Top Five Free (as in Freedom) Music Sites

Recently a silly old man from Tamil Nadu was crying foul that he is not getting royalties for his music. Whenever they play his songs on TV or radio or perform it on stage, he expects a share of profit or at least he wants them to seek his permission. While the tyrannical copyright laws facilitate such inhuman extortion, where is the Free Software equivalent of Music? Software industry itself has its origin after the advent of copyright laws. But music is older than Homo sapiens species itself! Greatest works of music known to us were already centuries old when the crude copyrights laws were made. Except few hegemonic and anti-human societies, where advances in science and creativeness in arts were reserved to few group of people (and far worse in cases where it is locked down to people born in to particular family/community), world, at large, always shared knowledge and publicized creativity to the masses. So in this post-human world, are there real humans still left to share their knowledge and creativity to others? May be! They may be very few. But such people are for real. Here are some great sites which allow you access as well as to share music with lesser restrictive licenses.

1. opsound.org

Opsound is a site by Sal Randolph. inspired by free software and applies its philosophy to music. Musicians and sound artists can add their work to the Opsound repository using any of the copyleft licenses developed by Creative Commons. Everyone can download, share, remix, and reimagine music available in their site.

2. freemusicarchive.org

This site hosts lot of MP3 files and they also have apps for iOS and Android devices to access their content. Instead of modeling themselves purely after a later idea like Free Software, they also draw inspiration from Radio! They want to continue what radio did in previous generations, i.e. provide people with free music. Artists can upload their music in whole or part (and hence can attract more customers) and people can enjoy the music without any registration.

3. openmusicarchive.org

Artists Ben White & Eileen Simpson have started this project so that music works whose copyright term has expired and in public domain can be made available to a wider audience through internet. Music with no economic value which are usually forgotten by mainstream record companies are given a second life after their copyright term. Also the site encourages more people to collaborate and make their music publicly accessible.

4. cpdl.org

Is there a Wikipeida of music? Yes, it is cpdl.org. They have a large number of sheet music and music files (MIDI and other formats) in their archive. They host only "free" music without any restrictions even under the funny Mickey Mouse Law of USA. Since its inception in 2005, it has grown to a colossal collection of more than 25,000 scores by more than 2,800 composers.

5. musopen.org

A non-profit organization that aims to provide free sheet music, lessons and books for teaching music. Not only serving as a platform to share music, musopen.org aims to make music education reachable to more people.

What will happen if humans have no civilization or government? Do you think we will be killing each other for food and other needs? Do you think that survival of the fittest means "do whatever to survive"? The answer is "NO!". All communities of humans, be it from so called civilized cities to hunter-gatherers of dense forest, evolved to live a social and community life. Even our non-human ancestors lived in groups and not as "individuals with a will to survive at any cost". Our evolution has shaped us to be co-operative, collaborative and altruistic to some extant. The cut-throat competition and "survival-of-the-fittest" mantra we hear again and again are just modern and unnatural inventions which are making our way of life less and less sustainable. We shared everything before from land to food. Then slowly everything was taken out of the common ownership. The last thing remained in collective ownership was knowledge and creativity as they are inexhaustible resources. But human greed knows no limit and it has even snatched these inexhaustible resources from collective ownership. So to reverse the whole set of damage we have brought on our species and on the planet, we have to start from reversing the latest mistake. By liberating knowledge and setting it free, we can start the process of setting the entire humanity free!

தடுப்பூசிகள் தேவையே!

தடுப்பூசிகள் தேவையே! அரசு இலவசமாக வழங்கும் எம்.ஆர். தடுப்பூசி மிகவும் பாதுகாப்பானது மற்றும் பயனுள்ளது. MR (Measles  Rubella) தடுப்பூசி இரு கொடிய நோய்களில் இருந்து உங்கள் குழந்தைகளை பாதுகாக்கும். பணக்காரர்கள் மட்டுமே பெற்று வந்த MMR ஊசி போன்ற இந்த தடுப்பூசியை இன்று நம் அரசு அனைவருக்கும் இலவசமாக்கியுள்ளது. இதற்க்கு நாம் அரசுக்கும், இதை முன்னெடுத்த எல்லோருக்கும் நன்றி சொல்ல வேண்டும். ஆனால் நடப்பது என்ன?

