Quick notes: Data-localization | Heat wave...

• Lobbyists never give up: U.S. threatens H-1B cuts to deter India's data-localization rules. Companies such as Mastercard are upset with stringent new rules on data storage



• Indain Heat Wave: The five warmest years in recorded history have been the last five, and 18 of the 19 warmest years have occurred since 2001.“It has never been this hot ever.”. . . . India’s collapsing hill stations



• QS World University Rankings:




• Fixing Islam: Inside China's 'thought transformation' camps




• Slowing mitochondrial aging: Pomegranate compound with anti-aging effects passes human trial



• A washing machine for Divya: Moved by his friend’s plight, a London-born Sikh engineer has developed a manual washing machine 



• End the 'throwaway clothes' era:  The average consumer bought 60% more clothing in 2014 compared to 2000, but each garment is kept half as long. . . .  Fast Fashion is the second dirtiest industry in the world, next to big oil



• Did binary numbers originate in India?

Here's a book (2008) that gives the Sanskrit original and English and Hindi translations of Pingala's Chandah Sutra, where binary numbers are first described.
A landmark in the history of mathematics.

I also attach copy of the Foreword to the book. pic.twitter.com/hPew7yXNYG

— Subhash Kak (@subhashkak1) June 18, 2019




• Mallappa now teaches Sanskrit: Bengaluru cabbie is a Sanskrit scholar, teaches the language too

Quick notes: Data flow | Sober curious...

• India must reclaim its lost digital space: Today the US is collecting data freely from all countries, except China. Soon as India and other countries develop similar tools, they may regulate data flows preferring local firms over the US firms. The US is putting in all its might to stop this from happening. The US strategy is to persuade or force countries to join WTO negotiations and agree to the free flow of data. The US hopes this would ensure its digital dominance in perpetuity.



• Investors are betting on the 'sober curious': "People are sick of drinking. We're seeing a consciousness around it more and more. "



• Managers overvalue their ideas:

Managers overvalue their ideas by 42%, while frontline employees undervalue theirs by 11%.https://t.co/6BRcNiFRZ0

— Scott Galloway (@profgalloway) June 9, 2019




• Metro Man Sreedharan writes: “Sir, when the first section of the Delhi Metro was to be opened, I had taken a firm and conscious decision that no one would be given any travel concession on Delhi Metro. Even Prime Minister Vajpayee bought a ticket for himself when he went to inaugurate the first section of the Metro in 2002. Now, if ladies are to be given free travel concession in Delhi Metro, it would set an alarming precedence for all other Metros in the country.”.



• The cost of our cars obsession: Parking eats up an incredible amount of space and costs America’s cities an extraordinary amount of money... Joni Mitchell famously sang: “They paved paradise and put up a parking lot.” It’s time we reclaim our cities from car storage and use the space for what we need more of, from housing and bike lanes to sidewalk cafes and parks.



• Create cycling facilities, and you'll see the impact: More bikes make cities safer for all. Cycling facilities benefited most when they had physical barriers to divide bike lanes from cars, not just stripes and road paint.  Human powered transportation may be the most sustainable form of transportation. 



• Nicolas Delaigue: Yaman Vilambit




• State-led Innovation: The world’s fastest supercomputer, Tianhe-2, and China’s self-developed spacecraft, Shenzhou, were among the fruits of the 863 programme, which was set up in 1988. In 2001, China identified electric vehicles as a major technology.  Sixteen years later, Shenzhen company BYD has become the world’s biggest EV maker, and a crop of start-ups have joined the race.  In 2017 alone, China’s central and local governments allocated US$7.7 billion in subsidies to both carmakers and the consumers who bought their vehicles. . . . Beijing has decided what it wants China to be a high-tech superpower that emphasizes hierarchy and discipline over the perceived chaos of free markets and societies.



• Genocide: Yazidi Children, Torn From Their Families By ISIS, Forget Their Identities 

Quick notes: Technocracy | Flying-V...

• The return of technocracy: S Jaishankar is regarded not only as a foreign policy maven, but also a sharp strategic mind with a clear view of a complex world full of divergent interests



• Misinvoicing:  India is estimated to have lost $13 billion potential tax revenue in 2016 due to trade misinvoicing.



• Flying-V plane: The plane will use 20% less fuel than the Airbus A350-900 while carrying a similar number of passengers 
  



• Smart Commute Foundation: The aim is to make Mumbai bicycle capital by 2030



• Beyond Carbon: Bloomberg Commits $500M to Close All US Coal Plants by 2030



• Microplastics: New research says humans are eating 'thousands' of plastic pieces each year. Microplastics - tiny plastic shards broken down from man-made products such as synthetic clothing, car tyres and contact lenses - are among the most ubiquitous materials on the planet 



• Tabla - Denis Kucherov: