News: Protests Ahead Of Mexico Elections, Unrest In French New Caledonia

The Globalist (May 21, 2024): Mass protests take place in Mexico as the nation prepares for its general elections.

Meanwhile, Emmanuel Macron calls a third meeting of his defence and security council to discuss the unrest in New Caledonia. Plus: Thailand’s plan to recriminalise cannabis, Japan’s changing attitudes to female emperors, Dakar’s independent art scene and the latest fashion news.

The New York Times — Tuesday, May 21, 2024

Read more: https://boomers-daily.com/2024/05/21/the-new-york-times-tuesday-may-21-2024/…

Image

Iran Moves to Project Stability After Crash Kills Key Leaders

The ayatollah announced five days of mourning for the president and foreign minister who died when their helicopter plunged into a mountainous region. Some Iranians celebrated the deaths.

Aggression or Caution: The Choice Facing Iran’s Next Leaders

The question is whether the successors to the president and foreign minister will take a similar path by keeping slivers of communication open, and avoiding direct conflict with the United States.

International Criminal Court Prosecutor Requests Warrants for Netanyahu and Hamas Leaders

While the request must be approved by the court’s judges, the announcement is a harsh rebuke of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel and his war strategy in Gaza.

How Gun Violence Spread Across One American City

Columbus, Ohio, had only about 100 homicides a year. Then came a pandemic surge. With more guns and looser laws, can the city find its way back to the old normal?

Culture/Politics: Harper’s Magazine – June 2024

Home | Harper's Magazine

HARPER’S MAGAZINE – May 20, 2024: The latest issue features 401K Doomsday – Will passive investing spell catastrophe?; Twilight of the Atlanticists; The cult that survived the end times…

Masters of War

In search of the new world order in Munich

Naturally, I too will be staying at the Bayerischer Hof.
—Franz Kafka

The Hotel Bayerischer Hof in Munich is an indestructible fortress of Mitteleuropean culture where tour guides like to pause. Richard Wagner repaired to the Hof for tea after his opera performances in Munich; Sigmund Freud fell out with Carl Jung in the Hof over the status of the libido; Kafka stayed at the Hof when he gave his second, and final, public reading to a hostile audience. A decade later, Hitler learned to crack crabs at the Hof under the supervision of a society hostess, and Joseph Goebbels counted on its rooms for a good night’s rest. The Hof weathered the revolutions of 1848; it withstood the revolution of 1918–19, in which the socialist leader Kurt Eisner was assassinated in front of the hotel and Bavaria briefly became a workers’-council republic; it rebuffed the Nazis’ attempts to buy it in the Thirties; and, after it was nearly destroyed by an Allied bombing raid in 1944, it was reconstructed with beaverlike industry. Today its wide façade of three hundred and thirty-seven rooms imposes itself over the small Promenadeplatz like a slice of meringue cake too large for its plate. Every February, hundreds of diplomats, politicians, academics, and arms dealers convene here for the Munich Security Conference.

What Goes Up  

Does the rise of index funds spell catastrophe?

Money—where it comes from, where it goes—was on my mind as I drove from Brooklyn to Philadelphia last fall, a Friday the thirteenth. I spent most of the trip on a Zoom call with my wife and our doula, discussing what combination of night nurses, babysitters, and nannies we’d need come the birth of our twins, our second and third sons. Nary a dollar figure was uttered, seemingly out of respect, just as those attending a funeral avoid naming the actual cause of death.

Previews: The New Yorker Magazine – May 27, 2024

A woman carrying a bag eyes a similar counterfeit bag for sale on a city street.

The New Yorker (May 20, 2024): The new issue‘s cover features

R. Kikuo Johnson’s “Genuine Style” – The artist depicts all the luxuries the city has to offer.

Donald Trump’s Abortion Problem at the Polls

Since Roe v. Wade was overturned, G.O.P. efforts to ban abortion have backfired with voters in many states—and they could do so again in November.

