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Kim Jong-un nukes the U.S. in a terrifyingly plausible near-future novel by Jeffrey Lewis

Kim Jong-un nukes the U.S. in a terrifyingly plausible near-future novel by Jeffrey Lewis

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Juian Borger writes: Reflecting on US nostalgia for music from past wars, the musician and satirist Tom Lehrer once joked: “I feel that if any songs are going to come out of World War III, we’d better start writing them now.” Those whose job it is to contemplate the likelihood and impact of nuclear war feel the same way about postmortems. Trying to explain what went wrong after a thermo-nuclear conflict kills millions is the ultimate in futility – a…

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U.S. to restore sanctions on Iran after withdrawal from nuclear deal

U.S. to restore sanctions on Iran after withdrawal from nuclear deal

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The New York Times reports: The United States will reimpose sanctions against Iran at midnight on Monday, restoring economic penalties that were lifted under the 2015 nuclear accord and ratcheting up pressure on Tehran while worsening divides with European allies and other world powers. The sanctions are a consequence of President Trump’s decision in May to withdraw from an international deal that sought to limit Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for easing pressure on the country’s shaky economy. Mr. Trump…

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UK would run out of food a year from now with no-deal Brexit, farmers’ union warns

UK would run out of food a year from now with no-deal Brexit, farmers’ union warns

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The Guardian reports: Britain would run out of food on this date next year if it cannot continue to easily import from the EU and elsewhere after Brexit, the National Farmers’ Union has warned. Minette Batters, the NFU president, urged the government to put food security at the top of the political agenda after the prospect of a no-deal Brexit was talked up this week. “The UK farming sector has the potential to be one of the most impacted sectors…

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Facebook to banks: Give us your data, we’ll give you our users

Facebook to banks: Give us your data, we’ll give you our users

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The Wall Street Journal reports: Facebook wants your financial data. The social-media giant has asked large U.S. banks to share detailed financial information about their customers, including card transactions and checking-account balances, as part of an effort to offer new services to users. Facebook increasingly wants to be a platform where people buy and sell goods and services, besides connecting with friends. The company over the past year asked JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Citigroup and U.S. Bancorp to discuss potential…

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China stands up to threat posed by Winnie the Pooh

China stands up to threat posed by Winnie the Pooh

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BBC News reports: China’s film authorities have denied a release to Disney’s new Winnie the Pooh film, Christopher Robin, it’s reported. No reason has been given for the decision, but it’s believed to be part of a nationwide clampdown on references to the beloved children’s character. Chinese authorities have been blocking images of Pooh on social media since last year, after the AA Milne bear became a symbol of political dissent. It’s after the Chinese leader Xi Jinping has been…

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Trump and allies seek end to refugee status for millions of Palestinians

Trump and allies seek end to refugee status for millions of Palestinians

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Foreign Policy reports: Jared Kushner, U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and senior advisor, has quietly been trying to do away with the U.N. relief agency that has provided food and essential services to millions of Palestinian refugees for decades, according to internal emails obtained by Foreign Policy. His initiative is part of a broader push by the Trump administration and its allies in Congress to strip these Palestinians of their refugee status in the region and take their issue off…

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Despite tensions, Russia seeks U.S. help to rebuild Syria

Despite tensions, Russia seeks U.S. help to rebuild Syria

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Reuters reports: Russia has used a closely guarded communications channel with America’s top general to propose the two former Cold War foes cooperate to rebuild Syria and repatriate refugees to the war-torn country, according to a U.S. government memo. A boy walks along a damaged street at the city of Douma in Damascus, Syria, April 16, 2018. REUTERS/Omar Sanadiki The proposal was sent in a July 19 letter by Valery Gerasimov, the chief of the Russian military’s General Staff, to…

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How deep is the decline of the West?

How deep is the decline of the West?

