Praj's Place

Headed back home!

2009-07-20T07:14:00.000-07:00

In a couple hours, I will be on a flight back to the US! Can't believe 3 months are finally over. I'll post some more pics from my time in Southern Thailand (AMAZING!) as well as some final thoughts soon.

Thanks to everyone who followed my adventures.

More random pics

2009-07-03T06:17:00.000-07:00

A random assortment of pictures from my time in Luang Prabang as well as northern Thailand (Chiang Mai and Pai).

Jumping off the tarzan swing at Kuang Si waterfalls near Luang Prabang. I actually biked the 35 km there...but chickened out and took a tuk-tuk back:

Awesome and insane rain storm that night:

Muy Thai kickboxing my first night in Chiang Mai:

Fire dancer at a cool bar in Pai:

Thai Cooking School!

2009-07-03T06:07:00.001-07:00

As promised, here are some photos of the all day cooking class I took in Chiang Mai, Thailand. It was awesome! If you ever go to Chiang Mai, I strongly recommend Gap's House for your cooking school. You have to be careful with these schools. I've heard stories where they have pre-prepared green or red curry paste and you don't learn how to make your own. Given that the curry paste is the key ingredient, it's kind of a waste to not learn how to make it.

Shopping in the market with one of our instructors:

My banana leaf cup for an awesome fish souffle:

You can also make it with chicken

Cooking one of our dishes:

All of my creations:

Bottom left: cashew and chicken stir fry
top left: fish souffle
middle: green curry
top right: fish cakes appetizer
bottom right: tom yum soup with shrimp

Less than 3 weeks left!

2009-07-01T20:52:00.000-07:00

My first post in a long time. No pictures this time (sorry!) because the computer at this internet cafe doesn't recognize my camera. I'll try to post some soon. After Vietnam, I went to Laos for a week. VERY relaxing place, a nice change from the insanity of Hanoi. I'm currently in Chiang Mai in Thailand and will be traveling to Pai today. Yesterday I did an all day Thai cooking course. I look forward to trying out the recipes.

That's it for now. Hopefully I'll be able to post pics soon.

Should I shave or should I grow?

2009-06-19T00:33:00.000-07:00

Last post for today. I'm taking an informal survey from all my adoring fans. My hair is currently longer than it's been in 2 years or so. Should I go to a local barber and shave it off to its "normal" length (aka almost bald). Or should I grow it out to the way I had it at the start of grad school?

Input appreciated!!!

Pool, garlic fries and Beer

2009-06-19T00:15:00.000-07:00

So for the past two days I trekked in Sapa and visited some local villages. I had a great time and it was cool to do something active for a change, as opposed to visiting temples, museums, etc. My major complaint was that the hike was a LOT easier than I was led to believe. I was hoping for around 15 miles over both days. Instead, I don't think we even hit 8. Oh well.

The scenery was absolutely stunning. It was really cool to get away from the hustle and bustle of Hanoi and see the country side. The rice paddies and mountains were really great (see pics below).

One thing that really cracked me...we finished the first day of our hike pretty early in the afternoon and had several hours to kill before dinner. So how did we pass our time? Well, we hiked around a bit and appreciated the beautiful scenery. But we also did what it appears at least a few local, "authentic" (whatever that means) Vietnamese village people do when they're bored: play pool!

Not only that, but while we were playing pool they served us garlic fries and beer! It was simultaneously surreal and amusing. In the middle of this stunning scenery, next to a mud road where oxen were roaming freely...here we were--2 Americans, 1 Aussie and a couple Vietnamese--playing pool, eating fries and drinking beer!

Ha ha.

Great view along the hike:

Beautiful rice paddies seen everywhere:

Garlic fries, pool and beer:

Completely random picture of the fruit stand where I had an awesome fruit and condensed milk salad:

This was in Hanoi, not in Sapa.

How Old is Your Mother?

2009-06-19T00:07:00.000-07:00

Ten year old Wen (pictured above) rapidly became one of my best friends on the flight from Saigon to Hanoi. One of the first questions he asked me (after finding out my name and age) was: "How old is your mother?" After I told him, his eyes got really big and he let out a long "wooooow!" When he found out my father's age later on in the conversation (he forgot to ask me the first time around), he also added a "veeerrry old."

That kid totally cracked me up. Here are some of the highlights from our hour-long conversation:
1. He likes swimming, and especially the frog (aka breastroke).
2. Michael Phelps is "king of swim."
3. He copied my email address to contact me later, and was disappointed that I used google chat and not yahoo chat.
4. Likes HBO and action movies, and especially Sean Connery.
5. He has a 54 year old teacher from Canada, and his mom is only 38 years old.
6. He is thoroughly confused as to why buses in the US have only 1 floor, unlike Singaporean buses.

Hahaha. I don't remember the last time I was this entertained on a flight.

Food, food, food!

2009-06-18T23:59:00.000-07:00

Based in no small part to I-Chant's suggestion, here are some initial thoughts on food in SE Asia:
1. Pho definitely tastes better here! I know it sounds cliche, but the pho in Vietnam is a lot better than the pho in America. I had thought that after the great Asian cuisine in the Bay Area it couldn't get better. I was wrong.
2. Eating from street stalls is safer than I thought. Evidence? I haven't fallen sick or died yet.
3. Many countries have a great diversity of fruit than we have in America.

Now here are some pictures from my travels in Vietnam. I spent 1 night in Ho Chi Mingh City (aka Saigon), then flew to Hanoi.

My first bowl of Pho in Saigon. Note the trusty Lonely Planet in the background:

Me eating said bowl of Pho:

Getting a baguette from a street stand. I was sure that I would die after eating it.

Note: I ate this baguette ~10 minutes after finishing that huge bowl of pho!

Random picture from the next morning. I am still not sure how me, the driver and my backpack fit onto the motorcycle:

Three in one day!

2009-06-13T02:08:00.000-07:00

Since I haven't posted in a while, and I probably won't post again for a while...I figured I'd do 3 today. Here are some pictures from the amazing Angkor Wat:

The famous Ta Prohm temple where they filmed Tomb Raider:

Pre Rup temple pretty early in the morning:

Angkor Thom:

How many faces can you count?

A close up of a face:

SE Asia Stories and Pics

2009-06-13T01:59:00.000-07:00

So here's a quick rundown of my trip to SE Asia thus far:
6/6: red-eye flight from Berlin to Bangkok
6/7: get into Bangkok, go to my hostel on Khao San Road. Khao San is complete insanity. Walk around city, play soccer with street kids in the evening and watch Federer win the French. Go out at night.
6/8: Recover from hangover, go to tailor, and do some minor sightseeing.
6/9: Leave for Siem Reap. Crossing the border was a total adventure. I had to bribe the border official!
6/10 - 6/13: See the amazing temples of Angkor Wat in Siem Reap, Cambodia.
6/14 (today): On to Phnom Phen

Pictures:

My soccer friends. We played outside the Grand Palace:

Khao San during the day:

Eating crickets at night:

John Kerry Can't Make up his Mind!

2009-06-13T01:17:00.000-07:00

So I got to SE Asia last Saturday. On Berkowitz's recommendation, I decided to get a couple suits tailored in Bangkok. When I start working at the EPA I will need one every day. So the one I have now won't be enough. I decided to go to these guys also based on Ben's recommendation. It was the best customer service I've ever had. He fed me, gave me drinks, and totally spent time making sure I got what I wanted. You will pay a bit more compared to other Bangkok tailors, but from what I hear the quality is a lot better.

So these tailors apparently make suits for all sorts of dignitaries, statesmen, law enforcement officials, etc. All over the walls you see badges, newspaper articles, pictures with George Bush, Tom Ridge, etc. There is also one with John Kerry...which brings me to the title of this post.

Apparently John Kerry has come to that store several times to buy his suits. And according to the owner, "John Kerry can't ever make up his mind!" That totally cracked me up. The guy was completely unaware that this critique was probably one of the bigger reasons Kerry lost in 2004. When I told him that, Jesse (tailor dude) said that it was probably a good reason that he didn't win. Of course, Jesse based his opinion solely on John Kerry's fashion indecision, probably not the best metric. But whatever.

Eastern Europe!!

2009-06-03T07:20:00.000-07:00

So I haven't posted in a while. I apologize to all my adoring fans for this error. I'll make up for it now.

So after leaving Naples, I flew to Prague. I really liked the city, but spent too much time there. You can see all the sites in 2 full days. I stayed there 3 days and was a little bored at the end. I ended up taking a day trip to Kutna Hora, a small town about an hour away by train.

After Prague, my itinerary called for Krakow then Budapest. Krakow was really cool. Good architecture and beer. I also met some pretty cool people in the hostel. At the end of my Krakow stay is when I really started feeling like a traveler.

I had always heard that "real" travellers didn't have an itinerary beyond 1 or 2 days. They decided on the spur of the moment whether to head north or south. I always thought that was kind of lame. I had my itinerary planned out and I liked it. I was going to see 4 Eastern European cities before heading to Berlin for 1 night and then Bangkok.

Unfortunately, I am very cheap. And cheapness, I have found, can trump even the most carefully laid plans. The trains to Budapest from Krakow were much more expensive than I thought (~$130), and the only bus wasn't leaving for 2 more days. So I decided to head to Berlin for a few days instead.

And that's where I am right now. I have been taking it VERY chill. I really need to relax before I head to Asia.

