'More must be done'
Opinion, comment and editorials of the day


'China's threat to Tibet's future should be a global concern'
Brahma Chellaney at The Hill
Xi Jinping is "waiting for the Dalai Lama" to "pass away so that Beijing can impose its own puppet as the next spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism," says Brahma Chellaney. This "would be akin to the Italian government installing a state-appointed pope to lead the Catholic Church, a brazen affront to religious freedom." With Xi's "regime intensifying efforts to erase Tibetan culture, language and identity, the looming succession of the Dalai Lama marks a pivotal and dangerous turning point."
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'This punctuation mark is semi-dead. People have thoughts.'
Mark Lasswell at The Washington Post
Punctuation marks are "wee items capable of causing a tremendous release of energy," says Mark Lasswell. No "piece of punctuation, though, stirs people up more than the humble semicolon." But "now the semicolon is dead. Or semi-dead." A "study of semicolon use in U.S. publishing from 1920 to 2019 saw a dramatic slide." But the "semicolon will never completely go away, not as long as there are grown-ups around who still think punctuation emoticons are fun."
'Want to fix climate change? Stop talking about saving the planet.'
Adam Met at USA Today
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The "words 'climate change' are starting to lose their power," says Adam Met. Not "because the crisis isn't real, it is, but because the language we use to talk about it is too abstract, too politicized and too divorced from the things most Americans actually care about: jobs, innovation, pride and purpose." We "need to stop framing climate action around the climate." We must "tell the truth that's hiding in plain sight: This is the next American industrial revolution."
'The smear campaign against Zohran Mamdani failed. That's a huge deal.'
Y.L. Al-Sheikh at The Nation
Zohran Mamdani's victory has "not only set him up as a potentially crucial figure on the American left in the years to come," but has "also caused people to look at the many ways Mamdani broke with conventional wisdom on running a Democratic campaign," says Y.L. Al-Sheikh. Mamdani's "campaign was first and foremost centered around cost-of-living issues like rent and bus fares." It is also "abundantly clear that being pro-Palestinian is no longer an albatross among U.S. liberal voters."
Justin Klawans has worked as a staff writer at The Week since 2022. He began his career covering local news before joining Newsweek as a breaking news reporter, where he wrote about politics, national and global affairs, business, crime, sports, film, television and other news. Justin has also freelanced for outlets including Collider and United Press International.
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