Author: ritheshraj

PEGASUS; a threat to privacy?

Pegasus is spyware developed by the Israeli cyberarms firmNSO Group that can be covertly installed on mobile phones (and other devices) running most versions of iOS and Android.The 2021 Project Pegasus revelations suggest that current Pegasus software is able to exploit all recent iOS versions up to iOS 14.6. According to the Washington Post and other prominent media sources, Pegasus not only enables the keystroke monitoring of all communications from a phone (texts, emails, web searches) but it also enables phone call and location tracking, while also permitting NSO Group to hijack both the mobile phone’s microphone and camera, thus turning it into a constant surveillance device.

image source – TechChannel News

The company had previously been owned by American private equity firm Francisco Partners, then bought back by the founders in 2019. NSO states that it provides “authorized governments with technology that helps them combat terror and crime” has published sections of contracts requiring customers only to use its products for criminal and national security investigations, and stated that it has an industry-leading approach to human rights. The spyware is named after the mythical winged horse Pegasus—it is a Trojan horse that can be sent “flying through the air” to infect phones.

Pegasus was discovered in August 2018 after a failed attempt at installing it on an iPhone belonging to a human rights activist[citation needed] led to an investigation revealing details about the spyware, its abilities, and the security vulnerabilities it exploited. As of 2016, Pegasus was capable of reading text messages, tracking calls, collecting passwords, tracking location, accessing the target device’s microphone and camera, and harvesting information from apps. News of the spyware caused significant media coverage. It was called the “most sophisticated” smartphone attack ever, and was the first time that a malicious remote exploit using jailbreak to gain unrestricted access to an iPhone had been detected.

How is it a threat ?

The spyware can be installed on devices running certain versions of iOS, Apple’s mobile operating system, as well as some Android devices. Rather than being a specific exploit, Pegasus is a suite of exploits that uses many vulnerabilities in the system. Infection vectors include clicking links, the Photos app, the Apple Music app, and iMessage. Some of the exploits Pegasus uses are zero-click—that is, they can run without any interaction from the victim. Once installed, Pegasus has been reported to be able to run arbitrary code, extract contacts, call logs, messages, photos, web browsing history, settings, as well as gather information from apps including but not limited to communications apps iMessage, Gmail, Viber, Facebook, WhatsApp, Telegram, and Skype.

Pegasus hides itself as far as is possible and self-destructs in an attempt to eliminate evidence if unable to communicate with its command-and-control server for over 60 days, or if on the wrong device. Pegasus can also do this on command.

Recent buzz

Independent digital forensic analysis conducted on 10 Indian phones whose numbers were present in the data showed signs of either an attempted or successful Pegasus hack. The results of the forensic analysis threw up shows sequential correlations between the time and date a phone number is entered in the list and the beginning of surveillance. The gap usually ranges between a few minutes and a couple of hours.

11 phone numbers associated with a female employee of the Supreme Court of India and her immediate family, who accused the former Chief Justice of India, Ranjan Gogoi, of sexual harrasment, are also allegedly found on a database indicating possibility of their phones being snooped.

Records also indicate that phone numbers of some of the key political players in Karnataka appear to have been selected around the time when an intense power struggle was taking place between the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Janata Dal (Secular)-Congress-led state government in 2019.

Women paid for household work?

I am late on this topic, but this is a flabbergasting topic to debate on. Women[mother, sister,aunt,wife..} in our lives work everyday, and by “work” i mean not just work but also household work. Household work includes washing dishes, washing clothes, cooking, etc. The so called “household” work requires skill, patience, sacrifice. Our women sacrifice their sleep, to provide us with a comfortable lifestyle. We should be grateful for the efforts put in by them everyday. These activities done by our women, everyday, are called as “non economic” activities. That means they dont expect a paycheck at the end of the month, they take up those activities, I would rather say responsibilities out of love and affection. Monetising or making them economic activities will do no help for our women. This idea of monetising domestic work was brought in by Kamal Hassan, The Makkal Needhi Maiam[MNM] party president. This idea was mentioned in the manifesto of MNM for the State assembly elections in Tamil Nadu.

Effectiveness

A United Nations report states that women perform around 75 per cent of the world’s unpaid care and domestic work, valued at 13 per cent of global gross domestic product. If included in national accounts, the unpaid care economy would represent between 15 to over 50 per cent of gross domestic product. The report further estimates that women in India spent about 352 minutes a day on unpaid work against 51.8 minutes by men.According to an Oxfam report, Indian women and girls put in more than three billion hours of unpaid care work daily. If it were assigned a monetary value it would add trillions of rupees to India’s gross domestic product.

Adding trillions of ruppes to India’s gross domestic product[GDP] might sound amazing and exciting, but this will only strengthen the long believed convention of putting woman involved in domestic work.

Will women actually get benefitted?

Definitely not, they will not get benefitted, as they dont expect benefit and do this out of love and affection. Love and affection always tops Money. This scheme if put in place will only force many employed women quit their job and get involved in household work to earn better. This will create a social norm of putting women in household work, which indeed might benefit the economy but will definietly have a harsh effect on the gender ratio at work places.