Random thoughts/observations:
1. We were in an insane traffic jam on the bus from Krakow to Berlin. We were stopped for 1.5 hours.
2. I saw 3 movies dubbed in Polish, and it was hilarious. It wasn't even "dubbed." You heard the English, and then right after that Polish was spoken. It was the same Polish man speaking for every single character in the movie.
3. I was getting homesick for a while, but I'm over it now.

Here are a few random pics:

St. Mary's Cathedral in Poland:

Insane traffic jam on way to Berlin:

Alexanderplatz in Berlin

The Great Bambino!!

2009-05-28T01:36:00.000-07:00

I'm not referring to Babe Ruth, but Kevin and Tai's new baby boy (5 weeks old!), Neal. I had an awesome time hanging out in Naples with them. In Italy the word for baby is bambino...so everywhere we went people kept saying "Bambino!". It now makes perfect sense that Babe Ruth was called the great bambino.

Here are some pics of us taking the ferry over to the island of Ischia, then hiking up Mount Vesuvius. I carried Neal up the mountain so Tai could have a break. I was quite terrified for the first few minutes, then I got used to carrying him. The last couple pics show how we spent this past Sunday. Yes, that is Taco Bell. It was awesome! And right after that we saw the Wolverine movie! That was also great. It was cool being on the navy base...I felt like I was back home.

Finally, thanks to I-Chant and Steph for being my devoted fans!

Putting Neal in the baby sling. I was quite terrified during this operation:

At the top of the hike. Tai is happy she didn't have to carry him:

Yes, we did eat Taco Bell:

Taco Bell was located at this support site:

On the ferry to Ischia:

Garbage, Small Cars and Graffiti

2009-05-22T13:16:00.001-07:00

So I'm in Naples now. I got here this morning after visiting Cinque Terre on Wednesday and Thursday (today is Friday May 22). Cinque Terre was pretty amazing, and even more so because my little cousin Neeta managed to come down. I hadn't seen her in several years because she lives in India. Luckily she is doing an internship in Germany this summer and also had some free time this weekend.

Right before Cinque Terre, I was in Stockholm visiting Torbs. It was really cool...more so to hang out w/ Torbs than Stockholm itself. Stockholm is pretty interesting, but I was really happy to relax a lot. I was also happy that we cooked. I was getting sick of eating restaurant food constantly. What I found most cool is how bicycles are accommodated there. They always have separate lanes and even their own traffic lights.

Which finally brings me to the title of my post. After Stockholm and Cinque Terre, I hung out in Naples all day today with Kevin, Tai and their one month baby Neil. I like Naples...but it is COMPLETELY different from the rest of Italy. There were times that I felt I was back in Jamaica or on a visit to India. It definitely does not feel like a right, first world country. Although I should stress that I really like it, the 3 words that come to mind are garbage, small cars and graffiti. Find pics below.

With Neeta in Cinque Terre:

Bicycle traffic light in Stockholm:

Graffiti in Naples:

Small cars:

Garbage:

Conway Castle >> Warwick Castle

2009-05-22T12:57:00.001-07:00

Before Contiki (described here), I visited I-Chant and Dan in Wales. I had an awesome time and it was the perfect start to my 3 month long vacation. They took me to Conwy Castle and I really liked it. It's how I imagined a castle should be like. A couple weeks (after Contiki), I went to Warwick Castle with my mom. It sucked. I felt like I was going to an amusement park rather than a historical building. There were tents everywhere and people dressed up in tacky costumes. There was also a random playground for kids. WTF??? If kids can't deal with a place without a playground then their parents should leave them at home!

At any rate, enough ranting for now. Find some pics below. I didn't have any pictures of Warwick Castle b/c my camera ran out of battery. Trust me, you're not missing much. Instead, I put in extra pics of partying while on Contiki.

Finally Some Updates!

2009-05-22T12:37:00.000-07:00

Steph yelled at me for not updating my blog. Considering that she's probably the only one who actually ever looks at this site, I figured I better listen to her. I promise to start posting more regularly! I'll start by reviewing my Contiki vacation. Here's the rundown:

Day 1: Drove from London to Dover, got on the ferry and went into France. Then drove from France to Amsterdam. Partied like crazy in Amsterdam

Day 2: Relaxing night in St. Goar, Germany. It's a cute little wine village.

Day 3: Drove to Munich, did a few hours of sightseeing. Then went to a beer garden at night. LOTS of fun.

Day 4: Drove to Hopfgaarten (sp?), Austria. Partied at the Contiki cabin at night. Austria is insanely beautiful.

Day 5: Drove to Venice and did the sights. Gondola ride somewhat overrated.

Day 6: Drove to Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland. Stayed there for 2 nights. I started falling sick from all the afore-mentioned partying.

Day 7: In Switzerland. Did some hiking. Got a little sicker.

Day 8: Drove to Paris and went to Eiffel tower at night. Came back and slept and tried to get better. Didn't work.

Day 9: Walked all around Paris and went out at night. Too sick to really enjoy it. Quite tragic

Day 10: Drove back to London.

Find below some pics from the first night in Amsterdam and also the beer hall in Munich.

Too Much Drinking

2009-05-10T10:46:00.001-07:00

I'm in Bath, England with my mom on the family vacation portion of my itinerary. I got sick towards the end of my Contiki tour. Had a great time, but the continuous drinking and partying got to me. I think I'm on the upswing now, and I should be fine in a couple days. But never again!

Pics will be posted soon, as well as random philosophical ramblings.

The Homogenization of Global Culture

2009-05-02T14:52:00.000-07:00

So I wanted to write a long, pedantic, pontificating, and largely plagiarized post discussing why the homogenization of global culture is not necessarily a bad thing. But I've only got 5 minutes left on my internet connection before I have to drop in another euro. And if you know me (and sadly, only people who know me really well are reading this), then you know that I'm not going to use another euro.

So until then, let me just say that Contiki Tours are fricking awesome. If you like partying, going out, traveling to lots of places, and partying, then I strongly recommend it. It's not for everyone. Many people (myself included) would like to spend extra time in some destinations rather than travel to 7 countries in 5 days. And the food they include isn't always good. But overall I'm having a blast. I'm in Austria right now and tomorrow we're heaaded to Venice.

In anticipation of a future post on global culture, I will note that tonight I danced with South Africans, Canadians, and Australians all singing along to Kanye West. Many people (especially Stanford hippies) think that US culture appearing everywhere is bad. But why? I'm not convinced that it is.

Now off to recover from a night of drinking and dancing.

In Wales!

2009-04-26T12:07:00.000-07:00

I know all of my millions of fans are worried about me, so I thought I'd give a quick update. I safely flew into Manchester, UK this morning. I-Chant and Dan picked me up and we immediately went to Conway Castle. It was pretty awesome.

Now I'm relaxing at their house in Aberystwyth. I'll post pictures and more details soon.

World Travels!

2009-04-17T20:37:00.000-07:00

So I'll be traveling around the world for 3 months starting on April 25, and I resurrected this blog to post updates, pictures and thoughts. Here's my itinerary so far:

April 26 - 28: Visiting I-Chant and Dan in Wales
April 28 - May 8: Contiki European Horizon tour
May 9 - 17: Family vacation around England
May 17 - 20: Visiting Torbs in Stockholm
May 20 - 21: Cinque Terra, Italy (alone)
May 21 - 26: Visiting Kevin in Naples
May 26 - June 6: Prague, Krakow, Budapest, Vienna (alone)
June 6 - July 22nd: SE Asia (alone)

The SE Asia portion of my trip is still being planned. It will roughly look like this:
2.5 - 3 weeks in Thailand
4 - 5 days in Cambodia
10 - 14 days in Vietnam
10 - 14 days in Laos

If the violence in Thailand continues I will change this itinerary around a bit. I'll probably spend a lot more time in Vietnam and Thailand.

After Memorial Day (May 25th), I will be traveling alone and in need of a travel partner. Let me know if you want a cool vacation!

Blogging from Philly

2006-11-24T07:44:00.000-08:00

Haven't posted in a while because there's nothing that interesting to report. I did go to Cirque du Soleil in DC. It was pretty cool--those people are very bendy. I'll put up pics sometime.

Other than that, I've just been working. My project is getting annoying--I have to interview schools to construct a profile of "best practices." Lately, I've been getting a lot of rejections. It kind of sucks because I actually like interviewing these schools. It's very inspiring to hear about these schools that are 78% minority and 89% poor, yet have amazing scores.

Okay, back to eating turkey leftovers.

Jews down the Well

2006-11-05T15:17:00.000-08:00

Slate has a fascinating article about Borat and anti-Semitism. Apparently, it's pretty easy to start people singing "throw Jews down the well".

Money quote:

...it gave me a deeper understanding of the kind of suspicious feeling expressed by black (and some white) writers who have argued that just because racial discrimination is outlawed by statute doesn't mean racism is no longer a factor to be considered and the playing field of life is all evened out.

After watching the video, I can't make up my mind if the audience reaction reflects: a) genuine anti-Semitism, b) ignorance, or c) harmless fun. I know I've been in company when people have made racist jokes. I also don't believe most of those people would actually ever discriminate against anyone. So does making jokes or singing song make someone a racist? I don't know. But I do agree w. the author. After watching the video, I do sympathize more with Black Americans who insist that racism is very much a force in America.

Missing the Milk Pail

2006-10-29T18:11:00.000-08:00

Since I've been in DC, I've come to realize a couple things. First, I am definitely coming back here after I finish my PhD. Even more than before, I know I want to do something directly related to public service. And after going to conferences and spending time here at CAP, I know I can do a better job than they do. As I said earlier, there are some problems with the way they operate. I will avoid their mistakes.

