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☆ The US secretly sent communist-friendly Coca-Cola to a Soviet general in a bid to maintain good ties across the Iron Curtain
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-17 | by ( Benjamin Brimelow | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Read previewAs World War II ended and the Iron Curtain fell over Eastern Europe, relations deteriorated between the Soviet Union and its Western allies. Zhukov had developed an intense liking for Coca-Cola, a drink now illegal in the Soviet Union. PH/Sherman Montrose ACMECoca-Cola's steadfast support for the Allied war effort helped make it both distinctly American and recognizable worldwide. CORBIS/Corbis via Getty ImagesAt Zhukov's request, the new beverage wasn't put in the usual Coke bottles but instead in unmarked, straight-edged bottles. Its rival Pepsi eventually gained a virtual monopoly in the Soviet Union, which the Soviets maintained — once trading several warships for $3 billion worth of Pepsi — until 1985.

Persons: —, Georgy Zhukov, Zhukov, Truman, Robert Woodruff, Dwight Eisenhower, Richard Bong, Henry, Hap, Arnold, Coke, Eisenhower, Getty Images Zhukov, Mark W, Clark, Harry Truman, James Farley, It's Organizations: Service, Soviet Union, Business, Sherman, Sherman Montrose ACME, US, US Army, Army Air Forces, Allied, Keystone, Getty Images, Cola Export Corporation, Getty, Cola, Pepsi Locations: Eastern Europe, Soviet, Soviet Union, Cassino, Italy, Sherman Montrose, North Africa, Coke, Montgomery, Frankfurt, Germany, France, American, Austria, Dehradun, India, Vienna, East

☆ Opinion | The Disastrous Relationship Between Israel, Palestinians and the U.N.
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-17 | by ( The Ezra Klein Show | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The international legal system was created to prevent the atrocities of World War II from happening again. The United Nations partitioned historic Palestine to create the states of Israel and Palestine, but also left Palestinians with decades of false promises. So what is international law actually for? Aslı Ü. Bâli is a professor at Yale Law School who specializes in international and comparative law. “The fact that people break the law and sometimes get away with it doesn’t mean the law doesn’t exist and doesn’t have force,” she argues.

Persons: “, Ezra Klein, ” Organizations: United Nations, Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music, YouTube, Yale Law School Locations: Palestine, Israel, Gaza, Syria, Yemen, Ethiopia

☆ Gina Rinehart: Australia’s richest woman seeks removal of her portrait from exhibition
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-16 | by ( Catherine Nicholls | Hilary Whiteman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

That certainly seems to be the case with a painting by indigenous artist Vincent Namatjira, which includes a portrait of Australia’s richest person, mining magnate Gina Rinehart. Rinehart has reportedly called for the National Gallery of Australia (NGA) to remove her portrait, one of 21 individual works that make up a single piece in Namatjira’s exhibition “Australia in Colour,” from display. The painting of Rinehart is one of 21 portraits by artist Vincent Namatjira that feature in his exhibition "Australia in Colour." Vincent NamatjiraAustralian media has reported that Rinehart approached the NGA’s director and chair to request the painting’s removal. She “remained unshakable” at the top of Forbes’ Australia’s 50 Richest list for 2024, the outlet reported in February.

Persons: Vincent Namatjira, Gina Rinehart, Rinehart, Queen Elizabeth II, Jimi Hendrix, Vincent Lingiari, Scott Morrison, “, Jackson, ” Namatjira, ”, Namatjira, Lang Hancock, She “, Forbes ’, 9News, Penelope Benton, NAVA Organizations: CNN, National Gallery of Australia, NGA, National Gallery, Hancock, Forbes, Australia’s National Association for, Visual Arts, NAVA, Gallery of Australia Locations: Australia, Canberra, American

☆ Flowers, socks and sparkling wine: Queen Camilla reveals some of her favorite brands
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-16 | by ( Billy Stockwell | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Royal warrants act as a stamp of approval to indicate the preferred goods and services used by the royal household and senior members of the royal family. The use of royal warrants can be traced back to medieval times when Henry II first granted a Royal Charter to the Weavers’ Company, according to the Royal Warrants Holders Association. In the 15th century, the first official royal warrants were granted, including to the King’s printer, William Caxton. A window display at Fortnum and Mason celebrates the coronation of King Charles III on April 29, 2023 in London, England. “It seems quite clear that if there are any [Environmental, Social and Governance] problems with the company, they will not get a royal warrant,” he said.

