Six people attended!

Yes, that's right. 6 people paid $300 for the privilege of listening to this guy speak. I wonder, do the folks who can't wait to get on the next flight to the USA even know about these stories. This is a land where Sarah Palin roams free, evolution is questioned and guns are allowed into bars. Rock on!

Can I have a back dated bonus now please?

A few years ago, this deal found its way to my desk. I'd have the opportunity to be the lead manager. A brief study of the financials didn't make for happy reading and I politely said 'No, Thank you' and walked away. Considering this is a $40 million sized hole I played a part in averting, it would be terribly nice if everyone who mocked me then could stand up and applaud now. :)

The Kingdom

This has definitely been one of the best movies i've seen in a while. Well worth a watch, and highly recommended. No unnecessary drama, brilliant acting, tight editing and no philosophising on the underlying problem; this film just deals with the reality of life in the aftermath of a terror attack.

Home of the brave?

Sure sounds like it, seems like you'll need balls of steel just to get out of your house and wash your car. Amazing that of all the fascination there exists for moving to the States, I never hear about this culture of violence being a concern.

the good German?

frugality, work ethic, adherence to rules, etc.

The German philosophy on money / wealth sound positively South-Indian

Pride goeth before the fall

Is it possible that at some time in the near future, this is the moment they'll look back at and wonder why they spent 4 billion greenbacks?

If it's really going to cost twice as much as the Olympics, must say Beijing is winning this contest between the cities. It can't really be coincidental that really preposterous ideas look logical just before the party tapers off, Dubai anyone?

If Greece was a Corporation....

dodgy accounting, excessive leverage, union trouble, unclear access to lines of credit - sounds like one in need of a bailout.

Greece’s fiscal woes would be serious but probably manageable if the Greek economy’s prospects for the next few years looked even moderately favorable. But they don’t. Earlier this week, when it downgraded Greek debt, Standard & Poor’s suggested that the euro value of Greek G.D.P. may not return to its 2008 level until 2017, meaning that Greece has no hope of growing out of its troubles.

Geographic factors

If this is not an advert for not buying a house unless you plan to live there for the rest of your life, I don't know what is.

Ten percentage points separate the states with the highest and lowest unemployment rates. But the property crash is making it much harder for Americans to move to where the jobs are. A quarter of mortgage borrowers owe more than their houses are worth. Many people are stuck in places with poor employment prospects, unable to leave for cities where their skills may be in demand. Although the economy is starting to create new and often highly remunerative jobs, they are out of reach to those who cannot move.

Lazy bureaucrat, or just prejudiced?

Sometime in the late 1800's a British Raj file-pusher took the easy option of branding an entire people, rather than doing some leg work to find cause and effect. Fallout of that is, there's way too many wrongs done against these people. Instead of trying to get into villages, they really should be going elsewhere, and I can't help but think their only redemption lies in the anonymity of the city.

Who'll watch the watchers?

This is a fine example to persuade those who'd have greater government oversight in our everyday lives. The notion of a benevolent government looking after our best interests and protecting us from profit seeking locusts may well be a worthwhile one; but the reality is the government man doing the job is just another fallible human being.

Delegation gone wrong

Something a wise man told me once, you can delegate the work not the responsibility. This case of the Chinese Godfather is a case in point, and also a reminder to recruit carefully.

Not for a minute am I glorifying their lifestyles or modus operandi, but a lesson / parable is almost anywhere.

Economics: Sexiest Trade Alive

"We'd like to say it's because economics is so interesting and because economists are so handsome and intelligent,"


Oh yea! :)
This makes all those hours in libraries worth it.

This is why i gave up on development economics

“Microcredit should be seen as an opportunity to help people get out of poverty in a business way, but not as an opportunity to make money out of poor people.”

I can't believe they gave this 'intellectual giant' a Nobel, but then again these guys also gave Al Gore and Barack Obama one of these medallions each, so its in keeping with trend.

The best motivation is the profit incentive, if the big banks make money out of these projects its more than likely they'll keep at it and lend more. If this was a charity project, i wouldn't count on it lasting too long. I can understand the counter-intuitiveness of this concept being beyond the lay folk, but apparently its out of bounds for Nobel winners too.

