Re: [silk] India special economic zone -- travel and reading recco?
On Jan 28, 2008 11:05 PM, Danese Cooper [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Wow Cory :-). First babies are usually late...hope Alice is comfortable and that you're both caught up on sleep (you're gonna need it). Congrats. Looks like Cory's sleepless nights (for the next 16 years :-) have begun: http://www.boingboing.net/2008/02/03/fine-news.html Congratulations, Cory! Thaths -- Bart: We were just planning the father-son river rafting trip. Homer: Hehe. You don't have a son. Sudhakar ChandraSlacker Without Borders
Re: [silk] India special economic zone -- travel and reading recco?
Thaths wrote: http://www.boingboing.net/2008/02/03/fine-news.html Congratulations, Cory! Congratulations, Cory. And what is the Fibonacci doing in the name? Please enlighten me... Venkat
Re: [silk] India special economic zone -- travel and reading recco?
Madhu Kurup wrote, [on 1/30/2008 12:07 PM]: That sounds like an egg-citing story. Sounds like a good setup for a hard-boiled detective story. Egging her on, are we? I suspect it may not leave her sunny side up As if our brains aren't scrambled enough already... Udhay -- ((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com))
Re: [silk] India special economic zone -- travel and reading recco?
On Jan 30, 2008 1:38 PM, Udhay Shankar N [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Madhu Kurup wrote, [on 1/30/2008 12:07 PM]: That sounds like an egg-citing story. Sounds like a good setup for a hard-boiled detective story. Egging her on, are we? I suspect it may not leave her sunny side up As if our brains aren't scrambled enough already... Woe, the yolk of bad puns in upon my shoulders! S. -- Bart: We were just planning the father-son river rafting trip. Homer: Hehe. You don't have a son. Sudhakar ChandraSlacker Without Borders
Re: [silk] India special economic zone -- travel and reading recco?
Heh. Ashok Krish wrote: On Jan 29, 2008 9:41 AM, Suresh Ramasubramanian [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote Us madras types are pretty eager in doing another silk meet, this time with Cory around .. admit it, Ashok :) Sigh. Ok. I check Boing Boing at least 10 times a day. There, I've confessed. -- Cory Doctorow [EMAIL PROTECTED] latest collection: craphound.com/overclocked latest novel: craphound.com/someone blog: boingboing.net vanity: craphound.com podcast: feeds.feedburner.com/doctorow_podcast second novel: craphound.com/est collection: craphound.com/place novel: craphound.com/down Join my mailing list and find out about upcoming books, stories, articles and appearances: http://www.ctyme.com/mailman/listinfo/doctorow READ CAREFULLY. By reading this email, you agree, on behalf of your employer, to release me from all obligations and waivers arising from any and all NON-NEGOTIATED agreements, licenses, terms-of-service, shrinkwrap, clickwrap, browsewrap, confidentiality, non-disclosure, non-compete and acceptable use policies (BOGUS AGREEMENTS) that I have entered into with your employer, its partners, licensors, agents and assigns, in perpetuity, without prejudice to my ongoing rights and privileges. You further represent that you have the authority to release me from any BOGUS AGREEMENTS on behalf of your employer.
Re: [silk] India special economic zone -- travel and reading recco?
On Jan 29, 2008 9:41 AM, Suresh Ramasubramanian [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote Us madras types are pretty eager in doing another silk meet, this time with Cory around .. admit it, Ashok :) Sigh. Ok. I check Boing Boing at least 10 times a day. There, I've confessed. -- Krish Ashok Blog: krishashok.wordpress.com GTalk: krishashok www.stage.fm/krishashok
Re: [silk] India special economic zone -- travel and reading recco?
On Jan 28, 2008 8:14 PM, Deepa Mohan [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I have NOTHING to contribute to this gold-farming sci-fi novel thread but just want to say, Cory, that it's a great idea for a novel and I do hope it goes well! How lovely to see someone else doing all the work! I just have to buy the book at the end Deepa, You should check out the short story 'Anda's Game' that Cory wrote on this theme some time ago. It is available in several formats (including audio) from: http://craphound.com/?p=187 Thaths -- Bart: We were just planning the father-son river rafting trip. Homer: Hehe. You don't have a son. Sudhakar ChandraSlacker Without Borders
Re: [silk] India special economic zone -- travel and reading recco?
You should check out the short story 'Anda's Game' that Cory wrote on That sounds like an egg-citing story. Sounds like a good setup for a hard-boiled detective story. ;-) -- b PS: For the puzzled: Anda == Egg in Hindi.
Re: [silk] India special economic zone -- travel and reading recco?
I was talking to a friend who I know is big on gaming. He tells me that the IIT Madras is breeding ground for gamers. Additionally, I know that there are gaming parlours here (as I am sure there will be in every major city in the country) that hold contests and events often. One place that I remember, and that the friend also mentioned, is a place called Zap in Adyar (a locality in Chennai/Madras). C -- http://www.flickr.com/photos/ravages http://www.linkedin.com/in/ravages http://www.selectiveamnesia.org/ +91-9884467463
Re: [silk] India special economic zone -- travel and reading recco?
