[A monthly link list of recommended articles, videos, podcasts, photos, toots … you name it]
[Videos]
Brat and the Culture of Addiction | Alexander Avila
Long Covid’s Invisible Toll on Public Health | David Putrino @ TED
Procès des viols de Mazan: la réaction de Gisèle Pelicot en intégralité
It’s Bigger than Diddy | F.D Signifier
When Your Hero Is A Monster | The Leftist Cooks
[Music]
[Podcasts]
Episode 2: Peter Gelderloos and Prince Shakur [thebeautifulidea.show] – “In this episode we speak with both Peter and Prince about their thoughts on the coming Trump administration and how people involved in social movements and struggles should ready themselves and their communities. Is it fair to call Trump a fascist and what can we expect from the incoming administration? What cracks can we see forming within the ruling order going forward, and what opportunities and challenges do autonomous rebels face in this new terrain?” It starts bad, but gets better. It is fair to call Trump a fascist. And anything you want really. Because fuck that asswipe.
Witchcraft Skeptics And The Spanish Inquisition | QAA Podcast [.soundcloud.] – “Annie Kelly brings Jake, Julian, and Travis tales of the lesser known figures of the European witch hunts during the early modern period: the skeptics who openly doubted that every accused woman was actually a witch.” A bit “Not All Men” maybe, but nevertheless interesting.
Beyond the Ballot Box: Pacification and Intergenerational Memory in Social Movements [pluto press] – “In this episode, Peter Gelderloos and Vicky Osterweil join us to discuss the strategic imposition of nonviolence and other pacification techniques used by the state. We talk about revolutionary imagination, mutual aid, and what gets left out of official histories of struggle, from the Civil Rights era to the George Floyd uprisings. We discuss the need to make space for both joy and grief in our movements, and the importance of physical place to building collective memory.” Wanted to hear more from Vicky, but fine.
Peter Gelderloos on Memory, Community, Organization and Struggle [the final straw radio] – “This week, we’re airing an interview with anarchist author, Peter Gelderloos about two of his recent books They Will Beat the Memory Out of Us: Forcing Nonviolence on Forgetful Movements (Pluto Books, 2024) as well as Organization, Community, Continuity (Detritus, 2024). For this episode, we speak on movement memory, community, care work, organization and struggle.” Even more Peter Gelderloos, anyone?
[Toot Threads]
[Pandemic Roundup]
Pandemic Roundup: December 26, 2024
Pandemic Roundup: December 19, 2024
Pandemic Roundup: December 12, 2024
Pandemic Roundup: December 5, 2024
To support Violet’s work you can but her book: The Covid Safety Handbook [linktr.ee]
[The Must Read[s] This Month]
Gisèle Pelicot’s power, and Dominique Pelicot’s shame [girl on the net] – “In exchange for that precious gift, here are some things I wish for in return. I wish – I hope – that every single day for the rest of her life, Gisèle Pelicot resides in a place of sanctuary, surrounded by love. Somewhere calm and happy, where she can spend time with her children and grandchildren, her friends, and anyone else who brings her joy. I hope she gets to tell her story again, over and over, if she wants to, or reside in silence knowing that her work is well and truly done if that’s what she wants. I hope that every single day she knows safety and love and peace.” The best text i found to sum up the upsetting Pelicot case.
Matt McGorry shares his experience with Long COVID [the sick times] – “In the leftist organizing, it really is just a matter of ableism. A lot of times in non-disabled organizing spaces there’s a lot of talk about ableism, but without wearing a mask, which is perhaps the most concrete way of affecting the material reality of disabled people. [It] feels hypocritical.” So much appreciation for McGorry as someone who is using his platform to inform about Long COVID.
I’m a Stripper; Of Course I’m Not Surprised by Trump 2.0 [substack] – “A culture of collective care is apparently so unimaginable that women would rather return to the old models of chivalry. Mainstream single-issue feminism, whether Dworkin-quoting or Girl Boss™ celebrating, cannot grapple with nuanced discussions of the business of traditional marriage and adult entertainment. It often takes aim at the wrong target: women’s individual choices, not a structural analysis of patriarchy, much less its intersection with racial capitalism. Not the unchecked power that protects an unlivable status quo rooted in the soulless destruction of human life for profit.” There have been so many essays about Trump’s re-election, this one stands out.
