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The reason why a lot of players are complaining is because of the Jabulani ball and because of the grass quality. The vuvucelas are a problem for some of them too, but is not the one and only reason.

Interestingly, just a few days back the Supreme Court of India banned any forced polygraph/Narco/Brain Mapping Tests as they violate the constitution as well as the privacy of a citizen, are essentially asking a person to testify against himself, are as bad as torture, and are no better than getting a person drunk .

The Indian intelligence services seem to have had some foresight on the matter. Here's a link to a Times of India article about it. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Army-braces-for-cyber-attacks/articleshow/5767805.cms

China's already started dumping its T-bills. Strangely, this doesn't seem to be getting a lot of play in the media...I wonder why?

Times of India

Reuters

I can't comment on any pending litigation, nor am I an attorney.

Would you mind disclosing what is your role in Microsoft?

As far as the EU anti-trust stuff reading this article:
http://www.internetnews.com/breakingnews/article.php/3853706

I have. Allow me to quote from it:
The decision averted another penalty for Microsoft which has been fined 1.68 billion euros ($2.44 billion) by the European Commission for previous infringements of anti-competition rules (emphasis mine).
I was actually referring to the "previous" fine. Thank you for making my point.

1. i4i is a patent case between two corporations hence it isn't germane to the conversation.

It has something to do with Microsoft's behaviour. To wit:
Appeals court rules Microsoft willfully infringed i4i's patent (emphasis mine).

2. The India case involves 4 alleged pirates I believe.

In most jurisdictions alleged == innocent (until proven guilty). For example, I am alleging that you are molesting kittens. You are alleging that Microsoft is a different company than it was in the 90's. Both allegations have no merit without proof.

Don't know much about it.

Just Google it. Here's one link.

3. With regard to German price-fixing, Microsoft has stated that it will comply with the finding and be in full compliance of German law.

... after being convicted and fined for illegal practices.

I am still waiting for examples that substantiate your statement.

Which scientist has admitted that it was speculation and not supported by formal research.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/Himalayan-melting-by-2035-Scientists-just-assumed-so/articleshow/5459848.cms

There's also a rumor that that the date was a typo (2350 vs 2035). Granted, even 2350 is worrying and we should be certainly doing something about it. But this kind of hyperbole, doesn't do much to the credibility of climate "scientists".

It doesn't appear as though India is pulling out of the IPCC at all. They are just sending a representative (or "minder" depending on how you look at it).

http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/Story/82542/India/India's+IPCC+'tracker'+soon.html
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/PM-expresses-confidence-in-IPCCs-work-lauds-Pachauris-leadership/articleshow/5540596.cms

Thanks, for some reason Google failed me. But it would probably be better to direct to the actual article rather than a tech blog about the article...

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/RIM_agrees_to_pass_BlackBerry_content_on_condition/rssarticleshow/3056271.cms

from the article:

"The encrypted data packets sent through BlackBerry are password protected and could be deciphered only with the help of "Public Key" and "Private Key" together. The other provision is to build a super computer, which could take nearly three years and the results beyond a certain frequency were not guaranteed.

So yeah they "helped" the Indian government snoop but hardly gave them a master key.

The article sadly doesn't seem to point the Government efforts to provide the non IMEI mobiles with a valid IMEI number. For the last few monthes, a person could have taken their el-cheapo Chinese phones to a designated centre and get a genuine IMEI number 'installed' on the phone for a sum of INR 199 [USD 4]. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/jaipur/Chinese-mobile-handsets-to-get-Indian-identity/articleshow/5286535.cms

If we're going to be pedantic, then let's be pedantic. The Lord of the Rings is SIX books typically published in three volumes, but that was only due to post-war paper shortages and to help keep the price down. It has not always been sold in three volumes, however.

Huh? They've increased revenues for 5 straight years now at around 10%. And they're last year net income grew 25% over 2007. Yeah, that's a real death spiral. Gee, I wish I could run a company in a "death spiral" that generates 60 billion in revenue and almost 18 billion in net income.

