But in other news, Dr. Horrible did attempt a take-over. Seen here is Neil Patrick Harris (Barney of How I Met Your Mother fame) in his famous online-blogger-slash-failed-supervillain avatar!

Google “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog” if you want to see more of him!

"I hate church! So should you!"

A Michigan church is enlisting Satan in a bid to drum up attendance at services. Metro South Church in the Detroit suburb of Trenton is posting signs saying the non-denominational Christian congregation “sucks” and “makes me sick.” The ads are signed by Satan. The campaign even has a website explaining why Satan hates the church. Youth Pastor Adam Dorband told WJBK-TV the church is trying to reach out to people and cut through the “noise.” Dorband said Jesus “wants us to be creative and he wants us to … use whatever it takes to reach people.” Pastor Jeremy Schossau said the campaign is meant to be whimsical and isn’t intended to upset anyone.

One of the highlights of Clinton’s visit to India was India’s stern no to any legally binding emission cuts. India’s position is that India’s per capita emissions are among the lowest among  the world, and even with current growth rate of GDP, they are not going to rise significantly. If millions of Indians have to be lifted out of poverty India needs high GDP growth rate and any restrictions placed on India as a result of climate change pacts or protocols is only going to hinder India’s growth.  Consequently the poor are going to suffer. Secondly it is the developed countries who are solely responsible for this mess.  So they have to do be the main agent of change.

Some experts have suggested that instead of using per capita emissions as a parameter, emissions per GDP (or GDP per emission) could be considered. This could be the right strategy which should be accepted by the developing as well as developed countries. Whatever nations or people say the fact remains that climate change is a real threat and something needs to be done about it sooner. The ill effects of climate change are going to be felt across the world and they are  not limited to one region or country.

Carbon emissions per GDP is supposed to measure the efficiency of an economy, where as carbon emissions per capita is more a measure of industrialization than anything else.  In modern economy energy use is high. Virtually all the economic activities depend on some kind of energy source , whether electrical or mechanical.  Most of this energy is derived from fossil fuels which are the chief emitter of carbon.  Thus emissions per GDP measure the kind of technology being used to fuel the economy. For eg, by having tougher  emission standards,  carbon emissions by vehicles can be controlled.  Similarly for coal fired power plants (coal is less cleaner fuel than petrol when it comes to carbon emissions),  by using effcient technology and techniques such as carbon capturing we can reduce the carbon emissions.  Adoption of new  and efficient technology will also fuel  GDP growth. Moving towards renewable sources like solar and wind will create new jobs and help in cleaner GDP growth.

Let us compare the ratio of  GDP to CO2 emissions for some countries.(source: wikipedia)

Sweden 6.591

France 5.373

Italy 3.842

UK        3.670

Germany 3.390

US   1.936

Kuwait 0.596

India 0.497

China 0.450

Iran 0.372

The higher the ratio the better it is. The value for UK is almost double that of US.  So though both the countries have  developed economies, UK’s economy is much more carbon efficient than US.  This is generally true for all major European economies.  Most of the developing countries fare poorly on this front.  India is slightly better than China.  As can be seen developed countries in general are much better placed in the list. Also the gulf countries where petroleum is available in plenty are performing  pretty poorly.

I am not sure how the carbon emissions are calculated. I assume that these emissions are calulated on the basis of fossil fuels burnt plus the carbon emissions by the industries which are of non fossil fuel origin such as by cement industry. Livestock are also major cause of carbon emissions.  Cows emit methane which is 20 times as  potent  than CO2 in absorbing heat.

So it can be clearly seen that there is large variation of emissions per capita across countries. It can be clearly established  that developing countries lag far behind the developed ones. The clean technology transfer from developed to developing countries can mitiagate this difference.  This is something the diplomats should look at. There is large scope of cooperation between the countries on clean energy front.  The other trend  is the variation among the developed countries. This may be because that European countries have done much more than US on this front. For eg petrol is cheaper in US than in Europe. This is reflected in the petroleum consumption per capita. US consumes around 24.8 thousand barrels(bbl) per year per capita whereas the same for UK is 10.9 and France is 11.9.Bigger cars are more popular in US than in Europe. This is also a  lifestyle thing. One of the reasons for bankruptcy of US carmakers was the increasing market share of Japanese car manufactureres like Toyota and Honda whose small cars are becoming more popular than SUV’s like Hummer.  Another example is of trains. High speed trains are very popular in Europe for long distance travel.  On the other hand people in US rely mainly on airways for the same. Energywise railways are more efficient than the airways.

