Good Men

I’m ten years old, playing down in the creek at the base of our driveway.It’s winter 1974, and the woods surrounding the creek are wet from fresh rain.The acidic flux of old oak trees fills the air with a soft vinegar aroma, and the lichens smell earthy and woodsy, like a damp Harris Tweed jacket.I roll off the slippery bark of a felled tree, and return to my yellow Tonka truck, sitting half-buried in the mud along the creek bed. An assortment of metal Matchbox toy cars are scattered in the leaves, along with some plastic toy soldiers.The light is fading, and I await the call of my father’s booming baritone, yelling “Johnny, Johnny!” He normally calls for me, just before …

As I stroll my infant daughter through a neighbourhood lined with eight-figure houses (the median price on this street was $10.9M), my eyes catch a shimmer from a dark object on the boulevard. As I approach, observing its contours, highlights and shadows, I speculate on what I’ve found. Is it a hunk of graphite, obsidian, or raw onyx? Unlikely. The remains of hardwood charcoal? Do rich people even barbecue, though? Walking past it, I then realize I’ve been staring at a sun-blackened lump of dog shit, baking in the summer heat. It’s about well-done by now. As I’ll soon see, there’s more of it down the block. Blood, sweat and fears And that’s when a dark epiphany hit me. …

I read the news today and felt something primal: fear. Not just worry or frustration, but that deep, gut-level sense that something has gone terribly wrong and no one is coming to fix it. It’s not just the steady drumbeat of rights being stripped away — though that’s bad enough. It’s the creeping sense that the ground rules of American life are being rewritten before our eyes. The Supreme Court rolls back rights our grandparents fought for. The president and his allies fuel division and anger. Laws target immigrants, the LGBTQIA+ community, women, and anyone who doesn’t fit a narrow, frightened definition of “American.” But this goes deeper than policy. It’s about the d…

Irina Tsukerman is a human rights and national security attorney based in New York and Connecticut. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in National and Intercultural Studies and Middle East Studies from Fordham University in 2006, followed by a Juris Doctor from Fordham University School of Law in 2009. She operates a boutique national security law practice. She serves as President of Scarab Rising, Inc., a media and security strategic advisory firm. Additionally, she is the Editor-in-Chief of The Washington Outsider, which focuses on foreign policy, geopolitics, security, and human rights. She is actively involved in several professional organizations, including the American…

When someone leaves, we think of what’s missing — the voice, the touch, the shared mornings that no longer arrive. But love doesn’t vanish cleanly. It leaves fragments, little keepsakes hidden in your habits, your playlists, your way of walking through the world. You lose the person, but not the parts of yourself they woke up. … The Brain’s Strange Way of Remembering Neuroscience says our brains are wired to attach emotions to sensory triggers. That’s why the smell of rain can pull you back to a night you thought you’d forgotten, or a certain song can hit you like the first time they smiled at you. The brain keeps those memories like a museum — even when th…

By UniSA Adjunct Senior Lecturer in Tourism Management Dr Freya Higgins-Desbiolles This hot European summer, anti-tourism protests have made headlines, from Barcelona to Venice, Mallorca and the Canary Islands. The unrest is not confined to Europe, though. In Mexico City, peaceful protests against overtourism and gentrification by foreign “digital nomads” turned violent, with a small group of protesters smashing storefront windows and ransacking stores. Earlier this year, Japan’s tourism board urged Australians to swap Tokyo and Kyoto (where tourists have been accused of harassing geishas) for less-travelled destinations. Tourists have been criticised for behaving badl…

Most days, most of us neglect ourselves. What I mean is that we’re doing our best to tend to everything and everyone else. But we aren’t tending to our own needs, and because of that, problems start to arise from this neglect. Some examples of problems that arise: We feel more anxiety and overwhelm Because of that, we have a hard time focusing on difficult tasks, so we go to distraction or busywork We start to feel worse about ourselves, and feel more discouraged We are more easily upset or hurt by other people not attending to our needs (because our needs are being unmet) Because of that, we tend to be grumpier or more easily annoyed at others, blame them, criticize, …

By Pressenza Philippines by George Banez “Keep your passport with you — in your pocket — all the time.” My eldest brother reminded me to be alert as I finally said goodbye after checking in. He must have seen me drop my passport near the counter, and someone had to help me retrieve it from under the luggage. I was nervous. Not only was I traveling alone, but I was also going away for about a year and a half. The kid in me brimmed with excitement, while the adult inside felt anxious. My mother remained quiet. She had said her reminders earlier. “Don’t look back.” I heard her say in silence. She told me to “keep looking forward” until I reach my goal, and to stay focuse…

