#third world war in tamil

[rightnewshindi]

रूस की पोलैंड पर हमले की आशंका के बीच जो बाइडेन से मिले राष्ट्रपति डूडा, जानें अमेरिका ने क्या कहा

रूस की पोलैंड पर हमले की आशंका के बीच जो बाइडेन से मिले राष्ट्रपति डूडा, जानें अमेरिका ने क्या कहा

Washington News: रुस-यूक्रेन युद्ध के बीच पोलैंड के राष्ट्रपति और प्रधानमंत्री के संयुक्त अमेरिका दौरे ने दुनिया का ध्यान आकर्षित किया है. पॉलिश राष्ट्रपति ने यहां यूरोप के भविष्य पर बड़ी चिंता जताई. उन्होंने कहा कि अगर पुतिन यूक्रेन जीत गए तो वो अपने युद्ध का दायरा बढ़ा सकते हैं. राष्ट्रपति आंद्रेज डूडा ने पोलैंड और अन्य देशों पर संभावित रुसी अक्रमण को लेकर चिंता जताई, जिस पर हिटलर के हमले ने…

[dailyanarchistposts]

Mega Schemes

Huge hydraulic schemes are made possible by advanced modern civil engineering techniques. They require vast international contracts that are only possible at the level of central governments, international free floating capital and supranational government organisations. The financiers borrow money and lend it at commercial rates, so they favour largescale engineering projects that promise increasing production for export markets at the expense of local subsistence economies, with disastrous social and environmental effects. Cash crops destroy settled communities and cause pollution of soil and water. For instance, Ethiopia’s Third Five-Year Plan brought 60% of cultivated land in the fertile Awash Valley under cotton, evicting Afar pastoralists onto fragile uplands which accelerated deforestation and contributed to the country’s ecological crisis and famine. There’s a vicious circle at work. Development needs money. Loans can only be repaid through cash crops that earn foreign currency. These need lots more water than subsistence farming. Large hydraulic schemes to provide this water are development. Development needs money. And so it goes.

Large-scale projects everywhere are the consequence and justification for authoritarian government: one of America’s great dam-building organisations is the US Army Corps of Engineering. Stalin’s secret police supervised the construction of dams and canals. Soldiers such as Nasser of Egypt and Gadafi of Libya and military regimes in South America have been prominent in promoting such projects. Nasser built the Anwar High dam in 1971. The long-term consequences have been to stop the annual flow of silt onto delta land, requiring a growing use of expensive chemical fertilisers, and increased vulnerability to erosion from the Mediterranean. Formerly the annual flooding washed away the build-up of natural salts; now they increase the salt content of irrigated land. The buildup of silt behind the dam is reducing its electricity generating capacity; the lake is also responsible for the dramatic increase in water-borne diseases. Nationalism leads to hydraulic projects without thought to what happens downstream in other countries. The 1992 floods of the Ganga-Brahmaputra-Barak system killed 10,000 people. 500m people live in the region, nearly 10% of the world’s population, and they are constantly at risk from water exploitation and mismanagement. Technological imperialism has replaced the empire building of the past: large-scale hydro projects are exported to countries despite many inter-related problems – deforestation, intensive land use and disputes and so on. Large-scale water engineering projects foment international disputes and have become economic bargaining counters, for example the Pergau dam in Malaysia. The British Government agreed to spend £234m on it in 1989 in exchange for a £1.3bn arms deal. In 1994 the High Court ruled that the aid decision was unlawful but these kinds of corrupt deals continue.

In Sri Lanka the disruption caused by the Mahawelli dams and plantation projects resulted in the forcible eviction of 1 million people and helped maintain the insurgency of the Tamil Tigers that resulted in thousands of deaths as they fought government forces from the late 1980s onwards. In 1993 the Marsh Arabs of southern Iraq were threatened by Saddam Hussein’s plans to drain the area – the most heavily populated part of the region. Many of the 100,000 inhabitants fled after being warned that any opposition risked death. Selincourt estimated that 3 million people would lose their homes, livelihoods, land and cultural identity by giant dam projects in the 1990s. The Kedung Ombo dam (Indonesia) displaced 25,000; the Akasombo dam (Ghana) 80,000; Caborra Bassa (South Africa) 25,000. Three dams in Laos alone will have displaced 142,000 people. The proposed Xiao Langdi dam in China would displace 140,000; the Three Gorges project 1.1 million people. Only war inflicts a similar level of human and environmental destruction, yet large dam projects have a chronic record in delivering water and power, or eliminating flooding in downstream valleys.

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 7.27 (after 1920)

1921 – Researchers at the University of Toronto, led by biochemist Frederick Banting, prove that the hormone insulin regulates blood sugar. 1929 – The Geneva Convention of 1929, dealing with treatment of prisoners-of-war, is signed by 53 nations. 1940 – The animated short A Wild Hare is released, introducing the character of Bugs Bunny. 1942 – World War II: Allied forces successfully halt the final Axis advance into Egypt. 1947 – In Vatican City, Rome, canonization of Catherine Labouré, the saint whose apparitions of the Virgin Mary originated the worldwide diffusion of the Miraculous Medal. 1949 – Initial flight of the de Havilland Comet, the first jet-powered airliner. 1953 – Cessation of hostilities is achieved in the Korean War when the United States, China, and North Korea sign an armistice agreement. Syngman Rhee, President of South Korea, refuses to sign but pledges to observe the armistice. 1955 – The Austrian State Treaty restores Austrian sovereignty. 1955 – El Al Flight 402 is shot down by two fighter jets after straying into Bulgarian air space. All 58 people on board are killed. 1959 – The Continental League is announced as baseball's "third major league" in the United States. 1963 – The Puijo observation tower is opened to the general public at Puijo Hill in Kuopio, Finland. 1964 – Vietnam War: Five thousand more American military advisers are sent to South Vietnam bringing the total number of United States forces in Vietnam to 21,000. 1974 – Watergate scandal: The House of Representatives Judiciary Committee votes 27 to 11 to recommend the first article of impeachment (for obstruction of justice) against President Richard Nixon. 1975 – Mayor of Jaffna and former MP Alfred Duraiappah is shot dead. 1981 – While landing at Chihuahua International Airport, Aeromexico Flight 230 overshoots the runway. Thirty-two of the 66 passengers and crew on board the DC-9 are killed. 1983 – Black July: Eighteen Tamil political prisoners at the Welikada high security prison in Colombo are massacred by Sinhalese prisoners, the second such massacre in two days. 1989 – While attempting to land at Tripoli International Airport in Libya, Korean Air Flight 803 crashes just short of the runway. Seventy-five of the 199 passengers and crew and four people on the ground are killed, in the second accident involving a DC-10 in less than two weeks, the first being United Airlines Flight 232. 1990 – The Supreme Soviet of the Belarusian Soviet Republic declares independence of Belarus from the Soviet Union. Until 1996 the day is celebrated as the Independence Day of Belarus; after a referendum held that year the celebration of independence is moved to June 3. 1990 – The Jamaat al Muslimeen attempt a coup d'état in Trinidad and Tobago. 1995 – The Korean War Veterans Memorial is dedicated in Washington, D.C. 1996 – In Atlanta, United States, a pipe bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park during the 1996 Summer Olympics. 1997 – About 50 people are killed in the Si Zerrouk massacre in Algeria. 2002 – Ukraine airshow disaster: A Sukhoi Su-27 fighter crashes during an air show at Lviv, Ukraine killing 77 and injuring more than 500 others, making it the deadliest air show disaster in history. 2005 – After an incident during STS-114, NASA grounds the Space Shuttle, pending an investigation of the continuing problem with the shedding of foam insulation from the external fuel tank. 2015 – At least seven people are killed and many injured after gunmen attack an Indian police station in Punjab.

[trakiantales]

Intro

Hi!

I'm worldbuilding for a fantasy setting I'm developing to write a story in.

It started out as a writing exercise. It's now complicated enough that I've got at least 50 pages of general backstory, a timeline, a conlang for the lingua franca, and a lot of time wasted spent on developing this world.

This Tumblr is basically a means to post my notes for this, both to organize my thoughts and also in case some poor fool aspiring reader discovers this rabbit hole.

So before I get into the complicated bits, let me introduce myself. I'm Womgi. I'm 33 years old as of 2024, and I'm an Indian citizen from the city of Kochi in India. I work in a housing finance company, which for our American friends basically means I work with mortgages. In my free time I dabble in fanfiction, and poetry. And I daydream of retirement because I'm also a millennial waiting for the proverbial mushroom cloud to sweep over me and put me out of my misery. English is actually my second language, my first being Malayalam, and my third being Hindi. I'm fluent in English and Malayalam, passable in Hindi, and I can understand Tamil if I squint.

Whit that done, let's move on to the actual setting!

So, short backstory time!

We have our basic fantasy magic world with people,magic and nations. Magic has existed basically forever, but actually using it was very difficult. Emphasis on was.

And back when magic was rarer than common sense, that's where your mages came in, people with enough magic to use magic in a meaningful manner, aka people who can cast at least some spells.

And then you have the real heavy hitters, the og legends in a time of sword and spear, the battle mages, who were basically able to use magic on themselves and become tiny unstoppable murder machines. Just saying, nothing says I win more than being strong, nigh invulnerable and super fast for a while. Especially when your opponents consider the spear and shield the height of military power.