The second insight I've gained? I will definitely miss California. I've really come to love the lifestyle: the nice weather, the outdoors, the biker-friendly roads, and stores like the Milk Pail. Everyone out in DC shops at grocery stores! Supermarkets have no exotic fruits, a piss-poor granola selection and everything is really expensive!

Issue Silos

2006-10-24T17:13:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago I went to a one-day conference, at the UC Washington Center, on the importance of ideas in American politics. Especially after the 2004 election, Democrats/liberals/progressives have been desperately trying to "find their values" b/c values allegedly lost the Dems the last election. I strongly recommend The Values that Unite Democrats from the Truman National Security Project.

At any rate, the conference was fascinating. They started off with a number of Republican panelists discussing how the Republicans built their powerful idea machine in the 60's. After listening to them, I am not surprised the Republicans win all the time. These guys are very good. All the Dems that spoke later agreed.

In the night session, George Lakoff discussed what progressives can do to change the situation. He discussed a very serious problem in liberal circles: issue silos. That is, liberals tend to believe in a discrete set of policy programs--affirmative action, pro-choice--and neglect to analyze the underlying beliefs that unite them. Liberal organizations tend to follow the same path. All their departments are analyzed independently, in "silos", and no one articulates a coherent vision.

This problem is something that has annoyed me since my first day at CAP. A couple other interns agree with me. There is no connection among all the different things we support. If you go to the a conservative organization, like AEI, you see that everything they support breathes conservatism. Whether it's their health care proposals, tax reform, or education, you recognize conservative values in their papers. Nothing like that happens here. The liberals definitely have some more work to do.

Annoying Tourists

2006-10-24T17:01:00.000-07:00

Is it just me, or is DC a really beautiful city? (Obviously I'm just speaking about the safe parts!) I woke up early this past Sunday to finally do some sightseeing. I saw the American Indian Museum, the Botanical Gardens, the Sculpture Garden, and the Supreme Court. It was pretty cool. Here are some pics:

Me in front of the National Archives. (I didn't go in b/c of a long line.)

In the Botanical Gardens.

Note the trusty umbrella in all the pictures.

The Invention of Football

2006-10-19T16:16:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday, I went back to Penn State for the Penn State-Michigan game. It was crazy fun--a little too much fun. Himanshu, Raf and I came up with the following truths:
1. Football, and by implication tailgating, was invented by liquor companies.
2. Liquor companies also control the weather. They make it colder on football Saturday, as compared to Friday/Sunday.
3. McDonalds and the rest of the fast food industry invented hangovers. For some odd reason, cheap and greasy food helps you recover.

Trust me, these jokes would have been funner if you had come to the game with us. Here are some pics. I met up with some friends I had lost contact with, so it was even more fun:

Freddy Adu Sucks

2006-10-09T18:47:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I went to a Washington DC United
soccer game. It was lots of fun, despite the rain and cold. The only dissapointing part was watching Freddy Adu play soccer. He really sucks. For most of the game he just stood around, didn't make cuts or runs for the ball, and didn't play good defense. He's really famous for what???

I See Famous People

2006-10-09T18:31:00.000-07:00

So CAP had its annual fundraising dinner the other night. Since the organization is only three years old, it was actually just its 3rd (maybe 2nd) fundraiser. The Mellon Auditorium. is incredible. They had three types of food, 3 specialty drinks and two full bars.

Earlier in the day they had a bunch of meetings and I got my picture taken with Madeline Albright, and then at the fundraiser I got my picture with John Podesta. Check out the pics! In the first pic, the chic on the left is a fellow intern. In the 2nd, John Podesta is on the left, and the dude on the right is this soon to be famous musician, Josh Ritter.

Happy Hour

2006-09-28T19:19:00.000-07:00

So apparently my fellow interns are cooler than I thought. We ended up going to our first happy hour today. There will be bigger ones--over 30 interns working with me this fall. Here are a couple pics:

Shea, the girl, told a really funny story. She took a course on sexuality, and they studied great apes. Apparently the infidelity of males in a given species of great apes is directly proportional to the average testicle size. Apparently having huge nuts means you cheat more. I guess I will always cheat on my wife. But at least it's not my fault--I can't help it!

Liberals Can Really Piss Me Off

2006-09-26T20:24:00.000-07:00

Today I sat in on an editor's meeting of Campus Progress, which is CAP's youth oriented magazine/blog/website. You may receive their magazine in your school newspaper. All interns are encouraged to attend and suggest article ideas.

I said I would be interested in writing about the Intelligent Design controversy. One of the editors said that they would be hesitant to write something about it because the issue isn't in the news anymore and also because "we had won."

Who is "we?" And what exactly did "we" win? Presumably, because CAP is a progressive organization, we refers to American liberals. So now liberals win when you can stick it to the conservatives, especially religious ones? The sad thing about Dover, PA is that they (note that I didn't say "we") won not by the hard work of political negotiation and compromise, but by judicial fiat. Did the Democrats even try to engage their fellow citizens in Dover? How can you win if you weren't even playing the game in the first place?

The editors have every right not to publish a given story. And I'd like to think that the above statement was said in an offhand manner, simply reflecting the fact that the editor didn't want ID in science classrooms. Sadly, I think it's deeper than that. I believe it reflects the attitude that, once again, liberals won't really try to engage with all Americans. If they can't get their way, they'll attempt to shove it down people's throat. How is it a good thing that parents in Dover were brushed aside by a judges' ruling? Shouldn't there have been a compromise that made everyone happy?

Read this and this, written by yours truly, to see how science education doesn't have to be an either-or battle between evolution and intelligent design. I realize some extremist hippies will disagree with me. I offer a simple challenge: find another compromise that doesn't involve you shoving your beliefs down other people's throats. You'll prob. find it impossible.

Real World Science

2006-09-25T19:47:00.000-07:00

Elena still isn't back yet (go here for background). I've been doing some background research on extended learning time initiatives. It's interesting, but reading policy reports all day is pretty tiring. I hope to write a short policy brief by the end of the week, and then start doing some work on science education and NCLB.

On a different note, I've been reading an awesome book by my new hero, Dan Sarewitz. I think anyone who cares about science should read this book, and especially scientists/grad students. It will def. challenge your assumptions about how science relates to society, and that's a good thing. I'll write more about it later.

Again on a different note, I should say that there are lots of hot chics in DC, although def. fewer than I had been led to believe. I have to start going out more. Two reasons prevents me--a lot of my fellow interns seem to be uninterested in having fun, and I am really tired at the end of day. Work in the real world is harder than grad school.

School Reform = Global Warming

2006-09-20T20:55:00.000-07:00

I'm about to brag shamelessly--so prepare yourself. I recently wrote about how facts are overrated. I even linked to an awesome article by the brilliant science policy scholar Dan Sarewitz.

I decided to write down my own thoughts in a little essay. I had some free time at work (go here) and was productive. If this were back at school, I would have instead surfed the web for 6 straight hours and learned absolutely nothing. But now I am a hot-shot Washington, DC intern and I maximize productivity every day.

At any rate, here it is. Go here for my take on how school reform and environmental controversies are related. In both cases, facts are highly overrated. btw, my essay uses genetically modified foods as an example, not global warming. I wrote global warming in my title b/c it's shorter. My argument works w/ either subject.

This essay is so brilliant it will blow your socks off. If you aren't wearing socks, it will blow your pants off. If you aren't wearing pants, I must ask: do you always take off your pants before reading my blog? Frankly, I don't blame you.

UPDATE: I added a few sentences, changed a couple minor things to my essay mentioned above. Go here for the updated version. Previous link still available.

Just Work It

2006-09-20T20:50:00.000-07:00

For those of you who don't know, I am taking a quarter off from my applied physics PhD. at Stanford to do a domestic policy internship at the Center for American Progress (I started Monday). I am studying education policy, and I hope to focus on science education. My boss, Elena, had to leave last week b/c her mom fell ill. She's doing a lot better now and Elena should be back next week. For the past 3 days I've been doing background reading on ed. policy--stuff that I know already but need a refresher. Late yesterday I started writing a brilliant essay on the similarities b/w school reform and environmental controversies. I'll probably brag about it later.

Hummus and Alcohol

2006-09-20T20:23:00.000-07:00

I got into DC last Saturday night, and it's been pretty hectic since then. I crashed at my friend Himanshu's place that night, and moved into my new apartment all day Sunday. My roommates are all really cool--recent graduates of American. I'm looking forward to the next three months.

When I went shopping on Sunday (btw, thanx to Heman for taking me all around to get my stuff) I noticed that the Trader Joe's in DC actually has a better hummus selection than the one in California. I almost shit myself when I saw that. That is insane--how does hippie central Bay Area have a worse hummus selection? WTF!!!

But in DC you can't buy alcohol in the grocery stores. So at least that makes up for it.

Facts are Overrated

2006-09-10T18:10:00.000-07:00

I've been getting into many discussion on the intersection of science and politics. I've reached a brilliantly original conclusion: facts are overrated. Okay, it is neither brilliant nor original: see
here and here for essays on how environmental debates, putatively about science, actually reflect differences in underlying values. These pieces are pretty academic, for an easier read, go here.

My good friend I-chant also highlighted a similar phenomena from the social sciences, where there was an asinine article in Forbes on why men shouldn't marry a career woman. Go here for a rebuttal. (pvs two links courtesy of I-chant.)

Thoughts?

