American Women Suck

As you may have heard, in order to justify the recent military occupation of the nation’s capital, Donald Trump alleges that the D.C. Metropolitan police department has been lying about crime numbers in the District. Supposedly, they’ve been cooking the books to make it seem as though crime has been dropping dramatically, even though “everyone knows” that D.C. is, as Stephen Miller puts it, “more dangerous than Baghdad.” And by “everyone,” they mean that guy, “Big Balls” from DOGE, who got his ass kicked by a 15-year-old would-be carjacker a couple of weeks ago, prompting Trump to call in the troops. Anyway, although the D.C. police may have provided inaccurate numbers that downplay the extent of crime in the District — I mean, lying is sorta what cops do, and if it makes them look better at their job than they are, all the more incentive, I guess — still, the president hasn’t provided evidence to that effect. Just like he can’t provide numbers to counter the embarrassing ones from the Labor Department, indicating how anemic job creation has been in recent months, which led him to fire the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Oh, and speaking of the BLS. I agree that the Labor Department’s statisticians have a problem with accuracy, but not when it comes to the monthly job creation count. Despite regular revisions, sometimes up and sometimes down, they generally do a pretty respectable job on that front, and whatever difficulties they have getting it right stem more from non-cooperation by employers and industries surveyed for the monthly projections than from anything internal to the BLS itself. The same cannot be said, however, for the way the Bureau handles unemployment data, specifically unemployment by race and ethnicity. Here, they have long presented data on that subject in a way that diminishes the extent of racial inequality in the job market, and especially the ongoing massive advantages enjoyed by white Americans when it comes to finding work. So here’s the deal. Taking a look at the most recent job numbers for July 2025, you notice that even in the official data there are racial gaps in unemployment that are meaningful and troubling: 7.9 percent for Black folks and 5.1 percent for Latinos, compared to a much smaller 4 percent for whites, meaning that according to the BLS, Black unemployment is just a bit shy of double the rate for whites, while Hispanic unemployment is about one-fourth higher than the rate for white Americans. But in reality, things are worse than this. The fact is, the Labor Department essentially double-counts Hispanic folks. First, they pull them out in a category of their own, so we can get a sense of the unemployment status of persons in the Latino community, which makes sense. But then they also fold Hispanics into the three main racial groups for whom data is provided: Whites, Blacks, and Asian Americans. They do this because, as they note, Hispanics can be members of any racial category and are not a separate race, per se. As it turns out, according to a methodological note in the department’s annual report, Labor Force Characteristics by Race and Ethnicity, nearly 9 in 10 (89 percent) of Hispanics in Labor Department data are classified as white, racially. Meaning they will also be included in the totals for whites in the workforce and among whites who are unemployed. Here’s that receipt from the most recent annual report: Press enter or click to view image in full size Labor Force Characteristics by Race and Ethnicity, 2023 Why that’s a problem should be obvious. If Latinos are more likely to be unemployed than non-Hispanic white folks (and they are), then folding 89 percent of those Latinos into the white numbers, rather than disaggregating the white totals and presenting a number for non-Hispanic whites specifically, will artificially inflate the unemployment numbers for white people. This will then artificially diminish the evidence of racial disparity in the job market, making the problem of inequality seem much smaller than it is. Let’s take a look at how the BLS distorts the truth in its latest monthly employment report. First, let’s look at the numbers for persons in the civilian labor force, for whites (including the Latinos who are folded in with the white group), and then for Blacks and Asians. The labor force number is the important first step because this number will be the basis for calculating the unemployment rate, once we get to the number of unemployed persons below. Here’s the data for whites (again, including 89 percent of Hispanics in the labor force): Press enter or click to view image in full size “The Employment Situation — July 2025” As you can see, there are 129.5 million “whites” in the labor force. But now we need to figure out how many of these aren’t really white in the sense most people consider the term, because if we’re trying to get an idea about the labor market position of whites compared to people of color, it makes no sense to have large numbers of those people of color actually sitting in the white group’s data. So what does that data look like? It’s here: Press enter or click to view image in full size “The Employment Situation — July 2025” As you can see, there were roughly 34.6 million Latinos in the civilian labor force in July. And if 89 percent of those are classified as white, that means 30.8 million of those Hispanics are also to be found back in the white column in the previous table, and would need to be extracted from it to get a sense of the number of “real whites” in the labor force. When we do that calculation, it leaves us with 98.7 million whites (non-Hispanic) in the labor market. Then here are the numbers for Blacks and Asians: 22.3 million and 12.6 million, respectively. Press enter or click to view image in full size Press enter or click to view image in full size Now, let’s get the unemployment numbers. For simplicity’s sake, I am using the non-seasonally adjusted numbers; however, you could also use the seasonally adjusted ones, and the results wouldn’t change the trajectory of the argument I’m making below. The numbers themselves would be slightly different for all groups, but the racial disparities would remain functionally the same. According to the BLS, there were 5.15 million “whites” unemployed in July, but again, this includes lots of Latinos who are classified racially as white. There were 1.78 million Latinos unemployed that month, and if 89 percent of those are classified as white, then roughly 1.6 million of these would need to be backed out of the white unemployment numbers to give us an accurate picture of how many non-Hispanic whites are out of work. That means that rather than 5.15 million unemployed whites, the real number is more like 3.55 million. So there are 1.6 million fewer unemployed white people than the BLS would have us believe! That same month, there were 1.77 million unemployed African Americans and 524,000 unemployed Asian Americans. Next, we can determine the unemployment rates for each group. In the officially released data, “white” unemployment was 4 percent, but that was when 1.6 million out-of-work Latinos were still in the white column. By backing them out, the white unemployment rate for July drops almost a half a point to 3.6 percent (3.55 million/98.7 million) This means that rather than Black unemployment being 1.9 times greater than white unemployment the actual ratio is 2.2 to 1 (7.9 to 3.6) Hispanic unemployment, rather than being 1.25 times higher than white unemployment is really 1.4 times higher (5.1 to 3.6), and even Asian American unemployment, which was essentially the same as for whites in the official data, is about 17 percent higher than for whites (4.1 to 3.6). While these may seem like relatively minor alterations, in truth, they represent evidence that the racial gaps in labor market outcomes remain wildly unequal, and more so than is imagined. If the Labor Department is exaggerating white unemployment by more than a million and a half people each month, they are contributing to the white racial grievance fueling much of MAGA at present, and diminishing the reality of white advantage relative to folks of color. None of this is to say that millions of white people aren’t hurting. They are, to be sure, struggling with the costs of healthcare, higher education, rent, groceries, and everything else. But in a nation where white people are being told we are the new victims, the forgotten, and the left behind, the data correction serves as a stark reminder of how nonsensical that argument is. Black folks, Latinos, and Asian Americans, too, continue to have a harder time finding work than whites. And by the way, according to that annual report I mentioned earlier — a new one of which should be released within a few months — even when those folks of color have college degrees they are between 25 and 67 percent more percent likely to be out of work than their white counterparts in most years (again, once Latinos are backed out of the white totals). So when you hear Trump and his supporters complaining about “fake data” when it comes to crime or job creation numbers, remember, they have no receipts. But when it comes to downplaying racial disparity in America, the data is as phony as the president’s business acumen. We need an honest conversation about racial disparity and the way official data minimizes the problem. What we don’t need are white grievance grifters and racists acting like we are the ones being marginalized. Stop whining. Facts matter. — Previously Published on Medium iStock image The post Here’s How Government Data Minimizes Racial Inequality appeared first on The Good Men Project. View the full article

Bodybuilding is stupid. Sports are supposed to make you healthier, but competitive bodybuilding is one of the only sports that shortens your lifespan instead. There probably isn’t a single professional bodybuilder today who hasn’t tried some sort of “enhancement” such as HGH, IGH, TRT or whatever other three-letter anabolic steroid that’s illegal somewhere. It’s rampant amongst fitness influencers, too, making the rest of us feel smaller and smaller every time we open a social media app. What’s worse is that the standard of what’s considered muscular or aesthetic has become more and more caricaturized over time, a phenomenon known today as “physique inflation.” Wolverine, the X-Men character played by Hugh Jackman, has always been known to be very muscular, right? Just look at this incredible physique from 2024’s Deadpool & Wolverine: Hugh Jackman’s role as Wolverine throughout the years has made society collectively associate him with muscles so much that he’s sometimes called “Huge Jacked Man.” Remember him in the first X-Men movie in 2000? Yes, that physique used to be considered muscular enough for a superhero in a Hollywood movie. Most of us today are finding that hard to believe because of how Marvel just made everyone bigger and bigger over the years. Physique inflation is giving us body dysmorphia. Let’s talk about bodybuilding again for a second. You might not think you will ever have the physique of a bodybuilder. But what if I told you that you already do? Or that it’s actually achievable? Take a look at this 32-second Youtube Short:  And take a look at some of the comments: When bodybuilding didn’t give you heart attacks by 45 — @lumberjackagies5158 Healthy equals attractive. Being unnaturally muscular can be unhealthy. As a women I don’t think women find modern body builders attractive. I think women love fit men but not the once on steroids. It’s the men who are obsessed with that. — @BookNooksandpages Being unnaturally muscular can be unattractive. As a woman, the men in 1941 are my personal preference in men, they’re really attractive. — @itzelmontalvo6645 Being healthily muscular to a realistic degree (which you probably already are) is more attractive. Women prefer this. — @brittney3156 Most women will confirm this. Even when I was a little girl, whenever I would see a bodybuilder on the cover of a magazine, I was INSTANTLY scared of them. I’d point and ask, “what’s wrong with him? Why are his veins trying to pop out of his skin??” — @justyouraveragebaka9493 We’re talking about instinctual reactions here. News flash: this is what women(and gay men) prefer. It looks natural, it looks good, the guys look like they actually enjoy themselves and would be fun to be around. — @Smitywerban Gym bros want to get so big that people question if they’re natty or not. Maybe it’ll be better if they don’t. Back then, the women admired the bodybuilders. Now, it’s just the men that admire them. — @creating_in_the_clouds Just look at the thirsty women in the crowd of that Youtube Short. You’ll be hard-pressed to find those kinds of women’s reactions in bodybuilding competition audiences today. I assume. Realizing that those kinds of physiques are optimal for attractiveness can help with our body dysmorphia. My physique is not mid, I prefer the term “vintage” — @WAVE0025 Bro’s waking up. Remenber you dont have a mid physique you just got a bodybuilder one from 8 decades ago — @_kevin_7534 You’re already on par with our reproductively successful forefathers. Body dismorphia is a real thing I’ve dealt with on my weight lifting journey, this video definitely helps — @phillipmerrell7908 We have more knowledge today that makes it easier for us to grow more muscle and shred more fat, so those 1941 bodies are easily attainable for us regular able-bodied dudes even after just a year or two of lifting. All we need is a little consistency and self-discipline. In fact, there’s a good chance that many of you reading this already look really similar to those competitors. Bodybuilders back in the day had only a small fraction of the knowledge we have today. Hell, it wasn’t even until 2023 that science discovered that spot training actually exists. With the resources we have available today, the only reason you wouldn’t look as fit as those 1941 competitors is that you simply don’t want it enough. If you want it enough, you’d search the internet for the science and recommended plans and easily find a mountain of them to try for yourself. Even if you don’t have the money to hire a trainer to find the best personalized plan for you, you will eventually find one that works well enough if you just try a bunch of stuff that’s out there. The same goes for dating, seduction, flirting, courtship, game, rizz, c*ck marketing, or whatever you want to call it. There are a ton of resources available to us today that just didn’t exist a long time ago. Anyone who wants to attract women with orgasmic proficiency can learn how to do exactly that, no matter how they look. Even if you don’t have the money to hire a dating coach like me to find the best personalized plan for you, there are books that can teach you everything you need to know. Have you ever struggled with body dysmorphia, thinking that you’re too small when you look in the mirror? Share your thoughts and experiences in the comments. — This post was previously published on ILLUMINATION. *** You might also like these from The Good Men Project: .. In Modern Relationships, We Cheat Every Single Day Compliments Men Would Love to Hear More Often .10 Things Good Men Should Never Do in a Relationship It’s Not Just Sex That He is Longing For. It’s This 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 Gym Bros: This Will Demolish Your Body Dysmorphia appeared first on The Good Men Project. View the full article

