News for the international mind.

Month: October 2016

Ideas Syria Crisis

Why UN Security Council Failing Aleppo Surprises No One

Post author By lmacret
Post date October 31, 2016

Scenes of war in Aleppo Ibrahim Khader/Pacific Press/ZUMA

-OpEd- NEW YORK — I’m almost certain I saw Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov at the Strand bookstore in Manhattan today. I wanted to walk over and call him a war criminal and a monster, and tell everyone around us that he was the man butchering unarmed civilians in Aleppo. But after half an hour of stalking him through the fiction and film stacks, I still couldn’t determine if it was really him. I pulled up a Wikipedia page with his photo as a reference. I read that during his university days Lavrov was active in drama. This was quite […]

Tags aleppo, bosnia, lavrov, russia, syria, war crimes

Toxic Air And 300 Million Kids

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Post date October 31, 2016

You’d want to be just about anywhere but the Indian capital of New Delhi today. Smog choked the city and triggered warnings that even healthy people were at risk of respiratory problems. Air pollution typically peaks in Delhi at this time of the year, driven in part by firecrackers burned to celebrate Diwali, the Hindu […]

Tags CETA, clinton, earthquake, fbi, india, italy, Picasso, pollution, trump, turkey, white house

Sizzling Sardines

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Post date October 31, 2016

Once the fish had been caught, the fisherman’s wife in Nazaré would put them directly on the grill for breakfast. Bom apetite!

Tags fishing, food, photography, portugal, retro, sardines, tourism, travel, vintage

Who Will Win The White House, The Four Things To Know

Post author By lmacret
Post date October 31, 2016

"Lady Guy," a Hillary Clinton Supporter and a Donald Trump supporter in Florida Patrick Farrell/TNS via ZUMA

In a normal election season, the signs would seem to point toward a Hillary Clinton victory. This is not normal.

Tags ground game, polls, trump, united states, white house

On This Day – October 31

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Post date October 31, 2016

Tags global population, indira gandhi, Mount Rushmore, new zealand, Peter Jackson, seven billion

Economy Geopolitics

When Brexit Hits Cyprus, Isle Of Offshore Banking And British Expats

Post author By
Post date October 30, 2016

Cyprus landscape Steve Parker

Britain’s decision to leave the EU is having a ripple effect on the island nation of Cyprus, where ex-pats and tourism operators are already feeling the pinch. But there may be a more long-term windfall in the finance industry.

Tags brexit, consequences, crisis, cyprus, devaluation, pound, sterling, tourism, trade

China, From Shrinking Exports To Currency Devaluation

Post author By
Post date October 30, 2016

Workers producing glasses cases in a factory in Hebei Province Mou Yu/Xinhua/ZUMA

-Analysis- BEIJING — The numbers are decidely mixed. Year-on-year, China’s exports fell in September by 10%, which was a 0.5% further drop over August. Meanwhile, the National Bureau of Statistics showed that third-quarter Chinese GDP growth steadied to a solid 6.7%. But putting aside the short-term trend lines, the longer-term outlook shows alarming signs of […]

Tags china, devaluation, economy, exports, rmd, shares, trade, yuan

On This Day – October 30

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Post date October 30, 2016

Tags canada, Diego Maradona, muhammad ali, Orson Welles, quebec, referendum, rumble in the jungle, The War of the Worlds, united states

Geopolitics Ukraine Winter

Russia’s Other War, On The Front Lines In Eastern Ukraine

Post author By
Post date October 29, 2016

A Ukrainian soldier Roberto Travan/La Stampa

Despite two peace agreements signed by Kiev and Moscow, fighting rages on along Ukraine’s eastern border with Russia.

