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Celerity
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Celerity's Journal
April 26, 2024
https://feps-europe.eu/issues/issue-24/
The spring issue of the Progressive Post magazine is now available (free download)
https://feps-europe.eu/issues/issue-24/
2024 is gearing up to be an exceptional electoral year: about 400 million citizens will elect a new European Parliament, the US might send Donald Trump back to the White House and, altogether, more than 2 billion people cast their votes in 50 countries. For European progressives, it is time for back to basics, which, in an era of shrinking welfare states, increased inequalities and rising living costs, includes a return to strong and impactful social policies. Hence our Special Coverage The future is social highlights progressive ideas for a fairer Europe, which is at stake in these European Parliament elections.
The transformative role progressives can play is also at the core of the Dossier The art of progressive governance in turbulent times: European social-democratic governments have successfully managed the Covid-19 crisis, made key contributions to shaping European recovery and can play a decisive role in the future. However, the increasing strength of the radical right looms behind many of this year's elections—it could even affect the war in Ukraine.
The Focus on Ukraine: two years of full-scale war underlines this risk and the conflict's implications for the Ukrainian people's difficult path to democracy. Ahead of this new electoral cycle, we also reflect on women's role in politics. The Dossier Women in politics: beyond representation looks at the crucial contribution that women in the European Parliament have made to key decisions that truly boost women's emancipation and the advancement of society at large.
The transformative role progressives can play is also at the core of the Dossier The art of progressive governance in turbulent times: European social-democratic governments have successfully managed the Covid-19 crisis, made key contributions to shaping European recovery and can play a decisive role in the future. However, the increasing strength of the radical right looms behind many of this year's elections—it could even affect the war in Ukraine.
The Focus on Ukraine: two years of full-scale war underlines this risk and the conflict's implications for the Ukrainian people's difficult path to democracy. Ahead of this new electoral cycle, we also reflect on women's role in politics. The Dossier Women in politics: beyond representation looks at the crucial contribution that women in the European Parliament have made to key decisions that truly boost women's emancipation and the advancement of society at large.
April 26, 2024
https://prospect.org/politics/2024-03-29-handmaids-of-the-patriarchy/
Because I’m cursed with having a capacity for empathy, I sometimes spare a thought for how much it must suck to be a woman in the Republican Party. Sure, many Republican women have it good: They tend to be wealthier and their homes are big enough to never have to see their spouses, who think of them as trophies rather than humans. But they’re also trapped in a party that relishes misogyny. It’s not golden handcuffs so much as a gilded obstacle course that gives an illusion of freedom but disciplines them swiftly if they wander off-track.
Two events that led to my latest bout of sympathy? Nikki Haley’s exit from the Republican primary, and Sen. Katie Britt’s overacted rebuttal to the State of the Union address, which was torched even by her own party. “All a woman’s good for in my book is having babies and taking care of the house,” a male Republican voter in North Carolina told NBC when asked if he would vote for Haley. An older female Republican voter in Texas told Fox News she wouldn’t vote for Haley either, because “she’s probably menopausal.” That was the level of respect Haley garnered from the GOP base. Now, as a progressive, I’d like to toss Haley’s hawkish neoconservative corporatism into the dustbin of history. But you can’t help but appreciate her for staying in the primary as long as she did, and having a bigger pair than any of her male counterparts when critiquing Trump. But rather than knock her on the merits, she’s reduced to her gender.
https://twitter.com/BenjaminGoggin/status/1765103314306297941
https://twitter.com/tradingbonus_io/status/1765886992577888590
Then there’s Britt, whose monologue was called “creepy” and “cringe” by Republicans. And I mean, sure. Except she gave Republicans what they claim to want out of women: a beautiful tradwife in her rightful place, the kitchen, railing against Joe Biden. She even served up a harrowing anecdote about a woman who was supposedly raped by a drug cartel in the U.S., only to be caught lying about nearly every part of the story, all in service of re-electing Donald Trump, a guy found legally liable for sexual abuse and a serial liar.
Republicans are arguably more desperate for women to represent their cause than ever, as they simultaneously seek the female vote while explicitly taking away those voters’ rights to abortion, and in some cases, even IVF. So you’d think they’d be a tad more forgiving of the women still trying to participate in GOP politics, which for them has become a beauty pageant where the interview question is “How would you make yourself a second-class citizen?” And yes, there is a swimsuit portion.
snip
Handmaids of the Patriarchy
https://prospect.org/politics/2024-03-29-handmaids-of-the-patriarchy/
Because I’m cursed with having a capacity for empathy, I sometimes spare a thought for how much it must suck to be a woman in the Republican Party. Sure, many Republican women have it good: They tend to be wealthier and their homes are big enough to never have to see their spouses, who think of them as trophies rather than humans. But they’re also trapped in a party that relishes misogyny. It’s not golden handcuffs so much as a gilded obstacle course that gives an illusion of freedom but disciplines them swiftly if they wander off-track.
