Seema Chishti

Unidentified men grabbing someone off the street and putting her in a car because she wrote an op-Ed. This as flatly authoritarian as anything we’ve seen in this country in a very long time.

Japan, China, South Korea Meet as US Tariff Pressure Rises The foreign ministers of Japan, China, and South Korea held trilateral talks in Tokyo on Saturday, seeking to further cooperation and lay the groundwork for a potential leadership summit as the countr...

The foreign ministers of Japan, China, and South Korea held trilateral talks in Tokyo on Saturday, seeking to further cooperation and lay the groundwork for a potential leadership summit as the countries confront economic disruption and rising global political tensions.

YouTube video by Reuters LIVE: Columbia University faculty, Jewish leaders condemn ICE detention of Mahmoud Khalil

Faculty, alumni, rabbis outside the Columbia Manhattanville campus this afternoon, condemning the detention of Mahmoud Khalil by ICE , and the University’s response www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGzx...

Global Boom, Indian Bust: MK Venu Explains India’s Historic Share Market Crash | The Wire LIVE YouTube video by The Wire

#TheWireLive | Global Boom, Indian Bust: M.K. Venu Explains India’s Historic Share Market Crash

Zeeshan Kaskar in conversation with The Wire's founding editor M.K. Venu

Join here at 4.30pm: youtube.com/live/U84mSvD...

Special: Modi Govt’s Plan for the ‘World’s Largest Museum’ Raises Many Red Flags Little is known about the much-touted, controversial Yuga Yugeen Bharat National Museum set to come up in the North and South Block buildings, or about the future of the existing National Museum. The ...

#Special: Modi Govt’s Plan for the ‘World’s Largest Museum’ Raises Many Red Flags

Little is known about the much-touted, controversial Yuga Yugeen Bharat National Museum set to come up in New Delhi, or about the future of the existing National Museum.

“We were on the Titanic, and everyone knew it was hitting the iceberg.”

Eric Hobsbawm, on living in Berlin in the Thirties. Eerily resonant.

I keep seeing takes like this marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevo...

1. I don't like the status quo on policy X
2. Trump is thoughtlessly blowing things up, including on policy X
3. It might turn out better after being blown up so 🤷

We're on the road to authoritarianism, not your preferred policy.

India, Globally: The Rupee, Persecution and an Ideology of Concern A fortnightly highlight of how the world Is watching our democracy.

India, Globally: The Rupee, Persecution and an Ideology of Concern

A fortnightly highlight of how the world Is watching our democracy.

An Era of Darkness: How No Data Helps BJP’s Politics The absence of data is not about academics and researchers losing out. It is actively helping the ruling party carry on with its politics without any roadblocks and preventing basic questions being as...

An Era of Darkness: How No Data Helps BJP’s Politics

The absence of data is not about academics and researchers losing out. It is actively helping the ruling party carry on with its politics without any roadblocks and preventing basic questions being asked of it.

@seemay.bsky.social ✍️

Sabotaging the Pax Americana Trump and Musk are making us distrusted, friendless and weak

Losing moral authority, trust and respect. What could go wrong? paulkrugman.substack.com/p/sabotaging...

In Manipur, a Pawn Is Sacrificed to Save the King Why exactly did the national leadership of the BJP, which had been throwing its weight behind Biren Singh, get him to resign?

In Manipur, a Pawn Is Sacrificed to Save the King

Why exactly did the national leadership of the BJP, which had been throwing its weight behind Biren Singh, get him to resign?

Sangeeta Barooah Pisharoty✍️
thewire.in/politics/man...

Tomorrow, 12pm onwards, The Wire's team of editors and reporters will be live to analyse the #DelhiElection2025 results.

Join us for real-time updates and insightful analysis here:
www.youtube.com/live/552eBpg...

Completely agree.

But can we stop saying "illiberal" when these figures are actually coming for democracy itself, not just "liberalism" (seen by many as a distinct, problematic ideology, or a luxury addition to democracy, etc.)?

Elon’s Twitter Destruction Playbook Hits The US Government, And It’s Even More Dangerous Remember how Elon Musk destroyed Twitter by ripping apart its infrastructure without understanding it? Now imagine that same playbook applied to the federal government. It’s happening, and th…

Frustrated there's not more I can do directly, but for now I can just try to document reality. Elon is bringing his Twitter destruction playbook to the US government, and it's impossible to explain just how serious and bad this is.

www.techdirt.com/2025/01/31/e...

The Outcast Toilet Cleaners Keeping the Kumbh Mela Going The Mela's scale creates a waste removal and public health challenge of epic proportions.

People wonder if caste matters any more in Indian society. Well, it does - on a large scale.

thewire.in/health/outca...

We like to pat ourselves on the back because of the antiquity and richness of our civilisation.

Yet, when it comes to preservation and conservation, no one seems to care.

This piece in the Economic Times is just the latest example.

Meta is Not Returning to its Free Speech Origins – It’s Preparing for an Autocratic Future | TechPolicy.Press Let’s take what Zuckerberg is saying seriously and admit that we are entering – once again – uncharted waters, writes João C. Magalhães.

There is nothing normal about a company that helps define what almost half of humanity sees on their screens explicitly promising to support a far-right leader, writes João C. Magalhães.

Point is not that every move by aspiring autocrats is tactical or strategic genius. Important not to fall into the trap of "authoritarian inflation," i.e. overestimate these figures.

Point is that much of our political language obscures agency altogether.

December 1969.

Christians huddled in Gaza speak to the Pope every night Nightly calls from pontiff comfort Palestinians sheltering in churches for a second Christmas

Christians huddled in Gaza speak to the Pope every night

https://www.ft.com/content/03ea2234-6308-4978-917a-65368ccc58a5

7yo: “I have encouraged everyone in my class to believe in Santa because parents definitely don’t have time to buy all those presents. Certainly not for Christmas.”

Love it when bookshops or libraries arrange their books appropriately...

The ‘anti-woke’ guru helping Elon Musk to make the US efficient again Vivek Ramaswamy, founder of Roivant Sciences and a former Republican presidential primary candidate, will co-direct the office that looks to streamline government bureaucracy

This piece on the rise of Vivek Ramaswamy is a good illustration of how material and economic conditions can give rise to a certain type of individual.
english.elpais.com/opinion/2024...

This lack of oversight of emerging AI technologies, keeps me awake at night.

We made this same mistake w/ social media. Its lack of oversight has led to harmful effects on our mental health & it has been weaponized by nefarious actors to manipulate public opinion & elections.

When will we learn?

Musk’s Charitable Foundation Sent Most of Its Millions to His Own Entities Elon Musk’s charitable foundation ballooned to $9.5 billion in assets last year while handing out $237 million in gifts, most of which went to other entities controlled by the world’s richest person.

Elon Musk's charitable foundation ballooned to $9.5 billion in assets last year while handing out $237 million in gifts, most of which went to other entities controlled by him.

The figures are part of the Musk Foundation’s latest tax filing, obtained Thursday by Bloomberg News

Build build build. Don't stop until we're all buried. #Himalayas #warning #whybother

#Cartoon #JagdeepDhankhar Linktr.ee/MANJULtoons

India needs more, not fewer, powerful tycoons, argues Shritama Bose

“The risks of being dependent on a few conglomerates is becoming too big for India to ignore. It's the second time Adani’s problems have spooked the country's markets in two years” | www.reuters.com/breakingview...