How about a ‘Grand Norman SUV’, a ‘Varangian hatchback’, or a ‘Jutes saloon’?
by Rashmee
Posted on February 25, 2021
/IT’S THE BUSINESS Imagine a ‘Jeep Celtic’ or a ‘Grand Norman SUV’. Not easy to do because Jeep, the American automobile brand, hasn’t said it will drop the native American names for its Cherokee and Grand Cherokee SUVs. This, despite an explicit request from the chief of the Cherokee Nation, Chuck Hoskin Jr., that Jeep … Continue reading “How about a ‘Grand Norman SUV’, a ‘Varangian hatchback’, or a ‘Jutes saloon’?”
Read MoreYou gotta love behavioural economists for their insights into confidence and decision-making
by Rashmee
Posted on February 24, 2021
/ TAKE UP ONE IDEA You’ve got to love behavioural economists. No, really. They liberate us from the high-minded waffle that, as the saying goes, allows the economist to be “an expert who will know tomorrow why the things he predicted yesterday didn’t happen today”. It’s been four years since Richard Thaler, who’s considered one … Continue reading “You gotta love behavioural economists for their insights into confidence and decision-making”
Read MoreWhy it matters that American farmers are making common cause with India’s
by Rashmee
Posted on February 23, 2021
/ POLITICS & AMERICA I find it interesting that 87 farmers’ unions in the United States have made common cause with their protesting counterparts in India. The rights and wrongs of Indian prime minister Narendra Modi’s attempt to reform farming laws are contested. My friend Gurcharan Das, a former CEO of Procter & Gamble India, … Continue reading “Why it matters that American farmers are making common cause with India’s”
Read MoreVaccination success may be a shot in the arm for Britain in another key way
by Rashmee
Posted on February 22, 2021
/ BLIMEY BLIGHTY Simon Kuper wrote an important piece in the Financial Times (paywall) the other day about the pandemic-induced chance for success thrown up for Brexit Britain. I hope Boris Johnson and his advisers read it. “What national strengths does Britain’s vaccine success reveal?” he asked, “Is there a model here for Brexit Britain?” … Continue reading “Vaccination success may be a shot in the arm for Britain in another key way”
Read MoreIn Texas, 1870, Tom Hanks’ character reads The Times of India. About right
by Rashmee
Posted on February 21, 2021
/ TRAVELS IN MY MIND The opening scene of ‘News of the World’, the new Tom Hanks film, features a stack of newspapers. Some are Dallas titles, the New York Times, and then Captain Jefferson Kidd (the Hanks character) picks up The Times of India. In the film, the paper’s masthead looks like the one … Continue reading “In Texas, 1870, Tom Hanks’ character reads The Times of India. About right”
Read MoreA ‘can’t do spirit’ might be America’s biggest problem
by Rashmee
Posted on February 20, 2021
/FAITH, HOPE… Change readiness is a survival skill, a core competence, for countries as much as businesses. It rests on faith and hope, a willingness to see possibilities in new situations. As its response to the problems in Texas have shown, America is not change ready and doesn’t even seem to realise it should be. … Continue reading “A ‘can’t do spirit’ might be America’s biggest problem”
Read MoreBill Gates has gone from 0 to 100 on climate change and it shows in the words he uses
by Rashmee
Posted on February 19, 2021
/ LANGUAGE Me too. Like Connie Hedegaard, I too thought Bill Gates was supremely uninterested in climate change. Ms Hedegaard, former European Commissioner for climate action and Denmark’s former environment minister and minister for climate and energy, recently interviewed the Microsoft founder and good Samaritan for Project Syndicate. The occasion was publication of Mr Gates’s … Continue reading “Bill Gates has gone from 0 to 100 on climate change and it shows in the words he uses”
Read MoreImagine what could happen if Africa were truly to celebrate its art (and philosophy)
by Rashmee
Posted on February 18, 2021
/ TAKE UP ONE IDEA No one can accuse the African Union (AU) of overpromising and under-delivering. At their annual summit (February 6-7), held virtually, Africa’s leaders set a goal that was bland and forgettable but also potentially transformative were it to be done correctly. The AU’s theme for 2021 is as follows: Arts, Culture … Continue reading “Imagine what could happen if Africa were truly to celebrate its art (and philosophy)”
Read MoreGreen good news shoots from Britain
by Rashmee
Posted on February 17, 2021
/ BLIMEY BLIGHTY Two pieces of green good news from Britain. Only one is a direct result of Brexit. On February 1, Britain decided to ban bottom trawling, the fishing technique that allows enormous nets to be dragged along the bottom of the sea, in a protected area of the North Sea. This is to be … Continue reading “Green good news shoots from Britain”
Read MoreImpeachment: The American equivalent of a parliamentary no-confidence vote?
by Rashmee
Posted on February 15, 2021
/ POLITICS IN AMERICA On the Friday before Donald Trump was acquitted for a second time in as many years in his impeachment trial, I heard Cardozo School of Law professor and ABC News contributor Kate Shaw discuss an interesting new concept: “Impeachment talk”. Impeachment, she said to Five Thirty Eight’s Galen Druke, may now … Continue reading “Impeachment: The American equivalent of a parliamentary no-confidence vote?”
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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