Reading

One of my foundational theoretical commitments is that the technology of reading and writing is neither natural nor innocuous. Media theorists McLuhan, Postman, Ong and Flusser all agree on this point: the technology of writing is a necessary condition for the emerge of liberal/democratic/Enlightenment/rationalist culture; mass literacy and the proliferation of cheap books/newspapers is necessary for this […]

Our extended conversation with David Dayen about the “One Big Beautiful Bill.”

Though few of us would dispute the proposition (commonly attributed to George Santanya) that those who cannot remember the past are preparing themselves to repeat its mistakes, it’s advisable to keep your hand on your wallet when it comes up for sale in the marketplace of ideas, especially in times of open conflict. As David... Continue Reading →

The media has gone on the attack after the welfare U-Turn, but they're not telling the real story, argues Mathilda Mallinson

A vanity sculpture garden? A tax break for online bookies? Incentives for Wall Street to fire you? What actually passed in Trump’s sprawling “Big Beautiful Bill.”

Regular readers will know that I run a bit, like lots. Last week, while I was in Europe, I decided to stay on Australian time, given the brevity of the mission, so I found myself running at midnight or just after awaking at 22:00 or 23:00 (after going to sleep around 14:00). It turned out…

I didn’t want to write this article. In fact, I had something relatively uplifting planned: an Independence Day piece about the rich implications for the present moment to be found in the Declaration of Independence. But other excellent writers beat me to that one. So instead, I reluctantly find myself once again focusing on U.S. torture, a subject I’ve studied and written about since the autumn of 2001, including in a couple of books. I’d naively hoped never to have to do so again, but here we are. The Rendition of Kilmar Abrego García This March, the Trump administration illegally sent Kilmar Abrego García to a notorious hellhole in El Salvador. That mega-prison is known by the acronym CECOT for... Read more

Source: Everything Old Is New Again appeared first on TomDispatch.com.

‘You want to go ask people what’s going on, don’t you?’ a character says to another in Izumi Suzuki’s 1982 story ‘Hey, It’s a Love Psychedelic!’, as time spins out of joint. ‘There’s no point. You can’t go around telling people the world isn’t what it’s supposed to be. Nobody’s gonna listen.’ A decade and […]

by Tony Wikrent   Trump not violating any law ‘He who saves his Country does not violate any Law’   Concentration camp expert warns Trump won’t stop with just immigrants in camps Dean Obeidallah, July 12, 2025 “We need to be aware, as a country, how quickly this can get much, much worse.” That is […]

Most people have a very personal view of the nature of debt. We know that high levels of debt and deficit spending at the household level are not sustainable. At some point, household debt has to be paid back. If a household is unable to do so, its debt will have to be renegotiated. It […]

A parent out for justice, a flood warning system out of money, and more from The Lever this week.

Ncuti Gatwa discusses why "it was time" for him to depart Doctor Who and those rumors surrounding his stepping away from Eurovision 2025.

Jaime Alanis’s death shows the horrific consequences of a secret police force behaving with utter impunity.

The post ICE Campaign of Violence Will Lead to More Deaths appeared first on The Intercept.

Journalist Mick Hall was accused of slipping “Russian disinformation” into copy at New Zealand’s state broadcaster, sparking an international furor about Kremlin infiltration. Following an intel agency investigation, his name was cleared. Now, Hall tells The Grayzone how a simple copy editing dispute brought him into Five Eyes’ crosshairs. Until two years ago, Mick Hall was a fairly obscure journalist publishing wire copy for Radio New Zealand (RNZ), far-removed from media capitals like Washington and London where international opinions are […]

The post Case closed after ‘Russian disinfo’ claims led to persecution of NZ journalist first appeared on The Grayzone.

The post Case closed after ‘Russian disinfo’ claims led to persecution of NZ journalist appeared first on The Grayzone.

Trump’s bill slashes spending on veterans to boost corporate welfare for the Big Five arms manufacturers and surging AI spying firms like Palantir. Originally published at Antiwar.com. The Senate is on the verge of passing the distinctly misnamed “big beautiful bill.” It is, in fact, one of the ugliest pieces of legislation to come out of Congress in living memory. The version that passed the House recently would cut $1.7 trillion, mostly in domestic spending, while providing the top 5% of taxpayers […]

The post Trump’s BBB busts the budget to benefit arms makers, AI warlords first appeared on The Grayzone.

The post Trump’s BBB busts the budget to benefit arms makers, AI warlords appeared first on The Grayzone.

. It was pouring rain out here on my island today, so a vitamin injection was needed!

A mercenary firm implicated in severe abuses in Gaza has hired a PR firm led by influential former Democrat flacks, including the spokeswoman for Biden’s Pentagon. Meanwhile, a former State Dept spokesman who defended Israel’s crimes is now VP at a Democrat PR firm representing Israel’s Foreign Ministry. Editor’s note: After The Grayzone published a report revealing damning new footage showing mercenaries from the UG Solutions firm firing toward crowds of desperate aid seekers in the southern Gaza Strip, the […]

The post Former Biden, Obama spokespersons cash in on Gaza genocide first appeared on The Grayzone.

The post Former Biden, Obama spokespersons cash in on Gaza genocide appeared first on The Grayzone.

City-sized sunblock, states break the subscription loop, abortion limbo resolved, and AI hiring is on trial.

Use to discuss topics unrelated to recent posts.

Use to discuss topics unrelated to recent posts.