American workers are like moths to Amazon’s flame
by Rashmee
Posted on April 15, 2021
/IT’S THE BUSINESS Amazon.com Inc. workers are unionised in Europe. But in the United States, Amazon employees are not, and the status quo seems unlikely to change in a hurry. Just days ago, Amazon workers in Bessemer, Alabama, voted overwhelmingly against unionising. This has significant implications for America, for its workers and for the sort … Continue reading “American workers are like moths to Amazon’s flame”
Read MoreBiden builds back the idea of infrastructure much better
by Rashmee
Posted on April 14, 2021
/ TAKE UP ONE IDEA Joe Biden’s plan for America is about the remaking of a whole concept. What constitutes infrastructure? Is it just bridges, airports, rail routes and highways? Or is it something else as well – a country’s human resources? The way people learn to think, to be change-ready, how healthy and happy … Continue reading “Biden builds back the idea of infrastructure much better”
Read MoreAI, the tank and the ‘blitzkrieg’ concept: The US needs to think in a whole new way
by Rashmee
Posted on April 10, 2021
/ FAITH, HOPE… Can America think asymmetrically in the struggle with China? It’s a pressing and difficult question, but Michele Flournoy recently offered a remarkable answer: Yes, there’s hope, if the US starts to see Artificial Intelligence (AI) as the 21st century’s tank. She didn’t use those words exactly but the story she told Demetri … Continue reading “AI, the tank and the ‘blitzkrieg’ concept: The US needs to think in a whole new way”
Read MoreMoney talks. Mitch McConnell and corporate America’s First Amendment rights
by Rashmee
Posted on April 9, 2021
/ LANGUAGE I thought the Huffington Post offered the most succinct analysis of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s call to corporations to stay out of politics. “Shut up and donate,” said HuffPo’s headline. The strap provided all the other context anyone might need: “Congress’ biggest defender of corporate political speech rights changes his tune.” Quite. … Continue reading “Money talks. Mitch McConnell and corporate America’s First Amendment rights”
Read MoreThe international order itself is racially structured
by Rashmee
Posted on April 7, 2021
/ TAKE UP ONE IDEA Some of the biggest arguments about power – who should have it and why – revolve around race. It goes beyond the Black Lives Matter protests in the United States and allegations of institutional racism in the UK. The very structure of the world order rests has a racial basis. … Continue reading “The international order itself is racially structured”
Read MoreAmerica’s bad news bias is a feature not a bug
by Rashmee
Posted on April 6, 2021
/ POLITICS & AMERICA Bad news bias is not breaking news. Recently published research by Bruce Sacerdote (pdf), an economics professor at Dartmouth College, asked a troubling question: “Why is all Covid-19 news bad news?” The paper covered the negative “tone” of the US media, versus non-US media. It found that 87 per cent of … Continue reading “America’s bad news bias is a feature not a bug”
Read MoreJoe Biden’s plan to build…hope
by Rashmee
Posted on April 3, 2021
/ FAITH, HOPE… Joe Biden’s infrastructure plan is America’s first major fiscal investment plan in a half-century. It’s about building concrete things, yes, but also about building hope. Hope that America will once again have world-beating infrastructure, an eye-popping technological network, high-speed trains and wifi-ready airports – things that the world has long been used … Continue reading “Joe Biden’s plan to build…hope”
Read MoreLegislative thuggery in Georgia?
by Rashmee
Posted on April 2, 2021
/ LANGUAGE In 1897, Mark Twain described the menace of Thuggee in India on the basis of a 60-year-old British government report. Twain noted in ‘Following the Equator’ (sometimes published with the alternative title ‘More Tramps Abroad’) “that nobody could travel the Indian roads unprotected and live to get through; that the Thugs respected no … Continue reading “Legislative thuggery in Georgia?”
Read MoreThis ‘Suez crisis’ could be an opportunity
by Rashmee
Posted on April 1, 2021
/IT’S THE BUSINESS Until recently, the “Suez crisis” was the phrase used to describe a pivotal event in 1956. Egypt’s president Gamal Abdel Nasser had nationalized the Suez Canal, a move that angered Britain, which moved alongside France and Israel to retake control. Supported by the Soviets, the Egyptian demand for withdrawal of the British-French-Israeli … Continue reading “This ‘Suez crisis’ could be an opportunity”
Read MoreHow can the media cover the future when it’s not happened yet?
by Rashmee
Posted on March 31, 2021
/ TAKE UP ONE IDEA I know of at least one media outlet that has a job with the following title: “Future Correspondent”. Until I saw that, I never realised the future was a newsbeat. That the future was something you cover just like you do the Water Board, the local Council, Health Services, Crime … Continue reading “How can the media cover the future when it’s not happened yet?”
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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