British MP Jeremy Corbyn (left) meets Hadash MK Ofer Cassif, Nov. 12, 2025 (Photo: Al Ittihad)
Archiv: looking to the future
Wall Street reckons with life under Zohran Mamdani
New York City‘s CEOs and other billionaire business leaders spent more than $40 million trying to stop Mamdani from becoming the city‘s next mayor. Now they have to live with him — and their reactions range from threatening to leave the city to pragmatic acceptance.
„I think it‘s the stages of grief,“ says Kathryn Wylde, who runs the Partnership for New York City, an influential business group that represents more than 300 large employers.
NYC early voting ends with record turnout, shattering 2021 stats
Early voting has ended in New York City, and the initial numbers show the highest early voting turnout for a non-presidential election in the city.
The New York City Board of Elections reported 735,317 early voting check-ins over the past nine days. That‘s more than four times the total from the 2021 mayoral race, which reported only 169,879 early voting check-ins for the general election.
2025 Mayor’s Race – EARLY VOTING: Turnout sets a non-presidential election year record as NYC Mayor’s Race energizes the city
A whopping 732,866 voters cast ballots over the nine days of early voting in the New York City mayor’s race this year, according to an amNewYork analysis of early voter data from the city Board of Elections.
The general election’s early voting turnout this year marked the highest number of votes cast before Election Day in a non-presidential election year since the city implemented early voting in 2019.
Father of Gaza hostage calls for an end to war – and a two-State solution
(October 7, 2025)
The attackers killed more than 1,250 Israelis and foreign nationals. More than 250 others were abducted and taken to Gaza as hostages, including women, children and the elderly.
Survivors and witnesses have described rape, sexualized torture and other forms of cruel and inhumane treatment carried out during the assault.
“The Hamas attack was done not to release any territories or to do any good for the Palestinian people. It was a heinous attack to try to break the morale of the Israeli people,” Mr. Cohen said.
Following the shock of the attack, he, his wife Viki and son Yotam, have joined other hostages and families to urge international leaders to press both Hamas and the Israeli Government to agree a ceasefire and hostage release deal.
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Israelis and Palestinians have the same yearning to live normal lives, which is not in line with the extremist views of some members of the Israeli Government or of Hamas, he said.
“We want to have a normal life together, and the only way is to do a settlement between Israel and the Palestinians. So, in the future, we can say Israel and Palestine; and this is the two-State solution. [There is] No other way,” Mr. Cohen added.
Abbas Receives Israeli Peace Activists, Welcomes Ceasefire Agreement
At the end of the meeting, President Abbas renewed his welcome to the visiting delegation and emphasized the importance of meetings in building bridges of trust between the Palestinian and Israeli sides. He expressed hope that this meeting would mark the beginning of a new path, not only in politics, but also in the shared human conscience between the two sides. President Abbas called on the delegation members to form a popular Israeli front for a just peace that would make the voice of reason heard within Israeli society.
The Gaza Precedent: How the World’s Response Will Shape Global Justice
Though Netanyahu continues to act with the same old arrogant attitude that he, his government, and country are above the law, including international law, it is incumbent on all of us to remind him and other war criminals that no individual, no entity, and no government is immune to accountability when it comes to the blood of the innocent.
This struggle is not solely for the sake of Gaza; it is for the very soul of humanity. Should Netanyahu’s actions succeed in normalizing genocide in the 21st century, this horrific crime could become a sanctioned political strategy for tyrants and regimes worldwide. The world cannot afford to let this happen. The future of global justice hangs in the balance.
this is the biggest blunder in American history. Mark my words
(December 9, 2023)
this is the biggest blunder in American history. Mark my words
(December 9, 2023)
Zur Verfassung von Palästina
(January 14, 2015)
Stets wurden die Palästinenser von den Großmächten für geopolitische Zwecken missbraucht. Ihre eigene Oberschicht hat diesen oft zugearbeitet. Dieser Artikel soll nun keinen Versuch einer Intervention darstellen oder einer solchen direkt oder indirekt zuarbeiten, sondern in ehrlichem Interesse an der prosperierenden Koexistenz zweier Staaten im für drei Weltreligionen heiligen Land ein paar Ideen vorbringen.
