Tuesday, November 30, 2021

Quick notes: Civil aviation | RISC-V phones...

  • Shut down the civil aviation ministry: There is no reason for keeping an entire ministry with a total staff strength of 2,300, just for the oversight of a few aviation sector laws and regulatory bodies


  • Entitled MNCs: Visa Inc has complained to the U.S. govt that India's "informal and formal" promotion of domestic payments rival RuPay hurts the U.S. giant in a key market. In public Visa has downplayed concerns about the rise of RuPay. Mastercard has raised similar concerns privately with the USTR.


  • Princes to paupers: India's salesmen face ruin as tycoon Ambani targets mom-and-pop stores. Tiny shops account for 4/5ths of India's $900 bln retail sector


  • Manu Joseph: When Modi cancelled his most humane reform yet it was a triumph for rich north Indian farmers and the movement they handled. In the end the rich and the middle-class sabotaged reform for the poor. Same old story of India.


  • όμικρο: There is a possibility that we are seeing a more infectious and less virulent version of the virus, which would be one of those steps along a happier route to living with the virus”.

    "Generally, high transmission with reduced disease severity is an evolutionary win for the virus and many viruses evolve to this state, existing in an equilibrium with the host".

    The theory is that, if a less virulent strain becomes dominant, more people will become infected but fewer will be critically sick. The virus, while still a problem, also becomes part of the solution; every person who recovers from a mild case is left with greater immunity against future infections than any of the current vaccines provide.


  • Displacing ARM: The world's first RISC-V phone might be just around the corner.. The first major step on porting Android to RISC-V was, unsurprisingly, authored by Alibaba, who produced the first working Android 10 port for the RISC-V ISA.

    Chinese company Sipeed expects to release first RISC-V smartphone models next year.

    Homemade CPUs - China's Bid For Independence China's tech giants are striving for autonomy from U.S. chipsets. But true semiconductor independence will require China to develop its own extreme ultraviolet lithography machines, required to etch microscopic circuits on silicon. SMIC, China's main chip foundry, can't provide anything smaller than 14 nm.

    SMIC claims to have mastered the 3nm chip process in the lab and is trying to buy the EUV lithography machines necessary for production from ASML, the Dutch company that currently has a monopoly on the critical equipment. But the United States is intent on blocking the sale.

    The Chinese Academy of Sciences has an EUV lithography research team and Tsinghua University has developed a new type of particle accelerator light source, which could be used for EUV lithography. But getting that technology out of the lab and into a machine remains many years away.

    Intel's plan-B? There is no way x86 can defend itself against ARM for a whole 5–10 years longer. Intel has started a new RISC-V development platform and invested in SiFive. RISC-V has inherent advantages which will allow Intel to compete in the opposite end of the market where they cannot compete at the moment with x86.. . . . . .


  • Chinese Hypersonic Missile ‘Overcame the Constraints of Physics: The July test featured “a technological advance that enabled it to fire a missile as it approached its target traveling at least five times the speed of sound—a capability no country has previously demonstrated.”


  • Anonymous trolls: Australia to introduce new laws to force media platforms to unmask online trolls. "The online world should not be a wild west where bots and bigots and trolls and others are anonymously going around and can harm people,"


  • Ajith Namboothiri: Ninnu Kori.. Vasantha raga Varnam



  • India’s oral traditions need to be mainstreamed: The Haridasu was a singer, musician, storyteller, actor, stand-up comedian and salesperson, all rolled into one! The accompanists were talented players of the mridangam and the harmonium.


  • New demographic reality: India’s fertility rate slips below replacement level.


  • Bengaluru scientists find potential treatment for autism: “However, this does not mean that there will be a sudden cure. There is a long and arduous process for drug discoveries to take place and could take about 12 years to complete. The molecule has to be tested for toxicity, its solubility pattern has to be worked out.”


  • Thanksgiving and the Myth of Native American ‘Savages’: The friendliness of the Wampanoag was extraordinary, because they had recently been ravaged by diseases caught from previous European explorers. Europeans had also killed, kidnapped and enslaved Native Americans in the region. The Plymouth settlers, during their desperate first year, had even stolen grain and other goods from the Wampanoag,


  • Mohan Bhagwat: A serious threat to BJP's election prospects


Saturday, November 27, 2021

Death wish?

India to resume regular international flight from mid-December to and from all but 14 countries with which India has existing air bubble agreement. The decision comes at a time when a new strain of Covid-19 has been detected in South Africa, Hong Kong and Botswana.

