Tuesday, April 30, 2013

India waiting for peaceful solution to Ladakh incursion

The clown allegedly in charge of the nation's defense hallucinating his "peaceful" dreams aloud. Bloody brainwashed sycophants of the Nehru dynasty - believing their manufactured mythology of "peaceful solutions", "tranquility",
Panchsheel, India's "peaceful" liberation from colonial rule under Ghandy's leadership etc.

Actually, the situation *is* a creation of India, the brainwashed Nehruvian Stalinists, that is. It all started with the acquiescence in the early 1950's to Communist China's occupation of Tibet, Aksai Chin and the Indian leadership's tacit approval, ex:
the infamous statement about
"Not a blade of grass grows there".

It is this perverted and adamant emphasis on "peace" (sic), "peaceful co-existence" (sic) and
"peaceful solutions" (sic) that has made India a weak pushover and the laughing stock of the world.

Let's not blame the Chinese for their hegemonistic belligerence -it is a product of Indian subservience.

Remember the geo-political fiction called "Dragon fire" which depicts India-China hostilities ending with the Chinese nuking
New Delhi - and the "peaceniks"
in India choosing not to retaliate
with their "credible, minimum deterrent" (sic).

This is actually a very probable outcome as long as genocidal peaceniks are entrusted with national security in India.

Unfortunately, the Congress is not alone in "peacenik" infestation. No political party, including the "Hindu nationalist" BJP is free from this disease of the mindset.

http://m.timesofindia.com/india/India-committed-to-safeguard-its-interest-in-Ladakh-Antony/articleshow/19802885.cms


NEW DELHI: India remains committed to a peaceful resolution of the situation caused by Chinese incursion in Ladakh and will take every possible step to safeguard its interests, defence minister A K Antony said Monday

Addressing the Unified Commanders' Conference here, Antony said the current situation in Ladakh was not created by India.

"The current situation is not one of our creation. However, we remain committed to a peaceful resolution of the situation, through military and diplomatic dialogue within the framework of the agreements for maintaining peace and tranquility," he said.




The Economist | Bobby Jindal: Trying to lead the party of growth

Mr jindal wants to go to Washington just as fellow RoLs, congress storm troopers, have flocked to delhi to make their fortunes
The Economist | Bobby Jindal: Trying to lead the party of growth http://www.economist.com/news/united-states/21576099-likely-contender-next-republican-nomination-setting-out-his-stall-trying?frsc=dg%7Cb via @theeconomist

sent from galaxy note, pardon brevity

Vampire cities: Washington sucks the lifeblood out of the country just as delhi does | Article: America's Richest Counties

http://www.forbes.com/sites/tomvanriper/2013/04/25/americas-richest-counties/

Sent via Flipboard

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China’s economy: Perverse advantage | The Economist

http://www.economist.com/news/finance-and-economics/21576680-new-book-lays-out-scale-chinas-industrial-subsidies-perverse-advantage?fsrc=scn/tw/te/pe/perverseadvantage

sent from galaxy note, pardon brevity

Monday, April 29, 2013

China Pulling a Senkaku on India?

After stoking up the Senkaku dispute on Japan, and then backpedaling on the issue after seeing angry Japan's response, is China now turning towards India as easier pickings?

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/opinion/guest-writer/ladakh-incursion-is-china-taking-advantage-of-indias-leadership-deficit-political-disarray/articleshow/19759215.cms

As usual, the Congress kleptocrats are too busy focusing on their own grip on power to care about marauder incursions across the border.

Sunday, April 28, 2013

Sunni death squads that hunt Shias

Hussain was headed for Australia, where thousands of his fellow ethnic Hazara Shias have sought refuge. He is part of a growing exodus of young Hazara men who are fleeing Pakistan as it has become apparent that their government and military cannot, or will not, protect them from violent extremists.
NYT: Fleeing Pakistan Violence, Hazaras Brave Uncertain Journey

Jeffrey Armstrong teaches the Hindu diaspora how to explain Dharma to hostile Americans – Asian Media USA

the power of words and memes. english is full of christian memes that are hostile to non-christian ideas.

for instance, english writers (that is, those writing in english, regardless of ethnicity or nationality) often say "hanuman, the monkey god". but i have never read any one of them say, "jesus, the corpse god". well, if hanuman is a monkey, then purely objectively, jesus is a corpse, too. but they don't say that. it is assumed to be... too delicate or something. 

isn't that a stunning example of ethnocentrism?

rajiv malhotra's work turns the microscope back on christians, often successfully. 