The great nations of Trakia mostly came about due to these individuals, doing a lot of heavy lifting in "uniting" large areas into large nations. Thus you go from hundreds of small tribal territories to actual kingdoms and small empires, nations which have vast land, people and resources.

And the way these nations stayed united is that they figured out non mage magics, stuff that you could train the average guy to do. Basically, a mage might be able to light up a hand with their own magic. A magician would study and be able to do actually useful stuff, like a magic telegram, or repairing a house. But the point is, once you have communication in place, even if it is magic telegrams, you start to be able to consolidate in a way that you couldn't before the use of such magic. Communication allows for coordination, and homogenization, keeping a country together as opposed to having distant regions that will eventually feel estranged and eventually get ideas....like becoming independent. No, being united is all about a collective "us" that can then be used as an excuse to look down upon "them"

This is what I'd like to call the pre isekai period. When things were....okay-ish. sure you had your wars and fighting, but the world was nominally at peace, and most people didnt really have to worry about anything more than themselves and their immediate surroundings. Politics was something for rulers to worry about. Everyone was happy!

But everything changed when the fire nation attacked!

And then things....changed.

[luminouscyst]

top 100 songs:

#89 - Paper Planes by M.I.A.

I fly like paper, get high like planes. If you catch me at the border, I got visas in my name. If you come around here, I make 'em all day. I get one done in a second if you wait.

MIA is perhaps not who you’d typically expect to see near the top of the US Billboard Hot 100 (peaking at #4). Her real name is Mathangi Arulpragasam, and her parents are Sri Lankan Tamils. In MIA’s childhood, she and her family were displaced by civil war and even forced into hiding. Her father was often absent, pursuing political activism. 

Years later, MIA burst onto the charts with her hit Paper Planes. The song catapults me back to 2008, though it feels unique even for that period. The instrumental, produced by Diplo, includes a creative interpolation of The Clash’s “Straight to Hell.” The lyrics reflect MIA’s own problems obtaining a visa in the US and satirize the American perception of third-world immigrants. Somehow, it made a chorus that’s half gunshots and cash registers catchy and commercially palatable. It’s also more meaningful than many of us may have realized during its unlikely height of popularity.

[arcticdementor]

Some thoughts on territorial integrity

One of Steven Pinker’s much touted metrics of the world improving is that from WW2 onwards, no country had their border changed by force (Crimea is generally considered the break in the trend, though debatably there are scattered others like Kosovo). Territorial integrity is a precondition for making sustained national sovereignty possible, and both are key elements in the post war world order. On its face, the knowledge that your country won’t have its borders arbitrarily redrawn by a bigger, stronger country is an incredible sign of progress that allows smaller, developing countries a level of safety and security never previously enjoyed.

But a while back I had to do some research on secessionist movements and was staggered by how many there were. For the random two decades we looked at there were over 70 different secessionist groups scattered across almost as many countries. There are a few countries with multiple movements (Myanmar is the undisputed winner here), but even cutting out the repeats leaves dozens upon dozens of countries containing some group of people that desperately wants out. Realizing this sort of made territorial integrity look less like an unambiguous sign of progress for me.

These secessionist groups are basically always ethnic or religious minorities. Sometimes they’re trying to secede because they’ve dealt with brutal oppression or discrimination, sometimes they just don’t feel like they signed on to some post-colonial country that had its borders drawn by outside actors, sometimes they’ve just gotten pretty good at self-governance and want their polity made official.

These secessionists aren’t all innocent victims, they include violent terrorist organizations like the Tamil Tigers and Abu Sayyaf. But many of them are; many of these groups have legitimate claims to oppression, decades or centuries of enduring ethnic cleansing and brutal state oppression. Many of them have valid desires for independence and self-governance. The strength and durability of the surrounding nation they have to live within doesn’t provide them safety and security, it’s often the very thing forcing them to live without safety or security.

This isn’t a polemic about how territorial integrity or national sovereignty is bad, or how the US or whoever should encourage secessionist groups, which I generally oppose. I have other issues with strict interpretations of national sovereignty, like the fact that diplomacy must be conducted state-to-state in denial of on-the-ground realities of who has authority (ex: Somaliland is a far more functional “country” than Somalia, but we insist on negotiating with the failed state half of the nation). But these objections aside, territorial integrity and national sovereignty still seem important to me for all the normal good reasons, like international stability and peace.

This is mostly a thought dump of something weighing on my mind. But I gotta say, learning that almost a third of the world’s countries contain people who want to escape sure made those unchanged borders look a lot less like progress and a lot more like cages.

[onestowatch]

Priya Ragu Is Taking Her Destiny Into Her Own Hands [Q&A]

Priya Ragu’s unique take on R&B is otherworldly, simultaneously calling to mind her far-flung roots and a vision that spans genres and cultures. Born and raised in Switzerland after her parents escaped the Sri Lankan civil war in the early ‘80s, Priya’s initial music excursions occurred under the cover of night, covertly listening to Western pop music and pursuing her own budding passion. All this and more leads us to the release of Priya’s debut EP, damnshetamil, a deft exploration of self, culture, and the limitless, universal language of R&B.

Over the course of ten spellbinding tracks, damnshetamil paints the portrait of an R&B artist more than capable of balancing ethereal grace with impactful poise, all while never sacrificing the historical foundations that shaped her. It is a collection of music informed very much by the genreless present but inspired by the Tamil music that served as her introduction point to the expansive world of music. 

We had the opportunity to chat with Priya about her debut project, retaining her Tamil roots, and taking her destiny into her own hands. 

Ones to Watch: Who is Priya Ragu? Is Priya the artist different from the individual? If so, how?

Priya Ragu: In person, I feel that I’m more of shy character. When I’m on stage performing, I get a different kind of energy and courage.

So, what does damnshetamil mean to you, especially in terms of musical expression.

damnshestamil is about me taking my destiny into my own hands and owning and embracing my heritage. It’s a nod to my musical roots and background.

You described this mixtape as “pure and sacred.” How so, and what does it mean for you to put this into the world?

It feels like I was meant to do this, it was always within me. It’s super exciting to have it out in the world. It’s been a long time coming, and I can’t wait for everyone to hear it.

Your parents were refugees of civil strife in their native home of Sri Lanka, how did their experiences affect your upbringing and by extension your music?

My parents always made sure we didn’t forget where we came from. We watched loads of Tamil films and listened to Tamil music all the time. That influence has definitely remained in my music. They made sure that the Tamil connection remained strong and that feeds into my music constantly.

Did choosing your own path as a creative feel more difficult because of your family? Or did it give you more resolve?

It was difficult to do this and take this path, otherwise it wouldn’t have taken so much time. I’ve had to build up self-confidence over time and find my own sound which inevitably took time.

How did you link with OTW favorite Oddisee?

This was at the Jazz café. He had a show which I went to see. I just walked in not knowing who he was, and I was simply blown away. The rest is history.

There is an explosion of third culture music now, are you comfortable with that category? Is that categorization meaningful to you?

I’m just making music that is true to me. I think it’s great that there is so much musical fusion occurring at the moment, and I think this should be celebrated.

What do you hope your audience will take away from this mixtape?

I want people to connect with it and enjoy it!

Who is inspiring you right now? 

Deepak Chopra. His books and teachings about meditation and yoga help me to stay grounded.

Who are your Ones to Watch?

Cleo Soul, Emir Taha, Pa Salieu.

damnshetamil is available everywhere you can stream it.

[freevoidkitty]

WORLD’S LITERATURE

SOUTHEAST ASIA         

  Southeast Asia or Southeastern Asia is the southeastern subregion of Asia, consisting of the regions that are geographically south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent and north-west of Australia. Southeast Asia is bordered to the north by East Asia, to the west by South Asia and the Bay of Bengal, to the east by Oceania and the Pacific Ocean, and to the south by Australia and the Indian Ocean. Apart from the British Indian Ocean Territory and two out of 26 atolls of Maldives in South Asia, Southeast Asia is the only other subregion of Asia that lies partly within the Southern Hemisphere. Southeast Asia covers about 4.5 million km2 (1.7 million mi2), which is 10.5% of Asia or 3% of Earth's total land area. Its total population is more than 655 million, about 8.5% of the world's population. It is the third most populous geographical region in Asia after South Asia and East Asia. The region is culturally and ethnically diverse, with hundreds of languages spoken by different ethnic groups. Ten countries in the region are members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), a regional organization established for economic, political, military, educational and cultural integration amongst its members.

The region, together with part of South Asia, was well known by Europeans as the East Indies or simply the Indies until the 20th century. Chinese sources referred the region as Nanyang ("��洋"), which literally means the "Southern Ocean". The mainland section of Southeast Asia was referred to as Indochina by European geographers due to its location between China and the Indian subcontinent and its having cultural influences from both neighboring regions. In the 20th century, however, the term became more restricted to territories of the former French Indochina (Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam). The maritime section of Southeast Asia is also known as the Malay Archipelago, a term derived from the European concept of a Malay race. Another term for Maritime Southeast Asia is Insulindia (Indian Islands), used to describe the region between Indochina and Australasia. The term "Southeast Asia" was first used in 1839 by American pastor Howard Malcolm in his book Travels in South-Eastern Asia. Malcolm only included the Mainland section and excluded the Maritime section in his definition of Southeast Asia.[13] The term was officially used in the midst of World War II by the Allies, through the formation of South East Asia Command (SEAC) in 1943.[14] SEAC popularised the use of the term "Southeast Asia," although what constituted Southeast Asia was not fixed; for example, SEAC excluded the Philippines and a large part of Indonesia while including Ceylon. However, by the late 1970s, a roughly standard usage of the term "Southeast Asia" and the territories it encompasses had emerged.