[#38C3]
Call for Stories [ccc.de] – “Climate collapse, displacement, flight, political persecution, war and exclusion – while the media landscape is characterised by dystopian topics, the Chaos Computer Club has been trying to set an example of a utopia for society for over 42 years now. More precisely: the chaos environment is characterised by various ideas of utopias.” Some awesome projects here, especially the Wimmelbild by foxitalic and the cubetopia game (see bellow).
utopian congress [ccc.de] – “Vision of a techno-utopian solarpunk community.” 🖤❤️
CUBETOPIA – I fell in love with this game. Create your own utopia.
BioTerrorism Will Save Your Life with the 4 Thieves Vinegar Collective [media.ccc.de] – “Governments have criminalized the practice of managing your own health. Despite the fact that for most of human history bodily autonomy, and self-managed health was the norm, it is now required that most aspects of your health must be mediated by an institution deputized by the state. Taking those rights back for yourself is then labeled “BioTerrorism”. So be it. Let us learn how.” Hack our medicines.
Eat the Rich! Die Menschen wollen soziale Sicherheit, aber kriegen „Deutschland den Deutschen“. Holt das Geld bei den Reichen! | Helena Steinhaus [media.ccc.de] – “Bezahlkarte bald auch für Bürgergeld-Empfänger*innen, verschärfte Sanktionen, Pauschale für die Kosten der Unterkunft, weniger Regelsatz, Umzugszwang, verschärfte Zumutbarkeitsregelungen für Arbeitsangebote und Komplett-Überwachung: Die Debatte über das Bürgergeld ist völlig durchgedreht. Was kommt noch auf uns zu? Und wie kommen wir aus der Hetz-Spirale wieder heraus?” Facts and figures for context on wealth inequity.
Geschredderte Gutachten: Wie nicht nur der Staat bei digitaler Barrierefreiheit versagt | Casey Kreer [media.ccc.de] – “Wir schauen uns den traurigen Zustand der digitalen Barrierefreiheit in Deutschland an, benennen Verantwortliche für die Misere und lernen, was wir eigentlich wirklich bräuchten. Von echten Menschen mit Behinderung, mit echter Expertise.” I appreciated the parts where Casey describes her experience of navigating the congress.
Als die Kommentarspalten brannten – 11 Monate Einsatz in Gaza | Cadus [media.ccc.de] – “Der Krieg in Gaza als Reaktion auf die Terrorattacke vom 7. Oktober läuft mittlerweile über ein Jahr. Cadus ist seit Februar diesen Jahres in Gaza im Einsatz. Auch seit Februar diesen Jahres teilen wir wie so viele andere die Erfahrung, das vor dem Hintergrund unseres Einsatzes fernab von Gaza sich leidenschaftlich „politisch“ auseinandergesetzt wird. Nicht ÜBER unseren Einsatz wohlgemerkt, sondern darüber, ob wir jetzt die eine oder andere Seite genug verurteilen würden für die Art und Weise wie der Krieg geführt wird. In unserem Talk „Als die Kommentarspalten brannten – 11 Monate Einsatz in Gaza“ sprechen wir über die Herausforderungen, die unseren Einsatz tatsächlich begleiten.” The German context seeps through when they dance around voicing any criticism of Israel.
[Articles English]
The Tiny Place of Resistance | Rupa Marya [substack] – “We need a practice of medicine that is centered on care, justice and love for our communities and one another—not as buzzwords, but in how the architecture of power is set up, so that never again can a racist set of people silence us as mass killing is happening. Physicians should speak in one voice when life is desecrated on a mass scale as it is right now in Gaza—we are protectors of life. Genocide is human pathology. Doctors have always been part of genocides, and that is no different today. This pattern will continue until we identify and excise the sickness at the heart of Western medicine and build a system of Liberation Medicine from the composted remains of this one.” Which is why Rupa Marya is such an inspiring medical doctor.
Chris Hedges: How Fascism Came [scheerpost] – “The utopian ideology of neoliberalism and global capitalism is a vast con. Global wealth, rather than being spread equitably, as neoliberal proponents promised, was funneled upward into the hands of a rapacious, oligarchic elite, fueling the worst economic inequality since the age of the robber barons. The working poor, whose unions and rights were stripped from them and whose wages have stagnated or declined over the past 40 years, have been thrust into chronic poverty and underemployment.” Fascism came through the front door.
Sacrificial Violence and Retribution [crimethinc] – “As anarchists, the spiritual economics of guilt and punishment that underlies the framework of retribution is foreign to us. Calculating culpability and meting out suffering is the work of the state, its judiciary, and its God; we have other ambitions. We do not wish to see the guilty punished as an end unto itself—we seek to do away with the means via which they oppress. We would pass up the fulfillment of any vendetta if we could thereby bring about the abolition of capitalism, even if that meant permitting every former billionaire to walk free. We don’t seek to goad others into becoming martyrs on our behalf. We aspire to model the sort of courage, humility, and care we hope that others will express alongside us so that together we can change the world.” Two public killings contra-posed.
