“A piece of rock with mysterious markings that lay largely unstudied for 4,000 years is now being hailed as a ‘treasure map’ for archaeologists, who are using it to hunt for ancient sites around north-western France. The so-called Saint-Belec slab was claimed as Europe's oldest map by researchers in 2021 and they have been working ever since to understand its etchings – both to help them date the slab, and to rediscover lost monuments. ‘Using the map to try to find archaeological sites is a great approach. We never work like that, said Yvan Pailler, a professor at the University of Western Brittany (UBO). Ancient sites are more commonly uncovered by sophisticated radar equipment, aerial photography or by accident in cities when the foundations for new buildings are being dug. ‘It's a treasure map,’ said Pailler." (ScienceAlert)
“As I’ve written many times, every president is guaranteed to fail. The only question is how badly, and in what way. The job is too demanding, the pressures too nonstop, the world too crisis-filled, for any other outcome. A president who never faltered would need the combined and contradictory strengths of a Lincoln and an Eisenhower, of Teddy Roosevelt and of Franklin, of Thomas Jefferson and of Ulysses Grant. Obviously no real person has had all these skills. But Biden has done amazingly well under the pressures of his times—and been amazingly pooh-poohed by the press (‘why doesn’t he step down?’) while doing so. Wrestling with economic fundamentals? Here is one example that stands for hundreds. The Wall Street Journal ran the headline below at the bottom of an inside page today, and the New York Times had it not in the front section but on the business pages. In short: overall household wealth is going up, and wealth-inequality is going down. Compare this understated play with the nonstop front-page coverage of rising prices for gasoline and eggs one year ago. Or imagine how the story would have been played if the findings had been the opposite—and American income gaps had continued to worsen rather than improve …” (James Fallows)
“Entertainers live, entertainers die, but sometimes, their deaths carve enduring scars into history. This stark truth is reflected in the legacy of Nigerian Afrobeats musician Mohbad, born Ilerioluwa Oladimeji, whose abrupt demise on 12 September 2023 has sparked fierce public conversations about the oppressive power relations in Nigeria’s gigantic music industry with regard to record labels and artistes. The news of the musician’s death first surfaced on the internet in a chilling clip which showed his lifeless body in the back of a car while a man wept profusely into a phone camera, announcing his passing. Although relatively unknown in his lifetime, Mohbad’s popularity has soared tremendously in the wake of his death, with his music topping the charts on global streaming platforms. The artiste was beloved for his mostly aspirational songs, which highlighted the everyday struggles of ordinary Nigerians, especially those belonging to the country’s lower classes, hustling to break out from the rat race of survival. His raw lyrics, imbued with authentic street tales, spoke about the harsh realities of existing in a fractured system, whether within the family unit or broader society. And they talked about life – the twists, turns and mistakes people often encounter on the bumpy road to self-discovery, and the unshaken hopes for a luxurious future regardless. In these evocative verses, his listeners found solace and kinship. While his fans were still grappling with the shock of his sudden death, it was the hasty burial conducted by his family just a few hours after his death that rattled society.” (Zikora Ibeh/IPS Journal)
“For their part, Russian commentators have filled the airwaves with anti-Israel rhetoric, with many gloating over the tragedy in apparent retaliation for Israel siding with Ukraine in Russia’s war against that country. Others denied the atrocities and followed Putin’s lead in equating Israelis with the Nazis: ‘It’s a paradox, but Jewish mass media,’ wrote Komsomolskaya Pravda, ‘rushed to report’ the atrocities, as if following the precepts of Joseph Goebbels’ propagandistic principle that ‘the bigger the lie, the more readily will people believe it.’ As comparisons between Hamas and ISIS proliferated online in the Western media, Russian propagandists, in a classic move, reversed the tables and began to manufacture similarities between Israel and ISIS. Equating Israelis with the Nazis is nothing new for Russian diplomats and propagandists. In the 1970s and 1980s, these equations, known as Holocaust inversion, were a staple of Soviet anti-Israel propaganda, which worked to demonize the country and its founding ideology, Zionism, at home and abroad. Like Putin and his propagandists today, the Soviet press used to avoid mentioning terror attacks perpetrated against Israelis by Palestinian terrorist groups (groups the USSR fostered, trained,and financed), focusing all of its attention on the Israeli response and thereby painting a picture of bloodthirsty Israelis bombing defenseless Palestinians for fun. Russia is now back on the international scene as a purveyor of state-sponsored anti-Israel propaganda couched in blatant antisemitic tropes.” ( Izabella Tabarovsky/Wilson Center)
