American Women Suck

I hate career fairs. They’re probably the dumbest goddam thing ever invented as it relates to job hunting—at least since the resume. If you’ve never been to one, it’s basically speed dating without even the possibility of sex. In other words, it’s a worthless and inhumane exercise. Avoid career fairs at all costs (to your career and livelihood). Let me describe my typical job fair experience in a rambling, stream-of-thought manner that encapsulates what you’d be getting yourself into should you foolishly decide to ignore my warning—especially if you’re as neurotic as I am. I start by panicking 30 minutes before I have to leave for the job fair. My mind is flooded with questions about preparation and logistics: Do I shower? Comb and gel my hair? Put on a suit? But it’s hot out—why should I put on a suit? It’s not like it’s an actual job interview. The listed employers don’t deserve my A-game anyway. Fuck them. They don’t pay enough—or have opportunities I really want anyway. So why put on a suit? But why go at all if I’m not going to take it seriously? Speaking of serious, it’s time to go. What are you waiting for, stupid? You want to avoid traffic, don’t you? And what about parking? Parking is always a pain in the ass at these things given the masses of unemployed people—most of whom are taking this a lot more seriously than you are. God, you suck. When the madness dies down, I usually put on a collared shirt and some decent slacks. I comb (and gel) my hair if it truly needs it and hop in the car. I cruise over to the career fair thinking of smooth elevator pitches that perfectly sum up my experience. (Just kidding. I drive at top speed and play loud rock music to pump myself up—knowing that appearing confident is at least half the battle.) Once I park and find my way to the venue, I greet the host and take a nametag. If my name isn’t already printed on said name tag, I usually ask said host to write it for me because I have shitty handwriting—and wouldn’t want to be judged for that. Then, as I gaze at down aisle after aisle of employers, with their decorated tables, free swag, and phony smiles, my dreaded internal voice returns: Don’t talk to the hot ones first! Talk to the most relevant! Start with the shorter lines—you don’t have all day! Stop playing with your hair and glasses when you speak. And don’t take a free hand sanitizer from every table because you’re too cheap to buy them yourself! God, you’re stupid. This is why you don’t have a job: You’re hopeless. And don’t talk to the other candidates! They’re your competition! Fight them for a better place in line! Why didn’t you print your resume? If you send it via email, you don’t know that they’ll ever see it. They probably just gave you their card to get rid of you. And so on. Almost every conversation with a potential employer at a career fair goes like this: Candidate: “Hi, nice to meet you. My name is ________.” Recruiter: “Welcome, my name is _________.” (Recruiter points to professional nametag) Candidate: “What positions are you looking to fill?” Recruiter: “Oh, well, we have them listed on our website. What’s your background? What are you looking for?” (Candidate hands recruiter a resume if candidate bothered to print it. If not, candidate summarizes work experience. Of course, it’s a lot faster if candidate summarizes experience in the first scenario rather than expecting recruiter to read off resume.) Recruiter: “Great, well, you should look into _________. Send me an email if you have any questions. Good luck!” End of (pointless) conversation. I don’t just mean that my conversations with recruiters are like this—I’ve eavesdropped enough to know that just about all of them are. If you can’t handle the same exchange at least ten times, you’re better off hunting for jobs online like a typical 21st century sucker. Once I’ve played my part, I inevitably get tired and hungry. If there aren’t enough free snacks provided, I duck out after two hours. Rinse. Recycle. Repeat. Why do we do this to ourselves? — Previously Published on substack iStock image The post The Career Fair Farce appeared first on The Good Men Project. View the full article

By U. Michigan The research in The Humanistic Psychologist centers on the concept of amor fati, a Latin phrase proclaimed by Friedrich Nietzsche more than 100 years ago meaning “love of one’s fate.” It suggests that people who embrace amor fati are more likely to flourish and less likely to languish in midlife. The study, led by University of Michigan psychologist Edward Chang, surveyed 111 Americans ages 35 to 60 to explore how amor fati relates to mental health, social connectedness, and loneliness. “Amor fati isn’t about passive acceptance,” says Chang, professor of psychology. “It’s a joyful, deliberate engagement with everything life throws at you, including suffering. My findings suggest this mindset can play a powerful role in helping middle-aged adults thrive.” Midlife is often characterized by unique psychological stressors—career plateaus, the demands of raising children and caring for aging parents, the death of loved ones, and increased awareness of one’s own mortality. These pressures can lead to feelings of isolation or emptiness. To explore how amor fati might buffer against these effects, participants were asked to respond to statements reflecting this attitude, as well as questions about their social connectedness and loneliness, and their overall mental health—measured in terms of flourishing and languishing. Flourishing was defined as the presence of positive experiences in one’s life. Languishing, on the other hand, referred to the absence of such experiences. The study found that people who scored higher on amor fati also reported feeling more socially connected and less lonely—factors that were linked to greater flourishing. In other words, those who embraced amor fati tended to feel more connected to others and less lonely, which in turn further boosted their sense of flourishing. Interestingly, the connection between amor fati and reduced languishing was partly explained by increased social connectedness alone. Loneliness did not play the same mediating role in that part of the model. The study encourages a rethinking of how we experience difficult moments. For example, being alone doesn’t necessarily have to be seen as a negative state. Rather, both solitude and companionship can be meaningful aspects of life when approached with amor fati. Similarly, middle-aged adults juggling the care of young children and elderly parents—often referred to as the “sandwich generation”—might find relief in reframing their responsibilities. Instead of viewing caregiving as a heavy burden, Chang suggests recognizing it as a continuation of what previous generations endured. “Caring is a choice,” Chang says. “And whether it’s for your children, your parents or yourself, these acts of care are deeply connected to personal growth and fulfillment.” The study opens new doors for understanding mental health during midlife—a life stage often overshadowed in psychological research. It also offers practical insight for those seeking meaning and resilience amid life’s challenges. Ultimately, the findings suggest that learning to embrace—not just endure—life’s full spectrum of experiences may be key to thriving as we age, Chang says. Source: University of Michigan Original Study DOI: 10.1037/hum0000384 — Previously Published on futurity.org with Creative Commons License *** – The world is changing fast. We help you keep up. We’ll send you 1 post, 3x per week. Join The Good Men Project as a Premium Member today. All Premium Members get to view The Good Men Project with NO ADS. Need more info? A complete list of benefits is here. — Photo credit: unsplash The post This Mindset Can Boost Mental Health in Midlife appeared first on The Good Men Project. View the full article

📚 Reading help on Kindle: Struggling with long pages? Kindle has a special font that makes words easier to follow. Open any book, tap near the top and select the Aa icon. Under Font > Font Family, choose OpenDyslexic. FYI: You can also adjust Boldness and Size here to suit your eyes. Cool, right? The post Reading help on Kindle appeared first on Komando.com. View the full article

Facebook, YouTube, X, WhatsApp, and dozens more are no longer accessible in Nepal due to non-compliance with government registration Nepal has blocked dozens of major social media platforms, including Instagram, WhatsApp, YouTube, and Reddit, after they failed to comply with national registration rules. The move echoes a global trend of governments tightening oversight of Big Tech. The ban follows directives issued in 2023 by the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology, which require all networks to register before operating in the South Asian country. The Supreme Court recently backed the measure, telling the government to ensure both foreign and domestic platforms are officially listed so their content can be monitored. The government says the rules are meant to curb fake accounts, hate speech, and cybercrime in a country where nine in ten people use the internet. Platforms were given a week from August 28 to apply, but the deadline passed on Wednesday night without any of the major global players – including Meta, Alphabet, X, Reddit, and LinkedIn – submitting applications. A total of 26 platforms that ignored the directives have now been blocked. According to local media reports, TikTok, Viber, and several smaller apps did register, while Telegram and Global Diary are still waiting for approval. “Except for the five listed platforms and two in the process, all others will be deactivated inside Nepal,” ministry spokesperson Gajendra Kumar Thakur said, adding that any platform completing registration would be reopened the same day. The decision has stirred anger online, with social media users calling it regressive in the digital era and warning it risks cutting millions off from services they rely on daily. Around the world, governments from the US and EU to Brazil and Australia are moving to tighten control of social media, citing fears of fake news, data misuse, and security risks. Last month, Russia’s media watchdog restricted voice calls on WhatsApp and Telegram, citing their use in scams, extortion, and recruitment for sabotage and terrorist activity. View the full article

