Reading

It was an ordinary night at Baker Street. Sherlock was dictating the results of his latest case when, suddenly, he paused. “Watson, there’s someone here to see us,” he said. Sure enough, not a second later, there was a knock, and I opened the door to find a young lady tightly clutching a telephone, her face stricken in distress.

“Mr. Holmes, I apologize for the lateness of the hour,” she said, entering the study. “But I have in my possession a deep reservoir of text messages, and I can not tell if they are intended to be of a flirtatious nature.”

“Pray, give us all the details,” Sherlock said, bringing his pipe curiously to his lips. “When did this most ambiguous of exchanges begin?”

“About three weeks ago.”

His eyes narrowed.

“Three? That is a long while.”

“Yes, it is,” the young lady replied, shifting nervously on her feet.

By way of introduction let me quote Richard Falk, noted international law professor and former UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Falk: the decision by the ICJ “marks the greatest moment in the history of the [Court]”. The initial response to the decision on 26 January suggested that South Africa Continue reading »

There is clear evidence that US efforts to build a coalition of allies in our region is directed at containing Chinese power and developing the capability to eventually confront the Chinese military. That scenario is a nightmare for Australia. We now find certain elements of a Labor government flirting with containment and confrontation with China Continue reading »

It was bound to happen in one form or another. The AUKUS arrangements were a guarantee of it. The ‘it’ in question is the alleged discovery and lamentation that, possibly, “Australia has one of the weakest research security frameworks in the developed world.” Redress is demanded and of a draconian character; not to do so Continue reading »

Veterans of Middle East affairs say wryly that anyone who claims to understand the Israel-Palestine conflict has been misinformed. This paper reviews the complex and emotionally fraught history of the Conflict; looks at 10/7 and Israel’s war on Hamas in Gaza in retaliation, and then speculates on possible pathways to the conflict’s resolution that could Continue reading »

The Bangladeshi elections of 7 January, like most polls, including those in democratic nations of the developed world, have their own shortcomings and should not be lightly dismissed. But what my group of international observers witnessed on election day in Dhaka, Bangladesh, was democracy in development. It was a day free of violence and free Continue reading »

Is there a word for when you are in a rage and in despair? Respair? Dage? Cause whatever that is – I am both in rage and despair as a woman who works in both politics and technology over the latest example of how the media treats powerful women; in this case Georgie Purcell, member Continue reading »

International Monetary Fund (IMF) managing director, Kristalina Georgieva, was recently quoted in the Guardian (Tuesday 16/1/24) saying that “in most scenarios artificial intelligence (AI) would probably worsen overall inequality across the global economy and could stoke social tensions without political intervention”. Australia’s vulnerability to such AI-induced inequality would appear to be high, while our chances Continue reading »

Indonesia, Australia’s largest neighbour, will go to the polls on 14 February 2024 to elect a new President. Some 160 million eligible voters are expected to turn out in the largest single-day contest. Under Indonesian law, the candidates must secure more than fifty per cent of the votes to avoid a run-off, scheduled on 26 Continue reading »

A Syrian friend in Damascus was commissioned to translate Bridge of Clay, a tender, beautiful novel by Australian author Markus Zusak. As it is not an easy novel for a Syrian who has never lived in Australia to translate, my friend and I have had quite a few WhatsApp calls to discuss tricky bits in Continue reading »

Our leading humanitarian and civic institutions, including major medical institutions, refuse to denounce Israel’s genocide in Gaza. This exposes their hypocrisy and complicity. There is no effective health care system left in Gaza. Infants are dying. Children are having their limbs amputated without anaesthesia. Thousands of cancer patients and those in need of dialysis lack Continue reading »

Well, she’s being a true daughter of South Carolina: It’s not like Harris was in the Obama administration or really had anything to do with him. She’s against Harris being president because Black presidents are “divisive.” Until Obama was elected and divided us, we didn’t have any of these “problems.” Harris will obviously do the same thing. Because she’s Black. And you know how they are. And she said it on The Breakfast Club a podcast hosted by Black people. Jesus. And then there’s this: Actually, it can’t secede. As that old woke Justice Antonin Scalia said, “If there was any constitutional issue resolved by the Civil War, it is that there is no right to secede.” Haley is campaigning in her home state of S. Carolina a state that knows from secession.

The author on writing her book, Our Moon, about the power of our satellite to guide evolution and human curiosity.

The post My 3 Greatest Revelations appeared first on Nautilus.

Did a colossal collision with a doomed planet give us our satellite?

The post The Violent Birth of the Moon appeared first on Nautilus.

by Daniel Wortel-London

Even as nearly a billion people go hungry every day, the wealthiest one percent of the world’s population is purchasing ever-more expensive toys. Yacht sales grew by an average of 22 percent per year between 2014 and 2022. Private jet sales have boomed since the start of the COVID pandemic. The global luxury jewelry market, already huge at $56.5 billion,

The post Introducing the Luxury Cap Act appeared first on Center for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy.

At a closed-door fundraiser, Bhavini Patel told donors she was strategizing to get Republicans to vote against Lee in the Democratic primary.

The post Summer Lee’s Primary Foe Wants Pro-Israel and Right-Wing Hindu Supporters to Take Down the Squad appeared first on The Intercept.

In a letter, more than 1,000 of Goldman’s constituents condemned him for lambasting charges of genocide against Israel at the International Court of Justice.

The post Rep. Dan Goldman’s “Disgust” at South Africa’s Genocide Case Is Costing Him Votes appeared first on The Intercept.

America: If you love it, hate it Oliver Darcy on Tuesday wrote, “Conservatives are going into self-exile.” The Formerly Republican Party, like Formerly Twitter, “is now led by far-right media forces hoping to cash in on attention from raging culture wars, sealing off its adherents from the rest of society.” One wonders what’s left of America for Republicans to love. Red-hatted Make America Great Again believers are systematically excommunicating anyone and everyone not not eaten up with gnawing grievances. They have demonized DEI efforts (diversity, equity and inclusion) and seem bent (apt?) on making their clan “the most restrictive country club in America.” In the 1960s, the conservative slogan was, America: Love it or leave it. Today the message is, America: If you love it, hate it. Darcy writes: From a bird’s eye view, the state of affairs among MAGA Media diehards as it sits today is remarkable.

Is it possible to imagine the ballet world without a primary teleology of aesthetic perfectionism and a baseline of low self-worth?

David Sirota sits down with analyst Oren Cass, who’s calling for a new brand of conservative economic policy.