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Ishwar Sharan <ishwarsharan@gmail.com>
Date: Sun, Apr 28, 2013 at 10:10 AM
Subject: [New Post With Comments] Jeffrey Armstrong teaches the Hindu diaspora how to explain Dharma to hostile Americans – Asian Media USA
To: 




Jeffrey Armstrong teaches the Hindu diaspora how to explain Dharma to hostile Americans – Asian Media USA

Posted on April 28, 2013 

Jeffery Armstrong

Jeffery ArmstrongChicago IL: World Hindu Youth (WHY) association hosted a seminar on "Reframing Bharat" followed by another on a "New vocabulary to describe Vedic dharma" on Saturday, April 20, 2013, at Chinmaya Mission Badri campus located at 11S080 Kingery Hwy, Willowbrook, IL 60527. Presented by best-selling author Jeffrey Armstrong, also known as Kavindra Rishi, from Vancouver, the seminars aim to teach the younger generation how to speak confidently about Hindu dharma especially to its detractors. Vidya Naha of WHY presented Armstrong as a Vedantic seeker. He is also a poet and astrologer or "karma mechanic" as he also puts it.

Starting with a prayer to Ganesha and invocation to the Guru, Armstrong immediately presented his unique credentials, as an American convert, to teach often bewildered Hindus-by-birth. Attracted by India's patterns of thinking and feeling, and its compassionate culture, he soon became a "why" specialist, for "all the subjects I studied (language, psychology, science, etc.) took me to India." As an outsider, he had to think through all these alien concepts and behavior from the foundations up, unable to take anything for granted. Whereas his Christian teachers never encouraged questions, the question-answer format is at the core of Hindu transmission.

"I gave up my family, church, and culture to become a Hindu, but ended up being more alone without a community. You don't have to study, whereas I have to because of my situation. Hindu culture is partly asleep, whereas I am awake. Everyone is asking the youth why they are Hindu, a question their elders are not able to answer in English. This is what I'm able to do. I've been working with Hindu youth in both the USA and India for the past 14 years."

The Hindu diaspora is at a disadvantage when having to explain their dharma to often skeptical, if not outright hostile, Americans because the weight of the English vocabulary is pitted against them even before the discussion can get started. Youth are especially vulnerable because the parents are not equipped to translate their beliefs into language that makes sense within the worldview and language acquired here through schooling. The whiteboard already listed a wide range of inherited (English) "Words to Avoid" as opposed to (Sanskrit) "Words to Understand."

Prof. George LakoffBecause the person who keeps asking the questions retains control, we need to disorient our interlocutor by changing the subject. When asked "why do you Hindus have so many gods?" we could start talking about the icons on his desktop and compare them to "idols" that are different from programs, yet help keeps things organized, etc., point out that invoking the name of the god is like clicking on the icon to accomplish a task through the underlying code. Armstrong resorted to many such extended, often unexpected, metaphors to bring home his lessons.

Armstrong gave many examples of how to think, question, and use words strategically instead of falling into the opponent's trap by directly attacking him. The trick is to reframe the whole debate in unexpected ways that intrigue the listener into wanting to follow your own story and thought processes and thereby see the world differently. Piling up facts will in itself not convince a person who holds a different worldview. Participants were distributed a sheet summarizing such "Rules of Framing" adapted from the book Don't Think of an Elephant by George Lakoff, language strategist at University of Berkeley.

The second workshop addressed the pitfalls of mapping familiar Western concepts to Hindu traditional terminology. Armstrong explained why dharma is not religion, Bhagavan is not God, yoga is not faith, devas are not gods, murthis are not idols, namah is not worship, papa is not sin, svarga is not heaven, and other such facile equivalences. The secret is to know whom you are talking to; and to ask oneself "am I a living example of what I believe in?" Most Hindus have received their tradition in bits and pieces but have not yet been initiated, which is like not installing the downloaded software and then calling tech support, i.e., the guru, to complain. Instead we "need to produce hundreds of Vivekananda's by teaching people how to speak strategically about one's own culture and traditions."

Armstrong also attacked the "sameness" syndrome preached by many Hindus. All religions are not the same but more akin competing operating systems, like Microsoft Windows versus Apple, each with its own terminology and underlying philosophy. The Christian operating system is much poorer in vocabulary, as evidenced by the smaller list of words to avoid. The British purposely replaced Sanskrit with English language, thereby limiting the vocabulary for discourse about oneself. Abrahamic world view was never interested in the world and matter, unlike the elaborate treatment of prakriti (nature) in Hinduism. There are already many Sanskrit words in English, and one of the greatest gifts that Vedic culture can give the world is its richer vocabulary. Armstrong wondered why no Hindu has ever approached him to try and explain the universe in terms of the permutations of the three gunas (sattva, rajas, and tamas) and defects (dosha) to outsiders, and went on to explain the notion of devas in considerable detail.

