Teaser Image for May showing the blacony with tomatoes

This! May 202216 min read

[A monthly link list of recommended articles, videos, podcasts, photos, tweets … you name it]

an image or two from my Tumblr
an image or two from my Tumblr
an image or two from my Tumblr
[these are some sad photos, wow]


[Videos]

Die Zivilisationsfrage – A conference at Haus der Kulturen in Berlin inspired by the book The Dawn Of Everything with David Wengrow, Nika Dubrovsky and many more – The videos of the three day conference can be found underneath the program.

No Uterus? No Opinion on Abortions. | The Amber Ruffin Show Exactly my thought.

Why I Quit YouTube Needs to be watched with enough meta perspective. He has some insightful observations, but is completely stuck at the same time.


[Music]

Peaches Performs “Fuck the Pain Away” [UNCENSORED VERSION]

Exceptionnelle démo de beatbox par MB14

45 Minutes of God Save The Queen – “Here is another in my ad hoc series of massive extensions of classic tracks. Elongations to test your endurance and revolt the purists.” Trust me. You needed this.

Eartheater – Mitosis

if the world doesn’t end


[Podcasts]

Strategies For Ecological Revolution From Below with Peter Gelderloos [the final straw] – “This week on The Final Straw, we’re featuring a recent conversation with anarchist author and activist, Peter Gelderloos about his latest book, “The Solutions Are Already Here: Strategies For Ecological Revolution From Below”, published by Pluto Press in 2022.” Peters book is highly recommended.


[Twitter Threads]

[I am on hiatus from twitter, until it is clear if Musk goes through with it or not. But some threads are still great of course]


[Pandemic Roundup by Violet Blue, because, nope, Covid ain’t over]

Pandemic Roundup: May 26, 2022 [patreon]
Pandemic Roundup: May 19, 2022 [patreon]
Pandemic Roundup: May 12, 2022 [patreon]
Pandemic Roundup: May 5, 2022 [patreon]


[The Must Reads This Month]

//cw rape

I Was Raped by My Father. An Abortion Saved My Life. [nyt] – “As a survivor of childhood rape and pregnancy — and today a law professor who teaches constitutional law and bioethics — I recognize the grave dangers of the current crop of abortion bans.” This is from Nov. 2021, but more pressing than ever.

Muskelmänner, Hoden-Bestrahlung und Faschismus – Von “300” bis zu Tucker Carlson [54books] – “Der Faschismus benötigt einen immerwährenden Kriegszustand. Dabei muss es sich nicht um einen realen Krieg handeln – stattdessen wird ein Narrativ aufgebaut, in dem das “echte” Volk von außen bedroht wird. Von äußeren Feinden, die man gleichzeitig als unglaublich mächtig, aber auch als verabscheuungswürdig und degeneriert abwertet. Um dieser immerwährenden Bedrohung entgegenzutreten und die Feinde besiegen zu können, braucht es nach diesem Verständnis im Faschismus Männer – und zwar physisch starke Männer, die nicht nur in der Lage sind, große Autoreifen durch die Gegend zu werfen, sondern die auch durch ihre übermächtige Physis den Gegner abschrecken können.” Der Mechanismus, aufgepretzelt.

The Scientific World Is Far Too Obsessed With “Genius” [jacobin] – “We’ve been conditioned to believe that scientific advances come from individual geniuses making breakthrough discoveries. That’s wrong.” The cult of the genius is at the bases of so many inequalities.


[Articles English]

Commemorating the Life of Christina Yuna Lee [hyperallergic] – “with her name, penetrate earth’s floor remembers the Korean-American creative producer who was murdered in Lower Manhattan at age 35.” Art responding to this shocking anti-asian hate crime.

Who owns 4chan? [arstechnica] – “4chan’s relationship with a Japanese toymaker has remained remarkably murky.” Ugh, the beast we unleashed.

Long COVID risk falls only slightly after vaccination, huge study shows [nature] – “The limited protection provided by vaccines means that withdrawing measures such as mask mandates and social-distancing restrictions might be putting more people at risk — particularly those with compromised immune systems.” Vaccines are of course still recommended. But are you kidding me, taking the risk of getting LongCovid by dropping all protective measures? It’s just plain dumb.

From Gamergate to AmberTurd: The alt-right is hijacking the Depp v Heard trial [independent] – “For the trolls and incels – anything that adds to their goal of making women more afraid to speak out is welcomed. But others who have become more aligned with the alt-right may find themselves at the mercy of the same followers in future, and the overall effect on women’s rights could be catastrophic.” I don’t usually link to the independent and because of this title I almost didn’t. But this article is indeed decent.

