And new ones

Leopard’s spots

I was watching the second one day international between West Indies and Australia, and was disgusted by Mr. Ponting; once again. A caught behind appeal was rejected, and Mr. Ponting showed his displeasure in his usual infantile manner. The umpire was officiating in his first one day international, and to his immense credit, was not overawed by the Australian captain. Mr. Ponting’s visible contempt for anybody disagreeing with him is condemnable. He is back to his old habits, and leaves us dismayed at his consistency to belittle opponents, officials and everybody who he can threaten. Kumble was correct; when Mr. Ponting plays the game there is one person less playing in the spirit of the game.

Oil’s not well

I was watching a programme called “crude realities” on CNBC with a bit of curiosity, not the least because I am involved in this field. A commodity trader, of Indian origin, was being interviewed, and I was fascinated by his greed, concealed by a thin veneer of sophistication. The supply not keeping up with the demand was the reason mooted by this ’expert’, a fact well known in the oil and gas industry for at least five years. I guess a number of other people would have known this a long time ago, but the well kept secret of the Middle East countries, did not come out easily. Anyway, take it from me, oil above $100/ bbl is a fact we will have to live with in the foreseeable future ( 5-10 years). After that who knows!

Digesting the digested

It was with nostalgia I read the Guardian Review’s digested read- The Great Gatsby. I read the electronic version of this novel in office, trying to pass time, when business was down. So, getting paid for doing nothing was nice, but it did not last long. Reading the book then felt different than now. But I was reading a much shortened version, and obviously the mystery of the storyline was missing. The conclusion was as much as a stunner thenn as it was now, and parallel;s between 1920’s America and present New Delhi is a bit of shock. The sheer superficiality of society’s rich and famous is stunningly similar.

Are war drums beating?

Did you read that Israel carried out a dry run of an air strike, apparently against Iran’s nuclear facilities? I am amazed that such sensitive information could leak out. Has anybody in India ever heard of a similar exercise carried out by the Indian forces? This information was leaked out, and not surprisingly, oil price peaked at $140. I don’t believe it is possible for Israel to carry out such an attack easily and without penalizing recuperations. So what is happening? I could spin out a few conspiracy theories, but who cares. They might all be true.