the silk road is a myth, but the spice route was real

black tellicherry pepper was prized by the Romans. and they paid for it in gold to the extent that they were going bankrupt. sometimes they would pay people in pepper, worth its weight in gold. 

Quick notes: Common cold | Union activism...

• Frequent Boosters Spur Warning on Immune Response: "Excessive boosters could weaken the immune response and tire out people".



• T cells induced by common cold protect against C-virus: Using such T-cells as the foundation for a vaccine could possibly be more effective than the current generation of vaccines, as the current crop focus on the spike protein, which sits on the outside of the cell, making it more prone to mutate within variants of the virus. “Such a vaccine would not need to be given as frequently because the memory T-cells last longer than the antibodies”.



• Slow the Spread? Speeding It May Be Safer : Viruses care more about propagating themselves than about killing the host: Most viruses evolve to become more infectious and less virulent. Policies designed to slow the spread of Omicron may end up creating a supervariant that is more infectious, more virulent and more resistant to vaccines. That would be a man-made disaster.
  
  To minimize that risk, policy makers must tolerate the rapid spread of milder variants. Will relaxing restrictions come at the cost of more hospitalizations and deaths as the next variant starts to spread? Perhaps, but it would reduce the risk of a worst-case scenario and greater loss of life in the long run.



• Socialism for thee, not for me: New York Times interfered with union activism, U.S. labor agency alleges



• On their knees: Sri Lankan begs China to restructure payments for the roughly $5 billion it borrowed under Belt and Road Initiative.



• Gandikota: The stunning Indian gorge that resembles the Grand Canyon



• First Telugu inscription dating back to 575 AD found.
  
  ‘Our inscription is a century older', claims Telangana.



• Ahead of India: Vietnam's VinFast reveals EVs, plans factories in US and Germany



• Begum Parveen Sultana sings tarana in Hamsadhwani.

World’s Emptiest International Airport

Sri Lanka's second-largest airport is designed to handle a million passengers per year. It currently receives about a dozen passengers per day. It has annual revenues of roughly $300,000, but now it must repay China $23.6 million a year for the next eight years. To relieve its debt crisis, the Sri Lankan govt agreed to give China control of a deepwater port in exchange for writing off $1.1 billion of the island’s debt.  

“We always thought China’s investments would help our economy. But now there’s a sense that we’ve been maneuvered into selling some of the family jewels.” ..This will be the story of OBOR down the road.

NYTimes: What the World’s Emptiest International Airport Says About China’s Influence.


Forbes: China's Ghost Town Diplomacy: The Story Behind The World's Emptiest International Airport

LTTE campaign delays execution of RG's assassins

Whatever our ideological perspectives may be, it is a fact that Rajiv Gandhi was a former Prime Minister of the nation whose patriotism was unquestionable. Despite being weighed down by Congress culture, his intentions were not malafide.

A careful perusal of the advocates of clemency for his
assassins and the institutions
(and nations) supporting them -
in the conspiracy to abort the delivery of justice is very informative.

There are some brainwashed useful idiot Hindus inadvertently adding their voice to this vile and seditious campaign. That is sympomatic of the LTTE itself -
poor Hindu Tamil footsoldiers
instigated and brainwashed
by the Christist LTTE leadership to die as cannon fodder in their
separatist war against Sri Lanka
(and ultimately against India itself).

I fervently hope that President Pranab Mukherjee puts an end to this evil expeditiously, by the stroke of his pen - in the same
manner that belatedly and finally delivered justice to Mohd. Afzal Guru &
Ajmal Amir Kasab.


http://m.timesofindia.com/india/LTTE-campaign-delayed-Rajiv-Gandhis-killers-hanging-source-says/articleshow/18550382.cms


NEW DELHI: Three Rajiv Gandhi assassins have opposed the execution of the death sentence awarded to them by pointing to the 12 year-lag between the Supreme Court's confirmation of the high court's order to send them to the gallows and the rejection of the mercy petition by President. Behind this argument, it turns out, is a well-organized campaign by LTTE cadres, sympathizers and human rights groups opposed to death penalty who could well have been the reason for the delay in the first place.

The announcement of death penalty led to the European Union issuing a demarche to the Indian government. Tamil and human rights groups lobbied France, South Africa, Germany, Denmark, UK MPs, the Archbishop of Madras-Mylapore as well as Indian ministers for not carrying out the death sentence. Rashtrapati Bhavan was bombarded with clemency pleas.

It was against such a backdrop that President K R Narayanan did not take up the clemency pleas in 1999.

Among the other petitioners who sought death penalty waiver were NGOs like Campaign against Death Penalty, Dravidians for Peace & Justice, South Africa chapter, South African Tamil Federation, The World Saivite Council, the South Indian Foundation and the Federation of Tamil Associations in France.

Others quoted Gladys Staines who forgave those who murdered her husband and children.

Among the political leaders who petitioned for the four were MDMK's Vaiko and SAD's Simranjit Singh Mann.
Rev Dr Arul Das James, Archbishop of Madras-Mylapore, and Baba Amte also supported clemency while the then minister of state for petroleum and natural gas E Ponnuswamy forwarded a plea as well. From the judiciary, V Krishna Iyer and Justice Hosbet Suresh also submitted pleas to Narayanan.

