Content warning:Racist depiction of Indian/Native American/First Nations People
Hey, come on in here just a second. What's your name? Steve? Come on, have a seat. Look, Steve, eh, this Indian thing just isn't working out. We're not gonna do it anymore. #CowboyWho
Ashley Belanger, writing for Ars Technica:
After Substack shocked an unknown number of users by sending a push notification on Monday to check out a Nazi blog featuring a swastika icon, the company quickly apologized for the “error,” tech columnist Taylor Lorenz reported. [...]
Substack has long faced backlash for allowing users to share their “extreme views” on the platform, previously claiming that “censorship (including through demonetizing publications)” doesn’t make “the problem go away — in fact, it makes it worse,” Lorenz noted. But critics who have slammed Substack’s rationale revived their concerns this week, with some accusing Substack of promoting extreme content through features like their push alerts and “rising” lists, which flag popular newsletters and currently also include Nazi blogs.
The publication in question, NatSocToday, describes itself as a “National Socialist weekly newsletter featuring opinions and news important to the National Socialist and White Nationalist Community.” The newsletter’s image header is a Nazi flag, and its latest post, as of Wednesday, was an article that includes the sentence: “We demand the return of all territory currently occupied by jews and non-Whites in historically White homelands.” It does not appear to be a particularly popular blog, and currently has fewer than a thousand subscribers.
A mantra of “we host all views, but don’t promote or endorse all views” doesn’t hold much water when you promote a blog whose logo is a straight-up Nazi swastika.
Ana Marie Cox, who knows a thing or two about indie publishing and journalism, on her AMC All the Time blog about a month ago:
My take is more dire, because I’m not sure about “savvy and stamina” as the distinguishing characteristics of those who might be able to migrate elsewhere. I think plenty of smart folks might find themselves stuck.
Substack is rickety. It’s as unstable as a SpaceX launch, as overpromised as a Stephen Miller marriage.
Substack does not have a clear future as a newsletter business, I’m not the first to notice that. But it doesn’t have to fail outright to be a disaster. It just has to keep trying to become a life-sized map of the internet: maximum content, maximum churn. The center cannot hold — especially not for newsletters, a format that depends on intimacy and long-standing trust.
The Substack bust will not just take out a few hot-take merchants and media dilettantes. It’s going to take down a lot of working journalists who’ve built modest, sustainable incomes as well as the fragile public sphere we’ve been piecing together in the ashes of Twitter and the twilight of traditional journalism.
Taylor Lorenz’s scoop today on Substack’s Nazi notification oopsie reminded me that I’ve been meaning to link to this post from Cox casting a serious stink eye at Substack’s business. As she says up front, “Let’s set Substack’s ‘Nazi problem’ aside for a moment. What if the bigger issue is being stranded on a collapsing platform ... with a bunch of Nazis?”
Substack pitches itself to would-be independent writers as a thriving platform that’s fundamentally about independent blog publishing and email newsletter distribution. That could be a great business. But it would be a relatively small business compared to Substack’s fund raising (over $100 million so far, and currently looking to raise more) and the implied valuation that fund raising implies (at one point, they were pitching investors that they were worth $1 billion, which is about as realistic as El Gringo Loco Anaranjado’s promises that Mexico will pay for a US border wall).
Ghost is a platform and business that’s actually built for independent writers. So is Buttondown (which Cox uses for her site). Beehiiv too. There’s a whole cottage industry of creator-oriented blog-cum-newsletter platforms. Substack, on the other hand, is a trap. It breaks my heart to see great writers as disparate as Paul Krugman and Michael Chabon set up their ostensibly independent presences on Substack. Writers check in, but — if Substack gets their way — they won’t check out.
Looking at the numbers Cox lays out, Substack’s future looks even worse than I thought. Before they go under, though, their investors will put the screws to them, and Substack will take its heel turn.
Do you eat enough protein in a day? Don’t even bother answering, because I know the answer is no. But don’t worry, I’m kind of a protein guy. I can give you all the guidance you need so you can stop being such a weak little bitch. I eat three hundred times my recommended daily allowance of protein. So as you can imagine, my life is perfect. I can crush a fifteen-gallon stainless-steel trash can with my thighs. I could lift your sofa above my head and throw it so far you’ll never see it again. And that’s what I’ll do if you don’t start eating enough protein. So you’d better listen up.
