Karl Rove in Action

It is not often (probbaly never before) that I have looked at Karl Rove and laughed. Many of his strategic influences on the current US government have led us to the mess we are in today, especially vis-a-vis foreign policy.

However, if there is something I love about American politics, democrat, republican or otherwise, is the ability of politicians, even those in very high and serious positions, to laugh at themselves. It makes them humble, human, and vulnerable. It keeps them and their egos in check - clearly a trait missing in pakistani politicians, and President Musharraf of today.

Here is Karl Rove in Action, as MC Rove at the annual Radio and television Correspondents’ Dinner. Funny, indeed….

Ann Coulter : Gone too far?

I just saw this cartoon in my email from Slate.com.
What is noticeable is not that pundits are saying that Ann Coulter has finally gone too far, but that it has taken them this long to get there. It is to be noticed that she kept calling Muslims what ever she wanted for a long time, and continued to get prime time coverage on all major TV stations. Now that she has finally touched a different sensitive group, she finally gets the serious societal sensitivity prod. tsk tsk…

I hope to see less of her now. Bigots and hate-mongers should really be kept confined to their penitentiaries.

GEO2 Technologies on Wired.com

This was the MIT Energy 2.0 conference. I helpd organize it and just spent a wonderful day at it. Vinod Khosla was simply marvellous in his presentation and the content. He has moved away from his hard-push on conventional corn-to-ethanol pitch and is now focused on several other technology ideas that I totally support. He has some great things cooking and my suggestion to the dozens of VCs swarming the conference, follow his lead in those area….

GEo2 Technologies also had an exhibition booth at the Technology Showcase and got some serious attention. Our scooter filter was a super hit. Now if we could just convince the regulators in countries like Taiwan, China, India, Thailand to use this filter on all their small engines (new or old), especially the 2-stroke ones.

We also just got feature on a wired.com blog. There is also a crazy picture of me on it so check it out: http://blog.wired.com/cars/2007/03/energy_alpha_ge.html

Energy = Alpha Geeks + Uber Wonks

Hello. My name-a Borat… er… Mark Anderson. I’m going to be liveblogging a weekend-long energy conference at MIT called “Energy 2.0.”

Now don’t let that overused 2.0 thing dissuade you from the goings-on. There are some groundbreaking ideas being presented and discussed here, in keeping with MIT President Susan Hockfield’s recent mandate that the campus take a global leadership role in solving one of the biggest challenges of the 21st century: Where will we get our energy from in 10 years, in 25 years, in 50 years — and how will we do all this without also toasting and choking the planet?

…. for more click here….

Tour de Pakistan Cycle Race

For cycle enthusisasts in Pakistan, a wonderful international event is just around the corner. The 13th Tour de Pakistan International Cycling Race, organized by Pakistan Cycling Federation, will be held on March 4-18. The race will start from Quaid’s tomb in Karachi on March 4 and end in Peshawar on March 18, taking the participants through a various cities of Sindh, Punjab and NWPF on the famous Grand Trunk (GT) Road.

This will be among the largest of such events in Asia, covering a distance of 1,648 km in eleven stages with four days of rest en route. This event is being promoted as a part of the Visit Pakistan Year (2007), and is planned to draw an international crowd of cycling enthusiasts to promote a better understanding of the country and to promote tourism.

The event is modeled on the pattern of the well known Tour de France and is expected to include more than 150 domestic and foreign participants, including those from Germany, Canada, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Iran, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh. As of last night most of these teams had already arrived in the country.

This race is a fantastic idea and I hope the Federation will succeed in not just promoting the race nationally and internationally, but will also be able to ensure proper arrangements regarding security, lodging, boarding, medical and transport facilities. It is unfortunate that India opted out of the race at the last minute due to security fears after the train incident, but is encouraging to see participants from many other countries involved.

As for Pakistan’s contingent, it is surely hoped that they will put a strong display of skills and team work against their international competitors. Teams from Army, Railways, Wapda and Sui Southern Gas Company, along with teams of the four provinces will be competing for the prize money of Rs 1.2 million. According the PCF, these teams have trained under the supervision of a coach from New Zealand, but even if they do not win, their participation is in itself something to be admired and be joyous about. Go guys!!!

I wish our teams, and the organizers of this event, well in their efforts!

This note was also publishd at ATP