Free the slaves

I had trouble accepting the fact that slavery exists in the 21st century. It always seemed like a topic for a history text, not contemporary debate. Its a point made even by Dr. Kevin Bales in his TED talk here. After listening to Siddharth Kara i'd gotten curious about this economic system and realised that there's a whole world out there that most people aren't aware of.

What a waste of life!

The headline on this article is actually quite sensationalist and misleading.


These politically motivated suicides aren't for a separatist cause, they just want their own administrative region within the Indian nation. However, the article does highlight the idiocy of some of these 'martyrs'. The most annoying bit was about Mr. Sunil Kumar, whose family lost their biggest breadwinner. And this after they sacrificed so much to get him in that position. 

When will they ever learn?

I really like Rule # 2 (though i'd have made it rule #1)

Wannabe regime changers should really have an advisor on historical perspective, since everyone of these guys seem to make the same mistake of raising a beast that turns around and bites the hand that feeds.

Though i'd suppose it to be common sense to not get into a fight you don't need to. A fight that leads to a pyrrhic victory and a blood-letting situation you can't get out of should really be left alone.

Looking at how Af-Pak is turning out, am beginning to appreciate the Indian (lack of) response to terror attacks. Much better to be picking up the pieces and carrying on with your life, than stuck in some wild land for so long your forces/public don't recall the reasons they're putting their lives on the line. Especially when your ostensible allies feel more confident running you down in public.

Replace the names and places, it could be urban India

Police brutality, civic harassment of street vendors, mysterious (custodial) deaths, citizenry scuffling with the cops, also the occasional riot. When even the official government propaganda machines sides with the long suffering, the authorities should realise they went a tad too far.

I've never understood this bit about getting civic authorities and cops hassling vendors, who provide a service that urban dwellers value. I'm from Bombay, i understand encroachment better than most, but there has to be a better solution. One that doesn't involve greasing palms, would be spot on.

Happy to have a job; and they're happy to have you

The recovery is very likely going to be slow and long; while employment figures will probably take even longer to adjust to anything we've grown to accept as an acceptable level. So if this recession does one good thing, it'll be making good talent available to smaller businesses. The pre-recession attitude that most well qualified and experienced employees had of having to work only at marquee brand firms has definitely been surrendered to the pragmatism of making ends meet. This will most likely lead to a more competitive economy as talent that's previously trained at the top-tier firms percolate through the small and medium sized business space.

"They just get chill"

California appears to be considering legalising marijuana. The issue has its pros and cons, however i'd be inclined to support the agenda considering they're making a case based on economics / finances. This is one state that could really use the taxes that sales would bring in, especially since it absolutely cannot afford the 'war on drugs'.

You learn something new everyday

I've had my share of being stuck behind slow people at checkout lines, especially older people. I'm not proud of my initial reactions at such times.

The saving grace is it took an economist to help me look at these instances from a whole new perspective. Everyone does add some value of their own to the world.

Thank you Tim Harford.

The hidden histories that shape the way we live now

"history is not the only thing that matters. But matter it does"

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/126dee4c-2599-11df-9bd3-00144feab49a.html

Acrostic ECONOMICS!!

Good work by Gordon Boronow, Assistant Professor, Nyack College

(HT: Greg Mankiw)

Ten Key Principles in Economics

Everything has a cost. There is no free lunch. There is always a trade-off.

Cost is what you give up to get something. In particular, opportunity cost is cost of the tradeoff.

One More. Rational people make decisions on the basis of the cost of one more unit (of consumption, of investment, of labor hour, etc.).

iNcentives work. People respond to incentives.

Open for trade. Trade can make all parties better off.

Markets Rock! Usually, markets are the best way to allocate scarce resources between producers and consumers.

Intervention in free markets is sometimes needed. (But watch out for the law of unintended effects!)

Concentrate on productivity. A country’s standard of living depends on how productive its economy is.

Sloshing in money leads to higher prices. Inflation is caused by excessive money supply.

!! Caution: In the short run, falling prices may lead to unemployment, and rising employment may lead to inflation.

