Showing 1 - 10 of 12,627
Israel, Hamas and the elusive ceasefire
Oped, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 07/05/2024
» Hamas did not need a ceasefire. It had already demonstrated that Israel could not eradicate it. It had achieved its primary goal of wrecking the anti-Iran alliance that was brewing between Israel and the major Arab Gulf states. And it doesn't care about how many Palestinians get killed; they are all "martyrs" for the cause.
The rise of AI in political warfare
News, Published on 07/05/2024
» This year promises to be a whopper for elective government, with billions of people -- or more than 40% of the world's population -- able to vote in an election. But nearly five months into 2024, some government officials are quietly wondering why the looming risk of AI hasn't, apparently, played out. Even as voters in Indonesia and Pakistan have gone to the polls, they are seeing little evidence of viral deepfakes skewing an electoral outcome, according to a recent article in Politico, which cited "national security officials, tech company executives and outside watchdog groups". AI, they said, wasn't having the "mass impact" that they expected. That is a painfully shortsighted view. The reason? AI may be disrupting elections right now, and we just don't know it.
Our freedoms depend on press freedom too
News, Published on 06/05/2024
» In just the first week of this year, at least 18 journalists were assaulted while covering alleged election irregularities and violence in Bangladesh. Then, in early February, journalists in Pakistan were hindered from covering elections by a wave of violence, widespread internet blackouts, and mobile-network suspensions. In March, journalists in Turkey were shot at and banned from observing local elections.
Must media democratisation be bad for us?
News, Published on 29/04/2024
» Sometimes, the fulfilment of a promise feels like punishment. When the radio was invented more than 100 years ago, the German playwright Bertolt Brecht observed that its full potential could be explored only after it had become a communication tool, rather than merely a distribution channel. After all, there is a big difference between the few being able to speak to the many, and everyone being able to speak with everyone else.
Harvey Weinstein sex crimes conviction overturned
Published on 25/04/2024
» NEW YORK - The highest court in New York state has overturned the 2020 sex crimes conviction of former Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, in the case that helped trigger the #MeToo movement.
TikTok CEO expects to defeat US restrictions: 'We aren't going anywhere'
Reuters, Published on 25/04/2024
» WASHINGTON: TikTok's chief executive said on Wednesday the social media company expects to win a legal challenge to block legislation signed into law by President Joe Biden that he said would ban its popular short video app used by 170 million Americans.
Will US military aid to Ukraine tip the scales?
Oped, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 24/04/2024
» 'I've said before, you do the right thing and you let the chips fall where they may," said Mike Johnson, the Speaker of the US House of Representatives. The chips being the 10 or 20,000 extra Ukrainians who died needlessly during the six months when the Republican Party blocked the sending of any more US military aid to Ukraine.
The trials and tribulations of Melania Trump
News, Maureen Dowd, Published on 23/04/2024
» Outside my office, there is a picture of the Slovenian Sphinx visiting the Egyptian Sphinx, taken during a 2018 photo shoot in Giza nine months after Melania Trump was blindsided by the steamy news about her husband and Stormy Daniels.
International challenges demand action
Oped, Published on 18/04/2024
» It's not often an American ally addresses the US Congress, but when they do, it's time to listen. That was the case on April 12 when Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida spoke before a joint session of Congress in Washington to both thank America for its post-war friendship and to reaffirm the continuing political and strategic partnership between Japan and the US.
Sanctions need global governance
Oped, Published on 12/04/2024
» As Russia's war against Ukraine has entered its third year, Western governments are finding it increasingly difficult to muster the funding Ukraine needs to defend itself. The European Union struggled to reach a €50 billion (1.9 trillion baht) aid deal in February, and the United States remains deadlocked over its own US$60 billion (about 2.2 trillion baht) funding package. Now, calls to use Russia's own assets to fund the Ukrainian war effort are growing louder.