If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it probably... [COMPACTIDEA]

US is continuing to bullshit the world about the various missile "defence" systems, early warning radars, etc., that it's deploying across the world. These aren't meant to protect from "Iranian missiles" or "North Korean ICBMs", as the US puts it. These are clearly meant to castrate Russian ICBMs and other advanced Russian weaponry that's fully capable of annihilating Continental US. The Americans, in reality, are shit scared and they're putting up sites all over the world to neuter/neutralize that only real and practical existential threat to their global thuggery. If/when contained, the world will never be the same again. America will unleash even more cruel wrath on the rest of the world, and we all might become its slaves.

Why does Intel even create such shitty processors like the Intel Celeron J3060?

The Celeron J3060 is pure horse-shit. There's no adulteration here, except maybe some horse urine was mixed into it. Pure, unfiltered horse waste. You can't browser the Web on this piece of crap [I bought a HP machine with this processor and I repent so badly now]. I repeat, you cannot properly run Mozilla Firefox or Google Chrome on this crappy piece of junk. The experience of surfing the Web is so slow and pathetic - scrolling on even Google News is jerky - that one wonders, why did Intel even bother to make this shitty thing? It has two useless cores, each normally clocked at 1.6 GHz, which is way too slow for today's bloated software. Why didn't Intel, instead, give just one core clocked at, say, 3.2 GHz for the same price? I am quite sure that in regular usage, that processor would've felt significantly faster. Pentium 4 641 with HT comes to my mind. This awesome Pentium was launched over 10 years ago, but I'm sure that it's faster than this piece of cow-shit from 2016. It should be a crime to make such utterly disgusting products that don't allow you to do even the most basic task properly - Web browsing.

Update [2-Jul-17]: Instead of making a tower system unit using the J3060 crap, HP should've instead used AMD's A4-4020, which easily beats the J3060. Why should one give a damn to power consumption when the dog-urine J3060 won't let you do even basic tasks, while the A4-4020 will let you do a hell lot more? And the A4-4020 currently sells on Amazon for INR ~2,400, which is quite cheap.

Narendra Modi is steering India ever closer to the poisonous snake that America is - this is a disastrous path for India [COMPACTIDEA]

1. India is buying more and more weapons from the US. Might be because of massive bribes. But leaving our old, trusted friend Russia and pursuing closer military ties with America - the known global terrorist nation - is a disastrous path for India in the long run. Maybe Modi doesn't want to feel like a beggar when he meets Trump in Jun'17, so he is splashing around a few billion dollars in order to raise his self-esteem, but getting close to the most malicious and nefarious nation in the world is a sure recipe for disaster.
1. Ahead Of PM Modi's Visit, US Approves Sale Of 22 Guardian Unmanned Drones To India: Report [link]
2. ‘US approves sale of 22 Guardian drones to India’ [link]
3. Trump approves $2 bn sale of Guardian drones to India ahead of meeting [link]
2. India, which has hitherto bought fighter planes primarily from USSR/Russia, seems poised to buy large number of fighter aircraft from US. This is a terrible development, not just for India but for the entire world. Not only will our money empower the US, further enabling it to carry out its destructive and destabilizing foreign policy, we might also one day yet another vassal of America.
1. Lockheed Martin, Tata Ink Deal To Make F-16 Fighters In India [link]

Geographic isolation allows US to conduct invasions and wars with almost complete impunity

Looking at world map, it’s clear that US enjoys a “natural” advantage as far as its geographic location is concerned. US is “protected” from attacks/invasions by other nations by vast oceans surrounding it. Canada on the top is no threat at all [it’s probably an advantage, ironically], while Mexico to the bottom isn’t an adversary, and the kind of threats the latter poses are different. Not so for Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, which are either joined at several places via land [allowing easier entry/exit], or have relatively small water bodies separating them, allowing movement using boats.

This advantage allows US to bomb and destroy other nations in Asia, Africa, Eastern Europe and the Middle East with impunity. It’s the Asians, Europeans and Muslim nations which have to bear the consequences of America’s actions. And bear not just America’s relentless bombings. But also what comes after - unstable nations, extremism, uprisings, civil wars, terrorism [much of it also funded by the US] and more.

The only meaningful ways for those who want to take revenge from the US to enter it are via planes or ships. And US makes sure that it very carefully checks the credentials and history/profile of those who come in, thus safeguarding itself from the vengeance of those whose lives US destroyed/destroys. The rest of the world pays dearly though.

