“. . . many cold river tales devised,
which oft the ear of greatness needs must hear,
By smiling pick-thanks and base news-mongers.”
'Smiling Pick-thanks and Base News-mongers'
Words are worlds. They sit there like Ozymandias, dense with latent power and history. Learning a new one is like going back to school. Take pickthank, a noun composed of two common English words, dating from the fifteenth century. Here is Dr. Johnson’s definition: “an officious fellow, who does what he is not desired; a whispering parasite.” Now you have a new understanding of Twitter, online trolls, the office gossip and American politics. The OED fleshes out the picture: “A person who curries favour with another, esp. by informing against someone else; a flatterer, a sycophant; a telltale.” Both dictionaries cite the prince in Act III, Scene 2 of Henry IV, Part 1
In 2002, Maya Angelou set out to master the two-sentence epigram. She had a deal with Hallmark - Mark of Halls
Here’s another BBC veteran with a much better outlook: Inspired by Hank Azaria’s apology ‘to every single Indian person in this country’ for voicing Apu, John Cleese issues an apology of his own.
Dance troupe at centre of Navy ship furore speak out
By Melissa Coade
Thursday April 15, 2021
The performance of the 101 Doll Squadron prior to the official commissioning of Navy ship HMAS Supply was intended to reflect a ‘modern celebration’ of the vessel, with focused cultural references to blessing and geography.
U.S. banks deploy AI to monitor customers, workers amid tech backlash Reuters
MI5 warns of spy threat from professional networking sites Financial Times
The Incredible Rise of North Korea’s Hacking Army New Yorker
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: Intel Veteran Exposes China’s Spy Ops and Paramilitary Training in Canada.
This is very good, and very worthwhile remembering when dealing with right-wing trolls, who use definitions as methods of differentiation when as Popper points out
Read the full article…
The one-click civilization The.Ink
Foodcrime Cory Doctorow, Pluralistic
Unemployed workers defect and debate their next moves, leaving restaurant owners to contend with a labor shortage The Counter. If only there were some mechanism to match demand and supply.
Katherine Gibson and the Community Economies Research Network Grassroots Economic Organizing
Pet detective says stolen giant rabbit is ‘still hot’ and a smuggling risk Guardian
Distinct Species of Adorable Weasels Have Been Hiding in Plain Sight Gizmodo
There’s Nothing to Do Except Gamble New York Magazine. The deck: “Welcome to the non-fungible, memeified, cryptodenominated, degenerate future of finance.”
Pentagon and Tax Cheats Already Cost Taxpayers Far More Than Biden’s Job Plan Truthout
A Third of U.S. Billionaire Wealth Gains Since 1990 Have Come During Pandemic Institute for Policy Studies
Bank of England says chief economist Haldane to quit Reuters
