AI, weaponized: As AI porn generators get better, the stakes get higher. Just a few months ago, a 22-year-old was sentenced to six months in jail for taking underage womens' photos from social media and using them to create sexually explicit deepfakes.
Indian export: How bacteria-laced eye drops ended up in US stores
CBSE allows schools to teach in the mother tongue: "Since higher education has started responding to this need (for multilingual education) then school education has to become its foundation. The approach towards medium of instruction should be a continuity from school education to higher education."
Forget the gym: Yoga is better at boosting memory and concentration than vigorous exercise. . . Yoga practitioners exhibited greater cortical thickness, gray matter (GM) volume, and GM density than non-practitioners in a variety of regions. Among yoga-practitioners, a positive relationship between the years of yoga practice and GM volume was also observed in a number of areas.
High-meat diets: Having big UK meat-eaters cut some of it out of their diet would be like taking 8 million cars off the road.
Ah. Biodiversity. Whereas India was really good at preserving its mega fauna. Now white people want to trawl the deep ocean for minerals. Yeah, that will end well. https://t.co/VGzKUR29Uh
— Prof राजीवः श्रीनिवासः (@RajeevSrinivasa) July 14, 2023
Wokes versus Parents: 68 percent of Americans less likely to do business with Disney over sexualized content. The survey comes after an executive producer admitted to advancing a “not-at-all-secret gay agenda” to insert queerness into children’s animation during a Disney staff meeting on Florida’s Parental Rights in Education legislation last month. Parents to support “family-friendly alternatives” to Disney.
Bhramari pranayama and nitric oxide: During Bhramari Pranayama, studies have shown that there is a staggering 1500% increase in nitric oxide. In 1998, three scientists got the Nobel Peace prize for their discoveries concerning nitric oxide. They found it was a signaling molecule in the cardiovascular system. It a colourless gas that relaxes the inner muscles of the blood vessels. The vasodilation causes blood vessels to widen and increase circulation. Bhramari pranayama helps lower elevated blood pressure, improve the tone of the blood vessels, and keep the respiratory system healthy.
Nitric oxide is also anti-inflammatory. It helps fight bacterial, viral, fungal, and parasitic infections in the body. A number of studies that are underway to look at the role of nitric oxide in fighting c-virus.
Bhramari Pranayama as an aid to meditation: The humming of the sound “n,” “m,” or “ng” known as varna prakalpana, with breath control, is said to produces resonance. This can happen when the sound produced at the throat matches with the natural frequency of the body. This is the most important aspect of Bhramari Pranayama.
India's gig economy: Workers escape unemployment but face job insecurity, rapidly falling earnings and poor working conditions.
Subscriber exodus: Netflix loses subscribers for first time in over 10 years. India is an exception. . . Macaulay putras are eternal revenue stream for the English world.
लाखों की वन सम्पदा जल कर खाक हो रही है , जाने कैसे लोग हैं जिन्हें परहवाह नही किसी की भी, आग घरों के पास तक आई है , ये आग श्रीकोट श्रीनगर के पीछे के जंगल मे लगी है , pic.twitter.com/6WGN0EHRrS
— पहाड़ी दीदी (रेखा देवशाली) (@pahadinaari) April 17, 2022
Tons of garbage: The toxicity of the air near landfills poses serious health risks for people living there. "Continuous informal burning of plastics and compostable waste leads to a number of health concerns"
Meghalaya's Living Root-Bridges: Villagers devote much time to pruning, repairing and manipulating the growth to keep the bridges strong. Technically a root-bridge can last for hundreds of years and some are believed to be more than 500 years old.
Chinese hackers collect intelligence from India’s power grid: The hackers focused on at least seven load dispatch centers in northern India that are responsible for carrying out real-time operations for grid control and electricity dispersal. “We believe this is intended to enable information-gathering surrounding critical infrastructure and/or pre-positioning for future activity.”
Union Power Minister: China attempted hacking Power Grid systems in Ladakh thrice but failed.
New nomenclature: Bhastrika, Kapabhati repackaged as 'Inspiratory Muscle Strength Training'... "Vigorous breaths boost heart, brain".
India studying how Ukraine neutralised Russian tanks: Lessons would be incorporated into the design of the futuristic main battle tanks... Indian Army has been one of the biggest users of Russian arms and armaments
Whitewashing Nazis: The same Western media that once documented and decried Ukraine’s far right is now playing it down and even rehabilitating its leaders — including actual Nazis.
What Big Pharma Corruption Means in the COVID Era: The FDA asked for permission to wait 75 years before releasing information pertaining to Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine, including safety data, effectiveness data, and adverse reaction reports. That means no one would see this information until the year 2096 — conveniently, after many of us have departed this crazy world. To recap: the FDA only needed 10 weeks to review the 329,000 pages worth of data before approving the EUA for the vaccine — but apparently, they need three-quarters of a century to publicize it.
