Quick notes: China threat | MAGA backlash...

• Conjoined enemies: Lessons From Op Sindoor. "So far we used to say that look China would assist Pakistan during operations, during a conflict, etc. But I think this time it came out loud and clear that it is more like they are conjoined".
  
  
• Beware Of China Threat In North East: China is extremely proactive in politics in Shan state (and indeed in many other parts of Myanmar) as a study about China's overt and opaque role in South Asia reveals.
  
  
• India-China trade: Deficit widens to $99.2 bn. "India is an iron ore seller but not a high-quality steel exporter".
  
  
• Will BRICS boom under Trump's watch? "The dollar would stay "dominant for years, but parallel settlement systems in yuan, rupee and ruble will grow. This won't dethrone the dollar but will steadily chip away at its monopoly."
  
  
• Why the thriving Indian diaspora in the US is not an asset anymore: The excessive publicity about Indian success stories and their high income and wealth levels has begun to breed envy and resentment in non-elite sections of the American populace.
  
  There might be a campaign against H1B visas and even a gradual expulsion of persons stuck in a limbo with pending green cards and pending citizenship.
  
  The ground beneath our feet is shifting. And for the time being, the best strategy might be to stop crowing about us becoming a large economy (we are nowhere there in per capita terms anyway) or becoming a big power. We can lie low till our time comes.
  
  
• 'Is it time to pause H1-B visas?': Debate intensifies over Indian tech hires
  
  
• AI destroying careers: There is now clearer evidence AI is wrecking young Americans’ job prospects.
  
  AI is eating entry-level coding and customer service roles, according to a new Stanford study — junior job listings drop 13% in three years in fields vulnerable to AI
  
  
• Raag MARU BIHAG: Shehnai - Pandit S. Ballesh & Krishna Ballesh




• "Brahmins Profiteering...": Top Trump Aide On India's Russian Oil Trade. . . . . USA unhinged.. vinAshakAlE viparIta buddhi.
  
  
• We should target Meta, X and Netflix instead: From Pepsi To McDonald's, US Giants Face Swadeshi Heat Amid Trump Tariffs
  
  
• Trump faces MAGA backlash: Trump has opened the doors of American universities to six lakh Chinese students, even as his administration continues its crackdown on International students. "We're going to allow their students to come in. It's very important, 600,000 students. It's very important. But we're going to get along with China".
  
  
• Flip-flopping approach: How Trump Reversed Course on Chinese Students
  
  
• Imperialist: Meta's Zuckerberg pressed Trump on digital taxes before tariff threat. . . . Trump vows export curbs, tariffs in digital tax reprisal
  
  
• Era of US industrial policy: Investors worry Trump's Intel deal kicks off era of US industrial policy.. Intel did not need the money. SoftBank poured $2 billion into the chipmaker three days before the Trump announcement.
  
  
• Delhi pollution cutting life expectancy by 8 years: Delhi remains the most polluted city in the world, with average fine particulate matter (PM2.5) levels exceeding the WHO guideline by more than 20 times.
  
  
• Integrated Air Defence Weapon System (IADWS): Chinese expert hails India's new laser-based weapon
  
  

Quick notes: State capitalism | Fistful Of Dollars...

• Following Chinese model: A generation ago conventional wisdom held that as China liberalized, its economy would come to resemble America’s. Instead, capitalism in America is starting to look like China - 'State capitalism with American characteristics' - a sea change from the free market ethos the U.S. once embodied. . . . Trump reviving crony capitalism.



• Sounds like socialism: Trump says U.S. govt has gained 10% stake in Intel.



• Consumers paying for tariffs: Walmart says tariff costs are rising 'each week' and will continue



• India pauses plans to buy U.S. arms after Trump's tariffs: Discussions on India's purchases of Stryker combat vehicles made by General Dynamics Land Systems and Javelin anti-tank missiles developed by Raytheon and Lockheed Martin have been paused due to the tariffs.



• Fistful Of Dollars: Rice for Vietnam farmers displaced for Trump Golf Club.



• Keep solar on rooftops and on canals: How is India's largest Solar Energy project threatening Ladakh Nomads and Pashmina wool.



