#Social commerce examples

[kota07]

How Content Marketing Works?

Introduction:

Content creation & marketing has been a core part of Marketing for a long time. But what many people get wrong when creating a content marketing strategy is Storytelling!

Storytelling can be the difference between marketing that is impactful and something which is just another Ad on social media.

Needless to say, storytelling is not the only thing that is important for content marketing, there are many things that one has to determine when creating their content marketing strategy. Target audience, brand voice, consistency, quality, brand colours, type of content etc. In this article we’ll look at the needs & ways to create a content marketing strategy that works best for your brand & business.

Why do you need Content Marketing?

Content Marketing is the process of creating & distributing various types of content like videos, articles, social media posts, blogs etc. to attract the attention of your target audience, spread awareness about your brand & convert the same audience into loyal customers. 

Content marketing has been around since old times. From the town crier selling newspapers in the city square to the pop-up ads that you see after visiting a website. The most visible difference is the priority given to the way we market our content today.

Research shows that businesses with blogs get 67% more leads & 67% marketers claim to have seen an increase in leads due to B2B content marketing.

With the current algorithms of social media platforms which pushes short video content, Instagram reels & Youtube shorts have shown to be nearly 88% more effective when included in content marketing plans. 

Benefits of Content Marketing: 

Online Visibility

Better Lead Generation

Customer Loyalty 

Creating a Content Strategy from Scratch

To be able to take full advantage of content marketing one needs to prepare a well researched strategy. A usual content marketing strategy consists of the following: 

Goals & KPIs 

Determining Target Audience

Content Research & Type

Distribution Channels 

Re-evaluation & Optimizations

SEO’s role in Content Marketing

SEO or Search Engine Optimisation is the king of marketing your content organically to your target audience. Thus, it is imperative to optimise your content as per the latest SEO standards set by search engines like google chrome, firefox etc. 

It is also important to make sure that you:

Avoid keyword stuffing

Use relevant & specific keywords

Optimise meta-tags &  description properly

Content Marketing using A.I

Content Marketing is no exception to this, with A.I you can boost your work efficiency  in many stages of your plan, such as:

Automated Creation 

Personalisation 

Predictive Analysis

Evaluation & Measuring your Success

Understand that marketing is a never-ending process. This is because the factors that drive the market & the customers are always changing. Thus, making it detrimental to your content marketing efforts.

Measure your content’s marketing effectiveness by:

Tracking Engagement Metrics 

Monitoring Website Traffic 

Lead Generation 

Social Shares 

SEO Performance

[technicalfika]

Event-Driven Design Demystified: Concepts and Examples

🚀 Discover how this cutting-edge architecture transforms software systems with real-world examples. From e-commerce efficiency to smart home automation, learn how to create responsive and scalable applications #EventDrivenDesign #SoftwareArchitecture

In the world of software architecture, event-driven design has emerged as a powerful paradigm that allows systems to react and respond to events in a flexible and efficient manner. Whether you’re building applications, microservices, or even IoT devices, understanding event-driven design can lead to more scalable, responsive, and adaptable systems. In this article, we’ll delve into the core…

[no-passaran]

Spain lied about not selling weapons to Israel.

Even after October 7th, Spain has sold more than 1 million € of weapons to Israel. Norway and Finland make it possible.

In January, Spain made headlines word-wide when the government's Minister of Exteriors, José Manuel Albares (PSOE), claimed in Congress and later again in a radio interview that Spain had stopped selling weapons to Israel ever since October 7th. Israel's intensification of violence in Gaza following October 7th meant that, on top of decades of apartheid and ethnic cleansing, between October 7th and January 23rd Israel had already killed 28,000 people and forced 2 million out of their home. In this context, many people were demanding their governments stop arming and funding the genocide of the Palestinian people, and here on Tumblr and other social media sites like Twitter I think we all saw the many posts praising the Spanish government for this.

Well, it turns out it was a lie.

According to Albares, "Since October 7th there are no more weapons exportations [from Spain] to Israel". But in November alone, Spain exported weapons to Israel for 987,000€, as was published on the Spanish Government's official website dedicated to exterior commerce (Comex). A researcher from Centre Delàs (an independent centre for peace studies) found it and published it, and it has also been verified by newspapers such as elDiario.es.

This 987,000€ worth of weapons in November was not the only ammunition that Spain has sent to Israel in 2023. In 2023, Spain exported a total of 1.48 million € in war material to Israel.

All of the weapons sent in November come from the factory of Nammo Palencia (Castilla y León), a corporation that is 50% property of the Government of Norway and 50% owned by a public Finnish business. However, even if the owners are foreigners, the ammunition was sent from Spain and thus it had to be authorized by the an organism of the Spanish Government named Junta Interministerial de Defensa y Doble Uso, whose deliberations on whether a weapons exportation is accepted or denied are kept secret. The only cases where they have denied exporting weapons to Israel have been when they thought that Israel would re-sell these weapons to the Philippines.

Spain has had a close relation with Israel for years. As published by the Spanish Government, Spain has sold 20 million € of weapons to Israel between 2012 and 2022. Spain also buys weapons and military software from Israel (for example, the Spanish Intelligence Service has been using the Israeli software Pegasus to illegally spy on Catalan activists, journalists, politicians and civil society members and their relatives to attack the Catalan independence movement), and Spain has continued buying from Israel and allocating defense contracts to Israel even after the October 7th attacks. It is very difficult to track the concessions of public contracts such as buying weapons, but some contracts have been known. For example, on November 24th 2023, Spain bought 287.5 million € of missiles from Israel. This is not unusual: between 2011 and 2021, it is publicly known that Spain bought war material from Israel for at least 268 million €, but experts say that the real number could be two or three times as much.

Spain has also continued allocating concessions to Israel. For example, on December 15th 2023 Spain allocated a contract worth over 576 million € to Israel for a rocket launcher programme. On November 22nd, Spain allocated another another Israeli company to provide missiles for 237 million € at the same time as the Spanish army bought Israeli inhibitors for 1.4 million €. The very next day, November 23rd, Spain signed another military allocation to Israel for 82,600€. The following week, Spain signed yet another allocation with a different Israeli military corporation for 3.7 million €.

Spain also allows Israeli weapon manufacturing companies to produce weapons through their branches located in Spain. This way, Israeli weapons make their way to markets with which Israel doesn't have diplomatic ties but Spain does, like Saudi Arabia. And since Spain is a member of NATO, Israeli weapons produced in Spain are approved according to NATO standards and access it easily. In the same way, these Israeli weapons manufacturers also access European Union defense funds through their branches in Spain. (source).

As I said, I saw a lot of positive posts around when Albares said Spain was going to embargo, but I haven't seen any post about how they didn't do it. I also (personally) haven't seen anything on international media, and barely anything on Spanish media, which is already busy with the PSOE covid material corruption scandal. So I share this in the hope of helping put pressure on Spain to cut all ties with Israel immediately.

SHAME ON EVERYONE WHO GIVES ISRAEL THE MATERIAL AND MONEY THAT WILL BE USED TO MASSACRE THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE. SHAME ON SPAIN, NORWAY, AND FINLAND.

[sexymemecoin]

The Metaverse: A New Frontier in Digital Interaction

The concept of the metaverse has captivated the imagination of technologists, futurists, and businesses alike. Envisioned as a collective virtual shared space, the metaverse merges physical and digital realities, offering immersive experiences and unprecedented opportunities for interaction, commerce, and creativity. This article delves into the metaverse, its potential impact on various sectors, the technologies driving its development, and notable projects shaping this emerging landscape.

What is the Metaverse?

The metaverse is a digital universe that encompasses virtual and augmented reality, providing a persistent, shared, and interactive online environment. In the metaverse, users can create avatars, interact with others, attend virtual events, own virtual property, and engage in economic activities. Unlike traditional online experiences, the metaverse aims to replicate and enhance the real world, offering seamless integration of the physical and digital realms.

Key Components of the Metaverse

Virtual Worlds: Virtual worlds are digital environments where users can explore, interact, and create. Platforms like Decentraland, Sandbox, and VRChat offer expansive virtual spaces where users can build, socialize, and participate in various activities.

Augmented Reality (AR): AR overlays digital information onto the real world, enhancing user experiences through devices like smartphones and AR glasses. Examples include Pokémon GO and AR navigation apps that blend digital content with physical surroundings.

Virtual Reality (VR): VR provides immersive experiences through headsets that transport users to fully digital environments. Companies like Oculus, HTC Vive, and Sony PlayStation VR are leading the way in developing advanced VR hardware and software.

Blockchain Technology: Blockchain plays a crucial role in the metaverse by enabling decentralized ownership, digital scarcity, and secure transactions. NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens) and cryptocurrencies are integral to the metaverse economy, allowing users to buy, sell, and trade virtual assets.

Digital Economy: The metaverse features a robust digital economy where users can earn, spend, and invest in virtual goods and services. Virtual real estate, digital art, and in-game items are examples of assets that hold real-world value within the metaverse.

Potential Impact of the Metaverse

Social Interaction: The metaverse offers new ways for people to connect and interact, transcending geographical boundaries. Virtual events, social spaces, and collaborative environments provide opportunities for meaningful engagement and community building.

