Archive for the 'News' Category

Terror in Mumbai

Mumbai Mayhem

Mumbai Mayhem


While watching the series of attacks in Mumbai last night, I could do nothing but hope that things would be not as bad. By morning, the news showed 80 Dead and several hundreds injured. By afternoon, it was a hostage drama.

While people make facebook groups, write blog posts and discuss the failure of Indian security system, the bottomline remains – there is nothing one can do but to hope. Hope that one day, India will invest time in checking its security system instead of sending missions to moon, India will make it safe for her population than handling pirates at the high seas, India will remember the 13 bomb attacks this year than just those buttered speeches by LK Advani and Sonia Gandhi, and India will one day value her people’s life than just counting them as dead bodies.

To those affected directly and indirectly, I feel sorry and helpless. I feel guilty for spending about half of my expected life span in the country and yet not being able to contribute to making it a better place. On this day, while Mumbai Police – so called one of the top 10 tries to combat terror, I read this:

Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high;
Where knowledge is free;
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls;
Where words come out from the depth of truth;
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection;
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit;
Where the mind is led forward by thee into ever-widening thought and action-
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.

Slap Drama

For the better half of the last weekend, i was forced to listen to how Harbhajan slapped Sreesanth and how Sreesanth cried on the field. In fact for anyone who did a mistake of flipping through a news channel felt that the slap was in front of them, and not on field. And now since yesterday, news channels have started discussing the ban imposed on Harbhajan and how it coincided with sacking of the infamous Mr Gill. Considering the ban on Harbhajan is going to last for next few days on TV, looks like I will be back to studying walrus mating habits on Animal Planet.

When in rooms do as roman does

ne_booklet_248.jpgFor those who thought Delhi Police was only about regulating crime in the capital, eating for free at restaurants and taking bribes, this article will widen your horizon. In an attempt to “help us serve you better”, Delhi Police has managed to release a booklet called Security Tips for North East Students. The photo of the booklet says it all.

via IBNLive

Google Maps Street View and Privacy

Not many people are happy with Google Maps Street View’s street level cameras that show pictures of people at various locations. The pictures were clearly taken without the consent of the subject, and hence have raised eyebrows in many of the privacy conscious countries such as EU Union, UK and Australia.

Let Commonsense Prevail!

After almost a week long jing bang in Rajasthan Gujjars finally thought it was enough. The community called off their protest after meeting with the chief minister. In today’s age when every multinational company is trying to set up a base in Gurgaon, such protests obviously demonstrate the fragile socio-political conditions and discourage these companies. It’s high time that the Haryana government steps in and shows some responsibility for handling such situations in future.

Sohrabbudin’s Murder?

Ramesh Ramanathan writes a short but very crisp piece on the much hyped discussion surrounding Gujrat Fake encounter case.

I get the same feeling as I read about Sohrabuddin’s fake encounter in Gujarat, of suddenly opening a trap-door and tripping into something kafkaesque. There is a normal world that most of us inhabit—of families and weekends and office politics—and then there are the strange and unrecognizable deep waters, which sometimes surface unexpectedly. The experience is so intensely discomforting that we don’t know how to cope with it. We want to convince ourselves that this parallel world doesn’t impact our lives. The truth is that our canoes can be capsized by just one swelling of these squalls.

Beautiful.

News around Apple

The works of Mr Dino A. Dai Zovi has created much of a swirl around mac community, especially in the security arena. He found a vulnerability and won $10K, and more than that won fame and glory. Even Mr Gruber who admonished many claims of mac vulnerabilities in the past, was forced to accept the 0-day vulnerability as legitimate.

At the same time, Matthew Bookspan clearly demonstrated his IQ, or rather lack of it, by deleting his /usr folder to render his system inoperative and then blaming apple to be less intuitive. (Found via DF)

Lanka in Finals

With Fleming’s New Zealand team going down by 81 runs, Sri Lanka cruised into the World Cup finals. Muthiah Muralitharan, as usual, was Sri Lanka’s wrecker-in-chief, claiming four wickets for 31 runs.

And now if only Australia can overcome South Africa, I will book my April 28th evening for two of my favorite teams.

Update: Australia it is. The evening of Saturday, 28th April shall be spent watching the class of the titans. I can only imagine the crowd going wild at Crown or Flinders Square if they happen to telecast the match there.