narrative building about corruption in sheikh hasina rule

 yeah, blame everything on the previous lot. 

wait, hadn't sheikh hasina accused Mohammed Yunus of corruption?

Quick notes: Loan waiver for all, Laundry business...

• Populism gone wild: Kangress promises 'farm loan waiver for all'.

Rahul Gandhi slams govt’s cash transfer scheme, promises farm loan waiver across Indiahttps://t.co/SgTjMu4zKC pic.twitter.com/toCU3R7jiE

— Hindustan Times (@htTweets) February 3, 2019




• RCom Bankruptcy: How India’s banks ran up a $7 Billion phone bill



• Urgent need to connect bank databases: Shell companies have been used extensively for laundering the proceeds of crime. They thrive as bank databases are unconnected. In the Nirav Modi case, there was a Swift database, Punjab National Bank’s core banking system and the foreign exchange transactions database. All the three databases were not automatically connected.



• How London's streets are paved with dirty money.
  . The City of London: Capital of an Invisible Empire.
  . London’s Laundry Business: Billions of pounds of corruptly gained money has been laundered by criminals and foreign officials buying upmarket London properties through anonymous offshore front companies – making the city arguably the world capital of money laundering.

. The tax haven in the heart of London: It is the hub of a global network of tax havens sucking up offshore trillions from around the world and sending it, or the business of handling it, to London. 



• Hats-off to whoever made this possible: Bengaluru’s 75-year-old Selvamma goes high-tech using a solar-powered fan to grill corn on the roadside.

pic.twitter.com/8mQOts7maK

— Raghurama Sastry M (@raghu_madgula) January 24, 2019




• 'Complete Streets': Planning should factor in all people using our streets, not just drivers. "When you plan just for cars, you get cars, and we now have so many that traffic is horrendous and getting worse, it just won’t work anymore". It translates to roads being reduced and lanes narrowed, parking spaces eliminated, bike lanes added and the walk from curb to curb shortened.



• China Is A Naval Powerhouse: China shipyards build civilian and military ships at the same time and most if not whole R&D and staff cost is dumped on civilain market. US navy shipiards not only don't do civilian ships but mostly have narrow specialization.



• Why our screens make us less happy:

Quick notes: Foreign meddling, Trump towers...

• Who knew!! Not just Russia, the United States too has a history of meddling in foreign elections.



• Trump Towers in India: Ads in Indian newspapers have been promising drinks and dinner with Trump Jr. if buyers make a down payment of 2.5 million rupees for an apartment. Other investors are financing the construction, while the Trump family is benefiting from licensing fees it charges to put the Trump name on the buildings.



• Bloodbath: Amazon is wreaking havoc on American grocery industry



• Language policy: Calls for fight against Hindi imposition getting louder.



• Are we helpless?

Persons accused of big white collar crimes in India take safe refuge in UK or USA. Can a person accused in USA or UK take refuge in India?
We are not helpless. Our strength is in being united to bring these fugitives to justice system in India. No use in accusing each other.

— Ashok Khemka (@AshokKhemka_IAS) February 17, 2018




• Papaji: "Don't take I with you":




• Inner Workings: Cells continue to function even after an individual dies.



• Solid numbers: Tamil Nadu among the world’s leading renewable energy markets 



• Get them addicted early: Facebook expands 'Messenger Kids' to Android despite outcry.  These are the sneaky ways apps like Instagram, Facebook, Tinder lure you in and get you addicted.

Quick notes: Soaring pulses, Walmart bribes...

• What India needs -- Make-in-India for Dals: Landed prices of imported arhar are now around $ 2,100 per tonne, as against $ 700-800 a year ago. Urad similarly soared from $ 900 to $ 1,850-1,900. This, in an otherwise bearish global market for agri-commodities.



• Wal-Mart paid millions in bribes in India: Likely to face charges of violating the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.