Tags donbass, donetsk, luhansk, russia, separatism, ukraine, ukraine war

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On This Day – October 29

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Post date October 29, 2016

Tags black tuesday, francisco franco, hair, republic, turkey, Wall Street Crash

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A Vast, Small World After All

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Post date October 28, 2016

We, the fortunate and overstimulated masses of the early 21st century can watch the whole world pass by on our computer and smartphone screens. The picture often isn’t pretty, and we would all do well to lift our heads up more often to see what’s happening right in front of us. In real life, as […]

Tags bataclan, duterte, france, immigration, jungle, northern lights, refugees

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On This Day – October 28

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Post date October 28, 2016

Tags argentina, Cristina Kirchner, Julia Roberts, march on rome, mussolini, statue of liberty, united states

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McDonald’s German Blend

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Post date October 28, 2016

Traveling the world means seeing different attempts to blend bad American culinary imperialism into local cityscapes. Here the golden arches ruin an otherwise characteristic Wilhemian facade in this old city center in western Germany.

Tags fast food, germany, heidelberg, mcdonalds, photography, tourism, travel

Geopolitics Society

Polish Schools Celebrate LGBT Students Despite Backlash

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Post date October 28, 2016

In Warsaw, Poland Lucas Vallecillos/VW Pics/ZUMA

WARSAW — Schools in Poland celebrated “Rainbow Friday” for the first time so that students, regardless of their sexual orientation, feel accepted and respected. But in the conservative Catholic country, leaders of the governing Law and Justice party are protesting against the celebration, and are urging parents to sign declarations against it. Campaign Against Homophobia, […]

Tags gender, human rights, lgbt, lgbtq+, poland, rainbow friday, sexual identity

Venezuela, Democracy Or Dictatorship?

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Post date October 27, 2016

The shoes were clearly too big for him to fill. Three-and-a-half years after Hugo Chávez’s death, his successor Nicolás Maduro is losing an already loose grip on the helm of his country. A disastrous economic and social crisis is turning into a political one, and the country’s long-suffering opposition feels primed to remove him from […]

Tags CETA, chavez, earthquakes, maduro, trudeau, venezuela, wildlife, winehouse

Far From Pharaohs

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Post date October 27, 2016

Twenty-six years ago, cranes were busy working on brand new buildings in Cairo. The Egyptian capital was still some distance away from the Pyramids of Giza, though the modern neighborhoods are now slowly encroaching on the iconic structures.

Tags cairo, egypt, giza, photography, pyramids, tourism, travel

Poland’s Abortion Battle, Why Free Women Are Done With Weak Men

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Post date October 27, 2016

The so-called Black (Czarny) protesters on Oct. 24 get ready to march. Wiktor Dabkowski/DPA/ZUMA

Only when an abortion is legal, can we begin to speak of moral decisions and love. But men, we are told, are scared and frustrated by these protests. One Polish woman’s frank words for men.

Tags abortion, Natalia Przybysz, poland, pregnancy, protests, rape, women's rights

On This Day – October 27

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Post date October 27, 2016

Tags amsterdam, brazil, lula, paris, riots, Roberto Benigni

Digital Data, The New “Paint” For French Artists

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Post date October 27, 2016

Screenshot of Unfold Ryoichi Kurokawa

NANTES — In contemporary art, digital data is as much a medium as paint these days. One of the best works showcased during Scopitone, a festival centered on all things digital in the French city of Nantes, used scientific data to reflect how stars are born. An audio, tactile and visual work, called Unfold, is […]

Tags algorithm, art, data, digital, france, glitch, installation, tech

From EU To El Salvador, Trade Under Threat

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Post date October 27, 2016

This is supposed to be the week that Canada and the EU ink their landmark Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) after seven years of painstaking negotiations. Hopes are fading, however, due to last-minute objections from Belgium’s Wallonia region. The French-speaking area’s 3.6 million people represent less than 1% of the EU’s total population. Yet […]

Tags belgium, Calais, CETA, duterte, isis, jungle, terrorism, wallonia

Iran’s Next Target: Justin Bieber

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Post date October 26, 2016

Sorry Biebs Kamal-ol-molk/Worldcrunch montage

TEHRAN — Iran has had enough of Justin Bieber and the Great Satan corporate powers turning out such sinful teenage beats. The Islamic Republic has a plan to purge itself of the Western pop music scourge, by developing a national music awards program that will encourage local talent and hopefully restore home-grown Iranian song to […]

Tags awards, culture, industry, iran, justin bieber, music, western

Geopolitics Ideas

Venezuela: Maduro Fails Democracy Test, But Is He A Dictator?

