The South Korean government revealed Monday that it recently seized thousands of capsules filled with the powdered flesh of dead babies. Reportedly, some people believe the powder has medicinal purposes and was created in northeastern China.

South Korea has reportedly been reluctant to criticize China directly over the incident, out of fears of creating diplomatic friction with the country. But the process by which the powder is allegedly created is one of the most disturbing stories imaginable.

According to the Korea Customs Service, the bodies of dead babies are chopped into small pieces and dried on stoves before being turned into powder. The customs officials have refused to say exactly where the babies come from or who is responsible for making the capsules.

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/south-korea-seizes-capsules-containing-powdered-flesh-dead-190306280.html

Apple Doesn't Want Musicians to See Secret Steve Jobs Deposition

In bringing a class-action lawsuit against Universal Music over digital music revenues, musicians trigger a big objection from Apple.

Aftermath Records, a division of Universal Music Group, is about to go to trial in a case that will determine what money is owed over digital music to producers of many hit Eminem records. Meanwhile, in another case -- a class action against UMG brought by many musicians including Rob Zombie, the estate of Rick James, and others -- the plaintiffs are demanding to see trial exhibits, expert reports, depositions and other documents from the Eminem case. The discovery request has brought a strong objection from Apple Inc., which is trying to shield these documents from coming out. Among the evidence being sought is a deposition of Steve Jobs, which when it was first produced, led to the extraordinary move by the judge of ordering most everyone out of the courtroom, including UMG's employees.

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The musicians in the class action want to pierce the veil, but Apple contends that depositions given by Jobs and senior vp Eddy Cue, as well as other documents related to Apple's business relationships with UMG and other record labels, are "highly confidential and proprietary trade secrets."

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Apple, however, says the plaintiffs haven't shown how the requested documents are relevant. Instead, Apple faults the attorneys for the musicians bringing a motion for documents that is "broad but indiscriminate." If the documents are released, the company says it will experience competitive harm.

more here
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/apple-steve-jobs-deposition-universal-music-317999

and here
Why is Apple fighting so hard to keep two-year-old court records sealed?
http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2012/05/01/clear-the-courtroom-before-steve-jobs-deposition-is-read/

U.S. Alleges E-Book Scheme
Lawsuit Says Apple, Publishers Colluded to Raise Prices; Three Will Settle
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304444604577337573054615152.html

Google is giving us another reason to goof off on a Friday with an Easter egg related to the popular game StarCraft.

If you type “Zerg Rush” into Google, the “O’s” in Google take over the page. If you double click, your cursor turns into a plus sign. Click on the O’s and you wipe them out. Google then tabulates your score and, in a social media twist, lets you post your score on Google+.

For the uninitiated, Zergs are an alien race of insectoids in Blizzard Entertainment’s StarCraft. In the game you “rush” them by amassing your battle units and blitz them.
http://mashable.com/2012/04/27/zerg-rush-google/

Kurt Mix, a drilling and completions project engineer for BP during the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, has become the first employee of the oil company to be arrested. Mix is charged with obstruction of justice and allegedly deleting over 200 text messages from his iPhone pertaining to the explosion and repair of the oil well and rig in what became America's worst offshore oil spill.

Mix was involved with estimating the flow rate of the oil from the ruptured well on the sea floor, and authorities are investigating his involvement with the Top Kill efforts, which pumped heavy mud into the broken well to try to stop the spill. Experts knew that if the oil was spilling out at the rate of 15,000 barrels per day or greater, Top Kill couldn't work, but BP publicly claimed the well was spilling 5,000 barrels per day.

Forensic experts apparently recovered a deleted text from Mix's iPhone from the first day of BP's Top Kill effort saying "Too much flowrate—over 15,000." The texts were allegedly deleted after Mix had been instructed to preserve documentation pertaining to the spill. In a statement, BP would not comment on the case but said it was cooperating with the Justice Department.

link
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2012/04/bp-engineer-arrested-for-allegedly-deleting-oil-spill-text-messages.ars

Jati
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J%C4%81ti

Caste
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caste

Hinduism is a Way of Life, and Life tends to be Organised Chaos
http://www.democraticunderground.com/121820359

Contemporary scholars thus argue that the social system was made rigid and the four-fold Varna caste made ubiquitous by the British colonial regime, much like the caste or casta systems literature for southeast Asia, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East. Before the British use of Varna categories for enumerating and ranking the Jatis in the decennial census, the relative ranking of the Jatis and castes was fluid and differed from one place to another, based on their political and economic power. Dirks proposes that caste is neither an unchanged survival of ancient India nor a system that reflects India's core cultural value. Rather than a basic expression of Indian tradition, caste is a modern phenomenon, the product of commentaries of 18th and 19th century Christian missionaries driven to bring religion to uncivilized masses, and the enumerative obsessions of the late-19th century census. Dirks concludes one effect of British rule of India was to make caste into a single term capable of naming and above all subsuming India's social identity in the world.

Upon independence from the British rule, the Indian Constitution listed 1,108 castes across the country as Scheduled Castes in 1950, for affirmative action. The Scheduled Castes are sometimes called as Dalit in contemporary literature. In 2001, the proportion of Dalit population was 16.2 percent of India's total population.

The British, since 1901, for the purposes of the Decennial Census, fitted all the Jatis into one or the other of the varna categories as described in Brahminical literature. The Census Commissioner had this to say, "The principle suggested as a basis was that of classification by social precedence as recognized by native public opinion at the present day, and manifesting itself in the facts that particular castes are supposed to be the modern representatives of one or other of the castes of the theoretical Hindu system;". This deliberately ignored the fact that there are innumerable Jatis that straddled two or more Varnas, based on occupation.


As a community in south India put it, "We are soldiers and saddle makers too"


but it was the enumerators who decided their caste. The Indian society since pre-historic times had a complex, inter-dependent and cooperative political economy. One well known text, the Laws of Manu, c. 200, codified the social relations between communities from the perspective of the Varna castes. Although this book was almost unknown south of the Vindhyas, it gained prominence when the British administrators and Western scholars used it exclusively to gain an understanding of traditional Hindu law in India.[3]

The principles of openness and universal access that underpinned the creation of the internet three decades ago are under greater threat than ever, according to Google co-founder Sergey Brin.In an interview with the Guardian, Brin warned that there were "very powerful forces that have lined up against the open internet on all sides and around the world. I am more worried than I have been in the past … it's scary."

He said the threat to the freedom of the internet came from a combination of governments increasingly trying to control access and communication by their citizens, the entertainment industry attempting to crack down on piracy, and the rise of "restrictive" so-called walled gardens such as Facebook and Apple, which tightly controlled what software could be released on their platforms.

The 38-year-old billionaire, whose family fled antisemitism in the Soviet Union, was widely regarded as having been the driving force behind Google's partial pullout from China in 2010 over concerns about censorship and cyber-attacks.

He said five years ago he did not believe China or any country could effectively restrict the internet for long but he had been proven wrong: "I thought there was no way to put the genie back in the bottle, but now it seems in certain areas the genie has been put back in the bottle."

more here
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2012/apr/15/web-freedom-threat-google-brin

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Behind Google Inc.'s shuttering of its China-based search engine earlier this week was a conscientious decision by its co-founder Sergey Brin to stop compromising with a government that was increasingly interfering with its business, The Wall Street Journal reported on its Web site Wednesday. Brin told the newspaper that after the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the Chinese government began to step up its Web censoring and interfering more with Google's operation. But more than anything else, Brin was moved to take the dramatic steps because of China's repressive behavior which reminded him of his native Soviet Union which he fled when he was a child, according to the Journal. "He says memories of that time--having his home visited by Russian police; the anti-Semitic discrimination against his father--emboldened his view that it was time to abandon Google's policy," the newspaper reported.

Hinduism is a Way of Life, and Life tends to be Organised Chaos


The beauty of being a Hindu lies in your freedom to be who you want to be. Nobody can tell you what to do, or what not to do. There is no initiation and or baptism. Hinduism is a way of Life. There is no central authority, no single leader of the faith. No one can pass an order to excommunicate you, or like in some countries, pass a decree that orders ‘death by stoning’ for walking with a ‘strange’ man.

We don’t appreciate our freedom because we can’t feel the plight of others who aren’t free. Many religions have a central authority with awesome power over the individual. They have a clear chain of command, from the lowliest local priest to the highest central leader. Hinduism somehow escaped from such central authority, and the Hindu has miraculously managed to hold on to his freedom through the ages. How did this happen?

Vedanta is the answer. When the writers of Vedanta emerged, around 1500 BC, they faced an organised religion of orthodox Hinduism. This was the post Vedic age, where ritualism was practiced, and the masses had no choice but to follow. It was a coercive atmosphere.

The writers of Vedanta rebelled against this authority and moved away from society into forests. This was how the ‘Aranyakas’ were written, literally meaning ‘writings from the forest’. These later paved the way for the Upanishads, and Vedanta eventually caught the imagination of the masses. It emerged triumphant, bearing with it the clear voice of personal freedom.

This democracy of religious thought, so intrinsic to Vedantic intelligence, sank into the mindset of every Indian. Most couldn’t fathom the deep wisdom it contained, but this much was very clear, they understood that faith was an expression of personal freedom, and one could believe at will. That’s why Hinduism saw an explosion of Gods. There was a God for every need and every creed. If you wanted to build your muscles, you worshiped a God with fabulous muscles. If you wanted to pursue education, there was a Goddess of Learning. If it was wealth you were looking for, then you looked up to the Goddess of weath — with gold coins coming out of her hands. If you wanted to live happily as a family, you worshiped Gods who specially blessed families. When you grew old and faced oncoming death, you spent time in contemplating a God whose business it was to dissolve everything — from an individual to the entire Universe.

Everywhere, divinity appeared in the manner and form you wanted it to appear, and when its use was over, you quietly discarded that form of divinity and looked at new forms of the divine that was currently of use to you. ‘Yad Bhavam, tad Bhavati’… what you choose to believe becomes your personal truth, and freedom to believe is always more important than belief itself.

Behind all this — was the silent Vedantic wisdom that Gods are but figments of human imagination. As the Kena Upanishad says, “Brahma ha devebhyo vijigye…” — All Gods are mere subjects of the Self. It implies that it is far better that God serves Man than Men serve God. Because Men never really serve God — they only obey the dictates of a religious head who speaks for that God, who can turn them into slaves in God’s name.

Hindus have therefore never tried to convert anyone. Never waged war in the name of religion. The average Hindu happily makes Gods serve him as per his needs. He discards Gods when he has no use for them. And new Gods emerge all the time — in response to the current needs. In this tumult, no central authority could survive. No single prophet could emerge and hold sway, no chain of command could be established.

Vedanta had injected an organised chaos into Hinduism, and that’s the way it has been from the last thirty five centuries. Vedanta is also responsible, by default, for sustaining democracy. When the British left India, it was assumed that the nation would soon break up. Nothing of that kind has happened. The pundits of doom forgot that the Indian had been used to religious freedom from thousands of years. When he got political freedom, he grabbed it naturally. After all, when one can discard and/or change Gods why can’t one discard leaders? Leaders like Gods are completely expendable to the Indian, predomonantly Hindu mindset. They are tolerated as long as they serve the people, and are replaced when needs change. It’s the triumph of people over their leaders, in true democratic manner. Strange how the thoughts of a few men living in forests, thirty five centuries ago, can echo inside the heart of the Indian, majority of whom profess Hinduism. That’s a tribute to the resurgent power of India, and the fearlessness of its free thinking people.

“Hinduism is a Way of Life, and Life tends to be Organised Chaos !”

NEW YORK—The U.S. filed an antitrust lawsuit Wednesday against Apple Inc and five of the nation's largest publishers, alleging they conspired to limit competition for the pricing of e-books.

The lawsuit, filed in Manhattan federal court by the U.S. Department of Justice's Antitrust Division, alleges Apple and the publishers reached an agreement where retail price competition would cease, retail e-books prices would increase significantly and Apple would be guarantee a 30% "commission" on each e-book sold.

Three of the publishers have agreed to settle, according to court documents. Those are Hachette Book Group, Simon & Schuster and HarperCollins Publishers Inc. Under the settlement, those publishers will terminate any agreement they have with Apple regarding electronic books.
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The lawsuit included a quote from the late Steve Jobs, head of Apple, describing his company's strategy for negotiating with the publishers: "We'll go to [an] agency model, where you set the price, and we get our 30%, and yes, the customer pays a little more, but that's what you want anyway."

more here
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304444604577337573054615152.html?mod=WSJ_hp_LEFTTopStories

FORT SHAFTER, Hawaii -- Soldiers from the India and U.S armies trained together March 5-19 in exercise Yudh Abhyas 2011-2012 at Majahan and Bathinda, India. Yudh Abhyas is a bilateral training exercise supporting peacekeeping operations sponsored by U.S. Army Pacific and the India Army.

Participating U.S. Soldiers were from USARPAC, Fort Shafter, Hawaii; 25th Infantry Division, 2-25 Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2-14 Cavalry, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii; 2nd Engineer Brigade, 6th Engineer Sapper Platoon, Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska; 505th Quartermaster Battalion, Torii Station, Japan; 413th Contracting Support Brigade, Fort Shafter; and the California Army National Guard. Soldiers from India Army's 2nd Mechanized Infantry Battalion and 471st Engineer Brigade participated in Yudh Abhyas.

This marked the eighth time the USARPAC-sponsored theater security cooperation exercise was held with the India Army. Yudh Abhyas began in 2004 and has moved from platoon-level operations to brigade and battalion-level operations. Yudh Abhyas enhanced cooperation and interoperability during training. Cultural exchanges also helped build skills necessary for peacekeeping operations.

This year was the first use of the India Army field firing area in the Rajasthan desert for Yudh Abhyas. The training area provided the capability to conduct large-scale, complex bilateral drills with India Army forces in a challenging environment.

link
http://www.army.mil/article/76343/USARPAC_Soldiers_train_in_India_during_Yudh_Abhyas_11_12/

Yudh Abhyas is an annual exercise between the Indian and U.S. armies. Yudh Abhyas 2012 took place in Mahajan training range, Rajasthan, India 70km from the Pakistan border. This is a short trailer showing some of the events of the military exercise. The units that took part were from U.S. Army Pacific (USARPAC) including the A troop 2-14 Cav 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division from Schofield Barracks, Hawaii and the 6th Engineer Battalion (Airborne), 2nd Engineer Brigade out of Ft. Richardson, Alaska.
Produced and Shot by SSG Robert Ham.
Cultural Advisor, SPC Mohan Pagonda.
Music by Celldweller
Song - ShutEmDown

Short Documentary about Operation Desert Lark a training event during Yudh Abhyas, and annual exercise between the U.S. and Indian Armies. This training took place in Rajasthan, India. The units that took part were from U.S. Army Pacific (USARPAC) including the A troop 2-14 Cav 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division from Schofield Barracks, Hawaii and the 6th Engineer Battalion (Airborne), 2nd Engineer Brigade out of Ft. Richardson, Alaska, along with Indian conventional and Special Forces units.

Produced and Shot by SSG Robert Ham
Music by Celldweller
Song - Elara

Short documentary story about U.S. and Indian Soldiers competing in a live fire range held during the Yudh Abhyas exercise 2012. The units that took part were from U.S. Army Pacific (USARPAC) including the A troop 2-14 Cav 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division from Schofield Barracks, Hawaii and the 6th Engineer Battalion (Airborne), 2nd Engineer Brigade out of Ft. Richardson, Alaska.
Produced and Shot by SSG Robert Ham.
Cultural Advisor and translation by SPC Mohan Pagonda.
Music: Deva Shree Ganesha by Ajay Gogavale (from the soundtrack Agneepath)

WASHINGTON: Equipped with guided-missile cruiser, destroyer and submarine, US and Indian naval forces will participate in the 10-day long annual Malabar exercise in the Bay of Bengal, the US 7th Fleet announced today.

"The United States and India share common values and seafaring traditions. Our navies are natural partners, and we look forward to continuing to strengthen the bonds and personal relationships between our navies," it said.

A regularly scheduled naval field training exercise that has grown in scope and complexity over the years, Malabar 2012 is the latest in a continuing series of exercises conducted to advance multinational maritime relationships and mutual security issues, the 7th Fleet said in a statement.

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"The Indian Navy and US 7th Fleet have a common understanding and knowledge of a shared working environment at sea. This exercise helps to advance the level of understanding between our Sailors and we hope to be able to continue this process over time," the statement said.

more here
http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-04-06/india/31299910_1_guided-missile-cruiser-exercise-submarine

If you venture into a coffee shop in the coming months and see someone with a pair of futuristic glasses that look like a prop from “Star Trek,” don’t worry. It’s probably just a Google employee testing the company’s new augmented-reality glasses.

On Wednesday, Google gave people a clearer picture of its secret initiative called Project Glass. The glasses are the company’s first venture into wearable computing.The glasses are not yet for sale. Google will, however, be testing them in public.

In a post shared on Google Plus, employees in the company laboratory known as Google X, including Babak Parviz, Steve Lee and Sebastian Thrun, asked people for input about the prototype of Project Glass. Mr. Lee, a Google product manager and originally worked on Google mapping software Latitude, mobile maps and indoor maps, is responsible for the software component and the location-based aspects of the glasses.

“We’re sharing this information now because we want to start a conversation and learn from your valuable input,” the three employees wrote. “Please follow along as we share some of our ideas and stories. We’d love to hear yours, too. What would you like to see from Project Glass?”