[A monthly link list of recommended articles, videos, podcasts, photos, toots … you name it]
[Videos]
Emilia Roig – A Paradigm Shift from Capital to Love
19 Quail Chicks Drinking on a Hot Day
How could so many people support Hitler?
Baby Flying Squirrel Takes Flight for the First Time
[Music]
“The Spark” – Kabin Crew & Lisdoonvarna Crew
[Podcasts]
GoFundMe Profits from People’s Pain with Nora Kenworthy [techwontsaveus] – “aris Marx is joined by Nora Kenworthy to discuss how people rely on GoFundMe to access healthcare and the further inequities that adds to an already deeply unequal healthcare system.”
Marco Pantani: Death of a Pirate – During the Giro 2024 i listened to this podcast, and while it’s not new, it’s pretty well done.
Intercepted: Judith Butler Will Not Co-Sign Israel’s Alibi for Genocide [intercept] – “But the current mobilization on college campuses is being watched nationwide and globally. So a number of Palestinians have commented to me from different parts of the world that it is enormously heartening, that it lifts them to see this great solidarity and this great clarity. Very often when it comes to Israel–Palestine, we hear people say, “Well, it’s so complex.” I think for many of the young people, it’s not that complex. This is a genocidal violence being enacted against the Palestinian people in Gaza. And it is obvious and it is clear, and they have the footage and they circulate the footage and they know it.” I will never understand how Butler could have been accused of anti-semitism.
[Toot Threads]
[Pandemic Roundup]
Pandemic Roundup: May 30, 2024
Pandemic Roundup: May 23, 2024
Pandemic Roundup: May 16, 2024
Pandemic Roundup: May 9, 2024
Pandemic Roundup: May 2, 2024
[The Must Read[s] This Month]
Ahead of Another Summer of Climate Disasters, Let’s Talk about Real Solutions | Peter Gelderloos [crimethinc] – “The actual crisis we are facing is a complex ecological crisis, in which police killings, repressive laws, ongoing histories of colonialism and white supremacy, habitat loss, land grabs, food cultures, human health, urbanism, borders, and wars are all entangled. The leadership of the environmental movement has made the strategic decision to reduce all of this to a question of climate—the climate crisis—and to recenter the state as the protagonist, as our potential savior. This means centering the Paris Agreement and the COP summits as the solution to the problem, and using performative activism and civil disobedience to demand policy shifts and investment in support of green energy.” If you enjoy this text, i can also really recommend Peter’s book on the same topic “The Solutions Are Already Here”.
But but the outside agitators! | Vicky Osterweil [ghost] – “In the introduction to my 2020 book In Defense of Looting, I went through common tropes that are used against rioters and looters, and pulled them apart one by one. It’s a section many folks have told me was very helpful from the book, so I share it here in solidarity with everyone on and off of campuses struggling for Palestinian liberation and the end to the genocide.” Remember these tropes, they are part of the right wing play book.
Does the public understand that “variant” means “vaccine resistant”? | Julia Doubleday [substack] – “The public needs to stop framing vulnerable people- people who are simply warning the public of the fate that awaits them after X number of reinfections- as the enemy. The enemy is the unmitigated spread of this virus that is continuing to produce vaccine-resistant variants we can’t possibly keep pace with. The enemy is the institutions that want to buy a feeble form of temporary immunity with our health and our lives. The enemy is the propaganda campaign that has everyone claiming, loudly and confidently, that COVID is over, while catching it for the fifth time in four years. The enemy is the utter destruction of public health for the sake of a normal that isn’t coming back.” Yeah, the broken social contract is the real enemy. Solidarity now.
The Covid Revisionists Are Endangering Us All [the nation] – “Except this all makes us more vulnerable to the next pandemic, by suggesting that mitigation efforts were overzealous, not supported by the data, did more harm than good, and were “just political,” and that what happened to us was not so bad in terms of international comparisons. And the obsequiousness with which some try to gain the favor of conservatives shows a real misreading of the threats coming for public health from a possible Donald Trump presidency, ongoing attacks on public health at the state and local level, and a willingness to play fast and loose with the data.” The next pandemic is the current one. And yes we are fucked.
[Articles English]
Louise Michel in New Caledonia [crimethinc] – “In honor of Louise Michel’s birthday and the ongoing anticolonial resistance in New Caledonia, we offer an account of her time in exile there, beginning from her arrival in November 1873. This story illustrates how regimes force their own subjects into service in colonial projects, as well as the prisoners they capture in other colonial endeavors. It is also worth remarking that, like Mikhail Bakunin, Peter Kropotkin, and many other 19th-century anarchists, Louise Michel only came to formally identify as an anarchist after spending time with Indigenous people.” A very timely piece.