• Juvenile crime: Delhi bats for trying boys above 15 years of age as adults for rape



• Car-free: Oslo's 350,000 personal cars will be banned from its city center, once and for all



• It’s almost official: Rasogulla is Odisha’s. 



• State-sponsored conversions:

State Sponsored Conversions by Kerala State Govt! Loan Waiver Schemes Only if ur a Convert,Pray Jesus #WakeUpHindus pic.twitter.com/gzVrIBjDv3

— Mahaveer (@MahaveerM_) October 19, 2015

Quick notes: Money laundering, Coal production...

• ED attaches Rs 232cr assets of Jagan, others. India Cements made alleged quid-pro-quo investments to the tune of Rs 140 crore into Jagan-owned companies and consequent "undue" benefits were received by the firm in allocation of land and water from rivers Krishna and Kagna from the then Government led by his Chief Minister father.. ED has already attached assets worth over Rs 1,000 crore in the overall PMLA cases it is probing against Jagan.



• India's coal production is set to double by 2019 in addition to importing more coal from Australia. But climate change is altering the monsoon season, with both flooding and drought becoming more common...
  It's official! Chinese coal production and consumption are falling



• 'Make in India' for HAL trainer, import of Swiss trainer capped: IAF pilots undergo three stages of training. In basic training, or Stage-1, rookie pilots learn to fly on simple aircraft like the PC-7 Mk I, and the HTT-40. They graduate to Stage-2 training on intermediate trainers like the Sitara, which HAL is developing. In Stage-3 training, which is done on Hawk advanced jet trainers, pilots prepare to fly frontline IAF fighters.



• Dr. Robynne Chutkan: Why The Microbiome Is The Future Of Medicine





• 'The ‘unstealable’ bike to begin shipping in September

Quick notes: Church funds, Kasab Class...

• A case of plenty: Church funds equal Indian Navy's annual budget


• Lost in Kumbh Mela? UP govt accused of misusing around Rs 800 Cr meant for the Kumbh Mela.


• "Kasab Class": LeT recruits to learn from Kasab's mistakes


• Mani Vajipey and Raj Madangopal quit high-paying jobs in the US and returned to tackle India's mounting garbage crisis.


• Cycling message: Promoting sustainable transport modes.


• Community radio stations: Transmitting change


• Indo-Canadian singer Kiran Ahluwalia epitomises 'two cultures in one person'

Quick notes: Kerala model, University rankings...

• Kerala Model: 22% of Kerala government's revenue comes from liquor.



• Corporate fraud: Mumbai startup to protect whistleblowers



• Eat with your hands. Don't feel ashamed.



• Top 10 university rankings: 6 from china and none from India.

• All India Radio: News is now available on Soundcloud and Android Play Store

Quick notes: Blow to Kaangress, Ultracap breakthrough...

• Blow to Kaangress: From 'go-to man' in YSR govt to Interpol's wanted



• Man-made disaster: UK's biggest nuclear dump 'virtually certain' to be eroded by rising sea levels.



• News for you, Eesha Khare: Ultracapacitor breakthrough may recharge energy storage



• Raag Behagda: "Ye Pyari Pag Hole" - Pt. Mallikarjun Mansur

Quick notes: YSR indicted, Bright idea...

• Mining scam: YSR and Kaangress indicted in the US over Andhra titanium mining scam.



• Native knowledge vindicated: Exposure to morning light helps you maintain your weight.



• Ud Jayega Hans Akkela : Pt Kumar Gandharva:  

The Swan Will Fly Away All Alone,
Spectacle of the World Will Be a Mere Fair
As the Leaf Falls from the Tree
Is Difficult to Find
Who Knows Where it Will Fall
Once it is Struck with a Gust Of Wind
When Life Span is Complete...

Rahul's Defeat

What the people have voted against is not corruption alone, but also the idea that a centralised group in Delhi can determine what the people should consider to be their rights, and then enforce them. The voters have told Rahul Gandhi in the strongest possible terms that if he really believes in the rights-based approach, he should at least let the people decide what their rights should be.