> India to resume international flights from December 15

> US joins EU, UK in restricting S Africa flights

> Israel to shut its borders to foreigners

> Japan bans entry of foreign travellers





  • B.1.1.529 has 32 mutations on the spike protein alone. This is an insane amount of change. As a comparison, Delta had 9 changes on the spike protein. We are particularly interested in mutations that could do any of the following:

    1. Increase transmissibility;

    2. Escape our vaccines or infection-induced immunity; and/or

    3. Increase severity (hospitalization or death).

    B.1.1.529 has the potential to do all three. It will take weeks to understand what these new mutations mean or, more importantly, the combination of so many mutations. Keep in mind that the number of mutations does NOT always equal more severe.

Friday, November 26, 2021

jati as an enabler of commerce and entrepreneurship

prof vaidya's book is interesting; his ideas upturn conventional thinking on the matter. 


Wednesday, November 24, 2021

Tuesday, November 23, 2021

Quick notes: Digital colony | Sponge cities...

  • Happy to be a digital colony of the West and China: India has squandered its software lead and lags behind China in artificial intelligence by a decade. Many of its industries are technologically obsolete and dependent on imported technologies. While aspiring to become a world-class manufacturing base, most of India’s workforce is likely to remain immured in low-wage and low-skill tasks relative to better educated countries.


  • Vietnam ahead of India in EVs: Vinfast has hired a number of executives, engineers and designers from around the world and that should help them understand consumers in markets like the US and Europe. "They're bringing them in full time, not just as consultants. I think that's going to help them when they try to enter this market."


  • The ingenious living bridges of India: For centuries, indigenous groups in north-east India have crafted intricate bridges from living fig trees. Now this ancient skill is making its way to European cities.

  • To curb urban flooding, China is building ‘sponge cities’: Professor Yu’s sponge city concept promotes a more harmonious relationship between humans and nature that in effect gives water more room to soak in and pool in urban areas – such as parks that are dry in some seasons and become shallow ponds or channels in rainy seasons. “Floods are not enemies; we can make friends with floods”.


  • The unlikely protector against Bangladesh's rising seas: Oysters engineer their environment by clustering on hard, submerged surfaces and fusing together to create reef structures. Oyster reefs can provide relief to a coast constantly buffeted by strong waves.

    That is not their only benefit, though. "What you want is the sedimentation behind the reef structure that the oysters naturally form. The reefs give you a more extensive foreshore and [consequently] calmer waters". Such fluidity is the hallmark of the building with nature approach. And rather than being seen as a setback, it becomes part of the plan. "It's a dynamic process – not hard concrete. And that's the new understanding of using natural forces to achieve our goals".


  • Pedestrianise, boost air quality: A clear improvement in air quality was recorded on pedestrianised weekends in central Bengaluru. Pedestrianising an urban street positively impacts QoL.

    Pedestrians are at higher risk across India: “Authorities are building more roads and flyovers. They are neglecting the most ancient mode of transportation".


  • How cities are going carbon neutral: Cities are introducing ultra-Low Emission Zones (ULEZ). Paris is creating 650km of new cycle ways and hopes to open up the whole of the city to bicycles by 2026. The Colombian capital, Bogota, has made 75 miles of streets car-free.


  • Give, Give, Give: The path to happiness - Swami Brahmananda



  • For every 10 boys there are only six girls: Tamil Brahmin bachelors look towards North India as bride hunt gets tough in TN.


  • Analysis: Why is Apple’s M1 chip ao fast?


  • Crop Fires:


wokeness is winning in the san francisco bay area

the district attorney announced that he wouldn't prosecute anybody for thefts of less than $950. the DA is a successor of kamala harris. 

result? large scale pilfering and theft. stories from the san jose mercury news and epoch times. 

this is alarming and not conducive to the Great Game the US is supposed to be playing against the chinese. the soft power narrative is taking a big hit. 

will there be a reverse trickle, or flood, of indians from silicon valley? (if so, i will take credit for pioneering that 25 years ago! prescience! :-)




Saturday, November 20, 2021

another zinger: reliance and aramco call off joint venture. what does this mean?

i guess the big repositioning of reliance away from oil is not going to happen on saudis' money. as a reliance stockholder, i am pretty sure this will have a negative impact. i suspect the legacy oil assets will drag down RIL, and perhaps even Jio's prospects. 


