Reading

Created
Sat, 09/11/2024 - 02:30
A marketing problem? Really? “There are eight million stories in the naked city. This has been one of them,” closed out each episode of a police procedural from the mid-twentieth century. It also approximates the hot takes this week and in coming months on why Kamala Harris lost the 2024 presidential election to a fascism-curious, [your list of Donald Trump’s crimes and character flaws here], in obvious mental decline, etc. The world now faces a period of disruption to rival post-September 11 wars, the Great Recession, the COVID-19 pandemic, and a fresh land war in Europe. And maybe worse. The twenty-first century has been nothing if not disruption. Trump fosters it. He keeps rivals off balance with it and blames Others for it. MAGA finds its scapegoats primarily among immigrants but doesn’t limit itself to them. Where pundits find theirs for what happened on Tuesday confounds me. As after Donald Trump’s first election in 2016, the usual suspects will fall back on their usual simplistic answers. Remember “economic anxiety“?
Created
Sat, 09/11/2024 - 02:27
I’m delighted to announce a plethora of new shows for May 2025 with the brilliant Henry Normal. We’re be coming to BIRMINGHAM, CAMBRIDGE, HARROGATE, LANCASTER, LIVERPOOL, LONDON, MANCHESTER, MELTON MOWBRAY, NEWCASTLE-UNDER-LYME, NORTHAMPTON, STOCKTON-ON-TEES and WHITLEY BAY. Tickets have gone on sale today. As previously announced, we’ll also be reading poems in ASHFORD, BURNLEY, CARDIFF, HALIFAX,…
Created
Sat, 09/11/2024 - 02:02

Horrifying testimony of scenes in a detention center for Palestinians appear to constitute an unprecedented public admission of torture by Israeli forces. The testimony was delivered by an Israeli reporter who served as an intel officer after October 7. A well-known Israeli journalist and former soldier has offered the first apparent acknowledgement of wide-scale torture by his country’s military, describing “masses” of Palestinians who were left “lying… in handcuffs” while subjected to never-ending Israeli music at the Hakirya military compound. […]

The post ‘House of horrors’: Israeli journalist-turned-intel officer confirms widescale torture of Palestinians first appeared on The Grayzone.

The post ‘House of horrors’: Israeli journalist-turned-intel officer confirms widescale torture of Palestinians appeared first on The Grayzone.

Created
Sat, 09/11/2024 - 01:29

The kidnapping of Lebanese sea captain Imad Amhaz by Israeli forces has prompted Beirut to seek answers, with questions mounting over whether Germany quietly supported or overlooked the operation.

The post How Did Israeli Forces Slip Through? Officials in Lebanon Question German Role in Kidnapping Raid appeared first on MintPress News.

Created
Sat, 09/11/2024 - 01:00

What Kwame Dawes does in Sturge Town, his far-reaching new collection, is what he’s done book after book: create worlds in a music, and a music for the fleeting world. The first of five sections in the collection is “ … the rapid softening of light …” and then “ … all of light’s fruitfulness …”, which is followed by “ … slowly, from shadow to light …” and “ … I close my eyes to push / away the darting lights,” before the final section: “… Build me a house of light …” —and so the section titles themselves write a kind of tone poem, ending in a prayer for a house, a home. There are eighty-six poems in the book. Music is everywhere, poems like “Night Music,” or the poem called “Recall” with its traces of the reggae vibe that fuels the poet’s poetics, “Reggae’s insinuating bass,” he writes, which “cleaves to my bloodline.”

Created
Sat, 09/11/2024 - 00:08
L’expression “l’ascenseur social est en panne” désigne le déclin de la mobilité sociale, autrement dit, la capacité d’un individu à s’élever au sein de l’échelle sociale grâce à ses efforts et ses compétences. Ce phénomène, autrefois encouragé par l’éducation et le marché du travail, semble aujourd’hui compromis pour une grande partie de la population. En […]
Created
Fri, 08/11/2024 - 23:30

It is a gloomy moment in American history. Kamala Harris has lost the election. Donald Trump and his radical right-wing henchman will soon be the most powerful people on earth. Still, we Democrats can rest easy, knowing that we did a few of the things in our power to stop them.

Hey, “a few things” is a lot more things than we normally do. What exactly did you expect from us here? Iconic media moments? A clear vision for the future? This is the 2024 Democratic Party, pal. The best you’re going to get is the worst debate performance by a standing president of all time and a few shifts to the right on immigration.

Honestly, you should be happy with the mildly effective machine we’ve turned the party into. Back in 2016, we just assumed our candidate was a lock and straight up didn’t give a shit about campaigning in the swing states. This time around? We assumed Trump would eventually self-implode, so we figured we could coast on through with a rapidly aging candidate. I, for one, will find solace in that level of effort as Trump sends out federal agencies to terrorize me.

Created
Fri, 08/11/2024 - 20:17
Trump’s win is a return to the default state of centralised, hierarchical societies – like ours. That’s the problem. By George Monbiot, published in the Guardian  7th November 2024 We were losing slowly. Now we are losing quickly. Democracy, accountability, human rights, social justice – all were rolling backwards as money swarmed our politics. Above […]
Created
Fri, 08/11/2024 - 20:05

MEMBERS of The Friends of the North Coast Regional Botanic Garden have given the thumbs up on a project to renew signage. With a budget of up to $220,000 from the Foundation Fund, the upgrade will be implemented over the next two to three years. Advertise with News of The Area today. It’s worth it...

The post Signage upgrade for Coffs’ Botanic Garden appeared first on News Of The Area.

Created
Fri, 08/11/2024 - 20:03

THE Coffs Harbour Pink Ladies received high recognition at the United Hospital Auxiliaries Annual State Conference, which is now in its 91st year. They received the prestigious Honor Bell for the most money raised (gross) by a country auxiliary. Advertise with News of The Area today. It’s worth it for your business. Message us. Phone...

The post Coffs’ Pink Ladies a fundraising powerhouse appeared first on News Of The Area.

Created
Fri, 08/11/2024 - 20:00

BELLINGEN Shire Council has secured a renewable electricity supply agreement with Iberdrola Australia, extending through to the end of 2030. This agreement is part of a collaborative buyer’s group facilitating a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) for 13 regional councils in New South Wales. Advertise with News of The Area today. It’s worth it for your...

The post Bellingen Council secures long-term renewable electricity supply contract appeared first on News Of The Area.