Persons: Camilla, Shane Connolly, Mason, King Charles III, Prince of Wales, Charles, Henry II, William Caxton, David Haigh, ”, Chris J Ratcliffe, Haigh, Bob Lindo, ” Haigh, Tom Athron Organizations: CNN’s Royal, London CNN, Charter, Weavers ’, Royal, Parliament, Brand, CNN, Corgi, Fortnum, Social Locations: London, England, America, East, China, Camel, Cornwall

☆ Why we care so much about the Dow, the stock market’s dumbest index
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-16 | by ( Allison Morrow | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

New York CNN —The Dow Jones Industrial Average is, at best, an imperfect barometer of stock market activity among a narrow band of very large US companies. It’s clunky, and too limited in scope for any Wall Street pros to pay serious attention to it. “Mention ‘the Dow’ and, to most people, that means the stock market,” said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B. Riley Financial, in a note to CNN. It’s just an index that tracks the stock market activity of 30 large US companies, from Amazon to McDonald’s to the Walt Disney Company. Market capitalization measures the total value of a company on the stock market.

Persons: Dow, ”, Hogan, It’s, “ Dow Jones ”, “, Nick Colas, you’re, ” Colas, Daniel Alpert, wasn’t, Goldman Sachs, Colas, I’ve, ” Alpert Organizations: New, New York CNN, Dow Jones, Dow, Riley Financial, CNN, Walt Disney Company, Westwood Capital, Standard Oil, US Steel, Microsoft, Apple Locations: New York, Amazon, Silicon

☆ The US is worried about an invasion, but China could take control of Taiwan without firing a shot, war experts warn
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-16 | by ( Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

download the appSign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. Defense experts say that an aggressive Chinese coercion campaign, short of war but still threatening, is more likely than a full-scale invasion and the US needs to prepare for such an event. Economic and diplomatic pressure is notable, and Chinese misinformation operations and the potential to slowly set up a blockade of Taiwan are also concerns. Annabelle Chih/Getty ImagesThe report identifies four things key to resisting Chinese coercion. CM-11 tanks fire artillery during the 2-day live-fire drill, amid intensifying threats military from China, in Pingtung county, Taiwan, 7 September 2022.

Persons: —, Han, Annabelle Chih, MANDY CHENG, Lai Ching, Lai, Ceng Shou Yi, John Aquilano, Xi, Aquilano, Carlos Del Toro, Frank Kendall Organizations: Service, Business, American Enterprise Institute, Institute for, Liberation Army, PLA, AEI, Cobra, Getty, Democratic Progressive Party, Taiwan, Getty Images, US, Pacific Command, US Armed Services, Air Force, Department of Defense Locations: Taiwan, China, Pingtung, US, Pacific, Hualien, AFP, Pingtung county, Guam, Japan

☆ A new mantra for AI models: 'good enough' is good enough
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-16 | by ( Darius Rafieyan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

In particular, it beat OpenAI's GPT 3.5, a model that was released two years earlier, an eternity in AI years. This new, leaner model will cost users only 35 cents per million tokens, compared with $7 per million for the Gemini 1.5 Pro model. But it remains to be seen if state-of-the-art is actually a good business model. said the founder and CEO of one seed-stage startup that's training new AI models, "but then, you know, as businesses, what you also want to do is what is good enough." As AI models get bigger and gobble up more money and computing resources, there are often diminishing returns in terms of performance.

