Category Archives: Politics

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

Image

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

Previews: The Economist Magazine – Nov 11, 2023

Image

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

News: European Trade Unions Protest Israel, U.S. House Censures Rep. Tlaib

The Globalist Podcast (November 9, 2023) – European trade unions are refusing to handle Israeli arms, while in the US, the House of Representatives has voted to censure its only Palestinian-American member for her comments on the conflict.

We speak to Guy Hedgecoe in Madrid as protests ramp up over acting prime minister Pedro Sánchez’s attempts to negotiate with Catalan separatists. Plus: the latest culture news and how Paris’s business district is hoping that students will take over empty office blocks.

News: Israel’s ‘Post-War’ Plan For Gaza, Portugal Prime Minister Resigns

The Globalist Podcast (November 8, 2023) – The history of Israel and Palestine’s changing borders with former Gaza correspondent James Rodgers.

Also, France’s self-styling as international peace negotiators and Portugal’s prime minister, António Costa, resigns. We also examine how poetry is being weaponised by Russia in Ukraine with the president of Pen Ukraine, Volodymyr Yermolenko.

News: Israel-Hamas War Deadly For Journalists, US-Southeast Asia Focus

The Globalist Podcast (November 7, 2023) – Fiona O’Brien, UK bureau director for Reporters Without Borders, explains how the conflict in Israel and Gaza has been the deadliest for journalists.

Also, the US keeps its laser-sharp focus in Southeast Asia, an update on Poland’s future government and the luxury market leaves China for India.

Previews: The New Yorker Magazine – Nov 13, 2023

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

The New Yorker – November 13, 2023 issue: The new issues 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

News: Israel-Hamas War Tensions, Lebanon Border, Gaza City Now Encircled

The Globalist Podcast (November 6, 2023) – Israel-Hamas conflict tensions flare at Israel’s northern border with Lebanon; the experience of medics working under bombardment in Gaza; a look at the papers with journalist Vincent McAviney; and Joe Biden’s unexpected challenger.

Plus: we look ahead to Cop 28, hear the headlines from the Balkans and find out about a bevy of new K-pop boy bands.

Sunday Morning: Stories From London, Zürich, Bangkok And Istanbul

Monocle on Sunday, November 5, 2023 – Emma Nelson, Juliet Linley, Oliver Strijbis and Simon Brooke on the weekend’s biggest talking points. We also speak to Monocle’s Istanbul correspondent, Hannah Lucinda Smith.

Saturday Morning: News And Stories From London

Monocle on Saturday, November 4, 2023: Georgina Godwin hosts with Latika Bourke on Anthony Blinken’s visit to Jordan today, the Australian PM Anthony Albanese’s historic visit to China, and the mushroom murder case in Australia that is cripp;ing the world.

Also, Monocle’s Robert Bound speaks to the founder of C2C festival taking place in Turin this weekend, and Honestly Tasty’s co-founder, Michael Moore, proves that vegan can, in fact, be very tasty. 

The New York Times Magazine – Nov 5, 2023

Image

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

Alexandra and her mother holding hands.

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.