For complex reasons, I'm assuming for the sake of the book that international norms and treaties on gold farming will not stabilize and so there won't be any actual lawbreaking going on -- at least, not INDIAN lawbreaking. At this point, I'm really leaning towards Pune. Does anyone have good connections there? Cory Srini Ramakrishnan wrote: (Apologies for the top post - gmail for mobile is well - in evolution) I recommend the audio version, it is really well made. Btw, I haven't seen a mention of Mysore - it's a great small town not too far from Bangalore. To echo biju's thoughts - locating the story in an SEZ would cause credibility issues - I'd expect any business that's not very legal will want to stay away from regulation. SEZs are more monitored than most businesses. No one would mind a gold farming operation in someone's attic, it is far better work than assembling matches or rolling ink on cloth. Btw, my ex-employer used to (maybe still does) run a support center for second life in Mysore. Gamers stuck in SL used to call in for help or some such. I am not familiar with the details of the operation, but apparently the employees who supported the operation had a lot of fun. It was all very legal, and employed people who would otherwise have difficulty finding a similarly comfortable job. I think exploring the experiences of someone who's never used a computer becoming an expert in SL or similar is worth writing about. Cheeni On 1/30/08, Thaths [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: On Jan 28, 2008 8:14 PM, Deepa Mohan [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I have NOTHING to contribute to this gold-farming sci-fi novel thread but just want to say, Cory, that it's a great idea for a novel and I do hope it goes well! How lovely to see someone else doing all the work! I just have to buy the book at the end Deepa, You should check out the short story 'Anda's Game' that Cory wrote on this theme some time ago. It is available in several formats (including audio) from: http://craphound.com/?p=187 Thaths -- Bart: We were just planning the father-son river rafting trip. Homer: Hehe. You don't have a son. Sudhakar ChandraSlacker Without Borders -- Cory Doctorow [EMAIL PROTECTED] latest collection: craphound.com/overclocked latest novel: craphound.com/someone blog: boingboing.net vanity: craphound.com podcast: feeds.feedburner.com/doctorow_podcast second novel: craphound.com/est collection: craphound.com/place novel: craphound.com/down Join my mailing list and find out about upcoming books, stories, articles and appearances: http://www.ctyme.com/mailman/listinfo/doctorow READ CAREFULLY. By reading this email, you agree, on behalf of your employer, to release me from all obligations and waivers arising from any and all NON-NEGOTIATED agreements, licenses, terms-of-service, shrinkwrap, clickwrap, browsewrap, confidentiality, non-disclosure, non-compete and acceptable use policies (BOGUS AGREEMENTS) that I have entered into with your employer, its partners, licensors, agents and assigns, in perpetuity, without prejudice to my ongoing rights and privileges. You further represent that you have the authority to release me from any BOGUS AGREEMENTS on behalf of your employer.
Re: [silk] India special economic zone -- travel and reading recco?
(Apologies for the top post - gmail for mobile is well - in evolution) I recommend the audio version, it is really well made. Btw, I haven't seen a mention of Mysore - it's a great small town not too far from Bangalore. To echo biju's thoughts - locating the story in an SEZ would cause credibility issues - I'd expect any business that's not very legal will want to stay away from regulation. SEZs are more monitored than most businesses. No one would mind a gold farming operation in someone's attic, it is far better work than assembling matches or rolling ink on cloth. Btw, my ex-employer used to (maybe still does) run a support center for second life in Mysore. Gamers stuck in SL used to call in for help or some such. I am not familiar with the details of the operation, but apparently the employees who supported the operation had a lot of fun. It was all very legal, and employed people who would otherwise have difficulty finding a similarly comfortable job. I think exploring the experiences of someone who's never used a computer becoming an expert in SL or similar is worth writing about. Cheeni On 1/30/08, Thaths [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: On Jan 28, 2008 8:14 PM, Deepa Mohan [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I have NOTHING to contribute to this gold-farming sci-fi novel thread but just want to say, Cory, that it's a great idea for a novel and I do hope it goes well! How lovely to see someone else doing all the work! I just have to buy the book at the end Deepa, You should check out the short story 'Anda's Game' that Cory wrote on this theme some time ago. It is available in several formats (including audio) from: http://craphound.com/?p=187 Thaths -- Bart: We were just planning the father-son river rafting trip. Homer: Hehe. You don't have a son. Sudhakar ChandraSlacker Without Borders -- Sent from Gmail for mobile | mobile.google.com Cheeni Q: Why is this email 5 sentences or fewer? A: http://five.sentenc.es/
Re: [silk] India special economic zone -- travel and reading recco?
Heh: Biju Chacko wrote: You should check out the short story 'Anda's Game' that Cory wrote on That sounds like an egg-citing story. Sounds like a good setup for a hard-boiled detective story. Egging her on, are we? I suspect it may not leave her sunny side up but then again, I don't think this is going to be the last in this thread. Cheerio, M PS: For the puzzled: Anda == Egg in Hindi. P.P.S: Originally re: Ender's Game, so this is http://xkcd.com/241/ is particularly beautiful.. -- Madhu M Kurup /* Nemo Me Impune Lacessit */ mmk222 at cornell dt edu
Re: [silk] India special economic zone -- travel and reading recco?
