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There are two forces in history.

The first is weight. Or mass. Or trajectory. The unstoppable force. The US overtaking Britain as the premier industrial power. The two continental powers, Russia and the US, dividing Europe between them, an ancient pattern. Then the US outlasting the USSR because the US’s alliance had more people and resources and better geography.

The rise of China. The inexorable march of global warming and ecological collapse. The financialization and hollowing of a hegemonic power which always follows the decision to do free trade seriously

The second is human decision making at crisis points. Think the Cuban Missile Crisis. There were powerful men in the US who wanted to strike Cuba or Russian ships. If they had done so, there would almost certainly have been a nuclear exchange.

by Gary Gardner

In my frustration over humanity’s sluggish response to the urgent issues of our time, I find a bit of hope in an idea championed by the philosopher John Rawls. He had a simple and appealing suggestion for shifting people’s preferences in the direction of the common good.

Rawls proposed that anyone deliberating about public matters–legislators, officials, citizens, and others–start from behind a “veil of ignorance,” that hides from them their place in society.

The post Sortition for a Steady State Economy? appeared first on Center for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy.

Haiti has descended into chaos. It’s had no president or parliament — and no elections either –for eight long years. Its unelected prime minister Ariel Henry resigned recently when gang violence at the airport in Port-au-Prince made it impossible for him to return to the country after a trip to Guyana. Haiti is the poorest country in the region, its riches leached out by colonial overlords, American occupying forces, corporate predators, and home-grown autocrats. As if that weren’t enough, it’s also suffered an almost biblical succession of plagues in recent years. A coup deposed its first democratically elected leader, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, not once but twice — in 1991 and again in 2004. An earthquake in 2010 killed hundreds of thousands,... Read more

Parties appearing before the Supreme Court can fund the groups that file briefs supporting their arguments — and almost never have to disclose it.

The post The Gaping Hole in Supreme Court Rules for Tracking Links Between Litigants and Influence Groups appeared first on The Intercept.

Namibia's solidarity with Palestine underscores a broader shift in global politics, where shared histories pave the way for meaningful alliances against colonial oppression.

The post A Tale of Two Genocides: Namibia’s Stand Against Israeli Aggression appeared first on MintPress News.

An internal leak investigation ended without a “definitive conclusion,” as the Times cuts ties with a controversial Israeli freelancer.

The post New York Times Brass Moves to Stanch Leaks Over Gaza Coverage appeared first on The Intercept.

Why you can’t build another Apple with VC bucks.

The post Don’t bring venture capital to a knife fight appeared first on Zeldman on Web and Interaction Design.

If you think a piece is 100 percent done, it’s actually 45 percent done. To get it to 100 percent done, you can’t.

If you think you need “just a few more hours,” you really need a few more months.

“I’ll send it by EOD”—no, the odds are 6-1 you won’t. 7-1. 17-1.

“EOD” equals 5 p.m., 6 p.m., and 11:59 p.m., as well as 2 a.m., 8 a.m., 10 a.m., and 11 a.m. the next day.

Each breakthrough equals ninety days of clinical depression. (But you can’t pay upfront; if you commit to ninety days of clinical depression, then you may or may not get one breakthrough.)

Tragedy plus time equals a best-selling funny personal essay collection.

“Best-selling” equals selling better than however much you thought it would sell (0).

If something is due Friday, it might as well be due Monday, which might as well be due Tuesday, which might as well be due Wednesday, which might as well be due Thursday, which might as well be due Friday. This is why God (She/Her) gave us seven days.

In August 2022 I received an email asking if I would like to read Sam Sax’s debut novel with an eye towards possibly becoming the book’s editor. I said yes immediately, and read Yr Dead later that day in a single sitting. The book, which takes place entirely in the span of time between when Ezra, the protagonist of the novel, lights themself on fire and when Ezra dies, is told in lyric fragments that span both lifetimes and geography. It’s a queer, Jewish, diasporic coming-of-age story that questions how our historical memory shapes our political and emotional present.