N. Korea,US and non-proliferation

I seriously do not know where the Non-Proliferation Treaty is heading ... maybe I do know and I guess that would be downhill. Its a perfect stalemate situation now with all the nuclear-power wannabes asking the US & co to strip. I see no reason why Iran and the rest of the wannabes should concede when the US is not. Mind you, I am not taking sides here ... all I am saying is, if you to choose to clap, you do so with two hands and unless both sides decide to budge and eventually compromise, I see no light at the end of the tunnel.

And in the meanwhile whats Uncle Sam doing parking 15 F-117s in S. Korea. Yes, I agree, North Korea needs to be dealt with ... but since when did individual nations start taking matters in their own hands and putting into action, their own private policing groups. OK, someone please slap me and ask me to wake up and smell the coffee, or should you make that 'oil'?

Does Microsoft subscribe to true & fair capitalism?

The answer to that question, as it stands today, is a big NO!. Lets see how Merriam Webster defines 'capitalism' as:

Main Entry: cap·i·tal·ism
Pronunciation: 'ka-p&-t^&l-"iz-&m, 'kap-t^&l-, British also k&-'pi-t^&l-
Function: noun
: an economic system characterized by private or corporate ownership of capital goods, by investments that are determined by private decision, and by prices, production, and the distribution of goods that are determined mainly by competition in a free market.

The less said about Microsoft's monopolistic pratices the better. I think most of us who have spent a decent amount of time in the tech sector or even otherwise know how M$ ties their customers down to Windows and associated Microsoft products like Office, Outlook, Exchange and otherwise. Until a few years back, all of their products were proprietary and to say that they were closed and uninteropable was an understatement. Its only recently, after receiving endless flak from competitors and the government alike, that Mr. Gates has decided to let go of his highly inequitable ways, to a certain extent ... M$ seems to be on the right track now, but I would not go so far as saying they have betrothed a true capitalistic attitude (as defined by Websters) ... that is yet be proven beyond reasonable doubt, as one would say in legal jargon.

Bill Gates has built a great empire in Microsoft and they do have some kick-ass products (as an aside, I personally truly admire & highly commend all the philanthropic work that is being done via the Gates foundation), but I am sure Gates would want to be remembered as not the richest man in the world, but as the richest man who built an empire and succeeded by subscribing to true & fair capitalism. Steps are being taken by M$ in the right direction and I hope they keep at it ... if that means looking up and taking stock of defines in www.m-w.com every so often, then so be it!

friedman forever!

Read Thomas Friedman's latest article on NY times. The last line of his article is not a punch, its a killer blow.

The more you think about it, the more profound it is - "Implementing a big idea, worthy of a presidency could mean a lot, it could mean asking your people to do something hard"

Here is the link to his article.

Airbus A380 is here to stay ....

The Airbus A380 is here folks, long awaited. The Frankfurt airport has a model for display, btw. Hats off to Airbus for all their investment in the A380 technology, design ... but whats something to think about, no, be concerned about, is logistics when it comes to the airports handling the load that the A380's are going to dump on them. Imagine 4 A380's going thru Frankfurt on transit, and 1000 passengers wanting to drink coffee at the only 2 Starbuck's locations. Great opportunity for a lot of businesses to cash in on this, but before that the airports that have committed to change have a crapload of investment to do as far as revamp of the present infrastructure.

Cannot wait to make first A380 trip ... maybe go all out and do business class, if my employer agrees to pay for it ;)