Ethnic groups of Southeast Asia

The Aslians and Negritos were believed as one of the earliest inhabitant in the region. They are genetically related to the Papuans in Eastern Indonesia, East Timor and Australian Aborigines. In modern times, the Javanese are the largest ethnic group in Southeast Asia, with more than 100 million people, mostly concentrated in Java, Indonesia. The second largest ethnic group in Southeast Asia is Vietnamese (Kinh people) with around 86 million population, mainly inhabiting in Vietnam, thus forming a significant minority in neighboring Cambodia and Laos. The Thais is also a significant ethnic group with around 59 million population forming the majority in Thailand. In Burma, the Burmese account for more than two-thirds of the ethnic stock in this country, with the Indo-Aryan Rohingya make up a significant minority in Rakhine State. Indonesia is clearly dominated by the Javanese and Sundanese ethnic groups, with hundreds of ethnic minorities inhabited the archipelago, including Madurese, Minangkabau, Bugis, Balinese, Dayak, Batak and Malays. While Malaysia is split between more than half Malays and one-quarter Chinese, and also Indian minority in the West Malaysia however Dayaks make up the majority in Sarawak and Kadazan-dusun makes up the majority in Sabah which are in the East Malaysia. The Malays are the majority in West Malaysia and Brunei, while they forming a significant minority in Indonesia, Southern Thailand, East Malaysia and Singapore. In city-state Singapore, Chinese are the majority, yet the city is a multicultural melting pot with Malays, Indians and Eurasian also called the island their home.The Chams form a significant minority in Central and South Vietnam, also in Central Cambodia. While the Khmers are the majority in Cambodia, and form a significant minority in Southern Vietnam and Thailand, the Hmong people are the minority in Vietnam, China and Laos.Within the Philippines, the Tagalog, Visayan (mainly Cebuanos, Warays and Hiligaynons), Ilocano, Bicolano, Moro (mainly Tausug, Maranao, and Maguindanao) and Central Luzon (mainly Kapampangan and Pangasinan) groups are significant.

Culture of Southeast Asia

The culture in Southeast Asia is very diverse: on mainland Southeast Asia, the culture is a mix of Burmese, Cambodian, Laotian and Thai (Indian) and Vietnamese (Chinese) cultures. While in Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore and Malaysia the culture is a mix of indigenous Austronesian, Indian, Islamic, Western, and Chinese cultures. Also Brunei shows a strong influence from Arabia. Vietnam and Singapore show more Chinese influence[140] in that Singapore, although being geographically a Southeast Asian nation, is home to a large Chinese majority and Vietnam was in China's sphere of influence for much of its history. Indian influence in Singapore is only evident through the Tamil migrants,[141] which influenced, to some extent, the cuisine of Singapore. Throughout Vietnam's history, it has had no direct influence from India – only through contact with the Thai, Khmer and Cham peoples. Moreover, Vietnam is also categorized under the East Asian cultural sphere along with China, Korea, and Japan due to the large amount of Chinese influence embedded in their culture and lifestyle. 

ARTS in Southeast Asia

The arts of Southeast Asia have affinity with the arts of other areas. Dance in much of Southeast Asia includes movement of the hands as well as the feet, to express the dance's emotion and meaning of the story that the ballerina is going to tell the audience. Most of Southeast Asia introduced dance into their court; in particular, Cambodian royal ballet represented them in the early 7th century before the Khmer Empire, which was highly influenced by Indian Hinduism. Apsara Dance, famous for strong hand and feet movement, is a great example of Hindu symbolic dance.

MUSIC in Southeast Asia

Traditional music in Southeast Asia is as varied as its many ethnic and cultural divisions. Main styles of traditional music can be seen: Court music, folk music, music styles of smaller ethnic groups, and music influenced by genres outside the geographic region. Of the court and folk genres, Gong chime ensembles and orchestras make up the majority (the exception being lowland areas of Vietnam). Gamelan and Angklung orchestras from Indonesia, Piphat /Pinpeat ensembles of Thailand and Cambodia and the Kulintang ensembles of the southern Philippines, Borneo, Sulawesi and Timor are the three main distinct styles of musical genres that have influenced other traditional musical styles in the region. String instruments also are popular in the region. On 18 November 2010, UNESCO officially recognized angklung as a Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity, and encourage Indonesian people and government to safeguard, transmit, promote performances and to encourage the craftsmanship of angklung making.

WRITING in Southeast Asia

The history of Southeast Asia has led to a wealth of different authors, from both within and without writing about the region. Originally, Indians were the ones who taught the native inhabitants about writing. This is shown through Brahmic forms of writing present in the region such as the Balinese script shown on split palm leaf called lontar. The antiquity of this form of writing extends before the invention of paper around the year 100 in China. Note each palm leaf section was only several lines, written longitudinally across the leaf, and bound by twine to the other sections. The outer portion was decorated. The alphabets of Southeast Asia tended to be abugidas, until the arrival of the Europeans, who used words that also ended in consonants, not just vowels. Other forms of official documents, which did not use paper, included Javanese copperplate scrolls. This material would have been more durable than paper in the tropical climate of Southeast Asia. In Malaysia, Brunei, and Singapore, the Malay language is now generally written in the Latin script. The same phenomenon is present in Indonesian, although different spelling standards are utilised  (e.g. 'Teksi' in Malay and 'Taksi' in Indonesian for the word 'Taxi'). The use of Chinese characters, in the past and present, is only evident in Vietnam and more recently, Singapore and Malaysia. The adoption of Chinese characters in Vietnam dates back to around 111 B.C., when it was occupied by the Chinese. A Vietnamese script called Chữ Nôm used modified Chinese characters to express the Vietnamese language. Both classical Chinese and Chữ Nôm were used up until the early 20th century. However, the use of the Chinese script has been in decline, especially in Singapore and Malaysia as the younger generations are in favour of the Latin Script.

EAST ASIA 

East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms.The modern states of East Asia include China, Hong Kong, Japan, Macau, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. The East Asian states of China, North Korea, South Korea and Taiwan are all unrecognized by at least one other East Asian state due to severe ongoing political tensions in the region, specifically the division of Korea and the political status of Taiwan. Hong Kong and Macau, two small coastal quasi-dependent territories located in the south of China, are officially highly autonomous but are under de jure Chinese sovereignty. North Asia borders East Asia's north, Southeast Asia the south, South Asia the southwest and Central Asia the west. To the east is the Pacific Ocean and to the southeast is Micronesia (a Pacific Ocean island group, classified as part of Oceania). Countries such as Singapore and Vietnam are also considered a part of the East Asian cultural sphere due to its cultural, religious, and ethnic similarities. 

East Asia was one of the cradles of world civilisation, with China developing its first civilizations at about the same time as Egypt, Babylonia and India. China stood out as a leading civilization for thousands of years, building great cities and developing various technologies which were to be unmatched in the West until centuries later. The Han and Tang dynasties in particular are regarded as the golden ages of Chinese civilization, during which China was not only strong militarily, but also saw the arts and sciences flourish in Chinese society. It was also during these periods that China exported much of its culture to its neighbors, and till this day, one can notice Chinese influences in the traditional cultures of Vietnam, Korea and Japan. Korea and Japan had historically been under the Chinese cultural sphere of influence, adopting the Chinese script, and incorporating Chinese religion and philosophy into their traditional culture. Nevertheless, both cultures retain many distinctive elements which make them unique in their own right.

EAST ASIAN ARTS

East Asian arts, the visual arts, performing arts, and music of China, Korea (North Korea and South Korea), and Japan. (The literature of this region is treated in separate articles on Chinese literature, Korean literature, and Japanese literature.) Some studies of East Asia also include the cultures of the Indochinese peninsula and adjoining islands, as well as Mongolia to the north. The logic of this occasional inclusion is based on a strict geographic definition as well as a recognition of common bonds forged through the acceptance of Buddhism by many of these cultures. China, Korea, and Japan, however, have been uniquely linked for several millennia by a common written language and by broad cultural and political connections that have ranged in spirit from the uncritically adorational to the contentious. 

SOUTH AND WEST ASIA

A region marked by social and cultural diversity, South and West Asia is also identified by its economic potential and growth. The region is valued for its supply of low cost goods, services and skilled labour to the global economy but at the same time, it is notorious for the payment of low wages, appalling working conditions and trafficking of labour. This changing economic landscape has had a corresponding impact on the social and geographic fabric of the region. Rural families are moving to cities and urbanization is creating mega cities with an increasing number of slums, poor sanitation and massive pollutions. Large infrastructure and development projects have led to increased forced evictions and displacement. India and Nepal are two of the highest ranking countries for child malnutrition in the world. In the Maldives, migrants represent almost one quarter of the population, creating major social challenges. 

Significantly, all nine members of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation have civilian democratic systems of governance, however in some, key institutions remain fragile, democratic cultures remain weak and the military retains a powerful role. The status of ratification of international human rights instruments shows a good commitment among South Asian countries to the universally recognized human rights norms and standards. This is however nuanced by the introduction of reservations and interpretative declarations and delays in reporting to treaty bodies. The absence of adequate and effective national protection systems to ensure accountability is a common issue across South Asian States where torture, ill-treatment, corruption and impunity remain major concerns. Although six countries in the region have established national institutions, only half of them maintain “A” status and there is no regional human rights mechanism. In addition, manifestations of socially and politically entrenched discrimination on the basis of ethnicity, religion, gender, caste and sexual preference have rendered certain groups vulnerable and disempowered. Women are assuming new economic and social roles but continue to face deeply rooted discrimination and violence.