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John Gray writes: In the last chapter of his autobiography The World of Yesterday: Memories of a European (1942), Stefan Zweig lamented a lost world of freedom: Before 1914, the earth had belonged to all. People went where they wished and stayed as long as they pleased. There were no permits, no visas, and it always gives me pleasure to astonish the young by telling them that before 1914 I travelled to India and to America without passport and without…

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Why Facebook will never change its business model

Why Facebook will never change its business model

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Following Mark Zuckerberg’s Congressional testimony in March, Len Sherman wrote: Other companies can only dream of running a company with essentially: No cost of goods sold (individual users and companies provide content for free) No marketing costs (user word-of-mouth and viral network effects spur continuous growth) No selling costs (most advertisements are purchased through a self-service, automated ad placement platform) If you were in charge of such a money-making machine, would you be eager to change this business model? But…

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Osama bin Laden’s mother speaks for the first time

Osama bin Laden’s mother speaks for the first time

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Martin Chulov reports: In the corner couch of a spacious room, a woman wearing a brightly patterned robe sits expectantly. The red hijab that covers her hair is reflected in a glass-fronted cabinet; inside, a framed photograph of her firstborn son takes pride of place between family heirlooms and valuables. A smiling, bearded figure wearing a military jacket, he features in photographs around the room: propped against the wall at her feet, resting on a mantlepiece. A supper of Saudi…

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The marvel of LED lighting is now a global blight to health

The marvel of LED lighting is now a global blight to health

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By Richard G ‘Bugs’ Stevens, Aeon Light pollution is often characterised as a soft issue in environmentalism. This perception needs to change. Light at night constitutes a massive assault on the ecology of the planet, including us. It also has indirect impacts because, while 20 per cent of electricity is used for lighting worldwide, at least 30 per cent of that light is wasted. Wasted light serves no purpose at all, and excessive lighting is too often used beyond what…

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What Russia understands about Trump

What Russia understands about Trump

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Michael Weiss writes: In March 1986, Yuri Dubinin arrived in New York to assume his post as the Soviet ambassador to the United Nations. Dubinin’s daughter, Natalia, was already a diplomat serving at the Soviet mission, and she picked her father up at the airport and drove him into a city to which he’d never before been. (He wouldn’t stay long—within weeks of his arrival, Dubinin was reposted as Soviet ambassador to the United States and relocated to Washington, D.C.)…

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Trump administration unveils its plan to relax car pollution rules

Trump administration unveils its plan to relax car pollution rules

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The New York Times reports: The Trump administration on Thursday put forth its long-awaited proposal to freeze antipollution and fuel-efficiency standards for cars, significantly weakening one of President Barack Obama’s signature policies to combat global warming. The proposed new rules would also challenge the right of states, California in particular, to set their own, more stringent tailpipe pollution standards. That would set the stage for a legal clash that could ultimately split the nation’s auto market in two. The administration’s…

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U.S. talks with the Taliban could be a breakthrough in the Afghan war

U.S. talks with the Taliban could be a breakthrough in the Afghan war

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The Washington Post reports: A first possible breakthrough in the 17-year Afghan conflict came in June, when a brief cease-fire during a Muslim holiday produced a spontaneous celebration by Afghan troops, civilians and Taliban fighters. The nationwide yearning for peace became palpable. Now, in a development that could build on that extraordinary moment, a senior American diplomat and Taliban insurgent officials have reportedly held talks for the first time, meeting in the Persian Gulf state of Qatar and agreeing to…

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I’m a liberal feminist lawyer. Here’s why Democrats should support Judge Kavanaugh

I’m a liberal feminist lawyer. Here’s why Democrats should support Judge Kavanaugh

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Lisa Blatt writes: Sometimes a superstar is just a superstar. That is the case with Judge Brett Kavanaugh, who had long been considered the most qualified nominee for the Supreme Court if Republicans secured the White House. The Senate should confirm him. I have argued 35 cases before the Supreme Court, more than any other woman. I worked in the Solicitor General’s Office for 13 years during the Clinton, Bush and Obama administrations. Because I am a liberal Democrat and…

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