American yuddh bhoomi: Swinging states & voters

Written by: Aarthi Ramnath, Aakriti Anand & Raghav Bikhchandani

American yuddh bhoomi: Swinging states & voters

In part two of our series, we look at the two key battles in this election: Women vs young white men; Arab Americans vs the Democratic establishment.

Editor’s note: This is the second in a series of Big Stories we’re doing this week on the US election—as we all brace for the looming chaos. Part one looked at why the election is so close—despite Trump’s innumerable, umm, deficiencies.

Extraordinary act of courage: A rebel in Tehran

On November 2, a female college student was harassed by members of a militia for not wearing her hijab “properly”. They ripped her head scarf and tore at her clothes—as punishment. She responded by taking off her clothes and walking around campus in her underwear. The woman was then arrested and taken away by security.

The ‘official’ line: is as follows:

Citing eyewitnesses, state-run Fars news agency reported that the student took off her clothes after two security personnel “calmly talked” to her and warned her about flouting the dress code. The university’s public relations director said the woman was suffering from mental health issues.

Why this is scary: Everyone—including human rights groups—is worried about her safety. Amnesty tweeted: “Allegations of beatings and sexual violence against her during the arrest need independent and impartial investigations.” She is in even more peril due to new, stricter hijab laws—that were approved last month:

Article 48 of the Hijab and Chastity law addresses the punishment for individuals who appear in public places in a state of nudity (berahnegi), semi-nudity (nime-berahnegi), or wearing attire that is “socially considered” equivalent to nudity. The penalty for such offences includes up to 10 years in prison or a fine of up to one billion 500 million rials ($2,380), and in cases of repeated violations, the punishment can escalate to imprisonment and up to 15 years and 800 million rials ($4,445).

Reminder: Mahsa Amini died in police custody after being arrested for “improperly” wearing a hijab in 2022. Her death sparked nationwide protests—and offered hope that the establishment may back down. But two years later, the situation is worse than ever.

Reading list: The Guardian and CNN offer the best coverage of the incident. Business Standard has a good piece placing the woman’s protest in context of women’s rights in Iran. These Big Stories have more on Amini’s death—and the protests that followed. The woman’s protest has already inspired artwork and memes—as you can see below:

A very illuminating global survey

The context: The Economist polled 30,000 people across 29 countries—including India. The survey asked three preferences: Republicans vs Democrats as the winner of the election; Russia vs Ukraine as winner of the war; China vs America as the #1 superpower.

What Indians want: We picked Donald Trump over Biden/Harris—by a narrow margin compared to Saudi Arabia, Turkey, or Vietnam. We predictably preferred Russia win the war—along with Egypt, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, and Vietnam. And less surprisingly, 79% favoured America over China as the leading superpower.

The worrying bit for Washington: is not India—but its Middle East allies:

Saudi support for Russia is troubling: the country hopes to secure a new military pact with America yet 37% of those asked want the Kremlin to win, against 19% for Ukraine. In Egypt, which is receiving $1.3bn in defence aid from America this year, 49% back Russia against 30% who support Ukraine.

Plus this:

The sting in the tail was that in one American treaty ally, Turkey, people preferred a Chinese-run world. Once again Egypt and Saudi Arabia, while relying on American military ties to a degree, had populations that wanted Chinese hegemony.

That great gap between the people’s opinion—and the government’s foreign allegiances—bodes ill for the future. (The Economist, paywalled)

An attack on a Canadian temple

In the midst of rising tensions between India and Canada, relations between Hindu and Sikhs in Canada have been deteriorating as well. Over the weekend, flag-bearing Sikh separatists stormed a Hindu temple in the Toronto suburb of Brampton—and began beating people with sticks. You can see a clip of the incident below:

The temple was hosting a pension scheme camp—organised by the Indian High Commission. The violence was condemned by PM Justin Trudeau—and three people have been arrested. PM Modi has also spoken out for the very first time since September, 2023:

I strongly condemn the deliberate attack on a Hindu temple in Canada. Equally appalling are the cowardly attempts to intimidate our diplomats. Such acts of violence will never weaken India’s resolve. We expect the Canadian government to ensure justice and uphold the rule of law.

The Print has more on the incident—and Indian Express reports on the fallout.

Three key studies on women

One: A recent International Labour Organization (ILO) report reveals a distressing stat on labour participation. In 2023, 748 million people were not part of the labour force—of which 708 million were women. That’s a significant jump up from the 606 million in 2018. In India, 53% of women were outside the labour force. The predictable culprit: Unpaid work at home—especially caring for children. OTOH, Belarus, Bulgaria, Latvia, and Sweden exclude less than 10% of women. (Indian Express)

Two: A new study shows that AI will do absolutely nothing to remove bias from the hiring process. Three open-source, large language models (LLMs) preferred resumes from “white-associated names 85% of the time, and female-associated names 11% of the time.” Add in race—and the results are even worse—with Black men at the bottom of the pile. Another depressing result: “the technology preferred white men even for roles that employment data show are more commonly held by women, such as HR workers.” GeekWire has more details and grim data.

Three: Researchers can’t seem to make up their mind about marriage. One recent study shows that women are happier being single—compared to men:

They were happier with their current romantic relationship status. They were less likely to want a romantic partner. They were more sexually satisfied. And they were more satisfied with their life in general.