PatanjaliHe ended by decoding the sophisticated vocabulary of Patanjali's Yoga SÅ«tras of mind-stuff (citta), its modifications, (vrtti) psychic traces (vasana), our inherent nature (svarupa), etc. He opposed its scientific approach to "religion" from "re-ligare" (Latin), which is to be "bound by rules," i.e., do as you are told with no questioning). This is the source of the "religious" conflict we see today around the world. Paramatma (Supreme Self) is the single cohesive all-pervading consciousness that holds everything together including the separate individual consciousnesses (atma). Goal of yoga is to "plug into paramatma" by first realizing your own atman (through citta-vrtti-nirodhah). "I've been 'programming' with these words," Armstrong affirmed.

Armstrong's examples, especially his (pseudo-) etymologies and proposed 'kinships' between English and Sanskrit, became funnier as the workshop progressed such that the chuckling students were sometimes uncertain whether he was (half-) joking. In truth, he was skillfully using humor to entice the audience into thinking differently and more deeply about the words and concepts we have inherited without reflecting. Questioned about this technique, he told Asian Media USA that in his previous life he was a standup comedian regularly invited by the corporate world and paid handsomely to teach them to see the 'religious' side of IT and laugh!

The seminars were repeated the next day on a larger scale at the Chinmaya Mission's Yamunotri camp at Gray's Lake. Two of his volumes were on sale during the workshops. – Asian Media USA, 24 April 2013

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3 Responses

  1. John Dobson, still alive 98 yrs, was a monk in Ramakrishna Mission California. He has written an excellent book "Advaita Vedanta and Modern Science" in which he has written the following. Swamiji here is Swami Vivekananda. Dobson invented the amateur telescope the reason for him to leave his monk status from RK Mission. Here is an extract from "Advaita Vedanta and Modern Science"

    "For thousands of years the Indian mind has lived and thought philosophy. In India Swamiji found a language ready-made for handling philosophical ideas. There is no language on the face of the earth even comparable to Sanskrit in its competence to handle philosophical concepts. Swamiji found himself translating and re-translating from Sanskrit to English. In English there is no word for Vivartavada (the doctrine that the first cause is apparitional). Parinama (transformation) is understood but not Vivarta. There is no word for Brahman, for Atman, for Maya or for the Gunas. It is not just that the words are absent; the ideas are also absent" — J Dobson.

    Very true, John Dobson has said with great eruditenes. It is futile to translate Sanskrit words and mislead the public if you are doing the wrong interpretation. All the so-called men who translated like Max Mueller, Ralph Griffits etc were full of ignorance as John Dobson has written that even the ideas were absent in English, then how can you give the right translation. Max Mueller never came to India. The translations were all done with pundits who knew not even rudimentary English and the westerners ill equipped in Sanskrit.

    There was an article written in http://www.vijayvaani.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?aid=2650 Come Carpentier de Gourdon where he wrote Brahman means father.

    This was a very bad translation to which I protested. Just read George Augustines response in the article by Come Carpentier de Gourdon. It is very interesting.

    So as John Dobson says do not translate these philosophical concepts as these concepts do not exist in other languages. This is the reason for such disastrous interpretations and all this nonsense.

    • Come Carpentier's article caused a great controversy. It was a very clever piece of Christian inculturation propaganda. It is inexplicable why Sandhya Jain published it. And when the matter was brought to her attention by Shree Vinekar and others, she showed extraordinary contempt for her readers by refusing to even discuss the matter.

      Even more extraordinary was that Hindu public intellectuals like Radha Rajan and Vijaya Rajiva came to her defence and said she could publish what she liked and if we didn't like it, too bad for us!

      Had I published such an article on Bharata Bharati, these Hindutva harpies would have hung me and had me drawn and quartered. They had already identified me as a "white dog" (Sandhya Jain) and a Christian agent planted in the Hindu Sangh (Radha Rajan) because I had published an article by Dr. Elst which they didn't understand and therefore didn't like. Hindutva intellectuals–I use the term intellectual loosely–are racist and not very bright. Dr. Elst runs circles around them and they resent it deeply.

      I have no tolerance for racism or for the double standards exhibited by these ladies, so I have stopped publishing them.

      To get back to Come Carpentier, his identification of Brahman with the Christian Father is not new. It was done a hundred years ago in the North-East by Baptist missionaries when they were proselytising the Mizoram tribes. Now they usually identify Brahman with Prajapati as the equivalent to the Christian creator god.

      All this is just nonsense of course. Brahman is neither God or a God. At best in English the 'It' — which cannot be known or defined — can be called Godhead, the source of God and Gods and everything else. But in fact the concept of Brahman just doesn't exist in the Western Christian brain at all.

      We must use Sanskrit terms as much as possible. One of the great mistakes the early Hindu sadhus who went abroad made was to try to find Christian equivalents for Hindu concepts. Yogananda was the worst offender and ended up a Christian himself! Vivekananda was also rather too generous with his Christian interlocutors sometimes. Because of historical circumstances and the fact that India had been invaded by Muslims and then colonised by Christians, Christianity became the standard Hinduism was measured against. Ram Swarup and Sita Ram Goel worked very hard to reverse this process. They both insisted that Christianity and Islam are to be measured against Hindu standards–and not the other way round.

      When Christianity and Islam are measured against Hindu standards, they fail miserably. They are not religions in the spiritual sense at all. They are political ideologies masquerading as religion. They do not seek God but world empire. Hindus must stop equating them with their own Dharma if they want to survive spiritually, as a unique civilization that has been badly damaged but not yet conquered.

  2. English is a Christian language and English terms cannot carry the meaning and nuances of Sanskrit terms. Therefore Hinduism should be explained in Sanskrit terms as much as possible.

    There is simply no relationship between the Abrahamic religions and Hindu Dharma. But because of historical circumstances, Hindus have had to describe themselves and their Dharma in English Christian terms.

    But this does not have to continue. English is a marvellous language in that it absorbs foreign words and terms very easily so long as English-speakers use them. So we must use Sanskrit terms to describe our religion/dharma as much as possible.


 




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The Economist | Banyan: Horn of scarcity

The Economist | Banyan: Horn of scarcity http://www.economist.com/news/asia/21576411-it-profit-motive-not-asian-tradition-endangers-rhinos-elephants-tigers-and?frsc=dg%7Cb via @theeconomist

Note brit kowtow to hans. Chinese medicine is 'traditional'. India's is 'pre-modern'. The hans have bought brit admiration, or maybe brits are still hoping to get paid
sent from galaxy note, pardon brevity

Foreign Affairs: From Brazil to Wikipedia

Foreign Affairs: From Brazil to Wikipedia. http://goo.gl/mag/c4oGXkp

sent from galaxy note, pardon brevity

Indian Censorship Requests Increase

Requests from the ruling kleptocracy for more censorship from Google have doubled in the 2nd half of 2012 as compared to the 1st half:

http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/technology/internet/indias-requests-for-web-censorship-increase/article4658617.ece

Once again, the rulers of the so-called "largest democracy" are showing their true colours.

Saturday, April 27, 2013

Saffron Suit for the Next Yatra

No, it's not another mythical saffron agent - it's ISRO's spacesuit design being tested under vacuum for the Human Spaceflight Program:

https://www.facebook.com/isro.org


Meanwhile, the GSLV is being prepped to be moved to Sriharikota for its launch in July:

http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/indigenous-gslv-to-be-moved-to-sriharikota-by-may-15/article4661053.ece


humor :-) for the healthy ones with dirty minds (male/female): Casa Diablo Vegan Strip Club, portland, orgeon :-)

http://www.yelp.com/biz/casa-diablo-vegan-strip-club-portland

comes highly recommended :-)

moi, i *never* go to strip clubs. well.... maybe once or twice :-) just for journalistic purposes, strictly, mind you, to check out how iniquitous these places are. 

yeah, just like i used to read playboy for the articles. 

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Article: Meet the man told to leave Saudi Arabia for being ‘too handsome’

Good looks: Omar Borkan Al Gala (Picture: YouTube)Meet the ridiculously good-looking man who was reportedly told to leave Saudi Arabia for being too handsome.Omar Borkan Al Gala, an actor and photographer from Dubai, was given his marching orders along with a number of other men at a cultu...

http://metro.co.uk/2013/04/25/omar-borkan-al-gala-meet-the-man-told-to-leave-saudi-arabia-for-being-too-handsome-3666281/

Sent via Flipboard

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'Democracy May Have Had Its Day' and how liberals have doomed America. Lessons for india

http://m.us.wsj.com/articles/a/SB10001424127887323789704578446614144636002?mg=reno64-wsj

sent from galaxy note, pardon brevity

Friday, April 26, 2013

Chak De Goal!

The weekly Punjabi broadcast of “Hockey Night in Canada,” is the only N.H.L. game called in a language other than English or French.

“Chak de phatte goooooaaaalllll Joffrey Lupul! Torrrrronto Maple Putayyy!”  
NYT: Chak De Goal! A Punjabi Broadcast Draws In New Hockey Fans

Article: Google searches can predict stock markets, study finds

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/markets/10019659/Google-searches-can-predict-stock-markets-study-finds.html

Sent via Flipboard

sent from galaxy note, pardon brevity

US Ignored Russian Intel on Boston Bomber


US officials ignored intelligence provided by Russian officials on Tsarnaev:



http://news.yahoo.com/u-russian-spies-trust-deficit-may-clouded-boston-213920988.html

Typical Atlanticist myopia - in their neverending zeal to snub the Russians, the Americans ignored useful warnings from the Russians. Even now, they're still not regretful over it. AlQaeda types can see the holes which are wide enough to drive their truck-bombs through.

