A nation learning aircraft manufacturing by experimenting with a military aircraft is an example of consequentialism/utilitarianism

Think of China's Xian Y-20, a military transport aircraft. China isn't an expert in aircraft manufacturing, so it can experiment with this more safely, and with a lower-risk approach by first doing a military plane [fighter or tanker or transport]. In blunt words, this means that even if China initially loses a few of these military birds, the media/public uproar will be significantly lower owing to these being military planes, compared to if these had been regular civilian ones carrying fare-paying passengers. The news "10 PLAAF soldiers have perished in a Y-20 military transport plane crash." sounds far less alarming to the media/public/world than the news "An Air China Y-20 regional airliner has disintegrated during flight, with all 75 passengers presumed dead.".

All of this might sound unethical and wrong, but is very practical and this is how the world works, no matter how much we try to escape it or deny it. The key point here is that military planes are a sort of safer sandbox for Chinese - or any other - engineers to hone their design/manufacturing skills. Putting young men on crude, unforgiving and untested machines does seem unethical, and of course there will be casualties, and post these initial casualties and post skill development, the engineers will be ready to start designing and building planes for regular commercial flights, an area that's far more under the scanner of the media/public.

And since military planes usually carry far lower number of souls than civilian ones, this approach to learning aircraft manufacturing is fundamentally just another example of consequentialist morality, or utilitarianism.

Western media purposely doesn't report devilish statements made by prominent Western officials, think tanks, etc.

ALSO SEE OID 192Z.

The proof the claim in the title of this post are these two screenshots from Google:

Only Russian news outlets [Sputnik, RT, etc.] have reported on this newsworthy story. It is not a coincidence that no Western news outlet has reported this, let alone express outrage.

BlackBerry Assistant, Cortana, Google Now, Siri, etc., will provide significant boost to NSA's spying obsession

These 4 and other Cloud-based voice control services will provide valuable voice samples fodder to the NSA's voice-matching software [assuming the NSA will be able to intercept these samples as they're sent to the Cloud for processing], giving it a boost in recognizing people far more accurately. NSA will now be able to match requests/searches made through these services with intercepted phone calls, and thus draw further context about an individual. Cool.

Kaspersky Internet Security 2015's user interface does not inspire confidence

Anti-malware software shouldn't just protect computer systems from hacking/malware/phishing; the suites should also make the owner/user feel confident. The latter requires that psychology be addressed. Previous versions of KIS have boasted confidence-boosting user interfaces which clearly and boldly tell you - the user - that you are protected. Not anymore. KIS 2015, apparently in the interest of minimalism/simplicity, eschews the bold interfaces found in previous versions in favor of a rather bland and uninspiring design. Not good, even if the underlying protection technologies are the best ever!

KIS 2015:

Older versions:

Update [Jan'15]: Screenshot below is from F-Secure Internet Security 2014. It shows that the suite contains several distinct protection modules, all of which work in parallel to protect the system/user. Such a list of modules provides confidence to the user that, despite the minimal interface of this product, there are multiple technologies at work in the background.

BlackBerry should work to establish its BB10 operating system on smart TVs

Time is quickly running out for BlackBerry. Network effect is deeply at play in the smartphone market, to the disadvantage of BlackBerry [irrespective of how good BB10 OS itself is]. One opportunity, however, that is ripe for exploitation is the still-evolving market for "smart TVs", the ones that increasingly resemble computers and smartphones, yet remain essentially TVs.

No software platform or manufacturer is a leader in this still-emerging space. BB should act fast and partner with a solid TV-maker to launch a range of BB10-powered smart TVs. The lack of applications for BB10 OS doesn't hurt BB in this market [at least not yet]. BB10 is a solid OS and its spread into the smart TVs market will bring benefits to BB10 on smartphones as well [increased developer awareness, increased application development, increased consumer familiarity with BB10, etc.].

