2008-03-31
The Chinese view of India
In San Francisco, the only North American city hosting the torch, officials shortened the April 9 route through the city and have abbreviated the ceremonies. Mayor Gavin Newsom has said no one will be prevented from expressing his views, but permits are required to gather near the torch.[Drama as torch arrival set for Tiananmen, though protests not expected]The Chinese Ambassador to United States did not summon Mayor Gavin Newsom of San Francisco to his office at 2 A.M. Instead the...
In San Francisco, the only North American city hosting the torch, officials shortened the April 9 route through the city and have abbreviated the ceremonies. Mayor Gavin Newsom has said no one will be prevented from expressing his views, but permits are required to gather near the torch.[Drama as torch arrival set for Tiananmen, though protests not expected]The Chinese Ambassador to United States did not summon Mayor Gavin Newsom of San Francisco to his office at 2 A.M. Instead the...
[02:37 | J.K. Nair]
2008-03-26
Founding Faith
Pandering to the Christian Right, Presidential candidate Sen. John McCain recently stated that United States was a Christian Nation, despite the fact that United States has no official religion and has a clear separation of Church and State. According to Garry Wills, historian and Professor of History Emeritus at Northwestern University, the Founding Fathers were deists who believed in creation, providence and after life. They did not believe that Jesus was divine and you could get things by praying for...
Pandering to the Christian Right, Presidential candidate Sen. John McCain recently stated that United States was a Christian Nation, despite the fact that United States has no official religion and has a clear separation of Church and State. According to Garry Wills, historian and Professor of History Emeritus at Northwestern University, the Founding Fathers were deists who believed in creation, providence and after life. They did not believe that Jesus was divine and you could get things by praying for...
[02:03 | J.K. Nair]
2008-03-25
The Non-Violent Chicken
“Myself and my daughters would never like Sarabjit freed inexchange for any hardcore Pakistani terrorist lodged in Indian jails,” Sarabjit’s wife, Sukhpreet Kaur, told PTI. Ms. Kaur said that for the family, “nothing is above the nation and we can’t go against the interests of our motherland.”[We do not want Sarabjit in exchange for terrorists: wife] In this day and age, when displaying nationalism condemns one to the lowest levels of the Indian liberal purgatory, it takes certain amount of...
“Myself and my daughters would never like Sarabjit freed inexchange for any hardcore Pakistani terrorist lodged in Indian jails,” Sarabjit’s wife, Sukhpreet Kaur, told PTI. Ms. Kaur said that for the family, “nothing is above the nation and we can’t go against the interests of our motherland.”[We do not want Sarabjit in exchange for terrorists: wife] In this day and age, when displaying nationalism condemns one to the lowest levels of the Indian liberal purgatory, it takes certain amount of...
[01:22 | J.K. Nair]
2008-03-24
Book Review: The Snake Stone
The Snake Stone by Jason Goodwin, Farrar, Straus and Giroux; First Edition edition, 304 pages"Istanbul of 1830s was a city in which everyone, from sultan to beggar, belonged somewhere---to a guild, a district, a family, a church or a mosque", writes Jason Goodwin in his second historical murder mystery: The Snake Stone. Sultan Mahmud II is on his death bed in the seventy-three bedroom palace satisfied over his accomplishments which included destroying the Janissaries, modernizing the army and creating a...
The Snake Stone by Jason Goodwin, Farrar, Straus and Giroux; First Edition edition, 304 pages"Istanbul of 1830s was a city in which everyone, from sultan to beggar, belonged somewhere---to a guild, a district, a family, a church or a mosque", writes Jason Goodwin in his second historical murder mystery: The Snake Stone. Sultan Mahmud II is on his death bed in the seventy-three bedroom palace satisfied over his accomplishments which included destroying the Janissaries, modernizing the army and creating a...
[00:18 | J.K. Nair]
2008-03-23
Official Chinese spokesman
NEW DELHI: The Indian Left, which takes its political cue from China, promptly echoed the line of their handlers in Beijing and asked the Manmohan Singh government not to meddle in the “internal affairs (read Tibet)” of the neighbour. The party, which raised objections over the visit US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Dharamsala, said: “The government should see that their meeting does not turn into an anti-China meeting.”Maintaining that Tibet issue was an internal affair of China,...
NEW DELHI: The Indian Left, which takes its political cue from China, promptly echoed the line of their handlers in Beijing and asked the Manmohan Singh government not to meddle in the “internal affairs (read Tibet)” of the neighbour. The party, which raised objections over the visit US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Dharamsala, said: “The government should see that their meeting does not turn into an anti-China meeting.”Maintaining that Tibet issue was an internal affair of China,...
[01:28 | J.K. Nair]
2008-03-20
Sins 2.0
The Catholic Church has updated the list of sins. According to the new list, you are a sinner if you harm the environment, deal with drugs or do stem cell research. Amusingly you are a sinner if you have obscene wealth.No, what's perhaps most amusing is that in this modern age, someone still feigns to have the authority to invent new sins in the first place, to perpetuate the inanity of the very concept, to torque and mold and reshape...
The Catholic Church has updated the list of sins. According to the new list, you are a sinner if you harm the environment, deal with drugs or do stem cell research. Amusingly you are a sinner if you have obscene wealth.No, what's perhaps most amusing is that in this modern age, someone still feigns to have the authority to invent new sins in the first place, to perpetuate the inanity of the very concept, to torque and mold and reshape...
[00:08 | J.K. Nair]
2008-03-18
Rashomon Effect (6)
Chinese Ambassador to India on what is happening in Tibet“There was no such thing as crackdown. It is the duty of the government to protect its citizens. These measures are totally in line with the law and truly supported by the people at the grass roots,” he read from a prepared statement at a press meet.ABC News Reports Another Lhasa resident, who also refused to be identified, said the Drepung monastery was encircled by "three layers" of army personnel while...
Chinese Ambassador to India on what is happening in Tibet“There was no such thing as crackdown. It is the duty of the government to protect its citizens. These measures are totally in line with the law and truly supported by the people at the grass roots,” he read from a prepared statement at a press meet.ABC News Reports Another Lhasa resident, who also refused to be identified, said the Drepung monastery was encircled by "three layers" of army personnel while...
[19:58 | J.K. Nair]
2008-03-17
Indic Religions in America
(Image by dhondusaxena)While Buddha, Mahavira and Gosala were the famous Indian enlightened souls of the axial age, they were not the only ones. Ordinary folks had numerous options; they could believe in materialism following Ajita Kesakambali, eternalism following Pakudha Kacca-yana or become agnostic following Sañjaya Belaṭṭhaputta. It was not just a time of great material wealth, but also of a vibrant spiritual market and a common sight in those times were parivrajakas or wanderers preaching their doctrines and engaging rivals...
(Image by dhondusaxena)While Buddha, Mahavira and Gosala were the famous Indian enlightened souls of the axial age, they were not the only ones. Ordinary folks had numerous options; they could believe in materialism following Ajita Kesakambali, eternalism following Pakudha Kacca-yana or become agnostic following Sañjaya Belaṭṭhaputta. It was not just a time of great material wealth, but also of a vibrant spiritual market and a common sight in those times were parivrajakas or wanderers preaching their doctrines and engaging rivals...
[01:20 | J.K. Nair]
2008-03-15
Indian History Carnival - 3
(Image by backpacker)The Indian History Carnival, published on the 15th of every month, is a collection of posts related to Indian history and archaeology written in the past 30 days.Sukumar attends a lecture by Asko Parpola on the Indus Valley script which disproves the Farmer/Witzel/Sproat theory that Indus Valley Civilization was illiterate.Arvind Sharma finds out what ancient Indians thought about ancient Greeks and writes about the account of an Indian meeting Socrates. He has another post about the the Greek...
(Image by backpacker)The Indian History Carnival, published on the 15th of every month, is a collection of posts related to Indian history and archaeology written in the past 30 days.Sukumar attends a lecture by Asko Parpola on the Indus Valley script which disproves the Farmer/Witzel/Sproat theory that Indus Valley Civilization was illiterate.Arvind Sharma finds out what ancient Indians thought about ancient Greeks and writes about the account of an Indian meeting Socrates. He has another post about the the Greek...
[12:00 | J.K. Nair]
2008-03-12
Some FACTS about Aurangzeb
French journalist Francois Gautier's Foundation Against Continuing Terrorism put together an exhibition titled "Aurangzeb as he was according to Mughal records." The exhibition displayed various paintings which show Aurangzeb ordering the removal of his father's body and trying to convert a Jewish philosopher. There were also two paintings which showed the destruction of the Somnath temple and pieces of a temple being used to build the steps of a mosque.This exhibition was held at Delhi, Pune and Bangalore without incident,...
French journalist Francois Gautier's Foundation Against Continuing Terrorism put together an exhibition titled "Aurangzeb as he was according to Mughal records." The exhibition displayed various paintings which show Aurangzeb ordering the removal of his father's body and trying to convert a Jewish philosopher. There were also two paintings which showed the destruction of the Somnath temple and pieces of a temple being used to build the steps of a mosque.This exhibition was held at Delhi, Pune and Bangalore without incident,...
[01:50 | J.K. Nair]
2005-12-21
New Avatar
I just realized that several of my previous readers are still subscribed to TriNetre feed and hence I thought I'll let you know that I have started a new blog, but this time very strictly on the subject of security, computer system and network security to be specific, though once in a while I may deviating to all things security. Most of my posts may even be exclusively academic in nature. If you think you would be interested, head down...
I just realized that several of my previous readers are still subscribed to TriNetre feed and hence I thought I'll let you know that I have started a new blog, but this time very strictly on the subject of security, computer system and network security to be specific, though once in a while I may deviating to all things security. Most of my posts may even be exclusively academic in nature. If you think you would be interested, head down...
[17:45 | K.N. Srijith]
2005-10-25
Over and out
For the last couple of days you may have noticed a marked increase in the frequency of posts on TriNetre. That was me trying to reach the 1000 post milestone before I ran out of steam. Then, a couple of minutes ago something dawned on me - If it has come to a state where I have to struggle, maybe it was not worth it! So, here I am, going to do something that I have (strangely) been longing to...
For the last couple of days you may have noticed a marked increase in the frequency of posts on TriNetre. That was me trying to reach the 1000 post milestone before I ran out of steam. Then, a couple of minutes ago something dawned on me - If it has come to a state where I have to struggle, maybe it was not worth it! So, here I am, going to do something that I have (strangely) been longing to...
[20:54 | K.N. Srijith]
Most Americans think God created humans
Most Americans do not accept the theory of evolution. Instead, 51 percent of Americans say God created humans in their present form, and another three in 10 say that while humans evolved, God guided the process. Just 15 percent say humans evolved, and that God was not involved. (CBS News) Why do I not find this surprising?
Most Americans do not accept the theory of evolution. Instead, 51 percent of Americans say God created humans in their present form, and another three in 10 say that while humans evolved, God guided the process. Just 15 percent say humans evolved, and that God was not involved. (CBS News) Why do I not find this surprising?
[19:45 | K.N. Srijith]
TV vs Book
Via kottke.org remaindered links weblog I came across this beauty - Lone Star Statements, select one-star reviews from Amazon of books on Time magazine's list of the 100 best English language novels since 1923. Reading through the 'reviews' I was chuckling along until I read the review of 'Lord of the Flies' by William Golding that went: I am obsessed with Survivor, so I thought it would be fun. WRONG!!! It is incredibly boring and disgusting. I was very much...
Via kottke.org remaindered links weblog I came across this beauty - Lone Star Statements, select one-star reviews from Amazon of books on Time magazine's list of the 100 best English language novels since 1923. Reading through the 'reviews' I was chuckling along until I read the review of 'Lord of the Flies' by William Golding that went: I am obsessed with Survivor, so I thought it would be fun. WRONG!!! It is incredibly boring and disgusting. I was very much...
[11:38 | K.N. Srijith]
'Watermark' word in dictionary
You must have heard of videos being watermarked and fingerprinted to trace the source of leaks. Now, it turns out that New Oxford American Dictionary had inserted a non-existent word to trace copying of materials from the dictionary. A call was placed to Erin McKean, the editor-in-chief of the second edition of NOAD. Upon being presented with the majority opinion, McKean confirmed that "esquivalience" was a fabricated word. She said that Oxford had included it in NOADs first edition, in...
You must have heard of videos being watermarked and fingerprinted to trace the source of leaks. Now, it turns out that New Oxford American Dictionary had inserted a non-existent word to trace copying of materials from the dictionary. A call was placed to Erin McKean, the editor-in-chief of the second edition of NOAD. Upon being presented with the majority opinion, McKean confirmed that "esquivalience" was a fabricated word. She said that Oxford had included it in NOADs first edition, in...
[10:44 | K.N. Srijith]
Privacy policy
A couple of days ago, someone emailed me asking whether Srijith.Net had a privacy policy statement! I had always thought of my site as being small enough to escape without having a privacy policy. But then I thought, why not? So now I have a slightly somber privacy policy of Srijith.Net
A couple of days ago, someone emailed me asking whether Srijith.Net had a privacy policy statement! I had always thought of my site as being small enough to escape without having a privacy policy. But then I thought, why not? So now I have a slightly somber privacy policy of Srijith.Net
[07:49 | K.N. Srijith]
Karl Auerbach
Anyone who has even a passing interest in issue of Internet governance should follow Karl Auerbach's blog. His recent post "Forgotten Principles of Internet Governance" is a must-read.
Anyone who has even a passing interest in issue of Internet governance should follow Karl Auerbach's blog. His recent post "Forgotten Principles of Internet Governance" is a must-read.
[07:14 | K.N. Srijith]
2005-10-24
Andy announces Minix 3
My supervisor Andy Tanenbaum has announced the release of Minix 3 along with a cute little mascot! While loosely based on MINIX 2, in many ways it is fundamentally different from its predecessors. It is extremely compact, modular, and designed for very high reliability. The total amount of code running in kernel mode is under 3800 lines (vs. 2.5 million for Linux). Each device driver runs as a separate user-mode process under the supervision of a reincarnation server. If a...
My supervisor Andy Tanenbaum has announced the release of Minix 3 along with a cute little mascot! While loosely based on MINIX 2, in many ways it is fundamentally different from its predecessors. It is extremely compact, modular, and designed for very high reliability. The total amount of code running in kernel mode is under 3800 lines (vs. 2.5 million for Linux). Each device driver runs as a separate user-mode process under the supervision of a reincarnation server. If a...
[20:50 | K.N. Srijith]
Deleted post on MT mail flaw
More than a year ago, I had reported a small flaw in the way MovableType uses Sendmail to send emails. At that time, I had taken down the post on the request of Six Apart. recently I was going though my list of draft posts and saw this post and decided to post it. So, here is the post that was briefly online in March 26, 2004. MovableType (MT) does not use the '-oi' parameter when calling Sendmail, thus making...
More than a year ago, I had reported a small flaw in the way MovableType uses Sendmail to send emails. At that time, I had taken down the post on the request of Six Apart. recently I was going though my list of draft posts and saw this post and decided to post it. So, here is the post that was briefly online in March 26, 2004. MovableType (MT) does not use the '-oi' parameter when calling Sendmail, thus making...
[05:15 | K.N. Srijith]
2005-10-23
Investigative bloggers, quick question
Recently, I have been seeing bloggers investigating into IIPM 'incident' post stories that contained email exchanges between them and faculty members and other individuals related to IIPM via seminars etc.The latest among this is the email exchange between a blogger and Dr. J.F.Collier. The question I want to raise is the ethics of quoting personal communication like email in one's post/articles without obtaining prior permission from the other party. While I have no authority to say it is wrong to...
Recently, I have been seeing bloggers investigating into IIPM 'incident' post stories that contained email exchanges between them and faculty members and other individuals related to IIPM via seminars etc.The latest among this is the email exchange between a blogger and Dr. J.F.Collier. The question I want to raise is the ethics of quoting personal communication like email in one's post/articles without obtaining prior permission from the other party. While I have no authority to say it is wrong to...
[18:07 | K.N. Srijith]
2004-03-10
2004-02-10
2004-01-11
2003-12-25
The Namesake
The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri is not a very sensational book or a thrilling page turner, but there is something in it which doesn't let you put it down.
The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri is not a very sensational book or a thrilling page turner, but there is something in it which doesn't let you put it down.
[08:14 | Tharunya Bhasker]