One more important factor is the role that forests play in fighting climate change. The role played by forests in maintainig the ecological balance of the planet is well established.  By absorbing carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen they help in maintaing the balance of gases in air. So if we have to fight climate change effectively the treaties related to climate change should give adequate incentives to preserve forests. The forests world over are facing the wrath of increasing population. A case in point is that of Brazil. The large Amazon forests of Brazil are being cut to make way for farms. In recent years Brazil has become a large exporter of foodgrains. This  has brought prosperity to many Brazilians. But it  has come at a heavy cost. Each year large tracts of Amazon forests are being cleared to make way for farms. Any efforts to stop deforestation brings opposition from local people and govt. Continue Reading »

Our contact in Bangalore had forgotten to book our hotel and was untraceable on his mobile; we were in a bit of a jam as we were taking an evening flight from Delhi and would reach fairly late into the city after the commute from the new airport. Staying at one of the many hotels who have counters at the airport was not a possibility given their tariffs and the size of our wallets so I went online to identify a budget hotel in a part of the city with which we were familiar. A hotel, the Ajanta Hotel on M.G.Road was identified and a couple of rooms were quickly booked. Still a nagging worry remained as MG Road is after all a big and crowded place.

The first surprise came at Bangalore airport when we mentioned the Ajanta Hotel to the taxi driver and he nodded matter of factly. He didn’t seem surprised or worried or have any questions about the location and after about an hour’s ride, he whisked out of the car and announced that we had arrived at our hotel. It was getting late and after a quick dinner, we retired to our rooms. Since that trip, I have made many, many trips to Bangalore, but whenever I can, I have always made it a point to stay there.

There are some hotels that either because of their age or long followed traditions and customs, acquire an “atmosphere” that can certainly not be ever described but fully experienced. At first glance, the Ajanta looks like a small township. It is located just off the proposed Trinity Circle metro station on the perennially busy M.G.Road and yet it is sufficiently tucked away from it to cut off practically all noise and bustle. And yet inside, it is another kind of bustle and the township is thriving.

The hotel has been popular as a hotel that hosts wedding parties and inside there are two wedding halls which seem huge. The small township inside much like a shopping colonnade that one might find in a luxury hotel but much more utilitarian has shops to cater to practically all needs. There is a florist; a big sized travel agency with several taxis parked outside, a well stocked provision shop, a snack shop, phone booths, internet cafes. Though a bit away from the main road, none of the shops are apparently lacking in business.

There is a restaurant attached to the hotel that serves you a very filling lunch or dinner for Rs 35.00, a practically unheard of price in most places ; much less in a business hot spot. The restaurant is no hole in the wall outfit; in the mornings, breakfast can be had for as little as Rs 20.00 and the fact is not secret. The dining hall is quite full in the mornings, particularly with young working couples usually dropping in for a bite, something quite affordable at these rates.

In spite of all that is happening in the hotel complex, the pace is languid and easy paced. The staff is polite, helpful and refuses to be caught up in the rapid pace of life, just a few hundred meters away and best exemplified by the construction of the Metro Station, just outside the hotel. At times, when it is no longer the wedding season, uniformed waiters (of whom there are many), wander around the lounges - one in each floor –waiting to take orders for tea or coffee or room service, at their usual leisurely pace. As I checked out one more time out of the Ajanta Hotel, one more time last week, I couldn’t hope but wander as to how long such a leisurely pace of life, tracing its ancestry from the time when Bangalore was a pensioner’s paradise would last. And yet watching the crowded dining room full of laptop wielding techies, it seems that the hotel is currently a much sought after bridge between the mad house outside and the measured grace inside. And hopefully sooner, rather than later, I will be back again.

Unlike most people, I rather love the train food and the elaborate ritual surrounding it – and no, I am not talking about the Rajdhanis and the Shatabdis. The exercise begins with a railway staff approaching you with the question “Veg ya Non Veg? although I don’t remember the train menus ever having changed , since the day I started using trains – which is quite a long while ago, some or the other passenger will always ask “ veg mein kya hai ? “. After the waiter has rattled off the fare, orders are placed. Then the waiter disappears and after a couple of hours arrives with a tray full of food, brought either from the pantry car if the train has one or loaded from some way side station.

I look forward to this whole thing. And so, when the other day I went to the railway station in the evening to board my train and found that it was running about 10 and a half hours late ( that bit of railways , not one minister has been able to change !), I was a bit disappointed. I was expecting to have my dinner on the train and this unexpected wait meant that dinner had to be arranged some where. I made my way across the long and unending platform toward s the place where the vegetarian and non vegetarian refreshment rooms would be.

