Halfway through 2024 the world got to an unspeakable, unwritable place. Israel’s orgiastic genocide of the Palestinians. Malignant capitalism. Murderous misogyny. Poisoned politics. It was literally beyond words. The ethical bankruptcy of power everywhere short-circuited my vocabulary into a charred and smoking ruin. Since I process dark, smelly feelings by articulating them, wordlessness only made… Read More Mitali Saran: Power and the nothingburger
The international legal order is in shambles. But from the ruins of impunity and lawbreaking, a group of nations is working to enforce accountability. Varsha Gandikota On Monday, the UN general assembly’s high-level meetings opened to news that Washington had drawn up sanctions against the international criminal court, targeting its bank accounts, software, insurers and… Read More Israel and the US have battered the international legal order. The impunity must stop
It’s not just screen time: the problem with children’s media is that it has become relentlessly hectic, loud and bright Natalia Kucirkova Iam at the airport gate waiting to depart, watching passengers hurry past with rolling suitcases and paper cups of coffee. A small boy sits very still beside his mother. He holds an iPad… Read More The bombarding of childhood
Amar Kanwar’s film installations at London’s Serpentine North gallery Martin Robinson Amar Kanwar, The Peacock’s Graveyard, 2023. (Film still) Digital video installation, 7 screens, dimensions variable, 28 mins, 16 sec. Courtesy of the artist and Marian Goodman Gallery. This is a transcendent show full of revelations, the kind of show that could change your life… Read More Amar Kanwar: This exhibition will change your life, if you let it
It’s something akin to a quiet earthquake: home nations jointly declaring their wish to be freed from English domination. A big move needs a big response Simon Jenkins Monday must have been a historical first. Never before have three of the four “nations” of the United Kingdom jointly demanded freedom to vote for its dissolution.… Read More Slowly then all at once: this emboldened Celtic alliance could spell the end of the UK
Patrick Wintour n a 1965 speech justifying the war in Vietnam, Lyndon B Johnson argued that the goal was to ensure “every country can shape its own destiny” since only in such a world could the US secure its own freedom. However, he also admitted “such were infirmities of man that force must often precede… Read More Could Trump’s Iran ‘excursion’ be a bigger global turning point than Vietnam?
Danny Haiphong, Substack. The current world order is full of pain and horror. But it’s how we approach it that determines humanity’s fate in the end. It makes sense why despair is spreading across the combined West, particularly in the United States. I’ve received comments and messages claiming that I mislead audiences by spreading optimism… Read More Against Geopolitical Despair
“The United States supported and in many cases engendered every right wing military dictatorship in the world after the end of the Second World War. I refer to Indonesia, Greece, Uruguay, Brazil, Paraguay, Haiti, Turkey, the Philippines, Guatemala, El Salvador, and, of course, Chile. The horror the United States inflicted upon Chile in 1973 can… Read More Mukul Kesavan: Ark of Atrocity
Ali Abootalebi Informed Comment The Arab states have long suffered from weak political legitimacy and ineffective governance. Authoritarian rule remains pervasive. According to Freedom House, no Arab country is currently classified as “Free,” while Jordan, Lebanon, and Comoros are rated “Partly Free.” Kuwait, following the suspension of its elected parliament in 2024, is now classified as “Not… Read More The Arab States and the US-Israeli War on Iran
New report shows key indicators of Earth’s health are ‘outside the safe operating space’ as climate disaster looms Oliver Milman he planetary life support systems relied upon by humans have deteriorated to their worst levels ever recorded amid ongoing pollution and habitat destruction, according to a key yet grim annual update by scientists. Of the… Read More ‘Planetary boundaries’ necessary for flourishing of life have been massively breached, scientists warn