Another study shows that unmarried people are around 80% more likely to be depressed than their married peers. But in both cases, it all comes down to social support. Couples are more likely to share resources—and help each other. Single women are more likely to have supportive friends and fam. Psychology Today has more on single women—while Independent UK has the data on married folks.

News flash: Animals are terrible lushes

A new study suggests that alcohol is found in almost every ecosystem on earth—and has been plentiful for the past 100 million years—“when flowering plants began to produce sugary fruits and nectar that yeast could ferment.” This also means that animals that feast on them are regularly consuming alcohol. FYI: “The alcohol content is typically low, at around 1% to 2% alcohol by volume (ABV), but in over-ripe palm fruit the concentration can reach 10% ABV.”

The really amusing bits: much like humans, some species have greater tolerance than others—like the pen-tailed treeshrews. Some even put on weight because of their boozy ways. The Devdas of God’s creatures:

Male fruit flies turn to alcohol when they are rejected as a mate, while females of a closely related species become less picky about their mates and have sex with more males after imbibing.

On a merrier related note, we offer you this clip from a 1974 documentary called ‘Animals Are Beautiful People’: (The Guardian)

what caught our eye

business & tech

In light of Sensex crashing by over 7,700 points in just five weeks, Economic Times looks at whether November will be an even nastier month for investors.
Bangladesh is accelerating payment of its $800 million bill owed to Adani Power—which has cut electricity supply to the country by more than half.
The Verge has an unmissable review of the Rolls-Royce Spectre, which may be the greatest EV on the planet but costs a pretty penny.
China’s military has made full use of Meta’s open source Llama AI to develop its own model—‘ChatBIT’.
In today’s version of contradicting yourself mid-sentence, Dropbox CEO Drew Houston said he takes “full accountability” for his company’s performance… while laying off 500 employees.
TGI Fridays has become the latest legacy restaurant chain to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

sports & entertainment

Farewell, Wriddhiman Saha—the stalwart Indian wicketkeeper will retire at the end of the ongoing Ranji Trophy season.
Mint has a must-read on how OTT platforms have slowed down on commissioning new shows, forcing content creators to pre-package their shows with talent before pitching.
Legendary pop music producer Quincy Jones—who collaborated with giants from Frank Sinatra to Michael Jackson—has passed away at the age of 91.
Godzilla fans, get hyped! ‘Godzilla Minus One’ director Takashi Yamazaki is reuniting with Japanese studio Toho for another instalment.

as for the rest

Coming next month: Indian Railways’ super app, a one-stop offering for passenger services. We’ll believe it when we actually see it work.
Indian scientists will undertake a massive study of Covid-19 samples, in order to be better prepared for future pandemics.
An update on the Customs department’s horrific plan to destroy ‘obscene’ Indian art—the Bombay High Court has ordered the release of the seven paintings by Francis Newton Souza and Akbar Padamsee.
An update on the murder of medical worker Breonna Taylor—former police officer Brett Hankison has been found guilty of violating her civil rights by firing into her apartment.
BBC News has a good read on Nepal’s Museum of Stolen Art—on a mission to recover the country’s artefacts from overseas museums. See: our two-part Big Story explainer on the stolen art business.
The Print has a must-read on the plight of Surat’s diamond workers—job losses, factory closures, and 71 suicides in 18 months.
Gizmodo has a bizarre story on how a Pakistan-based AI slop website fooled thousands of people in Dublin into attending a Halloween parade that never existed.

Six things to see

One: With hours to go before the election is called, will.i.am has released an anthem titled ‘Yes She Can’ in support of Kamala Harris. Will the Obama clichés never end? (Hollywood Reporter)

Two: At least 10 people died when the twin volcano Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki in Flores, Indonesia erupted in the early hours of Monday—spewing ash and smoke almost 2,000 km high in the air. (Al Jazeera)

Three: Say hello to Royal Enfield’s Flying Flea C6—the first ever electric bike from the legacy bike makers. It was launched in Milan last evening, and is inspired by the original—used by the British Army during World War II. It will go on sale in 2026 with a price tag between Rs 200,000 and Rs 250,000. In comparison, the price of Royal Enfield Bullet 350 starts from Rs 173,000. You can see what the new bike looks like in this cool promo vid. (HT Auto)

Four: Get ready for ‘Skeleton Crew’—a new Star Wars series in which four 10-year-olds get lost in the galaxies far far away. Worry not, Jude Law will soon come to their rescue! The first two episodes of the show premiere on December 3 on Disney+ Hotstar. (Deadline)

Five: We’re also looking forward to ‘Unstoppable’—a movie based on wrestler Anthony Robles. The film marks the directorial debut of Oscar-winning ‘Argo’ editor William Goldenberg. The cast includes Jharrel Jerome, JLo, Michael Peña, and Don Cheadle. It is slated to release on December 6. (Variety)

Six: Now for some desi masti, here’s the “taster cut” for ‘Baby John’—starring Varun Dhawan as the hero and Jackie Shroff as the villain. It is directed by Kalees and is a remake of Atlee’s film ‘Theri’, starring Vijay. The movie is scheduled to release on Christmas day. (NDTV)