Category Archives: Politics

Previews: The Guardian Weekly – March 3, 2023

The ruin of Mariupol: inside the 3 March Guardian Weekly | Ukraine | The  Guardian

The Guardian Weekly (March 3, 2023) – A year on from the invasion of Ukraine and there seems little end in sight to a conflict that has, unquestionably, changed the world. The Guardian Weekly’s big story this week outlines five possible routes to peace (some more hopeful than others), but the main focus is a stunning collaboration from Guardian reporters detailing the fate of the port of Mariupol, the battle for which has perhaps been the bloodiest and most shocking chapter of the war to date.

It’s an extraordinary account of the devastation, partial reconstruction, and Russification of a thriving city. “You learn to only voice your opinions with those you know you can trust,” says Darya, a student opposed to the occupation. “Otherwise, you keep your thoughts to yourself.”

On Monday the UK government finally agreed a deal with the EU to end a long-running Brexit dispute over customs arrangements and legal oversight in Northern Ireland. Our Brexit correspondent Lisa O’Carroll unpicks the key points of the new agreement and what it means for the region.

In 2003, when the US army occupied Iraq after the fall of Saddam Hussein, the Guardian writer Ghaith Abdul-Ahad was aged 28 and living in Baghdad. He recounts his front-row view of the fall of the regime, the arrival of the so-called liberators and the unfolding of a sectarian war.

Culture & Politics: The Drift – February 28, 2023

The Drift Magazine – February 28, 2023 Issue – We called it heterosexual oppression. Like replacing a piece of your skull with a smartwatch.

Electric Bodies | Medical Technology Takes Over

Through a growing focus on healthcare monitoring in recent years, Apple has positioned its wearables as essential accessories for the technophile and the casual hypochondriac alike. 

Like so many other predictions of collapse, exaggerated.  Methylphenidate  for Miriam. Two executives showed up for a meeting dressed as Woody and Buzz Lightyear. A source of revolutionary Marxist critiques, an outright conservative, a peddler of flimsy conspiracy theories. Some days I am so filled with myself I can see nothing. I am not going to apologize for the empire, for our history. Bravissima! Stealth, he kept no socials. She had martini-glass tits. In this city every boy is an isotope. Enter among the truly civilized peoples. Cruising for difference. The body of a bear, the nose of an elephant, the paws of a tiger, the tail of an ox, and needle-like hairs. Wainscoting for an all-knowing liberalism. How can a narrow regional tabloid claim itself The World? The surrealist didn’t prescribe life-sized butter ears. Spend how you want the sixtyish years you have left of your life

Words Exchanged | Italophone Somalia, Then and Now

“Italian language teaching is back in Somalia!” the Italian embassy in Somalia tweeted in late September 2021, announcing a new program at the Somali National University that would reintroduce the language of the country’s former colonizer.

News: France Seeks ‘New Era’ In Africa, Serbia And Kosovo Normalize Ties

March 1, 2023: Macron’s four-nation Africa tour: to what extent does this mark a “new era” for France’s relations with the continent? Plus: Serbia and Kosovo accept a provisional proposal to normalise ties, the latest business news and where are the world’s new cultural capitals?

News: UK-EU Strike Deal On Northern Ireland, China Hosts Belarus President

February 28, 2023: UK and EU leaders strike a deal on the Northern Ireland protocol. Plus: Belarus’s president, Alexander Lukashenko, arrives in Beijing for a three-day visit; China’s plans to build Asia’s largest observatory; and the latest transport news.

Opinion: How Ukraine War Is Won, New Biden Border Policy, Nigeria Scorpions

February 27, 2023: A selection of three essential articles read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist. This week, how to win the war in Ukraine, Joe Biden’s sensible new border policies (11:15) and Nigeria’s scorpion trade (15:30). 

Previews: The New Yorker Magazine – March 6, 2023

“The Florida BookoftheMonth Club” by Barry Blitt.

The New Yorker Magazine – March 6, 2023 Issue:

Can A.I. Treat Mental Illness?

A diagram of lines and shapes with several of them being a profile of a face.

New computer systems aim to peer inside our heads—and to help us fix what they find there.

The End of the English Major

A statue of Shakespeare is surrounded by colorful moving machines representative of the STEM disciplines.

Enrollment in the humanities is in free fall at colleges around the country. What happened?

Phosphorus Saved Our Way of Life—and Now Threatens to End It

Farmland surrounded by green algae water.

Fertilizers filled with the nutrient boosted our ability to feed the planet. Today, they’re creating vast and growing dead zones in our lakes and seas.

News: Nigeria Election Analysis, Political Impact Of Earthquake In Turkey

February 27, 2023: Nigerian election unpacked – the largest democratic exercise on the continent. Plus: the impact of recent earthquakes on Turkey’s leadership, the day’s newspapers and the latest arts and culture news.

Culture: New York Times Magazine – Feb 26, 2023

The New York Times Magazine – February 26, 2023:

Three Years Into Covid, We Still Don’t Know How to Talk About It

Most Americans think they know the story of the pandemic. But when a writer immersed himself in a Covid oral-history project, he realized how much we’re still missing.

‘The Democratic Party in New York Is a Disaster’

After losing crucial seats in the congressional midterms, a bitter civil war over the moribund state organization has spilled into the open.

News: Ukraine War After One-Year, U.N. Condemns Russia, Nigeria Elections

February 24, 2023: We mark one year since the invasion of Ukraine with Kateryna Yushchenko, the country’s former First Lady. Plus: Nigeria heads to the polls, the day’s newspapers and the latest business news.

Putin’s Hidden War: The Russians Fighting Back

The Economist (February 23, 2023): The invasion of Ukraine left Russians with a stark choice: carry on as normal or make a stand against the war. But speaking out in Russia carries huge risks. How is the opposition managing to resist the regime – and at what personal cost?

Video timeline: 00:00 – One year on 01:37 – The first wave of protests 05:43 – Crackdown on dissent 10:04 – Individual acts of rebellion 13:51 – Partial mobilisation 16:20 – Russia’s mass exodus 23:06 – The future of Russian rebellion