இன்று கையில் செல்போன் மற்றும் ஜியோ தரும் இலவச இணைய இணைப்பை வைத்துக்கொண்டு ஒரு கூட்டம் தடுப்பூசிகளுக்கு எதிராக எழுதி வருகிறது. இவர்களில் யாரும் (முறையாக மருத்துவம் பயின்ற) மருத்துவர்கள் இல்லை. இவர்களில் பெரும்பாலானோர் போலி அறிவியல் துணையோடு பிழைப்பு நடத்தும் அற்ப ஜந்துக்கள். சிலர் மத/ஆன்மீக வியாபாரிகள். இவர்கள் அனைவரும் நம் நாட்டு அரசையும் அறிவியல் மற்றும் மருத்துவ சமுதாயத்தையும் கேள்விக்குள்ளாக்குகின்றனர். யாரும் கேள்விகளுக்கு அப்பாற்பட்டவர் கிடையாது. ஆனால் கேள்வி கேட்க ஒரு தகுதியும் நியாமமும் இருக்க வேண்டும். சந்தேகம் வேறு, அவதூறு வேறு. நேற்று நான் ஒரு கடைக்குச் சென்றேன். அருகில் இருக்கும் குழந்தைகள் மருத்துவமனையில் ஒரே கூட்டம். கடைக்காரரிடம் கேட்டேன். அவன் கூறிய பதில் என்னை அதிர வைத்தது. எம். ஆர் தடுப்பூசி அறிவிப்பு வந்த நாள் முதல் இங்கு கூட்டம் அலைமோதுவதாகக் கூறினார். மக்கள் அரசை விட, மருத்துவர்களை விட, அறிவியலாளர்களை விட வாட்சாப்பையும் பேஸ்புக்கையும் நம்பும் காலத்தில் நாம் வாழ்கிறோம் என்ற சிந்தனை என்னை இப்போதும் நெருடுகிறது.

அலுவலகத்தில் அருகில் இருந்த நண்பரிடம் பேசினேன். அவர் சொல்கிறார் "எல்லா வைரஸும் நிலவேம்புக்கு சாகும். எனவே தடுப்பூசி போடா வேண்டாம்" என்று. நான் கேட்டேன், "போலயோ, பெரியம்மை போன்ற நோய்களை நிலவேம்பு அல்லது இயற்க்கை மருத்துவம் மூலம் முற்றிலும் அளித்திருக்க முடியுமா?" என்று. அவர் "கண்டிப்பாக!" என்றார். எனக்குத் தூக்கிவாரிப்போட்டது! பொறியியல் படித்து, 3ஜி, 4ஜி என்று சுத்தும் மேதைகளின் பேதைமை இப்படி! முயற்சியை விடாத நான், "வெறி நாயிடம் கடிபட்டாலும் ஊசி போடா மாடீர்களா?" என்றேன். சுதாரித்த நண்பர் "உங்கள் விதண்டாவாதம் தவறு" என்று முடித்துக்கொண்டார்.