Thursday, April 25, 2013

Heart disease and the gut microbe

In the case of eggs, the chain of events starts when the body digests lecithin, breaking it into its constituent parts, including the chemical choline. Intestinal bacteria metabolize choline and release a substance that the liver converts to trimethylamine N-oxide. The more TMAO in your blood, the more likely you are to have a heart attack or stroke. 

positively kafkaesque, communists' comments on modi visit to hindu ashram

but quite understandable. they stand to lose their 'flock' of reliable voters.

my piece, reposted:


The facts are as follows: Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit the Sivagiri Ashram established by Sree Narayana Guru today. The monks had, to be even-handed, invitedSonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi to the same event, but they demurred, so only Modi is visiting. This has caused paroxysms of outrage amongst the Communists in Kerala, with head honcho Pinarayi Vijayan lamenting that this was an effort to turn Sivagiri into a Hindu ashram!

You could have fooled me, but I used to think that Sivagiri is, in fact, a Hindu matham. My first clue was the name 'Sivagiri' = Siva + giri, and I was under the impression that Siva was usually a Hindu deity. My second clue is that I have been there, and it definitely looked and felt like a Hindu ashram. I must have been mistaken: it must be an elaborate hoax, like those Christian faux-ashrams run by clever people in saffron with remarkable names such as Swami Charles Satchidananda, etc, and discreet crosses placed in strategic places.

AFP

Modi visited Dakshineswar Kali Temple and Belur Math in Kolkata recently. AFP

Or perhaps not: Vijayan may be suffering from terminal confusion, or this is yet another instance of Communist double-speak. In the tradition of the Soviets and the Chinese, they are making up history as they go along, erasing certain facts and inserting convenient, new fables

... deleted


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Article: TechShop: an industrial revolution for $125 a month

http://www.engadget.com/2013/04/24/techshop/

Sent via Flipboard

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Cryo Engine Test Successful, GSLV-D5 Test Flight in July

The high-altitude test of the cryogenic engine was successful, and the next test flight of GSLV will be in July:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/thiruvananthapuram/High-altitude-test-of-cryogenic-engine-successful-ISRO-to-launch-GSLV-D5-in-July/articleshow/19717697.cms

This program is a number of years behind schedule, so let's keep our fingers crossed.


Wednesday, April 24, 2013

#namo goes to Sivagiri. #Communist paranoia and jati politics kerala #ezhavas - Page 1 | Firstpost

Fwd: Why is Arab, Persian or Turkish Colonialism and Occupation acceptable to South Asian Muslims



---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: sri 
Date: Wed, Apr 24, 2013 at 4:11 AM
Subject: Why is Arab, Persian or Turkish Colonialism and Occupation acceptable to South Asian Muslims
To:


---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Tarek Fatah Date: Mon, 22 Apr 2013


Friends,

In view of the recent exchanges between myself, Seema Mustafa, Sonya Fatah
and Javed Anand, I would like to ask the rest of you to dwell on why Arab
invasions and Central Asian and Turkish Colonialism is palatable to us
Muslims while British colonialims and US imperlialism is rightfully
denounced and resisted.

Perhaps I am wrong, but what business did anyone have to come to India and
impose their own script on India's indegenous langauges, occupy a land for
1,000 years, rule as an apartheid state that was equivalent to
White-Minority rule in SAfrica.

Why is it that if I speak this obvious truth I am accused of being allied
to the RSS while these are facts that cannot be denied?

Our Quran explicity asks us to not befriend Christains and Jews; lables
them in less than favourbale terms as those "who went astray" and "those
who earned God's wrath", yet if I mention this fact, India-based secualr
Muslims throw their arms in the air accusing others of being allies of the
Hindutva Rightwing.

Can one be a progressive person, uphold liberal values and universal human
rights, yet defend mass murderers such as Aurnagzeb and Timur and Qutb or
Mahmood and Bin Qasim?

I am least bothered by the surreptious and mean-spiritted whispering
campaign against me in sections of the self-ritghteous CPM/CPI Muslim mafia
in India, but to the rest of you, where do you stand on Bin Qasim, Mahmud
Ghazni and Auarnagzeb the killer?

Just because we are Muslim, should we label any criticism of our texts and
villainous heroes as the work of the RSS and VHP? Just because these two
believe the sky is blue shoudl not mean I should not concur with them on
the colour of the sky, or should I?