ANGLO-AMERICA AND EUROPE

Anglo-America (also referred to as Anglo-Saxon America) most often refers to a region in the Americas in which English is a main language and British culture and the British Empire have had significant historical, ethnic, linguistic and cultural impact. Anglo-America is distinct from Latin America, a region of the Americas where Romance languages (Spanish, Portuguese and French) are prevalent. 

The Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections has considerable holdings in Anglo-American literature from the 17th century onward, with notable strengths in the 18th century, Romanticism, and the Victorian and modern periods. Among the seventeenth-century holdings is a complete set of the Shakespeare folios, and works by John Milton and his contemporaries. Eighteenth-century highlights include near comprehensive printed collections of Jonathan Swift and Alexander Pope, and substantial holdings on John Dryden, Samuel Johnson, Joseph Addison, Sir Richard Steele, William Cowper, Fanny Burney, and others. Related materials include complete runs of periodicals, such as the Spectator and the Tatler. The Division’s book holdings are also especially rich in the literature of the 19th and early 20th centuries. The Cornell Wordsworth Collection, the second largest Wordsworth collection in the world, documents the Romantic movement in detail. All the major “standard” authors of the Victorian and modern periods, such as Charles Dickens, George Eliot, T.S. Eliot, W.B. Yeats, Joseph Conrad, James Joyce, Virginia Woolf, et al., are well represented. In addition, the library’s holdings in Victorian fiction include scarce works by many popular women authors of the time, such as Elizabeth Gaskell, Maria Edgeworth, Marie Corelli, Ouida, and Helen Mathers. The collection also includes many popular literary genres such as gift annuals, dime novels, railroad novels, and yellowbacks, as well as the small literary magazine of the 1920s and 1930s. The modern collection features strong collections of manuscripts and books by George Bernard Shaw, Rudyard Kipling, Ford Madox Ford, Wyndham Lewis, and James Joyce. In support of RMC’s Human Sexuality Collection, the rare book collections feature especially strong representations of literary works by gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender writers, such as Oscar Wilde, Christopher Isherwood, Vita Sackville-West, Radclyffe Hall, E.M. Forster, W.H. Auden, Ronald Firbank, Edith Sitwell, Elizabeth Bowen, Jan Morris, and others. The collection’s strengths in more recent British literature include the works of Sylvia Plath, Ted Hughes, Philip Larkin, and Doris Lessing, to name just a few.

AFRICA

Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area and 20% of its land area. With 1.3 billion people as of 2018, it accounts for about 16% of the world's human population. Africa's population is the youngest amongst all the continents; the median age in 2012 was 19.7, when the worldwide median age was 30.4. Despite a wide range of natural resources, Africa is the least wealthy continent per capita, in part due to geographic impediments, legacies of European colonization in Africa and the Cold War,undemocratic rule and deleterious policies. Despite this low concentration of wealth, recent economic expansion and the large and young population make Africa an important economic market in the broader global context. 

Early human civilizations, such as Ancient Egypt and Phoenicia emerged in North Africa. Following a subsequent long and complex history of civilizations, migration and trade, Africa hosts a large diversity of ethnicities, cultures and languages. The last 400 years have witnessed an increasing European influence on the continent. Starting in the 16th century, this was driven by trade, including the Trans-Atlantic slave trade, which created large African diaspora populations in the Americas. In the late 19th century, European countries colonized almost all of Africa, extracting resources from the continent and exploiting local communities; most present states in Africa emerged from a process of decolonisation in the 20th century.

African literature, the body of traditional oral and written literatures in Afro-Asiatic and African languages together with works written by Africans in European languages. Traditional written literature, which is limited to a smaller geographic area than is oral literature, is most characteristic of those sub-Saharan cultures that have participated in the cultures of the Mediterranean. In particular, there are written literatures in both Hausa and Arabic, created by the scholars of what is now northern Nigeria, and the Somali people have produced a traditional written literature. There are also works written in Geʿez (Ethiopic) and Amharic, two of the languages of Ethiopia, which is the one part of Africa where Christianity has been practiced long enough to be considered traditional. Works written in European languages date primarily from the 20th century onward. The literature of South Africa in English and Afrikaans is also covered in a separate article, South African literature.

LATIN AMERICA

Latin America is a group of countries and dependencies in the Western Hemisphere where Romance languages such as Spanish, Portuguese, and French are predominantly spoken. Some subnational regions such as Quebec and parts of the United States where Romance languages are primarily spoken are not included due to the countries as a whole being a part of Anglo America (an exception to this is Puerto Rico, which is almost always included within the definition of Latin America despite being a territory of the United States). The term is broader than categories such as Hispanic America which specifically refers to Spanish-speaking countries or Ibero-America which specifically refers to both Spanish and Portuguese-speaking countries. The term is also more recent in origin. 

The term "Latin America" was first used in an 1856 conference with the title "Initiative of America. Idea for a Federal Congress of the Republics" (Iniciativa de la América. Idea de un Congreso Federal de las Repúblicas), by the Chilean politician Francisco Bilbao. The term was further popularised by French emperor Napoleon III's government in the 1860s as Amérique latine to justify France's military involvement in Mexico and try to include French-speaking territories in the Americas such as French Canada, French Louisiana, or French Guiana, in the larger group of countries where Spanish and Portuguese languages prevailed. 

Origins

There is no universal agreement on the origin of the term Latin America. Some historians[citation needed] believe that the term was created by geographers in the 16th century to refer to the parts of the New World colonized by Spain and Portugal, whose Romance languages derive from Latin. Others argue that the term arose in 1860s France during the reign of Napoleon III, as part of the attempt to create a French empire in the Americas.[11] The idea that a part of the Americas has a linguistic affinity with the Romance cultures as a whole can be traced back to the 1830s, in the writing of the French Saint-Simonian Michel Chevalier, who postulated that this part of the Americas was inhabited by people of a "Latin race", and that it could, therefore, ally itself with "Latin Europe", ultimately overlapping the Latin Church, in a struggle with "Teutonic Europe", "Anglo-Saxon America" and "Slavic Europe" 

In 1804, Haiti became the first Latin American nation to gain independence, following a violent slave revolt led by Toussaint L'ouverture on the French colony of Saint-Domingue. The victors abolished slavery. Haitian independence inspired independence movements in Spanish America. y the end of the eighteenth century, Spanish and Portuguese power waned on the global scene as other European powers took their place, notably Britain and France. Resentment grew among the majority of the population in Latin America over the restrictions imposed by the Spanish government, as well as the dominance of native Spaniards (Iberian-born Peninsulares) in the major social and political institutions. Napoleon's invasion of Spain in 1808 marked a turning point, compelling Criollo elites to form juntas that advocated independence. Also, the newly independent Haiti, the second oldest nation in the New World after the United States, further fueled the independence movement by inspiring the leaders of the movement, such as Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla of Mexico, Simón Bolívar of Venezuela and José de San Martín of Argentina, and by providing them with considerable munitions and troops.Fighting soon broke out between juntas and the Spanish colonial authorities, with initial victories for the advocates of independence. Eventually, these early movements were crushed by the royalist troops by 1810, including those of Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla in Mexico in the year 1810. Later on Francisco de Miranda in Venezuela by 1812. Under the leadership of a new generation of leaders, such as Simón Bolívar "The Liberator", José de San Martín of Argentina, and other Libertadores in South America, the independence movement regained strength, and by 1825, all Spanish America, except for Puerto Rico and Cuba, had gained independence from Spain. In the same year in Mexico, a military officer, Agustín de Iturbide, led a coalition of conservatives and liberals who created a constitutional monarchy, with Iturbide as emperor. This First Mexican Empire was short-lived, and was followed by the creation of a republic in 1823.

Latin American literature consists of the oral and written literature of Latin America in several languages, particularly in Spanish, Portuguese, and the indigenous languages of the Americas as well as literature of the United States written in the Spanish language. It rose to particular prominence globally during the second half of the 20th century, largely due to the international success of the style known as magical realism. As such, the region's literature is often associated solely with this style, with the 20th Century literary movement known as Latin American Boom, and with its most famous exponent, Gabriel García Márquez. Latin American literature has a rich and complex tradition of literary production that dates back many centuries.

by; MICHELL ANN C. CATALAN

[concupiscience]

Tripura, meaning three cities, was constructed by the great Asura architect Mayasura. They were great cities of prosperity, power and dominance over the world, but due to their impious nature, Maya's cities were destroyed by god Tripurantaka, an aspect of Shiva. The three cities were made of iron, silver and gold and were located on earth, in the sky and in heaven, respectively.

History of Tripura

Penances of the sons of Taraka

Following the death of Tarakasura, who was killed by Kartikeya, his sons Tarakaksha, Vidyunmali and Veeravana undertook severe penances by which they pleased Lord Brahma. They requested that they may become immortal. Resisting it, Brahma said to them that nothing can be immortal. Then Tarakaksha, Vidyunmali and Veeravana asked to be blessed with impregnable fortresses, which would be everlasting. However, as Brahma told them that nothing could be everlasting, they requested that the destruction of the cities could be brought about by a single arrow only, on the hope that it was impossible for anyone to shoot such an arrow, save Lord Shiva, of whom they were great devotees. Brahma then blessed them that such fortresses would be constructed.

