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On Privacy…
Privacy protects us from abuses by those in power, even if we’re doing nothing wrong at the time of surveillance. Too many wrongly characterize the debate as “security versus privacy.” The real choice...
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From the speech which was never delivered…
(Sketch by Karen Haydock) This post has some quotes (and my reflections on them) from the book The Annihilation of Caste by B. R. Ambedkar. The book has an essay of the same title which Ambedkar was...
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Open Access Manifesto
Information is power. But like all power, there are those who want to keep it for themselves. The world's entire scientific and cultural heritage, published over centuries in books and journals, is...
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Important Lesson
“This experience has taught me one very important lesson: without Congressional action or a strong judicial precedent, I would strongly recommend against anyone trusting their private data to a company...
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Undownloading
So, it seems that ebook users need to add a new word to their vocabulary: “undownloading” — what happens when you leave the authorized zone in which you may read the ebooks you paid for, and cross into...
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The Textbook Liberation Project
“We aim for maximum financial impact against the publishing industry and maximum political impact among the University administration and faculty. This will force the complicit parties to declare which...
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Kindle, Lego and E-Books
What do you do when Digital Restrictions Management prevents you from doing a lot of things on your own device. I do not know if we can even say it is a device we own, as the company offering books to...
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Plagiarism Vs. Copyright
It is in the interest of the publishers to confuse plagiarism with copyright. And many people wouldn’t know the difference. So here is a difference between the two: First, plagiarism is a violation of...
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Privatization, Responsibility and Corruption
Privatisation seems to have gone from dynamic ideological choice, to route of least resistance for the state to abdicate its responsibility in a variety of policy areas. Anything difficult and...
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World We Live In
“I don’t want to live in a world where everything that I say, everything I do, everyone I talk to, every expression of creativity or love or friendship is recorded. That’s not something I’m willing to...
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Something to Hide
You probably do have something to hide, you just don’t know it yet. via Wired
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The Worst Get to the Top
Yes, you read that correctly: democratic government invariably leads to the rule by “demagogues” who manipulate the most immoral segments of society. The core of this immoral coalition consists of “the...
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In defense of digital freedom
We need to defend democratic principles not only against outside attacks, but also against erosion from within. The strength of an open society is tested especially when it comes under (perceived)...
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On who controls who
PUNCH AND JUDY, TO THEIR AUDIENCE Our puppet strings are hard to see, So we perceive ourselves as free, Convinced that no mere objects could Behave in terms of bad and good. To you, we mannikins seem...
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On cooking or how to deny convenience to people
1 Citchen When they built the hotel, they built it on three levels. The top-most was for the elites. The commoners had no entry there, neither they had any business. Then was the second level, here a...
View ArticleWhy did not scientific revolution occur in India?
If one wonders why did not the scientific revolution happen in India some aspects of how knowledge was limited might have an implication. I present here a comparative study of conditions prevailing in...
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The Forbidden Library
What do you do when you find something offensive? Whether it be a book, a film or any other art form? You ask for a ban. You not only ban the book, perhaps want to ban the creator of the said object,...
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Indiana Jones and The Art of Looting
The swashbuckling hero in form of Indiana Jones fascinated me as I was growing up. I always thought why do people stop him from doing what he is doing? All that he is doing is taking the various...
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Le Corbusier, architecture and Chandigarh
Some years back I had heard that Chandigarh, though completely planned, was not a livable city, it somehow was not a comfortable place to be in. Now, while reading The Blank Slate by Steven Pinker I...
View ArticleEnvious (Machiavelian!?) Mediocrity
There are mediocre people all around us. But the thing is, that some of them actually turn their mediocrity into a kind of weapon, and are able to actually advance much ahead in life. They achieve this...
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