Right Voters

Sanity Break #1

is all the Christmas feels you will ever need—even if you couldn’t care less about the holiday.

Headlines that matter

BORIS JOHNSON COMETH The UK PM the invite to be the star guest at the upcoming Republic Day celebrations in January. The Foreign Minister S Jaishankar said his presence “would be in a way symbolic of a new era, a new phase of our relationship”—or a measure of Johnson’s urgent desire to dig himself out of the economic sinkhole called no-deal Brexit. FYI: Britain is poised to walk out of the European Union at some point without any trade deal as a safety net—which to create economic mayhem. THE GREAT PANDEMIC: A QUICK UPDATE * One American dies due to Covid. There have been more than 50,000 deaths in just the past month. And in the past week, an average of 2,403 people have died every day. * An infected mink is now of Covid detected in the wild. Until now, the disease was limited to mink farms, pets and other captive animals. * UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock says a of the virus has been detected by at least 60 different local authorities. We don’t know if it makes any difference to its behaviour—i.e. does it spread faster, is it more deadly, does it respond less well to vaccines etc. * Singapore has created a travel bubble to allow a of business, official and other “high economic value” travellers to enter the country starting in late January. * A 28-year-old crossed the Irish Sea to meet his girlfriend—and is now in jail for a month for violating Covid restrictions. * Profiting from the pandemic: Dubbed that are filling the void created by Bollywood’s refusal to release new blockbusters. Nearly 70% of the single screens in Delhi, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and parts of Maharashtra are screening hits featuring Allu Arjun, Ram Charan, Dhanush. * The government the winter session of parliament due to the pandemic. Opposition parties see it as a way to dodge tough questions on the farmer protests. In related farmer protest news: Leading industry groups are urging an end to the deadlock—warning that it is disrupting supply chains. They peg the daily loss incurred due to the disruption at Rs 30-35 billion. has more. Also at odds: Pranab Mukherjee’s children who are the posthumous release of the fourth volume of his memoirs. The son Abhijit tweeted: > “I, the Son of the author of the Memoir ‘The Presidential Memoirs’ request you to kindly stop the publication of the memoir as > well as motivated excerpts which is already floating in certain media platforms without my written consent. Since my father is > no more, I being his son want to go through the contents of the final copy of the book before it’s publication as I believe, had > my father been alive today, he too would have done the same.” His sister Sharmishtha tweeted back telling him “not to create any unnecessary hurdles in publication of the last book written by our father.” Pass the popcorn. BRITAIN CRACKS DOWN ON SOCIAL MEDIA Facebook, Twitter and TikTok will have to pay fine of up to 10% of their global revenue if they fail remove illegal content—which include child sex abuse, terrorist manifestos and hate speech. All three companies welcomed the move—while insisting that they are already doing a stellar job. () In related news: Two of the richest men in the world—Mark Zuckerberg and Mukesh Ambani—had a widely televised ‘mann ki baat’ chat about the future of India. The gist: Both agreed that the Indian economy will grow at a fabulous rate, making everyone way richer—especially companies like theirs. Watch a clip . Or read the highlights in . In other big tech news: Amazon has launched a new service called ‘Made For You’ in the US—which marks a new expansion into apparel retail. Basically, you can now buy custom-made clothes online: > “Users provide their height, weight, and body style, and take two photos of themselves using the Amazon app. With that > information, Amazon creates a virtual body double so customers can see how the shirt will fit. They also have some ability to > tweak the shirt according to their preference, choosing among different colors, lengths, and necklines and selecting whether > they want short sleeves or long, a lighter or heavier fabric, and a v-neck or crew neck. The resulting shirt costs $25 and > usually takes about five days to manufacture.” has more on the significance of this move. ASSAM’S NEW POLICY ON MADRASAS, TOLS The government has announced new rules for schools that offer religious education—madrasas and Sanskrit tols. The stated aim: “reform the education system and make it secular.” is as follows: * All madrasas must stop teaching subjects like Holy Quran, Islamic Studies, Fiqh, Hadith, Usul Al Fiqh, Aqua, Tafsir, Hadith and Fariad—although Arabic will be offered as a language. * The State Madrasa Education Board will be dissolved after the board exams next year. * And all high and higher secondary schools will have to drop ‘madrasa’ from their names. * The Sanskrit schools will, however, be turned into study and research centres that offer certificate, diploma or degree courses in “Indian civilisation”—which “will be different from history. The curriculum will be prepared from a civilisational point of view.” In related unhappy news: A new found that China is forcing Uighur Muslims to pick cotton in appalling conditions in Xinjiang—which accounts for 85% of China’s cotton and 20% of the world’s cotton. BOLLYWOOD CONTINUES TO OFFEND HINDUS And it appears to take very little effort. This time, director Prakash Jha and actor Bobby Deol have for their MX Player series ‘Aashram’: > “The portrayal of Deol as a Hindu saint has hurt the religious sentiments of Hindus, who respect and worship saints. His > portrayal as a rapist, corrupt and drug dealer has diminished the place saints hold for Hindus.” SHADY COMPANY THROWS FRENCH FOOTBALL INTO CRISIS Back in 2018, MediaPro—a Spanish broadcaster owned by an obscure Chinese company—offered an astronomical one billion euros a year for the broadcasting rights to two of France’s top domestic leagues. Now that deal has just vanished overnight—with the company handing back the four years of rights, and shelling out a fraction of the 300-plus million euros it owes for games this season. This is being described as a “”: > “For the clubs, the repercussions may be immediate. Instead of being flush with enough cash to build teams to rival those in > Germany and Spain, most French teams are facing restructuring measures, starting with the sale of players when Europe’s player > trading window reopens in January.” A HUMANE ALTERNATIVE TO PALM OIL? Last month, we did an on the brutal exploitation of workers in the palm oil industry—which is also responsible for rapid deforestation, destroying the habitat of already endangered species. So it’s very good news that a bunch of biotech companies have developed a synthetic alternative. Here’s how it is manufactured: genetically-engineered microbes help ‘ferment’ food waste and industrial by-products into a product that is very similar to natural palm oil. But there’s one big hurdle still left to cross: The synthetic version is way more expensive than the natural kind. has more. In related happy news: Scientists have announced the discovery of 20 new species in the Bolivian Andes—and new sightings of plants and animals presumed extinct for decades. Our fave: The wonderfully named Mercedes robber frog (seen ). has loads more photos. THREE UPBEAT THINGS One: Vogue’s first ever cover styled by a Black woman features the “serene and statuesque” model Paloma Elsesser—and was shot by the legendary Annie Leibowitz. Paloma wrote on : > “although my heart swells with gratitude, i am not satisfied. i urge fashion to never let this momentum seize until seeing > bodies and experiences like mine and beyond are no longer radical, no longer different; no longer rare. i want to see bigger > bodied femmes, dark skin femmes, disabled people, and all the iterations of identity that have left so many alone in media. i > want this moment to render a new year of possibility and a lifetime of hope.” We ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ . Also: Vogue is on a roll! Two: Banksy painted a new mural on the side of a house—which had a ‘sold’ sign. Now, the owners have the deal… of course. Three: The Hyatt Regency Bangkok Sukhumvit is offering : a yearlong hotel stay at less than $100/day for two adults and two children. Not interested? How about this: > “[T]he package includes a 200,000 baht ($6,653) food and beverage credit, as well as use of the hotel’s 24-hour fitness center > and meeting rooms. It also comes with club lounge access (where coffee, tea, and evening cocktails are served each evening) and > daily housekeeping services, meaning you won’t have to make your own bed for an entire year... > > > > Those who opt for the package can also have up to six pieces of clothing dry-cleaned each and every day. Plus, guests don’t have > to worry about being able to work remotely from the hotel, since the package offers access to unlimited Wi-Fi.” Ok, we’re sold.