Let’s start with the basics. According to my nutritionist, a guy named the Beef Man, you should be getting at least 30,000 grams of protein at each meal. You’re probably clocking in at a cool fifteen grams or less, which, quite frankly, makes me want to punch a wall. How many chicken breasts have you even eaten so far today? Four? Five? Don’t make me laugh.
By the way, you could be slamming legumes right now while I’m telling you this. Every second of the day is an opportunity for protein, and you’re wasting it. What’s that sound? All I hear is the sound of you not eating a bucket of eggs. That eggless silence is the worst sound in the world. I listen to a recording of myself eating a bucket of eggs to help me fall asleep at night. It brings me a peace you’ll never understand.
But don’t think I have no sympathy for sad little failures. I know reaching your daily protein goals can be a challenge. Sometimes you have to get creative. Do you drink coffee in the morning? Try swapping it out for ground turkey. (Do not talk to me until I’ve had my ground turkey.) If you’re still brushing your teeth with toothpaste (zero protein), you’re a stupid idiot. Start brushing with Greek yogurt. Do you take medicine? Of course you do, because you’re a sick freak who doesn’t get enough protein. Try cottage cheese instead.
I can tell you’re still a little skeptical. Why do you even need all that protein anyway? I’ll tell you why, you piece of shit. You need protein for muscle growth. You’re probably saying, “I don’t care about muscle growth. I like being an adult with the body of a little baby.” And of course, that’s your choice. But you also need protein for maintaining blood, skin, and bones. Ever heard of them? You think you’re too good for bones, buddy? If you don’t eat enough protein, you’re basically saying you’re cool with being a disgusting pile of goo. Ever seen a pile of goo before, tough guy? It ain’t pretty.
And look, I get it. Eating a nutritious diet is about balance. Of course you can still eat other things you enjoy like fruits, pastas, and even brownies. As long as those fruits, pastas, and brownies are made from a slurry of broken-down animal parts and molded into the shapes of those respective foods. I know not everyone enjoys animal slurry. As a vegetarian alternative, put a bunch of chickpeas in a blender and sculpt that goop into the shape of any food you’d normally enjoy. Pretend you’re Demi Moore in Ghost while you’re doing it. I don’t care.
At the end of the day, I’m tired of your excuses. You can’t spend all day cooking lentils? Fine. Don’t tell me you don’t have thirty seconds on your morning commute to snack on some unseasoned ground beef. I don’t leave the house without my five-pound canister of chocolate banana cinnamon roll whey protein powder that I snort when there’s a lull in conversations. I can already hear you whining, “The protein powder burns when I snort it.” Okay, well, nothing is stopping you from administering it rectally, except for your bad attitude.
Ultimately, I can’t force you to eat the correct amount of protein for your body weight. But the next time you try to crush a fifteen-gallon stainless-steel trash can with your thighs, don’t come crying to me when you look like a fool because you only dented it a little bit.
A family farm growing seven varieties of dates. Try the Barhi!
Added by @adam in Food › Farm to Table.
A webring dedicated to the fine art of building hand-coded artisanal HTML websites, and teaching others how to build websites.
Added by @eigenwijs in Internet › Webrings.
The Great Django Webring connects websites related to the Django web framework, helping community members discover resources, blogs, and tools.
Added by @eigenwijs in Internet › Webrings.
Alden Global Capital just can’t understand. Why would any newspaper not want to be the next to pass through its digestive tract?
That’s the tone of a letter the vulturous hedge fund’s executives sent last night to the owner of The Dallas Morning News. As I wrote on Monday, the DallasNews Corporation recently agreed to be acquired by Hearst at the price of $14 a share. Soon after, Alden swooped in with a surprise offer at $16.50 a share.
More money usually beats less money. But Alden is no regular owner, having earned a reputation for firing journalists en masse and bleeding its newspapers dry. (One study found it laid off journalists at twice the rate of other newspaper owners.) Selling to Alden is not what a good newspaper owner who cares about his community does.
