Hopkins (2001), Keith, A World Full of Gods: The Strange Triumph of Christianity, Penguin Random House 2001 ' In this provocative, irresistibly entertaining book, Keith Hopkins takes readers back in time to explore the roots of Christianity in ancient Rome. Combining exacting scholarship with dazzling invention, Hopkins challenges our perceptions about religion, the historical Jesus, and the way history is written. He puts us in touch with what he calls “empathetic wonder”—imagining what Romans, pagans, Jews, and Christians thought, felt, experienced, and believed-by employing a series of engaging literary devices. These include a TV drama about the Dead Sea Scrolls; the first-person testimony of a pair of time-travelers to Pompeii; a meditation on Jesus’ apocryphal twin brother; and an unusual letter on God, demons, and angels.' 
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Lonergan (1992), Bernard J F, Insight: A Study of Human Understanding (Collected Works of Bernard Lonergan : Volume 3), University of Toronto Press 1992 '. . . Bernard Lonergan's masterwork. Its aim is nothing less than insight into insight itself, an understanding of understanding' 
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Nicholls (2025), Jeffrey, Cognitive Cosmogenesis: A systematic integration of Physics and Theology, ' 2025 ' More than 60 years ago my spiritual advisors (rightly or wrongly) diagnosed in me a divine call to the Roman Catholic priesthood. As soon as I turned 18 I entered the Dominican Order
I quickly fell on love with their leading theologian, Thomas Aquinas (1225 - 1275) and read him voraciously. His Latin is so easy and his ideas quite cosmic.
Aquinas revolutionized theology by harmonizing it with the work of Aristotle, the best science available in the Middle Ages. Since the time of Galileo (1562 - 1642) modern science has travelled far beyond Aristotle. We now have comprehensive knowledge of the Universe. We can now see that it is big enough and beautiful enough to be considered divine. It seems obvious to me that it is time to introduce science to theology once again. Just three steps are required:
First, we must assume that the Universe is divine. This makes God observable, amenable to modern science which is based on observation.
Second, it follows, if this is the case, that physics and theology have the same subject and must therefore be consistent.
Third we need open up a new field of research, repeating Aristotle’s ancient journey from physics to theology. In this book I have tried to trace a quantum theoretical path from the unstoppable omnipotent emptiness of the initial singularity to the exquisite complexity of our world. My only guide is the logical constraint placed on omnipotence by consistency.'  
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Nielsen (2016), Michael A., and Isaac L Chuang, Quantum Computation and Quantum Information, Cambridge University Press 2016 Review: A rigorous, comprehensive text on quantum information is timely. The study of quantum information and computation represents a particularly direct route to understanding quantum mechanics. Unlike the traditional route to quantum mechanics via Schroedinger's equation and the hydrogen atom, the study of quantum information requires no calculus, merely a knowledge of complex numbers and matrix multiplication. In addition, quantum information processing gives direct access to the traditionally advanced topics of measurement of quantum systems and decoherence.' Seth Lloyd, Department of Quantum Mechanical Engineering, MIT, Nature 6876: vol 416 page 19, 7 March 2002. 
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Adam Saraswati Rawlings (2023_05_27), Did this nun find God or her clit?, ' *This article discusses religious experiences relevant to the Catholic Church; the information presented is merely based upon theories and does not reflect official Church doctrine or Christian beliefs. . . . The erotic, or often described as ecstatic, visions of Teresa are not unique to her alone. She was considered one of many women from this period of time who practised ‘bridal mysticism’, which in many ways is understood as an almost romantic union with Jesus or God during one’s visions. Of one of her visions, she wrote, “This [a cosmic spear] I thought that he thrust several times into my heart and that it penetrated to my entrails. When he drew out the spear, he seemed to be drawing them with it, leaving me all on fire with a wondrous love for God. The pain was so great that it caused me to utter several moans; and yet so exceedingly sweet is this greatest of pains that it is impossible to desire to be rid of it, or for the soul to be content with less than God.” The language here has been understood by many to be amorous and erotic in nature, noting the similarities between her description of her vision and experiencing sexual pleasure. The nature of discourse around St Teresa is that often she is thought of as experiencing an orgasm while undergoing her religious visions. back

