In the last week of this month I will be posting a podcast I did with Francis Young, author of Pagans in the Early Modern Baltic: Sixteenth-Century Ethnographic Accounts of Baltic Paganism (at my Substack). Over the hour and a half we talked about many topics, but one thing that struck me listening to him describe the details of the beliefs and practices of Lithuanian pagans, practices that persisted as living traditions centuries after the official Christian conversion of the state in ~1400 AD (Young estimates that in the 1500’s 30-40% of the population were what was then termed “Old Lithuanians,” baptized into Christianity but rural people who were almost totally uncatechized and continued to practice their ancestral religion), is how redolent they are of the Vedic religion. Young has convinced me that it is likely that the original Baltic branch of Indo-Europeans flourished somewhat to the south of their current distribution, which may be an outlier relic. If that is correct, they were likely positioned just to the west of the Indo-Iranian ur-heimat of the Fatyanovo-Balonov culture. Linguistically many scholars argue that Indo-Iranian and Balto-Slavic are a natural ‘clade’ within Indo-European languages.
The Wikipedia entry on Lithuanian neo-paganism (Romuva) has a section titled “Relation with Hinduism”:
…But for Lithuania’s Romuva community, which traces its traditions back to ancient folklore, it is evidence of a connection to India, Hinduism and Sanskrit that has become a part of their Romuva identity, along with its pantheon of gods and fairly standard pagan rituals. Some believe that the connection between Hinduism and Romuva made Romuva to be more than a “primitive, shamanic religious tradition”…
…
Similarly Ašvieniai are divine twins in the Lithuanian mythology, counterparts of Vedic Ashvins. The Ašvieniai are represented as pulling a carriage of Saulė (the Sun) through the sky. Ašvieniai, depicted as žirgeliai or little horses, are common motifs on Lithuanian rooftops…
Romuva and Hindu groups have come together on numerous occasions to share prayers and participate in dialogue. These events have taken place in Lithuania, Atlantic City, New Jersey, Boston, Massachusetts, Epping, New Hampshire, and elsewhere.
I had assumed that Lithuanian Catholicism derived its strength from the Counter-Reformation period (the last sacred snake groves were destroyed by priests in the 18th-century), but Young explained that the reality is that Catholicism and the Lithuanian national identity became associated only with the absorption of Lithuania into the Russian Empire, where the dominant religion was Eastern Orthodoxy. It was in the context of religious and ethnic marginalization in the 19th century that the two elements of modern Lithuanian identity finally began to become synergistic, and therefore heterodox peasants began to finally adhere more strictly to a Catholic identity.
Is there any connection with the Romuva people and the Romani people? I have also read that the Yazidis of Iraq follow such Vedic rituals as well. Are these outposts of our Vedic faith or were they recipients of Vedic ideas through Romani migration? Interestingly, the latest research shows that the Romani share their origins with/originate from the Irula people of my home state, and that they migrated to NW India, before migrating to the Middle East and Europe. Tamils were the first pioneers of going West, and going East.
romani are clearly related to a lower social status punjabi group. or perhaps NW India general
also, this xinjiang paper detects some south asian ancestry beginning in the iron age https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abk1534
Dr. Khan, it appears the conventional wisdom regarding the Punjabi origins of the Roma is very wrong. This is according to the latest research, which states that both the Y chromosome/haplogroups and mtDNA of the Roma originate from Southern Indian Tamil Tribal groups, and their autosomal DNA origins matches these groups as well.
These four studies listed below show that the Roma originate from South India/Tamil Nadu as a tribal group (most likely the Irula today, other South Indian tribes have been proposed as the origin group as well, and the Irula are one of the closest matches so far) that migrated first to Central India (learned the language, and in turn received influences from Central Indian languages) and then to NW South Asia/Punjab, from where they went to the Middle East, Europe and Northern Africa. They picked up very little to no blood from local populations in South Asia after leaving Tamil Nadu, as the papers state that they only had ~15% West Asian ancestry upon leaving India. Their haplogroups are also Southern Indian origin:
“Likely Indian origin of the European Roma population – genetic study by Dr. K. Thangarajan, CCMB, Hyderabad”.
“Route map of the Roma migration from India” provided by the same author
“Ancestral modal Y-STR haplotype shared among Romani and south Indian populations. Gene.”
“European Roma groups show complex West Eurasian admixture footprints and a common South Asian genetic origin”
Quote from First two studies:
“The study also provides a map which shows that the ultimate origin of the Doma-speakers and the Roma-speakers happen to be the Tamil state in India. It is understood, that about 24000 years BP, a group of hunter-gatherers from here started their journey towards the northwestern part of the subcontinent and settled there. Irulas ( meaning the dark-skinned people — Tamil iruL, meaning darkness) , a scheduled tribe of the Tamil state, still remain in the hunter-gatherer stage on the Nilagiri hills of the state and the Govt. of Tamil Nadu has introduced many welfare measures for their social and economic upliftment. The Irulas are genetically related to the Bronze Age Indus Valley people, another genetic study says.”
Quote from fourth Study:
“The West Eurasian-like source contributes around 65% to the admixture event. This component captures the recent West Eurasian admixture between the proto-Roma and West Eurasians during their diaspora from India to Europe, in other words, it does not include the AWE component present in South Asian populations (S1 Note, S6 Fig) estimated to be around 15% (S5B Table). Thus, most of the South Asian ancestry of the Roma is mainly shared with the group of individuals from Punjab with least West Eurasian component. The rest of South Asian surrogates identified in the minor source correspond to southeastern Dravidian-speaking populations (E-India, Irula clusters), which also exhibit low levels of West Eurasian ancestry. Altogether, these findings suggest that the most likely proxy for the South Asian origin of the proto-Roma, is the ancestral source here described as a mixture of present-day South Asian groups with a low West Eurasian signature.”
Thus it appears that the Roma originate from a South Indian Tribal source that migrated within India, first settling in Central India, then Punjab, before leaving the subcontinent and migrating further West. They seem to have immense diversity today, with individuals ranging from 80-100% West Eurasian ancestry, clustering either with Europeans or Turkish or Caucasus people, Iranian people or Northern Africans. They also seemed to not have picked up any additional blood from NW Indians before leaving the subcontinent.
Also, I have read that Tamil mtDNA was found in Sumerian skeleton samples, does this mean that the Sumerian civilization was a product of Indian and Mesopotamian peoples? Tamils have a lot to be proud of, and this is just the cherry on the cupcake.
Pretty catastrophic scenes coming out of Sri Lanka. India is thankfully stepping up to help. There are now refugees coming. Previous Tamil refugees were put in ramshackle refugee camps and basically forgotten. MK Stalin has had a more pro-refugee stance and let’s hope that also reflects in how this new wave is treated.
Sri Lanka is a typical example of what happens when rampant ethno-nationalism runs its logical course.
Seems like a Family man season 2 plot
Nothing to do with ethno -nationalism.
Its all to do with US sanctions and our inability to buy Russian (or Iranian) heavy crude. The Sapugaskanda Refinery (closed) is built to refine heavy crude.
So we are having fuel shortages and power cuts. India has not abided by sanctions and is importing Russian Heavy crude. So has fuel oil and diesel and is supplying Sri Lanka with some.
I am not sure where you got the refugees as in many story. There were 6 Tamils, women and children who landed in Rameshwaran. They claimed bad economy and no jobs. All very suspicious interview. Cant get you tube link, youtube and facebook blocked in SL
https://thewire.in/south-asia/six-sri-lankan-tamil-refugees-land-in-tn-to-escape-food-inflation-unemployment
@sbarrkum
Would be interested in any other on-the-ground observations of what’s unfolding in SL, as well as your take on the sequence of factors leading to the situation that you think are being deemphasized or omitted. For instance, I’ve heard overspending on infra being blamed or the ag policy. I think this has pretty big implications for wider South Asia in that lots of folks are seizing on this to discredit certain development models.
Lanka is being hit by a perfect storm.
a) The consequences of 2019 Easter bombing and loss of tourism for three years (20% FX)
b) Economic shut down by a 1+ year lockdown because of Covid (30% FX, eg Garments)
c) Loss of mid east remmitance for 2 years, as workers were sent back because of COVID fear. (30% FX)
d) And now having to pay for refined fuels. Our only refinery built by the Iranians is to process Iranian crude or Russian crude.
In my opinion, fuel shortages are the biggest problem. 10 hour power cuts in urban areas (no power cuts in my little village). Lines to get diesel, petrol, kerosene and LPG if available. Again not too bad in rural areas. i.e. use firwood. I just built an outdoor fireplace.
Mid east workers started going back starting around Dec 2021. About 40 have left so far from the village.
Tourism had picked up in March. I was getting about 2 visitors a week, about a USD 200 income. Pre easter bombing it was USD 600+. The rioting and power cuts are going to kill that goose.
