Tag Archives: religion

The New York Times —- Friday, December 27, 2024

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Israel Loosened Its Rules to Bomb Hamas Fighters, Killing Many More Civilians

Surprised by Oct. 7 and fearful of another attack, Israel weakened safeguards meant to protect noncombatants, allowing officers to endanger up to 20 people in each airstrike. One of the deadliest bombardments of the 21st century followed.

Israel Bombs Yemeni Airport and Ports After Houthi Missile Launches

The assault killed at least four people and injured 21 others, the state news agency in Yemen reported. The strikes came after a week of attacks by the Iran-backed militia.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Wants to Ban Drug Ads on TV. It Wouldn’t Be Easy.

Attempts to restrict pharmaceutical advertisements have failed many times over the years, often on First Amendment grounds.

Plane Crash Investigators Focus on Russian Air Defenses as Possible Cause

Russian aviation authorities said the Azerbaijan Airlines plane had hit a flock of birds. But some experts cast doubt on that account, pointing to footage showing apparent holes in the fuselage.

Culture, Magazines, Opinion, Politics, Previews, Reviews, Society

The New York Times Magazine – Dec. 22, 2024

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In this issue, Nicholas Casey and Paolo Pellegrin on the journey to receive medical treatment for Palestinians in Gaza; Jason Diamond on the dancer and choreographer Mikhail Baryshnikov; Jenna (J) Wortham on the new social media platform Bluesky; and more.

THE NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE (December 21, 2024): The 12,22,24 issue features ‘Escape From Gaza’…

For a Desperate Few, a Hectic Escape From Gaza

The war is nearly impossible to flee — except for a small number of sick and wounded who are offered a dramatic path to safety. By Nicholas Casey

Is Mikhail Baryshnikov the Last of the Highbrow Superstars?

Fifty years since he left the Soviet Union, he insists on using his huge fame to bring attention to difficult, esoteric art. By Jason Diamond

Another New Twitter? Good Luck With That.

Users are now flocking to Bluesky. But every social media platform becomes a wasteland in the end. By J Wortham

Culture, Magazines, Opinion, Politics, Reviews

Politics: The Guardian Weekly – December 20, 2024

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https://boomers-daily.com/2024/12/18/politics-the-guardian-weekly-december-20-2024/…

The Guardian Weekly (December 18, 2024): The latest issue features Did democracy survive? Reflections on a year of elections. Plus The best film, music and TV of 2024…

This was a year in which billions of people living in more than 80 countries had the right to cast their democratic votes in elections. But with democracy around the world under ever-greater threats – from attacks on freedom of speech, equality of participation and plurality of media to name a few – how did the election process bear up? Jonathan Yerushalmy and Oliver Holmes find reasons for hope amid the pressure.

The big story | France and the shadow of the Pelicot trial
The mass rape case, in which verdicts and sentencing are expected this week, has horrified the world. But this is not French society’s first attempt to confront a sexually abusive culture, writes Kim Willsher, who has witnessed the harrowing proceedings in Avignon

Spotlight | How Ukrainian power plant workers keep the country running
As winter closes in, Shaun Walker visits a Soviet-era coal-fired thermal installation to explore how it has held up to Russian attacks

Opinion | After the fall of Assad, the least Syrians deserve is our optimism
With the tyrannical dynasty gone, it’s important not to impose a negative script on what comes next. Syrians deserve support and hope, argues Nesrine Malik

The shamelessness of Fifa’s process in awarding the 2034 tournament to Riyadh was a display of contempt for governance, democracy and good sense, writes Barney Ronay

What else we’ve been reading

Former French prime minister Michel Barnier, left, and the newly appointed François Bayrou.

With France on its fourth prime minister in a year and Germany facing a snap election in February, Paris and Berlin correspondents Jon Henley and Deborah Cole explain why the driving forces of the European Union are in the doldrums. An excellent primer to understand what will be a shaky start to next year for European politics. Isobel Montgomery, deputy editor

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The New York Times — Sunday, December 15, 2024

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Syria Shudders as Assad’s Prison Atrocities Come Into the Light

At the country’s most notorious prison, Syrians confront their worst fears: that they will never know what happened to the loved ones who disappeared.

South Korea’s President Is Impeached After Martial Law Crisis

Some members of President Yoon Suk Yeol’s own party helped remove him from office. But the political uncertainty is far from over.

What Ever Happened to the Lady Jaguars?

When we met them a dozen years ago, they were teenagers in trouble, playing for a basketball team that always lost. Did they find a way to win at life?

Gas Could Mean Billions for Indigenous People in Canada. Some Fear a Cost.

New export terminals along the rugged Pacific coastline have reignited a generations-old debate over identity and environmental stewardship.

Culture, Magazines, Opinion, Politics, Previews, Reviews, Society

The New York Times Magazine – Dec. 8, 2024

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THE NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE (December 14 2024): The 12.15.24 issue features ‘The Silence of Alice Munro’…

What Alice Munro Knew

The Nobel-winning author’s husband was a pedophile who targeted her daughter and other children. Why did she stay silent?

Opioids Ravaged a Kentucky Town. Then Rehab Became Its Business.

In Louisa, an unbearable social crisis has become the main source of economic opportunity.

Could This Tiny School Break Down the Wall Between Church and State?

Officials in Oklahoma are laying the groundwork to push Christianity into public schools.

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The New York Times — Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024

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How U.S. Firms Battled a Government Crackdown to Keep Tech Sales to China

An intense struggle has unfolded in Washington between companies and officials over where to draw the line on selling technology to China.