என்ன நடக்கிறது இங்கே? இதை எழுதும் நான் கிறிஸ்தவ மிஷனரி என்றோ (என் பெயரை வைத்து), ப.ஜ.க. கட்சிக்காரர் என்றோ (மத்திய அரசு திட்டத்தை ஆதரிப்பதால்), மருந்துக் கம்பெனிகளின் ஏஜென்ட் என்றோ, ஏன், இல்லுமினாட்டி என்றோகூட முத்திரை குத்தப்படலாம். இவர்களைப் பொறுத்தவரையில் உலகத்தில் நடப்பது எல்லாம் சாதி. எல்லாம் பெரிய சூழ்ச்சியின் பகுதி. கேட்டல் "தனி ஒருவன்", "பூலோகம்" என்று ஜெயம் ரவி படங்களை மேற்கோள் காட்டுவார்கள். ஜல்லிக்கட்டு விஷயத்தில்கூட தமிழர்களின் கலாச்சார உரிமை என்ற நேரடி வாதத்தைவிட ஏ1, ஏ2 புரளிவே போராட்டம் வெடிக்க உதவியது. மீத்தேன் திட்டம், கூடங்குளம் அணுஉலை, நியூட்ரினோ ஆராய்ச்சி, ஹைட்ரோகார்பன் திட்டம் என எதை எடுத்தாலும் ஒரு அறிவியல் புறம்பான நிலைப்பாட்டை நாம் எடுப்பது சரியா? தக்க பாதுகாப்பு அம்சங்களும், நியாயமான நிபந்தனைகளுடன்கூடிய ஒப்பந்தங்களும் வேண்டும் என்று கேட்டால் பரவாயில்லை. நம்மாழ்வார் சொன்னார், செந்தமிழன் சொன்னார், ஹீலர் பாஸ்கர் சொன்னார் என்று ஏதாவது ஒன்றைப் பிடித்துக்கொண்டு நாட்டின் வளர்ச்சியை முடக்குவது சரியா?

நீங்கள் செய்யாவேண்டியது ஒன்றே! துறைசார்ந்த வல்லுநர்கள் கருத்தைக் கேளுங்கள். அதுவும் ஒருவர் இருவர் கூறுவதை மட்டும் அல்ல, பெரும்பான்மை வல்லுநர்கள் என்ன சொல்கிறார்கள் என்று பாருங்கள். அதை உங்கள் அடிப்படை அறிவைக்கொண்டு அலசி ஆராய்ந்து பாருங்கள். பின் ஒரு முடிவுக்கு வாருங்கள். தடுப்பூசி என்றால் மருத்துவர், அணுஉலை என்றால் அணு விஞ்ஞானிகள் என்று எல்லாவற்றிற்கும் படித்த வல்லுநர்கள் நிறைந்த நாடு நம் நாடு. அவர்களை விட்டு விட்டு தெருவில் போகும் குடுகுடுப்பைக்காரன் அளவுக்கே அறிவு உள்ள, பயத்தையும் பொய்களையும் மட்டுமே விற்று பிழைப்பு நடத்தும் ஆட்களை நம்பினால் நாம் எப்படி வல்லரசு ஆவோம்?

பல லட்சம் குழந்தைகளுக்குப் போடும் ஊசியில் சதி செய்யும் கேவலமான அரசும் மருத்துவர்களும் உள்ள நாடா இந்தியா? இன்னும் உங்களுக்கு இந்த நாட்டின் மீதும் இங்குள்ள அறிவியல் ஆய்வாளர்கள்மீதும் நம்பிக்கை வரவில்லையா? வர வேண்டாம்... குறைந்தபட்சம் உங்கள் குழந்தை விஷயமான தடுப்பூசியை உங்கள் பேஸ்புக்/வாட்சாப் புளுகு மூட்டைகளை ஓரம் கட்டி வைத்துவிட்டு அருகில் உள்ள மருத்துவரையோ அல்லது துறை சார்ந்த நிபினரையோ கேளுங்கள். அவர்கள் தங்கள் பிள்ளைகளுக்கும், தங்களுக்கும் இந்த ஊசியை போடுகிறார்களா என்று கேளுங்கள். அப்போதாவது உங்களுக்கு புரிந்தால் சரி. எக்காரணம் கொண்டும் உங்கள் மூட நம்பிக்கை ஒரு குழந்தையின் ஆரோக்கியத்தில் விளையாட அனுமதிக்காதீர்கள்.

Leave The Bulls Alone!

