News: NATO’s Massive New Military Drills, Israel Spurns Hamas Truce Offer

The Globalist Podcast (January 22, 2024) .We discuss Nato’s preparations for the ‘Steadfast Defender 24’ exercises, which will test the alliance’s ability to defend its eastern flank that borders Russia.

Plus: a flick through the day’s papers, the latest climate news and a dispatch from Singapore Art Week.

The New York Times — Monday, January 22, 2024

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Ron DeSantis Ends Campaign for President

Ron DeSantis looking downward, his face serious.

The Florida governor, who once appeared to be Donald Trump’s most daunting challenger, ran a costly, turbulent campaign that failed to catch on with Republican voters.

How Nikki Haley’s Lean Years Led Her Into an Ethical Thicket

From her earliest days in South Carolina politics, Ms. Haley’s public service paid personal financial dividends.

Deep Under Gaza, Evidence of Cells and Hostages, Israel Says

The Israeli military took reporters on a tour of an underground compound in the Gazan city of Khan Younis, where it says about 20 hostages were held by Hamas.

As Switzerland’s Glaciers Shrink, a Way of Life May Melt Away

Rising temperatures and retreating glaciers threaten Europe’s water tower, forcing local farmers to adapt and presaging larger troubles downstream.

Cinematic Japan: Renge-Ji Temple Garden In Kyoto

Yurara Sarara Films (January 20, 2024) – Renge-ji is a small temple in the north-east of Kyoto city. It was founded in 1662 by Imaeda Chikayoshi but other sources state that it was originally near the current location of Kyoto Station, and that Imaeda-san only moved it here and “revived” it long after its total destruction during the Onin war (1467~1477).

The main hall garden is of the “pond” style, formally known as “chisenkai kaiyuushiki garden” (池泉回遊式庭園). The only island stone of the pond represents a ship and is called “funaishi”, which means… ship stone 😉

Sunday Morning: Stories And News From London, Paris And Granada, Spain

Monocle on Sunday, January 21, 2024 – Georgina Godwin, Charles Hecker and Latika Bourke on the weekend’s biggest talking points. We also speak to Monocle’s editorial director, Tyler Brûlé, in Paris and Monocle’s correspondent, Mary Fitzgerald, reporting from Granada, Spain this week.

The New York Times — Sunday, January 21, 2024

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In Strategic Bind, Israel Weighs Freeing Hostages Against Destroying Hamas

Some Israeli commanders said the government’s two main goals were mutually incompatible. To eradicate Hamas, the military would have to engage in a lengthy war that would most likely cost the hostages’ lives.

For the Anti-Trump Wing of the G.O.P., It All Comes Down to Tuesday

The old guard of the Republican Party has rallied around Nikki Haley ahead of New Hampshire’s primary, in a long-shot bid to stop the former president’s march to the nomination.

‘America Is Under Attack’: Inside the Anti-D.E.I. Crusade

The backlash against “wokeism” has led a growing number of states to ban D.E.I. programs at public universities. Thousands of emails and other documents reveal the playbook — and grievances — behind one strand of the anti-D.E.I. campaign.

How Allegations of an Office Romance Came to Complicate the Case Against Trump

The claims involving Fani Willis and Nathan Wade, the special prosecutor she hired to manage the sprawling case in Georgia, have led to new questions about Mr. Wade’s qualifications.

Finance Preview: Barron’s Magazine- January 22, 2024

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BARRON’S MAGAZINE – JANUARY 22, 2024 ISSUE:

Sizing Up Barron’s Stock Picks of 2023. Why We Trailed the Market.

Sizing Up Barron’s Stock Picks of 2023. Why We Trailed the Market.

The 77 companies featured in bullish Barron’s articles last year returned nearly 10% on average, slightly trailing their benchmarks. Here’s what we got right—and wrong.

The S&P 500 Just Hit a New High. 27 Picks for the Year Ahead, From Our Roundtable Pros.

Tech, energy, entertainment, and more ideas to power your portfolio.

Dividend Cuts Are Coming. They Bring Big Opportunities.

