Quick notes: Trump quotes Modi, IRS 2017...

• Trump quotes Modi to support Afghanistan stand: Senior administration officials said that the president has been known to affect an Indian accent and imitate Indian PM Narendra Modi, who in an Oval Office meeting last year told him, “Never has a country given so much away for so little in return” as the United States in Afghanistan. To Trump, Modi’s statement was proof that the rest of the world viewed the United States as being duped and taken advantage of in Afghanistan, these officials said. 



• 'We will tear them down': Turkey launches attack on US-backed Kurds in northern Syria 



• Really? Chinese engineering has become so advanced that Germany has begun talks to buy sophisticated aerospace technology and manufacturing equipment for the production of high-performance jet engines.... China's next aircraft carrier will be a Massive Leap Forward



• China to create new forests the size of Ireland: The government is currently promoting an “ecological red line” program which will force provinces and regions to restrict “irrational development” and curb construction near rivers, forests and national parks.



• Survey: India's richest 1% grabbed 73% of wealth generation in 2017



• IRS 2017: No English dailies in top 10 

Quick notes: Incan temple, Volocopter...

• Indigenous Peruvians seek to regain access to Incan temple: The most sacred temple in the Incan Empire came under Catholic control in the 16th century. The Spanish demolished much of the original temple of Coricancha after seizing its gold some 500 years ago, building the Santo Domingo Church on top of its ruins as part of the widespread practice at the time of transforming sacred native sites into Catholic ones.



• Madrasas producing terrorists: 4% of Muslim children studied in madrasas in 2006. Today that number has increased to 10%.



• Volocopter: Intel’s shiniest new toy takes off at CES




• Hybrid-Electric Planes: Zunum Aero CEO Ashish Kumar is making hybrid-electric airplanes a reality



• Cylinder deactivation: 2019 Chevy, GMC trucks get smarter fuel-saving cylinder deactivation from Tula Tech, a California company founded by Adya Tripathi



• Naval strategy: India's Aircraft Carriers Might Just Be the Ultimate Paper Tiger



• Positive move: Switzerland bans boiling lobsters alive



• How To Make Gold Water, Silver Water And Copper Water: Metal Charged Water And Its Benefits In Maintaining Health

Quick notes: Temple lands, Dharma lesson...

• Hindus penalized for 'Vikas Mandate': BJP-led Maharashtra govt to sell vast tracts held by temple trusts. The State Cabinet amended existing laws, allowing transfer of Devasthan Inams land held by individuals and 4,000 temple trusts, including the ones at Shirdi, Siddhivinayak, Pandharpur and Mahalaxmi in Kolhapur.... vikas gando thayo chhe



• Muslims didn't vote for Vikas, so reward them: Same govt increases the budget of Haj Committee.

BJP-led Maharashtra govt says #budget of State Haj Committee will be increased.

— All India Radio News (@airnewsalerts) January 11, 2018




• Shia board's warning: Shia Central Waqf Board urges govt to shut down madrassas in the country, alleging that education imparted in these Islamic schools encouraged students to join terrorist ranks.



• Chinese H1-B: China is issuing long-term visas to lure highly skilled people from abroad to work in the country. Technology leaders, entrepreneurs and scientists from in-demand sectors are among those eligible to apply.



• Exodus triggered by growing innovation: Chinese workers abandon Silicon Valley for riches back home



• Dharma lesson by Max Muller:  What India teaches us is that in a state advancing towards civilization, there must be always two castes or two classes of men, a caste of Brahmans or of thinkers, and a caste of Kshatriyas, who are to fight; possibly other castes also of those who are to work and of those who are to serve. Great wars went on in India, but they were left to be fought by the warriors by profession. The peasants in their villages remained quiet, accepting the consequences, whatever they might be, and the Brahmans lived on, thinking and dreaming in their forests, satisfied to rule after the battle was over.
  
  And what applies to military struggles seems to me to apply to all struggles—political, religious, social, commercial, and even literary. Let those who love to fight, fight; but let others who are fond of quiet work go on undisturbed in their own special callings.



• AWAKE: The Life of Yogananda

Quick notes: Moringa craze, Dietary fiber...

• Moringa craze takes over: Drumstick leaves, the superfood of 2018... soon, poor Indians won't be able to afford it



• Why fiber is good for you: Dietary fiber = undigested by humans = food for gut bacteria. Byproduct is short-chain fatty acids — absorbed by intestinal cells, which use it as fuel.



• Clean meat: Cell-cultured “clean” meat is grown by extracting cells from an animal and then growing those cells in a bioreactor filled with a high-tech nutrient-dense liquid. The cells feed on the liquid and proliferate, producing chicken meat that’s molecularly identical to conventional meat without having ever slaughtered an animal.



• Tax on disposable coffee cups: Bengaluru should consider this.



• Maneeshaa Panchakam: He who is firmly established in the Pure Consciousness – be he a Chandala (outcaste) or a Brahmana, such a one is indeed worthy of being a Guru.
  
  ..dridha prajna api yasya asti chet, chandaalah astu sah tu dvijah astu guruh iti..




• Bollywood's lack of ideas: What happened to all those life-changing films like V. Shantaram's Do Aankhen Barah Haath (about prison reform), Mehboob Khan's Mother India (about matriarchal pride and dignity), Bimal Roy's Sujata (about eradicating the caste system).....?



• Slam vs Slam: Islamic State declares war on rival Hamas with video execution



• It's Time to End Pakistan's Double Game: Pakistan concocted a complex strategy of cooperating on logistics and occasional help with hunting Al Qaeda leaders in exchange for massive U.S. aid, while simultaneously building out a clandestine program to reconstitute the Taliban.

President @realDonaldTrump’s first tweet of 2018. A promising message to Afghans who have suffered at the hands of terrorists based in Pakistan for far too long. https://t.co/NJdYB5qOWl

— Hamdullah Mohib (@hmohib) January 1, 2018