Let the relative cost efficiency of VoIP technology drive the Indian telecom market's future course

Airtel's decision to charge for VoIP calls made using applications such as Skype, WhatsApp, etc., shows that it is trying to protect its lucrative franchise - voice calls revenue - by artificially making it more expensive to make the same calls using a technology which is otherwise much cheaper. That voice calls can be made over VoIP for a fraction of what Airtel, etc., currently charge for regular voice calls is example enough that the true cost of these calls is actually much lower than what is being charged to us, the users. Alternatively, it is [strongly] possible that currently there is cross-subsidization taking place [expensive voice calls revenue is subsidizing cheap data rates, with the latter's true cost actually higher than what is being charged to us]. If the alternative scenario is true [that is, data should actually be costlier and regular voice calls should be cheaper], then any loss of revenue from a shift of voice calls to VoIP will result in reduced revenues/profits for telecom firms [assuming unchanged data rates]. Eventually, over the medium/long term, telecom firms will automatically be forced to raise data rates in order to sustain their businesses, thus correcting the cross-subsidization and bringing prices of both regular voice calls and data closer to how the market dictates.

CIA/US could be cultivating a pro-US future Prime Minister of Pakistan in Malala

The kind of attention that US is giving to Pakistan's Malala, including an undeserved Nobel Peace Prize, can mean only one thing - that the US sees her as a long term geopolitical pawn to tame Pakistan's politics. She's probably being cultivated/nurtured as a future PM of Pakistan, and all the media and political coverage that she's getting [and will probably keep getting] will culminate in her eventual entry into Pakistan's politics [with heavy support from the US], with the target of the highest seat. From there, the US can then indirectly control Pakistan. A great, albeit indirect, method of regime change.

BlackBerry 10 OS has this amazing yet little-known ability to run built-for-Android APK files!

I think not many people are aware that you can run at least several Android applications directly on the BlackBerry 10 OS, if you get your hands on the .APK files for those applications. Several websites, such as this one, provide APK files for you to download. Download an APK file like any other file to your BB10 phone, then check it for malware at VirusTotal and/or Jotti's malware scan. If it's all clean, run the file. BB10 will ask/caution you if you're sure about installing an application from a source other than BlackBerry World, and when you proceed, in at least many/most cases the application should both normally install and run.

And remember, these Android applications that you're able to run on your BB10 phone are in addition to the native applications available for BB10 over at BlackBerry World. Terrific!

Update [Feb'15]: A positive indirect effect of BB10's support for Android/APK is that in case you don't like an application in BlackBerry World, you [usually] have the option of ignoring it, and instead using the APK version of the same application. For example, the WSJ application for BB10 in BB World is kind of half-cooked and lame, so I removed it and instead installed the latest APK of WSJ. The latter is so much better [screenshot below]!

Indian government or the RBI should create a "rainy day" fund which is used to shield the public from "spikes" in petroleum prices

The "spike" term has been purposely used as opposed to a longer "surge" [similar to electrical meanings]. Crude price is low these days [Nov'14] and the Indian government has recently deregulated the price of diesel. Suppose that petrol and diesel are currently selling at prices INR X and Y per liter, respectively. I think the Indian government should create a separate fund titled "Short Term Petroleum Price Shield Fund [STPPSF]". The current prices of petrol and diesel should be hiked by INR Z per liter each [e.g., sell at X+0.5 and Y+0.5] and the entire extra proceeds coming from the hike of INR Z should be put into the STPPSF. If at a point in the future the price of crude rises a lot for a short while, the funds parked in the STPPSF can be tapped to "shield" the public for a short while by temporarily providing a subsidy [thus giving people some time and a "ramp" to make a smooth transition to higher prices]. The funds in the STPPSF can be actively managed the way the NPS corpus is managed, to provide good and stable returns, while preserving the facility to withdraw funds at a short notice.