“His primetime address was — like everything he has said since 10/7 — pitch perfect in tone and substance. He connected events in Israel and Ukraine to the cause of freedom and made us believe — as FDR did in the run-up to World War II — that the United States must be ‘the arsenal of democracy’ to confront this ‘inflection point in history.’ The speech marked the launch of an historic military aid package for Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan—$100 billion dollars that will allow all three democracies to defend themselves for years without American boots on the ground. By taking advantage of Israel’s peril to win public and congressional support, Biden is executing a three cushion shot: defending democracy abroad, creating defense jobs at home, charting a new, influential global role for the U.S. in the 2020s and beyond. This president is on his way to being a major historical figure, for reasons that grow out of his experience and personal suffering. It’s not just that Biden’s support for Israel and Ukraine is heartfelt and convincing; the president’s brilliant empathy (‘I see you. You belong’) reinforces democratic values and creates the space for tough love with our allies. That doesn’t guarantee that Netanyahu (or Zelensky or Arab allies) will always listen and defer — these relationships are complicated — but Biden’s approach offers the U.S. a much stronger voice than it would have under any other president. I was especially struck when Biden said during his courageous trip to Israel: ‘Justice must be done. But I caution that, while you feel that rage, don't be consumed by it. After 9/11, we were enraged in the United States. While we sought justice and got justice, we also made mistakes.’” (Jonathan Alter/Old Goats)
“By his accounting, the government (or ‘ungovernment,’ as he called it) had robbed the people of $25 billion, while saddling future generations of Argentines with taxes in the form of debt. Attendees at the conference, whose sponsors included such multinationals as Amazon Web Services, Bayer, and Chevron, sat obediently as he argued that social justice was simply a form of ‘robbing from one person to give to another.’ The libertarian candidate for the coalition La Libertad Avanza (Freedom Advances, LLA) invoked the neoclassical economist Milton Friedman, arguing that it was the moral responsibility of business owners to earn as much as they could. He also said that his country would become a world power in the next 35 to 50 years by embracing the principles of ‘freedom’—a statement he would reiterate weeks later when he told The Economist that it was his aim to make Argentina ‘great again.’” (Jacob Sugarman/The Nation)
“I thought about this a lot, trying to think, ‘Was it more fun?’ Truthfully, I was in my 20s in the ’70s. It was definitely more fun to be in your 20s. When you’re in your 20s is when you should have fun. What [young people] see now is stuff on the internet, which is a very flattening medium. Lots of times kids will say, ‘How can all these people know each other?’ I think because these worlds were very small then. That’s what they don’t understand—the New York art world fit in one restaurant in the ’70s. You knew everyone. Now, because of the internet, people see everything, but they don’t go anywhere.” (Peter Davis/Fran Liebowitz)
“‘It's hard to imagine,’ (Mitt) Romney said in one excerpt of the book that Coppins shared with me, but Tucker Carlson is turning the GOP into ‘the pro-Russian, pro-authoritarian party.’ ‘And that's not what it used to be,’ Romney added. In another excerpt, Romney expressed alarm at how prominent storylines in the right-wing media space demonized people that he believed should have been celebrated, such as an Olympian struggling with mental health. ‘It’s almost like you take what is praiseworthy and of good report and you say, 'Let’s attack that!'‘ Romney said. His stinging analysis of the media consumed by Republicans is particularly noteworthy, given that he once harbored a close relationship with its top figures. But that relationship was shattered when Donald Trump ascended within the Republican Party, ushering in a new era defined by vicious attacks on political opponents, the smearing of the press, embracement of conspiracy theories, and a brazen assault on the truth.” (Oliver Darcy/Reliable Sources)
“After an attack of this magnitude, there is little doubt that Israel will respond forcefully. The Israeli government is seeking to inflict as much damage as possible on Hamas and its infrastructure, with Netanyahu having called for ‘mighty vengeance.’ While this goal is impacted by Israeli hostages in Gaza, not to mention a likely reluctance to reoccupy Gaza, a siege of the enclave is already underway. In advance of heightened operations, Israel has warned over 1 million residents of the northern Gaza strip to evacuate southwards over the next 24 hours. Likewise, Hamas is unlikely to turn corner and release the hostages it has taken or de-escalate, even as Gaza suffers heavy losses of civilian lives. Hamas has been playing a long game. They will have counted on and anticipated a strong Israeli reaction. Not only does this mean they will be willing to absorb what will surely be a significant Israeli response, but it may also mean they still have ‘tricks’ up their sleeves, whether that’s infiltrators still unaccounted for and able to carry out attacks within Israel or activating cells in the West Bank. Indeed, the fear of destabilizing violence spreading in a repeat of May 2021, through mixed cities, East Jerusalem and beyond into the West Bank, cannot be ruled out. Long discredited with his own people, Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas will be further weakened, compromising any ability to keep a lid on violence flaring from extremist Palestinian groups in the West Bank. Escalating violence by extremist Israeli settler groups is also a risk.” (Lucy Kurtzer Ellenbogen/USIP)
“Here’s what’s distinct about this moment, based on the best metrics we have.
Congress is more polarized than ever.
The Republican Party is more far-right than ever.
The share of House districts that are truly competitive is tinier than ever (less than 10 percent).
