I'm trying something new this week, something that may or may not stick - just a way for me to share the reading materials, videos, and podcasts I've enjoyed this week.
- Blackwater Security is run by Eric Prince, Betsy DeVos' little brother. They're a highly unethical private security firm that started out working for the CIA in a training capacity. After being pushed away by the Obama administration, Blackwater has been brought into the new administration - even after becoming internationally active as a "shipping company" selling mercenary training and services throughout the Middle East and in China. Eric Prince views himself as a "modern day crusader" and he's basically a freelance war criminal.
- The Border Patrol in the United States is 95% male, mostly Chicano and Latino, and has an absolutely horrifying culture of sexual assault and dehumanization of migrants. Their actions are being spurred on by both the history of racism and the present-day autoimmune-disease-like flare-up of racism that is the Trump presidency.
- Private prisons in New York are basically run by gangs because of extremely poor oversight, low wages, and improper staff training.
- Astronauts struggled with peeing in space for decades, and basically just had to wet themselves in their suits and put their poop in bags. This was not dealt with until the first woman astronaut went up - and even now, poop baggies are still required to deal with the issue.
- Busing and segregation have had pervasive effects to the present day. It's something Democrats don't like talking about, but it's still really important.
- People on the radical left think Stalin was a good guy and still respect Mao, which is extremely messed up and makes me quite angry. (Twitter and Facebook commentators are the source for this one; I do have an upcoming article about it as well)
- I'm not the only person who thinks Stalin and Mao did the same bad thing as other genocidal fascist dictators. That said, some takes from the radical left on social democracy are also very wild. That said, as "Breadtube" or "Leftube" has risen in prominence, it's quite disturbing that the usual leftist fractiousness has reared its ugly head once again.
- The depth of inequalities in the US is absolutely horrifying and shattering.
- China and the Phillipines are shipping back plastic recycling, which means Canada and the US need much better ways of handling their recycling.
- Boris Johnson is the new Prime Minister of Britain, unfortunately.
- It's hard to make changes for the environment - but there are some cognitive tricks we play on ourselves that can let us fix those problems.
And now, some fun things!
- This discussion of unreliable narrators, and the series in general, is fantastic!
- apparently, blood is repulsed by magnetism, even though blood contains iron in haemeoglobin. So that's weird.
- Some reptiles have penes, some have cloacas like birds (except ducks, which famously have weird corkscrew penes), and some female bearded dragons have penes while in the egg!
- Endangered animals thrive in ghost towns! Tiny "rewilding" preserves make an absolutely spectacular difference in the fight against extinction.
- a particular fungus turns cicadas into sex zombies...
- This song was so beautiful that I absolutely had to include it, even though it's not necessarily something I "learned" this week. This one is so intimate and awkward, too, that it's lovely.
- Blackwater Security is run by Eric Prince, Betsy DeVos' little brother. They're a highly unethical private security firm that started out working for the CIA in a training capacity. After being pushed away by the Obama administration, Blackwater has been brought into the new administration - even after becoming internationally active as a "shipping company" selling mercenary training and services throughout the Middle East and in China. Eric Prince views himself as a "modern day crusader" and he's basically a freelance war criminal.
- The Border Patrol in the United States is 95% male, mostly Chicano and Latino, and has an absolutely horrifying culture of sexual assault and dehumanization of migrants. Their actions are being spurred on by both the history of racism and the present-day autoimmune-disease-like flare-up of racism that is the Trump presidency.
- Private prisons in New York are basically run by gangs because of extremely poor oversight, low wages, and improper staff training.
- Astronauts struggled with peeing in space for decades, and basically just had to wet themselves in their suits and put their poop in bags. This was not dealt with until the first woman astronaut went up - and even now, poop baggies are still required to deal with the issue.
- Busing and segregation have had pervasive effects to the present day. It's something Democrats don't like talking about, but it's still really important.
- People on the radical left think Stalin was a good guy and still respect Mao, which is extremely messed up and makes me quite angry. (Twitter and Facebook commentators are the source for this one; I do have an upcoming article about it as well)
- I'm not the only person who thinks Stalin and Mao did the same bad thing as other genocidal fascist dictators. That said, some takes from the radical left on social democracy are also very wild. That said, as "Breadtube" or "Leftube" has risen in prominence, it's quite disturbing that the usual leftist fractiousness has reared its ugly head once again.
- The depth of inequalities in the US is absolutely horrifying and shattering.
- China and the Phillipines are shipping back plastic recycling, which means Canada and the US need much better ways of handling their recycling.
- Boris Johnson is the new Prime Minister of Britain, unfortunately.
- It's hard to make changes for the environment - but there are some cognitive tricks we play on ourselves that can let us fix those problems.
And now, some fun things!
- This discussion of unreliable narrators, and the series in general, is fantastic!
- Some reptiles have penes, some have cloacas like birds (except ducks, which famously have weird corkscrew penes), and some female bearded dragons have penes while in the egg!
- Endangered animals thrive in ghost towns! Tiny "rewilding" preserves make an absolutely spectacular difference in the fight against extinction.
- a particular fungus turns cicadas into sex zombies...
- This song was so beautiful that I absolutely had to include it, even though it's not necessarily something I "learned" this week. This one is so intimate and awkward, too, that it's lovely.
***
Michelle Browne is a sci fi/fantasy writer and editor. She lives in Lethbridge, AB with her partner-in-crime and Max the cat. Her days revolve around freelance editing, knitting, jewelry, and learning too much. She is currently working on other people's manuscripts, the next books in her series, and drinking as much tea as humanly possible.