• The Shipping Container That Might Replace Solar Farms: 0.59 acres per MW. As opposed to Solar PV's 0.97 acres per MW... How a Stirling Engine works




• AI pervert: Meta AI chatbots gave false medical advice and flirted with minors — now the company is restructuring its AI division again - fourth restructuring in six months.



• Raja Koduri is back in the GPU business: Unveils new startup, Oxmiq Labs, bringing 500 Years of combined experience via world-class GPU & AI architects



• China catching up in AI: Huawei is making its Ascend AI GPU software toolkit open-source to better compete against CUDA. . . Chinese censorship bias in LLMs



• Power hungry toy: AI's soaring energy consumption is causing skyrocketing power bills for households across the US — States reporting spikes in energy costs of up to 36%



• Milk may not help the elderly: People who live in countries with the lowest rates of hip fractures also tend to drink the least milk. Drinking more milk was not associated with lower fracture risk  



• India's ethanol drive imperils its push for edible oil self-sufficiency: Depressing oilseed prices and prompting farmers to plant more corn and rice in place of soybeans and groundnuts



• Think beyond cars:

"Urbanism works when it creates a journey as desirable as the destination." pic.twitter.com/mnepPaP5cX

— 𝚃𝚊𝚛𝚊𝚜 𝙶𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚌𝚘𝚎 🚇 (@grescoe) August 30, 2022

Quick notes: Neglected ally | Cow abuse...

• America returns to its neglected ally: For destabilising Iran, America needs land access. This is how the Pakistanis were used during the Afghan wars, targeting the Russians.
  
  From Iran's nuclear programme to Afghanistan's lithium reserves, Pakistan's unique positioning at the crossroads of America's most pressing strategic concerns has transformed it from a neglected ally into an indispensable partner. . . After 25+ years of progress, India-US ties take a U-turn, history repeats




• "The U.S. is not an ally of India": "The U.S. is absolutely uninterested in India based supply chains. Trump is uninterested in that. He is incapable of long-term strategic relations and any of that. India should not presume that the U.S. will do great favors to India. Thats is not going to happen". . . . listen to him, India. Stop being naive.




• Trump Wants Big Pie Of India's Economy: They want their companies like Amazon to have more facilities for operations. They want unlimited data flow for Google. So, it is beyond tariff, it is beyond trade. The US wants a big pie of the domestic economy.



• Experts warn Trump: Caving on Nvidia H20 export curbs may disrupt his bigger trade war



• Blessed to have engineers at the helm: China is developing nation-spanning network to sell surplus data center compute power



• Cow abuse: Coca-Cola under fire after undercover investigation reveals disturbing scenes at farm: 'A habitual offender'. Investigators also recorded pregnant and sick cows being whipped, punched, kicked, and beaten with metal objects, including shovels, wrenches, and pipes. The abuse was carried out by various staff, including owners, managers, and ranch hands. . . . blacklist coke!



• Shut humanities department in STEM institutions:

Recently at IIT Gandhinagar Muhammad Luqman won gold medal for ground breaking research on clothes worn by Sunni Ulema in Kerala. Yes.

Who was his guide? Prof Madhumita Sengupta. In her studies she researched colonial history, but instead of using it for decolonisation of India,… pic.twitter.com/1Y3S1pH9D6

— Eminent Intellectual (@total_woke_) August 2, 2025




• SEBI, Jane Street and India’s Regulatory Dilemma: Watch at 2x




• Evangelicals lobbied hard for this: Texas law will require Ten Commandments to be posted in every public school classroom

Quick notes: Hiring Indians | Baloch and Israel...

• 'Put America First': Trump's big warning to tech firms against hiring Indians.. Doesn't want Google, Microsoft to hire Indians.
  
  
• US driving India into China's lap? Trump's renewed interest in Pakistan has India recalibrating China ties.
  
  
• China proving to be tough: Trump’s U-turn on Nvidia spurs talk of grand bargain with China. . India takes note.
  
  
• Trump eases China chip restrictions: Trump caving on Nvidia H20 export curbs may disrupt his bigger trade war. . . Dissenters warn H20 reversal is a dangerous mis-step.
  
  
• Reality check for India: Far from being supportive, the US under Trump has ended up re-hyphenating Pakistan with India. The two superpowers, the US and China, seem to have an unstated common interest in keeping India down a notch.



