Trump is finally gone
After weeks of drama, Donald Trump’s presidency has ended, not with a bang but a bureaucrat’s letter. Emily Murphy—the chief of the General Services Administration—wrote a letter to Joe Biden making available the access and resources (read money) to take charge of the White House. This is usually just a formality, but the agency had withheld the authorisation—claiming that the election result remained unclear.
Great drama and political pressure ensued—with Biden turning to his supporters to raise money for his transition (unprecedented in presidential history). But now the deed is done, and everyone has seen the writing on the wall, including (sorta) Trump, who tweeted:
“Our case STRONGLY continues, we will keep up the good fight, and I believe we will prevail! Nevertheless, in the best interest of our Country, I am recommending that Emily and her team do what needs to be done with regard to initial protocols, and have told my team to do the same.”
That’s the closest we’re going to get to a concession speech. CNN has more on this story. Related read: Mint profiles Biden’s Secretary of State Anthony Blinken—and what his appointment means for India.
Kerala does a U-turn
As we noted yesterday, the Kerala government suddenly issued an ordinance that would make it a crime to say anything deemed offensive on any platform. There was immediate and fierce pushback—from free speech activists, the opposition, and its own party. The result: the Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan backed down, saying:
“With the announcement of the amendment, different opinions have emerged from various quarters. Those who support the LDF as well as those who stand for the protection of democracy have raised concern about the amendment. Under these circumstances, the government does not want to implement the amended act. Further action would be taken only after a detailed debate in the State Assembly and after hearing opinions from all sides.”
What he didn’t mention: Opposition politicians, activists and NGOs were already filing petitions before Kerala High Court asking the law be declared unconstitutional—a fight they would have likely won since the Supreme Court had already nixed a similar law in the past. The Telegraph has more.
WhiteHat Jr wins court battle
The company: offers an online platform that teaches coding to children from ages six to 18. It has been the target of widespread criticism for making spurious and exaggerated claims to get anxious parents to pay for substandard courses. Among its most prominent critics is a Bangalore-based engineer, Pradeep Poonia:
“Poonia’s videos take on various claims that WhiteHat Jr has made. For instance, WHJ advertises a certain child called ‘Wolf Gupta’, who, after learning to code with the firm, got a job at Google that pays in crores. Poonia points out in his video that Wolf Gupta’s age keeps changing across advertisements, from nine to 14, as does his salary package—from Rs 1.2 crore to Rs 20 crore to Rs 150 crore. In another video, Poonia posts screen recordings of WHJ’s app reviews on the Google Play Store to show how many of the 5-star reviews have very similar text and therefore appear fake.”
The lawsuit: WhiteHat Jr in turn has made a dedicated effort to force anyone criticising its products to take down their comments (including a 12-year-old on YouTube)—or failing that, to sue them. So it slapped a Rs 20 crore (very poorly worded) defamation suit against Poonia—and has won a partial victory.
The result: Poonia can no longer publish internal communications of the company. Nor can he use the moniker ‘WhiteHat Sr’ on his social media channels. And he has to delete certain negative tweets. See TechCrunch for more on the lawsuit. Mint has the verdict. Forbes has more on WhiteHat’s bullying tactics.
Mt Everest pays the price
A slew of new studies reveals that the world’s highest mountain is in trouble:
“Today, the surface of the ice at base camp in Nepal sits more than 150 feet lower than it did 35 years ago, the result of glacial melt from our steadily warming climate. Zones of high-altitude ice once thought safe from warming are now starting to dwindle. Even the snow itself isn’t quite so pristine. At 27,700 feet elevation, it is contaminated with microplastics—the highest yet found on the planet.”
Scientists say this growing evidence of damage—in one of the “most remote and pristine” parts of the world—is a “wake up call.” National Geographic has more on the results of a special expedition to map the alarming state of the mountain.
The maternity trap
The number of mothers who do not return to work after maternity leave has jumped to 45% in 2019-20—up by 5% from 2018-19. Why this matters: The Maternity Benefit Act upped the amount of maternity leave from 12 to 26 weeks in 2017. And it doesn’t seem to have helped at all. When asked by a new survey, women instead pointed to a different set of challenges they face post-maternity: demotion or pay cuts, lack of family support and access to childcare. Point to note: The Maternity Act doesn’t cover the vast majority of working women who work in the unorganised sector. Times of India has more data and charts.
In other gender-related news: Lamborghini pulled its latest ad featuring a teenage girl with an exposed midriff seated in front of its car in the city of Palermo. The campaign was panned widely in Italy as sexualising children. What’s noteworthy: The highly respected photographer Letizia Battaglia is a woman who braved death threats from the mob for photos of the Sicilian mafia in the 70s. Her response: “For me Palermo is a child with an innocent look that grows.” See the photo below to judge for yourself.
Better job-related news: Quess Corp is India’s largest private-sector employer—providing staffing services to companies. The company says that its employment numbers will reach pre-Covid levels by January—with construction and real estate sectors fueling demand for jobs. In related news: Apple’s second-largest supplier, Pegatron, announced plans to invest $150 million (Rs 11 billion) to build manufacturing facilities in India.
The great pandemic: A very quick update
- Former Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi has died due to post-Covid complications.
- AstraZeneca is testing an injection for those who cannot take a traditional vaccine due to immunodeficiency diseases.
- Italy’s death toll is higher than ever—with 10,000 dead just this month. But no one seems to care any more. Washington Post has a ground report.
- Maharashtra will not allow anyone from Delhi, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Goa into the state without a Covid-negative certificate.
Two tech things
One: In its effort to take on Zoom, Microsoft Teams is offering users free all-day voice and video calls—for up to 300 participants. Details here.
Two: Google is testing Task Mate in India. The new app allows users to earn a fee by completing simple tasks for businesses around the world. For example: “take a photo of a nearby restaurant, answer survey questions about your preferences, or help translate sentences from English to your local language.” Right now, it is only available for those who have received a special referral code. Mint has more.
A strange monolith in Utah
State employees surveying sheep from a helicopter have stumbled on a mysterious structure made of metal in a remote stretch of the state. It is between 10 to 12 feet high (about 3 metres), and appears to have been planted in the ground—not dropped from the sky. The pilot said: “I’m assuming it’s some new wave artist or something or, you know, somebody that was a big ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’ fan.” The Guardian has more details. See the strange object below:
