Naimisha Forest

Median dilettante with uncertain knowledge & partially incorrect opinions on far too many things. Twitter feed for the very occasional Naimisha Forest blog.

[Naimisha Forest @naimisha_forest]

Mahabharata

This is the tale of a tragic dynasty;
a narrative of hatred, honor, courage,
of virtue, love, ideals and wickedness,
and of a war so terrible, it marked
the threshold between one age and the next.

We approach the story through Ughrashravas, 1/4

[Naimisha Forest @naimisha_forest]

@MattWalshBlog Your mistake is in thinking the civilization is already ‘built’ and finished. It is not. It is still being built.

[Alan Lester @aljhlester]

On False Historical Equivalents

1/14🧵Amidst all the talk of reparations demands surrounding the Commonwealth Summit, two oft-repeated false historical equivalences are receiving a vigorous airing.
https://t.co/iMS76xeGIq

[Alexandre Files @AlexandreFiles]

Today, we begin shining a light on the abuses of Brazilian law committed by Alexandre de Moraes.

We have been forced to share these orders because there is no transparency from the court, and the people who are being censored have no recourse to appeal. Our own appeals have been ignored.

And now the people of Brazil are denied access to X.

Secret justice is no justice at all. Today, we say that must change.

------------------------

Hoje começamos a lançar luz sobre os abusos cometidos por Alexandre de Moraes em face da lei brasileira.

Estamos compartilhando essas ordens porque não há transparência por parte do tribunal, e as pessoas que estão sendo censuradas não dispõem de meios para contestar essas decisões. Nossos próprios recursos foram ignorados.

E agora o povo do Brasil tem seu acesso ao X bloqueado.

Justiça secreta não é justiça. Hoje, dizemos que isso precisa mudar.

[Mark W. @DurhamWASP]

George Orwell explains in a revealing 1944 letter why he’d write 1984

1984 published 8th June 1949 https://t.co/pq9dKYSVep

[The Culturist @the_culturist_]

Reminder that the world's largest mosaic was completed in 2020.

This is the "new Hagia Sophia" — unveiled just months after the original was converted into a mosque.

And it's the greatest church built for centuries... (thread) 🧵

[The Culturist @the_culturist_]

The most uplifting architectural revival happening today is in Budapest.

The city is reclaiming its identity after decades of communist rule.

Here's what's going on... (thread) 🧵

[Naimisha Forest @naimisha_forest]

@fasc1nate Dear Readers Added Context, please note: it is not a “fake fiberglass replica.” It is real fiberglass replica.

[Branko Milanovic @BrankoMilan]

Pareto, a student of Machiavelli, would be very much at ease in today’s United States: An elite composed of “foxes” (as opposed to “lions”) is skillfully using propaganda to claim that it is not the elite and that the society is democratic.
https://t.co/TtDpha2DMd

[Naimisha Forest @naimisha_forest]

I identify with that chipper little dog in the clip.

[Nature is Amazing ☘️ @AMAZlNGNATURE]

Indian Rhino walking the streets in Nepal

[Walter Kirn @walterkirn]

Time to start buying those sets of used encyclopedias, two per household, one to read, one to shrink-wrap and stash away

Intellectual winter is here

[Marc Andreessen 🇺🇸 @pmarca]

Some are saying that the apparently bizarre behavior of one Big Tech AI or another is an opportunity for other Big Tech AI to differentiate by being objective, reasonable, and unbiased.

This is not the case; there is no differentiation opportunity among Big Tech or the New Incumbents in AI. These companies all share the same ideology, agenda, staffing, and plan. Different companies, same outcomes.

And they are lobbying as a group with great intensity to establish a government protected cartel, to lock in their shared agenda and corrupt products for decades to come.

The only viable alternatives are Elon, startups, and open source — all under concerted attack by these same big companies and aligned pressure groups in DC, the UK, and Europe, and with vanishingly few defenders.

[Naimisha Forest @naimisha_forest]

Well-deserved.

[Matt Taibbi @mtaibbi]

Thank you @RCPolitics and congratulations @mirandadevine and @DrJBhattacharya!

[Naimisha Forest @naimisha_forest]

This has the ring of authenticity about how the sausage gets cooked in Washington DC…

[joshua steinman (🇺🇸,🇺🇸) @JoshuaSteinman]

What the heck, I’ll just do a quick thread to open-source what few people know but don’t want to admit:

How this op often gets run in Washington.

(thread on how to “work” the current system in DC)

1/ https://t.co/TVbCzN6Clt

[Naimisha Forest @naimisha_forest]

Prince Matchabelli…

https://t.co/tJVSkgq3dD

[Spectator Culture @CultureHouse]

This isn’t Shakespeare but a war against Shakespeare waged by conceptualist nit-pickers and pretentious smart alecks who sift through the text looking for perceived errors and imaginary lapses to tut over

https://t.co/UjJeGPOJyW

[Salvatore Babones @BabonesBhai]

The odd thing is, in this lengthy article on "The Casteism I See in America," the author didn't report a single observation of casteism except "While I was at Harvard, I was asked by an Indian faculty member about my caste and family." Rough place, Harvard.

[Naimisha Forest @naimisha_forest]

@christopherrufo “Impeccable”: this is their life, accumulating “impeccable” degrees and not much else.

[Naimisha Forest @naimisha_forest]

@mattyglesias “Theory” is the giveaway. You can study serious history about the end of the old empires, or serious political economy about informal empire and neocolonialism. But “decolonization theory” is just another front in the rich white world culture wars.

[Naimisha Forest @naimisha_forest]

@KeenanPeachy Julia Galef’s “The Scout Mindset.”

[Naimisha Forest @naimisha_forest]

@martyrmade As to “systematic abuse,” the Thirty Year War was noted for the use of mercenaries, whose looting, pillaging and rapes caused countless deaths. This was also the period of the Baroque, one of the genuine peaks of European civilization.