Bike Ride and BBQ

2006-09-10T18:04:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I organized a badass bike ride to Pigeon Point. A bunch of people met us their w/ their cars and we we planning on having a BBQ and camping out. The ride was awesome (~ 40 miles from Stanford), and the BBQ was fun. Unfortunately, a month ago the beach changed ownership and the CA State Park Service don't allow camping on random beaches. So those fuckers kicked us off the beach at 10 pm. What are you going to do?

Here are some pics. Before the ride:

After the ride:

btw, the two chics on the right didn't actually do the ride w/ us.

Athletes and Entertainers

2006-09-07T19:14:00.000-07:00

Jason Whitlock, one of my favorite sports columnists, wrote an interesting essay on ESPN's Page 2. (Note: link might be obsolete) Whitlock argues that athletes are no different than Mel Gibson and 50 cent, and should be treated as such:

I've literally spent the past four days examining my own beliefs, trying to understand why some of the brightest sportswriting minds are adamant that athletes not be classified as pure entertainers -- no more important than Mel Gibson, Dave Chappelle or 50 Cent.

And later on, Whitlock says:

So athletes will not be making a return as role models. Sports are nothing more than reality TV. They're "American Idol" on steroids. In some ways, we sportswriters are not much different from Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson.

He raises some good points and, to a certain degree, athletes are romanticized more than they should be. But Whitlock misses an important point: while athletes may just be entertainers, sports are not just movies or music. Society attaches greater significance to athletes because it attaches greater significance to athletics.

Whitlock clearly didn't watch the last World Cup. Didn't he see how people cried when their team lost? A World Cup loss can depress an entire nation--think a movie can do that? Hell--the Ivory Coast HALTED A CIVIL WAR because of soccer!

Despite the endorsement deals, the performance-enhancing drugs and the shameless pursuit of wealth; despite the obvious similarities between athletes and movie stars, sports commands a position in our world that movies do not. And that's why we revere athletes, and will continue to do so.

First Triathlon!

2006-09-05T22:02:00.000-07:00

So I did my first triathlon a few weeks ago (Aug. 19th). I trained on the triathlon club at Penn State for a couple years, but only ran with the team. I did finish the Columbus Marathon in 1999. Since this past spring, I trained w/ the Stanford Tri-Team.

Technically, I'm not supposed to run--go here to see why. But I figured a one-time 3 mile run wouldn't do much. I might do one or two more while I'm in DC.

Here are some pics:

I'm Back!

2006-09-05T13:05:00.000-07:00

In anticipation of going to DC for the fall, I figured I should start blogging again so that my millions of fans can keep up with adventures. For starters, everyone should read this awesome article about Zidane's famous headbutt of Italian soccer player Materazzi. It's pretty hilarious. Money quote:

"I did not provoke him, I responded verbally to a provocation," Materazzi told the daily Gazzetta dello Sport on Tuesday. "We both spoke and I wasn't the first. I held his shirt but don't you think it is a provocation to say that 'if you want my shirt I will give it you afterwards'? "I replied to Zidane that I would prefer his sister, that is true. I brought up his sister and that wasn't a nice thing, that is true," said Materazzi.

Hahaha. "I would prefer his sister." Zidane got himself kicked out for that??? I love Zidane, but give me a break. If you're going to get kicked out, it should have been worth it.

Here's a video of the headbutt with some random French rapper singing in the background. btw, if you don't know what I'm talking about, you're really lame. Actually, if you're reading this pointless blog, you're already lame.

In the next few weeks, I will post some pics and give all of you updates on my fascinating life.

Stop Clapping!

2006-01-31T18:44:00.000-08:00

All those fuckers in Congress clap way too much. Let the dude speak. Although I think it was funny that all the Democrats just stood up when Bush talked about his failed Social Security Plan. And then the Republicans stood up for some reason right after that.

Nicolas Kiefer is a Pussy

2006-01-24T20:53:00.000-08:00

If anyone watched the 5th set of the Australian Open quarterfinals between Sebastian Grosjean and Nicolas Kiefer, you will know what I am talking about. That clown Kiefer did one of the worst moves I have ever seen in tennis. That loser tossed his racket at his opponent in the middle of a point. What a complete fucking loser. People like that is why I sometimes support the death penalty. I hope he gets run over by a bus and dies a very slow, painful death.

Smear Campaigns

2006-01-22T22:28:00.000-08:00

I went to my monthly book club meeting today, and read Ian Mcewan's Amsterdam. It was okay at best. The ending kind of annoyed me.

But we did have an interesting philosophical debate. One of the characters in the book is a newspaper editor who ends up with some very inflammatory pictures of a conservative politician who he really hates. The pictures show the conservative politician dressed as a drag-queen for one of his mistresses. Vernon (the editor) ends up publishing the photos in his newspaper.

I argued that he was wrong to do that. I am not against smear campaingns in general, but they should be restricted to a candidate's political beliefs. In this case, Vernon published the photos especially to insult a candidate he didn't want elected.

The issue gets more complicated if someone in the opposing party got hold of the pictures. What is more important: winning or upholding principles which aren't universally agreed upon in the first place? I'd like to think that even in this second case, I wouldn't publish the photos. But it gets a lot fuzzier.

Inebriation

2006-01-19T21:31:00.000-08:00

So being drunk causes you to do some dumb things. The other night I was pretty smashed, and I sent an email to New Old School Teacher and told her I had a huge crush on her. I read over the email the next morning, and it was kind of terrible. I completely blame this on Stephanie, who advised me to send it against my better judgement. Or rather, I blame it on the 6 beers I had that night.

Of course, the chance of my making out with her just dropped significantly. Considering that it was already very low, this represents a pretty bad development. Quite a shame. Especially since we both like 24! (Read the entire post, it's in there.)

At any rate, I am seriously considering dropping out of grad school. Sometimes this stuff really sux my balls.

Awesome Article

2005-12-06T11:15:00.000-08:00

Apparently R. Kelly sung the national anthem before the big boxing match this past weekend. And apparently he added "steppers" to his performance. And apparently his little act caused quite a stir.

I personally didn't watch the performance and can't comment. But Scoop Jackson did watch and can comment. It's an awesome article. I recommend all of you, my millions of fans out there, to read it. He brings up some very interesting arguments about the connection between patriotism and sports in America.

Here's the money quote:

Two great points were made in conversations I had with two friends when discussing this topic. One pointed to the hypocrisy of the anthem's existence in sports, the other to the realism and accuracy of R. Kelly's rendition.

One: While at baseball games that include Canadian teams, the Canadian national anthem is always played before the American national anthem. Yet half of the players on the field may be Dominican. If the anthem really stood for a nation's pride in sports, they'd play the Dominican national anthem at those games, too.

Two: "The Star-Spangled Banner," if you listen to the words, is about waking up in the morning and finding out the flag is still there. It's about a moment of joy, a celebration. Black folks, when we celebrate, we dance. R. Kelly gave tribute to that song the best way he knows how. "Oh we can see? The flag is still there? Banners yet wave? Let's step."

Other than being insightful--which it is--I also found that last paragraph kind of funny: "Black folks, when we celebrate, we dance." Haha. That's a pretty awesome sentence.

Observations in India

2005-11-06T08:02:00.000-08:00

As my millions of fans already know (meaning Navin), I have been in India for the past couple of weeks. I spent the first two weeks in Delhi for a conference/touring, and I've been in Hyderabad since last Wednesday (11/2) visiting my family. I've had a great time in India so far and definitely want to come back. I'm saying this honestly, and not just because my cousin Neeta is sitting next to me!

Here are some interesting observations about India that I noticed in the past couple of days:
1) In America, a selling point for many consumer products is that it is "America's leading [whatever]". In India, a major selling point for some consumer products is that it is "America's leading [whatever]". Found it kind of interesting. I have seen billboards, ads in newspapers and signs in the local malls that say stuff along those lines.
2) In the US, basketball and baseball play best-of-seven series. When a team wins 4 games, the series ends. In the India-Sri Lanka cricket series, they are going to play all seven games even though India has already beat the living crap out of them in the first four games. (Technically, this is a rule of the International Cricket Council. But I observed it in India.)
3) There are no cricket jerseys available anywhere in Hyderabad. They simply don't make them. They sell t-shirts that look like the jerseys--but they dont' have the player's name or number at the back. I did a little google searching, and I still couldn't find it. This boggles my mind. I bet a "Tendulkar" jersey would sell really well. This really pissed me off b/c I really wanted a Rahul Dravid jersey.

That's it for now. I will not be coming back with a bride, so all my female fans can still keep their hopes up!

Dead People!

2005-10-22T19:33:00.000-07:00

I saw a dead man for the first time in my life yesterday. On the drive up for a day of sightseeing, he was just lying on the side of the street. He had apparently been hit by a car and his face was covered and he was surrounded by a small crowd. It was kind of fucked up.

Overall, it was a fun but very hectic day yesterday. We woke up at 5:45 am and our driver came at 6:15 am. We first went to Sikundrah (sp?), then the Taj Mahal and finally Fatephur Sikri. It was my second time seeing all this, but it was really cool nonetheless. I like Fatephur Sikri the best. You can easily spend a few hours there.

On the way back the driver decided to take the scenic route and drive through the alleys and slums of Agra. Considering thatAgra is already depressingly poor, this was shocking. I was already used to third-world poverty. But that was the worst I had ever seen.

In India!

2005-10-21T04:40:00.000-07:00

I left SFO at 8:15 am on Wed, 10/19. Had a 3 hour layover in Detroit, then flew to Amsterdam and then from Amsterdam to Delhi. Flights were okay.