Thursday, November 18, 2021

What's Happened to Chinese Tennis Star Peng Shuai?




is paytm overhyped?

brokerage macquarie slams #paytm. good points. they don't have a moat, an amazon/facebook could eat them for breakfast, and UPI has eaten their lunch. and the chinese connection is a handicap. regulators will keep them at arms-length. and the eclipse of the ant financial empire means they will not be able to pump much money in.

Quick notes: Illicit takeover | Vatican slams India...

  • China Bought Italian Military-Drone Maker Without Authorities’ Knowledge: Italian and European authorities weren’t aware that a Chinese state-controlled company bought an Italian military-drone manufacturer and transferred its know-how and technology, revealing how Beijing is skirting weak investment-screening in Europe to acquire sensitive technology.


  • China's rival to Tesla Semi: Geely's Homtruck will come with Level 4 autonomy. Meanwhile, the Tesla Semi has been delayed multiple times due to unavailability of its 4680-format battery cells. . . . India needs a national tech mission. Not fantasies like India-growth-story or its latest variant, Next-Economic-Supercycle.


  • China Draws Up List to Replace Foreign Tech: The quasi-govt body will choose from a basket of suppliers to provide technology for sensitive sectors. . . . Unlike India's screw-driver plan to manufacture foreign tech.


  • A battery on wheels: Can we use big batteries to power trains instead of tracks with overhead power lines?


  • Vatican heaps guilt on India: The Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano gave frontpage coverage to India’s alleged hypocrisy, underscoring its reticence to commit to CO2 reductions in Glasgow while experiencing dangerous levels of smog in New Delhi and elsewhere.

    "India's track record with renewables is solid". The emphasis on coal while leaving out oil and gas would disproportionately impact developing countries.

    Hypocrisy: Coal power plants are running at full tilt in parts of Europe. Under Europe’s climate policies, this shouldn’t be happening.


  • Icelandverse: Get a 'Real' life.



  • Ghost soldiers: Afghanistan's ex-finance minister has blamed the government's fall on corrupt officials who invented "ghost soldiers" and took payments from the Taliban.


  • Electric scooters find buyers: India is one of the most vulnerable to climate change and extreme weather events like heat waves and floods. Disruptions to the rainy monsoon season are already having a major impact on agriculture.


  • Bridging the skills gap: Bangladesh is making a serious attempt to improve its schools. It hopes to move away from rote learning and towards actual learning. A choice of two vocational subjects from such options as woodwork, graphic design, car mechanics, child care and plumbing will be mandatory for high-schoolers. The government also plans to open more technical universities.


  • India is multi-lingual: We don't need one language.


  • How Extreme Ultraviolet Lithography works:



Tuesday, November 16, 2021

More unreadable verbiage from dr Kang

Gagandeep Kang is the Pratap Bhanu Mehta of the Indian medical establishment. Lots of words, no meaning. My eyes glaze over when i read her stuff. Did you know she's not even a virologist? But she has a contract from Pfizer, it would appear, if you read between the lines.

Kissinger On US-China Relationship, and On Artificial Intelligence

US official document still refers to the 'state of jammu and kashmir'

isn't this something that the GoI needs to fix? tell biden that 370 has been revoked. afaik, there is no more 'state of J&K' but some union territories. 

this is in a travel advisory from the US embassy. 


covid rising? no problem. cancel thanksgiving

yes, if it were india, that would be the preferred option according to the media and courts and parts of the govt. 

and they'd do it too, and make the public feel guilty. 

how do i know this? hollow laugh from an indian. 


Sunday, November 14, 2021

males beware: parthenogenesis (virgin birth) by california condors

i don't know if this is fake news, but the economist reports that california condors show virgin birth leading to chicks that actually hatched.

two outcomes:
1. feminazi women may plot of exterminate all men
2. maybe the jesus christ virgin birth myth isn't as far fetched as we thought. of course that story is preceded by the kunti mata virign birth stories. 

one more U-turn by US CDC: herd immunity isn't the goal any more

yes, the science is uncertain. but at every stage, the people in charge in the US (and some of the snake-oil type commentators in india) act like they have 100% certainty on everything. remember ramanan lakshminarayan, an economist, who confidently predicted 300 million deaths in india, and was feted on every TV channel? what a salesman! similarly fauci, daszak and other 'experts' in the US.

this isn't science any more, it's economics. at least some sectors are making huge profits, and the pandemic has become their feeding-trough. they want to milk it for all it's worth.



