So I read something...: Syria

Showing posts with label Syria. Show all posts

Wednesday, January 21, 2026

Reading archive 2026-01-21 pt 2

What to know about Syria's main Kurdish-led force and its deal with Damascus after days of clashes: The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces are set to merge into the Syrian army after suffering major setbacks

Trump’s Attack on Democracy Is Faltering: One year into the president’s second term, the country’s institutions and civil society are still checking his authoritarian impulses. - "Trump's malice and incompetence alienates voters, who then publicly voice their discontent, encouraging other political actors and institutions to see him not as a crusading avatar of national destiny but as a weakened figure. The law firms that caved early to Trump have suffered from a loss of talent and business, a development that may encourage other firms to fight back. Many news organizations have continued their aggressive reporting on the administration despite threats to the freedom of the press."

Monday, December 29, 2025

Reading archive 2025-12-29

The MAGA-fication of Nicki Minaj Once an advocate for LGBTQ+ people and immigrants, the rapper has repeatedly praised an administration cracking down on the same people, and the White House is returning the love. - "'Even Drake has his papers,' rapper Azealia Banks wrote on X in September, according to Complex, mocking Minaj for ingratiating herself to Trump. 'Even Cardi B isn’t a 40-year-old immigrant. … Doing dolphin tricks for the barbs in a country she can’t vote in is rusty babe.'"

Russia isn’t winning. Putin wants to fool you.: Putin’s hope is that U.S. will somehow convince itself that Ukraine can’t succeed. Don’t fall for it.

Russia’s economy keeps driving its war, but it could break in 2026: Problems in the oil sector, a possible banking crisis and consumer woes lie ahead for Russia’s economy as prices for Russian oil plummet over sanctions.

He mailed dozens of antisemitic letters. Volunteers helped track him down.: During a time of rising attacks, threats can’t be ignored, security experts, nonprofit leaders and community members told The Post.

JD Vance is ‘walking a tightrope’ on raging Israel debate within MAGA: At Turning Point USA’s conference, the vice president didn’t mention the topic that’s tearing the movement apart.

Heritage staffers quit amid latest strife at conservative institution: “Most of our staff, from our legal and economic centers, are departing immediately,” Heritage President Kevin Roberts wrote in a Sunday night email to staff.

Ask a Vet: Is it ethical to buy a flat-faced dog?: French bulldogs and other brachycephalic breeds come with high price tags and, often, serious health problems.

White House threatens Smithsonian funds in sweeping content review: “American people will have no patience” for any museum that is “uncomfortable conveying a positive view of American history,” read a letter from Trump aides.

Presenting The 2025 Shams Charania Award For Excellence In Divulging Of Information Through Syntax Comprehended By Many - "I find that LLMs produce sentences that are smooth, glib, poreless, smiling, somewhat like a beluga whale. But every busted sentence written by a human is busted in its own way. Each of these sentences is unwittingly an act of resistance against the onrushing techno-homogenization of language. The writer’s own haste, uncertainty, or sloth manifests itself in the syntax. Every time a person begins to write, they are taking a bit of their interiority and, through a wondrous act of inversion, making it legible to the external world."

Abandoning homeownership may be changing how people behave at work and home: What happens when a generation gives up on ever owning a home? New research explores the potential consequences, and what to do about it.

Burning wood emits more than fossil fuels. Here’s how to build a better fire.: A wood-burning fireplace isn’t great for the planet or your health. But there are things you can do to make your fireplace better.

The year Trump broke the federal government: How DOGE and the White House carried out a once-unthinkable transformation of the nation’s sprawling bureaucracy.

How Trump changed my mind on the filibuster: The Senate’s 60-vote requirement is an excuse for aggrandizing executive power. - "The filibuster functions as a brake on radical change when Congress is the center of the political system. When the president is at the center, the benefits are less clear. The costs also become more apparent because the filibuster, as an obstacle to legislating, becomes a pretext for presidential overreach."

New York's Congestion Pricing Is Working. Five Charts Show How

How Israeli covert activities in Syria seek to thwart its new government: Israel is suspicious of President Ahmed al-Sharaa, a longtime Islamist militant, and has provided weapons, intelligence and cash to militiamen at odds with his rule.