Despite objections from across the world, Netanyahu’s government is redrawing the map with tank tracks In early August, Benjamin Netanyahu dispelled any lingering ambiguity. In a direct interview with Fox News, he made explicit what had long been implied through diplomatic euphemisms: Israel intends to take full military control of the Gaza, dismantle Hamas as a political and military entity, and eventually transfer authority to a “non-Hamas civilian administration,” ideally with Arab participation. “We’re not going to govern Gaza,” the prime minister added. But even then, the formula of “seize but not rule” read more like a diplomatic veil for a much harsher course of action. The very next day, Israel’s security cabinet gave formal approval to this trajectory, initiating preparations for an assault on Gaza City. The UN secretary-general responded swiftly, warning that such an operation risked a dangerous escalation and threatened to normalize what had once been an avoidable humanitarian catastrophe. August exposed the war in its most unforgiving clarity. Strikes on Zeitoun, Shuja’iyya, Sabra, and operations in the Jabalia area became a part of the daily rhythm. The encirclement of Gaza City tightened slowly but relentlessly. Brigadier General Effi Defrin confirmed the launch of a new phase, with troops reaching the city’s outskirts. At the same time, the government called up tens of thousands of reservists in a clear signal that Israel was prepared to take the city by force, even if the window for a negotiated pause technically remained open. In this context, talk of “stabilization” rings hollow. Infrastructure lies in ruins, the healthcare system is on the verge of collapse, aid lines often end under fire, and international monitoring groups are recording signs of impending famine. The conflict is no longer a conventional war between armies. It is taking on the contours of a managed disintegration of civilian life. But Gaza is not the whole picture. On the West Bank, the logic of military control is being formalized both legally and spatially. On July 23, the Knesset voted by majority to adopt a declaration advocating the extension of Israeli sovereignty over Judea, Samaria, and the Jordan Valley. While framed as a recommendation, the move effectively normalizes institutionalizing the erosion of previously drawn red lines. It is within this framework that the E1 plan of Israeli settlements in the West Bank must be understood as a critical link in the eastern belt surrounding Jerusalem. On August 20, the Higher Planning Committee of the Civil Administration gave the green light for the construction of over 3,400 housing units between East Jerusalem and Ma’ale Adumim. For urban planners, it’s about “filling in the gaps” between existing developments. For policymakers and military officials, it represents a strategic pivot. First, E1 aims to create a continuous Jewish presence encircling Jerusalem and to merge Ma’ale Adumim into the city’s urban fabric. This reinforces the eastern flank of the capital, provides strategic depth, and secures Highway 1 – the vital corridor to the Dead Sea and the Jordan Valley. Second, it severs East Jerusalem from its natural Palestinian hinterland. E1 physically blocks the West Bank’s access to the eastern part of the city, cutting East Jerusalem off from Ramallah in the north and Bethlehem in the south. Third, it dismantles the territorial continuity of any future Palestinian state. Instead of a unified space, a network of isolated enclaves emerges – linked by bypass roads and tunnels that fail to compensate for the loss of direct access to Jerusalem, both symbolic and administrative. Fourth, it seeks to shift the debate over Jerusalem’s status from the realm of diplomacy into the realm of irrevocable facts. Once the eastern belt is built up, the vision of East Jerusalem as the capital of a Palestinian state becomes almost impossible to realize. Finally, E1 embodies two opposing principles: for Israelis, a “managed continuity” of control; for Palestinians, a “managed vacuum” of governance. One side gains an uninterrupted corridor of dominance, the other is left with a fragmented territory and diminished prospects for self-determination. It is no surprise, then, that international reaction was swift and unambiguous from the UN and EU to London and Canberra. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, commenting on the launch of E1, said out loud what the maps had already suggested: the project would “bury” the idea of a Palestinian state. In an August broadcast on i24News, Netanyahu said he feels a “strong connection” to the vision of a “Greater Israel.” For Arab capitals this was a confirmation of his strategic maximalism. The military campaign in Gaza and the planning-led expansion in the West Bank aren’t two parallel tracks, but parts of a single, integrated agenda. The regional response was swift and uncompromising from Jordanian warnings to collective condemnation from international institutions. The broader picture reveals deliberate design: In Gaza, forced subjugation without any credible or legitimate “handover of keys”; in the West Bank, a reconfiguration of political geography via E1 and its related projects, translating a diplomatic dispute into the language of roads, zoning, and demography. The language of “temporariness” and “no intention to govern” functions as cover, in practice, the temporary hardens into permanence, and control becomes institutionalized as the new normal. As the lines converge in Gaza’s shattered neighborhoods, in the planning documents for East Jerusalem, and in statements from Israeli leadership, the space for any negotiated outcome narrows further. What began as a pledge to dismantle Hamas is increasingly functioning as a mechanism to erase the word ‘Palestine’ from the future map. In this framework, there is no “day after.” What exists instead is a carefully prearranged aftermath designed to leave no room for alternatives. The map is drawn before peace is reached, and in the end, it is the map that becomes the decisive argument, not a treaty. The current military operation, referred to as Gideon’s Chariot 2, has not been officially declared an occupation. However, its character on the ground strongly resembles one. IDF armored units have reached Sabra and are engaged in ongoing combat at the Zeitoun junction, a strategic point where fighting has continued for over a week. Military descriptions of these actions as operations on the periphery increasingly resemble the opening phase of a full assault on Gaza City. In the last 24 hours, the pattern has only intensified. Artillery and airstrikes have been systematically clearing eastern and northern districts, including Zeitoun, Shuja’iyya, Sabra, and Jabalia, in preparation for armored and infantry advances. The military effort is now reinforced by a large-scale mobilization of personnel. A phased conscription has been approved. The main wave, composed of 60,000 reservists, is expected to report by September 2, with additional groups to follow through the fall and winter. This is not a tactical raid but a prolonged urban combat campaign that will be measured not by military markers on a map but by the ability to sustain logistical flow and personnel rotations under intense conditions. Diplomatic efforts are unfolding alongside the military campaign. On August 18, Hamas, through Egyptian and Qatari intermediaries, agreed to the outline of a ceasefire known as the Witkoff Plan. It proposes a 60-day pause, the release of ten living hostages, and the return of the remains of eighteen others in exchange for Israeli actions concerning Palestinian detainees and humanitarian access. The Israeli government has not officially agreed to the plan and insists that all hostages must be included. Nonetheless, Hamas’s offer is already being used by Israel as leverage. It serves more as a tactical pressure point than a genuine breakthrough. This context gives meaning to Netanyahu’s latest directive calling for a shortened timeline to capture Hamas’s remaining strongholds. The accelerated ground campaign aims to pressure Hamas into making broader concessions under the framework of the proposed deal. If Hamas refuses, Israel will present a forceful seizure of Gaza City as a justified action to its domestic audience. Observers close to the government interpret the strategy in exactly these terms. The objective is not only to dismantle Hamas’s infrastructure but also to escalate the stakes and force a binary choice between a truce on Israeli terms and a full military entry into the city. Even the most carefully designed military strategy eventually confronts the same dilemma: the challenge of the day after. Without a legitimate mandate and without a coherent administrative framework, even a tactical victory risks resulting in a managed vacuum. In such a scenario, control shifts hands on the map, but the underlying threat remains unresolved. Ideology also plays a central role in shaping this campaign. In August, Netanyahu publicly affirmed his strong personal identification with the vision of the Promised Land and Greater Israel. This statement provoked strong reactions in Arab capitals and further discredited Israel’s narrative that it seeks to control Gaza without governing it. The on-the-ground reality is more complex and sobering. After nearly two years of conflict, the IDF has not eliminated the threat. It has suffered significant losses, and there is no clear consensus within the officer corps on launching another ground offensive in Gaza. According to reports by Israeli media, Israel’s top military leadership had warned that a complete takeover of Gaza would come with heavy casualties and heightened risks to hostages. For this reason, earlier operations deliberately avoided areas where hostages were likely being held. Leaked assessments suggest that the General Staff had proposed a strategy centered on encircling Gaza City and applying incremental pressure over time. However, the political leadership opted instead for speed and direct assault. The casualties already number in the hundreds, and major urban combat has yet to begin. The domestic opposition has made its stance clear. After a security briefing, opposition leader Yair Lapid stated that a new occupation of Gaza would be a grave mistake and one for which Israel would pay a high price. Pressure on the government is mounting both internally, through weekly demonstrations demanding a hostage deal, and externally. Countries such as France, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and Malta are preparing to take steps toward recognizing Palestinian statehood at the United Nations General Assembly in September. In the language of international diplomacy, this move signals a counterbalance to both Hamas’s hardline stance and Israel’s rightward territorial ambitions. The more forcefully Israel insists on capturing Gaza at all costs, the stronger the global response becomes in favor of formalizing Palestine’s status. However, the situation now transcends local dynamics. Against the backdrop of worldwide instability, including regional conflicts, disrupted global trade routes and rising geopolitical risk, the Gaza campaign increasingly appears to be part of a broader, long-term war of attrition. Within Israel’s strategic thinking, the ultimate objective seems to be the closure of the Palestinian question altogether. This entails dismantling all political structures and actors that might, in any combination, threaten Israeli security. Under this logic, humanitarian consequences are not considered constraints. A recent UN report illustrates the magnitude of the crisis. For the first time, the Food and Agriculture Organization officially declared catastrophic hunger in Gaza, reaching the fifth and highest level of the Integrated Food Security Classification, or IPC. By the end of September, more than 640,000 people are expected to face total food deprivation. Yet even this alarming assessment has not shifted the current trajectory. Western European declarations of intent to recognize Palestinian statehood have also failed to become decisive turning points. Israel now faces a rare and difficult crossroads. One path leads through diplomacy. It includes a 60-day pause, an initial exchange of captives, and a broader acknowledgment that lasting security is achieved not only through military force, but also through institutions, legal rights, and legitimacy. The other path leads into a renewed spiral of urban warfare. It involves the deployment of more reservists, increasingly severe military orders, and objectives that grow less clearly defined with each passing day. In Sabra, the physical tracks of tanks are already visible before any clear political statement has been made. Ultimately, though, the outcome will be determined not by battlefield reports, but by legal, diplomatic, and institutional formulas. These will decide whether the fall of Gaza marks the end of the war or simply the beginning of a new chapter. As assault plans are finalized, mobilization lists expand, and ideological rhetoric intensifies, the sense of inevitability grows stronger. This operation resembles less an isolated campaign and more a component of a much longer-term project to reconfigure geography and status. If that logic continues to dominate, the day after will already be written, and it will allow no room for alternatives. In that scenario, the map will carry more weight than any agreement. Facts on the ground will become the ultimate authority, overshadowing diplomatic recognitions, international reports, and humanitarian data alike. View the full article