Industry, including garments. Dont have first hand info. Most industry have generators, but how does that work with diesel shortages.
There are food shortages of imported items. Unhappily Sri Lankans including rural folk have got used to lifesyle of cheap imported goodies. eg price of Lentils a staple (imported from Australia) has doubled. Same with milk powder, imported from New Zealand.
I dont think its going to be starvation, people will need to adapt and eat local stuff.
So to the stupid Ethno-Nationalism opinion. My classmate and dear friend of 56+ years, a Jaffna Tamil living in Australia (left after 83 riots). He has 50 acres of paddy in the North near Kilinochi. He is making a killing, enough to fund travel to Sri Lanka, stay in hotels etc and still make a profit.
It was the same in the 1970-77 economic crisis where Sri Lanka became a closed economy. The northern farmers were minting money. 2/3rds of the country is the Dry Zone of the North and East and is the rice basket of the country, fed by gigantic reservoirs built over 1500 years ago. Sri Lanka does not have a single natural lake.
Honest question – why not just buy Russian or Iranian crude anyways? Like I get the morality of not wanting to support certain regimes, but if your people are struggling, why continue their misery to enact some foreign global policy of another nation state?
Mohan
Honest question – why not just buy Russian or Iranian crude anyways?
Sanctions.
We are blocked with trading with Iran and Russia and cannot use regular channels like SWIFT which is controlled by US (though a Belgium company)
India and China have put into place other mechanism for Ruble Yuan/Rupee trade and are continuing to buy Russian and even Iranian.
Thats why the world needs alternate payment systems and tradeable currencies not controlled by US/West.
Saurav
Tamils for Biden: Now is the Time to Return the Tamil Eelam to the Original and Rightful Rulers of the Land, the Tamils.
Sri Lanka can save over 25% of its budget by letting the Tamils rule their own land in the North-East of the island.
https://www.iqstock.news/n/tamils-biden-time-return-tamil-eelam-original-rightful-rulers-land-tamils-3660415/
I’ve heard overspending on infra being blamed or the ag policy.
The country was ravaged by civil war for 30 years. The North and East has been completely rebuilt and huge infra structure projects and upgrades. Not just rebuilt by beautified too.
I was back in SL in 2010 just as the war ended. Ended up living on the border of Wilpattu. It was also the defacto border between LTTE and Govt control.
It was desolate, no economy for the locals. Three shops, one blackened with soot tea shop (the kade) and two small grocery shops (sillara kada). The shops had very little not even Astra Margarine or ice cream. Sri Lanka has sachet of everything in affordable price/qty eg LKR 30, margarine/ice cream. Not available because those were luxuries that the local villagers could not afford.
There was no proper road, from the nearby podunk town Puttalam 30km away. A spanking brand new carpeted road was built and was finished, 2014 or so. The moment the road was finished, the economy took off. There 25 shops now in the village. People were able resume agriculture. By 2016-17 there were 7 hotels catering to local and foreign tourists visiting Wilpattu and the Kala Oya. Some hotels on the high end, eg The Backwaters at USD90+/night
Regards Ag policy. The push to go organic and stop use of pesticides and herbicides. That was because the govt did not have FX to import so made virtue out of necessity. It was a disaster, a country cannot go organic overnight.
I just hope our “Dravidian stock” bros don’t get too ahead of ourselves and start making “greater Dravidanadu” demands 😂😂
Have spoken to lots of Sri Lankans in recent days, as I frequent plenty of desi platforms and most of them disagree with you. Too many voters support the Rajapaksa clan out of ethno-religious nationalism. The easter bombings get them a huge tailwind.
Another big problem were gigantic tax cuts which gutted the tax base, since this clan was closely supported by crony capitalists.
I think most of the problems are homegrown, even if I concede that the US hardly helps matters either. At any rate, I’ve been writing about this impending crisis for well over a year on this platform. It was very easy to predict. These crises always follow the same pattern: consistent loss of hard currency, being dependent on dollars and having stupid leaders who understand nothing about economics. Similar as the situation is in Pakistan.
Another big problem were gigantic tax cuts which gutted the tax base, since this clan was closely supported by crony capitalists.
I dont know where you get your “facts”. There is no tax base, roughly about 160,000 people who pay income taxes and those whose taxes get deducted from wages (calle PAYEE). I dont pay taxes because it is a hassle.
Not even real property taxes (called rates in SL). I pay roughly USD 30/year on 6 acre property. Not paid in 6 years because I am too lazy to go to the local office 10km away.
Our tax base is mainly regressive, if you know what that means.
a) Corporate taxes, Income taxes are only 18% of total tax revenue
b) PAYEE taxpayer are 57%(2.3M), Individuals 38% (157K), Corporate 5% (18K).
That means Individuals pay just 6.84 of the total Tax revenue.
Corporates pay just a measly 1% of total taxes.
Too many voters support the Rajapaksa clan out of ethno-religious nationalism. The easter bombings get them a huge tailwind.
Fee Fi Fo Fum, I smell a LTTE supporter reeking of sesame/gingelly oil, not an European.
I guess you can call the Rajapkases Nationalist, just like Modi. The voters voted them in because they dont support devolution/separatism in any form.
These protests are mainly by urban eg lawyers who are west oriented. They lost in last elections and hope to gain by mob rule what they could not achieve at the polls
https://www.livemint.com/opinion/whats-the-west-and-why-does-it-praise-others-so-often-11648410608244.html
manu joseph is super in this . everyone should read.
Very good piece. Thanks for posting.
there is no evidence that customs like ‘sati’ in India were widely prevalent
I like my widows like how the Christians like their Witches, Smoking Hot!
the latest genetic work makes it clear roma are descended from a NW indian, likely punjabi, group.
Hi Dr. Khan, I agree with your conclusion, the papers I linked above show that within India, the origins of the Roma are from Southern India/Central India, from where they migrated to NW India. Once in NW India, they adopted the language/customs (some might have even mixed with certain Dalit individuals there) and then migrated further West. So their ultimate destination within India before leaving the subcontinent was in the NW. That is why their haplogroups and autosomal DNA shows matches to the Irula and other tribes of South India, in addition to Adivasi groups in Central and Eastern India. There is also linguistic evidence and additional historical evidence to support their Dravidian and Central Indian origins. I have seen certain NW Indians that look strikingly Tamil, including in places far north like Punjab, so I am not surprised to see research that shows the migration of a Southern tribe/highly AASI Southern strain like the Irula and others to the Punjab/NW. These groups unfortunately are treated like untouchables (something I hate to bring up) because of their alien appearance, something I am very aware of myself, having been taunted by fellow South Asians for being “too black”. For some strange reason (perhaps because of the diversity of AASI strains) many people with high AASI in the NW look different from Tamils/Dravidians with high AASI, and this only helps create more divisions among ourselves. And I dont just mean looking different in terms of skin color, but also facial features and build.
bjp needs to have a policy, a very strict one. It took one fanatic idiot in the name of godse to set people back by 50 yrs, martyrdom of gandhi essentially erased all questions that needed to be asked. Of all people, he is one of the biggest villain internally for H’s. Need to make sure such people dont come again. They have to delegate culture issues to local bodies through religious autonomy in temples and education. We just need to maintain demography and dont pick any side for next 50 yrs. Just benefit by being neutral. And if one is forced to pick, it should be usa for economic reasons while simultaneously making sure there isnt new color revolutions or changes in demography. Increase manufacturing, increase technology. I am at once less paranoid and more paranoid going forward. If common sense holds and demography holds, we should be a super power in 50 yrs. But nothing is a given. One has to focus exclusively on a strategy of denying others victory and growth rather than focusing on maximizing own strength. If others dont grow and dont win. If they are denied this, then automatically, we shall be among the winners. we have missed this post maratha ascendency, we have missed it at time of post partition, this is another moment. Just dont screw up. Also, need to deal with uc idiots who go by terms like blackpilled or uc atrocity types etc. As for muslims, we just need a section of them to be introspective and give them some support. In the battle between west and east, it is the battle between fanatic supremacist expansionist faiths vs metacognition and the belief that man can cultivate virtue. so, focus on demography, economy, health, education, delegate autonomy to temples, schools so they become force multipliers. Take the path that seeks to Deny others victory and legitimacy, take care of fanatics, uc idiots, offer a hand to those muslims willing to introspect. No place for tiumphalism.
https://www.koimoi.com/bollywood-news/the-kashmir-files-box-office-honestly-addressed-by-karan-johar-calls-it-probably-to-be-cost-to-profit-the-biggest-hit-of-indian-cinema/
karan johar calls kashmir files not as a film but as a movement. Morality always matters. One cannot move away from that. Our faith does not recommend bigotry , so if one makes wrong moves, it will stand discredited among own people as with murder of gandhi. when people are coming together in right spirit. Their energies need to be directed in the right way.