I'm sorry, but 2007? Really? I can't tell if it's just a typo or what, but either way, how about some up-to-date news on that? Is that too much to ask?

Microsoft reported a disappointing 29 per cent slump in fourth-quarter profits after a year in which its revenues fell for the first time ever since 1986. The company's earnings sank to $3.05 billion, or 34 cents per share, from $4.3 billion, or 46 cents per share, in the same period last year. Now the company plans to go on a 'crash diet' programme where it plans to curtail all expenses to go slim.

If an American called Indians unemployable, that American would labeled a bigot. But Indians say that sort of thing about Americans all the time. According to India, and a lot of US companies: all the smart people in the world come from countries where people earn as little as $1 a day.

If anybody in the US suggests that visa limits not be raised, India screams and cries about US racism and xenophobia. But, what percentage of Americans work for WiPro? My understanding is that India is not all accepting of immigrants from Bangladesh. And how can India's caste system not be consider one of the earth's most extreme form of bigotry? I might add, the US has a well earned reputation of being lavishly generous in matters of immigration.

India constantly warns the US about the horrors of a "brain drain" that would be
caused by the US not allowing unlimited guest workers from India. But why is
India not worried about the Indian "brain drain" caused by the "best and
brightest" leaving India. We might also want to give some thought to the US
"brain drain" that is being caused by the US "best and brightest" avoiding STEM
jobs, because the job prospects for Americans is so dismal.

Azim Premji, who owns 79% of WiPro, recently wrote an article that warned that "US protectionism will be counter-productive"

"If we get into protectionism, then the West is going to get a wave of protectionism in response, and that is going to turn back the clock 20 years," Premji told The Sunday Times.

"And it will be America and Europe that suffer," he said because they will be excluded from the only growth markets left, in Asia, Africa and China. You are not going to grow at 10 per cent trading in London, are you," he asked.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Infotech/ITeS/US-protectionism-will-be-counter-productive-Azim-Premji/articleshow/4683155.cms

Ever hear the expression: "what is good for the goose, is good for the gander?"

India is one of the most protectionist nations on earth, and they have been for
a long time. If India wants to consider guest workers part of trade agreements,
then when does India make good for the three million Indians already living in
the USA? Or does India consider "protectionism" a one-way thing?

Neighbours confirmed that Ligesh didn't have many friends and didn't interact with anyone. Often, he'd sleep with the house door open. On his social networking site page, he wrote that his ambition was to kill God and he was an anti-Christ.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Bangalore/Techie-hangs-himself-in-HSR-Layout-/articleshow/4633101.cms

just today morning (1 hour ago) i read in the newspaper economic times, an interview of steve ballmer. he is here (in delhi) for the tech-ed event. when asked about yahoo he said, "i'm glad yahoo did not accept our $33/share offer...we are not going to acquire them but we are going to work together." here is the link. check out the last paragraph and the next page.

Couldn't Google et al just block the UK instead of paying the tax?

Google has server farms all over the world. Google even has a .uk domain.

Falcon

Global warming is a theory, not a proven fact. Not to mention if it is true, it could be absolutely 100% natural. Feast your eyes: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Global-Warming/Antarctic-ice-growing-not-shrinking-/articleshow/4418558.cms

