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CURIOUSMINDS
A weekly serving of great articles we curate, and original content we produce. So, all you have to do is pick, read, watch and listen. |
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Issue #204 - November 2025
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Stories from Around the World that Affect Us |
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How Many Times has Israel Violated the Gaza Ceasefire?
Since the ceasefire took effect one month ago, Israeli attacks have killed at least 242 Palestinians and injured 622. One month into the declaration of a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, Israel has violated the agreement with near-daily attacks, killing hundreds of people. Israel violated the ceasefire agreement at least 282 times from October 10 to November 10, through the continuation of attacks by air, artillery and direct shootings, the Government Media Office in Gaza reports. The office said Israel shot at civilians 88 times, raided residential areas beyond the “yellow line” 12 times, bombed Gaza 124 times, and demolished people’s properties on 52 occasions. It added that Israel also detained 23 Palestinians from Gaza over the past month. Israel has also continued to block vital humanitarian aid and destroy homes and infrastructure across the Strip.
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 Will Pokrovsk, Ukraine, Fall
ALJAZEERA(War/Politics)
Pokrovsk, a key fortress and logistical hub for Ukrainian forces in the eastern region of Donbas, has been under siege for almost two years. But in recent weeks, tens of thousands of Russian soldiers have been storming the town around the clock, taking over the streets where buildings are mostly reduced to bombed-out, deserted ruins.
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 Delhi Red Fort blast kills 13
ALJAZEERA (Terrorism/Politics)
Indian authorities have promised to “hunt down” the perpetrators of the worst attack on the country’s capital in more than a decade, after a car explosion in Delhi on 10 November killed at least 13 people and wounded more than 20. Security forces have been placed on high alert across major states and cities as authorities launched an investigation into the cause of the blast. |
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Magic of Real Human Conversation
Literature
Every act of communication is an act of tremendous courage in which we give ourselves over to two parallel possibilities: the possibility of planting into another mind a seed sprouted in ours and watching it blossom into a breathtaking flower of mutual understanding; and the possibility of being wholly misunderstood, reduced to a withering weed. Candor and clarity go a long way in fertilizing the soil, but in the end there is always a degree of unpredictability in the climate of communication — even the warmest intention can be met with frost.
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Liberal Values in Authoritarian Times Yascha Mounk Literature |
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In this week’s conversation, Yascha Mounk and George Packer discuss authoritarianism in fiction, living humanist values in morally complex times Image by Leonardo |
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Quote of The Week
If you live in a country where suicide is not a crime, why is the culprit still punished by death?
- James King -
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Top Stories from our favourite publications to stimulate your curious mind, |
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How long do you think you may live?
A Study of 3,000 Japanese Centenarians Reveals 25 Longevity Signals Already Appearing in Your Body Longevity isn’t about feeling young or extraordinary, it’s about feeling stable. Don’t chase youth or fight aging. Instead, notice and reinforce the stability, resilience, and emotional rhythms you already possess. Longevity is something you allow, not earn—by becoming more of yourself, slowly and quietly, each day.
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Bari Weiss vs. Climate Change
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The Medici Method
PALLADIUM (Commerce/Culture)
The workings of money have rarely been understood. The Medici of Florence were among the few who understood all its functions clearly and are because of that themselves worth understanding. They were bankers before they were princes, a distinction that never vanished from the family’s identity. They rose in a city that was undergoing transition: a proud republic that would, over the course of a century, transfer its governance to the quiet, persistent influence of this single family.
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The Art of Collage
Collaging is a long-standing art form rising in popularity. This article includes an interview with a small southern california artist where we discuss collaging as an art form and its evolution in the digital era. I first got into collaging after I made the trek to an antique mall down south full of treasures from the past. There I found stacks upon stacks of vintage National Geographic magazines. After flipping through the pages I found myself inspired and ready to take on the new craft of collaging. Most of my collaging is simple just combining a few magazine clips with one another that I used for Spotify album covers or my lock screens. I found it to be a relaxing, meditative hobby that involved strolling through magazine pages and putting pieces together until I found something I like.
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How Do You Know That You Love Somebody?
THE MARGINALIAN (Philosophy)
“The state of enchantment is one of certainty,” W.H. Auden wrote in his commonplace book. “When enchanted, we neither believe nor doubt nor deny: we know, even if, as in the case of a false enchantment, our knowledge is self-deception.” Nowhere is our capacity for enchantment, nor our capacity for self-deception, greater than in love — the region of human experience where the path to truth is most obstructed by the bramble of rationalization and where we are most likely to be kidnapped by our own delicious delusions.