On Jan 30, 2008 12:48 PM, Cory Doctorow [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I'm also going to China -- but this is the Indian sequence! Hmmm ... by now you have ensured that everyone on this list is waiting expectantly for the book. Time for me to get on Second Life to gold farm so I can afford to pay for it. ;-) -- b
Re: [silk] India special economic zone -- travel and reading recco?
Well.. various south Indian dynasties used to colonize most of south east asia (java / Malaysia etc etc.. as well as part of Vietnam - which is where Indochina comes from) You might put it in that we've recolonized the lot :) Of course that depends on whether you're writing in some dystopian future arc, or sometime in the very near future Cory Doctorow wrote: I'm also going to China -- but this is the Indian sequence! Cory
Re: [silk] India special economic zone -- travel and reading recco?
At this point, I'm really leaning towards Pune. Does anyone have good connections there? Pune still isn't the sort of hellhole you would need .. better off setting it closer to mainland china, in a location that has just as autocratic a government, and a bunch of outsourcing. Vietnam for one. Or Siberia - where laid off soviet scientists are creating their own little silly valley. In the middle of some of the worst countryside god ever created, and with a government that is perfectly fine with people putting plutonium in other peoples sushi ... http://www.therussiajournal.com/node/31881
Re: [silk] India special economic zone -- travel and reading recco?
I'm also going to China -- but this is the Indian sequence! Cory Suresh Ramasubramanian wrote: At this point, I'm really leaning towards Pune. Does anyone have good connections there? Pune still isn't the sort of hellhole you would need .. better off setting it closer to mainland china, in a location that has just as autocratic a government, and a bunch of outsourcing. Vietnam for one. Or Siberia - where laid off soviet scientists are creating their own little silly valley. In the middle of some of the worst countryside god ever created, and with a government that is perfectly fine with people putting plutonium in other peoples sushi ... http://www.therussiajournal.com/node/31881 -- Cory Doctorow [EMAIL PROTECTED] latest collection: craphound.com/overclocked latest novel: craphound.com/someone blog: boingboing.net vanity: craphound.com podcast: feeds.feedburner.com/doctorow_podcast second novel: craphound.com/est collection: craphound.com/place novel: craphound.com/down Join my mailing list and find out about upcoming books, stories, articles and appearances: http://www.ctyme.com/mailman/listinfo/doctorow READ CAREFULLY. By reading this email, you agree, on behalf of your employer, to release me from all obligations and waivers arising from any and all NON-NEGOTIATED agreements, licenses, terms-of-service, shrinkwrap, clickwrap, browsewrap, confidentiality, non-disclosure, non-compete and acceptable use policies (BOGUS AGREEMENTS) that I have entered into with your employer, its partners, licensors, agents and assigns, in perpetuity, without prejudice to my ongoing rights and privileges. You further represent that you have the authority to release me from any BOGUS AGREEMENTS on behalf of your employer.
Re: [silk] India special economic zone -- travel and reading recco?
Cory Doctorow wrote: [ on 04:53 PM 1/28/2008 ] Hey Silklisters! I'm working on a new novel that includes some action set among young gold farmers working in a special economic zone in India. At this stage, I haven't made up my mind as to where this should be, which is why I'm soliciting your advice. I want a location that is: * Rapidly westernizing * Controlled by local special economic zone regs that are hard on labour unions and soft on environmental controls * Diverse in terms of the backgrounds, languages, and faiths of the resident/workers * At least partially successful in attaining economic development goals I have been leaning towards Chennai, which, I believe, is a close approximation of this, but you folks are the experts. I think it may make for better dramatic tension if you locate it in an SEZ that is not part of a big metropolis, but not too far away from one. e.g, in Chandigarh, or Noida (both near Delhi), or Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu (not too far from Chennai). All the above suggestions would meet your requirements above. * Reading materials to get better briefed on the region These (extremely ugly) websites should help get you started: http://sezindia.nic.in/ http://www.sezindiainvest.com/ Udhay -- ((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com))
Re: [silk] India special economic zone -- travel and reading recco?
Cory Doctorow [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Hey Silklisters! I'm working on a new novel that includes some action set among young gold farmers working in a special economic zone in India. At this stage, I haven't made up my mind as to where this should be, which is why I'm soliciting your advice. Interesting - I was under the impression that gold farming is mostly confined to China? Possibly one factor is the relatively low penetration of MMORPGS in India. Are you interested in talking to people in the Indian gaming industry (such as it is)? cheers, Divya
Re: [silk] India special economic zone -- travel and reading recco?