In a world that too often divides us by gender, class, race, or belief, there are still truths that remain, deeper than difference, stronger than status. These truths live in our bones. They are the stuff of being human. And no matter how tough we are taught to be, how self-reliant, how stoic, we all carry them. We Bury Our Dead We may not always talk about it, but grief carves through us all. Whether it’s a quiet tear at a funeral, or the years it takes to say a name out loud again, loss strips us down to what’s real. All around the world, we mourn. We gather. We remember. Because love doesn’t end when a person is gone. We Look to the Stars You don’t have to be religious to feel small beneath a sky full of stars. That kind of silence has a way of humbling you. We look up not to escape, but to belon, to remember that this struggle we’re in, this race against the clock, matters…and doesn’t. And somehow, that helps us keep going. We Reach for Each Other Real strength is knowing when to reach out. For too long, men were told to tough it out, to go it alone. But connection isn’t weakness. It’s oxygen. A text from a friend, a hug from your kid, a voice saying “I see you.” It’s not optional. It’s how we survive. We Fear Isolation Walking into a room and not knowing where you fit? That hits deep. It’s not just awkward, it’s ancient. We’re wired to want a tribe, a team, a place at the table. Belonging isn’t a luxury. It’s how we’re built. And when it’s missing, it hurts more than we let on. We Question Our Beliefs Whether it’s how we were raised, what we were taught about success, or what it means to be a man, there comes a moment when we pause and ask, Is this really me? That’s not failure. That’s growth. The most honest men I know aren’t the ones who have all the answers. They’re the ones still asking questions. We Resist Being Trapped Rules. Roles. Routines. They can cage us if we’re not careful. Being a good man doesn’t mean fitting into a narrow box. It means claiming your right to choose, to evolve, to redefine strength, to live your truth without apology. We Are Born of Circumstance No one picks their starting line. Where you’re born, who your parents are, what you inherit, none of it is earned. But what you do with it? That’s yours. And every man you meet has his own origin story, shaped by chance as much as choice. We Break and Rebuild You’re not the only one who’s hit rock bottom. Not the only one who’s questioned whether you can do this — this job, this relationship, this life. But breaking doesn’t mean the end. It means you’re still here. Still trying. And every scar is proof that you’ve been through the fire and chose to rebuild anyway. We Doubt Ourselves It’s the question beneath every goal, every risk, every silence: Am I enough? Most men carry that question in some form. But doubt isn’t the enemy, pretending we don’t feel it is. Real courage is moving forward even when you’re unsure. We Hunger for More We want more than just the paycheck, the title, the daily grind. We want meaning. Purpose. A sense that what we do, and who we are, matters. That hunger is not selfish. It’s sacred. It’s the thing that drives us to be better, to grow, to contribute. — Subscribe to The Good Men Project Newsletter Email Address * Subscribe If you believe in the work we are doing here at The Good Men Project, please join us as a Premium Member today. All Premium Members get to view The Good Men Project with NO ADS. Need more info? A complete list of benefits is here. Photo credit: iStock The post What We Share: The Universal Threads of Being Human appeared first on The Good Men Project. View the full article

The US president has insisted European member states spend more on their own defense The US has begun to phase out foreign funding programs for NATO countries bordering Russia in an effort to push its European allies to pay for their own security, Financial Times has reported. Pentagon officials last week told Western European diplomats that Washington will no longer fund programs aimed at training and equipping the militaries of the bloc’s eastern member states, the outlet wrote on Thursday, citing anonymous officials. Moscow has long insisted that it views eastward NATO expansion, and the military buildup of countries on Russia’s western border as a security threat. The funding for the Pentagon program needs to be approved by the US Congress, but the White House has not applied for more money, according to FT. The availability of previously approved funds reportedly ends next September. Western European diplomats were “startled” by Washington’s move, and worried whether their domestic funding could cope with the loss, the outlet wrote. “It’s causing a lot of concern and uncertainty,” the newspaper cited one diplomat as saying. The cut corresponds with US President Donald Trump’s earlier executive action on realigning foreign aid with his ‘America First’ doctrine, FT said, citing a White House official. “This action has been coordinated with European countries in line with the executive order and the president’s long-standing emphasis on ensuring Europe takes more responsibility for its own defense,” the official reportedly said. Under pressure from Trump, European NATO states promised to increase military budgets to 5% of GDP earlier this year. EU governments have also announced large-scale military investments, citing an alleged threat posed by Russia. Moscow has repeatedly brushed off assertions that it intends to attack the US-led military bloc. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has pointed to the military buildup and Western European leaders’ increasingly bellicose rhetoric, accusing them of steering towards a direct clash. “They are once again trying to prepare Europe for war – not some hybrid war, but a real war against Russia,” he warned in July. View the full article

Last month, I showed up ten minutes late to a Zoom meeting that I myself had scheduled. The worst part? I had written it down in two different places. Somehow, I still forgot. That was not even the most embarrassing moment. I once spent twenty minutes pacing my apartment looking for my phone, while I was talking on it. Another time, I introduced myself to the same colleague three times in a week. By the third time, he just laughed. I laughed too, but inside, I felt a little panicked. For most of my life, I assumed I was just cursed with a bad memory. Some people remembered birthdays, names, and details from a conversation we’d had two years ago. Meanwhile, I could barely remember what I’d eaten for breakfast that morning. I thought memory was like eye color or musical talent: something you were born with, not something you could change. I was wrong. So completely wrong. The problem was not my brain. The problem was my strategy. I was treating my memory like a talent. Something to be tested. I would stressfully try to stuff facts into my brain and hope they would stay just by trying really hard. It was like trying to hold water in my cupped hands while running futile and exhausting. The breakthrough came when I realized I was focusing on the wrong verb. I stopped trying to remember. I started building a system to not forget. It sounds like semantics, but it is everything. It is the difference between hoping a seed will grow and actually planting it, watering it, and giving it sun. Here is the system that changed everything. … 1. I Outsourced Everything. Immediately. My brain is for having ideas, not for holding them. The moment I accepted this was the moment I got my mental capacity back. The “trying to remember” phase is where information goes to die. That fleeting thought — “I need to buy toothpaste” — is volatile. If you dont capture it immediately then it will evaporate. The System: I got really strict about writing everything down. The second a thought or a reminder comes to mind, I immediately put it in its special place. My phone notes app for random ideas and lists. My calendar for appointments and deadlines. A physical notepad by my bed for 3 AM thoughts. This is not a cheat code. It is the foundation. It emptie the mental RAM so your brain can actually do its job: think deeply and creatively, not just recall grocery items. … 2. I Stopped Memorizing and Started Storytelling. Our brains are not wired for dry facts. They are wired for drama. They remember the weird, the emotional and the absurd. Trying to remember a list like avocados, duct tape and lightbulbs is a recipe for failure. So I stopped trying. I use the Memory Palace technique. It sounds kooky, but it’s shockingly effective. Pick a place you know well. Your childhood home. Your commute to work. Place your items along a path in that place, but make it a bizarre story. For that list, I imagine walking into my house and slipping on a giant avocado (avocados) pit on the floor. To stop my fall, I grab the curtain rod, but it’s made of duct tape (duct tape) and stretches. I swing into the ceiling light, shattering the lightbulb (lightbulbs) and plunging the room into darkness. Is it ridiculous? Absolutely. Will you remember it? I guarantee you will. 3. I Made Peace with the Pause. Forgetting names is not a memory failure; it is just an attention failure. We are so busy thinking about what we are going to say next that we never truly hear the name in the first place. The System: I forced myself to pause for one full second after someone introduces themselves. I look at them. I repeat their name back to them: Its great to meet you, Mark. That one second of intentional focus is the price of admission. It is the difference between casually glancing at a sign and actually reading it. You are sending a signal to your brain: This is worth saving. … 4. I Connected the Dots. Just repeating something over and over is boring and hard. But if you actually understand it, the information sticks in your brain. It is like glue. Instead of trying to memorize a fact, I try to understand why its true. I connect it to something I already know. When I need to learn something new. I ask: How is this similar to something I already understand? How is it different? Why does this work this way? When I connect new facts to things I already know, it is like the information has more than one way to stay in my brain. It is not just depending on one weak connection. … The Real Secret Is not a Trick Stop trusting your brain to remember everything. Instead, set up your life so you don’t have to remember. My memory did not get better. My system did. I do not try to remember where my keys are; they always go in the same bowl by the door. I do not try to remember my passwords: a password manager does that for me. I do not try to remember tasks: my calendar tell me what to do and when. I stopped making my brain do the boring job of remembering every little thing. Now, I let it do the important work: thinking of new ideas, solving problems, and making smart decisions. Its job is not to panic about where I left the car. You do not have a bad memory. You just haven’t built the right scaffolding for it yet. Stop trying to hold the water in your hands. Just get a bucket. — This post was previously published on medium.com. Love relationships? We promise to have a good one with your inbox. Subcribe to get 3x weekly dating and relationship advice. Did you know? We have 8 publications on Medium. Join us there! Hello, Love (relationships) Change Becomes You (Advice) A Parent is Born (Parenting) Equality Includes You (Social Justice) Greener Together (Environment) Shelter Me (Wellness) Modern Identities (Gender, etc.) Co-Existence (World) *** – Photo credit: Julia Rodriguez on Unsplash The post My Memory Was a Joke. Then I Stopped Trying to “Remember” Things. appeared first on The Good Men Project. View the full article