Proud to be a blockhead | Cory Doctorow [pluralistic] – “Making art is not an “economically rational” activity. Neither is attempting to persuade other people to your point of view. These activities are not merely intrinsically satisfying, they are also necessary, at least for many of us. […] The corporations that pay creative workers. Movie studios, record labels, publishers, games studios: they all know that they are in possession of a workforce that has to make art, and will continue to do so, paycheck or not, until someone pokes their eyes out or breaks their fingers.” Proud as well.
Guilty Pleasures | Laurie Penny [substack] – “Did you know that more than twenty thousand people are shot dead in the United States every year? Twenty thousand. That’s homicides, not counting suicides and accidents involving guns. It is extremely normal for people to be murdered with a firearm in New York city. The political tenor is the only thing that makes this particular act of violence at all shocking – and the shock is in its deliberate retort to violence that is otherwise extremely normal. The US healthcare system is necropolitics on nightmare mode. It turns sick people into supplicants begging for their lives from an army of bureaucrats armed with bloodless spreadsheets paid to decide who gets to live and who will be left to die.” Penny still has said nothing in regards the Gaiman sexual abuse allegations, but this essay is of course quite brilliant in parts.
Gisele Pelicot, Medical Misogyny and How Disabled People Face Increased Risk of Abuse | The Disabled Ginger [substack] – “The problems that exist within our medical system run deep. Misogyny, patriarchy, bias, discrimination – these are not things that can or will change overnight. Any inequality in the medical system is likely to disproportionately impact disabled people because of the deep rooted ableism that is pervasive in society. We interact with the medical system more than our non-disabled counterparts, which gives it more opportunities to let us down. We are treated as invisible, ‘useless eaters’, or unimportant nuisances.” The gender gap context is important in this case.
Manufacturing the End of a Pandemic | Emily Dupree [subtack] – “This notion of two, simultaneous timelines—the biological and the social—allows us to pick apart their obfuscation and insist on a veridical accounting of where we are with respect to Covid. It allows us to contest the ideology that keeps capitalism afloat, an ideology that cannot properly account for the true value of a human life because all it can see is labor waiting to be extracted. As someone who has dedicated a huge portion of my life to theory, and to theory’s essential role in praxis, I have to insist that this distinction is not a mere idle one. We cannot see what we cannot conceive; by insisting on uttering Covid’s name, and naming what we see in the world, we do our part in caretaking a reality under siege.” I was not as excited as others about this essay. It praises the state (or its potential) too much. But the last point it makes is important. By continuing to call out how the end of the pandemic was manufactured, we can function as a cog in the capitalist machine.
Death feels imminent for 96% of children in Gaza, study finds [the guardian] – “A new study of children living through the war in Gaza has found that 96% of them feel that their death is imminent and almost half want to die as a result of the trauma they have been through. A needs assessment, carried out by a Gaza-based NGO sponsored by the War Child Alliance charity, also found that 92% of the children in the survey were “not accepting of reality”, 79% suffer from nightmares and 73% exhibit symptoms of aggression.” This is heartbreaking.
November 2024 Global Climate Report [ncei] – “The November global surface temperature was 1.34°C (2.41°F) above the 20th-century average of 12.9°C (55.2°F), making it the second-warmest November on record. This was 0.05°C (0.09°F) below last year’s record warm month. November 2024 marked the 48th consecutive November (since 1977) with temperatures at least nominally above the 20th-century average.” Doom incoming.
Predicting the present [pluralistic] – “UHC leads the nation in claims denials, with a denial rate of 32% (!!). If you want to understand how the US can spend 20% of its GDP and get the worst health outcomes in the world, just connect the dots between those two facts: the largest health insurer in human history charges the government a 183,300% markup on covid tests and also denies a third of its claims.” The UHC kills.
The Fall of Assad, the Future of Syria | Peter Gelderloos [substack] – “It’s important to be aware of these geopolitical conflicts because it’s the sea we swim in. It’s even more important to remember that freedom will never come from the state. Against all borders, in solidarity with all refugees, all those who fight back against genocide without carrying out new massacres or imposing new regimes, and with undying love for all the communities that—in the face of settlers and fundamentalists and totalitarians—are growing food and trying to flourish in the desert.” The situation in Syria is dynamic and volatile, some of the claims here may simplify too much. But it still offers a good overview.