Joy Buoys Syria’s First Friday Prayers Since Assad Ouster, but Hardships Loom

In an impoverished, war-ravaged country, the first prayers after the fall of a brutal regime drew jubilant crowds, even in areas seen as regime strongholds.

The Fall of al-Assad Quickly Infuses Europe’s Debate Over Asylum

Nearly a million Syrians in Germany alone have made new lives. But after the fall of Bashar al-Assad, some politicians across the continent have suggested that refugees could return home.

McKinsey to Pay $650 Million in Opioid Settlement With Justice Department

A former senior partner will also plead guilty to obstruction of justice after destroying company documents.

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The New York Times — Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024

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Syria’s New Leaders Balance Huge Struggles Amid Disorder

The rebels who seized control called for foreign help in prosecuting atrocities, while trying to restore order in a fractured country.

Power, Intimidation and the Resurrection of Trump’s Support for Hegseth

The president-elect became convinced that letting Pete Hegseth fail would set off a feeding frenzy among senators. What followed was a MAGA swarm that helped salvage his bid, at least for now.

Recent Immigration Surge Has Been Largest in U.S. History

Under President Biden, more than two million immigrants per year have entered, government data shows.

The Gold Rush at the Heart of a Civil War

Famine and ethnic cleansing stalk Sudan. Yet the gold trade is booming, enriching generals and propelling the fight.

Arts & Literature, Ethics, Magazines, Philosophy, Politics, Reviews

Preview: Philosophy Now Magazine January 2025

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Philosophy Now Magazine (December 11,2024) – The new issue features ‘The Return of God?’ and Social Media & Plato’s Cave…

Return to God?

by Rick Lewis

NEWS

News: December 2024 / January 2025

Lost Hegel lecture notes now being digitized • Professor Ted Honderich dead at 91 — News reports by Anja Steinbauer

SOCIAL MEDIA

Plato’s Cave & Social Media

Seán Radcliffe asks, has Plato’s Allegory of the Cave been warning us of social media for 2,400 years?

Trolls, Skeptics & Philosophers

Rosemary Twomey questions our online epistemology.

THE RETURN OF GOD?

Exploring Atheism

Amrit Pathak gives us a run-down of the foundations of modern atheism.

A Critique of Pure Atheism

Andrew Likoudis questions the basis of some popular atheist arguments.

Evil & An Omnipotent, Benevolent God

Zdeněk Petráček looks at the biggest problem facing monotheism.

A God of Limited Power

Philip Goff grasps hold of the problem of evil and comes up with a novel solution.

The Best Possible World, But Not For Us

Mohsen Moghri gives a Godless but principled response to the problem of evil.

Medieval Islam & the Nature of God

Musa Mumtaz meditates on two maverick medieval Muslim metaphysicians.

ARTICLES

Metaphors & Creativity

Ignacio Gonzalez-Martinez has a flash of inspiration about the role metaphors play in creative thought.

Seeing & Knowing

Shashwat Mishra explores the limits of perception via the Molyneux problem.

Perpetuating the Santa Deception

Jimmy Alfonso Licon wonders whether pretending there’s a Santa is naughty or nice.

Volney (1757-1820)

John P. Irish travels the path of a revolutionary mind.

How Can We Make A Computer Conscious?

Each answer below receives a random book. Apologies to the entrants not included.

INTERVIEWS

Robert Stern

Robert Stern talks with AmirAli Maleki about philosophy in general, and Kant and Hegel in particular.

LETTERS

Letters

Thoughts on Thoughts on Thoughts • Get Smarter • Decoding A Decoding • A Swift Rebuttal • Basic Arithmetic • A Message on Meaning

COLUMNS

Xenophanes (c.570-c.478 BCE)

by Terence Green

Philosophers on Dance

by Matt Qvortrup

“I refute it thus”

Raymond Tallis kicks immaterialism into touch.

Seneca On Anger

Massimo Pigliucci tells us how to avoid becoming irate.

REVIEWS

Too Late To Awaken by Slavoj Žižek

T.W.J Moxham reads Slavoj Žižek’s little book of Hegelian horrors.

Barriers to Entailment by Gillian Russell

Christopher John Searle recommends a study of which moves are allowed in logical arguments.

It’s A Wonderful Life

Becky Lee Meadows considers questions of guilt, innocence, and despair in this classic Christmas movie.

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The New York Times — Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024

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Suspect in C.E.O. Killing Withdrew From a Life of Privilege and Promise

The suspect, Luigi Mangione, was an Ivy League tech graduate from a prominent Maryland family who in recent months had suffered physical and psychological pain.

How a Realtors’ Nonprofit Quietly Funds Conservative Advocacy Groups

The National Association of Realtors has created a nonprofit that gives more heavily to one side of the political aisle and to groups that have little to do with real estate and housing.

What to Know About Syria’s Notorious Sednaya Prison

Amnesty International described it as a “human slaughterhouse,” where, other rights groups say, tens of thousands of people were detained, tortured and killed during the 13-year civil war.

Rage Grows Over a Spate of Brutal Murders of Women in Kenya

Almost 100 women have been killed in the span of three months, the police say. Rights groups want President William Ruto to declare femicide a national crisis.

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The New York Times — Tuesday, December 10, 2024

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Shock, Glee and Unease as Syrians Celebrate the Unthinkable

A day after the regime of President Bashar al-Assad fell, civilians poured into the streets of Damascus, weeping in disbelief. Many sought word of relatives held in a notorious prison on the outskirts of the city.