Sorry, I should have been clearer -- I'm a science fiction writer, and part of the conceit of the novel is that gold farming has spread beyond China to many SEZes around the world as the size of the virtual economies grow. Cory Divya Sampath wrote: Cory Doctorow [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Hey Silklisters! I'm working on a new novel that includes some action set among young gold farmers working in a special economic zone in India. At this stage, I haven't made up my mind as to where this should be, which is why I'm soliciting your advice. Interesting - I was under the impression that gold farming is mostly confined to China? Possibly one factor is the relatively low penetration of MMORPGS in India. Are you interested in talking to people in the Indian gaming industry (such as it is)? cheers, Divya -- Cory Doctorow [EMAIL PROTECTED] latest collection: craphound.com/overclocked latest novel: craphound.com/someone blog: boingboing.net vanity: craphound.com podcast: feeds.feedburner.com/doctorow_podcast second novel: craphound.com/est collection: craphound.com/place novel: craphound.com/down Join my mailing list and find out about upcoming books, stories, articles and appearances: http://www.ctyme.com/mailman/listinfo/doctorow READ CAREFULLY. By reading this email, you agree, on behalf of your employer, to release me from all obligations and waivers arising from any and all NON-NEGOTIATED agreements, licenses, terms-of-service, shrinkwrap, clickwrap, browsewrap, confidentiality, non-disclosure, non-compete and acceptable use policies (BOGUS AGREEMENTS) that I have entered into with your employer, its partners, licensors, agents and assigns, in perpetuity, without prejudice to my ongoing rights and privileges. You further represent that you have the authority to release me from any BOGUS AGREEMENTS on behalf of your employer.
Re: [silk] India special economic zone -- travel and reading recco?
Those are great links, Udhay! How about stuff specific to labour organizing, wages, working conditions, etc? Cory Udhay Shankar N wrote: Cory Doctorow wrote: [ on 04:53 PM 1/28/2008 ] Hey Silklisters! I'm working on a new novel that includes some action set among young gold farmers working in a special economic zone in India. At this stage, I haven't made up my mind as to where this should be, which is why I'm soliciting your advice. I want a location that is: * Rapidly westernizing * Controlled by local special economic zone regs that are hard on labour unions and soft on environmental controls * Diverse in terms of the backgrounds, languages, and faiths of the resident/workers * At least partially successful in attaining economic development goals I have been leaning towards Chennai, which, I believe, is a close approximation of this, but you folks are the experts. I think it may make for better dramatic tension if you locate it in an SEZ that is not part of a big metropolis, but not too far away from one. e.g, in Chandigarh, or Noida (both near Delhi), or Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu (not too far from Chennai). All the above suggestions would meet your requirements above. * Reading materials to get better briefed on the region These (extremely ugly) websites should help get you started: http://sezindia.nic.in/ http://www.sezindiainvest.com/ Udhay -- Cory Doctorow [EMAIL PROTECTED] latest collection: craphound.com/overclocked latest novel: craphound.com/someone blog: boingboing.net vanity: craphound.com podcast: feeds.feedburner.com/doctorow_podcast second novel: craphound.com/est collection: craphound.com/place novel: craphound.com/down Join my mailing list and find out about upcoming books, stories, articles and appearances: http://www.ctyme.com/mailman/listinfo/doctorow READ CAREFULLY. By reading this email, you agree, on behalf of your employer, to release me from all obligations and waivers arising from any and all NON-NEGOTIATED agreements, licenses, terms-of-service, shrinkwrap, clickwrap, browsewrap, confidentiality, non-disclosure, non-compete and acceptable use policies (BOGUS AGREEMENTS) that I have entered into with your employer, its partners, licensors, agents and assigns, in perpetuity, without prejudice to my ongoing rights and privileges. You further represent that you have the authority to release me from any BOGUS AGREEMENTS on behalf of your employer.
Re: [silk] India special economic zone -- travel and reading recco?
Cory Doctorow [28/01/08 11:23 +]: I have been leaning towards Chennai, which, I believe, is a close approximation of this, but you folks are the experts. Chennai wouldnt be a bad choice at all though Coimbatore would be interesting. It has been a mill town for generations, with several textile companies based in or near it and pumping lots of money into it It is a rather nice city, surprisingly good living conditions. Not exactly the sort of hellhole you would look for .. now if you want land that's ripped out of farmers' hands and used for SEZ look for Goa or Singur near Calcutta .. though the SEZs there seem to have got shelved. But hell, if you're writing scifi there aint no need to stick to facts :) srs
Re: [silk] India special economic zone -- travel and reading recco?
On Mon, Jan 28, 2008 at 11:23:07AM +, Cory Doctorow wrote: Hey Silklisters! I'm working on a new novel that includes some action set among young gold farmers working in a special economic zone in India. At this stage, I haven't made up my mind as to where this should be, which is why I'm soliciting your advice. I want a location that is: * Rapidly westernizing Pune? Pune is the cultural capital of Maharashtra, and a small industrial city. It has had the benefit of being close to Mumbai, and hence is fairly well developed. * Controlled by local special economic zone regs that are hard on labour unions and soft on environmental controls Pen (Raigad district)? Pune? The Pen SEZ would be pretty destructive to the environment, Pune much less so. Pune also has an upcoming SEZ being developed by local farmers (instead of the government getting involved in taking over the land). * Diverse in terms of the backgrounds, languages, and faiths of the resident/workers Either of these should do. Devdas Bhagat
Re: [silk] India special economic zone -- travel and reading recco?
