F&O has a veritable treasure trove of new work for your weekend reading: The Cuban Five In 1998 Fidel Castro had his good friend Gabriel García Márquez, the Nobel prize-winning Colombian novelist, carry a top secret message to American President Bill Clinton. It revealed a terrorist plot against Cuba, devised on American soil. What happened next led to the arrests of the Cuban agents, the myth-making of heroes, and a tale of stunning intrigue and complexity. In THINK/Magazine, F&O is pleased to publish an excerpt of Stephen Kimber’s book about The Cuban Five. (Public access) Drought, and the price of
Money is flowing into Iran again, but there are signs the reformist movement is being stymied by hardliners, including a dramatic upsurge in executions for “enmity against God” and “threatening national security.” An excerpt of international affairs columnist Jonathan Manthorpe’s new column: As Iran this week received $550 million from eased sanctions in return for curbing its nuclear program, it is evident that resistance is stiffening among hardliners in Tehran to rapprochement with the international community. At its core, this apprehension appears to be fear that any restrictions on Iran’s ability to make nuclear weapons or slackening of its defensive
British video artist Reuben Sutherland teams with “noise artist” Dan Hayhurst to create remarkable works on vinyl, such as the one in this video. Sutherland and Hayhurst call their visual/music collaboration Sculpture; they specialize in zoetrope-video art. Those prone to migraines or vertigo might think twice about viewing. Plastic Infinite from Sculpture on Vimeo.
Who will be Afghanistan’s next elected leader? International affairs columnist Jonathan Manthorpe considers the options – and finds all of the candidates wanting. Excerpt: The world will soon discover whether 13 years of war in Afghanistan at a cost of the lives of tens of thousands of local people, the deaths of 3,392 members of the international forces fighting the Taliban insurgents, and upwards of $4 trillion, has all been worth it. Afghanistan this week embarked on its third election since United States-led forces invaded the country late in 2001 to root out al-Qaida terrorists and oust from power in
