Dead-ass Karens and red-flag baddies
The White House is scheduled to pay 28 countries some $410 million to accept around 25,000 deportees. / AFP
“The whole point was to circumvent [congressional] notification that money was being sent to government[s] known to be corrupt.” / The Washington Post [$]
Vivian Salama: A dramatic reset of US relations with allies appears unavoidable. / The Atlantic [$]
With base leases up for renewal, the US military overstates its benefits to the Hawaiian economy while ignoring the costs. / The Diplomat
Unrelated: A functional tote bag that becomes a self-inflating life jacket. / Dezeen
France’s elite university for young politicians pivots away from teaching “happy globalization” to preparing minds for a “more brutal” world. / Semafor
A visual exploration of the world’s passports. / Passport Index
In little time and for less than $2, a Chinese college student produces a translation that’s supposedly decent of Haruki Murakami’s latest novel. / Sixth Tone
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OpenAI is found to fire contractors who use AI models to train its AI models. / 404 Media
Meta hopes its popular new Muse app will encourage you to forget about all the lawsuits and Zuckerberg’s “pervert glasses.” / The Verge [$]
A series of traveling exhibitions looks to celebrate photography’s 200th anniversary. / Colossal
An illustrator is drawing quirky spaceships every day of September. Meanwhile, some photographs of California lowriders. / Instagram, Flashbak
In this week’s trend reporting, gym bros are said to struggle with pilates. / The Wall Street Journal [$]
A bookseller says books are too resilient to write off. “There is nothing inevitable about reading less and scrolling more.” / My Bookshop Backstory
See also: “Brain-rot Third Space” and other updated Jane Austen titles. / The New Yorker
And because it’s autumn yet again: “It’s decorative gourd season, motherfuckers.” / McSweeney’s