Category Archives: Opinion
Foreign Affairs Magazine: The Best Articles Of 2022
The Sources of Russian Misconduct
A Diplomat Defects From the Kremlin
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2022
Revenge of the Patriarchs
Why Autocrats Fear Women
MARCH/APRIL 2022
Nobody Wants the Current World Order
How All the Major Powers—Even the United States—Became Revisionists
AUGUST 3, 2022
Previews: The Guardian Weekly – December 23, 2022
The Guardian Weekly (December 23, 2022) issue:
As we near the end of another tumultuous year, one story has dominated the news agenda on almost every level. Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine in February had been signposted for months, but the shattering of Europe’s postwar order still came as a seismic shock.
The economic and human cost inflicted by Russia on Ukraine has been enormous, while the concurrent shock waves of energy, food and migration crises have reverberated around the world. In a special essay for the final Guardian Weekly magazine of 2022, diplomatic editor Patrick Wintour examines the competing grand narratives of the past that lie at the heart of the conflict – and which make it so difficult to resolve.
In other reflections on 2022, we look back at a year of scientific successes, from medicine to mathematics via the moon. From the Observer, we remember those we lost over the course of the year, by those who knew them best. There’s a stunning photo gallery featuring work from the agency photographers of the year, and a comprehensive look at the best film and music of 2022 – not forgetting the now traditional roundup of the Guardian Weekly team’s must-see TV.
From Montreal came some hopeful news to round off an otherwise alarming year for the environment. The Cop15 biodiversity summit reached international agreement to try to halt the destruction of Earth’s ecosystems, including targets to protect 30% of the planet for nature by the end of the decade and restore 30% of degraded water, coastal and marine ecosystems. Biodiversity reporters Patrick Greenfield and Phoebe Weston have the details.
Opinion: A Russian Attack Looms, Giving Up Growth, French Nuclear Industry
A selection of three essential articles read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist. This week, a looming Russian offensive, why the rich world’s politicians are giving up on growth (10:00) and can the French nuclear industry avoid meltdown? (16:25),
A looming Russian offensive
Ukraine’s chiefs, in an unprecedented series of briefings, tell The Economist about the critical months that lie ahead
Why are the rich world’s politicians giving up on economic growth?
Even when they say they want more prosperity, they act as if they don’t
The French exception
As the world turns back to nuclear power, it should heed the lessons from France
Culture: New York Times Magazine – Dec 18, 2022
The 12.18.22 Issue – The stories of 12 children, among the thousands, killed this year by what has become the leading cause of death for American kids: gun violence. But these are not the stories of how they died. These are the stories of the lives they lived.
Why We Published a Special Project About Child Gun Deaths
Every December, The Times Magazine devotes a special project to the deaths of notable people. This year, we are telling the stories of 12 children killed by guns.
Childhood’s Greatest Danger: The Data on Kids and Gun Violence
Gun violence recently surpassed car accidents as the leading cause of death for American children. No group of kids has been spared, but some have fared far worse.
What Guns Did to My Childhood
They ended my innocence even before I copped one of my own.
Politics: Trump Criminal Charges, U.S. Government Shutdown, House Speaker
Preview: The Economist Magazine – Dec 17, 2022
A looming Russian offensive
Ukraine’s chiefs, in an unprecedented series of briefings, tell The Economist about the critical months that lie ahead
What China can still do to avoid an enormous covid death toll
It must treat hospitals as a precious resource and start stockpiling drugs
Why are the rich world’s politicians giving up on economic growth?
Even when they say they want more prosperity, they act as if they don’t
Previews: The Guardian Weekly – December 16, 2022
The Guardian Weekly (December 16, 2022): In Germany, 25 conspirators were arrested and accused of plotting to overthrow the government. The eclectic grouping, known as the Reichsbürger plotters, espoused a far-right ideology but hailed largely from the centre of respectable German society, headed up by an elderly minor aristocrat and including in their ranks family doctors, judges, a celebrity chef and an opera singer.
Three months have passed since fervent anti-regime demonstrations began in Iran. As more grim details emerged of public executions of protesters and the grotesque targeting of women by security forces, Christopher de Bellaigue takes a deep look at the movement, in particular the role played by women and young people, and asks what it might take for a popular revolution to succeed.
Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta (formerly Facebook) has spent $100bn building a virtual reality world known as the metaverse, which he believes will replace the conventional internet. The problem is, hardly anyone seems to prefer its clunky headsets and empty landscapes to the real world. With poor financial results and redundancies at Meta, has it all been a hugely expensive mistake? Steve Rose ventures into the metaverse, so you don’t have to.
Preview: The New Yorker Magazine – Dec 19, 2022
Shooting Shakespeare with Jean-Luc Godard
The actress and writer recalls working with French cinema’s enfant terrible.
The World-Changing Race to Develop the Quantum Computer
Such a device could help address climate change and food scarcity, or break the Internet. Will the U.S. or China get there first?
The Promise and the Politics of Rewilding India
Ecologists are trying to undo environmental damage in rain forests, deserts, and cities. Can their efforts succeed even as Narendra Modi pushes for rapid development?
Opinion: The End Of Cheap Money, Great Britain’s Tier 2 Cities, Age Of ‘Boring AI’
December 11, 2022: A selection of three essential articles read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist. This week features ‘The End of Cheap Money’, Britain’s Second-Tier Cities & The Age of ‘Boring AI‘.
Boomers Daily 