July 17, 2015
Preventing a nuclear Iran. . .for 15 years.
After intense negotiations, the Obama administration has started a new phase of defending the nuclear deal with Iran that could determine whether Congress will approve it after a 60-day review. Obama's deal with Iran could become his administration's foreign policy legacy. But is Iran’s nuclear capability the issue anyway?
How insignificant Marcus Aurelius's works, compared to those of Givenchy
"I'm very new, yes. Very new and very shit."
SNN: The Shitty News Network
"Only those who have strayed follow the poets"
Battle Lines is an essay by academics Robyn Creswell and Bernard Haykel in The New Yorker on the poetry of jihadis, especially those who follow the Islamic State. They argue that the way to understand them is to study their cultural products, especially poetry, which is part of their daily socialization, as discussed in this video. Poetry has a special status in the Arab world. Elisabeth Kendall explores that context in her essay Yemen’s al-Qa'ida and Poetry as a Weapon of Jihad. Jihadi poetry is closely linked to the nasheed tradition of songs which are usually sung a capella. Behnam Said traces their history in the essay Hymns ( Nasheeds): A Contribution to the Study of the Jihadist Culture.
The Last Katibs Of Delhi
Today, I broke your solar system. Oops.
Dr. Anandibai Joshi, Dr. Keiko Okami, and Dr. Sabat Islambouli in 1885
This photo depicts Dr. Anandibai Joshi of India, Dr. Keiko Okami of Japan, and Dr. Sabat Islambouli of Syria, three women who became doctors in 1885, at least two the first female physician in their own country, and 36 years after Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell became the first woman to receive a medical degree in the United States. (All three completed medical school at the Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania.) Be sure to click "See More" to read the full post at the first link. (Previously, on the lives of trailblazing women in medicine.) [more inside]
The young women fighting to make abortion illegal
Gone are the days of pro-life rallies led by middle-aged men. These social-media savvy women are the newest–and youngest–faces of the anti-abortion movement. They’re using controversial tactics to get their point across, and it might actually be working.
In a new collaboration with the BBC, Nightline on Fusion explores the new leaders of the pro-life movement. [more inside]
"I don't have that experience with many straight men"
Melissa McEwan - Ladies' Man: "When I tell people that I adore Iain for how much he likes women, the very compliment is received with suspicion... Straight men aren't supposed to like women, unless they want to fuck them." (via Phire) [more inside]
Shazam!
How does Shazam recognize music? Christophe Kalenzaga sifts through an old research paper (pdf) by Shazam's founder and conducts a short (written) course in signal processing, acoustics, Fourier transformations, and fingerprinting music. [more inside]
The best game in the pug dating simulator genre
Dim the lights. Light candles. A romantic evening awaits. An evening of speed dating.
finally letting go of the Confederate flag as a symbol of Southern pride
"The Confederate flag didn't get hijacked. It took off from Defending Slavery Airport and landed, right on time, at Defending Segregation Terminal." Jay Smooth: 12 symbols of Southern pride actually worth celebrating. [more inside]
An Open Letter of Resignation from Pride Toronto
Trans* activist Christin Scarlett Milloy resigns from her role as Volunteer Team Lead of the Trans Pride Team at Pride Toronto [more inside]
she's always been tremendously entertaining
When Lana Del Rey included a cover of Nirvana's Heart-Shaped Box in her live show a few years ago, Courtney tweeted at her with some interesting pop trivia. "You do know the song is about my vagina, right?" Courtney wrote. "So umm next time you sing it, think about my vagina will you?" -- Let's rethink Courtney Love, suggests Nick Levine for Vice.
The Man Who Was The Day Before Friday
G.K. Chesterton was one of the most accomplished authors of the 20th century, a devout Catholic and an endlessly fascinating man of contradictions. Should he be a saint? [more inside]
Clueless is a sprawling portrait of L.A.’s unique beauty
As If: A Journey Through the Los Angeles of Clueless
Up Periscope! Good Periscope!
Container ships are very large
The New York Times profiles a cargo ship to illustrate the lawbreaking that is common in international, transoceanic shipping. [more inside]
Someone ask Charlotte Riley if this is accurate, plz
If Tom Hardy Were Your Boyfriend (slTheToast)
“Dr. Sacks does not use computers—he prefers mail or fax.”
My Letter From Oliver Sacks by David Friedman [The Morning New]
In 2002, David Friedman thought of a question he wanted to ask Oliver Sacks, on the topic of 3D glasses and “pseudoscopic” vision. A week after he sent the letter, he received a typewritten reply, complete with diagrams.
Rosin Cerate
Rosin Cerate is an "intensely researched blog" bringing you all kinds of interesting and odd knowledge about biology and creatures and how certain esoteric metals give you garlic breath. [via mefi projects] [more inside]
Mira Rai, trail runner from Nepal
From Village Girl to World Ultramarathon Champion | She has innate talent, but it was her early life that prepared her for such races. After dropping out of school, she worked as a trader carrying upto 28 kg sacks of rice up and down mountains. “Many considered this to be a hard life, but now I see it was really good training,” Rai laughs.
Long Time Listener, First Time Caller
Shannon Proudfoot on the joys, sorrows and culture of sports radio. Welcome to sports call-in radio, the world’s cheapest therapy. You don’t have to wait too long for an appointment, and like a 12-step meeting, it’s first names only—and you can even lie about that if you want. There’s no real psychological expertise on offer, but that’s not why anyone tunes in. Call-in radio is, quite literally, about making your voice heard. These shows are their own intense little communities—complete with local celebrities, crackpot street-corner prophets and unwritten etiquette—built on the foundation of obsessive sports fandom.
Project Zero
"sexual orientation is inherently a 'sex-based consideration'"
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has ruled that federal law already bans discrimination based on sexual orientation (17-page PDF), because "Discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is premised on sex-based preferences, assumptions, expectations, stereotypes, or norms. 'Sexual orientation' as a concept cannot be defined or understood without reference to sex." [more inside]
I Want To Believe
1,460 animals on parade
July 11, 2015: Anthrocon Fursuit Parade [~24m] 1460 animals of various species and styles pass before your eyes. [more inside]
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