Or instead of hypocrisy, it is sheer xenophobia and mis-information at work. Clueless much? Apparently Indian companies do hire non-Indians. http://infotech.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1832596.cms Obviously, these folks did apply for a work permit and got one. Thing is, that most US citizens are generally only all talk about actually going to India to work. Just empty talk. It is a third world country. Period. Even if you were earning well by Indian standards(which most foreigners working in India do) you will still be dealing with mosquitoes, scorching Indian heat in summers, dirt, grime, infections, what not. India is all fun to visit as a tourist, but living there when you are a US citizen? Forget it. Think of queues 4-5 hours long, for almost everything. Indians are used to this "way of life". You as a pampered, spoiled US citizen are not. You will start cribbing about the dirt from day one. Your body has never encountered the diseases and bacterias flourishing there. Indians have developed a natural immunity. You will either have really watch what you drink and eat, or fall sick constantly. And the country is mostly conservative. Your chances of a relationship with a membership of the opposite sex are remote, unless she is interested in hooking onto your US citizenship as a wife. And all this, when your pay is in the upper brackett, allowing you to afford an air-conditioner at home at least, a car, good medical care, to compensate for some of the things you took for granted in USA. Such high-paying jobs are scarce. Being used to the US life, you are just not really in a position to survive on an actual average Indian salary. So far, it has been unthinkable that any average american would want to work in India for long-term, unless he was being ordered to, by his employer, or unless he was unaware what he was getting into, or unless he was a glutton for punishment, or all of above. If you are still game, get an Indian company to hire you first. If you are a good bargain for the value they will get, then business is business. There is no real bias against foreigners, especially if they deal with software export or US clients, in which case you might be even desirable for interfacing with their US clients. They will sponsor your Indian work permit. The procedure involved lots of red-tape but not impossible either. I personally know tons of Japanese folks working in India for example, for Indian companies that deal with Japanese companies. But please tone down the misinformation and xenophobia. It is becoming too much an american stereotype.

Sorry, I got the chronology wrong. My mistake. However, her government and several of her boy-toys in said government were indicted by the courts over the years, going back to the Allahabad High Court in 1975 itself (though they couldn't do much about it when the women effectively seized power).

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Chawla_was_indicted_for_Emergency_excesses/rssarticleshow/4058011.cms
http://www.boloji.com/plainspeak/015.htm

Who told you that OSS is less safe than closed sourceWho told you that OSS is less safe than closed source?

A representative of a company who wants to sell!

MS is known to have used a business tactics known as Fear, Uncertainty and Disorientation

Facts are:

MS source code can be obtained by Hackers/Crackers through illegitimate channels - the availability of source code is not an argument.

Thousands of experts monitor OSS source code and vulnerabilities are discussed in the open. Hackers recognizing vulnerabilities in MS source code are not to publish it, but to write exploits!

Number of successful attacks on MS and other closed source products in comparison to OSS products speaks for itself.

Average workload consumed per machine for remedy of exploitation coed ( malware removal ) was per Windows machines 20 manhours, for Linux machines 0.01 hours at a company running 5000 PCs

You can offer security tests and penetration tests to your costumer !

The largest institutions and companies where security is an issue use Linux

• DoDs http://www.desktoplinux.com/news/NS3846976086.html http://www.forbes.com/2003/06/20/cz_eb_0620linux.html
• NSAs even created SE linux http://www.nsa.gov/research/selinux/
• IBM - you know IBM?
• DHS http://searchdns.netcraft.com/?position=limited&host=dhs.gov
• FBI http://searchdns.netcraft.com/?restriction=site+contains&host=fbi.gov&lookup=wait..&position=limited
• Navy http://searchdns.netcraft.com/?restriction=site+contains&host=navy.mil&lookup=wait..&position=limited
• Air Force http://searchdns.netcraft.com/?restriction=site+contains&host=airforce.com&lookup=wait..&position=limited
• Amazon http://news.cnet.com/2100-1001-275155.html
• Google just google Google about use of Linux

• Contraindications - or failures of MS installations in the media:

• French http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Infotech/Computer_virus_grounds_French_fighter_planes/articleshow/4094774.cms
• British http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/01/15/royal_navy_email_virus_outage/
• US http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/38384

Didn't the original reports tout this as a "portable computer"? This is still what it appears to be. It was the western media that labeled it a "laptop" and ran with it.

