In the aftermath of World War II, George Orwell reflected on politics, power and language: “When the general atmosphere is bad,” he wrote, “language must suffer.” To wage war, to justify empire, the politicians of his time mashed words, turning English to euphemistic mush, he said. In turn, the “sheer cloudy vagueness” of political …
What Do Pakistanis Really Think About the U.S. and India?
The Pew Center has a fascinating new poll out this week measuring public opinion in Pakistan. Among the most surprising results is the degree to which Pakistanis’ view of India have deteriorated over the last several years:
“Pakistani views of traditional rival India have grown increasingly negative in recent years.
…
What’s Next for Released Artist Ai Weiwei?
After reports emerged last night that Chinese artist Ai Weiwei had emerged from nearly three months of detention, his friends and supporters waited for a characteristic declaration that the news was true. A tweet perhaps, for his 88,000 followers? But his Twitter account remained dormant, the last message posted on April 3, the day …
In Libya, the Clock Is Ticking Toward NATO Failure
Western leaders may insist that Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi is weakened, isolated, irrelevant, and about to bow out, but their words hide hide a growing anxiety in Western capitals about the implications of his tenacity. Three months and counting into a bombing campaign that has yet to force out the regime, there’s growing …
Former Mossad Chief Discounts Arab Spring, Welcomes Prospect of a Sunni Syria
Meir Dagan, who until February ran Israel’s overseas intelligence agency for nine pretty successful years, has been making a new name for himself as outspoken retiree. Earlier this month he warned from a Tel Aviv stage that bombing Iran to stop its nuclear program was “a stupid idea,” and suggested that with the recent departure of …
Enfeebling Ahmadinejad: Iran’s President Downsized for Challenging the Ayatullah
How do you say “lame duck” in Farsi? (According to Google’s translation service, the answer would be: علیل وناتوان) And in a twist worthy of Game of Thrones, less than two years after his disputed reelection and the brutal crackdown on opponents that followed, Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been reduced to a علیل …
Controversial Artist Ai Weiwei Freed on Bail After Three Months Detention
UPDATE: News outlets including the New York Times confirm that Ai Weiwei has been released.
Ai Weiwei, the Chinese contemporary artist and outspoken government critic who has been held by police in Beijing since April 3, was released on bail on Wednesday, according to a report by China’s state-run Xinhua news service. Police …
The “Deadliest Zone”: Hillary Clinton Visits Central America’s Narco-Nightmare
Updated June 23
With the exception of catastrophic Hurricane Mitch in 1998 and the Honduran coup of 2009, the world has all but forgotten about Central America since its civil wars obsessed the Reagan Administration in the 1980s. But here, along with the storm and the putsch, is what happened in the meantime: the region has become …
Bullets, Golf Balls and China Dogs: Rory McIlroy Returns to a Divided Northern Ireland
They have much in common, the boy wonder of the golfing world who returned to his native Ulster on June 21 and the lads who that same night fought running street battles in an enclave of Belfast called Short Strand. The population of Northern Ireland at 1.7 million is smaller than many cities and drawn from a narrower gene pool; all but …
In Saudi Arabia, Hip Hop Takes On Weighty Subjects, Like The Mall
Anywhere else in the world, a hip-hop song about going to the mall would be laughed off the airways. In Saudi Arabia, it gets banned. Mamno3 al Shabab (“guys not allowed,” in the transliterated lingo of international texting, which uses numbers like 3 for sounds that don’t exist in English), one of the latest hits the latest single …
Has Ban Ki-Moon Lived Up to His Goals as UN Chief?
Ban Ki-Moon won a second term as United Nations Secretary General yesterday, affirmed by applause as he was the only candidate. Ban pitched himself as a mediator and bridge-builder, so it’s not surprising that he has been a less visible, less controversial and, his critics would say, less charismatic Secretary General than his …
NATO and Libyan Rebels Struggle to Communicate
As NATO gets further bogged down in Libya, Steven Sotloff examines for TIME its worsening relationship with Libya’s rebel fighters. Some rebels contend that lack of communication between their forces and NATO have resulted in more deaths as expected air counterattacks never materialize or errant strikes result in rebel deaths. If these …
Will New GOP Isolationism Leave New GOP Star Marco Rubio Isolated?
Since his stunning election victory last November, Florida’s 40-year-old, Cuban-American Senator Marco Rubio has been held aloft as the future of the Republican Party, a sharp-as-a-tack son of immigrants who can bring both youth and Latinos to a GOP that’s not too popular with either. After his debut speech on the Senate floor last …