NITI Aayog loaded with Sinophiles: India's top think tank recommends easing investment rules for Chinese firms. My enemy is my savior
Trump, the Sinophile: As Trump courts a more assertive Beijing, China hawks are losing out in a a dramatic reversal.
In recent years, one of China's biggest requests of US officials has been that the US relax its strict controls on advanced AI chips, measures that were put in place to slow Beijing's technological and military gains. Last week, the Trump administration did just that, as it allowed Nvidia to sell its H20 chip to China... China won by calling Trump’s ‘bluff’
Microsoft, the Sinophile: Microsoft using engineers in China to help maintain cloud computing systems for the U.S. Department of Defense.
I want to add that Singapore, one of the most advanced economies in the world and one of the most livable cities, relies extensively on public transport. Singapore also limits the number of private cars through the mechanism of open market trading of Certificate of Entitlement… https://t.co/ob7WjOiybJ
Tax payer funded PR stunt: Charter flights to facilitate return of Indian citizens stranded in Israel. Those who are returning will not be paying any fare and the tax-payer is bearing the cost of their return. Why? "Students were a little bit panicked". . . 'Indians don't want to leave Israel'
Schools urge parents to delete Instagram, TikTok: Concern over Islamists' barbaric videos on social media. The warnings are circulating not just in Israel but also in the US, UK - with some singling out TikTok, Instagram.
Harvard faces backlash over support for Hamas: Harvard silent after its students issue pro-Hamas declaration. A dozen CEOs back Bill Ackman’s call to not hire Harvard students who blamed Israel for Hamas attack
I have been asked by a number of CEOs if @harvard would release a list of the members of each of the Harvard organizations that have issued the letter assigning sole responsibility for Hamas’ heinous acts to Israel, so as to insure that none of us inadvertently hire any of their… https://t.co/7kzGOAGwp9
Chinese EV Suppliers Plan Side Doors Into U.S. Market: Chinese battery companies critical to electric vehicles are pursuing deals with US free-trade partners South Korea and Morocco, seeking to tap growing demand in America and bypass rules aimed at shutting them out of the market.
Help from China? Russia aims to mass produce 28nm chips by 2027, 14nm by 2030... if China is helping, what are they getting in return? Wide-body aircraft?
Delhi can strengthen its old links to the Tajik and Uzbek factions, provide covert help to TTP and Baloch fighters, and cooperate with Iran in propping up the Afghan govt.
Women's lib in China: A Chinese platform is erasing radical feminist accounts that shun men and the patriarchy
EVs in India: Given India's reliance on coal, electric vehicles could at best be 10% more efficient than petrol in terms of CO2 savings.
TSMC: “Twenty years ago there were 20 foundries, and now the most cutting-edge stuff is sitting on a single campus in Taiwan.” How a Taiwanese chipmaker became a linchpin of the global economy.
Since every new node of process technology requires more challenging development and bigger investment in new production capacity, other chipmakers have over the years started focusing on design and left production to dedicated foundries such as TSMC. The Pentagon has been quietly pressing for the US to invest more in advanced chipmaking so that its weapons are not dependent on foreign manufacturers.
Making honey without bees and milk without cows: Tailoring the micro-organism carefully and choosing the right feed stocks for fermentation, it's possible to create anything from honey, to egg whites, to milk. "It is molecularly identical, so it should be the same".
Getting stale already: Y Combinator's new batch features its largest group of Indian startups
Transport model: Gadkari's unfortunate obsession with aping America.
Samosaji striving hard for the right going by the quotes he sticks in his office to inspire himhttps://t.co/Ybc8qVcmBy
Heat wave: Deadly heat waves will be common in South Asia, even at 1.5 degrees of warming. A wet bulb temperature of 32 degrees Celsius (89.6F) is considered to be the point when labor becomes unsafe, and 35C is the limit to human survivability—when the body can no longer cool itself.
Jaguar I-Pace launches in India: Costs twice as much as a Tesla Model-3. Indian govt would need to address the country's dirty power grid, which would increase the carbon footprint of EVs plugged into it.
The cause Hollywood forgot: “Any Hollywood blockbuster that wants to really bring in the money will need to appear in China. That requires compromises in the films but also careful consideration by the actors – do they really want to put their career at risk by talking about Tibet and China? Richard Gere continues to be a high-profile supporter of Tibet, but he has stated that his stance on Tibet has cost him work.
“China has closed it off from the world, making it impossible to visit without a guide, and closely monitors Tibetans’s phone and internet activity so that as little information as possible gets out. Getting information out of Tibet is as tough as getting information out of North Korea these days, and if people don’t hear the stories, they won’t be engaged or keen to help.”
Ratan Tata:
Stop online hatred, support each other in 'year of challenges'. "I
believe this year specially calls for all of us to be unified and
helpful and is not the time to pull each other down".
Saw some army veterans hurling abuses at each other on Twitter.
During training at the NPA our Ustad would sometimes give example of the IMA- discipline, camaraderie and the bond it creates even beyond the service period. Ustad had no idea about poisons called TV & Social Media.
