There’s a hilarious scene in Casablanca when the Nazis order Rick’s Café to be shut down on any pretext, and the morally flexible prefect of police, Captain Renault, says: “I am shocked, shocked to learn that gambling is going on here,” before pocketing his own earnings with a sotto voce thank you. Much like Renault, […]
Since Barack Obama became the first Black president of the United States — and the patron saint of slightly deracinated global liberals who feel increasingly alienated as global politics lurches right — liberals have been waiting for the next Obama: the Aragorn who will again lead the righteous army and rid America of the evil […]
Kuwait introduces strict new anti-drug law with tough penalties / AI-Generated Illustration Kuwait has officially approved a new, tougher anti-drug law, the Cabinet announced on Monday, October 28, 2025, introducing random drug testing, harsher jail terms, and the death penalty for serious trafficking cases. The draft decree-law was endorsed during the weekly Cabinet meeting and […]
There’s a school of thought popular among Washington watchers that it was Barack Obama’s jibes at Donald Trump during an ill-fated White House Correspondents’ Dinner in 2011 that might have led to Trump’s presidential run which in turn would upend the rules-based liberal order that came into effect post-World War II and now threatens not […]
With the benefit of hindsight – much like Ultron deciding to destroy the world after spending a few seconds online and seeing humans interact with one another – the warrior priest Parashurama’s divine fury is quite understandable, given how the word “Brahmin” has become a bogeyman in modern parlance, not just in India but globally. […]
Franz Kafka is one of the most written-about authors in the world. By some estimates, 15,000 books have been written about him, totalling over 1.5 million words, which is ironic given Franz Kafka wanted all his works burnt. Instead, he became the patron saint of the academic–industrial complex, a class – if he lived – […]
The Betteridge’s Law of Headings state that whenever the heading of an article begins with a question, the answer to that is ‘No’. It’s a fairly accurate law, but in this case, things are a tad more complicated because we are dealing with the most famous underwear model in the world. Superman has always meant […]
One of the most iconic pieces of commentary – living rent-free in the heads of every Indian – was Ravi Shastri’s immortal line when India lifted the ODI Cricket World Cup in 2011: “And MS Dhoni finishes off in style.” It would appear Grok-3 also had the same idea – finishing off in style – […]
A 44-year-old Florida man lands into trouble after sneaking into a random house. He stayed there for several days to avoid going home to his angry wife after an argument, according to officials.The man, who identified himself as Joe, was cooking dinner and had just run a luxurious bath when police arrived, the NY Post […]
In The Tao of Physics, perhaps the finest popular novel on parallels between modern physics and “Eastern mysticism”, author Michiko Kaku sums up the dichotomy by stating: “Socrates in Greece made the famous statement ‘I know that I know nothing,’ and Lao Tzu in China said, ‘Not knowing that one knows is best.’” The two […]
