 | From the Editor's Desk
Baruch Spinoza and the Art of Thinking in Dangerous Times - The New Yorker (No paywall) No American has to fear Adriaan Koerbagh’s fate, no matter how unpopular his or her opinions. Still, Buruma argues, “liberal thinking is being challenged from many sides where ideologies are increasingly entrenched, by bigoted reactionaries as well as by progressives who believe there can be no deviation from their chosen paths to justice.” And it is certainly true that, in the age of social media, informal pressure to toe a certain line can be as effective as legal threats. Offending the wrong people, even for a moment, can blow up the career of anyone from a Y.A. novelist to an Ivy League president.
In calling Spinoza a “messiah,” Buruma follows Heinrich Heine, the nineteenth-century German Jewish poet, who compared the philosopher to “his divine cousin, Jesus Christ. Like him, he suffered for his teachings. Like him, he wore the crown of thorns.” According to Jonathan Israel, a historian whose encyclopedic biography “Spinoza, Life and Legend” came out last year, “No other personage of his era came even close to being so decried, denounced and condemned in weighty texts of exhaustive length, over so long a span of time, in Latin, Dutch, French, English, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Hebrew, and other languages.”
Continued here
TradeBriefs: Newsletters for Decision-Makers!
Our advertisers help fund the daily operations of TradeBriefs. We request you to accept our promotional emails.
Want the newsletters, without the promotional mailers?
Get an (ad-free) subscription to TradeBriefs Premium for just $1 per month.
|
| ? |
 |
WorkWork
WorkWork
WorkWork
WorkWork
WorkOwls may actually be able to turn their heads a full 360 degrees - New Scientist (No paywall)
  It has long been known that owls have extremely mobile necks. The birds have been recorded turning their heads entirely upside down, for instance, or rotating them through 270 degrees while keeping their bodies stationary. But Aleksandra Panyutina at Tel Aviv University in Israel and her colleague Alexander Kuznetsov, an independent researcher, suspect an owl’s neck is more flexible still. Work
WorkWork
WorkWork
WorkIraq Hosts Both U.S. and Iranian-Backed Forces. It’s Getting Tense.
 Iraqi leaders resisted, in part because of divisions over which country Iraq should lean toward. Even after 2022, when parties close to Iran were able to form a government, there was a notable distinction between what Iraq officials said about the United States publicly and what they said in private. WorkHamas proposes three-stage ceasefire over 135 days, leading to end of war
 Israel began its military offensive in Gaza after militants from Hamas-ruled Gaza killed 1,200 people and took 253 hostages in southern Israel on Oct. 7. Gaza\'s Health Ministry says at least 27,585 Palestinians have been confirmed killed in Israel\'s military campaign, with thousands more feared buried under rubble. WorkBiden wins Nevada Democratic primary, NBC News projects
 Still, without a competitive opponent in the primary here, the actual significance of turnout numbers Tuesday will be difficult to interpret. That\'s because significantly fewer voters go out to cast ballots in races that are not competitive, where one candidate holds an overwhelming advantage. WorkWorkWorkWorkWorkBiden Sails to Victory in Nevada’s Primary as He Heads Toward Nomination
 While the Nevada primary was not competitive, the state’s general elections are typically very tight. Mr. Biden, who won the state narrowly in 2020, will again need overwhelming support from the state’s heavy concentration of Hispanic voters, many of whom work in Las Vegas’s entertainment and hospitality industries. It was no coincidence that Mr. Biden on Monday paid a visit to unionized casino and hotel employees who had just completed contract negotiations. WorkWorkWoman Who Caused Fatal Buggy Crash Tried to Have Twin Take Blame, Authorities Say
 Eyewitnesses who had been driving on the road told sheriff’s deputies that they had stopped when they noticed the rubble and injured children. One witness said that he had noticed two women, both with blond hair, who looked similar. One wore a black coat, black leggings and sandals; the other, later revealed to be Samantha Petersen, the driver of the silver S.U.V., wore a red Hy-Vee grocery store uniform, footage from the sheriff’s office later showed. WorkWorkPrimary Day was eerily quiet in Nevada. (Caucus Day comes later.)