” It is rightly said that the most difficult thing in chess is winning the won position” – Valdimir Kramnik
Vamsee Juluri writes a piece capturing many of the diverse reactions from cinema going audiences after watching the Rajamouli movie RRR.
https://openthemagazine.com/cover-story/the-temptations-of-tollywood/
He captures many strands in this piece, specifically the Netflix vs Nativity moment happening in the Indian aesthetic consciousness. The Indian memory of rasa is ejecting the American intrusion into its cultural sphere with its choices at the screen. He writes further about the Telugu aesthetic that has a long and hoary tradition of epic storytelling for the masses.
I think we posted earlier about how Indian audiences to the east of Nagpur are receding from Bollywood and gravitating towards Telugu cinema simply because of its portrayal of everyday culture and choices that they are familiar with.
No trust motion dismissed on unbelievably flimsy grounds. Then NA dissolved. Pak-Nationalist be like, ‘Wah!! masterstroke’ 😂
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American foreign services are a retarded people. Folks shit on them and they just keep on taking it without retaliation. Imran Khan is naming-shaming the US without proof and without any fear.
Imran Khan’s move is a complete masterstroke because the opposition is now in a lose lose situation. They wanted elections for the last two years to oust the current government, when that was not happening, they wanted to oust the PM via vote of no-confidence, so that they can come into government, reverse all the previous reforms, use their government to buy off whoever they can to win the next election.
The problem for them is that not only they had to rely on horse trading which dented their credibility, but all of these parties who hated each other came together to join hands. There is absolutely nothing in common between secular Bilawal and Taliban supporting Fazlur Rehman, MQM voters and PMLN voters hate PPP and Zardari, and vice versa. Yet they all came together to oust the PM in exchange for few months in government.
IK has played the ace card: ‘Amreeki saazish’ – which has a lot of traction in Pakistan. And this was no doubt because US diplomats gave him that card on a platter.. USA has been threatening every other country that is neutral to oppose Russia and it’s likely they did the same here. IK has used this and opposition’s lack of credibility very wisely to seize the narrative. And now even today, he seized the narrative by not allowing the vote to go through and he called for elections on his own terms. Opposition cannot claim they don’t want elections after wanting elections for 3 years up until last month. And they don’t want to go into an election right now when they have all made a spectacle of unity with each other- when now they have to trash each other campaigning.
Whether this move is constitutional or not will be debated later, but IK gave the people a spectacle and people love spectacles. In every move, he is controlling the narrative. It’s quite obvious to me that public opinion has turned in his favor and if elections are held now, PTI will win majority.
“Imran Khan’s move is a complete masterstroke because…”
Whatever makes folks happy. Reminds me of this:
https://twitter.com/XilleIlahi/status/1350388157376819200
‘The really funny thing about Pakistani political Twitter is how nobody ever loses an argument. You can be totally roasted, humiliated and burned by someone and your supporters will still come and say haha well done, kuttay wali kar di uss ki, winning as always sir etc etc’
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What are the reforms you mention in “reverse all the previous reforms” ?
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Can IK win without Army/ISI backing?
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If Imran wins, wouldn’t it mean Army (somewhat) loses?
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Pakistani commitment to the constitution has always been iffy. Not that big a deal. Pakistani judges are drama queens so not clear yet.
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Anti-Americanism will mean losing $$$, I posted in last open thread about why the road connectivity to China sucks.
>”What are the reforms you mention in “reverse all the previous reforms” ?
Reversing EVMs, abolishing OSP voting rights, defund or sabotage recently funded health card initiative in Punjab, and many others. But I think the biggest thing the opposition would have done is fixing price of the rupee using (forex reserves that PTI government tried very hard to build up in the past 3 years), to provide a short term (6 month to 1 year) inflation relief to the people. That would have helped them to win the next elections, after which they would have gone to IMF again after the win to stabilize the economy, and then we are back to square one for five more years which no reserves, more loans, more debt servicing costs etc etc.
>Can IK win without Army/ISI backing?
Army is somewhat neutral.. top generals may even be anti IK now and pro Shahbaz.. however I think majority of middle and lower ranks are supportive of IK. A lot of beureucrats may also be anti-IK because IK is ruffling a lot of feathers.. What’s funny is that opposition journalists like Najam Sethi are now singing praises of the top army leadership .. so it kinda establishes that they were never really anti-establishment, they were anti IK and pro status quo (everyone got bank accounts and properties in the west)
In a free election, I think *at this point*, IK will win majority. Whether there would be free elections, remains to be seen as I am not sure if army/ISI will intervene against him. All I know is, IK has gotten a lot of public support and he is a very very stubborn man who is not going to give up lest he is assassinated.
Dar-economis 101: manipulate currency with forex.
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“IK will win majority. Whether … army/ISI will intervene against him.”
Won’t they see if he wins wouldn’t he be brimming with hubris and might become more assertive?
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At the end of the day, Pakistan army is the primary anti-India party. Politicians and the population are ultimately without principles and can be handled. Enforcing accountability and weakening the relative and absolute power of the Pakistan army is in India’s national interest.
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EVMs are a no brainer. Who will manufacture them in Pakistan? I read some engineering colleges are designing them. In India the public sector Bharat Electronics manufactures them.
OSP voting, dual-citizenship all this crap is a shit idea.
Write something about the sehat card and why is it a big deal?
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‘In a free election, I think *at this point*, IK will win majority. Whether there would be free elections, remains to be seen as I am not sure if army/ISI will intervene against him.’
I wouldn’t bet on that. PTI organization is skin-deep in Punjab still, and one needs an organization to translate ‘narratives’ into votes. The only way i see PTI winning a majority is if Imran Khan remains the care taker PM. Or if army, at the last minute, feels he is well worth a shot again. If either of the situation don’t exist than it will be hard for him to even replicate last election performance.
>Won’t they see if he wins wouldn’t he be brimming with hubris and might become more assertive?
I am quite sure they are vary of that. This is why they will be very uneasy right now. When Bajwa made that statement against Russia and in favor of the USA, a lot of PTI supporters were raging against him so much that both information minister and IK himself had to come out and tell them to stop it. Don’t think he wants this battle at this point which seems wise.
In the future however, I think this is just the quarterfinal, which happens to be against the opposition. Semi final and finals will be played against different teams, they are yet to come. (If IK wins, that is)
# OSP vote will be massively in favor of PTI so it’s natural the opposition wants to nix it.
# No idea about EVM plans, Election commission had to institute them but not sure if they can, since they are so inept. At this point everything is up in the air.
# The Sehat card basically provides free health insurance to everyone in the province, first rolled out in KP and now being rolled out in Punjab and I think there is a nominal/limited program on the federal level as well. Upto Rs 1 million per family (this is Punjab’s limit), can be used for free medical treatment..
Obviously this was quite successful in KPK when introduced in 2016 which was one of the reasons why PTI retained it’s votebank there in 2018, along with police reforms.. same is now being rolled out in Punjab.
If you look at seat by seat analysis, PTI was second largest party in Punjab and many seats PML won was a very close contest. This is all without PTI organization.. Also, agreed that if elections were 3 months ago, PMLN would have come out on top in Punjab, but today the entire situation is very different, and PMLN is on the backfoot. They wanted elections too but later this year after some time in the government, now they are forced into it because they know the people on the ground are buying the conspiracy narrative. Last time, the sympathy factor in Punjab was with Nawaz Sharif, this time it will be with Imran Khan.
Sindh will more or less be the same with PPP winning from rural and PTI winning from Karachi, except MQM will be wiped out now because they had an unusually powerful position and jumped to the opposition benches just this week.. now they are neither here nor their.
2 differences with ur analysis
Last time out the “agriculture dept” was in full force and lot of “azad umidwar”. Now unless caretaker PM khan can tilt the playing field, to his side, I doubt PTI can come up with the numbers. The 2nd largest party in Punjab was due to the afore mentioned reasons. That’s why he would like to stay caretaker PM. Plus no labaik this time round to cut PML N votes
On Karachi too I feel PPP-MQM-jamat alliance could upstage PTI considering they have a bigger alliance.
But then we have to wait and see.
The independent candidates who win their seat almost always join with the largest party after every election, this is a trend. If in 2018, PMLN and PPP would have managed to make a coalition government, the independents would have joined up with them. But establishment wanted PTI government so the independents went with them. Many of these turned coats now that umpire became neutral. We will see if things change a month from now at this point PML is clearly on the backfoot.
In Sindh, MQM is was pretty much eliminated today. Watch Farooq Sattar speech today. Mqm leadership is hiding their faces because they just scored a big own goal. Most Muhajir vote had defected to PTI and whatever was left in 2018 will now either defect to PTI as well or go to PSP. They joined with the hated PPP (against the sentiment of their voters) for promise of some ministries and that failed badly. Their supporters are livid.
Similarly, JI is made irrelevant on national level as PTI has usurped their Islamist role. They will continue to do local council level politics but until PTI is there, JI is not powerful.