Two events that led to my latest bout of sympathy? Nikki Haley’s exit from the Republican primary, and Sen. Katie Britt’s overacted rebuttal to the State of the Union address, which was torched even by her own party. “All a woman’s good for in my book is having babies and taking care of the house,” a male Republican voter in North Carolina told NBC when asked if he would vote for Haley. An older female Republican voter in Texas told Fox News she wouldn’t vote for Haley either, because “she’s probably menopausal.” That was the level of respect Haley garnered from the GOP base. Now, as a progressive, I’d like to toss Haley’s hawkish neoconservative corporatism into the dustbin of history. But you can’t help but appreciate her for staying in the primary as long as she did, and having a bigger pair than any of her male counterparts when critiquing Trump. But rather than knock her on the merits, she’s reduced to her gender.
https://twitter.com/BenjaminGoggin/status/1765103314306297941
https://twitter.com/tradingbonus_io/status/1765886992577888590
Then there’s Britt, whose monologue was called “creepy” and “cringe” by Republicans. And I mean, sure. Except she gave Republicans what they claim to want out of women: a beautiful tradwife in her rightful place, the kitchen, railing against Joe Biden. She even served up a harrowing anecdote about a woman who was supposedly raped by a drug cartel in the U.S., only to be caught lying about nearly every part of the story, all in service of re-electing Donald Trump, a guy found legally liable for sexual abuse and a serial liar.
Republicans are arguably more desperate for women to represent their cause than ever, as they simultaneously seek the female vote while explicitly taking away those voters’ rights to abortion, and in some cases, even IVF. So you’d think they’d be a tad more forgiving of the women still trying to participate in GOP politics, which for them has become a beauty pageant where the interview question is “How would you make yourself a second-class citizen?” And yes, there is a swimsuit portion.
snip
April 26, 2024
https://prospect.org/blogs-and-newsletters/tap/2024-04-25-son-of-bush-v-gore-day-supreme-court/
It looks like some work needs to be done to the pediment atop the front doors of the Supreme Court (R). There, chiseled in marble in large letters for all to see, are the words “Equal Justice Under Law.” The Republican justices’ comments during today’s oral arguments in the Trump immunity case made such a mockery of those words that those words will need to be replaced, or at minimum, augmented. Something like “Equal Justice Under Law, Except for Republican Presidents, Who Are Henceforth Immune When They Violate It.” That’s a lot to chisel, but chiseling (and worse), if you’re a Republican president, is now OK. As the special prosecutor’s case against Donald Trump for inciting a violent mob seeking, at his behest, to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election wended its way through lower courts, those courts found no merit in Trump’s claim that anything he did while president was not subject to U.S. law because presidents are immune from U.S. law’s strictures.
Only when the case reached the Supremes did it find Republican judges so partisan that they were willing to grant immunity to Republican presidents’ running amok. While most of the Republican justices seemed willing to imply that not every action a president commits is inherently immune from the laws that every other American is obliged to follow, they made clear that courts had to distinguish those actions made as president from those actions made, say, as a candidate, or a bribe recipient, or an abusive husband, or a belligerent drunk. And unless they choose to spell out these distinctions in their own ruling, the Republican justices are likely to send this case back to the federal district court whence it originated, requiring the judge there to rule which of the charges brought against Trump pertain to his presidential duties and must therefore be dismissed, and which do not. This would surely push Trump’s trial into next year, or into never-never land should Trump win the November election.
Rather than deal directly themselves with the case filed against Trump, most of the Republican justices sought to cloak themselves with a patina of concern for larger questions. “We’re writing a rule for the ages,” Justice Neil Gorsuch (R) intoned, raising the specter of future presidents being persecuted during their well-deserved retirements. The redoubtable Sam Alito (MAGA) expanded that thought to the point that it quite reversed the identity of the guilty parties in the assaults to American democracy. The president who incited an insurrection? No, the prosecutors who’ve sought to hold him accountable. “A stable, democratic society requires that a candidate who loses an election, even a close one, even a hotly contested one, leave office peacefully,” Alito said. Then, however, he noted that if a president thought he might be prosecuted for whatever he did to cling to the office, he would be likely to keep clinging by any means possible. So as to the possibility of post-presidential prosecution, Alito pondered, “Will that not lead us into a cycle that destabilizes the functioning of our country as a democracy?”
