Why Ukraine has been unable to capitalize on the Wagner Group rebellion

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Why Ukraine has been unable to capitalize on the Wagner Group rebellion     After months of speculation about when it would begin and what its aims would be, Ukraine’s much anticipated counteroffensive started in early June.It took Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy some days to acknowledge on June 10 that the counteroffensive had actually begun, although it was clear from Russian media that its initial phase had started days before. Continued here

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Can you really 'address' annoying eye floaters with a supplement?     If you look up at the sky on a clear day, you might notice little cobweb-like structures drifting across your field of vision. They are known as floaters or, more formally, muscae volitantes – Latin for flying flies.Like regular flies, muscae volitantes are rather pesky, so it’s not surprising that people want to banish them. A recent article in the Mirror, Eye floaters: What causes them and how to get rid of them naturally, claims to have a solution. Continued here

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V&A's new centre reveals pivotal role photography plays in reflecting and shaping our world     In May, London’s Victoria and Albert Museum opened the much-anticipated second phase of its Photography Centre. Set to be the UK’s largest permanent photography display, it will survey the medium’s past, present and future. With plans to rotate displays across seven galleries, it reflects the V&A’s renewed commitment to photography.The centre will provide not just a new home for the V&A’s extensive photography collection (which dates back to the 19th century), it will also go some way to cementing the status of photography as a leading form of expression within contemporary visual culture. Continued here

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How to Survive a Recession and Thrive Afterward     According to an analysis led by Ranjay Gulati, during the recessions of 1980, 1990, and 2000, 17% of the 4,700 public companies studied fared very badly: They went bankrupt, went private, or were acquired. But just as striking, 9% of the companies flourished, outperforming competitors by at least 10% in sales and profits growth. Continued here

S70

Orangutans Can Beatbox, Just Like Humans     The primates can simultaneously make sounds with their mouth and throat, a finding that may shed light on the evolution of human speechBeatboxers can use their mouths and vocal cords to produce two sounds at once, often mimicking the percussive sounds of hip-hop music. But while some musically inclined humans are skilled at beatboxing, it’s not a very common behavior—and scientists have long wondered about its origins. Continued here

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Yes, debates do help voters decide - and candidates are increasingly reluctant to participate     Former President Donald Trump’s threat to skip the first Republican presidential debate, scheduled for Aug. 23, 2023, may be a sign that candidate debates will be the next casualty in the highly polarized political environment in the United States.For Trump, the leading contender for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, refusing to participate in a debate is nothing new. In 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, he skipped a general election debate because it was moved online. Continued here

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Debunking migration myths: the real reasons people move, and why most migration happens in the global south - podcast     Around the world, borders between countries are getting tougher. Governments are making it more difficult to move, especially for certain groups of vulnerable people. This comes with a message, subtle or not: that people are moving to higher-income countries to take advantage of the welfare system, or the jobs of people already living there. But evidence shows that much of what we think about migration – particularly those of us in Europe, North America and Australia – is wrong. Political narratives, often replicated in the media, shape the conversation and public attitudes toward migration. Continued here

S4

The Leadership Odyssey     A paradox of business is that while leaders often employ a hands-on, directive style to rise to the top, once they arrive, they’re supposed to empower and enable their teams. Suddenly, they’re expected to demonstrate “people skills.” And many find it challenging to adapt to that reality. Continued here

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How Brand Building and Performance Marketing Can Work Together     To achieve performance- accountable brand building and brand-accountable performance marketing, firms must create metrics that measure the effects of both types of investments on a single North Star metric: brand equity. That is then linked to specific financial outcomes—such as revenue, shareholder value, and return on investment—and deployed as a key performance indicator for both brand building and performance marketing. Continued here

S35

Some Ozempic users say it silences 'food noise'. But there are drug-free ways to stop thinking about food so much     “Food noise” or thinking about food constantly is not helpful to anyone’s mental health and wellbeing. When we become obsessed with any one line of thought (in this case, food), we can become consumed by it and it’s very hard to think about anything else. This can be very distressing. Continued here

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Are You Failing to Prepare the Next Generation of C-Suite Leaders? - SPONSOR CONTENT FROM DAGGERWING     For many people leaders, that’s been the mantra for the past three years. “Let’s just get through this moment in time, focus on the short-term solutions for our immediate needs, and when things go back to normal, we’ll deal with all the issues we’ve been putting on the backburner.” Continued here

S19

Seven ways to fix the broken NHS ambulance services     As the NHS marks its 75th year, the urgent and emergency care services it provides have never been in a bigger crisis. Against the backdrop of 10.6 million 999 calls answered in 2022-22, which is 2.6 million more than in 2020-21, media reports have consistently highlighted severe ambulance delays. Patients’ safety is being compromised. Some people have died as a result. Among ambulance staff, morale is at an all-time low. Sickness and absence rates are the highest – and show the highest rate of increase – of all NHS organisations. Continued here