Lessons from what has recently happened to Qatar

• America is nobody's ally. No one can or should trust America. It only thinks of itself and works for itself. America isn't coming to the rescue of its so-called "ally" Qatar in any way. America only needed/needs Qatar for the Al Udeid Air Base, for covert supply of "support" to select militant/terrorist groups, for its gas reserves, and to sell expensive fighters, weapons, etc., to Qatar. America is a poisonous snake and the Qataris better realize this now.
• Actually, more than the Qataris, it is Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, UAE, Kuwait, Jordan, Oman, etc., which need to realize - fast - that America is an opportunist, filthy snake. America can and will sting anyone as it sees fit.
• Qatar should've made itself much more stronger than it currently is. Why such a staggeringly low number of fighter jets? This is so weird, that it almost creates a Saudi-US conspiracy theory in my mind! What's the use of such massive wealth if you won't buy the means to defend yourself! Ask Singapore. No neighbor can dare thinking of invading Singapore. Ask Taiwan. China is so much bigger than Taiwan but Taiwan still looks quite well-equipped, relatively.
• And did Qatar forget that it's sitting just next to a giant dragon, Saudi?
• It's important to cultivate relationships - especially military - with multiple powerful nations simultaneously. Qatar should've developed military relationships with China, Russia, Italy, and Sweden too. It should've had equipment from several nations.
• You need your own industrial capability for manufacturing weapons. You can't trust so-called allies - least of all the United States - to be really there for you in your time of need. You need self-made weaponry, free from covert spying devices and other nonsense [see below]. This is the direction in which Turkey, Brazil and India are going, and it's the direction in which America's other so-called allies must go.
• SECRET KILL SWITCHES: Not merely possible / likely, but rather certain that there are secret kill switches embedded into the fancy military toys that US sells to Saudi, UAE, South Korea, etc. These will be used to quietly and instantly disable these toys at the required time. The use of software means that the Arabs/Koreans can never know if/where these are present.
• Global Hawk in South Korea, Apr'20: All but certain that these unmanned planes will: 1) Silently transmit lots of sensitive data back to USA, 2) Contain secret switches enabling USA to control/divert/hijack/kill these machines when needed.
• Update [8-Jul-18]: America has cleverly trapped all its F-35 "partners" with the plane's ALIS system and other spyware. It has forced everyone to accept that all software related to the aircraft will reside in the US and will be loaded/updated from there. Also, your classified/sensitive data will automatically be fed to Lockheed Martin on a regular basis [Norway's concerns here, here, here, here, here, and here], and you can do nothing about it, except quietly grumble. Further, you've enslaved yourself to America because America can now remotely degrade or disable your F-35s as and when it wants. It can introduce corrupted or maliciously-crafted firmware into your toys, and it can alter and control your behavior and your geopolitical decisions by threatening to withhold critical software updates from *your* jets. Welcome to slavery dear Europeans. You will now be far more obedient to your master.
• Update [20-Jan-19]: Any self-respecting country also needs its own software and it's own hardware. All that fancy Cisco networking gear and those colorful Microsoft Windows systems will be weaponized by America in the event of a war [or maybe America already utilizes backdoors in American-made IT products, albeit quietly - analogous to flying under the radar so as to stay undetected]. These systems will go down, these will leak/upload data, and these systems might even spontaneously take destructive actions. [link 1]
• Whatever anyone might say, a nuclear weapon remains the ultimate insurance against nefarious neighbors. Should be acquired, and shouldn't be given up.
• Size matters. If you're tiny, like Qatar is, you need to spend disproportionately to defend yourself. Especially so when you have so much wealth, so much gas/oil, a sprawling news media network, so many well-developed companies.
• You should have something/some things that make those who can control/misuse/manipulate you dependent on you [to discourage them from controlling you]. For example, Qatar Airways, via its significant orders for Airbus and Boeing planes holds meaningful control over Europe and US, and can use this card to push these nations to push Saudi to drop its blockade.

Reliance Jio's free unlimited voice calls feature has led to a flood of useless incoming calls [COMPACTIDEA]

All of us know and bear folks who make useless, spam-like phone calls for just about everything [particularly in business]. Reliance Jio is a boon for such folks. Now the friction of cost is gone. The floodgates are open. Now these people can call you endlessly and irritate you even more :)

The first highly stable Windows releases - Windows 2000 and Windows XP [COMPACTIDEA]

Some might say that this crown goes to Windows NT 4.0, but I've never used it. Back in the late 90s and early 2000s, and particularly since 2001/2002 when I got my first computer, I've installed and used various flavors of the Windows operating system, and that too numerous times - 95, 98/98 SE, ME, 2000, XP, Vista, 7, 8, 8.1, 10, and so on. I personally feel that Windows 2000 and Windows XP were the first truly stable Windows OSes. Life before these stable OSes was hellish - Windows 98/ME could/would crash any damn moment, taking with it whatever you might have been doing. Installing drivers today is a non-issue, but back then finding the right drivers and installing these was "the" main issue. It's possible that NT 4.0 was relatively stable as well [I used to read about its enterprise-class stability, especially compared to 95 and 98, in computer magazines during my school days]. Back then they also used to praise the rock-solid stability of Linux. But 2000 and later XP and Vista changed all that. The Windows of today, for example 8.1, is so stable that it frequently stays on on my systems for months without any issues.

