Reading

With apologies to Rumi.

May this decree be signed expeditiously
and this divorce be soon over.

May it be amicable.
But not too amicable.
I refuse to vacation together.
Who do we think we are,
Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin?

May this divorce be like oil and water,
separated indefinitely. In fact, let us be
parallel lines. You go your way, I’ll go mine,
never touching again. Ever.

May this conscious uncoupling be full of freedom:
from the nightly whistle of your CPAP machine
and from your mother’s Christmas
raisin bread pudding.

There’s an app that makes the world look filthier. By exposing germaphobes to their fears, it can help break the cycle

- Video by University of the Netherlands

Watch on Psyche

From weapon to icon – a riveting history lesson in the many meanings of the samurai sword that’s also just plain cool to see

- by Aeon Video

Watch on Aeon

Rediscovering an André Breton essay about the value of embracing randomness, I realised this has been my life philosophy

- by Anandi Mishra

Read on Psyche

Desperate to secure a conviction of Palestine Action defendants, a draconian British judge has forbidden them from referring to the principle of jury equity in their closing speeches. It is one of countless restrictions aimed at blocking the activists from mounting an effective defense. Since the retrial of six Palestine Action (PA) activists began on April 13, the defendants have been barred under court order from using terms like “genocide” or discussing the target of their direction action protests. Meanwhile, […]

The post UK judge gags Palestine Action defendants to secure ‘terror’ stitch-up first appeared on The Grayzone.

The post UK judge gags Palestine Action defendants to secure ‘terror’ stitch-up appeared first on The Grayzone.

I’m confused, maybe someone can help me. This is like the third assassination attempt on Julius Caesar, but things are going great in Rome. The value of silver is strong, the liberti/bad homines immigration is under control, and we’ve bounced back from the bubonic pandemic.

So why do people keep trying to assassinate our leader?!

I heard one person say it’s because he’s trying to seize power from the Senate and become an all-powerful dictator, but like, just because he refused to concede power when his term as governor ended and then sent his military across the Rubicon, essentially doing an insurrection on Rome, doesn’t indicate any of that. If that were the case, wouldn’t the Senate say something? Haven’t heard anything from Brutus or Cassius yet, so that’s a non-starter.

A new website established by the Israeli government through a contract with Trump’s former campaign manager seeks to manipulate AI platforms into denying established accounts of Hind Rajab’s killing. Israel has created nine English language websites explicitly aimed at manipulating AI platforms like Claude and ChatGPT. Its vehicle for maintaining these websites is Clock Tower X, a company founded by Brad Parscale, the former manager of President Donald Trump’s 2020 re-election campaign. Now a federally registered foreign agent, Parscale is […]

The post Israel’s AI foreign influence op blames Palestinians for killing Hind Rajab first appeared on The Grayzone.

The post Israel’s AI foreign influence op blames Palestinians for killing Hind Rajab appeared first on The Grayzone.

Last month, a data analyst at financial tech giant Intuit showed up to a company Zoom call in full IDF uniform. Intuit’s products include the widely-used tax return program TurboTax. This article was originally published by Do Not Panic! The American tech giant behind the most popular tax filing software in the US allows employees to wear their IDF uniforms to work and also permits them to take months off the job to fight Israel’s wars. Last month, Tom Yacobi, […]

The post The US tech giant where employees wear IDF uniforms to work first appeared on The Grayzone.

The post The US tech giant where employees wear IDF uniforms to work appeared first on The Grayzone.

Listen, I don’t have thin skin. If I did, I would teach fourth grade and cry along with my students when the spider died at the end of Charlotte’s Web. Anyone can teach kids; I teach young adults. And I introduce them to their mentor, who will decide their fate: New York’s most haunted forever teen, Holden Caulfield.

By introducing decades of students to the philosopher in the backward red hunting cap, I’ve presented them with their next step into adulthood. Most English students make one of two choices: Either they love Holden and go on to have intense, fleeting, and passionate careers in fields like English or theater, or they realize they have good relationships with their mothers.

These past few years, however, I’ve noticed a startling trend: ambivalence.

The Sopranos
I have not watched The Sopranos. I have, however, seen the clip of the guy pointing angrily at someone across the table while someone else looks tired of his behavior.

That three-hour documentary you recommended
I saw a screenshot of the host looking very serious and assumed the rest.

Game of Thrones
I understand there were dragons and that everyone was upset about a chair.

That Oscar-winning movie from last year
I saw a reaction GIF from it on social media and decided I had the emotional gist.

The entire Marvel Cinematic Universe
I have seen approximately forty-seven memes of a raccoon with a gun.

Your favorite anime
I saw a dramatic still of someone screaming with wind blowing through their hair.

The new Netflix show everyone is talking about
I watched the trailer autoplay while deciding what I actually wanted to watch.

The great historian came of age at the end of British rule in India. Now 94, she continues to defy a regime determined to forget the pluralism and dissent of India’s past

- by Raghu Karnad

Read on Psyche

For a century, this theory of human origins has died and returned. To free it from limbo, we must disentangle its many meanings

- by Vivek V Venkataraman

Read on Aeon

Treating journalism like a casino will harm reporting — and erode democracy.

The post We Need to Kick Prediction Market Betting Out of Journalism While We Still Can appeared first on The Intercept.