Persons: —, Databricks, Ali Ghodsi, Ghodsi, Claude, it'll, Morgan Stanley, Martin Kon, Kon, OpenAI Organizations: Service, Business, Companies, Google, Gemini, Microsoft, Apple

☆ Putin Is Selling Victory, and Many Russians Are Buying It
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-15 | by ( Valerie Hopkins | Nanna Heitmann | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The word “victory” is everywhere in Moscow these days. It is being projected from gargantuan LED screens alongside major intersections and highways and written on red flags whipping in the wind. It’s prominent at an exhibit of Western weapons destroyed on Ukrainian battlefields and lugged back to Moscow as war trophies on display in — where else? “Together, we will be victorious!” Mr. Putin said at his inauguration last week after securing a fifth term as president. Two days later, the country celebrated Victory Day, Russia’s most important public holiday, which commemorates the Soviet contribution to the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II.

Persons: Vladimir V, Putin, Mr Locations: Moscow, —, “, Nazi Germany

☆ Opinion: A Russian weapon could wipe out US space edge
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-15 | by ( Clayton Swope | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Here, the NanoRacks-Remove Debris satellite is deployed from the International Space Station in 2018. Before revelations about Russia’s development of a nuclear anti-satellite weapon, there had been indications of global recognition that the use of certain space weapons was bad for everyone. The proposed defense budget for 2025 does not reflect the scale and urgency of the need to counter space threats and protect space systems. Learning how to operate satellites in a space environment clogged with debris or increased radiation caused by a space weapon is also important. We need a two-pronged effort to prepare for the worst: Double down on efforts to protect and maintain access to space in a hostile space environment and consider how to operate without space.

Persons: Clayton Swope, Mike Turner, Estonia’s, —, Vassily Nebenzia, Frank Herbert’s Organizations: Aerospace Security, International Security, Center for Strategic, International Studies, CIA, CNN, Clayton, Clayton Swope Center, Strategic, United, US, Intelligence, Ohio Republican, International Space Station, NASA, GPS, Finnair, United Nations, UN, Twitter Locations: Washington , DC, Russian, United States, Russia, Ohio, Vietnam, Guadalcanal, Iwo Jima, Tartu, China, Moscow

☆ In pictures: Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-15 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

Bill Gates helped usher in a personal computing revolution that brought computers to the masses. The Seattle native dropped out of Harvard University and co-founded Microsoft in 1975. After holding a number of leading roles at the company he co-founded, Gates eventually left his day job at Microsoft in 2008 to focus full time on his philanthropic organization, The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Gates' philanthropic endeavors have garnered global acclaim: In 2005, Gates was knighted by Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, and in 2016 he and his wife received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Barack Obama. In 2021, Bill and Melinda French Gates announced they were ending their marriage after 27 years.

Persons: Bill Gates, Gates, Melinda Gates, Queen Elizabeth II, Barack Obama, Melinda French Gates Organizations: Seattle, Harvard University, Microsoft, Forbes, Melinda Gates Foundation

☆ This year's biggest air battles are showing the US what it could need most in a missile war with China
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-15 | by ( Jake Epstein | Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka, FileThe war has shown how effective air defenses can be at denying air superiority, protecting key areas, and threatening high-value aircraft, as well as the costs when capabilities are degraded. Ukraine's air defenses, like its Soviet-era S-300s and US-supplied Patriots, have defeated enemy missile and drone strikes, hindered Russian air operations, and shot down numerous fighter-bombers and other Russian planes. "Ukraine and NATO might reduce risks with a two-prong strategy of strengthening air defenses and boosting infrastructure resilience." Needing more interceptors for the PacificFrom the fights this year, the US can see how it'll need to employ air defenses in a potential showdown with China. Running out of air defenses before the enemy runs out of air threats spells trouble.