Entertainment and Gaming: The entertainment and gaming industries are poised to benefit significantly from the metaverse. Immersive games, virtual concerts, and interactive storytelling experiences offer new dimensions of engagement and creativity.

Education and Training: The metaverse has the potential to revolutionize education and training by providing immersive, interactive learning environments. Virtual classrooms, simulations, and collaborative projects can enhance educational outcomes and accessibility.

Commerce and Retail: Virtual shopping experiences and digital marketplaces enable businesses to reach global audiences in innovative ways. Brands can create virtual storefronts, offer unique digital products, and engage customers through immersive experiences.

Work and Collaboration: The metaverse can transform the future of work by providing virtual offices, meeting spaces, and collaborative tools. Remote work and global collaboration become more seamless and engaging in a fully digital environment.

Technologies Driving the Metaverse

5G Connectivity: High-speed, low-latency 5G networks are essential for delivering seamless and responsive metaverse experiences. Enhanced connectivity enables real-time interactions and high-quality streaming of immersive content.

Advanced Graphics and Computing: Powerful graphics processing units (GPUs) and cloud computing resources are crucial for rendering detailed virtual environments and supporting large-scale metaverse platforms.

Artificial Intelligence (AI): AI enhances the metaverse by enabling realistic avatars, intelligent virtual assistants, and dynamic content generation. AI-driven algorithms can personalize experiences and optimize virtual interactions.

Wearable Technology: Wearable devices, such as VR headsets, AR glasses, and haptic feedback suits, provide users with immersive and interactive experiences. Advancements in wearable technology are critical for enhancing the metaverse experience.

Notable Metaverse Projects

Decentraland: Decentraland is a decentralized virtual world where users can buy, sell, and develop virtual real estate as NFTs. The platform offers a wide range of experiences, from gaming and socializing to virtual commerce and education.

Sandbox: Sandbox is a virtual world that allows users to create, own, and monetize their gaming experiences using blockchain technology. The platform's user-generated content and virtual real estate model have attracted a vibrant community of creators and players.

Facebook's Meta: Facebook's rebranding to Meta underscores its commitment to building the metaverse. Meta aims to create interconnected virtual spaces for social interaction, work, and entertainment, leveraging its existing social media infrastructure.

Roblox: Roblox is an online platform that enables users to create and play games developed by other users. With its extensive user-generated content and virtual economy, Roblox exemplifies the potential of the metaverse in gaming and social interaction.

Sexy Meme Coin (SEXXXY): Sexy Meme Coin integrates metaverse elements by offering a decentralized marketplace for buying, selling, and trading memes as NFTs. This unique approach combines humor, creativity, and digital ownership, adding a distinct flavor to the metaverse landscape. Learn more about Sexy Meme Coin at Sexy Meme Coin.

The Future of the Metaverse

The metaverse is still in its early stages, but its potential to reshape digital interaction is immense. As technology advances and more industries explore its possibilities, the metaverse is likely to become an integral part of our daily lives. Collaboration between technology providers, content creators, and businesses will drive the development of the metaverse, creating new opportunities for innovation and growth.

Conclusion

The metaverse represents a new frontier in digital interaction, offering immersive and interconnected experiences that bridge the physical and digital worlds. With its potential to transform social interaction, entertainment, education, commerce, and work, the metaverse is poised to revolutionize various aspects of our lives. Notable projects like Decentraland, Sandbox, Meta, Roblox, and Sexy Meme Coin are at the forefront of this transformation, showcasing the diverse possibilities within this emerging digital universe.

For those interested in the playful and innovative side of the metaverse, Sexy Meme Coin offers a unique and entertaining platform. Visit Sexy Meme Coin to explore this exciting project and join the community.

[mariacallous]

Earlier this month, JD Vance claimed on Fox News that 40 percent of people calling the Social Security hotline are “actually committing fraud.”

This is a completely discredited lie, and it’s impossible to believe that Vance doesn’t know better. In fact, he admitted not so long ago that he likes “to create stories so that the American media actually pays attention.” In other words, he thinks false propaganda is a good way to advance his reactionary agenda.

More, Vance’s Social Security balderdash is a lie with a long history. The right has for close to 150 years used charges of fraud and corruption to target social programs and disfavored groups.

These lies are effective because they leverage anti-government sentiment and prejudice. They also work because opposition politicians struggle to recognize and call out fascist bad faith.

If Democrats are going to defend Social Security, the social safety net, and even cancer research, though, we need to get accustomed to saying unequivocally that lies are lies, and comfortable recognizing them as a deliberate effort to confuse and demoralize people.

The MAGA war on “fraud”

Vance is hardly alone in his fraudulent attacks on “fraud” in the Social Security program.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, for example, made the outrageous claim recently that anyone who called Social Security to complain about a failure to receive a check should be suspected to be a “fraudster.” Trump’s billionaire Nazi-saluting co-president Elon Musk called Social Security a “Ponzi scheme”. Trump himself has said that millions of dead people are receiving Social Security. This is, again, a lie.

In order to combat this fake fraud, Trump and Musk propose increasing administrative burdens. For example, the Trump administration was planning to make massive cuts to Social Security phone service. Reporting on the scheme and subsequent protest led Trump to abandon these plans.

But as Pamela Herd and Don Moynihan explain, there are many other ways that the administration can and is planning to make Social Security less effective and less accessible. Staffing cuts have already caused chaos and website crashes.

“Other proposed policies, such as requiring work-authorized non-citizens to visit field offices will further overwhelm the system,” Herd and Moynihan write.

Nor is Social Security the only program or agency that the administration has singled out in this way. Musk, through his so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), targeted the vital foreign aid program USAID for destruction by falsely claiming, with no evidence, that officials at the agency were stealing funds. The elimination of USAID is expected to lead to 2 to 3 million entirely preventable excess deaths every year.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt provided an unintentionally frank explanation of how Trump and his hench-thugs use lies for their own ends. When asked by a reporter to provide examples of fraud, Leavitt pointed to, among other things, a diversity, equity, and inclusion program at US Citizenship and Immigration Services and a program to fight climate change in Sri Lanka.

“I would argue that all of these things are fraudulent,” she said. “They are wasteful and they are an abuse of the American taxpayers dollar.”

Leavitt made no effort to argue that anyone had stolen money from the programs; she did not argue that any crime had been committed. She simply said that she (and the president) thought the programs, which Congress had funded, were unworthy.

In short, “waste, fraud, and abuse” for the Trump administration simply means, “money is going to programs and people we don’t like.”

Fascism and corruption

This misleading, mendacious definition of “fraud” as “money for things we don’t like” didn’t originate with MAGA.

In his 2018 book How Fascism Works, philosopher Jason Stanley noted that “publicizing false charges of corruption while engaging in corrupt practices is typical of fascist politics, and anticorruption campaigns are frequently at the heart of fascist political movements.”

Stanley continues:

Corruption, to the fascist politician, is really about the corruption of purity rather than of law. Officially, the fascist politician’s denunciations of corruption sound like a denunciation of political corruption. But such talk is intended to evoke corruption in the sense of the usurpation of traditional order.

In other words, when Trump and Musk say that USAID is “corrupt” what they mean is that it is a violation of racial hierarchy to spend money to save the lives of millions of non-white poor people. When they say that Social Security is “wasteful,” what they mean is that it is wrong to spend money to protect the elderly poor.

Stanley notes that false charges of corruption were at the core of Southern ideological attacks on Reconstruction. Former Confederates and white supremacists lied that the interracial Reconstruction state governments established after the Civil War were riddled with graft and theft, proving that Black people were unfit to hold office.

Historian and civil rights leader W.E.B. Du Bois explained in his pioneering work Black Reconstruction that “the center of the corruption charge … was in fact that poor men were ruling and taxing rich men.” He added:

The south, finally, with almost complete unity, named the negro as the main cause of southern corruption. They said, and reiterated this charge, until it became history: that the cause of dishonesty during reconstruction was the fact that 4,000,000 disfranchised black laborers, after 250 years of exploitation, had been given a legal right to have some voice in their own government, in the kinds of goods they would make and the sort of work they would do, and in the distribution of the wealth which they created.

The myths of Reconstruction corruption were thoroughly debunked, but they never really died. They reappeared again in the ‘70s and ‘80s, when President Ronald Reagan (and then-Sen. Joe Biden) claimed that “welfare queens” — that is, Black single mothers — were defrauding the system by deliberately having children to increase welfare payments.

These claims were lies — there was no widespread welfare fraud. But they were an effective propaganda tool, and eventually resulted in Bill Clinton’s welfare “reform” that significantly damaged the safety net.

Racist corruption charges surfaced again in the Obama era. They fueled the birther lie that Obama had not been born in the US and was therefore an illegitimate president. Trump of course embraced this racist conspiracy theory enthusiastically and spent years suggesting Obama did not have a valid US birth certificate.

Calling out the lies

Looking at this history, and at the rank corruption of Trump in office, it’s very clear how much projection there is in the MAGA charges of waste, fraud, and abuse.

Yet Democrats have struggled to reject the administration’s lies forcefully and consistently. For example, when DOGE was first proposed before Trump’s inauguration, Bernie Sanders claimed “Elon Musk is right” about waste and corruption, then suggested Musk should target the Pentagon for budget cuts. (Musk was never going to target the Pentagon for budget cuts.) Florida Rep. Jared Moskowitz and other House Democrats also initially expressed interest in working with DOGE to cut spending and fraud.