In Alito-Land, it’s not the insurrection that destabilized American democracy, it’s prosecuting the guy who fomented that insurrection. Never mind that the case before the justices concerned whether fomenting that insurrection was a prosecutable offense. No less than Chief Justice John Roberts (R) once warned against courts’ treating the case before them as a pretext to make some larger point that was not actually before the court. “If it is not necessary to decide more to dispose of a case,” Roberts wrote, “then it is necessary not to decide more.” But simply by the fact that it decided not to rule immediately on Trump’s absurd case for blanket presidential immunity, and now with the likelihood that it will return the case for further study to the district court, the Court is effectively doing all it can to decide a great deal more: It is endeavoring to decide the upcoming presidential election in Trump’s favor. In his “To be or not to be” soliloquy, Hamlet cites as one of the reasons to end it all “the law’s delay.” The delay that the Court’s Republicans have caused, and today further abetted, is shoving American democracy in the direction of “not to be.”
snip
'Son of Bush v. Gore' Day at the Supreme Court, Which henceforth must be referred to as the 'Supreme Court (R)'
https://prospect.org/blogs-and-newsletters/tap/2024-04-25-son-of-bush-v-gore-day-supreme-court/
It looks like some work needs to be done to the pediment atop the front doors of the Supreme Court (R). There, chiseled in marble in large letters for all to see, are the words “Equal Justice Under Law.” The Republican justices’ comments during today’s oral arguments in the Trump immunity case made such a mockery of those words that those words will need to be replaced, or at minimum, augmented. Something like “Equal Justice Under Law, Except for Republican Presidents, Who Are Henceforth Immune When They Violate It.” That’s a lot to chisel, but chiseling (and worse), if you’re a Republican president, is now OK. As the special prosecutor’s case against Donald Trump for inciting a violent mob seeking, at his behest, to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election wended its way through lower courts, those courts found no merit in Trump’s claim that anything he did while president was not subject to U.S. law because presidents are immune from U.S. law’s strictures.
Only when the case reached the Supremes did it find Republican judges so partisan that they were willing to grant immunity to Republican presidents’ running amok. While most of the Republican justices seemed willing to imply that not every action a president commits is inherently immune from the laws that every other American is obliged to follow, they made clear that courts had to distinguish those actions made as president from those actions made, say, as a candidate, or a bribe recipient, or an abusive husband, or a belligerent drunk. And unless they choose to spell out these distinctions in their own ruling, the Republican justices are likely to send this case back to the federal district court whence it originated, requiring the judge there to rule which of the charges brought against Trump pertain to his presidential duties and must therefore be dismissed, and which do not. This would surely push Trump’s trial into next year, or into never-never land should Trump win the November election.
Rather than deal directly themselves with the case filed against Trump, most of the Republican justices sought to cloak themselves with a patina of concern for larger questions. “We’re writing a rule for the ages,” Justice Neil Gorsuch (R) intoned, raising the specter of future presidents being persecuted during their well-deserved retirements. The redoubtable Sam Alito (MAGA) expanded that thought to the point that it quite reversed the identity of the guilty parties in the assaults to American democracy. The president who incited an insurrection? No, the prosecutors who’ve sought to hold him accountable. “A stable, democratic society requires that a candidate who loses an election, even a close one, even a hotly contested one, leave office peacefully,” Alito said. Then, however, he noted that if a president thought he might be prosecuted for whatever he did to cling to the office, he would be likely to keep clinging by any means possible. So as to the possibility of post-presidential prosecution, Alito pondered, “Will that not lead us into a cycle that destabilizes the functioning of our country as a democracy?”
In Alito-Land, it’s not the insurrection that destabilized American democracy, it’s prosecuting the guy who fomented that insurrection. Never mind that the case before the justices concerned whether fomenting that insurrection was a prosecutable offense. No less than Chief Justice John Roberts (R) once warned against courts’ treating the case before them as a pretext to make some larger point that was not actually before the court. “If it is not necessary to decide more to dispose of a case,” Roberts wrote, “then it is necessary not to decide more.” But simply by the fact that it decided not to rule immediately on Trump’s absurd case for blanket presidential immunity, and now with the likelihood that it will return the case for further study to the district court, the Court is effectively doing all it can to decide a great deal more: It is endeavoring to decide the upcoming presidential election in Trump’s favor. In his “To be or not to be” soliloquy, Hamlet cites as one of the reasons to end it all “the law’s delay.” The delay that the Court’s Republicans have caused, and today further abetted, is shoving American democracy in the direction of “not to be.”
snip
April 25, 2024
Several masked men, described by anti-racism magazine Expo as "a group of Nazis" carried out the attack at an event organised by the Left Party and Green Party. Here's what we know so far.
https://www.thelocal.se/20240425/explained-what-we-know-about-the-attack-on-a-swedish-anti-fascist-meeting
https://archive.ph/HBVHJ
Police and paramedics at the scene of the attack on Wednesday. Photo: Fredrik Sandberg/TT
What happened?
Several masked men burst into a Stockholm theatre on Wednesday night and set off smoke bombs during an anti-fascism event, according to police and participants. Around 50 people were taking part in the event at the Moment theatre in Gubbängen, a southern suburb of the Swedish capital, organised by the Left Party and the Green Party. "Three people were taken by ambulance to hospital," the police said on its website, shortly after the attack.
