Swastika made of pepperoni on pizza delivered, Little Caesars fires two employees
A couple says they were flabbergasted when they unsealed their ready-made pizza to see pepperonis organized in the form of a reverse swastika Tuesday. Jason Laska told reporters: “Things like this are keeping hate alive in this world. We all need the exact opposite of that right now.” Laska claimed he was headed home from…
A pest’s genome reveals its past
Jul 4th 2020A CENTURY AND a half ago an alien insect alighted in Europe. It displaced millions, ruined local economies and forced scientists, politicians and ordinary folk into a frenzy of defensive activity. Phylloxera, a member of the group known to entomologists as Hemiptera, or “true” bugs (as opposed to all the other critters known…
After many false starts, hydrogen power might now bear fruit
Jul 4th 2020CONVENTIONAL WISDOM holds that battery-powered cars are the future of motoring. But Hyundai, a big South Korean vehicle-maker, is not so sure. Over the past few months it has been running a worldwide public-relations campaign extolling the virtues of an alternative source of electrical power—fuel cells. Instead of storing and then releasing electricity…
India has few good ways to punish China for its Himalayan land-grab
“NOW THE Chinese will know that, when we want to act, we shall act as we wish, without warning,” thundered Arnab Goswami, jabbing a finger towards the camera. “We shall move in stealth, and attack when necessary!” Judging from the triumphalism of this host on Republic TV, a jingoistic private channel, one might have guessed…
Chinese investment in Pakistan was supposed to be a showcase
Jul 4th 2020WHEN XI JINPING launched his Belt and Road scheme of global development aid with Chinese characteristics, he needed a country to showcase it. Pakistan seemed the obvious choice. It was China’s only real ally, a security partner on a vulnerable flank. Meanwhile a new prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, and his business-friendly Pakistan Muslim…
Inside the thieves’ guild in Freetown
LIKE MANY clubs, it is selective. Only the right sort of person may join. It has a spokesman, a financial secretary and an interim chairman. But in other ways the Black Street Boys is rather different from, say, a club in Pall Mall or Augusta, Georgia. Members sport matching tattoos of the harp symbol used…
Students hosting ‘COVID parties’ to see who gets the virus
Alabama State University students have been participating in disturbing contests dubbed ‘COVID parties’ to see who can catch the deadly germ first. Sonya McKinstry, Tuscaloosa City Councilor, claimed students have been staging “COVID parties” as a game to deliberately infect each other with the infection that has slain more than 127,000 persons in the U.S.…
Understanding the Unlikely mix of K-pop and US Politics
Recent trends have reported that K-pop fans in the US are getting mixed in with current issues in politics. K-pop fan communities are using online platforms to rally up and protest against racism in the United States. In support of the #BlackLivesMatter movement, the online K-pop community has come together in protest. Never has it…