Monday, April 30, 2007

Ban - galore

Personally, I am against any ban of any sort on any thing. It really doesn't make any sense to me that any government (or any authority) has any right to ban anything on society. Whether it is banning films or guns or eating habits, it really seems like someone else deciding for me that I am not mature enough to decide for myself.. It's even more ridiculous when a government does that. "You mean I am smart enough when you want my vote, but I am not smart enough to decide whether Black Friday is a good move or not?"  This stand of mine however comes under serious introspection when it comes to gun control.
 
Having been out of the US for almost a year, this topic was out of sight - out of mind for a while now.. However, just as I was about to come back for a visit, the tragedy at Virgina Tech happened.. And the topic is back. I think about it long and hard, but I still think a ban on guns is not practical. Much as you want it, it is just not possible to remove guns from society. Chad bhai (my ex-roommate in LA, and ex-cop) used to say that legal guns are hardly ever a problem, it's the illegal ones that cause all the problems.. And the more you ban it, more people want to keep it. So, you get bootlegging. Anybody who thinks that prohibition in Gujarat is a practical solution, should go to a place called Daman on the Gujarat shoreline, where it is a Union Territory.. Anyway, I digress..
 
That said, I personally think, it should be made mighty hard to get a gun. In the US, it is easier to get a gun than buying a house.. There are certain faux-rules which says so-and-so cannot buy guns, but as Mr. Seung Hui Cho showed us, it really is a rule only in name. It really is too easy.. You can buy guns in Wal-mart for god's sakes.. The reality however is that the NRA and other gun lobbies will never allow it to be tougher to get guns.. The second amendment was passed in 1787 (checked Wikipedia). My guess is that life then was much different then, what say. Heck, life in 1986 was different. The amendment reads something like, "A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the People to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed". Now, it seems to me that this amendment was setup before there was an army in the US or even the police.
 
By the same logic, warring factions in civil wars are necessary to the security of the country.

I'm Baaaaaaaack

Well .. Not exactly .. Have been in the US now for 5 days.. but not been able to blog at all.. Partly because I was sharing a laptop for the first few days .. (Was sharing a cell phone till yesterday) .. 309-230-5207 is the number in case you need to get in touch .. Turns out, I can't log in to blogger for some reason.. Maybe their system cannot recognise me coz I am out for a long time .. something like that I guess.. Or could have something to do with the hotel that I am staying in ..
 
The US feels somewhat different this time.. It feels like a place you go for vacation where you have been there before, but you know you are there for a limited period.. Moline is all green right now, the weekend was beautiful weather.. Considering it is 40C+ in Pune, it was a great feeling to have weather in the 20s.. Am here till the 9th.. Shall catch up with everyone as far as possible.. At least with some of the things I am thinking right now :)
 
Just checking to see if the email to blog version works, or I just cannot blog at all ..

Monday, April 23, 2007

In the US for the next 3 weeks

I shall be in Moline, IL starting April 24 (Tuesday) till May 9th. Hopefully shall blog more once I get there in my free time.

Tuesday, April 03, 2007

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil...

Here is a researcher who has spent his life studying Evil. Had heard about this, and would love to have more info.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/03/science/03conv.html

I guess the book could provide wonderful insights into why perfectly normal people can take part in communal riots and then melt away again into oblivion. Must read it during my US trip