But as the full extent of the DOGE assault on the social safety net, the Constitution, and on Congress’s spending authority became clear, Democrats backed off their Musk-curious approach. Sanders has attacked Musk ferociously. Moskowitz has been engaged in a good bit of backpedaling.

It’s good that Democrats eventually recognized DOGE for what it is. But swallowing the bait was unwise. It gave Musk unnecessary legitimacy and credibility.

Democrats don’t need to pretend that Trumpworld’s purported concern with corruption is in good faith; they don’t need to waffle and mutter about how of course they are opposed to government waste. The record of the right, in the US and abroad, is clear. Fascists are corrupt liars, and they lie about corruption in order to crush their enemies and subjugate marginalized people.

Musk is not at war with corruption; he’s at war with equality and liberty. And he sees equality and liberty as corrupt because they undermine the pure, untrammeled, rule of billionaires, fascists, and kings.

[tangentiallly]

One way to spot patterns is to show AI models millions of labelled examples. This method requires humans to painstakingly label all this data so they can be analysed by computers. Without them, the algorithms that underpin self-driving cars or facial recognition remain blind. They cannot learn patterns.

The algorithms built in this way now augment or stand in for human judgement in areas as varied as medicine, criminal justice, social welfare and mortgage and loan decisions. Generative AI, the latest iteration of AI software, can create words, code and images. This has transformed them into creative assistants, helping teachers, financial advisers, lawyers, artists and programmers to co-create original works.

To build AI, Silicon Valley’s most illustrious companies are fighting over the limited talent of computer scientists in their backyard, paying hundreds of thousands of dollars to a newly minted Ph.D. But to train and deploy them using real-world data, these same companies have turned to the likes of Sama, and their veritable armies of low-wage workers with basic digital literacy, but no stable employment.

Sama isn’t the only service of its kind globally. Start-ups such as Scale AI, Appen, Hive Micro, iMerit and Mighty AI (now owned by Uber), and more traditional IT companies such as Accenture and Wipro are all part of this growing industry estimated to be worth $17bn by 2030.

Because of the sheer volume of data that AI companies need to be labelled, most start-ups outsource their services to lower-income countries where hundreds of workers like Ian and Benja are paid to sift and interpret data that trains AI systems.

Displaced Syrian doctors train medical software that helps diagnose prostate cancer in Britain. Out-of-work college graduates in recession-hit Venezuela categorize fashion products for e-commerce sites. Impoverished women in Kolkata’s Metiabruz, a poor Muslim neighbourhood, have labelled voice clips for Amazon’s Echo speaker. Their work couches a badly kept secret about so-called artificial intelligence systems – that the technology does not ‘learn’ independently, and it needs humans, millions of them, to power it. Data workers are the invaluable human links in the global AI supply chain.

This workforce is largely fragmented, and made up of the most precarious workers in society: disadvantaged youth, women with dependents, minorities, migrants and refugees. The stated goal of AI companies and the outsourcers they work with is to include these communities in the digital revolution, giving them stable and ethical employment despite their precarity. Yet, as I came to discover, data workers are as precarious as factory workers, their labour is largely ghost work and they remain an undervalued bedrock of the AI industry.

As this community emerges from the shadows, journalists and academics are beginning to understand how these globally dispersed workers impact our daily lives: the wildly popular content generated by AI chatbots like ChatGPT, the content we scroll through on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube, the items we browse when shopping online, the vehicles we drive, even the food we eat, it’s all sorted, labelled and categorized with the help of data workers.

Milagros Miceli, an Argentinian researcher based in Berlin, studies the ethnography of data work in the developing world. When she started out, she couldn’t find anything about the lived experience of AI labourers, nothing about who these people actually were and what their work was like. ‘As a sociologist, I felt it was a big gap,’ she says. ‘There are few who are putting a face to those people: who are they and how do they do their jobs, what do their work practices involve? And what are the labour conditions that they are subject to?’

Miceli was right – it was hard to find a company that would allow me access to its data labourers with minimal interference. Secrecy is often written into their contracts in the form of non-disclosure agreements that forbid direct contact with clients and public disclosure of clients’ names. This is usually imposed by clients rather than the outsourcing companies. For instance, Facebook-owner Meta, who is a client of Sama, asks workers to sign a non-disclosure agreement. Often, workers may not even know who their client is, what type of algorithmic system they are working on, or what their counterparts in other parts of the world are paid for the same job.

The arrangements of a company like Sama – low wages, secrecy, extraction of labour from vulnerable communities – is veered towards inequality. After all, this is ultimately affordable labour. Providing employment to minorities and slum youth may be empowering and uplifting to a point, but these workers are also comparatively inexpensive, with almost no relative bargaining power, leverage or resources to rebel.

Even the objective of data-labelling work felt extractive: it trains AI systems, which will eventually replace the very humans doing the training. But of the dozens of workers I spoke to over the course of two years, not one was aware of the implications of training their replacements, that they were being paid to hasten their own obsolescence.

— Madhumita Murgia, Code Dependent: Living in the Shadow of AI

[anotherhumaninthisworld]

Do we know the favorite books that the French revolution figures liked to read? (It could be anyone, Robespierre or Saint just or Louis xvi it doesn't matter).

Much like this old ask about revolutionaries’ favorite dishes, I can’t say I know of any instance of someone exclaiming: ”this is 100% my favorite book,” but at tops people mentioning books that they thought were good or bad:

In his memoirs, Brissot writes he’s picking up Rousseau’s Confessions for the sixth time, so I guess that could qualify as a favorite book? send help

We have this list of books seized at Robespierre’s place after his death.

According to the memoirs of Élisabeth Duplay, Robespierre would read ”the works of Corneille, Voltaire and Rousseau” for her family in the evenings.

In a short biography over Desmoulins written in 1834, Marcellin Matton claims his favorite book was René Aubert de Vertot’s Histoire des révolutions arrivées dans le gouvernement de la République romaine (1719), of which he always carried a copy. Matton is an infamous romanticizer it’s from him we have the stupid leaf myth for example, but I’m willing to give him some leeway here since he could have obtained the information from Camille’s mother-in-law and sister-in-law, who were his friends:

In one of his first classes, he received Vertot's Révolutions romaines as a prize. Reading this work transported him with admiration; in the future, he always had a volume in his pocket. It was for him an indispensable companion, it was his vade mecum. He used or lost at least twenty volumes. It is perhaps to this excellent work and to the particular work that he did on the discourses of Cicero and especially on his Philippics, that we owe the lively and sharp style which distinguishes all the writings coming from the pen of Camille .

Desmoulins was however less fond of Rousseau’s Confessions, in number 55 (December 1790) of Révolutions de France et de Brabant he admits that he abandoned the book after getting infuriated by it:

Not that I idolize J.J. as I did in the past, since I saw in his Confessions that he had become an aristocrat in his old age. How far he was from looking at an Alexander with the pride of this Cynic, to whom he is compared, and how painfully I saw that he united the opposite faults of Diogenes and Arisippus! It is a pleasant thing to hear the author of the Social Contract protest in his Confessions about the simplicity of the commerce of such great lords (M. and Madame de Luxembourg) he cries with joy, he wants to kiss the feet of this good marshal, because he wanted to accompany one of his friends, an office clerk, for a walk. Is there anything smaller, more ridiculous? I received, he says elsewhere, the greatest honor that a man can receive, the visit of the Prince de Conti, (an honor that Rousseau shared with all the girls of the Palais-Royal.) At this point I tossed away the book out of spite, and I admit, that I had to reread the speech on equality of conditions, and Julie's novel, in order to not hate the philosopher of Geneva, like Durosoy and Mallet du Pan; for the same principles, in the mouth of such a great man, are more condemnable and worthy of aversion than in the mouths of our two gazetteers, whom God created poor in spirit, and predestined as such to the kingdom of heaven.

In a diary kept over the summer of 1788, Lucile Desmoulins mentions reading L’Âge d’Or (1782) by Sylvain Maréchal (of which she also copied two verses, Le Trésor and Le contrat de mariage devant la nature, in a notebook the year earlier), Les Idylles et poèmes champêtres (1762) by Salomon Gessner, L’Hymne au soleil, suivi de plusieurs morceaux du même genre qui n’ont point encore paru (1782) by Abbé de Reyrac (where she wrote down the verse La Gelée d’avril), Nouvelles lettres anglaises, ou Histoire du Chevalier Grandisson (1754) by Samuel Richardson and  Les Noces patriarchales, poëme en prose en cinq chants (1777) by Robert Martin Lesuire.

In his memoirs, Buzot mentions enjoying the works of Rousseau and Plutarch:

With what charms I still remember this happy period of my life which can no longer return, when, during the day, I silently roamed the mountains and woods of the city where I was born, reading with delight some works of Plutarch or of Rousseau, or recalling to my memory the most precious features of their morality and their philosophy. Sometimes, sitting on the flowering grass, in the shade of some thick trees, I indulged, in a sweet melancholy, in the memories of the sorrows and the pleasures which had in turn agitated the first days of my life. Often the cherished works of these two good men had occupied or maintained my vigils with a friend of my age whom death took from me at thirty, and whose memory, always dear and respected, has preserved from many errors!

