[A monthly link list of recommended articles, videos, podcasts, photos, tweets … you name it]
[Someone please explain to me why I am giving myself RSI for this]
[Videos]
The Alt-Right Playbook: The Cost of Doing Business [youTube]
PAW Patrol’s Dark Secret, Explained
The History Of Giving Someone The Middle Finger – đ
Pandemic Politics and the Viral Underclass with Steven Thrasher
[Music]
the lick with just… 92 instruments
[Podcasts]
Pandemic Nihilism and the Banality of Evil w/ Nate Holdren [see also article bellow]
[FRENCH] Comment les fantasmes de complots dĂ©fendent le systĂšme [lundi.am] – “Ă lâoccasion de la publication en français de Q comme qomplot, une enquĂȘte historique, philosophique et littĂ©raire sur le conspirationnisme, son auteur Wu Ming 1 est passĂ© nous rendre visite.” Loved this, and i immediately downloaded the book, next on my read list.
Health Communism: Toward a New Political Economy of Health Such a fan. Thanks you guys!
[Twitter Threads]
Iâm going to repeat a point I made in this ep & explain what the idea of the sociological production of the end of the pandemic actually means: We have not learned from COVID. The âendâ is not a sudden development itâs been happening for years (we first covered it in fall â20)đ https://t.co/jIOLhtS74n
— Beatrice Adler-Bolton (@realLandsEnd) September 24, 2022
Quick 𧔠for the men out there.. or for the men in your lives⊠more specifically those who think COVID is âjust a fluâ and masks are not necessary anymore.
I call this thread #dontlookdown— Jess đș (@MeetJess) September 14, 2022
Wir erleben einen kollektiven Massenwahn. #LongCOVID should have been the game changer. https://t.co/RvWdhW1l10
— Anti. đ (@AntiAll3s) September 17, 2022
✠Message d'Eric Cantona đ¶đŠ
« Moi, lâamoureux de foot, Ă contre coeur, jâai pris ma dĂ©cision, je vais le suivre, lui et dâautres personnalitĂ©s comme Philipp lahm, Vincent Lindon et jâen passe. Je ne regarderai pas un seul match de cette coupe du monde. #Qatar2022#Thread pic.twitter.com/zTqNcMrzST
— Cerveaux non disponibles (@CerveauxNon) September 13, 2022
[The Must Read[s] This Month]
We Will Return to Pandemic Protections Within a Year [cosmonaut] – “Life is proceeding as ânormalâ while every moment in public, for anyone living in reality, is fraught with anxiety. It is like watching a dream world of sleepers play-act their lives. Astoundingly, even as a new more transmissible variant surges (and recombinant variants start to make their appearance), the dreamers remain asleep and this pattern continues across the western world. Yet far from granting real freedom, this fantasy world traps the medically vulnerable more than ever as their margin of safety to travel outside vanishes. Children in schools are allowed to be repeatedly reinfected and parents are helpless as these infections recirculate within households. Future generations will look back on this period and condemn it as callously eugenic.” This article is from June, but it is so powerful, it must be featured as a must-read.
Alicia Puglionesi | Spiritualism’s Shadows [the yale review] – “In the year 2022, the leaders of the United States have openly declared that the disabled are better off dead, that the working class prefers to be sacrificed to sustain the national economy, and that fear is worse than the morbidity and mortality caused by the novel coronavirus. Anthropologist Martha Lincoln calls this stance necrosecurity: the principle that âmass death among less grievable subjects plays an essential role in maintaining social welfare and public order.â For the right wing, the less grievable are the eugeniÂcally âunfitâ and the racialized, while for Democrats they are people who brought it on themselves by failing to get vaccinated. Each party maintained that only the unworthy would be sacrificed.” Historic persepctive on the pandemic.
Pandemic Nihilism, Social Murder, and the Banality of Evil [bill of health] – “Our challenge is to figure out what sorts of activism and organizing can create meaningful consequences for the various banal functionaries enacting and abetting this latest evil. Our goal should be to bring the pandemic to a substantive end â by promoting justice and actual human health â rather than by bringing it to a merely ideological end by normalizing social murder. In the longer term, our goal should be to end the social patterns that make this society murderous in so many ways â to make this the last such catastrophe, rather than what threatens to be one of many as the global climate emergency continues to worsen.” Activist view on the pandemic. We need to start something like Act Up.
[The Pandemic is not over, don’t let them gaslight into believing this]
Pandemic Roundup: September 29, 2022
Pandemic Roundup: September 22, 2022
Pandemic Roundup: September 15, 2022
Pandemic Roundup: September 8, 2022
Pandemic Roundup: September 1, 2022
[Articles English]
Giorgia Meloni Is Italyâs First Woman PM and Latest Fascist Womanhood Icon | Natasha Lennard [intercept] – “Giorgia Meloni will be Italyâs first woman prime minister â and part of a long tradition of white womanhood being central to fascism.” Don’t know about you but i am in shock still.