According to Swedish media, one person was physically assaulted and two had paint sprayed in their faces. "The Nazis attacked visitors using physical violence, with pepper spray, and vandalised the venue before throwing in some kind of smoke grenade which filled the foyer with smoke," Expo wrote on its website. The magazine's head of education Klara Ljungberg was at the event in order to hold a lecture at the invitation of the two political parties.
What was the meeting about?
According to the Left Party's press officer, the event was "a meeting about growing fascism". Left Party leader Nooshi Dadgostar described the event to public broadcaster SVT as an "open event, for equality among individuals". As well as Ljungberg from Expo, panelists at the event included anti-fascist activist Mathias Wåg, who also writes for Swedish centre-left tabloid Aftonbladet. "They were determined and went straight for me," Wåg told Expo just after the attack. "I received a few blows but nothing that caused serious damage." "I was invited to be on a panel in order to discuss anti-fascism with representatives from the Left Party and the Green Party," he told the magazine. "I didn't know this was going to happen, but there's obviously a risk when Expo and I are in the same place."
What has the reaction been like?
All of Sweden's parties across the political spectrum have denounced the attack, with Dadgostar describing it as a "threat to our democracy" when TT newswire interviewed her at the theatre a few hours after the attack occurred. Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, from the conservative Moderates, called the attack "abhorrent". The Moderates, Christian Democrats and Liberals are currently in government with the support of the far-right Sweden Democrats, while the Social Democrats, Left Party, Centre Party and Green Party are in opposition. "It is appalling news that a meeting hosted by the Left Party has been stormed," Kristersson told TT. "I have reached out to Nooshi Dadgostar and expressed my deepest support. This type of abhorrent action has no place in our free and open society."
snip
The masked people are said to have thrown in both colour bombs and smoke bombs. Photo: Reader image
What we know about the attack on a Swedish anti-fascist meeting
Several masked men, described by anti-racism magazine Expo as "a group of Nazis" carried out the attack at an event organised by the Left Party and Green Party. Here's what we know so far.
https://www.thelocal.se/20240425/explained-what-we-know-about-the-attack-on-a-swedish-anti-fascist-meeting
https://archive.ph/HBVHJ
Police and paramedics at the scene of the attack on Wednesday. Photo: Fredrik Sandberg/TT
What happened?
Several masked men burst into a Stockholm theatre on Wednesday night and set off smoke bombs during an anti-fascism event, according to police and participants. Around 50 people were taking part in the event at the Moment theatre in Gubbängen, a southern suburb of the Swedish capital, organised by the Left Party and the Green Party. "Three people were taken by ambulance to hospital," the police said on its website, shortly after the attack.
According to Swedish media, one person was physically assaulted and two had paint sprayed in their faces. "The Nazis attacked visitors using physical violence, with pepper spray, and vandalised the venue before throwing in some kind of smoke grenade which filled the foyer with smoke," Expo wrote on its website. The magazine's head of education Klara Ljungberg was at the event in order to hold a lecture at the invitation of the two political parties.
What was the meeting about?
According to the Left Party's press officer, the event was "a meeting about growing fascism". Left Party leader Nooshi Dadgostar described the event to public broadcaster SVT as an "open event, for equality among individuals". As well as Ljungberg from Expo, panelists at the event included anti-fascist activist Mathias Wåg, who also writes for Swedish centre-left tabloid Aftonbladet. "They were determined and went straight for me," Wåg told Expo just after the attack. "I received a few blows but nothing that caused serious damage." "I was invited to be on a panel in order to discuss anti-fascism with representatives from the Left Party and the Green Party," he told the magazine. "I didn't know this was going to happen, but there's obviously a risk when Expo and I are in the same place."
What has the reaction been like?
All of Sweden's parties across the political spectrum have denounced the attack, with Dadgostar describing it as a "threat to our democracy" when TT newswire interviewed her at the theatre a few hours after the attack occurred. Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, from the conservative Moderates, called the attack "abhorrent". The Moderates, Christian Democrats and Liberals are currently in government with the support of the far-right Sweden Democrats, while the Social Democrats, Left Party, Centre Party and Green Party are in opposition. "It is appalling news that a meeting hosted by the Left Party has been stormed," Kristersson told TT. "I have reached out to Nooshi Dadgostar and expressed my deepest support. This type of abhorrent action has no place in our free and open society."
snip
https://twitter.com/magdandersson/status/1783199130665275492
The attacks against the political event in Gubbängen tonight are a direct attack on our democracy and the right to organise ourselves. My thoughts are with those affected. Right-wing extremists want to scare us into silence. They will never be allowed to succeed.
The attacks against the political event in Gubbängen tonight are a direct attack on our democracy and the right to organise ourselves. My thoughts are with those affected. Right-wing extremists want to scare us into silence. They will never be allowed to succeed.
