Sunday Morning: Stories And News From Helsinki, Istanbul, London & Zürich

Monocle on Sunday, February 11, 2024: Damita Pressl and Sarah Frattaroli 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, Hannah Lucinda Smith gives us the latest news from Istanbul and Monocle’s design editor, Nic Monisse, joins us from London.

The New York Times — Sunday, February 11, 2024

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U.N. Agency in Gaza Fought Hamas Infiltration; Not Hard Enough, Israel Says

Soldiers next to a wall with a U.N. crest on it.

The main U.N. agency in Gaza said it has long investigated claims of links, firing several employees over the years. Israel says it is a compromised organization too weak to protect itself.

Why the Age Issue Is Hurting Biden So Much More Than Trump

Both Donald J. Trump and President Biden are over 75. But voters are much less likely to worry that Mr. Trump is too old to serve.

Lost at Parkland: ‘Peter Was Always My Translator’

For one family, grieving the child they lost in the Parkland, Fla., school shooting is complicated by differences in language and culture.

Shocking Opposition Victory Throws Pakistan Into Chaos

The party of Imran Khan, the jailed former prime minister, took the most seats, humiliating the country’s military rulers and creating a political crisis.

Commentary Magazine – March 2024 Preview

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Commentary Magazine (February 10, 2024) The latest issue features ‘Power Broke Her’ – The Rise and (Maybe) Fall of Lina Khan; The ‘As A Jew’: A Brief History; What Putin and Xi have in Common; Hostages – What Price is Too High?; On Joan Didion and more…

The Power Broke Her

The Power Broke Her

The Rise and (Maybe) Fall of Lina Khan

by Adam J. White

Lina Khan was pleased with her progress. Appearing before the Economic Club of New York in July 2023, she outlined her vision as the chairman of the Federal Trade Commission under Joe Biden and its success so far. Never mind the fact that, just days earlier, a federal court had delivered her agency yet another high-profile setback.

Is AI Just Theft Under Another Name?

Is AI Just Theft Under Another Name?

by James B. Meigs

The magazine Popular Mechanics, where I once worked, used to have a column called “Saturday Mechanic.” It was a guide to basic car repair for the weekend tinkerer, and its author had decades of experience both in fixing cars and writing about them. Nonetheless, for each column, he would perform the task in question, carefully documenting each step with photographs. It was a lot of work, in other words.

The New York Times Book Review – February 11, 2024

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THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW (February 9, 2024): The latest issue features ‘Armed And Dangerous’ – Two new books – “One Nation Under Guns”, by Dominic Erdozain, and “What We’ve Become”, by Jonathan M. Metzl – examine America’s gun culture and its costs…

An America Where Guns Do the Talking

This illustration depicts a handgun in medium blue, drawn so that its middle section forms the outlines of the United States, beneath a jagged diagonal swath of red against a pale blue background.

Two new books consider how the country’s obsession with firearms has become an existential threat.

By Rachel Louise Snyder

ONE NATION UNDER GUNS: How Gun Culture Distorts Our History and Threatens Our Democracy, by Dominic Erdozain

WHAT WE’VE BECOME: Living and Dying in a Country of Arms, by Jonathan M. Metzl


Last year, a friend from Brunei visited me in the United States. She is American but was raised in Sudan and has lived in Cambodia and Scotland, among other places. We were talking about the rise in anxiety among teenagers in America when another friend texted me; her daughter had just arrived home from school, where she’d spent the afternoon in lockdown. “Of course your kids have anxiety,” my Brunei friend said. “They’re being raised in a war zone.”

A Scottish Coming-of-Age Story, With a Supernatural Twist

In this illustration, a young woman stands in the middle of vast farmland filled with rolling hills, cows and a little farmhouse. In the distance, a black train billowing smoke rolls by.

In Margot Livesey’s new novel, “The Road From Belhaven,” a 19th-century farm girl’s life and maturity are complicated by her uncontrollable visions of accident and disaster.

By Daisy Lafarge

Lizzie Craig has a gift: She sees “pictures” of events before they take place. It happens first when she’s 10, with a vision in which her grandfather’s scythe slips from a whetstone and injures his leg. It’s the tail end of the 19th century in Fife, rural Scotland, where Lizzie is brought up by her grandparents on Belhaven Farm. Her pictures, more often than not, are premonitions of accidents and disasters: a hurt leg, a wheel coming off a cart, a tree hit by lightning. They tend to arrive “a few weeks before the accident,” giving Lizzie time to prepare, and sometimes, intervene accordingly.

Saturday Morning: News And Stories From London

Monocle on Saturday, February 10, 2024: Will China’s economy recover during the Year of the Dragon? What is the UK’s new tech that could control the weather?

And how is the ‘Bayeux Tapestry’ being updated? Join Georgina Godwin and David Bodanis for a round-up of the week’s news and culture. Plus: the owner of The Steam Room, Tony Chung, joins us to talk about his collaboration with Ai Weiwei and Avant Arte for the Lunar New Year.

