The Third Slip: Issue 189 - Contract Tracing
Hello, Slippers! Welcome to The Third Slip - the weekly newsletter that is like a bubble blower. We immerse ourselves in the slimy waters of world news and shoot out tiny, colourful bubbles of news that make reality seem better for a brief moment before popping you back to the ground reality.
This is issue 189. 189, of course, was the highest score in ODI cricket for a while, and we never thought it’d be crossed. Then one fine day Anwar came and smashed 194 like it was no big deal. Followed almost immediately by the first 200 in ODI cricket by…. yes, you guessed correctly... Belinda Clark. And to try and make this sound more profound than it needs to be, we never thought the Trump presidency would end, and next week, it just might with Biden and Harris. The news...
US v/s Dem
Hopefully one of the last few times we’ll need to talk about US Politics
Given the Republican Party’s symbol is an elephant, let’s symbolically address the one in the room first. Nov 3 is election day in the USA, but because of the virus (and potential misinformation), people have been voting early or via post. In fact, in many states, there have already been more votes cast than the whole of the last election. We might not have a clear winner on Tuesday, and it could even go to the Supreme Court, which is probably why the GOP so enthusiastically rammed a conservative judge through. This might not necessarily work in Trump’s favour, as the Court has already allowed mail-in ballots to be counted even after E-Day, something that might benefit Democrats. And some of Trump’s base, happy that the Court has a conservative majority, might find a reason less to vote for him. Fun! Complicated! All tech platforms are gearing up for misinformation and “calling results” early, and even LinkedIn’s co-founder is spending $1m asking voters to be patient with results.
The Great Mall of China: We at TTS are just tired of the whole charade & showmanship of the Trump era, and hope a Biden-Harris victory brings sense, respect for science, morality, less-Trump-in-pop-culture but most of all… Less news. Oh, but… China wins either way (and that, really, could be the tagline for 2020).
Let’s come back home
Aarogya Setwhodunit: In the most farcical Agatha Christie novel of all time, Poirot needs to find out who developed the mandatory, harmless app. One that is supposed to do contact tracing, but no contract tracing. Incognito in kaun hai tu?
Illustration by Harini Kannan
Sino Evil: The US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, was in India to discuss strategies ties how to deal with China. Or rather, he wanted to - the ever-so-diplomatic India refused to mention Beijing even once :P
This week in “studies that told us what we already knew”
Swede nothings: According to a Swedish think tank, the BJP resembles a governing party in an autocracy. Next up from Scandinavian thinkers: Caste exists, Bhut Jolokia is spicy.
Keralaesque whisper: Apparently, Kerala is the best governed state in India and UP is the worst. This according to the Public Affairs Index - 2020. Shock and awe.
Other things from around the nation:
Patna on the back: Bihar seems to have got Covid under control… Though we’ll wait till after the elections to see the actual numbers.
Seeds of (digital) division: A Rural education survey showed the gap is, predictably, widening. Indeed, in Jaipur, kids without internet/phone are just getting to work. As in, actual work. And not ‘working on assignment’.
Telangoner: The Hyderabad floods we’re seeing has rampant, unchecked ‘development’ to blame… Much like Chennai… And Mumbai… And Bengaluru… And Jakarta… And… It’s almost like humans are spoiling the planet. We’re all city-sins of this once bountiful world.
Real estate of affairs: J&K has a new land policy. Now, being biased, we assumed it was a bad thing. Then we read this explainer and realised we were wrong. The BJP and their cronies will benefit. We’re humbled.
Investments everywhere: It’s hard to keep up with who’s buying who, but consolidation is happening everywhere - Flipkart is picking up a stake in Aditya Birla Fashion. Tata Group wants in on BigBasket. Chuck’s cats now have a controlling staasd02n2``12jnaaaaa55474as*-*-asd***!@@#$!!#%@@ in TTS.
Farmware upgrade: So those farm laws? Which Modiji says was to help our farmers? His rhetoric says one thing, but recent actions say another. Why let real policy get in the way of optics, eh?
Other things happening around the world
Not Nice at all: France, already ravaged by the virus, is also facing a random spate of violence by Islamic terrorists who are attacking and beheading people, including one this week. The President, Macron, called for a reform in Islam, leading to… predictable reactions from Muslim countries, and an outsized show of support from, well, political parties from unrelated countries who have a vested interest in furthering Islamophobia.
Where do the authors of TTS stand? We would prefer a world without religion to begin with. Left to us, the world should worship crosswords and prog-metal. (Edit: Unless you get extremists there also. Imagine someone trying to assassinate you because you said Ximenean clues have no place in a world where people have the attention span of a Snapchat filter or said Opeth are better off without growls… Oh wait. We know… Ok, extremism is bad.) But hey, if your faith/religion works for you, great. Just keep it to yourself, and let everyone be. Imagine...
King’s Xi pun-jab: Chinese political bigwigs met to make a fairly predictable 5 year plan which centers around Xi still being God.
Kiwi can’t fly high: In a shocking dent to the they-can-do-no-wrong image, New Zealand chose not to legalize weed. Euthanasia is okay though, so in case things head south, head south.
A to Z: A very complicated battle between Azerbaijan and Armenia continues, though there’s a ceasefire in Libya. It’s complicated. What’s uncomplicated? Do you think Mohammed Azharuddin was called Azhar-bai-jan by those close to him?
Santiago going gone: 78% of Chile’s voters opted to scrap their constitution!
In Thailand, protestors (against the king’s rule) held a parody fashion show, making fun of the king’s daughter’s fashion line.
Lunaquar: Water on the moon!
Very nice!: Kazak is actually going with the slogan used by Borat for make benefit of glorious nation’s tourism.
Germ-any?: Covid numbers in the US and Europe are climbing. Things are so bad that Dutch hospitals are sending patients to Germany! Yeah really. It’s so bad that Russia has ordered nationwide mask wearing.OTOH, the news from the Oxford vaccine is encouraging. But, what happens once a vaccine is available? An excellent, excellent summary from PGK at The Ken (registration needed).
Techila shots
Unfriended: That BJP-supporting FB policy head? She left the company and why would we not be surprised if she ended up in politics? And replaced her with… Shivnath Thukral who is arguably even closer to the ruling dispensation. Oh well!
We are on a break: FB’s new cloud gaming platform is not on iOS. You thought FRIENDS had some complicated associations? Oh boy.
RIP: Lee Kun-hee, who built Samsung into the empire that it is, died.
Upping the Ant eh?: The biggest IPO? That would now be Ant Financial from China. Yep.
Yeah, who cares: For some reason, Yahoo launches a $50 smartphone
Spotty FYI: Outspoken podcaster Joe Rogan got conspiracy-peddling anti-vaxxer Alex Jones onto the show and employees aren’t happy about it. Content moderation comes to Spotify now? Oh boy.
LinkedOut
The UN needs a rebirth.
Why so many esports players come from South Korea.
The fightback against Big Tech’s feudal lords
Is there really a gender gap in chess? Nope, just a participation gap
Guha on why Modi is the worst of the current trio of demagogues
Indian caste bias in Silicon Valley
When a FB cooking group got political, and very creatively so.
That’s all for this week. If you’d like, you can get in touch: Instagram (Chuck | Tony), Twitter (Chuck | Tony), email. And again, if you REALLY like us and can afford to, consider supporting us on UPI, Instamojo or Patreon. Until next week, may your bubbles never burst before you poke them. Bye!