Culture/Politics: Harper’s Magazine – March 2024

HARPER’S MAGAZINE – MARCH 2024: The new issue features ‘The Pentagon’s Silicon Valley Problem’ – How Big Tech is losing the wars of the future…

The Pentagon’s Silicon Valley Problem

How Big Tech is losing the wars of the future

Illustrations by Yoshi Sodeoka
Illustrations by Yoshi Sodeoka

by Andrew Cockburn

“Artificial intelligence may indeed affect the way our military operates. But the notion that bright-eyed visionaries from the tech industry are revolutionizing our military machine promotes a myth that this relationship is not only new, but will fundamentally improve our defense system—one notorious for its insatiable appetite for money, poorly performing weapons, and lost wars. In reality, the change flows in the other direction, as new recruits enter the warm embrace of the imperishable military-industrial complex, eager to learn its ways.”

The Case Against Children

Illustrations by María Jesús Contreras

Among the antinatalists

by Elizabeth Barber

“People would rather be enthusiastic collaborators in a global project than be skeptics of its fundamental integrity. Antinatalism implies or counts on our eventual extinction, and thinking this way is painful.”

Home Tours: Mygunya By The Circus In Australia

The Local Project (February 20, 2024) – Located in Fitzroy, Victoria, Mygunya by The Circus by Matt Gibson Architecture + Design is an innovative home filled with character and texture. One of the great characteristics of the family house is how it is split into three separate pavilions and finished with a soft connection of glass between them.

Video timeline: 00:00 – Introduction to the Innovative Home 00:55 – The Original Integrated Brief and the Inspiration 01:44 – Behind the Brick Selection 02:34 – A Focus on the Landscaping 02:58 – The Material Palette and Key Features 04:07 – The Layout of the Home 05:19 – A Great Collaboration

The built connections bring in a wealth of natural light while also playing off the textures of the external materials, which are also used inside the house to add extra detail and idiosyncrasy that makes the family house what it is. Situated just across the road from Edinburgh Gardens, Mygunya by The Circus is in a heritage area that features a lot of Victorian and Edwardian buildings. After being approached by the clients, who had just bought the house, the team was given a brief that requested a contemporary home for a large family.

In answer to this, they increased the bedroom sizes and opened the architecture of the home to better integrate the interior spaces with the garden. In the conceptualization of the residence, Matt Gibson Architecture + Design revised three distinct pavilions that would come together as one innovative structure. The first pavilion is the original heritage Victorian-era home, while the second is the new contemporary building in cream brick by Brickworks and the third pavilion – to the west side – holds a north-facing family room and a series of individual gardens.

News: Israel Sets Rafah Invasion Date, Russia’s Lavrov Tours Venezuela

The Globalist (February 20, 2024): Israel’s war cabinet sets a date for the ground invasion of Rafah, while Russia’s foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, continues his Latin American tour in Venezuela. Sweden’s defence minister, Pål Jonson, tells us about his country’s path to Nato.

Plus: the EU’s mission to protect vessels against Houthi attacks, turmoil at Austrian property company Signa and a round-up of fashion news.

The New York Times — Tuesday, February 20, 2024

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Navalny’s Widow Pledges to Carry On Opposition Leader’s Work

The sudden death of Aleksei Navalny left a vacuum in Russia’s opposition. His wife, Yulia Navalnaya, signaled that she would try to fill the void.

Inside Aleksei Navalny’s Final Months, in His Own Words

Trump. Indian food. Matthew Perry. And books, books, books. Excerpts from letters obtained by The Times show Mr. Navalny’s active mind, even amid brutal prison conditions.

The $2.8 Billion Hole in U.S. Sanctions on Iran


A Times investigation reveals how lax government oversight allowed shadowy oil tankers, covered by American insurance, to fund Iran’s regime.