Stream of Reading (Prepare to be Forwarded) – An Archive of What I'm Reading
20/7/2016: A previous version of this article estimated the age of the boy at about 10 years old. His actual age, according to the Jerusalem brigade, was 12, as reflected in the altered headline. A video circulating on social media appears to show Syrian rebels beheading a Palestinian boy who they accused of being a…
Twitter’s decision to permanently ban conservative pundit and Breitbart Tech editor Milo Yiannopoulos has prompted a debate about free speech on Twitter under the hashtag #FreeMilo. Yiannopoulos, who tweeted under the handle @Nero, was suspended after his particularly negative review of the film Ghostbusters led to many racist comments directed at actress and comedian Leslie…
Science is in big trouble. Or so we’re told. In the past several years, many scientists have become afflicted with a serious case of doubt — doubt in the very institution of science. As reporters covering medicine, psychology, climate change, and other areas of research, we wanted to understand this epidemic of doubt. So we…
Pat Smith — the mother of Sean Smith, an information analyst who died in the attack on the American embassy in Benghazi — gave an impassioned, if factually sketchy, speech at the Republican National Convention in which she stated that she “blame[s] Hillary Clinton personally for the death of my son.” An emotional Smith claimed…
Since the shooting deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile at the hands of law enforcement officers earlier this month, millions have taken to the streets as well as social media to express their outrage. Tags like #BlackLivesMatter and #EndWhiteSilence have been trending consistently on Twitter and Facebook, and CBS News footage of Alton Sterling’s…
Monday’s attempted coup by forces loyal to Texas Senator Ted Cruz and a swirling plagiarism scandal notwithstanding, the Republican Party took its roll-call vote Tuesday afternoon and decided that Donald Trump will, in fact, still be the GOP presidential candidate in 2016. The nominating process began with House Speaker Paul Ryan welcoming Alabama Senator Jeff…
Have pity on a group of California GOP staffers in Ohio who have been vomiting uncontrollably from both ends of their bodies, not because of the plagiarism and open racism at the convention, but because of an apparent outbreak of norovirus. Stat News and the Los Angeles Times are reporting that as many as a…
Nelvin C. Cepeda/ZUMA Press/NewscomMilo Yiannopoulos, the Breitbart tech editor and Trump-loving alt-right superstar, has been permanently banned from Twitter following accusations that he directed his followers to send abusive comments toward actress Leslie Jones. But while Yiannopoulos certainly straddles the line between being a free speech provocateur and merely a serial violator of Twitter’s terms…
On Tuesday the forces retook one the terror group’s headquarters, which was located in a hospital, being used as a command center and logistics hub. But progress into Manbij city has been slow, with landmines littering the roads in and snipers attacking advancing troops. Many Isil fighters are still holed up in the city, and…
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie delivers a speech on the second day of the Republican National Convention.Joe Raedle/Getty Images There is so much that is unprecedented in Donald Trump’s lurid, shambolic Republican convention that it is easy to become inured to each new low. On Tuesday night, the tweet ticker at the Quicken Loans…