Monthly Archives: January 2006

Parents can buy cell phone records

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Speaking of cell phones and sweet, sweet looowe, it used to be that desi parents could track your nefarious romantic activities via phone bills, but only until you went off to college. Now they can track who you’re dating right now simply by buying your cell phone bill– and it’s all totally legal:

You wanna tight thappad, beta? I know who you been callin’

The Chicago Police Department is warning officers their cell phone records are available to anyone — for a price. Dozens of online services are selling lists of cell phone calls… In some cases, telephone company insiders secretly sell customers’ phone-call lists to online brokers, despite strict telephone company rules against such deals, according to Schumer. And some online brokers have used deception to get the lists from the phone companies, he said. “Though this problem is all too common, federal law is too narrow to include this type of crime…” [Link]

Ennis says it even happened to former presidential candidate Wes Clark:

… this morning AMERICAblog bought former presidential candidate, and former Supreme Allied Commander of NATO… General Wesley Clark’s cell phone records for one hundred calls made over three days in November 2005, no questions asked… All we needed was General Clark’s cell phone number and our credit card… [AMERICABlog, a liberal blog]

As this becomes widely known, it’s not just police informers, cheating spouses and leaking politicians who need to worry. With desi culture’s open-door, no-privacy social contract, it’s also desi teens living out their Heer-Ranjha stories. Maybe keyloggers, spy viruses and purchased cell phone bills will begin showing up as the new villains in the movies.

Related post: Cell Phones of SHAME and LONGING

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A thick slice of Bubba pie

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My friend and international man of mystery Parag Khanna just published an essay which made the cover of Harper’s, Jan. 2006 (not online yet). Congrats, Parag! It’s a modest proposal for reforming the U.N. by putting Bill Clinton in charge:

Indulge me for a moment as I fix the world. First, rich countries must raise their development budgets… underdeveloped societies must root out corruption and boost investment in social welfare… we must strengthen the capacity of international institutions to manage global collective security against the threats of terrorism… we must move rapidly toward free and fair global trade, and involve NGOs and the international business community in providing responsible and accountable delivery of public goods around the world…

… there is only one solution… Embed a super-American at the highest level. That man, at this moment, is Bill Clinton.

But is Bubba the right plumber for these pipes?

Allegations of widespread sexual abuse came to light in a U.N. refugee camp in Bunia, Congo. Blue-helmets were paying girls as young as thirteen or fourteen with bread, milk, or a little cash…

U.N. personnel… have eased the burden they bear in lightening poverty with fermented marijuana cocktails along the banks of the Mekong River.

Parag tells of his first experience with the U.N.’s legendary inefficiency:

I first got involved with the United Nations just before its fiftieth birthday. In 1995, at age seventeen, I was likely the youngest intern wandering the corridors of the two glass towers… One week the Youth Unit had exceeded its quota of printing paper, so we simply were not allowed to make photocopies until our stock was replenished. I started to wonder: If the unit, or even the whole Division for Social Policy and Development, ceased to exist, would anyone miss it?..

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‘We’re Not Gonna Take It’

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A NYT columnist tells a story of vengeance (paid link) that’s become all too familiar (thanks, Turbanhead). It’s got overtones of Mirch Masala, Krantiveer and Bandit Queen:

… in the central Indian city of Nagpur… [f]or more than 15 years, the mud alleys of the slum were ruled by a local thug named Akku Yadav. A higher-caste man, he killed, raped and robbed in this community of Dalits… One woman, according to people here, went to the police station to report that she had been gang-raped by Akku Yadav and his goons, and the police raped her.

