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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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Stories from Around the World that Affect Us All |
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Ayatollah Khamenei's iron grip on power in Iran comes to an end as USA and Israel Strike Iran
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has been killed on the first day of massive US and Israeli air strikes on the country, US President Donald Trump has announced. The death of the 86-year-old ruler of the past three decades - one of the longest in the world - was later confirmed on Iranian state TV. Iran has had only two supreme leaders since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. It's an all-powerful office - the supreme leader is head of state and commander-in-chief of the armed forces, including the elite Revolutionary Guards.
American and Israeli forces carried out strikes on cities across Iran, in what US President Donald Trump has described as "major combat operations". Trump called for the Iranian people to rise up and government forces to surrender following what Israel called a "preemptive attack".
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 Sam Alito: Massive conflict of interest unchecked
Heated(/Politics/Environments)
The Supreme Court announced it will hear a case about the fossil fuel industry’s responsibility for climate change. This is huge news for people who care about holding polluters accountable. The high court’s eventual decision could influence the future of dozens of lawsuits nationwide accusing oil, gas and coal companies of lying to the public about the risks of their products, and seeking financial compensation for climate disasters. Justice Samuel Alito has not recused himself from the case, despite having reported significant financial investments in the fossil fuel industry. The conflict of interest is frankly astonishing.
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 Release Umar Khalid
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The Japanese Love Their Prime Minister
An apolitical nation is genuinely excited about its new leader. three months since Takaichi took office have been a bit of a surprise. A country that famously “doesn’t do” politics—where low voter turnout is a punchline and prime ministers are interchangeable grey suits cycling through a revolving door—has seen a wholly un-Japanese surge of popular enthusiasm for a national leader. On paper, Sanae Takaichi is the kind of leader Japanese people ought to hate. Bossy, opinionated, conspicuously unbothered by the rituals of consensus that grease every surface of Japanese official life, she comes across as everything the country’s political culture is designed to sand down. She doesn’t schmooze with captains of industry over kaiseki dinners at fancy Tokyo restaurants. She goes home and reads her briefing papers. She plays drums in a heavy metal band—or used to in college, and still can, as South Korean president Lee Jae-myung discovered to his evident alarm at their January summit. She has opinions about Taiwan and isn’t shy about sharing them, which in the context of Japanese-Chinese diplomacy is roughly equivalent to setting your hair on fire at a funeral.
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Quote of The Week
When I was young things were so bad in England people from Birmingham went to Pakistan looking for work.
- James King -
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Top Stories from our favourite publications to stimulate your curious mind, |
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Human Beings Are Exceptional It’s trendy to talk down our species. But right now, our exceptionalism is the planet’s greatest ally.
Let me tell you the tale of the ungrateful creatures who crawled out of Eden. They murdered their own mothers. They slaughtered their own siblings. And they reproduced with such wild abandon that their success drove nearly all other life on Earth extinct. I’m talking, of course, about certain nematode worms, sand tiger sharks, and cyanobacteria, respectively. “Wait a minute,” you say, “I thought this was about us!” Humans are indeed exceptional, and embracing that fact is not the cause of, but is rather the solution to, the ongoing ecological crisis.
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Antidote to Anger
THE MARGINALIAN (Literature/Philosophy)
We are living through a time of uncommon helplessness and uncertainty, touching every aspect of our lives, and in such times another reflex is the longing for an authority figure selling certainty, claiming the fist to be a helping hand. It is a touchingly human impulse, primal and pacifying — children turn to the parent to remove the overwhelm and uncertainty of a world they don’t yet understand and cannot carry. It is also a dangerous impulse, for it pulsates beneath every war and every reign of terror in the history of the world. |
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Understanding Nativism
PERSUASION (Philosophy/Human Rights)
In the beginning was scarcity, and scarcity was real, and survival was a way of life. Then, somewhere along the way, abundance happened. And after abundance—or because of it—came stagnation. And that paradox besetting everyone’s life had to produce a reaction sooner or later. And now we’re in the midst of the reaction. By nearly every measure—life expectancy, wealth, freedom, technology—humanity has never been better off. As material hardships disappear, new psychological challenges emerge: decision fatigue from unlimited choice, more complex forms of social organization making new cognitive and emotional demands, crises of meaning without survival struggles.