Albert Einstein (1915), The Field Equations of Gravitation, ' In two recently published papers I have shown how to obtain field equations of gravitation that comply with the postulate of general relativity, i.e., which in their general formulation are covariant under arbitrary substitutions of space-time variables. [. . .] With this, we have finally completed the general theory of relativity as a logical structure. The postulate of relativity in its most general formulation (which makes space-time coordinates into physically meaningless parameters) leads with compelling necessity to a very specific theory of gravitation that also explains the movement of the perihelion of Mercury. However, the postulate of general relativity cannot reveal to us anything new and different about the essence of the various processes in nature than what the special theory of relativity taught us already. The opinions I recently voiced here in this regard have been in error. Every physical theory that complies with the special theory of relativity can, by means of the absolute differential calculus, be integrated into the system of general relativity theory — without the latter providing any criteria about the admissibility of such physical theory' back

Anastasia vs Luna, Energetic erotic lovers, back

Aquinas, Summa: I, 2, 3, Does God exist?, 'I answer that, The existence of God can be proved in five ways. The first and more manifest way is the argument from motion. . . . ' back

Australian Government (2013), Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, 'WHEREAS all children deserve a safe and happy childhood. AND Australia has undertaken international obligations to take all appropriate legislative, administrative, social and educational measures to protect children from sexual abuse and other forms of abuse, including measures for the prevention, identification, reporting, referral, investigation, treatment and follow up of incidents of child abuse. . . . IN WITNESS, We have caused these Our Letters to be made Patent. WITNESS Quentin Bryce, Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia. Dated 11th January 2013 Governor-General By Her Excellency’s Command Prime Minister back

Boson - Wikipedia, Boson - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, 'In particle physics, bosons are particles with an integer spin, as opposed to fermions which have half-integer spin. From a behaviour point of view, fermions are particles that obey the Fermi-Dirac statistics while bosons are particles that obey the Bose-Einstein statistics. They may be either elementary, like the photon, or composite, as mesons. All force carrier particles are bosons. They are named after Satyendra Nath Bose. In contrast to fermions, several bosons can occupy the same quantum state. Thus, bosons with the same energy can occupy the same place in space.' back

Bran Nue Dae - (film) Wikipedia, Bran Nue Dae - (film) Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, ' Bran Nue Dae is a 2009 Australian musical comedy-drama film directed by Rachel Perkins and written by Perkins and Reg Cribb. A feature film adaptation of the 1990 stage musical Bran Nue Dae by Jimmy Chi, the film tells the story of the coming of age of an Aboriginal Australian teenager on a road trip in the late 1960s.' back

Brouwer fixed point theorem - Wikipedia, Brouwer fixed point theorem - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, 'Among hundreds of fixed-point theorems] Brouwer's is particularly well known, due in part to its use across numerous fields of mathematics. In its original field, this result is one of the key theorems characterizing the topology of Euclidean spaces, along with the Jordan curve theorem, the hairy ball theorem, the invariance of dimension and the Borsuk–Ulam theorem. This gives it a place among the fundamental theorems of topology.' back

Buddhism - Wikipedia, Buddhism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, ' Buddhism also known as Buddha Dharma, is an Indian religion and philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or 5th century BCE. It is the world's fourth-largest religion, with over 520 million followers, known as Buddhists, who comprise seven percent of the global population. It arose in the eastern Gangetic plain as a śramaṇa movement in the 5th century BCE, and gradually spread throughout much of Asia. Buddhism has subsequently played a major role in Asian culture and spirituality, eventually spreading to the West in the 20th century.' back

