I never miss an opportunity to treat others, and myself, to mouth-watering ice creams and frozen custards. I was delighted that dad Barack Obama gave a yummy frozen custard treat to daughters Sasha and Malia on The Father’s Day. ABC News tells us that Sasha, his youngest daughter, went for the big chocolate brownie sundae with frozen yogurt, hot fudge, a cherry, sprinkles, and whipped cream. “But, the full cup seemed a bit too much and she asked her father to scoop off the whipped...

White-collar job opportunities are just drying up. A former scholar Matthew Crawford, a PhD. in political philosophy from University of Chicago who after his studies became a motorcycle mechanic, says “The trades suffer from low prestige. Because the work is dirty, many people assume it is also stupid. This is not my experience.” Crawford writes in his book Shop Class as Soulcraft (and excerpted in The Week): “I turned full time to repair work several years ago after briefly serving...

Orangette…Cannelle et Vanille…Chez Pim…Dorie Greenspan…Becks & Posh…Steamy Kitchen..Homesick Texan…The Bitten Word…Tartelette. Hey what are these funny names? If you ever get tired of reading the political blogs…you may turn your attention to the above mentioned “appetizing” blogs included in The Times “50 of the world’s best food blogs.” More here… I tried finding Indian food blogs on the net…I wonder...

My fascination for bus rides and backpacking/trekking has remained intact. I was delighted to learn that even among the car-loving Americans, bus travel is now becoming popular. Well, this may cause a social and economic revolution in the USA!!! People are more “loath to get into their cars.” The Federal Highway Administration says Americans drove 81 billion fewer miles in the year ended January 2009 than in the previous year, reports WSJ. The Week magazine says: “Hard economic...

How does one make the USA, or the world, more secure? History tells us that ultimately a nation has to fall back upon the tried and tested “civilian instruments” such as diplomacy and foreign aid. The world has seen the dangers inherent in “creeping militarisation” of US foreign policy. Lexington, in his column in The Economist, states: “Mrs (Hillary) Clinton’s success has partly been a matter of good fortune. The State Department is delighted to see the arrival of an administration...

The ex-Beatles pop music sensation Sir Paul McCartney and his two daughters are avidly campaigning for meatless Mondays to “reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the world’s livestock, among the most serious contributors to global warming.” The Independent reports: “The McCartneys have attracted support from across the worlds of showbusiness, science, business and the environment. The singer Chris Martin, Hollywood stars Kevin Spacey and Woody Harrelson, actress Joanna Lumley...

While the US media and the blogs are going hysterical about the health care issues of “Americans”, Mary Clare Jalonick (Associated Press Writer) provides us with a moving insight into the continued poverty, deprivation and neglect of the “other” Americans — the indigenous people who live within the borders of the United States of America. The story revolves round the death of five-year-old Ta’Shon Rain Little Light (See photo). “Ta’Shon’s story...

I love American and Australian pies. They may be world apart in flavour and ingredients, but the pie lovers just can’t do without them. And here comes a fascinating biography… Pie is the latest in a series of small, engaging and beautifully illustrated books edited by food historian Ken Albala, who wrote last year’s entertaining Pancake, writes The Age. “Janet Clarkson, a GP and lecturer in medicine at the University of Queensland, is also a culinary historian — and...

Charles de Gaulle (French general, writer and statesman, 1890-1970) once said “Diplomats are useful only in fair weather. As soon as it rains they drown in every drop.” Australia’s High Commissioner to India John McCarthy has been a doyen among New Delhi’s diplomats for a record five years…that is until the dam burst a few weeks ago when the news of attacks on Indian students in Australia started flashing in Indian newspapers/TV channels like neon lights downtown. McCarthy...

What a way to celebrate one’s 85th birthday!!! A jump from the plane…Up in the sky…And enjoying a wonderful bird’s eye view. That’s what former US President H.W. Bush did, and got an affectionate kiss from wife Barbara on safe landing. Also present on the scene was his son, former US president George W. Bush, who generally sought thrills of different kind!!! Bush famously skydived on his 75th and 80th birthdays and hopes to repeat it on his 90th birthday as well. Birthday...

It is interesting how John Boynton Priestley (13 Sept 1894 – 14 Aug 1984) an English novelist, playwright and broadcaster, whose works I have admired/enjoyed, has become “a voice of our times”. Writes Benedict Nightingale in The Times: “Whether Priestley was writing tragedies, comedies or a mix of both, he was scathing about hypocrisy, pomposity, callousness, selfishness, cynicism, idleness and avarice. “When the title character of An Inspector Calls accuses a rich, smug...

Can we live without Google? asks James Harkin in The Times. A reader taunts Harkin: “Can we live without GOD? YES. Can we live without GOOGLE? Silly Question. Of course, We can, if we want.” Harkins reminds us that eight out of ten people prefer Google, a search engine that is now worth roughly £100 billion. “In the space of a single decade, internet search has changed the way we look at the world beyond recognition. Google has become our binoculars and our window on to the net.” But,...

