Giraffe Edition 51
Obituary: Father Jean-Marie Charles-Roux
Telegraph | 24th August 2014
"Tall, elegant, and with a theatrically silky voice, Charles-Roux wore buckled shoes and medallions commemorating martyred sovereigns". He brought "the mystical aura of French royalism to London as a Roman Catholic priest of the Rosminian order", celebrating the Latin Mass for 40 years at Ely Place. In retirement he served as chaplain to Mel Gibson during the making of The Passion of The Christ (1,218 words)
China’s Future
Economist | 22nd August 2014
Big backgrounder. The first half, pace the headline, is about China's past, and skippable. The second half, on the domestic and foreign outlook, is much better. China is “a civilisation pretending to be a state”. It hesitates to claim openly a global role. But "lack of engagement is not unusual in a rising power. It took a world war to draw America irrevocably on to the world stage". One hopes China will settle for less (6,200 words)
The Troll Slayer
Rebecca Mead | New Yorker | 25th August 2014
Profile of Mary Beard, classics professor at the University of Cambridge, media personality, and "role model for women of all ages who want an intellectually satisfying life". She has written a dozen books; broadcasts regularly; and "produces scholarly papers and book reviews by the pound". Her public stance against sexist abuse in mainstream and social media has brought her wider fame as a British "feminist heroine" (6,694 words)
Endgame For Putin
Robert Skidelsky | Project Syndicate | 26th August 2014
Vladimir Putin is over-extended in Ukraine. But he won't give back Crimea. So the West will pile on the sanctions until domestic discontent topples Putin. There's no appetite now for a diplomatic compromise blurring the status of Crimea, because Western leaders have decided that Putin's word is not worth having. Merkel's patience snapped when Putin blamed MH17 on Ukraine. "The West no longer believes anything he says" (920 words)
Video of the day: Martin Rees: The End Of The World
What to expect: TED talk
Thought for the day
"If one says that someone followed a rule, one generally means that they followed it correctly"
— Hilary Putnam