Quick notes: Overtreatment | Mantra meditation...

• “Doctor, is this really necessary?”: Prevent unnecessary medical care — by asking your Doctor these 4 questions first: "Is this really necessary? What are the risks? Are there other options? What happens if I don’t do anything?"



• Bribe to overtreat: The makers of Dolo tablets gave freebies worth Rs 1,000 crore to doctors for prescribing their 650 mg anti-inflammatory drug.



• Chinese Exascale Supercomputer: OceanLight, operated by the University of Science and Technology of China, races neck and neck with crowning jewels of Western supercomputing achievement such as Frontier and Summit, as well as Japan's Arm-based Fugaku.



• Fastest-charging EV: China's Xpeng G9 SUV claimed to be world's fastest-charging mass-produced EV



• Self-driving tractor: Foxconn to make self-driving electric tractor in Ohio



• The science behind Mantra meditation:



• Bride trafficking along the China-Pakistan economic corridor: Cases of fraudulent marriage between Pakistani women and girls — many of them from marginalized backgrounds and Christian families — and Chinese men who had travelled to Pakistan. The victims were lured with payments to the family and promises of a good life in China, but reported abuse, difficult living conditions, forced pregnancy, or forced prostitution once they reached China.

Quick notes: Jizya lives on | Baikal-M1...

• 21.5% Jiziya tax:




• Novel synchronous reluctance motor designed by a 17-Year-old: Robert Sansone’s research could pave the way for sustainable EVs that do not require rare-earth magnets



• China destroying Myanmar with Rare Earth mining: Illegal mining operations by Chinese-owned companies in Myanmar is destroying the natural landscape of Myanmar’s border region with China



• Russian-made laptop with homegrown CPU: The heart of the Titan is the Baikal-M1 SoC, which uses eight outdated Arm Cortex-A57 cores operating at 1.50 GHz and outfitted with an 8MB L3 cache accompanied by an eight-cluster Arm Mali-T628 GPU with two display pipelines.



• Satvik living in Mayapur:




• Meat and prostate health: A growing body of research suggests that meat and dairy products act directly on the prostate, in addition to their cancer-promoting effects. The prostate is directly adjacent to the end of the large intestine. This is where the droppings are collected, which contain remnants of decomposing animal proteins that contain various toxic substances. They can penetrate the lining of the intestine and also enter the prostate. That's why it's so important to limit the amount of meat you eat and to eat plenty of fruit, vegetables, and whole grain products rich in fiber and other toxin-absorbing substances.



• Social-media addiction: California lawmakers killed a bill that would have allowed suing social-media companies for features that allegedly harm children by causing them to become addicted.



• China opposes CHIPS Act: Only China can subsidize domestic players.

Quick notes: Vanadium batteries | Mud architecture...

• Vanadium redox flow batteries: The U.S. made a breakthrough battery discovery — then gave the technology to China.. The Chinese company didn't steal this technology. It was given to them — by the U.S. Department of Energy. First in 2017, as part of a sublicense, and later, in 2021, as part of a license transfer.



• China Using Sri Lanka's Indebtedness to Show Military Muscle: China has refused Sri Lanka’s request to reschedule project loans amounting to nearly $10 billion that have fallen due. Without China's cooperation, Colombo would be unable to obtain IMF financing and sink deeper into a financial mire.



• Pornhub: Visa can be sued in abuse claim. "Visa is not alleged to have simply created an incentive to commit a crime, it is alleged to have knowingly provided the tool used to complete a crime".



• Biju Bhasker's Thannal: Reviving zero-cement mud buildings using traditional wisdom.




• AI to help protect India's tigers: Uses the data collected by cameras and rangers, but in addition uses data gathered from satellites and information collected from the local population.



• The purest food on Earth: "Ghee is the final and purest form of milk – the last extract. It was considered the purest offering to the gods and the medium by which prayers were carried to the heavens."



• Taiwan-China trade: Taiwan's trade with China is far bigger than its trade with the U.S. In all, Taiwan exported $188.91 billion in goods to mainland China and Hong Kong in 2021. More than half were electronic parts, followed by optical equipment



• Plastic pollution: Birds all over the world are living in our rubbish



• Global culture a threat to local symbols, identities: Half of the languages spoken in the world today could disappear by the end of the century and with loss of each language, people are not only losing considerable literature and folklore, but also losing wisdom inherited through generations.
  
  As the market is driven by demands of the global economy, more and more farmers are moving beyond indigenous crops for short-term gains and this change in cropping pattern is altering the character of soils, thereby reducing its capacity to support biodiversity.



• Ragam Hamsadhwani: U. Srinivas - Paahi Paahi Bala Ganapathim

Quick notes: SMIC advance | Jamsetji Tata...

• China’s Top Chipmaker Achieves Breakthrough Despite US Curbs: SMIC has advanced its production technology by two generations, defying US sanctions intended to halt the rise of China’s largest chipmaker.



• EV leader: China’s BYD was written off by Elon Musk. Now it’s beating Tesla.. Beijing poured billions of dollars into battery and EV companies to research alternatives to the combustion engine. . . . Meanwhile, India built Sardar Patel statue and cleared Aarey forest



• How Jamsetji Tata created the Indian Institute of Science: Confronted with an arrogant viceroy who could not understand the greatness of the giver or of his gift, any other man than Jamsetji would have withdrawn the offer. In fact the British reckoned that he would. But Jamsetji was not easily deflected from the accomplishment of his purpose.
  