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Canada takes first step to regulate toxic 'forever chemicals.' But is it enough?     Associate professor, Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Université Laval Canada recently took its first bold step to regulate the production and use of a large group of chemicals called per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), a family of environmentally persistent and toxic chemical compounds. Continued here

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Our research shows Australian students who are behind in primary school can catch up by high school     If students have poor academic results early in school, do they continue to fall further and further behind as they move through their education? The intuitive answer to this question is yes. This perception is fuelled by relentless media reporting about falling standards in Australia, and claims about “widening gaps” between advantaged and disadvantaged groups of students. Continued here

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"Spending Sony Out of Business." 5 Bombshells From Microsoft's FTC Hearing     Ever since Microsoft put in a $68.7 billion bid to buy behemoth game company Activision Blizzard, the company has been forced to jump through numerous hoops in the hopes of making the merger official. Microsoft’s proposed acquisition still needs to be approved by trade regulators in multiple countries, with the UK’s body blocking the deal while the EU approves.Meanwhile, in the U.S., the Federal Trade Commission is taking Microsoft to court. The trial began on June 22 and the outpouring of documents and testimony has led to some major bombs being dropped about Microsoft, Sony, and the video game industry at large. Here are the biggest takeaways you need to know. Continued here

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Bridge collapses, road repairs, evacuations: How transportation agencies plan for large-scale traffic disruptions     Twelve days after a portion of Interstate 95 collapsed in north Philadelphia during a truck fire, officials opened a temporary six-lane roadway to serve motorists while a permanent overpass is rebuilt. This was a major success after the June 11, 2023, disaster was predicted to snarl traffic for months. U.S. cities often face similar challenges when routine wear and tear or natural disasters damage roads and bridges. Transportation engineer Lee D. Han explains how planners, transit agencies and city governments anticipate and manage these disruptions. Continued here

S20

Your energy bills are finally about to go down - here's why     For the first time since autumn 2022, your energy bill will soon be capped by the UK regulator Ofgem rather than the government’s emergency price guarantee. This means you should see a drop in your next bill.From Saturday July 1 2023, Ofgem is lowering the price cap – which limits the amount your supplier can charge for a unit of electricity or gas if you are on a standard tariff – by 38% on gas (meaning the unit price for direct debit payers will drop from 13p to 8p) and 42% on electricity (down from 51p to 30p). These new prices are below the government’s emergency guarantee. Continued here

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How 1920s high society fashion pushed gender boundaries through 'freaking' parties     The 1920s brought about a rise in androgynous fashion among a high society set that broke boundaries and caused controversy. This drew on a subculture that had existed for decades, perhaps centuries, but after the first world war gender-bending fashions became front page news.It was a time of upheaval. Established regimes were toppling across Europe. In Britain, women over 30 had finally been given the vote and there was widespread concern about the new hedonism of their younger “flapper” sisters. Continued here

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Canada Day: Why renaming roads and how we tell stories matter for reconciliation     The recent renaming of the Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway in Ottawa to Kichi Zībī Mīkan (“Great River Road”) comes as Canada Day invites Canadians to define not only where we are, but also who we are in our national imagination. Reclaiming Indigenous names in our public spaces is just one way to create new avenues for what Cree Elder and scholar Willie Ermine calls “ethical spaces of engagement.” This seems in keeping with the mutual respect required to engage in the difficult, ongoing work of reconciliation, the flagship project of which is enacting the 94 calls to action by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC). Continued here

S9

Adoreum: the newly discovered flatbread fresco of Pompeii     On 27 June, the Archaeological Park of Pompeii announced that a new fresco depicting a focaccia (an Italian flatbread) had been discovered. In recent years, the site has begun excavating previously unexplored areas of the once bustling town that was buried during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE.In the announcement, director Gabriel Zuchtriegel described a beautifully preserved still-life fresco depicting a cup of wine next to a focaccia on a silver tray holding various fruits and what looks like moretum, a Roman herb-and-cheese spread. Continued here

S29

Why our voices change as we get older     Sir Elton John set a record at this year’s Glastonbury, becoming the most-watched headliner in the festival’s history, with more than 7 million people tuning in live to the BBC to watch his last ever UK performance.The 76-year-old singer certainly delivered all his characteristic showmanship. But many who have followed his music over the decades will have noticed how much his voice has changed during his career – and not only because of the surgery he had in the 1980s to remove polyps from his vocal cords. Continued here

