Cowboy Who?

Letter Rip by Dan Savage

I’m a female in my late twenties. I broke up with a toxic ex about a year ago and I’ve been walking around (my house!) thinking I was over it. I never missed him and rarely thought about him. A brief backstory: In the final months of us living together, we started having more discussions about children and making lifelong commitment. He told me he wanted both, yet at this exact time his moderate depression became more severe and he refused to get help. I tolerated his cruel behavior because I knew how badly he was hurting. This ranged from icing me out to berating me and demanding I leave the home that we shared—MY HOUSE—citing his need for “alone” time. One time he demanded I get up and leave in the middle of the night and go to a friend’s house! It’s worth noting the sex was mediocre at best, which I chalked it up to him being a decade older. My self-esteem suffered. I finally left.

Fast forward to now. I find out he’s been dating a man. I can barely cope with the anger I feel about this. I feel like a casualty of his shame. We have progressive friends! His sister has dated women! His parents are accepting! None of the reasons you list as appropriate ones for staying closeted apply to him, Dan! His inability to accept himself caused me the most severe emotional trauma of my life and I just feel enraged. I logically know this is not about me. It’s about him. So why does this retroactively bother me so much? Part of me wants to say something to him but I’m not sure that would make me feel better. I’d be very appreciative of any guidance you may have. Not sure what to think.

Bitterly Enraged And Really Distressed

I don’t want to add to your rage, BEARD, but that night he made you go to a friend’s house? It wasn’t “alone time” he was after. Dude was hosting.

Before I tell you what to do about you rage, BEARD, there’s something I wanna clear up: I don’t think having the opposite of everything your ex-boyfriend had—I don’t think having conservative friends instead of progressive friends, straight sisters instead of bi or heteroflexible sisters, shitty parents instead of accepting parents—are appropriate reasons for a grown-ass man in his thirties stay closeted. When people are young and dependent on their parents, sure, having shitty parents and no support from friends or siblings is a good reason to stay closeted in high school and maybe until after college. But it’s no excuse for remaining closeted into your thirties—and it’s certainly no excuse for using someone the way your ex appears to have used you, i.e. as a beard, BEARD. (Urban Dictionary: “The girlfriend or boyfriend of a closeted homosexual, used to conceal their homosexuality.”)

Another thing I wanna clear up: there are lots of guys out there in their thirties and forties and fifties and beyond who are good at sex and lots of guys in their twenties who are mediocre at best.

Alright, BEARD, you have every right to be angry. You put a lot of time and effort into this relationship and if it turns out your ex is gay, well, that means he was lying to you and using you and wasting your time. It’s possible he’s bisexual, however, in which case he wasn’t being fully honest with you but may not have been using you or wasting your time. But gay or bi, your ex treated you very poorly and the news that he’s dating a man now is making you reassess your relationship and his depression, to say nothing of that night he threw you out of your own apartment because he needed “alone time.” To look back on a relationship and think, “I did what I could and it didn’t work out but at least I tried,” is different than looking back and knowing, “Nothing I did could’ve made any difference and that motherfucker knew it.”

I think there are two things you need to do now: Resolve never make excuses for someone who treats you with cruelty again. We all have our moments, of course, but someone who can’t treat their partners with some modicum of respect and compassion even when they’re struggling isn’t in good enough working order to be in a relationship in the first place. And I think you should write him a letter and really unload on him. Tell him you’re angry, tell him why. You may or may not get a response—you may or may not want one—but you’ll feel better after writing the letter. And who knows? If he responds with a heartfelt apology, BEARD, you may feel even better.