A wildcard in both Punjab and Sindh is TLP. They take away voters from PMLN and PTI, and they had problems with both PMLN and PTI governments. It remains to be seen what their role will be, how will they campaign, who will they target etc.. I think with the Amreeki Saazish card, IK may pull off some their voters but too early to say.
Russians on retreat from Kiev. Tankies will give this their spin but to me it is clear Russians will not win this war they way they intended. They will take territory but this Russian army is no match NATO or maybe even China.
A proper opposition Air Force did not even enter the fray. Russian army is shitting bricks against just NATO man portable weapons.
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Most prediction Major Amin makes are wrong. Said India will fuck with Pakistan post Balakot, said NA/Tajiks will fuck Taliban, said Russian army will annihilate this fake country of prostitutes. He says things which folks want to here.
Whatever little he gets right is just chance.
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@bhimrao
……against just NATO man portable weapons
Gameboys – Weapons shiny, NATO cooool
Tactical – Kettle (Kotyel) and Gnezdo (Nest) tactics are not working effectively. What can be the reason?
Strategic – Russian deterrence is still strong enough to keep NATO warplanes parked inside their hangers.
Imran Khan has very interesting life. It would be if like Tom Brady were the son of a rich industrialist, went Harvard, behaved much more openly promiscuously, became president, and portrayed himself to be a Christian zealot over time.
I think Christiano Ronaldo is another good comparison.
Is their any genetic connection between Yazidis and Hindus ?
no
Indigo’s Gangwal has given 100 Cr for IIT K med school. Kgp already built one. Mindtree folks gave 425 Cr for one in IISc.
What is brewing?
Are these folks foreseeing some opportunities? I myself paid lakhs last year for hospital beds I am guessing India is building a sizeable class of folks (with hard cash or insurance) who can sustain a medical devices/discovery ecosystem.
May this be ISB/IIM moment in Indian medicine.
I know folks who’ve been working on medical device startups in conjunction with AIIMS etc. The problem always is that funding runs out + talent is lopsided (1 IIT founder + 2/3 lackeys)
The other big problem is data. Even Google has failed to penetrate the medtech space in India. IIRC they had a project going on for some computer vision based diagnostics that they had to shelve.
If IITs can attract some money and provide their talent with an opportunity to work on real medical data. There’s scope for a lot of interesting products to emerge.
qure.ai that makes ML-based radiological image diagnosis code recently raised $40 mln, smart folks.
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/qureai-raises-40-million-from-healthcare-investors-novo-holdings-and-healthquad-301512615.html
https://www.voxelgrids.com/
They made the first indigenous MRI machine. Funded by the Tata Trust.
Arjun Arunachalam is such an inspiration. To me this is technologically the foremost medical device startup in the country.
Bhai Google sab bakchodi hai. The leadership is (rightly) focused on core product/expectation. The employees are in it only for the money. It is hard to be driven when the stakes are low.
Expecting American tech companies to build Indian businesses is foolish. Indians have to look at the world with their own eyes, the way it is, and wrestle with it. Instead of trying to figure the world via the painting of a photo of another painting inspired by a video.
Google-woogle sab bakchodi hai.
Biggest opponent of IK isn’t the feckless opposition (who takes the snotty and silverspoon-fed brat Bhutto seriously?) but the COAS himself, who has clearly aligned himself closer with the West.
Bajwa’s own brother owns a number of restaurants in the USA and I wouldn’t be surprised if subtle and perhaps not so subtle threats were given to his brother that if Pakistan didn’t start playing ball then the economic interests of his family could be threatened.
A major reason why the UK struggled so much to sanction the Russian oligarchs during the early phases of this conflict is that corrupting foreign elites is a key tool of power that they use. The same is true for the USA. The Barzani clan (kurds) own huge property in California and that can always be used as leverage in any Iraqi political crisis, or to call in favours.
I think China’s unwillingness to accept immigration is a weakness in this regard, because foreign elites want to send their family members abroad and invest in other countries, possibly even live there if things go south in their home countries. Look at ex-PMs of Pakistan buying up London property. In that sense, the West will always have the upper hand against China in South Asia or the Middle-East.
IK is different in that he doesn’t seem to care about that life anymore and most of his family members aren’t in politics.
In that sense, he reminds me of Modi, which makes him harder to bribe and destabilise. His recent praise of India’s foreign policy as “independent” should be seen in this light.
The key question now is how large a part of the Pakistani elite is aligned with COAS and how many can IK count on. We’re about to find out, and it starts with the supreme court.
Don’t Imran Khan’s sons live in London with their mother?
Anti-American sentiment is quite high in Pakistan. Imran is opportunistically leveraging it to maintain political power.
Modi is a very different, as he is non-elite but his entire career has been political activism. The Indian elite really dislike him (chai-wala).
Imran Khan has more enviable life for common man and elite. He is more conventionally handsome by leaps and bounds. He has success in more domains. He lived classic life of luxary, success, and hedonism in his youth, while coming off as a martyr in his old age. It’s a better story to most people, one where “fun” is still had, while eventually turning toward a noble path.
Modi’s is shrouded in mystery but largely monk like. It is just focus on a model of constant work and slow/steady rise through the system. It is one of immense constant discipline and sacrifice everything for the nation and core belief system from the start. Whether people agree with the end goal or methods, that’s different. But Modi’s goal in life has always been to dedicate himself to India.
On the other hand, Biliwal and Rahul are like twins.
The political turmoil in Pakistan and the wheeling-dealing suggests that democracy is taking roots there. And that the army is not all powerful.
Democracy lovers everywhere should rejoice at this.
I wish our neighbours all the best in figuring out the next phase of their national journey.
Parag Agarwal welcomes Elon Musk to the Twitter Board
https://twitter.com/paraga/status/1511320953598357505
Although this was a foregone conclusion since we now know that Elon has a higher holding in Twitter than some founders. But Parag acquitted himself well in this non-adversarial fashion. Shades of brown showing!
Comparing Elon and Bezos – the latter went and bought himself the Washington Post (old school media) while the former has taken on an absolutist free speech stance and has now put his money in his object of criticism!
The Washington Post may have fetched Bezos some leverage in the political swamp. But Elon has won over some stoics today!
https://caravanmagazine.in/security/ukarine-crisis-west-needs-understand-india-democratic-decline-russia-china
‘The Modi government finds itself on the same page as China on the issues of human rights, climate change, the treatment of religious minorities and freedom of expression.
This has put Washington in a tough spot. To contrast India with China, the US harps on the euphemism of “shared values” to rationalise its partnership with India. But what are these shared values? Whether it is democracy, freedom of expression, religious freedom or the treatment of minorities, India’s record of such values under Modi has been abysmally poor. But the Biden administration continues to look away even as democracy erodes in India.’
Enemies from within. Leftist propagandists.
PhD in logical fallacies with specialization in false equivalence from JNU
Not even ISI could write a better piece.
The author served in the Indian army. This is the level of indoctrination you are dealing with
https://theprint.in/opinion/ipcc-has-a-clear-warning-for-india-flood-forecasting-needs-some-speed-in-it/904257/
IPCC has a clear warning for India, flood forecasting needs some speed in it
I think Pakistan has produced a bona fide political leader in a long time in Imran Khan. Similar 2 Narsimha Rao, who initially was mocked and underestimated, while he pulling a fast one one the whole country and his own party. Imran has pushed the behemoth army general and its apparatus to the back foot. Kudos 2 that.
Irrespective of what the future holds, i think he will come across as someone who succeeded to push the army back, albeit by lighting fire to his own country. Perhaps that was the only way possible. The last political leader to have achieved the same success was Nawaz Shariff, (Bhutto and his kid-lings don’t count) who broke away from the army , could still hold on to his political capital, while his other (landed, feudal, business) compatriots were reduced to single constituency leaders.
Forex numbers for this week are due tomorrow. Last week alone they lost ~$3 Billion of the ~$21 Billion they had.
https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/946369-sbp-forex-reserves-fall-by-2-915bn-in-a-week
Saurav – PakArmy is not threatened by Nawaz Sharif that much, they only hate him because of his pro-India stance.. Also Nawaz Sharif does not have any appeal outside of Punjab. Imran Khan is more like Zulfiqar Bhutto, both had national appeal and could draw huge crowds in all provinces, both also had tried to push for an international agenda, did not take dictation from US, and Bhutto eventually went against the army that installed him, and sooner or later Imran Khan will too.
@Bhimrao, that $3billion was a loan repayment. However the reserves will definitely start to decline rapidly the longer this political turmoil goes. ..
https://propakistani.pk/2022/04/07/pakistans-forex-reserves-plunge-by-1-billion/
Down One Billion this week.
