The Globalist Podcast, Tuesday, June 20, 2023: France challenges the ‘Sky Shield initiative’, a new German-led air-defence plan.
Plus: violence breaks out in the West Bank, the rise of Hindu nationalism in Nepal and the latest music news.
Monthly Archives: June 2023
The New York Times – Tuesday, June 20, 2023
Greek Coast Guard Under Scrutiny for Response to Migrant Mass Drowning
Contradictions in the Coast Guard’s account cast new doubts over how the Greeks handled one of the worst maritime disasters in the country’s history.
G.O.P. Targets Researchers Who Study Disinformation Ahead of 2024 Election
A legal campaign against universities and think tanks seeks to undermine the fight against false claims about elections, vaccines and other hot political topics.
Trump Real Estate Deal in Oman Underscores Ethics Concerns
Details of the former president’s agreement to work with a Saudi firm to develop a hotel and golf complex overlooking the Gulf of Oman highlight the ways his business and political roles intersect.
Blinken Meets Xi as China and the U.S. Try to Rein in Tensions
U.S. diplomats visited Beijing to try to ensure that competition “does not veer into conflict.” The talks pave the way for a possible Biden-Xi meeting.
Preview: Foreign Affairs Magazine- July/Aug 2023
The Treacherous Path to a Better Russia
Ukraine’s Future and Putin’s Fate
There is good reason to be pessimistic about the prospects of Russia’s changing course under Putin. He has taken his country in a darker, more authoritarian direction, a turn intensified by the invasion of Ukraine.
China Is Ready for a World of Disorder
America Is Not
In March, at the end of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin stood at the door of the Kremlin to bid his friend farewell. Xi told his Russian counterpart, “Right now, there are changes—the likes of which we haven’t seen for 100 years—and we are the ones driving these changes together.” Putin, smiling, responded, “I agree.”
An Unwinnable War
Washington Needs an Endgame in Ukraine
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 was a moment of clarity for the United States and its allies. An urgent mission was before them: to assist Ukraine as it countered Russian aggression and to punish Moscow for its transgressions. While the Western response was clear from the start, the objective—the endgame of this war—has been nebulous.
The Korea Model
Why an Armistice Offers the Best Hope for Peace in Ukraine
In the middle of August 1952, Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai traveled nearly 4,000 miles to Moscow to meet with the Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin… The two Communist powers were allies at the time, but it was not a partnership of equals: the Soviet Union was a superpower, and China depended on it for economic assistance and military equipment.
Preview: Foreign Policy Magazine – Summer 2023
AI Is Winning the AI Race
Success isn’t just staying ahead of China.
Reviews: The Rotterdam Wildlife Film Festival 2023
Wildlife Film Festival Rotterdam
Filmmaker: Lars Ostenfeld (Denemarken, 90 min, 2022)
Opinion: U.S. & India Draw Closer, UK As An AI Power, Lula Can’t The Amazon
‘Editor’s Picks’ Podcast (June 12, 2023) – Three essential articles read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist. This week, why India is indispensable to America, how to make Britain an AI superpower (10:35) and Lula’s unsustainable plans to save the Amazon (18:45).
Joe Biden and Narendra Modi are
drawing their countries closer
India does not love the West, but it is indispensable to America
India’s prime minister has been afforded the honour of a state visit by President Joe Biden. Mr Modi will be one of the few foreign leaders, along with Winston Churchill, Nelson Mandela and Volodymyr Zelensky, to address a joint session of Congress more than once.
How Britain can become an AI superpower
Rishi Sunak’s enthusiasm is welcome. But his plans for Britain fall short
Britain, says Mr Sunak, will harness ai and thus spur productivity, economic growth and more. As he told an audience in London this week, he sees the “extraordinary potential of ai to improve people’s lives”.
Lula’s ambitious plans to save the Amazon clash with reality
The Brazilian president faces resistance from Congress, the state oil company and agribusiness
“There should be no contradiction between economic growth and environmental protection,” he said. Yet Lula’s green agenda is suffering setbacks.
Croatia Travel: A Tour Of Split & Diocletian’s Palace
A major commercial and transportation centre, the city is best known for the ruins of the Palace of Diocletian (built 295–305 CE). Collectively with the historic royal residences, fortifications, and churches in the city, the palace was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1979.
From 812 Split developed as a major Byzantine city. In 1105, after brief incursions by Venice (998) and Croatia (1069), the city acknowledged the nominal suzerainty of Hungary-Croatia and fought sporadically with its rival Trogir; from 1420 to 1797 it was held by Venice. The Austrians ruled from 1797 to 1918 with a brief French interregnum in 1808–13. Split became part of Yugoslavia in 1918 and of independent Croatia in 1992.
Previews: The New Yorker Magazine – June 26, 2023
What Can We Do About Pandemic-Related Learning Loss?
Remote school was devastating for many students. In Richmond, Virginia, a plan to switch to a year-round calendar brought promise and pushback.
News: Blinken Meets With Yi In Beijing, Heavy Losses In Ukraine, Miami’s Mayor
The Globalist Podcast, Monday, June 19, 2023: The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, visits Beijing in a bid to ease relations between the US and China.
Plus: the latest on the conflict in Ukraine, a roundup of the day’s papers and a profile of Miami’s mayor, Francis Suarez, who is now a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination.
The New York Times – Monday, June 19, 2023
Biden Administration Engages in Long-Shot Attempt for Saudi-Israel Deal
The president and his aides are pressing an aggressive diplomatic effort as Riyadh makes significant demands in exchange for normalization, including a nuclear deal and a robust U.S. security pact.
A Year After Dobbs, Advocates Push in the States for a Right to Birth Control
After Justice Clarence Thomas cast doubt on the Supreme Court decision that established a right to contraception, reproductive rights advocates are pressing for new protections at the state level.
Lionel Messi, Saudi Arabia and the Deal That Paid Off for Both Sides
A contract between Messi and Saudi Arabia’s tourism authority offers a glimpse at the details of their multimillion-dollar relationship.
Addicts Went in for Treatment. Instead They Were Enslaved.
Families in Indonesia thought they were sending their sons to a rehab facility run by a powerful local official. Those who stayed there say it was a brutal human slavery operation.
Boomers Daily 