Category Archives: Opinion

Economics, Financial, Magazines, Opinion, Politics, Previews, Reviews

Previews: The Economist Magazine – Nov 18, 2023

November 16, 2023 She Seeks Serene Leave a comment

The Economist Magazine (November 18, 2023): The latest issue features The World Ahead 2024 – 90-page guide to the coming year; How the young should invest – Markets have dealt them a bad hand. They could be playing it better; Better ways to fund science – Too much of researchers’ time is spent filling in forms; The best films of 2023 – They featured cattle barons, chefs, composers, physicists and whistleblowers…

Donald Trump poses the biggest danger to the world in 2024

What his victory in America’s election would mean

Ashadow looms over the world. In this week’s edition we publish The World Ahead 2024, our 38th annual predictive guide to the coming year, and in all that time no single person has ever eclipsed our analysis as much as Donald Trump eclipses 2024. That a Trump victory next November is a coin-toss probability is beginning to sink in.

Will Japan rediscover its dynamism?

People shop along the streets of Shinsaibashi in Osaka, Japan

Rising prices and animal spirits give it a long-awaited opportunity

Global investors are giddy about Japan again. Warren Buffett made his first visit to Tokyo in more than a decade this spring; he has built up big holdings in five trading houses that offer exposure to a cross-section of Japan Inc. Last month Larry Fink, ceo of BlackRock, the world’s biggest asset manager, joined the pilgrimage to Japan’s capital. “History is repeating itself,” he told Kishida Fumio, the prime minister. He likened the moment to Japan’s “economic miracle” of the 1980s. Even disappointing gdp figures released on November 15th will not dent investors’ optimism.

Culture, Essays, History, Magazines, Opinion, Politics, Reviews, Society

Arts/Politics: The Atlantic Magazine – December 2023

November 15, 2023 She Seeks Serene Leave a comment

The Atlantic Magazine – December 2023 issue: For the first time since the publication of our first series of stories on Reconstruction, in 1901, The Atlantic is examining “the enduring consequences of Reconstruction’s tragic fall at a moment—yet another moment—when the cause of racial progress faces sustained pressure”…

This Ghost of Slavery

A play of past and present

By ANNA DEAVERE SMITH

The Questions That Most Need Asking

The Atlantic revisits Reconstruction

.By JEFFREY GOLDBERG

Why Is America Afraid of Black History?

No one should fear a history that asks a country to live up to its highest ideals.

By LONNIE G. BUNCH III

How Black Americans Kept Reconstruction Alive

The federal government abandoned Reconstruction in 1877, but Black people didn’t give up on the moment’s promise.

By PENIEL E. JOSEPH

Analysis, International, Magazines, Opinion, Politics, Reviews

Analysis: The World Ahead In 2024 – The Economist

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The Economist The World Ahead 2024 (November 14, 2023) – Future-gazing analysis, predictions and speculation including Ten trends to watch in 2024; 2024 will be stressful for those who care about liberal democracy; America will need a new vocabulary to discuss its presidential election; Europe needs to step up support for Ukraine; Don’t give up on peace in the Middle East, and more…

Tom Standage’s ten trends to watch in 2024

A letter from the editor of The World Ahead

By Tom Standage

Life comes at you fast. Whether it’s the upsurge in armed conflict, the redrawing of the global energy-resources map or rapid progress in artificial intelligence (ai), the world is changing at mind-boggling speed. From the situation in the Middle East to the adoption of electric vehicles to the treatment of obesity, things look very different from the way they did just a year or two ago. Our aim is to help you keep your worldview up to date—and tell you what might be coming next. To kick things off, here are ten themes to watch in the coming year.

2024 will be stressful for those who care about liberal democracy

In theory it should be a triumphant year for democracy. In practice it will be the opposite

By Zanny Minton Beddoes

More than half the people on the planet live in countries that will hold nationwide elections in 2024, the first time this milestone has been reached. Based on recent patterns of voter turnout, close to 2bn people in more than 70 countries will head to the polls. Ballots will be cast from Britain to Bangladesh, from India to Indonesia. Yet what sounds like it should be a triumphant year for democracy will be the opposite.

The world must try to break a vicious cycle of insecurity

A stick of dynamite with a lit fuse in the shape of a world map

The fragility of the Western coalition is a crucial weakness

By Patrick Foulis

As 2023 drew to a close, wars were raging in Africa, Israel and Gaza, and Ukraine. These crises are explosive in their own right. Combine them with a presidential race in America and 2024 promises to be a make-or-break year for the post-1945 world order.

The 2020s were destined to be dangerous. The West’s share of world gdp has fallen towards 50% for the first time since the 19th century. Countries such as India and Turkey believe the global institutions created after 1945 do not reflect their concerns. China and Russia want to go further and subvert this system.