The construction of the three cities

The three cities which comprised Tripura were distributed thus:

The lowest, with walls of Iron, located on earth,

The second, with walls of silver, located in the sky, and

The third, with walls of gold, located in heaven.

The three cities were mobile and moved in such a way that they would never be in a single line, except for a few moments in around a thousand years, when the Nakshatra Pushya would be in conjunction with the moon. Tarakasura's sons were thus reassured that they were safe, as it would be an extremely difficult task to destroy such impregnable cities, which aligned only momentarily, by a single arrow.

Asuras from everywhere began to flock to Tripura to live there.

Forebodings of the fall of Tripura

After several years of joy, the inherent evil tendencies of the Asuras surfaced once again and they began to oppress the good and torment the noble. In the meantime, Mayasura was engaged in the worship of Shiva. The rest of the demons attacked sages and the Devas and shattered the peace of the worlds. Finally, when Indra and the rest of the Devas despondently approached Lord Brahma for respite, Lord Brahma redirected them to Shiva and also informed them of the vulnerability of Tripura to a single arrow. Lord Shiva promised to help them and the Devas returned to combat the Asuras in a mighty war. They were also assisted by Nandi, the leader of Lord Shiva's Ganas. Even though Vidyunmali was slain by Nandi, and several other Asuras were killed in the war, they were revived by water in the pool of Tripura, which had magical powers.

The destruction of Tripura

As the war raged on, Devas continued to struggle to match the Asuras, who used their magical powers to great effect in the war. One day the three cities aligned. Shiva ordered that a chariot be made from which he would battle the three demons.

The war-chariot designed for Shiva was different. The Earth or Prithvi became the chariot with the Sun and Moon its wheels. Brahma was holding the reins. Mount Meru became the bow and the serpent Vasuki was the bow string. Vishnu was the arrow, and Agni was the tip of the arrow. Vayu was inside the feathers on rear of the arrow. All other Devas had their own places and forms in the chariot. Just as the cities aligned, when the Pushya Nakshatra positioned appropriately, Lord Shiva was about to strung the mighty bow, the Pinaka with the arrow, the Devas were overjoyed that Tripura was going to be destroyed because of them (because they were part of the war-chariot, without which Shiva cannot destroy).

Lord Shiva, knowing what the Devas were thinking, did not fire the arrow and just smiled. All the three purams were burned immediately. Shocked at this act, Brahma pleaded that Devas thought wrong and that Shiva should forgive and release the arrow, or else the Devas would have a permanent bad name and the reason behind making this chariot would become meaningless. Shiva then fired the arrow on the already burning Cities.

When Lord shiva seated on the chariot before heading to war, chariot was unable to move forward, Lord Vishnu took form as bull and dragged the chariot and then became the bull flag on top of chariot. After destroying three cities Lord Shiva started tandava nritya on debris which is also called as "Tripura Nasha Nartana".

The Devas then understood:

1. Shiva can take the power of anyone/anything because it is his power that is already existing in first place.

2. Even though the boon granted was "one-arrow-one-shot and cities should be destroyed", Shiva has the ultimate power to rule them over.

3. Lord Shiva does not require a huge Chariot with Meru as bow, Vishnu as arrow etc. He could simply destroy/create anything even without moving his eyes.

The "smile and burn" act of Shiva in Tamil is beautifully called as "sirinthuppurameritha peruman" ("சிரித்துப்புரமெரித்த பெருமான்")(God who laughed and burned the three purams)

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 11.1 (after 1950)

1950 – Puerto Rican nationalists Griselio Torresola and Oscar Collazo attempt to assassinate US President Harry S. Truman at Blair House. 1951 – Operation Buster–Jangle: Six thousand five hundred United States Army soldiers are exposed to 'Desert Rock' atomic explosions for training purposes in Nevada. Participation is not voluntary. 1952 – Nuclear weapons testing: The United States successfully detonates Ivy Mike, the first thermonuclear device, at the Eniwetok atoll. The explosion had a yield of ten megatons TNT equivalent. 1954 – The Front de Libération Nationale fires the first shots of the Algerian War of Independence. 1955 – The establishment of a Military Assistance Advisory Group in South Vietnam marks the beginning of American involvement in the conflict. 1955 – The bombing of United Airlines Flight 629 occurs near Longmont, Colorado, killing all 39 passengers and five crew members aboard the Douglas DC-6B airliner. 1956 – The Indian states Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, and Mysore are formally created under the States Reorganisation Act; Kanyakumari district is joined to Tamil Nadu from Kerala. 1956 – Hungarian Revolution: Imre Nagy announces Hungary's neutrality and withdrawal from the Warsaw Pact. Soviet troops begin to re-enter Hungary, contrary to assurances by the Soviet government. János Kádár and Ferenc Münnich secretly defect to the Soviets. 1956 – The Springhill mining disaster in Springhill, Nova Scotia kills 39 miners; 88 are rescued. 1957 – The Mackinac Bridge, the world's longest suspension bridge between anchorages at the time, opens to traffic connecting Michigan's upper and lower peninsulas. 1963 – The Arecibo Observatory in Arecibo, Puerto Rico, with the largest radio telescope ever constructed, officially opens. 1963 – The 1963 South Vietnamese coup begins. 1968 – The Motion Picture Association of America's film rating system is officially introduced, originating with the ratings G, M, R, and X. 1970 – Club Cinq-Sept fire in Saint-Laurent-du-Pont, France kills 146 young people. 1973 – Watergate scandal: Leon Jaworski is appointed as the new Watergate Special Prosecutor. 1973 – The Indian state of Mysore is renamed as Karnataka to represent all the regions within Karunadu. 1979 – In Bolivia, Colonel Alberto Natusch executes a bloody coup d'état against the constitutional government of Wálter Guevara. 1979 – Griselda Álvarez becomes the first female governor of a state of Mexico. 1981 – Antigua and Barbuda gains independence from the United Kingdom. 1982 – Honda becomes the first Asian automobile company to produce cars in the United States with the opening of its factory in Marysville, Ohio; a Honda Accord is the first car produced there. 1984 – After the assassination of Indira Gandhi, Prime Minister of India on 31 October 1984, by two of her Sikh bodyguards, anti-Sikh riots erupt. 1987 – British Rail Class 43 (HST) hits the record speed of 238 km/h for rail vehicles with on-board fuel to generate electricity for traction motors. 1991 – President of the Chechen Republic Dzhokhar Dudayev declares sovereignty of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria from the Russian Federation. 1993 – The Maastricht Treaty takes effect, formally establishing the European Union. 2000 – Chhattisgarh officially becomes the 26th state of India, formed from sixteen districts of eastern Madhya Pradesh. 2000 – Serbia and Montenegro joins the United Nations. 2001 – Turkey, Australia, and Canada agree to commit troops to the invasion of Afghanistan. 2011 – Mario Draghi succeeds Jean-Claude Trichet and becomes the third president of the European Central Bank. 2012 – A fuel tank truck crashes and explodes in the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh, killing 26 people and injuring 135.

[anchanted-one]

Independence Day

Today is India's Independence Day, so I thought I'd take a bit to gush about my country.

Warning, I'm not taking much time to compose this. It's unscripted.

India is among the ancients of ancient civilization, with some ruins of the famous Indus Valley dating back farther than 5000 BC. Evidence exists of its trade with faraway Egypt And Mesopotamia, and although their writing still hasn't been deciphered (and may never be) some of its pantheon (a pastoral version of Shiva) as well as elements such as a ritual fire pit (yajna kund) show that parts of its old old culture were assimilated into it's successor-- the Vedic culture, which exists to this day.

But the Indus Valley is only one part of ancient India. 

There are cities submerged under the sea in South India, drowned when water levels rose. These settlements are also at least as old as the Indus Valley, and South India itself has also boasted a long and colorful culture, which at once is similar to that in North India, yet different too. For instance, there are a different family of languages in South India, which might be indigenous to India: Tamil (probably the oldest language in India, and maybe the oldest still-spoken language of the civilized world), Kannada, Telugu, and Malayalam, to name a few. Their ancient architecture was distinct, with tall tiered roofs adorned with painted statues and reliefs

South Indian people also look very different from North Indian people. Darker of skin, thick and curly hair more aboriginal in 

And there is a third ethnic group of Indians too, a group one does not quite associate with India: the Naga peoples of Northeastern India. In physical appearance as well as cultural, traditional, and aesthetic, they look Tibetan, or even Chinese

The Naga are known more for their intricate weaving, jewelry, and distinctive art than temples and monuments like South and Central India, but that doesn’t make them any less an integral part of Indian heritage!

I’ve saved the most famous for last: the Empire-builders of Central India, called “Indo-Aryans” (problematic much?) by some scholars to this day. Normally when someone says “Indian”, they are closest to the image that pops up in most minds. 

The basic theory of the Indo-Aryan Migration is sound (though hotly contested in India, probably because of the ‘Aryan’ bit, something which even Hitler was known to have endorsed); it proposes an Indo-Iranian lineage which migrated in from—you guessed it!—Iran during the Bronze Age Collapse. Our languages certainly do share a root with Iranian cultures, though some argue that the migration happened from India, not to. There are other counter theories to the Migration theory too, but that’s a rabbit hole I’d rather not crawl into.