How to make spaces more accessible during the continuing pandemic [the sick times] – “Our survival of the next pandemic and climate-related crises depends on the skillsets we are honing at this very moment. Fatigue is an expected part of community safety amidst abandonment; let it connect you with people in true solidarity, rely on your community for support, and periodically return to the why behind your commitment to liberatory virus safety measures. It is possible to practice radical accessibility, it opens up new forms of radical joy and solidarity, and it is a future we all deserve, together.” It’s up to us, but it so should not be.
Ethics, Risk, Apocalypse | Peter Gelderloos [substack] – “no one on this planet is safe until we can nourish an ethos of collective self-defense against the institutions that are threatening and harming us, smashing their gears so they cannot function anymore. What use is it to speak of survival if we have no practice of fighting back against those who are killing us? There is room for all of us, but we need to figure out what we can contribute and what it is we still need to learn in order to be a vital part of the webs of solidarity and mutual aid. A revolution is not comprised of tactics alone. If we let ourselves get turned around by impatience, desperation, avoidance of criticism, loss of historical memory, if we divorce our strategies from our goals, our visions, and our ethics, we quickly become our own worst enemies.” An appeal for militancy, sadly i am one of those people who are way too scared of jail and prison time. Diversity of tactics in that sense as well.
RFK Jr. Is Even Crazier Than You Might Think [mother jones] – “While Jones comes across as a shameless charlatan grifting his audience, Kennedy does seem to fervently believe the dark nonsense he spews. That makes him particularly dangerous, not merely because he may influence a critical election but because his presidential run is something of a super-spreader event for false information, lies, and paranoia.” No no, that title is wrong, crazy is not a good word to begin with. But also, we knew all along that he was.
Decades of spying and repression: the anti-Palestinian origins of American Islamophobia [the guardian] – “In US history, anti-Palestinian bigotry, expressed primarily through repressive practices of the US government, almost always came first. This anti-Palestinianism then manifested into a generalized anti-Arab racism, which only later – especially after 9/11 – morphed into the more widespread Islamophobia that we recognize today. Understanding this history can not only help explain the complex ways that both anti-Palestinianism and Islamophobia operate in the United States but can also point to what is missed when anti-Palestinian bigotry is subsumed into the frame of Islamophobia.” The role of anti-Palestinian sentiments gets underestimated.
Anti-Mask Laws Target Gaza Protests, But They Threaten All Progressive Movements [truthout] – “Now more than ever, we must be vigilant about the escalating efforts to criminalize protest and scapegoat already vulnerable communities. Mask bans, even when supposedly aimed at bad actors like the KKK, will never make us safer, and they will invariably be invoked to target the most marginalized and to derail protest movements.” Thankfully the law in NC did not go through, but they will keep trying.
Honoring Multiple Truths: An Integrative Pathway to Peace in Israel/Palestine [patterns of meaning] – “We must call urgently for a ceasefire in Gaza and a return by Hamas of all hostages. At the same time, we must recognize the deep power imbalance currently existing between the state of Israel and the Palestinians living in the occupied territories, and demand the end of Israel’s abuse of its military superiority. We must call for an end to the illegal Jewish settlements in the West Bank, and to the fanatical Jewish paramilitary gangs currently terrorizing Palestinian villagers with the tacit—and sometimes open—support of Israeli armed forces. And when the current hurricane of violence subsides, we must call for a Truth and Reconciliation Commission, modeled on exemplars from South Africa, Rwanda, and Canada, and employing principles of restorative justice, that could facilitate a new generation to face into and move on from the current round of anguish toward a healed society.” This is that nice and carefully worded Yes And approach Mushon Zer-Aviv is asking for.
“Are Jews Indigenous?” A Quechua Jew Weighs In [lifeisasacredtext] – “claiming Indigeneity is a dodge. It’s a free ticket out of being a settler into a land where you don’t have to interrogate your privilege. This is called a “settler move to innocence.” It allows the settler to continue benefiting from colonialism—from the exploitation and destruction of Black and Indigenous bodies and lands—without feeling too bad about it.” Important context.