---

Cis male here. A number of years ago I saw a woman for a few months and then we parted ways. NBD. However, I later learned she was pregnant and I’ve always wondered if the child was mine. We haven't talked for years but we're still friends on FB so I see periodic updates and pics of the kid. It’s always just pics of my ex and her son and I don't ever see pics of anyone that be the father. However, this morning I saw a post saying that her son will be turning seven in May, which would mean he was born May 2014 and was conceived approximately August of 2013. We stopped sleeping together the late July of 2013, so it’s probably outside the realm of possibility that this could be my kid. We didn’t have a tumultuous breakup and she’s independently wealthy and we were in our mid-thirties when we were together and it’s possible she went the spermbank route shortly after we broke up. At any rate, do you think I should ask her if the child is mine? I can see how that would be rude, but on the other hand, I kind of want to know. What do you think?

The Kid Is Not My Son (Probably)

I don’t think the child is yours, TKINMSP, but then again, I don’t think the child is hers either. I mean, your ex is definitely this kid’s mother, and you may have a biological tie to this kid—you might be his biological father—but ultimately, this kid belongs to himself, TKINMSP, and he might like or need to know who his biological father is someday.

Backing up for a second: If you were fucking your ex without protection in late July of 2013 and she gave birth in early May of 2014, TKINMSP, there’s a small chance you could be this kid’s biological father. Sperm can linger in the vaginal canal for a few days before a woman ovulates; some babies arrive a week or two late. I’m not saying it’s likely, TKINMSP, I’m just saying it can’t be ruled out, and only your ex knows for sure. So send her a letter. Open by reassuring her that you have no desire to reenter her life or enter the life of her child but that you’ve always wondered. Then tell her that if you are the biological father and they ever need a family medical history from you or if this child should want to meet his biological father someday—and if that biological father is you—you’re open to providing medical info and/or meeting up once her son is an adult. If you’re the biological father, TKINMSP, which you might not be.

---

I live in Portland, Oregon, and I’m having the inner fight about whether to reach out to a person. I met a guy in early 2019 for what was supposed to be a one-night stand but it turned into an entire-year stand. We hung out and hooked up but he told me that he would never date me. In February of 2020 there was a snowstorm and he asked me for a ride. I said yes not realizing that I was picking him up from a girl’s apartment and driving both of them back to his place. He’d been staying with her for a week and told her that he’d knew me from work. We’d never worked together. That night he told me they weren’t dating and that she was just helping him study and that he didn’t want to see or hear from me ever again. He blocked me on all social media. Fast forward to last Sunday. He texts me saying he wants to hook up. The next Sunday he texts asking me for pictures. I ask if he’s seeing someone else and he tells me that isn’t any of my business. We hook up. Now I feel guilty and don’t know what to do. His apartment has mysteriously improved. It’s like a girl has been staying there and it’s most likely the girl from the snowstorm. I don’t know if I should reach out to this girl to tell her what happened. When we first started hooking up in 2019, he said we were exclusive. A couple of months later he said he lied about being exclusive and that I should go get tested. Clearly this is a pattern for him. Should I warn the woman he’s with now? I definitely would’ve appreciated it if someone had warned me about this guy in 2019.

Himbo Utterly No Good

Someone actually did warn you about this guy in 2019, HUNG: the guy himself, this guy, he warned you. He warned you about himself in 2019 and again in 2020 and yet again in 2021. Lying to you about being exclusive and potentially exposing you to various STIs in early 2019 was a warning. Manipulating you into chauffeuring him and his new girlfriend back to his apartment during a snowstorm in 2020 was a warning. Suddenly asking you to hook up in 2021 was a warning, and his defensive reaction when you asked if he was seeing someone else (“none of your business”) was a bonus warning. And despite all the warnings this guy gave over all three years, HUNG, you hooked up with this guy again anyway.

Considering who this guy is and the way he treats people, HUNG, I can only imagine his new girlfriend has received—received and ignored—just as many warnings from him and about him as you did. So I don’t think you should waste your time getting in touch with the woman he’s seeing now, HUNG, as the odds she’ll take your warning seriously after ignoring all the warnings he’s most likely given her himself seem slim. Block his numbers, unfollow him on social, and for fuck’s sake don’t hook up with this asshole again.