President Abbas issues decree establishing interim constitution drafting committee
Pursuant to the decree, the committee shall serve as the legal authority entrusted with drafting the interim constitution, in conformity with the Declaration of Independence, the principles of international law, the United Nations resolutions, international human rights conventions, and relevant international treaties.
This step is intended to lay the foundations for the establishment of the State of Palestine and its institutions through preparing a draft constitution that enshrines the constitutional principles of a democratic system of governance based on the rule of law, the separation of powers, the respect for and protection of rights and public freedoms, and the peaceful alternation of power.
Zur Verfassung von Palästina
(January 14, 2015)
Palästina kann seine Situation in Frieden und Unabhängigkeit nur verbessern, solange es zusammenhält und nicht den Fehler Indiens nach der Befreiung von der Gewaltherrschaft des Britischen Empire begeht. Heute stehen sich zwei Atommächte mehr oder weniger feindlich gegenüber, Indien und Pakistan, sowie das letztlich von Pakistan abgefallene Bangladesch.
Nicht ein multikulturelles, ein multiethnisches, ein multireligiöses Palästina, sondern ein interkulturelles, ein interethnisches, ein interreligiöses Palästina wird Bestand haben, welches Unterschiede nicht versucht wegzuassimilieren, zu ignorieren oder zu unterdrücken, sondern die eigenen Unterschiede stehen lässt, die eigene Vielfalt akzeptiert und einen Weg findet seine inneren Differenzen ohne Blutvergießen und nach allgemein akzeptierten Rechten und Regeln auszufechten, ohne das Recht des Stärkeren einreißen zu lassen.
Die Sympathie der Welt wird Palästina dabei sicher sein.
this is the biggest blunder in American history. Mark my words
(December 9, 2023)
Trump Has Bombed Iran. What Happens Next Is His Fault.
Again, Iran explicitly warned it would attack the US military if the US military did the thing it just did. If and when these retaliatory strikes come, the warmongers will try to argue that this is a valid reason to escalate this war. They will be lying. They chose to make this happen.
Whatever transpires from this point on is the fault of Donald Trump and the unelected thugs he listens to. If US troops are killed, the war sluts in Washington and the Pentagon propagandists in the press will list their names and bandy about their photos and demand that their deaths be avenged with further acts of war — but it will not be Iran’s fault that they died.
It will be Trump’s fault. It will be the fault of everyone whose decisions led up to bombs being dropped on Iranian energy infrastructure, and the fault of everyone who put those soldiers in harm’s way.
None of this needed to happen. Iran was at the negotiating table. The Iran deal was working fine before Trump shredded it to put us on this terrible trajectory. The warmongers artificially manufactured this situation and knowingly inflicted this horror upon our world.
Israel Supporters Will Be Despised For The Rest of Their Lives
Everyone’s always going to remember what they did. Their grandchildren will be disgusted by them. Their families will carry their shame for generations.
The Pope Has Died, And The Palestinian People Have Lost An Important Advocate
I don’t know who the cardinals will pick to replace him, but I do know with absolute certainty that there are transnational intelligence operations in the works to make sure they select a more reliable supporter of Israel.
Will AI become God? That’s the wrong question.
(April 7. 2025)
I really want to emphasize, from a metaphysical point of view, I can’t prove, and neither can anyone else, that a computer is alive or not, or conscious or not, or whatever. All that stuff is always going to be a matter of faith. That’s just the way it is. But what I can say is that this emphasis on trying to make the models seem like they’re freestanding new entities does blind us to some ways we could make them better.
So does all the anxiety, including from serious people in the world of AI, about human extinction feel like religious hysteria to you?