How Extremist Settlers Took Over Israel [nyt] – “After 50 years of failure to stop violence and terrorism against Palestinians by Jewish ultranationalists, lawlessness has become the law.” An example of how impunity feeds extremism.
We Are Witnessing Real Time Eugenics… and People Don’t Seem to Care. [substack] – “Mask bans and revocation of medical exemptions have been all over social media this week – and anti-maskers are reacting with glee. They are celebrating disabled people losing a tool for protection.” The glee is so not necessary.
Beyond Analogy: Fascism and the Morbid Symptoms of the Moment – “In a recent talk, Ruth Wilson Gilmore pushed back on the idea that Democrats lack vision, arguing that Democrats are seeking to “domesticate” elements of fascism. I find this argument compelling, as I do not believe we can afford to reduce the fight against fascism to electoral questions, such as whether to vote for Biden or Trump. To do so overlooks the larger crisis, and offers cover to elected officials whose policies would ultimately destroy us.” In the so-called USA the choice is between corporate fascism and authoritarian fascism.
‘A Truer Reality Beyond Reality’: Hannah Arendt’s Warning About How Totalitarianism Takes Root [politico] – “when there is no longer basic kindness, trust and human decency, and people feel thrown into the world to make it on their own, that they will go looking for a movement to belong to. A movement invites one to not just belong to something bigger than themselves, but to become a part of history.” To understand the psychology of fascism Arendt is still the go-to source.
Biden, CDC silent as North Carolina lawmakers vote to ban masks | Julia Doubleday [substack] – “Masks are a critical tool to protect disabled people from COVID, but many people either bought into anti-mask propaganda, or do not think COVID is dangerous. For a leftist- someone who expresses belief in community care and solidarity- being unmasked doesn’t only convey the sentiment “I don’t think I can be disabled by COVID,” it also broadcasts the accusation, “I don’t believe you can be disabled by COVID.” Being unmasked while COVID spreads unmitigated is an insistence on ones’ inalienable right to expose others to COVID without their consent.” The elephant in the room is how certain activists started to use masks for anonymity instead of to lower viral transmission. This was bound to backfire, which is why I always expected mask bans were bound to come.
39 years after the MOVE bombing, activists reflect [whyy] – “It’s really important for us to document this history, talk about things — and to never forget,” Mike Africa Jr. said.” 39 years!
One Star Review Tour. Interview with !Mediengruppe Bitnik, Selena Savić, Gordan Savičić [wmmna] – “Google Maps has become an essential source of information for people who visit or live in a city. While Tripadvisor targets tourists, Google Maps aims to be used by everyone to review any type of activity or location, hotels and restaurants of course, but also public toilets, bus stops, dentists and schools.” This is quirky, but fun.
A non-exhaustive list of things that happened during Eurovision 2024 [cohost] – “This is a developing story. There are still probably plenty of details of what happened yet to come out. There are probably going to be angry talks between broadcasters and the EBU for weeks to come. I sincerely hope that broadcasters threaten to withdraw next year and some heads start rolling at the EBU.” What a clusterfuck.
The Fear and the Fix [baffler] – “The unprecedented and widespread social and political challenge to capitalism presented by antiwar activists had made the political establishment nervous. Intellectuals, professionals, and technocrats had always been defenders of the status quo.” Fuck intellectuals in that list.
April 2024 Global Climate Report [ncei] – “April 2024 was the warmest April on record for the globe in NOAA’s 175-year record. The April global surface temperature was 1.32°C (2.38°F) above the 20th-century average of 13.7°C (56.7°F). This is 0.18°C (0.32°F) warmer than the previous April record set most recently in 2020, and the eleventh consecutive month of record-high global temperatures. April 2024 marked the 48th consecutive April with global temperatures, at least nominally, above the 20th-century average.” Predictably it has been another record month. But i worry more about what will happen after el nino, when the temperatures fall again (if they can, that is, because of tipping points).
Antifascism After Gaza [in these times] – “Many of those who have challenged the idea that a serious threat of fascism exists in America argue that focus on this potential both distracts from home-grown anti-democratic tendencies and serves a Democratic Party narrative in which the choice is either Joe Biden or Trumpian dictatorship. But the skeptics’ arguments rarely consider that any full discussion of the fascism question requires reflection on the link between political violence abroad and at home. And as today’s anti-war student movement is met with intense repression — part of a broader attack on collective dissent — it forces us to think about our increasingly authoritarian present beyond the national electoral cycle.”