So Robert Decherd — a great-grandson of the paper’s co-founder, who spend decades as its CEO and chairman — decided that he’d rather not send his life’s work through Alden’s wood chipper and said there “are no circumstances under which I would vote for or support the MNG [MediaNews Group, a.k.a. Alden] proposal.” “No circumstances” seems pretty clear, and the DallasNews board told Alden, in effect, to buzz off.
So now Alden’s big mad. Its July 22 letter making the offer was all sweetness and light, expressing its “keen interest” in protecting “this local treasure” and professing “the sincerity and intensity of this commitment.” Last night’s letter was all elbows:
On July 28, 2025, you summarily rejected — without any discussion — our all-cash proposal to acquire all outstanding shares of DallasNews Corporation for $16.50 per share in favor of Hearst’s clearly inferior $15.00 per share revised offer…As you can imagine, we were surprised to see your public rejection, particularly as it occurred without even a single conversation, let alone substantive engagement, with us. Rather than evaluate our proposal on the merits or engage in discussions that could benefit all your shareholders and other stakeholders and the North Texas community at large, you adopted a shareholder rights plan designed to protect the inferior Hearst transaction, suppress competing bids, and deprive your shareholders of the opportunity to consider alternatives that could unlock greater value…
How these actions could possibly be deemed to satisfy your fiduciary duties is a mystery to us…if the Board continues to refuse engagement, we will simply be forced to take our case directly to your shareholders. As such, we urge you to reconsider your position.
“Take our case directly to your shareholders” implies a proxy battle in which DallasNews shareholders could vote to take Alden’s offer over Hearst’s. But “shareholders,” in this case, pretty much just means Decherd. He personally controls a majority of all shareholder votes, having worked for many years to keep the various wings of the family united and, in 2020, purchased enough family shares to get over 50%. Mathematically, he’s the only vote that matters.
Amid all the letter’s blunt talk, Alden turns sugary again when it talks about Decherd, even teasing a potential role for him in an Alden Morning News:
We have deep respect for Robert Decherd, his more than five decades of service to The Dallas Morning News, and his long-standing commitment to civic journalism in North Texas. We share Mr. Decherd’s commitment to high-quality local journalism and agree that preserving the quality and integrity of The Dallas Morning News requires scale, operating experience, and a proven commitment to the public interest…We welcome the opportunity to engage directly with Mr. Decherd regarding our proposal and vision for the future. We are confident that the concerns he has expressed can be addressed collaboratively and constructively, and we are open to discussing appropriate structural protections to ensure The Dallas Morning News’s editorial and operational independence and continued civic mission, including, if appropriate, a continued role for Mr. Decherd in an institution so closely tied to his family’s legacy.
How sweet! But one assumes that Decherd remembers that, just a few days ago, Alden explicitly wanted to cut him out of acquisition talks. From the July 22 letter:
We would prefer to otherwise conduct our discussions directly with you [the DallasNews board of directors] on a confidential basis, as this Proposal is intended solely for your consideration and not for the consideration of DallasNews’ shareholders or any other person or entity.
Robert Decherd served on the company’s board for 47 years, but he retired from it two years ago. So by requesting to speak confidentially, only with the board and “not for the consideration of DallasNews’ shareholders,” Alden was essentially asking to cut Decherd out of talks. Remember, he’s the only shareholder that matters.
In one sense, DallasNews is extremely lucky that Decherd left the board when he did. Were he still chairman, Alden could argue he had a fiduciary duty to shareholders to accept the highest bid. But as a private citizen, he can vote however he wants. On July 9, Decherd signed an agreement that, “irrevocably and unconditionally,” requires him, his wife, and his foundation “to vote their shares of Common Stock in favor of the approval of the Merger Agreement” with Hearst.
In other words, it’s difficult to imagine a scenario in which Alden wins The Dallas Morning News without Robert Decherd’s explicit approval. And there is no reason to doubt his statements that “are no circumstances under which” he would support a sale to Alden. Decherd is 74, having devoted his life to the family company; his retirement from the board came on the 50th anniversary of his first day of employment. He’s made plenty of money. Some back-of-the-envelope math suggests that, for Decherd personally, the difference between selling to Hearst at $15.00 rather than Alden at $16.50 comes down to around a million dollars. Even if Alden ups its bid a buck or two, we’re talking about a sum that, while big money to you or me, is hardly worth trampling the family name. I don’t expect any hedge fund sweet talk to change that calculation.
