How a billionaires boys’ club came to dominate the public square

The world’s richest man, Elon Musk, attacked a publication owned by the world’s third-richest man, Jeff Bezos, last month for reprinting a column published by the world’s 13th-richest man, Mike Bloomberg. The Bloomberg opinion article, posted by The Washington Post, asked whether Musk’s recent investment in Twitter would endanger freedom of speech. “WaPo always good…

Disability advocates: Don’t drop COVID-19 safety measures

With the lethal threat of COVID-19 on the decline, many colleges are relaxing policies to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Disability advocates fear that high-risk individuals will suffer. “Universities aren’t necessarily listening to disabled students,” said Eiryn Griest Schwartzman, who co-founded COVID Safe Campus, an advocacy organization for students and employees with disabilities. “That…

Los Angeles sheriff appears to back down after signaling he was investigating reporter

Villanueva has repeatedly singled out LA Times reporter Alene Tchekmedyian, who is just doing her job by covering his department. Tchekmedyian has published a series of stories about an incident in which a deputy kneeled on an inmate — including an article on Monday regarding an allegation that Villanueva was implicated in a cover-up. At Tuesday’s…

The secret police: Cops built a shadowy surveillance machine in Minnesota after George Floyd’s murder

Many of the same people who reject masking and vaccinations on the grounds that they allegedly threaten the free will of the citizenry are perfectly OK with authoritarian police systems that harass and assault citizens who are exercising their First Amendment rights to a free press and free speech. If you’re worried that vaccines are…

“Wolf!”, cried the shepherd boy. (The whole thread is worth reading.)

https://twitter.com/CT_Bergstrom/status/1509065974367936515?t=VhY0T-a7ABXTqvO7Cz8uWw&s=09 Similar:August Wilson Trifecta (Two Trains, Ma Rainey and Fences on the same day)Fences was performed in the backyard of …CultureBound Together by an Historic Moment I was a young faculty member teachin…CultureFather copes with toddler son's cancer by creating 'empathy' gameGreen and Larson both admit that even th…AestheticsJournalism has become ground zero for the…

People we have a hole in the floor

Similar:A fleet of drones performs a light show in Ireland for St. Patrick's Day. I can’t help thinking of the b…AestheticsBully: She told her son, ‘hit him hard’ –and she learned a lessonThis is a great story about a parent who…CultureTime lapse movie shows exoplanets orbiting star HR8799, 133 light years away. (Published i…  AestheticsHow…

How Russia’s Disinformation Apparatus Ran Aground in Ukraine

Skillful propagandists always leverage people’s pre-conceived notions to steer the conversation away from what is prejudicial to their side’s interests. The tactic works because it often deflects attention towards other injustices that are also real, making it easy to elicit a strong emotional response that blinds the audience to the underlying cynicism. Redfish, for example,…

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (workshop premiere of a new musical by Greg Kerestan)

I really enjoyed seeing the first workshop performance of SHU alum Greg Kerestan’s original horror-comedy musical, “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari,” based on the classic 1920 German expressionist silent film. The music is powerful, and the cast is hilarious and creepy, in all the right proportions.   The daughter plays a ballet mistress socialite (and…

Things may be awful, but at least an invasive species of spider the size of a child’s hand isn’t expected to “colonize” the entire East Coast this spring by parachuting…oh no

Similar:Do you really keep a diary?ALGERNON Do you really keep a diary? I’d…AmusingPsychology Today: Dreams: Night SchoolJay Dixit, in Psychology Today, surveys …GamesIn Defense Of Metaphors In Science WritingWe live in an elegant universe. The c…CultureChatGPT took their jobs. Now they walk dogs and fix air conditioners.“In every previous automation threat, th…BusinessThe beauty from some…

War via TikTok: Russia’s new tool for propaganda machine

“This is the way they go to war; it’s a central part of Russian doctrine,” said Jim Ludes, a former U.S. defense analyst who now directs the Pell Center for International Relations and Public Policy at Salve Regina University. Ludes said Russian disinformation campaigns are intended to galvanize Russian support while confusing and dividing the…