Tuesday, August 30, 2016

Pathankot Issue

NEW DELHI: A committee led by former home secretary Madhukar Gupta, which was set up following the Pathankot terror attack+ to look into security gaps on the India-Pakistan border, has submitted its report to the government and is learnt to have suggested use of technology and heightened vigil on riverine frontiers.

The committee is also learnt to have flagged gaps and vulnerability in border fencing. Home ministry sources said the committee, while suggesting use of scientific methods, also expressed displeasure over not installing laser walls in many infiltration-prone areas due to treacherous and marshy terrain.

Link

Thank you for that blinding glimpse of the obvious.

Why was there a need to form a committee? Any individual with basic common sense could’ve ‘flagged’ those gaps and made those suggestions even without the need of visiting the site!

I am sure the committee’s report is a huge binder with fancy jargon thrown in for the effect. It has to be. BUT if the above quoted text is all that was considered worthy of reporting, then it simply highlights the lack of substance in the committee’s report.

It is plausible that the KEY recommendations of the report were intentionally left unreported (in the interest of national security). In that case, this news article should’ve simply stated – Gupta Committee submits its findings to bla bla bla.

Wednesday, August 17, 2016

Money Monster

Not a bad film. Watchable. Enjoyable even.

Would have been even better if George Clooney’s ‘dancing’ sequences were edited out before the release.

Caitriona Balfe – Uff Zaalim!

A Hologram For The King

Yawn…

Rather disappointing.

Tuesday, August 16, 2016

14 Second Stare = Harassment

Excise commissioner Rishi Raj Singh was addressing a state-level empowerment programme for students at Kochi on Sunday when he told the participants that if a man annoyingly stares at a woman for 14 seconds a case can be registered against him. He also asked the girls and women to carry a knife or pepper spray in their handbags for self-defence.

Link

As much as I see the point of pepper spray etc… Well, in addition to a knife and/or pepper spray; the girls will also need to carry a stop-watch to determine conclusively if they have been a victim of harassment or not.

I am hoping that with reference to context, this 14 second statement was just a figure of speech and not intended to be taken literally.

Rishi Raj says if a MAN annoyingly stares at a WOMAN for 14 seconds. Just a few queries:

  • Does the same apply if a man is staring annoyingly at another man? Or a woman is staring annoyingly at a man or another woman??
  • Is it ok to be leching after someone up to 13 seconds?
  • Does staring for 18 seconds amount to assault? Does staring for 22 seconds amount to rape?
  • Who gets to decide what is annoying?
  • Would this be applicable to the judging panel of a beauty pageant or similar situations?

Faaltu ki draamebaazi. Faaltu ke issues. Faaltu ki statements.

Tuesday, August 9, 2016

BlackBerry Venice – After The Last Update To The BB Apps

The BlackBerry Apps for the Venice/Android just got updated last week. It’s nice to see that the BlackBerry team is working on getting things sorted (for the few of us who need the handset to be more than just another Android toy).

Also, some promising news from the team working on the Hub - The option to SEND emails by using a PKB Shortcut (Finally!). Once available, one won’t be required to go all the way to the top of the screen to send a composed email (I am unable to understand why this ‘feature’ wasn’t there from the start).

The change log mentioned that the feature was already available in the last update, but after some clarification, it was confirmed that they are working on it and it should be available soon.

Has there been an improvement in the overall experience – YES! Definitely a significant improvement. When compared to other android devices, this one is definitely much better (in my view). That said, it still continues to be a very distant (and relatively incompetent) cousin when compared to the BB10 OS on the BB Classic.

UPDATE:

Another update to the BB Hub and…. Quick Send now works! Thank you!!

The Huntsman: Winter’s War

Charlize Theron is HOT!

The film is… well… meh. Watchable, I guess.

This Is ‘News’?!?

How the fuck does this qualify as News … BREAKING News?! WTF is wrong with the world!?

Nevermind…

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