CDC infection control body rejects the science on airborne transmission | The Gauntlet [substack] – “All of us, patients, doctors, nurses, and other healthcare staff alike, deserve medical leadership that will value our rights to safety in these settings. We deserve medical leadership that won’t actively try to slow scientific progress, and instead will welcome its arrival. We deserve to enter a hospital knowing we won’t be infected and killed because HICPAC would rather allow airborne nosocomial infections to continue on its watch than spend money preventing them.” The want us dead.
The Anarchist School Teacher Anna Falkoff [the transmetropolitan review] – “Like most anarchist women, we know very little about Anna Falkoff, although we know much more than most. We know she was born Anna Lea Gurewitz in 1880 in Ludza, Latvia, which was part of the Russian Empire at the time. She was Jewish, spoke both Russian and Yiddish, and resided in the eastern part of Latvia known as the pale of settlement where the Czar forced most of the Jews to live. Apparently, the mysterious anarchist Anna Falkoff fled the Empire in late 1903 and landed somewhere on the east coast of the United States.” I did not know Falkoff, anarchist history uncovered.
Protesters Stage Guerilla Action on Subway In Honor of Jordan Neely [hyperallergic] – “The action calls to attention the unhoused Black man who was killed last year during a six-minute chokehold at the hands of a Marine veteran.” 🖤
‘I was in denial about it’: actor Matt McGorry on having long Covid [the guardian] – “As an able-bodied person, you trust that your doctor is going to steer the ship if something pops up. But if I were to wait for them and not be proactive, my health would have continued to decline. So, for me, it looks like reading studies, following people who are at the forefront of the science, and cross-referencing with other people in the [long Covid] community.” The sick times piece above is better.
Festivals of Resistance : A Call for Gatherings the Weekend Before Trump Takes Office [crimethinc] – “Once Trump takes power, it will only become more challenging to make connections with our neighbors, create the networks that we will need to face down his assaults, and share the skills we will need to survive his reign. Right now, we have a precious window of time in which to prepare. Let’s make the most of it.” This could work.
Health Communism: A Reading Guide (Part Two—SURPLUS) [substack] – “Profit lives in…every locus where capitalism touches illness, disease, disability, and death.” Reading guides to the must-read book.
[Articles German/French]
AfD und „Junge Tat“: Kein Geheimtreffen gegen Deutschland [correctiv]
“Mitte Dezember trafen sich AfD-Funktionäre mit Neonazis in der Schweiz, darunter Mitglieder von „Blood & Honour“. Das Treffen wurde beworben, aber zugleich von der Öffentlichkeit abgeschirmt. Unser Reporter schaffte es, dabei zu sein.” They presented this as if it was a huge reveal. But i still think it’s better to stop events like these from even happening, instead of going for the gotcha by infiltrating them. Fuck the heroic approach to “journalism”. Plus Jean Peters is allegedly a pig.
Dellwo/Rollnik (RAF/Bewegung2.Juni) zum Todestag von Holger Meins [.soundcloud.] – “Holger Meins starb am 9. November vor 50 Jahren, als politischer Gefangener in einem deutschen Gefängnis. Sein Hungerstreik hatte sich gegen die Isolationshaft gerichtet, doch seine Forderungen wurden ignoriert und er wurde mit einer falsch dosierten Zwangsernährung getötet. Dieser Moment im Jahr 1974 löste bei vielen, neben Wut und Trauer, die Frage aus: Was nun? Gabriele Rollnik hatte sich zu dem Zeitpunkt bereits der Bewegung 2. Juni angeschlossen, Karl-Heinz Dellwo entschied sich zur RAF (Rote Armee Fraktion) zu gehen.” Memories of the death of Holger Meins as expressed by two who joined the underground struggle in the 70s in Germany.
Besser Fluchen | Beleidigungsgenerator – “Jede Beleidigung besteht aus drei Teilen. Drücke auf den „Stoppen!“-Knopf, um die nächste Reihe des Generators anzuhalten.” Politisch korrekt fluchen lernen.
L’armée des romantiques [arte] – “Tandis que le feu des révolutions transforme le XIXe siècle, à Paris, de jeunes artistes exaltés rêvent de régler son compte à l’ancien monde… Après “Les aventuriers de l’art moderne”, cette série documentaire animée explore le mouvement romantique en un passionnant chassé-croisé d’oeuvres et de destins.” I loved watching this, even if it focuses heavily on the male canon. But wow to how they animated it.