Comprehending fascism in our time [verso books] – “Toscano is arguing that “fascism is a structure, not an event,” meaning that it is neither an aberration of European wartime, nor an original state of nature from which its antidote liberal political freedom emerges, but is a persistent feature of the history of settler liberalism and colonial capitalism. Liberal democracy is not fascism’s antidote, but rather its conditions of possibility. Fascist rule may include, but is not exclusively limited to, ultra-national authoritarian states. Within liberal states, it animates economic loss and social abandonment, and weaponizes unaddressed atavistic libidinal energies unleashed by the crises and cruelties of the uneven social order, and turns them against racial, religious, sexual, and gendered others.” There’s a lot of talk about fascism is emerging, but for many chronically ill and disabled folks it is already here. They are the canaries in the coal mine.
Novel attack against virtually all VPN apps neuters their entire purpose [ars technica] – “TunnelVision, as the researchers have named their attack, largely negates the entire purpose and selling point of VPNs, which is to encapsulate incoming and outgoing Internet traffic in an encrypted tunnel and to cloak the user’s IP address. The researchers believe it affects all VPN applications when they’re connected to a hostile network and that there are no ways to prevent such attacks except when the user’s VPN runs on Linux or Android. They also said their attack technique may have been possible since 2002 and may already have been discovered and used in the wild since then.” Gosh.
The Age of The Wendigo [okdoomer – “Tell me that’s not a form of cannibalism. That doesn’t sound like a healthy culture to me. It sounds like a wendigo. It’s not hopeless. There’s only one way to fight a wendigo. It’s not with arrows or guns. You fight it by doing the opposite of cannibalism. You build community. You support people. You help them. You listen. You pay attention to threats and deal with them. Compassion is resistance.” Did not know much about this mythical creature.
Scientists Just Made A Stunning Biological Discovery | Nate Bear [substack] – “Researchers have made a discovery, which, if it holds up, has the potential to transform treatments for autoimmune diseases and post-viral illness like long covid and myalgic encephalomyelitis. Because these scientists say they have found the dial in the brain that controls inflammation and the body’s immune response.” Now give us a test.
Why the State Can’t Compromise with the Gaza Solidarity Movement [crimethinc] – “Why are the police being so heavy-handed? Why are the media contorting themselves into increasingly bizarre contradictions to condemn the protests? Why are the Democrats and the Republicans united in opposing these protests? And how is it that, in their haste to crack down, university administrations, politicians, and police appear to have forgotten the basic principles of protest management?” These are the relevant questions.
“We’ve Become Addicted to Explosions” The IDF Unit Responsible for Demolishing Homes Across Gaza [bellingcat] – “8219 Commando is a combat engineering battalion associated with 551 Commando Brigade and – as one of its members asks journalists to report – part of the 98th Division. We noticed that soldiers from 8219 openly posted about their experiences inside Gaza, providing a window into military operations that rarely opens when looking at official sources.” This is beyond atrocious.
Parting Waters | Hannah Gold [baffler] – “Students distributed handmade pamphlets—a zine-like rendition of a Haggadah, the traditional book, whose name means “telling,” because it guides us through a retelling of the Passover story. Ahead of the traditional prayers, an opening note from the student organizers read, “If our Passover seder focuses exclusively on Jewish trauma—and not on the ways the ways our trauma is being weaponized to oppress another people, we will not have fulfilled the requirements of the Passover seder.” And, more specifically, “If our gathering does not motivate us to do everything in our power to end the genocidal violence Israel is unleashing upon Gaza, we will not have fulfilled the requirements of the Passover seder.”” The camps were living examples of solidarity across religious lines. Of course they were a threat.
May Day: a story of mutual aid | Peter Gelderloos [substack] – “Scarcity and lack of care make us afraid in a way that roots deeply in our bodies and hearts. If we find something free, we take it, maybe we take a whole lot of it so we can stockpile, and we don’t look back. And we’ll take it again and again and again—whether it’s food or love or medical supplies or respect—before we notice the expectation that there isn’t going to be any tomorrow, the deep-seated belief that we don’t deserve this thing… before we’re able to stop, and turn around, and notice the person taking care of us, and give back.” Peter always adds relevant historic context.
Did you know that we can win? | Margaret Killjoy [substack] – “The Chicago anarchists won. See, in the middle of the 1880s, when as individuals they scarcely had pennies to their names, they worked together to live beautiful lives. They held picnics and plays, brought in speakers from around the world, and did all the things that only the rich were supposed to be able to do. They organized marches: the very first May Day in 1886, tens of thousands of workers marched in Chicago, with the black banners of anarchism at the fore, with children at the fore. They took up arms and paraded with rifles in defiance of the nativists who wanted to see them dead. They scared capital to the core.” Feels like we mostly lose though.
