Home and away: Bengaluru or Berlin
by Rashmee
Posted on October 24, 2020
Germany will soon have a new draft law that will give employees the legal right to work from home. It will mean other major reforms in the world of work too, not least regulating home office work by limiting hours and streamlining work-related costs sustained by home-workers. If the once-fringe idea of telecommuting finds a … Continue reading “Home and away: Bengaluru or Berlin”
Read MoreIs it really all over for the office?
by Rashmee
Posted on October 23, 2020
Many companies don’t expect workers to return to offices until next summer. Those that have allowed employees back are doing so in a phased fashion. London law firm Osborne Clarke, for instance, plans to have up to 25% of workers in the office at any one time. Goldman Sachs executives said last week that about … Continue reading “Is it really all over for the office?”
Read MoreJacindarella: A fairy-tale finish for the poster child of progressive politics
by Rashmee
Posted on October 19, 2020
When did you first hear the name Jacinda Ardern? Do you remember? I do. It was in August 2017. Ms Ardern had become the last-minute choice to lead New Zealand’s Labour Party and made headlines all around the world for complaining about the inherent sexism of being asked whether she might have a baby while … Continue reading “Jacindarella: A fairy-tale finish for the poster child of progressive politics”
Read MoreThe pandemic is throwing up new opportunities for phishing
by Rashmee
Posted on October 17, 2020
The other day I received an email offering a health check up with the blood drawn at home. It was a “spl offer”, the writer stressed. A handy hyperlink was below to “check details”. I never did check, having a sneaking suspicion it was a phishing link, so I have absolutely no idea what malicious … Continue reading “The pandemic is throwing up new opportunities for phishing”
Read More‘The Eyes of Darkness’ is not about the Coronavirus and not a particularly good read
by Rashmee
Posted on October 16, 2020
By curious coincidence, I finished Dean Koontz’s ‘The Eyes of Darkness’ on the day it was announced that vast swathes of south-eastern England would be placed under “high” alert for risk of Coronavirus infection, which means tough restrictions on moving around and socialising. The reason I mention the Koontz novel in the context of … Continue reading “‘The Eyes of Darkness’ is not about the Coronavirus and not a particularly good read”
Read MoreWe shouldn’t be grading ‘mass casualty events’ such as pandemics and world wars together
by Rashmee
Posted on October 14, 2020
I was very struck by the following rundown on so-called mass casualty events in the past hundred years. That’s a euphemism if there ever was one. A mass casualty event aka something that caused hundreds of thousands to die. Anyway, Peter Baker, chief White House correspondent of The New York Times, tweeted the toll. It … Continue reading “We shouldn’t be grading ‘mass casualty events’ such as pandemics and world wars together”
Read MoreExpect fewer vices in the Pence-Harris debate
by Rashmee
Posted on October 7, 2020 / The National
In normal times, a vice-presidential debate doesn’t rank high on the roster of set-piece events that define the closing weeks of a US presidential election. But these are not normal times. The Wednesday night face-off in Utah between Mike Pence and Kamala Harris could be the most important vice-presidential debate since 1976, when the exchange … Continue reading “Expect fewer vices in the Pence-Harris debate”
Read MoreThere’s Senegal and then there’s Donald Trump’s America
by Rashmee
Posted on October 5, 2020
It is a stark , a startling and unsettling contrast. On the western edge of the mighty African continent, there is small Senegal, just under 200,000 sq km, with a GDP per capita of $2,700 and healthcare expenditure of less than 5 per cent of GDP. Oh, and nearly half its population of 14.7 million … Continue reading “There’s Senegal and then there’s Donald Trump’s America”
Read MoreImagine, if the tables were turned and it wasn’t Trump who’s afflicted
by Rashmee
Posted on October 4, 2020
I’ve been trying to imagine the tables being turned and that it’s Joe Biden, not Donald Trump who’s afflicted with Covid-19. What would Mr Trump, his re-election campaign and his Republican Party do? With sad resignation, it’s probably safe to say they wouldn’t, as Mr Biden has done, pull television attack ads. They wouldn’t stay … Continue reading “Imagine, if the tables were turned and it wasn’t Trump who’s afflicted”
Read MoreMargaret Ferrier, the Typhoid Mary of the 21st century?
by Rashmee
Posted on October 3, 2020
Is Margaret Ferrier the Typhoid Mary of the 21st century? At first glance the question sounds ludicrous. The two women could not be more dissimilar. Ms Ferrier is a Scottish member of the British parliament. Mary Mallon, aka Typhoid Mary, was an Irish cook who immigrated to the United States. The two women are separated … Continue reading “Margaret Ferrier, the Typhoid Mary of the 21st century?”
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Rashmee has lived and worked in several countries in the past decade, including Afghanistan, India, Haiti, Tunisia, the UAE, US and UK