👀 Nuance

Namaste! The Premier League season has ended, and can you believe it, even United got a trophy. Arsenal, well, Arsenalled. This week, we were pondering how much of male friendships are actually based on sports. Sure, it's fun to grab a pint with your bros and watch football, but is there a larger issue in our society where men usually don't talk about their feelings, relying on sports to stay close with their dudes? Not to say women don't watch sports, but male expressiveness is at an all-time low. What do you think? We're not generalizing, just thinking out loud. Regret clicking this email already? Well, you've clicked it, so stay on and please read the rest!

La Eta Hernus

Desh

Rabi dai: So, the Rabi dai and RaSwaPa drama has been getting more and more intense. If you need a bit of a catch-up on Rabi dai vs. Gagan dai, we’d suggest re-reading last week’s issue.

Diving right into the topic, Rabi dai and Gagan dai were beefing. Now, remember, Kantipur is also involved in this beef since they’re considered buddy-buddies with Nepali Congress, Gagan dai’s party. You'll also recall that Kantipur has been against Rabi dai from the start, first in the citizenship/passport case and now in the Sahakari case. So, Gagan dai and Rabi dai hate each other, Kantipur is all in with Congress (or the latter actually). We’ve introduced all the characters for this drama.

Enter Kantipur: Kailash Sirohiya is the chairman of Kantipur Media Group (yes, Shinkhala’s father-in-lawlessness). Last week, the cops arrested Kailash Sirohiya from his office based on a complaint filed at the Dhanusha Police Office. Dude was taken to jail for three days initially, then they were like, "You get 5 more days," upon which, you know what happens to hotshots who go to jail—he went to a hospital instead. The actual case that got him canned had something to do with multiple citizenships.

Now, what is interesting is that although it is the District Attorney who issues commands to send people to jail, could a DA in a country like Nepal dare to do that against Sirohiya without the tacit (or full-on) support of the Home Minister (aka Rabi dai)? This is where things get cray-cray. Congressis come out in full force claiming that Sirohiya’s arrest is Rabi dai’s vengeance talking and they demand a free press. RaPraPa joins hands with Congressis. Everyone else goes, “It’s the DA that gave orders, let the law take its due course. Also, it’s not like Sirohiya himself is a journalist, so how is that an attack on the press?” Congressi yuwa netas are out in the streets, and Rabi dai supporters are all for Sirohiya spending more time in jail. Sirohiya and the Congressi crew make the situation a lot more cringe when, the next morning, all the leading dailies decide to publish a picture (see below) condemning the attack on the free press.

This is all about feigning ignorance. The Rabi gang knows that Rabi dai was probably involved in the Sirohiya arrest, but they’ll point everything towards the DA. The Congressi Kantipur gang knows that a) although vengeful, it probably isn’t exactly an attack on the free press, and b) getting all the leading dailies to sing to your tune defeats your stance on a free press. But all of them feign ignorance. It’s black or white. It’s we win and you lose, there’s no grey area. You are against us, putla jalaidinchu. There’s no space for nuances. From “disagree garis, katdinchu, naak ko daandi bhaachne gari dinchu” to today, we may have gotten less violent, but there’s still no nuance.

Looking forward: A lot of folks are admiring Rabi dai’s bold stances and actions. “This is the alternative force we need!” they exclaim. Others are wary, knowing Sirohiya will strike back and that Rabi dai’s move may have been childish. What’s next? It's all messed-up drama. Imagine an undecided zoomer in their early 20s looking at the craziness in this country and saying, “Oh yeah, I’d like to plan a future here!”

Balen dai: Kathmandu Mayor Balendra Shah took a creative approach to protest delayed road work by dumping a truckload of trash outside the Road Division office, calling out Deputy PM Raghubir Mahaseth for dragging his feet. Shah's social media post cheekily threatened to send a daily "gift" of dust until the Ring Road project gets moving. He pointed out that for 15 years, Kathmandu residents have endured dusty air and hardships due to the stalled expansion. Shah’s bold move follows his previous stunt of halting garbage collection at government VIP locations to demand action.

Tech 

HER: Scarlett Johansson is suing OpenAI for using a voice eerily similar to hers in a demo, despite her refusal to lend her voice for their AI system. CEO Sam Altman had invited her to provide her voice, but she declined, only to hear it later in a demo mimicking her role in “Her.” OpenAI stopped using the voice, dubbed “Sky,” but the legal drama underscores the need for clearer AI regulations to protect individual rights. Johansson's case joins a growing list of legal battles highlighting the urgent need for robust AI laws.

Google: Google's new AI in Search has some wild ideas: like suggesting rocks are a tasty snack, glue is a pizza topping, and gasoline pairs well with spaghetti. These hilarious and bizarre recommendations were just a few of the AI's missteps after its launch last week. It even falsely claimed Obama is Muslim and Kenya doesn't exist! Turns out, the AI was pulling info from dubious sources and mistaking jokes for facts. Google's team promises fixes, but for now, maybe stick to your own Googling.

Speaking of AI voices, a Nepali user got access to the ChatGPT voice demo, and the Nepali voice is, well, just check it out...

If Scarlett Johansson is suing ChatGPT over the similarity between her voice and the AI's, then I think the entire St. Mary's alumni group has a case to sue over the Nepali voice.

Fatafat

Science!: New research found microplastics in human and dog testicles, with humans having three times more. This raises serious questions about plastic pollution's impact on male fertility. Wild yaar.

