All posts by She Seeks Serene

My Journey of Reimagining Life, Love and Education
Culture, Magazines, Politics, Previews, Reviews, Society

Politics: The Guardian Weekly – January 11, 2024

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The Guardian Weekly (January 10, 2024) – The new issue features ‘Middle East on the brink’ – The threat of a regional war. Also, Inside the Post Office Horizon IT scandal…

The assassination of a Hamas chief in Lebanon. A terror attack on mourners of an Iranian former general. Commercial shipping in the Red Sea targeted by Yemeni rebels, and a US airstrike in Iraq. All were separate events in the Middle East last week but all were linked, in one way or another, to the presence of autonomous but Iranian-backed militia forces in the region.

When asked to visualise the threat of war engulfing the Middle East, for this week’s cover, illustrator Carl Godfrey took a literal approach. “I wanted to convey the tense and unpredictable situation,” says Carl, “and there’s nothing more tense than looking down the barrel of a gun. Especially when those barrels are pointing in all directions, and the risk of war is expanding in all directions.”

News, Podcasts, Politics, Stories

News: The South Africa Genocide Case Against Israel, Taiwan Elections

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The Globalist Podcast (January 11, 2024) – Assessing the possibility of the International Court of Justice ordering Israel to halt its campaign in Gaza.

Plus: Taiwan’s all-important election this weekend, Poland’s political meltdown and the latest business news.

News, Newspapers, Views

The New York Times — Thursday, January 11, 2024

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At World Court, Israel to Confront Accusations of Genocide

The Peace Palace which houses the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands. South Africa has brought a case accusing Israel of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza and is asking the court to order Israel to halt its attacks.

Israel has categorically rejected the allegations being brought this week in the International Court of Justice by South Africa.

The Day Hamas Came

No Israeli town suffered more bloodshed than Be’eri in the Hamas attacks on Oct. 7.

Trump Is Connecting With a Different Type of Evangelical Voter

They are not just the churchgoing, conservative activists who once dominated the G.O.P.

Trump’s Argument for Immunity in 2024 Is the Opposite of His Stance in 2021

During his second impeachment trial, the former president argued that criminal prosecution was a more appropriate way to seek accountability since he had left office.

Magazines, Podcasts, Previews, Research, Reviews, Science

Research Preview: Nature Magazine January 11, 2024

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Volume 625 Issue 7994

Nature Magazine – January 10, 2024: The latest issue cover features ‘Steppe Change’ – Migration and lifestyle shifts in prehistoric Eurasia linked to raised genetic risk of multiple sclerosis.

Cancer-fighting CAR T cells could be made inside body with viral injection

Scientists are devising ways to edit the genomes of immune cells without having to extract them from the people being treated.

Japan earthquakes: the science behind the deadly tremors

A massive quake that triggered tsunamis, fires and multiple aftershocks was the largest on the country’s west coast in more than a century.

Boosting microbiome science worldwide could save millions of children’s lives

Studies of the microbes living on and in our bodies are conducted mainly in a few rich countries, squandering opportunities to improve the health of people globally.

Analysis, Charities, Magazines, Opinion, Politics, Reviews

The Economist Special Report: ‘Philanthropy’

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The Economist SPECIAL REPORTS (January 12, 2024): The latest issue is focused on ‘Philanthropy’ – Move fast and mend things. Charitable organizations are hoping to get money to the needy faster….

The super-rich are trying new approaches to philanthropy

Billionare on a rollercoaster doing a loop-de-loop, holding a spanner with money and tools falling out of the cart

They are hoping to get money to the needy faster, says Avantika Chilkoti

A nudge is not always enough to force change within an industry. Sometimes a series of forceful shoves is required. In the rarified world of Western philanthropy, the shoves began in 2020. The covid-19 pandemic, protests for racial justice across America that summer and the outflow of refugees from Ukraine starting in early 2022 created a new urgency around charitable giving and revealed failings in how it worked. Donors began to consider how they could disburse money faster and with more impact.

No-strings philanthropy is giving charities more decision-making power

Organizations on the ground know best how money should be spent

Give Directly does what it says on the tin

Cash hand-outs can transform communities

Arts & Literature, Books, Magazines, Previews, Reviews

Arts/Books: Times Literary Supplement – Jan 12, 2024

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Times Literary Supplement (January 10, 2024): The latest issue features ‘Have a good trip’ – On the uses of psychedelic drugs; Hisham Matar’s novel of London exile; A West Bank tragedy; Puzzled by crosswords; French Band Aid, and more…

News, Podcasts, Politics, Stories

News: NATO Allies Meeting On Ukraine Air Defenses, Humanitarian Aid In Gaza

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The Globalist Podcast (January 10, 2024) – We discuss today’s Nato-Ukraine Council meeting against a backdrop of increased Russian attacks.

Also, the humanitarian situation in Gaza, a dispatch from the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas and Seoul’s new seatless subway carriages.

News, Newspapers, Views

The New York Times — Wednesday, Jan 10, 2024

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Appeals Court Seems Skeptical of Trump’s Immunity Claim

A police car and police officer in front of barriers and a line of people outside of a courthouse in Washington.

A three-judge panel appeared unlikely to grant the former president’s request that it throw out federal criminal charges that he plotted to overturn the 2020 election.

Saudi-Israel Ties Depend on Steps Toward a Palestinian State, Blinken Says

In meetings with Israeli leaders, the U.S. secretary of state held out the prospect of Saudi recognition to prod Israel to curb combat operations in Gaza and accept a path to Palestinian statehood.

To Win Iowa, Trump Turns to Allies Like Marjorie Taylor Greene

With the former president busy defending himself in court from 91 felony charges, his campaign has deployed high-profile conservatives to help fill the gaps in Iowa.

A Glimpse Inside a Devastated Gaza

In the ruins of two Gazan towns, New York Times journalists witnessed the sheer destruction that Israel’s war has wrought and the devastation of Hamas’s operations.

Arts & Literature, Culture, Homes, Magazines, Previews, Reviews

Previews: Country Life Magazine-January 10, 2024

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Country Life Magazine – January 9, 2024: The latest issue features ‘Walk This Way’ – England’s secret sunken roads; Return of the curly-coated retriever; Tom Parker Bowles on the comfort of pie; Britain’s most poisonous plants, and more…

Curls, curls, curls

The intelligent, powerful curly-coated retriever was favoured by the Victorians and is still winning plaudits as a working breed, discovers Katy Birchall

Rolling in the deep

Ben Lerwill follows in the foot-steps of our ancestors to explore the history of holloways, those sunken and often secret routes criss-crossing the countryside

Little crop of horrors

From hemlock and henbane to giant hogweed, Britain is home to a host of poisonous plants. John Wright reveals how to spot the dangerous and the deadly

Why we all cry for pie

Tom Parker Bowles earns his crust with an ode to the enduring appeal of this humble, yet oh so heavenly savoury creation

Lady Violet Manners’s favourite painting

The broadcaster chooses a poignant work that speaks of absolute parental devotion

A distant horizon conquered

Fiona Reynolds explores the ancient Wiltshire Downs, with her sights set firmly on the far-off landmark of Cherhill Monument

The future as a footstool

The landmark 1980s restoration of London’s Liverpool Street Station is under threat from new proposals, argues Ptolemy Dean

The Midas touch

In the first of two articles, John Goodall investigates the early history of Madresfield Court, Worcestershire, which has been in the same family for 900 years

I can’t believe it’s British butter

Butter is making a comeback in a welcome celebration of our dairy heritage—Jenny Linford meets the artisan makers who are helping to spread the word

The good stuff

Tackle the snow in style this winter with Hetty Lintell’s pick of the best skiing accessories

Sweet dreams are made of these

The gardens at Villa Durazzo-Pallacini in Italy are Heaven on Earth for Charles Quest-Ritson

 ‘I have seen a very pretty thing…’

Lucien de Guise reveals how you can add a true touch of Ottoman opulence to your home

Interiors

Amelia Thorpe selects the hottest new stoves, fires and range cookers, and Giles Kime examines the growing range of options fuelled by bioethanol

Money for old rope

Deborah Nicholls-Lee looks at how hemp can help in the battle against climate change

Architecture, Home Design, Homes, Tours, Videos

Design: Tour Of A Coastal Ranch Home In California

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The Local Project (January 9, 2024) – Situated in a frequently cold, wet and windy location, Ramirez Residence by Norman Millar Architects and Judith Sheine Architect is a sea ranch home that is built to complement the rugged landscape.

Video timeline: 00:00 – Introduction to the Modern Ranch 01:10 – A Coastal Location and its History 02:12 – The Architectural Collaboration and Design Guidelines 04:04 – Building the Interiors into the Landscape 04:29 – The Clients Coastal Requests 05:26 – A Traditional and Natural Material Palette 06:55 – Respecting the History of Sea Ranch

Placed north of San Francisco, and positioned along miles of ocean coastline, Ramirez Residence possesses an interesting history that goes back to the community’s conception by Alfred Boeke. Transforming a sheep ranch on a degrading landscape into an ideal utopian community, Alfred Boeke implemented strict design guidelines for the architecture of the buildings and the way they sat in the landscape. As such, each of the surrounding homes were inspired by weathered barns, designed out of local timber and made to withstand the harsh climate over a long period of time.

Built into the landscape, Ramirez Residence was specifically designed to preserve local views and communal open spaces. Based on the design principles and ideas of the weathered barns with the slopping roof of a ranch, Ramirez Residence appears fairly simple in its exterior form. With no overhangs to prevent uplift from the strong winds, the house tour shows an almost box-like home clad in local timbers but, once inside, a complex and articulated interior design reveals itself. Following the house tour inside, the reveal of built-in furniture continues the idea of a home nestled into the landscape. Emphasising this idea in the bathrooms and kitchen, the architects encourage the idea that the rooms and kitchen are objects within the home.