NFL fans, listen up: Week one is your shot to play FREE and stack a million-dollar cash bag with DraftKings Pick6. Download the DraftKings Pick6 app (iOS, Android), use code: KIMK. The post NFL fans, listen up appeared first on Komando.com. View the full article

The previously released recording on the night of the sex offender’s death jumped by one minute to midnight A US congressional committee has released the “missing minute” from security camera footage outside convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein’s prison cell on the night of his death. Its existence contradicts Attorney General Pam Bondi’s earlier assertion that one minute was deleted every day at midnight upon camera reset. The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee released more than 33,000 pages related to the Epstein case on Tuesday, amid mounting pressure on US President Donald Trump’s administration. The Justice Department (DOJ) and FBI have to date insisted that the late financier kept no ‘client list’ for his pedophile ring. Previously released surveillance footage from Epstein’s cell block was missing one minute, from 11:59pm to midnight on August 9-10, sparking widespread speculation and accusations of a cover-up. His death has been officially ruled a suicide. In the newly released video, shortly after 11:59, a man steps away from the guard desk and walks off screen. The limited field of view of the security camera does not show the entrance to Epstein’s cell. The missing minute from Jeffrey Epstein’s surveillance footage has finally been released. The original tape jumped from 11:58 p.m. straight to midnight—but the recovered clip reveals guards walking toward Epstein’s cell at 11:59:39, just seconds before midnight. pic.twitter.com/fi4yXML24X — Shadow of Ezra (@ShadowofEzra) September 2, 2025 The absence of a lapse in the recording contradicts the explanation previously given by Bondi. “What we learned from Bureau of Prisons was every night the video is reset, and every night should have the same minute missing,” she told journalists in July. The newly released video is missing its metadata – technical information normally embedded in a file, that could help confirm that it was raw, unedited footage. The “missing minute” is also far lower in quality, has a reduced framerate, and a different on-screen text format, CBS News said on Wednesday, citing video forensics experts. The DOJ’s and the FBI’s conclusion that Epstein kept no “incriminating client list” has provoked widespread backlash from lawmakers and prominent commentators. Trump, who had promised to release the Epstein files during his reelection campaign, has hit back at criticism over his handling of the case, arguing that only “stupid people” insist on seeing the sex trafficker’s supposed client list. View the full article

ByJill Ettinger After three seasons of And Just Like That… feeling like an awkward Thanksgiving dinner, the finale gets one thing right: pie is always a perfect ending. Let’s face it. For three seasons, And Just Like That… has been the television equivalent of an awkward Thanksgiving dinner. The kind where the seating plan makes no sense, the conversation swings between oddly intimate and strangely evasive, and you’re never entirely sure who’s bringing what to the table. There were moments of warmth, yes, but also moments when you’d have happily excused yourself to “check on the rolls” and never returned. Which is why the finale’s focus on pie felt less like a plot device and more like an intervention. Carrie spends the episode making stealth deliveries across Manhattan: pumpkin here, pecan there, a gluten-free situation for Seema. No one is herded into the same room. No one has to pretend they’re fine while someone monologues about their spiritual awakening. She hands over the box, smiles, and leaves like the relative who knows how to arrive with a gift and depart before anyone can ask her to carve the turkey (or, in this case, take it out of the oven before it’s fully cooked). Anthony gets his pie with a side of reconciliation, which feels on-brand: sweet, a little messy, probably best eaten quickly before it changes its mind. Charlotte’s comes destined for sitting atop fine china, because of course it does. Miranda’s arrives like a peace treaty; for a woman who has ping-ponged through professional crises and relationship plotlines the entirety of the series, a fork and a slice are a better therapy session than anything we’ve seen her attend. Lisa Todd Wexley’s delivery is accompanied by a command from Herbert to sit down, which may be the most romantic moment in the episode. And Seema, casually waving off gluten, accepts hers with the kind of ease that makes you suspect she has an entirely separate dessert already waiting at home. Pie is among the great unifiers of strained gatherings. It is not cake in the slightest, but instead marries the bitter and the sweet, the tart, the creamy — it lets you decide your own portion and how much of the crust you’re committing to. It’s equally at home in a fridge raid at midnight as it is under a cloche in a dining room Charlotte would approve of. And in a series that has occasionally overexplained itself into exhaustion, pie is pure economy. It closed out every subplot without reopening wounds. We don’t need Carrie to talk through her feelings — we see her fork in the tin, Barry White on the karaoke machine, and understand more than any monologue could give us. Choosing pie over champagne was the show’s only true brilliance (besides Shoe). Champagne is for performance: the clink, the sparkle, the group photo. Pie is for honesty. Champagne says look at us. Pie says you’re fine. And after three years of watching the show try to be all things to all people, the latter feels like the most grounded decision it made. The revival has been, like many family meals, a mix of the baffling, the unexpectedly touching, and the dishes you wish had been left in the kitchen. But in the final minutes, the noise dies down, the plates are cleared, and something everyone actually wants lands on the table. Pie can’t fix an undercooked plot or revive a missing character, but it can make you leave the table feeling better than you arrived. And in the awkward dinner party that has been And Just Like That…, that’s a sweet triumph. Previously Published on The Ethos iStock image The post Pie Is the One Thing ‘And Just Like That…’ Got Absolutely Right appeared first on The Good Men Project. View the full article

The vessel was sunk trying to cross the Dnepr River, the Defense Ministry in Moscow has reported Russian forces have destroyed a Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance group on the Dnepr river, the Defense Ministry in Moscow reported on Thursday. According to the ministry, Russian drone operators keep watch over the river constantly to prevent enemy units from crossing it. In the latest example, scouts spotted a speedboat with Ukrainian soldiers in the island zone at the mouth of the river. Russian forces dispatched FPV drones to intercept the craft and carried out a series of strikes that hit the vessel as it tried to move deeper into the channel. The ministry released a video showing multiple impacts on the boat and the moment it was disabled in the delta. Repeated explosions on the target can be seen as Ukrainian saboteurs tried to escape. The motorboat was sunk and the sabotage group was eliminated, the Defense Ministry has said. Moscow has reported stopping similar attempts by Ukrainian units to infiltrate Russia. Last month, the Federal Security Service reported detaining a group of Ukrainian saboteurs in Bryansk Region. It was reported that the individuals were Western-trained and carried US-made assault rifles, Czech-made explosives, and a large number of NATO-type grenades and cartridges. The captured soldiers confessed to involvement in blowing up railway tracks in Russia and preparing other attacks, according to the FSB. View the full article

“Sometimes you will create self-imposed deadlines, and you won’t make them. You then become your harshest critic and head down a shame spiral.” — Jadah Sellner, She Builds Does this sound familiar? If so, stop it! Starting now. What might you do instead? Something a little more constructive perhaps… “This is when you must ask for more time from yourself,” advises Sellner in her beautiful book, She Builds; the Anti-Hustle Guide to Grow Your Business and Nourish Your Life. “Don’t give up,” Sellner says. “Take a beat, then assess why you didn’t make the deadline, adjust your approach as needed, and reset your pace. Don’t put a timeline on your dreams. We are human, so we won’t always get the timing right for how long things will take us. Find graceful ways to extend the timeline and create more space in your decisions and deliverables.” As to how to adjust your approach, consider this potent piece of advice by James Clear, author of Atomic Habits; An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits and Break Bad Ones: “Forget about goals, focus on systems instead.” Whoa! So what’s the difference between systems and goals? “Goals are about the results you want to achieve,” explains Clear. “Systems are about the processes that lead to those results.” Process is the magic word. If you set a deadline for yourself to achieve a specific goal by a specific date—and miss meeting that deadline, you can, of course, simply extend the deadline…but if you find yourself missing that deadline and then the next one and so on, then it might be time to take a step back and take a good look at your system/s. Do you even have a system? If so, great. Might there be a way to fine tune it a little so that it, you know, works better? If you don’t have a system in place, you might want to make one. “We think we need to change our results,” explains Clear. “But the results are not the problem. What we really need to change are the systems that cause those results.” “Fix the inputs and the outputs will fix themselves.” James Clear, Atomic Habits Meeting a self-imposed deadline is an output. So if you are setting yourself self-imposed deadlines that you are genuinely working towards and yet repeatedly not meeting, don’t beat yourself up. The problem may not be you. The problem might simply be that you haven’t set up an efficient system for yourself that will enable you to meet those deadlines. The next time you find yourself sailing past a self-imposed deadline, don’t get mad at yourself for missing it. Again. As Sellner says, we’re human…we’re not always going to get the timing right. What we can get right is our system. Figure out what works for YOU…your day, your life, your dreams, your schedule. Then just keep showing up, day after day, and doing what needs to be done. Let your focus be on the process versus the goal. Whatever you do, please don’t give up. Our guess on timing might not always be right; but the timing itself always is. — iStock image The post What to Do When You Don’t Meet Your Self-Imposed Deadline…Again appeared first on The Good Men Project. View the full article