“Any woman seeking a career would be now bullied to take government’s money and stay home. This is no way towards women empowerment,” Tulsi Pillai, a 40-year-old school teacher from Chennai, Tamil Nadu tells Media India Group.

Pillai further calls it a ‘half-baked idea’ that is either not likely to see the light of the day when the time come or is going to do more harm than good to the condition of women in the state currently.

Should men involved in domestic work be given monetory benefits too?

A nationwide survey of time use has laid bare the unequal gender distribution of unpaid household labor in Indian households. While women spend 84% of their day on unpaid activities, men spend 80% of theirs on paid work. In addition, only 26% of men reported doing any kind of housework. This is a very small percentage, and considering the fact that for those men; domestic work is an addition, monetory benefits will not be necessary for them.

Basketball in India

Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately 9.4 inches (24 cm) in diameter) through the defender’s hoop (a basket 18 inches (46 cm) in diameter mounted 10 feet (3.048 m) high to a backboard at each end of the court) while preventing the opposing team from shooting through their own hoop. A field goal is worth two points, unless made from behind the three-point line, when it is worth three. After a foul, timed play stops and the player fouled or designated to shoot a technical foul is given one, two or three one-point free throws. The team with the most points at the end of the game wins, but if regulation play expires with the score tied, an additional period of play (overtime) is mandated.

The five players on each side fall into five playing positions. The tallest player is usually the center, the second-tallest and strongest is the power forward, a slightly shorter but more agile player is the small forward, and the shortest players or the best ball handlers are the shooting guard and the point guard, who implements the coach’s game plan by managing the execution of offensive and defensive plays (player positioning). Informally, players may play three-on-three, two-on-two, and one-on-one.Invented in 1891 by Canadian-American gym teacher James Naismith in Springfield, Massachusetts, United States, basketball has evolved to become one of the world’s most popular and widely viewed sports.

Bball in India

In India, basketball is a popular sport, with a multi-tiered professional club league system, as well as men’s and women’s national teams.In India, the game of basketball started its journey in 1930 when it was played for the first time. The first Indian National Championship for men was conducted in 1934 in New Delhi. The Basketball Federation of India (BFI), which controls the game in India was formed in 1950. Throughout history, Indians learned to appreciate the game because of its fast scoring and intense activity from the beginning until the end.Basketball in India is played in most of the high schools, colleges and universities. There is considerable patronage for the game among the younger generation. Basketball in India is played by both men and women of all ages and ability. Many government institutions have professional basketball teams, who work for the institution and play for them. For example, ONGC in Uttarakhand, Indian Overaseas Bank in Tamil Nadu, Indian Bank in Karnataka, Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited in New Delhi, Indian Railways, and Kerala State Electricity Board in Trivandrum play for their respective institution and state.

There are many championships for senior, junior, and youth levels for boys and girls.Being one of the earliest countries to adopt basketball, India has so far produced numerous talented basketball players, who have earned recognition in the international arena. Indian basketball players have also won several trophies for their country. Basketball in India is mainly being run and managed by a large number of national and state level associations, spread all over India. These basketball associations are working with a common view of popularizing the game in all parts of the country. Apart from that, developing the overall infrastructure for the game and uncovering new talent from the grass route level are some of the other principal objectives of the Indian basketball associations.

Professional leagues

List of major Basketball Tournaments in India:

  1. UBA Pro League
  2. National Championship
  3. Federation Cup
  4. ISBL and ICBL (Indian School Basketball League and Indian College Basketball League)

Bail orders finally being computerised

Computer-mediated communication (CMC) is defined as any human communication that occurs through the use of two or more electronic devices. This tecnhique is indeed being adopted by the honourable Supreme Court Of India. The Chief Justice N.V.Ramana flanked by justices L.Nageswara Rao and A.S.Bopanna announced in open court the rolling out of a new scheme called “FASTER” or “Fast and Secure transmission of electronic records”. The use of this scheme would instantly, directly , securely and electronically transmit bail and other orders to jail authorities, district courts, high courts and tribunals. The Chief justice remarked that rolling out of this scheme is essential considering the fact that peope given bail by courts, even by the supreme court have to wait for days before prison authorities release them.” it is just too much”, he said.

The Chief justice heading specail bench, voiced the Supreme court’s displeasure at prison authorities who insist on receiving by hand the “authentic” hard copy of the bail order regardless of the fact that the personal liberty of the people is brushed aside.

The CJI said “in this age of information and communication technology, we are still looking at the skies for the pigeons to communicate the orders”.

The initiative was applauded by the Attorney general K.K.Venugopal.

Further orders

The bench further passed orders requring the state governments to file their reports about the internet connectivity in thier jails to prevent and resolve technical glitches that might occur in the future. The Secretary General of the Supreme Court was directed to submit a comprehensive report within two weeks for formulating the scheme.

The basis of formulation

The hearing was based on a suo moto case , “Delay in release of convicts after grant of bail”, registered on the initiative of Chief justice Ramana to confront the problem which effects the liberty and dignity of the prisoners.

