete withdrawal of army. It works in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in China; so it may work in India.

It’s time for Indian media to stop writing ambiguous reports and start writing sensibly, offering workable solutions. A prime-ministerial visit will not solve the problem, a decisive action will.

Well, for the starters, the intention is wrong. This is a slap to all those who died in the terrorist attack. This is like telling the terrorists, “Yeah, what you did was right and we are endorsing it by propagating your religion.”

Sorry, the intention is not so noble. This is another product of the twisted and rotten political think-tank of America. They think Muslims will bite the bait and anti-US sentiments will vanish. What they don’t realize is trust is not built by constructing Mosques but by treating people with respect. On one hand, you go on killing thousands and making millions homeless by indiscriminate bombing and on the other hand you try to show your pseudo-secularism by constructing a mosque. I don’t think anybody is buying these antics.

I hope this project stops at all cost without causing any more pain to the relatives of all the people who died for the mistakes of US Government. There are better and more fruitful ways of building good relationships with the muslim wold. Why don’t we start by withdrawing troops from Iraq and Afghanistan and not interfering in other countries’ internal matter?

The site is not very large. Even the topics are not diverse. Basically it is a Q&A forum where Neil answers questions asked by people. Don’t worry, you won’t find questions about Lady Gaga or Keanu Reeves. The questions are mainly related to Internet, Web technologies, SEO and business. Who could answer these questions better than Neil who has been involved with internet marketing and business since he was a kid? Yes, Neil is the founder of two successful web-based businesses- KISSmetrics and Crazy Egg. He has also been involved numerous other businesses some of which did well and some didn’t. But Neil is not only humble enough to accept his failures, but also goes that extra mile to analyze his mistakes. He hopes people will learn from his mistakes and won’t waste time in repeating them. But the gems of the blog are the occasional posts written by Neil. Most of the posts are inspired by his own life experience and thus are very engaging. For example, check out this post where Neil discusses how parents should be involved in shaping their children’s future, though my personal favorite is this.

In short, I found this blog useful and resourceful. Some of the posts seemed stale though as I have seen them in other places. However, Ignoring those occasional glitches the blog is a nice read.

Now what’s so special about this site? Well, for the starters, this site is authored and managed by some people who are passionate about what they do. They maintain this site because they want to make a difference. This is a site which I feel should be making waves instead of  Facebook. If you want to reduce your carbon footprint, if you want to see how Mother Earth is doing health-wise or simply want to check the latest updates on the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, do not look anywhere else. Visit treehugger.com today and make a difference to our world.

Do you know that the processed food you prefer over homemade and locally produced food burns tons of fossil fuel in order to be processed, packed and transported? Do you know the casual drives you go with your friends add lots and lots of gas pollutants to the atmosphere? And do you know the meat you love so much over the vegetables is actually adding greenhouse gases to our ecosystem?…….. No??? Well, you better visit the site.

Agreed, Saddam had not been an ideal ruler. He had been accused of oppression,believed to be hungry for power and the perpetrator of the infamous Iraq-Iran war.  But the political void created by the US invasion showed the world that Saddam’s rule was not that bad for Iraq after all. Junior Bush came to Iraq to complete his fathers unfinished business and gifted destruction, sufferings and death to Iraqis. Nobody objected, not even the neighboring Arab states. The ordeal didn’t end there. Iraqs heterogeneous nation would have long gone but for the glue that Saddam was. Call it his tyranny, but that is what kept the country united for years. In his absence, the country swiftly descended into anarchy and chaos. Sectarian conflicts and violence have been the part of Iraqi life since then.

Now when I read about bomb blasts in Iraq, nostalgia hits me. I crave for the good old days. Give me a choice between Saddam and US any day and my choice would be the former, no matter what. We didn’t and couldn’t do anything when USA killed Saddam Hussein, let us at least pay homage to the man.

Well, the reason may not be as glorious as Hindutva proponents would like to it be. Westerners have a habit of adapting anything which seems different or exotic. So  you may see many Westerners getting converted into Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam or Judaism, just to try something different as if religion is just like another exotic dish. I sincerely hope Julia’s latest decision is not another one of those American whims.

Coming to the question of conversion, it seems ironical that a conversion is required for a religion which embraces any and every form of worship. Hinduism does not seek conversion as it believes that the goals of spiritual life can be attained through any religion, as long as it is practiced sincerely. In fact, Hinduism is no ism at all. It never was or has been a religion, it’s just a way of life. According to one prominent philosopher Hinduism can not be defined, it is only to be experienced. It’s like a river, accepting anything thrown at it during its course and meeting the sea of Moksha in the end. So you have polytheists, monotheists and even atheists, all considering themselves to be Hindus. Hinduism doesn’t have any source,no  prophet, no preacher and no standard religious text. Where else can you find this phrase- ” Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” meaning whole world is my family. One doesn’t need to be formally converted to be called a Hindu. Everyone following basic social morales, considering all humans to be equal and treating all religions at par is a Hindu. Hence, even a Christian will be considered a Hindu if he is a good human being and a good Christian!!

I hope, Julia understands this basic principle of Hinduism before considering herself to be a Hindu. Tolerance, brotherhood and equality are the pillars of Hinduism. With Indians fast forgetting their roots, may Hinduism find appreciation and respect in foreign lands.

• Sense of Liberty: Americans are fiercely independent. They start working from young age, care for themselves from a tender age and become contributing citizens to the economy. May be it’s time for us to come out of our mama’s lap a little earlier. It is ridiculous to see young Indians being controlled by parents even after becoming adults.
• Value of Time: We are notorious for our time sense. Let’s start respecting our and others’ time and inculcate the same in our future generations.
• Be money-minded: Don’t listen to anybody who says money isn’t everything. American businesses are everywhere because they place profitability above all. Earn money, save money, spend money and make our economy stronger.
• Adventurist: An average American is always ready to take risk, be it career, business or love life. And everybody knows only who takes risks, reaps the rewards. May be we need a lesson on how to be less cautious and more risk-taking.
• Be Passionate: Americans do business to make profit. But they start business out of passion. So, the next time you do that MBA course, ensure that you feel passionate about it and not just following a herd.

Of course, we can never make the generalization. I have seen many women with amazing technical sense and many men with zero mathematical aptitude. But the circumstantial evidence suggests that men beat women hands down when it comes to maths and science. Right from the stone age, men had been innovating and improving tools. From the start of industrialization, men had been at the forefront of developing technologies and founding enterprises. The differentiation starts right from school. While boys gravitate towards maths and science and do well, girls get disinterested in the same. Gradually you see less and less women in top-level technology courses.Even when I look at start-up companies, men tend to found technology-based companies while women set up clothes, baby care, beauty products and such. It does seem Summers’ views were not invalid. So, what could be the reason?

Though there is considerable effects of social typecasting, repression, differential treatment on the phenomenon, one can’t deny Nature’s hand in it. In simple words, women are not programmed to excel in the two coveted subjects. Conversely, they are good in many areas where men fail to excel. Though scientific studies do not have any proof yet, it seems to be the most logical deduction. The feminists may make a hue and cry as much as they want, but Mr. Summers certainly was not wrong in his stand.