[A monthly link list of recommended articles, videos, podcasts, photos, tweets … you name it]
[Videos]
The Manipulations of Matt Walsh’s “What is a Woman?” – I hate the Matt Walshs of this world so fucking much.
A Brief Look at Jordan Peterson – It’s realy very brief. “Don’t check the timecode!”
[Music]
Deichkind – In Der Natur (Official Video) – Yeh lol.
Danger Mouse & Black Thought – Belize (feat. MF DOOM) – – The entire album is awesome.
OMA x MF DOOM: Rapp Snitch Knishes (Instrumental) Live
Hudson Mohawke – Bicstan – “Dancer – Patti Harrison”
[Podcasts]
Stream Elite Capture w/ Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò – “Beatrice and Phil speak with Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò about the politics of “getting a seat at the table” and his book Elite Capture: How the Powerful Took Over Identity Politics (And Everything Else).”
“Mehr Geld für Forschung und Aufklärung” – Interview m. Margarete Stokowski [dlf] – Very good interview on LongCovid.
Standards of Care w/ Beans Velocci – “We talk to Beans Velocci about the early history of medicalized transition in the US, how the earliest clinical guidelines were largely written with physician indemnity in mind, and the harms of the perpetual myth that trans and nonbinary people are a novel phenomenon. Beans Velocci is a historian of sex, science, and classification, and an Assistant Professor in History and Sociology of Science and Core Faculty in Gender, Women’s, and Sexuality Studies at the University of Pennsylvania.”
[Twitter Threads]
There's a *lot* of competition for the title of "Most On-The-Nose Symbol of Late Stage Capitalism," but I think there's a strong case for awarding the crown to #VaccineApartheid – the decision to deny covid vaccines to billions of poor people in the Global South. 1/ pic.twitter.com/5uYW2FNdZA
— Cory Doctorow AFK until Sept 7 (@doctorow) August 24, 2022
"all you anarchists do is organize book clubs and get into fights with chuds, how are you a proper Leftist movement" was a question I got asked by a pro-state leftist earlier today. so let's talk about the visibility (and invisibility) of anarchist work.
— Margaret Killjoy 🏴 (@magpiekilljoy) August 13, 2022
Very excited to share our latest research on immunological features of #LongCovid. Our 2+ year collaboration with @PutrinoLab with many other fantastic colleagues and patients – Mount Sinai Yale Long COVID (MY-LC) study by @sneakyvirus1 et al. 🧵(1/) https://t.co/8cGj51HyGn
— Prof. Akiko Iwasaki (@VirusesImmunity) August 10, 2022
In 1969, #Berkeley residents rose up + transformed a vacant lot owned by @UCBerkeley into an autonomous park after hundreds of residents were evicted through eminent domain. Police responded with live rounds, killing one + injuring over 100. This was just the start. A thread. pic.twitter.com/J8yl9nz7O5
— It's Going Down (@IGD_News) August 4, 2022
[The Must Read[s] This Month]
Hate fascism? Then don’t be a health supremacist – “Masks are a simple and generally effective measure to help protect others and mitigate the spread of an airborne virus. The fact that so many treat the minimal inconvenience of wearing a mask as infinitely more important than the protection it offers to others, when they know that some really require that protection, shows that they regard those who seek such protection against covid as inferior.” This is from May. But since it so fucking brilliant and to the point, it’s the must-read of the month. Health supremacy was the missing piece of the puzzle.
[The Pandemic Roundup (i think i forgot this last month)]
Pandemic Roundup: August 25, 2022
Pandemic Roundup: August 18, 2022
Pandemic Roundup: August 11, 2022
Pandemic Roundup: August 4, 2022
Please do not allow them to gaslight you, the pandemic is not over, protect yourself and your loved ones, you do not want to be side-lined bu LongCovid like i am.
