Viswanathan K's Thoughts

Even before taking power the second time, Trump announced imperialistic plans – to take over Greenland, and the Panama Canal, t0 make Canada the 51 st state. Some Americans feared such statements legitimize the imperialistic plans of others – Putin in Ukraine, China in Taiwan.   The moral sanctimonious of the West is reflected in this line they love to repeat: “The international legal order is based upon the notion that states are sovereign and borders are inviolable.” Really? The West has always been ok with Israeli expansion. What the West is saying (as always) is that imperialism by the West and its allies is OK, but not by others.   When Trump’s close ally, Elon Musk, openly expressed his preference on which party should rule the UK, many Americans and Europeans were aghast. (Musk said he was considering giving $100 million to a British political party, if they moved in the direction he wanted). Interference in other countries is not OK, they yell. They seem t...

A while back I had written a blog on how Sherlock Holmes felt so outdated and ancient. Back then, one of my cousins had suggested that I watch this modern day version of Holmes and see how good the detective could still be. Unfortunately,  I never got to watch that because the baby would still be awake at the time the serial came, which meant no TV watching. But now the baby’s sleeping schedule has changed, and (good for me) a re-run of that Holmes serial just started (it comes on BBC Entertainment and is called Sherlock ). So finally I get to see it and boy, was my cousin right! It is very good indeed. Better yet, they are not just showing the original stories in a modern setting (I never liked adaptations), instead they create new stories, a Dr Watson with some spunk, an inspector who isn't fawning over Holmes and modern day gadgets that help with the case. Same behavior in a different era often creates unintended humour. Like the restaurant owner who assumes Holmes an...