Fighting corruption in India

Personally, i'm sceptical that schemes like these would work in fighting corruption but a honest attempt nonetheless. Corruption exists because of a lack of sufficient transparency and accountability, hence in order to get rid of petty corruption we'd have to figure out how to revise the incentives.

http://www.economist.com/world/asia/displayStory.cfm?story_id=15393714

3rd grade economics quiz

http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/20/a-third-grade-economics-quiz/

this would have been difficult for some MBA grads i know :)

and i particularly love the fact that the kid believes 'air-conditioning' is a Need

you want fries with that?

I for one can't wait for this technology to become as ubiquitous as the cellphone. And it will happen, if only because all the nerds designing this just want to go one up on the jocks.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/27/books/review/Saletan-t.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&nl=books&emc=booksupdateema3

Neuroscientists teaching math

Makes one wonder, doesn't it about all the potential squandered away. If only enough of us got this kind of focus.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/21/health/research/21brain.html?pagewanted=1&th&emc=th

Anti-China communism

This is mostly about the Vietnamese reaction to cheap Chinese labour being imported by Chinese contractors. Honestly, i was very surprised myself when the Indian govt announced that it was limiting work visas for Chinese nationals. My first reaction was 'why would a Chinaman want to come to India'? Other than to read in ancient libraries, i.e.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/21/world/asia/21china.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&th&emc=th

Hans Rosling playing to the galleries

As if 2048 is good enough

apparently pigs are smart, but not vain

that puts them in the top quartile of humans, quite comfortably too

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/10/science/10angier.html?_r=1&th&emc=th

For Runaways, Sex Buys Survival

scary stuff

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/27/us/27runaways.html?_r=1&th&emc=th

glad to see reality is catching

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/11/realestate/11cov.html?pagewanted=1

an idea

http://www.economist.com/specialreports/displayStory.cfm?story_id=14483896

TED Blog: How food shapes our cities: Carolyn Steel on TED.com

TED Blog: How food shapes our cities: Carolyn Steel on TED.com

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A nice anniversary performance

Economics videos

Someday the universities will put up all their lectures online. We live in hope.

http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2009/10/free-ivy-league-lectures-on-the-economy/

Brain Candy: newyorker.com

Brain Candy: newyorker.com

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A beginner's guide to Islam

http://www.usnews.com/features/news/religion/secrets-of-islam.html

GDC | Economist Conferences

GDC | Economist Conferences

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An Empirical Analysis of Street-Level Prostitution

A brilliant paper by Steven D. Levitt and Sudhir Alladi Venkatesh brings out some interesting facts.

"the willingness to absorb enormous risk for a small pecuniary reward, and the blurred lines between good and evil, where police extort sex and pimps pay efficiency wages."

http://economics.uchicago.edu/pdf/Prostitution%205.pdf

No green shoots here

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/moslive/article-1212013/Revealed-The-ghost-fleet-recession-anchored-just-east-Singapore.html

Apparently the world's merchant fleet is moored off South East Asia, looks like it'll be slim pickings for Christmas in the West

Did we learn any lessons at all?

Looking around at fellow bankers a year after the crisis came to a head, i wouldn't bet my money on it.

Diamonds aren't forever, apparently

An excellent report on the worldwide diamond trade and the post-Lehmann effect

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601170&sid=adeU_YHAT0uQ

small steps to crime

http://bigthink.com/bigthinkeditor/do-prada-knockoffs-make-you-evil

Golden State

This song's been running through my head and i can't get it out, but i guess it could have been worse.

if you needed proof that all a government can do is waste away your taxes

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/15/technology/15speech.html?_r=1&th&emc=th

A brave new world

Us Now from Banyak Films on Vimeo.

Tales from the Crypt, indeed!

“I can’t sit home like this,” she continues, her voice rising. “I want to work. Lehman was who I was. I really loved it there. I was proud to be there.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/13/business/13lehman.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&th&emc=th

under the veneer of civility

we're all capable of extreme evil and glorious good

Lies, damn lies and statistics

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/96b4b086-9c10-11de-b214-00144feabdc0.html

Insufficient funds?

flee the country, you don't want to be in Dubai when the cheque bounces

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/12/world/middleeast/12dubai.html?th&emc=th

