We lead task-driven lives. But there is merit in taking a break, even if only briefly, to consider the bigger picture. It’s what happens here at the Weekly on a Tuesday afternoon, with one edition put to bed. We take a moment, consider how we did, and plan what happens next in the unusual pace and pattern that is our working week.
Is something similar happening at the White House? Is Barack Obama also surveying the scene and taking stock of his political standing? With two years left in his term as US president, and midterm elections looming on 4 November, it would seem a prudent plan.
Our front page looks to next month’s midterm vote, and considers America after Obama. It’s a well-timed piece, perfectly suited for the Weekly, where we love to reflect on the bigger picture. Inside the paper, we report on the attack on Canada’s parliament in Ottawa last week. One young reservist was killed, and the assailant shot dead, in an episode that police say was “driven by political motives”. Will Canada push through tougher security laws as a result? Read the edition (online, if you like) to find out more.
Election news also dominated. In Toronto, a new mayor was elected, and his surname was not Ford. In Brazil, Dilma Rousseff was re-elected, by a slim margin, so will need skill and savvy in instituting political reforms this term. And in Tunisia, birthplace of the Arab Spring, Islamists admit defeat at the polls to their main secular rivals. We’ve got it covered.
Partner paper Le Monde reports from Russia on Vladimir Putin’s aspirations for a Eurasian Economic Union. Our other partner, the Washington Post, wonders what might have been in Libya had Muammar Gaddafi not been killed.
Our Comment offering is meaty. George Monbiot assesses how governments abuse language to disguise their lack of compassion. Jonathan Freedland, meanwhile, argues that prime minister David Cameron is turning Britain into a toxic brand.
Ready for an even deeper read? Sit back and wonder at the passions inflamed by Pablo Picasso so many years after his death. Jonathan Jones tells a tale of a power, ploys and politics during a roller-coaster renovation at the Picasso Museum.
Elsewhere, we explore the new Los Angeles, now a rival to New York for creative culture. And we visit an exhibition in Germany that explores connections between propaganda and science in the midst of conflict. Don’t miss the online photo gallery that accompanies this piece.
Possibly my favourite piece is our profile of British physicist Brian Cox. The boyish professor from Manchester is becoming a global brand thanks to his energy, enthusiasm and ability to turn the deeply complex into compelling entertainment. One may well argue that cosmology is all about surveying the scene and looking at the bigger picture. Just like the Weekly.
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