• Indians' propensity to be duped: How Jane Street Made $4.3 Billion in India—Then Got Banned!




• Aljazeera: "Israel is trying to hijack the Baloch struggle"



• Balochistan Studies Project: Pakistan fears MEMRI's support for a free Balochistan



• Balochistan Studies Project: Chinese Communist Party fears MEMRI's support for a free Balochistan



• Arjun Nimmala: First-gen Indian-American MLB first-round pick



• MP Tejasvi Surya Speaks: Bengaluru’s Tunnel Road: A Roadblock, Not a Relief.

Quick notes: Sinophile | Liveable cities...

• NITI Aayog loaded with Sinophiles: India's top think tank recommends easing investment rules for Chinese firms. My enemy is my savior



• Trump, the Sinophile: As Trump courts a more assertive Beijing, China hawks are losing out in a a dramatic reversal.
  
  In recent years, one of China's biggest requests of US officials has been that the US relax its strict controls on advanced AI chips, measures that were put in place to slow Beijing's technological and military gains. Last week, the Trump administration did just that, as it allowed Nvidia to sell its H20 chip to China... China won by calling Trump’s ‘bluff’



• Microsoft, the Sinophile: Microsoft using engineers in China to help maintain cloud computing systems for the U.S. Department of Defense.



• What NITI Aayog doesn't want you to know: How China Has Been Blocking India's UNSC Actions Since The 2000s



• From Evergrande to BYD: Is China’s EV Dream Crashing? . . . Don't you worry, NITI Aayog is there to rescue China.



• How can we make India's cities more liveable? Zoho's Sridhar Vembu has a suggestion . . let's focus less on GDP and more on quality of living.

I want to add that Singapore, one of the most advanced economies in the world and one of the most livable cities, relies extensively on public transport. Singapore also limits the number of private cars through the mechanism of open market trading of Certificate of Entitlement… https://t.co/ob7WjOiybJ

— Sridhar Vembu (@svembu) July 15, 2025

How Indian Cities Failed Public Transport: Learn to prioritize people over cars.

Quick notes: Jane Street | Hydrofoil ferry...

• Jane Street's cash machine came to an abrupt halt: Foreign funds and proprietary traders using algorithms made $7 billion in the 12 months to March 2024 alone. That bonanza may be coming to an end.
  
  
• Manipulating Indian derivatives markets: How US-based Jane Street siphoned Rs 36,000 cr from Indian markets.
  
  
• Indian casino is a train-wreck: Indian retail investor losses on derivative trades widened in 2024-25 by 41% to 1.06 trillion rupees. India is the world's largest derivatives market, accounting for nearly 60% of the equity derivatives traded globally in April.



• Prada on backfoot: High Fashion's habit of 'borrowing' from India isn't new. Prada's Kolhapuri chappals are just the latest

Prada is at Centre of GI tag violations for its flat leather sandals that bear a striking resemblance to traditional Kolhapuri chappals.

Indian shops sell it for ₹1,000 and Prada is selling it for ₹1 lakh.

Indian artisans need good marketing or else this theft will continue. pic.twitter.com/F3rkAa75Zr

— News Arena India (@NewsArenaIndia) June 28, 2025




• How America's Debt Spiral Could Spark The Next Crisis: America's debt problem is no longer linear; it is exponential.



• Ferries are making a comeback: Could the Electric Hydrofoil Ferry change the way we commute? “We see it as a blue superhighway that is still untapped”. Fast, sustainable mode of transit




• Unicorn: India's Rapido is outpacing global giants like Uber and Ola in user growth, while also achieving profitability . . . A ride-hailing unicorn is gaining users faster than Uber, disrupting the San Francisco titan’s effort to conquer a key growth market  



• AI's energy problem: Google’s carbon emissions went up again as its AI push continues



• Distress in Hi-tech jobs: Salesforce CEO Claims Half of the Company’s Work Is Now Done by AI



• One Way to Win Trump Over: Nominate Him for the Nobel Prize 



• The ‘Trump Pump’: How crypto lobbying won over a President. For years, cryptocurrency companies had endured a sweeping crackdown in Washington — a cascade of lawsuits, regulatory attacks and prosecutions that threatened the industry’s survival. Mr. Trump wasn’t an obvious sympathizer. He had once dismissed Bitcoin as a “scam.”