A Vegetarian thali along with an omlette was tasty, filling and at Rs 30.00 was extremely affordable. The railways ensured quality control by listing details of the thali on a notice board hung on the wall – 150 gm of rice, 100 ml of dal, and 50 ml of curd and so on. But looking around, it was with quite some surprise that I found that the familiar room where I had lunch and dinner innumerable times over the years was quite deserted and was being remodeled. A McDonald’s banner was put up in flaming red and signage proclaimed that I would be opening up soon. I thought that may be the refreshment room has shifted some where else, and having time on my hands, I looked around, but there was no refreshment room in sight, although I located a multi cuisine food court in another part of the station.

Though I love food and enjoy the variety of the food court and love my Mcburger as well, it was disappointing to see that the time honored railway run canteens and refreshment rooms have gone and replacing them are McDonalds and the other food courts, serving overpriced food, albeit of a much greater variety than was previously available and served in disposable plastic trays and accompanied by cheap paper napkins.

I am no socialist by inclination, but it seems that we are pursuing privatization with a rather unnecessary frenzy, dismantling even those pieces of the public sector that did work. The so called private public partnerships seem to be so often a sellout by the government to the private sector because so often in such partnerships, only the face and culture and share holder value driven culture is visible and almost always at the cost of the common public good.

Railway cuisine is obviously not gourmet food, but each railway refreshment room captures the local flavor and dishes in its menu, and so eating at the refreshment rooms in stations across the country is an interesting and varied experience and the diversity of the food in long distance trains as they pass through different states is a story in itself. I for one would hate to be served an alu tikki burger from McDonald as the vegetarian meal on my next train journey. I want my veg thali with the watery dal, the oily pickle and subzi and the curd to wash it down with. Just for this one reason at least, I protest against the Mcdonaldisation of the railway kitchen.

The attacks against Indian students in Australia have gotten me thinking a lot. As someone who has up until very recently been a “visitor” in other countries, and in a couple of instances faced the palpable fear of a racist attack, I cannot help but put myself in the shoes of those boys.

Continue Reading »

It was my third month in the hospital, a small, struggling, rural, not-for-profit. It was a slow afternoon OPD, there was a well dressed man at the door of my consultation room. I thought he was a medical representative and asked him in. He sat down, greeted me, opened his leather briefcase and took out an envelop which he placed it in front of me.

“Whats this?” “for referring, sir” he said. Puzzled, I opened the envelope; five crisp 100 rupee notes stared back at me. Feeling more confused, I pushed the envelop away. “What is this for? Who are you?” “PR manager, sir, of Dr. Y”. Dr. Y was a famous cardiologist in the nearby city.“Whats this money for?” I asked again, “Just thanking for the referral sir”, he was clearly uncomfortable, not used to such quizzing. “So, Dr. Y is giving me money for referring patients to him?” “Yes sir, just thanks sir” was his hesitant reply.

I sent the money back, wrote a self righteous letter to Dr Y explaining that I referred patients for their benefit not mine. That was my first exposure to the world of “incentives” as they call it.

Over the last one year I have come to know that this is far from being an exception or a quirk of medical practice in northern Karnataka. Friends and batch-mates from all over the country have sent me stories of being approached by everyone from other doctors to drug companies with “incentives”.

“Incentives” are, of course, a euphemism for bribes. All over the country in private, corporate and government medical centers, Doctors are being bribed to do investigations and prescribe particular drugs.

If you think that the medicine your doctor prescribed was the best for you, well, probably not. Drug prescription in India works almost completely on the basis of commissions. Drug companies and medical shops pay doctors a percent of the sales of the particular drug they want to push. For example, if you have a chest infection, which is quiet persistent and need Amoxicillin with Clavalunic acid, there are about 50 companies that make equally good amox clav (commonly known as Augmentin) chances are your private practitioner decided to give your the drug manufactured by company x based on how much of a “cut” he gets. Ditto for investigations and referrals to bigger hospitals or specialists.

In real life terms this means that you need to think twice about trusting your doctors judgment about a particular drug or an investigation, if he accepts incentives. How much ever they may deny it, money influences judgment.

Funny thing is, when I brought it up with some doctors who take incentives, none of them thought they were bribes. In fact they were offended that I called them bribes. Apparently their value judgment is never swayed by the allure of money.

Well, not all of us are corrupt, there are many institutions that have an anti incentive policy, and am sure, many doctors (shameless plug) who do not take incentives.

I Read an editorial in Deccan herald the other day about the strike by junior doctors in Karnataka. According to the author, who is a doctor, ethics and honor have always been corner stones of the medical profession and there is a need to “return” to these values. Unfortunately the truth is, for a long time now this presumed high moral and ethical standard is nothing but an eyewash and a dream.

Next time you pay through your nose (heh) for a Colonoscopy remember that chances are you don’t really need that painful intrusion.