Wow any chance you can sound even more like an 18th century man stereotype, Buzot?

…and that’s basically all I can come up with for the moment. But add on if you know anything more! @louis-antoine-leon-saint-just @lazarecarnot maybe you would like to share your favorite books with us if you have any?

[smarmykemetic]

"In short, trickster is a boundary-crosser. Every group has its edge, its sense of in and out, and trickster is always there, at the gates of the city and the gates of life, making sure there is commerce. He also attends the internal boundaries by which groups articulate their social life. We constantly distinguish—right and wrong, sacred and profane, clean and dirty, male and female, young and old, living and dead—and in every case trickster will cross the line and confuse the distinction. Trickster is the creative idiot, therefore, the wise fool, the gray-haired baby, the cross-dresser, the speaker of sacred profanities. Where someone’s sense of honorable behavior has left him unable to act, trickster will appear to suggest an amoral action, something right/wrong that will get life going again. Trickster is the mythic embodiment of ambiguity and ambivalence, doubleness and duplicity, contradiction and paradox.

That trickster is a boundary-crosser is the standard line, but in the course of writing this book I realized that it needs to be modified in one important way, for there are also cases in which trickster creates a boundary, or brings to the surface a distinction previously hidden from sight. In several mythologies, for example, the gods lived on earth until something trickster did caused them to rise into heaven. Trickster is thus the author of the great distance between heaven and earth; when he becomes the messenger of the gods it’s as if he has been enlisted to solve a problem he himself created. In a case like that, boundary creation and boundary crossing are related to one another, and the best way to describe trickster is to say simply that the boundary is where he will be found— sometimes drawing the line, sometimes crossing it, sometimes erasing or moving it, but always there, the god of the threshold in all its forms."

-Trickster Makes This World: Mischief, Myth, and Art by Lewis Hyde

[accountability-movement]

How Far Into Project 2025 Are We?

Here is a status report of Project 2025's primary goals, organized by the anticipated timeframe for their potential implementation in the United States. A green check (✅) indicates goals that have been completed, a red check (❌) denotes those that have not yet been achieved, a question mark (❓) signifies goals attempted through executive orders, and a yellow dash (🟡) represents goals currently in progress.

Within the Next Week:

Appointment of Key Officials:

Appointment of individuals aligned with Project 2025 to significant administrative positions.

Example: Appointment of Russell Vought as Director of the Office of Management and Budget.

Status: ✅ Completed

Within the next month:

Restructuring Federal Agencies:

Initiation of efforts to downsize or eliminate specific federal agencies, such as the Department of Education and the Department of Commerce.

Example: Proposal to abolish the Department of Education.

Status: ❓ Attempted through Executive Order

An executive order has been prepared to begin winding down the Department of Education, urging Congress to pass legislation to abolish it. However, significant challenges exist due to the department's funding and existence being mandated by Congress.

Policy Reversals:

Reversal of existing policies related to environmental regulations and LGBTQ+ protections.

Example: Rolling back climate change initiatives.

Status: ❓ Attempted through Executive Order

President Trump signed Executive Order 14162, "Putting America First in International Environmental Agreements," directing the immediate withdrawal of the United States from the Paris Agreement and other international climate commitments.

Within the Next Year or Longer:

Judicial Appointments:

Appointment of federal judges who align with Project 2025's conservative principles.

Status: 🟡 In Progress

The administration is in the process of nominating and confirming judges aligned with its conservative agenda.

Legislative Changes:

Enactment of laws to implement tax reforms, such as reducing corporate tax rates and instituting a flat income tax.

Status: 🟡 In Progress

The administration has proposed significant tax reforms and is working with Congress to pass the necessary legislation.

Social Policy Overhauls:

Implementation of policies to infuse government and society with conservative Christian values, including restricting abortion rights and redefining marriage.

Status: ❓ Attempted through Executive Order

President Trump signed an executive order titled "Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government," which implements strict binary definitions of sex and mandates their use throughout the federal government, affecting policies related to gender identity and LGBTQ+ protections.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Noah Berlatsky at Public Notice:

Earlier this month, JD Vance claimed on Fox News that 40 percent of people calling the Social Security hotline are “actually committing fraud.” This is a completely discredited lie, and it’s impossible to believe that Vance doesn’t know better. In fact, he admitted not so long ago that he likes “to create stories so that the American media actually pays attention.” In other words, he thinks false propaganda is a good way to advance his reactionary agenda. More, Vance’s Social Security balderdash is a lie with a long history. The right has for close to 150 years used charges of fraud and corruption to target social programs and disfavored groups. [...] Vance is hardly alone in his fraudulent attacks on “fraud” in the Social Security program. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, for example, made the outrageous claim recently that anyone who called Social Security to complain about a failure to receive a check should be suspected to be a “fraudster.” Trump’s billionaire Nazi-saluting co-president Elon Musk called Social Security a “Ponzi scheme”. Trump himself has said that millions of dead people are receiving Social Security. This is, again, a lie.

In order to combat this fake fraud, Trump and Musk propose increasing administrative burdens. For example, the Trump administration was planning to make massive cuts to Social Security phone service. Reporting on the scheme and subsequent protest led Trump to abandon these plans. But as Pamela Herd and Don Moynihan explain, there are many other ways that the administration can and is planning to make Social Security less effective and less accessible. Staffing cuts have already caused chaos and website crashes. “Other proposed policies, such as requiring work-authorized non-citizens to visit field offices will further overwhelm the system,” Herd and Moynihan write. Nor is Social Security the only program or agency that the administration has singled out in this way. Musk, through his so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), targeted the vital foreign aid program USAID for destruction by falsely claiming, with no evidence, that officials at the agency were stealing funds. The elimination of USAID is expected to lead to two to three million entirely preventable excess deaths every year. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt provided an unintentionally frank explanation of how Trump and his hench-thugs use lies for their own ends. When asked by a reporter to provide examples of fraud, Leavitt pointed to, among other things, a diversity, equity, and inclusion program at US Citizenship and Immigration Services and a program to fight climate change in Sri Lanka. [...]

Calling out the lies

Looking at this history, and at the rank corruption of Trump in office, it’s very clear how much projection there is in the MAGA charges of waste, fraud, and abuse.

Yet Democrats have struggled to reject the administration’s lies forcefully and consistently. For example, when DOGE was first proposed before Trump’s inauguration, Bernie Sanders claimed “Elon Musk is right” about waste and corruption, then suggested Musk should target the Pentagon for budget cuts. (Musk was never going to target the Pentagon for budget cuts.) Florida Rep. Jared Moskowitz and other House Democrats also initially expressed interest in working with DOGE to cut spending and fraud. But as the full extent of the DOGE assault on the social safety net, the Constitution, and on Congress’s spending authority became clear, Democrats backed off their Musk-curious approach. Sanders has attacked Musk ferociously. Moskowitz has been engaged in a good bit of backpedaling. It’s good that Democrats eventually recognized DOGE for what it is. But swallowing the bait was unwise. It gave Musk unnecessary legitimacy and credibility. Democrats don’t need to pretend that Trumpworld’s purported concern with corruption is in good faith; they don’t need to waffle and mutter about how of course they are opposed to government waste. The record of the right, in the US and abroad, is clear. Fascists are corrupt liars, and they lie about corruption in order to crush their enemies and subjugate marginalized people.

The MAGA cult’s lies about “waste” and “fraud” regarding Social Security serve a purpose: reinforce in-group thinking.

[all-things-are-nothing-to-me]

Four new Warzone Distro zines.

1. The Anarcho-Primitivist case for Straight Edge: Against His-Story, Against Alcoholocaust!

“The foundations of colonial genocide bear the stench of a long and protracted alcohol induced nightmare — nearly every indigenous culture the Europeans encountered was destroyed by European alcohol and disease. The spreading of firewater among indigenous populations of North America went hand-in-hand with the distribution of lethal smallpox-infested blankets. Many of these cultures, without the experience of thousands of years of civilized alcoholism to draw upon, were even more subject than the Europeans to the ravages of “the civilized brew.” Between alcohol, disease, commerce, and guns, most of them were quickly and utterly destroyed. This process was not unique to North America — it was repeated throughout the world in every European colonial endeavor. While the drug of choice varied (sometimes it was opium, for example, as in the “Opium Wars” Great Britain waged to control China), alcohol was judged in many countries to be the most socially-acceptable tool of pacification.”

2. More Than Just a Diet: A Conversation Between Warzone Distro & the Susaron 4

“…precisely what strongly motivated our actions as a group, was the dissemination of that message, somewhat diluted by time: The war against existence from an anarcho-nihilist perspective, fervently anti-speciesist and straight edge. Which to our taste fulfilled its purpose, since these discussions happened again as a result of the action and our subsequent arrest. And consequently; constant elaboration of propaganda material referring to our ideological thinking. Which gives us the desire to refloat within future generations these incendiary ideas, which have no intention of making peace or negotiation with the enemy. Be it the animal exploitation industry or any other authority that may seek to impose itself on us…

…Regarding the straight edge concept; we have always seen as essential the care of our body as a temple and as a channel of direct confrontation. And likewise refusing the brutal control exercised by the state and its tentacles through drugs. Ruining entire generations of rebels because of it. And it does not fit in our concept of opposition to all exploitation and apparatus of domination, that by our own complacency and mental weakness we are subjugated through substances made to appease the discontent and collapse. And as anarchic-nihilists we understand our body and mind as the only thing we own and our main weapon.