Saturday, November 13, 2021

fine example of the kalidasa syndrome

that is, cutting off the branch that you're sitting on.

wall street + US VCs = china's best friend. 


lancet paper on covaxin phase 3 results: 78% efficacy

since it's only considered official if it's printed in the peer reviewed (but dicey journal) lancet, here it is:


this appears to be a real solution, as opposed to the much hyped mRNA type vaccines. no wonder the media tried so hard to suppress it: real risk to pfizer. 


Friday, November 12, 2021

Are Intellectuals in France Falling Under the Grip of Anti-India Leftists?

 India-bashing is becoming more popular among the commentariat in France:

https://newindian.in/all-political-discourse-today-in-france-sounds-like-debate-about-india/

Can India Become the Next Economic Supercycle?

Economic supercycles are those longer-term economic movements which span across multiple conventional economic cycles, and investments into which can lead to greater long-term gains.

https://fortune.com/2021/02/27/what-is-a-supercycle-investing-commodities-wall-street-copper-crude-rally/

https://financialpost.com/financial-times/why-a-new-commodity-supercycle-is-upon-us


The rise of China has been referred to as an economic supercycle.

Can India with its large market potential become the next one?

sounds a little pathetic. like brit blimps pretending empire still exists

https://www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2021/10/28/china-is-definitely-on-the-rise-but-dont-write-off-american-dominance-just-yet/

sounds a little pathetic. i love the US, and wholeheartedly wish the US well, but this is obama-style atlanticist nostalgia. move on to the indo-pacific future. indian ocean rim, esp africa and india: that's where the action is, and the US is MIA there.

Quick notes: Thanksgiving | Sinjar revisited...

  • Religion of "Love": 400 years on, Native Indians still regret helping the Pilgrims survive their first Thanksgiving.

    Thanksgiving portrays an idea of “us seeming like idiots who welcomed all of these changes and supports the idea that Pilgrims brought us a better life because they were superior.”

    The English pushed the Wampanoag off their land and forced many to convert to Christianity. “We had a pray-or-die policy at one point here among our people”.. “If you didn’t become a Christian, you had to run away or be killed.”

    “For us, Thanksgiving kicked off colonization. Our lives changed dramatically. It brought disease, servitude and so many things that weren’t good for Indigenous cultures.



  • Yazidis still displaced in their own country: Sinjar's volatile security situation is the main reason not all Yazidis want to come back. And for many survivors, it's simply unthinkable to come back to a place inhabited by their tormentors.

    "They wanted to force us to change religion". Some 12,000 people were kidnapped or killed in the first week of what the UN has characterized as the Yazidi genocide in August 2014. IS fighters kidnapped and indoctrinated children. Boys were trained to become IS fighters, and women and girls were sold into sexual slavery.


  • Carbon Border Tax: New ploy by rich nations? UK could hike import duties on countries that "fail to tackle climate change".


  • The $80 bln hole in India's climate pledge: India can deliver on its pledge, provided a $80 billion hole in the heart of the country’s power system can be filled. Discoms’ payment arrears are now nearly $14 billion, almost a fifth of which are claims of renewable power producers.


  • Anand Malligawad: Meet the activist cleaning up Bengaluru's lakes



  • BBC's credibility is a thing of the past: Debunking the BBC debunk of ivermectin


  • Is Facebook Bad for You?: It is for about 360 million users. Facebook researchers have found that 1 in 8 of its users report engaging in compulsive use of social media that impacts their sleep, work, parenting or relationships

    Social-curse: Instagram, FB and Tiktok addiction is a massive problem.

    Not a company we should trust: Metaverse will invade workers’ privacy.


  • China Could Be Exploiting Internet Security Process to Steal Data: There are opportunities for a communist entity, a bad actor, or another untrustworthy entity to issue Digital Certificates to other “nefarious folks” that would appear to be trustworthy but aren’t.


  • Rwanda goes electric with locally made e-motorbikes: There will be a loss of fuel tax revenue - but the benefits include a shift to locally produced power sources, lower fuel importation costs and job creation


  • The Empire State Trail: A new 750-mile bicycle route from Manhattan to Buffalo to the Canadian border opened to the public. A combination of protected paths, city streets, highway shoulders and country roads that pass by small towns and cities — offers views of wetlands, waterways, grasslands and mountain ranges.