Narendra Pani: A vote against Rahul Gandhi's legislation-based approach to governance. 

Quick notes: Bling Bishop, Mars Orbiter...

• Bling Bishop’s €15,000 bathtub: The bishop of Limburg, Germany, is also accused of giving false statements related to an expensive flight he took to India to visit poor communities. There has been a sharp increase in local Catholics formally leaving the Church.



• Victimized by Haryana govt for taking on Robert Vadra: Ashok Khemka



• Tripura CPM leader, seen lying on 'a bed of cash': "I am not a hypocrite like other party members"



• With much better rains than the NDA, UPA had only marginally higher farm growth but double the food inflation.



• How did Reliance power manage to get clearances for use of excess coal from the government?



• Around 75% of the Tavera MPVs made by General Motors, as recently as May this year, were non-compliant with the country’s emissions standards.



• Boost to SDN from Tilera



• The main goal of the $73 million Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) is to prove that India can put a working probe into Mars orbit. That is no small feat – more than half of all Mars missions so far have failed. "It's a stretch goal".

Quick notes: Coal as charity, Tesla storms Europe...

• Kaangress Coal Charity: Supreme Court seeks details on power to allocate coal blocks.



• Japan switched off the last of its operating nuclear reactors and became 100% nuclear-free.



• Tesla takes on German auto giants. And this recent patent filing is making quite a buzz: Extended Range Hybrid Battery Pack System



• Software Defined Networking comes of age: Brocade Software Beats Cisco ASICs.



• French MNC Danone bribed hospitals to push baby milk powder. Other MNCs are also under probe for using money and sexual favors to bribe doctors and health officials to boost drug sales.



• If you are ready to commit "virtual identity suicide," delete your Facebook account, and say good-bye to social networking sites, you are not alone.  A social networking counter movement is emerging..

Quick notes: Jobs' last gift, Item numbers...

• One of Steve Jobs' last gifts was left in a brown box and handed out at his memorial service.  Inside the brown box was a copy of "Autobiography of a Yogi" by Hindu guru Paramahansa Yogananda. 



• Next Lok Sabha elections are expected to be the most expensive in history. Those expenses are largely borne by under-the-table payments from Indian oligarchs, who will expect a return for their investments. 



• With the Supreme Court monitoring the probe, Coalgate could well morph from a financial scam into a serious political crisis.  



• India and CBI need freedom from Kaangress: We need freedom from babudom: CBI tells Supreme Court



• Item numbers: The combination of raunchy lyrics and dance movements with sexual overtones, often portrayed by the female lead for a male-dominated on-screen audience, may push persons already primed for wrongdoing towards exploiting opportunities for rape. “Collective encouragement is one reason why many young men fail to appreciate the severity of the crime”.



• USA: Some 95% of 2009-2012 Income Gains Went to Wealthiest 1%



• Alternative Energy: Geothermal growth is on fire! Except in Kaangress ruled India.

Quick notes: Policy paralysis, 180 IQ not helping..

• India has lost confidence of the world: Ratan Tata
  "The government has "swayed" under the influence of vested interests in private sector and policies have been "changed, delayed and manipulated".



• Robbery is not right: Nitin Pai
  Because it violates (someone else’s) rights, the rights-based approach is universally immoral. The cost of providing an ever-growing list of entitlements is prohibitively large, and will severely undermine India’s future. 



• Blow to his 180 IQ:
  Rupee beats Chidambaram to touch 68 first. The FM has to wait another 20 days exactly to turn 68. 



• NaMo working on bringing Raj and Uddhav closer:
  Wish him luck. With a drubbing in Maharashtra, Kaangress should sink to its lowest ever Lok Sabha tally.



• Invading the Sacred: An Analysis of Hinduism Studies in America
  
  

Quick notes: Bribing the Poor, Gud is Better...

