Showing 1 - 10 of 330
Divestment from Israel will not bring peace
News, Published on 27/05/2024
» The Oct 7 terrorist attack by Hamas has rightly generated enormous sympathy for the people of Israel, especially given Jews' history of persecution, culminating in the Holocaust. But the plight of civilians in Gaza since the attack is horrifying as well. Both sides need to support an immediate cessation of hostilities, followed by good-faith efforts to address the underlying issues.
The high costs of new US tariffs on Chinese EVs
Published on 25/05/2024
» US President Joe Biden’s administration has just announced 100% tariffs on electric vehicles (EVs) manufactured in China, prompting Donald Trump to promise a 200% tariff on Chinese cars made in Mexico if he is elected in November. Neither policy would have notable effects on the US car market because imports of Chinese EVs are minuscule, owing to past tariffs and the anti-Chinese sentiment that has gripped the country in recent years. Nonetheless, the announcement is significant for three reasons.
War is at the heart of the UK's summer election
Published on 25/05/2024
» Rishi Sunak’s election announcement on Wednesday afternoon was such a farce that people could be forgiven for ignoring what he said.
For journalists, neutrality is not the goal
Oped, Published on 17/05/2024
» My ability to be neutral as a political journalist depends on the intellectual honesty of the people -- and the society -- I cover.
Taylor Swift can learn a lot from Billie Eilish
News, Published on 17/05/2024
» Not long ago, I lamented the lack of climate anthems. Perhaps we'll find one on Hit Me Hard and Soft, the third studio album from Billie Eilish that's due to drop today.
What TikTok got wrong about America
Oped, Published on 09/05/2024
» TikTok is now one of the biggest stories in business and geopolitics. US President Joe Biden has just signed a law that will ban the massively popular app in nine months if its Chinese owner, ByteDance, does not sell it to a non-Chinese entity.
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.
The winner-take-all economy is ruining art, too
News, Published on 06/05/2024
» I was on the whole disappointed by this year's Whitney Biennial -- it was hard for me to tell if one video installation was art or an HR training video -- but as an economist, I have to admit the exhibition was successful in at least one respect: It did what art is supposed to do, which is to hold up a mirror to our society and economy. And this year's biennial shows how America's elite institutions are stifling innovation and creativity.
Blinken's diplomatic dance in China
Oped, Published on 01/05/2024
» US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited China for whirlwind discussions with the People's Republic political grandees in Shanghai and Beijing with the hope of "stabilising the relationship" between both countries. So into the Beijing/Washington political turbulence, Mr Blinken flew to smooth the Sino-American political rivalry, especially over China's military assertiveness towards the South China Sea, Taiwan, the Ukraine war, and naturally two-way trade.
Tales of Nessie won't stop resurfacing
Roger Crutchley, Published on 21/04/2024
» Today happens to be the 90th anniversary of the famous photograph claiming to be that of the "Loch Ness Monster". It was on April 21, 1934, that the Daily Mail carried the iconic front page pix of what became known as the "surgeon's photograph" because it was taken by London doctor Robert Kenneth Wilson.