Latest news with #HonestJohn
The National
19 hours ago
- Politics
- The National
John Swinney is a decent, caring kind of chap. Inspirational, he's not
If a cause needs a charismatic figure to sweep serious numbers to the metaphorical barricades, Honest John is not that man. This is not just about the Hamilton by-election saga, embarrassing as that undoubtedly was. Or about the misguided tactics which showcased Reform UK and possibly helped their vote along. In days of yore, the London media used to write that John Smith was like a douce Scottish bank manager. (He wasn't! As one of his close pals observed, he could and did start a party in an empty room!) But that might be an entirely suitable description of the chap now leading his troops into something not at all resembling a glad, confident morning. Sunlit uplands are not in view. READ MORE: 'What is our vision?': Inside the quiet anger brewing within the SNP Swinney's outings in Holyrood are invariably courteous and low-key; rather like his private persona. He says, not unfairly, that after a period of unparalleled turbulence, it was down to him to impose a period of 'steady as she goes' in order to portray the Scottish ship of state in a more credible light. He answered his party's call in time of their need, not without personal family sacrifice, and he's due gratitude for that. And it's assuredly not his fault that his party suffers from the same fate which inevitably befalls all administrations which somehow survive their 'natural' sell-by date. Even the apparently impregnable Lady Thatcher had to be elbowed out the door when her trusty lieutenants lined up to say, 'time's up ducks'. Those who continue to laud her extended period in office seem to suffer from false memory syndrome. Many in her party continue to worship at her posthumous shrine. In Scotland, however, she was as welcome as the average pandemic. One of the things which has kept the SNP in power these many years has been the lack of a credible alternative. However desperate Anas Sarwar may be to usher his family over the door of Bute House, it's still not easy to see where his other big hitters will come from outside of his ever-articulate deputy Jackie Baillie who has long, and perhaps wisely, eschewed the top job. The Tories, who barely hung on to their deposit at the last time of asking, are hardly destined to mount any kind of takeover – they're much more likely to be summoning a cab from the rank to house their diminishing troops. Never has a flush been more evidently busted. Alba have yet to make any kind of impact at the ballot box, a fate hardly helped by the loss of their leader whose ebullient instincts provided much of their initial excitement. Their solitary MSP has yet to sail under her own colours, though I suspect she might sink without very much trace when she does. Like all new political parties, Alba have already encountered internal warfare and I rather doubt Kenny MacAskill would have offered his leadership services had he faced a different opponent. READ MORE: The younger SNP activists only used to winning may need to brace There is a school of thought that the dawn of Alba helped the SNP by attracting a wheen of their most vocal critics. It's not a theory to which I subscribe, though it has to be said many of them were at the front of the queue when spiteful comments were handed out. I also remain convinced that the independence field has become altogether too cluttered to encourage any kind of coherent, strategic vision. That same hymn sheet from which all indy supporters are supposed to sing has become more than a little frayed round the edges. However, if Swinney reneges on his pledge to serve another full five years if elected next year, the obvious question is who should inherit a chalice which is more than slightly poisoned by recent and historic events. Changing a leader without changing tactics is not of itself particularly useful. They tried that once before without much success, you may recall, while Swinney is in charge for the second time; the first not exactly an unbridled triumph. Nor his stint at education. Right now there is the obvious need not just to close the gap between those who favour independence and those who are at least nominally SNP supporters, and the requirement to persuade doubters that independence is overwhelmingly in our national interest. These are not easy tricks to pull off, and they will need both a considerable political skillset and an ability to persuade erstwhile adherents that you are serious about independence, the very foundation of the party. It will also require an appetite for compromise among those of us who cannot immediately finger a flaw-free candidate, but have an overriding need to see a proper, and properly urgent, campaign take flight. One which can encapsulate the core message of why independence matters so much. The queue of contenders is not a lengthy one, it must be conceded. Stephen Flynn may well have the gift of the gab but has yet to win a seat at Holyrood. Kate Forbes, who came a close second in the last contest, suffered badly because of her beliefs. I have little time for those in her party who clutched their pearls very publicly at the thought of her religious views, despite being very well aware of them during her ministerial years. Personally, I'm much more hostile about her enthusiasm for freeports. There was much merriment in the comments