No, they didn't. According to TFA (as well as TFA this is retracting), the Times of India reported that it was a laptop and other news sources picked it up from there. I'm a little curious as to how this left the blog-level and made it to NPR, but the government itself was hyping it as their answer to the $100 laptop, which is clearly not the case.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Hyderabad/10-laptop_proves_to_be_a_damp_squib/articleshow/4072417.cms

With reference to this specific article, terror mails refer to the "threatening" mails sent to the media allegedly by the Indian Mujahideen which were followed by the terror attacks in Ahmedabad (a city in India) and similar attacks elsewhere in India. I guess the process of "tipping off" the media before the attack actually happens is for them to get maximum media coverage of their handiwork (sometimes as it happens). One person caught in connection with this was a principal software engineer at Yahoo, Pune according to this article by the times of India: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/MNC_techie_sent_terror_emails_Mumbai_Police/articleshow/msid-3566789,curpg-2.cms

I agree with that. One of the more interesting and plausible theories at the time was that it was a sign that we may soon invade Iran (they were the worst cut-off from the internet at the time). Thankfully that wasn't true.

Seymour Hersh recently talked about Cheney wanting to dress up as Iranians and have them shoot at US ships.
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/07/31/cheney-proposal-for-iran-war/

I can't say the real reason for them being cut, but the official story doesn't add up. The article explaining the two ships is interesting. The information on those ships is from Reliance Communications, which is very suspect.

Here is a press release from Reliance on December 21, 2007:

This step also paves the way to extend Yipes' services worldwide over FLAG's global next-generation network, creating significantly more value from our undersea network assets in the strongholds of India, the Middle East, and East Asia," said RCOM Global Business president Punit Garg.

It seems like this could be a case of industrial sabotage. I admit that I have no proof, but its a possibility. Extorting two ships in Dubai doesn't seem like it would be tough to do for a large company such as this.

Quoting from two separate times of India articles

"The company says the two were surveying Saurashtra to collect data and maps for GPS services meant for mobile phone companies and other corporate houses. But, the company officials had not taken prior permission required for any such activity ," said Jamnagar police officials.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Ahmedabad/GPS_surveyors_booked_under_OSA_/articleshow/3831158.cms

"Usually an application intimating the district administration and police, detailing our nature work is sent. However, sometimes it happens that due to our elaborate mapping and presence of GPS device, our personnel have to explain their work. In this case, it seems, the application did not reach the district or police headquarters," said company spokesperson, Tulsi Das. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Ahmedabad/ATS_questioning_the_duo_in_GPS_case_from_Jamnagar/articleshow/3810468.cms

Most likely the officer who made the arrest had no idea what a GPS is, so you cannot really blame them for taking some security precautions. Hopefully this will be sorted out in the end.

Quoting from two separate times of India articles

"The company says the two were surveying Saurashtra to collect data and maps for GPS services meant for mobile phone companies and other corporate houses. But, the company officials had not taken prior permission required for any such activity ," said Jamnagar police officials.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Ahmedabad/GPS_surveyors_booked_under_OSA_/articleshow/3831158.cms

"Usually an application intimating the district administration and police, detailing our nature work is sent. However, sometimes it happens that due to our elaborate mapping and presence of GPS device, our personnel have to explain their work. In this case, it seems, the application did not reach the district or police headquarters," said company spokesperson, Tulsi Das. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Ahmedabad/ATS_questioning_the_duo_in_GPS_case_from_Jamnagar/articleshow/3810468.cms

Most likely the officer who made the arrest had no idea what a GPS is, so you cannot really blame them for taking some security precautions. Hopefully this will be sorted out in the end.

These people are terrorrists - if they can procure an AK-47, why should anything prevent them from procuring an illegal ID and illegal SIM card.

Maybe India can make tougher laws, but that would only hamper those who need to to obtain a SIM card for legal purposes - more paperwork. I doubt that terrorists would be bothered by paperwork.

I can understand Times of India (or any other Indian newspaper) publishing this article, but why Slashdot? If we're going to blindly publish articles from TOI, why not publish this one?

Actually, no. The "experts" in this case weren't even aware of McColo was actually doing because the few people who did know never shared the information.