[In this extended series, I want to explain what meaning is, why it comes and goes, how it loses its luster, and what you can do to experience its reenchantment. I hope you’ll follow me on Substack, enjoy my book Redesign Your Mind, and preorder my latest offerings, Brave New Mind and Night Brilliance. This series is called “The Reenchantment of Meaning.” I hope you find it valuable.] Let’s begin with a mind experiment. Picture the following five scenarios. A father has taken his child to the park. He loves being there on these Saturday morning outings, he’s brought snacks, he’s silenced his phone, and he is looking forward to watching his daughter play. He experiences this time as meaningful. A second father does not enjoy these outings at all. He accomplishes them in a grumpy manner and at his wife’s command. His spends his time grimly, not chatting, not thinking, and feeling generally critical and out of sorts. He spends a lot of his time yelling at his daughter to be more careful while looking for an excuse to leave. A third father, maybe the most typical of the three, has no particular love for this Saturday outing but doesn’t dread it, either. It is rather meaning neutral. To make the time pass, he is on his phone constantly. It isn’t that his phone interludes feel particularly meaningful to him; rather, they are somewhere between soothing and addictive. And so, the time passes. A fourth father has no special love for this time with his daughter but makes use of it by working on his screenplay while his daughter plays. He finds working on his screenplay meaningful, but against what one might call a backdrop of meaninglessness. Each time he stops writing, he remembers where he is—somewhere he would rather not be. A fifth father experiences “double meaning.” He is happy to be with his daughter and finds going to the playground meaningful in its own right. At the same time, he relishes working on his screenplay while his child cavorts. That screenplay work is also experienced as meaningful. His time is not “more meaningful” than father number one, but it is a fascinating alternative, to have two experiences of meaning at once. Fathers one and five are all set, meaning-wise. The first is content just to be where he is; he is rather the poster boy for parenting and the Zen ideal of a parent. The fifth is experiencing meaning on two fronts and is maybe the contemporary ideal of a fulfilled person, able to live multiple life purposes “at the same time.” Fathers three, four, and five are having meaning problems, of which they are likely unaware. They might report restlessness, discontent, apathy, grumpiness, agitation—the “symptoms” of a meaning problem—without either identifying the problem as being in the domain of meaning or even quite knowing that they have a problem. But they do. Isn’t the fifth way—the way of the father who is loving fathering and who is also loving writing—an interesting picture? Doesn’t it suggest where we might be heading in our discussion of the reenchantment of meaning? Let’s continue next week! ** BRAVE NEW MIND Summary Review By Tal Gur What if cultivating a calmer, more purpose-driven mind could transform how you live in this overcharged world? Brave New Mind by Eric Maisel offers just that — a bold invitation to build inner serenity and clarity in an age of chaos. What is the Book About? In Brave New Mind, psychologist and creativity coach Eric Maisel presents a roadmap for developing what he calls “serene readiness”—a mental state combining alertness, calm, and meaning. Drawing on rising global levels of stress, anxiety, and existential overwhelm, Maisel proposes that medication alone isn’t enough. Instead, he teaches readers to actively strengthen the mind through mindset shifts, purposeful practices, and inner work tailored to today’s pressures. Structured with clarity and compassion, the book delves into how we can handle life’s challenges—from depression and anxiety to addiction and meaninglessness—without succumbing to despair. Through hands‑on techniques and philosophical guidance, Maisel empowers readers to craft a new kind of mental resilience, anchored in personal purpose and emotional balance. Book Details Language: English Genre: Self‑help / Psychology / Mental Health Book Author Eric Maisel is a California‑licensed therapist, widely recognized as the founding figure in creativity coaching. With over forty books and decades of experience supporting creative thinkers and seekers, he has dedicated his career to helping people find purpose, clarity, and calm amid modern psychological turbulence. His blend of existential philosophy and practical mental training makes him uniquely suited to guide readers in cultivating a mind that’s both alert and serene. *** Core Theme At its heart, Brave New Mind argues that cultivating a mind of “serene readiness” is essential in today’s high-pressure world. Maisel challenges the dominance of reactive mental health models, urging readers to develop mental muscle—tools and habits that allow one to face anxiety, addiction, and existential fatigue with clarity and fortitude. This approach is about active mind‑making, not passive self‑help. Inspired by his background in critical psychology and coaching, Maisel emphasizes meaning as a core pillar. He encourages readers to create a life worth living on their own terms, rather than simply coping. His message: don’t just endure mental hardship—engage with it creatively, intentionally—and transform it into personal growth and purpose. Main Lessons A few impactful summary lessons from Brave New Mind: Mastering the Art and Practice of Serene Readiness in Stressful Times: Train Your Mind for Serene Readiness Daily The core idea of a “brave new mind” rests on cultivating what Eric Maisel calls “serene readiness”—a state where calm acceptance of the world’s harsh realities merges with a steady preparedness to act meaningfully. This isn’t about ignoring problems or surrendering passively; instead, it’s about learning to live with full awareness of our turbulent times while remaining anchored in a personal sense of purpose. Just like a runner poised at the start line, the goal is to be composed yet prepared for any moment that demands action, no matter how big or small. Every moment becomes an opportunity to honor our inner directives, regardless of whether we’re facing an existential dilemma or navigating a regular Tuesday. Surrender to Complexity Without Losing Coherence In a world that bombards us with unrelenting layers of contradiction, paradox, and fragmentation, we must accept complexity as our baseline. Life is no longer something we can easily categorize or make sense of in simple terms. Our brave new mind, therefore, must be trained to remain functional and calm even when life ceases to make coherent sense. Whether grappling with political chaos, climate devastation, or personal doubts about meaning, we must relinquish the illusion of order without succumbing to despair. This mindset accepts that complexity is here to stay, and rather than trying to untangle every knot, it simply stands steady in the storm. Escape Is a Fantasy That Undermines Readiness Modern people often flirt with fantasies of escape—from off-grid cabins to digital nomadism—but such romanticized detachment is neither practical nor psychologically sustainable. As Maisel reveals, trying to check out of society or reality doesn’t liberate us; it isolates us and often leads to deeper despair. Our brave new mind cannot afford to retreat. Instead, it must stay rooted, engaged, and inwardly calm, facing reality head-on even when it is unpleasant or painful. The lure of escape may seem like freedom, but true freedom is found in facing life fully and choosing purpose in the midst of its mess. Prime Directives Guide the Mind’s Dynamic Flow The human mind operates through a continuous stream of thoughts and feelings that Maisel calls “dynamic succession.” Without direction, this stream can spiral into chaos, despair, or aimless wandering. That’s why it’s essential to adopt and internalize “prime directives”—personal life principles that act like guardrails, helping steer the mind toward what matters. Whether it’s “Do the next right thing” or “First, do no harm,” these directives offer a compass to guide us through emotional turbulence, decision-making, and daily living. They help focus attention, instill intentionality, and anchor us in values that outlast momentary confusion. Mental Resilience Must Be Proactively Cultivated The mental challenges of our era—addiction, depression, anxiety, despair—are not passing illnesses but systemic signals of psychological collapse. We can’t wait for governments, therapists, or pharmaceutical companies to fix us. We must take ownership of our inner life, train our minds, and build the internal structures that sustain resilience. This means becoming our own inner referee or hall monitor, capable of noticing when our mental stream veers off course and redirecting it back toward serenity. Just as athletes train their bodies, we must train our minds to hold up under existential weight. Modern Life Is Weaponizing Distraction Our era is defined by mindless trance—hours lost in screens, games, and social media—that sedates rather than soothes. We’ve traded thoughtful reflection for dopamine-fueled distraction, making ourselves vulnerable to manipulation and mental erosion. Maisel doesn’t merely warn against screen time; he shows how it becomes an unconscious surrender of self. The brave new mind stands in opposition to this trance state. It notices when distraction is hijacking awareness and chooses, instead, mindful engagement with life—even when life is uncomfortable, uncertain, or less entertaining. Empathy and Connection Are Rapidly Declining A striking symptom of our age is the erosion of empathy. From medical students becoming desensitized during training to digital communication weakening face-to-face bonds, we are collectively caring less. This emotional coldness is exacerbated by media, technology, political division, and stress overload. The brave new mind recognizes that this loss of empathy isn’t just cultural—it’s deeply personal. It hurts to be uncared for and to care less ourselves. That’s why cultivating genuine empathy, even as a radical act of resistance, becomes crucial for preserving humanity amid widespread emotional detachment. The Human Species Must Face Its Own Nature Human nature is not uniformly noble or rational. Maisel calls attention to our built-in tendencies toward self-sabotage, envy, pettiness, and contradiction. We often act against our own self-interest and let grudges, fears, or compulsions rule us. But the brave new mind doesn’t moralize or despair over this. Instead, it acknowledges the layered reality of personality—our original impulses, formed habits, and available potential—and calls us to step into that space of possibility where awareness and choice live. That’s where true change begins, in our available personality, in our capacity to grow beyond what we’ve always been. Psychological Collapse Is a Global Epidemic Statistics of depression, suicide, anxiety, and substance abuse point to a sobering truth: people are breaking under modern pressures. Whether it’s the economic strain of a shrinking middle class, the despair of climate degradation, or the destabilizing effect of endless information, the human mind is overloaded and under-supported. But rather than reducing these crises to diagnoses or symptoms to medicate, Maisel argues that we need to see them as existential red flags. The mind must be restructured to survive—and that means returning to personal responsibility, inner work, and a new kind of philosophical clarity. Serenity Is Not Passive but Empowered Awareness True serenity is not found in detachment, avoidance, or denial. Instead, it is a cultivated state of inner stillness that exists right alongside engagement, purpose, and action. Maisel defines serenity as a mind where peaceful thoughts abound—not because nothing is happening, but because the mind is trained to respond with clarity, ethics, and emotional steadiness. Serene readiness is not an escape—it’s the optimal mental condition for living with intention in a world that demands too much and gives too little. It is the union of peace and readiness that makes this mindset revolutionary. Key Takeaways Key summary takeaways from the book: You can build mental resilience beyond medication through intentional mindset work. Serene readiness combines calm attentiveness with purposeful meaning-making. Handling anxiety and depression starts with structured mental habits and self‑care rituals. Personal life purpose matters—it fuels inner strength and clarity. You don’t have to accept anxiety as normal—you can reshape your response to stress. Book Strengths This book shines in how it blends existential insight with practical guidance: thoughtful exercises, mindset frameworks, and philosophical grounding all come together seamlessly. Readers praise it for being empowering and approachable, yet deeply reflective—giving tools that feel both real and transformative. Who This Book Is For Brave New Mind is ideal for anyone seeking deeper mental clarity and inner strength—especially those wrestling with anxiety, life overwhelm, creative blocks, or a sense of meaninglessness. If you’re drawn to self‑improvement grounded in philosophical perspective and practical action, this one speaks to you. Why Should You Read This Book? If you’re longing for more mental stability, and want to move from surviving to thriving, this book offers a compassionate blueprint. It’s worth reading because it addresses modern psychological struggle head-on—and then shows you how to build a steadier, value‑driven mind using intentional practices tailored to our turbulent times. Concluding Thoughts. With Brave New Mind, Eric Maisel delivers a compelling and timely guide for navigating mental health in our anxiety‑fuelled age. Its blend of clarity, depth, and usable tools creates a powerful toolkit—not just for surviving stress, but for forging a more calm, purposeful, and resilient way of living. It’s not about seeking escape; it’s about crafting a mind equal to the demands of today. If you’re ready to face fear, anxiety, and uncertainty with presence and meaning, this is a book to lean into. → Get the book on Amazon or discover more via the author’s website. * The publisher and editor of this summary review made every effort to maintain information accuracy, including any published quotes, lessons, takeaways, or summary notes. *** iStock image The post 5 Dads at the Park appeared first on The Good Men Project. View the full article

✍️ Add a signature in Gmail: Go to Settings > See all settings > General > Signature. Click Create new, give it a name and type in details like your contact info and job title. You can also insert an image of your real signature. Then choose whether it appears on new emails, replies or both. Scroll down and hit Save Changes. The post Add a signature in Gmail appeared first on Komando.com. View the full article