Thursday, November 11, 2021

Temple Entry Proclamation, Nov 12, 1936

it was an epoch-making event, throwing open all hindu temples in travancore to all hindus. done by Chithira Tirunal Maharaja out of conviction that this was the right thing to do, ably assisted by his Dewan Sir C P Ramaswamy Iyer. 

hinduism reforming itself in real time. that is a joy to behold. 

here's the malayalam text: and his title is "Sri Padmanabha Dasa Vanchipala Sir Ramavarmakulasekhara Kireetapati Manne Sultan Maharaja Rajaraja Bahadur Shamsher Jang, Knight Grand Commander of the Indian Empire"



and a translation i found some time ago on the net, tho i can't find it any more. it's beautifully translated. 



Tuesday, November 09, 2021

Woke Leftist CEO from Silicon Valley Issues Her Racist Dog-Whistle Against Indians

Silicon Valley CEO Melinda Byerly touts her Woke Leftist racism by publicly sneering on Twitter against Indian heritage. This kind of bashing is becoming the newest way to increase your popularity and currency among the Left.

It again demonstrates how the Revolution inevitably eats itself.




Monday, November 08, 2021

China Ramps Up Efforts, Builds Desert Mockups of US Naval Ships for Target Practice

China's Tech Crackdown Hits Softbank of Japan

 


https://www.cnn.com/2021/11/08/investing/softbank-china-tech-crackdown-hnk-intl/index.html


China's tech crackdown hit SoftBank like a 'big winter snowstorm'


(CNN Business)SoftBank is stuck in a "big winter snowstorm," founder and CEO Masayoshi Son said Monday, after a sweeping tech crackdown in China battered some of the Japanese company's key investments.

SoftBank on Monday posted a loss of 397 billion yen ($3.5 billion) for the July-to-September quarter. Son said that the company's net asset value — which he says is a better indication of the firm's performance — fell by 6 trillion yen ($54.3 billion) to $187 billion.
The reason for the hit? "In one word: Alibaba," said Son, during an earnings presentation which he opened with a picture of a blizzard.
    Alibaba was long the crown jewel of SoftBank's investment portfolio, and Son and Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma are close friends. The Japanese entrepreneur invested $20 million in Alibaba over 20 years ago, turning that bet into one that was worth $60 billion when Alibaba went public in 2014.

    civil disobedience: deepavali in bangalore

    the courts, as well as the likes of harsh vardhan, former health minister, need to introspect. 

    Saturday, November 06, 2021

    omigod! outrage! rop cricketer faces racism! aux barricades!

    but when a young hindu woman was bullied on race and religion at oxford, omerta!


    not sure i believe this 'science'

    https://news.trust.org/item/20211105112321-qenut

    this will be used to claim that india has under-reported its wuhanvirus deaths by a large factor. 

    Panic Buying in China - Harbinger of War?


    Xi may see the fact that there's a senile guy in the Whitehouse as a window of opportunity.
    The latest electoral backlash results in the US state of Virginia may signal that this window is closing.
    Xi may therefore decide that he has to act sooner rather than later, to make any land grabs he seeks.

    Indians shouldn't necessarily assume China's first military target would be Taiwan, when it could be India.

    interesting question: so the cure for wuhanvirus is an aids drug?

    Friday, November 05, 2021

    Quick notes: Border tactics | Teenage mode...

    • China's border tactics: At the height of the border standoff between China and India in 2020, the Chinese Army installed a fiber optic network in remote areas of the western Himalayas to provide faster communications and increased protection from foreign interception. . . . . (India's Defence chiefs were on Zoom calls, sigh!)

      The PLA field commanders view near-real-time intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance and situational data as well as redundant and reliable communications as essential to streamlining decision making processes and shortening response timelines, according to a Pentagon report.


    • Atmanirbhar China: Tencent unveils three SoCs to deal with AI, videos, and networking to replace western processors. . . . . . . . . no, not the same as Sardar Patel statue


    • Teenage mode: The Chinese version of TikTok is introducing a "teenage mode" that will limit the amount of time children under the age of 14 spend on the app to 40 minutes a day.. "China is implementing very sensible policies related to social media and protecting children".


    • Transnational repression: The arrest of a Tibetan New York city cop seemed to confirm what the Tibetan community had long suspected: that the Communist party of China is watching them. Tibetans fear their daily activities are documented and tallied. Some applicants have been shown photos of themselves attending a protest, or a teaching led by the Dalai Lama.

