One of the signs of a vibrant art form is where the artistes come from. When your artistes come from ordniary backgrounds in Batumi, Georgia and Kazan, you are in good shape.
Another important thing about classical art forms is that they need state patronage. Cannot be left to the market.
Israel was a young nation surrounded on all sides by enemies. They never stopped State support of the Philharmonic Orchestra. In fact, they let musicians continue their learning and practice even during service years.
Anna Netrebko was born in Krasnodar Krai, a remote North Caucasus region and worked as a janitor while she was studying to be a soprano. He husband Yusif Eyvazov is from Azerbaijan
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Manufacture of consent, Great Power politics, strategic overreach and back-office skulduggery.
How one of humankind's most terrible moments - the nuclear attack on Japan - was brought upon us by a combination of sociopaths in positions of power.
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Our story needs to begin in 1931, when the Japanese invade Manchuria. The ball was set rolling by Henry Stimson, Secretary of State in the Herbert Hoover administration. In 1912-1913, Stimson, as Secretary Of War under the Taft administration, had run a simulation and come to
a contingency plan of containing Japan by economic embargo. In 1931, Stimson saw that the plan had now to be put in motion. However, the US being the biggest supplier of raw material to Japan, could not do so, until public opinion was turned. In comes the next sociopath
OK, here is another rabbit hole.
What's Ukraine famous for? Rich black earth, agricultural soil.
How much of it is there? 41.7 million hectares, 70% of the country's surface and get this - 25% of the entire world's black soil land. 2.5 million people worked on this land
8600 entities held between 200 to 2000 hectares, 22 entities held more than 50,000 hectares and 1 player - Kernel - held more than 500,000 hectares.
In 1991, Ukraine gave agricultural land titles to between 6-8 million individuals. In 2001, they placed a moratorium on large sales
The IMF recommended against it (of course!) and (surprise!) identified as a factor holding back the economy.
2020 - Zelenskyy lifts this moratorium.
Cut to 2024 - 9 million hectares of Ukraine's farmland is owned by oligarchs, MNCs, Saudi Arabia's SWF, American pension funds
Phule and Ambedkar are to today's Republic what Nehru and Gandhi were 30 years earlier. A classmate at school was threatened by our history teacher with suspension when he asked how exactly Gandhi had suffered in the Independence struggle. Anyone who questions the Phules'
actual contribution to social change or their intentions faces the wrath of the Indian State. If the earlier dispensation's mantra was 'Independence', today's is 'Social Justice'. Note how none of the slogans, then or nowm are backed by rigorous facts. Any questioning of the
facts is met with hostility. For example
- What is the share of specific communities of each State in Central Govt OBC intake? Compare it with their proportion of the State's population.
- How many communities are represented in both OBC and GC intake?
- Same for each State
1. The Nayanthara movie teaser is quid pro quo for her husband being given movie contracts by ruling dispensation. 2. Assumption above is confirmed by how immediately usual voluminous accounts like Angry Bird have picked up on it. 3. Earlier A2B and now this are part of the
strategy to rouse the troops for upcoming elections. 4. Beyond money and pelf, the core cadre base is animated by what I term the 'Dravidian itch'. 5. The itch must be kept live by frequent dose of rage (cue A2B) and titillation (cue Nayan)
6. Ignoring it will not make it go away, since the 'Hindu Right' is not the intended target at all, it is the Dravidian faithful. 7. Reacting with anger validates the itch. 8. TB accounts which seek to fix this should not address themselves to Dravidoids at all, but point out to