Persons: —, Bradley Martin, Evgeniy, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Firefighters, Archer Macy, Martin, Shaan Shaikh, We've, Amir Cohen TPX, Shaikh, it's, Andy Wong, Thomas Shugart, Shugart, Joshua Smoot, Heath Collins, Navy Carlos Del Toro, Macy, Mark Wright Organizations: Service, Business, US Navy, Ukraine, AP, Patriots, Institute for, Emergency, Ministry, RAND Corporation, NATO, Western, Central Command, Combat, Navy, RAND, Patriot, US, Missile Defense, Center for Strategic, International Studies, REUTERS, China, Pentagon, Defense, Center, New, Air Force, 37th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron, Andersen Air Force Base, US Air Force, Aegis, Missile Defense Agency, Former Navy, CSIS, Pacific Missile, AP Air Locations: China, Ukraine, Israel, Navy, Russia, Congress, Avdiivka, Kharkiv, Russian, Kyiv, NATO, Yemen, Gulf of Aden, Iran, Red, Screengrab, French, Ashdod, South Korea, Japan, Guam, Beijing, New American, Gen, Kauai, Hawaii

☆ Cohen, Bannon, Manafort & Giuliani Sure Ain’t Trump’s Law Firm - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-15 | by ( Michelle Cottle | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Have you all noticed the Republican stars and wannabes showing up at Donald Trump’s trial? For its part, Team Trump may just be happy to have some respectable, unindicted players on Mr. Trump’s side. OK, Mr. Paxton doesn’t strictly meet those criteria, but you get my point. And of the many sordid ways Mr. Trump sets himself apart, his crew of henchmen is a doozy. Michael Cohen deserves top billing with his juicy court appearances this week, as Mr. Trump’s former fixer shared the nitty-gritty of how to keep your boss’s alleged extramarital encounters from blowing up a presidential campaign.

Persons: Donald Trump’s, Mike Johnson, J.D, Vance, Rick Scott, Doug Burgum, Ken Paxton, Vivek Ramaswamy …, Paxton doesn’t, Trump, underscoring, we’d, Michael Cohen, Trump’s, Steve Bannon, Rudy Giuliani, Paul Manafort Organizations: Republican, Team Trump, Trump, fixer Locations: North Dakota, Texas, Trump II

☆ Queen Camilla won’t add any new furs to her wardrobe
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-15 | by ( Lianne Kolirin | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

London CNN —Buckingham Palace has written to an animal rights group to confirm that Queen Camilla will no longer buy clothes that include animal pelts. The letter sent to People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), and seen by CNN, said that: “Her Majesty will not procure any new fur garments.” It is unclear, however, what the Queen’s position is with regard to fur items in her existing wardrobe. The move follows a similar stand taken by her late mother-in-law, Queen Elizabeth II, who ruled out buying new fur products back in 2019. The palace’s correspondence was in response to a letter sent by PETA to the Queen in April. In it, Elisa Allen, vice president of the organization’s UK programs and operations, detailed the cruel practices which, it says, are employed in the fur industry, as well its impact on the environment.

Persons: Buckingham, Queen Camilla, Queen Elizabeth II, Elisa Allen, Ingrid Newkirk, claret, Angela Kelly, Dresser, ” Kelly, ” Organizations: London CNN, Animals, PETA, CNN, ”

☆ Genius or madness? Why Putin wants an economist to be Russia's new defense minister at a key point in the war
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-14 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