Who owns Einstein? The battle for the world’s most famous face [the guardian] – “Thanks to a savvy California lawyer, Albert Einstein has earned far more posthumously than he ever did in his lifetime. But is that what the great scientist would have wanted?” What a shite legal system allwoing such things.

They’re Worried About The Spread Of Information, Not Disinformation [substack] – “We are not being protected by a compassionate alliance of corporations and governments who only want us to know the truth, we are being manipulated and oppressed by an oligarchic empire that wants us to believe lies. That’s why they’re locking up Assange, that’s why they’re censoring the internet, that’s why they’re filling our minds with propaganda, and that’s why we can’t let them win.” Free Assange. Now. No yesterday. WTF, man?!

Possible discovery of mechanism behind mysterious COVID-19 symptoms [medicalexpress] – “The research team studies illnesses which are caused by misfolded proteins, of which Alzheimer’s disease in the brain is the most well-known example. The researchers noted that there are many similarities between COVID-19-related symptoms and those which are observed in illnesses caused by misfolded proteins.” Like fucking Alzheimer’s?!

The Rise of Insta-Artists and Insta-Poets [lithub] – “Rather than the “death of the author” heralded by French novelist and philosopher Roland Barthes in the 1960s, are we now witnessing its counterpoint—a cultural sphere where nothing remains but a cult of celebrity being played out on digital platforms?” It really is that glum.

Discord and 4chan Are Being Investigated for the Buffalo Attack. Nothing Will Happen. [vice] – “New York’s attorney general is looking into a number of social media companies over their role in the Buffalo shooting. Legal experts say little can be done.” Nothing can be done, wtf lol.

If You Think Free Speech Is Defined By Your Ability To Be An Asshole Without Consequence, You Don’t Understand Free Speech (But You Remain An Asshole) [techdirt] – “One of the more frustrating things about the various “debates” regarding “free speech” lately, is how little they are actually about free speech. Quite often, they are actually about people who are quite upset about having to face social consequences for their own free speech. But facing social consequences has always been part of free speech. Indeed, it’s part of the vaunted “marketplace of ideas.” If people think your ideas aren’t worth shit, they may ignore or shun you… or encourage others to do the same.” Assholes gonna asshole.

“Free Speech” Ought to Mean More than Mocking Trans People [bulwark] – “Twitter is a private company, and its rules are up to its owners, whether that’s Elon Musk or anyone else. As a supporter of the First Amendment, I accept that, even if I don’t agree with their choices. But as someone who greatly values free speech—not just legal protections from government, but a culture that fosters expression and dialogue—I refuse to cede the concept of free speech to those who think a defining feature is trolls trying to drive trans people and other minorities off social media.” The first amendment has called. It wants its integrity back.

When the Culture War *is* Class War [verso] – “In recent years, major publishing houses have pulled books by director Woody Allen, provocateur Milo Yiannopolous, and biographer Blake Bailey. They faced pushback for deals with vice-president Mike Pence, pseudo-guru Jordan Peterson, and philosopher Holly Lawford-Smith. Such events make it tempting to point to the book industry as another culture war battleground. But while it’s easy to slot events into the debate on “cancel culture” – and to invent new types of cancellations to be mad at – these can also be read as an index of something more: workers’ power and desire to shape the products of their labor.” Class war or people just fighting back, voicing their damn opinion, not having it that all this bullshit keeps getting platformed.

Waste Russian Time – “I donʼt know Russian. Should I call anyway?
Yes, block the lines! You can always guess something from the voices. And the more Duma employees are irritated, the better. But we also let bots call automatically in the background – so it doesnʼt depend on you.” Nice hack.

Discrimination Is Breaking People’s Hearts [nature] – “Heart attacks, strokes and other consequences of cardiovascular disease are particularly dangerous for people who face inequity.” Medicine does not only have a gender gap, it also has a class and race gap.

White Supremacist Massacres Ten People in Buffalo, NY [igd] – “On Saturday, May 14th, 18-year-old white supremacist Payton S. Gendron drove over 200 miles to a black neighborhood in east Buffalo and gunned down ten black people in cold blood. When the cops showed up, Gendron aimed the gun at himself; but, as any friend would, the cops talked him into surrender.” The cops talked him down. Because he is white.

Homeless People in the US Are Being Murdered at a Horrific Rate [jacobin] – “Homelessness is one of the most grotesque horrors of US capitalism. And even worse, according to new reporting by Jacobin, the rate of murders of homeless people has spiked to appalling new highs.” I used to quite like the so called USA, starting to just be appalled.

Margaret Thatcher statue egged within hours of it being installed [the guardian] – “The memorial of the former prime minister in her home town of Grantham was unveiled without ceremony” As it should be.