section of the column which proposed Màiri McAllan as an obvious candidate, not just because of her relative inexperience, but because she was considered too wedded to the internal forces of top-down control. There are not a few folks around who remember when SNP conference decisions by the actual membership were regarded as tablets of stone. Stephen Gethins is another name which floats into the frame. He too has yet to get his feet under a Holyrood desk and is something of a clone of the effortlessly polite incumbent. Bright guy though. The unpalatable truth is that none of us knows how anyone will perform in the heat of battle. READ MORE: UK to send jets to Middle East as Keir Starmer refuses to rule out defending Israel There are those who grow into leadership roles and those whose weaknesses are exposed by them. Think Boris Johnson. Think Liz Truss. (How the latter with her monotonous delivery ever enchanted the Tory faithful is one of life's enduring mysteries.) Johnson, meanwhile, with his loose relationship to the truth thoroughly deserves his mini Donald Trump moniker. What is crystal clear though is that the status quo neither excites the faithful, nor persuades the naysayers. It is said that Joe Biden left it too late to give Kamala Harris a fighting chance of winning. Some will argue that with less than a year to the 2026 poll, Scotland too can't afford to change horses in midstream. Yet what other route is there to persuading Scottish voters that a fresh face with, importantly, a fresh team, can deliver what improvements are possible without losing the Westminster straitjacket? There's little doubt in my mind that nothing less than root and branch reform of a tiring party will let it recover enough of its mojo to enthuse those desperate to feel that there is a clear direction of travel being outlined. Sure, time is short. All the more reason to use it wisely and not be afraid to redraw the map radically. Everything about Reform UK is risible from them being a policy-free zone to their total lack of anything resembling a Scottish sensibility. At its helm is a man who has been in more parties than Boris. His USP is to create an air of wholly undeserved excitement around him. We certainly don't need a Nigel Farage. Heaven forfend! But we could use some excitement.
Mint
07-06-2025
- Politics
- Mint
How John Matthai became a leading light of economic policy in independent India
The biographer is a bit like the cat burglar, stealthily climbing up the scaffolding of a person's life, breaking in, surveying the assortment of riches and then leaving with only a few select, precious elements. This sounds easier on paper than in practice. The biographer starts his or her undertaking with an inherent handicap, given the limited access to a subject's life (especially if the subject is long deceased), and is forced to temper vaulting ambition with discretion. It is in the choice of things the author focuses on—the life lived and the circumstances surrounding that life—that determines what makes for a good biography. What finally makes a biography truly stand out is the craft of storytelling, transforming the tedium of chronology into a compelling narrative. Bakhtiar K. Dadabhoy's biography of John Matthai, Honest John, is an object study of how an author has to perform an intricate balancing act between the different elements of a subject's life: unspooling the various milestones, his professional progression, the contexts (economic, social and political) defining his professional choices and, finally, how the interplay between the subject's personal events, or emotional growth, determine some life choices or professional achievements. John Matthai is, admittedly, an interesting choice—independent India's first railways minister and its second finance minister—though charting his life holds myriad challenges and Dadabhoy's courageous enterprise manages to score on some counts but comes up empty on many others. Also reads: My mother, the family's memory-keeper Matthai's life became manifestly fascinating by first moving from the private sector to the government, and then becoming a core member of the policy circle that watched over the transition of India from a colony to an independent republic. Matthai had till then shifted from academia to policymaking before settling down at the Tata Group. As a professor of economics at Madras Presidency College, he was nominated to the Madras legislative council in November 1922, affording him first-hand experience in bridging the distance between theory and practice. This brought him to the notice of the Tata Group which pursued him and convinced him to join. Matthai's work on the Bombay Plan—drafted under the imprimatur of J.R.D. Tata and G.D. Birla, among others—had caught the attention of both Congress party leaders as well as the colonial administration. Matthai's graduation into national-level policymaking happened when he was invited to join the interim government in August 1946. It is here that Matthai bumped up against national politics, preparing him for long debates, contentious arguments and partisan broadsides against his policy choices. Initially approached for the finance portfolio, the political exigency of having to accommodate Muslim League's Liaquat Ali Khan forced Matthai to console himself with the industries and supply portfolio. From here to railway minister during independence, which