John Naughton Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to remember the metaverse, which was quietly laid to rest a few weeks ago by its grieving adoptive parent, one Mark Zuckerberg. Those of you with long memories will remember how, in October 2021, Zuck (as he is known to his friends) excitedly announced the arrival of his… Read More A moment’s silence, please, for the death of Mark Zuckerberg’s metaverse
Turkey’s general election on Sunday, May 14 will see voters cast their ballots for 600 members of its parliament and the country’s powerful presidency. This election has become intensely competitive in a country which has undergone severe democratic erosion over the past decade, but may now be looking for change. Turkish president, and previously prime minister, Recep… Read More Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu: Turkey’s opposition leader is leading in the polls
Hannah Ellis-Petersen Explainer How Imran Khan became the man who divided Pakistan From cricket star to ousted PM, Khan is an anti-establishment rebel to some and a corrupt force for destruction to others Hannah Ellis-Petersen Imran Khan is often regarded as the most divisive man in Pakistan. For some, the former superstar cricketer turned prime… Read More How Imran Khan became the man who divided Pakistan
Putin once saw advantage in giving writers a degree of freedom, even to be critical. Those days are long gone, and Russia’s artists are fleeing William Fear As much as Russia is the country of Tolstoy and Rachmaninov, it is also the country of Stalin and the Lubyanka prison – a nation built as much on beauty… Read More As the Ukraine war grinds on, Russia is becoming a cultural wasteland
Since Euromaidan and the first Russian invasion in 2014, Ukrainian filmmakers have been prolifically recording the impact of war on society. The result is an immensely powerful and varied body of work across genres and styles. A survey. Barbara Wurm ‘What power does art have in wartime?’ asks the poster for Iryna Tsilyk’s multiple award-winning… Read More Anthropology of war
By Olivia Rosane / Common Dreams Workers from Japan to France took to the street on Monday for the largest May Day demonstrations since Covid-19 restrictions pushed people inside three years ago. Marchers expressed frustration with both their nations’ policies—such as French President Emmanuel Macron’s raising of the retirement age in March—and global issues like the rising cost… Read More In Largest May Day Turnout Since Pandemic, Workers Around the World March for Better Conditions
Nationalistic propaganda in Russia has intensified noticeably since the invasion of Ukraine last year, and the country’s 17.7 million schoolchildren have not been spared. Vera Akhalaya That said, it’s impossible for the Kremlin to control every teacher – and some are risking prison and their careers to tell their students about the realities of the… Read More How teachers are resisting the Kremlin’s war propaganda in Russian schools
Olivier Bancoult US military personnel live in my birthplace, the Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia, but I am not allowed to. Since I was four years old, my people, the Chagossians, have lived in impoverished exile, while the US military has been enjoying the fruits of my homeland. The plight of my people has… Read More The US and UK stole our homes. 50 years on, we’re still being denied justice
Nicole Goodkind, CNN Banks have pledged to go green, but last year they poured billions of dollars into expanding the capacity of fossil fuel production despite the accelerating climate crisis. Banks provided $673 billion to finance the fossil fuel industry last year, even as oil and gas companies made $4 trillion in profits, according to the annual Banking on… Read More The world’s biggest banks are still pouring money into fossil fuels
A thorough dissection of America’s capitalist mythology reveals the sham to which lots of people continue to subscribe, despite growing nationwide suffering. Much of what is now a core part of the American psyche is a series of get-rich-quick schemes passed off as meritocratic necessities within a capitalist society. Key words and phrases like “the… Read More It’s Called the American Dream Because You Have To Be Asleep to Believe It