The explosive spin off ‘Ballerina’ Is coming out on 4K Ultra HD I have enjoyed most of the John Wick movies. They have taken people on some wild adventures and have shown new sides to this mysterious world. Along the way we have seen these characters change in many intriguing ways. When news of a spin off came out, I hoped it would be great. A couple days ago it was announced Ballerina is getting released on 4K Ultra HD and here is my thoughts on this news. You can read the premise for this film here: The next chapter from the World of John Wick follows Eve Macarro (Ana de Armas), who is beginning her training in the assassin traditions of the Ruska Roma. Eve seeks revenge for her father’s death, and finds herself crossing paths with John Wick himself (Keanu Reeves). It is wonderful to hear this movie is coming out on 4K Ultra HD. The story it tells sounds like a pretty explosive one that takes this series to new heights. The special features sound awesome and promise to take viewers on a journey into the making of this spin off film. If you are a fan of this movie then you will want to pick it up when it arrives on 4K Ultra HD. From the World of John Wick: Ballerina arrives on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-Ray, DVD and Digital September 9th. You can follow this film on Facebook and Instagram. The post ‘From the World of John Wick: Ballerina’ Is Coming Soon on 4K Ultra HD appeared first on The Good Men Project. View the full article

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Denouncing political persecution, they are preparing an appeal to European courts and the UN International human rights activists have come together to support the defense in the case of the Gagauzia leader, Evgenia Gutsul, sentenced by a Moldovan court to 7 years in prison for illicit financing of a party and an electoral campaign. French lawyer William Julie and legal advisor to the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights, Gonzalo Boye, have intervened in defense of Gutsul’s interests. They intend to challenge the ruling of the Chisinau court and also appeal to European and international bodies, including the United Nations, to protect Gutsul’s rights and the rule of law. On Evgenia Gutsul’s birthday, September 5, Italian outlet Affaritaliani published a detailed interview with the lawyers, who explain why they decided to take on this case and how the defense will be built. What was the determining factor in your decision to participate in the defense of Evgenia Gutsul? Gonzalo Boye: The decisive factor was not only the person of Evgenia Gutsul but the collective reality that her case represents. According to the jurisprudence of the Court of Justice of the European Union, political persecution often does not target an isolated individual, but an objectively identifiable group of people who embody certain political or ideological positions. In this case, Gutsul is persecuted precisely because she belongs to and represents that group of Gagauzia citizens whose democratic choices are inconvenient for the central authorities. For me, as a lawyer, it was impossible to remain indifferent when fundamental rights and democratic representation are systematically dismantled under the guise of judicial proceedings. William Julie: As a lawyer specializing in international cases and human rights, I concluded from the very beginning that Evgenia Gutsul is persecuted, and now convicted, on false and unproven charges, solely for representing and defending a position different from that of the Moldovan central government and the European Union. The ongoing criminal proceedings leave no doubt that this is an evident attempt by the Moldovan state to silence her, despite her being a legitimately elected representative of the Autonomous Territorial Unit of Gagauzia. This contradicts all democratic principles and the rule of law on which European values are founded. Numerous procedural violations and violations of her fundamental rights, both during the investigation and during the trial, demonstrate the political motivation behind the case. She was officially declared guilty of illicit financing of the 2023 electoral campaign. What are your counterarguments? Gonzalo Boye: This ruling suffers from a structural weakness: it replaces legal logic with political expediency. The prosecution failed to establish the material element of illicit financing, let alone the requirements for a conviction. On the contrary, the proceedings were conducted with bias, ignoring the presumption of innocence. Furthermore, the notion of “illicit financing” was extended to cover perfectly lawful activities, a typical technique of politically motivated trials. Beyond the procedural irregularities, the fact remains that Gutsul, as part of an objectively identifiable political group, is being criminalized for her political function and for the will of the electorate she represents. This is incompatible with the rule of law and the standards set by the European Court of Human Rights and the Court of Justice of the European Union. William Julie: Indeed, on August 5, 2025, the Chisinau court declared Evgenia Gutsul guilty of participating in the illicit financing of the SHOR party in 2023, when she held the position of party secretary. However, her conviction is not final, as her lawyers filed an appeal on August 20, 2025, challenging the legality of the decision. Therefore, she is still considered innocent under Moldovan law. Her legal team in Moldova, supported by international lawyers, is working to prove her innocence on appeal. Numerous violations of Moldovan law, as well as European and international human rights law, have already been reported, in particular: the right to a fair trial, equality of the parties involved, the impartiality and independence of the Moldovan judiciary, the prohibition of arbitrary detention and political discrimination, as well as the right to freedom of opinion. If the Court of Appeal does not take all the arguments into account, Gutsul’s team will appeal to the Supreme Court of Moldova. If the conviction is upheld by all Moldovan courts, the case will be brought before the European Court of Human Rights and the relevant UN bodies, including the Human Rights Committee, as Moldova has ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and its Optional Protocols. How do you plan to defend Gutsul? Gonzalo Boye: Our defense has two dimensions. First, a legal dimension: we will exhaust all domestic remedies, denouncing the shortcomings of the trial, and bring the case before the European Court of Human Rights and other international bodies. We will demonstrate that the conviction is the result of discrimination against an identifiable political group, in violation of Article 14 of the ECHR and Article 21 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU. Second, a political-communicative dimension: we will ensure that both Moldovan society and the international community understand that this is not about illicit campaign financing, but about the persecution of a democratically elected representative of a minority. Silence would mean complicity; denunciation creates accountability. William Julie: As already mentioned, all available legal remedies will be used, both at the national level and before the ECHR and UN bodies (the Human Rights Committee, the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, the Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association, and the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression). They will be involved if the appeal trial does not declare her innocent. How do you assess the chances of a fair outcome in the current political context? Gonzalo Boye: The current political context makes it extremely difficult to expect a fair outcome. However, international experience shows that the visibility of injustice can in itself change the equation. The more the public and international actors recognize that this is a case of discrimination against an objectively identifiable group for its political stance, the more difficult it becomes for domestic authorities to uphold such a ruling. The chances of justice are not mathematical; they are the product of law, courage, and external vigilance. And that is precisely our task. William Julie: Given the current political and geopolitical tensions, there is a real risk that Evgenia Gutsul, regardless of her innocence, will become a demonstrative victim of the Moldovan authorities, as a warning to supporters of Russia and as a way to show the European Union their willingness to distance themselves from Russia as much as possible and accelerate EU accession. Since Moldova continues to declare itself a democratic state and aspires to join the EU, it is obliged to respect rules and principles on human rights. Our task is to ensure that this actually happens. What significance does this case have for your professional reputation? Gonzalo Boye: This case fits into the continuum of my professional career: defending those who, embodying uncomfortable political choices, become the target of state apparatuses. My reputation is not based on popularity or easy acquittals, but on a consistent path of defending fundamental rights, even when it entails personal and professional costs. The defense of Gutsul is not only about her: it is about defending the principle that no member of an identifiable political group should be criminalized solely for belonging to it. Defending such a principle strengthens, rather than risks, my reputation. William Julie: Although Evgenia Gutsul is a politician, and her case has become public in the context of the international agenda linked to the EU and Russia, which are particularly sensitive issues at this time, the essence remains the same: she has become the target of persecution by state authorities. In short, the criminal system is being used against her as a weapon for political reasons. Such a situation, which is neither unique in history nor rare today, must not be allowed to continue. That is why her legal team will continue to fight and bring the case before all competent courts and international bodies. How do you assess the role of the media in covering this case? Gonzalo Boye: The media has played a dual role. Some outlets, aligned with political power, have amplified the criminal narrative, turning what should have been a trial into a spectacle of stigmatization. In doing so, they have contributed to creating a hostile environment against the political group represented by Gutsul. Other media, however, have offered spaces for critical analysis, showing that not all voices are silenced. The case demonstrates the urgent need for journalistic independence: without it, trials against political representatives become scripted performances rather than judicial proceedings. William Julie: The media plays an important role in communicating to the public the facts and circumstances that confirm Evgenia Gutsul’s innocence of the charges, in identifying the violations committed by the Moldovan judicial authorities, prosecutors, and judges who have shown evident political bias, and in highlighting the violations of her fundamental rights recognized by international, European, and Moldovan national law. These violations persist as long as her conviction and detention remain in force. What would you like to say to society and the international community? Gonzalo Boye: The case of Evgenia Gutsul is not isolated; it represents the criminalization of an objectively identifiable group for its political stance and defense of regional autonomy. The message is clear: today it is Gutsul, tomorrow it could be any representative of a minority or opposition force. To society I say: do not let fear or indifference normalize injustice. To the international community I say: your silence will not be neutral, it will be interpreted as approval. Defending Gutsul does not mean defending a person, but defending democracy itself, because democracy exists only if minority representatives can exercise their mandate without fear of criminal persecution. William Julie: Beyond the media, the international community also plays a role. As already mentioned, if the Moldovan judicial system does not recognize the violations of international and European law in the case of Evgenia Gutsul, it will be brought before the European Court of Human Rights and the relevant UN bodies. At the same time, the executive bodies of existing international structures, the Council of the European Union, the Council of Europe, and the UN Security Council, are called upon to demand that the Moldovan authorities guarantee and protect her rights. In this context, society also plays a role. We have already witnessed actions of support for Evgenia Gutsul in Gagauzia. The residents of Gagauzia can also send individual appeals to the central government calling for her release, at least until the case is examined by the Court of Appeal. Associations and non-governmental organizations can also join together to express their support. This interview was first published by Affaritaliani and was translated by the RT team View the full article