Nano is a Hit as SriLankan Cab

Tata's Nano is apparently a big hit in Sri Lanka, where it's being used mainly as a taxi cab:

Sri Lanka Ends Term Limits

In a predictable development, the Sri Lankan govt has pushed through legal changes to end term limits.

All the Rajapakse dynasty needs to do now is bring in Electronic Voting Machines to ensure their rule for perpetuity.
Hey, why let the Nehru clan have all the fun? The EVM could be their most widely emulated fashion trend since the Nehru jacket.

Eelam Hunger Striker in UK Snuck Food

A much-publicized Eelam activist on hunger strike during protests in the UK now turns out to have been smuggling in food for himself all along.

Oh well - it's the thought that counts, right? Not.

Chidambaram Offers Indian Citizenship to Eelam Refugees

Now Kaangress wants to import the Eelam problem, by granting blanket citizenship to refugees from the Eelam war in Sri Lanka next door.

I guess Chidambaram's still smarting from his bare squeaker re-election, which was only possible due to "recount".

Kaangress always tries to give themselves a bailout by mortgaging the country's future.

The Extraordinary Rendition of KP

Here's a good article from journalist DBS Jeyaraj on the circumstances surrounding the capture of notorious LTTE arms dealer 'KP', who was recently declared Prabhakaran's successor by some factions within LTTE.

It's actually a good thing that China went in for backing Colombo instead of the Eelamists, since doing the latter could have created an entrenched fanatical mini-republic on our southern border, capable of fomenting unrest in India, a la PakTalib Baitullah Mehsud. We would have been suffering Swat Valleys all over Tamil Nadu as a result. Colombo at least has a shared interest with us in mutually preserving our respective territorial integrities, which can naturally limit any mischief or misadventurism.

WSJ on Sri Lanka's Victory

Wall Street Journal has a nice op-ed about why terrorists should be defeated, and not merely negotiated with.

Prabhakaran is Dead

Unconfirmed reports say that LTTE leader Prabhakaran is dead, and that his body has been taken to a Lankan army camp.

Now it's time for survivors to tell their tales of how the LTTE brutally kept them hostage as human shields. This will allow the instransigent diaspora to see LTTE for the thugs they have been.

Then, without losing momentum, Colombo must move to create a credible setup under which all islanders can live in equality.

War Nerd Does Eelam War

After repeated urging from me, War Nerd finally renders his verdict on the Sri Lankan War, in his typically beautiful prose. Heh, nobody says it quite like he does.

Brutal fascism on display in "Rational,Progressive" Tamil Nadu

Shri. Subramaniam Swamy was physically assaulted by "Dravidian" neanderthal thugs inside court premises. This is clearly intended as an intimidatory tactic to browbeat an individual who has been outspoken in defense of Hindu causes during the dark days of the fascist UPA at the centre and the Stalinist, racist secessionists in the state of Tamil Nadu.

Where is the shrill banshee Renuka Chowdhary now? Where are all the
professional agitators for "Human rights", "Rationalism", "Freedom of Speech", "Democracy" etc - when these principles are actually violated with impunity? Do the adherents of the "Dravidian" death cult have a license to indulge in hate speech and physical assault directed at nationalistic forces?

The attack on Subramanium Swamy is likely a precursor to an all out holocaust against Hindus in Tamil Nadu, the much demonised Brahmins in particular.

Will any "warnings" or "directives" be issued to the fascist regime of Tamil Nadu under Article 355 now - when there is a transparent breakdown in law and order, indeed a threat to national unity and territorial integrity?
Will Renuka Chowdhary approach the Election Commission to disenfranchise the enablers of "Tamil Ealam" terrorism on Indian soil? Will Nandita Das produce a movie cataloguing the contours of "Dravidian" genocide against Hindus?
Don't hold your breath...

"Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy was assaulted by a group of lawyers in a courtroom at the Madras High Court on Tuesday. The incident happened between 11.45 am and 12.05 pm in the court of Justice PK Mishra and Justice K Chandru, during the hearing of a case filed by Dikshithars of Chidambaram Natarajan Temple challenging a single judge order allowing the Government to take over the temple administration. Swamy was present in the court to plead himself. Shouting pro-LTTE slogans, the advocates manhandled Swamy.

The agitated lawyers shouted, “get out you Brahmin dog”, “you LTTE-hater”. They hurled rotten eggs at Swamy, soiling his clothes and beating him on the right side of his neck.

Swamy was waiting for his case to come up in the courtroom when the attack took place. Even as he enjoys Z-category security, his security personnel were not allowed inside the courtroom as per rules."

Hamas and LTTE

Nice frank article in WorldTribune about LTTE and its imminent demise, as well as its past as innovator among terrorist groups. They like to think of themselves as the Apple to the Islamists' Microsoft.

Will Prabhakaran/LTTE Flee to India?