The Guy on Trial for the Same Thing as Trump

At 100 Centre Street, another man charged with falsifying business records had a good day in court.

The New York Times — Monday, May 20, 2024

Helicopter Carrying Iran’s President Has Crashed, State Media Reports

Rescuers are trying to locate the helicopter on which President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian were traveling, state media reported. Their status is unknown.

Biden Draws on Themes of Manhood and Faith at Morehouse Commencement

The president’s appearance at the historically Black college in Atlanta drew some respectful but noticeable protest over U.S. support for Israel’s war in Gaza.

‘We’ll See You at Your House’: How Fear and Menace Are Transforming Politics

Public officials from Congress to City Hall are now regularly subjected to threats of violence. It’s changing how they do their jobs.

News: Cohen Testifies In Trump Trial, South Africa Pushes Case Against Israel

The Globalist (May 17, 2024): Michael Cohen returns to the witness stand for cross-examination on his third day of testimony.

Then: South Africa asks the International Court of Justice to order Israel to immediately withdraw from Rafah and we hear from the Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Stephen Adly Guirgis. Plus: your weekend drinks menu with Maxim Kassir, head sommelier at The Aubrey, Mandarin Oriental.

The New York Times — Friday, May 17, 2024

Image

As Russia Advances, NATO Considers Sending Trainers Into Ukraine

The move could draw the United States and Europe more directly into the war. The Biden administration continues to say there will be no American troops on the ground.

U.A.W. Effort to Organize Mercedes Workers in Alabama Has High Stakes

Southern political leaders say a win for the United Automobile Workers would threaten their economies. Activists want to strike a blow against a system they say exploits the poor.

At Justice Alito’s House, a ‘Stop the Steal’ Symbol on Display

An upside-down flag, adopted by Trump supporters contesting the Biden victory, flew over the justice’s front lawn as the Supreme Court was considering an election case.

Slovakia’s Politics Were Toxic Long Before Its Prime Minister Was Shot

Years of vitriolic rhetoric, worsened by the Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine, left Slovakia with bitter political division.

The New York Times — Thursday, May 16, 2024

Image

Biden and Trump Agree to Two Debates in June and September

The first debate, on June 27 on CNN, raises the likelihood of the earliest general-election debate in modern history.

How MSNBC’s Leftward Tilt Delivers Ratings, and Complications

NBC’s leaders have been forced to grapple with how to square its cable news network’s embrace of progressive politics with the company’s straight-news operation.

Attempted Assassination of Slovak Leader Puts Europe on Edge

Prime Minister Robert Fico of Slovakia, an ally of Vladimir V. Putin and Viktor Orban, was shot multiple times on Wednesday, stoking fears that Europe’s polarized politics were tipping into violence.

National Geographic Magazine – June 2024

June 2024 Issue

National Geographic Magazine (May 15, 2024) The new issue features ‘Stress’ – What we’re learning about the way stress affects us. And how we can minimize the damage.

Can scientists ‘solve’ stress? They’re trying.

Three young girls eat bowls of cereal at the dining table as their mother and father stand distracted in the back of a cluttered kitchen.

From cardiovascular disease and obesity to a weakened immune system, the side effects of stress can be life-altering. But there may be a way to prevent those outcomes.

ByYudhijit Bhattacharjee

Does meditation actually work? Here’s what the science says.

Research is finally catching up to the idea that meditation—which has been practiced for millennia—also provides many health benefits, including managing stress and anxiety.

Scientific American Magazine – June 2024

Readers Respond to the February 2024 Issue | Scientific American

Scientific American (May 15, 2024)The June 2024 issue features:

Grizzly Bears Will Finally Return to Washington State. Humans Aren’t Sure How to Greet Them

BENJAMIN CASSIDY

Lifting the Veil on Near-Death Experiences

RACHEL NUWER

News, Views and Reviews For The Intellectually Curious