[Articles English]
To End All War: An Interview With Diamanda Galás [quietus] – “Upon the release of her new album Broken Gargoyles, Diamanda Galás discusses her unflinching exploration of soldiers mutilated by war, the album’s roots in the poetry of Georg Heym and the photos of Ernst Friedrich, and why the pandemic was a prompt to live in the moment.” Galas is radical. Intense music.
The Wonderful World of Animal Senses and How it Expands Our View of the Universe [current affairs] – “the idea of sensory pollution. That’s the concept that we have flooded the world with too much light and too much noise in places and at times where it doesn’t belong. We’ve flooded the darkness with light and the quiet with sound. And all of that can actually be surprisingly detrimental to animals around us. Light at night disturbs pollinating insects, migrating birds, and hatchling sea turtles, sometimes with fatal results. Sound pollution drives many animals away from areas that they would otherwise be very happy in.” If i had a dog i would let it sniff sniff and sniff some more.
The Trans Alpaca Ranchers of Custer County Are Forging a New Frontier [businessinsider] – “The ranch was created as a place where trans women could live freely and safely. Those who call it home share more than just their transness, but also a commitment to a certain worldview. They identify as anarchist leftists, have plenty of guns, and want to be left alone to operate in a collective, community-based fashion.” I love these guys, but the gun wearing would kill me.
Pussy Riot talks ‘Matriarchy Now’ [nps] – “the song is dedicated to magic thinking. I really believe that it is important to keep this magic and childlike, naive approach to life – to be able to fantasize about a better world because it’s something that unlocks your imagination and our collective imagination. And think about if build a world where everyone’s free and there is no prisons, and money just fall from the tree and there is no police and celebrating your own power. ‘Cause it basically says, we can just destroy you by saying poof, and you will be gone. And, you know, it’s just – it’s really empowering to feel like that. I feel a lot like that. And, like, when I think about Putin, I liked it. I like to think in this way. And I believe that one day I will make him disappear.” Make Putin dissapear.
“The Earth Is Telling Us It’s Exhausted”: An Interview With Poet Natalie Diaz [truthout] – “This is the land telling us it’s tired. It’s tired of sustaining us when we can’t reciprocate the relationship that I believe was set out for us. I don’t have the articulation yet, but I do think there’s something about when we do acknowledge what we’ve done, or even our refusal to acknowledge what we’ve done. It’s still such a dominion, right? Like we are holding dominion over the land and we will direct it. We are definitely a part of the momentum of what’s happening to water, to Earth, to climate. Yet this is also very much the Earth telling us it’s exhausted. It’s ready to start cleaning itself. It’s ready to move on to its next iteration.” I love her poetic approach.
There Are Good Reasons to Defund the FBI. They Have Nothing to Do With Trump. [truthout] – “The history of the FBI is one of repressing movements for liberation and carrying out wars on marginalized communities.” If you think about it it’s just hilarious that the law and order party GOP now asks to defund the FBI. Because it should be defunded, just for other reasons than theirs.
Google Maps Is Leading Abortion Seekers to Pro-Life Religious Centers [bloomberg] – “Google Maps routinely misleads people looking for abortion providers, a new analysis by Bloomberg News has found. When users type the words “abortion clinic” into the Maps search bar, crisis pregnancy centers account for about a quarter of the top 10 search results on average across all 50 US states, plus Washington D.C., according to data Bloomberg collected in July. In 13 states, including Arkansas, South Carolina and Idaho where the procedure is newly limited, five or more of the top 10 results were for CPCs, not abortion clinics.” I can’t even say don’t be evil.
Pussy Riot’s Nadya interview: ‘There is no such thing as reverse sexism – meninists can fuck off’ [the independent] – “I find it really effective, because it breaks a bunch of stereotypes about gender, sexuality and power. Dominatrix culture is a really potent source of inspiration for me as a feminist, because it turns upside down the models of oppression that have been used on us for ages. Dominatrix culture requires the consent of every party involved. This is a big difference to the classic patriarchal model where women, or anyone who is not a cis, hetero white male, have never been asked if they want to be in a submissive position.” Nadya at her brilliant best.
