Undiscovered 2

Undiscovered 2
Originally uploaded by bruiach1

Beautiful picture - somewhere in Scotland

Miniature Rose in the Garden 001

Miniature Rose in the Garden 001
Originally uploaded by aacool

A rose grew in our garden, to our delight

Treasure Flower 002

Treasure Flower 002
Originally uploaded by aacool

from our garden

Parita

Parita
Originally uploaded by aacool

This came out well

The Kids at Lalbagh

The Kids at Lalbagh
Originally uploaded by aacool

New York Magazine: Mr. Cutlets' Crash Course to Grilling

I've recently bought a charcoal grill and am taking my first steps into the grilling/bbq experience. This is one of the best videos I've seen on good grilling.

Cat of 1000 Faces - Episode 1

Gives me fiendish plans with our cats:)

Aye! Hip Hopper (ishQ Bector feat Sunidhi Chauhan)

fab - just fab

Kensei - evil eyes

Kensei - evil eyes
Originally uploaded by aacool

Can he look any more alien?

The Sand Cat - The Cutest Wild Cat in The World

CUTEST CAT IN THE WORLD!!! - I only hope this doesn't start some horrible fad of domesticating or keeping Sand cats as pets.

Meanest Family in the world

sick family abuses child by cheating him - worst family in the world - Engadget sends one later

Knight Rider Stripper

The Hoff Gets huffed!

A Fine Day

A Fine Day
Originally uploaded by aacool

Taken at Infosys, Bangalore

Camera: Olympus FE240/X795
Exposure: 0.01 sec (1/100)
Aperture: f/3.6
Focal Length: 7.8 mm
ISO Speed: 50

Autumn in Amsterdam

Autumn in Amsterdam
Originally uploaded by Joep R.

Beautifully composed

Al Gore in 2008? Don't Bet Against It

If neither Hillary nor Barack can win the convention on the first ballot and Edwards is unable to deliver victory to either, then the Democrats will need a compromise candidate. And, if you’re going to compromise, why not go with someone whose popularity has skyrocketed among Democrats, who has won the Nobel Peace Prize and an Oscar?Why not? It could be worse.

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6.189 Multicore Programming Primer: PS3 Cell Programming

6.189 Multicore Programming Primer: PS3 Cell Programming

This course is a brand new IAP 2007 class offering open to all MIT students (undergraduates and graduates). Students will spend several weeks learning about new multicore architectures and parallel programming patterns, and will design and implement projects to run directly on the new PLAYSTATION®3 consoles. The course will culminate in an exciting competition at the end of IAP, and prizes will be awarded to the best projects. The course will give students hands on experience in parallel programming in an exciting and relevant context.

Wow - will go through this, not that I'd probably do much Cell coding, but nevertheless, neat...

Bangalore Airport, India Forecast : Weather Underground

Bangalore Airport, India Forecast : Weather Underground - good, reliable weather reports - I like scanning the RSS feed to get a sense of how cold/hot it really is

Movie Review: Zulu

We watched Zulu (1964) today. Interesting movie - hard to say whether it's pro- or anti-imperialist. Fuller review soon. For now, here's an interesting viewpoint:

Since such a vast number of British soldiers appeared to be killed during the encounter represented in the film, one then must wonder why there was so little to celebrate. Perhaps Endfield and Prebble were mindful of Rorke's Drift's true history, which was not accurately reflected in their screenplay. While there was a battle at Rorke's Drift on January 23, 1879, it was a one-sided affair entirely. Zulu scholar Magema Fuze points out, "The Zulus died in heaps there, killed by those white men in the building. They went on killing them until dawn, and in the early morning the Zulus withdrew defeated, leaving behind heaps of dead on the ground."

James O. Gump sums up the reality behind Rorke's Drift in his
excellent "The Dust Rose Like Smoke: the Subjugation of the Zulu andthe Sioux":

"Chard's forces, bolstered by Martini-Henry breech-loading rifles andample supplies of ammunition, sustained fifteen deaths. In
recognition of their valiant defense [Gump is being ironic here] at Rorke's Drift, Chard and ten of his men each received a Victoria Cross, the highest honor to be bestowed on a British soldier in the nineteenth century [described solemnly by narrator Richard Burton at the film's conclusion.]"

In other words, Rorke's Drift was actually a "turkey-shoot" of the kind that occurred on the road to Basra at the end of the Gulf War or which has just occurred in Afghanistan. Some things never change.

In examining the motives--conscious or subconscious--of Endfield and Prebble, it would be useful to take a look at their rather singular careers.

Anne Rice endorses Hillary Clinton

Interesting off-center endorsement.