What I can say for certain is that some of the most famous Emperors of India originate here, including Ashoka the Great, who was possibly the biggest factor in the spread of Buddhism.

And while Dravidian peoples also have a rich tradition of poetry and literature, the most iconic of Indian texts come from Central India: the Vedas—are our socio-religious texts, and Ramayana and Mahabharata—our great epics.

Science and Math were not too shabby in india either, though that’s perhaps too vast a discussion for anyone but a better read person to dive into.

Indian Religion is largely Hinduism, though Christianity, Islam, Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and others also exist here. As with the science bit, I think the specifics are too much to talk about without a few months of research first.

India was a center of trade of the world for millennia, exporting spices, incense, textiles, precious stones, herbs, and exotic animals. Not to mention skill. Indeed, Carthage once imported Indian elephant handlers, and used their expertise to build their own army of elephants, which would later be used famously by Hannibal Barca. All this in exchange for gold and silver, so much that Pliny the Elder once complained about it

India, China and the Arabian peninsula take one hundred million sesterces from our empire per annum at a conservative estimate: that is what our luxuries and women cost us. For what fraction of these imports is intended for sacrifices to the gods or the spirits of the dead?

— Pliny, Historia Naturae 12.41.84.

Small wonder then, that India grew wealthy over the centuries; and that this wealth made it a prize for invaders and colonizers. Most famous of which would be the British Raj.

Much of India’s wealth and prestige was lost under colonial rule, and misrule by East India Companies and later the British Empire saw a rich land slowly sucked dry. Small wonder that India was fighting for its independence since 1857. Didn’t happen until much later; India was a colony during both World Wars, sending people and materials. But once the Second War ended even Britain had lost the power to hold on to India and in 1947, they granted us independence. Grudgingly. On the way out they generously forgave their own massive debt to us, divided the country into India and Pakistan, and left with a wink. The India then stood on a precarious position, but since then we have recovered well. India is again home to a major economy today, and a hub for science and technology; most recent accomplishments include landing a craft on Mars, and a failed probe to the moon. 

Today we are celebrating our 74th Independence day, and despite a shitty 2020, things aren’t looking too gloomy. Unless this year has some even more painful surprises in store for us yet, I think our nation will continue to grow and change.

[newstfionline]

Headlines

NYC reopening (AP) New York City hits a key point Monday in trying to rebound from the nation’s deadliest coronavirus outbreak. For the first time in three months, New Yorkers will be able to dine out, though only at outdoor tables. Shoppers can once again browse in the city’s destination stores. Shaggy heads can get haircuts. Cooped-up kids can finally climb playground monkey bars instead of apartment walls. Office workers can return to their desks, though many won’t yet. The virus has been blamed for over 22,000 New York City deaths. The death toll has been in single digits in recent days. Infections are down, but between 200 and 400 people have still been testing positive for the virus each day over the past two weeks, according to city data.

Another shooting in Seattle protest zone leaves 1 wounded (AP) One person was wounded in what was the second shooting in Seattle’s protest zone in less than 48 hours, police said. The shooting happened late Sunday night in the area near Seattle’s downtown that is known as CHOP, for “Capitol Hill Occupied Protest,” police tweeted, adding that one person was at a hospital with a gunshot wound. The Sunday shooting followed a pre-dawn shooting on Saturday in a park within the zone that left a 19-year-old man dead and a 33-year-old man critically injured. The CHOP zone is a several-block area cordoned off by protesters near a police station in the city’s Capitol Hill neighborhood.

With no flights, Argentine sails across Atlantic to see parents (AFP) “Mission accomplished!” That joyful declaration came from Juan Manuel Ballestero, an Argentine sailor who, unable to fly home from Portugal due to the pandemic, crossed the ocean alone in his modest sailboat to see his aging parents. The 47-year-old completed an exhausting 85-day odyssey in his small boat, the nine-meter (30-foot) “Skua.” After testing negative for COVID-19 on arrival, Ballestero was cleared to set foot on dry land to see his mother 82-year-old Nilda and father Carlos, aged 90. “I’ve achieved what I’ve been fighting for these last three months,” he told AFP. “It came down to this: to be with the family. That’s why I came.” Ballestero, who works in Spain, hatched his ambitious plan for a single-handed sea passage after flights back to Argentina were canceled because of the pandemic.

Surprise medical bills (NYT) Last week, my colleague Sarah Kliff noticed something strange. A medical lab in Dallas had charged as much as $2,315 apiece for coronavirus tests, even though a test typically costs $100. Sarah called the lab to ask about the price—and the lab quickly dropped it to $300. In her years of covering health care for Vox and now The Times, Sarah has frequently reported on the arbitrary nature of medical costs, often highlighting extreme examples. After these examples receive public attention, health care providers sometimes reduce the price. Of course, most medical bills don’t become the subject of journalistic investigations. Which means that medical labs, drug companies, hospitals and doctors’ offices are often able to charge high prices to insurance companies and patients, without consequence. “If you look at pretty much any other developed country—Canada, Britain, France, Germany, Singapore, the list goes on—the government does some version of rate setting,” Sarah told us. “The United States doesn’t.” That’s one reason that the cost of health care in the U.S. is higher than in any other country.

Turkey’s lonely tourist attractions face make-or-break week (Reuters) Turkey’s Mediterranean coasts and historic attractions face a critical week as the government presses to open borders and salvage at least part of a tourist season already battered by the coronavirus pandemic. With beaches largely empty and many hotels deciding whether to open, Tourism Minister Mehmet Ersoy told Reuters he hoped the world’s sixth-largest destination could attract up to half of last year’s 45 million arrivals. But much depends on talks to begin flights from Russia, Germany and Britain—also hard hit by the virus—which should reach some conclusions by early next week, he said. The stakes are high for Turkey, where a rebound this month in COVID-19 cases has raised concerns in a country where tourism accounts for up to 12% of the economy. Foreign arrivals fell by two thirds in the first five months of the year.

Virus cases surge in India, US, but slow in China, Korea (AP) The world saw the largest daily increases yet in coronavirus cases, with infections soaring in India’s rural villages after migrant workers fled major cities. India’s coronavirus caseload climbed by nearly 15,000 as of Monday to 425,282, with more than 13,000 deaths, the health ministry reported. Nearly 90% of India’s poorest districts have cases, though the outbreak remains centered in Delhi, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu states, which are home to major cities. Infections slowed in China and South Korea, suggesting some progress in stemming their newest outbreaks. But despite clear headway in containing the virus in regions that suffered early outbreaks, globally the number of new virus cases has soared in recent days. In Brazil, Iraq, India and the United States, hospitals are scrambling to cope.

China Knocks Out Tyson Imports Following Coronavirus Outbreak (Foreign Policy) China has temporarily suspended the import of poultry products from an Arkansas-based Tyson Foods processing plant after reports of a mass coronavirus outbreak at the company’s processing facilities. Tyson is the second largest chicken processor in the world with chicken sales of $13.1 billion (out of total sales of $42.4 billion) in 2019. The World Health Organization says there is no evidence that a person can contract the coronavirus from food or food packaging, but Chinese authorities—chastened by a recent outbreak at a Beijing food market—seem to be taking a hard line. China-based experts have floated the possibility that any more problems with U.S. food exporters could lead to a dissolution of the trade deal on natural disaster grounds—and an end to $36.5 billion in agricultural products that China must buy from the United States as part of the agreement.

Australia Fears Second Wave as State Tightens Virus Controls (Bloomberg) Australia’s second-most populous state has tightened coronavirus controls as a spike in cases triggers fears the nation could be hit by a second wave of infections. Victoria extended a state of emergency by four weeks to July 20, halved the number of visitors allowed in homes to 5 and delayed a planned increase in the size of gatherings in cafes, restaurants and pubs. The weekend announcement, and a jump in cases in countries including the U.S., Israel and South Korea, heightened market concerns about the difficulty of reviving economic growth while controlling the spread of Covid-19.

As Lebanon sinks into crisis, fear of crime grows (Reuters) A financial crisis that has swept Lebanon since last year means more and more families have little means to cope as the currency collapses and the state offers little or no help. The country faces what is seen as the biggest threat to its stability since the 1975-1990 civil war. In the first four months of 2020, murders in Lebanon doubled from the same period last year. Car thefts jumped nearly 50% and burglaries 20%, according to a report by the Beirut-based research firm Information International, based on police data. As the currency plunges, more unrest is feared in a country with a tumultuous history and where sectarian tensions are never far from the surface. As the currency plunges, more unrest is feared in a country with a tumultuous history and where sectarian tensions are never far from the surface. A World Food Programme report this month found that 50% of Lebanese, as well as 63% of Palestinians and 75% of Syrians in the country, had feared they would not have enough to eat over the past month. A security official linked spiralling prices to what he described as friction in the streets. “We’re still at the start, it’s only going to get bigger,” he said.

Dubai set to reopen for tourism, allow residents to travel (Washington Post) Dubai authorities announced late Sunday that the city would once again be allowing in tourists—with a negative coronavirus test result—starting July 7. Residents will also be allowed to travel again starting Monday. The new travel rules for Dubai, a wealthy Persian Gulf emirate known for its soaring skyscrapers, luxury hotels and beaches, reflects the importance of tourism to the economy. Unlike United Arab Emirates capital Abu Dhabi, Dubai does not have oil and its economy relies significantly on international travel and tourism. In 2019, more than 16 million tourists visited Dubai. The hotels, restaurants and other facilities catering to visitors have been desolate since a ban in late March on all arrivals except citizens. Even residency-visa holders—some 90 percent of the population—were not permitted to return to the country until just recently.