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Post date October 26, 2016

Anti-Maduro protests in Valencia, Venezuela, on Oct. 24 Juan Carlos Hernandez/ZUMA

Massive protests Wednesday target recent actions by Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro for banning a referendum and evading parliament. Does he compare to Latin American strongmen of the past?

Tags bolivar, chavez, chavismo, dictatorship, maduro, politics, venezuela

On This Day – October 26

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Post date October 26, 2016

Tags Bootsy Collins, Football Association, iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Park Chung-hee, shah, south korea

Worldwide Safari

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Post date October 26, 2016

Zebras, lions, elephants, alligators, rhinos … I have seen animals in their local habitats all across the planet. Naturally, this guy in South Africa was the tallest.

Tags giraffe, kruger park, photography, south africa, tourism, travel

In China, Local Governments Crack Down On Sharing Economy

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Post date October 26, 2016

Chinese ride-sharing app Didi Chuxing jetsettersreal via Instagram

Mirroring some of the battles Uber has faced in cities around the world, local car-hailing apps in China like Didi Chuxing are getting heat from municipal administrations trying to protect the status quo.

Tags application, car, china, digital, lyft, ride sharing, taxi, uber

Rue Amelot Society

When You Share A Hometown With Adolf Hitler

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Post date October 25, 2016

Author Tanja Hofbauer (right) visiting Hitler's birth house with her classmates in 1995 Personal archives/All rights reserved

BRAUNAU AM INN — With its church spires and colorful facades, my hometown has a certain postcard charm. But growing up in this corner of northern Austria, near the German border, I learned early that my town was well-known for a very different reason: Adolf Hitler was born here. In school in the 1990s, thanks […]

Tags adolf hitler, austria, austrian, Braunau am Inn, nazi, third reich

Geopolitics Ideas

Turkey, Beware Of Erdogan’s Blind Faith In Majority Rule

Post author By
Post date October 25, 2016

Portraits of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk and Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Selcuk on Sept. 27 Jens Kalaene/DPA/ZUMA

-OpEd- ISTANBUL — The 2010 referendum to change Turkey’s constitution to give more power to the presidency prevailed in part because of the “It Is Not Enough, But Yes” call for support. I voted “No” then. And now, as it appears that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan wants to hold another referendum that will give even […]

Tags akp, coup, erdogan, majority, politics, presidency, sunni, turkey

This Is Not A Pipe

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Post date October 25, 2016

As Belgian surrealist artist René Magritte would say: “Ceci n’est pas une pipe.” Resting for a second on a column in the sanctuary of Olympia, my wife Claudine snapped this shot of me most probably chewing on a twig or a toothpick — for I was one of the few French philosophy teachers in the […]

Tags greece, olympia, photography, tourism, travel, vintage

On This Day – October 25

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Post date October 25, 2016

Tags china, italy, october revolution, pablo picasso, russia, SS Principessa Mafalda, taiwan, united nations

Calais To Lampedusa, And Back Again

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Post date October 24, 2016

Following weeks of planning, the operation finally began this morning before daybreak: It was time to dismantle the infamous Calais “Jungle.” Again. The Jungle is home to an estimated 6,000 to 8,000 migrants, most of them are young men from Africa and the Middle East, living in squalid conditions who wish to cross the Channel […]