Recent events

In recent times, 13 prisoners in Agra central jail who suffered imprisonment of upto two decades despite being decalred “juveniles” by the Juvenile Justice Board at the time the crime was commited by them. The Supreme Court Of India on july 8th granted bail to those 13 persons, but they were released after a delay of 4 days for cause being; the prison authorities needed a “authentic” hard copy.

Another event of that sort where prisoners were released after sometime after being granted bail is, when Pinjra tod actvists Devangana Kalita and Natasha Narwal and jamia Milia Islamia student Asif Iqbal Tanha walked out of jail only with a delay of two days after bail was granted to them.

A true reform

This is a reform which will change lives eventually by protecting and taking cognizance of their personal liberty. The chief justice N.V.Ramana is seen stressing on personal liberty because once in 1975, when the emergency was declared he witnessed the taste of the poison; civil liberty being taken away. Justice Ramana said the Emergency taught him much about the “human tragedies of hunger, pain and suffering”. Chief Justice Ramaana, recounted his flight in 1975, as an 18-year-old student, from imminent arrest in a lorry to his maternal aunt’s home with ₹10 in his pocket.

Why use colonial law even after 75 years of independence?

Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana’s remarks in open court on Thursday sends a strong message to the government that the Supreme Court is prima facie convinced that sedition is being misused by the authorities to trample upon citizens’ fundamental rights of free speech and liberty. The Chief Justice has sent a clear signal that Section 124A (sedition) of the Indian Penal Code may have passed its time. The CJI said “if you look at the history of use of this section 124A of IPC, you will find that the conviction rate is very low.There is misuse of power by executive agencies.

The CJI observed and conveyed his observations to Attorney General, K.K. Venugopal and Solicitor General, Tushar Mehta. The CJI said; “Sedition is a colonial law. It suppresses freedoms. It was used against Mahatma Gandhi and Bal Gangadhar Tilak..Is this law necessary after 75 years of Independence.”

A number of petitions have been filed highlighting the “chilling effect” of sedition on the fundamental right of freedom of speech and expression. The court also observed the need to re-examine its own judgement which withheld section 124A of the IPC; i.e the Kedar Nath judgement.

Origin of the law; section 124A of IPC

Many legal experts argue that the sedition clause is a vestige of British colonial rule, originally introduced to suppress critical voices emanating from the Indian freedom movement. Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC), as we have today, was absent from the original draft of Macaulay’s IPC in 1860, and was only introduced in the year 1870, piloted by James Stephen. This version went through further modification through the IPC (Amendment Act), 1898, since when it has largely retained its form.

Landmark case

The landmark case on this matter was that of Queen-Empress v. Bal Gangadhar Tilak & Keshav Mahadev Bal, (1897) ILR 22 Bom 112. In this case, Bal Gangadhar Tilak was tried for sedition for alleged incitement through speech that led to the killing of two British Officials. In this case, a single judge bench of  the Bombay High Court agreed with the definition of ‘disaffection’ as propounded in Jogendra Chunder Bose and opined that any ‘bad feelings’ towards the government is criminal, irrespective of the level of bad feeling. This way, the High Court virtually disallowed all legitimate criticism. It added that there need not be any material consequence at all to qualify the offence of sedition. The court held that in sedition matters, it is the intention of the offender which is of primacy, and could be presumed based on content, audience and circumstances of their seditious speech.

Events that led to considering the need of sedition law

A case under Sections 124 A (sedition) and 153 B (Imputations, assertions prejudicial to national-integration) has been registered against Ms. Sultana, a native of Chetlat island, based on a petition filed by BJP’s Lakshadweep unit president Abdul Khader. The prosecution case is that that on June 7, during a TV channel discussion, she had allegedly stated that the Centre had used ‘bio-weapon’ against the natives of the islands.

Observing that prima facie the offences, including the sedition charge, alleged against Lakshadweep filmmaker Aisha Sultana are not attracted, the Kerala High Court on Friday made absolute the interim anticipatory bail granted to her in a case registered against her by the Kavaratti police for making a remark against the Central government. Justice Ashok Menon, while allowing her anticipatory bail petition, observed that prima facie the petitioner “did not have a malicious motive to subvert the government established by law by merely using the strong word ‘bio-weapon’, to express her vehemence in disapproval of the subject under discussion

What makes JDM cars rare in India?

Japanese domestic market[JDM} refers to Japan’s home market for vehicles. For the importer, these terms refer to vehicles and parts designed to conform to Japanese regulations and to suit Japanese buyers. The term is abbreviated JDM. Japanese domestic market vehicles may differ greatly from the cars that Japanese manufacturers build for export and vehicles derived from the same platforms built in other countries. The Japanese car owner looks more toward innovation than long-term ownership which forces Japanese carmakers to refine new technologies and designs first in domestic vehicles. For instance, the 2003 Honda Inspire featured the first application of Honda’s Variable Cylinder Management.

In 1988, JDM cars were limited by voluntary self-restraints among manufacturers to 280 horsepower (PS) (276 hp) and a top speed of 180 km/h (111.8 mph), limits imposed by the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association (JAMA) for safety. The horsepower limit was lifted in 2004 but the speed limit of 180 km/h (111.8 mph) remains in effect. Many JDM cars have speedometers that register up to 180 km/h (111.8 mph) (certain Nissans go up to 190 km/h, and the GT-R has a mechanism that removes the speed limiter on a track) but all have speed limiters.

 Popular brands include Honda, Subaru, Toyota, Mazda, Suzuki, Lexus, Mitsubishi Motors and Nissan.

IMPORT TAX

There are 3 main ports in India where you can receive your car via ship, 1.Mumbai port, 2.Banglore port, 3.Chennai port. You cannot get to choose where the car is shipped or coming, you will be notified where car is being shipped or coming. After the car come to the port, you have to go to the port pay the “180%” of the import duty. My guesstimate, looking at other Toyota imports, will be somewhere around Rs 85 lakh to 95 lakh, depending on the kit and varient. That is the price of the vehicle, now added to that is the import duty of 180 percent. If taken that the selling price of the car is 90 lakh, import duty on it would be 1.62 crore. The total amount you need to spend is around 2.5 crore. Which discourages the buyer from going for a JDM car because, with the same 2.5 crore he/she can afford to buy luxurious cars without paying any import duty. After al,l this wont matter to a JDM car enthusiast.

After all this process, you must have to go to your respective city RTO with car and register your car to your name. When the registration is done, now you can legally drive your car on Indian roads.

Bad Roads

As we all know, the condition of roads in most places of India is pathetic. On these pathetic roads, a sweet devil such as a Toyota Supra cant be enjoyed. Roads are not often noticed in india, but what are noticed is pot holes, shoulder drop off’s , construction work zones, slick roads cause a major threat to these super costly and beautiful machines.

Loud Exhausts

Aftermarket exhausts in India are illegal unless approved by the RTO. This means that only those aftermarket exhausts that are sold by automakers as an authorized accessory are legal in the country as they are in compliance with the rules mentioned in the Motor Vehicles Act. According to automotive norms, vehicles should adhere to the noise norm of a maximum 80 decibel, but modifications takes the noise level to 100 decibel and above, which is illegal in india

While the stock exhaust emits up to 97.8 decibels, the FI Exhaust with the valves closed goes up to 119 dB. That’s loud enough on its own, but you can also open the valves and the peak noise level rises to about 131 decibels. Which will most certainly be considered illegal.

Zomato IPO opened for subscription

Indian Twitter is abuzz with activity as online food delivery service provider Zomato’s initial public offering (IPO) worth ₹ 9,375 crore opened up for subscription. India’s biggest this year – will be available for subscription till Friday, July 16, 2021. The price band of Zomato IPO is fixed at Rs 72-76 per share of the face value of Rs 1 each and the company aims to raise Rs 9,375 crore through the offer.The IPO comprises a fresh issue of equity shares worth Rs 9,000 crore and an offer for sale (OFS) worth Rs 375 crore by existing investor Info Edge (India), which is the parent company of Naukri.com, according to the information provided in the red herring prospectus.

What is IPO?

An initial public offering (IPO) refers to the process of offering shares of a private corporation to the public in a new stock issuance. Public share issuance allows a company to raise capital from public investors. The transition from a private to a public company can be an important time for private investors to fully realize gains from their investment as it typically includes share premiums for current private investors. Companies must meet requirements by exchanges and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to hold an initial public offering (IPO). An IPO can be seen as an exit strategy for the company’s founders and early investors, realizing the full profit from their private investment.

How does IPO work?

Prior to an IPO, a company is considered private. As a private company, the business has grown with a relatively small number of shareholders including early investors like the founders, family, and friends along with professional investors such as venture capitalists or angel investors.

When a company reaches a stage in its growth process where it believes it is mature enough for the rigors of SEC regulations along with the benefits and responsibilities to public shareholders, it will begin to advertise its interest in going public.

Typically, this stage of growth will occur when a company has reached a private valuation of approximately $1 billion, also known as unicorn status.

Zomato.

Zomato was founded as Foodiebay in 2008, and was renamed Zomato on 18 January 2010 as Zomato Media Pvt. Ltd In 2011, Zomato expanded across India to Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Pune and Kolkata. In 2012, the company expanded operations internationally in several countries, including the United Arab Emirates, Sri Lanka.

With the introduction of “.xxx” domains in 2011, Zomato also launched zomato.xxx, a site dedicated to food porn. In May 2012, it launched a print version of the website named “Citibank Zomato Restaurant Guide,” in collaboration with Citibank, but it has since been discontinued.

  • On 21 January 2020, Zomato acquired its rival Uber Eats’ business in India in an all stock deal, giving Uber Eats 10% of the combined business.
  • On 29 June 2021, Zomato signed a deal with Grofers to invest nearly $120 Million in the online grocery firm by acquiring 9.3% stakes of the company

Breaches in security of users

On 4 June 2015, an Indian security researcher hacked the Zomato website and gained access to information about 62.5 million users. Using the vulnerability, he was able to access the personal data of users such as telephone numbers, email addresses, and Instagram private photos using their Instagram access token. Zomato fixed the issue within 48 hours of it becoming apparent. On 15 October 2015, Zomato changed business strategies from a Full-Stack market to an Enterprise market. This led Zomato to reduce its workforce by 10%, or around 300 people.

Seems like population control measures have set off in India

India has the second highest population in the world and is the most populous democracy in the world. India with land area of 3.287 million kilometre square, needs to realise that its high time to put in population control measures. Well, being a leftist, i need to accept and applaud for the fact that the modi government{Bharatiya janata party} did realise the need of the hour is population control. The BJP in Uttar pradesh headed by the honourable chief minister, Yogi Adityanath has launched the “Uttar Pradesh population policy 2021-2030”. The Chief minister also claims that this policy was put forward keeping in mind all the sections of the society in mind. The CM claims to have put forward this policy because according to his conscience, rising population is the root of major problems, to which i agree.

Key aspects

The Uttar prades population policy 2021-2030 defeaningly aims to reduce maternal deaths and infant deaths, the policy aims to ;

– Decrease the fertility rate of women in Uttar pradesh from 2.7 to 2.1 by the year 2026 and to 1.7 by the year 2030.

*Fertility Rate – The total fertility rate (TFR), sometimes also called the fertility rate,  of a population is the average number of children that would be born to a woman over her lifetime*

– Increase in modern contraceptive prevalence rate, from the present 31.7 percent to 45 percent by the year 2026 and to 52 percent by the year 2030.

*Modern Contraceptive Prevalence Rate – The percentage of women aged 15–49 years, married or in-union, who are currently using, or whose sexual partner is using, at least one modern method of contraception. Modern methods of contraception include: oral contraceptive pills, implants, injectables, contraceptive patch and vaginal ring, intrauterine device (IDU), female and male condoms, female and male sterilization, vaginal barrier methods (including the diaphragm, cervical cap and spermicidal agents)*

– Increase in male methods of contraception use from the present 10.8 percentafe to 15.1 percent by the year 2026.

*Male of methods of contraception use include use of condoms, getting vasectomy surgery done, etc*

– Decrease the maternal mortality rate from the present 197 to 150 by the year 2026 and to 98 by 2030. The maternal morality rate is calculated per 100000 live births.

*The maternal mortality ratio (MMR) is defined as the number of maternal deaths during a given time period per 100,000 live births during the same time period.*

– Decrease infant mortality rate from the present 43 to 32 by the year 2026 and further to 22 by the year 2030. It is calculated for every 1000 births.

*Infant mortality rate (IMR) is the number of deaths per 1,000 live births of children under one year of age*

– Decrease under 5 mortality rate from the present and worrisome 47 to 35 by the year 2026 and further decrease it to 25 by the year 2030

*The probability of a child born in a specific year or period dying before reaching the age of five, if subject to age-specific mortality rates of that period*

Further measures

There has been information that similar bills related to population control will be pushed in the parliament in the forthcoming monsoon session of the parliament.

BJP MPs like Rakesh Sinha and Anil Aggarwal are among those who have put in notice to table Bills related to population control.One of them could be taken up in the Rajya Sabha on August 6, say sources.

Jordan’s are a must for a sneaker head

Air Jordan is an American brand of basketball shoes, athletic, casual, and style clothing produced by Nike. It was Founded in Chicago, the Air Jordan was created for Hall of Fame basketball player and six-time NBA Finals MVP Michael Jordan during his time with the Chicago Bulls. The original Air Jordan sneakers were produced exclusively for Michael Jordan in late 1984. The Air jordan sneakers were made available to public on April 1st 1985. The shoes were designed for Nike by Peter Moore, Tinker Hatfield, and Bruce Kilgore.

History

Coming from North Carolina university, Michael Jordan was an 3rd overall pick in the first round of the NBA draft of 1984. He was drafted by the Chicago Bulls. At the time Michael jordan entered the NBA and before the basketball sneaker game was boring. The players were allowed to wear only sneakers of “white” colour. The shoe was given a small astheitc touch such as a logo, extra tread or support. In 1972, the world witnessed the introduction of Nike blazer, a basketball shoe made for the portland trial blazers. These sneakers were made famous by George the iceman Gervin. The Nike blazer was advanced both in branding and also in technology.

In 1984, a young basketball prodigy entered the NBA, with the performance of Michael Jordan in his rookie year it was understood that he had a great future ahead of him. Nike noticed his talent and prospect and took a unique risk and decided to sign a deal with Michael Jordan to produce his own line of basketball shoes. Micheal jordan always had worn “ADIDAS” till that point of time, but then he got carried away with NIKE executives and their desire to sign a contract with him. The original Air Jordan 1’s were exclusively produced for Micheal Jordan in 1984, the first jordan’s had a different colour-way in contrast to the shoes that existed before the introduction of Jordan’s. The shoes were in flamboyant colour’s of black and red, the original shoes were banned by the NBA because the shoes were full coloured. The NBA felt that the “white shoes” convention was being violated.

When these shoes were made available to the public for sale, they instantly sold out, 50,000 pairs were instantly sold out. It was a game changer for NIKE and also a game changer in the field of sneakers, NIKE made 150 million out of sales with the release of that shoe.

Why they need a place in your sneaker collection?

The ostentatious history of these shoes makes it a must on your sneaker collection. The brand brings pride in your sneaker game, no matter what you buy, once you have jordan’s on your feet they gonna dominate all the other shoes in your collection. The sneakers available in the jordan line are multifarious. They indeed produce the most comfortable and the most eye catching sneakers.

Cost factor – all the sneakers of jordan, they are pretty costly.A question arises, whether these shoes are worth the money? well, To summarize: yes — Jordans are definitely worth it. Even the handful of more mass-produced pairs offer up similar leathers; and if you pick up a Triple White Jordan 1 Mid or a Bred Jordan Zoom 92, then you’ll be able to secure an everyday pair you can easily wear for a solid amount of time.

Body Hair and Insecurity

For many of us, atleast for me, body hair is an insecurity. Lacking confidence, diffidence when your body hair is exposed is common. It’s believed that cavewomen & cavemen where the first to remove body hair, but they shaved for safety reasons, not vanity. They shaved their heads & faces so their opponents wouldn’t grab onto it in battle. Guess Anil Kapoor was trying to be a caveman all these years.

What is body hair?

Body hair, or androgenic hair, is the terminal hair that develops on the human body during and after puberty. It is differentiated from the head hair and less visible vellus hair, which is much finer and lighter in color. The growth of androgenic hair is related to the level of androgens (often referred to as male hormones) and the density of androgen receptors in the dermal papillae. Both must reach a threshold for the proliferation of hair follicle cells.

From the beginning, from our childhood itself these vellas hair cover the human body regardless of the sex. Exceptions are granted to certain parts of the body where vellas hair is not present; lips, the backs of the ears; the palms of hands; the soles of the feet; certain external genital areas; the navel; and scar tissue.

Why is it considered a insecurity

Markus J. Rantala of the Department of Biological and Environmental Science, University of Jyväskylä, Finland, said humans evolved by “natural selection” to be hairless when the trade off of “having fewer parasites” became more important than having a “warming, furry coat.

The evolution of humanity led to the creation of insecurity called “body hair”. Body hair is supposed to keep us warm and is a very good thermal conductor and aids heat transfer both in and out of the body. The cavemen and cave women started shaving their body hair despite their loss of warmth, to protect themselves at times of battles.

In the 21st century indeed, body hair remains much more than an indication we’re mammals; it’s loaded with meaning. We equate body hair with power and masculinity, and many are intimidated when women showcase those traits, explains Merran Toerien, Ph.D., professor of sociology at the University of York in England. This ideology has indeed made body hair, the very same hair that you get during puberty, they very same hair that has been on your body since your existence an insecurity. Women are criticised for showing off their body hair, because the world “thinks” and “believes” that it is a sign of “musculinity”. What is forgotten here is that body hair is NATURAL, that means it is not a choice.

Reforms

Since the obscenity of body hair came into existence with evolution, the removal of obscenity is also taking place with evolution. Many body hair activists like; Harman Kaur, Morgan Mikenas, Angelo tesso have put in their inputs to normalise body hair. These strong standing women are a pride,and an inspiration to many. The body hair scene is being normalised.

more #bodyhair pics have probably popped up in your Instagram feed lately. Sift through the hashtag and among guys showing off Hasselhoff-ian chests, you’ll see women proudly displaying their leg, pit, and arm fuzz. Related hashtags #dyedpits, #bodyhairdontcare, and #girlswithhairyarms boldly caption thousands upon thousands of hair-proud posts.

It is now being understood by men and women that, the concept of body hair being obscene is a mere speculation and a “opinion” of someone. It is being understood that opinions of other’s should’nt change the way you embrace yourself.

How caffeine boosts your workout

Studies have shown that Caffeine benefit endurance performance, high-intensity exercise and power sports. There have been enumerable researches on the effectivness and safety of caffeine. It is the most studied supplement out there. Caffeine has health benefits, but the performance benefits are discussed in this article.

4 reasons why caffeine makes workouts better

1 – MORE ENERGY – the first reason why caffeine makes your workouts better is, it increases your energy levels. Here, energy means alertness. The way caffeine works in your brain is as a central nervous stimulator, it blocks certain receptors to increase the levels of adernaline, dopamine, epinephrine. The increased levels of epinephrine, dopamine and adernaline give you the drive and a little bit of euphoria. The “drive” that you get makes a large difference between a good workout and a bad workout.

2. MORE STRENGTH – the second reason why caffeine makes your workouts better is, it increases your muscle strength. The research on caffeine shows that “one dose” of caffeine before workout can have an effect on your strength and increase your strength immediately. One dose implies a high enough amount of caffeine, i.e 300mg or more. The main way it does this is by stimulating the nervous system. The nerves which activate muscle fibres, with the intake of caffeine now activate those muscle fibre’s with even more force . More force on muscle fibre’s equals more strength.

3. MORE ENDURANCE – the third reason why caffeine makes your workouts better is, it increases your endurance during workouts. There are several ways through which caffeine increases your endurance. The first way is, by increasing fat burning levels during workouts. This means that when you train with caffeine, you burn more fat.That spears muscle glycogen which means you have more energy later on in the workout, when you need it. Another way by which caffeine increases your endurance is by boosting nitric oxide levels. Research actually shows that caffeine can enhance vessel dilation. It makes your blood vessel’s wider, which ensures in greater blood flowing through muscles. More blood flowing through muscles delivers more oxygen and more nutrients, which indeed increase endurance during workouts

4. LESS MUSCLE PAIN – the fourth and final reason why caffeine makes your workouts better is, it decreases muscle pain during workout. Research actually shows that caffeine works better than ibuprofen for blunting your muscle pain during workouts. With less muscle pain, you can go off limits with your workout and hit those extra reps which wouldn’t be possible without caffeine. More reps equals better results.

Performance benefits research

In a research conducted by National Library of Medicine with the purpose of studying the duration of caffeine’s ergogenic effect and whether it differs between users and non users of the drug, where Twenty-one subjects (13 caffeine users and 8 nonusers) completed six randomized exercise rides to exhaustion at 80% of maximal oxygen consumption after ingesting either a placebo or 5 mg/kg of caffeine. Exercise to exhaustion was completed once per week at either 1, 3, or 6 hours after placebo or drug ingestion. 

 Exercise time to exhaustion differed between users and nonusers with the ergogenic effect being greater and lasting longer in nonusers.

In conclusion, both the duration and magnitude of the ergogenic effect that followed a 5 mg/kg dose of caffeine were greater in the nonusers compared with the users.

*ibuprofen – Ibuprofen is a medication in the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug class that is used for treating pain, fever, and inflammation*

Why the UP unlawful-conversion law should be struck down.

The Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Ordinance, 2020 was promulgated on November 27, 2020.  The Ordinance specifies the procedure for undergoing religious conversion and prohibits unlawful religious conversion. The prison term for unlawfull conversion is 1 to 5 years with a minimun fine of Rs.15,000.

Causes

 The Ordinance prohibits conversion of religion through: (i) force, misrepresentation, undue influence, and allurement, or (ii) fraud, or (iii) marriage.  It also prohibits a person from abetting, convincing, and conspiring to such conversions.

The ordinance prohibits the conversion of religion through marriage by “assuming” that the person is converted forcefully thorugh marriage. It oversees the free will of the individual to change his/her’s religion. The article 25 of the Constitution Of India, guarantees the freedom to practise any religion in accordance with their conscience.

Drawbacks

According to the ordinance, a complaint or an FIR can be filed by the following persons if they feel that the religious conversion is unlawful ;  (i) any aggrieved person, (ii) his/her parents or siblings, or (iii) any other person related to them by blood, marriage, or adoption.

According to the statute is/ her famiily memebers can file an FIR against the persons involved in the conversion, which is quite ironic. In the conservative society of India, most parents or family members are slaves of religiomania, they cant resist the fact that their kins are converting their religion. Because of the religiomania, family memebrs or parents will take any step to stop the conversion; including filing an FIR against the conversion, just because they feel it is wrong. This provision clearly violates article 25 of the constitution, as the person is deprevied of the right to practise and profess their desired religion.

The statute also mentions that, the FIR can be filed by “any aggrieved person” which poses greater threat to the person converting as any person from an extremist group can file an FIR against the conversion and halt the conversion. Religious Extremists groups are often offended when a person of their religion decides to convert to other forgetting the persons right’s to convert according to his free and with full conscience as guaranteed by the constitution.

The ordinance declares a marriage void if it was done for the sole purpose of unlawful conversion or “vice versa”.The term “vice versa” is to be seen with utmost importance as that word declares a marriage void just because unlawful conversion was practised is order to get married. The ordinance also declares a marriage void if the procedure mentioned in the statute is not followed to get married. The procedure involves a waiting period too long for the couple to wait, who might be targeted by their family members, extremist groups and any aggrieved person.

Deemed to be unconstitutional

Numerous experts have described the law as unconstitutional including former Law Commission chairman Justice A.P Shah & former Supreme Court judge Madan Lokur. 104 former bureaucrats have written an open letter to Cheif Minister Yogi Adityanath asking him to repeal the law on the grounds that the law  denying the right to freedom of religion and restricting women’s rights to choose their partner.

A ray of hope for same sex couples

The division bench of Delhi High court consisting of Cheif justice DN Patel and Justice Jyoti singh issued notice on recognising same sex marriages,marriages of queer people under Foreign Marriage act,1969 and Special Marriage act,1954.

The notice was issued to Ministry of Home Affairs, Consulate General of India, New york, Ministry of External affairs and posted the matter on 27th august.