Why the Fed strategically absorbed some blows from Trump: Facing threats from President Donald Trump, the central bank opted for a low-profile strategy, juggling political pressures and the looming question of how far it can go to defend itself.

Trump’s farmer bailout caps tough year for loyal constituency: Red-state farmers continue to struggle under damaging inflation and the fallout of President Donald Trump’s tariff policies, especially with China.

The old-world antisemitism in a Christmas pageant near you: Does the pope mean what he says about zero tolerance of hatred toward Jews?

D.C. customers face nearly 13 percent hike on gas bills this winter: Washington Gas customers in the District, Maryland and Virginia face increases in their bills.

The epidemic of toxic flattery is spreading: What do AI, Trump’s cabinet and the academy have in common? They aim to please.

Pipe bomb suspect admits targeting RNC, DNC headquarters, officials say: Prosecutors said Brian J. Cole told the FBI that he planted the explosives on Jan. 5, 2021, because he was frustrated with the U.S. political system. - "Brian J. Cole, 30, told investigators that 'something just snapped' in him 'because he was unhappy with the response of political leaders on both sides of the political aisle to questions raised about the results of the 2020 election,' according to the filing, which asks a judge in U.S. District Court in Washington to keep Cole in jail pending his trial."

- "Studies have found that wolves in the Midwest and Canada not only keep deer populations in check, but they also alter deer behavior in ways that help prevent car crashes and save human lives."

Wolves, long feared and reviled, may actually be lifesavers

The real issue strangling America’s electric grid: AI data centers are being blamed for price spikes manufactured in statehouses and D.C. [ed. note: authors are industry hacks who ignore the health costs of coal plants]

Friday, March 7, 2025

Reading archive 2025-03-06

Neo-Nazis targeted a majority-Black town. Locals launched an armed watch.: Residents of Lincoln Heights, Ohio, are guarding their streets with rifles after criticizing the police response to a neo-Nazi rally.

Retinol: The Skin-Care Ingredient With a Horrifying History: The miraculous wrinkle-erasing, acne-fighting cream, is the result of decades of horrifying medical abuse.

What went wrong? Israel's spy agency lists failures in preventing Oct. 7 attack

Russia Is Chasing a Deal to Keep Its Military Bases in Syria: A lack of clarity from the Trump administration on Syria has left a void that Moscow is seeking to exploit - "The [Russian] cash injection came as Qatar and Saudi Arabia held off in providing the millions of dollars in budgetary assistance they had discussed providing to the new regime, these people said. They said those countries are awaiting clarity from Washington over whether U.S. sanctions against the former jihadists now in charge will be lifted."

Mike Johnson’s chief of staff charged with DUI shortly after Trump speech: Hayden Haynes backed into a parked car not long after speech ended, police allege.

Inside the scientific quest to reverse human aging: Can reprogramming our genes make us young again? A breakthrough in longevity research may be nearing its first human trials.

When you buy your childhood home, history conveys. Drama might, too.: Drawn by family lore (or hoping to avoid a bidding war), these people reclaimed the houses they grew up in.

Small federal agency blocks DOGE employees from entering its building: The U.S. African Development Foundation denied several DOGE employees access to its offices Wednesday, as DOGE makes sweeping eliminations across federal agencies.

What It Takes to Make Shane Gillis Funny: Sometimes, you need the SNL writers’ room.

The Man Who Would Remake Europe: Germany’s incoming leader is an unlikely force for change. - "Scholz once marketed himself as a 'peace chancellor,' to which Merz quipped: 'Peace you can find in any cemetery. It is our freedom that we must defend.'"

Russia Is Not Winning: At the current rate, Russia will control all of Ukraine in about 118 years.