The New York Times — Saturday, February 10, 2024

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Netanyahu Orders Evacuation Plan for City Where a Million Gazans Shelter

Palestinians amid the destruction from an Israeli airstrike in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, on Friday.

Many civilians in Rafah are sheltering in rickety tents made of plastic and wood and say there is nowhere left in Gaza to avoid Israeli shelling.

In Private Remarks to Arab Americans, Biden Aide Expresses Regrets on Gaza

In a closed-door meeting, the aide offered some of the administration’s clearest notes of contrition for its response to the Gaza war, a sign of rising Democratic pressure on President Biden.

For Voters, When Does Old Become Too Old?

Polling shows it’s a broad concern expressed about President Biden, not just one person’s opinion.

Jonathan Majors Had a History of Abuse in Relationships, Women Say

The actor denied physical abuse. Separately, he said he wasn’t told of accusations of misbehavior on the set of “Lovecraft Country.”

Finance Preview: Barron’s Magazine – Feb 12, 2024

Magazine - Latest Issue - Barron's

BARRON’S MAGAZINE –FEBRUARY 12, 2024 ISSUE:

Pharmacy Chains Are in a World of Hurt. Blame Shrinking Drug Reimbursements.

Pharmacy Chains Are in a World of Hurt. Blame Shrinking Drug Reimbursements.

Chains like Walgreens and CVS have pivoted from endless expansion to closing stores to boost profits.

Dividend Stocks Make Sense Now. Here Are More Than 20 to Consider.

Dividend Stocks Make Sense Now. Here Are More Than 20 to Consider.

Many high-yielding sectors of the market are undervalued right now, and collecting dividends has several advantages over clipping coupons on bonds.

U.S. Pharmacies Are in Crisis. A Tale of One Troubled CVS Store.

U.S. Pharmacies Are in Crisis. A Tale of One Troubled CVS Store.

A Barron’s exclusive shows how corporate decisions at CVS left a pharmacy staff in Virginia Beach reeling, causing costly mistakes.

Home Is Where the Cash Is. How to Tap It Wisely.

Home Is Where the Cash Is. How to Tap It Wisely.

Home-equity lines of credit are popular among homeowners, but higher rates and fees might be off-putting. What to look for.

Buy Mondelez Stock for Oreos—and Everything Else

Buy Mondelez Stock for Oreos—and Everything Else

Shares of the snack maker should benefit from continued growth in emerging markets and elsewhere.

Architecture: A Cliffside Home Tour In Sydney

The Local Project (February 9, 2024) – Grounded in simplicity, GB House’s proximity to Sydney’s Gordons Bay and the nearby precipitous cliffs means the surrounding nature is celebrated as an interior design feature.

00:00 – Introduction to the Cliffside Home 00:55 – An Exciting and Historical Brief 02:13 – The Layout and Walkthrough of the Home 04:28 – Key Materials and Special Aspects 05:21 – Incorporating the Rich Natural World 06:53 – Favourite Aspects

Inside a cliffside home, Renato D’Ettorre Architects creates a minimalist beach house with a strong sensorial and emotional experience through materials and spatial composition. The initial brief focused on bringing this bay inside the architecture of the home and creating an open family home with almost no walls, so you could glimpse the water and cliff faces at every turn. “It is the outside that we wanted to create the magic, not what we’re doing inside – the inside is a frame almost, to frame the view,” says Renato D’Ettorre, lead architect for GB House.

“The entry sequence is one of my favourite parts of the house,” says Renato. The path is deliberately placed to the south to make the entry elongated so that one is encouraged to slow down. “It is a sensorial experience – you can see the end of the pathway, the horizon, but before you get there, you have to navigate this pathway where you have a watercourse and perforated red terracotta breeze blocks on either side of you, before arriving at the front door,” says Renato. The perforations brighten inside a cliffside home with patterns of light, moderate the summer sunlight and enable airflow. In this way, lighting works in harmony alongside the materiality of the dream home.

The New York Times Magazine – Feb 11, 2024

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THE NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE (February 9, 2024): The new issue features ‘The Untold Story Of How Trump’s Former Chief Of Staff Rose From Cash-Strapped Roots To Washington Prominence, Before Becoming Embroiled In The Prosecutions That May Determine The 2024 Election….

How Mark Meadows Became the Least Trusted Man in Washington

The untold story of the rise and fall of Trump’s former chief of staff — and his role in the prosecutions that may determine the 2024 election.

How Oct. 7 Drove a Wedge Into the Democratic Party

Members of Congress, and candidates for their seats, have been drawn into bitter political clashes over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

When George Santos, the indicted fabulist, was expelled from Congress in December, Nassau County Republicans scrambled to hunt up a new nominee. Santos was a catastrophe, but he had also flipped a New York Democratic stronghold, and party leaders wanted the best of him — the charisma, the conservatism and the history-making potential — with none of the debilitating drawbacks.

News, Views and Reviews For The Intellectually Curious