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Suryatapa

at the age of six

Three months ago, I wandered into a salon in Kolkata with my mother and came

face-to-

face with a prejudice

my beloved aunts, and maddening when strangers suggest my dark skin is something to be “fixed.”

No one in India seems to think it unusual to try to slap some bleach, or a herbal equivalent, on my skin to reveal a whiter me.

Darkie, Blackie and Kaalia

My color defined me and it stuck.

self-conscious.

Kaalia, remember me? When I pointed out that it was insulting, I was called out for being “too sensitive.”

“We called you that with love,”

Well-meaning aunts and their neighbors worried about my marriage prospects.

Like that should justify the hurt.

Perhaps, they suggested, a little less sun exposure, or maybe a few extra layers of sandalwood paste or a homemade concoction that the neighborhood swore by?

I wouldn’t let anyone touch my face.

The aunts sighed but never really gave up.

Instead, in this country, it is everyone’s business to correct it or cover it up.

The personal is open to public opinion, whether it makes you squirm or not.

Few Indians seem to be comfortable in their dark skin.

So it is no surprise that a multi-billion rupee market in fairness products thrives in India.

whitened versions of themselves, urging you to pick up a tube or two of the latest product.

From lotions and soaps to whitening underarm deodorant; every body part it seems is could be a few shades lighter.

Urban legends abound of how turmeric and milk, with their blood cleansing properties, had turned someone’s friend’s sister into a fair maiden – so I gulped down this vile concoction, gagged and never touched it ever again.

adolescent weakness,

I too was convinced to go on a regimen of drinking milk with crushed turmeric.

As an adult I’ve become much more comfortable with the color of my skin.

Over a decade of living in North America – where tans are pursued and Halle Berry is a beauty icon – helped that.

So when I moved back to India, I was surprised and offended all over again, as I confronted people who still think porcelain skin is the epitome of beauty.

society that embraced a wider spectrum of skin tone.

Victorian ideas of beauty,

“Do you do tanning?” I was dumbstruck and could barely stammer out a surprised “no.”

In retrospect, her assumption says a lot about how Indians equate skin tone with beauty, confidence and social standing.

Suryatapa Bhattacharya is the India correspondent for “The National” newspaper.

migrant workers – who build the capital's offices and mansions, clean its streets and guard its security – have been shut down,

Tens of thousands of migrant children are left without schools

rural origin – a third of the city's 19 million population

day-to-day inju

stices

hukou (household registration), set up in 1958

control rural-to-urban migration

Peasants' role was to produce and feed the cities and support the modernisation process of their motherland.

as shown on their ID – no matter what they might choose to do. "Wo shi nongmin [I am a peasant],"

Deng Xiao Ping's gaige kaifang (economic reforms and opening up), in the late 1970s.

Agricultural production increased in the early stage of the reforms in "releasing the productive forces",

half of the 400 million rural working population have been pushed off the land, seeking a livelihood away from their villages.

As rural residents came to the cities, they immediately faced discrimination and exclusion.

They spoke their own dialects instead of "proper" Mandarin. Many faced verbal abuse as soon as they arrived.

the strict requirement for the unaffordable temporary residency permit, and the random street search by police.

The criteria for applying for a hukou remain harsh, and unreachable for most migrants, and many work for years without any status.

Without hukou,

healthcare, education and housing.

urban dwellers pay a minimal cost for medical care, many migrants have to return home for treatment.

"These children aren't treated as everyone else. They're called the mobile students, who can't go to state schools. Their parents have for years sent their children to privately run schools without proper facilities or curriculum."

hundreds such private schools were set up.

government-funded National Development and Reform Commission

admits it is an "institutional barrier"

government has shown no wish to listen to migrant workers' demands.

voice their discontent is by petitioning the local authorities

Little happens as a result.

Some suspect that migrant children's schools are being closed as a disincentive to future migration.

protests, road blockages, sit-ins and spontaneous strikes.

Hsiao-Hung Pai, Beijing

Migrants who toil in the cities still face a decades-old system of segregation and exploitation. But many are now demanding fairness

Beijing "a city of violence"

Beijing's migrant worker slums

are ruthlessly segregated from the urban dwellers, economically, socially and culturally

ban the sale of three phones are "too similar" to the iPhone. The ban begins October 15.

Missing from the ban, however, are the Galaxy Tab tablets,

included in the original suit filed this month.

evidence that it may have doctored photos in that case, as well.

get the Tab banned in Germany,

A Dutch court found Samsung to be infringing on an Apple patent

technologies related to a “Portable Electronic Device for Photo Management.”

covers the various aspects of a photo gallery user interface

Samsung’s Galaxy S, SII, and Ace smartphones have thus been banned from sale.

use of touchscreen gestures

ban takes effect October 15

phones will be barred in Germany, Ireland, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK, and the Netherlands.

ruling will not be enforceable in other EU member-states because Apple failed to pay the administrative costs necessary in order to make the patent valid, tech patent blog FOSS Patents reports.

Apple’s failure to keep its paperwork in order

ban could have disruptive effects on Samsung sales across Europe.

fact that a good portion of Samsung’s distribution system for the region runs through the Netherlands:

sell these devices, the company will now need to ship them into various countries directly.

Samsung is obviously not pleased with the ruling, and has vowed to take “all possible measures including legal action” to ensure there will be no disruption in sales of its devices.

That said, Samsung still has options: the injunction found that Android 2.3 infringed on the patent but Android 3.0 and above did not.

Korean electronics maker needs to do is update the banned phones and the injunction will be un-enforceable, something Judge E.F. Brinkman

Given the timing with the launch of Google+ on June 28

strates how many American consumers use Google and the other major search engines. The top three internet destinations are all owned by companies with search engines, and by leveraging search-optimized news content, businesses will be able to extend their companies' reach and generate more exposure.#dd_ajax_float{background:none;float:left;margin-left:-120px;margin-right:10px;margin-top:10px;position:absolute;z-index:1}.fb_iframe_widget{margin-left:10px}.dd_button_v{padding:8px 0}Want to receive Brafton news automatically? Join our daily or weekly email list! Filed under News · Tagged with: Bing, Google, Yahoo Disqus Login About Disqus Glad you liked it. Would you like to share? Facebook Twitter Share No thanks Sharing this page … Thanks! Close Login Add New Comment Post as … Image Sort by popular now Sort by best rating Sort by newest first Sort by oldest first Showing 0 comments M Subscribe by email S RSS Reactions Google sites top Yahoo as No. 1 internet destination http://t.co/4iUX7kI 7 hours ago <d

ComScore's data illustrates how many American consumers use Google and the other major search engine

op three internet destinations are all owned by companies with search engines

Mozilla is carefully circumventing the phrase of “waging war” against the creation of closed or “siloed” environments on the web.

competing, but not so by going directly against a rival, but by being “different”

That name would be Apple, which Mozilla’s chairman and chief lizard wrangler Mitchell Baker directly addressed in a series of sequential blog posts that outline Mozilla’s future direction. The attacks aren’t as crude and as we typically see between Mozilla and Microsoft. They are much more carefully worded, perhaps in an effort to remain polite and not to raise any unnecessary attention

“There’s no reason why “apps” can’t incorporate the characteristics that are important about the web. They don’t today because Apple didn’t build them that way. There’s no reason Apple should; Apple has a different view of the world. But we can. In fact, Mozilla is one of the very few organizations that can do this.”

Mozilla has yet to show what it plans to do and leaves us with its vision for now. Mozilla believes that its opportunity is a user’s desire to run anything he wants on any device he owns. Mozilla believes that a user wants to be in charge of his web experience, not Apple, Google or a device. Mozilla believes that a user would want to be in control of her/his identity and the information that is made available. Of course, Mozilla’s model is also based on Firefox and a web browser, which Apple could care less about at this time.

Only time will tell exactly how all of these apps will work. One thing is for sure having these types of apps will make the Vita an overall more appealing product.