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Reason and Emotion: Scottish Philosopher John Macmurray on the Key to Wholeness and the Fundaments of a Fulfilling Life     Each month, I spend hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars keeping The Marginalian going. For seventeen years, it has remained free and ad-free and alive thanks to patronage from readers. I have no staff, no interns, not even an assistant — a thoroughly one-woman labor of love that is also my life and my livelihood. If this labor has made your own life more livable in the past year (or the past decade), please consider aiding its sustenance with a one-time or loyal donation. Your support makes all the difference.We feel our way through life, then rationalize our actions, as if emotion were a shameful scar on the countenance of reason. And yet the more we learn about how the mind constructs the world, the more we see that our experience of reality is a function of our emotionally directed attention and “has something of the structure of love.” Philosopher Martha Nussbaum recognized this in her superb inquiry into the intelligence of emotion, observing that “emotions are not just the fuel that powers the psychological mechanism of a reasoning creature, they are parts, highly complex and messy parts, of this creature’s reasoning itself.”A century before Nussbaum, the far-seeing Scottish philosopher John Macmurray (February 16, 1891–June 21, 1976) took up these questions in a series of BBC broadcasts and other lectures, gathered in his 1935 collection Reason and Emotion (public library). Continued here

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Meltwater is hydro-fracking Greenland's ice sheet through millions of hairline cracks - destabilizing its internal structure     I’m striding along the steep bank of a raging white-water torrent, and even though the canyon is only about the width of a highway, the river’s flow is greater than that of London’s Thames. The deafening roar and rumble of the cascading water is incredible – a humbling reminder of the raw power of nature.As I round a corner, I am awestruck at a completely surreal sight: A gaping fissure has opened in the riverbed, and it is swallowing the water in a massive whirlpool, sending up huge spumes of spray. This might sound like a computer-generated scene from a blockbuster action movie – but it’s real. Continued here

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'Secret Invasion' Theory Reveals a Huge Fantastic Four Tie     Secret Invasion has shown a lot of promise. It’s based on one of the most plot-twist-filled comic storylines, and the show’s central conceit means no one can be trusted. Anyone could be a Skrull, and the Skrulls we do know about could be up to anything.However, we may know what the main villain is up to after only two episodes, and their plot could have huge implications for the MCU’s future. Continued here

S28

Why the super-rich may take more risks than the rest of us     Like most people, I watched the tragedy of the Titan submersible unfold with horror. We talked about it in cafes, jumped when news reports came in on our phones, and wondered why people would ever actually pay money to experience such risk. Are billionaires like this ultimately just vain or stupid? Or is reckless risk-taking in their DNA?The study nevertheless showed that people on these compratively higher incomes were typically extroverts and, importantly, tolerant of risk. That means they might indeed be more drawn to thrill seeking and risk-taking, in terms of adventuring and extreme sports. Continued here

S12

US agencies buy vast quantities of personal information on the open market - a legal scholar explains why and what it means for privacy in the age of AI     Numerous government agencies, including the FBI, Department of Defense, National Security Agency, Treasury Department, Defense Intelligence Agency, Navy and Coast Guard, have purchased vast amounts of U.S. citizens’ personal information from commercial data brokers. The revelation was published in a partially declassified, internal Office of the Director of National Intelligence report released on June 9, 2023.The report shows the breathtaking scale and invasive nature of the consumer data market and how that market directly enables wholesale surveillance of people. The data includes not only where you’ve been and who you’re connected to, but the nature of your beliefs and predictions about what you might do in the future. The report underscores the grave risks the purchase of this data poses, and urges the intelligence community to adopt internal guidelines to address these problems. Continued here

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Interest rate hikes are not the only tool to fight UK inflation - here's what the government should do     Fellow in Economics and History at Corpus Christi College, University of Cambridge Over the past year, interest rates have been rising rapidly around the world. The post-COVID economic recovery and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine caused inflation to reach 10% or more in many countries. Central banks in the US, UK and Europe have fought back by raising interest rates in an attempt to cool the economy and return inflation to their 2% targets. Continued here

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Will Blockbuster Movies Ever Be Sexy Again?     If you’ve seen a major blockbuster in the last decade, there are a few things you’ve almost certainly experienced. A huge beam of light probably came down from the sky, our heroes likely exchanged plenty of quips as they took on their enemies, and there was almost certainly a lot of CGI goop. What you likely didn’t see, however, was anyone getting frisky.The Marvel Cinematic Universe, perhaps the most dominant franchise in Hollywood history, has had precisely one sex scene. No, not the time Tony Stark seduced a Vanity Fair reporter (that doesn’t count); we’re talking about the extremely uncomfortable moment in Eternals — a movie not lacking in uncomfortable moments. Continued here

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How Deadloch flips the Nordic Noir crime genre on its arse and makes it funny     You know how it starts: a drone shot across an expanse of grey water under a leaden sky accompanied by eerie music and a sense of foreboding. Clearly someone is going to die, if they are not already dead, and a small community will be riven as its dark secrets are exposed to the pale light of a wintry Nordic day. But we’re in Tasmania, and the dead body is not the violated, naked body of a young white girl, but a bloke whose tongue is missing, possibly eaten by the town’s resident seal, Kevin. Continued here

S70

Astronomers Just Detected An Important High-Energy Particle In the Milky Way for the First Time     The South Pole's pristine and ultra-dense ice is a fabulous laboratory for neutrino science. Outer space is awash in neutrinos, subatomic particles that travel at the speed of light and have no mass — and that provide a cosmic “smoking gun.” Continued here