Fundstrat released an OSINT based estimated equipment loss for both sides.
https://twitter.com/carlquintanilla/status/151150786647733863
This set of numbers are rather alarming – at this pace, Ukrainians will be reduced to a pure anti-tank/MANPADS force with no other equipment. One criticism is that the denominator is not “committed force levels” but combined all theater numbers which under-signifies Russian losses.
India to face significant cost if aligned with Russia, US says
Will India bend the knee?
https://www.dawn.com/news/1683857/supreme-court-restores-national-assembly-orders-no-confidence-vote-to-be-held-on-saturday
Pakistani drama continues…
Imran has popular momentum. Voting will be different this time. He played opposition like a fiddle.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.wionews.com/india-news/china-backed-hackers-waged-cyberattacks-on-indian-power-grid-system-near-ladakh-report-468983/amp
As expected
@thewarlock
I noticed you were commenting on the skin color thread… what is your opinion on the lack of representation of Black-skinned South Asians? You mentioned how we need a three part system of skin color (all shades of brown) for South Asians, but you neglected the vast multitudes of people across South Asia that have varied shades of Black skin, be it lighter shades of black or the darkest shades of Black. Dont you think that until we get representation for the truly darkest people we arent really getting authentic representation at all?
I mean we not only have much darker skin than brown people, we also have very different facial features. Priyanka and Bipasha and Bridgerton dont represent us in any way. In fact, I would say Brown people is an offensive term that excludes South Asians that are much darker and are thus made to feel like they are lesser. When I mean very dark skinned, I mean people like the women at 10:20-11:20 in this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uM85zVt6xCU
True. We need more representation of tropical features black skin S Asians.
But it will happen in steps. When it is pushed too aggressively via some sort of hardcore fiat, it just leads to resentment and more tribalism, thus hurting the already not as powerful once again. I think education of historic mistreatment is key while at the same time pushing individual liberty, freedom of expression, and market values.
Things are changing. For some time, even the moderately dark S Asians you now see in media were considered too dark and only the most fair were considered at all. I think inclusion of these medium brown people at the highest levels is a small victory in and of itself. More work needs to be done. But I am an optimist. If people realize the deep seated discrimination and work to view people as individuals, prioritizing meritocracy and pushing people to be the best versions of themselves, I think we can approach the asymptote of egalitarianism over time.
But this will be slow. Aggressive rioting and overthrow and feel-good leftist and tribal politics, the kind of the communist Black Lives Matter group (their hypocritical leaders just bought $6 million dollar home) will he temping. But the key is a message of liberty and unity in liberty.
We also must be kind and fair to our E Asian appearance Indian brethren. They are also badly mistreated and misrepresented. Look at the abomination of Priyanka Chopra playing the inspirational Mary Kom. It would be an understatement to call it a travesty of the highest order.
@thewarlock
I agree brother, I was about to mention something similar — I feel that the folks on the sidelines of the South Asian community, both the darkest and downtrodden ASI shifted appearances/ones throughout the country, and the overlooked NE/SE Asian looking folks in the Northern and Eastern portions of the country are invisible in the South Asian world of media and politics. This is despite the fact that these East Asian looking folks also have an equal share in our civilization, heritage, culture, history, genes (NE folks have Indus Valley West Eurasian + AASI genes just like the rest of us) and even appearances (Bengalis and East Indians and some Northern Indians and Nepalis overlap with NE folks in looks). They are as much Indian and South Asian as anyone else, genetically and culturally/physically.
In fact, many of these East Asian looking South Asians are neglected by the Indian government, and are living in poor conditions, mostly in tribal communities, with little to no upliftment and advancement. They are also often the victims of racism, with many South Asians in the North/West treating them like intruders and outcasts, as if they are “less Indian” simply because of their East Asian features. Never mind the fact that hundreds of millions of South Asians possess these same features, both among tribals and among mainstream populations, all throughout India/Nepal/Bangaldesh/Pakistan/Afganistan, not to mention East Asian genes that also exist across many communities in South Asia.
It is a shame that we are such a close minded society that we prefer to ignore the existence of hundreds of millions of our own brothers/people, living right under our nose, within our borders. I dont know how inclusive South Asia will be in the future, but right now, things are in bad shape. Priyanka playing Mary Kom is an absurd joke, one that shows just how backward our society is. Its normal to exclude both the darkest folks and the most East Asian looking folks from society. Most South Asians act like we dont exist. Its all only for “Brown” and Beige folks. Everyone else is unwelcome and simply a nuisance. Ironically, many East Asians in USA do not want to be associated with other South Asians either, going to many lengths to state that we are not truly Asian, something that is nothing more than colorism couched in feigned ignorance. It is why I am curious to learn about the true essence of AASI — if it is truly a purely East Eurasian component like any other SE Asian component — then our identity as Asians is a fact and not under debate. My reading so far indicates this too.
The Dollar Devours the Euro
That makes the New Cold War against China an implicit opening act of what threatens to be a long-drawn-out World War III. The U.S. strategy is to pry away China’s most likely economic allies, especially Russia, Central Asia, South Asia and East Asia. The question was, where to start the carve-up and isolation.
Russia was seen as presenting the greatest opportunity to begin isolating, both from China and from the NATO Eurozone. A sequence of increasingly severe – and hopefully fatal – sanctions against Russia was drawn up to block NATO from trading with it. All that was needed to ignite the geopolitical earthquake was a casus belli.
That was arranged easily enough. The escalating New Cold War could have been launched in the Near East – over resistance to America’s grabbing of Iraqi oil fields, or against Iran and countries helping it survive economically, or in East Africa. Plans for coups, color revolutions and regime change have been drawn up for all these areas, and America’s African army has been built up especially fast over the past year or two. But Ukraine has been subjected to a U.S.-backed civil war for eight years, since the 2014 Maidan coup, and offered the chance for the greatest first victory in this confrontation against China, Russia and their allies.
So the Russian-speaking Donetsk and Luhansk regions were shelled with increasing intensity, and when Russia still refrained from responding, plans reportedly were drawn up for a great showdown to commence in late February – beginning with a blitzkrieg Western Ukrainian attack organized by U.S. advisors and armed by NATO.
The full-blown version of the New Cold War triggered by the “Ukraine War” risks turning into the opening salvo of World War III, and is likely to last at least a decade, perhaps two, as the U.S. extends the fight between neoliberalism and socialism to encompass a worldwide conflict. Apart from the U.S. economic conquest of Europe, its strategists are seeking to lock in African, South American and Asian countries along similar lines to what has been planned for Europe.
What is in this for the Global South countries being squeezed – not merely as “collateral damage” to the deep shortages and soaring prices for energy and food, but as the very objective of U.S. strategy as it inaugurates the great splitting of the world economy in two? India has already told U.S. diplomats that its economy is naturally connected with those of Russia and China. Pakistan finds the same calculus at work.
From the U.S. vantage point, all that needs to be answered is, “What’s in it for the local politicians and client oligarchies that we reward for delivering their countries?”
https://thesaker.is/the-dollar-devours-the-euro/
on pakistan:
i) if army is leaning towards the american position, i.e Ukraine in particular and equipment supplies in general, where will this leave the chinese? we were under the impression that army and political elite were tilted towards china.
ii) is imran’s ranting occasional praise of india open up things for india?
Having achieved its aim in Afghanistan, Pak army wanted someone who can ‘soft land’ their relationship with the west / US, so that the go back to normal relationship. Remove them from FATF, concessions in World Bank, keep them in European trade pacts, service their weapons and perhaps some aid. Plus gulf countries have been also backing off, due to Imran’s pro Turkey stance.
But Immy was having none of it, in lieu of ‘independent foreign policy’. The Chinese relationship has reached its full course, and now they want their ROI. That’s the reason Army has held its nose and decided to back the opposition.
I think Imran is good for Pakistan because he is standing up to army. But he is also good for India. Yeah he rants about ummah, islamism, and Kashmir all day. But he doesn’t come off as some sort of warmonger. He is just the physical embodiment of the radical islamo-leftist alliance. He may have too much outward expression of zealotry and misplaced economic values but he is far less bellicose than the usual crowd.
I still think he will come out on top in this episode. Even if he doesn’t, opposition victory will be short lived. Next election he will be back with a stronger majority. Only way to get rid of him is to kill him. Like Modi, he is just way too popular broadly, and his base is just too die-hard.
Imran Khan loses the no-trust vote. 174/342 vote against him. That was close.
Not really. They had PTI members ready to vote, if they didn’t have enough. This is so they can keep their seats. US Congressional votes can sometimes look similarly close but don’t actually reflect popularity. Within the parliament, the majority wanted Khan out. But enough people in the opposition were there to save the political capital of defectors.
In the end, Khan will be back, unless he is killed off by the army. He has too much popular support. A mass movement is behind him. Even if that is only a plurality and not majority, his followers are too impassioned for him not to win. This alliance of convenience among the opposition won’t last. Anyway, this episode has demonstrated what we have always known. The military is the kingmaker. Imran may challenge that even more in the future. But that is what it is right now. Sharif will do their bidding.
