From Sept 2009, but worth a look. The one below is on the economy. There are more infographics on people, military and environment comparisons between the two countries at mint.com

For many of us malaria is personal. My friend Jewel, a young healthy force of life contracted malaria while laying the plans for an art school in Ivory Coast. 1 million people die from it every year and in Africa it kills a child every 30 seconds. In Mumbai alone at least 13,818 Mumbaiites have tested positive for malaria since July 1, 2010, triple the number of malaria infections than in July 2009.

Against the backdrop of these devastating statistics comes Sonal Shah’s The Fever: How Malaria Has Ruled Humankind for 500,000 Years. And it’s getting incredibly positive reviews:

“The Fever is an often rollicking read, spanning from modern-day Panama and Malawi to medieval Italy….Shah has put together an engrossing cast….Most fascinating is Plasmodium itself. Like fiction’s best supervillains, it is a complex, brilliant and mysterious foe that has resisted all attempts to tame it. While recent campaigns have had some success, Shah warns that to underestimate the parasite’s resourcefulness is to invite future epidemics. We have 500 millennia of suffering as proof.”

–TIME magazine, July 12, 2010

Aamir blogs that he’s got butterflies in his stomach for the release of PEEPLI LIVE on August 13th. And he’s in our neck of the woods in New Jersey too!

So we’re pitching in for PEEPLI LIVE. (a) Because Aamir Khan is one of only a handful of filmmakers in Bollywood who makes issues based heartfelt films (b) he backs emerging filmmakers with all the gusto and support they need for success, and (c) PEEPLI LIVE features music by ‘Indian Ocean’ who will perform in our own ‘Rock For Hope’ concert on September 11 in Toronto. The concert benefits AidIndia‘s efforts in sustainable farming among India’s distressed farmers.

Synopsis of the film: Natha a poor farmer from Peepli village in the heart of rural India is about to lose his plot of land due to an unpaid government loan. A quick fix to the problem is the very same government’s program that aids the families of indebted farmers who have committed suicide. As a means of survival Farmer Natha can choose to die!!! His brother is happy to push him towards this unique ‘honor’ but Natha is reluctant. Local elections are around the corner and what might’ve been another unnoticed event turns into a ’cause celebré’ with everyone wanting a piece of the action. Political bigwigs, high-ranking bureaucrats, local henchmen and the ever-zealous media descend upon sleepy Peepli to stake their claim. The question on everyone’s lips – “Will he or Won’t he?” As the mania escalates what will be the fate of Farmer Natha; nobody seems to care how he really feels?

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=REN_fV9q0yk]

So here I am trawling tha Internets for what else is new, hopeful and inspiring. Daring myself not to succumb to another story that gets my goat. And voila! there’s the Shiv Sena making sure I fail a simple quest.

To protest the central government’s decision to import milk powder and other dairy products, Shiv Sena activists spilled thousands of litres of milk on the Satara-Pune highway. (Rediff)

This would be the point in the post where I post the image to further spell out the outrage…you know, just in case the words ‘spilled thousands of litres of milk on the Satara-Pune highway’ doesn’t piss you off enough.

Shobhaa De to the rescue! Her outrage led me to her blog where I read about her buying Sidarth’s cow. Which led me to Religare Arts Initiative, an organization promoting contemporary art in India.

There you go, a convoluted story involving the Shiv Sena, Sidharth the artist, an arts initiative and Shobhaa De all revolving around cows and milk and a forced but happy ending.

Go check out Religare Arts….there’s some awesome art on display there like Sidharth’s Deva-Cow pictured below.

~Genevieve