Anne seems in form, if only she'd get back to the Vampire Chronicles.

9 who sat near TB-stricken woman on India-to-O'Hare flight are sought -- chicagotribune.com

9 who sat near TB-stricken woman on India-to-O'Hare flight are sought -- chicagotribune.com

Nine people in Illinois are being sought by public health departments after sitting near a woman who had tuberculosis on a flight from India to Chicago in early December, health officials said.

The woman, who has not been identified, was on American Airlines Flight 293 from New Delhi to Chicago's O'Hare International Airport on Dec. 13. She continued on another flight to San Francisco, where six days later she was diagnosed with the multiple drug-resistant strain of tuberculosis, said Shelley Diaz, a spokeswoman for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Over 90% of the people in India have been exposed to tuberculosis at one time or another. This does not hold true globally, of course.

Madonna to welcome New Year in Rajasthan village

Madonna to welcome New Year in Rajasthan village

Still relevant after all these years. She broke away from the pack yet again in 2007.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year all - have a great time - write well and prosper!

Blogger Bar :: Firefox Add-ons

Blogger Bar :: Firefox Add-ons - finally found something, though not as unobtrusive as Google Notebook - why doesn't Google Notebook have a Blog This! button?

Ron Paul, Non-intervention, Pakistan and Terrorism

Ron Paul's a bit of an extreme/differentiated candidate, but he often speaks straight and gets important views out which would otherwise be muffled by the rest of the politicos' samespeak. He recently affirmed the view of non-intervention in other countries' affairs, referring to the US policy of arming Pakistan's Musharraf, even though he has signally failed to hold the line against the Al-Qaeda hordes. In a good article on The Huffington Post, this key paragraph is relevant.

Terrorism is a tactic adopted by weak actors. Having limited resources with which to wage war, groups like al Qaeda resort to a sort of foreign affairs judo: using the enemy’s power against itself – in this case, us. The action for them is in the reaction. Al Qaeda's strategy is to recreate the old Afghan jihad against the USSR: hit the U.S. and our allies hard in order to provoke invasion and occupation to bleed our treasury and military dry. They celebrate our occupations of Afghanistan and Iraq as steps towards our eventual total withdrawal from the region.

Beanz me up, Scotty

moar funny pictures

Benazir's One Way To Pakistan

“If you believe in something, go for it, but know that when you go for it there is a price to be paid. Be ready to pay the price and you can contribute to the welfare of society and society will acknowledge you and respect you for it.”

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Narendra Modi & BJP Win Third Term in Gujar

This victory came despite strong opposition from the Indian National Congress, and even from within Modi's own party. The election campaign was marked by vicious and 'slanderous' campaigning from all sides.

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Driving on Bangalore's Wild Roads

There is no subtle way of saying this – Bangalore roads are hellish and most drivers suffer from Road Rage. Everyone tries to squeeze into that extra space and the minute vehicles scrape each other, people start fighting, they scream and some even start beating each other up.

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Movie Review: I Am Legend - Hollywood Ending

The effect of the writers' strike seems to be showing up on films made even before it began.

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Central Banks Liquidity Injections: Too Little Too Late

What was announced today are band-aid palliative that will not address the core causes of this most severe liquidity and credit crunch. - Best. Article.Ever. on the global credit crisisBest article ever on the credit crisis.

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Foot soldiers for the Ron Paul revolution - Los Angeles Times

These fervent supporters and their freewheeling tactics have helped turn Paul into, first, an Internet sensation and, now, this political season's most unlikely phenomenon.

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Taslima Nasreen Leaves Kolkata: A Giant Defeat for Secularism

This is a tragedy of colossal proportions, akin to Modi's support of the Godhra riots. Since when is it the government's responsibility to evict law abiding residents of the territory, simply because a bunch of hooligans - Muslim or Hindu - decide to burn the city?

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UK Taxmen Lose Private Records: What's It Going To Cost?

What a bunch of imbeciles! Who are these idiots who run the government?That's an understatement:)

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This Site Is Not Yet Rated

Even in the online world we are pigeonholed into categories that don't really fit our profiles.

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Sashaying Through Champaign

Meal: 10 dollars. Drinks: 20 Dollars. Gas: 2.78 dollars. A full tank of gas to park the car: priceless.

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Bollywood beats Hollywood - Om Shanti Om, Saawariya vs. Lions for Lambs

Very firmly remember that this is a blip, perhaps just a combination of a slow week, bad competition from Hollywood, Bollywood's PR machine clicking, etc, so one swallow does not make a summer.

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The Best Way to Stop Terror

Can we be smarter with identity politics to obviate terrorism before it starts?

