Category Archives: Politics

The New York Times Magazine-February 4, 2024

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THE NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE (February 2, 2024): The new issue features ‘The Long Shadow of 1948’ – How the decisions that led to the founding of Israel left the region in a state of eternal conflict…

The Road to 1948

How the decisions that led to the founding of Israel left the region in a state of eternal conflict.

A discussion moderated by Emily Bazelon

One year matters more than any other for understanding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In 1948, Jews realized their wildly improbable dream of a state, and Palestinians experienced the mass flight and expulsion called the Nakba, or catastrophe. The events are burned into the collective memories of these two peoples — often in diametrically opposed ways — and continue to shape their trajectories.

John Malkovich on (Really) Being John Malkovich

An illustration of John Malkovich.

By David Marchese 

There’s a scene in that modern classic of screwball existentialism, “Being John Malkovich,” from 1999, in which John Malkovich, playing a version of himself, enters a portal that others have been using to climb inside his mind. Suddenly, Malkovich is in a world populated solely by variations on himself: Malkovich as a flirtatious sexpot, a genteel waiter, a jazz chanteuse, a bemused child, everyone speaking only the word “Malkovich.” In a way, that scene is a microcosm of the actor’s decades-long, always-interesting career. 

News: EU Summit Approves Ukraine Aid, Australia-New Zealand Security

The Globalist Podcast (Februay 2, 2024) – We start in Brussels to discuss the outcome of the EU Summit, before heading to Melbourne, where Australian and New Zealand defence and foreign ministers are meeting to talk about regional security.

Plus: a report from the Copenhagen International Fashion Fair and a catch-up with Grammy-winning composer Lorne Balfe.

The Economist Magazine – February 3, 2024 Preview

Business | Feb 3rd 2024 Edition

The Economist Magazine (February 1, 2024): The latest issue features How To End The Middle East’s Agony’…

The end of the social network

As Facebook turns 20, politics is out; impersonal video feeds are in

Britain’s armed forces: losing muscle

Britain’s armed forces are stretched perilously thin

Bidenomics in a second term

What four more years of Joe Biden would mean for America’s economy

Inside the Zelensky v Zaluzhny feud

The feud between Ukraine’s president and army chief boils over

Politics: The Guardian Weekly – February 2, 2024

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The Guardian Weekly (February 1, 2024) – The new issue features ‘Party Crasher’ – Is Trump more vulnerable than he seems?; Israel, the ICJ ruling and The West; Europe’s Big Bad Wolves and more….

It had all seemed like business as usual for Donald Trump in the aftermath of last week’s New Hampshire Republican primaries, where he scored a comfortable victory over his only remaining challenger, Nikki Haley. And yet … was there something in his subsequent outburst towards Haley that suggested all was not well in Trumpworld?

Barring the mother of all reversals, Trump will soon be confirmed as the Republican presidential nominee. But, as David Smith and Jonathan Freedland outline in this week’s big story, Trump remains a deeply polarising figure in American politics, not least within his own party.

And his petulant irritation at Haley over her refusal to concede the race was a visible reminder to American floating voters of the unhinged personality that lurks beneath the orange veneer, something his campaign team will be desperate to avoid more of.

“The shadow of Trump is long, and his return seems closer than ever,” explains illustrator Alberto Miranda on his cover art for this week’s Guardian Weekly. “He is a controversial figure with a dangerous side and, at the same time, has an utterly comical aspect. That’s why we wanted to portray his influence in the Republican party in an almost grotesque manner.”

News: Ukraine Top Military To Be Dismissed, Myanmar State Of Emergency Ends

The Globalist Podcast (February 1, 2024) – We ask Ukrainian journalist Nataliya Gumenyuk about the fate of the country’s armed-forces commander, General Valery Zaluzhny.

Also in the programme: we assess the situation in Myanmar as the junta-imposed state of emergency comes to an end and we find out why the Catalan amnesty bill has failed to pass in the Spanish congress. Plus: we speak to Eszter Áron, creative director of Aeron, at Copenhagen International Fashion Fair.

News: Gaza War Hostage Talks, Argentina Debates Milei’s Economic Reforms

The Globalist Podcast (January 31, 2024) – We bring the latest on the Israel-Hamas hostage talks as Qatar’s prime minister meets US officials in Washington.

Plus: Javier Milei’s economic bill is debated in Argentina’s parliament, a round-up of art news, and is the future of the department store in danger?

News: Rising Iran-Pakistan Tensions, Israel Alleges U.N. Staff Terrorism Ties

The Globalist Podcast (January 30, 2024) We discuss how Israel’s war in Gaza is increasing tensions between Iran and Pakistan.

Plus: the annual Corruption Perceptions Index, why three coup-hit nations have left the Economic Community of West African States and why Boeing is losing market share to Airbus. We also meet Jeffrey Wright, star of the Oscar-nominated ‘American Fiction’.

Previews: The New Yorker Magazine- February 5, 2024

A family shares a meal to celebrate Lunar New Year.

The New Yorker (January 29, 2024): The new issue‘s cover features Sarula Bao’s “Lunar New Year” – The artist depicts the joys of gathering with loved ones, around a table of good food

The Rural Ski Slope Caught Up in an International Scam

When the scheme became public Vermonts governor said “We all feel betrayed.”

A federal program promised to bring foreign investment to remote parts of the country. It soon became rife with fraud.

By Sheelah Kolhatkar

As the general manager of the Jay Peak ski resort, Bill Stenger rose most days around 6 a.m. and arrived at the slopes before seven. He’d check in with his head snowmaker and the ski-patrol staff, visit the two hotels on the property, and chat with the maintenance workers, the lift operators, the food-and-beverage manager, and the ski-school instructors—a kind of management through constant motion. Stenger is seventy-five, with white hair, wire-rimmed reading glasses, and a sturdy physique that makes him look built for fuzzy sweaters. 

The Perverse Policies That Fuel Wildfires

We thought we could master nature, but we were playing with fire.

By Elizabeth Kolbert

Ukraine’s Democracy in Darkness

A photo-illustration of Zelensky and the Ukrainian parliament.

With elections postponed and no end to the war with Russia in sight, Volodymyr Zelensky and his political allies are becoming like the officials they once promised to root out: entrenched.

By Masha Gessen

News: Iran-Backed Drone Strike In Jordan Kills U.S. Troops, Gaza Truce Talks

The Globalist Podcast (January 29, 2024) Will the director of the CIA, William Burns, be able to negotiate a truce and hostage deal when he meets his Egyptian and Israeli counterparts, as well as Qatar’s prime minister, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani?

Following Finland’s presidential election on Sunday, we look at the future of the country. And with layoffs and strikes across the country, we examine what’s happening in the US media. Plus: why Guggenheim Bilbao is halting its expansion into a Basque nature reserve.

Sunday Morning: Stories And News From Zürich, London And Ljubljana

Monocle on Sunday, January 28, 2024 – Florian Egli and Marcus Schögel join Monocle’s editorial director, Tyler Brûlé, to discuss the weekend’s hottest topics.

We also speak to Monocle’s Helsinki correspondent, Petri Burtsoff, about Finland’s presidential election and Guy De Launey gives us the latest news from the Balkans. Plus: we’re joined by our senior news editor in London, Chris Cermak, and Isabella Smith, owner and founder of Books and Company.