The buck starts here

Philosophy for the People w/Ben Burgis || In Defense of the Fowkes Translation of Marx's Capital https://benburgis.substack.com/p/in-defense-of-the-fowkes-translation

Trump's threat to destroy Iran's power plants was made after the markets closed on Friday. He backed down and announced a potential deal before markets reopened on Monday... and said this was a 5-day pause. So until the markets close again next Friday. Hmm.

6 months before bombing Iran and closing the Strait of Hormuz, the Trump admin fired the State Dept. oil and gas experts. The people who modeled exactly this scenario. The ones with contacts at Gulf energy ministries. Now nobody knows who to call. You can't make this up.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

What fresh hell is this

mill's dedication: this is a jointly authored work a century & a half of male editors: mill exaggerated out of a sentimental fondness for his wife mill's letters: no, really, most of "my" work was partly by her, i really could not be clearer on this

The moment Israel bombed South Pars they briefed that the US had agreed on the attack. US officials briefed throughout the day that this was effectively a joint action. Trump is either lying or he forgot.

Ray Bradbury: In my novel Fahrenheit 451 I described the Mechanical Hound as a cautionary tale Tech industry: At last we have created the Mechanical Hound from Bradbury's novel Fahrenheit 451

David Gentleman, who is COOL, is 96 today.

Trump says US Navy sank Iran's warship off the coast of Sri Lanka because "it's more fun" to sink ships than capture them.

🚨 It looks like the UK government is gearing up to upend copyright law in favour of AI companies, legalising the theft of their work. This is despite creatives' huge protests, and despite previous proposals being roundly rejected by the public. Please spread the word. 🧵 1/4

100 years ago. Clip from TV version of David Hare's 1993 play The Absence of War

And thus the whirligig of time brings in his revenges

It's hard not to despair about the state of the world today, but here are five reasons to be a little bit hopeful, says Fred Pearce

It is very difficult to defeat the government on any terrorism judicial review It is also very difficult to defeat the government when challenging a statutory instrument, terrorism or otherwise. Legally this is a *huge* achievement for the applicants.

OMG they've done a remake of Kind Hearts and Coronets

In Boston ICE randomly pulled over this huge white Irish guy with a Mass drivers license, 20 years in the states, legal status, pending green card and have held him for 5 months, his citizen wife paid a $4k bond that was ignored(!) ICE forged his signature on deportation agreement, no appeal

Not a single thing we were told about #COVID turned out to be correct. A long thread 🧵

"True leaders Are hardly known to their followers. Next after them are the leaders they know and admire; after them, those they fear; after them, those they despise". - Lao Tzu, Tao te ching, version by Ursula K Le Guin

PRIVATE EYE NAMED IN EPSTEIN FILES In the latest files related to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein released by the US Justice Department, the Eye is denounced as “an absolute rag of a publication” by Epstein’s then lawyer, Paul Tweed… 🧵1/5

Question Time has platformed racist political commentator Konstantin Kisin tonight who previously said of Southampton born, Winchester educated, Rishi Sunak’s identity: “He’s a brown Hindu, how can he be English?!”

Kendall: I for one welcome our new tech overlords

I wrote this song on Saturday, recorded it yesterday and released it to you today in response to the state terror being visited on the city of Minneapolis. It’s dedicated to the people of Minneapolis, our innocent immigrant neighbors and in memory of Alex Pretti and Renee Good. Stay free

I wrote this yesterday about the hero city of Minneapolis www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKOW...

He says this like it's a bad thing 🤷

Trump lets another drug trafficker out of prison because his father happens to be a Republican member of Congress.

h/i David Grinspoon

Another day in Trump's America

Metropolis (1927) is set in 2026.

Meet the new year, same as the old year.

I don't know who needs to know this, but Dead of Night is streaming on Channel 4 until the end of today, in case you don't have other plans

Happy tenth anniversary to photographer Joel Goodman’s classic image which by rights should be hanging in the Louvre.

“Let me just get some proof of delivery” Didn’t find a subscription left under your Christmas tree? Treat yourself! 🎁 ➡️ Get 26 issues for just £48. Subscribe: checkout.private-eye.co.uk/SingleItem?I...

NATO fighter jets were scrambled after Putin ordered Tu-95MS strategic bombers on a Christmas sortie toward northern Britain, according to the Mirror. The aircraft flew over the Norwegian Sea, prompting an air policing response amid concerns over a deliberate show of force near UK airspace.

NEW: By a 6-3 vote, the Supreme Court blocks Trump’s deployment of the National Guard to Chicago to assist immigration agents. A majority holds that he likely lacks authority to do so. Thomas, Alito, and Gorsuch dissent. www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25p...

Delighted to hear that The Invisible Doctrine, the film by @peterhutchison.bsky.social and @lucas-sabean.bsky.social, is being offered free to view on YouTube for the holiday season. It's all yours! youtu.be/gR4eSEetKP0

Is it? My understanding is that strictly speaking "defamatory" means harmful to one's reputation whether true or not; it becomes libellous/slanderous if false

So it goes

🤣

Grading and googling hallucinated citations, as one does nowadays, and now that LLMs have been around for a while, I've discovered new horrors: hallucinated journals are now appearing in Google Scholar with dozens of citations bc so many people are citing these fake things

🧵 It's almost a joke. Entshittification by @pluralistic.net.web.brid.gy - I order the book, but it doesn't ship for weeks, despite being 'In Stock'. The expected delivery date is changed to May 26, even though the book is still allegedly 'In Stock'. - It suddenly arrives. The postman doesn't...

I hope people understand that if Trump gets his way America will soon be part of the global axis of evil if we aren't already. You see it in the Caribbean, you see it in Ukraine, and you see it with Trump trying to buddy up to Xi. We are a malevolent force.

Today's #DesertIslandDiscs sees the mighty Margaret Atwood talking to @laurenlaverne.bsky.social. Should be a goodie. It's on Radio 4 at 10am

This year I’m doing something different - I’m only going to talk about this one appeal. Please donate at the link here if you possibly can, or share this to beat the far right vigilante groups 👉 www.justgiving.com/campaign/tog...

A proper treat for you! 🎛️ New mini #BBCRadio3 series, every night this week 9.45pm #Electronicwomen From Daphne Oram to Laurie Anderson… only 15mins each night, before NightTracks kicks in HP x

Would anyone like my ticket to tonight's Daphne Oram night at the Barbican from 7.30pm? Sadly I can't go; any reasonable offer fine, DM for details, thanks

Students and staff at Trinity College Dublin have produced the world's first film in the ancient - and dead - Sumerian language