Certain 12-packs of Celsius energy drinks have been recalled after a packaging error led them to contain High Noon vodka seltzer instead, posing a risk of unintentional alcohol ingestion. What do you think?
“I’d hate to do damage to my liver when I was just trying to damage my heart.”
Jake Squires, Elevator Tester
“Someone could have accidentally ingested a calorie.”
Theresa Vo, Kazoo Tuner
“And here I was thinking my SSRIs finally started working.”
Sam Bell, Fruit Peeler
The post High Noon Recalls Vodka Seltzers Mislabeled As Celsius appeared first on The Onion.
That guy needs a Kleenex real bad.
OTTAWA – A recent survey of birds born in the early 90s shows that three out of four of them expect to never own the birdhouse they live in, and will have to rent from humans forever. “When my parents were my age, they had a two-nestroom balsa wood house with a perch swing and […]
The post STUDY: 95% of Millennial birds expect to never own their birdhouses appeared first on The Beaverton.
BERLIN—Just weeks after announcing his split with fiancée Katy Perry, English actor Orlando Bloom was photographed Friday dining with former German Chancellor Angela Merkel. “Angela kept Orlando laughing all night—he couldn’t keep his eyes off her!” said an insider source who spotted the pair sipping wine, slurping oysters, and splitting a decadent piece of chocolate layer cake at a Michelin-starred restaurant. “Sure, maybe they’re just friends, but they looked like they were getting pretty cozy to me. She’s a huge fan of Pirates Of The Caribbean, and he’s super into the German economy. Personally, I think it’s a match made in heaven.” At press time, the celebrity gossip mill was sent into overdrive after Bloom was spotted dancing in the crowd at a reading to promote Merkel’s memoir.
The post Orlando Bloom Spotted At Dinner With Angela Merkel appeared first on The Onion.
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA—Maintaining that mistakes were simply life lessons in disguise, upbeat general surgeon Ezra Weber told reporters Friday that he views every malpractice suit as a chance to learn something new. “Some people would let being found liable in a few multimillion-dollar wrongful death cases get them down, but you’ve got to shift your mindset and remember that mistakes aren’t setbacks—they’re setups for growth,” Dr. Weber said while jotting down “Do not place next to insulin” on a vial of pentobarbital. “I always tell residents that if you’re not failing, you’re not growing. For example, I never would have learned why you’re supposed to wear gloves on both hands when operating if I hadn’t given that woman sepsis. And hey, how are you ever supposed to learn how many bloody marys with breakfast significantly impair your fine motor skills if you don’t screw the pooch a couple times?” Dr. Weber went on to remark that he was looking forward to brushing up on the latest medical findings and getting some much needed R&R during his upcoming eight-month prison sentence.
The post Doctor With Positive Attitude Learns Something New From Every Malpractice Suit appeared first on The Onion.
TRAVERSE CITY, MI—Raising their eyebrows at the bride’s assertion that she was “adventurous,” wedding guests of Tatiana Hines and Felix Byrne confirmed Friday that the couple’s vows were a damning chronicle of how much she had changed herself for him. “She keeps thanking God for bringing him into her life, but wasn’t she a staunch atheist, like, two and a half years ago?” said guest Madelyn Gonzalez, frowning as Hines, who had once stated that if she ever got married she would have a budget-friendly ceremony at city hall, stood in a $7,000 dress at the altar before nearly 500 people who were primarily friends, family members, coworkers, and acquaintances of the groom. “When I first met her, she didn’t watch any sports. Now she’s saying the favorite part of her weekend is watching the Ravens game with him after CrossFit? Huh. At least he didn’t have to change a single thing for her.” At press time, the former militant vegan was reportedly opening her mouth wide so her new husband could feed her a piece of buttercream-frosted cake.
The post Wedding Vows A Damning Chronicle Of How Much Bride Changed Herself For Groom appeared first on The Onion.