But Putin's replacement of Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu was unexpected — and his choice of successor, civilian economist Andrei Belousov, was even more of a surprise. Russia's incoming Defense Minister Andrey Belousov. "Belousov's main goal is to secure [Russia's] military needs in terms of arms. The Kremlin announced on Sunday that Shoigu, Russia's defense minister since 2012, had been relieved of his post and would become secretary of Russia's influential Security Council. Prigozhin died last August in a plane crash after a short-lived and ill-fated rebellion against Russia's military leadership.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Miguel Diaz, Maxim Shemetov, Sergei Shoigu, Andrei Belousov, Belousov, Putin, Andrey Belousov, Shoigu, Belousov's, Dmitry Peskov, Peskov, Uralvagonzavod, Ramil Sitdikov, Staff Valery Gerasimov, Tatiana Stanovaya, Stanovaya, Nikolai Patrushev, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Ukraine —, Prigozhin, Valery Gerasimov, Mikhail Klimentyev Organizations: Cuban, Canel, Reuters, NATO, Institute for, Anadolu, Getty, Kremlin, Russian MoD, Defense Ministry, Sputnik, Afp, Staff, Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, CNBC, Nazi, Security, Wagner Group, Russian Armed Forces, Russian Defence, Defence Ministry Board, National Defence Control Centre Locations: Moscow, Russia, Ukraine, Washington, Kharkiv, Russian, Urals, Nizhny Tagil, Nazi Germany, Kremlin

☆ US Air Force's F-22 Raptors lost to German Eurofighters in mock dogfights, but the verdict on the superior jet isn't as simple
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-14 | by ( Alex Hollings | Sandboxx News | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +29 min

German Air Force Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets fly during a media day. Piroschka van de Wouw/ReutersDespite their generational differences, the F-22 Raptor and Eurofighter Typhoon actually have a number of things in common. A German air force Eurofighter Typhoon taxis toward the runway at Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska before departing for a combat-training mission, June 11, 2012. So what's the verdict between the F-22 Raptor and Eurofighter Typhoon? A composite image showing a German air force Eurofighter Typhoon jet and a US Air Force F-22 Raptor.

Persons: …, Valerie R, David Cenciotti's, Piroschka van de Wouw, it's, Randy Gordon, Sam Eckholm, doesn't, Rich Wells, Thomas Wiegold, John P, Michael Holzworth, It's, Marc Gruene, haven't, Gruene, isn't, Jens Stoltenberg, Bernd Wüstneck, Eurofighters, Chris Jung, That's, Eric Wicklund, Erich Hartmann, He's, Alex Muller, Andreas Pfeiffer, who's, Thomas Bergeson, Wade Tolliver, we're, Dirk Smith, Mike, Bertie Simmonds, Micheal Jordan, Chesty Puller Organizations: Service, EA, German Eurofighter Typhoons, Business, Eurofighter, Spangdahlem Air Base, US Air Force, Tactical Air Force, America's Raptors, BFM, Germany's Eurofighter, Farnborough, Air, Germany's, German Air Force Eurofighter, Reuters, Typhoon, MIT, RAF, Breaking Defense, AIM, Air Force, Staff, Raptors, Eielson Air Force Base, Tech, Germany's Air Force, Combat Aircraft, TVC, Raptor, NATO, Tactical Air, Getty, Typhoons, Seoul International Aerospace, Defense, Eurofighters, 4th, US Navy, KC, Red Flag, Navy SEAL, ISIS, Qaeda, Flag, FS, Eurofighter Typhoon Locations: Germany, Alaska, Red, Estonia, Vietnam, Flag Alaska, gun's, American

☆ Lindsey Graham wants more bombs for Israel, saying the US was right to nuke Nagasaki and Hiroshima
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-13 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Related stories"Why is it OK for America to drop two nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki to end their existential threat war?" Welker challenged Graham by saying that military officials attest to weapons technology now being more precise and able to reduce civilian casualties. It's not the first time Graham has referenced Nagasaki and Hiroshima to advocate for the flow of munitions to Tel Aviv. Congress voted through a $15 billion military aid package for Israel in April, which includes about $5 billion to replenish weapons stocks. A representative for Graham did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent outside regular business hours by Business Insider.

