Showing posts with label slavery. Show all posts
Showing posts with label slavery. Show all posts

Tuesday, February 17, 2026

Reading archive 2026-02-17

Something Big Is Happening - "Start using AI seriously, not just as a search engine. Sign up for the paid version of Claude or ChatGPT. It's $20 a month. But two things matter right away. First: make sure you're using the best model available, not just the default. These apps often default to a faster, dumber model. Dig into the settings or the model picker and select the most capable option. Right now that's GPT-5.2 on ChatGPT or Claude Opus 4.6 on Claude, but it changes every couple of months. If you want to stay current on which model is best at any given time, you can follow me on X (@mattshumer_). I test every major release and share what's actually worth using."

Stephen Colbert says CBS blocked interview with Texas Democrat over FCC concerns: The on-air condemnation comes before Colbert’s “Late Show” goes off the air in May, a decision the network previously called “purely a financial decision.”

Another government sop to an ailing industry: An executive order requiring the military to purchase coal puts politics over the free market.

Researcher skeptical of ‘Havana syndrome’ tested secret weapon on himself: In 2024, a Norwegian researcher skeptical that pulsed-energy weapons could do damage to human brains built a device and tested it on himself. It didn’t go well.

A relationship on the rocks: Europe and America need each other, but trust is gone:  This year’s Munich Security Conference was milder than last year’s, but Donald Trump has fundamentally changed transatlantic ties.

D.C. mayoral hopeful pledges more affordable child care amid shrinking budgets: A proposal from Janeese Lewis George aims to make child care more accessible for families. But the city would have to fund it during an economic downturn.

‘Us versus them’: The battle that’s tearing a small Virginia town apart: “We are a microcosm of how politics are in this country right now,” said one resident of Purcellville.

Ukraine detains ex-energy minister as high-level corruption case widens: German Galushchenko’s arrest is connected to a $100 million corruption probe that has ensnared senior officials and shaken President Volodymyr Zelensky’s office.

Rubio lends hand to Hungary’s Orban as he faces tough election: “We want this country to do well,” Marco Rubio said during a visit to Budapest, “especially as long as you’re the prime minister.”

Mitch McConnell is taking a beating in the race to replace him: Three GOP candidates, all former McConnell interns, are keeping their distance as they seek to align with President Donald Trump.

Matt Lauer’s Accuser Complicates Her Story: Brooke Nevils’s memoir is also a reckoning with many misconceptions about #MeToo narratives.

Why MAGA Wants You to Think Slavery Wasn’t That Bad: Both the left and the right try to co-opt it, but the real story of American slavery doesn’t serve any one faction. - "'The destruction of slavery is one of the great American achievements,' Sean Wilentz, a historian at Princeton and critic of 'The 1619 Project,' told me. 'Taking slavery seriously in American history is not anti-American. The story of slavery in the U.S. is about an ancient institution that was planted here, thrived here, and then was confronted and ultimately attacked in the 19th century through enormous sacrifice, including military conflict. That's an extraordinary American story.'"

Putin Didn’t Know How Good He Had It: The Russian leader has gotten the world he wished for—and it’s threatening to crush him.

Tuesday, September 16, 2025

Reading archive 2025-09-16

Poland rebuffs Trump, saying Russian drone incident wasn’t a mistake: President Donald Trump said violations of Poland’s airspace “could have been a mistake,” but NATO said it was starting a new initiative, Eastern Sentry, regardless of Russia’s intent.

The case for letting kids out of our sight: Children’s room to roam independently was once measured in miles. Today, it’s often in feet. Here’s what they’re losing and what we can do about it.

National park to remove photo of enslaved man’s scars: The Trump administration is ordering the removal of information on slavery at multiple national parks in an effort to scrub them of “corrosive ideology.”

Wars of deception are coming for America. It isn’t ready. Costly, outdated weapons are no match for cheap drones and high-tech misdirection. - "This came into focus last week when a wave of 19 Russian drones crossed into Polish airspace. The drones were reportedly of the Gerbera type, which cost as little as $10,000 each and thus are often used as decoys to misdirect and overwhelm Ukrainian air defenses. To face them, NATO needed a response force of two Dutch F-35 and two Polish F-16 fighter jets, backed by a Polish Saab 340, an Italian AWACS early-warning jet and a mix of helicopters, costing over half a billion dollars in total. They then shot down just four of the nineteen drones with AMRAAM missiles, each costing over $1.6 million."

Why Trump wants companies to report earnings less frequently

Scoop: Netanyahu spoke to Trump before Israel bombed Qatar

The case for letting kids out of our sight: Children’s room to roam independently was once measured in miles. Today, it’s often in feet. Here’s what they’re losing and what we can do about it.