Facts of the case, i.e “Joydeep Sengupta and others VS Ministry of home affairs”

A plea was filed by a same sex couple, Mr. Joydeep Sengupta and Mr. Russell Blaine Stephens in the Delhi High court to make the special marriage act, 1954 and the foreign marriage act,1969 applicable to all couples seeking to get married regardless of their gender and sexual orientation.

Mr. Joydeep Sengupta is an Oversees Citizen of India[OCI] and Mr. Russell Blaine Stephens is an U.S citizen. Mr. Sungupta is an Canadian citizen now and since 2011. The couple got married legally in New york on 6th august 2012, and are recognised legally as a couple in France, Canada, US.

The couple said that they were preparing to be parents and expecting their first child in july 2021. The petition sought a direction from the court refraining the Consulate General of India, New York from declaring the spouse of an OCI [Mr. Stephens] ineligible for becoming an OCI on the mere grounds of their sexual orientation.

Past actions of the centre

The centre in many instances had showed its opposition in recognising same sex marriages legal by making changes to existing marriage laws. It said that making changes would create a havoc in balance of personal laws of the country.

The Centre argued that the idea of same sex marriages was different from the idea of an ideal Indian family consisting of a man, woman, and children. It said “Living together as partners and having sexual relationship by same-sex individuals is not comparable with the Indian family unit concept of a husband, a wife and children which necessarily presuppose a biological man as a ‘husband’, a biological woman as a ‘wife’ and the children born out of the union between the two”.

The Centre said that the declaration of decriminalising homosexuality and striking down section 377 of the IPC by the Supreme Court had made only a limited declaration to decriminalise human behaviour which was illegal under section 377, and that declaration could not be used to argue to legalise same sex marriages.

Case proceedings

The case was listed on 27th august with similar please. This is the 4th plea which was filed to legalise same sex marriages.

LGBT rights In India

The Indian society has always considered and still consider homosexuality or non hetrosexuality as unnatural.

In 2018, the landmark decision of “Navtej singh Johar VS Union of India”, the Supreme Court of India decriminalised consensual homosexual intercourse by striking down section 377 of the IPC.

Despite the landmark judgement, homophobia is present in abundance in the Indian population. The judgement just just changed the legal status of homosexuality, but what needs to change is the idealogy of the society.

Spreading awareness

The only way to change and repeal idealogies is to spread awareness. Every year, in JUNE, pride month is celebrated to see how far the LGBT community has come. During this period, many pride events are held to recognize the impact LGBT people have had on the world

You can’t buy happiness but you can buy a bikini and thats pretty close

July 5th,every year is considered the National Bikini Day in India. It is considered so because of the invention of the smallest swim suit by “Louis Réard“, a french automobile engineer and clothing designer. Louis Réard took over his mother’s Lingerie business in 1940 and became a clothing designer.

The idea of Bikini

The idea of a bikini struck Louis Réard’s mind when he noticed women rolling up the edges of their swimsuit to get a better tan. He decided to create a swim suit with their midriff exposed.In 1946, he went on to produce a swim suit of his own and called it a “string bikini” consisting of four triangles.

Marketing strategies

The marketing strategies of bikini’s has been the same with little innovation. Ever since Bikini was introduced in the market, the advertising tactic has been the same, i.e the bikini is put on by a supermodel with a super figure to attract customers. The advertisements create a sense of “want it” in women when they look at the picture of the model wearing a bikini.

Bikini advertisements and their effects

Many women have and still feel insecure about their body and shape when in the beach wearing a bikini. The advertisements have created the impression of a so called “perfect body”, which many women desire to have. The idea of “perfect body” has created a sense of hate in women against their own bodies. Many women get attracted seeing the advertisements, but get disappointed when looking at the mirror whilst wearing the same bikini in the advertisement. There is a need to spread awareness about body positivity in the society, this will definitely lacerate the idea of a “perfect body” and incorporate women with confidence on their own bodies.

Reforms in the advertisement industry

There have been noticible reforms in advertisement strategies in recent times, many brands now choose to showcase their bikini’s by putting them not on supermodels with super figure’s but with models who have a body of an average women. This way, many women can relate to the advertisement and show intrest in buying the product. This startegy has worked out good so far for companies like ; H and M,victorias secret many other.

Types of Bikini

With the changing times, many types of bikini’s were created and some of them are listed below;

  • Bandeaukini/Strapless bikini
  • Multi-String bikini
  • String bikini.
  • Microkini.
  • Tankini.
  • High Neck bikini.
  • Trikini.
  • Sling bikini
  • Flounce bikini
  • high waisted bikini
  • Fringe bikini

Your bikini, your body and your happiness

There are hundred different ways to show off your bikini, but it will look good only if you feel good. Being positive about your body is the biggest flex. It is said that “you cant buy happiness but you can buy a bikini, and thats pretty close” and it is said absolutely right, your body shape should not be an obstacle in midst of experiencing the joy of wearing a bikini and enjoying the sunset at a beach. Body positivity activists like Morgan Bartley and Sarah Sapora have brought back the renouncing confidence in women and showed that the “perfect body” is a mere speculation.