It is BJP v/s 3000 Cr freebies in Rajasthan: #Sample 100 Rs being distributed by officials after CM Gehlot's Durbaar! pic.twitter.com/qpuetGrqyW
— Albatrossinflight (@albatrossinfo) August 16, 2013

• Microsoft India Develops NFC Alternative: Dhwani Transmits Data Through Sound Waves



• The survival rate of Indian languages is certainly much higher than for indigenous languages in other countries that have experienced colonial domination. On the other hand, the rate of decline of languages in the country over the last 50 years is alarming. 



• Dronacharya awardee and legendary cricket coach Desh Prem Azad passed away following a cardiac arrest at a hospital in Mohali.



• Jaggery has a mineral content approximately 50 times greater than refined sugar and five times more than brown sugar. Jaggery's health benefits even go beyond the kitchen. It has long been observed that people who work in highly toxic surroundings and regularly consume jaggery, such as industrial workers in dusty or smoky environments, have little or no bronchial or lung discomfort. And a study in Environmental Health Perspectives reported that jaggery reduced the number of lesions formed in rats' lungs infiltrated with coal and silica dust.

Quick notes: Pyramid scheme, Cargo Zeppelin...

• Asia's $7-trillion problem. "It's our currency, but it's your problem". US Treasury bonds are becoming a pyramid scheme, and smaller economies should get out quietly



• Telangana triggers slew of statehood demands. India was more like EU with linguistic division of states. Now, we enter a new free-for-all era of divisiveness.



• Next 300 million won’t use English: We have 150 million Internet users, and the next 300 million won’t use English. That’s why we’re working on Indic languages, which is the key to driving growth, says Google's Anandan.



• Kaangress govt clears social media bureau.



• Micromax co-founder Rajesh Agarwal caught bribing officials of Delhi Municipal Corporation.



• A wave of plastic surgery culture has hit China as women from across socio-economic classes invest in surgery in hopes that it will improve their careers as well as their social lives. 



• Aeroscraft, the blimp that could change the world of cargo business:
  

Quick notes: Dance bars, evil night owls...

• Supporters of the dance bars fail to notice that they are validating a cultural environment that objectifies women as ‘social currencies'. It is a documented fact that dance bars were a front for prostitution and trafficking. Many of them perform in illegal dance bars and others prostitute themselves in Mumbai’s red light districts.



• Buddhist Monk blames Time magazine for Myanmar bombing.“Since their plan to fight me via Time Magazine has failed, they are now targeting my ‘dharma’ events, and the devotees, with explosive devices,”



• GM managed to fudge emissions tests on its models in India.



• The parliamentary committee on finance asks govt to ensure that Reliance Industries delivers for shortfall on production at $4.2 per mBtu rather than getting new pricing for previous commitments.



• Psychologists find that people who stay up late tend to have more evil personality traits than early risers. Related post: Morning People Happier Than Night Owls

UPA does the expected, favors RIL

In a major victory for Reliance Industries, the Union Cabinet approved doubling of natural gas prices to $8.4 per million BTUs from April, 2014. Steep hikes in Power tariffs and fertilizer prices to ensue.

Deccan Herald: Govt doubles natural gas price

Tytler cheated us: US firm to FBI

TCM Mobile LLC said its subsidiary entered into a joint venture promoted by Tytler's son Siddharth and arms agent Abhishek Verma to set up a cellular service for rural India after Tytler assured it had the blessings of Rahul and Sonia Gandhi. The $1.1 million that it put into the project was fraudulently withdrawn by Verma and his associates using forged documents. 

IE: Tytler cheated us; said Sonia, Rahul backed project: US firm to FBI

Vadragate IAS officer transferred yet again

IAS officer Ashok Khemka, who was transferred in October last for cancelling an irregular land deal between Robert Vadra and DLF, was again shifted on Thursday amid a raging controversy over irregularities in the Haryana Seeds Development Corporation that he unearthed during his short tenure of five months as its head.

The Hindu: Khemka shifted again as he exposes seedy deal