‘Social contagion’ isn’t causing more youths to be transgender, study finds [nbc] – “The study, published in Pediatrics, disputes the theory that more adolescents, particularly those assigned female at birth, are identifying as trans due to social influence.” TERF lies debunked.
Stop Telling Americans That They’re “Tired of Covid” [the nation] – “By telling the public that they are tired, the administration is lowering expectations, promising less, and excusing its own shortcomings—in keeping with a broader strategy to shift responsibility for pandemic outcomes onto individuals.” Same dynamic is happening in Switzerland, it’s a collective madness.
UK Columnist: Because Salman Rushdie Got Stabbed, We Should Regulate Online Speech, Get Rid Of Anonymity, And Hold Social Media Responsible [techdirt] – “I honestly don’t understand the thought process behind this column. Salman Rushdie got stabbed, because of foolish people overreacting to a book he wrote… and therefore, it is incumbent on us to blame anonymity and social media platforms… even though they had nothing to do with any of this. How does shit like this get published in the Guardian?” The guardian is drifting to the right so hard.
‘We borrow our lands from our children’: Sami say they are paying for Sweden going green [the guardian] – “Indigenous reindeer herders fear the drive towards a more sustainable economy is destroying their traditional way of life and identity” Solidarity with the Sami people, this green economy bullshit has a huge price, we need a system change. But i have been saying this for 45 years.
A Medicine for Melancholy: How Magic Mushrooms Can Teach Us To Tell Ourselves New Stories. | Mark Dery | – “The mind, as every writer knows too well, is an excellent servant but a terrible master. Psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy is helping sufferers from depression, anxiety, and addiction. But it also holds out hope for those of us (especially writers) haunted by the existential blues — the is-that-all-there-is? feeling that nothing means anything.” Tried psylo, didn’t help me. Hope it does help others though.
July 2022 Global Climate Report [ncei] – “The July 2022 global surface temperature departure was the sixth highest for July in the 143-year record at 0.87°C (1.57°F) above the 20th century average of 15.8°C (60.4°F). The five warmest Julys on record have all occurred since 2016. July 2022 also marked the 46th consecutive July and the 451st consecutive month with temperatures, at least nominally, above the 20th century average.” We know what we need to do, change the fucking system.
The Documenta, Indonesia, and the Problem of Closed Universes [the new fascism syllabus] – “It is important to distinguish between a totally unacceptable antisemitism and legitimate critique of Israel. This difference is very important, because it concerns artistic freedom regarding differing political positions. In the one, there is no chance to see things from other perspectives. In the other, it must be possible to see a complex issue from another perspective, or from the perspective of another: “to grasp the pain of others,” as Charlotte Wiedemann aptly puts it.” One brave person who still dares to say it.
Capitalism Is Making Us Sick and Sucking Us Dry [truthout] – “Framing health as a personal responsibility doesn’t work. And it’s one of the greatest tricks that capitalism has ever pulled” Sick of this bullshit.
Who Owns the Park? [verso] – “Whatever else People’s Park is or isn’t, it remains a highly potent statement of anti-capitalist defiance. Taking up a block of extremely valuable East Bay real estate, it turns a profit for no one. It looks the region’s masters in the eyes and says you can’t have everything.” Fond memories arise.
Long-COVID treatments: why the world is still waiting [nature] – “After a slow start, researchers are beginning to test ways to combat the lasting symptoms of the disease.” Oh fuck you. Beginning? Two and a half year in?
A Thing for the Mind [timothy taylor] – “Six decades after Philip Guston (1913 – 1980) first shocked the art world, the sweeping ambition of his vision continues to reshape the realm of the possible for artists who have followed in his wake. His paintings blend a precise vocabulary of concerns then without precedent in American painting: mundane domestic objects, body parts and cityscapes within abstract fields of paint. As humorous and personal as they are politically incisive, his paintings draw a vivid picture of Guston’s own muddled dreamscape of fears and anxieties as well as of society’s worst impulses.” And my friend Jon Chester is not in it… How?