 More than 150,000 people cast ballots ahead of the primary via early in-person voting, absentee voting and mail-in ballots, according to reports from the Nevada secretary of state’s office. More than 93,000 Democrats voted, compared with about 58,000 Republicans. WorkRepublican Impeachment of Mayorkas Fails Amid G.O.P. Defections
 Last week, the House Homeland Security Committee approved two articles that charged Mr. Mayorkas with refusing to comply with the law and breaching the public trust. But it was only over the past few weeks that Republican leaders, under pressure from the hard right, rushed the impeachment through the committee and to the floor — without ever ensuring they had the requisite support to pass it given their minuscule House majority. WorkWorkWorkWorkFord Reports Quarterly Loss but Says Sales Grew
 Neal E. Boudette is based in Michigan and has been covering the auto industry for two decades. He joined The New York Times in 2016 after more than 15 years at The Wall Street Journal. More about Neal E. Boudette WorkWorkPresident of Powerful Service Workers Union Will Step Down
 Ruth Milkman, a sociologist of labor at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, said the union under Ms. Henry had been “willing to take chances on pretty bold initiatives” and called the Fight for $15 an “extraordinary achievement.” WorkWeWork’s Co-Founder Is Trying to Buy the Company
 It’s the latest twist for WeWork, which over its 14-year history became a symbol of venture capital excess. The company grew rapidly, becoming the biggest tenant in many major cities and attaining a paper valuation of $47 billion. And Neumann — backed by billions from the Japanese tech giant SoftBank — increasingly pitched it as a way to “elevate the world’s consciousness.” WorkWorkWorkMeta is trouncing Snap in Digital ads â here's why
 Snap has recently tried to distance itself from the broader social media universe and has pitched itself as more of a messaging company, Enberg said. The company disclosed sales in its Snapchat+ subscription service for the first time and said it had an annualized revenue run rate of $249 million in 2023. The service now has 7 million subscribers, up from 5 million in the previous quarter. Snap debuted the product in 2022 for $3.99 a month. WorkHamas Gives ‘Positive’ Reply to Gaza Truce Plan, but Odds Remain Murky
 Mr. Blinken, on the second day of a trip to the Middle East aimed at de-escalating regional tensions, also met with Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, the emir of Qatar, and with President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi of Egypt, in Cairo. Mr. Blinken said that he planned to discuss Hamas’s response with Israeli leaders on Wednesday. WorkWorkWhere Has Tracy Chapman Been?
 After her debut LP, “Tracy Chapman,” was released in 1988 — and went to No. 1 on the Billboard chart — she released seven more studio albums. Her last, “Our Bright Future,” came out in 2008. Jon Pareles of The New York Times described it as a collection of “morose love songs” as well as “her latest utopian vision of a world without war or greed.” WorkGiorgia Meloni Solidifies Her Credentials in Europe
 When Ms. Meloni became Italy’s leader in October 2022, many in Brussels worried she would be a disruptive force. Instead, as the Orban episode showed, she has positioned herself as a hard-right leader who can speak to those on the farther right. As Europe tilts more and more right, it is a remedy E.U. leaders may need more of in coming years. WorkToby Keith Was More Than Mere Bluster
 The semi-rapped “I Wanna Talk About Me” manages to wrap a critique of male petulance in a song superficially about a woman who doesn’t come up for air. And then there’s “How Do You Like Me Now?!” which is perhaps Keith’s most blustery song, a victory march in search of a Ford F-150 commercial. WorkWorkOpinion | Settler Colonialism: A Guide for the Sincere
 If you are allowed to stay, do so under an entirely different form of government, one that isn’t based on the Declaration of Independence or the Constitution. Sign over the deed of your property to the descendants of those dispossessed by past generations of settler colonialists. Live under new rulers, not of your own choosing. WorkWorkOpinion | Is the Middle-Class Dream Over in Las Vegas?
 Now voters across Las Vegas say they are struggling to hold on to their middle-class way of life. Most hold a grim view of the Republican Party and do not want to see Donald Trump return to the White House. But they also say they are beginning to question whether politicians in Washington are too out of touch to fight for them. WorkWorkWork TradeBriefs Publications are read by over 10,00,000 Industry Executives About Us | Advertise Privacy Policy | Unsubscribe (one-click) You are receiving this mail because of your subscription with TradeBriefs.
Our mailing address is GF 25/39, West Patel Nagar, New Delhi 110008, India |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
