Tag: current affairs – international

The ‘Gaza genocide’ claim is a blood libel, says historian Simon Schama

In his recent keynote address to the Holocaust Educational Trust annual dinner, well-known historian Simon Schama denounced the allegations of genocide directed at the Israeli government and armed forces as a ‘blood libel.’ This term is specific to Jewish history, and refers to medieval Christian slanders directed against Jews by the highest echelons of Christian… Read More The ‘Gaza genocide’ claim is a blood libel, says historian Simon Schama

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Burning forests, emptying rivers, €180bn in damage: Europe’s politicians face reckoning after ‘summer of truth’

Fiona Harvey Environment editor It was, according to the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, the “summer of truth”. Climate chaos ripped through Europe and the northern hemisphere, sending heat records tumbling, scorching crops in the fields, burning forests, emptying rivers and reservoirs, warping train tracks, melting roads and killing about 35,000 people in… Read More Burning forests, emptying rivers, €180bn in damage: Europe’s politicians face reckoning after ‘summer of truth’

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Pratap Bhanu Mehta: the Graham Bill is America confusing its power with virtue — yet again

By externalising the blame for the war in Ukraine onto India and China without corresponding pressure on Trump to end at least the one war he can easily end — Iran — American democracy has dealt a blow to itself The Graham Bill, targeting India and China for oil purchases from Russia, is a grotesque… Read More Pratap Bhanu Mehta: the Graham Bill is America confusing its power with virtue — yet again

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As Big Tech Takes Over Hollywood, the Picture Onscreen Gets Darker

“The Social Reckoning” and other movies reflect growing discontent with Silicon Valley founders. But such films may be at the mercy of the companies themselves. By Alissa Wilkinson It’s hard to remember this, but before “The Social Network” came out in 2010, there was plenty of snickering. Would anyone want to watch a movie about… Read More As Big Tech Takes Over Hollywood, the Picture Onscreen Gets Darker

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In Gaza, we’ve seen horror unfold with global powers’ support. Is that a blueprint for elsewhere?

For now, it is Palestinians who are being killed & displaced. But ideologies of supremacy and domination threaten us all. Ahdaf Soueif Last week, Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel’s minister of national security, put out an AI-generated video that showed a conveyor belt of overweight Palestinian prisoners – dreaming of food and education – entering one of his prisons;… Read More In Gaza, we’ve seen horror unfold with global powers’ support. Is that a blueprint for elsewhere?

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9/11: The Saudi Connection – BBC World Service Documentaries

‘FDR’s 1943 proclamation that America would defend Saudi Arabia would be reaffirmed by every American president, most prominently in the 1957 Eisenhower Doctrine and the 1980 Carter Doctrine. In 1944, the United States sent its first military mission to Saudi Arabia, and in 1945 the United States and Saudi Arabia signed a military cooperation agreement… Read More 9/11: The Saudi Connection – BBC World Service Documentaries

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The End of the Myth by Greg Grandin review – America can no longer run from its past (2019)

The idea of the frontier in US history has been one of endless promise, but the reality has involved violence, even genocide. As this powerful study argues, its latest incarnation is Trump’s wall Ben Ehrenreich It is hard, as an American, to take much pleasure in the irony that the past appears to be catching… Read More The End of the Myth by Greg Grandin review – America can no longer run from its past (2019)

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