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The 50 Year Mortgage
THE LONG MEMO (Politics/Finance)
Trump just announced he wants to create a 50-year fixed-rate mortgage. The logic was simple enough: FDR had the 30-year mortgage and was therefore a “great president.” So, in true Trumpian fashion, he reasoned that if thirty years made FDR great, fifty years would make him transcendent. The most tremendous mortgage in history. Like everything else the man conjures, this isn’t policy; it’s a hustle. And this time the mark isn’t some gullible lender or donor—it’s the American homeowner. What’s being sold as “affordable housing” is really the latest instrument of financial repression: a way to shackle borrowers for half a century while the Treasury quietly steadies its own drowning balance sheet.
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UPGRADE to PAID
CURIOUSMINDS content and opinions contain important information curated from reliable sources. We rely on reader support to keep it FREE. We want it to reach as many people as possible. If you value what we do and would like to help us sustain it, please consider a small monthly or annual contribution. Contributing subscribers get full access to all James King Publications including archives of CURIOUSMINDS, and a valuable BONUS: FREE ebook versions of all James King’s published books.Click - View them at Amazon · Donate via the - Choose a subscription plan - page. If you are not a subscriber already - Go to the Welcome page |
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James King Blog offers valuable resources for students of Arts and Humanities. Particularly those interested in Environments, Literature, Performing Arts, Visual Art, Philosophy, Travel, and Human Rights. The articles provide insights into complex interactions between humans and their environments, and the ethical and moral dimensions of environmental issues. The Blog is relevant to students of all ages and those who are just fascinated by the Arts and Humanities. |
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 What Causes Earthquakes – Revealing Key Factors and Reasons
Natural phenomenon that have shaped the Earth for millions of years are what causes earthquakes. They occur when there is a sudden release of energy stored in the Earth’s crust, resulting in the generation of seismic waves. The movement and interactions of tectonic plates are responsible for most earthquakes. |
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FREE BOOKS119 Mystery, Thriller, & Suspense FreebiesThis Promo Closes between 21 and 30 November Thriller authors join forces in joint promotion campaigns to introduce themselves to readers. You can download as many books as you like.
I hope you find plenty to entertain you. CLICK THE BANNER BELOW TO VIEW THE PROMO - AND GRAB AS MANY BOOKS AS YOU WANT |
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ALFIE GOES TO THAILAND - SERIES
If you like thought-provoking drama, romantic tragedies, and damaged characters, then you’ll love the tropical sauna and wry humour of POST- IT NOTES and the other books in this Psychological Thriller series. The Series is a story of human challenge, manipulation, rejection, abuse, and a search for peace. |
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THE KENRIGHT CHRONICLES - SERIES
The Kenright Chronicles is a psychological thriller series. Jack Kenright, a young investment banker gets involved in an international art swindle. which cripples his business and threatens his life and his family. He ends up a recluse, working for the FBI undercover and exposes massive corruption in the gambling world. |
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PsychoBy Robert Bloch
"The basis for one of the most iconic horror films of the 1960s . . . [Bloch's] unique true-crime slant to storytelling set the tone." —Sublime Horror
The story was all too real—indeed this classic was inspired by the real-life story of Ed Gein, a psychotic murderer who led a dual life. Alfred Hitchcock too was captivated, and, the year after it was released, he turned the book into one of the most-loved horror films of all time.Norman Bates loves his Mother. She has been dead for the past twenty years, or so people think. Norman knows better though. Ever since leaving the hospital, he has lived with Mother in the old house up on the hill above the Bates Motel. |
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Strong MedicineBy Arthur Hailey
Master storyteller Arthur Hailey's New York Times–bestselling novel takes readers behind the scenes of the billion-dollar pharmaceutical drug industry
It starts as a routine case: Mary Rowe contracts hepatitis from unclean drinking water, and the infection should work its way out of her system in a few days. But when the illness worsens and she slips into a coma, Dr. Andrew Jordan is forced to tell Rowe's husband that his wife is dying. It's 1957 and there simply isn't a drug that can save her. Pharmaceutical saleswoman Celia de Grey then offers Dr. Jordan a sample of an experimental drug that cures the dying woman overnight. This marks the beginning of an epic journey—and a great romance—for a dedicated internist and an idealistic, ambitious woman.
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Substack - Creative Xellence -
Join us at Creative Xellence where we are building a home for James King's Poetry, Short Stories and serialised Novels. Subscribe for Free and you will be notified of new content and recieve the Newsletter.
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Medium
At Medium we curate high value informative articles related to A&H from major publishers and authoratative sources. And we publish a smattering of selected articles from James King Blog and articles written by James King for Medium Publications.
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