What drives me crazy about this is that this is my world. I talk to the people who believe that stuff all the time, and increasingly, a lot of them believe that it would be good to wipe out people and that the AI future would be a better one, and that we should wear a disposable temporary container for the birth of AI. I hear that opinion quite a lot.
Wait, that’s a real opinion held by real people?
Many, many people. Just the other day I was at a lunch in Palo Alto and there were some young AI scientists there who were saying that they would never have a “bio baby” because as soon as you have a “bio baby,” you get the “mind virus” of the [biological] world.
JCPOA: A New Gold Standard for Non-Proliferation Agreements
(June 7, 2017)
The established pattern of constraints on Iran’s nuclear program could be held as the gold standard for the rest of the international community. This option is readily available to the United States and the partners with which it negotiated the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA): China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom and the European Union. The international community should draw on that agreement and turn its standards into general, global ones, applying them to all countries seeking to enrich uranium or attempting to use plutonium for any purpose.
Wanderers
„Wanderers“ is my short science fiction film envisioning our humanity‘s future expansion into the Solar System. Although admittedly speculative, the visuals in the film are all based on scientific ideas and concepts of what our future in space might look like, if it ever happens.
All the locations depicted in the film are digital recreations of actual places in the Solar System, built from real photos and map data where available.
Transferring the International Space Station into the future
(July 1, 2024)
The International Space Station is the largest, most complex and most important element of space infrastructure yet deployed, and one of the most incredible engineering accomplishments in human history. It is the result of an international, diplomatic initiative reconciling in space the Western world and the Eastern world by combining the two space stations until then planned separately by each side – Space Station Freedom and Mir 2 – involving five major partners, the United States, Europe, Japan, Canada and Russia.
(…)
For example, to move the ISS from its present 400-kilometer altitude to an 800-kilometer altitude circular orbit requires a boost of about 220 meters per second, about the same as required for precise deorbit control. At the higher altitude, the orbital lifetime would be many decades, providing ample time for future generations to take their own decisions and actions.
(…)
We are not in charge anymore, but our question to the current generation is: since the boost stage must be built anyway, would it not be better to use that stage to place the ISS in a higher orbit for the possible use of a future generation than to destroy it upon reentry?
Former Space Agency Leaders Horrified by Plan to Destroy Space Station, Say It Would Be Easier to Save It
(July 16, 2024)
Jean-Jacques Dordain, who was the director general of the European Space Agency when the station was being built, and former NASA administrator Michael Griffin say its life should be extended instead, giving future scientists a chance to continue studying outer space.
(…)
„At the higher altitude, the orbital lifetime would be many decades, providing ample time for future generations to take their own decisions and actions,“ the letter reads.
Senate confirms Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Secretary of Health and Human Services
WASHINGTON – The Senate confirmed Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as the Health and Human Services secretary on Thursday, giving the longtime vaccine critic who has vowed to take on „big pharma“ and ultra-processed food the power to oversee the nation’s food and healthcare systems.
Senate confirms RFK Jr. as HHS secretary in 52-48 vote
Kennedy, 71, is a longtime environmental lawyer and anti-vaccine activist whose family has mythic status in Democratic politics. The nephew of President John F. Kennedy and the son of Robert F. Kennedy launched his own White House bid in 2023. And although he initially sought the Democratic nomination, Kennedy changed his bid to independent, before dropping out to endorse President Trump in Augus
Nagel Commission warns Israel of possible war with Turkey, even as it calls for confronting Iran
The „Committee for the Evaluation of the Defense Establishment Budget and the Balance of Power“ is led by former National Security Council head Yaakov Nagel, and is often referred to in Hebrew media as the Nagel Commission or Nagel Committee.
The commission was established in 2023 before the outbreak of the war, to create recommendations for the defense ministry regarding the possible areas of conflict facing Israel in the years ahead.
