Never mind the mystery behind The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, things just got a whole lot weirder today when Google shared with the world a picture of a police officer, seemingly in California, pulling over one of its self-driving cars— for going too slow.
Now, I’m surprised that at just about this point in the picture the officer’s head didn’t implode. (OK, OK, there was probably a human in there somewhere.)
“Driving too slowly? Bet humans don’t get pulled over for that too often,” Google wrote it a posting on its self-driving car Google+ page. “We’ve capped the speed of our prototype vehicles at 25mph for safety reasons. We want them to feel friendly and approachable, rather than zooming scarily through neighborhood streets.”
“Like this officer, people sometimes flag us down when they want to know more about our project. After 1.2 million miles of autonomous driving (that’s the human equivalent of 90 years of driving experience), we’re proud to say we’ve never been ticketed!”
It’s also another fascinating example of how technology is racing ahead of regulations. Yes, Google’s cars are road-legal (at least along the roads they drive), but in general the laws around self-driving cars have a long way to go.
As Re/code points out, the California Department of Motor Vehicles still doesn’t have a law in place for what happens when a self-driving car is pulled over and all the seats are empty inside. Presumably, there was someone sitting in the front seat of Google’s car, though the picture doesn’t reveal that person.
One thing that came to my mind when I saw the picture was how the cars know to pull over when a police car hails them — assuming there’s no driver. Clearly that will have to be programmed in, if laws are eventually passed to allow vehicles on the road without a human inside.
It would be interesting to know if Google’s self-driving cars can already respond to police sirens, lights, or other requests that it pull over. “I’m pretty sure the car can understand that cops and fire engines behave differently than regular cars, I’m just not sure if they’re capable of pulling over for them just yet,” Christopher Espejo commented on the Google+ posting.
But in a tongue-in-cheek comment that highlights just how absurd (and cool) this tech-driven world of ours is becoming, Ken Hiroshi Clark wrote, “The cop is actually a robot, created by Google. Photo taken by a drone, Google’s, as well.”
Before long, that seems all too likely to come true.
From cremating unclaimed cadavers found floating in the Ganges to helping activate dysfunctional sewage treatment plants along its course, Vikas Chandra a.k.a. Guddu Baba has dedicated himself to to cleaning up the holy river. This is his awe-inspiring story.
“Millions of people revere her as Ganga Maa (Mother Ganga), we need to make her sacred again,” he stressed.
Chandra’s mission began in 1998. “A middle-aged man was bathing in the sewage-filled waters of river Ganga in Patna, when Chandra, an environmental activist, chanced upon him. “He told me that he was there to perform his wife’s last rites. But he did not have the money for a boat ride to the main stream of the river, which was cleaner,” Chandra recalled.
The incident shocked Chandra and built up his resolve to fight for a cleaner Ganga.
“I lost my mother when I was just four. Since then, I have considered the earth as my mother and I have been a dutiful son of Ganga Maa too. I could not bear to see the river in such a filthy and unholy state and hence decided to dedicate my life to cleaning up the holy river, ” said Chandra.
His crusade for a cleaner Ganga started with the Ganga Bachao Andolan in 2000. The aim was to draw the attention of the authorities towards the appalling condition of the holy river — the sewage, the filth, the floating dead bodies on the river banks.
Vikas Chandra started his mission to save Ganga in 1998.
Photo: Facebook
He went on a 48-hour fast in Patna. Later, he organised various campaigns and rallies in order to drum up public support for his cause. His efforts were not in vain and he went on to file his first Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the Patna High Court in July 2000, holding the State and the Centre (and other departments) responsible for the horrifying condition of the river.
His efforts took a more aggressive turn when he found hundreds of dead bodies lying on the banks of the river near the Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH).
“The sight was disgusting. The bodies emitted a foul smell, some had even been ravaged by dogs and other scavengers. I wrote to the state government to arrange for the respectful cremation of those dead bodies as I believe everybody deserves that much,” he said.
Vikas is also requesting the government to not leave sewage drains in the river.
PMCH denied dumping the bodies in the river and and claimed that the dead bodies were flowing from Danapur (a place that lay upstream) “However, the dead bodies showed clear marks of post mortem having been performed on them. So we continued our fight for a proper cremation for those unclaimed dead bodies,” recalls Chandra.
He clicked pictures of three bodies and organised a human chain of about 100 people who in turn, carried those photographs across the streets of Patna asking the government to cremate the dead respectfully.
His efforts paid off when the High Court finally took notice of the issue after a long fight and passed an order in March 2001 that the unclaimed bodies were the responsibility of the state government. PMCH decided to pay Rs. 300 for the cremation ceremony of each dead body and increased the amount to Rs. 1,000 in 2007.
Later, Rogi Kalyan Samiti, a state-administered organisation, also decided to provide money for the cremation of unclaimed bodies.
So far, Chandra has filed over 38 PILs in the High Court and other courts in connection with this issue. Today, he claims that there are no dead bodies found in the holy river in Patna. –
Chandra organizes rallies and awareness campaigns to save the holy river.
He also focused attention on the dumping of medical waste into the river. Now, an incinerator has been installed for the treatment of waste near PMCH.
That is not all. Chandra has also played a pivotal role in reviving three dysfunctional sewage treatment plants set up in 1986 under the Late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s Ganga Action plan. Today, the STPs at Beur, Saidpur and Pahari are functional again, thanks to Chandra.
“These three plants treat 105 mld sewage water every day. Since these plants are very old, their capacity has decreased over time, but it is still better than having them lying dysfunctional,” pointed out Chandra.
Today, he is not alone in his cause. There is an army of equally dedicated volunteers who work with him on a regular basis to keep the holy river clean.
He has a dedicated team of volunteers who support his cause whole-heartedly.
Photo: Facebook
Together, they ensure that people do not defecate near the river. These volunteers also pick up plastic and other waste from the river banks and support Chandra in all his endeavours.
The activist admits his journey has often, been a challenging one. “I have received several threats and been pressured to stop, but I am determined to make a difference and nothing can stop me from doing that,” he stressed. Chandra, in fact, has been so committed to his cause that he only got married this year in July, at the age of 52. But he continues to give his all to this mission.
He once received a prize money of Rs. 5 lakhs from a renowned media group in 2009. The entire prize amount was used to scale up his project.
Vikas performs last rites of the unclaimed dead bodies found in the river.
Photo: YouTube
Chandra, who hails from Allahabad, is a double post graduate in public administration and political science. He has also worked as a priest. “I haven’t received any other help, monetary or otherwise. I put in whatever I earn as a teacher and priest. Lack of funds has never come as an impediment to my work. I am strictly against the NGO culture and do not believe in charity. This is purely voluntary work and I don’t ask for donations,” he said.
His supporters help him pay for the court fees and other basic costs attached to his mission.
Today, the Ganga is slowly but surely regaining the status of a clean river. But Chandra is not willing to rest. He still has miles to go with his mission, he added.
The ad for plastic surgery featured Heidi Yeh with three children whose images were altered
A Taiwanese model who featured in an advert for plastic surgery is threatening to sue the clinic and advertising agency, after the ad became a popular internet meme. She told the BBC’s Cindy Sui in Taipei how she believes losing control of her own image ruined her life.
“I’ve broken down many times crying and I haven’t been able to sleep,” says Heidi Yeh, as she struggles to fight back tears.
“The biggest loss for me is I don’t want to be a model anymore.
“Just because I’m a model, people can hurt me like this and I can’t fight back. I just want to hide.”
‘You can’t hide it forever’
Her “nightmare” began in 2012 with a photo shoot for an advertisement aimed at convincing people to get plastic surgery at a Taiwanese cosmetic clinic. The photo showed very attractive “parents” with sought-after big eyes and long, well-defined noses, and their three “children”, their images altered to make their eyes look exceptionally small and their noses flat.
The caption read: “The only thing you’ll ever have to worry about is how to explain it to the kids.”
Ms Yeh says her contract, signed by her agency and the Taipei office of US-based international advertising agency J Walter Thompson (JWT), stated the ad would be used in newspapers and magazines, by that clinic only.
But JWT later allowed another plastic surgery clinic, Simple Beauty, to use it on its website; it also put the image on JWT’s Facebook page.
Before long, the photo made its way across the internet, with a new caption: “Plastic surgery – you can’t hide it forever.”
‘People thought it was real’
Then in 2012, a Chinese tabloid attached it to a fake story – which first emerged in 2004 – about a husband from Heilongjiang who sued his wife when he found out she had plastic surgery before they met, because their children grew up to look nothing like her.
“When I first heard about this from a friend, I thought it was just a one-off rumour,” said Ms Yeh.
“Then I realised the whole world was spreading it and in different languages. People actually thought it was real. Even my then-boyfriend’s friends would ask about it.”
The picture and accompanying stories came up on Google in several languages, including Arabic, English and Japanese, and have become a global meme.
Ms Yeh, who has shot TV commercials and ads for major companies such as fast-food chain KFC, computer maker Vaio and a Japanese facial products brand, began to get less work.
“People refused to believe that I had never had plastic surgery. Clients would ask me if I was the woman in the picture. After this, I only got small roles in advertisements.”
It also, she says, affected her personal life. She suspects her then-boyfriend broke up with her partly because he was embarrassed by the rumours. She says relatives and her current fiance’s family have also asked about them. Strangers would spot her in public and gossip about her, she adds.
‘No-one controls the internet’
Ms Yeh estimates she has lost $4m new Taiwan dollars (£80,000; $123,000) in potential earnings. She is threatening to sue JWT and the cosmetic clinic for NT$5m. She says her goal is not the money, but to clarify that none of the stories are true, and to get the companies to own up to their role in how her image was used.
Ms Yeh said she had tried many times, through her modelling agency or on her own, to get the clinic and advertising agency to remove the image from their online sites, but they didn’t until shortly before she, with the help of a Taipei city councillor, held a press conference this month where she made her threat to sue.
In a statement to the BBC, JWT said its campaign “was created to promote plastic surgery services in a humorous manner”, adding that it owns the copyright to the photo, and so has rights to edit, modify and use it.
But Ms Yeh’s lawyer, Chang Yu-chi, disagrees: “We gave you the copyright and the right to edit it, but we didn’t give you the right to let another company use it, and to use it online.”
Asked whether JWT tries to ensure its advertisements are not misused, the agency says: “As we all know, no-one controls the internet… We can’t anticipate what degree of an impact it will have, how people will view it, and what they will do with it.”
The clinic says it followed proper procedures to obtain the rights to use the image.
Both companies are threatening to sue Ms Yeh in turn for damaging their images and have demanded she hold another press conference to apologise. Some people, meanwhile, have suggested online that she’s seeking fame to re-launch her career.
But Ms Yeh says she is a victim of cyber-bullying, and that she decided to speak out to give herself courage.
As for the children, Ms Yeh and the little girl’s mother both said their images were edited to make them look less attractive. The mother told reporters her daughter was disappointed with how she looked in the photo.
Ms Yeh says she hopes the image stops appearing. “I can’t bear to look at it… The children may not use social media now, but it will hurt them when they grow up.”
Malav Sanghavi, an Indian student studying in London has developed the prototype of a low cost baby incubator that has the potential to save many lives across the world.
It is a cardboard incubator called BabyLifeBox. Malav is studying for his innovation Design Engineering (IDE) Master’s dual degree course at Imperial College London and Royal College of Art.
A graduate from the National Institute of Design (NID), Ahmedabad, he participated in a start-up competition held at St James’ Palace in London and won the 3rd prize for his innovation.
The incubator can be used in developing countries like India which lack adequate grassroots-level infrastructure for neonatal care of premature and underweight infants. It provides basic functions necessary for child’s survival in their first days of life.
The bottom part of the incubator can be given to the parent of the child after birth as a make-shift cot.
Malav showed his BabyLifebox invention to the Duke of York during the Pitch@Palace Bootcamp –
According to reports, more than 300,000 babies die within 24 hours of their birth every year in India. And the cause of these deaths are preventable like complications during birth, prematurity and infections. More than half of all Indian women give birth without the help of skilled health care professionals, thereby leading to complications.
Malav came up with this idea a few years ago after his cousin’s daughter had to be kept alive in an incubator. While she had all the facilities available in a modern Indian city, Malav thought about all those infants who fail to get immediate care in remote villages of India. As of now, he is looking for initial seed funding to expand his team and bring more experts on board, develop minimal viable prototypes and start clinical trials.
He put his idea out at the Pitch@Palace event hosted by Queen Elizabeth II’s younger son, Prince Andrew – the Duke of York. Pitch@Palace supports UK entrepreneurs by connecting them with potential investors. There were about 200 entries this year at the fourth Pitch@Palace event. The theme was Internet of Things and Smart Cities. All start-ups, whose products are aimed at creating a smarter world and empowering people, could participate.
“According to our initial research, we found that India’s healthcare service has facilities to deal with a standard birth at sub-centres, primary health centres and community health centres but it lacks infrastructure for neonatal care of premature and underweight infants,” Malav told PTI.
There are very few things you can do with all that candy you got on Halloween but don’t actually like. You know, those subpar candy necklaces and 3 Musketeers…I mean, we’re all in for the Twix and Reese’s, am I right? Sure, you can videotape yourself telling your kids you ate all their candy, or you can just power through and eat it, but typically you wouldn’t think to make a whimsical dreamland out of it…that is, unless you’re this guy.
A photographer by trade, this dad decided to take some of his kid’s Halloween candy and create a cool landscape with it.
We weren’t done applauding the remarkable decision taken by West Bengal government that directed Kolkata police to include Hijras in the Civic Police Volunteer Force (CPVC), and now comes another good news that says India is set to get its first transgender sub-inspector of Police.
The news comes from Tamil Nadu, a state hailed for forming the first transgenders welfare board, which is said to be the first not only in India but probably in the world.
Following a historic decision made by Madras High Court, K. Prithika Yashini is soon to become India’s first transgender sub-inspector of Police.
Madras High Court directed the Tamil Nadu Uniformed Services Recruitment Board (TMUSRB) to appoint K. Prithika Yashini as a sub-inspector, as she is deemed perfectly entitled for the job.
Prithika was born and brought up as Pradeep Kumar. But her journey, unsurprisingly, wasn’t easy. She had to fight a long legal fight to get things going her way.
In the first go, her application was rejected due to the absence of ‘third gender category’ in the state police recruitment board.
Image Source: Facebook
She moved the High Court. As a consequence of this, she was allowed to appear for written, physical and endurance test, and also viva-voce. While she cleared all her rounds perfectly, in a 100-metre dash, she missed out by 1 second. But, she was testified to be an SI.
According to The Hindu, Chief Justice S.K. Kaul and Justice Pushpa Sathyanarayana of the First Bench made the board realize their failure at not adding the ‘third gender category’ despite the Supreme Court’s direction.
Excited by things turning out in her favour, Prithika who also hopes to become India’s first transgender IPS Officer told NDTV, “I’m excited. It’s a new beginning for the entire transgender community,”
India has seen some significant feats this year in relevance to recognizing the talent sidelining other factors. Manabi Bandyopadhyay (India’s first transgender college principal) and Akkai Padmashali (First transgender recipient of Rajyotsava award) are a couple of notable examples.
Let’s hope more path-breaking decisions like these that give importance to talent over prejudices, are taken often. Let’s hope, people who don’t easily get socially accepted because of their choices that don’t exactly conform to social norms, get to live their dreams.
After all, it is dreams, aspirations and goals we are talking about- things that don’t have any genders or castes or religions.
Visit Sai Bakery in Thiruvanmiyur, Chennai, and you will find more than just the wonderful aroma of freshly baked goods wafting out of it. You’ll sense the pride with which it is run and the confidence and self-esteem it provides to many of its employees who are adults with special needs.
Pista muffins, mango blondies, cheese wraps, and wheat bread are just some of the mouth-watering treats being produced at this neighbourhood initiative that gives adults with special needs an opportunity to harness their skills, socialise with each other and the community at large, and feel like they are productive members of society.
When we talk about people with special needs, there are many organizations that provide early intervention and cater to the needs of learning-disabled children. But what happens after these children are grown adults?
This is where Sai Bakery comes into the picture. It is not just a regular bakery but it’s a place where adults with learning disabilities can come, work, learn, and spend a respectable and productive day.
Sai Bakery employs adults with developmental disabilities (cerebal palsy, mental retardation, autism and multiple disabilities). Each special person’s skills are assessed and the jobs distributed accordingly. Training is provided in the areas of baking and packaging and marketing.
“As a child with special needs grows, his or her family too is growing old. The parents have less stamina to take care of the growing child/adult. There are very few organisations that are working with adults with special needs,” says Sumithra Prasad, founder of Sai Bakery.
The idea about starting a bakery came from Sumithra’s son Srinivasan who has Asperger’s syndrome. After he finished Class 12, he just went to Sumithra and said, “I want to bake. I want to start a bakery. I will get my friends and we’ll do it together.”
Sumithra welcomed her son’s idea and enthusiasm to do something. She helped him get some training to learn the basics of running a bakery. And, in September 2013, Sai Bakery opened its doors.
Sai Bakery, which works with the support of the DORAI (Development Opportunities Resources Access Insight) Foundation, not only engages adults in baking but also provides them access to various activities like music, yoga, terrace gardening, etc. The products from the bakery are also delivered to corporate events in bulk.
“We are not a regular bakery. We make products when we get orders and deliver them fresh. Our aim is not to earn profits but to empower and give a sense of respect and individuality to these adults who have been often ignored even by their own families,” says Sumithra.
Sumithra has personally witnessed the impact on some of the lives of these adults with special needs working at the bakery.
Earlier, Shameena would not even go to the toilet alone; she was always accompanied by her mother. Today, she travels all by herself from her house to the bakery everyday, an incredible and positive achievement. She has taken over the packing of pastries in their boxes.
Once a shy boy, Anand would barely speak to anyone. But today, he sings and dances with his friends from the bakery. Similarly, there is Srinivasan who has become good at mixing and blending the dough.
Though a monthly stipend is given to these adults for coming to the bakery, it is the emotional and psychological support they get that matters.
“Many times, even families don’t take these adults seriously. Someone once said about their disabled daughter, ‘What will happen even if we teach her? She is not going to work anyway.’ This attitude needs to be changed. Respect and individuality are very important,” says Sumithra.
Sumithra adds that the attitude of parents towards their own children with disabilities has been the biggest challenge she has had to overcome. Sometimes, the families are not even ready to pay for the transport of their children, even though all the other facilities at Sai Bakery are free.
But thanks to Sumithra’s determination, she has been able to create ripples of change in the lives of many such adults. She has also inspired four to five similar bakery initiatives in different parts of the country.
In the future, Sumithra wants to reach out to more people who are willing to start similar initiatives and enable more people with learning disabilities to become empowered. Even if there are three people with disabilities who need help, she says, Sai Bakery will help them set up the entire system.
Here is a heart-touching video on the unique bakery produced by The Better India Talkies:
To order tasty treats from the bakery or to know more about their work, contact Sumithra Prasad at – doraifoundation@gmail.com and check out their Facebook page.
சென்னையில் அடையாளம் தெரியாத ஒருவர், தண்ணீரால் சூழப்பட்ட பேருந்தில் இருந்த வயதான பெண்மணியை தூக்கிச் சென்று மீட்ட காணொலி காட்சி, ஃபேஸ்புக் உள்ளிட்ட சமூக வலைதளங்களில் நெட்டிசன்களால் நெகிழ்ச்சியுடன் பகிரப்பட்டு வேகமாக பரவி வருகிறது. | வீடியோ இணைப்பு கீழே |
சென்னையில் ஞாயிற்றுக்கிழமை பெய்த கனமழையில் நங்கநல்லூர், தில்லை கங்கா நகர் பாலத்துக்கு அடியில் தண்ணீர் நிரம்பி வழிந்தது. ஆனால், ஒவ்வொரு மழை நாளிலும் இது இயல்புதான் என்பதால் யாரும் பெரிதாக அலட்டிக்கொள்ளாமல் சென்று கொண்டிருந்தனர்.
அப்போது, அரசுப் போக்குவரத்துக் கழக பேருந்து ஒன்று நகர முடியாமல் பாலத்துக்கு அடியிலேயே நின்றுவிட்டது. காத்திருந்து பொறுமை இழந்த பயணிகள் ஒவ்வொருவராக இறங்கினர். நடந்தும், ஆட்டோவிலும், மற்ற பேருந்துகளிலும் செல்லத் தொடங்கினர். பலவீனமாக, நடக்கவே முடியாமல் இருந்த வயதான பெண்மணி ஒருவர், என்ன செய்வது என்று புரியாமல் தவித்தார்.
கடைசியில் அவருக்கும் ஒரு வழி பிறந்தது. அந்த வழியாக வந்த நல்ல மனிதர் ஒருவர், அவரைத் தூக்கிச் சென்று மழைநீரைக் கடந்தார்.
நடக்கவே முடியாமல் இருந்த அப்பெண்மணியைக் காப்பாற்றிய சம்பவம், காணொலியாக எடுக்கப்பட்டு, சமூக ஊடகங்களில் வைரலாகி வருகிறது.
அடையாளம் தெரியாத அந்த சாமானியர், பேருந்தில் இருந்து முதியவரை இடுப்பு வரையிலான தண்ணீரில் தூக்கி வரும் காணொலி, அந்த வழியாகச் சென்று கொண்டிருந்த ஒருவரால் எடுக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது. சாமானியரின் அந்த மீட்புப் பணியை ஆராதித்து நெட்டிசன்கள் அந்தக் காணொலியை நெகிழ்ச்சியுடன் பகிர்ந்து வருகிறார்கள். அந்த வீடியோ பதிவு:
Take off with Natarajan 