Dee Jefferson (2025_01_31), A five-hour play, 4,000 years in the making: India’s epic Mahabharata arrives in Australia, ' On 7 October 2023, as Hamas launched an attack on Israel, the cast of Toronto’s Why Not Theatre were preparing to perform their five-hour adaptation of the Mahabharata at London’s Barbican. Based on the world’s oldest surviving poem (which is told across roughly 100,000 verses and 2m words), the show tells the 4,000-year-old tale from India of two branches of a family dynasty, whose war over a kingdom destroys the world. It’s a tale of choices and their consequences, echoing across generations; tit-for-tat cycles of vengeance that rival Succession or Game of Thrones. In Why Not Theatre’s hands, it’s also about the dreadful power of the stories and histories we tell about ourselves. In one of the play’s most striking moments, a young prince asks why, when different plants can coexist in harmony, he and his siblings are unable to live side by side with their cousins. “When the truth cannot be agreed upon, war is inevitable,” his grandfather replies.' back

Ecstasy of Saint Teresa - Wikipedia, Ecstasy of Saint Teresa - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, 'The Ecstasy of Saint Teresa (alternatively Saint Teresa in Ecstasy or Transverberation of Saint Teresa; in Italian: L'Estasi di Santa Teresa or Santa Teresa in estasi) is the central sculptural group in white marble set in an elevated aedicule in the Cornaro Chapel, Santa Maria della Vittoria, Rome. It was designed and completed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, the leading sculptor of his day, who also designed the setting of the Chapel in marble, stucco and paint. It is generally considered to be one of the sculptural masterpieces of the High Roman Baroque. It pictures Teresa of Ávila.' back

Evolution - Wikipedia, Evolution - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, '. . . Charles Darwin and Alfred Wallace were the first to formulate a scientific argument for the theory of evolution by means of natural selection. Evolution by natural selection is a process that is inferred from three facts about populations: 1) more offspring are produced than can possibly survive, 2) traits vary among individuals, leading to different rates of survival and reproduction, and 3) trait differences are heritable. . . . ' back

Female genital mutilation - Wikipedia, Female genital mutilation - Wikipedia, the free ecyclopedia, 'Female genital mutilation (FGM) (also known as female genital cutting, female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) and female circumcision[a]) is the cutting or removal of some or all of the vulva for non-medical reasons. FGM prevalence varies worldwide, but is majorly present in some countries of Africa, Asia and Middle East, and within their diasporas. As of 2024, UNICEF estimates that worldwide 230 million girls and women (144 million in Africa, 80 million in Asia, 6 million in Middle East, and 1-2 million in other parts of the world) had been subjected to one or more types of FGM.' back

Fermion - Wikipedia, Fermion - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, 'In particle physics, fermions are particles with a half-integer spin, such as protons and electrons. They obey the Fermi-Dirac statistics and are named after Enrico Fermi. In the Standard Model there are two types of elementary fermions: quarks and leptons. . . . In contrast to bosons, only one fermion can occupy a quantum state at a given time (they obey the Pauli Exclusion Principle). Thus, if more than one fermion occupies the same place in space, the properties of each fermion (e.g. its spin) must be different from the rest. Therefore fermions are usually related with matter while bosons are related with radiation, though the separation between the two is not clear in quantum physics. back

General covariance - Wikipedia, General covariance - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, In theoretical physics, general covariance (also known as diffeomorphism covariance or general invariance) is the invariance of the form of physical laws under arbitrary differentiable coordinate transformations. The essential idea is that coordinates do not exist a priori in nature, but are only artifices used in describing nature, and hence should play no role in the formulation of fundamental physical laws.' back

