Politics
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Best Outsider Fiction
“When I sat down to write this list, I realized that I would need to define what ‘outsider fiction’ was in the first place, a daunting prospect. I came up with (and then discarded) several definitions that seemed to me…
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Wikileaks Update
The ACLU suggests that prosecuting Wikileaks might not be feasible, or even constitutional under US law. More on this. Basically, if the US can try Wikileaks under the Espionage Act, then they can try any media outlet who publishes classified…
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Absence of Diversity
“The tokens are out there, getting attention by the white reading public, but most black writers are writing for black readers and getting very little attention from mainstream outlets. Segregation is alive and well when it comes to what we…
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“What can we possibly call this if not chaos?”
“Let’s call the world we actually have now Reality A and the world that we might have had if 9/11 had never happened Reality B. Then we can’t help but notice that the world of Reality B appears to be…
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Erin Rose’s Tech Links
Wikileaks witch-hunt: Lieberman wants new legislation targeting it, and Amazon & Everydns.net are being big cowards about the site. Silver lining: At least Wikileaks has cool new digs. Potentially terrifying but important: Open Data project lets you see what information…
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The Year of the Tweets
“…but time goes all stretchy in the Twittersphere, just as it does in those folk songs in which the hero spends a night with the queen of the faeries and then returns to find that 100 years have passed and…
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Wikileaks Embassy Cables Roundup
The decision by Wikileaks to release over 250,000 US Embassy cables is a threat to democracy. Or it’s no big deal. Or there’s nothing really surprising in there. Or it could bring down multiple governments and tear down the fabric…
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“Any liquor, narcotics, tobacco, firearms, or explosives?”
The New Yorker has dusted off a “selection of airport-security cartoons” dating back to 1938. (via TheMillions)
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Artists: Barter for Your Health Care
I am one of the lucky ones: a full-time desk jockey/part-time writer with health insurance. I recently finished up some physical therapy sessions for my right arm; the bill says that for two sessions a week, the actual cost of…
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Video Game Industry Attracts Writers
“‘You want to write a novel? Who’s going to read it? A bunch of people in grad school? Fuck that,’ Mr. Patrick said. ‘Everybody plays video games.’” (via Bookslut)
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Second ‘Donkey Blogger’ Released
Yesterday we told you about the release of Adnan Hajizada, one of two bloggers who were jailed for “hooliganism” after a supposed fight in a restaurant, but who were more likely being punished for a “satirical Internet video in which…