The the common bulls of Tamil Nadu are classified along bears, panthers, tigers etc and hence Jallikattu is technically banned. Wow! Kerala can go ahead with its elephants, which are actually wild animals in every sense. But Tamils should not touch the bull. The bulls of Tamil Nadu are selectively bred for their strength and endurance. As an agrarian society, Tamils relied upon bulls for ploughing and drawing carts from prehistoric times. You can't say that selectively bred and domesticated animals are "wild" by any definition. Also, if bull is wild then how cows can be allowed to be kept in farm and their milk to be sold? Can we sell tiger milk?

Unlike bull-fights of Spain, where the bull is actually killed, Jallikattu actually ends with just holding a bull for certain seconds or certain count of jumps. Usage of liquor, torture devices etc are non-native practices and they should be monitored and stopped. But to stop the event itself is far-fetched. Are we going to ban cricket due to gambling? Also regulations can be made to ensure audience safety. Instead of taking such rational and simple steps, organizations like PeTA are forcing government to ban the event itself.

On the other side there are people who are crying that there is a corporate conspiracy to kill the native breed. This also seems to be an overkill. So these people are saying that same PeTA which wants to ban milk and leather industry in the West wants to bring foreign breed cattle here in India! Also some Facebook/Twitter posts by these conspiracy theorists claim that PeTA is silent about beef but protests Jallikattu. In reality PeTA is actively protesting against all forms of meat from chicken to beef. They will surely protest against goat/rooster sacrifice in rural temples. They have already protested against Eid sacrifices. Please go through the links below.

http://www.petaindia.com/blog/celebrate-life-vegan-eid/ - PeTA against Eid
http://www.petaindia.com/issues/animals-used-for-food/milk/ - PeTA against milk
http://www.peta.org/issues/animals-used-for-food/meat-environment/ - PeTA against meat
http://action.petaindia.com/ea-action/action?ea.client.id=111&ea.campaign.id=2856 - PeTA in action
http://www.petaindia.com/blog/victory-animal-sacrifice-banned-at-nepals-gadhimai-festival/ - PeTA against Hindu animal sacrifice

From above links, it is clear that PeTA is a militant and stupid organization that wants to push its version of morality, disregarding the sentiments and traditions of native people. But the conspiracy theorists selectively portray that PeTA is only against Jallikattu and trying to bring other breeds of cows. This nonsense also takes religious and racist tones in some posts. If you people are silent about other activities of PeTA, then the price you pay for it will be a ban on Jallikattu. Are you ready to fight PeTA in all fronts? Then we can get Jallikattu back!

We either look it as a conspiracy by West/NGO/Corporates or we see it as animal cruelty and act of barbarianism. Both are not exactly true. The truth is some where in the middle.

PeTA, which protests against everything from KFC to cow's milk, is often ignored as a fringe group. But that fringe group already has a lot of impact in our everyday lives. They want to save stray dogs at the cost of road users and children's lives. They want to portray meat eaters as criminals, rapists etc. They want to portray traditional foods like fish, poultry, lamb etc as unhealthy. They want to ban fishing, farming of animals, leather, wool, testing drugs on animals and the list goes on! All these have a direct and enormous impact on our lives. Yet they are deceptively hiding the facts and portray themselves as people for protecting animals and a group that is fighting against cruelty.

From hate speech to scaremongering hoaxes, PeTA has tried its hands on many "below the belt" tactics with the public. And with politicians and bureaucrats, they cheat, bribe, threaten or lobby with people's money against people's interest. This organization without any help from corporates can do such dirty jobs and I think this group itself is a corporate! So what we need to do is to identify such groups, isolate them and ban them. One such group is Greenpeace, which our government rightly identified and banned recently. PeTA should face the same fate.

Some people are cherry picking PeTA's campaigns to support some of their views and care less about what PeTA is doing in other issues. For example, some people who are opposing meat, support PeTA thinking that they are actually helping. But they care less about PeTA's stand on milk. How many Indian vegetarians are ready to give up milk? If you support PeTA, think twice. Check out their motto and modus operandi in all issues and then decide if you want to really support them.

So to conclude, the fight is not only towards Jallikattu ban. Tomorrow it may be a ban on animal sacrifice in temples or ban on camel slaughter during Eid. So for everyone's interest, let us fight these inhuman organizations like PeTA, AWB and other such elements that cause too much trouble in the society.