Arts & Literature, Culture, Magazines, Opinion, Politics, Reviews

Previews: The New Yorker Magazine – Nov 20, 2023

November 13, 2023 She Seeks Serene Leave a comment

The New Yorker – November 20, 2023 issue: The new issue features The A.I. Issue – Joshua Rothman on the godfather of A.I., Eyal Press on facial-recognition technology, Anna Wiener on Holly Herndon, and more…

Why the Godfather of A.I. Fears What He’s Built

Geoffrey Hinton has spent a lifetime teaching computers to learn. Now he worries that artificial brains are better than ours.

By Joshua Rothman

In your brain, neurons are arranged in networks big and small. With every action, with every thought, the networks change: neurons are included or excluded, and the connections between them strengthen or fade. This process goes on all the time—it’s happening now, as you read these words—and its scale is beyond imagining. You have some eighty billion neurons sharing a hundred trillion connections or more. Your skull contains a galaxy’s worth of constellations, always shifting.

Does A.I. Lead Police to Ignore Contradictory Evidence?

Too often, a facial-recognition search represents virtually the entirety of a police investigation.

By Eyal Press

On March 26, 2022, at around 8:20 a.m., a man in light-blue Nike sweatpants boarded a bus near a shopping plaza in Timonium, outside Baltimore. After the bus driver ordered him to observe a rule requiring passengers to wear face masks, he approached the fare box and began arguing with her. “I hit bitches,” he said, leaning over a plastic shield that the driver was sitting behind. When she pulled out her iPhone to call the police, he reached around the shield, snatched the device, and raced off. The bus driver followed the man outside, where he punched her in the face repeatedly. He then stood by the curb, laughing, as his victim wiped blood from her nose.

Personal History A Coder Considers the Waning Days of the Craft

Coding has always felt to me like an endlessly deep and rich domain. Now I find myself wanting to write a eulogy for it.

By James Somers

Culture, Magazines, Opinion, Politics, Previews, Reviews, Society

The New York Times Magazine – Nov 12, 2023

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THE NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE (November 10, 2023): The latest issue features A Beginner’s Guide to Looking at the Universe; What Does the U.S. Space Force Actually Do? – Inside the highly secretive military branch responsible for protecting American interests in a vulnerable new domain; Their Final Wish? A Burial in Space. – Why some people decide to send their remains into orbit.

A Beginner’s Guide to Looking at the Universe

A stunning advancement in a long history of stargazing, the James Webb telescope reveals light where once we saw only darkness. Our view of the universe will never be the same.

By KATE LARUE

Analysis, Magazines, Military, Opinion, Politics, Reviews, Technology

Special Report: ‘China’s Armed Forces’ (NOV 2023)

November 9, 2023 She Seeks Serene Leave a comment

The Economist SPECIAL REPORTS – CHINA’S ARMED FORCES (NOVEMBER 11, 2023): Overestimating China’s armed forces would be dangerous; Unknown soldiers – The People’s Liberation Army is not yet as formidable as the West fears; Rank indifference – China is struggling to recruit enough highly skilled troops; Weapons of woe – From hypersonic missiles to undersea drones, the PLA is making leaps…

The People’s Liberation Army is not yet as formidable as the West fears

Overestimating China’s armed forces would be dangerous, argues Jeremy Page

In 1957 america was gripped by fears of a “missile gap” with the Soviet Union. The Kremlin had stunned the world with a test flight of an intercontinental ballistic missile (icbm) and the launch of Sputnik. An American intelligence report predicted that by 1962, the Soviets could have 500 icbms, outstripping America’s arsenal. When word of that leaked, a political furore erupted. Eyeing the presidency from his Senate seat, John F. Kennedy demanded action to prevent a Soviet “shortcut to world domination”.

China is struggling to recruit enough highly skilled troops

The PLA needs them to operate all its new weapons

From hypersonic missiles to undersea drones, the PLA is making leaps

But China’s military tech still lags behind the West’s

Economics, Financial, Magazines, Opinion, Politics, Previews, Reviews

Previews: The Economist Magazine – Nov 11, 2023

November 9, 2023 She Seeks Serene Leave a comment

The Economist Magazine (November 11, 2023): The latest issue features How Scary is China? – America must understand China’s weaknesses as well as its strengths; The Omnistar is born – How artificial intelligence will transform fame; Giorgia Meloni’s “mother of all reforms” is a power grab – Italians should reject their prime minister’s demagogic proposal, and more….

How artificial intelligence will transform fame

The omnistar is born – Those complaining the loudest about the new technology stand to benefit the most

How scary is China?

Superpower politics – America must understand China’s weaknesses as well as its strengths

Giorgia Meloni’s “mother of all reforms” is a power grab

Constitutional chicanery – Italians should reject their prime minister’s demagogic proposal

Arts & Literature, Culture, Magazines, Opinion, Politics, Reviews

Previews: The New Yorker Magazine – Nov 13, 2023

November 6, 2023 She Seeks Serene Leave a comment

Two people under a red umbrella walking in the rain near the Brooklyn Bridge.