Saturday Morning: News And Stories From London

Monocle on Saturday, January 20, 2024: What are the key takeaways from the interview with German defence minister, Boris Pistorius? Which country is the common link in the recent Middle Eastern conflicts, and why?

Join Georgina Godwin and Austrian journalist Tessa Szyszkowitz for this and more from the week’s news and culture. Plus: Monocle’s Lilian Fawcett visits Singapore’s international art fair, ART SG, to find out how Singapore is trying to establish itself as a global art hub.

The New York Times — Saturday, January 20, 2024

Divisions Emerging in Israel Over Gaza War

Protesters demanded action to free hostages, a war cabinet minister criticized the military campaign and the Israeli prime minister publicly ruled out a two-state solution, rebuffing the U.S.

America Stares Down a Trump-Biden Repeat in Disbelief and Denial

Unable to fathom a 2020 rematch, many Americans are clinging to forlorn hopes and floating wild theories — including that Michelle Obama might replace President Biden.

Israeli Women Fight on Front Line in Gaza, a First

After a long struggle for acceptance, Israel’s female combat soldiers are pushing new boundaries after rushing into battle on Oct. 7.

With Harsh Anti-L.G.B.T.Q. Law, Uganda Risks a Health Crisis

The country had made great progress against H.I.V. Now terrified patients have fled clinics, and experts fear a resurgence.

The New York Times Book Review – January 21, 2024

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THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW (January 19, 2024): The latest issue features the excitement over advance copy reviews of a January novel, Kaveh Akbar’s “Martyr!” …“You’ve got to read this,” one editor said. “One of the most electric novels I’ve read in a long while,” another said. This kind of thing — everyone thrilled by the same book — is unusual at the TBR, and explains why “Martyr!,” about a grieving young man’s search for meaning, graces our cover this week.

A Death-Haunted First Novel Incandescent With Life

This colorful illustration features a large red bird and a horse’s head and neck, both adorned with Farsi letters, as well as a skyward-bound airplane and a black-hooded figure with many faces holding a torch in one hand and a sword in the other. These details are laid over a backdrop of blue-green mountains and yellow sky.

In “Martyr!,” the poet Kaveh Akbar turns a grieving young man’s search for meaning into a piercing family saga.

Martyr!, by Kaveh Akbar

Reviewed by By Junot Díaz


Cyrus Shams, the aching protagonist at the heart of Kaveh Akbar’s incandescent first novel, is a veritable Rushdiean multitude: an Iranian-born American, a “bad” immigrant, a recovering addict, a straight-passing queer, an almost-30 poet who rarely writes, an orphan, a runner of open mics, an indefatigable logophile, a fiery wit, a self-pitying malcontent. But above all else Cyrus is sad; profoundly, inconsolably, suicidally sad.

Here are the books discussed in this week’s episode:

  • “Knife,” by Salman Rushdie
  • “James,” by Percival Everett
  • “The Book of Love,” by Kelly Link
  • “Martyr,” by Kaveh Akbar
  • “The Demon of Unrest,” by Erik Larson
  • “The Hunter,” by Tana French
  • “Wandering Stars,” by Tommy Orange
  • “Anita de Monte Laughs Last,” by Xochitl Gonzalez
  • “Splinters,” by Leslie Jamison
  • “Neighbors and Other Stories,” by Diane Oliver
  • “Funny Story,” by Emily Henry
  • “Table for Two,” by Amor Towles
  • “Grief Is for People,” by Sloane Crosley
  • “One Way Back: A Memoir,” by Christine Blasey Ford
  • “The House of Hidden Meanings: A Memoir,” by RuPaul

The New Criterion – February 2024 Preview

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The New Criterion – The February 2024 issue features:

The importance of Homer  by Joshua T. Katz
Galaxy brains  by Gary Saul Morson
The Thames: river of destinies  by Jeremy Black
“Breakfast Special”: a new story  by Woody Allen

New poems  by Nicholas Friedman, Jessica Hornik & Michael Spence

News, Views and Reviews For The Intellectually Curious