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I watched the latest Harry Potter movie on Friday. I was surprised to find that the movie was able to capture all of the important aspects of the storyline in the book. I would say it is perhaps my second-favourite movie, right after the Prisoner of Azkaban.

Since the students are in their teens, the movie is more mushy than the earlier installments. The only two complaints I have with the movie: (i) they could have reduced the mush and increased the time spent on the climactic scenes, (ii) unlike the book, Dumbledore hasn’t conveyed to Harry Voldemort’s obsession with Hogwarts artifacts that he would convert to horcruxes.

Other than that, a very enjoyable movie. I might want to watch it again. Soon.

Tags: General by Niket
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First, a statement from our dear Health Minister that made my jaw drop lower than I ever remember it doing (via Amit Varma):

Health and family welfare minister Ghulam Nabi Azad on Saturday became a votary of rapid electrification of villages in India but for a different reason - to curb population growth by ensuring access to television.

Now, if you think… well, that kind of makes sense, please hold on that thought for a moment. The reasoning of Mr. Azad is not the possibility of using television for educational purposes, the reasoning is neither that electrification will improve socio-economic indicators of the region which will help reduce the rate of population growth. No sir. His reasoning is that the rural folks would be so busy watching the saas-bahu serials and Rakhi’s swayamvar that they will forget to copulate. Seriously, thats what he really said:

“Electricity will lead to television in houses, which will lead to population control. When there is no light, people get engaged in the process of population growth,” he said while addressing a function on World Population Day.

[…]
“When light will reach (villages), 80 percent of population growth can be reduced through TV,” he said, adding that the current United Progressive Alliance (UPA) central government is working to ensure greater rural electrification. He also exhorted media and TV channels to provide quality materials and highlight positive news.

Interestingly enough, Amit has this objection to our health minister’s statement:

One, the government has no business regulating what consenting adults do in their bedrooms, whether this relates to sexual practices or procreative choices. How many kids a couple wants to have should be that couple’s decision alone. Anything else is a violation.

I am not sure how he extrapolates the minister’s statement to “regulating what adults do”. By extension, Amit is commenting on Mr. Azad’s opinions; is he therefore violating Mr. Azad’s rights to free speech? What Mr. Azad is saying is that the governments agenda is to bring electricity to villages. I don’t see him saying that the government will provide free TVs (which it, stupidly, might); definitely not regulating rural folks to watch TV instead of procreation.

I doubt Amit was commenting on “exhorted media and TV channels to provide quality materials” part of the speech. Even if he was, the way I read “exhorted” is to mean “to urge” rather than “to force”.

Tags: General by Niket
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The Delhi high court decriminalized acts of consensual sex between same sex individuals. This will go a long way in decriminalizing homosexuality and preventing haphazard and extortive application of section 377. I believe its an important small step, but not really a victory for secular, inclusive democracy in India. I don’t believe it will change our attitudes towards homosexuals, though.

Still, here is a music video of a child with two fathers. This video, called “Twee Vaders“, from a Dutch show Kinderen voor Kinderen, is one of my favorite videos.

Tags: General by Niket
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In this interesting and beautiful article about a photograph of moon taken from the International Space Station, the Bad Astronomer concludes:

Knowing more about [an amazing shot] doesn’t detract from its beauty and its wonder; it enhances them.

I really love that about science. It’s easy to be awed when you don’t know how something works, but when you get a glimpse into the machinery behind it, get an idea of how it really works, what you see becomes that much more beautiful.

Hop on over there to see the picture and Phil’s description.

Tags: General by Niket
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Via Sulllivan, comes this article by Jonathan Rauch describing the Republican party as the zombie party.

Conservatives in the 2000s seemed bereft of answers to newer challenges–climate change, health care, non-state enemies–and often appeared uncomfortable discussing them.

We know what happens when movements or parties continue to stagger forward after running out of ideas: They become zombies. Zombie parties are a recurrent feature of electoral democracies. Unable to articulate any coherent or workable governing philosophy, they mindlessly jab at cultural hot buttons, mechanically repeat hardwired tropes (”cut taxes, cut taxes, cut taxes”), nurse tribal resentments, ostracize independent thinkers. Above all, they feel positively proud of their doggedness.

[…] To get a new brain, zombie parties usually need to spend years out of power or wait until a new generation rises to leadership.

[…] There are smart, modern people in the Republican Party and the conservative movement. But the movement is in no mood to listen to them.

This is exactly what happened to BJP after the election loss of 2004. It quelled the fiscal conservative voices and increased the social conservative ones. They have still not come to terms with that loss, and even more Hindutva seems to be the only mantra they have. Unfortunately, the next generation does not instill hope in me. Unlike Vajpayee and Advani and Mahajan, the new folks are prominent in the party not because of what they did or what they stand for, but because of who (rather, whose children) they are.

I hope for the sake of having a credible, national opposition to Congress, BJP does not sink.

Tags: General by Niket
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Daniel Larison, once again, has a well reasoned post on the Iranian issue. I quote only the final paragraph here:

The “coup” argument is a consensus view that fits a lot of existing prejudices, allows us to reaffirm pleasant myths about the virtues of popular government (which we are supposed to believe would have yielded a good result, were it not for those meddling fraudsters), and provides an excuse for moralistic posturing in which we get to flaunt our enthusiasm for democracy mostly for our own satisfaction. I am increasingly skeptical that it describes the events of the last few days.

I wonder if including Iran in the axis of evil was even bigger blunder than invading Iraq. At least there is no Saddam, and although the quagmire is worse now, it wasn’t a given when US initially invaded Iraq. Larison is absolutely right when he says that actions based on insufficient information have have been detrimental to US interest (and Middle East peace); that should be the reason to be even more careful in analyzing the current situation in Iran.

We have been hearing from the educated, internet savvy minority; do the majority Iranians, especially from rural and semi-urban parts, feel differently?

Tags: General by Niket
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India crashed out of T20 World Cup yesterday. Dhoni’s decision to play Jadeja and promote him up the order would have been hailed as a masterstroke had it clicked. Still, in a team consisting of several good batsmen, I think that decision was a mistake.

Likewise, I have heard Dhoni say that his strategy is to keep wickets intact for a late onslaught. The Indian and Chennai teams have often left too much for the end. Especially when one realises that the weakest link in the bowling side bowls during the middle overs.

A good thing about this result is that I get back my three hours per day to spend more fruitfully.

Tags: General by Niket
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