GHQ will try to suppress him and not let him back, IK has gotten bigger than them. For anyone doubting, ISPR tweeted a video of a missile test today, it got 45 thousand comments within a few hours and if anyone can read Urdu comments, 98% of the comments below it are just spewing venom against the army chief and top brass.
https://twitter.com/OfficialDGISPR/status/1512710884518359042
So big changes coming through in NAB, Election Commission will be tampered with and everything will be done to rig the elections next year against PTI. I don’t think Imran Khan is running to London so they will have to literally kill him to stop him.
I hope the best for him. The other leadership sucks. He actually cares about the nation. Yes he has a bit of a God-complex. But most good leaders do. Yeah assassination attempts will be numerous
“IK has gotten bigger than them.”
All this has happened many times in the past. Bajwa is an overconfident fool so this time may be different.
Imran leashing Bajwa would be good for India. Pak army is an orders of magnitude bigger impediment to Indian hegemony than Imran.
###
“spewing venom against the army chief and top brass.”
Again, this is nothing new, this is regular bakchodi that Pakistanis do. Whoever loses in Pakistan does some version of it. The difference is that folks from PML/PPP are not cheering for the army this time like the PTI folks used to do.
###
“Imran Khan is running to London”
Sharif was sort of exiled against his wishes.
###
The PPP-PML alliance is unnatural and will be bad for both of them if Imran gets to fight a fair elections.
###
Folks like Najam Sethi were not fine with rigging but are fine with horse trading. Subhanallah! Pakistani morality.
1) Sharif ran away to London after making a fake health excuse and that it was life threatening..it’s been 2 years almost.. but his platelets will now be on their way to recovery by Monday and he might even be back next week.
2) Najam Sethi has a personal agenda against IK. He’s a brown saahib. There are many in Pakistan (and I’m sure many in India as well). Well now you will see Najam Sethi and his like sing the praises of the ‘establishment’.. new government will not be ”selected” but ”elected” despite being a disparate group of islamists, seculars, feudals with no ideology, and clearly running away from elections called last week. PMLN PM Shahbaaz with their 85 seats will be labelled ”elected” by these journalists but IK with 155 seats was labelled ”selected”.
3) I have been saying since day 1, not sure why Indian media portrayed IK as some sort of anti Indian personality. He is quite anti-Modi but there is absolutely nothing to suggest that he was anti-India. Even with Modi, he wanted Modi government to win in 2019 because he thought a stronger Modi govt could have the mandate to achieve some permanent solution on Kashmir. (https://www.indiatoday.in/elections/lok-sabha-2019/story/imran-khan-narendra-modi-pakistan-2019-general-election-1498121-2019-04-10). Obviously this was undone after Aug 5 2019.
I quite agree with u on (3). I think both Pakistan and Indian media exaggerate the anti India/Pakistan bias of respective leaders. Modi doesnt really care that much on Pakistan, and would rather have a status quo relationship. I feel that’s true of Imran as well.
But both have their Achilles heel . For Modi its stand against Pakistan/muslim nationalism. When it was called out in Pulwama attach, he was ‘forced’ to do ‘something’. Which resulted in Balakot.
Imran/Pakistan has the same Achilles heel wrt to Kashmir. When it was called out after events of Aug 2019, they had to do ‘something’ which resulted in the whole Hitler/Nazis/RSS outburst and all.
All these are theatrics to assuage domestic audience rather than concreate foreign policy action.
Pakistan should probably not piss of the West too much. For all the talk of China-Pakistan cooperation, its economy is still largely dependent on US and Europe. Pakistan exported twice as much to the US as to China. Trade with the Islamic world is limited to importing oil from the Middle East.
https://oec.world/en/profile/country/pak
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtC_XKaMxUk
Old but gold
Ravana ruled sri lanka better.Cities were of all gold.
Any T1 diabetic brownbros here? Was on the verge of complete collapse while returning from my ancestral village in the Himalayas to Delhi, got my blood work done here, and turns out my pancreas have been pretty much f*ckd up, dont know since when as the severe symptoms only showed up sometime by the end of last month. Glucose levels at the initial tests turned out to be 550 mg/dl, so that was scary. No history of any such diagnosis on both paternal and maternal sides. Doc told me that a couple hundreds of extra sugar might possibly have led to a cardiac arrest or a coma, albeit my body would go unconscious much earlier than that.
Stay safe guys!
Also, the fact that I’m just 24 has made it very difficult for my parents to come to terms with, especially mom as you’d expect(doc has been trying to console them by citing examples of much younger people who are taking insulin besides me)
At this point, I’m just praying that sugar levels fall enough to transition from syringes to pills quick(and also worried about how this new health situation i find myself in affects my running, anyone has experienc wid this?)
Counterintuitively, Type I DM is less genetic than Type II DM, as seen in twin-twin correspondence studies. There is a genetic component though. Current hypothesis is that a virus infects the body and the immune system in response goes a bit haywire and starts to attack cells that look like that virus (molecular mimicry). A result of this type of friendly fire can be pancreatic beta cells.
You will likely have a honeymoon period off of insulin but will likely require insulin again. If you keep your A1c below 7, get routine blood work for kidneys, and get routine eye checks- you can have a normal life.
You are at higher risk of hypoglycemia and also dehydration when doing distance running. Take care to drink enough water and also do frequent glucose checks to ensure you are not getting hypoglycemic. Hypoglycemia is far more acutely dangerous than hyperglycemia. But the latter is of course non-ideal too. You will have instances in your life, such as during periods of infections like the flu that wouldn’t really cause much harm to regular people, triggering your body to enter a state of acid build up in the blood. The mechanisms for this are a bit complex. But essentially in high stress states, insulin requirements go up and the body’s ability to produce sufficient insulin isn’t there in a Type I Diabetic. To get you through these episodes, you may require hospitalization.
If you keep your A1c down, eat well (diabetic diet, keep saturated fats under control, more plant based, drink enough water) and exercise (cardio+strength training moderate amounts), you can have an essentially regular life.
Look into getting a good endocrinologist. If you can afford it, look into getting an insulin pump under the supervision of good endocrinologist. This is just basic stuff. You have to go to doctors regularly for good advice.
Basically, this is not a lifestyle disease. This is an autoimmune disease more so. Be sure to get your thyroid checked too. Look out for vitiligo in life. These are also associated.
You will face a lot of ignorance. Type II DM is more common. It is especially prevalent in S Asians due to low-lean mass on average, high body fat percentage, and some epigenetic factors related to recent famines, all in the context of less physical labor on average, especially in urban areas (modernization), and worse diets (particularly fast-food Western ones). But Type II DM is a different entity. It is a disease more of insulin resistance than insulin production (this paradigm is overly simplistic but is the basic idea). Indians are familiar with this type. While it is quite genetic, there is an environmental component to it. It can be mitigated with healthy lifestyle.
There is no known way to mitigate Type I DM. Think of it like a disease like lupus. It is a condition where the body attacks itself. It isn’t entirely understood how it happens. It is no “fault” of your own, at least that modern science knows of. We are just in some ways fortunate to live in the era after the discovery of synthetic insulin. Because of it, you can, if you are responsible, have a mostly normal life, all other things held equal.
Take care brotha
Thanks warlock bhai for the detailed response!
Yes my A1c levels are quite high atm at ~9, will keep that in check.
And yeah i’m left with no option but to embrace this and treat it as a new normal for my body:)
A cousin of mine had diabetes diagnosed very early in youth and was on insulin. one of the doctors in Bangalore treated him and he is on pills. No need to worry. He is physically active, has 2 children….
Thanks brown, thats reassuring!
Khan’s open defiance of the US is pretty amazing to see.
https://mobile.twitter.com/ImranKhanPTI/status/1513220890334433282
He keeps raising the stakes, making it clear that the only way to stop him is if America’s puppets kill him. If they get desperate enough, they just might.
Dude’s standing his ground against Uncle Sam, Respect.
It is good pitch to China as well to favor him. All startegy. His support view current government like they did Shah of Iran in 1970s
imran’s people have pinched rahul’s ‘chowkidar chor hai’ slogan and is being used against the army!!.
This confirms my suspicion that the memetic space of South Asia is saturated with Indian pop culture to the extent that India’s neighbours aren’t even able to generate memes or slogans of their own.
I noticed this in SL as well, the Tamils would watch Indian (Tamil) movies and TV shows to the extent that they’re effortlessly able to understand Indian Tamil speakers (but the reverse isn’t true, SL Tamil is it’s own separate kettle of fish..), while the Sinhala prefer to watch Hindi shows (dubbed). I even came across a Sinhala man on a bus who was basically monolingual but said that his daughter was able to speak Hindi from the shows that she watched..! Indian soft power is in a league of it’s own…
This is quite incorrect, have you seen Pakistani memespace? It’s quite original and IMO way more sophisticated and humorous that the Indian memespace.