This is a broader question and is at the core of how our comrades got wiped
out by khomeni in Iran yet the CPI supported the ayatiollahs just the way
today's Indian Muslim comrades back mass murderes just because the RSS
opposes them.

Feel free to share your thoughts. I'd like ton hear from BM Kutty, Baseer
Naveed, Babar Ayaz, Farooq Suleria and Farooq Tariq (though he might not
have the time).

I am willing to concede that my approach is wrong if others can point out
my error in judgement, but I am unwilling to take direction form the failed
poilicies oif India's Left who are today intellectually bankrupt and
arrogantly self-rightoeus.

Cheers from Dhaka where too many people know Farooq Tariq.

Tarek



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"Peace" party activists held for Bangalore Jihad

Please go to the link and read their names before the Kaangress spins a story about "Hindoo terror".

It is surprising that the Indian Express explicitly named the terrorists. Is editor in chief, Shekhar Gupta sleeping on the job or taking a vacation someplace?

http://m.indianexpress.com/news/4-held-in-tamil-nadu-for-blast-near-bjp-office-in-bangalore/1106633/


All are said to be former members of Al Umma,the outfit that was proscribed after the Coimbatore blasts. Among those arrested is Kichan Buhari, who spent a decade in jail in connection with the Coimbatore serial blasts that killed 58. He was released last year.

The others in custody have been identified as Mohammed Salim, Basheer Ahmed and Peer Moideen. Buhari, Ahmed and Moideen are suspected to have provided logistical support, said officials, adding that the main accused are yet to be caught.




Monday, April 22, 2013

Schwarzman Scholars Program

A U.S. private equity tycoon announced Sunday the establishment of a $300 million endowed scholarship program in China for students from around the world, and billed it as a rival to the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship.
WaPo: Blackstone founder establishes $300 million China scholarship program

Shakuntala Devi Dead at Age 83

Shakuntala Devi, who became famous for her prodigious numerical calculation abilities, has passed away:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bangalore/Indias-human-computer-Shakuntala-Devi-dies/articleshow/19665192.cms


Sunday, April 21, 2013

Modi to Seek Death Penalty for Kodnani

It seems that the Modi-led govt of Gujarat is going to seek the death penalty for Maya Kodnani, Babu Bajrangi and others convicted in one of the 2002 riot cases:

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-04-17/ahmedabad/38615255_1_sit-court-maya-kodnani-naroda-patia-case


The New York Review of Books: Tibet: The War We Cancelled

The New York Review of Books: Tibet: The War We Cancelled. http://goo.gl/mag/gMgbphq

sent from galaxy note, pardon brevity

Death of a communist monster | The New York Review of Books: A Khmer Rouge Goodbye

The New York Review of Books: A Khmer Rouge Goodbye. http://goo.gl/mag/rlgKKhc

sent from galaxy note, pardon brevity

Article: A handy tip

Keeping a straight face is not enough

A POKER face. It is the expressionless gaze that gives nothing away. To win at poker, the face must be mastered, and master it is what the best players try t …

http://www.economist.com/news/science-and-technology/21576376-keeping-straight-face-not-enough-handy-tip

Sent via Flipboard

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Slate: Rep. Peter King: Stop Being Politically Correct, Let's Focus on Muslim Communities

Slate: Rep. Peter King: Stop Being Politically Correct, Let's Focus on Muslim Communities. http://goo.gl/mag/GoI9R4a

sent from galaxy note, pardon brevity

Anti-Shia Leader Enters Pak Politics

Religion of Peace is about to become Religion of Pieces in Pakistan, as a founder of the anti-Shia militant group Sipah-e-Sahaba launches his political election campaign:

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/20/us-pakistan-election-sectarian-insight-idUSBRE93J0HE20130420

Hopefully, we wont get the refugees from this.

Saturday, April 20, 2013

Fwd: April 24 @Noon: Designing a Liberal Core for Post-Colonial Pakistan

"liberal", "pakistan"? cognitive dissonance.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: 

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Bernadette Marie White <bmwhite@stanford.edu>
Date: Sat, Apr 20, 2013 at 3:24 AM
Subject: April 24 @Noon: Designing a Liberal Core for Post-Colonial Pakistan
To: southasia@lists.stanford.edu, southasiastudents@lists.stanford.edu, southasiafaculty@lists.stanford.edu, hs-events-announcements@lists.stanford.edu


Designing a Liberal Core for Post-Colonial Pakistan

April 24, 2013, 12 pm

Encina Hall West, Room 208

Core curricula are at the heart of liberal education, and hence of the identity of liberal institutions.  They are, however, irreducibly linked to the question of discursive and institutional traditions of thought – paradigmatically the Western tradition – posing an acute problem for liberal core curricular design in the postcolonial context. The design of a core liberal curriculum is thus a fraught project of reimagining and recovery in a charged historical situation.

