The Economist's Angry old Man

An excerpt from The Economist's review of the divisive Hindu leader
L.K.Advani's book says--

"A hale octogenarian, Mr Advani's political career spans India's
independent history. But he is best known for his part in the calamity
that helped fuel the BJP's rise: the destruction of the Babri mosque
in Ayodhya by Hindu fanatics in 1992. This outrage—which sparked
communal massacres in which some 2,000 people died, most of them
Muslims—was instigated, at least in part, by a BJP campaign for a
Hindu temple to be built on the site of the mosque. The campaign was
spearheaded by Mr Advani, who led a ram rath yatra, or chariot
procession, halfway across India to rally support for the temple. Mr
Advani calls this the "most decisive, transformational event" of his
career."

This is a person who was born in Karachi, which is now of course part
of Pakistan, and is a staunch Hindu fundamentalist whose political
career divided India's religious groups into sharper niches than they
were ever in... Interesting person, controversial behavior, and a very
provoking book, surely.

Read the full article at--
http://www.economist.com/books/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11448647

The Age of Innovation

Yet another book from Management Guru C.K. Prahalad, titled "The Age
Of Innovation"

"Every so often, a book comes along that demands to be read --
sometimes because of the author's great reputation; in other cases,
because the subject is so important. In the case of "The New Age of
Innovation," both are true," says the Los Angeles Times, "Professor
C.K. Prahalad of the University of Michigan, whose previous books
include "Competing for the Future" and "The Fortune at the Bottom of
the Pyramid," is sometimes described as one of the most influential
thinkers in the world. And the book deals with a pressing issue for
managers today: how to compete in a time of rapid and unpredictable
change."

According to The LA Times, "Prahalad, who recently was appointed a
non-executive director by Pearson, owner of the Financial Times, and
co-author M.S. Krishnan, also a professor at Michigan, start by
telling us, "There is a fundamental transformation of business
underway," which will radically alter the very nature of the company
and how it creates value. "No industry is immune from this trend."

"All this might seem like common sense. Sadly, common sense is not
taught at business schools, nor do consultants offer seminars on the
subject. Management teams will continue to fail if they continue to
confuse technology with the potential value that technology can
create; if they think of customers as a mass rather than individuals;
and if they fail to realize that how they manage is as important as
what they manage. On all three of these failings, Prahalad and
Krishnan offer advice that managers need to get back on the right
track," says the LA Times.

Read the full review at --
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-books2-2008jun02,0,2234984.story

The Asian Monsoons

The recent monsoons have devastated Burma, last year and the year
before Mumbai relled from catastrophic monsoons, the pattern is slowly
becoming clearer. "GLOBAL warming could cause a major Asian famine and
result in the toppling of governments, an Aberdeen expert has warned
in a new book. Monsoons are likely to become stronger and stormier and
lead to catastrophic flooding before they reach a tipping point and
give way to severe drought within decades," according to an article in
UK's The PRess And Journal.

The article says that, "The predictions have been made by Professor
Peter Clift, Aberdeen University geosciences lecturer, in his book The
Asian Monsoon: Causes, History and Effects. He warned that sudden
"weakening" of monsoon rains and subsequent drought had been
considered partly responsible for seismic historical events such as
the collapse of imperial dynasties in China and India. If current
trends continue, he predicted disaster would hit in the next 50-200
years, but he argued that paying more attention to environmental
issues and lifestyle changes such as riding bicycles to work and
burning less fossil fuels may delay or even prevent it. Mr Clift said:
"The monsoon is linked to the rest of the world. "What happens to us
makes a big difference to what happens to them."

Read the full article at --
http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/670610?UserKey=0

PS: I Love You, but it's time to move on...

I had the opportunity to see this movie today. I walked in expecting to come away after a couple of hours of mindless entertainment, watching this chick-flick, boy was I surprised! This was one of the most thought provoking movies I have seen in recent times. I never thought I was philosophical but, this movie makes me think about life in general and how important it is to balance different things in order to maintain personal sanity and stay mentally fit...

We obsess and worry about, the most mundane and irrelevant things in life, and lose focus of the more important issues that need atention. If you get a chance go see this movie, I highly recommend it! You can also read the book, behind this movie, "PS: I Love You" by Cecelia Ahern

See the movie website at - http://psiloveyoumovie.warnerbros.com/

Hoardes of Hindusim Images For Free...

The editors of Hinduism Today, have decided to release all of the high-resolution images from their book What Is Hinduism? that they have rights to. There are over 500 images, both art and photographs, in this library.

You may access it at --
http://www.himalayanacademy.com/resources/books/wih/image-library/