Beijing’s model focuses on things the West’s “rules-based order” has forgotten – equality, law and common development The recent Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Tianjin marked a decisive moment in the group’s evolution. What began more than two decades ago as a modest platform for regional security coordination is now presenting itself as the largest and one of the most ambitious regional organizations in the world. This year’s summit was the largest in the organization’s history. More than 20 heads of state took part, joined by leaders of ten international organizations, including United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. The scale of participation sent a clear signal of the SCO’s appeal, drawing states that see in it a platform not dominated by the West. The SCO community welcomed Laos as a new partner, expanding its reach to 27 countries. Taken together, the SCO now represents a quarter of the world’s landmass, nearly half of its population, and around a quarter of global GDP. The Tianjin summit confirmed that the SCO is no longer narrowly focused on security cooperation. Instead, it has become a comprehensive regional – and increasingly global – organization with a mandate covering economics, development, cultural exchange, and governance reform. This breadth of activity helps explain why its profile is rising. Despite its expansion, the SCO is not a homogeneous bloc. Member states bring their own national priorities, and differences are frequent. India, for example, has consistently blocked Azerbaijan’s application for membership and remains the only SCO member not to endorse China’s Belt and Road Initiative. New Delhi’s simultaneous participation in the Quad – a grouping that also includes Australia, Japan, and the United States and is viewed suspiciously in Beijing and Moscow – adds another layer of complexity. Türkiye, a partner of the SCO, is also a NATO member, aligning itself with a military bloc traditionally hostile to both Russia and China. These tensions underline the diversity within the SCO. Russia historically emphasized security issues, while China pushed economic cooperation as the main driver of integration. Yet Tianjin revealed that these once competing emphases are increasingly converging. All sides now acknowledge that a holistic approach – linking security with development – is essential for building durable cooperation. Beyond multilateral sessions, the summit served as a venue for bilateral diplomacy, often among countries with strained ties. Armenia and Pakistan agreed in principle to establish diplomatic relations, a significant step given the lack of formal ties between them. Russian and Armenian leaders met in an effort to repair relations after Yerevan’s growing outreach to Western partners. Perhaps most significantly, Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It was Modi’s first visit to China since 2019 and was widely read as a bold step toward improving Sino-Indian relations. At a time when Western capitals increasingly seek to drive wedges among developing powers, such encounters highlight the SCO’s capacity to promote reconciliation and strengthen unity. It is becoming a venue not only for multilateral agreements but also for healing divides and fostering trust. The Tianjin summit was not simply ceremonial. Leaders approved the SCO Development Strategy for 2026-2035, setting out the organization’s long-term trajectory, and issued the Tianjin Declaration, alongside more than 20 additional documents covering security cooperation, economic initiatives, cultural exchanges, and institutional reforms. A landmark decision was the creation of an SCO development bank, intended to accelerate infrastructure construction and support social and economic progress across the region. China also made significant financial commitments: 2 billion yuan ($280 million) in grants within this year, 10 billion yuan ($1.4 billion) in loans over the next three years, and support for 100 specific projects. Four new SCO centers will be established to strengthen cooperation against security threats, transnational crime, cyberattacks, and drug trafficking. These measures showed that the SCO is not a forum of empty declarations. It is delivering tangible benefits for its members and demonstrating how South-South cooperation can generate real results. At the political level, the summit confirmed the SCO’s ambition to influence the shape of global governance. President Xi described the organization as a leader in promoting multipolarity and greater democracy in international relations. The Tianjin Declaration reflected this stance, laying out a shared vision of international order rooted in the legacy of World War II and anchored in the United Nations system. The declaration emphasized sovereignty, international law, multilateralism, economic globalization, indivisible security, and human rights adjusted to national conditions. This perspective stands in open contrast to the Western “rules-based order.” The latter reflects Western dominance rather than universally agreed norms. By articulating an alternative rooted in sovereignty and multipolarity, the SCO is positioning itself as the institutional expression of a new global consensus emerging outside the West. China used the Tianjin summit to introduce its Global Governance Initiative (GGI), a framework aimed at addressing structural flaws in the current international order. The GGI is built on five core principles: sovereign equality, international rule of law grounded in the UN Charter, multilateralism as the basis of governance, a people-centered approach that prioritizes common development, and pragmatism focused on measurable outcomes. Beijing has identified the global financial system, artificial intelligence, cyberspace, climate change, international trade, and outer space as priority areas for rule-making. The GGI’s overarching goal is to create new institutions and norms that better represent the Global South, restore the UN’s centrality, and increase the effectiveness of governance mechanisms. The GGI also highlights the dual nature of China’s international posture. On the one hand, Beijing presents itself as a defender of the UN-based postwar system. On the other, it calls for the construction of a new order that translates this system into practical arrangements suited to today’s world. The distinction between the “system” and the “order” is essential for understanding China’s behavior. It helps to counter the Western narrative that labels China as a ‘revisionist’ and ‘subversive’ power. In reality, it is the US and its allies that undermine the United Nations in various ways to preserve their hegemony and block genuine democracy in international relations. Their resistance to democratization at the global level mirrors the growing authoritarian tendencies within their liberal democracies. This contradiction reveals that liberal elites in the West, rather than promoting freedom, justice, and progress, have become their main obstacle. The GGI is the latest in a series of initiatives China has advanced since 2021. It joins the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, and the Global Civilization Initiative. Together, these proposals form the intellectual and policy foundation for Xi’s broader concept of building a “community with a shared future for mankind.” The aim is clear: to rally international support for a new, multipolar order that eliminates Western hegemony and safeguards peaceful coexistence. It is no coincidence that China chose the SCO summit as the venue to inaugurate the Global Governance Initiative. For Beijing, the SCO is more than a regional body; it is a prototype of the future global governance pattern. The symbolism is powerful. By placing the SCO at the heart of its vision, Beijing is signaling that it sees the organization not just as a Eurasian platform, but as a cornerstone of global transformation. The SCO, in this framing, is both a laboratory for new ideas and a vehicle for implementing them. The Tianjin summit confirmed that the Shanghai Cooperation Organization has grown far beyond its initial purpose. With its growing size, scope, and agenda, the SCO is emerging as a central institution in the multipolar world order now taking shape. View the full article

By Kirstin Kelley Originally published on The Wip and republished here with the author’s permission. I recently published a story about my experiences as a person who is asexual. Writing this story felt important to me because there are a lot of misconceptions about asexuality and many well-intentioned people who, consequently, have no idea how to be supportive. While, on a basic level, asexuality is a lack of desire for sexual intimacy, there is actually quite a bit of variety among the asexual community. Some people are neutral to sex, some are repulsed by the idea, and some actually have an interest in sex, but only in very specific circumstances, and often only within the context of a pre-existing emotionally intimate relationship. Editor’s Note: The author of this article defines asexuality as a lack of desire for sexual intimacy, but recognizes that so many people define asexuality differently for themselves. In fact, several of our readers define asexuality as the lack of sexual attraction for others, rather than a lack of sexual desire. Most recognize asexuality to be more a scale than a set definition. For now, Everyday Feminism recognizes that there is no uniform definition, but we look forward to publishing more and more articles written by asexual writers. Many people who are asexual wish the general population knew a little bit more, especially about what not to say – I certainly wish that were the case. So I reached out to the Asexuality Visibility and Education Network (AVEN) community about the most annoying, frustrating, or offensive responses they get when they tell people they are asexual. Their top responses are as follows: 1. Challenge Accepted! This is the worst by far in my opinion. At best, it’s a joke that delegitimizes our identity by suggesting asexuality is something that will just go away with a good lay. For many asexual people this is deeply confusing, because it’s difficult to know how to respond to a person who can frivolously joke about the authenticity of our identity. At worst, it’s laden with rape culture and threatening language. “Corrective rape” is very real for members of the LGBT and asexual communities. People actually claim to believe that rape will “fix” the perceived “problem” by, supposedly, causing the victim to enjoy their assault. In reality, this is oppression. This is about exerting power and nonconsensual dominance over some one as a tool to attack a part of their identity. Corrective rape happens, and being threatened with it is terrifying. People have a right to say no to sex for any reason, and pathologizing people who simply have no sexual desire sends the message that it isn’t okay to not want sex. That message tells us that we don’t have the right to be in control of our bodies Instead of employing this threatening “joke,” a simple “Oh, Okay,” will do just fine. If you’re feeling compelled to respond this way, take a minute to think about why. Is the other party’s sexuality making you feel uncomfortable or leading you to diffuse your discomfort with a joke? Do you actually feel challenged? If someone is telling you they’re asexual, they probably trust you. Try to remember that trust and focus on how nervous the person talking to you about their sexuality might be. 2. How Do You Know If You’ve Never Tried It? This one is almost always well meaning, but it’s hard to deal with because it puts people on the defensive. We know in the same way that you knew you were interested in sex. We just never developed that particular interest. For people who are asexual, the experience of being uninterested in sex can range from rarely interested or interested only in specific circumstances to complete repulsion and an overwhelming urge to vomit, but no matter what, it’s innate and something we just know. 3. No One Is Going to Want to Be With You If You Don’t Put Out! Seriously? That’s my worth as a potential romantic partner, whether or not I have sex? My partner, should I choose to have one, should be someone who appreciates me for who I am, not what I look like or what I offer physically. My body is for me. If I choose to share it with someone else, that’s my prerogative, but my body is not my only value. I definitely don’t want to be in a relationship with someone who feels my asexuality is a major problem or who feels that having sex is required in a relationship. Also, people who are asexual experience a range of feelings about romantic relationships in general. As I mentioned in my previous article, I am intertested in having emotional romantic relationships, but there are others who don’t want that closeness at all and are aromantic. Relationships are unique, and people want different things. It’s important that the needs of each person in the relationship (whatever kind it is) are respected; this ensures that the relationship will be stronger. By forcing or coercing people to conform to an ideal standard in any type of relationship, we are condoning oppression by refusing to recognize diverse experiences and needs. 4. Don’t Give Up on Sex Just Because of One Bad Experience Who said anything about a bad experience? Some people who have had negative or abusive experiences are asexual, but some of them are also very sexual. Those experiences are often unrelated. If someone you know is asexual, it’s not safe to assume they have been victimized sexually in some way, and it’s quite frankly not your business unless they choose to talk to you about it. 5. But What About Marriage or Kids? My choices about family planning are not really relevant to my experiences as someone who is asexual. For people who are aromantic, marriage and often children are not on the table at all (though everyone has a different experience), but for romantic asexuals, there are a lot of options. First, if we choose to have sex, we can; some asexuals will choose to have children using traditional methods. Others might opt for adoption or in-vitro fertilization. Many asexuals also have wonderful and understanding spouses that may or may not be asexual themselves. I am dating a man who respects me and is careful never to pressure me into having sex, even though he is sexual. We do occasionally engage in sex, but only when I am completely on board. It is important to remember that there are as many relationship dynamics as there are relationships. If you are asexual or you’re a family, friend or partner of someone who is asexual, consider checking out the AVEN forums on relationships and how to be supportive. 6. You Can’t Be Asexual Because You Had Sex with _____ First off, thank you for monitoring all of my life choices for me. I’m not sure how I ever would have managed to keep track on my own. Second, just because I chose to have sex in the past doesn’t mean I find sex remotely appealing now, or even that I found sex appealing then. Many people who are asexual do have sex for a variety of reasons. Some feel they need to explore sex to confirm for themselves that they are asexual, others care about their sexual partner and want to make them happy. Some people become asexual at one or more points in their life. No matter their experience, one’s actions do not necessarily determine one’s feelings. 7. Don’t You Mean ‘Celibate?’ This question is the least frustrating for me because it usually comes out of a genuine desire to understand my experience. Many people confuse asexuality and celibacy because they often lead to the same results. But there are some major differences. Someone who is celibate is choosing to abstain for sex for any number of reasons, but does have a desire for sex. Someone who is asexual might not abstain from sex, but does not have the same drive for sex as most other people. 8. It’s Just a Phase! While it’s true that sexuality can change over time, that is not the case for everyone and it might not be true for the person you are talking to. It’s complicated and for asexuals it’s a very real experience that at times presents an incredible challenge. Instead of the patronizing tones, we could all benefit from understanding support – regardless of whether or not we eventually become interested in having sex. There are a million ways to be supportive of the asexuality folks in your life, but the best way is just to remember that they are people. Our sexuality does not define who we are as people. If we choose to tell you about being asexual, we need you to listen and to take us seriously. For more information about asexuality, check out the Asexuality Visibility and Education Network! [do_widget id=”text-101″] Kirstin Kelley is graduate assistant at The WIP who is completing her master’s degree in Nonproliferation and Terrorism Studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies. — Previously Published on everydayfeminism.com – Join The Good Men Project as a Premium Member today. All Premium Members get to view The Good Men Project with NO ADS. A complete list of benefits is here. — Photo credit: unsplash The post 8 Things You Should Never Say to an Asexual Person appeared first on The Good Men Project. View the full article

Emergency teams have rescued 50 people so far from the scene of the tragedy At least 29 people have died in a boat accident in Niger State, Nigeria, after a wooden vessel capsized on Tuesday morning, state emergency officials have said. The boat, carrying about 90 passengers including women and children, overturned near the riverside community of Gausawa in Borgu Local Government Area. Officials linked the accident to overloading and a collision with a submerged tree stump. Emergency teams recovered 29 bodies and rescued 50 people, while others remain missing. An anonymous source in the state Ministry of Transport told Punch that none of the passengers were wearing lifejackets, which contributed to the high death toll. The Niger State Emergency Management Agency (NSEMA) confirmed the incident in a statement. “According to our desk officer who led the search and rescue operations, the boat took off from a community called Tugan Sule in Shagunu ward with 90 people on board, which included women and children, heading to Dugga for a condolence visit,” the Director General of the NSEMA, Abdullahi Baba-Arah, stated. “Search and rescue operations are still ongoing for possible recovery of missing persons,” the official added. On Thursday, Baba-Arah told Xinhua by phone that the rescue operation had not been completed. He also rejected earlier reports claiming more than 60 bodies had been recovered. Boat accidents are frequent in Nigeria, often blamed on overloading, poor maintenance safety practices. Tuesday’s incident followed another fatal boat crash in the region last month in which at least ten people were confirmed to have died, according to the Sokoto State Emergency Management Agency. In June, seven people reportedly drowned when their vessel capsized near Rinaye village in Shagari Local Government Area. Last November, at least five people died and 20 remained missing after a speedboat capsized in Delta State in Nigeria. View the full article

