Showing 1 - 10 of 14
What did we miss in run-up to Assad's ouster?
News, Published on 23/12/2024
» The downfall of Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria surprised even the opposition, led by Abu Mohammad al-Jolani's Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, offering fertile ground for conspiracy theories.
Should Ukraine have nuclear weapons too?
News, Published on 02/12/2024
» Following Donald Trump's victory in the 2024 US presidential election, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a Democratic congresswoman from New York, publicly appealed to those who had voted for both her and Mr Trump. She wanted to know what motivated such an apparently inconsistent choice, and the predominant answer she heard was that she and Mr Trump seemed more sincere, whereas Vice President Kamala Harris came off as too calculating.
Irony takes centre stage at Olympics
Oped, Published on 08/08/2024
» Two big cultural events this summer, the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics and the release of Deadpool & Wolverine, both offer dazzling spectacles saturated by irony. But that is about all they have in common, and by analysing their differences, we can better appreciate the profoundly ambiguous nature of irony today.
Protests of both despair and conflict in Gaza
Oped, Published on 30/05/2024
» These are crazy times. Biblical disturbances in nature, such as the repeated torrential rain in Dubai or the mass fish die-off in Vietnam's overheated reservoir, seem to mirror our overheated politics and social environment.
Vladimir Lenin's lesson for Israel and Ukraine
News, Published on 08/02/2024
» It is a century since Vladimir Lenin's death and more than three decades since his Bolshevik project collapsed. But while much of his political life was highly problematic from today's perspective, his remorseless pragmatism, as one might call it, still has purchase.
The real dividing line separating Israel and Palestine
Oped, Published on 20/10/2023
» The barbarism that Hamas has unleashed on Israel should be condemned unconditionally, with no "ifs" or "buts". The massacres, rapes, and abductions of civilians from villages, kibbutzim, and a music festival was a pogrom, confirming that Hamas's true goal is to destroy the state of Israel and all Israelis. That said, the situation demands historical context -- not as any kind of justification, but for the sake of clarity about the way forward.
Propaganda shows national derangements
News, Published on 11/09/2023
» Whenever a country's social contract unravels, conditions become ripe for rumours and absurdities to circulate. Even when these are outrageous and obviously nonsensical, they can give expression to a people's deepest fears and prejudices.
Without aid of whistleblowers, the West is lost
News, Published on 28/06/2023
» Earlier this month, CNN reported that a British court has denied WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange "permission to appeal an order to extradite him to the United States, where he faces criminal charges under the Espionage Act". Although Assange's legal team will continue to explore its options, the snare around his neck is clearly tightening. Time is not on his side. The US and British authorities who are pursuing him can afford to wait for any remaining public interest in his case to dwindle in the face of wars, climate change, anxiety about artificial intelligence, and other global issues.
Artificial idiocy and the rise of the chatbots
Oped, Published on 29/03/2023
» There is nothing new about "chatbots" that are capable of maintaining a conversation in natural language, understanding a user's basic intent, and offering responses based on preset rules and data. But the capacity of such chatbots has been dramatically augmented in recent months, leading to handwringing and panic in many circles.
The slippery slope of opting for occupation
Oped, Published on 08/03/2023
» The only thing to celebrate on the first anniversary of Russia's war is the scale and courage of the Ukrainian resistance, which has surprised everyone, including Ukraine's allies and maybe even the Ukrainians themselves. Through self-defence, Ukraine is achieving self-transformation.