Calling a man ‘bald’ is sexual harassment, employment tribunal rules [the guardian] – “Tony Finn, who worked at West Yorkshire manufacturing firm for 24 years, is in line for compensation” Oh come the fuck on.

April 2022 Global Climate Report [ncei] – “The April 2022 global surface temperature was 0.85°C (1.53°F) above the 20th century average and tied with 2010 as the fifth highest for April in the 143-year record. The 10 warmest April months have occurred since 2010, with the years 2014–2022 all ranking among the 10 warmest Aprils on record. This marked the 46th consecutive April and the 448th consecutive month with temperatures, at least nominally, above the 20th century average.” It’s still happening guys.

How America’s Evangelicals Became an Anti-Abortion Machine [intercept] – “The books and lectures of Francis Schaeffer played a key role in politicizing Protestant evangelicals and turning them against Roe v. Wade.” Probably oversimplified, but it is important to know about Schaeffer.

If We Want the Supreme Court to Stop Legislating, We Need Real Legislators to Do Their Jobs [current affairs] – “Some leftists are starting to believe that Democrats want abortion rights hanging in the wind so they can continue to pressure disaffected voters to the polls. But even if you aren’t that cynical, here’s what we do know: women’s rights are hanging in the balance because Democratic politicians, ignoring populist majorities behind them, have been afraid of the so-called culture wars.” Too caught up within the bi-partisan frame set, but she makes some valid points.

Alarm after EHRC says long Covid should not be treated as disability [the guardian] – “Equalities watchdog statement provokes backlash from coronavirus support groups and unions” And here they go. Sadly this was to be expected.

How ‘Tucker Carlson Tonight’ Fuels Extremism and Fear [nyt] – Interactive reportage just how far in the rabbit hole he has gone.

Flying Kites with Simone de Beauvoir [existential comics] – Is is a kite though.

“The Sanctuary” by Swoon in North Braddock, Pennsylvania [streetartnews] – “Swoon grew up with drug addicted parents who went through the U.S. incarceration system. This left a major impact on her and her practice, leading her to start the nonprofit The Heliotrope Foundation to help communities in crisis through artist collaborations.” The crowd funding may have ended, but do check this out, great project.

France: Our Future Belongs to Us [anarchist federation] – “voting is useless, no radical change in the situation in which we find will not come about by the power of the ballot. The more we turn away from alienating forms of politics, the more we show ourselves capable of working out our own, spontaneous and instinctive, and of choosing their content ourselves. We have nothing to expect from this left, and everything to gain by breaking with it.”

They Turned The Internet’s 3D Dancing Baby Meme into an NFT [gizmodo] – “The early Internet GIF is now an NFT because nothing is sacred anymore.” Please.

How a Racist Statue in Iceland Ended up Inside a Rocket Ship [hyperallergic] – “Artists Bryndís Björnsdóttir and Steinunn Gunnlaugsdóttirand said they wanted to symbolically launch “The First White Mother in America” into space.” Nice rocket, too.

PayPal Has Begun Quietly Shuttering Left-Wing Media Accounts [jaobin] – “Over the past week, PayPal canceled without explanation the accounts of two prominent independent news outlets. It escaped notice by the mainstream press, which spent the weekend congratulating itself over the freedom to criticize the powerful.” But of course they would.


[Articles German/French]

Reihe über digitalen Kolonialismus: Der blutige Fußabdruck unserer digitalen Geräte [netzpolitik] – “Weder Smartphones noch Elektroautos würden ohne Kobalt funktionieren. Doch die Bergleute, die den wertvollen Rohstoff im Kongo abbauen, leben in Armut und Gefahr. Viele von ihnen sind noch Kinder. Ein Gerichtsverfahren zeigt, wie schwer es ist, Tech-Unternehmen wie Tesla oder Apple zur Verantwortung zu ziehen.” Whenever you mention this, a whole troll army starts to straw man you accusing you of not wanting to do anything about climate change.

„Ich mache kein Kino mehr“ [faq] -“ich mache kein Kino mehr. Okay, das höre ich zum ersten Mal. Weil ich es gerade erst beschlossen habe. Wieso? Aus politischen Gründen. Denn die Filmindustrie ist absolut reaktionär, rassistisch und patriarchalisch.” She has the right attitude.

Bekämpfung der Coronapandemie: Zeit für „Fuck you, Omikron“-Shirts [taz] – “Wir können nach zwei Jahren Pandemie endlich durchatmen? Nicht, wenn wir an Long Covid denken.” Fuck Covid. Fuck Omicron. And fuck TAZ for printing that horrendous article the week before. At least this response was also printed.