Israel must prepare for war with Turkey, gov committee warns
The Nagel Committee issued a report on Monday detailing the defence budget and security strategy, where they raised concerns over Turkey’s aspirations and possible future tensions with Israel, according to Israeli media.
The committee said these tensions could escalate into conflict and highlighted the risk of Syrian factions aligning with Turkey and creating further threats to Israel‘s „security“.
Yes, Antony Blinken Should Resign. But He’s Not the Only One.
(September 27, 2024)
The day is dark, the forces arrayed are tenacious, but as the late Nation editorial board member Toni Morrison wrote “No! This is precisely the time when artists go to work. There is no time for despair, no place for self-pity, no need for silence, no room for fear. We speak, we write, we do language. That is how civilizations heal.”
I urge you to stand with The Nation and donate today.
Onwards,
Katrina vanden Heuvel
Editorial Director and Publisher, The Nation
Trump picks Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to be his Department of Health and Human Services secretary
President-elect Donald Trump has picked Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to be his next secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, a choice that would add to Trump’s list of provocative picks whose confirmation processes will test the loyalty of Senate Republicans.
Trump on Thursday announced the selection, confirming CNN’s earlier reporting, saying he was thrilled to share the pick.
Jon Stewart’s Election Night Takeaway | The Daily Show
(12 hours ago)
Jon Stewart shares his takeaways from Election Night 2024: A glimpse into the fate of the presidency and the mistakes that‘ll be made all over again. #DailyShow #JonStewart #Trump
UN Secretary-General Addresses General Debate, 79th Session
Categories
Meetings & Events / General Assembly / 79th Session / Plenary
Production Date
24 Sep 2024
Video Length
00:25:07
Asset Language
Arabic
Chinese
English
French
Russian
Spanish
Original
Secretary-General‘s remarks at the Opening of the General Debate of the Seventy-ninth Session of the General Assembly ..
Many have said that the differences and divisions today are just too great.
That it is impossible for us to come together for the common good.
You proved that is not true.
The Summit of the Future showed that with a spirit of dialogue and compromise, we can join forces to steer our world to a more sustainable path.
It is not the end.
It is a start of a journey, a compass in the whirlwind.
Let‘s keep going.
Let‘s move our world towards less impunity and more accountability …. less inequality and more justice … less uncertainty and more opportunity.
The people of the world are looking to us – and succeeding generations will look back on us.
Let them find us on the side of the United Nations Charter … on the side of our shared values and principles … and on the right side of history.
In response to the ICJ ruling, Stein calls for international coalition for immediate Gaza aid, ceasefire, and end to US aid for Israel
(Friday, January 26th, 2024)
The US must immediately cease all military assistance to Israel, both financial backing and weapons supplies. The US must stop providing diplomatic cover for Israel‘s genocidal war on Gaza, particularly by ending use of its veto power to block UN Security Council resolutions calling for a ceasefire that have been backed by the vast majority of nations and peoples of the world. The US must convert all military operations in the region to preparations for humanitarian assistance, in broad coalition with other nations, in order to prevent further atrocities against the Palestinian people.
The United States should immediately join together with the nations of the world, under the auspices of the United Nations, in a broad coalition to act on the Responsibility to Protect the Palestinian people from genocide.
Elias Khoury on Writing
“Literature speaks in many ways. It speaks to the present, of course, and to the future, if it is good literature. But literature is also a way for the writer to make a dialogue with the dead. This is the power of literature. It is not like religion: religion gives you the feeling that you are eternal. Here, there is no eternity at all, but it opens the possibility of dialoguing with the dead.”
There’s No Good News In The Unfolding Of Armageddon
Every species eventually hits an adaptation-or-extinction juncture at some point, where it must adapt to changing conditions on this planet or vanish into the fossil records. Humanity is arriving at such a juncture today. We’ll either awaken the potential which rests dormant within all of us to become a truly conscious species, or we will go the way of the dinosaur. We have the freedom to go either direction.