      In one case, a visa applicant in San Francisco found that the interviewer knew the name and breed of their dog. According to the Freedom House report, the PRC’s influence campaigns abroad target ethnic minorities and dissidents on a global scale unmatched by any other nation. One of the biggest Tibetan diaspora communities outside Dharamshala is in and around New York City, where an estimated 15,000 Tibetans live.


    • Taliban versus Islamic State: Despite a history of targeting Shiites, the Taliban have now pledged to protect them. IS-Khorasan, however, remains bent on eradicating groups it considers apostates. "ISIS-K has been previously successful in recruiting members disaffected with the Taliban and those who perceive the Taliban as too moderate".


    • Greening: Pakistan sets out to plant 10 Billion trees to counter climate change. . . . . . . . . . . . unlike Gadkari's asphalt obsession.


    • Do we need 2 lane highways passing through Dabaka Forest Reserve?:


    • Vrimps: Nestle brings vegan shrimp to plant-based market.



    • Kejri's latest itch: "If the AAP forms government in Goa, we will provide a free pilgrimage trip to Ayodhya, Shirdi, Velankanni and Ajmer Sharif".. Velankanni is a Catholic shrine in Tamil Nadu. Ajmer Sharif Dargah is the tomb of Sufi saint Moinuddin Chishti.


    ah, the catch with the pfizer wuhanvirus pill: the price tag

    ka-ching, boys and girls. 

    i should have bought pfizer stock on the 14% dip after their EUL approval. 


    first instinct of imperialists is 'let's fabricate stuff'

    cautionary tale about wokeism

    in particular, don't do things to your male or female body parts. it's hell to revert.

    from the economist. 


    economist, big cheerleaders for Dems, are worried. with good reason.

    their woke stuff ain't selling. the economist is famed for being wrong. at one point i had a record of 1-12 against them on their election endorsements.


    data integrity issues with pfizer trials: whistle blower

    contrary to what wokes claim, pfizer vaccine may not be the greatest thing since sliced bread. science, my left foot. simple p-hacking. bmj is a lot more credible than the lancet, which is for sale.


     

    Fwd: US Left's dark money spending

    this is the money tree that lefties shake down every now and then. 

    so where's the money coming from? my bet is on china. 

    and how appropriate a bengali woman is running this scam. 

    ---------- Forwarded message ---------
    From: Sanjay 
    Date: Fri, Nov 5, 2021 at 10:24 AM
    Subject: US Left's dark money spending
    To: 


    https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2021/11/arabella-advisors-money-democrats/620553/

    In a trendy co-working space in Washington, D.C.'s Dupont Circle—where people wear Chucks and fuss about fancy coffee—lies the progressive movement's empire of political cash. Over the past half decade, Democrats have quietly pulled ahead of Republicans in so-called dark-money spending, funneling hundreds of millions from anonymous donors into campaigns around the country.

    The groups that spend money this way tend to have innocuous-sounding names and promiscuously spawn mini-organizations that take up particular state and local causes. The North Fund, for example, spent nearly $5 million trying to legalize marijuana in Montana last year. The Sixteen Thirty Fund—the indisputable heavyweight of Democratic dark money—was the second-largest super-PAC donor in 2020, according to the investigative organization OpenSecrets, giving roughly $61 million of effectively untraceable money to progressive causes. The organization that connects many of these groups—what a critic might call the mothership—is called Arabella Advisors.

    Arabella hates this narrative. The organization's CEO, Sampriti Ganguli, insisted to me that she runs a relatively small business-services organization that does HR, legal compliance, accounting, etc., for clients such as the Sixteen Thirty Fund. Ganguli comes from a consultant background, and she talks like it: Arabella's mission is to make philanthropy more efficient, effective, and equitable, she told me.

    Thursday, November 04, 2021

    boris johnson's deepavali message

    an outstanding message from boris johnson (ok maybe he has a good speechwriter). the trick is to get joe biden to say something similar.

    woke queen persists with brain-dead policies



    this is from the following free to read stuff at the nyt


    Wednesday, November 03, 2021

    Diwali, by Vikram Seth

    I send this poem out every year at Diwali time.

    I would like to share it with you this year for the festive season.