---

mail@savagelove.net

Follow Dan on Twitter @FakeDanSavage.

www.savagelovecast.com

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The state’s grid operator warned of a possible energy emergency on the grid Tuesday. It said slightly warmer-than-expected weather was part of the problem, but it was really the fact that coal, gas and nuclear power were offline all at once.

Finger Frolics: Fingerplays for Young Children
Cromwell
1983

Submitter: [This] title caught my eye on a list of books that have not circulated in 10+ years. Funny title aside, if there is one thing I know about children’s books, it’s that young’uns don’t take kindly to incorrect depictions of dinosaurs. Trust me!

Holly: Points for diverse characters on the cover. Otherwise, this is full of words and phrases kids don’t generally understand or use (what does “nick, nick, nick new” even mean?? See last image below.) The images are boring too. The fingerplays themselves might not be too bad for seasoned performers, but I’m not sure they’re great choices for “young children” as the title implies.

The post Finger Frolics appeared first on Awful Library Books.

This post, do I really have to have career ambition? , was originally published by Alison Green on Ask a Manager.

A reader writes:

I’m the type of person who works for one and only one reason: to earn a living. I do a good job, but this is 100 percent because I’m terrified of starving in the streets and 0 percent because I genuinely care about work or want to build up a “career.”

There aren’t any jobs in the universe I’d ever actually want to do. I’ve never read any job description and not thought, “well, that sounds awful.” The highest bar I’m interested in setting re: work is finding something that isn’t too awful to bear every day, and performing well so I don’t get fired.

I accept that having a job also means being required to nod and smile along with all the company BS. I do. But I struggle mightily with my company’s obsession with everyone’s “career development.” It’s fine that this stuff is there for people who are interested—what I don’t understand is why those of us who aren’t interested, and are never going to be interested, are forced to participate too. No matter how many times, year after year, I smile and repeat “I’m fine with where I am now, I don’t have any goals beyond performing well in this role,” I can’t seem to escape it.

Is it too much to expect that I can simply have a job that allows me to earn a living and that’s it? Or will I really have to keep dealing with this CAREER nonsense until retirement? If so, how do I navigate this? Do I need to come up with some convincing fake “goals” and “passions” to appease the powers that be? If so, I’m completely blank on ideas for what to say and would appreciate suggestions.

You can read my answer to this letter at Vice today. Head over there to read it.

Empire of Pain author Patrick Radden Keefe says the Sackler family has "thrown a lot of energy" into trying to thwart his reporting about the family's involvement in the opioid crisis.

(Image credit: Boston Globe/Getty Images)

We've talked about the work of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and their supermarionation shows here on Boing Boing over the years, and we've discussed UFO, their first live action series, on the BBS, but it doesn't appear anything has ever been blogged about the show. — Read the rest

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In the future, an ultra-mind will produce forms of bigotry never yet dreamt by Man.

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Tonight’s comic loves podcasts.

Menopause: A Woman Doctor’s Guide: Essential Facts and Up-to-the-Minute Information for a Woman’s Change of Life
Jovanovic and LeVert
2001

Submitter: I don’t think it’s hard to say, but some need to hear it – 20 year old medical books that are yellow and crumbling can be dumped. Get something more up-to-date people! Just when you think you have gotten rid of them all, you find another one.

Holly: As a 47-year-old woman staring down the barrel of this era of life, when I start looking for information on this topic, I’m going to need it to be very, very current. Do me, and millions of other middle-aged women, a favor and update your women’s health collections!

The post Change of Life appeared first on Awful Library Books.

New Cyanide and Happiness Comic

At 5 PM every day, you get an urge… to walk through the synthetic floral section of your local Michaels.

You’re living paycheck to paycheck but spend $300 on a sewing machine. You don’t know how to sew.

When friends and family begin to question your growing collection of fabric and thread, you say, “It really wasn’t that much. Everything was 40% off. I swear.”