Heather D. Flowe, Arpita Ghosh & James Rockey, Female genital mutilation is a leading cause of death for girls where it’s practised – new study, ' Female genital mutilation or cutting (FGM/C) is a deeply entrenched cultural practice that affects around 200 million women and girls. It’s practised in at least 25 African countries, as well as parts of the Middle East and Asia and among immigrant populations globally. It is a harmful traditional practice that involves removing or damaging female genital tissue. Often it’s “justified” by cultural beliefs about controlling female sexuality and marriageability. FGM/C causes immediate and lifelong physical and psychological harm to girls and women, including severe pain, complications during childbirth, infections and trauma. We brought together our expertise in economics and gender based violence to examine excess mortality (avoidable deaths) due to FGM/C. Our new research now reveals a devastating reality: FGM/C is one of the leading causes of death for girls and young women in countries where it’s practised. FGM/C can result in death from severe bleeding, infection, shock, or obstructed labour. Our study estimates that it causes approximately 44,000 deaths each year across the 15 countries we examined. That is equivalent to a young woman or girl every 12 minutes. . . . The practice is particularly prevalent in several African nations. In Guinea, our data show 97% of women and girls have undergone FGM/C, while in Mali the figure stands at 83%, and in Sierra Leone, 90%. The high prevalence rates in Egypt, with 87% of women and girls affected, are a reminder that FGM/C is not confined to sub-Saharan Africa. For our study, we analysed data from the 15 African countries for which comprehensive “gold standard” FGM/C incidence information is available. Meaning, the data is comprehensive, reliable and widely accepted for research, policymaking and advocacy efforts to combat FGM/C. . . . Most importantly, any solution must involve the communities where FGM/C is practised. Our research underscores that this isn’t just about changing traditions – it’s about saving lives. Every year of delay means tens of thousands more preventable deaths. Our findings suggest that ending FGM/C should be considered as urgent a priority as combating major infectious diseases. The lives of millions of girls and young women depend on it. ' back

Internet Sacred Texts Archive, , ' Welcome to the largest freely available archive of online books about religion, mythology, folklore and the esoteric on the Internet. The Internet Sacred Text Archive (ISTA) is dedicated to religious tolerance and scholarship, and has the largest readership of any similar site on the web.' back

Jeffrey Nicholls (1987), A theory of Peace, ' The argument: I began to think about peace in a very practical way during the Viet Nam war. I was the right age to be called up. I was exempted because I was a clergyman, but despite the terrors that war held for me, I think I might have gone. It was my first whiff of the force of patriotism. To my amazement, it was strong enough to make even me face death.
In the Church, I became embroiled in a deeper war. Not a war between goodies and baddies, but the war between good and evil that lies at the heart of all human consciousness. Existence is a struggle. We need all the help we can get. Religion is part of that help and theology is the scientific foundation of religion.' back

Karoun Demirjian and Stephanie Nolen (2025_02_08), U.S.A.I.D. Workers Brace for the Worst, ' The thousands of people who work for the U.S. government’s main agency for humanitarian aid and disaster relief have been on the front lines of efforts to fight famine, contain virulent infectious diseases like H.I.V. and Ebola, and rebuild infrastructure in impoverished and war-torn countries. On Friday evening, just hours before the vast majority of them were set to have been suspended with pay or laid off, a court issued a limited, temporary order against the Trump administration’s moves to shut down the agency. The order was a temporary reprieve to approximately 2,700 direct hires of the U.S. Agency for International Development who were on administrative leave or set to be placed on leave by midnight Friday. For the past two weeks, they and the contractors who work for the agency had been in the throes of a collective panic as the Trump administration began to lay off staff and signaled it planned to decimate the agency. [. . .] The reductions at U.S.A.I.D. appear to have been driven largely by Elon Musk, the tech magnate President Trump deputized to make budget cuts across the government, and Pete Marocco, the State Department’s director of foreign aid, whom Secretary of State Marco Rubio appointed this week to run the day-to-day business of U.S.A.I.D. Mr. Rubio, who has assumed overall authority of U.S.A.I.D., tried to tamp down the fears, encouraging people to apply for waivers to delay travel and arguing that the Trump administration was “not trying to be disruptive to people’s personal lives".' back

Leonardo García Sanjuán et al, (2025_01_25), A multi-analytical study of the Montelirio beaded attires: Marine resources, sumptuary crafts, and female power in copper age Iberia, ' Abstract Excellent indicators of technology, social organization, exchange patterns, and even beliefs, beads are a topic of research in their own right. Findings made between 2010 and 2011 at the Montelirio tholos burial, part of the Valencina Copper Age mega-site, in south-western Spain, revealed what amounts to the largest single-burial ever-documented assemblage of beads. Furthermore, the Montelirio beads were part of unparalleled beaded attires worn by some of the people buried in the grave, mostly females. A multi-analytical study undertaken over the past 5 years—including a meticulous quantification of the collection, the characterization of the raw materials, radiocarbon dating and chronometric statistical modeling, morphometric analysis, phytolith analysis, experimental work and contextual analysis—reveals several previously unidentified aspects of these remarkable creations. This includes the role of the attires as sumptuary attributes heavily loaded of symbolism, used by a selected group of women of high social significance. Beaded attires made ~2800 BC with ~270,000 shell beads were worn by a select group of prominent women. back

