My 7 most popular posts in 2023
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Category: Links
Links I liked
A world before PowerPoint
I do remember PowerPoint arriving at the computing centre on a designated PC that was reserved for 'desktop publishing', as it was called then. This machine was considered ridiculously powerful by the standards of the time. It was probably equipped with a (gasp!) 386 processor.
The Secret Life of Canada: Jewish Montreal – a culinary history
TIL I learned that the first Jewish person in Canada was Esther Brandeau, who arrived in New France disguised as Jacques La Fargue, a male Catholic. She was found out and deported back to Old France when she refused to convert. Also, in Quebec Matzah can only be sold around Passover and only under a…
Labour Day & the Extreme Right in Germany
Some traditional right-wing extremist groups will march on May Day. It’s an empty, mock-left-authoritarian ritual that does not even mobilise their own constituency.
Origins of American right-wing extremism in the 1960s
A short, interesting read: How the John Birch Society prepared the ground for Trumpism
So long, Twitter API, and thanks for all the fish | snarfed.org
While you were occupied with the substack ban/unban, everyone’s least favourite billionaire is trying to make twitter profitable by 🥁 🥁 🥁 killing hobbyist projects like this.
A high-quality cloned journal has duped hundreds of scholars, and has no reason to stop
I lead a very sheltered life: before reading this post, I had never suspected that it is possible to hijack an academic journal.
Who’s Afraid of Mussolini’s Ghost?
Not too many, it would seem. Good, short article on the far right in Italy today and its relationship with historical Fascism.
RADIKAAL: Kim Lane Scheppele on Viktor Orbán’s Hungary
This is excellent 👆
Thread by @dsmerdon on Thread Reader App – Thread Reader App
ChatGPT is very good at inventing credible-sounding research papers – stuff that could, at first glance, be real, but isn’t. Here is a long thread about what is probably/possibly going on behind the scenes. Long story short: don’t trust this machine. It’s the AI equivalent of a man that is both mediocre and overconfident.