China earlier this week announced the same privilege for Russians during a one-year trial period Moscow will grant visa-free entry to Chinese visitors, following Beijing’s decision earlier this week to extend the same privilege to Russian nationals, President Vladimir Putin has said. The reciprocal measure will strengthen cultural and economic ties between the two countries, he added. Putin made the remarks on Thursday in Vladivostok while meeting with senior Chinese official Li Hongzhong, a member of the Communist Party’s Politburo and vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress. He called China’s decision to ease entry for Russians a “very significant step” that would help boost business, saying: “Of course, Russia will respond to this friendly act in kind. We will do the same.” The Chinese visa waiver program will be expanded to ordinary passport holders from Russia starting September 15. Travelers will be able to enter the country for up to 30 days for business, tourism, personal visits, exchanges, and transit purposes. According to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, the decision reflects the high level of development in China-Russia relations and is aimed at deepening people-to-people exchanges. A bilateral agreement already allows visa-free travel for organized tourist groups, but only through accredited operators, with groups of between five and 50 people. Other Chinese travelers have had to rely on standard or electronic visas. An e-visa, introduced in August 2023, permits stays of up to 30 days, can be obtained within days, and reportedly costs about $40–50. For Russian travelers fees ranged from $31–41 for a single entry, while multiple-entry visas started at $92. Processing typically took a week or longer. DETAILS TO FOLLOW View the full article

The princess treatment is trending on TikTok. I’m here for it. The videos are hysterical. They involve a man sitting in a chair, a woman with a hose and a list of questions. Princess treatment or bare minimum? Depending on the answer the man might get hosed by his girl. The questions? Here’s a sampling of them. How would your guy answer them? Or if you’re a guy how would you answer these questions? Opening the car door or any door. Princess treatment or bare minimum? Flowers for no reason. Princess treatment or bare minimum? Carrying your girl’s bags or purse. Princess treatment or bare minimum? Paying for her manicure. Princess treatment or bare minimum? Giving her your jacket if it’s cold. Princess treatment or bare minimum? Bringing her coffee. Princess treatment or bare minimum? Fill up her gas tank. Princess treatment or bare minimum? Cooking her dinner. Princess treatment or bare minimum? Paying for dinner. Princess treatment or bare minimum? Take care of her when she’s sick. Princess treatment or bare minimum? Getting the car and picking her up. Princess treatment or bare minimum? Paying for her hair. Princess treatment or bare minimum? Taking her shopping. Princess treatment or bare minimum? Being the driver on long trips. Princess treatment or bare minimum? Telling her you love her daily. Princess treatment or bare minimum? Writing love letters or love notes. Princess treatment or bare minimum? Running her a bath. Princess treatment or bare minimum? Warming up her car. Princess treatment or bare minimum? Buying her an expensive purse. Princess treatment or bare minimum? Text her back quickly. Princess treatment or bare minimum? Pay for a nice vacation. Princess treatment or bare minimum? You get the idea. The questions can be endless. And the responses are hysterical. I’ve included two TikTok’s below. It’s a bit of TikTok humor but it’s also telling. It says a lot about relationships and expectations. What’s realistic? What does each woman and man want and expect? I took pride in not needing a man. But guess what? How’d that work out for me? I’m divorced. So much for being independent with low expectations. The women I know who seem happily married had bigger boundaries than I had. They didn’t feel the need to do it all. They didn’t take pride in not needing a man. As the saying goes, “Be careful what you wish for.” I got what I wished for. A man who would have been drenched by the end of this humorous TikTok trend. To be fair, he was a gentleman in the traditional sense. He did open doors for me but not the car door. He did get me a drink when we arrived somewhere. He would help me carry my bags if I needed help but he didn’t reach for them. And he would drive on long trips. I married a ‘bare minimum’ guy. Maybe I can’t take all the blame in being a woman who thought she didn’t need a man. Because I married a guy who didn’t want a woman who needed a man. Fair? I wanted to be independent, blah, blah, blah. The problem with being too independent? You can end up with someone who doesn’t make you feel loved, cared for, or safe. Who doesn’t make you feel like they would protect you. And then you get older. And you can appreciate the reality laced in the humor of a TikTok trend. You can see the error of your ways. You can see the kind of man you would choose the next time around. You realize this world wasn’t meant to be done alone. The human condition is vulnerable. We aren’t meant to have one of us stronger than the other. We are meant to alternate strength with our spouse. We are meant to make each other feel loved, cared for, safe, and protected. A man makes a woman feel loved, safe, and protected in one way. And a woman makes a man feel loved, safe, and protected in another way. We need each other. Not every day. Not every moment, not every minute, not every hour. But life is beautifully complex. It’s full of highs and lows. It’s full of love and loss. It’s full of the greatest joys and the deepest sorrows. It’s full of the expected and the unexpected. The ordinary and the extraordinary. We shouldn’t take pride in navigating it alone as I once believed when I didn’t need a man. Or conversely, be so selfish that we don’t realize our partner is doing it all. I always say that in the word relationship the truth lies in the first two syllables. Relay. It’s a relay and love should be the kind of partnership that makes you need a person. Independent enough to walk far away to do everything life demands of you in the day-to-day. But be drawn back by the elasticity of love when you need it most. I’m no longer a ‘bare minimum’ guy kinda girl. I’m a princess girl. I’m okay with that. Because it means this time I might meet a guy who makes me feel loved. And I will return that gift. — 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: Alex Sheldon On Unsplash The post I Took Pride in Not Needing a Man appeared first on The Good Men Project. View the full article

Feeling left behind? Download NetSuite’s free knowledge drop, “The CFO’s Guide to AI and Machine Learning.” No matter what you do, you should know more about AI. It’s not going anywhere. The post Feeling left behind appeared first on Komando.com. View the full article

Find your mouse pointer on Mac: If the cursor keeps disappearing, go to System Settings > Accessibility > Display > Pointer. Drag the Pointer size slider to make it larger, and pick new colors for the outline or fill. Bonus: Turn on Shake mouse pointer to locate. Next time you lose it, a quick shake makes the pointer balloon for a second. Amazing. The post Find your mouse pointer on Mac appeared first on Komando.com. View the full article

The EU Commission president claimed that Russia had interfered with her airplane’s navigation systems There is no evidence of Russia interfering with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s airplane during her recent flight to Bulgaria, the country’s authorities have said. DETAILS TO FOLLOW View the full article

The government is revising growth and inflation forecasts, Economic Development Minister Maksim Reshetnikov has said Russian growth is losing momentum more quickly than anticipated, Moscow’s Economic Development Minister Maksim Reshetnikov has said. 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. However, “the latest data show the economy is cooling faster than expected,” Reshetnikov warned at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok on Thursday, adding that his ministry is revising its macroeconomic forecasts, including stress scenarios, and will soon submit them to the government. “Our analysts are assessing all factors and challenges, the current dynamics, and the global economic situation.” In April, the ministry kept its 2025 GDP growth projection at 2.5%, unchanged from last autumn, but revised down key indicators. Inflation was raised to 7.6% from 4.5%, the average Brent crude price projection was cut to $68 per barrel from $81.7, and real investment growth was trimmed to 1.7% from 2.1%. The central bank, in its medium-term forecast, was more cautious, projecting growth of 1–2%. Russia’s Federal State Statistics Service (Rosstat) said last month that GDP grew 1.2% in the first half of 2025. Earlier this year, Reshetnikov warned the economy was on the brink of recession, though he stressed this was not inevitable and would depend largely on policy choices, particularly interest rate decisions. In late August, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov told President Vladimir Putin that, according to the Economic Development Ministry’s estimates, GDP would expand by at least 1.5% next year. Siluanov noted that monetary policy remained tight after the central bank raised its key rate to a record 21% in October 2024 to curb surging inflation. The Bank of Russia held the rate through three meetings before cutting it to 20% and then 18% in mid-2025, saying inflationary pressure was easing faster than expected. The regulator has not ruled out lowering the rate to 10.5% in 2026 if inflation falls to 4%. The moves marked the first easing cycle since 2022, when policy was tightened to stabilize the economy when Western sanctions were imposed. View the full article

Life has a way of moving so quickly that we often forget to notice the moments that make us feel truly alive. We get caught up in the routine—work, responsibilities, the endless to-do lists—and before we know it, we’re moving through life on autopilot. Then, out of nowhere, something shifts. A moment sneaks up on us, raw and electric, and reminds us what it feels like to be fully present. Maybe it’s standing at the edge of the ocean, feeling the cool water rush over your feet. Maybe it’s the way your heart pounds with excitement when you laugh uncontrollably with someone you love. Or maybe it’s the quiet stillness of a morning sunrise, when the world hasn’t yet started rushing and for just a moment, everything feels right. These moments may be fleeting, but they awaken something deep inside us—something we often forget is there. The Power of Being Present A friend of mine, Rachel, had spent most of her adult life chasing success. She built an impressive career, checked off all the right boxes, and was admired for her ambition. But despite all she had accomplished, she felt strangely disconnected. The days blended into each other, filled with deadlines and responsibilities, but little else. One weekend, after a particularly stressful work stretch, she took an impromptu trip to the mountains. It wasn’t something she typically did—there was always something more “important” to take care of—but something inside her told her to go. That weekend changed everything. As she hiked through a quiet trail, surrounded by towering trees and the crisp scent of pine, something shifted. She stopped for a moment, feeling the earth steady beneath her feet, and just…breathed. For the first time in years, she wasn’t thinking about work, or emails, or what she “should” be doing. She was simply there. Present. Alive. And it hit her—this is what she had been missing. It wasn’t the grand achievements or the constant striving that made life meaningful. It was the small, simple moments when she allowed herself to just be. Finding Your Own Moments of Aliveness We don’t have to wait for a spontaneous trip or a life-altering event to feel alive. These moments are happening all around us, every single day. The question is: are we paying attention? Some of the most powerful moments of aliveness come when we engage our senses—when we let ourselves fully experience what’s happening around us. The warmth of the sun on our skin. The rhythm of rain tapping against the window. The sound of a favourite song filling the room. These things are always there, but we have to be open to receiving them. Other times, we find that spark in movement—dancing, stretching, walking barefoot in the grass. There’s something about reconnecting with our bodies that reminds us we’re here, that we’re not just minds racing through a never-ending stream of thoughts. And sometimes, it’s through connection. A deep conversation with a friend, a hug that lasts a little longer than usual, the feeling of being truly seen and understood. These are the moments that fill us up in ways nothing else can. The Beauty of Contrast There’s another piece to this puzzle, though, and it’s something we don’t always like to acknowledge: sometimes, we feel most alive after we’ve struggled. Think about the last time you overcame something difficult—something that pushed you, challenged you, maybe even broke you for a little while. And yet, when you came out the other side, wasn’t there a strange kind of clarity? A deeper appreciation for the good things, the small things, the things you might not have noticed before? Life isn’t meant to be perfectly smooth all the time. It’s the contrast—the moments of uncertainty, the challenges, the messy parts—that make the joyful moments feel even richer. The rain makes us appreciate the sunshine. The stillness after the storm is only beautiful because we remember the chaos that came before it. Reconnecting with Life Through Numerology In numerology, certain numbers carry an energy of movement, change, and vitality—like Life Path number 5, which thrives on adventure and spontaneity. People with this number often feel most alive when they embrace new experiences and step outside their comfort zones. But you don’t have to be a 5 to tap into that energy. We all have the ability to welcome more excitement, more presence, more life into our days. It’s about breaking free from the routine every now and then, saying yes to something unexpected, or even just slowing down long enough to appreciate the beauty in the ordinary. Creating More Moments That Make You Feel Alive So how do we invite more of these moments into our lives? How do we stop waiting for them to appear and instead create them ourselves? Here are a few ways to start: Engage Your Senses: Take a moment each day to fully experience something—whether it’s the taste of your morning coffee, the feel of a soft blanket, or the scent of fresh air after it rains.Do Something New: Shake up your routine. Take a different route home, try a new hobby, visit a place you’ve never been. Novelty wakes up the brain and reminds us that life isn’t just about going through the motions. Move Your Body: Whether it’s dancing in your kitchen, stretching in the morning, or taking a long walk, movement connects you with your physical self and helps you feel more present. Be Around People Who Light You Up: Some connections bring out the best in us, making us laugh louder and dream bigger. Spend more time with the people who make you feel alive. Allow Yourself to Feel Everything: Don’t rush through the hard moments just to get to the next good thing. Let yourself experience the full spectrum of emotions—joy, sorrow, excitement, stillness. They all have something to teach us. Life Is Happening Right Now It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking life will feel better when. When we finish that big project. When we reach a certain goal. When we finally have time to slow down. But the truth is, life is happening now. The moments that make us feel alive aren’t waiting for us somewhere in the future. They’re already here, woven into the fabric of our everyday lives. All we have to do is notice them. So take a breath. Look around. Listen. Feel. This is your life. Right here. Right now. And it’s waiting for you to live it. — Previously Published on Liberty Forrest’s blog iStock image The post Awakening the Spark: Finding the Moments That Make Us Feel Alive appeared first on The Good Men Project. View the full article