Louis de Broglie (1929), Nobel Lecture: The Wave Nature of the Electron, ' The necessity of assuming for light two contradictory theories-that of waves and that of corpuscles - and the inability to understand why, among the infinity of motions which an electron ought to be able to have in the atom according to classical concepts, only certain ones were possible: such were the enigmas confronting physicists at the time I resumed my studies of theoretical physics. Now a purely corpuscular theory does not contain any element permitting the definition of frequency. This also renders it necessary in the case of light to introduce simultaneously the corpuscle concept and the concept of periodicity. On the other hand the determination of the stable motions of the electrons in the atom involves whole numbers, and so far the only phenomena in which whole numbers were involved in physics were those of interference and of eigenvibrations. That suggested the idea to me that electrons themselves could not be represented as simple corpuscles either, but that a periodicity had also to be assigned to them too. . . . Thus to describe the properties of matter as well as those of light, waves and corpuscles have to be referred to at one and the same time. The electron can no longer be conceived as a single, small granule of electricity; it must be associated with a wave and this wave is no myth; its wavelength can be measured and its interferences predicted. It has thus been possible to predicta whole group of phenomena without their actually having been discovered. And it is on this concept of the duality of waves and corpuscles in Nature, expressed in a more or less abstract form, that the whole recent development of theoretical physics has been founded and that all future development of this science will apparently have to be founded.' back

Mahabharata - Wikipedia, Mahabharata - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, ' The Mahābhārata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India, the other being the Rāmāyaṇa. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kurukshetra War and the fates of the Kaurava and the Pāṇḍava princes and their successors. It also contains philosophical and devotional material, such as a discussion of the four "goals of life" or puruṣārtha (12.161). Among the principal works and stories in the Mahābhārata are the Bhagavad Gita, the story of Damayanti, the story of Shakuntala, the story of Pururava and Urvashi, the story of Savitri and Satyavan, the story of Kacha and Devayani, the story of Rishyasringa and an abbreviated version of the Rāmāyaṇa, often considered as works in their own right.' back

Maria (2024 film) - Wikipedia, Maria (2024 film) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, ' Maria is a 2024 biographical psychological drama film directed by Pablo Larraín and written by Steven Knight. An international co-production between Italy, Germany, and the United States, the film centers on the last seven days in the life of American-Greek opera singer Maria Callas in Paris, as she reflects on her life and career. back

Matthew Mclaughlin, Grant Rnnis & Peter McCue (2025_02_03), Australia spends $714 per person on roads every year – but just 90 cents goes to walking, wheeling and cycling, ' From 2008–2028, the federal government spent $384 million on the following active transport investments: $40 million for cycling infrastructure in 2008 an estimated $60 million in the 2018 Perth City Deal for the Boorloo Bridge and CBD transport plan $144 million for the Kangaroo Point Bridge in Brisbane an estimated $40 million as part of the Pinch Points program in 2020 for Oxford Street and Doncaster Avenue in Sydney’s east $100 million for the national Active Transport Fund, announced in 2024, to be allocated from 2025 to 2028. All up, about $714 per person is spent annually on roads; 90 cents out of this $714 is just pocket change. . . . Globally, the United Nations recommends nations spend 20% of their transport budgets on walking and cycling infrastructure. Countries like France, Scotland, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden and the largest cities in China invest between 10% and 20%. These places were not always known for walking and cycling – it took sustained redirecting of investment from roads to walking and cycling. . . . There is a strong rationale and economic argument, too. The NSW government has estimated every kilometre walked benefits the national economy by $6.30, while every kilometre cycled benefits the economy by $4.10. This means that by simply walking 500 metres to the local shops and back, you’re saving the economy about $6, while riding five kilometres to work and back saves a whopping $41 for the economy. ./ . . Unfortunately, false solutions to our unwalkable and un-cycleable communities continue to derail our focus on fixing the root cause of our problems. For example, telling people to ride to work, while not providing them a safe place to do so, doesn’t make sense.. back