The taxi cab ride from the Delhi airport to my aunt's house was wild. People in India use their horns a lot. All the trucks have signs on the back that say "Please Horn" or "Blow Horn."

This first day we went shopping at the local mall. About to head out to a concert w/ Aunty's son Anant. Tomorrow the Taj Mahal.

I will try to put up pictures at some point. If not, they'll be up when I get back.

Garba 2005

2005-10-17T11:37:00.000-07:00

So I went to Cal State Hayward a couple Saturdays ago (10/8). I must say that my people can dance. I wish I knew how to do that stuff a lot better--especially the twirling of the dandya. Oh well.

Here are some pics:

I'm the guy in the middle in the top picture. If you can't figure it out after that, this means I am the guy on the right in the 1st picture on the 2nd row, and the guy on the left in the right most picture on the 2nd row.
Ankit (other guy in the middle picture), btw, has mad dancing skills. But he's guju so he has the special garba genes.

Best Blogs

2005-10-14T00:30:00.000-07:00

Other than my own of course, here are the blogs I read the most (from most read to least read) :

http://www.andrewsullivan.com
http://www.eduwonk.com
http://www.democracyarsenal.org
http://schoolnerdblog.blogspot.com
http://theweaselfiles.blogspot.com
http://www.stanford.edu/~vincentc/blog/

The 4th one in the list is rapidly moving up and may even displace eduwonk. If you couldn't tell, I am really into education policy stuff. I really want to meet the chic who writes that shoolnerd blog. To be more honest, I want to make out with her. I have no real reason to want that other than: 1) she's a girl and 2) her blog kicks ass. But that is a topic for a different post.

Three In One Day!!!

2005-09-28T22:48:00.000-07:00

I was sitting in the computer lab wasting time and decided to retake the http://www.politicalcompass.org test to see where I scored. The results were more in line with my personal assessment of my beliefs. The official "score" was:

Economic Left/Right: 0.88
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -0.26

In the picture above (very shitty, I know), I am basically the dot in the middle. The scale, btw, is similar to the one shown two posts below; except that the economic axis is the y-axis, and your social beliefs lie on the x-axis. The word at the top of the coordinates is "Authoritarian", and at the bottom it is "Libertarian." (Rotate the axes from two posts below by -90 degrees.) And for both axes, the end points are plus/minus 10.

So, essentially, I am an extreme moderate. So moderate, in fact, that I think anyone who isn't moderate should be killed.

Two In One Day!

2005-09-28T22:38:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to give credit to Vince for the political test link. I always try to reference my sources.

I'm Back

2005-09-28T13:43:00.000-07:00

I really have to start blogging more. It's been over two months now. Nothing that interesting to report. I went scuba diving a couple times--in Breakwater, Monterey and also in Point Lobos. Pretty cool, but I definitely want to check out tropical places. I will put up pictures as soon as Max gets them to me. Now I'm preparing like crazy for my conference in India. "Like crazy", btw, means that I am working moderately hard as opposed to barely working.

In other news, check out my political score on this random political test page that I went to. I'm not as centrist as I thought I was. I like http://www.politicalcompass.org better. But this one gives you nice pretty pictures.

You are a
Social Liberal
(65% permissive)

and an...
Economic Conservative
(61% permissive)

You are best described as a:

Centrist

Link: The Politics Test on Ok Cupid

That Bitch is Crazy!

2005-07-25T16:57:00.000-07:00

I am of course referring to Ann Coulter. But I must say that she is also hilarious. If you manage not to get too pissed off, occasionally reading her columns is actually very entertaining because she does have a way with words. Here's one of my favorites from her recent post on John Roberts:

"It means absolutely nothing that NARAL and Planned Parenthood attack him: They also attacked Sandra Day O'Connor, Anthony Kennedy and David Hackett Souter. The only way a Supreme Court nominee could win the approval of NARAL and Planned Parenthood would be to actually perform an abortion during his confirmation hearing, live, on camera, and preferably a partial-birth one."

That is just fucking awesome. And you have to admit that it is very clever...right? Despite her obvious psychosis, Coulter does have a wonderful talent for bashing liberals everwhere.

More Nomination Stuff

2005-07-21T10:39:00.000-07:00

I got a comment from a secret fan on my last post:

"It is ironic that so many Democrats are up in arms over a conservative President appointing the next couple justices. All last week I read articles quoting various Democrats who pleaded with Bush to appoint someone "just like O'Connor." Meanwhile, the Democrats' beloved O'Connor was appointed by none other than Reagan, who was more conservative and less bipartisan than Bush is."

Although I would definitely say that Reagan was more conservative than Bush, I don't know who was more bipartisan. And it is interesting how some of the Democrats favorite justices (O'Connor, Kennedy, Souter (not sure about this one)) were appointed by Republicans. But despite the acrimony on both sides, I think we should all agree that: 1) Roberts is eminently qualified and 2) boobs are awesome. (The second comment being a universally acknowledged fundamental truth.)

I fear that even though Roberts represents an excellent middle ground, there may be an ugly confirmation hearing. What's really missing from American politics right now is the notion of compromise. I think most of us learned by the time we were three years old that we wouldn't always get what we want. Democrats and Republicans seem to forget that because they're held hostage by the hippies and the fascists respectively.

A Good Nomination

2005-07-20T13:57:00.000-07:00

Bush decided on John Robert to replace O'Connor. If it counts for anything, I am very pleased. While I expected groups like MoveOn.Org to disagree with anyone Bush chose, it's heartening to see that nutcases like Ann Coulter also disagree! That means he is not a right-wing fascist like her:) (Credit to Sullivan and Instapundit for links and analysis.)

Buy Praj Industries!!!

2005-07-17T19:39:00.000-07:00

Apparently I am one of the leading sources for technology for alcohol, fuel ethanol and beer production. It's a shame that I can't drink anymore!

On a different not, if you're a Roger Federer fan (which you should be), then check out these two website:
http://federermagic.blogspot.com
http://membres.lycos.fr/rogerfederer

The last one isn't in English, but it has lots of video clips that you can watch, and even entire matches.

Darfur Stuff

2005-06-26T22:10:00.000-07:00

I finally got my ass into gear and am finally doing something about Darfur. Blue Chalk Cafe in Palo Alto, CA agreed to do a fundraiser. On July 18th (5 days from now), show up to 630 Ramona Street at 9 pm. There, you can buy a $5 that gets you $3 beers and well drinks all night. All proceeds will be donated to the genocide intervention fund. http://www.genocideinterventionfund.org

Scuba Diving!

2005-06-26T22:07:00.000-07:00

I just got my scuba diving license today. Lots of fun, but also incredibly tiring. For those of you that don't know, the main organization that certifies people to do scuba is PADI. There is a fairly standardized certification process to get the first level of certification, called Open Water.

I did the weekend accelerated format. The first weekend was lecture and pool training. The second weekend (this past Saturday and Sunday), we did the check-ou dives in Monterey. The water was ass-cold.

Can't wait to go diving in warm tropical waters.

Jamaica is Cool

2005-06-20T16:14:00.000-07:00

I just got back from a much needed vacation. It's always nice going back to Jamaica. I usually go back every year, but didn't get to b/c of my injury last year. (See Xrays under 'links.') I didn't do much--just relaxed with my family for the most part. Now back to work.

Oh yeah. Jamaican-Indian girls are really hot.

A Strategic Shift

2005-05-15T21:09:00.000-07:00

Sorry for my inconsistent posting the past few weeks. I have been madly prepraring for my candidacy exam (aka quals). For my department, we have to give an oral presentation. Mine was supposed to be last Wednseday. Unfortunately, my academic advisor had the time wrong--he was the only person who didn't have the correct time--and so I am taking it tomorrow morning.

At any rate, after I pass my quals (hopefully), I plan on making a strategic shift in the nature of my blogging. (Hence the title of this post.) I am going to talk less about my political views, and simply ramble on random topics going on in my life.

And I will definitely come back to hitting on girls.

Hitting On Girls, Part I

2005-04-25T23:40:00.001-07:00

I hadn't planned on posting much until after quals. (See previous post) But a strange turn of events has forced me to vent a little. I will try to post as much as I can in the next few days. If I happen to fail my quals, I will of course blame it on women everywhere.

It's a well known fact that most guys are utterly confused/misinformed/ ignorant/delusional about what it takes to hit on a girl. Being that the average guy spends between 90% to 95% of his time thinking about girls, you think we would have figured it out by now. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Typically, us guys think we have to play some sort of game. Meaning, we show we're interested, but not that much. We call, but not too often. Open up, but don't let her get to know you too well, yada, yada, yada. All of these tactics fall under the general rubric of "being smooth."

The problem is that very few guys have what it takes to be smooth. I think it has mostly to do with natural charisma. And what makes it even more difficult is that a girl's definition of "smooth" constantly changes. I've known guys who are completely different from one another and are still considered to have the magical quality.

Which brings me to my "rules" about how to act around a girl you're interested in. I started formulating these rules a couple of weeks ago. I had met with some recent success and of course considered myself an authority on the matter. So here it goes:
1) Be yourself because it's pretty much impossible to be otherwise. (Very cliche, I know.)
2) Addendum to (1): Be confident (or at least pretend) that you know who you are and you're comfortable with it. If you're an intellectual, a goofball, the serious type, whatever; you'll probably come off like that anyway. So it doesn't make sense to do otherwise.
3) Don't stare at her boobs. No matter how hard it may be, do not stare at her boobs. If you must, don't stare for more than 30 seconds at a time.
4) DO NOT OVERANALYZE! I think the biggest mistake most guys do is that they overthink the situation. You're just talking to a girl for God's sakes! Chill out and have fun. If you come off like you're having a good time talking to her, she's probably having a good time talking to you.