I have NOTHING to contribute to this gold-farming sci-fi novel thread but just want to say, Cory, that it's a great idea for a novel and I do hope it goes well! How lovely to see someone else doing all the work! I just have to buy the book at the end Deepa. On Jan 28, 2008 7:45 PM, Madhu Kurup [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Heh: Udhay Shankar N wrote: Cory Doctorow wrote: [ on 04:53 PM 1/28/2008 ] Hey Silklisters! I'm working on a new novel that includes some action set among young gold farmers working in a special economic zone in India. At this stage, I haven't made up my mind as to where this should be, which is why I'm soliciting your advice. I want a location that is: * Rapidly westernizing At the risk of getting my ear bitten off by the Chennai-lovers, I'd argue that Chandigarh was much more liberal/permissive than Chennai (historically / in popular perception / theoretically?) was. Albeit, from a classmate who moved to Noida, the ugly massive malls have been cleanly imported into Noida. Cheerio, M -- Madhu M Kurup /* Nemo Me Impune Lacessit */ mmk222 at cornell dt edu
Re: [silk] India special economic zone -- travel and reading recco?
I think Chennai is a better idea. It has both the big, successful IT SEZs and failed manufacturing zones as well. And it has the advantage of being in South India, where violence is mostly verbal in nature, unlike in the North where the knives tend to come out first. So if you are interested in snooping around, Chennai is a safer bet. You can also see quite a bit of serious environmental degradation in and around the city (Palaar river basin, Pallikkaranai marsh etc) as a result of lax environmental controls and post-tsunami reconstruction. I could put you in touch with the Madras Naturalist Society. They document all these violations in a magazine called Blackbuck. On Jan 28, 2008 11:04 PM, Cory Doctorow [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Indeed -- I'm going to go spend at least a week there. But the story calls for a place in which there's at least some abject failure of development as well as success. -- Krish Ashok Blog: krishashok.wordpress.com GTalk: krishashok www.stage.fm/krishashok
Re: [silk] India special economic zone -- travel and reading recco?
On Jan 28, 2008 11:32 PM, Cory Doctorow [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Thanks, Chandrachoodan -- that sounds very promising indeed! You're welcome. Let me know if you need more information. C -- http://www.flickr.com/photos/ravages http://www.linkedin.com/in/ravages http://www.selectiveamnesia.org/ +91-9884467463
Re: [silk] India special economic zone -- travel and reading recco?
hi, another related datapoint: these are just keyword strings really, don't want to get into the politics of SEZs in detail here. +The production of Tata's one lakh car, Nano. +Nano's production plant thats coming up in Singur, West Bengal under the active support of the ruling left front government. +Singur and then Nandigram are all part of the left front government's enthusiasm and support of SEZs. +the politics of development +agriculture and industry might be worthwhile to follow some of the papers in EPW on SEZs. sorry can't point to exact urls now, but if you look around in the archives you will find quite a few interesting ones http://www.epw.org.in/ abhishek On Jan 28, 2008 5:34 PM, Cory Doctorow [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Sorry, I should have been clearer -- I'm a science fiction writer, and part of the conceit of the novel is that gold farming has spread beyond China to many SEZes around the world as the size of the virtual economies grow. Cory Divya Sampath wrote: Cory Doctorow [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Hey Silklisters! I'm working on a new novel that includes some action set among young gold farmers working in a special economic zone in India. At this stage, I haven't made up my mind as to where this should be, which is why I'm soliciting your advice. Interesting - I was under the impression that gold farming is mostly confined to China? Possibly one factor is the relatively low penetration of MMORPGS in India. Are you interested in talking to people in the Indian gaming industry (such as it is)? cheers, Divya -- Cory Doctorow [EMAIL PROTECTED] latest collection: craphound.com/overclocked latest novel: craphound.com/someone blog: boingboing.net vanity: craphound.com podcast: feeds.feedburner.com/doctorow_podcast second novel: craphound.com/est collection: craphound.com/place novel: craphound.com/down Join my mailing list and find out about upcoming books, stories, articles and appearances: http://www.ctyme.com/mailman/listinfo/doctorow READ CAREFULLY. By reading this email, you agree, on behalf of your employer, to release me from all obligations and waivers arising from any and all NON-NEGOTIATED agreements, licenses, terms-of-service, shrinkwrap, clickwrap, browsewrap, confidentiality, non-disclosure, non-compete and acceptable use policies (BOGUS AGREEMENTS) that I have entered into with your employer, its partners, licensors, agents and assigns, in perpetuity, without prejudice to my ongoing rights and privileges. You further represent that you have the authority to release me from any BOGUS AGREEMENTS on behalf of your employer. -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - does the frog know it has a latin name? - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Re: [silk] India special economic zone -- travel and reading recco?
My intuition for a great location says: bellary Suggest research kickoff with Google searches: bellary mining bellary sez export.credit.agencies sez -- dotting an i or two: On Jan 28, 2008 4:53 PM, Cory Doctorow [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Hey Silklisters! I'm working on a new novel that includes some action set among young gold farmers working in a special economic zone in India. At this stage, I haven't made up my mind as to where this should be, which is why I'm soliciting your advice. fictionally (as of now).. bellary I want a location that is: * Rapidly westernizing [x] * Controlled by local special economic zone regs that are hard on labour unions and soft on environmental controls [x] * Diverse in terms of the backgrounds, languages, and faiths of the resident/workers [?] * At least partially successful in attaining economic development goals [x] -- Tea Beedi
Re: [silk] India special economic zone -- travel and reading recco?