The real app that we are waiting to hear confirmation about is NetFlix, with the Vita’s amazing screen it would be a great viewing experience

networking are connecting people

groups of people -- primarily young people -- are using the tools at their disposal to wreak havoc.

social media networks like Facebook and Twitter, or through text message, BlackBerry Messenger or e-mail.

leaving one unconscious

broken jaw

June, some gangs attacked pedestrians and people leaving restaurants,

robbed train passengers.

stolen goods.

easy to blame technology

networks are only a tool

Twitter, texting or other means be illega

Chile earlier this summer

students amassed in Santiago's Plaza de la Ciudadanía

broke into a choreographed and costumed dance

educational system, which they say is currently rotten and dead

technology is indeed a double-edged sword.

made these events easier to organize,

also made them easier to stop

7-Eleven

robbed

terrifying riots that rocked England

over 1,000 have been charged.

technology

four years in a juvenile cent

Jordan Blackshaw, 20, invited about 100 people to an event called "Smash Down in Northwich Town,"

h Facebook.

, 22, created a group called "The Worthington Riots."

Cleveland, Ohio thinks such measures are inappropriate and legally questionable.

last weekend kept the streets of Philadelphia relatively quie

anyone 17 or younger must be home by nine p.m.

18 must be indoors by midnight

13 must be off the streets by 10 p.m.

The juveniles will face fines of upto $300.

Samsung's

a date for the U.S. release

its hotly anticipated phone,

sold lavishly in foreign markets

r 5 million people worldwide

bought the flagship Android phone

85 days it has been on the market

one sold every 1.5 seconds,

Samsung

"a major product announcement"

an invitation to journalists early Friday

Galaxy S II

Aug. 29.

Galaxy S II by name,

The Galaxy is coming.

"It isn't rocket science to understand that it's the Galaxy S II announcement,"

It isn't an overstatement to say that the Samsung Galaxy S II is the strongest competition the iPhone faces.

sports&nbsp;a 4.3-inch, 800x480 screen, a 1.2-GHz processor, fast 4G network connectivity, and a sleek, simple design evocative of the iPhone. By contrast, the Apple iPhone 4 &nbsp;has a 3.5-inch, 960x640 screen, a 1-GHz processor, and a slower, 3G connection.

Bigger and faster?

Though it hasn’t gone on sale yet in the U.S.

Galaxy S II are copious

obscene.

24 days, the company sold 1 million units

The 2 million units sold in 42 days would fill two and a half soccer fields.

That's a lot of smartphones. But it's more than that: It's a lot of good smartphones,

"If the U.S. versions are anything like the international versions, these are going to be spectacular smartphones," he told FoxNews.com. Segan gave an international version of the phone an Editors' Choice award, calling it the finest Android smartphone available today.

Apple iPhone 5

he elephant in the room

he 3 million Galaxy S II phones sold in just over 50 days are as heavy as 100 elephants)

iPhone 5 is widely expected to be coming out in September, Segan noted.

And getting the right price could make all the difference for Samsung. "They don't want to be more expensive than the iPhone," Segan said.

But that 4G network connection may prove a major difference between the two.&nbsp;

Unless Apple has made some sort of secret breakthrough, [the faster LTE network] might make a Verizon iPhone too thick and power-hungry for Apple's demands this year. Apple may skip it for now and wait for smaller and cooler chipsets," Segan noted.

That faster connection really pays off for anyone surfing a lot of complicated websites or viewing movies over Netflix, he said.&nbsp;

But in the end, pricing, a final feature set and the design is all up to the carriers. "The mainstream price for a smartphone is $199 with contract," Segan noted. "We're all hoping for $199."

, Apple's online store for Chinese customers lists all four MacBook Air models

11-in. and 13-in. configurations -- for sale, but with lengthy shipping delays.

The 11-in. MacBook Air's estimated delivery time, according to the e-store, is 9-to-11 working days, while the 13-in. models will reach customers approximately 5 working days after ordering.

"no supply" of 11-in. MacBook Airs

13% of the company's revenues for the quarter ending June 30.

increasingly afford to own a PC

The new MacBook Air is poised to be a big hit in the Greater China region

7,698 yuan and 9,198 yuan for the 64GB and 128GB flash drive models,

$1,203 and $1,438, significantly higher than the $999 and $1,199 U.S. customers pay.