Hungary has received 5 billion cubic meters of the fuel under long-term contracts with Gazprom, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto has said Hungary has received a record 5 billion cubic meters of Russian gas through the TurkStream pipeline so far this year, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto has said. TurkStream, which directly transports Russian gas to Türkiye and Southern Europe, remains the only route for supplies to the region after Kiev unilaterally halted gas transit through Ukraine at the end of last year. “Record volumes of natural gas are already arriving via TurkStream through Serbia – over 5 bcm since January,” Szijjarto said on Monday, as cited by government spokesman Zoltan Kovacs. “This secures our energy supply and helps preserve Hungary’s achievements in keeping household utility costs low.” Hungary continues to receive most of its gas under long-term contracts with Russia’s Gazprom via the TurkStream pipeline, which the government considers vital for the country’s energy security. According to official data, Russian gas deliveries hit a record 7.6 billion cubic meters in 2024. The pipeline supplies gas to Turkish customers and several European countries, including Hungary, Serbia, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Greece. Russia, once the EU’s primary gas supplier, sharply reduced exports in 2022 following Western sanctions over the Ukraine conflict and the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines. The country’s share of EU pipeline gas fell from over 40% in 2021 to around 11% in 2024. While the EU aims to phase out Russian energy imports by the end of 2027 as part of its RePowerEU strategy, Hungary has blocked the plan, with Szijjarto warning that it would “destroy Hungary’s energy security” and cause price spikes. Moscow has condemned Western sanctions as illegal and counterproductive, particularly those targeting energy, noting that energy prices in the EU surged after the initial sanctions on Russia were introduced in 2022. At the same time, Russia is boosting gas exports to China via the Power of Siberia pipeline. Moscow and Beijing recently agreed to raise flows on the existing line and advance the planned Power of Siberia 2 through Mongolia, further cementing Russia’s pivot to Asian markets. View the full article

👀 Sofa surprise: This is wild. The Baroque painting “Portrait of a Lady,” stolen by Nazis in 1940, just popped up casually hanging above a couch in a living room photo on an Argentinian real estate site. Doesn’t take a history buff to guess how that happened. Apparently the Zestimate skyrockets when your décor is a war crime. The post Sofa surprise appeared first on Komando.com. View the full article

The facility in Chukotka will provide power to the Baimsky mining complex, according to the Russian president Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced plans for another floating nuclear power plant (NPP) in the Far Eastern region of Chukotka to supply energy to the Baimsky mining and processing plant, one of the largest in the world. Putin made the announcement on Thursday in Vladivostok during a meeting on the development of fuel and energy complexes in the Russian Far East. The president noted that Russia is already implementing low-capacity nuclear power plants in Yakutsk and Chukotka and outlined future projects, including new plants in Primorsk and Khabarovsk, alongside the newly announced floating station. He stressed that nuclear power plants should continue to be developed actively, emphasizing that these projects have virtually no carbon footprint and are “rightfully considered to be so-called green energy.” Putin has in the past described Russia’s nuclear sector as a fundamental pillar of the state, noting that Moscow is a global leader in nuclear technologies and has helped foreign countries build reactors “practically from scratch.” He has also repeatedly highlighted Russia’s advancements in building floating NPPs that are capable of delivering power to remote regions, particularly in places such as the Arctic. He has suggested that this technology could eventually replace oil energy. Floating nuclear power plants are mobile energy units designed to supply electricity to isolated regions without requiring traditional land-based infrastructure. Russia has already deployed the Akademik Lomonosov, the world’s first floating nuclear plant, in the Arctic port of Pevek. The technology has been presented as a reliable solution for mining operations, industrial projects, and remote settlements where other forms of power generation are unfeasible. Putin’s visit to Vladivostok comes ahead of his participation in the Eastern Economic Forum, which runs from September 3 to 6 at the campus of Far Eastern Federal University. The event is set to bring together more than 70 countries, including delegations from India, China, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Thailand. View the full article

Claims of ‘interference’ from Brussels, parotted by the Western press, are crashing back to Earth A flurry of reports from EU officials and Western media claimed this week that Russia jammed the plane carrying European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen into Bulgaria. The tale of “hybrid warfare” in the skies made front-page news across an unquestioning mainstream press. But flight-tracking data shows something very different to what has been widely reported. What Brussels claimed happened On Sunday, von der Leyen traveled to Plovdiv as part of an Eastern Europe tour designed to harden Western backing for Kiev. Together with Bulgarian Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov, she visited the VMZ arms plant in Sopot and praised Sofia as a critical supplier of weapons to Ukraine. Yet the headlines were less about the factory floor than the flight path. Upon landing Brussels sources told the Financial Times that Russia had “blatantly interfered” with the Commission President’s aircraft, knocking out its GPS navigation system on approach. According to those accounts, the plane was forced to circle for an hour and the pilots had to fall back on paper charts before landing in Plovdiv. How the scare took off Once seeded, the story raced through the Western press: The Financial Times carried the initial claims of “blatant Russian interference,” Politico described a “GPS scare gripping Europe,” The Guardian tied the episode into a string of alleged Russian plots. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte declared the alliance was working “day and night” to counter jamming and spoofing. Italy floated the idea of hiding the routes of official flights altogether. The narrative slotted neatly into von der Leyen’s larger mission: selling a new round of defense spending as protection from a threatening Russia. Does data back the drama? No. FlightRadar24, the go-to service Western journalists themselves usually rely on for in-flight information on Monday quietly brought the claims flying out of Brussels back down to Earth. • Its data showed “good GPS signal quality from take-off to landing.” • The aircraft touched down nine minutes late, not an hour. When activists online tried to poke holes, FR24 doubled down with a second statement: the telemetry is clear, no signal loss, no blackout. Furthermore, the flight path published by FR24 shows a standard figure of either approach and landing, no circling. In other words: no evidence of Russian jamming, no missing hour, no emergency fallback to paper maps. Official walk-backs, muted corrections Zhelyazkov on Thursday told the Bulgarian parliament that there had been no attempts to jam the GPS signal and that any break was consistent with flying over heavily populated areas. “After checking the plane's records, we saw that there was no indication of concern from the pilot. Five minutes the aircraft hovered in the waiting area, with the quality of the signal being good all the time,” he told lawmakers. The European Commission itself quietly denied there had been any “targeted actions” against von der Leyen’s plane. Despite that, the original “Russian plot” framing still stands, uncorrected, in most coverage. Moscow cries foul Moscow was quick to seize on the contradiction. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova called the reports “preposterous” and part of a Western “web of lies.” The point, she argued, was not aviation safety but distraction – keeping Europeans focused on an external enemy while their economies strain under sanctions and defense bills. Bottom line The EU got its headline about Russian interference. But von der Leyen’s jet didn’t circle for an hour, didn’t lose GPS, and didn’t need paper maps. FlightRadar24’s data doesn’t match the drama. View the full article

By Miriam Bahagijo This February news sites around the world shared footage of a rarely seen black seadevil anglerfish who took the internet by storm. The bizarre deep-sea animals, who have a bioluminescent “fishing lure” used to draw prey toward their fang-like teeth, normally live in complete darkness at depths of up to 4,900 feet below sea level. When this one was spotted near the Canary Islands, people quickly started speculating about why and how the creature had made such an extreme vertical ascent. Some got sentimental and poetic about the fish’s experience, making remarks about how the fish finally got to see other lights — the sun — besides its own before its demise. And yes, the fish died not long after. Beyond the bizarre phenomenon, the way people reacted to and interpreted the fish’s unusual behavior is worth unpacking, because what seemed like an effort to empathize with the fish turned instead into something more troubling: anthropomorphism, a fancy term for attributing human characteristics to nonhuman entities. The case of the black seadevil anglerfish illustrates the problem. The species’ name is a poetic allusion to notions of demons and fishermen — two very human concepts we impose on a fish that knows neither. Their natural habitat is the twilight zone of the deep ocean, where sunlight doesn’t reach. Creatures inhabiting this zone have developed fascinating ways to adapt to extreme conditions: high pressures, frigid temperatures, and never-ending darkness. The wayward seadevil had no reason to swim so close to the surface as long as it was doing fine in its habitat, except that it probably wasn’t. Some experts speculated that it might have eaten a smaller fish with a gas-filled swim bladder (which could force the seadevil to go upward uncontrollably), while others thought it was either sick, stressed, injured, or escaping a predator. Those expert theories are plausible, so why did so many of us instead romanticize the fish’s unusual behavior? People got so emotional over the fish’s fate that they made poems, comics, and even artworks that proposed the fish wished to see the sun, wanted to be understood, or was on a sort of philosophical journey to find something bigger than its own life. While that speaks volume about our capacity to try to sympathize with other beings, it raises important questions: Is it true? Is it accurate? And more importantly, is it necessary? This was my genuine concern when scrolling through all the comments and contents regarding the black seadevil. Don’t get me wrong: I was an animal lover before I became a science journalist, so I always have a soft spot for animals. Still, I know that anthropomorphizing a fish found far from its home range is not a good idea. “That fish was probably dying” was my first thought when I saw the footage. Instead of anthropomorphizing, we should instead try to understand animals based on how they experience the world with their own senses. Empathy should be the goal. Instead of making assumptions like, “If it were me, I would have felt uncomfortable too,” we should try asking a different question: “I wonder how it feels for them?” This fundamental framework is the central theme of Ed Yong’s book An Immense World. Through its pages Yong tries to explain the philosophical concept of Umwelt, which posits that animals experience the world differently from us because they rely on different and often enhanced senses to navigate their surroundings. In other words, sensory stimuli that might feel normal to us — like bright lights or loud sounds — might be overwhelming to other animals. That is why it’s so problematic when we try to understand animals’ experience by generalizing our own sensory experiences; it risks overlooking or mischaracterizing the distressing signs the animals may be displaying. There are other reasons, too. Research has suggested that the popularity of Pixar Animation’s Finding Nemo movie may have spurred overfishing of reefs. Other researchers have cited how North American raccoons were imported to Japan as pets due to the popularity of the 1977 cartoon series Rascal Raccoon, which anthropomorphized the animals as harmless, cute and humorous — none of which is true, at least from the raccoons’ point of view. As a result of this pet craze, raccoons became an invasive species in Japan and damaged crops and fruits, as well as preying on native species. Researchers believe that it was partly due to the cartoon’s misrepresentation of raccoons’ nature as wild animals that caused the human-raccoon conflict in the first place. Anthropomorphizing certain species creates another problem: It establishes a narrative suggesting that other species we care less about aren’t worth protecting — or in some cases, even need to be exterminated. This was the case with the imperial parrot, the flagship species of the Caribbean Island of Dominica. It got so much attention that Dominicans started to disregard the conservation efforts of its sister species, the red-necked parrot. What’s more, the red-necked parrot was portrayed as an antithesis to the imperial parrot — and researchers were concerned that such narrative could even lead to the culling of the parrot’s population. Yet another drawback of anthropomorphizing one species over another is that we can forego conservation efforts for species that don’t necessarily win our heart for their cute demeanor. In many cases we don’t even realize it when we anthropomorphize animals. For example, we interpret the upturned mouths of snakes, dolphins, and chimpanzees as smiling expressions, with dangerous consequences. While some of this is harmless, it can also lead to subtle consequences that endanger both animals and humans. For example, tourists in destinations like Ubud, Bali, feed monkeys because they appear cute and remind them of human babies. As a result, the monkeys no longer fear humans. Problems arise when these monkeys turn aggressive and start, as one magazine recently wrote, “stealing” tourists’ personal belongings. (Even the way the news is written screams anthropomorphism because it assumes that a monkey understands the concept of “stealing.”) Our motives are usually good, and understandable. Anthropomorphism helps us make sense of nonhuman behavior that might otherwise seem scary or confusing. In some cases it may even make us care about living beings we would otherwise ignore or even harm. But we should resist the temptation, because it creates more risks than benefits. Promoting empathy toward animals, on the other hand, retains all the potential benefits of anthropomorphism without the dangers. One way to cultivate empathy is to consider how animals would normally behave if they were in their natural state. For instance, if a wild dolphin or orca swims dozens of miles each day, imagine how it must feel for them to be confined in a pool — no matter how big the pool looks to us. It’s of course very hard to understand animals’ experience when we don’t even know what the world looks like to them and how they perceive it. While biologists work to find this out, the least we can do is to resist the temptation to impose our own senses and feelings on life forms that are profoundly different from us. By avoiding the trap of anthropomorphism, we can make room for empathy built on the recognition that we really do not know what they’re going through. As for the black seadevil, the anglerfish lived and eventually perished on its own terms, not ours — and that should be enough. — This post was previously published on THEREVELATOR.ORG — 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 We Don’t Have to Anthropomorphize Animals to Care About Them appeared first on The Good Men Project. View the full article

