— Empire Burlesque - Daniel Bessner, Harpers, Jul. 2022
“When it comes to the benefits that ordinary Americans received from their empire, it’s similarly difficult to defend the historical record. It’s true that in the three decades after World War II, armed primacy ensured favorable trade conditions that allowed Americans to consume more than any other group in world history (causing incredible environmental damage in the process). But as the New Deal gave way to neoliberalism, the benefits of supremacy attenuated. Since the late Seventies, Americans have been suffering the negative consequences of empire—a militarized political culture, racism and xenophobia, police forces armed to the teeth with military-grade weaponry, a bloated defense budget, and endless wars—without receiving much in return, save for the psychic wages of living in the imperial metropole.”
— Tell Me if You’ve Heard This Story Before - Laila Lalami, The New York Times, Jul. 6, 2022
“Casting Spain and Morocco as joint victims of violent invaders is convenient, but the gut-wrenching videos that emerged later tell a different story. Dozens of bodies lay in a heap, a few still moving and in need of medical attention, while Moroccan police in full riot gear stood watching nearby. The refugees and immigrants reportedly were from Sudan, Chad and elsewhere in sub-Saharan Africa.”
— ‘Everything in Hong Kong Has Changed’: A Road to Reinvention - Hannah Beech, The New York Times, Jun. 30, 2022
“On the day that Hong Kong was returned to China a quarter century ago, the noodle maker of Queen’s Road worked as he had done for days and decades before, mixing flour and water into sustenance for a city filled with refugees from the mainland. To satisfy the diverse tastes, he made tender Shanghai noodles and Cantonese egg pasta, slippery wonton wrappers from China’s south and thick dumpling skins beloved in Beijing.”
— Slow water: can we tame urban floods by going with the flow? - Erica Gies, The Guardian, Jun. 7, 2022
“When planning a project, Yu and other urban designers start by trying to figure out what water did before a city spread, and what it does now within its current confines. Like many of the water detectives I met, the staff at Turenscape use spatial mapping software from Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI), which can map watersheds from mountains to ocean, modelling floods, plant succession, infrastructure and much more. The tool allows designers to comprehend complex systems and interrelated challenges, such as how to reduce flooding while also preserving other species, building smarter cities and reducing resource waste.”
Now reading: The Committed by Viet Thanh Nguyen
Now listening: Undo (Instrumental) - RL Grime