The New Yorker – November 13, 2023 issue: The new issue‘s cover features Kadir Nelson’s “Dumbo” – The artist discusses the seasonal energy of the city, and his sources of inspiration.

Ridley Scott’s “Napoleon” Complex

Ridley Scott photographed by Christopher Anderson.

Does the director of “Alien,” “Blade Runner,” and “Gladiator” see himself in the hero of his epic new film?

By Michael Schulman

On the morning of the Battle of Waterloo, Napoleon Bonaparte was full of catastrophic confidence. His seventy-three thousand troops were camped on a ridge near a tavern called La Belle Alliance. His nemesis, the Duke of Wellington, occupied a slope across the fields, with a mere sixty-seven thousand troops. Over breakfast, Napoleon predicted, “If my orders are well executed, we will sleep in Brussels this evening.” When his chief of staff offered a word of caution, Napoleon snapped, “Wellington is a bad general and the English are bad troops. The whole affair will not be more serious than swallowing one’s breakfast.”

How Can Determinists Believe in Free Will?

By Nikhil Krishnan

Some people think that we can’t be held responsible for what we do, given that our actions are the inevitable consequence of the laws of nature. They’re only half right.

Eclipsed in his Era, Bayard Rustin Gets to Shine in Ours

The civil-rights mastermind was sidelined by his own movement. Now he’s back in the spotlight. What can we learn from his strategies of resistance?

By Adam Gopnik

Reinventing the Dinosaur “

Life on Our Planet,” a new Netflix nature documentary, renews our fascination with our most feared and loved precursors.

By Rivka Galchen

Culture, Magazines, Opinion, Politics, Previews, Reviews, Society

The New York Times Magazine – Nov 5, 2023

November 3, 2023 She Seeks Serene Leave a comment

THE NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE (November 3, 2023): The latest issue features Bariatric Surgery at 16 – If childhood obesity is an ‘epidemic,’ how far should doctors go to treat it?; Some Ukrainians Helped the Russians. Their Neighbors Sought Revenge; The Eternal Life of the ’90s Supermodel -How did a small group of models manage to stay on top for so long?, and more…

Bariatric Surgery at 16

If childhood obesity is an ‘epidemic,’ how far should doctors go to treat it?

By Helen Ouyang

Last fall, Alexandra Duarte, who is now 16, went to see her endocrinologist at Texas Children’s Hospital, outside Houston. From age 10, she had been living with polycystic ovary syndrome and, more recently, prediabetes. After Alexandra described her recent quinceañera, the doctor brought up an operation that might benefit her, one that might help her lose weight and, as a result, improve these obesity-related problems.

Some Ukrainians Helped the Russians. Their Neighbors Sought Revenge.

For people in Bilozerka, the invasion began a cat-and-mouse game of collaboration and resistance.

By James Verini

Andriy Koshelev steered his car into the driveway of his home on Pushkin Street in Bilozerka, a lakeside town in Ukraine’s Kherson region. Leaving the car on, Koshelev got out and walked to the entrance gate. He reached down to loosen the latch. When he pulled it, the gate exploded. Koshelev’s parents, who lived on the same property, rushed outside as acrid smoke filled their driveway and the street. The explosion resounded across town.

Economics, Financial, Magazines, Opinion, Politics, Previews, Reviews

Previews: The Economist Magazine – Nov 4, 2023

November 2, 2023 She Seeks Serene Leave a comment

The Economist Magazine (November 2, 2023): The latest issue features The contradiction at the heart of the world economy – Threats abound, including higher-for-longer interest rates; Why Israel must fight on – Unless Hamas’s power is broken, peace will remain out of reach; unless Hamas’s power is broken, peace will remain out of reach; Donald Trump’s tariff plans would inflict grievous damage on America and the world – You may think his worst ideas won’t get far. Sadly, on trade he has been singularly influential…

Too good to be true: The contradiction at the heart of the world economy

The world economy is defying gravity. That cannot last. Threats abound, including higher-for-longer interest rates

Even as wars rage and the geopolitical climate darkens, the world economy has been an irrepressible source of cheer. Only a year ago everyone agreed that high interest rates would soon bring about a recession. Now even the optimists have been confounded. America’s economy roared in the third quarter, growing at a stunning annualised pace of 4.9%. Around the world, inflation is falling, unemployment has mostly stayed low and the big central banks may have stopped their monetary tightening. China, stricken by a property crisis, looks likely to benefit from a modest stimulus. Unfortunately, however, this good cheer cannot last. The foundations for today’s growth look unstable. Peer ahead, and threats abound.