What Ketamine Does to the Human Brain: Excessive use of the drug can make anyone feel like they rule the world. - "Even infrequent users those who used, on average, roughly three times a month scored higher on a delusional-thought scale than ex ketamine users, people who took other drugs, and people who didn't use drugs at all. Those who averaged 20 uses a month scored even higher. People believed that they were the sole recipients of secret messages, or that society and people around them were especially attuned to them. The psychological profile of a frequent ketamine user, Morgan and her team concluded, was someone who had 'profound' impairments in short- and long-term memory and was 'distinctly dissociated in their day-to-day existence.'"

The Simple Explanation for Why Trump Turned Against Ukraine: The president’s defenders ignore one possibility: He just likes Putin. - "A recent Politico story filled with inside-Trump-world reporting, for example, suggests that Trump was eager to cut a deal, if only Zelensky had flattered him sufficiently: The Ukrainian president 'infuriated Trump last week with his public suggestion he was swallowing Putin's disinformation a response to Trump's suggestion that Ukraine started the war.' Or perhaps the source of Trump's split with Ukraine is revealed by him regurgitating Russian propaganda blaming Ukraine for the war, rather than Zelensky correcting him."

The Rise of the Brutal American: This is how the bad guys act. - "Quite apart from their politics, Trump and Vance are rude. They are cruel. They berated and mistreated a guest on camera, and then boasted about it afterward, as if their ugly behavior achieved some kind of macho 'win.' They announced that they would halt transfers of military equipment to Ukraine, and hinted at ending sanctions on Russia, the aggressor state. In his speech to Congress last night, Trump once again declared that America would 'get' Greenland, which is a part of Denmark a sign that he intends to run roughshod over other allies too.

...

"But what was ominous in 2016 is dangerous in 2025, especially in Europe. Russian military aggression is more damaging, Russian sabotage across Europe more frequent, and Russian cyberattacks almost constant. In truth, it is Putin, not Zelensky, who started this conflict, Putin who has brought North Korean troops and Iranian drones to Europe, Putin who instructs his propagandists to talk about nuking London, Putin who keeps raising the stakes and scope of the war. Most Europeans live in this reality, not in the fictional world inhabited by Trump, and the contrast is making them think differently about Americans. According to pollsters, nearly three-quarters of French people now think that the U.S. is not an ally of France. A majority in Britain and a very large majority in Denmark, both historically pro-American countries, now have unfavorable views of the U.S. as well."

Monday, December 16, 2024

Reading archive 2024-12-16

In some port towns, it’s residents vs. cruises: ‘We’re going to eradicate them’: From Alaska to Maine to Virginia, residents are using their voices and the law to preserve their communities.

Trump is filling his Cabinet fast. But can he fulfill his promises?: The president-elect’s personnel decisions raise questions about whether his true priorities square with the people who voted for him. - "Mass deportations would mean sending many undocumented migrant agricultural workers back to their home countries. Asked in that same Time interview if doing so would raise food prices sharply, he replied, 'No, because we’re going to let people in, but we have to let them in legally.' That non sequitur is an example of the disconnect between Trump’s rhetorical flourishes and reality."

Kamala Harris grapples with her future in a wounded Democratic Party: As questions loom about a run for president or governor, many Democrats do not blame Harris for her loss, but that doesn’t mean they want her to run again - "Her husband, Doug Emhoff, plans to return to his career as an entertainment lawyer, and shortly after the election, the couple decamped to Hawaii with a small coterie of aides to decompress and relax." [ed. note: MUST BE NICE]

Virginia man convicted of funding Islamic State in terrorism trial: Lawyers for Mohammed Chhipa, 35, argued he was ensnared by the FBI with a fake marriage ruse.

A low, low point for ABC News: ABC News not only settled a defamation suit with Trump. It paid out $15 million. What? - "The posture of ABC News progressed from unreasonably dismissive (rejecting legitimate demands for correction) to unreasonably accommodating (giving away the store to Trump via $15 million, a note of contrition and so on)."

As D.C. Council weighs Trayon White’s fate, one lawmaker calls for expulsion: Council member Charles Allen (D-Ward 6) said he is in favor of expelling White, who pleaded not guilty to a federal bribery charge in September.

D.C. Council committee recommends expelling White after bribery charge: The unanimous vote means that the council may vote to expel White in early 2025. White will have at least 30 days to prepare a defense.

