the center doesn't hold. things fall apart

https://open.substack.com/pub/rajeevsrinivasan/p/ep-183-things-fall-apart-the-center?r=66qfh&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

Venezuela, Greenland, Fortress America: the end of globalism means a nasty interregnum is upon all of us. tough times especially for emerging powers like India.

The long-predicted end of the "liberal, rules-based international order" seems to be upon us, with a definite fin-de-siecle feeling. 

trump's gamble with venezuela

it looks more like american weakness rather than american strength.

https://open.substack.com/pub/rajeevsrinivasan/p/ep-182-the-trump-gamble-on-venezuela-081?r=66qfh&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

trump's gamble with venezuela

it looks more like american weakness rather than american strength.

https://open.substack.com/pub/rajeevsrinivasan/p/ep-182-the-trump-gamble-on-venezuela-081?r=66qfh&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

Quick notes: Shaksgam Valley | High protein diet...

• China Provokes India With 'Shaksgam Valley' Claim: If the Chinese and Pakistanis join hands, they have the resources to come down to Ladakh and into Leh. However, the presence of Indian troops in Siachen is a deterrent to China and Pakistan from joining hands in the Karakoram. Therefore, if that road is constructed to Aghil Pass and is connected to Khunjerab Pass, it will provide them access. China will connect as much of the Karakoram Pass as they can. They have also constructed a 170-kilometre artery from Gilgit to Siachen.
  
  Claude Arpi's insights on Shaksgam Valley.



• Artificial nation: Pakistan Should Actually Be 4 Different Countries.



• US Companies Face Anti-Indian Backlash: Indian American entrepreneurs who obtained loans from the government-backed Small Business Administration have been singled out for coordinated harassment.



• Why India-US Trade Deal Is Delayed: India has shown willingness to eliminate tariffs on nearly 95 per cent of US industrial exports and lower duties on products such as almonds, apples and avocados. Yet Washington continues to push for unrestricted access for dairy and genetically-modified crops, including corn and soybeans -- an issue deeply sensitive in India due to environmental, political and social concerns.



• On trade, DJT is CCP's biggest asset: Trump's protectionist trade policies allow China to swoop in. Canada allowing Chinese EVs is the latest.



• Transforming India Post into a Rural E-Commerce Powerhouse: Can India Post, a state-run entity with a massive presence and logistical network across India, reposition itself as a leading e-commerce player, not just a logistical support provider?
  
  The answer could lie in harnessing the power of its well-established network, employees, and extensive rural reach to create a transformative e-commerce platform catering specifically to rural markets. It will also enable India Post to have a good share of the emerging e-commerce era pie, in terms of volume of sales, turnover, and profitability, making it a brand like Amul.



• The Effects of High-Protein Diets on Kidney Health and Longevity: High-protein diets may be associated with a number of metabolic complications that may be detrimental to kidney health. . . Kidney disease death rate by country.




• India's State-Sponsored Sugar Addiction : Thanks to our policies, India produces way more sugar than it needs, using up precious water and financial resources; and as a result, Indians end up eating more sugar than is healthy.



• Madhav Gadgil, Kerala’s reluctant prophet: Gadgil was part of the scientific scrutiny that questioned the ecological wisdom of damming Silent Valley. That intervention helped reinforce an idea Kerala would never quite abandon, that development was not automatically virtuous and that expert knowledge could legitimately challenge state power.

Quick notes: Bhajan clubbing | Walkaluru...

• The Pied Piper of the digital age: Why India must shield young minds from algorithmic enchantment. Drawing lessons from Australia’s recent legislation, India must urgently regulate children’s access to social media and artificial intelligence.



• An aversion to alcohol is moving the global party scene in an unexpected direction: From Brisbane to Mumbai, and Paris to Toronto, the movement has quickly gained traction among a segment of Gen Z-ers and younger Millennials who are drinking less and prioritizing sleep, health and wellness in their lives.
  
  
• Bhajan clubbing: Today's Gen-Z have found a new way of partying that involves devotion as well.
  
  
• The Sober Party Girl Revolution: A new generation rejects alcohol but isn’t quite ready to give up the party.
  
  
• When Dry January becomes permanent: ‘Even though I was fit and energetic the weekends were gone’. “You’d have few drinks on Friday night because you’ve worked hard all week long, and then Saturday was sluggish. You might have a few drinks on Saturday night, and Sunday was sluggish. All of a sudden it’s Monday.”
  