Iran-North Korea partnership is so obvious [COMPACTIDEA]

Iran has the money/resources [and also determination/intent], while North Korea has the technology [missiles, nuclear]. Iran lacks technology, while the North lacks money/resources. Such an obvious partnership. Iranian scientists should fly to North Korea to learn the designs, the formulas, the technology, and in return Iran should shower the North with cash. A mutually-beneficial alliance between these two nations will keep America's hegemony in check. The key questions here are:

1. Why hasn't such an obvious partnership happened yet?
2. Is such a relationship already brewing under the sheet? [answers question 1]

Update [3-Dec-17]: An extension of the above idea is that the North should also directly supply Iran with its most advanced missiles, such as the new Hwasong-15 ICBM, in a ready-to-use form, to instantly and significantly increase Iran's global missile reach, in order to provide significant deterrent to America. A further extension could be that North Korea should also sell some of its nuclear weapons, deployable on the Hwasong-15, to Iran. This single move will provide a permanent defensive safeguard to Iran, one that America will never dream of breaching.

Microsoft has itself, to some extent, crippled Windows 10 Mobile by giving slower hardware in Lumia smartphones [COMPACTIDEA]

Recently upgraded my Lumia 640 XL to Windows 10 Mobile. Not everything is good. Overall it has been a big step backward. If I could [unfortunately I can't], I would definitely go back to Windows Phone 8.1 [Lumia Denim] in a heartbeat. My phone used to be so fast on 8.1 Denim. My Lumia has become so slow after upgrading the OS. It's almost useless now. Its slowness irritates. Fuck Microsoft. Plus, and this is very important, Windows 10 Mobile isn't better in every sense than Windows Phone 8.1 [Lumia Denim]. The former has lost some features of 8.1 Denim, and some features have become worse due to changes [note that this isn't about being slow due to dated hardware specifications]. Sure, Windows 10 Mobile has many new features, but what's the use of features if the hardware is so slow? It doesn't feel so on 8.1 Denim, but it clearly shows on 10 Mobile. The full power and potential of Windows 10 Mobile simply can't be realized/used because the phone hardware is so pathetically slow. In this sense Microsoft itself is responsible, to some extent, for me not being able to take advantage of Windows 10 Mobile. Also, there is some very good stuff in the Store, but again, I just cannot use any of it due to the deficient hardware. On 8.1 Denim, at least everything ran fast and nothing irritated me.

Not showing him directly, and indirectly reporting a highly demonized image of him - that's how US media makes tyrants out of normal men

Realized this while watching these [1, 2, 3] scenes of Dr. Strangelove. If these videos get deleted, then one of these scenes is at approximately 74 minutes and 30 seconds into the movie. You never get to hear [even a word] or see Dimitri Kissoff, the Soviet Premier. Yet you develop an image of the Premier based on what the US President speaks and the way he reacts. You feel that the Premier drinks excessively, listens to loud music while at work, gets "mad" and "hysterical", and so on [and yet you haven't actually seen or heard the man even once]. The stereotypical image of any Soviet / Russian leader that the US media has carefully implanted in your head - over the decades - quickly gets confirmed, without you ever having seen or heard the man directly.

That's how US media creates tyrants out of normal men. Men who happen to be leaders of nations that are "defiant" to US hegemony. The US media demonizes these men and presents such distorted and twisted images of these men to the public/viewers that stupid Americans/Europeans/Westerners start to believe that these men are so full of evil that they must be annihilated without delay. So they hardly ever show full-length videos of Assad speaking [else you'll get to know the real truth that he's a sensible man and a patriot - whereas it is in reality your own America that is the real monster], and when they do air tiny clips of him, they pick portions and sentences such that the surrounding context gets hidden so that his statements appear evil/devilish without the necessary context [and anything sensible and wise he says is simply not shown]. Same with Saddam and same with the North Korean leader.

Update [10-Mar-20]: Following paragraph in this NYT story is crucial. Alternative link.

"Disputes between intelligence agencies and oversight committees are not unusual. The agencies are frequently reluctant to share direct intercepts of conversations or to allow their individual officers or analysts to provide information directly to the committees. Instead, they prefer to turn over analytical reports that have been reviewed by agency leadership. The committees often press for more raw forms of intelligence."

This practice of only publishing/releasing "processed" analysis rather than raw data is exactly what US media does. Instead of directly airing Assad's interview, for example, they do a news story in which they mix their own allegations, half-truths, lies, spins, and remove vital statements, play with the context, and so on, until a perfectly sensible leader with good judgment and good intentions starts to look like a bloodthirsty tyrant [thus justifying wars].

Update [25-Mar-20]: Donald Trump has effectively solved the above problem by talking directly to the public via Twitter [and Facebook, to a lesser extent], bypassing any middlemen. This has ensured that his unfiltered thoughts/voice/words reach the public without the intermediary "processing" done by the news media complex. This is what other leaders such as Vladimir Putin and Bashar al-Assad need to do, so that the nefarious repackaging/modifications done by Western newspapers are avoided [to some extent].