  In 1904, Jamsetji added a codicil to his will urging his two sons not to use this money set aside for the university. If need be, he requested they add to the university from the wealth he was leaving them. While the scheme was still being considered and a provisional committee was looking into it, Jamsetji died on 19 May 1904. In 1905, when Curzon was on leave, he finally gave the green light to Dorab Tata, by agreeing that the government would meet half the cost.



• Raga Shudh Kalyan: Ustad Shujaat Khan accompanied by Yogesh Samsi on tabla.




• Zomato and Swiggy squeezing the small guy: Over the years, several smaller restaurant owners have opposed commission rates running up to 25-30%. These platforms may be helping with discovery and logistics, but at what cost?



• Canada's unmarked graves: How the church carried out "cultural genocide" against indigenous children.
  
  Searches for more possible grave sites using ground penetrating radar continue after discoveries in British Columbia and Saskatchewan provinces. Meanwhile, tribes are trying to piece together old documents that might help identify the deceased in the unmarked graves and shed light on the fate of others who never returned home.



• Manisha Ropeta, Pakistan's 1st Hindu woman DSP: Ropeta failed by one mark to clear her MBBS entrance examinations. “I then told my family I was taking a degree in physical therapy but at the same time I prepared for the Sindh Public Services Commission examinations and I passed that getting 16th position among 468 candidates.”

Quick notes: Space laser | Salami slicing...

• Space Laser Kalina: Russia is developing a new laser system that will disable foreign satellites.. Unlike anti-satellite weapons, the laser system is more of a blinding and disabling one, suppressing electro-optical systems of satellites using solid-state lasers... Gamechanger?



• 'Salami slicing' Indian territory': It was the biggest strategic blunder the Modi regime committed by agreeing to withdraw the Special Frontier Force unit from the heights in exchange for paltry returns -- the PLA's drawing back eastwards a bit from the terrain feature Finger 3 on Pangong Lake's northern shore.
  
  Indian imports in trillions of rupees from China are growing by nearly 50% annually, and the repatriation of profits in billions of dollars in hard currency by Chinese companies is keeping pace. It is among the bright spots in the current Chinese economy and something Beijing would not like to disturb. Delhi percieves Chinese exports to India as negotiating leverage.



• Europe’s Hypocrisy: After preaching Africa about the need to move away from fossil fuels, Europe suddenly wants Africa’s natural gas.
  
  Fossil fuels are now 'green': EU parliament votes to officially move the goalposts on what constitutes green energy by simply changing the labeling of investments in gas and nuclear energy to 'green'.



• Bhagavatar: Jon B. Higgins accompanied by Trichy Sankaran.




• Sober dates: More young people are dating without drinking. Drinking gets in the way of genuine connection



• Switching off Netflix: "Netflix is losing numbers because it keeps pumping out endless shows without stopping to check if they're good".



• I am back: Cheetahs to prowl India for first time in 70 years. It is the only large mammal to become extinct in the country since independence from British rule.



• Flooding of Hampi monuments: Two unscientific bridges built downstream of the left bank canal of Tungabhadra dam are the cause of the flooding of the monuments in Hampi, with the number of inundations set to increase in the coming years as the silt further blocks the flow of water.
  
  The water that is held back by the bridge is impounded and has put Hampi monuments in danger. Hampi is now being inundated multiple times a year even when the TB dam discharges just above 1 lakh cusecs of water. In fact, the government’s move to build a hanging bridge to connect Hampi-Anegundi had prompted the Unesco to put Hampi on the list of World Heritage Sites in Danger in 1999.

Quick notes: German industry | Windfall gains...

• China is steadily wiping out German industry: "Over a decade ago, the sudden emergence of Chinese competitors wiped out Germany's advanced solar power industry. Now, that experience is likely to repeat across a broad spectrum of industries. Germany is slowly but surely realizing that a national industrial strategy based on synergy with China is headed toward a dead-end.’’



• Role-reversal: “China-made EVs could turn Sino-EU automotive trade on its head. In EV trade – the future mainstay of the auto sector – the EU is quickly becoming a net consumer of China-made vehicles”




• Windfall: For Reliance, With Love: Russian oil has supercharged profits. Reliance’s GRM stood at a sky-high $24 to $26 per barrel.



• Is the tank doomed? "This war has been the day of the drone. It tells us that you need drones for defence to keep enemy drones off your back. You need classic low-level air defence including lasers and electronic jamming.".. In the future remote-controlled, unmanned tanks - essentially armoured drones - will be moving across the battlefield in tandem with crewed tanks, increasing their firepower while reducing the risk to life.



• Russia learns to neutrlize drones: In the early months of the war in Ukraine, drones emerged as an unexpected source of victory against Russian forces. But Russia has learned from the humiliation by drones. The drone wonder weapons are becoming increasingly ineffective because Russia has improved its defense systems and is downing and jamming many of Ukraine's drones. "Drones were able to play such a role because the Russians were slow to set up an air defense system".



• Anti-drone gun: Russia employing Stupor, an advanced electromagnetic weapon, that severs the connection between drones and their operators.



• Drone force: Ukraine sent dozens of 'dronations' to build army of drones. But electronic counter-measures were becoming increasingly effective.



• Smugglers using underwater drones: The unmanned submersibles are apparently capable of carrying up to 200kg (441lbs) of cargo.



• A Manipur Hill Came Crashing Down: At least 50 buried alive. "When a railway line or road is constructed in such topography, it involves a lot of vegetation clearing, slope-cutting and after that, and soil filling, but we are observing that these activities are leaving the soil very loose and vulnerable to erosions".



• High-fructose-corn-syrup for breakfast: Kellogg's loses court case over sugary cereal supermarket offers



• Vipassana Meditation: Kavitha Maharaj