Friday, April 26, 2019

Quick notes: Rocket Force | Indian capitalism...

  • China's Rocket Force is nullifying U.S. military primacy in Asia: This dramatic shift could render American carriers – the backbone of U.S. military supremacy – obsolete in a conflict with China.


  • CIA warning: Huawei is funded by Chinese state security


  • Indian capitalism needs to be saved from capitalists : Business “promoters,” have used a mix of personality cult and proximity to political power to terrorize the ultimate providers of outside capital

  • Kickbacks for setting up fulfilment centres: Flipkart under Walmart lens for ‘kickbacks’ paid to govt officials


  • Gorillas pose for selfie: "They are imitating the humans" - and standing on two legs is their way of "learning to be human beings".


  • More catholics questioning their church: Sex abuse scandals prompt more to personally question ties to church.


  • “Only Catholics live in Poland”: US ambassador accused of offending Poland for Passover wishes, some calling it a “provocation.” Poland was home to Europe’s largest Jewish population before the 1939 occupation by Nazi Germany


  • Beyond Happiness And Unhappiness:
    The self is a story line that develops in the head, very much like a fictitious creation. Yet it forms the basis of most people’s sense of who they are, and that sense, of course, is reinforced by the surrounding world.

    You attack other people’s positions because you are defending a fictitious sense of self. You are so identified with your position that you feel the need to defend it as if it were your life. It’s not your life, of course . . . but that is what it feels like.

    The good news is that you don’t need another thousand years to become free. All you need is to become present to this moment; to open yourself up to the fullness that already is, now.


Friday, April 19, 2019

Quick notes: Chinese apps | Satellite comms...

  • Tiktok ban: “It looks like the Chinese internet companies have cracked the code of getting into India. The speed and the rate at which some of these apps are growing, that is alarming”


  • China can strike India's satellite system:While India has demonstrated its ASAT interceptors can destroy Chinese satellites with kinetic (direct impact) strikes, Beijing’s highly sophisticated ASAT programme provides it with several non-kinetic options to disable Indian satellites without physically striking them.  Beijing’s ASAT capabilities “include the capacity to mount sophisticated cyberattacks directed at (Indian) ground stations with the intent of either corrupting or hijacking the telemetry, tracking, and command systems used to control various spacecraft on orbit. They also involve huge investments in developing ground-, air-, and space-based radio frequency jammers that target the uplinks, downlinks, and crosslinks”.


  • Han deception: Google pulls popular Chinese Android apps over large-scale ad fraud. They were collecting data and sending it back to China, as well. 


  • Losing to locals: Amazon is shutting down its China marketplace business. 


  • Cross-LoC trade: How Pakistani traders use California almonds to fund terrorists in India


  • Foxconn to start manufacturing iPhones in India: Apple plans to locally manufacturer newer iPhone models to boost sales in the country. Focusing is on India as the China market for iPhone is saturated.


  • Anita Moorjani: Dying To Be Me



  • An effortless way to improve your memory: Doing nothing at all for a brief period after initially learning something can help memory processes to better assimilate the material.


  • Indians vulnerable to air pollution linked zinc deficiency: The prevalence of inadequate absorbable zinc intake has increased from 17.1% in 1983 to 24.6% in 2012.


  • Ganga has higher proportion of antibacterial agents: That the Ganga may contain unique microbial life, which makes it relatively more resilient to putrefaction, was suggested by British colonial scientists about 200 years ago


Monday, April 15, 2019

Quick notes: IITM | Undersea cables...

Saturday, April 6, 2019

Quick notes: Drone startup | Veggie burger...

  • Hyderabad startup making waves with its drone tech: The Thanos team, with its in-house carbon-fibre based multicopter, had surmounted the challenge with immense precision.


  • Chinese-built armed drones for Pak: Beijing had agreed to supply up to 48 Wing Loong II drones to Pakistan in a deal that would also include licence manufacturing. China is a “no-questions-asked exporter of drones”


  • Han deception: After govt clampdown, Chinese sellers in India now undervaluing goods on invoices Previously, the govt clamped down on Chinese e-commerce sellers sending large shipments of products marked as gifts to evade import duties


  • Impose costs on China for Azhar backing: Diplomacy works best when backed by the fear of cost in terms of real and serious economic loss and/or political-military and security disadvantage. It is not too late to inject correctives in the present China policy, one that emphasizes paying Beijing back in its own coin and no nonsense about it. Alas, the Modi-Doval combo is simply not up to it, they don’t have it in them to do something really meaningful.


  • China Airport face recognition systems:


  • Vegetarian burgers: Burger King and Silicon Valley startup Impossible Foods announced the rollout of the Impossible Whopper.


  • Rajan Anandan, Startup Guru: “Knowing Rajan’s deep commitment to supporting young tech startups, this seems like a perfect union. Sequoia and entrepreneurs in their network will find immense value”. A Sri Lankan Tamil, Anandan’s understanding of the region helped Google launch several India-focused initiatives that have not only helped the company financially but also boosted its goodwill.


  • Bengaluru closes in on Delhi, has 80 lakh vehicles: Limited infrastructure and lack of regulation will only worsen the situation in the coming days. “Developed countries are already taking steps like congestion tax and high registration and parking fees. We should introduce it now,” 


  • Digital tax: Austria proposes taxing internet giants (such as as Google and Facebook) 5% of ad revenue. Other countries including Britain, Spain, Japan, Singapore and India are also working on similar schemes.


  • Mental well-being: Scandinavia may not be the happiest place on Earth after all