As Habib University in Karachi, Pakistan, designs its future liberal core, this lecture will present our efforts in turning our positionality into an opportunity for creating a more rigorously universalist liberal core curriculum.

Lunch will be served. 


About the Speakers:

Dr. Nauman Naqvi

Dr. Nauman Naqvi is the Acting Dean of the School of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences at the Habib University project in Karachi, Pakistan. He received his Ph.D. in Anthropology from Columbia University, although his thought and work are truly interdisciplinary, ranging across anthropology, history, literature and philosophy. His recent publications include "Acts of Askesis, Scenes of Poesis: The Dramatic Phenomenology of Another Violence in a Muslim Painter-Poet," in the current issue of Diacritics: A Review Journal of Criticism and Theory, and "Profession on the Cusp of Saturn's House: Weighing the Wager & Wages of the Time of a Postcolonial-Historical Pedagogy (or, Teaching History at the Limit of Time)," Interventions: International Journal of Postcolonial Studies (forthcoming)

Mr. Wasif Rizvi

As President of Habib University, Mr. Wasif Rizvi is leading the conceptualizing, designing and managing of Habib University. Before joining H.U.F., Rizvi served as General Manager at Aga Khan Education Services Pakistan, where he was in charge of conceptualizing, designing and implementing educational development programs in schools. He also helped found the Institute for Development Studies and Practices, Quetta and Shikshantar, an institute in India, set up to rethink foundations of education and development in South Asia. Mr. Rizvi holds a Master's degree in International Education from Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. His special interests include topics related to religion and indigenous philosophies and their influence in shaping social, political and economic processes in Middle Eastern and Indian subcontinent cultures.

About Habib University

Habib University is an upcoming Liberal Arts and Science university in Karachi, Pakistan, that will offer classes starting Fall 2014. The School will offer four undergraduate programs through two Schools. The School of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences will offer undergraduate degrees in Communication Studies and Design, and in Social Development and Policy. The School of Science and Engineering will offer undergraduate programs in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. The School will offer a Liberal Core, that will be required for all undergraduate students to attend. For more information regarding Habib University, please visit www.habib.edu.pk 

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sent from samsung galaxy note, so please excuse brevity

Ria Chhabra

Ria’s exploration of fruit flies and organic foods has not only raised some provocative questions about the health benefits of organic eating, it has also earned the 16-year-old top honors in a national science competition, publication in a respected scientific journal and university laboratory privileges normally reserved for graduate students.
By nearly every measure, including fertility, stress resistance and longevity, flies that fed on organic bananas and potatoes fared better than those who dined on conventionally raised produce.
NYT: Is Organic Better? Ask a Fruit Fly

Traffic Victims' Cries Ignored by Commuters

Passersby ignore the pleas of traffic accident victims, as husband cries with child and dead wife:


But haven't you heard - vee arr shooparpoweer?

Friday, April 19, 2013

How to search the Wikileaks cables: use http://www.wikileaks.org/plusd/

you too can be part of the crowdsourcing of wikileaks. try and find good stuff, especially things the MSM has hidden from us. 

#Boston Suspects' Father Says One's a "True Angel." His Uncle Says the Other's a "Loser." | doctors with guns, genocide suzie?

Slate: Suspects' Father Says One's a "True Angel." His Uncle Says the Other's a "Loser." http://goo.gl/mag/twh4H2A

sent from galaxy note, pardon brevity

Los Angeles Times: Greek police hunt for suspects in strawberry plantation shootings | bangladeshi migrants

Los Angeles Times: Greek police hunt for suspects in strawberry plantation shootings. http://goo.gl/mag/SGqxk7Q

sent from galaxy note, pardon brevity

The Economist | Turning-points in history: When the world changed

The Economist | Turning-points in history: When the world changed http://www.economist.com/news/books-and-arts/21576067-why-1979-was-about-so-much-more-margaret-thatchers-election-victory-when-world?frsc=dg%7Cb via @theeconomist

sent from galaxy note, pardon brevity

The Economist | Professional firms: Simply the best

The Economist | Professional firms: Simply the best http://www.economist.com/news/business-books-quarterly/21576071-lessons-leaders-simply-best?frsc=dg%7Cb via @theeconomist

sent from galaxy note, pardon brevity

Solar Cooling

Stanford researchers conceive of panel that ejects building heat into space.
Conceptually, the panel would act in reverse of a traditional solar hot water panel, which takes the sun’s energy and converts it into hot water. Heat from a data center, for example, could be carried in hot water and piped below the panels. The panel would then radiate that heat to remove it from the building.
Technology Review: Solar Cooling With Photonic Reflector Panel

May 5- Translated Tunes: Negotiations of Space, Genre, and Identity in Kirtan Conference


---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Bernadette Marie White <bmwhite@stanford.edu>
Date: Fri, Apr 19, 2013 at 2:56 AM
Subject: May 5- Translated Tunes: Negotiations of Space, Genre, and Identity in Kirtan Conference
To: southasia@lists.stanford.edu, southasiastudents@lists.stanford.edu, southasiafaculty@lists.stanford.edu, hs-events-announcements@lists.stanford.edu


Please distribute widely.

