A chapter in Hindi films

‘Tawaifs’ of Awadh: The first women of Hindi cinema

It seems that communism does not go away and

nor does capitalism Two Communist Lawmakers Are Suddenly Setting the Agenda in Chile May be because in one one thinks of the others and in the other one thinks of oneself. And there are both types of people sometimes in one person.

A Ghulam Mohammad song

https://youtu.be/tcpg3IoMAB0

A book about Indian science

A few years old Geek Nation: How Indian Science is Taking Over the World, By Angela Saini “Saini has produced an eye-opening survey of scientists in today's India. It shows in meticulous detail that, pockets of excellence notwithstanding, the overall state of Indian science and technology continues to be dispiriting.”

Marxism in brief

What it means to be a Marxist?  from Jacobin by Ramsin Canon

India’s move on Kashmir

May mean Kashmir move spells trouble for other Indian states by Soutik Biswas

More on itch

Following up on an old article of Atul Gawande on itch I notice this  Neuroscientists Hack Itching, Exposing a Mysterious Neural Circuit Also this earlier clarifications by him https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/07/04/dr-gawande-answers-questions-about-the-itch/?

Comparisons between Rome and US

There have articles off and on about there are similarities between Rome and US. There seems to be one constant in many societies after ancient debt cancellation days: “A constant dynamic of history has been the drive by financial elites to centralize control in their own hands and manage the economy in predatory, extractive ways. Their ostensible freedom is at the expense of the governing authority and the economy at large. As such, it is the opposite of liberty as conceived in Sumerian times” This extends not only to other countries as in colonial times but also to their own people. From a review of  Michael Hudson book.

Health problems in the family

i have been occupied with some health problems in the family and it seems that they will continue for a while.

Gautam Bhatia on Article 370

The Article 370 Amendments: Key Legal Issues 

On mosquitoes

How Mosquitoes Changed Everything “TThere’s a long tradition of history books that profess to explain the world through singular factors: salt or cod or the color blue. “The Mosquito” suffers from the necessary myopia of the genre (in addition to some florid writing, repetition, and digressions through blockbuster movies and the Western Civ highlight reel). Winegard notes that wealthy Romans built their houses on hilltops to escape mosquitoes, and says that the fad has continued to the present, with U.S. houses on hills selling at a notable markup. “Add the real estate market to the mosquito’s portfolio of influence,” he concludes, ignoring other possible reasons for this preference. His argument that mosquitoes are responsible for the Magna Carta and, therefore, modern democracy is a cascade of contingencies: the failure of Louis VII’s siege of Damascus during the malaria season of 1148 led to his separation from Eleanor of Aquitaine, which led her to marry Henry II of England, which led to the birth to King John, who sparred with his barons. Winegard doesn’t need these double-jointed reaches to persuade us of the hidden influence mosquitoes have had in shaping history and creating the world that we know today.”