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A Fork in the Road
A true story. However stunning the scenery may be, a fork in the road may ruin the experience.
The day, after the South-West Monsoon had ended, northern Thailand presented sunshine, less than usual humidity, and relative coolness around 30c. We set out on what was planned to be a leisurely half-day trip to Chiang Dao and the Dragon’s Back Mountain range we look out on from home, when the air is not polluted. Chiang Dao is 35 kilometres north of home in Chiang Mai province. All went well until after we paid a visit to Chiang Dao caves...
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A New Climate Movement takes shape
Some of the rallies were as small as one person. The biggest had a dozen. But the key takeaway was the geographic reach. As far as I’m aware, this was the first national day of protest against fossil fuel advertising in U.S. sports history. “Our chief aim today is simple,” lead organizer Zan Dubin told the crowd at Dodger Stadium. “One, we do want to stigmatize sportswashing. And two, we want to inspire.”
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Rembrandt, Sagrada Família, and The Alchemist
THE ART NEWSLETTER (Visual Art)
A set of 35 rare prints by Rembrandt van Rijn, long forgotten in a family home, have been rediscovered in the Netherlands after nearly a century out of sight. Kept in a dark safe for decades, the etchings are in exceptional condition. They were acquired in the early 20th century by the grandfather of Charlotte Meyer, who inherited them via her mother. It was only during the 2020 pandemic that she decided to have the collection examined by leading experts from the Rembrandt House Museum in Amsterdam, which confirmed their significance. “They were completely blow away,” Meyer told the Dutch news outlet Omroep Gelderland.
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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.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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 How is International Human Rights Law Enforced – The Best RetortHow is international human rights law enforced? The law aims to protect the fundamental rights and freedoms of individuals around the world. And it lays down obligations states must respect. Parties to international treaties assume responsibilities to respect, protect, and fulfill human rights. |
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FREE BOOKS140 Mystery, Thriller, & Suspense FreebiesThis Promo Closes 31 MarchThriller 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 TO VIEW THE PROMOS - AND GRAB AS MANY BOOKS AS YOU WANT |
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INVISIBLE ENEMY - a Short Story
A psychological thriller – Short Story - that will change the way you look at humankind. It’s 2021 and the world is paralysed by Covid-19. The invisible microscopic organism looks on, astonished at Man’s inability to solve his problems. Despite the warnings and having all the resources available to do so, humans run in circles desperate to escape the clutches of an invisible enemy. Commissaire Pascal de Gaulle is focused on other pressing matters, when a man falls to his death in the centre of Paris, carrying a secret. De Gaulle discovers the Drug Squad, a syndicate of drug traffickers, and the virus itself are all part of the puzzle he must solve. Is it suicide or is it murder? And how will he save his orphaned godchild from leukemia? Do not read Invisible Enemy if you don’t like puzzles.
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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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An Army of OneByTony Schumacher
A Novel of World War II Italy In this enthralling historical thriller set in post—World War II London, detective John Henry Rossett must stop a murderous ex—SS officer as the German occupation of England begins to falter. Working with the SS in German-occupied Britain was never easy for John Rossett. Though he's returned to his former job, the police inspector has been tainted by his Nazi associations. His suspicious colleagues see him as a collaborator, and he's unwelcome at his old haunts. But the Germans aren't done with Rossett. When decorated SS Captain Karl Bauer kills the US consul in Liverpool, then goes on the run, Generalmajor Neumann orders Rossett to find the missing killer—a swift, cunning, and ruthless man known as "the Bear." |
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Geronimo
A pivotal piece of nineteenth-century Native American history from a tireless warrior seeking justice for his people.
Storied leader of the Bedonkohe band of the Chiricahua Apache tribe, Geronimo led resistance against Mexican and American troops seeking to drive the Apache from their land during the 1850s through the 1880s. In 1886, he finally surrendered to the US Army and became a prisoner of war. Although he would never return to his homeland, Geronimo became an iconic figure in Native American society and even had the honor of riding with President Theodore Roosevelt in his 1905 inaugural parade. That same year, he agreed to share his story with Stephen M. Barrett, a superintendent of education from Lawton, Oklahoma.
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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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