I agree with u both. Pakistani Punjabi memescape is original and funny. I see it as something akin to Indian Punjabi memespace, which is the cultural marker for Bollywood as well. But outside of Punjabi memespace, i feel Indian pop culture has enough influence on either side of the Border.
I too have a Sri Lankan story. A Sinhalese colleague invited me for dinner, and her wife was watching Hindi (and not the dubbed) version of Indian show ‘Naagin’, which was apparently her favorite show. Suffice to say i never went back again.
Well, good riddance to Imran Khan, possibly the biggest idiot to be elected prime minister in the history of Pakistan and easily the biggest disappointment after the Bhuttos. He will maintain his power base in KPK due to being a Pathan and anti-Americanism being very popular thete. But Punjab at least will be distinctly cooler towards him after 3.5 years of drift, poor governance and incompetence by his provincial chief minister Usman Buzdar.
Unbelievable he was being groomed for power since 2011 and had so little clue as to how to run a government.
https://twitter.com/omarali50/status/1513899151976656902
Man this Khokar guy is built like a Brick house.
The grooming thing u mentioned reminded me of the a Usman Buzdar video, where he was asked how will he handle Punjab, to which he replied ‘Abhi to CM ban hun, thoda time de mujhe groom hone mein’ 😂😂😂
Shahbaz Gill should be an easy first target, he can’t gather a crowd of ten folks on his own.
Imran Khan is fast acquiring the type of power throughout Pakistan that Altaf Hussain acquired in Karachi in 1980’s. Fortunately for his opponents, he is quite the pacifist (unlike Altaf) that shuns violence, and he has not organized his party like an army that MQM did. But this is probably because establishment supported him so he didn’t need violence or organization before. Now that support is gone, we will see his pacifism tested when his workers will be beaten up, jailed, tortured for going against the status quo. And the status quo are absolute thugs when they have power.
Bajwa in damage control mode, now doing PR ads on TV
https://twitter.com/IrfanAsghar89/status/1513176192408502275?s=20&t=DpSCKZQmUj6PdDMpfDPqPg
Bajwa might be the most incompetent political leader of all army generals of Pakistan
He has a following among the youth in the cities, not much in villages and rural areas. And he is going to be 71 by the time of the next elections in 2023 with no successor to take over the party. The idea his party could start street violence is laughable, they have no experience of that and will turn tail at the first lathi charge.
Khan is doing his first major rally in safe ground in Peshawar, unless he can muster huge crowds in Lahore and other major cities of Punjab, he is not going to make headway. He and his party have never had the screws put to them like PPP and PML-N have had for years at a time and still survived. Bajwa at the Commanders Conference yesterday was extremely pissed off by the Mir Jafar çomments he has been making.
In his mind Imran Khan failed to deliver on his promise of good governance and interfered in army appointments to try and get his guy Faiz Hameed to stay on at the ISI and thus forced a highly public stand-off. That was compounded by IK openly discussing replacing Bajwa as COAS before his retirement date and now accusing him of being a Western agent in a bid to stave off the vote of no-confidence. So you can guess he is not in a mood to go easy on him.
For the first time the US, establishment, MQM, PPP, PML-N and JUI-F are on the same side. And they have a lot of support in the country even if they are lacking in Twitter followers, celebrity endorsements and people in the diaspora going on marches for them.
Also the new PM is Shehbaz Sharif who has a well-earned reputation for getting shit done. That is why even the Chinese preferred him to Imran Khan. There is going to be a big perceived change in the performance of the federal government and Punjab provincial government over the next six months. By which time if PTI have quit their national assembly seats, they will have become much less visible and reliant on rallies and media appearances which Bajwa’s military is willing to let them have.
“will turn tail at the first lathi charge.”
+1
The notion that ‘PTI cannot commit street violence’ just because it has no experience to, is a ridiculous notion. Did TLP – which is a new party – need experience to riot throughout the country? No. You don’t need any experience to clash, you just need massive support and the leader willing to give the signal. Luckily for everyone, Imran Khan is never going to be indulging in violence (although who knows what future may hold).
As for your assessment, which in my opinion is completely off the mark. Perhaps you should check out the huge number of people that came out on Sunday night in almost every city of Pakistan. Not just Lahore or Karachi but in every city, even in Larkana and Hyderabad where PTI had no significant votebank in 2018. You (like most of PDM media) do not understand the ground reality now. Bajwa is being cursed by everyone online/offline, including those within the armed forces for orchestrating this regime change. This is why he is damage control mode. This is why he didn’t even go to meet Shahbaz just yet.
This government is not going to last 3 months. First day MQM threw a tantrum, now PPP is refusing to accept any ministries (Zardari knows it’s a zombie government so doesn’t want to be involved heavily). Already you got MNA’s losing their cool and beating people up. Nobody believes this is gonna last much. But I guess they do know deep down, the speed at which Shahbaz is trying to eliminate the evidence against him in his court cases, it seems like he knows he doesn’t have much time.
You will see the support IK has this month. Opposition cannot even muster a fraction of the numbers. Elections today will give PTI and outright majority quite easily. The more things are delayed, the bigger the loss for PDM will be.
TLP is committed to violence, the middle class folk supporting PTI are not. They only hope an army faction dethrones Bajwa and opts to put Imran Khan back in charge. Which the army will never do as it means giving him unlimited power.
None of my family and friends in Lahore – including those who are hardcore PTI supporters – thought much of the numbers showing up in Liberty Chowk. There is just not much enthusiasm for Imran Khan given how well Shehbaz Sharif’s tenures as CM went and how ineffective Buzdar was. For Karachi and Sindh it may be different as I don’t think anyone is happy with PPP’s governance. PPP itself is not keen to push for elections as it is more or less happy with its position and is only likely to lose seats. The new Cabinet will be announced by tomorrow so we will see of what you say bears out.
What you are seeing on the streets is a lot of youth anger and only in the bigger cities. The rural areas don’t give a shit about PTI. How long that anger is sustained and how much of it translates into votes is yet to be seen. Seeing as how Imran Khan used state machinery to go after every opposition politician and spent the last nine years roundly abusing them, they are going to be highly motivated to work together to keep him out. As will the military. How many of the current PTI MNAs stick with him is also open to question. Whatever his public support, if he has lost the loyalty of political heavyweights that will not help him.
Sri Lanka has defaulted on all foreign debt. Effective from 5 PM today
The finance ministry said creditors, including foreign governments that had lent to the South Asian nation, were free to capitalise any interest payments due to them from Tuesday afternoon or opt for payback in Sri Lankan rupees.
—–
Probably taking a leaf off Russia’s playbook, i.e. pay in Rubles its international Bond holders. Sri Lanka: Because of sanctions we will pay you in Rupees.
Incidentally I assume you know we cant sell tea, rubber and other stuff to Russia and Iran. Neither can we import Iran or Russian crude for our Sapugaskanda Refinery built by Iran.
Meanwhile, India has picked up our trade with Russian and Iran as it does not abide by US sanctions.
Interesting times with all this sanctions business. Will this considered a default for Credit Default Swaps (CDS). Than so should Russia’s offer to pay Rubles.
https://www.dailymirror.lk/top_story/Sri-Lanka-temporarily-suspends-foreign-debt-payments/155-235037
The Sri Lankan case is due to their own incompetence, and hubris.
###
The Russian case is truly horrifying. Americans have sort of stolen Russian money. This will have long standing implications and will be hasten the decline of America and the west.
“Russia cannot access roughly $315 billion of its foreign currency reserves as a result of Western sanctions imposed following its invasion of Ukraine. Until last week, the United States allowed Russia to use some of its frozen assets to pay back certain investors in dollars. But the US Treasury has since blocked the country from accessing its reserves at American banks, part of its effort to ramp up pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin and further diminish his war chest.”
https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/11/investing/russia-default-sp/index.html
https://www.thestar.com/politics/federal/2022/04/12/patrick-brown-vows-in-video-to-end-canadas-terrorist-designation-for-tamil-tigers.html
Not just Trudeau is playing diaspora desi politics. Now conservative candidates are appealing to Tamils. Canadian politics is getting more interesting – and cosmopolitan.
When are the Canadians invading Sri Lanka?
The Canadians already had a proxy war in SL. The LTTE’s biggest source of funds and political support was from Canada.
Below video in Tamil. However, Canada, Toronto etc get mentioned often
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVFM7zWwO2A
looks like steve sailer lost some of his sheen by supporting the u s position on ukraine. his fan base appears angry at him.
How true are Amy Wax’s claims about the Indians/South Asians and East Asians in medicine? She repeats the accusations she made on the Glenn Loury program. I can’t pass judgment on her claims because it is not a world with which I am familiar. The Indian Americans I know are middle class, small business owners and middle management types. They cherish America for the opportunities America has given them, which they would never have had in India.
