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Poiesis Posts

Assorted: Ladakh, O’Connor and Thiel

In light of the ongoing skirmishes in Ladakh region the Indian subcontinent, I came across an interesting essay by Peter Worthington, who co-founded Toronto Sun (and who was its editor-in-chief for 12 years), on his first-hand observations in India-China conflict of 1962. It is an informative essay despite its brevity, with many highlights including a searing description of the valor of Sikh units despite the loss, an interview with sorrowful Nehru is visited by a large rat running across the carpet (Worthington feels sorry for him), and an interlude with Dalai Lama where he reminisces about Heinrich Harrer (played by Brad Pitt in Seven Years in Tibet).  Both India and China seemed embarrassed – one because was defeated so easily,…

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Corruption and Growth: Billionaire Raj

Billionaire Raj by James Crabtree compares growth of the economy in South India to South East Asia, which is an apt comparison. Crabtree’s book is an overview of the billionaire oligarchs who rose to power post the liberalization of Indian economy in 1991.  The name  “Billionaire raj” (“raj” ~ empire/rule) is a homage to the phrase “license raj”. License Raj was the term to describe the rule of the erstwhile socialist Indian government that used to pick winners with license to operate. […]

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New TSMC Plan(t) in America: Lessons from Foxconn

WSJ reports that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., the world’s largest contract manufacturer of silicon chips, would spend $12 billion to build a chip factory in Arizona. I have been arguing on this blog for sourcing suppliers closer to the customer location (my first research paper was on dual sourcing and near sourcing) and building more plants in the US.  So, I view this development as good news, but with a fair amount of caution. It is frustrating. News reports always seem to score these decisions based on how the political benefit will play out and this WSJ report is no exception.  (This is an election year in the US. Which year isn’t an election year?  In addition, US Senator McSally…

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Four Stages and A Funeral

A famous meme due to Senator Ted Stevens analogizes internet as “a series of tubes”. Like bustling cities, it is a fuel that converts the potential energy constrained in orderliness, to a kinetic energy of human endeavor.  Internet releases the atoms of our thoughts to escape parochialism. Internet is messy, disorderly and increasingly ruled by social media monopolies, but it can be where “the mind is free”. […]

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