Irina Tsukerman is a human rights and national security attorney based in New York and Connecticut. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in National and Intercultural Studies and Middle East Studies from Fordham University in 2006, followed by a Juris Doctor from Fordham University School of Law in 2009. She operates a boutique national security law practice. She serves as President of Scarab Rising, Inc., a media and security strategic advisory firm. Additionally, she is the Editor-in-Chief of The Washington Outsider, which focuses on foreign policy, geopolitics, security, and human rights. She is actively involved in several professional organizations, including the American Bar Association’s Energy, Environment, and Science and Technology Sections, where she serves as Program Vice Chair in the Oil and Gas Committee. She is also a member of the New York City Bar Association. She serves on the Middle East and North Africa Affairs Committee and affiliates with the Foreign and Comparative Law Committee. Tsukerman assesses the Armenia–Azerbaijan peace trajectory after the August 8 talks in Washington. She notes a memorandum of understanding, constitutional hurdles in Armenia, and momentum behind the Zangezur Corridor linking Azerbaijan to Nakhchivan and broader Eurasian trade. The United States is shifting from the sidelines to mediator and economic guarantor, while Russia and Iran seek to obstruct. Turkey’s alignment with Baku, EU energy needs, and China’s ties frame the stakes. Tsukerman outlines Armenia’s gradual pivot from CSTO, defence procurement challenges, heightened intelligence cooperation, and risks from revanchist actors that could imperil a durable settlement. Interview conducted on August 16, 2025. Scott Douglas Jacobsen: We are here with Irina Tsukerman, a New York attorney and geopolitical analyst. We will be discussing the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict and regional stability. How is this conflict proceeding? How is it reshaping South Caucasus geopolitics? And what are the interests of Russia, Turkey, Iran, and various Western actors in this? Irina Tsukerman: At least formally and on paper, the conflict is moving toward a conclusion. The gatherings in Washington last week were held on August 8, a symbolic date given the events of August 8, 2008, when Russia went to war with Georgia over South Ossetia and Abkhazia. This represented a significant step toward resolving the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict. Several key points were achieved. First, Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a memorandum of understanding, which advanced the negotiation process and formalized a framework for further talks and the resolution of remaining issues. The most significant obstacle remains Armenia’s constitution, which contains provisions—such as references to Nagorno-Karabakh—that contradict recognition of Azerbaijan’s sovereignty. Constitutional changes are required for normalization. Another major issue that has already been resolved, and which had U.S. backing, is the recognition and creation of the Zangezur Corridor, envisioned as a trade and transport route. This corridor would connect mainland Azerbaijan to its exclave of Nakhchivan through southern Armenia. More broadly, it would link Central Asia to Europe and Turkey, bypassing Russia and Iran, with U.S. involvement. As part of this process, Azerbaijan and the United States agreed to create a working group for development projects in areas such as defence, security, and the economy. Restrictions under Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act, which had previously limited U.S. assistance to Azerbaijan, were addressed, enabling greater U.S. humanitarian and development engagement. The U.S. role in the Zangezur Corridor’s economic growth would mean a formal role in supply chains and infrastructure. Unlike earlier proposals that envisioned outside actors managing the corridor as “controllers,” the current arrangement is that the U.S. will act as a political and economic guarantor, helping Azerbaijan and Armenia administer it. The aim is to integrate the South Caucasus into a central trade hub and to contribute to normalization between Armenia and Turkey. Another key outcome is that the United States is now positioning itself as a more potent mediator in the remaining negotiations. This is not the end of the conflict—an official peace treaty has yet to be signed—but the expectation is that progress will continue. The U.S. is no longer on the sidelines in a self-imposed absence from the diplomatic process; it will take a more active role in all aspects of the talks, becoming a visible partner and engaging trilaterally with both Armenia and Azerbaijan. This also strengthens U.S. bilateral relations with both countries. However, concerns remain that Russia and Iran will attempt to interfere and disrupt the process, as both have strategic reasons to prevent the Zangezur Corridor from functioning. Russia views it as a challenge to its regional influence, while Iran is wary of being bypassed by new trade routes that diminish its economic leverage. Jacobsen: Now, regarding why Russia and Iran are against the corridor—what are the key reasons? Tsukerman: First, both would lose out economically because international trade would bypass them and flow directly to Turkey. Turkey and Iran have an economic and political rivalry, even though they cooperate on many anti-Western issues. When it comes to day-to-day trade, tensions are evident, and Iran would prefer to benefit from any regional realignment rather than be excluded. However, its past threats to Azerbaijan have made that essentially a non-starter, which is why Azerbaijan is eager about the prospects of sidelining Iran. As for Russia, relations with Azerbaijan have deteriorated significantly. Tensions escalated after an attack on an Azerbaijani civilian airplane, which killed passengers. Russia never formally admitted responsibility. It issued what was essentially a half-measure—an acknowledgment without either a genuine apology or an admission of error. Many believe the attack was deliberate because, on the same day, President Ilham Aliyev was flying out of Grozny back to Azerbaijan and may have been the real target of the operation. Things only worsened afterward. Russia arrested numerous Azerbaijani businesspeople, tortured them, and several ended up dead. This led to an official confrontation with Azerbaijan, and Baku is expected to bring a legal case in international courts over the downing of the civilian aircraft. There have also been language-related tensions. Azerbaijan has begun dismantling Russian-language associations—essentially shutting down organizations that were using language as a cover for pro-Russian activity. At the same time, Russia has targeted the Azerbaijani diaspora to influence the government’s pro-Western economic policies. Moscow has also attacked Azerbaijan’s oil and gas deliveries to Ukraine, including pipelines affiliated with the Aliyev government, causing significant damage. There have been multiple such operations, and they are likely to continue. To make matters worse, some Russian deputies—while drunk—publicly threatened to invade Azerbaijan. Baku’s unofficial response was, in essence: go ahead, make our day. Azerbaijan pointed out that it has Turkish and Israeli drones, while Russia, in that context, is increasingly seen as outdated, relying on “tanks and horses.” Jacobsen: So, if there were any actual attack or invasion, is Azerbaijan prepared? Tsukerman: Exceptionally so. The Azerbaijani military is well-prepared and battle-hardened. Any such action by Russia would be ill-advised. Jacobsen: Was there not a case early in Putin’s presidency when Russia invaded a nearby territory? Tsukerman: Yes, you are thinking of Chechnya. Russia launched two wars there and ultimately crushed the separatist movement, reasserting control. Jacobsen: After Chechnya went from being essentially autonomous to coming under a Russian-backed puppet regime, what lessons did Azerbaijan and Armenia draw from that experience? Tsukerman: Azerbaijan certainly learned a lesson. It is unlikely to host Russian troops anywhere near its territory in the foreseeable future. Armenia, by contrast, has hosted Russian forces since the 19th century. But now, Armenia is turning away and even expelling Russian troops, though it remains highly dependent on Russia for trade. That shift is a significant signal. There have also been a couple of official coup claims from the Pashinyan government. One was characterized as a political coup attempt. Another was said to be linked to the Armenian Apostolic Church, which historically has functioned in many ways as a proxy for Russian influence. That said, the current head of the Church appears to be somewhat more pro-Western. Although Prime Minister Pashinyan accused him personally of involvement in that attempted coup, he has not presented credible evidence. At the same time, there has been a crackdown on Russian-linked Armenian oligarchs. That in itself is not a bad thing; it demonstrates Armenia’s seriousness in dismantling entrenched, conservative, clannish, and revanchist political elites while advancing in a more reformist direction. However, this could backfire if the public perceives it as an attack on faith rather than on pro-Russian institutions. It could also backfire if carried out in a way that seems blatantly undemocratic or self-serving. Pashinyan is not known for being particularly transparent or democratic. So even if these moves benefit the West by diminishing Russian influence, they could still backfire—either by allowing Russia to strengthen its position, or by producing a scenario similar to what happened in Georgia under Mikheil Saakashvili. In Georgia, reforms were associated with corruption and authoritarianism, which ultimately led to the rise of the Georgian Dream party in 2012—a more pro-Russian faction with stronger economic appeal. What we do not want to see is a repeat of the Georgian scenario in Armenia. Jacobsen: What about Iran’s role? Tsukerman: Armenia and Iran have been cooperating fairly well. However, Armenia is now more likely to diversify further and expand trade with China. Azerbaijan is already doing this, partly as a signal to the West to pay more attention to the region. Unfortunately, neither the Biden administration nor the Trump administration took that bait, so both Armenia and Azerbaijan have continued building parallel relationships with China. China is increasingly co-opting Azerbaijani media and forming official partnerships, and Armenia is likely to follow the same path. Iran, however, is concerned about Azerbaijan because it is a Shia-majority country but with a secular government and foreign policy. This is very different from Iran itself and from many Shia populations in the region, such as the Lebanese Shia and Iraqi Shia communities. Jacobsen: You mentioned Iran’s concerns. Can you expand on why Azerbaijan represents such a threat to Iran’s regional position? Tsukerman: Azerbaijan poses both a religious and an ethnic challenge to Iran. Unlike Iran, Azerbaijan does not recognize the doctrine of velayat-e faqih—the rule of the Islamic jurist. It has always had a different system, even before the Soviet era, offering a distinct Shia model that is secular and nationalist rather than theocratic. Iran, which has long used religion as a political tool to recruit followers as far away as Afghanistan and Pakistan, is threatened by Azerbaijan’s example. Its demographics also threatens Iran. It has a vast plurality of Azerbaijani and other Turkic peoples. Much of the Iranian population historically was not Farsi-speaking. Persian, as we know it, developed after the Arab invasions, written in the Arabic script and blending Indo-Persian traditions with heavy Turkic influence. Azerbaijanis are one of the largest Turkic groups within Iran. While many Iranian Azerbaijanis are prominent in the military and political elite, many others remain fiercely independent, culturally closer to Baku than to Tehran, and feel discriminated against. Their language has been suppressed, their culture diminished. Large communities live near the border with Azerbaijan, around what is ironically called the “Bridge of Friendship.” When I visited, it was clear that the name is misleading. Iran threatened Azerbaijan with invasion in this area during the Second Karabakh War in 2020, moving weapons and tanks close to the border. Iran has also attacked Azerbaijani diplomatic facilities through proxies. For example, there was an armed attack on Azerbaijan’s embassy in Tehran in January 2023, blamed on a “lone madman,” but widely believed to have had official backing. In London, a pro-Iranian Shia