Here is analysis by B Raman:

http://ramansterrorismana...-after-kilinochchi-q.html

He writes:

Q. What are the chances of he and his cadres taking shelter in India?

A. The Governments of India and Tamil Nadu will not allow it.However, one has to be alert to the possibility that the Maoists (Naxalites) inthe tribal belt of central India who have some territorial control in the jungles might help him and give him shelter in return for theassistance which the LTTE had allegedly given them in the past. If he manages to reach the Maoists controlled territory, the ability of oursecurity forces to get at him may be limited. In the case of the LTTE cadres, some of them might succeed to come over to India as refugees.This would call for stricter vetting of the refugee flow in order to identigy and arrest such elements.

Will LTTE leaders, including Velupillai Prabhakaran, flee into Maoist-controlled areas of India?
Because that is the only area where I can see him able to go -- into jungles between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, or Andhra Pradesh.
LTTE has collaborated with the Naxalites in the past, and they could grant him sanctuary. India being a soft state, and not tough like Sri Lanka, means that if LTTE leaders hole up inside India, we won't be able to nab them. Meanwhile, they'd make common cause with the Naxalites, and use them as a stepping stone to set Tamil Nadu on fire. Is this why Pakistan has been trying to help Colombo defeat LTTE - so that they could push the Eelam war into India? Or are they only motivated by China's String-of-Pearls agenda in this regard?

Lankan Forces Enter Kilinochchi

BCC reports Sri Lankan Army seems to have entered Kilinochchi. Will they have to blast their way through, block by block? Will LTTE fold and run? Will Prabhakaran flee, surrender, or go down fighting? I hope that the swine won't get away. If he dies, then fine, but if he surrenders, I hope that he's locked in a deep dark hole from which he can't escape. Let him be brought low in front of his followers, like that Kurdish leader Ocalan who was shown on the air weeping and begging forgiveness while in custody. That's the best way to destroy the movement.

Let's also see what Karunanidhi and Vaiko do in response to this.

Malaysia accuses Ethnic Indians of LTTE terror link

This is a ploy by the Malay Mohammedans to get the Atlanticists on their side instead of addressing the root causes of Tamil Hindu disaffection in Malaysia. It's highly unlikely that the LTTE with it's christist leadership would get involved in a Hindu cause. If there is a single meritorious case anywhere in the world of poverty and illiteracy justifying taking up arms - this is it. And the Mohammedans having perpetrated the 9/11 atrocity have reason to wet their pants in trepidation. The Petronas Towers in Malaysia are now the world's tallest skyscraper and the LTTE does have a military aviation wing, albeit with micro-light aircraft, that has been involved in suicide bombings in Sri Lanka lately!!
Therefore, this is the right time for the Malay supremacists to ameliorate the root causes of the "Ethnic Indian" disenchantment.

Karunanidhi brazens out eulogy of LTTE terrorist leader

Since it is fashionable among the secular progressive crowd of late to deploy contentious terminology involving "genocide", "state sponsored terrorism" etc to vilify the Hindu right and demand trials at the International Court of Justice, here is something for the seculars to chew on:

The leader of government of an important state in the world's largest democracy and a crucial component of the federal coalition government openly eulogises a fanatic
terrorist group as a "liberation movement" and it's suicide bombers as "martyrs", an evil cult that has assassinated an Indian prime minister and that aims to undermine the sovereignty of a friendly neighbouring country. This is clearly inconsistent with UN Security Council resolution 1373 to which India happens to be a signatory. The open "Dravidian" facilitation of Prabhakaran's lunatic death cult makes the Indian nation a rogue state per international law!! Why should the whole nation have to pay the price for the fascist tendencies of the head neanderthal and his sons Stalin and Azhagiri (the Dravidian versions of Uday and Qhusay)?
Side note: It is the same half literate Kaangress leader who demanded Modi's prosecution at the Hague who is now minimising and negating Karunanidhi's advocacy of LTTE terrorism.

LTTE targeting students for conscription

LTTE targets more families for conscription
Those seeking higher education told to give brother/sister to Tigers:
-RANIL WIJAYAPALA in Omanthai

The LTTE, the self-claimed sole representative of the Tamil people in the North-East has imposed yet another restriction on Tamil youth in the Vanni to curtail their university education by making it compulsory for one of their family members to join the Tiger outfit, for them to proceed to their respective universities to continue university education..............
-deleted

Karunanidhi and Baalu's "dravidian" christist comrades further south in Sri Lanka are a lunatic death cult. Therefore, they would obviously seek to curtail the power of thinking and inquiry that a proper education may inculcate among those Tamil students. Some dravidian fool claimed recently on this blog that the dravidian movement used self-immolations in the anti-Hindi agitation, hence was "non-violent".
Next, the dravidians will claim that suicide bombing is harmless, which incidentally they co-invented with the Hizbollah.

LTTE's aerial attack on Sri Lankan airbase

The first successful coordinated ground and air attack by the "Tigers" represents a quantum leap in their offensive capabilities. The LTTE is far from posing a threat to Indian air defenses in conventional terms; yet an increasingly desperate
Sri Lanka is bound to have ramifications for India, particularly with respect to
the potential for intervention by inimical forces.....