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Pakistan : Breaking The Cycle

There is a paradigm shift in making. The US Foreign policy is toying with the idea of supporting the Pakistani people as opposed to the Pakistani Government, i.e., from Musharraf Policy to Pakistan Policy.

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How Official is your Jargon?

Office jargon is beautifully loaded with metaphors! That is, when you hear them for the first time, and in some cases, even the second time! However, jargon is rarely spewed at a rate of less than a few hundred per day per person and in an office space of a 100 people, I leave the calculations to you!

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Microsoft Launches Xbox LIVE in India.

With the right kind of promotion, it could prove to be a strong factor in driving Xbox 360 sales in the country, as well as creating a connected community of Indian gamers, which could only prove beneficial to Microsoft in particular, and the gaming industry in general.

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Those Who Do, Blog

Blogs by hardworking doers, holding a day job or working in shifts, such as a New York cab-driver, a British bobby, a forensic expert, a London ambulance driver or a maths teacher.

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Emergency Imposed in Pakistan: Harbinger of Change or More of the Same?

After weeks of speculation and political unrest Gen. Pervez Musharraf has finally imposed "Emergency" in Pakistan, suspended the 1973 constitution and disbanded the Supreme and High Courts

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When the Earth Trembles

Nature never gives us an intimation before sending in a storm, an earthquake or a wildfire

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Gujarat Pogroms Exposed in India

A detailed expose of the deliberate machinations of state terror in the Gujarat riots in 2002. They expose the conspirators, rioters, the role of the police, and the complicity of the state government. It is very clear that the Indian State of Gujarat, its administrative machinery and political masters masterminded this atrocity.

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James Watson Vs. Howard Gardner - What Does Intelligence Mean?

In fact the real debate about intelligence has to do with far more than some misconceived remarks made by an elderly Nobel prize winner for physiology and medicine. It has to do with the general view of intelligence in our society.

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Bobby Jindal Elected Governor of Louisiana

Piyush "Bobby" Jindal also capitalized on support from the Indian-American community, who cut across party lines to support someone they saw as embodying their political aspirations.

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Indian Stock Markets Suspended As Market Crashes

The international investment community may get scared off India in particular and emerging markets in general by such a move.

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That Pointer Thing

The Woman, the Witch and the Goddess

This story is both old and new, traditional and modern. The scapegoating, finger-pointing and name-calling of those who are different, those who threaten the social order, those who happen to have a female face.

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Burma Needs To Fight For Its Own Freedom

You know what will work or rather the only thing that can work? A full fledged revolution! An internal revolution, which needs litres of blood to be shed and hundreds and thousands to die.

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The "Real" World is Changing into the 24/7 Virtual Universe

My dad lived in a 9 to 5 world. I probably live in a 12/12 worlds. Most of the “now generation” lives 24/7. even when they are supposedly sleeping, their computers are on, downloading stuff and their Blackberries and Communicators are” pushing” stuff in. Does that take a toll?

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Book Review: The LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT Idea Book

Mindstorms NXT represents the most accessible robotics kit available in the market today and the source of many hours of creative fun. It also has an array of excellent online documentation from a variety of sources. There is copious online help built into NXT-G as well.

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Myanmar's Monks - Buddha's Warriors

It is India's neighbor but what do we know of it? In our obsession with Pakistan and our fluctuating mild interest in other neighbors, Burma might as well be on Mars.

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Cricket: India are Twenty20 World Champions

India ran out winners by 5 runs in the finals of the Twenty20 World Cup, in a game which belied the adage that "youth knows no fear".ICC World Twenty20 final, Johannesburg:India 157-5 (20 overs) bt Pakistan 152 (19.3 overs) by five runs

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Bangladesh's Cartoon Controversy: The Prophet and His Honor

The outrage pouring out of Bangladesh over a joke about the name of the Prophet Muhammad is hence not entirely surprisingly. It’s disturbing yes, but not surprising. Such tactics are a “familiar pattern in Muslim countries ruled by authoritarian governments”.The "Muhammad Cat" joke is really funny, btw.

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"Don't Tase Me, Bro!"

Children's Health - Hope Springs Eternal

magine facing a situation where your darling child has been born and very soon was been diagnosed with an exceedingly rare illness (only sixty patients in the world are known to have it).Very touching story - please read and contribute if you can

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The Demise of the Dollar?

Were the US Dollar to lose its status as the 'world's reserve currency', it would be the largest financial shift since the end of World War II

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Auden's Musee des Beaux Arts

I think this is my favorite poem of all time, but I know I'm prone to hyperbole at times.