My aforementioned success came horribly crashing down today. All my previous rules were clearly wrong and in need of revision. I will expound on my thoughts as I formulate them. But for starters, you should definitely start staring at her boobs.

More After Quals!

2005-04-25T15:03:00.000-07:00

I've been really busy preparing for my candidacy exam. I have to prepare a presentation and be prepared to answer a bunch of questions on it. The profs on my panel shouldn't be too bad. Although I have doubts about my academic advisor. He may try to rape me. I have about 2 weeks left (they're on May 11th).

Oh yeah. Go Sixers! Or at least don't get blown out like you did in Game 1.

Having Tuberculosis Sux!

2005-04-12T22:30:00.000-07:00

I recently tested positive on the skin test for TB. (It's a long story about why I had to take the test in the first place. Don't ask.) What happens is that they give you a shot under the skin on your forearm and the area where they inserted the needle puffs up. If it puffs up more than 10 mm, it means you were exposed to TB at some point in your life.

Mine puffed up 15 mm. So now I am on this medicine for 6-9 months! I can't drink at all, and the side effects can be nasty. They include dark brown urine, nausea and vomitting, and the yellowing of the eyes or skin. How wonderful!

My dad is convinced that American doctors are stupid and they don't know what they're doing. Most people who grew up in foreign countries took what is known as the BCG vaccine, and that almost always leads to a positive test. (Although the US docs say it still shouldn't have puffed up more than 10 mm.) My dad says all that happened is that I got an initially stronger dose of BCG, and that's why I was 15 mm.

Oh well. At least I can't drink anymore. It will do wonders for my productivity. I hope I don't get yellow skin though.

I Have To Blog More!

2005-04-12T22:27:00.000-07:00

My friend Neeta just admitted that she has been secretly obsessed with my blog. I find that very interesting. I wonder how many more people have been reading my blog on a daily basis that I don't know about? I really have to start blogging more, and also be more careful about what I say. Stay tuned for more updates.

Costa Rica Awesome!

2005-04-03T10:15:00.000-07:00

Just got back from a week long vacation in Costa Rica. It's truly a great country if you're into the outdoors at all. It has active volcanoes, rain forests, coral reefs, whitewater rafting, hiking, mountain biking. I will post pictures soon. But I definitely recommend it to anyone considering a vacation. You should be able to get a ticket for less than $500.

Masturbation Anyone?

2005-03-16T00:58:00.000-08:00

I'm finally coming back to an earlier comment I (actually Chomsky) made about political thought being a masturbation fantasy. I write this now especially because I have recently started acting on my goal of saving the world. And I definitely plan on doing more, including donating more of my money to charity. As cheesy as it sounds, I passionately believe that we must be the change we wish to see in the world.

But saving the world is a very important task. It requires careful reflection, not impulsive action. Human life is at stake for God's sake! The absolute worst thing to do is to act on your preconceived notions or what you feel is the best solution. Such an approach will inevitably make you feel good about yourself (hence the term "masturbation fantasy"), but it may not actually accomplish anything.

The far left is especially guilty of falling into this trap. What often happens is they see a terrible situation that exists (global poverty, terrible urban schools, etc). And they feel really bad about it. They feel they must do something. The goal should be: What can I do to make this situation better? But what ends up happening is that they say: What can I do to make myself feel better?
That's a huge difference!

I will elaborate on the previous paragraph in the context of education reform--a hobby of mine. (Yes, I know I need to get out more!) I will explain how increasing funding for urban school districts is one of the worst things you can do--if your goal is to help those kids.

Thoughts thus far?

Why Give to Charity?

2005-03-16T00:37:00.000-08:00

Much has been said about the need for everyone, including ordinary people like myself, to give to charity. (Click here and here.) Of course I completely support the sentiment, and I have even recently given to charity myself. But is that really the best way to help people? There are some very intelligent people who think that Western aid (including aid from NGO's) may do more harm than good.

Since we are in fact dealing with human life, it is incredibly important not to sentimentalize. We should not have the simplistic goal of increasing charity. We should instead pursue policies that will do the greatest good--even if it means reevaluating our preconceived notion. It may be that we should triple our charitable contributions. But it may also be that the best way to help Africa is to harshly criticize their leaders.

Profanity Underused in Public Discourse

2005-03-05T19:21:00.000-08:00

Profanity oftentimes gives a clarity and force to your words that you wouldn't get otherwise. I honestly believe that the judicious and strategic use of a "bitch ass motha' fucker" would do more to fix the partisan bickering than anything else. It would also make the debates a lot more fun to watch. And of course care should be taken that it isn't overdone.

Thoughts?

My Penis is Bigger Than Yours

2005-03-01T18:40:00.000-08:00

While the above statement is undoubtedly true, I chose that title in the hope that it will catch your interest to read further. If you have read this far, then here is my real message:

HELP DARFUR! HELP DARFUR! HELP DARFUR! HELP DARFUR! HELP DARFUR! HELP DARFUR!

My friends and I set up a website that should make it easier to make a small contribution towards ameliorating the horrifying situation in Darfur, Sudan.

Please take the time to send the email! And don't forget to sign your name and address at the bottom.

What About Darfur?

2005-02-23T20:11:00.000-08:00

Read this article by Nicholas Kristof! People need to start doing something about this. Go here or here for more information.

I will be posting a lot more about this in the next few days. Keep reading.

Affirmative Action Good or Bad?

2005-02-19T14:23:00.000-08:00

I just started reading a fascinating article about affirmative action in law schools. The author does a cost/benefit analysis with regards to black Americans and concludes that affirmative action does more harm than good. You should read it, but I warn you that it is very long!
In all likelihood I will continue reading this article instead of doing work that I have to do. God help me.

I Am A Fascist Pig

2005-02-19T10:54:00.000-08:00

In case you were wondering how I could be saying all these horrible things about the UN (see posts below), then the title of this post should give you a clue. I am in fact a fascist pig who goes to sleep every night praying for war. I hope this post clears up any confusions you may have had.

On Voting Rights

2005-02-18T16:56:00.000-08:00

My thoughts on voting rights came within the context of a discussion on the United Nations. People can disagree on whether criminals or 16 year olds should or should not be given the right to vote. There are legitimate arguments to be made on both sides. But the mere fact that we have this discussion further proves my point. All democracies make judgement calls on who gets to participate in the political process. The UN makes no such judgement.

As for criminals and 16 year olds? I personally don't have a very strong position on it. My previous comments on the issue were primarily made in response to the strange suggestion that all nations are morally indistinguishable.

Why Stop at 16 Year Olds?

2005-02-17T22:41:00.000-08:00

Apparently we should give 16 year olds the right to vote. But why stop there? Why not 10 year olds? What about those child prodigies that start reading when they're 3? As for the people who see fit to take an 8 year old boy and force him to have anal sex? They should get two votes, right?

At any rate, some believe that the UN won't be legitimate as long as countries pursue their own interest. In fact, the UN has always been subordinate to the prevailing geopolitical realities. During the Cold War, it was used as a pawn by both the United States and the former Soviet Union. And today it is used by various governments to try to limit US power. Limiting US power may or may not be a good thing--but it definitely isn't the primary function of the UN. If the UN wants to be effective, it should acknowledge and account for the behavior of how nation states actually act, not how some people want them to act.

As for the notion that great nations should, at times, weigh others lives more valuable than their own citizens? Well then I say fuck greatness! Who needs it? The primary function of the US government is to "provide for the common defence." And while I think our foreign aid should be doubled or even tripled, I have no problem saying that, as far as the American government is concerned, US lives are more valuable than non-American lives.

Lawrence Summers Speaks

2005-02-17T20:54:00.000-08:00

You can read the transcript of Summers' statements on gender equity in science and engineering here. It's rather fascinating. I thought that he should have offered some potential solutions to the problem of gender disparity. But he does state very early on that he intended to make "some attempts at provocation." I guess it's a little unfair to criticize him for not addressing something he clearly planned on avoiding.

Summers' "high-powered job hypothesis" remains the most interesting in terms of possible future research. Essentially, Summers claims that women generally choose not to enter professions where they will have to work eighty hour weeks. One could of course argue that women would love to enter these careers if affordable and reliable child care existed. The lack of proper child care therby indicates a larger structural problem in American society. I'm not completely convinced of this line of reasoning. But my friend Sapna, whose opinions I respect a lot, strongly argues that fundamental changes would increase the number of women in science.

In closing, I will state once again that it is in society's best interests that women be encouraged to do math and science. However, it is also in society's best interests that they be discouraged from driving!

I Am Never Wrong!

2005-02-17T14:11:00.000-08:00

Actually, I've been wrong exactly 6 times in my life. But not within the past seven months! And contrary to popular belief, I didn't claim that anyone should be silenced. But some people definitely shouldn't be listened to or be given any credibility!

More United Nations!

2005-02-17T14:07:00.000-08:00

The world definitely does need a way to maintain order and condemn transgressors. If only the United Nations would do its job! We definitely don't need an organization that rewards Saddam, ignores Rwanda, looks the other way in Kosovo and pretends that Israel and Libya are morally equivalent.

I'm not suggesting that the US should withdraw from the UN or abandon its cause. There's no need to talk about having someone else watch over us. But until there is a legitimate global body, we should continue doing what pretty much every country on earth does--use the UN to advance our own interests.