There were widespread, inciteful and entirely fictitious reports in the western media of Russian troops butchering a contingent of 13 Ukrainian soldiers on Snake Island. A fake audio tape was released of the Ukrainians supposedly cursing the Russian invaders. It was Russian media reports that turned out to be true. All Ukrainian soldiers had surrendered and were alive and well.
Shaping the narrative on Ukraine: Facebook okays calls for violence against Russians... Russia restricts Instagram after its parent Meta allows violent threats against Russian military
Lessons for India: How anti-tank missiles & Russian ‘mistakes’ worked to Ukraine’s advantage.. Infantry, tanks, and airpower have not been used simultaneously and cohesively to launch a comprehensive attack.
Javelin missiles are programmed to attack the weakest part of an armoured vehicle — the top. Prior to impact, the missiles initiate a steep upward movement to ensure a downward strike on the roof of the vehicle.
Atmanirbhar on turbine engines? India has built expertise in aeronautical design, flight dynamics and control laws, avionics and other skills needed for building modern combat aircraft. Yet, when it comes to providing an engine, India does not have the capability.
Feeding your enemy: China’s share in India’s imports: Electrical & Electronic Equipments: 50% | Capital Goods: 55% | Drugs APIs: 68%
*China’s share in India’s imports (%): Auto components: 27%* Toys: 75% Drugs APIs: 68% Solar Cells: 78% Capital Goods: 55% Electrical & Electronic Equipments: 50% Consumer durables: 45% Leather goods: 40% Organic Chemicals: 40% (News Reports; LS; WITS). We need to change that 🇮🇳
Bayraktar TB-2: Turkish drone manufacturer reports booming business from Ukraine war
When a missile misfires: "For a cruise missile, you have to give target coordinates when fired from the ground, and after that she is on her own. There are also some missiles for which the coordinates can be updated in flight.
First thing could be that the coordinates are not correct. But in this particular case, the missile has gone in a particular direction, and then turned. Normally it will only turn in the last stages. So, the type of turn she has taken, that means the coordinates could not have had been wrong.
She had flown straight, then turned, then flown straight. She has not done any funny manoeuvres. Considering that, if she has not done any fancy manoeuvres, has sometime during flight the destination got corrupted?”
White man killing white man?: No way! He should kill only colored people. “It’s very emotional for me because I see European people with blonde hair and blue eyes being killed every day with Putin’s missiles and his helicopters and his rockets”. The BBC presenter responded: “I understand and of course respect the emotion.”
Sandhya Jain on 'dog does not eat dog': Hitler's unforgivable sin was that he breached the tacit accord of the White Colonial People (that dog does not eat dog) and practiced imperialism upon the White Christian peoples, bringing France, Austria, Poland, and virtually all of Europe under his heel. His invocation of a mythical non-Christian, Aryan ancestry for the German people must have enraged the epoch's dominant colonial power, Great Britain, which took pride in its Anglo-Saxon origins.
India mulls rupee trade accounts with Russia: To soften the blow of western sanctions on Russia.. India also used it with Iran after it came under Western sanctions for its nuclear weapons program.
India will need its own SWIFT, Youtube, Facebook etc
Everything can be weaponized overnight and it doesn't have to be a major war. An increasingly woke west can choose its justifications on a whim. A protest of 100 people in Bhubaneshwar can be called "exactly like 1930s"
Turkish drones: Ukrainian employs Turkish-made Bayraktar TB2 drone to pummel Russian forces in Kherson region
Han hug: Sri Lanka on the brink of bankruptcy: Consumers hit hard by soaring inflation, food shortages
Dry January was more popular than ever: 35% of legal-aged US adults skipped alcohol for the entire month — a trend that's growing in popularity as drinkers look to reset their bodies in the New Year.
France should pay us: France is seeing a spike in Rafale fighter jet orders after India acquired them.
China's New Mortars: Designed for war with India? The PLA is now announcing the deployment of new self-propelled rapid-fire mortars to conduct “mobile, hit-and-run firing positions”.
Stirling engine: China claims it developed the world's most powerful heat engine. “The prototype ran at a rated power of 320 kilowatts with a power conversion efficiency of 40%”. In comparison, the Stirling engine used on the Swedish Navy's Gotland submarines is rated at 75KW.. China eyeing deadlier submarines, safer nuclear reactors with new Stirling engine?
Unstoppable: China's Fenghua-1 GPU aims for GeForce RTX 3060 compute performance. Based on Imagination Technologies' PowerVR architecture.