    "And when an alap of Marwa
    Swims on slow flute-notes overf
    The neighbours' roofs at sunset
    Wordlessly like a lover
    It holds me-till the strain
    Of exile, here or there,
    Subverts the trance, the fear
    Of fear found everywhere. "

    Happy Diwali to all of you who are "abroad abroad" and "not at home at home".

    Rajeev Srinivasan

    ===========================

    DIWALI --- Vikram Seth


    Three years of neurotic
    Guy Fawkes Days-I recall
    That lonely hankering-
    But I am home after all.

    Home. These walls, this sky
    Splintered with wakes of light
    These mud-lamps beaded round
    The eaves, this festive night,

    These streets, these voices...yet
    The old insensate dread,
    Abeyant as that love,
    Once more shifts in my head.

    Five? Six? generations ago
    Somewhere in the Punjab
    My father's family,farmers,
    Perhaps had a small shop

    And two generations later
    Could send a son to a school
    To gain the conqueror's
    Authoritarian seal:

    English! Six-armed god,
    Key to a job, to power,
    Snobbery, the good life,
    This separateness, this fear.

    English: beloved language
    of Jonson, Wordsworth's tongue-
    These my "meridian names"
    Whose grooves I crawl along.

    The Moghuls fought and ruled
    And settled. Even while
    They hungered for musk-melon,
    Rose, peach, nightingale,

    The land assumed their love.
    At sixty they could not
    Retire westwards. The British
    Made us the Orient.

    How could an Englishman say
    About the divan-e-khas
    "If there is heaven on earth
    It is this; it is this; it is this."?

    Macaulay the prophet of learning
    Chewed at his pen: one taste
    Of Western wisdom "surpasses
    All the books of the East,"

    And Kalidas, Shankaracharya,
    Panini, Bhaskar, Kabir,
    Surdas sank, and we welcomed
    The reign of Shakespeare.

    The undigested Hobbes,
    The Mill who later ground
    (Through talk of liberty)
    The Raj out of the land ...

    O happy breed of Babus,
    I march on with your purpose;
    We will have railways, common law
    And a good postal service-

    And I twist along
    Those grooves from image to image,
    Violet, elm-tree, swan,
    Pork-pie, gable, scrimmage

    And as we title our memoirs
    "Roses in December"
    Though we all know that here
    Roses *grow* in December

    And we import songs
    Composed in the U.S
    For Vietnam (not even
    Our local horrors grip us)

    And as, over gin at the Club,
    I note that egregious member
    Strut just perceptibly more
    When with a foreigner,

    I know that the whole world
    Means exile of our breed
    Who are not home at home
    And are abroad abroad,

    Huddled in towns, while around:
    "He died last week. My boys
    Are starving. Daily we dig
    The ground for sweet potatoes."

    "The landlord's hirelings broke
    My husband's ribs-and I
    Grow blind in the smoke of the hearth."
    "Who will take care of me

    When I am old? No-one
    Is left." So it goes on,
    The cyclic shadow-play
    Under the sinister sun;

    That sun that, were there water,
    Could bless the dispirited land,
    Coaxing three crops a year
    From this same yieldless ground.

    Yet would these parched wraiths still
    Starve in their ruins, while
    "Silkworms around them grow
    Into fat cocoons?", Sad soil,

    This may as well be my home.
    Because no other nation
    Moves me thus? What of that?
    Cause for congratulation?

    This could well be my home;
    I am too used to the flavor
    Of tenous fixity;
    I have been brought to savour

    Its phases: the winter wheat-
    The flowers of Har-ki-Doon -
    The sal forests - the hills
    Inflamed with rhododendron -

    The first smell of the Rains
    On the baked earth-the peaks
    Snow-drowned in permanence--
    The single mountain lakes.

    What if my tongue is warped?
    I need no words to gaze
    At Ajanta, those flaked caves,
    Or at the tomb of Mumtaz;

    And when an alap of Marwa
    Swims on slow flute-notes over
    The neighbours' roofs at sunset
    Wordlessly like a lover

    It holds me-till the strain
    Of exile, here or there,
    Subverts the trance, the fear
    Of fear found everywhere.

    "But freedom?" the notes would sing...
    Parole is enough. Tonight
    Below the fire-crossed sky
    Of the Festival of Light.

    Give your soul leave to feel
    What distilled peace it can;
    In lieu of joy, at least
    This lapsing anodyne.

    "The world is a bridge. Pass over it,
    Building no house upon it."
    Acceptance may come with time;
    Rest, then disquieted heart.