I’ve Covered Violent Crackdowns on Protests for 15 Years. This Police Overreaction Was Unhinged. [intercept] – “I have been reporting on political dissent and violent policing for 15 years, particularly in New York City. Compared to Tuesday night, I have never witnessed, at the scene of a protest, the use of police power so disproportionate to the type of demonstration taking place. Make no mistake: This is an authoritarian escalation.” Yup.
[Articles German/French]
Emotionen in Endlosschlaufe – “Psychische Erkrankungen unter Jugendlichen nehmen stark zu. Daran seien die sozialen Medien schuld, sagt der US-Sozialpsychologe Jonathan Haidt. Doch seine monokausale Begründung führt in die Irre.” Argh, how can people take Haidt serious?
Kritik an der Aktion von Samstagnacht 04.05.24 [barrikade] “Aktionen und Wut gegen die Staatsgewalt sollten kollektiv geschehen und die Sensibilisierung gegenüber Unbeteiligten höhere Priorität haben. Es reicht nicht, die unterdrückerischen Strukturen des Staates zu hassen und zu zerstören – ihr müsst auch die Menschen, die unter ihnen leiden, lieben und unterstützen. In Solidarität mit allen, die auf emanzipatorische Weise gegen Unterdrückung, Ausbeutung und die allgemeine Zerstörung dieser Welt kämpfen!” I agree with this critique.
Nemo hat die Schweiz gebreakt | Jessica Jurassica [substack] – “Nun muss das SRF seit Wochen mit eingeschränkten Möglichkeiten operieren und hundert Mal «das Gesangstalent» schreiben – und Nemo auch immer mal wieder misgendern. Nemos Genderidentität war so jedenfalls offensichtlich nicht vorgesehen und hat den binäre Code nicht nur auf der medialen Ebene ganz schön durcheinandergebracht, sondern auch auf der politischen, hat doch der Bundesrat gerade erst vor kurzem einen dritten Geschlechtseintrag abgelehnt und nonbinären Personen einmal mehr basically die Existenz abgesprochen.” Thanks to Jessica for putting “Nemogate” in perspective.
Long Covid: Die Konferenz der Schwerkranken [taz] – “„Dies wird mein letzter Tweet sein“, schrieb die 28-jährige Lauren am 27. Januar auf der Plattform X. Kurz darauf waren viele Profile in den sozialen Medien voller blauer Rosen. Wie immer, wenn ein ME/CFS-Erkrankter verstorben ist – nicht selten durch Suizid. Laurens Fall wurde nun zum Anlass für eine internationale Großkonferenz – organisiert von Long-Covid- und ME/CFS-Erkrankten.” The conference was amazing, i hope the talks are put online at some point.
Israeldiskurs in Deutschland: Die Drecksarbeit der liberalen Mitte [woz] – “Was sich allerdings auch beobachten lässt: Jüdische Angst wird immer stärker und immer offener für repressive Innenpolitik missbraucht. Der Rekurs auf Erinnerungskultur und historische Verantwortung dient dabei kaum mehr der Unterwanderung eines neuen deutschen Nationalgefühls, vielmehr als Schmiermittel zur Ausgrenzung und Disziplinierung von Minderheiten oder bestimmten politischen Sichtweisen.”
[Older articles, still great]
Woah, looks a bit empty here. Well, the Pantani podcast should really be here.
The Problem with Music [baffler] – “Whenever I talk to a band who are about to sign with a major label, I always end up thinking of them in a particular context. I imagine a trench, about four feet wide and five feet deep, maybe sixty yards long, filled with runny, decaying shit. I imagine these people, some of them good friends, some of them barely acquaintances, at one end of this trench. I also imagine a faceless industry lackey at the other end, holding a fountain pen and a contract waiting to be signed.” The epic manifesto about the music industry was written by Steve Albini (rip) in December 1993.
R.I.P.
Steve Albini
Gary Floyd – I met Gary during my time in SF, what a great person.
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Header Photo: Three birds on a stick with a flag attached
4 years ago right now, people across the U.S. were rioting against the colonial police state. Some of them shared how it went down:
https://paper.wf/downas/partisan-accounts-of-the-george-floyd-uprising