Buying The Wrong Warplanes: The Mirage 2000 has been a more effective fighter in Indian service than the Su-30 has been. The Su-30 not only lacks the latest precision air-to-ground ordnance, it doesn’t perform well from the high-altitude air bases that support Indian operations along the LAC. The Rafale, the French-made successor to the Mirage, likewise is among India’s better fighters. But the country has ordered just 36 Rafales.
What happened in 1962 in Galwan?
By nightfall of July 10, more than 300 Chinese soldiers encircled the
Gorkhas who held their ground under Naik Subedar Jung Bahadur Gurung. On
July 13, orders were issued to the Gorkha regiment to fire if the
Chinese crept ahead. Starting October 4, “The Gorkhas, having lived
cheek by jowl with the Chinese for more than two months, were ferried
out by returning Mi-4 helicopters over the next few days.”
Superblocks: How Barcelona is taking city streets back from cars. . . . . . . Why Car-Free Streets may be here to stay
“Beijing is playing geopolitics with the epidemic”: Now that the rate of new infections in China has slowed, officials are trying to portray the country as the world leader in the fight against the Wuhan Virus. The Central Propaganda Department is even publishing a book — in several languages — praising Mr. Xi’s role in guiding the country through the crisis.
Cleansebot: Bacteria killing robot uses UV-C lamps to blast away germs and bacteria.
The Congestion Con: Expanding highways adds to road congestion.. Traffic congestion, measured in annual hours of delay, increased 144% . . . . PDF link.
Equifax breach: Could China be weaponizing personal info? The information
could be used to target individuals for espionage, bribe, or blackmail.
End of Globalism?
A sure-fire way to prevent diseases from spreading globally in the
first place is to restrict international travel, limit exports, and
tighten border security. . . .. . . After plunging the world into a crisis:
China trying to leverage a global
crisis to advance its narrow aims. Peddling a narrative that it is
leading the global fight against the Wuhan virus.
There MUST be laws barring economists from doing regressions, just as there are laws preventing fortune tellers from giving medical advice.@DrCirillohttps://t.co/IBvMx7pktn
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
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
Facebook, Google Face Billions in New Taxes Across Asia, Latin America: Inspired by EU proposals to impose a tax based on the revenue of tech companies rather than their profit, South Korea, India and at least seven other Asian-Pacific countries are exploring new taxes. Mexico, Chile and other Latin American countries too are contemplating new taxes aimed at boosting receipts from foreign tech firms. Such taxes are separate from corporate income taxes many companies already pay.
HAL: Outright purchase of Rafales without local manufacture would end up in an enormous life cycle cost which may drain out the exchequer.
Letting Sunlight Indoors Kills Disease-Causing Bacteria: Lit rooms had about half the viable bacteria (those that are able to grow), compared with dark rooms. Rooms that were exposed only to UV light had just slightly less viable bacteria than ones exposed to daylight.
Paper Airplane Designs: A database of paper airplanes with easy to follow folding instructions.
e-scooter: Ford is the next company to join the electric scooter craze.
1/ @Ford is entering the e-scooter rental business, through a subsidiary called "Jelly". Their website is in pre-launch mode as of now: https://t.co/viYOgryshd Their iOS app is not live on the app store yet, but the website lists they are active on @LifeAtPurdue campus.
Espionage: Chinese spy agencies are using fake LinkedIn accounts to try to recruit Americans with access to govt and commercial secrets
China Wooing Eastern and Central Europe: China’s push into Europe has unnerved the EU. Overseen by Premier Li Keqiang, the 16+1 platform convenes an annual summit between China and sixteen Central and Eastern European countries. If the initiative is allowed to proceed unchecked it will “split the continent” and preclude the EU from adopting a unified stance towards China.
How cars took over the roads: City streets used to be a public space. Then automakers invented the crime of jaywalking. "In the early days of the automobile, it was drivers' job to avoid you, not your job to avoid them. But under the new model, streets became a place for cars — and as a pedestrian, it's your fault if you get hit."
India's vast solar parks: Unlike in developed nations, the vast majority of solar power in India comes not from decentralized rooftop panels but from expansive parks. Indian authorities have enticed developers by acquiring land, building transmission links and offering up buyers for the new power, usually state-owned companies with low default risk.
2018 Quality of Living ranking: "Indian cities are yet to make any marked leaps on the quality of living scale".... Mobility innovations: Unclogging streets could help city dwellers save 125 hours a year — the equivalent of three full work weeks.
Who’s Afraid of Huawei? Security worries spread beyond the U.S.... China's WeChat banned by Australian defence dept... WeChat: From copycat to Goliath.... And now this: Chinese companies are buying up cash-strapped U.S. colleges
A nationalized 5G network: Trump's national security team is looking at options to counter Chinese threat that include building a super-fast 5G wireless network. Beijing is pushing for a greater role in setting technical standards in the next-generation wireless arena. “What if China is so successful in a key 5G technology that the US military becomes reliant on it as a supplier?”.
