The New York Times — Thursday, Feb 15, 2024

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Hundreds Flee One of Gaza’s Last Working Hospitals, Fearing Israeli Attack

Israeli forces have been expanding their operations in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis for weeks, and on Wednesday called for civilians at a hospital there to leave for “safer spaces.”

House Republican Majority Shrinks Again as Congress Faces Critical Issues

The victory of Tom Suozzi, a Democrat, in a special election in New York will chip away at the already thin Republican hold over the House.

A Feared Ex-General Appears Set to Become Indonesia’s New Leader

Prabowo Subianto was ejected from the military on accusations of rights abuses. Now, he is projected to win the country’s presidency outright in the first round.

Two Students, Two Views, One Campus Conflict in the Midwest

At the University of Michigan, a Palestinian activist and a self-described Zionist counterprotester have little in common, except the way they were shaped by life on campus.

Research Preview: Nature Magazine – Feb 15, 2024

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Nature Magazine – February 14, 2024: The latest issue cover climate and land-use stresses could push the rainforest past a tipping point as early as 2050. The researchers probed five causes of water stress — global warming, annual rainfall, seasonal intensity of rainfall, length of the dry season and deforestation — using palaeorecords,  climate models and observational data.

First passages of rolled-up Herculaneum scroll revealed

Researchers used artificial intelligence to decipher the text of 2,000-year-old charred papyrus scripts, unveiling musings on music and capers.

Deepfakes, trolls and cybertroopers: how social media could sway elections in 2024

Faced with data restrictions and harassment, researchers are mapping out fresh approaches to studying social media’s political reach.

National Geographic Magazine – March 2024

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National Geographic Magazine (February 14, 2024) – The new issue features ‘The Hidden World of Hyenas – Why these misunderstood – and maligned – animals are one of Africa’s most successful predators…

These creatures of the ‘twilight zone’ are vital to our oceans

With with big eyes and very long teeth.

The species help harness carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, deep in the ocean, but much is still unknown about this region and its fascinating inhabitants.

Love them or hate them, hyenas are getting the last laugh

The spotted hyena is Africa’s most successful predator—and one of its most misunderstood animals. But decades of cutting edge research is yielding greater understanding, respect, and protection.

Arts/Books: Times Literary Supplement – Feb 16, 2024

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Times Literary Supplement (February 14, 2024): The latest issue features Thinking AI; London literary consequences, A new play in the great tradition, and Household terrors…

News: Election Results In Indonesia, U.S. And NATO New Funding For Ukraine

The Globalist (February 14, 2024): It’s election day in the world’s third-largest democracy: we get the latest from Jakarta.

Then: we discuss Ukraine’s view on Nato and US funding, the latest setback to the EU-Mercosur trade deal and hear why cabin crew in the US and the UK are on strike. Plus: a new exhibition profiling Yoko Ono.

The New York Times — Wednesday, Feb 14, 2024

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House Republicans Impeach Mayorkas for Border Policies

In a redo of their first failed attempt, Republicans pushed through the charges over solid Democratic opposition, making the homeland security secretary the first sitting cabinet member to be impeached.

Haley’s Hard-Line Immigration Record Runs Counter to Trump’s Attacks

Donald Trump has accused Nikki Haley of siding with Democrats on the border. In South Carolina, friends and foes alike do not recognize that portrait of the former governor.

Prevailing on Ukraine Funding, McConnell Took Political Hits

The minority leader’s handling of the border and foreign aid legislation drew scorching criticism from far-right Republicans, though he scored a legislative win on an issue he regards as existential and part of his legacy.

A Tunnel Offers Clues to How Hamas Uses Gaza’s Hospitals

New evidence shows Hamas operated under Al-Shifa Hospital but falls short of proving Israel’s early claims that there was a command center there.

Arts/Politics: The Atlantic Magazine – March 2024

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The Atlantic Magazine – February 13, 2024: The latest issue features ‘To stop a school shooter’ – the case of the contested Basquiats; uncancel Woodrow Wilson; and start-up cities. Plus Michael R. Jackson, the despots of Silicon Valley, Raina Telgemeier, the James Bond trap, “Africa & Byzantium,” Marilynne Robinson, and more.

TO STOP A SHOOTER

photo of building with "Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School" on it, behind trees against cloudy gray sky

Why would an armed officer stand by as a school shooting unfolds? By Jamie Thompson

It was the early afternoon of Valentine’s Day 2018, and the campus of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School was full of kids exchanging stuffed animals and heart-shaped chocolates. Scot Peterson, a Broward County sheriff’s deputy, was in his office at the school, waiting to talk with a parent about a student’s fake ID. At 2:21 p.m., a report came over the school radio about a strange sound—firecrackers, possibly—coming from Building 12. Peterson stepped outside, moving briskly, talking into the radio on his shoulder. Then the fire alarm rang. Peterson, wearing a sheriff’s uniform with a Glock on his belt, started running.

