I Should Read... Dec 4
A Plea from Flea
If an aging rocker with fuchsia hair doing performance art dance moves to fusion bass jazz capped by a spoken word pæan to peace and love doesn't hit you right in the heart, I don't know what to tell you.
I Should Read...
I only wish there was as much joy in this week’s links...
Colossal Our Favorite Books of 2025
The Guardian The Dangerous Rise of Buddhist Extremism: ‘Attaining Nirvana Can Wait’ Still largely viewed as a peaceful philosophy, across much of south-east Asia, the religion has been weaponised to serve nationalist goals.
TIME The Real Way Schools are Failing Boys “...the issue isn’t that we need more “boy-friendly” reforms. It’s that boys are still socialized to compete only with boys and to read girls’ success as illegitimate or emasculating. The result is dissonance, resentment, and disengagement for boys—and hostile climates for girls.”
The Independent This Forgotten Winter War Is a Timely Reminder of the Threat Russia Poses Today As a Ukraine-Russia peace proposal is debated, forces in Finland rehearse guerrilla warfare against a potential Russian offensive that many expect to happen in the near future. The Winter Warriors is a brilliant new book that offers a vital history lesson about Russian aggression on Europe’s borders, says Robert McCrum
The Discourse Lounge The Fire Department vs. Traffic Safety Advocates Street safety advocates are butting heads with fire officials. Swift fire response does not have to come at the cost of lives on the roadway. They can work together.
ProPublica What We Know About U.S.-Backed Zero Units in Afghanistan Deadly night raids. Faulty U.S. intelligence. A “classified” war loophole. Reporter Lynzy Billing’s investigation offers an unprecedented insight into the civilian casualties of Afghanistan’s Zero Units.
SFGATE The Time Has Come to Declare War on AI Columnist Drew Magary on the ‘evil technology’ taking over the world
404 Media ChatGPT Told a Violent Stalker to Embrace the ‘Haters’ A newly filed indictment claims a wannabe influencer used ChatGPT as his “therapist” and “best friend” in his pursuit of the “wife type,” while harassing women so aggressively they had to miss work and relocate from their homes.
In These Times What We Need Is a Popular Front Against Fascism As fascism’s grip only grows tighter, the popular fronts of yesterday can become blueprints for solidarity today.
Hamilton Nolan How to Win Red States With a Labor Party We can take political power without asking Democrats for it.
Southern Border Communities Coalition Abuse of Power and Its Consequences “...a total of 356 people have died as a result of an encounter with Customs and Border Protection agents since 2010. CBP’s culture of abuse and reckless use of force has led to the deaths of many U.S. citizens and noncitizens both at U.S. ports of entry and in the southern border region.”
Boston 25 News ‘ICE Was Here’ Dedham church sparks outrage over nativity scene with political message
Until next week, luminous beings.