Apparently these guys are –

Two tribes living on India’s Andaman islands may be direct descendents of the earliest modern humans who moved out of Africa 70,000 years ago, scientists reported last week. …The Great Andamanese and Onge tribes have remained isolated in the Andaman and Nicobar islands for tens of thousands of years. This helped the scientists to search for signs of origin that erase quickly when populations intermix. …They found the Onge and Great Andamanese — both Negrito tribes — resembled the African population more closely than east Asians or the mainland Indian population of today…These tribes still survive as hunter-gatherer communities using primitive tools and living in the jungle.

And, of course, an obligatory “blame it on the Brits” angle –

Their populations have also decreased steadily with about 20 Great Andamanese and 98 Onge surviving today. It is believed that before British colonizers reached the islands in the mid-18th century, the Great Andamanese population numbered over 5,000.

Continue reading →

Irshad Manji published an interesting discussion on the sanctity of the Quran in response to the “Newsweek Lied, People Died” brouhaha for the uber-left Huffington Post –

Last week, I was interviewed by CNN International about the Quran desecration report – and in particular about the riots in Jalalabad. I said that if the allegations were proven true, then we’re dealing with a gratuitous provocation of Muslims. I stand by that answer. But TV doesn’t give you the space that a blog does, so now’s the time to say something else: Why riot violently over the mistreatment of a Quran? It’s not as if one’s basic human rights have been transgressed…

I always thought the “Satanic Verses” were just a clever booktitle –

…For centuries, Islamic philosophers have been telling the story of the “Satanic Verses.” These are verses that the Prophet Muhammad reportedly accepted as authentic entries into the Quran. Later, he realized that these passages deify heathen idols rather than God Himself. So he belatedly rejected the verses, blaming them on a trick played by Satan…

Previous SM coverage of Manji… Continue reading →

StrategyPage offers it’s analysis of what the first stages of a war between India and Pakistan might look like –

May 14, 2005: Can India ever fight a war against its nuclear armed neighbor and rival Pakistan without provoking a nuclear holocaust? The Indian Army (IA) thinks it has an answer to this question. Until now the India’s doctrine for war against Pakistan consisted of combat divisions advancing across the Rajasthan desert border into Pakistan, eventually cutting off Pakistan’s population centers in the north from the only port and economic lifeline of Karachi…

(click quickly! Stratpage’s permalinks are notoriously not so permanent)

Interesting reading if you’re of a macabre / war-nerd sort. Personally, I’m an optimist and believe that, short of an improbable Pakistani state implosion, a Hamiltonian peace will be the long term outcome between the 2 nations. Of course, the path from here to there is rarely a straight line. Continue reading →

Tyler Cowen @ Marginal Revolution, has the following quote about Indonesia which could just as easily apply to India –

Then Suharto looked at [James] Wolfensohn. “You know, what you regard as corruption in your part of the world, we regard as family values.”

That is from Sebastian Mallaby’s The World”s Banker: A Story of Failed States, Financial Crises, and the Wealth and Poverty of Nations.

How true it is. Continue reading →

Overlawyered reports –

The Lost Coast Brewery in Humboldt, Calif. says it will take off the shelves its Indica India Pale Ale, whose label currently depicts the Indian elephant-god Ganesh “holding a beer in one of his four hands, and another in his trunk”. Although brewery co-owner Barbara Groom said her Hindu friends don’t mind the label, a California man named Brij Dhir sued the brewery, along with other defendants such as the Safeway supermarket chain, claiming that it is offensive and intimidates Hindus from practicing their religion. “Dhir seeks at least $25,000 and his lawsuit mentions that $1 billion would be appropriate to compensate Hindus around the world.” “It’s a hate crime”, Dhir told the Contra Costa Times.

Thanks to Ennis for the pict pointer! Continue reading →

A couple quick notes for SF-based Mutineers –

• MIA will be playing a sold out show @ The Independent theater in downtown SF this Friday night (May 13) followed by a show at the Fillmore on Sat (tix still available?). If you go, drop us a note @ the tipline with your review and/or cameraphone picts.
• Geek mutineers take note — Tiecon takes place this weekend down in Santa Clara. Registration is still open. The annual conference afterparty is @ Monte Carlo in Mountain View starting @ 830pm on Friday. There’s a guestlist and this stuff has been packed to the gills in years past. I guess if you couldn’t get tix to M.I.A., partying up (or standing in line) with a few hundred desi engineers / entrepreneurs is some sort of a consolation prize.
• Finally, a certain mutineer will be celebrating a b-day w/ some friends @ Roe / Prive in downtown SF, this Sat night starting around 10ish. Come by and say hello. MIA – if you’re reading this, you’re more than welcome to drop by after your Fillmore gig.

Continue reading →

Winds of Change does some number crunching from the recently published National Counter Terrorism Center (NCTC) report –

Iraq	30.8%
Afghanistan	2.8%
India	45.9%
Israel/ Palestine	8.4%

Where? Mostly in J&K. Times of India notes –

More than half the attacks reported for 2004 were in South Asia, which recorded 327 incidents that produced 502 deaths. The bulk of the incidents were reported in the divided Kashmir state claimed by both India and Pakistan.

Continue reading →