…many generations of young insurrectionists have been lost in the mental and physical deterioration generated by the web of drugs and their slow and camouflaged intrusion into the lives of those who begin to consume them, especially individuals prone to depression. This dramatically undermines the power of resistance movements that require people committed and prepared for the challenges involved in fighting such a giant and finely tuned machine as the reigning structure of domination.”

3. Burn Down The Animal Pharm By Lint Lobotomy

Various writings by Lint Lobotomy covering a wide range of topics from veganism, straight edge and anti-civilization!

4. Hygiene: Washing and Brainwashing

This zine critically examines the origins of being “clean”

All zine pdfs are free to print.

[alovelydayforit]

"I spent many a H-Happy Hour at the Jet Jambiya. Wonderful Ale." -Khalid to Rasaad, SoD

Jet Jambiya Tavern is located in the Taorahl drudach. That makes it a good guess to which neighborhood Khalid was stationed as an amlak in. It's even a bit of a straight shot from the Amlakkhan(2) to the Jet Jambiya(27)🤭🍻

Taorahl is described as having embassies to promote foreign alliances in commerce and politics. Not a bad beat for a Harper, I think!

Text Provided below the cut:

Taorahl Drudach

Taorahl Drudach nestles in amongst the outer walls of the sabban, comfortably wedged against Wizard Ward and the shipyard walls of Hook Ward. Taorahl Drudach is the easternmost drudach of the three, and its wide streets lead from the edge of the Ajvent Sabban (shipyards) and the docks to the walls of Tarshaj Sabban in adjoining Wizard Ward. This drudach is commonly called the Twelvetors Dru-dach, as 12 minarets dominate the skyline. Three are am-lakkhan minaret posts, six attach to rich villas, and the three remaining towers belong to temples in this neighborhood. Of all the Hook Ward drudachs, this one is the safest at night due to more guards, clean streets, and an incorruptible sultan.

The syl-pasha recently selected this drudach to become an area for embassies specifically set up to gain foreign alliances in commerce and politics. Many of the pashas both like and dislike this, for it automatically "places outsiders at an undeserved social status above so many of our own" but it also opens up new opportunities for them to do business with prospects once too far from their reach. The most strident complaints come from those who wished to claim the housing that the embassies now fill.

Tavern: The Jet Jambiya

TD27, 2-story Class C building

Eraré Sabban; Taorahl Drudach. There are two internal taprooms for use during inclement weather, but most folk referring to the Jet Jambiya are talking either of the open-air courtyard that the G-shaped building encloses or the magical blade that hovers in the air above the courtyard. The place is clean, prices are moderate to expensive (but only if nonguild affiliated drinks are ordered on the sly, and only after the staff knows you or gains at least 50 gp in bribes), and the food is good.

A meeting place from sundown to sunup, it is famous for its safety and usefulness as neutral territory for all.

Should any weapons (beyond the clubs of the staff) flash free of scabbards or sheathes, the magical jambiya that hovers 40 feet above the court's central fountain flashes toward that weapon and magically absorbs it without fail. The jambiya then just as quickly returns to its normal position. Legend has it that the jambiya has no substance and is a portable hole with some modicum of in-telligence, and it has swallowed some mighty weapons such as the Beljureled Blade of Nazir Rabir, Samark the Staff of Screams, the Four Daggers of Delvenahr, and even Giisan the White Sash of Sorcerers.

City Building: Amlakkhan Taorahl

TD2, 3-story Class C building

Eraré Sabban; Taorahl Drudach. The luzas Tasyn el Fadaffed (CE hm dual F3/M5) gained this post early this year due to political maneuvers with the Nine Pashas trading coster and the sultan's vizar. A vicious and petty man whose military career ended in an ugly tavern brawl 11 years ago, Tasyn turned to learning magic and now revels in being a bully with far more power. About a third of his men follow his example and abuse their influence and power, while the others wait. Loyal soldiers all, they look forward to the day the attention of the sultan comes to bear on the corrupt yuzas.

[drdemonprince]

Any recommended reading for a newbie to anarchism?

David Graeber truly is the best entry point into the pipeline i feel. Reading his work doesn't feel like "reading theory", it feels like learning more about a specific aspect of the world from an engaging, open-minded author who makes history and anthropology accessible, and then simply realizing somewhere along the line that you've become a lot more radical than you realized you'd always been.

Bullshit Jobs is his easiest and most approachable read -- start with this if you're not a big reader of dense books, or if my book Laziness Does Not Exist particularly spoke to you. It's about how the majority of reasonably well-paying jobs today are completely meaningless, and why important, fulfilling jobs that are actually necessary to run society are so often thankless and poorly paid.

If you have student loan or credit card debt out the ass or you grew up hearing the myth that the earliest human societies relied on trading and bartering, pick up Debt: The First 5000 Years. This one is a bit of a tougher read than Bullshit Jobs, but still approachable, talking about the history of human commerce, debt forgiveness, enslavement, and where that history has left us today. You'll learn a lot about history but Graeber will also always lead you back to the present.

If you were a follower of the Occupy Wallstreet movement and wonder why it failed (or whether it failed), pick up The Democracy Project. This is a slimmer, faster read! And it focuses a lot more on the practical tactics and bylaws of Occupy organizing. In it, Graeber illustrates how human groups can be run without hierarchy and just how well that can work! It's perhaps the most explicitly anarchist book of his in that sense at least, yet it's also very conversational and easy to follow, with lots of lessons learned and specific examples from real-life organizing meetings.

If you hate rules and bureaucracy, pick up Utopia of Rules. What Debt is for bursting basic, widespread myths about economics, Utopia of Rules is for challenging mainstream knowledge about the role of the state. This one is actually an essay collection, and that makes it a quicker, easier read than many of the others -- in each chapter, Graeber tackles one specific aspect of irritating modern-day bureaucracy, and its full of relatable gripes about going to the DMV or applying for unemployment, but then it zooms out to make a larger point about how societies now function (and fail to function).

If you're interested in Indigenous cultures and how various human societies have approached governance, start with Dawn of Everything, which he co-wrote with David Wengrow. Now this is a MUCH denser book that I recommend taking chapter by chapter, pausing to savor all the new information and paradigm-busting that they've just showered you with. A chapter before bed each night and then some time laying down and simply reflecting about the diversity of human social potential is a great way to slowly work your way through it.

If you read any of these, you'll be left with a lot of ideas as to where to look next -- Graeber was widely read in a great many fields himself, so he'll leave you a trail of breadcrumbs to follow.

The Anarchist Library online is also a great place to find shorter, more explicitly anarchist theory work, once you're ready to delve in. The r/debateanarchism subreddit is also something you should subscribe to and thumb through every once in a while!

[mariacallous]

A grant to study linguistic differences between Hebrew and English was flagged as an example of “woke DEI grants” in a new database released by Sen. Ted Cruz.

The database is part of ongoing Republican efforts to justify significant cuts to federal research funding and diversity programs under President Donald Trump.

The $226,000 grant, given by the National Science Foundation to the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2022, was flagged by the Texas Republican senator’s team as having an inappropriate focus on “gender.” 

But according to the description of the research in Cruz’s own database, the sole mention of gender in the grant’s description is in reference to the fact that the Hebrew language (like many) assigns gender to nouns.

The UMass grant was also one of seven in Cruz’s database of Biden-era grants that stated an intent to promote partnerships between American and Israeli research institutions — something that did not appear to mitigate opposition from Cruz, an avowed supporter of Israel. He said in a statement that the more than 3,400 grants in his database demonstrated that the NSF had funded “questionable projects that promoted Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) or advanced neo-Marxist class warfare propaganda.”

A request for comment to Cruz’s office was not returned; nor was an inquiry sent to UMass. Cruz, the chair of the Senate committee on Commerce, Science & Transportation, said in a statement that his data “exposes how the Biden administration weaponized federal agencies to push a far-left ideology.” 

He added, “Congress must end the politicization of NSF funding and restore integrity to scientific research.”

The public database of grants compiled by Cruz provides a window into how Trump and his allies are thinking about cuts to research funding. The flagged grants mentioning Israel were made to six universities including Brown, the University of Michigan and the University of Maryland-Baltimore County. They cover a range of scientific topics, from studying cognition to magnetic technologies to energy storage. 

What they have in common is a stated intent to collaborate with an Israeli university. For example, Michigan’s grant specifically references a partnership with Ben-Gurion University in the southern Israeli city of Beersheva, while a second UMass grant mentions partnering with Technion-Israel Institute of Technology in the port city of Haifa, as well as “outreach by the Israeli collaborator to local high schools in Haifa.”

The second common thread among the Israel-related grant descriptions is the use of keywords flagged by the database as related to gender or DEI. Cruz’s team sorted the grants based on the presence of keywords related to the categories of “gender,” “status,” “social justice,” “race” and “environmental justice.”