You know something’s wrong and can feel people catching on. You try to talk yourself into returning the useless machine, but on your next trip, you buy the big sewing kit instead of the starter one. Now you have an additional 400 spools of colored thread that will never get used.

You cancel on friends. Lie to your family. You’re a total flake. When you blame it on your work schedule, you really mean you can’t drag yourself away from the framing bar at the back of your local Michaels. There are so many colors, and you have so much to frame. Brian, the Michaels framing specialist, knows your name. You don’t want to leave.

Your boyfriend asks you to go on a hike, to get out and get some “fresh air.” You decline with another work excuse and continue with your “work” of hot gluing popsicle sticks for a birdhouse kit you got on sale the week before.

While your boyfriend is out in a real forest, with real pinecones, you have somehow made your way back to your local Michaels, breathing in deep the scent of those cinnamon pinecones that have just arrived for the Fall collection.

At Halloween, do you buy a pumpkin from your local Trader Joe’s? No, you don’t; you buy multiple plastic hollowed-out pumpkins from your local Michaels. You spend two weeks gluing moss and making a small bed from crafting feathers for a “house” for a “little witch.”

Your sister says, “That’s a lot of pumpkins.” You reply, “This is a normal amount of pumpkins. Have you ever been to Europe? They have at least a pumpkin a day there, sometimes at lunch.” “What?” replies your sister, but then she lets it go.

You’re nearing the end. Almost ready to give in and get help. But, uh-oh, it’s November 1st, and your local Michaels has just received their Christmas shipment. You decide to have one final hurrah and buy their entire stock of snow globe kits. But that’s not all; you buy out the entire shelf of multi-colored mixed jewels to encrust individualized monograms on said snow globes for everyone you know.

You secretly get your ex-boyfriend to meet you in the parking lot to load up his truck, because 26 boxes will not fit in your Fiat. You make him promise not to tell anyone, that you’re actually really happy with your current boyfriend and that you swear this was only about using his truck.

At home, you get to work. Then, right out the gate, you hot glue yourself. You hot glue yourself real bad. You might need to go to the hospital, but the place is upside down. You can’t let anyone find out. Frantically, you empty all the jewels into your toilet, but it gets backed up. You try to throw away all the jars, but there are too many. The industrial-sized garbage bin at the back of your apartment complex is full to the brim. You’ve gone mad. You smash every last snow globe on your kitchen floor.

Finally, you stick your burned fingers in the freezer and try to breathe. You hear a ding from your phone in the other room. You know it’s a sign. You can feel it’s your boyfriend or your sister checking in on you. Maybe it’s your whole family on a group chat wanting to “see you soon.” And you’re ready. You’re ready to leave this all behind and see everyone soon.

You walk warily across the room filled with broken glass. You find your phone underneath some pile of discarded crafting feathers. You see a push notification from your Michaels app. “40% OFF ALL THANKSGIVING DÉCOR.”

You call Mikey (that’s your ex-boyfriend with the truck). You say, “Meet me at my place.”

And that place is your local Michaels.

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Anything that's not a working definition should be called a non-working definition.

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There is no greater incentive for getting vaccinated than doing your part to end the pandemic that has singularly redefined our lives over the past year. And as a show of appreciation for your efforts, Sam Adams wants to give you your first post-jab brew on the house.

Read more...

Bleeping Computer reported on April 8 that Microsoft has released an open-source cyberattack simulator which permits security researchers and data scientists to create simulated network environments and see how they operate against AI-controlled cyber agents.

The project is named 'CyberBattleSim' built using a Python-based Open AI Gym interface.

The Microsoft 365 Defender Research team created CyberBattleSim to model how a threat actor spreads laterally through a network after its initial compromise. Nice graphics included in the link above.

The Microsoft Defender Research Team, in new blog post, says "The environment consists of a network of computer nodes. It is parameterized by a fixed network topology and a set of predefined vulnerabilities that an agent can exploit to laterally move through the network. The simulated attacker's goal is to take ownership of some portion of the network by exploiting these planted vulnerabilities. While the simulated attacker moves through the network, a defender agent watches the network activity to detect the presence of the attacker and contain the attack."