Penn Law professor Amy Wax tells Tucker Carlson that “Blacks” and other “non-western” groups harbor “resentment, shame, and envy” against western people for their “outsized achievements and contributions.”
https://www.unz.com/isteve/amy-wax-and-james-baldwin-on-the-rage-of-the-disesteemed/
She seemed to be talking about ultra-woke Brahmin academics complaining about white privilege and pushing DIE not solid Patels owning hotels, gas stations etc.
Seems correct, particularly for the second generation but even among recent immigrants. Even Razib has noted, how overrepresented Indians are among the woke crowd. But the larger issue is not unique to Indians or Americans. I think minorities worldwide resent the majority particularly if they are wealthier, more educated than the majority. Dangerous attitude to have in the long run though.
Amy Wax is just a racist hag and I’m tired of people doing excuses for her. Also fuck Tucker for bringing her on the show. He professes innocence and neutrality when he knows damn well what she is about to say, and then she does. He silently agrees but lets her take the hit.
What rural areas are you talking about? Lahore is not a rural area. Outside of Lahore and perhaps the GT/Majha belt, Shahbaz is not popular at all. South Punjab is PTI, NW Punjab is PTI, KPK is PTI, Karachi (and now Hyderabad) is PTI. This is majority of the seats.
Infact now SS is PM, you will see him fail and lose any popularity left. Petrol prices were already heavily subsidized, SS cannot lower them. OGRA wants Rs 35/l increase in petrol this week, and SS has no answer to that. He also increased prices of sugar today by Rs 9/kg (to reward Jahangeer Tareen group and their sugar mills for supporting him). And Bajwa is already in hiding, having second thoughts about what he has done and how to course correct, because he is facing a massive backlash from not only the public but also from within the army.
#
PPP appears reluctant to join the cabinet
https://tribune.com.pk/story/2352139/ppp-appears-reluctant-to-join-federal-cabinet
That should tell you how much confidence Zardari has in this coalition.
Like I said, we will see how it plays out and how much support PTI is able to garner. I know from family friends that the Mazaris from south Punjab and upper Sindh are likely to abandon them also.
Seems like a PPP vs PTI war here ?
No love for Mr “ Punjab speed” ? 😂😂
I am not a fan of any of the parties, I grew up during the political merry-go-round of the 90s in Lahore. Imran Khan is easily the most dense prime minister we have had. He has not been helped by rock-headed followers who are like a cult indulging in chauvinistic pagan worship of a Dear Leader. You would think a party appealing to the middle class would try to emphasise governance, accountability and competence.
chauvinistic **pagan** worship of a Dear Leader
Isn’t it **Muhammedan** worship of a Dear Leader?
It is a cult focused on worship of Imran Khan. Islam is something of an afterthought.
Guy needs to visit interior Sindh to understand what a cult really is.. that’s all there is to be said…
They are not trying to be PM.
My small complain is that folks attribute their group’s failings to ‘pagans’ (codeword for Hindus). Sikhs, Muslims, Buddhists, Christians, including the pathetic brown ones, all do it but Musalmaans really excel despite having cults like Muhammad-ism, Khomeini-ism, Bhutto-ism, …
There is nothing pagan about leader-worship. Religions based around one (or many in case of Sikhs, Jains) founder who cannot be criticized in-group are the real cults of hero-worship.
I was not referring to Hinduism which is a major world religion with an ancient history which my ancestors likely practiced, but the weird cult that has sprung up around Imran Khan in the last few years.
eshwarappa in a 40% bribe scandal.
as asis nandi said:
Ashis Nandy says OBC, SC, ST most corrupt; triggers storm .(https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/Ashis-Nandy-says-OBC-SC-ST-most-corrupt-triggers-storm/article20569223.ece)
very interesting times in karnataka indeed.
reg: taj mahal— earlier when reading p n oak’s books where in he says that it was tejo mahal, i felt that it was a lunatic fringe argument.
it now turns out to be raja mansingh/jai singh’s haveli which was ‘gifted’ to shah jahan for taj mahal. surely in such hindu havelies there will be a small mandir.
after all lots of these things were hidden from common people. i wonder why the rajputs were silent?
https://www.dailyo.in/politics/taj-mahal-hindu-temple-raja-jai-singh-haveli-shah-jahan-mumtaz-mahal-mughals/story/1/20209.html
Na jane yeh kaun sa nasha karta hai… yaar mera secularism se wafa karta hai…
https://theprint.in/opinion/imran-has-damaged-the-idea-of-pakistan-dont-expect-it-to-turn-into-a-normal-country-soon/913091/
“The truth is, at no point did the All-India Muslim League or its president Mahomed Ali Jinnah invoke Medina or speak of a theocratic State of any kind. The entire idea of Pakistan had to do with a Hindu-Muslim counterpoise on secular issues such as representation, jobs, and so forth. Religion was just not the point. This is the only narrative that explains the enthusiasm for the ‘Pakistan idea’ among modern Muslims in the 1940s and the almost universal disenchantment with it of the Muslim clerics.”
Rare thread on pakdefence bashing Pakistan army, this is new. These are ultranationalist keyboard warriors.
@thewarlock
Consider this jewel in this thread from a Pakistani living in UK:
“It did the next best thing it cleared bangla of millions of Hindus through various means, it ensured the freedom of Bangladesh
We still hate Hindus more then anyone else here so this will keep us against our real enemy, but army is now pushing against massive public anger”
Zehriley-Zehriley…
I have been trying to post the thread here but it seems the moderators forcibly pulled down the thread after it got spicy. Shame it was such a long thread.
**link not working**
https://defence.pk/pdf/threads/bajwa-needs-to-go.739459/post-13688810
>Rare thread on pakdefence bashing Pakistan army, this is new.
I said this on Saturday that public sentiment changed massively against the army (before IK was even thrown out). Now this is just playing out, hard to even deny.. when defence.pk lunatics are speaking against the army generals, it’s clear as day.
Perhaps I should open a Youtube channel and become a political analyst. At least it would be better than the chooran people like Najam Sethi or Hamid Mir are selling (who have suddenly become pro establishment now).
They are no Team-BHP but 10X better than any Indian defense forum. In India the best we had are the comment sections of http://trishul-trident.blogspot.com/?m=1
###
Indian TV news anchors : Pakistani TV news anchors is like Sasural Simar ka : Zindagi Gulzaar hai, there is no comparison. Indians news anchors are usually clumsy, gawdy, easy to spot. Many Pakistani TV news anchors are truly polished, insidious and dangerous.
Wtf
https://www.yahoo.com/news/man-india-dies-self-immolation-022655058.html
https://www.yahoo.com/news/four-men-arrested-raping-bengal-012732129.html
Wtf part 2
@thewarlock
Blame it on the Steppe brother. Westerners like to paint us in broad strokes. We can do the same, with justification.
https://metro.co.uk/2022/04/10/russian-soldier-arrested-for-raping-baby-in-ukraine-16439692/
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10710451/Rape-Russian-weapon-war-Ukraine-tells-boy-assaulted-mother.html
https://mobile.twitter.com/omarali50/status/1514402588258537475
Thread by Omar Ali dada, Ali Minai, some Jinnah-Muhammad lumber-one musalmaans.
> TNT discussions are boring. Everything has been said 10,000 times.
> Musalmaan Pakistani Punjabi and Ashraf Mujahir guys always start out thinking their half assed arguments make their case solid. idk why don’t they foresee the counter points and if they do why don’t they prepare.
> 😂Always some version of :
‘Hindu bad, Musalmaan (sometimes Buddhist/Sikh/Christian) good. Me tall, mah woman koochie white as snow, mah nunu like a pink calabash. We reformers, we civilized, mah faith mos-logical. Sob-Sob emotional drama about imagined qualities of pedo Muhammad and Aurangjeb, Look at Taj Mahal, at Granada, more sob-sob. Fuk you Dindus, Hindu do sati, Hindu do caste, Hindu name from Persian. Booo! Hindu come from Aryan invaders. Booooo!!! Aktually one day all dalit will become XYZ (Buddhist/Sikh/Musalmaan/Christian). But aiktually my great grand father Pirzada/Peter from Shiraz/Leeds who was a Kashif/Officer. But aiktually Akbar could have killed …, Rani Jodha’s booobus, but aiktually Angrej favored Hindu fearing Musalmaan 150 IQ, but aiktually ‘ambassador of Hindu-Muslim unity’, but aiktually Congress Bania, but aiktually circumstances/time-period/narrative/nazariya/…, but no I am a Quranist/Ghamidi-ist, but you should also love cultural islam, see twirling dervishes, see (bakchodi) calligraphy in persian, see (kitch) Islamic architecture, see mah lawn fashion, mah arabi jewelery wearing khatoon reading (mediocre) poetry of Iqbal. Me not lyk Bhumihar shitting on train tracks in Arah.’