How the New York Times Uses “Experts” [substack] – “A Case Study in Ethics and Manipulation”
Notable people map – “Using data from Morgane Laouenan et al., the map is showing birthplaces of the most “notable people” around the world. Data has been processed to show only one person for each unique geographic location with the highest notability rank. Click below to show people only from a specific category.” Everything is wrong here. But fun project.
This summer may be one of the most consequential in US democracy | Thomas Zimmer [the guardian] – “The Long Summer of 2022 began in May, when the abortion opinion draft leaked, and continued through a series of brutal rulings and congressional hearings” Bit middle of the road maybe, but decent overview.
Climate endgame: risk of human extinction ‘dangerously underexplored’ [the guardian] – “Scientists say there are ample reasons to suspect global heating could lead to catastrophe” You don’t say. OMG.
[Articles German/French]
Pussy Riot: «Das Graffiti ist ein Kampf auf eine andere Art» [srf] – “Heute Morgen sah ich, dass unser Graffiti entfernt wurde. Die anderen Graffitis rundherum, die zum grössten Teil keinen Sinn haben, wurden aber stehen gelassen. Warum? Das ist heuchlerisch. Bedeutet das, dass die Leute hier nichts vom Krieg hören wollen? Das ist nicht gut. Insbesondere, wenn man beachtet, dass die Schweiz russischen Oligarchen die Möglichkeit gab, Häuser zu kaufen und Bankkonten zu eröffnen.” What a joke this country is. I hate Switzerland with an immesurable passion.
Verlorene Unschuld – Über Wut und Winnetou [54books] – “Mit der Unschuld kindlicher Kulturrezeption verteidigen Erwachsene auch die eigene politische Unschuld. Anders lässt sich nicht erklären, dass auf eine dermaßen unreflektierte Art die Tatsache beiseitegeschoben wird, wie politisch Kinderliteratur tatsächlich ist. Die kindliche Lektüre selbst mag unschuldig sein, aber was schließlich zum Kanon gehört, war schon immer extrem umstritten. Man kann dieses Konfliktpotential auch als produktiv ansehen, als eine Herausforderung für die ständige Revision dessen, was uns an Fiktionen begeistert. Aber dafür müsste man aus einer erwachsenen Perspektive argumentieren und nicht aus der Perspektive der verletzten kindlichen Unschuld.” Sums the debate up nicely, sans plus.
Cultural Appropriation: Warum simm mir nur so wüetig? – “Und es gäbe so viel wichtiges zu tun auf dem Weg zu Anerkennung, radikaler Vielfalt und gelebter Solidarität. Stattdessen werden wir Weissen erst einmal wütend und fühlen uns bedroht wenn wir denn mal Widerspruch erfahren. Wenn wir mit Gefühlen, Argumenten und Geschichten anderer Menschen konfrontiert werden. Warum all diese white fragility?” Some of this is pretty blah, the usual killer arguments that leave no room for discussion. But some points in there.
Die Ersten in Europa – das „Motherchapter“ der HSN, die «Schweizer Hammerskins» [exif] – “Vor nunmehr 32 Jahren importierten Schweizer Neonazis das Konzept der neonazistischen Bruderschaft aus den USA nach Europa und gründeten 1990 die «Schweizer Hammerskins» (SHS). Drei Jahrzehnte, in denen das Schweizer Chapter durch Gewalttaten, politische Agitation und Einfluss auf das internationale RechtsRock-Geschehen auffiel. Bis zu 60 Personen durchliefen seit der Gründung nachweislich die Vollmitgliedschaft der SHS, etliche weitere schafften es über den Status als Anwärter nicht hinaus. Aktuell unterhält das Chapter bis zu 20 aktive Mitglieder. Hinzu kommt die unterstützende Struktur, die «Crew 38 Zentralschweiz».” Great research into disgusting stuff.
