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Home Front: Tech
MISSILE DEFENSE: Asians Embrace BMD
2005-09-16
Posted by:DanNY

#9  Ship, imer not outer primary yet!
Posted by: Red Dog   2005-09-16 19:32  

#8  It's a flat star now, but that's still a huge improvement over the mercantelistic/Token Ring theory of trade.


/How didn't like that one sprots fans?
Posted by: Shipman   2005-09-16 16:37  

#7  I'm not a "One-Worlder" but!

I do believe in the Flat World. There's some interesting stuff out there on the 'net about T. Friedman's thesis regarding the empending changes brought about by the current technology revolution. I do believe that our "Yankee Trader" culture will allow us to remain atop the world's economy. But there are inherent risks. Just remember that large betas can bring big rewards.
Posted by: OregonGuy   2005-09-16 15:06  

#6  JE: I read the comments of an 1HB female who talked about the freedom to just jump on an airliner and travel anywhere in the US for a weekend. That is a social freedom that is not permited in their social environment.

I don't think it's got anything to do with social freedom - it's got to do with lower salaries in India and China. A $99 plane ticket is more than an average worker's monthly salary in those two countries.
Posted by: Zhang Fei   2005-09-16 12:49  

#5  "He handed a broom to a student from India, who just looked at it and said "That's below my caste."

Who knew they were unionized?
Posted by: Dave   2005-09-16 12:04  

#4  Our project engineer hired a few student hourlies to get a lab set up for building some drift chambers. First step is to clean the room. He handed a broom to a student from India, who just looked at it and said "That's below my caste." First day=last day.
Posted by: James   2005-09-16 11:50  

#3  .com....

Been in the Software Biz for almost 30 yrs. Back in 1980 DEC was developing the idea of off shoring in India, India poured millions into education. The networks didn't support remote development back then so you got the prototypical 5 Indian programmers in an apartment phenomenon.

The problem is, as you point out, cultural. They have plenty of intelligent techies with little initiative. Given my job as a Development Mgmt. consultant I've worked with hundreds of Indian programmers in the US at dozens of firms.

The one skill that they almost universally lack (as opposed to the East Europeans) is the ability to say "NO, you're wrong" to almost anyone, be it user or IT folk. They're smart and knowledgeable so they know what will and won't work, but they can't seem to put forth a contrary opinion.

Drives me nuts.
Posted by: AlanC   2005-09-16 10:06  

#2  *pause* Look at India, I mean really look at India... and yeah, I've been there and worked with Indians both in the US and abroad... talk about a stratified gig with impermeable layer boundaries... ranging from huge cesspools to an ultra-elite rich - with a growing, but still small "middle class".

How many Indian immigrants make it in this country? Why are they able to make it here but not there? Its still a heavily class structured society. I read the comments of an 1HB female who talked about the freedom to just jump on an airliner and travel anywhere in the US for a weekend. That is a social freedom that is not permited in their social environment. That is not going to change for generations in India. That will continue to hobble them in open competition.
When these 'competitor' nations start having illegal immigration problems on our level, I'll worry about it.
Posted by: Jaque Elmith1376   2005-09-16 10:03  

#1  Some good stuff, such as Koizumi in Japan & Chen in Taiwan.

Some classic poop: the conventional wisdom and ivory tower myths / memes repeated by a lazy "UPI Senior News Analyst". Does he do what he writes about? No. What does he do? Why, he writes articles, all his miracles acquired second-hand. He is a voyeur. Prolly pals around with software architects and other pseudo software wizards.

[ranty-rant]
This is a continuation of a thread from yesterday, in essence. Here we go again with the fabled Indian programmers and engineers. Look, let's apply some rational tests for validity. If true, where's the beef, huh? Why isn't India anywhere near the global center of tech and medical advances? Why haven't they eclipsed their own poverty, much less China, Europe, or the US? Cuz raw numbers don't mean DICK. There might be a there there - in another generation (or two) - if they dump a shitload of cherished poop, traditions, and customs. Now? Lol, nope. If they don't, they'll continue to be a pool of adequate people - a workforce for hire. Truth is, a BS degree from Bombay U or Bangalore Tech doesn't equal one from UT Arlington or Georgia Tech. Truth is, their society creates followers, not leaders. Truths is, individualism is obviously still in its infancy - and not socially approved.

Yeah, harsh, I know. But this is a parallel to the China myths. These two entities are history's losers. They can change that fact, but they'll have to do a lot of things right, and they can't seem to stomach that the right things, the ones that lead to prosperity and human progress, are, essentially, American things. Hey, sucks to be them. So sorry.

*pause* Look at India, I mean really look at India... and yeah, I've been there and worked with Indians both in the US and abroad... talk about a stratified gig with impermeable layer boundaries... ranging from huge cesspools to an ultra-elite rich - with a growing, but still small "middle class". You sociologist types can pontificate about this area, cuz it's where the rubber meets the road in capitalism - the only system that generates forward motion. For national prosperity to cover the spectrum, it requires a middle class of size, a critical mass, with assets - something to lose. It requires an education system that encourages entrepreneurialism. a tax system that lets them keep their profits, and a legal system that protects business as the engine that breathes life into society and continually raises living standards. It requires a social system which extols the virtues of hard work for profit - personal gain, that encourages advancement in all venues - personal, social, economic, and political, that does not silence the lone voices of creativity and innovation - while shining a bright light on the dark dank corners where sycophants, ankle-biters, and toolfools scheme, that rewards those who get ahead based on personal achievement - and punishes those who prey upon them, that frees the individual from the "isms" / Religious / Patriarchal / Matriarchal / Family / Clan / Caste / Class prisons. A system that does its laundry in public. A system that does not lionize the assassins who only succeed by bringing others down. A system that is level, with one set of rules, available to anyone willing to take the field and apply themselves.

So much of this simply does not exist in their present societal systems. It will have to be not just allowed, but rewarded, if they are to fulfill the vaunted conventional wisdom of the voyeurs and become a global power in reality - which is much much more than raw numbers to those who actually think about what that means... (uh, oh, here it comes...) Hegemonic (at any level). Ooooh, skeery werd.

You can run all the Mastermind contests you like. You can have a pool of a bafuckingzillion engineers of all disciplines. But you won't generate prosperity until the social and Govt structures reward this behavior. My experience is that they can cut a gazillion cookies - if you give 'em the cookie-cutter and a pile of dough, but they can't seem to make new cutters and can't seem to come up with the dough, either. All this thoughtless statistical poop, with no substance, deserves to be fried up. I have been there and done that in software for over 30 years. Still waiting for the massive Indian Tech Wizard (Lol) revolution predicted for more than 20 years to occur. Bullfuckingshit. Heavy sigh. How tiring.

Yeah, I'm a bad guy for itemizing this unsavory shit - hell, I left a lot out cuz the rant was getting to be a tome. I know. Color me bad.

Wanna argue? Fine - present a comprehensive case for everyone to digest. Cherry-picking my comments is lazy and gutless -- and will be ignored as the hair-splittin nitpicking nitwit brainfartlets. You have to emit a huge gasball of nirvana to get my attention, with at least six or eight waving arms, lol. The big pic thingy, she not be so rosy nor so mind-numbingly simple.

Analyze that, Sieff. Lol, you're anal, alright, but get back to me when you grow up and become a real analyst.
[/ranty-rant]

I feel better, now.


Live. Fight the good fight. Whack-a-tard daily. Ignore the typos. Feel the vibrations. Follow the energy. Be like water. Take a leak. Laugh out loud.
Posted by: .com   2005-09-16 09:22  

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