None of the grants to mention Israeli partnerships make such topics the focus of their research, though some state a general commitment to “groups underrepresented in science” or “outreach to women and underrepresented minorities.” UMBC’s grant states that it will allow participation “for local high school students from underrepresented groups on the US side, and from various nationalities on the IL [Israeli] side.”

The UMass grant exploring the Hebrew and English languages makes no such commitment to diversity. Its reference to gender comes as it states that “English and Hebrew differ in how they organize the words within sentences and whether they assign gender to nouns; Hebrew assigns masculine and feminine genders to nouns, similar to languages like Spanish and French but unlike English.” 

The project’s stated focus is to study how such linguistic differences affect “interpretation errors” among people who speak both languages.

Cruz’s dragnet of so-called “woke” research grants also comes as a number of American researchers and campus groups have pushed for boycotts of all Israeli institutions, in protest of Israel’s war in Gaza. 

The database was posted as Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency has targeted federal research funding on the basis of keywords that, the Trump team claims, reveal evidence of gender- and DEI-driven agendas. On Tuesday a federal judge intervened to block steep cuts to medical research funding at the National Institutes of Health. Another injunction blocked key parts of Musk’s effort to shut down the U.S. Agency for International Development. 

A report last week in the Washington Post found that NSF staff were also being directed to comb through their research projects in search of dozens of offending keywords, including “women,” “victims,” “trauma” and “ethnicity.” Such efforts are part of a larger slashing of federal spending, including the shuttering of entire departments, that scholars say is unlawful and may be leading to a constitutional crisis.

[aphrostarot]

Astrology and the Sexes: Virgo Man

Virgo Man:

Title: “The Vehicle” 

For simplicity's sake, I will use the pronouns “he/him” for the male versions of the signs and “she/her” for the female versions of the signs. This is not to say that the people who identify with the male or female versions of each sign identify with those pronouns. This post is focusing on the different sexes (male vs female), not gender. Gender is fluid, and I am in no way labeling people with these posts. Also, these posts are focusing solely on the Sun signs of each zodiac; other birth chart placements may cause someone to not fit into everything I have described.

Masterlist

Mind (how they think):

Virgo men typically project a mask of mysteriousness that will either put people off when they first meet them or pique their interest. This mask they put on in public is them hiding their deep sensitivity and wealth of emotional wounds. 

They would rather be cynical in all of their interactions than show how deeply hurt they are by the circumstances they have faced in their lives. 

Virgo men are masters of disguise, wearing different faces for different people, and keeping their friendships separate, so that others' illusions of them remain alive.  

Virgo is ruled by the planet Mercury, which also rules the sign Gemini. The ruling element of Gemini is air, which is aligned with their rules of communication, commerce, and speedy exchange on the mental and social planes. Because Virgo is an Earth sign, Mercury appears differently in them than in Gemini. In the Virgo, the same dynamics as the Gemini are displayed on a material plane rather than a mental one, showing a slow transmutation rather than an immediate one. Life isn't about restlessness and quick-wittedness for Virgos; instead, it's about a steady course toward a substantial goal, which requires patience and time. 

Many Virgo men end up working in professions that involve the alteration of substances, in some form or another. Such as ceramics, engineers, product designers, builders, architects, inventors, scientists, medical researchers, and doctors. 

Existence for a Virgo man is meant to be a servile, humbling experience. So, every obstacle they face in their lives is further pushing this theme onto them. 

Because of this theme they face throughout their entire life, they are more vulnerable to a litany of doubts, insecurities, and fears from a very young age.

The Virgo man is often born at a time when his parents are embroiled in struggle or strife; he also senses a sense of familial love between them. Thus, he will feel socially cast off for the majority of his life. 

He is typically smart in school, as well as musically and artistically talented. Although he struggles with interpersonal relationships.   

He may be mocked or otherwise made fun of from an early age, which makes him start to present himself as wounded and dejected. 

As he ages, two very distinctly different personalities will emerge. 

One will make him spend his life bitterly searching for revenge for the bullying he received at a young age, by amassing enormous wealth and/or power. 

This personality will result in him “overcompensating” with exaggerations about his wealth and status, showing off by spending way too much on clothes, gadgets, trips, food, drink, and gifts, all for himself. 

The other personality is a modest, unassuming character who uses divine inspiration for the common good, not for personal vengeance. Harry Potter is the perfect example of this type of Virgo man. 

From his youth, Virgo walks an emotional and, indeed, a moral tightrope. Avoiding conflict, he sidesteps tense situations, holding his tongue when feeling compromised. Like a volcano, he bottles up his emotions until they cannot help but blow up or sink him into a dark depression.

Many wounded Virgos will end up in professions that allow them to make big bucks by being their naturally grouchy selves. Such as a social or arts critic.

He can’t help but project his need for perfection, not only onto himself, but onto the world, and indeed onto other people. Nothing and nobody are good enough for him. 

Oftentimes, he will be stuck yelling about the imperfections, rather than attempting to alter his world for the better. 

Fear of failure, fear of success, and above all, fear of mediocrity may be what causes Virgo to get stuck being the sideline critic. 

This does have its perks, though; it allows him to be viewed as an expert with superior, discriminating taste. Although these people are unaware that he will actually not do anything they expect him to because of his fear of failure and judgment. And mainly because, like most critics, he can’t take even a fraction of what he’s capable of dishing out. 

Virgo is famous for his phobias and hypochondria, which are often caused by overprotective parents. 

He is also famous for being sullen if not Gothic in his temperament

At some point in his life, he will adopt a feeble self-image. This will cause him to seek out similarly disadvantaged friends and love interests with whom to sulkily associate.

Like the glyph of Virgo suggests in curling back onto itself, the path to Virgo’s happiness lies along a private, internalized path of quietly, humbly mining hidden talents, rather than in pointing a finger at the imperfections he perceives in the outside world. 

Body + Soul (what they look like inside and out):

There is something unmistakably guarded about the Vigro man, as if he’s perpetually suspicious, if not outright disdainful, of others. 

When interacting with anyone he doesn’t know, he wears a suspicious expression, leaning nearly backward, seemingly, to avoid breathing the same air as someone else. Ironically, though, he is the one who comes off looking suspicious, forever darting his eyes around, unwilling to make contact, transferring his weight uneasily from side to side. 

He’s dismissive of anyone he doesn’t know well - he makes a notoriously rude first impression, being wary of even the most casual, cheery exchange. Small talk seems plastic and phony to a Virgo, so he doesn’t partake. 

He has a knack for being quite judgmental, often delivering sharp, witty remarks that are both sarcastic and hilariously funny. His talent for sneaky one-liners can turn anyone nearby into a fit of cringing laughter.

Virgo man adopts such an air of expertise that people naturally trust his signature social judgments, finding themselves subconsciously instilled with his critical proclamations. 

The Virgo man is typically a creative mastermind who takes immense pleasure in hands-on work, showcasing his adaptable earth nature as a skilled artisan—whether he's sculpting, working with metal, carpentry, pottery, or even expressing himself as a composer, filmmaker, novelist, or choreographer, crafting beautiful works of art.

Virgo men are clever, sarcastic, and somewhat secretive individuals who often seem a bit offbeat, if not questionable, despite their well-known intelligence.

If you come across a serious-looking person who appears to be frowning, as if they've been tasting something sour, and seems hesitant to be in their current situation, chances are they might be a Virgo.

He is typically a big individual, either very tall and slender or quite robust and muscular. Regardless of his build, he has a sickly complexion, which is a characteristic linked to his zodiac sign's connection with the liver and gallbladder.

He often appears consistently downcast, as if life has left him utterly terrified, subtly manipulating the feelings of friends and loved ones who constantly attempt to convince him that the world isn't so bleak. However, more often than not, efforts to uplift his spirits are as futile as trying to get Hephaestus to dance the tango.

Regardless of how muscular he becomes—he's often a regular at the gym—the Virgo man's upper body is perched on thin, almost delicate legs, which become even more noticeable with his constant movement.

His bone structure is impressively solid, and his muscles are thick and rugged instead of sleek and lean

He usually sports a square head with a pronounced brow and hairline.

Often, he starts losing his hair at a young age, transitioning from a thick, coarse mane in his youth to a lighter, softer texture as he hits middle age.

His face is broad and serious, further accentuated by deep-set, piercing eyes and a long, prominent nose. 

He often comes across as a night owl, thanks to his pale skin, dark circles under his eyes, and the scruffy stubble he can't seem to tame.

He usually wears a lot of dark, often black clothing. Regardless of his profession, many may assume he works in the fashion industry because he typically chooses to wear the most expensive brands of clothing. 

He has a hulking upper body, often barrel-chested and big ribbed, which nonetheless tapers to a narrow by soft midsection, which can become blubbery if he leaves it unchecked. 

He is often quite hairy and occasionally hirsute in the extreme. 

Though thin his legs and ass are strong, and any attempts at buffing them up will yield a worked, “ripped” look. 

Much to his delight, he tends to be well endowed, generally enjoying an above-average length and a circumference that measures nearly as much. 

His hands and feet, like his head, are quite beautiful. Long, muscular, meaningful fingers suggest artistic as well as sexual deftness. 

Sex + Sexuality (what they are like in bed and what they look for in a mate):

Virgo Man Interested in Women:

The Virgo man is infamous for his tendency to become involved with women he can mold to his critical vision, all the while escaping scrutiny himself. 

