Politics: Foreign Affairs Magazine- January 2024

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Foreign Affairs (December 13, 2023): The new January/February 2024 issue features ‘The Self-Doubting Superpower’ – America shouldn’t give up on the World It Made; The Middle East Remade; Why Israel Slept; Hamas’s Advantage, and more….

The Self-Doubting Superpower

America Shouldn’t Give Up on the World It Made

By Fareed Zakaria

Most Americans think their country is in decline. In 2018, when the Pew Research Center asked Americans how they felt their country would perform in 2050, 54 percent of respondents agreed that the U.S. economy would be weaker. An even larger number, 60 percent, agreed that the United States would be less important in the world. This should not be surprising; the political atmosphere has been pervaded for some time by a sense that the country is headed in the wrong direction. According to a long-running Gallup poll, the share of Americans who are “satisfied” with the way things are going has not crossed 50 percent in 20 years. It currently stands at 20 percent.

Why Israel Slept

The War in Gaza and the Search for Security

By Amos Yadlin and Udi Evental

In a barbaric surprise attack launched by Hamas on October 7, more Jews were slaughtered than on any day since the Holocaust. Thousands of elite Hamas militants from the Gaza Strip infiltrated small communities and cities in southern Israel, where they proceeded to commit sadistic, repulsive crimes against humanity, filming their vile deeds and boasting about them to friends and family back home.

Research Preview: Nature Magazine Dec 14, 2023

Volume 624 Issue 7991

Nature Magazine – December 13, 2023: The latest issue cover features the BRAIN Initiative Cell Census Network (BICCN), which presented nine papers that map the entire mouse brain in unprecedented detail.

BICCN: The first complete cell census and atlas of a mammalian brain

Generating a complete multimodal cell census and atlas of the mouse brain through collaborative data collection, tool development and analysis.

How immense mountains create one of the rainiest places on Earth

The western coast of Colombia can get more than 26 metres of rain a year, thanks to the influence of air jets hitting the Andes range.

This bird escaped extinction — but its genes hint at an ominous future

The extravagantly feathered Seychelles paradise flycatcher lacks genetic diversity, which might hamper its resilience to climate change and other threats.

Previews: Country Life Magazine – Dec 13, 2023

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Country Life Magazine – December 13, 2023: The latest ‘Double Christmas’ issue features How the Bible’s nativity story has influenced artists; the beauty of the gardens of Rockcliffe in Gloucestershire; In literature at least, the fox will come out on top in almost every brush with confrontation, and more….

Away in a manger

Love, pain, power and hope are all embodied in the Nativity. Michael Prodger examines how the Bible story influenced our greatest artists

The Bishop of Winchester’s favourite painting

The Right Revd Philip Mounstephen chooses an arresting Caravaggio

On the night watch

As darkness falls, the wild things emerge from the shadows. John Lewis-Stempel embraces the night

Prodigy or eccentric?

John Goodall explores Bristol Cathedral, a building of international importance

When Christmas was cancelled

Always winter, never festive: Cromwell’s directive cast a pall, laments Ian Morton

Made with love

Cast your eyes down next time you’re in church to admire the hassock you kneel upon, urges the Revd Colin Heber-Percy

’Tis the season to be busy

There’s no rest for the farmer, the baker or the cheesemonger at this time of year. Ben Lerwill champions the people who make Christmas happen

So, this is Christmas

Queen Victoria would feel quite at home in any of our houses this season, believes John Mueller

It came upon a midnight clear

Come one, come all, says Kate Green, as the villagers gather once more at the big house

The Editor’s Christmas quiz

Pit your wits. The only prize is glory

Luxury

Christian Dior, David Gandy, dinky toys and Sir Chris Hoy’s favourite things

Cold comforts

Frost-dusted and fleece-wrapped, the beauty of the gardens of Rockcliffe in Gloucestershire enchant Tiffany Daneff

It’s a wonderful life

Carla Passino travels the world for Christmas traditions, from Swedish tomte to Japanese KFC

Christmas conundrums

Turkey or goose? Stocking or sack? Port or Sauternes? Giles Kime poses the big questions

Think outside the fox

Clever and agile, Vulpes vulpes is frequently on top in literature. Kate Green turns the pages

Back to black

The Périgord black truffle is worth the price for Tom Parker Bowles

The peel-good factor

The rich scents of citrus permeate Deborah Nicholls-Lee’s Christmas

Sugar, spice and all things nice

Carla Passino builds a gingerbread house

On top of the mirey, merey moor

John Lewis-Stempel tucks his chin into his scarf and sets off into the frozen wastes

Native breeds

Kate Green advocates heritage turkeys

News: Qatar-Israel-Hamas Bribe Scheme; Rwanda Migrants, Liz Cheney & GOP

The Globalist Podcast (December 13, 2023) – We examine Benjamin Netenyahu’s alleged scheme to bribe Hamas through Qatar.

Also, Tim Bale explains how, in the UK, Tory factions are pulling the strings on Rwanda; Liz Cheney’s message to the GOP; and film critic Karen Krizanovich reveals how Japan is breathing life into the US box office.

Arts/Books: Times Literary Supplement – Dec 15, 2023

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Times Literary Supplement (December 13, 2023): The latest issue features ‘Innocent bystanders? – Collaboration with the Third Reich; The contaminated blood scandal; Gertrude Stein and Picasso, Hamlet’s play; AI Journalism and Clarice Lispector calls…

The New York Times — Wednesday, Dec 13 2023

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Biden Warns Israel It Is ‘Losing Support’ Over War

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, at his office in Jerusalem this week.

The president’s words exposed a widening rift between his administration and that of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as casualties rise in Gaza.

Harvard’s Board Unites Behind Its President, but Its Campus Remains Splintered

Claudine Gay, president of Harvard University, testifying before the House Committee on Education and the Workforce in Washington.

Harvard’s governing body said it stood firmly behind Claudine Gay as the university’s president, a stance both praised and condemned by students, faculty and alumni.

Biden Says Russia Is Celebrating U.S. Divisions Over Providing Aid to Ukraine

President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine traveled to Washington to make a last-ditch appeal for more help to fight Russia. But Republicans said they wouldn’t act without a border deal.

How Africans Are Changing French — One Joke, Rap and Book at a Time

More than 60 percent of French speakers now live in Africa. Despite growing resentment at France, Africans are contributing to the evolution and spread of the French language.