Malthus, here's looking at you

Luigi Zingales weighs in on the future of American capitalism

http://nationalaffairs.com/publications/detail/capitalism-after-the-crisis

it's slightly longish but well worth the read

Go Africa, make Dambisa Moyo proud

http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/08/african-entrepreneurs/

and what's the NHS staff up to now

and to think i had to wait 4 hours to see a doctor, maybe they were all 'lying down'

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/wiltshire/8246197.stm

lupus and his ilk sure have come a long way

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/08/science/08dogs.html?_r=1&th&emc=th

Top clubs triumph on an uneven pitch

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/8bb550b2-97f3-11de-8d3d-00144feabdc0.html?nclick_check=1

Chris Cook at the Financial Times makes an interesting point about immigration

Aa ante ... etc

this indecipherable song is strongly associated in my head with the mayhem that is the Ganesh festival in Maharashtra, you've been warned

Reach

This one is poignant.

A human failing to overstretch, an unnecessary desire for the ephemeral, and the seeker falls by the wayside while the prize flies away. Could have been a motion picture.

Voodoo Sacrifice

Awesome video, truly worth a watch.

Hard to question award, considering the overall story, theme, content and quality.

I could go on, but i'd rather you really watch this.

One world, one idea, one market

Go forth and globalize! 

All hail Alex Tabarrok

the man's a genius

and you've got to love the custom of currency being showered on him.

IE is dead, all hail the Chrome

There's really no other way to be getting online

Guinness Rugby

Truly worth watching.

Risque Beer

Excuse the French!

Don't you just love the financial crisis

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Tata-Group-hits-Bond-St-with-mega-floats/articleshow/4461586.cms

a good old genuine bond issue, backed by a bank guarantee no less

Rock on Dr.C

HT: Merrill

A good basic test

This was much fun and must admit i was more than a little apprehensive about taking this one.

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/04/19/education/edlife/20090419EdlifeQuiz.html?scp=1&sq=economics%202009%20ap&st=cse

Thanfully, didn't do too badly.

War Games!

So West Point graduates are going to have to train on PlayStations now.

This is scary.

A desired future

Some people should be scared, very scared.

Ouch!

Even once is too often for an act like this.

Good ideas

This talk needed to be a lot longer.

No one wants to hear the truth, ever!

All hail Scott Adams, now!

Britain's got talent

Way to go, Susan Boyle!

Listen to her sing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY

the future of the phone

Its a long video, but it actually gets more interesting as it goes on and even ends really well. If you have the patience to get there, it'll be worth your while. Cheers!

http://www.youtube.com/user/tedtalksdirector?blend=1&ob=4

indian ocean

many a drunk evening in college was spent singing along to this

Roti with Chicken Curry

1/2 kg chicken breast (marinated in curd and spices for 3 hours)

1 onion

3 cloves garlic

3 cardamom pods

spices (season to taste)

1 can tomato paste

1 tsp sugar

1/2 glass milk

3 rotis

Cobra would have been perfect, but the case of Heineken's still there.

Shepherd's Pie

1/2 kg beef mince

4 potatoes (mashed)

3 carrots

1 onion

250g peas

250g corn

2 tbsp worcestorshire sauce

1/2 cup broth

salt, pepper and butter

the only bit missing was some Guinness, so Heineken would have to do.

Curry and Rice

Dinner!

I totally want one of these

I'd be comfortable, warm and look like Obi-wan too. Could there be a better way to lounge?

Give the dog a bone

or the hope of some. I wonder why all and sundry seem so interested in Pak's latest dismissal of some 'dossier' put together by a few Indian mandarins. Its basically a question of realigning their goals.

We recognise that country's broke or is getting there soon enough. Why not offer them a performance linked bonus? The top income tax bracket in India is 33%; I suggest we offer them the top 3%, provided there are no terrorist attacks by their co-religious fundamentalists on Indian soil during the financial year.

Personally, i don't see how bad it could be. Currently I pay taxes and receive crappy government service and worse roads. Giving Zardari and gang a few financial incentives in addition to the largesse from the Pentagon may or may not change the situation; can't be much worse than it is now. For the Pakis, it'll be like getting paid twice from two masters for doing essentially the same job.