Cory Doctorow wrote: Can you recommend a place that is both a plausible setting AND somewhere where you can introduce me to people who'll get me in to see factories, bureaucrats, regular people, entrepreneurs, and other nooks and crannies? Why do both have to be the same place? Would it not be better if you set it in one town and spoke to people not in another? Just to add to the mysteriousness? Kind of crazy, don't you think? Venkat
Re: [silk] India special economic zone -- travel and reading recco?
Oh, there's poverty. There are plenty of folks missing out on the gravy-train. Especially small-holder farmers and share-croppers and the actual workers in the Industrial Zone. D On Jan 28, 2008, at 9:34 AM, Cory Doctorow wrote: at least some abject failure of development
Re: [silk] India special economic zone -- travel and reading recco?
Wow Cory :-). First babies are usually late...hope Alice is comfortable and that you're both caught up on sleep (you're gonna need it). Congrats. Danese On Jan 28, 2008, at 8:52 AM, Cory Doctorow wrote: and my wife is due to deliver our daughter TODAY
Re: [silk] India special economic zone -- travel and reading recco?
Indeed -- I'm going to go spend at least a week there. But the story calls for a place in which there's at least some abject failure of development as well as success. Cory Danese Cooper wrote: Cory, Are you actually going to go hang out in whichever of these places you select? If yes, I'd personally be leaning towards Chandigarh because it will have all the Punjabi politicsboth ancient and modern. You stlll have small-holder farmlands in the surrounding countryside, but also a burgeoning nouveau-riche class (by which the rest of India is fascinated if you read the People section of any newspaper...seems like lots of the beautiful people come out of the Punjab these days). The foothills of the Himalayas are still reasonably pristine, but one can see industrial funk and sprawl just down the valley. Also the region has historical geological wealth (in terms of jewels and gold) and is one of the banking centers of India. My 2 rupees... Danese On Jan 28, 2008, at 4:30 AM, Suresh Ramasubramanian wrote: Cory Doctorow [28/01/08 11:23 +]: I have been leaning towards Chennai, which, I believe, is a close approximation of this, but you folks are the experts. Chennai wouldnt be a bad choice at all though Coimbatore would be interesting. It has been a mill town for generations, with several textile companies based in or near it and pumping lots of money into it It is a rather nice city, surprisingly good living conditions. Not exactly the sort of hellhole you would look for .. now if you want land that's ripped out of farmers' hands and used for SEZ look for Goa or Singur near Calcutta .. though the SEZs there seem to have got shelved. But hell, if you're writing scifi there aint no need to stick to facts :) srs -- Cory Doctorow [EMAIL PROTECTED] latest collection: craphound.com/overclocked latest novel: craphound.com/someone blog: boingboing.net vanity: craphound.com podcast: feeds.feedburner.com/doctorow_podcast second novel: craphound.com/est collection: craphound.com/place novel: craphound.com/down Join my mailing list and find out about upcoming books, stories, articles and appearances: http://www.ctyme.com/mailman/listinfo/doctorow READ CAREFULLY. By reading this email, you agree, on behalf of your employer, to release me from all obligations and waivers arising from any and all NON-NEGOTIATED agreements, licenses, terms-of-service, shrinkwrap, clickwrap, browsewrap, confidentiality, non-disclosure, non-compete and acceptable use policies (BOGUS AGREEMENTS) that I have entered into with your employer, its partners, licensors, agents and assigns, in perpetuity, without prejudice to my ongoing rights and privileges. You further represent that you have the authority to release me from any BOGUS AGREEMENTS on behalf of your employer.
Re: [silk] India special economic zone -- travel and reading recco?
Well, as a practical matter, I have one week to do research in India (I have two books this year, and I'm getting married, and my wife is due to deliver our daughter TODAY!). So doing both at once makes logistical sense... Cory Venkat Mangudi wrote: Cory Doctorow wrote: Can you recommend a place that is both a plausible setting AND somewhere where you can introduce me to people who'll get me in to see factories, bureaucrats, regular people, entrepreneurs, and other nooks and crannies? Why do both have to be the same place? Would it not be better if you set it in one town and spoke to people not in another? Just to add to the mysteriousness? Kind of crazy, don't you think? Venkat -- Cory Doctorow [EMAIL PROTECTED] latest collection: craphound.com/overclocked latest novel: craphound.com/someone blog: boingboing.net vanity: craphound.com podcast: feeds.feedburner.com/doctorow_podcast second novel: craphound.com/est collection: craphound.com/place novel: craphound.com/down Join my mailing list and find out about upcoming books, stories, articles and appearances: http://www.ctyme.com/mailman/listinfo/doctorow READ CAREFULLY. By reading this email, you agree, on behalf of your employer, to release me from all obligations and waivers arising from any and all NON-NEGOTIATED agreements, licenses, terms-of-service, shrinkwrap, clickwrap, browsewrap, confidentiality, non-disclosure, non-compete and acceptable use policies (BOGUS AGREEMENTS) that I have entered into with your employer, its partners, licensors, agents and assigns, in perpetuity, without prejudice to my ongoing rights and privileges. You further represent that you have the authority to release me from any BOGUS AGREEMENTS on behalf of your employer.
