Month: May 2022
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The L.A. County Sheriff’s Deputy-Gang Crisis | The New Yorker
The L.A. County Sheriff’s Deputy-Gang Crisis Whistle-blowers say that a group called the Banditos functions as a shadow government within local law enforcement. The sheriff says there is no such gang in his department. via The New Yorker: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/06/06/the-la-county-sheriffs-deputy-gang-crisis According to a lawsuit filed by eight East L.A. deputies and the A.C.L.U., the Banditos gang…
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My students cheated… A lot • crumplab
Brief notes on the cheating behavior literature *May 26th, 2022*: some notes Link: https://crumplab.com/articles/blog/post_994_5_26_22_cheating/index.html The second midterm was supposed to start at 12:50 PM. I had it all set up and ready to go, which meant that students would be able to access the midterm online when the clock struck 12:50 PM. The group chat…
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The Rise and Fall of America’s Environmentalist Underground – The New York Times
The Rise and Fall of America’s Environmentalist Underground This year, one of the last fugitives of the Earth Liberation Front pleaded guilty to arson — at a moment when climate activists are again flirting with radical ideas. Link: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/26/magazine/earth-liberation-front-joseph-mahmoud-dibee.html While Tubbs manned a police scanner in their getaway van, the rest of the team trudged…
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Putin’s Pivot to a “Really Big War” in Ukraine | The New Yorker
Putin’s Pivot to a “Really Big War” in Ukraine As his invasion enters its fourth month, the Russian leader is preparing for the long haul. Meanwhile, the military is chattering about its losses, and putting out calls for supplies on Telegram. via The New Yorker: https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/putins-pivot-to-a-really-big-war-in-ukraine Yes. Unfortunately, now they accept it. When we first…
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Kai Lenny Surfs the Unsurfable | The New Yorker
Kai Lenny Surfs the Unsurfable The big-wave surfer tackles some of the most fearsome swells on the planet. On the surface, it looks like he’s just having fun. via The New Yorker: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/05/30/kai-lenny-surfs-the-unsurfable Watching Kai Lenny surf at Pe‘ahi, a big-wave spot off the north coast of Maui, is slightly heart-stopping. You may have seen…
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On a Remote Mountain, the ‘Sistine Chapel of Socialism’ Awaits Its Fate – The New York Times
On a Remote Mountain, the ‘Sistine Chapel of Socialism’ Awaits Its Fate (Published 2022) An enormous monument to the Communist Party in Bulgaria is now a decrepit ruin. The country is wrestling with how to deal with a symbol of an unwanted and, in many ways, deeply ugly past. Link: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/22/world/europe/on-a-remote-mountain-the-sistine-chapel-of-socialism-awaits-its-fate.html That struggle is celebrated…
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The Triumph of Marcos Dynasty Disinformation Is a Warning to the U.S. | The New Yorker
The Triumph of Marcos Dynasty Disinformation Is a Warning to the U.S. Maria Ressa and her staff at Rappler exposed the family’s false narratives, but social-media mythmaking prevailed in a historic election in the Philippines. via The New Yorker: https://www.newyorker.com/news/dispatch/the-triumph-of-marcos-dynasty-disinformation-is-a-warning-to-the-us “If, in a Duterte Presidency, the main issue was human rights, in a Marcos Presidency…
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How a Trash-Talking Crypto Founder Caused a $40 Billion Crash – The New York Times
How a Trash-Talking Crypto Founder Caused a $40 Billion Crash Do Kwon, a South Korean entrepreneur, hyped the Luna and TerraUSD cryptocurrencies. Their failures have devastated some traders, though not the investment firms that cashed out early. Link: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/18/technology/terra-luna-cryptocurrency-do-kwon.html Mr. Kwon dismissed concerns with a taunt: “I don’t debate the poor.”
