Comments by Wrobinhood

Relying on India to solve problems in another country... that's a preposterous thought. India is a blind democracy. Most people vote without any idea about what their candidates stand for... the candidates themselves have no clue whatever about the directions to solving issues. Look at the number of scams in the country... look at how much India needlessly spends on defence. Look at the kind of money that is squandered on people who served in the defence forces and politicians(after their retirement) Indians have more to fear from their politicians than from foreign countries. India does not have good relationships with any of its neighbors except Bhutan but then Bhutan does not have any problems with any of its neighbors (these thoughts were worded in an aritcle in The Economist)
Expect nothing from India...

Absolutely brilliant! Another gem of an article as only The Economist can do it!

The author definitely has an axe to grind with Spirit...

If you do not like the O'Leary types, you should take the services of somebody like BA or AF...

When you buy a low cost ticket, it comes (as it should) with strings attached...

Spirit was not in error in my opinion... It was forced by mass hysteria (of may who may not even have heard of Spirit) into refunding the ticket thus making possibly making travel expensive for regular users who go by the rules...

It's not the case of a corporate screwing the little guy. Had it been a normally priced ticket, perhaps a refund was admissible. Not in this case when the guy wants to travel on the cheapest ticket and yet ask for a refund, WHATEVER be the reason. "Have the cake and eat it too" comes to mind...

Spirit had made it clear that they followed a strict no refund policy before the ticket was purchased. So whatever the reason for anybody - veteran or rapist, to request an exception clearly nested the prerogative on any decision with the airline. I frankly do not think there was any need for media to blow the issue out of proportion. Does the military make exceptions? Very rarely... A soldier of all people is expected to follow rules. And I'm sure the amount was paltry... Has Gulliver mentioned the amount maybe the discussion would have taken a different direction.

Lastly, I find it amusing that Gulliver is making a large hue and cry over a "dying veteran". Are we out of worthy stories to report?

"Despite more vigorous policing, the number of people caught trying to cross has declined markedly"

Caught trying to sneak back into Mexico???

Credit Cards have different rules in different countries. My Amex Platinum card (issued in India) does not offer the benefits described here...

This sounds like differentiation for the sake of it... The first airline to do this bla bla...

The fact that the Republican Party bears people with such extreme views is in itself a point scorer for the (only slightly less evil) Democrats.

Surely as critical a time as any to chant "God Bless America!"

Nail on the head. Loved reading this piece. If the infrastructure companies could save on some of the kickbacks, an essential part in securing any of these mega projects, their cost of doing business could substantially come down...

"Incredible India" seems to be an all weather slogan for India...

The single motherhood lament I have of Indian politicians is that most of them are uneducated, uncouth goons who get elected mainly on account of being able to get their votes by arm twisting or bribing the large swathes of ill informed voters. It is a democracy that works on very limited information. Many of them have criminal backgrounds and have no idea hoe economics works. Does anybody in the country keep track of the number of jobs created or lost, NO. Most of the protesting ministers do not have a clue how their decision will affect the country. Are they willing to trust a committee to advise the Government, NO. All they want to do is protest...

As a voter in the southern state of Karnataka, look at my options... the state has been ruled by BJP, the JDS and the Congress party in the last decade and every chief minister has been busier than his predecessor trying to further his own and his family wealth. Most of them have corruption cases against them. But will these cases lead anywhere, I'm sure not. Most will get away with their ill gotten wealth. I do not have a forward looking candidate that I will be comfortable voting for...

Expect chaos to continue in the country. Call me a pessimist but I have given up having any hope for this country in my lifetime...

The killing of Pakistani soldiers on Pakisatani land by their own allies is just not justified. For a moment imagine a situation where Pakistani soldiers had killed 24 American or NATO soldiers. Could they have claimed it to be an accident? Would anybody have believed them? If the efficient NATO can make mistakes, the army of a poor developing country can very much do so too. So much for NATO efficiency!

I thought Reliance did not sell meat in their markets... Are you sure it was 'bad smelling meat'?

KAL made my Friday, as usual. Absolutely brilliant!

With so much stink being raised in India over corruption, we do not need retailers to fleece us if anything is left after the corrupt system has looted you.

Walmart and others are coming here for business and not for social service. But in the way they do business, the consumer (in my and a lot of others' opinion) is benefited. Retail needs a lot of money and the Indian industry just does not have the wherewithal or the risk apitite to invest.

Give the choice to the consumer and let him decide... If you do not like to shop at these 'capitalist' institutions, you still have the choice of going to your friendly neighborhood grocer...

joski65,

If what you say is true India should not have any problem in allowing 100% FDI in retailing. Let Walmart enter at its own peril...

Organized retail in India with brands like Big Bazaar, Food World, More etc is a joke. They are always stocked out on so many SKUs at any given point in time...

Saravana, I see no logic whatsoever in your statements...

Why should poor people suffer from obesity with the entry of Walmart? Obesity is about waht you want to eat, not about where you buy it from.

Why should the cost of fresh produce go up? Right now we hardly get any 'fresh produce' that is fresh. If you live in India have you noticed the price of fruits annd vegetables in the country?

Why should anybody go to Walmart only for pet food? I love the prices of vegetable and fruit, auto accessories electronic items (in many instances much cheaper that Best Buy and almost always, cheaper than Target...)and very often the cheap brands of clothes at Walmart. I love to shop at Walmart and I do not have a pet.

In a democracy you should give a choice to people. Are you sure what a small vendor sells is organic or grown without pesticides or fresh? The small vedor may not even have this information...

Needless to say, as a shopper I see a very grim big picture without the large chains...

Somebody recently suggested a way out of the American housing mess. He referred to the millions of immigrants (Indians and Chinese mainly) waiting for their green cards... Many of these people are sitting with pots of money in their banks, not willing to spend it because they are not sure if their GCs will come through. They will leave the country with their wealth if the green cards don't come through. All the Government has to do is to order a one time fast trrack clearance of all the pending GC applications and all these people will then go around shopping - buying houses, cars and then furnishing the homes. The entire stock of unsold homes could thus be sold and fresh construction work can start in full swing, creating more jobs and so spending power...

I do agree that Britain does not need more airports. It will see shrinking transit business anyway(high taxes, inefficient, crowded)once the airlines from the Gulf (read Emirates, Ethiad et al)complete their expansion plans...

I recently flew Chicago-Bangalore by Etihad at a price that was 350$ cheaper than by British Airways, Lufthansa and even Air France...I thought the service was much better than in the European airlines...