I am no fashion expert but I enjoyed reading The Times of London’s good natured taunt at the dress the First Lady of the USA chose to wear for her visit to the power centre in London — the Westminster Abbey. Writes Alice Olins: “Mrs O is a clever woman: pretending to have just thrown on any old holiday number whilst actually acknowledging pioneering catwalk ideas is no mean feat, she is probably laughing at all the criticism as I write. “From a fashion purist’s perspective,...

Following a public/media outcry over the growing attacks on Indian students, and a personal intervention by Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, the Victoria state premier John Brumby announced a “high-visibility police operation”. (Melbourne, the capital of Victoria, was in a recent poll declared as the “third best liveable city in the world”. And, surely, it has a reputation to protect. See my earlier post here…) The Victorian premier said that “the high-visibility...

Photographs, it is said, speak more eloquently than words. The Associated Press photo of Vietnamese girl Phan Thi Kim Phúc running for life is still the lasting image of the Vietnam War. And the photo of the Unknown rebel versus the mighty Red Army is the vivid image of the Tiananmen protest of the Chinese youth (photo above). Nalaka Gunawardene, the Sri Lankan journalist, presents the dramatic moment: “This is of the most famous photos of modern times. The official caption, given by Associated...

Alarmed at the retaliatory steps being taken by Indian students under attack in Australia, India’s foreign minister SM Krishna has appealed to them to “exercise restraint and be patient”. And the Universities Australia called for a “national response” and close cooperation between all education providers and the Commonwealth and state governments. Krishna (photo above) said the Australian government has given “fullest assurance” that steps will be taken...

Despite worldwide negative publicity following increase in attacks on foreign students, Australian cities occupy five of the top 20 places in a British survey conducted to find out the “most liveable cities” among the 140 cities in the world. Melbourne (photo above), which recently catapulted into news as an “unsafe” place for Indian students, ranked third in the world, behind Vancouver (in Canada) and the Austrian city of Vienna in The Economist Intelligence Unit’s...

Why is US President Barack Obama cold-shouldering European leaders? While we search for the answers, French President Nicolas Sarkozy thought of the next best thing…if the US president could not be persuaded to socialise with him, why not play host to Obama’s family? Sarkozy enjoyed a consolation prize yesterday: lunch with the President’s wife Michelle and their children, reports The Times. “Mr Obama was already flying home to Washington after doing the Paris sights with his...

Peter Varghese, 53, a distinguished Australian diplomat and former senior advisor to ex-Prime Minister John Howard, has been appointed Australian High Commissioner to India. He is due to take charge in August from John McCarthy, a distinguished and popular diplomat, who completes his five-year term in India. Varghese brings with him vast experience in current international developments. I strongly recommend his insightful 2006 presentation on Islamist Terrorism: The International Context. Please...

Australia is famous for its outback and the journey on the Ghan – its iconic trans-continental train - is a great tourist attraction. But for an American teenager Chad Vance, 19, it turned out to be a nightmare, who survived through sheer grit and luck. The Times of London reports: “Vance survived a terrifying late night train ride, clinging to the side of a train as it hurtled through the South Australian Outback at speeds of up to 70 mph (110 km/h). “Vance was travelling on...

Australia’s leading newspaper, The Age, carries a photograph of Indian students gathered outside St Albans railway station in Melbourne (see above). They have decided to move in groups “after incidents of intimidation in which train inspectors failed to intervene and police failed to respond to calls for help.” While the governments of India and Australia are opting for diplomatic and political officialese, the ground realities are different and dangerous, if one goes by the reports...

It is ironic that the two countries — India and China — with whom Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd wishes to build special relationship have begun to put a lot of pressure on him after the increase in violence against foreign students in his country. The Age of Australia reports: “The future of the $15.5 billion overseas student industry is under threat after the Chinese Government went public with concerns about violence against its students in Australia. “Battling to...

While different theories are being examined regarding the spurt in attacks against foreign students, Australia plans to impose tougher sentences for hate crimes. The federal and state governments have announced several steps to curb violence against Indian and other foreign students. (Yesterday, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd himself assured full security to Indian students and reassured the Indian government that Australia is not a racist country…See my earlier posts here…) Meanwhile The...

While we now often become sad and worried reading and watching news regarding economy and recession, Rosie Boycott believes that “our obsession with chasing more is losing its grip as a growing number of people turn to new values and simple pursuits with friends and family.” She writes in The Times: “Today, the more-more-more culture that has dominated our lives and behaviour for the past two decades has been uncovered as a sham. The desire to acquire more stuff – and the belief...

With the US public forced to own 60 per cent of the crippled auto giant General Motor’s share, the question about GM’s future is a legitimate one? Michael Moore, Oscar and Emmy-winning director, initiates a useful debate in Huffington Post. He wants the GM factories to stop making gas guzzling cars. Instead, GM should now produce energy-efficient and environment-friendly mass transportation systems. I wish that Michael Moore’s clarion call leads to a mass movement to initiate...