We Havenât âLearned the Lessons of COVIDâ Until We Remake the Political Economy of Health [bill of health] – “Health becomes defined by the things it is not. No matter how well you fashion the idea of health as a commodity, there is no way to buy yourself a âperfect body,â or the ability for the body to withstand in perpetuity. The body as a consumer object is a good that is guaranteed to break down. And it is for this reason we say that health â capitalâs own notion of health â is an impossibility under capitalism.” Get the book Health Communism. What can I say.
Voice Changer – Online & Free – A cool tool that might come in handy sometime.
Why You Hate Your Job [current affairs] – “A theory on the function of bullshit jobs: to maintain the illusion of meritocracy and to provide status and prestige for elites.” A look at Graebers Bullshit Jobs from one person who used to have one.
Fascist-Sympathizing Newspaper Barons Were the Blueprint for Todayâs Right-Wing Media [jacobin] – “In the 1930s, six right-wing oligarchs used the USâs and UKâs largest newspapers to spout sensationalist xenophobia, and at times even boost fascist propaganda. Today, Fox News and other right-wing mass media outlets are using the very same blueprint.” The parallels are eary.
Giorgia Meloni is a danger to Italy and the rest of Europe [the guardian] – “Be careful, because where Italy goes, the rest of Europe will soon follow.” This was publised a few days before the election in Italy.
Lil Nas X Is the Anti-Troll [wired] – “Lil Nas X sent members of his team to deliver a stack of piping hot pies to protestors at his Boston show. The complainers, seemingly Christian proselytizers upset that Lil Nas X is queer and/or likes to give lap dances to Satan, declined the slices. But, as the rapper pointed out, the entire scene served as âreally good promoâ for his current Long Live Montero Tour. He also later declared he âaccidentally fell in love with one of the homophobic protestersââthe kind of cunning, (truly) devil-may-care flourish that can be the work of only a true internet native.” Top notch trolling for good.
A mysterious voice is haunting American Airlines’ in-flight announcements and nobody knows how [waxy] – “there are multiple reports of a mysterious voice grunting, moaning, and groaning on American Airlinesâ in-flight announcement systems, sometimes lasting the duration of the flight â and nobody knows whoâs responsible or how they did it.” Could have been annoying but pretty great.
Guerrilla Tenant Group Papers NYC in Anti-Eviction Posters [hyperallergic] – “The Tomato Season collectiveâs campaign, titled âSHAME,â calls attention to the city marshals who enforce evictions, utility shut-offs, and foreclosures, exacerbating the housing crisis.” Strong street art activism from NYC.
âHow Many Women Were Abused to Make That Tesla?â [rolling stone] – “Seven women are suing the Elon Musk-led company, alleging sexual harassment” A long read, in short: what an asshole this so-called “genius” is wow.
New survey suggests reinfection worsens Long COVID [gavi] – “Survey indicates that getting reinfected worsens symptoms of Long COVID or triggers a recurrence of symptoms in people who have recovered.” Relieved to see that my intuition was correct, but the worry goes on.
Queen Elizabeth was no Cuddly Old Dear [pitchfork cosmonaut] – “Being almost a millennium old, the British monarchy (itself an absurd hangover from feudal times) has carried with it some embarrassing traditions into the 21st Century: The Queen holds dominion over all unmarked swans in open waters, and all sturgeon, whales and dolphins within 3 miles of the British coast. In 2004 a Welsh fisherman was investigated by police after catching a 10-foot sturgeon.” Nope, I did not shed one tear for the queen.
I Donât Mourn the Queen [politico] – “The only real difference between Black Brits and Black Americans is that Britain offshored its racist violence to the colonies.” This!
August 2022 Global Climate Report [ncei] – “The August 2022 global surface temperature departure was the sixth highest for August in the 143-year record at 0.90°C (1.62°F) above the 20th century average of 15.6°C (60.1°F). The ten warmest Augusts on record have all occurred since 2009. August 2022 also marked the 46th consecutive August and the 452nd consecutive month with temperatures, at least nominally, above the 20th century average.” We know what to do. We don’t do it.
Documenta Artists âOutragedâ Over Censorship of Pro-Palestine Films [hyperallergic] – “An open letter co-signed by 100 individuals and organizations says the festivalâs advisory council has miscast any criticism of Israel as antisemitic.”
The Curious Case of Gina Adams: A âPretendianâ investigation [macleans] – “She was hired by Emily Carr University in an effort to recruit Indigenous faculty. Then questions arose about her identity.”