Metro orders employees back to the office by July: The move comes as federal workers await word on similar mandates.

Some N.C. residents distrust FEMA so much they’re hesitant to apply for hurricane aid: It is one of the more unusual elements of Hurricane Helene’s aftermath in western North Carolina.

Assad’s fall to Islamist rebels in Syria unsettles region’s autocrats: Leaders in countries such as Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia are worried Assad’s ouster, and the rise of an Islamist government, could stir unrest at home.

Faced with mounting public anger, a weakened Hamas starts to compromise: A new proposal for a 60-day pause in hostilities in Gaza and the exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners includes key concessions from Hamas.

Woman behind infamous Duke lacrosse rape accusations admits she lied: The case against three White players dominated national news for months but later unraveled. On a recent podcast, Crystal Mangum revisited that time.

Ukrainian troops say inexperienced North Koreans are making easy targets: At least 30 North Koreans were “killed or wounded” over the weekend while fighting for Russia in the Kursk region, Ukrainian military intelligence said.

Trump eyes privatizing U.S. Postal Service, citing financial losses: Trump feuded with the mail agency in his first term. Privatizing it could shake up consumer shipping and business supply chains. - "Cuts to the Postal Service could upend the trillion-dollar e-commerce industry, hitting small businesses and rural consumers whose businesses and budgets make the agency the shipper of choice. Amazon, the Postal Service’s largest customer, uses the agency for 'last-mile' delivery between its hulking product fulfillment centers and consumers’ homes and businesses. And the agency’s 'universal service obligation' — which requires it to deliver mail or parcels regardless of distance or profitability concerns — means it is often the only carrier that will deliver to far-flung reaches of the country."

Child care gets little help in Idaho. A family-run center is buckling.: As TLC For Tots and the parents depending on it worry about the future, lawmakers in this deeply conservative state say government shouldn’t play a role.

Turkey exploits post-9/11 counterterrorism model to target critics in exile: Turkey has drawn extensively from the U.S. counterterrorism post-9/11 playbook to go after exiled political enemies, in particular the Gulen movement. - "'Twenty-plus years after 9/11, you would anticipate a diminished' reliance on the terms and tactics associated with the war on terror, said Fionnuala Ni Aolain, who served as special rapporteur to the United Nations on counterterrorism and human rights from 2017 until last year. 'Instead, what we find is a repurposing, reappropriation and acceleration of those methods by backsliding democracies and authoritarian regimes.'"

Friday, December 13, 2024

Reading archive 2024-12-13

Tulsi Gabbard is going to hate the DNI job: Tulsi Gabbard might soon learn director of national intelligence isn’t what it’s cracked up to be.

Puritan baby names are back. Is ’90s culture responsible?: We took a look at data going back to the Revolutionary War and found something shocking: Virtue names such as Hope, Charity and Faith are back and bigger than ever!

In Georgia’s capital, a new fury fuels street protests: The ruling Georgian Dream party might have underestimated the depth of the people’s frustration.

Energized by next Trump term, red states move agendas further right: Governors, legislators and attorneys general ready plans for the “perfect storm of conservative policies” coming to many state legislatures and Washington.

Assad lived in quiet luxury while Syrians went hungry: Syria’s ousted leader cultivated a modest image. Footage revealing hidden opulence tells a different story. - "An effusive 2011 Vogue profile of the first lady titled 'A Rose in the Desert' — which was later taken down and mostly scrubbed from the internet — heralded the Assads’ supposed down-to-earth nature, a narrative the family was emphasizing even then."

U.S. citizen found in Syria says he was imprisoned for months: The man, who identified himself as Travis Timmerman, said he had crossed into Syria from neighboring Lebanon months ago on a ‘pilgrimage’ to Damascus. [ed. note: whither Austin Tice?]

D.C. asks for redo of ANC election after college student flagged errors: A sophomore seeking the unglamorous neighborhood advisory role grew suspicious when she only received just one vote - her own ballot.