Endorsing Mamdani shows Democrats are ‘spineless’: Democrats don’t know what they stand for.

Friday, August 22, 2025

Reading archive 2025-08-22

White House calls out 7 Smithsonian museums for their exhibits, messaging: The White House released an article outlining Smithsonian exhibitions and materials it considers “woke” or anti-American. Some artists named in the list called it a badge of honor.

Changing the Smithsonian doesn’t erase slavery and the racial wealth gap: There isn’t enough museum space to represent the full extent of the brutality that millions had to endure.

How Montgomery County schools aim to handle opt-outs after court ruling: Superintendent Thomas Taylor said the change will be ‘a significant administrative burden’ following an order from the Supreme Court.

FBI searches home and office of former Trump national security adviser John Bolton: The search focused on whether Bolton, a staunch Trump critic, illegally possessed or shared classified information, people familiar with the investigation say.

In a classic cartel move, college sports beg for federal help: Trump obliged the NCAA and is attacking athletes’ ability to be paid for their work.

What are the most American and most British words?: Is American English really that different than its British ancestor? And if so, what words truly separate the American from the Brit? The Department of Data is on the case.

This 1848 painting has uncanny insight into American conspiracy thinking: Can a country born in conspiracy theories find the fine line between suspicion and paranoia?

Trump seeks $2 billion to clean up D.C. in latest effort to control city: Trump has falsely claimed he has solved the city’s crime problems. Now he seeks to transform Washington into a place reminiscent of his private golf clubs.

Canadian court allows cull of 400 ostriches that RFK Jr. hoped to save: Avian flu was detected at Universal Ostrich Farms in British Columbia, but the owners argue their birds could have antibodies worth studying.

Southwest is a favorite for plus-size fliers. A new policy may change that.: Starting next year, the airline will only guarantee a second-seat refund on flights with at least one open spot.

Police records reveal man who sparked investigation into Kansas official’s immigration status

Georgia bigot filmed berating neighbor with antisemitic slurs fired by health care company he co-founded

As Trump tightens grip on D.C., officers say their chief is absent: The pressure of a partial federal takeover has ratcheted up criticism of the chief from within the department and outside

F.B.I. Plans to Lower Recruiting Standards, Alarming Agents: The plan appears to be part of a broader effort to shift the agency’s focus from tracking national security threats to fighting crime. - "Lowering recruiting standards will allow the F.B.I. to draw deeper from the ranks of other federal law enforcement agencies, specifically a category of criminal investigators classified in the federal system as 1811s. Investigators with that designation work at dozens of agencies, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement, inspector general offices and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

"The new plan, current and former agents say, seems to be part of a larger effort by Mr. Patel to have the bureau focus more on street crime, rather than on complicated cases touching on financial fraud, public corruption and national security. Doing so, they added, will erode the bureau’s reputation as an elite law enforcement agency, known for its selectiveness about its recruits."

Monday, July 28, 2025

Reading archive 2025-07-28 pt 1

The Number Go Up Rule: Why America Refuses to Fix Anything: In the Booming Twenties, all decision-making is about protecting the value of financial assets held by older people. Therefore, the number must go up. And nothing else matters. - "Increasing the capitalization of the stock market at all costs has a number of implications about how our society works. Anything hindering short-term increases in profits, whether that’s higher wages, more factory investment, ending tax loopholes, rules to block being able to unsubscribe from Planet Fitness, transitioning to different energy sources, addressing an opioid crisis, or breaking Chinese control over the necessities of life, gets pushed out of the way. American life spans have plateaued or stagnated since 2015, which you’d think would be of concern. But it’s just not. There’s also something that distinguishes standard financial capitalism from ‘number go up.’ Financial capitalism implies risk. But in our era, the government guarantees financial returns with subsidies, regulations and bailouts. It’s a form of statecraft."

Pollen exploitation by non-native, feral honey bees: Potential consequences for interspecific competition

Interrogating a cold-case killer: ‘Honey, your DNA was in the crime scene’: Police videos show Eugene Gligor, who has pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing, being arrested and questioned for the 2001 murder of Leslie Preer in Chevy Chase, Maryland.

VOLKSWAGEN’S SECRET: History forgot the horrors endured by laborers on the automaker’s massive cattle ranch in the Brazilian Amazon. But a priest had recorded it all.

What a Democrat Could Do With Trump’s Power: America is entering an age of retributive governing cycles.

Finally, a Democrat Who Could Shine on Joe Rogan’s Show Hunter Biden is unrepentant.

Trump fumes as Epstein scandal dominates headlines, overshadows agenda: The White House and Justice Department’s response has been driven by no clear strategy other than asking the country to move on, people close to the situation told The Post.

It turns out there’s a right and wrong way to pee: Many women push to speed things along, hover over the toilet or go ‘just in case,’ but those habits may cause future problems.

845,000 dead on U.S. highways. Why not address the main cause?: We need to ramp up the standards for road tests and train people to be better drivers.

In a legacy steel town, energy is now king — just don’t call it ‘green’: Form Energy is revitalizing Weirton, West Virginia. It’s also facing skepticism in this increasingly conservative area.

‘College hazing’ or training? Amid shortage, air traffic recruits wash out.: Almost 20 percent of new hires fail to become a controller at the first facility they’re sent to. - "There is an ill-defined mystique associated with air traffic control, a belief among some controllers that people are essentially born to do the job. But the idea obscures the fact that skills controllers need can be readily taught. 

"Controllers act like gatekeepers, demanding recruits prove they are worthy of entry to their club, said Linda Pierce, a retired FAA psychologist who studied how controllers are trained. 

"'It’s this professional guild, but to me it also felt like a college hazing,' she said. 'It was hostile.'"

I’m a cardiologist. Here are 10 science-based ways to prevent heart disease.: Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. But about 80 percent of cases are considered preventable.

I’m a cardiologist. Here are 10 science-based ways to prevent heart disease.: Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. But about 80 percent of cases are considered preventable.

Harvard Paper Explores Possibility That Object Approaching From Beyond Solar System Is Hostile Alien Technology: "The consequences, should the... hypothesis turn out to be correct, could potentially be dire for humanity." - "Loeb is an interesting character: he's an enormously accomplished academic and the former chair of Harvard's prestigious astronomy department, but in recent years has often made headlines for suggesting that various detections in the cosmos might be alien spacecraft. In other words, he was almost bound to weigh in on this latest interstellar visitor, which is only the third ever detected."

Wednesday, June 26, 2024

Reading archive 2024-06-26

A 3-year-old voicemail goes viral, leads to emotional reunion: The motivational voicemail ended up on TikTok with 6 million views and a movement to find Tameka Rooks, the woman behind the message - "'The goal is to get you to come in and not be nervous,' Rooks said. 'It’s a lot of money [to take the exams]. So I’m just trying to push you. You might be my next doctor. I might need your help one day'"

Michael Phelps warns Congress that doping issues threaten the Olympics: Olympic legend testifies before House subcommittee in hearing spurred by revelations of Chinese swimmers’ positive tests before Tokyo Games.

Biden to pardon U.S. veterans convicted in gay-sex cases by military: Thousands of former service members involuntarily discharged under old sodomy laws will be allowed to apply for withheld benefits.

Latimer ousts ‘Squad’ member Bowman in Democratic primary in New York: The race between Bowman and county official George Latimer was contentious, with accusations of racism and antisemitism. It was the most expensive House primary in history.

D.C. Council approves money to study reparations for Black residents: The District is likely to join localities nationwide in searching for concrete ways to reckon with slavery’s generational harm.

'My Nigerian great-grandfather sold slaves': Nigerian journalist and novelist Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani writes that one of her ancestors sold slaves, but argues that he should not be judged by today's standards or values. - "Igbo slaves served as domestic servants and labourers. They were sometimes also sacrificed in religious ceremonies and buried alive with their masters to attend to them in the next world.

...

"Records from the UK's National Archives at Kew show how desperately the British struggled to end the internal trade in slaves for almost the entire duration of the colonial period. 

"They promoted legitimate trade, especially in palm produce. They introduced English currency to replace the cumbersome brass rods and cowries that merchants needed slaves to carry. They prosecuted offenders with prison sentences."

 - "We, the American dining public, are responsible for covering much of the payroll for front-of-the-house workers. It’s been this way since the Pullman Company hired many formerly enslaved Black people and paid them substandard wages, requiring them to live largely off the tips they earned catering to White travelers."

America imported tipping from Europe — and then took it too far: Our tipping obsession has exacerbated inequality.

Tuesday, April 4, 2023

Reading archive 2023-04-04

Virginia Woman Stabbed to Death in DC Hotel Room; Bloodied Suspect Charged: George Sydnor Jr., 43, is charged with first-degree murder in the stabbing death of Christy Bautista - "Court records show he had been arrested many times before, including this past October for armed robbery. 

"A D.C. judge denied him bond in December, writing that Sydnor’s criminal history indicated he would pose a significant danger to the community. 

"Yet a different judge released Sydnor from jail less than two weeks later. He then failed to appear for a court hearing just eight days later."

You need a bidet, but not for the reason you think

Dahomey’s Women Warriors

The Real Warriors Behind ‘The Woman King’: A new film stars Viola Davis as the leader of the Agojie, the all-woman army of the African kingdom of Dahomey - "In truth, Ghezo only agreed to end Dahomey’s participation in the slave trade in 1852, after years of pressure by the British government, which had abolished slavery (for not wholly altruistic reasons) in its own colonies in 1833. Though Ghezo did at one point explore palm oil production as an alternative source of revenue, it proved far less lucrative, and the king soon resumed Dahomey’s participation in the slave trade."

Sunday, April 2, 2023

Reading archive 2023-04-02

The War was not: Our Finest Hour We cherish the myths of a conflict we know almost nothing truthful about, and which broke us militarily and financially

The history wars target Dahomey: The slave-trading nation was not a feminist utopia - "And if the filmmakers had had the courage to tell the true story of Dahomey — a story in which bold, independent African women were sometimes just as cruel and exploitative as the most vicious Portuguese sea-captains — then it might have encouraged their viewers to move beyond the infantile goodies-and-baddies view of imperial history that’s become so common today."

PC fantasy or historically accurate? What World On Fire gets right – and wrong – about war - "Indeed, the contribution of ethnic minorities to the Allied War effort is a mine of drama probably not yet exploited. For example, the first female wireless operator in occupied Paris for Britain’s Special Operations Executive was Noor Inayat Khan, an Indian born in the Kremlin and raised in France. And the fact that she could live undercover in Paris demonstrates how such visible minorities were unremarkable there, as they largely were in cities such as London and Liverpool with global trading routes. And homosexuality had certainly been an accepted part of the Parisian arts scene for generations (hence Oscar Wilde’s self-imposed exile and death in France)."


Tuesday, January 3, 2023

Thursday, July 14, 2022

Reading archive 2022-07-14 pt. 1

There are no artifacts to prove that slave ships existed.

Donald Trump looks to fall launch for 2024, potentially upending midterms: Some Republicans fear an announcement will undercut them at a time when they have a strong chance of retaking the House and Senate

A post-Roe surge could reshape this Illinois steel mill town: Granite City, a conservative-leaning community near the state‘s southern border, now offers the closest abortion clinics for many patients across the South and Midwest

Five charts explaining why inflation is at a 40-year high

Man charged in rape of 10-year-old girl who had to travel for abortion

After arrest in rape of 10-year-old girl, Fox News hosts shift focus

Veterans forced out for being gay are still waiting for VA benefits: A decade after the repeal of ‘don’t ask, don’t tell,’ details on new guidance remain scarce

Youngkin defends portrayal of gay-marriage rights as business ranking slips - "'We actually do protect same-sex marriage in Virginia,' Youngkin responded. 'That’s the law in Virginia and, therefore, as governor of Virginia, we protect same-sex marriage.'

"But state law does not protect such unions. In fact, the Virginia Constitution bans same-sex marriage under an amendment adopted in 2006 that defines marriage as between a man and a woman. While the ban became defunct after Obergefell, the language remains in the constitution and would become operative again if the Supreme Court were to reverse itself. Republicans in the House of Delegates killed an effort this year to remove that language."

Fertilizer crisis delivers profits and pain as Ukraine fallout broadens: ‘It’s brutal. Farmers aren’t buying what they need; they are buying what they can afford,’ one expert said

FDA authorizes Novavax coronavirus vaccine, adding to pandemic arsenal

The world’s longest-lived trees couldn’t survive climate change - "To Murphy Westwood, the vice president for science and conservation at the Morton Arboretum in Illinois, each loss feels like a moral failing. 

"'It’s overwhelming and almost crushing,' she said, 'the stark reality of the biodiversity crisis that’s on our hands.'"

Once nearly extinct, bison are now climate heroes: Indigenous tribes are leading the effort to bring back the bison — a victory not only for the sake of biodiversity, but for the entire ecosystem they nurture

The green revolution sweeping Sweden

In Amsterdam, a community of floating homes shows the world how to live alongside nature


Saturday, November 6, 2021

Reading archive 2021-11-05

These stories are supposed to give you nightmares

The rise and fall of the Jack Daniel’s committee: How D.C.’s police lodge made thousands selling whiskey online - "'If it was ever against the law, we would never have done it,' said Maybo, the former lodge president, in a recent interview. After all, he said, the whole thing was done by police officers, in front of police officers. 'I would imagine that if I’m doing something illegal, if the FOP were doing something illegal, somebody would have said that. And it went on for years.'

"Experts in alcohol law said the Jack Daniel’s committee’s actions appeared to be a clear-cut violation of the law in D.C. and multiple states. 

"'These are cops?' asked Michael Brill Newman, who leads the alcoholic-beverage team at the firm Holland & Knight."