Festspiele gegen den Terror [woz] – “Könnte in Zukunft die Armee aufgeboten werden, wenn die Klimabewegung Autobahnen blockiert, wie es dieses Jahr schon die Gruppe Renovate Switzerland gemacht hat? Wird in Bern tatsächlich die Bekämpfung von Aufständen geprobt, die aufgrund der Weltlage auch in der Schweiz immer wahrscheinlicher werden?” Fuck Fides.
Geschlechter-Identität: Warum die transfeindliche Debatte einfach nicht verstummt [der spiegel] – “Im Namen von Biologie, Feminismus oder Meinungsfreiheit werden im Diskurs um trans* Personen weit verbreitete Ressentiments beschworen. Es ist eine Allianz von Interessengruppen, zu der die Medien ihren Teil beitragen.” TERFs and anti-germans, designed to fuck up the radical left. And yes, that does sound like a conspiracy theory. But tbh, i would so not be surprised.
Alte Jugendgruppe: Was macht eigentlich die „Identitäre Bewegung“? [belltower.news] – “Um die „Identitäre Bewegung“, die sich viele Jahre als ansprechendste rechtsextreme Jugendbewegung inszenierte, schien es in der Pandemie ruhiger geworden zu sein. Was ist aus ihr geworden?” Sie sind jetzt wieder Nazis.
Hass gegen Dana Mahr: Der transfeindliche Mob auf Twitter [belltower.news] – “Die Soziologin Dana Mahr ist seit Wochen Betroffene einer transfeindlichen Kampagne, die auf Twitter ausgetragen wird. Diese Kampagne ist Teil einer großflächigen Delegitimation von Transpersonen und einer Diskursverschiebung nach rechts.” Biologistische Biologinnen sind das Problem, nicht die Lösung.
Werbemillionen gegen die Demokratie [republik] – “Schweizer Unternehmen und Organisationen finanzieren mit ihren Online-Inseraten Desinformationsportale. Jährlich fliessen Millionen – meist unwissentlich – an rechtspopulistische Seiten wie «Breitbart». Der Werbeberater Michael Maurantonio will das stoppen. Doch die Branche scheut Transparenz.” It’s an angle. Sure.
Radikale Normalos [berliner-zeiting] – “Die Jagd ist eröffnet auf zwei Minderheiten: Transfrauen und Prostituierte. Warum trifft es gerade uns?” Shit’s fucked up and bullshit.
[Older articles, still great]
Jordan Peterson’s Ideology – “A definition and demonstration of what ideology is, using Peterson’s new book as the example!”
Connecting the Manosphere – “In this video F.D continues examining the modern online manosphere by looking at several figures that shape what the manosphere is and what it is capable of. In this video F.D argues that the problem in the manosphere isn’t just it’s misogyny, but how it presents masculinity as a whole, and this aspect makes it more damaging to everyone else.”
Alles Ausser der Bürde [jens kastner] – “Der versuchte subkulturelle Ausbruch aus der Dominanzgesellschaft sollte vom folkloristischen Aufgreifen doch unterschieden werden.” This to me is one of the best takes on cultural appropriation, and yes, it was sadly written by a white old man. But see next:
Exiting the Vampire Castle [opendemocracy] – “We need to learn, or re-learn, how to build comradeship and solidarity instead of doing capital’s work for it by condemning and abusing each other. This doesn’t mean, of course, that we must always agree – on the contrary, we must create conditions where disagreement can take place without fear of exclusion and excommunication.” As the left gets more and more lost in essentialist identitarianism it is time to re-read this essay by the late Mark Fisher.
R.I.P.
Too many migrants trying to reach Europe, way too many people because of the pandemic that is still not over, and some irrelevant famous people.
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Header Photo: A butter bun