Gold bar scammer sentenced to five years for attempted theft: Judge calls sentence “measured deterrence” against scams that bilked millions from Montgomery County residents - "'The only real explanation I think that I can see here,' Arora [the defense attorney] said, 'is this is somebody who acted out of immaturity without really weighing the consequences of the decisions that he was making.'" [ed. note: um and greed]

FBI agent accused of rape two years after acquittal for Metro shooting: Eduardo Valdivia, 40, faces two counts of second-degree rape in Montgomery County for incidents at his purported tattoo and photo studio.

How a brutally repressive African country freely raises money in the U.S.: Eritrea’s embassy has helped raise millions of dollars to promote the interests of the cash-strapped country. Its ruling party is under U.S. sanctions.

Lina Khan Goes Out With a Bang: The failed Kroger-Albertsons merger offers the clearest proof yet that the new antitrust movement is breaking through. - "Internal company documents and testimony showed that, in many markets, Kroger and Albertsons view each other as their main competitor. 'You are basically creating a monopoly in grocery with the merger,' one Albertsons executive wrote. Other evidence showed Kroger raising prices on milk and eggs, lowering them only if a nearby store owned by Albertsons did so. (In fact, in the separate trial of Colorado’s challenge to the merger, an executive testified that Kroger systematically raised prices at 'no-comp stores'—that is, stores in towns where there was no competition—and kept prices lower in towns with another grocer.)"

Reading archive 2024-12-12

D.C. Mayor Bowser says Maryland is holding up RFK stadium deal: Funding to replace the collapsed Key Bridge has now entered the complex, multi-party negotiations over federal bill that could pave the way for the Commanders’ next stadium to be in D.C.

With Bill Belichick, UNC signs on for an awkward, miserable experience: The Bill Belichick experience — dour, irritable and ruthless — is coming to Chapel Hill, and it promises to be a coarse yet gripping experiment.

North Carolina GOP changes election rules before losing supermajority: Republicans in the state legislature gave an ally control over the state’s elections board, rewrote ballot-counting rules and chipped away at the power of the incoming Democratic governor.

He thought he had escaped Beijing’s clutches only to vanish back into China - "Cambodian police documents obtained by The Post and business registration filings list the owner of the Thma Da compound as MDS Heng He Investment Co. Ltd. The filings show the company was formed through a joint venture between a Cambodian company controlled by Try Pheap — a Cambodian tycoon under U.S. sanctions and an adviser to the country’s former prime minister and strongman Hun Sen — and a Chinese company established in Cambodia in 2018. This arrangement, researchers and officials say, is typical of online scam operations, which are closely tied to Cambodia’s political elite and are estimated to exceed $12.5 billion annually in returns for Cambodia, according to the United States Institute of Peace."

Assad’s fall humiliated Putin and could dent his global ambitions: Assad’s fall nine years after Russia saved his regime is a stunning blow to Putin’s goal of forging Russia into a world power to compete with the United States.

The Postal Service’s electric mail trucks are way behind schedule: Defense contractor Oshkosh had only delivered 93 trucks by November — compared to 3,000 originally expected by now. The delays put Biden’s climate goals at risk.

Sunday, December 8, 2024

Reading archive 2024-12-08

Return-to-work mandates are an invisible pay cut: They also might signal a weakening economy.

A Michigan roofer’s smart plan to end the housing crisis: “Trump Towers” across America could help solve the problem.

Federal employees scramble to insulate themselves from Trump’s purge: Career civil servants are scrubbing social media, changing job titles and looking for private sector work over fear that Trump might fire them

Amid Syria’s upheaval, a wariness over the rebels’ Islamist roots: Western governments long worried about a “catastrophic success” in Syria if Islamist fighters gained control. But experts say the rebels have changed.

How scientists are giving these rare, brainy birds a second chance: After years in captivity, five members of a rare bird species called the ʻalala, or Hawaiian crow, are flying free in the wild, officials announced Wednesday.

Monday, July 29, 2024

Reading archive 2024-07-29

The picture of early-human origins in Africa grows more complex: Researchers say multiple groups of early modern humans intermingled and spread across Africa, not just in small areas in the east and south, before moving to Europe and Asia.