Kirtan_conference

good book review: bhagwati, panagariya massacre sen-rothschild, dreze, NAC and 'inclusive', 'social justice' nonsense

http://www.economist.com/news/books-and-arts/21576372-how-get-india-moving-again-capitalist-manifesto

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thanks
rajeev

sent from samsung galaxy note, so please excuse brevity

why engineers are better than economists, according to @theeconomist

"The links between credit, growth and jobs are not instantaneous. It takes time for disappointing growth to translate into weak employment, because employers hesitate to fire people. Likewise loose credit feeds into fast growth only after a lag (of up to nine months, by some estimates). Since these lags can be long and variable, economists can use them to link almost any unexpected effect with any favourite cause. That is one reason they are held in lower esteem than engineers."

http://www.economist.com/news/china/21576426-chinas-disappointing-new-growth-figures-are-not-end-world-climbing-stretching-and?fsrc=nlw|hig|4-18-2013|5560213|35042158|

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sent from samsung galaxy note, so please excuse brevity

The Economist | Indian technology firms: Shibulal’s struggles | yeah, blame the poor guy

The Economist | Indian technology firms: Shibulal's struggles http://www.economist.com/news/business/21576413-infosyss-boss-blames-economy-source-its-troubles-internal-shibulals-struggles?frsc=dg%7Cb via @theeconomist

sent from galaxy note, pardon brevity

Congress Worries About Bombing

Congress spokesman Shakeel Ahmad frets over the bombing - not over the dead or injured, of course, but over the possibility that the opposition may gain sympathy from it:

http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/time-to-close-ranks/article4630864.ece


Thursday, April 18, 2013

rajiv malhotra at iimb on 'is the west reexporting our ideas to us?'

i haven't gone through these videos but rajiv malhotra is obviously a pretty smart guy.

i believe he also silenced a kancha ilaiah type whiner about 'social justice'. these guys are so full of it!

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Ram Narayanan


 

Dear Friends:

Rajiv Malhotra is the founder and president of the Princeton, NJ-based Infinity Foundation. An Indian-American entrepreneur, philanthropist and community leader, he has devoted himself, for the last ten years, to clarifying the many misperceptions about Indic traditions in America and amongst Indians.

He is an active writer, columnist, and speaker on a variety of topics, including the traditions and cultures of India, the Indian Diaspora, globalization, and East-West relations. Rajiv has been appointed to the Asian-American Commission for the State of New Jersey, where he serves as the Chairman for the Education Committee, which was created to start an Asian Studies program in schools. He also serves on the Advisory Board of the New Jersey Chapter of the American Red Cross and has volunteered in local hospice and AIDS counseling.

On April 1, 2013 Rajiv Malhotra made an outstanding presentation at the Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai of some of his research findings on how Indian ideas get appropriated by the West, re-formulated and then re-exported back to India as something "Made in America". His 58.48 min. lecture was so absorbing that it kept me glued in till the end.

 

Besides the lecture itself, separate videos are listed below for each major topic of Q&A. I found these Q&A as stimulating as the lecture itself.

 

I would commend the lecture and the discussion to the attention of every person of Indian origin.

 

Cheers.

 

Ram Narayanan

 

 

IIT Mumbai Lecture & Discussion on:

Are Indians Buying Back Their Own Ideas From The West?

 

 

Click for links to all the videos

 

 

1) Lecture: Are Indians buying back their own ideas from the West? - View

 

2) Discussion: Brand India & Narayan Murthy - View

 

3) Discussion: How does one attribute "discovery"? - View

 

4) Discussion: My argument with a social scientist - View

 

5) Discussion: Overview of how/why I got personally involved in these issues - View

 

6) Discussion: Pro's & Cons of Chaos, Decentralization, Self-Organization - View

 

7) Discussion: Our own neglect as a factor causing UTurns - View

 

8) Discussion: Loss of our purva-paksha tradition and its consequences - View

 

9) Discussion: Decolonization - View

 

10) Discussion: Comment on social sciences in India - View

 

 

 




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sent from samsung galaxy note, so please excuse brevity