Quote: तेक्वान्दो छोरीहरूलाई बढी सिकाउनुपर्छ : माधव कुमार नेपाल

We keep saying no one listens to Madhav Kumar Nepal, yet we keep putting his quotes in this newsletter. We are hypocrites. Anyway, in a recent interview, Nepal said that taekwondo is growing in popularity and that women, who face disproportionately more abuse, should learn taekwondo... to ward off men, we guess? No take, that's the quote.

Reading List: 

1. Indonesia has more than 700 languages. Can AI save them? (Adi Renaldi, restofworld)

   Most LLMs such as GPT, Llama, and Gemini are trained largely in English, but several Southeast Asian firms are focusing on Bahasa Indonesia and other regional languages.

2. India's Rise In The Global Supply Chain (Dave Evans, Forbes)

3. Life, Death, and Total Football (Rosecrans Baldwin, GQ Sports)

   My Dutch friend Lars taught me to appreciate the most radical team in World Cup history—and how their tactics could be meaningful far beyond the pitch.

Sports

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know about Sandeep Lamichhane and his case. Since it’s been ongoing for a while with many complexities, we can’t summarize everything in a bite-sized read. Instead, check out Pranaya Rana’s Substack, "Off the Record," for a deep dive on Sandeep Lamichhane & Gaushala-26.

Weekly Rashifal

Aquarius (Jan 20 - Feb 18): तारिफयोग्य काम सम्पादन गर्दै मनग्य धन आर्जन गर्न सकिनेछ। You will get IBS (5/5 stars)

Pisces (Feb 19 - Mar 20): विभिन्न अवसरले पछ्याउनेछन् भने कामको सन्दर्भमा विशिष्ट व्यक्तिहरूसँग मित्रता बढ्न सक्छ। You might get diarrhea. (5/5 stars)

Aries (Mar 21 - Apr 19): नयाँ जिम्मेवारी प्राप्त हुने समय छ। सामाजिक काममा रुचि बढ्नेछ। Go join the Sahakari protest rally, you might meet the one! (3.5/5 stars)

Taurus (Apr 20 - May 20): आकस्मिक खर्चले अर्थ अभाव देखापर्न सक्छ। Do you realize your mom has been kinda different towards you lately? (1/5 stars)

Gemini (May 21 - Jun 20): आवश्यक पर्दा साथीभाइको सहयोग जुट्नेछ। मेहनतले नाम, दाम र इनाम प्राप्त हुनेछ। Just kidding lol, a close one is going to snitch on you. (1/5 stars)

Cancer (Jun 21 - July 22): You know how you have two close friends and think you’re all equally close? This week, you’ll realize they’re much closer to each other than they are to you. (5/5 stars)

Leo (July 23 - Aug 22): Your dad isn’t really proud of you, and this week will be no different. (4/5 stars)

Virgo (Aug 23 - Sep 22): लुतो लाग्ने योग छ (5/5 stars)

Libra (Sep 23 - Oct 22): भूमि, वाहन र पैत्रिक सम्पत्तिबाट लाभ मिल्नेछ। व्यापारमा फाइदा हुनेछ। (4/5 stars)

Scorpio (Oct 23 - Nov 21): बौद्धिक अभिव्यक्तिको तारिफ हुनेछ। बोलीको प्रभावले आर्थिक क्रियाकलापमा समेत फाइदा हुनेछ। (5/5 stars)

Sagittarius (Nov 22 - Dec 21): Your week will be as amazing as your life has been thus far, just stay humble (5/5 stars)

Capricorn (Dec 22 - Jan 19): शत्रु र प्रतिस्पर्धीलाई पछि पर्दै लाभ उठाउन सफल भइनेछ। (2/5 stars)

Three news briefs and a lie

Three of these news headlines are real, and one is faker than Nepali daiuncles’ love for King Mahendra. If you click on the true headlines, the links will take you to the news articles. If you click on the fake one, you’ll be in for a surprise!

Since some of you zoomers wanted English translations, find the unverified translations below each headline.

1. २० वर्षीय युवकले वडाध्यक्षलाई कार्यकक्षमै गएर हाने त्रिशूल, आईसीयूमा उपचार हुँदै

   A 20-year-old dude walked into a ward office and stabbed the ward chairperson with a trishul. The chairperson is now in the ICU.

2. सिरोहिया ले नास्ता मा ससेज अण्डा माग गरे पनि प्रहरी ले चिया र पाउरोटी दिएका छन्।

   Even though Sirohiya requested sausage and eggs for breakfast, the police gave him tea and bread.

3. अल्छि मान्दै कानुन मन्त्रालयको बैठक कोठामा छिरे कार्यदलका सदस्य, छलफल सुरु

   Reluctantly and lazily, the task force members entered the Ministry of Law's meeting room, and the discussion began.

4. पोखरामा दुर्गा प्रसाईंमाथि केरा प्रहार भएको छ।

   Durga Prasai was pelted with bananas in Pokhara.

Eta Hernus Quiz

This is straight out of the Lok Sewa prep books. There was a guy who served as President, King, and Prime Minister (at different times) of one country. Who’s the guy and what’s the country?

Bidesh Tira Hernus

Nepal mai basera kei garnuparcha, bidesh tira nahernus.

Worst of Twitter/Switter

Proud Gorkhali Moment

A Nepali-run restaurant in Portugal has snagged an international award! Tanka Sapkota, originally from Baglung, has earned a spot among the pizza elite with his Forno d'Oro Pizza Restaurant, ranked 12th in Europe and 10th globally for Neapolitan pizza. Sapkota, thrilled with the recognition, dedicates his success to his hardworking staff and supportive customers. It’s a proud moment for Nepal!

A request

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(Answer to Eta hernus Quiz: Norodom Sihanouk (Cambodia))

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