Even in his teenage years, he may enter into relationships with girls who seem unfortunate, taking them on as projects upon which he can project his Virgoan criticism. 

He expects any woman worthy of his interest to carry a spotless reputation, sexual or otherwise. 

He will repeat this pattern in relationship after relationship as he ages. This is just one of the many forms of torture he inflicts upon himself. 

The bulk of his time and energy goes into coaching his significant other, leaving little room for romance. This is where his persistent sense that something is missing is founded. 

Sex itself is often seriously lacking in his love life. 

Another category of woman he might draw in while ensnared in his detrimental pattern is the submissive partner, who, lacking significant ambitions of her own, permits the Virgo man to dictate all aspects of her life, from her dietary choices and wardrobe to the extent of cosmetic enhancements she pursues. It is unsettling how closely the metaphor of shaping a woman from clay reflects the dynamics in Virgo's romantic relationships.

In some cases, he may be, consciously or not, trying to turn his current partner into the spitting image of a lost love. 

Still, as much as he tries to derive pleasure from controlling his partner, nothing is ever enough. 

True satisfaction eludes Virgo until he learns to turn his infamous wizardry onto himself, internally. 

Frequently, he opts for what appears to be the simpler solution, focusing on adjusting his outward appearance instead of exploring the depths of his intricate mind.

Anyone who knows him can confirm that he's really bad at sticking to his commitments. He's frequently late, sometimes doesn't show up at all, tends to avoid people, screens calls, or just doesn't get back to you.

This solitary mode may take up a chunk of his life. 

He may even take a vow of chastity in the hope that abstinence will purify his tainted soul. 

As he navigates this life change that often occurs in middle age (with Virgo linked to the ages of 35-42 and embodying the traits of a midlife crisis throughout his life), he tends to make significant and bold alterations. However, Virgos often set strict rules and harsh penalties for themselves, denying even minor pleasures, which only intensifies their fears of illness, mortality, and decline.

To truly love others purely and unconditionally, he first needs to drop that chip on his shoulder, recognize his imperfections, and learn to love himself regardless of them.

He has a built-in ability to keep a healthy distance in relationships.

Once he gets fed up with relationships where women let him take charge, he'll likely end up with a strong woman who has her own ambitions and a life she wants to live independently. This type of laid-back yet strong partnership is the only one that genuinely aligns with the Virgo male's mentality.

He tends to be afraid of proving lousy or just so-so in bed, which is why he rarely will take the sexual plunge in a relationship. 

Virgo's self-imposed standard is one of expertise; however, instead of pursuing perfection through effort, he often adopts a facade of competence, evading the real challenges while living a life characterized by innocence. As a result, he typically seeks out lovers who are much less experienced, allowing him to appear exceptionally skilled in all respects.

He believes that love and affection should be communicated without verbal expression, rejecting relationships that are overly chatty and sentimental. To effectively focus on his personal projects, it is important for his mind to remain clear and free of distractions.

He favors a setting that is tranquil, contemplative, and as serene as possible, whether he is by himself or with a partner. This preference extends to his sexual experiences as well; he desires a slow approach and values a woman who is also willing to embrace a relaxed tempo.

This is not to say that he won’t welcome proactivity in a partner, just so long as he is assured of having no demands made on him. 

He hopes his lover will take control over pleasuring herself in the bedroom, which is why he prefers his woman to be on top.

He gets off on being viewed as an instrument for his partner's enjoyment, grateful to not have to be the typical male aggressor.

Because of Virgo’s association with the 6th house of work and habits, he takes a dutiful approach to sex, choosing and sticking to a routine that works for him.

 The Virgo, known for their cleanliness, isn't one to create a mess in the bedroom. They are quite sensitive to any unpleasantness and prefer a tidy environment. However, due to their love for routine, intimacy can become a meaningful ritual, serving to strengthen and deepen their connection with a partner.

A Virgo man is unmatched when it comes to dexterity with his hands, and his mouth is equally impressive. Unfortunately, he tends to shy away from using it, opting instead for his increasingly calloused fingers.

He also doesn’t make any oral demands, though he’s willing to let his lover indulge any such fixations she may have. 

He experiences an orgasm as a full-body sensation, feeling an extended buildup that, unlike with many men, will see him shaking in precursory waves before he eventually erupts. 

Regardless of whether he calls it that, for him, sex has a tantric vibe, focusing on extending pleasure and reaching a lasting state of ecstasy. It serves as a way for Virgo to discover more about himself.

As with any of his habitual practices, he generally goes deeper into the experience each subsequent time, thus emphasizing the importance of a steady partner as well as a steadfast routine. 

Out of all the zodiac signs, he may be the one who is least interested in fatherhood. 

He seldom has sex just for the sake of it, and when he's single, he doesn't go around sleeping with different people. His go-to is usually a female friend or acquaintance he doesn't have strong feelings for, who is likely to give him oral sex whenever he wants, without expecting anything in return.

Even when he's in a relationship, his partner often has to remind him about sex. This happens because he can go for long stretches without sex and frequently needs a little push to remember his partner's desires.

He is not one to “brag” about his exploits with his friends. He prefers to keep his private life private. 

His more kinky longings are generally so deeply buried in his psyche that he may barely be aware of the range of proclivities he might actually possess. 

One classic Virgoan fascination is “watching”. Specifically, this entails observing an attractive heterosexual couple have sex. 

Other sexual reveries generally involve nubile-looking women, and, of course, virgins, whom, both in real life and in his imagination, he revels in deflowering. 

Sophisticated visions of corruption seep into his mind, fantasies that focus on the degradation of innocent or “proper” women.

On the flip side, he may envision himself as the submissive, putting himself at the mercy of a dominant, vampish woman with whom he can play out any number of lurking submissive tendencies. Humiliation fantasies abound in the Virgo psyche, regardless of which side of the spanking he lands on. 

Being cuckolded his also a signature Virgo man desire, whether he admits it or not. 

Virgo Man Interested in Men:

A gay Virgo man, who has been conscious of his sexuality from a young age, might look at relationships with men, particularly older ones, as a way to cope with his feelings of alienation and better his life situation.

He can be a real gold digger, exhibiting a particular appetite for foraging his way into a rich boyfriend’s deepest pockets. 

Virgo men, regardless of their sexuality, have been known to fabricate whole pasts to support whichever character they’re currently playing. 

Typically, gay Virgo men will want to appear the young, cultured protege to an older, richer man in whose image he’s petitioning to be molded. 

A young gay Virgo rarely chooses to show affection to someone his age or to a partner who doesn't have social clout or a strong financial situation. In his later years, he might be drawn to a much younger lover whom he can provide for in a similar fashion.

Once in a relationship, he may completely conform to his lover’s vision of a perfect partner. 

Virgo purposefully becomes wrapped up in his lover's life - often working for his boyfriend, purchasing property “together” or the like - legally and financially, as well as emotionally. 

He’s neither too dominant nor too submissive; he’s just a typical freewheeling Virgo man who, whether gay or straight, seeks plenty of blow jobs without having to invest much effort or involvement.

However, the mentors he’s typically attracted to may demand more from him, which he would readily volunteer to perform. 

To him, partnerships mean a tradeoff of personal freedom.

He might allow himself to be eased into what are, at first, vividly compromising positions to keep his lover satisfied, thus insuring whatever such niche he’s carving out for himself as ward, if not lord, of the manor. 

He soon learns to derive pleasure from being a versatile lover, one who’ll switch more willingly from giving to the receiving end over time. 

Still, even if his boyfriend possesses a tieless libido, emphasis for the Virgo will rarely be on sex. Indeed, he’s far more interested in the pristine public image he and his lover present. 

Not to suggest he necessarily masks his sexuality; he simply doesn’t flaunt it. Virgo merely believes that sexuality should never define a person.

Relationships like this give Virgos a chance to experience the nurturing they missed out on during their childhood. This kind of connection boosts their self-esteem and lets them indulge in a trophy-boy fantasy, while also highlighting their more delicate side.

The basis of any gay Virgo relationship is strong and sustaining. Since this love bond is really friendship first, Virgo doesn’t get too hung up on issues of sex and/or fidelity. Just as he can dally with someone else guilt-free, he is naturally forgiving of his lover’s forays, so long as they remain strictly physical. 

While he is happy to have an open relationship, unfortunately, not everyone is capable of similarly compartmentalizing. 

As he hits middle age, he tends to want to pass on the insights he's gained throughout his life. He seeks a companion who resembles him in many ways—a sort of sorcerer's apprentice—who will look at him with a blend of affection, admiration, and respect

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Dave

* * * *

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

April 3, 2025

Heather Cox Richardson

Apr 04, 2025

Trump’s announcement last night that he was placing high tariffs on countries around the world came after the stock market closed, but it drove stock futures dramatically downward. Overseas, global markets also plunged. Today, before the stock market opened, Trump posted on his social media site: “THE OPERATION IS OVER! THE PATIENT LIVED, AND IS HEALING. THE PROGNOSIS IS THAT THE PATIENT WILL BE FAR STRONGER, BIGGER, BETTER, AND MORE RESILIENT THAN EVER BEFORE. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!”

