We missed you!
Here’s what was up these last two weeks on Inkstick Media.
Hello everyone!
Did you know that all sorts of animals deal with misinformation? Even fish? Things That Go Boom host Laicie Heeley spoke with Ashkaan Fahimipour of Florida Atlantic University and Jimmy Liao of The University of Florida to learn about how misinformation creeps around the sea and the internet. Listen and subscribe now on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, Pocket Casts, or wherever you get your podcasts to receive a new episode every two weeks.
Ray Charles, a veteran of 20 years in the US Army and 30 years in the US Foreign Service, argued that it’s never too late to stop sending cluster munitions to Ukraine: “As a young lieutenant in the army during the 1960s and 1970s, I was taught that there’s ‘always another way to get a job done.’ We need to find that ‘other’ way to help Ukraine in its defense against Russian aggression that doesn’t involve them stooping down to Russia’s level of brutality and barbarity.”
Michael W. Wright, CEO of Intercepting Horizons, LLC and former global high-tech executive at scale, alerted us to the fact that we have entered the era of digital feudalism — and it's not looking democratic. He explains that if AI concentrates in the hands of a few, the 99% may fall permanently behind so the need for proactive reform is urgent.
The Creative Capsule Residency — an eight-month program by Inkstick Media and Bombshelltoe Policy x Arts Collective — completed its first year. The residents will be presenting their projects via Zoom on September 14, 2023, at noon EST. Sign up for the showcase here.
Finally, we’re conducting our first audience survey, and we’d be grateful if you could fill it out here. We appreciate your feedback so much that we’re going to place each entry with an email address attached to a drawing for a $100 Grubhub gift card! We’ll hold that drawing on September 13th.
There’s more, so check out the rest of the pieces below.
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Last two weeks on Inkstick Media:
“How to Break a Fish” by Things That Go Boom (August 21)
It’s one of our biggest problems in 2023, and it can feel distinctly human. But it’s not. All sorts of animals deal with misinformation every day, including some of our oldest ancestors — like the humble fish.
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“Activists Fight Against Russian Borderization in Georgia” by Manon Fachs (August 21)
Since 2009, Russian border guards have stolen an estimated 53 square kilometers of territory by maneuvering the barbed wire fence into villages surrounding South Ossetia. Places like the vibrant Home Without Borders are crucial in preventing Russian forces from further encroaching on Georgian territory.
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“Can Democrats and Republicans Still Cooperate on Foreign Policy?” by Jordan Tama (August 22)
Bipartisanship today is usually not synonymous with national unity, and it is difficult for the United States to speak with one voice or act as a reliable partner on the global stage.
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“The US Armed Services Still Struggle for Equality” by Jimmy Anderson (August 22)
Instead of getting entangled with those who deny the value of teaching Black history or getting pulled into the debates about critical race theory, the Department of Defense can foster a new cultural memory within our services’ cultures that tells the complete story of all communities we raised our right hand to protect.
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“Sanctions on Myanmar’s Military Aren’t Enough” by Hanna Dasoo (August 23)
As Myanmar’s minority communities continue to suffer, it is crucial for the United States to recommit its support and efforts to protect minority and human rights as well as condemn the atrocities being committed.
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“Zimbabweans Vote Under the Shadow of Mugabe” by Obiora Ikoku (August 24)
Whatever the outcome, the 2023 poll has shined light on Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front’s (ZANU-PF) blood-soaked legacy in Zimbabwe. For over four decades, the ZANU-PF has managed to retain the levers of power in Zimbabwe through patronage and sheer brute force.
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“Drilling Down: Part II” by Kelsey D. Atherton (August 24)
Early handguns were a craft commodity. Important at the level of wars, they needed to be produced affordably enough that cities and early states could arm their own militias, and the weapons needed to be durable and familiar enough that repairs could be done locally. This meant that the proliferation of firearms for war meant also an abundance and dispersal of firearms that people would own, for self-defense or other purposes, all plugged into the same economy of manufacture and gunpowder.
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“It’s Never Too Late to Stop Sending Cluster Munitions to Ukraine” by Charles Ray (August 25)
While we should all support Ukraine in its valiant defense against Russia’s invasion, more careful thought should be given to whether providing them with munitions that more than 120 countries have banned is the way we should be going.
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“Artificial Intelligence Threatens to Increase Knowledge Inequality” by Michael W. Wright (August 25)
If AI concentrates in the hands of a few, the 99% may fall permanently behind. No solution is a silver bullet. But preventing digital feudalism will take vision, courage, and global cooperation. We must choose democratization over indiscriminate or unintentional domination. The future need not be an algorithmic oligarchy but reform must happen now.
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“The Quiet Conflict in the South Caucasus is at the Crux of Global Geopolitics” by Ronald Suny (August 28)
Armenia is a small country around which relations between Turkey and Russia, Iran and the United States, Azerbaijan, Iran and Israel turn. Its fate is tied to larger issues of the building of new understandings of how the future strategic blocs of states will be formed.
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“Nigeria’s Southeast Bleeds over Renewed Biafran Independence Struggle” by Promise Eze (August 28)
Infighting among factions of IPOB, the Igbo secessionist group, is leading to violent clashes and civilian deaths. This is largely due to the 2016 crackdown by Nigerian security forces that made IPOB shift its tactics.
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“How Commemoration Can Help Unite a Divided Libya” by David Wood (August 30)
Libyans are divided by their experiences since 2011, but a new national reconciliation process provides an opportunity to foster a vision for the future. Local leaders are best placed to understand how reconciliation will succeed locally and are the only ones who can take responsibility for the results.
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“Beneath the State: Part I” by Kelsey D. Atherton (August 31)
When a pandemic hits, the nature of its disruption is universal. Governments responded to the spread of COVID-19 wherever it went, in many cases by adopting lockdowns, masking, and social distancing measures designed to first halt and then limit the spread of the disease. Armed groups, from insurgent forces to political rebellions through territory-contesting criminal enterprise, can all also be forms of governance.
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“How Israel Separates Palestinian Families” by Khuloud Sulaiman (September 1)
The Israeli authorities have restricted visit permits to those with immediate medical and humanitarian needs, businesses, members of foreign organizations, and people obtaining work or study scholarships outside the Gaza Strip since 2008, but a new form has restricted Palestinians even more.
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–From the desk of Sahar Khan, managing editor of Inkstick Media.