The masked people are said to have thrown in both colour bombs and smoke bombs. Photo: Reader image
April 25, 2024
Label: Shelter Records – 11 662 AT
Format: Vinyl, 7", 45 RPM, Single, Stereo
Country: Germany
Released: Jan 1977
Genre: Rock, Blues
Style: Blues Rock
JJ Cale - Cocaine (Johnson Somerset remix)
Label: Shelter Records – 11 662 AT
Format: Vinyl, 7", 45 RPM, Single, Stereo
Country: Germany
Released: Jan 1977
Genre: Rock, Blues
Style: Blues Rock
April 24, 2024
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2024/apr/23/caitlin-clark-nike-contract-signature-shoe-deal-indiana-fever
Caitlin Clark appears to be on the cusp of setting another record. The most prolific scorer in NCAA Division I history and the No 1 overall pick in the WNBA draft will continue her association with Nike by signing a $28m contract that spans eight years and includes a signature shoe.
The Wall Street Journal and The Athletic reported the pending deal, citing unnamed people familiar with the negotiations between the sportswear giant and Clark’s agents. Excel Sports Management, which represents Clark, declined to comment. Nike did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Associated Press.
Clark’s initial name, image and likeness deal, signed in 2022, expired at the end of the 2023-24 season. The new deal would be the richest sponsorship contract for a women’s basketball player. Under Armour and Adidas also participated in contract discussions with Clark’s team in February, according to the WSJ and Athletic. Puma also showed some interest but walked away when told the bidding would start at $3m per year, according to the WSJ.
Clark received offers of $16m over four years from Under Armour and $6m over four years from Adidas, with both including a signature shoe, according to the WSJ. Clark earned about $3m in NIL money at Iowa with deals she has had with State Farm, Gatorade and others, according to On3.com.
snip
Caitlin Clark set to ink record Nike deal valued at $28m over eight years
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2024/apr/23/caitlin-clark-nike-contract-signature-shoe-deal-indiana-fever
Caitlin Clark appears to be on the cusp of setting another record. The most prolific scorer in NCAA Division I history and the No 1 overall pick in the WNBA draft will continue her association with Nike by signing a $28m contract that spans eight years and includes a signature shoe.
The Wall Street Journal and The Athletic reported the pending deal, citing unnamed people familiar with the negotiations between the sportswear giant and Clark’s agents. Excel Sports Management, which represents Clark, declined to comment. Nike did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Associated Press.
Clark’s initial name, image and likeness deal, signed in 2022, expired at the end of the 2023-24 season. The new deal would be the richest sponsorship contract for a women’s basketball player. Under Armour and Adidas also participated in contract discussions with Clark’s team in February, according to the WSJ and Athletic. Puma also showed some interest but walked away when told the bidding would start at $3m per year, according to the WSJ.
Clark received offers of $16m over four years from Under Armour and $6m over four years from Adidas, with both including a signature shoe, according to the WSJ. Clark earned about $3m in NIL money at Iowa with deals she has had with State Farm, Gatorade and others, according to On3.com.
snip
April 24, 2024
Director: Page Buono
Website: Chemistry Shorts
Cracking Chirality: The Mystery of Mirror Molecules. Why do the building blocks of life possess a mysterious symmetry?
Director: Page Buono
Website: Chemistry Shorts
‘Chirality’ refers to a property of molecules that come in two distinct varieties – a ‘right-handed’ and ‘left-handed’ form. At first glance, this concept may seem like an esoteric bit of knowledge relevant only to lab chemists. However, the fact takes on a new meaning when you consider that, while chemical reactions tend to produce a 50:50 chiral mix of these molecules, the building blocks of life come in a single (or homochiral) form – and indeed must for life as we know it to operate. That’s all to say, at the core of the origin of life is a mystery of homochirality.
This film from the science documentary series Chemistry Shorts explores how the groundbreaking experiments of two Harvard University scientists, S Furkan Ozturk and Dimitar Sasselov, may have cracked the case of how the ‘prebiotic soup’ generated homochirality – and in doing so, made life possible. Balancing the chemical nitty-gritty of it all with the larger existential questions their work probes, the film makes for a riveting dive into a potential breakthrough on one of science’s most enduring mysteries.
This film from the science documentary series Chemistry Shorts explores how the groundbreaking experiments of two Harvard University scientists, S Furkan Ozturk and Dimitar Sasselov, may have cracked the case of how the ‘prebiotic soup’ generated homochirality – and in doing so, made life possible. Balancing the chemical nitty-gritty of it all with the larger existential questions their work probes, the film makes for a riveting dive into a potential breakthrough on one of science’s most enduring mysteries.
April 24, 2024
Photographer Jamie McGregor Smith has spent the last five years capturing brutalist and modernist churches across Europe. Here, he picks his 12 favourites from his Sacred Modernity book. With 139 photographs of 100 churches, McGregor Smith created the book to showcase the sculptural and unique forms of some of the churches built in the post-war period in countries including Italy, Germany, Austria, Poland and the UK. Published by Hatje Cantz with essays by writers Jonathan Meades and Ivica Brnic, Sacred Modernity: The Holy Embrace of Modernist Architecture aims to bring attention to the unconventional buildings.