Persons: —, Sen, Lindsey Graham of, NBC's Kristen Welker, Graham, Joe Biden, Welker, Welker's, It's, Israel, Biden Organizations: Service, Sunday, Business, Pearl, Republicans, Israel Locations: Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Israel, Gaza, Japan, Germany, Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Rafah, America, Tel Aviv

☆ A Never-Before-Seen Interview With Roger Corman, Hollywood Legend
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-13 | by ( Graham Flanagan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Known as the "King of the B Movies," the legendary filmmaker Roger Corman died on May 9 at the age of 98. Corman specialized in making low-budget genre movies with titles like "The Wasp Woman," "Attack of the Crab Monsters," and "Teenage Caveman." Corman hired these directors in the early stages of their careers to helm low-budget features that the filmmakers have acknowledged as learning experiences they applied in their later larger-scale productions. In fact, many of these directors hired Corman in small acting roles in movies like "The Godfather Part II," (Coppola), "The Silence of the Lambs" (Demme), and "Apollo 13" (Ron Howard). In the interview, Corman shares myriad lessons learned while working in the film industry for more than 60 years.

Persons: Roger Corman, Corman, He's, Graham Flanagan, Jack Nicholson, Martin Scorsese, James Cameron, Francis Ford Coppola, Jonathan Demme, Coppola, Demme, Ron Howard Organizations: Lambs, Universal Pictures, Business Locations: Los Angeles

☆ The US Army says it wants to recruit more psychological warfare 'nerds'
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-12 | by ( Cameron Manley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

AdvertisementIn late 2021, the Army Special Operations Command leaders and special forces recruiters had a problem: they needed more enlistees for their Psychological Operations groups. Experts in persuasion and influence, psychological warfare, or PsyOp, soldiers don't often fit the stereotypical mold of an Army recruit. US Army via GettyThe video aims to recruit future PsyOps soldiers and show applicants what their jobs will entail." The US Ghost Army deceived the Germans using inflatable tanks, radio deception, disguises, and impersonations. This photo provided by the Ghost Army Legacy Project shows inflatable tanks in March, 1945.

Persons: —, they're, Steve Crowe Organizations: US Army, Service, Army Special Operations Command, Psychological Operations, Army, 8th Psychological Operations, Fort Liberty, Associated Press, US, Getty, Special Forces Recruiting Battalion, US Ghost Army, Ghost Army, National, AP Locations: Fort, Fort Liberty , North Carolina, China, Russia, Ukrainian, Crimea, Russian

☆ A wargame simulated a 2nd Trump presidency. It concluded NATO would collapse.
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-12 | by ( Michael Peck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

If Donald Trump wins a second term in the White House in November, NATO may fall apart, a recent wargame found. "What Donald Trump can do is just really hollow out what NATO does," Grimble told Business Insider. The UK has traditionally backed a transatlantic, America-Europe alliance rather than a purely European defense bloc. Yet in the game, it could neither persuade Trump to ease his demands, nor the European NATO members to spend more on defense. "Many NATO members — except for France mainly — thought post-Trump it could be salvageable," Grimble said.

Persons: Donald Trump, Trump, Finley Grimble, Grimble, John Bolton, —, SACEUR, Jens Stoltenberg, NICHOLAS KAMM, hadn't, I'm, Florian Gaertner, Russia doesn't, God's, Michael Peck Organizations: Service, House, NATO, EU, US, Business, US National Security, Allied, Europe, Washington, Nato, Getty, European Union, Joint Expeditionary Force, Northern, —, European NATO, Trump, Defense, Foreign Policy, Rutgers Univ, Twitter, LinkedIn Locations: Europe, Russia, NATO, Ukraine, China, American, United States, Finland, Romania, Poland, Baltic, France, Germany, French, America, Italy, Estonia, British, Turkey, Baltic States, Ukraine stalemated, Moscow, Russian, Kyiv . Europe, Beijing, Taiwan, Japan, Australia, South Korea, Iran, Saudi Arabia, European, Forbes

☆ ‘Civil War’ sends a message that’s more dangerous than the violence it depicts onscreen
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-12 | by ( John Blake | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +15 min

In “Civil War,” tanks trample democracy. But the messages they send may be more dangerous than the violence depicted onscreen: The collapse of democracy is inevitable. In the film, Humphrey Bogart plays Rick, the cynical owner of a Moroccan nightclub at the onset of World War II. John Springer Collection/Corbis Historical/Getty ImagesOther World War II-era films like “Don’t be a Sucker,” which emphasized racial and religious tolerance in America, emphasized the same message. The box office success of “Civil War” ensures, though, that more “American carnage” stories are likely headed our way .

