I sat down to write and then the computer decided it was time to update itself. Which is fair--I guess it's been years. Maybe it'll be a speedier snail when it's through? 🤞🏻

This computer is very slow, but it functions - which is more than I can say for my poor laptop, still awaiting a tech visit.

But y'know, there's something to be said for having to take more care with sluggish keystrokes. I'll make it work, & keep the credit transfer (when it arrives) to pay for two months of rent instead.

The world is so hard for so many. I always feel ashamed when caught up in the small stuff. (And most of it is!)

May there always be cause for gratitude in your lives. 🕊️

Morning, folks! 💫

Today's news brief is - you guessed it! - on Argentina. But if you think I'm going to boggle over the far-right leader himself... maybe you've never read my work?

Don't fall for the superficial here; Milei is a terrible choice who also reflects a terrible financial reality - but not *just* for Argentina. In a world of rising debt-servicing to private creditors under neoliberalism, this won't get better until we tackle the systemic problem.

#Economics
https://onlysky.media/mclark/argentina-and-the-politics-of-desperation/

Again, folks, thank you so much for your presence on a tough day.

It's not the loss of an item.

It's this weird way of living when you're in precarity: how the tightrope is fine *right* until something goes wrong.

When my sometimes-stalker resurfaces, I have to change routines. I don't eat every day, & my fridge has been off since May. And a computer is key for holding on.

I'll survive this "starving artist" year.

But it was super nice to be supported without judgment today.

Thank you all.

WOO. OpenDrive, I am IN YOU.

And my novel is safe. :)

Okay, heart, you can start beating again.

A lil' bit. For funsies.

Then it's time to get caught up on all the day's missed work! 🧐

Anyway, I'll still finish a more abstracted, general-principles piece on how to defend against many forms of propaganda made even more easy to pass off as good journalism / solid intel in our digital day and age... but good grief, is it ever difficult to stay ahead of each whirlwind as it arises!

What makes this form of propaganda so dangerous is that it's confidently lazy. It knows its target readership won't check the Arabic or Hebrew. And the few that can read / do translate? Too few, too late to stop the furor.

The distortion of frank conversation from military personnel about the challenges of precision is also cruel in its damned-if-you-do-damned-if-you-don't character. What, would you rather they lie? Never let anyone treat the fog of war like a revelation that proves conspiracy.

#War

Another thing I was hoping to get to with the propaganda piece was the manipuation of Western ignorance of Arabic & Hebrew. Many videos have fake translations of Arabic, & plenty of conspiracies cite "proof" from news in Hebrew.

One piece that's been misread is this Mako interview with people involved in aerial response at Re'im. IDF discuss the less-than-100% guarantee that they weren't shooting at Israelis--which was *completely* distorted to fuel conspiracy. /x

https://www.mako.co.il/news-military/6361323ddea5a810/Article-02cfdbceafc4b81027.htm

I am also remembering why I put the darned thing into storage.

It is very, very, very slow.

I've managed to regain access to most of my accounts - except my Microsoft OneDrive, which is taking forever to grant me access into my files. (Microsoft doesn't play well across regions; this computer is Colombian, complete with a Spanish keyboard, but my Microsoft Account is on a group plan in the US. It's like a '50s TV robot spinning its head and smoking, trying to process life in two regions!)

:) I remembered that I had a backup computer in storage. It often glitches but is better than nothing while I await the fate of my laptop. Fingers crossed I can get back into all my accounts.

Last time I booted it up was... two years ago? Three?

This is what popped up right away on the saved browser tabs from my last session. (Safe for work, don't worry.) What on Earth was I researching? And for what?

#War

I couldn't finish my piece on propaganda today, but there's a beautiful note from the editors of Tablet in this piece from 2014 about Hamas in al-Shifa. (Yes, 2014!)

I've said it before - when writing on poor science & global news reporting alike - but most media is *not* well-structured right now to support rigorous fact-checking before rushing to clickbait posts.

And it's been that way for years.

Again, this is from 2014.

Read - and disseminate! - carefully.

https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/top-secret-hamas-command-bunker-in-gaza-revealed

Brené Brown comes to mind often these days. Namely, her bit about how to react when another's actions offend.

She says, ask yourself: "What if you knew they were doing the very best they could at that moment?"

"Well they should do better!"

But no: imagine they *can't*.

Does this change what we do to protect ourselves from them? No.

But it frees us up from anger.

If *this* is the best they can do? Wow. How small a life they're stuck within.

And how free *we* are, to be able to do better. 🫂

No computer repair, because the local technician doesn't work Sundays. I could go across town, but I really want to save that trip for if the laptop is fried (in which case I'll need a replacement, which requires 💰).

So much for finishing my novel MS this weekend! 😅 Now I'm behind a newsletter & OnlySky piece, with no novel to show for it.

Amusingly, I also *just* felt good about the progress I'd been making to clear this year's surge of debt. Ah well.

Handwriting today it is! 🍋s into 🍹, etc!

Oh shoot--

Also, happy International Men's Day! 👨

Today's a day for reflecting on whether our cultural healing excludes key issues facing the fellas:

More likely to be incarcerated & treated as troublemakers.
Disproportionately enduring some of the most dangerous jobs.
Mocked by peers, partners, & family for emotional vulnerability.
More likely to suicide, yet less served by mental health initiatives.

There are *so* many wonderful masculinities in the world.

May you always be safe in yours.

Global money transfer on its way, and still an hour to go before that kiosk will be open to clean my computer. Either it can be fixed, or I'm out of luck for a few days.

Time for a crossword? Heck yes. :)

But thanks for panicking with me!

When you live precariously... one little thing going wrong sets off a whole series of problems.

It is expensive to be precarious.

🫂 But true riches lie with good community. Thanks, lovely critters! Have a beautiful Sunday morning.

I truly appreciate the gift of non-Western knowledge.

This morning François from Nova Scotia was convinced it should be no problem to add an international number for bank verification purposes - something I've never been able to do from Colombia.

Confused, but willing to go along with new intel, I allowed him to add it... but it didn't work.

Called back, talked to Sunitha in Toronto... 🙃 and she agreed with me. SOME country codes allowed. Not all.

But I'm not surprised François didn't know!

Well, I might be screwed for a bit. I have spilled a drink on my laptop, which now won't turn on. This is bad because everything is very precariously held together in my life by my laptop. It's Sunday, so I can't even access tools to remove the battery for another few hours. Getting the money to replace said laptop will be tricky, so...

I'm going to be behind my time for a while.
This has been a really rough year, but this latest stupid is all on me.

Phone call to my bank now.
Fingers crossed.

And if you really want to boil your blood, may I recommend Serial's four-episode THE KIDS OF RUTHERFORD COUNTY? It's about Black children arrested by officers in Tennessee in 2016 because... well, because our societies are broken in *so* many ways.

If you're wondering why it's easy to dismiss death elsewhere in the world, maybe look at how quick we are to throw the book at human beings close to home.

We do *not* have a culture of life.
But we could.

#Podcasts #Racism
https://pca.st/episode/2f22bfa1-8ac5-49a8-9941-c47a5a1d4a7a