How to Compare and Negotiate Funeral Costs [propublica] – “Most people are too traumatized by the loss of a loved one to shop for the best price on a funeral. But now, as the FTC reviews its rules, a consumer advocate explains how to avoid being gouged when youâre most vulnerable.” In the capitalist system you need guides for not getting ripped off after close ones die.
Debunking the Myths of Green Capitalism [current affairs] – “We have to decarbonize very quickly. But everything that we do has a material basis and involves resourcesâprobably a lot of land and labor. And we need to be thinking about whose lands and whose labor and whose lives are being used to sustain our programs of decarbonization. So, from my perspective, a program of decarbonization that is based around doing everything we can to maintain our middle class lifestyle in the global north is inherently one predicated upon a lot of pretty egregious extractivism. It probably means that we are condemning many parts of the world to not only being sacrifice zones for our carbon offset programs or our resource extraction, but also to a future in which we donât leave equivalent space for poor economies to grow and to provide the basics for their people to thrive. To me, that is unjustifiable.” To me as well.
Medicine has taken the place of religion [verso] – “In contemporary societies the most widespread mode of work is care work. The securing of human lives is regarded by our civilization as its supreme goal. Foucault was right when he described modern states as biopolitical. Their main function is to take care of the physical well-being of their populations. In this sense, medicine has taken the place of religion, and the hospital has replaced the Church. The body rather than the soul is the privileged object of institutionalized care: âhealth replaced salvationâ.” The pandemic has not helped here.
The Sounds of Absence and narco-violence [wmmna] – “How do we narrate extreme violence without succumbing to its necropolitical impact? âHow do we make the invisible visible? The unheard audible?â âWhat aesthetic investigative research strategy do creators from Latin America and other post-colonial environments develop to talk about experiences of violence?â And, in the context of the spiral of violence that Mexico is now experiencing, âWhat ethical and artistic challenges do we face?â, âHow do these artistic practices intervene in the social imagination?â âWhat kind of counter-knowledge do we produce as artists during this process?” Very inspiring.
Long COVID and the working class: Brookings Institution report finds millions have left the labor force [wsws] – “These findings are similar to those from a study conducted by the University of South Floridaâs (USF) College of Public Health. In the first year of the pandemic, the USF researchers found that those in low socioeconomic levels died of COVID at a rate five times higher than their more privileged counterparts. Their analysis found that 72 percent of the mortality difference was attributable to essential workersâ inability to participate in remote work. Given the socioeconomic disparities revealed in the COVID pandemic, the working class is bearing the brunt of the Long COVID pandemic.” And where is the left now? WHERE? Sleep walking like the rest of the world pretending the pandemic is over. FUCK!
[Articles German/French]
« Non ti schiantare » : en route vers Rome et le fascisme qui vient [lundi.am] – “A cent ans de distance de la Marche sur Rome de Mussolini et consorts, lâItalie sâaffirme une fois encore comme un laboratoire du monde occidental, avec la possibilitĂ© dâaccession au pouvoir dâun parti descendant direct du fascisme historique.” A good reminder, that Italy has many facets. But vacationing there is off for now.
Grundkurs Geschlechterideologie [missy magazine] – “Nur weil etwas konstruiert ist, besitzt es dennoch gesellschaftliche, institutionelle, rechtliche WirkmaÌchtigkeit. Zur Verdeutlichung: Mehr und mehr Menschen realisieren, dass Kapitalismus eine von Menschen erdachte Wirtschaftsordnung ist. Quasi erfunden und er hat dennoch ganz reale existenzbedrohende, toÌdliche Folgen fuÌr Menschen, Tierwelt und den Planeten. Wir muÌssen die Parallelen zum binaÌren Geschlechtersystem begreifen. Etwas ist von Menschen erfunden und hat dennoch reale Konsequenzen, die erkannt, benannt und kritisiert werden muÌssen. Geschlechter sind erfunden, aber Sexismus, Misogynie, Queer- und explizit Trans-, Inter-, Nicht-binaÌr-Feindlichkeit sind real.” Kapitalismuskritik und Transrechte.
Godard n’Ă©tait ni dieu ni maĂźtre [lundi.am] – “Echappant aussi aux idĂ©ologies gauchistes elles-mĂȘme quand elles devenaient moribondes, refusant le prix du jury de Cannes, sâĂ©quipant dâun vĂ©ritable laboratoire audiovisuel, sâauto-destituant par moment, Godard Ă©tait ni dieu ni maĂźtre. Au moment oĂč les ennemis de son vivant tentent ultimement de lâenterrer de louanges, il sâagit de ne pas oublier : Godard Ă©tait un vivant partisan de la destitution. Câest un dĂ©serteur qui a pris soin de sâarmer en partant. Qui jusquâau bout aura combattu la sociĂ©tĂ© du spectacle et de la communication en franc-tireur du cinĂ©ma. CinĂ©ma contre spectacle.” FĂŒr mich der beste Artikel nach Godards Tod.