Persons: Yuval Noah Harari, Harari, Volodymyr Zelensky, ”, Alex Garland’s “, Donald Trump, Casablanca ’, Humphrey Bogart, Rick, “ We’ll, Dooley Wilson, Ingrid Bergman, Everett, Rick —, Adolf Hitler’s, Democracy’s, Cristóbal, Berry, “, Frank Capra, Frank Sinatra, Sinatra, ” Frank Sinatra, John Springer, Kermit Roosevelt III, Roosevelt, ” Roosevelt, Reagan, Obama, Ronald Reagan, Barack Obama —, Diana Walker, ” Reagan, Reagan’s, Barack Obama, Chuck Kennedy, Trump, hasn’t, Walt Whitman, Whitman, ” Whitman, ” Read Whitman, ” Walt Whitman, Ian Beacock, ” Beacock, Beacock, Ivan Illich, ” Kirsten Dunst, John Blake Organizations: CNN, Casablanca, paragon, Library of Congress, Nazi, Convention, Former, Lions, Hulton, “ Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Ukrainian, Russian, America, United States, “, Casablanca, Moroccan, Adolf Hitler’s Nazi, Nazi, Charlottesville , Virginia, Vietnam, Kansas, Kenya, Denver , Colorado, Austrian, China

☆ Opinion: Eurovision’s slogan is ‘United by Music.’ The reality turned out very different
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-12 | by ( Opinion Louis Staples | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —The Eurovision Song Contest is a glittery and eccentric spectacle that rivals the Super Bowl for its attraction to audiences. When combined with the jury vote, Israel’s impressive public vote tally saw Golan finish in fifth place overall. Despite this, the EBU has always insisted that Eurovision is an apolitical music competition between broadcasters, rather than a political competition between governments. The 2023 contest in Liverpool was a moving display of unity — so much that Liverpool’s slogan, “United By Music,” was adopted by Eurovision for all future contests. On Saturday, there was very little sense that Eurovision was “united by music.” Some fans boycotted, while others mobilized online to vote for Israel.

Persons: Louis Staples, Celine Dion, Louis Staples Louis Staples, Greta Thunberg, Eden Golan, Israel, —, Lasagna, Golan, Nemo, Russia —, ”, Turkey, Isaac Herzog, Bambie, Joost Klein, AVROTROS, Martin Österdahl Organizations: Guardian, Rolling Stone, Wired, CNN, Super Bowl, Hamas, European Broadcasting Union, Eurovision, EBU, “ United, Music, Israel, Ukraine, Twitter, Facebook Locations: London, Slate, Switzerland, Swedish, Malmö, Gaza, Europe, Turkey, Israel, Russia, Greece, Cyprus, Ukraine, Liverpool, United Kingdom, Italy, France, Germany, Netherlands, Dutch

☆ Students Walk Out in Protest at Duke Before Seinfeld Speech
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-12 | by ( Maya Shwayder | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +10 min

“The Morehouse College graduation, at least as I remember it, is a very solemn event,” he said. Dr. King said it was a place where he had advanced his understanding of nonviolent protest and moral leadership — which current Morehouse students say they take seriously. Roughly 75 percent of students at H.B.C.U.s, including 50 percent of Morehouse students, are eligible for the Pell Grant, a federal aid program for low-income students. More than 80 percent of Morehouse students receive some form of financial aid. Some students at Black colleges also may decide against protesting because of family pressure, which amplifies the importance of securing their degrees.