Replik auf Tadzio Müller: Zieht den Kopf aus dem Bunker! [woz] – “Die «plündernde Horde» ist ein wiederkehrendes Motiv in den Szenarien von Preppern. Müllers Untergangsvision ist ebenso menschenverachtend, nur sind die Rollen anders besetzt: «faschistische Horde» statt migrantisierte Horde, «unser Berlin» statt «mein Eigenheim» oder «unser Volk», die heile Welt des «letzten queeren Clubs» statt der bürgerlichen weissen Kleinfamilie. In beiden Fällen schlägt in der Krise die Stunde des «last man standing», der nach dem grossen Untergang durch sein heroisches Handeln eine kleine heile Welt zu bewahren und die Seinen zu beschützen vermag – eine Männerfantasie. Wie im Preppen üblich verspricht sich Müller von künftigen Krisen eine Erlösung aus der empfundenen Machtlosigkeit. Der grosse Zusammenbruch soll den kleinen Mann aus seiner gefühlten Ohnmacht befreien und ihm die Macht verleihen, sein Schicksal in die eigenen Hände zu nehmen. Es ist kein Zufall, dass Preppen primär Männer fasziniert.” Very thankful for this reply to Müller bei Julian Genner and Ulla Schmid, debunking by and large the prepping fantasy he describes in his latest book.
Essay: Es braucht keine antisemitischen Denkmuster, um Israels Vorgehen in Gaza zu kritisieren. Unrechtsbewusstsein reicht dafür völlig aus. [woz] – “Die Lancierung des Begriffs «neuer Antisemitismus», der «3-D-Test» und die IHRA-Definition haben den Begriff des Antisemitismus politisiert und die Debatte um den Nahostkonflikt entpolitisiert. Das hat fatale Folgen. Es steht zwar ausser Frage, dass israelkritische Aussagen von Antisemitismus motiviert sein können und dass es in der Kritik an der israelischen Regierung immer wieder antisemitische Subtexte gibt. Wenn allerdings politische Forderungen oder Slogans kontextunabhängig als Antisemitismus gelten, verliert der Begriff jegliche Trennschärfe.” The IHRA-definition is often used to weaponize antisemitism.
Vogel des Jahres 2025: Rotkehlchen [birdlife] – “Mit seinem leuchtenden, orangeroten Brustfleck und dem perlenden, melodiösen Gesang ist das Rotkehlchen ein vertrauter Begleiter in unseren Gärten und Wäldern. Zum 25. Jubiläum des «Vogels des Jahres» hat die Schweizer Bevölkerung den charmanten Kandidaten zum Vogel des Jahres 2025 gewählt. BirdLife Schweiz stellt den gefiederten Botschafter für mehr Natur im Siedlungsraum vor und zeigt, wie jede und jeder sich für mehr Vielfalt rund ums Haus einsetzen kann.” Sure, but i wanted Mönchsgrasmücke to win.
[Older articles, still great]
The Therapist in the Machine | Jess McAllen [baffler] – “AI is meant to fill treatment gaps, whether their causes are financial, geographic, or societal. But the very people who fall into these gaps are the ones who tend to need more complex care, which AI cannot provide. . The data has been consistent for many decades: serious mental illness is highly correlated with systemic racism, poverty, and the kinds of abuse that might create trust issues around seeing a human therapist.Those with serious mental illness are still left behind in the brave new world of mental health awareness, even when that world is virtual.” A shocking development.
Superhumanity | Keller Easterling [e-flux] – “Opposition to a bully is doomed to circle the human tautology about being right, but offering an expanded repertoire of behaviors is a power that can baffle philosophies by exceeding competition, rationality and righteous self-regard. These powers are so familiar that they may be almost imperceptible, or perhaps they are only difficult to express within familiar forms of discourse. In order to exist beyond the human they include the human rather than negate it. They are “more than human” and sometimes beyond the skin and the self. While often treated as paranormal to the reasonable human, everyone possesses the capacity to exercise these powers—to wander away from dominant constructs and outwit their persistent violence.” An essay from the first Trump presidency, but still relevant.
Epilogue on the Movement against Capitalist Globalization [crimethinc] – “On November 30, 1999, anarchists and other protesters successfully blockaded and shut down the summit of the World Trade Organization in Seattle. This was the dramatic debut of what journalists dubbed the “anti-globalization movement”—in fact, a global movement against neoliberal capitalism. Over the past few years, we have observed the twenty-year anniversaries of several of the high points of this movement.” And now it has been 25 years!
R.I.P.
Dr. Gemma Carey
Nikki Giovanni
sgtpepper2024 [b3ta] – The first version of yearly photoshop collage of people who died during this year is out.
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Header Photo: A typical Sunday afternoon.