To build their simulated environment, researchers will create various nodes on the network and indicate that services are running on each node, their vulnerabilities, and how the device is protected.

Automated cyber agents (threat actors) are then deployed in the environment, where they randomly select actions to perform against the various nodes to take control over them.

While many of these activities may trigger alerts in an XDR or SIEM system, Microsoft hopes that the security community can use this simulator to better understand how AI can analyze post-breach movements and better defend against them.

Microsoft said, "With CyberBattleSim, we are just scratching the surface of what we believe is a huge potential for applying reinforcement learning to security. We invite researchers and data scientists to build on our experimentation. We're excited to see this work expand and inspire new and innovative ways to approach security problems."

Shall we play a game?

Hat tip to Dave Ries.

Sharon D. Nelson, Esq., President, Sensei Enterprises, Inc.
3975 University Drive, Suite 225|Fairfax, VA 22030
Email: snelson@senseient.com Phone: 703-359-0700
Digital Forensics/Cybersecurity/Information Technology
https://senseient.com
https://twitter.com/sharonnelsonesq
https://www.linkedin.com/in/sharondnelson
https://amazon.com/author/sharonnelson

This post, do I have to wear a bra when I go back to the office? , was originally published by Alison Green on Ask a Manager.

A reader writes:

I (25, she/her) have been lucky enough to work from home this past year. I am halfway through the vaccination process, which has made me think about going back to the office sometime soon (it’s open, and for the time being management has left it up to us whether we’d like to return or not).

The thing is: I have not worn a bra (except for exercise) for more than 10 months, and I don’t ever want to again if I don’t have to. My boobs are free! It is amazing! Their underwire prisons have been relegated to the back of my closet and I do! not! want! to retrieve them.

The office is business casual, leaning towards the more casual side, and overall very liberal—many people wear jeans, and t-shirts in good repair are not unheard of. The dress code allows sandals but not flip-flops, and women wear dresses (some with spaghetti straps). We rarely interact with the public, and we have a very active staff, so more than occasionally people come in from their bike commute or back from their lunch break in workout clothes, and not everyone changes right away.

During the pandemic, we have been a video-on Zoom meeting crew. I don’t wear a bra, and I don’t think it’s very noticeable — I choose shirts that are loose or wear camis under ones that would maybe be more showy. But if I were to be walking around an office with my average-sized boobs in work attire, there may be some jiggle. When the AC is on blast, there will likely be occasional nipple. To a close observer, it could be apparent that I’m not wearing a bra. I know this seems trivial … but this year has shown me that life is too short to be uncomfortable for 40 hours a week, and I am most comfortable without a bra.

I’ve seen some of your previous columns about bras in the workplace (and on Zoom meetings), but I’m curious if your views have changed in light of recent events. All this is a long preamble to ask: Do I have to wear a bra when I go back to the office?

Aggggh, I really want to tell you that you don’t have to return to wearing a bra … but it’s probably still going to be a thing in most offices.

Of course, that’s only the case if people can tell when you’re not wearing a bra. Your underwear is very much no one’s business otherwise, so if your body or your clothing means no one can tell, then go to town. And this doesn’t mean you’ve got to bind yourself into something rigidly structured and underwired; sports bras, bralettes, and tanks with shelf bras are all options. But yeah, full bralessness is probably going to continue being seen as unprofessional in most offices.

That doesn’t mean that’s right. It’s not right that our ideas of  “professionalism” still require women to strap down and disguise their boobs, but that’s the world we live in. You always have the right to decide that’s a battle you’re going to fight, of course, but if you’re just asking about general norms … yeah, the dark days of bras’ return are likely soon to be upon us.

And tax season.