Persons: Biden, Kamala Harris, Biden’s, Stephen K, Morehouse —, Martin Luther King Jr, ’, ” David Thomas, Christian Monterrosa, Morehouse, Cedric Richmond, Richmond, “, ”, That’s, Harris, Mekhi Perrin, ” Mr, Perrin, Mr, King, Benjamin Bayliss, Dr . King, Morehouse ”, Pell Grant, Dillard, Walter Kimbrough, Young, Donald J, Freddrell Rhea Green II, Donald Trump, ” “ Joe Biden, Samuel Livingston, Auzzy, Byrdsell, Raphael Warnock of, Warnock, ” Kitty Bennett Organizations: Morehouse College, Morehouse, White House, Black, Democratic Party, The New York Times, White, Democratic National Committee, Mr, Howard University, Gaza, George Mason University in, “ Morehouse, Dillard University, Trump, “, West Bank, Credit Locations: Atlanta, Gaza, Morehouse, George Mason University in Virginia, ”, H.B.C.U.s, Columbia, New Orleans, Palestinian, Raphael Warnock of Georgia

☆ College Protests Live Updates: Schools Brace for More Commencement Disruptions
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-12 | by ( Yan Zhuang | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +10 min

At Morehouse College in Atlanta, discontent over the Gaza war has played out relatively quietly, in classrooms and auditoriums rather than on campus lawns. “This should not be a place that cancels people regardless of if we agree with them,” David Thomas, the Morehouse president, said in an interview on Thursday. Mr. Richmond does not think Mr. Biden will face protests. “The Morehouse College graduation, at least as I remember it, is a very solemn event,” he said. Roughly 75 percent of students at H.B.C.U.s, including 50 percent of Morehouse students, are eligible for the Pell Grant, a federal aid program for low-income students.

☆ Ukraine's pilots are flying high-risk 'wild weasel' missions first developed in the Vietnam War by the USAF, says defense analyst
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-11 | by ( Cameron Manley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Eastern Ukraine, a Ukrainian Air Force MiG-29 Wild Weasel fires off an AGM-88 HARM towards a Russian radar. (Summer ‘22) pic.twitter.com/IOeu7hzUxW — OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) February 8, 2024The US Air Force pioneered SEAD tactics in the Vietnam War. The term "wild weasel" originated from Project Wild Weasel. This US Air Force anti-SAM strategy used direct attacks to suppress enemy air defenses, according to the National Museum of the US Air Force. But, he added Ukraine's tactics "go far beyond the classic wild weasel missions of Anti-Radiation Missile equipped aircraft."

Persons: —, UkrAF Su, McDonnell Douglas, Stuart Lutz, Gado, Seaman Anthony N, Frederik Mertens, Mertens, William LaPlante, Justin Bronk, Bronk, Russian SAMs, James Hecker, Kajsa Ollongren, Putin Organizations: Service, Ukraine's, US Air Force, Radiation, Business, Ukrainian Air Force, Air, National Museum of, US Navy, US, U.S . Navy, Communication, Hague, Strategic Studies, Radiation Missile, Defense, Washington DC, Wild, Technology, Royal United Services Institute, Russian SAM, United States Air Forces, Air Force, Space, Rygge Air Force Base, OLE BERG, Getty, Dutch Defense Locations: Ukraine's Soviet, Eastern Ukraine, Russian, Ukraine, Ukrainian, treetop, Vietnam, Libya, Iraq, Yugoslavia, London, Europe, Romania, Norway, AFP, Netherlands, Vilnius, Denmark, Crimea, Kerch

☆ Opinion | The Limits of Moralism in Israel and Gaza
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-11 | by ( Ross Douthat | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Foreign policy can make a mockery of moral certitude. It’s why the “good war” of World War II involved a partnership with a monster in Moscow and the subjection of half of Europe to totalitarian oppression. But in active controversies the tragic vision can seem like a cold way of looking at the world. A “realist” foreign policy can slide from describing power to excusing depredations. It can underestimate the power of a righteous cause — as I underestimated, for instance, Ukraine’s capacity to defend itself in 2022.

Locations: Moscow, Europe, Vietnam, Beijing

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