"Many are surprised to discover the thought-provoking nature of brutalist architecture and are drawn to its challenging and unconventional qualities," McGregor Smith told Dezeen. "In essence, the experience of encountering brutalist churches often involves a transformation from scepticism to appreciation, as individuals are confronted with the unique beauty and architectural innovation that these structures represent." McGregor Smith recalled that his work on the book began when he visited the brutalist Wotruba Church in Vienna, which sparked his interest in modernist church architecture. Since then, he has been driven to discover more churches like it.
"One of the driving forces behind my project was the realisation that many of these remarkable spaces were not fully appreciated within the architectural community and often remained unknown to their local populations," said McGregor Smith. "I felt a sense of excitement and purpose in rediscovering these hidden gems that so freely express creativity," he continued. "These architectural marvels evoke within me a profound sense of awe and curiosity, thanks to the architects' masterful use of form and light."
The churches in Sacred Modernity have sculptural concrete forms that break away from the mould of conventional churches, which typically have a floor plan in the shape of a cross. McGregor Smith claimed this was part of a trend after the second world war, which sought new styles separated from traditional architecture of the past. "While traditional churches evoke a sense of familiarity and reverence through their classic designs, brutalist and modernist churches challenge these norms with their bold, austere and provocative aesthetic," he said. "These architectural styles emerged in the post-war period as a rejection of the past's orthodoxy and a pursuit of a new social order free from associations with opulence, authority and war."
snip
The heavy hand of God: Sacred Modernity showcases "unique beauty and architectural innovation" of brutalist churches
https://www.dezeen.com/2024/04/24/sacred-modernity-brutalist-churches-book-jamie-mcgregor-smith/Photographer Jamie McGregor Smith has spent the last five years capturing brutalist and modernist churches across Europe. Here, he picks his 12 favourites from his Sacred Modernity book. With 139 photographs of 100 churches, McGregor Smith created the book to showcase the sculptural and unique forms of some of the churches built in the post-war period in countries including Italy, Germany, Austria, Poland and the UK. Published by Hatje Cantz with essays by writers Jonathan Meades and Ivica Brnic, Sacred Modernity: The Holy Embrace of Modernist Architecture aims to bring attention to the unconventional buildings.
"Many are surprised to discover the thought-provoking nature of brutalist architecture and are drawn to its challenging and unconventional qualities," McGregor Smith told Dezeen. "In essence, the experience of encountering brutalist churches often involves a transformation from scepticism to appreciation, as individuals are confronted with the unique beauty and architectural innovation that these structures represent." McGregor Smith recalled that his work on the book began when he visited the brutalist Wotruba Church in Vienna, which sparked his interest in modernist church architecture. Since then, he has been driven to discover more churches like it.
"One of the driving forces behind my project was the realisation that many of these remarkable spaces were not fully appreciated within the architectural community and often remained unknown to their local populations," said McGregor Smith. "I felt a sense of excitement and purpose in rediscovering these hidden gems that so freely express creativity," he continued. "These architectural marvels evoke within me a profound sense of awe and curiosity, thanks to the architects' masterful use of form and light."
The churches in Sacred Modernity have sculptural concrete forms that break away from the mould of conventional churches, which typically have a floor plan in the shape of a cross. McGregor Smith claimed this was part of a trend after the second world war, which sought new styles separated from traditional architecture of the past. "While traditional churches evoke a sense of familiarity and reverence through their classic designs, brutalist and modernist churches challenge these norms with their bold, austere and provocative aesthetic," he said. "These architectural styles emerged in the post-war period as a rejection of the past's orthodoxy and a pursuit of a new social order free from associations with opulence, authority and war."
snip
April 23, 2024
Letter from 25 senators including Mitch McConnell says president ‘must act immediately to restore order’ on university campuses
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/apr/23/university-protests-arrests-yale-nyu-columbia
Pro-Palestinian students and activists face police officers as they protest the Israel-Hamas war on the campus of New York University on 22 April 2024. Photograph: Alex Kent/AFP/Getty Images
Senior Republican US senators on Tuesday waded into growing tensions at leading universities over the Israel-Gaza war, demanding the Biden administration send in federal law enforcement officers to curb pro-Palestinian protests that have led to hundreds of arrests. The Senate minority leader, Mitch McConnell, and his deputy, John Thune, wrote to the US attorney general, Merrick Garland, and the education secretary, Miguel Cardona, with strong language calling demonstrators “anti-Semitic, pro-terrorist mobs”.
Police had arrested about 150 protesters at pro-Palestinian demonstrations at Yale and New York University on Monday night, while Columbia University announced that classes would be taught remotely for the rest of the semester, as anger boiled over following more than 100 arrests there last week. Some university leaders, most notably at Columbia, are facing calls for resignation this week and fierce criticism – from those outraged at the protests and those outraged at the crackdown on the protests.