With Vance’s rocky debut, Republicans ask if Trump’s VP bet will pay off: Sen. JD Vance has had a challenging start as the GOP’s vice-presidential nominee, leaving the Trump campaign to try to clean up his controversial past comments.

How Kamala Harris took control of the Democratic Party: Party officials and campaign aides raced to flip an entire brand from fading hope to salute emojis.

Sanctions crushed Syria’s elite. So they built a zombie economy fueled by drugs.

How India’s warm embrace of Kamala Harris grew chilly: India was excited about Kamala Harris in 2020. Four years later, the reaction to her presidential bid is more complicated.

Maduro declared winner of disputed Venezuelan election: The opposition, which had warned of the potential for fraud, was expected to challenge the result.

How Elon Musk came to endorse Donald Trump: The world’s richest man favored Biden in 2020, but he has since become a vocal Trump supporter.

With Biden out and Harris in, down-ballot Democrats plot 2024 gains: “The additional enthusiasm that the Democrats have shown will obviously help down-ballot races,” GOP political consultant Whit Ayres said. “Whether that will be enough to overcome the other negatives and challenges remains to be seen.”

For Ukrainian diver, 10 meters from water, 1,500 miles from father at war: Oleksii Sereda, 18, is at his second Olympics, but the first since Russian invasion.

They have jobs, but no homes. Inside America’s unseen homelessness crisis.: Homelessness, already at a record high last year, appears to be worsening among people with jobs. - "Many who spoke with The Washington Post said they’re trapped in an impossible position — making too much money to qualify for food stamps and other types of government assistance, but not enough to secure housing."

Inside the powerful Peter Thiel network that anointed JD Vance: A small influential network of right-wing techies orchestrated Vance’s rise in Silicon Valley — and then the GOP. Now the industry stands to gain if he wins the White House.

Justice Dept. settles with ex-FBI officials over leak of anti-Trump texts: Fired FBI agent Peter Strzok will receive $1.2 million, and former bureau lawyer Lisa Page will receive $800,000 to resolve their claims that the Trump administration’s Justice Department violated the Privacy Act.

He finally met his son — then killed the mom and grandmother, a jury found.: Prosecutors argued that Keanan Turner killed Ebony Wright and her mother after Wright filed for custody and child support to help care for their son.

For some District ANC commissioners, a difficult decision to run again: Data from the D.C. Board of Elections shows that as of Friday, 117 out of 345 commissioner seats did not have a single interested candidate.

Amtrak just took over Union Station. What does it mean for riders?: After years in court, Amtrak gained control of Union Station on Monday. Here’s how it’ll affect the station experience.

Far-right in uproar after Israel detains reservists over Gaza detainee abuse: Far-right demonstrators broke into Israel’s Sde Teiman base to protest the detentions of guards.

Paris Olympics organizers sorry for Last Supper at Opening Ceremonies: The tableau included a woman in the role of Jesus and drag queens and gay icons as disciples. It was crashed by a man in blue as Dionysus, the Greek god of revelry.

Biden endorses Supreme Court reforms, amendment to limit immunity: For Biden, who has long resisted calls for Supreme Court reform, the call marks a major shift in his posture toward one of the three branches of government.

Walking the Line: Chinese migration surge tests President Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping - "Republican lawmakers say the concerns are more than justified. They point to media reports of at least 100 incidents in recent years in which Chinese nationals were caught or suspected of trying to gain access or information about U.S. military installations.

...

"Likely part of Beijing’s concern, analysts and lawyers say, is the potential for politicized Chinese migrants to become part of dissident communities abroad.

"'The [Chinese] police told my parents, tell your son not to speak any more or do any protests,' said Zhou Zheng, a recent migrant living in Los Angeles who joined groups that protested Xi’s November visit to San Francisco. He’d made the decision to walk the line after he was detained during protests in China.

"While the number of Chinese migrants is relatively tiny in terms of the country’s population, its impact is significant for a government that has sought to advertise its political system abroad.