Re: [silk] India special economic zone -- travel and reading recco?
Heh: Udhay Shankar N wrote: Cory Doctorow wrote: [ on 04:53 PM 1/28/2008 ] Hey Silklisters! I'm working on a new novel that includes some action set among young gold farmers working in a special economic zone in India. At this stage, I haven't made up my mind as to where this should be, which is why I'm soliciting your advice. I want a location that is: * Rapidly westernizing At the risk of getting my ear bitten off by the Chennai-lovers, I'd argue that Chandigarh was much more liberal/permissive than Chennai (historically / in popular perception / theoretically?) was. Albeit, from a classmate who moved to Noida, the ugly massive malls have been cleanly imported into Noida. Cheerio, M -- Madhu M Kurup /* Nemo Me Impune Lacessit */ mmk222 at cornell dt edu
Re: [silk] India special economic zone -- travel and reading recco?
This is all incredibly good intel -- allow me to add another narrowing criterion: Can you recommend a place that is both a plausible setting AND somewhere where you can introduce me to people who'll get me in to see factories, bureaucrats, regular people, entrepreneurs, and other nooks and crannies? Cory Sankarshan Mukhopadhyay wrote: -BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE- Hash: SHA1 Devdas Bhagat wrote: | Pen (Raigad district)? Pune? The Pen SEZ would be pretty destructive to | the environment, Pune much less so. Pune also has an upcoming SEZ being | developed by local farmers (instead of the government getting involved | in taking over the land). /me pokes Venkatesh H - ain't you nearby the Videocon SEZ or some thing ? -BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE- Version: GnuPG v1.4.7 (GNU/Linux) Comment: Using GnuPG with Fedora - http://enigmail.mozdev.org iD8DBQFHngHiXQZpNTcrCzMRAhq/AJ9OFYZoH5pul7boNPVLe+HC250K5ACgxJF5 vhG6ADbj/5t75UB3hV6jR6o= =tomS -END PGP SIGNATURE- -- Cory Doctorow [EMAIL PROTECTED] latest collection: craphound.com/overclocked latest novel: craphound.com/someone blog: boingboing.net vanity: craphound.com podcast: feeds.feedburner.com/doctorow_podcast second novel: craphound.com/est collection: craphound.com/place novel: craphound.com/down Join my mailing list and find out about upcoming books, stories, articles and appearances: http://www.ctyme.com/mailman/listinfo/doctorow READ CAREFULLY. By reading this email, you agree, on behalf of your employer, to release me from all obligations and waivers arising from any and all NON-NEGOTIATED agreements, licenses, terms-of-service, shrinkwrap, clickwrap, browsewrap, confidentiality, non-disclosure, non-compete and acceptable use policies (BOGUS AGREEMENTS) that I have entered into with your employer, its partners, licensors, agents and assigns, in perpetuity, without prejudice to my ongoing rights and privileges. You further represent that you have the authority to release me from any BOGUS AGREEMENTS on behalf of your employer.
Re: [silk] India special economic zone -- travel and reading recco?
Cory, Are you actually going to go hang out in whichever of these places you select? If yes, I'd personally be leaning towards Chandigarh because it will have all the Punjabi politicsboth ancient and modern. You stlll have small-holder farmlands in the surrounding countryside, but also a burgeoning nouveau-riche class (by which the rest of India is fascinated if you read the People section of any newspaper...seems like lots of the beautiful people come out of the Punjab these days). The foothills of the Himalayas are still reasonably pristine, but one can see industrial funk and sprawl just down the valley. Also the region has historical geological wealth (in terms of jewels and gold) and is one of the banking centers of India. My 2 rupees... Danese On Jan 28, 2008, at 4:30 AM, Suresh Ramasubramanian wrote: Cory Doctorow [28/01/08 11:23 +]: I have been leaning towards Chennai, which, I believe, is a close approximation of this, but you folks are the experts. Chennai wouldnt be a bad choice at all though Coimbatore would be interesting. It has been a mill town for generations, with several textile companies based in or near it and pumping lots of money into it It is a rather nice city, surprisingly good living conditions. Not exactly the sort of hellhole you would look for .. now if you want land that's ripped out of farmers' hands and used for SEZ look for Goa or Singur near Calcutta .. though the SEZs there seem to have got shelved. But hell, if you're writing scifi there aint no need to stick to facts :) srs
Re: [silk] India special economic zone -- travel and reading recco?
On Jan 28, 2008 10:10 PM, Cory Doctorow [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: This is all incredibly good intel -- allow me to add another narrowing criterion: Can you recommend a place that is both a plausible setting AND somewhere where you can introduce me to people who'll get me in to see factories, bureaucrats, regular people, entrepreneurs, and other nooks and crannies? Very plausible setting - Chennai. What with investments in IT, ITES, the development of IT corridor, an increasingly diverse population, and a small but very active gaming community and a whole generation of school children spending all their parents' disposable incomes at gaming places, gold-farming *might *actually be happening in Chennai. And, I could try and get you meeting a few people. A friend is a game developer and entrepreneur and would definitely have the kind of contacts you are looking at. My father was, till recently, working at the Madras Export Processing Zone, an SEZ. I could ask him to help as well. C -- http://www.flickr.com/photos/ravages http://www.linkedin.com/in/ravages http://www.selectiveamnesia.org/ +91-9884467463
Re: [silk] India special economic zone -- travel and reading recco?