[berniesrevolution]

JACOBIN MAGAZINE

For the past few years, a group of nine Israelis led by human rights lawyer Eitay Mack has sought to peel back the layer of secrecy shrouding Israel’s collusion with some of the worst genocide regimes in the world. They have done so by filing freedom of information requests with their country’s defense ministry, seeking documents concerning Israeli arms deals, consulting contracts, and training of the armed forces in Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Serbia, South Sudan, and Rwanda during decades of ethnic conflict in those nations. They’ve sought to learn the extent of the trade, what weapons were supplied and to whom, how the weapons were used, and how long the trade continued.

In every instance, the ministry denied their request, and they were forced to appeal to the Supreme Court. In every appeal, the court has sided with the military and ruled that such information was legitimately sealed from public view in order to protect the security of the nation.

It’s difficult to understand how the knowledge that Israel armed Rwandan murderers in the 1990s would harm national security. Much more likely, this exposure would damage Israel’s reputation and give ammunition to critics who claim it is a rogue state intent on violating international law and norms of conduct.

Protecting the State

In Israel, a national security state in which individual rights and the public’s right to know are subordinated to the interests of the military-intelligence apparatus, these two factors are often conflated. It is much easier to justify secrecy using the concept of protecting the state and its citizens than it is to admit that secrecy is meant to protect the reputation of the very security apparatus charged with protecting them.

Israel has recently censored two major reports claiming that the country was secretly arming nations and groups engaged in genocide or mass violence. The first again concerned Eitay Mack, who had appealed to the Supreme Court to permit exposure of Israeli arms trade to Sri Lanka’s Sinhalese forces. These forces exterminated the Tamil Tiger rebellion during a thirty-year civil war that ended in 2009, with the loss of forty thousand to seventy-five thousand civilians and combatants.

Here is Mack’s account of the major role Israeli weapons played in some of the worst massacres of that thirty-year civil war:

In Sri Lanka the State of Israel played a most pivotal role in war crimes and crimes against humanity carried out there: [it] supplied drones which directed planes and warships made in Israel, and these deliberately targeted and bombed civilians and . . . humanitarian sites, and determined the fate of the war at an extremely high human cost. Sri Lankan forces which carried out the crimes had received [Israel Defense Forces] IDF training (especially from the Israeli Air Force and Navy), as well as from the Israeli Police.

One of the famous cases in which Israeli Kfir planes were used took place on August 14, 2006. The Sri Lankan air force used Kfir planes to bomb an orphanage for girls, in which 400 girls . . . resided. Security forces claimed the girls were being trained to be LTTE [Tamil Tiger] combatants. Around 60 girls were killed on the spot, and tens of girls were injured. Earlier, in 1999, another Israeli war plane attacked a school, killing 21 children and teachers.

The Government of Sri Lanka and [its] senior officials . . . have repeatedly [revealed], in official as well as media interviews, during and after the war, details [of] Israeli security exports, their extent and their massive use in the effort to win the war. Repeated statements [acknowledging] watching Israeli drone footage ahead of every attack, have incriminated the Sri Lankan government and proven that civilians and civilian targets had been deliberately hit with full awareness of the government’s security forces.

District Court Judge Shaul Shohat ruled that documents held by the Israeli defense ministry could be protected from public view. But his argument revealed the inner workings of the security apparatus and how it works hand in glove with the judiciary and intelligence services. He revealed that he held closed-door hearing with the state’s representatives, including attorneys, defense ministry officials, and even Israel’s national intelligence agency, the Mossad, from which Mack was excluded.

During this hearing, the state presented secret evidence to the judge meant to persuade him that revealing any of this information would irreparably harm the state. Shohat dutifully agreed with the defense and wrote in this passage of his ruling (one of the passages the defense ministry sought to suppress is in italics):

I . . . learned from a review of these documents that most of the[m] deal with the operational capabilities of the IDF and the security industries involved in various deals, and their ties with military industries in Sri Lanka. The documents contain the details of internal discussions among senior officials in the security establishment regarding the issue as well as discussions and agreements between senior officials in the security establishment and senior officials in the Sri Lankan government, specifically involving the formulation of security policies; working procedures and internal processes in the Ministry of Defense, mutual visits and data as to the deals that were signed and the extent of military exports, including the specification of various types of weapons, etc. It was also noted that there is a secrecy agreement with Sri Lanka, and that its violation by Israel would create a problematic precedent which would reflect on relations with other states, harm existent secret agreements and deter other states from forging new military ties [with Israel]. It was argued in this context that even if Sri Lanka has violated its obligation by the agreement and published specific, ad-hoc information, this does not detract from the State of Israel’s obligation under the agreement.

Israeli journalist John Brown published a report in Haaretz on Shohat’s ruling. Shortly thereafter, he discovered that the defense ministry division responsible for protecting military secrets, MALMAB, had asked the judge to censor a portion of his ruling, which Brown had included in his article. The ministry’s main concern was preventing the revelation of the fact that representatives of the Mossad had urged the judge to restrict media publication about Israeli arms sales to Sri Lanka. MALMAB also sought to suppress media reporting about the secret nature of the weapons dealing. Both parties had agreed to maintain secrecy about them (even though Sri Lankan officials had since revealed them publicly).

Brown appealed via Facebook for others to protect and preserve the article in the event it was censored. It seems that even censors in a national security state face obstacles, as the article remains available, uncensored, on the Haaretzwebsite.

Another reason why the Israeli censor may be extremely sensitive to revealing such information is that the International Criminal Court (ICC) has announced pre-trial proceedings investigating Israel’s conduct during the 2014 Gaza invasion, Operation Protective Edge. During the month-long conflict, 2,300 Palestinians were killed, two-thirds of whom have been declared civilians by independent Palestinian human right groups and the United Nations.

The ICC announced the pre-trial phase amid this year’s Great March of Return, during which Israel has murdered nearly two hundred Gazans protesting Israel’s siege of the enclave. Israeli officials are aware that the publication of any evidence that it has been an accessory to genocide in other conflicts could bolster a case to be made before the international court.

Returning to Sri Lanka, it’s no wonder, given the close relations between Israel’s military and Sri Lanka’s, that the army chief of staff responsible for the genocide, after the conclusion of his Sri Lankan military service, was appointed the nation’s ambassador to Israel.

(Continue Reading)

[twatd]

6,000 Years of Murder – Part Five: Breaking the Chain

Tim: The Wicked + The Divine #36 finally gave us a definitive list of every damn Recurrence that has occurred since Ananke first started exploding heads, so we thought we’d take a walk through the annals of history and provide some context for what was happening at the time. Welcome to 6,000 Years of Murder.

We’re past the halfway mark in human civilisation and heading rapidly towards that good good Anno Domini, but Ananke is still popping noggins off like they were blackheads. In this entry, some of the Classical world’s greatest empires and philosophers take a swing at changing things, but the answer seems to lie further East...

922BC – Assyria We ended the last entry in the middle of the Bronze Age Collapse, which thoroughly borked up the majority of the Mediterranean and the Middle East. But a couple of hundred years later, the people in this area are starting to get their shit together again, with a bunch of upstart kingdoms and city-states taking advantage of the chaos. Assyria managed to avoid the worst of the Collapse, but still fell into decline shortly after, shrinking significantly until, by about 1020BC, it was basically no longer an empire and just a large city and the nearby lands.

100 years later, however, and the remnants of Assyria have managed to hold off rival factions from its remaining lands and even expanded, prepping the scene for the Neo-Assyrian Empire, which will become the largest empire in the world over the course of the next 300 years. Assyria became the standard that later empires would be modelled on, and with brand-new iron weaponry and a well-drilled military, the Assyrians were basically undefeatable for a long period, conquering Egypt, Persia, Arabia, Phoenicia, Israel and more.

830BC – Carthage Before the Phoenicians were steamrolled by the Neo-Assyrian Empire, they had spent a considerable time setting up colonies throughout the Mediterranean to support their merchant fleet. One of those colonies, Carthage, has just been established as a dependency of the Phoenician state of Tyre, supposedly by its exiled princess Queen Elissa, aka Dido (not the singer). One of the largest and most successful colonies, Carthage (which is located in modern day Tunisia) will go on to declare independence around 650BC, serving as a major hub of trade and starting an empire in its own until it is destroyed in 146BC.

Carthage was a major power in the area, fighting with Classical-era Greece and, in the Punic Wars, serving as the only real major threat the Roman Empire will face until those darned Vandals show up several centuries later. Prior to all of that, however, Phoenician colony-era Carthage is already developing its own distinct culture, separate to the rest of the empire. As time goes on, Carthage will develop a monopoly over the tin trade coming in from the Iberian peninsula, as well as producing fine silks, dyed cotton and incense. It’s unclear when in Carthage’s history it became aware that Elm Street was the key to controlling Springfield.

739BC – Northern China Our last stop in China saw the kick-off of the Zhou dynasty, the longest dynasty in Chinese history, so surely not much has changed, right? Well, yes and no. We’re still in the Zhou dynasty, but we’re moving into the Eastern Zhou period, which itself is subdivided into the Spring and Autumn Period (which we’re in) and the Warring States Period (coming soon to a territory near you!). The capital has moved to Luoyi, but the Zhou court is increasingly unimportant, as power devolves to regional states.