A Trove of ‘Lost Basquiats’ Led to a Splashy Exhibition. Then the FBI Showed Up.

A man looking at a large portrait of Basquiat in museum gallery with two paintings hanging in the background.

Why is it so hard to root out fakes and forgeries?

By Bianca Bosker

Culture And Traditions: The Porters Of Slovakia

DW Documentary (February 13, 2024) – Delivery service in the world’s smallest high mountain range is still done the traditional way. In the Alps and other European mountains, porters have long been replaced by helicopters and cable cars.

But not in the High Tatras of Slovakia. When loaded, the wooden carrying frames used by the so-called ‘Tatra Sherpas’ weigh up to 100 kilos or more. The porters climb up to 2,000 meters with their loads, supplying essentials to remote mountain huts in the Slovakian national park. Števo Bačkor is one of around 60 porters in the region today. Two to three times a week, the 47-year-old loads his self-built frame with firewood or food.

With the goods stacked on his back, he climbs up the mountains to deliver them, come snow, ice, heat, rain or storm. The mountain huts of the High Tatras depend on the porters’ deliveries, as there are hardly any roads or cable cars. The high mountain region in the Carpathians is a strictly protected nature reserve and, together with the Polish national park, a UNESCO biosphere reserve. This film accompanies Števo Bačkor on his dizzying ascents. He falls into a meditative stride to cope with the exertion.

Strength and courage are not enough – passion is also a requirement for the tough job. It takes him just under three hours to climb 1,000 meters, ultimately reaching the Zbojnícka hut at an elevation of almost 2,000 meters. ‘Reaching the top is always a special moment. You may be exhausted, but you feel complete.’ Some of the ‘Tatra Sherpas’ have already lost their lives on delivery missions through the high mountains. In memory of colleagues who have died, the ‘Sherpa Rally’ takes place as a memorial run every year.

#documentary #dwdocumentary

Previews: Country Life Magazine – Feb 14, 2024

Country Life Magazine – February 13, 2024: The latest ‘How Do I Love Thee?’ – Let me count the ways; Rough collies, red roses and royal caviar; Glass acts – the coolest conservatories; Head start – why real gentlemen wear hats….

The romance of the rose

With its velvety, softly scented depths, the red rose has long beguiled lovers. Charles Quest-Ritson falls under its spell

Thoroughly good eggs

Tom Parker Bowles savours the unctuous delights of caviar from the mother-daughter team at King’s Fine Foods, ethically farmed and utterly delicious

Taking the rough with the smooth

Famed for their loyalty, rough collies are happy finding hidden sheep, bounding up Munros or simply curling up with children. Katy Birchall meets Lassie

In the hat of the moment

Time was when every gentleman of every background wore a hat. It’s time to fall back in love with bowler, beret and bonnet, recommends John F. Mueller

Interiors

Amelia Thorpe admires the most stylish conservatories

Sir Karl Jenkins’s favourite painting

The composer chooses an ethereal Italian scene that literally reflects his own music

Behind the scenes at the cathedral

Fiona Reynolds explores the environs of St Albans in Hertfordshire, from the longest nave in Europe to the River Ver

A Georgian reinvention

With imagination and style, late-18th-century Marlwood Grange in Gloucestershire has been transformed into a family home fit for the 21st century, discovers Jeremy Musson

The good stuff

Hetty Lintell gets a handle on the most colourful handbags

Music to our ears

As the famous opera house at Glyndebourne, East Sussex, turns 90, the gardens are more glorious than ever. Tiffany Daneff admires a symphony of planting

More pudding, pease

Tom Parker Bowles tucks into the succulent, comforting suet pudding, an old favourite that deserves to return to our plates

More than a pretty face

Admired for his portrayal of dewy eyes and diaphanous fabrics, John Singer Sargent rose to the top of the portrait-painting world. Mary Miers follows his career from peripatetic childhood to Society favourite

News: Poland Foreign Policy And NATO, Egypt Mediates Israel-Hamas War

The Globalist (February 13, 2024): We discuss Poland’s foreign policy and the future of Nato.

Plus: Egypt’s mediation role in Israel’s conflict with Hamas, a round-up of headlines from the US and Saint Laurent’s new bookshop in Paris.

News, Views and Reviews For The Intellectually Curious