A few side notes. First, it needs to be ensured that a government can't tap into the STPPSF for political gains [near the elections, for example], perhaps by requiring the consent of India's Election Commission. Secondly, a committee can be convened at regular intervals to set the value of Z based on prevailing crude price and other factors [these factors and any formulas to be used can be worked out by experts]. Third, this method is essentially like a "provision" or a "contingency", a way to "shift" the burden of subsidy from time P [when crude is expected to be high] to time Q [when crude is low, as it is right now]. Z will assume a negative numerical value when the STPPSF is being utilized in order to provide temporary relief to the public. Fourth, in the event of an unexpected spike in crude prices, this fund will shield not only the public, but also the government - the government won't have to divert funds from elsewhere to provide a subsidy to the public.

World's most comprehensive database of the modern crimes of the Israelis

1. Shoot-down of Libyan Arab Airlines Flight 114, resulting in 108 deaths, 1973 [link 1]
2. Bombing of an under-construction nuclear reactor in Iraq, leading to 11 deaths and destruction of the reactor, 1981 [link 1]
3. Occupation of Palestinian territory and construction of settlements on occupied foreign territory, as well as direct and vehement defense of these. [link 1] [link 2] [link 3] [link 4] [link 5] [link 6]
1. Many Israelis - including perennial tyrants such as Netanyahu - strongly oppose, isolate, insult, discredit, punish, shame, or threaten those few Israelis who oppose their country's illegal occupation of other nations' territories and its murderous foreign policy. The latter are silenced by labeling them "traitors" and the like, as if it's patriotic to support Israel's extremely barbaric actions. [link 1]
4. Attempts to legitimize the illegal Israeli settlements by resorting to desperate indirect measures, such as Israel's ambassador to US gifting settlement-made products to US officials, and Airbnb listing properties in these illegal settlements. [link 1] [link 2] [link 3] [link 4] [link 5] [link 6] [link 7] [link 8] [link 9] [link 10] [link 11] [link 12] [link 13]
1. More desperate attempts to legitimize criminal Israeli settlements by trying to force Brazil to accept an Israel ambassador who is a product of these barbaric settlements [link 1] [link 2] [link 3] [link 4]
2. Passing laws to legalize these illegal settlements. [link 1]
5. [DRAFT] Labeling of Palestinian freedom-fighters as "terrorists" in order to justify killings of innocent freedom-fighters as well as women and children by Israeli soldiers - on territory occupied by Israel [link 1] [link 2]
6. Illegal raid on six ships of the Gaza Freedom Flotilla [carrying aid for Gaza] in international waters, resulting in execution/killing of ten activists, 2010, and a similar seizure in Jun'15. Israel continues to keep several boats confiscated, as well as media recordings which are crucial evidence of Israel's war crimes [link 1] [link 2] [link 3] [link 4] [link 5] [link 6]
7. Illegal annexation/occupation of Syria's Golan Heights, plans to steal its resources such as oil, and loud proclamations by the poisonous snake Netanyahu that it'll forever remain under Israeli annexation. Further, Israel even fired missiles at a Syrian drone that entered the Golan airspace - Syria's own airspace - illegally claiming that it entered "Israeli airspace". [link 1] [link 2] [link 3] [link 4] [link 5] [link 6] [link 7] [link 8] [link 9] [link 10] [link 11] [link 12] [link 13] [link 14] [link 15] [link 16]
8. Greater Israel [link]
9. Yinon Plan [link]
10. Israel has repeatedly made attempts, both on-the-ground/operational and legal, to annex all of Jerusalem and to incorporate it into itself, against multiple UNSC resolutions. [link 1] [link 2] [link 3]
11. ACCUSING IRAN OF NUCLEAR AMBITIONS WHILE ITSELF HAVING A FULL-FLEDGED, UNDECLARED NUCLEAR WEAPONS PROGRAM: This is one of the most stunning aspect of Israel's foreign policy. Israeli leaders, such as Netanyahu, repeatedly and publicly - including at United Nations - vehemently accuse Iran of having "nuclear ambitions" and make public calls for the IAEA to investigate; the sheer irony and hypocrisy here is that it is Israel itself which has a secret, undeclared but otherwise well-known nuclear bombs program. [link 1] [link 2]
1. Further, nobody calls out this hypocritical aspect of Israel's foreign policy propaganda. Not Europe, not Russia, not China, not India, and obviously not USA. Anti-Iran statements the Europeans make happily, but exposing Israel's double-standards is something nobody does.
2. Opinion | America Needs to Start Telling the Truth About Israel’s Nukes - The New York Times, Aug'21 [link]
   