Photos of Anne Hathaway and Meryl Streep on the set of The Devil Wears Prada 2 have been circulating online, galvanizing fans of the beloved original. Here is everything we know about the sequel so far.
Set in the New York City neighborhood of Restaurant City
Will begin with a historical primer about what a magazine was
Joe Pesci will step out of retirement to portray the President of Shoes.
Stanley Tucci balder than ever
Little red pitchfork stiletto doesn’t fucking show up in this one either
Fans of the 2006 original will finally learn how their favorite characters would talk about podcasts and Shein.
Conspicuously never denounces Hamas
Will either be good, bad, or somewhere in between
The post Everything We Know About ‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’ So Far appeared first on The Onion.
It’s four answers to four questions. Here we go…
1. Starting a new job when I have lots of old self-harm scars
I’m starting a new job in a few weeks, and I’m panicking about how to deal with self-harm scars on my arms. I’ll be working at a university, usually not student-facing but I will have some shifts on a help desk and that type of thing. I don’t make a huge effort to hide my scars at the moment (I roll my sleeves up in the summer) but I’ve never actually worn a short-sleeved top or dress at work before. I’d like to start wearing short sleeves because I run hot anyway and perimenopause is absolutely not helping there.
Looking at your answers to similar questions, I think the general consensus is that it’s okay to have visible scars at work and other people should essentially pretend not to notice! It’s obvious my scars are from self-harm but they are very old (20 years+ mostly) and fully healed. I’m not too concerned about facing actual discrimination or the legal side of things in general (and I live in the UK so the ADA isn’t a factor), but I don’t want to (a) upset other people, (b) have this be the first thing people notice about me, or (c) have any conversations about self-harm at work.
What’s the best way to navigate things? Should I wait a couple of weeks before showing my arms? Are there times when I definitely shouldn’t wear short sleeves? (Meetings with senior people, for example.) What’s the best way to respond if I’m asked about my scars or asked/told to cover them up?
If they’re pretty noticeable: I hate this answer because it shouldn’t matter, but in purely practical terms if you don’t want them to be the first thing people notice about you, yes — wait a few weeks before showing your arms. After that, though, wear what you want. You’ll be out of “the first thing people notice about you” territory.
If anyone asks you about the scars, you can just say in a slightly bored-sounding tone, “Oh, they’re old” and then change the subject. You don’t owe anyone a full explanation. And under no circumstances should an employer ask you to cover them up; these are old scars, not fresh, seeping wounds! If that happens, talk to HR (but it shouldn’t and hopefully won’t).
2. Our boss is getting rid of our water cooler and we’ll only have water from the bathroom sinks
I work for a smaller business and we rent space in a building built in the 1930s. It’s not kept up very well. Our office suite does not have a sink. The only sinks/bathrooms are in the shared hallway. The landlord is awful at keeping up the bathrooms, to the point where we didn’t have toilet paper or paper towels for nearly an entire month, which forced us to have to bring our own every time we used the bathroom. Sigh. That should tell you how much care they take in the building that they rent out.
Up until now, we’ve had a water cooler machine in the office. It’s been nice to have cold and hot clean water available. It’s pretty much been our only small perk in this entire space.
Well, my boss wants to get rid of it save costs. I get it, those subscriptions can be pricey, but there also isn’t a plan to supplement what we are losing. My question is whether that’s truly legal, in relation to OSHA laws.
Is a relatively unkept building built in 1939 really going to have potable water in the bathrooms? I doubt it. I know only water testing could answer that question, but who is going to pay for that? My boss is operating under the assumption that the bathrooms have potable water. I’ve tried to bring this up and question that assumption, but I’m simply not listened to.
And yes, I can and will bring my own water and bring my own hot water heater, etc. But, that’s not really the point. I know this is a tiny question relative to many that you get, but I’m curious as to what your thoughts are.
Employers are required to provide potable water. The question here is whether the water in the bathrooms is potable or not. I know you’re skeptical that it is, but for it to be an OSHA issue, you’d have to have something beyond “it doesn’t seem like an unkept, older building would have potable water.”
That said, an office water cooler is such a small expense that it’s a bit ridiculous that your boss is getting rid of it and relegating you to the bathroom for drinking water! Can you and your coworkers push back and ask to keep the cooler? Consider pointing out that if you have to leave the building to obtain water every time you need some, a lot of work time will be wasted.