Eye off the ball

The wife was in town all of last month, hence the quiet on the blog and the absence of spread analysis. But the break seems to have done some good, took a 100 punt on the angels of anfield at 2.5 to beat the residents of stamford bridge. The pay-off cancelled out all previous losses for the season. God bless the Spaniard.

The weekend could have been better with the correct call of the Super Bowl winners but laziness to workout the right spreads was a refresher course in opportunity cost.

Am betting against the grain for tomorrow and have 10 down on the Lankans beating Dhoni's men at 2.2.

Cheers!

The next chief minister of J&K? Inshallah!

This speech could have been from a movie, its goosebumpy. He could lead armies on to the field with oration like this, lets be glad he's chosen to be a politician.

Another economist who looked for a calling

“Stock prices have reached what looks like a permanently high plateau.” - Irving Fisher circa 1929.

He would go on to achieve much, including the Nobel Prize in Economics. After the above statement he could only do better. Thankfully for those of us who came later, the statement also probably put paid to any notions he may have had of a career as an analyst.

Tourists in Dubai

I've done a fair bit of travelling and have had the opportunity to see quite a bit of odd tourist behaviour but the ones visiting Dubai are a special kind. I've never known a tourist to take snaps of cars, till i got here that is. And thats what they do when they are here. 

A few instances could be written off as car entusiasts freaking out but when it happens often enough you know its statistically significant. OK, some of these cars are pretty rare (expensive) but still, would you travel half way around the world to click a few snaps of a lamborghini in a mall parking lot?

Be a gooner, be a giver

18th weekend in the premiership

The punts are:

1. Blackburn v/s Stoke -> 1 on home at 1.8 and half on a tie at 3.3

2. Bolton v/s Portsmouth -> 1 on home at 2.2; stop loss of half on a tie at 3.2 or away at 2.8

3. Fulham v/s Middlesbrough -> 1 half each on a tie or away at 3.2

4. Hull v/s Sunderland -> 1 on home at 1.9 and half on a tie at 3.25

5. West Ham v/s Villa -> 1 on a tie at 3.2 and 2 away at 2.2

6. Arsenal v/s Liverpool -> 1 each on a tie at 3 and away at 2.87; half stop loss on home at 2.25

7. Newcastle v/s Spurs -> 1 each on a tie at 3.2 and away at 2.6; half stop loss on home at 2.37

8. West Brom v/s Man City -> 5 on a tie at 3.25 and 7.5 on away at 2.2

9. Everton v/s Chelsea -> half on a tie at 3.3 and 1 away at 1.6

Week 17 returned a profit of 1.03%. Might not sound like much but it'll take a year for your money to fetch the same in a bank. Here's to a profitable weekend ahead.

Home or Tie

is the forecast this week in test match cricket. Caution here; we lost 53% on the last matchday these 4 teams were involved in.

The Kiwis host the Windies at Napier and our calls are a stake on:

1. the hosts to win at 2.62

2. a tie at 2.37

The Indians host the English at Mohali and we call a stake on:

1. the hosts to win at 2.1

2. a tie at 2

slim pickings; but after they contrived to lose a match they led for three and a half days, odds of 7 weren't tempting enough to take a punt on the visitors

Man United play Gamba Osaka

in the irrelevant Club World Championship. So be it. Yet another opportunity to gamble.

We have a stake on United to win at 1.33, 2/10 on a draw at 4, and 1/10 on an upset at 8.

18 Dec'08 - Update: 3% profit margin here. A good way to start the weekend.

Aus vs SA 1st Test

The Springboks are touring Oz. A good time to try a two-way bet.

We have a stake on a home side victory at 2 and half a stake on a draw at 3.25.

Big Mac Index

As an economist, i've accepted the rationale of the big mac index and have always thought it to be ubiquitous and hence well known as an idea that brings the vague world of foreign currency fluctuations in to the realms of everyday folk. 

In terms of thought processes, it was very probably a trailer of sorts, an indicator of the popular economics books and ideas that were to come in the following years; after it was concocted by the good folk at the economist.

Imagine my surprise when this well made video on youtube, one that explains the concept in such a manner that you need to know little economics and much less of math to understand it, had only 23 views.

So here's my good deed for the day. Click, Watch, Enjoy!

Spread the word around.

A week off

Eid Mubarak!