Matthew Sharpe (2025_02_04), ‘A dark masterpiece’: Foucault’s Discipline and Punish at 50, ' 2025 marks the 50th anniversary of the French publication of Michel Foucault’s dark masterpiece, Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison. A book of vast historical scope, written with lyrical intensity, it is one of the most influential philosophical works of the 20th century and remains unsettlingly prescient today. As the subtitle suggests, the book at one level charts a history of the modern prison system. It was written when Foucault was involved in the Maoist organisation Group d’Information des Prisons, following a wave of French prison revolts in the early 70s. What most struck Foucault about these revolts, he writes, was that they were protests not only against the cruelty of the guards. They were “also revolts against model prisons, tranquillisers, isolation, the medical and educational services”. Cover of Discipline and Punish Goodreads The seeming paradox here, that the inmates were also protesting seemingly progressive elements of “model” prisons like education programs, frames the argument of Foucault’s monumental book. . . . Discipline and Punish starts with a dramatic contrast. We open with the spectacular 1757 punishment, under the monarchy of Louis XV, of a convicted parricide known as Damiens: publicly led in front of the Church of Paris, then subjected to the most brutal physical torture. Damiens’ lacerated body was quartered by four horses, then its stump burnt at stake before leering crowds. Foucault next shifts abruptly to the exacting list of rules “for the house of young prisoners in Paris,” just 80 years later. These rules replace bodily torture with the rigid, nonviolent disciplining of prisoners’ behaviours. Nothing here is left to chance or choice: even micro-details such as when and how the prisoners wash, undress, pray, and prepare for sleep. Their every movement, even their recreation, is subject to scheduling, calculation, and discipline. There could scarcely be a greater contrast between these two forms of punishment. “We have … a public execution and a timetable”, Foucault drily states. At issue are two ways in which power has operated in European societies. . . . What is clear is that Discipline and Punish, at 50, has lost none of its provocative power. Nor, any of its relevance. Our ceaseless technological and social transformations continue to engender new means of surveillance, potentials for illiberal abuse, and pressures towards conformity. We ignore these at our own individual and collective risk. The book remains the inescapable starting point, and work of reference, for understanding these evolving forms of peril and power.' back

Minkowski space - Wikipedia, Minkowski space - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, ' By1908 Minkowski realized that the special theory of relativity, introduced by his former student Albert Einstein in 1905 and based on the previous work of Lorentz and Poincaré, could best be understood in a four-dimensional space, since known as the "Minkowski spacetime", in which time and space are not separated entities but intermingled in a four-dimensional space–time, and in which the Lorentz geometry of special relativity can be effectively represented using the invariant interval x² + y² + z² − c² t².' back

Paul Of Tarsus, Galatians, 5:16-24, '16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.' back