On Tuesday afternoon, 25 Republican senators led by McConnell wrote: “The Department of Education and federal law enforcement must act immediately to restore order, prosecute the mobs who have perpetuated [sic] violence and threats against Jewish students, revoke the visas of all foreign nationals (such as exchange students) who have taken part in promoting terrorism, and hold accountable school administrators who have stood by instead of protecting their students.” The Missouri senator Josh Hawley and Arkansas senator Tom Cotton on Monday had called for Joe Biden to send national guard troops on to campus.
On the Yale University campus in New Haven, Connecticut, authorities arrested at least 47 protesters on Monday evening, the university said in a statement. Students who were arrested will be referred for disciplinary action. Several hundred people had been protesting at Yale, including hunger strikers, demanding the university divest from military weapons manufacturers and other companies with ties to Israel. And in downtown Manhattan, police clashed with protesters at New York University. There were reports of officers using pepper spray as demonstrators tried to block a police bus from leaving the scene with detained students, and more than 100 people were arrested.
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Student Gaza protests: top Republicans call on Biden to send in federal officers
Letter from 25 senators including Mitch McConnell says president ‘must act immediately to restore order’ on university campuses
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/apr/23/university-protests-arrests-yale-nyu-columbia
Pro-Palestinian students and activists face police officers as they protest the Israel-Hamas war on the campus of New York University on 22 April 2024. Photograph: Alex Kent/AFP/Getty Images
Senior Republican US senators on Tuesday waded into growing tensions at leading universities over the Israel-Gaza war, demanding the Biden administration send in federal law enforcement officers to curb pro-Palestinian protests that have led to hundreds of arrests. The Senate minority leader, Mitch McConnell, and his deputy, John Thune, wrote to the US attorney general, Merrick Garland, and the education secretary, Miguel Cardona, with strong language calling demonstrators “anti-Semitic, pro-terrorist mobs”.
Police had arrested about 150 protesters at pro-Palestinian demonstrations at Yale and New York University on Monday night, while Columbia University announced that classes would be taught remotely for the rest of the semester, as anger boiled over following more than 100 arrests there last week. Some university leaders, most notably at Columbia, are facing calls for resignation this week and fierce criticism – from those outraged at the protests and those outraged at the crackdown on the protests.
On Tuesday afternoon, 25 Republican senators led by McConnell wrote: “The Department of Education and federal law enforcement must act immediately to restore order, prosecute the mobs who have perpetuated [sic] violence and threats against Jewish students, revoke the visas of all foreign nationals (such as exchange students) who have taken part in promoting terrorism, and hold accountable school administrators who have stood by instead of protecting their students.” The Missouri senator Josh Hawley and Arkansas senator Tom Cotton on Monday had called for Joe Biden to send national guard troops on to campus.
On the Yale University campus in New Haven, Connecticut, authorities arrested at least 47 protesters on Monday evening, the university said in a statement. Students who were arrested will be referred for disciplinary action. Several hundred people had been protesting at Yale, including hunger strikers, demanding the university divest from military weapons manufacturers and other companies with ties to Israel. And in downtown Manhattan, police clashed with protesters at New York University. There were reports of officers using pepper spray as demonstrators tried to block a police bus from leaving the scene with detained students, and more than 100 people were arrested.
snip
April 23, 2024
International attention is on Gaza – but attacks by Israelis who live on Palestinian land have been increasing
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/apr/22/israel-settlers-violence-against-palestine-west-bank
While international attention has been turned toward Gaza, violence against Palestinians has increased in the West Bank too. Israeli settler attacks have become more frequent. Settlers are Israeli citizens who live on Palestinian land. In most cases, this happens because Palestinians are prevented from accessing their land and are physically attacked by settlers. In a third of cases, Palestinian property is damaged by settlers. These findings come from a UN report published in September 2023 that showed a years-long rise in settler violence against Palestinians. Because of these numbers, the UN has noted that “settler-driven displacement did not start with Hamas’s deadly attack”.
snip
The Israeli government routinely acknowledges these colonies as part of the Israeli state despite the fact that they are illegal under international law. For decades, the United States has publicly condemned settlements while continuing to provide billions of dollars to Israel. But this longstanding policy was reversed by the Trump administration in November 2019 when it stated that it didn’t consider settlements to be a violation of international law “per se”. In fact, article 49 of the fourth Geneva convention prohibits the “individual or mass forcible transfers, as well as deportations of protected persons from occupied territory”.