This part of the world celebrated Eid with gusto and i got some time off for being in the vicinity. Much web surfing was done, a few movies were watched, poker was played on facebook, and bets were made. Speaking of which the last weekend finally ended a 5 week losing streak and netted a 16% profit margin. There might be better ways to spend an unexpected week off, but you won't find me complaining.

Carling cup action mid-week,

and i'm betting on 2 goal margins
Burnley losing to the Gunners
Stoke beating Derby
Watford lose to Spurs
United knock out Rovers

With Liverpool too unable to score against West Ham at Anfield,
the weekend action in the premiership saw us post a 43% loss.

In Arsene we trust!

A monetary loss is welcome here, Captain Cesc does inspire his team to a derby win in his first game in charge in the Premiership. And at the Bridge that too. What more could a Gooner ask for? He could stake moolah on his team next time around, for a change.

Sunday gave a much better result. 50% correct calls!
United and Pompey earned me some money. What can i say for the other matches?
Serves me right for betting on Spurs and against the Gunners.
A cardinal sin in Highbury and i've paid the price.

why all the draws suddenly?

First it was last weekend with the big four being unable to find the back of the net, and now this one isn't looking too good either. A 30 quid loss on saturday thanks to:
- borough and newcastle giving us yet another goalless tie
- villa being unable to score at all, much less the 2 goal margin
- hull ruining it all by giving away a last quarter penalty
- wigan did score the 2 goals as i predicted but they were unable to keep a clean sheet
- but i've saved the best for last with the wanderers thrashing sunderland
A complete wipe-out. Not a single correct call on the evening. Now if the new captain inspires the gunners to glory at stamford bridge, it'll be a truly crappy weekend.

Betting on the EPL

Well, its been a long long break between posts. Lots of stuff has happened in life, loads of change but the weekend football matches do help find the proverbial bearings. I've moved cities, countries, jobs, designations, companies, etc. though i still have my Arsenal scarf. However, its been more profitable to bet against them recently.

Speaking of odds, here are my weekend predictions:
Villa beat Fulham by two or more
Middlesborough beat Newcastle
Stoke lose to Hull
Sunderland beat Bolton
Wigan beat West Brom by two or more
City host United and lose
Portsmouth beat Rovers
Spurs beat Everton
Chelsea beat Arsenal by two or more
Liverpool beat West Ham by two or more

Have a profitable weekend!

GA08-U0215

this here is the trusty steed that took us all around goa.

2 week holiday

beginning today.

the wife and i will be holidaying in bangalore and goa over the next 2 weeks. uncertain internet connections/general laziness will dictate the regularity of the posts. the camera in the new motorazr might capture moments worthy of a post, which may take the blog experience to a whole new level. as you may note, just like any other vacation this one holds promises of new beginnings.

bye-bye bombay. see you on the 16th.

What Classic Movie Are You?
personality tests by similarminds.com

capital punishment

thats the bugbear thats been raised recently, with all the usual suspects clamouring for their voices to be aired on a public forum. the issue at hand is the shortly to be executed logistics guy for the terrorists who were too incompetent to blow up the indian parliament a few years ago. talk about the sins of your bosses falling on your shoulders. i suddenly like my job a lot better.

i was never convinced either ways about the justification for capital punishment nor the arguments made against it. lately i've been thinking that its probably a more severe form of punishment to give the guy a life term. not the 14 year version we have here in india, i'd rather have the life term actually mean, being sentenced to jail for the rest of his natural life without any hope for parole or reduced sentences for good behaviour.

reading 'shantaram' was an insight into life for an ordinary guy in the jail system in this country. if you aren't rich / powerful enough to get yourself a cushy life behind bars then you've pretty much had it. if the guy is really so poor that he can't get himself a decent lawyer, as the anti-capital punishment brigade would have us believe, then we can rest assured that he won't be enjoying the comforts of cell-phones, television, air conditioning, home-made food, gyms and personal trainers within the confines of the hell hole that is tihar.

another faction tells us that if the guy is executed by the state there is a serious possibility of him being raked up as a martyr to some cause or the other. its a crazy enough country for this to actually happen. i say why take a chance, keep everyone happy; short of releasing the guy and let the fellow rot in the relative obscurity of the state dungeons.