literally had to transport the horrors of Partition across borders, and finance minister thereafter, Dadabhoy's biography is like a luxury train, affording readers a fleeting view of modern India's economic history as it passes by. Dadabhoy diligently excavates official memoranda, policy briefs, letters, Parliament records and debates to provide a glimpse of how a newly-formed republic, recovering from decades of surplus extraction while grappling with widespread poverty and the after-effects of a devastating communal carnage, was trying to craft a sustainable and equitable policy architecture. Statements from leaders with contesting views provide an interesting dynamic, showcasing some of the moral and ethical dilemmas in constructing a democratic, empathetic and secular republic from scratch. Matthai's biography as a vehicle provides an excellent vantage view. But herein lies the nub. There is a lot going on outside that is covered meticulously and, yet, the tumult and turmoil occurring inside the vehicle goes completely undocumented. This is a large, noticeable gap; Dadabhoy has fastidiously mounted flesh and bones to a skeletal framework but forgotten to add a soul to the end-product. It is this conspicuous omission that robs the biography of meaning. Writing about the art of writing biographies, specifically Lytton Strachey's biography of Queen Victoria, author Virginia Woolf had commented: 'Could not biography produce something of the intensity of poetry, something of the excitement of drama, and yet keep the peculiar virtue that belongs to fact—its suggestive reality, its own proper creativeness?" This 'suggestive reality" is perhaps the secret sauce that could have helped Honest John become a compelling narrative, instead of just an interesting read. For example, close to 100 pages are dedicated to tracing the debates, question-and-answers, budgetary allocations after Matthai joins the interim government and later assumes office as railways minister. It is an informative interlude, providing readers a view of India's modern economic history in the making. But, then, readers come away not any wiser about the dramatis personae, specifically John Matthai, scripting this important chapter in India's history. In the preface to American Prometheus, a biography of scientist Robert Oppenheimer, authors Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin confess that, 'It is a deeply personal biography researched and written in the belief that a person's public behaviour and his policy decisions (and in Oppenheimer's case perhaps even his science) are guided by the private experiences of a lifetime." There are multiple instances in Honest John which cry out for some understanding of Matthai's 'private experiences". The first, and most obvious, missing link in the book is the influence of Achamma Matthai. Apart from a perfunctory mention in the book as John Matthai's wife, Achamma deserved some more exposure. She was one of the early female graduates in India, having graduated with a bachelor of arts degree from St John's Diocesan College, Kolkata, in 1920. The relationship between Achamma and John needed to be explored in more granular detail and not the boilerplate statement, 'It proved to be a happy marriage". Achamma's influence on John Matthai's career trajectory, his professional choices and his moral journey looms over the book like some nebulous spirit, palpable yet undefined. This becomes evident in March 1944, when both John and Achamma are distraught after their daughter Valsa dies under mysterious circumstances in the US. This is soon after the Bombay Plan is announced and two years before Matthai resigns from the Tatas to join the interim government. The interim period is intensely important but Dadabhoy provides little for us to understand Matthai's state of mind, how he manages to tackle the demons or how the tragedy shaped his personality thereafter. In the foreword to the book, Matthai's daughter-in-law Syloo (married to Ravi Matthai) describes the man: 'Daddy was seen as being a formidable person, a man with a serious demeanour and an eminence which many thought precluded intimacy or even small liberties. But, at home, he was an entirely different person." In other words, Matthai, like everybody else, was human with the usual flaws and frailties. Dadabhoy provides a brief glimpse of the man's faultlines by recounting the episode where Matthai seeks Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru's intervention after Matthai's son reportedly runs over and kills a pedestrian in Allahabad. This is the only instance when readers catch sight of the great man's feet of clay; Dadabhoy's hands may have been forced here by an earlier book which first recounted the incident. But barring this single incident, there is scarce little to sketch out the man's personality. This shortcoming is perhaps born out of necessity. While Parliamentary records and inter-ministerial archives have become much more accessible, we do not know if Dadabhoy had similar luck with John Matthai's personal documents and letters. Also, to be fair to Dadabhoy, many of the people who knew Matthai personally have all passed on, adding another layer of insurmountable constraints. This biography, therefore, apart from being a valuable document for understanding how some of India's policy contours unfolded in the first decade after independence, adds little to the mystique of John Matthai as one of India's leading post-independent policy architects. The author is a senior journalist and author of Slip, Stitch and Stumble: The Untold Story of India's Financial Sector Reforms. He posts @rajrishisinghal 'Honest John: A Life of John Matthai': By Bakhtiar K. Dadabhoy, Penguin Random House India, 396 pages, ₹999 Also reads: India's growth and urban planning: On different planets