âWarum genau mache ich nochmal Musik?â – Nils Frahm im Interview [das filter]
“FĂŒr mich geht die Platte schon fast in den Bereich der Therapie. Es ist also bis zu einem gewissen Grat funktionale Musik. So entstand auch der Titel âMusic For Animalsâ, was natĂŒrlich eine Anspielung auf die Playlisten bei Spotify und Co. ist. Musik fĂŒr jede nur mögliche Gelegenheit. Also haben wir einfach unsere eigene Playlist gemacht, unser eigenes Spotify.” Kann vielleicht etwas Eso rĂŒberkommen, aber er macht ein paar schöne Punkte.
ReakÂtioÂnĂ€rer BioloÂgismus. Was rechte Akteure und ,radikale Feministinnenâ verbindet [gdg] – “âWas ist eine Frau?â Mit dieser scheinbar einfachen Frage agitieren gegenwĂ€rtig rechte Akteur*innen gegen trans Menschen und ihre Rechte und fordern eine âeindeutigeâ biologische Bestimmung von Geschlecht. Doch dieses Beharren auf âBiologieâ hat wenig mit Wissenschaft zu tun.” Dana Mahr mit dem perfekten Text um dem Biologismus zu begegnen.
Anarchismus: Nicht nur eine Geschichte von grossen MĂ€nnern [daslamm] – “In der herkömmÂliÂchen EntsteÂhungsÂgeÂschichte des AnarÂchismus kommen fast nur promiÂnente MĂ€nner vor. Blicken wir auf andere Akteur*innen, geraten vereinÂfachte GeschichtsÂbilder ins Wanken.”
KultuÂreller Krieg und tatsĂ€chÂliÂcher Krieg. RussÂlands Russlands Feldzug gegen âGenderâ und den âdekadenten Westenâ [gdg] – “Putins rhetorische Spitzen gegen queere Menschen, âGenderâ und Feminismus werden meist als politischer Nebenschauplatz abgetan. Doch dieser âKulturkampfâ gegen den Westen gehört zu einer Rhetorik, die nationale IdentitĂ€t mit patriarchaler Ordnung verbindet und fĂŒr den russischen Angriffskriegt die BegrĂŒndung liefert.” It’s all very much connected.
Liberty Rising: Das Sommercamp der Anarchokapitalisten [belltower.news] – “MarktlibertĂ€re oder sogenannte âAnarchokapitalistenâ behaupten gerne, dass sie mit Rechtsradikalismus nichts zu tun hĂ€tten. Ein Blick auf die deutsche Gruppe âLiberty Risingâ zeigt jedoch deutlich: Zum rechten Rand gibt es keinen Mindestabstand.” Wenn solche Leute sich Anarchisten nennen, dann ist das eine Form von kultureller Aneignung.
Le pouvoir du son : un entretien avec Juliette Volcler
“KryptowĂ€hrungen sind Umverteilungsmaschinen: Von unten nach oben.” [daslamm] – “Werbespots versuchen, die Leute dazu zu bringen, echtes Geld in den Kryptomarkt einzuspeisen. Denn letztlich ist dieses System ein Nullsummenspiel. Es muss jemand Geld reinkippen, damit es jemand anderes rausnehmen kann. Die Leute, die seit Jahren Tokens besitzen, wollen jetzt natĂŒrlich echtes Geld dafĂŒr haben. Es ist die Suche nach dem nĂ€chsten Idioten, der den Mist abkauft. Jede*r in diesem System ist Opfer und TĂ€ter*in zugleich.” Glad i stayed away.
[Older articles, still great]
Hatred has become a political taboo | David Graeber [patreon] 0 “We need to acknowledge that many forms of hatred can be a positive social force: hatred for work, hatred for wealth, hatred for bureaucracy, hatred for militarism, nationalism, cynicism, and the arrogance of power. And that in many circumstances, this will also mean hatred for individual bosses, tycoons, bureaucrats, generals, and politicians, and a rich feeling of accomplishment when one knows one has earned their hatred. To absolutely exclude hatred from politics, is to rip the fiber out, to deny the main motor of social transformation, ultimately, to reduce it to a flat plane of hopeless cynicism.” So true.
What happened when Joe Strummer drank 10 pints of beer then ran the Paris Marathon [louder] – “In 1982 The Clash’s Joe Strummer disappeared without telling his bandmates, his manager or his record label. Then he got drunk and ran a marathon”
Jordan Peterson’s Ideology | Philosophy Tube
R.I.P.
Gangster’s Paradise (Acoustic) Coolio ft Uclan Students
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Header Photo: One of the highlights of my year, when the swallows had a meeting at my house