Sanity Break #2

Audrey Hepburn. Photographer: Richard Avedon. Year: 1967. Also: each one of us in 2020, if you know what we mean. More lovely examples of Avedon’s work are .

Smart & Curious

A LIST OF INTRIGUING THINGS One: Japan-based artist Jumpei Mitsui is one of just 21 LEGO Certified Professionals in the world. His latest achievement is a of one of the most famous Japanese woodblock prints: Katsushika Hokusai’s “” Two: These are ‘’ by Gucci. And they sell for $755. FYI: They’re selling for Rs 49,500 over at . Better hurry… only 2 pieces are left! What? You don’t wanna? Why? Three: Balenciaga released its fall 2021 collection in the form of an online video game titled ‘Afterworld: The Age of Tomorrow’—the first ever produced by a fashion brand. Fashionistas . We were underwhelmed, but our tastes are very far from haute. Far easier to just watch a of the game (below). But you can take a spin . Four: How about the most intriguing archaeological discoveries of 2020? has a list right here. Our favourite on the list: Chickens and hares were worshiped by ancient Britons. Five: This is Amorphophallus titanum which means “large misshapen penis” (you can see why). Its more popular name: Corpse flower because it smells appalling. But happily, it only blooms once in five years. This “horticultural celebrity” is also an endangered plant species, and scientists are scrambling to save it. has that story if you’re interested. Six: Staying on the subject of vile things, this innocuous looking fruit is aka “vomit fruit,” “dog dumpling” or “starvation fruit.” It tastes of sharp cheese, lemon, and vomit. And it is popular around the world, from Mexico to Polynesia—where shamans use it to chase away evil spirits. FYI: lots of Indian outlets sell (from Andaman islands). Reason: It’s also as a Ayurvedic health supplement.