Month: January 2022

Roy Cohen – ‘In our teens, we dreamed of making peace between Israelis and Palestinians. Then my friend was shot’

NB: This is a beautifully written account of a terrible human tragedy. Thank you Roy. You did your best for peace and friendship. And you are keeping alive the memory of Aseel, your dead Palestinian friend. You do what is right because it is right. We can only hope that one day the Phoenix of… Read More Roy Cohen – ‘In our teens, we dreamed of making peace between Israelis and Palestinians. Then my friend was shot’

Dilip

Increased repression and violence a sign of weakness, says Human Rights Watch

Increasingly repressive and violent acts against civilian protests by autocratic leaders and military regimes around the world are signs of their desperation and weakening grip on power, Human Rights Watch says in its annual assessment of human rights across the globe. In its world report 2022, the human rights organisation said autocratic leaders faced a significant… Read More Increased repression and violence a sign of weakness, says Human Rights Watch

Dilip

Glenda Sluga: 'Only That I Were an Official Person!' – Women in diplomacy during the Napoleonic wars

Women born in Europe between 1763 and 1771 and who lived through the Napoleonic wars – even those who lacked a formal education – were liable to remark on the limits to their life choices. As the cultural, legal, and political profile of women’s difference sharpened, some persisted in wanting the same experiences as men… Read More Glenda Sluga: 'Only That I Were an Official Person!' – Women in diplomacy during the Napoleonic wars

Dilip

Martha Nussbaum: On not hating the body

Consider the elaborate flight stratagem of Western metaphysics, where body-hatred reigned supreme (though not uncontested) for about two millennia. One might have thought that the obvious theoretical position was in the vicinity of Aristotle’s: we are animate bodies, and the soul is the living organization of our matter. And yet what amazing contortions others, and… Read More Martha Nussbaum: On not hating the body

Dilip

Patrick Wintour: Russia’s belief in Nato ‘betrayal’ – and why it matters today

The current confrontation between Russia and the west is fuelled by many grievances, but the greatest is the belief in Moscow that the west tricked the former Soviet Union by breaking promises made at the end of the cold war in 1989-1990 that Nato would not expand to the east. In his now famous 2007 speech… Read More Patrick Wintour: Russia’s belief in Nato ‘betrayal’ – and why it matters today

Dilip

Oliver Milman: How the speed of climate change is unbalancing the insect world

The climate crisis is set to profoundly alter the world around us. Humans will not be the only species to suffer from the calamity. Huge waves of die-offs will be triggered across the animal kingdom as coral reefs turn ghostly white and tropical rainforests collapse. For a period, some researchers suspected that insects may be… Read More Oliver Milman: How the speed of climate change is unbalancing the insect world

Dilip

Last year the oceans absorbed heat equivalent to 7 Hiroshima atomic bombs detonating each second

I was fortunate to play a small part in a new study, just published in the journal Advances in Atmospheric Sciences, which shows that the Earth broke yet another heat record last year. Twenty-three scientists from around the world teamed up to analyze thousands of temperature measurements taken throughout the world’s oceans. The measurements, taken… Read More Last year the oceans absorbed heat equivalent to 7 Hiroshima atomic bombs detonating each second

Dilip