New Cyanide and Happiness Comic

Jazz Dance & Jazz Gymnastics: Including Disco Dancing
Fischer-Munstermann
1978

Submitter: I am hoping you and I Will Survive looking through this out of date dance book. Because it’s taking its Last Dance to the recycling bin.

Holly: Put it in the Disco Inferno.

The post Last Dance appeared first on Awful Library Books.

Hey sport, how you doing? Sorry to interrupt your homework, but you probably don’t mind, do you? Listen, son. Your mother and I had a discussion, and we think it’s time you learned about sex by discussing David Bowie’s huge crotch bulge in the movie Labryinth.

I know, I know. This is awkward for me too. I wish my dad had been able to show me rock chameleon David Bowie’s enormous package when I was your age. But he was from a different generation, and also the movie wasn’t released until 1986.

But you’re growing up, and this is just one of those things we need to educate you about. First off, do you know what a Bowie bulge is? Don’t be embarrassed — it’s perfectly natural to have questions!

That’s right. It’s 1970s glam rock star David Bowie’s penis stuffed into very tight tights. He’s playing the role of Jareth the Goblin King. He kidnaps babies and hides them at the center of the titular labyrinth, giving us all a great opportunity to learn about our own bodies.

I’m not sure what the kids at school have been saying, but Bowie’s penis is a very normal thing to see. The production design of Labyrinth is highly sexual, and it’s hard for some kids to be mature about it. That’s normal.

Son, I want this to be a conversation. It’s perfectly natural to have questions about David Bowie’s huge bulge. Do you have anything you want to ask me?

I understand. It depends on the person and what they like…

Yes, that is important. Concept designer Brian Froud is responsible for that, as well as Bowie’s natural endowment…

Only if you love someone. That’s important, son…

Thank you for asking that. I know it’s embarrassing to talk about — especially with your dad — but sexual intercourse is a beautiful part of life. You should know that your mother and I always think about the scene in Labyrinth, in which Bowie strides forward to reprimand Hoggle, and his bulge is on full, glorious display, whenever we make love.

That’s how you were conceived, son.

Remember, this is an ongoing conversation. After a while, you might want to explore sexuality via Davie Bowie’s performance as a vampire in The Hunger or even his cameo in Zoolander. Remember, sexuality is fluid and should be fun. You can talk to your mother and me about David Bowie’s penis any time.

Love you, son. Now pop that old VHS of Labyrinth in and start figuring yourself out!

Brexit and suspicions of favoritism are fueling a conflict that has been simmering for years despite peace accords.

Rioting in Northern Ireland continued on Friday night, with demonstrators using gas bombs against the police and setting a car on fire in the capital of Belfast.

The night of violence marked the eighth straight day of demonstrations and unrest in five towns and cities across Northern Ireland — a trend that has some experts worried about the possibility that the region could be seeing a sustained resurgence of sectarian violence. Saturday, April 10, is the 23rd anniversary of the 1998 Good Friday peace agreement that ended 30 years of such conflict, known as “the Troubles,” but unrest and violence has flared up from time to time ever since.

Over the past week, a double-decker bus has been hijacked and set on fire; masked youths have hurled homemade gas bombs at police; rival gangs have thrown bricks and fireworks at each other. So far there have been no deaths reported, but at least 74 police officers have been injured, and observers say that the period of turbulence marks the worst sectarian violence Northern Ireland has seen in eight years.

Most of the rioters are young people — some as young as 12, the Police Service of Northern Ireland told CNN. The violence has been concentrated in “unionist” communities, but conflict has also taken place in areas dividing unionist communities from “nationalist” neighborhoods. During the Troubles, unionists were largely Protestant and identified with loyalty to the United Kingdom, and nationalists were mostly Catholics, identified as Irish, and sought a united Ireland.

While conflict between the groups formally ended with the Good Friday Agreement, tensions and violence that hark back to the Troubles still resurface, and are often tied to concerns that one group holds undue influence or power over national affairs. The current set of clashes has become high-profile enough that the Biden administration released a brief statement expressing concern about rising violence.