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Inside Putin’s Propaganda Machine | The New Yorker
Inside Putin’s Propaganda Machine Current and former employees describe Russian state television as an army, one with a few generals and many foot soldiers who never question their orders. via The New Yorker: https://www.newyorker.com/news/annals-of-communications/inside-putins-propaganda-machine Most recent episodes have been devoted to mocking Ukraine and its allies—especially the United States and President Biden—and debating Russia’s options.…
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The Buffalo Shooter Shopped at their Gun Stores | The New Yorker
The Buffalo Shooter Shopped at Their Gun Stores New York and Pennsylvania shopkeepers recount their interactions with Payton Gendron, and the fears of civil war that have run rampant in his community since 2020. via The New Yorker: https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-local-correspondents/the-buffalo-shooter-shopped-at-their-gun-stores This was part of a nationwide trend. In 2020, firearm sales went up an estimated sixty-five…
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A Ukrainian City Under a Violent New Regime | The New Yorker
A Ukrainian City Under a Violent New Regime How the Russian occupation transformed life in Melitopol. via The New Yorker: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/05/23/a-ukrainian-city-under-a-violent-new-regime After he came to, he was brought to the former base of the 25th Brigade, in Melitopol. Russian soldiers there were carrying out a process known since the Chechen wars of the nineties as…
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Coffeezilla, the YouTuber Exposing Crypto Scams | The New Yorker
Coffeezilla, the YouTuber Exposing Crypto Scams In the golden age of con artistry, self-proclaimed finance gurus are everywhere, with few checks on their claims. via The New Yorker: https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-the-southwest/coffeezilla-the-youtuber-exposing-crypto-scams when I discovered crypto for the first time, it was, like, ‘Oh, that guy lost, like, five hundred thousand on Tuesday,’ ” he said. “Crypto scams are…
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Samuel Alito’s “Amelia Bedelia” Reading of the Constitution | The New Yorker
Samuel Alito’s “Amelia Bedelia” Reading of the Constitution What the Supreme Court Justice’s leaked draft opinion on abortion reveals about originalism. via The New Yorker: https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/amelia-bedelia-meet-samuel-alito Originalists argue that it’s not their fault that the drafters may have been slaveholders, or uniformly male, or white, or without any knowledge of contemporary technology or a more…
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Madonna’s NFT Collab With Beeple Is a Matryoshka of Vagina Horrors
Madonna’s NFT Collab With Beeple Is a Matryoshka of Vagina Horrors Can’t Madonna just donate to charity without making everyone look at a 3D scan of her vagina? via Hyperallergic: https://hyperallergic.com/731767/madonnas-nft-beeple-collab/ The works, collectively titled Mother of Creation, are a matryoshka doll of nightmares, a sort of telescoping abyss of bad things contained in worse…
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Matthew Wong’s Life in Light and Shadow | The New Yorker
Matthew Wong’s Life in Light and Shadow How a self-taught artist became one of the most celebrated painters of his generation. via The New Yorker: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/05/16/matthew-wongs-life-in-light-and-shadow The canvases quickly piled up. When the piles overwhelmed his space, he moved paintings into the director’s studio—or he moved, to work in someone else’s space. In 2015, he noted,…
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Our Misguided Obsession with Twitter | The New Yorker
Our Misguided Obsession with Twitter The social-media platform has become a spectacle driven by a narrow and unrepresentative group of élites. via The New Yorker: https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/our-misguided-obsession-with-twitter The survey partitioned respondents into seven “tribes” defined by shared beliefs and behavior. The group farthest to the left, the “progressive activists,” contained only eight per cent of the…
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Can Liberty University Be Saved? | The New Yorker
Can Liberty University Be Saved? After Jerry Falwell, Jr.,’s ouster, some students and alumni have sought a more thorough excavation of Liberty’s values. via The New Yorker: https://www.newyorker.com/news/annals-of-education/can-liberty-university-be-saved “I’ve always thought that, if more good people had concealed-carry permits, then we could end those Muslims before they walked in,” Falwell said. The students cheered. Wahl…
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Henry Winkler Breaks the Curse of Stardom – The New York Times
Henry Winkler Breaks the Curse of Stardom Now in his 70s, the pop culture icon has found his true calling on “Barry,” as the king of character actors. Link: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/27/magazine/henry-winkler-barry.html When the producers of the HBO series “Barry” asked Henry Winkler to audition for the role of Gene Cousineau, they assured him that he was…
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Russian Tycoon Criticized Putin’s War. Retribution Was Swift. – The New York Times
Russian Tycoon Criticized Putin’s War. Retribution Was Swift. Oleg Tinkov spoke out against his country’s war in Ukraine. Now he is in hiding. In an exclusive interview he said, “I don’t believe in Russia’s future’’ under Vladimir Putin. Link: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/01/world/europe/oligarch-putin-oleg-tinkov.html “I’ve realized that Russia, as a country, no longer exists,” Mr. Tinkov said, predicting that…
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The Worst Boyfriend on the Upper East Side | The New Yorker
The Worst Boyfriend on the Upper East Side For decades, a man has romanced New York women, persuading them to invest in questionable business deals. How did he keep running the same scam? via The New Yorker: https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-local-correspondents/the-worst-boyfriend-on-the-upper-east-side After a month had gone by, Rachelle paid Julia back herself, but this didn’t assuage Julia’s suspicions.…