"'It’s never looks good when people are willing to trek through the Darien Gap to get out of your country,' said Meredith Oyen, associate professor at the University of Maryland Baltimore County, referring to the dangerous jungle crossing between Panama and Colombia."

How the "Working Class Republican" Scam Works: A brief description of how this is all gonna go.

How to Jujitsu the Culture Wars: It’s time to make Republicans regret that they ever posed as anti-elites.

Meet the queen of the ‘trad wives’ (and her eight children): Hannah Neeleman, known to her nine million followers as Ballerina Farm, milks cows, gives birth without pain relief and breastfeeds at beauty pageants. Is this an empowering new model of womanhood — or a hammer blow for feminism? - "That is the biggest paradox: in selling the life of a stay-at-home mother, Neeleman and the other trad wives have created high-earning jobs. They are being paid to act out a fantasy. 'So for me to have the label of a traditional woman,' she continues cautiously, 'I’m kinda like, I don’t know if I identify with that.'

...

"One day she mentioned to Daniel that she was getting the five-hour flight from Salt Lake City to New York, back to Juilliard. She didn’t realise his dad owned the airline. 'So Daniel was, like, 'I’m on that same flight!' ' she says. 'I remember checking in and them saying, 'You’re 5A and you’re 5B.' I just thought, no way, that’s crazy!' Daniel smiles: 'I made a call.' He had pulled strings at JetBlue. And so began their first date." [ed. note: this piece is vicious]

My day with the trad wife queen and what it taught me: An interview published last weekend with internet star Hannah Neeleman at her Utah home, Ballerina Farm, has sparked a global social media debate. Our writer, Megan Agnew, revisits her time with the mother of eight - "But it was also a life of contradictions. Children not allowed screens, but who are reality TV characters online for millions. A stay-at-home mother who has made a career out of being so. An analogue, old-fashioned farm, only working because it is underwritten by social media cash. A choice — modern in her ability to have one — to do something so very traditional.

"Women who work in a paid job feel terrified that by promoting the seeming peace and harmony of a traditional home life, Neeleman is threatening their ability to choose otherwise. They fear they are going to experience guilt or resistance if other women do choose otherwise.

"Women who look after their children full-time feel judged or patronised for doing so by the women who haven’t, their choices seeming threatened, too. And so, out of fear comes anger, like a bloke punching a wall when his wife leaves him."

I lived as a trad wife for a week. It was awful: Modern women are falling for traditional wife influencers. There’s a darker side, says Harriet Walker

Saturday, February 3, 2024

Reading archvie 2024-02-03

A journalist goes undercover to reveal the absurdity of the art scene: In ‘Get the Picture,’ journalist Bianca Bosker paints a portrait of people who talk ‘like they were trapped in dictionaries and being forced to chew their way out’

U.S. strikes in Syria and Iraq kill dozens of militants

Rethinking Monarchs: Does the Beloved Butterfly Need Our Help?: The Eastern monarch butterfly has long been thought to be in peril, but new studies indicate that its U.S. populations are not in decline. Scientists say the biggest threat the species faces is from well-meaning people who rear the butterflies at home and release them. - "De Roode is a coauthor of a third potentially game-changing study published in the Journal of Animal Ecology in 2022. It found that there has been a significant rise in OE prevalence since the early 2000s. The researchers attribute this spike to the increased density of monarchs in places where they lay their eggs, due in large part to the mass rearing of monarchs in confined spaces, and the widespread planting in recent years of non-native milkweeds, including the tropical milkweed (Asclepias curassavica) favored by monarch admirers. This surge in parasitism, they warn, may already be impairing the species’ migration: Their research indicates that in years when the summer OE infection rate was high, the winter colony size was unexpectedly low."

How the nation’s capital became an outlier on violent crime: Republicans blame Democrats for DC’s rising violent crime. The reality is much more complicated.

The French farmers’ protests are more complex than they seem: Farmers’ frustration over French and EU regulations are a new dimension in a longstanding problem.

An officer's hope: ‘That better day is coming,' DC police veteran says

This ancient material is displacing plastics and creating a billion-dollar industry

Recording captures judge, prosecutor, undersheriff talking about killing Kansas couple