Madhav Gadgil: "Most ‘development’ activities now are aimed at benefiting only the rich. The relaxations in ESA will benefit the quarries that make huge, illegal profits. Some mine-owners in Goa had told me about the huge rates they pay to the politicians, right from the bottom to the top. Before the 2014 elections, the BJP strongly supported our report, but the moment they came to power, they took a 180-degree turn".
Gouging small businesses: For every $100 sellers earn in sales, Amazon is keeping $30 — up from 19% just 5 years ago.
India's Population Growth:
Urban India now has a fertility rate of 1.6, comparable to the European Union. In the relative weight of its states, India’s Parliament has remained frozen since the 1971 census. The average parliamentarian from Uttar Pradesh represents three million people, while a counterpart from Tamil Nadu represents 1.8 million.
If Parliament were reapportioned according to the likely population in 2026, the five southern states would send 26 fewer representatives to the 545-seat Parliament. The four most populous Hindi heartland states would add 31 seats.
Turkish drones lead Azerbaijan to victory: “The first lesson that the Azerbaijani-Armenian clashes showed is the vulnerability of traditional land units -- armored, mechanized, and motorized formations in the face of advanced drone warfare weaponry and concepts.” Crucially Turkey also transferred 'a complete robotic warfare doctrine and concept of operations' to Azerbaijan.
“The Turkish-made Bayraktar drones carry four missiles that are also produced by Turkey -- MAM laser-guided ‘smart micromunition’ missiles. In Syria, these drones very easily destroyed Russian air defense systems like the S-300 and S-400 surface-to-air missiles (SAMs). This caused a kind of outcry in Russia because Turkey has produced drone weapons which are able to easily hit all the air-defense systems that have been advertised by Russia as one of the most effective air-defense systems in the world”.
Sunken boats. Stolen gear: Fishermen are prey as China conquers a strategic sea. China’s navy, coast guard and paramilitary fleet have rammed fishing boats, harassed oil exploration vessels, held combat drills and shadowed U.S. naval patrols. “It appears that China is rapidly developing the capabilities to exclude other navies from the South China Sea”.
Many experts argue that China is the main culprit in overfishing, offering massive incentives to its armed fleet and regular fishermen to venture far into other nations’ exclusive economic zones, from Latin America to the Antarctic. “Clashes will increase as China strengthens de facto control and [fish] stocks collapse. Eventually we will see loss of life if this keeps up.”
Vocal for Local: China lost Rs 40,000 crore from boycott of Chinese goods, claims CAIT. “We are all set to achieve our target of reducing imports from China to the tune of Rs. One lakh crore by December,2021”. . . . Will the educated middle-class support them?
Our bodies are ruined by sitting, learn to squat: “Every joint in our body has synovial fluid in it. This is the oil in our body that provides nutrition to the cartilage. If a joint doesn’t go through its full range—if the hips and knees never go past 90 degrees—the body says ‘I’m not being used’ and starts to degenerate and stops the production of synovial fluid. . . . “Being on the ground helps you physically be ”grounded in yourself” —something that’s largely missing from our screen-dominated, hyper-intellectualized lives.
Blue sky thinking: “For once this city looks like the city of my childhood – quiet, pure air and amazingly clear skies. I know it’s a high price to pay for enjoying clean air, the virus is deadly”. . . Indians breathe easier.
Cow vigilantism raised milk output: Normally, adult females are sold away for slaughter, after their fourth or fifth lactation at salvage value. But due to cow vigilantism after 2014, these animals have been reared for more number of lactations; this population has shown the structural change in growth of milk production.
Secular governments buying PPE kits from Hindu non-profit: These disciples of Satya Sai Baba are doing it at absolutely no profits as they view it as a public service in troubled times, charging Rs 475, while other traders charge Rs 1,500 and more.
Terror haven, psecular haven: Before his arrest, Bangabandhu's killer Abdul Majed was hiding in Kolkata for 22 years.
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's killer was hiding in outskirts of Kolkata and 24 Parganas for more than 22 years. This Bangladeshi had obtained documents and passport to 'prove' he is an Indian citizen. This deathrow convict returned to Dhaka on 16/3 https://t.co/5GIKj9xMyc
Shift Production Out of China: Japan has earmarked $2.2 billion of its record economic stimulus package to help its manufacturers shift production out of China as the c-virus disrupts supply chains between the major trading partners.
WHO: U.S. Spent $452 Million on WHO in 2019. China? $42 Million
"When mind is quiet, all is Self. When mind moves the world arises. So be Still, throw away everything and be Free." ~ Papaji pic.twitter.com/o7JSUOyJay
Students for a Free Tibet:
SFT is a chapter-based network of young people and activists around the
world. Through education, grassroots organizing, and nonviolent direct
action, we campaign for Tibetans’ fundamental right to freedom.