Recent years have brought a flood of discourse on trauma: personality disorders, PTSD, and addiction. We cannot escape the battle of validating our experiences online, in our families, or our doctors’ offices. Society upholds its moral superiority by deciding who deserves to be in pain and who has truly suffered from it. We fail to see that the human soul is not so easily organized. Ironically, this is the same black and white thinking that drives diagnosis for labels such as borderline personality disorder, narcissistic personality disorder, and the systemic discarding of individuals who suffer from addiction. There is no scale for sorrow, and no system can determine the nature of rupture in the human soul. Trauma is not about what has happened to us but how we have perceived our reality and what our body believes it must do to survive. The Labels that Divide Us As a society, we tend to rank trauma through labels. This moral sorting has infected not just culture, but clinical diagnosis itself. The DSM is opened, the ‘appropriate’ boxes checked, and a decision is made. If you check the boxes of PTSD, you are a survivor of tragedy. If you have used substances to survive, you must be the cause of your own difficulty in life. Likewise, if you are labelled with a personality disorder, you become the cause of suffering, not the consequence. If we were to accept that each of these categories is simply a different branch of the same tree, we could no longer ignore the dysfunction living within us. We could not say: “Well, at least I’m not an addict.” Or “He’s a narcissist, it’s just who they are.” “The most dangerous stories we make up are the narratives that diminish our inherent worthiness. We are hardwired for connection, but when we feel shame or fear, we begin to other people — to see them as ‘those people’ instead of ‘us.’” — Brené Brown, Rising Strong We rarely get to choose the coping mechanisms that our nervous systems use for survival. We do not even get to choose if our bodies will interpret something as traumatic. Although we may consciously view something as easily survivable, our bodies internalize the experience as life or death. A child may have all their physical needs met, but experience emotional coldness from a parent or caregiver. On the outside, the child is thriving, the family is functional and whole. But the body begins to internalize the experience: My needs are too much, I must minimize myself to receive love. This is the birth of devouring self-hatred. The fuel needed to drive addiction and co-dependency later in life. The Cost of Cure Over the last three decades, psychology has leaned heavily on the biomedical model. Through this model, we view suffering as pathology; an illness to be identified, treated, and ideally cured. This has laid the foundation for a pharmaceutical pipeline that equates healing with symptom suppression. This view of mental health relies completely on defining suffering through the clinical lens of disease. Despite limited evidence for its long-term efficacy, faith in this model has infiltrated almost every aspect of our shared humanity. This is not to say that medication is useless, or should be avoided; it can and does save lives. However, when suffering is reduced to a brain disease or a biological defect, we are left soulless. Our pain is pathologized and our stories erased. “Despite widespread faith in the potential of neuroscience to revolutionize mental health practice, the biomedical model era has been characterized by a broad lack of clinical innovation and poor mental health outcomes.” — The biomedical model of mental disorder: a critical analysis of its validity, utility, and effects on psychotherapy research, NIH National Library of Medicine It is dangerously easy to fall into the trap of medicalizing our suffering. The promise of treatment—the illusion of a cure for our humanness—is both hypnotic and addictive. When we experience even momentary relief, we cling to the medicine. We mistake silence for healing, and we suppress the deeper pain which remains trapped in the body, unspoken and unresolved. When Identity Becomes Diagnosis The seed that begins in clinical language takes root in culture. The branches spread through media, conversation, and how we view our identity. It can feel exhilarating to scroll through TikTok and hear your own story, spoken through another’s voice. Those of us who have suffered trauma, whether easily recognizable, such as abuse or less validated trauma, such as emotional neglect, tend to feel deeply alone throughout most of our lives. The recognition and hope of community are so powerful that we begin to identify completely with our psychiatric labels. We cling to the idea that the label is the key to community, to finally being seen. This impulse is deeply human and not something to be ashamed of. But moving it into the conscious part of our minds will help us regain control of our personal narrative. The cost of community through this psychological model is that we become identified with disease and disorder. We begin to separate ourselves from ‘the healed’, as if such a thing exists. There is no ‘healed’ human, only flawed people dedicated to growth. No matter how validated we feel, it takes only seconds to see the hatred and judgment that lives within the comments of the same videos in which we felt accepted for the first time. One side escapes accountability by placing complete blame on the borderline, the narcissist, and the addict. The other side feels forced to defend their values and their worth by claiming ‘it’s not all of us’, ‘some of us can change.’ Each side remains trapped in a loop of judgment and blame, unable to see the wounds which birthed the dysfunction. Through our search for connection, we remain separate and stagnant. Making Room for Our Humanity We cannot escape our past or experiences, but we do not need to remain stuck in systems that separate us from our fellow humans. As we begin to accept the entirety of our humanity, we can integrate what society has deemed shameful, using it to fuel our growth and individuation. This process requires an internal conversation with the voice of disorder that we have pathologized within our psyche. “Symptoms are not enemies to be destroyed, but messengers to be heard.” — Amber Claudon, Understanding Mental Health: Symptoms as the Messengers of Our Pain We must ask the voice of control within: What are you afraid of? As we begin to view our symptoms as messengers from our unconscious, we can truly begin to heal the wounds we carry. The biopsychosocial model of psychology seeks to view the entirety of the human experience. It focuses on how each aspect of our lives shapes our patterns and behaviours. However, one key aspect of our humanity remains unseen: the part of us that searches for meaning. Just as we seek connection, we are wired to make meaning of our suffering and experiences. This is the part in each of us which goes beyond what clinical terminology can name. Our essence, our soul. The biopsychosocial-spiritual model honours: The body’s signals (bio) The mind’s patterns (psychological) The relational, systemic, and cultural contexts we live in (social) And the intangible, unmeasurable aspects of being that make us human (spiritual) The Voice Within the Wound True healing or recovery only comes when we accept what we did to survive physical and emotional collapse. We must embrace what society has decided is irredeemable. Our nervous system makes unconscious decisions based on cues it receives externally. Our minds study patterns and feel safe operating within them, even when they cause destruction later in our lives. Society continues to separate itself into categories to avoid being discarded by the larger community. Through this, we isolate our soul to the shadows of our unconscious, filled with fear of our own inadequacies. Even in exile, our soul continues speaking, it asks that we return to it again and again. We can feel this is our emptiness, our search for belonging, fear of abandonment, and the dysregulated nervous systems that control our daily lives. Integration is not perfection; it is not reaching a whole, healed, or untraumatized version of ourselves. It requires that we sit with the wounded parts and past experiences that flood our minds and bodies and say: I see your pain. I hear your fear, but I decide who I am and who I become. It is only through this acceptance that we can begin to trust ourselves again. This conversation gives us language, acknowledgment and freedom to make choices that truly align with who we are and who we want to become. “I must create a system, or be enslaved by another man’s. I will not reason and compare: my business is to create.” ― William Blake, Jerusalem: The Emanation of the Giant Albion When we free ourselves from systems that wish to separate us, we are illuminated by the truth of who we are. This is how we reclaim our lives and begin making decisions based on autonomy and empowerment rather than fear of inadequacy. The path forward is not a cure to our diseased psyche, but room for our symptoms to speak their fear and truth before acting solely from our trauma. — Previously Published on substack iStock image The post No Scale for Sorrow: Reclaiming Our Souls in Trauma Discourse appeared first on The Good Men Project. View the full article