Apple's 13-in. MacBook Air costs 9,998 yuan and 12,498 yuan -- the latter for the notebook with 256GB in storage space -- or $1,563 and $1,954. U.S. list prices are $1,299 and $1,599 for the same models.

brick-and-mortar outlets.

New orders ship within 24 hours

85.2 million

76.6 million, IDC estimated.

"With IDC naming China the largest PC market in the world this week based on [second quarter] shipment data, we believe investors should increasingly think about the Mac opportunity for Apple in China over the next few years," White advised.

new studies reveals

psychological effects of constant Facebooking.

teens who use Facebook

chances to learn how to socialize

ood aspects of the digital lifestyle today's teens were born into.

Facebook can be distracting

negatively impacting teen grades

teaching in compelling ways that engage young students.

more than 1,000 urban adolescents.

omputer, Internet and social-network use, use of mobile Internet devices and phone services like texting, as well as factors related to mental health

, particularly shy teens

experience can give shy kids an easier experience building relationships, by speaking through a keyboard

person

social networks promote healthy social relationships, an important step in teenage development

most frequently had Facebook open

Social networks

addition to the positives

associations between social network use and various mental issues

lack of empathy

, increased aggression and traits associated with mental illnesses

schizophrenia and depression.

detract from a teen's learning and grades

observing 300 teenagers study

can teach teens empathy, or the ability to understand someone else's feelings

lowest retention

similar effect of texting.

notifications after

wo-minute "tech breaks

heck their messages

15 minutes of studying

social networking

negative effects on academics.

ice cream

red meat

butter.

lowering

artery-clogging cholesterol, what you eat may be more important than what you don't eat.

such as soy protein and nuts

reduce bad cholesterol far more effectively than a diet low in saturated fat.

That could drive down a person's risk of fatal heart attack or stroke by 10%, the authors suggested.

dump their drugs for tofu,

"Patients don't want to take the medications, and I'm afraid that if you tell them there's a diet that works just as well, then they'll do that instead," he said.

1 in 6 Americans has a high overall cholesterol level,

makes a person nearly twice as likely to suffer a heart attack or stroke as someone whose total cholesterol falls into a healthy range.

(LDL) cholesterol is one component of this overall number.

nation's most commonly prescribed medications,

355 million prescriptions dispensed,

soy protein, nuts,

"sticky" fiber such as that found in oats and barley,

plant sterols.

handful of nuts such as almonds or walnuts every day, and to substitute milk and meats with soy and tofu products as much as possible.

protect student safety and teacher jobs in some circles

others complain

person in over about 15 years.

language of the law makes it unclear what actually counts as a violation.

system that allows private messages

violating a similar ban if there was one,

teachers and current or former students

eacher allowing current students access to his or her facebook profile.

inappropriate student/teacher behavior while setting up barriers that may not really be necessary. &nbsp;

surveillance

perpetrators

subsequently

funking

Woods said it couldn't be a great year without winning a major

only his third time

injuries to his left knee

"I was happy to see Stevie and Adam win," Woods said

But now that I'm healthy, it's so much easier to be patient because I feel good

The DJ, backed by label Ministry Of Sound, began legal action in July to block the track's release, claiming the song was similar to his own track Fade Into Darkness, also known as Penguin.

Syco responded, saying that Avicii was already credited as a songwriter on the Leona song.

Leona's reinvention - will now be released under the joint Leona Lewis/Avicii title.

each of the gadgets cost HP at least £180 just to build, so selling the Touchpad for £89 would never have been considered until the firm decided to abandon it.

others hoping to loosen Apple’s stranglehold on the tablet computing market.

The main Google Android tablets, made by Samsung and Motorola, are pitched at around the same £400-ish price point as the iPad. But, put together with all the other Android tablets, it’s estimated they are outsold by Apple’s devices eight to one.

Amazon, which is rumoured to be preparing to release an Android tablet this autumn. Like Apple with the iPad, it has built and dominated a market for itself with the Kindle, its hugely successful e-reader.

Kindle’s success is its relatively low price of £111