Rort McCarthy (2025_01_30), The truth about Saudi Arabia’s rulers is more worrying than you thought , ' The behaviour of Saudi Arabia’s most powerful prince invites a peculiar fascination. Mohammed Bin Salman, 39, effectively runs the oil-rich state as his 89-year-old father Salman ails; yet MBS, as the prince is known, seems to spend much of his time aboard his 400 ft superyacht, Serene, where on one cabin wall, it is said, hangs Leonardo da Vinci’s stunning painting Salvator Mundi, bought at a New York auction for $450m. The crown prince’s timekeeping is disorganised, even chaotic. He sleeps irregularly, day and night, and when he nods off in meetings, courtiers must attend patiently until he wakes. In October 2023, MBS kept the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, waiting for several hours. He only showed up the following day. What to make of this behaviour? Malise Ruthven, in his critical account of the contemporary Saudi regime, Unholy Kingdom, considers it evidence of sheer narcissism. MBS was not the chosen heir to the throne, but out-manoeuvred his cousins in a “Corleone-style progression” to the top. The regime is at once “ruthless and reckless”. . . . The regime is loosening restrictions on young people, allowing some gender mixing, cinemas and music concerts, as well as permitting women to drive. Young Saudis are supportive, Ruthven suggests, because they hope to escape high rates of unemployment, relative poverty and anomie. But the reforms are economic and social, not political. There are no legislative elections, political parties are banned and regime critics are routinely jailed. MBS wants “change in the exercise of power, but not its distribution,” as Ruthven puts it. A key challenge for MBS is to renegotiate his relationship with the Wahhabi clerics, who have historically partnered with the Al Saud family, providing the royals with legitimacy in return for autonomy in propagating their austere, ultra-conservative, highly sectarian interpretation of Sunni Islam. MBS has promised a turn to “moderate” Islam, and the powers of the religious police have been curbed. But his reforms are primarily a power grab. Hundreds of clerics who dared to challenge his rule are now in prison. . . . If President Donald Trump hopes for some grand bargain to restructure the Middle East, he’ll rely heavily on his friends in Riyadh. And that in turn will test the prince’s reform project and its limits. Unholy Kingdom is published by Verso at £25. To order your copy for £19.99, call 0330 173 0523 or visit Telegraph Books back

Superfecta - Wikipedia, Superfecta - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, ' The superfecta is a type of wager in the United States and Canada parimutuel betting in which the bettor, in order to win, must pick the first four finishers of a race in the correct sequence. This is even more unlikely than a successful wager in the trifecta, which requires correctly picking the first three finishers in order, and as such will have a correspondingly higher payoff. . .. This type of wager is called quadrifecta in Brazil and cuatrifecta in Argentina and Uruguay ("quad-fecta"). back

William Rees (2025_01_30), From YMCA to MAGA: why Trump plays Village People at his rallies, ' It was a bizarre sight watching a huge gay 1970s disco hit being performed at Donald Trump’s 2025 pre-inauguration rally. Many prominent artists from Beyoncé to Bruce Springsteen prohibit Trump from using their music. So why do Village People – a band synonymous with the 1970s gay liberation movement – allow their music to be associated with a political movement that has fixed and repressive ideas about sexual identity and morality? Village People’s recent incarnation has had a complicated relationship with the “make America great again” movement (Maga). In 2020, their song YMCA began featuring at Maga anti-lockdown rallies and soon became a prominent song in Trump’s re-election campaign. At the time, the band asked Trump not to use its music and later supported Kamala Harris for the presidency in 2024. Since then Village People have dramatically changed tack. To be clear, of the group that performed at Trump’s pre-inauguration rally, only one of the original Village People remains. The band, put together by the gay producers Jacques Morali and Henri Belolo in 1978, was named after New York’s Greenwich Village gay scene. . . . They seem to be the embodiment of that imagined past of American virility that Trump vaguely refers to when he promises to make the nation “great again”. It’s not difficult to work out what Trump’s message is, especially when he dances along to Macho Man at rallies. Both these acts are carnivalesque, like Trump himself. They indicate an era of politics as spectacle, but beneath the surface messages, we must carefully pay attention to what is actually being said and done., back

Xavier Waintal (2023), The quantum house of cards, 'Abstract: Quantum computers have been proposed to solve a number of important problems such as discovering new drugs, new catalysts for fertilizer production, breaking encryption protocols, optimizing financial portfolios, or implementing new artificial intelligence applications. Yet, to date, a simple task such as multiplying 3 by 5 is beyond existing quantum hardware. This article examines the difficulties that would need to be solved for quantum computers to live up to their promises. I discuss the whole stack of technologies that has been envisioned to build a quantum computer from the top layers (the actual algorithms and associated applications) down to the very bottom ones (the quantum hardware, its control electronics, cryogeny, etc.) while not forgetting the crucial intermediate layer of quantum error correction.' back