The Automotive Liberation of Paris: The city has waged a remarkably successful effort to get cars off its streets and reclaim walkable space. Driving within Paris city limits has dropped about 45% since 1990. Meanwhile, the share of cyclists has increased tenfold over the same period. Transit’s share has risen by 30%.
Arara: A battery-free magnetically powered bicycle light.
Super Wood! Simple processes can make wood stronger than steel, able to stop a speeding bullet
China's got a Railgun?: Looks like China just installed a railgun on a warship, beating the U.S. Navy to the punch
Naturally, the Jesuits had no qualms about amassing any astronomical & mathematical knowledge from the pagan lands they went to proselytize in. India was no exception. They were very active in Kerala, where they gained access to Yuktibhasa, the seminal manuscript of Calculus.
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
Hybrid electric plane:
The turbine powering the generator will run on jet fuel and provide
power for the electric engine. Any excess power from the generator will
be stored in banks of batteries in the fore and aft holds with the
stored energy to be used during take-off and landing... Very much like the Serial Hybrid architecture in Chevy Volt.
Surround Delhi with a deep ring of forests: Not only will this modify the weather within the city, but the forest will absorb a major portion of airborne dust from across the Thar Desert and from Pakistan. Without afforestation, even if you take all cars off road, it would just scratch the surface of Delhi's smog.
Pollution from power plants: The worst of this pollution runs from north of Patna in the
state of Bihar to south of Raipur in the state of Chhattisgarh.
BJP feeds the hostile media: Modi govt spent Rs 3,755 crore on publicity blitz - 1,656 crore on electronic media and Rs 1,698 crore on print media. The govt's allocation for pollution abatement in the last three years has been only Rs 56.8 crore.
You are being programmed: Facebook and others had succeeded by exploiting a vulnerability in human psychology... Facebook lies about its ability to influence individuals based on the data it collects on them.
Are the ancient Hindu myths of a land bridge connecting India and Sri Lanka true? Scientific analysis suggests they are. #WhatonEarthpic.twitter.com/EKcoGzlEET
Asian Brown Cloud? European Space Agency's Sentinel-5P captures dense carbon monoxide cloud over India and China. Carbon monoxide displaces oxygen in the blood and deprives the heart, brain, and other vital organs of oxygen.
Harmful "vegetable" oils:
Why you should avoid consuming new age oils -- Canola, Corn, Soybean,
Sunflower and Safflower. The best part is that none of these “vegetable”
oils is vegetables and all, with the exception of coconut oil, are
extremely dangerous for you.
Cow manure to fuel: Toyota plant to produce 1.2 tons of hydrogen fuel per day and 2.35 megawatts of electricity -- all from cow manure ... Perfect for India!
Pedal Power: Ola begins offering a bicycle-sharing service
Amazon tax: "Since 2008 Walmart has paid $64B in corporate income tax, while Amazon has paid $1.4B. This is despite the fact that, in the last 24 months, Amazon has added the value of Walmart to its market cap. The most uncomfortable question in business, in my view, is how do we pay our soldiers, firefighters, and teachers if a firm can ascend to $460B in value (#5 in the world) without paying any meaningful corporate taxes" -- Prof Scott Galloway is renowned for his marketing acumen and having accurately predicted that Amazon would buy Whole Foods.
I was reading about Akhila or Hadiya's father's story after #LoveJihad news.
He became a Communist, then Rationalist and then Atheist.
She probably missed a strong Dharmic foundation at home (my guess). pic.twitter.com/qpkLR6ikJo
"Anonymous IAF sources": Who is trying to sabotage LCA-Tejas? Groups who would like to see Indian innovation and manufacturing fail.
Rafale puzzle: Why did Modi bypass the Cabinet before he committed India to the Rafale deal?
Smog free: Chennai firm to tackle stubble burning menace in Punjab
Dated news:
Indian firm makes carbon capture breakthrough. The inventors of the new
process are two young chemists from IIT
Kharagpur. They failed to find Indian finance and were welcomed instead
by the UK govt, which offered grants and the special entrepreneur
status that whisks them through the British border.
Some German Cities Ban New Refugees: Most mainstream parties want to limit more from entering Germany.... Peace vs Love: Islamists target Christian converts in German refugee centers... Pew Research: The growth of Germany’s Muslim population.... Liberal spin: European Muslims will be instrumental in saving the continent’s aging population
Nepal vote set to favor China over India: The communist alliance has prioritized rail and road networks with China and has already vowed to revive the Budhi Gandaki Hydropower Project if they gain power. Harder stance against India, softer towards China.
Naxals using kids as shields: "I was in Class 5 at an ashram in Sameep village. Once, I had to stay home because of fever. The local militia commander Ramlal took me away,"
‘Loss of Night’: Serious effects on the Earth’s ecology as artificial light is depriving the planet of its nights.
Extreme Heat: Los Angeles is painting its streets white. To lower the temperature by 3 degrees over the next 20 years. Black pavement absorbs heat from the sun.
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