Fittingly, it was former Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani who rang the bell opening the stock market today. Giuliani represented Newsmax, the right-wing media channel with ties to Trump. As soon as the market opened, stocks fell straight down. By the end of the day, the Dow Jones Industrial Average had dropped 1,679 points, falling about 4%, its biggest fall since the coronavirus pandemic took hold in 2020. The S&P 500 fell 274 points, or 4.8%. The Nasdaq Composite fell more than 1,050 points, or almost 6%. The losses wiped out about $2 trillion.

Trump justified the tariffs by declaring that the U.S. is in the midst of a national emergency, but this afternoon he left the White House for a long weekend in Florida, where his private Doral resort outside of Miami is holding the first domestic golf tournament of the season of LIV Golf, which is financed by the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia.

Trump’s tariffs are not an economic policy. Tariffs are generally imposed on products, not on nations. By placing them on countries, the White House was able to arrive at its numbers with a nonsensical formula that appears to have been reached by asking AI how to impose tariffs—a suggestion so outlandish that I dismissed when I saw it last night, but economist Paul Krugman today identified it as being a likely possibility. CNBC’s Steve Liesman said: “Nobody ever heard of this formula. Nobody has ever used this formula. So I’m sorry, but the conclusion seems to be the president kind of made this up as he went along....”

Today, former treasury secretary Lawrence Summers posted: “It’s now clear that the [Trump] Administration computed reciprocal tariffs without using tariff data. This is to economics what creationism is to biology, astrology is to astronomy, or RFK thought is to vaccine science. The Trump tariff policy makes little sense EVEN if you believe in protectionist mercantilist economics.”

Editor of The American Prospect David Dayen notes that there is no apparent policy behind the tariffs, no thought, for example, as to whether it is even possible for the U.S. to ramp up the kind of domestic manufacturing Trump claims to want. While Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told CBS, “You’re going to see employment leaping starting today,” in fact, both automaker Stellantis and appliance manufacturer Whirlpool announced layoffs because of the tariffs.

Josh Marshall of Talking Points Memo points out that building and establishing a new plant in the U.S. will take a minimum of three to five years even if investors are inclined to support one, but Victoria Guida reported in Politico that corporate executives are saying they cannot invest in manufacturing until they can project costs, and Trump is far too unpredictable to enable them to do that with any confidence.

Dayen writes that Trump’s tariffs are essentially sanctions on the rest of the world. His behavior is, Dayen says, “no different from a mob boss moving into town and sending his thugs to every business on Main Street, roughing up the proprietors and asking for protection money so they don’t get pushed out of business.” Dayen notes that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent argued last year for using the extraordinary power of the U.S. economy to force other countries to do as the U.S. wants, creating a U.S. sphere of influence through economic pressure.

Extending the comparison to a mob boss, Dayen notes that “protection money” could take many forms: “curbing migration, taking in more U.S. farm exports or weapons systems, reducing industrial capacity in China and forcing more consumption, buying long-dated U.S. debt on the cheap, siding with a war strategy against Iran, literally anything the White House wants.”

Trump’s son Eric appeared to confirm that the tariffs are a shakedown when he posted: “I wouldn’t want to be the last country that tries to negotiate a trade deal with [Trump]. The first to negotiate will win—the last will absolutely lose. I have seen this movie my entire life.…” Foreign affairs journalist David Rothkopf was more graphic: “These aren’t tariffs,” he wrote. “They are a horse’s head in the bed of (almost) every world government and business leader.” Hedge fund manager Bill Ackman suggested that if a government refused to negotiate with Trump, that country’s major companies should deal directly with Trump, exempting that company’s products from tariffs in exchange for a new factory or some other investment Trump wants.

Trump is overturning the past 80 years of global trade cooperation in order to concentrate power in his own hands. Congress began to take down the tariff walls of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries when it passed the 1934 Reciprocal Tariff Act enabling the president to lower the high tariff rates Republicans had established with the 1930 Smoot-Hawley tariff. That tariff had worsened the Great Depression. With the turn away from tariff walls and toward international cooperation, global trade has fostered international cooperation and created the rising prosperity of the twentieth century.

“The global economy is fundamentally different today than it was yesterday,” Canada’s prime minister Mark Carney said today. “The system of global trade anchored on the United States…is over. Our old relationship of steadily deepening integration with the United States is over. The 80-year period when the United States embraced the mantle of global economic leadership, when it forged alliances rooted in trust and mutual respect and championed the free and open exchange of goods and services is over. While this is a tragedy, it is also the new reality.”

Ending systems of global free trade dovetails with the idea of getting rid of the international rules-based order created after World War II. After that horrific war, world leaders decided to create a system of international institutions, like the United Nations and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), to provide ways in which countries could protect their sovereignty and work out their differences without going to war.

Trump’s threats against other countries, including Greenland, an autonomous territory of NATO ally Denmark, are a direct rejection of those principles. That rejection reinforces the Trump regime’s embrace of Vladimir Putin’s Russia, which invaded Ukraine first in 2014 and again in 2022 and is trying to justify grabbing Ukrainian territory. Under Trump, the U.S. is siding with Russia rather than Ukraine in this war in a stunning rejection of the institutions and principles that have stabilized the globe since World War II.

Putin is now threatening NATO countries, prompting them to prepare for defense. “We are not at war,” NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said recently, “but we are certainly not at peace either.”

Some of those advocating tariff walls and forcing our allies to maintain their own defense suggest that creating a U.S. sphere of influence is the best way to counter a rising China, but there is no doubt that the concept of such spheres caters to the worldview of Russian and Chinese leaders. As scholar of authoritarianism Timothy Snyder points out, weakening the U.S. and its allies also benefits Russia by increasing Russia’s power relative to other countries, making it easier to establish the multipolar world Russia wants.

The Trump administration is also undermining post–World War II democracy at home. Last night, Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) identified Trump’s tariffs as “a tool to collapse our democracy. A means to compel loyalty from every business that will need to petition Trump for relief.” Murphy pointed to Trump’s shakedown of prominent law firms, four of which he has attacked with executive orders. He also pointed to Trump’s attacks on universities, withholding government funding until their administrators bow to MAGA’s ideological demands.

Sarah D. Wire of USA Today reported that earlier this week the Institute for Museum and Library Studies was effectively closed, and over the past two days the administration told libraries across the country that grants awarded last year have been terminated. Today the administration cut federal grants for arts and humanities across the country: museums, archives, historic sites, educational projects, and so on—all defunded. It also cut this year’s funding for National History Day, a popular history program in schools that is already underway.

On Tuesday, the Department of Health and Human Services slashed jobs and programs in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), even as measles continues to spread and two Louisiana infants have died of whooping cough. Today, news broke that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is implementing a hiring freeze even as flash floods and tornadoes just today have killed at least seven people in the Midwest to the mid-South.

The plan, as Vice President J.D. Vance explained in a 2021 interview, is to destroy the current government, business, educational, cultural, and scientific pillars of the United States in order to replace them with a new system, although there is tension between the Project 2025 wing of MAGA and the technocrats’ wing over whether that new system will be a theocracy or a technocracy. In either case, it will be an authoritarian government in which power and money concentrate in a very few hands.

The administration’s crusade against the state of Maine shows what this looks like. After Maine governor Janet Mills told Trump the state would follow state and federal law rather than bow to his demands, acting Social Security Administration commissioner Leland Dudek canceled contracts permitting Maine parents to apply for Social Security numbers for their newborns from the hospital and for Maine families to report deaths from funeral homes. Told such a change would risk identity theft and wasteful spending, Dudek told the agency to do it anyway in order to punish Mills.

After an outcry, Dudek backtracked, but yesterday the Secretary of Agriculture, Brooke Rollins, announced she was freezing federal funds for Maine educational programs. The Trump administration would stand against “a leftist social agenda,” Rollins wrote.

The problem for Republicans is that while the sort of inflammatory language Rollins used has been a staple of the party for decades, the MAGA agenda itself is not popular. Only about 4% of voters who knew about Project 2025 wanted to see it enacted, and billionaire Elon Musk, who runs the “Department of Government Efficiency” that is slashing through government programs, is so unpopular that his support for a candidate in Tuesday’s Wisconsin Supreme Court election actually appeared to have hurt, rather than helped, that candidate.

Now party members have to deal with the fact their president has tanked the economy by enacting what the National Review says is likely the largest peacetime tax hike in U.S. history. Now countries around the globe are imposing reciprocal tariffs on the U.S. while also negotiating their own trade agreements that cut out the U.S. Those agreements are not only for products like soybeans, but also for weapons, a development the administration is protesting.

Republican members of Congress could stop Trump at any time. In the case of tariffs, they could simply reassert their constitutional power to manage tariffs. If they choose not to and the economy doesn’t recover and thrive as Trump keeps promising, voters can be expected to hold them, as well as him, to account.

Right now Republican leaders appear to be hoping that Trump’s attempt to extort other countries will work and the tariffs will be short lived. But their enthusiasm for that strategy seems to be well under control.

Today, Bill Ackman resorted to defending the tariffs by posting: “Sometimes the best strategy in a negotiation is convincing the other side you are crazy.”

—

Notes:

Paul Krugman

Will Malignant Stupidity Kill the World Economy?

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON