Today on the morning show we talked about the Olympics, namely China’s emerging dominance. For me the bigger question is India. Why does India suck so much? In 2008 the US won 110 medals, China won 100 and India won… 3. India has over a billion people, some economic clout and is by all counts an emerging superpower, but they suck at the Olympics. Why?

Cool. Soon there will be 15 hydrogen-powered ‘green’ trishaws plying the Galle Fort (where trishaws are currently banned, apparently, though I’ve seen them there). This is funded by UNIDO (United Nations Industrial Dev) and I’m assuming the trishaws are Mahindra HyAlfas, which have previously debuted in Delhi. This is only a test in Sri Lanka, but a damn cool one.

This ad was pulled for raising racist hackles, but I don’t get it. It’s not a great Indian imitation or anything, but I don’t see anything that offensive. I’m Sri Lankan, but still. The character is a Bollywood producer who likes Kim Kardashian and Snooki, which I wouldn’t call entirely rare. India is number two in Google searches for ‘sex’, btw. Pakistan is number one. It’s a caricature, but a human one and I think not especially racist.

I was recently in South India, briefly. One thing I noticed (after it was pointed out) was the dominance of a particular font, or typographic style moreso. On almost every wall or poster (often above trash or urine) they’d be using the same type of lettering. Top half one color, bottom half another – often with a white stripe through the middle. I kinda like it. It’s an interesting and striking style, and surprisingly ubiquitous.

I’ve had some terrible experiences getting Indian visas. Now that it’s privatized, the process is a lot better. The policy is a lot more stupid (have to wait two months between visits), but the process is much faster, more efficient, and less offensive to God and man.

Eelam is an inherently divisive idea and Karunanidhi espouses it only in the most cynical manner. Sri Lankas races are mixed and dividing up the land isn’t a solution. So there’s a racial defined state in the North and East – what about the Tamils in Colombo, where minorities are a majority? What about Kandy or Hill Country? Like in India, equality has to transcend race and be national in scope. Unless you want to experience the fun of partition, a la Pakistan.

Birth control is usually seen as the woman’s responsibility, presumably because they get stuck with the birth. In a better world, however, there would be more responsibility on the male, and options would go beyond condoms. A male pill, however, is elusive. Now, however, Indian scientists have found something simple and revolutionary that may work. It’s called RISUG (Reversible Inhibition Of Sperm Under Guidance), and no it doesn’t involve bureaucracy in your tubes.

Whitening creams are evil, but this is a new low. Whitening creams have rapidly gone from the face to body to armpits and now… to the vagina. As in, if your vagina isn’t white enough, your husband won’t love you. It’s horrifying. These whitening creams can be extremely damaging to skin and now they’re marketing them for use, like, directly on a rather sensitive orifice. Madness.

My general impression is that Tamil Nadu parties like the DMK are fundamentally unserious about reconciliation in Sri Lanka. Like Karunanidhi’s six hour fast between meals to end the war, his party is now taking a farcical stance to not even visit Sri Lanka on a Parliamentary tour. A lot of opposition MPs have pulled out, with Vaiko (who wasn’t even coming) saying, essentially, that they shouldn’t visit till Eelam, Karunanidhi’s ‘unrealized dream‘.

I was reading this horrifying undercover by Tehelka, where Delhi police are essentially blaming women for getting raped. As Inspector Sunil Kumar of Delhi Police said, “First, it is my fault because I courted disaster. No rape can happen in Delhi without the girl’s provocation.” This is pretty much the attitude. But why?