Verge­wal­ti­gung als Kriegs­waffe? Einige Über­le­gungen zu sexueller Gewalt im Krieg gegen die Ukraine [gdg] – “Meldungen über Vergewaltigungen von russischen Soldaten an Ukrainer:innen mehren sich. Doch wer spricht wie über diese Gewalt? Was kommt dabei nicht zur Sprache? Und wie lassen sich solche Verbrechen vor Gericht bringen?” Heavy stuff. But we gotta look.

Image, thought, and the making of social worlds [uni-heidelberg] – “Welche Bedeutung und welchen Status haben Bildersysteme in menschlichen Kulturen? Das komplexe Zusammenspiel zwischen Bildern, Vorstellungen, mentalen Prozessen und der Konstruktionen des Sozialen vom prä-kolumbischen Amerika bis zum antiken Mittelmeerraum und China ist das Thema der in diesem Band vereinten Originalbeiträge. Sie wenden sich gegen die Vorstellung, Bildern seien nicht mehr als illustrative Ausdrücke des in Sprache oder Schrift Artikulierten.” Free ebook, in english actually.

Chatkontrolle: Wie ein Hollywoodstar für mehr Überwachung wirbt [netzpolitik] – “Das neue Überwachungsgesetz der EU zur Durchleuchtung privater Chats verdanken wir Ursula von der Leyen. Neben vielen Kritikerinnen hat es es prominente Freunde. Neue Dokumente zeigen, wie der Schauspieler Ashton Kutcher mit seiner Organisation in Brüssel für Überwachungstechnologie lobbyierte – offenbar erfolgreich.” Kutcher poster boy to brake end-to-end encryption, Depp poster boy of the MeToo backlash. STFU hollywood.

Anti-sapiens [lundi.am] – “Les rêves qu’il nous propose ne nous font qu’à moitié sourire : transhumanisme cyborg, bonheur médicalement assisté, immortalité,généralisation de l’intelligence artificielle, prolongement de l’extractivisme jusqu’aux confins de la galaxie. On devine plus aisément dans quel camp il concourt et pourquoi il plaît tant à nos dirigeants. Comment sa lecture de l’histoire à l’apparence d’objectivité pose-t-elle les bases de telles prophéties ?” It’s a book deconstructing Harari.

Egomane auf Einkaufstour [woz] – “Der Erwerb des Kurznachrichtendiensts Twitter durch den Milliardär Elon Musk ist eine schlechte Nachricht für die Öffentlichkeit im Netz.” Fuck Musk, he ain’t a genius, he’s just a sociopath with a huge ego.

Drei Nazis auf dem Kran [woz] – “Und die Moral von der Geschichte? Von wegen «Sichere Grenzen, sichere Zukunft», wie es auf dem Transparent heisst: Die Migrant:innen in der Schweiz bauen nicht nur die Strassen und Häuser. Am Ende räumen sie auch noch den Gedankenschrott weg.” Should be a movie.

«Sie wollen, dass wir sie in Ruhe lassen» [woz] – “Schweizer Nichtregierungsorganisationen sehen sich immer öfter mit Klagen konfrontiert. Unternehmen versuchen so, kritische Berichterstattung zu verhindern – und wissen die Schweizer Politik auf ihrer Seite. Nun bündelt sich der Widerstand.” Corrupt Switzerland.


[Older articles, still great]

EBN – Electronic Behavior Control System

The Flamethrowers [cbc] – ““The Flamethrowers” captures the punch-you-in-the-mouth energy and sound of right-wing talk radio. Host Justin Ling takes us from the fringe preachers and conspiracy peddlers of the 1920s to the political firestorm that rages today. With humour and candour, Ling examines the appeal of broadcasters like Rush Limbaugh, who found a sleeping audience, radicalized it, and became an accidental kingmaker — culminating in the election of Donald Trump.” The presenters voice is annoying, but it’s a good podcast.

The Ticking Bomb of Crypto Fascism [in these times] – “They will be radicalized. This will not be experienced as simply a decline in prices, because crypto represents much more than a simple investment to its most fervent adherents — it represents a way out of the American trap. It represents the existence of opportunity, the possibility of economic mobility, the validation of the idea that you, a regular, hard working person without connections, can go from the bottom to the top, thanks to nothing but your own savvy choices. When that myth is shattered, disillusionment with the American system will follow. Unfortunately, given the realities of the moment, these newly disillusioned and radicalized and angry and broke people are far more likely to turn to fascism than to socialism.” Crypto bros scare the living shit out of me.


R.I.P.

Too many of Covid – still.


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Header Photo: Balkonien

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