October 31, 2016

The W.H.O. knows that the Syrian government is cutting off blood donations from reaching rebel-held areas, but they refuse to hold back donations entirely, even helping Syrian government hospitals obtain supplies that sanctions are supposed to keep them from buying. / foxnews.com

Due to President Obama’s unprecedented crackdown on undocumented immigrants, the Mexican government has begun implementing harsher policies, too. / The Nation, BuzzFeed

“It seems pretty clear that within five years ESPN will be bringing in less subscriber revenue than they’ve committed for sports rights.” After losing more than 600,000 subscribers last month, even the flagship of cable TV is on the rocks due to cord-cutting. / Outkick the Coverage

“The Bronx is home to 1.5 million people, two hundred thousand public-school students, eleven colleges and universities,” and no more bookstore. / The New Yorker

“Instability mostly comes from the interface between the fact that the banks (or shadow banks) can create credit, money, and purchasing power in infinite quantities if we don’t constrain them, and the fact that credit is primarily created to fund the purchase of urban real estate and land, which is somewhat fixed in supply.” A plea for radical economic policies so we don’t find ourselves doomed to repeat 2008. / Evonomics

You’ve heard that shark attacks swing elections? / vanderbilt.edu

Some great covers from Action comics, the UK series from the ’70s that killed itself with ultraviolence. / Big Mouth Mag, The Guardian

Why not purchase some lovely air from the Rockies, provided in “a convenient can” ($23.99 for “80 breaths of fresh air”). / vitality-air.squarespace.com

“The creepiest part of the whole thing was that Jane realized that the ‘ghost’ had stopped appearing to her around the time that Jim went missing.” Ten real-life scary stories for your Halloween coffee break. See also: a short, moving story by Johanna Gohmann about connecting with her dad through slasher movies. / Jezebel

Even when prison systems outsource specific parts of their procedures to private companies, instead of whole facilities, it doesn’t end well. Case in point: Corizon, the country’s largest medical “health care” provider for jails and prisons, whose inadequate care has resulted in deaths and unnecessary complications from illnesses. / splcenter.org

Corrections Corporation of America, the largest and worst private prison operator in the country, is rebranding to the “social studies textbook”-sounding CoreCivic as it expands into jail construction and maintenance. / Fusion, The Wall Street Journal

“We are tired of being tricked. [The government] are the ones who don’t want to make things work, but they can.” Colombia’s cocaine growers are caught in a strange limbo after the failed referendum. / IRIN

“Adolescence was a term that fit the times.” For much of the world, 20th century America was defined by its adolescents, those carefree teens with the privilege not to work. / Aeon

“To reach their goal, experts agree that New Zealand will need a massive technological breakthrough—one that could involve never-before-used techniques like using gene-editing technologies to target animals’ fertility or creating animal detectors that can ‘sniff out’ rats just like a dog can.” We’re not playing, possum: New Zealanders have agreed to an initiative to exterminate invasive small mammals like rats, stoats, and possums, but no one knows how to do it. / VICE

Meet the new bellwether state: North Carolina, where a strong progressive movement rallies faith, environmental, and minority groups together for Moral Mondays, but the state legislature is solidly gerrymandered red. / The Atlantic

“Not only has witchcraft historically offered women power that they might not otherwise be able to access, but witches offer girls and women an alternative role model to the ubiquitous young, beautiful Disney princess.” Playing at witchcraft is almost a rite of passage for young American girls—but the appeal goes far beyond the simply illicit. / The Establishment

1. No freak: Tim Kaine embraces the challenge of modeling modern masculinity—one that isn’t threatened when a woman is in charge. / Vox

2. Mild freak: The epic “Pussy Grabs Back” meme that emerged after the release of Trump’s hot mike audio falls neatly into a 100-year-old tradition of using cats to illustrate female suffrage. / The Guardian, The Atlantic

3. Medium freak: Former Breitbart reporter Michelle Fields and four other prominent women in media describe their strategy for protecting themselves from Trumptrolls on Twitter—and real life. / cosmopolitan.com

Opening scene from Don’t Look Now, one of many gems selected by Dennis Mahoney for a round-up of great horror cinema. Happy Halloween! / YouTube