The Mandate of Heaven, introduced at the start of the Zhou dynasty, basically states that if a ruler is unsuccessful, it is a sign that Heaven has withdrawn its approval. So, as the royal line of Zhou became less effective and weakened, dukes and marquesses throughout China grew bolder. While the Zhou court maintained the figurehead of rule, the Yellow River period divided into hundreds of small, autonomous states. While all this political manoeuvering is happening, the Iron Age is coming to China, marking improvements in agriculture, irrigation and toolmaking. Universal education is put in place for civilians, and copper currency becomes the norm. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like this Persephone will get to enjoy any of that.

647BC – Persia Assyria is still running roughshod over the rest of the Middle East at this point, beating neighbours like Babylon and Egypt into submission. However, Assyria’s ego is writing cheques its land mass can’t cash, and in less than 50 years, it will suffer a series of crushing defeats and fall into ruin. With Assyria mainly concerned with a series of civil wars and its heavy-hitter enemies, many of its subject peoples – like the Cimmerians, Scythians and Medians – quietly stop paying tribute to the Empire.

The pressure exerted by Assyria did mean that the people under their rule started to unite. In Persia, that leads to the Median tribes becoming increasingly centralised, eventually gaining independence under the rule of Deioces. Around 35 years after Ananke and Persephone show up, Deioces’ grandson Cyaxeres will join forces with Babylon to besiege the Assyrian capital Nineveh and bring the Empire to an end. This period represents the first time the people of Persia were all united together, and after Cyrus the Great shows up, they will quickly transform into a massive empire in their own right.

555BC – Eastern India The sixth century BC is sometimes called the peak of the Axial Age, as new ideas in religion and philosophy emerged from several cultures, seemingly in parallel, without any direct contact. Zoroaster, Pythagoras and Confucius are all showing up in their respective areas, while in Eastern India, Buddha and Mahavira have both arrived. Buddha, the better-known of the two in Western culture, was among a number of sages and philosophers in the area, but by teaching a path between sensual indulgence and severe asceticism, he drew a substantial following. As well as serving as the origin of Buddhism, he is considered an avatar of Vishnu in Hinduism.

Mahavira was responsible for reviving Jainism, an ancient Indian religion that still boasts 4.5m followers, mostly in India. He was the 24th and final Tirthankara, a spiritual teacher who conquers the cycle of death and rebirth. Like Buddha, Mahavira is revered for moving beyond this cycle and forging a path others could follow, with Tirthankara literally translating as “ford-maker”. Both Mahavira and Buddha would have been more than familiar with the pattern the Pantheon find themselves trapped in – but in this Recurrence, that doesn’t do much to help Persephone, who dies just like so many others before her.

463BC – Athens Oh baby we’re in that Classical Greek period. I’m talking Aeschylus. I’m talking Socrates. I’m talking Sophocles. I’m talking Pericles. I’m talking the Battles of Marathon, Thermopylae and Plataea, ending the Persian Wars. I’m talking Herodotus completing his Histories and the construction of the Parthenon. The Greeks are making advances in literature, architecture, medicine, philosophy and democracy, as well as counter-attacking Persia to free various other kingdoms and form the Delian League.

If you have a picture of Ancient Greece in your mind’s eye, it’s probably this period that you’re picturing, and it’s no surprise that the Pantheon shows up here at this point in history. However, it’s worth noting that as far as Ananke’s concerned, it’s just another day at the office, and for all the progress occuring around her, this Recurrence’s Persephone dies just the same. However, there might have been a bunch of people just to the side, saying how terrible it was just after it happened.

372BC – Macedonia Just as it was only natural that the Pantheon would appear at the height of Classical Greece, it makes perfect sense that our gods would make the short journey to Macedonia just before Alexander the Great showed up and proceeded to conquer the known world. Macedonia at this time was greatly influenced by Greece, with Philip II – Alexander’s father who reigned from 359-336BC – adopting Greek as as the court language. The Macedonians worshipped the Greek pantheon (with a small p) and were influenced by their arts and philosophy, with Aristotle even moving to Macedonia to serve as tutor to Alexander the Great in his youth.

Indeed, there’s been considerable debate among both ancient and modern scholars about whether the Macedonians can be considered a separate ethnic group to the Greeks, or whether their differences were largely political at this point in time. While Athens et al were embracing democracy (for land-owning men at least) Macedonia was still a monarchy, ruled at this point by Alexander II, uncle of “The Great”, and with a rigid aristocratic class. However, unlike Greece, slavery was fairly rare in Macedonia at this point, earning them back some points.

280BC – Central India Now here’s something different. While the achievements of Greece and Macedonia haven’t translated into anything other than Persephone’s usual extreme haircut, this Recurrence in Central India sees her slip away from Ananke unharmed, at least in the snapshot we’re given. So what makes third century BC India special? Well, remember how Mahavira and Buddha were kicking around 300 years ago, sharing their ideas about enlightenment? This is when those ideas go mainstream in a big way, thanks to the Maurya Empire, India’s kickass Iron Age superpower.

Chandragupta Maurya, founder of the empire, spent most of his life unifying India in the wake of invasions by the Persian Empire and Alexander the Great. However, at the end of his reign, he supposedly renounced his ways to become a Jain monk, studying under the ascetic Bhadrabahu. His grandson Ashoka the Great, who’ll come to power in 268BC, will expand the empire to stretch from Afghanistan to Bangladesh, and conquer all of India apart from the Tamil kings (nobody conquers the Tamil kings). Ashoka’s support of Buddhism will spread it throughout the subcontinent, with monumental inscriptions called the Edicts of Ashoka proclaiming his support for the religion. This shift in belief, philosophy and the approach to death is surely behind Persephone’s escape, and means we get to end this entry on a rare high note.

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[narmadamotors12]

Narmada Motors: Ashok Leyland Parts in India

Ashok Leyland is a company that is known for making robust and comprehensive vehicles that are recognized worldwide for their capabilities and operating systems. Narmada Motors also does the work of delivering the spare parts of the same Ashok Leyland trucks and vehicles all over India, not only in India but also in the whole world, about which we will give you more information below. But before that, we want to tell you that wherein India Narmada Motors works to deliver big and heavy spare parts of Ashok Leyland. Narmada Motors does its exports not only to India but all over the world, but India is one of the largest markets of Narmada Motors in today's time, and about 45% of the market of Narmada Motors as compared to the whole world is only in India.

 In all these regions of India, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Chhattisgarh, Punjab, Maharashtra, Ashok Leyland trucks and spare parts of Ashok Leyland big vehicles and small vehicles are directly delivered by Narmada Motors. . Apart from this, Ashok Leyland vehicles are running at their full capacity in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, West Bengal, Odisha, and Madrasi region and the northeastern states of India.

 Ashok Leyland Parts in China

Narmada Motors is engaged in transporting the largest and heaviest spare parts of Ashok Leyland Parts in China. If we talk about our exports, then China is the second-largest market in the whole world after India, where Ashok Leyland spare parts are sold in the largest quantity. If we talk about the numerical hypothesis, then more than 20% of the Ashok Leyland spare parts market is covered by China only and only. In China too, Ashok Leyland vehicles are used for construction mining and similar work on a large scale.

 Ashok Leyland Parts in Bhutan

Bhutan, adjacent to the border of India, is a country like India in the form of culture and agriculture. Although it is quite small in size still the Ashok Leyland vehicles are used very fast here. Today too much construction and mining work is being done in Bhutan, due to which Narmada Motors works to export Ashok Leyland Parts in Bhutan. Apart from this, there are some big cities of Bhutan such as Thimphu, the capital of Bhutan, besides Phuntsholing, Gelephu, Punakha, and Jakar, there are many big cities where construction work is going on at full speed.

 Ashok Leyland Parts in Russia

Russia is the third-largest market for Ashok Leyland spare parts in the world, where Narmada Motors delivers its Ashok Leyland Parts in Russia. Although our trade with Russia has seen a lot of height, in the last few years, since the war between Russia and Ukraine, our exports have also seen a decline. But soon as soon as the situation of this war becomes clear, there will be possibilities of seeing record-breaking trade as before. Ashok Leyland's big vehicles and wheel loaders, compressors, excavators, finishers, compactors, and concrete mixers, are all these big vehicles used by Ashok Leyland in any earthmoving segment used in Russia. Today Russia is one of the most powerful countries and is also a superpower in the world, due to which the exports of Narmada Motors have increased a lot here, behind this India and its friendship is also the main link.

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Reference By : https://medium.com/@narmadamotors62/narmada-motors-ashok-leyland-parts-in-india-f871b4cf4f1f?postPublishedType=initial

[hiphop2horror]

M.I.A.- Born Free

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IeMvUlxXyz8

I chose this song by M.I.A. because the lyrics and video touches on a topic that western societies do not care about- genocides of “third world countries”. This video received a ton of backlash for portraying white, ginger people as victims of genocide. Many tabloids called M.I.A “unamerican” and a “terrorist” for this depiction. The funny thing is though is that this was her way of showing what happened to her people, the Tamil in Sri Lanka. M.I.A. knows that western societies do not care unless the image is of a white person, so that is exactly what she did. 

I think we are seeing this today with the Ukraine Russia war. Many news channels describe this as “out of the ordinary” for a European “civilized” country. Whereas, this is fine and normal in a Middle Eastern country.