• Ugly, smog filled 'bikAss' comes with a price: India is seeing dip in foreign tourists. In contrast, Vietnam became the fastest growing market for foreign tourist arrivals in south east Asia
  


• What urban India needs: Walkaluru walkathon highlights Bengaluru’s pedestrian infrastructure, encourages walking culture




• Indore tragedy: Indore, in spotlight over 20 deaths, allocated Rs 2,450 Crore for 'Clean' Water. What makes the tragedy even more disturbing is the scale of public money that has been spent on Indore's water and sanitation infrastructure over the past five years.



• 60% of top 1,000 stocks delivered negative returns in 2025: Even after the recent correction, the Nifty Smallcap 100 trades at a price-to-earnings multiple of 24.6 based on one-year forward earnings, well above its 10-year average of 18.3.



• Why The Americans Were Opposed To Agni: 'The heat shield technology for re-entry vehicles was first mastered in DRDO for the Agni missile.' 'This is why the Americans were so opposed to Agni in the 1980s, unlike other missiles -- it was a re-entry vehicle.'



• Christian nationalist sarkar: Tulsi Gabbard sidelined from Venezuela planning



• MAGA doesn't like your skin color: Sikh truckers found refuge in trucking until the Trump administration’s crackdown



• DJT, the progressive socialist: Trump suddenly sounds a lot like a progressive Democrat when it comes to business. CEOs on guard.



• The Chinese way: Videos and photographs show how the Chinese authorities have tried to dismantle Zion Church, a Christian network with branches across the country.



• The year of Chinese robotics domination: The real AI story of 2026 will be found in the boring, the mundane—and in China. Washington's fatal miscalculation was assuming its sanctions would hammer Chinese innovation. Instead, it only hampered the viability of the West's own tech.



• Ustad Shujaat Khan: छाप तिलक सब छीनी रे मोसे नैना मिलाइके

Quick notes: IMEC is alive | Microplastics...

• IMEC resurrected: India–Turkey tensions shape IMEC route via Oman Jordan, Israel and Greece.
  
  Three new political-economic axes have been converging in recent weeks — none of which include Turkey:
  
  1. A renewed Qatar–Saudi axis, including the announcement of the Doha–Riyadh high-speed rail line and economic agreements between Saudi Arabia and Syria.
  
  2. The Oman–India–Jordan axis, forming the eastern and western anchors of IMEC trade routes.
  
  3. The Israel–Cyprus–Greece axis, connecting IMEC from the Middle East to Europe via the Mediterranean.



• How Solar Saved Pakistan’s Economy (sort of):




• The battle for Aravalli range: Arnab's 5 stinging questions. Who really gains?



• Your Zomato order is clogging your testicles: People who have five to 10 takeaways per month might be consuming excessive microplastic from the containers their meals come in. "Miicro- and nano- plastics, have been detected in virtually every organ in our bodies, including arteries, brain, blood, placenta and testicles".



• Leftists abandoning Muslim women? Who knew! "So many big names in progressive and feminist circles, would personally agree with us, but when it came to taking a public stand, they'd go back on their promise. Only Asghar Ali Engineer stuck publicly to the stand he took privately. And he bore the brunt for doing so".



• Putin-Bush talks: 'A Junta with nukes'-revelations on Putin-Bush talks disclose Putin's 'Pakistan' warning



• Why So Many Jews Fall In Love With Buddhism: A surprising number of American Buddhists are Jewish, enough to earn the nickname JewBus.



• Madhavi Latha: The Engineer behind the Chenab Railway Bridge, the world's highest, standing at 359 meters above the Chenab River.

annus horribilis for the US

2025 has been a disastrous year for the US, surely in foreign affairs and economics. The trade war, far from strengthening the economy, has shown the limits of American power: the capitulation to Chinese supplier power on rare earths, and a strategic retreat in the face of Chinese buyer power on soybeans, for example.

At the beginning of 2025, I must admit I was optimistic about Indo-US relations under Trump’s presidency. I did not think the G2 condominium would arrive so soon, especially under Trump, or that the eclipse of the US would be so sudden and so dramatic. India had at least one bright spot in 2025: the rapidly-growing economy, despite US tariffs. I really can’t see much that went well for the US. Truly an annus horribilis. In 1999, I wrote that that year was terrible for India, but 2025 may have been worse for the US, in my opinion.

https://open.substack.com/pub/rajeevsrinivasan/p/annus-horribilis-g2-spheres-of-influence?r=66qfh&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true