“Don’t apply to brand names. Look for hidden gems.” That’s great advice — in theory. But how do you actually go about finding these “hidden gems”? Most job applicants go through the same short list of companies they already know. Perhaps they are well-known technology companies, or well-known players in your industry, or companies you’ve heard about through recruiters or friends. But that’s when things go wrong: Familiarity does not equal opportunity. In fact, it’s often the lesser-known companies — fast-growing startups, niche firms, high-impact non-profits, or quietly innovative enterprises — that offer the best roles, the most responsibility, and the fastest car…

… Every time I tried to move forward, something inside me pulled me back — memories, regrets, what-ifs. I’d lie awake at night wondering if I could’ve said it better, stayed a little longer, or chosen differently. I wasn’t just haunted by the past. I was stuck in it. And maybe you’ve felt that too. That quiet ache of wishing you had done something differently. The invisible weight you carry when you’re trying to show up in the present, but your heart is still tangled in yesterday. But here’s what nobody tells you about healing: You don’t always have to go back to fix it. Sometimes, you just need to stop turning around. … I Thought Healing Meant Fixing the Pa…

Because pretending something is beautiful feels easier than admitting it hurts. sometimes, when i feel lonely, i don’t call it that. i just light a candle and sit there like it means something. i pour tea like I’m in a scene from a film no one’s watching. and i scroll through songs that make me feel understood — even if no one else does. I’ve started noticing how often i turn silence into something soft. how i dress it up in tiny rituals and act like it’s enough. i romanticize walks. especially the kind where i don’t really need to be anywhere. i take the long way home even when it’s hot or my shoes hurt. and i’ll tell myself i like the quiet but really…

As we head into spring with warmer days and more sunshine, you’re more likely to encounter snakes. Learn more about the species of snakes commonly found in South Australia. Snakes emerge in spring looking to bask in the sun after lying dormant in the colder months. Over 45 species of snakes are found in South Australia in various urban and natural habitats. Some are venomous, others are non-venomous. Let’s take a closer look at 6 snakes you might encounter in your travels in SA. 1. Eastern brown snake (Pseudonaja textilis), also known as common brown snake Venomous Location: Arguably the most well-known snake in Australia, the eastern brown snake is highly venomous an…

I asked her the other day, “Are you happy, or are you just staying for the sake of your children?” It wasn’t a fight. It wasn’t anger. Just one of those quiet questions that sit in your chest for months, waiting for the courage to be spoken aloud. Because the truth is — we all know someone living like that. Waking up every day, going through the motions, holding a home together not out of joy, but out of duty. Smiling at the kids, laughing when needed, but carrying a silence in the eyes. Maybe you’ve been there too. Staying because leaving feels like breaking the family apart. Because society whispers that “good parents stay.” Because you fear being the villain …

By Beata Mostafavi Children with sickle cell disease are more likely to have dental problems — but fewer than half of those covered by Michigan Medicaid got dental care in 2022, according to a study. The findings, led by Michigan Medicine and non-profit RAND Corporation, appear in JAMA Network Open. “Sickle cell disease is known to increase the risk of dental complications in children, which underscores the importance of preventive dental care for this population,” said senior author Sarah Reeves, Ph.D., M.P.H., an associate professor of pediatrics and epidemiology at the U-M Medical School and the Susan B. Meister Child Health Evaluation and Research Center. “Our fin…

Confidence is nothing more than a mindset, yet it is the foundation of every achievement. Imagine you are playing a game of cricket. Before a batsman can hit a shot, he must focus. He has already decided in his mind whether he will play a cover drive, defend, or attack. Every detail — angle, rotation, force, timing — must be clear in his head before the ball even reaches him. Without that mindset, the shot cannot be executed. The same is true for goals in life. Before you achieve anything, you must set your mind: I can do this. If you lack confidence and tell yourself, “I cannot,” then you’ve already lost. History’s greatest athletes and record breakers first believed th…

By Stephen Przybylinski, Michigan State University Homelessness is on the rise in the United States, and in some places, it is becoming more common for the police to arrest someone for sleeping or living in a public space. In June 2024, the Supreme Court issued a ruling, Grants Pass v. Johnson, that determined it is constitutional to issue citations to or arrest homeless people, even when there is no available shelter. The ruling reversed earlier federal appeals court rulings from 2019 and 2022 that determined cities cannot enforce anti-camping laws against homeless people if there are not enough shelter beds available for them. The Supreme Court’s ruling also determ…

Matt Gottsman recently wrote, “ Your obsessions aren’t distractions — they’re signposts to the work only you can do.” That line struck a chord so deep, it echoed. It reminded me that what pulls at us repeatedly isn’t random-it’s a calling. His Substack is called The Niche Is You, and honestly, I’m a little bit in love with that. The name itself feels like a mirror and a map. And it made me reflect on one obsession that’s quietly shaped my world: heirloom gardening. Until 2020, I thought heirlooms meant jewellery, sarees, and family artifacts passed down through generations-things with history, but rarely daily use. Then I met heirloom tomatoes. Colour me obsessed. Th…