3. Employer won’t let employee telework anymore, despite severe allergies
I am a manager at a governmental agency that has mandated return to office for all employees. I have one employee who was teleworking up to this point, but now has to come in to the office. She has severe food allergies, to the point where touching a surface or doorknob that was previously touched by someone who ate one of her allergen foods can cause her to break out in hives. The other employees have been conscious about avoiding the worst foods around her, but don’t always recognize when something contains a trigger ingredient. To try and avoid risk of anaphylaxis, I’ve switched offices with her so she is in my private office and I use the shared workspace instead.
However, it would really be best if she could return to telework. She was highly productive and responsive when teleworking, but telework is now only available through the reasonable accommodation process. She was told by the HR team that her condition (severe allergies with anaphylaxis) does not constitute a disability and therefore isn’t covered under reasonable accommodation, but this doesn’t seem right to me. How can I help this employee be safe at work and, ideally, return to telework?
What on earth? Please encourage this employee to talk to an employment lawyer for guidance, because severe allergies with anaphylaxis — i.e., compromising her ability to breathe, a major life activity — should absolutely be covered under the Americans with Disabilities Act, which covers “impairments that substantially limit one or more major life activities, such as seeing, hearing, speaking, walking, or breathing.” Your HR team is almost certainly violating the law here, and a lawyer can make that clear to them (or advise her on how to).
4. Should you stay connected on LinkedIn to people at a job you were unfairly fired from?
What’s the protocol about staying connected on LinkedIn to people from a job you’ve been (in my opinion) unfairly fired from? Would it be a bad move to sever the connection?
It’s up to you! It’s okay to disconnect from the people at that job if you want to … but it’s possible you could come to regret it in the future, if one of them is connected to a job you’re applying for or otherwise could offer networking help. If you’re absolutely sure you will never want to interact with someone again in the future, disconnect at will — but I’d be judicious in deciding who to put in that category. And if you’re unsure, err on the side of doing nothing for now; you can always change that decision in the future if you want to.
The post our only drinking water is from the bathroom, starting a new job with self-harm scars, and more appeared first on Ask a Manager.
Oh when the saints
Come marching in
Oh when the saints come marching in
Well I sure wouldn't want to be a bad guy
When the phantom marches in! #CowboyWho
Esther’s Nyan Cat style zoom there is, of course, a true “moon-bow“, consisting solely of shades of grey.
The post A short one appeared first on Bad Machinery.
EAST HANOVER, NJ—Unveiling a much-anticipated collaboration they said fans have long been waiting for, the makers of Oreo and Reese’s announced Thursday that the two iconic brands of sweets had teamed up to sicken dogs. “The savory, aromatic peanut butter of our new treat lures the dogs in, while the chocolate coating and cookie pieces poison them,” said Oreo spokesperson Tracy King, adding that both Oreo Reese’s Cookies and Reese’s Oreo Cups were perfect for leaving on the edge of the kitchen table just within reach of your pet. “It’s Oreos and Reese’s like you’ve never seen them before: being pumped out of your dog’s stomach at a costly vet appointment. The beloved snacks are a natural pairing, because Oreos make dogs sick and Reese’s also make dogs sick. These things are loaded with so much chocolate they could take down a Great Dane. Your dog will want to eat the whole bag, but may be violently ill and forced to leave a few for you!” In a press release, Oreo and Reese’s announced the tagline for the new product is “We will kill your dog.”
The post Oreo And Reese’s Team Up To Sicken Dogs appeared first on The Onion.
A National Institutes of Health-funded study found that older adults who participated in SNAP showed a slower rate of cognitive decline than people who were eligible for the food assistance program but didn’t receive benefits. What do you think?
“I wonder if food has other benefits as well.”
Amelia Coltan, Peppercorn Packager
“Filling out mountains of paperwork is a great mental exercise.”
Ed Meyerowitz, Mattress Roller
“I’ve only heard bad things about food.”
Carlos Ramos, Lathe Supervisor
The post Study Finds Federal Food Assistance Slows Cognitive Decline appeared first on The Onion.