Neighbors tell how Akku Yadav forced a man to dance naked in front of his teenage daughter. They say that he chopped one woman into pieces in front of her daughter, and that another woman burned herself to death after he and his men gang-raped her…

Usha turned on the gas, grabbed a match and threatened to blow up everyoneWe have the bad guy, now we need the heroine. Usha Narayane, one of the few to leave the slum and get an education, was back home visiting relatives when the gang attacked. What Narayane managed to pull was like walking into a biker war with a hand grenade:

Akku Yadav returned with 40 men and surrounded the Narayane shack. He waved a bottle of acid and threatened to disfigure Usha’s face, and to rape and kill her… Usha turned on the gas, grabbed a match and threatened to blow up everyone if the gang broke into the house…
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NYC Mutineer Meetup – Saturday Jan 21, 1pm – UPDATED (again)

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Calling one and all to the first mutineer meetup of ’06. Turns out that this weekend, we’ve got a triple threat lined up – Anna, Manish & I are all in NYC…

Where – Kati Roll – 140 W 46th between 6th & 7th [Note updated place!]

When – Saturday, January 21, 1pm [Note updated date/time! We moved this from Sunday to ensure the lovely AJP could join the festivities]

Lassi opened to some fanfare last April, and NY metro’s Underground Gourmet gave it rather favorable reviews praising it’s nouveau take on classic Indian street food and “inexpensive” prices. Others, including a few mutineers, weren’t entirely happy with the nouveau.

Several readers (particular thanks to NYCDesi, Ace, Sank, Emily, and others) have pointed out that Lassi is probably too small for our plans for world domination. So we’re moving to the new Kati Roll

As usual, given previous meetups, worst case – the food sux but the company will titillate.

As usual, if you can make it, leave a comment or drop us a note so we have some idea of how many folks to expect & how much space to cordon off @ the restaurant.

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Cell Phones of SHAME and LONGING

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Damn modern technology and its capacity for conveying horniness (via the Beeb):

Bangladeshi authorities have ordered mobile phone operators to stop offering free calls after midnight, to protect the morals of young people.
A telecommunications regulator said it had received scores of complaints from parents that children were using the service to form romantic attachments.
They said children were losing sleep and some indulged in “vulgar talk”.

Oh, Razib…talk genetics to me. 😉 Eek, didn’t mean to lose sleep while being a strumpet.

Every 40 days, a mobile phone company in Bangladesh called Grameen signs up another million customers. That number just seems insane. Predictably, the persecuted purveyors of phones in that nation are a bit perplexed:

The phone companies say they are surprised by the order, which the regulator says must be obeyed immediately.

One spokesman has been quoted as saying that if the authorities wish to stop young people meeting each other, by the same logic, fast food restaurants and universities should be shut down, too.

Whatever will the youth of Bangladesh do, if they aren’t able to lose sleep by covertly murmuring nothings sweeter than ras malai in…to plastic? The horror. The HORROR! WON’T someone think of the CHILDREN? Oh wait. That’s how this whole cluster started. 😉 Continue reading →

Born as I Finished College, Yet He Already Directs

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The front/main page of Wikipedia imparts something new and interesting, yet again.

Did you know…that Kishan Shrikanth, age ten, is in the process of directing a Kannada-language feature film, C/o Footpath, which will almost certainly make him the youngest director ever to release a commercial feature film? [wiki]

I’ll save you the trouble of getting all wiki’d out; Kishan’s entire entry (save one redundant sentence) is below:

Kishan Shrikanth (born 6 January 1996), professionally known as Kishan or Master Kishan, is a Kannada-language actor from India. As of January 2006, having acted in some twenty films, he is in the process of directing a feature film, C/o Footpath (Care of Footpath), about an orphaned boy who wants to go to school. The cast includes prominent Indian actors Jackie Shroff, Saurabh Shukla, and Thaara.[1] Kishan will, himself, play the lead. [wiki]
The Guinness Book of Records currently lists Sydney Ling as the youngest person to direct a professional feature film. Ling was thirteen in 1973 when he directed the Dutch film Lex the Wonderdog.[wiki]

Upon reading that bit of information, I pondered how desis LOVE them some record-breaking and I wondered why no one brown had attempted this feat before.