Thanks, Chandrachoodan -- that sounds very promising indeed! Cory Chandrachoodan Gopalakrishnan wrote: On Jan 28, 2008 10:10 PM, Cory Doctorow [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: This is all incredibly good intel -- allow me to add another narrowing criterion: Can you recommend a place that is both a plausible setting AND somewhere where you can introduce me to people who'll get me in to see factories, bureaucrats, regular people, entrepreneurs, and other nooks and crannies? Very plausible setting - Chennai. What with investments in IT, ITES, the development of IT corridor, an increasingly diverse population, and a small but very active gaming community and a whole generation of school children spending all their parents' disposable incomes at gaming places, gold-farming *might *actually be happening in Chennai. And, I could try and get you meeting a few people. A friend is a game developer and entrepreneur and would definitely have the kind of contacts you are looking at. My father was, till recently, working at the Madras Export Processing Zone, an SEZ. I could ask him to help as well. C -- Cory Doctorow [EMAIL PROTECTED] latest collection: craphound.com/overclocked latest novel: craphound.com/someone blog: boingboing.net vanity: craphound.com podcast: feeds.feedburner.com/doctorow_podcast second novel: craphound.com/est collection: craphound.com/place novel: craphound.com/down Join my mailing list and find out about upcoming books, stories, articles and appearances: http://www.ctyme.com/mailman/listinfo/doctorow READ CAREFULLY. By reading this email, you agree, on behalf of your employer, to release me from all obligations and waivers arising from any and all NON-NEGOTIATED agreements, licenses, terms-of-service, shrinkwrap, clickwrap, browsewrap, confidentiality, non-disclosure, non-compete and acceptable use policies (BOGUS AGREEMENTS) that I have entered into with your employer, its partners, licensors, agents and assigns, in perpetuity, without prejudice to my ongoing rights and privileges. You further represent that you have the authority to release me from any BOGUS AGREEMENTS on behalf of your employer.
Re: [silk] India special economic zone -- travel and reading recco?
Danese Cooper [28/01/08 09:35 -0800]: Wow Cory :-). First babies are usually late...hope Alice is comfortable and that you're both caught up on sleep (you're gonna need it). Congrats. Umm.. if staying awake on jolt and mountain dew is a regular habit, it helps (me, I preferred fresh coffee back in the days when I used to pull all nighters.. my daughter is old enough and I have enough people working for me not to pull those any longer)
Re: [silk] India special economic zone -- travel and reading recco?
Ashok Krish [29/01/08 00:01 +0530]: I think Chennai is a better idea. It has both the big, successful IT SEZs and failed manufacturing zones as well. And it has the advantage of being in South India, where violence is mostly verbal in nature, unlike in the North where the knives tend to come out first. So if you are interested in snooping around, Chennai is a safer bet. Us madras types are pretty eager in doing another silk meet, this time with Cory around .. admit it, Ashok :) srs
Re: [silk] India special economic zone -- travel and reading recco?
On Jan 28, 2008 7:21 PM, Devdas Bhagat [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: * Controlled by local special economic zone regs that are hard on labour unions and soft on environmental controls Pen (Raigad district)? Pune? The Pen SEZ would be pretty destructive to the environment, Pune much less so. Pune also has an upcoming SEZ being developed by local farmers (instead of the government getting involved in taking over the land). Just to note, if I'm not mistaken in China SEZs seem to be entire regions governed by different laws. In India my impression is that SEZs are typically industrial parks[1] under specific regulations -- more akin to the old bonded warehouse regs that software companies used to work under. So you probably won't want people whose homes are in the SEZ in your novel. I may be mistaken though -- could someone with better info pipe up? -- b [1] Wikipedia states that the average size of Indian SEZs is 200 acres. ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SEZ#India )
Re: [silk] India special economic zone -- travel and reading recco?
On Jan 29, 2008 10:17 AM, Biju Chacko [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: On Jan 28, 2008 7:21 PM, Devdas Bhagat [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: * Controlled by local special economic zone regs that are hard on labour unions and soft on environmental controls Pen (Raigad district)? Pune? The Pen SEZ would be pretty destructive to the environment, Pune much less so. Pune also has an upcoming SEZ being developed by local farmers (instead of the government getting involved in taking over the land). Just to note, if I'm not mistaken in China SEZs seem to be entire regions governed by different laws. In India my impression is that SEZs are typically industrial parks[1] under specific regulations -- more akin to the old bonded warehouse regs that software companies used to work under. This is true. Most SEZs are setup to reduce the red tape involved in bringing stuff in and taking stuff out of the country. I don't think there are any specific tax benefits. Theoretically, you could setup an export oriented unit (EOU) anywhere claim the same benefits. Since the SEZ increases the density of units, the developers sweeten the deal by providing extra goodies in terms of better infrastructure and facility management services. They have no effect on the people living around them other than the increased cost of living driven by the higher wages earned in the SEZs. -gabin -- Measure with a micrometer. Mark with a chalk. Cut with an axe!
