While humans may have been consuming spirits for a very long time, it appears large scale consumption is a relatively recent phenomenon. Historically, people in colder climates have only consumed beers, ale, mead in quantity. Even these were not fortified and rarely exceeded 3% w/v. Production of spirits was not possible in large scale and hence spirits were expensive and rarely consumed. Historical records show that 18th CE was when spirits consumption picked up. In frontier regions like America, spirit consumption was very high, but low

Trends in consumption of animal flesh in the United States over the last century. Red meat is preferred by older people. Now, ask yourself the question - Why beef politics in India? Trends in alcohol consumption in the US. From a peak of 70% in the late 70s, consumption is declining and plateauing. The decline is more in younger age groups, which point to a shrinking market. Europe is a declining market, having maxed out (10% of adults are daily drinkers)

From Robert Conquest's The Harvest of Sorrow, probably the most comprehensive chronicle of the horror that Stalinist economic policy was.
How the term 'kulak' was conjured up as an exploiter and target of hate, with little basis in reality. It holds lessons for all of us

- How the 'Aryan' as a class was invented in 20th CE India is similar
- Same technique is used by assorted groups claiming subaltern situation and create a target of hate.

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.
🧵 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

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

Starting a thread of @tskrishnan 's myth busting tweets

https://twitter.com/tskrishnan/status/1789856764956958830

@tskrishnan

https://twitter.com/tskrishnan/status/1789894114403623089

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

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)

Why is Annamalai correct in saying what he did? Here is a segment from Abbe Dubois' "Hindu Manners, Customs and Ceremonies"

And here is what the good priest had to say about Shudras

Why we see what we're seeing in the Terrorist State of Pakistan Next, what is to be done?
- Complete isolation of the infected State of Pakistan will mean that the parasite does not have access to the host's resources. This is why exclusion from IPL and refusal to play in Pakistan is important.
- In the meantime, immunization of host

Data from TN Social Welfare Department - I'm taking it from a newspaper report, since I don't have the original data/announcement ref - newindianexpress.com/states/tamil-n… NFHS 5, as of 2019-2020, 12.8% of women between 20-24 yrs of age were married before the age of 18.
This means roughly 5 lakh + child marriages would have happened between 2013 and 2018, of which the social welfare department got to know of ~ 4000/year
rchiips.org/nfhs/NFHS-5_FC…

Some thoughts on staying out of trouble at the workplace

- Always be polite to all.
- Try to use neutral language. Never use the singular in Indian languages to address people
- Do not show curiosity about people's personal lives. Let them share as much as they want. - Share little about your personal life
- Do not reveal your opinions on politics, religion, feminism, LGBTQ issues
- Keep socializing to the bare minimum, only as much as is required to have a smooth working relationship
- Try to keep team outings to a bare minimum

The vast majority of human beings are average, because that's what average means. We have average levels of drive, intelligence, creativity and empathy. We have led lives of quiet, boring drudgery and will do so for as long as we are human. What makes the drudgery worth it is /1 the belief that we do it for something larger than us. Given the levels of average empathy, it is enough for the vast majority of humans to know that they are working hard and taking care of their family - children, siblings and parents. A few extend beyond this circle to clan /2

One politician who got so much flak from his own side is Mu Ka. He still does, after his death. It was his ability to sideline all rivals and make himself the sole flag bearer of Dravidianism. Hate him if you want, but if you want your EVR and co to remain relevant, he had to stay in power. You rouse the rabble for some significant change, like removing Brahmins' right to vote, he would do nothing. And give you a totally pointless piece of legislation like 'Archakar' which he knew would be blocked in courts. You had no option but to join the chorus

@blog_supplement @KarikadaiBoy Let me take it in 2 parts
- The nIladrApi is the greater of the threats, since he was directly astroturfed by the mlecchas, has pan Indian acceptance and has large numbers
- This was identified by the sangha early on and he was sought to be cultivated
- His anuyayins remained @blog_supplement @KarikadaiBoy at the periphery of Indias political life for long, until they came center stage in Gangetic plain. Since then, they have been co opted by appeasement and empowerment.
- The core threat still remains, but in regions where they are in large numbers, many nIlaDrapins are now

Ponniyin Selvan is dated decades before Rajarajan's ascent to the throne. The dramatis personae are teenagers or in early 20s. The cast for Mani Ratnam's epic disaster are
- Arulmozhi - 18yr old guy - played by avuncular Jayam Ravi, who was a teenage hearthrob 2 decades back /1 - Vandiyathevan - early 20s strapping lad - played by Karthi, pushing 40, receding forehead, looking like a writer in R3 police station
- Aditya Karikalan - mid-20s tough guy - played by Vikram, who's due for sashtiabthapurti by the time PS II will be released

What is the implication of the Government 'allowing' one person voluntarily lifting another person on to their shoulders?
Will this give the Government sanction to 'allow' or 'not allow' people to touch another's feet, perform pada puja, hold an umbrella, fan them? Assume that question 2 is answered with a 'Yes', when the Govt can interfere in a private ceremony, can it interfere when children touch their parents' feet and fine the family for violating human dignity?
Calling such acts a violation of human dignity is a smoke screen for

What's behind the sudden hurry to take over Ayodhya Mantapam in Chennai? This is the only ward in Chennai that voted BJP. Ayodhya Mantapam is run by Sri Ram Samaj, which includes the Mithila Mantapam, for conducting weddings and Gnanavapi, for conducting funeral rites /1 It is an institution that caters to social needs of the locals - birth, death rituals, pravachanams, bhajana recitals. Taking it over is a means of getting even with the local people. The HRCE is sure to run these institutions to the ground. How did this happen? /2

Born in TN, but attended the first shakha in Maharashtra, 1993 #MakingOfTNSanghis In 1993, there was a terrible earthquake in Latur. I wanted to do something, but didn't know what to do. Someone sent me to Kurla and I met the Kurla Vyapari Sangh rep. He put me and another guy on a truck with groceries to Latur. We were given food at dharamshalas on the way

Veeramani Yadav addressing Thuluva Vellalar Sangam on the importance of creating a casteless society Rajakannappan Yadav being felicitated for his efforts towards casteless Tamil society

Smt Kalaidevi, BJP contestant for Councillor of Ward no 92, Chennai. She was a housewife 2 years ago. Her husband is a flower businessman. When the corona outbreak started, their family was facing financial difficulties. A BJP functionary from a Southern district reached out to

https://twitter.com/Tamil_Tweeter/status/1493044334840762368

help. Interested by what they were doing, she took membership of the BJP. With the local district functionaries, she was made member of a team to help with corona relief. She then started working with the party and was able to solve things beyond corona relief, including local