The share of House districts splitting their tickets hit a 100-year low in 2020 (fewer than 4 percent).
Partisan margins in the House are uniquely narrow.
The dimensionality of voting in the House has collapsed into a single dimension.
The Republican Party is growing more internally divided.
To close observers of politics, none of these findings may be that surprising. But I hope by seeing them all together, we can appreciate how unusual this moment is — and just how far we’ve sailed away from the ‘normal’ patterns.
My simple takeaway is: We’re not going back.” (Lee Drutman)
“Since January, the simple act of agreeing upon a set of leaders has completely flummoxed the Republican House Conference, as if they had walked into a final exam in calculus having skipped every class—but here, all they’re really being asked is to state their names. They are groping for answers, embarrassing themselves, and it only gets worse when they show their work. The ham-handed efforts of Representative Jim Jordan’s allies—from Fox News Channel’s Sean Hannity to the Ohioan’s minions in Congress—to pressure the holdouts resisting his speaker bid backfired and left the former wrestling coach tapping out (for now). Compromise efforts to keep Representative Patrick McHenry as temporary speaker—with enough enhanced power to keep Israel and Ukraine armed and the federal government open—died after a four-hour meeting of House Republicans because all four-hour meetings are doomed. Across the aisle, the Democrats have responded with unity and precision, like an Olympic rhythmic gymnastics team. They vote for Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries unanimously, while their Republican colleagues, who portray Democrats as wasteful and floundering, cannot simply agree on a leader. “ (Matthew Cooper/WashMo)
“Biden’s bear hug for Bibi was a remarkable show of support. It was also an attempt to create more space for the airing of Biden’s private concerns to the Israeli Prime Minister. But it’s not at all clear yet what results were achieved. Hours after Biden landed back in Washington, I heard a grim prognosis about the conflict from a source familiar with the President’s trip and the days of intensive shuttle diplomacy to seven countries in the region by Secretary of State Antony Blinken that preceded it. How grim? Some senior Israeli officials told the Americans to expect a war that could last as long as ten years. To describe the threat posed by Hamas and the reason the status quo in Gaza has, post-attack, become unacceptable, the Israeli officials asked the Americans how they would feel about having the terrorist group isis headquartered in a safe haven in Mexico. No wonder, then, that Israel’s aims against Hamas were presented as maximalist, and that it took days just for Biden and Blinken to get an agreement for Egypt to open its border crossing with Gaza to let in an initial twenty trucks of humanitarian aid.” (Susan B. Glasser/TNY)
“The commander of France's forces in the Sahel said Friday that 1,500 French soldiers would leave Niger by December 31, a timeframe announced by French President Emmanuel Macron late last month. The pullout, demanded by Niger's military rulers, started last week after the July ouster of president Mohamed Bazoum, a key ally of Paris, threw France's strategy for the Sahel region into disarray. ‘The objective of presidential announcements of a departure on December 31 will be met,’ said French general Eric Ozanne at a joint press conference with Niger's Colonel Mamane Sani Kiaou in the capital Niamey. The Nigerien colonel added that 282 soldiers had already left the country ‘as of today’. ‘Two large convoys of military vehicles that were in the northern zone’ have left, said Ozanne, adding that a number of convoys carrying ‘non-sensitive equipment’ had begun to leave.” (Barrons via AFP)
“China’s Premier Li Qiang is visiting Kyrgyzstan later this month to discuss the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan (CKU) railway, a sign that the project, which has been discussed for decades, may finally be realized. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and subsequent sanctions on Russia have created an appetite for alternative routes from China to Europe and the Middle East, leading to the 20-year-old railroad project’s renaissance. Now is the time for Central Asia to solidify its role as a transit region for goods between East and West. The new route will reduce the time it takes to deliver goods to Europe by seven or eight days, creating an opportunity for Central Asia to regain the role of being ‘central’ to continental trade. However, experts warn that the multibillion-dollar CKU railway project will disproportionately benefit the elite. It may also be used to circumvent sanctions and fuel the growth of gray-zone trade.” ( Navruz Karimov and Abror Kurbonmuratov/ The Diplomat)
“Talk of ‘Africa’s lost decade’ is becoming common again, with evidence from stagnant or declining per capita incomes in African states amidst the ongoing global economic slowdown, the region’s fiscal squeeze, and a two-decade slump in regional growth rates (see figure below). Two dozen African countries are currently in or nearing debt distress as of June 2023 — with Chad, Ghana, and Zambia already in default. While many of these countries face a liquidity rather than a solvency crisis, the current high interest rate environment and their inability to access credit markets mean that they lack the means to buy themselves time to grow out of their high debt/GDP ratios. In 2022 the region spent 31% of total government revenues to service debts. That is money that could have gone to funding schools, hospitals, roads, water systems, et cetera. Meanwhile, African states are slated to keep paying relatively higher interest rates (some argue unfairly) for sovereign debt on account of their low credit ratings.” (Ken Opalo/The Africanist Perspective)