12. [DRAFT] Iran [link 1]
13. [DRAFT] Suez Crisis [link 1] [link 2]
14. [DRAFT] Withholding Palestinian tax revenues [link 1]
15. [DRAFT] Systemic and deliberate bombing/destruction of the little public infrastructure that either exists in the Palestinian territories occupied by Israel, or has been built using foreign aid. [link 1]
16. [DRAFT] Classified, undeclared atomic/nuclear weapons program [link 1] [link 2] [link 3] [link 4] [link 5] [link 6]
17. Assassination of Iranian physicists, researchers and scientists - to deprive Iran of talent. [link 1] [link 2] [link 3] [link 4] [link 5] [link 6]
18. [DRAFT] Covert deals with South Africa on the supply of nuclear bombs [link 1] [link 2] [link 3] [link 4] [link 5] [link 6]
19. [DRAFT] Use of white phosphorus in Gaza [link 1] [link 2] [link 3]
20. [DRAFT] Biased media [link 1]
21. [DRAFT] Control over US politics and foreign policy, and even civil discourse [link 1]
22. [DRAFT] Vulgar, compulsive, and obsessive use of the anti-Semitism/antisemitism card/charge to silence, disqualify and prosecute everyone who tries to even genuinely criticize or question Israel's actions and/or policies - like the BDS movement - even if this criticism/questioning is not concerned with only Jews, thus creating a chilling atmosphere of intolerance. [link 1] [link 2] [link 3] [link 4] [link 5] [link 6] [link 7]
23. Israel in general and hardcore Jews in particular are attempting to arrest the worldwide rise of the BDS movement not by addressing the root causes of the birth and growth of this movement - Israel's cruel and unending occupation of Palestinian people - but by focusing on fine-tuning their "narrative" and "countermessage" and "Israel's side of the story" to the world's peoples. Essentially, Israelis believe that they must turbocharge their propaganda operations in order to negate the efforts and effects of this movement. [link 1]
24. [DRAFT] Ban of cement into Gaza to keep people undeveloped, to stop reconstruction efforts, and to maintain a state of poverty and misery in Gaza. [link 1] [link 2]
25. An unbelievable Israeli T-shirt promoting and celebrating killing of pregnant Arab/Muslim/Palestinian women as "1 shot, 2 kills". [link 1] [link 2] [link 3] [link 4]
26. [DRAFT] Attempts to reinterpret and/or rewrite history. [link 1]
27. THEFT OF PALESTINIAN NATURAL GAS RESOURCES: Israel is unilaterally and illegally stealing and exporting the natural gas reserves that "also" belong to Palestine. Not different from what gangsters, robbers and terrorists do. [link 1] [link 2]
28. BLOCKING SHIPMENTS OF CORONAVIRUS / COVID-19 VACCINES: 
1. Israel blocks shipment of Russian Sputnik V vaccine to Gaza [link]

 

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Deliberate / purposeful slaughter of Palestinians. Israel doesn't merely wage a war against the people of Palestine. It butchers them, and with full intention of butchering them. That's why there's so much disparity in the death and destruction table below. Israel doesn't merely give a proportional response to the other side, it instead utilizes the opportunity presented to it to kill and "finish off" the people of Palestine under the guise of war / giving a response. You could even argue that it loves to be presented with such opportunities, as these opportunities give it a convenient pretext to carry out its barbaric cleansing operations.

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27.7.22. Punishment / retaliation delivered on the basis of mere suspicion, without evidence / proof.

• IDF blow up homes of Palestinians suspected of killing Israeli security guard [link]
• What if these "suspected" people were actually innocent?

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