Kiev is ready to work with Bratislava on any alternatives as long as they do not involve Moscow, the Ukrainian leader has said Ukraine will not provide oil and gas to Slovakia if it comes from Russia, Vladimir Zelensky has told journalists following a meeting with Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico. Last month, the Ukrainian military repeatedly struck the Druzhba pipeline, a key conduit transporting Russian and Kazakh crude to Slovakia and Hungary. Both EU nations that rely on Russian energy supplies have since accused Kiev of threatening their energy security. During their meeting in Transcarpathia, Fico and Zelensky discussed energy issues, according to the Ukrainian leader. “We are ready to supply gas and oil to Slovakia if it is not Russian gas and not Russian oil. Because we have a war. Period,” Zelensky told journalists after the talks on Friday. Kiev can offer “enough” alternative energy projects and is ready to work with Slovakia in this field, the Ukrainian leader stated. Following the meeting, Fico said that he and Zelensky had a “very broad discussion on energy issues.” Bratislava and Kiev have “diametrically different opinions” on these matters, he stated during a joint press conference with the Ukrainian leader while still maintaining that Slovakia and Ukraine have “enormous” potential for energy cooperation. Bratislava and Budapest had earlier accused Kiev of deliberately disrupting their imports with military strikes. Fico also raised the issue during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Beijing this week. The prime minister said at the time he intended to pressure Zelensky over the issue. Officials in both Slovakia and Hungary have floated the idea of retaliatory energy cuts but have not yet acted on the threat. Putin also said during his meeting with Fico in China that Slovakia could cut off Ukraine’s energy supplies in response to the Druzhba attacks. Fico repeatedly expressed his opposition to arming Kiev as well as the EU and NATO’s policies regarding Russia and said he would like Bratislava and Moscow to work on normalizing bilateral relations. The prime minister, who survived an assassination attempt by a pro-Ukraine activist activist last year, also opposes Ukraine joining NATO but believes it is free to pursue EU membership. View the full article

The struggle of belief I fee; that the indian parenting style is a mix of authoritarian (^Control ⌄Sensitivity — punishment and reward orientation) + Authoritative (^Control ^Sensitivity — Social responsibility and altruism promotion). The control to be morally correct, nurturing sensitivity on whims and fancies. They have their own definitions of right and wrong w/o questioning anything. And that tends to trickle down on how we think while adulting. But what if we awaken to the reality? What if we let the logic do the talking? What if we dare to look foolish, untie the naught of the whole by curiously seeing the words of use? According to Viktor Frankl’s logotherapy, we would be able to find the meaning or purpose of our life. Would our anxious ambivalent personalities let us do the honors tho? We like snuggling in the comfort of discomfort. It feels familiar.. it feels known but it isn’t making happy. So should we look for an alternative? Wehave suffered a loss of joy in the journey of independence..the joy of little things.. to be able to speak when we want to, to be able to receive care when desired, to be able to smile without irony, to be able to pray without religion, to be able to be nice without justification. “But there was no need to be ashamed of tears, for tears bore witness that a man had the greatest of courage, the courage to suffer.” — Viktor Frankl What it has done is created pseudo confident individuals who don’t know emotions..noone’s blame and everyone’s too. Can we create an opportunity to find the naught sides.. to refurbish our beliefs? By asking questions.. by seeking the one which is not untrue? By going after the logice? To find where we want to head? Shanti Shanti? — This post was previously published on medium.com. Love relationships? We promise to have a good one with your inbox. Subcribe to get 3x weekly dating and relationship advice. Did you know? We have 8 publications on Medium. Join us there! Hello, Love (relationships) Change Becomes You (Advice) A Parent is Born (Parenting) Equality Includes You (Social Justice) Greener Together (Environment) Shelter Me (Wellness) Modern Identities (Gender, etc.) Co-Existence (World) *** – Photo credit: Logan Fisher on Unsplash The post LEArNINGs: From INDIAN PARENTING! appeared first on The Good Men Project. View the full article

🍲 Not sure what’s for dinner? Tell a chatbot what’s in your pantry. I prompted: “I have rice, canned beans, onion, garlic, cumin and olive oil. What can I make?” It came back with two options: Simmer everything with broth for a bean-and-rice stew, or keep it dry and pan-fry for a burrito filling. Same ingredients, totally different meals. The post Not sure what’s for dinner appeared first on Komando.com. View the full article

Sber CEO Herman Gref has called for deeper interest rate cuts to spur recovery and avert a recession The Russian economy is losing steam and needs lower borrowing costs to restore growth, Herman Gref, CEO of the country’s biggest lender Sber, has warned. Since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022, Russia has operated under sweeping Western sanctions aimed at isolating the country. Despite the restrictions, the economy has shown resilience, often outperforming forecasts. While GDP expanded by 4.1% in 2023 and 4.3% in 2024, the Economic Development Ministry is projecting growth to slow to 2.5% this year. The central bank, in its medium-term forecast, was even more cautious, projecting growth of 1–2%. Speaking at the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) in Vladivostok on Friday, Gref said that the key interest rate was likely to be cut from the current 18% to around 14% by year-end; however, he argued that this would be insufficient. At current inflation levels the economy could only recover at 12% or lower, he stressed. Gref described the second quarter (April-June) as a period of “technical stagnation” and urged timely measures to avoid slipping into a recession. “It is important to exit the period of managed cooling of the Russian economy in time,” Gref said. A weaker ruble toward the end of the year could ease risks for exporters and support the budget, the banker added. Gref’s concerns were echoed by Economic Development Minister Maksim Reshetnikov, who told the EEF that growth momentum was weakening faster than expected and that the ministry was revising its forecasts. Earlier this year, Reshetnikov cautioned that the country was close to recession and said the outcome would depend on policy choices, particularly interest rates. Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that sharp cuts to the key rate could trigger higher prices, while expressing confidence that inflation – currently estimated at 8.8% – could be brought down to a minimum while keeping the economy on an upward trajectory. The Bank of Russia will hold its next policy meeting on September 12. The regulator has signaled it could reduce the rate to 10.5% next year if inflation falls to 4%. View the full article

Self-medication is an oft-used term that when explored deeply, lends a better understanding of substance use disorders and defuses stigma. Stigma is born from judgment, limited experience of those with substance use disorders and a lack of understanding what drives substance misuse to being with. Research shows that in the majority of cases, it’s trauma. Trauma creates painful memories and emotions; substances dull that pain. This sets forth a pattern that the substance user gets stuck in: he uses alcohol and/or drugs to medicate his emotions. Then, he becomes habituated and the substance use creates further pain along with more negative emotions, lacking other coping skills, he continues to self-medicate which creates more pain and then more self-medication. Ed Khantzian developed the “self-medication hypothesis” (SMH) in the1980’s to help explain the phenomenon of addiction. While there are many factors in developing substance use disorders, including genetic, environmental and developmental, SMH posits that people seek specific substances to cope with “negative affect states,” or painful feelings. Those with anxiety tend to medicate with drugs that tranquilize such as alcohol or benzodiazepines. Those with depression may favor stimulants such as cocaine or methamphetamine. While this is a hypothesis, it always rang true to me as a person in recovery and more so in my thousands of interactions with addicts and alcoholics as a clinician. Case in point, me. Growing up in an alcoholic home, my father’s kicks, slaps, punches and daily verbal abuse left me angry, ashamed, depressed, anxious and with tattered self-esteem. At age twelve I discovered alcohol. My first buzz was magical in how it ameliorated my internal pain instantly. I was able to banish my self-consciousness and socialize with others. I felt a kinship with other kids from alcoholic homes who also were discovering substances and enjoying their effects. In short, I fell in love with the warm, safe, encompassing embrace of alcohol. In the early days of our using lives, we had great fun but self-medication extended for too long leads to habituation and addiction, which then leads to pain and destruction. That coping pattern evolved into a reliance that deepened and progressed to the point of self-destruction. It required deliberate change and support to overcome. At twenty-eight, my addictions had denuded me of everything decent in my life: my financial health, a marriage and custody of my daughter. Substance use disorders prevented me from getting anywhere near my potential. I was worse off than I was at eighteen. Despairing and feeling hopeless I finally sought help from an experienced substance use disorders clinician who helped me find treatment and get into recovery. Experienced clinicians tailor treatment to help clients practice emotional regulation, trauma processing, and better self-care including sleep, exercise, social support and/or mindfulness. Recovery restored all of my addiction related losses and then some. I discovered my talents and was able to form lasting healthy relationships, including a marriage and family. Things that other people said about me, things that stigmatized me turned out to be false: “he’ll never change,” or “he’s just like his father” or “he’s just a drunk/junkie.” Nobody saying those things had any understanding of the travails of my childhood. I know that some had it worse but my childhood was quite traumatic. Every alcoholic addict I’ve ever met has internalized shame that is often perpetuated by many of the people around him/her. The shame prevents the substance user from recognizing his latent abilities and from accessing treatment and recovery. In short, stigma perpetuates addiction. I believe that every addict/alcoholic has the ability to recover. Recovery restores the user to his emotionally and physically healthiest self and provides him with the ability to cope organically with his negative emotions. One goes from the margins of society to a more significant role. Recovery enables the addict/alcoholic to realize his potential. Doesn’t it make sense to better understand, invest in and encourage those with substance use disorders accordingly? Read more about thew Self-Medication Hypothesis here: https://www.psychiatrictimes.com/view/theory-self-medication-and-addiction Read more about the link between trauma and addictions here: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/understanding-addiction/202109/why-trauma-can-lead-to-addiction Previously Published on substack iStock image The post A Better, More Humane Understanding of Addictions appeared first on The Good Men Project. View the full article