Update: Central Government has made amendments to allow Jallikattu in the law, but the decision has been challenged in court!

Tamil Nadu Government Offices to Ditch XP for BOSS

I have already written in this blog about ending XP support and Free Operating Systems as a possible alternate. I have also written why to use a Free OS instead of proprietary OS like Windows 7/8 or OSX. Now, I am so happy to know that TN government is taking this initiative. This is a step in right direction to liberate our computers from corporate monopolies and those viruses/malwares/back-doors.

Image courtesy: http://distrowatch.com/

Though, the Government's order is a good one, it still has some gray areas. It didn't enforce the use of BOSS (Bharat Operating System Solution, a GNU/Linux distribution developed by Centre for Development of Advanced Computing). But it is given as a suggestion. The Government offices are asked to "consider" installing BOSS than purchasing proprietary operating systems.

BOSS is the operating system bundled with free laptops given by Tamil Nadu government. Earlier it was planned to ship only with BOSS, but later Windows 7 was given a place. Due to this, many students simple ignore BOSS. Here I place my request to ship free laptops with any free operating system ONLY. Now let us see the pros and cons of the BOSS

Pros:

1. BOSS has excellent Indic fonts support. So our people can use the computers in their own language.
2. BOSS is relatively robust, almost virus-free, free of cost, requires no hardware upgrade and easy to use.
3. As a free software, our Government data will not be under immediate threat of NSA(or NSA like) sponsored corporate back-doors.

Cons:

1. Its repositories are relatively old. So latest and wide varieties of software are not available easily.
2. It is bundled with proprietary codecs and freewares like Adobe flash, mp3 etc, which are not needed in context of Government offices.

My Two Cents:

The battle has just begun. But we need to do lot of things.

* Indian government can spend a little more and build a better OS suitable for Government office needs.

* If community supported distros can give latest and greatest software with rock solid stability, why can't one of the fastest developing nation develop and support one?

* Government should mandate that all PC/laptops sold in India must have a OS-less version available.

* All proprietary software should be kicked out from curriculum.

* Government should encourage/mandate universities to contribute to Free Software projects and also give generous donations to Free Software projects. They should not (ab)use free software as they are available for free of cost.

* Dangers of using proprietary software should be advertised as in the case of unprotected sex.

References:

1. http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-tamilnadu/state-departments-asked-to-switch-over-to-free-open-source-software/article5798429.ece
2. http://bosslinux.in/
3. http://cdac.in/
4. http://archive.tehelka.com/story_main50.asp?filename=Ws101011MICROSOFT.asp

I Love Pathaneer (பதநீர்)

Summer is approaching with the mercury levels raising everyday. On the other hand, water and electrolyte levels in our bodies are falling every hour. It is very important to keep yourself well hydrated and to maintain the electrolytic balance during summer season to avoid a lot of health problems and tiredness. So here is a sweet and affordable solution from Mother Nature! Pathaneer!

What is Pathaneer?

Pathaneer is a sweet beverage extracted usually from palm trees (sometimes also from coconut trees, but in Tamil Nadu, they are almost always from palm trees). It is a non-alcoholic beverage. But without proper preservation techniques, fermentation will kick in due to airborne yeast/bacteria, which will turn it in to alcoholic toddy. Pathaneer has a unique taste, which is predominantly sweet with a hint of astringent taste. It a translucent, white, watery liquid in pure form.

How it Is Extracted?

Pathaneer is collected overnight from palm trees by scrapping/cutting the tender spathes on top of the tree and keeping a collection pot. Usually the collection pots are coated with calcium carbonate to reduce the risk of fermentation. Tree climbers climb the trees during evening and prepare for the collection. Before daybreak, they again climb the trees and collect the Pathaneer as raising temperatures after sunrise may accelerate fermentation. They may need to climb 40 to 50 trees every day and most of the times, they work overnight. At this point, I take pride in remembering my ancestors who were such tree climbers (toddy tappers). That might be a job forced on them; but still, they didn't cheat or steal or forced others in to slavery!