So why did little Kishan choose this goal?

“I prefer directing to acting because of the creativity it affords me. From the beginning, I used to ask my directors about the technical aspects of the film, and hound the cameramen to show me their art. I want to continue directing and have already finalised the script for my next film, which will be a Hindi film,” he says.[rediff]

This diminutive auteur is the real deal:

“He is such a genius that I had to work in his film,” Jackie says. “He is constantly thinking about his next shot, constantly innovating to make it better. He is only nine years old, but he is sure about what he wants from his actors.”[rediff]

Now THAT’S impressive. Continue reading →

Always record phonecalls to your mom

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In my previous post about the National Security Agency’s (NSA) wiretapping of U.S. citizens, I quipped:

I’ve also been using a calling card (from what may be a shady NSA front company) to call my parents who are vacationing in India. I should think twice about what I say…

NPR commentator Sandip Roy must have had the same thought. In a humorous piece this morning he plays a recorded conversation between him and his mom who is in Calcutta. At various times he pauses the tape long enough to advise the NSA, what he is NOT talking about.

This just reiterated to me that every single person should have a library of recorded phone conversations with their parents. Even the most mundane conversation can make you smile.

Listen.

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Britney Tikka Masala

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britandkfuggg.jpg BREAKING NEWS (well, sort of) via PEREZ HILTON (and tipster Simran):

Casually dressed erstwhile pop superstar Britney Spears attended an event at a Malibu mandir yesterday, Feder-spawn never out of her arms. More pictures of her doing so are available here.

At least this is one occasion where it was appropriate and not disgusting for Brit-Brit to be shoe-free.

Seriously though, motherhood agrees with her– and so does going to mandir. While I have NEVER been a fan and I am gloating that she’s not wearing her ring (DUMP HIM! You still have a chance! Turn your future “Behind the Music” ep around NOW!), I sincerely hope she got something out of her trip to temple.

Anyone have any idea why she was there? After some lazy googling, I haven’t discovered further details so I leave it to you, Mutineers. Kindly call your religious cousins in or near Malibu and beg them for deets, thanks. 😉 Continue reading →

A theory replaces a hunch

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A new paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (subscription required) offers a counter theory to the long held Aryan Invasion Theory (thanks for the tip “Gujjubhai” and “Mauritious”). But before I get into that, I want to address a pet peeve of mine. The word “theory” is one of the most mis-used words in the English language. When most people use the word theory, they actually mean to use “hypothesis” or “hunch.” A theory by definition means:

A set of statements or principles devised to explain a group of facts or phenomena, especially one that has been repeatedly tested or is widely accepted and can be used to make predictions about natural phenomena.

By definition a theory has already stood up to repeated challenges, and on the basis of scientific evidence has held true despite many assaults on its validity. Therefore the Theory of Evolution isn’t just some willy-nilly hunch. It has taken on and turned aside all would-be challengers. Everybody “knows” that gravity is real, but did you know that Newton’s gravity is in fact a theory? When dealing with physics that approach the speed of light, the Newtonian Theory of Gravity fails, and Einstein’s Theory of Relativity takes over. Now that we are past that let’s go back to the PNAS paper. First, what is the “Aryan Invasion Theory”:

… a term that refers to the theory developed by 19th Century European linguists to explain the similarity between Sanskrit and European languages, by hypothesising that peoples originating outside India invaded or migrated to India. Another view is that this theory was developed as a means to show the superiority of European Aryan race. Max Muller and other western scholars who studied Sanskrit were very impressed with it and wanted to develop a link of this brilliant language with there own race i.e Europeans. They found some roots common in german and sanskrit and invented AIT. There is no archaeological evidence for the invasion. In ancient times there were abundant contact between civilization in India and Europe and European languages borrowed lot of words/roots from Sanskrit. Interesting fact is that modern non-Indians still cling to this theory even though it has no locus standi or a scientific basis. [Link]

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