Author: Dilip

I'm a scholar, writer and teacher; and my blog is designed for intellectual exploration. It carries no advertisements and requires no cash subscription

TOM ENGELHARDT: The United States as a Mass-Killing Machine / Ioan Grillo: US-made guns are ripping Central America apart and driving migration

On this planet of ours, America is the emperor of weaponry, even if in ways we normally tend not to put together. There’s really no question about it. The all-American powers-that-be and the arms makers that go with them dream up, produce, and sell weaponry, domestically and internationally, in an unmatched fashion. You’ll undoubtedly be… Read More TOM ENGELHARDT: The United States as a Mass-Killing Machine / Ioan Grillo: US-made guns are ripping Central America apart and driving migration

Dilip

Pratap Bhanu Mehta – Weaponising faith: The Gyanvapi Mosque-Kashi Vishwanath dispute

There was something incongruous about the moment when I read the news on April 8 that the district court in Varanasi had directed the Archaeological Survey of India to conduct a study of the Gyanvapi Mosque. This day also happened to be Kumar Gandharva’s birth anniversary. It was hard to resist playing his composition in… Read More Pratap Bhanu Mehta – Weaponising faith: The Gyanvapi Mosque-Kashi Vishwanath dispute

Dilip

Bharat Bhushan: Burden of bigotry may break Indian democracy's back

Two recent events suggest that the Indian Republic could be hurtling down a slippery slope. Both relate to Uttar Pradesh but have national consequences. One is the Varanasi court judgement opening up the Vishwanath-Gyanvapi Mosque dispute. The other comes from adjoining Allahabad where the High Court has red-flagged the misuse of the National Security Act.… Read More Bharat Bhushan: Burden of bigotry may break Indian democracy's back

Dilip

The New York Times: Complacency and Missteps Deepen a Covid-19 Crisis in India

The new wave will hurt global efforts and vaccine supplies, experts say. Researchers are scrambling to assess whether new coronavirus variants are playing a role in India.  When the coronavirus first struck India last year, the country enforced one of the world’s strictest national lockdowns. The warning was clear:  A fast spread in a population of… Read More The New York Times: Complacency and Missteps Deepen a Covid-19 Crisis in India

Dilip

George Monbiot: In 2008, we bailed out the banks. In 2021, we need to bail out the planet

COVID-19 is not a random event. It is a symptom of a global economic system that is destroying the living planet and killing off our magnificent wildlife. COVID-19 might be the first pandemic many of us have experienced. But unless we change course, it will almost certainly not be the last. So before we spend… Read More George Monbiot: In 2008, we bailed out the banks. In 2021, we need to bail out the planet

Dilip

Bill Gates is the biggest private owner of farmland in the United States. Why? By Nick Estes

Bill Gates’ achievement, according to the report, is that he’s largest private owner of farmland in the US. A 2018 purchase of 14,500 acres of prime eastern Washington farmland – which is traditional Yakama territory – for $171m helped him get that title. In total, Gates owns approximately 242,000 acres of farmland with assets totaling… Read More Bill Gates is the biggest private owner of farmland in the United States. Why? By Nick Estes

Dilip

Third of Antarctic ice shelves ‘will collapse amid 4C global heating’

More than a third of the vast floating platforms of ice surrounding Antarctica could be at risk of collapsing and releasing “unimaginable amounts” of water into the sea if global temperatures reach 4C above pre-industrial levels, UK scientists say. Researchers from the University of Reading said that limiting the temperature rise to 2C could halve the area at… Read More Third of Antarctic ice shelves ‘will collapse amid 4C global heating’

Dilip