The US president hailed the tech billionaire as a “super genius” but said that he should abandon the idea of creating his own political party US President Donald Trump has said he still likes Elon Musk despite their major spat earlier this year. He nonetheless warned that the Tesla CEO’s plans to create his own political party would prove fruitless. “[Musk] is a good person,” Trump told Scott Jennings, the host of the Scott Jennings Show on Salem Radio, on Wednesday. He also referred to the US-based tycoon as a “good man” and a “man of common sense.” Musk supported Trump in the 2024 election and temporarily served as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) before the two had a public falling-out over the president’s “Big Beautiful Bill” spending package. According to the US president, the billionaire is “80% super genius and then 20% he's got some problems.” Trump also stated that he has “always” liked Musk and continues to think of him favorably. Trump nonetheless maintained that Musk’s ambition to create a new US political party would prove fruitless. “What's he going to do? He's going to go with the radical left lunatics? … I don't think he has a choice.” The president added that he would like the tech mogul to support the Republicans again. After resigning from DOGE, the billionaire announced he would start his own political faction to challenge the two-party system and field candidates in the 2026 midterms. Last month, he doubled down on his plan, shooting down a Wall Street Journal piece claiming he had abandoned the idea. He ventured at one point that his America Party would concentrate on the US Congress ahead of the 2026 midterms “but backing a candidate for president is not out of the question.” Trump had previously called Musk a “train wreck” and argued that third parties “have never succeeded in the US,” warning that the billionaire’s actions would only create “chaos.” Speaking about the falling-out with Musk on Wednesday, Trump said that the tech entrepreneur “went off the reservation, and he wished he didn't do it.” Musk has not commented yet on the president’s conciliatory words. View the full article

Karol Nawrocki claims the assurances he got a a meeting in Washington on Wednesday are “unambiguous and strong” Polish President Karol Nawrocki has said his US counterpart Donald Trump has privately offered Warsaw security guarantees while publicly vowing to maintain the American troop presence in the country. Nawrocki made the comments after meeting Trump in Washington on Wednesday, claiming the US president gave him assurances both publicly and behind closed doors. He did not disclose the details of the private commitments, describing them only as “unambiguous and strong.” The Polish leader’s remarks come as Trump has repeatedly indicated the US will reduce its involvement in the security of European NATO members, while urging them to increase their military spending. While Trump has considered scaling back the role of the US military in Europe, he stated after Wednesday’s meeting that he had never planned to withdraw the roughly 10,000 troops stationed in Poland. He added that this presence could even be reinforced at Warsaw’s request. Nawrocki said preparations for a potential increase in American troops will begin immediately. According to him, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Polish National Security Bureau head Slawomir Cenkiewicz were set to start drafting plans. Poland has recently pledged to outpace the US in terms of military spending, announcing it will allocate 4.8% of GDP next year. This figure would surpass Washington’s usual 3.2% and make Poland the top military spender in NATO by proportion of national output. Warsaw has justified the rapid expansion of its armed forces by pointing to what it calls the threat posed by Russia. Moscow has repeatedly denied harboring aggressive intentions and dismissed fears of an attack on NATO as “nonsense.” Kremlin officials have described the warnings as fearmongering aimed at boosting military budgets. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has cautioned that Western leaders are preparing for “a real war against Russia.” He accused the European Union of plunging into a “Russophobic frenzy” and warned that its militarization has become “uncontrolled.” Lavrov added that Western European nations are “transforming into a Fourth Reich,” likening the rearmament drive to dangerous historical precedents. View the full article

📱 Talk to the dead: By 2030, visiting graves will be outdated. A Cambridge researcher predicts AI avatars of dead loved ones will be in our phones, ready for conversation 24/7. From Replika chatbots to funeral apps that let you “attend” your own service, the “digital afterlife industry” is creeping in. Btw, I’m going to share a story about this with you here on Sunday and ask for your advice. The post Talk to the dead appeared first on Komando.com. View the full article

🌍 Fly in Google Earth: Did you know Google Earth has a free built-in flight simulator? Download Google Earth Pro on desktop and launch it with Ctrl + Alt + A (Windows) or ⌘ + Option + A (Mac). Pick your aircraft and starting point (or an airport), then take off. You can fly using either a mouse/keyboard or a joystick. We may earn a commission from purchases, but our recommendations are always objective. The post Fly in Google Earth appeared first on Komando.com. View the full article

How to Keep Going When Your Voice Feels Lost You might think that given all the content I produce that I’ve somehow graduated from the chaos of the creative process. That I’ve transcended the doubt and disarray. That I sit down to write and something clear, potent, and original filters through my fingertips like magic. But you would be wrong. Just this month, I had a day of complete hopelessness. Nothing was working. I was trapped by the double-edged sword of being overwhelmed by the process and underwhelmed by the results of everything I poured myself into. I try so hard. I care so much. And when it still doesn’t land the way I want it to? It’s deflating. What most people don’t tell you is that the process of finding your voice requires you spend more time in mess, in chaos, and in feeling lost than you ever will in clarity. You spend far more time in the unknown than in the known because by nature, when you’re just starting out, the whole world of marketing and building a business is 99% unknown to you. Your job isn’t to know everything right away, it’s to just keep cracking away at that percentage. Most of this work—whether it’s writing your next blog, creating your next program, or clarifying your message—is about learning to operate inside fog. You can’t see very far. You never feel “ready.” And clarity arrives after you take the step into the unknown, not before. So you must learn to move forward when the path is unclear and you don’t know threats ahead, and still trust that you will survive and find your way. An example from my life: Every month, my VA and I produce so much content together. And when it comes to something like the Monthly Muse, which is one of the most meaningful pieces I write, I never plan it too far in advance. I want it to emerge honestly, not artificially. And sometimes when I plan too tightly, it starts to feel forced and disconnected. But because of that, the process is unpredictable. Sometimes I write it the month before. Sometimes the week before. And sometimes… I freak the f*ck out because I have no idea what I’m going to write the night before it’s supposed to go out. But somehow, it always gets done. And not only does it get done, but it keeps getting better. Every single month. Why? Because I trust myself. I trust my VA. And I trust our process. Not because it’s at all predictable or clear, but because we’ve done it 17 times now—and that is enough data to suggest we’ll get the 18th done just fine, too. ~ But here’s the thing about the Monthly Muse: prior to its establishment came a long, long list of first and failed attempts. Years’ worth of false starts. A lot of embarrassing f*ck ups. Many days of frustration and disappointment: beating my head against the wall, unable to see the right next step, wondering why I bother. All of those had to occur in order for me to arrive where I am now, creating something that I’m consistently proud of and that actually reaches people in meaningful ways. The problem is, most people quit before they get here. People don’t quit this process because they’re not capable; none of us are capable to begin with. They quit because they are unprepared. This work is hard—that’s why most people don’t do it. To stay committed to this abstract, immeasurable, ungraspable, fickle thing that wants to come through you, when no one cares and when you don’t even like what you are producing…this requires monumental trust in yourself. Here is what you need to know: It’s a healthy sign if you feel lost in your voice—this means you are being called to find it. When it comes to your voice, you will spend a lot of time feeling lost. The day you stop feeling lost is the day when you have found it. I fully suspect that, for me, that will be the day I die. Chaos is required for your voice to form. Your voice is a bridge between the limitless and the limited, between what’s floating in the ether of imagination and what becomes real, graspable, and felt in the world. Every time you write something, name something, or say something out loud that didn’t exist before, you are translating energy into form. And this process is inherently chaotic. Your ideas don’t arrive in clear bullet points. They arrive in sensations, flashes, images, gut hunches, tangled thoughts, and half-formed sentences. It’s your job to shape them, to choose what stays and what goes. To take something raw and render it meaningful. To give that idea the best and fullest expression possible in the material world. Of course it feels messy. It is messy. You are midwifing something into perception from the depths of the unseen. Your voice forms as a result of being inside this chaos. Not around it, not in spite of it, but through it. So if you expect order from the beginning, you’ll never make it through. The work, therefore, is to stop resisting the mess. To stop thinking it means something has gone wrong. And the more you can get comfortable being in chaos—not fixing it, not controlling it, but walking with it—the more fluent your voice will become in speaking what only you can say. This is what it feels like to do work that matters. You are not failing, you are forming. You cannot shortcut your way into trust. Trust is not a feeling you manufacture. It’s a muscle you build. You can’t mindset your way into it, you can’t NLP it into existence. No affirmation, visualization, or strategy will drop it into your bones that deep. Like any muscle, it gets built through repetition—through failing and finding your way back, over and over again. You get stuck. You think it’s over. You question whether you’ve ever had anything worth saying. You want to quit. And then… somehow… you don’t. Something won’t let you give up, so you give it the good old college try again, and something clicks. Or maybe it doesn’t, but you still show up anyway. Eventually, your nervous system starts to recognize this pattern. Not the pattern of perfect clarity, but the pattern of your own resilience, of your capacity to keep going. Once you have that, your trust is in bloom and there is no longer any reason or need to bail. The problem is, we rob ourselves of the building blocks necessary to create that trust inside us. We do this by not taking action, not allowing failure, not letting ourselves feel lost. These are all fundamental requirements for building trust in the process. We think trust should arrive first, that it’s the starting point. But trust is the reward. It’s what forms when you’ve seen yourself get through the fog more times than you can count. It’s what builds when you’ve survived the cringey posts, the drafts you never publish, the ideas that go nowhere, the days you want to give up. It’s what grows when you realize: I’ve been here before, and I know how to find my way out. So if you’re in it right now—if you feel like you’re flailing in a pile of half-formed thoughts and half-dead confidence—this is not your signal to stop. Instead, this is your rite of passage. Which brings me to the final and most important point: Just keep going. That’s it. That’s the whole secret. It won’t always feel like it’s working. You won’t always feel like you’re growing. There will be long stretches of time where it feels like nothing’s happening at all. Like you’re spinning in circles, saying the same things, wondering if this is still your path—or if it ever even was. But that’s when continuing to show up matters most. Because if you keep showing up—not perfectly, not brilliantly, but just honestly—then something will begin to take shape. A new layer of your voice will start to reveal itself. And even if no one notices right away, you will. You’ll hear yourself say something you didn’t know you knew. You’ll feel something click into place. You’ll read a line back and think—wait… that’s true. And then you’ll realize: you’re not lost anymore. You are just navigating a tricky path. Previously Published on Emergent Voice iStock image The post Surviving the Chaos of Finding Your Voice appeared first on The Good Men Project. View the full article

