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“Through calculated chaos and spectacle, Trump distracts the media and public from the dangerous consequences of his agenda.” — Andrew Mitrovica, Al Jazeera

Well, he finally did it. Controversial business magnate Lex Luthor has surrounded Earth with LexCorp satellites, targeting their lethal laser beams at every head of state in the world. Unless Superman reveals his secret identity by midnight, Luthor will assassinate presidents and prime ministers, one by one. The world watches the clock in fear, questioning whether Superman will save us, terrified of who will be first.

In the face of this threat to worldwide order, I am here to tell you this: Do not worry about it.

It is just a distraction. It is fine.

Consider the timing. Isn’t it all a little convenient that he just happened to hatch a dastardly plot one week after a nefarious scheme?

Though it failed to achieve deterrence, Iran scored a significant political and psychological victory against Israel in June. Iran’s greatest achievement in its 12 day war with Israel was in reviving the Spider Web theory Hasan Nasrallah introduced after Israel’s 2000 withdrawal from southern Lebanon. During his speech proclaiming victory over the Israeli occupiers, the late Hezbollah General Secretary argued that because of its colonial nature, Jewish Israeli society would fracture under sustained military pressure, forcing serious concessions from its […]

The post Iran vs. Israel: return of the ‘Spider Web’ theory first appeared on The Grayzone.

The post Iran vs. Israel: return of the ‘Spider Web’ theory appeared first on The Grayzone.

The Misery Factory gets a bad wrap, especially among Millennials and Gen Z, but I’m not sure it’s warranted. It starts with a misunderstanding of what we do. Our slogan, “Ambition Without Vision,” begins to explain the type of work we’re tackling day after day. The core of our mission can be summed up by our passion associated with the three D’s: Dehousing the elderly, Defunding the arts, and Denouncing the orphans (lazy freeloaders).

Without our hard work, the National Endowment for the Arts could balloon to obscene numbers—even up to a ten thousandth of the Pentagon’s budget. Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat, worried about how much free music education children could be receiving if I don’t do my due diligence. Luckily, I am very good at my job.

Bill Essayli once warned January 6 prosecutions would “criminalize political differences.” Now he’s throwing the book at anti-ICE protesters.

The post Trump Appointee Prosecuting LA Protesters Defended Jan. 6 Suspects appeared first on The Intercept.

Sometime in the late 1980s, I was talking with a friend on my landline (the only kind of telephone we had then). We were discussing logistics for an upcoming demonstration against the Reagan administration’s support for the Contras fighting the elected government of Nicaragua. We agreed that, when our call was done, I’d call another friend, “Mary,” to update her on the plans. I hung up. But before I could make the call, my phone rang. “Hi, this is Mary,” my friend said. “Mary! I was just about to call you.” “But you did call me,” she said. “No, I didn’t. My phone just rang, and you were on the other end.” It was pretty creepy, but that was how... Read more

Source: How Will Your Data Be Deployed appeared first on TomDispatch.com.

Before I blew out all seventy-two candles on my birthday cake this year, I made a wish. I wished for something that had been gnawing at my soul ever since I first received my AARP card.

It was finally time to launch my political career.

But a sobering thought struck me. Am I perhaps too young to be taken seriously as a Democratic congressperson? I worry that the powers that be might take one look at my salt-and-pepper hair, only slightly elevated blood pressure, and spry body with both its original hips, and laugh me right out of the Capitol.

Could I even relate to the older members of the party? What if they make a reference to some TV show or song from the late sixties, when I’m more familiar with pop culture of the mid-seventies?

What if I declare my candidacy, only for Steny Hoyer to tell me, “Come back when you’ve got at least another decade of accumulated wisdom—or a pacemaker.”

- by Zala & Asad Nariman

Read at Aeon

Intrusive thoughts about doing bad things are common, but for people with OCD they provoke deep fears about the self

- by Richard Moulding & Kelvin (Shiu Fung) Wong

Read on Psyche

The democratic socialist closed in on the former governor ahead of Tuesday’s primary. Cuomo is running in the general election either way.

The post How Andrew Cuomo Could Become NYC Mayor — Even if Zohran Mamdani Wins appeared first on The Intercept.

As the father of twins, I could hardly feel more frazzled. But my brain age might paint a different, more youthful, picture

- by Christian Jarrett

Read on Psyche

I got a notice of copyright infringement from GoComics, so I'm halting GoComics RSS feeds. If you want a recommendation for another service, you can email me at joseph@comicsrss.com.

I got a notice of copyright infringement from GoComics, so I'm halting GoComics RSS feeds. If you want a recommendation for another service, you can email me at joseph@comicsrss.com.