Biden’s administration had been relatively quiet on this point until tensions with Israel rose in February and the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, stated: “New settlements are counterproductive to reaching an enduring peace.” Blinken, who was responding to a reporter’s question about Israeli plans to build 3,300 new homes in West Bank settlements, added: “They’re also inconsistent with international law. Our administration maintains a firm opposition to settlement expansion and in our judgment this only weakens, it doesn’t strengthen, Israel’s security.” Settlements have been one of the main sticking points in peace negotiations, since the rapid growth of these outposts could in effect eliminate hopes for a Palestinian state. About 40% of the West Bank is currently under the control of settlements. The numbers displayed here are incomplete. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), which collects this data, notes that “cases of harassment, trespass, and intimidation are not included in these statistics when they do not result in damage or casualties, although they too increase the pressure on Palestinians to leave”. Settler violence is unlikely to slow down. The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, leads a coalition government that includes several religious Zionist parties that support further annexation of the West Bank. The Israeli human rights group B’Tselem has found that “as a rule, the military prefers to remove Palestinians from their own farmland or pastureland rather than confront settlers”.
This has also been the case in recent months, when Israeli forces have accompanied or supported settler attacks in almost half of all incidents, according to the UN. In over a third of the incidents reported since October, settlers threatened Palestinians with firearms, including by opening fire. The thousands of Palestinians who have been forced from their homes have little recourse to justice. In four out of every five cases, Israeli police failed in the investigation of Israelis who harmed Palestinians and their property. This finding comes from Yesh Din, an Israeli human rights group that has investigated the way Israeli law enforcement treats these settler attacks. It found that between 2005 and 2021, just 3% of ideologically motivated cases resulted in a conviction. Demolition is also a key part of settlement. Israeli authorities regularly destroy and confiscate Palestinian-owned property. They also prohibit construction by Palestinians while issuing permits to Israelis. About 24,300 housing units for Israeli settlements in the West Bank were advanced last year. In March 2024, after plans to build a further 3,476 settler homes were announced, the UN human rights chief, Volker Türk, condemned the move, stating that the constructions “fly in the face of international law”.
Settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank - visualized
International attention is on Gaza – but attacks by Israelis who live on Palestinian land have been increasing
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/apr/22/israel-settlers-violence-against-palestine-west-bank
While international attention has been turned toward Gaza, violence against Palestinians has increased in the West Bank too. Israeli settler attacks have become more frequent. Settlers are Israeli citizens who live on Palestinian land. In most cases, this happens because Palestinians are prevented from accessing their land and are physically attacked by settlers. In a third of cases, Palestinian property is damaged by settlers. These findings come from a UN report published in September 2023 that showed a years-long rise in settler violence against Palestinians. Because of these numbers, the UN has noted that “settler-driven displacement did not start with Hamas’s deadly attack”.
snip
The Israeli government routinely acknowledges these colonies as part of the Israeli state despite the fact that they are illegal under international law. For decades, the United States has publicly condemned settlements while continuing to provide billions of dollars to Israel. But this longstanding policy was reversed by the Trump administration in November 2019 when it stated that it didn’t consider settlements to be a violation of international law “per se”. In fact, article 49 of the fourth Geneva convention prohibits the “individual or mass forcible transfers, as well as deportations of protected persons from occupied territory”.
Biden’s administration had been relatively quiet on this point until tensions with Israel rose in February and the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, stated: “New settlements are counterproductive to reaching an enduring peace.” Blinken, who was responding to a reporter’s question about Israeli plans to build 3,300 new homes in West Bank settlements, added: “They’re also inconsistent with international law. Our administration maintains a firm opposition to settlement expansion and in our judgment this only weakens, it doesn’t strengthen, Israel’s security.” Settlements have been one of the main sticking points in peace negotiations, since the rapid growth of these outposts could in effect eliminate hopes for a Palestinian state. About 40% of the West Bank is currently under the control of settlements. The numbers displayed here are incomplete. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), which collects this data, notes that “cases of harassment, trespass, and intimidation are not included in these statistics when they do not result in damage or casualties, although they too increase the pressure on Palestinians to leave”. Settler violence is unlikely to slow down. The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, leads a coalition government that includes several religious Zionist parties that support further annexation of the West Bank. The Israeli human rights group B’Tselem has found that “as a rule, the military prefers to remove Palestinians from their own farmland or pastureland rather than confront settlers”.
This has also been the case in recent months, when Israeli forces have accompanied or supported settler attacks in almost half of all incidents, according to the UN. In over a third of the incidents reported since October, settlers threatened Palestinians with firearms, including by opening fire. The thousands of Palestinians who have been forced from their homes have little recourse to justice. In four out of every five cases, Israeli police failed in the investigation of Israelis who harmed Palestinians and their property. This finding comes from Yesh Din, an Israeli human rights group that has investigated the way Israeli law enforcement treats these settler attacks. It found that between 2005 and 2021, just 3% of ideologically motivated cases resulted in a conviction. Demolition is also a key part of settlement. Israeli authorities regularly destroy and confiscate Palestinian-owned property. They also prohibit construction by Palestinians while issuing permits to Israelis. About 24,300 housing units for Israeli settlements in the West Bank were advanced last year. In March 2024, after plans to build a further 3,476 settler homes were announced, the UN human rights chief, Volker Türk, condemned the move, stating that the constructions “fly in the face of international law”.
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