Experts say there is not one clear explanation for the recent clashes, but that there are a few different factors — which may be feeding off of each other. Brexit and the sense in unionist communities that London is neglecting Northern Ireland by the terms of the agreement are one factor. Another issue is a recent decision by authorities to avoid prosecuting nationalist politicians for flouting Covid-19 protocols.

What is clear is that political observers see violence escalating at a worrying pace. “I think it’s very serious. It’s easy to see how things can escalate and hard to see how things can calm down,” Katy Hayward, a professor of political sociology at Queen’s University, Belfast, told the New York Times.

There are multiple factors driving the unrest in Northern Ireland

Conflict and violence between unionists and nationalists dates back decades. But the most recent spate of violence seems to be, at least in part, a response to a specific flashpoint in the relationship between the two communities.

A great deal of the initial violence came after state prosecutors decided last month they would not charge the leaders of nationalist party Sinn Fein for breaking Covid-19 regulations in June by attending the funeral for Bobby Storey. Storey was a former top member of the Irish Republican Army, the paramilitary group that waged a violent campaign against the British and for a reunified Ireland during the Troubles.

Many unionists perceived the decision to not prosecute the members of the party as a sign of political favoritism, given that unionists were told to cancel their traditional Twelfth of July parades last summer, and the loaded symbolism surrounding the funeral. The decision sparked outrage and protests.

“This is happening because of the PSNI [Police Service of Northern Ireland] and the judiciary system’s appeasement of republicans,” said Ian Edwards, a resident of the Shankill Road, a Protestant community, referring to the nationalists who favor a united Ireland.

Experts say another major factor fueling the anger and protests is the way that many in Northern Ireland feel betrayed by the terms of Brexit — the United Kingdom’s departure from the European Union — which was completed at the beginning of this year. Some unionists feel blindsided by the British government, which they believe has left them in the lurch, as the New York Times reports:

Under an agreement in a protocol struck by [British Prime Minister Boris] Johnson, Northern Ireland was given a special economic status that leaves it straddling the United Kingdom and the European Union trade systems.

However, it also imposes some new checks, particularly on goods flowing from mainland Britain to Northern Ireland — something that is anathema to unionists who want equal treatment with the rest of the United Kingdom.

Despite the deal he signed up to, Mr. Johnson promised that there would be no new “border in the Irish Sea,” and, glossing over the looming difficulties, his government did little to prepare opinion in Northern Ireland for the changes.

Yet on Jan. 1, when the post-Brexit trade rules came into force, businesses faced new paperwork and some British companies stopped moving goods to Northern Ireland, causing some shortages on supermarket shelves. Amid rising tensions, checks on goods were halted temporarily after threats were made against customs staff.

In other words, Northern Ireland unionists feel they’ve been misled about the terms of Brexit and the economic impact it would have on them.

Another complicating factor is that the period around the Easter holiday often features “increased communal conflict,” Politico notes, because of Irish Republican Army commemorations among nationalists in Northern Ireland on the one side and unionist parades on the other.

Further complications may be coming from criminal groups who might be trying to add to the chaos and exploit tensions over Covid-19 restrictions in order to cause problems for law enforcement.

There’s a complex array of factors that could explain what’s contributing to the current chaos — and given that swirl, it could evolve further in the future.

The FBI arrested a Texas man on Thursday, alleging he hoped to “kill off about 70% of the internet” by destroying an Amazon Web Services data center in Ashburn. According to a criminal complaint, a confidential informant told the FBI in January that a person named Seth Aaron Pendley had been posting on the website […]

New Cyanide and Happiness Comic

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This is one of this comics that prompts very nice 'are you okay?' emails, but honestly I'm just over here giggling.

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Can we all work toward a universe where muggers have graduate degrees?

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Calls about "extended auto warranties" blow up our phones over and over. But what are these robocalls actually offering? | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter here.