I just love getting contradicted by people who have no idea of the facts. Hint to mods: do some research before up-moddng!

Some evidence to support my position: McColo, a Californian-based company played house to some of the world's worst online criminal gangs and was booted off the internet following an investigation by Washington Post security researcher Brian Krebs. The company's online presence was extinguished after Krebs alerted McColo's access providers Global Crossing and Hurricane Electric earlier this week to the criminal material it was pumping out over their networks .

Or how about this: McColo's termination followed closely on the heels of an incendiary report released by researchers from numerous security organizations and companies, including McAfee, Trend Micro and Arbor Networks, detailing shady criminal practices of ISPs like McColo and their connection with spam and cybercrime.

So it wasn't due to unanswered complaints sent to upstream providers, it was because upstream providers were notified of the issues by security researchers (to whom I referred as "experts").

India will drop its flag on the moon to establish its presence, Nair said in an interview. This will make India the fourth country after the US, Russia, and Japan to have its flag on the moon.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/India_will_plant_flag_on_the_moon_ISRO_chief/articleshow/3620255.cms

With today's (on 8th Nov) successful manoeuvre, India becomes the fifth country to send a spacecraft to Moon. The other countries, which have sent spacecraft to Moon, are the United States, former Soviet Union, Japan and China. Besides, the European Space Agency (ESA), a consortium of 17 countries, has also sent a spacecraft to moon.

Source: http://www.hindu.com/nic/0061/release11.htm

I don't know about you, but sitting here in India, I kinda get the feeling that there's more dirty work afoot.

When I look at the current gas shortage in the US or the economic crunch/bailouts, I sort of get the feeling that it's all coming together to one point - an absolute sense of insecurity for the middle class. The kind of people who'd do anything to keep their way of life - and in enough numbers to tip over the balance for the ruling class. Abortion and gay marriages are just not really the issues which decide the fate of a country (Roe vs Wade though), but they're easy issues to divide these people with. Tax cuts and bailouts are the real deal, but at this point there seem to be no fiscal conservative in power in the us (to quote myself - "in this economy of bad cheques, the only winner is a spender").

That kind of subliminal fear in the society. If that's not a dirty trick, what is?

PS: and today was the day someone from my office was implicated in a terror bombing case ... and the office is still calm & un-paranoid (*wow*)

Microsoft was given AAA rating when they announced the issuance of $6 billion in bonds.

From the Economic Times:

23 Sep, 2008 NEW YORK: Software giant Microsoft has been assigned the highest investment grade of 'AAA' by global credit rating agency Standard & Poor's, making it the first American non-financial corporate debt issuer to receive this rating in a decade.

Also from Forbes:

09.22.08 - Moody's Investors Service said it assigned an 'AAA' senior unsecured debt rating to Microsoft Corp. reflecting the company's position as the world's largest software company with a strong and defensible market position throughout its diverse core offerings. The rating outlook is stable.

"+5 Interesting"? Well, yes, I suppose that derangement and conspiracy theories are "interesting" to an extent, but come on ...

First, this is nothing new. Bin Laden has always denied involvement.

No, Bin Laden has admitted multiple times to being responsible for the attacks, including in 2004 - right before the presidential election - while attempting to ridicule Bush and sway the US public to vote against him. He again admitted to it in 2006 in an audio broadcast on Al Jazeera, as verified by the Times of India.

Try to keep up with the news, will ya?

The only time he acknowledged being responsible, was in some supposed sham video that was "found" in Afghanistan, and claimed by the CIA as some sort of smoking gun proving he did it.

Actually he didn't admit anything in the tape - the tape was a recording of a conversation he had with Khaled al-Harbi, in which his statements seem to indicate foreknowledge of the attacks. He didn't actually make a public admission until 2004.

As for the video being a sham ... lemme guess, you're put off by the fact that he looks fat and wears a gold ring, huh? Do you get ALL your opinions from "truther" websites?

He is after all a crazy bastard who thinks it's perfectly ok to murder people because of the country they were born in.

There's nothing crazy about him - he's a perfectly sane individual who just happens to think he's on a crusade from God. Human history is full of people like him.

Well, a girl offed her self some time back in India, the theory is she did it cause of the doomsday predictions shown on "news" channels

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Fearing_end_of_world_girl_kills_self/articleshow/3467519.cms

What's more likely is that she was mentally ill, and this was just the trigger that set her off.

Undiagnosed mental illness, or the beginnings of clinical depression kill more then a few people, they just flip, and kill themselves without any explanation, and often with no note or anything.

Well, a girl offed her self some time back in India, the theory is she did it cause of the doomsday predictions shown on "news" channels

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Fearing_end_of_world_girl_kills_self/articleshow/3467519.cms

You think the US is been hypocritical?

Try the Australian government :- http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/NSG_in_bag_India_seeks_uranium_from_Australia/articleshow/3456549.cms

"The US has said it would talk to India about not 'disadvantaging' American companies eyeing the $100 billion nuclear pie if the US Congress is unable to approve their civil nuclear deal quickly."

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/Economy/Foreign_Trade/Dont_handicap_US_firms_eyeing_100_bn_nuclear_pie_Rice/articleshow/3456426.cms (this was before the deal was okayed)

What I am objecting to is the excuse, used by employers, that the USA needs more offshore workers because there is a sever shortage of tech workers in USA. Employers have been claiming these "sever shortage" at least since the early 1990s. Even with massive unemployment in IT, employers stiff claim that.

I can not account for every individual circumstance. But, I can say with complete confidence that, such a wide-spread shortage could not possibly exist for 15 years. The claim makes no sense.

As to your assertions:

> Regardless of the wage, the supply of broadly employable PHP developers can only increase slowly

But the demand for PHP developers is not growing that explosively either. As I said, shortage can exist for short time, if something sudden, unexpected, and major, happens; but those events are rare, and short lived.

> Unfortunately, con artists can easily be attracted by higher wages, and are not limited by this phenomenon because their experience is fake

This really has nothing to do with a sustained shortage. And please be aware that con-artists can exist off-shore as well. In fact, off-shore workers not only fake experience, but degrees as well:

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Many_job_aspirants_give_fake_educational_documents/articleshow/3129453.cms

Therefore, it seems that expanding the guest worker program will not address your issues anyway.

Many non-Americans think the US is the biggest threat in the world.

Blackberry privacy is only for large enterprises. If you have a corporate Blackberry server, the keys are between the client units and the server, and RIM doesn't have them. If you use Blackberry's public servers, RIM has your E-mail. India only wants "non-corporate emails".

Shinde said that the police had first asked Google to provide the IP address of the person who posted the message. They learnt that the accused was connected to the net through Bharati Airtel and Sify Internet in Chennai.

It was also learnt that the message was circulated through the email address'rahulvaidindia@gmail.com'. The police then sought information about the user of this email address from the internet service provider and learnt that it was the address of Rahul Vaid, a resident of Chakarpur in Gurgaon.

Hey. Ease up with the slurs against the US. MS is not a US corporation any more than it is a European, African, East Asian or Indian. Though one could make a case for each based on how much taxes are dodged in each region. But if you want to split hairs about what MS is, you can see that it is more about power and isolation than about profit. Notice how many divisions are failing to run a profit. You can can also look at the behavior of its employees and large numbers of minions and come quickly to the conclusion that it is more of a cult.

Also look at how much damage MS has caused not just the IT sector, and not just the private sector, but also the public sector. Notice as desktop usage OS X and Linux, among others, increase the overall cost goes down.

As far as the Kubuntu CDs go, that's a great idea. Just be sure you are doing it for the right reasons.

NASA has to catchup!? Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is launching 10 satellites (including 8 nano) this April 28.

Well, first of all, one of the ships' anchors was found caught on one of the damaged cables. But I think the best proof lies in the fact that one of the companies in question paid for the damages to the cables. Unless there is a better explanation presented or more evidence to the contrary, I think it's reasonable to assume that the mystery is solved, no?

The truth of the matter was that I had no idea what happened and, thus, no real opinion either way. I was merely skeptical that a conspiracy was responsible, which I think is an entirely reasonable position in this context. Plus it irks me when people mis-apply scientific/mathematical principals principals in everyday discussions to disingenuously infer a false appeal to authority.

-Grym

Let's just simplify the equation a bit more through the magic of science!

Women are more attracted to symmetrical, masculine persons during the period of ovulation. You need to know when that is, and make sure you are the one who satisfies that longing. During the interim periods women are more attracted to the stable, dependable, kind, security-providing sort of person. This tends to be the case just as much for lesbian, bisexual, and heterosexual women.

Now, consider whether your intended is a cat-lover. Apart from the obvious ramifications of felinophilia, there is an increased likelihood that she could be infected with the toxoplasma gondii parasite. Also, if she is fond of undercooked meats, beware. Toxoplasma gondii is capable of altering behavior in radical ways. In mice, it causes them to become attracted to the odor of cat urine. In human females it increases sexual promiscuity and risk-taking behaviors. In males, it increases stupidity. It has also been linked to schizophrenia. Thank god there's a cure.

Watch the biological and psychological elements. Remember that - yes - you can infer a personality in all things... but intent, choice, preference, the sense of need... all these can be biologically driven and need to be considered in their influence over behavioral trends, especially in regard to sex and fidelity, for those who prefer it.

Your best bet, then, is to be meticulous in your selection. Stay close to the healthiest females. Take a yoga class, go to the gym. Instead of going to the pub at night for your beauty-pints, try a juice bar in the afternoon. Ask one of the perky lasses that frequent such places about wheatgrass.

But be wary also. Even here... you must be watchful for signs of mental instability, the tendency to bounce away. On the other hand, if she doesn't really fire up your brain, have a good wank to clear your head and let her bounce, bounce, bounce.

Once you get a good one, strong of body, mind, and spirit, never let your attention slacken. Stay engaged. Never retreat. Consider the film The Shining as an instructive beacon why you should never, ever, get addicted to work, stress, and oblivion.

Bear in mind that in Europe, unlike in the United States, men and women generally like each other. If you're not having lunch as often with male and female friends, you should feel like the Troglodyte you are. That goes for you women too. Develop a taste for espresso, lighten up, and for god's sake call up a girl just to hang out. Coward.

Science!

This project started a couple of years back when Narendra Karmarkar (yes, him ) got a grant from the Tata group to try out his ideas in this 1991 paper. Prior to that he had tried getting funds from Tata Institute of Fundamental Research ( TIFR) while he was still employed with them (he had joined TIFR after leaving the US, though was still with Bell Labs in some way). TIFR was in no position to fund his project as their overall budget for all their activities was less than Karmarkar's requirements. The project started well enough and about 40 people joining CRL. From the grapevine it is heard that Karmarkar never gave any details (that what is contained in the paper referred above) to even people working closely with him. Basically he seemed interested in working all alone to meet his own targets. With not much tangible seen by the Tatas (a business house) and their need to have some clear road-map the relationship grew cold and at a certain stage Karmarkar left the organization. The remaining team put together what is called EKA. So, it is just another parallel machine built with enough money to buy all the components. Nothing innovative there.

India and China are both working towards Peace, apart from Business ties.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7188646.stm
a recent visit by the Indian prime minister is only a follow-up of visits by various ministers to China.
Hu Jintao wants better ties with India. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/China/Hu_Jintao_for_closer_India-China_ties/articleshow/2703269.cms
I think India is trying to be the neutral country it has always tried to be. Recently, India launched an Israeli satellite into orbit. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7199736.stm

If India or China want to dominate the World after US decline, It is together and not through competition. Given the fact that India has the service industry and China has the manufacturing capabilities. They can feed off each other.. and become strong.

You are right about the improvement in safety. About the other comments, the car is meant for indian roads,not europe or american ones,as poined out by ratan tata himself http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Im_in_a_lonely_phase_of_my_life_Ratan_Tata/articleshow/2690777.cmshere. Moreover,there are no plans to eport the car at any significant scale even to latin america,africa and south-east asia until atleast 3 more years (same interview) And if comments by ahref=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/opinions/2688574.cmsrel=url2html-12215http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/opinions/2688574.cms>newspaper readers are any indication,the car will disappear from showrooms almost as soon as it is introduced. Whichever way you look at it,the car is a breakthrough in design.The sales may well be record-breaking,for any car in the world. As for pollution,it meets even http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Business/India_Business/Small_car_to_be_the_cleanest_on_road_Ratan_Tata/articleshow/2688682.cmsEuro IV norms.Volkswagen and Renault are now planning to imitate the idea. If you would have seen the coverage on indian news channels,you'd have found out how ecstatic middle-class and lower-middle-class indians are at this development.One way or another,this car is going to revolutionize transport in india. The only sour spot is that it will further increase our dependence on foreign oil and gas.

You are right about the improvement in safety. About the other comments, the car is meant for indian roads,not europe or american ones,as poined out by ratan tata himself http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Im_in_a_lonely_phase_of_my_life_Ratan_Tata/articleshow/2690777.cmshere. Moreover,there are no plans to eport the car at any significant scale even to latin america,africa and south-east asia until atleast 3 more years (same interview) And if comments by ahref=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/opinions/2688574.cmsrel=url2html-12215http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/opinions/2688574.cms>newspaper readers are any indication,the car will disappear from showrooms almost as soon as it is introduced. Whichever way you look at it,the car is a breakthrough in design.The sales may well be record-breaking,for any car in the world. As for pollution,it meets even http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Business/India_Business/Small_car_to_be_the_cleanest_on_road_Ratan_Tata/articleshow/2688682.cmsEuro IV norms.Volkswagen and Renault are now planning to imitate the idea. If you would have seen the coverage on indian news channels,you'd have found out how ecstatic middle-class and lower-middle-class indians are at this development.One way or another,this car is going to revolutionize transport in india. The only sour spot is that it will further increase our dependence on foreign oil and gas.

You want "research" showing US employer health insurance makes us less competitive? Why don't you just read some news about US car corps choking on their healthcare costs, while foreign competitors benefit from the more economical nationalized healthcare?

The first result of the link you provide has this to say " GM's biggest competitor Toyota, in its home ground of Japan, did not have to foot the bill for their employees' healthcare. The state provides healthcare, paid out of taxes. Toyota has a clear competitive advantage over GM in the pricing of its products, thanks to the difference in the two countries' healthcare systems. Of course, this is not the only competitive advantage that Toyota has over GM." Notice how it says Toyota "did not have to foot the bill for their employees' healthcare" thus giving Toyota an advantage over GM, ie GM is not as competitive. A big factor in negotiations between the big three auto companies in the US and the United Auto Workers is health insurance. Ford, GM, and Chrysler don't want to continue to pay for health insurance for retired workers.

Since you didn't even notice that your favorite experiment in peoples lives and privatized economics is failing in our core industry

Prey tell, what's my favorite experiment? Not what you imagine it is but what it really is.

I don't expect you'll understand that the US income tax is low because we're $10 TRILLION IN DEBT

You are compleatly and utterly mixed up. US taxes are not low because of the debt, the debt is high because government has gone on a spending spree since Bush came into office. One of the few good things Clinton did was reducing the government deficit. He took the deficit from the biggest there was before Bush Jr to almost wiping it out, actually there was a small surplus when Clinton left office. Bush Jr then increased spending but cut taxes. Can you understand that?

I can't read the rest of the garbage, the way you ignore things or twist what you don't.