Publishers have a lot of power. Written material shapes thinking and conversations. When they choose a book or article, they are using physical and mental space that might have gone elsewhere. For many, many years in the English-speaking countries, that space has gone to white cis men, excluding other voices. Compounding the exclusion has been …
When Everything Changed
On the Road and In Your Backyard
Good Morning All, On The Road and In Your Backyard is a weekday feature spotlighting reader submissions. From the exotic to the familiar, please share your part of the world, whether you’re traveling or just in your locality. Share some pictures and a narrative, let us see through your pictures and words. We’re so lucky …
A Brief History of the Breakup of the Soviet Union
Last night, stinger asked for more information on the causes of the breakup of the Soviet Union. Here’s a short summary of my understanding, with some references, not all (sorry!) links. The Soviet economic system was faltering from the sixties on. The First Secretaries during that period were slow-moving, sick, and in no way capable …
A Brief History of the Breakup of the Soviet UnionPost + Comments (106)
What Could a Mysterious U.S. Spy Know About the JFK Assassination?
Records about June Cobb, an American spy in Cuba during the early 1960s, are to be released soon (Politico) and apparently have some bearing on the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. She worked in Cuba and Mexico, apparently fairly close to Castro. I am taking this with a grain of salt, but more information …
What Could a Mysterious U.S. Spy Know About the JFK Assassination?Post + Comments (236)
What’s All That Wet Stuff In My Eyes?
I just watched this, and I can’t quite explain why my vision went all damp and blurry for a moment there: This one rings across so many of the changes being played right now. I won’t rabbit on about them; I think the film speaks for itself far better than any commentary could. But I …
Sort of Maybe a Bit Like Friday Recipe Exchange on Monday: Do NOT Try This at Home Edition!!!!!
Alton Brown has been tinkering again. He’s invented a way to make ice cream in under 10 seconds. The video is below. Whatever you do, do not try this at home! Bon appetit! And open thread.
Withdrawal for a too small company
An insurer in New York state that offered plans for 2014 will not be on the 2015 Exchange: American Progressive Life & Health Insurance Company of New York has become the first company to withdraw from the New York State Health Exchange after failing to file a 2015 rate proposal. The company, also known as …