Whether it’s drugs, booze, cigarettes, or aggravated jaywalking, there is a peculiar little phrase we trot out to justify our more flamboyant acts of self-ruin: “I’m only hurting myself.” It’s meant to sound noble, even considerate, as though the mere absence of collateral damage somehow elevates the act to a private art form. Theoretically, even if all our destructive habits operated in a vacuum, free from splash damage to friends, lovers, and unsuspecting passersby, the more pressing question remains: How did only hurting myself ever graduate from personal tragedy to conversational shrug? In truth, this line might be the most accurate diagnostic tool for detecting …

By Jane Halpern | Elvira Forte | Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science | MIT News Caroline Uhler is an Andrew (1956) and Erna Viterbi Professor of Engineering at MIT; a professor of electrical engineering and computer science in the Institute for Data, Science, and Society (IDSS); and director of the Eric and Wendy Schmidt Center at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, where she is also a core institute and scientific leadership team member. Uhler is interested in all the methods by which scientists can uncover causality in biological systems, ranging from causal discovery on observed variables to causal feature learning and representation learni…

By Jamie Ducharme After losing 50 pounds on the injectable weight loss medication Zepbound, Kyra Wensley received a surprising letter from her pharmacy benefit manager in April. Her request for coverage had been denied, the letter said, because she’d had a body mass index of less than 35 when she started Zepbound. The 25-year-old who lives in New York had been taking Zepbound without incident for months, so she was confused: Why was her BMI, which had been around 32 when she started, becoming an issue only now? Wensley had no interest in quitting an effective drug. “Going right off like that, it’s easier said than done,” she said. Her doctor fought to keep her on the …

Stress management is a Band-Aid on a bullet wound. You’re still bleeding out. Deep breathing doesn’t correct unrealistic expectations. Taking a walk doesn’t resolve people-pleasing. Squeezing a stress ball doesn’t help you establish boundaries. Stress management doesn’t work when we ignore root causes. Symptoms of stress: Headaches Muscle tension Body aches Fatigue Trouble sleeping Rapid heartbeat Dry mouth Lower immunity Irritability Difficulty concentrating or racing thoughts Loss of motivation Pessimism Indecisiveness Avoidance Overeating or loss of appetite Increased use of alcohol, tobacco, caffeine, or drugs Chamomile tea won’t fix a broken team. A weekend a…

By Kaja Šeruga On the outskirts of Lisbon, an abandoned industrial site has been given a new lease of life as a state-of-the-art biorefinery. It is scaling up the production of microalgae – a new source of nutrition. These single-celled organisms can produce compounds such as proteins, lipids and carbohydrates with very little water and no need for arable land – all crucial elements in the quest to improve food security. But there is a catch. It remains challenging to grow and process microalgae at a scale and cost that can compete with common nutritional products like palm oil or soybeans. Changing food production The Lisbon site, part of an EU-funded research collab…

By Ben Jodway, Buckeye Flame An Ohio case around a transgender student in Tipp City using bathrooms that matched her gender identity was rendered moot by a federal appeals court due to the state’s bathroom ban. However, the ACLU of Ohio still sees the majority opinion as a win. In 2022, a group of Ohio parents sued Bethel Local School District, which is located north of Dayton. The parents claimed the school district’s trans-inclusive bathroom policy was a violation of their religious freedom and parental rights. One year later, a lower federal district court found that the parents’ claims were invalid because the high school had since installed a single-occupancy bath…

I used to think a breakup was about losing a person. I was wrong. It’s about discovering who you are without them — and the revelation can be devastatingly simple. My worst breakup didn’t end with slammed doors or dramatic arguments. It ended with a quiet, seven-word text message after a three-year relationship: “I just can’t do this anymore.” The silence that followed was louder than any sound I’d ever heard. In that void, I didn’t just miss him; I realized I had no idea who I was. The Foundation Was Built on Sand I had built my entire identity on being his girlfriend. His interests became my hobbies. His friends became my social circle. My weekends were molded around…

— There’s a unique satisfaction that comes from being self-reliant. Whether it’s mastering the grill for a neighborhood cookout, ensuring your family stays warm during a power outage, or tackling an off-grid project, having the right tools is essential. One of the most versatile and reliable tools for energy independence is the humble propane tank. It’s a symbol of preparedness and capability, powering everything from our weekend hobbies to our essential home systems. Understanding the world of propane can feel a bit daunting at first. With various sizes, types, and safety considerations, making the right choice is crucial. This guide is here to demystify the process. W…