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“The really frightening thing about totalitarianism is not that it commits “atrocities” but that it attacks the concept of objective truth: it claims to control the past as well as the future.”

—George Orwell, 4 February 1944

@bookstodon #georgeorwell #totalitarianism #history #truth #PostTruth

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in reply to john rakestraw

Why the scare quotes around 'atrocities'? Not part of the original, AFAICT

telelib.com/authors/O/OrwellGe…

Not just punctuation nerdiness - why would Orwell, writing in 1944 and riffing off his experiences in the Spanish civil war, question that totalitarians commit atrocities?

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in reply to Wayward Sun

@waywardsun Good question. I wondered the same thing, and considered leaving them out, but my own “punctuation nerdiness” won out. See attached screenshot — Knopf’s Everyman’s Library edition of the essays, ed. John Carey. Front matter says “text drawn directly from The Complete Works of George Orwell.” The discrepancy is definitely interesting — my library has several collections of the essays — I might spend some time snooping around the next time I’m there.


The Papacy Is Forever Changed (Francis X. Rocca/The Atlantic)

theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/…
memeorandum.com/250421/p109#a2…



GOP-led House panel renews referral of Andrew Cuomo for prosecution over Covid testimony (Ryan Nobles/NBC News)

nbcnews.com/politics/congress/…
memeorandum.com/250421/p110#a2…




The Justice Department and Google battle over how to fix a search engine monopoly


After a federal judge ruled that Google had a monopoly on the search market, the tech giant and the government are in court to debate penalties. One possible result: Forcing Google to spin off Chrome.

#news #npr #publicradio #usa
posted by pod_feeder_v2



From Project Gutenberg:

Old Portraits and Modern SketchesPart 1 from Volume VI of The Works of John Greenleaf Whittier

by John Greenleaf Whittier

Get it at: gutenberg.org/ebooks/9591



The EU Changes Course in Africa byteseu.com/943287/ #africa #Europe #Geopolitics


I totally forgot until my meeting with dark sky enthusiasts, but Happy Dark Sky week!!

darksky.org/news/international…

in reply to Prof. Sam Lawler

We live in a designated Dark Sky Community, and it is AWESOME. So peaceful. So beautiful—especially for this night owl.


Warriors are confident they’ve solved the Rockets — if they can limit mistakes byteseu.com/943285/ #America #GoldenStateWarriors #HoustonRockets #NBA #UnitedStates #UnitedStatesOfAmerica #US #USNews #USA #USANews


Charles Barkley to Dems: Run either of these 2 candidates or lose my support byteseu.com/943283/ #basketball #Politics



Please support my Patreon with a measly dollar so I can continue to write my silly little facts. You'll feel like a medieval king throwing coins or onions at a dancing court jester. I do not know how jesters were paid. It could have been in onions.
patreon.com/lowqualityfacts

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I can truthfully say I’ve hiked 87 miles for this!!
This entry was edited (8 months ago)
in reply to Jason Evangelho 🐧🎒

I mean, it looks like it'd be worth it. Not that I'd be able to accomplish that feat at the moment, but I'd be willing to try.
in reply to Dave

@dm if it helps, every single mile leading here has been a stunning, beautiful adventure.

~310 to go!! 🤪

@Dave




FirstEnergy Names Executives to Support Transmission Business, West Virginia/Maryland and New Jersey byteseu.com/943281/ #business #FirstEnergyCorp.


I went to share this great #ambient compilation, my fave fediverse-instigated collaboration I’ve found so far, and it looks like the link is a 404.

merveilles.town/@rostiger/1114…

But it’s also over here still, free to download:

beldamrecords.bandcamp.com/alb…



RFK's statements prove autistic people and their families everywhere should fear Trump and his allies (John Harris/The Guardian)

theguardian.com/commentisfree/…
memeorandum.com/250420/p48#a25…




Good thing Kristi’s not in charge of anything important…

“Kristi Noem's bag stolen with multiple forms of ID, thousands in cash”

cbsnews.com/news/kristi-noems-…

in reply to thepoliticalcat

Probably all written down on a 3x5 card that was also stolen.