Musee des Beaux Arts

W. H. Auden

About suffering they were never wrong,
The old Masters: how well they understood
Its human position: how it takes place
While someone else is eating or opening a window or just walking dully along;
How, when the aged are reverently, passionately waiting
For the miraculous birth, there always must be
Children who did not specially want it to happen, skating
On a pond at the edge of the wood:
They never forgot
That even the dreadful martyrdom must run its course
Anyhow in a corner, some untidy spot
Where the dogs go on with their doggy life and the torturer's horse
Scratches its innocent behind on a tree.

In Breughel's Icarus, for instance: how everything turns away
Quite leisurely from the disaster; the ploughman may
Have heard the splash, the forsaken cry,
But for him it was not an important failure; the sun shone
As it had to on the white legs disappearing into the green
Water, and the expensive delicate ship that must have seen
Something amazing, a boy falling out of the sky,
Had somewhere to get to and sailed calmly on.

Confessions Of Webaholics: Internet Addiction Exposed

Did you just notice the time? Has it been five hours (or more!) since you've been watching movie clip after movie clip on YouTube?

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Religious Freedom: Can the US be our Policeman?

I have always wondered what business it is of the US Congress to track in such a formal way the state of religious freedom around the globe when there is a lot going on that needs investigation that could be traced back to the US itself.

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Love, Grief, Pain, and a Kitten

To some, love comes easily. It is as easy as making an eye contact and forming bonds of eternal attachment and for others love takes time.

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OJ's Controversial Book Sees The Light Of Day

So, after massive public outrage, we were shocked when the Goldmans, having acquired the book, flip flopped and now decided to publish it. They had been vehemently opposed to publication of the book last year when Simpson sold it

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Condoleezza Rice Co-Owns Home With Female Filmmaker, Says New Book

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice co-owned a home and shared a line of credit with another woman, according to Washington Post diplomatic correspondent Glenn Kessler, who reveals the information in his new book, The Confidante: Condoleezza Rice and the Creation of the Bush Legacy.

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Pakistani Special Services Officer Turns Suicide Bomber

If this is indeed the case, then the sole guarantee against Pakistan turning Taliban and using the nuclear weapons and missiles, the Pakistani Army, has worms inside. I would be afraid, very afraid.

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Anniversary of the V2 Missile

September 8, 1944 was the first time a German V2 missile hit London. The first ballistic missile launch in anger.Did you know more people (20,000) were killed in the making of the rockets than at the receiving end (7,000)? These were the slaves, workers etc. etc. who built the pens, the factory, the launch site, etc.

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The Ramayana, the Sethusamudram and Indian Archaeology

No secular Government has the prerogative to pontificate on religion unless the public good is adversely impacted.

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Freedom Of Speech On The Internet

news and views travel faster and the globe is better connected. So much so that the world-wide web is a world in itself, a virtual world that at times mirrors the aspects the real world such as a liberal democracy tainted by intolerance and crime.

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Is Shah Rukh Khan Suffering From A Mid-Life Crisis?

Where was the sturdy, aging with grace Shah Rukh that I had known for over two decades? This new Shah Rukh Khan all of a sudden seemed like a swan that had reverted back to being an ugly duckling in his middling years. Could Shah Rukh be suffering from mid life crisis?

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Things That Bang - Steve Jobs - The iPhone Maverick

It doesn't take much to make the fanboys weep, and even less to make them yell. Jobs squeezes both ways

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MI5 Chief Faces Immigration Delays at Heathrow

The MI5 chief Jonathan Evans was held up for an hour by Heathrow Immigration. For those who do not know, MI5 is the nodal domestic intelligence/anti-terrorism agency. See here for a detailed overview. The main chap is reduced to queuing up at Heathrow's notorious immigration hall to get in.

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International War Games Get Underway in The Bay of Bengal

The Indian communist parties are going to protest against the international naval war games to be held in the Bay of Bengal. But the communists are great at doing these kinds of demonstrations and they are right now planning to do a walk about the Indian countryside to protest against these war games.

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Vijay Mallya Bids For Spyker-Ferrari Formula 1 Team

Vijay Mallya and Michiel Mol Director of Formula One for Spyker have teamed up to make a 80 million euro (54 million pounds) bid for the cash-strapped team.

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No Updates On Neo-Nazi Attacks on Indians in Germany

The usual excuses, unemployment, no development, no gainful work, etc., are presented, but the core aspect of racism and discrimination will hit the airwaves for some time and then disappear

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Over 40 Killed In Hyderabad Blasts in India

Over 40 people have been killed and dozens more injured in coordinated explosions in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad. The blasts took place in heavily populated areas.

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In a pensive mood on the bridge

In a pensive mood on the bridge
Originally uploaded by aacool

The kids at this wonderful garden supply store we go to in Bangalore.

Slow Train Comin'

Slow Train Comin'
Originally uploaded by aacool

Zoey's going places, and we're lovin' it!

Suprnova Torrent Site Explodes

One site has always had a special place in the hearts of long-time Bittorrent users.

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Will The Communists Nuke the India-US Nuclear Deal?

The Manmohan Singh-led Indian Government is caught in an imbroglio over the India-US nuclear deal threatening its own survival. One of its ruling allies, the Left Front, mainly consisting of Communist parties had taken strong objection to the signing of the nuclear deal with the US. The Left Front hardliner leader had given an ultimatum.

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Global Markets Crash Amidst Tightening Credit Crunch

Global markets took a plunge amidst tightening credit and fears of unbridled financial disaster took their toll as the credit bubble blew out, not with a whimper, but a bang of epic proportions.

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Zoey at Play

Zoey in the tunnel

Zoey in the tunnel
Originally uploaded by aacool

Our cat, Zoey, has discovered that Aayan's tunnel and station make a neat play zone. She fits in just fine now, but I suspect she's going to face a tight squeeze real soon.

Nokia Announces Battery Recall, Largest Consumer Recall Ever

Nokia, the world's No 1 mobile phone maker warned today that over 46 million Nokia-branded BL-5C batteries manufactured by Matsushita could overheat and that it would replace them for customers at no cost. The company indicated there have been over 100 incidents of the batteries overheating while being charged

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Calendula in the garden

LolFarts

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Christopher Hitchens

The best potter review ever, probably - by Christopher Hitchens - ranging from post-War England to modern-day America

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Mouseburger LOLCat

Zoey, Our new cat

Arab Americans - How Not To Make Friends

you have to make up your mind whether you are Arab or American. You cannot be both when it comes to an existential fight.

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The Benevolence of Bill Gates

An aura of invincible altruism surrounds the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.but their investment policies have come under fire

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Bad Products Made in China - Can the Dragon Drag On?

Fisher-Price is recalling 83 types of toys, which totals close to a million plastic pre-school toys, due to excessive amounts of lead in the paint of these toys. Even though it is still ubiquitous to find Chinese manufactured products, public paranoia is slowly setting in about Chinese goods

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All Charges Dropped Against Dr. Haneef, Indian Doctor in Australia

Dr. Haneef is effectively a free man and the Australian government wiping some muck off their face after dropping all terrorism-related charges against the Indian doctor in a Brisbane magistrates court.And so it goes.

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Severus Snape, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

It is the relationship between two of her strongest characters that interests me. Despite his lengthy time off-stage, Snape is a significant character in the series, and his emotions towards the eponymous hero are quite well-known. It is in the Deathly Hallows that the author makes clear what lies at the root of all the resentment and the anger.

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America - Fear is the Key

There's a presidential election looming and 'tis the season for fear mongering. The FBI seeks to replenish the government's stock of fear capital by alerting us against foreign-born spies. Ordinary folks like you and me that roam the corridors of American businesses and institutions.

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Thomas de Zengotita: Maliki Lets Us Glimpse The Truth About Iraq

This war has been a massive exercise in national narcissism from the beginning. How fitting that efforts to bring it an end must feed the same appetite.Truer words were never spoken.

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Indian Doctor Charged Over UK Bomb Plot in Australia

Dr. Mohammed Haneef, the Indian doctor held for questioning in connection with the Glasgow bombing on the 30th of July has been charged with 'providing support to a terrorist organization'. This comes soon after earlier glimmers of hope for the family amidst media reports that the Australian police might not detain him any longer.Don't give SIM cards to your family, folks, even if it means breaking a contract.

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The Colors and Horrors of Passchendaele

The never before seen color photographs of the bloody battle of Passchendaele

The horrors of the Great War were, on a relative scale, immense and shocking. These pictures are stunning and tell much through the visual images.

Movie Review: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

The movie does justice to the funny yet dark book that is The Order of the Phoenix.

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PS3 Price Drop causes a 2800% increase in sales

After official confirmation of the price drop, sales at Amazon.com for the 60GB PS3 have spiked by 2800% and have overtaken the Wii and Guitar Hero: Rock the 80s as the best selling item in the Video Game category.Microsoft is sure to drop the XBox 360 price too, so I'm all happy now:)

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Keith Olbermann: Bush and Cheney Should Resign - the original article

The J'accuse of the 21st century, a damning indictment or will he be ignored, Cassandra-like

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