Day: June 14, 2021

Watching the Shadows
space trilogy

Podcast: The Space Trilogy revisited

CS Lewis is mainly seen as either a purveyor of goopy children’s literature or a Christian moralist fuddy-duddy. But Lewis’ Space Trilogy—fantastic literature for adults, or “philosophical science fiction”—also reveals him as a dystopian prophet in the tradition of Orwell. The first two books in the series, Out of the Silent Planet and Perelandra, are a critique of space imperialism that anticipated the Avatar movies. But the final one, That Hideous Strength, is particularly relevant for our historical moment, as it anticipated rule by fascist tech bros with hubristic visions of remaking (or abolishing) humanity. In Episode 332of the CounterVortex podcast, Bill Weinberg makes the case that Lewis offered a vital critique of technocracy and “transhumanism” that is now urgently needed, as humanity stands at the cusp of his worst nightmares. (Image via Diary of an Autodidact)

Iran
Iran

UN urges restraint as Israel strikes Iran nuclear sites

UN Secretary-General António Guterres urged both Iran and Israel to exercise “maximum restraint” amid a sudden escalation between the two states following Israeli attacks on Iran’s nuclear installations. Condemning the Israeli strikes, the statement from the secretary-general’s office expressed concerns about a wider conflagration throughout the Middle East, warning that “a descent into deeper conflict” would be “a situation that the region can hardly afford.” (Map: PCL)

Sri Lanka flag

SRI LANKA’S ANIMAL EMBLEMS

Much controversy surrounds use of the flags associated with the Sri Lankan peoples, as they are loaded with ethnic symbolism in a country recovering from a generation-long civil war along ethno-nationalist lines. The flags of concern here all feature big cats as central to their designs—the Sinhalese identifying with the lion and the Tamils with the tiger. The lion adorns both the flag of the Sinhalese people as an ethnicity and the national flag of Sri Lanka. The tiger adorns both the flag of the Tamil people as an ethnicity and that of the Tamil Tiger rebels—which is officially outlawed. Yet neither of these animals can actually be found on the island of Sri Lanka. In a commentary for Jurist, legal scholars Samir Pasha and Naga Kandiah make the case for the indigenous Sri Lankan leopard as a new, neutral symbol for a unified post-civil war nation aspiring to ethnic co-existence and social justice.

Continue ReadingSRI LANKA’S ANIMAL EMBLEMS 
Central America

Taiwan sacrificed to Central America geopolitics

Panama is the latest Central American nation to switch diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Bejing—under pressure of China's fast-growing economic presence on the isthmus.

North Africa

Arab-Berber unity in Morocco protests

Protests continued for a second week in Morocco's neglected Rif region, and spread to cities throughout the country—bringing together Arabs and Berbers to demand democratic reform.

Iraq

ISIS: too radical for al-Qaeda?

Ayman al-Zawahiri purged ISIS from al-Qaeda and confered the local franchise on the rival Nusra Front. But with the old Qaeda leadership moribund, ISIS now controls much of Iraq.

bedouinrally2

Bedouin rally in Beersheba

Thousands of Palestinian holders of Israeli citizenship demonstrated in Beersheba against the Prawer Plan which will displace thousands of Bedouin families in the Negev desert to make way for new towns, with the housing reserved for Jewish citizens. Photo: Ma’an… Read moreBedouin rally in Beersheba