group stormed Azerbaijan’s embassy in 2022. These incidents highlight serious tensions. There have also been direct threats from Iranian officials, prompting even Turkey to intervene diplomatically. Jacobsen: That brings us to Turkey. How has Ankara shaped this dynamic? Tsukerman: Turkey considers Azerbaijan a significant sphere of influence, especially economically. Politically, their positions sometimes diverge. For example, SOCAR, Azerbaijan’s state oil company, has been targeted by mobs in Turkey angry over its energy partnership with Israel. Recently, SOCAR and Israel concluded a lucrative deal, which drew protests from pro-Palestinian groups in Turkey. Culturally and strategically, however, Turkey and Azerbaijan are very close. During the Second Karabakh War, Turkish Bayraktar drones proved decisive. It is not true that Syrian mercenaries or terrorists were deployed on Azerbaijan’s behalf. That claim has no basis. First, it did not happen. Second, it would have been impractical: most Syrian fighters speak only Arabic, while Azerbaijan’s operational environment requires Azeri or Russian. They would have been ineffective. The real advantage was the drones. They were a superior military technology that gave well-equipped Azerbaijan a decisive edge over the poorly equipped Armenian forces. This technological advantage, combined with Armenia’s lack of adequate support from Russia—neither politically nor militarily—was a key reason for Armenia’s defeat. Importantly, Pashinyan initiated the war without properly consulting Moscow, and that miscommunication deepened the rift between Yerevan and the Kremlin. Meanwhile, Turkey continues to pursue its goal of expanding its energy and strategic influence across the region. There are pipelines and connectivity projects with Georgia, Hungary, and other countries—economic corridors that enhance regional integration. Azerbaijan is seeking greater influence overall, both politically and economically. These developments certainly benefit Turkey as well, and they also strengthen ties with the United States through interconnected diplomatic initiatives. Jacobsen: What about Western actors—how are they positioning themselves? Tsukerman: The European Union benefits from stability and security in the South Caucasus, primarily when the region is oriented in a more pro-Western direction. The EU particularly benefits from Azerbaijan’s oil and gas exports, which help reduce dependence on Russian energy. For example, southern European countries facing shortages now view Azerbaijan as a reliable and stable supplier. By contrast, Qatar has recently threatened to boycott Europe over various political disputes. That kind of volatility makes Azerbaijan’s energy partnership even more attractive. Jacobsen: What about the best-case scenario—a multi-aligned, multilateral peace that works for everyone? Is that even remotely possible? Tsukerman: Not with the current regimes in Russia and Iran. If Iran’s regime were to change into something less aggressive, that could open possibilities. But there are no guarantees. A return to a nationalistic monarchy, for instance, would not bode well for minorities, even if it might be less regionally aggressive. The best-case scenario would be a federated, secular, liberal republic. But that is highly unlikely given the current trajectory. If an IRGC-led faction takes power, it would be even more aggressive. With Russia, meaningful change is also improbable. Even if Putin is removed or dies, his successors are likely to pursue a similar line. Without sweeping, forceful reforms overseen with Western support—something akin to a Peter the Great–style transformation combined with a post–Nuremberg trial reconstruction—you will not see a profound political shift. Russia’s centralized, authoritarian tradition has persisted for centuries, and it is not likely to change on its own without both a reformist-minded government and integrated Western assistance. Jacobsen: Let us turn to Armenia. Suppose it shifts away from the CSTO toward deeper engagement with the EU and the U.S.—in areas such as defence procurement and training. How would that change the dynamic? Tsukerman: That process is already underway. Prime Minister Pashinyan’s refusal to participate in the most recent CSTO events and joint sessions signals his move away from the alliance. Both Azerbaijan and Armenia have also petitioned to withdraw from the OSCE Minsk Group. That group, which once included the United States, Russia, France, and Germany, failed to achieve any meaningful diplomatic resolution of the conflict. Its prestige has collapsed, just as the CSTO’s relevance has eroded. This also indicates a genuine orientation toward Washington as the primary diplomatic intermediary. But when it comes to economic transformation, it will be a gradual process. Armenia cannot shift overnight to a fully American system. There is too much at stake, and risk guarantees would be necessary for businesses, especially given the potential for political instability and coups inside the country. On weapons procurement, there are interoperability issues. Armenia has long been dependent on Russian and, more recently, Indian weapons. It has started purchasing French arms, much to Azerbaijan’s displeasure, but those deliveries have been slow. So far, there is more theoretical defence cooperation between France and Armenia than actual supplies. Meanwhile, Armenia still depends heavily on Russian prototypes. And U.S. weapons are expensive—Armenia is a poor country, so it is unclear how much it could realistically afford. For now, the United States would likely need to bolster its presence through observers, ideally with EU support, to act as quasi-security guarantors against Russian aggression. That, however, raises concerns for Azerbaijan. They worry about revanchist, anti-Pashinyan factions gaining strength, cancelling peace agreements, and then using Western backing against Azerbaijan. That is a real risk that Western policymakers need to address more openly. Jacobsen: So, intelligence cooperation will become more important? Tsukerman: Yes. Intelligence-sharing will likely increase to identify potential threats. But here we run into a problem. Under the Trump administration, many intelligence officials were purged, and pro-Russian voices became prominent. Some within that administration even had connections with Russian- or Armenian-linked religious factions that are highly politicized, revanchist, and deeply opposed to Pashinyan. That leaves matters in an uncertain place unless the EU decides to get far more involved and counterbalance the risks of intelligence leaks from the U.S. side. France, in particular, has generated distrust in Armenia. French policy has been heavily influenced by the Armenian diaspora and by pro-Russian lobbies connected to it. These diaspora networks do not necessarily support Yerevan’s current government. They view Pashinyan as weak for having lost the war and instead push unrealistic “Greater Armenia” ideas. While such projects are not feasible in the 21st century, they are being promoted by groups with money, political clout, and Russian support. This brings another layer of interference. Some NGOs and groups funded by Russian and Armenian oligarchs have simultaneously contributed to infrastructure development in Armenia while also siphoning funds, fueling corruption, and advancing damaging nationalist agendas. These forces have obstructed the peace process rather than supported it. Jacobsen: So Armenia is tilting West, Turkey is carefully balancing its position with Azerbaijan… Does this mean that, in the post-Soviet era, Russia’s footprint in the region is shrinking? Tsukerman: Yes, Russia’s footprint is retracting, but not by choice. Moscow has had to pull many of its so-called peacekeepers from the South Caucasus due to logistical needs in Ukraine and because of its setbacks in Syria. Russia has already lost many of its top personnel in Ukraine, leaving behind poorly trained replacements with limited equipment. Its capacity for direct military involvement in the region has been diminished. However, Russia’s ability to bribe, recruit spies, and employ terrorist tactics has not diminished—if anything, it has increased. Worse still, Russia has trained Iran in these same methods. Iran has been actively recruiting spies and agents in Azerbaijan and deploying them both against Azerbaijan itself and Israeli interests worldwide. Azerbaijan’s security services, with support from Israeli counterparts, have been successful in uncovering and neutralizing many of these operatives domestically. Still, Iran has managed to operate with relative impunity, particularly in peripheral regions, making it difficult to track down everyone influenced by Iranian propaganda or infiltrated from across the border. The result is a complex, asymmetric security environment that is likely to intensify in the short term. Jacobsen: What about guarantors such as the EU, U.S., and OSCE? Could they credibly sustain long-term peace negotiations? Tsukerman: The OSCE is effectively finished in this role. The Minsk Group, which it oversaw, failed for decades to achieve progress, and both Baku and Yerevan have petitioned to withdraw from its framework. The OSCE itself has shown little enthusiasm for continuing with a process that dragged on fruitlessly for 30 years. For a time, the European Union tried to take on a more direct role, but that effort fell apart once the EU shifted its focus to the Russian threat and the war in Ukraine. President Macron of France personally attempted to get involved, but Azerbaijan does not view him as a neutral party. Complicating matters further, other factions within France have interfered with Macron’s policies, weakening consistency. That said, circumstances could change. For the first time in decades, France, Azerbaijan, and Armenia all face the same threat—Russia. That shared concern could potentially bring them closer together, depending on top-level commitments. Much will hinge on the French elections in 2027, when Macron’s term ends. His party already suffered significant losses in the recent snap elections, and both the radical left and radical right are on the rise. It is uncertain whether his successor will maintain France’s current anti-Russian stance. Jacobsen: What about the U.S. side? Tsukerman: The U.S. under Trump at least seems to view economic and personal benefit in acting as a guarantor. Washington would stand to gain not only from oil and gas cooperation but also from investments in digital infrastructure and broader regional projects. So there are economic incentives for the U.S. to remain engaged. In addition to energy, there are also prospects for high-technology development and other forms of cooperation. On a more personal level, both Azerbaijan and Armenia pleased Trump by announcing they would push for a Nobel Peace Prize nomination for him. It’s unclear whether they meant they would nominate him directly or support existing nominations from elsewhere. Regardless, he views this as a positive gesture and as welcome publicity on top of what has otherwise been a series of diplomatic failures. Because of this, he is likely to remain committed to the process for the time being. What happens once he leaves office, however, is uncertain. It’s not clear what direction U.S. policy will take afterward. By that point, the peace process may already be sufficiently formalized, and many of the issues causing political friction in Washington would likely be resolved. I presume that the next administration would probably maintain the course—unless there are radical political changes inside either Azerbaijan or Armenia. Jacobsen: All right, let’s call that one a close. Thank you for your time. Tsukerman: Thank you very much for your time today, on what has been our most intensive week so far. See you then. — Scott Douglas Jacobsen is the publisher of In-Sight Publishing (ISBN: 978-1-0692343) and Editor-in-Chief of In-Sight: Interviews (ISSN: 2369-6885). He writes for The Good Men Project, International Policy Digest (ISSN: 2332–9416), The Humanist (Print: ISSN 0018-7399; Online: ISSN 2163-3576), Basic Income Earth Network (UK Registered Charity 1177066), A Further Inquiry, and other media. He is a member in good standing of numerous media organizations. *** If you believe in the work we are doing here at The Good Men Project and want a deeper connection with our community, please join us as a Premium Member today. Premium Members get to view The Good Men Project with NO ADS. Need more info? A complete list of benefits is here. — Photo by Aleksandr Popov on Unsplash The post On Armenia–Azerbaijan Peace, the Zangezur Corridor, and U.S. Mediation appeared first on The Good Men Project. View the full article