Dramatic drop in India pollution:
"India is a highly fossil-fueled country. In order to tackle pollution,
we need to tackle that. We can only use the outbreak of c-virus as a
learning lesson for us."
Anti-Satellite Weapon: India proudly showcases its anti-satellite weapon at an arms bazaar... 13-meter-tall, three-stage missile with solid-rocket motor propulsion.
— apoorva kulkarni-team modi-shah (@EkAur_ModiBhakt) February 8, 2020
Rattled by China Inc: Attorney General thinks US should buy controlling stake in Nokia, Ericsson. "From a national security standpoint, if the industrial internet becomes dependent upon Chinese tech, China would have the ability to shut countries off from technology and equipment upon which their consumers and industries depend". . . . . White House dismisses the idea.
Mike Pompeo: "China’s propaganda starts even earlier than college. China has targeted K-12 schools around the world. Do you know that we have no ability to establish similar programs in China? We should have reciprocity in all things. Today they have free reign in our system and we're completely shut out from theirs... Beijing knows that today’s kids are tomorrow’s leaders." . . . China is also trying to recruit U.S. scientists and academics to share vital
secrets, in exchange for monetary gain through their "Thousand Talents
Plan," a campaign that has already targeted scientists and professors on
campuses such as Virginia Tech and Harvard.
Calibrating Ketosis:
If you give your body any more than the absolute minimum amount of
protein that it needs, it will immediately break it down into carbs. The
point of keto is to force your body to deplete its glucose so it will
have to use body fat as a fuel source.
RCEP trap: Even without a Free Trade Agreement, Chinese goods swamp Indian markets. Beijing desperately needs preferential access to markets such as India due to its tariff war with the US. This is a major driving force behind RCEP.
Border Gateway Protocol: China has been 'hijacking the vital internet backbone of western countries'
String of pearls:
Deals with Thailand, Bangladesh show China's rise as warship exporter.
The largest user of Chinese weapon systems in India's neighbourhood has
been Pakistan
Unforeseen outcomes:
GM Mosquito project has gone wrong. Not only did numbers bounce back up
in the months after the test, but some of the native bugs, they found,
had retained genes from the engineered mosquitoes. Failed GM mosquito
control experiment may have strengthened wild bugs.
Making a mockery of FDI norms: Indian's top trader body seeks ban on Amazon, Flipkart's festive season sale. “By offering deep discounts ranging from 10% to 80% on their e-commerce portals, these companies are clearly influencing the prices and create an uneven level playing field which is in direct contravention of the policy”.
N Ram will be proud:
China used fake accounts to target Hong Kong protests, Twitter,
Facebook uncover. The social networks are blocked in the mainland, but not in Hong
Kong. The assertion of a
covert disinformation campaign is the latest twist as China seeks to
quell the largely leaderless protest.
Chinese telecom firms are security risk for India: “China today controls a significant section of India’s telecom networks even though information dominance is at the core of China’s military strategy, posing an unacceptable security risk”.
Entrenched and entitled: Card payments group Visa is critical of the India’s move towards no-fee debit card transactions
And now, plant-based eggs: Mung bean based liquid egg product, JUST Egg, is the second-best performing in the category.
Fermented rice or Pazhaya saadam: Increase healthy gut bacteria. High in vitamins like B12 lacking in other vegetarian foods. Use only organic milk free of antibiotics
Trump throws Kurds under the bus: Almost immediately after the decision to pullout American troops from Syria, Turkey masses troops near Kurdish-held town in northern Syria. Without U.S. soldiers as a buffer, the Kurds are now stuck between Turkey, Assad and ISIS
On A2 milk: Indian native breeds of cows and buffaloes are of A2 milk type and hence are a source for safe milk. The frequency of A2 allele was 100% in the five high-yielding milk breeds — Red Sindhi, Gir, Rathi, Shahiwal and Tharparkar, meaning that these breeds do not have A1 allele or A1A1/A1A2 genotype. In the remaining breeds, the availability of A2 allele was 94 per cent.
Christians Groups oppose Meditation, Yoga In Schools: The groups claim children in public schools across the U.S. are being “indoctrinated” by “Buddhist-based mindfulness methods in an “outright unconstitutional” practice.. Missouri megachurch pastor John Lindell similarly blasted yoga for its “demonic” Hindu roots in November. He added the “spiritually dangerous” practice was “ “diametrically opposed to Christianity.”
A brutal Paki reply to Trump: “This is Pakistan giving a small taste of what it’s capable of”... The military-grade explosives, not widely available, used in recent Taliban and ISIS attacks in Afghanistan point to a state sponsor, likely Pak.
India needs more researchers: We need more public funding for research including the creation of a National Foundation for Research in Science, Technology, and Humanities with an annual non-lapsable grant of at least Rs 5000 crore to give research grants on a competitive non-discriminatory basis.
