Meta to limit some Facebook comments on Israeli, Palestinian posts https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/meta-limit-some-facebook-comments-israeli-palestinian-posts-2023-10-18/ By Katie Paul and Sheila Dang October 18, 2023  Meta said it will change the default setting for people who can comment on new and public Facebook posts created by users "in the region" to only their friends and followers...The social media company added it will disable the ability to see the first one or two comments on posts while scrolling the Facebook feed...Earlier this week, some users who posted in support for Palestine or Gaza citizens accused Meta of suppressing their content. Meta designates Hamas as a "dangerous organization" and bans content praising the group...

Mondoweiss, a news website that covers Palestinian human rights, said on social media platform X on Oct. 10 that Instagram had twice suspended the profile of its video correspondent. Other Instagram users reported their posts and stories about Palestine were not receiving views.

Meta said it fixed a bug on Instagram that caused re-posted content to not appear correctly in a user's story, which disappears after 24 hours.

MHA extends UAPA ban against eight Meitei extremist organisations https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/mha-extends-ban-on-10-meitei-extremist-organisations-under-uapa-for-another-five-year/article67528452.ece November 13, 2023
The government declared the eight outfits an unlawful association for a period of ten years affective November 13. the Central government is of the opinion that the outfits have been engaging in activities prejudicial to the sovereignty and integrity of India; employing and engaging in armed means to achieve their objectives, attacking and killing the security forces, police and civilians in Manipur; indulging in acts of intimidation, extortion and looting of civilian population for collection of funds; making contacts with sources abroad for influencing public opinion and for securing their assistance by way of arms and training for the purpose of achieving their secessionist objective and maintaining camps in neighbouring countries for the purpose of sanctuaries, training and clandestine procurement of arms and ammunition. 

 Polluting Industries Say the Cost of Cleaner Air Is Too High  https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/13/business/economy/smog-rules-economics.html  The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is about to announce new regulations governing soot — the particles that trucks, farms, factories, wildfires, power plants and dusty roads generate.   public health advocates argue that the averted deaths, illnesses and lost productivity that air pollution caused far outweigh the cost. The E.P.A. pegs the potential benefits at as much as $55 billion by 2032 if it drops the limit to nine micrograms per cubic meter, from the current 12 micrograms. That is far more than the $500 million it estimates the proposal would cost in 2032.

So how are communities weighing the potential trade-offs? On a state level, it depends to a large degree on politics: Seventeen Democratic attorneys general wrote a joint comment letter in support of stricter rules, while 17 Republican attorneys general wrote one in favor of the status quo.

But it also depends on the mix of industries prevalent in a local area.

Is capitalism dead? Yanis Varoufakis thinks it is – and he knows who killed it https://theconversation.com/is-capitalism-dead-yanis-varoufakis-thinks-it-is-and-he-knows-who-killed-it-213992    November 8, 202 Varoufakis argues that we no longer live in a capitalist society; capitalism has morphed into a “technologically advanced form of feudalism”. ..

In the early 19th century,” he writes, many feudal relations remained intact, but capitalist relations had begun to dominate. Today, capitalist relations remain intact, but techno-feudalist relations have begun to overtake them. “vassal capitalists” are subordinate and dependent on a new breed of “lords” – the Big Tech companies – who generate enormous wealth via new digital platforms. A new form of algorithmic capital has evolved – what Varoufakis calls “cloud capital” – and it has displaced “capitalism’s two pillars: markets and profits”. ..Access to the “digital fief” comes at the cost of exorbitant rents. Varoufakis notes that many third-party developers on the Apple store, for example, pay 30% “on all their revenues”, while Amazon charges its sellers “35% of revenues”. This, he argues, is like a medieval feudal lord sending round the sheriff to collect a large chunk of his serfs’ produce because he owns the estate and everything within it....This is not extracting profit through the production or provision of goods and services, as these platforms are not a “service” in the sense in which the term is used in economics. They are extracting rents in the form of the huge cuts they take from the capitalists on their platforms..

Every time we use our cloud-linked devices – smartphones, laptops, Alexa, Google Assistant, Siri – we replenish the capital of the Big Tech cloudalists. This in turn increases their capacity to generate more wealth. How? We train their algorithms, which train us, to train them, and so on, in a feedback loop whose goal is to shape our desires and behaviour. They are “selling things to us while selling our attention to others”...For Varoufakis, we are not just living through a tech revolution, but a tech-driven economic revolution. He challenges us to come to terms with just what has happened to our economies – and our societies – in the era of Big Tech and Big Finance...

Towards the end of Technofeudalism, Varoufakis canvasses some proposals, drawn from his earlier book Another Now (2020), for how to address these issues. These include ending the cloudalists faux “free service” model and replacing it with a universal micro-payment model, instituting a Bill of Digital Rights, and using digital technology to “democratise companies” (with decisions being taken collectively by “employee-shareholders”).

Varoufakis also proposes to “democratise money”. This plan would involve central banks issuing digital wallets, a universal basic income, reconfiguring “the central bank’s ledger” in the direction of a “common payment and savings system”, and abolishing the current capacity of private banks to “create money”.

WaPo Posts ‘India Tamed Twitter’ | Union Mantri's Detailed Counter | NewsX https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJfOUm7K35c

DECODED - Electoral Bonds Vs YOUR Vote | What Will Matter More in 2024? | Akash Banerjee & Sarthak The Deshbhakt Nov 11, 2023 1 product
After years of trying the hide the dirty truth about Electoral Bonds - the controversial issue is finally in the Supreme Court of India .... ( not that it will change things very much!) As the court decides on the matter of Electoral Bonds - tells us if it is Constitutional at all or not - here is why we need to look at Electoral Bonds a lot more closely - because it is the SINGLE biggest factor that will decide on the future of Indian Democracy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5O9zI1fGco Electoral Bond | क्या है इलेक्टोरल बॉन्ड का गोरख धंधा | Yogendra Yadav | Prashant Bhushan |

The high Himalayas represent a unique region that plays a critical role in deciding the weather of the Indian subcontinent. Weather in the Himalaya has played an important role in shaping life and survival in the mountains – including its unique flora and fauna.

In this autumn edition of Himkatha, https://www.himkatha.org/_files/ugd/37786b_e3776ffb950e4f2b85cd387526a233ab.pdf we take a look at plants and plant life of this region.

High mountain ecosystems impose strong environmental constraints on plants since they can grow only in a short span of 3-4 months each year. Early
plant growth depends on snowmelt in spring. As a result of the short growing season, and cold and arid climatic conditions, one doesn't find tall plants like trees except near watercourses and of course where water is provided through irrigation. To cope with these climatic constraints, most plants have developed adaptations that allow them to persist in these environments.

Local plants have played an important role in curing illnesses using the *Sowa-Rigpa tradition* of medicine, https://www.himkatha.org/the-sowa-rigpa-medical-tradition   which relies on indigenous knowledge of the medicinal values of local plants. Interview with 71-year-old Amchi
Chhering Tashi of Hansa village in Spiti, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJ5K5DjtgqQ  we learn about the origin of this tradition and how it is being practiced.

There are four fundamental books, which need to be learnt by heart by any Amchi. They explain the symptoms of every illness and contain details of its treatment and medication.  When a patient approaches me, I first check their pulse and sometimes their urine. I then match the description of the symptoms with those in the handbook. The handbook gives details of all the local plants and their medicinal values

Living at the Edge: Plants of High Himalayas  https://www.himkatha.org/living-at-the-edge  the mountains support a stunning array of plants adapted to survive at high altitudes and in harsh climates .Plants in high Himalayas are highly specialized and have remarkable adaptations to endure extreme conditions. They tend to have a massive below ground root system that stores the photosynthetic product (carbohydrates) for the prolonged winter months when they are devoid of the photosynthetic organs (leaves). Most of the plants in highest elevations do not grow high, as the temperature near the ground is warmer, and protect them from strong winds. Some also have a hairy-body (with trichomes), which protects them from the strong UV radiation, and act as extreme heat protectant.

Juniper – The sacred conifer https://www.himkatha.org/juniper-the-sacred-conifer

Wild edible plants of Ladakh https://www.himkatha.org/wild-edible-plants-of-ladakh

https://www.himkatha.org/the-beautiful-siyah-mentok

https://www.himkatha.org/narkasang-kinnaurs-sacred-blooms

https://www.himkatha.org/unveiling-an-enigmatic-jewel

Staement by NAPM:  State-enabled and human-induced destructive flood in the Narmada Valley, is the responsibility of the Central and state governments! Reservoir not being regulated and emptied on time to ‘celebrate Prime Minister Modi's birthday’ *led to the massive submergence and destruction.*

Read more …

Prof Rajiv  Kumar  https://youtu.be/D721Szm-lTQ?t=311

https://thewire.in/rights/jnu-professor-writes-to-president-murmu-alleging-harassment-by-university-for-42-months  Professor Rajeev alleges that he is being targeted by delaying the probe instituted against him because of exposing irregularities in the conduct of JEE. He says there has been no relief in the case even after Jagadeesh Kumar stepped down as VC in January 2022 and the current VC Santishree D. Pandit took over.