An Alternative to Breaking News, Report
From Dawn: IT seems that the goings-on in judges’ homes is not the only thing that piques Big Brother’s curiosity. Our security apparatus also listens to what ordinary citizens are
Continue readingOrwellian State: Leaked Phone Calls, ‘Lawful Intercept Management System’
The flame that burns so bright, this too shall passHowever strong the light, this too shall pass You heap the wood upon the open fireAnd set the world alight, this
Continue readingThursday Poem: “This Too Shall Pass” by Rohan Buettel
Nina L. Khrushcheva at Project Syndicate: One might argue that there is nothing unusual or even particularly problematic about invoking faith to comfort or motivate people in times of crisis;
Scott Alexander at Astral Codex Ten: Some of the party’s problems are hard and have no shortcuts. But the big one – figuring out whether replacing Biden would even help
by Mary Hrovat at 3 Quarks Daily: In the shapeless but often suggestive scatter of stars across a dark night sky, humans have picked out patterns and woven countless tales
I used to read your poemsbut lately you don’t writeyou’re silent and aloofyou know that isn’t right.You can’t close a door once openedyou can’t abolish all your dreamsyou’re a poet
From Samaa TV: Humayun was the 2nd Mughal Emperor. His predecessor was Babur, and successor, Sher Shah Suri.
Shared by Hasham Siddiqui, Pakistan: Only for those who are interested in history. The word “Phuddu Khata” has an interesting origin which goes back to the era of Nizam Usman
by Mindy Clegg at 3 Quarks Daily: The Cold War ended somewhere between 1989 and 1991 or if you take the disintegration of Yugoslavia into account, maybe into the 2000s.
Continue readingThe Real Modern Struggle: Democracy and Authoritarianism
by Tomas Pueyo at Uncharted Territories: Chile is so long, it’s curved. How long is it?Why not longer?Why is no other country as thin?How does that make Chileans incomprehensible? Chile
Stephen Case at Aeon: Today’s modern wind turbines seem to repel poetic or artistic engagement. It is difficult to imagine a landscape painter portraying their spare lines and uniform rows
Continue readingCould We Learn to Love Wind Turbines as We Did the Windmills?
From The Conversation: We often hear that Aboriginal peoples have been in Australia for 65,000 years, “the oldest living cultures in the world”. But what does this mean, given all