The UN Can Lick My Balls

2005-02-16T20:34:00.000-08:00

Of course I don't want the United Nations to perform said act. But I'd like to respond to Nav's blog on the UN and democracy. A standard complaint against the UN is that it treats all nation-states as morally indistinguishable. Nav thinks that this is in fact its greatest strength. Navin is wrong and the critics are right.

He claims that democracy "gives weight to extreme viewpoints, but is not overwhelmed by them." Great! That is indeed a very strong point of democracy. The only problem is that the UN is nothing like democracy! Democracies don't treat even their own citizens as morally indistinguishable. Rapists, murderers and child molesters are often prohibited from the political process. Furthermore, an entire segment of society under 18 years is simply deemed not mature enough to handle the responsibility. We make moral distinctions all the time. If the UN wants to be viewed as a supranational democracy, then it must start making some tough decisions. It has to recognize that it is lunacy to criticize Israel more than it criticizes the Sudan, North Korea, Libya and Saudi Arabia. All countries do not inherently possess the same rights.

Now, more than ever, we need an international body that can effectively respond to global problems. Sadly, the United Nations does not fulfill that task. And it is laughable to suggest that the UN is analogous to a global democracy. But when the UN does change, give me a call. I'd be glad to support it!

More Thoughts on Iraq

2005-02-14T17:50:00.000-08:00

Acutally, they're not my thoughts. They're Andrew Sullivan's. Here's the money quote:
The Iraqi people would have continued to live in a fast-collapsing police state, kept barely alive by medicine and food supplies from the UN that were also the means to keep them under Saddam’s thumb. How on earth would this have been anything but a disaster and an injustice?

And the debate continues. Do noble ends--saving the Iraqis from Saddam--ever justify a dishonest means--the whole WMD fiasco? I'm not certain dishonest is the right word, either. Something more along the lines of gullible. It still wasn't okay, but I think dishonest is unnecessarily harsh.

You should really read the entire column. It's a fascinating analysis of how the UN can sometimes act like a stupid piece of shit. (My words, not his!) Of course some things, e.g. UNICEF, are good. But when the UN decides to fuck up, it goes all out! Are Saudi Arabia and Zimbabwe really on the Commision of Human Rights? Yes they are! Check it out here.

One more awesome quote:
Remember Srebrenica? Or Rwanda? If the UN is powerless before genocide and corrupt in the face of dictatorships how can it be relied on to do anything of real significance in the world?

Comments?

Gloating--About Why I'm The Best

2005-02-13T17:21:00.000-08:00

I'm actually not going to gloat about why I'm the best. Although I am the best, now is not the time to talk about it. More on that later. It's about time I responded to that annoying Brit Navin.

Of course I know you have all been keeping up and know that Nav blogged about the incessant gloating of the right following the Iraqi elections. My response touched on a number of different issues such as my thoughts on the extreme left, moral relativism, etc. I unfortunately started ranting and got completely off track. In retrospect I should have focused my comment just on gloating. I stand by what I said, of course. But for now I will expand on a single paragraph of what I wrote and Nav's response:

"Because, you see Navin, the extreme left (aka the academic left), is much smarter than the extreme right. Stanford grad students are among the smartest people in the entire world. If we don't painfully make the necessary intellectual compromises, who will? Precisely because we have the greatest ability to form nuanced, informed opinions about global issues, we also have the greatest responsibility. The fact that we shirk this responsibility represents for me a horrifying MORAL FAILURE. And it's not something I can easily look past."

And Nav's response:
I would like to parse this final point in more detail in the future. However, for now, I would just like to say that will this may be true (though I don't think it is), it is irrelevant. Standards of behavior are not dependant on perceived intellect. Gloating is wrong or it isn't. You cannot defend it by pointing out the other guy/girl is wrong about something completely different. You can argue that it's understandable and you can forgive it; but you cannot fail to condemn something that is just plain wrong.

Of course standards of behavior are not dependant on perceived intellect. That wasn't my point. My point is that Stanford students have the ability to form intellectually sound arguments, the ability to impact the public discourse in a meaningful manner. And oftentimes we resort to childish caricatures. Why is that? I think Chomsky had a brilliant insight: "George Orwell once described political thought, especially on the left, is a sort of masturbation fantasy where the world of facts hardly matters" [emphasis mine]. This notion of political activism as a masturbation fantasy is something I will expand upon. But for now I stand by my statement of the moral failure of the hippies at Stanford, Berkeley, Harvard, etc. I honestly believe that these people don't truly care about the issues they say they do. And that's plain dishonest.

Friedman Talk Okay

2005-02-08T21:51:00.000-08:00

I know this is my third post today. But I have to keep my growing readership happy. I've had a whopping 26 visitors today, and I expect even more tomorrow.

I just got back from Thomas Friedman's invited talk at Stanford University and I must say that it was nothing special. I followed Friedman throughout college, and after a while I got a feel for how he thought. Today I felt like I was just listening to him read his columns. He talked about the war on Iraq and why, despite his misgivings, he ended up supporting it. Basically, he voted based on an optimistic outlook of how it would turn out. If this whole thing eventually works out, he predicts that it will completely transform the Middle East. We'll see.

The best part of the talk is when he mentioned that there were no Indian Muslims among the 9/11 hijackers. And that there are no Indian Muslims in Al Qaeda. (How does he know this?) He also noted that the current Indian president is Muslim, there is a Muslim woman on the Indian Supreme Court, and the richest man in India is the software whiz Azim Premji. Friedman concludes that because Muslims in India have a real voice and stake in their society, they almost never have to resort to extremism.

Of course I took all this to mean people of Indian heritage are the best people in the world. But anyone with even half a brain already knew that.

To be completely serious, I must say that I am incredibly proud of India. Despite the incredible diversity and potential for rampant ethnic violence, they have created a democracy that works pretty damn well. Go India!

A final note to Nav: I will get respond to your response soon. But I have a test tomorrow that I must study for. I will have it ready latest by Thursday afternoon.

Here I Go Again!

2005-02-08T18:53:00.000-08:00

I realized that I have to start posting more. If I don't, I will never win my competition with Nav. (I am incredibly competitive and I make almost everything a competition.) That would be really sad because I never even told him that I am competing with him. He would win without even realizing that he is playing! And right now he is completely thrashing me--I think he has written twice as much as I have. Of course my bitching does nothing to help my cause. So here I go. (I know I promised never to use 'so' again. I lied. Deal with it.)

Nav blogged about the shameless and incessant gloating in the right wing media after the elections in Iraq. I left a rather lengthy comment on his site. (I should point out that it was Nav's first comment. I, on the other hand, have a dedicated fan base that has left me an astounding 5 comments. At least I'm winning there!)

I will now respond to Nav's response to my comment on his blog.

But not now. I'm off to see Tom Friedman speak at Kresge.

I'm Back!

2005-02-08T18:24:00.000-08:00

The past few days has seen me get really excited about the Eagles in the Super Bowl, and then get quite depressed when they executed the worst clock managment in the history of sports. But what are you going to do?

In other news, I see that Navin has brilliantly responded to my comment, just as I expected him to. I shall of course respond to his response. But more on that later.

I've been getting involved in numerous discussions on gender equity in science. And it's gotten me thinking about a lot of issues. Of course, Lawrence Summers' comments the other day started all this. Summers pissed off a whole lot of people by suggesting that inherent ability (i.e. genes), may play a role, and especially at the highest level. While I have no philosophical objection that there may be inherent differences (although I'm not sure what that phrase actually means), it wasn't a very useful statement in terms of offering a policy prescription.

Most people will agree that there are many smart women out there who don't enter math or science. And most people will also agree that having more smart people in science helps everyone in society. The obvious question is: Why exactly are women underrepresented in these fields? Is it even possible to identify all the factors that cause the gender imbalance? And even if we can (a very big assumption), what exactly do we do then? When I say all the factors, by the way, I am not a priori excluding anything--including genetic factors.

I will address this topic more in the next few days. But I'll start off by saying that my ultimate goal, and as far as I'm concerned, the only relevant goal, should be to increase female representation in these fields.

Especially because I need more chics to look at when I zone out in class.

Just kidding. I'm really not a sexist pig. To prove it, I will once again state unequivocally that I think women should be encouraged to do math and science.
But we should definitely discourage them from driving.

Just kidding again. I think chics should be able to do whatever they want. I promise!

A Comedic Interlude

2005-02-04T17:13:00.000-08:00

I was never a fan of the "Daily Show." And the few times that I did watch it I came off thinking that Jon Stewart is completely overrated. But "America: A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction" is without a doubt the funniest nonfiction book I have ever read. I strongly recommend that you buy it. Here are a few choice quotes from the first few chapters that should entice you:

[Thomas Jefferson] is widely credited with inventing the cigarette slogans "All the cool kids are doing it!" and "You need something to do after fucking a slave." (p. 24)
The achieve these ends, the Founders ultimately conceived the three branches of government, a notion insuring the separation of powers through a series of check and balances. It was a system reflecting the Founders' belief that children should memorize not just dates, but also phrases. (p. 28)
The office of president affords its holder many, many opportunities to have sex with women who would otherwise find him unremarkable. (p. 45)

Obviously, this is just a small sampling. But God damn it's funny!

What Will I Do Now?

2005-02-03T19:49:00.000-08:00

It looks like Navin beat me to writing about Andrew Sullivan's stopping his blog. It really is rather unfortunate. Sullivan's blog was the first thing I read in the morning, and I usually checked it at least a few more times a day.