Tags camp, chicago cubs, david bowie, france, Mariano Rajoy, migrants, refugees

Geopolitics Ideas

Colombia: The Real Reasons Uribe Sabotaged FARC Deal

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Post date October 24, 2016

Uribe says his piece, in a 2015 file photo Jhon Heaver Paz/Xinhua/ZUMA

-OpEd- BOGOTÁ — The Democratic Center, a right-wing political party led by Colombia’s former president Álvaro Uribe Vélez, was vehemently opposed to the peace deal with the country’s largest guerrilla group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC. The accord to end nearly a half-century of conflict, which was ultimately rejected in the surprise […]

Tags colombia, farc, guerrilla, land, peace deal, rural, uribe

Geopolitics Syria Crisis

A 16-Year-Old’s Escape From Syria, In A Wheelchair

Post author By lmacret
Post date October 24, 2016

Nujeen and her sister waiting for a bus to take them to a camp in Germany Nujeen Mustafa

Nujeen Mustafa didn’t realize fleeing from Syria to Europe in a wheelchair would be considered extraordinary. Now in Germany, she has written a book about her journey.

Tags Bashar al-Assad, migrants, refugees, syria, syria war, testimony

Infernal Dante

Post author By
Post date October 24, 2016

Dante Alighieri is buried in this tomb, in Ravenna. The story of the quarrel surrounding the 13th-century poet’s remains, disputed between this city in northern Italy where he was exiled, and his native Florence, is long and fascinating.

Tags dante, italy, photography, ravenna, retro, tourism, travel, vintage

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On This Day – October 24

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Post date October 24, 2016

Tags Beltway sniper attacks, germany, John Allen Muhammad, Lee Boyd Malvo, Peace of Westphalia, PewDiePie, Thirty Years War, united nations

Political Intrusion, The Eternal Poison For Central Banks

Post author By lmacret
Post date October 23, 2016

European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi Arne Dedert/DPA via ZUMA

LONDON — In most of the developed world, central banks are free to set monetary policy without the interference of those who depend on voters for their employment. That independence, though, is “not set in stone,” as former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan noted in his September 2007 memoirs. And there are worrying signs that, against the current backdrop of record-low interest rates, politicians are tempted to start meddling. The latest attack on independence comes from a very unlikely source. In an article for the Telegraph newspaper published on Tuesday, former U.K. Foreign Secretary William Hague wrote that “central bankers […]

Tags alan greenspan, Mario Draghi, mark carney, united kingdom

On This Day – October 23

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Post date October 23, 2016

Tags Battle of Leyte Gulf, brazil, football, Moscow Theatre siege, PelÃ©, philippines, Smurfs, world war ii

Economy Eyes on the U.S.

The German Car, Europe’s Last Stand Against U.S. Corporate Hegemony

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Post date October 22, 2016

Apple Store, Regent Street, London Ian Muttoo

In 2015, Apple earned more than the five most profitable companies in Europe combined.

Tags apple, brexit, eu, old economy, united states

The Condor Offer

Post author By
Post date October 22, 2016

The majestic Andean condor is one of the largest birds in the world. After this one displayed its impressive wingspan, an elderly animal-rights activist from our organized tour, got into a heated discussion with the owner of the bird. She wanted to buy the condor in order to set it free.

Tags bird, condor, peru, photography, tourism, travel, vintage, vulture

On This Day – October 22

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Post date October 22, 2016

Tags Catherine Deneuve, cuban missile crisis, france, Jean-Paul Sartre, Kennedy, Literature Nobel Prize, ottawa, Parliament of Canada

Geopolitics Syria Crisis

Inside Bustan al-Qasr, The Front Line Of A Divided Aleppo

Post author By
Post date October 21, 2016

Soldier running in Bustan al-Qasr, Aleppo Ibrahim Khader/Pacific Press/ZUMA

This Aleppo neighborhood divides government and rebel forces, and the only things the two sides exchange are hostages and dead bodies.

Tags al-nusra, assad, ceasefire, evacuation, humanitarian, jihad, putin, rebels, syria

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