Health Perspective

I can falsely claim that Pathaneer can cure all known diseases from hairfall to obesity. But the truth is Pathaneer is good at treating a major disease that affects almost everyone during summers. Thirst and dehydration. They may sound silly. But they can bring a host of health problems even before you become aware. Head aches, fatigue, increased blood pressure, decreased electrolyte etc can be caused by excessive sweating. So Pathaneer is an easy way to replenish the water and essential electrolytes in your body with a punch of carbs to keep you kicking throughout the day. Carbohydrates are the major nutrient, followed by calcium, phosphate, Vitamin B, Vitamin C and other trace micro-nutrients. It is surely a better choice than sugary sodas or packed fruit juices (which are nothing but chemical flavors and sugar). Only other alternate is tender coconut.

Where to Buy?

Pathaneer is packed and sold by Tamil Nadu State Palmgur Cooperative Federation in 200ml plastic pouches (like curd or milk packs). It costs around Rs. 10 and available in shops near you. They are cheaper than tender coconuts which are sold at a higher price around Rs. 30 to Rs. 40. Pathaneer packs are refrigerated and hence you can get a cool and refreshing drink without any hazardous chemical or excessive sugar for just 10 bucks. They are processed and packed to ensure that no fermentation happens and shoul be stored in optimal temperature. So don't buy if not stored in refrigerator.

What Else?

Pathaneer is just one product of palm nectar. It can be allowed to ferment to produce alcoholic beverage (toddy – கள்ளு). Fermented toddy can be distilled to produce arrack (பனஞ்சாராயம்). The nectar can be further boiled and processed to produce palmgur (கருப்பட்டி /பனைவெல்லம்), palm sugar (பனஞ்சீனி) and palm candy (பனங்கற்கண்டு). There are hell lot of other products/by products of palm tree, but they are not relevant to the Pathaneer which we are discussing here. So those who are interested can check “Additional Links” section.

An Appeal for Toddy!

I hear by humbly appeal both the Indian Government and Tamil Nadu Government to lift the ban on toddy and regularize the sale of the same as they have done with Pathaneer. If Pathaneer sales can be standardized, regularized and monitored to ensure quality, then why not toddy? Also, the government is allowing the sales of hard liquors, which contain more than 40% alcohol manufactured by corporates. But toddy contains only 4 to 5% of alcohol. By banning other liquors and allowing naturally brewed toddy, wine and beer, we can ensure that the livelihood of farmers are improved while the livelihood of drinkers are protected from excess alcohol consumption and economy drain.

Conclusion

So, enjoy Pathaneer this summer and be a proud Tamilian by drinking this palm elixir which is part of our cultural heritage. Also please appeal to government in whatever democratic ways you can to ban sales of hard liquor and allow toddy to be sold in a regularized and controlled way through cooperative societies or Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (TASMAC). And when it comes to alcohol, my personal advice is to avoid it altogether than becoming an addict. Because “Perfect moderation is harder than total abstinence!” as told by St. Augustine.

Additional Links:

http://ta.wikipedia.org/wiki/பனையிலிருந்து_பெறப்படும்_பயன்கள்

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neera

Swine Flu Vaccination

There is an unwanted panic about swine flu among the public. But still, if you want to make sure your you or your beloveds will not be touched by these virus, please visit King's Institute near Guindy railway station for vaccination. This is where they provide subsidized vaccines and the vaccine's effectiveness and safety are guaranteed.

Don't buy in to advertisements like herbal cure, yoga therapy etc. There are some groups spreading false messages like this to milk some cash out of people's fear. So only go with what Government or approved medical practitioners advise. Don't take risks by listening to unauthorized sources. They may or may not work well and may have adverse effects.

So far, the disease seems not so bad. For example, in Germany, there are thousands of confirmed infections, but no deaths. I am not downplaying the risk. But don't worry much. Our tropical climate and hot weather can make the spread difficult for the virus. Let us hope for the best.