I guess I will have to start reading Instapundit. Or maybe Slate?.

At any rate, it will definitely take me a while to adjust to this loss.

The Eagles will Win the Super Bowl

2005-02-02T08:09:00.000-08:00

I'm calling it right now. The Eagles will win--and they will win rather convincingly. I predict a final score of 24-16. But the game will be pretty much dominated by McNabb and Westbrook. The final score I predict is much closer than how the game will go. I may be completely deluding myself, but I feel quite confident about this game.

In other news, Marc Stein of ESPN chose Steve Nash as his mid-season MVP. Interesting. My default choice for MVP is always Tim Duncan. But his numbers are down this season because he's allowing Parker and Ginobili to score more. I'll have to study the stats some more before I can agree for that. For now I'm skeptical.

A Great Day

2005-01-30T21:57:00.000-08:00

To shamelessly plagiarize an Andrew Sullivan trademark, here is my money quote, by Michael Ignatieff:

Those who were against tell us that democracy can't be imposed at gunpoint, when the actual issue is whether it can survive being hijacked at gunpoint.

And it seems that the elections are actually working out. Thank God!

To be honest, there is BIG part of me that wants to go rub it in face of all those people who I know sympathize and somehow even respect the insurgents. They're the same sort of people who draw a moral equivalence between Osama bin Laden, Sadaam Hussein and George Bush. I see a lot of this type here at Stanford.

The sad part is that there is absolutely no shortage of intelligent, reasoned, and brutal criticism we can make about Bush's handling of the Iraq invasion. We don't need to resort to these ridiculous comparisons. (For starters, I recommend we bitch-slap Donald Rumsfeld on national television. )

But now isn't the time for whining. I think all Americans can celebrate what happened today.

The New York Times Made a Change for the Worse

2005-01-26T12:34:00.000-08:00

I just realized that I started four out my seven posts with the word 'so.' This is an egregious error and I have now sworn off that word for at least 5 more posts. But I digress from my main point.

I am in the habit of emailing myself interesting articles from the New York Times. In fact, I have a folder on my desktop aptly titled "Interesting Articles." The nice thing--or as you will soon see, used to be nice--was that you could choose whether to email a link or the text of the article itself. It's crucial to have the actual text because those links become useless in about a week or two. At that point you have to pay like $3.00 to read the damn thing.

And as of this week, the New York Times no longer allows the text of the article to be emailed. You only get a link. Presumably, you are completely screwed after the time is up. So if you want to keep the article you have to go through the HUGE hassle of copying and pasting the text. (Yes I know I just used 'so.' Go screw yourself for noticing.)

This unexpected turn of events has thoroughly pissed me off.

Mo' Money

2005-01-24T09:26:00.000-08:00

So I neglected to mention how and why I chose Oxfam to donate to, as opposed to any of dozens of organizations. I am still trying to establish some criteria on how to make this decision. My friend Sara did a little research and found these useful web sites:
1. http://www.charitynavigator.org/
2. http://www.charitywatch.org/

For my most recent venture, I didn't do any research and simply listened to Navin's recommendation. I wish I didn't have to do that. Don't get me wrong--Nav's a brilliant guy and I'm sure that Oxfam uses its money efficiently. But I feel that I should know exactly why I donate to whom. Hopefully I will put more thought into it in the next few weeks because I plan on starting a small monthly donation ($10-$15) after I pay off next month's credit card bill.

Thanks for the Comments Everyone!

2005-01-24T08:46:00.000-08:00

So apparently I have a loyal following of readers, meaning I have three comments from two different people. While I did expect the world to start reading, this is happening rather fast. Now I have to exercise greater prudence in everything I say and do. Not an altogether bad development.

Salasks' comment included a link about Danny Glover protesting in front of the Sudanese embassy. I speculate on the details--how many people were there? Why exactly was he arrested? Did the Sudanese have an official response? I was inspired to donate $200 to Oxfam and direct the money for the Sudan Crisis Relief Fund. I wonder how many lives my money will save...

You may be wondering how a 'poor' grad student can afford to donate this much. But you don't realize that I make obscene amounts of cash and smart money management goes a long way. I will elucidate in a future post.

I find that I am now rambling and so it is time to go. A sincere thanks for the comments. They really made my day.

Two Posts In One Day!

2005-01-23T19:53:00.000-08:00

So the Eagles finally won the NFC Championship today. It is all very surreal to me. Philly teams, and especially the Eagles, aren't supposed to make it to this far. But maybe this is finally our year--and I'm actually pretty confident that we can beat the Patriots. In the meantime, I'm going to go workout to try burn off the 5 beers that I drank while watching the game.

A Nervous Wreck

2005-01-23T11:39:00.000-08:00

Hello World. I am about to embark on what has become a yearly ritual for me--watching the Eagles in the NFC Championship. Being a Philadelphia sports fan can be one of the most depressing jobs in the world. Apart from helping the poor in Africa of course. But I'll get back to saving the world after I watch this game.

Should the Eagles win, you can expect a joyous celebration from me. Should we lose, I will accept my ensuing depressions as the rightful fate of a Philly sports fan. I just hope the Steelers lose in either case because I hate the Steelers and want them all to die. (Maybe death is a little harsh. Excrutiating physical pain would be good enough!). May God help us.

This One's For You Navin!

2005-01-22T09:15:00.000-08:00

So I haven't posted in a few days, and it's inexcusable. Luckily, I have friends who have no problem annoying me and threatening me with bodily injury should I continue shirking my responsibilities. So here it goes.

Over my last winter break I became mildly obsessed with saving the world. I know that I already do more than most people my age (mostly by donating money), but I feel that I should do something more substantial. The typical grad student response to global poverty, the fight against AIDS and malaria, etc. simply involves bashing US foreign policy in general and George Bush in particular. Simple justice, the argument often goes, requires the richest and most powerful country in the history of the world to take a lead role in handling world problems. (Let's ignore the fact that the US already donates billions to these causes and that medicines developed by US companies save millions of lives each year. Analyzing the simplicity of the academic left is for another column.)

But that's only half the story. As citizens of the richest and most powerful country in history, do we not also have an obligation to help? Why are we content to sit around and have intellectual debates? (I use the world intellectual very loosely.) Are we really just sitting back and allowing another massacre to happen? Why aren't there any protests over Darfur? I would gladly protest against George Bush if it led to his taking a stronger stance against the Sudanese government.

Can't Stanford grad students, among the smartest people in the entire world, come up with something more productive than a "Fuck B*sh" t-shirt???

I'm Sorry!!!

2005-01-18T20:44:00.000-08:00

It's a shame I didn't start this blog earlier. Over the past several years these unbelievably brilliant thoughts would just pop into my head. I would be like: GOD DAMN! I should really write this down. No one else could have possibly come up with this on their own!

But my laziness prevented me from keeping track of everything. Highly unfortunate. If I had written down even half of my thoughts we would have unified relativity with quantum mechanics, solved the Riemann zeta hypothesis, prevented the 1998 East Asian financial meltdown, achieved peace in Palestine and reached a workable compromise in Kashmir. (And that's just the tip of the iceberg!)

So please accept my sincere apologies for not starting this blog earlier! You should feel cheated.

And in complete honesty, I should say that I exaggerated a bit. The zeta hypothesis would still be unsolved.

Everyone Remembers Their First Time

2005-01-17T09:16:00.000-08:00

Yes, this is my first blog post ever. If everything goes according to plan, it will be studied by future 6th graders as one of the turning points in the history of the world.

Praj's Place

Headed back home!

More random pics

Thai Cooking School!

Less than 3 weeks left!

Should I shave or should I grow?

Pool, garlic fries and Beer

How Old is Your Mother?

Food, food, food!

Three in one day!

SE Asia Stories and Pics

John Kerry Can't Make up his Mind!

Eastern Europe!!

The Great Bambino!!

Garbage, Small Cars and Graffiti

Conway Castle >> Warwick Castle

Finally Some Updates!

Too Much Drinking

The Homogenization of Global Culture

In Wales!

World Travels!

Blogging from Philly

Jews down the Well

Missing the Milk Pail

Issue Silos

Annoying Tourists

The Invention of Football

Freddy Adu Sucks

I See Famous People

Happy Hour

Liberals Can Really Piss Me Off

Real World Science

School Reform = Global Warming

Just Work It

Hummus and Alcohol

Facts are Overrated

Bike Ride and BBQ

Athletes and Entertainers

First Triathlon!

I'm Back!

Stop Clapping!

Nicolas Kiefer is a Pussy

Smear Campaigns

Inebriation

Awesome Article

Observations in India

Dead People!

In India!

Garba 2005

Best Blogs

Three In One Day!!!

Economic Left/Right: 0.88Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -0.26

Two In One Day!

I'm Back

That Bitch is Crazy!

More Nomination Stuff

A Good Nomination

Buy Praj Industries!!!

Darfur Stuff

Scuba Diving!

Jamaica is Cool

A Strategic Shift

Hitting On Girls, Part I

More After Quals!

Having Tuberculosis Sux!

I Have To Blog More!

Costa Rica Awesome!

Masturbation Anyone?

Why Give to Charity?

Profanity Underused in Public Discourse

My Penis is Bigger Than Yours

What About Darfur?

Affirmative Action Good or Bad?

I Am A Fascist Pig

On Voting Rights

Why Stop at 16 Year Olds?

Lawrence Summers Speaks

I Am Never Wrong!

More United Nations!

The UN Can Lick My Balls

Economic Left/Right: 0.88
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -0.26