The next Summer Games are set to begin in the US in July 2028 The Russian Olympic team is preparing for full participation in the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles, Russian Sports Minister Mikhail Degtyaryov told TASS on Thursday. The country’s athletes have gradually been returning to international competitions after years of Ukraine-related restrictions, following recommendations issued by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) shortly after the escalation of the conflict in February 2022. “We are preparing to take part in the 2028 Olympic Games with a full roster,” Degtyaryov told TASS at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok. “We will hold the second summer ‘Spartakiad’ with the strongest athletes,” he added, explaining that “these are our domestic qualifying competitions for the Olympics.” Degtyaryov said Russia “will start looking at all the candidates” for the 2028 Games at next year’s domestic event. The minister has previously condemned what he described as “discrimination” against Russian athletes who have been forced to participate under a neutral flag and barred from competing under their national colors in numerous sports. Last month, Russian swimmers took home 18 medals from the 2025 World Aquatics Championships in Singapore in their first chance to compete since 2016, due to IOC sanctions. Competing under a neutral flag, the team won six golds and placed fourth overall in the medals table. IOC president Kirsty Coventry, who was elected earlier this year, has said she stands against banning countries from the Olympics over conflicts. “Ultimately I believe that it’s best for our movement to ensure that we have all athletes represented,” she told Sky News in March, adding that she will open a “discussion” on allowing Russians at the Games once again. Moscow has repeatedly described the IOC sanctions as a perversion of the Olympic Charter, which is ostensibly intended to keep the Games free of politics. View the full article

Here’s how a familiar Russian warning morphed into a Western story about targeting peacekeepers When Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke on Friday, he issued his familiar warning: any foreign troops entering Ukraine during active fighting would be considered “legitimate targets.” Yet Western media ran with a drastically different narrative – suggesting he was threatening peacekeepers, not just combatants. That framing missed a crucial distinction. In the same remarks, Putin separately addressed the idea of postwar peacekeeping forces, saying they would be unnecessary once a settlement was reached. Within hours, Western headlines turned those words into something much starker – a supposed threat against European “peacekeepers.” By erasing the context that Putin had separated conflict intervention from postwar scenarios, much of the press presented a conditional statement as intimidating. What Putin actually said Putin’s remarks drew a clear line between two situations. Speaking of the conflict as it stands, he said: “If some troops appear there [in Ukraine], especially now during military operations, we proceed from the fact that these will be legitimate targets for destruction.” This was a reiteration of Russia’s long-stated position: any foreign forces fighting alongside Kiev would be treated as combatants. Later, he addressed the idea of international peacekeepers in the event of a settlement: “And if decisions are reached that lead to peace, to long-term peace, then I simply do not see any sense in their presence on the territory of Ukraine, full stop.” In other words, once hostilities end, the presence of foreign troops would be irrelevant because they would not be needed – not because they would be attacked. What Western media reported The crucial distinction in Putin’s remarks – between wartime combatants and postwar peacekeepers – was blurred in coverage. The Washington Post explicitly collapsed the two scenarios, writing that “any foreign military troops deployed to Ukraine – even for peacekeeping – would be considered targets.” By inserting “peacekeeping” into the “legitimate targets” line, the paper presented Putin as threatening stabilizing forces that might only arrive after a settlement. The Financial Times published the headline: “Foreign troops in Ukraine would be ‘legitimate targets’ for Russia, Putin warns.” While the article noted elsewhere that Putin dismissed the need for peacekeepers after a deal, the headline stripped away the condition and implied a sweeping threat. The BBC headlined its story: “Putin says EU troops in Ukraine would be legitimate targets.” Without the qualifier “during military operations,” the piece left readers with the impression that all EU deployments, including peacekeepers, would be targeted. The Guardian summed it up as: “Putin threatens Western troops in Ukraine.” Again, no mention of the wartime vs. postwar distinction, effectively merging peacekeepers and combatants into a single hostile category. In each case, coverage framed Putin as if he had rejected any Western presence in Ukraine, even under a peace deal. The nuance – that his threat applied only to wartime combatants – was stripped away. Why it matters This shift in framing has significant consequences. Diplomatically, it paints Russia as unwilling to tolerate even postwar stabilization forces, which narrows the range of perceived options for negotiation. For public opinion, it reinforces the view that Moscow is hostile, potentially hardening attitudes against ceasefire or peacekeeping initiatives. And for journalism itself, it illustrates how stripping away conditions in pursuit of the narrative can distort meaning and erode trust. Bottom line Putin’s remarks drew a clear boundary: foreign soldiers fighting in Ukraine during the conflict would be treated as legitimate targets, while peacekeepers after a settlement would be unnecessary. By collapsing those two scenarios into one, Western media reframed a conditional warning into a sweeping threat – turning a repeat of long-standing policy into another headline of Russian aggression. View the full article

True Freedom is what allows us to have real love and supportive, healthy relationships. But freedom can be confusing when it’s seen as an external rather than an internal quest. Today’s guest talks about the surprising connection between freedom and commitment, and how you can be free in romantic relationships. True Freedom Creates Real Love: Show Notes Freedom is an important value people talk about in coaching sessions. And it’s not always easy to figure out how to feel free while dating, or in a romantic relationship. Freedom is not just about being able to do what you want, when you want, with who you want. That kind of freedom can erode trust and create disconnection. True freedom is different, and it’s often more internal than external. Erich Fromm, a well-known German psychologist born in 1900, wrote many books, one of them called: Escape from Freedom. His theory was that there are two kinds of freedom — Freedom From and Freedom To. He describes “Freedom from” as the absence of obstacles or constraints to one’s own action. And by contrast, “freedom to” is the possibility to autonomously determine and achieve individual or collective purposes. The freedom to be yourself, and to create and co-create experiences that are meaningful to you is something most of us can’t do without. But how do we do that and stay connected with another person who is also doing this? Today’s Practicing Love podcast guest, Bodhi Aldridge, is a coach and consultant who works to help people find true freedom and have a profound impact. He is both practical and spiritual. He has worked with leaders at Google, Amazon, Netflix, Goldman Sachs and more. In our rich and heartfelt conversation we discussed: The pain of recreating patterns with a partner that we had with our mom, dad, or parenting figure What happens when a partner doesn’t feel seen or valued and how to shift that The roles we can unconsciously fall into that create drama — the victim, hero, and villain The power of allowing your partner to call you into a more mature version of yourself The parts of the hero’s journey: wake up, clean up, grow up, show up, open up What it’s like to have a relationship where the divine masculine and feminine are embodied How to access true freedom through commitment One of the fastest ways to come back to each other when you disconnect from someone you care about Creating authentic relationships Bodhi is a deep hearted, inspiring man who does the work in his relationship to become reverent and intimate with his wife. I highly recommend listening to this episode. And if you want more of Bodhi, check out our Man Alive podcast on where to find true freedom! If you have topics you’d like covered, or aha’s from listening to these episodes, I’d love to hear them! Links: Connect with Shana James Best love and sex of your life quiz Get a Free copy of Honest Sex: A Passionate Path to Deepen Connection and Keep Relationships Alive. Whether you’re dating or in a relationship it shows you how to take the self-doubt, struggle and shame out of your love life. Honest Sex Website Curious what you’d need to become a better leader and lover? Take the quiz For Women: Modern dating doesn’t have to be a nightmare for women Connect with Bodhi BodhiAldridge.com Bio: Bodhi guides impactful leaders worldwide on their quest to true freedom. He is on a mission to lead those entangled in life’s complexities toward genuine connection and profound impact. His core philosophy asserts that “everyone has magnificence within them – it just has to be remembered.” He has worked with leaders at Google, Amazon, Netflix, Goldman Sachs and more. — Previously Published on shanajamescoaching.com The post True Freedom Creates Real Love – Bodhi Aldridge appeared first on The Good Men Project. View the full article