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Nearly 19,000 Pounds of Deli Meats and Sausages Recalled Over Dangerous Sodium Nitrite Levels
The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced a recall on April 29 for nearly 19,000 pounds of ready-to-eat sausage and sliced meat and poultry products produced by Smith Packing in Utica, New York, due to excessive sodium nitrite levels. The recall was prompted by consumer complaints about off-tasting and discolored meats produced between February 19 and April 24, 2025. Although no adverse health reactions have been confirmed, excessive sodium nitrite can cause methemoglobinemia — a condition impairing oxygen transport — which may lead consumers to experience serious health time to check your fridge for another recall. On April 29, the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) posted a recall notice for Smith Packing, LLC, based in Utica, N.Y., which is recalling 18,792 pounds of ready-to-eat sausage and sliced meat and poultry products due to their excessive sodium nitrite levels. As WebMD explained, sodium nitrate is a "yellowish-white, odorless powder" that can be found in small amounts in certain foods, often used to preserve them and enhance flavors. However, in excessive amounts, WebMD added, it can "lower the ability of your red blood cells to move oxygen. Doctors refer to this harmful condition as methemoglobinemia. This can affect your ability to breathe, which can cause you to collapse. Very high levels of sodium nitrite can kill you." According to the recall notice, the issue was discovered after the company informed FSIS about it following consumer complaints that the product tasted "off" and appeared off-color. Related: Hospitalizations and Deaths From Contaminated Food Doubled in 2024 — Here's Everything You Need to Know The company's ready-to-eat sausage and sliced meat and poultry items were produced on various dates, according to the recall, between February 19, 2025, and April 24, 2025. All products have the establishment number 'EST. 4578' or 'P-4578' printed inside the USDA mark of inspection. The recalled items were shipped to institutional and retail locations across New York State. (You can view the recalled product labels here.) The full product list includes the following: As-Salaam Beef Breakfast Sausage As-Salaam Beef Frank Halal Smith Packing Beef Knockwurst As-Salaam Beef Smoked Sausage Honest John Bratwurst Honest John Breakfast Sausage/ Brown and Serve Smith Packing Export Bologna Smith Packing Export Salami Honest John HJ Jumbo Franks Honest John Polish Sausage As-Salaam Hot Roasted Chicken Sausage Garlic As-Salaam Roasted Chicken Sausage Grilled Smith Packing NYS Beef Bologna Beefland USA Regular Beef Sausage Honest John Retail HJ Polish The good news is that there have been no confirmed reports of adverse reactions resulting from the consumption of these products, according to the company and the FSIS. However, if you have consumed one of the products and feel unwell, the FSIS urges you to contact your doctor a statement to USA Today, Palmer Foods stated, "In coordination with the USDA, Smith agreed to a recall covering about 18,000 pounds of meat products labeled as Honest John's, As-Salam, and Beefland that may have been affected." It added that, " Approximately 90% of that product never left the warehouse, and approximately 34 customers were identified who received potentially inedible meats. Palmer is working with those customers to recover and destroy any potentially affected product." While many products may be off store shelves, the FSIS noted it's "concerned that some products may be in institutional and consumers' refrigerators or freezers," so it is asking people to also check any backstock. Moreover, if you still have some, the FSIS noted that those "who have purchased these products are urged not to consume or use them. These products should be thrown away or returned to the place of purchase." Anyone with a question on this recall can contact Joe Schaeffer, the director of marketing at Palmer Foods, at jschaeffer@ issuing recall: Smith PackingReason for recall: excessive sodium nitrite levelsBrands affected: As-Salaam Beef Breakfast Sausage, As-Salaam Beef Frank Halal, Smith Packing Beef Knockwurst, As-Salaam Beef Smoked Sausage, Honest John Bratwurst, Honest John Breakfast Sausage Brown and Serve, Smith Packing Export Bologna, Smith Packing Export Salami, Honest John HJ Jumbo Franks, Honest John Polish Sausage, As-Salaam Hot Roasted Chicken Sausage Garlic, As-Salaam Roasted Chicken Sausage Grilled, Smith Packing NYS Beef Bologna, Beefland USA Regular Beef Sausage, Honest John Retail HJ PolishEstablishment numbers: 'EST. 4578' or 'P-4578'Amount of products affected: 18,792 poundsStates affected: New York Brand labels: Concerned consumers should check for images of recalled brands on the FSIS websiteRead the original article on Food & Wine
USA Today
30-04-2025
- Health
- USA Today
Nearly 19K pounds of ready-to-eat meat products recalled due to high 'sodium levels'
