So as it turns out, there is no one better to comment about an Indian being detained at Newark airport, than an American.

Our newscasters were too buy calling what is only a routine security measure “a deep, deep shame,”an “utter humiliation” and a “Sharukh bites a quivering lip and holds back tears while big, mean man takes his liddle-widdle teddy bear.” Yes security personnel at Newark, you should be deeply ashamed of the your need to make sure that individuals who enter and leave the airport are going through the regular security channels, not to mention your penchant for liddle-widdle teddy bears. A cryin’ shame indeed.

Highlight: “It’s like a perpetual motion picture machine,” says Stewart gleefully. “He’s the dude-from-Twilight of Calcutta” declares Aasif Mandvi)

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Can we leave Shashi Throor alone please?

His comments about using the “Cattle Class with the Holy Cows” was nothing but a witty, light-hearted remark in an off hand twitter conversation. Get over it. If you’re not smart enough to understand it, ask someone, if you still don’t get it. Shut the hell up.

The people who are making a big deal about the comment are also the same folks talking about what a useless, sad medium of communication is. (“Tweet is a very lonely man”) If tweet is such a lonely man (or such a sad, useless means of communication) why do you then give a hoot about what’s being said on it?

The guy uses twitter. Big fuckin’ whoop. That makes him more technologically advanced than…I’m going to venture an…EVERYBODY in the Parliament.

As Amit Verma pointed out, in a country that’s plagued by the lack of communication and accountability with and from our politicians, here is a man constantly communicating with over 1.5 lakh people, having conversations and making people aware of what goes on in the life of a MP.

Moreover, at the end of the day, this guy is my representative. Just like a boss who needs status reports on what his employees are doing, we the public deserve to know what Shashi Tharoor the MP is up to. His tweeting has bought a new level of transparency to our government, one that others will soon be expected to follow. I’m betting half of congress is pissing their pants at the thought of having to let people know how much work they’re doing (and most importantly, NOT doing) on a daily basis.

Especially in the past 15-20 years or so, we have been lamenting the brain drain phenomenon. Our smartest, brightest and best going off to serve other countries, leaving all us dumb folks behind. Well, Tharoor, with his international experience and education  has come back to serve his land. And instead of being grateful, we’re trying to bog him down with trivialities. No wonder our smartest, brightest and best run from politics with their tail tucked between their legs.

Shobha De, who is one of the very few commentators of our time, who has the equal ability to say a lot of things in two words, and nothing in 400, wrote about the issue, but disappointed severely. Amit Verma in this case, did not.

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