Hear this story The US Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has announced the recall of nearly 19,000 pounds of boxed and pouched ready-to-eat meat and poultry products. Smith Packing, LLC—based in Utica, New York—issued a recall due to "sodium levels that exceed the regulatory limit," according to a April 29 press release. The variety of meat items were produced between February 19 and April 25. The company informed the agency that they had received feedback that the products "were off taste and off color," the FSIS said. Which items are affected by the recall? According to the FSIS, 18,792 pounds of product were affected by the recall. The establishment numbers are P-4578 or EST. 4578. Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle. As-Salaam Beef Breakfast Sausage As-Salaam Beef Frank 8/1 Halal Smith Packing Beef Knockwurst As-Salaam Beef Smoked Sausage 5/1 Honest John Bratwurst 5/1 Honest John Breakfast Sausage/ Brown and Serve Smith Packing Export Bologna Smith Packing Export Salami Honest John HJ Jumbo Franks 8/1 Honest John Polish Sausage As-Salaam Hot Roasted Chicken Sausage Garlic 5/1 As-Salaam Roasted Chicken Sausage Grilled 5/1 Smith Packing NYS Beef Bologna Beefland USA Regular Beef Sausage 5/1 Honest John Retail HJ Polish Why are people snacking less? Sales of chips, munchies are dropping Don't consume the product, FSIS says The meat products were distributed to institutions and retailers in New York. FSIS urges consumers to discard or return the items to the store where they were purchased. There have been no reported medical incidents connected to the recall. However, according to the agency, those concerned should contact a healthcare professional. Taylor Ardrey is a news reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach her at tardrey@
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
New survey about automotive brands yields surprising results for popular model: 'Wins on every metric'
A survey in the United Kingdom revealed that people rate Tesla as the best overall car brand and the second-most reliable automaker. As Teslarati reported, the consumer auto site polled over 6,000 people about their car brand opinions. The site's results do not appear to be dated and the polling seems likely to have been conducted prior to some of the recent drops in Tesla sales figures in Europe. But as analysts have pinned much of that sales performance to the public's feelings about CEO Elon Musk, it stands to reason that any earlier polling would at least generate a more unbiased assessment of the cars themselves. Feelings about Musk aside, most who have driven a Tesla have come away impressed with the vehicles. Participants gave Tesla an 89.41% satisfaction index rating based on the EV company's reliability, efficiency, safety, practicality, performance, and comfort. Lexus earned the No. 2 ranking with 86.32%, and Porsche came in third with an 84.79% rating. With regard to reliability, Tesla came in second place after Lexus. Tesla's reliability rating was 95.29%, just slightly below Lexus's at 97.01% and Toyota's at 94.65%. Honest John and Teslarati both expressed surprise at how highly Tesla ranked for reliability because critics often claim the brand produces imperfect vehicles made with cheap materials and prone to problems. "While we were always impressed by the technology within Tesla's range of exclusively electrically powered cars, build quality seemed to be a little hit and miss, to say the least," Honest John wrote. "Evidently, matters have improved significantly in this regard according to our readers' feedback as not only has the brand scored well for reliability across its four-strong range but the Tesla Model 3 was also rated as the most satisfying car to own overall." These survey results are significant because they indicate a public preference for and greater mainstream adoption of electric vehicles. While there have been recalls and plenty of criticism for Tesla to deal with, the American company has been making strides in improving its vehicles, and it shows in public opinion surveys like this one. For example, Tesla introduced 4680D batteries to boost the range and efficiency of its EVs. It also released an upgraded Model 3 with a sleeker look and improved interior design. EV improvements like these generate greater excitement about the potential of clean driving and inspire more people to transition away from traditional gas cars. The more EVs on the road instead of gas-guzzling polluters, the cleaner and more sustainable our future will be. And while Tesla has been struggling in Europe overall, some reports have indicated that hasn't been as true in the U.K. If you were going to purchase an EV, which of these factors would be most important to you? Cost Battery range Power and speed The way it looks Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. In response to a Teslarati post sharing the survey results to X, formerly known as Twitter, one social media user commented, "Way less moving parts than a petrol/diesel car, means less things that can wear out or fail." In response to an X post to Tesla Owners UK, someone else wrote, "Tesla is the safest brand, cheapest to run, most reliable, most satisfying, and so on. Tesla literally wins on every metric. Shame many don't know. Tell your friends." Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
